Kaieteur News
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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
All Is Not Well After 50 Years
While Guyanese at home and in the diaspora are celebrating the country’s 50th independence anniversary, they must stay focused on the fundamental issues facing the country and not be side-tracked by the superficial glamour and pageantry. The primary issue that should concern them is that the current economic indicators suggest that the model on which the country’s post-Independence economy was built has now failed. The country has been mired in an economic dilemma for some time, and it has become absolutely clear that the old economic system no longer works. But strangely enough, the administration believes that all is well and that the economy is on the right track to achieve sustainable growth. However, we have witnessed no fresh ideas of how to rescue the country from its economic dilemma or how to improve the lives of the underprivileged. The economy and the plight of the poor have been the major areas of concern in recent times, but the focus of those in authority has been squarely on the jubilee celebrations. From the very beginning of independence, the late Forbes Burnham dedicated himself to the development of the economy and to make the small man a real man. He had established a widely accepted social philosophy to achieve that goal and to strengthen the nation and give it a core fundamental social structure and identity. The jewel of this manifestation was free university education. For some, free university education was a sound policy, and it was assumed that the lives of many would improve, only to realize that free education became dispensable under the PPP. The truth is, the governments of the post-independence era did not do enough to transform the old plantation economy into a modern one, to meet the needs and aspirations of an independent nation. While the attainment of independence is a great achievement, it did not undo much of the colonial habits. Rather, they have made Guyana into a post-colonial society in which colonialism continues to shape the country’s image and affairs, and are responsible for many of its problems. For Guyana to develop, its leaders will have to unyoke the chains of colonialism in many institutions and end the divisive two-party political system of governance bequeathed to the nation by Britain. It has not yet occurred to the political leaders that all they have done is to accept and fulfill what was designed for the nation by the colonizers. The country is still essentially trapped in the colonial-type economy and much of the fundamental colonial resource structures are still in place. The argument can be made, whichever way one sees it, that Guyana remains a classic colony, in that it imports food and other primary products, and the leaders did very little to build a sound manufacturing and industrial base. How can Guyana with such huge, fertile land mass import food? The answer lies in the post-independence governments which have not truly unlocked the talent and potential of the people, embraced the concept of economic and human development and trusted their people, not foreigners. They have not moved the country forward or committed to use its natural resources towards its development. Instead, it was a platform for many to accumulate personal wealth. And there still exists the anti-worker colonial mindset that continues to permit jaundiced sentiments and attitudes against the working class and their ability to make decisions and be involved in governance. The deficiencies in the health and education structures have not been corrected. Infant mortality continues and the content of the colonial school curriculum is failing thousands of students. These are the some of the issues that the people should keep in mind as they observe the nation’s 50th independence anniversary. It is time to build a new and better post-independent society in the 21st century, because it is clear that all is not well after 50 years of independence.
Friday May 27, 2016
The list of Fifty for the Fiftieth DEAR EDITOR; As we approach Guyana’s Fifth Jubilee Celebration of Independence, though that it would be a great time to honour those that have passed on, true patriots who made a significant pre and post-Independence contribution to our beloved Guyana. I thought that it would be befitting that we come up with a list of fifty individuals for the Fifth Anniversary of Independence to be awarded with maybe the Nation’s highest honourThe Order of Excellence, similar to the one received by Mr. Hamilton Green last May 26th. Unfortunately, the majority on my list of fifty is deceased and Guyana has no posthumous awards. The more I thought about it, I wondered, why we cannot celebrate those who paved the way for Guyana to get Fifty Years of Independence, since our past is usually a determinant of our future, and there have been some great people on The List of Fifty for Fifth. We will visit my partial List of Fifty for the Fifth later in this letter with some biases and ask for the engagement of your readers to come up with their own top fifty. First, let’s start with how I got to writing this letter to the Editor, as I digress, I thought it would be a good
idea for an outstanding writer like Freddie Kissoon to pen some individual articles on the Fifty for the Fifth list of Guyanese patriots. I did some research and got Freddie Kissoon’s phone number and called to suggest the idea of him writing the articles but upon contacting Mr. Kissoon, I seem to encounter someone who understandably seemed shell-shocked with the utterance “who are you and what do you want, contact Adam Harris?” Well Mr. Editor, I do not have a complete list of the Fifty Guyanese patriots who should posthumously mentioned for the 50th Jubilee but my bias seem to point to the labour movement and the trade unions that first started the Independence movement, starting with Hubert Nathanial Critchlow but not necessarily in any numerical order: Forbes Burnham and Cheddie Jagan were both leaders of the Guyana Labour Union, it is no accident that the Late Dr. Jagan was the one to have the statue of Hubert Critchlow commissioned of the grounds of the Parliament Building. Clearly Jagan and Burnham and to a lesser extent Critchlow are the notable nationalists and the “Founding Fathers” of the Independence Movement but
there were others in the Labour Movement that played a significant role in the pre and post-Independence movement that who have passed on and not around to see the fruits of their Labour with the 50thJubliee of Independence: Joseph Pollydore, Richard Ismael but my obvious bias is for Winslow Carrington an actual mentee of Hubert Critchlow who spent many years as a labour leader and a Minister of Labour. Although my bias is related to fact that he was my father, it is also that he was a special patriotic Guyanese that played a pivotal role in the pre and postindependence period for the working class of Guyana. Therefore, here are some of my Fifty for The Fifth Jubilee and I ask your readers to agree or disagree and add to the list but in no particular order, here are a few: Hubert Nathanial Critchlow, CheddieJagan, Peter D’ Aguiar, Forbes Burnham, John Carter, Martin Carter, Lionel Luckhoo, PA Reid, Sir David Rose, Arthur Chung, Desmond Hoyte, Winslow Carrington, Joseph Pollydore, Winifred Gaskin, Richard Ismael. Once again, I am asking the readers to add, subtract and build the List of Fifty for The Fifth. Gilbert Carrington
DEAR EDITOR; The following is the Guyana Public Service Union’s initial comments on President Granger’s pronouncement in the Media upon receipt of the COI Report into the Public Service. The Guyana Public Service Union notes with a mixture of puzzlement and surprise the comments attributed to His Excellency the President and seemingly directed to Public Servants which state in part that “If they want to be lazy they will get a lazy person’s remuneration.” The Guyana Public Service Union is a firm believer in the principle that reward, in whatever field of endeavor, should be associated with effort. We hasten to add that with regard to public servants as a whole, this category of
workers is richly deserving of far greater reward than they receive at this time. We humbly submit too that the phenomenon of unequal effort amongst various of workers is not unique to the Public Service. Indeed, it has been our experience that that deficiency is also to be found in other critical areas of public service where the transgression never seems to attract threats of remuneration commensurate with effort. The point should be made, too, that what, in the instance of the Public Service, might be construed as laziness may well, in effect, and insofar as it exists, be consequences of a protracted experience of being under-resourced and inadequately incentivized. Indeed, we believe that some of the findings of
the recently concluded Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Public Service bear out our position. Nor can the Union pretend to be unaware of the nexus between the timing of His Excellency’s comment and what, we hope, is the imminent announcement of a date for the commencement of negotiations on wages and salaries. Indeed, we hasten to express the hope that while that may not be the substantive intention, His Excellency’s comments do not, inadvertently, serve to guide or prejudice the focus and direction of the forthcoming engagement on wages and salaries. Indira Thakurdin Executive Assistant, GPSU
GPSU bamboozled at President’s attitude
This man is causing the Coalition too much trouble in Region 5 DEAR EDITOR; I have never written a letter to the press, but the situation as it relates to the behavior of one of our RDC councilors has now become unbearable to me, a supporter of this Government in Region 5. This man has a full time job working for a most senior Government functionary and is also the Chairman of a Government owned company at Burma. He belongs to the AFC and for him that party can do no wrong. It pains me to hear about how he sometimes badmouths a senior Government Minister from APNU as corrupt, even though I understand he smartly chooses when and where to do so, and with whom. He does the same
with the MMA and a few people of the Regional Administration. Last Sunday evening (May 8th) having just left a Chinese drinking place he frequents, and driving the MARDS vehicle which he took away from the manager since February, he ‘ran off’ the road at Bath, bulldozing people’s properties (stall/ shed/fence) and extensively damaging (some say ‘written-off’) the Government vehicle. When I visited the scene soon after, I was at first very mad , and I must admit even supportive of the sentiments being expressed by the people there as to what should have befallen him, only to be proud later of the way an APNU councilor was trying to take care of the
situation. Strangely, there have been no reports of this matter in the press, with the chap claiming that his boss will be taking care of things including the media. It would appear that he knows why he is saying so, since recently, he wrote a letter in the press saying how much the people of Bath Settlement love his boss, although he knows fully well that the Bath people loves his boss as much as they love him. As one APNU person was to point out to him soon after that letter, “if the people of Bath love you all so much, why did you all not contest the Local Government elections there?” Now, one (Continued on page 31)
Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
Where is Courtney Crum-Ewing in the Jubilee celebrations? DEAR EDITOR; I’ve perused the Golden Jubilee calendar of festivities. Most troubling to me is no mention is made of Courtney Crum-Ewing. I have my own opinions about the Jubilee and made a decision to boycott all related festivities months ago based on what I see as foot-dragging and unwillingness in solving this crime. It is not my intention to rain on anyone’s parade or stop my fellow Guyanese from enjoying the extra two hours of rum and fun with the extension of the curfew. These are just my humble opinions not canonical gospels. The APNU-AFC coalition rode to victory on the back of Courtney Crum-Ewing and no amount of mis-remembering will change that. He
deserves better than this. The rapid action by the Ministry of Truth in erasing Courtney Crum-Ewing from the narrative of the May 11, 2015 victory is most outrageous. Crum-Ewing left behind three children, a mother, a father, sister, brother, cousins and many friends. Spare them a thought as you revel at Jubilee Park and stumble through the last lap at Jouvert Fete. Spanish philosopher George Santayana made popular the phrase “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” African-American psychologist and PanAfricanist Amos Wilson re-worked that to read, “those who cannot remember the past will may never get another chance to repeat it.” Mark Jacobs
Denial of promotion in the police force
DEAR EDITOR; Please permit me to again make another clarion call for the injustice committed on members of the Guyana Police Force to be corrected. The last two police promotions saw very little consequential promotion although vacancies existed for such promotions to be made. Officers including the very seniors and cadets who by the next decade will be at the apex of management in the GPF were generally bunched into one date of appointment. The long tried and tested traditional system of making appointments retroactive to the dates the vacancies existed were apparently thrown through the window. As a result hard working and honest policemen were unjustly denied money legally due to them and will suffer other loss including superannuation benefits. The Police Service Commission is presently interviewing police personnel in an effort to promote them in time for the force anniversary celebrations July, 2016. Judging from what is coming out of the PSC, it leaves one with the impression that there will be little or no consequential promotions this time around. One very senior and influential member of the promotion apparatus was asked about consequential. He is reported to have said, “What the police want with consequential promotion; them work for it?” The Guyana Police Force is considered a disciplined organisation. The purpose of discipline is to promote desired behaviour, which may be
done by rewarding ranks for acceptable behaviour and punishing them for inappropriate conduct. It is a case of reward and punishment. The punishment may include warnings, loss of earnings, transfers, interdictions from duty, charge and placed before the courts, reduction in rank, denied promotions, loss of seniority and many more corrective actions. I have no issue with ranks being punished for unacceptable behaviour, but on the other hand deserving ranks must be rewarded for outstanding work done in keeping with the condition of serve. To deny the police officers of consequential promotions will certainly not motivate them to deliver a highest quality of service to the police, the communities they served and the country as a whole. The time is not too late for The Guyana Police Force, The Police Service Commission, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State and all other stakeholders to be involved individually and or collectively to ensure that those outstanding policemen who were unjustly denied consequential promotions over the last few years be given their due reward and that we will see consequential at the upcoming promotion. Hammer the police whenever they transgress but please give them their just reward when due however infinitesimal it may be. Clinton Conway Assistant Commissioner of Police (retired) Security Manager Troy Resources Guyana Inc.
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This tendering process is suspect DEAR EDITOR; Please crave my indulgence as I highlight what I consider to be an anomaly in relation to the tendering process. On 18th November 2015, bids were opened for the provision of security services for the Regional Democratic Council Region No. 1. Bidders were notified via the Bid Document that the commencement date for the provision of the aforementioned services would have been December 1, 2015. This, for whatever reason(s), did not occur.
One was a multi-million dollar project for the provision of security services”. It is important to note that in November 2015, only three companies bid for the Region 1 contract and Sentinel (formerly COPS) was not one of them. In the current year, this contract was not retendered but, to all appearances, it was an invitation sent only to the abovementioned companies (Restricted Tendering/Bidding) that have been, previously, (this is no secret, it’s in the public domain) guilty of one or all of the following infractions: poor quality of security officers, poor service quality and late payment of wages and salaries among others
Nevertheless, from 2015 to date, bidders have been anxiously awaiting the no objection from Cabinet in relation to the provision of security coverage for the ten (10) Administrative Regions, Ministries of Education, Social Protection, Public Service et al to no avail and wondering why things were creeping at a snail’s gallop. I was reading the Kaieteur News dated Wednesday May 18, 2016 and, lo and behold, on page 12 : “Under the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) for Region One, there were several projects that tenders were put out for.
The whole thing stinks like yesterday’s diapers. We wait to read who would be the lesser of three evils when the contract is awarded. I caught myself thinking that this might be the trend or pattern with regard to the other contracts. Do the people who recommend and approve the award of contracts take time to read bidders supporting documents with a view of ascertaining bidders’ qualification and experience or is it a foregone conclusion that once you are a new kid on the block you do not have the requisite (Continued on page 31)
Friday May 27 2016
Kaieteur News
Bolivia’s Morales fails to convince unions to stay in power LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales is finding that some of his biggest allies are cool to the idea of allowing him to remain in power for another term. The Bolivian Workers Central group and other powerful unions in the Andean country said yesterday that Morales should focus on solving social conflicts instead of seeking another term. In February, Morales suffered his first direct electoral defeat in a decade in power when voters narrowly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have let him run again in 2019.
Morales recently hinted that he would seek a second referendum. The coca-growers union he’s led is backing that plan. But the opposition
says it would be illegal. Morales’ government has been hit by social protests, corruption scandals and a weakening economy.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The Barbados government has invested more than BDS$142 million (One Barbados dollar-US$0.50 cents) in the Antigua-based regional airline as of March 31 last year, but the Auditor General says the government is lacking in making several disclosures regarding the investment. Barbados is one of four shareholder governments of the cash-strapped airline. The others are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Auditor General Leigh E. Trotman in his 2015 Report, which was laid in Parliament on March 31, acknowledged that the government has a joint venture with Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT). But he said there was “no disclosure” of some of the financial arrangements as re-
quired by International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS 8). “Any contingent liabilities/assets that the Government has incurred in relation to its interests in joint ventures, and its share in each of the contingent liabilities that have been incurred jointly with other ventures” as well as “its share of the contingent liabilities/assets of the joint ventures themselves for which it is contingently liable”. He said there was also no disclosure as to “the method used to recognize its interests in jointly controlled entities. “Government’s total investment in this joint venture, according to the Treasury’s records, was BDS$142,733,148 at March 31, 2015. Full disclosure as required by the accounting
standards should be provided,” he wrote in his report. In the report, Trotman also noted that a request for third party information was submitted to the University of the West Indies (UWI) for confirmation of the total debt owed by the Government to the entity. “It was indicated that a total of BDS$195,641,489 was recorded as owing as at March 31, 2015. However, this liability was not reported within the Financial Statements. “This amount represents future fees and other economic costs incurred on behalf of the citizens of Barbados who attend the University. The amount due to the university is quite substantial, and I have been reporting on this omission for some time,” Trotman wrote.
Evo Morales
Auditor General seeking answers on Barbados investment in LIAT
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Kaieteur News
Friday May 27, 2016
Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
The economy is healthy? There has to be concern when one day a person attributes the slowdown in business sales to the drying up of illegal flows and then not long after pronounces that the economy is in good health. There has to be concern when it is being touted that in one year, the coalition was able to reverse the poor health of the economy. Those statements are bewildering. There has to be graver concern when the government claims that the rate of growth had been declining, yet wants to boast that the economy is in good health because it is projected to grow by over 4% this year, about 1% over the ‘slowing’ rate of last year. The APNU+AFC government has never denied that the longest stretch of economic growth took place under the PPPC government, ten straight years. APNU+AFC campaigned on the basis that despite this growth young people were not obtaining jobs and that the VAT was oppressive and posed a burden on workers and households. APNU+AFC said that despite the growth, there were high levels of poverty and
other social problems, throughout the country. APNU+AFC complained that workers were being underpaid. In one year, those problems have not been fixed, and therefore the resort to bragging rights about higher rate of growth is really perturbing. After taking into consideration all that was said on the campaign trail, to now come forth and claim that we have a healthy economy after only one year in government is a little perplexing. The government should not be seeking refuge in economic growth. The government knows that there is something called jobless growth. It should know that even with growth there can be serious problems in the economy. The government is opening itself to higher claims for wages for workers when it publicly says that the economy is healthy. If the economy is healthy then the unions will ask for the workers to be paid the same 50% salary increase that was paid to Ministers of the government. If the economy is healthy, the unions will ask where are the jobs that are supposed to be created. The basis of a healthy
economy cannot be economic growth. The IMF still, even today, takes that approach and measures the health of an economy by reference to the increase in output. There is another approach, one that looks at other indices such as human development indicators. APNU+AFC must distance itself from the approach taken by the PPP in trying to establish an economic trackrecord based on growth. Growth without jobs is not development. A country swarming with mosquitoes, even as government itself is indicating cases of GuillianBarrĂŠ syndrome which people in the medical profession associate with the Zika virus. A major rice market was lost in Venezuela, lost, some would say, too easily. Rice prices have dipped and production may actually be lower
this year than last year. Gold continues to do well, with declarations increasing by some 60% on the back of production from large gold mines, but the smaller miners are not in the best of health. They know that the gains they are receiving because of the reduction in the price of fuel can quickly evaporate. Any economy in which there is only one shining sector is an economy that could be heading eventually for the rocks. The health of an economy is measured by jobs. What is the government do-
ing about job-creation? The sugar estate at Wales is going to be closed at the end of this year and LBI is being merged with Enmore. The health of the economy is about the cost of living. Inflation we are told is low, but wages are still being constrained. Low inflation and a slowdown in business activity and the rate of commercial credit, requires a better explanation than merely saying that the economy is healthy. The government has a duty to state to the Guyanese people what was done over
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the past year on the economic side to reverse the problems that the government inherited. The government should state what it did, so that the people can decide for themselves whether the economy is indeed healthy or it is like the City, on which patchwork was done and which is now, according to media reports, facing a financial crisis.
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Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
THE MORNING AFTER There is a lovely tune that won the Academy Award for best song years ago. Titled, “The Morning After,” it was the theme song of the 1972 movie, “The Poseidon Adventure”, about a cruise ship that mirrored the disaster of the Titanic. The lyrics are very relevant to the coming days, months and years as we leave behind the swashbuckling celebrations of yesterday to mark the 50th year of Guyana’s Independence. Then there is the 1986 Jane Fonda movie, “The Morning
After.” After a night of ecstatic fun, she woke up in bed to find her lover dead right next to her with a knife in his chest. What have we woken up to after last’s night revelries and carnivals? Well one thing is sure, Guyana is not dead. There is no knife in its chest. But the knife is there waiting and in the morning after our celebrations, the knife needs to be broken up into pieces and thrown away so Guyana can live. The question is; has it not been living. The answer is yes and no.
The hours have moved on. May 26, 2016 is over; gone into the pages of history. Tomorrow, Guyana will still be here and most likely the people who celebrated the 50th anniversary yesterday. But as we remain Guyanese and hope for the best for this country, we can only help it if we face the nasty realities we saw in the morning after we woke up from our fun and frolic. We have lived with these realities for decades and we have to erase them from the
face and body of Guyana. How many of us have faced our ugly realities and with passion, purpose, decency, integrity, morality and objectivity, endeavoured to remove them so we can have a pleasant future for every Guyanese? The answer to that question is an unpleasant one. We vote for race and not issues. We condone undemocratic government because we prefer the party that is in power. We stay silent, as bureaucrats, central government and municipal governments, the police and private employers, violate our rights in inhuman ways. We stay silent as basic services that are easily given to humans in the rest of the world are denied to us. We court our own personal destruction, because in our political support for the party in government the leadership takes us for granted, and by the time we realize it, an uncaring government has destroyed many of us and many parts of our country. The starting point for a new beginning should be the milestone of the 50th Independence anniversary. After 50 years of sovereignty, and with the fall of a viciously un-
democratic regime in May 2015, every Guyanese in and out of this country should say; “This is the beginning of a dream.” Will we speak those words? If I am asked, I would say the citizens’ attitude to the performance and deportment of the first year of Coalition power is a strong reason for a pessimistic prediction. Will another Independence anniversary, will another election date find us at the same cul-de-sac? The signs are opaque and gloomy. Decades ago, we read about business people’s permits being held up by City Council. After hope was regained by the 2015 election results, we find the same nonsense. This time, it is not a PPP-controlled City Council directed by the Ministry of Local Government. But an APNU-AFC-dominated Council that reminds us so vividly that we haven’t moved much further down the road to paradise the past 50 years. The Beharry Group of Companies has complained that its application to build its KFC outlet is stalled in the power cauldron of the Town Clerk’s office. Aren’t we ever going to move forward in this
Frederick Kissoon country? Yes, we can, but it takes courage from the people who just celebrated 50 years of sovereignty. Those people are not the politicians. Those people are us, the citizens. So we enjoyed our bacchanalian festivities on May 26, but in the morning after there are still people waiting for over six or eight hours to see a doctor at A&E at the Georgetown Hospital. Yes, it was nice to bask in the glory of the May 26 festivities. Most people would agree that a country needs to observe in a big way that milestone. But in the morning after, we must not forget who we are - a poor county that needs to get better and more developed, and more modern, as we move towards another anniversary. We can only do that if we confront our backwardness, whether political, scientific or economic, and dedicate ourselves to bring a great future to this country.
Independence Day float worker killed in suspected hit-and-run Nathaniel Alexander Sears, also known as Hurryup, was detailed to drive a tractor/trailer carrying the Mahaica/Mahaicony/AbaryAgricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA) float for the Independence Day Float Parade. He left his home at Number Nine Village, West Coast Berbice at approximately four in the morning with the intention of picking up the tractor at Number Twenty-seven, Onverwagt. He would then proceed to pick up the trailer which was already in Georgetown to be
dressed up for the parade. Sears only got to Number 23, Armadale, West Coast Berbice. His lifeless body was discovered by the roadside at first light, with his motorcycle nearby. It is believed that he was the victim of a hit-andrun accident. However, the exact cause of death would be made known after an autopsy, as the police continue their investigations. Sears who would have turned 70 next August, joined the Ministry of Agriculture in 1986, and according to friends, quickly found favour
Dead: Nathaniel Sears with his employers because of his disciplined work ethics. He was to become the go-to worker, and when he attained retirement age, management asked the evergreen employee to continue working because not only was he quite reliable, he was quite versatile as well. According to general manager of the MMA-ADA, Mr. Aubrey Charles, Sears’ age was never evident. Sears is survived by his wife of thirty-six years, Norma, with whom he had five children: Edmond, Annalisa, Aubrey, Lonex, and Melissa.
Friday May 27, 2016
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Kaieteur News
BaiShanLin may have deterred other investors with genuine intentions - Goolsarran there have been many changes since the existing policy was crafted. To give reason about the importance of the change, Trotman told the House that much to the “horror” of the new administration upon the assumption of office, “we were met with an alarming situation where we discovered that 100% or all of our productive forest was allocated by the past Government.” Trotman added, “This is
By Abena Rockcliffe- Campbell The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government granted a host of concessions to a company that did no good for Guyana— BaiShanLin. The logging company was allowed to spread its tentacles reaching into most, if not all, of Guyana’s business sectors. While BaiShanLin was busy having its way, exploiting Guyana and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) was busy doing nothing about it, other companies that possibly had genuine intentions for business in Guyana—of mutual benefit— might have been deterred by BaiShanLin’s grip on Guyana. That possibility was highlighted by former Auditor General and anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran. He recently spoke to Kaieteur News about various aspects of unfair play that Guyana endured with BaiShanLin. This newspaper had presented the facts to prove that BaiShanLin’s profits go to China and stay there. Goolsarran recently zeroed in on that fact, as he referenced the “ridiculous” agreements that the PPP/C signed with BaiShanLin. Some of these agreements were also made public in this newspaper, and highlighted the magnitude of concessions requested by BaiShanLin and granted by the PPP/C government. These were extreme when matched against the proposed projects, or any project for that matter. Among the concessions sought by BaiShanLin were requests for one billion tons
Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran
BaiShanLin’s Managing Director, Chu Hongbo
of cement, one for 300-plus trucks, and another for two billion pails of paint. The waivers on the cement and paint alone would amount to just about US$60B in lost taxes, a sum equivalent to 40 years of Guyana’s national budget. The former Auditor General said that BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana and the concessions it was granted, “would have likely crowded out other potential investors who may be genuinely committed to the economic activities agreed upon with the Government.” “Let us say that another logging company wanted to come to Guyana, where would that company have operated?” Goolsarran explained that different parts of the forest have different species of wood. He explained, “Parts (of the forest) that have quality species like Greenheart, Wamara and Purple Heart would have already been
given out.” Indeed, BaiShanLin, through its joint ventures, is in control of over 627,000 hectares of Guyana’s forest. Goolsarran acknowledged the fact that Guyana is badly in need of foreign investments for economic growth and social development. He said, however, that the choice of BaiShanLin “was not a good one, and the investor was not properly screened.” Goolsarran’s comments are eye-opening when matched against what the country learned from the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman earlier this year. Trotman said that the PPP/C government distributed all of Guyana’s productive forest, and that there is literally nothing left. He told the National Assembly that there has to be a revision of National Forest Policy as
what a former head of state would have referred to as ‘confounded nonsense”. The Minister questioned, “How could a responsible government preside over the allocation of all, not some, but all of its productive forest?” He said that this must have been done without any regard for future generations. “Understandably, in the national interest we will have to do something about it.” Nothing has been done thus far.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman
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Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
Guyanese mom, daughter, 10, found dead in Suriname house
Linden holds its ‘most well attended’ Flag Raising Ceremony
The Regional Choir performing at the Linden, Region 10 Flag Raising Ceremony (GINA photo) The home in Nieuw Amsterdam, Suriname, where the bodies of a Guyanese woman and 10-year-old daughter were found on Tuesday. Murder is suspected in the deaths of a 37year-old Guyanese woman and her 10-yearold daughter, whose bodies were found in a Paramaribo, Suriname house last Tuesday. A report out of Suriname identified the victims as Leelawattie Sookhoo and daughter, Tisha Ahtram. They are suspected to have been slain by a 22-year-old man, who has since disappeared. According to the report, a neighbour, Stacy Harris, said that the man, Sookhoo and her
daughter had visited her home on Monday, but nothing seemed to be amiss. The man reportedly moved to the area three months ago, while Sookhoo and her daughter moved into the same house about a month ago. According to the neighbour, the killing may have stemmed from jealousy, since the suspect was upset that Sookhoo’s ex-husband had visited her recently. The ex-husband reportedly spoke to Sookhoo on her mobile phone on Monday.
The 50th Independence Anniversary Flag Raising Ceremony at Linden is being described as, “the most well attended” for the town. Delivering the feature address at the ceremony, Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valarie SharpePatterson urged residents of Region Ten to celebrate the Golden Jubilee as a national occasion. “It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, to recognise the nation’s heritage, laws, history, society, and people,” she said. The minister, who is a native of the mining town, noted that there are some valuable lessons that the nation should reflect on as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Independence. “The first lesson was that Independence was a collective effort. It was a ‘we thing’ and it required effort. It wasn’t given on a platter. We had to fight for it,” she said. “As President David Granger points out, political independence was neither the work of one person nor one party nor was it a sudden event. It was a process that took place over a long period of several decades. It was the climax of a popular movement. Legislators, workers, exservicemen and ordinary people agitated to achieve political independence. We are heirs of their efforts, successors to their struggles and, now, possessors of their patrimony,” Sharpe-Patterson added. The second lesson,
the Minister proffered was that independence was a promise for the future. “It was just the beginning. It was the birth of a living organism with the potential to grow and develop”. The third lesson, SharpePatterson identified was that independence opened the door of opportunity. “Independence gave us the opportunity to create the life (country) we want. We didn’t have to wait on another to build it for us. Independence gave us the opportunity to build our nation,” she said. Minister Patterson recalled that upon gaining independence the nation toiled to repair a country that had been damaged by disunity and division. “We strove to create a community of comity and unity. We sought to satisfy the needs of our people by expanding public education, health, communications and transportation services. We erected an airport, bridges, highways, housing schemes, schools and a university. We established new national institutions such as our Ombudsman and our own Court of Appeal. We created a credible Foreign Service and cemented international friendships and alliances to secure our territory from external aggression. We contributed to the establishment of CARIFTA, CARICOM and the ACP. We took our place in the international community,” she reminded the gathering. Identifying the fourth
lesson as responsibility for territory and the environment, the minister called on all Guyanese to guard the country’s territorial space, to be custodians of national patrimony and to protect and care our portion of the earth and its attending environs. The final lesson Minister Sharpe-Patterson sought to impart was that of the ‘Element of Accountability’. “With responsibility comes accountability… We are accountable to our collective selves. We are also accountable to the next generation. We will be judged by the next generation as either being responsible or being reckless with that which was bequeathed to us, what we did with it and what we, in turn, bequeath to them,” she said. Brief remarks were given by the Deputy Director of the Community Development Council, Sandra Adams and Mayor Carwyn Holland. The Chief Citizen noted that the occasion of the Golden Jubilee was more than just about a time for celebration. He said that despite the numerous difficulties faced since independence it was, “our will and resolve that kept us going, and will keep us going forward into a bright and prosperous future”. The Linden Flag Raising Ceremony also featured cultural performances by the Regional Choir, a song by Melanie King and a rendition on saxophone by Pastor Roland McDonald. Congratulatory messages were given by representatives of Linmine, Guyana Water Inc, Ministry of Agriculture,, National Insurance Scheme, National Communications Network and Linden Utilities Utility Services Co-op Society. The event concluded with the raising of the Golden Arrowhead in front of the Regional Democratic Council Building followed by a fireworks display.
Friday May 27, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Shaik Baksh enjoyed gratuity Mabaruma enjoys Golden Jubilee celebration without GWI Board’s approval A forensic audit into the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has revealed that former Chief Executive Officer, Shaik Baksh, was enjoying a bi-annual 22.5 percent gratuity, despite the fact that no assessment of performance was conducted. The report considered the period 2012 to 2015, and was reviewed by the Board of Directors after some irregularities came up during an emergency meeting on May 28, 2015 between board members and Senior Management officials about Baksh’s conduct. These included misappropriation of cash advances for site visits, abuse of authority in using the company assets, and overriding company policies. During the period under review, Baksh, a former
Shaik Baksh Minister under the previous administration – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) – was employed by the Board of Directors on September 17, 2012. He resigned on June 25, 2015. His contract of employment states that he was employed for a period of
three years. During these years, he enjoyed a gratuity of 22.5 percent payable at the end of every six months. However, the report showed that in accordance with clause 3.2 of the Chief Executive (CE) Employment contract, “gratuity should be paid subject to satisfactory performance”. However, the auditors could find no evidence that an evaluation was done to determine whether his service was satisfactory or not. Further, the report also indicated that these payments would have been done without the board’s approval. According to the Internal Audit, gratuity payments via payroll to Baksh from the date of employment, September 17, 2012 to 2015 were as follows:-
Year
Amount Paid
Duration
2013
$1,917,000
12 months
2014
$2,012,850
12 months
2015
$1,056,719
6 months
The auditors came to the conclusion that “it appears that the CE used his position to override policies and procedures and overstepped his authority with or without
the approval of the BOD (Board of Directors)”. The auditors also indicated that the new board should review Baksh’s contract to determine whether
benefits paid were consistent with his contract of employment. If not, they should pursue all overpa y m e n t s m a d e t o Baksh.
Celebrations to make Guyana’s Golden Jubilee of Independence have been happening all across the country and Maburuma was not to be left out. In what could be described as a historic flag raising ceremony, scores of residents and regional officials were joined by Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings. The programme which aimed at uniting people of all races and from all walks of life was opened with prayers. This was followed by a packed cultural segment where students from Hosororo Primary, Mabaruma Sub Primary and other surrounding schools performed songs, dances and dramatic poetry. It was held at the Mabaruma Settlement Sports Complex. After 50 years of independence for Guyana, this was the first time that Mabaruma would have celebrated the occasion as a town, having gained that status earlier this year. In the feature address of the evening, Minister Cummings said she was happy to be a part of such a
historic celebration. ”This time around, I am even more delighted to be here with you, because our beautiful nation celebrates 50 years of Independence, and in 2016, Mabaruma became a town! You are part of the fabric of history that marks this auspicious celebration,” she said The minister stressed the need for the regional administration to work collaboratively with the Ministry of Public Health and other ministries to fix the issues affecting the region. “Moving forward I would like to see an alignment of purpose between the Ministry of Public Health and the Regional administration of Region One, so that together we will be able to deliver the best quality health care services to the people living here. The regional administration must make special efforts to work along with government to help provide the best quality health care and other services
to the people of this beautiful region,” she said. Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley, in his address stressed the need for cohesion in the region. According to Ashley, this would make the region, “pacesetters for unity.” “There are four cornerstones that a country could thrive upon; racial harmony, national unity, peace and progress. Where there is racial harmony there is national unity, where there is national unity there is peace, where there is peace there is progress,” Ashley said. There was also the presentation of regional awards to persons who have contributed to development in the areas of health, education and community service. Jubilee celebrations are to continue in the region with a jubilee float parade and sports. These activities will see the involvement of the citizens from all across Region One.
PAGE 14
Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
GPL’s US$42M transmission lines, sub-stations…
Delays cost Guyana US$9M more - engineers question equipment In late 2010, the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) launched an ambitious project to replace its aging transmissions lines along the coast. It also built seven substations to better manage the energy it produces. The Infrastructure Development Project was awarded to China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC). It was touted as a major project to improve quality of service, provide greater operational flexibility, reduce technical losses, and prepare for interconnection with the Amaila Falls Hydro Power, if and when it comes on board. However, documents coming to light now indicate that the project was fraught with problems. Questions were raised over the quality of equipment supplied by CMC. Also flagged were delays in the entire project. It went over budget by more than US$9M ($1.8B). It was commissioned in December 2014, almost two years over the deadline.
Reportedly, a number of those sub-stations are now troubling GPL, with customers reporting an increase in power outages, especially along the coastland in recent times. GPL is believed to have withheld monies from CMC because of the faults. The Chinese contractor, CMC, is now one of five companies vying for a project of over $3.6B to supply and install over 28,000 smart meters, transformers and build new low and medium voltage systems, to help reduce GPL losses. Under that 2010 contract, CMC was supposed to run 96 km of overhead 69 kV transmission lines, including 1.8 km of submarine cable across the Demerara River. That US$33M project in 2010 was to also connect the Demerara and Berbice grids. In addition to seven substations, the contractor was to build a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, with a fibre optic link connecting all substations.
According to GPL documents, initially CMC collected US$6.7M of the Chinese Concessional Loan from the Export/Import Bank of China as an advance. However, as early as June 2012, there were questions over CMC’s handling of the project. Management consultants
The North Ruimveldt sub-station on Mandela Avenue.
Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants Inc. (CEMCO), which was teaming up with Stebnicki+Partners (S+P) Consulting Electrical Engineers, wrote David Huang, Project Manager of CMC, separate letters raising
concerns over delays as well as to question the quality of equipment. EQUIPMENT QUALITY The supervising consultants reminded Huang that the issue of the quality of plant/equipment/materials purchased for the project had
The control room in the sub-station
actively engaged the attention of the CMC, GPL and the engineers. It was noted that the contract was specific about the various standards that the project must conform to. The letter cited meetings (Continued on page 29)
Friday May 27, 2016
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Kaieteur News
58 percent of HIV-infected population on - UNAIDS Rep. Anti-Retroviral Therapy Guyana has achieved significant gains in its Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) response over the past decade. This is according to UNAIDS Representative to Guyana and Suriname, Dr. Martin Ouditt. Based on UNAIDS estimates, in 2015 about three out of every five persons living with HIV were receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), representing 58 per cent of the HIV population. This translated to a previous state of affairs, whereby approximately one in five persons or 22 per cent were able to access ART 10 years ago. Dr. Ouditt underscored that Guyana is on track to be certified as having eliminated HIV transmission from mothers to children in the near future. At a United Nations highlevel meeting planned for June, United Nations member states, Guyana being no exception, are expected to adopt a political declaration on ending the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) to scale up
UNAIDS Representative, Dr. Martin Ouditt the pace of the progress and reach a set of time-bound targets. The targets are expected to be geared at ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, which will require countries to take a fast-track approach during the next five years. According to him, by increasing testing, early treatment and the proportion of people living with HIV who have undetectable viral loads, the UNAIDS fast-track approach aims to achieve at least three ambitious targets by 2020. These, according to
Dr. Ouditt, include: fewer than 500,000 people newly infected with HIV, fewer than 500,000 people dying from AIDSrelated illnesses and eliminating HIV-related discrimination. Dr. Ouditt has made it clear too that the world can in fact end AIDS as a public health threat . This is in light of the fact, he observed, that in 2015 the world was able to deliver on the AIDS targets of the Millennium Development Goal Six, which is aimed at halting and reversing the AIDS epidemic. “This achievement marks the first time a global health target has been met and exceeded,” Ouditt outlined, even as he pointed out that “by-mid-2015, nearly 16 million people were accessing anti-retroviral therapy – double the number just five years earlier.” He, moreover, noted that ending AIDS by 2030 is an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals which United Nations member states adopted unanimously in 2015.
The lessons learned in responding to HIV, according to Dr. Ouditt, will play an instrumental role in achieving Sustainable Development Goal Three that addresses good health and well being. Also of relevance, he highlighted, are the goals on gender equality and women’s empowerment, reduced inequalities, global partnerships and just, peaceful and inclusive societies. “The world can leave no one behind. The people most severely affected by the AIDS epidemic, including young women and adolescent girls, children, migrants and key populations, including gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, transgender people and prisoners, must have access to high-quality HIV and health services free from
stigma and discrimination.” The UN high-level meeting is slated for June 6 – 10, 2016 at the UN headquarters in New York. Dr. Ouditt said that in Guyana, communities o f p e o p l e living with HIV and key populations most affected by HIV, civil society, the private sector, governments and regional bodies, have offered inputs on priorities for the future of the AIDS response. The Guyana
delegation to the meeting will be headed by Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton. And according to Dr. Ouditt, “by participating in the high level meeting to end AIDS, Guyana is taking part in a unique moment in history...focus must remain strong to ensure that gains of the national AIDS response are leveraged rather than lost during this period of transition and hope.”
PAGE 28
Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
Awareness campaign underway to help protect abused elderly Like children, the elderly is a vulnerable group in Guyana. For this reason, Director of Social Services within the Ministry of Social Protection, Wentworth Tanner, said that all of Guyana has a responsibility to protect elderly persons. According to him, many elderly folks are abused in many forms while in their own homes or those of their family members and efforts must therefore be made to safeguard them. “If persons see these elderly folks being abused verbally, emotionally or physically, we are encouraging them to call our offices and report these cases, and we will come down and do an investigation.” Persons desirous of reporting cases of abuse perpetrated against the elderly are asked to make contact with the Probation and Social Services Departments that are located in nine of the 10 administrative regions. Currently, there is no Department in Region Eight, but Tanner noted that this is being addressed, whereby an officer will be placed there, at least by the end of next month. “Anyone can contact a Probation and Social Services officer in their area and report the matter,” said Tanner as he pointed out that “the Ministry has its own offices in the respective regions and it’s not through the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) or the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), but through our (the Ministry’s) offices set up in the Regions.” Tanner’s remarks were
Wentworth Tanner, Director of Social Services forthcoming on the heels of reports published in the media about elderly persons who were abused by their own children and subsequently died. According to Tanner, not many reports of these abuse cases are reported to the Ministry. He however disclosed that the few that are brought to the attention of the Ministry are cases of neglect, and those cases usually gain the attention of an officer attached to the Palms Geriatric Home. “Depending on the severity of the situation or depending on exactly what is going on at that time, we would make a decision as to whether we could place that person with a relative or take that person into the Palms or one of our facilities,” Tanner added. “Once information comes to our attention we act; we call in the Guyana Police Force to deal with assault and work with the abused, elderly persons to see if we can find alternative accommodations
or if it is a case where these are persons in the homes, we try to work with the Legal Aid Clinic to ensure that the abuser is removed from that premises,” Tanner noted. He did point out that the Ministry is currently working on a public campaign to raise awareness, given all of the troubling reports that are surfacing in the media as it relates to the abuse of elderly persons. “We are working diligently to get our message out that help is there for elderly persons who are being abused. There are lots of persons who silently suffer from verbal and physical abuse, some of them have to deal with younger relatives taking away their pension books and things like that. So those are things that we are working on in our public campaign,” said the Social Services Director. He disclosed, too, that what the Ministry is able to do is to reach out to some of the elderly folks via its Social Security Department. Through this Department, the Ministry is able to interact with the elderly, mainly because of the old age pension programme. Tanner also explained that “our officers are encouraged to speak to the elderly when they visit homes from time to time and various community organisations... to not only speak to the elderly, but also persons who might have knowledge of our elderly folks being abused...once people come forward, we treat such matters with great urgency, which is the same way we deal with our child protection matters.”
Woman, 44, killed in Bagotstown... From page 18 flag-raising ceremony and since she never attended one before, he didn't refuse to take her, even though he did not want to go. “A bus from the village took us there and we arranged with that same bus to take us back home when it done,” the man said. He recounted that on their way back home, a Timehri bus collided with their bus when it was now turning. “The bus from Timehri was speeding. I saw this bus coming in full speed and I say this is an accident and I decided to hold on. My wife was sitting to my right and when the bus got hit, half of her body was out the window. The bus turn on her and then slide,” Peter Mitchell said. He explained that he tried to lift the bus, but was unable to remove her body. “I called for her, but she didn't respond.” “The ambulance took long
to come. The firemen had to remove her and take her to the hospital. At the hospital, they didn't want to tell me she died, it was when they covered her then I know.” With tears running down his face, he said that his wife was one of the kindest and loving women he had ever met. “My wife was faithful and loving. I tried to give her everything. We were happy,” Peter cried and whispered, “She is not dead. She is here. She is somewhere here.” Meanwhile, Joseph Thorne, the route 42 driver's father bashed the police for having his unconscious son (Michael Thorne) waiting in a car outside the Providence Station for several hours before he was allowed to seek medical attention. The man explained that after the accident, his son was taken to the Diamond Hospital and was later transferred
to the Georgetown Hospital where he was then discharged. “When the hospital discharged my son, he was vomiting and couldn't move. We took him to Woodlands and while going to the hospital, the police sent out a radio message to stop the car that we were in,” the older Thorne said. He further explained that when they reached the hospital, the police followed them. “The doctor there recommended a CT scan, but we didn't get to do it, because the police were determined to take my son to the police station.” Joseph Thorne said that he eventually had to take his son there without having the CT scan done. He explained that he had to park and wait in front of the station for more than three hours before he could have gotten permission to take his son back to the hospital for a thorough examination.
Friday May 27, 2016
PAGE 29
Kaieteur News
First Lady treats female Palms Delays cost Guyana US$9M... residents for Independence The First Lady presenting a duster to one of the female residents at the Palms Geriatric Home. (Photo by: Aubrey Odle)
First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, yesterday paid a special visit to The Palms Geriatric Home as part of an initiative to treat the female residents in honour of Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations. The First Lady explained that this was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Social Protection and the Women Across Differences (WAD) group. The women received a donation of 96 sets of bed linen and dusters from the First Lady and Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Volda Lawrence. “This is all part of sharing the love and spirit of Independence,” Mrs. Granger said, “It is also an inter-generational activity, because the girls [from Women Across Differences] were able to meet with seniors they might not have met in their ordinary lives and I think they had a good time.” On Monday, representatives of WAD had visited the 96 female residents of the home and treated them to a special ‘spa’ session of manicures, pedicures and hairdos. Minister Lawrence explained that the initiative was conceptualised with the aim of
reminding others that there are those less fortunate among us even as we celebrate the nation’s Jubilee. “We are celebrating and in order to celebrate you have to prepare, and this is just one of the ventures that we have partnered with NGOs and other organisations to ensure we bring cheer to the persons whom we are given the permission to care for,” the Minister said. The Minister also said that she hopes that the initiative could be repeated for the male residents on Father’s Day. Meanwhile, Representative of WAD, Ms. Ann Greene said that the organisation enjoyed working with the First Lady and lauded the initiative. “We give thanks to the First Lady for this initiative and we at Women Across Differences will continue to work with her. It was a very good experience with the girls. The girls got to speak with the women about what was going on in 1966. I think it was very encouraging. They enjoyed interacting with the ladies, and all the ladies were very accommodating to the girls,” she said.
(From page 14) held between CMC, GPL and the supervisors in October/ November 2010, where confirmation was sought on whether the plant/equipment/ materials supplied would be manufactured to the standards contained in the contract. The letter to CMC indicated that the Chinese contractor had confirmed that not all of the equipment would be manufactured to the standards stated in the contract, but rather to Chinese standards, “which CMC claimed are equivalent to international standards”. The contractor was asked to provide the necessary documentation from its proposed suppliers and manufacturers for review and possible approval. The contractor submitted information relating to the standards of the equipment in April and May, 2011. However, the supervising consultants said that they were again unable to approve the manufacturers as meeting the standards in the contract. It was agreed that the contractor would source products from reputable firms that supply similar equipment to overseas markets. The consultants ordered that all the performance requirement of equipment, including all major equipment, would have to be verified by factory tests. “These test results are to be submitted to the engineer at least one week prior to
shipment. CMC will perform thorough checks on the equipment on site prior to installation to verify that there was no damage during shipment.” The leaked letter of the consultants disclosed that towards the end of 2011, CMC had assembled the major part of the equipment to ship to Guyana, and even though the requirement to submit shop drawings prior to shipping was not met, the contractor sought and received GPL’s permission to ship the equipment anyway. WARNINGS The consultants warned CMC that the GPL approval did not relieve them and their suppliers from the responsibilities under the contract. On February 8, 2012, the consultants reminded CMC about their obligations to ensure the quality of equipment supplied met the contract requirements.
“With respect to testing prior to installation, during S+P’s (consultant) site visit in March we reviewed this with CMC and noted the following: CMC did not appear to have all the personnel and equipment to carry out this exercise.” The equipment was at that time stored in CMC’s storage facility in Sophia and was not readily accessible for testing. Among other things, the consultants demanded a list of personnel that would be carrying out the tests; a work programme indicating when and where the checks and testing would be undertaken; and a list of the overseas clients from the equipment manufacturers to establish that they meet the requirements. The consultant made it clear that it would compare the tests from the factory to results of their independent tests.
PAGE 30
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Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
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(Continued on page 31)
Friday May 27, 2016
PAGE 31
Kaieteur News
Allegations against No. 32 mini-bus are false DEAR EDITOR; This is a respond to Sahadeo Bates letter which was published on the 22-052016 in the Sunday edition of Kaieteur News. Sahadeo Bates should get his facts correct before writing garbage accusing people. Mr. Editor he stated and I quote “ ex-police officer operating a 32 mini bus with loud music and tint picking up passengers last Friday and at one stop I noticed him drinking a
Guinness whiles driving.” How can he possibly see two things at different location at the same time? It seems he is stalking the driver and that my friend is a very serious offence. For Sahadeo Bates information, that very 32 mini bus did not work on that particular Friday. The bus is not fitted with music system and tinted glass and we challenge you Sahadeo Bates to come down to Leonora Traffic department to hold a confrontation with
the driver of the said bus. As for the drinking and driving, he is totally slandering the ex-officer’s character and if indeed he saw the driver drinking a Guinness whilst working he should have called the Leonora Police Station’s traffic department and report same. Secondly, Mr. Editor he claims that the ex- police’s colleague’s turned a blind eye on him. I think the Traffic Chief should give Bates a job in the
traffic department of the Guyana Police Force, because he seems to be on the road 24/7; that is how he comes to know that traffic ranks are turning a blind eye to violations. Bates’s accusations are nothing more but baseless fabrications. Traffic ranks never turn a blind eye on the driver or the mini bus regardless who’s driving. Stop belittling the traffic ranks of the Guyana Police Force. At this point and time le-
gal action will be instituted against him for wrongfully and maliciously accusing the ex-police officer. The the 32 mini bus was summoned to the Leonora Police Station on the 23-052016 for an examination of all the things Bates stated in his letter and it was found to be in according with the Road Traffic Rules and Regulations. No Tinted Glass and No music system. Concerned citizen (name withheld on request)
APNU-AFC breaking its manifesto promises DEAR EDITOR; Finance Minister Winston Jordan is reported in the media to have said that a review will be commissioned by the IMF before any reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) could be entertained. I found this statement puzzling especially in light of the APNU-AFC
Manifesto promise to reduce VAT and the recommendations by a technical committee established by this administration to reduce the VAT. Is it the case that the government is now back pedaling on its manifesto promise in relation to VAT? Is the government now saying that it
has reservations over the recommendations made by the technical committee it had set up to review the VAT? Why would the administration want to have a second opinion on the recommendations made for a two per cent reduction in VAT which in my view seems more than reason-
able? I stand corrected but my understanding is that we have as a country long exited the IMF programme. Besides, experience has shown that the IMF is not known to provide the best technical advice on matters of providing a people-oriented solution to problems facing
the economy. I think the administration should immediately put in place the necessary mechanisms to reduce VAT by a minimum of two percent in the 2017 Budget Estimates, regardless of what the IMF “paper doctors” may recommend. Hydar Ally
Time to call Bharrat Jagdeo’s bluff DEAR EDITOR; Elections in Guyana have NEVER been about ideas. From the days of rigging to the more recent times of race-baiting, Guyana has been devoid of any election – won or lost – based of critical thinking. Yet every other day someone is banging on a drum, or writing in the dailies, or otherwise calling for action to be taken against those who raped our treasury. There is this notion that this administration will pursue some investigations, jail a few PPP stalwarts and supporters
and then come next elections, PPP will lose big. And the drum beats are getting louder and louder. However, I am amazed at those making the calls. It is as if they are living in an ignorance-bubble or as if they are dwelling in a dream world. I sat and listened very carefully to President Granger on this matter. He was asked about his position on the audits. I even went and read the script on the interview. The President was very clear when he said that the audits were firstly to lay a
framework “for corrective action” to prevent the likelihood of such financial skullduggery and ethical adultery from ever happening again. And then, ”If” any are found guilty, they “could” be punished. It is very clear from how the President framed his response that the main reasons for the extensive audits are not to determine culpability for the financial atrocities. So those who are constantly calling for arrests and imprisonment and embarrassment of the PPP folks, had better save their breaths. It is
This man is causing the... From page 4 would have thought that at least shame would have caused this man to stay quiet, but instead, in the signature style of his boss, he writes to the press again attacking someone who apparently said that he was using MARDS money to favour chosen contractors for the building of a cenotaph and fun park at Fort Wellington. (The Chairman of the Board clarifies- Kaieteur News – May 11th) In true Orwellian Squealerlike fashion, instead of properly justifying the decision to do so, he praises himself and announces that tens of millions were transferred from MARDS to do the MMA road at Onverwagt, and purchase machines which were given to the MMA. Now this caught my interest as I am now associated with MMA. On finding out however, I realized that he dis-
honestly manipulated the issue and omitted that the MMA had rehabilitated the entire MARDS lands, most of which were tied up in an arrangement with a Libyan Government company and unused for years. MARDS was then able, through an arrangement facilitated by MMA, to lease those lands to farmers so as to pay off its debts. The money transferred for the road was for the works that the MMA had done and it was not paid to contractors, but to the Force Account unit of the Ministry of Public Works who did the job. As regards the machines, it was a decision taken by the Minister that the MMA should operate, maintain and repair them, and meet the operational costs to do so. MARDS had and still has no capacity to do so. Strange enough, as was pointed out to me, he has not moved to
change this arrangement even though he has been the Chairman of MARDS for a year now. While I should make it clear that I have no objections to MARDS financing of the cenotaph and fun park at Fort Wellington, but I have to notice that both the road works and the machinery operations are directly related to the agricultural development of the Region, within the mandates of both MARDS and MMA. Finally, all the people I spoke to are of the view that the man wants the top job at MMA, which is the reason why he is attacking MMA. Well my resignation is on hold waiting for that to happen. I believe that the time has come for the Government to do something about this gentleman. He needs help. Until his next shot - from pen, or glass. Concerned Board Member
this government who is paying the hefty sums for the audits. It is this administration that first receives the audits results, with all those wanton, blatant, thieveries. Yet those calling for the President to take action are behaving as if they are the ones telling the President what is going on. News flash! The President knows of the findings long before you do. And he has spoken on the matter already. It might appear to some that the President is running a one man show. He most definitely is not. Only recently he said that his release of young offender is not reckless. He went on to explain that he works on the advice of those he respects. Similarly, one would have to assume that when it comes to operationalizing the culpability of the audits, his attitude is governed by his advisers. One would have to be very narrow-minded and politically biased to think that the guilt parties of those audits will rest solely with the PPP members. It would take a simpleton to conclude that only persons in the last administration stole the people’s money. Crime and corruption in Guyana is not only systematic; they are endemic. It is how Guyana does business. And it is how the successive governments have been doing business for a long time. So any in-depth investigation of any of those audits is likely to have tentacles reaching right into the halls of the current administration.
From page 30
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And they might go high and far. So while I do not agree with the President’s reasoning and reluctance on these matters, I understand his caution. This government cannot deal with any more scandals. I remember Dr. Jagdeo saying to the government ministers, “You tell the people how much money ya’ll got, and I will tell them how much I got.” I am shocked that no one has called his bluff. So for all those banging drums and calling on President Granger to “Do Something!” he will not and he already told you so. So if you think the next elections will be won by the collation because the PPP leaders are all in jail, or if you think the coming elections will be based on ideas, or concepts, or critical thinking, or any of those mushy stuff, think again. The next elections will be based on who could get out their racial base, plus some of those in the interior. Now go put down your drum. Pastor Wendell Jeffrey Practical Christianity Ministries
This tendering process is suspect From page 5 experience and qualification to be awarded government contracts or is it that some of us are regarded with contempt or is there favouritism in the tender process and if this is the thinking, then one can understand the rationale why time is not wasted reading
supporting documents especially those that belong to new and small companies. Is this the step toward a better life for all including small contractors? I think not! The powers that be are slowly destroying people’s trust and respect in them. Concerned Bidder
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Friday May 27, 2016
Friday May 27 2016
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Kaieteur News
As EU vote looms, migration Venezuelan opposition warns foreign contracts need assembly’s OK to Britain nears record high Reuters - Net migration to Britain reached its second highest level on record last year, according to official data yesterday that fed immediately into the increasingly bitter debate over whether the country should stay in the European Union. The Office for National Statistics, in its last immigration report before the June 23 vote on continued EU membership, said net migration hit 333,000 in 2015, the secondhighest level for a 12-month period since records began in 1975. Of those, 184,000 net came from the EU, which mandates freedom of movement. The ONS said that most of the net increase 20,000 - was due to fewer people leaving the country. The numbers were seized upon by those campaigning for Britain to leave the EU. They argue that the country would be better able to control migration flows from outside the bloc. “We would be able to decide our immigration policy on the needs of the British economy,” Boris Johnson, figurehead of the “Out” camp, told Sky News television. “Remain” campaigners responded by saying that immigration issues could not be solved by leaving a bloc they believe is a huge boon to Britain’s economy.
James Brokenshire In 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron promised to reduce the annual level of net migration — those arriving minus those leaving — to below 100,000 but has failed to keep his pledge, partly due to net migration from the EU, which accounted for half the year-on-year increase. Immigration and the economy have consistently ranked as two of the most important issues in the EU referendum, but Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said leaving the bloc was not the solution. “We need to continue the reforms to reduce net migration from outside of Europe,
which still maintains the majority (of new arrivals),” he said. In February, Cameron negotiated a deal with European partners to curb some welfare payments to new EU migrants which he says addresses public concerns about the level of immigration. Critics say it will do nothing to reduce the number of people coming to Britain attracted by higher wages than in their home countries, the presence of large communities of migrants, the English language and other factors. But with four weeks to go before Britons head to the polls, the number of migrants arriving on France’s north coast in Calais has grown in recent months according to official figures released on Thursday, with many seeking to reach Britain. The total number of people in tents, shanties and a new state-run city of converted shipping containers has reached 3,900 compared to 3,500 at the end of March, according to the Pas de Calais region. The British government has previously warned that refugees could flock to Britain from France if voters back Brexit and France has said it could end border controls and let thousands cross the Channel in the event of an ‘Out’ vote.
Trump vows to undo Obama’s climate agenda in appeal to oil sector Reuters - Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, promised yesterday to roll back some of America’s most ambitious environmental policies, actions that he said would revive the ailing U.S. oil and coal industries and bolster national security. Among the proposals, Trump said he would pull the United States out of the U.N. global climate accord, approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada and rescind measures by President Barack Obama to cut U.S. emissions and protect waterways from industrial pollution. “Any regulation that’s outdated, unnecessary, bad for workers or contrary to the national interest will be scrapped and scrapped completely,” Trump told about 7,700 people at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, the capital of oilrich North Dakota. “We’re going to do all this while tak-
ing proper regard for rational environmental concerns.” It was Trump’s first speech detailing the energy policies he would advance if elected president. He received loud applause from the crowd of oil executives. The comments painted a stark contrast between the New York billionaire and his Democratic rivals for the White House, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, who advocate a sharp turn away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy technologies to combat climate change. Trump slammed both rivals in his speech, saying their policies would kill jobs and force the United States “to be begging for oil again” from Middle East producers. “It’s not going to happen. Not with me,” he said. Trump’s comments drew quick criticism from environmental advocates, who called his proposals “frightening.” “Trump’s energy policies would accelerate climate
change, protect corporate polluters who profit from poisoning our air and water, and block the transition to clean energy that is necessary to strengthen our economy and protect our climate and health,” said Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmental activist. But industry executives cheered the stance. “It’s simple. If Trump wins, oil field workers will be happy. If Clinton wins, oil workers will be unhappy,” said Derrick Alexander, an operations manager at oilfield services firm Integrated Productions Services. Trump hit Clinton hard in his speech, saying the former secretary of state would be more aggressive than Obama on regulations. He repeated several times Clinton’s March comments that her policies would put coal miners out of work. “Hillary Clinton’s agenda is job destruction,” Trump said.
Reuters - Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly yesterday warned that contracts signed between the leftist government and foreign companies without lawmakers’ approval would be null. President Nicolas Maduro this month declared an economic emergency and state of emergency that lets his administration sign contracts without Congress’ approval. The assembly’s warning, though is not backed by legislation, is likely to create concern among foreign businesses that are seeking remain in the good graces of both the socialist government and opposition adversaries who control Congress. “We’re going to tell all the
embassies that the only valid contracts are those reviewed by the National Assembly,” its President Henry Ramos said. “Contracts that weren’t approved by the assembly will lack validity in this government as well as the following one.” The opposition is seeking to remove the unpopular Maduro in a recall referendum this year, and insists that the president be replaced before his term ends in 2019. Maduro has dismissed this as impossible. “We’re worried about the National Assembly’s decision,” said one executive at a foreign company in Venezuela, who requested anonymity to avoid any business impact.
But in recession-hit Venezuela, recouping outstanding debt is a bigger issue, the executive said. “We’re even more worried about lack of payments and those delays make it impossible to sign new contracts.”
Reuters - The Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom watchdog group, was denied consultative status at the United Nations yesterday, with South Africa, Russia and China among the countries that opposed it. The United States quickly denounced the decision and vowed to try to overturn it. New York-based CPJ reports on violations of press freedom in countries and conflict zones around the world, reporting and mobilizing action on behalf of journalists who have been targeted. A U.N. panel rejected its application for status that would have given it access to U.N. headquarters and allowed it to participate in U.N. events. The 19-member U.N. Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations has for years delayed action on the group’s application for accreditation. CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon described the NGO committee process as “Kafkaesque.” “A small group of countries with poor press freedom records are using bureaucratic delaying tactics to sabotage and undermine any efforts that call their own abusive policies into high relief,” he
said in a statement. The NGO committee rejected CPJ’s application with 10 votes against, six in favour and three abstentions. Normally the committee decides by consensus. But a senior U.S. diplomat requested a vote after South Africa and other committee members kept posing questions that the United States and others denounced as a delaying tactic. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Washington would seek to overturn the NGO committee’s “outrageous” decision by calling for a vote in the 54-nation U.N. Economic and Social Council. “We are extremely disappointed by today’s vote,” she told reporters. “It is increasingly extremely clear that the NGO committee acts more and more like an anti-NGO committee.” Western diplomats said the U.N. NGO committee has
become increasingly unfriendly to organizations supporting Western notions of human rights, noting that gay rights NGOs and other groups have had trouble securing accreditation. The NGO committee’s current members are Azerbaijan, Burundi, China, Cuba, Greece, Guinea, India, Iran, Israel, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Turkey, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. Western diplomats said they were especially disappointed by South Africa, whose delegation criticized CPJ for, among other things, not supporting punishment for speech that incites hatred. The CPJ has noted that there is no internationally agreed definition of the term “hate speech.” A Russian delegate said he had “serious doubts about whether this organisation really is a nongovernmental organisation.”
Henry Ramos
UN panel rejects press freedom watchdog accreditation request
PAGE 34
Cop begs public again for help to crime fight…
We can’t do it alone
Trinidad Guardian - It will take more than just the police to address effectively the crime in the country, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said Wednesday, as he again begged all sectors of society to help the police stop the current crime wave. “The social institutions embrace the family, it embraces the schools, educational institutions, the community and the State. Those are the main social institutions. When we look at the Police Service, everybody is asking the Police Service to do everything but there is a role for family, a role for the educational system, a role for the State and a role for the community and the media. “If we all play a role, play a part, what we will find in the future is that Trinidad and Tobago can in fact be that paradise place that we seek but we have to create that paradise,” Williams said. He was responding to questions from the media on the current rise in murders and serious crimes, during a promotion ceremony for 611 constables to the rank of cor-
Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams pins a chevron on newly-promoted corporal Danelle Henry-Dopson. PHOTO: NICOLE DRAYTON porals at the Police Training Academy, St James. He told the media the conversation needed to shift from just the police and the topic expanded to include other institutions. Asked what were some of the shortcomings the police faced in addressing crime, particularly murders, Williams said: “It is not about a manpower shortage, it’s about a societal challenge for which the society is only focusing on the Police Service and we have to embrace that every single one of us has a role,” Williams said. “In this fight against crime it’s a partnership role, a
collaborative role, with all the agencies focusing and Government using all its resources to make a difference within the country,” he added. Williams repeated calls for citizens to be more vigilant, adding that it is the duty of each citizen not to make themselves easy targets for criminals. He said when citizens limit the opportunity for criminals to attack then there would be less crime. He said his officers were going above and beyond their duty and Wednesday’s promotion was a motivational tool, as his officers needed a lot of motivation.
Jamaica to strengthen co-operation with Cuba KINGSTON, Jamaica – Industry Minister Karl Samuda says Jamaica is seeking to strengthen cooperation with Cuba in key areas such as agriculture and manufacturing. In a an address at a luncheon on Wednesday, hosted for Cuba’s deputy minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Ambassador Ileana Núñez Mordoche, Samuda said Jamaica is seeking to learn from the experience of Cuba, which “has done remarkably well with limited resources”. He noted as well that Cuba has stayed on the cutting edge of competition with the technology that they have introduced. Samuda has been having discussions with Mordoche to explore various areas for co-operation. The Cuban minister is in the island for a four-day working visit. According to Samuda, one of the essential areas discussed during the meeting was how Jamaica could benefit from Cuba’s skills in sugar cane cultivation and
Karl Samuda sugar production. “Our sugar industry is one sector where we feel we can gain a lot by being exposed to their training techniques and their approaches, in terms of the development of the factories and also the sugar fields as well.” He said that out of those discussions, his Cuban counterpart extended an invitation for a team from Jamaica to visit Cuba to see the techniques the methodology and the technology that they have applied to making their industry one of the most vibrant of its kind
in the world. Samuda added that Jamaica could also benefit from Cuba’s successes in the area of animal husbandry, where an alternative-feeding programme is used to reduce dependency on imported raw materials for the manufacture of animal feed. He noted that Jamaica also hopes to exchange ideas and approaches with Cuba in terms of training opportunities in critical industries. The meeting also focused on concrete ways in which bilateral trade relations could be enhanced between the two nations. In her remarks, Mordoche noted that while both countries have excellent diplomatic and political relations, “our main objective is to increase bilateral trade relations. What we want is concrete relations, particularly in trade and economics”. “We have already identified sectors where we can work together. Not only can Cuba share its own experience with Jamaica, Cuba also could benefit from Jamaican expertise,” she said.
Govt. taking ISIS threat seriously - PM
Trinidad Guardian - Government doesn’t have information that the particular recent message of a threat of an “ISIS” attack on malls is real, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said Wednesday. But real or otherwise, Rowley said it has the potential to destabilise the country. The PM, head of the National Security Council, spoke on the issue at post-Cabinet media conference, where he was asked about the voice messages recently circulated on social media. These audio clips have warned of the threat of an ISIS attack on local malls between yesterday and Sunday. Security forces have been on high alert investigating this. On whether the source of the message had been identified, Rowley said the State had some capacity for that but he didn’t know if that capacity could deal with a source. He said what w a s known was that it had not been determined that it was something “that has an origin we can identify as being realistic.” He added that Government also knew there were elements and entities whose
Policemen attached to the Guard and Emergency Branch walk through Gulf City Mall, La Romaine, Wednesday after security forces were put on high alert in the wake of audio threat claiming ISIS may target malls across the country over the weekend. PHOTO: KRISTIAN DE SILVA interests would be served if T&T was destabilised. “And we take all threats seriously and we take careful note of all who want to destabilise us,” Rowley said. He declined to discuss security arrangements, personnel or stations, save “...to say we disregard no threat and will put T&T on a position to respond.” The PM said Government also was not considering a state of emergency since that was tried and failed. He said it provided short respite and
damaged the economy irreparably. However, he said, the security sector was stepping up its game against the criminal elements. He said T&T was well served in involvements with UK/US partners on training and arrangements to improve security but he said there were concerns on some areas of T&T’s ability to handle and share information with the metropolitan countries— and that was a concern to T&T which was being worked on.
Friday May 27 2016
Kaieteur News
Britain plans to send warship to fight smuggling of people, arms off Libya – Cameron ISE-SHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Britain plans to send a navy warship to help battle the smuggling of both people and arms off the coast of Libya, Prime Minister David Cameron will tell G7 leaders yesterday. The European Union this week agreed to help rebuild Libya’s shattered navy and coastguard to tackle migrant smugglers after a plea for aid from the new U.N.-backed unity government in Tripoli. A U.N. Security Council resolution would be needed to go after arms traffickers on the high seas, ministers said at the time. A government spokesman said that during a session on foreign affairs yesterday evening, Cameron would set out Britain’s plans to increase its involvement in the region, where it already has four ships. “(The prime minister will) make the argument it is a global challenge requiring a comprehensive solution, reiterate our determination to work with the Libyan government and help them build the
David Cameron
capacity of their coastguard to help them intercept boats off the Libyan coast,” the spokesman said. “We will now take an active leadership role in that process ... Once the relevant U.N. security resolutions are in place, we intend to deploy a navy warship to the region to assist in the interception of arms and human smuggling.” U.N.-backed Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, who has yet to establish his government beyond Tripoli, wrote to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to request the naval support, as
well as possible training for Libyan security personnel. A British government official said there had not yet been a formal request from Libya to operate within its waters, but one was expected “fairly swiftly”. The warship could be operating in the area within weeks, the official added. The EU’s “Operation Sophia” mission operates in international waters near Libya but is too far out to destroy boats used by people smugglers, catch traffickers or head off migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea from Libya.
Clinton: Email controversy won’t affect her White House bid Washington (AFP) Hillary Clinton defended her use of a private email server for official correspondence while US secretary of state on Thursday, insisting her actions were no different than that of her predecessors. One day after the release of a critical State Department investigation faulting her use of personal email for government business, Clinton vowed that she would not allow the issue to dog her campaign. “There may be reports that come out, but nothing has changed,” the Democratic White House frontrunner told CNN. “It’s the same story. Just like previous secretaries of state, I used a personal email. Many people did. It was not at all unprecedented.” In a subsequent interview with the television network, she repeated her acknowledgement that she made a “mistake,” and that looking back she would have avoided such actions. “As I said many times, it was a mistake and if I could go back, I would have done it differently,” she said. “I understand why people have concerns about this, but
Hillary Clinton I hope voters look at the full picture of everything that I’ve done.” The issue has dogged Clinton for more than a year, and has been used by her political enemies, including her presumed Republican opponent in the White House race, Donald Trump, to question her trustworthiness and honesty — character traits that many voters already had expressed doubts about in opinion polls. Trump, celebrating reaching the milestone of 1,237 delegates necessary to clinch the nomination, assailed Clinton’s “bad judgment” about using a private email
account and described the State Department inspector general’s report as “devastating.” “This was all bad judgment,” Trump told reporters in North Dakota. “Probably illegal.” Sounding slightly exasperated, Clinton insisted she has done everything possible to help put the controversy behind her. “I have turned over all of my emails. No one else can say that. I’ve been incredibly open about doing that. I will continue to be open. And it’s not an issue that is going to affect either the campaign or my presidency,” she declared. Clinton’s use of a private server for official correspondence first came to light in 2015 during Republican-led congressional investigations into her handling of a militant attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya. The assault in 2012 left the US ambassador and three other Americans dead. The FBI has since launched a criminal investigation amid Republican charges that use of the unsecured system endangered national security.
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Friday May 27, 2016
Kaieteur News
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s Leonora Primary trips to Manny Pacquiao’s gym ignite rematch talk capture MOE Region
three softball titles
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s trips to Manny Pacquiao’s gym ignite rematch talk. What would encourage Floyd Mayweather Jr. to pay a visit to Manny Pacquiao’s Hollywood gym? Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that the unbeaten and retired Mayweather (490) has paid two visits to Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood this month, one in which Mayweather and Roach talked pleasantly without addressing the million-dollar question. ”Very unusual now how Mayweather ’s been here twice,” Roach said. Roach, a former boxer who has known Mayweather since he was a child, presented him with a gift — a speed bag painted with Mayweather’s face that Pacquiao was supposed to punch during his training for
Region 8 Jubilee Football... (From page 36) Gavin Gounga noted that the benefits of success is enormous and has the capacity of taking the region to another level. “People love to be associated with success and once we as a region can demonstrate that we are not just a pack of individuals talking but demonstrating our worth through our performances then our argument for certain things will be justified. I want to be the DREO who can say with my REO that our region was at this level last year but this year we are here and hopefully next year we will be there, in my mind that is what you call growth,” he declared. The teams contesting the competitions for both male and female teams are Pakaraimas FC, Campbelltown FC, Micobi United and Mahdia United.
their May 2015 super-fight that generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and more than $600 million in total revenue. (Yahoosports)
Leonora Primary School captured the male and female softball titles when the Ministry of Education staged a six-over competition in Region three recently. Leonora defeated Windsor Forest by 58 runs in the male final. Batting first, Leonora managed 95-2; Aryan Persaud hit an unbeaten 39 (2x4 3x6) and Thaddius Lovell 38 (5x6). Windsor Forest were limited to 37-6 in reply; Vicky Singh snared 2-1 and Shahid Viera 2-11. Leonora overcame Cornelia Ida (CI) by 9 wickets with two overs to spare in the female final. Cornelia Ida took first strike and reached 30-6. Natascia
Suhkra claimed 2-9 and Lavina Gunput 2-11. Leonora raced to 31-1 in four overs in response, Alliyah Webb scored 14 not out. Aryan Persaud took the best batsman prize; Thaddius Lovell got the best bowler award and Roshan Amar (CI) was the Most Valuable Player of the male competition. Alliyah Webb was the best batter in the female category, Lavina Gunput the best bowler and Natascia Sukhra the MVP. By virtue of winning both titles Leonora will represent region three in the Inter District playoffs.
Friday May 27, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) The only thing you'll accomplish is a bad reputation. You will get drawn into groups that are not favorable to you. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You could experience delays in shipments or mail, and should be careful while traveling. You will need to finalize important deals today. You could be cornered, so be prepared to tell the truth.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You can get ready to celebrate your new direction. You don't need to pay out in order to have fun. You will gain knowledge through your adventure. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You are best not to say too much to colleagues. Look into any educational activities involving the whole family.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) If you can put some work into home improvements, you should. You may find that your mate is well aware of the circumstances. Get the whole family involved in a worthwhile cause or cultural event.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Try not to allow others to burden you with additional responsibilities. Your input into their activities will help bring you closer together. Your partner will be emotionally unable to cope.
CANCER (June 21–July 22) You can continue to make gains if you call a few people who can help you close an important deal. You can make gains if you work in conjunction with others.
CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Most partner problems are a result of both people not living up to their promises. Consider the source before you believe what you hear. Try to think things through.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You need to look into new philosophies. Take a long look at your present direction and consider your professional options. You will feel compelled to do some traveling.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Look out for yourself today. Some relatives will be extremely perplexing. You may find yourself in the limelight for the wrong reasons.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Don't exaggerate. Money problems will get worse if your partner hasn't been playing by the rules. Take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.
PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Ask those in key positions to help you overcome the delays and to support your concerns in order to move on. You can open up to your mate and let them know what you expect out of this relationship.
Friday May 27 2016
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Kaieteur News
CONCACAF Announces Appointment of Philippe Moggio as GS
Lyon claim third title in shoot-out drama UEFA Women’s Champions League
Philippe Moggio
Lyon players pose with their UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy at the end of their UEFA Women’s Champions League final against Wolfsburg. ©AFP/Getty Images The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) today announced that Philippe Moggio has been appointed by the new CONCACAF Council as the Confederation’s General Secretary, effective June 13th, 2016. Mr. Moggio previously served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he directed the expansion of the organization’s business, including media distribution, marketing partnerships, events, and licensed merchandise, as well as the development of basketball growth initiatives in the region. In his role as General Secretary, Mr. Moggio will act as the chief executive officer of the Confederation, leading its daily business and operations. He succeeds the Confederation’s Acting General Secretary, Ted Howard, who has served in this role since May 2015. ”As the Confederation continues reforming its corporate governance structure, the key appointment of Philippe Moggio as General Secretary, adds yet another layer of stability to our business operations, allowing us to better serve our Member Associations, partners and fans of the world’s greatest game,” said CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani. “Philippe is an outstanding leader who brings a broad vision, passion, creativity, and strong sports marketing experience that will enable the Confederation to continue developing football throughout the region.” ”It’s an honor to have been appointed by the CONCACAF Council as the Confederation’s General Secretary. I am thrilled to have the unique opportunity to work
with CONCACAF to continue establishing a path for the sustainable long-term growth of football in this region,” said Mr. Moggio. “My focus is to continue implementing the reforms, while leading the front office in strengthening our business performance to further position CONCACAF as a leading sports organization.” Prior to joining the NBA, Mr. Moggio worked for almost 10 years in investment banking covering the U.S. and Latin America, working at Banc of America Securities and ABN AMRO/ING Barings. An athletic standout, he played NCAA Division I tennis at Duke University, then went on to play professionally, from 1995-98, and represented Colombia in multiple Davis Cup appearances. In March 2016, the CONCACAF Council engaged Korn Ferry, a preeminent global people and organizational advisory firm, to advise on key qualifications for the position and manage a public search before offering candidate recommendations to the CONCACAF Council. The international search delivered over 75 male and female candidates from across the globe and the CONCACAF region. Final candidates were interviewed in person by the entire CONCACAF Council. This search marks the first time CONCACAF has partnered with an executive search team to fill the key leadership position. In addition to a passion for football, the Confederation focused on candidates with a proven track record in the sports industry as well as experience with multicultural constituents, managing a successful business, overseeing regional staff, organizing large-scale events, and managing broadcast, commercial, and digital media rights. (CONCACAF)
Lyon clinched a third UEFA Women’s Champions League title as they avenged their 1-0 defeat by Wolfsburg in the 2013 final on penalties in Reggio Emilia. In 2013, Wolfsburg held Lyon off in the first half, but 12 minutes in this time around the French champions struck, their German winger Pauline Bremer setting off on a mazy dribble down the right and squaring for competition top scorer Ada Hegerberg to turn in. Lyon, with Bremer and Amel Majri wide in a 4-3-3 formation, dominated the first half and early in the second period Wolfsburg’s Élise Bussaglia had to clear off the
line from ex-OL club-mate Wendie Renard. Louisa Necib, on her final Lyon appearance, let fly from distance and her shot so nearly crept in, and despite bringing on Ramona Bachmann and Tessa Wullaert, Wolfsburg seldom looked like conjuring up the sort of comeback that won them their second final in 2014. That, though, was before Alex Popp rose to head in Isabel Kerschowski’s high cross. Eventually penalties were needed to separate the sides; Almuth Schult denied Hegerberg, but Sarah Bouhaddi saved from Nilla Fischer and former OL col-
league Bussaglia before Kumagai stepped up to win it. Player of the match: Saki Kumagai (Lyon) Solid in midfield, the Japanese international wrote herself into the competition’s history with her stutttering run-up and calm finish from the penalty spot. Lyon brain, Wolfsburg spirit Lyon’s 4-3-3 formation enabled them Bremer and Amel Majri to outflank Wolfsburg but Popp’s utter determination to win her header forced extra time when it seemed very unlikely. OL made it in the end but the beautiful thing about football is, if you do not turn
chances into goals, you can come unstuck. Another classic final, after the tension of 2013, the breathless drama of 2014 and the twists of 2015. A great generation deserved third title Lotta Schelin, Necib and Amandine Henry played crucial roles in Lyon’s ten straight French titles and now three European crowns. It says much for how this squad is built that not only that trio but also Sarah Bouhaddi, Renard, Camille Abily and Eugénie Le Sommer have played in three final wins and five deciders overall since 2010 for Lyon. (UEFA)
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Kaieteur News
Cavaliers throttle Raptors, Johnson leads Plaisance grab 3-2 series lead to latest NSBF win The Sports Xchange LeBron James had 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Kevin Love returned to form with 25 points as the Cavaliers dismantled the Toronto Raptors in a 11678 win on Wednesday that gives Cleveland a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Kyrie Irving added 23 points in the Cavaliers’ most lopsided playoff win in franchise history — surpassing their 31-point victory at home in Game One of this series. The Cavs have outscored the Raptors by 88 points in their three home games. Cleveland can close out Toronto and return to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year with a win today in Game Six at Air Canada Centre.
The game was effectively over after the first quarter, when the Cavs’ 37 points were the most they’ve scored in any quarter in this series. The Raptors trailed by 18 after one period, and they did not surpass 37 points until the first two minutes of the third quarter. Toronto didn’t surpass the Cleveland Big Three’s total of 71 points until the game’s last few minutes — and all three stars sat the entire fourth quarter. The Raptors’ 65-34 halftime deficit was the first time in franchise history they trailed by at least 30 points in any game, regular season or post-season. Kyle Lowry had 13 points and six assists, and DeMar DeRozan scored 14 points for the Raptors after they totaled 67 points in Toronto’s Game Four win at
home. The backcourt partners shot a combined 7-for-20 in Game Five. Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas appeared for the first time in this series after battling a sprained ankle, and he scored nine points in 19 minutes. Bismack Biyombo had seven points and four rebounds after dominating the paint during the Raptors’ two wins in Toronto. This time, however, the Cavs displayed the type of dominance they flashed in winning 10 straight to open the post-season. The biggest key to the turnaround was Love, who struggled miserably during the two losses at Toronto and compounded matters by twisting his knee during the third quarter of Game Four. Love made his first six shots on Wednesday and finished 8-for-10 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from the 3point arc. He shot 5-for-23 during the two losses at Toronto.
Andrew Johnson led Plaisance Secondary School to a 38-23 rout of Tutorial High School during the fifth week of the National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF) Georgetown, and East Coast Preliminaries at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Johnson poured in 20 points for Plaisance in an Under-16 game while Nigel Bowen had 13points, 11 rebounds and eight steals. For Tutorial High, Zion Gray had 13 points and three assists. In other U-16 games played, St. Joseph High defeated Charlestown Secondary School 29-8 with Shaquavon Gill scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds and Tahir Meusa 10 points and five rebounds, Keoma Henry scored Charlestown’s eight points. Bladen Hall Secondary edged Queens College 23-22 with Joshua Gordon scoring 14 points and Quacey Shortt six points, five rebounds and five blocks. For Queens Col-
lege, Lugard Mohan had nine points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, in the U-14 category, Saint Stanislaus College turned the tables on Plaisance with a 33-8 mauling, Nathan Hackett poured in 13 points while grabbing 19 rebounds and Omario Ganesh 10 points and six rebounds. Kelteen Sampson had four points for Plaisance. St Roses High defeated Tutorial High 9-7 with Jaheem Burton scoring four points and getting 11 rebounds and Jaden Craig four points. Jaden Moses finished with three points and five steals for Tutorial. Marian Academy outlasted Bishops High 2215. Corey Graham had seven points and 13 rebounds and Jether Harris 6 points and nine rebounds for Marian Academy. Timothy Richmond had eight points and six rebounds for Bishops’ High. In the Under-19 Category, St. Joseph High got past
Queens College 37-32 with Lemuel Grant scoring 16 points and Abevia Perry eight points and six rebounds. Damani Thomas finished with nine points and 14 rebounds Darnell Green six points and 16 rebounds for Queen’s College. Plaisance Secondary thrashed Tutorial High 88-35 with Terrence Daniels tipping in 29 points while Nigel Bowen added 12 points. For Tutorial, Denzel Logan scored 10 points. Tutorial High had redemption with a 33-30 win against Queen’s College. Zion Gray had 11 points and Dequan Manning nine points for Tutorial. For Queens, Damani Thomas finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Mohan had 11 points for Queen’s College. Digicel Guyana, Edward B. Beharry (Champion) and Company Ltd and Banks DIH LTD under its Powerade brand are the sponsors of the event.
Trio for Rio set to make history: Estonian triplets head to Olympics Reuters - Leila, Liina and Lily Luik from Estonia will make Olympics history when they cross the start line for the women’s marathon in Rio. Twins competing in the same event is not uncommon at the Olympic level. But the Luiks are believed to be the first identical triplets to compete against each other. The blond, blued-eyed sisters from the southern Estonian university town of Tartu, now 30 years old, only took up serious distance running when they were 24. “We have been active since childhood, we love dancing, we love to be active and this pushed us to professional sports,” Lily said. Liina, who got the sisters to start running, said that long-distance running appealed to them more than the highly technical nature of sprinting. After a couple of years, they realized they were good enough to take part in international competitions. They decided to try for the Olympics, adopting the slogan “Trio to Rio” to give shape to their hopes of all three competing in the Olympics. ”We saw ... after one year we had good results in Estonia and we thought we could achieve something good also outside of Estonia and to do some big competitions like
Estonia’s Olympic team female marathon runners triplets (L-R) Leila, Liina and Lily Luik pose for a picture after a training session in Tartu, Estonia, May 26, 2016. Reuters/Ints Kalnins European Championships and the Olympic games,” Lily. In competition, the sisters say they support each other emotionally and even in race tactics, such as taking it in turns to act as wind breakers. The sisters live separately in Estonia and sometimes have to train apart. But they regularly spend winters together at a high-altitude training camp in Kenya, and they appear to enjoy each other’s company, chatting away while running. They will all be training in northern Italy from June for Rio. “It is bor-
ing to train alone,” said Leila. The sisters are not favored to end up on the podium at Rio. Kenyan superstar Tiki Gelana set the Olympic record of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 7 seconds in London in 2012. The silver and bronze medal times were 2:23:12 and 2:23:29. By contrast, Leila, the oldest of the triplets, has the fastest personal best at 2:37.12, set in Shanghai in 2013. She is followed by Liina, whose personal best is 2 minutes and 30 seconds slower and Lily,
the youngest, who is a further 45 seconds back. But all three said their goal for the Rio games was to finish together, to set personal bests and to finish with a smile. Asked if they expected to bring home an Olympic medal, all three chimed in. ”It would be great ... it’s like our dream, and we know that we have to live in reality. It is very hard to compete against the Kenyan runners. We are not at the same kind of level as they are now, but in two or three years we can do that.”
Kaieteur News
Friday May 27, 2016
‘Fit, strong and ready to play some cricket’ – Starc Having been out of cricket since late November with a foot fracture, Mitchell Starc has said he is “fit, strong and ready” for a return to action during the tri-series in the West Indies, which begins on June 3. ”It’s been a long time coming, [I’ve been] watching a lot of cricket, so yeah, excited to get on that plane tomorrow, head off, and hopefully play a few games in the West Indies,” Starc said, during his predeparture press conference yesterday. Starc last played during Australia’s day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide, where he suffered an ankle injury that required him to undergo surgery. ”There’s no pain in the ankle or foot, so [I’ve] been really happy with it, it’s come along really well.” Starc said. “Had a good three or four months in the gym to get a bit of size back on and I’m feeling really good. Fit, strong and ready to play some cricket.” The surgery removed bone spurs - which have troubled Starc right through his career - from the fast b o w l e r ’s r i g h t a n k l e . Terming the injury as one arising from overuse rather than technical issues with his action, Starc said he would not need to make any modifications in his action. He admitted, however, that the ankle spurs would remain a recurring issue. ”I’m sure the spurs will come back again,” he said. “I guess it’s just part of fast bowling, the impact that we put through our body, especially that front foot, so yeah, taking that bit of bone out of the back is going to solve that issue and it’s felt really good in the last few months of bowling, so I’m happy with where that is. I’m sure the spurs will come back somewhere down the line, hopefully a lot longer down the line.” Asked about the debate surrounding day-night Test matches, with one pink-ball Test penciled in later this year against Pakistan at the Gabba and uncertainty surrounding the staging of a second, against South Africa in Adelaide, Starc echoed his captain Steven Smith’s views and said Adelaide was
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Peter’s Hall win Eccles/ Ramsburg NDC dominoes crown
Mitchell Starc. © Cricket Australia/ Getty Images probably “best suited” to hosting day-night Test cricket. “If they take a bit of grass off, it’ll probably last a few more than three days, and yeah, look, it’s going through its changes, the ball needs a little bit of work, but I think it’s in a good place,” Starc said. “As we saw with the amount of people that came and the viewers at home, it’s obviously here to stay, so as cricketers we’re going to have to get used to it, and it sounds like we’re going to play hopefully two Test matches with it this year. ”It’s another challenge for us to get used to that for the Gabba Test if we get a chance to play some Shield cricket there before that Test match. Obviously the Adelaide Test is still up in the air, and let’s see what they’ve got to say about it.” Having said that, Starc felt the pink Kookaburra still had some way to go before it could be used regularly in Test matches, contending that there was too much grass left on the pitch during the Adelaide Test against New Zealand. ”[To] keep throwing grass on the wicket just to look after a cricket ball, I don’t think it’s true Test cricket. The ball has come a long way, Kookaburra are doing great things with it, [but] it’s got to come a little bit further so we’re not preparing wickets to protect the ball.” (ESPNcricinfo)
Captains of the three finalists with MVP M. Beaton, second right. Peter’s Hall came out victorious when the Eccles/Ramsburg Neighbourhood Democratic Council hosted a dominoes competition recently. Peter’s Hall chalked up 80 games while Demerara Harbour Bridge placed second with 71 followed by Eccles Warriors on 70. M. Beaton of Peter’s Hall won the MVP prize. The competition was played as part of the C o u n c i l ’s 5 0 t h I n d e p e n d e n c e Anniversary celebrations.
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Friday May 27, 2016
Region 8 Jubilee Football Competition underway Region 8, under the guidance of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) launched its Jubilee Football tournament Monday in Mahdia. The competition which is being executed by the Pakaraimas Sports Association (PSA) is being run in association with a number of partners and is the brainchild of the region’s REO, Rafel Downes. The simple ceremony was conducted in the boardroom of the RDC and was witnessed by Regional Executive Officer Rafel Downes, Deputy Regional Executive Officer Gavin Gounga, other senior officials of the region, representatives of the teams, sporting officials and coordinator of the competition, Harold Waqar Shiwnarain among others. The REO said that while football remains a passion among the youths of the region, over the years they have faced challenges in having competitions. This, he noted is a result of the fact that traversing most parts of the region requires air transport and this has been very difficult for teams and sponsors. He stressed that the region certainly needs support and assistance in
taking sports to another level as while the youths are motivated to get involved, they are unable to bear the financial burdens. The competition kicked o ff u n d e r f l o o d l i g h t s yesterday and among the officials who were expected to be a part of proceedings were Minister of Communities, Hon Ronald Bulkan who was the feature speaker at the flag raising ceremony the night before. Prior to the football finals the finals for the domino and cricket competitions will also be played. He disclosed that the football competition is open for teams around Mahdia, adding that a similar competition will be held for teams in the Kato community. Waqar added that with significant support and assistance from the REO they have been having indepth discussions with the various clubs in Region 8. This he said is geared towards a view of forming a sub association, as they seek membership within the GFF. He pointed out that this will help in providing a level playing field for talented and skillful players within the Region, in making their way onto the national team. He
Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) for Region 8, Gavin Gounga receives the Championship trophy from Coordinator of the competitions, Harold Waqar Shiwnarain with officials of the RDC and team representatives looking on. added that a similar approach is being taken in Region 9, thus the Hinterland Games will see the realization of the Hinterland Sub Association. “We think it’s time that players from the hinterland community get an equal opportunity to play for Guyana as the hinterland regions all forms part of Guyana,” he said. “I must say that many of the teams are very excited and upbeat with the significant interest being shown in developing sports within the region by our REO, Rafel Downes and with the aggressive approach he has been making in terms of securing sporting assistance by way of equipment and other
resources is indicative of his passion and determination. We are confident that with his vision and passion that becoming a member of the GFF will soon be a reality under his guidance,” Waqar stressed. The REO said that he is satisfied with the progress being made thus far in making sports an integral part of the various communities within the region. He said that with the various relationships that he is seeking to forge ahead with Region 9 and other hinterland communities he is of the view that sport development will be boosted, adding that players will be able to interact and view the talent of other
players and communities. Downes reminded those in attendance that he is steadfastly committed in his passion for sports for the region, stressing that sports can help with holistic growth and development. He disclosed that while there remains some evident challenges in a number of areas within the region, taking sports to another level will certainly help in boosting the region and its people. The REO issued a passionate appeal to the corporate community to assist in whatever way that they can in bringing about sporting development. “Sports needs more than that passion, determination, discipline and enthusiasm, it needs resources both financial and technical to grow and this is where the corporate community can help. Many of these players have raw talent but because of the lack of resources in
terms of finances and equipment they are forced to abandon their passion for economic survival,” he said. Downes stressed the urgent need for youths to use sports as an avenue for both personal and community development, declaring that its time the youths recognize that everything cannot be done by government, thus they would need to bring out the spirit of determination and perseverance if success is to be a formula in their daily living. In praising the efforts of Waqar in organizing the events the REO said, “I must applaud Waqar who was identified through my DREO to address Sports in the region and its evident that he has been playing a crucial role in ensuring that we get moving. Everyone must come on board irrespective of one’s political persuasions as sports is bigger than anyone, political party or organization as with sports relationships are forged, communities are brought together, relationships are grounded and that is what we need for this region and hopefully through events like these as the benefits to the region and to its people are enormous. We at the RDC are very happy to be playing an integral part and is pleased to use sports as an avenue for the youths to be positively engaged,” he reiterated. Meanwhile, DREO (Continued on page 32)
Kaieteur News
Friday May 27, 2016
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Sooklall eyes C’bean Powerlifting Sponsorship could be biggest C/Ship in St Croix weight on his shoulders By Sean Devers Nineteen-year-old Powerlifter Daniel Sooklall has been selected to represent Guyana in this year’s ninth Caribbean P o w e r l i f t i n g Championships from August 14-19 in the United
States Virgin Island of St Croix and the teenager, who campaigns in the 59kg weight class, is confident of doing well in his first overseas tournament once he secures sponsorship to make the trip. Sooklall explained that although he has already
Rugged win Turning Point Dominoes tourney Rugged marked 41 games to win the final of the Turning Point/Mark Wiltshire four-game dominoes tournament which was contested on Tuesday night last. Host Turning Point placed second with 38 games while Phantom finished t h i r d o n 2 9 . Osmond Braithwaite got 11 and Martin Permaul nine for Rugged who drew the bye, while Colin Mc Ewan and Sandra Denny got nine each for Turning Point. Jane Chase chalked nine for Phantom. Meanwhile, Turning Point scored 43 games to win the semi final game ahead of Phantom on 41 and Mix Up on 37. Mc Ewan and Loraine Reid marked 10 games apiece for the winners while Rawle Cameron chalked up 11 and Orin Favourite 9 for Phantom; Mix Up’s leading players were Rawle Peters and Kanhai Samaroo with 10 and 9 games respectively.
been selected to represent Guyana if he does not get enough sponsorship he would not be able to go. Getting sponsorship to make the trip to St Croix could be the biggest weight on his shoulder. “Unlike sports like cricket and Football where the players airfare, meals and in the case of cricket given retainer contracts and match fees, we have to find sponsors even though we have been picked to represent our country. I believe the Government has provided $1 Million for the entire team,” Sooklall disclosed. “I have been to a few places with the sponsorship request letter from the Powerlifting Federation and I am hoping that all goes well,” said Sooklall, who has represented Guyana on five previous occasions. A member of the Fitness
Daniel Sooklall Revolution Gym in the East Coast Village of Mon Repos, Sooklall is the National Powerlifting Champion in his weight Class and trains mainly in the evenings alternating,
weights training, Cross fit exercises and running for stamina. He is also employed as a fitness Instructor at Fitness Revolution and disclosed that he has been involved in competitive Powerlifting for the last four years. “Since I was little I loved being involved in fitness. My two sisters and brother are all involved in Bodybuilding, my older brother and my little sister wants to get involved in the sport in a serious way,” Sooklall revealed. His mother said since her son was five or six he loved to lift heavy things like old iron and old car wheels. “It’s not surprising
that he got into this sport and I am very proud he has been picked to represent Guyana,” his mother added. The Guyana Amateur Powerlifing Federation has accepted an invitation from the International Powerlifting Federation in conjunction with the North American Powerlifting Federation in this year’s Caribbean Champions in which this Country has won the Best Team title twice before. Those Companies and individuals desirous of offering sponsorship to Sooklall can contact him on telephone number 657-1627 or the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation.
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Friday May 27, 2016
‘Shelve the egos for the good of West Indies’ – Sammy Darren Sammy has called for West Indies’ players and administrators to put their “egos” to one side and work for the betterment of the game in the region, as he prepares to return to competitive action for the first time since leading his side to victory in the World T20 at Eden Gardens last month. Sammy, who has arrived at Hampshire for this season’s NatWest T20 Blast, will sit out today’s clash with Middlesex at Uxbridge due to registration issues, and instead make his first outing of the campaign in next Thursday’s home match against Kent. Either way, he will not be making a triumphant homecoming for West Indies during their Tri-Nations Series against South Africa and Australia, which gets underway at Providence on June 3, having been cut from the WICB’s list of contracted players back in January. Instead, Sammy has spent much of the past month on a champions’ tour of his home island of St Lucia. With his team-mate and fellow St Lucian, Johnson Charles, alongside him, he has been parading the World T20 trophy around his c o u n t r y ’s s c h o o l s ,
honouring the pledge he made during his emotional speech on the podium in Kolkata, when he dedicated the victory to “all our fans in the Caribbean”. However, he is itching to return to the cricket field after a month spent basking in the afterglow of a remarkable triumph, in which he emulated the achievement of the great Clive Lloyd in leading West Indies to a second global title, following their previous victory in the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka. ”I wouldn’t say up there with Lloyd because what he did with his team was historical,” Sammy told ESPNcricinfo during a Kwik Cricket Festival in Hampshire. “But I can’t stand next to you and say I have not enjoyed it. I got a chance to go home with the trophy, and I took the trophy to the people because I said it was for the people. I saw the reaction from the kids - I was once a kid and I knew how much I felt when I saw my heroes.” ”I belong on the cricket field and I’ve not been on the cricket field since the World T20, so coming here to Hampshire, I can’t wait to get started.”
Darren Sammy. ©IDI/Getty Images Despite the satisfaction of West Indies’ triumph across three formats, following the success of both the Women’s World T20 squad in India and the men’s Under-19 squad in Bangladesh - Sammy’s frustration with the WICB was evident once again earlier this week when he
and his fellow exiles, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, exchanged incredulous messages on Twitter with Kieron Pollard, following his unexpected inclusion in the Tri-Series squad. ”It’s sad that for so long it’s been a back-and-forth between the board and players,” said Sammy. “But
these three wins show we can win cricket at all levels, and if we could work together, that’s all you need. Players and board working together, sharing a common goal, with no egos. It would be better for West Indies cricket but at the m o m e n t i t ’s j u s t n o t happening. ”They always say sports and politics don’t mix, which is true. But at the end you have to give credit to the most important thing, which is the cricket. And who plays the cricket? The cricketers. That is your product. If you plant corn, you have to take care of it, nurture it, fertilize it and then you can reap the rewards, so it is similar to the West Indies cricket team.” There are movements afoot to reinvigorate the administration of West Indies cricket, and Sammy said he had been inspired to witness a speech made by Sir Garfield Sobers back in April, when a panel of West Indies legends gathered in Grenada to call for the dissolution of the board, in line with the CARICOM cricket review panel’s recommendation. ”I listened to Sir Garry speak, and it brought tears to my eyes,” said Sammy. “The same thing he went through,
playing 50 years ago, it is still happening. To watch a legend that I look up to, speak with such passion and hurt, it’s sad. The people in charge of West Indies cricket have to make it better, swallow their pride and their ego - and some of us players too - and work for the betterment of West Indies cricket. Because that’s who we play for, the fans.” Despite the distractions, Sammy confirmed that the politics had played a massive part in uniting his team throughout their World T20 triumph. ”I’m telling you, it was a massive motivation, a massive drive for the guys,” he said. “We made a conscious effort to go out and play and stay focused. As a team it brought us closer together and in the face of adversity we always tend to rise. We fought like cornered tigers, and it was a very memorable experience, seeing guys committed to one cause. ”We should use that in all formats we play, whether one-day or Tests, because once we believe and stick together, we can achieve. I am just hoping that, in the coming months, we could have the right people in place to take West Indies cricket forward.” (ESPNcricinfo)
GCUC saddened at the passing of Sukhdeo WICB express condolence The Guyana Cricket Umpires Council (GCUC) has expressed condolences to the relatives of Umpire Gyanand Sukhdeo who passed away on Wednesday due to kidney failure. Speaking with Kaieteur Sport President of the GCUC Dhieranidranauth Somwaru said the entire council is saddened by the passing of Sukhdeo adding that his services will surely be missed. Somwaru stated that Sukhdeo was a kind hearted and dedicated umpire who was always willing to assist his colleagues especially the young umpires.
Sukhdeo, who was in his early 40s, was a member of the Junior Panel of Umpires of the West Indies Cricket Board and an executive member of the GCUC. He officiated as on-field umpire in the WICB Regional age group tournaments and as fourth umpire in Regional first class and Caribbean Premier League T20 matches. He was listed to officiate in the upcoming WICB age group tournaments. He will be cremated on Sunday at Good Hope, East Coast Demerara. WICB express c o n d o l e n c e The President, Board of
Directors, Management and Staff of the West Indies Cricket Board regret the passing of Gyananad Sukhdeo. The late Guyanese umpire just turned 41 on May 20 passed away on May 24. Sukhdeo was part of the junior panel of umpires for the WICB since 2011 and did duties for the age group tournaments, under 1 5 , 1 7 a n d 1 9 competitions. He was a standby umpire in the regional four-day competition. The team offers condolences to his family and friends in Guyana and around the region.
Sukhdeo in action during a Regional competition in Guyana in 2014.
Kaieteur News
Friday May 27, 2016
PAGE 43
Vieira expresses gratitude to Sunburst Orange Juice By Rawle Welch Once regarded as the best rider in the Caribbean before a cadre of young riders including cousins Elliott and Matthew Vieira took aim at his dominance, Guyana’s Stephen ‘Valentino Rossi’ produced a stirring performance in Jamaica last weekend to resurrect the argument of who is the best in the Region. Vieira, coming off an average 2015 when he had to watch his dominion in the Superbike category get snatched away from him by ‘new kids on the block’ Elliott and Matthew stamped his authority in the opening leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship at Jamwest Speedway in Jamaica with a master class performance, racing to two wins and a second place from three starts to be crowned Best Rider of the Meet. Vieira’s display clearly sets the tone for what is anticipated to be an exhilarating year for Superbike racing in the Caribbean and one that many feel will probably provide more entertainment that the cars. The local speedster, who was astride a Kawasaki ZX6R tore up the field in the first race, relegating last year’s champion Elliott to second place, while Jamaica’s Robert McDonald claimed the final spot on the podium. He returned in the next race to duplicate his earlier performance, but this time it was Matthew that finished
second and McDonald in the same spot as the previous race. However, in the final race in the category, Elliott managed to reverse the positions among the two, managing to beat Stephen with the Jamaican McDonald again ending in third place. Speaking with this newspaper about his performance, Vieira said it has renewed his confidence in his ability and he is now eagerly looking forward to dominating his rivals once again. ”I am extremely confident once again and looking forward to the next Race Meet where I can show my supporters that Jamaica was no fluke, but rather a resurgence of Stephen Vieira,” he said. Vieira praised the effort of Elliott and Matthew who he described as the riders of the future, but added that he has no intention of relinquishing his early advantage to them or any other rider in the Championship. He was full of gratitude to his main sponsor Sunburst Orange Juice, especially Mr. Rakesh Puri and the entire team, while also acknowledging the tremendous support offered by Mr & Mrs Andy and Annalisa Phang and the guys from Pure Racing Team. ”I want to thank Sunburst Orange Juice for its total support over the years I am grateful to them and is determined to make them proud,” Vieira told this newspaper. Gratefulness was also
ne o r h t m i a l ec vows to r
Guyana’s Stephen ‘Valentino Rossi’ Vieira poses for a photo op following one of his victories in Jamaica recently.
extended to Fly Jamaica, the airline that made it poosible for the team to travel top Jamaica and
Seaboard Marine for its support in getting the machines to all the different d e s t i n a t i o n s .
He emphasized that he is back and all those harbouring ambitions of standing in his way will have
to demonstrate their readiness to frustrate his pursuit of reclaiming his throne.
Guyana has made noteworthy progress says CS&TC Guyana has made noteworthy progress in every sphere of National life since that historic day May 26th 1966 some fifty years ago. The Cavaliers Sports and Tour Club in a message to mark the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary said that there have been remarkable achievements since Independence in all sectors of the economy –Agriculture, Mining, Forestry, Manufacturing,
Tourism, as well as in Education, Health, Hinterland and Regional Development, Culture, Youth and Sport, Security, Social and Physical Infrastructure including Roads, Sea defences, Drainage and Irrigation Facilities, Aviation to name a few. There have also been tremendous increases in local and foreign investment. The CS&TC emphasized that over the
years, there has also been a deep sense of patriotism and pride developing in all Guyanese as they press on to accomplish the task of Nation building. “But as the Nation celebrates its Golden Jubilee Anniversary, we should not forget to rededicate ourselves to the difficult task of Nation building to which President David Granger and h i s A P N U / A F C administration are devoting their energies and resources
and to cooperate with them in all their endeavors to build a strong and Green Guyana for all. The CS&TC’s message also stated that under President David Granger’s driving and inspired leadership, his pioneering vision, his giant determination and his vehement will, Guyana can enter her fifty first year as an Independent Nation with more confidence and unswerving devotion to
development. T h e B u r n h a m Government had won Independence after a 152 years of British rule but with a price that it had to accept the monarchy and so Independent Guyana found herself with a monarchial system of Government with the Queen of England still Queen of Guyana. This was an unhappy ending to our long struggle for Independence and National sovereignty, so at
the earliest opportunity then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham disposed with the monarchy and adopted a Republican system of Government so that Guyana would no longer be ruled by someone who was not a Guyanese. That date was February 23th 1970. So as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary of that historic event we must regard it as a Red Letter Day in the country’s history.
t r o Sp
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Plaisance’s Andrew Johnson finishes a front-rim finger roll against Tutorial High at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
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Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) defends during the third quarter. Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
‘Shelve the egos for the good of West Indies’ – Sammy
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