Monday March 20, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Non-resident heads Time to stop jailing our Karrau Syndicate Group youths for such a “crime” DEAR EDITOR, Reference is being made to a Kaieteur News article dated 7th March, 2017 headline: Way paved for National Mining Syndicate Body to be elected. Present at the sensitization meeting on the benefits of the Government sponsored project held at Square of the Revolution was Judith David-Blair, Bartica resident. Most interestingly is that Judith Blair was at the meeting in her capacity as a representative and head of the Karrau Syndicate Group and not Bartica. To date there are ten (10) syndicate groups and it remains a mystery how Bartica, the gate way to the interior, is not among or even mentioned in the ten groups but Albouystown and Parika/ Mora were mentioned. I fail to comprehend how, after a well published meeting held in the boardroom of the RDC of Region 7 with miners from Bartica and Junior Minister of Natural Resoures,
Ms. Simona Brooms, a Bartica syndicate group is not yet possible, mentioned or published. With the absence of a Bartica Syndicate Group, could we say that the miners in Bartica are divided over the government sponsored mining syndicate project or they have united to send a message that they are not in support of the project. The appointment of Ms. Judith David-Blair, a nonresident, as head of the Karrau Syndicate Group, an indigenous community, is generating much controversy on the way forward. Karrau is an indigenous community, eight to ten minutes drive from Bartica and whose affairs are being governed by a democratically elected Village Council. This is disrespect, in the highest form, to the Toshao, councillors and residents of Karrau to just have a nonresident foisted on their community with leadership responsibilities, in this case, the Karrau Syndicate Group.
I am calling on the elected village council and residents of Karrau to strongly object to the appointment of a nonresident and the manner in which the entire process was handled by the Junior Minister of Natural Resources. To the best of my knowledge, and I am subject to correction, there was no involved consultation with the Village Council or residents to arrive at a decision as to who will head the village syndicate group. Were the Minister and Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs officially notified that a non-resident would to take up leadership responsibility within the community? Problems abound on the way forward for the Karrau syndicate group as the allegation against Ms. Judith Blair is that she wrote a letter to Minister of Natural Resources with a certain request. Sherwyn Delano Downer
Cultural decadence pervading Region 10 DEAR EDITOR, There is a rather ugly distasteful, disreputable and disgusting item that has for some time now, not only been a constant and regular feature on the NCN LINDEN TELEVISION STATION, but also - wittingly or unwittingly - has been an affront because of its blind disregard for the people of the TOWN\REGION. I am referring here to the commonplace vulgar music\video advertisements that citizens are bombarded with whenever various types of entertainment are promoted. Every so often one is left dumbstruck and taken aback upon viewing the choice of selections that are televised the most lewd and corruptible, anything goes, the sky is the limit. And of course as always, it is the women who are center stage and cast in prostitute-like roles; loose, scantily clad and some virtually naked, as they gyrate to seductive music. While the men, equally lascivious and not to be outdone, complement this obscene performance. Editor, may I point out that these music videos played during these ads are not only from foreign artistes; they are also taken from
footage done locally, hot scenes where we match those profane dances\videos. Look, I am not in any way making claim to being self-righteous. But some of these ads are definitely over the top and should not be allowed, and should remain within the adult domain and not be beamed and fed to every child. Now, when this depraved conduct, which has long become a norm – “daily” up in our face - what then must we expect from our young ones? What’s the message in all of this? Obviously what is perpetrated is soon copied, adopted and becomes infectious. We are poisoning the minds of young ones by the excessive promotion of vulgarity, then, we hypocritically lament the degeneracy that has taken over. But i have to say that I’m confounded, and really so. Am I to believe that this Town\ Region, with all those top officials, top functionaries, office bearers, board members, parliamentarians, party activists etc, have not noticed, so as to censure this cultural decadence pervading this Town\ Region? I refuse to believe that they are all uncaring and amoral, that those various
institutions and portfolios are just rooms and labels? What boggles my mind further is the reality that we have an E D U C AT I O N A L DEPARTMENT. Are they really serious, just what principles and policies are they guided by? And to top it off, the CHURCHES. This Linden community is loaded with religious institutions, men and women of the cloth. Are they too in slumber? It is time these programmes\items be censored, whereby some semblance of decency and respect can be restored. I’m saying that young women of quality must reject the insult and put down of being branded and exhibited like cattle, by desisting from indulging in those bawdy dance shows as a mere sex commodity. I couldn’t help being amused hearing a promoter encouraging children to stay in school, while he continued to play his video which was definitely not tailored for children attending school. The promoter is free to promote his business - fair enough, but NCN-LINDEN has an obligation to be more responsible to the Town\ Region, more so our impressionable young minds. Frank Fyffe
DEAR EDITOR, I read the caption; “Charlestown youth sentenced to prison for marijuana possession” and I read over two years in jail for having in her possession 4ozs of cannabis (pot). And I could not help saying OMG! What are we doing to our youths? What would happen to this young woman when she gets out of prison? She did not steal i.e. deprive someone of their property. She did not wound or kill someone. She was not selling cocaine. She was selling something that so many people in this country use; from doctors to lawyers to bums. It in no way causes the pain and suffering inflicted on the person, the family, and society as does alcohol which is consumed like it is going out of style. In many of the federal states in the USA, a person is given a ticket for possession. Why? It is because it has been declassified as a narcotic. In many states it is legalised while in some it’s legal for medicinal purposes. We are
incarcerating youths for pot when our prison system is overcrowded. A youth found in possession is jailed. He then associates with hardened criminals. There is no reintroduction into society. He is a jail bird. What are the chances that he would continue a life of crime to sustain himself and family? He works, earns a salary, uses some to buy pot to feed his wife and children, is caught and sent to prison. Now who is there to maintain his family? He comes out of prison. No job and so because of the need to provide for his family he is recruited by the criminal gangs. Maybe caught and again sent to the overcrowded prisons. Let’s not forget there is a cost to the taxpayers for keeping him in prison. A cost we could ill afford. The combined cost is too much. This money could be better served in educating and in rehabilitating. There is presently no anti-drug education programme going on. Mr. Michael Carrington MP, some time ago tabled a
bill in parliament. This bill is still there. It does not call for the legalisation of pot but calls for the removal of the mandatory sentencing which prevents the magistrates from using their discretion. It also calls for the increase of the amount above which it is classified as trafficking. This is an appeal to the Prime Minister who is the leader of Parliament to have this piece of legislation see the light of day. I am calling upon His Excellency the President to save the youths of this country from unnecessary incarceration. I am calling on Mr. Joseph Harmon, Minister of State to look seriously into this social problem. And I am calling on the newly elected General Secretary of the AFC, Mr. Marlon Williams to initiate discussion on this matter within the AFC. At the same time, I am calling on the President to consider initiating a national discussion with regards marijuana production and use. Rajendra Bisessar
Police must stop these dangerous trends on Homestretch Avenue DEAR EDITOR, There is a very disturbing tendency that has developed among some drivers (particularly minibus drivers) who use Homestretch Avenue, and it is undertaking while passing other vehicles. Not only is this practice of undertaking illegal, it is also very dangerous. This illegal practice has been happening for quite some time, and it seems as if nothing is being done by law enforcement to stop this illegal and most dangerous activity. The number of near misses one can see while driving along Homestretch Avenue is quite alarming and appalling. That there have not been more accidents on that road must be the manifestation of divine intervention. I have seen and experienced minibuses racing up the inside of the lane, abusing the road shoulders, and blaring their horns for drivers to give way for them to pass. Many times unsuspecting law-abiding drivers are so startled by the sudden cacophony of horns
that they instinctively pull away, into the path of oncoming traffic. Luckily and again perhaps, divine intervention, accidents do not occur. Is the driver taking a vehicle up the road shoulder with horns blaring while forcing its way through an undertaking maneuver really asking the law-abiding citizen driving in his or her lane to move over to provide clear passage? But where is the law-abiding driver expected to go? Homestretch Avenue has one lane heading east and the other west. Our drivers must learn lane discipline. It is long past the time for the Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force to put effective measures in place to stop this illegal and dangerous practice of undertaking on Homestretch Avenue. Errant drivers must be charged and made to endure harsh penalties. This illegal practice of undertaking along Homestretch Avenue must stop immediately! Richard Francois
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When Minister Lawrence was in the opposition, she was aggressive DEAR EDITOR, It is clear to everyone that this Government has officially conducted more questionable purchases of drugs than they had accused the PPP of. For nearly two years now the MOPH has failed to build on the improvements made by the previous Government in strengthening the Supply Chain System of medicines and supplies nationwide. What makes it more glaring, is the fact that they have established a Procurement Commission while the corrupt behavior of drug purchases has gotten worst. The recent so-called emergency purchase of drugs for GPHC at a whopping 605 million, plus an additional 900 million for other hospitals are only recent events of gross misconduct in the Procurement System. We had the infamous bottom house bond being paid over 12 Million per month to store condoms and a few other items. It is still unclear
whether the items stored in that bond are even valued more than the rent itself. I remember clearly when Minister Lawrence took the Opposition members to that Sussex street bond late in the evening for inspection. This means that the Minister is acutely aware of the circumstances surrounding the corrupt behavior but she still went ahead and approved 1.5 Billion of purchases without following the Procurement Act. Some say that Minister Lawrence is new to the role and she should be given some slack on this matter, but I say that’s a very expensive price for the tax payers to pay for her slack. I would like to remind you that Minister Lawrence was the Chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee for several years while the PPP was in power and she led an overly aggressive fight against the PPP led Ministry of Health for what they called gross violations in the health
procurement system. Now the violations she chastised the PPP for is nothing compared to what’s happening now. But more interestingly, is the fact that this Minister has chosen to take lower level procurement staff and throw them to the fire that APNU started. As I write this letter, there are people acting on behalf of the Minister, targeting lower level staff in order to clear herself of any involvement. But I must remind you that it is not those staff that approved the 1.5 Billion purchases of drugs. It is Minister Lawrence that did so. We must also take note of the large sums of taxpayers’ money that is now being paid to foreign companies like Ansa Mcal, while Guyana is drained of foreign currencies. The people must realize sooner than later, that APNU is not a Government for the people but more a Government for foreign companies. Malcolm Watkins
Ramotar as a GuySuCo Director... From page 4 changing economy. Guyanese workers cannot get jobs and share the wealth from any technology-led growth unless they have the necessary skills. Today’s jobs - white collar, blue collar or no collar require more education and interpersonal skills than in the past. Technology leads to economic growth and hence jobs. Therefore the APNU+AFC Govt. has the challenge to help the displaced sugar workers share the gains as Guyana moves from an agricultural economy to an industrial one with sensible policies which it is still to articulate. Such policies will need more vocational training or through apprenticeships. The Govt. has to institute
Monday March 20, 2017
Kaieteur News
re-training programs for the displaced sugar workers and put them to work building and repairing bridges, roads, sea defenses and other infrastructures. The country is short of good mechanics, plumbers, electricians, etc. Workers who lose their jobs for whatever reason don’t usually have the money to pick-up and move to where the jobs and training are. Therefore, the APNU+AFC Govt’s help is needed for the laid-off sugar workers who do not want to up-end their lives and eventually become wards of society. Finally, neither Barbados nor Guyana produces enough bagasse to fire steam boilers for turbines to generate significant amounts of electricity throughout the
year. Therefore, it is not a stable and viable element for the production of electricity to feed the national grid. In Yr. 2020 it is expected that oil and gas will be produced from Guyana’s oil fields off its northern coast. Gas is competitive to produce electricity and would probably be cheaper than hydropower electricity from Amaila Falls. Therefore, the APNU+AFC Govt. should focus its development strategy for growth of the economy to create jobs by using gas power turbines to generate cheap and reliable electricity which the country so badly needs to jump-start the economy and create the jobs for all those laid-off sugar workers. Charles Sohan
Who is the king behind the Granger throne? DEAR EDITOR; In the preamble to the Guyana Constitution it says: “WE THE GUYANESE PEOPLE... forge a system of governance that promotes concerted effort and broadbased participation in national decision making in order to develop a viable economy....” When you are the Government, you make the rules. Blaming all and sundry but yourself for policy mistakes is the act of weak leaders. Today the private sector is being accused of not investing in the economy but the government refuses to accept that this state of affairs is a direct consequence of their own policy paralysis. Worst yet, the workers are being penalized with oppressive taxes on essentials such as electricity and water and yet the Granger administration expects them to be highly motivated and productive. Utterly delusional! Leadership is about delivering for the people in an environment percolated by high morals and ethical standards. When one observes the financial happenings in this Granger administration one wonders, what changes were they advocating for, on the 2015 campaign? It is unfortunate that President Granger seems to be trapped in this web of deception that makes him less impactful when it comes to these acts of state abuses under his watch. This leadership lethargy just
continues to undermine his potential legacy. Who really is making the decisions in this PNC led government? Is there an “Imperium in Imperio” in the Granger administration? The latest allegation of massive corruption under this Granger administration is the revelations that the Minister of Health found the need to bypass the National Tender Board and sole source some G$605 million in medical supplies from an alleged financial sponsor of the PNC in past elections. So was the promise to bring an end to sole sourcing in the procurement of medical supplies by the PNC during the 2015 campaign just a ruse, to fool the people? Then there is that abomination on the appointment of Permanent Secretaries that happened in March 2017. Of the sixteen (16) identified Permanent Secretaries, only one person of a certain background was deemed qualified to serve in the Granger government, at this senior level. This state of affairs was quite a letdown for many people who have ancestors that served our country at all levels for over two centuries. This situation is nothing but a grave insult to many communities and exposes how indifferent and insensitive the Granger administration is to this whole question of social cohesion and national harmony. It is
The little pathway named Piccadilly Street DEAR EDITOR, Many years ago a senior citizen posed the following question to me; what is the shortest street known in Georgetown? I never knew the answer and I was educated that ‘PICCADILLY STREET’ is the shortest street and it can be found as the street going east to west or west to east between the ‘Astor and Globe Cinemas.’ I have no idea how accurate this information is because I have never seen any written document to support what I was told. Perhaps, if anyone has any documented information and is willing to come forward and share, I would appreciate their time and effort. A short while ago I was in the vicinity of the Astor Cinema and I didn’t noticed the name ‘Piccadilly Street.’ I took a photo which should be of interest to the general public in understanding where exactly my enquiry is leaning towards. T.Pemberton
nothing but a big joke. But it is also a grave insult to the other right thinking groups who are open to molding a society where merit is the principle criterion for getting ahead, not which tribe you belong to or whether you have a military buddy in the Ministry of the Presidency. Shame on you President Granger for allowing such a situation to occur under your watch! This is a new low from the PNC and would have never happened under Mr. Desmond Hoyte. Even Burnham was fairer with his appointments. Only a fool will think that this act of supremacy will develop a multi-racial, multireligious country like Guyana. When a leader refuses to commit in words and deeds to the growth of all of the people in the nation, then that leader must know he will never be able to tap the primal energies of the majority of the people. In such a situation further economic collapse is guaranteed and thus as a consequence there will be rapid expansion of poverty. Do you expect any right thinking UG graduate will stick around for that eventuality? If we continue on this road, we can kiss goodbye to any thought of economic recovery in 2018 and 2019. An opportunity to serve should be driven by competence and suitability, not by the criterion of “who has a godfather” in Plantation Sophia or who is acquainted with a former military buddy. If you want to inspire the best from all of your people, the ground rules must be welldefined and clearly communicated so that all have a fair shot at getting ahead in an environment saturated with fairness. Such an environment does not exist under President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. As I reflect on President Granger inauguration speech and to these specific words that he said “Let us co-operate for Guyana”, I wonder; were they merely words? Sase Singh
Monday March 20, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Smart City Solutions can extend contract Following misappropriation allegations… No- confidence motion moved life to recover loss from suspension against Bar Association President - Agreement Following allegations confidence motion was Despite moves by central government to have the current parking meter project suspended for three months, Smart City Solutions (SCS) can still extend the lifetime of the contract to recover the time lost. Based on the contractual terms agreed upon by SCS and the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, the company may extend the Term of the contract for any and each Force Majeure event (unforeseeable circumstance that prevents someone from fulfilling a contract) lasting more than 30 days. This means that the contract can be extended beyond the 20 year period commencing upon the first date upon which the Concessionaire (SCS) initiated the Metered Parking Operations. According to the contract, a Force Majeure event shall be considered to have occurred for any event beyond the reasonable control of the Concessionaire that delays, interrupts or limits the performance of the Concessionaire’s use of the Metered Parking System. Some of the events highlighted by the contract which would be considered Force Majeure are an intervening act of God or public enemy, war, invasion, armed conflict, act of foreign enemy, blockade, revolution, act of terror, sabotage, civil commotions, interference by civil or military authorities, condemnation or confiscation of property or equipment by any Governmental Authority, nuclear or other explosion, radioactive or chemical contamination or ionizing radiation, fire, tornado, flooding, earthquake or other natural disaster, riot or other public disorder, epidemic, quarantine restriction, strike, labour dispute or other labour protest, stop-work order or injunction issued by a Governmental Authority and governmental embargo. Additionally, under Article 17 of the contract titled ‘Indemnification’ the City shall reimburse the Concessionaire (SCS) against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages and losses arising out of or in connection with any claim, action, motion, petition, summons, writ or other proceeding made against the Town Clerk, the Mayor and councillors of the City of Georgetown which results in the delay in the performance or frustration of the agreement. This means that City Hall can be made to absorb the
The parking meter project can be extended to time lost from the three month suspension losses suffered by SCS as a result of the suspension. As it relates to taxes being charged on this indemnity, the agreement states that if such payment due from the City is subject to tax (whether by way of direct assessment or withholding at its source), the company shall be entitled to receive from the City such amounts to ensure that the net amount received, after tax, is the same as it would have been were the payment not subject to tax. Last Friday, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan had ordered the suspension of the project for three months which places SCS in a position to exploit the option they have under the contract to extend it in order to recover income it would have earned save for government’s intervention. The Communities Minister ordered the suspension, saying that the M&CC were in default of its functions with respect to the by-laws governing the project. His order was issued days after Cabinet would have requested him to advise City Hall to suspend the project. According to Minister of State Joseph Harmon on
Friday, the suspension is to allow City Hall to conduct consultations with citizens and to make adjustments to the contract. After carrying out Cabinet’s request, Town Clerk Royston King wrote the Minister informing him that the suspension would not be possible since it would result in a breach of the contract between the City and SCS. In his letter, Royston King told Bulkan that the M&CC would not be in a position to face the legal, economic and other implications of a breach of the contract. Ultimately King had asked for more clarity on Cabinet’s recommendation to facilitate a full discussion by the Full Council of the M&CC on the issue. As a result of the suspension order, Deputy Mayor and Acting Mayor Sherod Duncan had said via a Facebook post that under his authority as Mayor, he would be calling for an extraordinary meeting of the council to deliberate and decide on the matter. Based on reports, this extra-ordinary meeting will be held today in the Chambers of City Hall at 14:00hrs.
Jagdeo cannot hide... (From page 3) benefit of the public as a whole. “If they neglect or misconduct themselves by their actions in the course of their duties, this may lead to a breach or abuse of the public’s trust. The act of the Cabinet members for their benefit is serious enough to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust.”
that she had misappropriated funds acquired from the sale of land left in her care, a vote of no- confidence was moved against the President of the Guyana Bar Association, Gem Sandford- Johnson. The Bar Association President allegedly misappropriated funds acquired from the sale of a property belonging to USbased Guyanese, Elsa Eileen Harper. Harper had filed a writ in the High Court through Attorney -at- Law, Ronald Birch-Smith last month. In the court document, the woman was requesting that Sanford- Johnson pay outstanding monies from the sale of property amounting to $32.5M. According to the statement of claim, Harper, who is unmarried and has no children, had suffered a stroke and became incapacitated. As a result, SandfordJohnson was instructed by Harper to sell immovable property owned by her at 246 Forshaw Street, Queenstown Georgetown. Sanford-Johnson was therefore appointed Power of Attorney of Harper’s property. According to initial court documents the Bar Association President afterward entered into an agreement of sale for the
Controversial Bar Association President, Gem Sandford-Johnson property to Paul Daby Jr. and Michelle Daby for the sum of $35M on June 15, 2015. But, following the sale, the plaintiff said that SanfordJohnson only wired to the plaintiff the sum of US$11,838.81 which amounted $2,486,150 of the total GY$35M. The ailing woman had claimed that she has since been unable to reach SanfordJohnson. A source close to the issue explained that shortly after the allegation surfaced, Mrs. Sanford – Johnson was asked for explanation from the Bar Association as it regards to the matter but she offered none. As a result, the executive members called a special meeting and the no-
passed after it received full support from the executive. However, according to the information reaching this newspaper, Sanford – Johnson has refused to step down. The source further explained that “as President of the Bar Association, if you are implicated in any form of malfeasance, the honourable thing to do, would be to step down.” However, Mrs. Sanford – Johnson has been adamant in her bid to remain in the position. Consequently, the source added that at least three members of the executive committee have since left the Bar Association. “The members would have resigned as matter of principle; no one wants to sit under someone in which they have no-confidence.” Efforts made to contact, Sanford –Johnson for an official comment have proven futile. However in an affidavit in response to the claims, Sanford-Johnson had denied the allegations. She instead claimed that she could not locate the plaintiff, since she moved across the United States. The Bar Association head therefore contended that she was unable to pay the monies because she had not known (Continued on page 9)
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Kaieteur News
Degeneration of the family structure will hinder national development - Pres. tells congregation at SDA church
President David Granger being presented with a copy of the Andrews Study Bible by Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Barbara Reynolds President David Granger yesterday attended the rededication service of the refurbished Central Seventhday Adventist (SDA) Church. This event was also part of the activities organised to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Seventh-day Adventism in Guyana. The Head of State congratulated the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and took the opportunity to urge the church to work to strengthen the institution of the family by ensuring that men recognise and understand their responsibilities and that women are treated as equals. “Men must provide for their children, they must become the cornerstones of happy homes. Men can help
to raise happy families by showing respect and responsibility towards their wives and their children… The church is essential to social cohesion and improving family-hood and it can do so by reinforcing the mainstays of fatherhood,” the President said. Turning to husbands and fathers, he made an impassioned plea for them to recognise and respect the equality of women and to become more conscious of conduct; reminding them of how actions such as abandoning their children can lead to a complete collapse of the family and consequently, the society. “The family is cradle of life; the citadel of safety and the classroom of the culture of loving, sharing and
forgiving… fatherhood and motherhood play complementary roles in family-hood. Happy families are the foundation of a happy nation. Happy families will lead to happy communities; happy communities will lead to strong regions and strong regions will build a strong nation,” he said. Speaking of the church and its doctrine, the President said that the determination and dedication of its pioneers over the past 130 years have made Adventism one of the leading Christian denominations in Guyana. He reminded that Adventism is part of the Protestant movement, which began some 500 years ago. From as early as 1883, that (Continued on page 12)
Region Ten still “tied” to mining By Enid Joaquin Chairman of Region Ten Rennis Morian, is once again touting agriculture and by extension agro-processing as the surest ways to bring both economic relief and ensure food security in Region Ten. He has however acknowledged that it is not an easy task, as he has come to realize that most residents are still “tied” to bauxite mining. In a town with some seventy percent unemployment, Morian, since attaining office a year ago, has been touting agriculture as the way to go. For one who finds the time to farm in his own backyard, despite having a packed schedule, this should come as no surprise. Morian said that the Region is currently exploring all avenues of support that could be channelled towards the agricultural drive. He added that recently he would have sent correspondence to a number of embassies including the Chinese Ambassador, who responded positively. “When I first came (into office) I felt the way to go was by promoting agriculture, so we started out by giving out seeds to small groups. However that did not work.” Not one to give up easily, Morian has set his eyes on the bigger picture, which is commercial agriculture. “Its two things we are doing right now; one is to get people’s mind off of mining wean them, so to speak, and get them into agriculture by showing them the importance of planting.” The Chairman said that presently the Region is “looking at Ebini in the Berbice River.” He noted that Ebini possesses the kind of acreage needed for large scale
But Chairman Rennis Morian not giving up in push towards agriculture agriculture, but acknowledged that what is needed there is mechanization. Morian said that part of the discourse with the Chinese Ambassador revolved around acquiring the necessary equipment and agro-processing. According to Morian the Region is also speaking with investors. “We are going to be contacting funders both here and overseas with regard to agro processing.” DECLINE Haslyn Small, an agricultural science teacher attached to the Mackenzie High school, in a recent interview said that over the y e a r s a g r i c u l t ure has declined significantly in Linden and Region Ten, despite efforts to diversify the local economy. Small drew attention to certain areas where the Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP) had done infrastructural works to boost agriculture in the Region. However, little is being done in these places. “Agriculture is not just throwing a seed in a hole, and saying you plant it, you have to take care of it - nurture it. Also what we need to have done is an in-depth study or analysis of the various soil types to determine the kinds of crops that would be best suited to particular soil types.” In alluding further to the decline in this sector, Small pointed to the once thriving dairy farm at Moblissa, which several years ago produced the popular LIDCO pasteurized milk. Small said that the National Agriculture
Research Institute (NARI) had worked with the Caribbean Agriculture and Development Institute (CARDI) to develop the LIDCO enterprise. The flagship LIDCO project at Moblissa involved a 4,000-acre dairy farm that was reportedly complemented by 25 private satellite farms. The project later became defunct, due to various challenges. DEMONSTRATION FARM A Demonstration Farm was established at Moblissa several years ago, in a drive to boost agriculture. Unfortunately, today the facility remains just another defunct project. It was established on the property of a local farmer by LEAP. According to LEAP sources, the initiative for the Demonstration Farm was birthed after a preliminary survey identified a number of constraints inhibiting agricultural growth in Region Ten. Among some of the constraints were difficulties in acquiring plant material, insect and other pest infestation, poor methods of storage after harvest, and insufficien t technical support. The establishment of the facility on the twenty acre farm had, as its primary objective, the alleviation and eradication of most of those challenges facing farmers. Other objectives included the improvement and management production capabilities of Region Ten farmers, through the provision of technical support such as access to research and training facilities.
Monday March 20, 2017
University of Guyana Press to be established …School of Business inches closer to formation
UG’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Ivelaw Griffith at right sharing a light moment with Ian Randle, Board Chairman of Ian Randle Publishers. The University of Guyana will soon be establishing its own press as part of the institution’s renaissance programme initiated by Vice Chancellor Dr Ivelaw Griffith. This was announced by the VC during his remarks at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Annual General Meeting, on Thursday at Duke Lodge, Kingston. Later that day at a Renaissance Lecture organised by the institution, Griffith signed an agreement with Board Chairman of Ian Randle Publishers of Jamaica, Ian Randle, to establish the University of Guyana Press as the publishing arm of UG. According to Griffith, the Press will create an outlet for the scholarly work of faculty and student researchers. The agreement is to take effect on April 1, 2017 and last for an initial three years. At the event, Griffith said that the establishment of the Press is both history-making and an important part of enhancing the brand of the university. It is expected that the first UG Press titles will be available before the end of 2017. The Press will publish both books and journals. These will include ‘Transition’, a journal that has had troubled publication history. Also, there is to be a ‘Journal of Entrepreneurship’ which will be linked to the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, and a ‘Journal of Diaspora Engagement’. During Thursday’s GCCI AGM, Griffith had said that the ‘Journal of Entrepreneurship’ will be done in a manner that allows business executives to write about their experiences as entrepreneurs both on a practical and academic level. He said that the process towards making the school a reality began in October last year, whereby the feasibility study team conducted two days of consultation with members of the business community, civil society and
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educational institutions. “The work of that feasibility team has advanced to the point where they were able to submit the first draft of the report four weeks ago, and we did what is an important element in getting that School of Entrepreneurship. We went to people in the community to share the draft report, collect feedback before we make the ultimate recommendation to the university council who has the authority to establish the school.” Griffithsaid that the University is a significant player in the society, with the construction of the social, economic and political architecture. He said that the country has become accustomed to the university being significantly sponsored by the government and not from other stakeholders. “Those days are over. We cannot look to the government to be the most significant contributor only and continuously. We’ve got to broaden the base, bring under the tent every other possible stakeholder. The business community in my view is a significant shareholder in the educational investment of the University of Guyana.” Further, Griffith said that on March 30, 2017, he will be taking to the university council a proposal to formally establish that school.
“I’ve identified the person who will be the founding Dean of that school; he is a member of the feasibility team, a professor of business in Maryland. I’ve identified the person to be the Assistant Dean of that school, Diana Gobin who is the Assistant Dean of Social Sciences.” The VC said that movements are currently being made to identify a property to house the school and other entities. He said that the curriculum to be used for that school is one which would be resonating with the needs, interests and realities of the business environment. He said that the curriculum will be founded on the practical interface between theory and life experiences. According to Griffith, the experiences of established local businesses would be used to design case studies. He said that these experiences are many in Guyana and around the Caribbean, but have not been catalogued or inventoried. “We want to ensure that the students that come to the school know a little about successes and failures of companies in Guyana, companies in the Caribbean. We are going to be designing a curriculum where the cultivation of the practical learning experiences is going to be part of the design.”
No-confidence motion... (From page 7) where the woman had relocated. The Guyana Bar Association is an umbrella organisation under which several members of the local bar are collectively represented. Part of the Association’s mandate is to deal with all matters affecting the legal profession and to take such action thereon as may be deemed expedient to promote, preserve, regulate and protects its interests. According to the mission statement, the organisation is to act as a representative of the Bar and to answer questions and lay down the ground rules regarding the etiquette and practice of the legal profession and to uphold the rule of law. Gem- Sanford Gem was elected President of Bar Association on May 27, 2016. Her term in Office is expected to last for a period of one year. As part of her work, Sanford- Johnson had said she intended to put on the front burner the issue of prescriptive rights.
VAT AGAIN! The Guyana Revenue Authority reported this week that the Peeper was being erroneous when he suggested, in previous columns, that Value Added Tax (VAT) was applicable on medical services at private hospitals. The GRA pointed to the publication of the list of exempted items to show that this was not the case. I leave it to the public to decide whether it was the intention of the government to impose VAT on medical services including doctor’s consultations and hospital fees. I refer to the Budget Debate and specifically the 49th Session of the 11th Parliament. The record for that session reports a PPP/C member of parliament, in his presentation, asking the government to state how much money it would make by imposing the 14% VAT on medicines and health services. The opposition MP also demanded to know the economic impact, including on the poor, of such measures. The PPP/C MP said that the imposition of the VAT on health services and medicines would have a negative impact on public health gains, including the fight against HIV, since VAT would be placed on condoms. A government Minister in response said as follows and I quote, “I want to say to this House that there is a public hospital which is free, that offers all the services to the poor people of this country. If anybody wishes to go to a private hospital it means the person has money. If you want to have
cosmetic $2M expense at the dentist, then you must pay VAT.” I leave it, as stated before, to the public to decide whether the government was denying that it was imposing VAT on medical services or whether it was justifying the proposed imposition of such taxation on medical services. Now that we have heard from the GRA that there is no VAT on medical services, the question has to be asked as to whether the government has backed down from imposing VAT on medical services. The answer to that question has implications for the VAT on private education, because almost the same justification was used in relation to VAT on private education. It was stated that public education is free and therefore does not attract VAT. In other words, if you cannot afford to pay the VAT on private education, you have a choice to attend public schools. This is similar to what was said about VAT on private medical services. There was hardly any
mention in the Budget debates about VAT on private education. But as mentioned above, comments were made about VAT on medicines and medical services provided by private health care providers. There are two main implications involved. The first is to question whether the imposition of VAT on private education is a substitution for VAT on private health care services. The government should clarify this issue by stating what its original intention was, when the Budget was first tabled. The second implication is that if it was indeed a situation in which the government has backpedaled from imposing VAT on private health care, then the same can now be done for VAT on private education. The government does have the power to revoke VAT on private education.
Monday March 20, 2017
PAGE 11
Kaieteur News
Guyana tribe goes hi-tech to protect its land
Kanashen is Guyana’s first community-owned conservation area
The Wai-Wais have been trained to use technology to record eco data. By Gemma Handy Eleazer Mawasha speaks haltingly. English is not his first language, and Skype not his preferred method of communication. An elder of Guyana’s WaiWai people, Mr. Mawasha is more familiar with the sounds and rhythms of the rainforest with which its indigenous inhabitants have enjoyed a profound spiritual relationship for thousands of years. Using the chat app during a trip to Georgetown is not the only foray into modern technology for members of the South American nation’s smallest tribe. Amerindians have been scrupulous caretakers of the environment for millennia and, as the rest of the world evolves, so too have their practices for monitoring and protecting natural resources. GPS in the jungle Wai-Wais in the remote southern district of Kanashen have been trained in the use of cutting-edge software, smartphones and GPS to gather data and assess carbon stocks, thanks to a pioneering two-year project by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Mobile phones are nothing new, even in this isolated area on the fringes of the Amazon Basin, a punishing six-day journey by tractor and boat from the nearest town. But the way they are being used to navigate the forest and record eco data, marks a significant departure from tradition. “Our people used to manage the community just on our own. But since WWF came in and trained our young people, we manage it far better than before,” Mr. Mawasha explains. “We did not have instruments before like GPS; we used to cut lines so we didn’t get lost in the jungle,” he says, referring to the practice of hacking a trail through the trees with a machete. “We are very happy with
the training. We tell our young people we have to care for our environment to keep it for the next generations,” he adds. Area of global importance Spanning 2,400 sq. miles (3,850 sq. km), Kanashen is Guyana’s first communityowned conservation area, managed exclusively by the Wai-Wai since 2004. It falls within the Guiana Shield, one of the oldest formations on the Earth’s surface and considered globally important due to its vast swathes of pristine rainforest, fresh water reserves and rich biodiversity. Its dense forests absorb three times the carbon dioxide of their Peruvian counterparts, playing a crucial role in the fight against global warming, says WWF’s Chuck Hutchinson. The project was developed as part of an agreement with Norway which gives Guyana money in exchange for keeping deforestation low. Participants in the 10week training course were chosen by community leaders to function as environmental monitors. They learned how to use technology to measure and gather carbon stock samples, keep track of fish and food supplies, and also oversee a series of community wellbeing initiatives ranging from school attendance figures to a happiness index. “The Wai-Wai went all over their titled land, gathering data so we can be really accurate in assessing how much carbon they have in their forests,” Mr. Hutchinson tells the BBC. “That involved choosing a specific area, measuring
every tree and recording the species, and collecting leaf litter samples to be sent to the US for analysis.” Because the size of the uninhabited land is so large, the Wai-Wai are pivotal in identifying precisely what is forest and what is not. Satellite images are not always accurately interpreted so they do what we call ‘ground-truth’,” Mr. Hutchinson says. WWF Guianas is now rolling the scheme out to more indigenous communities who, collectively, hold title to 16% of Guyana’s forests. “There are 116 titled communities in Guyana and most of them have forest. They decide what they want to monitor. “In addition to the benefits they receive personally, they are making a valuable contribution to the overall data Guyana produces,” Mr. Hutchinson explains. Lush forest still covers almost 85% of the country’s landmass; the trees’ low market value when chopped down and sold as timber has been their saving grace. Guyana’s economic future lies in payments it receives from other countries to maintain its forests and helps reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases, Mr. Hutchinson believes. “A hectare conserved here is worth three times more than a hectare conserved elsewhere. The value of the carbon is only going to increase as climate change worsens,” he continues. Guyana’s president, David Granger, has placed pursuing a “green” economy
at the top of his agenda, establishing a new department of environment and describing Guyana as a “proud partner” in international efforts to protect the Earth’s environment at
last year’s UN General Assembly. “Guyana has enormous opportunity with its resources and small population,” Mr. Hutchinson adds. “It’s vital to hold on to
these forests. “If we don’t, it’s the poor people that suffer. There’s a saying, when elephants fight it’s the grass that suffers. They are the people who will bear the brunt.”
Bandit killed in Blygezight shootout with car occupants An unidentified bandit was killed shortly after midnight yesterday during a shootout with the occupants of a car at Belvercourt, Blygezight Gardens. The driver identified as Nicholas Sam, 40, was reportedly shot in the arm. Police said that the shootout occurred shortly after the bandit had attempted to rob one of the passengers who was being dropped off in the area. The individual who shot the would-be robber is said to be the owner of a licensed firearm. According to reports, the three friends had left the Giftland Mall, and headed to Blygezight Gardens, where one of them resides. It is alleged that the resident had just exited the car and was heading to his gate when a man with a gun approached him.
- passenger wounded On seeing this, the driver reversed, and the bandit shot in the direction of the vehicle, hitting the driver in the arm. One of the passengers who was armed with a licensed handgun, returned fire, hitting the bandit in the chest. He succumbed at the scene. Police recovered a .32 pistol alleged to belong to the slain man, along with seven .32 spent shells and a cellular phone. Meanwhile, at Tabatinga, Lethem, police yesterday arrested a 34-year-old resident with an unlicensed shotgun and three live cartridges. The resident was detained at his home.
PAGE 12
Dorothy Irwin chronicles Guyana’s colonial past through her parents’ eyes “Years of High Hopes” is the first book by US-Based Guyanese Dorothy Irwin which captures the experiences of her parents, both citizens of the United States, living in Guyana during the 1950s. Although born in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana) the author was raised in the US and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. Irwin wrote the book using letters and diary entries written by her parents, Howard and Marian Irwin, between 1952 to 1956. Both parents were college graduates who moved to British Guiana. Irwin’s father taught biology at Queen’s College, which was a boys’ school at the time, while his wife Marian was comfortable being a housewife. At the book’s launch held on Tuesday at the Georgetown Club, Donald Trotman read his review of the literary work and explained that the book could be divided into four conveniently understandable categories – autobiography, biography, history, social and political. He said that the letters relate the experiences in British Guiana of a couple, from apparently wealthy American families, who came to live in an underdeveloped tropical country where the amenities for comfortable living were not as readily available as those to which they were accustomed. According to Trotman, the experiences recorded in the letter were graphic and detailed, extending to events outside of the home, capturing the feeling and spirit of the ‘Guianese’ people and objectively observing the social, political and economic conditions of the still colonised country. He identified Irwin’s mother as the central character of the book, since it is to her readers will keep returning when the vitality of narrative has to be sustained. “It is to her that we look for a searching account of the nuances, attitudes and
Monday March 20, 2017
Kaieteur News
The front cover of the book: “Years of High Hopes: A portrait of British Guiana, 1952 to 1956 from an American family’s letters home” mannerisms of Georgetown middle class society, more particularly the genteel ladies of the city’s superficial social and cultural elite. And it is to Marian that we must return to get a bird’s eye view of an objective observer of the political and economic landscape of British Guiana in the nineteen fifties.” Trotman said that Irwin’s experience and expertise acquired in her career in the publishing industry in the US, has enabled her to compose the collection of letters which comprise the book, in a way that makes it seem as though she was living through the experiences recorded by her parents. He said that the book ends appropriately and effectively with a nostalgic epilogue recollecting Irwin’s return to Guyana in 1994 with her father. He said that the concluding piece evidences a physical and extrasensory connection by the author with
a place which she could not have recognised from memory, since she was only five months when she was last here. However, Trotman said that Irwin’s emotional intelligence lets her know that it was and will continue to be a part of her being and place to which she belongs, wherever she may happen to be. Dorothy Irwin has spent her career in the publishing industry first as a project manager for design studios and editorial packagers producing educational books, then as copy chief for magazines such as ‘Saveur’, ‘Bon Appetit’ and ‘His Old House.’ The initial copies of the book which were brought to Guyana have almost sold out. An additional shipment will be arriving shortly and persons interested in purchasing a copy can make contact with Mr Terry Fletcher on 227-2571 or 6871205.
Degeneration of the family structure... (From page 8) International Tract and Missionary Society began dispatching religious literature to British Guiana and within the first 25 years of the introduction of Adventism, five churches were established with Central SDA being the first in 1887. Today, there are a total of 216 SDA churches countrywide. “The success of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is attributable to its reputation, not only of preaching the word but also by practice of good works,” President Granger said. Meanwhile, President of the Guyana Conference of the SDA, Pastor Richard James commended the Head of State for his unwavering efforts to unify Guyanese. “We would like the President to know that we are
praying that he will continue to keep the torch of unity and integration burning brilliantly in this dear land of Guyana,” he said. Starting with the establishment of the Ministry of Social Cohesion, the Government’s policy to improve race relations and to bring about greater equality among all Guyanese has not only received overwhelming stakeholder support but is also gaining traction as people are becoming more involved in the wider conversation on national unity. Only last Thursday, Guyanese from the 10 Administrative Regions were engaged in discussions at a workshop on Social Cohesion Strategic Plan 2017-2021, which will essentially serve as the roadmap to bridging the existing gaps in the diverse Guyanese society.
Consultant calls for comprehensive reform of sex education Peace and Governance Practitioner, Lawrence Lachmansingh, has joined the bandwagon of persons calling for a comprehensive reform of the sex education curriculum in schools across the country. Even though the education system has adopted the abstinence approach, Guyana’s appallingly high rate of teenage pregnancy is a clear indication that somewhere along the line, something is not working. As many await the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry being done into the public education system, Lachmansingh is adding his two cents on what needs to be done to remedy the inadequacies. “Sex education should not just be about the mechanics of sex…my parts and your parts, and how the two parts fit, and what happens when the two parts fit,” Lachmansingh said. During the most recent Women and Gender Equality Commission forum held at Carifesta Sports Complex, Lachmansingh made the call for the sex education curriculum to be adjusted to cater for “Sex and Relationships. “…because, the sex is in the context of two persons who care about each other, having a relationship, and how that relationship is nurtured and cultivated so that it can deal with all of the implications of sex.” Lachmansingh, who is also part of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Roman Catholic Church, pointed out that very recently, the United Kingdom even tweaked its age old sex education approach to cater for the ever-growing issues affecting particularly adolescents. “It is not happening in this country,” he added. Lachmansingh is among many who share the belief that a complete transformation of the sex education programmes in school can be the answer to tackling Guyana’s very high teenage pregnancy and child mortality figures. “We see today children are making children, and often times their bodies are not ready, and this contributes to our child mortality figures,” Lachmansingh pointed out. Closely behind Dominica, Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Caribbean, with the Greater Georgetown community of Sophia leading the country’s figures. Last year, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association conducted a ‘snap survey’ which focused on sexual trends among the
The survey indicated too, that 30 percent of the respondents received information about sex from their parents and via other means; while a mere nine percent received theirs via the school system. GRPA had promised during the release of the study almost a year ago, that efforts would commence to conduct a larger study on the issue, and then be used as data to further urge the government to act on the issue.
Peace and Governance Consultant, Lawrence Lachmansingh adolescent and youth population in the country. The survey, which was carried out in eight of Guyana’s ten administrative regions, highlighted that more than 50 percent of youths are sexually active. Some 42 percent of the 392 respondents of the survey were sexually active. They were between the ages of 16 and 18. Worryingly, some 35 percent of them were under
BETTER PERSONS, NOT JUST ECONOMIC AGENTS In addition to reforming sex education programmes, Lawrence Lachmansingh is also among those who share the view of Education Minister, Rupert Roopnaraine that the current education system is only fuelling many of the country’s social frustrations. “It is forming us to be just economic agents of development…basically, you’re just doing education to get a job,” Lachmansingh said.
Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the country the age of consent, which is 16. Approximately 53 percent of the surveyed youths were engaging in sexual activity while they were still in school. The document, which was presented by Social Activist, Sherlina Nageer, highlighted that males were having sexual encounters earlier than their female counterparts. A very disturbing fact and one that should have been a massive alarm to authorities, is the fact that that some 20 percent of the respondents reported that they were either raped or coerced into sexual activity. The gathering of students, teachers, parents, media operatives and Health Ministry officials, including then Minister, Dr. George Norton, heard that of 20 percent, 26 percent of them were coerced while they were under the age of 12, while 61 percent of those doing the coercing were over the age of 18.
He added, “the best researches out there have shown that the education system we need, is one that forms the whole person…understand the arts, appreciate culture…travel, get out of your comfort zones, do physical things like sports…scouting,” the Peace Consultant added. He is of the firm belief that education should go beyond the classroom. “We need to form young people in such a way that they can be better persons. Not just economic elements.” Meanwhile, Dr. Roopnaraine has often promised to use his tenure as Education Minister, to massively transform the system and the way children are molded. This is one of the reasons behind the Ministry’s Education Commission of Inquiry which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. (Rehana Ahamad)
Monday March 20, 2017
Kaieteur News
Workers in public, private sectors brace for…
MORE JOBS LOSSES Trinidad Guardian Workers, particularly in the public service, are bracing themselves for the announcement of more job cuts or the decision by the Government to not renew contracts in the coming months. The fear comes amid a second quarter 2016 report from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) that the labour force had decreased by 16,200 people since 2015, when the Central Bank announced the country was in a recession. This figure cannot be attributed solely to retrenchment or job loss, however data shows ArcelorMittal closed its doors in March 2016, resulting in about 700 workers being sent home; Centrica terminated 200 workers last year; Repsol sent home 11 workers in January; and OAS Construtora laying off over 900 workers in April 2016, would have contributed to those figures. Other companies across varying sectors of the country sent home workers as the contraction in T&T’s economy tore into the b o t t o m line of many companies. With less than three months gone in 2017, the estimate of workers, mostly in the private sector, who faced job cuts is over 300. At the end of January, in the banking sector, RBC had sent home 20 employees from its business development unit. Digicel also signalled its intention to cut staff from its global workforce, and was expected to begin discussions with local staff. At TDC, following the announcement by Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe that the state agency would be dissolved, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) estimated that approximately 200 jobs were on the breadline. In February, Industrial Plant Service Ltd (IPSL), the
Dr. Keith Rowley
Jennifer Baptiste
company that operates the five methanol plants at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate for Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Ltd, wrote to Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus indicating its intention to mothball two of the methanol plants and send home over 100 employees who were deemed “aggregate surplus”. On Thursday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that the Government Human Resources Services (GHRS) and Caroni Green Limited would be closed down in the coming months. He said there were other state enterprises which would also face closure. He said some of the agencies were guzzling state funds. On Friday, Minister of Public Administration Maxie Cuffie, in a sympathetic release, announced that GHRS had been closed, a decision that would see 35 employees displaced. Rowley said a few dozen workers would be affected by the closure of Caroni Green, but former agriculture Devant Maharaj said the actual figure will be 100 employees—20 administrative staff and 80 daily-paid labourers. On Friday, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan, who said in Parliament that some contracts would not be renewed at National Infrastructure Development Company Limited, said it was
likely that manpower at other enterprises would be adjusted as well. “I was quite clear. We are doing a manpower audit and based on that audit, we will determine what is needed going forward.” Asked which other agencies, divisions or enterprises were seeing similar audits done, Sinanan named Licensing Office and the Public Transport Service Corporation. “It’s about rightsizing,” Sinanan said, adding that the manpower audit in some cases should indicate an increase of staff was needed, as expected in the case of the Licensing Office. “Licensing Office will have to increase staff. PTSC board will make sure we are rightsized. We are looking at staffing. If we have to be efficient, we must have the right amount of staff. Certain areas we have an abundance of staff and certain areas there are shortages.” In an interview on CNC3’s Morning Brew on Friday, former finance minister Mariano Browne said the critical issues in an adjustment process was equity, longevity and benefits. “This is not the first time we have gone through this type of drought. It’s very much like the 1980s.” Browne said Government needed to tell people what the hard decisions were that needed to be made. He said the country was now waking up to the fact that this was a difficult exercise and this was the new reality. He said though the state of affairs were difficult, the country had been in this position for a little while. Browne also spoke about Petrotrin, indicating that it may be heavily overstaffed. Petrotrin itself has more than 5,000 employees, with an annual wage bill of $1.9 billion. Government has appointed an oversight committee to make recommendations at Petrotrin.
Trinidad PM vows to bring back hangings PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Following the discovery of the decomposing body of a 22-year-old policewoman who went missing, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has made it clear his government will be taking whatever steps are necessary to resume hangings. The PM said he was pained by the tragedy and, noting that the country was traumatized by the spate of murders, said his government would seek to revive the death penalty. “I am a firm believer in capital punishment and it is not as a result of any deterrent, it is the punishment for the crime,” he said. The last execution in Trinidad and Tobago was on July 28, 1999 when Anthony Briggs was hanged for murdering taxi driver Siewdath Ramkissoon during a robbery seven years earlier. (Caribbean360)
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Monday March 20, 2017
Kaieteur News
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 677-7827, 6435122 ,EMAIL:PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL: PICKUP, 9-11 SEAT MIN BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPOTR & FAMILY OUTING, CHEAPEST RATE . Call: 698-7807
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Visa Processing Centre: all visitors and students visa for USA & Canada. MicroGraphics, Vreed-enHoop. Call: 264-3057 HEALTH Have your health checked through iridology- Monday April 3. Call Hazel’s Herbal Store: 226-9136 Continued on page 23
Monday March 20, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Smoothly but warily, U.S. and China stick to script in Tillerson visit Reuters - Despite a long list of potential pitfalls, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to China, the first by a senior member of the Trump administration, passed off relatively smoothly although there were no tangible gains to show. On the positive side, there was none of the awkwardness of the kind seen in Washington as President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held the first summit meeting between two of the West’s biggest allies. Even a tweet from Trump criticising China the night before Tillerson landed in Beijing did not, at least in public, create any discord. As Tillerson wrapped up his visit yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised his “active efforts” in making a smooth transition of the U.S.-China relationship to the Trump era. Tillerson and the Chinese officials he met – Foreign
Minister Wang Yi and State Councillor Yang Jiechi – struck a positive note, only hinting at differences in their positions. “For setting up a new tone, it’s a good start,” said Sun Zhe, the co-director of the China Initiative of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “It seems that Donald Trump’s administration is coming back to the normal track, trying to work with China to solve problems.” No formal agreements were announced in the visit, although the two sides said they would work together on North Korea and countering its rapidly developing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Wrapped up in the tightly scripted proceedings, however, was a sense that the world’s two biggest economies were warily testing each other out as the new administration settles down in Washington. They
Scottish leader softens stance on possible independence vote timing Reuters - Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday softened her stance on the potential timing of a second independence referendum after Prime Minister Theresa May rejected her call to hold a vote before Britain leaves the European Union. Sturgeon had called for a referendum to be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 but after May said “now is not the time”, the Scottish leader said she could be prepared to hold a vote later as long as it was not too long after Brexit. “It is for (May) then to say what timescale she thinks would be appropriate and then yes I am happy to have that discussion within reason,” Sturgeon said during an interview with ITV. Asked if a vote in 2021 would be reasonable, Sturgeon said it would not because too much time would have lapsed after Britain’s EU exit, due in late March 2019, and there could have been too much divergence in areas such as regulations. “Then gets much harder for Scotland to seek a different course. But if she is talking in the spring of 2019, a bit later perhaps than I was suggesting then there may be some room for discussion around that,” she said. Sturgeon’s comments came as a Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times, carried out
Nicola Sturgeon since her announcement that she would seek a fresh referendum, put support for independence at 44 percent, while 56 percent backed staying in the United Kingdom. It also found 51 percent of Scots did not want a vote on independence within the next few years. Ruth Davidson, the leader of May’s Conservative Party in Scotland, said any vote could not take place until “after the Brexit process has played out” so that the Scottish people know what choice they face. “I don’t think you can have an independence referendum again if you don’t have public consent for it and the people of Scotland don’t want this,” she told the BBC TV. “The SNP is not Scotland and they are acting against the majority wishes of the people of Scotland.”
seemed to be reserving airing of differences for another occasion. The potential points of conflict are many, some inherited and some that have come up since Trump took office in January. The United States has started to deploy missile defences in South Korea that China views as a threat, Washington believes Beijing could do more to rein in Pyongyang’s weapons programmes, and prominent Trump administration officials and Trump himself have bashed China’s trade practices. China’s currency policy and the row in the South China Sea have been bugbears for years. Even Tillerson said during his confirmation hearing in January that China had offered “empty promises” to pressure North Korea but had failed to do so, and that it had “proven a willingness to act with abandon in the pursuit of its own goals.” But the proceedings in Beijing were kept firmly devoid of tensions as both sides worked on laying the groundwork for an expected meeting between Trump and
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with U.S. State of Secretary, Rex Tillerson at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, yesterday. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Xi in the United States later this year. William Cohen, a former U.S. defence secretary, said Tillerson’s visit was important for both sides. “The symbolism here is going to be as important as the substance,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of a
conference in Beijing. “Because the substance will come later.” One Beijing-based Western diplomat said it was in Xi’s interests to be nice to Trump for now as China does not want any distractions or external instability ahead of a tricky leadership transition at
a key Communist Party congress in Beijing, likely in October. Tillerson’s visit to Asia he went to Japan and South Korea before China - was closely watched. A former chief executive of Exxon Mobil, the 64-year-old has no previous experience as a diplomat but nonetheless has had deep exposure to dealing with foreign leaders in countries with interests opposed to or in competition with those of the United States. China has had at times confrontational relationships with Tillerson’s predecessors, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, and did not like being lectured by them on human rights in particular. Last year, while at an annual strategic China-U.S. dialogue in Beijing, Kerry expressed concern at Beijing’s controversial law on foreign non-governmental organisations and about human rights problems in China. Clinton was seen in Beijing as the architect of the U.S. “pivot” to Asia, something China was deeply suspicious of.
Pressure builds on Trump to back off wiretap accusations Reuters - U.S. lawmakers from both parties said yesterday they had seen no proof to support the claim by Republican President Donald Trump that his predecessor Barack Obama had wiretapped him last year, adding pressure on Trump to explain or back off his repeated assertion. Several Republicans last week urged Trump to apologise for the allegations he made in a series of tweets on March 4. The maelstrom also caused tension with key U.S. allies and threatens to distract Republicans from campaign promises on health care and taxes. “I don’t know the basis for President Trump’s assertion,” U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I do believe he owes us that explanation.” Collins said she supported Trump as president, but she wouldn’t side with him if he “misstated what the facts are.” FBI Director James Comey is expected to be asked about Trump’s claims when he testifies at a rare public hearing today about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Russia has denied the assertion it
President Donald Trump was involved in hacked emails and other attempts to influence the race. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee holding the hearing, called Trump’s claims “patently false” and said he expected Comey to say as much today. The Justice Department on Friday delivered documents to congressional committees to help clear up whether the Obama administration spied on Trump. Republican Representative Devin Nunes, who leads the House intelligence panel, said after receiving the material, he saw
no evidence of wiretapping. But Nunes, who served on Trump’s transition team, joined the White House in seeking to shift attention away from the controversies by calling for investigations of leaks to the news media. Nunes said on “Fox News Sunday” that leaks to reporters about former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn were criminal and that his panel was probing whether other names were leaked. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his associates had ties to Russian officials. He fired Flynn last month after reports he had discussed sanctions with Russia’s ambassador before Trump took office, without telling other White House officials. “The one crime we know that’s been committed is that one: the leaking of someone’s name,” Nunes said. “Were there any other names that were ... leaked out?” Nunes also said ahead of today’s hearing he had seen “no evidence” of collusion between Russia and Trump’s team. But Schiff, the panel’s top Democrat, said there was enough “circumstantial evidence” that he still had questions.
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Monday March 20, 2017
Kaieteur News
PM Browne defiant in face of alleged retaliatory action from the US Daily Observer - Prime Minister Gaston Browne has accused the Government of the United States of America of firing what he considers a retaliatory shot at Antigua & Barbuda for his rebuff of a recent Department of State report on the country. He told the Parliament Friday that the US Embassy in Bridgetown indicated that it would “discontinue doing due diligence” on applicants for Antigua & Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP). “I was told that only this morning; the CIU [Citizenship by Investment Unit] got a call from the Embassy in Barbados … so I imagine that is their way to fire back at us,” Browne reasoned. The seeming reprisal has augmented the prime minister’s defiance; with him warning that the embassy’s
decision will not derail him from standing up and saying what is the truth. “I prefer to resign than to have a situation where they make me into a stooge,” he told the Parliament. Last year, fears about insufficient screening of candidates had prompted the government to declare that the embassy was vetting them. When the embassy responded to OBSERVER media’s queries back then by saying that each state offering the CIP should conduct its own due diligence, many people interpreted this to mean that the US authorities were not involved in the process. The document, which ignited the prime minister’s indignation on Thursday, is the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
Gaston Browne (INCSR) 2017 on Antigua & Barbuda. The text is scathing in its assessment of several of the country’s programmes, including the CIP, which is described as being among the most lax in the world.
We don’t need the IMF – Yet, Barbados PM declares
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The International Monetary Fund is not on the agenda of the Barbados Government, an adamant Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has declared. On the heels of warnings from his predecessor Owen Arthur that the stressed economy urgently needs a helping hand from the Washington-based financial institution to stave off a $3.3 billion debt crisis, Stuart dispelled the notion that the island was so poorly off that it had no other option. He made it clear that if and when the island had to go that route, he would not cower. “I have heard all of the talk in Barbados; I heard the member for St Peter say [Tuesday] that we should go into an IMF programme and so on. I want to make it very clear, I spoke to the Chamber of Commerce in January, and I said there will be no panicky resort to the IMF by the present Government of Barbados,” Stuart said yesterday in his contribution to the debate on the Estimates and expenditures for 2017/ 2018. “If the stage is ever reached where it has to happen, as with the case of [then Prime Minister] Tom Adams, as with the case of [then Prime Minister Erskine] Sandiford, this Prime Minister will have the courage to look the country in the face and say, ‘look, here is what the facts are, here is what I think
Freundel Stuart we have to do for the good of this country’. But that is not an agenda item of this government at this stage.” Arthur had argued that the island could not afford to turn its back on the opportunity to have its debt restructured under a Fund programme, pointing out that it could get as much as $750 million at one per cent interest. The noted economist also proposed that the island end its currency peg to the United States dollar, since it was doing more harm than good. “Our currency is pegged to the United States dollar that is not going down in value but is going up in value, and it is making Barbadian exports more expensive – not
because we want them to be more expensive but because of how our currency is pegged. Our currency is also making it more expensive for investors coming from the United Kingdom and Germany to be able to make investments in Barbados,” Arthur warned. But again rejecting the advice of the former leader, Stuart insisted the $2 to $1 peg had served the country well since 1975. “It has made our business transactions certain; our business people have been able to rely on it, our citizens have been able to rely on it. It is true that the US dollar has been strengthening against other currencies in recent times, but that has happened before and that can change as well,” he said. Prime Minister Stuart also went on to defend his Government’s printing of money, saying while it would not continue forever, there was too much at stake to abruptly stop. “These things are not new. They are not desirable in the context of our overall macroeconomic aspirations, but sometimes they become necessary. And you only have to ask yourselves, ‘if they are not done, what the consequences will be for the society?’” he said. (Caribbean360)
Someone once said that division is caused more by impatience than by a conflict in creed.
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Monday March 20, 2017
Monday March 20, 2017
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‘An undeniable contribution’ Trinidad Express Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has described late Nobel laureate Sir Derek Walcott as an “inspiring voice of Caribbean people”. In a statement, PersadBissessar said: “It was with deep sorrow that I learned of the passing of worldrenowned poet and Nobel laureate Sir Derek Walcott.” Walcott died on Friday morning at his home in St Lucia. He was 87. PersadBissessar recalled: “Born in St -Lucia, Sir Derek spent a considerable part of his life in Trinidad and Tobago, after moving to this country in 1953. He spent many years here as a playwright, theatre and art critic, and founded the Trinidad Theatre -Workshop, along with his twin brother, and other internationally acclaimed performers. “He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1992, and at the time, the prize committee cited him for ‘a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Nobel laureate Sir Derek Walcott
outcome of a multicultural commitment’.” Persad-Bissessar said of Walcott: “Through his poetry and literary works, Sir Derek has served as an inspiring voice of Caribbean people, eloquently portraying the vivid tones and colourful language of people of this region to the world. “His contribution to Caribbean literature is undeniable, and he has left an indelible impact on the global
literary community. For me, I have often returned to Sir Derek’s poetry, and each time I am stirred by his -emotive and passionate verses.” She said: “On behalf of my family and the members of the Opposition, I extend -deepest condolences to the Walcott family. “Sir Derek has left a legacy of living life passionately, and the words of one of his -poems is fitting today: ‘feast on your life’.”
Think again, guys…
‘Butch’ Stewart suggests giving half of TEF funds to Govt. Jamaica Observer Gordon “Butch” Stewart, Jamaica and the Caribbean’s most powerful hotelier, Saturday departed sharply from his colleagues, suggesting that half of the funds from the cash-rich Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) be given to the Government for the next five years. “I think it does us no good at this time to be inwardlooking while the country is in such great need,” Stewart said, urging the members of the umbrella Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) to rethink their position against allowing the cash-hungry Administration greater use of TEF money. Stewart, whose Sandals Resorts International (SRI) operates more hotels here than any other organisation and is responsible for a significant chunk of the monies allocated to the TEF, implored the industry to at least agree with him that “this is a time to put Jamaica first”. “I would like to see the tourism industry sharing and giving back more to the country,” Stewart said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, of which he is the chairman. “We in this industry have benefited from living in a beautiful island which is the basis of the creation of a viable sector.
Gordon “Butch” Stewart The country needs us now more than ever.” Stewart, the SRI founder and chairman, spoke passionately in favour of the TEF being used to respond to the tight squeeze in which the Jamaican economy finds itself, the same day that news reports had tourism spokesmen chiding Government for policy changes to draw more funds from the TEF, among other cash-healthy agencies, into the Consolidated Fund. The hoteliers were also angry that the policy changes were announced as part of the 2017/18 budget exercise without a sit-down with them first to agree the specific parameters. There were apparent fears among them that the TEF resources might not be used in a way that was
beneficial to the tourism industry, based on bad experiences previously. Stewart’s suggestion that the tourism industry gives back half of the estimated annual take of US$75 million in the TEF mirrors his SRI policy of giving back as much as possible through extensive outreach, like the wideranging on-the-job training anchored in the Sandals Corporate University and the Sandals Foundation started by his son and SRI CEO Adam Stewart which is ensuring “a better day for thousands of Jamaicans”. He recalled that last year he had lent his support to an increase in the departure tax up, to US$35 per visitor, under which the Government could source more revenues to help meet the needs of the Jamaican people. And he noted that although the tax was US$20 at the time, devaluation of the local currency in which it was collected had reduced the value to the equivalent of US$12 or $13. “I quite understand the concerns and the needs of our own sector. But right now, I would be very comfortable with giving half of TEF funds to the Government because of the overwhelming needs of Jamaica as a whole. I would be very comfortable if the tourism sector took a Jamaica first attitude,” he said
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UNEARNED PAY Germany rejects Trump’s claim it owes NATO and U.S. ‘vast sums’ for defence A CONCERN Daily Nation - In one statutory corporation alone, Government is paying almost 80 workers for jobs they cannot perform while also battling cases where employees are on sick leave for as many as 300 days in a year. But this could be just the tip of the iceberg in the public service and state-owned corporations. The matter came to light on Friday night during debate in the House of Assembly on a $9.2 million supplementary for the Ministry of the Environment as the amount assigned in the 2016/2017 Estimates fell short. Minister of the Environment Dr Denis Lowe revealed that $6 million was going to pay wages and salaries for Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) employees for the
Dr Denis Lowe period January to March 2017, as well as pay down on money owed to the National Insurance Scheme. An additional $3.1 million is going for a similar purpose to the National Conservation Commission (NCC).
UN Haiti cholera fund still falls short despite British aid
Antonio Guterres United Nations (United States) (AFP) - A new appeal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for funding to help Haiti’s cholera victims has fallen short, with only Britain responding to the call, UN officials said weekend. With only two percent of the needed $400 million raised, Guterres had written to all member-states last month to appeal for aid to Haiti, where more than 9,000 people died of cholera in a 2010 epidemic. Britain was the only country to come forward, pledging $622,000. That amount will be added to earlier contributions to the UN fund from South Korea,
France, Liechtenstein, India and Chile — totaling about $2 million. Canada and Japan have separately granted about $7 million to help Haiti. The United Nations is hoping to raise $400 million over two years to reduce the current cholera caseload of 30,000 to 10,000 by the end of 2018 and provide clean water and sanitation. Only 25 percent of Haitians have access to toilets. In his letter, Guterres had asked member-states to come forward with pledges by March 6 and said that if not enough was raised, he would be looking for other solutions. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the search for funds to help Haiti continues. “We will continue our efforts to mobilize the funds necessary to this new approach to cholera in Haiti in order to diminish the incidence of cholera in the country and support Haitians most directly affected by the disease,” Dujarric said. Former UN secretarygeneral Ban Ki-moon was forced to apologize to the Haitian people after tests showed that cholera was introduced by infected Nepalese UN peacekeepers sent to Haiti after a devastating 2010 earthquake. The United Nations insists it is not legally responsible for the damages and invokes diplomatic immunity from lawsuits linked to the cholera outbreak.
Reuters - German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen yesterday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States “vast sums” of money for defence. “There is no debt account at NATO,” von der Leyen said in a statement, adding that it was wrong to link the alliance’s target for members to spend 2 percent of their economic output on defence by 2024 solely to NATO. “Defence spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against IS terrorism,” von der Leyen said. She said everyone wanted the burden to be shared fairly and for that to happen it was necessary to have a “modern security concept” that included a modern NATO but also a European defence union and investment in the United Nations. Trump said on Twitter on Saturday - a day after meeting German Chancellor Angela
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (R) and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (C) listen to German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel during a joint meeting of European Union foreign and interior ministers at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal Merkel in Washington - that the powerful, and very Germany and other NATO Germany “owes vast sums of expensive, defence it members to accelerate efforts money to NATO & the United provides to Germany!” to meet NATO’s defence States must be paid more for Trump has urged spending target.
Hardline priest’s elevation a sign Modi is moving towards Hindu India
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yogi Adityanath (C) is offered sweets after he was elected as Chief Minister of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, during the party lawmakers’ meeting in Lucknow, India. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar Reuters - A saffron-robed Hindu holy man was sworn in yesterday to lead India’s most populous state, sealing what appears to be a shift in course by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that could redefine the world’s largest democracy as a Hindu nation. The choice as Uttar Pradesh chief minister of YogiAdityanath, a firebrand Hindu ascetic with a history of agitation against minority Muslims, stunned observers who said it marked a departure from the platform of development for all on which
Modi rose to national power in 2014. “Modi is saying India is a Hindu country and shall remain so,” veteran journalist and commentator Shekhar Gupta told Reuters. “Hindus will rule, so you had better behave.” A spokesman for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) however said the government did not make any distinction between citizens on the basis of religion. Adityanath, 44, was elected by state lawmakers on
Saturday, a week after the BJP won a landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh by mobilising the Hindu vote. The BJP won the biggest majority for any party in the state legislature in 40 years. He took the oath of office at an open-air ceremony in the state capital Lucknow on Sunday, before shaking hands with Modi and other BJP elders who attended. After the ceremony, Modi said in a tweet: “Our sole mission and motive is development. When U.P.
develops, India develops.” The BJP fielded no candidates from the Muslim minority that makes up 19 percent of the population in a state with a population of 220 million that is home to 15 percent of the world’s poor. If it were a country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world’s fifth-most populous. India’s 1.3 billion people are about 80 percent Hindu and 14 percent Muslim, with the rest made up of Christians, Sikhs and other minorities. It is officially a secular nation, but the BJP has for years fought elections on a Hindu nationalist agenda, with party members in the past being accused of making anti-Muslim statements to polarise Hindu voters. “Modi and the BJP had promised the poor of India good times to come,” said Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, editor of the Economic & Political Weekly. “When they fail to create jobs, revive the economy or lift investment, they are going to fall back more on the majoritarian agenda.” Modi, in his victory speech after the Uttar Pradesh triumph, had called for the creation of a “New India” by 2022, effectively staking a claim to a second term at the general election that is due to be held in two years.
Monday March 20, 2017
Kaieteur News
Man United punish struggling Boro despite Mourinho’s pessimism
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Chase powers Pride to massive win
Off-spinner Roston Chase celebrates another wicket as Windward Islands Volcanoes slump to defeat on Sunday. (Photo courtesy WICB Media) Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia scores their third goal. (Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic) (Reuters) Manchester United moved up to fifth in the Premier League yesterday with a 3-1 victory away to struggling Middlesbrough, who sacked manager Aitor Karanka on Thursday. Jose Mourinho had said his team would “probably lose” because their current fixture congestion would lead to fatigue, but despite missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Wayne Rooney and Ander Herrera, they counter-attacked well. Belgium international Marouane Fellaini headed them in front after almost half an hour’s play for his first league goal of the season and Jesse Lingard scored the second just after the hour mark from 20 metres. Boro’ substitute Rudy Gestede pulled a goal back with 12 minutes left, but in added time goalkeeper Victor Valdes slipped, allowing Antonio Valencia to score a third United goal. Middlesbrough, by far the lowest scoring team in the league, have still not won a league game in 2017. With United going into the game unbeaten in the league since October, there could hardly have been a greater contrast between the two sides’ form. By halftime Mourinho’s side had made twice as many chances and taken the lead. Valdes, after saving with his legs in quick succession, from Rashford and Valencia, was caught in no-man’s land when Ashley Young
crossed for Fellaini to head home. It was the Belgian’s first in the league since December 2015. The second goal came from a classic break after regaining possession. The home defence stood off for too long, allowing Lingard to run on and score with a fierce drive from just outside the penalty area. Boro’ did show greater attacking intent than in many games this season and pulled a goal back when Chris Smalling failed to clear and Gestede poked in from close range. Any hopes of a dramatic recovery were dashed, however, when Valdes fell over lining up a clearance and Valencia was able to walk the ball into an empty net. Mourinho praised the “attitude and desire” of his players. “Our guys gave absolutely everything and were magnificent,” he told BT Sport. Victory made United the first club to record 600 wins since the Premier League began in 1992. They moved to within three points of fourth-placed Liverpool while Boro, who have scored only three league goals this year and 20 all season, remain bottom but one. Sunday 19th March 2017 Results: Middlesbrough 1 - Man Utd 3 Tottenham 2 – Southampton 1 Man City 1 – Liverpool 1
Middlesbrough’s Rudy Gestede scores their first goal. (Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith Livepic)
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC — Parttime off-spinner Roston Chase grabbed a career-best seven-wicket haul as Barbados Pride crushed embattled Windward Islands Volcanoes by nine wickets inside three days, to pick up their second straight win of the newly restarted Regional four-day championship here yesterday. The hosts quickly wrapped up the Volcanoes innings for a meagre 71 after the visitors resumed the day at Kensington Oval on 34 for five, and then raced to their target of 41 for the loss one just one wicket, to complete victory half-hour before lunch. Left-handed opener Anthony Alleyne struck a quick-fire 26 from a mere 15 deliveries, with three fours and two sixes, before he was stumped off off-spinner Liam Sebastien. Only last weekend at the same venue, Pride inflicted a heavy innings defeat on Leeward Islands Hurricanes, also inside three days. A mere three runs ahead at the start of Sunday’s penultimate day, Volcanoes needed a miracle to push the game into the final day but no such materialised as Chase, beginning the day with two wickets, took all five to fall
to finish with seven for 22. Fast bowler Miguel Cummins failed to add to his tally, ending with three for 47. Sebastien perished in the day’s fifth over after adding just eight to his overnight five, lbw to Chase pushing forward and Kyle Mayers followed in the bowler’s next over, edging a defensive prod to Ashley Nurse at slip to depart without scoring. Roland Cato, unbeaten on two at the start, was eighth out for seven with the score on 55, taken at short leg by Shamarh Brooks before Kenroy Peters fell to a catch at mid-on without a run added. Shane Shillingford then belted two fours and a six a top score of 16 before holing out to square leg. Scores: VOLCANOES 293 (Devon Smith 103, Keddy Lesporis 59, Tyrone Theophile 44; Kemar Roach 4-22, Jomel Warrican 4-69, Ashley Nurse 2-7) and 71 (Roston Chase 722, Miguel Cummins 3-47). PRIDE 324 (Kevin Stoute 61, Shamarh Brooks 42, Roston Chase 39, Shane Dowrich 38; Sherman Lewis 3-56, Shane Shillingford 398) and 41 for one (Anthony Alleyne 26).
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Kaieteur News
Jadeja boosts India’s victory Golovkin edges Jacobs chance after Pujara double by decision to defend titles
Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets before stumps, India v Australia, 3rd Test, Ranchi, 4th day,©Associated Press RANCHI, INDIA (Reuters) Cheteshwar Pujara compiled an epic double century and Wriddhiman Saha hit a career-best 117 to deflate Australia and put India in a strong position on the fourth day of the third test yesterday. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja then brightened India’s victory prospects dismissing David Warner and nightwatchman Nathan Lyon cheaply to reduce Australia to 23-2. Matt Renshaw was batting on seven at stumps with Australia still 129 runs behind and under considerable pressure to save the match. “Obviously we’ve got to save the game,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann told reporters, lamenting the two late losses. “Once the ball gets a little bit softer it plays pretty well, so there’s no real demons in the track. “It’s a case of obviously applying ourselves much like Pujara and Saha did today,” he added. Earlier, Pujara became the first Indian batsman to face 500 deliveries in a test innings, spending more than 11 hours at the crease for his marathon 202 on the penultimate day of the contest. Resuming the day with India 91 runs behind Australia’s first innings total of 451, Pujara and Saha
frustrated the tourists and batted through the first two sessions to forge a 199-run seventh wicket partnership. Both fell in the final session trying to accelerate with Australia looking pretty jaded by then. Pujara faced 525 balls in his tireless knock, capitalising on the exceptionally fast outfield to score 21 boundaries at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium, which is hosting its first test. Pujara was given out lbw to a sharply turning Nathan Lyon delivery when on 157 but he managed to prolong Australia’s misery by using review to get the decision overturned. The 29-year-old took a single off Lyon to bring up his
third double century before falling to the off-spinner. Saha matched Pujara’s doggedness at the other end after surviving a couple of reviews earlier in the day. Playing his second test more than five years after his first, Australia paceman Pat Cummins (4-106) nearly completed a five-wicket haul when Saha was given out legbefore. The batsman immediately reviewed and replays suggested the ball would have missed the stumps. Saha also got a reprieve on 51 when his fellow wicketkeeper Matthew Wade spilled an edge. The stumper-batsman ducked well under the bouncers from Cummins and took a single off Glenn Maxwell to complete his century which drew his team mates in the dressing room on their feet. Once past his hundred, he too went for quick runs and fell to Steve O’Keefe who bowled a staggering 77 overs for his three wickets as Australia endured a tough day in the field. Down the order, Jadeja clobbered a couple of sixes in his brisk unbeaten 54 to rub salt into Australia’s injuries, celebrating his fifty by twirling his bat like a sword. Home skipper Virat Kohli called his batsmen in as soon as they crossed the 600-run mark and unleashed his spinners on Australia to drive home the advantage. “I am very confident our spinners will bowl really well. There is rough, there are cracks...” Pujara told Star Sports channel. The four-test series is tied 1-1 with Dharamsala hosting the final match from Saturday. Scores: Australia 23 for 2 (Jadeja 2-6) and 451 trail India 603 for 9 dec (Pujara 202, Saha 117, Vijay 82, Rahul 67, Cummins 4106) by 129 runs.
NEW YORK (Reuters) Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, the most fearsome knockout artist of this era, was pushed to the limit by Daniel Jacobs before retaining his world middleweight titles by decision at Madison Square Garden. Jacobs, known as “Miracle Man” since coming back from bone cancer five years ago, ended the unbeaten Golovkin’s streak of 23 knockouts in a row in a battle that went to the scorecards for the first time since 2008 for the Kazakh champion. Two judges scored it 115112, with the third making it 114-113 in favor of Golovkin, who retained his WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO middleweight crowns. Golovkin knocked Jacobs down in the fourth with a double dose of rights, but as the fight wore on Jacobs confused the Kazakh by sliding into a southpaw stance, scoring on stinging combinations, holding his own against the dangerous power of the champion. After a cautious, feeling out in the first two rounds, the bout blossomed into a fascinating battle with the fighters engaging freely in a thrilling duel to the finish that almost produced another
Gennady Golovkin throws a punch at Daniel Jacobs during middleweight world championship fight at Madison Square Garden. (Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports) Jacobs’ miracle. Golovkin improved his record to 37-0, while Brooklyn native Jacobs dropped to 32-2. “I respect Danny Jacobs and very good job and clean job,” Golovkin, who used a stinging left jab to set up his power shots, said in the ring after the decision. “Danny Jacobs is my favorite fighter. Clean, good quality, very good fighter.” Jacobs proved to be the toughest test yet for Golovkin, matching exchanges, using his bigger body to advantage and firing off big combinations against the tiring champion late in the bout. The American thought he
had taken the decision. “I think I won the fight,” the New Yorker said. “I think I won by two rounds at least. “They want the big fight, and Daniel Jacobs got X’d out. I won the fight and I won the decision and all I can do is be gracious in the decision.” Jacobs said he stood right up to Golovkin after hitting the canvas early in the bout. “After the knockdown I told him (he) had to kill me (to beat me),” said Jacobs. “When I got up I thought this is all he has? There were many times during the fight I went toe-to-toe because I knew I could.”
Federer tops Wawrinka in all-Swiss Indian Wells final
Roger Federer (SUI) celebrates at match point as he defeated Stan Wawrinka (not pictured) 7-6, 6-4 in the men’s final in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
Cheteshwar Pujara is pumped after reaching his double hundred, India v Australia, 3rd Test, Ranchi, 4th day,©Associated Press
(Reuters) A revived Roger Federer beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-5 in the BNP Paribas Open final yesterday to earn a recordtying fifth Indian Wells title and distinction as the tournament’s oldest winner. The win by the 35-year-old Swiss master, who made a stunning return from a six-month layoff by winning the Australian Open in January, capped an impressive run in the California desert in which he did not lose a set the entire way. The rematch of the Australian Open semi-final saw the close friends hold
serve until the 10th game of the opening set when Federer, ahead 5-4, outlasted Wawrinka in a thrilling 21-shot rally for the service break. Wawrinka, who was making his first appearance in an Indian Wells final, broke right back and held serve to move ahead 2-0 in the ensuing set but Federer never wavered. Federer now joins Novak Djokovic a fivetime winner at the event and becomes the oldest champion in the tournament’s history, surpassing Jimmy Connors who was 31 when he triumphed in 1984.
Monday March 20, 2017
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Kaieteur News
Digicel Regional First-Class cricket
Maiden 50 from Shepherd and 7-wkt haul from Permaul leaves Jaguars scenting early win today By Sean Devers in Trinidad In association with Cascadia Hotel, Stag Beer & Vnet Communications Twenty-seven year-old Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (7-48) and a maiden fifty from 22-year-old all rounder Romario Shepherd who hit an unbeaten 53, put the Guyana Jaguars in an impregnable position at the end of the penultimate day of their seventh round Digicel Regional First-Class cricket game against the T&T Red Force yesterday at the Queen’s Park Oval. Resuming on 246-8, the Jaguars led by three useful partnerships reached 330 all out from 124 overs as Raymon Reifer (55) shared in a 46-run eighth-wicket stand with Permaul (24) and 26 for the ninth wicket with Shepherd. Shepherd and 19-year-old Kemo Paul (27) then added 53 for the last wicket as the tail wagged. Reifer’s 10th fifty lasted 152 balls and was decorated with six fours, while Shepherd faced 85 balls and reached the boundary six times in his entertaining innings and Paul clobbered three fours and a six in cameo 34 ball 27. Off-spinner Bryan Charles (4-91) collected his second consecutive four-wicket haul, while pacer Marlon Richards (4-57) and leftarm spinner Khary Pierre (2-36) did the damage for the Red Force who were dismissed for 183 despite 40 from Isaiah Rajah, leaving the Jaguars 55 to win in a minimum of four overs yesterday and all of today. The Jaguars were 3-0 when stumps were draw with Shemron Hetymer (2) and Rajendra Chandrika (1) hoping to give leaders Guyana
Romario Shepherd confidently hits Marlon Richards back over his for four yesterday.
an early 10-win today. Permaul celebrated his t20 West Indies selection with his 21st five-wicket haul at this level, while leg spinner Devendra Bishoo was way below his best in this game but still managed 2-68. The Red Force, 128 behind, lost their leading run scorer Kyle Hope (0) bowled by Reifer with the second ball of the innings and by Lunch were 1-1. After the interval, Evan Lewis and Isaiah Rajah consolidated the position with a 48-run second wicket with Lewis being the aggressor. Lewis was scoring freely, but after pulling Bishoo for six, top edged a pull from a short ball and was taken at short mid-wicket as he gave his wicket away next ball when well set. His 25 lasted 40 balls and included two fours and two sixes.
Isaiah Rajah counterattacked short pitched bowling by Rormario Shepherd with pulls and hooks during his fighting 40 yesterday.
Raymon Reifer is about to loft Bryan Charles, who took 4-91, to cover to end his valuable 58 yesterday.
Rajah stroked Permaul for an elegant cover boundary but when Permaul induced the Red Force’s most experienced batsman Jason Mohamed to edge to the Keeper before he had scored, the hosts, with both Hope and Mohamed gone, were in deep trouble on 52-3 on a track offering plenty of assistance to the spinners. Watched by a disappointing Sunday crowd on another steaming hot day, Rajah and Yannic Cariah battled away on the lightening fast outfield with Rajah counter-attacking the short balls from Shepherd with hooks and pulls and when shepherd bowled short and wide, latched onto him slapped him like a bullet to the point boundary. Cariah pulled Permaul behind square and as conditions became overcast the partnership was getting annoying for the Jaguars with Cariah devouring a long-hop from Bishoo and blasting it to the boundary. Rajah was trapped LBW to Bishoo off the last ball before Tea at 91-4 as the Jaguars broke the 39-run stand which was threatening the Jaguars’ march to victory. After the break, Imran Khan and Cariah took the score to 123 before Cariah was LBW to Permaul for 30 after facing 69 balls and reaching the boundary twice. Khan hammered Bishoo over mid-wicket for four and Steven Katwaroo dumped him for a similar boundary before Katwaroo (4) was trapped in front as the Red Force were quickly becoming a spent force at 129-6 with a lead of just one run. It was soon 140-7 when Khan (28) was caught behind off Permaul but Richards and Pierre prolonged the anticipated defeat with Richards belting Bishoo for four and lofting Permaul for six. But Permaul captured his fifth wicket when he had Richards LBW for a run-a-ball 25 with two fours and a six to leave the score on 1728. Pierre (18) smashed Bishoo for consecutive boundaries before Permaul removed him and Anderson Phillip (0) to leave the Jaguars to get 55 runs to win. Earlier, Shepherd stroked Richards to the extra cover boundary, hit back over his head for two and edged him all along to third man for another boundary as he dominated the partnership with Reifer who was kept on tight rein by Charles. Shepherd, who scored a hundred in the GCB league, elegantly on-drove Richards past mid-on for four and repeated the shot in Richards’ next over for the same result before the left-handed Reifer skied Charles to cover at 273-9. Paul, batting with an injured finger, joined Shepherd and seemed comfortable against the all spin attack as Imran Khan replaced Richards.
Paul backed away and cut a short ball from Charles behind point for four before using his feet sweetly and on-driving the next ball for an exquisitely executed boundary as the total raced 297. Paul slog-swept Charles to the mid-wicket boundary to post the 300 in the 115th over as the pair, both genuine all-rounders, grew in confidence the longer they batted. The pair of the next generation of West Indies cricketers provided the Jaguars with a 100 lead and Shepherd celebrated the land mark by flicking Khan delicately for four as the last wicket partnership flourished. Paul effortlessly hit Khan over long-on for six and Shepherd swept Khary Pierre for four to bring up his m fifty. Paul, who hit three fours and a six in 27 from 37 balls, was bowled by Pierre, 13 minutes before Lunch leaving Shepherd unbeaten on 53.
SCOREBOARD RED FORCE 1st innings 202 JAGUARS 1st Innings (overnight 246 for eight) S Hetmyer c Pierre b Charles 15 R Chandrika c Cariah b Richards 17 D Bishoo c wkp Katwaroo b Richards 39 A Fudadin c & b Charles 57 *L Johnson c wkp Katwaroo b Richards 7 V Singh c Mohammed b Pierre 22 R Reifer c Richards b Charles 55 +A Bramble lbw b Charles 4 V Permaul lbw b Richards 24 R Shepherd b Pierre 53 K Paul not out 27 Extras (b8, w1, nb1) 10 TOTAL (all out, 124 overs) 330 Fall of wicket: 1-27, 2-47, 3-136, 4-144, 5149, 6-196, 7-201, 8-243, 9-273, 10-330. Bowling: Richards 25-10-57-4, Philip 9-1-340, Charles 37-8-91-4, Imran Khan 25-1-88-0, Pierre 13-0-35-2, Mohammed 15-5-17-0. RED FORCE 2nd Innings *K Hope b Reifer 0 E Lewis c Fudadin b Bishoo 25 I Rajah lbw b Bishoo 40 J Mohammed c wkp Bramble b Permaul 2 Y Cariah lbw b Permaul 30 I Khan c wkp Bramble b Permaul 28 +S Katwaroo lbw b Permaul 4 K Pierre c wkp Bramble b Permaul 19 M Richards lbw b Permaul 25 B Charles not out 1 A Phillip lbw b Permaul 0 Extras (b5, lb2, w1, nb1) 9 TOTAL (all out, 57.5 overs) 183 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-48, 3-52, 4-91, 5-123, 6-129, 7-140, 8-172, 9-183, 10-183. Bowling: Reifer 5-1-21-1, Permaul 25.5-9-48-7, Shepherd 8-0-33-0, Bishoo 16-2-68-2, Johnson 3-0-6-0. JAGUARS 2nd Innings (target: 56 runs) S Hetmyer not out 2 R Chandrika not out 1 TOTAL (without loss, 4 overs) 3 Bowling: Richards 2-0-3-0, Phillip 2-2-0-0. Position: Jaguars require 53 runs for victory with all 10 wickets intact. Toss: Red Force. Umpires: P Nero, G Lloyd.
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Monday March 20, 2017
South Georgetown beat East G/town Bangladesh secure first win against Sri Lanka in 100th test in thrilling one run victory GCB/DMLAS/MOE/NSSCL
South Georgetown Combined and East Georgetown Combined competed fiercely in yet another exciting Guyana Cricket Board/ Demerara Mutual Life Assurance Society/ Ministry of Education/ National Secondary School Cricket League match, which was played Saturday last at the Enmore Community Centre ground, on the East Coast of Demerara. South Georgetown won the toss and elected to bat, posting a challenging total of 182 all out off 35 of their allotted 45 overs. At one stage, South Georgetown appeared set to bat East Georgetown out of the match, as Stephon Wilson secured 74 with 6 fours and Tuen Hicks 42 with 3 fours, enabling their team to score at a run rate that should have clearly given them a total in excess of 250 runs. However, the superb bowling of Devon Allen 3 for 22 off 6 overs and Wayne Bollers 2 for 48 off 9 overs, gave the East Georgetown team a much needed boost in the field. The South Georgetown batsmen found East Georgetown’s bowling resistance somewhat challenging to surmount, as they were eventually restricted for less than 200 runs, with as much as ten available overs remaining. This fact of the remaining overs, suggested that South Georgetown’s aggregate score could have been more mammoth had their batsmen applied a higher
level of tolerance, by being more selective in their stroke play and by placing more emphasis on rotating the strike, as against hitting boundaries. In reply, East Georgetown stepped to the crease confidently, with a batting display that seemed to equal their opponents’. This evidence was exhibited as Nkosi Beaton smashed the balls to all parts of the ground, reaching 74 with 6 fours and 1 six, in flamboyant fashion. Beaton was well supported by Osafa Greene 23 and Ameer Singh 21, as they made South Georgetown, panic, choke and stumble along their quest to secure victory. However, South Georgetown managed to hold their nerves to pull off a one run thriller, as the last wicket came via the run out route. Bowling for South Georgetown, Jamal Michael grabbed 3 for 33 from 9 overs, Shadrach Bacon 2 for 42 from 7 overs, Mohamed Jameer 2 for 17 from 5 overs. North Georgetown Combined will now do battle with the Rest of Georgetown- South and East Georgetown Combined on Wednesday 22 March, 2017 at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC), Bourda. Today, Upper Demerara-East Bank Combined will take on West Demerara Combined at the Zeeburg ground from 09:30 hours.
RHTY&SC congratulates Lower C’tyne Secondary School U-17 Cricket Team The Management and Members of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, M.S would like to offer heartfelt congratulations to the Manager and players of the Lower Corentyne Secondary School Under-17 team. The team under the visionary leadership of Kevlon Anderson has reached the finals of the Guyana Cricket Board Secondary School and we would like to wish the team success in the final versus West Demerara Secondary School. The majority of LCSS players are from the RHTY&SC and are the
products of our very competitive and highly successful junior section. The players – Justin Gobin, Joshua Munroe, Vijay Gopilall, Kevlon Anderson, Kristoff Williams, R. Ramoutar and Neil Tilliram are also products of our cricket development programme and the hard work of our dedicated coaching staff led by former national player Delbert Hicks and West Indies player Shemaine Campbelle. National Under-17 player Kevlon Anderson has led the highly talented team by example and to date has scored two magnificent
Entries for Regal Sport Softball close on Friday Teams desirous of participating in the Regal Sport Softball tournament will have up until Friday March 24 to enter as registration closes on the said day. Teams can contact Mahendra Hardyal on 623 2704 or 610 7902 and Russel Jadbeer on 225 4802 for information on registration. The tournament which will commence on March 26 will be contested in the Open and Over-40 categories with the Open being played on a 15-over basis, while the Over-40 will be of 20 overs duration. The small supreme balls will be used for the Open and the white balls will be used for the Over-40 segment; no entrance fee is required. Preliminary matches are set for Everest, GNICSC and DCC with the umpires calling play at 09:30 hrs. The winning teams in each category will take home a trophy and $100,000 and second place a trophy and $25,000. Outstanding teams from this tournament will be selected to compete in the upcoming President’s Cup. Regal Sports, which is a member of the Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, sells sports equipment and the entity, would from time to time give back to young athletes so as to enhance their talent.
centuries and a solid 61 to lead his team to the finals. The outstanding performances of Junior Sinclair and Vijay Gopilall have also been noted by the Management of the Club. Gopilall has worked hard on his game to prove his nonselection on the Berbice Under-15 team was a huge mistake and in the Berbice Finals and National Semifinals took six wickets at an average of 6.25 in an Under17 tournament. We at the RHTY&SC, M.S would continue to support the Lower Corentyne Secondary School and provide the school with cricketers to the highest standard. Our only disappointment has been the lack of media coverage of the entire school competition in Region 6 especially the two centuries scored by Anderson and numerous individual performances by young cricketers across the ancient county striving to establish their fledging cricketing careers. It took the visits of journalists Rajiv Bisnauth and Royston Alkins to highlight the progress of the tournament in Berbice for county finals and National Semi-finals. Good-luck in the finals and we are confident that you would make Rose Hall Town, your school, county and the RHTY&SC, M.S proud by lifting the national championship.
Bangladesh celebrate their landmark victory, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, 2nd Test, Colombo, 5th day,©AFP (Reuters) Bangladesh secured their maiden test win against Sri Lanka, and their second against a major test-playing nation in the last five months, with an eventful fourwicket victory on the final day of the second test at the P Sara Oval yesterday. Playing their 100th test overall, the touring side chased down their target of 191 in the final session to level the two-match series at 1-1. Bangladesh had lost 15 tests and drawn two of their previous 17 matches in the fiveday format against Sri Lanka and Sunday’s victory is undoubtedly their best away from home after they beat England in Dhaka last October. The South Asian nation’s other test successes have come against West Indies, whose glory days are long past and are no longer considered to be among test cricket’s major players, and Zimbabwe. It was a great comeback for Bangladesh after they lost the opening test at Galle by 259 runs to a side that blanked Australia 3-0 at home last year. “The way we are improving, down the line we will win some games,” Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was named player of the series, said. “We are having a very good time at home but it’s time for us to play outside (of Bangladesh) and play well. It’s a very good sign for our cricket that we are improving as a team.” Experienced opening batsman Tamim Iqbal anchored the chase with a stroke-filled 82 after home captain Rangana Herath had picked up two wickets in successive deliveries to reduce Bangladesh to 22-2. Tamim, who hit seven fours and a six, added
109 for the third wicket with Sabbir Rahman before the latter fell for 41. “I think this win started when we lost the match in Galle,” man of the match Tamim said. “We had a long chat with the coach, and the players stepped up.” Shakib, who set up the win with his 116 in the first innings, fell for 15 with Bangladesh still 29 runs away from a famous victory and there were more nervous moments awaiting the touring side. Mushfiqur Rahim was given out leg before but the Bangladesh captain managed to overturn the umpire’s decision on review with replays confirming the delivery was missing the stumps. Herath, celebrating his 39th birthday on Sunday, could not hold on to a return catch offered by Mosaddek Hossain, but later dismissed him for 13 with Bangladesh needing two for the win. “We are bitterly disappointed but it’s part of the game,” Herath said. “I think every single area, bowling, batting and fielding will need to improve. “But this is not the time to talk about it. We will have a discussion later with the coaches.” Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 22 while Mehedi Hasan was not out on two after hitting the winning runs that sparked wild celebrations from the visiting team. Scores: Bangladesh 467 (Shakib 116, Mosaddek 75, Sarkar 61, Mushfiqur 52, Herath 4-82) and 191 for 6 (Tamim 82, Dilruwan 3-59) beat Sri Lanka 338 (Chandimal 138, Mehedi 3-90) and 319 (Karunaratne 126, Shakib 4-74) by four wickets.
Mali asserts right to reform football body in face of FIFA ban (Reuters) Mali will reform its national football authority and not be swayed by its suspension by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, Minister of Sport Housseïni Amion Guindo said in an interview published yesterday. FIFA blocked Mali from international football on Friday after Guindo sacked the executive committee, following allegations of fraud during a leadership election last year. He then appointed a provisional committee and ordered the election of a new executive committee within one year. The decision means the West African country, which stands at 61 in FIFA’s world rankings, cannot play international matches, including World Cup qualifiers, until the dispute is resolved to FIFA’s satisfaction. “We are a sovereign state, which cannot accept to be dragged around by a sporting body, however powerful it is .... Mali also has the right to enforce the rules in its country,” Guindo said in an interview in the official newspaper, L’Essor.
Guindo said the government respected international conventions and was appealing the decision, but its main priority was to find credible people to run its federation. “We understood that FIFA will not be the solution to this crisis and so as an act of sovereignty we decided to dissolve the governing body of the Malian Football Federation,” he said. Djoliba and Onze Createurs, two clubs based in Bamako, the Malian capital, were prevented from playing in African club competition on Saturday and effectively disqualified. FIFA says its member football associations must be able to manage their affairs independently without government interference. The rule is controversial because it means governments are powerless to intervene in their country’s football federation even when they suspect mismanagement or corruption. In addition, African governments often fund their federations.