Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

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

EDITORIAL

A challenging electoral system There is a severe disadvantage when people elect their representatives en bloc as opposed to those who elect theirs following an intense campaign in the various wards and constituencies. The latter is commonly referred to as First Past the Post system in the Westminster system. This Westminster system prevailed in Guyana prior to the 1964 elections. The people who were effectively in control of the society, decided that a coalition of votes would have been enough to prevent the then Premier, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, from accessing the seat of Government. Of course the constitution that prevailed at the time, allowed for coalitions after the election. This is still the case in most other democracies. In many European countries and in Israel there are these coalitions when no party secures a majority at the polls. There are some odd cases. In one case an individual who secured the smallest number of votes actually became the Head of State. This was because he held the balance of power. This was the individual who would have said to one political entity, “Give me the Prime Ministerial position and I will give your party parliamentary power.” This is a most powerful position from which to bargain. The people who are elected must promise to serve the respective constituents. Needless to say, failure to deliver or to keep that promise often results in that person failing to be elected the next time around. This happens even in the United States when the candidates squareofftocontesttheseatsfortheUnitedStatesCongress. In Guyana, there was one interesting fact. The race vote was always there except for the time when national fervor took precedence over anything else. The vote according to the constituents revealed that those areas that were populated predominantly by people of East Indian ancestry voted almost exclusively for the party thatappearedtobepredominantlyIndianoriented. It was the same with those wards that were populated almost predominantly by the other ethnic groups, to wit, the Portuguese descendants and those ofAfrican ancestry. Not much has changed since then except that people vote for a combined slate that allowsnoonetobeheldresponsibleforaparticularconstituency. There is a widely held view that this absence of accountability to the people has resulted in uneven development countrywide. Developmental programmes are centrally planned and often without an input from the people who are going to be saddled with the project. One example has now reared its head. The business community in the capital now says that the Marriott hotel being constructed by the government to attract the high end visitors should not have been a priority. This sentiment was echoed by the political opposition for more than a year. It is sad that it is only now, when actual construction has reached a far way that the people who are most likely to be affected are uttering their contention. It is this same lack of accountability that has Georgetown in the sad state that it is. Gone are the days when people from the various wards sought election to the council to represent their individual neighbourhoods. Georgetown was better for it. There were no haphazard constructions and the building code was strictly adhered to. There were residential areas and specific business areas. That has changed with the result that even the most affluent neighbourhood would have some aberration, perhaps some shop or some derelict vehicle parked on the streets. The day has come when people, if there is to be meaningful development, must take back their communities and be allowed to manage it to the best of their ability. Plaisance decided that it did not want a tower in the middle of its playground and stopped that erection. Some locations in the city are paying for their garbage disposal but that is as far as community involvement goes. We are now talking about restoring the city. The first thing is that we should change the electoral system to one in which the elected would be responsible for a given ward. And the success of this exercise should lead to the needed change in the national electoral system.

Thursday May 09, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

Hypocrisy that defines the DNA of this country DEAR EDITOR, Freddie Kissoon gets it partially wrong in his column “East Indians in Guyana 1964- 2013” (KN, May 6, 2013). Kissoon stated “From 1964, Guyana was a country of contest between an African versus an Indian replicated in the PPP versus the PNC.” The Indian-African, PPP-PNC contest started from the early fifties, not 1964.Kissoon further stated “In 1970, Guyana began to experience a strange and non-traditional cataclysm in its political evolution. With colossal hopes and expectations which came with the fall of colonial rule gradually disappearing, the Guyanese people began to question the democratic credentials of their post-colonial leaders. In what was a phenomenal twist in ethnic politics, the African middle class, African security forces, the rural African peasantry and sections of the African urban strata began to militate against their own government, influenced by a charismatic scholar, Walter Rodney. The beneficiaries of this incredible break in the pattern of ethnic politics were the East Indians.” I disagree with major parts of that statement and believe it must be qualified. Ordinary Indians did not benefit from Rodney’s valour. One could say the PPP leadership benefited, if backstabbing and undermining Rodney counts as a benefit. The period from the formation of the WPA to Rodney’s death is notorious and heinous in our history. This is the period when the PPP and PNC made their boldest efforts to secretly share power against the wishes and without the knowledge of their supporters. This would have created a one-party dictatorship of the PPP and PNC that would have made Stalin and Pol Pot look like altar boys. Thank God we dodged that bullet. What were the reasons for this sudden upsurge of entreaties to power sharing between the PPP and PNC during the heydays of the WPA? Well, the PNC decided to try to weaken the WPA and Rodney by splitting the opposition. Burnham knew Rodney matched and even outshone him intellectually, charismatically, and in terms of fearlessness. Burnham knew that Rodney’s appeal was his ability to win a sizable pool of African support and more critically, African support from the armed forces, which would

weaken Burnham and the PNC and cause it to lose power in any military struggle. In yet another brilliant stratagem that continued his tradition of constantly outplaying, outsmarting and out-thinking the PPP, Burnham decided he had to con the PPP by throwing empty promises of national unity governments and power sharing. This would bring the PPP to the negotiating table and while negotiating with the PNC, the PPP could not support the WPA in any concrete fashion, despite its cosmetic rhetoric to its supporters. B u r n h a m k n e w t h e P P P ’s desperation for power would create this PPP-WPA alienation. He also knew that if the PNC extinguished Rodney in this environment, the PPP with its backing from the majority of the population would not lead any damaging reprisal or resistance or civil disobedience that would imperil the PNC. So, Burnham played the PPP for a fool with facetious power sharing signals or with appeasement of Jaganite agendas such as nationalization. This kept the PPP on a PNC leash and effectively divided the PPP and WPA on the critical issue of joint concrete confrontation of the PNC dictatorship. On the PPP side, the PPP felt the PNC was most threatened with the arrival of Rodney and his capacity to snare a major chunk of African support within time. The PPP was also threatened by Rodney’s militancy, fearlessness and his multi-ethnic message, for Rodney appealed to militant Indians and that minority of younger, progressive Indian voters. The PPP knew Rodney was a game changer simply because of his courage, which was lacking within the PPP leadership. One could view the PPP of the period as a pack of ‘rice eaters’ barking behind fences at the PNC mastiffs patrolling the road, whereas Rodney ventured onto the roadway to confront the PNC bulldogs. So, instead of snatching that momentous opportunity to drive the stake in the PNC, the PPP opted to undermine and backstab Rodney and the WPA by seeking power sharing deals with the PNC that every simpleton knew would never materialize. This is the context of the coincidence of the rise of the WPA and the greatest period of PPP-PNC collaboration and attempts at power sharing. It is also fitting that during this

greatest period of PPP-PNC collaboration and thereafter to Burnham’s death in 1985, the PNC’s t e r r o r, i n t i m i d a t i o n , r e p r i s a l s , imprisonments, constitutional repression, manipulation, abuse and tyranny reached its pinnacle. Finally, Rodney did not, as Kissoon suggests, capture the whole of the “African middle class, African security forces, the rural African peasantry”. Rodney got support of a section of these groups as well as a section of “the African urban strata”. This is because, despite Burnham and the PNC’s abominations and economic devastation to them and regardless of Rodney’s charm, charisma, morality, decency and political appeal, Africans were never going to leave the PNC en masse. Racism and ethnic factors have prevented Indians and Africans from voting for the right things in Guyana. This is the lifeblood of hypocrisy that defines the DNA of this country. When I wrote that race voters have used and discarded third parties, the case of the WPA under Rodney is the most tragic one. That is not to say that Rodney was not naïve and inexperienced and too trusting, but these shortcomings do not absolve the PPP and PNC for their actions. M. Maxwell

Kudos to the malaria clinic staffers DEAR EDITOR, On Tuesday, May 7, 2013, I went to the Malaria Clinic in Georgetown to do a smear test and discovered that hundreds of persons were being processed by an efficient staff - working above and beyond the normal call of duty. These staff members were very polite and courteous, making me feel at home. In this respect I would personally like to compliment each one of them for this splendid service offered and I do hope that my esteemed comrade, the Honourable Minister of Health, will do likewise in amplifying their work in the public domain. Ronald Alexander Drakes Health & Safety Officer B/K Quarries

Absurdities and the figment of a diabolical mind DEAR EDITOR, I read with utter amazement a letter published in yesterday’s (May 8) Kaieteur Newspaper titled; “The mayor is a hypocrite” written by one, Surajkumar Jairam. The abusive letter is inaccurate and devoid of the truth. Briefly, as is the case of a wicked foray to the media by Ms. Carol Sooba, the issue of taxes on my wife’s property is simple and straightforward. From the very beginning, she objected to an unfair valuation and for years sought justice by having it reexamined. When this was eventually done in 2012, the re-examination by the Valuation Division, which is controlled by the Ministry of Finance (of which the

Mayor and City Council has neither jurisdiction nor influence) vindicated her position, since that re-valuation established, beyond doubt, the injustice of the initial valuation upon which taxes are calculated and applied. Jairam may or may not know that for reasons best known to the Central Government, the Rating Appeals Panel has not been functional for all the PPP/C regime. That is, the institution to which rate/tax payers should appeal if they feel that their valuation and therefore rate supply are wrong. The whole issue relies on inaccuracies and distortion brought into the public purview by Ms. Sooba for obvious reasons to detract on her

strange behavior. The second point made by Jairam is an absurdity and the figment of a diabolical mind. There is no squatting on government reserve, the property in question was properly acquired, surveyed and transported, all above board. Jairam and his type are not even aware of the folly and nonsensical statement. How can the Council apply rates and taxes if the property is in a squatting area or reserved? Oh what a tangle web we weave when we practice to deceive. I only reply to this absurd letter because, maybe, some single person may give it some credence. Hamilton Green, J.P.

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

The South African Government’s initial decision has proven to be a terrible miscalculation

DEAR EDITOR, President Jacob Zuma and the ANC-led South African Government’s decision to name Forbes Burnham as a recipient of The Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo Award, South African’s Highest Award, has proven to be a terrible miscalculation. They should’ve known that the backlash from Progressive Pan Africanist Intellectuals and grassroots groups would be swift.

After all, Burnham has long been seen as culpable in the death of Dr. Walter Rodney, one of Africa and the Caribbean’s greatest Pan Africanist intellectuals. The protest to Burnham receiving this award came not only from renowned Pan Africanist intellectual Professor Horace Campbell, but also from groups all over Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, including the September National Imbrizo, an

influential revolutionary group within the ANC. South Africa owes it greatest debt of gratitude to these progressive forces that energized, sustained and popularized the anti-apartheid struggle around the world. Dr. Walter Rodney is very popular among these forces. His book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is celebrated as one of the seminal works on Africa’s liberation, and his social and

GCCI ought to be fair to gain the respect of the people

DEAR EDITOR, Since 2003, the Government had approved the Procurement Act, which allows for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission, in accordance with Section 212 of the Constitution. It has been almost 10 years since this law has been assented to, but it has been either ignored or has been dumped into the archives of Guyana’s laws, since the administration refuses to give it life. If there is a reason as to why the Cabinet under this PPP Government continues to ignore the need to establish the Public Procurement Commission, the people need to know. Section 54 (6) of the Procurement Act states, “Cabinet’s involvement under this section shall cease upon the constitution of the Public Procurement Commission”. So once the Public Procurement Commission is established, the government cannot secretly sign any major deals. In fact, it would be illegal for it to sign any contract if not approved by that Commission. Further, it would be highly improper to even attempt to influence the process and to determine who gets which contract once the body is in place. With people of integrity on that Commission, every single transaction will become transparent and above board, for all Guyanese to observe and question. This means that all competent and hardworking contractors will flourish, while those who are political operators will fade away. Kickbacks to politicians will also subside and so too, corruption. That is why we object strongly to the latest irresponsible outburst and lack of trust from the leadership of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on the budget cuts. Instead of criticizing the opposition, the GCCI needs to make its position public on several issues, including the 2013 budget, which caters mostly to the rich, unabated corrupt practices that are taking place daily in all levels of government, the marginalization of one ethnic group, youth unemployment

which is at an all-time high, and the regime’s refusal to assent to bills passed by Parliament. Further, we challenge the GCCI to make its position public on the government’s refusal to establish the Public Procurement Commission? What is the GCCI’s position on the workers of Guyana securing a living wage? Where were the voices of the GCCI when Guyanese workers were denied their right to work on the Marriott Hotel Project. Does the GCCI believe that the meagre pension of $12,500 is enough for our seniors? We urge the GCCI to re-examine its internal policies. The GCCI in its vision statement claims that it hopes to have “strong influence on relevant government policies”, but it is clear that this is not so. As the oldest body representing the mercantile class in Guyana, the GCCI has a responsibility to understand that if all the gears of development are not turning, the engine of growth will stall. For how much longer must the people continue to live on G$55,000 per month salaries when the average cost to take care of a family of four is over G$85,000 per month? The GCCI has a responsibility to lobby the government, not only for their membership but for the whole nation. If not, they can very well back themselves into a corner where the masses and the opposition politicians can likely deem them irrelevant and ignore their suggestions. So before the GCCI can suggest that the cuts in the budget be restored, let us hear it from Mr. Clinton Urling on what he thinks about the non-establishment of the Public Procurement Commission, the underpayment of the workers of Guyana, and the other aforementioned issues that will help to improve the lives of the majority of Guyanese. The GCCI’s relevance and importance to society depend on how it addresses these issues. It ought to be fair to gain the respect of the people. Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

political thoughts on the liberation of Africa and Africans the world over are celebrated among intellectuals and the grassroots. Therefore, conferring this award on Forbes Burnham would’ve been an affront to the memory of Walter Rodney and his legacy on African liberation. Burnham apologists will attempt to argue that his contribution to the AntiApartheid struggle should be looked at in isolation in determining whether he merits this award. Indeed, during Burnham’s rule, he not only occupied rhetorical space on the question of South Africa’s apartheid conditions, he made some tangible contributions to the cause. However, while Burnham was opposing apartheid rule in South Africa, he was imposing dictatorial rule in Guyana. He oppressed and suppressed fundamental freedoms. He was responsible for rigged elections, ethnic marginalization, and unleashing paramilitary thugs on his political opponents, jailing and murdering them, including Dr. Walter Rodney. Most dictators are known for their glaring contradictions.

Yet their legacies must be looked at in totality, because international recognitions sometimes have the unintended consequences of forgetting their acts and are used to celebrate them. Notwithstanding, the people who argue that Burnham should be given this award because of his consistency in contributing to the anti apartheid struggle are the same people who rightfully oppose the Champion of the Earth and other international awards that are conferred upon Jagdeo. Jagdeo is responsible for some of the worst atrocities during his elected dictatorial rule. I agree that Jagdeo’s domestic excesses should be considered when international organizations decide to give him awards. Jadgeo apologists would argue that Jadgeo, in his position as head of state, promoted and elevated Guyana’s status as an environmental leader. Should we therefore look at his contributions in isolation, while we ignore the many persons murdered during his rule, and the acts of African Guyanese marginalization. Should we

not continually remind the world of this legacy? All heads of States must be held responsible for their acts and these acts have to be viewed not in isolation but in totality. The South African Presidential Advisory Council on National Orders revised its criteria for this award to reflect the spirit of a non-racial, non-sexist democracy, where a culture of human rights prevails. As such, Burnham’s legacy does not merit this award. Nevertheless, it is true that in the past other dictators unfortunately received this award despite objections from groups within their respective countries. The difference is that Dr. Rodney’s legacy is popular enough for the South African Government to stop, listen and reconsider. Hopefully, in the future South Africa is more careful when they choose recipients for the Oliver Tambo award. Furthermore, Guyanese should be extremely proud of the International recognition that Dr. Walter Rodney still maintains for his fight for non-racial, non-sexist and human rights ideals Dennis Wiggins

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Traffic policeman banned, Prosecution expected to wrap up fined for drunk driving case in Fyrish manslaughter retrial A drunken traffic policeman, who has been on the wrong side of the law recently, has found himself in more serious problems. He broke the said law that he had sworn to enforce and ended up being slapped with four charges. In fact, he appeared before the same Magistrate on successive days. Amazingly, he opted to flout the decision of the court within minutes of leaving the court. Lynel Campbell, of Cumberland Public Road, East Canje Berbice, was first charged on Sunday with driving motor car PRR 654 on the Cumberland Public Road, East Canje, Berbice when his alcohol level exceeded the prescribed limit. He appeared on Tuesday

before Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court and pleaded guilty. The policeman stated that he was sorry and was fined $20,000 with an alternative of three weeks in jail. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was further charged with driving without the necessary insurance and was discharged on that matter. However, on Tuesday shortly after leaving the court and although being disqualified from driving, Campbell was seen driving the said motor car PRR 654 on the Canefield Public Road and he still did not have the necessary insurance .He was stopped and told of the

offences and charged. He appeared before the said Magistrate on Wednesday in the Reliance Magistrate’s court and pleaded not guilty and was placed on $10,000 bail. He will have to return to court on July 10. The next charge on the said date and place, he drove the said motor car although he was disqualified from and obtaining a Driver’s licence. He pleaded guilty and was fined $25,000 or spend six months in jail. The defendant in his defence told the court that he had no one to take the car home after his previous conviction. So he drove it himself. He has since been removed from the Police Traffic Department.

2012 budget cuts......AG gets 5 days to file statement of claim Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall will file a statement of claim within five days to show the wrong committed by the Opposition when they made cuts to the 2012 budget. The AG was ordered to do so by Chief Justice Ian Chang when the matter of the Government versus A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Speaker of the National Assembly was called at the High Court yesterday. Representing the Speaker, Raphael Trotman, the first named defendant, are Attorneys at law Khemraj Ramjattan and Christopher Ram; for the second-named defendant, APNU, Deborah Barker and Basil Williams were in appearance. The AG is for the complainant- the Government and Senior Counsel Ashton Chase is appearing for the Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh.After a short period of back and

forth between the two parties on a previously filed issue, it was highlighted that the AG had not filed the statement of claim which would thus lead to a statement of defence from the defendants. Lawyers for the defendants thus agreed that within 14 days they would file a statement of defence. The AG also expressed that within three days he would be ready with a statement of reply. The parties will return to court on June 11 when the AG will begin with his claim. The 2012 budget cuts came to the attention of the courts after the Administration sought legal intervention to replenish the $21B cut from last year’s $191B budget. The AFC and APNU had used their one-seat advantage to slash the Government’s allocation for the country’s agencies, stating either that there was no need for the funds or that there was no result despite the revenue being injected in

certain agencies. Agencies affected were the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), Government Information Agency (GINA), National Communications Network (NCN), the Low Carbon Development Strategy and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). The AG had said that it is the government’s view that the National Assembly, like every other creature of the Constitution, must act and function in the manner provided for and contemplated by the Constitution and opined that this was not done. He had stated, “It is also quite unfortunate that the Honourable Speaker, an attorney-at-law, has seen it fit to conclude that the very decisions of the National Assembly which are the subject of the legal challenge are “legitimate” and that the challenge itself is “unconstitutional”, when these are the very issues that are before the Court for the Court’s determination. By so doing, the AG said that the Speaker violated certain trite and axiomatic legal principles.

The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case today when the third trial of manslaughter accused, Wazim Mohamed, 26, called “Junior” of Mara, East Bank Berbice, continued in the Berbice High Court. Mohamed, who is accused of killing his one-time friend, Russell Nelson, 62, called ‘Josie’ of Fyrish, Corentyne, Berbice, is on trial before Justice Dawn Gregory and a mixed jury for the offence which was allegedly committed on September 27, 2005 at Fyrish, Corentyne, Berbice. When the case continued on Wednesday the prosecution which is being lead by Attorney at law, Dionne McCammon, called three more witnesses — detective corporal Eon Grannum, David Nelson and Shameer Nabbi. Grannum testified to the parts he played in investigating the crime; including witnessing the taking of the caution statement from the accused.

Nelson, who is a nephew of the deceased testified to witnessing the Post Mortem examination which was conducted December 12, 2005 by Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan at the New Amsterdam Hospital. Shameer Nabbi, in his testimony, stated that on the night in question he was at home sleeping when he was awakened by his father calling and was told something. He in turn informed his sister. He stated that he knew the accused for about three years by seeing him around the place. He said that he subsequently went out and searched the village for somebody without shirt. After a while he saw Mohamed sitting on the parapet. He confronted him and Mohamed jumped over a drain and ran into Dada’s yard. He jumped behind him and caught up with him in the yard. He called for his father and they overpowered the man who was shirtless. They took him

to the car and placed him inside along with the injured Nelson and took them to the Albion police station. Under cross examination by Defence Counsel, Charrandass Persaud, the witness stated that during his search, he was primarily looking for someone without shirt. Testifying earlier were Detective Corporal Sam who took the caution statement from the accused, Ramanan Nabbi, and his wife, Fazilia Nabbi, who both testified to taking, neighbour Esau Muhammed and the Nabbi’s daughter Fazila Nabbi. Dr. Brijmohan is expected to take the witness stand today. Mohamed is alleged to have beaten Nelson on a dam at Kilcoy Village, Corentyne, and left him in a critical condition. The man was picked up and rushed to the hospital where he died on December 5, 2005. Mohamed was later arrested and charged for the crime.

Opposition applies brakes as Govt. rushes to amend laws against financial crimes - Guyana faces being put on int’l blacklist The Parliamentary opposition on Tuesday evening halted the speed of government to amend laws against financial crimes, namely money laundering and financing for terrorism. But they did agree to work speedily in a special Parliamentary committee to ensure that the laws are acceptably fashioned and returned to the House for a vote on May 22. The government went into high gear to race the amendments through the National Assembly in order to meet a May-month end deadline set by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, or face tough sanctions. “Some of the ramifications

and consequences which can flow and sanctions which may be imposed as a result of our non-compliance, can be…putting us on what is referred to as an international blacklist and when countries are placed on that list, a whole new set of international treatment is meted out to countries,” Attorney General Anil Nandlall told the National Assembly. “Also, prohibitory sanctions are imposed which would preclude Guyana from participating in a whole host of activities to which we are accustomed,” he added. The Opposition wondered why the government waited for the “eleventh hour” to take the

Bills to the National Assembly. In a desperate plea to the Opposition, the Attorney General did not proclaim his innocence, almost agreeing that the amendments were tabled late. However, he said much work was done over the last three weeks. “I am asking for their support in a difficult situation,” he said of the Opposition, adding that he was craving their indulgence, on the altars of nationalism and patriotism. But the opposition balked at his rhetoric. “It is not only when we are faced with international sanctions that we come conveniently to invoke patriotism and national interest in this Assembly,” Moses Nagamootoo of the Alliance for Change declared. Nagamootoo argued that the reforms to the laws must be examined carefully and could not be rushed through in a day. Besides, he said the reforms to the money laundering and countering financing terrorism Acts, requires amending a range of other laws. And so, he said that it would not serve the national interest to treat the matter with haste. “We have to treat this National Assembly with respect,” Nagamootoo stated. (Continued on page 12)

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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TIME FOR MORE PEEPING TOMS What happened in Ohio where three young women were held hostage in a house for over ten years without the knowledge of neighbours could never have happened here in Guyana. Never! There is no way that any kidnapper could have kept three young women in a house as prisoners in a Guyanese neighborhood without it coming to the notice of those who lived nearby. No way! First of all, some Peeping Tom would have been around to see wh e n t h o s e g i r l s were taken into that home. And some nosy neighbour would have met the occupant of that home and said, “I notice like you have visitors.” There is no way, also, that any person is going to buy chains to chain those girls in that house and some nosy neighbour was not going to notice what the guy purchased. There are neighbours in Guyana who just by looking at your shopping bags can tell you what you purchased, where you purchased it from and even the order in which the teller cashed the items. We have experts in Guyana who spend all day just looking through their windows minding your business more than their own. No way, those guys who lived in that house were going to buy any chains in

Guyana without somebody wanting to know what they were doing with it. For that matter, there is no way those girls could have been kept locked up in any house in Guyana for so long without being seen by some Peeping Tom. They would have been spotted. One day a neighbour would have walked next door and asked for a tray of ice, a feg of garlic, or an onion. And the nosy neighbour would have said, “You have a nice home. How come you never invited me over to see what the inside look like?” And the neighbour would have waltzed straight through the house and found those girls. In Guyana somebody is always coming to borrow something. Reminds me of a story many years ago. A man was in court for a double murder, and the judge said, “You are charged with beating your wife to death with a hammer.” A voice at the back of the courtroom yelled out, “You bastard!” The judge continued, “You are also charged with stabbing your mother-in-law to death with a screw driver.” Again, the voice at the back of the courtroom yelled out, “You damned bastard!” The judge stopped, looked at the man in the back of the courtroom, and

Dem boys seh...

Cruel people mek Guyana punish Cruelty is something that in everybody but some people more cruel that anybody can imagine. A long time ago a man hate he neighbour so much that he confess to a murder that he didn’t commit and claim how he neighbour commit de crime wid he. Both of dem get hang. That is how cruel one man was. Well Sophia got even more cruel people than that. A man see a man coming out of a toilet and because he don’t like de man he holler fuh thief. He neighbours run out and dem and all beat de man. Is then de cruelty start. Dem drag this man pun de road and when de man dead dem tie he to a post. Now dem boys want to know how people can live wid demself. Of course dem got other cruel people. Some thief all dem could and fortify dem self while poor people hungry and only lef to dead. But dem same thiefing people don’t care. Some of dem even go so far as to thief other people property without even thinking that dem people got children who need somewhere to live. And dem who got de property got more than dem can live in. That too is cruelty. Well dem is de same people who when some days come dem does pray like if dem more holy than holy. Ed Ahmad thief and just like how thief man don’t see dem mattie wid bad, he set up he mattie thief man suh all of dem heading to jail. Sometimes people does wonder why things always bad in Guyana but dem don’t realise that is de cruelty in people that mek de powers that control de earth, insist that punishment must stay wid Guyana till people learn fuh get good. Talk half and hope that people get de cruelty out o de heart.

said, “Sir, I can understand your anger and frustration at this crime, but I will not have any more of these outbursts from you, or I shall charge you with contempt! Now what is the problem?” The man at the back of the court stood up and responded, “For fifteen years, I have lived next door to that bastard, and every time I asked to borrow a hammer or a screwdriver, he said he never had one!” Yo u cannot hide anything from your neighbours in Guyana. They know more about what goes on in your house than you know yourself. One day there was this

guy who was searching frantically in his pocket for something. His neighbour who just happened to be seated by her window looked out and asked him, “What happened? You lost something?” “Yeah”, says the guy, “I lost my keys to the front door.” “Not to worry,” replied the neighbour, “you left the back window open.” So, there is no way that any kidnappers could have been holding hostages for ten years in any house in Guyana without someone noticing. What is not certain though is what would have been the reaction by

One of New York’s most wanted men, Guyana-born Sean Lopes, 47, was on Monday captured in England after nine years on the run. Lopes, according to a Business Insider report yesterday, has been a fugitive since he skipped bail in the US in 2004 while facing charges of attempted murder and kidnapping. The former science teacher attacked his 22-yearold ex-girlfriend Amanda Hopkins, who was also a teacher and the niece of a US federal Magistrate in Florida, and in 2005 was sentenced in his absence to 15 years in prison. But after nine years on the run, in which he was named as one of the NYPD’s most wanted criminals, he was finally tracked down to an address in Chatham. Police detained him on Monday after an extradition warrant was issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court. A Kent Police spokesman

explained that a member of the public raised concerns about Lopes and after an investigation by detectives, which included liaising with authorities in New York and the Metropolitan Police, he was tracked down and arrested. Prosecutors in New York at the time said that Lopes became obsessed with Miss Hopkins and was furious that she d u m p e d h i m a f t e r discovering he was 10 years older than he had claimed, was married and was the father of a young girl. It was claimed that Lopes sneaked into the Bronx teacher’s Upper East Side apartment in New York on June 25, 2004, armed with a fake gun, a stun gun and a knife, and waited for her to come home. When she arrived Lopes attacked and choked her, and threatened to kill her and then commit suicide. Police later stormed the apartment and found Lopes

neighbours to someone screaming for help inside a house. There are many neighbours in Guyana who would hear screams coming from next door. They will listen to be able to determine whether someone is being administered a sound licking, but not many will go next door to investigate like that guy did in Ohio and which allowed for the rescue of those three girls. A great many Guyanese neighbours would have simply listened but do nothing, assuming that it was domestic spat which they should have no part in.

There are two lessons therefore to be had from what has happened in Ohio. The first is if you hear screams next door, go and investigate and also call the police. And the second lesson is that Guyanese need to start peeping more because you can never know what is taking place over the fence.

Guyana-born US-wanted fugitive captured in England

Sean Lopes holding the knife to the Maths teacher’s throat, and he was

arrested. He was later bailed and then fled. Lopes appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday where he was remanded until May 14 when he will appear again. Last year US authorities said they believed Guyanaborn Lopes was hiding in Trinidad and Tobago and they described him as a “violent fugitive”. In 2008, Interpol in Guyana said Lopes, who is believed to have Guyanese and Dutch nationality, was wanted for alleged kidnapping and other crimes involving the use of weapons and explosives.

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Kaieteur News

Thursday May 09, 2013

Freddie Kissoon Column

The evidence in the Walter Rodney death A lady wrote a letter in both independent dailies this week and declared that there is evidence that President Forbes Burnham was not involved in the plot to murder Rodney. What is the evidence? She offered two pieces. Now this is serious business so don’t laugh. One is that Rupert Roopnaraine admitted in 2011 that the WPA was accumulating arms to fight Burnham. If I announce that I will beat you up and the next day you kill me, then you cannot be the person that killed me because I had proclaimed earlier that I will beat you up. Man, even a cow can reason better than this. Let us quote the lady for the second piece of evidence exonerating Forbes Burnham; “Given this information (Roopnaraine’s confession) and the late Smith’s statement that Rodney’s death was an accident and that he was prepared to come home to testify, Pandora’s Box opens wider.” The woman is right. There is a Pandora’s Box. But it is her box and the things she put inside of it tell us of the story of the Homo sapiens whose reasoning power may be lower than other species in nature’s world. So there you have it. There is evidence that Burnham was not involved because the WPA was arming itself and Smith wanted to come home to testify. I repeat – a cow can do better in arguing. Let us now try to

think as higher animals. In 1980, President Burnham was a leading figure in the Non-Aligned Movement, in t h e T h i r d Wo r l d a n d particularly in Africa where he was making substantial contributions to the freedom fighters in apartheid ruled South Africa. At that time, two men, Gregory Smith and Walter Rodney were involved in acts of treason. Smith made a bomb. He gave it to Rodney who took it to the Camp Street jail and tried to attack the prison. Rodney died, Smith escaped. The world began to blame a leading President in the Third World. But what does this President do to clear his name? Nothing! As the world piles up the blame and accusations, he does nothing to save himself. He does not issue a warrant for Smith. He does not hold an inquest. Then, this poorly thinking President became even more self-destructive. The wife of a treason accused, Gregory Smith that planned to overthrow him gets employment in the diplomatic service. The treason accused himself now lives openly in French Guiana and the poor Guyanese President cannot touch him. Now during all this time, the army of the country gets involved in treason too. The army announced that Gregory Smith was not a member of the Defence Force when in fact he was. This was time

for the President who is facing the heat from the world to become enraged and investigate why the GDF wants to protect Smith.After all, the man made a bomb. He conspired to overthrow President Burnham. Our self-destructive President, Forbes Burnham, didn’t ask the French to help him capture this treason accused. Our poor President just sat down at Belfield and allowed top citizens of the world and governments to accuse him of murdering a globally admired scholar.Do you believe Burnham was not involved? Only a fool would reject a role for Burnham. Maybe he acted

in self defence. Maybe he panicked. But it is foolish to deny he was not involved. Forbes Burnham knew that Walter Rodney had penetrated the security forces and had substantial national support. He knew Rodney was planning to overthrow him. In mortal fear of being overthrown and sent to a public trial, he participated in Rodney’s assassination. It has lacerated the psyche of those who loved and admired Burnham. They themselves wished it didn’t happen. They take refuge in denial. The Rodney murder has divided the African race

worldwide. Those who care for African people and feel that in Guyana, Africans are being pushed out of a country they helped bring into existence cannot psychologically abandon Burnham. It is really sad what is going on in their minds. But to ignore Burnham’s part in the plot does not help the healing process. There is no easy way out of this mess. I leave you with two pieces of information. Godwin McPherson admitted his involvement in Rodney’s death. I know David Hinds knows about this. Secondly, the WPA has accused a

certain prominent Guyanese Frederick Kissoon who is still active in the State machinery today as being one of the main plotters. Time for Kwayana, Andaiye, Nigel Wesmaas, Rupert Roopnaraine, Bonita Bone, Clive Thomas and David Hinds to protect Rodney’s legacy by pointing Guyana to this man’s existence.

Orealla Toshao: Peneux’s allegations the actions of a bad loser.” Toshao of Orealla Village in Region Six, Floyd Edwards, says that the Council is considering taking resident Carl Peneux to court for unfounded and malicious allegations against the Village Council. Peneux was quoted recently in the Kaieteur News as stating that since Edwards was elected in April 2012 there have been several imbalances and discrepancies in the financial reports. He also charged Edwards with several other acts of misappropriation of the Council’s funds. These too were published. Peneux is said to have collected the

signatures of 140 residents of Orealla for a petition calling for the removal of Edwards from his position as Head of the Village Council. Yesterday Edwards said that Peneux’s allegations were due to bitterness because he lost the elections for Toshao in 2012. “He ran against me for Toshao in April 2012. I won the elections by two-thirds of the votes. He lost. He is a bad loser. This, I believe, is the real motive behind the lies that he is spreading about the Council.” Edwards said that the allegations by Peneux had been made even before the

elections in April 2012. “The auditors came and found no wrongdoing. After the elections, Peneux continued with his slander. The auditors came again and found no wrongdoing. “ “The Orealla Village Council is probably the first Village Council in Guyana where the records and accounts were audited twice in four months.” He said that the Council allowed Peneux himself to examine the records and he could not point to anything irregular but he continued with his slander. Edwards said that the

Council is looking forward to another audit which would be the fourth audit when a team from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs visits Orealla next week. “The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs has had two independent audits in Orealla Village and found no wrongdoing. We have no problem with another one,” he said. He said that the Council in the meanwhile, will seek legal advice on how they can deter Peneux from making malicious and unfounded allegations aimed at giving the Council a bad name.

Cambio employee dumps local currency in daring heist at Piarco Airport A Trinidad money exchange employee stole thousands of dollars on Saturday during a daring heist at the Piarco International Airport but dumped the Guyana cash. Nearly TT$400,000 was allegedly stolen by a 23-yearold man from the Cambio Exchange booth inside the duty-free area of the airport, the Trinidad Express reported yesterday. Investigators say the daring heist, which took place in full view of surveillance cameras, happened shortly after 12.30 a.m. and the suspect stuffed all the money into his clothing and left the airport walking. Senior law enforcement sources said a man with the initials ETR had been working at the Cambio Exchange booth for the last three months. Early Saturday morning, investigators say, the suspect was on duty with another male employee, who left on a break. When the employee returned to the Cambio booth about ten minutes later, he

discovered all the local and foreign currency had vanished. He reported the matter to authorities on the compound, who reviewed footage from surveillance cameras inside the Cambio booth. That footage showed a man stuffing money into his clothing. By that time, however, the suspect was long gone, having simply walked out of the airport, and has not been seen since. A source close to the investigation told the Express investigators had no doubt the suspect kept the money in his clothing since the surveillance cameras showed him leaving the compound without any bags. Investigators say it was quite possible some of the money was contained in small pouches that he had stashed on his person, and that is why he was able to walk out with such a large sum. Moments later, a janitor found a bag containing Guyanese currency in a garbage bin inside the nearby

men’s bathroom and alerted the authorities. In the black bag, police found $139,460 in Guyana currency—about TT$4,000. They believe the suspect might have placed the money there because he was unable to fit any more cash on his person. The Express was able to obtain an official document showing the denominations of the local and foreign bank notes that were stolen: TT$159,742.83; US$20,285 (TT$131,041); Euro3, 440 (TT$26,926); Canadian $1,820 (TT$10,810); £2,255 (TT$20,956); Swiss Francs 3,090 (TT$19,559); Barbados $1,125 (TT$2,898) and EC$440 (TT$928). The total amount stolen has worked out to TT$372,860 after being calculated using the latest bank exchange selling rates. The Express understands that an all-points bulletin has been put out for a suspect, as Arouca police continue their investigations to determine if more than one person was in involved in the theft.

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Engineers learn about Marriott’s “new” technology

Marriott Hotel’s construction Manager, Romesh Budhram, during his presentation to local engineers Tuesday evening. New technologies being used in the construction at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, took centre stage Tuesday night during a presentation by the Project Manager, Romesh Budhram. According to Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI), the government-owned company that is managing the public/ private project, the presentation was part of the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) Tuesday Night Lectures, which seek to raise awareness among its members about new projects undertaken in Guyana and the introduction of new technology while sharing experiences and knowledge within the engineering field. Earlier this year, Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), the Chinese firm that has been contracted to build the hotel and entertainment complex project, said that in the initial phase, it used “bored concrete piling technique” to lay the foundation of the 197-room hotel. It was a new piling technique in Guyana that spurred a controversial decision that met with protests. It was the decision

not to hire any locals as there was the fear that not enough skills were available in Guyana. According to AHI, the presentation is part of AHI and Government of Guyana’s ongoing recognition and appreciation of the need and significance to have a transferral of knowledge to local engineers since this is the first major branded hotel to be constructed in Guyana in over 40 years. Budhram, Project Manager for M. A. Angeliades Inc, which has been hired to manage the construction, addressed issues of piling, architectural and technical designs of the building, all of which are being done in accordance with international standards of the Marriott International brand, AHI insisted yesterday. AHI said that the construction of the hotel will meet the Marriott international standard for a five star hotel. “The hotel will be managed and operated by the Marriott Worldwide chain of affiliates. In addition, there will be a 29,000-square foot entertainment complex that will house a casino, restaurant and nightclub, all of which

will be privately operated, separate and distinct from the hotel and its operator.” SCG is expected to complete the hotel by August next year and says it is being supplied with materials from BK International, Gafoors and Toolsie Persaud Limited. Since it was announced, the Marriott Hotel met with resistance with local hoteliers who wanted to know why Government was investing in a private sector project. In 2011, without knowing who the investors were, Government through AHI, released US$10M ($2B) to SCG. Last month, more than one year after releasing that sum, government admitted it still has not closed the deal with the investors. Then, in shocking disclosures, it said that it is the intention to sell the government’s stake in the hotel once it is up and running. The National Assembly has not given its blessings for the project as the taxpayers’ dollars being used are controlled by NICIL, a Government-owned company that operates independently, managing Government assets and its proceeds from privatizations of state assets.

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Caribbean calls for ‘amicable solution’ in rum dispute with US producers The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) has reiterated the need for an amicable solution to the rum dispute with the United States. The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat in a statement following the meeting of regional trade and economic ministers said the matter had been extensively discussed during the COTED meeting here last week. According to the CARICOM statement, COTED “is determined to seek a satisfactory solution to the matter of trade-distorting subsidies being granted to USVI (United States Virgin Islands) and Puerto Rico rum producers that threaten the long-term viability of the rum industry in the Caribbean. “Ministers agreed to explore all avenues to address this serious matter with the United States and other relevant parties,” the statement added. Last December, COTED said the region continues to have “serious concerns” regarding the competitiveness of Caribbean rum in the United States. “In addition to being the largest agriculture-based export industry in CARICOM, the rum industry is a substantial employer and a major contributor to foreign exchange earnings and government revenues,” COTED said. Last August, the UKbased Diageo reportedly warned that should CARICOM mount a complaint to the WTO over the alleged subsidies it would “reevaluate” its Caribbean interests. Diageo has denied ‘flooding’ the US market and has defended the US governments 100-year-old ‘cover over’ programme, which it said granted the USVI and Puerto Rico muchneeded revenues to promote

economic stability and fiscal autonomy. In March, USVI Governor, John de Jongh, wrote regional leaders urging CARICOM governments to back down on their plans to take their ongoing rum dispute before the World Trade Organization (WTO). de Jongh in his letter to the prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and St. Lucia, urged them to avoid the WTO, claiming that this could lead to a prolonged legal case that could also be divisive and difficult to win. He also warned that going to the WTO could “inflict damage on all of our economies”. Earlier this year, Barbados Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart, said that rum producing countries had been holding high-level talks

with the United States on resolving issues surrounding the rum industry in the region. Stuart said the discussions, which were also attended by officials from the Dominican Republic, were necessary since, within recent time, subsidies had been given to rum producers in the USVI and Puerto Rico, much to the disadvantage of Caribbean rum producers, including Barbados. He said the situation is so serious that Barbados is prepared to take its case to the WTO if a solution is not forthcoming. (CMC) Guyana, as part of CARICOM, has said that it will be lobbying through the regional body to raise awareness to the issue. Both Banks DIH and Demerara Distillers Limited, makers of the award-winning El Dorado brand, have reportedly joined to protest the US subsidy.

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Kaieteur News

Ramjattan denies a personal interest in Specialty Hospital “There is absolutely no truth about pecuniary interest,” said Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, as he sought to clear the air about his association with the Indian Company which was denied the contract to build the controversial Specialty Hospital. Ramjattan, responding to claims by Government officials that he had engineered the cut to the budgetary allocation to the project because of personal interest, sought to emphatically debunk all such allegations. “I have never collected one cent from them and I don’t think I ever will...So this talk about there being a personal interest is absolute nonsense.” Ramjattan disclosed that he had never had an interest in the company until its officials solicited his legal support. He explained recently to a gathering of media operatives at the Middle Street, Georgetown, Side Walk Cafe, that it was based on the advice of the Indian High Commission that the

company, Fedders Lloyd Limited of India, after being denied the contract sought his assistance. “They indicated that they went to the Indian High Commission to ask where they could get some parliamentarian or somebody of capable of standing to help them on this issue and I was told that they were referred to me as one of the anticorruption advocates. That is why they came to me,” informed the AFC Leader. But in order to legally represent the company, Ramjattan said that he indicated to its officials that he needed to see what they had tendered which required that he peruse the tender document that they had submitted to the procurement body. It was at this point, he said, that he not only learnt that Fedders Lloyd’s price was lower than Surendra Engineering Corporation’s, the company which was awarded the contract to build the Specialty Hospital. Surendra Engineering,

Student strikes teacher in head A part-time teacher attached to the Christ Church Secondary School was struck in her head with a plank by one of her students, yesterday afternoon. According to reports, Lonnetta Pollard, 29, was attending to a class of third formers when two male students started to “fight.” During the brawl, the Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara woman was struck in her head. She was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where she was treated and sent away. The teacher’s mother, Genevieve Justice, told Kaieteur News that she was told that her daughter was teaching when the fight started. When one of the students left the class, “she probably thought that the other student won’t come back so she turned and she started writing. Like he walk in and try to hit the other guy and he ended up hitting her.” When Kaieteur News visited the school yesterday, no one was willing to talk. Some students said, “It’s not a big deal.” Officials from the Welfare Department are investigating the matter.

AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan according to Ramjattan, had bid about more than US$100 million more than Fedders Lloyd. “Fedders Lloyd had put in what is called a discounted price which was the final price. Also, Surendra did not post the bond. You have to lodge a bond from some local bank and (Surendra) did not satisfy that very important requirement. All of that was overlooked by the Ministry of Health,” said Ramjattan. Another matter of concern, he said, was that while Fedders Lloyd had constructed some 40 specialty hospitals across the world, Surendra Engineering, a spare parts fabricator for the sugar mills of India, had never constructed any specialty hospitals. Moreover, the AFC Leader said that he had made moves to get in contact with a parliamentarian from India who had indicated that he, together with Fedders Lloyd, were seeking to find out how such a contract could be awarded to Surendra Engineering. It was after these revelations, Ramjattan said, that he began extensively airing his concerns in the local

media with a view to emphasising that the contract for the local specialty hospital was badly awarded. “I indicated that we have got to be careful because we are going to spend $18 million, again a loan from the Indian Government, so it will be on our future generation.” According to him it was because the parliamentary opposition became aware that the speciality hospital was being built by a company that lacked the necessary experience and at an expensive price “that we decided that we had to do the correct thing...we decided we had to amend, as we did, and make the necessary alteration.” Moreover, the parliamentary opposition during the considerations of the estimates decided to reduce to $0 the total allocation of $1.25 billion that was budgeted in the 2013 National budget for the construction of the Specialty Hospital. AFC Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, said that the opposing move was also triggered by the fact that Government had been unable to account for monies that has been earlier awarded to the project. He explained that in 2012 a sum of $150 million was voted for the project but “today that has now gone away. I have not seen it reappear in the estimates and I asked the question what happened to that money...” According to Nagamootoo Government has not been able to show anything, in terms of actual works, for the money that it had secured through Parliament. “Why should we approve a sum of money to build a hospital when the money they have to prepare the site cannot be accounted for?”

Thursday May 09, 2013

Postman remanded for cocaine trafficking Yesterday, Syaer GrantStewart, 19, a postman who resides at “H” Grant Sand Road, Soesdyke, appeared before Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. The narcotic which was weighed, amounted to 15.354 kilograms of cocaine. According to court documents, a mail bag was scheduled to go on Caribbean Airlines flight BW 526 on the evening of March 22.The mail bag was on a baggage cart awaiting loading at Cheddi Jagan International Airport when the bag was recognized by CANU (Customs Anti

Narcotic Unit) officials to be too heavy. As a result, it was removed from the cart and checked. 12 packets of suspected cocaine were discovered in four brown envelopes. It was noted that the seal of the mail bag was tampered with. Several suspects were detained and questioned at CANU headquarters and the defendant was positively identified by the security guards during investigations. The defendant was subsequently charged with the present offence. The matter was subsequently transferred to Providence Magistrates’ Court for a May 15 hearing.

Opposition applies brakes as Govt. rushes to amend... From page 6 He said that the government lacked political will to implement legislation against financial crimes, pointing to the fact that in the last four years since the original law came into place, no one was prosecuted for money laundering. Further, he said that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is but one man parading as a toothless poodle. Gail Texeira, the government’s Chief Whip, tried to pressure the Opposition into dealing with the matter on Tuesday evening, but she apparently started off on the wrong foot, “warning” the House that it was heading into dangerous delays by pursuing a course that could jeopardize the country meeting the deadline. She said that if the Opposition did their homework they could have dealt with the matter on Tuesday evening itself. Her “warning” did not go down well with the Opposition, and they heckled her, almost drowning out anything she had to say. When she begged the Speaker for “protection” he did not ask the Opposition to tone down, indicating that Texiera’s tone is what sparked the heckling. N a g a m o o t o o emphasized that the Opposition would treat the matter expeditiously in the Parliamentary Select Committee, but would not do so “with a shotgun held to our heads.” The Special Select Committee was set up at midnight Tuesday. Those on the Committee from the government side are Teixeira, Home Affairs

Minister Clement Rohee, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall. On the opposition side, Khemraj Ramjattan is representing the Alliance For Change, while A Partnership for National Unity named Deborah Backer, Joseph Harmon, Basil Williams and Carl Greenidge. The Committee will elect its Chairman next Wednesday when it holds its first meeting. Parliamentary Select Committees are notorious for their slothfulness and for missing deadlines, and the government was afraid that the same could happen this time around. The Opposition, particularly the major coalition bloc, APNU, had earlier said that it is possible for the matter to be concluded in a timely manner. The government is keen not to be seen as a country that is not adhering to international conventions against money laundering and financing for terrorism. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog against financial crimes, will meet in Nicaragua from May 27-30 and will examine how Guyana and other countries in the Caribbean are meeting international obligations. The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is demanding that Guyana tightens its anti-money laundering Act by the end of the month, so as to comply with the recommendation of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force.

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Essequibo rice farmers stage protest

While representatives from the Guyana Rice Development Board and Guyana Rice Producers Association held a critical meeting, yesterday, at the Region Two Boardroom to discuss with rice farmers, the critical issues affecting the Industry, a group of rice farmers mounted a protest outside. They refused to listen to senior representatives, including Dharamkumar Seeraj of the Rice Producers Association, Jagnarine Singh, Permanent Secretary within the Agriculture Ministry, George Jervis and Quality Control Manager, Ms. Allison Peters. They were adamant that they meet with Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.

Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has scheduled a meeting for Saturday. Seeraj explained that while the Industry countrywide has been experiencing major problems, including cash flow, shipping and payment to farmers, Government is intervening and as such has some $500M reserve to assist farmers who have suffered losses in the first crop. The assistance, he said, will take the form of affording farmers seed paddy and fertilizers. Seeraj added that a letter of commitment has been signed with a team from Venezuela. However the actual deal with the Spanish-speaking country has not officially kicked off. This has been

causing compound setbacks to the Industry, Seeraj said. The first rice shipment to Venezuela is scheduled to commence in June. Millers have extended their overdraft and as such all of the entities must work collectively to address the prevailing issues. Seeraj said that since March12, the team was supposed to sign the deal with Venezuela but due to the death of President Hugo Chavez, there were added setbacks. The grading system is being looked at; a free grading course is being offered to farmers by officials of GRDB. “If we have a problem, we need to anchor it where it belongs. Farmers have

genuine problems and as such we are making a genuine effort.” Some 20,000 acres was cultivated for the first crop. George Jervis has made recommendations that the Rice Association Act be discussed with farmers. Jagnarine Singh said that a technical team has been monitoring the bug infestation issue with the intention of recommending the appropriate drug to use on their crop. Rice Miller, Nazmul Hakh, of Golden Fleece Estate said that while the market has been limited, he has continued to pay out between $6M and $10M each week, to farmers. Hakh has been exporting his rice to Jamaica. (Yannason Duncan)

Berbice Expo and Trade Fair reach out to city businesses The call for more support from the business community in Georgetown was made during the launch of the Ninth Annual Berbice Expo and Trade Fair, yesterday, at the Albion Estate Senior Staff Club on the Corentyne. The event, which carries a $10 M budget, will be held—barring unprecedented rainy weather—over four days from July 26 under the theme ‘Raising Our Standards, Enhancing our Competiveness’. The event is planned and executed by the Central Corentyne Chambers of Commerce (CCCC). Region Six Chairman, David Armogan, stated that the event, which is Berbice’s largest calendar event, serves as a very important avenue where people come together with families for entertainment. Not only is the event about the exposition of goods and services, it also provides clean fun for the entire family, he said. He made the call for more small businesses being involved in the event. “I would like to see more manufacturing products

being marketed”. Over the years, he stated, there has been a decline of Georgetown businesses “and I think that this is something the Chamber and Tourism Authority…should look at to bring back”, so that people can get exposure to a variety of goods and services. He urged the planners to enlist their Surinamese counterparts to become more involved in the Trade Fair “because we are trying to promote cross- border trade”. Tejpaul Adjodhea, the Coordinator of the Berbice Expo, outlined the specific details relating to the planning for the upcoming event. He saw the need for a larger pavilion to house more than 250 booths, more entry and exit areas, better parking facilities, better security, more Surinamese involvement, as well as rules that patrons must observe once they enter the Albion Sports Complex, including no glass bottles and no vehicles. He said that the planners have tried their utmost to get more international exhibitors. “We wrote to both the Venezuelan and Brazilian

Ambassadors and even offered them free traveling. We had little success from the Brazilian Embassy who sent a troupe to perform at the opening ceremony but that was as far as it gets, so we need more international exhibitors.” Adjodhea said that during the four nights, there will be ‘live bands each night, including Shakti Strings and Dax New Generation Band. More top bands will be sourced this year. Standup comedy will also be a feature. And there will be fireworks every night, provided that there is permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs. President of the CCCC, Leekha Rambrich, said that since its launch, attendance to the expo has doubled from just over 15,000 during the first Berbice Expo to over 30,000 last year. “The event has seen a remarkable improvement year after year.” However, he criticized the “limited” support from the businesses in Georgetown. The event was pushed back from its original launch date in July to August in 2012,

because of the rainy weather and muddy state of the Albion Sports Complex. Rambrich hinted that should this happen again this year, the CCCC will be forced once more to host the event in August. “I am sure the Minister [of Tourism] will try to encourage some of the big businesses from Georgetown to be here.” Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh, during the feature address, praised Berbice’s tourism potential through the Number 63 Beach; Corentyne River; Berbice River Bridge; Birdwatching; numerous waterfalls along the Corentyne River, cricket legends and heroes, fishing opportunities, “and Guyana’s cleanest market, the New Amsterdam Market”. “We should aim to provide excellence and worldclass products and services,” he stated. He also stressed the need for more overseas buyers at the event and urged entrepreneurs and businesses to sign up early and support the Berbice Expo.

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CSEC candidates should not be denied timetables – Education Ministry Candidates of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate should not be denied their timetable. This is the assertion of the Ministry of Education, which in a statement yesterday, disclosed that there have been reports of such occurrences. The statement issued by the Ministry’s Public Relations Department stated that it has come to the attention of the Ministry that some public and private schools have not yet provided all students sitting the 2013 CSEC examination with their timetables. It was disclosed that reports to the Ministry suggest that schools have withheld timetables because of the non-payment of fees for school-based activities. But according to the Ministry’s

statement, “this is not a welcomed practice of the Ministry of Education and as such, we are advising that schools reverse such actions and ensure that ALL CSEC candidates be provided with their timetable in a timely manner.” Moreover, the Ministry has emphasised that CSEC candidates should not be prevented from uplifting their timetables. This year a total of 13,654 candidates have been enlisted to sit the CSEC Examinations, and according to the Ministry, it has recorded that some candidates are taking as many as 20 subjects at this sitting. As such the Ministry has extended well wishes to students even offering in advance, gratitude for “making Guyana proud.”

Rotary Club of Stabroek promotes the Arts for Charity The work of a service club in providing resources to meet the needs of the disadvantaged members of a society is not without challenges. Innovative and feasible ways must be devised. Such was the desire of the Rotary Club of Stabroek, bursting with eagerness to prove its worth as the newest member of the Rotary Family in Guyana. The earnings through the various fund raising events would provide the resources that support initiatives to address the needs of the less fortunate in Guyana. The initial idea was to develop a unique and high quality event which would merge various expressions of the performing arts into an enticing treat that would excite the patrons while making sponsors absolutely proud. Sunday June 15, 2008 will be recorded as the day when the members of the Rotary Club of Stabroek (RCOS) started what was to become an appealing foray into the world of music and the performing arts. The young service club which was only three years old at the time, wrestled with developing innovative ways of earning the requisite funding to support their flagship projects. This desire led to the staging of the first ‘Jazz n Wine’ event at the Georgetown Club which featured Ruth Osman in concert along with a fine collection of local jazz musicians – the GT Jazz Project. A distinctive feature of the event then was the inclusion of ‘spoken words’ and poems as well as dance

pieces by some of the nation’s best at strategic points during the program. This unique combination of music, poetry, prose and dance enamored the audience and the general feedback was one of an unusually delightful experience. A spectacular product was born. In the ensuing years the RCOS, encouraged by the success of the first effort, continued to produce and deliver a highly entertaining and quality event that has taken on the title, “Jazz, Wine and Words”. To date, the show has featured talented artistes such as Guyanese Ruth Osman and Marva Newton from Trinidad and Tobago sharing the stage with renowned satirist and comedian Paul Keens Douglas. Last year, the excellent acoustic ensemble from Jamaica, Jakoostic, graced the stage along with Miguel Browne – story teller extraordinaire from Trinidad and Tobago. Also featured from the local talent pool, was actor and dramatist Mark Edwards and readings from the works of leading poet, Yaphet Jackman. On Saturday June 15, ‘Jazz Wine and Words 2013’ will sizzle with the return of Paul Keens Douglas along with another stellar musical group from across the Caribbean region, the Desi Jones Quartet along with Karen Smith. Desi Jones is currently the most sought after drummer on the Jamaican scene and has promised an electrifying performance that will leave patrons searing in their seats. The event will be held at the Theatre Guild.

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CARICOM annex gets new owner after $850M sale Having secured the building for rental following its completion in 2008, leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) may soon be answering to a new landlord as the commonly known ‘CARICOM Annex, formerly the Rajana Building, has been sold for some $850M. Sources told Kaieteur News that the sale was made some time last week. It is unsure the intention of the new owner who could easily use the building otherwise or retain its current tenants. Stakeholders are however, concerned over the risk associated with the accommodation which was seen from the inception as a waste of taxpayers’ money. Some $70M annually is alleged to be the rental cost. Since the building was sold Kaieteur News was told, removal of CARICOM staffers or a hike in the rental price has to be contemplated. Alliance for Change General Secretary David Patterson told Kaieteur News yesterday that he still holds the view that the rental of the annex is a waste of taxpayers’ money and when asked he agreed that a price hike and eviction

is food for thought. The Rajana building was rented to accommodate the numerous staffers who make up the CARICOM team. The CARICOM headquarters was commissioned here in Guyana in 2005, but by 2008 further lodging grounds had to be sought for local and foreign workers. Former president, the late Forbes Burnham was able to persuade Caribbean heads to have the head office in Guyana, despite claims that Guyana was not a Caribbean island. The Secretariat was however too small to accommodate the total of workers and a section of the CARICOM staff had to remain in Georgetown; occupying for instance the Bank of Guyana Building along with others to aid with space congestion. The five-storey structure located opposite the CARICOM headquarters at Turkeyen; is said to be sitting on about half acre of land. At the time of its rental, head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon said that CARICOM would be paying the rental fee since in keeping with Guyana’s undertaking to

provide accommodations; housing for the secretariat was provided, but CARICOM would thus face the additional cost and increases. Dr. Luncheon said a minimum contribution is made annually by member states for the continuance of CARICOM, but a request for an increase in national subscriptions by associated states was further made. Much debate arose over the building’s rental, as many saw the move by the small island heads as financial suicide. The debates were especially fuelled with talks of the CARICOM secretariat being relatively new, while another building was already needed. Patterson had stated that the move to rent the building reflected poor planning on the part of the Administration based on the time span that the additional space was required. When asked he said he believes Guyana is bearing the rental tab since as part of an agreement to keep the CARICOM head office here in Guyana, the nation would have to provide housing for staffers whether at the head office or other locations.

The recently sold CARICOM annex building, formerly the Rajana building

“Just like the Marriott hotel they rushing everything without giving it proper thought,” he opined. Patterson further noted that renting another building four years after the secretariat

was constructed showed that not enough consultation was made between the government, the designers and the occupants, while there was no forward thought for future demands.

In earlier reports, Communications advisor to the Secretary-General, Leonard Robertson, had highlighted that staffers in a number of departments such as the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/ AIDS and the Legal Drafting Facility were being moved from Georgetown to the new building. He had mentioned that CARICOM would be paying the rental fee before stating that the assimilation of the Cariforum Secretariat into the Caricom Secretariat, the expansion of the secretariat staff to meet the obligations of 9th European Development Fund and the implementation of the CSME [Caricom Single Market and Economy], has [seen] an increase in staff which necessitated more office space. The CARICOM Secretariat was said to have been constructed with some $6B which the Japanese Government had aided with. An additional $159M was also spent to reallocate airconditioning units and to add more office. The building was formerly owned by developer Cecil Rajana.

Sonia Noel’s designs hailed Body found near koker identified as mentally ill woman as a Guyanese success story The body of a woman discovered floating near a koker at Vriesland, West Bank Demerara on Sunday afternoon; was on Monday identified as 28-year-old Danauta Bernadette Durban, a mentally ill woman. According to reports, a female resident of Vriesland spotted the body and notified other residents who quickly acted to remove the body from the water. It was then transported to the Ezekiel Funeral Home. The body was later identified by two of the woman’s aunts at the Ezekiel Funeral home. They were informed that the body of a woman who had reportedly drowned was found. “After we hear that they found a body, me and my sister decided to go to the funeral home to see if it was her,” one of the aunts related to Kaieteur News. The aunt

Danauta Bernadette Durban added that the last time she saw her mentally ill niece was about two weeks ago. Junior Garrett, a resident of Vriesland, who assisted in dragging the body to shore, told Kaieteur News that it seems that the body was there for a long time because her knees were reddish and her belly was swollen.

According to reports, the body was reportedly spotted earlier in the week at a koker in Grove, East Bank Demerara but fishermen refused to report the matter to the police because of the seemingly “long” process. “The fishermen them see the body but them na want go to the station because when you report that, you does have to wait long, long at the station like if you kill the person,” a Grove resident said. It is understood that the woman would sometimes reside with her mother in Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown and at other times her whereabouts are unknown. It was common for her to run off for prolonged periods. A post mortem conducted yesterday revealed that the woman sustained a hit to her head but ruled that the cause of death was by drowning.

Mariska’s Designs of local Fashion Designer Sonia Noel has been hailed as a Guyanese business success story by the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA). The CEDA is the regional trade and investment promotion agency in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group. The Agency was established in 1996 by an Inter-Governmental Agreement as the trade promotion Agency of the 15-member states of CARIFORUM. In a recent posting on its website, CEDA said that as one of Guyana’s leading designers over the last 16 years, Ms. Noel has become one of the most recognizable names in the Caribbean fashion industry. Noel’s designs , CEDA said, was a unique hybrid of Guyanese artistry, Caribbean creativity and an all-pervasive universal style which has graced runways at numerous Caribbean Fashion-Week presentations and trade expositions from Jamaica in the north, to Guyana in the south, including the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad. Noel also participated in a number of Caribbean Gift and Craft Shows (re-branded Design Caribbean) and Fashion-week productions with support from Caribbean Export. The award-winning designer closed out the Caribbean Essence Fashion Showcase with captivating pieces from her line. Her participation in the Fashion Showcase and the subsequent Business Forum led to the establishment of two significant contacts in the United Kingdom: David Roberts, Founder of Carib Direct, a multicultural blog that features a variety of news, lifestyle and entertainment pieces from across the Caribbean and its Diaspora; and Sherry-Ann Dixon, a Marketing and Public Relations Consultant. Both of these connections have led to the

Mariska’s Designs establishment of future initiatives including the launch of Makin’ Styles, a Caribbean Lifestyle magazine, in April 2013 in Guyana and scheduled for June 2013 in New York, London and Toronto; as well as Noel’s participation in the French-Guiana Fashion Week. There has also been an increase in clientele for the brand, Mariska’s Designs, following the London Engage event, the majority of which is from the Diaspora in the UK. “Caribbean Export must be lauded for their commitment to entrepreneurs in the region, especially those within the fashion industry,” commented Sonia Noel. The veteran designer also acknowledged the networking possibilities, media exposure and global visibility that have been afforded to participants in Caribbean Export-supported activities, CEDA said.

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Opposition not surprised by Ramotar’s rejection of Bills Newtown’s law of motion says “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction”. President Donald Ramotar’s refusal to assent to two Opposition Bills passed in the National Assembly earlier in the year, comes as no shocker to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which is now weighing its options. This was revealed by APNU’s Parliamentarian Carl Greenidge, who said that the President’s decision is not surprising. Ramotar’s rejection of the Opposition Bills was announced in the National Assembly on Wednesday. “The whole point is that the President, having said that he will approve no Bill that does not find favour with the PPP, would always be willing to find excuses however flimsy, and these are, for why he did not sign. The ball is in the court of the National Assembly. What is the point of their meeting? Let the President blow his flute and dance to it himself or dance to the beat of his own drum,” Greenidge said. In justifying the rejection, Ramotar by way of letter responding to a reminder sent by the Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman, said that the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill and the Former Presidents (Facilities and Other Benefits) Bill were in violation with the Constitution. In terms of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill, Ramotar said that it was in violation of Article 171(2) in that it could not be introduced by a private member but rather only with the consent of the Cabinet, “signified by a Minister.” The Bill passed by the House sought to remove several entities listed as budget agencies under the Act in order to have them draw directly from the Consolidated Fund as constitutional entities. Additionally, the Opposition in January, by virtue of its one seat majority, passed a Bill to repeal the Former Presidents (Facilities and Benefits) Act of 2009 and put in place a new one which sets caps on the benefits captured under the 2009 legislation. “The Bill is in violation of the Constitution of Article 142(1) of the Constitution Cap. 1:01 which prohibits the taking away of property compulsorily without the prompt payment of compensation.” Ramotar also pointed out

the Bill’s reference to only “natural children” of the former President being entitled to benefits under the Act as being in violation of the Status of Children Act of 2009 and several articles of the Constitution. Ramotar cited the legislation’s disqualification of the former President for the benefits if he or she is engaged in business, trade or paid employment or if the individual is cited by any court for any criminal violence as constitutional breaches. The Opposition Bills were sent to Ramotar to be assented to on February 25. Trotman’s letter, dated May 3, stated that the Constitution mandated the President to return a Bill to the Speaker within “21 days of the date when it was presented to him for assent.” According to Greenidge, not only is the length of time the President took to respond to the Speaker on the position of the Bills in complete disregard of the deadline but the objections are almost all without merit. In relation to Ramotar’s comments on the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill, Greenidge said, “If for example, the Parliament authorizes the Minister to change elements of legislation by way of an Order, it is ridiculous to assume that the Parliament is automatically barred from making any change to the legislation itself. That would mean that by virtue of that action it could in future neither amend the legislation nor repeal it.” He said that this matter was checked with a Senior Counsel and former Judge prior to having the text drafted and neither he nor any colleagues of experience consulted with, gave any credence to that line of argument. Greenidge, who is a former Finance Minister, said with regards to constitutionality, “The current actions of the Minister of Finance (Dr. Ashni Singh) and the Cabinet as regards the Constitutional Offices including the law Courts and the DPP Chambers, for example, are glaringly unconstitutional. If the President believes in the supremacy of the Constitution and the inappropriateness of the Opposition proposals, he should find his own solution to the problem. But instead of that, he continues to oversee the illegal behaviour and actions being perpetrated by his colleagues.” He noted that there is

nothing wrong with the manner in which the Bills were drafted. They were sent by the Clerk of the Assembly to the Parliamentary Counsel, who as far as he is aware, did not react with any of the comments provided by the President. “If someone is being paid as the legal draftsman for the National Assembly, and the President is satisfied that the views of his AG (Attorney General), who has no drafting experience should prevail, the draftsman should be sent home. There is no point in retaining him,” Greenidge declared. Meanwhile, Alliance For Change (AFC)’s leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that he personally deems the rejection as “very dangerous”. Ramjattan too is not surprised with Ramotar’s veto. He added that the Headof-State made it clear that he will neither work with this Opposition nor be

President Donald Ramotar

AFC’s leader Khemraj Ramjattan

APNU’s Parliamentarian Carl Greenidge

accommodating in this new dispensation. “Quite frankly, Ramotar has vexed my spirit and provoked it to start thinking of a no-confidence motion against his Government. And to start a process of just not supporting any of the Bills his Government brings to the Assembly, commencing with the Anti-Money Laundering Bill now in Select Committee,” Ramjattan stated. “He talks about the two Bills being unconstitutional. What bull! He violated the Constitution when he did not deliver his reasons within the

21 days Constitutional limit,” the AFC Leader argued. Ramjattan asked, “How could he (Ramotar) be so ridiculous in saying to cap the former President’s benefits, so as to exercise restraint on the use of the country’s scarce resources, is unconstitutional? This President, like the last one, has more passion for his pension and other benefits than for the people and good policy. How could he not appreciate that more accountability of his Government through the amendment to the FMAA is

good for our democracy?” “Jagan’s legacy, which he and his Government love to associate with, has gone to the dogs...This is a further vindication of that, and that we are going to spiral down into a potentially explosive condition,” Ramjattan said. He believes that the Government must sooner understand that there must be multi-party governance in a situation of a minority Government. “But then this President doesn’t know compromise....apparently never heard the word,” Ramjattan said.

Residents not pleased with ‘completed’ Coldingen road rehabilitation Residents of Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, are livid over what was passed as repair works to the Coldingen Access Road. The work was completed earlier this week and according to residents, the contractor, Hemraj Garbaran, breached all design and specifications that were agreed to in his contractual arrangement with the Ministry of Public Works. According to a source at the Ministry, under the design document, the contractor was supposed to excavate the road, fill it with crusher-run and the top it off with asphalt. The Ministry of Works had allocated $10M from a total of $34M for the Coldingen Access Road project. After initial objections to the type of work being initially done on the road earlier this year, Minister Robeson Benn had warned that the contractor would have to follow the road design and specifications. But the contractor apparently paid no heed to the warning or was instructed otherwise. This newspaper observed that beginning last Monday, the contractor had simply leveled off sections of the roadway and primed it with tar before completing a portion with asphalt. In fact, the road is now six inches lower than its original height and with the

A section of the Coldingen Access Road two days after rehabilitation work was completed.

recent rains, it already buckling under the constant traffic. Residents have been very vigilant in their monitoring of the work being done on the road. They claimed that they have been without a proper road for more than five years and if they allow this “shoddy work” to pass, they will end up with a similar situation for another five years. “We are so happy that they are doing the road, so we have to ensure that it is done properly because is we gone have to suffer for several more years,” one resident declared. The contractor is also

facing liquidated damages as a result of not completing the project in the stipulated time. Today marks one month since the deadline expired. Late last month Permanent Secretary in the Works Ministry, Balram Balraj, ordered that liquidated damages be imposed. He also suggested that the Ministry move against the performance bond lodged by the contractor. The contractor had claimed that the works were not completed on time because of the unavailability of asphalt. However, it turned out that he had not uplifted his supplies, some 85 tons of

asphalt, for which he had already paid. An official from the Public Works Ministry had also indicated that the contractor could also face being barred from other contracts. “We would like to know how much is the liquidated damages, because they could spend it on some other roads in our community,” another resident stated. There are also reports that the material (crusher run), which was earmarked for the Coldingen Access Road is being removed by the contractor to other l o c a t ions where he is undertaking other projects for the Ministry of Works.

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CAL staff angry as top executive orders Aristide gives evidence in US$20,000 trip for 19 ‘friends’ murder case to Haitian judge Trinidad Guardian - Vicechairman of Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) Mohan Jaikaran is proving the state enterprise is not cashstrapped, as he has requested 19 complimentary airline tickets for a Mother’s Day concert scheduled for New York City and Toronto this weekend, of which he is a copromoter. The directive caused raised eyebrows among management, as two weeks ago there were reports that the national carrier had once again turned to the Government for funding, to the tune of $100 million. Jaikaran, however, denied the airline was facing money woes and instead insisted it was “heading in the right direction.” T&T Guardian learned that last week, Jaikaran, who is also the chairman of WIN Communications Ltd (WINTV), gave instructions via e-mail for the tickets to be booked free of charge. The T&T Guardian learned loss of revenue for the tickets was estimated at approximately US$20,000. Only taxes were paid on the tickets. Checks at the airline Tuesday revealed that a ticket from Piarco International Airport

to John F Kennedy International Airport during the month of May costs US$725.80, and a flight to Toronto’s Lester B Pearson International costs US$345.20 for the same period. The concert, which is being advertised on the Web site of the television station, takes place on Saturday at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel near the Toronto Airport and on Sunday (Mother’s Day) at Jamaica Avenue, Richmond Hill, New York. Performers include Raymond & Dil-E-Nadan, Ravi B & Karma, and KI & 3Veni Band. Jaikaran is listed as a co-promoter of the event. Attempts to get a comment from Jaikaran yesterday were unsuccessful, as telephone calls and text messages went unanswered. Up to yesterday, nine of the 19 tickets had been confirmed and the other ten were awaiting flights and times before being confirmed. CAL officials said yesterday this was not the first time such a directive had been issued by a highranking CAL official, adding that the company was being denied thousands of dollars in revenue at the same time it was depending on the

Government for help. “Proper procedures are not being followed,” a top management official told the T&T Guardian. “Directives are just being given. The relevant parties are being bypassed and this is not how it is supposed to be. “What we are having are upgrades free of charge and people receiving free tickets to travel around the world. People are being upgraded from economy to first class by a telephone call.” The official added that sponsorship deals to WINTV were also being queried by employees. The deals were said to be more than $200,000 for last year alone. Sources said Tuesday that acting CAL CEO Robert Corbie, who had butted heads with some executives over recent decisions, had gone on seven days’ leave. Staff are now calling on line minister Chandresh Sharma to investigate the operations of CAL. In response to a text message sent by T&T Guardian to Sharma Tuesday, asking if he was aware of the request for the complimentary tickets, the minister said, “No.”

Supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide wait outside his house for him to appear on his way to a court appearance, in the Tabarre neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, yesterday. REUTERS/Marie Arago P O RT- A U - P R I N C E (Reuters) - Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appeared in public for the first time since returning from exile more than two years ago, testifying in court yesterday about the assassination more than a decade ago of a popular radio journalist and human rights activist. In a testament to his continued political sway, thousands of supporters sang pro-Aristide songs and waved his picture behind police barricades down the street from the courthouse. They had pledged to accompany him from his home in a Port-au-Prince suburb to the court and back despite a ban on demonstrations for the day. Aristide, still a polarizing figure, was accompanied by political allies and armed police guards to the judge’s chamber in the capital where he spent just under three

hours answering questions in the case of Jean Dominique, who was gunned down in April 2000 along with a security guard outside HaitiInter, the radio station he owned. Aristide smiled to reporters but made no comment as he left the left the courthouse. “The atmosphere was very cordial. The courts did a good job, the police provided good security,” his lawyer, Mario Joseph, told Reuters after leaving court. Dominique’s death occurred as Aristide was preparing to run for a second presidential term that year and Dominique was also rumored as a potential presidential candidate. While several low-level arrests of the suspected gunmen were made at the time, who ordered the murder has remained one of Haiti’s great unsolved crimes. More than half a dozen

people allegedly involved in the assassination have either been killed or have disappeared over the years, as well as several witnesses who claimed to have evidence in the case. For years Dominique’s widow, Michele Montas, sought to have the case reopened, hoping that Aristide and others could shed light on who was behind the crime. “The investigation has led to people close to the high levels of the Lavalas party that Aristide headed. He may not have given the green light but I am sure he knows who did it,” Montas, 66, a former U n i t e d N a t i o n s spokeswoman who was in New York, told Reuters. A r i s t i d e ’s lawyer declined to discuss the investigation, saying only that his client had been called as a witness. “The judge listened to what he had to say,” Joseph said.

US Vice President to visit Trinidad and Tobago PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – United States vice president Joe Biden is will visit Trinidad and Tobago at the end of May, the US Embassy in the twin-island republic has confirmed. It gave no details on the proposed visit, but one local television station quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran as saying that the visit is aimed at improving relations and cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean Community (CARICCOM) leaders. Earlier this week, Prime

Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar shrugged off reports that relations between Washington and Port of Spain had deteriorated telling a public meeting of her United National Congress (UNC) that “Trinidad and Tobago and United States are true friends. Tell them our relations with the US are strong.” But Washington has maintained a stony silence on requests from the T&T government on whether or not former national security minister Austin ‘Jack’ Warner is under investigation in the

United States regarding his activities as an international football executive. The US Embassy had also issued a statement regarding the non-extradition of two businessmen, Ish Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson wanted in the United States on fraud charges relating to the Piarco International Airport development project. Late last month, Persad Bissessar visited Washington where she held talks with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

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LIAT shareholders to meet Holness wants in Barbados on Friday Diaspora in Parliament Jamaica Observer Opposition Leader Andrew Holness says that the country should find a way to formally include the voice of the Jamaican Diaspora in Parliament as part of the broadening of its democracy and increasing citizen participation. Holness says that after 50 years of Independence, there are a number of institutions, systems and practices which need rethinking, including the participation of the Jamaican Diaspora in the country’s political process. “It is time to reconsider the section of our constitution that allows only British Commonwealth citizens the opportunity to possibly sit in our Parliament,” he said in an interview with Jamaica Observer’s editors and senior reporters last week Monday at the newspaper’s Beechwood Avenue head office in Kingston. He pointed out that when the Jamaican constitution was written in 1962, it considered historical links with the British Commonwealth, but that consideration only allowed for Commonwealth citizens to be elected or appointed to Parliament. However, he pointed out that, after 50 years of independence, Jamaica now has a Diaspora roughly the same size of its local population. Of significance, Holness said, was that the largest subset of the population lives in United States, and the nonBritish Commonwealth population was significantly larger, and growing faster, than the British Commonwealth Jamaican Diaspora population “I believe Jamaica now has a ‘commonwealth’ of its own in the form of the Jamaican Diaspora. It represents a significant asset to Jamaica, not only for the remittances, but more so for the tremendous human resources and international access that it secures for Jamaica. When we started with our

constitution in 1962, we didn’t have this large Diaspora, sending money back to Jamaica, which is part of our gross national product, and are very much interested in our progress,” he said. Holness also noted that a special select committee of Parliament was established under the previous Jamaica Labour Party Administration, in response to the dual citizenship issue to explore possible constitution amendments in this regard. He pointed out that other countries such as Israel and India have found ways other than remittances to seriously leverage their Diaspora. However, Jamaica has been unable to find a way to formally include and more extensively leverage the Diaspora in national development. “So, there is this large society of persons who are very vocal and many of whom are well resourced, but they are not in any political party; is there a way to bring them into the parlay of parliament, or into the decision-making of government?” He indicated that this was an issue that he is now actively examining. Asked whether he felt the Diaspora should have the right to vote, Holness said: “If a reasonable mechanism could be found to create a constituency for them, and

that reasonable mechanism could be something like a hybrid proportional representation system, where they would be a limited number of seats reserved for nationally defined constituencies or an agreed expansion of the Senate to allow independent appointments by the governor general, I am saying that there are many possibilities and we must be prepared to think out of the box and sometimes break with tradition. “They are an integral part of our economy, sending billions of dollars back home in remittances. They clearly have an interest in how Jamaica operates, but are still trying to figure out how they can help. It is clear that the Diaspora conferences are not sufficient in moving this thing along and they get frustrated sometimes, so they try to help with things like partnering with schools, old boys’ associations and things like that. But many of them would want to have a voice, and that is Parliament — a voice in how things are done,” he said. In the past, the relationship between Jamaica and its Diaspora revolved basically around issues like investment opportunities and remittances, but more recently there has been a clamour from overseas Jamaicans for a friendlier bureaucracy, to enable easier access to things like passports, land titles and birth and death certificates, as well as smoother customs and postal operations. The most important link with the country and its Diaspora has been the remittances sent home by these Jamaicans abroad. This has hovered in the region of US$1.7 billion with a slight 0.6 per cent increase last year over 2011 to US$1.76 billion. Although there have been some efforts to lure the Diaspora into some serious investments at home, this has been hampered by bureaucracy and crime figures.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia CMC – St. Lucia was jolted by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 late on Tuesday night, the Trinidadbased Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) reported yesterday. It said that the quake occurred at 11.45 pm (local time) and was located at 14.02° degrees north, and

60.61 degrees west. UWI said that the quake with a depth of 20km “may have been felt in nearby islands” but that there have been no reports of injury or damage. The earthquake is the latest in a series of tremors that have occurred in several Caribbean countries in recent months. Earlier this month,

Trinidad and Tobago was shaken by a quake with a magnitude of 3.7 on the Richter scale just as SRC officials warn the oil rich twin island country to be prepared for a major earthquake. Late last month, Antigua and Barbuda and several other countries in the Leeward Islands were also affected by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1.

Andrew Holness

St Lucia jolted by 4.1 magnitude earthquake

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, - CMC – The shareholder governments of the regional airline, LIAT, will meet in Barbados tomorrow, but a planned meeting in Bridgetown with Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar will not materialise, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has said. He told a news conference that his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart was unable to attend the meeting because Parliament would be meeting on the same day. LIAT shareholder governments are Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Dominica. Gonsalves, who serves as chairman of the shareholders, said that the meeting with Prime Minister Persad Bissessar would have dealt with the ongoing concerns the regional airline has with the Trinidad and Tobago owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL). “… I spoke with Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar inviting her to a meeting on Friday in

Dr. Ralph Gonsalves Barbados of the shareholders of LIAT, which I will be chairing…but she has parliament on that day. “So what I have suggested to her is that as chairman of the shareholders I will come down to Trinidad with the chairman of the board of directors, Dr. Jean Holder, and chief executive officer, Captain Ian Brunton…and other persons to talk about some issues because we want to see at the political level how we can strengthen the nexus between ourselves and

CAL.” Gonsalves has in the past said he wants to engage in discussions, not a fight with Trinidad and Tobago over the fuel subsidy Port of Spain provides to CAL. In February, he told reporters he had received a legal opinion on the matter and is now seeking the talks with the Kamla PersadBissessar-led coalition People’s Partnership administration. Gonsalves contends that the fuel subsidy given to CAL contravenes the treaty governing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and that the legal opinion supports his view that the subsidy contravenes the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. LIAT has in the past complained that it is put at a disadvantage because of the fuel subsidy provided to CAL. Meanwhile, Gonsalves said that closer relationship between LIAT and a Venezuelan-based airline had been discussed during last weekend’s PetroCaribe meeting in Caracas and that he has reported to Captain Brunton on the outcome.

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Thursday May 09, 2013

Queen opens parliament, promises Egypt NGO law could betray tougher immigration law revolt’s ideals: U.N. rights chief

(Reuters) - Britain’s coalition government put a crackdown on immigration at the heart of its legislative agenda yesterday in the hope of stopping an exodus of voters to a populist antiimmigration party before a national election in 2015. In a pageantry-rich ceremony marking the annual opening of Britain’s parliament, Queen Elizabeth said a new immigration bill would “ensure that this country attracts people who will contribute and deters those who will not”. Donning her crown, she was reading out the government’s plans days after the UK Independence Party (UKIP) made sweeping gains in local elections at the government’s expense, posing a threat to Prime Minister David Cameron’s reelection chances. His Conservatives are the senior member of a two-party coalition, but hope to win outright in 2015 and govern alone. The programme for the year ahead contained other bills too but the government chose to highlight its swoop on immigration. Legislation to

address big issues like the economy and Britain’s relationship with the European Union was notably absent. Questioning immigration was for years regarded as racist in Britain. But all three main parties have started to talk tough on the subject after opinion polls showed it was one of the issues that worried voters the most at a time when a weak economy means their own living standards are being squeezed. UKIP and local newspapers have suggested Britain risks being inundated by “hordes” of Romanians and Bulgarians next year after EU restrictions on their freedom of movement expire. Even the Liberal Democrats, Cameron’s leftleaning junior coalition partner, support tougher measures. The new bill will require landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants, levy big fines on businesses that use illegal labour, and limit newcomers’ access to the National Health Service. It will also make it easier to deport people and harder for people to challenge

attempts to remove them. Most analysts believe that the rise of UKIP, which wants Britain to leave the EU and end “open door” immigration, has shifted the immigration debate to the right. Peter Wilding, director of British Influence, a group campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, said the issue had been exaggerated. “We’ve got to get real on European immigration,” he told Reuters. “Fewer than one in 50 EU migrants have ever claimed benefits here.” Once derided as a party of “closet racists” by Cameron, UKIP won a quarter of the vote in local elections on May 2, siphoning ballots from the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and even the opposition Labour party. Cameron said his government had cut immigration by one third since it took power in 2010. Ed Miliband, the leader of Labour, some of whose voters have also defected to UKIP, suggested the government was doing too much to pander to the antiimmigration party.

CAIRO (Reuters) - The U.N.’s human rights chief said yesterday Egypt risked betraying the ideals behind the 2011 revolution and slipping into authoritarianism with a new civil society law. The Arab country was at a “critical moment” more than two years after the uprising that ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said, citing a range of social and political rights concerns. She singled out a law backed by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) that she said risked making nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worse off than they were under Mubarak by imposing curbs including funding restrictions. The draft law being discussed in the FJP-led parliament also requires prior approval for many activities and has been criticized for posing a threat to people’s freedom to gather in a common cause or interest. “This current draft law ...

Navi Pillay risks placing civil society under the thumb of security ministries which have a history of abusing human rights and an interest in minimizing scrutiny,” Pillay said in a statement. FJP leaders have said the bill is still under discussion and that it will give NGOs freedom and meet the needs of society. Brotherhood and presidency spokespeople did not respond to phone and

email requests for comment on Pillay’s statement. Civil society groups faced funding constraints under Mubarak, and restrictions on them have continued to create tensions with Western countries who help finance NGOs even after his fall. Last year an investigation into the work of international NGOs, including some U.S.based groups, led to a crisis in ties between Cairo and Washington during the rule of army generals who temporarily took over from Mubarak. Pillay said Egypt needed a clear framework for civil society to organize and work, and that governments who tried to constrain such activities “risk slipping quickly into authoritarianism, even if that is not their initial intention.” She also listed concerns including Egypt’s contentious new constitution, the impunity of security forces implicated in abuses, lawsuits against journalists and activists and “apparent efforts” to limit the authority of the judiciary.

Berlusconi tax fraud sentence upheld by Italian court MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan appeals court upheld a four-year sentence for tax fraud against former prime minister and centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi yesterday, adding to the complications facing Italy’s fragile coalition government. In addition to the jail sentence for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his television n e t w o r k M e d i a s e t , the court’s ruling would also bar Berlusconi from holding public office for five years. However, neither

sentence will take effect unless confirmed in a final appeal before the court of cassation when the threestroke appeals process allowed under Italian law has been exhausted. The 76-year-old media magnate was accused of inflating the price paid for television rights using offshore companies under his control, and skimming off part of that money to create illegal slush funds. Berlusconi, who is facing a separate trial on charges of paying for sex with a minor in notorious “bunga bunga”

parties, had appealed to reverse the four year sentence handed down in October. However, his lawyer Niccolo Ghedini said he had little confidence that the Milan court would listen to his arguments and repeated that judges were biased against Berluscno for political reasons. “We realized it was totally useless to give our arguments to a court of appeals that in our opinion had decided from the first day what its judgment would be,” Ghedini told reporters.

DHAKA (Reuters) - A Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal is due to pronounce judgment on a top Islamist politician yesterday, raising fears a guilty verdict could ignite a fresh round of clashes between members of his party and security forces. Bangladesh, reeling from a factory collapse that killed more than 700 people two weeks ago, is navigating one of its most turbulent periods since independence as a series of political conflicts converge ahead of elections due early next year. Protests over the war crimes trials are one of the

main challenges facing the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who opened an inquiry into abuses committed during a 1971 war for independence from Pakistan in 2010. The tribunals have angered Islamists who say they are a politicallymotivated attempt to persecute the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami, the main Islamist party in Bangladesh and a key part of an opposition coalition. Bangladesh became part of Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule in 1947. The independence war

claimed about 3 million lives. Thousands of women were raped. Some factions in Bangladesh opposed the break with Pakistan, including Jamaat. Its leaders have denied involvement in abuses. Yesterday, judges are due to hand down a verdict in the trial of Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, a leader of Jamaat who is accused of involvement in the murder and torture of several civilians. Syed Haider Ali, the lead government prosecutor, said he expected the court would sentence Kamaruzzaman to death.

Bangladesh braces for unrest as judges prepare war crime verdict

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Putin: Russia needs stronger Girls as young as six raped defense against Afghan threats by Congolese soldiers: U.N. MOSCOW (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin said yesterday Russia must beef up its defenses in the south and work with Central Asian allies to protect itself and neighbors against the threat of extremist violence emerging from Afghanistan. Russia, which backed the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, has voiced concern that threats to its security could increase following the planned withdrawal of most foreign combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Putin told a meeting of his Security Council that U.S. and NATO-led forces “have not yet achieved a breakthrough in the fight against terrorist and radical groups” in Afghanistan and that these groups have become more active recently. “We need to strengthen the security system in the strategic southern area, including its military component,” Putin said. Russia, he said, must work with fellow members of two regional security alliances, one of which includes China. “There is every reason to believe that in the near future we may face a worsening of the situation. International terrorist and radical groups do not hide

Vladimir Putin their plans to export instability,” said Putin. He further said “international forces have done practically nothing to root out drug production in Afghanistan” and ignored Russian proposals, apparently referring to its calls for more efforts to eradicate crops of poppies used to make heroin. Russia is one of the world’s largest per capita consumers of heroin, with addiction and death from drugs and AIDS from needlesharing contributing to a decline in the population since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Putin said Russia, which

is separated geographically from Afghanistan by the exSoviet states of Central Asia, should step up migration controls on its southern border and “exponentially increase the effectiveness of work to stem drug trafficking”. He said the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), an alliance of six former Soviet republics including three in Central Asia, should speed up efforts to better arm and equip a rapid-reaction force that had done little so far. Russia has contributed some 12,000 paratroopers to the CSTO, according to Alexander Golts, a Moscow-based military expert. But he said Russian security efforts faced difficulties including a lack of participation in the CSTO by Uzbekistan, which is the most powerful of the three Central Asian nations bordering Afghanistan but has suspended membership in the CSTO. Russia has an air base in Kyrgyzstan and more than 6,000 soldiers in Tajikistan, its largest deployment abroad. Russian border guards used to patrol the Tajik frontier with Afghanistan but left in 2005. Turkmenistan, the other exSoviet republic that borders Afghanistan, calls itself neutral and shuns alliances.

Lawmakers trade political charges on Benghazi WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans yesterday renewed charges that the Obama administration is covering up information about last year ’s deadly assault in Benghazi, Libya, drawing an angry rebuke from Democrats who accused the GOP of politicizing the issue at a jam-packed hearing. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the purpose of the hearing with three State Department witnesses was to get answers. “These witnesses deserved to be heard,” Issa said. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the panel’s top Democrat, said he wasn’t questioning the motives of the witnesses. “I am questioning the motives of those who want to use them for political purposes,” he said. Three State Department witnesses, including the former deputy chief in Libya, were testifying Wednesday before the panel. The hearing is the latest in a long-running

and bitter dispute between the administration and congressional Republicans who have challenged the White House’s actions before and after the Benghazi attack. The witnesses were Mark Thompson, acting deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism; Gregory Hicks, the former deputy of mission in Libya; and Eric Nordstrom, a former regional security officer in Libya who testified before the panel in October. On Sept. 11, 2012, two separate attacks hours apart on the U.S. facility in Benghazi killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. An independent panel led by former top diplomat Thomas Pickering and retired Gen. Mike Mullen concluded that management and leadership failures at the State Department led to “grossly” inadequate security at the mission. The panel’s report singled out the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Near East Affairs. The report failed to placate GOP lawmakers,

conservatives and outside groups, some of whom contend that Benghazi is comparable to the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals and deserves a more thorough examination. Two of the outside groups — Special

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo troops raped at least 97 women and 33 girls, some as young as six, in the country’s volatile east after they fled from advancing M23 rebels in late November, according to a U.N. report released yesterday. The majority of the rapes by the Congolese army (FARDC) occurred in the eastern town of Minova during a two-day period, and most cases documented by U.N. Joint Human Rights Office followed the same pattern, the report said. “FARDC soldiers entered houses, usually in groups of three to six and, after threatening the inhabitants, looted whatever they could find,” the Joint Human Rights Office, which is part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, wrote in its report on abuses in eastern Congo between November 15 and December 2. “One or two of the soldiers would leave with the looted goods and at least one would stand guard as the remaining FA R D C s o l d i e r s r a p e d women and girls in the house,” the report, based on more than 350 testimonies, said. “Most victims were raped by more than one soldier.” Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende told Reuters the authorities were determined to punish the culprits. “Military reforms are underway and we’ve also taken very severe action against those who were involved, either directly or indirectly,” he said, speaking from the capital Kinshasa.

Twelve senior officers, including the commanders and deputy commanders of the 41st and 391st battalions, have been suspended over the Minova incidents and “were to be put at the disposal of military justice authorities,” the U.N. paper added. The 391st battalion was trained by the United States in 2010 as “a model for future reforms within the Congolese armed forces,” according to the U.S. Africa Command website. The U.S. Defense Department said last month it condemned the crimes in Minova “irrespective of which unit is accused” and that U.S. training included teaching respect for human rights and prevention of gender-based violence. The report said the United Nations threatened on February 4 to withdraw support for battalions 41 and 391 over the accusations of rights abuses in Minova but decided to continue working with them after the commanders and deputy commanders were suspended. After provincial capital Goma and the town of Sake fell to M23 rebels, the report said thousands of Congolese troops fled in a disorganized manner toward Minova, where they “committed mass rape and other acts of sexual violence, as well as cases of arbitrary execution, mistreatment and systematic looting.”

A further 11 Congolese soldiers have been arrested and are awaiting trial in relation to incidents in Minova, although the U.N. report said only two of them face charges of rape and another two are accused of murder. The arrest of a “select few” soldiers would not cure the underlying problems that lead to regular human rights abuses by the Congolese army, known as one of the most brutal and ill disciplined in the world - said Samuel Dixon, policy advisor for Oxfam in the eastern city of Goma. “When soldiers are free to extort, rape and abuse the population as they please, local people are condemned to live in constant fear of any man in uniform,” Dixon added. The U.N. report also documented widespread looting, at least 11 arbitrary executions and 59 cases of sexual violence carried out by rebels during the M23 occupation of Goma and Sake “The victims, mostly wives of FARDC soldiers who had fled during the M23 advance, were raped,” the report said. M23 began taking parts of eastern Congo early last year, accusing the government of failing to honor a 2009 peace deal. That deal ended a previous rebellion and led to the rebels’ integration into the army, but they have since deserted.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. - Jim Rohn

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Thursday May 09, 2013

Pakistan’s ruling party struggles in election ISLAMABAD (AP) — The campaign posters for the Pakistan People’s Party show both why it has been so popular for so long and why it’s in trouble ahead of this Saturday’s national election: two of the party icons on the posters are dead and a third is not old enough to be a candidate. As the historic vote approaches, one of South Asia’s most venerable parties has problems. The party rode to power in 2008 on a wave of sympathy following the assassination of longtime party leader Benazir Bhutto but now it is struggling after five unpopular years in office. Their campaign was made even more difficult after Taliban threats made it dangerous to hold public political functions, so the party’s leader and current star, Bhutto’s son, hasn’t done rallies to fire up the faithful. The result has been a subdued campaign for the incumbent party. “It is very quiet,” said Asad Sayeed, from the Karachi-based Collective for Social Science Research. The PPP has taken out

extensive ads in newspapers and on Pakistan television touting their accomplishments and more importantly reminding voters of the Bhutto family’s extensive sacrifices in politics. Party founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was executed in 1979 after a military coup, and his daughter Benazir died in 2007 from a gun and bomb attack widely blamed on the Taliban. One television ad starts with a sound bite from the founder of the PPP, then goes to a clip of Benazir Bhutto’s last speech before her death and ends with a clip of her son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, shouting energetically to an unseen crowd about the sacrifices he’s ready to make for his followers. At 24, he can’t run for parliament but he’s the most famous living Bhutto in a party that’s synonymous with the name. But ads only go so far for the PPP as much of their traditional vote bank is from the rural poor, who don’t own a television and can’t read even if they could buy a newspaper. That’s why analysts say the rallies have always been particularly

important to the party’s getout-the-vote drive. “In the past it’s always been a charismatic leader who has been leading those rallies. And that’s not there,” said Sayeed. Even with their diminished popularity, many analysts still expect the Pakistan People’s Party to at least come in second during Saturday’s vote. The Pakistan Muslim League-N, lead by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is expected to win. Under the Pakistani system, a strong second-place showing could mean they’d be an active opposition or get a chance to form the coalition if others fail. The party has had some successes during its time in office. President Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widower, managed to hold together an unwieldy, fractured coalition government for a full five-year term — making it the first elected civilian government in Pakistan’s history to finish its term and hand power to another elected civilian government. The PPP government also pushed through legislation

A Pakistani man looks at photographs of Pakistan’s slain leader Benazir Bhutto, displayed for sale by vendor, at the site where she was killed, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) devolving power to the provinces and restricting the power of the presidency. But in a country reeling from power cuts that last more than half the day, rising inflation and deteriorating security, those political victories don’t put food on people’s plates or money in their wallets. The party has to defend a record that many have pilloried, and it’s running as an incumbent — not as the underdog it likes to portray itself as. “I think it’s going to be

Senators seek to block Iran from billion-dollar reserves (Reuters) - Legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators yesterday would block Iran’s access to billions of dollars worth of foreign currency reserves in the latest congressional effort to slow development of the Islamic Republic’s disputed nuclear program.Lawmakers in Washington say the government in Tehran taps the reserves held in banks around the world, mostly in euros, to get around U.S. and EU sanctions on oil sales that have damaged Iran’s economy. Iran converts the reserves it built up from decades of selling oil, estimated to be worth $60 billion to $100 billion, into local currencies in order to finance imports and stabilize its budget, the lawmakers say. The United States and the European Union believe that Iran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons. Tehran says the program is intended for producing power and medical supplies.

Mark Kirk If passed, the bill introduced by Senators Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, and three others, would block such currency conversions of the reserves and be retroactive to May 9. Financial institutions around the world are “on notice” to halt all foreign currency transactions on behalf of blacklisted Iranian banks and sectors “or risk being cut off from the U.S.

financial market,” the lawmakers said in a statement. The bill seeks to limit the ability of the Central Bank of Iran and National Iranian Oil Company to conduct transactions in foreign currencies. It authorizes President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on foreign banks that conduct such transactions. Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a

proponent of tough sanctions on Iran, said the bill could push European regulators to take their own actions to cut Iran’s access to euros. “Congress is encouraging the European Union to adopt a made-in-EU solution that prevents Iran from really exploiting a European loophole,” he said. Kirk and Manchin’s legislation builds on a sanctions law that took effect on February 6, and prohibits Iran from repatriating earnings it gets from its oil exports. The earnings are kept in special accounts in countries that buy Iranian oil. The system aims to force Iran to spend the earnings on goods from those countries, keeping the money from benefiting its nuclear program. The bill is expected to be attached later this month to Iran sanctions legislation in the House of Representatives that was introduced in February by Ed Royce, the chairman of that chamber’s foreign affairs committee.

very difficult for them to play this (victim) card this time around,” said Moeed Yusuf, South Asia adviser at the United States Institute of Peace. And having Bilawal Bhutto largely sidelined is a blow. Bilawal — known generally by his first name — was only 19 when his mother died. His father was named by his deceased wife in her will as the leader of the PPP, but the elder Zardari immediately handed that post to his son. Bilawal was away at college in Britain so in practice his father ran the party for the next five years, but on December 27, the younger Zardari was formally launched into P a k i s t a n i politics at a ceremony on the anniversary of his mother’s death. The party said he would

be taking part in the campaign through rallies or other events such as small gatherings. But a decision by Bilawal to fly to Dubai in March just as the race was heating up raised eyebrows. The official version of events was that threats to his life forced him to leave the country. That’s been a definite possibility. The Taliban is believed responsible for neardaily attacks against political candidates. But rumors also circulated of a spat with his f a t h e r. W h a t e v e r t h e reason, Bilawal eventually returned to Pakistan but has played little public role in the campaign. A PPP candidate in the southern port city of Karachi, Rashid Rabbani, said Bilawal’s television advertisements have helped but personal appearances would have been better.

Pakistan’s Imran Khan has 3 fractured vertebrae LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Prominent Pakistani politician Imran Khan is expected to make a full recovery despite fracturing three vertebrae and a rib in a dramatic fall at a political rally, his doctor said yesterday. Khan, a former cricket legend whose party is a leading contender in this week’s national elections, toppled about 5 meters (15 feet) off a forklift Tuesday that was raising him and three guards to a stage at a rally in the eastern city of Lahore. The dramatic footage was broadcast repeatedly on local TV. The 60-year-old Khan fractured a vertebra in his neck and two in his back in the fall, said his doctor, Faisal Sultan. He also cracked a rib and cut his head, but Sultan refuted earlier reports that

Khan fractured his skull. “The most important thing out of all this is the spinal canal is intact and Mr. Imran Khan is in full control of all his limbs and his body functions,” Sultan said at a news conference in Lahore. “We are very confident that all these fractures will heal with time and will heal completely and allow him to be fully, completely functional and fit as he always is.” Khan will be kept on bed rest in the hospital for at least a few more days so doctors can conduct further examinations, Sultan said. Two of the guards who fell with Khan have been treated for their injuries and discharged. A third guard remains hospitalized and is scheduled to have surgery on his leg, Sultan said.

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Thursday May 09, 2013

APNU Councilor apologizes to Region Three Chairman After being barred from speaking at Regional meetings several months ago, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Councilor, Kathlene Armstrong, yesterday presented a written apology to Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Three, Donald Gajraj. The letter which was read out by the REO stated that the Councilor was sorry for talking about the rude and dismissive behaviour of the Regional head. Opposition Councilors representing

Alliance for Change (AFC) and APNU had for some time been complaining about the alleged obnoxious behavior and disrespect meted out to them by the REO who continued to tell Opposition Councilors to “shut up and sit down” every time they wished to highlight issues plaguing the various areas they represented in that region. Armstrong was ordered to remain silent and would thus be unable to bring the plight of her area to the meeting if she did not present the

apology. After two months of being silent, the APNU Councilor finally presented the written apology. Other Opposition members had however expressed their disapproval and disgust with the action of the Regional Chairman and had called for an intervention into the matter after claiming that the Region’s business was going nowhere because of the behaviour of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) representative. When the Region’s monthly meeting convened yesterday several persons picketed the Regional office for the repair of the Parika Backdam Road. According to AFC Councilor Harry Narine Deokinanan who also uses the road to access his home and his farmland, numerous reports had been made to the Regional Chairman pertaining to the road but to no avail. He said that for the past three months he had been highlighting the immediate need to repair the road which

is used by the almost 800 residents living in the area. He said that the Chairman would however dismiss the matter or put it off. Deokinanan said that the residents, fed up with the condition of the road, decided to protest the matter in a bid to get it repaired. The AFC Councilor said at yesterday’s meeting that he highlighted the matter and was told that the Region needed to wait for the budget for funds to be allocated for the road. The Councilor continued that on Tuesday three vehicles, including his own which was transporting persons out of the area, got damaged due to the deplorable state of the road. In one case, he said, the front wheel of a vehicle fell off after

the vehicles ball joint got damaged. A spring for his vehicle, he said, was also damaged. Taking the spring as evidence to the Regional Chairman, Deokinanan said that the Chairman ordered that he get out of the meeting after asking, why he had brought a weapon into the room. After responding that the instrument was not a weapon, but was a part of his vehicle, the chairman, Deokinanan said, responded that it was a metal that could be used as a weapon. He thus ordered that the spring be taken out of the room. The Councilor however, noted that the Parika Backdam Road has to be leveled every three months, while the potholes are filled with

builders’ waste as part of the maintenance process. This, he said, has not been done and due to rainfall the road is almost impassable. Private persons have to use their vehicles to aid those traversing the thoroughfare; especially the school children. Protestors said that much of the produce destined for Bourda Market, especially cash crop and provision comes from the Parika area. They argued that a better road is needed. Some 90 percent of the villagers depend on farming for their livelihood. The Regional Chairman reportedly engaged the protestors and promised to visit the area today. He also promised to intervene in whatever way possible to effect repairs to the road.

Pouderoyen resident dies after falling from scaffold

The 35-year-old man fell from the third floor of this four-storey building A father of three young children was yesterday pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation minutes after falling from a scaffold on High and Leopold Streets. It was reported that 35year-old Faizal Ali called ‘Imran’ was holding a piece of the metal scaffold which came into contact with the live electric wire which was just several inches away from where the scaffold was erected next to a four-storey building. Eyewitnesses say that after a spark, Ali was tossed about 40 feet to the ground where he landed firmly on his back, on the concrete pavement. Persons in the area, and other workers rushed the man to the GPHC where he was pronounced dead. When Kaieteur News

visited the man’s home in Bella Dam Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara last evening, persons were already preparing for the wake. His children wept uncontrollably as they were being comforted by relatives. The man’s mother told this newspaper that she last saw her son yesterday morning when he was leaving for work. “He come and he pray and so, and the last I see he was when he did walking out to go to work. I did watching he from the veranda.” Ali’s brother said that up until his death, “Imran” was employed as a mason carpenter with the same employer for about two years. “We ain’t really know the name of the people that he did working with, but I talk to his boss man wife today (yesterday) and she was very

Dead: Faizal Ali called ‘Imran’ nice. The boss man wasn’t in the country, he might come in tomorrow,” the man said. Ali leaves to mourn his three children, two close female friends who he had been living with, his parents and four siblings.

Thursday May 09, 2013

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Page 31

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Page 32

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 09, 2013

Aristide gives evidence in murder case to Haitian judge

Supporters of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide wait outside his house for him to appear on his way to a court appearance, in the Tabarre neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, yesterday. REUTERS/Marie Arago

P O RT- A U - P R I N C E (Reuters) - Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide appeared in public for the first time since returning from exile more than two years ago, testifying in court yesterday about the assassination more than a decade ago of a popular radio journalist and human rights activist. In a testament to his continued political sway, thousands of supporters sang pro-Aristide songs and waved his picture behind police barricades down the street from the courthouse. They had pledged to accompany him from his home in a Port-au-Prince suburb to the court and back despite a ban on demonstrations for the day. Aristide, still a polarizing figure, was accompanied by political allies and armed

police guards to the judge’s chamber in the capital where he spent just under three hours answering questions in the case of Jean Dominique, who was gunned down in April 2000 along with a security guard outside Haiti-Inter, the radio station he owned. Aristide smiled to reporters but made no comment as he left the left the courthouse. “The atmosphere was very cordial. The courts did a good job, the police provided good security,” his lawyer, Mario Joseph, told Reuters after leaving court. Dominique’s death occurred as Aristide was preparing to run for a second presidential term that year and Dominique was also rumored as a potential presidential candidate. While several low-level arrests of the suspected gunmen were made at the

time, who ordered the murder has remained one of Haiti’s great unsolved crimes. More than half a dozen people allegedly involved in the assassination have either been killed or have disappeared over the years, as well as several witnesses who claimed to have evidence in the case. For years Dominique’s widow, Michele Montas, sought to have the case reopened, hoping that Aristide and others could shed light on who was behind the crime. “The investigation has led to people close to the high levels of the Lavalas party that Aristide headed. He may not have given the green light but I am sure he knows who did it,” Montas, 66, a former U n i t e d N a t i o n s spokeswoman who was in New York, told Reuters.

US VICE PRESIDENT TO VISIT TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Thursday May 09, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): If you are still conserving your energy, it may be time to experiment with letting go of control now. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): It makes sense to anticipate the future so you can be ready for any contingency. However, it’s quite another thing to be so wrapped up in what might happen that you lose control of the present moment. GEMINI (May 21–June 20): The Moon’s shift into your sign can be like an emotional wake-up call that moves you out of your head and down into the rest of your body. Although you may become so entangled in a drama that you lose perspective, you have a chance to grow more aware of how your thoughts are influenced by your changing moods. CANCER (June 21–July 22): At first you may lose interest in anything you start today, but it’s just that your mind is on too many things at once. You might feel distracted and even a tad discouraged. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): Career-related issues finally seem to be under control now, blessing you with enough free time to think farther into the future without having to be so practical. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): It’s likely that you were doing fine yesterday, but now your sense of order seems to be quickly falling apart as you are deluged with contradictory data.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): You were fairly certain about your point of view yesterday, but your confidence may wane today. Part of your current dilemma is that there appears to be even more choices than you initially realized. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): The stubbornness of a friend may have tested your patience over the past couple of days. You might even have reached a point where you felt as if you were negotiating with an obstinate mule. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): If you are struggling to break out of a rut or eliminate an old habit, it may be time to find someone to help you out today. CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): You may be out of step with your environment today because you don’t have the same intense level of focus that you had yesterday. You might even start a task, only to leave it unfinished as you move on to something else. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): The electric light bulbs in your brain begin to flash with brilliant creativity today. You feel alive and refreshed, ready to make good use of all the ideas that are coming your way. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): There’s plenty of chit-chat at home or on the job now, and you may have difficulty keeping up with it all. It’s not that you lack interest ... it’s just that you don’t have the energy to follow up on each idea or feeling that is expressed.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – United States vice president Joe Biden is will visit Trinidad and Tobago at the end of May, the US Embassy in the twin-island republic has confirmed. It gave no details on the proposed visit, but one local television station quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran as saying that the visit is aimed at improving relations and cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean Community (CARICCOM) leaders. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar shrugged off reports that relations between Washington and Port of Spain had deteriorated telling a public meeting of her United National Congress (UNC) that “Trinidad and Tobago and United States are true friends. Tell them our relations with the US are strong.” But Washington has maintained a stony silence on requests from the T&T government on whether or not

former national security minister Austin ‘Jack’ Warner is under investigation in the United States regarding his activities as an international football executive. The US Embassy had also issued a statement regarding the non-extradition of two businessmen, Ish Galbaransingh and Steve

Ferguson wanted in the United States on fraud charges relating to the Piarco International Airport development project. Late last month, Persad Bissessar visited Washington where she held talks with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

End of an era... From page 37 since 1996, and Moyes, at Everton for 11 years, are in Ferguson’s league when it comes to staying power. Even after his 70th birthday he remains as animated as ever, celebrating goals with the same boyish enthusiasm he brought from Aberdeen with whom he won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1983. Chastened by losing the title to Manchester City, whom he once famously dubbed “noisy neighbours”, in the dying seconds of last season, Ferguson, as he has always managed to do, raised the bar again, signing Arsenal’s Robin van Persie. In what proved to be Ferguson’s transfer masterstroke, the Dutchman’s 25 league goals helped United to a record 20th league title, two more than the 18 won by Liverpool whom Ferguson vowed to “knock off their perch” when he arrived in 1986. Chief executive Gill, a loyal ally of Ferguson’s for the past 16 years, said Ferguson’s legacy would live on, whoever is named as his successor and that the outgoing manager would have a say on the new appointment. “The qualities (of the next manager) are the ones that have been inherent within Manchester United for many years,” he told MUTV. “If you look at what has happened with the two most successful eras - Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex - they are managers who got involved in the whole aspect of the club, whether it be from the youth team up to the first team. “Clearly he has to have the requisite football experience, both in terms of domestic and European experience, so I think it’s a small pool but we’ll move forward.” Former chairman Martin Edwards, the man responsible for hiring Ferguson, said the

club owed a debt of gratitude. “The success in 1990 revived everything. It saved us really,” he said. “He’s a workaholic. He’s got such a great knowledge of football. I don’t think you’ll ever see anyone managing Man United for 27 years again.” Ferguson, a horse-racing enthusiast and wine connoisseur, was not an overnight success, however, experiencing some difficult years before landing the FA Cup in 1990 and the Cup Winners’ Cup the year after. Ending United’s 25-year wait for the English title in 1992-93 proved to be the catalyst for two decades of domination despite the challenges of Arsenal, then Chelsea and more recently Manchester City. Famous for his so-called “hair dryer” outbursts of rage at high-profile players, his manic gum-chewing and unbridled joy at every goal scored, Ferguson established an attacking style fitting for the Theatre of Dreams. His faith in young players launched the careers of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs while his signings of players such as Eric Cantona, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney made sure that United, for the most part, remained ahead of their rivals. Since the advent of the Premier League, United have never once finished outside the top three. Off the field, Ferguson, who received a knighthood in 1999, proved himself the perfect ambassador and diplomat as the club controversially passed into the ownership of the American Glazer family in 2005. “Alex has proven time and time again what a fantastic manager he is but he’s also a wonderful person,” cochairman Joel Glazer, son of owner Malcolm, said in the club statement.

Knicks beat Pacers... From page 39 “I thought it was a total team hustle game,” said Woodson. “Everyone was involved with deflections. Our hands were active and our rotations were right where they needed to be.” The Pacers, who had won Sunday’s opening game by 102-95, got off to a slow start in Game Two, trailing by 13 points during the second quarter. They briefly grabbed the lead in the third quarter but were unable to keep up with the Knicks when it mattered. Paul George led the way with 20 points while David

West had 13 and six rebounds. Despite the loss, the Pacers were upbeat about their prospects with games Three and Four being held in Indiana. The eventual winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Final, against either Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls. “We didn’t finish the third quarter well and it gave them some momentum heading into the fourth quarter,” said George. “And that’s when Melo (Anthony) got off. We were scrambling and chasing them around throughout the whole quarter.”

Page 33

NSBF moves to Ancient County tomorrow - Marian Academy on Saturday The Ancient Conference of the National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF) tips off at the Port Mourant Training School Hard Court tomorrow while the Georgetown Conference continues the following day at the Marian Academy Hard Court. Director of Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG), which is the host of the NSBF, Chris Bowman told Kaieteur Sport that President’s College will play Plaisance in an U-20 game that was supposed to be held on Sunday, but was moved owed Mother’s Day, on Saturday. Guyana’s premier schools basketball competition that started last weekend with games in several parts of Guyana, aims to develop and maintain a well-coordinated national championships for the boys and girls teams; improve existing basketball infrastructure in schools;

encourage the mental and physical wellness through youth sport and emphasise leadership, citizenship, scholarship and athletic excellence among young people. The NSBF started in 2006 with 18 schools in a single elimination tournament. From its inception it has been a partnership between the National Sport Commission (NSC) and YBG to develop an independent and structured basketball programme for schools. Today, the programme has grown to include almost 50 schools participating first for ranking in five separate Regional Conferences for qualification for the National Championships. National titles are contested in three age groups and players are identified for the Junior Elite programme for a chance to be selected for the Inter-Guiana Games.

A lot of work still to... From page 34 make an assessment of the trial games that we’ve had I will have to say that both sides gave away a lot of penalties in the ruck areas and that to my mind was due to indiscipline. It is not a case of them not knowing what to do, but merely a case of players playing with raw emotions,” Henry pointed out. Asked whether there were any other area of deficiency that needed to be addressed, Henry retorted by saying that every area is being looked at presently and they are having complete sessions. “We will have a another game simulation this week and that is to correct all the deficiencies, especially in defence which I can tell you is our main focus right now. If we have a solid defence I feel everything else will fall into place.” Questioned on the scheduled arrival time for the three overseas-based players Richard Staglon, Ronald Mayers and Dillon Downer, the Head Coach disclosed that the latter two should arrive in time for the trial game this weekend, but Staglon due to work commitments is expected a few days before the game. Henry admitted that Staglon is an integral part of the team, he is noted for his commitment, inspiration and most of all his vast experience, adding that it is vital that he arrives in time to gel with the players,

especially the new ones and be part of the system. Henry highlighting the difficulty of preparing a team to play 15’s rugby said that it is always a real challenge, pointing out that it is just like starting over since we’ve always been a dominant 7’s playing nation and our focus and strategies are predominantly geared for that format. “The 15’s format is totally different, it is more technical and instead of speed which is a decisive advantage in 7’s rugby, 15’s is more about strength and tactical superiority,” Henry stated. The current squad of 47 players will be reduced to 22 following a trial match this weekend.

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Page 34

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 09, 2013

Raina, Hussey Beach football officials differ with GFF boss’ account of travel saga consolidate No.1 spot By Michael Benjamin Following an uncompromising stance to support a team of beach footballers in its quest to represent Guyana at the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship currently being contested in the Bahamas, which resulted in the abortion of the trip, executives of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) came under fire from Head of Competition of the Beach Soccer Worldwide, Josep Ponset which saw them scrambling to facilitate the team’s participation at the eleventh hour, all to no avail. To this effect, Manager/ Team Administrator, Mark Xavier and assistant coach, Rollin Tappin convened a press conference at the Water Chris Hotel, Waterloo Street Georgetown yesterday afternoon to outline their side of the story while setting the record straight. Subsequently, Mr. Xavier made some revelations that have put the newly installed GFF boss, Christopher Matthias in the spotlight. The saga had its genesis when a 15 man squad selected by the Guyana Beach Football Association (GBFA) to participate in the above mentioned championships in Nassau Bahamas, which got underway yesterday and runs to May 12 next, were forced to abandon plans after failing to receive the blessings and support of the ruling body. Shortly after the team management had called off the trip, Kaieteur Sport had engaged Mr. Mathias for an explanation and he had stated that he was totally ignorant of any arrangements pertaining to the team’s participation in the tournament. He had also debunked claims made by the two administrators that he was asked to meet the team one night prior to its departure to relay his blessings. Further, Mr. Matthias had denied committing a prescribed sum, as stated by Mr. Xavier, to the team’s participation in the tournament. During the telephone interview, the GFF President had informed Kaieteur Sport that he was in constant contact with President of the GBFA, Garth Nelson, via email and at no time was he informed that either Xavier or Tappin were representatives of the entity. “They are not executives nor are they legal representatives of the

LAYING IT BARE: Mr. Xavier (L) and Mr. Tappin detail the media of the reasons for the aborted trip Guyana Beach Football Association,” the GFF boss had adamantly declared. Mr. Xavier said that he was aghast by such blatant lies and produced a document signed by Mr. Mathias, countersigned by General Secretary, Noel Adonis and authenticated with the seal of the GFF that acknowledged the existence of the team as well as the portfolios of Xavier and Rollins. The letter was later dispatched to CONCACAF, an indication of Guyana’s participation in the tournament. On Tuesday morning last, after the team had encountered difficulties at the travel office, Mr. Xavier had attempted to solicit assistance from Mr. Matthias to vouch for them so that the team could have travelled on time. Mr. Xavier explained that he had attempted to get the GFF boss to vouch for the team to the tune of 4 tickets. He said that the tickets were already guaranteed from reputable businesses but would have been honoured at a later date. He said that he was unable to contact Mr. Matthias and had sought the assistance of Mark Phillips who acted as an intermediary. Despite Xavier’s best efforts he was unable to solicit assistance from Matthias. He then sought help from Aubrey Major but that too reached a brick wall after personnel at the airline remained staunch that only Mr. Matthias could have given the requisite directive to defer payment for a later date. In the end the team was forced to abandon the trip. Further, Xavier questioned Mr. Adonis’ integrity after he claimed that

the team management failed to produce the requisite proof to substantiate their claims that several members of the corporate community were willing to pick up the tab for the tickets. Mr. Xavier said that he remained in contact with the General Secretary and produced a list of businessmen who had committed to offset the cost of the airfare to facilitate the team’s trip. He admitted that one of these businessmen had called to say that he was no longer in a position to honour his commitment but that apart, several others were willing and able to support. “We were simply requesting that the GFF hierarchy vouch for us and we produced enough evidence to substantiate our claims but all to no avail,” lamented Xavier. In an earlier interview Mr. Adonis had told Kaieteur Sport that Mr. Xavier was unable to satisfy his executives that the commitment would have been upheld. Meanwhile, the situation took an interesting twist after Mr. Adonis, dispatched a correspondence to Mr. Mathias and several other local football administrators to inform of Guyana’s non participation in the tournament. He also dispatched a similar document to the Head of Competition of the Beach Soccer Worldwide, Josep Ponset. According to reports, upon receiving the mail, a clearly upset Mr. Ponset instructed that all efforts should be made to have Guyana in the Bahamas for their engagement yesterday afternoon. The directive triggered off a flurry of

activities and Mr. Xavier revealed that he received a call from Mr. Adonis late Tuesday night instructing him to have the team ready for travel. Mr. Xavier said that Mr. Adonis also attached conditions saying that the management of the team would be replaced by Lawrence Griffith and Mark Phillips over Xavier and Tappin. Xavier said that his principal interest was to see the team off to the championships and despite the fact that neither Griffith nor Phillips was integral to the team’s preparation, he (Xavier) was only too happy to see the youngsters attend the championships. Consequently, the players were called out at around 21:30hrs on Tuesday night while the GFF administrators attempted to procure enough seats on a late flight. In the end, their efforts proved futile as the time proved insufficient as the airline in question were unable to provide adequate seating at such short notice. Meanwhile, both Tappin and Xavier lamented Matthias’ inefficient handling of the matter. The latter administrator adamantly stated that the GFF boss has placed the sport in disrepute and coming so early on the heels of his ascension to office, casts an ominous pall over local football administration. Both gentlemen had uncomplimentary prognosis of Mr. Matthias’ style of leadership, but it was Tappin who tersely summed up the situation, “Mr. Matthias shot those footballers at point blank range and should do the decent thing and resign.”

A predatory mauling that lasted for most of Chennai Super Kings’ innings set up a mammoth 77-run for the visitors, who ruined Sunrisers Hyderabad’s perfect home record and placed themselves on the very brink of another playoffs berth. Michael Hussey’s 42-ball 67 fanned the sparks of a bright start into a roaring middle-over onslaught, before Suresh Raina acquired the bellows and set the stadium ablaze. At the close of the innings, he was one run short of a deserved hundred, having struck at over 190, and with the aid of a brief late burst from Ravindra Jadeja and a woeful Sunrisers attack, he had lifted his side to 223 for 3. Sunrisers rarely looked capable of challenging that total during their response, and finished eventually on 146 for 8, now facing a steep climb into the playoffs, as their net run rate (-0.228) suffered due to the big defeat. At the toss MS Dhoni said he had instructed his side to drive their 60-run loss to Mumbai Indians from their minds, and it is difficult to imagine how his side could have been more emphatically obedient. The same top order that succumbed to 40 for 6 in their last match appeared in supreme collective form in Hyderabad, and though their opponents were lacklustre at best, Super Kings’ batsmen not only exacted a heavy toll from the bad balls, they heaped pressure on the bowling by creating their own space and blasting even good deliveries to the fence. Ishant Sharma began the rot for Sunrisers on his way to figures of 0 for 66 in his four overs - the worst ever spell in the history of the tournament. Dale Steyn, who conceded only 17 in contrast, had begun the match with a maiden to Hussey, but the batsman

quickly amended his strikerate against Ishant, before his opening partner M Vijay exploited the poor bowling even more brutally in Ishant’s next over, by hitting him for three consecutive on side sixes. Hussey’s knock was drenched in class. Running hard as always, and finding gaps with uncanny precision, Hussey moved smoothly through the gears after his slow start, and before long, Super Kings were hitting 10 runs or more an over as a matter of routine. The spinners were treated little different from the errant quicks - Hussey launched both Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma into the stands before Raina came quickly up to speed and had eclipsed his senior partner before Hussey’s dismissal. Sunrisers continued to stray, though it must be said the flat pitch offered little wiggle room for bowlers, and Raina, moving particularly swiftly around the crease, rarely seemed to be breaking a sweat as he hit ball after ball to the fence. He tortured a broken Ishant in his final over, hitting four pretty fours and a slogged six, plundering 23 from that over for himself, though two wides added a couple more to the team tally. Sunrisers failed to rally at any point after Super Kings had set off, and though Parthiv Patel gave the hosts a sliver of hope, as he set off quickly in their reply, the clatter of wickets at the other end snuffed that chance, and left them still outside the top four on the table. Super Kings consolidated their position at the top with 20 points, with three league games to play. Scores: Chennai Super Kings 223 for 3 (Raina 99*, Hussey 67) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 146 for 8 (Parthiv 44) by 77 runs.

A lot of work still to be done - Henry Head Coach of the national rugby squad Theodore Henry, speaking with Kaieteur Sport on Tuesday afternoon during a practice session at the National Park, said the squad currently preparing for their May 18 clash against Barbados in the NACRA 15’s Championship still have a lot of work to do, but was optimistic that they will be ready for the encounter.

Henry, who has been in charge of the national team for the past two years, told this newspaper that the current phase they are in is to get the patterns of play and game sequences correct and judging from what he has seen so far indicates that some amount of work is still to be done to reach the desired level. “For instance, if I’m to (Continued on page 33)

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 35

MINISTER OF SPORTS GHRA SET FOR IMPORTANT MEETING TODAY

After a long and arduous struggle horseracing in Guyana may finally be going somewhere with officials of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) set to meet with the Minister of Sports, Dr Frank Anthony, today in his office at Main Street Georgetown. A number of issues are expected to be put to the table with the main bone of contention being the passage of the necessary legislation which was given to the minister a long time ago and when passed will legalize the sport which at the moment is being run without any lawful authority. The meeting is also set to discuss the general state of horseracing in Guyana which is dubbed the “Sport of Kings”. According to an official of the GHRA, due to the lack of proper legislations and binding rules, persons in the sport are doing what they please and casting a dark shadow on the activity. He said that a lack of proper legislation remains the main reason for the sport still not being properly administered. None other than legal luminaries, veteran horseracing personalities Senior Council Marcel Crawford and retired Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard, who incidentally are the legal advisor and President of the GHRA respectively, have blasted the Government for its none support in the horseracing fraternity,

especially with the Government’s non-response to the passage of the Horse Racing Legislation. Kennard had felt that more ought to be done and had blamed the lack of adequate legislation as the main nuisance for the sports still not being properly administered. “Things are not to the level as it ought to be and people are still doing what they feel like, and we cannot nail them because there are no legislations,” he had said. He stated that the nonimplementation of the necessary legislation remains the biggest concern of the GHRA. Kennard told the media that, “If we have the legislation we will ensure a saliva test is taken of the horse and analysed and any persons found to have been responsible for the doping, be it owner or trainer, will be

punished. Senior Council Marcel Crawford was more candid as usual. He was disappointed with what passes as horseracing nowadays, with things being done in a haphazard way, with plenty of indiscipline and too much greed. He had stated that, “Persons do not have any concerns for the horses and are only interested in make a profit.” He mentioned that there are also too much doping of horses and illegal betting. He had opined that persons should be charged for doping the animals, because its cruelty and the Society for the cruelty of animals should take note. “They should be present at the next horserace meet and deal with some of these people,” he had asserted. His major disappointment also is with the Government in that the Horse Racing

BCB/Universal DVD T20 Competition for teams in Berbice

Gajanand Singh ton leads Young Warriors to 71-run win over Upper Corentyne The Berbice Cricket Board/Universal DVD T20 for First Division teams in Berbice continued last weekend with just one match possible due to heavy rains. Universal DVD/Young Warriors thrashed the newly reformed Upper Corentyne Cricket Association by 71 runs. The host UDVD/YWCC won the toss and batted first and were led to victory,

thanks mainly to a brilliant unbeaten knock, 136 (8x4 and 10x6) off 68 balls made by former Guyana middle order batsman, Gajanand Singh. UDVD/YWCC had a bad start when Maxie DeJonge was run out for 1 in the first over after a terrible mix up with Richard Ramdeen. Singh joined Ramdeen and together they put on a healthy partnership of 70

Muscle Invasion: GABBFF Novice and Intermediate C\ships

Subs and Salads weigh in The Guyana Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (GABBFF) have gained the support of Subs and Salads for its Novice and I n t e r m e d i a t e Championships which is set for this Sunday. The Federation was yesterday presented with a cheque of an unnamed amount at the business location in Sheriff Street. Representative of the sponsor Anesa Mohamed indicated that they are happy to contribute to the championships, while Organizing Secretary of the GABBFF Videsh Sookram was thankful for the contribution. Action gets underway at 19:00hrs.

Legislation has not been passed as yet. He repeated that he personally drafted the document and it was given to the Minister of Culture Youth and Sports Dr Frank Anthony a long time ago. He bashed the government for being too laid back when it comes to sport and the necessary support. He is disappointed that, “the Government is sitting on its hands in terms of passing the necessary legislations.” Horseracing has gone on the decline since the glory days of Durban Park. The sport has been operating under a legal document that was registered under the Miscellaneous Deeds Act. It is hoped that today’s meeting will produce the desired results and the sport could be run with the necessary accountability desired by all. (Samuel Whyte)

GABBFF Organising Secretary Videsh Sookram (right) collects the cheque from Anesa Mohamed of Subs and Salads.

before the latter was LBW Jameel Azad for 19. Kevin Ramdeen, the younger brother of Richard, joined Singh and they blasted the ball to all parts of the ground before Ramdeen was caught on the long on fence off the bowling of L. Roopchand for swashbuckling 46 (5x6 and 1x4). UDVD/YWCC eventually made 222 for 3 off the allotted 20 overs. Bowling for UCCA, Latchman Roopchand and Jameel Azad took a wicket each. UCCA in reply scored runs at a rapid speed but lost wickets at regular intervals, causing a drop in the run rate. They ended on 151 for 7 wickets when the overs expired. Latchman Roopchand top-scored with 48 not out, consisting of 4 massive sixes. Bowling for UDVD/YWCC, Kevin Ramdeen took 3 for 28 and Vishal Mohabir 2 for 26. SUMMARIZED SCORES: At the Cumberland ground, UDVD/YWCC won the toss, batted first and scored 222 for 3 off 20 overs, Gajanand Singh 136no, Kevin Ramdeen 46. UCCA in reply, 151 for 7. L. Roopchand 48no, Nazim Mohamed 23 and T. Ramdass 22. Bowling for UDVD/ YWCC, K. Ramdeen 3 for 28 and V. Mahabir 2 for 26.

NSC’s 31st annual 3-stage Cycle Race preparations pedaling on -event set for May 18 – 19 starting in Berbice Plans for the 31st edition of the National Sports Commission (NSC) sponsored Independence 3Stage Cycle Road Race have been progressing smoothly and fans can look forward to an exciting event this year. National Coach Hassan recently returned from a visit to the Ancient County where he ensured that all systems are in place for the first and second stages of the event which will pedal off on the Corentyne, outside the Police Station on the m o r n i n g o f May 18 at 07:30hrs to end at Alexander Street in the Town of New Amsterdam, a distance of 46.6 Miles or 75km. Stage two will pedal off at 14:00hrs also on Saturday 18th from Rosignol and will conclude on Carifesta Avenue, the competitors covering some 60.4 Miles or 97.1km. The third and final stage will be contested on Sunday May 19 from Kara Kara in the Bauxite Mining Town of Linden to end on Homestretch Avenue in the City, a distance of 64.5 Miles or 103km. An overall distance of approximately 171.5 Miles or 274.3km will be covered by the cyclists. According to a release

from the organizers, all cyclists are required to register through their respective Clubs or Team Managers and those registration forms must be submitted to the NSC no later than Wednesday, May 15 during normal working hours. The NSC Office is located at 91 Middle Street, South Cummingsburg. Demerara Distillers Limited will be cooling down riders with Diamond Mineral Water throughout each stage of the race. Cyclists and officials will leave for Springlands, Berbice on Friday May 17 at 12:00hrs from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Main Street. Another requirement for all competitors will be that they must compete in their respective Club Jerseys while they will also have to produce their license before the race where numbers will be issued. If any further information or clarification is needed, that can be obtained by making contact with National Coach Hassan Mohamed. The defending champion is Ivan Dominquez of Team Coco’s Miami who covered the distance in Six Hours 44 Minutes 54 Seconds.

Woodpecker Squash tourney underway The Guyana Squash Association (GSA) in collaboration with its number one corporate sponsor Digicel, served off its National Junior Squash Championships sponsored by Woodpecker Products Ltd Tuesday night at the Georgetown Club Courts. Matches were played in three of the eight categories that will be contested during the six-day tournament. Matches in both the boys and girls under-11 categories will be played using best-of-three game format, while in all the other categories there will be a best of five contest. Players in all of categories will play each other in a round robin format. Results are as follows for the first day: Boys under-11 Shomari Wiltshire defeated Daniel Lowe 11-2,11-1

Lucas Jonas beat Dominic Collins 11-2, 11-5 Gianni Carpenter defeated Nathan Rahaman 11-0, 11-1 Rajiv Lee beat Michael Alphonso 11-5,10-12,14-12 Demetrius DeAbreu defeated Ethan Jonas 11-3, 1012, 11-8 John Phang beat Zachary Persaud 11-1,11-5 Gareth DaSilva beat Liam Carpenter 11-5,11-4 Girls under-11 Makeda Harding beat J’Anay Nedd 11-6,11-1 Boys under-13 and 15 Alexander Cheeks defeated Jael Gaskin 11-4,113,11-4 Shomari Wiltshire defeated Daniel Islam 11-3,11-1,11-6 Matthew Phang beat Anthony Islam11-1,11-1,11-0 Matches continue each night from 6:00pm with the final matches scheduled for Sunday May 12 from 10:00am.

Page 36

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 09, 2013

Meet the Caribbean Short and Long Range Fullbore Shooting Champions - team leaves today for 2013 c/ships in Barbados By Franklin Wilson The KINGS of Fullbore Shooting in the Caribbean - Guyana – will leave these shores today to defend the Short and Long Range and Individual Titles when the 2013 edition of the Caribbean Fullbore Shooting

Championships are held at the Paragon Ranges in the Land of the Flying Fish, Barbados. Defending Individual champion Lennox Braithwaite will spearhead Guyana’s quest to retain all the top trophies including the individual championship. Kaieteur Sport is pleased to introduce the 11-man Guyana Team.

Name: Dylan Fields Position: Vice Captain since 2004 Experience: started the sport in 1990 Class: X

Name: Mahendra Persaud Position: Team Captain and Wind Coach Experience: Captain since 2002, 3-time West Indies Individual winner Class: X

Name: Lennox Braithwaite Position: Shooter and Coach Experience: 2-time Individual winner and Reigning Individual Champion Class: X

Name: Ransford Goodluck Position: Senior shooter and Wind Coach Experience: 6-time West Indian Individual winner; Reigning local Champion Class: X

Name: Sigmund Douglas Position: Shooter Experience: veteran of many tours, started the sport in 1985 and is USA based Class: “O”

Name: Paul Slowe Position: Wind Coach and Shooter Experience: started shooting in 1978 and the current West Indies Captain Class: “O”

Name: Dane Blair Position: Shooter Experience: started the sport in 1988 Class: “O”

Name: Leo Ramalho Position: Shooter Experience: returning to this level after 11 years; Reigning Guyana “O” Class Champion Class: “O”

Name: Lt. Col. Terrance Stuart Position: Shooter Experience: Started the in 1990 also has experience at this level Class: “O”

Name: Charles Deane Position: Junior Shooter Experience: Started the sport 6 years ago Class: “O”

Name: Peter Persaud Position: Junior Shooter Experience: Started the sport 4 years ago Class: “O”

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 37

END OF AN ERA AS MAN UTD BOSS FERGUSON TO RETIRE always said he would retire when something in his life wasn’t right, and it must be something we don’t know about.” Former Manchester United midfielder and current Blackpool boss Paul Ince told Sky Sports: “I’m totally shocked. What he’s done is unbelievable. You’ll never see anyone of his kind

Sir Alex Ferguson

(

Reuters) - Alex Ferguson, Britain’s longest-serving and most successful football manager, will retire at the end of the season after more than 26 years spent decorating Manchester United’s trophy room with silverware. The 71-year-old Scot ended intense speculation about his future at Old Trafford by confirming he would step aside after champions United’s last game of the season at West Bromwich Albion on May 19 - his 1,500th in charge. His decision brings the curtain down on a glittering era for the country’s bestsupported club which included 13 English league titles, two European Cups, five FA Cups and four League Cups as well as the FIFA Club World Cup. Everton boss David Moyes, a Glaswegian like Ferguson, is strongly tipped to be United’s next manager with one British bookmaker offering odds of 20-1 ON. Former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is also in the running to fill the void left by the retiring Scot and is priced at 10-1. United chief executive David Gill told the club’s inhouse television channel MUTV they would move “relatively quickly” in naming a successor. Ferguson arrived in Manchester in 1986 after Ron Atkinson was sacked and, after a difficult start, began building an empire that shows no sign of crumbling with the club recapturing the English title from Manchester City this season. “The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time,” Ferguson, who has won nearly 900 of his 1,498 matches in charge,

said on United’s website (www.manutd.com). United said Ferguson, who is to undergo hip surgery during the offseason, would remain at the club as a director. “It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so,” added Ferguson who had announced he would retire after the 2001-02 season before changing his mind. “Going forward, I am delighted to take on the roles of both director and ambassador for the club,” he said. “With these activities, along with my many other interests, I am looking forward to the future.” Ferguson, who in 2010 surpassed Matt Busby’s as the longest-serving manager in United’s history, had not hinted at retirement in his programme notes for Sunday’s game against Chelsea, suggesting he was keen to continue. Bobby Charlton, a member of Busby’s side that won the European Cup in 1968 and still a director, said United’s dominance of the English game was solely down to Ferguson. “I am a director but I hardly do anything because we are winning all the time and it is all down to Alex Ferguson,” Charlton said at a stamps launch at Wembley on Wednesday. “He is such a fantastic manager. Everything he has done has been fantastic.” The suddenness of his decision left some who served under him in a state of disbelief. “I’m shocked, it’s a bombshell,” said former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who was part of the 1998-99 team who won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. “I’m disappointed and very, very sad. He had

again. “Two weeks ago he was talking about staying on for another two years, so it’s a massive, massive shock.” Bryan Robson, Ferguson’s first captain, added: “He will always be the boss to me, you don’t think of him as Sir Alex it has always been the boss.” FIFA president Sepp Blatter reacted to the news

by describing Ferguson as one of “the greats”. “Will his longevity at the top ever be repeated?” the Swiss said on his Twitter feed. Ferguson’s long service in English football’s top tier, where managers are hired and fired on a whim by success-hungry owners, is testament to his enduring

passion for the game and his ability to cope with the demands of dealing with the brash young millionaires who populate the changing rooms. He has seen off seven Liverpool managers since his arrival and 15 at Chelsea and only Arsene Wenger, who has been at Arsenal (Continued on page 33)

Page 38

Kaieteur News

Thursday May 09, 2013

2nd Ulric Pollydore Powerade 11-Race Memorial Meet

On tomorrow at the National Park

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Ulric Pollydore (right) seen with another avid cycling enthusiast at the start of Stage 1 of 5 in 2009. (File Photo)

yclists will be eager to get in some much needed competitive practice ahead of the 31st annual Three Stage National Sports Commission sponsored Road Race and will have that opportunity when the Second Annual Ulric Pollydore 11-Race Meet comes off at the National Park on Saturday. Riders in all categories will have the opportunity to compete in the event which is being sponsored Banks DIH under their Powerade brand. The event is organised by National Coach Hassan Mohamed MS. Pollydore was a former President of the Guyana Cycling Federation (GCF) and also President of the

Kaieteur Cycle Club; he was also father of leading Guyanese rider, Godfrey Pollydore. The late Pollydore even though with age and sickness was not as mobile as he would have liked, ensured that he attended all cycling events around Guyana up to the time of his demise. Banks DIH Outdoor Manager, Mr. Mortimer Stewart is expected to be in attendance to assist with the presentation of prizes. The feature race last year was won by veteran Robin Persaud in One Hour 17 Minutes 56 Seconds. Mario King took the juvenile event in 23 Minutes 08 Seconds, while Junior Niles won the Veteran Under-50 contest in 23 13 Minutes 20 Seconds.

Old foes Barbados, T&T renew rivalry for Headley/ Weekes Trophy

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RIDGETOWN, Barbados – This year’s Regional 4 - D a y To u r n a m e n t i s expected to come to an exciting climax, when traditionally-strong Barbados and old foes Trinidad & Tobago meet in the Grand Final, starting today at Kensington Oval here. The Barbadians crushed Windward Islands by 101run victory inside two days last Friday at Windsor Park in the Dominica capital of Roseau to advance, while T&T came from behind to topple previously unbeaten Jamaica on Sunday at Sabina Park in the Jamaica capital of Kingston. Squads: BARBADOS (from): Kirk Edwards (captain),

Suliemen Benn, Rashidi Boucher, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Javon Searles, Kevin Stoute T R I N I D A D & TOBAGO (from): Denesh Ramdin (captain), Adrian Barath, Yannic Carriah, Rayad Emrit, Shannon Gabriel, Akeal Hosein, Amit Juggernauth, Steven Katwaroo, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Marlon Richards, Lendl Simmons, Jeremy Solozano UMPIRES: Nigel Duguid, Patrick Gustard RESERVE UMPIRE: Gregory Brathwaite MATCH REFEREE: Mervyn Jones

Thursday May 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 39 Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (R) drives against the Oklahoma City Thunder. REUTERS/Bill Waugh

Grizzlies silence Thunder to even series

(SportsDirect) - Mike Conley hit the go-ahead three-pointer and had a solid all-around game with 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as Memphis beat Oklahoma City 99-93 on Tuesday to even the Western Conference semi-final series at 1-1. Marc Gasol scored 24 points and Zach Randolph added 15 as the visiting Grizzlies out-scored the Thunder 30-19 in the fourth quarter. Game Three is in Memphis on Saturday.

Kevin Durant had 36 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in another big performance for Oklahoma City. Derek Fisher tallied 19 points and went 4-for-5 from three-point range, but the Thunder were hurt by 21 turnovers. The Grizzlies took a 9290 lead when Conley drained a three-pointer with 1:58 to play and he followed that up by knocking down an 18-footer with 1:04 left and a free throw with 29.4 seconds

Knicks beat Pacers to level series at 1-1

New York Knicks’ Tyson Chandler (C) dunks past Indiana Pacers’ David West (L) and Roy Hibbert (R) during Game 2 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff basketball series in New York, Tuesday. REUTERS/Mike Segar

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EW YORK (Reuters) C a r m e l o Anthony scored 32 points, including 20 in the second half, as the New York Knicks turned on the razzle to thrash the Indiana Pacers 105-79 on Tuesday and level their best-ofseven NBAplayoff series at 1-1. After a slow start, Anthony exploded in the second half as the Knicks overturned a two-point deficit with a devastating second half burst at a packed Madison Square Garden. “In that last minute or two minutes in the third quarter we got a little spurt before we started the fourth quarter,” said Knicks head coach Mike Woodson. “Fourth quarter, defensively, we picked up. We kept getting stop after stop and our offense got into

a flow, like old times. It was nice to see.” Anthony, who won this season’s NBA scoring title, also had nine rebounds and scored half of his 32 points during a 36-4 New York blitz. In the fourth quarter alone, the Knicks outscored the Pacers 33-13. “I think he (Anthony) is great,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. “He is a best of an offensive player and a competitor on the defensive end. He made a lot of tough shots and guarded pretty well tonight.” Iman Shumpert contributed 15 points for the Knicks, seeded second in the Eastern Conference playoffs, while Raymond Felton chipped in with 14 for the home team, including both three-pointers he attempted. (Continued on page 33)

remaining to make it a fivepoint game. Randolph hit two free throws and Tony Allen slammed home a dunk to cap a 10-0 run and give Memphis a 99-90 advantage. Gasol had 17 first-half points as Memphis took a 54-51 lead into the break. Durant scored 13 points in the third quarter as Oklahoma City held the Grizzlies to 15 points and led 74-69 entering the final stanza.

t r o Sp

End of work still to be done an era -Henry as Man Utd boss Ferguson to retire NACRA 15’S RUGBY... A lot of

Head coach Theodore Henry (back of the line) demonstrates a play during a practice session on Tuesday afternoon at the National Park.

Beach football officials differ with GFF boss’s account of travel saga

Minister of Sports, GHRA set for important meeting today

NSBF moves to Ancient County tomorrow

- Marian Academy on Saturday

P. 26

Raina, Hussey consolidate No.1 spot Michael Hussey swivels and plays a pull shot (BCCI).

Suresh Raina hits the ball through the onside (BCCI).

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