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November 11, 2012

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FBI hunting

EZjet’s founder

Sonny Ramdeo

Cassandra

No warning signs before this busy Banks DIH turn where construction is ongoing

Caribbean Airline to take stranded EZjet

passengers at same fare Security guard T&T Police launch Maheshwar electrocuted by criminal probe into Cpt. Soogrim is a illegal connection CLICO collapse ‘Special Person’ Passionate about the waterways…

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

Security guard electrocuted by illegal connection An early morning mishap has left a 40-year-old security guard dead. Selwyn Abrahams, of 26 Republic Drive, Triumph, East Coast Demerara was electrocuted around 5:00hours at Ogle Street, Triumph, when he came into contact with an apparent illegal connection.

Reports are that a dangling electric wire was wrapped around the man's neck before shocking him and tossing his friend who sought to render assistance a short distance away.

Rhonda Abrahams, the younger sister of the deceased, said that around 06:30 in the morning she received news that her brother had been electrocuted. The woman said that her brother had

returned from work early yesterday morning and was heading to his supervisor's home in Ogle Street to enquire about his shift for the next day.

“He and a friend was going to he boss lady house to find out he work duty.

Dem seh he stumble pon de wire and it wrap round he neck.” The woman continued that “he almost fall and he friend hold he, but de ting mek he friend pitch and Selwyn fall in the gutter that had water.”

“De friend get up and start run,” the sister concluded. Abrahams was scheduled to celebrate his 41st birthday on November 21.

When Kaieteur visited the scene, the wire had

already been removed by Guyana Power and Light (GPL). A resident explained that the wire was being taken to an old house adjacent to the electricity pole. He said someone was trying to assist a double amputee that lived in the old house.

According to the man who only gave his name as David, the woman had been living with her husband but she had lost both her legs.

The live wire was reportedly left dangling from works to give the couple electricity.

Kaieteur News was told that the husband was arrested and taken to the Beterverwagting Police Station for questioning.

Wi l b e r t A b r a h a m s , father of the deceased, told Kaieteur News that around

05:30hours he was awaken by poundings on his door. He said that when he answered he was greeted with news of his son's death. “Mr. Abrahams, Mr. Abrahams look ya son lie down dead in Ogle Street,” the messenger revealed.

The elderly man, fighting his tears, said that he had last spoken to his son around 14:30hours the day before his death. He recounted that the man left for work at Strategic Action Security Service and was scheduled to return yesterday morning.

The father said that he learnt that his son had come into contact with an electricity wire and was electrocuted. The man said when he arrived on the scene

A younger Selwyn Abrahams

he saw his son “stretched out.” He told this publication that his son looked stiff and that there was an apparent burn at the back of his neck.

“Only yesterday I talk to he. I ask he bout weeding de

yard and he seh he gon do it.

Now look, look me eldest pickney gone and dead. I watch me pickney dead pon de ground, stretch out.”

Abrahams's body is at the Lyken Funeral Parlour.

A distraught Wilbert Abrahams

The house the wire was reportedly going to

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

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FBI hunting EZjet’s founder EZjet Air Services has been plunged into even deeper crisis with new revelations that the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been looking to question the founder/former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Sonny Ramdeo, over a number of violations.

However, according to reports reaching this newspaper, Mr. Ramdeo cannot be found by the authorities for questioning.

The reports disclose that the Department of Transportation (DOT) alleges that the airline contravened regulations by directing travel agencies to deposit sales receipts directly to EZJet’s account instead of through the approved route via accounts at Valley National Bank.

Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, disclosed that he has been in touch with DOT and other US officials and that Ramdeo remains unavailable for questioning for over a week now. The FBI is reportedly actively seeking Ramdeo’s whereabouts.

“Sonny Ramdeo is being hunted down by the FBI for more than over one week now.

He has gone into hiding with whereabouts unknown and thus has become a fugitive.

This is as a result of a violation of the regular financial procedures concerning ticket monies from passengers which apparently total in excess of US$5M,” AFC’s Khemraj Ramjattan said last evening.

Ramjattan also outlined the alleged diversion of the company’s funds from Valley National Bank.

“Only when the passengers have arrived at destination and notification of demand is made by EZjet, were the monies to be paid over by Valley National to EZ Jet or Ramdeo,” the Parliamentarian explained.

“What happened is that Ramdeo and his company officials managed to persuade a number of travel agencies in New York and Florida that this requirement was not applicable to EZjet. This mechanism of the escrow in the USA is for the security of the passengers getting back their monies if for any reason the flights were cancelled or did not happen. Valley National will return the monies for disbursement to the dissatisfied passengers. This safety mechanism is implemented especially for these smaller licensed airlines.”

EMBARRASSMENT According to Ramjattan, “this is an embarrassment for Guyana, one that could have

- US$5M passengers’ monies missing Wanted by FBI: Sonny Ramdeo

been avoided if the Guyana Government had heeded calls for an investigation into the EZJet company structure and financing.”

The USA regulator on Thursday, suspended EZJet’s operations following legal filing by Swift Air for alleged outstanding sums from EZJet. The authorities of both Guyana and Canada have since followed suit.

With the suspension of EZJet service, thousands of passengers have been stranded and have expressed concerns about their refunds.

Angry passengers continue to descend on EZJet’s Brickdam offices in an attempt to secure their monies.

The company’s CEO (ag), Rosalinda Rasul, has asked for cooperation and has promised to process refunds.

She was unavailable to answer queries about Ramdeo being pursued by the FBI. Many persons have expressed concerns about whether they will get their refunds and have started to call on the Guyana Government, since the local regulator under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, should have ensured requisite insurance and coverage for such eventuality.

Works Minister Robeson Benn said on Friday that EZjet lodged US$200,000 with the Bank of Guyana to cover eventualities such as this.

The Government has started to discuss the fate of these stranded passengers with other airlines and Caribbean Airlines has already promised to help.

MISSING IN ACTION The failure of the company to continue its services will bring scrutiny on the debacle in its entirety.

Numerous commentators, politicians and private citizens have, for months now, called for an investigation into EZJet’s operations.

However, the local authorities continued to ignore these calls and were forced to act only after the authorities in the USA suspended EZJet’s operations.

Aside from the embarrassment, one wonders if the local authorities will launch any investigation into the Guyana end of the operations. The company should have covered its operational financial obligations with requisite deposits into an escrow account as well as meet insurance and other requirements.

The days and weeks ahead will show how transparent the EZJet operations were and the consequences of the embarrassment to the country.

FOLLOW THE MONEY “If EZJet diverted all revenues to its own accounts, the big question has to be “Where is the money?”

“With the unraveling of the veil of secrecy over the company operations we should finally get the answers to who the shareholders are and how much money they had put into the company – as well as how much they made from the company and where did the money go,” Ramjattan said.

It is believed that the missing monies represented approximately 30 flights to USA alone for the end of the year which means about 6000 passengers at approximately US$600 per ticket which approximates to almost US$4M.

According to Ramjattan, on the Guyana end, the situation is a worrying one as there are about 800 in Guyana that are stranded… with a similar amount in the US. He expressed worry whether a US$200,000 security deposit held by the Guyana government may not be enough.

“It would mean that a number of passengers would have to bear their losses or Government will have to do a bail out, like it did with CLICO. To get these people home, our Government will have to pay Caribbean Airlines about US$600 for that one way trip, either back to Guyana for those presently in the USA or either back to the USA for those presently in Guyana.”

This could work out to almost US$1M($200M), he said.

In recent weeks, Ramdeo and EZjet came into the spotlight after a healthcare company in the US sued both for allegedly stealing

US$5.4M and passing some of it through the accounts of the charter company.

In recent weeks, creditors became increasingly nervous and started to demand payments upfront for supplies and services.

It is anyone’s guess as to the outcome of the legal proceedings if all allegations were proven true. Ramdeo could face jail time if found guilty and the other company officers could face legal and other problems.

WHERE IS RAMDEO? “All of this inconvenience and possible massive financial loss would have been avoided only if this hard-ears Government would have listened to certain people who were critical of EZjet at the initial stage, or if it had carried out proper due diligence on the prime movers of EZjet.”

Ramjattan, a lawyer by profession, said that Government is still persisting with its argument that its “detractors” don’t want development.

“It is now being proven

one at a time that it is their corrupt buddies who they give the green light to who are mucking it up.”

This is the main question at the moment as the authorities are looking for the founder of the airline. It is obvious that the Board of Directors and other senior officers will face questioning.

The string of litigations facing the company and its officers will surely impact the company’s future notwithstanding the company’s acting CEO’s assurance that they are “looking for new investors” and that the company is not closed down.

However, the lawsuit of the hospital was the first blow to the company. The hospital alleged that Ramdeo may have fraudulently converted funds into EZJet’s finances.

The second charge came from the US authorities.

While the US’ authorities are concerned about the whereabouts of Ramdeo, thousands of stranded passengers are wondering about the whereabouts of their money.

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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: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

Disorder in the House Guyana appears to have arrived at a “Mexican Standoff” in the National Assembly. The key element that created such a situation is the very close equality in power between the government and the Opposition. The inability of any one party to advance its position safely is a condition common to any standoff; in a Mexican standoff, there is additionally no “safe” way for any party to withdraw from its position, making the standoff effectively permanent.

In our case, the Opposition has demanded the firing of Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee. Initially, the reason proffered was that he was responsible for the three killings during the protests at Linden. Now that no direct culpability has been demonstrated during the hearings of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on the incident, the Opposition, in the person of the leader of the parliamentary opposition, has suggested that the demand is now based on his overall performance during his term of office.

In the last sitting of Parliament, as they had done in the previous sitting, the Opposition parties raised a loud clamour when Minister Rohee rose to present a bill. The Mexican Standoff was avoided through the device available to the House for the Clerk to perform the first reading of the Bill.

The Speaker, responsible for the functioning of the House’s business, promised to seek legal clarification of the Opposition’s contention on the status of Minister Rohee.

In the second instance, which would have led into a debate on the bill, the Minister as mover of the Bill had to speak. He could not as a result of the din. The Speaker informed the Opposition, and indeed the entire House, that he had consulted with the legal experts and they unanimously concluded that Minister Rohee must be allowed to perform his duties, including, of course, speaking in the House. This had been the position of the government benches.

The Speaker temporarily adjourned the sitting and asked the two sides to come to an agreement out of the Mexican Standoff. Based on the Speaker’s own advice to the House, with which the government MPs were in total agreement, this meant that the Opposition had to back off from its position on Minister Rohee. Upon resumption, the combined Opposition refused to do so and through renewed and increased clamour, again prevented the Minister from speaking.

The Speaker, thereupon, was advised by the government MPs of his duty under Standing Order 47 which spoke to “Order in the Assembly and in Committee”. He then adjourned the sitting for the day. While he postponed a resolution to the Mexican Standoff, the Speaker’s action precipitated a new bone of contention to the already fractured House.

The Government’s spokespersons pointed out immediately after the adjournment that according to Standing Order 47, the Speaker could have used the device of suspending MPs who are deliberately disobedient - known as “naming” – rather than suspending the entire sitting. The government could have then proceeded with its business, just as it does when the Opposition stages a ‘walk-out”.

The Speaker has now responded using several rationales for his action. Firstly, according to a report, he claimed S.O. 47 states that “no more than one member ought to be named for misconduct.

He therefore ‘faced a dilemma” when thirty members misbehaved. This is totally erroneous since S.O. 47 (4) clearly states ,”Not more than one Member shall be named at the same time, unless several Members present together have jointly committed the offence.” As outlined in S.O.47 (3) the Speaker should have called upon a Minister to call for the suspension of all those in violation of his ruling.

The Speaker also said that ‘no request was made for the sanction”. In cases of disorder in the House, the Speaker can take his own cognisance.

Then the Speaker pointed out that he had relied on two specific “rulings’ of previous Speakers as precedent. But in those cases, the members had each been suspended. The Speaker could have easily used S.O. 47 (4) to suspend all the disorderly members.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Freddie Kissoon replies to Neil Kumar DEAR EDITOR, I refer to Neil Kumar’s letter in KN, Wed, Nov 7. I once wrote an entire column on Kumar as Sports Director of this country in which I referred to him as the most asinine politician in the world.

All the senior PPP leaders have to do to save this country some embarrassment is to tell Kumar not to write and talk because whenever he does so, it raises question about the collective IQ of the PPP Kumar says that I didn’t repeat what he Kumar accused Moses Nagamootoo of when I penned a column on Kumar’s accusation. How can any human be so

unintelligent? Why would I repeat what should never come out of a person’s mouth?

Kumar knows the horrible, personal insult he made against the character of Moses Nagamootoo.

Prime News broadcast it.

A member of the People’s Parliament, Tyrone Talbert publicly expressed disgust at what Kumar said in the Stabroek News. But Kumar in his letter stayed away from repeating what he said. In any decent Parliament, Kumar would have been banned if an apology was not offered to the offended Member of the House. But who is going to discipline Kumar. They are all the same at Freedom House

In relation to what Kumar wrote about what took place in Agricola, ninety five percent of it is fiction. What has not been reported is that the PPP had ample time to send their goons in the protest to rob people to blame it on the opposition. And this is what happened.

People have told this columnist that four youths entered a car after attacking people and headed for Georgetown. That car belongs to an infamous PPP thug. I was shown two weeks ago who were among the attackers, it was one of the thugs that sought to break up the academic conference when I was the speaker in 2010

at the National Library. I know him anywhere. I can spot him from a distance.

The Agricola protest was badly organized and that is why PPP goons were able to infiltrate it.

The next time the organizers would know better.

Interestingly, one junior rank of the police force told me that when he went to stop a youth from pushing his hands into a mini-bus, his commanding officer politely told him not to bother with such petty things but keep an eye on the protestors? What does this tell you? The infiltration of the protest was well planned Kumar’s letter is a colossal Continued on page 6

Sunday November 11, 2012

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Saying there’s nothing great about the PNC’s role in Guyana’s history is ignorance or orchestrated dishonesty DEAR EDITOR, I have followed the debate by both my friend Freddie Kissoon and M. Maxwell [or should I say the M. Maxwell group?] in the Sun Oct. 24 and Monday 29 Kaieteur News. I have had a young citizen question me about the pre and post Independence leaders; the Burnham and Jagans.

How are they to be remembered, was his simple question. Letter writers cannot be merely content with the age-long propaganda definitions and personal political dislikes, we are dealing with Guyanese History and some level of research and corresponding fact-finding must be involved in their letters.

Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan are not political twins. They evolved from diverse origins, their objectives and motivations were culturally and politically different. The post WW2 world shaped their perceptions.

Nazism failed to create the thousand year Third Reich but it had created the Third world with its justified anti

colonial banners, and many of the new leaders had served in that conflict. Contrary to the nostalgic illusion, British Guyana was a colony, yes; a functional colony, but not a prosperous industrialized nation. Unemployment, low wages, lack of proper healthy housing, a virtual caste system with the subtle mental fetters that sustain the proverbial ‘Colonial’ were the characteristics of preIndependence Guyana.

Jagan was the product of the Indentured mainly Hindu populated Sugar estate environment; he never found favour with the business/ professional Indian classes that occupied the East Indian Association.

On the other hand, Burnham was a Guyana Scholar, a product of the ongoing conflict between Plantocracy and emancipated slave and emerging Afro middle class who was also at war with itself. To cut it within the confines of this letter, these men were complicated; products of their time, each with his own sense of purpose and conflicting ideals of

liberation.

“I come from the Nigger yard of yesterday.” Martin Carter’s poem, references like ‘Bound yard coolie’ and ‘Loogie coolie’ are all aspects of the real British Guiana.

These were the problems of human misery facing the local pre Independence political leadership. A large percentage of the Afro Guyanese population of Georgetown was housed in ‘Nigger Yards;’ relatives of mine grew up in one of those yards in Drysdale Street Charlestown.

Festival City, North, South Ruimveldt, Stevedore Scheme Meadowbrook, Roxanne Burnham gardens and eventually Sophia all were schemes developed post Independence to empty the ‘Nigger Yards of yesterday’.

Burnham’s war was primarily with a pretentious black middle class whose confusion with self led a member of a prominent family to accuse Burnham on the implementation of the Common-Entrance scheme that “You want to have the children of my servant sit in the same seat as my children.”

Burnham replied that “we all came off the Plantation some 130 years before.” This is not to say that the animal farm syndrome did not take effect, as it has gone full blown under the PPP today.

I am a product of policies the PNC initiated, Tom Feelings, the noted American illustrator, was brought to this country in 1974 to do workshops. He inspired a generation of local artists, and Burnham’s ban on foreign comic strips that had colonizing messages opened doors for local story tellers and artists. The then PNC Government launched professional dance in this country when Madam Lavinia Williams was brought to work with the infant National dance company.

Thousands of Guyanese youth received skill training in the Youth Corps and the National Service. The PNC should publish a list of those who they had sent to western Universities on tax payers’ dollars who never returned to serve, to the point that when I was to go to Scotland to be qualified in animation

production and film making, I sat outside and overheard the heart-rending and depressing phone conversation that concluded that if I was sent I wouldn’t come back.

To say that “There’s nothing great about the PNC’s role in Guyana’s history” (M. Maxwell Sunday Oct. 28 2012) is either a result of ignorance, orchestrated dishonesty, or a mind twisted by hate. I am sure that M. Maxwell is a PPP construct or the residue of one of the many enemies that had to be made in the process of decolonizing Guyana. M. Maxwell claims: “ The PNC was formed out of one man’s sick quest for power at all costs, built entirely on racial antagonism and political strife and played willing lackey to a foreign ideology and outside puppeteers. The PNC is the only main Party in Guyana’s history formed entirely and completely as a race party.”

Jai Narine Singh Sr. states that the PPP blamed the power moves of the Jagans after the 1953 win for the following suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of the

legislature.

He outlined a secret meeting in late 1954 with both Burnham and Jagan present [it was decided by many that Burnham would have handled things differently] “and it was decided that it would be strategically astute for Jagan to give way to Burnham as the leader of the party. Jagan actually agreed with this, but it must be noted that, his wife Janet was absent from the meeting.”The concerns of the colonial administration were the question of ‘Communism’.

J. N. Singh Sr. continues “A few weeks later [in November (1954) the executive met again and this time Janet was present and Jagan announced that he would not be accepting the earlier decision. At that stage, we all realized that there was no way we could prevent the impasse from getting out into the open.”

The dictatorial mandate of the Jagans divided the PPP. The PPP was at that time funded by the KGB. The penniless PNC turned to the west as an alternative to the Continued on page 6

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Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur M@ilbox

I acknowledge Freddie’s apology, but…

Stand steadfast, Republic Bank workers DEAR EDITOR, I am a former worker of Republic Bank (Guyana). On my last visit to Guyana earlier this year I learnt that workers were agitating towards being unionised.

Now that I am here again after nine months, I am greatly disappointed to learn that management is doing everything to frustrate this effort.

The Bank has declared a profit in excess of two billion dollars and many may feel that is good, but upon speaking with an insider, there is a lot that is not regular.

Information on the many fabulous benefits the workers of RBL (Trinidad) receive is currently being circulated via a flier. It is sickening to know that RBL Guyanese are being taken for a ride by what is perceived to be Guyanese Executives.

After all, each top dog collects in excess of three million dollars in profit sharing at the end of the year when the “floor folks” would get an average of one hundred

twenty thousand dollars.

A short while ago over nine hundred million dollars was spent on the building on Camp Street, today the southern wall is cracking like old biscuit. Has staff working within been made aware of the dangers? My understanding is no.

There is much talk of a vehicle being purchased from a dealer and a senior officer driving off in a new car shortly after.

Then there is the ugly story of the driver who was left out in the cold after being involved in a fatal accident. To date he has not been given any assistance whatsoever.

Again, the Bank spent millions to install security apparatuses to ensure that it is protected from theft by staff; some twenty two cameras were mounted to overlook twelve tellers in one section and in another, eleven over six tellers, yet fail to provide currency counters for those persons.

Staff could be seen labouring these limited

machine from one teller to use when the need arises. What a shame, a basic tool like a counter.

Staff was made to labour a forty-five hour work-week, which was silently changed to forty, but were not compensated in any way. TT works 37 hours a week.

Are the Authorities at Ministry of Finance taking note at the vast amounts being raped from this institution by the Trinidadians?

Workers of this establishment must stay resolute and united in their efforts to end this scourge. It is your constitutional right to union representation. Be not distracted by “nay sayers” who are at work.

Their latest effort was to promote a few Officers in Charge to Managers who in turn will try to silent the majority and denied a Union to meet with staff members on the location they work. stand steadfast republic bank workers and fear not for you are protected by your constitution.

Old staffer

DEAR EDITOR, I wish to acknowledge Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s apology for some of the material carried in his article of 25th inst. Mr. Kissoon, I appreciate both the fulsomeness of the response and the dispatch with which you reacted and wish to thank you for that.

I intended to reply since last Saturday evening and it is perhaps just as well that I held my hand. Since drafting the reply, I have had the opportunity to read your piece, “Freddie Kissoon replies to Mr Maxwell on the nature of the PNC”.

It seems to me that the latter piece actually undermines the spirit of your apology because you feel it was unreasonable for me to ask for the retraction of a statement which was untrue and which you claim, and I never doubted, was not

intended to be malicious. If you react to the exertion of my rights in this way it would be difficult to accept the sincerity.

Honestly, what does being out of the country for 20 years or one year have to do with the right to not being libeled or mis-represented?

How does asserting my right tell you anything about the PNC or dictatorship. Are PNC leaders not entitled to rights like other citizens?

As regards the tone and ‘style of language’ I have no idea to what you object. Please let me remind you that nearly, two months ago I indicated to the paper that this story was untrue and that it should not be repeated.

That is why I directed the letter to the editor and why it conveyed a sense of urgency.

Secondly, I know of no other way to get a withdrawal than

to ask for one.

You make reference to your reputation. Being ‘an anti-dictatorship citizen’, whatever that means, does not entitle you to besmirch someone else’s reputation without cause or to be protected from criticism for doing so!

In fact, if you value your reputation you need to be especially careful because readers will take what you say as gospel. It is practically impossible to undo false impressions given by libel or slander.

You yourself implicitly admit this when you refer to the public domain.

I see no cause for bitterness on your part, there is none on mine although it is my reputation that is at stake.

Let us close this chapter on the basis of reason.

Carl B. Greenidge

From page 5 Stalinist Jagans in a paranoid anti- Communist world and received Western funding.

Recognizing the majority Indian vote, the PPP activated in 1961 the ethnic civil war, not the PNC. The fact is, that from emancipation to Indenturship, to Independence, there were always ethnic news papers, pressure groups, ethnic religious centers etc.

The Colonial ethnic divide and rule economic constraints of British Guiana, its caste

system, imposed a predisposal to outer pressures from influential social groups on the political parties of the day. We are still fighting those battles today, we’re much more informed and are resisting the efforts to impose ethnic strife.

We also understand that all the above stemmed from inadequate economic prosperity, and opportunities.

Like Freddie I do not think M. Maxwell is a person but rather an interest group, the mystery

is, in whose interest?

APNU and the AFC are monitored by we who recognize that change must be made away from the old social and political custom of practices; an understanding of the past i s necessary and if the Maxwell group wants to make an enlightened contribution, write based on thorough research.

Let’s help the next generation understand.

Barrington Braithwaite

From page 4 evidence of what happened in the 1960s. The PPP used race politics to bait the PNC under Forbes Burnham and United Force under Peter D’Aguiar.

It is the only game they know.

It is the only culture they understand.

It is the only language

they can speak. It is the only thought about politics they have. It is the only picture they have of their role in Guyana. They continue to invent tall, fictional tales about East Indian girls being molested in Agricola. To date they cannot produce one female victim or her patents.

One guy claimed that he was beaten, but refused to take off his hat for some of us to see the laceration. It turned out he had no cut and is a member of the PPP Diamond committee.

The female Indian victim is so banal a tactic that the country knows what the PPP is up to whenever they cry wolf. The innocent female Indian being beaten up by African Guyanese they believe is their trump card.

What I am curious to know is how the security forces feel when they see their government so barefaced in inciting racial feelings in East Indians.

Surprisingly, APNU and the AFC did not go on the offensive to prove to the world that the PPP, just as they did in the sixties, were inciting racial animosities by propagandizing about untrue events in Agricola.

This writer and other media personnel know of one particular youth who told us he was paid $20, 000 to travel up to Parika and beat up people in cars and mini-buses Frederick Kissoon

Saying there’s nothing great...

Freddie Kissoon replies to Neil Kumar

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

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Caribbean Airline to take stranded EZjet passengers at same fare

Caribbean Airline officials in discussion with President Donald Ramotar, Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali, Public Works Minister Robeson and Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Zulfikar Mohammed

Passengers stranded by the sudden suspension of EZjet’s operations may find some relief with news that Caribbean Airline (CAL) has agreed to add a number of extra flights while the airfares would remain stable.

The news came even as EZjet Air Services insisted that it has suffered because of a series of unfortunate events including problems with the US company operating the flights for them.

Yesterday, top executives of CAL met with President Donald Ramotar and Government officials at State House during an emergency session to find solutions.

According to a government statement, CAL agreed to provide short-term accommodation for the stranded EZjet New Yorkbound passengers at the same fare structure.

“The airline also promised to put on additional flights within

the coming week to supplement efforts, and as a medium-term measure, operate a dry lease aircraft from Georgetown to New York onto Toronto,” the government release said.

Caribbean Airlines Chairman, Rabindra Moonan, in an invited comment said that the accrued benefits from the latter plan will be passed on to the travelling public.

Among those visiting from Trinidad were CAL’s Vice Chairman, Mohan Jaikaran;

Chief Executive Officer acting (CEO) Robert Corbie and Airport Manager, Carl Stuart.

At the meeting with the Guyana President were Tourism Minister (ag), Irfaan Ali; Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn, and other local officials.

Caribbean Airlines is at present gathering passenger statistics from EZjet, and the Ministry of Tourism, but, according to CAL’s Chairman, travelers could be assured that they will be accommodated.

President Ramotar expressed relief with the positive response from the airline to hold fares on par with EZjet, and to include additional flights. He said the task at hand on the part of the local authorities is to expedite the process of quantifying the number of persons affected. Government is hoping to process the necessary paperwork for CAL to conduct the flights as quickly as possible.

Government called on the stranded passengers to be patient. The Ministry of Tourism said that, it is estimated that 25,000-30,000 passengers would have made reservations to travel with EZjet between November and December, 2012.

Murder suspect shot after escaping from police station A man who was in custody being questioned for murder and subsequently escaped on Friday evening, was shot in the leg Saturday morning about 08:00 hrs after he was cornered by police in a yard at Main Street, Cumberland, East Canje, as he made a dash for it.

Elton Haynes, 23, of Corentyne was in custody at the Central Police station for the murder of s h o p k e e p e r, Wi n s t o n Ragnauth, aka Tony, 57, of Lot 2 North Whim Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice, , when he escaped from the police station.

Ragnauth’s body was found on Thursday with his throat slashed.

According to reports the man was arrested on Thursday and was being held as a suspect.

It is understood that on

Friday while being questioned the man jumped through the window, scaled the fence and made a dash for freedom.

The police immediately launched a man hunt for the fugitive who it is understood is no stranger to the law and was described as armed and dangerous.

The police got word that the fugitive was spotted in Cumberland, East Canje and immediately descended on the area.

After searching for some time the man was spotted in a yard. He was called upon to surrender and made a dash for it and was shot in his leg.

He was arrested and taken to the New Amsterdam hospital, before being transferred to the Georgetown hospital where he is under guard.

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 9

>>>> PNCR COLUMN <<<<

Why piracy persists under the PPPC Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee usually has little to say about the plague of piracy and lack of human safety that continue to hurt this country’s fishermen.

President Donald Ramotar is now more likely to discuss maritime piracy with Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn and Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy than with the minister whom he made responsible for public security.

Guyana’s fishing industry is one of the most important but it receives the least attention and the least protection from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Fishing industry operates nearly 1,250 artisanal boats. Fishing employs over 15,000 persons directly and indirectly.

Fishing generates about three percent of GDP. Fish exports average about 17,000 metric tonnes with a value of $10B. Fishermen, however, have been crying out for help in vain over the last six years of Rohee’s tenure of office.

Dozens of families of fishermen in East Coast Demerara village of Mon Repos - a fishing community protested in early February against attacks by pirates.

Leonard Jettoo, a fisherman and the Chairman of the AntiPiracy Committee, is reported in the newspapers to have said: “We fed up …fed up.

Nobody care about we fishermen. That is how all a’we feel. Pirate attacking we

left right and centre and nobody a seh nothing. We can’t get no security.

“When we left fuh go out pun sea, is we one and God alone. No boat nah pass fuh see if we alright nothing…”

Another resident of Mon Repos added: “..dem vex wid this government.

All dem giving we is promising. Dem a talk ‘bout rice, sugar here, farmer there and is if fishermen nah exist. We family frighten every time we left fuh go out a sea but wha we go do. That is all we know. We can’t go tek office wuk”.

Fishermen from Meadow Bank, East Bank Demerara, reacted angrily to attacks on 15 boats off the Essequibo Coast. They picketed the Office of the President on 9 th February this year. They stated that they would not settle for a meeting with anyone but the President since they have met with many officials already and nothing of worth came of those meetings.

They said: “We want meet with Donald he self. We nah trust nobody else ‘cause dem a lie. We nah want minister, pandit, priest or no office body. We want de president fuh he hear wid he own two ears how all a-we feel.”

The fishermen were quickly summoned to a meeting with President Donald Ramotar to avoid embarrassment to the administration. Ramotar

Dem boys seh

Sonny mek a bad move People does move from one thing to another. Long time people use to move from beast to priest because when dem done do all dem wickedness and can’t survive in that same environment dem use to tun priest fuh hustle wid de collection.

Well Sonny move from businessman to bandit because de Feds looking fuh he. Like he play chess. He mek a bad move. This was a man who just had to walk in some airport and go pun a plane. He didn’t need money fuh travel. Dem boys seh that he running and he probably dig a hole in de ground because nobody can’t find he.

De man was doing good till some people in Guyana decide fuh show he nuff money and ask he to front fuh dem. Sonny tek de bait. Now dem Guyanese deh looking fuh he too. Dem claim how Sonny disappear wid dem money and he tek it de same time de hospital people claim that de same Sonny tek dem money.

Because of Sonny dem put a hold pun de Marriott project because dem don’t want nobody else run way wid dem money.

De trick is to mek it look like if is foreign people money. If a man want wash he money all he got to do is pretend to borrow some money then he gun pay it back and use he money. People gun think is de borrow money.

That is wha Sonny do when he lodge he deposit money wid Scotia Bank. Right away he borrow money from de bank.

But dem boys want to know if he pay that back already or he Guyana friends pay that off already.

Dem boys seh that is a good thing de people ground de plane because Sonny mighta sell it.

Talk half and help de Feds find Sonny.

promised intervention at the level of the Cabinet and assured that no stone will be left unturned to “put an end to this lawless activity.”

He said: “We are putting a response in place, a response to what is taking place and I hope that this will be implemented immediately because this thing (piracy) we have to stamp it out immediately.”

That was that!

The PPPC administration, still in talking mode, convened a ‘Consultation’ at the International Convention Centre at Liliendaal.

Stakeholders in the fishing industry met with the Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn, Minister of Agriculture Leslie Ramsammy, Department of Fisheries officials and representatives of the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard, Guyana Police Force, Maritime Administration Department and Search and Rescue Centre, Fishermen’s Co-ops and the Trawler Association, to discuss the security of the industry among other things.

The PPPC administration, despite the t a l k , h o w e v e r, h a s n o t provided the resources or recruited the personnel to curb the crime. Hence, piracy persists.

Pravinchandra Deodat, Chairman of the Upper C o r e n t y n e F i s h e r m e n ’s Cooperative S o c i e t y, exposed Guyanese fishermen who attack their

fellow fishermen while at sea. Deodat told a newspaper that he was aware that some Guyanese boat owners have been encouraging their crews to rob and beat other fishermen.

The pirates, he said, are not strangers, but actual local fishermen. As recently as this month, November, two fishermen were reported to have been killed by pirates.

The PPPC administration and the Minister of Home Affairs have always neglected the security of the industry.

The a d m i nistration’s traditional cool attitude to contraband and its irresolute law enforcement along the entire coastland “ especially on the Corentyne and Essequibo coasts which are notorious for fuel and beer smuggling and illegal migration “ opened a new frontier for enterprising pirates.

Many of them, as Deodat said, are rogue fishermen who know their way about the rivers and coastal waters.

Soon after he was appointed minister in September 2006, Rohee used to go through the motions of meeting delegations of aggrieved fishermen from East Coast Demerara and the Corentyne and Essequibo Coasts.

The fishermen quickly realised that the meetings were pointless and that nothing was being done to counter piracy. Responses to the threat and responsibility for security were then shunted to the Ministry of Agriculture and

then to the Ministry of Public Works. This ignored the fact that piracy was a public security and law-enforcement problem.

If anything, pirates seemed to have been encouraged by the absence of enforcement.

Piracy persists because the PPPC administration is unwilling to spend money to acquire the aviation, communication, maritime and surveillance assets which it knows are necessary to deal with this crime.

The PPPC administration, in place of effective action to tackle piracy, did introduce the Hijacking and Piracy Bill that prescribes the death penalty for murder committed

during the act. But what good is the law without law enforcement?

Rohee himself declared then that piracy was challenging the country’s security and the Bill would send a “strong message” to the pirates.

Rohee’s ‘strong message’ has fallen on the pirates’ deaf ears. No one is listening.

There continues to be at least one serious piracy attack every month. The PPPC administration has not evinced the interest, intention or inclination to do anything to make our maritime zone safer and to protect the lives and livelihood of the fishermen who make their living there.

Auditor General’s findings on Region One just the tip of the iceberg DEAR EDITOR, I am not surprised at the findings of the Auditor General with regards to the Contracts in Region 1. I am sorry but what has been disclosed is only the tip of the iceberg. Corruption in Region 1 is so rife. To get to the fishy deals, one has to travel up into the riverain areas where some buildings the size of fowl pens are called schools and teachers’ quarters. Yet the contract prices are astronomical. One only has to check the amounts paid for materials for building/ repairing roads. Where are the roads?

There is a fuel depot at

Morawhanna and yet the Administration purchases fuel from middle men.

Morawhanna is across the pond from the Mabaruma Compound.

How is it that one previous REO collected accounts from some business people and some time after, turned up with cash to pay them. Has the Sub Treasury become mobile?

Like I mentioned, the Auditor’s report is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a huge chunk below surface, the likes of what ripped the Titanic open and caused it to sink.

Dig deeper.

The Onlooker.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

UG produces another 1,400 graduates Government says it will inject $2B over the years as it is hoped that the University of Guyana will be innovative and later offer online services which will compete with foreign universities.

President Donald Ramotar addressing the convocation address at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus last evening, said higher education provides opportunities for hope and reform.

More than 1,400 graduates were present at the 46th Convocation at the Turkeyen campus square where the graduates, relatives, university staffers, and friends gathered to be a part of the auspicious occasion.

There the graduates from various faculties gathered to receive their degrees, diplomas, certificate programmes and oaths respectively.

“The University of Guyana must embrace hope and pursue reform as it commits itself to the provision of increase access to the attainment of quality higher education at low cost,” President Ramotar said.

Noting that the most fundamental challenge facing the university is resources, the President said the government does not have an unlimited stream of resources to fund the entity. Nursery, primary and secondary education cannot be neglected since there will be an inadequate number of students to fill the campus, and as such Government will commit to invest in education as much as it can at all levels.

“The days of talk and chalk are becoming redundant, and new technologies of learning are available. Students are now ‘Googling’ while classes are in session, and downloading information from electronic sources while in the classroom.”

He said that the information communication technology has the possibility of revolutionizing the delivery of education.

Technology can radically reduce the cost of education through distance learning.

“The University must examine this as a tool to reach out to students who for one reason or the other cannot be on campus, I am extremely heartened that over the past

Some of the graduates at the convocation years the university has taken positive steps in improving its technological infrastructure since there is now online registration and other

services can now be made online.”

“Another challenge facing the university is improving the quality of

remuneration of lecturers in a way that must be sustainable and to allow the university to attract the best personnel to enhance the standards.”

The President added that he will seek dialogue with stakeholders to improve the University to improve the quality of the entity.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Govt. mulls more stone quarries amidst shortages

BK International stone quarry in Linden. (BK photo)

Government yesterday announced that i t w a s mulling the possibility of issuing licences for new stone quarries, in light of a growing demand.

Ye s t e r d a y, a k e y meeting was held between Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud, a n d r e p r e s e ntatives of existing quarry owners.

The Ministry, in a

statement, said that it is reviewing the production records of each of the companies and decisions will be made to see whether the new permits will be issued.

Minister Persaud warned that suppliers need to step up production as there is a great demand for this commodity.

Last year, only 535,000 tons of stone was produced and according to the

Minister, thus far for this y e a r, t h e r e h a s b e e n a significant drop in output with only 383,000 tons of quarry produced when compared to the same period last year.

In response, some of the companies claimed that they were not producing as they should because of issues with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Guyana

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud meets quarry operators at the Ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Board room

Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), in terms of having spare parts and other equipment cleared in a timely manner.

In one instance, a supplier stated, the processing of documents through GRA with regards to clearing of spare parts to refurbish a crusher took him about three weeks.

Minister Persaud encouraged that the suppliers

have spare parts in store, and to bring their issues to the Ministry.

He also explained that the ministry is currently developing a tracking system with GRA so that they could request an audit as to what is the status of the equipment and can also, if necessary, ask that the process be quickened.

Some suppliers were

also irked that Government was not notifying them early about projects and stated that this lack of notification was putting a strain on them to make the necessary materials available.

Minister Persaud advised the suppliers to become au fait with the National Budget so they will be aware of projects to be executed.

Continued on page 46

Page 12

The accused in the No 54 Village Dam, Corentyne murder trial is expected to know his fate tomorrow when Justice Roxanne GeorgeWiltshire is expected to sum up the case for the jury. When the matter continued on Thursday in the Berbice High Court before the judge and a mixed jury, Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, gave his evidence and both the prosecution and the defence closed their case and made their submissions to the jury.

On trial for murder is 17year-old Rayan Alli, called ‘Karran’, of No 54 village, Corentyne, and formerly of Black Bush Polder. Alli is on trial for the murder of Premchand Sugrim, 48, called ‘Copper’ and ‘Pluck’ of No 54 Village, Corentyne. The killing took place on July 20, 2011.

In court, Dr. Nehaul Singh, who performed the Post Mortem examination, was led by State Prosecutor Attorney-at-law Prithina Kissoon. He gave the cause of death as Cerebral Haemorrhage with Necrosis as a result of blunt cranial trauma, which was as a result of injuries to the right side of the head. He said that the injury came from a blunt object that caused Sugrim to suffer a fractured skull.

He said that the victim

Kaieteur News

Murder accused Rayan Alli suffered two fractures, one on both sides of the head—one from the blow and another could have occurred when the victim fell after being struck, he said. Dr. Singh also affirmed that the injuries could have been caused by the piece of iron pipe which was in court as evidence.

Murder accused Alli, in an unsworn statement from the dock, said that on the day in question he went to his aunt for a meal. He said that he then came out on the dam and rested his shoulder on a lamp post. “Ah look back and saw ‘Copper’ coming with a cutlass in he hand. ‘Copper’ came and broadside me with the cutlass. He started to cuss and fire chops at me. He say why I don’t go back to

Black Bush by me mother. An iron was on the ground and ah picked it up with me right hand and lash he on he left side head. If ah din do dah he would ah kill me.”

Defense Counsel Attorney-at-law Kumar Doorasammy in his submission, attacked the evidence of the two prosecution eye witnesses, Gomattie Singh and her father, Ramsingh. He said that they gave conflicting evidence, in that they stated that the accused had the iron in different hands. They also differed on which side of the head the deceased was hit.

In her address to the jury State Prosecutor Attorney-atlaw, Prithina Kissoon, said that the evidence against the accused was overwhelming.

She asked them to find the accused guilty of murder. She said that it was a brutal and cold blooded act of murder.

The prosecutor said that at the time the accused inflicted the fatal blow with the iron he was not being attacked. She asked the jury to determine whether they will believe the story told by the accused or the fact that both Gomattie and Ramsingh stated that they saw the accused come out from a clump of bushes and lash Sugrim on his head.

The state called nine witnesses.

Sunday November 11, 2012

GPL denies outage but facts state otherwise Residents and the business community of Corriverton, Skeldon and much of the Upper Corentyne were, up to press time yesterday without electricity, since early morning as lengthy power outages continued to affect the heavily-populated border town.

That was a continuation of a blackout all day on Friday in the town.

This comes in the wake of a press release issued yesterday by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) in response to a Kaieteur News article in Saturday’s edition captioned: ‘Skeldon Co – Gen plant out of operation, blackout hit Skeldon’.

The press release stated that the KN article was “plainly wrong”, and that “The fact of the matter is that the Skeldon Co-Gen plant supplies constantly on an hourly basis throughout the day an average of 5.5MW to 6.0 MW to the Berbice grid.

At the moment power is being generated by two of the three Wartsila plants and the factory turbine generator.

“The generating capacity of these two Wartsila sets is 2.5 MW each. During the grinding operation power is also supplied to the grid from the factory turbine generator at about 3.0 MWh, using bagasse fuel and the factory has been consistently crushing canes for the past 12 weeks”.

The release stated, too, that “repair is being done to

the third Wartsila set, the largest of the three, with a generating capacity of 5 MW, and which has been out of operation for the past 18 months, due to an electrical failure. The repair to this set is expected to be in operation for the coming Christmas season.”

However, several business entities and even the President of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (UCCCI), said that the Upper Corentyne area continues to suffer immensely from power outages, and even hinted that the situation is getting worse.

The Upper Corentnye area is supplied with power from the Co Generation factory located in the Skeldon Sugar Factory building.

GuySuCo has said that the co- gen plant is in full operation on a daily basis, however the increased occurrence of blackouts have again brought their assumptions into question.

President of UCCCI, Mr. Krishnand Jaichand was furious.

“This thing is terrible, terrible right now! It’s been nine hours right now I am running a generator. Mr. [Ayube] Bacchus (GPL Area Manager) said it was a transmission line [problem] and I understand some generator [at Skeldon] is giving problems”.

Daily blackouts Jaichand added, “It’s been affecting us… not only the businesses, but the

general public, affecting the livelihood of people especially tourism, hotels, etc.

I am totally disappointed in GPL, we even had a press release only last month and it’s frustrating for people on the Upper Corentyne— It’s terrible!”

The Chamber president added that there were sporadic outages on Friday evening.

Businessman Vishnu Doerga of Number 78 Village, Corriverton now has additional costs incurred due to running a stand by generator whenever there is an outage. He was running a generator yesterday.

“For me, it would be additional cost having to run power generation equipment to be able to continue serving our customers. I would personally urge GPL to rectify the situation as early as possible and to move towards implementing redundancy measures so as to avoid such situations in the future”.

GPL Chief Executive Officer Bharrat Dindyal and GPL’S Technical Director visited the Skeldon Co- Gen Plant two Fridays ago and inspected the equipment there. He also met with the UCCCI Vice- President and some other business people from the area.

He noted that he was “very disheartened about the situation and hopefully GPL or GuySuCo—whoever is at fault can work can work harder than they are working now about this”.

Woman seeks missing son A Block 22, Linden,woman is desperately trying to locating her 24-yearold son, Richie Fredericks, who she said left their home over two months ago, and that she has not heard a word from him since.

According to the woman, Vashthi Fredericks, her son has been working in the interior from the age of 16, but it was the first time that he had ventured into the Oque Black Water area, where he had gone with her niece,

Leana Baichu, to work with her husband. “But since he left we never heard from him; not a phone call, or nothing, and we find that very strange, because he would usually call every week whenever he goes into the interior, even if he had to climb up a hill top.”

Fredericks said she became even more perturbed when another niece informed her that Richie was not working with Leana anymore, but had gone to another location.

“I became worried because here it is now that somebody else has to tell me that my son is no longer working with Leana and her husband. And on top of that I was told that Leana was in Georgetown, when her husband called her and informed her, that there had been a problem, and that he had to send Richie away.

“Now all of this seems very unusual to me- even fishy, because if it was that they had to send my son away, why nobody informed me? And why isn’t he calling me?’

The woman said she later decided to contact her niece, Leana, by telephone, but instead of trying to be helpful, she was abusive and accused her of spreading rumours that her husband had killed Richie.

Fredericks is appealing to anyone who may have seen her son, and knows where he is, to contact the family on telephones 671-8935, 6517217, 680-5935, 602-1492, 6791263 or 664-4453.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 13

Govt. frustrating operation of APNU chaired RDCs A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Friday, laid blame squarely at the government’s feet for some instances of non-completion of works and inadequate funding in Regions that are chaired by its members.

At a press conference held at the APNU’s Hadfield Street, Georgetown headquarters, Region Four Chairman, Clement Corlette; Region Seven Chairman, Gordon Bradford, and Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, shared the spotlight with party executives Lance Carberry and Shadow Minister of Local Government, Ronald Bulkan.

The forum was intended to highlight the experiences of APNU’s controlled Regional Democratic Council.

According to Carberry, Government has over the years assumed a reputation for failing to release resources early enough to allow the oppo s i t i o n chaired regions to fully exploit their proposals for development.

“They release resources very late in the year...and then at the end of the year because the programme has not been fully implemented, the Government then goes and claims that the Region is returning these resources.”

Carberry explained that according to financial

- APNU regulations any resource not used by the end of the year must be returned to the nation’s treasury.

However, Carberry pointed to the fact that the Regions have this year conducted very careful programmes based on consultations with their constituents. He added that the Government is often guilty of frustrating such efforts by devises such as the late release of funds.

He posited, too, that Government has in the past gone on recording claiming that “the Regions are incompetent because they haven’t implemented the programmes and it is really because of deliberate frustration by Government.”

In presenting his Region Four budget plans Corlette said the experiences with the work of the Clerk/Regional Executive Officer currently leaves much to be desired.

He said that the officer seems determined to promote his own agenda and is reluctant to account for expenditures not approved by the RDC. The Regional Chairman also added that the officer “acts outside the mandate of the RDC on occasions and readily resist request to account.”

The APNU press briefing in session yesterday He said that with regards to the 2013 Work Programme and Budget preparations, a cursory review of the decision of the RDC and the submissions forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for consideration indicated that the REO may have altered the projects the RDC approved and substituted his own request.

According to Corlette the Council will this year continue to scrutinise the prevailing development.

The Region Four budget is prepared with the vision of improving the health, living conditions and socio economic environment of communities.

The principal objective of the budget, Corlette said, is to prepare a Work Programme for each of the Government structured subject areas of

activity including that of administration and finance, agriculture development via drainage and irrigation, maintenance and management, public works, health and education.

‘Charting the course for a better life for all our people by 2016’ is the theme under which the proposed Region Seven’s budget has been prepared, according to Bradford.

He said that the budget was prepared after consultations with the various stakeholders throughout the region including Regional Councillors who represent various constituencies, Village Councils, Regional Officers, Heads of Department and concerned citizens.

Among the areas to be

addressed in the budget are extensive repairs to the Regional Guest House and improvement works to the Bartica Regatta Pavilion both to the tune of $10M each. A number of schools and health facilities are also slated to undergo works.

According to Bradford, it is hoped that the 2013 Regional Budget will receive the full support of all involved, especially Central Government as “our Budget is crafted by the people for the people, with a vision of satisfying the needs and aspirations of our people thus offering a better life for all.”

The preparation of the Region Ten budget saw consultation efforts being carried out in 92 communities which were conducted since earlier this year, according to Solomon.

This move, according to him will see much focus being placed on infrastructure, agriculture, education as well as health and service.

Solomon said that consulting with communities became necessary as the RDC was especially concerned when the 2012 Work Programme was considered. He pointed to the fact that the RDC’s observation is that, the REO acts more in consonance with the Local Government Ministry than with the RDC. Citing instances of corruption that have been detected Solomon also spoke of the need for councillors to be allowed more involvement in the execution of the work programme than they currently are if programmes are to be properly implemented in the Region.

Page 14

Immigration TALK: By: Attorney Gail S. Seeram This past week, many Americans and observers from around the world watched President Obama get re-elected for a second term to serve as President of the United States. The voting statistics show that a majority of the Latino voters and newly naturalized citizens voted for President Obama over Governor Mitt Romney – obviously favoring President Obama’s approach on immigration.

President Obama campaigned on the need for immigration reform and his deep commitment to fixing the broken immigration system.

Now that he has won his reelection campaign, it is important to know what we can expect from another four years of him being President.

Here is President Obama’s vision for a 21st century immigration policy in the United States (further details on can be found on w w w. w h i t e h o u s e . g o v / issues/fixing-immigrationsystem-america-s-21stcentury-economy): 1. Responsibility by the federal government to

Kaieteur News

President Obama’s Vision for Fixing the Immigration System secure our borders: Today, our borders are more secure than at any time in the past several decades, and the Administration continues to refine and strengthen its strategy.

Enforcement resources should be focused on preventing those who would do our nation harm from entering our country.

2. Accountability for businesses that break the law by undermining American workers and exploiting undocumented workers: Employers who deliberately hire and exploit undocumented workers must be held accountable.

At the same time, we must give employers who want to play by the rules a reliable way to verify that their employees are here legally.

3. Strengthening our economic competiveness by creating a legal immigration system that reflects our values and diverse needs: Our immigration laws should continue to reunify families and encourage individuals we train in our world-class institutions to stay and develop new technologies and industries in the United States rather than abroad. The law should stop punishing

innocent young people whose parents brought them here illegally and give those young men and women a chance to stay in this country if they serve in the military or pursue higher education.

A smart 21st century system should also provide farmers a legal way to hire the workers they rely on y e a r a f t e r y e a r, a n d i t should improve procedures for employers who seek to hire foreign workers for jobs if U.S. workers are not available.

4. Responsibility from people who are living in the United States illegally: Those people living here illegally must also be held accountable for their actions and get on the right side of the law by registering and undergoing national security and criminal background checks, paying taxes and a p e n a l t y, a n d l e a r n i n g English before they can get in line to become eligible for citizenship.

Being a citizen of this country comes not only with rights but also with fundamental responsibilities.

We can create a pathway for legal status that is fair and reflects our values.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Billions in special accounts still owed to Consolidated Fund – AG Report Approximately $4 billion contained in special accounts is currently owed to the nation’s coffers, a state of affairs that warrants urgent action, according to the 2011 Report of the Auditor General which was recently tabled in parliament.

The Audit Report, which offers an assessment of the Public Accounts, the Accounts of Ministries, Departments and Regions for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, revealed that 11 special accounts held at the Bank of Guyana together make up a balance of approximately $4.306 Billion.

This sum, according to the Report, appears to be funds that were transferrable to the Consolidated Fund.

It was pointed out, too, that eight of the existing accounts reflect static balances totalling $1.774 billion over the last five years.

On the assumption that such monies were funds that should have been paid over to the Consolidated Fund, it was outlined that the total of all Government bank accounts held at the Bank of Guyana, including the overdraft on the Consolidated Fund, would give a positive balance of

$63.082 billion.

According to the Audit Report, in January 2004, a new Consolidated Fund No. 0160000407 was established in accordance with Section 51 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act with a transfer of $5 billion from the old Consolidated Bank Account.

This bank account, the report notes, reflected a balance of $535 million as at December 31, 2011. The reconciliation of this account, it added, was done monthly.

Further, the Report highlights that a number of Government bank accounts were rendered nonoperational in 1994 and also at the time of implementation of the Integrated Financial Management and Accounting System (IFMAS) in 2004.

As at December 31, 2011, a total of 17 Government bank accounts were listed as inactive and the net accumulated balance of these accounts and other operational accounts (excluding the balances on the bank accounts of special projects) was $58.776 billion compared to a balance of $50.100 billion as at December 31, 2010. This, according to the audit details, represents

the best available estimate of the cash position of the Government as at December 31, 2011.

The Audit Report has also sought to emphasise that the old Consolidated Fund bank account No. 400 was not reconciled since February 1988. In this regard a cash book was reconstructed for the period 1989 through 2003 in order to aid the reconciliation process.

However, the audit points to the fact that despite attempts by the Accountant General’s Department to reconcile the monthly transactions on the account from January 1994, it was found that a proper reconciliation was still not done.

It was revealed that the Consolidated Fund continued to be overdrawn over the years resulting in an overdraft in 1992 of $36.823 billion compared with an overdraft of $44.434 billion at the end of 2003. This in fact reflected a net increase of $17.611 billion.

At the end of 2004 the overdraft of the old Fund was $45.550 billion compared to $46.900 billion at the end of 2005.

A static overdrawn balance of $46.906 billion was Continued on page 46

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 15

Interesting Creatures...

The Tapir A t a p i r i s a l a rg e browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia.

The four species of tapirs are: the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir and the mountain tapir. All four are classified as endangered or vulnerable.

Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses.

Size varies between types, but most tapirs are about two metres (7 ft) long, stand about one metre (3 ft) high at the shoulder, and weigh between 150 and 300 kg (330 to 700 lb). Coats are short and range in colour from reddish-brown to grey to nearly black, with the notable exceptions of the Malayan tapir, which has a white, saddle-shaped marking on its back, and the mountain tapir, which has longer, woolly fur.

All tapirs have oval, white-tipped ears, rounded, protruding rumps with stubby tails, and splayed, hooved toes, with four toes on the front feet and three on the hind feet, which help them to walk on muddy and soft ground. Baby tapirs of all types have striped-andspotted coats for camouflage.

Females have a single pair of mammary glands. The proboscis of the tapir is a highly flexible structure, able to move in all directions, allowing the animals to grab foliage that would otherwise be out of reach.

Tapirs often exhibit the flehmen response, a posture in which they raise their snouts and show their teeth to detect scents. This response is frequently exhibited by bulls sniffing for signs of other males or females in oestrus in the area. The length of the proboscis varies among species; Malayan tapirs have the longest snouts and Brazilian tapirs have the shortest.

The evolution of tapir proboscises, made up almost entirely of soft tissues rather than bony internal structures, gives the Tapiridae skull a unique form in comparison to other perissodactyls, with a larger sagittal crest, orbits positioned more rostrally, a posteriorly telescoped cranium, and a more elongated and retracted nasoincisive incisure.

T a p i r s h a v e brachyodont, or lowcrowned, teeth that lack cement. Their dental formula is totalling 42 to 44 teeth; this dentition is closer to that of equids, which may differ by one less canine, than their other perissodactyl relatives, rhinoceroses.

Their incisors are chiselshaped, with the third large, conical upper incisor separated by a short gap from the considerably smaller canine. A much longer gap is found between the canines and premolars, the first of which may be absent.

Tapirs are lophodonts, and their cheek teeth have distinct lophs (ridges) between protocones, paracones, metacones and hypocones. Tapirs have brown eyes, often with a bluish cast to them, which has been identified as corneal cloudiness, a condition most commonly found in Malayan tapirs.

The exact etiology is unknown, but the cloudiness may be caused by excessive exposure to light or by trauma. However, the tapir's sensitive ears and strong sense of smell help to compensate for deficiencies in vision.

Tapirs have simple stomachs, and, like horses, ferment food in a large cecum. Young tapirs reach sexual maturity between three and five years of age, with females maturing earlier than males. Under good conditions, a healthy female tapir can reproduce every two years; a single youngster is born after a gestation of about 13 months. The natural lifespan of a tapir is approximately 25 to 30 years, both in the wild and in zoos.

Apart from mothers and their young offspring, tapirs lead almost exclusively solitary lives. Although they frequently live in dryland forests, tapirs with access to rivers spend a good deal of time in and under the water, feeding on soft vegetation, taking refuge from predators, and cooling off during hot periods.

Tapirs near a water source will swim, sink to the bottom and walk along the riverbed to feed, and have been known to submerge themselves under water to allow small fish to pick parasites off their bulky bodies. Along with fresh water lounging, tapirs often wallow in mud pits which also help to keep them cool and free of insects.

In the wild, the tapir's diet consists of fruit, berries, and leaves, particularly young, tender growth. Tapirs will spend many of their waking hours foraging along well-worn trails, snouts to the ground in search of food.

Some tapirs have been observed to eat around 40 kilograms (85 pounds) of vegetation in one day.

Adult tapirs are large enough to have few natural predators, and the thick skin on the backs of their necks helps to protect them from

threats such as jaguars, crocodiles, anacondas, and tigers. The creatures are also able to run fairly quickly, considering their size and cumbersome appearance, finding shelter in the thick undergrowth of the forest or

in water. A number of conservation projects have been started around the world. The Tapir Specialist Group, a unit of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, strives to conserve biological

diversity by stimulating, developing, and executing practical programs to study, save, restore, and manage the four species of tapir and their remaining habitats in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

T&T Police launch criminal probe into CLICO collapse (Reprinted from Trinidad Guardian) Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard announced Thursday that the Police Service had started a “full criminal investigation” into the conduct of individuals and corporate entities involved in the collapse of CLICO and related companies.

The Guardian understands that the official investigation by the police began two weeks ago.

The announcement by the DPP came as he expressed concern that the

media “should not publish or broadcast anything which might jeopardise, hinder or otherwise prejudice the investigation or any possible proceedings which might result from it.”

Gaspard, in a written and signed statement, said that for the media to jeopardise, hinder or otherwise prejudice the investigation or any possible proceedings “may amount to a contempt of court”.

He said: “I remain mindful of competing public interest factors including the fair trial rights of potential defendants, the freedom of

the press and the requirement of open justice.”

On September 27, 2010, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan told reporters after delivering the feature address at the formal opening of a workshop on corruption at the Cascadia Hotel in St Ann's that the reports and files of the investigation into allegations of wrongdoing at CLICO and CL Financial had been passed to the DPP and he “will be in a better position to answer any questions you have as to what action will be taken.”

Thief caught red handed in pawn shop A businessman had just left his premises to go next door for a short while to conduct some business when a barefaced thief entered his pawn shop and stole four gold chains and one pendant.

The thief was caught red handed before he could make his escape and was given a sound thrashing and handed over to the police.

Dhaniram Madhoo, 19,

of Cumberland Village, East Canje, Berbice, who is known to the authorities, was on Friday sentenced to six months in jail by Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo when he appeared before her at the New Amsterdam Magistrate's Court and pleaded guilty to the charge of simple larceny.

Prosecutor Corporal Orin Joseph told the court t h a t o n We d n e s d a y

November 7, last, around 10:30 hrs Madhoo entered Gilgeous First Choice Pawn Shop at Charlotte Street, New Amsterdam while the owners were out. He subsequently opened a show case and removed four gold chains and one gold pendant.

However before he could make good his escape the owner returned and he was caught with the items.

Speaking Thursday night, Ramlogan said that he was aware of the fact that a criminal investigation has been launched and that he has been kept abreast of all of the developments relative to the ongoing inquiry.

“I pledge my fullest support for this important investigation and shall commit to providing the necessary resources to facilitate it,” said Ramlogan.

Asked if his commitment to providing the investigation into the collapse of CLICO with the necessary resources squared with his decision to terminate the lawyers who were heading the inquiry, Ramlogan said: “No lawyers involved in any criminal investigation of CLICO or HCU were terminated by my office. There were several parallel investigations that did not produce value for money.”

The Attorney General said the Government had appointed a commission of enquiry to investigate the collapse of the CL Financial empire and the HCU group.

He said the revelations that have come out of that

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan

T&T's DPP Roger Gaspard

commission, which is headed by sole commissioner Sir Anthony Colman, “have prompted much public concern.”

Asked whether the police investigation was launched after the revelations at the commission of enquiry, Ramlogan said he could not comment on the operational

aspects of the ongoing police investigation.

But he said: “The investigation represents the ongoing process as the unravelling of the collapse of a once great financial institution that dominated the landscape with tentacles that extended into every nook and cranny of the country.”

Sunday November 11, 2012

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Kaieteur News

Seven-year-old “kidnapped”, police dub it a mystery

P

o l i c e a r e following leads given by a man they have in custody for the suspected kidnapping of seven-year-old Roxanne McLean.

According to the parents, Tova Patterson and Walter McLean, the St Agnes Primary School child went missing from her school on Monday last.

The child's mother, Tova

Patterson, recounted that when she showed up at the school that day, she was met with only Roxanne's lunch and book bag.

Patterson said that the child's school teacher was not there; however, another teacher told her that she hadn't seen the child since midday.

“The teacher tell me that about 10:00, which is usually play time; she

noticed a strange man and he ask her if he could carry home Roxanne. She say how he call me and de father name saying how we send he for Roxanne.

“The teacher say she tell he that Roxanne class teacher was not there so he couldn't take the child. De teacher say that she didn't know if he left or he wait outside; but lunch time he returned and just ask to

Stolen police speedboat recovered The boat that was recovered.

Police have recovered a boat and engine in Aruka Creek, Cuyuni, Friday night. The boat, fitted with a 75-horse power engine, was stolen from the Wakenaam Police Station

recently.

Reports disclosed that Police Corporal Caesar and Detective Constable Adolphus of Mabaruma Police station recovered the missing vessel and

apprehended two men. The suspects were identified as Mohave Boodram and Rohan Kallicharan.

The men are now assisting with investigation pending charges.

speak to the child so de teacher say she direct he to the child class cause all he know was that she is in Grade Two; he didn't know the exact class.

The teacher say that he tell she he ain't see Roxanne in the class and he left,” Patterson explained.

The apparently composed mother said that she was accompanied to the school by her companion, Hayden Williams, who asked the teacher for a description of the male who picked up the missing minor.

According to Williams, the description given by the teacher fitted the physical description of his son who lived for some time with the child and her mother.

As the three tried to s o l v e t h e m y s t e r y, Patterson received a phone call from an unknown number. She said that, on the line, was a “strong, male, rusty voice” saying “Tova, I kidnap your daughter today.”

Patterson explained that as she tried to put the phone on speaker, as advised by Williams, the caller ended the conversation.

However, the phone rang again, this time it was handed to Williams who said that all he heard was “something about Suriname.”

A subsequent phone call sought to advise the mother that if she reported

Missing Roxanne Mclean the matter “I would find me daughter dead.”

Against the advice of the unknown caller, the mother reported the matter to Alberttown Police station.

The following day, which would have been the Tuesday, Patterson and Williams returned to the school in the company of the police.

Williams said that the teacher was once again asked to describe the person who inquired about the child. “She gave the same description she gave the day before.”

He said that the teacher was then shown a photograph of the suspect and said that it appeared to be the man she saw the day before.

The suspect was taken in for questioning. Reports are that he was initially taken to Alberttown and was later transferred to Brickdam Station.

McLean expressed concern of the man being released after the mandatory 72 hrs. He

contended, “If this is really the man who kidnapped my child, for whatever his sick reason was, he will be forced to do something to my child so she can't come back and tell the tale.”

However, the police say that there is nothing incriminating enough to hold the suspect after the maximum allotted time.

Well placed police sources stated that “we are pulling out all the plugs on this one.”

The Officer said that a team of investigators is “working on this case as there is an innocent child involved.”

He indicated that the police have been following several leads but keep arriving at dead ends.

Further, and most interestingly, the source said that “there seems a lot more than what is being presented in this case and we have reason to believe that this child is caught up in a serious triangle that may cause her to be hurt by the ones who are supposed to protect her.”

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

The Other Presidential Election: No surprises

By Sir Ronald Sanders While the eyes of the world were focused on the Presidential elections in the United States, another significant election for the international community was also taking place.

On November 8, the Chinese Communist Party opened its 18th Congress at which an opaque election procedure saw Presidential power transferred from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping.

Under the procedure, Xi was named general secretary of the Party and he will become President next March.

It was not an election that the world could follow in the media, nor was it one in which public debates, advertising campaigns and media coverage of political meetings gave global audiences an understanding of the positions of the man who would be President or the policies that he would be likely to follow.

While nations speculated over who would be better for them – Obama or Romney – there was no means of speculating over Xi. The world, like the Chinese people, simply accepted that the Chinese Communist Party would change its leader after 10 years, and the decision on the new person – however it is made – would remain a process and a conclusion known only to the hierarchy of the Party. Nonetheless, Xi will wield enormous power in the world and his decisions will affect the lives of every nation.

China is now the world's second largest economy after the United States.

Economically, its reach is far and wide with investments in every continent and increasing influence on governments worldwide, but particularly in developing countries.

With some governments, anxious to receive and maintain China's aid and investments, the Chinese government has begun to influence their decision-making, on issues important to China.

In its own hemisphere China has been flexing its muscles making it clear that it expects its neighbours to comply with the Chinese government's interests.

Recently, there has been a major diplomatic row between China and Japan over the ownership of what Japan calls Senkaku islands (China calls the Islands “Diaoyu”). The Japanese government alleges that “it is a well-known fact that the

People's Republic of China began to claim its territorial sovereignty over the Senkaku islands in 1970, and it was only after the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East investigated and reported possible reserves of petroleum under the water of the islands in 1968”.

Whatever the reason for the claim, the Chinese government sent battleships to the islands, and protests were organised in China outside the Japanese Embassy and Japaneseowned businesses.

Xi is 59 years old. In the history of the Chinese leadership, he is a young man.

But, he will be surrounded in the Councils of the Communist Party and government by the old guard.

Even if he has tendencies to reform, he will be held in check by those who feel that China's stability resides in things as they are.

There will be little or no difference in the policies that he will pursue. In a major policy speech in Washington earlier this year, Xi called for “increasing strategic trust and reducing suspicions while respecting each other's core interests, such as the 'one-China policy' that opposes Taiwan and Tibetan independence”.

He has made it clear that the positions on Taiwan and Tibet will not change. There will be no right to selfdetermination.

China regards them both as integral to China and so they will remain.

I n t e r n a l l y, o n t h e political front, dissidents will not be tolerated. Before the 18th Congress, dozens of dissidents were locked-up.

On the economic side, inflation has to be brought under control at a time when growth in the economy is cooling. Already down from its average 10 per cent in recent years, growth is expected to decline to around 8 per cent. Such growth may be regarded as excellent for most countries, but not China with a population of 1.3 billion people, and millions still living in dire poverty. Xi will also have to cope with Chinese workers demands for higher wages and better conditions – all of which will push up the costs of Chinese products on the world market. And, there he will face his biggest domestic test.

China's thirst for resources to meet its development needs will continue – even if at a decelerated pace.

And,

countries will be lining-up to sell it commodities. But, increasingly the European Union and the United States will confront China in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over suspected “dumping” of Chinese products, and unfair subsidies to Chinese manufactured goods. Once these disputes remain in the realm of the WTO and do not end up in bilateral confrontations and unilateral actions, the order of the international system will be preserved. China's economic interests have been well served by the international system – albeit

a capitalist one. It has every reason to continue to stick to the rules of the game.

However, it is significant that shortly after Australia won a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in September, China, which is now Australia's biggest two-way trading partner, warned the Australian government not to “side with the US” in making its decisions on the Council, making it clear that it is not averse to using its economic clout to advance its political interests internationally.

As far as the countries of the Caribbean are

concerned, Xi will undoubtedly continue to insist on its 'one-China' policy, brooking no actions that encourage Taiwan or Tibet's claim to a legitimate place in the international community.Unquestionably, he will respect the commitment given by the previous Chinese administration of Hu Jintao to provide commercial loans of US$1 billion for cooperation projects on infrastructure construction whose basis is a Chinese foothold in the region.

So, while the other election was not as

Sir Ronald Sanders transparent as the one in the US, its result brings no shifts in known policy or any surprises.

(The writer is a consultant and former Caribbean diplomat) Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

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Kaieteur News

it is also a requirement. This latest development would come amidst reports that the company’s former Chief Executive Officer and owner/ founder, Sonny Ramdeo, has stepped down after being sued for allegedly stealing US$5.4M from his employer, Promise Healthcare. Recently, it was disclosed that EZjet applied to the US authorities for approval to become a fullfledged airline or carrier status which would pave the way for it to even be approved to become Guyana’s flag carrier.

SUNDAY SPECIAL NCN SCANDAL…PRESIDENT RAMOTAR STILL TO ACT ON FINDINGS President Donald Ramotar is still to act on the findings of the recently concluded investigations into financial irregularities at the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN). This is according to Chairman of NCN’s Board, Dr. Prem Misir.

Dr. Misir ,who was in charge of the investigations, said that he recently submitted the findings detailing the financial irregularities at NCN to the subject Minister, who is the President. According to Misir, his investigation was confined to the Terms of Reference that sought to ascertain the relationship between Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and NCN. Dr. Misir said that the

findings would have been in the President’s possession awhile now, but he (Dr. Misir) was out of the country. He is confident that very shortly Ramotar will act on the findings.

In a leaked report prepared during the first half of the year - it was revealed that on the part of NCN, one area of irregularity was traced back to GT&T and involved millions of dollars in advertisements. NCN’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Sattaur, who had knowledge of the financial irregularities resigned in June. The entity’s Programme Manager, Martin Goolsarran, who admitted that he had deposited the payment cheque from the telephone company into his personal account, has been suspended without pay.

EZJET NOTIFIES US OF 26 FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS Low-cost charter air

service, EZjet, has given notice to the US government that it is cancelling 26 flights between New York and Georgetown between October and May next year. In a letter late September to the US Department of Transportation, lawyers for EZjet said that the flights were being cancelled from October 7, last, to May 26 next year.

EZjet said it “arranged” the flights with Swift Air, which had planned to operate a B-767-200 aircraft with 218 passenger seats. In the letter, EZjet said it would accommodate all affected passengers on other approved charter flights.

Alternatively, EZjet said that it would issue full refunds to any passenger who does not want to continue their travel plans with EZjet. Under US laws, air charter companies are required to notify the government there of plans to cancel flights. It is unclear whether from the Guyana end

MONDAY EDITION POLICE UNIFORMS, BULLET-PROOF VESTS, AMMO, GUN AND MASKS FOUND IN ABANDONED SUITCASE Residents of First Dam, Garden of Eden, received a disturbing surprise at around 06:00 hrs last Sunday, when they found a large arms cache on the roadside in the East Bank Demerara farming community. Police revealed that the ammunition, amounting to 1,407 rounds of various calibres, and a loaded .38 Taurus Special Revolver, were stashed in two suitcases and a travelling bag. T he ammunition included .38, 7.62×39, .45, .44, .40, 9mm, .25 and .380 rounds; and 12 gauge cartridges. Two bulletproof vests, two pairs of black leather boots, three face masks, a quantity of clothing in two black suitcases and a travelling bag were also found.

Police officials confirmed that some of the clothing and the leather boots, appeared to be similar to clothing worn by members of the Guyana Police Force. Police said that they are still trying to trace the owners of the cache and ascertain why it was abandoned. Some sources speculated that the individuals may have been disturbed by a police patrol and were forced to abandon the cache. Residents told Kaieteur News that they spotted the suitcases while walking in the area. Some claimed that the firearm and some of the ammunition were outside of the suitcases.

Residents also claimed that they heard strange vehicles

Sunday November 11, 2012

passing through the street last week Saturday night but saw nothing unusual.

PARIKA MARKET VENDORS, POLICE IN STAND-OFF Market vendors from Parika last Sunday engaged in a standoff with armed policemen as they staged yet another protest to condemn the actions of Market officials to have them removed from the roadsides. The escalated confrontation was between the vendors, representatives from the People’s Parliament, Lincoln Lewis of the General Workers’ Union, newspaper columnist Freddie Kissoon, Ode Best of the Vendor’s Union, and Market Committee Member Lyndon Fowler, who later called in a team of armed policemen. However the conflict subsided after the two opposing sides decided to meet last Monday at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC)’s office with a hope of having the issue sorted out.

TUESDAY EDITION ASP TODD WAS A TRIGGER HAPPY “JOHN RAMBO” – GYSM The Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM) says that it is the view of many Guyanese that Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Patrick Todd on the fateful day in Linden, was a trigger happy “John Rambo.”

They believe that the three deaths and scores of injuries are the direct result of his actions, which the acting Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell, on the first day of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) in his testimony, emphatically stated was unjustified.

These sentiments were expressed Monday when GYSM held a press briefing at Congress Place, Sophia headquarters. The Linden Commission of Inquiry began on Monday September 24, 2012 and concluded on Friday November 2. Scores of witnesses gave evidence before and numerous exhibits were tendered to the fivemember Commission which included Jamaicans Justice Lensley Wolfe and K.D. Knight S.C; Trinidadian Dana

Seetahal S.C. and former Guyanese Chancellor Cecil Kennard and Justice Claudette Singh CCH. The report from the Commission will be released on January 13, 2013.

According to Parliamentarian and representative of GYSM, James Bond, the Commission was established to inquire and report on the circumstances surrounding the shooting to death of Ron Somerset, Shemroy Bouyea and Alan Lewis, and the injury of several other persons on July 18, 2012 at the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge.

GRANGER CHALLENGES AG MOTION AGAINST ROHEE “NO CONFIDENCE” VOTE Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, by way of a summons filed in the High Court, has refuted a motion filed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall against the Parliamentary vote of “no confidence” against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. Lawyers for the opposition leader, Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Attorney-at-law Basil Williams, presented the document to Chief Justice Ian Chang.

On September 13, last, the AG charged in the Supreme Court motion, that the July 25 declaration and July 30, passed motion of “no confidence” against Minister Rohee was “unlawful, violative of the policy of separation of power, unconstitutional, null, void and without binding force or effect.”

The opposition leader is contending in his summons that the claims of the Attorney General are without merit and are misconceived. The opposition leader also charged that according to Standing Order 25, Rule 1 of the National Assembly Standing Orders, “any Member of Parliament may introduce a Bill or propose any motion for debate and it shall be dealt with in accordance to the Standing Orders”. The Summons (Continued on page 47)

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Ravi Dev Column

Increasing Darkness

Divali is being celebrated this Tuesday. Traditionally it is a five-day festival, and last night there was a very vibrant and colourful programme at the Mandir two blocks away from my home. I would hope, with Hindus living in this country for 174 years, all Guyanese would know about the basis of the festival. But with things Hindu, I wouldn’t bet on it. There’s a persistent strain in Guyana to dismiss Hindu practices as ‘beyond the pale”.

Studying his history book earlier this week for an expected test, my son wanted to know why the term ‘pagan’ was still being used. To people like Hindus that fell under the rubric, was it not as offensive as the ‘n’ word that is now thankfully banned from civilised discourses?

When the word came that many people appeared to be in a hurry to leave this world people simply did not accept that, because to think of going to the Great Beyond is not something people do. The other thing is that everyone believes that he is immune.

The result is that people without any experience are going to challenge the establishment on the roads.

A few of them have died and more will come to a bitter end in an accident in the city. A car is going to be going so fast that control would be

What could I tell him?

Hegemony is a powerful weapon.

Divali’s origins are lost in antiquity and was probably a harvest festival marking the ever-increasing darkness of the upcoming winter. The traditional lights (Deepavali ‘row of lights’) symbolised resistance against the hardships of that winter that would be associated with the darkness. It was one more bit of evidence that light has to counter darkness.

The reckoning of the harvests at this time also led to the still extant tradition of Hindu businesses settling their accounts at this time of the year and of Mother Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, being so closely associated with the festival.

We clean our houses most

scrupulously at Divali to welcome Mother Lakshmi into our homes. Non-Hindus, who have bought the Orientalist version of Hinduism as ‘other-worldly’, are sometimes puzzled at the quite open celebration and prayers for the possession of wealth.

“Artha” or wealth, power and status, is one of the acknowledged ultimate values or pursuits of man.

Without wealth, it is asked, how will the householder be able to fulfil his duty to his family and society? Poverty, the sacred texts repeatedly proclaim, is the worse form of agony. But the pursuit of wealth or power cannot be accomplished through improper (adharmic) ways such as greed, avarice or violence. The means

minimized. The crash would be horrendous, especially as at the end of the speeding car would be a large vehicle. ** Child abuse is something that is now common in the society. A grown man is going to be paraded in the

courts for sexually abusing a small child.

When he is released on bail he would come to a violent end at the hands of angry people in the society because reason is something that is fast disappearing. ** A family is going to be dispossessed this holiday period. A fire is going to break out. People would blame the electricity system, but the reality would be an abuse of the system through electricity theft.

inevitably become the ends: corrupted.

And we arrive at the circumstances under which we will be celebrating Divali in Guyana this year. We know it will be Amaavas night – the darkness night of the month – but will the darkness in our society start decreasing come Wednesday morning, as we know the physical darkness eventually will? I’m not too sanguine.

Ever since the last elections, we’ve been beating to death the theme, ‘let’s give peace a chance”. I thought that with the last elections demonstrating the proof of my thesis, that changing demographics and incumbency fatigue might lead to a more ‘regular’ politics. One bereft of the storm and fury of protests and marched that can so easily get out of control.

All these protests do is to send the natives back into their respective laagers.

Linden, Agricola and now the contretemps in parliament has certainly lengthened the political darkness in Guyana.

Linden and Agricola need concrete programmes – as do so many communities across Guyana – to improve their

living conditions. We do the youths no favour to let them believe that sustained and sustainable change can come out of arson and strangulating other citizens.

I am looking forward to Andaiye’s promised expatiation on ‘civil disobedience’. Is it directed by citizens at Governments for proven transgressions or by aggrieved citizens against fellow citizens? I see the latter playing out in Guyana, fuelled and stoked by politicians who yet claim faith in the political system that has delivered them control of the legislature.

Violence and pressure exerted against innocent citizens to exert pressure against a government sounds suspiciously like ‘domestic terrorism”. I remember being part of a parliament that passed a bill to counter such actions.

I’m not sure why the Opposition is so insistent on shooting itself in the foot with this ‘acting out”. Where have such actions ever given them a lasting victory? Let us take the ‘drowning out of Rohee’ in parliament. Do they really think this is redounding to their benefit? All it does is to confirm the historic

Ravi Dev

suspicions of the electorate of PNC’s bullyism.

Let us accept Andaiye’s account of Dr Jagan’s knocking over of the law books on his desk in parliament in the 1980s in contravention of parliamentary norms. But she confirmed he was suspended by the Speaker and could not re-enter parliament until he apologised. So what do we say to the present Speaker whose specific order was flagrantly and persistently disobeyed by the entire opposition? Should they not also have been suspended until they apologise to him?

Further, why should the Honourable Speaker find this option ‘absurd’ when the specific Standing Order was spelled out to him?

But then the darkness will not end until we each light our little ‘diya’, will it? Happy Divali.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

Passionate about the waterways…

By Leon Suseran Sixty-seven year-old Maheshwar Soogrim has spent much of his life on the waterways of the world and right here at home too. His love for the rivers, oceans and seas, piloting the direction of steamers and larger vessels has earned him a name in the Ancient County and in the annals of the Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD). Soogrim was very dedicated to his job and ensured that he worked beyond the call of duty, when the need arose.

He was born at Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje, Berbice, on June 14, 1945. His father was Soogrim, a fisherman. Young Soogrim attended the All Saints’ Scot School in New Amsterdam by day and assisted his father with fishing at nights, in the waterways and rivers in Berbice.

“In the nights, I would go fishing with him and go back to school in the morning. We used to fish all over Berbice.”

He had two sisters and

Maheshwar recalled that in spite of his father being a single parent, “he was trying a lot—he did fishing very regularly, because he had to look after us”.

It so happened that Maheshwar Soogrim met his wife while he was fishing one day in the Glasgow, East Bank Berbice area. They got married in 1964 and settled right there. In 1969, he joined the Guyana Mining Enterprises (GUYMINE) and worked on the bauxite boat, which traveled to Trinidad, Venezuela and even the

then Able-Bodied Sailor and later Boatswain.

“The Boatswain took instructions from the Mate and passed them on to the workers”. “After then, I changed ship and I was employed with Reynolds Bauxite Company, based in Corpus Christi, Texas. I was employed as an Able-Bodied Sailor, and after I finished with that, I went on another boat called’ Ziponna’, owned by a Greek Company.”

He was afforded the opportunity to travel across several countries, including

“In a captain’s work you have to know a little bit of everything.”

United States. He acquired his Captain’s Licence. This was the beginning of a long journey of life being spent offland.

Maheshwar reflected that he started off as an ordinary deck-boy or ‘deck- hand’. He was then promoted to Sailor,

Canada and the U.S.A. “It’s nice, because when you go to a different country, you normally have to pay… but they were paying for us and taking us. We used to go to Africa, Canada, Halifax, all over in the States, Mississippi and so on.” He reminisced

that in Northern Canada, the part where he was, there was very little sun.

“The majority of the time was winter—we had very little sun there. You get a little problem with the coldness.

Sometimes when you get sun for a day, you come out and sit down in the sun and you’re glad for it, because it used to be very cold and the whole river was sheer ice… and the ship too—you had to be indoors most of the time.”

“Me and my colleagues interchanged shifts keeping watch and steering the ship, but sometimes we used automatic steering.”

Two years later, Maheshwar joined another bauxite company on the East Bank of Berbice as a Boatswain doing the job of a Second Mate, “…automatic steering—the captain ran one watch, the Chief Mate ran one and the Boatswain ran another. I ran the 4-8 watch”.

In 1976, upon returning home on one-month’s leave, he was employed as a captain

by Raymond Corporation. He captained the company tug

Maheshwar Soogrim while the Canje River Bridge was being constructed.

“I was a key-man on that project. I had to go with the tug and take off the beams… and they built the bridge and it finished before schedule in 1978. Then I entered GUYMINE transporting Bauxite from Kwakwani to Everton, about 180 miles up the Berbice River.”

He was employed there from 1978 to 1988.

Maheshwar was recommended for employment with the T&HD by the then Harbour Master, Mr. Tony Haynes.

“He knew me and he knew I got my licence and he wrote a recommendation to Transport and as soon as T&HD saw that recommendation from him, they employed me.” He quickly attained his Guyana Coastal Master Licence.

He was employed as a Mate in 1991 on the MV Torani. “I led the deck-hands and worked on the bridge”.

“After three months, they realized that I got my certificate and had potential and they put me as Captain right away, and I started to run (Continued on page 24)

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 23

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Guyana and the USA: People’s power defeated the power of money How President Obama got re-elected last week and how the PPP lost a majority of votes last year are miracles in politics.

That is, of course, if you believe money can buy people, money can fool people and money can be used to achieve anything.

Obama won and the PPP lost because in philosophy there is the concept that Cicero, the great Roman Empire philosopher, gave to human knowledge – reason.

Human beings are essentially rational, decent, right-thinking higher animals and they will listen to people who embody those qualities that they know human beings must have. The leaders of the PPP in the last general elections had to believe that they would have reached into the percentage of the sixties given the power of money at their disposal.

In the end they didn’t reach fifty percent. The power of the human mind defeated the power of money in Guyana’s 2011 national elections.

So when you saw the enormity of resources the PPP had yet lost, you emotionally concluded that a miracle occurred. I saw these massive resources for myself.

All Guyanese did. Billions of dollars in state funds went into the PPP’s campaign.

The PPP had six media houses –Guyana Times, Chronicle, NCN radio, NCN television, channel 65 and channel 69 – on their campaign bandwagon. State facilities like GuySuCo were thrown into the PPP’s bandwagon. And in the end they failed to get a parliamentary majority and only one reason, yes, one reason explained that – the opposition did not get into an intensive and extensive meet-the-people regime as the Obama team did.

Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod told Al Sharpton on MSNBC that in

the last week of the campaign, the Republicans spent one hundred million dollars on advertisement. It was a colossal outpouring of money by the Republicans.

The PPP did the same in Guyana. But Guyanese listened to Nagamootoo and the AFC in Berbice and the American people listened to Obama. Money cannot buy people. Money cannot work miracles.

The PPP lost in Guyana and Obama won in the US for one fundamental reason – Homo sapiens are reasonable creatures and will listen to those who are good humans and have good intentions and they will turn their backs on people who have horrible opinions and have done bad things.

Americans knew that Obama did not take them out of an unspeakably terrible recession. But they believe if he could he would have done it. They believe he is a man who will not hurt his country and one who has the best of intentions.

Latinos voted for Obama because they believed he would not be insensitive to the plight of illegal immigrants. Latinos voted against Romney because they know that the Republican Party is antiimmigrant. Afro-Americans voted against Romney because it is clear to all of them that the Republican Party has not been traditionally fond of the AfroAmerican population and tend to be racist.

The lower middle class, the essential middle class, the working strata, and the poorer folks went overwhelmingly for Obama because it was clear to them on a sunny day that he is a politician that caters for their needs.

These class categories rejected Romney because the Republicans are seen in the US and the world as the party of the rich and wealthy

The unleashing of countless dollars in the campaign didn’t help the Republicans.

Americans voted for selfpreservation. The Americans turned their backs on politicians they felt would not help the non-propertied classes.

In Guyana in November last year, the combined opposition failed to tap into the fundamental rationality that inheres in human beings.

The PPP was extremely

vulnerable, but the AFC and APNU lacked the Obama touch. Guyanese, despite the race cancer, couldn’t reconcile themselves with a government that chased poor vendors, many of whom were single mothers, off their selling sites; denied sugar workers a decent salary increase; lived in affluent styles with corrupt money; refused to develop a country that they were in charge of for 20 years.

It was David Granger who

said on television to Christopher Ram that he would like to know where the 100,000 absentee voters went. They didn’t go anywhere. They were right here among us. But APNU didn’t do what the Obama planners did. The meet-thepeople intensity was not there.

In Region Three, the AFC didn’t campaign at all. Both APNU and the AFC failed to deliver the coup de grace, because unlike the Obama

Frederick Kissoon team, they didn’t campaign with extreme rigour and endless energy. If they did, history would have been different today.

Page 24

(From page 22) the Berbice River, from the New Amsterdam Stelling to Rosignol Stelling.”

He operated nearly all of T&HD’s steamers including MV Torani, Makouria, Lady Northcote, Barima and Kimbia, on the Northwest trips.

On the Northwest trips, he stated that due to the fact that he did not know those rivers too well, he was employed as Mate, “I knew the outside of the river, but they had to get a man who knew the inside [of the river]”.

Soogrim was passionate about his work on the rivers.

Sometimes other captains refused to ply the rivers when either of the ferries had to operate on one engine, but he readily responded to the call by his Supervisors.

“The other captains would refuse, so the Marine section used to call me and I used to be on time-off and they asked me to go and operate it, so I used to tell them to load it [the boat] and I will go at 4 o’clock and I worked the boat.”

He stated that one-engine boats were generally accident-prone, “but I always took the risks and I was a keyman there, too. Some persons there did not like me”.

And so, the work that he was doing and his level of dedication made him feel ‘burnt- out’ and pressured a lot and this brought on a lot of challenges. One was losing a lot of rest at night.

“It pressed me, because I know the river and when you

Kaieteur News

leave here 9pm on Monday nights, I had to stay awake until Wednesday—that was rough—very rough,” he recounted. His said that his Mates would load the ferries, but they had little or no knowledge of the Berbice River, and so Soogrim could not have left them in charge while he took some rest.

Instead, he had to be up all night. “I knew the River right up to Kwakwani, and even if I left someone in charge, I did not feel pleased.”

He recalled that he had to always be on the look-out when making turns, and watching for other approaching ships, while always maintaining contact with the marine authorities.

“That was a little technical,” he recalled.

“When I retired in 2006, I was very happy, actually, because I was too much pressed—the rest that I lost, because there were no capable persons to work the shifts.” He recalled that one time there was a mishap when he left his Mate in charge, while he rested.

“We were going up the Berbice River and it occurred in the vicinity of Sand Hills on the MV Lukanani. The mist was a lot. I was going around from Sand Hills to a place called Kumaka and I handed over shift to him and as soon as I went to get some rest, he [the Mate] ran the ship onto the savannah. We spent an extra day on the river stranded until help came.”

The ferries no longer ply the route from New

Amsterdam to Rosignol after the Berbice River Bridge came into existence. Today, there is a daily pontoon service which operates twice per day, mainly to shuttle school children and workers across the Berbice River. Soogrim was indeed proud, therefore, to have been a part of a historic period when Berbice had steamers, and he was among those who captained them.

Many times, though, there were numerous outcries and complaints from the general public and travellers about the service provided by the steamers and T&HD, including late schedules and vessels which broke down mid-stream and such like.

To that, Soogrim offered an explanation. “To be honest, T&HD had a lot of racket going on there. From the top right down, people used to run racket, and the boats were not properly maintained. If, for instance, you had a problem with lights, you had to write to Georgetown and someone came two or three days later and checked.”

“These complaints from the public got me angry, because I knew it wasn’t right.

I would even go downstairs of the vessel and load it myself to assist people to go over the river quickly.”

Soogrim was honoured by Mr Tom Karran of the Management Committee of the N/A- Rosignol Stellings, for carrying 39 trucks on one afternoon from the Stanelytown Stelling to

Sunday November 11, 2012

At the controls of the MV Makouria in 2004

Rosignol, while they were doing repairs to the N/A Stelling. Even though he was Captain and had to be upstairs at the helm of the ships, he would regularly take time out to interact and chat with passengers, “…especially when at Stanleytown. Most people [drivers] used to come to me and they used to plead with me so that I could allow their vehicles on the vessels, since they had wanted to cross the River urgently. I would give instructions to my Mates to take in the vehicles and pack the vessels accordingly…the big ones first and then the small ones—9, 10, 11 trucks at one time, and I used to keep my schedules”.

When asked what makes a good captain, he responded “In a captain’s work you have to know a little bit of everything—radar, how to communicate with your crewmembers, etc.”

He believes that he was trained for the job on the rivers and seas, ever since his days as a young fisherman.

“I was trained for that and I never did any other kind of work.”

These days, he can be found relaxing at his home and spending time with his family.

And ironically, the Berbice River is just behind his backyard. Persons do come from time to time and would ask him to captain their boats and tugs, but Soogrim

believes he has “had enough of it” and prefers to take it easy.

“Even if T&HD comes to me now—the only thing I will do for them is if they want to train someone for the river routes… I would go.”

Maheshwar Soogrim had the required level of dedication and discipline on a job that required one to be on the alert for much of the time and one that “demanded good eye sight” as he stated; a job where thousands of lives, perhaps, were left under his charge as he made his way across the Berbice and Essequibo Rivers.

Essentially, it was a life lived in love and passion for what he did.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 25

My column

Ignore the truth, blame the messenger The past week was remarkable in more ways than one. There was the report that the police wanted to question a man named Paul Daby in connection with the Ricardo Rodrigues killing.

Immediately I questioned the wisdom, especially since the police had questioned almost everybody associated with Rodrigues.

I had seen this happen before. The police kept going after a special group of people whenever there was some high profile killing. I wondered at this technique and concluded that the police were playing a game of hit and miss, that there was no proper investigation.

When the police issued the wanted bulletin for Daby, a man simply said that the charade continues and that Daby would be out within hours. So said, so done.

That issue had hardly died down when I heard that some very young boys took a car and went on some expedition. The car crashed and two of them died. I then wondered at the level of intelligence of the people who would lend the car to those youngsters before I realized that I would have been in the same bind a few years ago.

I would come home and park the car and head to bed.

Somehow, my sons would put their hands on the key and would take the car. I never knew until one night a relative of my then wife asked me whether I had come home with the car. I looked and the car was gone. I checked the room in which my boys slept and they were gone too.

Cell phones had not yet arrived so I had no way of finding them. Not long after I saw one of them walking in and I feared the worst. But even before that, there was another episode. I had

travelled to the airport and had parked the car when I noticed that the back fender had a rip.

Idiot that I was, I thought that I had parked the car and that someone who was parked next to me had simply hooked a part of his vehicle to mine and ripped the fender.

I never knew that my sons had gone out with the car and had hooked it to some object. I learnt that many years later, nearly two decades later.

Anyhow, there was this son walking home and me fearing the worst. I asked about the car and he told me that it was at the corner. They were coming home and saw the lights on in the house so they simply parked the car.

What they used to do was stop the car before they reached home and push it into the yard. I was none the wiser.

Perhaps the same thing happened when these kids took the car and killed themselves. But worse was to happen that week. T here I was heading to grab a bite when I got a call that Minister Robeson Benn was hosting a press conference on EZjet. I thought that I would miss the event because Dr Roger Luncheon had already given me an answer to a question on EZjet.

Minister Benn would have none of that, so I went to the press conference. The news was a bombshell. EZjet would not be flying again for some time.

The owner or owners were indebted to the charter service and the people were demanding their money. That was the first time that I

realized that EZjet owed anyone. A few days earlier, in an interview, the acting Chief Executive Officer said to me that the airline owed no one.

She had to be in the dark.

But from the outset, Kaieteur News had reservations about the survival of the airline. For one, there was not enough money for the start up; the owner did not appear to have the resources to maintain an airline and finally, the number of people flying on the airline just could not support it.

Immediately, I noticed the hostility from certain quarters, particularly those media houses affiliated or owned by the government.

Kaieteur News was touted as the destroyer of projects. I failed to see how a newspaper reporting on matters of national interest, in light of the secrecy that surrounds so many projects, could be deemed the destroyer of projects.

Of course, if the projects are nothing but scams and plots to defraud people then there would be reports in the government media hostile to Kaieteur News. When Kaieteur News reported on the flight cancellations just days ago there was a mad rush by the government media, including Guyana Times, to accuse the newspaper of all manner of ills.

And as an aside, I notice that Guyana Times is trying to make me famous. People tell me that my photograph appears in that newspaper every day alongside my publisherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. But back to the EZjet debacle. When the

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

news came that the airline had been grounded by the United States Department of Transportation and the Guyana Civil Aviation Department, I wondered when there would be the accusations that Kaieteur News had torpedoed the airline. Of course that would be stupidity to the highest.

That a newspaper with a daily circulation of about 30,000 could be so powerful boggles the mind. One contention was that after the Kaieteur News report on the cancellations people began calling in their debt. If these people had to depend on Kaieteur News for information then their business acumen leaves a lot to be desired.

The acting Chief Executive Officer now claims

that there was mismanagement of the airline putting paid to the machinations of those hostile to the Kaieteur News administration. As Minister Robeson Benn said, it is indeed disappointing that Guyana simply seems unable to sustain a carrier that offers the people of Guyana fares that are not exploitative.

We have had Arrow Air, Guy America, Guyana Airways, GA2000, Leisure Air, Universal Airways and now EZjet. There might have been some others. All collapsed.

If the truth be told, it takes a lot to keep an airline afloat.

BWIA morphed into Caribbean Airlines at great cost to the Trinidad Government. North American Airlines pulled out to be

Adam Harris replaced by Delta and these airlines have huge resources.

The only thing is that they demand such high fares.

Whenever competition surfaces these airlines lower their fares to compete. Why canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t they keep the fares as low as they have brought them? It must be something about Guyana.

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

Education and Prevention to take centre-stage

By Sharmain Grainger Premised on the notion that knowledge is power coupled with the need to help arrest the evident impact that diabetes could have on a society, the Guyana Diabetic Association was established some four decades ago. At least this is according to First Vice President of the Association, Dr Maxine Swain, who has been a part of the entity since 2002.

She revealed during an interview with this publication that the NonGovernmental Organisation has over the years been seeking to expand its reach and fulfil the mandate of offering education to diabetics, potential diabetics, as well as their relatives and friends. “What we have adopted is looking at the wellbeing of our diabetics and their education; once they are educated and understand their condition they are better able to control their diabetes,” said Dr Swain, who has been battling the challenges of the disease herself.

She pointed to the fact that no medical person has the ability to control a diabetic, but rather, the important thing to do is to

...as activities commence to mark World Diabetes Day teach them self management.

“The doctors or the nurses are not with you 24/ 7...so who controls your diabetes? You do! But how can you do it? You have got to have the knowledge,” she stated categorically.

According to Dr Swain, there is currently a need for much more to be done in Guyana to help reduce the scourge of diabetes, which she believes “has been placed on the back burner with the advent of HIV/AIDS. It is not that we stopped having chronic diseases because this is known to take more lives than HIV/AIDS, especially since there is treatment,” she insisted. She explained that although HIV has since been classified as another chronic disease, it is certainly not killing as before, thus allowing for persons to live longer.

However with the advancement of age, persons become prone to a number of chronic diseases, which is compounded by the fact that a number of the medications used to control HIV are

producing diabetics, Dr Swain disclosed.

This was particularly emphasised at a conference in Jamaica a few years ago, which examined HIV and diabetes as a deadly duo, she added. The papers that were presented at that forum showed the disturbing trend that some of the drugs required to suppress HIV are instead provoking diabetes in some people.

Reflecting on the past, Dr Swain mused over the fact that the disease was considered an old people affliction, but has since evolved to an extent that even teenagers are suffering from Type Two diseases. Though Type two is more prevalent since some persons are unable to produce insulin - it is linked to lifestyle implications which are further impacted as individuals become older. “We over-eat, we sit down all day, we do little or no exercise and the foods we eat are allowing for people to become obese.”

She revealed that at the moment there are 366 million

Standing from left are: Dr Maxine Swain, Mr Matthew Moore and Ms Stella Ogle. Sitting is Ms Claudette Thorne. people worldwide suffering from diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Of this total, 186 million are unaware, Dr

Swain informed.

This daunting state of affairs, she added, has prompted some troubling predictions.

According to her, should

nothing be done to remedy the situation, projected estimates made by IDF (Continued on page 28)

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Documentary on T&T revolution hits mark

By Dr Glenville Ashby glenvilleashby@gmail.com One might argue that ’70: Remembering a Revolution, simply chronicles a bygone tale of disgruntled Trinidad and Tobago nationals, who, economically defanged and disenfranchised, rose up to challenge their perceived oppressors. They may go a step further - that things have changed, and any reference to that period is purely anecdotal - merely archival.

On one hand, such an assessment rings true.

Things have indeed changed – by leaps and bounds. Yes, African and Indian nationals ostensibly hold the levers of power.

Banks – one time foreignowned – are inclusive, and visibly integrated into communities. But “’70" is more than a walk through memory lane. It is far more insightful, provocative, and sociologically instructive. “’70" relentlessly marches through the so called black power riots that shook the Trinidad and Tobago establishment.

The interviewees – all of whom were players and witnesses to the unfoldment of events are captivating – detailing pivotal snaptshots with remarkable lucidity.

They ooze nostalgia teleporting older viewers to indelible scenes of bedlam and uncertainty. These recollections -interspersed with black and white video clips, still images, and timely calypso lyrics – make for a compelling cinematographic production.

The events are carefully pieced together, interwoven, with particular focus on the seeds of the revolution planted by student protests at George Williams University in Canada, and black consciousness rhetoric in the US. It was a time when the streets of Port of Spain and tranquil villages of Tobago grew restive – bursting at their seams – with marchers poised to overthrow an inegalitarian system. But the clamour petered out - victim of a tactical move by the government to declare a state of emergency and arrest agitators, who were nothing more than political dilettantes. With a bungling army hesitating to seize control – as it had planned, the so called revolution plunged into tail spin.

May be the ’70 uprising should not be categorized as a revolution in the first place.

Although its ring leaders

DVD jacket of 70...Remembering a Revolution supposedly took their philosophical cue from Marx, Lenin, Che Guevara, and Castro – they missed the mark (unlike their mentors) – displaying ineptitude, political immaturity, and gross inability to seize power that was theirs for the taking.

But this is a documentary that transcends the usurpation of political power.

Despite its acerbic racial overtone, the events were shaped by unbearable cronyism and class warfare.

Unquestionably, “’70" is multi-layered, with a number of intriguing subplots – none more relevant than the ethnic question.

The mantra:”Africans and Indian unite,” posed an existential threat to the apparatchiks and the Syrian-Lebanese community.

Although vestiges of unity were evident, as Indians lined the streets to welcome African marchers – offering water, food, and even lodging – they never really joined the demonstrations. But the thought of unity - a blow to the divide and rule strategy of the time, was enough to rattle the ruling clique. The question remains, though: After four decades, how much closer is genuine unity between the two largest ethnic communities?

And amid this sharply contested political drama,

religion reared its head. That black theology assumed ascendancy in the throes of the revolt is understandable.

But for many, the silence of mainstream Christianity was troubling, especially at a time when liberation theology was emerging throughout the Americas.

As interviewees take their final curtain call against hauntingly timely calypsos, one is left gripped by the rawness, authenticity, and originality of this documentary.

For sure, the producers of “’70" have managed the herculean task of gluing disparate philosophies and viewpoints of an event that forever impacted a nation.

Alas, it is never easy to address the array of forces that collide in young and diverse societies - especially those shaped by centuries of colonial rule.

Dr Glenville Ashby, literary critic- Caribbean Book Review ’70: Remembering a Revolution. A Documentary, 2012 www.70themovie.com Directed and Produced by Elizabeth Topp and Alex de Verteuil Production House: Pearl and Dean (Caribbean) Ltd, Port of Spain Rating: ****: Highly Recommended

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Page 27

Page 28

Kaieteur News

More suspects held in truck driver murder probe Police are questioning at least two more suspects in connection with last Tuesday night's ambush at Craig, East Bank Demerara, that left 57year-old truck driver, Aga Khan, dead and porter Mervin Marcus wounded.

Kaieteur News understands that the suspects were held late last week and that detectives appear to be optimistic of a breakthrough. Police had detained a third man shortly after the robbery, but it is unclear whether he has been released.

Khan, of Lot 20 Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara, was shot at close range in the right side of the neck, reportedly after handing over some $750,000 to one of three robbers who had forced him to stop on Buzz Bee Dam around 18:00 hrs on Tuesday.

Marcus, of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, was shot in the right shoulder. Another porter who was on the same vehicle, escaped unhurt. The suspects escaped on foot into Second Street, Grove.

Police found a single 9mm round under the driver's seat.

They believe that the bandits fired one bullet which passed through the left side of Khan's neck and then struck Marcus.

Aga Khan The victims were employees of Edun's Poultry and Hatchery, located in Buzz Bee Dam, a short distance from where the bandits struck.

They were returning to their employer's farm with proceeds of the day's sales of eggs when they were attacked.

Kaieteur News understands that the uninjured driver told police that they had just turned into Buzz Bee Dam when a man stood in front of the truck, forcing the driver to slow down. He alleged that the two other bandits then clambered onto both sides of the cab in which both porters were sitting.

One of the bandits reportedly then said “pass the

money”, and Marcus reportedly then handed the men the money-bag.

One of the assailants then fired a shot before fleeing on foot down a nearby street.

The attack was witnessed by a driver who lives in the same street. The man told Kaieteur News he had just turned into Buzz Bee Dam when he observed two men 'slinging' on a truck some 50 yards ahead on him. He also recalled that the vehicle was swaying on the roadway.

He said that he heard a bang and assumed that the men were striking the doors of the vehicle to make the driver stop; and the vehicle eventually came to a stop on the roadside.

The resident said that as he drove closer, the men clambered down and fled into a nearby street. He said that he pursued the bandits for a short distance before returning to the truck. By then, one of the porters had clambered out of the vehicle and informed him that Khan had been shot.

The injured men were rushed to the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital, where Khan succumbed.

Marcus was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Child goes missing, relatives detain suspect A 12-year-old girl has gone missing for over 11 days now and her family believes that the police stationed at the Diamond Police Station are not making enough effort to locate the child.

Sonia Joseph, of Diamond, East Bank Demerara left her home two Wednesdays ago to attend school but never returned.

The family believes that she was kidnapped.

According to her stepmother, Patricia Abrams, her daughter came home from school on October 29, last, and told her that a man in her village had said that he could take her out, would purchase clothes and give her whatever she asked for if she agreed to go with him.

“She was scared to go to school so I didn’t send her the Tuesday. I sent her the Wednesday and that was

12-year-old Sonia Joseph when she never returned,” Abrams said. After the child’s disappearance, persons at the school spoke about seeing her leaving in a black car. The driver was identified and it was the same person who allegedly questioned the teen. This information was given to the ranks at the Diamond Station

but nothing was done until the family decided to apprehend the suspect.

With the help of a friend, the child’s father, Gavin Cornelius went by the suspect’s home and they were surprised to see that the suspect was trembling when he saw them. “We take him to the station and up to now, the police are not doing anything.

We know that he has something to do with this because school children see the girl coming out of his car,” the father said. “My daughter use to live in North West; she don’t know this place. Is only September she came here and we registered her to the Diamond Primary School,” Cornelius said.

The family is pleading with the public to call 6764515 or the nearest police station if they happen to see the child anywhere.

Education and Prevention...

(From page 26) suggest that some 552 million people will be living with diabetes by 2030.

It is with this in mind that the Association is preparing to observe World Diabetic Day come Wednesday (November 14) under the global theme ‘Diabetes education and prevention ’.

Moreover, the Association is set to commence a week of activities to raise awareness about the need for education on the issue of diabetes.

The activities will kick off with a church service today at the St Peter’s AME church situated at Lance Gibbs and New Garden Streets, Queenstown in Georgetown, which will commence at 10:00 hours. Tomorrow, the awareness drive will be spearheaded by the Association’s Region Three arm, The Diabetic Association of Region Three - a move which would facilitate the distribution of reading materials among other sensitisation activities.

Activities are also expected to be undertaken on Friday in the mining town of Linden where the Association has a presence.

A one-day (09:00 – 16:00 hours) exhibition at the Nurses’ Association Hall will characterise the activities on Wednesday where a number of diabetic-oriented undertakings will occur, such as the display of reading materials, blood tests, blood glucose and blood pressure testing activities.

It is also expected that the exhibition will feature Body Mass Index (BMI) tests, since according to Dr Swain, “people need to know their BMI. Even people who come off the streets, they may not

have high blood sugar but if they have BMI of over 25 we know that they are heading into danger and we can advise our people to counsel them so that they can get back into a normal range.”

Once an individual’s BMI is reverted to a normal range, Dr Swain explained, it would effectively cut the possibility of them having chronic diseases. “Diabetes likes company...it walks hand in hand with hypertension and then there is heart diseases, high cholesterol and the whole range follows.”

While education will be the main focus of the entire week of activities, efforts will take on a more entertaining and relaxing mode on Saturday with a special dinner at the Princess International Hotel, Providence. In fact, the activity is intended to raise funds to further the Association’s effort, since it has been operating with limited finances.

According to Secretary of the Association, Stella Ogle, those who are desirous of supporting the Association’s dinner can do so by contacting her on mobile number 615-3356.

Though not a diabetic herself, she said that she has found the information obtained through the Association very beneficial.

She has thus far been able to adopt a healthy lifestyle and has been encouraging her family members to do the same with a view of reducing the chances of developing diabetes.

“I realised that I can take the education I gain through the Association and keep myself and even help others stay away from getting diabetes, and that is exactly

what I have been doing.”

Treasurer of the Association, Claudette Thorne, has been described by many as a “well controlled diabetic.” The former army officer revealed that over the years she has been able to maintain a healthy lifestyle since coming to learn that the disease can affect the entire body if left unattended.

Though a diabetic in recession, Thorne said that she still attends clinic regularly and is well aware that “if I go and do the wrong thing it could just pop up back.”

Matthew Moore, who became a member of the Association earlier this year, is a nurse attached to the Guyana Power and Light Inc., and according to him, he fully recognises the importance of education. He revealed that his membership came as part of his efforts to help bridge the gap between some of his patients’ diagnoses and needful education.

“The information that I get I pass it on to them and hopefully that will encourage them to join as well.”

The Guyana Diabetic Association was established in 1969 by a group of concerned diabetics, with the aim of advocating for the management, wellbeing and education of similarly inflicted individuals. The current President is Ms Glynis Alonzo-Beaton and the body currently has a membership of over 100 individuals.

Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month (with the exception of holidays) at the Nurses’ Association Hall situated at the corner of Alexander and Charlotte Streets, Georgetown.

Sunday November 11, 2012

From the Diaspora...

Kaieteur News

Page 29

Republicans: Blame it on the Immigrants for Obama victory

By Ralph Seeram “We might as well open the floodgates and let all the illegal immigrants in,” the right wing talk show host told the Obama supporter at the other end of the phone. He was just one of the many right wing conservative talk show hosts that displayed their hatred for immigrants after the reelection of President Barack Obama.

The gloves came off; their meanness and total disrespect for non white citizens were fully exposed.

This was not supposed to happen, not after spending over six billion dollars in their campaign to unseat Obama.

Karl Rove, the Republican strategist private super Pac, raised over three hundred million dollars which went into attack advertisement against Obama and some Democratic Senate candidates. It had no effect on the elections. Rove the architect of negative advertisement for George Bush blames the President for negative advertising.

During the election campaign, immigration reforms took a back seat to other issues. Within 48 hours of their defeat, Republicans realized that unlike their propaganda, not all immigrants are illegal; they came to the realization that immigrants are also citizens who can vote and make a difference. During the Bush era, immigrant became a dirty word.

The Bush administration painted legal and illegal immigration with the same brush. It opposed any immigration reforms; during the Bush administration immigrants were either viewed as drug dealers or terrorists.

Licking their wounds after their defeat one fierce critic of President Obama got an epiphany on immigration.

Sean Hannity, a right wing Conservative radio and TV host had this to say,”We’ve gotta get rid of the immigration issue altogether.

It’s simple for me to fix it. I think you control the border first; you create a pathway for those people that are here, you don’t say you gotta go home.

“And that is a position that I’ve evolved on. Because you know what—it just—it’s gotta be resolved. The majority of people here—if some people have criminal records you can send ‘them home—but if people are here, law-abiding, participating, four years, their kids are born here ... first secure the border, pathway to citizenship ... then it’s done.

“But you can’t let the problem continue. It’s gotta stop” This is coming from a man who strongly opposed

the very idea of giving amnesty to illegal aliens Note the word EVOLVE. On his programme the day after the election, another right wing provocateur Ann Coulter took it one step further. “This (defeat) started since the Kennedy and Johnson administration in the sixties”.

She was referring to reforms in immigration laws made then. She went on to say, “A white scientist can’t get a visa (permanent) but a Senegalese can bring his brother” (note the distinction, black and uneducated, white and educated). By the way this is not true. There is a category of visas for professional immigrants. This is what she is really referring to.

It’s the fourth preference category of immigrants, which brings in legally the largest number of immigrants to the United States. It goes like this. One sister comes to the USA, marries and gets US citizenship. She sponsors her six brothers and sisters; they come with their wives husbands and children. The wives or husbands get citizenship and sponsors their immediate relatives and children. When they get their citizenship they in turn sponsor their immediate relatives and the cycle goes on.

You see where this is going? In a period of twenty years, that one sister will be responsible for bringing in over a hundred relatives; multiply that thousands of times… This is what the Republicans realize. The minority vote has stealthily increased. Trouble is they have alienated the minority votes with their anti immigrant rhetoric. The Republican Party is facing defeat in future elections if it does not change its anti immigrant stance.

Here’s why, Romney got 58% of white male votes to Obama’s 40%. In 1976 white males comprised 46% of the votes, in 2012 they comprised of 34% of the votes, a drop of 12%.

In Florida, a key state in winning the Presidency, 55% of the population growth in the last decade was from Latinos and other minorities.

It is predicted that in the next four decades 65% of the U S population growth will come from Latinos and other minorities. This is frightful for the Republicans, considering that Obama got 71% to Romney 27% of the Latinos votes. Not to mention over 90% of the black votes.

Another troubling fact is white births will account for less than half of the U S birth rate. Trouble is the Republican Party is viewed as an old white male party. For the future it will have to change its stance towards immigrants and the image as

a party of the rich.

Going forward, here is the greatest fear of the Republic Party and other conservatives, the Supreme Court. Yes the Supreme Court.

Why? Obama has the opportunity to change the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court. It may come as a surprise to some Guyanese that politics plays an important part in nominating a Supreme Court Justice.

Right now the court has a five to four conservative majority over the liberals. If you think the Supreme Court does not take sides in political

disputes, one just has to go back to the 2000 Presidential election where the conservative majority on the court stopped the recount of the Florida vote that would have given Al Gore the elections. Eyes would be on 74- year-old Justice Anthony Scalia, an extreme conservative. If he retires (many believe he will not) or dies Obama has the chance to tip the ideological make up of the Court.

On a more local note; a Guyanese born Rick Singh upset the local establishment to win the post of Orange County Appraiser here in

Orlando. This is a huge win for a minority candidate. To give you a perspective, he is responsible for the appraisal of properties in Orange County in which Orlando is sited. He has to appraise all the major theme parks like Disney and Universal Studios.

This was a total upset to the white establishment.

Ricky was a dark horse; most of the establishment did not give him a chance.

Underfunded and outspent by the incumbent who had been in the position for over ten years. Ricky kept on undaunted. When the TV

announcers were announcing the election results they expressed shock and surprised, no one had heard of Rick Singh before.

Here again, the Republicans did not pay attention to the demographics.

Orange County (most people refer it as Orlando) has a huge immigrant and minority population, and as in the case of the Presidential elections Minority votes made the difference. Congratulations Ricky.

Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com

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Sunday November 11, 2012

Cable & Wireless wants full control of TSTT

Tim Pennington Trinidad Guardian - Cable & Wireless Communications, the minority shareholder of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago (TSTT) has made its clearest statement yet on its desire to take full control of its joint

venture in T&T, of which the Government investment vehicle, National Enterprises Ltd, is the majority 51 per cent shareholder.

Speaking in London on Thursday, Cable & Wireless Communications chief financial officer, Tim Pennington, told investment analysts and journalists that the company would like to take full control of its joint venture in T&T and is keen to make a decision soon even if that means it may be forced to sell its 49 per cent stake.

“Our preferred objective is to move to full control, which is what we have done in other markets such as the Maldives, but if we can’t do this we will exit it. We’d like to resolve the situation one way or another soon,”

Pennington told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview at the release of Cable & Wireless Communications six-month financial report.

Cable & Wireless Communications now has businesses in the Caribbean, Panama, Macau and Monaco & Islands but confirmed in September that it was in talks to sell its Monaco & Islands unit to a Bahrain company and last month confirmed that it was discussing the sale of its 51 per cent stake in CTM of Macau to a Chinese company.

Speaking on Thursday, Cable & Wireless Communications chief executive Tony Rice said the company had made progress in reshaping its business in the six-month period. “We

have also made progress on our strategy to reshape the business. During the first half we exited our West African enterprise business, and confirmed discussions regarding possible transactions involving our Monaco & Islands and Macau business units,” he said.

“These steps are in line with our stated plan to focus our management capability and future investment on the Pan-American region where we have scale, synergy and strong market positions as well as several growth economies.” The Londonbased telecommunications provider is under pressure in The Bahamas to sell down its 51 per cent stake in the m o n o p o l y

UN agencies say unemployment in the Caribbean continues downward trend

SANTIAGO, Chile – CMC - Two United Nations agencies predict that the region’s open urban unemployment rate will maintain its downward trend.

Launching their latest joint publication titled “The Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean”, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), said the region will end 2012 with a variation of 6.4 per cent, which is lower than the 6.7 per cent posted last year.

The agencies said labour markets in Latin America and the Caribbean were “fairly resilient” to the slowdown in the regional economy in the first half of 2012, “which bodes well for a positive outcome in this year’s employment and unemployment indicators.

“The positive trend will be maintained, despite the slowing economic growth rate, which went from 4.3 percent in 2011 to an estimated 3.2 percent this year,” ECLAC and ILO said

in a statement.

According to the publication, the labour market has been key in preventing an even greater slowdown in the economy, “as there was a surge in household purchasing power thanks to job creation and a rise in real wages”.

The document highlights an increase in the employment rate of 0.5 percentage points to 56 per cent in the first half of 2012, improvements in job quality through a three per cent expansion in formal waged employment covered by social security, and a three per cent rise in real wages during the same period.

Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of ECLAC, and Elizabeth Tinoco, regional director of the ILO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, say that “in the first half of 2012, many countries maintained the recent trend of improvements in job q u a l i t y, characterized by buoyant generation of waged work, significant increases in formal

employment and a reduction in under-employment.

“We now have a regional labour market with indicators that are in a better position than before the crisis,? they wrote in the publication.

While the regional prospects are positive, ECLAC and ILO point out that the performance of the region’s countries will be uneven.

Bárcena and Tinoco, however, emphasized the situation of young people, who are facing obstacles in joining the labour market, despite the positive conditions in the market.

They said this result in high rates of unemployment, job insecurity and low incomes.

“This generates problems not only for the individuals and their families but also a burden on countries’ future social and economic development. As we have observed in different parts of the world, this can generate considerable social and political conflict,” they added.

The new ECLAC-ILO document, therefore, dedicates much of its content to the processing of household surveys on changes in the employment situation of young people during the recent episodes of economic crisis and recovery.

According to the study, although young people suffered the impact of the international financial crisis in a similar way to adults, “the aggravating factor is that the former had a weaker starting position, with higher unemployment and job insecurity”.

Before the 2008-2009 crisis, the document says the unemployment rate among 15 to 24 year olds was between 2.3 and 5.5 times higher than the rate among adults aged 25 and above.

According to the publication, there remain structural problems “that have a negative effect on the labour market situation of young people, and, therefore, on their longer term life prospects and societies’ potential for development”.

telecommunications providers there.

Pennington said that it is too early to say which option is the likely outcome of the bankers’ review. Efforts to contact TSTT chairman Everald Snaggs proved futile as calls to his phone went to voicemail.

Asked which of the two options the Communications Workers Union preferred, control of TSTT by Cable & Wireless or its exit from the company, CWU secretary general, John Julien said: “We have always advocated that TSTT should be fully owned and controlled by the Government and people of T&T. Since 1991, when they got control of 49 per cent of Telco, we had opposed the Government’s allocation to

them of 49 per cent of TSTT. “They were never a company that was willing to invest in the infrastructure.

They were only interested in creaming off the profits. They wanted control but they wanted the Government to fund the infrastructure. “We are calling on the Government to call the bluff of Cable & Wireless and in any event to control the 49 per cent of TSTT owned by them and engage in meaningful discussions with the union on how that stake should be divested.

“Any other action will see the union and its members vigorously opposing any control of TSTT, except the Government through the people of T&T, who are the real owners of TSTT.”

Senate approve casino gaming regulations Jamaica Observer - The Senate Friday passed two regulations covering the operation of casinos, paving the way for the opening up of casino gaming houses in Jamaica.

The Casino Gaming ((Prescribed Games) regulations 2012 and the Casino Gaming (Application for Declaration of Approved Integrated Resort Development) Regulations were passed unanimously, although some senators were in disagreement with aspects of the Act. Government member, Senator K D Knight, lashed out against casino gaming, which he called “casino gambling”, but said that h e would vote for it, because “the die is already cast”, meaning that the Act was already law.

Knight said that the Urban Development Corporation, which he chairs, is now in a position to benefit from the

increased value of its properties with casino gaming.

Another Government member, Senator Lambert Brown, raised a number of concerns, including the power given the minister to wave provisions of the Act and the lack of protection for workers in the industry, but he, too, voted in favour of the regulations.

Opposition member Senator Alexander Williams criticised the fact that regulations, which marked the first step in the process of obtaining a gaming licence, was brought to Parliament two years after the Act was passed.

Opposition members Kamina Johnson Smith and Dr Christopher Tufton also raised issues with the provisions of the regulations and the Government’s approach to the issue.

However, when the time came for voting, all the members voted in favour of the regulations.

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Ecuador’s Correa to seek re-election, clear favourite

Rafael Correa QUITO (Reuters) Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa launched his reelection bid yesterday for a February vote likely to give him a new four-year term to continue boosting state control over the Andean nation’s economy.

Government spending on roads, hospitals and schools has made the 49-year-old U.S.-trained economist very popular with the majority poor, and he is well ahead of rivals in opinion polls.

The opposition is divided

and lacks a charismatic leader.

Victory in the February 17 vote would give the socialist Correa a mandate for rolling out more reforms to increase state revenues from the oil and mining sectors. But dependency on oil exports in OPEC’s smallest member is his Achilles heel, and he may be forced to reduce state spending should oil prices fall.

“We’ve done a lot but there’s a lot more to be done, to turn this bourgeois state into a truly popular state that would serve everyone, especially the poor ... that’s why we accept this nomination,” Correa said in front of hundreds of supporters after the ruling Alianza Pais coalition endorsed his candidacy at a raucous meeting in a Quito football stadium.

In power since 2007 and a member of a Latin American leftist bloc led by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Correa has

People’s National Party wins TCI general elections

Dr. Rufus Ewing PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands – CMC - The Progressive National Party (PNP) has won the general elections in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), three years after it was removed from office at the height of a corruption scandal that involved then premier Michael Misick.

Preliminary figures show that the PNP, headed by Dr. Rufus Ewing, had won six of the 10 electoral districts with its main challenger, the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) headed by a former premier, Oswald Skipping, winning the other four districts.

The preliminary figures show that the newly formed People’s Progressive Party (PPP) could only must a total of 310 votes of 2.4 per cent of the total votes cast.

The PNP is also leading

in four of the so called five “At Large Votes” with Ewing polling the second highest tally defeating Skipping, who came eighth among the 11 candidates.

The figures show that overall, the PNP secured 6,293 votes or 49.13 per cent while the PDM tallied 6, 191 or 48.3 per cent of the popular votes.

Just over 7, 000 people were eligible to cast ballots in the election held under a new constitution, a joint product of the UK government and the political and civic leaders here. Media reports quoted irate voters as saying they had stood for more than four hours in line before being able to cast their ballot.

In 2007, the PNP, then under the leadership of Misick won 13 seats in the then 21 seat Legislative Council, but London intervened after it set up a one-man Commission of Inquiry that found there was “a high probability of systemic corruption in government and the legislature and among public officers in the Turks and Caicos Islands in recent years”.

INTERPOL has since issued a warrant for Misick’s arrest.

Ewing has promised that his administration would ensure “transparency and accountability so that the general public would be kept in the beltway as to its plans, policies and general operation”.

given the state a key role in a small economy very dependent on oil and bananas.

Casting his movement as a “Citizens’ Revolution,” Correa has viciously battled political adversaries whom he disparages as an elite that monopolized power for decades.

Critics say Correa has grabbed too much power and clamped down on media freedom. They accuse him of scaring off foreign investors with a 2008 debt default, and failing to diversify the economy from its dependence on oil

exports.

The pugnacious Correa infuriated Washington this year by granting asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who published hundreds of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables.

Assange, who is wanted for questioning over sexual assault and rape allegations in Sweden, has been in Ecuador’s embassy in London since June.

High oil prices have fueled economic growth since 2010, and Correa has brought

stability to the politically volatile nation. Three presidents were forced to resign due to widespread protests during the decade before he took office.

A survey by respected pollster Cedatos shows Correa winning 55 percent of votes, 32 percentage points more than closest rival, Guillermo Lasso, a banker from coastal city Guayaquil.

Lasso, who is running on a platform of lower taxes and incentives to private investors to boost job

creation, will struggle to dent support for Correa amid the poor.

“Lasso is seriously stigmatized because he’s a banker, that’s the main thing he’ll have to struggle with,” said Paulina Recalde, head of local pollster Perfiles de Opinion.

Ecuadoreans blame banks for a 1999 financial crisis that forced Ecuador to adopt the dollar as its currency the following year and meant thousands of account holders lost their savings.

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CLICO probe curious Trinidad Express - Former senior CL Financial executive Carlos John said he found it “a bit curious” and “odd” that the police have launched a criminal investigation into CLICO and CL Financial executives, even as the commission of enquiry is yet to be concluded.

“Of course I am not too au courant with the legalities involved, but I have just finished reading the article and find it a bit odd. The timing of it is curious. I would have thought that the police action would have been taken after the commission of enquiry” he said.

His comment was in reference to an article published in Friday’s Express, headlined “Police probe CLICO execs”, which was based on a statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that a “full criminal investigation” had been started by the police into the conduct of former executives involved in the collapse of the multi-billion-dollar institution.

John, a former works minister and close associate of former CL Financial Ltd executive chairman Lawrence

- Former CL Financial executive Carlos John queries timing of police investigation Duprey, surmised, however, that DPP Roger Gaspard may have caused the probe to be initiated at this time, based on the “disquiet caused in the national community by the disclosures before the commission”.

“The DPP is well within his right,” he said, adding, “after all, we are talking not just about any financial institution, but CLICO as an indigenous institution. I grew up hearing my parents talking about CLICO and when I got my first job there, my parents were happy.”

Asked is he felt the criminal investigations by the police would put pressure on his former boss Duprey to return to Trinidad and Tobago to answer questions by the special team, comprising members of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Fraud Squad, John said he was sure Duprey would have no problem cooperating with the police. “He is not a fugitive. It is not as if he absconded. He has always

had a home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he often travelled back and forth,” John said.

He added, “Nobody has asked him to come back, neither has he been subpoenaed, and no warrant is out for him.”

According to John, if required Duprey will come home for the investigation.

Duprey’s empire, which comprises some 65 companies in 32 countries, collapsed in January 2009, leaving behind a stream of disillusioned depositors, some of whom died before seeing a cent of their life’s savings.

Government has since spent an estimated $20 billion in the bailout of CL Financial.

The commission of enquiry into CLICO was appointed in November 2010 by the Government, and Sir Anthony Colman was named as the lone commissioner. The enquiry is set to resume on December 3.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Pope starts new Vatican department to promote Latin

Pope Benedict XVI blesses as he leads a special audience for members of Saint Cecilia choir academy in Paul VI’s Hall at the Vatican yester. REUTERS/Max Rossi

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict yesterday started a new Vatican department to promote the study and use of Latin in the Roman Catholic Church and beyond.

The old-style Latin Mass was phased out more than 40 years ago in favour of local languages, but the pope is giving it another try. Latin remains the official language of the universal church.

The Vatican said the pope had instituted the Pontifical Academy for Latin Studies, placing it under the auspices of the Vatican’s ministry for culture.

In his letter announcing the new department, the pope

said that Latin was the subject of renewed interest around the world and the purpose of the academy was to encourage further growth.

He said Catholic seminarians studying for the priesthood were weak in studies of the humanities in general and Latin in particular.

They would benefit from a deeper knowledge of the language and be able to read ancient Church texts in the original.

It was the latest attempt by a string of modern-day popes to give the ancient language a boost.

In 1962, Pope John XXIII published “Veterum Sapientia” a document aimed

at promoting the study of Latin, and in 1976 Pope Paul VI started the Latin Foundation and its quarterly “Latinitas”. But those ventures met with mixed results at best.

“It appears necessary to support a commitment to a greater understanding of the use of Latin, both in the Church and in the greater world of culture,” Pope Benedict wrote in the letter setting up the academy.

The new academy’s statutes, written of course in Latin, say its goal is to promote both written and spoken Latin through publications, conferences, seminars and performances.

Jamaica Observer KINGSTON, Jamaica – China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) has donated J$13 million to assist people and schools badly affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The funds were presented Friday by CHEC general manager for the Caribbean and Latin American region, Zhongdong Tang to the director-general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Ronald Jackson.

Tang said that the donation was a humanitarian gesture from his company in light of the “tremendous damage and dislocation which was suffered by many persons, including the families of some of its own workers and former employees in its project locations near the recently completed Rio Grande Bridge in Portland and the Westmoreland Bridge in St.

Mary”, where work is ongoing.

“We have been moved by the situation where families are still living in shelters because they a r e u n a ble to afford repairs to their homes and where children are still unable to attend school because their homes and/or their schools have been badly damaged by the recent hurricane,”. Tang said.

CHEC is the general contractor for the road and bridge building projects that

comprise the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP).

The projects include the Palisadoes Shoreline Protection and Rehabilitation Works, where the road to the Norman Manley International Airport and Port Royal is being elevated and rock revetments constructed on both the sea and harbour sides to protect the road from inundation and damage by wave action, especially during storms and hurricanes.

China Harbour gives J$13m to Sandy relief

UNCTAD Secretary General to visit Jamaica KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC - The Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, is to pay a three-day an official visit to Jamaica from Tuesday.

A Government statement said that his visit is at the

invitation of Foreign Affairs and Foreign trade Minister Arnold J. Nicholson, who “is keen to have Dr. Supachai share his wealth of experience in foreign trade policy and his views on the importance of trade in services for small developing countries”.

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Syria’s opposition urges West to send rebels arms DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The newly elected leader of Syria’s main opposition group slammed the international community for what he called inaction, saying yesterday that fighters are in desperate need of weapons to break the stalemate with President Bashar Assad’s forces.

George Sabra’s comments came as his Syrian National Council struggled with other opposition groups to try to forge a cohesive and more representative leadership as rebels step up attacks against regime forces.

Two suicide car bombers struck a military camp in the

southern city of Daraa on Saturday, killing at least 20 government soldiers and prompting clashes in the area, activists said.

Bombings targeting state security institutions have become frequent in recent months, raising Western fears that extremists fighting with the rebels could gain influence. That’s one of the reasons the rebels’ foreign backers are wary of providing weapons.The United States also has become increasingly frustrated with the opposition’s inability to overcome deep divisions and rivalries in order to present a single conduit for foreign

support.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton harshly criticized the SNC late last month and called for a leadership that can rally wider support among activists fighting the regime on the ground.

Sabra, who was elected by the SNC on Friday, said the international community should support the opposition and send arms without conditions, rather than linking aid to an overhaul of the leadership.

The Syrian opposition may have many foreign friends, he told The Associated Press in an

Gaza flares as Israel hits back killing four

A wounded Palestinian is carried into a hospital in Gaza City following Israeli shelling yesterday. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tank fire killed four Palestinians and wounded 25 in the Gaza Strip yesterday after an anti-tank missile hit an Israeli army jeep wounding four soldiers, and Palestinian fighters fired rockets into southern Israel in a new flareup of fighting.

In a major clash that carried the risk of escalation, Palestinian militants vowed to take revenge for the deaths of civilians and Israel warned residents of communities near the Gaza border to stay within 15 seconds of their blast shelters.

The casualty toll was one of the highest in a single incident in Gaza in recent months. Palestinians said a crowded mourning tent in the Shijaia neighbourhood was full of people paying respects to a bereaved family man when the tank shell exploded.

Ambulances, private vehicles and motorbikes rushed the wounded to hospital, eyewitnesses said. Among those killed was an 18-year-old youth.

“The occupation’s targeting of civilians was a grave escalation that must not pass in silence,” said Fawzi Barhoum of the Islamic movement Hamas which rules Gaza. “Resistance must be reinforced in order to block the aggression.” Israel denies targeting civilians.

The Israeli military said an anti-tank missile was fired at an army patrol along the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip.

“Four soldiers were injured as a result,” a statement said. In a separate incident at another location, four people were wounded in an Israeli air strike in the town of Khan Younis. The clash occurs at a time of renewed tension along the Israel-Gaza frontier, only some two weeks after Egyptian mediation calmed an earlier flare-up.

In an attack on Thursday, a 12-year-old Gaza boy was killed by Israeli gunfire as troops fought a gun battle with Palestinian militants.

Shortly afterwards, militants blew up a tunnel packed with explosives near the border.

The Gaza Strip, a coastal territory crowded with more than 1.5 million people, many of them refugees, is controlled

by Hamas Islamists who reject Israel’s right to exist. It is also the base for a number of other Islamic militant groups. One of these, called the Popular Resistance Committees, said it had fired four rockets at communities close to the border and the towns of Sderot and Netivot in southern Israel, in what it called “the revenge invoice” for the deaths in Gaza. There was no report of casualties on the Israeli side.

In December 2008, Israel responded to repeated rocket attacks from Gaza by bombing the enclave for a week then invading with ground forces in a three-week war in which over 1,400 Palestinians were killed and 13 Israelis died.

Israel says it holds Hamas solely responsible for and violence emanating from the Gaza Strip, regardless of which group actually fires rockets or mortars.

interview, “but unfortunately we get nothing from them, except some statements, some encouragement.” The regime “has few friends, but these friends give the regime everything,” he added, referring to Assad allies Russia, China and Iran.

Sabra, 65, headed the SNC delegation Saturday in talks in the Qatari capital of Doha on a Western-backed proposal that would give the group only about one-third of 60 seats on a leadership panel to make room for more activists from inside Syria, including those fighting on the front lines.

The outcome of the talks will be crucial not just for the SNC, widely seen as out of touch with activists on the ground in Syria, but for the future of the entire opposition. Without unity among opposition groups, the international community is unlikely to step up aid.

Sabra, a Christian and a veteran left-wing dissident who was repeatedly imprisoned by the regime, said the SNC agrees that unity is important but suggested his group would not accept a deal that could lead to its

demise.

The choice of a Christian to lead the SNC could help counter Western concerns about the influence of Islamists in the group. A senior Brotherhood figure, Mohammed Farouk Taifour, was chosen as Sabra’s deputy.

But analysts said Sabra’s election was unlikely to significantly change the situation.

“I don’t think his election will do anything to persuade the detractors of the SNC that it has become more attractive and democratic,” said Salman Shaikh, the director of the Brookings Doha Center.

Sabra is an SNC insider, and “his election is part of continuity, not change,” he added.

Senior SNC members portrayed Saturday’s meeting as the beginning of what could be days of negotiations over the size and mission of any leadership group. Other opposition delegates said an agreement on the new body is imminent.

Riad Seif, another veteran dissident who presented the reform plan, has said the new group would be recognized as

the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people and would receive billions of dollars in aid.

Sabra said he and the 66year-old Seif are old friends and even shared a jail cell when both were rounded up after the March 2011 outbreak of the uprising against the regime.

“The problem is with the initiative itself,” he said of Seif’s plan, arguing that it’s too vague.

Haitham Maleh, a veteran Syrian opposition leader, said discussions with Sabra will continue but the leadership group might be formed without the SNC if an agreement can’t be reached.

“If they (SNC representatives) don’t accept having a common body, we could form a political body alone,” Maleh said.

Damascus has dismissed the meeting in Doha, and Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a political folly. In an interview on staterun Syrian TV aired late Friday, al-Zoubi said those who “meet in hotels” abroad are “deluding themselves” if Continued on page 37

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Karl Rove defends his $300 million disaster

Karl Rove Karl Rove boasted on the eve of Tuesday’s election that all signs pointed towards an electoral college landslide.

He was right about the result,

just wrong about the candidate. And now it’s up to Rove to explain to donors why, after blowing through $300 million of their money, President Obama is still President Obama and Harry Reid still runs the Senate.

Judging by Rove’s election night tantrum on Fox News, this was not a situation he was well prepared for. In a surreal stretch of television, he refused to believe the network’s call of Ohio, lashed out at producers for making it, then spouted a blizzard of county by county statistics to justify his increasingly untenable case.

“Is this just math that you

do as a Republican to make yourself feel better?” Fox host Megyn Kelly asked at one point, “Or is this real?” Given Rove’s prior history on election predictions, it was a logical question.

As Rove’s complaints dragged on, Kelly marched over personally to Fox’s election experts who told her live that they had “99.95%” confidence in their projection, no matter what the network’s on-air talent thought. The segment was passed around endlessly the next day and nearly caused Jon Stewart to die of laughter.

Two days later, Rove

started the hard work of explaining why the Democrats were simply too much for any one billionairefunded super PAC to handle.

He offered up a litany of culprits behind Obama’s victory in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Thursday. People to blame included: •Mother Nature: Don’t like the election result? Blame God: “Hurricane Sandy interrupted Mr. Romney’s momentum and allowed Mr. Obama to look presidential and bipartisan.” Rove telegraphed this argument even before election day, but the fact remains that there’s almost no polling evidence at

all for it. Obama’s swing state lead had stabilized well before the storm hit.

•Editors: “Then there was the anonymous New York Times headline writer who affixed “Let ‘Detroit Go Bankrupt’ to Mr. Romney’s November 2008 op-ed on reorganizing the auto companies, which the Obama campaign brought up again and again in the industrial Midwest. The president made it appear that Mr. Romney favored liquidation of the companies (which he did not), instead of an orderly reorganization (which he did).”

•The Hired Help: “A hotel employee with a cellphone camera taped Mr. Romney talking at a May fundraiser about the “47%” of the population that do not have any federal income-tax liability. When released in September, the video added to public doubts about Mr. Romney’s wealth and character.”

He also offered up another pair of juicy targets

on Fox News the same day.

•Dirty Tricks: Rove told Fox that Obama won by “suppressing the vote.” Not by, say, imposing voting restrictions that disproportionately affect certain demographics, but by running mean ads about Bain Capital. And while Rove did the best he could (“The first group to respond to attacks on Bain was American Crossroads”) the real problem was....

•Mitt Romney: Rove said the Republican nominee ran a “valiant race,” but suggested that the failure to rebut the Bain attacks was exclusively a Romney issue.

“We don’t do defense all that well,” he said. “It’s better to have the candidate [respond].”

Whether ultra-wealthy donors like Sheldon Adelson will decide Rove’s most recent writings are more credible than such recent gems as “Can We Believe the Presidential Polls?” is an open question. At least one billionaire isn’t buying it.

Media calls Florida for Obama, giving him 332 electoral votes

Barack Obama

MIAMI (Reuters) President Barack Obama was declared the winner of Florida by Associated Press and NBC News, four days after the November 6 election, bringing his total of electoral votes to 332 compared to 206 for Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Florida was the last state where the outcome was in doubt because three counties were still counting ballots.

The Democratic party in Florida had declared victory on Thursday and Republicans tacitly conceded defeat.

With the victory in

Florida, Obama swept all of the battleground states, with the exception of North Carolina, which he won narrowly in 2008.

Florida was the scene of a nasty fight over ballot counting after the 2000 presidential election, when the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that George W. Bush should be awarded the states electoral votes and the presidency.

The delay in finalizing Florida’s result this year did not affect the national outcome but raised concerns that some of the problems in 2000 had not been resolved 12 years later.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Vatican digs in after gay marriage advances VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is digging in after gay marriage initiatives scored big wins this week in the U.S. and Europe, vowing to never stop insisting that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. In a front-page article in yesterday’s Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy See sought to frame itself as the lone voice of courage in opposing initiatives to give same-sex couples legal recognition. In a separate Vatican Radio editorial, the pope’s spokesman asked sarcastically why gay marriage proponents don’t now push for legal recognition for polygamous couples as well.Catholic teaching holds that homosexuals should be respected and treated with dignity but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” The Vatican also opposes same-sex marriage, insisting on the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman as the foundation for society. The Vatican’s antigay marriage media blitz came after three U.S. states approved same-sex marriage by popular vote in the election that returned Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency, Spain upheld its gay marriage law, and France pushed ahead with legislation that could see gay marriage legalized early next year. “One might say the church, at least on this front, has been defeated,” L’Osservatore Romano wrote.

“But that’s not the case.”

The article insisted that Catholics were putting up a

valiant fight to uphold church teaching in the face of “politically correct ideologies invading every culture of the world” that are backed by institutions like the United Nations, which last year passed a non-binding resolution condemning antigay discrimination.

“The church is called to present itself as the lone critic of modernity, the only check ... to the breakup of the anthropological structures on which human society was founded,” it said.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi, for his part, said gays can have their rights protected by means other than through legal marital recognition. He stressed that children should have a right to say they have a father and a mother.

“If not, then why not contemplate freely chosen polygamy, and naturally so as to not discriminate, polyandry?” he asked sarcastically. Polyandry is when a woman has two or more husbands. “As a result, don’t expect the church to stop insisting that society recognizes a specific place for marriage between a man and woman,” he said. The U.S. election had been closely watched at the Vatican because of the strong divisions that erupted during the campaign between the Obama administration and U.S. bishops over gay marriage, which Obama endorsed in May. The administration and bishops clashed more vehemently over Obama’s health care mandate requiring nearly all U.S. health insurance plans to

cover contraception, which the church opposes.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the contraception mandate — which exempts houses of worship but applies to faithaffiliated employers — is a violation of religious freedom.

The Vatican’s reaction to Obama’s re-election was tinged with such lingering criticism, with Pope Benedict XVI congratulating Obama and praying that the ideals of freedom and justice continue to be upheld.

Lombardi went further urging the administration to respect essential values in “promoting a culture of life and religious freedom” — Vatican buzzwords referring to abortion, contraception and the insurance mandate.

It was a far cry from the Vatican’s enthusiastic response to Obama’s election in 2008.

Then, the pope termed Obama’s election an “historic occasion” in a personal note of congratulations sent right after he won, a break with traditional Vatican protocol that usually sees official telegrams of congratulations sent on inauguration day.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — While ties between China and Taiwan may be closer than at any time since they split in a civil war, the staid, formal Communist Party congress being held in Beijing highlights how far apart the two sides are politically.

“Taiwan’s democracy has learned from the United States,” said Wang Yingying, who moved from eastern China to Taiwan in 2005 with her Taiwanese spouse. “We in China cannot vote for our national leaders. Mainland politics are backward, Taiwan’s democracy is much better.”

With a population 50 times bigger and an economy 15 times greater, China overshadows Taiwan in almost every respect.

But one area where Taiwan is envied by many in China is its freewheeling political system.

Split since Mao Zedong’s Communist forces drove Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist government from the mainland, China and Taiwan used to engage in a propaganda and ideological war against each other. Since Taiwan jettisoned one-party rule in the 1980s and moved toward democracy, the competition for hearts and minds continues but is more low-key.

“There is now no excuse for the Chinese government to tell its people that Chinese culture is somehow at odds with democracy,” said Emile Sheng, who served as culture minister during Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s just-completed first term. “Taiwan’s experience proves this wrong.”

Stepped-up trade and travel between China and Taiwan as well as a revival in longstanding

cultural and social ties are all carrying Taiwan’s success with democracy to mainlanders.

Wang, the mainlander bride, is one of 300,000 Chinese spouses living in Taiwan. More than 2 million Chinese tourists travel to Taiwan every year, often holing up in their hotels to watch Taiwan’s many politically relentless all-news television stations.

China’s ruling Communists continue to hail their model as superior, noting its statedirected economy has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty in recent decades and government policies have warded off the recession and weak growth that have wracked the West during the past four years.Western-style political system.

Rev. Federico Lombardi

China congress highlights contrast with Taiwan

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Syria’s opposition urges West to send rebels arms From page 35 “Our priority is to stop killing of the Syrian people.

They should unite and become a single entity,” said Abdulrahman Mostafa, 33, who has been living in the Yayladagi refugee camp in Turkey’s Hatay province along the border with Syria. “If our leaders are not united, how can we stand united as a people?” Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have fled the violence in their c o u n t r y, inundating neighboring countries.

As many as 11,000 crossed the borders on Friday, a surge attributed to fighting at Ras al-Ayn in the predominantly Kurdish oil-producing northeastern province of al-Hasaka.

The uprising against Assad began in March 2011 with peaceful protests in Daraa, inspired by the Arab Spring wave of revolutions in the Middle East. But a regime crackdown

prompted fierce fighting, propelling the conflict into a civil war that has taken on sectarian overtones.

In all, activists say more than 36,000 people have been killed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said two suicide bombers drove their explosives-laden cars into a military encampment behind the officer’s club in Daraa in quick succession.

It said at least 20 soldiers were killed, most in the second explosion.

Other activists described explosions that targeted the high security area but didn’t say they were suicide attacks. State-run news agency SANA reported triple car bombings in Daraa that killed seven civilians and wounded several others.

The government rarely provides death tolls for security forces, and the

discrepancy could not be reconciled or independently verified.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for y e s t e r d a y ’s a t t a c k , b u t Jabhat al-Nusra, an alQaeda-inspired extremist group that is fighting alongside the rebels, has said it was responsible for similar bombings in the past.

In other violence, Syrian TV said a locally made rocket slammed into a four-story residential building in the district of al-Qassaa in the capital of Damascus, wounding two young women. SANA said three mortar rounds were fired in central Damascus yesterday evening, injuring several people and damaging a clinic in a residential building in al-Tilyani neighbourhood.

The state media blamed “terrorists” for the attacks — the term used by the Syrian government to describe rebels.

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‘Beauty and the Beast’ gets full season

The new supernatural crime drama starring Kristin Kreuk just received an additional nine episodes from The CW. This marks the second freshman drama to get a full ride from the network this fall (the first, of course, is Arrow). So far, the show is averaging 2.4 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among

adults 18-34, the network’s target demographic.

What about Emily Owens M.D.? No decision yet on Tuesday’s quirky doctor dramedy. We bet that Beauty would get a full season and not Emily Owens in the most recent edition of Death Watch. Going into CW’s fall, it felt like musical chairs with three

shows (Emily, Arrow and Beauty) and two chairs since a shortened Gossip Girl was only airing until the end of the year and the network has Cult and Carrie Diaries waiting in the wings. But sources say that’s far from certain, since The CW’s seasons are pretty short and Cult could launch in late spring.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Justin Bieber is no longer Selena Gomez’s “Boyfriend.”

Justin Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez standing on stage during the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto.

NEW YORK (AP) A source confirms to The Associated Press that Justin Bieber is no longer Selena Gomez’s “Boyfriend.”

The source is not authorized to discuss the split with the press and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The breakup apparently

happened last week, and distance and their busy schedules were cited as factors.

The 18-year-old “Boyfriend” singer is touring to promote his latest album, while 20-year-old Gomez is filming a “Wizards of Waverly Place” reunion for the Disney Channel.

The pair first stepped up publicly in February 2011.E! News was the first to report the split.

Bieber seems to be doing OK, at least publicly. On the red carpet of Wednesday’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show he said, “I’d rather be here than anywhere in the world.”

Nicolas Cage is in EVERYTHING Sylvester Stallone has pronounced Nicolas Cage the next in a growing line of aging action stars to appear in his “Expendables” series.

“The Expendables 3” to be exact.

If that isn’t enough to get you into a Cage rage-inspired tizzy, just know that the 48year-old Oscar winner is in the midst of a full-on acting binge — seemingly accepting every role that crosses his path, including sequels to well known Cage flicks “KickAss” and “National Treasure.”

Counting “Expendables,”

Nicolas Cage

Taylor Swift headed to ‘X Factor’ with new song

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift will appear on The X Factor to play a cut off her new album Red, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The singer will perform “State of Grace” on the November 15th elimination show, marking the first ever televised performance of the track. Swift also performed on the U.K. edition of X Factor in October.

Cage is reported to be appearing in twelve films over the next two or so years. He is also rumored to be in two other upcoming films that have yet to start filming.

With so many projects in his wake and in the pipeline, one wonders if Cage now has a doppelganger to help him complete all the work. Sure, the Oscar-winning actor has the onscreen emotive power of five thespians — maybe even ten — but that doesn’t mean he can be in two, even three places at once.

One theory behind Cage’s addiction to over-acting — in more ways than one, now! — is money woes. The actor paid $6.25 million he owed the IRS earlier this year, cutting his total debt in taxes by about half. (Yes, it appears he still hasn’t paid his remaining debt of more than $7 million.)

Cage is also known for strange, Michael Jacksonlike spending habits: He owns exotic pets, 15 homes (two of which he lost in foreclosure), a Caribbean island, a dinosaur skull — which he reportedly won in a bidding war with Leonardo DiCaprio — and dozens of cars.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

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Practice the breast self-exam

By Krista Brooks Last week we learned a bit more about breast cancer. It is one of the most common types of cancer in women in Guyana. We hear a lot about cancer and how it can affect our bodies, but is there anything we can do to help us catch it early?

Nursey says we as women can practice the breast selfexam. It is a good method we can use to detect changes in our bodies and possibly catch cancer early.

We learned last week that not all lumps in the breast are cancer. So it is important to remember that any abnormal things you may notice while performing the breast selfexam should be told to your health care provider.

So how do you do a breast self-exam? The first thing you should do is go

to a comfortable place w h e r e y ou have some privacy, time, and good light.

Some women will perform the self-exam every few months when they bathe.

If you have a mirror, it would be good to use for the first part of the exam. To start the exam, look at your breasts.

Look for any changes in colour, places where they might pucker, redness or scaliness of the breast or nipple, change in size or shape, or if the nipple has moved inward.

Next, you can relax. Lie down on your back. If you are examining your left breast, put your left hand behind your head and examine your breast using the three middle fingers of y o u r r i g h t h a n d . Yo u should use circular motions with your fingers to feel the breast tissue for any lumps or abnormalities. Sometimes during your menstruation, you might notice different lumps in your breasts.

This is normal for many women, which is why it is best to perform the selfexam about two weeks before your menstruation.

When examining your breast tissue, it is important to use soft and firm pressure to feel the different layers of your breast tissue.

Start out at your upper armpit and move down in a

(Reuters) - About half of HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy skipped their medications whenever they were drinking alcohol, according to a U.S. study an ill-advised behavior that researchers say could lead to higher viral loads.

The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, for a year followed nearly 200 people with HIV who were on antiretrovirals and drank alcohol. It found that 51 percent stopped taking their medications while drinking.

Lapses could be due to forgetfulness while under the influence, but a widespread and erroneous - belief that mixing alcohol and HIV drugs can be toxic appears to play a role.

“The harms caused by missing their medications far outweigh the harms caused by mixing the two, if the person doesn’t have liver disease,” said Seth

Kalichman, a professor at the University of Connecticut and lead author of the study.

Drinking has been known to interfere with people’s adherence to their medications, but researchers said the consequences of inconsistent use of HIV medications can be more severe.

Antiretroviral drugs suppress the HIV virus, and patients must take the medications continuously to prevent the virus from surging. Additionally, going on and off the drugs can lead to drug resistance.

“People living with HIV who deliberately stop their medications when they are drinking are at risk for treatment failure,” the researchers wrote.

Kalichman and his colleagues surveyed 178 people - about four out of five of them men - who were currently using antiretroviral therapy and reported that...

(Continued on page 40)

Many HIV patients skip medications to drink: study

line using circular motions towards your rib cage. Once you have reached your rib cage, move your fingers over slightly towards the centre of your body and continue up towards the top of your chest.

Continue these up and down lines until you reach the middle of your chest.

After you complete your examination of your left breast, put your right hand behind your head and use your left fingers to examine

your right breast.

You should report any hard lumps, nipple discharge, or changes in size to your health professional. Nursey says to practice this exam once a month and you will know your body very well.

You will know it so well that you can observe when things aren’t quite right.

While the breast selfexam is a great tool for you to use to help detect cancer, it is not 100% effective. It is possible to have breast

cancer and not feel it while doing a self-exam.

This is why it is important to have regular check-ups with your health professional and if possible, go for a mammogram after you have reached 50 years of age.

As Nursey says, practice the breast selfexam and help catch cancer early!

It is a small thing we can do that could make a very big difference later on. I will be

back next week to tell you more interesting things Nursey says. Until then!

If you have any questions about breast cancer or any other health issues please em a i l nurseysaysguyana@gmail.com.

Krista Brooks is a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer working with the School of Nursing, which trains Nursing Assistants, Professional Nurses, and Midwifery Students.

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Sunday November 11, 2012

Daily multivitamin shown to help ward off cancer in men LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Swallowing a daily multivitamin can reduce the risk of cancer slightly in middle-aged and older men and appears to have no dangerous side-effects, according to the first largescale, randomized study on the subject.

The protective effect of the daily pill was described as “modest” by the trial investigators who emphasized that the primary use of vitamins was to prevent nutritional deficiencies. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented on Wednesday at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Anaheim, California.

“This is indeed a landmark study,” said Cory AbateShen, a professor of urological oncology at Columbia University Medical Center who was not involved in the trial. “It suggests that a

balanced multivitamin approach is probably more beneficial than increasing to high levels any one vitamin.”

About half of U.S. adults take at least one daily dietary supplement - the most popular being a multivitamin, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Physicians Health Study II included more than 14,600 male doctors aged 50 and older and spanned more than 10 years.

Participants were randomly assigned to a multivitamin Pfizer Inc’s Centrum Silver or a placebo. The research was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

Several previous studies, many relying on self-reported use of specific vitamins or supplements, have generated mixed results in terms of cancer outcomes.

“There have been some other trials that have tested combinations, often at high doses, of certain vitamins and

minerals,” said Howard Sesso, one of the study’s authors and an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Our trial took a very commonly used multivitamin that has basically low levels of all the different essential vitamins and minerals.”

The findings suggest that the biggest health benefit may come from a broad combination of dietary supplements, he said.

EFFECT IS GREATER FOR NON-PROSTATE CANCERS Last year, the questionnaire-based Iowa Women’s Health Study found that older women who take multivitamins have slightly increased death rates compared to those who don’t.

A study examining whether vitamin E and selenium could reduce the risk of prostate cancer was stopped prematurely in 2008 after men taking 400

international units (IU) of the vitamin showed an increased risk of developing the cancer.

Over-the-counter multivitamins typically contain 15 to 25 IU of vitamin E. The newly-released Physicians Health Study showed an 8 percent reduction in total cancer occurrence for participants taking a multivitamin, but no benefit was seen for rates of prostate cancer, the most common cancer seen among the participants in the study.

But the absolute risk reduction was small. Out of 1,000 men taking daily vitamins, 17 developed cancer each year, the researchers found, compared to 18.3 in the placebo group.

That means some 770 men would need to take the supplements daily to stave off one cancer per year.

Excluding prostate cancer, researchers found about a 12 percent reduction in overall cancer occurrence

and said the protective effect seemed to be greater in people who had previously battled cancer.

They did not see a statistically reliable reduction in the risk of dying from cancer, however.

Men taking multivitamins were also slightly more likely to get s k i n r a s h e s a n d nose bleeds, but less likely to have small amounts of blood in the urine.

Researchers said they planned to continue to follow

the study group to monitor the effect of vitamin intake ove r t i m e , a n d s a i d additional studies would be needed to see if there were similar benefits for women or younger men.

“It doesn’t seem like there is any particular risk associated with taking a vitamin and there might be a small benefit,” said Dr. David Weinberg, chief of the department of medicine at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He was not involved in the study.

Over the following year, the team checked in with patients every month to see how well they were sticking to their prescriptions through a pill count, and every other month they called to ask how often the patient had been drinking recently.

Doctors’ offices measured each patient’s level of virus and measures of immune system health.

They found that 51 perce n t o f t h e p a t i e n t s would avoid the medications when they drank, and half of the people in this group had poor adherence to their prescriptions.

In addition, half of the group that skipped pills said they wouldn’t take them again until the alcohol was out of their system.

P e o p l e w h o skipped medications while drinking were also more likely to have higher levels of HIV in their bodies and lower numbers of CD4 cells, a measure of immune system health.

“I think it’s pretty well demonstrated that alcohol use is tied to poor adherence, and I think most people think it’s because they’re impaired in some way or they forget... whereas here it shows they’re (o f t e n ) intentionally missing their medicatio ns,” said Catherine Grodensky, a researcher at the Center for AIDS Research at the University of North Carolina.

“And it looks like it’s having some significant impacts on their treatment.”

Many HIV patients skip medications...

From page 39 ...they drank alcohol. At the beginning of the study, the researchers asked the participants about their alcohol-related beliefs, such as whether they thought their drugs wouldn’t work as well if the two mixed. They also asked whether people would not take both at the same time, either by avoiding alcohol or the medicines.

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The Abigail Column Intimacy issues cause rift in otherwise happy marriage

DEARABIGAIL, I have been married to ‘Steve’, a wonderful man, for seven years. We have two children. We get along well, but I have one complaint. It’s about sex.

I’m always in the mood but he isn’t. We both work full-time jobs and take care of the kids and the house.

My best friend tells me I have the sex drive of a male and her husband wishes she

was more like me. I am not a nymphomaniac, but I’d like to be intimate with my husband more than every other week.

When we’re together, I almost feel like it’s a chore to him.

Is there something wrong with me? I have never cheated on ‘Steve’, nor have I considered it. I feel this is an issue in our marriage, but he thinks I am overreacting.

Waiting for More Dear Waiting for More, When a couple has problems in the bedroom, it

can affect every aspect of the marriage. You are not “overreacting.” By implying that you are, your husband is attempting to minimize your feelings. He may have a low sex drive, no sex drive or a hormone problem.

Counseling might be able to help the two of you discuss this sensitive subject - and a visit to the doctor could help him find out if his problem is physical. You need more help - and so does he - than anyone can give you in a letter.

Sunday November 11, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): It looks like that person you've been working so hard to charm is finally coming around! Build on that momentum today by extending a casual invitation -- ask them to lunch, to coffee, or just for a walk around the block. ****************** TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Have you ever cooked something that turned out less deliciously than you expected?

You had all the ingredients and did everything according to the recipe. Yet it didn't come together in the right way. ******************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): A hot romance that is going on in someone else's life could be causing you to turn a bit green with envy -- but why?

Take a look at what you've got going on right now and you'll soon see that the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22):'Keep your eye on the ball' is excellent advice in athletics, but it works in all other areas of your life, too. On the job, focusing on decision making (and not on the gossip of disgruntled coworkers) means that you automatically become a valuable part of said decision making. ******************** LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): You will have an unbeatable combination of energy and insight today -- which will prepare you well for a day full of opportunity and group activities. ********************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): The shopping bug has bitten, and it's not letting go -but this fascination with material goods is not going to be good for you right now. All

signs still point to save, save, save! ********************** LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Fun, frivolous aspects of living will take up most of the day today, and you'll have a blast unleashing your wit and creativity (everyone around you will like it, too). ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): You are absolutely ready for anything today -- nothing and no one can overwhelm you right now, so it is a very good time to leap into the center of the action and grab your piece of it. ********************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): You cannot put two people together who don't want to be together. So if your Cupid act is not working, it is never going to -- give it up.

The magnetic pull between two people is not something you can manufacture or even encourage. ***************** CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Like the waistband on your favorite pair of jeans, your time is starting to loosen up and get a lot more comfortable. But instead of reaching for a belt to tighten things back up, relax and enjoy the feeling of having a little more room to play with. *********************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): There are clues being tossed out around you today, and it won't take too much intellectual energy for you to connect the dots and come up with what is really going on. *************** PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20): Working in a partnership dynamic suits your personality right now -- even if the compromises are feeling a bit uncomfortable.

DTV CHANNEL 8 09:25hrs. Sign On 09:30hrs. Touching Lives 10:00hrs. Pair of Kings 10:30hrs. Crash and Bernstein 11:00hrs. Kickin’ It 11:45hrs. Movie: Cold River 13:20hrs. Movie: Down and Derby 15:00hrs. Movie: The Courage to Love 17:00hrs. Family Feud 18:00hrs. Catholic Magazine (Faith in Action) 18:30hrs. Know Your Bible 19:00hrs. Greetings and Announcements 21:00hrs. Once Upon a Time (New Episode) 22:00hrs. The Good Wife (New Episode) 23:00hrs. The Mentalist (New Episode) 00:00hrs. Sign Of MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 06:30h Prayag Vanie 07:00h MTV Bhajans 7:30h CNN News 08:00h Christ for the Nation 08:30h Puran Brothers: Shiva Bhajans 09:00h Muslim Melodies with Al Madina Exclusive 09:30h Teleview Kutbah 10:00h DJ Stress Indian Movie 13:00h Garam Geet 14:00h Sitcom

14:30h El Dorado Shines 15:00h The Variety Show with WR Reaz 16:00h Bollywood Sensation with Kavita 17:00h Birthdays & Other greetings 17:15h Death Announcements/ In memoriam

17:30h BBC World News 18:00h Entertainment Buzz with Shivanie 18:30h Wendy Khan and Dheeraj Show 19:30h Focus on GRA 20:00h Sangeet Mehfil 21:00h Indian Movie: Bbuddaah Hoga Terra Baap Sign Off

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Sunday November 11, 2012

GPSU gears for wages talks with Govt Increasing the minimum wage to a livable amount is a reality the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) believes Government is frustrating.

This is premised on the fact that Government is lethargic in moving forward with a three-year proposal (2010— 2012) prepared by the Union and submitted to the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Ministry in September 2009 outlining increases desirable for workers, according to Patrick Yarde, President of the GPSU. Further, for 17 years Government has not increased

traveling allowances for public servants even though yearly increases are made for Ministers in Parliament for the maintenance of their vehicles and other duties.

According to Yarde, the Union will be meeting with representatives of Government tomorrow to discuss wages, salaries, allowances and other matters in the 2010- 2012 proposal. The Union is open to discussions on Government’s counter proposals, he said.

However, the Union is skeptical that much may not be achieved from the meeting because of Government’s

approach.

In a recent correspondence to the Union, Hydar Ally, Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Ministry, indicated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Union’s salary proposals for 2012. However, Yarde is of the opinion there is no need to discuss the proposal again since that was done last August.

He stated that this discussion should focus on increases in wages, salaries, and allowances since the year is almost over.

If this is not done,

Government may once again arbitrarily impose an undesirable increase in wages and salaries, Yarde said.

According to Yarde, even though the Union submitted the multi-year proposal as requested Government continued to increase wages and salaries on a yearly basis without consulting the Union.

He said that discussions on the proposal only began in August 2012 under Ally who assumed his duties in January. Because, Ally claimed to be unaware of the details of the proposal, time was given to him to acquaint himself with the relevant

information.

Yarde said that sufficient time has elapsed and discussions on wages and salaries should begin. He said that an important aspect of knowing the increases is the ability to craft the new multiyear proposal.

Government’s highhanded approach caused the strike in 1999 when many innocent persons were hurt.

Yarde said that the Union does not want to take that approach this time around.

The Union is trying different avenues such as discussions to ensure

Government understands that the salaries being paid to public servants cannot sustain their basic needs.

According to Yarde, in a basket of necessities prepared by the Union it is evident that the minimum wage needs to be increased significantly.

He added out that Guyana needs a wage policy outlining how the living wage could be achieved. To this end, the Union is in the process of compiling recent information to justify the level of increase that should be paid.

From page 14 recorded in 2006 and 2007 and at the end of 2008, the overdraft decreased to $46.866 billion compared with $46.823 billion at the end of 2009.

In 2010 there was a further decrease to $46.776, an amount that remained static as at December 31, 2011.

The Audit Report states that in 2006, amounts totalling $15.226 billion were transferred from the Deposit Fund, General Account and the Non-Sub Accounting bank accounts to the new Consolidated Fund (Account No 407) instead of the old

Consolidated Fund. Had these amounts been transferred to the old Consolidated Fund and the amount that was used to open the new Fund repaid, then the overdraft would have been reduced to $26.550 billion at the end of 2011.

As was outlined in previous Audit Reports, the 2011 document adds that “ t h e A u d i t O ff i c e o n c e again recommends that the Ministry of Finance urgently review the status of the accounts with a view to paying into the Consolidated Fund, all funds that are transferrable.”

From page 11 “ Yo u know what Government will do when you check the budget because we have a significant number of projects waiting to be executed so when you look at that you will see the plans and have an idea,” the Minister explained.

There were also concerns with transportation especially

in the dry season. A representative of BK International told of a ship being loaded but was only able to sail yesterday because of a drop in water level.

The quarries are located mostly in the hinterland area forcing most of the companies to move their supplies by barge to the distribution points on the coast.

Billions in special...

Govt. mulls more...

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 47

From page 20 argued that the National Assembly may regulate its own process and make rules for that purpose. In that light, the opposition leader claimed that Rohee’s “no confidence” motion is not unlawful.

WEDNESDAY EDITION OBAMA WINS AGAIN! (Reuters) – President Barack Obama won reelection to a second term in the White House early Wednesday television networks projected, beating Republican challenger Mitt Romney after a long and bitter campaign. Obama defeated Romney in a series of key swing states despite a weak economic recovery and persistent high unemployment as U.S. voters decided between two starkly different visions for the country. Obama’s victory in the hotly contested swing state of Ohio – as projected

by TV networks – put him over the top in the fight for the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the White House and ended Romney’s hopes of pulling off a string of swing-state upsets. Obama scored narrow wins in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire – all states that Romney had contested – while the only swing state captured by Romney was North Carolina, according to network projections. There was no immediate word from the Romney camp on the reported results. At least 120 million American voters cast votes in the race between the Democratic incumbent and Romney after a campaign focused on how to repair the ailing U.S. economy. Obama enters his second four-year term faced with a difficult task of tackling $1 trillion annual deficits, reducing a $16 trillion national debt, overhauling expensive social programs and dealing with a gridlocked U.S. Congress that looked likely to maintain the same partisan makeup.

BANDITS AMBUSH DELIVERY TRUCK, DRIVER SHOT DEAD Bandits shot a 57-year-old truck driver dead and wounded a porter after ambushing a delivery truck at Busby Dam, East Bank Demerara, at around 18:00 hrs Tuesday. Aga Khan, of Lot 20 Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara, was shot at close range in the right side of the neck, reportedly after he had handed over a bag containing some $750,000 to one of the three robbers who had forced him to stop on the deserted roadway.

The father of three died

no confidence motion.

shortly after being rushed to the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital. Mervin Marcus, a porter of Kaneville, East Bank Demerara, was shot in the right shoulder and was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after being treated at the East Bank facility. Another porter who was on the same vehicle escaped unhurt.

THURSDAY EDITION WHIM SHOPKEEPER FOUND WITH THROAT SLASHED, TWO HELD The Ragnauth family was shocked at the discovery of the body of Winston Ragnauth, aka Tony, 57, of Lot 2 North Whim Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice with his throat slashed. The man’s son made the discovery Wednesday morning. The father of three Andrew, Gavin and Constable Emmanuel Ragnauth - was separated from his wife of 30 years for over 10 years. His reputed wife ,Ms. Zaira Ally, who works at the Region Six Department of Education, described the deceased as a very quiet and peaceful person who never interfered with anyone. She said that he was a shopkeeper for the past 20 years having spent his early life as a Head teacher and a market vendor at Rose Hall Town Market. Mr. Ragnauth, she said, lived at the back of his business place to provide security for his business. Ms. Ally learnt of his death from her son, and a police rank stationed at the Whim Police Station that lives in the compound. According to Ms. Ally, her son said that a policeman went to purchase something from Mr. Ragnauth’s shop which would normally open early in the morning. The shop was open but the police got no answer from Mr. Ragnauth.

The rank then went to ask

Constable Emmanuel if his father had left his shop open because he got no answer from him.

FRIDAY EDITION NOISY OPPOSITION FORCES PARLIAMENTARY ADJOURNMENT Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, was forced to adjourn Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly as the opposition parties maintained that they will not allow Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to “utter any word in the House”. Trotman had earlier announced that the President of Guyana was not constitutionally or legally obliged to adhere to opposition motion of no confidence in Minister Clement Rohee.

“I have received the categorical and unequivocal

opinion that His Excellency the President is not constitutionally or legally obliged to adhere to the motion and similarly, that the member, Mr. Clement J. Rohee, is not restricted from performing the duties of the office of Minister of Home Affairs,” The Speaker said that he had sought legal advice and opinions from lawyers here in Guyana and aboard. He said that this was in keeping with a promise he made at the last sitting that he would have sought legal guidance on the issue. According to Trotman, he consulted Senior Counsel Rex McKay, attorney Steven Fraser and London-based lawyer Ulele Burnham. During a recent visit to the United Kingdom, Trotman and Parliamentarian Odinga Lumumba approached a British Member of Parliament on the issue of the opposition

CHINESE CONTRACTOR ADVANCED $2 BILLION FOR MARRIOTT HOTEL The Chinese contractor involved in the Marriott Hotel was advanced US$10M (G$2B) last year, despite ongoing objections to the project by the opposition parties in Parliament.

According to released audited financial statements of Atlantic Hotel Incorporated (AHI), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) established to own the hotel project, 20% advance payments was made to Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) Trinidad Ltd, the contractor. The amount stated in the report is $2,036,724,516. It is unusual for contractors to be paid more than 10% of the contract cost as an “advance”. This latest disclosure is made despite a total lack of details as to who the investors are.

Neither the Government nor NICIL released any feasibility studies for the project.

This project has been severely criticized for its lack of transparency and the alleged use of taxpayers’ money through the unaudited NICIL books. The project is also criticized by hoteliers who have argued that there is unused capacity in other hotels. The main criticism is the Government’s intended competition with the private sector. Days before the General and Regional Elections last November, the Bharrat Jagdeo administration turned the sod signaling the start of the project at Kingston, west of the current Pegasus Hotel.

SATURDAY EDITION US SHUTS EZJET DOWN

In a move that was sudden, but not unexpected, the US government has suspended the operations of EZjet Air Services, leaving thousands of Guyanese passengers stranded between Trinidad, Canada and the US. The suspension is related to huge sums of monies that EZjet allegedly owes to Swift Air, a US-based company that conducted the charter flights.

Passengers also turned up for flights yesterday at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) but were told the flight to New York was cancelled.

Scores of passengers later descended on the Airline’s Brickdam offices on Friday, demanding their refunds.

WILLIS AXED AS HAAGS BOSCH PROJECT MANAGER Government’s Chief Engineer Walter Willis has been sacked as Project Manager of the Solid Waste Management Programme. The sacking became effective Friday afternoon. The letter, under the hand of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Collin Croal, stated that “this decision would provide an opportunity to return to the Ministry of Works.”Croal said that the government has not severed ties with Willis.

The decision to sack Willis sprang from the clash between Willis and BK International. A few weeks ago, following claims by BK International that it had imported US$3 million worth of machinery, Willis released photographs of disused and unsalvageable machinery believed to be the US$3 million consignment.

Page 48

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

WCQ Hexagonal Schedule Set Miami - CONCACAF announced that the schedule of play for the fourth and final round of the CONCACAF Qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™ was determined Wednesday evening through a random drawing performed in Miami

by FIFA Head of World Cup and Olympic Qualifying, Mr. Gordon Savic.

As a result of the drawing, the first round of matches in the CONCACAF Hexagonal

round, which will begin on Wednesday, February 6th, 2013, will feature Mexico hosting Jamaica, Honduras hosting United States, and Panama hosting Costa Rica.

The six countries that have advanced to the CONCACAF Hexagonal — Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and the United States — represent the top two finishers from group play in the third round of FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers. In

the Hexagonal round, each team will play every other twice— once at home, once away—for a total of 10 matches per team, and 30matchestotal.Thetopthreeteams at the end of the Hexagonal round will automatically advance to the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup™ in Brazil.

The fourth place team will advance to an intercontinental playoff, where it will compete against the first place team from the Oceania Football Confederation in a home-andhome match-up in November

of 2013. “We want to thank FIFA for holding this draw as we are proud for our six Member Associations who will be competing for the honor of representing CONCACAF at the next FIFA World Cup,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “This process is a clear example of the integration among all Federations who are committed to safeguarding football standards and encourage authentic rivalry and competition.

Guided by principles of sharp vision and a strategy of continuous expansion, this region is developing strength to reach all-time highs.

“After a very exciting third round in the CONCACAF qualifiers we are very much looking forward to the last stage to begin and to successfully continue delivering together with the finalists the remainder of this competition,” said FIFA Head of World Cup and Olympic Qualifying Gordon Savic. “The opening matches in February are just around the corner and we shall immediately start coordinating these matches with the respective host Member Associations. We wish all national teams the best of luck under the umbrella of Fair Play and sportsmanship.”

CONCACAF reached notable milestones in 2012 with Mexico winning the 2012 Olympic men’s gold medal, the United States winning the Olympic women’s gold medal and the Canadian women winning the bronze medal.

Additionally, the 1000th goal was recently scored in CONCACAF Champions League matches.

The schedule of play for the CONCACAF Hexagonal round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers is as follows (home team is listed first):

Gordon Savic Friday, June 7 Jamaica v. U.S. Panama v. Mexico Costa Rica v. Honduras Tuesday, June 11 Mexico v. Costa Rica Honduras v. Jamaica U.S. v. Panama Tuesday, June 18** Jamaica v. Mexico U.S. v. Honduras Costa Rica v. Panama Friday, September 6 Mexico v. Honduras Panama v. Jamaica Costa Rica v. U.S. Tuesday, September 10 Jamaica v. Costa Rica Honduras v. Panama U.S. v. Mexico Friday, October 11 Mexico v. Panama Honduras v. Costa Rica U.S. v. Jamaica Tuesday, October 15 Jamaica v. Honduras Panama v. U.S. Costa Rica v. Mexico

GCA\Hadi’s Div. 1 tourney...

Sookdeo, London and Rajmangal slam centuries Centuries by Jitendra Sookdeo, Pernell London and Ryan Rajmangal highlighted the opening day of the Georgetown Cricket Association \ Hadi’s two-day first division competition which commenced yesterday with two matches.

At Bourda, GCC batted first and declared on 252-5 after facing 50 overs. Jitendra Sookdeo led the scoring with 108. He shared in an opening stand of 98 with Robin Bacchus 53 (6x4 2x6) and 60

for the second wicket with Wasim Haslim 34 (5x4).

Sookdeo’s ton came off 204 deliveries and was laced with 10 fours. The visitors in reply were 19 without loss when stumps were drawn.

At Eve Leary, Police batted first and scored 375-5 before declaring. Pernell London stroked an unbeaten 120, while Ryan Rajmangal supported well with 109 and Reginald Rodrigues 85. Their opponents, GYO were 29-2 when time was called. Play continues today.

Kares Engineering on board for Wakenaam T20 The Wakenaam Cricket Committee (WCC) has gained the support of Kares Engineering Service for their T20 competition which is expected to start next Sunday, November 18. The competition will feature the six clubs on the Island; Good Success, Sans Souci, Sans Souci Jaguars, Zeelandia, Maria’s Pleasure and Noitgedacht.

Teams will be divided into Two Zones and will play each

other once in the preliminary stage where the first and second place finishers in each zone will advance to the semi finals. Meanwhile, Secretary of the WCC Nazeer Mohamed said that they are happy for the sponsorship which will help to promote the sport in the area. He thanked the sponsors for their contribution and looks forward to their continued support and partnership.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 49

Lumumba on petition drive to find solution “The GFF and the GFA both need to agree to pull back and once they can pull back we can pull back.”Alpha United’s President Odinga Lumumba said during a Press briefing called to address the current impasse between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA).

According to the Alpha United President, he plans to launch a petition as early as next week calling for the intervention of a third party to bring an end to the standoff between the GFF and the GFA. “I am appealing to both sides the administration of the GFF and the administration of the GFA put sides behind them and take bold steps to bring the unification of football to the helm. If not the game will further erode”.

Lumumba referring to the sport which has a predominately African base that plays said “you have hundreds of young kids who can turn to football to change their lives, moving away from crime and formalize some kind of discipline in the way they view their lives and the world”.

He added the blame should not only be cast at the feet of the GFF and the GFA, but the football fraternity of which he is a part of.

According to him if persons feel the need to retain the old leadership it is their democratic right, but there needs to be some form of reconciliation between the GFA and the GFF. Lumumba reacting to the constant fighting between the two sides said “one can only state that if you were unified

Odinga Lumumba and the direction of football was positive we probably would have done better in the World Cup, but lack of resources, support have caused Guyana’s team to be weak and unproductive”.

He, however, said that persons who are friendly to football could form an organization and petition FIFA for recognition to bring an end to the GFF-GFA impasse, Lumumba pointed out.

Alpha United is still affiliated to the GFF according to Lumumba.

Nothing, Lumumba said has changed. “As you know we pulled out of the GFA because we felt and I still feel that the GFA should have been bold enough to accept a resolution on this matter. But we stand on the side of the GFF; we stand on the side of football not only the GFF, but on football”.

Lumumba said since the two sides have been unable to come to a compromise he will be starting a petition drive next week to try and bring about some form of solution.

Sponsors and clubs are

Rising Sun Rodeo Committee expresses appreciation The Rising Sun Rodeo Committee is expressing its appreciation to all those who came on board and helped their organisation to host the successful one-day Rodeo which was staged last Sunday at the Rising Sun Turf Club, Arima Park, West Coast Berbice. Gratitude is being extended to Banks DIH Limited, Digicel, Ministry of Trade and Tourism, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales and Stable, Neal and Massy, AH and L Kissoon, Trophy Stall, Bourda Market, Muneshwar Guyana Limited, Inshan Bacchus Construction and Trucking Company and Racing stables, Mohammed “Nankoo” Shariff General Construction Limited, Trucking Company, Farmer

and racing stables, and Buddy Shivraj, Hablaw Meat Centre of West Berbice and Georgetown, Chester Fry of Bush Lot West Coast, Rising Sun Cattle ranch and the various media houses especially the Kaieteur News for their wonderful coverage.

Kudos also goes out to the many visitors and overseas Guyanese who were at the venue. The Rising Sun Rodeo Committee is headed

by Inshanally Habibulla, while the other members of the committee are Fazal Habibulla, Johnny and Jules Fredricks, Donald and Zaleena Lawrie, Paul and Grace Atkinson, Dr. Dwight Waldron, Richie Hookumchand and Lalta Deokie.

among the groups that will be petitioned, he stated.

“If these two parties can’t resolve it then the only solution is to form another GFF that will encompass everybody. At some point we have to do that if these two parties can’t rectify the situation then the only solution is a third party involvement. Maybe people who are friendly to football could come together and form an organization and ask FIFA for recognition. We have to

force these two parties to come together”.

Among the names he listed were President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Juman Yassim and Ivor O’Brian who can be approached to play a role in bring about a resolution.

“We are once again faced with this dilemma at the end of December we have the Kashif and Shanghai tournament and the GFA tournament and again there is massive disagreement and

massive division and we have to figure a way to get out of this and I have to blame the administration on both sides for being unable to resolve what I perceive to be a very simple issue which has become complex”.

Clubs associated to GFF and GFA will compete in the competitions that its governing body supports.

Again Lumumba said the GFA should withdraw the court case under the conditions that were agreed

to with the GFF. “But the GFA will keep its administration intact and the GFF will ensure that all associations including the GFA hold their annual elections and after they have done that then there should be national elections so that we can select new leadership for the GFF”.

Lumumba concluded by informing that he will try to organize a meeting with the two sides to initiate a solution.

Page 50

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

=== Letter to the Sports Editor ===

Banks DIH Ltd needs to refocus energy & resources on “business” DEAR MR. EDITOR, I hardly ever write anything in the newspaper, but I am making the exception today because of genuine and growing concerns I have with the business operations of Banks DIH Ltd. My husband is somewhat of a prominent shareholder at the company, and he has been for more than a decade. While he is content with only voicing his discontent to me, I think I too have my own anxieties about

the Company’s recent maneuverings, consequently leading me to write this letter.

I have witnessed first and Banks DIH Ltd’s move from one of the leading businesses conglomerates in Guyana, to one struggling to keep up with changing economic times and quickly fluctuating business needs, thus leading to the closure, near closure and struggles of a number of its business’s in Guyana.

Years ago you just had to

know about Demico/Idiho/ QuikServ, the Arawak Steak House, Camp Site and a number of their other businesses that were ‘staples’ of everyday life in Guyana, all under the umbrella of Banks DIH Ltd. Service was great and above all they produced high class and tasty meals with standards to match. Jump forward a few years and one wonders if this could be the same Company.

Demico in Linden has

closed down, it had been said that it was because of poor sales. When one looks at Church’s Chicken and Mario’s that are now booming in Linden with lines that sometimes end up outside of the building, one wonders what could have prompted such “lack of sales”.

Kitty’s Demico outlet closed down, other smaller and larger businesses doing and producing most of the same things that outlet

produced are still thriving.

Camp Site has closed its doors.

The Arawak Steak House has closed up shop as well.

Arapaima seems to be following that line with hardly any customers dining coupled with standards that are deplorable.

OMG which was originally touted as ‘the place’ to dine – now far from it.

Demico/Idiho/QuikServ in the heart of Georgetown seems to be heading there too.

Pastries always appear and taste stale. Service has gone down the drain. The place is smelly and has metamorphosed into a proverbial liming and wasting time spot.

Most times when you enter the facility at least 90% of those utilizing it have not bought anything. The maids and security guards occupy well needed seats and are usually loud and ruckus.

How this could escape the attention of the management of Banks DIH Ltd is beyond puzzling and makes me wonder if they are desirous of closing down all of these places. Most of their properties/places of business are on prime real estate, easily accessible by consumers so there is hardly any excuse.

What is clear is that a series of bad business practices and elementary break downs in management, more than likely contributed to the decline and in some cases demise of these brands identified earlier. Where is the management?

One would assume that better promotion combined with well thought out business strategies would be utilized with greater financial resources being injected into these failing businesses, but that seems far from the mind of management of Banks DIH Ltd. It’s almost as though they are preoccupied with things more important than “business”… which would be worrying. These places like Demico/Idiho/Camp Site etc. are part of the fabric of Guyanese society and help us to have something that is uniquely Guyanese – ‘Our own’.

Monies are being invested in all sorts of other areas but nothing is being invested in the very thing that now allows them to make these investments – the business.

Last year a large amount of money was spent on football and at first I thought this was a great way to re-energize the young people into Banks DIH Ltd’s services and products and thought that the attention from the football tournaments etc. would then be channeled somewhere else in the business arena; never happened.

Millions of dollars spent, not

to “sponsor” a tournament, but to become actively involved in running it. So we allow our businesses to collapse all around us, at the sake of running tournaments.

Corporate responsibility is fulfilled with the act of writing a cheque and working towards its good usage. But to do an entire tournament seems for the most part a ‘tournament for itself’, with no conceivable gains.

My husband (a football lover) and I tried to attend the event, but with an extremely bad venue, no place to park, and haphazard management of the gate, you simply could not stay for too long. There was no place to sit or stand; it was obvious that the organizers (Banks DIH Ltd ) had not managed the tournament/crowd/gate effectively enough, so you had more than double the amount of people than the ground could accommodate.

A recipe for disaster - Poor management exemplified.

Again poor management embarrasses Banks DIH Ltd and all its shareholders who are responsible for electing a number of these very people.

Recently, I found out that Banks DIH Ltd will be hosting the Tournament again and are investing even more millions.

To what end? Wouldn’t this money be better utilized in bringing back the businesses to some semblance of respectability and profitability?

Even if we ignore the well known fact that this football tournament and football in Guyana at the national level generally, has its own inherent issues with feuding divisions and battling national organizers, added to the fact (if I am to believe the writings in the newspaper) that business went bad between the Kashif and Shanghai Organization and Banks DIH Ltd thus prompting them to launch their own tournament.

There is no other justifiable reason for such a large investment in football without an equal or greater investment in the subsidiaries/ arms of the company other than this is a ‘feeding of the ego’; One that comes at a great cost to Banks DIH Ltd and its subsidiaries and naturally, the shareholders as well.

By no means am I saying not to support football in Guyana, whichever organization, team or tournament they so desire, but it is time that Banks DIH Ltd return to its secondary and rightful role as “sponsor” not organizer and implementer and refocus on its “primary” role of “business” for the sake of all stakeholders.

Dr. Indira Gopaul

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 51

GFF Super League - K&S football organization supports four matches on today community football match - leaders Buxton United going for 3rd win Rivalry in the Guyana Football Federation 2012/13 Super League is set to continue today at three venues with four matches.

Leaders Buxton United will be aiming to consolidate their position at the top of the standings when they entertain bottom of the table Rosignol United of Berbice from15:30hrs at the Buxton Community Centre Ground.

While the confident Buxton will be urged on by their supporters they must be aware that the Rosignol unit would be no pushovers and they will have to bring their A game if they are to come out with full or even a share of the points. Fans can expect and entertaining brand of football between these two sides.

On the West Coast of Demerara, the West side fans are bracing for yet another high octane dual when home team and Giant Killers Uitvlugt Team Buxton United Western Tigers BV/ Triumph Uitvlugt Milerock Amelia’s Ward Pele Alpha United Den Amstel Rosignol United

Played 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Won 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Warriors, fresh off their big win over Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United, hosts the pride of Linden, Milerock also from 15:30 in the lone encounter.

In command of the warriors again will be veteran defender and former National Orville Bobb and with his young energetic brigade will be seeking to further advance their position in their debut year at this level.

Milerock, also boasting a number of young players will be calling on their experience to see them through with National Coach Brian ‘Joe Boy’ Joseph seeking to orchestrate their demise in the West Demerara / Linden clash.

Both teams have a win under their belts and a further 3 points certainly won’t do either any harm.

The lone double header of the day will be at the GFC Ground in the City kicking off at 18:00hrs when the unbeaten BK International Western Tigers Draw 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 1

Loss 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1

GF 3 3 5 2 4 5 0 1 3 4

lock horns with Linden’s Amelia’s Ward United.

The Tigers will be a confident unit having come from two goals down to draw with Den Amstel last Sunday in a game that proved they are a team that will never say die even though depleted.

Amelia’s Ward too, is a confident side and is seeking this year to go all the way having placed third behind Western in last year’s edition of the league.

The main clash this evening features Den Amstel Porknockers coming up against Pele FC in another game that is anticipated to bring out the best in both sides. So far this year, the trend of football suggests that all the teams have done their home work on each other which spells excitement for the fans and a high level of competition overall.

Points Standings after two rounds of matches GA 1 2 4 2 4 5 1 2 4 5

GD +2 +1 +1 0 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1

Points 6 4 4 3 3 2 1 1 1 1

Keen football action as Inter-Ward 7a-side moves to West Coast Demerara

Shemroy Arthur

Solomon Austin

Ashley Harding

Residents of Uitvlugt and other communities along the West Coast Demerara corridor are gearing up for several thrilling games when an an Inter-Ward 7 a-side knockout football tournament under floodlights in commemoration of the 78th birth anniversary of Mayor Hamilton Green comes off.

Activities commence this evening and will continue tomorrow and Monday evening.

All matches commence at 18:00hrs and will last for approximately 30 minutes.

The fixtures for the opening day are:

Werk-en-Rust vs Mocha Champs, Tucville vs Parika, West Ruimveldt Estate vs Lima Dam, Charlestown vs North Ruimveldt, Bourda vs.Grove EBD, Kuru Kuru vs East Ruimveldt, Wales vs Eveleary, Bagotsville vs Thomaslands, Good Fortuin vs Mocha, Sara Lodge vs Tiger Bay, Plastic City vs North East La Penitence, Crane vs Kingston, Pouderoyen vs Kitty, Stewartville vs Alberttown, Uitvulgt vs Sophia and Den Amstel vs Newtown Kitty.

The winning team will receive $200,000 and a trophy

while the runners-up receive $100,000 and a trophy.

Further, Ricks and Sari has donated hamper to distribute to every member of the winning team. Rtd Colonel of the GDF, Laurie London has also donated a set of footballs to organizer of the tournament, Lennox Arthur, towards the successful staging of the tournament which will be played under a strict set of rules which could be uplifted from the organizer, Lennox Arthur.

Music would be provided

by Black Kat and Slingertz while admission is $500.

The boomerang is an amazing device that when launched, irrespective of the distance it travels, returns to its place of origin. The organizers of the Kashif and Shanghai organization has, over the years, benefitted immensely from the largesse of the corporate community, procuring sponsorship dollars and prizes towards the success of their tournament.

Yesterday morning, they subscribed to the boomerang effect theory when they acquiesced to a request by Sheik Kamal, a member of Pele Football Club, to support a tournament in the Sophia area.

Indeed the roles were reversed when Mr. Kamal arrived at the Irving Street office of K&S yesterday morning where he collected the balls and a trophy for the winning team from Public Relation Officer, Jamie Lee Charles.

Mr. Kamal relayed his heartfelt gratitude even as he pledged support for the impending K&S football tournament. He said that his

Mr. Kamal accepts the ball and trophy from Ms. Jamie Lee Charles yesterday morning. venture is community oriented and would serve to unite

residents of community.

the

host

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Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

“Barack Obama, James Bond and our Boys in Bangladesh - World champions at the top of their game!”

Colin E. H. Croft “Obama – Barack Hussein Obama II!” To be exact! The one truly unique star in our political firmament!

If you are a 007 cultist, like I am, and have seen all previous Bond movies since 1962’s Dr. No, the first ever, starring the still incomparable Sean Connery, you would know that the first words ever spoken, on screen, by the suave super spy, as he gambled in London, was “Bond - James Bond!”

Barack and Bond have so much in common, they might well be the same person; or maybe twins!

How Barack survived, fully intact, that barrage of outright moneyed propaganda, total sabotage and in-your-face KKK-like racism in last week’s USA Presidential race is quite remarkable!

The Republicans alone spent more than US$3.5 Billion, last six years, coaching Mitt Romney, to lose so badly! They are fully shellshocked!

Even Ian Fleming must be turning in his grave. This was much more than just real fantasy in a real life!

It was a massive mandate, rout, landslide, even, for the tall black man from Hawaii.

Aided and abetted by his own mercurial “M” – Michelle – Barack destroyed a complete conspiracy!

What absolute joy, what magnificent majesty; to see Barack “Bond” Obama, “M”, and their young lovelies, Bond-like, Malia and Sasha, strut over that stage in Chicago early last Wednesday morning, after the overwhelming poll victory. BTW, FYI, they are still counting in Florida, but my vote was not wasted anyway!

Now, look out for that 3rd generation Kenyan export!

He will expose all of the claws of his ancestors! Already, he is telling Republicans in Washington that if he does not like anything they suggest, anything at all, he will veto!

As Daniel Craig – present James Bond - said in the new

Darren Sammy with the World Twenty20 trophy (ICC Getty) Bond movie, ‘Skyfall’, and probably to be soon used by Obama too; “Men are coming to kill us. We have to kill them first!” Problems solved!

Now that he has full political capital, given such blanket backing by USA’s electorate for his final four years, expect POTUS No. 44 to be as absolutely deadly as the black mamba snake, and as fast, athletic and cunning as that massive black cat, the panther!

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, in recent memory, in their final four years, were really great too. Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy, Bill Clinton and James Bond! What a team that would be!

Sammy – Darren Julius Garvey Sammy – does not have that same ring as Barack

or Bond, but Darren, and West Indies, must come out fighting; warring!

Bangladesh must be made to feel like Mitt Romney! This is the perfect time for West Indies to strike home fully, when timing and fortune favor them well!

Showing the class, claws, clout and cleverness which made West Indies ICC T-20 2012 Champions is what Sammy and his men must again do in Bangladesh starting the week. Kill Bangladesh; now! “To those given much….much is expected!” As I always maintain, representing the Caribbean is no joke! Darren Sammy realizes that. Let us hope that his present team does too!

It has been some time since West Indies have travelled anywhere overseas as present world champions.

Yes, it was ‘only” T-20 world championship, but, these days, that is where it starts. It is the first rung on that long, heady climb upwards.

As the old Guyanese would say: “Yuh gah foh kraal befoe’ yuh waak!”

Obama has survived, well, and so has Bond. Having already seen the new “Skyfall”, with more technological advances than almost all Bonds put together, a fully “dark” representation

by Craig; seventh Bond; one expects that West Indies in Bangladesh would be banging triumphantly too!

Bangladesh knows that they have nothing to lose.

West Indies are the stars.

They are touring on a high, after winning WT-20 2012.

West Indies must now show that they are real champions, not just pretenders. In all three game formats, not just T-20, West Indies must play, and win, like champions!

That is really the real test, in especially Tests, and ODI’s

Colin E. H. Croft too, for West Indies. This is where cricket really counts; Tests. West Indies, like Barack in 2012 USA general election campaign, must show improvement, maturity, organization, confidence and complete poise, knowing that they are fully ready!

The Banglas would like nothing more than to cut West Indies down a leg or two, or several. That is why West Indies must never allow themselves, like Romney, to have stupid, blinded, false complacency!

Some Bond films were built on revenge. The classic “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, when Bond’s – George Lazenby; only appearance – wife was killed, he wanted so much revenge, or “Casino Royale”, starring Craig, where he wanted revenge too, for losing the voluptuous Vesper Lynd, were such films!

West Indies must have similar sentiments, still remembering that embarrassment meted out by Bangladesh when they met in a two-Test series, in West Indies 2009; the hosts losing 2-0.

Barack and Bond are certainly irreplaceable champions, so is West Indies, in T-20 only. The tourists must now improve and show upward mobility in ODI’s and Tests, starting with Bangladesh. Enjoy!

Incessant rain forces washout A nation keen to spend Saturday on the couch had to find other things to do as day two of the first Test between Australia and South Africa was washed out in Brisbane.

Play was formally called off at 4pm local time after a final inspection by the umpires Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf took place with drizzle still falling at the Gabba.

Having lost the services of JP Duminy due to a freak Achilles injury during a warm-down exercise on the first evening, South Africa have now lost a day on which they had hoped to press home the advantage won by reaching 2 for 255 on the opening day.

It is the first time a full day’s play has been

lost to rain in a Brisbane Test since the final day of the 1983 Test between Australia and Pakistan was washed out.

The last day’s play in a Test match to be completely washed out in Australia was Boxing Day in 1998, when Australia and England met at the MCG. The rain arrived on Friday evening and barely abated throughout Saturday, leaving the Australian players to sign autographs for those fans who still ventured to the ground.

South Africa’s squad returned to their hotel soon after an early lunch was taken, and were ultimately to remain there.

(ESPN Cricinfo)

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 53

Marlon DeSouza former national defender 1978 to 1985 The series on footballers who represented Guyana in World Cup qualifying action

by Statistician Charwayne Walker continues with Marlon DeSouza.

DeSouza will always remember the year 1978, not because of the Jim Jones massacre which sent shock waves throughout the length and breadth of Guyana, but because in 1978 the fearless defender played his first match in National Colours for the National under-23 team against the touring Chinese provisional team from Kwangtung at GFC. As DeSouza recalled, his debut match was a nightmare, Kwangtung Province won 5 Nil. He played with more confidence in his second international against the touring Russian Textile Trade Union team that humbled Earl O’Neal’s men 5-Nil at GFC. Guyana played no internationals in 1979, the skillful defender third senior international was a World Cup Qualifier Guyana won 5-2 against Grenada at GCC Bourda in March 1980.

He, Earl O’Neal, the late ‘Breezer’ Nedd, Gordon Brathwaite, ‘Dentist’ Williams and Aubrey Hudson shutdown the Grenadians in the return World Cup fixture which Guyana won 3-2 in St. George’s.

DeSouza’s fifth international was a one Nil World Cup loss to old rivals Suriname at GCC Bourda, September 1980. He was dropped for the return World Cup fixture that Guyana lost 4 Nil to Suriname in Paramaribo. After the beating in Suriname the selectors recalled the Star defender for two friendly internationals against Trinidad.

DeSouza played an integral role in both the opener that they drew one All, he setup the pass that Keith Smartt finished.

He was also outstanding in the final match of the series that Guyana lost 2-one in Port of Spain. DeSouza traveled to Havana where Guyana lost a World Cup Qualifier one Nil to Cuba.

In that encounter the Cuban crowd nickname DeSouza Chevy because he

was moving like the motor vehicle idolised by the host nation at that time. His tenth international was the return World Cup fixture Castro’s men won three nil at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground.

Although he was superb in Demico League action for the Guyana Defence Force in 1981-1982, he had to settle for Sub Association duties because the then GFA failed to enter the National team in any International tournaments for two years.

Guyana returned to International Action in April 1983 and DeSouza’s first mission was Bridgetown the Barbados Capitol where he tormented the host strikers, Guyana drew that CFU eliminator one All. He showed no mercy in the returned fixture at GCC where Guyana sent the Bajans packing with a commanding two Nil Victory.

His 13th international was a Nil All draw against Antigua and Barbuda at GCC Bourda.

A fall out with National Coach Pug Wilson caused him and Dentist Williams to miss Guyana’s crucial CFU return fixture against Antigua in St. John’s.

Their absence was severely felt; Guyana suffered a humiliating 4-Nil thrashing with Everton Gonsalves scoring all four of Antigua’s goals.

That results also ended Guyana 1983 CFU campaign after the Antigua debacle, DeSouza was recalled to the National team for two friendly internationals against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain that was is 14th and 15th Caps.

The following year 1984, Lennox Arthur was the man calling plays for the national team and DeSouza’s first match under the guidance of Arthur ended in a two Nil Trinidad victory at GCC Bourda. The star defender was tactical in the return game in Port of Spain, but the Soca Warriors were still victorious by three goals to one.

He, ‘Ultimate Warrior’ Brathwaite, ‘Dentist’ Williams and Aubrey Hudson rough up the boys from Delhi when Guyana humbled India 3 Nil

Melanie beat Paradise to win 10 overs Tapeball match Melanie defeated Paradise by 10 runs to win an exciting 10 overs tape ball cricket match on Sunday last at the Paradise Community Centre Ground, East Coast Demerara.

Taking first strike, Melanie was led to 63-6 on the back of a composed 23 off the bat of Akeem. For Paradise, T. Stewart captured 2 wickets for 11 runs. In reply, Paradise was restricted to 53 with the top score of 13 coming from W. Ramsey.

at GCC and according to DeSouza, that result is one of the best of his International career. Although he was the Guyana MVP in his 19th International, a World Cup Qualifier, the award had little meaning because Suriname won one Nil in Paramaribo.

He was ruthless at the back in the return fixture that ended one all at GCC Bourda.

His 21st and 22nd Internationals were two oneall draws against Suriname at

GCC Bourda November 1984.

His 23rd and 24th Internationals were the best games of DeSouza’s career because in those encounters Guyana defeated Regional Power House Cuba for the first time in an international series. He shutdown the Cuban strikers and Castro’s men were given no room to maneuver.

After the conquering of Cuba, Lennox Arthur’s men next mission was French Guiana and again

DeSouza operated like a mercenary in defence, Guyana won one Nil and eliminated the host from the 1985 CFU Championship.

His last outing in National Colours ended disappointedly, playing in front of his workmates at Camp Ayanganna DeSouza and company failed to control play at the back and Suriname needled Guyana out of 1985 CFU tournament.

De Souza played 26

Internationals in a career from 1978 to 1985.

International Tours Grenada World Cup Qualifier Trinidad two Friendly Cuba World Cup Qualifier Barbados C.F.U Championship Trinidad two Friendlies Trinidad Friendly Suriname World Cup Qualifier 1985 French Guiana C.F.U Championship

Page 54

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

DaSilva, Stephens, Singh, Persaud top GNRA IPSC Handgun Shoot The Guyana National Rifle Association staged a 3 stage practical pistol shooting competition last Sunday and the event was sponsored by North American Resources In. Ltd, for its second year running.

Considered by all the competitors as very exciting and challenging when compared with previous practical pistol events staged by the Association, Dr. Johan DaSilva, dominated the event’s A Class shooters, while Captain Rawle Stephens came first in the B Class, James Singh won the C Class and Ms. Vidushi Persaud taking the top spot in the D Class.

DaSilva proved his “Eye of the Tiger” accuracy, by shooting his way to first place in all three stages. In a remarkable display of speed and accuracy DaSilva took charge of the event from Stage 1; winning the all steel stage in front of David Dharry and Ian Rogers third.

Stage 2 saw the shooters starting seated behind a desk,

Rawle Stephens

Quincy Thom

Sadiq Rahat, Ray Beharry, Vidushi Persaud, Murtland Smith standing with Johan DaSilva and David Dharry kneeling with a computer in front of them and their fingers on a keyboard to get up into a shooting position and hit the target. DaSilva again came out on top in front of Handgun Captain Ryan McKinnon second and David Dharry third.

In Stage 3, another all steel challenge, DaSilva again fired his way to first place ahead of Lawrence Lain second and David Dharry who came in third.

Ryan McKinnon, in

opening remarks stated that the event was the first ever event for the GNRA to be run under the newly adopted, I.P.S.C. Guyana Rules and Regulations, which will serve to govern future practical pistol matches in keeping with Regional and International standards.

In closing he thanked Ray Beharry and the management of NARIL who kindly donated the steel falling plates.

Mr. Ray Beharry on behalf of NARIL expressed the company’s willingness to continue to make the event an annual one, especially seeing that everyone enjoyed this year’s event and deemed the competition a success.

Several beautiful trophies were handed out by NARIL

DCC to hold Day of Sports on Tuesday The Demerara Cricket Club will host a Day of Sports on Tuesday, a national holiday. Among the events slated for the day are Tug-ofWar, male and female 100 and 200 meters sprints, bowl to the stumps, fielding drills, lime & spoon race, domino, five-a-side football and a T20 cricket match.

The T20 game which is expected to commence at 13:00hrs will see the home team DCC taking on a Georgetown XI. Christopher Barnwell, Jamal Hinckson, Travis Dowlin, Omesh Danram, Andrew Lyght jnr, Dennis Squires, Paul Wintz , Gajanand Singh and Orlando Sturge will be on show for DCC while Leon Johnson, Robin

Bacchus, Shemroy Barrington, Orlando Baker, Tyrell Tull and Orin Forde will feature in the Georgetown line up.

The five-a-side football competition will start at 18:00hrs and teams are asked to be at the venue on time.

The winner of the cricket and football competition will take home $50,000 while the champion athletes will be rewarded with trophies and medals.

Among the sponsors for the event are Nigel’s Supermarket, Ansa Mcal under their Carib Beer brand, Giftland Officemax, Elegant Jewellery, Trophy Stall Bourda Market and Woodpecker Trophy Store. Funds raised from this event will go towards the development of the club.

Terrence Stuart

Ryan Beharry staff to the outstanding performers.

Overall scores and positions gained for these prizes are as follows: A Class - 1st Place Johan DaSilva 200.00 points, 2nd Place David Dharry 157.32 points, 3rd Place Lawrence Lain 152.97 points.

B Class - 1st Place Rawle Stephens 90.73 points, 2nd Place Quincy Thom 76.31 points, 3rd Place Terrence Stuart 73.10 points.

C Class – 1st Place James Singh 106.51 points, 2nd Place Ray Beharry 104.34 points, 3rd Place Sadiq Rahat 83.72 points.

D Class - 1st Place Ms. Vidushi Persaud 70.27 points, 2nd Place Murtland Smith 51.77 points & 3rd Place Ryan Beharry 45.30 points.

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

SEMI-FINAL LINE UP DECIDED North Georgetown, Tucville, West Ruimveldt and Marian Academy are the four teams advancing to the semifinal stage come next week following victories in quarter-final action of this year’s Courts Pee Wee Football Competition which is being organsied by Petra Organisation and played, at the Thirst Park ground.

They gained victories over St. Gabriel’s, Redeemer, Ketley and St. Margret’s respectively which means that the four losers will compete for fifth to eighth positions.

Also recording victories yesterday in the other half of the competition were Sophia, F.E. Pollard, St. Pius and the Enterprise teams. They will now battle for the ninth to twelfth positions.

The teams that they defeated were South Ruimveldt, St. Sidwells and Success and they along with Green Acres who failed to show will now clash for 13th to 16th positions.

The tournament’s top scorer Simeon Hackett of

Tucville led his team to one of the most intriguing victories contested yesterday. His side defeated Redeemer 2 – 1 on penalty kicks after being deadlocked 1 – 1 at full time and extra time.

Hackett equalized in the 18th minute after Tucville trailed from the eighth minute when Redeemer’s Shemar Murray scored. In the penalty shootout Hackett defended the uprights and made two good saves, while, along with his teammate Deandre Linton scored.

The Marian Academy / St. Margaret’s clash ended 1 – 0 in favour of the former with Diarra Thomas scoring in the ninth minute.

West Ruimveldt had two goals which were scored by Anton Porter (19th) and Victor Brown (21st) while Ketley could only manage one goal which was scored by Jahim Massiah in the 17th minute.

The other quarterfinal game was dominated by North Georgetown who scored five goals against the St. Gabriel’s team that had none. Tyrese

Page 55

Courts Pee Wee Football Competition...

The goal that won it for Tucville against Redeemer Primary School yesterday.

Prescott led with a double (18th, 29th), while his teammate Laman Lord, Tyriq Saunders and Joshua Denny scored a goal each.

In other results, St. Pius thrashed Success 5 – 0 as

Marcus Wilson led the way with a hat-trick.

He scored in the 1st, 16th and 25th minutes, while he received support from Beveney McGarrel and Shemar Horshan who both

scored in the second half.

Also scoring a hat-trick was Lande Thompson (5th, 10th, and 17th) of F.E. Pollard, who, along with Meshack Softleigh accounted for t h e i r t e a m ’s f o u r g o a l s

against St. Sidwell’s.

A helmet trick from James Freeman (4th, 10th, 21st, and 34th) was more than enough to hold off the fighting South Ruimveldt who had both their goals scored by Owen Arthur.

Page 56

Kaieteur News

Sunday November 11, 2012

2012 Tenelec Inc First Division 50-Over Cricket Competition...

Thakurdeenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 5 for 30 and 59 propel Port Mourant Karibee Rice into the playoff - Rose Hall Town Gizmos & gadgets reaches Semis A good allround performance from Devendra Thakurdeen spearheaded Port Mourant Karibee Rice to victory over Bush Lot United Rising Star to have them ending their Group B preliminary matches top of the Group with six points in the 2012 Tenelec Inc First Division 50-Over Cricket Competition in Berbice. Only Blairmont Community Centre can attain six points in that group but with Port Mourant coming out on top in their head-to-head clash, the latter team, therefore, is the winner of the Group and has thus earned the right to play the fourth placed team from Group A in the play-off for a place in the semi-finals.

Thakurdeen firstly took 5 for 30 from 5 overs with his off-spin to help restrict Bush Lot to 181 for 8 with Brentnol Woolford scoring 54 (5 fours), his third half century from four innings in the competition. When Port

Mourant replied, they slipped to 49 for 3 but Thakurdeen rescued the situation by firstly putting on 84 for the 4th wicket with former West Indies Under-19 cricketer Zamal Khan (26) and a valuable 23 for the 6th wicket with another former West Indies youth cricketer Andre Percival (26 N.O) to see Port Mourant home. Thakurdeen made 59 (10 fours) his second consecutive half century.

Meanwhile, Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets registered their fourth consecutive victory when they beat Edinburgh by 5 wickets now having eight points, assuring themselves of being in the top three of that zone with only West Berbice or Young Warriors capable of equaling them.

They have therefore earned a place in the semi-finals of the competition.

Left arm spinner Sean Jhettoo took 4 for 19 from 8 Overs, his second four-wicket

haul in the competition, which together with 3 for 41 from 8 overs from offspinner Andel Doris, helped Police bowl out Skeldon Community Centre for 122. When Police replied, Skeldonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former Guyana Under-15 offspinner Parmanand Narine took 5 for 32 from 7.5 overs, but Police still managed to win by 3 wickets.

In scores from the matches played: At Bush Lot in West Berbice - Port Mourant Karibee Rice beat Bush Lot United Rising Star by 4 wickets. In the match reduced to 44 overs-a-side due to the late arrival of the Port Mourant team as a result of the closing of the Berbice Bridge, Bush Lot United Rising Star choosing to bat first made 181 in 44 overs; Brentnol Woolford 54, Totaram Sooknanan 29, Keyron Fraser 27, Devendra Thakurdeen 5 for 30.

Port Mourant, Karibee Rice 182 for 6 in 32.5 overs; Devendra Thakurdeen 59,

Parmanand Narine

Brentnol Woolford

Devindranauth Thakoordeen

Zamal Khan 26, Andre Percival 26*, Keyron Fraser 2 for 30 from 6 overs.

At Edinburgh, Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets got past Edinburgh by 5 wickets.

Edinburgh choosing to bat first 132 in 38 overs; Rudrunauth Seepersaud 26, Shafeek Khan 25, Loyydel Lewis 3 for 11 from 3 overs, Eon Hooper 2 for 19 from 8 overs.

Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets 135 for 5 in 19 overs; Dominique Rikhi 42, Delbert Hicks 35*, Rajiv Ivan 25, Raid Ally 3 for 33 from 6 overs.

1. At Skeldon, Police squeezed past Skeldon Community Centre by 3 wickets. Skeldon Community Centre asked to take first strike 122 in 30.1 overs; Gary Phillips 33, Clarence Beresford 27, Victor Pedro 25, Sean Jhettoo 4 for 19, Andel

Doris 3 for 41, Martin Singh 2 for 26 from 7 overs.

Police 124 for 7 in 21.5 overs; Philbert Willburg 24*, Leon Andrews 22, Albert Sinclair 21, Parmanand Narine 5 for 32.

Meanwhile, the competition continues today with three Group A matches: Young Warriors vs Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets at

Cumberland Edinburgh vs Albion Community Centre at Edinburgh Bermine vs West Berbice at Albion Tomorrow one Group B match is scheduled: Blairmont Community Centre vs Police at Blairmont.

The matches are scheduled to start at 09:30 hours.

Points Standings Group A Rose Hall Town Gizmos & Gadgets West Berbice Young Warriors Albion Community Centre Bermine Edinburgh Group B Port Mourant Karibee Rice Blairmont Community Centre Skeldon Community Centre Police Bush Lot United Rising Star

8 points from 4 matches 4 points from 3 matches 4 points from 3 matches 2 points from 3 matches 2 points from 3 matches 0 point from 4 matches 6 points from 4 matches 4 points from 3 matches 4 points from 4 matches 2 Points from 3 matches 2 points from 4 matches

Sunday November 11, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 57

Gayle upbeat ahead of Test MLC host first inter-house series against Bangladesh athletic c/ships DHAKA, Bangladesh – Chris Gayle said he was looking forward to the West Indies’ two-Test series against Bangladesh. The talismanic opener said he was glad to play a key role in West Indies winning the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament, but it was time to focus on the new challenge, and continue to help the visitors move up the World Rankings.

“It felt good to be part of a World champion team and to achieve that particular milestone,” Gayle told reporters on Saturday. “It is something that I can look back in the future and say I was a part of it.

Hopefully, we can build on that success and do better in the longer format of the game.

“This has been our major challenge in the last few years.

Hopefully, we can get things kickstarted and make sure we do better in this Test series and the longer format of the game.”

Gayle said it will be important for West Indies to start well and felt the players were ready to move forward.

“The players are just trying to fine-tune things now,” he said. “We’ve had a camp and I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well, so we just want to get back into the middle and get back into the groove as quickly as possible.

“It won’t be easy. Playing away from home is always a challenge. .It’s always difficult to play Bangladesh in Bangladesh. Even though we won the series last time we came here, they are going to be very competitive.

“We are not going to take

Students and athletes of the Morgan Learning Centre take the march-pass at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.

Chris Gayle them lightly. They have got a lot of key players and they have a captain who leads from the front, so we are going to play like they were any other opponent.”

Gayle said he felt it was possible for the team to climb into the top-five in the World Rankings in the next year, as suggested by head coach Ottis Gibson.

“There is nothing wrong with setting targets and if we want to challenge ourselves and see how much progress we have made in a year’s time,” he said.

“The top-five is something we should look to target and I am looking to be a part of that too. Once we all pull together that goal is very, very possible.”

West Indies continued their preparations for the series on Saturday with a full practice

session that included match simulations under the guidance of Gibson.

The visitors were due to start a two-day, tour match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI on Friday, but the BCB announced on Thursday that the contest was shelved due to unplayable conditions at the BKSP Ground in Savar, a town 25 miles north of the Bangladesh capital. This followed an inspection of the venue by BCB and West Indies management officials early on Thursday, after steady rain over the last week in the country. The match was originally scheduled to be played over three days from Thursday.

This is West Indies’ third full tour of Bangladesh, following trips in 2002 and last year.

GCA\Noble House Sea Foods 2nd div.

Mc Pherson, Blyden, Gittens hit 50s; Jones, Reece star with the ball Transport Sports Club, GNIC and DCC recorded first innings points, while GDF and MYO were locked in a keen tussle when play in the Georgetown Cricket Association\ Noble House Sea Foods two-day second division competition continued yesterday.

At GYO, Transport batted first were bowled out for 200 in 36 overs. Charwayne Mc Pherson led with 68 and got support from Sunil Singh and Sean Massiah with 23 each.

Ryan Jones snared 8-34.

Ace Warriors in reply were bowled out for 96 in 17.5 overs; Cleon Healy and Ronald Hercules were their leading run scorers with 38 and 28 respectively. Joshua Wade and Clyde Hoyte

captured 4 wickets each.

Transport with a lead of 137 closed their second innings on 33-4 in 8 overs.

At GNIC, the host restricted Everest to 199-6 in 39 overs after they took first strike. Deon Thomas top scored with 42, Royston Simon picked up 3-36 while Premchand Sookdeo took 3-9 and Deslyn Butts 2-16. At stumps GNIC were struggling at 119 -6 in 39 overs. Jermin Grovensor made 44 while Sookdeo and Clyde Butts scored 21 apiece. Saheed Mohamed and Deon Thomas claimed 3 wickets each.

At DCC, in a match affected by rain, Malteenoes were routed for a paltry 29 in 14 overs batting first. Cavell Reece bagged 5-7 and Dexter

George 2-13 as five of the visitors batsmen were dismissed without scoring. In their turn at the crease, the host finished day one on 413 to lead by 12 runs.

At MYO, GDF batted first and declared on 226-7 in 45 overs. Travis Blyden was their leading run getter with 73, Paul Castello contributed 36, Rodrick Lovell 34 and Isiah Brijaddar 22. Mohamed Wazidally and Shafiek Ishmile had 2-23 and 2-76 respectively. MYO in response were 130-5 in 19 overs when play was halted.

Saheed Gittens scored 53 and Abdullah Wazidally 34. Denis Legay has so far taken 3-33.

The competition continues today.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

Morgan’s Learning Centre (MLC) hosted its first InterHouse Track and Field Championships at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary earlier this week with Toucan House taking inaugural honours after amassing 276 points.

Other competing houses included Falcon, Raven and Macaw. According to a press release from the school, there were spirited performances from Latoya Favourite and Lloyd Pollard, who won both

the 100m and 200m in the Under-18 category.

Bobby Reid gave a splendid performance after coming from behind to win both 100m and 200m races in the Under-20 category. The track championships was a part of the Take Back Your Child initiative, aimed at helping parents to take back their children from the negative influences of the society.

Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Chief of Staff,

Commodore, Gary Best declared the championship open and told the students that sports is important to their development, since it helps them to be wellrounded individuals.

Best also commended the initiative that MLC and Sir Morgan has taken, stating that it should be hailed as a positive one. Best reportedly also reminded the students that the spirit of competition is good, but they should have fun while participating.

t r o Sp

Caribbean ‘Race of Champions’ Meet...

I

n an unexpected twist that relegated all the top contenders to minor positions, Jamaican Peter Rae driving a Mazda RX-7 Tube Frame 12A Turbo Charged grabbed pole for today’s finale of the Caribbean ‘Race of Champions’ Meet when the time trials to decide who takes the top spot on the grid ended yesterday, at the South Dakota Circuit.

Rae, a member of the formidable Jamaican team that also includes current race leader David Summerbell Jnr. and Andre Anderson blazed around the track to edge into second place Barbadian veteran Doug Maloney in his Audi A4 Turbo Charged, while Andrew King’s - Mazda RX-7 Tube Frame 13B had the third quickest time to set up an anticipated mouth watering showdown for individual supremacy.

In the race for the country title, Jamaica leads the points standing with 113 points followed by Barbados on 64, Cayman Islands lies third on 26 and Guyana in the cellar on 21.

In the battle for individual supremacy, Summerbell, after copping a second and two third place finishes in Barbados, maintains his lead in the drivers’ Championship after six races, with 50 points and he will be supported

by Peter Rae and Andre Anderson.

All the other categories will also be keenly contested and fans are being urged to come FLASHBACK: Jamacian Peter Rae seen down to the South Dakota Circuit and enjoy a in his Mazda RX 7 in a previous meeting day of thrilling races which number 26 in total.

Admission is $2000 for adults and $1000 for children.

Jamaican Rae on pole for CMRC segment today

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