Monday November 14, 2016
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Kaieteur News
America’s post election search; Mrs. Melania Trump deserves to be respected what about the church? DEAR EDITOR; Throughout Mr. Trump’s campaign he has been bombarded with allegations of sexism yet the liberal media which was on top of each and every indiscretion is unable to hide its own sexism when dealing with Mrs. Trump who is the next first lady of the USA. The constant publication and attention being drawn through social media among others to some provocative photographs of Mrs. Trump with the intent to humiliate, disrespect, cause emotional distress and discredit this lady as someone to be ashamed of and trivialized is utterly disgusting. How can any respectable media entity that fashions itself as a voice for women’s rights and empowerment, condemns sexism and racism and lectures on accepting others who are of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds then objectify, sexualize and humiliate a woman for some photographs that were taken over two decades ago when the young Melania Knauss couldn’t have possibly foreseen the important role which awaited her? It also seems that this was the only dirt that was found notwithstanding the fact that Mrs. Trump lives and has lived in Western countries with very modern, liberal beliefs, views and laws both legal and moral. Mrs. Trump was born and grew up in Slovenia, a small European country therefore I assume she was immersed in European culture and attitude towards women. I visited a Western European country and saw some things in a few days that I have never seen
before in Guyana with regards to women. I can clearly recall seeing a sane looking naked woman walking in front of me in the “English Garden” in Munich and while on the top deck of a tour bus I noticed an elderly lady sitting on her balcony in the nude or topless (I only saw the upper part) languidly smoking a cigarette. Women were scantily dressed and to such a degree that it would be an oddity if someone were to dress like that in public in Guyana. I did not hear catcalls or other sounds directed at those women nor did their state of dress or undress elicit any excitement as to suggest something abnormal occurred. I am not an expert on European culture but from what I observed and was told quite offhandedly by a male European friend who bathes and visits the public sauna in the nude among other men and women I can safely assume that Europeans are quite relaxed about nudity and do not objectify and sexualize the body to the extent that we are accustom to. If the media and the ‘refined, cultured and well-educated’ can preach about doing the right things notably accepting and understanding others of different cultures and ethnicities, diversity and multi- culturalism then surely the same reasoning that accepts a hijab wearing lady can also accept women on the other end of the spectrum. One cannot be biased when applying certain core values and beliefs, fairness and equality should apply to all. Narissa Deokarran
Guyanese educators and teachers suffer from ‘mumpsimus’ DEAR EDITOR; I refer to your Sunday September 18 edition of the Kaieteur News and your editorial with the caption: “Looking Back at Colonial Education”. I make specific reference to: “However, the education system bequeathed to Guyana by the British during the colonial era was designed to keep the nation in ignorance.” What does ‘bequeath’ mean? To leave to a person or other beneficiary by a will? In this context, is the education system in Guyana legally constrained by a ‘will’ to function in a certain way? I don’t think so. And ‘designed’ suggests an ‘intentional act’. Has that motive been established? Where is the evidence? The editorial goes on: “There was evidence that the intent of the British was to educate a small section of the population so that they can function at a minimum level, while keeping the majority illiterate.” From a purely economic point of view, that does not make sense. The British are eminently pragmatic. They wanted a skilled labour force because a skilled labour force increases productivity. Plain and simple! And here the editorial commits the Fundamental Attribution Error: it assumes that others
almost always derive intrinsic satisfaction from what they do. The term ‘fundamental’ in the expression stems from the fact that the problem is pervasive. Attribution, of course refers to the fact that people are assigning the reason or imputing the motive behind the action. Finally, the word error, suggests that when people automatically assume that others did what they did because of ‘evil’ motives, they’re often wrong. When attributing the reasons behind human action, people habitually assume that others gain gratification from everything they do. Instead of having no other alternatives, or otherwise being influenced by ability, social or economic conditions, the British did what they did, according to the editorial, because they wanted to ‘keep the majority illiterate’. That is far from the truth.
The education systems in the Caribbean and elsewhere within the colonial system were designed to produce efficient civil servants for the Factories and the Civil Service of the Mother Country. The British didn’t ‘bequeath’ the education system to the colonies. The colonies were educated through the Factory Model System. What the British did they was that used the Factory Model System because it was the most efficient and effective system to train people. It was not driven by any moral imperative. It was driven by pure economics. It was not Continued on page 6
DEAR EDITOR; The recent results of the American elections came as a shock to so many humans on planet Earth the world over. To further compound this seeming tragedy, the results brought home in a seemingly inexplicable manner the unreliability of commentators and pollsters, and how woefully out of touch they were with the reality of how the majority of people feel. Never in the history of America has a campaign been so acrimonious, and so deeply personal on both sides, not only between the candidates themselves but also between their supporters. Personally the highlight or rock bottom of this campaign came to be recognized as the moment when Trump supporters were labeled “deplorables” by Hillary Clinton. Sad but true, it is difficult if not utterly impossible to get a mandate when such a direct insult is hurled at what turns out to be 58 million people. Game over— Hillary became a gross liability for the Democratic Party. In his victory speech Donald Trump once again reiterated the usual political rhetoric about the nation needing to come together and also affirmed that he would be a president for the whole country. If previously there was any existing doubt that America was a divided country, waste no further thought, because, believe me the best has not yet arrived. Strange as it may seem, Donald Trump was not elected as a Republican president, and his support among his fellow congressional Republicans is insubstantial to say the very least. He will be entering the White House as the leader of 58 million people, who consider themselves to have been voiceless in the wider political arena, and who will be waiting to see if he continues to speak to and for
their priorities. Then there were Clinton supporters themselves, among which contained a large number of folks who would have preferred the far more radical Bernie Sanders. The ruling class failed to represent the people, and the land of the free was transformed to the land of the oppressed. The people went to the polls to vote on the moral future of the nation. Taking this all into full consideration if anti-Brexit style protests continue throughout the land, it is not unreasonable to predict that there may be an AMEREXIT in the form of civil unrest. America now finds herself in the lurch but where is the Church in all this? A Christian President with Catholic values survived the challenge of a Catholic Senator with anti-Christian values. Exit polls revealed that 81% of white evangelicals and bornagain Christians cast their ballots for the Republican presidential candidate, the results of which were reflective of a deep division within the church. There were some who viewed the results as being an answer to prayers, while others saw it as God’s judgment. So within the Church brothers and sisters are now wearing new masks and are being seen as enemies of each other, a behavior which could further splinter the church. Now Christians must be prepared to both submit and honor the new President irrespective of their feelings and collective angst towards him. The Biblical context is found in 1Peter 2: 13: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme.” These words were written by Peter, one of the greatest persecutors of Christians in
all history. For some this may be one of the most extremely difficult Scriptural passages to obey and may be easy for others, but nevertheless the command still stands today. Far too much time has been wasted on negativity and the nation must move on to more productive pursuits. For a second night postelection protest from Philadelphia and New York City to Oakland and Portland, Oregon, anti-Trump crowds flooded the streets in anger. Any debate or talk about whether the President elect is racist or not is now beside the point. The true issue is the Church and the blatant fractures revealed by the recent results. Again the church has found itself in a lurch, and at stake here is the looming question of whether the church can truly surpass the predictable and destructive divides that humanity has built for itself. On a Biblical note God did use the pagan King Cyrus, even calling him his anointed. Isaiah 45: 1. Let it not be forgotten that it was also suggested that God had also put outgoing President Barack Obama in charge also. Another presenting area of confusion also lies in the fact that the voters who had largely removed God and Christianity out of their midst, complained about Trump’s lewd comments towards women and the usage of explicit words and now wanted to judge him using Christian morality standards. The election is over, the people have spoken and life has to go on. The church is tasked to turn the hearts of the nation to prayer, for a peaceful transition of power. Christians should not be divided by politics or else we may soon be facing our version of AMEREXIT. Yvonne Sam
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Kaieteur News
Monday November 14, 2016
The Research Officer of this The City Council is breaking their taxes knowing ministry did not do his research the laws of Guyana paying well that the Council would DEAR EDITOR; Kindly permit me to reply to the letter by the Ministry of Communities published in the Kaieteur News dated 12th November, 2016 captioned ‘Ministry of Communities accuses Berbice Councillor of politicking’. This letter was written by the Research Officer to the Minister, Mr. Mark DaCosta. Firstly, I wish to congratulate Mr. DaCosta for his feeble attempt to discredit my letter by accusing me of ‘political bias’ or being ‘deliberately disingenuous’. In my opening paragraph I simply addressed the fact that the PPP/C Government was accused by this Government when in opposition of being opposed to the empowerment of Local Democratic Organs and of ‘hoarding power at the centre’ and I went on to provide evidences that the APNU/AFC Government did not live up to their empowerment promise to these organs since they use their politically appointed REOs and DREOs to stifle the PPP controlled NDCs and deliberately removing any vestige of empowerment. They are effectively ‘hoarding power’ at the centre even when they have been severely beaten at the local government polls. This is even more accentuated by this Government’s attempt to illegally appoint the Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons in the six tied NDCs and now it seems that the matters will languish in the Courts until the next local government election. Is this empowerment? No it is deliberately snatching powers by illegal means to satiate their thirst for power. I will now deal with Mr. Da Costa’s letter on a point by point basis. If he had done some ‘research’, being the Research Officer, he would have known that in our application for the Subvention we clearly outlined that 33 streets need urgent repairs and that we need 4 drainage tubes to alleviate our flooding problems. We applied for ‘crusher run’ to effect these repairs and gave a detailed breakdown of the amounts and the estimated costs. Subsequently, we wrote to the RDC’s Chairman informing him of our capacity to do these repairs and he agreed. These types of repairs do not require great engineering skills we were not doing new roads and the residents were willing to provide the required manpower since we do have a tractor, a heavy duty roller and a Hymac. But even then we should have been informed about our ‘incapacity’ to do the work instead of being briskly informed by the REO (ag) that ‘all works have been tendered out’. This is total disregard for the NDC. DaCosta treated a very important aspect of empowerment as though it was trivial matter. The Procurement Act Chapter 73:05, Section 21(a) makes for the creation of a District Tender
Board for procurement by NDCs and will comprise three members of which one must come from the relevant NDC. This is to ensure that in the cases where NDC works are tendered out then that NDC must have a representative on the Tender Board to overlook its interest. This law gives life to the empowerment to the NDC. But this law was completely overridden and yet Da Costa cannot provide a reasonable explanation for this. He simply said ‘A District Tender Board was not in place’! Why was it not in place if the Minister of Communities is serious about empowerment of the NDCs? On his third point, DaCosta then did a spin and said that ‘the preference of the council for the works to be done by the NDC (for which the NDC had no capacity) was communicated to the REO (ag), Mr Claude Henry, after the work had already been awarded’. How can this be when we weren’t even asked by an official of the RDC where we want the ‘crusher run’ to be deposited? We wrote to the RDC since September 3rd, 2016 and we received the reply from the REO (ag) on November 1st. The letter was dated October 25th, 2016. Why did it take nearly 2 months for him to send us a one-line letter? Can Da Costa tell us the date when this ‘tendering out’ was done? As a Research Officer he must know that dates are important. I provided dates in my letter. How can we verify the accuracy of what he has written? NDCs must be involved in the tendering process if this Government wants to truly empower NDC. In his last point, he submitted that ‘When proposals are submitted to the Ministry by an NDC they are analyzed and approved as is, or they are returned to the NDC for clarification or alteration. The Ministry is not in the business of altering proposals or of generating proposals for NDCs.’ I have never accused the Ministry of any such practice what I simply said was that we were not informed about ‘what projects will be done, by whom and at what cost’. We have submitted proposals to repair 33 streets and to install 4 drainage tubes. Are we to assume that all of these will be done when the Regional Engineer has told the NDC’s Overseer that all the works itemized in our subvention cannot be done with $4 million? I wish to submit here again that the entire tender process is flawed and the establishment of the District Tender Board would have avoided this type of problem where the NDC is unaware of what is being tendered, who won the award and at what cost. Haseef Yusuf Chairman-Kilcoy Hampshire NDC RDC Councillor
DEAR EDITOR; The news that the Georgetown Municipality is once again offering an amnesty to delinquent ratepayers is not surprising but nonetheless disappointing. As a matter of fact it is not just disappointing but it is just so unfair, discriminatory and illegal. If one were to examine the Laws of Guyana carefully, he or she would see that the Council does not have the power or authority to waive outstanding interest, but rather to give a discount, and this is something that the legal experts at the Attorney
General’s Office, and the Ministry of Communities should look into on behalf of the citizenry. The City Council has been breaking the law time and again. But apart from the gross illegality, how could it be fair to decent, contentious and honest citizens who dutifully go into the Council in a timely manner and honor their civic duty enduring considerable hardship and sacrifice to do so, only to see those who withhold their monies, who are most times wealthy businessmen who flip their money several times doing business with it rather than
go broke and call an amnesty, then they would eventually go in and pay. If the Council is going to keep doing this, then why the need for a Rate Recovery staffed by their friends and relatives? Clearly they are not doing their jobs, which results in the Council taking this lazy approach to recovering rates and taxes. And what about those persons who paid large amounts of interest? Will they be refunded or would they be considered as being foolish not to await the recurrent amnesty offers and thus the losers? Sean Moniz
Guyanese educators and teachers... From page 5 designed with the intent to ‘educate a few.’ Rather it was designed to supply as many ‘trained civil servants’ as was needed by the colonial masters. Pure and Simple? Your editorial refers to the Mighty Sparrow’s calypso “Dan is the man in the van” which satirizes the poems used by the then colonial education system. Those ‘mother-goose’ types of poems were not written specifically for Caribbean people but for the British children themselves. And given the stage of development of printing and education at that time, it was only natural and logical that the same poems were used in the colonies. What is revealing about that situation is that Guyana and other territories have not been able to ‘create’ their own poems. I agree with the editorial that “… not much has changed from the colonial education system.” And this definitely is not the fault of the colonisers. It is the fault of the colonized, the present day ‘educators’ and teachers who have been in the system for decades and who suffer from
‘mumpsimus’ – the persistent and stubborn adherence to a false belief. Here are a few ‘false beliefs’ that hold us back. The teacher is still the ‘fountain of knowledge,’ the ‘authorityfigure in the classroom. That was true in the colonial days when the teacher was the only person who had access to the text books. Today, that is no longer true. Today, any student can gain instant access to the world’s largest library “The Internet”. Today’s teacher is the ‘facilitator’ of learning, not the ‘repository of knowledge’. In fact, as one student asked, why do I need a teacher when I have Google, YouTube and online courses? Until our education system makes that shift, little progress will be made. Another ‘false belief’ is, what some call “The Grandmother Theory of Education’: the child’s brain is a ‘tabla rasa’, a ‘blank slate’. The teacher has to ‘write’ things on it. And since it is a ‘blank slate’ it is empty and has a fixed capacity. You can only put so much in it and no more. Unless many educators and teachers change that view, we would continue to see the reliance on outdated teaching methodologies such as boring, repetitive drills, with the consequential poor performances in the science subjects. Yet another ‘false belief’ is that the ‘teaching methods’ used by prominent teachers of the past are still effective. Here again, there is need for a more ‘scientific approach.’ Vanity metrics- I read recently that the government has approved some 43M to stem the decline in the performance at the National Grade School assessment in Mathematics, English, Technology and Science. In an earlier edition of your newspaper I also read about
the huge amounts of money being disbursed in the Education Sector. Many Guyanese see that as ‘vanity metrics’: merely boosting an image of the ‘Big Spender’ – throwing money at a system that is patently not working with the hope that that will solve the problem. The Ministry of Education should move away from ‘vanity metrics’ such as the amount of millions spent and the number of ‘photoops’ and sittings of the Commission of Inquiry into Education and pivot its focus towards Key Important Metrics, such as the number of initiatives in the Guyana Education Sector Plan 20142018 that have been implemented, the number of schools that are ‘fully functional facilities’ and which now have increasing levels of autonomy, the increasing amount of ‘timeon-task’ in the classroom, and of course the number of passes at Grade School and Secondary School levels. Anthony Willis
Use of two great quotes... From page 4 interested in supporting a programme that has the potential to move citizens from the base to a higher level that could change the shape of the economy as well as, so many other aspects of the society? I would like to conclude with two quotes: “Change is inevitable in a progressive country. Change is constant.” (Benjamin Disraeli, 1867) and “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” (George Bernard Shaw). Audreyanna Thomas Senior Communications Officer Communications Unit
Monday November 14, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Ramotar blames Govt. for atrocious conditions at Skeldon Sugar Estate
By: Kiana Wilburg “Listen to me; this had to have happened under this Government. We did not leave the Skeldon Sugar Factory in such a dreadful state.” This was the reaction of former President, Donald Ramotar to a recent Kaieteur News article which exposed the alarming conditions at the Skeldon Sugar Estate, which the PPP regime had said it spent US$200M to establish. It was deemed by the former administration to be a “state-of-the-art” facility that would boost the sugar industry. It has consistently failed to live up to these promises. Yesterday, Ramotar told this newspaper that the nation should be troubled by the state of the sugar estate while reiterating that it “could only have happened under the APNU+AFC administration.” “During the time of the PPP, we invested millions of dollars to improve the factory. And that is why when the government had announced that Skeldon performed exceedingly well in its production target last year, we were not surprised. We knew that it was because of our hard work, our investments, and our prudent management.” “So after announcing that the production for the estate increased, they are now saying that the entity is falling to pieces and so they want to divest and diversify? Man, this is nothing but pure wickedness. They are trying to sabotage the estate just so that they can get a chance to close it down. It is as simple as that.” The former Head of State said that since the Government has a fetish for Commissions of Inquiry (CoI), he is therefore calling for one to be launched to
President, David Granger
Former President, Donald Ramotar
ascertain how the factory deteriorated to such extremes under the APNU+AFC regime. Officials at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) have since stated that the US$200M Skeldon Sugar Factory is falling to pieces and it isn’t worth the effort to put it back together. Their conclusion is based on a damning audit conducted on the factory and its operating plants by an international firm. The report on the findings shows how the factory is deteriorating in various areas. The report also provides numerous telling images of the bagasse fired power plant within the factory. This was a main area of concern and focus for the international firm that conducted the technical assessment of the factory. The auditors found that the entire insulation was missing for the plant’s diffuser, thus resulting in major heat loss. The auditors were also left with no choice but to flag the plant’s boiler fuel feeders, noting that they posed serious safety issues. The auditors said, “Frequency converters for bagasse feeder motors were missing and not working due to lack of spares. Further, the conveyer feeder junction box
and connection boxes were in a bad condition.” Discovered as well, was the fact that exhaust gas leakages in the boilers occurred due to incorrect furnace pressure. Broiler platforms were also deemed dangerous due to the severe extent of corrosion. The auditors in their investigation of the $200M entity found that oil burners for the boilers were demolished and considered it to be a fire hazard. The auditors are of the firm view that the dreadful condition of the insulators for the boilers was also a health risk for employees there. During their audit, it was
found that furnace wall tubes needed replacement and superheat tubes were damaged. The auditors were also alarmed by the fact that the mere lack of spare parts prevented crucial repairs of certain aspects of the factory. Additionally, the auditors found alarming, the level of corrosion to various parts of the factory and the power plant. The auditors stressed that the plant is in a very poor and dangerous condition for the operating personnel. They have since informed GuySuCo officials that major equipment damage and accidents can occur at any time, which will result in severe production loss for the sugar factory and electricity distribution. The auditors said, “Due to the bad condition of the process and auxiliary equipment, it is not feasible to continue repairing most parts of the plant. Furthermore, the plant operating personnel’s current competence is not adequate to operate and maintain the
power plant in a safe and reliable state.” They added, “There is even no concept for maintenance planning or spare part management. In this regard, there is a general lack of spares and tools at site concerning all areas e.g. mechanical spares, electrical spares, normal hand tools, measuring equipment, safety equipment, etc.” Among its litany of troubling findings at the factory, the auditors said that there is no conservation concept in order to maintain the equipment such as steam turbines during shutdown periods. The infrastructural problems plaguing the
US$200M Skeldon Sugar Factory have left some viewing it as a ticking time bomb that will detonate soon; unless tough but necessary decisions are taken. Sharing this opinion recently was Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Dr. Clive Thomas. He said, “Skeldon needs to be divested. We thought it would have been saved or salvaged by a mechanization project and that was not helpful. Then to get the costs down to competitive levels, moves were made to involve private cane farmers in supplying cane to Skeldon. “That, too, did not work. The reality before us is that (Continued on page 9)
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Monday November 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
GuySuCo expends over $600M on drainage and irrigation services for communities By: Kiana Wilburg The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) expends over $600M a year on drainage and irrigation services provided to various communities. But top officials within the state-owned entity have proposed to Government that it be compensated for these works by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). According to GuySuCo Board members, the recovery of drainage and irrigation charges from NDIA is just one of the many options currently being looked at so that the loss making company can draw in more funds to service daily expenses. “From the inception, GuySuCo has assisted with the drainage and irrigation of surrounding communities which accounts for approximately 40 percent of the company’s annual drainage and irrigation costs,” an official said. “These costs should be recovered from NDIA.” According to Chief Executive Officer Errol
- proposes to Govt. that it be compensated by NDIA Hanoman, the communities provided with the services are within proximity of sugar estates. “The communities are from Skeldon to Uitvlugt. And from since the time GuySuCo has been doing this, it has never been reimbursed. It is currently counted as part of the entity’s operating costs. We believe that the competent bodies should pay us for these services. “Based on our calculations, these services cost GuySuCo over $600M annually. So it is one of those options we have on the table at the moment before the Government.” As presently structured, GuySuCo cannot be sustained. In fact, if the status quo remains, subsidies exceeding $18B and $20B would be required in the next two years and continuing thereafter. GuySuCo board members have come to terms with the
reality that the price to turn sugar around is too high. A high level team has since communicated this to Cabinet. During that meeting, members of government were told that even if all the capital was to be provided for the state entity, GuySuCo would remain a significant loss maker. The estimated operating losses would be more than $10B annually. In the circumstances, two government ministers have told Kaieteur News that based on presentations made by GuySuCo officials, funds injected into the sugar industry would be wasted, if such injection is made in the absence of any plans for the restructuring and diversification of the industry. The Government officials agreed that radical reorganization and diversification are urgently needed in the sugar industry. GuySuCo Chairman, Dr.
GuySuCo’s CEO, Errol Hanoman
GuySuCo Chairman, Dr. Clive Thomas
Anthony Vieira, Head of GuySuCo’s Diversification Unit
Clive Thomas said that the assets of the industry are “run down”. In this regard, he noted that factories, agricultural fleets and field infrastructure were all inherited in a terrible state. GuySuCo Board members said that compounding the issue is the fact that sugar’s management and technical support are weak and inexperienced. But one of the priority issues for the Chairman remains reducing the sector’s heavy reliance on bailouts. Dr. Thomas said the entity hopes to do this through diversification. “What we are projecting
is that we would use some funds to pursue the diversification of the industry. In this regard, we see bailouts rising for about two to three years and then falling dramatically by 2020.The bailouts or need for it, can fall by 2020. We hope to pursue diversification of some of the estates one of which includes Wales.” Lending much credence to the Chairman’s position was Anthony Vieira. Vieira who once served as a GuySuCo Board member has been appointed head of the state entity’s Diversification Unit. Vieira agreed that diversification of the sugar
industry can bring an end to the sector’s reliance on billion dollar bailouts. He said that the Unit is currently in the process of coordinating a diversification process with regard to aquaculture and the cultivation of rice. Vieira said that the Unit is awaiting a USA study on the feasibility of GuySuCo’s proposed aquaculture venture. “For the time being, I can say that the people conducting the study believe that this is a very feasible project and that aquaculture can be many times more profitable than growing cane,” Vieira added.
Emerging technologies present challenges to anti-money laundering fight - Finance Export Matthew Maguire making his presentation
Canadian Finance expert Matthew Maguire has said that the emergence of new technology in the area of finance and money transfer is presenting challenges for the global fight against money laundering. During his presentation at the recently held Private Sector Commission’s lecture themed “anti-money laundering and you”, Maguire said that one of the new technologies which is gaining prevalence is the “Bit Coin” system. He said that $2B was transferred to Canada from China using the system. Bit coin is a digital currency created and held electronically. According to
the finance expert, Bit Coin is much like an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) whereby a person can exchange physical cash for bit coin currency and vice versa. Maguire said that the system is used a lot since there is an export barrier on how much money a person can take out of a country at one time. “The real problem with that emerging technology is that it doesn’t require an intermediary. “So if I’m transferring from one person to the other, I don’t need a bank in between, I don’t need an authority in between.” Maguire explained that it is nearly impossible to seize
that bit coin. He said that if the individual did not use their online wallet, then authorities would not have any power to seize the bit coin and the value which it carries. He said that the only way authorities can seize money which is being laundered under this system is by getting hold of the security code which each user is given. This security is vital, since if the information is lost, the bit coin cannot be accessed by anyone, including the user. During Maguire’s presentation, he mentioned that one of the strategies needed to fight money laundering is to make the (Continued on page 24)
Monday November 14, 2016
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Kaieteur News
The false theory of the criminalized state There are two issues which galvanized the Guyanese people to narrowly boot the PPPC out of office. The first was the perception of widespread thieving under the PPP/C. The second was the belief that the APNU+AFC would make the country safer. The argument of one theorist was that there was a criminalized state under the PPP/C and this was responsible for massive corruption. The APNU+AFC bought that theory hook, line and sinker. The APNU+AFC coalition is now realizing that Guyana does not have a criminalized state. There may be criminals within the state machinery and crimes may still exist within the government. But the benchmarks of a criminalized
state have not been established. Such a state, if it existed, would not have been dismantled by simply a change in government. The criminalized state would have had to involve a criminalized ruling class. But we are yet to see evidence of a criminalized class in Guyana, as distinct from criminalized elements and individuals. What is obvious and what has been obvious for more than one hundred years in Guyana is the existence of a criminalized society. Do not get me wrong, the overwhelming majority of Guyanese are honest people. But the society to which all Guyanese belong is rife with criminality. It has always been so. You park your bicycle and rush into a shop to buy a few items
and when you come out your bicycle is gone. You plant your kitchen garden and someone steals your produce. You invite somebody into your home and they pick up something that does not belong to them. The levels of crime- both the serious and the petty – are unbelievable in the country. These days, no one is safe. You are afraid to go out because the place you are going to might be invaded by some gun-wielding bandits. You are afraid to stay at home because the bandits are now coming with crowbars and wrenching your doors open. You are not even safe in the police station. This is what life has come to in Guyana. The government was boasting the other day how the statistics showed that
Ramotar blames Govt. for... (From page 7) the factory has lots of faults; it is badly designed and poorly constructed.” The economist added, “The factory is deteriorating. New steel is needed; some of the furnaces don’t work, some of the boilers don’t work… The factory is just not properly built. The cost for the repairs needed is about US$60M ($12B). It is that big of a disaster.” Just recently the sugar sector received $2B in assistance from the national purse. This $2B financial support is to help meet routine expenditure and is in relation to the second crop for the sector. The cost to repair
Skeldon alone would be six times that bailout. The amount needed to fix the problems facing Skeldon is also more than the $11B ploughed into the sugar industry for the entire year. “The auditors have said that that serious action has to be taken where Skeldon is concerned. The team, too, suggested that it has to be divested if not, the whole thing will eventually collapse on our hands and we won’t be able to p r o d u c e a n y s u g a r. We have to make a decision. We either divest or watch it collapse. “The PPP just wrecked the sector from top to bottom and
we are trying to salvage what we can,” expressed the economist. He continued, “We are trying to find a way out but that is like trying to find a way out of a minefield. That is what the PPP left us with. Everything is in a nervewracking state. The sugar industry is a minefield and a crumbling edifice. “But it must be made known that we don’t want to put people on the breadline. The Skeldon factory alone employs 1,789 workers. Hence we are working on finding the best possible solution to turning the factory and the sector around.”
crime was down. It was also bragging that cases are being solved more quickly and more criminals are being arrested. Well, the crime continued despite all this talk about the crime rate and the improvement in crimefighting. The government called on people to have patience. But the government itself seems to have lost patience in its statistics and crime-fighting methods. It is now launching a major operation, the usual window dressing exercise which, like Operation Safeway, helps reduce crime for a short period but leads to a spike when it is over. The government says that it is in receipt of information of an internal security threat. This is just an excuse which the government is making to justify using the army for its window- dressing exercise intended to make citizens feel safer. The APNU+AFC had indicated that it is not supportive of the army being involved in police operations. But faced with a serious crime wave, it has to find an excuse to bring out the army. Well, if the government has indeed received
information about a threat to internal security, why make the threat public? Why not use the element of surprise to target the threat. This past weekend’s exercise is just a window dressing exercise which is intended to show that something is being done about crime. We have had such exercises in the past. They will not reverse the decision which has already been taken by Guyanese living overseas to cancel spending Christmas in Guyana. People would rather lose their airfares than come to Guyana and end up face to face with a trigger-happy young person. All the government’s crime fighting strategies will fail unless the government accepts that Guyana is a highly criminalized society. People are stealing water from the state. They are stealing electricity. They are stealing land through squatting. They are breaking the law openly. Outside of a locked-up building on Robb Street, a group of men are washing cars in the afternoons on the roadway. They are using a water line that runs to the building, whose owner is
overseas. The owner is going to be faced with a hefty bill when he returns, even though no water is going to his building. The water is being diverted from his metered line to wash cars on the roadway. GPL says that it is losing more than US$30M per year in electricity theft. This is more than what GUYSUCO earns each year. And the government is complaining about having to bail out GUYSUCO. It should be complaining about the criminalized society in which honest people work hard for what they have, only to be deprived of it by bandits. The government cannot fix the crime problem without an acknowledgement that we are dealing with widespread criminalization in society. Can you believe that children are stealing other children’s lunch in school? Can you believe that? You had better if crime is to be brought under control.
Monday November 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Gunmen beat, rob Mahaicony family Members of a Mahaicony family were tied up, beaten and robbed by three gunmen at around 01.30 hrs yesterday. The family members said that unmasked men escaped with cash, jewellery and cell phones after invading their Lot 2 Planters Hall, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara home. According to information received, the unmasked men entered the two-storey home and held the owner, Boodram Manie and his brother and nephew at gunpoint. Kaieteur News understands that Manie, 45, a bus driver, and the other men were outside the home conversing when the bandits attacked. They were gun butted and forced into a bedroom, where the intruders tied up Manie’s 15-year-old son, his male cousin and the two male relatives. While one of the gunmen kept guard in that bedroom, the others carried Manie upstairs to his bedroom, where they ordered him to lie face down before tying his hands and feet. The bus driver said that
A section of the ransacked bedroom the gunmen ordered him to hand over cash and jewellery. He directed them to a wardrobe where he kept the items. He said that they took $100,000, $US300, a gold chain and five smartphones. He stated that the ordeal lasted for about 10 to 15
minutes, during which the gunmen ransacked his home and threatened to kill him if he attempted to answer his cell phone. The gunmen reportedly escaped in a waiting car. And according to Manie, he is certain they arrived in a similar manner, but might have parked the vehicle a few blocks away. The matter was reported to the Mahaicony Police Station. Around noon yesterday, police ranks were at the home conducting investigations. The house where Manie and his son have been residing for several years, has no security cameras.
Monday November 14, 2016
Guyanese entrepreneur to join President Obama in Peru following successful YLAI trip Given her successful participation of the 2016 Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) in the United States, Guyanese entrepreneur Abigail Loncke has been selected among the few finalists to meet with President Barrack Obama, in Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. Loncke is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Community Health Care, an agency which delivers home care needs for the elderly, sick, disabled, and children in the comfort of their homes. The agency also helps to train women, who are in need of employment and second chances offering them work as care-givers. Earlier this year, the young CEO was among four Guyanese chosen to represent the nation at the YLAI. The YLAI brought together 250 young leaders from Latin America, the Caribbean, Guyana and the United States for an exchange programme that involves internship and skills-building workshops. A commitment made by President Obama to empower young people around the world and ensure they have the tools, skills, and networks to tackle shared global challenges. At the conclusion of the five week programme, Loncke was amongst 21 finalists to participate in the YLAI pitch competition where she showcased some of her entrepreneurial skills. During a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Loncke spoke of her YLAI experience and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to represent Guyana and showcase her skills. “It was tough... 21 finalists... I was the only person to represent Guyana... I was able to showcase my cause, Guyana and what we have to offer.” “I didn’t win the
Abigail Loncke
competition but I’m heading to Peru on Wednesday to meet President Obama. There’s the APEC summit from the 17-19 and so a few participants were invited to go meet him as he wasn’t able to see us due to election commitments. I leave Wednesday and come back Sunday. I’m excited about that!” she added. Loncke plans to use her skills to further train singleparent women and young women to care for the elderly. “I also want to create a volunteer group that would care for the elderly folks who can’t afford, it but need help at home.” The YLAI programme commenced on October 5 in Dallas and culminated with a summit in Washington, D.C. in early November. Over the five weeks, participants shared their experiences in start-ups, small businesses, nongovernmental organisations, and similar entities in cities throughout the United States and in partnership with community groups and American universities. The participants further developed their business or social venture plans through
an entrepreneurship curriculum and workshops, and by working alongside their American counterparts. The YLAI initiative was launched to build linkages between young leaders across the hemisphere and to expand opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs and civil society leaders. Nearly 4,000 applications were received for the 2016 leg of the programme. Some 250 business and social entrepreneurs were selected, representing 35 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The candidates were successful, having demonstrated “the energy of this generation to build stronger, more prosperous and more secure communities throughout the hemisphere. Their areas of interest included agriculture, clean energy, consulting, ecommerce, education, entrepreneurship development and support, food and beverage, food security, health care, hospitality, LGBTI rights, marketing and branding, mobile applications, and women and youth empowerment.
Monday November 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Have CoIs been proven beneficial in the mining sector? By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell Is the government getting value for money from all these Commissions of Inquiry (CoI)? Are there mechanisms in place to measure the productivity of these activities? There have been a number of CoIs mounted since the APNU+AFC took administrative office. Quite a few inquiries were mounted in the mining industry to investigate all conditions and circumstances that led to the collapse of various mining pits. In fact while there have been at least two inquires into the collapse of mining pits for this year alone, another is ongoing. This one is being done by Rear Admiral Gary Best. The COI into the death of Trenton Sebastion had only been completed in March when another was mounted in May of this year. Derrick Lawrence, Compliance Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources, told Kaieteur News that it is too early to measure the productivity of these inquiries. “It is really too early to measure but what I can say is that we have developed an action plan.” Lawrence said that the Ministry of Natural Resources had a very detailed, extensive seminar in July. He said that the Ministry brought together all the persons who conducted the various inquiries to present a synopsis of their findings. He said that other “experts” also attended the seminar and “We really drilled down to determine what can be done to prevent these things (mining deaths) in the future.” Lawrence stated that out of that seminar came an action plan which was presented to the Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. “That action plan was approved and has become our play book in terms of how we ensure mining safety. It is not something that you can say with 100 percent
you can grantee that there would never be an accident again, but we have a compass and its going to take some time unfolding to the entire industry.” Lawrence admitted that there have been at least four inquiries between last year and now and “essentially some of the same points are coming up. The circumstances differ here and there, but mining safety in general has been highlighted as lacking. I think we have captured all the essentials of the recommendations of the COIs and these have been put together.” Lawrence said that some recommendations have already been implemented and the Ministry has been seeing the benefits. “Absolutely we are seeing benefits, this year there have been far fewer mining deaths than last year this time.” There have been about six mining deaths so far this year. Lawrence said that the figure was more than double that number during the same period last year. Asked if the nation can expect five more COIs before the end of the year if there happens to be five more deaths, Lawrence responded with uncertainty. He said, “We do not have any jurisdiction over that. His Excellency the President (David Granger) had said that because he wants to ensure that the lives of the miners are seen as being more import than the product itself, he is ordering these inquiries. We follow instructions; if the President wants an inquiry one is mounted. Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman said that his Ministry has been working closely with the GGMC in looking into the many recommendations of the CoIs. “We have been doing a lot of training, going on the ground, educating miners. We have had six deaths for the year. It is down
but not good enough.” The finding of the Trenton Sebastian inquiry highlighted a “worrying” trend of negligence and recklessness that is being replicated among other medium and small scale mining operations and the grave risks these present to the lives of miners working on properties where safe mining practices are not being adhered to. Some of these include lack of contingency plans for safety and rescue, poorly trained personnel and lack of basic supplies to respond to injuries. The Commission noted that these unsafe practices, which have a ripple effect on families, communities, the sector and the country as a whole can no longer be condoned at any level,
and recommends that measures be put in place immediately to curb these actions. Last year a COI was set up and mandated to investigate mining deaths after a mining pit at Mowasi, Region 7 collapsed on May 17, killing 10 miners, in what has been described as the worst accident of its kind to date. That report findings was similar to the findings of Sebastian’s inquiry. The Commission found that the main contributing factor in the pit failure accidents was the neglect of safe mining practices. In addition there was evidence that shortcuts were being taken in an effort to raise production. 119 minerelated deaths have been recorded between 2006 and 2016.
Man kills farmer, dumps corpse in river Police are likely to charge three men soon in connection with the murder of a Kamarang farmer, who was clubbed to death and dumped in a river. A police release stated that one of the men has confessed to killing Dexter Edwards. Police are to seek legal advice today on the case. The partially decomposed body of Edwards, a 27 year old farmer of Pariuma River, Kamarang, was discovered on November 5 in the Ochi Top River in Kamarang by a group of campers. A post mortem revealed that Edwards died from multiple injuries. It is alleged that Edwards was drinking with friends when an argument ensued and one of the men struck the farmer in the head with a length of wood. The assailant then dumped the body in the Pariuma River. In another release, police said that ranks, acting on information, searched a house at
Seventeenth Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, at around 00:30hrs yesterday. They allegedly found a 23 year old fisherman who was hiding in the ceiling of the one-flat residence. He was allegedly in possession of an unlicensed .32 pistol with two matching rounds. The suspect and two female occupants were detained. A ballistic test is being conducted to determine if the weapon was used in the commission of any crime. Meanwhile, three labourers from Henrietta, Essequibo Coast, will soon be arraigned before a Magistrate to answer to a charge of break and enter and larceny, which occurred between November 9-11, 2016 at Henrietta Village, Essequibo. Stolen and recovered are two flat screen television sets, one camera monitor, other articles and cash.
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PROPERTY FOR SALE House for sale: storey concrete building, block 8 Mon-Repos, E.C.D- Call: 592611-3548
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.-CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620
SALON - Make-up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, etc. - Cosmetology Courses: $120,000 - Technician Course: $45,000. Call: 6471773/660-5257
Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 Property @ East Bank Public Road: Triple lot/storage/ warehouse space, owners migrating. Call: 638-0595 (great deal)
VACANCY Cook/baker for the Interior location, applicants must be experienced. Call: 618-2020
Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158
One salesman to work in parts store contact 2235273/4 One cashier contact 2235273/4
Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves – Contact Nick: 6831312, 627-3206
Work in Trinidad, 5yrs experienced welder/mason. E m a i l : clinttrintent@gmail.com (great salary)
Eagle’s: Re-gas -$8,000, Washing machine repairs, Gas Stove, Plasma flat Screen & more. Call: 697-2969/6460966 Hello the doctor is back! Have your gas stove service and repairs. Call: 601-0595; 220-4073; 220-5785
Learn how you can benefit from iridology Mon, Dec 5th - Contact Hazel’s Herbal Store: 226-9136
FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Table. Call: 277-0578
Cashier sales boys/girls to work at a new hardware store, Innovations America. Call: 226-9768
1 Landcruiser Prado, excellent condition. Call: 625-4196 or 656-0565
Oswin J’s Auto Imports: New Arrivals: Premio, Allion, Fielder, Axio, Rush, X-Trail. Free full coverage insurance. Call: 609-2815
LAND FOR SALE Uitvlugt-$2.5M, Zeelugt $1.6M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.4M, $1.2M, all prices negotiable. Call: 642-1252
Cashier & salesgirls to work on East Coast. Call: 220-2128/ 601-4888
Bus BKK series, working condition -$600,000 negotiable. Call: 668-1004/ 682-9127
Gold & Diamond mining blocks in Puruni, Providence prime house lots. Call: 6158810 or 668-3100
One experienced general domestic to work in G/Town, must know to cook all Indian dishes. Pleasant & trustworthy. Call: 656-6388
House lot in Uitvlugt -$3M. Call: 676-4051 Land @ La Parfaite Harmonie: $1.4M, $1M, $1.6M, Uitvlugt $2, Tuschen School Street $2M (terms available). Call: 604-6724
Live in waitress. Call: 6439007
Experienced cashier, curry cooks, cleaners. Apply at Hack’s Halaal, 5 Commerce Street.
Experience shop workers, domestic and handyman for the interior tel 231-0363
Female bartender, live in/out, attractive waitresses, cooks needed at Eden’s Bar (East Bank). Call: 678-3616
Experience domestic worker must know to cook and handyman for G/Town Tel 231-0363
Receptionist, apply with application at Millenium Manor Hotel, 43 Hadfield Street, W/Rust.
LEARN TO DRIVE
Experienced dispatcher to do shift work @ Gem’s Taxi. Call: 225-5075/ 622-6413/667-9013
TO LET
Live in maid wanted between ages 45 and older @ Robb Street home. Call: 226-0450/ 627-3205
1-2 Bedrooms apartment fully furnished Eccles. Call: 667-2536
Interior workers needed, salary $80,000. Call: 674-1767/ 659-2708
2 Bedrooms apartment unfurnished @ Werk-enRust, Georgetown. Call:2315750/ 609-6392
Live in/Live out domestic/ babysitter. Call: 223-7500 Mon-Fri 8:15-4:15pm
DRESSMAKING Dressmaking Course: learn to master your skills in dressmaking. Contact us on: 601-5077
One cleaner must know to cook, ages 20-40 to work in snackette & bar. Call: 6477432/ 223-5798 Live in domestic must know to cook & bake, salary $80,000-$90,000 monthly 3050yrs, boarding & lodging free. Call: 222-4890
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL: PICKUP, 9-11 SEAT MIN BUS, GOOD FOR AIRPOTR & FAMILY OUTING, CHEAPESTRATE . Call: 698-7807
1 RD5 Honda CRV, immaculate condition, TV, reverse camera, CD, mags, alarm, etc, price -$2.850M. Call: 626-2884
Live in waitress with secondary education, boarding & lodging free $70,000-$80,000 monthly. Call: 610-3974
EDUCATIONAL CXC Classes: day & evening classes, personal tutor, Grade 4 to 6, Form 15 Maths. Call Sir Jarvis: 690-5008/ 693-4588/ 6382359
(1) Live in caretaker. Call: 233-2427/233-2923 no private or unknown caller.
VEHICLE FOR SALE
Bodywork men. Call: 660-3004
C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj Building- Call: 644-5166; 6222872; 615-0964; 689-5997 (affordable packages). HEALTH
WANTED Salesgirls & porters, apply with written application @ 1E Dennis & Middleton Street, Campbellvile (Best Buy Food Supplies)
1 New & unregistered Toyota Allion $2.4M, 1 Allion PVV series $2.150M negotiable, low mileage, TV, camera, etc. Call: 649-0956
Visa Application: U.S.A, C a n a da & UK; Guyana passport application. Graphics design, advertisement. Tel: 6267040; 265-4535. INNOVATIVEMARKETING & PUBLISHING INC –TEL: 600-4212: We create A/ works, logos, busi ness cards, posters, etc, placements of ads included.
Monday November 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM WING’S CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT,CHEAPREATES, SPECIALOFFER.CALL:690-6494
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Not working Vehicles: 1 Surf, 2 Pathfinders, 1 Bobcat, 3 Toyota Cars, 1 Canter, 1 Fiber glass boat. Call: 227-4377/ 6246013 White RAV4 PRR 2523 with music set, red Rav4 PMM 1631. Call: 613-2150/ 673-7522 Toyota Vigo pick-up, Nissan Pathfinder, Jeep, excellent condition. Call: 609-7766 Unregistered Axela 2011, fully loaded $2.750M negotiable, Corolla Fielder 2002, dark interior, rims $1.950M. Call: 617-5536 One (1) Nissan Escudo, good condition, owner leaving the country. Price $1.6M negotiable. Contact: 6683312/ 627-3609
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Dredge mining operation: excavator, dredge, camp, truck, ATV bike, welding set with gas bottle. Call: 676-7943 One (1) RZ bus, WTI engine. Call Lawrence : 615-7506 Mitsubishi Galant 1996 Model. Body in good condition. Sold as parts. Price negotiable. Tel: 216 1079 /616 8027 One 45feet complete, cabin cruiser, trout seines, excellent condition. Call: 657-0044/ 648-6815 Cargo Trawler. Call: 682-8724; 616-5954 Trinidad: Columbia 16 Block plant, fully automated, production 12,000 blocks per day-$600,000USD. Email: clinttrintent@gmail.com 75 Yamaha outboard engine, in good condition. Call: 2590302 1-30 feet aluminum jet boat with spares. Call: 642-7898 One 17,500 Generic generator. Call: 623-9679/ 681-6570 Design & Make Aluminum windows, doors, stainless rails, showcases, rolling shutters, make & install automatic doors. Call: 2336818/677-5599/659-9999 FOR RENT Space for rent at Ashmin’s BuildingIdeal for commercial and office useCall: 683-7954
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 2 Bedrooms apartment for rent @ Nandy Park -$70,000. Call: 227-5194 Upper flat for rent 3 bedrooms in Atlantic Gardens- Call: 2274377/227-0613/624-6013 Business bottom flat for rent in New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop. Call: 227-4377/ 227-0613/ 6246013
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Monday November 14, 2016
Trump looking at fast ways to quit global climate deal: source WA S H I N G T O N / MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump is seeking quick ways to withdraw the United States from a global accord to combat climate change, a source on his transition team said, defying broad international backing for the plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Since Trump’s election victory on Tuesday, governments ranging from China to small island states have reaffirmed support for the 2015 Paris agreement during climate talks involving 200 nations set to run until Friday in Marrakesh, Morocco. Trump has called global warming a hoax and has promised to quit the Paris Agreement, which was strongly supported by
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Kaieteur News
Donald Trump outgoing Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama. Trump’s advisers are considering ways to bypass a theoretical four-year procedure for leaving the accord, according to the source, who works on Trump’s transition team for international energy and
climate policy. “It was reckless for the Paris agreement to enter into force before the election” today, the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Paris accord won enough backing for entry into force on Nov. 4, four days before the election. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday in New Zealand that the Obama administration would do everything it could to implement the Paris accord before Trump takes office. The accord says in its Article 28 that any country wanting to pull out after signing on has to wait four years. In theory, the earliest date for withdrawal would be Nov. 4, 2020, around the time of the next U.S. presidential election.
Driver dead, other critical in Schoonord smash-up A father of two was killed and another man injured at around 21.00 hrs yesterday, following a two car smash-up on the poorly lighted Schoonord Access, Road, West Bank Demerara. The man, identified as Clarence Beaton, 39, of Brusche Dam, Buxton, East Coat Demerara, was driving a silver Toyota Premio, bearing number plate PSS 7212. The other driver, who was in Toyota Primio, PRR 8983, was identified as Jermaine Gray of Patentia, West Bank Demerara. Reports indicated that Gray was proceeding west along the access road, when the other vehicle, said to proceeding in the opposite direction at a fast rate collided with his car. Gray’s car ended up in a bushy area near the roadside. Kaieteur News understands that the other vehicle toppled several times before ending up in which Gray was driving. Several Guinness bottles and food were strewn in Beaton’s car and on the roadway. There were reportedly four other occupants in his vehicle, and according to eyewitnesses, they escaped with minor injuries.
They were transported to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. Eyewitness said that Beaton’s body was transported to the same hospital. Gray’s relative said that he is in a critical condition at the Woodlands Hospital. According to the relative, Gray was heading to Parfaite Harmonie to visit another relative. Traffic in the area was congested for several minutes as persons passing in vehicles stopped to view the scene. Another accident also occurred on that same Access Road about 30 minutes after. A young man, who was driving PVV 5883, east along the road lost control of the vehicle which spun several timed before slamming into several vehicles parked along the road. Fortunately, no one was reportedly hurt. The driver of this vehicle was said to be under the influence of alcohol. Police ranks had to rescue him from an angry mob that attempted to beat him. Persons residing in the area are appealing for lights to be installed along the roadway. Based on reports, a number of accidents have occurred on the Schoonord Access road for the year; but this is the first fatality.
Iraq troops aim to tighten noose U.S. President vows crackdown on undocumented immigrants on Islamic State in Mosul
Displaced people flee Samah neighbourhood during a fight between the Islamic State militants and the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service, in Mosul yesterday. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Reuters - Iraqi soldiers fighting just north of Mosul, within sight of city neighbourhoods, said yesterday they were ready to tighten the noose around Islamic State militants waging a brutal defence of their Iraqi stronghold. Four weeks into the campaign to crush Islamic State in Mosul, the city is almost surrounded but the jihadists’ defences have so far been breached only to the east, where they have battled elite troops for control of around a dozen districts. The battle for Mosul, the biggest city held by the ultra-hardline Sunni Islamist group in Iraq and Syria, is the largest military operation in Iraq in a decade of turmoil unleashed by the 2003 U.S. invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government, which has assembled a 100,000-strong coalition of troops, security forces, Kurdish peshmerga fighters and mainly Shi’ite militias, backed by U.S. air power, says it will mark the end of Islamic State in Iraq. But it says the fight will be a long one. An army special forces officer on the northern front line said his men aimed to target
Hadba, the first neighbourhood ahead of them within city limits. The district was visible from his position in the village of Bawiza. Brigadier Ali Abdulla said Islamic State fighters had been pushed out of Bawiza and another village, Saada, although progress had been slowed by the presence of civilians he said were being used by the militants as human shields. “Our approach (to Hadba) will be very slow and cautious so that we can reach the families and free them from Daesh’s (Islamic State’s) grip,” Abdulla said. One man who escaped from Saada to Bawiza with his young son and daughter said they had to move from house to house and hide among sheep to avoid being caught by Islamic State fighters. The timing of the decision to move on Hadba would depend on progress on other fronts, Abdulla said. Security forces are advancing to the south of Mosul, targeting the city’s airport on the west bank of the Tigris river. Abdulla said Islamic State was using suicide car bombs, roadside bombs, snipers and long range mortars to try to hold back the army advance in the north - all tactics it has used to lethal effect on the eastern front as well.
New York (AFP) - Donald Trump plans to immediately deport or jail as many as three million undocumented immigrants, the Republican said yesterday as he set out his priorities as America’s head of state in the first television interview since his election. Millions were expected to tune in to Trump’s full interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” for clues on how the populist billionaire will govern, and how far he intends to convert his firebrand slogans into hard and fast policy. Since Tuesday’s shock election triumph, Trump had appeared to tone down his rhetoric, notably suggesting he might be willing to reconsider a pledge to scrap President Barack Obama’s signature health reform. But he made clear in excerpts of yesterday’s
Paul Ryan interview that he still intended to crack down on the undocumented, focusing on people with criminal records. “What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people — probably two
million, it could be even three million — we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump said. He also said he stood by his pledge to build a wall on the Mexican border — although he said it could include some fencing. Experts estimate there are as many as 11 million foreigners living illegally in the United States, many of them Central and Southern Americans long-established in the country. Trump’s stance stood in opposition with comments by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said yesterday the focus under a Trump administration would be on securing the border, not rounding up immigrants. “We are not planning on erecting a deportation force. Donald Trump’s not planning on that,” Ryan told CNN.
Maduro rejects early elections as way out of Venezuela crisis Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro yesterday rejected early elections as a way out of a spiraling crisis that has led to widespread shortages, soaring inflation and mass protests. “An electoral way out? Way out to where?” he said on his weekly television programme. “Nobody should get obsessed with electoral processes that are not in the constitution.” His comments came a day after his leftist government and the opposition agreed on a “road map” for negotiations to defuse a potentially explosive crisis. No reference to early elections was made in the joint statement issued at the end of the Vatican-backed talks, but leaders of the main opposition coalition portrayed it as opening
the way to elections as a solution to the political impasse. Carlos Ocariz, a negotiator for the opposition’s Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), said Saturday that the coalition would remain in the dialogue “until it obtains the most important thing: national elections and a recall referendum.” But Maduro mocked that statement on his television show. “It makes me very happy that the MUD will continue in the dialogue until December 2018,” he said. An opposition signature drive for a referendum to recall Maduro was stopped in its tracks earlier this year by a regimedominated National Electoral Council and Supreme Court, leading to the current impasse.
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Kaieteur News
FARC, Colombian government strike new peace deal Havana (AFP) Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels announced a revised peace deal to end 52 years of armed conflict, after voters rejected a prior peace accord in a referendum. “We have reached a new final agreement to end the armed conflict, which incorporates changes, clarifications and some new contributions from various social groups, which we have gone through one by one,” said a joint statement read out by diplomats from Cuba and Norway, the peace process guarantors. “Building a stable, lasting peace must be the shared commitment of all Colombians, and one that helps polarization be overcome while including all social and political voices,” the statement added. Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos stressed that the new peace deal “is a better agreement.” “We made adjustments, tweaks and changes in 56 of the 57 issues that were
FARC-EP leftist guerrilla commander Ivan Marquez (C) and the head of the Colombian delegation for peace talks Humberto de la Calle (R) shake hands after signing a new peace agreement in Havana, Saturday. (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage) addressed,” Santos said, so “we can build a deeper and broader peace.” The modified agreement leaves intact the accord’s major tenets, including the FARC laying down its arms and becoming a political party. However, it includes a number of “innovations” to several of the key points in the original peace deal, according to the government’s lead negotiator Humberto de la Calle.
In Bolivar Square at the heart of historic Bogota, dozens of people celebrated the news with white balloons and Colombian flags. The new accord was finetuned after the groups that opposed the original deal submitted proposed changes as starting points for negotiations. “The tweaks and clarifications we have made do not undermine the issues we agreed on, which shaped
the first peace deal,” De la Calle said. Santos acknowledged that a suggestion seeking to bar rebel leaders involved in serious crimes from elections was not part of the re-worked peace deal. He also hinted that the new accord would maintain the provision that FARC rebels could avoid prison time by confessing and carrying out acts of reparation to victims.
Monday November 14, 2016
Earthquakes Rattle Haiti, Trinidad PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – There were no reports of death or injury either after Haiti was rattled by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake, or when a 4.0 tremor was recorded off Trinidad and Tobago Saturday. The Haiti quake occurred around 1 p.m. local time, about five kilometres north of Les Anglais, 51 km northwest of Les Cayes, and 35 km southwest of Jérémie and was also felt in the capital, Port-au-Prince. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of 12.3 km. Later in the day, around 4:57 p.m., a 4.0 magnitude tremor was recorded 86 km west north west of Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, Port of Spain, 111 km west north west of Arima, and the same distance east north east of Carúpano, Venezuela. (Caribbean360)
Caribbean Region Declared Free Of Measles Daily Observer - The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has declared the Caribbean region and the Americas free of measles transmission. Minister of Health Molwyn Joseph says that this milestone is an indication that the region has the potential to rid itself of communicable diseases through vaccines. Joseph believes that the people of Antigua & Barbuda should trust other tested vaccines such as the one for the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) based on the success of measles eradication. Measles is the fifth vaccine-preventable disease to be eliminated from the Caribbean and countries of the Americas.
Monday November 14, 2016
Energy minister says acquisition of LNG significant ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) – Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr Andrew Wheatley, says the acquisition of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as part of the energy option is a significant boost to the country’s diversification efforts and economic endeavours. Addressing stakeholders and business leaders at the commissioning of LNG at the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Bogue power plant in St James on November 11, Dr Wheatley said this comes at an opportune time when the country is continuing the pursuit of alternative fuel sources and creating the architecture for a sustainable energy future. “The country is now seeing tremendous accomplishments in our energy endeavours. We have the largest wind and solar installations in the English speaking Caribbean. As energy minister, it is my vision for this sector to have a fit for purpose energy architecture that can be the cornerstone of a production platform for delivering the economic growth required by our people and country,” the minister said. The Government’s drive to bring cheaper and cleaner
Prime Minister Andrew Holness (second left) and Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr Andrew Wheatley (left), listen to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of New Fortress Energy, Wes Edens (third left), during a tour of the new LNG Terminal at the Montego Bay port. (Photo: JIS) energy to the people of Jamaica has been advanced with the arrival of LNG for the JPS power plant in Bogue, St James nearly two weeks ago. Supplied by American investor and JPS’ LNG partner, New Fortress Energy, the shipment arrived at the port of Montego Bay aboard the feeder ship, Anthony Veeder. Dr Wheatley pointed to the recognition by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) of Jamaica having the “best government infrastructure strategy in the Caribbean,” a testament to “our ongoing efforts to diversify our energy sources.” The minister said that by the end of 2017, the country would meet its target of 15 per cent renewable energy. “Energy affects every facet of our lives. So, as we pursue a diversified energy
HDC eight named …Jearlean outlines $175M land deal
Jearlean John Trinidad Guardian - Former managing director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Jearlean John and former HDC chairman Henckle Lall are among eight officials and entities that the Attorney General Faris Al- Rawi has commenced legal action against, according to documents from attorney Gerald Ramdeen. Two Thursdays ago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that the Government filed proceedings against people “who have improperly removed public monies for their own benefit through conspiracies”. Al-Rawi announced that the multi-million dollar lawsuit was against nine former public officials. The documents have been sealed at
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the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain. However, Ramdeen, in a letter to Al-Rawi dated November 7, revealed that he was able to find out the names of those being sued. He only listed eight names. The other entities that are expected to be sued apart from John and Lall are Greg Davis, Peter Ford, Project Specialists Ltd, Point Lisas Park Ltd, Anthony Sampath, and Patrick Soo Ting, Ramdeen said. The name of the ninth entity has not been revealed. In his letter to Al-Rawi, Ramdeen said on November 4 he caused searches to be made at the High Court Registry and discovered that on November 2 the Attorney General had filed the legal action against John and the rest. Ramdeen, who is John’s attorney, said his client has still not received any pre-action protocol correspondence related to the matter. Ramdeen called on Al-Rawi to serve John with the documents before noon tomorrow. The lawsuit against John and the others is believed to stem from the purchase of 50 acres of land in Freeport called Eden Gardens. Less than a year after being valued at $52 million by an independent valuator, the land in Freeport was purchased by the People’s Partnership administration for $175 million. The property owners had purchased it for $5 million two years earlier.
strategy we recognise the need for energy generation from as many sources as possible, as well as the need for greater security in Jamaica’s energy future,” he said. The minister argued that the energy policy and plans will enable the creation of a competitive energy market, the modernization of the nation’s power generation, and the diversification of energy sources with a strong emphasis on renewables. “We intend to pursue further negotiations to make Jamaica a hub for the purchase and redistribution of LNG in the region,” he noted.
Professor: Expect Caribbean deportations Trinidad Express Expected deportations of undocumented Caribbean immigrants under United States president-elect Donald Trump. Professor of International Relations at the University of Alberta, Canada, and former director of the Institute of International Relations, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Andy Knight says it can be expected that undocumented immigrants from the Caribbean currently living in the US will be “rounded up and deported back to their countries of origin”. “You can also expect that agreements like the (Caribbean Basin Initiative) might be reopened and renegotiated. I would expect that the improvements of the relationship between Cuba and the US might be put on pause. But generally, the US relationship with the Caribbean under Trump will be a continuation of benign neglect.” Asked if small island states should worry about policies from the Trump administration, Knight said: “Only in so far as the possibility that a Trump presidency will usher in what I would call a new world disorder, as the US disengages into an isolationist posture.” He said there was a good chance that the US under Trump will follow the advice of groups like the Heritage Foundation and withdraw support from a number of UN specialised agencies that engage in assisting small states when they are in need. “Certainly small island states should be concerned
Andy Knight about the fact that the new US president is a climate change skeptic,” stated Knight. He said chances are Trump will not take seriously small states’ concerns with the impact of global warming on these small island states. Trump will have a strained relationship with traditional allies of the US. Knight noted that Trump has already questioned the United States’ role in NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and accused NATO allies of not pulling their weight financially in the alliance. “But it seems as though he will work hand in glove with President Putin of Russia. With respect to Canada and Mexico, the two closest neighbours and allies of the US, Trump has indicated that he will reopen the NAFTA (trade) agreement. God only knows what that will mean for the economies of Canada and Mexico,” stated Knight.
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Monday November 14, 2016
Monday November 14, 2016
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Depay double spares Dutch Defiant Kohli denies England win in opening India test blushes in Luxembourg
Netherland’s Memphis Depay and Luxembourg’s Florian Bahnert in action. (REUTERS/Eric Vidal) (Reuters) Memphis Depay spared the blushes of the Netherlands with two second half goals as they won 3-1 in Luxembourg in an unexpectedly tricky World Cup qualifier yesterday. Depay came on to score just before the hour mark and break the deadlock as the Netherlands were still being held 1-1 in a match they were expected to win comfortably. The Manchester United striker rose to head home an inch-perfect cross from club mate Daley Blind from point blank range in the 58th minute to hand the momentum back to the Dutch after Luxembourg had fought back into the match. Depay then scored his second, bending a free kick over the wall in the 83rd minute to help the Netherlands advance to seven points in Group A, three behind leaders France. The Dutch had gone ahead in the 36th minute through Arjen Robben, playing his first
international in a year. Injury had kept Robben out of the team since last November but he suffered another muscle strain before halftime and had to be replaced. The Dutch then gave away a penalty just before halftime which Maxime Chanot converted. Luxembourg brought on a 16-year-old substitute Vincent Thill to make his debut near the end of the game but they still lie bottom of the table with only a single point from their four matches. Results from Sunday November 13: Luxembourg 1 – Netherlands 3 Bulgaria 1 – Belarus 0 Hungary 4 – Andorra 0 Switzerland 2 - Faroe Islands 0 Cyprus 3 – Gibraltar 1 Portugal 4 – Latvia 1 Belgium 8 – Estonia 1 Greece 1 - Bos-Herze 1
LORENZO SIGNS OFF IN STYLE FROM YAMAHA
(Reuters) Spain’s Ducatibound triple world champion Jorge Lorenzo signed off from Yamaha with a farewell victory, in his 250th grand prix, in front of his home crowd in MotoGP’s Valencia season-ender yesterday. The Spaniard, who had already handed over his title to compatriot Marc Marquez, held off a late charge from Honda’s newly-crowned triple champion to win by 1.185 seconds at the Ricardo Tormo track in eastern Spain. Italian Andrea Iannone, who is making way for Lorenzo at Ducati and joining Suzuki in 2017, finished third to deny Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi a final podium appearance of the season. Lorenzo’s victory was Yamaha’s first since June, and his own third of the year, but Marquez made him sweat before he could start celebrating his 44th win. The younger Spaniard, second on the grid with Lorenzo on pole, fell back to sixth at the start as Iannone
Spanish World Champion Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo celebrates after winning the Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo racetrack in Cheste, near Valencia, November 8, 2015. (REUTERS/Heino Kalis) and Rossi surged ahead but regained second with 10 laps
to go and then steadily closed the gap.
RAJKOT, INDIA (Reuters) India captain Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on a defiant 49 in a tense final session to deny England victory and claim a draw in the opening test of the five-match series yesterday. England captain Alastair Cook notched up his 30th test hundred and declared his team’s second innings on 260 for three in the second session, to set India an improbable target of 310. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who picked up four wickets in the first innings, took another three as the hosts were reduced to 71 for four shortly after tea. With the spinners getting the ball to turn sharply and bounce on the wearing pitch, Cook surrounded India’s batsmen with close-in fielders in an effort to force a victory. Kohli, India’s best batsman, then frustrated the touring side with a fifth-wicket stand of 47 with Ravichandran Ashwin, who made 32. The pair batted out over 15 overs to take India closer to the draw before Ashwin drove left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari straight to Joe Root in the covers. Wi c k e t k e e p e r Wriddhiman Saha did not last long as India were reduced to 132 for six with enough overs still left in the match for England to force a win. But Kohli added another crucial unbeaten stand of 40 in 10 overs for the seventh wicket with local boy Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 32, to deny the tourists. The hosts reached 172 for six when the captains shook hands for the match to end in a draw. The result, however, could have swung in England’s favour had they managed to hold on to their catches. Vijay, India’s highest scorer in the first innings with 126, was dropped on 13 by Ansari, who failed to hold on to a powerful return catch. The batsman went on to make 31. Ansari was the unlucky bowler again in his next over when Stuart Broad dropped a much easier catch from firstinnings centurion Pujara at point with the batsman on 10. Pujara was dismissed on l8, given out leg before off Rashid with replays showing the ball had pitched outside the leg stump and the decision would have been overturned on review. COOK HITS TON Earlier, Cook brought up
Virat Kohli and Alastair Cook shake hands to signal the end of the match, India v England, 1st Test, Rajkot, 5th day, ©Associated Press his sixth hundred against India, with five of them having come while touring the country. Resuming on his overnight score of 46, the lefthander looked unperturbed against the turning ball and was equally comfortable against India’s pacemen, who got the ball to reverse swing. Cook hit 13 boundaries in his knock of 130, which came to an end when he was caught off Ashwin. Mishra broke England’s best opening stand in India with his third ball of the day when the 19-year-old Haseeb Hammed (82) hit a flighted
delivery straight back to the spinner. Mishra also picked up Root (4) in his second over of the morning. England promoted the hard-hitting Stokes up the order to score quick runs and the left-hander hit 29 in as many deliveries in a 68-run stand with Cook for the third wicket. Scores: England 537 (Stokes 128, Root 124, Moeen 117) and 260 for 3 decl. (Cook 130, Hameed 82) drew with India 488 (Vijay 126, Pujara 124, Ashwin 70, Rashid 4-114) and 172 for 6 (Kohli 49*, Rashid 3-64).
Persauds; Max and... From page 32 of charge. Most recently, Macorp was one of the main contributors to the access road being all-weather available in providing the Motor Grader and labour to operate it free of charge. Macorp is the largest corporate member of the Lusignan Golf Club, having 7 golfers. Significantly Macorp has annually sponsored the much appreciated Caddy tournament that gives caddies a chance to compete and win great prizes. In his response after the prize distribution and raffle ceremony so typical of Macorp, CEO Mr Jorge Medina expressed the Company’s delight to have participated and committed to continue participating, not only in the development of the Golf Club, but also of the Lusignan community. Macorp is willing to assist in ensuring that the road is in good condition and in assisting the community in any other way through the Club. Macorp was represented by some 5 managers and 10 other staff in addition to the CEO.
Hamilton win takes Formula... From page 33 10-minute delay, with Frenchman Romain Grosjean crashing his Haas on the way to the grid, and was twice red-flagged due to accidents and the treacherous conditions. At one point it looked like half-points might have to be awarded, as heavier rain threatened and drivers got out of their cars and waited. The first delay was 35 minutes, the stoppage coming after Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson hit the wall, and the second for 27 minutes after Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen crashed — with the race taking just over three hours to complete.
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Tony’s Auto Spares behind Mohamed’s, New Era Futsal tourney
Kenrick Noel (left) Co-Director of New Era collects the sponsorship from Vish of Tony’s Auto Spares.
Tony’s Auto Spares is the latest sponsors to throw support for the New Era, Mohamed’s Enterprise Futsal tournament which will be played from November 25 with action set for the Mackenzie Hard Court in Linden and running for nine nights, concluding on December 26. Co-Director of the New Era Entertainment Kenrick Noel visited the business entity Friday and received the support to help a successful staging of the tournament. Vish, a Sales Representative of Tony’s Auto Spares, presented the sponsorship to Noel during a simple hand over, pledging the company’s continued support. Game nights are set for November 25 with the opening, followed by action on November 26, December 2, 3, 9, 10, 17, 23 and 26 the grand finale. The first prize is $400,000 along with trophies and replicas. The second placed team will collect $150,000 and trophy, third $75,000 and trophy and fourth place will get a trophy. Other prizes are on offer for the MVP, Best goalkeeper and Best young player.
Steyn undergoes successful shoulder surgery
An injured Dale Steyn was seen in the stands in Perth before flying back to South Africa for the surgery © Cricket Australia/Getty Images ESPNCRICINFO - Dale Steyn underwent a successful shoulder surgery on Thursday in Cape Town to repair the fracture he suffered during the first Test against Australia in Perth, Cricket South Africa said in a release. The fast bowler will have to undergo a six-month rehabilitation before gradually returning to bowling. Steyn suffered the injury on the second day in Perth and told Channel Nine that he felt a thud in his shoulder and a lot of pain while bowling. He had bowled only 12.4 overs
Djokovic beats Thiem after scare Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action. (Action Images via Reuters / Tony O’Brien Livepic)
LONDON (Reuters) Deposed world number one Novak Djokovic suffered a scare at the hands of Austrian debutant Dominic Thiem before launching his bid for a fifth successive ATP World Tour Finals title with a 6-7(10) 6-0 6-2 victory yesterday. Knocked off the summit he had occupied for 122 weeks by Britain’s Andy Murray last week, Djokovic must better his British rival’s performance at London’s O2 Arena to snatch back the top ranking, but things did not go entirely to plan. Thiem, the youngest of the eight qualifiers for the year-ender at 23, grew increasingly dangerous throughout the first set and blazed several stunning winners to pocket a gripping breaker on his seventh set point. Thereafter the match was a procession as Djokovic racked up a 19th win in his last 20
matches at the tournament. Even after sealing victory though Djokovic’s mood was soured by a reporter asking him about an angry reaction to losing the opening set when the Serb slammed a ball into the ground and it bounced into the stands. When it was suggested he could have found himself in hot water had the ball hit a spectator, a tetchy Djokovic snapped: “It could have been yeah, but it could have snowed in the O2 Arena as well, but it didn’t.” Hiccups aside, including a cut finger that required treatment, the 12-times grand slam champion was happy to get a victory that now turns the spotlight on Murray who plays Marin Cilic in his opening match on Monday. Djokovic, bidding to end the year ranked number one for the fifth time in six seasons, trails Murray by 405 points in the standings
Monday November 14, 2016
but Murray will lose the 275 points he gained for winning the Davis Cup for Britain last year. That means they are virtually neck-andneck and the 200 points Djokovic earned for beating Thiem edged him ahead in what is turning into a thrilling race for the year-end honor. Djokovic’s Ivan Lendl group looks easier than Murray’s section. As well as Thiem, the Serb will face French showman Gael Monfils, another debutant, and Canadian Milos Raonic. He has never lost a match to any of them. After taking on Cilic in the John McEnroe group, Murray plays U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori, who beat him at Flushing Meadows this year. Without doing anything spectacular Djokovic was cruising throughout the first set against Thiem, dropping only four points on serve on the way to a 5-4 lead. Thiem was not overawed though and forced Djokovic to save a break point at 5-5. The tiebreaker was a classic. Three sublime winners helped Thiem into a 6-3 lead but he twice double-faulted as Djokovic clawed back to 6-6. Thiem had three further set points to Djokovic’s one before nailing a forehand winner at 11-10 to huge roars from the sell-out crowd in the arena. Djokovic, whose grip on men’s tennis has been prised loose since he won the French Open in June, seized on a Thiem wobble to run away with the second set in 23 minutes. While Thiem offered more resistance in the third there was only going to be one winner once Djokovic broke to lead 2-1. “I knew the opening couple of games would be crucial for me,” Djokovic said. “I started swinging more freely.”
in the match, and had dismissed David Warner before walking off the field. “I felt this pop or like a thud in my shoulder. There was a lot of pain,” Steyn said. “I had to go off the field and have an MRI. I did something very similar against England in December in a similar area but it wasn’t as bad. That was a stress reaction, which is like a very hairline little crack. This time it’s more like a fracture. It’s kind of broken the whole bone.” Dr Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said Steyn would begin his rehabilitation programme after a few weeks, once the bone had healed. “Dale had successful surgery on Thursday where the fracture in the right shoulder blade was fixated with the placement of a screw,” Moosajee was quoted as saying in a press release. “We expect a minimum sixmonth rehabilitation period before he can start any form of bowling. It is crucial to give the injury enough time to heal and to make sure that he is completely pain-free before he starts bowling again. He will begin with his rehabilitation programme once the satisfactory bony healing has taken place; this is expected to be in a few weeks. “We are positive that he will make a successful return to international cricket. He will be provided with the best possible support and guidance led by our physiotherapist, Brandon Jackson, and Cricket South Africa’s medical committee, which will give him the best opportunity to make a successful return to full fitness.” Steyn had suffered a similar injury late last year, and broke down during the Boxing Day Test against England. He was subsequently ruled out of the remaining matches of that series. Steyn made a comeback from that injury at the World T20 in March, featuring in two of South Africa’s four matches. He was then left out of the Caribbean triangular series in June - officially rested but unofficially dropped and was allowed to play in the NatWest T20 Blast to regain form. He returned for South Africa’s Tests against New Zealand and seemed back to his best with eight wickets in the Centurion win. He also played in four of the five ODIs against Australia and was occasionally seen holding the shoulder but did not need treatment at any stage.
Second day in Hobart washed out ESPNcricinfo - Persistent rain in Hobart forced the abandonment of the second day’s play between Australia and South Africa without a ball being bowled. It means that South Africa will resume on the third morning at 5 for 171, with Temba Bavuma on 38 and Quinton de Kock on 28, with a lead of 86 runs after Australia were skittled for 85 in seaming and swinging conditions on the first day. However, the forecast for the remainder of the Test is much better, with the possibility of a small amount of rain on day three but the likelihood that the fourth and fifth days should be largely free of rain. Play will start half an hour early on each of the remaining days, with the first ball due to be bowled at 10am. Scores: South Africa 5 for 171 (Amla 47, Starc 3-49) lead Australia 85 (Smith 48*, Philander 5-21, Abbott 3-41) by 86 runs.
Monday November 14, 2016
Letter to the Sports Editor
The Four Elite Clubs Must Be Commended for their Stance DEAR SIR, The collective decision taken by reigning champions Slingerz FC; runner-up Alpha United; along with Pele and GFC, towards their non-participation in the 2nd edition of the Stag Elite League is indeed commendable, that until and unless the GFF executive goes the route of having a competent, efficient and professional individual (s) in place, as an Arbitration to mediate and resolve the ongoing existing impasse. Then at the end of the day, football, the World’s most popular, emotional and largest spectator sport will continue to be the ultimate loser. A timely reminder editor, to the GFF President, “when the contract/agreement was documented last year, under the stewardship of Mr. Clinton Urling, Chairman, FIFA appointed Normalization Committee, Mr. Wayne Forde, at the time was the President, Fruta Conquerors also an Elite League club. As a consequence, the individual would have or should have had first-hand knowledge of the Elite League’s: rules, regulations, laws, by-laws and statutes. If for some strange reason the GFF President isn’t aware of the existing conditionality, then he is unworthy of the position he now holds. Suffice it to say that by virtue of expanding the participants to 10 teams, in the 2nd edition of the competition, apart from being vision-less and unprofessional, which is automatic promotion, the expansion also gives credence to “overt politicking” albeit, a likelihood 2 additional votes come next year, when Forde’s 2 years’ term of office come to an end, and he intends to seek re-election. By the way, why isn’t there 2 votes for all the Elite Clubs, since with relegation, what will be the outcome of the votes for the relegated clubs? Additionally, the expansion is counterproductive to development, wherein the previous agreement places the Elite League as a “pilot project, in an embryonic stage; with 2 additional teams being added at the end of 2 years. Editor, unless GFF executive is cast in stone, in the mould of ‘Polyphemus’, the one eyed giant, who sees everything for himself and absolutely nothing for no one else, then it is like the proverbial ostrich, with its head buried in the sand. Utilizing constitutional statutes and articulations under the guise of being in conformity with CFU, CONCACAF and FIFA is being simply naïve. The relevant stipulation allows countries to be flexible with rules in some instances to suit its own national club interest. i.e. “yellow cards, in some competitions have a stipulation of receiving 3-5, before the player(s) misses the next match, his team plays”, Internationally, the ruling is 2 yellow cards! Since the demographics and economical circumstances prevailing in Guyana can’t be overlooked, which other country within the CFU, road transport, ground rental and other associated costs in relation to hosting/promoting a double header is that expensive; of which clubs, will be burdened with the responsibility? This is against the backdrop of the GFF, incurring significant losses at the culmination of the competition’s first edition! Realistically, most clubs do not have the administrative expertise, marketing and promotional strategies to facilitate such an undertaking. At the end of the day, with sport no longer being sport, but rather business, it must make dollars and sense, definitely not cents that is no longer in circulation! What would have been beneficial to the Elite League and the sport by extension, was if the GFF in foresight would have introduced a competition at a tier below involving 14 teams drawn from all the Associations, play a League format over 2 rounds, with the top 2 securing automatic promotion to the Elite League. It would be unfair to amend the rules, without first and foremost involving the relevant stakeholders (club) for their respective input, prior to a draft amendment being circulated, for perusal and comments, which entails a written response forthcoming within a specific time-frame. What are clubs expected to do after compiling a “budget of expenditure” for the corresponding period/duration of the competition? Is it prudent to grant “automatic promotion” to 2 clubs, after the closure of the Transfer Window, which places them at a significant disadvantage? With both Slingerz FC and Alpha United being the 2 biggest spenders towards securing foreign based players and having expended huge sums, what must they do with the 2 extra players, the specific rule has reduced and who will provide financial compensation? Respectfully Yours, Lester Sealey
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GAPF 2016 activities conclude November 27 with Seniors event Tineisha Toney
After hosting 3 successful powerlifting meets for the year 2016, the GAPF will be closing the curtains on this year’s events with their most prestigious local meet of the year, The Senior Nationals Powerlifting Competition, which is set for November 27th at St. Stanislaus College. With the first registration deadline being closed on November 7th and already they have registered 25 athletes, this promises to be a very entertaining competition with the Epic Battles for dominance and several Unofficial World Records to be set. Spectators can look forward to breathtaking
performances from the 18yr old Romario Gonsalves who is intent on continuing his winning ways in the 59kg Open Weight Class since his arrival on the powerlifting scene both equipped and raw and in the Open and Junior category. He has promised a very Jaw Dropping performance as he looks to set Unofficial Sub-Junior World Records in both squat and deadlift which both stand at 235.5kg or 519lbs. In the 66kg Class, there will be the Powerhouse out of the Ancient County, Vijai ‘Antsman’ Rahim who will be coming to reclaim the Best Lifter Title after withdrawing from last year’s competition due to injury.
On the distaff side, expectations are there for young Strong woman Tineisha Toney who has dominated the strength sport scene for the year 2016 with victories recorded at every event she has competed in from Junior and Intermediate Powerlifting, Barbell Wars and most recently placed 2nd at the GTM Fitness Expo. Let’s see if she can continue to dominate as she closes the year 2016. She will face keen competition from her mother Jacquelyn Toney and Nadina Taharally who will all be vying for the Female Best Lifter Title. Spectators will be treated to the Biggest battle of Local Powerlifting History as Colin Chesney makes his return to the equipped stage to compete against 2016’s 120kg champion Farouk Abdool and to usher the return of one of Guyana’s Most Decorated Powerlifters, Big John Edwards who is also making a return to geared lifting. This promises to be a true Battle of Titans as each of these Juggernauts has had his brief time of dominance in the 120 kg division and spectators can look forward to a keenly contested battle as Heavy Weights are destined to tumble. Much can also be expected of young Carlos Petterson who will be competing in the Raw Category/unequipped as he looks to claim his 4th Title of 2016 as he has won every powerlifting meet in his division since his appearance on the scene. The Sponsors Trophy Stall, Buddys Gym and Fitness Express have already expressed pleasure with the level of competition and the new talent that has emerged out of Powerlifting in 2016 and are proud to be part of the development of the sport.
‘Big’ John Edwards
Carlos Petterson GAPF is encouraging spectators to come out to lend their support as they have always done throughout the years. Tickets are on sale for $1,000 and will be available with all members of the GAPF’s Executive Body. Athletes are being reminded that the second date of registration is November 14th and attracts a penalty of $500 FOR LATE REGISTRATION. NO FORMS will be taken after November 14th. Weigh in has been set from 7:00hrs to 8:30hrs and will extend no later.
Pakistan teams ‘safe’ after NZ earthquake ESPNcricinfo - All members of the Pakistan cricket team are safe in Nelson after an earthquake of high intensity hit New Zealand, their manager Wasim Bari has confirmed. Pakistan were in Nelson to play a three-day tour game before the first Test, scheduled to begin in Christchurch on November 17. The epicentre of the quake was 200km away, also on the South Island, but it was so strong - 7.4 on Richter Scale - that tremors were felt across the country. The Pakistan women’s team, who are also touring New Zealand, was even closer, staying on the 13th floor of a hotel in Christchurch. Basit Ali, their manager, told Geo News that they were all safe but “still scared”. The earthquake struck late on Sunday evening. “We felt the first tremors around 11.30pm,” Bari, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, told ESPNcricinfo. “Some of the boys were in prayer, some were watching the India-England Test on TV when we felt the windows shake. The whole room began to shake. We were on the sixth and seventh floor, and evacuated immediately. The hotel staff was very helpful. We are all safe.” By around 1am on Monday morning, having walked
around outdoors for a bit, the team moved back to the reception. They had not yet got the clearance to go back up to the higher floors. “There have been aftershocks too,” Bari said. The east coast of New Zealand’s South Island is on a tsunami alert with people being asked to move either inland or to higher buildings if they can’t travel inland. Nelson is at the northern tip of the South Island, but the Pakistan team remains aware of the tsunami risk. Pakistan were supposed to travel to Christchurch on Monday, but their plans are now uncertain. This being the middle of the night, there had been no communication between the Pakistan team and the NZC, but NZC’s liaison officer has been with the team through the ordeal, Bari said. The epicentre of the earthquake was at a depth of about 5km, about 40km from the town of Amberley, which in turn is only about 90km north-north-east of Christchurch, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2011. Whether the city will be able to host the Test beginning on Thursday will only be known once the damage is assessed properly on Monday morning.
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10TH ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC Maybe it’s the name, maybe it’s the interest, promotion and excitement that Macorp Cat – the sole authorized Caterpillar dealer in Guyana–invest in the game, but whatever it is, the Macorp tournament usually produces some excellent golfing, and this 10th annual Classic tournament was again outstanding. The competition – played under the Flights format, similar to the Guyana Open was keen as golfers who did not place as they desired in the Open decided to push their performances up several notches. In the 19 – 36 handicap category, 2ndplace went to veteran Maurice Solomon (70/24), while Pastor Balgobin Ragnauth (67/26), who has been in the winning circle consistently for several weeks, brought 1st. Other close contenders in the category were Carlos Adams (70/26) and Laksmana Ramroop (71/23). In the 10 – 18 handicap category, the Persauds produced amazing and wonderful play as 2nd place winner Patanjalee ‘Pur’ ‘I love that winning feeling’ Persaud (66/16) seemed to just get back that feeling, and his younger relative, 1st place winner Parmanand ‘Max’ Persaud (66/13) ensured that he made up for not hitting the top last weekend. While the 2 Persauds left a gap between them and the next contenders, the scores of Richard Haniff (69/15), Roy Cummings (70/ 13), and Hilbert Shields (71/ 15) were worthy of note. In what is considered the Championship Flight handicaps 0 – 9 -Patrick Prashad (67/9), Club VicePresident, edged out former Guyana Open champion Mohanlall ‘Santo’ Dinanauth (69/7) to bring home the 1st place.
Monday November 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
Persauds; Max and Pur, Prashad and Ragnauth take honours
Winners pose with some members of the Macorp executive. From left to right, standing:- Mohanlall Dinanauth; Guillermo Esscarraga of Macorp; Maurice Solomon; ‘Max’ Persaud; Jorge Medina – CEO Macorp; ‘Pur’ Persaud; Angel Amaris of Macorp; Oncar Ramroop – LGC President; and Patrick Prashad – LGC Vice-President. Stooping:- Miguel Oviedo and Jorde Pinol of Macorp, and Balgobin Ragnauth. Prizes were awarded for best net scores 1st to 4th place overall. Winners were as follows, 4th – Balgobin Ragnauth (67), 3rd – Patrick Prashad (67), 2nd ‘Pur’ Persaud (66) and 1st ‘Max’ Persaud (66). Champion Max describing his performance said, “I played one of my best games today. I did so well I had several birdie plays, missed a few but did get some! I made a few mistakes but I recovered quickly from them, kept focused, and so I brought it home.” Nearest to The Pin (6’) was ‘Max’ Persaud, while Best Gross was a challenge between Prashad and Dinanauth, with Dinanauth winning on the back-nine count. Club President Oncar Ramroop expressed gratitude
to Macorp for several outstanding features. He noted that in addition to being a superb business agency in
the Caterpillar spares and equipment supplies sector, Macorp has demonstrated enviable support for golfing
in Guyana in that the company has throughout its long years of association always loaned service and
equipment such as excavators, and backhoes to the Golf Club readily and free Continued on page 29
GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power U-17 League
Buxton United, Golden Stars and Mahaica continue winning ways
Action in the Fruta Conquerors vs Eastveldt match on Saturday at the Tucville ground.
‘Max’ and ‘Pur’ Persaud pose with their trophies.
Buxton United continued their winning ways when play in the East Demerara leg of the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Intra Association Under-17 League continued at the Golden Grove Community ground on Saturday afternoon. Buxton sealed their 3-0 win over Ann’s Grove in the first half thanks to goals from Nixon Robertson in the 8th minute, Troni Semple one minute later and Clint Headley in the 21st minute to shut out Ann’s Grove. Mahaica Determinators added three more points to their tally without breaking a sweat as Buxton Stars failed to show
up for the match. Golden Stars blanked Victoria Kings 4-0 led by a double off the boot of Ceyon Montrose, all the goals coming in the second half after a goalless first half. Montrose hit the target in the 47th and 58th minute with one each from Shawn Adonis in the 61st and Michael Wood in the 68th to seal the win. Over on the West Demerara, Den Amstel won via the walk over route from Beavers, while in the City, Fruta Conquerors mauled Eastveldt 6-0; Pele edged GFC 1-0 while Santos won by walk over from Order and Discipline.