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

It’s all about colours It is all about colours. One party opts to adopt a colour and immediately anyone wearing any garment, particularly shorts and jerseys bearing that colour, is seen to be associated with that political party. This colour thing is markedly common, given that football clubs have colours. Guyana’s Golden Jaguars ask that supporters deck themselves in yellow. The result is that, whenever the team happens to be playing in Guyana the stands appear to be a sea of yellow. There was a time when Guyanese going to support the local cricket team were asked to wear green. The result was not dissimilar from what happens during the football games. As fate would have it, both green and yellow happen to be the colour of the largest opposition grouping in the country. So it is here that things get dicey. When the People’s National Congress held the primaries-type elections to select a party leader after Robert Corbin had stepped down, there were two distinct factions. The faction headed by Brigadier David Granger wore green; the other headed by Carl Greenidge wore yellow. It is now history that Granger defeated Greenidge, so green became the colour of the party and remains so to this day. And with the coalition between A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change, yellow is now prominent once more. It is remarkable that no one contended that there was overwhelming support for the Granger-Greenidge coalition. In short, yellow is no longer the colour of Carl Greenidge. Red has long been the colour of the People’s Progressive Party. It has also been the colour of struggle, particularly the struggle of the workers, so much so, that across the world workers during their Labour Day parades wear red jerseys or shirts as a show of solidarity. One can imagine the smiles or the confusion when members of the ruling PPP saw members of the opposition wearing red. Surely, one question or observation could have been that the opposition party was supporting the PPP, because a political party cannot usurp the colours of another. But former President Bharrat Jagdeo at one time did appear in a green shirt and when jokingly questioned about his political support, he said that he was not ceding colours to anyone. Simply put, he was prepared to wear any colour at any time without acknowledging that it belonged to any party. However, that is not the case with some entities. In fact, people bought their coloured clothing some years ago and still wear them, but refrain from doing so at this time of the silly season. Of course, if the wearer is a supporter of one or other of the parties, then that supporter is likely to wear the colour. But there are workplaces that do take objection. For example, public servants, at this election time, would be wise not to wear any of the colours. A simple mistake could place that worker in a position that he or she would wish to avoid. State entities present a different picture. Given that Guyana is so politicized, people in the state media are immediately perceived to be supporters of the ruling party, although that may not be the case. It was no surprise that employees in the state media openly wore the colours associated with the ruling party. It would have been most interesting if any of them had worn the colours associated with the main opposition party. It was this that sparked a measure of controversy when someone reported that the Guyana Oil Company banned its workers from wearing the green jersey at this time. However, according to the report, the workers could wear the red. This suggested something that should be unheard of in the workplace. But then again, times have changed, some say for the worse. There was a time when Permanent Secretaries would not be caught dead near to a political platform. These days they are not only near, but they are also on. They campaign for a political party openly. So much for political neutrality and colours.

Saturday May 09, 2015

Letters... Where your views make the news

GECOM has been forthright in its information sharing and has utilized every medium available DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me to respond to a letter written by one Tabia Drakes entitled: “The electorate needs urgent information from GECOM” published in some sections of the media on May 1, 2015. In this missive the writer argues two main points, the first being that, “Many persons search the Official List of Electors (OLE) to find their names, and much to their frustration they cannot locate their names”. GECOM would like to categorically state that it published the Preliminary List of Electors and commenced its Claims and Objections exercise on February 9, 2015, which ended on March 1, 2015. Persons were asked during the Claims subset of the exercise to check the Preliminary List of Electors for their names, to ensure their particulars on the List were correct. Persons who would have been 18 years and over by April 30, 2015, had an opportunity to conduct a registration transaction.

Those wishing to have name changes, transfers and their photographs retaken also had an opportunity to get those done during the Claims subset of the exercise which came to an end on Sunday February 22, 2015. Therefore, for the writer to suggest that ‘persons’ are not finding their names on the Official List of Electors, the writer may want to inquire of those ‘persons’ if they would have completed a registration transaction. All registered persons who would be 18 years and over by April 30, 2015, are listed on the Official List of Electors. The Official List of Electors available on the GECOM website at www.gecom.org.gy has a search component that enables a registered elector to enter either his or her name or ID number to see their particulars listed on the Official List of Electors. GECOM would also like to point out that there is now another search engine mechanism on the website headlined: Know your Polling Station where a

registered elector can enter either his or her ID card n u m b e r, n a m e a n d / o r address and instantly see the Polling Station at which he or she would be voting on Election Day. This link is also available on the GECOM Facebook page for easy access. The second point of note that the letter writer addressed was that “…some Polling Places have been changed without notice to the voting public.” GECOM is not aware that any of its Polling Stations has been changed without the information being placed in the public domain. A c t u a l l y, G E C O M posted its Notice of Poll at Polling Stations in all the Registration Districts throughout the country. GECOM has also been consistently publishing in the media the list of Polling Stations for all the Registration Districts in an effort to sensitize the electorate about where they have to go to vote on Election Day. GECOM is currently engaged in a series of

communication activities aimed at creating national awareness about a number of critical electoral issues, including the ways in which registered electors can get to know where to locate their Polling Stations as early as possible before Election Day. We entreat voters to acquaint themselves about the location of their Polling Station prior to Election Day. GECOM has been forthright in its information sharing, utilizing every medium available. Notices, Advertisements (Newspapers, Radio and Television), Television Infomercials, Radio and Television Interviews, Radio Time Signals, Facebook, Flyers, Posters, Billboards, Shortwave Radio Messages, Mobile Public Address Systems, Press Releases, and Press Conferences have all been communication vehicles utilized by GECOM to get its Civic and Voter Education messages to the electorate across the entire country. Richard Francois Public Relations Officer, GECOM

The APNU/AFC team - transformational leadership for national unity and development DEAR EDITOR, T h e G r a n g e r / N a g a m o o t o o Te a m symbolizes the type of leadership that is so fundamentally necessary for national unity and national development as Guyana makes its way painfully through the 21st century under the anachronistic PPP juggernaut masquerading as Government with 48.6 percent of the votes at the 2011 National and Regional Elections. In the political management of a failed State such as Guyana, transformational leadership becomes the harbinger of a democratic nation-state. It is effective and efficient; it is highly visible and utilizes a chain of command to accomplish its goals and objectives; and it focuses on the larger picture (Burns 1978). Transformational leaders are possessed of integrity and high emotional intelligence, they motivate people with a shared vision of the future, and they communicate well. Transformational leaders inspire their constituencies because they expect the best from everyone, and they hold

themselves accountable for their actions. They set clear goals, and they have good conflict resolution skills (Flamholtz and Randle, 2007). A study of the Granger/ Nagamootoo Team shows two mature and intelligent leaders who have shared vision and goals. Both are humble “village citizens” who have struggled against various forms of adversities and inequalities and have risen to great professional heights. Both have deeply ingrained self-respect, selfconfidence and self-dignity a n d t h e y c a r e overwhelmingly for the national weal. Both have political strengths rooted in the ordinary working man and woman and yet they understand the necessity of involving all sectors in the process of national development. David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo are, indeed, transformational leaders. T h e G r a n g e r /Nagamootoo leadership abhor “back-balling” and race-baiting and instead appeal to, and uphold, higher

moral standards of personal and professional behavior that characterize political leaders of worth. They reject spousal abuse and the relegation of our women folk to a level below their male counterparts. They are united in their understanding that ALL are equal before the law of the land and that the rule of law is fundamental to good governance. They have the potential to weld together the

fragmented dimensions of national and political unity that have eluded previous leaders of our nation for so long. And they steadfastly believe with pride in the national motto: One People, One Nation, One Destiny. And that is why the transactional leadership of the ancien régime of the present PPP is so deathly afraid of the transformational leadership of David Granger (Continued on page 6)

Such views may have an impact on our social progress DEAR EDITOR, I truly and deeply pity Ryhaan Shah for the way she defines herself in her letter published Wednesday. She traps herself in her Indian self - one small part of her DNA - her narrowly chosen parts of history, legacy, traditions...her overriding culture from which she constructs her spiritual home. It seems she has consciously rejected her individual right to grow as a

free human spirit. I can only be sorry for a person that expresses so well a denial of evolution. So I pity Ryhaan as an unfortunate sister, but I am really sad for the influence such views may have on our social progress. Degraded behaviour in a mixed community, and limits to happiness in a person, are as inevitable as the fate of a species, when they don’t evolve. Gordon Forte

Saturday May 09, 2015

Kaieteur News

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

I WILL VOTE FOR MY HUMANITY DEAR EDITOR, As this election campaign winds down, what stands out is that it was not the silly season, as is customarily anticipated; it became a time of the most shameless incitement to ethnic violence and race-baiting, likely to create turmoil and open fractures in an already imperfect and somewhat debased society. Many well-intentioned citizens and other observers have joined with diplomatic representatives and GECOM to express alarm at a campaign that has emitted so much vitriol and such loathing for the other side. The to and fro of election campaigns, even in older and more tolerant societies, are sometimes brutal and exacting. Something is telling these observers that this campaign has crossed, or is crossing, the frontiers of safety and sanity, and has exceeded the crudities of 2011. The diminution of our national dignity is unquestioned.

The language of the diplomats has been direct, without the professional opacity. They have addressed, if not scolded us, for the excessive inflammatory rhetoric on the hustings; one has even condemned a Minister’s behaviour as “disgraceful” and the Minister deserving of being fired. Absent are the guardians against interference, which technically there is, and breaches of any Westphalian convention on sovereignty; for, as it has been for a long time, who pays the piper, the electoral process, calls the tune. What is ominous is not just the excesses of misrepresentation and duplicity, a universal feature of campaigns, but the calculated and dangerous projection of the military, some in retirement and others in office, assaulting innocent civilians in the event of a Coalition victory; the emotive reminders of “kicking down the doors” is on mark.

All of this was in the open and, abandoning euphemistic niceties, the language was as coarse and explicit as can be. It would appear that, for the first time, the bottomhouse discourse, which was only imagined in the past, was fearlessly and recklessly being played out for everyone’s benefit. Here is where the silliness ended. It leaves to imagine what was reserved for the bottomhouse, where the vernacular can enlarge graphically, if not colourfully, the aggressor and intended victim. If this is a calculated plot to exasperate the anxieties of a constituency justifiably loyal to and respectful of its founding father, to exploit and prime their fears and disdain for stereotypes of a marauding military/civilian horde from a neighbouring village, then it must rank as a travesty of our Constitution and among the most callous breaches of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So often has the United Nations been seized of this

Can this election fix it? DEAR EDITOR, Paul Simpson, a British business journalist, writing in a recent publication of the professional Human Resource Management institution, the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) asks this question of the British public whose General Elections virtually coincides with ours here in Guyana. I believe it is not only a good question for us Guyanese to ask but for us to also ponder, as Simpson advises, a slight re-working of JFK’s famous phrase: “Ask not what the Parties can do for our country, but what kind of country do we want” General Elections result in many faces changing but often with little substantive change; old, long-standing issues remain unresolved

leading to increasing cynicism among the electorate about election promises which proliferate with each passing election. But it appears that election promises are a sine qua non. Professor of political thought at Cambridge University, David Runciman, put it this way: “You cannot get elected without promising you will do something”. Getting the ‘something’ done requires LEADERSHIP, the kind of leadership which Timothy Bale, professor of politics at my alma mater, Queen Mary University, London says requires “tempering zeal with pragmatism, and vice versa.” Professor Bale adds that some leaders have more of one than the other! There can be no doubt that a good dose of personal conviction together with ‘political will’ are

also necessary ingredients, but as Paul Simpson adds: “We seem to have regressed from an age of ‘conviction politicians’ to one where “politicians are convicted”. As a committed Human Resource Management disciple, one promise I would have liked to see underscored is the need for improved productivity in Guyana in order to enable the natural expectations for improved compensation and related benefits; but I suppose that is the kind of medicine from which most politicians selfishly shy away. I take this opportunity to express my hope and wish for a peaceful election process and may the deserving party win; obviously only one party can win but that party can resolve to work with others to deliver on promises made. Nowrang Persaud

matter of incitement to violence, considering it a real threat to statal and regional security, that it has asked states to take all necessary steps to “build resilience to incitement to violence” that could lead to “atrocity crimes” and prepare contingency plans for its prevention through “the selfregulation of political parties”, promoting tolerance and encouraging respect for diversity. Leading this incitement are the former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, and the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, with little intimation of distance in tone or sophistication from President Ramotar. From these high presidential offices that are due considerable respect, there is language that leaves no doubt of the concerted manipulation of the expectations, suspicions and timidities of sections of the electorate that can only set in train forces which may not be anticipated, become unwieldy and destructive. For what purpose? If it yields a victory, such can only be Pyrrhic. The fears and hate cultivated for the other side may not necessarily subside at the close of the elections; whoever wins will have to contend with the consequences. These undercurrents of passions, animosities and hatred cannot be turned off at any one’s will. They will fester and grow. To set these views of impending danger and a dark age among the young whom we extol, only mortgages their future already compromised by the huge, incomplete and costly projects, some of doubtful feasibility. Why not rely on the impressive list of successes, some of which are

evident? Aren’t these convincing enough for the electorate? Why the provocation, desperation and calumnies? Is there something to conceal? After twenty-three years of observation and research, as Dr Luncheon claimed, he presented his magnum opus to the nation under the rubric: “Connect the dots”. His thesis, the crux of the incitement offensive, is that an immediately retired Chief of Staff “comporting” with the leader of the Opposition, the respected, also retired Brigadier David Granger, along with other retired officers, leads to the “militarization” of the opposition leadership and compromises “the integrity of the security forces”: simply put, this constitutes a threat to the security of the state. Alas, some dots are missing, particularly those dealing with Brigadier Granger’s urbane and scholarly writings over the said twenty-three years about the defence and security of the state, the imperatives of reforms of the Disciplined Services, modernization of the physical capability of the GDF and its continuing exposure to advanced tactical techniques so as to execute effectively its mission. Alongside, there are the proliferation of illegal and heavy weaponry; their increasing lethal use among the citizenry; the inability or disinclination to complete and operate a credible antinarcotics strategy; the burgeoning authority of narcotic players in the financial life of the nation; the resultant distortion of the economy; the insidious corruption acknowledged by major financial institutions; the said Office of the President “comporting”

(man, I like that word) with a number of individuals resident in the US who have come under the embrace of US law, one of whom is a guest of the Federal Penal system to be shortly joined by another upon completion of his plea bargain; and the consequences of the unsolved murders of over 450 citizens. These are real and growing threats to the security of the society of which the Army is an integral part. As if the foregoing were not enough, there is now the ongoing cavalier sullying of the integrity of high-ranking retired officers with unquestioned loyal service to the nation during the said twenty-three years. This is madness! Further, with the continuing high rate of emigration, there are greater demands on the professional and patriotic services of retired military officers, as much as on other public and private servants. Over the twenty-three years such a security chasm has been renting our society that this surely is not the time for armchair war-games based upon who called whom theories. Hence, President Ramotar’s somewhat penitent and late letter of April 28 to the Senior, Junior and other Ranks of the GDF on the eve of their vote. Amidst the din and examination of well crafted manifestos, though not without the recycled and unfulfilled promises; amidst the polemics about past history, meaning selected and distorted aspects of the Burnham years exclusive of the pre-Burnham and the restorative Hoyte years where Mr Carl Greenidge made an incalculable contribution: incidentally, it was Mr Hoyte who brought an abrupt end to the ‘kick down the door’ outrage by the (Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Saturday May 09, 2015

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

As We Go to the Polls… DEAR EDITOR, As we go to the polls Monday, there are a few things we need to reflect upon as we cast our vote for the next government. For the last fifteen years or so our democracy has been suspended. Justice has been corrupted and corruption in the issuance of government contracts has been the order of the day. Our financial and natural resources have been misused and mismanaged in mind boggling proportions. There have been attacks on our press and a systematic attempt by the PPP to control our media and communications environment. The freedom of access to information taken for granted in other democratic societies has been relegated to the dustbin with the blatant monopoly and abuse of the state media by PPP. Abuses perpetuated by officials and ministers of the PPP administration have left Guyanese dumbfounded at the injustices that have been meted out against our men, women and children. These stretch from the base brutality at the hands of members of the disciplined services, who instead of being reprimanded are promoted, to death threats and abuse of our women by ministers of the PPP itself. The coercion of our courts to protect these guilty officials are clear enough evidence if any, of the state to which we have descended under the PPP, and the PPP’s own plans and intentions under any future government to which it may be elected. With the return of

Bharrat Jagdeo to the political frontlines of the PPP, their promise to us is very clearly that of an autocratic police state where ordinary Guyanese have no recourse to the law. It is regrettable that the incumbent PPP has shirked many of the responsibilities to which it committed itself during its consecutive terms in office. Its decisions on the sugar industry have left that economic sector in financial tatters and scattered its workers far afield. Rice farmers who contribute significantly to foreign currency reserves are now crying out at their financial distress due to significant underpayment for their produce. All of the PPP’s claims of economic growth have included the massive expenditures on poorly done projects and the misappropriation of billions of dollars in taxpayers’ money. Even without a feasibility study, pictures have been taken of the Amaila Falls which clearly show that the seasonality of the flow of water there raises doubts about the investment as a consideration in the first place. Yet tens of millions of United States dollars have been expended on building and maintaining a road to this location. A hair-brained approach was similarly forthcoming in considering investments in the use of wind turbines on our shores. Where are the turbines and where is the cheap electricity? The PPP’s greatest failure has however been in delivering on its promise of jobs to the nation’s workers. In its twenty-two years in

office the PPP talked so much and promised so much on jobs and job creation, but has it ever produced a sustainable plan for job creation to meet our nation’s evolving needs? Where is this plan? With an estimated annual increase of fifteen thousand new job seekers before adjustments for retiring persons, etc., many school leavers, the unemployed and those looking for better jobs have had to put their dreams on hold in the absence of these promised jobs. The best the PPP can claim is that every odd five years or so some ad-hoc company comes forward with a demand for jobs in the hundreds. This is hardly an appropriate response to the jobs and incomes crisis Guyanese face. The PPP administration has wiped out and demolished the dreams of an entire generation of Guyanese as many grand-parents watch their children and grandchildren struggle under the weight of unemployment and underemployment that results from not earning enough to sustain a family. As an intelligent people, we have been further subjected to abuse, humiliation and fearmongering by the PPP in its recent political campaigning. In the absence of any credible record to which it can lay claim, the PPP has once again sought to use race to incite fear and hate as means of soliciting votes. This has to be rejected. Guyanese have come a far way and sacrificed much to be set against each other with fears perpetuated by a weak and corrupt

administration. In the few months of its formation, the Coalition APNU+AFC has demonstrated a positive force of transformation and change for Guyana, attracting well respected, accomplished Guyanese to their cause. This cause and promise which the Coalition has explained in its manifesto represents the hopes of all Guyanese going forward after these elections. This manifesto is a contract between the APNU+AFC and Guyanese. It has transformed our dreams and aspirations into a working document which we can all hold and subscribe to. And more importantly, in which we all have the opportunity to play our part. The last twenty-two years of the Peoples Progressive Party have left us wondering at ourselves, questioning our future, with an extremely ill feeling about our destiny. It is time for a new chapter in Guyana’s history. Let us understand the issues at stake and the threats the PPP poses to our personal and national economic and social progress going forward. Let us reason intelligently with ourselves and deduce the course of our history. At this juncture of our present, there is no one we need to turn to for advice. Because we all know everything we need to know. We have seen the evidence of things past, as well as the promise of things to come under both parties. This election, on May 11, may we choose wisely and be joyful in the heritage our forefathers fought for us. Craig Sylvester.

I WILL VOTE... From page 5 controversial reinstitution of capital punishment, I juxtapose two simultaneous incidents as a measure of character and hope. The former Minister Bheri Ramsaran’s verbal maltreatment of Ms Sherlina Nageer, a young, courageous, combative and selfless campaigner for human rights, has been well exposed. Condemnation of his threat, inter alia, to slap her and have her stripped has been widespread and it took eight days for the President to “relieve him”. A writer, Mr Sase Singh, has reminded that to strip a person is the “most evil and un-Hindu of acts.” Further, to slap a person, for which the Office of the President has developed a peculiar fascination, is a most humiliating experience. Allied with the stripping, that reaches back into barbaric times, and is sometimes accompanied with stoning and setting on fire, it is the ultimate debasement of the person. At the other end, at that exhilarating public Women’s rally on Women’s issues convened by the Coalition, Ms Vanessa Kissoon, at odds with the leadership of her party, could say to Ms Sandra Granger, the wife of the Leader of the party and Presidential candidate: “I have your back, Sandra”. That vignette of solace and comradeship, rooted in the earliest of Biblical obligations about being y o u r b r o t h e r ’s k e e p e r, sister ’s in this instance, was that ray of hope in this dark campaign. The contrasting narratives further expose some unappealing influences; another Minister’s public conduct and the existing trend of vilification, feral blasts and disrespect for adversaries

among some holders of high offices that is eroding the very respect that these high officers believe they are due. Not only has the Opposition “stymied” the administration’s development plans, as has been claimed, there are also the continuing censorious/ unflattering reports of the international financial and other institutions that have highlighted the high incidence of corruption and its deleterious effect on democracy, the rule of law, and the security and quality of life; most have been speedily rejected by the administration. A reasoned choice ought to hold dearly some principles: full respect for the Constitution; the rule of law and its spirit; parliamentary procedures; transparency and accountability; our common humanity; our intelligence; all citizens, many of whom are described as hyphenated Guyanese; women, senior citizens and youth; the right to collective bargaining; lastly, consummate leadership to steer through the corridors of hate, resentment and the cumbersome baggage of our history beyond the fiftieth anniversary, emerging renewed, reconciled and inspired. Desmond Tutu has put it thus: “My humanity is bound up in yours; we can only be human together”. To guide us safely through this gathering turbulence, upholding our dignity and respect as a nation demands vision, commitment and integrity. I believe that the leadership of the Coalition under Brigadier David Granger and Mr Moses Nagamootoo offers the best opportunity. Accordingly, I will vote for my humanity. I will vote for the Coalition APNU+AFC. Cedric L Joseph

The APNU/AFC team - transformational leadership for... From page 4 and Moses Nagamootoo. Over the past 23 years, Messrs Jagdeo and Ramotar have hampered meaningful national development and have harmed the national weal. Indeed, there is no national development project that the Jagdeo-Ramotar Administration has completed without controversy or absolute high handedness. They have almost permanently

scarred the nation’s profile with unbridled corruption, nepotism, and criminal practice. And, therefore, the majority of Guyanese must restore national pride, national dignity and national respect by voting for the transformational leadership of David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo on May 11, 2015. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE! Halim Majeed

Saturday May 09, 2015

Kaieteur News

Jamaica hunting new sugar deal for next year – JCPS The Gleaner - Jamaica Cane Product Sales (JCPS), the marketing arm of the Sugar Industry Authority (SIA), is presently in talks with several international sugar refineries in a bid to secure a supply deal for the crop year 2016-2017. Jamaica is presently in the final year of a three-year deal with British firm Tate & Lyle, which is valued at US$896 per ton in the first year, US$786 in the second year; and US$770 in the final year, for 50 to 60 tons in each of the years outlined. “Yes, we are in discussion with a few firms, including Tate & Lyle,” Karl James, general manager of JCPS, told The Gleaner Thursday. “However, we will certainly not be getting that sort of price the next time around. But, we are going after the best deal we can get, in the interest of our farmers and manufacturers.” The Gleaner understands that the JCPS met with Tate & Lyle last week and was scheduled to have further discussions with the firm over the coming days. James also confirmed that negotiations with the UK-based ED&F Man, a global player in the purchase of raw sugar, was on the cards. Reforms to the European

Karl James Union’s (EU) common agricultural policy in March 2013 will result in the abolition of sugar quotas come 2017, which will bring an end to the preferential treatment that African, Caribbean and Pacific sugar producers have been enjoying since 1975. The end date for the EU deal was initially set for 2015, but an extension of two years was granted in a split decision among member states after some countries sought additional time for the sector to adjust. Under the new regime, it will mean greater competition for Jamaica from lower-cost producers, but Jamaica and the other active sugar-pro-

ducing nations in the region Belize, Guyana, and Barbados - have set their sights on the underserved Caribbean market. “We are also looking seriously at the Caribbean market, and, in my other capacity as head of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC), it is going to be an area of stronger focus from 2015 onwards,” stated James, who became SAC boss earlier this year. “We are trying to work out a formula to ensure that we can supply the market on a constant basis.” Jamaica has one remaining shipment of 24,000 tonnes of sugar to complete the current arrangement with Tate & Lyle.

Venezuela’s dissenting socialists deepen rift with Maduro CARACAS (Reuters) - A dissenting faction of Venezuela’s Socialist Party is seeking to put forward its own candidates in this year’s parliamentary election, deepening a rift with President Nicolas Maduro’s unpopular administration. Marea Socialista, or “Socialist Tide”, a small group of leftist intellectuals, has accuses Maduro’s government of spawning corruption and bureaucracy and betraying the legacy of the late Hugo Chavez. Officials have ignored or attacked these criticisms, Marea Socialista says, further alienating the fringe group ahead of the election, for which the government has not set a date. “We don’t identify with the current behavior of the Socialist Party,” said Nicmer Evans, a leader and spokesman for the group. “We’re aspiring to have parliamentary candidates present in all the country’s districts,” he said, adding Marea Socialista has applied

to electoral authorities to become a political party. Maduro, who lacks his late mentor’s charisma, is struggling to keep his disparate coalition united in the face of a decaying economy. Many Maduro foes want to end state control over production and foreign currency, which they blame for throwing the OPEC country into a recession, causing shortages of basic goods and pressuring inflation toward triple digits. The dissident socialists favor more oversight and transparency in currency control and increased “worker control” and private sector input in production. Venezuela’s poor, the bedrock of support for Chavez and his oil-fueled social programs, have been particularly hard-hit. Many spend hours in line for milk or medicines and struggle to make ends meet as the monthly minimum wage hits around $26 on the black market. Some are “sick and tired of Maduro’s governance,”

said Evans, a fierce defender of Chavez. “What we’re doing is offering an alternative proposal for the revolutionary people.” In addition to cracking down on corruption and bureaucracy, Marea Socialista proposes an “orderly” settlement to end hefty debt payments and instead use scarce dollars to boost imports. Critics say Marea Socialista fails to realize corruption and bureaucracy are inherent to the state-led system Chavez championed, and that only a major overhaul can salvage the economy. Marea Socialista remains a niche group unlikely to gain mass traction. It may not even have a shot at going it alone, as its request lodged six months ago to become a party remains unanswered, Evans said. “The first thing we’re fighting for is an electoral card,” he stressed. “In terms of social pressure for a readjustment, I think the inflection point is this parliamentary election.”

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DO NOT DEMONIZE CONCESSIONS The opposition parties/ coalition in Guyana must be careful that they do not join the proverbial bandwagon that is demonizing duty free concessions to investors, be they local or foreign, be they crooked or straight. Recent criticisms by opposition spokespersons have been highly critical of the manner in which the government has been dispensing duty free concessions. This indeed is ironic because when the PNC was in power, the same criticisms were made by the PPP about the generous duty free concessions to major investors such as Omai, Barama, Aroaima, Green Construction and Booker Tate. These companies were granted virtually everything duty free, inclusive of tax holidays. One of the arguments that the PPP used then was that the only benefits to the country from these investments were the petty royalties and the taxes which the workers paid. APNU should be the last to categorize concessions as premium, gold and silver. The PNC, the main party in APNU, had a track record of giving premium concessions to companies that did businesses whose overall benefit to the country is still questionable. OMAI was to have made us all millionaires. Barama was to have raked in enormous benefits for Guyana. Aroaima took out tonnes of our ore and when it left, the industry was no better off. Green Construction

did not revive the bauxite industry. The PPP when it came to power in 1992 instituted a virtual ban on granting tax holidays. This hurt the investment prospects of the country. It was only after large investors began to demand concessions that the laws of the country were amended to allow for the reintroduction of tax holidays in certain circumstances. The government had to correct itself when it granted to a local company a tax holiday which was not contemplated under the law. The government had to amend its own law so as to bring its actions into compliance. One does not need to go into economic theory in order to justify the benefits of duty free concessions and tax holidays. Unless these things are offered to large scale investors, the investments are not going to materialize. You cannot ask a company that is coming to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into an economic venture, to pay taxes on its capital equipment. That would be a drain on the resources of the investors. The investors will be discouraged. Investors are not lining up to do business in Guyana. You, the host country, have to make the investment worthwhile. One way in which this is done is to offer incentives in the form of tax holidays and duty free concessions. Fiscal concessions are therefore

necessary to attract investment. Duty free concessions are also a means of reducing the cost of the investment and consequently the cost of whatever good or service is being produced. If for example the contractor that has been contracted to repair the fibre optic cable has to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in duties on his equipment to be used in repairing the cable, then that cost is not going to be absorbed by the contractor. It is going to be passed on to the government. This will increase the cost of the project and consequently the burden on the treasury or wherever else the funds are coming from for the project. In this context one has to correct the mistaken view that the offering of concessions to investors represents a transfer to the beneficiary. This is not always the case because these concessions are often used as means of keeping down the cost to the government of the project. Without the concessions there will in most instances be no business. So it is not a case of a loss of revenue at all. Of course, some investors are able to extract concessions on things which are not directly related to the projects. There is a tendency for example, for investors to demand duty free concessions on luxury vehicles. This is a practice that should be discouraged because these vehicles are hardly used for the purposes

Dem boys seh...

Donald promising everything that Granger promise As soon as politician get you vote, fuh de next five year, dem cuss you, dem kick you and dem treat you wid disrespect. Some of dem does watch you like dem don’t know you. You want a li’l help from dem and you never get a chance to see dem, much less meet dem. Now Donald very busy. Dis man hardly hold a press conference in de three years. Now de man writing letter every day in de papers and issue press release, fuh seh wha he shoulda seh at press conferences. He visiting some place he never know exist. He cut so much ribbon that he start to look like a tailor and all de ribbon he cut is in Robb Street, Regent Street and King Street. Things reach such a pitch that he and Ashni, de shaat scamp, actually fall out. One week ago, Ashni criticize de opposition when dem seh that dem gun lower taxes on vehicles. He seh how dem dreaming. Yesterday, Donald promise fuh do de same thing. Why he didn’t do that and many other things he seh he gun do when he was de president. Dem boys seh is games all dem politicians playing wid voters. Is sheer promises and more promises. De Hapnew

plus Hay Heff See ain’t different from Donald. De other day Granger wife go in de Rupununi and talk to dem in Portuguese. She ketch some of dem and actually win votes but that is de trickery. Gail couldn’t talk Portuguese but she coulda talk Albouystown — nuff eff and ess. Dem people proppa clap she suh she gun pick up couple votes deh. Kwame got to pick up crab louse, not votes. Jagdeo, that crooked bastard, is another one who can’t get votes. He is de one who mek Donald become de minority government and now he is de one who might get Donald completely out of de office. Everything about him is scampish and nasty and dem boys warn Donald but he nah listen. Jagdeo tell de world that he nah running back fuh third term. De spit nah even dry when he put somebody fuh go to court and get de Chinee man to rule in he favour. He seh he not going on de list; two days later he name deh number three pun de list. When he talk, who gun believe him now? And he campaigning fuh Donald. Talk half and watch how dem politicians talking different language.

of pursuing the investment but are instead used to benefit individuals concerned with the investment. These types of concessions should be outlawed. However, other types of vehicles such as trucks are often needed for carrying out the actual investment and if the investor had to bear the duty on these vehicles it would prohibitively raise the cost of doing business. This is especially so since Guyana still has high tax rates. Concessions are also extremely helpful in the initial stages of a business when there are high start-up costs. These costs can end up crippling the prospects of the business. Concessions are one way of allowing the business the opportunity to grow. We therefore have to be careful that in an attempt

to highlight a poor contract, that we do not demonize concessions which are necessary to attract, facilitate and reduce the costs of large investments. We should be careful that we do not demonize concessions. Nor should we fall prey to deeming all concessions as transfers to the investors. This is not

supported by economic theory or by investment history. Concessions should instead be linked to performance and to encourage reinvestment in Guyana.

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=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Inside the mind of the Guyanese Indian supremacist There isn’t any Guyanese observer of politics who could honestly say they weren’t surprised at the sudden shamelessly barefaced support given by certain Indian Guyanese to the PPP campaign. It was such a change in attitude that it obviously stunned the average person who takes an interest in Guyanese politics. Every Guyanese knows the following - Rickey Singh is a sycophantic supporter of Indian rule; Ravi Dev is a devout preacher of Indian domination of Guyana; David Dabydeen’s PPP embrace is race-determined. Peter Ramsaroop went back to his Indian self. But out of nowhere came Indian faces that were long invisible and their outstretched hands were holding the PPP flag as high as where the stallion meets the sun (as Barry Manilow sung in his famous song). So-called novelist, Ryhaan Shah sprang up out of the blue demanding that Guyanese be told of the bad

past of the PNC Government. So-called swami, Mr. Aksharananda, whom we all thought had gone to live in permanent meditation in India, told us that voting for the PPP is an act of Indian pride; Baytoram Ramharack, who disappeared almost a decade ago, now informs us that once you are Indian then the PPP is the party for you; an Indian letter-writer, Rakesh Rampertab who just like Ramharack had long gone into hibernation, now serenades us with the qualities of the so-called swami. These “rediscoverees” have been joined by the “transformees”. Other acts in the transformation business include former PPP enemy Asgar Ally, sacked KN journalist Leon Suseran, and sacked Stabroek News columnist, Shaun Samaroo. Bulkan still cannot believe that these “transformees” who just two months ago were condemning the horrific misrule of the PPP, see the PPP

as the party that must win the election. What do the “rediscoverees” and “transformees” have in common? They are Indian supremacists. An Indian government in Guyana must be preserved even though it has descended to the bottomless pit of immorality, criminality, murders, drug trafficking, moneylaundering, extra-judicial bestialities, pathological kleptocracy, sickening incestuousness; family domination of state institutions, habitual domestic abuse, conspiratorial attempts to physically harm the media, and semi-civilized conduct that makes Philistine behaviour look like child’s play. For these Indian supremacists, any depraved Indian government would be better than a government in Guyana headed by African people. For these Indian supremacists, Indian people must vote for the PPP because it is an Indian party. Its decadence and repulsive rule are inconsequential because Guyana is a permanent struggle between Indian blood and African ethnicity – there isn’t anything in between; Indian people must accept that in periodic elections, they do not have a choice. Guyanese Indian supremacy is a very dangerous game, because it is a permanent recipe for racial instability. It reminds African Guyanese that their efforts at making Guyana a democratic country during the Burnham era were a silly act. This is where the supremacist mind is very evil. It disrespects the bravery of African Guyanese who fought an African-dominated regime in the seventies and eighties. In other words, the Indian supremacist says everyday to African Guyanese who weakened the Burnham Government; “You were stupid to go against your own race, people don’t go against their own ethnic government, we will not go against the Indian PPP Government.” This is enormous disrespect for the African Guyanese who fought for democracy and free and fair elections. The list includes some great Guyanese – Clive Thomas, Walter Rodney, Eusi Kwayana, Dr. Omawale, Dr. David Hinds, Tacuma Ogunseye, Professor Rudy James, Professor Harold Lutchman, Andaiye, Llewellyn John, Lincoln

Lewis, Kwame Apata, Bonita Bone, Bert Wilkinson, Ohene Koama, Gordon Todd, George Daniels, Brenda Do Harris. I have to stop here because the list is exhaustive. These names just came to mind. To these great Guyanese, the Indian supremacist says - “you were all fools to do what you did.” The Indian supremacists cannot recognize this superlative era in Guyanese history because if they do, it

exposes the evil in their mind. This fantastic period in the evolution of post-colonial Guyana reveals that the African Guyanese was more concerned with safeguarding the freedoms and liberties gained in the anti-colonial struggle than the ethnic group that controlled the postcolonial state. The Indian supremacist mind shuts out the memory of Desmond Hoyte. Desmond Hoyte is the nemesis of

Frederick Kissoon Guyanese Indian racist supremacy. If there is anything the mind of the Indian supremacist cannot accept or even recognize is the era of the reign of Guyana’s most excellent President, Desmond Hoyte.

The Voting Process With just two days to the May 11, 2015 General and Regional Elections, the Guyana Elections Commission is urging all registered electors to vote for the party of your choice on Elections Day. The voting process is a simple one that involves a few easy steps that when followed correctly by the elector, ensure that he or she votes correctly. Please note carefully that before leaving home on Election Day to vote, ensure that you have proper identification. Check the Official List of Electors (OLE) at the Polling Station to see if your name is on the List. (a) Upon arrival at the Polling Station the elector must carefully check the Official List of Electors (OLE) posted at that particular Polling Station, to ensure that his or her name is on OLE. (b) Upon confirmation that his or her name is on the OLE, the elector joins the queue (if there is one) at the entrance of the Polling Station. Please note carefully that if there is more than one Polling Station in the same compound, an Information Poll Clerk, stationed at a convenient location, will give directions to electors to proceed to their respective stations where they are required to vote. Below are the simple steps an Elector whose name is on the OLE must follow upon entering the Polling Station (the room with the Elections Officers). 1. Upon entering the Polling Station, the elector presents his or her National ID card to the Poll Clerk. 2. Poll Clerk checks the List of Electors to ensure that the elector’s name appears thereon. 3. Poll Clerk announces loudly the elector’s serial number and name as they

appear on the list. 4. Poll Clerk places a tick next to the serial number on the list. 5. Poll Clerk instructs the elector to take his or her National ID card to the Assistant Presiding Officer who makes a comparison to verify the elector’s identity. 6. Assistant Presiding Officer inspects the elector’s finger for Electoral Ink (stain), and once satisfied, displays the National ID card to Polling Agents. 7. Assistant Presiding Officer returns the National ID card to the elector. 8. Assistant Presiding Officer writes the elector’s serial number on the counterfoil (stub) of the ballot paper to be issued – at the top for General and at the bottom for Regional Elections. 9. Assistant Presiding Officer detaches ballot paper from the counterfoil by tearing along the perforation. 10. Assistant Presiding Officer stamps the six-digit number (official mark) on the back of the ballot paper – at the top for General and at the bottom for Regional Elections. 11. Assistant Presiding Officer then displays to the Polling Agents that the ballot paper is correctly stamped (top half and bottom half) with the six-digit stamp (official mark). 12. Using Form A4 and Form 10, the Assistant Presiding Officer directs the elector in the proper method of marking the ballot paper. 13. Assistant Presiding Officer shows the elector how the ballot paper should be folded when he or she would have marked their ballot. 14. Assistant Presiding Officer places a tick to the left of the elector’s serial number to indicate that a ballot was issued. 15. Assistant Presiding Officer directs elector to the private voting compartment to vote. 16. The elector then marks

his or her ballot in the voting compartment, then proceeds to the Ballot Clerk. 17. The Ballot Clerk must be satisfied that: i. The ballot is the same ballot issued to the elector by him or her displaying the Official Mark (six-digit number) on both sides of the folded Ballot Paper. ii. The ballot is folded correctly by the elector. If the ballot is not folded correctly, the Ballot Clerk shall direct the elector to return to the voting compartment to fold the ballot as directed by the Assistant Presiding Officer. iii. The elector has shown the Party Agents that his or her folded ballot paper has the Official Stamp on both the top and bottom halves of the ballot paper. 18. Having seen the Official Mark on both sides of the folded ballot, the Ballot Clerk directs the elector to immerse his or her right index finger into the container with the electoral ink. The ink must reach beneath the fingernail and cover the first phalanx (segment) of the finger. The elector then drops his or her ballot into the ballot box. NOTE: Where the elector is suffering from an injury to that finger and it cannot be stained with ink, the Ballot Clerk will require the elector to stain any other finger on a priority basis. 19. The Ballot Clerk directs the elector to the exit of the Polling Station. NB: The Electors can further educate themselves about the voting process, by looking at the TV advertisements and the videos on Facebook about the subject. It is the right of every eligible elector to go out on May 11, 2015 and vote as early as possible. All of GECOM’s Polling Stations throughout the country will be open from 06:00h to 18:00h.

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No leader worth his salt would avoid - Granger engaging his electorate It is official that the electorate will not benefit from the opportunity of seeing the presidential hopefuls go head to head in debates over critical issues facing the nation. Yesterday, Presidential Candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) David Granger placed the fault of this not being realized, squarely at the feet of the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C), Donald Ramotar. But in the absence of the debates, Granger sought to show good reason why he is “the man for Guyana, the one that should really be given the next chance in office to turn the country around.” Granger said that what makes him a better candidate than Ramotar is his willingness to face the nation and participate in debates. He explained that he was at the University of Guyana where the students there invited the presidential candidates to a debate, but his counterpart never turned up. Ramotar was also a noshow at a similar engagement which was to be held at the Theatre Guild.

The politician then emphasized that any leader worth his salt would exhibit a willingness to engage with his constituents and “I religiously practice that.” The Opposition leader then pointed to several problems facing the nation and his vision for effectively dealing with them. “Generally, when you examine the problems confronting Guyana, I think I am best suited and I have an experienced and qualified team to deal with those problems.” “I have been in all ten regions and the Diaspora and security is the major issue. People from the Diaspora don’t want to come back home because they feel so unsafe and with what I am capable of doing, I am the better choice to be President to assure that there is safety in our homeland,” said the APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate. He said too that Guyana has a “broken education system” which needs urgent attention. Granger asserted that the matter of the nation’s development cannot be properly addressed without taking a practical approach to dealing with the hundreds of

APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate, David Granger

PPP/C Presidential Candidate, Donald Ramotar students failing the National Grade Six Assessments every year. “There are problems in the education system and they are not being rectified. This administration is bent on glorifying the 170 top students but no one pays attention to the 17, 000 who don’t do well... Guyana is behind and we need to solve that,” he added. The Opposition leader

cited another huge problem he believes the PPP/C has been unable to rectify —the lack of jobs for young people. As he lashed out at the current administration for failing to develop a National Youth Policy, Granger boasted that his coalition has a most pragmatic solution and plan for this issue and will implement it once given a chance to take the country forward.

Gov’t refuses to grant opposition airtime -APNU+AFC “…playing dirty during crunch time” The political opposition is deeply concerned over the government-controlled National Communications Network (NCN)’s refusal to allow it time to air a 30-minute programme, yet is granting the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) a five-hour broadcast of its last rally. This is according to Alliance For Change (AFC) Executive Member Cathy Hughes and Head of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Communications Department, Mark Archer. At a brief press conference held at APNU+AFC’s Queenstown headquarters yesterday, the opposition members told the media that over the last three weeks, if their advertisements are not being sabotaged, they are not being played at the times scheduled on NCN and TV Guyana, Channel 28. Hughes said that these observations were documented by its monitors and formal complaints will be made to the observer missions present in Guyana

for the monitoring of the Elections, as well as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). “What we observed is that NCN is selecting what ads they want to play from us and they don’t play it at the time requested, and we had people monitoring our ads, and there is always some excuse from NCN. It is worrisome. “Every party should be allowed access and the electorate should be allowed to receive all information to help them make an informed decision,” Hughes added. The politician said that what she also found disturbing was that on Sunday last, one of the coalition’s ads which ended with “Vote for APNU+AFC, was doctored”. Hughes reported that the ending of the tape was completely inaudible and there is no doubt in her mind that it was tampered with by NCN. “This is totally unfair treatment and we wonder why the PPP/C is not willing

to compete fairly and let the people decide,” the AFC Executive member added. She also lambasted the Guyana Times newspaper. Hughes said that the opposition booked two fullpage ads to be printed in the newspaper’s edition yesterday. But it was never done, despite the fact that the order was made since April 26. The politician said that while the coalition’s ads were evidently missing, the government had six full colour ads. “The other issue has to do with the repeated calls we received from advertisers who are encouraged to advertise on Saturday evening during the PPP/C’S rally which will be aired live on NCN. That is totally unacceptable. There is no way the PPP/C rally can be transmitted live when taxpayers are paying to fund NCN’s operations. If PPP/C’s rally is going to be aired, then ours must as well!” Hughes emphasised The opposition is of the opinion that the government

AFC Executive Member, Cathy Hughes is only out to play “dirty during crunch time.” Hughes said, too, that Channel 69 has refused to take their ads. The APNU+AFC says it has requested a response from the TV station in writing, but they are yet to receive it. “If NCN is saying that it is about money and they ask PPP to pay one million for airtime, we are willing to pay $1.5M, just to be facetious. But we know it is not about that.” It is unlikely that the opposition would be granted any airtime at the last minute given that advertising arrangements at NCN have to be wrapped up by midnight.

East Canje man accused of setting son, 11, ablaze A 34-year-old East Canje oan, who allegedly threw methylated spirits on his 11year-old son and set him ablaze, has been remanded to jail on a charge of attempted murder. The man, Ravendra Samaroo, of 133 Gangaram, Berbice, a field foreman attached to the Rose Hall Estate, appeared yesterday in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court. He is alleged to have committed the act on his son, Ricky Samaroo, who resides at the same address and is a student of the Port Mourant Primary School. The incident allegedly occurred on Thursday May 7, 2015. According to information, the man and his son are the only two residents at the above address. Around 22:50 hrs on the day in question the two were at home, where the elder Samaroo was reportedly

drinking. Around the time mentioned above, the man attempted to go out to purchase more alcoholic beverages. However, he was stopped by his son who was afraid to remain at home alone. The man insisted in going and his son held on to his boots. As a result the man allegedly got hold of some methylated spirits and threw it about his son’s body and lit a match causing the lower part of the boy’s body, face, back and chest to receive burns. The child was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he was admitted for emergency treatment, before being transferred to the Georgetown Hospital where he has been admitted for further treatment. The father was arrested and charged. He will have to return to court on June 3rd.

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CARICOM Observer Mission hits the ground running Mere days after their arrival in Guyana, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Elections Observation Mission to Guyana has pronounced that impending Regional and General Elections will be “pretty competitive.” In this vein, Earl Simpson, Head of the Mission told members of the media during a briefing at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara yesterday, that his team will over the next few days closely monitor what is happening in Guyana. In two days, thousands of Guyanese will head to the polls to elect those they deem fit to govern the country, hopefully for the next five years. Here by Presidential request to CARICOM, the Chief of Mission said his team of ten will be observing the process from May 6 to May 13. Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer in the Elections and Boundaries Department of Belize, is the Deputy Head of the mission. Simpson, who is also Director of Elections of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, said he and Tamai arrived as an advanced team on May 6, last. Since then, he said, they have paid a courtesy call on Head of State and current Presidential Candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), Donald Ramotar, and met with Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud and his senior officers. The latter meeting, Simpson said, was to get an overview of the security situation in the country, and an assessment of the plans and strategies of the elections process, culminating in the conduct of the elections and

the announcement of the results. According to Simpson, they have had meetings and briefs with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the other Presidential candidates and their political parties, as well as the President of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), the Guyana Human Rights Commission, Chairman of Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Persaud, the President of Guyana Trade Union Congress and the Guyana Council of Churches. Simpson said that he was also slated to be part of meetings of all Chiefs of Mission of all observer groups present in Guyana. According to the Chief of Mission, he has been charged by the CARICOM Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin La Rocque, to observe the elections process: including the campaign period, the opening of poll on elections day, the voting procedures during the course of the EDay, the close of poll at the end of day, the counting of ballots, the preparation of statements of poll and transmission of the results to the returning officers and GECOM. Simpson told media operatives that they are also here to observe the conduct of electoral officers and political stakeholders and the overall electoral environment. He said they are also here to observe and assess the outcome of elections and the immediate impact on the social and political environment. The Head of Mission said after observing voting procedures and counting on polling day, they will compile

a preliminary statement to be issued to the media on initial assessment of the process. Media Operatives were told that a briefing session will be held with the team that observed elections in various districts, after which they will prepare a final report that will outline observations and assessment of the process. It, Simpson said, will include recommendations where necessary. This will later be disseminated to the government, GECOM and leadership of all parties who participated in the elections. Simpson said that observers will visit as many polling locations and stations, to take a broad representative sample of the process as possible. “In addition to the persons whom we have already met, we look forward to meeting with as many Guyanese as possible. We will cooperate closely with other international and local observer groups to ensure that we maximize our coverage. It is important to point out, that we are committed to being neutral, impartial, objective and independent. Let me say clearly, that we are unable to visit every polling station or to be present everywhere.” The team, he said, comprises persons with vast electoral experience that spans elections administration and political presentation. “Our varying experiences will no doubt allow us to provide meaningful insights into the electoral process. We are here to observe the process and form an impartial judgment on its credibility. We have no executive role,” Simpson said. Pressed about their

Head of the CARICOM Mission, Earl Simpson and Deputy Head, Josephine Tamai observations so far, through the media and otherwise, Simpson said “the sense is that it is going to be a pretty competitive elections and we will closely monitor what is happening, what is being said… but then whatever it is that is our conclusion, will be included in our report that will be presented to the Secretary General.” Speaking on recommendations, Simpson said that those are made to the Government and the Guyana Elections Commission Though he noted that at the end of the meetings he will be able to better pronounce on the number of observers here in Guyana, Simpson said “…I am told that you have fairly large teams here. The Carter Center I am told has over 50 members and the intention of the meeting is to ensure that we cover as broad an area as possible, and not all of us to be covering the same area… and the spread

across the country will provide us with a better perspective of the elections process on the day.” He said that their mission is to look at the process and to see if the process is conducted according to rules, laws and regulations set out in the Constitution and

Representation of People Act, and the procedures that govern elections coming from GECOM. “We will observe to see if those are being followed and then we will make our comments and recommendations as we see it fit,” Simpson said.

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

May 12 must be a celebration of a people’s victory DEAR EDITOR, I wish to make this appeal to my fellow Guyanese citizens. May 11th 2015. Is a decisive day for Guyanese. The elections which are slated to be held on that day will either open the path for a new Guyana or propel the nation backwards, for the next 25years. How we cast our votes as a people will also demonstrate to the world our true character and our sense of purpose or lack of it. These elections provide the people of this country with the best opportunity we have had in 60 years (1) to break with the negative past of political and racial divisiveness; and (2) embrace unity and the common goal of saving our country. We have to take back Guyana from the band of criminal PPPC political rulers who have used political office for their self enrichment and that of their cronies. Our history of elections is characterized by mixed blessings. We achieved nationhood, but failed to develop a prosperous nation, instead of being an instrument of liberation, elections became an

instrument for oppression and domination. Our winner take all type elections has divided the country politically and racially. It has consumed three generations. In the process, many Guyanese patriots saw their dreams and aspirations for a just and prosperous country consumed by senseless and reckless political and racial considerations. Political oppression, economic and social stagnation, resulted in protracted periods of mass migration of our people to foreign lands. Today there are more Guyanese living aboard than those residing in the land of their birth. Guyana is still one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, something the rulers should be ashamed of given their 23 years in charge of the government. But they have no shame. As I reflect on these elections, I am keenly aware that many of the issues today are the same when I began my involvement in politics 46 years ago. In many areas of national life instead of making progress we have

retrogressed. On the issue of corruption we have developed great tolerance of this social evil. It has now become a way of life. We have experienced the rise of the criminal state, and in spite of the warnings by Professor Clive Thomas of the WPA, we were incapable of neutralizing this retrogression in a sufficient and timely manner. The rulers’ involvement in the drug trade, gold smuggling and human trafficking contribute to the spiraling rise in crime in the society. We have experienced an unprecedented rise in domestic violence and violence against women and children. Murder and suicide have reached heights that are unknown in the modern history of the country. On both issues, we are among nations of the world with very high death rates. Our present situation condemns us as a people. We need to be self-critical. In the process of a profound self-examination of our behavior in these times, we have to at the least, take some blame for our failure to

act as decisively as the situation demanded. Guyana is blessed. We are a large country with an abundance of natural resources and a small population. However, we have allowed internal divisions and external manipulations to make us poor and corrupt, and we are now prisoners of racial insecurity. Instead of being the masters of our own destiny, we have become prisoners of ideas and ideals that are not akin to our self-interests. Sadly, the possibility for change that is before us is not the product of our collective intelligence, and this fact speaks volumes. We are victims of circumstance, but on this occasion in a positive way. The very politics that destroyed us over the last 60 years has created new realities that are driving the country to change. Demographic changes have undermined the effectiveness of race voting. No party, and by extension, no race group, can win the elections simply on the race vote. Parties need to attract votes outside of their

historical constituency. Young people have become the largest voting bloc. They are between 60 to 65% of the electoral roll. A large number of these voters will be voting for the first time and the only government this group knows is the PPP regime. These voters are likely to view the situation in the country based on their own experiences and are likely to vote against PPP. In short, change will come more from widespread national frustrations than our collective intellectual savageness. The APNU+AFC coalition is making effective use of the mandate they received from the people in the 2011 elections, when for the first time in our electoral history the combined opposition won the majority and had control of the national assembly and the minority party, the executive. After demonstrating its intention to pass a no confidence motion against the PPPC government, President Ramotar then proceeded to throw the elected representatives of the people out of the parliament, thereby

creating an unprecedented political crisis. This action of the President turned the positive electoral development into a democratic disaster. APNU+AFC coalition is seeking to end the national political crisis and stop economic and social stagnation in the country. We are attempting to transform the character of our elections from an instrument of division, to one of unity and liberation. The leadership has created the organization and the political environment for this to be done. It is now left to the people to do their part by casting their vote for the coalition. Let us have a people’s rebellion against the rulers, by voting in a new government on May 11. 2015. Let us make a reality the slogan raised on WPA 1992 elections Campaign at the Kitty Market Square on the eve of the elections when the multi racial crowd of thousands sang “when WPA wins all races win” – May 12 must be a celebration of a people’s victory - we owe it to ourselves as a nation. Tacuma Ogunseye

The PPP seems untenable to the electorate DEAR EDITOR, For reasons best known to themselves, the ruling PPP cabal has not been able to defend its disgraced track record of 22 years. Not only has Jagdeo and Rohee tried to spin their crassness into a political message about race, but they continue their denigrating

diatribe against the Opposition leaders, David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo. What could the PPP hope to achieve by this? The widespread public condemnation has clearly harmed the PPP’s image, including its trump card, Prime Ministerial candidate, Elizabeth Harper who has not

condemned the vulgar and abusive campaign. Ms. Harper’s only choice is to accept such behavior if she wants to remain as the PM candidate. It seems as though Jagdeo is the PPP Presidential candidate and not Mr. Ramotar who is completely out of the picture in this campaign. Does the PPP believe that he is not a good campaigner? Or is he forced to take a back seat to Jagdeo? You decide! As the campaign winds down, the party opinion polls are showing that many of their supporters have abandoned the PPP for the APNU-AFC Coalition. One of the reasons is that their supporters are fed up with the corruption, crime, vulgarity and the double standards that exist in the PPP which its leaders have refused to address. Two, their supporters are discouraged by their

campaign strategy to demonize and malign the leaders of the coalition by not telling the truth. Three, many are angry at the “slap and strip” remarks made by the Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran against Rights Activists Sherlinga Nageer. Four, some of their supporters have realized that the PPP leadership is power drunk and has abandoned their grassroots supporters for their rich friends and that they only cater to themselves. Realizing that their defeat is inevitable, the PPP is subtly trying to change course in the final days of the campaign to avoid more losses and to reduce their diminishing public approval. But some of the PPP strategists are stubborn and will not retreat because they have been so blinded by the party’s group-think mentality wherein everybody has to think alike and become

impervious to dissenting views. This group genuinely believes that the party is winning support. After months of campaigning, the PPP seems highly untenable to most of the electorate. The targeting of David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo through propaganda and distortions of the truth has caused the PPP not to focus and address the core issues affecting the poor and the working class. This strategy was illconceived from the start, since it was based on a false premise about race-bait and cuss-down politics and abusive and vulgar behavior. The PPP has not been averse to playing the race card, with Jagdeo and Rohee portraying the leaders of the Coalition as incompetent miss-fits and opportunists who are out for revenge against East Indians if they win the election. At any rate, the PPP leading campaigner, Bharrat Jagdeo has poisoned the political discourse and continues to do so by his vile conduct and specious spins on the facts. The APNU+AFC Coalition, in turn, is addressing bread and butter issues such as the doubling of old age pensions for seniors; a 10 percent across the board increase for workers and a 20 percent

increase for the security forces; raising the tax threshold; a higher minimum wage; free university education; a 100 percent reduction in the tolls on the Berbice Bridge; a 2 percent reduction of VAT, a doubling of the price for rice, a 25 percent increase in bonus for sugar workers, a 25 percent reduction in the price for gasoline; and the creation of 25,000 new jobs for youths and those who want to work. These are feasible projects which the Coalition must embark on if it wins the election on May 11. However, the spirited public rejection of the PPP vileness by the leaders of the opposition including Khemraj Ramjattan and Joe Harmon demonstrates that the Coalition will not embrace such low gutter type behavior in this campaign. Save for the diehards in the PPP, no one has voiced support for the bigotry expressed by the fanatics in the regime. This is one of the many good outcomes from the present outrage in the campaign that the citizens of Guyana have demonstrated that they are more decent, deserve much better and are miles ahead of the Freedom House gangsters. They are proud of the APNU+AFC Coalition and they want change. Dr. Asquith Rose.

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PPP/C cannot escape the inevitable fall from power After traveling the length and breadth of the country on a vigorous election campaign, Presidential Candidate of A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), David Granger, is convinced that there is an enormous movement in favour of the coalition. At a press conference held at the coalition’s headquarters in Queenstown yesterday, Granger told members of the media that he is absolutely confident that his party will win a majority in the upcoming election. The Presidential hopeful said that come May 11, the electorate will have an opportunity to choose between the APNU+AFC coalition’s commitment to establish a ‘government of national unity’ or the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic’s (PPP/C) determination to continue its ‘winner-takes-all’ approach. Granger said, too, that the PPP/C is sliding towards a fall from power in the 2015 general and regional elections. He stated that the government has been experiencing a decline in its support base for several years. He then pointed to the PPP/C’s electoral performance to justify his conclusion. “The PPP claimed 220,667 votes in the controversial 1997 general and regional elections. Its tally fell to 210,013 in 2001. It then fell to 182,156 in 2006. It finally crashed to 166,340 in 2011 when it lost its majority in the National Assembly to APNU and the AFC. The decline started in August 1999 when Bharrat Jagdeo replaced Janet Jagan. “Jagdeo, despite his boastful behaviour and swaggering style, was the author of the PPP’s problems, losing over 54,000 votes from Janet Jagan’s assumed tally in 1997. His tenure ended in 2011 after the failure of ineffective manoeuvres to seek a new term of office,” The Opposition leader expressed. Granger said, too, that the PPP/C during the “Jagdeo era” persistently failed to address the people’s basic needs for public services and embarked instead on a series of expensive but misconceived mega-projects such as the Fibre Optic Cable Project, the Specialty Surgical Hospital and the Amaila Falls Hydro-power Project road. The politician recalled that the government tried to subordinate the National Assembly to the Executive branch of government on several occasions. He said that it also impaired regulatory and law-enforcement agencies such as the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana

Energy Agency by depriving them of adequate assets, equipment and finance to such an extent as to diminish their capability to function effectively. He contended that the PPP even cultivated the stateowned communications media - the Government Information Agency (GINA), Guyana National Newspapers Limited (publishers of the Guyana Chronicle) and the National Communications Network (NCN) - as Party organs to systematically exclude dissenting opinions. But in focusing on stifling the opposition and the nation as a whole, Granger said that

the party failed to address the country’s most pressing problem, the public security crisis. He said that government has never accepted its responsibility for the high rate of armed robberies, the murderous maritime piracy, the rampant gun-running and contraband smuggling and other violent crimes that rage along the coastland. “The entire nation is alarmed at the rising homicide rate. There have been more than 2,100 murders over the past 15 years during the two deadly Jagdeo and Ramotar presidencies. Guyana’s murder rate is three times

- Granger higher than that of the United States. The PPP failed to advance local democracy by destroying neighbourhood democratic councils and delaying local government elections. It failed to maintain educational standards which are now characterized by poor performance from the level of primary schools to the university,” Granger added. Because of its poor governance and negligence, the APNU+AFC Presidential

Candidate said that the PPP/ C is now facing a ‘tsunami’ of troubles which grows more threatening by the day. As such, Granger opined that government “cannot escape the inevitable fall from power” when general and regional elections are held on May 11. His Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine asserted that observer groups asked the coalition if it is prepared to deal with the possibility of the results being in favour of the PPP/C. The politician said that it was related to the missions that once there is no violation of the electoral process, laws

and practices, then the APNU+AFC would find no difficulty in accepting results of the elections. He said that this sentiment was also communicated to its supporters. “We have, at every rally and public meeting, stressed to people that we want a peaceful election and postelection period, but there is such a surge of hope…and if they individually detect that there are deliberate attempts to frustrate the process, then I fear they will be difficult to restrain… but we will do our best to try to calm the people,” the APNU Executive expressed.

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Don’t let your emotions guide you, judge the PPP/C on its record - President tells heckling Buxtonians

A section of the crowd bearing placards Notwithstanding a verbally hostile crowd, President Donald Ramotar called on Buxtonians to put aside their emotions and judge his administration’s efforts thus far on its record of governance. “This is a time to put aside emotions and consider what is best for you, what is best for your family, what is best for your children and what is best for the country as a whole,” a Government release on the meeting said. The fact that Government concentrated its spending on Guyana’s social development was emphasised by the President, who said the economy was able to “move by leaps and bounds”. He noted that all of the nation’s children could not have attended nursery or primary school and this has changed for the better, “moreover only 30% of the children leaving primary school had an opportunity of going to secondary school. Today more than 90% of our children are attending secondary school, and very soon when we win the elections all of our children will be able to go to secondary

schools. That is what we will provide for our children of the future”. That the Government is giving free text and exercise books, uniform allowance and the $10,000 grant, were also mentioned by President Ramotar. “That is why over the last 10 years our children are now topping the Caribbean at CXC examinations. That is because of the investment that we have been putting in our children.” The gains in health care and housing were also noted by the President. “Since we have been in office, more than 100,000 families moved into new quarters.....we have reduced overcrowding in people’s homes.” He accused the political opposition of cutting down every single transformative programme of his administration, and stressed that it did not make it easy for him. He explained that the stalled Amaila Falls Hydro Power project would have brought much benefit to ordinary citizens in terms of direct employment during its construction, and when completed, via the provision of

cheap energy. “We could develop our country to be one of the leading countries in the Caribbean and South America,” he stated, as he explained the benefits of a new airport, a deep water harbour and a paved road from Brazil to Linden. “Those are some of the plans we have to build not only a resilient economy, but also a modern developed society in Guyana.” Agriculture will also be broadened with the production of electricity from byproducts such as bagasse, alcohol and ethanol. He said the coconut industry can be expanded to export coconut water which can be preserved for longer storage and carbon produced from coconut shells. Crops such as soya and corn can also be produced on a wider scale. Guyana’s livestock industry can be developed further to benefit the Caribbean. “We cannot only produce for ourselves, but we can take a lot of the market in the Caribbean, because today, the region imports US$4 billion in food every year, and we can take a lot of that market, and

President Ramotar addressing the meeting earn a higher quality of life for the people of Guyana. This is the direction we want to take our country.” The President also pointed out that the One Laptop Per Family programme, from which many of the citizens benefitted, was part of government’s efforts to ensure that no-one was left behind, “No matter what your economic circumstances.” He said that 3,000 people were already employed at Qualfon, for example, due to the Information Communication Technology training, and

more will be employed as the company along with others in the sector expand, in the near future. The Head of State explained that those trained in ICT will no longer be confined to their villages or immediate communities, but they will be able to work for international companies or even further their education online. “When we came to office, according to Eusi Kwayana, every single street in this village was broken and damaged. You could hardly drive a car in this village.

The PPP/Civic Government built a school for you. We even built back the Tipperary Hall. The PNC has never done anything for you in this country. What have they done for you in Buxton? What they did was bring criminals to run your village in 2002......that is what they did, and that is why today, on two occasions they voted against the AntiMoney Laundering bill. By voting against the Anti-Money Laundering bill, they voted to support criminal elements in our country.”

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‘Hole-in-heart’ infant doing well following surgery at GPHC

Andrea Williams with her one-year-old son, Anthony Tucker, in the GPHC Paediatric ward. One year old, Anthony Tucker was given a chance to live a normal life after he underwent a heart surgery at the Georgetown Public Hospital

Corporation (GPHC) with support from the International Children’s Heart Foundation (Baby Heart). Tucker, one of the chil-

dren who successfully went through heart surgeries within the last two weeks at GPHC, was born at the Woodlands Hospital on April 15, 2014. He was later diagnosed with a hole in his heart. Dr. Hardat Persaud, a Pediatrician at Woodlands Hospital first diagnosed the condition a month after the baby was born, according to the child’s mother. The child was taken to the hospital in May last year, after he was experiencing wheezing which his mother thought at that time to be a cold, but she was later informed it was a hole in her son’s heart. Dr. Persaud was swift in referring little Tucker to the Caribbean Heart Institute, at the GPHC, where he was given the appropriate care for his condition. He was enrolled into the clinic which he attended prior to the heart surgery which, as indicated, came one year after his diagnosis. Tucker’s mother, Andrea Williams, said that her son is

doing very well, and despite not being completely out of harm’s way because the surgery wounds are still fresh, she is quite optimistic about a brighter and healthier life for her infant son. Reviewing the previous year, she said that dealing with her son’s condition was n o t e a s y, b u t l i k e a n y mother she tried her best in aiding her son with love and support. “It was not easy, I could not give him any and every thing to eat, it was only after his first birthday that I started feeding him porridge and nestum,” said the mother ,who is very happy that her son’s health is improving.

Tucker is expected to be discharged from the institution very soon. Yesterday at the GPHC’s paediatric ward, the doctor who performed the successful surgery was very happy to see his young patient in recovery mode. Dr. Rodrigo Soto, Paediatric cardiac surgeon from the International Children’s Heart foundation, ‘where hope comes to life’, was the doctor behind the surgery. The International Children’s Heart foundation, (Baby Heart) is a non-profit organization that travels around the world to assist in paediatric cardiac surgeries and at the same time

Dr. Rodrigo Soto (Continued on page 46)

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QC celebrates 40 years of co-ed Queens, NY- Guyana’s Ambassador to Washington Bayney Karran said distinguished honorees — Dawn Holder-Alert, Dr. Michelle M i c k l e - F o s t e r, A m l a t a P e r s a u d a n d D r. A l i s s a Trotz, are emblematic of the tradition of academic and professional excellence with which Queen’s College is synonymous. During his recent remarks at ‘Terrace On the Park’ to commemorate 40 years of coeducation and the enrollment of girls at the prestigious high school, Karran added that the alumni are trailblazers and taskmasters in every field of human endeavour as typified by the honorees. The alumnus told the packed Black Tie Gala that it was important for all societies to transcend traditional gender norms and ensure that males and females participate fully and equally in both the public and private spheres. “This celebration of the 40th anniversary of co-education is most appropriate for our school. It is indisputable that coeducation benefits students by reflecting more accurately the social environment that they will encounter in the adult world.” Karran, who said he was honored to share the podium with Clarence Trotz, his former headmaster and outstanding educator, also applauded the QC of Guyana Alumni Association N.Y. Chapter, for plan-

From left, Karen Wharton, vice president of QCAANY; His Excellency Ambassador Bayney Karran; Amlata Persaud, honoree; Dr. Alissa Trotz, honoree; Clarence Trotz, former head master of QC; Dawn Holder-Alert, honoree; Dr. Michelle Foster, honoree; John Campbell, president of QCAANY and Saran Nurse, treasurer of QCAANY. ning the auspicious weekend of activities that included a fusion lime, a multi-denominational service and family brunch. Trotz, alumnus and University of Cambridge-educated academic, who served as headmaster in the 1970s, praised his alma mater for the success of coeducation, and avowed that over the last three de-

cades women in many countries have excelled academically better than their male counterparts in sciences, engineering, mathematics, and other technological areas. “This revolution has meant that the proverbial academic ‘gender gap’ at universities is steadily narrowing. At Queen’s College, this narrowing has been tak-

ing place ever since girls entered the school in 1975,” added Trotz, who noted that the institution had its first female scholars in the early 1980’s. “There can be little doubt that at the present time, the girl c o m p o n e n t a t t h e school can justifiably pride themselves in the knowledge that they are holding their own in all depart-

ments of the life of Queens’ College, especially so in the academic departm e n t s , where girls and boys can participate and compete on equal terms,” said the former professor and author. John Campbell, president of the 24-year-old QC of Guyana Alumni Association of New York Chapter, said Trotz positively impacted the

lives of each and every one of his students over the years and praised the former physics teacher for his stirring recollection of QC’s co-education journey to success. Trotz was then honored with a plaque from the alumni. The historic event punctuated by nostalgia and the commitment to academic excellence, showcased the talents of former teachers such as Avis Joseph who entertained the patrons with a musical interlude. Carol Cort, Doret Edmonds, Corinne Locke, Deoki Pestano and Carlotta Waterman served as hostesses, while Raphael Lindo, Dr. Nathilee Caldeira, Marsha DeSouza and Stuart Lam presented the honorees with plaques. Executive member Saran Nurse and former student Hugh Hamilton shared emcee duties. Staying true to the school’s mission: To further the interests of the Queen’s College of Guyana, with a view to ensuring its continued high level of contribution to education in Guyana and to help assure the stability of Queen’s College, which contributes to academic excellence in Guyana - and its motto: Fideles Ubique Utiles” (“Loyal and Useful Everywhere”), Karen Wharton, vice president, expressed heartfelt thanks to everyone who worked to make the event “happen.” (caribbeanlifenews.com)

Guyanese man jailed in absentia after fleeing the U.S. A Guyanese man who may have absconded to his native land, was sentenced in absentia to nine years in prison on burglary charges after he and an accomplice fled during the course of jury selection for their trial in Queens Supreme Court, according to the Queens District Attorney office. Chetram Karan, 25, and Vishwa Nabi, 27, both from Jamaica, fled from the United States to Guyana, the Queens DA said, during the selection of a jury for their trial. As a result, the court conducted a so-called Parker hearing and concluded that they had deliberately and intentionally failed to return to court, thereby forfeiting their right to be present at their trial. Karan, who is believed to have run away to Guyana, was sentenced April 29 in absentia to nine years in prison. Nabi, who was returned to the jurisdiction by his bail bondsman last month, was

sentenced April 2 to 11 years in prison. In February 2013, Karan and Nabi each posted $10,000 bail shortly after their arrests on burglary charges. N a b i ’s b a i l w a s i n creased to $15,000 after he failed to show up at court on April 9, 2013. He was held in jail in lieu of bail until July 2014, when he posted bail. “The defendants were believed to be serial burglars who targeted homes throughout Queens and Nassau Counties, terrorized homeowners by their unlawful intrusions and stole their valued possessions,” Queens DA Richard Brown said. Last month, both defendants were convicted in absentia of burglary, conspiracy, criminal possession of stolen property and possession of burglar’s tools, following a jury trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Leslie Leach. According to trial testi-

mony, the vehicle that the defendants were using, a 2006 BMW, had been implicated in prior burglaries that occurred in Queens. As a result, surveillance was conducted on the vehicle. According to court records, in February 2013, NYPD’s Burglary Larceny Apprehension Surveillance Team observed Karan driving the BMW, with Nabi in the vehicle, in New Hyde Park. When the BMW stopped in a New Hyde Park neighbourhood, Nabi got out of the vehicle. As the vehicle drove off, Nabi was seen walking to a darkened private residence. While police watched, Nabi disappeared for a moment and a short time later a light went on in a second-floor room of the residence. A few moments later, Nabi was seen walking down the driveway from the house to a corner where the BMW pulled up and Nabi entered

the vehicle. While Nabi was being observed at the residence, other police officers simultaneously saw Karan acting as a lookout and conducting counter-surveillance by driving slowly up and down the residential street in the immediate area, according to court records. The criminal complaint filed by the DA alleged that

after the BMW drove back into Queens, police stopped the vehicle and recovered a crowbar on the front passenger floor, jewelry on the center console and a black-andwhite zebra-print case on the front passenger seat, as well as jewelry on the back seat and under the back seat cushion, multiple pairs of gloves and other miscellaneous items.

In returning to the crime scene, police saw a side window open and noted that the inside of the residence had been ransacked. The residence’s owner identified the black-and-white case as belonging to a family member and said the case had been in the residence when he left earlier in the day, according to the criminal complaint.

‘Hole-in-heart’ infant... (From page 45) trains local health practitioners in this regard. During a recent interview with the Government Information Agency, Dr. Soto, who is Chief Executive Officer of Baby Heart Foundation said that the experience has been fantastic thus far, and expressed gratitude to the Government for allowing the organization to develop its programme here. A special Intensive Care

Unit (ICU) was also refurbished at the GPHC to facilitate post-surgery care for the children, and Baby Heart Foundation donated some equipment for the unit. Meanwhile, Director of the Echocardiography Education Programme at the GPHC, Dr. Debra Isaac said that when the programme first started it was realized that children accounted for almost 40% of the heart ul-

trasounds that were done, and many required surgery. Unfortunately, only a few had access to surgical interventions, and a few were sent to other countries. The Foundation has been around for over 20 years and has successfully completed 7,500 surgeries in 32 countries. The team will be visiting Guyana in July for another few weeks to conduct more surgeries.

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Saturday May 09, 2015

WANTED

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Imported pups Rottweiler, German shepherds, Huskys, malamute Dogo argentino, pugs and British bulldog-Tel: 664-5401; 615-5343 JUST ARRIVED!! 18" BRUSH CUTTER BLADES WHOLESALE & RETAIL QUANTITIES - FREE DELIVERY CALL: 6148564/ 639-3675 D4H CAT bulldozer, Leyland DAF 55 Tipper truck, lengths- plastic sheet piles, 17FT Truck Tray – Contact: 275-0538; 693-7105 Pile driving hammers, weight 3 and 4 tons, 6 cylinder Leyland engine, 10 tons double steel wheeled roller – Call: 275-0538; 693-7105 Pneumatic roller – 9 wheels, 2,500 GLS, steel tank, 2,000 GLS, steel tank , 428 CAT Back-Hoe Call: 275-0538; 693-7105 Attention Loggers!!! Anchor seal wood wax 18000 5-G, N.C sanding sealer $4500 1-G, nail plates, metal straps – Tel: 2653541; 695-4785 One female Rottweiler pup, 7 weeks old, vaccinated and dewormed –Tel: 627-1360 Tibetan pups, white-brown & whiter – Call: 652-8369 Over 12,000 rare & expensive stamps, old documents/ old coins & money etc –Tel: 2276817; 226-5183; 624-7341 20 LB empty Tex & Shell Gas Cylinder –Tel:228-5655; 6281756 Great Deals on video games and all gaming consoles, PC games, phone games & applications – Call: 672-2566; 265-3232 Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, motors, etc call:225-9032,647-2943 Rottweiler pure breed – Contact: 227-2958 for further information. One Mitsubishi Canter, good condition, 2.5 ton, has dumper-$2.2M-Tel: 612-1848 3 Bedrooms house in 3rd Avenue Diamond- Contact: 645-6498 4 Puppies (pit) 8 weeks old (vaccinated) @ 331 Golden Grove, Block (Y), Section (C) E.B.D –Tel: 610-6739; 2161441

Smart Choice Auto Sale: Premio, Allion, Spacio, Fielder, Bluebird, Carina 212, IST - Call: 652-3820; 6654529 First Class Auto: 09 Allion, 05 Premio, 06 Allion, Bluebird, Rush, Spacio, Runx, IST, Carina 212, Verossa, Mark 2, Axio –Tel: 609-8188; 638-3045 D. Persuad Auto Deal: New model Spacio and PremioTel: 227-5950; 681-7117 Prado Land Cruiser TZ, Automatic Diesel, PHH Series -$5.2M, fully loaded Tel: 233-2546; 688-5554 1 L-Touring Wagon, flair kit, remote start- $1.450,000, 1 Honda CRV, $1.850, 000, 1 AT192 - $850, 000. All in good condition, price negotiable –Tel: 626-2884 Sale! Allion new model $3.35M, Bluebird Sylphy $2.75M, Belter -$2.6M, 2006 Tocoma -$3.8M -Tel: 592-6397101 & bestcar autosale@facebook.com Two FUSO canter truck with three ton crane GPP & GTT series, price $5.5M & $4.5M – Call Ward: 622-6746 3 Ford F350 2006 model, extended cab 4X4, 6" lift kit, 35" tyres, diesel, auto, excellent condition – Tel:610-5370 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 Nissan X-Trail, Doctor’s Car, immaculate condition -$3M negotiable. Phone: 328-7832, 641-3001, 232-0628 One Toyota Starlet Glanza PJJ Series- Call: 662-2052; 629-6579. Price negotiable. 1 Toyota Hilux mint condition –Tel: 601-0053; 691-8075. New model Allion: TV reverse camera, low mileage $3,300,000 negotiable –Tel: 655-3400

FOR SALE Fluffy, loving puppies – Tel:645-0240 or 629-3814 Continued on page 48

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

A vigilant coalition should better tailor its campaign to guard against the disruptive PPP DEAR EDITOR, The coalition seems on track with its campaign, with solid work on the ground and all attempts by the governing party to incite avoided. This election is there for the taking, but coalition supporters and leaders alike need to remain steadfast and focused. So I wish to caution, the stronger APNU-AFC develops, the more desperate the PPP becomes. Having a great manifesto is not sufficient. From my first days of voting in 1980 onwards, many solid manifestos were prepared, but just one materialized into an electoral win. Getting into the trenches and shoulder to the wheel approaches are the winning combinations. It is like selling a product, one cannot sit in one place and rake in profits. While the coalition has done better over the last weeks, they need not only to work hard but to work smarter. If daily press conferences are too much to challenge the diatribe of the PPP’s press conferences, perhaps thrice weekly sessions are needed to provide your supporters with reasoned arguments. APNU-AFC coalition newspaper adverts could do with some added creativity.

Founding members of the AFC, Rafael Trotman and particularly Khemraj Ramjattan have not featured prominently in their media campaigns. While they are doing a lot of work behind the scenes, people need to see them significantly featured in campaigns, especially with the core messages which catapulted the AFC to prominence and were at the forefront of change going back eight years. Just months ago, Ramjattan was seen in almost every press conference and Voice of the People programmes. While he is appearing at campaigns, missing are his press remarks and analysis from mainstream television and the newspapers. Complaints about who represents different groups in the coalition are not to be taken lightly. Missing from many messages is the tailoring of messages to different groupings across the country, while women, youth and business have been targeted, missing is that rich diverse cultural flavour in the very campaign advertisements and to some extent at rallies across the country. Embracing, not shying away from our cultural

heritage will greatly assist this campaign. I believe the composition of the campaign team may have contributed to this disconnect, where a better reflection of the diversity of the country would have allowed for improved alignment of messages to target groups of voters who are yet to be convinced. Clearly, large blocks of urban and peri-urban areas are already on board. Suffice to say, hundreds of thousands are ready to vote for the coalition, but targeting rural and small business folks with culturally sensitive messages would score a more decisive victory for the coalition! Humility needs to prevail ahead of triumphalism. The coalition has to avoid, for instance, taking up both carriage ways of a public road, to march on solidarity. There is no need to show support by being reckless and disorderly, while disrupting daily lives of those plying their private business. Steadfast discipline is of utmost importance this election. The coalition must publicly denounce indecent acts which appear to have been the work of their supporters, you are certain

the PPP set it up. I say it’s the last chance this country has to overcome this tyrannical regime and chart a people-centred approach. For the 2500-odd polling stations, the coalition must have at least two scrutineers at each place of poll to ensure balloting is transparent, and attempts to derail the process are not fermented. Two persons, to allow each other the time to go wherever his/her place of poll is stationed, if differently stationed, to cast their ballots without jeopardizing the integrity of the electoral process, and to allow for supplies, bathroom breaks, and fatigue. Strict discipline is needed on this day. Keen attention must also be paid to GECOM staff on their actions. One party is awash win money to bribe its way through the process. More attempts will be made to disrupt the electioneering process. Electoral officials and scrutineers will be under severe strong arm tactics in strong holds of the PPP. Rohee is already signalling the trouble the PPP plans to make such as challenging the electoral process and results. Every

attempt to incite and disrupt will be made. So the coalition must be on guard, resolute, armed with mobile phones, and back up personnel to defend their interests. A corrupt government on the verge of losing power is like a tiger backed into a corner. The coalition needs to be vigilant in these times. Like Mahindra Rajapaksha of Sri Lanka, the man accused of committing war crimes against the Tamils, who tried every possible means of staying in power, firing officials from the Law Courts, trying to manipulate the Electoral Commission with charges of corruption, attempting to incite violence, just to name a few, the coalition must be extremely mindful of PPP statements. The PPP has always tried to switch blame to the feet of the opposition, and this deliberate attempt has always had disastrous consequences for the ordinary folks. Political goon squads are paid hefty sums to infiltrate and carry out dirty work, setting fires to buildings, blocking roads, and beating up a few Indians to show how bad the opposition is, so the coalition needs to be mindful. Latchman Singh

(From page 48)

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Indian supremacists are coming out; they are desperate DEAR EDITOR, I am responding to the letter of Ryhaan Shah in SN of May 6 and Baytoram Ramharack and Rakesh Rampertab in SN of May 7. Ms. Shah wrote; “I would never negate my Indian self. It is my DNA. It is my history, my legacy, my traditions, my culture. It is my spiritual home. If I ever denied any of it, that would be the real dishonour. And if anyone asked that of me they would be trampling on my guaranteed human, spiritual and constitutional rights.” (end of quote) Anyone who studied philosophy and history and understands how genocide come about would be shocked at that statement. It has subliminal and Freudian overtones of racial chauvinism. In many European countries, particularly Germany, Austria, Turkey and Serbia, the editors would not carry such a correspondence. It is pregnant with racist bravado. I studied the cause of genocide, I taught its origins and perpetuation in history to UG students in my philosophy class. Humans should never lose sight how easy a nation can become victim to

genocidal preachers. It is really a horrible indictment of Homo sapiens that in the modern world, a woman who claims to be a novelist can write such chauvinistic chants about racial feelings I would advise non-Indian people to be very careful if Ms Shah is ever to have jurisdiction over them in employment or in any other way. I would say thank God, Ms. Shah does not have a position where she possesses state power and such power is translated into policy. What I find reprehensible about the statement is that it is not an acknowledgement that one accepts being Indian but the elaboration that race is an integral part of the persona and character of Ms. Shah. Personally speaking, I hope Ms. Shah never attains authority over non-Indian people Ramharack’s letter is pathetic. This is a man in his letter says that the PPP represents the best choice for Indians. But he lives in the US where a Blackman is president but he would not come home to serve the cause of his chosen political party that has been in government for near to twenty three years. But one thing can be said of

Ramharack, a founding member of ROAR with Rave Dev and Aksharananda; the PPP is not the best choice for him, because he will not work in a Guyana controlled by the PPP, even though the PPP is the best choice for Indians and he is proud to be an Indian. Ramharack repeats the sickening, morbid, depraved, worn-up, nauseating mantra of supremacist Indians. These “proud Ryhaanian Indians are so easy to predict. The PNC must apologize for past mistakes, Desmond Hoyte never existed, the PPP never committed atrocities similar to the PNC since 1999. But perhaps the most sadistic overtone in Ramharack’s little missive is his embrace of Shah’s frightening exhibition of proud ethnic blood. I would recommend to readers the work of Arthur Koestler on understanding how Homo sapiens can easily commit genocide. For me, he remains the authority on how deeply rooted is the instinct of ethnic willingness in tribes to confront and fight other species different from them. Nazi Germany and Rwanda are graphic tales of the deterministic drive of the genes in Homo sapiens. For a

good scientific explanation of Koestler’s philosophical take on the willingness to commit genocide see the work of the Harvard biologist, Edward Wilson Finally, Rakesh Rampertab, another of the “proud Ryhaanian Indians” who is scared about the impending loss of Indian hegemony in Guyana and thus has reappeared in the letter pages after years of dormancy, has written a letter to me in the SN. He reminds me that Yesu Persaud had high praise for Aksharananda. I don’t understand the meaning of his missive. I never for a moment doubted whatever integrity or genius or erudition or religiosity Aksharananda had. For me, he has shown over the past week that he is

happy with perpetuating sociological, historical and political distortions to influence Indians to vote for the PPP. For me, this man has changed and has submitted to what Koestler and Wilson wrote about, with regards to the power of tribal instincts. I cannot see him the way I did before. But is it not commonsensical that people change when faced with special circumstances? Aksharanda reminds me of the Archbishop of Rwanda during the ethnic conflict there. I will leave it at that. Frederick Kissoon

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MMU cites NCN, Chronicle for disproportionate coverage in PPP/C’s favour

The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), in its most recent report, reflected a conclusion that the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) has gained the most political mileage from state-owned media houses. According to the report, the National Communication Network’s (NCN) positive coverage of the PPP/C overwhelmed positive coverage of A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Chance (APNU+AFC) by a margin of approximately 6:1. And on the negative side, APNU+AFC gained considerably more negative coverage than the PPP/C to the tune of over 47:1.

Specifically, the MMU found that a huge amount of positive coverage given by NCN’s news team to the PPP/ C, resulted in a positive to negative ratio of coverage in excess of 97:1. In the Talk Shows/Interviews category, only the PPP/ C and APNU+AFC attracted measurable coverage while the other parties did not. In this aspect, the MMU reported that the PPP/C gained a large allotment of positive coverage, while APNU+AFC came in for a “sprinkle.” The disparity in positive coverage that the two political parties received reflected a ratio of 17:1, in favor of the PPP/C.

While, APNU+AFC came in for a large disbursement of negative publicity but the PPP/C gained a scant amount. The difference in negative coverage between the two political parties was reflected in a ratio exceeding 17:1, in APNU+AFC’s favor. Also, the report stated that with regard to the Channel’s programming, PPP/ C-friendly programmes dominated, particularly the programme, Political Scope. The MMU said that unfortunately, it seems as if “they (APNU+AFC and the smaller political parties competing in the elections) are not likely to receive much, if any, positive publicity, anytime

soon from the programmes produced and presented for public viewing by the Channel itself, the PPP/C or GINA.” The report stated that from the General Programmes category, the PPP/C gained a substantial amount of positive publicity, while APNU+AFC came in for a relatively puny disbursement. Further, MMU said that PPP/ C’s positive coverage overwhelmed APNU+AFC’s positive coverage by a margin of approximately 55:1. In the negative columns, the PPP/C gained a microscopic amount of negative coverage, while it was the total opposite for APNU+AFC.

The disparity in negat i v e coverage between APNU+AFC and the PPP/C was seen in a ratio of 71:1 in favour of APNU+AFC. CHRONICLE The MMU said that a review of editorials of the Chronicle Newspaper proved that the PPP/C gained a large appropriation of favorable coverage, while APNU+AFC did not come in for any measureable positive coverage. On the other hand, the PPP/C was the recipient of a relatively tiny amount of negative publicity, while APNU+AFC attracted a substantial amount of negative coverage. It was also noted that the

PPP/C was the beneficiary of a positive to negative distribution of coverage that was reflected in a ratio of over 26:1, while APNU+AFC, devoid of any positive publicity, suffered net negative coverage. From the letters published in the newspaper, the MMU pointed out that the PPP/C gained a considerable amount of positive coverage, while APNU+AFC failed to attract any favorable opinions of measurable proportions. Also, the PPP/C was dusted with a small amount of negative publicity. “In fact, A P N U + A F C ’s n e g a t i v e portrayal was approximately 173 times the negative publicity calculated for the PPP/C.” “The newspaper’s Columns were the source of coverage for the PPP/C and APNU+AFC in the following way: Both the PPP/C and APNU+AFC received large amounts of positive publicity from the sentiments penned by the newspaper’s columnists. However, the PPP/C was portrayed extremely more favorable, attracting positive coverage that was almost 6 times the positive coverage calculated for APNU+AFC.” It was noted explicitly that in the General News category, the PPP/C scored the highest amount of positive coverage.

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Rowley exposes new e-mails Trinidad Express - On the heels of being suspended from Parliament over Emailgate, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley last night exposed more e-mails. This time he has shown new e-mails which allege that $60 million was transferred from First Citizens bank to three foreign banks. Speaking at a People’s National Movement (PNM) meeting in Arima, Rowley said he received a string of e-mails from a whistleblower who was concerned about the status of investigations into this matter.

The money, said Rowley, was transferred from the account of the National Energy Corporation (NEC) to banks in the United States and Dubai and to an attorney’s office in Antigua. The e-mails Rowley had in his possession detailed the transaction amounts and the dates—the transfers took place in September 2011. Rowley said NEC lawyers picked it up and investigations were started. He said another e-mail purported to have come from Interpol where requests were sent to security officials in Antigua and Dubai asking for

information and assistance in the investigation. Rowley said there were three separate unauthorised wire transfers and one of the e-mails drew it to his attention that no action has been taken against the perpetrators. These e-mails, said Rowley, will never get into the Parliament under the present Government. He noted that Finance Minister Larry Howai was in charge of FIrst Citizens at the time when the unauthorised transactions were said to have taken place.

BVI elections set for June 8 TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands - The two major political parties have finalized their slate of candidates and started their election campaigns, following the announcement that citizens of the British Virgin Islands will vote for a new government next month. Premier Dr D. Orlando Smith announced Wednesday night that polling day would be June 8. The announcement follows his report to the country a few days earlier that the BVI had returned to positive economic growth. “This government has been performing and because we have been performing and have done so well for this country, we feel that it’s time for us to

Dr D. Orlando Smith

come to the country, come to the people of this country, and say ‘we want to continue to manage your affairs’,” the premier told those gathered in

Road Town for a National Democratic Party (NDP) rally.He also introduced the party’s 12 candidates for the upcoming elections.

Barbados to host Heads of Government conference Daily Nation - The 36th Regular Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be held in Barbados from July 2 to 4, this year. The Conference will start with an opening ceremony which will be addressed by Heads of Government elected since the last Conference, followed by an official reception. On the days following, there will be business sessions and a retreat for Heads of Government. A cultural event will be hosted for Heads of Government of visiting countries and local officials on CARICOM Day, which falls on Saturday, July 4. Fifteen CARICOM Heads of Government and the heads of five associated states and their delegations, a total of more than 150 persons, will deliberate over a range of

items of importance to the region. It is expected that the Conference will host several distinguished special guests during the period and an important symposium. Barbados assumes the chairmanship of CARICOM for the period July 1, 2015 to

December 31, 2015, at a time when the region is going through fundamental change. Over the next two months, Barbados’ relationship with CARICOM and the many aspects of the work of CARICOM will be highlighted.

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Pakistan helicopter crash kills Cameron sweeps to unexpected Norwegian, Philippine ambassadors triumph in British election Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, enquires Malaysian Ambassador Hasrul Sani Mujtabar about his health at the CMH hospital in Gilgit, Pakistan.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron (R) stands with former former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (C) and former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, British Prime Minister David Cameron won a stunning election victory on Friday, confounding forecasts that the vote would be the closest in decades and winning a clear majority that left his Labour opponents in tatters. The sterling currency, bonds and shares surged on a result that reversed nearuniversal expectations of an inconclusive “hung parliament”, in which Cameron would have had to jockey for power with Labour rival Ed Miliband. Instead, Cameron met Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace to accept a mandate to form the first majority Conservative government since John Major’s surprise victory in 1992. Despite the unexpectedly decisive outcome, longerterm uncertainty looms over whether Britain will stay in the European Union - and even hold together as a country. Secessionists swept the board in Scotland, and Cameron repeated a promise to hold a referendum on membership in the EU. The scale of Cameron’s victory surpassed even his party’s most optimistic

projections. “This is the sweetest victory of all,” Cameron told enthusiastic supporters at party headquarters. “The real reason to celebrate tonight, the real reason to be proud, the real reason to be excited is we are going to get the opportunity to serve our country again.” Smiling beside his wife Samantha, Cameron returned to the prime minister’s office in Downing Street after meeting the Queen. Staff lined up to applaud when he entered the residence. Cameron’s pitch to voters was that he had rescued Britain from economic crisis to deliver the fastest growth among major economies. He had warned that Labour’s Miliband would cripple the United Kingdom by giving Scottish nationalists the keys to England’s treasure. In early appointments to his cabinet, he retained George Osborne as finance minister, sticking with the man credited with overseeing recovery from the economic crash. Miliband, a selfconfessed socialist “geek”, had argued that the recovery was benefiting the rich and most people were still worse

off. But he failed to connect with working class voters or convince the public he could be trusted with the world’s fifth largest economy. He phoned Cameron to concede and then resigned as party leader. With all results declared in the 650-seat house, the Conservatives held 331 and Labour 232. The center-left Liberal Democrats, who supported Cameron in government since 2010, were all but wiped out, reduced to eight seats from 57. Scottish nationalists won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats, up from just six five years ago. The anti-EU, populist UK Independence Party (UKIP) surged into third place in the overall vote tally, but disappointed its followers by managing to place first in only one district to win just a single seat. Like Labour’s Miliband, Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg and UKIP leader Nigel Farage resigned as party leaders. Sterling gained more than 2 cents against the dollar GBP=D4 to rise above $1.55 for the first time since late February, and looked on track to enjoy its biggest one-day gain against the euro EURGBP= since January 2009.

A Pakistan military helicopter carrying diplomats to inspect a tourism project crashed on Friday killing seven people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was traveling to the mountainous northern region of Gilgit on a separate aircraft when the accident happened. He returned to Islamabad, his office said. Norwegian Ambassador Leif Larsen, Philippine Ambassador Domingo Lucenario and the wives of the ambassadors of Malaysia and Indonesia were killed, along with two pilots and a crew member, military spokesman Asim Bajwa said in Twitter posts. He said initial information indicated the cause was a technical fault. The foreign secretary also said technical problems caused the crash. “Apparently its engine failed,” Foreign Secretary Azaz Chaudhry said. “It was not terrorism.” The Pakistani Taliban claimed they shot down the aircraft but witnesses on the ground, and in other helicopters on the trip, reported nothing to indicate any firing. Malaysian state media identified the wife of

the ambassador as Habibah Mahmud, while Indonesia said its ambassador Burhan Muhammad was injured and his wife, Heri Listyawati Burhan Muhammad, was killed. Bajwa said the ambassadors of Poland and the Netherlands were among the injured. The ambassadors of South Africa, Lebanon and Romania were also on board, according to a flight list obtained by Reuters. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said its ambassador was alive and uninjured. An official in Gilgit said nine people had been killed. “The bodies are so badly torched that they can’t be identified,” said Sibtain Ahmed, the home secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan. The Foreign Office said 17 people were on board the Mi-17 when it crashed into a school in Gilgit and caught fire. Media said there were 11 foreigners and six Pakistanis. “GOOD REPUTATION” Farmer Shakil Ahmed saw the helicopter crash into the school roof from his house about 100 meters away. “The helicopter came very close to the helipad, maybe 250 meters in the air, just above the school,” Ahmed told Reuters. “It hovered there for a while and then tried to turn when it crashed. Thankfully there were no kids

in the school because it was an off-day for security reasons. The helicopter caught fire and was on fire for over an hour.” Pakistani Taliban militants said they brought down the helicopter with a shoulderlaunched missile, adding they had been hoping to shoot down Sharif’s aircraft. “Nawaz Sharif and his allies are our prime targets,” Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khurasani said in an emailed statement. Gilgit, about 250 km (150 miles) north of Islamabad, is not a militant stronghold and the Taliban often claim responsibility for incidents that they had nothing to do with. The Mi-17 is considered a reliable, no-frills helicopter, first built by Russians for use in hot and high conditions in Asia, said James Hardy, the Asia-Pacific editor for IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly. “The military has a lot of money and a good reputation for looking after its equipment,” he said. “The air force is well trained and highly professional.” The Pakistan military was believed to operate about 29 Mi-17s and the air force about six, he said. Media have reported four other Mi-17 crashes in Pakistan in the last 11 years.

Saudi-led coalition bombs Houthis in north Yemen, offers five-day truce Beirut (AFP) - Fierce battles between Syrian regime forces and the Islamic State jihadist group in eastern Syria have left 34 fighters dead in 24 hours, a monitor said Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 19 progovernment forces and 15 IS extremists had been killed since clashes began late Wednesday in the city of Deir Ezzor and around its nearby

military airport. The head of aerial defence at the airport - one of the few areas left in regime hands in Deir Ezzor province - was killed in the fighting, the Observatory said. Four government soldiers were beheaded by IS Thursday as the jihadists seized a key checkpoint in the city near the air base. “An IS suicide bomber detonated himself by the

checkpoint, which IS then seized,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. “Seizing the checkpoint gets them closer to the military airport.” Abdel Rahman said fighting continued into Friday morning with both sides shelling positions on the outskirts of Deir Ezzor city. Local activist Mohammad alKhleif confirmed IS had gained control of the Jamyan

checkpoint in the city’s southeast. IS already controls most of Deir Ezzor province and roughly half its capital, he told AFP. If its offensive succeeds, Deir Ezzor would be the second provincial capital to fall to the group, after it named the northern city of Raqa the capital of its “caliphate.” In northern Syria, at least six civilians were killed Thursday in attacks in

Aleppo city, once Syria’s commercial hub but now divided between government control in the west and rebels in the east. The Britain-based Observatory said a woman and three children died after rebel rocket attacks on the government-held Ashrafiyeh neighbourhood. A father and his young son were killed by snipers in another regime-held area. In Aleppo province, a

fierce attack by IS on the regime’s Kweyris military airport left seven progovernment forces dead. According to the Observatory, IS has surrounded the airport but are coming under fire from regime war planes. Southeast of Syria’s capital, an explosion in the Billi military airport killed 13 regime soldiers, including the base’s head, the Observatory said.

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Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis to meet on Sunday Bridgetown, Barbados – Barbados’ preparation for the second round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying will a c c e l e r a t e o n S u n d a y, when it faces St. Kitts & Nevis in an international friendly at the Usain Bolt Sports C o m p l e x. It will be the fourth friendly international of the year for Barbadians, who drew with Guyana (2-2) in February, before beating and tying St. Vincent & the Grenadines (3-1, 2-2) the following month. Randy Harris, president of the Barbados Football Association, said his organization was sparing no effort in ensuring that the national squad is fully prepared for its qualifier on June 8against Aruba. ”We have to look at ways of giving the team match prac-

tice compared to the level of football that we will be facing in the second round, so we have taken this opportunity to play St Kitts, who have offered to come to Barbados because they need the preparation games also,” Harris told C O N C A C A F. c o m . ”It is a pretty expensive exercise, but it is something that we have to do. In the past, it has been more difficult, but since we have been getting more help from CONCACAF and FIFA with the preparation of teams and the development of football, we have made some sacrifices that we think are necessary for our teams to perform well.” In order to advance beyond the first round of qualifying, Barbados bounced back from a 1-0 loss at home to the U.S. Virgin Islands with a 4-0 win in the away leg. Barbados has

now trained its sights on Aruba, a team that did not progress past the first stage four years ago. ”We are very confident,” stressed Harris. “We think that we are on the right path in our preparation and development. We have a young team, but an experienced technical director (Brazilian Marcos Falopa), who has brought a lot to the table and, of course, we believe we are capable of competing with just about any team in this region on our level. ”We are still amateurs, but we have the talent and I believe the players have the drive in order to play at their optimum.” St Kitts advanced to the second round by virtue of a 12-4 aggregate triumph over Turks & Caicos Islands. (CONCACAF)

Barbados and USVI in their WCQ game in March 2015.

Saturday May 09, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Jealousy could rear its ugly head today, Aries. This may involve a romantic relationship. Jealousy is often groundless. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Nervous tension could cause a temporary malaise that keeps your energy low today. Tasks and chores need to be done, Taurus. GEMINI (May21-June 20) A group with which you're affiliated may be temporarily torn apart by politics and quarrels. If so, Gemini, it's best to stay out of it. A friend could be having trouble and come to you for advice and help. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Changes in your home could cause temporary frustration that creates some tension with family members.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) A person you're attracted to may seem to be interested in someone else. This could bring up your insecurities and jealousy. Don't make yourself crazy, Libra. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Someone is keeping secrets from you. We all have private issues we don't wish to share, Scorpio, but this affects you. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Perhaps you planned to attend a group event but circumstances beyond your control got in the way. Maybe it was canceled. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) A visitor who needs a little sympathy could visit you today. Your friend probably wants some advice about some problems.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Miscommunication with someone far away could lead to bruised egos, heightened emotions, and angry phone calls.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Some important plans, perhaps for a vacation or involving education in some way, could be temporarily blocked by circumstances beyond your control, Aquarius.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Your psychoanalytical talents could be put to work today when misunderstandings come up. Yo u r f r i e n d s aren't likely to be thinking clearly and may not respond to reassurances, Virgo.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A letter or phone call could bring upsetting news about money, Pisces. Your first reaction may be to blame yourself or someone else, but the circumstances are probably beyond anyone's control.

Carl Froch stripped of WBA belt after failing to defend title BBC Sport - Carl Froch has been stripped of his WBA super-middleweight belt for not defending his title and could announce his retirement next week. The British fighter, who has already given up his IBF belt, has not fought since defeating George Groves at Wembley nearly a year ago. A clash with Julio Chavez Jr in Las Vegas in March fell through because of the 37year-old’s elbow injury. “There’s no guarantee he’ll fight again,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. Hearn also told Sky Sports News: “We have no problem with the decision from the WBA. They need to keep their belts active and that’s not possible with Carl’s current position. “Carl has been out of the ring for nearly a year now. It’s likely we will make a further announcement regarding Carl’s future over the next week or so.” A rematch with Andre Ward, the WBA super champion, still remains a possibility for Froch, if the American defeats British fighter Paul Smith in Oakland, California, on 20 June. Ward beat Froch, who has won 33 of his 35 bouts, in a unanimous decision in December 2011. Nottingham boxer Froch vacated his IBF super-middleweight belt in February and

mandatory challenger James DeGale, 29, will fight American Andre Dirrell for the belt in Boston on 23 May. Meanwhile, the WBA announced

Fedor Chudinov and Felix Sturm will fight on Saturday for the super-middleweight title vacated by Froch, in Frankfurt, Germany.

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Saturday May 09, 2015

Lewis Hamilton dominates Spanish GP second practice BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton was in a league of his own as the Mercedes driver set the fastest time in second practice at the Spanish Grand Prix. The world champion was 0.408 seconds up on Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with

Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg third. Rosberg was a substantial 0.764secs off Hamilton’s pace and 0.164secs ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was fifth ahead of Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen and

the improved McLaren of Jenson Button. The Englishman was 0.229secs and four places ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, who made an error in the final sector of his fastest lap and ended up 11th. Their positions hinted

Coach Arthur says Tallawahs possess firepower to recapture CPL Jamaica Observer - Following a rollercoaster performance last season, Mickey Arthur, coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs, is confident that the team has acquired enough firepower to regain the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 title. The Tallawahs, who won the inaugural season in 2013 by defeating Guyana Amazon Warriors, failed to defend their title last year after suffering a disappointing 10wicket defeat to the same opponent in the semi-final. Prior to that, the Tallawahs won six of their nine group matches, including three home games, and led the tournament up to the last two group games. The Chris Gayle-led team lacked sustainability in the middle-order of the batting line up, as much of the runs were scored by the captain himself and wicketkeeperbatsman Chadwick Walton at the top. Heavy reliance was also placed on the hard-hitting prowess of all-rounder Andre Russell, who had to salvage the pride of the team on a number of occasions. However, Arthur believes that the team has strengthened all aspects of play ahead of the June 20-July 26 tournament. “We feel that we have strengthened the squad in every area that we felt we needed to, so we are very happy with the squad that we have at our disposal,” he told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview. The veteran coach outlined that the experience and ability of former Sri Lankan Captain Mahela Jayawardene will be a major asset to the team. The 37-year-old Jayawardene, who recently retired from all international forms of the game, will join Australian Chris Lynn, New Zealander Daniel Vettori and South African Rusty Theron in the squad. “I am really excited to get an international player of that quality joining the team, and being able to bat through those middle overs for us is huge. We were very excited when we signed Mahela; we

that the improved performance McLaren promised may be delivered this weekend. McLaren and engine partner Honda have brought upgrades to both car and engine this weekend and were expecting a step forward in performance, as they have made at every race since a very disappointing start to the season. If they were able to repeat those positions and qualify in the top 10 this afternoon it would be a dramatic advance, although they are likely to be overtaken by other teams who can turn up their engine performance for qualifying. Among them will be Wil-

liams, whose driver Valtteri Bottas was edged out by 0.031secs by Button as Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz took eighth ahead of Bottas’s teammate Felipe Massa. Mercedes look to have a significant edge on single-lap pace and are again strong favourites for qualifying but Ferrari appear as usual much closer on race pace. The relative positions of the Mercedes drivers swapped on the race-simulation runs late in the session. Rosberg had a slight advantage but only small - about 0.07secs on average lap time. Vettel was a second slower on average lap time than the Mercedes drivers over his race run and afterwards admitted

that the gap between the two teams was “still there”. “It’s been OK,” said Hamilton. “A fairly decent day. It is quite windy so the car is affected by that but otherwise it’s been quite good. Our pace feels good.” Raikkonen did run the medium tyre at the same time as the Mercedes, albeit briefly, and appeared to lack the world champions’ pace. Red Bull hit more reliability trouble with the Renault engine, Daniel Ricciardo needing a power-unit change and only getting out for the final five minutes of the session, setting the 13th fastest time behind the Lotus cars of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

Mickey Arthur... we feel that we have strengthened the squad in every area. signed him for that role, and we are really happy that we have him on board because we think he will do a really good job for us,” said Arthur. “I think it is important that we keep improving; our chances are right up there and I think we will do well. If we play to the best of our abilities there is just no doubt about us winning the tournament, so I am just really excited and looking forward to it. Arthur will join up with the team on June 11 before they head into camp on June 12. “We have got our fingers on the pulse and making sure that these guys are all ready and prepared, so that when we get into camp they will be fit and ready to go,” said the South African. The Jamaica Tallawahs will start their campaign against champions Barbados on June 23 at Kensington Oval. The biggest party in sport will then come to Sabina Park where the Tallawahs will contest three day/night games from July 7-12. Squad: Retained players — Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton; draft picks — Mahela Jayawardene,

Chris Lynn, Daniel Vettori, Nikita Miller, Krishmar Santokie, Rusty Theron, Narsingh Deonarine, David Bernard Jr, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Horace Miller.

Lewis Hamilton again showed his superiority with team mate Nico Rosberg left behind in third. (Reuters)

Nadal eases into Madrid semis with Dimitrov win MADRID Reuters - Rafa Nadal remains on course for a third straight Madrid Open title after sweeping past Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals yesterday. The Spaniard, seeded third, came into the tournament with plenty of doubt over his form but in front of his homesupport he has not yet dropped a set in his quest for a fifth Madrid crown. Nadal decided to return to his old racket design after trying out a new style in the last two tournaments — and it appears to be working for him. Throughout the match, Nadal returned serve well against the 10th seeded Bulgarian, breaking Dimitrov in just his second service game

with a cross court winner. Yet the world number four did not have it all his own way as he also lost his own serve before taking control with two more breaks in the first set. After comfortably enjoying the upper hand in the second set, Nadal told reporters: “This was a good win. I knew that I needed to play better and I think in the first set I played at quite a high level. “I feel quite positive and I always like playing in Madrid where the people make it a lot easier for me.” Later in the quarter-finals, second seed Andy Murray meets fifth seed Milos Raonic while fourth seed Kei Nishikori faces David Ferrer and John Isner takes on Tomas Berdych.

Rafael Nadal

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Crown Mining Supplies second ‘Exhausted’ Serena vows to bounce golf tourney set for today back as Kvitova snaps streak

Crown Mining Supplies has renewed its support for the game of golf by sponsoring exclusively today’s highly anticipated tournament under its newly acquired brand of Parsun outboard engines. The tournament, now in its second year, will take the Medal Play format, and already close to four dozen players have signed up to compete for top honours at the Lusignan Golf Course, East Coast Demerara. President of the Lusignan Golf Club, David Mohamad, during a simple ceremony at Crown Mining Supplies location in Campbellville on

Thursday afternoon, said the club is pleased to once again welcome the company onboard. He said all systems are in place for an exciting day of rivalry among the country’s premier golfers. Mohamad also used the opportunity to congratulate Crown Mining Supplies on becoming the sole distributor of Parsun outboard engines in Guyana, under which brand the tournament will be sponsored. He urged Guyanese to support the company, which in turn will help the entity to maintain its sponsorship of the tournament. Bhisham Persaud, a Direc-

tor of Crown Mining Supplies, who presented the sponsorship cheque and several trophies to Mohamad, said the establishment is pleased to be associated with sport generally and golf in particular. He added that the company will embark on a vigorous promotional campaign to enlighten the public about the Parsun line of outboard engines, and branding this weekend’s competition is a step in that direction. The tournament will tee off at 12:00hrs and Mohamad is urging followers of the sport to come out and witness the action live.

Mayweather now says no to rematch with Pacquiao, calls him a ‘coward’

Floyd Mayweather now says he’s ‘lost a lot of respect’ for Manny Pacquiao. (AP) Yahoo Sports - Floyd Mayweather may have been gracious in the lead-up and in the immediate aftermath of his unanimous decision welterweight title victory over Manny Pacquiao last Saturday night, but it apparently didn’t last. In an exclusive interview with Jim Gray that is scheduled to premiere Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime, the pound-forpound king calls Pacquiao a “sore loser” and a “coward” and backtracked on reports that he would be interested in a rematch with the Filipino star. “Did I text [ESPN’s] Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again?” Mayweather told Gray. “Yeah,

but I change my mind. At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward. … If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.’ “ At the heart of Mayweather’s discontent with Pacquiao is his right shoulder injury, which was reported by Yahoo Sports immediately after the megafight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Pacquiao talked about the injury in the post-fight news conference and said it limited him in the bout but that he didn’t want to use it as a reason for the loss. “Excuses, excuses, excuses,” Mayweather said. “I’m not going to buy into

the [expletive] and I don’t want the public to buy into the [expletive]. He lost. He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.” Pacquiao underwent shoulder surgery Wednesday to repair a torn rotator cuff and is expected to be out nine-to-12 months. Mayweather improved to 48-0 in the richest and most financially successful fight in boxing history and is slated to fight again in September, but whom he will face remains a topic of discussion. In the meantime, we’ll wait and see if the champ also changes his mind about giving up all of those title belts.

Serena Williams serves to Petra Kvitova during their semi-final at the Madrid Open yesterday. (AFP Photo/Dani Pozo) Madrid (AFP) - World number one Serena Williams said her first defeat of the season to Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open on Friday could prove the ideal preparation for her assault on the French Open later this month. Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova ended Williams’s unbeaten streak at 27 matches stretching back to last year’s WTA finals in a resounding 6-2, 6-3 win to also snap the American’s run of winning her last 19 matches in the Spanish capital. The 19-time Grand Slam champion had battled back from three match points down to Victoria Azarenka in the third round on Wednesday and admitted fatigue had played a big part in her under-par performance.

However, she confirmed that she does still intend to defend her title in Rome next week. “I’m just exhausted today. This has been a rough week for me. It’s all part of the clay though. It’s really good to be really exhausted now going into another tournament, and then getting ready for Roland Garros. “This is all great preparation that I actually really, really needed, something to really push me on and push me to the limit. Really I think it’s perfect actually. It’s perfect timing. “I just need to play with a little more confidence obviously and be ready for every point. Be ready for every point and anyone that I play to come at me like Petra did today. “Normally I’m ready for

that. Today I was too, but my body wasn’t. Mentally I was, but my body wasn’t.” By contrast, Kvitova has only recently returned to the tour after a two-month break after admitting to feeling physically and mentally exhausted at the start of the year. And Williams reiterated her admiration for Kvitova for being brave enough to take time away from the tour. “Most people don’t do it. Most people play through it and maybe go down a level or don’t play well because they really need to take some time off. “So they end up losing confidence and not playing as good as they can. She was wise enough to realise that she needed a break, and she was able to do well.”

Busta Soft Shoe Football Competition

Teams receive cash prizes Representatives of the top four finishers of the recently concluded inaugural Busta Soft Shoe Football Competition received their individual prizes, during a simple ceremony that was conducted, at the Guinness Bar on Durban Street. Making the presentation on behalf of the title sponsor was Co-Director of Petra Organisation Troy Mendonca. Devon Millington received the first prize for Sparta

Boss that defeated West Front Road 4-2 in the final, while all the other team representatives collected their monetary pizes as well. Sheldon Shepherd of Sparta Boss was adjudged the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and awarded $50,000 compliments of 2J’s General Store. Sophia’s Dwayne Lowe copped the highest goal scorer accolade with nine goals in five matches and he won a gold chain from

Junior’s Jewellery. The Most Disciplined Team award went to West Front Road and they received $25,000 compliments of Guyana Beverage Company. Apart from the Guyana Beverages Inc, the other sponsors on board were Lucky Dollar, GT&T, Star P a r t y R e n t a l s , J u n i o r ’s Jewellery & Gift Shop, Nigel’s Supermarket, 2Js General Store and Mendonca Creole.

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GCA’s Carib Beer t20 cricket

Sattaur slaughters UG Students at Bourda By Sean Devers Guyana under-19 Skipper Brain Sattaur slaughtered the University of Guyana (UG) Students with an explosive 38- ball 74 in the third round of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Carib Beer T20 cricket competition at the World famous GCC Bourda to spearhead DCC to a comprehensive 116-run victory over UG yesterday. The 19-year-old lefthander clobbered seven fours and five colossal sixes while Trevon Grifftith, who stroked five fours and a six in 42 from 25 balls, added 82 in 7.2 overs with Sattaur for the first wicket before Chris Barnwell’s blistering 44 from just 16 including two fours and four sixes spurred DCC to 203-8 with spinner Pavindralall Persaud finishing with 5-30 for the UG X1 who were restricted to 87-9 when their 20 overs expired. UG were given a solid 49run opening stand by Leon Williams (28) and Garfield Douglas (35) before seven wickets tumbled for 15 runs after Douglas was taken in the deep off left-arm back-of-the arm spinner Totaram Bishun at 72-3.Bishun had 4-22 and got support from Sherfane Rutherford who captured 415. DCC won the toss in sweltering heat and opted to bat first on a flat track and fast outfield and Griffith got going with a spanking cover driven boundary off Michael Shalim before Sattaur dumped left-arm pacer Gavin Moriah

BCB senior trials continue today The senior selection panel of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) recently announced two teams to participate in two one day and one three day trial matches to be played at Albion Sports C o m p l e x . The two fifty over trials started yesterday and continue today from 9:00am. The players are reminded to be at the ground at 8:00am. The three day trials will begin on Tuesday May 12, 2015. Teams: Berbice A Assad Fudadin (Captain)

Kandasammy Surujnarine Anthony D’Andrade David Latchaya Royston Crandon Rajiv Ivan Jason Sinclair Sharaz Ramcharran Kevon Jawahir Gudakesh Moti Krishendat Ramoo Rain Johnson Yugendra Harrinarine Suresh Dhanai Joshua Ramsammy Romario Shepherd Devendra Bishoo Narsingh Deonarine Berbice B

Anthony Bramble (Captain) Shimron Hetmyer Seon Hetmyer Akshay Homraj Jonathan Foo Delbert Hicks Joemal La’Fleur Shawn Perriera Waqar Hassan Steve Latcha Keon Joseph Niall Smith Keyron Fraser Kevin Ramdeen Devon Clements Veerasammy Permaul Parmanand Ramdhan Balchand Baldeo

Enterprise thump Young Achievers by 54 runs Pavindralall Persaud for a one bounce four to the backward point boundary and smashing him for a flat six over cover as DCC began their innings like a house of fire. Sattaur tucked into Shalim and thumped him for six before stroking the bowler over his head for four to post the 50 in 4.4 overs and then celebrated with a scorching four in an over which cost 18 runs. Griffith was not to be outgunned and slapped Lloyd George for a glorious four before a majestic cover drive reached the boundary like a bullet as the carnage continued unabated. Sattaur then swept Royan McCall on top of the Players’

Pavilion before Griffith was taken at deep cover off George and Sattaur was removed by Persaud at 126-2 in the 13th over. Kevin Boodie (9) was stumped off Persaud at 151-3 before Barnwell, with scores of 82 against GYO and 117 against Everest in his two matches in the tournament, joined in the runs feast before he fell to Persaud who bowled impressively and also got rid of Kemo Paul (3) and Kemol Savory (0). Moriah captured two quick wickets to stem the runs flow but the damage had already been done. The competition continues today at 13:30hrs at Everest GCC playing GYO.

Linden Inter-Ward Basketball final tonight

Kwakwani seeking to get past Victory Valley to cop $70,000 first prize Kwakwani will this evening attempt to make a fairy tale return to basketball at Linden when they come up against Victory Valley/ Scheme in the final of the Linden Inter Ward basketball tournament organised by the Linden Amateur Basketball Association. Kwakwani scored an em-

Saturday May 09, 2015

phatic 72-49 win against Amelia’s Ward Front to reach the final behind a top score of 24 points by Shelroy Thomas and 14 by Domini Douglas. In the other semifinal Victory Valley /Scheme were winners against Block 22/ Wisrock 74-23 as Keifer Tappin led them with 19

points and Chris Williams. Christopher had 9 for the losers. A top prize of $70,000 will go to the winners of the Kwakwani and Victory Valley/ Scheme encounter while the losers will get $50,000. The third place finisher will receive $30,000 while all four teams will get trophies also.

Host Enterprise overcame Young Achievers by 54 runs to win the final of a three team T20 tournament on Sunday last. Batting first the home team posted 167-5 with Bhaskar Yadram scoring 71, Mankad Balkisoon 35 and Vivian Albert 21. Terrence King and Romell Small claimed two wickets each. Young Achievers who drew the bye to the final were bowled out for 113 in 20 overs in reply. Yadram captured 520 from four overs and Dave Persaud 2-20. In the lone semi final, Enterprise beat Enmore by 27 runs. Batting first, Enterprise scored 148-9. Dave Persaud got 24, Yadram 22 and Rohan Mangal 21. Gavin Moriah picked up 3-24. Enmore responded with 121 all out in 18.1 overs. Avis Persaud made 23; Yuvraj Dyal snared 3-14

Bhaskar Yadram and Yadram 3-27. Enterprise received a trophy. The com-

petition was organized by the host.

WDCA second division T20

Sapit overcome Independence B SC Sapit defeated Independence B Sports Club by 54 runs when action in the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) T20 tournament continued last weekend. Sapit batted first and managed 144-7 with Allan

Rajanaeth scoring 37; Reeaz Esau snared 6-6 off four overs. Independence B were sent packing for 90 in 15 overs in reply. Ameer Mohamed snared 4-10 from four overs. Other successful teams were Play-

ers, Wales, Zeelugt, Windsor Forest, Invaders, Mc Gill and Independence A. The competition continues on Sunday with Meten-MeerZorg hosting Leonora and Wales staying at home to Independence A.