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 have celebrated the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary, they must stay focused on the fundamental issues facing the country and not be side-tracked by the glamor 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 Minister of Finance believes that all is well and that the economy is on the right track to achieve sustainable growth. However, neither the government nor the Minister has demonstrated to the people that they possess new ideas of how to rescue the country from its economic dilemma or how to improve the lives of the poor. Since taking office, the economy and the plight of the poor have been the major areas of concern. 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, Guyana has become a post-colonial society in which colonialism continued to shape the country’s image and affairs. 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. Indeed, the daunting spirit of colonialism that stalked the nation 50 years ago continues to stalk it today and has resulted in its under-development. 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 colonisers. The country is still trapped in the colonial-type plantation economy and much of the fundamental colonial resource structures are still in place. It goes without saying that Guyana remains a classic colony in that it imports food and other primary products and that the leaders did very little to build a manufacturing and industrial base. How can Guyana with such huge land mass import food? The answer lies in the post-independence governments which have not truly unlocked the talents and potentialities of the people, embrace the concept of economic and human development and trust the people, not foreigners. They have not moved the country forward or have committed to use its natural resources towards its development. And there still exists the anti-worker colonial mindset that continues to permit jaundiced sentiments and attitudes against the working class and the ability to make decisions and to be involved in governance. The leaders have not corrected the deficiencies in the health and education structures. Infant mortality continues and the content of the colonial school curriculum is failing thousands of students. These are some of the issues that the people should keep in mind as they celebrate the nation’s 50th Independence Anniversary. It is time to build a new and better post-independent society in the 21st Century, because all is not well after 50 years of independence.
Saturday May 28, 2016
Tremendous losses because GPL’s poor monitoring of projects DEAR EDITOR, I have taken note, with interest and raised eyebrows, news from your wellread newspaper that there are a number of bids currently being assessed for a major contract with the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL). I read with alarm yesterday that one of the companies bidding for the project of providing smart meters and new transformers and running of new lines was one that recently took part in a project to build sub-stations where there were delays and possible problems. Mr. Editor, in recent days also you carried a report of three water wells being built by a contractor and there were delays and even evidence that the contractor had no experience. In Guyana, it is common knowledge that in the past, contracts to the tune of billions
have been awarded to companies with little or no experience and track records. We have seen billions of dollars in losses, as can be evidenced from contracts like the Amaila Falls roads. We have engineers who turn a blind eye to quality of works. We see monies being advanced and not matched with the amount of works being done. We see the East Bank Demerara four-lane in trouble and there are numerous other examples. There is a new Government in place and President David Granger and his team in the Coalition, have promised to clean up the system in place. It is one year later now. Are we seeing a replay of state contracts being awarded to friends and families? Are we going down the same road when people resign themselves to seeing engineers who monitoring our
projects pay little attention and continue to collect bribes? We are celebrating 50 years as an independent nation. We have to change. We believed the coalition when they campaigned that there will be changes. We expect GPL and the Guyana Water Inc. and other state entities and ministries to know we are paying close attention to what they do with our tax dollars. Mr Editor, the five years are going to be up in the blink of an eye. Our politicians will come knocking on our doors. Contractors will have to know that the game has changed. We will no longer tolerate incompetency and graft and corruption of the past. The BKs and CMC and Fip Motielalls of this country cannot continue to “eyepass” us. W.A. Mohamed
DEAR EDITOR; We the residents of Charity need URGENT help and government’s intervention. I wish to bring to your attention a situation which continues to be a major problem for the legitimate residents of Charity, Pomeroon, Region 2. There appears to be complete neglect of the area by the NCD and other officials who were recently elected into office. The area is filthy and stink. It has become overrun with vendors and illegal business operators. This did not start last year; it has been around for years, but now it has gotten even worse. We the residents of the area demand that the government via the Ministry of Local Government or other agency urgently visit the Charity area to see the state of neglect and the volume of filth that has overtaken our area. The main cause of this problem is from the vendors who have shown contempt for all the rules and regulations and continue to sell on the
roadway despite being in possession of stalls in the market. These stalls are being used mainly as bonds and vending continues like a Wild West situation on the roadways. Many of the vendors have covered over the main drainage trench in the area. This trench is a drainage unit and a reservoir to hold water in the case of heavy rainfall. It has not been cleaned in 25 years. The vending situation has prevented this. As a result, the residents of Charity are regularly flooded in their yards, so much now that some people are saying their buildings are sinking. The vendors have also become so brazen that they have taken over the river defence and have built over areas necessary for the protection from the river. During the last spring tide, this lead to serious flooding and the sea defence team was unable to access the area. If we allow this to continue Charity may become washed away. In addition to the vendors the lawlessness extends to some of the businesses in the area, one proprietor is particular has covered more than 200 feet of the trench and uses it to market
his goods. As if this was not enough, he also utilizes the parking lot to also sell and display his goods. Mr. Editor the entire area has become a Wild West operation and we are frustrated. The vendors, who also live in their stalls have no sanitation facility and they just do their “business” outdoors. The cool-down carts openly sell beer and hard liquor to all, including school aged children. The snackettes and drink stalls also engage in selling school age children alcohol and hard liquor. None of these stalls have a GRA licence to sell liquor. When the GRA people come to check, they close up shop until the GRA leaves. We are calling on the government to urgently address this plight for us the residents of Charity. We would like to see a clean-up campaign similar to what is taking place in Georgetown and we would like order to be brought to the area. Mr. Editor we also invite you to send a reporter down to see the lawlessness that is taking pace. Ronald Abrahams
DEAR EDITOR; With reference to the above mentioned subject, I wish to relate to you my experiences with a traffic rank, (name supplied) at Mahaica Police Station. On July 26, 2015 the rank stopped me at the De Hoop Public Road, Mahaica and accused me of drinking alcohol and instructed me to drive to the Mahaica Police Station. I complied, and went in his office. He implied that he will conduct the breathalyzser test on me. At that time I admitted to him that I did consume 2 bottles of Guinness and I pleaded with him for a chance. I had to attend to an urgent and personal errand with a family member. He then
demanded $4,000 from me which I did offer after which I was released. On 3 August 14, 2015, there was a road block at the Mahaica Public Road, among the police officer was this very rank. He stopped me and inquired if I had consumed any alcohol and he did arrest and place me in the lock up. On August 15, 2015 at 1:30 PM, I was placed on $10,000 bail and was released. At this time still no breathalyser test was done. After my release I went to Region 2 to conduct some business. I returned on August I9th and went to the Police Station to enquire the status on my matter and met with this constable again. I enquired from him
about my matter. He indicated to me that I will be charged and placed before the court on 2 charges and will have to attend court on August 20th, 20 I 5 I visited the Police station on August 20th. He then demanded the bail receipt from me and $10,000 cash which I give him after which he related to me that the matter is finished. I wish to bring this matter to your attention and wish to have police officers like these removed from office. This new government vouched that they will STAMP OUT CORRUPTION! And with these simple matters things will escalate so I am hoping that my matter will be addressed urgently. Bashkaran Basdeo
Charity has become like the Wild West
Police Harassment and Corruption
Saturday May 28, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Residents of Charity The tragic death of Patricia Mitchell KIng protest noise nuisance MR. EDITOR; I wish you could have met Patricia Mitchell King. That woman! Never without a smile always laughing, at 45 she was already a proud grandmother, fluent in Spanish working in a reputable security firm. We called her Mitchell she always had a positive word and I can never recall her being angry. Her post was at an embassy. She was hardworking and diligent and she loved Christmas more than her birthday. Her excitement always stepped up a few levels during this festive season. Mr Editor you would not believe who killed her in the middle of preparing for Christmas 2015 . Mr Minibus . Like a rocket he blazed down the East Coast corridor until the inevitable happened and the blazing rocket that was guided by one (of the many) irresponsible bus driver(s) converted into a metal wreck tumbling along the roadway with our friends relatives and neighbours on
the inside screaming and helplessly spinning out of control. Mr Editor, Mitchell my friend was flung out of the window and that out of control metal wreck smashed into the back of her head as she lay there on the road. It’s 6 long painful months for her family, friends and workmates. Mitchell deserved Christmas with her immediate family and she deserved to celebrate the Golden Jubilee with her Guyanese family but Mr Minibus took her life. Everyday a bus zooms in and cuts into my lane just inches in front of my car. When that happens, I remember Mitchell. Daily, as mini buses fly pass me with music booming I cannot hear my car horn or a passing siren and people packed four and five in a seat and I say sorry to Mitchell. Ever so often when I see school children packed like sardines sitting in each other’s lap and the conductor with his butt sticking out the window. I reflect on the
brutal death of Mitchell. Recently, I refused to let a speeding minibus cut me off in heavy traffic and a female passenger pushed out her head and called me “early morning bad mind” and on behalf of Mitchell i said to her “keep encouraging the driver and all of y’all gon die in that bus”. And the numerous times I see traffic police turn a blind eye or slip the 30 pieces of coin like Judas blood money into their pockets, I’m speechless cause Mitchell deserved better and the nation she loved failed her. Over 25 years of Mr Minibus killing our men women and children and the ‘powers that be’ stand by still convinced that change will come. Yes Mr Editor but that change will come when a very important high profile Guyanese gets slaughtered by Mr Minibus. In the mean while Mr Bus continues to slaughter and abuse Guyanese daily. Shirwin Campbell
DEAR EDITOR; As we approach our 50th anniversary of Independence, the media needs to take a serious look at itself. Last Friday, the President of Guyana made a very important foreign policy speech as the keynote speaker at the CARICOM International Youth Reparations Relay and Rally. Beyond his comments on the Venezuelan situation, this speech was his most important foreign policy speech as he spoke to Ministers and Parliamentarians of the Guyana Government, his fellow Prime Ministers of CARICOM and to the nine leaders of Europe whose nations were involved in “the greatest crime against humanity”, slavery. This event was symbolically held at the Parade Ground in Georgetown, where, in 1823, the heads of over 200 African-Guyanese freedom fighters were decapitated and placed on poles as a warning to others not to rebel. Runners and participants from 28 villages and communities attended. Yet, not a single private newspaper in Guyana carried his speech. This was a
CARICOM sponsored event as President Granger is one of five Heads of States who are members of the CARICOM Heads-of-State Subcommittee on Reparations. Only the Chronicle reported the President Speech Why did the Stabroek News, Kaieteur News and the Guyana Times deliberately censor this very important speech and message from Sir Hilary Beckles? Clearly, the Owners and Editors of these influential newspapers do not want Guyana to hear President Grangers strong views on the topic and the fact that he publicly stressed the need for all Guyanese and Caribbean people to join the fight for compensatory payments from those who had enforced the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. In his speech, President Granger said: “What was done during the colonial times go to the heart of our existence. Thus, Guyanese and members of the Caribbean must have a vested interest in reparatory justice,” As reported in the Chronicle, President Granger went on to say that the case for reparative justice can be established in
respect to three claims, given that for enslavement and genocide, which are crimes against humanity, victims ought to be recompensed because, Europe’s enrichment came through the wealth from the exploitations and deprivations of enslaved persons. Guyana is seeking social cohesion but our People are not being given the facts by our major newspapers and are fed on a daily basis, a great amount of historical misinformation which prevents a better understanding of each other’s historical contributions to Guyana. In my address at the Rally, I also gave a brief report on the work of the Guyana Reparations Committee. This too (Continued on page 23)
The media did not report on this speech of President Granger
DEAR EDITOR; We the residents of Charity and surrounding areas, serves to give attention to the authorities responsible for maintaining and safeguarding the rights of the Guyanese nation. It is truly disturbing to observe the number of letters and complaints appearing in the media regarding noise pollution. In the past administration more and more persons were and still being afflicted by this noise, and ironically, it seems as though our cries are falling on deaf ears. Though we have seen some action taken on the opening hours for bars with the new administration, we would like to also see positive action taken on the issue of noise nuisance in Charity. In the Charity district, there are two popular Hotel / Bar and Discos right under the nose of the Charity Police Station. There is a Catholic Church just across the road and a cottage Hospital not too far from one of these discos. These discos are a source of unrelenting pounding of loud music emanating from them. Also on holidays permission is given to hold open air function on the car park tarmac and other open air buildings and so this adds to more thundering noise in Charity. It is difficult to comprehend how could the responsible authorities give permission to hold open air function with such large music boxes close to the places mention above and also residents living so close to these places? As if the constant banging is not enough, you have private cars, the owners who seem to be friends of the police, have powerful music systems that will play their music anytime during the day or night. The owners of the discos and cars seem to have no respect for the residents of Charity and more so the Catholic Church and the patients of the Charity Cottage Hospital to enjoy the peace and tranquility of their surroundings.
The Catholic Church has a children dorm where evening classes are held after school hours and the priest have made several complaints to the Charity Police Station about the noise affecting these classes and other religious activities, but his complaints have fallen on deaf ears. It appears as though the owners and the workers of these places are now deaf and too damaged to even comprehend the agony which is faced by the residents of Charity when the loud music is played. It is almost fifteen years we are enduring this suffering and inspite of us over the past years made complains to the police and other relevant offices, nothing seems to have influence them to put a stop to this lawlessness. The owners of these discos seem to be above the law and seems to have had some level of influence with officials of the administration and members of the Guyana Police Force and so no positive or serious action was ever taken by the relevant authorities to stop this nuisance. There is legislation in law which can be enforced to stop this lawlessness and we demand that this should be enforced so that residents not only in Charity, but throughout the length and breath of this nation could enjoy the peace and tranquility of their surroundings. It is not just frustrating and irritating, but very unhealthy for us to be exposed to this nuisance. Some of us have members of our family suffering with various kinds of illnesses and noise is definitely a detriment to the improvement of their health. It is totally unfair for hard working law abiding citizens to be persistently harassed by this issue. The elderly, children and home owners are forced to
endure this abhorrent hammering and pounding without any satisfactory measures taken by those in charge to alleviate their anguish. As recent as 2016-05-26 a complaint to the Charity Police Station about loud music at the Charity car tarmac, an officer has claimed that the Government has given permission to bars and other functions to operate until 4.00 am. and so the police cannot stop the people from playing their music loud, we are calling on the Commissioner of Police and the Public Security Minister to clarify this misconception about the 4.00am closing hours that people could play loud music during these hours so as to disturb residents living close to these bars and open air functions. There are legislative laws to deal with this situation and it must be enforced to protect the Guyanese nation from this mental torture and anguish, don’t we have a right to enjoy the peace and comfort in our homes anymore. The law on noise pollution states clearly that music is allowed to be played at a controlled decibel levels fixed for various hours of the day and night and the police should be equipped with the instrument to deal with this situation. It is totally unfair for hard working and law abiding citizens to be persistently harassed by this issue. We are appealing to this new Government administration to seriously look into this country wide problem of which you were given a mandate to correct. Residents of Charity
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Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
GMC office const…
Robbery/home invasion on Land Court Judge…
Magistrate sets Payments depended on engineer certifying the work June date for ruling - Hassan
- following closing arguments by Prosecutor
The GMC building located at Robb and Alexander Streets The forensic audit conducted into the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) had reported on what was described as collusion between a foreign building contractor and the Board of Directors, in connection with construction works on the Corporation’s head building. The forensic auditor, Saykar A. Boodhoo, had stated that one Hanniel Madramootoo, an engineer attached to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), was assigned to oversee the construction of the building. In the wake of the auditor ’s statements that Board officials and a Ministry of Agriculture Engineer inspected and may have given passing grades to construction on the building, knowing things were far from rosy, Hassan stated that all payments were made after the engineer would have given the approval. According to Hassan, Madramootoo acted as GMC’s eyes and ears, on the ground and would have had to certify that the work which was done adhered to the standards. He said that the engineer would also have had to state what the value was, before money could be disbursed to the contractor, Constantine Engineering and Construction Services of Trinidad and Tobago. Hassan did acknowl-
edge that on various occasions he would accompany Board members to some of these inspections. Back in 2011 the contract had been awarded, through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), to the firm. The auditor’s findings did state that Madramootoo certified construction vouchers. However, he added that throughout the building, located at Robb and Alexander Streets, substandard work was evident. For instance, the auditor stated that the wood used to construct the internal walls was poorly manufactured and the concrete walls are chipping, with paint peeling and falling off the walls. “Within a few months after the building was handed over to GMC, there were leaks throughout the building via the roof,” the auditor stated. “A contractor (had to be) hired by GMC to repair the roof.” The auditor detailed that old lumber and old zinc sheets with euroband were in fact used to construct the roof of the building. This is despite the Bill of Quantities for the contract stipulated that greenheart lumber be used for the building’s roof. The auditor made it clear that from his investigations, GMC’s board and senior management, who he described as
unprofessional and grossly negligent, are just as culpable as the contractor for the poor quality of work. “Based on discussion with the General Manager and the Accountant, the (then) Directors made several visits to the building during construction.” “However, the Directors failed to highlight the blatant poor quality of work performed by the contractor. There is no documentation to show that the Board acted to prevent the fraud that was perpetuated against GMC by the contractor.” The audit report detailed that subsequent to the awarding of the contract, “An amendment in the amount of $7,620,984 on February 10, 2012 was done to increase the contract amount without going out to tender.” The auditor observed that the amendment also extended the contract duration to March 16, 2012. Shortly after the contract amendment, Constantine Engineering announced to GMC that they would be unable to complete the construction of the GMC office building. As such another contractor was called in to complete the electrical wiring and relevant works to the GMC office building. The auditor stated that what is unclear, however, is exactly how much funds were given to Constantine Engineering. In the wake of all this, the auditor did recommend criminal proceeding be brought against Madramootoo and Nizam Ramkissoon, the “Owner and Managing Director of Constantine Engineering.”
The case of the five men accused of robbing and feloniously wounding Land Court Judge Nicola Pierre will conclude on June 10, with a ruling from Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul. This announcement was made by the Magistrate following closing arguments by Special Prosecutor, Attorney Nigel Hughes. Warren McKenzie, 22, of Lot 18 Brutus Street, Agricola; Damien Millington, 22, of Lot 118 Caesar Street, Agricola; Nicholas Narine, 18, also of Caesar Street, Agricola; Premnauth Samaroo and Anthony David, 28, of 63 Hadfield Street, Stabroek are currently on remand. Hughes during his closing arguments asked the court to find the men guilty as charged for the five offences they are facing. They are facing two counts of robbery underarms, two counts of felonious wounding and a charge of discharging a loaded firearm. Hughes submitted that the men should be found culpable of the crimes because they acted in concert with each other. He said that the Land Court Judge, her husband Mohamed Chand and security guard Ron Peters all testified that the defendants were armed with guns. “We have three witnesses who clearly said that these several persons all had weapons…and not one weapon. It was more than one weapon. So we had the guard with the gun to the head. We had Ms. Pierre and Mr.Chand in the house who said that these people had weapons because they were assaulted with the weapons and we had Mr. Ron Peters who said that he was shot at by somebody,” Hughes asserted. According to the Prosecutor, Narine was positively identified by the Land Court Judge and her husband. He pointed out that Ms Pierre was able to recognize the voice of this defendant after she requested that he speak while on an identification parade. The Prosecutor said that the vision of Ms Pierre was never impaired and she was able to view him for an extended period of time. As such, he affirmed that the evidence given by this witness was not contradicted and completely reliable. Hughes added that during the identification parade the Land Court Judge and her husband were given a clear vision of all the suspects in
Nicholas Narine the lineup. Hughes related that during the trial there was evidence led that Samaroo was pointed out by Ron Peters on an identification parade. Ron Peters, Hughes said, testified that he saw the defendant “flagging down a car” after the robbery had occurred. He underscored that the witnesses who testified on behalf of Samaroo did not support the alibi he gave during an unsworn testimony. The case against David, the Prosecutor pointed out is that he gave an oral statement to Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mitchell Caesar. Hughes added that during the trial, David’s Attorney, Adrian Thompson, told the court that his client never heard of the statement. In the statement, the Prosecutor stated that David told police that his friends called him via phone to pick them up because they were on a work. Hughes asked the Magistrate to disregard Thompson’s claims of his client being unaware of what his friends were doing because a Voir Dire (trial within a trial) was held and the statement was admitted into evidence. The issue of whether David had knowledge of the crime was also highlighted. But Prosecutor Hughes is contending that someone can be charged with the principles if that person is an accessory after the fact. This matter was adjourned until Monday for the Prosecutor to lay over to the court an authority to support his contention. The Prosecutor made no closing arguments in relation to the other defendants because while they were unrepresented during the trial, they refused to address the
Damien Millington
Anthony David court at the closure of their defence. According to reports, heavily-armed bandits inflicted a brutal beating on the Land Court Judge and her husband after overpowering an on-duty Special Constable and storming the couple’s home located in a gated community at Felicity, East Coast Demerara, on July 9, last year. The couple was attacked while they were asleep. They were gun-butted into unconsciousness after the men, gained entry to their home via a window. The robbers carted off a small safe containing US$7,000, jewellery, and a suitcase containing other valuables. But they were forced to drop their loot after coming under gunfire from a security guard who was stationed at a businessman’s home nearby. Pierre sustained a broken jaw and other injuries, while her husband received severe injuries to an eye. He has since lost the eye. They were both forced to seek medical attention overseas. (Feona Morrison)
Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
G7 vows growth efforts as Japan’s Abe warns of global crisis (Reuters) - The Group of Seven industrial powers pledged yesterday to seek strong global growth, while papering over differences on currencies and stimulus policies and expressing concern over North Korea, Russia and maritime disputes involving China. G7 leaders wrapped up a summit in central Japan vowing to use “all policy tools” to boost demand and ease supply constraints. “Global growth remains moderate and below potential, while risks of weak growth persist,” they said in a declaration. “Global growth is our urgent priority.” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, talking up what he calls parallels to the global financial crisis that followed the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, said the G7 “shares a strong sense of crisis” about the global outlook. “The most worrisome risk is a contraction of the global economy,” led by a slowdown in emerging economies, Abe told a news conference after chairing the two-day summit. “There is a risk of the global economy falling into crisis if appropriate policy responses are not made.” In the broad-ranging, 32page declaration, the G7 committed to market-based exchange rates and to avoiding “competitive devaluation” of their currencies, while warning against wild exchangerate moves. This represents a compromise between the positions of Japan, which has threatened to intervene to block sharp yen rises, and the United States, which generally opposes market intervention. The G7 vowed “a more forceful and balanced policy mix” to “achieve a strong, sustainable and balanced growth pattern”, taking each country’s circumstances into account, while continuing efforts to put public debt on a sustainable path. Abe has stressed the need for flexible fiscal policy to sustain economic recovery, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been sceptical about public spending to boost growth. The G7 called global industrial overcapacity, especially in steel, a “pressing structural challenge with global implications”. NORTH KOREA, ‘BREXIT’ WORRIES The G7 demanded that North Korea fully comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and halt nuclear tests, missile launches and other “provocative actions”.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference during the G7 Ise-Shima Summit in Shima, Japan (Reuters/Issei Kato) The group condemned Russia’s “illegal annexation” of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. The declaration threatened “further restrictive measures” to raise the costs on Moscow but said sanctions could be rolled back if Russia implemented previous agreements and respected Ukraine’s sovereignty. The G7 also expressed concern over the East and South China Seas, where China has been taking more assertive action amid territorial disputes with Japan and several Southeast Asian nations. Without mentioning Beijing, the G7 reiterated its commitment to the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes and to respecting the freedom of navigation and overflight. The group called for countries to refrain from “unilateral actions which could increase tensions” and “to settle disputes by peaceful means”. China was not pleased with the G7 stance. “This G7 summit organised by Japan’s hyping up of the South China Sea issue and exaggeration of tensions is not beneficial to stability in the South China Sea and does accord with the G7’s position as a platform for
managing the economies of developed nations,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing. “China is extremely dissatisfied with what Japan and the G7 have done.” The G7 also called largescale immigration and migration a major challenge and vowed to increase global aid for the immediate and longterm needs of refugees and displaced people. Referring to Britain’s referendum next month on whether to leave the European Union, the G7 said an exit “would be a serious risk to global growth”. The leaders pledged to tackle a global glut in steel, though their statement did not single out China, which produces half of the world’s steel and is blamed by many countries for flooding markets with cheap steel. On climate change, the G7 said they aim to put into effect by the end of the year the Paris climate agreement, in which almost 200 nations agreed a sweeping plan to end global dependence on fossil fuels to limit rising temperatures. The G7 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
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Kaieteur News
Saturday May 28, 2016
Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
FREENESS LEADS TO CONFUSION
There was no walkout by the opposition at the flagraising ceremony of last Wednesday. The opposition parliamentarians and their spouses left as any decent person would do after it was clear that there was no seating available for them. The opposition turned up as a group to demonstrate that as a party they were supportive of Guyana’s Independence and that their participation was not a token gesture. They came well bedecked and they came as a group. They were invited; they did not turn up uninvited. They were guests of the government. They did not cater that the government would have made the same mistake that was made last year. The experience of the inauguration ceremony last year should have forewarned the government that there were going to be problems with VIP seating. In Guyana, all kinds of people arrogate to themselves VIP status. It was clear from the images shown on television that there were office workers, market vendors and party hacks who felt that they were important enough to be in the VIP stands. And they were. It was clear that there sim-
ply was never going to be enough seats for many of the VIPs. It is unreasonable to ask a former President to be seated when most of his comrades had to be standing in the passageway. This was shown on television. No self-respecting leader or manager will condone such a situation. You have to show some consideration for your comrades. Persons can pontificate about standing for Guyana even though you were not seated, but those who pontificate were seated, and comfortably too. There was obviously a problem with too many persons being allowed in or being given passes to the main pavilion. This always happens in Guyana because people know people, who know other people who can arrange for them to be admitted into the VIP section. Last May, there was a similar problem at the National Stadium but that location was big enough for people to find alternative seating. The same could not happen with the limited seating in the VIP section. The opposition has not made this a political issue. They have not tried to embar-
Dem boys seh...
Donald and Sam refuse to follow Jagdeo There is more in de mortar than in de pestle. De walkout was not because dem didn’t get seats. Seat was never a problem. Dem boys know dem go to D’Urban Park premeditate to create a stir. De people tell dem come one time, dem want come dem own time. De people tell dem use one entrance, dem go till round de other side to use another one. De people also tell dem that seats fuh de ex-presidents and dem wife will be available in de presidential box. Donald Dumb walk wid he wife; Sam Blinds carry he wan; Jagdeo grab Ten Edghill and walk in. De Chat-3, Rohee and de rest of de kavakamites end up going in de same stand when de people arrange fuh dem to be in another stand. There was no more seat in Soulja Bai stand to accommodate all of dem so they were left standing. De Minister saw dem and she ask other invited VIP guests who she know to get up just to allow de kavakamites to sit. When dem realize that dem gun get seats and can’t mek story, suddenly Ali Baba jump up and shout “Let’s go. Dem embarrassing us.” De few chores that was standing walk out wid him, skinning dem teeth as dem walking out. De other two ex Presidents, Blind and Dumb, remain sitting wid dem wives throughout de programme. Dem boys seh why de two of dem lef sitting is that de blind one couldn’t see de walk out, and de dumb one who see de walk out, couldn’t tell de blind one wha going on. Dem boys always tell de nation that Jagdeo is unhealthy fuh Guyana. He don’t mean good except is fuh he own self. If he can mek dem same people go in de American Hambassada house and cuss de man from head to toe wha more he wouldn’t do. Is a good thing nobody see when dem walkout, not that anybody did care anyhow. Dem boys glad because if dem did sit down too long dem woulda give away or sell out de whole D’Urban Park knowing what they did to de mining sector, the forestry sector de housing sector and everything dem had control over. Talk half and dem boys happy wid de walk out
PAGE 9
rass the government. They were the ones who were embarrassed. They merely explained why they left so as not to convey the impression that they were not willing to participate. If you invite me to a party, and there is no space for me. I am sorry but I will leave. The PPP may have read, given the nature of Guyanese politics, some devious motives into the fact that their parliamentarians could not be seated. The representatives of the present government, when they were in the opposition, were never subject to that sort of treatment and
therefore the PPPC may have felt that there was an attempt to embarrass them in front of a mainly pro-government crowd. Things went wrong. The seats were not sufficient and the opposition had no choice but to leave. They explained why they left. It should have been left at that. But this is Guyana and there are persons who could not resist putting a spin on the issue. What was disgusting was the spin that was put to the issue by a senior member of the media fraternity who wickedly tried to suggest that the opposition were not willing to wait for seats to be
Bureau of Statistics Chief Statistician, Lennox Benjamin, on Monday revealed that an official unemployment rate will be assessed next year following the instigation of labour force survey, which will be rolled out with the assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Guyana was without an unemployment rate for over a decade. Benjamin declared that this situation will soon be rectified. He said that they are looking to put a labour force in the field by January 2, 2017 to measure the rate. He said that Guyana has always been using proxies— data from the national population census and the households budget surveys—to determine its unemployment rate. However, he explained that the measurement of an unemployment rate or profiles on economic activities is essentially carried out by way of a labour force survey. He said that his department had done substantial work in 2008 with the US Census Bureau but when they were about to implement, permission was refused. Thereby, Guyana has been without a “full-blown labour force survey for several years, possibly touching a decade” and in the interim, estimated figures were used. And based on those proxies, Benjamin revealed that unemployment has been double digital, about 11 percent. He added that the figures will remain constant based on the last national population census. Thus, he stated that the Bureau has engaged the attention of the IDB for technical assistance to start the assessment. He noted that they are not only interested in the “top line” indicator of unemployment but also in the age groups and gender profile which is being affected.
...PPP government was unconcerned - Jordan declared
found. There was no way seats were going to be found for them. The entire place was crowded. The opposition waited fifteen minutes which was fifteen minutes too long and then left. The opposition had no choice but to leave. They had to leave. What would you have done? Stand up and block the passageways? The matter is ended but there are issues to be resolved. Those same issues were raised after the fiasco at the National Stadium last May at the inauguration of the President where non- dignitaries found their way into
the section reserved for VIPs and special invitees. The other problem is that most of the Jubilee events at which patrons had to pay, except for the concert on May 26 at the National Stadium were poorly attended. But the flag-raising was free. Once it is free then more people will come than you can accommodate. And that was part of the problem on Wednesday night.
Survey to determine official unemployment rate in 2017 Similarly, he noted that the focus should also be on under-employment as there is high occurrence of Guyanese working two or three jobs to survive. Finance Minister Winston Jordan stated that the surveys would allow for more frequent data on unemployment to be available to the government. In that same breath, he lambasted the previous government for showing no interest in letting the people find out what the true figures were. “The last government wasn’t interested in anybody knowing what the official rate
is,” he chided. On the other hand, Benjamin indicated that they were also working toward the release of living conditions survey, which will be poverty-
related, in August 2017. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate is only calculated at the time of a census (which is executed decennially) or when a labour force or an alternative appropriate survey is executed.
PAGE 10
Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Coalition Govt: The danger of power-sharing Why were the Stabroek Square vendors removed? The official explanation was that it was part of the determined effort after May 2015 to get Georgetown back to its pristine self. If that was the honest reason then people bought into it. I have heard strong supporters of the working classes say that Georgetown must be cleaned; there is no alternative. But in sympathy they opined that City Council (is it City Council or the Town Clerk) should have long arranged alternative accommodation. If the motive was not a
straight forward one then the Government was smart because no citizen would disagree that the Stabroek Square needed to be spruced up. My point adumbrated in several columns is that there isn’t a scientific incompatibility between vending at the Stabroek Square and ensuring the ambience is clean. Therefore for me, there was no exigency in evicting these very small retailers. Well it looks like mouth open story jump out. Prior and during the negation of the vendors there was no word in any official forum that the float parade
would be moving off from the Stabroek Square Suddenly the route to D’Urban Park had changed from Camp and Church Streets to Stabroek Square. But at this point there was no indication of duplicity. What could have happened is that after seeing how inviting and empty the site was, the planners of the May 26 celebrations may have decided that the Stabroek site was more accommodating for the parade. Was this the way it happened? The facts may tell otherwise Lancelot Kennedy, who recently obtained an in-
junction against the Town Clerk from demolishing his business at the site said that in discussion with the Town Clerk to have an alternative location for his business place, “Lance Photo Works,” Royston King indicated to him that he had to move because he, King, has to clear the Stabroek environment because the parade is to move off from there. It is definitely possible then to offer the theory that the Square was the originally intended parade location but maybe the eviction of the sellers would not have gone
down well. It is very difficult to sell a nation the story of the complete demobilization of over 300 vendors as a permanent process because for one day, just one day only, the government wants the float parade to move off from that site. Endless numbers of Guyanese would have reacted immediately and say why not choose another place. It is my opinion that the central government ordered the vendors’ banishment and found in the City Council their perfect alibi. Since the cleanup campaign was going on, what better explanation that to say the transfer to Lombard Street was all part of the City Council’s endeavour to restore Georgetown. I may be wrong but this is my opinion. And I am glad that two small business entities have obtained an injunction to restrain the Town Clerk from chasing them from a place they have been embedded in for many decades. If I am right; just suppose that I am right then the powersharing theory in the Guyana context becomes problematic. There are strong views that Guyana’s only chance of survival is executive powersharing between the PPP and PNC. Lincoln Lewis, a good friend of mine who is GeneralSecretary of the TUC, has said repeatedly to me (he never misses an opportunity to play his stuck record) that power-sharing between the PNC and PPP will result in a dictatorship. Let us suppose just for argument’s sake that the PNC was in power and the AFC was still enchantingly ob-
Frederick Kissoon sessed with its phenomenon as the most successful third party in the Caribbean politics, it is certain beyond questioning that the AFC would not have been silent about the mistreatment of the Stabroek vendors. Executive power-sharing becomes dangerous when one examines the role of the AFC in the coalition. Sherod Duncan the Deputy Mayor is from the AFC not APNU. He is a strong supporter of the Town Clerk’s general action against all vending. Duncan was in frenetic embrace of the advocacy of a frenetic audit of the City Council operations the past decades. Duncan doesn’t speak about that anymore. What we are seeing with the Stabroek vendor controversy is the danger inherent with power sharing but this incident has thrown wide open the theory of pluralism in the exercise of power. If there was another organization in control of the City Council, could central government have used them to clear away the vendors? The answer is no. I doubt Team Benschop, Team Legacy and Youth for Local Government would have become slaves to central government. Guyana is really a messy failure.
Saturday May 28, 2016
PAGE 11
Kaieteur News
No evidence 35,000 water meters ever installed …entity’s water losses at alarming 70 percent - GWI forensic audit A critical forensic report on the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) has called on that state-owned entity to pull out all stops to bring down its non-revenue water (NRW) losses from an alarming 70 percent to 45 percent within five years. The report, prepared by HLB R. Seebarran & Co, was released earlier this week by the Ministry of Finance. It is one of several forensic audits ordered by the coalition government last year into the operations of state entities. According to the report, losses from non-revenue water have been an alarming 70 percent of actual production. Since 2005, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has been flagging the issue, noting that much effort must be put in place to arrest the slide. According to the report, that 70 percent loss is to be blamed on a number of reasons, including leakages in water mains and home connections; illegal connections and non-billing of these; over 50% of customers still not metered resulting in fixed billings; mains connected to the water system not identified and
therefore water not accounted for and main valves not recording water passing through them correctly. Over the last four years, the report said, GWI has been reporting significant improvements to existing transmission and distribution mains. Some 35,200 meters have been installed over the last four years yet there has been no significant change to the metered customers in the billing system. “We were unable to verify evidence that indeed 35,000 new meters have been installed,” the audit report said. Regarding the water losses, a report for 2014 issued last year April that GWI’s Capital Investment Programme focused on the state of NRW. In reviewing records of January 20, 2015, another year later, it was found that GWI did not have much information to determine a way forward. “It was noted that the monitoring unmetered customers revealed that their consumption averages 28 cubic metres per month. Based on the numbers for 2014, so far, it appears that NRW may
be down to 65 per cent. “Computation used to arrive at the baseline followed the methodology used by the Consultant in Linden. A plan has to be developed to address NRW to bring it down to 55% by 2016 and by increments of five per cent each year.” The auditor said that it was clear that the previous Board of Director and management were still struggling to determine a way forward to address NRW although four years earlier it was decided how it would be addressed. The auditor said that GWI has retained a consultant who is carrying out studies on how to address NRW, particularly in reducing wastages through the mains and locating mains that are connected to the system but have not been previously identified. “With GWI’s in-house engineers and the NRW Department in place, we believe a plan must now be implemented and acted on to reduce NRW to achieve the desired reductions over the next five years.” The auditor recommended that the new Board, headed by accountant Nigel Hinds, take steps to reduce
NRW and to ensure that over the next five years to 2020, it is reduced from 70% or thereabout to 45%. “This would require a comprehensive plan which should be reviewed monthly; any positive change must be supported by verifiable evidence so that the BOD can confirm the reduction.” The auditor stressed that areas with high losses must be given priority to fix problems such as line losses and the misuse of water by those not metered. GWI was urged to also ensure that the customers are metered at least to 80% of a sanitised data base of customers in the next few years and “replace aged pipes, some of which may be very old and leaking”. The report noted that GWI must work to minimize leakages which are an important way to identify and account for non-revenue water. GWI must also move to identify main lines which have not been previously identified. GWI’s board, up to last year, was chaired by executive, Ramesh Dookoo, with the Minister of Housing and Water being Irfaan Ali.
Water wastage
PAGE 12
Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
Supporting Guysuco impacts ‘Bottom house’ rum shops will not be condoned - GRA public servants’ pay hike Finance Minister Winston Jordan, on Monday, stated that had not the government injected resources into projects like the Skeldon Factory and the Enmore Estate, it would have “comfortably” met claims for public servants’ salary increases, among others. “Had we not to divert these resources we would have comfortably met other claims, inclusive of public servants—addressing definitively— public servant salary,” he said at a Ministry of Finance press conference. The Minister stated that the transfer of funds into various projects by the government is not divorced from increasing public servants’ salaries. “They are not divorced... it is an economy we are running,” he added. Two months ago, Jordan was chided by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) for stating that the workers should not look forward to significant salary increases anytime soon. Jordan had indicated that the workers would receive a “top-up” to their salaries but hope for attractive pay raise should be tempered. According to an
International Monetary Fund (IMF) report Guyana should be mindful of its increases in wages in the face of its current economic challenges. However, the GPSU stated that Jordan’s statement was premature given that they had not even negotiated with the union on probable increases. Jordan said that although $50B was set aside for wages and salaries increases, the money was not “earmarked” for salary raises alone. He cited that finances need to be bailed out for annual leave, promotions and filling vacant positions in various government organizations. He stated that the money was poured into the sugar and rice industries as an emergency situation. Jordan explained that a hefty sum of money was poured into the Skeldon Sugar estate by the previous government—some US$200M. “And where is Skeldon today? Nowhere and generally as prices have imploded, GuySuCo also imploded...” he said. He said that the current government had stepped in as a matter of urgency and bailed
the ailing Corporation out by injecting $12B, “At a time when Skeldon was meant to be the sugar factory that was supposed to keep sugar sweet.” He said that Guyana has an expensive sugar industry that is unable to compete internationally and so the industry will continue to weigh heavily on the budget. “Today, almost 75% has been transferred and as you know El Nino and whatever else has transpired to reduce crop by almost 30,000 tonnes,” he lamented, asserting that it means that the industry would be engaging the government again for more money because the $9B would have been based on specific projections. “Sugar is not what it used to be; it is probably not as sweet and sugar has to go under severe structural transformation to survive,” he added, noting that rice depends heavily on a premium market for which heavy expansion has also been done. Recently, Jordan had indicated that the workers had received more than a five percent increase from the government.
...Urges persons to report illegalities With the number of unlicensed liquor restaurants/ ‘bottom house rum-shops” seemingly on the rise, business operatives who follow the rules and regulations set forth by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), have begun to register their concerns, citing this phenomenon a violation in maintaining a level competitive playing field, among other issues. As reported in other sections of the media, the GRA has had challenges in the past with the monitoring and putting a lid on these activities persons selling alcohol without the requisite licences. It has now become a common sight where many bottom house rum shops are seen operating in close proximity to each other. There have been numerous complaints, letters and social media posts made by residents who are affected by these illegal operations. Further, the operators of unlicensed liquor restaurants/ bottom house rum-shops are guilty of tax evasion and
contribute to the social problems in many communities. An advisory that was published some time ago in the media outlined a specific tax act which states: “Everyone found selling, or offering or exposing for sale, any spirituous liquor or any wine or malt liquor at any place other than in a place or premises duly licensed under the Act who does not produce a licence authorising the sale or the offering or exposing for sale of wine, malt liquor, or spirituous liquor at the time when and at the place where he is so found selling it, or offering or exposing it for sale, may be arrested by the Comptroller or any Constable or Rural Constable and detained until he can be brought before a Magistrate and dealt with according to law and the wine, malt, liquor or spirituous liquor, so sold, or offered or exposed for sale, with the packages containing it, shall be seized and forfeited.” Overtime, especially in the far-flung areas, illegal shops have sprung up. Many shops, with licences for groceries and softdrinks, would sell the beers and other alcoholic beverages “under the counter”. In addition to the loud music leading into the wee
hours of the morning, the lack of toilet and other facilities for their customers and badly parked vehicles prevents residents from having ingress and egress. There have been reports, also, of persons who have licences to sell alcohol “takeaway”, modifying their shops to accommodate the consumption of alcohol on their premises. This has been seen by the other business operatives on par with the system, as a breach of the competitive nature of doing business. Senior Manager for the Communication and Tax Advisory Division, Gavin Lowe, said that just recently that GRA will not condone these illegalities. Lowe said that there are penalties that accompany these activities with one being the seizure of the sellers’ goods and the seller being placed before the courts. Because most of these activities occur in “far-flung” areas, they sometimes pass under the radar of the GRA, Lowe said. He stated that GRA is heavily dependent on intelligence and is therefore calling on persons to report these illegalities so that action can be taken.
Saturday May 28, 2016
PAGE 21
Kaieteur News
E’bo Technical Institute is 15 ‘Drug addict’ remanded for father’s murder
Principal of the Essequibo Technical Institute, Michael Turner, addressing mostly secondary school students in observance of the institute’s 15th Anniversary, emphasised the importance of technical, vocational and educational training (TVET). This, he said, is more than receiving basic training. Turner admonished that (TVET) is the key to success.” It’s more than using a screw driver or a hammer.” The senior Principal reminded students who attended the simple ceremony that the Essequibo Technical Institute is making TVET
training available. As such they need to avail themselves in order to receive proper training. Turner said that the perceived negative notion about TVET must be removed. He added that persons believe that TVET studies are for persons who cannot think for themselves or for dunces. “Don’t allow anyone to determine your destiny.” Turner said that E.T.I. is constantly modernising its facility in the interest of also facilitating proper training for both staff and for students. Turner further echoed the dynamism of education. He
stressed the importance of making people competent for the work force. The Essequibo Technical Institute was established in 2000 after an idea to have a technical institute become operational was taken up by former Education Minister, Dr. Dale Bisnauth. Today the institute offers more than 15 courses. It recruits students from Region One, Bartica and the Essequibo Islands. Students who attended the institute’s anniversary were educated about the various technical courses on offer. (Yannason Duncan).
Motorcyclist killed in Good Hope accident A 44-year-old motorcyclist was killed in an accident around 19:30 hrs on Thursday while he was on his way home from a birthday party. The dead man has been identified as Karamchand Singh, a father of two, of Lot 570 Block 8 Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD). According to reports, Singh was heading home when he collided with a car on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) Public Road in the vicinity of Good Hope. This newspaper was told that the father of two was under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred. Although he left home wearing a helmet, he was not wearing one at the time of the accident. Singh was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). His daughter, Sarah Singh, explained that her father left home around 18:30 hrs on Thursday to attend a cousin’s birthday party in Lusignan, a few villages from their home. “He got ready and he left to go to the party. He spent an hour or two there and when he was coming home back, he was involved in the accident,” the younger Singh stated.
The young lady could not say what caused the accident but explained that around 20:00 hrs, someone called their phone and informed them that the father of two was involved in an accident and he was taken to the GPHC. “By the time we reached to the hospital, he was already dead and was bleeding,” Sarah recalled. A post mortem examination performed on Singh’s remains yesterday by Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, revealed that the man died as a result of multiple internal injuries. Meanwhile, the police are investigating an accident which occurred around 12:15 hrs yesterday on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown and has left a 40-year-old man in a critical condition. Gavin Hinckson, of Agricola, East Bank Demerara is currently a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Up to press time, ranks were trying to locate family members of the Agricola resident since he is unresponsive.
DEAD: Karamchand Singh According to information received, Hinckson was proceeding south on Mandela Avenue when a car came out from Princes Street and hit the 40-year-old man. “The car came out the street and failed to stop and collided with the man. We picked him up and took him to the hospital, in the middle of his head had a big hole,” an eyewitness said. Investigations are ongoing.
A 37-year-old unemployed man was remanded to prison for the murder of his father when he appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul yesterday, in the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. Kumey Bourne, 37, of -‘D’ Field Sophia is accused of murdering his father Rickford Bourne between May18 and 23. The accused was not required to plead to the indictable charge and will make his next court appearance on June 29. According to reports, Kumey Bourne is a drug addict who would regularly threaten to kill his 72-year-old father when he did not receive money to support his smoking habit. The incident is reported to have happened on May 19, in Turkeyen. It is said that an argument broke out between the father and son. During the quarrel, the son reportedly picked up an iron bar that was used to reinforce a window and struck his father repeatedly about the body. Kaieteur News understands that Rickford Bourne was on life support at the hospital and eventually succumbed to his injuries at approximately 20:00 hrs on Monday. However, Police Prosecutor Sergeant Ayesha Gibbons told the court that on the day in question, Rickford Bourne came home from work and met his son, who was intoxicated at the time watching television.
Dead: Rickford Bourne
Gibbons said that the accused armed himself with an iron bar and dealt his father several lashes to the head and also about the body. She related that Rickford Bourne was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was admitted. He succumbed three days later.
PAGE 22
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Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
Toyota Hilux Vigo, ex cab 4WD, gas, 2700cc, 2TR Auto cc, 2006. Call: 616-5595; 6740434 Rotweiler pups – 622-6646/ 652-8511 XBOX one 500BG with games, (1) 24 HDTV 1080PCall: 683-8386 Barrels for sale @ Diamond, 19th Street, Fourth Corner, EBD –price $8,000 & Ladies bands -$500. Call: 216-2654; 684-0064 1 Houselot @ Crane Housing Scheme; 1 two storey house @ La Parfaite Harmonie. Call: 626-4841 or 683-6674 Transported property @ East Bank Public Road triple lot for sale- Call: 233-6517; 622-1957; 638-0595 1 Complete high volume 3 stage water purification system, UV light, water tanks, reasonably price, owner migrating. Call: 649-8430 Wooden pens & craft –Call: 223-0654
PROPERTY FOR SALE Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities -$41M –Call: 6629335; 612-3244 Transported property @ Grove $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 Property @ Cummings Street; 4 storey building, club, 8 self contain rooms. Call: 628-0016; 667-2536 Property @ Enmore – Hope West: building overlooking Foulis. Call: 602-2818; 649-1434 Corner property in Grove, 1 block from Main Road- Flat House, price negotiable. Call: 1905-626-2572 One roadside, 2 storey building @ V/Hoop, ground excellent for restaurant or other business – Call: 654-0779
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM Aidan’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up, cheapest rate, low security- Call: 698-7807 Wing’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up rental- Call: 690-6494
EDUCATIONAL
CAKES & PASTRIES
$20,000 Discount For CXC 2016 Student, 9 Course Diploma in Computers @ MicroGraphics, Vreed-EnHoop/Parika. Call: 264-3057
Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery; also edible images and Wedding dresses for sale. Call: 670-0798
Computerized Accounting 4 Courses $35,000.00, PCRepairs $35,000, Graphics Courses $35,000@ MicroGraphics, Vreed-EnHoop/Parika. Call: 264-3057
LEARN TO DRIVE
PEN-PAL
FOR SALE/RENT
Soman, Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997
Nazim- Guyana’s last Crown Jewel/ dark knight prince dreams of 25 world records is looking for a wife. Call: 223-4246
American pool table - Call: 277-0578 (Continued on page 23)
Saturday May 28, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Firerworks harm and The media did not report on... even kill certain animals From page 5 was not reported even though I indicated that the Guyana Reparations Committee after 3 years of hard work, meeting weekly, has completed its reparations claim which will be presented to Guyana’s Attorney General for a resolution to be passed in Parliament. Jamaica has already unanimously passed a resolution and this was even sponsored by the Opposition PARTY in Jamaica. CARICOM recommends all states should pass a similar resolution. I also made the statement that the Guyana Reparations Committee believes in social cohesion but this social cohesion MUST be built on justice and economic inclusion. Why should the descendants of enslaved Africans who lost 450,000 lives building Guyana over a period of 200 years during the worst crime ever, receive nothing, when all others groups in Guyana have receivedand continue to receive state benefits. We have witnessed during the Jadgeo regime, the greatest transfer of state wealth to his Indian ethnic constituency. I seek an answer for the obvious censorship of the President of Guyana by theStabroek News, Kaieteur News and Guyana Times. This is a continuation of a practice of censorship of anything that highlights the gross inequality and injustices Africans have suffered in Guyana by not receiving lands , the basis of generational wealth creation, when all others;;;Amerindians, Indians, Chinese, Europeans have received lands from the State when it was the genocide of 450,000 Africans over 200 years that built Guyana and rescued it from the seas. More importantly, where are the investigative journalists of these newspapers as we approach our 50th anniversary of Independence. I ask this question because over the last 3 months these newspapers, and especially the Guyana Times, have been printing political attacks against the IDB through letters from Peter Persaud who claims he is the Leader of the Amerindian Group, TAAMOG. He has claimed the IDB is discriminating against Amerindians because of some ludicrous sum of US$300,000 not being given to his and other groups to build capacity. How insulting to Amerindians whom have 13.8% of Guyana that
US$300,000 will send them to the bread lines and prevent them from their independence as Mr. Peter Persaud claims. Investigative journalism would clearly show these newspapers that Mr. Persaud and Donald Ramotar and a few others are using baseless letters against the Government and the IDB to claim “ethnic cleansing”, when in reality it is a vile attempt to hide the criminality of the PPP during the last 23 years as shown in the forensic audits which the Government of Guyana had asked the IDB to fund. Even a clown would see through this strategy much less an investigative journalist. Even a child would realize that the strategy is to attack the IDB, the one international entity that has been the largest funder of Guyana in the last 20 years but which under the leadership of the current Country Representative, a woman, has not bowed down to the treats and bullying of the PPP, for Amaila Falls and several other projects but followed international standards which prevented billions of dollars of corruption in Guyana Censoring the President of Guyana because he was addressing issues of critical importance to CARICOM and to all Guyanese, is almost an act of deliberate omission certainly a profound lack of integrity. Peter Persaud or President Granger …whom do you think is more relevant and more credible. One speaks of facts, the others of lies in an attempt at extortion and self-interest. Social cohesion will not be built on lies and fancy slogans and hiding the facts, but in addressing historical wrongs, ensuring economic inclusion and being truthful about our history. I have noticed that every time I write about the 450,000 Africans lives that were lost to build Guyana, a certain newspaper edits out this number. I have sent pictures of Luzia, the oldest person in this region, an African woman, yet this picture has never been printed. If our historical truths are being censored by the existing media, then Africans need their own media. Eric Phillips
DEAR EDITOR; On Monday May 23, 2016 during a rehearsal for the Independence Flag-Raising Ceremony in Georgetown, the organizers of the event saw it fit to set off fireworks at Durban Park. Now this means that fireworks are going to be a part of the events associated with the celebrations of the Independence Anniversary on and after May 26. This was the first time that an Independence Flag-raising ceremony was not be held at the National Park, Thomas Lands. Previous fireworks for Independence and New Years have been set off north of the Georgetown seawall - over the Atlantic Ocean safely away from populated areas and away from green areas. The decision to use fireworks in such close proximity to the Bird Sanctuary and the National Zoo in the Botanical Gardens was selfish and heartless. I was at Durban Park during the rehearsal and I saw how many birds scattered upon the massive explosions. The Bird Sanctuary was within 200 metres of the explosions and birds asleep in their nests at night were bound to be startled and disoriented by the massive firework munitions. Those that did not die from the shock waves probably scattered far away and did not return. This has happened in many places before. Why have done this in a city and country in which we boast of going green, caring for the natural environment and everything in it? Fireworks of this
magnitude were no thunder king squib. There is a reason why fireworks of this magnitude are handled by the military. This is not stuff civilians play with. There is a reason why this kind of fireworks has been done north of the seawalls, over the sea - two miles away from this location and not over the heads of people or nearby houses. Do I like to see fireworks? Absolutely, it’s beautiful. But balancing the need for 5 or 10 minutes of pyrotechnic display against emptying out the Botanical Gardens of its avian population is downright foolish - there is no way any sensible person in a ‘Green Economy’ could have approved of this. Let me hasten to add that the Botanical Gardens are part of this country’s national patrimony. Already in recent years, the Eastern-most section (East of Mandela Avenue) was parceled out to private owners and one embassy. Valuable green spaces are gone thanks to a past government that couldn’t care less about national patrimony and protecting the environment. Now we are seeing a disregard of the natural resources within the remaining part of the garden. The Guyana Tourism Authority website says this about the Bird Sanctuary: “The Botanical Gardens in the capital city of Georgetown was on November 18, 2011 declared a ‘Bird Sanctuary’ by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. Guyana with over 870 species and counting is a birding hotspot and paradise, and has been
described as “the top new neo-tropical birding destination and one of the best birding spots in the world. The activity was part of a series of activities for Tourism Awareness Month, being observed under the theme “Achieving Service Excellence through Training.” The Botanical Garden which is an Important Birding Area in Guyana, has a land mass of 185 acres and an amazing over 189 bird species from 41 families. Speaking at the Bandstand in the Botanical Gardens, the Minister said, “We want to guarantee a safe haven for the birds of the Botanical Gardens, and in partnership with the National Parks Commission and the Guyana Amazon Tropical Birds Society, I take great pleasure and pride in declaring the Botanical Gardens as a Birding Sanctuary – the first such sanctuary in Guyana.” I am calling on the authorities at this last minute to halt further use of fireworks at Independence related celebrations. We can have a good time celebrating the Independence without fireworks. It was not worth the 5 minutes of pyrotechnics to the detriment of the lives of the fauna in the Botanical Gardens and those held captive in the Zoo. Won’t it be ironic if the Jaguar held in the Zoo were to die as a result of the shock suffered from explosions nearby? Dwayne Hackett
From page 22
VACANCY Cashiers for supermarketCall: 624-0033. 1 Cook & 1 maid. Call: 624-0033. Security In store (daytime) Call: 680-3863.Driver for water truck. Call: 680-3863 Bond clerk, security officer, office assistant, cooks, tractor drivers, cashiers/ waitress, accounts clerk, civil engineer. Call: 603-4541/ chungsvacancy@gmail.com Cook/baker for the Interior location, applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020 I.T Network Technician, Email CV to jobs@awngy.com 1 Sale representative with motorcycle car -$40,000 monthly + commission, 1 office assistant (male & female) 5 CXC subjects $20,000 monthly. Call: 2202878 1 Salesgirl -$20,000 weekly, 1 domestic -$25,000 weekly. Call: 220-2878 Mechanic for TM and model M trucks contact 223-5274 Handyman between 30 to 45 years old contact 223-5274 Supervisor to work at Xenon Hotel Charity Essequibo email rtilak@adamantium holdings.com RA Soda Factory Rosignol, Berbice: bond & billing clerks, experienced accountants, machine operator with mechanical ideas. Call: 330-2399 Hopetown Gas Station (Guyoil): Pump attendants for night and day shifts. Call: 330-2399
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Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
May is Internal Audit Awareness Month
May is International Internal Audit Awareness Month. This year marks 75 years of existence of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) as a global voice for internal auditing. Today the IIA is serving approximately180, 000 members in 190 countries. Guyana became a Chapter Member of the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the IIA in April 2000 with yours truly being the first President. Since then this Chapter has had a second past President in Deodat Indar. The third and current president is Jaigopaul Ram. As a founder member and past president, I admire a profession that constantly strives to evolve, to expand its mandate, to address the needs of its stakeholders, and to ensure the well being of an organisation in both the private and public sectors. This Chapter started with 15 members. At the end of March 2016 its membership had grown to 56 members. Although there is a slow growth in membership, after
16 years, it still continues to play a meaningful role. The Guyana Chapter is mandated by the IIA Global to promote and develop the internal audit profession. To meet the demands of the profession is the International Professional Practices Framework which consists of International Standards Code of Ethics All internal auditors are required to have a working knowledge of this Framework. And this is made known to them through Seminars and Workshops by this Chapter, of which there are about four in a fiscal year. Also, sensitive topics such as risk management, controls, fraud detection and prevention, cybersecurity, forensic audits, audit report writing, only to mention a few, are done by experienced and qualified presenters. In addition to Seminars, it has been involved in doing on-the-job training in the Public Sector. The response has been heartening; hence this form of training is now a pri-
ority area since internal auditors are in dire need of continuous training. It is also responsible for promoting and monitoring the Institute’s certification examinations. The major exam is the Certified Internal A u d i t o r (CIA) of which 8 members of this Chapter have successfully obtained the CIA designation. Members are also afforded the privilege of attending overseas conferences, seminars and workshops in order to enhance their learning process. Chapter’s Hurdles to Cross After 16 years of this Chapter’s existence, the role of the internal auditor has not been fully recognised despite the Chapter promoting its mandate from the IIA Global. Evidence of this, and this is not a full list · That management in both
the public and private sectors is yet to accept the important role the internal auditor is in an organisation. · The internal audit profession is not fully receiving the recognition it deserves from its stakeholders. · The auditing emphasis is yet to fully focus on governance, controls and risk management. Further, preference is still being given to appoint auditors with an accounting background, however such a unit needs to be also staffed with non accountants in order to add value and improve an organisation’s operations. There is still the view that the internal auditor and the external auditor is one and the same. The internal auditor is not being allowed to perform and act independently at all times. As an example, the reporting
function is to a senior line staff. More funds should be provided in the training budget for internal auditors in both sectors since the audit scope has been constantly expanding. The Way Forward The Guyana Chapter is fully aware of the areas it needs to focus. It is the hope that the internal audit profession will receive the recognition it deserves from its stakeholders, and that the importance of the profession is understood and embraced by all. Today’s internal auditors must be seen as a partner, instead of a watchdog, assisting management to increase its organisation’s effectiveness as promoted by IIA Global. In 2016, IIA Guyana will be intensifying its promotion of the profession and the global body. It has to encourage all internal auditors
to follow the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF). This IPPF is reviewed and updated every year which is excellent. One of the major challenges being faced is that internal audit is still not well-understood in many quarters, and one way to overcome this is for auditors to be guided by using the IPPF. We in Guyana have to keep abreast with the developments of this profession and to focus on not only on risk-based auditing, but also on value-based auditing and performance improvement. Internal auditors need to keep advancing this profession within their respective organizations, so that they can be viewed as not only relevant, but also as an indispensable asset. (John Seeram)
US$12M water treatment plant defective... From page 3 and the contractor was asked to submit a method statement. The consultant subsequently issued instructions to the contractor to demolish the walls. They claimed that the defects at the joints went through the thickness of the wall and as such repairs cannot guarantee the integrity of the structure on a long term basis. The consultant also said that the proposed method of repairs was not applicable because of the extent of the de-
fects. However, the contractor said that since the concrete reached the required strength, repairs should be allowed. The contractor referred to the relevant clauses in the contract which allows for repairs to the concrete rather than demolition. Also, the contractor contended that the instruction to demolish was based on the suspicions of the consultant rather than any engineering approach and analysis. But the consultant said
that the decision was based on observations. The consultant contends that the extent of the defects is such that the 50 years expected life of the structure cannot be guaranteed if repairs are carried out. There are concerns that the surface treatment could later develop small cracks which would leak, thereby negating the repairs. The depths of the defects observed from the chipping of the concrete did not take into consideration the actual
depths that would be required to get the patching materials beyond the reinforcement. The consultant referred studies done in the North America and Europe showing that 50 percent of all repaired concrete fail within the first five years. The consultant reported a much larger area of concrete with defects as compared to that reported by the contractor. After consideration of both sides, the adjudicator recommended an additional layer of concrete to be placed on the inner and outer faces of the walls affected. The layer is to be 150mm thick Other technical recommendations were also made. However, it was recommended that the cost of these works be borne by the contractor. GWI's board is addressing the issues and is looking to ensure that the plants are structurally sound before the company takes over and before the end of the defects liability period. Auditors reported, “At present, GWI is advancing a leakage reduction program and mobilizing some Engineers with labour, tools and equipment to explore all areas so as to repair leaks and decommission old mains that may be causing significant losses within the system in order to address the distribution system challenges. In addition, the defective filter media was expected to be replaced by the end of February 2016 along with the installation of a geotextile membrane to improve the performance of the filter.” Auditors recommended that GWI seek legal advice on how to proceed based on the terms and conditions of the contract. “Failure to protect the interest of GWI may cost the company.”
Saturday May 28, 2016
Burnham Educational Scholarship Trust (BEST) fund gets $1M donation
Members from GAC (right) presenting the million dollar cheque to members of BEST (left) in the presence of Attorney General Basil Williams (Centre). The Guyana Action Committee (GAC) on Friday presented the Burnham Educational Scholarship Trust (BEST) fund with $1 million in the presence of Attorney General Basil Williams. The presentation took place at the Attorney General’s Office on Carmichael Street. The funds were raised at a Gala and Dinner held by GAC last Saturday at the Pegasus Hotel. AG Williams noted that the organization wanted transparency in the handing over of funds hence the reason for the presentation being held in his office. Bonita Montaque the Operations Director of GAC noted that the GAC focuses
on literacy development thus the donation to the BEST fund. She added that illiteracy has been affecting Guyana’s youth and GAC has decided to play their part in tackling this issue. She indicated that this donation will benefit the children of Guyana and possibly have a life changing impact on some. GAC has embarked on several projects in Guyana. It hosts a number of literacy events annually as well as domestic violence workshops. Mrs. Montaque noted that GAC takes domestic violence seriously and welcomes anyone that wishes to help. Secretary to the BEST Board of Trustees Ms. Cheryl
Sampson was on hand to accept the cheque and noted that BEST originally started awarding scholarships to ten children who were successful at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), one child from each Region of Guyana. She stated that they decided to award three children from Region Four as of 2013 because of the high population, one child from the East Coast of Demerara, East Bank of Demerara and Georgetown. BEST was formed in 2012 at the behest of His Excellency President David Granger who is the patron of the organization. Ms. Sampson stated that BEST is thankful for the assistance.
Putin vows Russian retaliation over U.S. missile shield (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday warned Romania and Poland they could find themselves in the sights of Russian rockets because they are hosting elements of a U.S. missile shield that Moscow considers a threat to its security. Putin issued his starkest warning yet over the missile shield, saying that Moscow had stated repeatedly that it would have to take retaliatory steps but that Washington and its allies had ignored the warnings. Earlier this month the U.S. military — which says the shield is needed to protect from Iran, not threaten Russia — switched on the Romanian part of the shield. Work is going ahead on another part of the shield, in Poland. “If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security,” Putin told
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a joint news conference in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “It will be the same case with Poland,” he said. Putin did not specify what actions Russia would take, but he insisted that it was not making the first s t e p , only responding to moves by Washington. “We won’t take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbor us.” He said the argument that the project was needed to defend against Iran made no sense because an international deal had been reached to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. The missiles that will form the shield can easily reach Russian cities, he said.”How can that not create a threat for us?” Putin asked. He voiced frustration that Russia’s complaints about the missile shield had not been heeded. “We’ve been repeating like a mantra that we will be forced to respond... Nobody
wants to hear us. Nobody wants to conduct negotiations with us.” CRIMEA ISSUE CLOSED Putin sounded a defiant note over Crimea, the Ukrainian region which Russia annexed in 2014. Moscow said it was acting on the will of the Crimean people, who voted to join Russia, but Western governments say it was an illegal land grab. “As far as Crimea is concerned, we consider this question is closed forever,” Putin said. “Russia will not conduct any discussions with anyone on this subject.”
Ogle Networking Administrator gets $160,000 bail for forgery A Networking Administrator of Ogle International Airport Inc was granted $160,000 bail yesterday after he denied forging another man’s signature on a deed of gift and transfer three years ago. Appearing before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the City Court, Orin McKay, 60, of 2628 Manatee Place, South Ruimveldt Park, is accused of defrauding his family’s property to obtain one individual half share of the said residence where he lives. Police say on July 26, 2012 at Georgetown with the intent to defraud, McKay endeavoured to obtain one individual half share of the said lot, by virtue of an application by way of Deed of Gift knowing that the signature purporting to be that of the donor William Vibert Halley was forged. He is also alleged to have committed the same offence, on October 17 of the same year but this time by way of Deed of Transfer he forged the man’s signature on a transfer. His lawyer, Kevon Bess,
told the court that his client was released on his own recognisance from charges that were held in the High Court regarding the forgery. He told the court that the alleged documents were signed by a Justice of Peace called Mr. Cox. He swore in a witness box before the court to the truth of the documents. Bess further declared that the documents were prepared by an Attorney named Bernand Smith where the signatures were affixed. The lawyer told the Magistrate that no investigations were done into the matter and asked that a hand specialist/ signature analyst investigate if the documents were truly forged. The lawyer later asked that his client be released on reasonable bail “or be placed on his own recognisance” the lawyer said. However, Prosecutor Corporal Dinero Jones who did not object to bail objected strongly to the defendant being released on his own recognisance. He told the court that the
Orin McKay investigations have been complete in the matter and a statement by the virtual complainant confirms that he did not place his signature on any of the documents. Jones, who said his file is ready for the court, recommended that bail be granted in a substantial sum for the defendant. The Chief Magistrate then ruled in his favour and had McKay released on $160,000 bail.
OECS pushing forward on single space policy CASTRIES, St Lucia – Plans are being advanced to establish a single domestic space within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Top officials within the nine-member grouping will meet in Antigua and Barbuda from May 30 to June 2 to develop a framework to facilitate this arrangement, within the context of the OECS Economic Union. Once in place, it would mandate that persons travelling within the Economic Union Area (EUA) be treated as if they would already have been cleared for entry and satisfied all required border control formalities for entry into the area. Additionally, visitors arriving from outside the space should satisfy all border control checks only at the first point of entry into the EUA and then be able to move freely within the area, without subsequent border control checks.
During the symposium, commissioners of police, chief immigration officers, comptrollers of customs, air and sea port managers and other high-ranking officials within the sub-region would discuss systems required for a harmonized border management, procedures and sys-
tems for full clearance at Immigration and Customs at the initial port of entry into the EUA, information sharing and intelligence gathering among border agencies and requirements and implications for the application of a Common Visa Regime.ional Security System (RSS). (Caribbean360)
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Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
Former GMC GM seeking legal advice to respond to audit report In the wake of the forensic audit conducted into the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), former General Manager, Nizam Hassan, has expressed confidence that there is no fraud.
He is also seeking legal advice on how best to respond to some of the more critical elements of the report. Some examples of what the forensic audit which was conducted by Saykar A.
Boodhoo into GMC for a period spanning 2012 to 2015, has red flagged include instances where a sum of $450M was transferred from GMC to other agencies such as Guyana Sugar Corporation
(GUYSUCO). Also cited by the auditor, had been a payment of $273.3M on a letter of credit arrangement to GUYSUCO. Documented was an excess repayment of $120M to the
Former General Manager of GMC, Nizam Hassan Guyana National Co-Operative Bank (GNCB). The report also documents that $35M in payments were made to the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (GRPA), while $111.2M in payments to the Ministry of Agriculture for vertical pumps were made in November 2014. In the case of GMC’s loan to GUYSUCO, the auditor stated that not only was the loan interest free, the agreement had a special clause stating that only $87M was to be repaid to GMC. This would represent a difference of over $360M, based on the agreement. When asked to comment on this during an interview, yesterday, Hassan stated that he is engaging the services of legal counsel on how best to address the issues of fiduciary transfers in the report. And while the auditor had noted that Hassan refused to explain the GUYSUCO arrangement, the former General Manager was adamant that he never refused to answer any of the auditor’s questions, but rather deferred some to the appropriate individuals. LAND CRUISER With regard to the section of the report which stated that a Toyota Land cruiser was purchased for him without the Board’s approval, Hassan could not confirm or deny that the Board really did have an input in this. He stated that it would be necessary to comb through the Board minutes. According to Hassan, currently the General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) since last year, what he could attest to was that all National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) processes, as set out, were followed for acquiring the vehicle. That vehicle, Hassan stated, is now with GMC. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION A section of the report
spoke of cases whereby the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), through Permanent Secretary George Jervis, had requested funds from the GMC to take care of expenses such as trips made by former Junior Minister of Agriculture, Ally Baksh to Regions Two and Three. In addition, it was noted in the report that a cheque for $600,000 was made out to pay for the MoA’s 2015 costume and float parade band. According to Hassan, however, there is nothing wrong with inter-agency cooperation. He stated that all the agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture’s umbrella would contribute collectively to a unified cause. He added that the Ministry took a position of ‘one agriculture.’ He also stressed that it was not a case of his former Corporation paying an individual, but rather payments were made out to the ‘Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture.’ He did not offer a comment on the other allegations, including the one that GMC cash was used to purchase cell phones for the former Junior Minister and others. ‘RUBBER STAMP’ Describing Hassan as a ‘rubber stamp’, the forensic auditor a l s o s t a t e d t h a t from his observations, the “General Manager and Accountant did not provide any meaningful fiduciary responsibility when payment originated from the Minister of Agriculture or the Permanent Secretary.” When asked, Hassan denied that there was undue political interference in the work his agency did while he was the General Manager. He stated that there were management meetings, where the Minister of Agriculture would have an input. Policies were taken and followed, but within rules and regulations, he said.
Saturday May 28, 2016
Kaieteur News
Man arrested in T&T for hoax terrorist threat
Acting National Security Minister Stuart Young, centre, addresses the media during Thursday’s news conference at the Police Admin Building, Port of Spain. Flanking him are Ellen Lewis, head, Corporate Communications, and acting ACP Wayne Boyd (Anti-Crime Operations). —Trinidad Express Photo: KERWIN PIERRE PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – A man whose prank call triggered the evacuation of a shopping mall in Trinidad Thursday has been arrested by police. Acting National Security Minister Stuart Young said the suspect was nabbed within hours of the hoax, after the Strategic Security Agency (SSA) helped traced the call he made to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Command Centre around 11.45 am Thursday. The caller claimed that “something would happen in 15 minutes” at the Trincity Mall.
“Within a matter of minutes, both the Special Branch and Criminal Gang and Intelligence Unit (CGIU) were able to assemble at Trincity Mall and have conversations with the owners of mall, who then took the decision to evacuate it,” Young said, adding that the mall was searched for almost three hours and the green light given to reopen it after nothing was found. The threat came days after audio recordings of men warning about ISIS attacks at malls across the twin-island republic between Thursday and tomorrow were circulated on social media.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said on Wednesday there was no evidence that threat was credible, but law enforcement officials were taking it seriously. “We want the nation to know that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service as well as other law enforcement agencies continue to monitor the circumstances and situations taking place in Trinidad and Tobago and work very effectively along with our intelligence services including the Strategic Services Agency,” Young said at yesterday’s press conference. (Caribbean360)
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Saturday May 28, 2016
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Obama mourns dead in Hiroshima, calls for world without nuclear arms (Reuters) - Barack Obama yesterday became the first incumbent U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, site of the world’s first atomic bombing, in a gesture Tokyo and Washington hope will showcase their alliance and reinvigorate efforts to rid the world of nuclear arms. Even before it occurred, the visit stirred debate, with critics accusing both sides of having selective memories, and pointing to paradoxes in policies relying on nuclear deterrence while calling for an end to atomic weapons. The two governments hope Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, where a U.S. atomic bomb killed thousands instantly on Aug. 6, 1945, and some 140,000 by the year’s end, underscores a new level of reconciliation and tighter ties between the former enemies. “We come to ponder the terrible force unleashed in the not so distant past,” Obama said after laying a wreath at a Hiroshima peace memorial. “We come to mourn the dead, including over 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 J a p a n e s e men, women and children, thousands of Koreans and a dozen Americans held prisoner. Their souls speak to us.” Before laying the wreath, Obama visited a museum where haunting displays include photographs of badly burned victims, the tattered and stained clothes they wore and statues depicting people with flesh melting from their limbs. Obama visited the display
for Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who survived the bombing but died several years later of leukemia, contracted as a result of radiation exposure. She was the inspiration of the book “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.” In Japan some believe that by folding one thousand paper cranes one can increase longevity. The girl folded cranes in hospital until she died. “We have known the agony of war,” Obama wrote in the guest book. “Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.” He left two paper cranes alongside his inscription, the White House said. After speaking, Obama shook hands and chatted briefly with two atomic bomb survivors. Obama and Sunao Tsuboi, 91, smiled as they exchanged words; Shigeaki Mori, 79, cried and was embraced by the president. The city of Nagasaki was hit by a second nuclear bomb on Aug. 9, 1945, and Japan surrendered six days later. A majority of Americans see the bombings as having been necessary to end the war and save lives, although some historians question that view. Most Japanese believe they were unjustified. The White House had debated whether the time was right for Obama to break a taboo on presidential visits to Hiroshima, especially in an election year. But Obama’s aides de-
fused most negative reaction from military veterans’ groups by insisting he would not second-guess the decision to drop the bombs. Obama’s main goal in Hiroshima was to showcase his nuclear disarmament agenda, for which he won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. “Amongst those nations like my own that own nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them,” he said. ‘SHARED RESPONSIBILITY’ Obama avoided any direct expression of remorse or apology for the bombings, a decision that some critics had worried would allow Japan to stick to the narrative that paints it as a victim. “We remember all the innocent killed in the arc of that terrible war and wars that came before, and wars that would follow. We have a shared responsibility to look directly in the eye of history,” he said. For atomic bomb survivor Eiji Hattori, Obama’s remarks provided solace. “I think it was an apology,” said Hattori, 73, who was a toddler at the time of the bombing and now suffers from three types of cancer. “I didn’t think he’d go that far and say so much. I feel I’ve been saved somewhat ... For me, it was more than enough.” Mori was also consoled by the president’s embrace. “It made me so happy that I thought I was walking on air,” he said.
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shoot past Thunder, extend... Ex Guyana youth player Kevin George Warriors (From page 31) a driving left-handed floater riors. from the free-throw line, as on which he was fouled. He The Warriors shot 47.1 enjoys success in T&T cricket the Warriors overcame a 40- converted the three-point percent for the game to 42.9 Former National youth off-spinner Kevin George was in Trinidad this season where he played for Glenora Sports Club in the North zone Premiership League which commenced in January and concluded on the 3rd of this month. George played four 40 overs games and made 146 runs and an average of 48 and a highest score was 61. He also took 12 wickets in the league The 32 year-old George, who returned home in time for the Jubilee celebrations at the completion of the season, also participated in five three-day
Kevin George matches and had a highest score of 75. He took also cap-
tured 24 wickets from seven innings with a best of 7-45 against Savannas Boys. The DCC cricketer who played for Guyana at the level in 2001, played semi-professional cricket in Canada for four seasons but this was his first season in the twin Island Republic. He was a member of DCC’s team which participated in the WIPA t20 tournament in Trinidad in 2009. He described the standard in Trinidad as very competitive and informed that he has been retained by the same club for next season. (Sean Devers)
point explosion by Thunder star Kevin Durant to keep their hopes of a title repeat alive. The Warriors led just 8177 before backup guard Shaun Livingston opened the fourth period with a short jumper. Iguodala and Barnes then nailed their 3-pointers, opening an 89-77 advantage, Golden State’s biggest lead of the game to that point. The advantage reached 13, but power forward Serge Ibaka wouldn’t let the Thunder go quietly. He swished a pair of 3-pointers, and when Durant added a third, all of a sudden Golden State’s lead was just 103-98 with still 4:34 to go. Curry then responded with his biggest hoop of the night,
play, pushing the lead to eight. The Golden State defense took it from there, holding the Thunder without a field goal until a Durant dunk with 56.9 seconds left, by which point the Warriors had pulled away into a commanding 112-101 advantage. Klay Thompson overcame 2-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers to back Curry with 27 points for the Warriors, who are now 4-1 after losses in the playoffs. The Warriors won despite making just nine of their 24 3point attempts. Andrew Bogut had 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, and Draymond Green had an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double for the War-
percent for Oklahoma City. Golden State battled the Thunder even on the boards, 4545. Durant’s 40 points came on 12-for-31 shooting. Like Curry, he did serious damage at the free-throw line, going 13-for-13. Russell Westbrook backed Durant with 31 points to go with seven rebounds and a team-high eight assists. Ibaka had 13 points and Steven Adams a team-high 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who were able to eliminated Dallas and San Antonio in earlier series at first opportunity. The Thunder made 13 of their 30 3-point attempts, outscoring the Warriors 39-27 from beyond the arc.
Jubilee boxing card set... Saturday May 28, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Use your high energy and dynamic approach to win favors from superiors. You can persuade even the toughest opponents to think your way. You may want to make drastic changes concerning your personal partner.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You will meet exciting new people through interest groups or functions that you attend with your children. Competitive games will be your forte. Exhaustion will lead to minor injury if you don't know when to quit.
TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Changes involving your domestic scene may be unpleasant. Real estate and joint financial ventures will be profitable. Plan your day thoughtfully, but try not to rely on others.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You can make new connections if you play your cards right. You will be able to work with fine detail today. If they want help that's great, but if they try to take credit for your work, you will have to set them straight.
GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Depression may be likely if you're away from home. Romantic opportunities will be plentiful if you get out and mingle. Be diplomatic but stem. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Consider making pleasure trips or participating in entertainment that will require energy. The talk you have may be eye-opening with regard to your present situation. Some relatives will be extremely perplexing.
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Get involved in fitness programs that will bring you in contact with new friends. You may have a tendency to put on weight. Problems with in-laws may cause friction in your personal relationship. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) You may be tired of working for someone else. You will feel tired and rundown if you have allowed yourself to get into a financial mess. Don't overspend to impress someone who interests you.
LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Don't bother complaining, do the work yourself. If it can make you extra cash, it will be even better. You will feel better about yourself and you may also meet potential lovers.
AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) You will communicate easily and should be able to accomplish all that you set out to do. You have two choices; Get out on your own, or bend to your mate's whims.
VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You may find yourself caught in a triangle. You must refrain from overspending on entertainment. You could find yourself left with someone's dirty laundry.
PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Believe in yourself and so will those who count. Be careful of disclosing personal information. Visit friends or relatives you don't get to see very often.
(From page 31) briefing. He further suggested that administrators should aspire to host similar cards on a yearly basis. Blackmore, a current trainer operating out of the Gleasons Gym, Brooklyn, said that he was pleased to be a part of the action and promised to make the event as memorable as ever. Terrence Poole heads the (local) organizing committee and promised fans that they
can come to the venue expecting a chockfull of action. “These youths are fresh out of the Caribbean Tri Nation tournament and are in top form and rearing to go,” Poole assured.
An entrance fee of $500 will be collected at the door. Director of sport, Christopher Jones as well as administrative officer, Gervy Harry has offered support for the event.
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NSC/GASA Independence Swim Meet
Simmons, Persaud, Grant, Noel, Mahaica, Hackett, Cole, Carter and Rodrigues are early standouts When the National Sports Commission (NSC) sponsored Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) Independence Swim Meet splashed off yesterday at the National Aquatic Centre, encouraging performances were recorded by some of the well known athletes. The meet, which has participation from the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force for the first time, will continue today and end tomorrow. Seasoned campaigner Soroya Simmons of Dorado Speed Swim club (DSSC), competing in the Girls 18 and Over category has recorded 3 wins on the opening day of competition the same as Girls 13-14 Amy Grant, while Orca Speed Swim Club’s Aleka Persaud (Girls 9-10) chalked up a pair of wins as did Raekwon Noel (Boys 9-10) of Sliver Sharks Speed Swim
Club, Kenita Mahaica (Girls 13-14) of Dolphin Speed Swim Club, Nathan Hackett (Boys 13-14) of Silver Sharks Speed Swim Club, Trumaine Cole (Boys 18 & Over) of Silver Sharks Aquatic Club, Donna Carter (Girls 11-12) of Dorado and Antonio Rodrigues (Boys 15-17) of Orca Speed Swim Club. Simmons, who has been a consistent competitor at the lower level over the year’s started off with victory in the 1500m Freestyle where she clocked 21:34.87. Simmons followed that up with victory in the 50m LC Breaststroke (44.38) and 100m Backstroke (1:15.34). Grant also started off with victory in the 1500m Freestyle (24:22.46) and with just about 20 minutes rest returned to compete in the 200m Butterfly (3:15.89); the afternoon session saw Grant splashing to victory in the 400m Indi-
vidual Medley (IM) in 6:58.76. Aleka Persaud topped the field in the 50m Breaststroke with a time of 45.50 and repeated as the top competitor in the 100m Backstroke (1:34.22). Raekwon Noel was unstoppable in the 50m Breaststroke which he won in 47.59 and also took gold in the 100m Backstroke in 1:21.78. Kenita Mahaica achieved her pair of wins in the 50m Breaststroke (41.54) and 100m Backstroke which she took comfortably in 1:19.93. Nathan Hackett outhustled his competitors in the Boys 13-14 50m Breaststroke (36.38) and 100m Backstroke in 1:14.87. Trumaine Cole won his brace of gold medals in the Boys 18 & Over 50m Breast-
Girls 8 & Under 50 Meter LC Breastroke winner Kayla Hardy (left) of SASO powers to a good start which propelled her to victory. (Franklin Wilson photo) stroke (38.97) and 100m Backstroke (1:19.11). Donna Carter took her wins in the Girls 11-12 100m
Backstroke (1:26.86) and 200m Breaststroke (4:00.45). Antonio Rodrigues took the top podium positions for
Boys 15-17 in the 50m Breaststroke (35.13) and 200m Breaststroke (3:00.43). (Franklin Wilson)
Roland Garros reeling as injured Nadal pulls out PARIS (Reuters) King of clay Rafael Nadal’s hopes of reclaiming his Roland Garros throne ended in despair when the nine-times champion pulled out of the French Open because of a wrist injury on Friday. The Spaniard, who looked in top form when cruising through the first two rounds for the loss of nine games and was due to face compatriot Marcel Granollers on Saturday, called a news conference at short notice. “I’m here to announce that I have to retire from the tournament because I have a problem in my wrist that I have had a couple of weeks,” Nadal, 30 next week, told a packed room. “Every day was a little bit worse. To win the tournament I need five more matches, and the doctor says that’s 100 percent impossible.” Fourth seed Nadal, beaten only twice in 74 matches at the French Open since taking the place by storm in 2005, had been tipped for a strong showing as he looked to recover from last year’s quarter-final exit at the hands of Novak Djokovic. The claycourt slam has been robbed of two of its biggest attractions after Roger Federer, the 17-times grand slam champion and winner in 2009, withdrew with a back injury last week.
Rafael Nadal of Spain attends a news conference - Paris, France - 27/05/16. (REUTERS/STRINGER) With Nadal’s news reverberating around the grounds, a day of third-round action under sunny skies was overshadowed. Ordinarily 10th seed and twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova’s 6-0 6-7(3) 6-0 defeat by 108th-ranked American Shelby Rogers would have been a big talking point. As would men’s second seed Andy Murray scything past big-serving Croatian veteran Ivo Karlovic in straight sets — a relief after the Briton’s first and second round dramas when he was twice pushed to five sets by lowly-ranked opponents.
Tournament director Guy Forget expressed his sadness at Nadal’s misfortune, but said the show must go on without the most successful player in Roland Garros history. “It’s his favorite tournament and the most important one, and for him to actually withdraw, we know it’s a very painful decision,” Forget told reporters. “He was going to play probably Novak (Djokovic) in the semi-finals, so one of those two was going to be in the finals. It opens up the draw for some players.” Home favorite Richard Gasquet provided some cheer for the home fans on Philippe
Chatrier Court where he tamed Australian tyro Nick Kyrgios 6-2 7-6(9) 6-2 to move into the last 16 where he will face fifth seed Kei Nishikori. Japanese Nishikori let slip a two-set lead against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco before prevailing 6-3 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-4. Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion and the only other man apart from Federer to keep Nadal’s name off the trophy since 2005, was playing France’s Jeremy Chardy later. In the women’s draw, fourth seed Garbine Muguruza shone in the Chatrier sunshine, thrashing Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer to set up a last-16 clash with 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sixth seed Simona Halep also prevailed as did experienced Australian Samantha Stosur who beat 11th seed Lucie Safarova in a battle of two former runner-ups. The return of Nadal’s injury curse caused the greatest impact, though, and his chances of recovering in time to play at Wimbledon next month already look in the balance. “If I keep playing it’s gonna be broken in the next couple of days,” the crestfallen Spaniard said of the injury to his left wrist tendon. “Every day the image is a little bit worse.”
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Golden Jaguars shortlisted squad named… to face Curacao and USVI
Intermittent rainfall not affecting preparations - Sims -lucky turfite to win return trip compliments of Fly Jamaica
Head Coach of the Men’s National Team (Golden Jaguars), Jamaal Shabazz, has named a 19-man squad to face off Curacao and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) in the second leg of the Caribbean Football Union’s Caribbean Men’s Cup scheduled for the 1st and 4th June, 2016 respectively in the named countries. The team consists of nine over-seas based players including Sheldon Holder and Pernel Schultz
(Trinidad and Tobago); Samuel Cox, Jake Newton and Ricky Shakes (England), Walter Moore (Finland); Brandon Beresford and Emery Welshman (U.S.A) and Christopher Nurse (Puerto Rico). The Golden Jaguars departed Guyana yesterday for Curacao and will play Curacao at the Ergilio Hato Stadium at 20:00hrs. Guyana’s second game will be played against USVI at the Adelita Cancryn Playing Field, St.
Country’s top distance athletes confirmed for tomorrow’s ‘Golden Mile’ Most of the country’s top distance runners are confirmed to race in the Professional Key Shop ‘Golden Mile’ which is scheduled to be staged tomorrow, starting from 16:00 hrs. Speaking with promoter of the event Kwame Ridley, who spoke with Kaieteur Sport via telephone yesterday, he disclsoed that over $500,000 in cash and prizes will be up for grabs in the three categories which include juniors, Open and Masters for both male and female athletes. According to Ridley, the event has been planned to coincide with Guyana’s ‘Golden Jubilee’ celebrations and he is positive that the starting line could also see some of the visitors who’ve returned to celebrate the special occasion. Ridley said the race which has a registration fee of $1,000 per athlete will start outside the 704 Sports Bar on Lamaha Street proceed west along Lamaha Street, before turning south into Carmihcael Street to finish in front of the Professional Key Shop. Cash and prizes will be awarded to the top four finishers in each of the three categories, while a special prize will be given to the youngest and oldest runners to participate in the race. In the Open category (male) the winner will take away $50,000, runner-up $30,000, 3rd and 4th placed finishers $15,000 and $10,000 respectively. In the female version, the winner will receive $30,000, runner-up $20,000 and 3rd and 4th placed finishers $15,000 and $10,000 respectively. Interested athletses can contact Ridley in tele #621-3249 or 698-8845.
Thomas, USVI beginning at 16:15hrs. Guyana has been placed in Group Three of the five-group second Round phase of the Tournament. Round 3 of the Championship will begin in October 3-11; Fifth Place Playoff November 7-15; and the finals are scheduled for May 2017.
Promoter of tomorrow’s Georgetown Turf Club (GTC) Horserace Meet Michael Sims in an invited comment yesterday said the intermittent rainfall has not affected preparations for the event and is predicting very good conditions that will be conducive for exciting races. Sims, who is the President of the GTC told this newspaper that all systems are asying go and turfites are being assured that the facility is currently being prepared to accommodate the anticipated large turnout of turfites for the event. The Meet which will be staged at the Mocha Arcadia facility on the East Bank of Demerara will also provide a lucky patron with an opportunity to win a return trip to USA, Canada, Jamaica or Barbados compliments of Fly Jamaica that has pledged its support to the Meet. The GTC President, who recently held a Race Meet at the same venue, is returning after a prolonged haitus from the sport added that a review from the previous Meet have indicated that turfites are eager for racing to return to Georgetown and he is optimis-
Michael Sims tic that this one will be another huge success and urged fans to come out and offer their usual support. Six races are carded for the day with the feature being the H&Lower Class which will be run over a distance of one mile with the winner set to receive $200,000, 2nd place $100,000, 3rd place $50,000 and 4th place $25,000. The remaining races for the day include the J&Lower over a distance of six furlongs with the winner collecting $150,000, 2nd place $75,000, 3rd place $37,000 and 4th place $18,000.then there is the K&Lower Class over six furlongs that carries a first prize
of $140,000, 2nd prize $70,000, 3rd $35,000 and 4th $17,000; the L&Lower over a distance of five furlongs with a first prize of $100,000, 2nd $50,000, 3rd $25,000 and 4th $12,000; the Unclassified with a first prize of $80,000, 2nd $40,000, 3rd $20,000 and 4th $10,000. The Cart horse race over five furlongs will see the winner receive $60,000, 2nd $30,000, 3rd $15,000 and 4th $8,000. Among the top horses that will be on show areLiquid Lion, Happy Landing, Red Jet, Quancy, Red Regent, Blue Lightening, Champ and Royal Stallion among others. Starting time is 13:00hrs.
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Saturday May 28, 2016
Professional Boxers at the Olympics AIBA (L’Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur) is accredited as an International Sports Federation (IF) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to govern boxing at the Olympic Games and all of its qualifying events and tournaments. International Sports Federations are international nongovernmental organizations recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as administering one or more sports at world level. While conserving their independence and autonomy in the administration of their sports, International Sports Federations are required to ensure that their statutes, practice and activities conform to the Olympic Charter. All countries wishing to have their boxers participate in the Olympics and Olympic qualifying events must necessarily have their local national amateur federations affiliated to AIBA. They must conform t o A I B A’s r u l e s a n d regulations. The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association is no exception. AIBA by its IOC accreditation has the responsibility and duty to manage and to monitor the global running of amateur boxing including the practical organization of events leading up to and during the Games. It is also required to supervise the development of young boxers at every level. It must
ensure the promotion and development of the sport, monitoring global administration and guaranteeing the regular organization of competitions as well as respect for the rules of fair play. In a recent move presumably to control boxing worldwide, both aspects of the sport, professional and amateur, AIBA announced its intention to open Olympic amateur boxing to professional boxers beginning with Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 2016. This latest development has been a culmination of many small moves by AIBA to get involved with and presumably control professional boxing. It began with their instructing all national associations to effect changes to their names to delete the word ‘amateur’. Indeed Guyana like every other country, unable to resist the dictates by AIBA for fear of being unlisted and unable to attend Olympic qualifier games had no choice but to acquiesce. The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association was directed to change its name to the Guyana Boxing Association. This was followed by abandoning headgear in certain categories of fighters. Again, although many countries consider this dangerous for young fighters, none could resist the dictates of AIBA. This was then followed by AIBA launching something called the Professional Series of Boxing (PSB) which
Trophy Stall backs GSCL Inc/NSC independence Cup Trophy Stall has thrown its support behind Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc/National Sports Commission for the staging of the Independence T20 tournament which commences today at the Everest Cricket Club. The entity has donated the trophies for the outstanding teams and players at a simple ceremony held at its Bourda Market location. Managing Director of Trophy Stall Ramesh Sunich said he happy to be part of the tournament since it is Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary and is looking forward to a successful tournament while Samuel Kingston of GSCL Inc thanked him for the support. In the opening fixtures at 09:30 hrs, Parika Defenders will take on Regal, Success will play Ariel and Fisherman will battle Mike’s Wellman. At 13:30 hrs, Fisherman will take on Regal, Success will entertain Mike’s Wellman and Parika Defenders will challenge Ariel. On Sunday at 09:30 hrs, Success will play Regal, Fisherman will face Ariel and Parika Defenders will face Mike’s Wellman. The top two teams will play in the final at 13:30 hrs at the said venue.
– A Dangerous Gamble
Peter Abdool President – Guyana Boxing Board of Control President – WBC Fecarbox Member – World Boxing Council Board of Governors essentially allows amateurs to compete on AIBA’s professional platform and still compete as amateurs. Prior to that, boxers who competed more than once professionally, could no longer go back to the amateur ranks, it being well recognized that they were such inherently different levels of the same sport that it has always been considered necessary to keep them apart to allow the proper uninterrupted development of young amateur fighters. An amateur boxer ’s participation in AIBA professional competitions, PSB or APB is of course accompanied by them having to sign a five year contract, in itself a glaring conflict of interest, given that AIBA is the governing body for amateur boxing and now self-appointed professional boxing sanctioning body under the PSB and APB promotions and simultaneously signing and promoting professional boxers from whom it derives revenues. F i n a l l y, t h e l a t e s t bombshell on allowing professional boxers into the Olympics has now been announced. Reasonably, if you allow one professional boxer in you must necessarily allow them all in and it will only take a court mandated order emanating from any discrimination suit brought by any professional fighter anywhere in the world to quickly establish this. So the interest shown by professional champions is
natural and immediate. An example of this is the announced willingness of world champions, Manny Pacquiao and Wladimir Klitschko to accept the i n v i t a t i o n o f D r. Wu (President of AIBA) to participate in Rio with the special privilege of not having to compete in the preliminary rounds. Should this happen and Dr. Wu is able to push through his illadvised plan, the young and relatively immature amateur youths in the 147 lbs welterweight category can well find themselves facing the enormous experience and power of Pacquiao. The end result could be extreme injury or even death. None of these amateur fighters would ever have faced anything like the enormous, explosive power of a Pacquiao. Nothing puts a fighter at greater risk than mismatches. The WBC President, Mauricio Sulaiman is keenly aware that managing disaster in the ring begins with making sure that fighters are not mismatched. Many promoters are willing to put any two fighters together for a show because there are clear financial rewards. The W B C ( Wo r l d B o x i n g Council), painfully aware of the escalation of the risk of injury in this type of set up, has now established a committee to which an application must be made by promoters for approval of all championship fights. The singular purpose of that committee is to reduce the possibility of injury by ensuring that there are no
mismatches. What AIBA President, Dr. Wu proposes for the Olympics breaches all good sense and risks the health and wellbeing of our young fighters, presumably only for their apparent dream of controlling all boxing and particularly the profits associated with professional boxing. Whilst there has been an enormous outcry worldwide by champions, former champions and trainers, all protests have fallen on deaf ears. Nacho Berestein, trainer of the famous Juan Manuel Marques who scored a stunning six round knockout of Pacquiao in their fourth encounter called Dr. Wu’s plan complete madness. Berestein, who trains both world champions as well as amateur fighters, cannot understand how AIBA could contemplate a tournament that could be potentially detrimental to our young fighters. Former O l y m p i c a n d Wo r l d Heavyweight Champion, Lennox Lewis in a scathing commentary, described it as a ‘Recipe for Disaster”. The WBC’s reaction has been immediate. Its President Mauricio Sulaiman has announced formally that any WBC champion or boxers ranked in the top 15 of the WBC who fights in the Olympic games will be immediately banned from the WBC and stripped of their Titles. The WBC’s position is virtually expected from an organization that is credited with implementing enormous changes over the years to enhance the safety of the sport and one expects that most of the professional sanction bodies are likely to follow suit. Whilst local amateur boxing commissions like our own Guyana Amateur Boxing Association are powerless to protest, this is quickly becoming a matter which must engage the attention of Governments as the dictates of Dr. Wu and AIBA have arrived at a stage where their decisions threaten to endanger the well-being of our young fighters. Dr. Wu’s plan to copy the entry of NBA players in the Barcelona Olympics in the form of the Dream Team does not seem to have considered that basketball players do not have to hit each other to win the game.
The biggest question it poses is ‘How can the vaunted International Olympic Committee (IOC) stand idly by whilst AIBA and Dr. Wu, empowered exclusively under their “International Federation” status, practice what many see as little more than ‘reckless endangerment’ of the lives of young amateurs boxers.’ Guyana’s experience with the IOC has always been as far as I am aware, excellent. In a study conducted by myself on behalf of the National Sports Commission in 2013/2014, it was clearly established that K. Juman Yassin, who is the President of the Olympic Association in Guyana, consistently goes beyond the call of duty to support all sporting disciplines in Guyana. He has, presumably on behalf of the IOC significantly contributed to the development of amateur boxing in Guyana even having served for a number of years as its President. Surely this development runs contrary to those fine efforts. Just yesterday Elvis Sanchez, the President of the Boxing Federation of Venezuela added his voice to the protests, describing AIBA’s move as a total crime in allowing fights between young boxers and experienced pro boxers saying “It is like feeding the tigers”. The Guyana Boxing B o a r d o f C o n t r o l ’s sentiments are not too far removed from his. We very strongly reject AIBA’s proposal and call on the National Sports Commission and our Government to monitor this development. We are very much aware that the final AIBA executive meeting for voting in ratification of this travesty is to take place next week. Our own Steve Ninvalle will have a vote at that meeting. One can only hope that he does not vote in favour of extinguishing the Olympic hopes, dreams and aspirations of young fighters all over the world including Guyana who cannot hope to compete against seasoned professional fighters including World Champions in bouts that will certainly have the potential to damage them for the rest of their lives.
Kaieteur News
Saturday May 28, 2016
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Mayor’s Cup action continues today and tomorrow Play in the Annual Mayor ’s Cup football tournament continues this weekend at two venues with double headers. The action this weekend start today at the Den Amstel ground on the West of Demerara and continues tomorrow at the Victoria ground on the East Coast of Demerara. At Den Amstel starting from 2:00pm today, Beavers are down to challenge Eagles in the opening fixture. Eagles’ potent trio of Daniel Clarke, Jalen Williams and Chris Macey is expected to be a bother for the Beavers as they have done in the East Bank league. Ijaz Cave and Damien Bacchus will spearhead Herstelling’s challenge against Uitvlugt in the second game which starts at 4:00pm. To m o r r o w a t t h e Vi c t o r i a g r o u n d B V Triumph take on Mahaica from 6:30pm, while the nightcap pits Golden Grove against Cougars from 8:30pm. All the teams will be looking to advance further but keen contests are expected with the better unit expected to prevail. Grove Hi Tech, Victoria Kings, Pouderoyen and Den Amstel won over the opening two days of the tournament and the teams
Damien Bacchus (left) and Ijaz Cave - Herstelling Raiders battling this weekend will hope to join them and progress further in the tournament. The teams are battling for the Mayor’s Cup and a first prize of $700,000 donated by Aruwai Resort, second $300,000 and the Ansa McAl trophy, third $200,000 and the John Fernandes trophy and fourth $100,000 and the Ministry of State trophy. Ricks and Sari has also donated hampers which will go to the winning team. The tournament’s top goal scorer will get a three piece suite compliments of AH&L Kissoon Furniture Store. The event is coordinated by Lennox Arthur, former National footballer and later Coach, who has been behind this tournament for 22 years.
GCB regrets the passing of Umpire Sukdeo The executives and staff of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) have learnt with great sadness of the passing of Guyana and regional umpire, Gayanana Sukdeo on May 24, 2016. We extend our condolences to his family, friends, umpires and the entire cricket fraternity. He was always a pleasant individual, ready to assist anyone in whatever way he can. His demise is a great loss to the members of the subassociations across Guyana, the players and officials. Sukdeo has given loyal service to the game of cricket and through his quality of his work, earned the respect of players and spectators at the local, national, and regional levels. He was part of the junior panel of umpires for the WICB since 2011 and did duties for the Under-15, Under-17 and Under19 Tournament. He was also a standby umpire in the WICB PCL 4-Day competition. Losing a loved one is never easy; our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time we share their pain and grief. May his soul rest in peace!
Daniel Clarke (right) and Jalen Williams, Eagles FC
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Saturday May 28, 2016
Warner 93* leads Sunrisers into final ESPNcricinfo - An unbeaten 58-ball 93 from David Warner, his eighth half-century of the season, steered Sunrisers Hyderabad into their maiden IPL final. Warner batted through a tense chase of 163 even as Lions chipped away at the wickets, and found a calm lower-order ally in Bipul Sharma at a critical juncture when Sunrisers needed 46 from 25 balls. They won with four wickets in hand. Bipul has excellent firstclass numbers for an allrounder - a batting average of 43.45, a bowling average of 28.98 - and is perhaps more of a batsman than a bowler at that level: he has six hundreds and nine half-centuries in 38 matches, but only 76 wickets and two five-fors. He has had more opportunity to bowl his leftarm spin rather than bat in his IPL career, though he showed his ball-striking ability in the Eliminator, hitting two clean sixes off Morne Morkel in the final over of Sunrisers’ innings. Warner wasn’t in a good
mood when Bipul came to the crease. He had addressed angry words to Tom Moody, the Sunrisers coach, who had come out with drinks and instructions at the fall of the sixth wicket. Warner was ostensibly displeased with the way Naman Ojha had got out, taking on Dwayne Bravo and picking out the fielder at deep midwicket. Bipul quickly gave Warner reason to trust him, taking the safe but clever option against Praveen Kumar’s yorker, shuffling across to clip into the deepset leg side field, picking up two twos in three balls in this manner. In between, Praveen bowled a half-volley, and Bipul lofted it for a straight six. Dhawal Kulkarni began the next over with four wide yorkers, conceding only one run from them. But then, with Sunrisers needing 32 from 14, Bipul walked across his stumps, and scooped a full-toss over the square leg boundary. Bravo began his final over with figures of 3-0-132. He and the left-arm
Gaulding Place to host Wiltshire / Joseph Playoffs tomorrow Gaulding Place which has become the major venue for dominoes in Georgetown is expected to come alive tomorrow when the playoffs of the Mark ‘Jumbie’ Wiltshire / Faye Joseph Tournament continue from 15:00 hrs. Wiltshire speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday said that interested teams are invited to participate in the competition and can make contact with him on tele#6655855 for more details. The winning team will receive $150,000; runner-up $75,000 and 3rd place $40,000 and entrance fee is $10,000 per team. According to Wiltshire, the tournament is all part of Guyana’s ‘Golden Jubilee’ celebrations and overseas visitors are invited to form teams and participate.
wristspinner Shivil Kaushik had been responsible for a mid-innings slump that had seen Sunrisers go from 61 for 2 in eight overs to 91 for 5 in 13. But now the momentum was with Sunrisers, and Warner confirmed it in the classic T20 manner - an attempted extra-cover loft that ended up streaking to the third man boundary. Another four from Warner - a surgically placed slap past point that was better representative of his innings - and another big six from Bipul down the ground left Sunrisers needing only five to win off the last over. Warner only needed two balls. Lions probably knew even before the match that Warner would be their biggest obstacle, and he reinforced that feeling with a boundary off the very first ball of the chase, a sweetly timed clip to the square-leg boundary off Praveen. But Lions soon discovered they didn’t necessarily have to go through Warner to win; they could go around him. The first two wickets were gifts Shikhar Dhawan went for a silly run in the second over and paid the price; Moises Henriques slapped a short, wide ball straight to cover. Yuvraj Singh tried to hit his way out of the pressure of seven dots in 12 balls, and holed out to long-off. Bravo, mixing up his pace expertly, and Kaushik, not turning the ball all that much but turning it both ways from a length just beyond the reach of a safe front-foot hit, intensified the pressure on Sunrisers,
David Warner stands tall for a cut, Sunrisers Hyderabad v Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016, Delhi, May 27, 2016 ©BCCI consuming Deepak Hooda and Ben Cutting in the process. When Ojha came to the crease, Sunrisers needed 79 from 45. Warner kept Sunrisers in the hunt, swinging the last ball of Kaushik’s spell for a leg-side six and taking heavy toll of the 15th over, bowled by Dwayne Smith, flatbatting a short ball for a six over long-off and squeezing a wide yorker past point for four. Ojha joined in with a pulled six off the last ball, taking the tally from that over to 19, and bringing the equation down to 47 from 30. A sensational 16th over from Bravo, conceding only two and picking up Ojha’s wicket, seemed to swing it back Lions’ way, but Warner and Bipul had the final word. Sunrisers suffered a blow even before a ball had been
bowled, with Mustafizur Rahman ruled out with a hamstring injury. Trent Boult came into the side and made an immediate impact, catching Eklavya Dwivedi at third man to leave Lions 7 for 1 at the end of the first over. Changing Brendon McCullum’s opening partner had not made any difference to Lions, whose last four opening partnerships had yielded 9, 0, 0 and 2. Boult then dismissed Suresh Raina in the fourth over, lbw playing across the line, and Lions were 19 for 2. There was little in the pitch to really bother the batsmen, but Lions’ progress was slow, with McCullum playing a strange innings, with a few fierce boundary hits, a number of dots arising from shots hit straight to fielders
in the ring, and a general struggle for rhythm. Dinesh Karthik looked in good touch, piercing the gap between extra cover and mid-off with a sweet drive off Boult and shuffling across to sweep an off-stump ball from Bipul wide of short fine leg. But he was run out immediately after hitting Bipul for six in the ninth over, a Boult direct hit finding him short after a mix-up with McCullum. When McCullum picked out sweeper cover in the 12th over and fell for a 29-ball 32, Lions were 81 for 4. It became 83 for 5 when Smith slapped Ben Cutting straight to deep point in the next over. Lions were tottering. But Aaron Finch, demoted to No. 5, was already flowing, having hit Barinder Sran for a four and a massive six over long-off. He plundered two sixes and a four off Moises Henriques in the 14th over to take Lions to 100, and uppercut and drove Boult for successive fours in the 15th. He fell in the 18th, for 50 off 32, but Bravo carried the momentum forward, beating deep point first to his right and then to his left - off successive Boult deliveries in the 19th. Lions finished on 162. Sunrisers had defended the same total, on the same ground, in their Eliminator. Lions couldn’t quite give them a taste of their own medicine. Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 163 for 6 (Warner 93*, Kaushik 2-22, Bravo 232) beat Gujarat Lions 162 for 7 (Finch 50, McCullum 32, Cutting 2-20, Bhuvneshwar 2-27) by four wickets
Kaieteur News
Saturday May 27, 2016
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GFF TO HOST Jubilee boxing card set ORDINARY CONGRESS for this evening at CASH Joseph “Reds” Perreira To be Guest Presenter Georgetown: The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) will host its Ordinary Congress today and a fundraising dinner tomorrowy. This Congress, scheduled for 11:00hrs today at the Herdsmanston Lodge, Queenstown is the first for the new Executive and is in keeping with Article 28 of the Constitution of the GFF. It will include a presentation done by legendary broadcaster and s p o r t s commentator/administrator Mr. Joseph “Reds” Perreira AA who is also being hosted by the GFF as the Guest of Honour at its Fundraising Dinner tomorrow. According to the President of the GFF, Wayne Forde, he is looking forward to the Congress and is encouraged by the current atmosphere heading into the Congress. “Over the past six months I have experienced a v e r y w a r m a n d reconciliatory tone and embrace from the membership and I think they will be interested in what we have to say to them. I think they will be keen on every aspect of football development that we will present; I believe it will be a fine example of what a GFF Congress ought to be.” He said among the objectives of the Congress is the need to foster cohesion for the benefit of football. “There is a need for us to recognize that the kind of infighting that has really stymied our growth over the years needs to come to an end. We need to find a way to truly embrace each other and trust each other as we need to recognize that, on our own, there is very little which can accomplish.” Among the key agenda items, according to the President, is the presentation of the GFF strategic document, which goes by the acronym “PEAK” – P e r f o r m a n c e , E m p o w e r m e n t , Accountability and Knowledge – which captures the “four key pillars of the developmental goals for the thrust local football.” Following the Congress, tomorrow will be a fundraising dinner dubbed,
Wayne Forde
Joseph “Reds” Perreira
“An Evening With Reds Perreira” scheduled for Gravity Lounge at 20:00hrs. This event is aimed at raising funds to advance the development agenda of the Federation. The Guest of Honour will be former Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and football coach Joseph “Reds’ Perreira. Born in British Guiana, “Reds” Perreira’s life began in humble beginnings in the Pomeroon. While he has achieved much of his fame as a result of his cricket commentator role, amidst this sports enthusiast’s vast and rich experience was his involvement in his “first love” – football. “Reds” Perreira debuted at the first division level at age 16 when he was the Goalkeeper of the Georgetown Football Club (GFC). The man who has been described as a “walking sports encyclopedia” advanced his football career to the position of Coach of the Santos Football Club. He later became a coach of National Under-23 Side in the 1960s. His life was one characterized by outstanding moments and immense challenges, the latter which propelled him to even greater accomplishments. His autobiography “Living My Dreams” chronicles his life including his role as a sports administrator where he served in various capacities including President of the St. Lucia Boxing Association and Sports Director of the Organization of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS). Mr. Pereira was expected to arrive in Guyana yesterday. Tickets for this event cost G$10,000 and are available at the GFF’s office.
Boxing promoter and businessman Seon Bristol has teamed up with the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) and a few former stalwarts to bring off a card for Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary. The card takes place this evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) starting at 7:00pm. “Boxing has done more than any other sport for Guyana and we need to keep that flame burning. I was happy to know that when I called, my brother Steve Ninvalle was willing and ready to jump on the ball,” Bristol had said. Bristol joins with former Commonwealth Champions, Lennox Blackmore and Kenny Bristol and the administration of the Guyana Boxing Association
(GBA) to stage an amateur boxing card that coincides with the historic commemorative event. The card will comprise Guyana’s best amateur boxers slugging it out against each other and President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle is assured that the boxers will turn in notable performances. He said that the tournament will serve a bifurcated objective as his executives will be acknowledging the (boxing) input of Blackmore and Bristol. Apart from his lucrative world ranking Blackmore had also won the Commonwealth title after pounding out a unanimous decision over Nigerian, Jonathon Dele in 1977 to capture the British
Seon Bristol Commonwealth title. Bristol was also a Commonwealth champion after decisively outpointing Pat Thomas to w i n t h e v a c a n t super/welterweight Commonwealth title. “Amateur boxing needs a lot of help and I had no hesitation to come on board when asked,” declared (Kenny) Bristol at a recent (Continued on page 25)
Warriors shoot past Thunder, extend West finals
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) defends during the second quarter in game five of the Western conference finals. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports) Reuters (The Sports Xchange) - Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes bombed in 3-pointers on consecutive possessions during an eight-point flurry that opened a 12-point lead
early in the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors held on from there to stay alive in the Western Conference finals with a 120-111 victory over the Oklahoma Thunder on
Thursday night. The victory trimmed Golden State’s deficit in the best-of-seven to 3-2, with the series returning to Oklahoma City for another possible close-out game for the
Thunder on Saturday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be Monday in Oakland. Stephen Curry poured in 31 points, going 10-for-10 (Continued on page 25)
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Trophy Trophy Stall Stall backs backs GSCL GSCL Inc/NSC Inc/NSC independence independence Cup Cup
Intermittent rainfall not affecting preparations - Sims -lucky turfite to win return trip compliments of Fly Jamaica
Trophy Stall Managing Director Ramesh Sunich (right) presents the winning trophy to Samuel Kingston.
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NSC/GASA Independence Swim Meet
Simmons, Persaud, Grant, Noel, Mahaica, Hackett, Cole, Carter and Rodrigues are early standouts
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