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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
A glaring shortcoming Someone once said that miracles take a while and that the impossible takes a while longer. In the case of Guyana one would be tempted to say that the obvious takes a long time and the difficult is never even contemplated. Last weekend, the news came that a man was found dead on the side of a roadway leading to the Eccles Industrial Site. The body was properly clad in a manner that suggested that the wearer was no stranger to money. The police claimed that the man was unidentified. From the point of view of the police the body remained unidentified for the remainder of Saturday, all of Sunday, all of Monday right up to Tuesday morning. But by Monday the media had already identified the victim. After the newspaper of Tuesday had carried the story that identified the body the police then issued a statement confirming what the media had known more than a day earlier. This was most unusual and it caused people to question this concept of a modern police force. It also challenges the method used by the police to remove bodies from scenes of crime. Many of us have seen that the first thing the police would do would be to bag the hands of the victim. This has nothing to do with style. It has to do with preserving the fingerprints. The next thing the police or the medical examiner would do would be to thoroughly examine the body and this is a good thing to do. For example, in this case, the people who discovered the body concluded that it was that of a victim of a hit and run. It was not until the medical examiner turned the body over that he saw gunshot wounds, one of them to the back of the left ear. There and then they knew that they were dealing with a killing. But what would make us question the ability of the police is the fact that it failed to release the identity of the victim within hours of the discovery of the body. The police would have arrested this individual in connection with a gruesome murder and robbery at Bartica. They would have photographed the individual. As fate would have it, they would later issue a wanted bulletin for the individual, noting the various distinguishing marks on his body. The prison authorities would have been the next to make a positive identification in a hurry. They would have had the prisoner stripped down to his barest minimum, if not entirely naked. They would have had him in their custody for three years. Indeed, it was a prisoner who was the first to announce the identity of the body found on the Eccles roadway. We are told that the man’s relatives immediately knew who the person was from the moment they saw the photographs. An efficient police would have processed the fingerprints lifted from the body and within minutes would have known whom they had. These were the police who solved some crimes including murders that had threatened to run cold, based on fingerprints they had in their possession. They were recently the recipients of a piece of sophisticated equipment that enabled them to scan thousands fingerprints in a matter of minutes. We do not want to believe that the police took a break over the holiday weekend. For sure the media did not. The police are also aware that the longer that they take to act on a matter the less likely would they solve the crime; the trail gets cold. We would want to believe that the police knew all along but were not prepared to say anything because their investigators were enjoying the holidays. We also want to believe that some of the policemen were scared because the victim had threatened their lives. The result was that they wanted to make doubly sure that he was dead. Whatever the case the police should not been in a quandary over the identity of the slain man. Such things only serve to tarnish the reputation of a police striving to be as modern as any in the world.
Saturday May 31, 2014
Letters... Where your views make the news
Lacking the will to use political muscle and machinery to deliver on behalf of the people DEAR EDITOR, What this nation needs is a calibre of leadership, political and otherwise, who will understand, accept and respect that theirs is the responsibility to represent their constituents’ interests consistent with the rules and laws that give existence to their participation and organisation. The problem with local government, made manifest in the current impasse at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, is the failure of the political leadership (i.e. the government) to respect the will of the people and the laws that guide this form of governance. The elected City fathers and mothers have the legal responsibility to identify who will be the Town Clerk (Chief Executive Officer). The role of the Minister of Local Government in this regard is to confirm appointment based on the identification and recommendation made by the City fathers and mothers. For the minister to seek to do otherwise is a breach of the spirit and
intent of the law that seeks to devolve power and authority into the hands of elected community leaders to manage the affairs of their communities. The action of the minister speaks to a type of behaviour where the individual has ascribed to himself authority that is not vested in him, but because he holds the levers of political power, he seeks to abuse the goodwill of the citizens vested in him. Men/women who abuse power cannot be trusted to act in the interest of the citizens. For it will always be about them, with the issue only being incidental. There are calls being made from various sections for a change in the system of governance on the pretext that with a change in the governance system this corrupt and lawless behaviour will come to an end. This is a misguided notion and also an excuse not to hold people accountable for the wanton violations taking place. It is important to ask, if we are failing to hold people accountable for
transgressing workers/citizens’ rights and violating laws, what assurance is there for the citizens that when the governance system is changed this will result in respect for citizens’ rights and the upholding of the laws. If we look within ourselves, honestly and dispassionately, we will see the problem does not lie in the system of governance, it lies in weak leadership and the citizens disconnect or refusal to hold our leadership accountable. Today the Constitution of this country says that there shall be a Public Procurement Commission, Public Service Appellate Tribunal, Public Service Commission, Local Government Commission, Police Service Commission, etc., but these are not established. The law says when the Trade Union Recognition & Certification Board issues a Recognition Certification, the parties involved shall meet and treat with each other, but this is not being (Continued on page 24)
The housing dilemma in Guyana DEAR EDITOR, Housing is one of the basic needs of any human being. Even though Guyana is a large country with a relatively tiny population, the nation after forty-eight years of independence seems unable to cope with its housing problems. We are informed that there are more Guyanese in the Diaspora than those residing in Guyana. In the Caribbean, Suriname, Cayenne, Brazil, Venezuela not to mention the UK, USA and Canada, there are large Guyanese societies. Despite the huge exodus over the years, we continue to experience difficulties in finding suitable and affordable accommodation. This is a great paradox and one wonders how Guyanese who have migrated find housing in countries with millions of inhabitants. Sadly, some private owners in Guyana are exploiting their tenants. The housing drive for ownership is indeed ambitious but is somewhat unrealistic. In every aspect of life there are pros and cons. House ownership,
either purchasing or building, has some compelling ramifications. One must have substantial capital to buy the house or land and take a mortgage, which can be a burden if one’s income is inadequate. One must be prepared to make great sacrifices to keep up with the mortgage for years, failing which there can be a foreclosure of the property. Rates and taxes, general maintenance, suffering losses from unscrupulous and incompetent contractors, are part of the bargain. According to the findings of a recent study on housing in Latin America, there is need for both ownership and rentals in countries to help alleviate the housing shortage. In the colonial times, Guyanese could find houses for rental at reasonable prices. There were housing schemes in recent years where the rents were quite cheap but alas, many tenants refused to pay their rent and allowed it to run into thousands of dollars. Government decided to sell these houses at nominal prices. This perhaps
has deterred the present administration from venturing into the building of houses for rental. However, it needs to be done with stricter rules. Self-help housing should be continued. Let us have a national forum to which all relevant stakeholders are invited: government, religious bodies and NGOs, private sector and other corporate entities. There we need to have holistic and comprehensive discussions. Special consideration should be given to housing the elderly. Some must live in geriatric homes because of their illness. However, there are active ones who can live on their own and pay a rent with their pension. Let the nation compare and contrast housing conditions in Guyana with the rest of the Caricom region and see what improvements we can introduce to solve our housing dilemma. Meanwhile, the authorities should take stern measures to prohibit or regularize wanton squatters. Malcolm Maynard
I am mindful that all are important in the grand scheme of development DEAR EDITOR, Although it does not require further elucidation, my name is Mark Anthony Benschop, and I am campaigning to become the next Mayor of the Capital City of Georgetown. Yes, there is a nuance to my proclamation that I am running for Mayor, as opposed to seeking a seat on the City Council from which body, according to our local Government Rules, the Mayor is selected. I make this affirmation not only to illuminate the end goal of my political campaign, but I also wish to make clear my conviction that it is time for the Local Government Laws to be changed so that Chief Executives of municipalities are directly elected by the citizens of those localities. It is time for democracy to reach right down into
the grass roots, and confer this kind or power upon the citizens of our Municipalities. It has become a fashion among certain political circles and interests to describe the kind of activism I have been involved in for the past 15 years, and especially since freedom from my political incarceration, as radical. “Mark Benschop is a radical” they pronounce, as if to diminish and explain away all of the atrocities my activist involvement have brought to the fore, and my willingness to brave the environment of political vindictiveness, repercussions, physical violence and even death threats, in order to lend my support to those whose citizenship rights are being trampled upon. But lest we become slaves to the Orwellian “group speak” orientation
that manipulate words and terms in order that they may fit nicely into a particular political message, we need to understand that being radical does not mean being wrong, being against the rule of law, being averse to the essential principles upon which democracy is founded. Thus if the norm in our social responsibility and response to cries for help from the vulnerable is displayed in attitudes of silence, to be fearful, to utilize the pattern of political “group speak” in our public reaction to these entreaties for succor from those stratified at the very bottom of the social and economic pyramid in Guyana, then colour me radical, and I will wear that brand with esteemed honour until my last moment on earth. Within the scope (Continued on page 24)
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Drainage in Georgetown, a human tale of inefficiency DEAR EDITOR, On Monday 28th April, the Moray House hosted a very profound presentation by Bert Carter, on ‘The drainage of Georgetown.’ The Mayor of the Capital was there as well as several authorities who have served the Capital in times when alleyways were accessible, dozens of people didn’t sleep on the street and water flowed through the street gutters during rain and school kids ran in them in dry weather. Who were not there were those current people in the field of civil engineering that Mr Eddie Gonzales insisted that he had invited. The presentation constituted an outline of drainage in Georgetown, the audience was guided into the brilliant drainage design that separates us from the formidable forces of nature. I cannot elaborate on the data
presented that we just didn’t know, from the ruins of shipwrecks in the Demerara River, to the significant design and purpose of the kokers that we take for granted. The Mayor responded to the questions that were directed at him concerning the current state of the Capital. His responses were enlightening and especially the aspects of simplemindedness from the authorities in a past experience who could not distinguish that to repair the Town Hall is a task of restoration rather than a carpentry project. The current state of Georgetown lies squarely with the spite politics of the State which has never politically won the city. This lecture clinically informed us that since the passing of former President Jagan of this
political administration, a construct of mediocrity and small-minded attitude has over shadowed the Capital, resulting in a building lawlessness, the encumbering of waterways, and an overall deterioration of City Hall, the deplorable state of our largest ward, that of Le Repentir Cemetery, which is a disgrace. Mr Stanley Ming proceeded to explain the effects of global warming and its impact on our vulnerable populated coastland Capital and villages. The September 2013 Edition of National Geographic had an attached map, indicating possible results of continued Arctic meltdown by the end of this century. The fact is that there are even more serious issues before us should we continue to ignore the drainage of the Capital and the Coastal belt. How long will Georgetown be
able to avoid some epidemic with its cluttered stagnant waterways, constant flooding, and the stench of excrement due to the hundreds of addicts and mental cases that sleep in our streets and parks? The Coastal population is trapped. In the event of a threat from the sea we are doomed, because there are no exit highways and streets that lead to the high grounds of Guyana from the Coast, and most likely the East Bank Road will be compromised in the event of such a tragedy. I must remind concerned persons that the 2005 floods were not as a consequence of Global Warming but rather of human habitual error and lackadaisicalness. These very shortcomings constitute the same arbitrary mindset of this Government that is currently playing politics with Georgetown and
our delicate sea defences. Despite the reality of global warming, we are entitled to having Georgetown returned to its functioning self. There’s a possibility of not seeing the awesome effects of the disappearance of Paramaribo, Georgetown and London in our lifetimes. If we remedy Georgetown, then the prototype of standards for the next Capital will be passed on to a not-solazy generation of civil professionals. I say this on the grounds of the shabby housing development layouts I’ve seen over the last 15 years, that demonstrate that our ancestors after slavery were better civil engineers in their layout of the plantations bought and then laid out as villages some one hundred and eighty years ago, and they had to dig their canals
with shovels, and contend with mud roads. Yet their villages catered for living and structured farming backlands. Recently the Speaker of the House proposed an initiative to establish a body of elders, which would ensure a necessary pool of experience and raw knowledge, providing functional guidance. We’ve had the dismal experience of ‘young Bharrat’, a truly dismal era. All nations rely on their elders; we retire ours at fiftyfive and dismiss them. I support the Speaker of the House on this effort to harness this retrogressive custom of ours, sustaining much needed experience in an age where the difference in survival lies with not between the rich and the poor, but between those who know and those who don’t. Barrington Braithwaite
Grey horses and a memorable overland travel experience to Suriname DEAR EDITOR, I refer to a letter of 15 May captioned, ‘A despicable travel experience to Suriname from Georgetown’, written by Ms. Teshanna Cox. I read Ms. Cox’s letter with keen interest as it resonated. I travelled overland to Suriname at Easter. My previous visit had been by air. A lot of what Ms. Cox describes in her letter mirrors my own experience though, to some extent, my experience
was probably more mixed. My problems started long before the actual crossing. As I was travelling on a British passport, it was necessary for me to obtain a visitor’s visa to be allowed entry into Suriname. I consider myself welltravelled but the experience I had at the Surinamese embassy in Georgetown was unique. Visa applicants are made to stand on the embassy bridge and
negotiate entry with the guards standing on the other side of the bridge, within the embassy compound. The experience was almost dehumanizing as I was forced to stand on the bridge talking through the thick metal bars of a heavily padlocked gate, explaining the purpose of my being there. Not only did it rain, but at one point the small clutch of applicants was chased off the bridge to make way for an
Thanks to the Indian High Commission for Scholarships DEAR EDITOR, This is in reference to Mr. Barrington Braithwaite’s “The other normalcy” (KN May 20) regarding an ad for advanced academic opportunity in India. Braithwaite complains about the requirement stipulating ethnicity as a criterion… India has been very generous with its educational and other assistance to Guyana and as such we have to be careful about expressions of what Guyanese describe as “nimakharamism” that could offend the Indian government leading to a reduction in aid. In general, the Indian government has offered scholarships directly through the Guyana government and at times directly to individuals (with the Guyana government having no discretion on awardees). During the period of the ethnic dictatorship, 1965 to 1992, few Indians, Chinese, Amerindians and Portuguese were recipients of Indian scholarships; the agents of the ethnic dictatorship
decided on the recipients. Following complaints from Indians, another line of scholarships was given to Guyanese and several Indians were selected to study in India. Myself and other Guyanese complained to Indian officials who responded that they were helpless to alter the situation because the Guyana government made the recommendations and the Indian government had to abide by them. We lobbied the Indian government to increase the number of scholarships given directly to applicants while not reducing
those falling under the control of the Guyana government. This has led to many Indians being recipients of scholarships. Following the restoration of democracy, it has been an even playing field, with Guyanese of all ethnicities being chosen to study for free in India. When myself and other Indo-Guyanese got an opportunity to meet Indian officials (and we met Manmohan Singh as well as his predecessor Atal Vajpayee) we made the case for increased assistance to Guyana. Since 2000, financial assistance and scholarships (Continued on page 24)
approaching embassy car. In near panic I was about to jump into the trench when I saw its condition. At one stage I decided to protest our treatment and told the two female guards that we were not sheep or goats or beggars and should not be dealt with like prisoners behind bars or animals in a zoo. Eventually, I was allowed through the iron gate to explain my purpose. Next, I was shown to a little holding cell with observation panelling separating me from the isolated consular officer. She was polite, helpful and charming and treated me like another homo sapiens. I got my visa the same day but needed a neat single malt by the time I got home. The experience at Moleson Creek was exactly as Ms. Cox described in her letter. I was warned that the immigration experience at the Suriname end could, on occasion, be much worse than at the Guyana end. As I psyched myself for another round of bureaucratic nitpicking, a fellow traveller
told me not to worry and that, when we land at South Drain in Suriname, I will find their immigration personnel more sympathetic and thoughtful where children and the elderly are concerned. I was uncertain of my category until the fellow traveller assured me that with my grey hair I will sail through Surinamese immigration like a breeze. As it turned out, the situation at South Drain immigration was fairly chaotic. The Surinamese immigration officer controlling the flow of travellers, loudly confirmed that priority would be given
to children and elders. As parents tried to push forward a few tiny two, three and fouryear olds, the officer suddenly announced that by children he meant babies in arms only. As I stooped to his eye level on my way to the immigration window, I twisted my grey head to give him a good view of my hair colour. To my great surprise the officer then paid me a magnificent compliment when he stopped me dead in my tracks, looked me full in the eye and said, “Where you think you going? Not all grey horse is old horse.” F. Hamley Case
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Kirpalani store Mayor sues Guyana Chronicle for in excess of $100 million robbery suspects freed City Mayor Hamilton Green yesterday announced that he has taken legal action against the State owned media publication, Guyana Chronicle, suing the company for in excess of $100 million dollars, for what he says is a libelous article written in reference to him. “I’m a very fair man, those who know me will tell you …but due to a very nasty piece of writing; an article which was published in the Chronicle newspapers about me, I was advised by my Attorney Mr. Rex Mc Kay to take legal action,” Green told the media yesterday. According to a release from the Office of the Mayor and City Council, Green has taken action against the Guyana Chronicle for an article written about him in which the editors of that newspaper “sought to use to enhance the imposition of Ms. Carol Ryan Sooba.” “The Chronicle has been breaching basic protocols of good journalism, particularly in their reporting on issues emanating from the City Council. While we encourage freedom of the press we also wish not to decouple that freedom from responsibility.” In an editorial which was published by the Guyana
Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Greene Chronicle on May 18, 2014 Mayor Green was accused of amongst other things, persecuting females in leadership positions within the Council. “City Mayor Hamilton Green’s proclivity for making war on females who assume leadership positions in the city’s hierarchal construct is well recorded, and three female Town Clerks prior to the appointment of Ms. Carol Sooba, as well as his new ally, Patricia Chase-Green, have been relentlessly persecuted and pilloried by Green…Thieves do not like fellow thieves who trespass on their turf. During the period 2004/2005, Green had
relentlessly campaigned to have city Public Relations Officer Royston King relieved of his position on the basis of incompetence and mismanagement, and prosecuted for fraud and corruption,” the article stated. However, during a press conference yesterday, Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase Greene debunked the accusations leveled against Mayor Green. “It is not true, it is the Mayor and councillors of the city of Georgetown who nominated Ms Beulah Williams for post of Town Clerk, her termination was done through the Local Government Ministry after a commission of inquiry, and the same done to Yonette Pluck, who was also elected by the Mayor and councillors” “I stand for principle… It is the Mayor who has been pushing women in the Council. It is the Mayor who agreed that women should be pushing themselves for higher positions in the Council and the Mayor is the one who tolerated the person who currently occupies the post of Town Clerk, for her to be given time off for eight years to pursue her studies.” Chase Greene added.
Five months after being accused of staging a daring $17.25M armed robbery on a popular city store, the embattled store clerk and two others yesterday walked out of the city court free men after the Chief Magistrate dismissed the charge instituted against them. Howard Rambarose, Rajiv Rajesh Singh, of Lot 216 Laing Avenue, West La Penitence, Georgetown; and Alistair Naughton of Phase Two, East La Penitence, Georgetown had been accused of holding up Mahesh Chetrani with a handgun on December 20, last, in Georgetown and getting away with $17,250,000; monies belonging to the business owner, Shamdas Kirpalani. Previous reports are that around 8:15 hours on that day, Singh (the store’s clerk at the time) was in the company’s vehicle with the store’s manager en route to the Bank of Baroda. Singh, it was reported, was carrying a carton
Freed: Alistair Naughton containing the hefty sum when he was held up by Rambarose and Naughton who were allegedly armed with handguns. The men then reportedly relieved him of the cash which he and the store manager were about to deposit and fled. The prosecution had explained that they were, however later arrested and charged for the crime.
Following intense police investigations, the store clerk and two others were on December 27, 2013 brought before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to be jointly charged for the alleged armed robbery. The trial engaged the attention of the court for the past few months and several witnesses were called to take the stand on behalf of the Prosecution. However, at the last few court hearings the continuous witnesses no shows resulted in it being dismissed during the last court hearing yesterday. Attorney at Law Kendaise Rodney yesterday made a request for the case to be dismissed since the witnesses continued to be absent. The Chief Magistrate granted the request and dismissed the case against the accused. Defence Attorney Peter Hugh had represented Naughton throughout the case.
Digicel boosts David Rose’s capacity to participate in annual skip-a-ton
Ruimveldt clothes vendor faces burglary charge Bail was yesterday set to the tune of $100,000 for an Industrial Site, Ruimveldt clothes vendor who was brought before the courts to be indicted for allegedly burgling a city house and making off with a quantity of jewellery and gadgets. Shawn Isaacs, 21, pleaded not guilty when charged before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry for allegedly breaking into
Annette Marshall’s home and making off with her 20 carat gold earring valued at $60,000 and a play station costing $240,000. Attorney at Law Adrian Thompson submitted a bail application on behalf of the accused. He told the court too that one of the items was recovered. Isaacs was granted bail and the case will be called again on June 17.
Receiving the cheque from Digicel’s Advertising Manager, Alexis Crawford-Langhorne, is Snr. Mistress (Ag), Karen Jackson-Lindie Mobile giant Digicel, has sponsored students of the David Rose Special School which took part in the annual skip-a-ton launched recently. According to the telecommunication company, on May 22, the students participated in the opening sequence of the
annual skip-a-ton. “Digicel’s contribution made it possible for the school to participate in the skip-a-ton for the very first time.” Lecturer, Janel Bishop, said that students of the school would normally be accustomed to sitting and watching the festivity, but to actually be part of the event was exciting.
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Sport Minister blanks COP on ganja video Trinidad Express - Sport Minister Anil Roberts has effectively blocked the Congress of the People (COP) from investigating a “ganja video” showing a man resembling a Government minister rolling a joint. The minister opted not to speak on the issue when he appeared before COP officials at the COP’s Flagship House headquarters in St Clair, making it clear the matter was in the hands of his attorneys. TV6 News last Wednesday aired a video clip which showed an individual resembling a Government minister and sounding like him unwrapping a cigarette, placing a quantity of marijuana inside the cigarette skin, and then rolling it back together, all in the presence of a group of people, mainly comprising women, in what looked like a hotel room with the number 201. Roberts has not confirmed or denied he is the man in the video. He has instead attacked Opposition Leader Dr Keith
Anil Roberts Rowley, saying no voodoo and Opposition politics will stop him from perfor-ming his duties. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, at the United National Congress’s (UNC) fourth anniversary celebrations at Mid Centre Mall in Chaguanas last Saturday, said the video was in the public domain a year ago and conveniently reappeared on the news headlines on the eve of the
Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) and Opposition march against the Government last week. However, she assured all alle-gations of wrongdoing will be looked into. The COP, of which Roberts is a member, appointed a commit-tee comprising COP chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Clyde Weatherhead, Ann Mac Philip and Dr Anirudh Mahabir to investigate the matter. Roberts met with the committee yesterday at the COP’s flagship house but opted to exercise his right to silence. Questioned following the meeting, Roberts said he met with his party members to plan election strategy. “Meeting with my party to determine the way forward to election 2015 to ensure that Keith Row-ley never becomes prime min-is-ter,” he said. Asked if he was still a COP member, he responded, “Of course!” before jumping into his vehicle and being driven away.
Saturday May 31, 2014
Regional Governments back rum marketing campaign CASTRIES, St. Lucia CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony has assured Caribbean rum producers that a marketing campaign to position Authentic Caribbean Rums in Europe and internationally has the backing of Caribbean governments. Dr. Anthony was speaking at a regional rum exposition in St. Lucia, which hosted 16 Caribbean rum producers and journalists from six European countries. The Prime Minister acknowledged that despite
victories at rum festivals worldwide, the Caribbean had a lot to do to maintain its foothold in traditional markets in Europe and to establish new markets globally. He said although the region was known for the ‘absolute quality and excellence’ in the rums produced, it still had to deal with competition in the international market. “The Authentic Caribbean Rums campaign should market the Caribbean personality and the fact that Caribbean producers are the
best at what they do,” Anthony said. He also urged rum producers to get engaged in promoting responsible consumption of rum as the health and other sectors were pushing for curbs and increased taxes on rum products. The exposition was organised by the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) to introduce to the visiting European journalists the Authentic Caribbean Rum marketing campaign and the mark associated with it.
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Labour and Social Security, Derrick Kellier, says that the viability of the National Insurance Fund (NIF) is being threatened as benefits through the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) far outweighed contributions. The minister told the House of Representatives, as
the sectoral debate continued Wednesday, that the contributions to the scheme in 2013/14 totalled approximately $2.7 billion less than the benefits paid out. “The benefits provided under the scheme amounted to approximately $14.7 billion for the period April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. But, for the
same period, the contributions to the scheme totalled approximately $12 billion,” Kellier told the House. “If the National Insurance Fund (NIF) is to remain viable, this untenable situation, where the benefits continue to outweigh contributions, must be curtailed.
NIS contributions lagging behind benefits, Kellier says
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THE GOVENRMENT SHOULD HOLD AN EMERGENCY MEETING WITH THE LEADERS OF GUYANA’S FINANCIAL SECTOR President Donald Ramotar has a moral obligation, even at this late hour, to try to broker an agreement that would allow for the passage of legislation which would ensure that Guyana is compliant with t h e demands of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
However, there is little possibility that any agreement can be reached with a power- hungry opposition. In the end therefore the country has to bite the bullet and face the consequences of being blacklisted. In preparation for the impact of these
consequences, the government should begin to implement measures to cushion the fallout. One of these is obviously to meet with the country’s financial sector to discuss possible scenarios and to decide what steps the banks need to take to mitigate the increased scrutiny that
Crime Chief pleads for patience as Colwyn Harding file back with police Crime Chief Leslie James yesterday confirmed that police are again in possession of the Colwyn Harding file, and pleaded for patience while reassuring that results of the investigation will be known soon. “The file is with the police; be patient; shortly there will be some action (on the matter),” James told Kaieteur News yesterday. The lengthy report was handed over to the police on Thursday after being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, with recommendations from Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), Justice Cecil Kennard, that two ranks be charged for assaulting Harding. Earlier this month, Justice Kennard also advised that disciplinary action be taken against several other ranks including senior officers who were in some way linked to the incident. The 23-year-old Harding has alleged that a policeman at the Timehri station pushed a condom-covered baton up his anus in November 2013. Harding, who was at the time a prisoner having been remanded for allegedly assaulting the cop and resisting arrest, suffered a ruptured intestine. He subsequently had to undergo corrective surgery in Jamaica, even as a dispute arose as to how he had come by his injury. The investigation triggered by public outrage, has taken several months with the
Colwyn Harding file going back and forth from the Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which was conducting the probe, to the desk of the Chairman of the PCA to the DPP’s office. In April the DPP had indicated that she had sent back the file to the police recommending further investigation since there were some loopholes. The police OPR was asked to get statements from other witnesses since it was vital for the DPP in making her final recommendations.
Dem boys seh...
Donald studying he hydro Guyana get blacklist. It heading fuh real trouble. Newspaper can shut down, stores gun got fuh close, unless dem bringing goods from China. In short de country gun deh at a standstill and there will be no money to pay for Jagdeo foreign trips. This problem start since he time. He get de notice since he was president but he lef it pun he desk. He didn’t try to pass it. Dem boys seh he must be had some reason fuh not pushing de Bill through. One reason dem boys suspect is that dem got nuff people wid billions of dollars wha dem get through contracts and dem got to clean it up. Jagdeo know some of dem people very well. Is when he come out of de office is then Donald find de Bill wrap up in tissue deep inside a drawer.
Is three years now Donald seh that he trying to get de thing pass in parliament but de opposition blocking him. De opposition seh that is Donald blocking de passage. Dem boys don’t know who to believe. Now Hay Heff See seh that de Bill can pass in 72 hours. De next day Hap New seh de Bill can pass in 48 hours. Wha Donald really saying? Dem boys waiting fuh hear today, if he gun pass it in 24 hours? This money Bill wha dem want pass start fuh sound like a yo-yo just like how de hydro seed project going up and down. Donald got to be careful wid that hydro. At he age dem don’t have cut off point. Dem boys see how he lose a lot of weight de other day. Dem boys nah certain if is de Bill he taking or if de hydro come down pun he. Talk half and bring back Dr Hugh.
financial transactions emanating from Guyana will now be subject to. The banks are the ones who will be the most affected. Their transfers will face increased scrutiny. Some counterpart banks overseas will also likely want to end doing business with local banks. That is something which has to be avoided. It is most important that the integrity of Guyana’s financial system not be tainted. While CFATF has declared that Guyana may represent a risk to the international financial system, this need not tarnish the credibility of the local banking system. As such, the government should encourage local banks to invite representatives of counterpart banks with whom they do business to come to Guyana to see for themselves the various safeguards that are in place to ensure that tainted funds do not find their way into Guyana’s financial system. The banks have more work to do. There are unscrupulous individuals out there who enjoy making a fortune, literally speaking, out of the country’s misfortune. It is said that one man’s tragedy is another man’s opportunity. Right now there are predators holding large amounts of foreign currency believing that the
opposition’s failure to pass the amendments to the Anti Money Laundering and the Countering of the Financing of Terrorism Bill will lead to an increase in exchange rate. As such, the predators are hoarding foreign currency to make a financial fortune when the rates spike due to the sanctions that will be imposed in Guyana. The patriotism of the banks and non- banks cambios should be tested. The government should come together with them to agree on measures to avoid an increase in the exchange rate. It has happened in the past and the crisis that Guyana is now about to enter would justify this type of intervention. Unless the exchange rates are held stable, the cost of living will become uncontrollable. Prices will increase and the poor people will suffer. All the gains in disposable income made over the years will disappear. The government therefore should sit down and agree with the bank and no- bank cambios to an agreed buying and selling rate until such time as the crisis is over which could be as long as three years. The opposition may not have realized the time it will take for Guyana to unlock itself from the effects of the blacklisting by FATF. CFATF was patient for more than a
year with Guyana, hoping that the necessary amendments would have been passed. It was patient and understanding because it understood the great damage that could be caused by the act of blacklisting. The institution knows all too well, and Guyana should now try to appreciate this, that even if the blacklist is removed tomorrow, the damage done by Guyana being reported to FAFTF as posing a threat to the international financial community will take years to reverse.This is the fate to which the opposition parties with their one-seat majority, have brought this country. They could have made their demands during the Budget debate. Instead of doing that they chose the amendments to the AMLCTF to try to extract political concessions from the government. It is clear now that the AFC and APNU can no longer be entrusted with the future of this country. They will destroy this country within one year of taking power because all they are concerned with is cutting, chopping, not approving, frustrating and agitating against policies and measures aimed at moving Guyana forward.
Agricola teen jailed for armed robbery in McDoom A 17-year-old security guard from Remus Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara was yesterday sentenced to four years on each of three charges after he was found guilty of an armed robbery on a McDoom family earlier this year. In January, the young man appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court where he was accused of using a gun to rob three persons at Back Street, McDoom, East Bank Demerara on last Old Year’s Day. The charge against him detailed that while in the company of others and using a gun, he robbed Margaret Greaves of her $120,000 gold and diamond ring, and $35,000 T-Mobile cellular phone; Alisha Christian of a $35,000
BlackBerry and Simone Smith of a $35,000 silver band. On January 3, the prosecution, represented by Corporal Seon Blackman, explained that the victims reside together in McDoom. He had said that on Old Year’s Day, the three women were at home when the young accused and two others entered their yards and “stuck” them up with knives and a gun. They allegedly relieved them of the items mentioned in the charge. However, Blackman said that they managed to raise alarm to which their neighbours respond. The public spirited citizens managed to apprehend him but the other two fled the scene.
According to Blackman, the young man was handed over to the police who then instituted the charge against him. Responding to the Prosecution’s objections, the teen has been remanded ever since his first court appearance. During the trial, the State called eight witnesses. In closing the Prosecution’s case, Corporal Blackman stated that the accused has throughout shown no remorse. “I am urging you my worship to please consider all the circumstances surrounding the case and adjudicate as you see fit.” McGusty imposed a fouryear term of imprisonment on each of the three counts. The jail terms, she instructed, will run concurrently.
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Kaieteur News
Saturday May 31, 2014
GPL announces ambitious US$60M loss reduction programme By Gary Eleazar Guyana Power and Light Inc’s (GPL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bharat Dindyal, yesterday unveiled one the company’s most ambitious progammes, a US$60M project aimed at a drastic reduction in technical and commercial losses. Dindyal was at the time speaking at the first public engagement by the Company’s Executives for this year. Among those making presentations to the small gathering at Duke Lodge in Kingston, were Deputy CEO, Finance, Aeshwar Deonarine, Deputy CEO, Technical, Colin Welch, Senior Divisional Director Renford Homer and Divisional Director, Finance, Loris Nathoo. Dindyal, in making the announcement, said the money for the massive loss reduction project was already secured and would be coming in the form of grants and loans to Government from the Inter American Development Bank and the European Union. While the company managed to reduce its technical and commercial losses marginally last year, at the end of the year it stood at 30.5 per cent. According to GPL’s CEO,
the project will commence before the end of the year and will be pursued aggressively over the next three years. He noted that the technological approach will see wide scale installations of smart meters as well as the upgrade of the transmission network. According to Dindyal, the network will be designed to be fraud proof and the company is hoping to reduce its technical and commercial losses to as little as eight per cent. GPL currently lose billions of dollars annually as a result of theft and deficiencies in the transmission system. It was reported that Region Four is responsible for 73 per cent of the total losses. Homer in his report at the public consultation said that last year 7,039 illegal connections were removed while 489 persons were arrested and 39 persons convicted. There are currently 1200 cases pending in the court and the officials explained that prosecution was an arduous task. Last year some 2,266 meters were found to be tampered with, costing the company some $542M and another $23M lost as a result of the illegal street lighting.
GPL’s CEO, Bharrat Dindyal makes a point at the public forum yesterday Financial Performance Meanwhile, there was good news to report as it relates to the company’s financial performance given an increase in revenue and a decrease in generation costs and fuel prices. Divisional Director, Finance, Loris Nathoo reported that the company last year recorded in excess of $30.6B up from $29B the previous year. The company’s generation cost also plummeted by some $2B, down to $25B last year as against the $27B it spent in 2012. Net losses from its
operations also reduced dramatically, according to Nathoo. He told the public forum that in 2012 net losses from operations was $4.7B while in 2013 this was reduced to $2.8B. The company spent
$22.9B to purchase fuel for its operations last year while the previous year it had to spend $24B. The company also purchased power from the Guyana Sugar Corporation to the tune of some $278M. He reported too that the continuous transition to greater use of Heavy Fuel Oil also contributed to lower generation costs. CITY BUSINESSES Dindyal also reported that the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) programme where some 2,000 smart meters were installed around the city business hub has provided some astonishing revelations. With the information at hand, Dindyal said that the company will soon be pushing to have several of the city businesses that were stealing electricity be put before the courts. According to Dindyal, the
advanced meters were in place in tandem with the other meters and as such the company could have monitored in real time what the company was actually consuming. Dindyal said that it was astonishing to see that at eight ‘o’ clock in the morning when the consumption at some business locations should actually increase, the power company was noticing instances where it was plummeting according to the existing meters. The smart meters however were recording the actual consumption unknowing to the businesses owners. The CEO reported that in the near future the company would be moving to have those businesses prosecuted and hopes that it would send a strong message to others in future that the smart meters were monitoring their actual consumption.
Several crimes already solved with CCTV cameras The CCTV cameras erected around the city have helped police crack several cases, and the installation of monitors at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, will even enable ranks to respond before a crime is committed. This was revealed yesterday by a senior police official, who is optimistic that
crime-solving success will increase significantly when police have immediate access to CCTV footage. At least six monitors are to be installed at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary by Monday. They are to be linked to the CCTV cameras, which are monitored and archived by staff at the National Intelligence Centre. At present, police have to contact staff there to access this footage. Declining to identify specific cases, the official said
that several matters are at present before the courts in which the CCTV images enabled police to identify suspects. The official said that the cameras are providing “a lot of wonderful images, down to the number plates on vehicles,” while police have the technology to enhance images that are recorded at night. With ranks being able to view the footage in “real time”, by Monday, police will be able to monitor suspicious activity and respond even before a crime is committed. He stressed that police will also need to put systems in place to ensure there is quick response when a crime is recorded. The police source was responding to queries about the effectiveness of the cameras, given the fact that several brazen crimes, including execution-style killings have occurred recently with very few cases being solved. Technicians are installing at least six CCTV monitors at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary. The monitors to be manned by police ranks, will be linked to the CCTV camera ‘feed’ at the National Intelligence Centre, located in the Castellani House compound. This development comes four months after Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee revealed that the Defence Board had approved the establishment of ‘a direct feed’ from the CCTV system to Eve Leary.
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 11
Investigation launches into NGSA Opposition willing to restore UG irregularities at Region One school student loan subsidy - Granger 2014 Budget cuts to UG loan…
Leader of APNU David Granger
Leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan
Attorney General Anil Nandlall
Leader of the Opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) retired Brig David Granger has reiterated that his party stands ready to restore the $450M UG loan subsidy that was disapproved in the budget. However, Government has to bring it back to the National Assembly since constitutionally, that cannot be done by the Opposition. The combined opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC), had contended that based on the Chief Justice’s ruling that the Opposition could no longer cut the Budget, only approve or disapprove. They had cause to remove in excess of $37 Billion of the $220 Billion budget in areas that they deemed contentious. The Opposition could no longer cut line items within the budget; only disapprove of the whole section so areas that were deemed as contentious were disapproved with areas that were deemed by the combined opposition to be non problematic. Some of the non problematic areas that were disapproved included the Capital and Current expenditure under the Office of the President (OP), the subsidy for Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the University of Guyana subsidy. According to Granger, Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, tried to bundle the UG student loan subsidy with other items which they could not support, such as allocations for National Communications Network (NCN) and Government Information News Agency (GINA) which the opposition had said was very biased in its coverage of news. If they didn’t rectify their position then funding would be disapproved. Granger reiterated that APNU did not want to vote against the UG loan subsidy. He said that Government could return with it for supplementary financing
provided that was not encumbered with measures they cannot support. He said, “The constitution prohibits the opposition from bringing financial measures to the National Assembly; we do not have the constitutional authority to do so, so when the government brings it we will vote on it. “We support the restoration of the student loan and we look forward to the government bringing it back to us so that we can vote on it.” Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, had said, however, that he found it strange that the combined opposition “is now requesting Government to bring to the National Assembly in the form of supplementary estimates which they consciously and deliberately disapproved.” Nandlall added that the government “does not operate and will not operate on the whims, fancies and caprice of the opposition.” He continued that the combined opposition disapproved certain positions of the budget and it did so conscious of the consequences. It posited “that government will charter its own way forward on this matter, at its own time and upon its own terms.” He said that a way forward
on the cuts were not paved by government as yet even in the face of the cries coming from those whom have been afflicted ironically within government itself among others. Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, speaking to Government’s position, said that NCN and GINA were bundled with the University of Guyana loan. “We warned them that they are playing with trouble and it was all caused by the AG taking the issue to the Chief Justice a year before and that ruling was the one that caused the entire disapproval.” According to Ramjattan, “We then said that if you are not going to unbundle we will disapprove of the entire set of allocations in that grouping and they will have to bring it back later on. “If they don’t want to come back it is not we who are at fault with the UG students and with IAST (Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology), it is they who are at fault because if they care for the UG students they could come back within 24 hours and we pass that.” “But if they want to play this ugly macabre game with the lives of employees and lives of students, well they can carry on…They obviously don’t care about anybody,” said Ramjattan.
Irregularities during the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) conducted earlier this year have been detected, prompting an investigation by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry in a statement issued yesterday acknowledged the development and has even pointed proverbial fingers to a particular school in Region One. Although the situation, it was noted, has affected the integrity of that school’s NGSA results the Ministry is adamant that it will not impact the general integrity or the timely release of the national results since there were no other detected instances of irregularities at the other schools. The Ministry has however not been forthcoming in detailing the extent of the irregularities but has committed to making public its findings at the end of its investigation. According to the statement “the Ministry is actively considering various options and will make interventions where its paramount consideration will be what is in the best interest of the affected pupils.” In recent years, the Ministry of Education has established a number of quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that examinations and their
subsequent results are of the highest integrity. In fact, it was these measures that allowed for the identification of the irregularities, the Ministry boasted in its statement. The NGSA results, according to the Ministry, are slated for a June 27, 2014, unveiling in keeping with a promise that was made by Education Minister, Priya Manickchand. The Ministry in an earlier statement said that “with a view of streamlining the efficient delivery of results, this year the pupils, parents and school administrations knew the date by which the results would be out (even) before the commencement of the NGSA.” The NGSA was conducted on April 16 and 17, last, at centres across Guyana with just over 15,000 candidates participating. They were assessed in the four subject areas of English Language, Mathematics,
Science and Social Studies, each of which consisted of two papers. The Ministry had earlier this month disclosed that it had completed marking the 2014 NGSA papers, and scripts were being processed nationally. The unveiling of the examination last year was arguably the earliest the results were unveiled. The NGSA results were unveiled on June 7, 2013, with Salma Majeed of the ISA Islamic Academy being the top performing candidate. She scored 548 points out of a possible 560. The planned release of the 2014 NGSA results, according to the Ministry, represents the second consecutive year that it will fulfil a promise to make an early announcement. This was attributed to the continued enhancement of the overall quality management processes of the examination.
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Kaieteur News
‘Blame game continues…
BK asking for more time to complete EBD four-lane The East Bank Demerara four-lane expansion to Diamond is heading for more stormy waters over the relocation of utility poles with contractor, BK Group, yesterday announcing moves to extend its contract time. The US$20M ($4B) project has been facing numerous delays with accusations flying back and forth over who has to pay for the relocation of the telephone and water lines. BK, in a letter addressed to Work Services Group, Public Works Ministry, and released to the media yesterday, said that the public misconceptions have been hurting the reputation of the group. BK said the delays have forced it to now serve a notice of claim in accordance with “Clause 8.4 Extension of Time for completion and Clause 20.1 Contractor’s Claims of the General Contract”. BK said it is “unprepared to bear the growing consequences of our reputation being harmed in the public domain. Consequently, we are requesting an immediate statement from you on the current position, and guidance as to how we should proceed.” The letter was addressed to Geoffrey Vaughn, Coordinator of the Works Services Group (WSG). “Despite our several and repeated complaints, the continuous delay in the relocation of GT&T buried and overhead cables,
constitute delays under Clause 8.5 Delay caused by authorities, and remains a problem for us in the timely completion of this project.” BK accused GT&T of being “swift” to send invoices for damage to cables but slow to treat with the problems on the ground. “Every day of delay in the completion of this project is a substantial cost to the BK Group. These delays are also an inconvenience to commuters. Further, concerned citizens see this as a misuse of the public funds and are laying the blame at the door of BK Group.” The contractor said it will await a statement of WSG on how to proceed. “Please note that we are making this request public in order that our efforts to correct this situation will be known in places where we are being wrongfully charged with negligence and disrespect for public concerns.” The letter was signed by BK’s Managing Director, Brian Tiwarie and copied to Dr. Roger Luncheon – Head, Presidential Secretariat; Robeson Benn, Minister of Public Works; Ron Rahaman – Engineering Coordinator, Works Services Group; Raymond Latchmansingh – Managing Director, CEMCO and Andrew Clough Resident Engineer/Team Leader, MMM Group Ltd. Earlier this month, BK claimed that it lost over $50M on Phase Two of the East
Bank Demerara four-lane expansion as a result of delays caused by utilities that have not been removed in a timely manner since the signing of the contract and the commencement of work in 2012. BK, talking on the Guyana Water Inc. and GT&T, raised concerns that the water mains and telephone cables continue to hold up the completion of road work at the Diamond section of the East Bank Demerara four-lane expansion. Both GWI and GT&T, according to BK, had pointed to the Ministry of Public Works as the source of the delays in the removal of the utilities. In November 2010, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced that it approved a US$20M loan to extend the four-lane highway from Providence to Diamond. With new housing schemes and thousands of new homes, authorities were expecting an explosion of vehicles on what is considered one of the country’s most used roadways. According to IDB, within five years, the project is expected to yield a 15% reduction in travel time by car on the improved road section, as well as a five-kilometer extension of the road network that is in good condition. The delays in completing the four-lane have angered commuters who have been facing severe congestions from the work.
Saturday May 31, 2014
Regional Board of Directors for professional statisticians established
The newly formed Caribbean Association of Professional Statisticians (CAPS) The region has established a functioning association of statisticians, CARICOM announced yesterday. Dr. Philomen Harrison, Project Director, Regional Statistics, CARICOM Secretariat, is the President of the Board of Directors of the newly formed Caribbean Association of Professional Statisticians (CAPS). Dr. Harrison was named President at the first meeting of the CAPS held in St. George’s, Grenada, on Thursday. The other Members of the Board are Vice President, Iwan Sno, Director General, Bureau of Statistics, Suriname; Vice President, Statchel Edwards, Chief Statistician, Statistics Department, Ministry of Finance, Economy and Public Administration, Antigua and Barbuda; Representatives, of Council of Chapters, Sean Mathurin, Programme Officer, Statistics, Organisation of
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat; Carol Coy, Director-General, Statistical Institute of Jamaica and Dave Clement, Former Director of Statistics, Central Statistical Office, Trinidad and Tobago. The International Representative is Eric Rancourt, Director, International Cooperation Division, Statistics Canad; the Secretary, Gatlin Roberts, Chief Statistician, Finance Statistical Office, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Central Planning Division, St. Vincent and the Grenadines; with the Treasurer Sonia Jackson, Former Director-General, Statistical Institute of Jamaica. The Board of Directors was established during a week of statistics activity in Grenada that began with the Second High Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics. The CAPS was an outcome of the First High Level Advocacy Forum: the Urgency of Statistics and the Global crisis – Enabling Development in the Caribbean Community held in 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago. At that event, Professor Chukwudum Uche of the Department of Sociology,
Psychology and Social Work University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, delivered the key address titled ‘Use What You Have: Continuing Development of Statistics in the Caribbean Community’. In his address, Professor Uche emphasised the important role of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) and the Regional Census Coordinating Committee (RCCC) for decision-making and implementation in the Region. He recommended that the two committees “…initiate the formation of a Regional Professional Association, the Caribbean Statistical Society for the further development of the discipline in the Region.” Work towards the establishment of the CAPS began shortly thereafter. A Regional Competition was held to determine the Motto of the Association, ‘Promoting Statistics for Statistical Development’. A similar competition was also held to identify a logo. The CAPS is a non-profit organization to promote the contribution of statistics and its applications to evidence based decision making in the CARICOM Region and collaboration and discussion among professional statisticians. CARICOM said that the establishment of the CAPS will positively impact the harmonization process within the Region and will be a catalyst for the compilation of a Database of Regional Experts through the Membership Directory of the Association. It is envisaged that the association will establish Committees to deal with subject matters such as Official Statistics, Survey Statistics, Statistical Computation and Statistical Education.
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
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AFC criticises Govt over Thai junta leader says reconciliation, continued Environmental Tax reform to take about a year
(Reuters) - Thailand’s junta leader said yesterday a process of reconciliation between political factions and reforms would take about one year and only after that would a general election would be held. Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who overthrew the government on Thursday last week, said all sides had to cooperate and stop protesting for his plan for the restoration of democracy to succeed. “Thailand and the Thai people are facing many problems that require immediate attention and solutions,” Prayuth said in a televised address. “Enough time has been wasted on conflict.” Southeast Asia’s secondbiggest economy has been battered by political turmoil since late last year, when protesters backed by the royalist establishment launched a bid to oust the populist government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The government clung to power even after a court forced Yingluck out of office for abuse of power on May 7, but the military ousted it in a coup on May 22, saying a takeover was necessary to restore order and prevent further violence. Prayuth justified his takeover and the tough measures he introduced afterwards, which have included the detention of about 250 people, though most have now been freed, censorship of the media and a ban on gatherings. “We cannot keep fighting each other just because we think differently,” said Prayuth, sitting at a table with flowers in front of him and portraits of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit on a wall behind him “Every side must find a way to cooperate,” he added. Thailand has become polarised between supporters of Yingluck and her influential brother, deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and the royalist establishment that sees Thaksin and his populist ways as a threat to the old order. Thaksin’s popularity among poorer voters, especially in the populous, rural northeast and north, has ensured that he or his allies have won every election since 2001. Prayuth’s coup followed six months of increasingly violent protests against Yingluck’s government by an establishment-backed political movement. Prayuth outlined a three-
General Prayuth Chan-ocha phase process beginning with reconciliation which he said would take up to three months. A temporary constitution would be drawn up and an interim prime minister and cabinet chosen in a second phase, he said. “This process will take approximately a year, depending on the situation,” he said. “The third phase will be democratic elections.” “All that I have outlined will not succeed if all sides do not cease demonstrating politically,” he said. A stumbling economy is the priority for the military and Prayuth promised that the 2015 budget would be in order and public spending would be transparent. Figures out earlier yesterday showed private investment and consumption were stagnant in the run-up to the coup. Gross domestic product shrank 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014 as the antigovernment protests damaged confidence and scared off tourists. With only caretaker status after dissolving parliament in December for a February election that was later annulled, Yingluck’s besieged government had lacked the power to take policy decisions or approve new spending. A senior central bank official, Mathee Supapongse, said that under the military government, which is paying farmers money owed them under a failed rice-subsidy scheme and eyeing infrastructure spending, “the overall picture looks better, but it’s not easy to get to the central bank’s economic growth forecast of 2.7 percent”. “It’s been half a year now and stimulus measures will not come all at once, but gradually, so the effect will rather be felt next year,” said Mathee, head of the bank’s macroeconomics department. He was speaking after the release of central bank data that showed private investment in April, the first
month of the second quarter, was 4.7 percent lower than in the same month last year and consumption was down 0.8 percent. It followed data on Wednesday that showed factory output fell for the 13th straight month in April, imports plunged and exports remained weak, underscoring the difficulty the military government faces in averting recession. While the United States and other allies have urged a quick return to democracy, Prayuth appealed for patience. “All we are asking for is give us time to reform in order to mend our democratic system, to make it right, just and responsible,” he said. Despite martial law and the ban on gatherings, small peaceful protests against the coup have been held on an almost daily basis in Bangkok. For a second day on Friday, soldiers mounted a big operation at the central Victory Monument, where sometimes rowdy crowds had faced off with soldiers and police earlier in the week, sealing it off and preventing anyone from gathering. Activists, spreading word through social media, say they will hold a big show of opposition at the weekend.
“Each year they made almost $1 billion on that environmental tax and they never used it for that purpose. They did use it for the Ministry of Finance to do whatever it wanted.” This is the position of Alliance for Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan as he outlined the tendency of the government, particularly the position of the Attorney General Anil Nandlall to blame the opposition for everything. “This was their attitude with the Rudisa Company that they taxed illegally and unjustly enriched themselves with US$6Million. Now they have to pay it back they are saying it is the Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) fault,” said Ramjattan. Ramjattan said, “Anil Nandall who is the worst Attorney General that Guyana ever had, loves to put the differences to all these litigations on the opposition. The opposition in Guyana has become a permanent defence for this Attorney General.” According to the AFC leader when you charge an environmental tax it must go towards environmental tasks like cleaning up the drains in Georgetown, cleaning up the seawall, cleaning up all the alley ways or doing some other environmental work. However “not a cent went
in there. When you try to ascertain where the money was used you are deceived and when they are exposed they blame the opposition.” Ramjattan questioned, “When the opposition did not have the majority right up to 2011 could the government not do all these things that they are now blaming the opposition of in 2014? It just shows how neurotic and paranoid they have become.” Government has since contended that the opposition is responsible for Guyana having to refund $1.2B (US$6M) to Rudisa beverages a Suriname company. The company had taken
Guyana to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) because it felt that the $10 per bottle environmental tax that it was being charged when importing its soft drinks (Thrill) to Guyana was in contravention of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) which outlines free trade to signatory countries. The CCJ ruled in Rusdisa’s favour citing that it had to honour its treaty obligations and ordered that the claimants are entitled to repayment. The government had argued that it had proposed legislation to rectify the discriminatory effect of the environmental tax, but the proposed amendment was rejected by the National Assembly. The AFC position for rejecting the amendment was that it wanted to make the tax non discriminatory. Taking into consideration the amount of tax already being paid (Valued Added Tax VAT) this would be a burden on the population and the AFC rejected it. What is worthy to note is that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is continuing to impose the Environmental Tax despite a recent ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice. This was confirmed yesterday by a source within the GRA.
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Saturday May 31, 2014
New concrete flat house 28X35 at La Parafaite Harmonie - $7M negotiable Call: 604-3568, 227-3961 Lot 1064/65 Aubrey Barker Street, South Ruimveldt Park. – Serious Offers onlyCall: 619-7299
24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl, office assistant & handyman- Call: 670-8893/684-2838 Porters & Experienced Hardware Counter Clerks. Apply in person with reference @ Hardware Emporium, Lot 78 Church Street, G/town. 1 – Civil engineer, security personnel, skid steer & excavator operators, labourers, mechanic, body works man (spray), office assistant – Call: 603-4098 Real estate clerks, Road foreman, operations manager & cleaners – Call: 603-4098
Jailing Scooter 125cc, silver, like new & gasoline generator 110/220v 60Hz. 25kw. 5 hours use - Tel: 616-0427; 227-8448, 612-8319, 220-6542
One 2 flat wooden & concrete house, 4 bedrooms, 2 washrooms, Annandale, Sandreef, ECD, Built in 2006 Call:220-3133 or 615-5538
Restaurant / bar help & managers @ Friendly’s Bar & Lounge (Timehri), apply in person @ 198 Camp Street, GLU building - Tel: 623-5011
Toyota Forerunner, 4x4, automatic, power steering, A/C, bargain at $1,290,000.00 Tel:227-8448; 612-8319; 2206542, 616-0427
Prime business and residential 3 storey property in excellent condition, situated 11 Camp and Norton Street G/town, negotiable – Call Pearl Realty: 689-9991
Experienced cosmetologist, preferably from the East Bank Demerara – Tel:652-5800
Canadian rebuilt Perkins Duetz engine, Lincoln generator welder, model ‘M’ with winch, 320 excavator - Call: 691-2921 Food Caravan for sale, payment plan available – Call: 675-5448 15 Bar Stool, table & chairs, Sesame Street baby prom & walker, brand new projector screen, wall divider - Tel: 669-0366 5000 gas fuel tank - Call: 6013194 2007 Mazda Hatchback, fully loaded 2002 Spacio, wine colour unregistered, Zmodo Surveillance system 4 & 8 channel – Tel: 696-4659 One dump truck with 5 tons Hi-ab - $3,500,000.00. 1 Flat bed truck 23ft length tray with 5 tons Hi-ab -$2, 500, 000.00 -Tel:618-1967, 698-4321 One 5000 Ford tractor engine, one complete back half tractor, one boughton wench 12 tons, 1-6 cylinder Perkins generator 50KVA Tel:261-2785, 615-9862 Dachshund pups – Tel:2163408/ 680-0192
Are you planning to buy or sell a house in Guyana or Florida? Call Ron’s Real Estate – 218-5591 Furnished four bedroom house A/C, automatic generator, auto garage etc $30M negotiable @ Grandville Park – Tel:6004409, 623-8172 Two-storey concrete house (26X45 ft), 4 bedrooms, 3 washrooms, grilled with electronic security at Grandville Park, Beterverwagting - Tel: 672-6169 For Sale by Owner: Twostorey property at 91 Third Street, East Meter-MeerZorg – Contact Mr. Basant: 277-3743/ Cell: 626-0150 Property with 3 houses on lot at 35 Plantation Walk, VreedEn-Hoop: 3 buildings next to G.T.M – Contact: 667-9978 Apartment building for sale at William Street, Kitty – Call: Shalini on 674-9266 or 686-9248
One slate pools table 8x4 $450,000 negotiable – lights, chalk, coin included – Call: 601-8083
Ekerou Gold & Diamond Land, Bagotville large land - 37"X724" Tel: 600-0036 / 223-1719 TOURS
Games for PS2, PS3, XBOX360, WII, consoles also available – Call: 6722566, 265-3231
Suriname Tour Return: July 4 / CARICOM Holiday 4 - 7 July – Tel: 639-2663, 644-0185, 665-5171, 227-8290
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 One Kitchen for a bar + restaurant located on Lamaha St. - Call: 684-5797, 684-3371. 1 Bottom flat apartment @ Diamond New Scheme, preferably working couple $50,000 negotiable - Tel: 6704484
Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 B & C Driving School: Lot 5 Hadfield Street Lodge- call: 225-0150, 229-7258, 680-6826
One upper flat @ 6th Street Cummings Lodge, ECD – Call: 622-3580
LEARN TO DRIVE
Beautopia - Offering hair & nails courses, also available - Brazilian & Indian Virgin Hair - Call: 604-3002/ 699-8477
2-1RZ mini bus BLL & BJJ diesel, good working condition – Call: 628-1342 or 226-6071 STAR CARS AUTO SALE: Premio, Spacio, Allion, IST, Feilder, Altezza, new Raum, Axela, Carina 212 – Call: 679-3140, 615-1199 First Class Auto: Allion, Premio, Spacio, IST, 212, Fielder, Raum, Allex, Runx, Bluebird, Axela - Tel:6098188, 638-3045
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. COOL TECH : Repairs Services & Installation of all types if homes appliances: Air Condition & Refrigeration units - Tel: 233-2008; 675-4959 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar:2310655,683-8734
1 Business bottom flat, bridge to road, approximately 1000 SQFT Call: 628-1342/ 226-6071 Fully furnished apartment as low as - $4,000 per day @ Secrete Villa Albouystown, Georgetown branch or call: 223-0994 All prices have been reduced as low as - $4,000 per day @ Secret Villa, Land-OfCanaan or Call: 266-5243-5 GT TOOL RENTALS SPECIALS: CONCRETE SAW, JACK HAMMER WELDING MACHINE & MORE. 2ND TOOL ½ PRICE – CALL: 675-0767; 627-5098
Desktop computer, projector, land GPS system – Tel:6000036/ 223-1719
Earn a certificate in cosmetology, wig designs or nails alone, limited spaces Call Abby: 619-7603, 666-5241
Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 662-6045 HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING AND ESTIMATES FOR ONLY $10,000- CALL:6949843/227-2766 Luxury building construction, general contractors, general building construction concrete, wood, ceiling, roof, etc – Call: 592-6954062, email:anojaisari @yahoo.com For Grill work, aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel, vessel, trailer -Call Khemraj: 666-2101 Travel with Ron to Florida or Washington DC. For just $US3000 with hotels & car rental provided - call: 2185591, 675-7292
One Toyota Land cruiser Prado, PMM Series Call: 2250188, 223-7500, Mon-Fri 8:154:15pm, Sat - 8:15-1:15PM Toyota Avensis 2003, PRR series 18" Rims, leather interior, HID, A/C, Alarm, TV, $3.250M, immaculate condition! Tel: 609-7257, 602-5974 Unregistered Spacio, TV Flair Kit, Noah mini buses BSS series – Call: 697-0294 One Toyota Carina AT192 $560,000, 1 compressor c/w air tool kit master craft $110,000 – owner migrating: 641-6239 One 2 Ton Mitsubishi freezer canter truck, 4D-33 engine (not computerized), immaculate condition – Call: 220-3133; 615-5538. One [1] Ford Driven 60HP Tractor 600hrs, almost new -$2.2M. Contact Junior: 6654611; 261-5304 1 AE100 Toyota Corolla, excellent condition, A/c, mag rims, alarm, DVD player – Price: $775,000 – Call: 2253217, 695-6461, 612-9625 2002 unregistered Toyota Regius 8 seats, fully loaded Tv/Navi/AC/PW/PS, alloy wheels - $1.8M - Tel: 624-5617 One Toyota Corolla AE100 excellent condition – Contact: 615-18-34/267-2083 - $700,000 negotiable AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super-custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 One black Nissan Bluebird; latest model – Call: 687-1392 Tractor Massey Ferguson : MF135 -$1.3M, MF165 $1.9M, MF265- $2.1M, MF285-$2.5M, Ranger Pick -up -$1.7M – Call:682-5230/ 628-9596 Toyota Raum, Silver, year 2002, PMM series with alarm – Call: 621-5244
VEHICLE FOR SALE Unregistered Toyota Noah with TV, 15" Rim, camera – Tel:663-2700, 629-2619
We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 (Continued on page 23)
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
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PAHO/WHO urges countries to raise tobacco taxes to save lives Washington - On World No Tobacco Day, being celebrated today, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is calling on countries to raise taxes on tobacco to encourage users to stop and to prevent other people from becoming addicted to tobacco. Based on 2012 data, PAHO/WHO estimates that if all countries increased tobacco taxes by 50%, they could reduce the number of smokers by 49 million within the next three years and ultimately save 11 million lives. Every six seconds someone dies from using tobacco, which kills up to half its users. It also incurs considerable costs for families, businesses and governments. Treating tobacco-related diseases like cancer and heart disease is expensive. And as tobaccorelated disease and death often strike people in the prime of their working lives, productivity and incomes fall. ”Raising taxes on tobacco is the most effective way to reduce use and save lives,” says WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. “Determined action on tobacco tax policy hits the industry where it hurts.” TOBACCO TAXES IN THEAMERICAS In the Americas, several countries have made progress in implementing tobacco price and tax measures. Two countries of the Region are being recognized in conjunction with this year’s World No Tobacco Day campaign. Panama is the winner of the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition for its enactment in 2009 of comprehensive tobacco control legislation that not only increased tobacco taxes but also earmarked the resulting revenues for tobacco control and other health-related initiatives. Costa Rica is the winner of a World No Tobacco Day regional award for its passage of a comprehensive tobacco control law that increased tobacco taxes to 71.5% of the final price to the consumer (with additional automatic increases each year). It too requires that all new revenue be allocated to tobacco control programs and other health initiatives. Nevertheless, “Much work needs to be done in the Region, where few countries have met the recommended 75% tax level on the final price of tobacco products recommended by PAHO and WHO,” said Adriana Blanco, PAHO/WHO advisor on tobacco control. “In many countries, tobacco prices
CAR RENTAL
(From page 22)
Dolly’s Car Rental - Call: 225-7126/ 226-3693 dollys autorental@yahoo.com/ www.dolly sautorental.com ProgressiveAuto Rental: Cars & SUV for rental- $4,000 & up per day- Call: 643-5122, 628-2284 ,Email:pro_ autorental @yahoo.com
ACCOMMODATION Harmony Inn -$5,000-$8,000 per night, complimentary breakfast, discounts (longterm), honeymoon package, 3 nights $15,000$20,000 – Call: 668-0306, 6947817
Wings Car Rental- Call: 6431131/ BBM pin: 24E17558 Aidan’s Car Rental, Canter & Pickup- Call: 645-7981/ 6987807
3 female general workers between ages 22-35yrs, 1 male general worker between ages 18-30 – Contact: 225-6337
DRESS-MAKING remain low and affordable, especially for young people, which is of particular concern.” THE YOUNGAND POOR PEOPLE BENEFIT MOST High prices have proven particularly effective in discouraging young people (who often have more limited incomes than older adults) from taking up smoking. They also encourage existing young smokers to either reduce their use of tobacco or quit altogether. ”Price increases are two to three times more effective in reducing tobacco use among young people than among older adults,” says Douglas Bettcher, Director of the Department for Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO. “Tax policy can be divisive, but this is the tax rise everyone can support. As tobacco taxes go up, death and disease go down.” GOOD FOR ECONOMIES TOO WHO calculates that if all countries increased tobacco taxes by 50% per pack, governments would earn an extra US$ 101 billion in global revenue. “These additional funds could–and should–be used to advance health and other social programs,” adds Bettcher. Countries such as France and the Philippines have already seen the benefits of imposing high taxes on tobacco. Between the early 1990s and 2005, France tripled its inflation-adjusted cigarette prices, and sales fell more than 50%. A few years later the number of young men dying from lung cancer in France began to decline. In the Philippines, one year after increasing taxes, the government has collected more than the expected revenue and plans to spend 85% of this on health services. TOBACCO TAXES ARE A CORE ELEMENT OF TOBACCO CONTROL Tobacco use is the world’s leading preventable cause of death. Tobacco kills
nearly 6 million people each year, of which more than 600,000 are non-smokers who die from breathing secondhand smoke. If no action is taken, tobacco will kill over 8 million people yearly by 2030, more than 80% of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Raising taxes on tobacco to help reduce tobacco consumption is a core element of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international treaty that entered into force in 2005 and has been endorsed by 178 Parties. Article 6 of the WHO FCTC, Price and Tax Measures to Reduce the Demand for Tobacco, recognizes that “price and tax measures are an effective and important means of reducing tobacco consumption by various segments of the population, in particular young persons.” WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY AWARDS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL’S REPORT (JUNE 2 EVENT) On June 2, World No Tobacco Day will be observed at PAHO’s Washington, D.C., headquarters in a special event where U.S. Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak will be the keynote speaker. Lushniak will describe progress in tobacco control in the 50 years since the first U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health was published (in 1964) and will discuss new data on the health consequences of tobacco use contained in the most recent surgeon general’s report. He will also launch a consumer guide for the 50th anniversary report.
Learn to cut & sew at Enid’s Dressmaking, certificate classes, 66 Sixth Street Albertown, sewing also done here! - Call: 643-7966
TO LET Furnished and unfurnished two bedroom apartments in Eccles, for short or long term Tel: 643-1131 Rooms – Call: 225-3234
MASSSAGE Happy Touch Day Spa: Come & Experience heaven in its many forms – 4 Hands, sweet treat, open at 10AM – Contact: 697-2011
2 bedroom apartments @ Factory Road Paradise, ECD. Large living, dining, etc. One month’s security - $38,500 monthly – Call: 672-2677, 625-9939
4 Mining Blocks at Kwakwanie - Tel: 627-4900
Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery; also edible images and Wedding dresses for sale. Call: 670-0798
EDUCATIONAL Canadian School of Arts & Science, Third Avenue, Diamond: CAT Accounting Classes begin on July 1, – Call: 216-6921/22 to register IAE - Camp Street - Registration has commenced Forms 1-5 (full-time school); day & evening, adult CXC classes Call: 683-5742, 223-0604
One female babysitter to work in Georgetown, age 4045 - Call: 614-5711 between 9-5pm
Two half days cleaner, must be from the W.C.D to work in Tuschen – Call: 662-9341 Driver living in Georgetown with Mini-bus License for contract – Call: 646-8748 Drivers, hire cars & bartenders to work at Flambouyant Taxi Services/ Restaurant – Call: 678-4470 Domestic maid, work available at Diamond Housing Scheme - Contact: 609-1535; 227-8529; 216-0979
At Eccles Housing Scheme price $6.5M - negotiable Call: 616-6000
High income land (100ftX50ft) @ La Parafaite Harmonie -$2.4M, New Grove (corner lot) with foundation $2.6M–Call:218-5591,675-7292
One experienced hairdresser – Contact Magic Touch Beauty Salon at 255-6492 Experienced bus driver & hire car driver at Princess Hotel - Tel: 265-7075/ 265-7076
Urgently needed live in waitresses to work in bar, attractive salary offered – Tel:259-0574
Farm: East Bank Demerara , New Scheme: land (58X110) (front corner lot) - Tel: 603-9700
Residential house lot at Yarrowkabra 200ftX100ft – Tel:682-3542/ 218-1818
Live out domestic babysitter and live in babysitter –Call: 225-0188, 225-6070 (Monday to Saturday) (8:15am-4:15pm)
Live-in experienced caregiver Call: 664-8150
CAKES & PASTRIES LAND FOR SALE
WANTED Men to work in sea food plant, required ID, NIS & police clearance: contact Mr. James 680-5200/697-3040
WANTED Pump attendants & cashier at Shell Mc Doom gas station, apply in person Experienced taxi drivers for Gem’s Taxi Service - Call: 2313709, 667-9013
Experienced Salesgirls, with secondary education @ Christine’s Variety Store – Contact: 609-1535/ 227-8529 One driver and a Cummings Mechanic to work in the interior - Contact: 681-6044
One cashier, send application along with CV to gjmarketing 14@gmail.com
1 Skilled tile man, 2 skilled masons - $6,000 per day, 2 porters- $4,000 daily from W.C.D to work @ Tuschen Call: 684-8231
One shop attendant & one handy boy to work in the interior Call: 681-6044
General help must be willing to cook puri & egg balls – Call: 626-2629
One hire car $20,000-$24,000 per week with alarm & have police clearance - Call: 671-6754
To buy 2 low income land in La Parafaite Harmonie & one high income in Scoonord – Call:218-5591 or 675-7292
Live in small family with teenage son/daughter - Free accommodation - Tel: 227-1830 Live-in domestic must know to cook 25-35yrs, live-in waitress 18-25yrs: salary $50,000 monthly, boarding & lodging free- Tel: 610-5043
Person to draw cones from machine and sell.Good Rates Tel:227-1830 Honest, single live in domestic – Call: 646-1758 between 9:00am-4:00pm, attractive salary offered.
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Saturday May 31, 2014
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Thanks to the Indian High... I am mindful that all are... From page 5 to Guyana have increased, with Guyanese of all ethnicities being beneficiaries. In general, donor countries determine the criteria for participation in a scholarship program. An Embassy or a Consulate is a sovereign unit of a nation and in a host country can stipulate conditions for an academic scholarship. In the US, for example, government sponsors certain programs and often stresses minorities will be given preference for certain programs. In some countries, including the US, ethnicity as a criterion is not actually stated, but applicants from a particular ethnicity are given preference. In Guyana, for example, it was well established and institutionalized that while the ethnicity criteria was not publicly stated as a condition for selection for a program or a ranking job, during the
period of the ethnic dictatorship, preference was given to applicants of a particular race. Can Braithwaite tell us how many Portuguese, Chinese, Amerindians and Indians were selected for scholarships or government training for academic advancement? India gives the most scholarships to Guyanese of all countries. India also gives the most scholarships to students in Africa; I studied in India and I travelled to India dozens of times, encountering African students on Indian campuses studying as guests of the Indian government. I also met numerous students from South America, Central America and Mexico in India – thanks to the generosity of the Indian government. Guyanese have also received scholarships to study in China and I met quite a number of South Americans and Africans in Beijing when I was there briefly as a visiting
student during my doctoral studies in 1985 and in subsequent visits to China. Both the Chinese and Indian governments have been kind to foreigners with their educational assistance. I visited African countries several times and I did not encounter foreign students studying on scholarships. But I was told a few Guyanese did study in Africa. I did meet a Guyanese girl studying on a scholarship in Fiji when I gave a talk at USP two years ago. Can Braithwaite tell us how many scholarships were given to Guyana by African countries and of those, how many of the recipients were Chinese, Indians, Portuguese, and Amerindian Guyanese? Thousands of Guyanese have studied in India for free and hundreds more paid a nominal fee. Many AfroGuyanese, Mixed and Amerindians studied in India and I encountered quite a few. And they are most grateful for the opportunity to advance their education in India for free, an opportunity not afforded them in African countries. Unlike Braithwaite, I wish to convey gratitude and appreciation to India and to the Chinese governments for being so kind to us. I urge the Indian government to please increase the number of scholarships given to Guyanese. Thank you Indian High Commission for your generosity? I wish the countries of Africa can emulate India and China in aiding Guyanese. Vishnu Bisram
From page 4 of my political and civic responsibility and commitment, is the interest of all of the Citizens of Guyana in general, and the citizens of Georgetown in particular. Whether you are the owner of a business or a worker employed by that business, I consider it to be my sacred duty to be concerned over your interest, the quality of your life, your right to all freedoms and processes, whether they are constitutionally or legally prescribed. But I carry the commonsense view that an organism or society that is cancerous on the inside will soon be consumed on the outside. And so the development of our city must involve the participation of all of its citizens, and all must have the opportunity, through hard work and commitment, to realize that standard of living to which we all aspire. No, I do not promise or argue that everyone can and will reach such realization.
What I will argue for as a right for all, is the equal opportunity to be a contender in such pursuits. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” pointed out the interrelatedness of human communities, the construction of co-dependency that is essential to the existence of all human communities. Regardless of how difficult and politically or socially inexpedient this might appear, as Guyanese “We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly’’. This interrelationship becomes even more important as we are broken down into smaller geographic units and nestings. Businesses cannot flourish and be productive when the buying power of the customer base is inhibited by a lack of disposable income; when the vast majority of that customer base can barely eke out an existence on a daily
basis, which describes the current living standard of the vast majority of the citizens of Georgetown. I do not profess to be an expert on economic theory, but even I understand that perhaps the most important relationship in economic activity is the co-dependency between the consumer demand for goods, and the supplier generation of such goods. So the greater the buying power of the consumer, the more goods can be generated and sold. I am mindful as I go about my campaign to become the next Mayor of Georgetown that all are important in the grand scheme of development, and no one, no entity, can be shunted aside for political or other expediency. My name is Mark Anthony Benschop and I am eager to become a transformational Mayor of the City of Georgetown. Mark A. Benschop Head of the Independent Party
Lacking the will to use... From page 4 practiced by some employers, including the government. The Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual is outlined in the Constitution, but our elected leaders who have sworn to uphold the Constitution have scant regard for them, or selectively apply and respect them. The law says how the Town Clerk will be appointed, but the Minister of Local Government disregards it. All these named issues impact on workers/citizens’ rights and wellbeing, but our politicians cherry-pick the laws, issues, and who will be respected. A new governance system requires agreement on both sides in the National Assembly. Even little things like addressing grievances for a group of workers cannot be attended to and agreed upon among the parties in parliament; what assurance is be-
ing given to this nation that big things like changing the governance system to divide up the Executive arm of government among contesting political parties will ever be agreed upon. What is taking place at the Georgetown City Council is another example of political intrusion. For the issue of the Town Clerk is too simple an issue to put at danger the wellbeing of the nation’s most populous city, where its seat of government resides. As we walk the streets of Georgetown, persons see this matter as one that has serious political intrusion in the performance of our judiciary. It is felt even if the government’s position is weak the court will find ways and means not to offend the operatives in the government. All the politicians in the National Assembly, including the President, offered themselves for public office under
the conditions existing in the current constitution. Today, rather than working with the people at every level in the society to bring about our desired results, excuses are easily found to put the society into the mode of not asking politicians any longer to account, but to call or wait for a change in the governance system which is being projected as the magic bullet for resolving the nation’s woes and the people’s problems. Guyanese want and deserve change in their standard of living. Guyanese want their rights respected today, and our elected officials must be called upon to deliver consistent with the present laws that should they adhere to will move the nation’s needle forward. What is lacking is the will to use the political muscle and machinery to deliver on behalf of the people. Lincoln Lewis
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Saturday May 31, 2014
Ukraine to push on with army offensive, row grows over Russian fighters reports
Pro-Russian fighters stand in a street in central Donetsk, Ukraine. (AFP Photo/Fabio Bucciarelli KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine’s government vowed yesterday to press ahead with a military offensive against separatists, despite a deadly attack on an army helicopter, amid increasing reports that fighters from Russia have been involved in rebellions in the east. President-elect Petro Poroshenko, who scored an overwhelming first-round victory in a poll on May 25, swore to punish those responsible for the shooting down on Thursday of the helicopter near Slaviansk, which killed 14 servicemen including a general. Acting Defence Minister Mykhilo Koval, repeating charges that Russia was carrying out “special operations” in the east of Ukraine, said yesterday that Ukrainian forces would continue with military operations in border areas “until these regions begin to live normally, until there is peace”. Elsewhere in Ukraine’s troubled eastern regions, a separatist group detained a second four-person team of monitors of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Vienna-based OSCE said. Last Monday separatists in another area detained a four-man OSCE team and have not yet released them. Ukrainian authorities have long alleged that the rebellions have been fomented by Moscow among the largely Russian-speaking population, which is especially vulnerable to crossborder propaganda hostile to Kiev’s “Euro-Maidan” revolution that overthrew Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich in
February. Reports by Ukrainian border authorities and journalists on the ground now appear to show increasing evidence of direct involvement by fighters from Russia in the rebellions that erupted two months ago in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. According to these reports, fighters may be coming into Ukraine from former hotspots in Russia and its North Caucasus fringes such as Chechnya whose own troubles in the past 20 years have spawned a proliferation of armed groups. Ukraine’s authorities say Russian border guards are doing nothing to stop fighters crossing the long land border from Russia, along with truck loads of ammunition and weapons. In the latest such report, Ukrainian border guards said yesterday they had seized a cache of weapons including guns, machine-guns, grenadelaunchers, sniper rifles and 84 boxes of live ammunition in two cars they stopped as they crossed from Russia. A total of 13 people were detained, the border guard service said in a statement on its website. Re u t e r s c o r r e s p o ndents in Donetsk, an industrial city and one of the main separatist centres, saw coffins loaded onto a vegetable truck on Thursday and driven off after being told by rebels that “volunteers” from Russia killed earlier in the week in an army offensive were being repatriated. An official of the Ukrainian border guard service said yesterday that
bodies of slain Russian nationals were being allowed to return to Russia for humanitarian reasons. “We don’t need them to fertilise the land of Ukraine,” Serhiy Astakhov, an aide to the head of the border guard service, said in Kiev in reply to a journalist’s question. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov says weapons that could only have been brought in from Russia were found at the scene of Donetsk airport after it was cleared of rebels. The reports have revived Russia-West tensions that had eased slightly after Moscow pulled back thousands of its troops from the border with Ukraine in what the United States described as a “promising sign”. The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that Secretary of State John Kerry had pressed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end all Russian support for separatists and call on them to lay down their arms. Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said Russia was clearly behind the violent unrest, though there were no immediately effective steps the West could take to stop it. Poroshenko, a 48-year-old wealthy businessman who has emerged as a national leader from six months of turmoil, will plunge into a hectic round of meetings with world leaders next week with the fate of his country on their minds. He will hold talks on the crisis with U.S. President Barack Obama in Warsaw on June 3-4 when both men attend events marking Poland’s emergence from communist rule.
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
Heavy taxes on cigarette reduce govt. intake, drive illicit trade – Carreras KINGSTON, Jamaica — As the World Health Organisation (WHO) urges countries to increase taxes on tobacco, local distributor Carreras Limited is cautioning government that excessive taxation will push the illicit trade in cigarettes and reduce revenue intake. WHO is advocating for higher taxes on tobacco to save lives, as the organisation believes that this is a core element of tobacco control.
The higher taxes, the organisation argues, will discourage the young and poor from taking up tobacco smoking and generate additional income to boost economies. However, Carreras in a release yesterday reiterated that the view that demand for tobacco products will decrease with the onset of higher prices due to heavy taxes must be balanced with “the understanding that when prices are too high in comparison with the available
income and what people are willing to pay, the opportunity and incentive for the illicit trade in cigarettes increases.” The position of the cigarette distributor also comes against indications by Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson that he may institute further tobacco control regulations. Dr Ferguson last year imposed drastic measures to control cigarette smoking in public.
Venezuela leader praises US rejection of sanctions CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said passage of legislation to impose sanctions on officials could cause his country to shut down its diplomatic missions in the United States, but he praised the Obama administration’s opposition to the bill and said it has led him to name a new top diplomat in Washington. Maduro said Thursday that the measure, which has cleared the House of Representatives but faces a challenge in the Senate, could “lead to the point of not having an embassy or consulates in the United States.” “That’s an extreme point that I want to avoid,” he added during a televised event. “I want the best relations with the government of the United States, based on respect and permanent communications.” Maduro spoke in response to comments by Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, who once again urged the U.S. Senate to vote against the measure. The bill calls for freezing any U.S. assets and denying visas to Venezuelan officials accused of violating human rights during a wave of protests that started in February. Maduro said that he had read the remarks “with great
Nicolas Maduro attention” and said the “leap toward good sense” had led him to name a new top diplomat in Washington. Even lukewarm praise from Venezuela’s government is remarkable following an avalanche of denunciations. Maduro and his backers, following the path of former President Hugo Chavez, have repeatedly accused Washington of trying to topple him and have blamed the U.S. for stirring up the protests in which at least 42 people have died. Just this week, proMaduro Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez announced that the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker, was implicated in a plot to kill the president. Speaking at an event that also included first lady Cilia Flores and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, Rodriguez asked the U.S. government to
clarify if it knew of Whitaker’s alleged role or if he was acting on his own. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the allegation baseless. Maduro said his new top diplomat in Washington would be former Venezuelan ambassador to Brazil Maximilien Sanchez Arvelaiz. In February, Maduro publicly named Sanchez Arvelaiz to fill the vacant ambassadorship in Washington, but U.S. officials have not acted on the proposal. Venezuela has repeatedly expelled diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Caracas, accusing them of meddling in Venezuelan affairs. That has prompted retaliatory expulsions by Washington. Chavez expelled the U.S. ambassador in 2008 and withdrew approval of the U.S. nominee for the post in 2010. The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since then. Maduro expelled two U.S. military attaches just hours before announcing Chavez’s death in March 2013, quashing hopes of a rapprochement. Then in October, he expelled the U.S. charge d’affaires and two other diplomats in Caracas, accusing them of conspiring to sabotage the economy. He threw out three more U.S. diplomats in February.
Cellphone lost in Kartel juror case Jamaica Gleaner - The cellular phone used to record the former juror in the Vybz Kartel murder case, who allegedly attempted to bribe the foreman, has reportedly been lost. In a letter to the prosecution, which was read out in court yesterday, the former jury foreman said she lost the phone while travelling overseas.
The defence has asked for the device said to have been used to record Livingston Cain offering money to the jury foreman in return for a not guilty verdict for Vybz Kartel and his co-accused in the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. The defence wants the device to conduct an independent analysis. Meanwhile, in her letter to
the prosecution, the jury foreman stressed that she will return to Jamaica if she is required to testify. The prosecution says although the telephone was not available for disclosure to the defence, it is ready for trial as a CD containing the recorded evidence along with all other particulars were turned over to Cain’s legal team.
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Kaieteur News
Saturday May 31, 2014
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
‘Nuff Cuff’ anticipated to be thrown at Buxton Community Centre tonight The Buxton/Friendship Community Centre Ground is more noted for competitive football matches but tonight, residents of that, and adjoining communities will be treated to punches in bunches when the Guyana Boxing Association stages the second edition of ‘Nuff Cuff Injection’ at the aforementioned venue tonight. Last night, three top amateur boxers from St Lucia arrived in Guyana last night and are expected to be the highlight of the card. These boxers, welterweight, Ron
Bastian and middleweights, Arthur Langeleire and Malinda St Clair will match gloves with Guyanese Eon Bancroft, Dennis Thomas and Theresa London, respectively. Both Thomas and Bancroft had defeated their opponents in a goodwill card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) in February last. Both fights were highly competitive and were so close that GBA organizers responded to request by both St Lucians for rematches. Tonight’s battles should be scorching hot.
London was to have fought St Clair in the latter boxer ’s hometown early March but was engaged in national duties in Chile. St Clair was incensed and had promised to dish out a sound thrashing on London when they eventually would have faced off. Tonight’s encounter would give St Clair the perfect opportunity to back her chat. Twelve other bouts will support the aforementioned three and fans would not want to miss out on the action. Bell time is 19:00hrs sharp.
Saturday May 31, 2014 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A neighbor or relative might volunteer to help you with some chores around the house, Aries, but you could sense that his or her heart isn't in it. This person is probably thinking about things and just needs some kind words and a little advice. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Paperwork involving money could be a real drag for you today, Taurus. You'll have to get it done, but you'd rather be elsewhere. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) A contract of some kind, perhaps involving the home, might need some careful consideration today, Gemini. You could find it a little difficult to understand, as it could be full of fine print and legalese. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You might pick up some rather disturbing thoughts from a friend, neighbor, or relative, Cancer. This person could be upset over something and not communicating his or her feelings. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Some gossip about a friend could reach your ears today, Leo, and it might seem a bit shocking at first. Money could be involved. However, don't accept what you hear at face value. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today you might find yourself the center of attention, Virgo. Friends could ask for some information they know you have. It might involve telling a story or giving practical advice.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today you might take up some sort of occult study, such as astrology, numerology, or alchemy that seems like Greek to you at first, Libra. As a result, you could be tempted to abandon it. Don't! SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) A friend might be in such a dour mood that you wonder if this is the same person you know and love, Scorpio. During the day you might be tempted to try to analyze what's going on, but this is apt to raise more questions than answers. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) A friend or romantic partner might need your advice, Sagittarius, and want to discuss a few things that you don't really understand. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Today you might read a book on exercise or nutrition that seems a bit unsettling, Capricorn. According to the book, you're doing everything wrong! AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) YMemories and emotions welling up from the past might excite your creative impulses today, Aquarius. You may not quite be able to understand what all of this means, but the pictures should keep coming to you nonetheless. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A subject you're researching, perhaps for a class or workshop, might prove more difficult than you expected, Pisces. The resources you consult might be very scholarly and thus difficult to read.
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Third Test reportedly moved from Guyana From page 31 Munna and Shabeer Baksh and granted an injunction restraining Defendants: Dru Bahadur, Fizul Bacchus, Alfred Mentore, Anand Sanasie, Virendra Chintamanie, Anand Kalladeen, Rajesh Singh, Rajendra Singh, Colin Europe, Andy Ramnarine, Lalta Digamber, Ramdeo Kumar, Rayon Griffith, Nazimul Drepaul and Savitri Persaud from acting as agents of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). Justice Kurtzious, ruled that the Defendants… ‘by themselves their servants and or
Ex-Microsoft CEO Ballmer... From page 33 them.” Sterling, a Los Angelesarea real estate developer, paid $12.5 million in 1981 for the Clippers, which were then located in San Diego. Ballmer, 58, who retired as Microsoft CEO in February, remains on the board and still owns about 4 percent of the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, worth $13.4 billion. Last year, he joined a group that unsuccessfully bid on the Sacramento Kings basketball team. A long-time basketball fan, until a few years ago he played a regular pickup game with other Microsoft colleagues at a public gym near the M i c r o s o f t campus.[ID:nL1N0EH1W7] It is unclear how the team’s potential sale will affect a June 3 hearing the NBA scheduled at which Donald Sterling can address the accusations against him. At that meeting, the owners could force him to sell the team on a vote by 23 of the remaining 29 owners, the NBA has said. Maxwell Blecher, Sterling’s lawyer, said in an interview with CNN that his client is prepared to file suit to fight the charges, but that he intended to wait for communication from the NBA before deciding when and whether to do so.
agents acting collectively or individually or howsoever, be restrained and an injunction be and is hereby granted restraining the defendants…from holding themselves out as the office holders and/or representatives of the Guyana Cricket Board or from performing any act or function for and on behalf of the said Guyana Cricket Board or from discharging in any manner whatsoever any of the duties and or obligations of the Guyana Cricket Board until the hearing and determination of the action…’ They have been also injuncted…‘from holding themselves out as representatives of the West Indies Cricket Board until the hearing and determination of the action herein and it is further ordered that this matter do take its normal course.’This injunction halted the GCB officials (defendants) from making necessary preparation
for the hosting of the match here. More disappointment for Guyanese cricket fans as the continued power struggle among the various factions for control of the GCB and other Court proceedings continues. The regional governing body has adopted the stance of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in disapproving of any government intervention in the running of cricket matters. The passing of the Cricket Amendment Bill, while lauded by some and criticised by others, will have serious implications for the future of the sport here if signed into law. While well intended it will see too much control given to government and the removal of current officials in a manner seen as undemocratic by the ICC and WICB resulting in like sanctions as the removal of international and regional events here, leaving the local game in the doldrums.
Brazil’s military to... From page 31 camp. “It was already planned that the armed forces could provide this support. Now that teams have begun arriving, it’s been officially authorised,” said the spokesman. A 30-troop infantry platoon was sent Wednesday to Brazil’s base camp in Teresopolis, outside Rio de Janeiro, to reinforce security for the team, which plays the opening match of the tournament against Croatia
on June 12. The army will also be charged with anti-terrorism operations, border security and protecting strategic infrastructure during the tournament, including ports, airports, power stations and water supplies. Australia, the first of the 32 teams to arrive for the World Cup, touched down Wednesday night. Brazil arrived at their base camp Monday and began training Wednesday.
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Kaieteur News
Saturday May 31, 2014
Letter to the Sports Editor
Members of the GFF Congress challenge Matthias to public debate via print media DEAR EDITOR, Speaking at a Press Briefing before a wide cross section of the media at the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Head Office on May 23, 2014, President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Christopher Matthias called on disgruntled members to appoint someone to face off against him to discuss their grievances on national television in front of a national audience and let them be the judge. Mr. Christopher Matthias, President GFF, who has been in office for just over one year and who has challenged the members of Congress to a public debate on National Television on issues that brought about a no confidence motion by us the members and made a pronouncement by saying that if he is found liable of any wrongdoing by the public at large then he would do the honorable thing and resign. Mr. Matthias, President of the Guyana Football Federation, we the members did not see it fit to accept your offer to have a public debate on national television at the expense of the cash strapped Federation, however we are prepared to have that debate here in the print media that will be seen by the entire World and not just a few that the national television station will reach. Mr. President, since you want the public to judge who is wrong and who is right, please answer the undermentioned issues for the public to judge. 1. Sir you lied to your entire executives and to this Nation when you left Guyana to attend a FIFA meeting in Zurich August 2013 and never did so and reported
that you did. Produce your Passport with the evidence of entry to Zurich, Switzerland between the period of August 28 – September 3, 2013. 2. Who give you the permission to spend money from your company, Express Shipping, during the opening of the Federation Season held on Sunday August 11, 2013, at GCC Ground along with refurbishing of the Presidential office at the GFF and reclaimed payment in excess of 1,800,000? Which you received. 3. You lied to the Congress and this Nation when you assured all that Guyana would not be fined after you withdrew the beach Football Team from participating in the World Cup qualifier, Concacaf zone. (Guyana was fined USD$22,500). 4. You sent Mr. Rawlston Adams (VP Resigned) a Lawyers letter for challenging your method of leadership during one of your executive committee meetings. Can you tell us if that is proper leadership??? 5. You lied to your Executive Committee that Banks DIH was sponsoring the Grand opening Ceremony of the GFF 2013 Season held at GCC ground on August 11, 2013, which cost the GFF over 3,000,000. 6. You also misled your Executives Committee and all affiliated Members and its Clubs of the GFF that Banks DIH is sponsoring the GFF Premier League. The league has since concluded and to date there is no evidence of any form of sponsorship between the Federation and Banks DIH. Kindly produce the sponsorship contract entered between Banks DIH Ltd. and the Federation. 7. Who give permission
to your Personal Assistant, Miss Charmaine Wade, to collect monies and make payments on behalf of the Federation without the knowledge of finance department, the General Secretary and the Executives Committees members? To make matters worse, she had no supporting documents to account for the monies received and payments made. Is this good accountability practices??? (a) History is repeating itself from 2001, when you was president of GFA and you and the then Treasurer could not have accounted for $500,000 from sponsorship monies that never entered the coffers of the Georgetown Football Association and you were voted out as President by way of a No Confidence Motion brought against you as the then President, GFA, for financial impropriety! Was this so or not? 8. Is the finance department of the Federation still active and who is the accounting officer of that department, after all the personnel have since resigned including the General Secretary, who has responsibility for all record keeping of the Federation? 9. The word Interim means as follows:a) having temporary effect: serving as a temporary measure until something more complete and permanent can be established b) holding temporary office: serving temporarily until a permanent replacement can be elected or appointed. The above meaning speaks for itself that an IMC do not have voting rights to make policy decisions, since they are just provisional Members. Please give a direct answer to this question?? Is an IMC a full member or a provisional Member???. Please explain to the World and this Nation under
Historic GBBF’s Inter-Association B/Ball set for Linden tonight All Roads will lead to the Mackenzie Sports Club’s Hard Court this evening where Berbice will be aiming for their first victory in Linden’s backyard in the feature game of the Guyana Basketball Federation (GABF) Inter-Association Basketball series. The Berbicians will create historic tonight when they journey to Region 10 since this is the first visit by a Basketball team from Guyana’s second largest
County to play against Linden in the Mining town. Linden are the defending Champions in the Guyana Regional Basketball Championships and will be led by National players Dwayne Roberts and Shane Webster. Keon Cameron and former Guyana U-19 player, 22-year-old Chris Williams are also in the strong Linden unit. The Berbice team’s fortunes will hinge around Randy Richardson, who toured with the National team
to the Bahamas in 2011, the experienced National Trials Squad invitee Carlos Crandon and the promising Keron Emanuel. The supporting games will see Georgetown Women coming up against their Linden counterparts and the youth clash which brings together the Berbice under19 against the Linden under-19 line-up. Jump Ball time is scheduled for 1 9 : 0 0 h r s in the opening game. (Sean Devers)
whose directive, where and when was the constitution amended to allow Interim Management Committees to have voting rights as a full member? If the IMC have the same rights as full members, then who needs full membership? 10. We need you to interpret to the World and this Nation where the following articles hereunder allows for IMC’s having voting rights??. Article 9: Admission: Article 9: 4. “This article shall not affect the status of existing Members providing that they are in conformity with the provision of this constitution”. 11. Article 10: Request and procedure for application for full and provisional membership Article 10: 2. “In case the applicant has been granted provisional membership, it will enjoy all the rights of a full member upon the prior approval of the Federation. However, it will have no voting rights at the congress”. 12. Article 11: Members rights: Article 11: 2. “The exercise of these rights is subject to other provisions in these Statutes and the applicable regulation. 13. Article 35: Dismissal of a person or body. Article 35: 5. “The person or body dismissed by the Congress or provisionally dismissed by the Executives Committee must be relieved of its functions with immediate effect. 14. Article 19: Definition and composition of the Congress. Article 19: 3. “The Congress may appoint observers who take part in the Congress without the rights to debate or to vote. 15. Article 20: Delegates and votes. Article 20: 2. “Delegates must belong to the Member that they represent and be appointed or elected by the appropriate body of that Member. They must be able to produce evidence of this upon request” None of the So-called IMC’s had produced any form of evidence that they were appointed by their appropriate bodies. 16. Article 34: Decisions 1 T h e Executive Committee shall not engage in decision
making unless four of its members are present. 2 T h e Executive Committee shall reach decisions by a simple majority of the members present. In the event of a tied vote, the President shall have the casting vote. Voting by proxy or by letter is not permitted. 3 Any member of the Executive Committee must withdraw from the debate and from taking a decision if there is any risk or possibility of a conflict of interest. 4 T h e decisions taken shall be recorded in the minutes. 5 T h e decisions taken by the Executive Committee shall come into effect immediately, unless the Executive Committee decides otherwise. Sir, under this article please clarify who made the decisions to validate Bartica and Upper Demerara (Linden) as IMC’s. Please provide any form of written evidence that whoever made these decisions and who met with the Bartica Executives and the clubs of Upper Demerara (Linden) respectively, notifying them of their constitution violation and informing them of the change of status from being a full Member to a provisional Member. Please provide us with the documentation where in accordance with the GFF and the BFA constitutions were written to requesting a meeting? Also at which meeting date and time were the BFA executive’s vote out in a motion of no confidence? That led to the adjustment in Status???? Under Article 34: Please explain to the World and this Nation the reason for the termination of the Deputy General Secretary of the Guyana Football Federation Mr. George Rutherford and who terminated his services. When the GFF Executive Committee Members learned of such dismissal via the media and when challenged members of the Executive it becomes personal and led to one member Mr. Rawlston Adams receiving a Lawyers letter from you. (Kindly see attached your dismissal letter to Mr. Rutherford, which reflected personal grievances.) 1.Article 55: General Secretary
1.The General Secretary is the chief executive of the general secretariat. Article 55: 3 (I) the appointment and dismissal of staff working in the general secretariat; (J) proposing the appointment of managerial staff to the President. Kindly referred to the article/s of any of these Statutes, GFF, CFU, Concacaf and FIFA that give you the authority to hire and or fire any member of the secretariat of the GFF? of which you consistently continued to abuse your privilege overriding the power vested in you under these constitutions. 2. Why do you feel that you should hold on to the Presidency of the GFF regardless of what the constituents said or the constitution? 3. Do you agree that you committed perjury during the sitting of Congress as Chairman? 4. What was the reason for you firing all the members of the staff of the previous executives and employing only your friends and family who are not competent and knowledgeable of football and administration as a whole. When the Constitution did not give you such authority? 5. Why is it that in every facet of your life, you had to leave or forced to leave under questionable circumstances? eg. UG, CUSTOMS, GFA, CHURCH to name a few. This is just part one of the debate, as part two depending on your response to the above questions that required substantial supportive evidence of your response. For The Game. For The World. Attached are the signatures of the Members of Congress: Vernon Burnett – President GFA Odinga Lumumba – General Secretary GFA Wayne Francois – President EBDFA Franklyn Wilson – Secretary EBDFA Aubrey Hutson – President EDFA Joseph Wilson – Secretary (ag) EDFA Aubrey Henry – 1st Vice President NAWF Alfred King – President GFRC Wayne Dover – President GFCA
Saturday May 31, 2014
Kaieteur News
Shameer’s 7 win Bhimsain Independence Day Softball cricket The Seeraj Bhimsain organized seven-a-side, nineteam Independence softball cricket competition, played on Sunday at the Lusignan Community Centre ground was won by Shameer’s 7 who beat Jangotown ‘A’ in the Final of the Major League and Jangotown who got past Country by nine wickets in the 12-team Minor League Final. In the Major League Final, Shameer 7 batted first and made 72-2 with Fazal Rafeek hitting 37. In reply Jangotown ‘A’, who drew a bye into the Finals, were bowled out for 38, with Fazal Rafeek taking 3-7. The winner received a trophy donated by Pristine
Waters and $40,000 sponsored by J’Jams car rental. The runner-up trophy was donated by R&S Seafood, while the Man of the Final, Rafeek, received a trophy sponsored by PY taxi service. In the Minor League final, Country Boys batted first and made 54-5 with Dave Mohamed hitting 32. In reply Jangotown made 55-1 in 2’”3 overs with Sarjoo Persaud hitting three sixes in 28. The man of the final award was sponsored by PY taxi service, while the winner received trophy donated by Pristine Waters and $20,000 sponsored by J’Jams car rental. The runner-up received a trophy from Two
Sisters Car Rental. Twelve teams participated in the Minor League. In the Minor League semifinal, Country Boys beat Young Guns who batted first and made 53 all out in 5 overs with Ghamshan Ramaday hitting 20. Bowling for Country Boys, Sachin Ramcharran took 2-10. In reply Country Boys made 571 in 3.3 overs with Sachin Ramcharran hitting an unbeaten 31. In the Major League Semifinal, Shameer 7 batted first and made 63-2 in their 5 overs with Martin Duchin hitting 36. In reply Country Boys ‘A’ made 54- 4 with Kevin Franklin scoring 24.
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Tenelec Inc. U-15 Cricket
Albion’s Ali bags 11; No.72 Cut & Load through to ¼finals No.72 Cut and Load is the first team through to the quarterfinals of the Tenelec Inc. Under-15 two-innings cricket competition in Berbice after taking first innings points from Skeldon Community Centre in their Zone D (Upper Corentyne) match; they also ended as Zone winners. Spearheading No. 72 Cut and Load was Kemchand Chatterpaul who turned in a fine all-round performance, he top scored with 36 to lead No. &2 to 189 while his off spin achieved 5-30 to lead the restriction of Skeldon to 108 in their first innings.
Medium pacer Nazim Ali had figures of 6-5 from 3 overs and 5-1 from 5.2 overs for a match haul of 11-6 runs from 8.2 overs, leading Albion Community Centre as they skittled out Big Star for 16 runs in both their innings. In Albion’s only innings, Big Star pacer Kevon Hooper took 7-52. COLLATED SCORES: At No.72 - No.72 Cut and Load took first innings points from Skeldon Community Centre in their drawn match. No 72 Cut and Load 1st innings 189 all out; Kemchand chatterpaul 36, Vickram Laljit 30, Dineshwar
Boudho 29, Suraj Deochand 20; Mahendra Chaitnarine 330, Rudy Jamalodeen 2-41 and 2nd innings 133 all out; Mahendra Chaitnarine 3-47. Skeldon Community Centre 108 all out; Totaram Shivardar 46, Kemchand Chatterpaul 5-30, Dineshwar Boudho 3-25, Uresh Latchman 2-8. At Albion - Albion Community Centre 144 all out; Stephen Kamaludin 39, Renaldo Rowe 37; Kevon Hooper 7-52, Lyndon Lovell 2-35. Big Star 16 all out; Nazim Ali 6-5, Stephen Kamaludin 24 and second innings 16 all out; Nazim Ali 5-1, Karran Arjpaul 2-5.
The Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) wishes to place on record its strongest objections to the recent announcement of an elections purported to be that of the Upper Demerara Cricket Association (UDCA). More than once, the DCB had warned the authors of this ill fated Cricket Administration Bill that the passage of the Bill in its present form will not solve the problems that have engulfed cricket administration ever since January 2011 when a few disgruntled persons branched off and held an
illegal and parallel AGM of the DCB. The DCB has always maintained that the crux of this entire manufactured controversy lies in the thorough investigation of the events leading up to this parallel AGM. The DCB had videotaped the Executive Committee Meeting that was held in January 2011 that fixed the date and venue for its 2011 AGM and this evidence was publicly aired on national television. Failing to adhere to these rudimentary aspects of natural justice will only create
more confusion and controversy, which seems to be the hallmark of this grouping of disgruntled administrators. More so, there is a legal action and interlocutory injunction that currently exists against the perpetrators of this action, namely Bissoondyal Singh, Roger Harper etal, which is still pending in our judicial system and needs to be allowed to have its natural progression throughout that process. DCB is also aware that UDCA also has an injunction against that body.
Sunshine Girls eye DCB withholds authentication Commonwealth Games medal of any UDCA elections Jamaica Observer COACH of Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls Minneth Reynolds says her main aim is to have the 12 best players available for the Commonwealth Games slated for Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 3. She said it’s important to have strong team as Jamaica are seriously looking to take one of the medal positions. “My main goal at the moment is to help the Sunshine Girls to do whatever it takes to play in the final at the Commonwealth Games, or at least a podium finish at the 2014 Commonwealth Games,” she said. “I plan to make this happen by working closely with the technical director (Jill McIntosh) and the support staff, by planning and executing sessions that will focus on their mental approach, fitness level and technical skills,” Reynolds said. The veteran coach, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job made available with the departure of Oberon Pitterson-Nattie, said she continuously reminds players of their roles as to what was taught in practice. “On the court, if a player
REYNOLDS (left)... my main goal is to help the Sunshine Girls to make the final at the Commonwealth Games MCINTOSH... technical director of Netball Jamaica forgets what was taught in training, I would remind the player of her role and emphasise to the player what was practised and how important it is to use it in game situation,” she noted. Reynolds, who attended the Glengoffe High School in St Catherine, shared how her passion for the sport was developed. “Having played netball from high school and throughout my college years, I developed a passion for the sport and decided that I want to go into coaching to nurture young talents and I also see netball as a medium for
holistic development,” Reynolds told the Jamaica Observer via e-mail recently. She said the most influential figure in her life as a coach is the former national Under-16 coach, Joan Cargill. “During my years as her assistant, she was not selfish with her knowledge and skill of the game; she was always sharing and motivating me to strive for excellence,” she ended. Jamaica’s 12-member team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be selected next month from a large pool currently in training.
Brazil’s military to support police during WCup
Third Test reportedly moved from Guyana Reports reaching Kaieteur Sport are that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has moved the Third cricket Test between West Indies and New Zealand from Guyana and has awarded to St Lucia. This follows recent high level meetings between government officials and the WICB intended at striking a
deal to have the match remain here. However, reliable information reaching Kaieteur Sport indicates that government reneged on certain aspects of the conditions the WICB requested, hence the decision to move the game. The WICB had indicated recently that several scheduled cricket events here
faced the likelihood of being moved following a recent Supreme Court decision. In that matter the Honourable Madam Justice Sandra Kurtzious (in chambers), heard Plaintiffs; Keith Foster, Anil Beharry, Hubern Evans, Julian Cambridge, Angela Haniff, Raymond Haniff, Romash (Continued on page 29)
Rio de Janeiro’s Honorio de Barros street is decorated with Brazilian national flags and those of the other countries participating in the FIFA World Cup Brazil. (PHOTO: AFP) BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s military will reinforce police providing security at hotels and training camps for the teams playing in the World Cup, the defence
ministry said yesterday. A defence spokesman said President Dilma Rousseff ’s office had authorised the decision Monday — the same day 200
striking teachers surrounded the Brazilian team’s bus for nearly half an hour and blocked it from carrying the squad to their first day at base (Continued on page 29)
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Kaieteur News
GFF affiliates and association to reconvene Congress today The following Association and Affiliates of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF): (Georgetown Football Association, East Bank Football Association, East Demerara Football Association, National Association of Women’s Football, Guyana Football Referees Council and Guyana Football Coaches Association), who attended the GFF Congress of April 26, 2014 have agreed to reconvene the congress within the stipulated 45 days deadline as brokered by an agreement that included CONCACAF representatives and agreed to, by the Delegates and Executives of the GFF and the bona fide Delegation at the GFF Congress, in accordance with the understanding and decision taken at that
Congress, a release from the parties informed. The GFF President, all the members of the GFF as well as FIFA, CONCACAF and CFU have been duly notified of the date, time and venue for the congress which will be held at the Water Chris Hotel from 10:00hrs on May 31st, 2014 (today). As guided by the CONCACAF delegation that observed the aborted Congress, that the affiliates of the GFF meet and seek to resolve outstanding issues affecting them that resulted in the aborted congress, Members met with the GFF President in the GFF Board Room on Thursday May 15, 2014 but the meeting was unfruitful in dealing with issues including the illegal voting of IMC’s. The meeting with the GFF President came to an abrupt
end due to the GFF President’s persistence in holding the view that the IMC’s were legitimate in voting; this position is contrary to the GFF Constitution, the release stated. The GFF President held this position in order to side step the Motion of No Confidence brought against himself and Executive Committee Member, Mr. Keith O’Jeer. Two/thirds (2/3) of the voting members of Congress have agreed on the way forward and will be proceeding with the reconvening of Congress and continue with the Agenda which includes the respective Motions to replace the existing President Mr. Christopher Matthias and Committee Member, Mr. Keith O’Jeer.
West Demerara FA U-17 League continues today
Saturday May 31, 2014
Action in the preliminary rounds conclude tonight Action in the preliminary rounds of this year’s fourth annual Mackeson ‘Keep Your Five Alive’ Futsal Tournament is set to conclude this evening, at the Albouystown Hardcourt, starting at 2000hrs. Five matches are scheduled to be played with the winners moving on to the Round of 16 listed to be held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) tarmac. Tonight’s opening action will pit Alexander Village versus Vryheid’s Lust Champs and that will be followed by Upsetters of West Ruimveldt colliding with King Street Ballers. The third game will be an East Coast versus Georgetown affair, when Melanie, who had a creditable showing in the East Coast Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ competition in which one of their teams took home the top prize and another place third, face Rasville, who will be coming to upstage their more illustrious opponents. Charlestown and North East La Penitence will square off in the fourth fixture for the night, before Albouystown and Laing Avenue renew their rivalry in the final fixture.
Already, defending champions Sparta Boss, ‘Sophia, Albouystown ‘B’, Broad Street, La Parfaite Harmonie, Back Circle, Tiger Bay ‘A’, Leopold Street, Texas and West Front Road, have all booked their spots in the next round. The tournament’s coordinator Kevin Adonis is charging all teams including defending champions Sparta Boss to keep fit, since the tournament will be played on a knockout basis, even as he warned the regular teams in Georgetown to expect some strong challenges from their out-of-town based opponents. “This year, I have decided to include teams such as Victoria, Vryheid’s Lust, Plaisance, Beterverwagting, Melanie and La Parfaite Harmonie, just to name a few, in the lineup and as you are aware some of the East Coastbased teams are coming off the back of a similar tournament. “This means they are coming fit and has already present a strong challenge to the other teams, so I am calling on the teams to be fit in order to ‘Keep Your Five
Alive’,” said Adonis, who emphasised on winning in order for teams to continue playing as there will be no second opportunities. Teams are asked to note carefully, that only those who have been registered on the registration form will be allowed to compete, with no alterations being allowed during the course of the tournament, only in the case of injury which must occur during the playing of the competition. In addition to the tournament, there will be an Axe halftime show compliments of that product’s main distributor in Guyana, DeSinco Trading, which is being dubbed the ‘Take and Shoot’ competition, for which fabulous prizes will be up for grabs, along with the regular Mackeson giveaways. Apart from Ansa McAl and DeSinco Trading, some other sponsors of the tournament which has three playing days remaining after tonight are; Colours Boutique, Clairan’s Boutique, Clear Water, Star Party Rentals, White Castle Fish Shop, and HJTV and its 94.1 Boom FM, just to name a few.
CULT/EBFA U-17 League set for today
Uitvlugt Under-17 Team. Competition in the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) Under17 league is set to continue today with three matches at the Goed Fortuin ground, West Bank Demerara. According to the association, competition to date has been exciting and with a few more rounds to go, Uitvlugt FC and Stewartville
FC are the teams to watch as they stake a serious claim for the top prize and bragging rights as the best on the West side. Uitvlugt will take on Eagles FC in today feature game from 15:00hrs and will be led by the competitions leading goal scorer to date, Germaine Smith who has rocked the nets seven (7)
times so far and will be seeking to increase his tally. Daniel Clark will lead Eagles’ charge; he has scored on four (4) occasions to date. The main supporting game will bring together Den Amstel and Wales from 13:00hrs with opening play at 11:00hrs between Stewartville and Young Achievers. Latest Points Standings
Flashback! Action in the Diamond vs Herstelling match on day one of the competition, May 18, 2014. Two more potentially exciting matches in the CULT / East Bank F o o t b a l l Association Under-17 league are fixed for today at the Grove Playfield from 14:00hrs. Coming off a draw in their first game with Diamond United, Herstelling will be a confident bunch when
they match skills with Timehri Panthers who lost their opening game by the slimmest of margins, 1-0 against Agricola. Teams will be conscious that accumulating points would be critical to their chances of making the final four. The day’s feature game
will be a ding dong clash between Agricola and Diamond from 16:00hrs. Diamond will start as favourites being the more experienced team but Agricola will be aiming to continue their winning ways. Fans can look forward to an entertaining afternoon of football.
Kaieteur News
Saturday May 31, 2014
Page 33
Scotia ‘Banks’ cash into Spurs silence Thunder to lead series 3-2 Rugby Youth Programme Sports administrators have always advocated the importance of sport in the lives of youths if only to dissuade them from unwholesome activities. Though this theory has received widespread affirmation, local youths have not been enjoying such benefits because of inadequate funding or sponsorship. However, there are some corporate institutions that stolidly support youth programmes and this was endorsed when two employees of Scotia Bank, George Scott and Rohan Albert, trooped to the National Park yesterday afternoon to present a monetary gift to the executives of the Guyana
Rugby Football Union (GRFU). Officials of the GRFU that witnessed the handing over ceremony were Senior Vi c e P r e s i d e n t , M i k e McCormack, Treasurer, Roger Perreira, Committee Member, Robin Roberts and Coach/Youth Development Officer, Troy Yhip. The gift will offset the costs associated with the 5th edition of the U-17 Youth Rugby Community Programme organized by the ruling body and conducted at the National Park every Saturday between 9:3012:00hrs. Mr Scott assured the organizers that his organization is committed to their development and he was happy to be of
assistance. “Our aim at Scotia Bank is to empower you and I trust that this donation will aid in the accomplishment of our objective,” said Mr Scott. He further assured the rugby players that they could expect similar assistance in the future. Mr Yhip expressed gratitude to his benefactor, on behalf of his fellow executives while pointing out that Scotia Bank has supported the initiative from its inauguration in 2010. He also explained that the programme aims to prepare children, drawn from several secondary schools, in basic rugby skills for a smooth transition to higher levels of the sport.
Ex-Microsoft CEO Ballmer buys NBA’s LA Clippers for $2 billion LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) CEO Steve Ballmer has purchased the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers franchise for $2 billion, a record for a professional basketball team, sole trustee Shelly Sterling announced on Friday. In a news release from Greenberg Glusker, Sterling’s counsel, she said she had signed a binding contract to sell the team to Ballmer on behalf of the The Sterling Family Trust, which owns the club. “I am delighted that we are selling the team to Steve, who will be a terrific owner. We have worked for 33 years to build the Clippers into a premiere NBA franchise. I am confident that Steve will take the team to new levels of success.” The agreement will need to be approved by the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors before it is finalized. The NBA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “I will be honored to have my name submitted to the NBA Board of Governors for approval as the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. I love basketball,” Ballmer said in a statement. “And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win – and win big – in Los Angeles.”
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer answers questions at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Washington in this file photo taken November 19, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/Files On Thursday, Ballmer outbid two groups, one led by media mogul David Geffen that offered $1.6 billion and included TV talk show maven Oprah Winfrey and Oracle Corp (ORCL.N) CEO Larry Ellison, a source close to the process told Reuters. A group of Los Angeles investors also bid $1.2 billion for the team. Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as the financial advisor in the deal, Sterling’s statement said. The Clippers came up for sale after the NBA banned owner Donald Sterling for life because of racist remarks he made in a recorded conversation that was leaked last month to entertainment news website TMZ.com. D o n a l d S t e r l i n g ’s attorney, Maxwell Blecher,
told The New York Times earlier that he would have to approve the sale. Blecher did not immediately respond to request for comment on Friday. Ballmer’s winning bid was raised from an initial $1.8 billion offer made e a r l i e r o n T h u r s d a y, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. If approved, the deal would be second only to the $2.15 billion paid in 2012 for baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. “It’s no wonder the prices are so high,” said sports consultant Ed Desser, a former president of NBA Television and New Media Ventures. “There just aren’t enough teams for all the billionaires who want (Continued on page 29)
(Reuters) - Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw were electric off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs routed the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-89 in Game F i v e o f t h e We s t e r n Conference Finals on Thursday to move one win away from a berth in the NBA Finals. Ginobili scored 19 points, Diaw added 13 and v e t e r a n f o r w a r d Ti m Duncan contributed a teamhigh 22, along with 12 rebounds, as the Spurs made the most of home court advantage to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. All-Star point guard Tony Parker weighed in with 12 points while Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green tallied 14 points apiece as top-seeded San Antonio had six players in double-figures. The Spurs, aiming for a return to the NBA Finals after losing to the Miami Heat in seven games last year, outshot their opponents by 51 percent to 43 from the field as they rebounded from their 105-92 Game Four loss in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. “Aggressiveness,” G i n o b i l i t o l d Tu r n e r Network Television in a courtside interview when asked what had been the biggest change for the Spurs. “We played so much harder, sharper, smarter everything we talked about. It was a fun-to-play and funto-watch game. If we play like this, it’s a completely different story.” San Antonio outrebounded Oklahoma City 48-35, an especially satisfying result for Ginobili after the teams had been evenly matched in that statistic in Game Four. “Today, with seven minutes to go, we were up 15 on the boards and we were close in Oklahoma City,” smiled the 36-year-
San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (4) celebrates with forward Kawhi Leonard (2) against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. (Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports) old from Argentina who has twice been an NBA All-Star. “All the loose balls were ours, we moved the ball really well and we didn’t turn the ball over so it was a combination of things that made us play really, really well.” THUNDER FATIGUE League MVP Kevin Durant led the Thunder with a game-high 25 points and dynamic guard Russell Westbrook scored 21 on sixof-12 shooting but both players appeared to be a little fatigued after their brilliant efforts on Tuesday. “We gave them (the Spurs) everything they wanted,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “They got the dribble drive, they got the three-point line and they got to the free throw line. “They shot 30 free throws and they’re not a team that shoots a lot of free throws, but we fouled enough to put them on the line for 30 free throws.” The Thunder began well enough to take early control, a Durant layup capping a 15-3 run as they moved ahead 19-12, but the Spurs hit back with a flurry of three-pointers to even the score at 32-32 after the first quarter. Roared on by their home
crowd, San Antonio shot at better than 60 percent from the field during the second quarter, late three-pointers from Diaw and Ginobili helping them to a 65-55 advantage at halftime. With the Thunder’s big two of Durant and Westbrook nowhere near as sharp as they had been in Game Four and frequently kept out of the paint, the Spurs continued to dominate and stretched their lead to 20 points heading into the fourth quarter. There was no way back from there for Oklahoma City as San Antonio forged further ahead, a Patty Mills three-pointer with just over six minutes to go putting them 33 ahead after a sizzling 27-6 run. Both teams benched their starters as the clock ran down. The series shifts back to Oklahoma City for Game Six on Saturday with the eventual winners advancing to meet either the Heat or Indiana Pacers for the NBA title. “We have to regroup and come back better in a few days,” said Brooks. “We always come back with greater energy and better defensive attitude and that’s what we’re going to have to come back with.”
GUYTRAC 20/20 KO bowls off tomorrow in the Upper Corentyne The much anticipated GUYTRAC 20/20 knockout cricket competition in the Upper Corentyne bowls off this Sunday with 10 matches at 5 venues. The competition will start with 20 teams who are affiliated to the UCCA and is expected to finish in 1 month. The final and third place playoff will be played at the CWC ground on a date to be announced.
The following is the first round fixtures: At No.70 Game 1 - No. 70 CC VS No.47 pioneer, Game 2. No. 72 all star VS No. 70 young star At C.W.C Game 3 - No. 64 fighting marines VS C.W.C Rising, Game 4 - No. 69 red rose VS No. 72 cut and load At No. 43 Game 5 - No. 43 scorpion VS No. 68 turn,
Game 6 - GUYTRAC XI VS No. 48 challengers AT No. 69 Vikings Game 7 - No. 69 Vikings VS Young Royals, Game 8 - No. 73 young warriors VS Springlands At No. 71, C/ton being the host; Game 9 - No. 70 M.Y.O VS Corriverton, Game 10. No. 71 CC VS Skeldon
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Kaieteur News
Saturday May 30, 2014
Kings XI survive Raina scare to prevail in run-fest ESPNcricinfo Chennai Super Kings were making a chase of 227 look absurdly simple. Suresh Raina seemed to be batting in a trance that was slowing down time, and slowing down cricket-ball physics, as if he were a character in a dodgy, CGI-heavy action film. Raina w a s m a k i n g Vi r e n d e r Sehwag’s 58-ball 122 from earlier in the day look like an everyday sort of innings. Super Kings were 100 for 2 after six overs. It was the highest Powerplay score in Twenty20 cricket. Raina was batting on 87 off 25 balls. The asking rate, which had been 11.35 at the start of the chase, was now 9.07. It looked as if only a run-out could end Raina’s eerie innings. And this was exactly what happened, following a smart piece of captaincy and an even smarter piece of fielding, both from George Bailey. Having brought on Karanveer Singh, the legspinner, and having brought the field in to deny Brendon McCullum the easy single, Bailey himself was called on to capitalise on the batsman’s over-eagerness to bring Raina back on strike. Bailey sprinted hard to his left, picked up the ball, transferred it to his throwing hand, and released a hard, flat throw, all this on the turn. The direct hit caught Raina well short. The throw broke the wicket, and broke the spell that Raina had cast over the game. The magnitude of the target
Virender Sehwag pummels the ball down the ground. (BCCI)
dawned anew on Super Kings, and the magnitude of the total they were defending injected fresh belief into the Kings XI players. Having scored 100 in the first six overs, Super Kings could only manage 102 off the last 14, and even a customary last-ball six from MS Dhoni could not prevent defeat by 24 runs. Raina found himself in the middle in the first over of the chase, after Mitchell Johnson had sent back Faf du Plessis with a short ball that had gotten big on him. As soon as he arrived, Raina seemed to be batting in a bubble. He tore into Sandeep Sharma in the second over, shredding him for three fours and a six through and over his favourite extra-cover and midwicket areas. Three fours and three sixes - the pick of them a pull over
deep backward square leg off Johnson - followed in the next three overs, taking Raina to 55 off 18. He had reached his fifty in 16 balls, and become the secondquickest to the mark in the IPL, but he hadn’t even slipped into top gear. That happened in the sixth over, in which the unfortunate Parvinder Awana went for 33, in a sequence that read 6, 6, 4, 4, 4 (no ball), 4, 4. It was crisp hitting all the way through, but two shots stood out: a six hit straight over the bowler’s head, effortlessly, with a perfectly straight bat and minimal follow-through, and a flick off his toes that screamed past midwicket for four. That, though, was to be it for Raina, who didn’t face a single ball outside the Powerplay,
Sao Paulo police trying... From page 35 expression, while at the same time seeking to channel these events in a way that they disturb daily life as little as possible and avoid violent acts,” Grella said. He said building a case against the protesters was “difficult, but not impossible.”“I’d like to believe that ... in the next few weeks we will have some arrest warrants,” he said. SKEPTICISM Two senior sources with Brazil’s public ministry, an independent judicial body that would likely have to approve criminal charges against protesters, said they were skeptical that
conspiracy charges would apply. Esther Solano, a university professor who has studied the protests over the past year, said they are generally leaderless and loosely organized, making it difficult for police to identify potential troublemakers. “What (police) are trying to do seems excessive,” she said. “It shows you how much pressure police and politicians are under to avoid a big mess during the World Cup.” The justice ministry, which oversees police n a t i o n a l l y, d i d n o t immediately respond to a request for comment. Asked if protests could
be bigger than those that drew hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets last June during the Confederations Cup, a warm-up event for the World Cup, Grella said: “It’s difficult to say.” He said, however, that June 12, when Brazil’s team will play Croatia in the tournament opener, “is the day that most worries us” in terms of demonstrations. Grella praised federal and other state agencies for sharing security-related information prior to the Cup. He also said he had received no indications of a particular threat from international terrorists or Brazilian organized crime groups.
thanks in part to Bailey, thanks in part to his own insistence in running that risky single despite McCullum’s hesitation. And that was to be it for Super Kings as well. Raina had tore up a massive chunk of their target in no time, but their remaining batsmen simply could not get going. They also made a couple of tactical decisions that were, in hindsight, questionable: Ravindra Jadeja and David Hussey walked in ahead of Dhoni, who finally came in with 87 required from 47 balls, with too little firepower left in the dugout. The task proved well beyond an out-of-sorts Dhoni in the end. Before Raina pushed it to the background, the evening had been lit up by Virender Sehwag’s s e c o n d I P L c e n t u r y. Coming towards the close of a season in which he has
Suresh Raina blitzes the ball down the ground. (BCCI) steadily gathered form, the Sehwag who burst upon the Wankhede came very close to resembling the Sehwag of his peak years, merciless on the smallest amount of width, disdainful against the spinners, and equally capable of stinging power and cheeky placement. His spectacles might have lent him an avuncular air at the crease, but he was as alert to the possibility of a quick single as he used to be in his Te s t - m a t c h o p e n i n g partnerships with Gautam Gambhir four or five years ago. With Super Kings’ bowlers feeding him a juicy, back-of-a-length diet interspersed with full-tosses (they bowled 17 in all), Sehwag raced along at a strike rate of over 200, outshining all of his teammates in the process.
Manan Vohra only scored 34 out of an opening stand of 110, Glenn Maxwell 13 out of a second-wicket stand of 38 and David Miller 31 out of a third-wicket partnership of 63. When du Plessis took a difficult diving effort at extra cover to send back Sehwag, Kings XI were 211 for 3 with 11 balls to go. It was the third time in three matches this season that they had crossed 200 against Super Kings. For the third time, their batting firepower set them up for a comfortable victory. For six unreal overs, though, their total looked glaringly inadequate. Scores: Kings XI Punjab 226 for 6 (Sehwag 122, Miller 38) beat Chennai Super Kings 202 for 7 (Raina 87, Dhoni 42*) by 24 runs.
Federer, Djokovic struggle... From page 35 in the women’s draw have failed to qualify for the fourth round of a grand slam. “After seeing the two first seeds go out, you kind of feel you can do this too,” said the 21-year-old Tomljanovic, who will next meet Spanish 14th seed Carla Suarez Navarro who ended the run of American teenager Taylor Townsend with a 6-2 6-2 win. “I grew up with these girls who are beating them. I went into the stadium for the first time, and she kind of feels like home there,
because she’s been there a lot more than I have. “I went out there and inside I really thought I could win. I think that showed and it is why I won.” Radwanska’s defeat was another boost for 2012 champion and last year’s runner-up Sharapova, who beat Argentine Paula Ormaechea 6-0 6-0 in less than in an hour on court Philippe Chatrier after rain briefly interrupted the match during the first game when the Russian had to save three break points. “The first game was a
little bit though, I felt a bit nervous at the beginning but I felt really good throughout, especially at the end,” Sharapova said. Tomljanovic was joined in the fourth round by former finalist Samantha Stosur of Australia, who beat Slovakian ninth seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-4 64.Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, who knocked out Serena, backed up her achievement with a 6-2 6-4 win over Anna Schmiedlova, the Slovenian who eliminated Williams’s sister Venus.
Kaieteur News
Saturday May 31, 2014
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Narine opts out of PPP lauds government on Windies Test squad Leonora Synthetic Athletic Track Will be considered forT20s v New Zealand
In the release, the People’s Progressive Party h a s e x t e n d e d congratulations to the Government for another landmark achievement, in the form of the state-of-theart Synthetic Athletic Track at Leonora, West Coast Demerara. This is the fulfillment of a promise by the PPP/Civic in its manifesto. The PPP has always stated its firm commitment to the development and expansion of sports and the requisite facilities to help our sportsmen and women reach their full potential and continue to represent Guyana well internationally. This state of the art facility will see Guyana hosting more international athletics competitions, which fits into the PPP/Civic g o v e r n m e n t ’s o n g o i n g efforts to promote another
tourism product - sports tourism. We are also heartened at the ongoing support of the Government to other sporting organizations to establish more facilities for Guyana’s athletes, including the Guyana Karate College’s Dojo, The Athletics Association of Guyana Headquarters, hockey field, the Guyana Football Federation’s Goal project, just to list a few. We wish to state as a matter of public record that the successive PPP administrations have never shirked their responsibilities when it comes to the promotion of sports and support for our athletes. The evidence is in the public’s domain to show. Under the PPP/Civic the Guyana National Stadium at Providence was constructed; the Albion Sports Complex
was refurbished and fitted with flood lights, making it ideal for night cricket, football and other sporting events. It is under the PPP/Civic government that hundreds of millions of dollars are invested in sports and sporting facilities. One would recall that prior to 1992 there were no proper sporting facilities in Guyana, the few cricket and football grounds stayed alive because of private associations’ investments. Since the PPP/Civic took o ff i c e , t h e b u d g e t a r y allocations for this sector, like every other, continuously increased every single year, the release informed. The PPP recommits itself to continuously improving the landscape to help our athletes reach their full potential, the document concluded.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Off spinner Sunil Narine has advised the West Indies Cricket Board that he has opted to remain in India to participate in the final of the Indian Premier League and consequently will not join the West Indies Training Camp in preparation for the Test Series against New Zealand by June 1st as is required by the WICB. Narine had been in discussion with the WICB and was required to advise the Board by May 24 whether he will join the squad currently in training in Barbados on June 1. Narine had indicated by the May 24 deadline that he will join the squad on June 1 as required. Narine subsequently advised the WICB on May 28
that he would not be able to meet the June 1 requirement. Narine’s decision not to join the camp by June 1 will result in him not being considered for selection to the West Indies squad for the Tests Series v New Zealand (June 8th to 30th). Narine will be considered for selection to the squad for the two Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand on July 5th and 6th in Dominica. WICB Director of Cricket Richard Pybus explained that the guiding principle of the Windies First Policy which was recently approved by the Board of Directors requires players to make themselves available for team preparations. “The onus of the WICB is to protect the integrity of international cricket at all
times. International cricket, and specifically Test cricket, is priority and requires dedicated preparation which is integral to team success. The WICB policy requires players to commit to sufficient preparation leading in to a series as part of a culture of excellence,” Pybus said. The WICB appreciates the discussion with Narine and his representative on his availability to West Indies cricket.FULL TRAINING SQUAD: Denesh Ramdin (Captain), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Kirk Edwards, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayl, Jason Holder, Shane Shillingford, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.
Federer, Djokovic struggle through in Paris
Sao Paulo police trying to jail some protesters before World Cup SAO PAULO (Reuters) Police in Brazil’s biggest city are seeking to arrest and jail a hard core of violent street protesters before the World Cup starts in two weeks, using wiretaps and other surveillance in an effort to prevent clashes from spoiling the tournament. Fernando Grella, the head security official for Sao Paulo state, told Reuters that police are assembling possible criminal cases against a small number of protest leaders, perhaps a few dozen, who he said are conspiring to “commit violent acts, break things, vandalize and attack people.” The intelligence work is not yet complete so it’s unclear whether prosecutors will agree to bring charges that would result in so-called “preventive arrests,” Grella said. The likelihood of violent protests is one of the biggest c o n c e r n s f o r B r a z i l ’s government and world soccer body FIFA as the World Cup gets ready to kick off in Sao Paulo on June 12. Brazilians angry over public money being spent to host the tournament, among other grievances, have been staging periodic demonstrations for a year now. While most protesters
Fernando Grella, the head security official for Sao Paulo state, gestures as he speaks to Reuters in Sao Paulo May 28,2014. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker have been peaceful members of the middle class, several marches have resulted in clashes with police and vandalism that officials blame on a small number of students and other youths. The “intense intelligence operation” described by Grella is one of the most extensive yet disclosed by Brazilian security forces. While federal agencies are also gathering information on protesters, it’s unclear if police in the other 11 cities that will host games are also seeking preventive arrests. Grella said police have used video surveillance and internal records to identify the most violent protesters and, in some cases, have
tapped their phones and monitored their social media use and e-mail traffic. The objective, he said, is to identify cases of premeditated, organized violence that would constitute “criminal association” - a charge akin to conspiracy that is more typically used against organized crime groups here. If prosecutors agree to press charges, some protest leaders could be immediately arrested and jailed for a period of a few days or longer, he said. “We’re doing preventive policing that seeks to guarantee people’s right to protest and freedom of (Continued on page 30)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a backhand to Marin Cilic of Croatia during their men’s singles match at the French Opentennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 30, 2014. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler PARIS (Reuters) - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic ran into a spot of bother at the French Open on Friday, dropping a set each and needing over three hours to reach the fourth round. Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked out 6-4 6-4 by Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic, becoming the latest victim of a new generation of talent sweeping through the women’s draw but Maria Sharapova inflicted the first double bagel of the tournament to remain the big favourite. Seventeen-times grand slam champion Roger Federer saw off Russian Dmitry Tursunov 7-5 6-7(7) 6-2-6-4 and Serbian second seed Djokovic, chasing the
only grand slam title to elude him, beat Croatian Marin Cilic 6-3 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4. “I am relieved and happy to be through to the next round,” said fourth seed Federer, who wasted 17 break points. Tursunov, the 31st seed, played boldly but needed treatment on his leg in the third set and Federer set up a meeting with Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, who is rediscovering his best form after a free fall down the rankings. Djokovic, one of three men to have beaten eighttimes Roland Garros champion Rafa Nadal on clay this season, showed signs of frustration against Cilic. He seemed in complete
control when his 25th-seeded opponent forced a tiebreak that the six-times grand slam winner lost 7-2. Djokovic regained control, however, and sealed victory when Cilic double-faulted. His next opponent will be either local favourite JoWilfried Tsonga, the 13th seed, or Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz. SENT PACKING In the women’s draw, the top three seeds have now been sent packing following the first-round exit of Chinese Li Na and the second-round elimination of defending champion and world No.1 Serena Williams. It was the first time since tennis turned professional in 1968 that the top three seeds (Continued on page
t r o Sp ‘Nuff Cuff’ anticipated to be thrown Narine opts out of at Buxton Community Centre tonight Windies Test squad P.29
Will be considered for T20s v New Zealand
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Dennis Thomas doing pads work with Francisco Hernandez Roldon yesterday.
Sunil Narine (BCCI)
Scotia ‘Banks’ cash into Rugby Youth Programme P.31
Daniel DeAbreu collects the donation on behalf of the executive of the Guyana Rugby football Union from Scotia Bank officials, George Scott and Rohan Albert, in the presence of other players and GRFU officials
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GFF affiliates and association to reconvene Congress today P.28 Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210