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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
Violence in schools
The intensity and frequency of violence in schools have turned the prevailing thinking regarding corporal punishment on its head. The current fad is an overwhelming concern for the well-being of students, to the point where their own potential for violence against adults, particularly teachers, seems to have taken a back seat. Remarkably, it is not the usually expected male against male violence, but the incidents of student violence against teachers have taken a new direction, with female students’ assaults against female teachers apparently on the increase. The incidents of school-age youth violence are becoming pervasive, so much so that serious interventions are necessary in the short to medium term. In short, we all have an unswerving duty to ensure that our young people and their teachers are provided with the opportunities to become productive citizens in a school environment free from fear. Parents need to feel confident about not only their children’s safety in school, and on their journeys to and from school; but they must show consideration for the safety of teachers. Using a multi-sectoral approach, a carefully designed and well-run programme can be adopted from among the implementable short term measures. Such a broad-based multi-stakeholder arrangement could provide the type of positive influences for young people who may not have a good support system readily available to them. With the proliferation of trained social workers coming out of university, there is no acceptable reason why one could not be placed in each school to attend to students’ concerns on security and welfare issues. At the 48th Convocation of the University of Guyana, a total of seventy-three social workers graduated with diplomas and degrees. Placement within the public school system is surely not outside the competence and imagination of the relevant authorities. Utilising the professional skills of social workers in association with a mentorship arrangement which speaks to guidance and counselling could prove invaluable. They can provide the necessary supervision and support to face challenges associated with schoolwork; social issues, such as pressure to drink, smoke, or use drugs; family problems or tension; and other typical difficulties of growing up. In other words it is important that the extra support that many young people need is available to assist them to resist the strong influences of peer pressure and the temptation to be deviant. The case for the placement of social workers in schools is further established by the fact that the daily presence puts the professional in a position of knowing the students with problems and those who are problems. However, it would be most unrealistic and unfortunate to expect the social worker to supplant the parent or guardian. Neither should the authorities anticipate dramatic changes in attitudes towards authority figures, self-esteem or school attendance and behaviour. Mutual trust will have to be earned and gained if the solutions to the issues facing students and teachers are to be sustainable. The multi-sector methodology, with the inclusion of the private sector and its corporate social responsibility for the quality of the future workforce, can definitely be enhanced through advocacy and material support for a revitalised and relevant schools’ system with a focus on improved student performance; attendance; increased student retention; and positive student behaviour change. In the longer term, changes will have to be made to schools’ curricula to include violence prevention initiatives focused on pro life skills, peace culture and conflict resolution techniques, with the target audience comprising both students and teachers. Because of certain ingrained social and cultural orientations, transformation in the system and modes of behaviour will not be easy, and therefore there should be consistency in the approach to promoting good behaviour across the board.
Friday November 28, 2014
Letters... Where your views make the news
One by one, the kleptocrats are being caught in the US DEAR EDITOR, One of the PPP editorials on November 27th, 2014 said “Give dialogue a chance.” But what the PPP leadership clearly does not understand and care to know is that their selfish and deceitful political actions and their reckless and childish behavior between 2011 and 2014 has killed all good intentions and opportunities for any serious dialogue with the opposition. They ought to know that the opposition APNU and the AFC are weary of their empty promises, their silly behavior and being bullied by a regime that does not care about the country and the people, especially the poor and the working class. The PPP cabal has always put their financial interests first and those of the
people and the country last. Now that they have prorogued Parliament and is ruling by decree, the Stalinist dictators have surrendered themselves to spread propaganda and distort the truth for their inept actions. How can the president prorogue Parliament then write to the leader of APNU begging for a meeting on terms and conditions dictated by him and in the same breath cussing down the opposition? But what else can the people expect from this president who has publicly stated that the AG has done nothing wrong despite his vulgar and obscene that was heard on a tape that was released by Kaieteur News. The dictators are becoming more desperate as the clock on elections ticks away. It should be made very clear that
any member of the opposition who holds secretive talks with this brutal and boorish PPP regime will not only become a political liability to his/her party but also will be committing political suicide. The people will certainly massacre them at the polls. The time for dialogue with the bullies is over; but it is the time for a general meeting with the people at the ballot box. Despite what the less schooled General Secretary has repeatedly stated at his weekly press conferences that the PPP is ready for elections, the public does not believe his propaganda because they know that the PPP cabal is scared to death to call elections anytime soon. Now another scandal has been revealed concerning (Continued on page 31)
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Help & Shelter continues to stand against An involved elder injustices meted out to women and children on the suspension DEAR EDITOR, We stand united with the world in observance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) through sixteen days of activities under the theme “Let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women”. Help & Shelter continues in its efforts to stand against the injustices meted out to women and children, (particularly those vulnerable to the threats and/or practices of violence in all its forms) and individuals of both sexes whose human rights are violated. Over the years, we have worked tirelessly to empower victims of violence – particularly gender-based violence, which includes domestic and sexual violence - through our counseling and other support services, including court support and shelter for affected women and children, to raise awareness of the dynamics of violence, to sensitize people on laws (the Domestic Violence Act, Sexual Offences Act, Child Protection Act, etc.) available for their protection and strategies for preventing and responding to violent/ abusive situations through our public education sessions conducted at schools, health centres and with community- and faithbased organisations, policing groups, etc. across the country, and to seek to transform the culture of violence through our interventions with male perpetrators of domestic abuse through our male engagement group sessions. On 25th November, 2014, we not only observe IDEVAW, but celebrate 20 years since our establishment. We have provided face-to-face counseling to 10,884 people, hotline counseling to 4,449, court support to 829, shelter to 978, and through our public
education workshops and awareness/sensitization sessions have directly reached over 45,000 persons. Monitoring and evaluating our work and considering ways to increase is effectiveness are integral to all that we do. But in spite of the best efforts of Help & Shelter and other NGOs and stakeholders, gender-based violence continues to be a major cause for concern, with more than 20 women murdered so far this year and reports indicating an increase in rape from 38 reports in 2013 to over 50 in 2014, including brutal murders. The recent ruling of Chief Justice Chang with regard to the constitutionality of paper committals for sexual offences is a retrograde step and we sincerely hope will be given the short shrift it deserves in the appeal that is to be filed and we urge that if necessary the matter be taken to the Caribbean Court of Justice. Given judicial decisions such as this and statements such as those recently made by a senior ranking police officer, it is no wonder that many women continue to suffer in silence because of a lack of confidence in the police and judicial system to protect them. The low sexual offences prosecution rate and slothfulness in responding to domestic violence reports are totally unacceptable. Attitudes, beliefs and practices that perpetuate violence (sexual and physical) continue to be a sore point, particularly among
those who have responsibility for protecting our rights as citizens. The derogatory remarks by law enforcement officers, such as “what do you want”, suggesting the need for financial gain or “If it was a young man you wouldn’t ah mine” in response to victims of rape and sexual harassment, must be condemned. Victims should never be blamed for the abuse they have suffered and efforts should be made to correct such practices and ensure this is not repeated. In our quest to eliminate/ reduce the occurrence of violence against women and girls, we have a responsibility to address the violence in our homes - we can no longer turn a blind eye to or be secretive about the abuse of women and children. Children should not be brutalized in the name of parenting: adults need to find alternative ways of handling conflicts instead of using violence and should be humble enough to seek help where necessary. Within our schools, violence is often unreported and in many cases overlooked. Violence exists in such forms as bullying, rape, sexual assault and verbal harassment and needs urgent attention as such acts contribute to poor attendance, poor performance, school dropouts and esteem problems among students, all of which may contribute to future problems. We call on our teachers
and other education personnel to be more vigilant, report issues and be supportive of those affected, ensure safe learning environments and recognize the role of education in transforming attitudes and beliefs towards and practices of violence. At the community level, we need a more active approach in responding to and/or reporting violence. Greater sensitization is also necessary to address the lack of awareness/knowledge that pervades our society, hence the necessity for government to ensure that all citizens have access to information (and those within the discipline services should be exposed to in-depth training) in preventing, responding to, reporting and prosecuting gender-based and sexual violence. In light of the above, we take this opportunity to renew our call for better implementation of relevant laws and policies and the reconvening of the Domestic Violence Oversight Committee and Sexual Offences Task Force. In conclusion, we call on all parents, teachers, community and religious leaders, NGOs, CSOs, the government and donors to be united in furthering efforts to reduce and eradicate all forms of violence. Denise Dias Kevin Massiah Colin Marks Gaitrie Shivsankar Danuta Radzik Margaret Kertzious For Help & Shelter
of normalcy
DEAR SIR, President Donald Ramotar has officially called off the so-called Return to Democracy before it could happen. In his latest act of State he seems to combine an actual power to suspend or prorogue the National Assembly with an assumed power to convene the Assembly after a recess. The Minority status of the President’s party in the Assembly pushed him in this direction, into this excess, presumably on the expert advice of his unique and eloquent Attorney General, more prepared for other roles. Viewed from the standpoint of Guyanese constitutional history, the President has slapped down the most important reform of the 1980 Constitution, a reform approved by all parties in the National Assembly on the recommendation of a semi-civic, all- party Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC), chaired by the PPP. It was given force in .Article 106(6) of the existing Constitution and allows a no- confidence vote if successful to compel the government to resign, allowing new elections to take place. This had not been possible in the original 1980 Constitution. It was a democratic advance consented to by the PPP/C, the PNC/R, the WPA and non-party opinion. In undermining and blocking, with strong arm
tactics, the debate on the AFC’s no confidence motion, the President has undermined the main measure since 1992 towards democracy. And he does this, as he claims, in order to allow negotiations with the opposition parties and a return to normalcy. Observers may recall that the results of the November 2011 general elections gave a mandate to be shared between the President and the National Assembly. When asked in an interview with Sunday Stabroek in December 2011 for my opinion, I expressed the view that the voters had voted for a healing of the nation. The President had the option in that situation of opening negotiations with the opposition parties for a government of national unity, reflecting the decision of the voters. When I argued the case for such an administration in one of several letters, a Guyanese constitutional expert wrote to me, privately, saying that the argument was “clear and convincing.” The best remembered response of the President was that the opposition had rigged the elections. Later, and independently (Continued on page 31)
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Friday November 28, 2014
GCAA Board unaware of commercial licence for ‘money jet’ pilot - found out about private hangar at CJIA “unofficially”
The Exec. Jet Club facility at CJIA
At the time the pilot caught with hundreds of thousands of US dollars stashed in his private jet would have received clearance to establish his aviation business here in Guyana; there was not a functional Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Board of Directors. In fact, the sitting aviation Board, which was commissioned in early August of last year, is not aware of any information pertaining to businessman, Khamraj Lall’s aviation operation, which has been identified as Exec Jet Club. In light of recent developments which said that the Guyanese businessman was detained in Puerto Rico last Saturday for failing to report some US$620,000 hidden in various sections of the private jet he
was co-piloting, the GCAA Board will be requesting a meeting with GCAA’s Director General Zulfikar Mohamed for an update from the civil aviation agency in relation to Lall’s operation. Mohamed is expected back in the country today and a special meeting will be requested, especially since it was related that Lall has a private hangar in a secluded area of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Timehri. When Kaieteur News made contact with Chairman of the GCAA, Hugh Denbow, he related that the pilot obtained his operation clearance prior to the current Board of Directors’ establishment. The Chairman stated that currently, they have no information about Lall’s operation.
It was stated further, that when information was sought, it was recognized that the GCAA only became aware of the private hangar by default, and while the agency is an oversight body for the state airport -which has to recognize ICAO regulations they were never officially informed that the man was constructing a hangar. It is understood that a GCAA aerodrome inspector was conducting duties at CJIA when he noticed the structure and incorporated its existence in his final report. This report was allegedly submitted a short while after construction on the hangar had commenced. It was also mentioned that Lall is a US-licenced pilot and his jet is also registered in that country. However, it has been confirmed by CJIA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramesh Ghir and Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn, that Lall has permission to operate in Guyana and he was setting to conduct private and medical flights in Guyana. Two private jets owned by Lall are also based here in Guyana. However, the GCAA Board chairman is unaware as to whether Lall received local
clearance for commercial activities. “This means he could have only operated in his personal capacity; transporting friends and family.” It was confirmed that Head of State Donald Ramotar would have travelled a few times on board the private craft on official state business. The media was promised a report by Cabinet Secretary Roger Luncheon at Wednesday’s press conference, on whether state funds would have paid for the President’s trip on board the luxury jetliner. Denbow explained also, that the country where an aircraft is registered usually conducts oversight of the craft, however, in a case where a foreign-registered aircraft is based in another country, that country can request permission, or the country of registration will give permission to the base country to oversee the airplane. However, the GCAA Chairman could not say whether Guyana has oversight permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) given that the plane is usually based in Guyana. It was explained to Kaieteur News that when an
applicant applies to perform any operation at the CJIA, it is the GCAA management that oversees this process. The application is then “supposed” to go to the GCAA Board for consideration, but that is not always the case, Denbow pointed out. He said that the Transport Minister would then give his input at the government level. The Alliance for Change (AFC) at their party briefing yesterday emphasized that they too have received unfavourable information pertaining to the operations of Exec Jet Club. Member of Parliament Cathy Hughes explained that the party is demanding an investigation into Lall’s operations at the airport. She claimed that, “well placed sources at CJIA disclosed that the airport’s senior management have adopted a hands-off position when it comes to Exec Jet club, and security personnel have been instructed not to stop and search vehicles entering or leaving the Jet Club hangar.” She said the party received information that entrances to the hangar area are unmanned by airport authorities, while staffers
have complained about the free movement of Jet Club personnel around the airport with the almost non-existent security checks of the aircraft and its passengers. She reported that outside of this, some $700,000 of the airport’s petty cash has gone missing and management seems to be turning a blind eye. AFC said they will therefore write the Auditor General to conduct an investigation into the total operation of CJIA. Lall owns a limousine service and a gas station among other businesses. After the first bag of cash was found, Lall told US authorities that he had forgotten the hidden cash - which he claimed was proceeds from his business - was in the plane. When the remainder of the money was found, he took full responsibility and excluded his father and pilot who were travelling at the time. The jet was destined for Guyana and had made a fuel stop in Puerto Rico. Lall is expected to attend a bail hearing in that country next week. Information is still not clear as to how Lall would have attained approval for his aviation operation here.
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
Taliban kill five in Kabul in attacks on British embassy car, foreign compound
The Taliban bombed a British embassy vehicle in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday morning, killing five people. Reuters) - The Taliban bombed a British embassy vehicle in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday morning, killing five people, and attacked a foreign compound in the city center in the evening, officials and witnesses said. The suicide attack on the car in the east of the Afghan capital killed two embassy workers, one Briton and one Afghan, and wounded more than 30 others nearby, officials said. A second blast, at a compound run by a contractor for the U.S. aid agency in Afghanistan, shook buildings in the diplomatic quarter and was followed by an intense hourlong gun battle between insurgents and Afghan security forces. A foreign national was injured and two suicide
bombers were killed in the second attack, which started when a car loaded with explosives detonated outside the compound just after 7 p.m., according to security officials. Hours later, blasts and gunfire continued sporadically and coalition helicopters flew overhead, assisting with efforts to clear the area of at least one more suicide bomber, according to security sources. A Western security official said the explosion failed to breach the compound walls, which were well fortified. The area was reported clear by about 1 a.m. on Friday morning, local time. “There are no casualties among the Afghan security forces,” said the commander of 111 Military Corps Kabul, Qadam Shah Shaheem, adding that all compound staff were safe.
Thursday’s incidents were the latest in a wave of bombings to hit the city as the majority of foreign combat troops prepare to withdraw from the country by the end of the year. Taliban insurgents, who were ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001, claimed responsibility for both attacks, saying the embassy car bomb “targeted foreign invading forces”, while the compound was an “important center of the enemy”. Attacks aimed at foreign diplomats and civilians are less common than the daily strikes against Afghan and international military forces across the country. More than 4,600 Afghan police and army personnel have been killed in the war against the Taliban since the start of the year.
Northeast Nigeria bus station blast kills 40 people (Reuters) - A roadside bomb tore through a bus station near a busy junction in northeast Nigeria on Thursday, killing 40 people including five soldiers, witnesses and a security source on the scene said. The security source and witness Abubakar Adamu, a mechanic who narrowly avoided being blown up himself, said the blast set several buses on fire at the Marabi-Mubi junction, in a part of the country plagued by violence linked to the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. “There were bodies everywhere on the
ground,” Adamu said. The location is about 30 km (20 miles) west of Mubi, a town near the Cameroon border seized last month by Boko Haram militants fighting to carve an Islamic state out of religiouslymixed Nigeria. It has since been recaptured. Nigerian authorities, who rarely remark on security developments in the troubled northeast, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. There was no claim of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y, but suspicion is likely to fall on Boko Haram, whose campaign to create an
Islamic caliphate governed by sharia law has killed thousands since 2009. Continuing insecurity is a headache for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of February 2015 polls in which he is seeking a second elected term in office. He has asked parliament for approval to extend an 18-month-old state of emergency in the northeast. Tw o f e m a l e s u i c i d e bombers killed at least 44 people on Tuesday in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, medical officials said.
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Venezuela charges Maduro foe in alleged plot CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — An outspoken leader of Venezuela’s opposition is being charged in what the government alleges was a U.S.-backed plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday ordered former congresswoman Maria Corina Machado to appear in court Dec. 3 to face charges. What little is known about the alleged plot was presented in a highly publicized news conference in May following months of deadly antigovernment protests. At the time officials presented what they said were conspiratorial emails between Machado, other prominent hardliners and State Department officials, including Kevin Whitaker, the current U.S. ambassador to Colombia, discussing funding and instruction for a plot to topple Maduro’s socialist government. Arrest orders for three others implicated in the purported plot, all of them living abroad, were issued in June. A cybersecurity forensics firm hired by one of the accused to clear his name determined the communications were fake. Machado was barred in June
Maria Corina Machado from leaving Venezuela just before being questioned in the case. She denies any wrongdoing and said on Twitter that the charges are an attempt to silence her and others pushing for Maduro to step down amid a grueling economic crisis marked by the world’s fastest inflation and widespread shortages. Earlier Wednesday, she presented a petition demanding the resignation of four government-aligned members of the National Electoral Council, which she accuses of
gutting the public’s faith in the country’s voting system. Machado is one of Maduro’s fiercest adversaries and a divisive figure even within the Venezuelan opposition for having called for mass street protests in February, just two months after the government prevailed in mayoral elections. After traveling to Washington in March to denounce Maduro’s government at the Organization of American States, she was stripped of her seat in the National Assembly for allegedly committing treason.
Violence against women in the Caribbean linked to reproductive health problems – PAHO WASHINGTON – CMC – The United Nations says unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and miscarriages are more frequent among women in the Caribbean who have experienced violence at some point in their lives. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed each year on November 25, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) called for the health sector, especially sexual and reproductive health services—to be involved in efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women. “This is a major problem
Dr Carissa F Etienne with many health implications,” said Dr Carissa F Etienne, PAHO’s Dominican born Director. “The health
sector has a role to play in both prevention and response.” PAHO said violence against women continues to be a serious public health problem in the Americas, including the Caribbean. It said one in three women in the Americas experience physical or sexual violence by a partner or sexual violence by a non-partner during their lifetime, and 20 per cent of women report being sexually abused as children. Young women aged 15-19 years are most at risk of suffering physical or sexual partner violence, with many reporting their first sexual encounter as unwanted or forced, PAHO said.
Grange ‘outraged’, says information minister should apologise to journalists Jamaica Gleaner Opposition Spokesperson on Information, Olivia Grange, is expressing outrage at the treatment of two journalists at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Wednesday. According to Grange, Wednesday’s incident is the
latest in a series of incidents where members of the media are interfered with by government functionaries. Grange also noted the attitude of the Information Minister, Sandrea Falconer, a former journalist, who she says has seemingly forgotten
the tenets of good media management. The Opposition spokesman also says allegations of threats by a functionary of the OPM against a media house which reported on the incident must be investigated thoroughly.
Friday November 28, 2014
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AFC lambastes PPP for inciting “race-hate” in Berbice The Alliance for Change (AFC), one day after its coopposition in parliament had cause to condemn the government over race division statements, has spoken strongly against the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) for what it says is its continued strategy to preach “racehate”, particularly in the party’s perceived stronghold of Berbice. Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo, told media operatives during the party’s weekly press briefing yesterday that the AFC condemns “the shameless and illegal campaign of the Ramotar led PPP to create ethnic and geographic apartheid in Guyana. In Berbice, the PPP has been stirring anti-African fears; conjuring up the so-called black jumbie to scare Indians and to woo them away from the AFC.” Nagamootoo slammed the PPP for the manipulation of the airwaves to serve their agenda in getting their message across. A former Information Minister under the PPP, Nagamootoo noted that the government is currently attempting to muzzle those opposing it and to control the information being disseminated the citizens. Nagamootoo stated that when he was Minister of information he had forwarded four drafts to deal with the
- condemns manipulation of airwaves to serve agenda
AFC members listen as Cathy Hughes (second left) makes a point distribution of the country’s airwaves. He said he had submitted two types of allocations of frequencies; community-based and nationwide. He said it was recognized that some ethnic communities did not have enough money to go nationwide and culturally homogeneous areas were identified for small radio and televisions stations. There was also a provision for a national linkup of frequencies to go nationwide, but that was at the time made when the state alone had nationwide coverage. This has changed, Nagamootoo opined, and he is adamant that it is not in the interest of Guyana for government to restrict stations who are capable of
going beyond their current allocation. He questioned why CN Sharma, a pioneer in the television industry in Guyana could not be given uplink status to broadcast beyond his current limit and others who came behind him, are now having links to other areas in Guyana. “It is discriminatory. So that it is part and parcel of this PPP government, the Jagdeo and Ramotar vindictive government to not only muzzle existing press, but to limit the area of your expression. To limit the scope of your reach is state censorship,” Nagamootoo emphasized. Cathy Hughes, another AFC Member of Parliament stated that for almost the whole of last month, every (Continued on page 12)
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
That tourism photograph reminded me of Nazi Germany What kind of mind would think of holding a celebratory event on tourism while half of Demerara was under flood waters? What kind of mind would willingly participate in such an ugly act of desecration of a country? But it happened. While Georgetown was under flood waters, the Guyana Government held its annual tourism awards last Friday at the Convention Centre. One would have thought that empathy would have deterred the Government and its participants from involvement in such a process after the unbearable
pain poor people had to endure after the flood on November 20. Last week Thursday’s flood was not the unpredictable presence of human disaster that has accompanied human civilization since it began. The inundation that occurred two Thursdays ago was not a natural calamity. It was a catastrophe that every one of those participants knew was going to devastate this country sooner rather than later. It was a disaster waiting to happen, because the Government of Guyana doesn’t care.
The prevention of floods in this country is not a scientific process but a commonsensical one. If your parent gave you twenty dollars, the admission fee, to enter the school sports ground and you spent ten, there is nothing scientific about why you cannot enter. Commonsense will instruct you that you should not have spent ten because it is twenty to get in. If a country cannot clean its waterways of the jungles that overran them, then commonsense should tell its citizens that constant rains will bring water that has nowhere else to go but into your yards and homes. Several times in writing about the cruelty of the Government in neglecting Georgetown, I mentioned the graphic image of Shanta’s Puri Shop at the Camp and New Market Streets junction. Once you step on the bridge in front of the shop you see a gutter that is literally overflowing with mud. Just a few hours of rain will carry water into the shop. I saw the identical situation with Medicare on New Market Street and Miranda Avon Store on the same street. Once it rains continually, thousands (not
hundreds) of places like Shanta’s, Medicare, Avon will be overrun. Those people who went up and shook Ramotar’s hand and collected their trophies and heard their names called as being appointed tourism ambassadors cannot be that naïve to say that Guyana has any tourism capital coming its way. Guyana has disaster coming its way. It did two Thursdays ago and more will come. There are no tourism prospects here but filth and miasma, which the young population sees everyday and which daily drives them away from Guyana. There was a funny streak that passed through me when I saw the awardees and tourism ambassadors having a photo-op with Ramotar. One of those persons just a day after he collected his imprint from Ramotar wrote the following in the newspapers; “…a few months back, I drove onto what I thought was grass on a parapet but was actually grass growing over a drain; I ended up with my front wheel jammed in a Camp Street gutter.” The person who wrote this has been appointed a tourism ambassador. I wonder what Sigmund Freud would say of this gentleman.
So why do people do this? There is a valid sociological explanation. The bulk of the wealthy folks that eulogize the PPP Government have swollen foreign accounts, citizenship for other countries, and their families do not suffer the hardship ordinary Guyanese have to endure. Take the people in that tourism photograph with their country’s president, Mr. Donald Ramotar. A majority of them this columnist has done a background check on. One is the part owner of an airline company that buys Cessna aircraft. Another is from one of the richest families in Guyana. She engages in a certain type of sports and trains year round outside of Guyana. Where are the facilities in Guyana for her to train? Like the owner of the airline, she probably has foreign residency. Another is a
Frederick Kissoon wealthy hotel owner. In fact, a majority of those smiling faces have residency abroad and their families are outside, and of course seek their medical services outside. So do they care about Guyana? Well the man who drove into the gutter is the best answer. The gutter incident didn’t deter him. He went and secured his award from President Ramotar, and he will be promoting tourism in Guyana. When I saw that photograph it reminded me of how the German people smiled with Hitler and praised Hitler while Hitler was destroying Germany. But do these guests know who Hitler was?
Dem boys seh...
Jagdeo and he kavakamites gun get jail It never good to wish people bad, but in this country, envy and spite does got people cussing de very people that dem spite. And when de people tun pun dem, people shouldn’t get vex when dem same people wish dem bad. When dem boys read what some of dem do to dem three NBS people dem couldn’t help but wish bad things happen to de three sinners. Dem wish Jagdeo bad because he was de one who start de whole thing. If he didn’t tek out spite pun de head of de NBS all this wouldn’t happen. De man seh no to an unlawful loan and he end up getting charge. Dem wish Go Paal bad too. He is de one who tell de NBS people that bad things gun happen to dem. He was de one who had plans and when dem boys talk bout de plan fuh build de new office he run and sue. He should know that de Creatah don’t sleep and he should remember that crash pun Carifesta Avenue. De DPP lady mek de people get charge. Dem three sinners, Jagdeo, Go Paal and de DPP all mek dem people and dem family suffer suh much. Is seven years done and dem people live, some of dem by de Grace of de Creatah. One of dem seh he didn’t have rent money. Tears come to he eye when he think about he landlord, who he describe as an angel. And on top of that the man had five girl children, the smallest one was two years old. One had six months to retire. The man is now 67 and still can’t get his pension. He mudda bedridden and she get sick because she tek on she son court case. De son get off, but she still sick and de man got to support she. This man turn back and sue de wicked three for wrongful charges. Dem suh spiteful because dem got control of how de case moving in de courts. Dem got he in de witness box since February. Dem boys seh that this got to be a world record. Dem boys seh that dem know that de man gun win de case suh dem slowing it down. That is why dem boys seh that dem can understand when de Hay Heff See seh that if it get into power it gun put in laws fuh deal wid Jagdeo and he kavakamites in de PPP—Piss Pun de People. Talk half and watch de wicked end up in jail.
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With 16 fatalities in 27 days…
Road Safety Month is second deadliest period for the year It appears that ‘Road Fatality Month’ might be a more appropriate description for Road Safety Month, since, with three days remaining, November 2014 has turned out to be the second deadliest month for road users. Statistics acquired from the Police Traffic Department showed that there were 16 deaths in 27 days in November, which is designated as Road Safety Month. Only August, with 22 deaths in 21 days, has had more road deaths. According to figures acquired by Kaieteur News, there were eleven road deaths in January; eight in February; nine in March; eight each in April and May; 13 in June; 10 in July; 22 in August; 12 each in September and October, and 16 between November 1 and November 27. A Traffic official observed that many of the victims had “killed themselves,” while in many of the other cases, the accused drivers were before the court. One of the incidents reportedly involved individuals who were dragracing, while at least three other cases involved allegedly drunk drivers. On November 10, 19-yearold Christopher Baichan was killed after being hurled out of the car in which he was travelling in the vicinity of Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara. It is alleged that the driver was drag-racing when the vehicle overturned. Police said that the driver was subsequently tested positive for being over the legal limit for alcohol consumption. At around 23.00 hrs on November 5, twelve-year-old Isaiah Khan of La Union, West Coast Demerara, was heading home after exiting a taxi when a speeding car struck him. He was killed instantly. The child’s father, who witnessed the accident, alleged that the driver and other occupants were under the influence of alcohol, and that a policeman was in the vehicle at the time. Kaieteur News was told yesterday that the report is with the Director of Public Prosecutions. A combination of speed and alcohol were also blamed for the death of 60-year-old carpenter Ramdolar Dhanraj on November 15 at Pearl, East Bank Demerara. The elderly man was cycling on the East Bank Demerara public road when an out-of-control and lumberladen truck crushed him. The driver was later charged for driving under the influence of alcohol and for dangerous driving. He was reportedly
Isaiah Khan
Ramdolar Dhanraj
Chris Baichan
Dilchand Angad
released on $300,000 bail. The following day David Dhanraj, 38, of Greenwich Park, East Bank Essequibo,
was attempting to cross a roadway, when he was struck and killed by a vehicle that was being driven by a police
constable. The victim’s 70year-old father, who was ailing, died the following day. And a speeding driver is said to have killed six-year-old Shaheed Yusuf shortly after the child went with his father to buy ice cream. Police had stated that the child, of Farm, East Bank Essequibo, was struck by a car when he ran from a yard at Parika onto the main road. But his father, Mohamed Yusuf, alleged that he was holding his son’s hand while crossing the roadway when “a speeding driver knock the child out of my hand.” There were also three fatal accidents last Sunday. Dilchand Angad, 28, of Plantation Hope, West Coast Berbice, a contractor, was riding an unregistered CBR 500 motor cycle at a fast rate of speed near No.10 Village, when he lost control and collided with a truck. That same day, Alden Straker, called “Carly” was riding a motorcycle some four miles from Bartica when it was alleged that he collided with another motorcyclist. Straker sustained a fractured skull. And Deowraj Doodnauth, 76, called ‘Daniel’ of Lot 165 B No.68 Village, Corentyne, was cycling home when a speeding car struck him. He was killed on the spot.
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Kaieteur News
Friday November 28, 2014
Inmate gets 60 months for drug trafficking Troy Younge, a prisoner recently busted with marijuana at the Georgetown Prisons was yesterday jailed for sixty months on a drug trafficking charge. The sentence was handed down
by Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The Camp Street facility is no stranger to drug trafficking cases but on November 9, last about 11:20 hours, Younge
was seen acting suspiciously by a prison officer who decided to search him. The rank confiscated a plastic juice bottle from him in which he found a quantity of marijuana.
When weighed, the illicit substance amounted to 157 grams. Younge admitted that the drug was his and he was subsequently charged with possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.
Man shot in face by intruder, perpetrator escapes A West Berbice man is now a patient at the Georgetown Hospital after he was shot in the face on Wednesday evening, allegedly by an intruder. According to reports, the man, 46-year-old Lester Cummings called ‘Como’, of 55 No 8 Village West Coast
Berbice, lives alone. He told investigators that he had retired to bed around 23:00hrs. He said that he was awakened shortly after by an intruder armed with a gun. The man shone a light in his face and told him to “give me the gold and money.” Cummings said that
he told the intruder that he that didn’t have any money and the man shot him to the left side of his face before escaping. After he was shot, Cummings made a number of telephone calls and a friend subsequently arrived and took him to the hospital.
Cummings was rushed to the Fort Wellington, before being taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital and subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Hospital for emergency surgery to remove the bullet that was lodged in his face. He remains hospitalised.
During his first court appearance on November 13, last, Younge denied the charge and a trial was subsequently conducted. The case was prosecuted by Police Inspector Michael Grant and the accused was found guilty. Magistrate Latchman, in handing down her decision, said that she had considered all the factors in his favour. She said that her decision was based on the fact that Younge is presently serving a threeyear sentence for a similar offence which had commenced on January 30. The court had considered
JAILED: Troy Younge too, that the offence occurred in a prison facility. Magistrate Latchman said that the court needed to act in a manner which would prohibit others from committing a similar offence. Younge was subsequently sentenced.
AFC lambastes PPP for... From page 9 Friday they were requesting paid airtime to broadcast their programme and were denied. “Every single Friday, we delivered our half an hour Alliance on the Move programme to the studios of NCN (National Communications Network) with correspondence requesting the time the programme could be air on a consistent basis. We have gotten that ‘things are tight’ by the programme director, to no response to other excuses, even though the programme was being paid for,” Hughes pointed out. She said that last Friday the party also met with the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and raised the issue in strong terms. She related that the party has urged the PSC members to issue a statement in relation to the sharing out of the country’s airwaves. The current situation, she stated, will have scenarios where media owners can decide who they want to have access to the larger population of Guyana, when traditionally, in all parts of the world, the media has to operate in the general interest of the population so all citizens can be informed fairly. Hughes said the party is awaiting the PSC statement, to speak out against the irregular distribution of the airwaves. “Our national media that taxpayers pay money for must be available to any organization,” Hughes emphasised. A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had cause to slam the PPP after the ruling party made statements that APNU and PNC would run the Demerara River red with blood. They saw it as instilling fear and causing division among the people.
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Fisherman who alleged police beating dies A Meten-Meer-Zorg fisherman, who was taken into police custody last Friday on an abusive language allegation, is now dead, and his family is pointing fingers at ranks of the Leonora Police Station whom they claim savagely stomped, kicked and gun-butted him during his incarceration. At around 13:00 hours yesterday, Soorsattie Chandrapaul also known as ‘Lily Rahim’ watched in horror as her husband of 21 years breathed his last. It was five days after he, Asif Rahim Khatoon was badly beaten, allegedly at the hands of the lawmen attached to the West Coast Demerara (WCD) station. Khatoon, called “Catches,” was a selfemployed fisherman who resided at 102 Ocean Gardens, Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD, with his wife, three daughters (aged 19, 17 and 8) and 14year-old son. The fisherman was briefly hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC),
His face was, at the time, badly damaged and swollen. Chandrapaul recalled that her husband was arrested last Friday after he behaved in a disorderly manner. She said, Khatoon, who was drinking earlier, returned home and was cursing at her. She said that though she had not called the police, a party of five “black clothes” ranks arrived and arrested him. Chandrapaul recalled that they handcuffed her husband and placed him to lie down in the back of the police van. The woman recalled that
Asif Rahim Khatoon’s swollen face after the alleged police beating
struggling to recover from severe injuries he sustained, days after he was arrested for arguing with his wife last Friday. Chandrapaul told Kaieteur News yesterday that doctors at the GPHC said Khatoon had sustained a
Relatives grieve as the body is removed from the premises
broken jaw and suffered from multiple contusions. When Kaieteur News arrived on the scene the man, who was lying motionless on the bed, was surrounded by his weeping wife, and investigating ranks who had been summoned to the scene.
at one point, her husband attempted to sit up but the police “tek one of the long gun and stomp he on he back”. According to the woman, when she visited her husband at the station the following day, she found him in a battered state, with his face badly swollen. After inquiring from the police about her husband’s condition, they told her that he had been beaten by other prisoners. However, Chandrapaul said her husband insisted that he was beaten by the Police
Officers. On Monday, when she returned she informed “Officer Johnson” of what transpired and permission was granted for her take him to the hospital under police guard. After being referred by two West Coast Demerara hospitals, the mother of four explained that she took her husband to the GPHC, where she was informed that his jaw was broken and he would need to undergo surgery. She said the Hospital then referred him to the Dental Clinic, which then sent him (Continued on page 16)
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Kaieteur News
Friday November 28, 2014
We will amend laws to deal with Jagdeo, Ramotar - AFC’s Moses Nagamootoo After noting optimistically that his party will become the next government, Vice Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Moses Nagamootoo, categorically stated the party will make unprecedented moves to have the “elitist clan” of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) face the music for its corrupt acts which he feels have left the nation with severe damage. While indicating that high up on the party’s list is Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, Nagamootoo said that he is interested in having the former President, Bharrat Jagdeo and current Head of State, Donald Ramotar, held accountable for their wrongdoing. The Vice Chairman said that the most damning corrupt acts were started by the Jagdeo regime and are being carried out to the detriment of the people by the Ramotar administration. The AFC Parliamentarian opined, however, that while the Constitution does not allow legal action to be taken
President Donald Ramotar
Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo
personally against a former and current President, the AFC will move to amend the laws so that any wrongdoing of the two can be properly investigated and the relevant charges leveled against them. In Jagdeo’s case, Nagamootoo pointed to the fact that the Ombudsman’s latest report pointed to just one of the dirtiest examples of vengeance and wickedness by the former President. He reminded that Jagdeo made three persons -
including the former Chief Executive Officer of the New Building Society - suffer the implications of false multimillion-dollar fraud charges, because he did not get the approval by the CEO for funds for the Berbice Bridge. He reminded too that the former President also gifted one of the nation’s most precious resources, licences for the airwaves, to his friends and “loyal minions.” Nagamootoo then turned his attention to the fact that
Ramotar is now continuing the corrupt line of leadership. He pointed to the fact that Ramotar allowed his Attorney General, Anil Nandlall to escape any form of sanction when he “was caught with his pants down” during a profanity-laced 19-minute conversation with a Kaieteur News reporter that was recorded. “Not only was he so disgusting and sickening in the tape as he made those sexist remarks about a female reporter, but he also spoke of the threat against the lives of the staff at the most fearless newspaper in the land. I mean, how can a President escape any kind of punishment for even condoning such behaviour? By not giving its nastiest beast a beating for that behaviour, he supported it, and that speaks to the wickedness within him,” the Vice Chairman added. Nagamootoo made the point that the acts that he referred to are just the “tip of the corrupt iceberg” and said that it is without question that he will not allow them to
AFC Vice Chairman, Moses Nagamootoo “escape the fire”. “Changes to the Constitution, particularly the powers of the presidency, are high up on our agenda, and we want to be able to deal with those amendments in such a way where you can make the President more likely to be impeached for wrongdoing. We will reform certain parts,” he added. The AFC politician emphasized that high on the AFC’s list is the finance minister. He asserted that the
AFC finds the abuse of the Treasury, and the violations of the Constitution by Dr. Singh, to be “unforgivable sins” against the people of Guyana. He said that his party will also investigate certain agencies such as the “Chambers of Corruption” which he said is none other than NICIL which is headed by Winston Brassington. He said that the AFC plans to examine how NICIL accessed millions of dollars and how it was misspent. Nagamootoo also stated that the AFC plans to go after Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Khurshid Sattaur, for the misuse of his office. “He is on our radar and he will face the books,” the attorney at law added. He said that the Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, is also on its “hit-list.” One of the reasons for this, the AFC Vice Chairman said, is that his party is not satisfied at all, with the manner in which the Guyana Police Force handles certain criminal prosecutions.
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
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AFC apprises US State Dept. of Guyana’s democratic and moral decay - Dept. gives commitment to work towards restoration of democracy
US Congresswoman, Yvette Clarke
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries
By Abena Rockcliffe
Parliament and democracy in Guyana. Williams said that on November 18, with the assistance of the President of the AFC Washington DC chapter, Chairman of the NY/ NJ-AFC chapter, Dr. Rohan Somar, had a conference meeting with the USA Director of Hemispheric Affairs and other officers of the US State Department. He said that at that meeting, reasons were given as to why the AFC laid a “No Confidence Motion’ in the National Assembly against the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government. The MP said that the meeting heard of the failure of the Government to establish the Human Rights Commission as mandated by article 212 G of the Constitution; failure of the Government to establish the Public Procurement Commission as mandated by article 212 W of the Constitution, as well as the President’s refusal to assent to Bills passed by the National Assembly, “effectively making an elected dictatorship rather than a democracy.” He said the “unauthorized expenditure by the Minister of Finance, who was discovered to have spent over 4.5 billion dollars from the Consolidated Fund without Parliamentary approval as required by the Constitution”, was also discussed. Williams said that the “negotiation and implementation in secret of multi-million-dollar contracts, with benefits accruing to family, friends and favoured associates of PPP Ministers, involving, in particular, infrastructure, construction, natural resource extraction and various other projects” was also highlighted. Also brought to the forefront was the “extensive
The United States Chapter of the Alliance For Change (AFC) has turned to authorities in that country for assistance towards the “restoration of the democratic process and constitutional governance in Guyana.” Kaieteur News was told that the body has been able to secure commitment from members of the US State Department and Congress for this cause. Commitment was given after a number of serious issues facing Guyana were made known, including the infamous recording of a conversation between Attorney General Anil Nandlall and a Kaieteur News reporter. At a press conference held yesterday at Georgetown Club, AFC Member of Parliament Trevor Williams disclosed the extent of the party’s US Chapter’s work for the realization of a better Guyana. He said that the work was driven by the disappointment in the President’s move to prorogue Parliament. According to Williams, the Party’s USA chapters in Washington DC, Florida, Atlanta, New York/New Jersey and Iowa, have expressed deep disappointment with the recent suspension of the Parliament by President Donald Ramotar. The MP disclosed that the various US chapters are meeting with major international stakeholders such as the US State Department, US C o n g r e s s i o n a l Representatives and Senators, United Nations, Transparency International, OAS and other agencies, to inform them of what is happening in Guyana and to elicit, among other things, their support to publicly call on the President to restore
Members of the AFC USA chapter with US Congress officials after the meeting corruption in Government, which has consistently led to Guyana’s ranking as the most corrupt country in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the most corrupt in the world, according to data compiled by Transparency International. And the breakdown of the institutions of law and order, involving unsolved criminal activity, police brutality that has included torture of suspects, and a high level of extrajudicial killings”. The AFC member told US officials of the “multiple infractions of the Constitution by PPP Ministers and other highranking officials in government, including the recent release of a recorded telephone conversation in which the Attorney General stated that he used public finances without approval, and warned a friend of impending extra-judicial sanction against a prominent newspaper critical of the Government.” Williams said that a series of regular meetings are planned and that the US State Department committed itself to work with all political parties to bring a peaceful political solution to the current impasse in Guyana. Also, on November 25 another delegation met with Members of Congress. This delegation was made up of Vice Chairman of NY/ NJ chapter, Ewart Marshall, and Anita Jaikarran, MBA and NY/NJ- AFC Executive Committee Member and representatives from other diaspora group including; Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), Center for Social Justice & Development, Center for Guyana’s Progress, APNU and PNCR.
Those persons met with US Congresswoman, Yvette Clarke and Congressman and Hakeem Jeffries. Williams said that a wide range of issues were discussed by the delegation and AFC representatives detailed the moral and democratic decay in Guyana.
He said that members of Congress asked probing questions and expressed their dismay at this constitutional breakdown in Guyana. According to Williams, Representatives Clarke and Jeffries expressed concern about the breakdown of
democracy and the Constitution in Guyana and pledged to remain engaged, and to work with other Members of Congress and the Obama Administration to ensure a restoration of the democratic process and constitutional governance in Guyana.
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Kaieteur News
Friday November 28, 2014
Strategic measures in place to Bartica Chamber, IMC weigh help miners - Macorp Manager in on Parliament’s suspension Some fuel entering these shores may not be of the best quality. However, this may not be a major concern for some within the mining sector. This state of affairs was alluded to on Wednesday by Macorp’s Product Support Manager, Guillermo Escarraga. According to Escarraga, who was at the time speaking at the opening of a new Bartica branch office, it was about one year ago he spoke with a customer who expressed to him immense frustration over the quality of fuel he was using. Without naming the source of the fuel, Escarraga went on to inform that Macorp was able to address the situation by offering the customer a workable solution. The solution took on the form of a filtration system that helps with the cleaning of fuel, the Product Support Manager disclosed. “I remember talking to him…and he was very, very dissatisfied with the situation he was confronted with...I can report (one year later) the customer has bought his third piece of equipment. This was a customer that started from scratch; these are the type of stories we want to hear from our customers…hardworking people that decide to undertake one mission - to become successful...” stressed Escarraga. According to him, the customer was able to realise success too, because he has been taking advice; ensuring that his equipment is serviced on time and repairing parts when they are required. Added to this, the customer ensured that his operators were trained by Macorp. “These are the type of stories that make us move forward, because we hear a b o u t people that fail and we are aware of these situations. We also want to share with you that there are people who are successful and we are very happy to be their partners.”
Macorp’s Product Support Manager, Guillermo Escarraga With the introduction of an expanded branch at Bartica, Escarraga is convinced that customers in that section of the country will be able to have access to parts when they so require. This therefore means that they will not have to travel to Georgetown or overseas. “That makes us proud because we are bringing the solutions close to our customers...we are delivering what they expect from us,” said Escarraga, who also spoke of plans to reach customers throughout the country. “We want to cover Guyana like nobody else can...we are the solution providers that you guys can count on.” Currently Macorp has branches at Bartica, Port Kaituma and Providence, East Bank Demerara. And according to Escarraga, because Macorp has confidence in the economy, in particular the mining sector, efforts will be made to expand to other mining areas. But delivering a high quality service has not been without challenges. “Sometimes we at Macorp think that we are doing enough, only till we hear from customers ‘you know what, you have to do more’, and sometimes it is a challenge for us because we are pulling the best we can. But when we are
confronted with this task we think about our miners who have to overcome even bigger challenges than we have,” Escarraga acknowledged. For this reason, he disclosed that “we won’t rest until we provide the type of support solutions that our customers demand, because they are not asking us to provide support; they are demanding support, especially now that we are aware of the situation with commodity prices.” Escarraga intimated that a lot of customers have expressed concern about the future, to which he noted Macorp is saying “remain confident that you are going to be successful and we are by your side, so whenever you confront challenges count on us, because we are here to support all of our customers - construction, development of infrastructure, mining, agriculture, power generation. We are here for you, and we won’t rest until we help you succeed in your mission.” According to the Product Support Manager, Macorp’s mission is to be a leader, which cannot be realized without the successes of its customers. “It is our great pleasure to know when our customers are successful,” said Escarraga as he recounted another recent conversation with a customer requiring parts. During that conversation, he said that a ‘best deal’ was asked of him, and he was readily able to inform that customer of a current promotion. At the moment, Macorp’s Parts Department is offering its customers a 15 per cent discount on all engines. “This customer was extremely happy to learn that he could benefit from this opportunity. We welcome our customers; we hear what they go through and we put in place programmes to support their activities,” Escarraga emphasised.
The Bartica Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Bartica Interim Management Committee (IMC) are appealing for good sense to prevail among the law makers of the land. In a joint statement issued by the two bodies, a call was made for the political leaders on both the ruling and opposition sides, to embrace meaningful dialogue in the interest of sustaining peace of mind for the citizenry, and by extension, further propel national development. “The fact is that the citizens of this land have placed the developmental guidance of this nation in the capable hands of individuals who we are hoping will, at this juncture – during this current legal suspension of our country’s Parliament – be able to put aside political and personal differences.”
Sherwyn Downer The statement, which was crafted on behalf of the two organisations by IMC Public Relations and Press Officer, Sherwyn Downer, outlined that the BCCI and the Bartica IMC together encourage the political fraternity – Government and opposition leaders – to find the best possible solution in the midst
of what seems like a time of glaring impossibility. “We would like to remind our politicians that the entire nation is watching and is paying close attention to whose and what interests are being placed on the frontburner.” “We have already placed our faith in both our Government and opposition to do the right thing which should translate to a soon reconvening of the Parliament. We are hopeful for speedy political reconciliation and are expectant that political maturity will be seen and not merely heard.” As such it was noted that “we are urging the opposition side, at this point in time of our country’s history, to think carefully the way forward and not engage actions that can hinder our country’s progression”.
Fisherman who alleged... (From page 13) back to the GPHC for admittance, given his condition. According to Chandrapaul, her husband was admitted on Wednesday evening but called her yesterday morning and begged her to have him discharged since he did not receive any treatment from the hospital authorities. She took her husband home yesterday morning, where he succumbed to his injuries. Hardeo Persaud, his brother-in-law, said “He (Khatoon) tell me ‘pain too much. Ah gun dead, the police beat me. They stomp me with gun.’” Khatoon’s wife said that a Ryan Persaud from the police complaint department came by and spoke to her husband. She said that the fisherman told them that he was attacked by a group of police ranks. They were advised however to take him to the hospital because at that point, they couldn’t take a
statement. “I feel upset about this. My husband is not a criminal. It’s just cussing he get arrested for, he is not a criminal. He is a very hard working man, now is me alone and dem children,” she stressed. “There is nowhere I can go to get justice, because police don’t go against police. He shouldn’t be brutalized like this in this county,” the grieving woman lamented. Persaud chimed in “As a police, you should do it in a decent manner – not beat and kill people. This man got three children going to school…he is the breadwinner for he family.” The woman is calling for whoever is responsible to be charged for her husband’s death. “This is unfair, the same
way they do this to my husband, they can do it to other people.” Chandrapaul has slammed claims that her husband was beaten by prisoners. She said “Prisoners can’t beat he like that…if it was so where they (police) went when that happen? Prisoner can never beat he so…. and even the doctors seh they believe he was beaten by the police.” Her grieving children, she said, are also saddened by the way they lost their young father. According to reports, this is not the first time that the Leonora Police Station has been involved in a case of brutalizing prisoners. In October 2009, a teenager was severely burnt on his genitals, an act which sparked public outrage and lengthy legal proceedings.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Small miners accuse govt. of only focusing on larger entities Lovely speeches of expansion and development by Government officials do not necessarily reflect the true reality of what is occurring in Guyana. This is according to former Member of Parliament and Barticabased businesswoman, Judith David-Blair. The woman, who took timeout to speak with media operatives recently, is of the conviction that “Guyanese must know the truth, because as a small miner, for me the Government and the Ministry of Natural Resources are only focusing on big companies.” “For us as small miners it is a terrible situation,” said David-Blair as she spoke of a situation in Issano (a section of Region Seven) whereby people who were living there for decades and making their living have been uprooted with the arrival of a foreign company. “Everybody had to move off; shops had to be shut. People’s livelihoods are being taken away. When we visit the back dam (mining area), small miners can’t get a piece of land...I am mining for over a decade and I can’t have a piece of land to say this is my land that I am working. If I have to work, is on somebody else’s piece of land; nothing for myself.” According to David-Blair, working the land is not the major problem but “where is the gold in the land? What kind of land are we being given to work with the prices we have to pay?” She disclosed that one businessman was demanding as much as $3 million up front just to work on a piece of land. And often the case is that a mere six ounces of gold is what is uncovered on a monthly basis. “My big question I’ve been asking all the time was ‘Are these people paying taxes for all the money that they are collecting from small miners?” David-Blair is convinced that “we are being raped and ripped off by these landlords; we need land to work where we can survive...we have excavators to pay for...we want to be customers to Macorp, but then if we are not getting lands to work, if we are not getting the gold in the land how could we buy an excavator?” the businesswoman asked. According to her, she is among the small miners who are yet unable to pay off for an excavator. “Let us not fool ourselves...last year gold was $300,000 per ounce, now we are barely getting $200,000 an ounce; it is like $1 million off
An animated Judith David-Blair shares her concerns with Ministers of Government, Irfaan Ali (right) and Nanda Gopaul of 10 ounces of gold and it is bad....I don’t like the dressup speeches, I don’t like people coming to tell us not factual things, let us know the gospel truth, let us understand, let people know mining is not for small miners now; the Government is shutting us out by bringing in these foreign investors.” David-Blair is of the opinion that locals should be given priority over foreigners and Government should not instead be too keen to embrace globalisation. “It is time that Ministers in this country… it is time government officials, it is time all the politicians get up from the seat they are sitting on if mining is going to move this country forward and get into the back dam…live between the miners, see what is happening with the miners and then we can deal with the situation after that. We are tired and fed up in Bartica of people coming and painting a beautiful picture; that is all farce.” According to her, even the young people are suffering. She disclosed that many have written exams and gained many CXC passes, but are yet unable to secure jobs. “How many excavator operators would we train? Would we flood the market with excavator operators alone? Where would they get the jobs?” For this week, she recalled that she was approached by four operators who are unable to find jobs. “We are training them, but where is the job for them?” David-Blair’s comments were validated by a number of other business people in Bartica. Some of whom
compared the locale to five years ago when the said economy was thriving. “We at Bartica are suffering right now, the economy is not booming. We have a dark cloud hanging over us in Bartica, nothing is being done...a lot of drugs, a lot of people in the streets walking...junkies. Even the taxi drivers aren’t getting work; nobody is getting anything. Even those who are working with the Government are crying out,” David-Blair asserted. She disclosed that while many are trying to embrace development, the economy is of such that they cannot even honour loan payments to the banks. “Lots of people’s houses (are) up for grabs, a lot of people’s cars (are) ready to be taken away by the bank...” added the businesswoman
who is calling for a change. Her extensive commentary was prompted by remarks made earlier by Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali. Ali, who also has Ministerial headship for the Tourism Ministry, on Wednesday amplified that investors such as Macorp have expressed confidence in the vibrancy of the local economy. According to him, “this is testimony to the fact that we are on the right trajectory; we are on the right pathway right here in Bartica.” He pointed out that just last week a new bank was opened in the area and that there are many new facilities. “When you drive around here you are seeing the changes, the transformation in private assets that are taking place, all this tells a
story, a story of an economy, of a society, a country that is on the move. It is up to all of us to recommit ourselves to the process of development in ensuring that the economy continues...in this progressive way so that all of us can be successful,” Ali stated. According to him, instead of responding to questions of how the economy is doing, he simply encourages persons to look around. He went on to share his conviction that if people did not have confidence in the economy, then a lack of spending would have been evident. “What we are seeing is more persons are buying homes, more persons are buying cars, more persons are building small businesses, more persons are improving their homes. Why are they doing this? They are doing this because they have confidence in the economy and Guyana’s future, and that is very critical for businesses,” Ali theorised. According to the Minister, operating right in the Region Seven locale is perhaps one of the largest investors in the form of the B.K. Group of Companies. The investor, he noted, is operating a modern quarry in the region and is also now partnering with Government to expand the airstrip there. “All of these are critical investments that will continue to propel the economy and take the economy in Bartica forward,”
added Ali. He too sought to comment on the future of mining in terms of how the changes in the pricing of gold will affect this sector. “The important question is not about the price of gold, the important question is whether we are able to make the investments to make our operation efficient enough to give us the results that will ensure that we are successful under the global changes in terms of the pricing mechanism...that is the important thing,” asserted a passionate Ali. According to him, efforts should be aimed at modernizing the operation to make it more efficient to minimize wastage, and for that there is not only a need for machines and equipment, but properly trained human resources. It is for this reason, he noted, that Government believes strongly in the need to expand training for young people. This, he said, is evident in the construction of technical institutes across the country. Three technical institutes were added by Government in the past four years and, according to Ali, Government is now looking at equipping all technical institutes with modern equipment, tools and modes of operation which he noted “will give our young people the best possible technical skills that will fit the new working environment that requires a high level of efficiency and productivity.”
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Kaieteur News
SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 LAND FOR SALE ECCLES: Build your own home in a modernize gated community, lot size 60X100 - $7.5M – Call: 227-2913, Cell: 689-3033 ECCLES: Commercial Lots - $14M – Call: 227-2913, Cell:689-3033 Parika (Butcher Shop Street) – One (1) Lot 38' X 150' $ 7m - Contact 650-0402 - for serious inquiries Blankenburg Public Road, W.C.D, 38X150, 37X150$16M Each. Call: 666-3619 1500 ACRES TRANSPORTED LAND IN REGION 6 @ No19 Corentyne Highway, Cane & Rice Cultivation, & Fish Ponds Etc. Call: 694-0079 One land Located at Cornelia Ida W.C.D, Phone, water & light, Price $2.5M – Contact: 652-0709; 276-0556 Prime Business Spot (110FTX50FT) Corner Lot Main Road - $2.8M Call:652-2018, 218-5591 Parfaite Harmonie (100FtX50FT) $1.8M, $1.2M & $1.4M, Grove (with foundation) -$2.4M, Cornella Ida - $3.2M –Call: 675-7292, 218-5591
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, (SALE) AND MORE, SAWS & DRILLS -$10,000 - CALL: 675-0767, 667-2535 Five bedrooms house, 107 Lamaha Gardens & Large Parking; AC Rooms Hot & Cold, Purified Water System Call: 661-8908, 335-3590 4 Bedrooms house- AC, Security camera, GEB alarm, phone, 2 vehicle parking, etc @ Friendship, E.B.D. Call: 674-6363 HEALTH Hazel Herbal Store for genuine herbal supplements. Iridology Evaluations on Monday December 8th 2014. Call: 226-9136
WANTED One live in maid & Live in nanny – Call: 675-5256 1 Experienced cook (Interior Restaurant); Ages 30-45, 1 Female Bartender for Interior Location; Ages 20-30. Attractive Salary! Tel:6812997, 680-1323 Live in waitress to work in Liquor Restaurant - Call: 6863116 Cook, waitress to work at New Bar in Agriculture Road Call: 612-2522 Male/female kitchen attendant, roti/pastry cooks @ Hack’s Halaal Restaurant, Commerce Street. One live in waitress/cashier, must be good at Maths. Salary $50,000-$60,000 monthly, boarding & Lodging free. Tel:610-5043 Experienced dispatcher & taxi drivers at Princess Hotel Providence – Tel: 616-5419, 265-7076 Diesel Mechanic to work in Georgetown – Call: 218-5105 Drivers for TM Trucks- Call: 683-3480, 684-0172. Marack & Jet men to work in the Interior – Call: 602-9469 Urgently needed two low income house lots to buy in La Parfaite Harmonie. Call: 652-2018 One manager to work at an out of town Hotel – Contact: 642-7963, 226-9768 One assistant salesgirl E.C.D – Contact: 622-3250, 665-9747
Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 662-6045
Minibus drivers for contract – Call: 602-8143 Live in waitress to work in bar- Tel: 604-6606
TAXI SERVICES City Taxi Service (since 1968), 8 Vlissengen Road, Newtown -24hrs service – Call: 225-8600, 226-1088, 2271101, 226-7150 Eddie’s Taxi Service, 6 Vlissengen Road, Newtown. 24hrs service Call: 226-0606, 225-1513 Contract Cars Call City Taxi Service; lot 8 Vlissengen Road, Tel: 660-1100
SALON Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257 Glamazon Beauty Salon and Cosmetology School, Located 28 Sheriff Street C/ Ville, Visit us or Call for an appointment. Tel:225-5360, 687-7566, 625-7844
Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves. Contact Nick: 6831312, 627-3206 Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Grooming Palace Barber Shop & Salon, excellent, prestige & refine haircuts & designs, Royal Castle Building South - Tel: 6018045, 218-0116 FOR LOW COST: REPAIRS TO FRIDGE, FREEZER, A/ C UNIT, MICROWAVES, TV & WASHING MACHINE CALL: 629-4946 OR 2254822
VEHICLE FOR SALE Toyota Prado, Price$5.5M Neg. Call: 643-2403 2003 Toyota Premio - $2.3M, New Model Spacio $2.150M, fully loaded, unregistered. Call: 617-2891 1 PKK automatic mini-bus, good condition- Call:6520709, 276-0556 1 Toyota Raum - $850,000 – Call:628-6066, 698-2042 AT192 Toyota - $800,000 – Call: 696-5424
Barber Stations & Hair Stations for hairdressers, in lucrative & friendly environment. Call: 601-8045
Minibus (pitbull) sliding glass - $15,000- Contact:6280909 1-Honda-600RR, Toyota Raum, AT212, AT192, EP71 Starlet, Fun cargo, Bubble Tray Tundra - $2.5M - Call: 644-5096, 697-1453
Rooms in Alberttown & rooms & apartments in Eccles. Call: 225-3234
Two Suzuki, minivan 1 for parts – Call: 216-2465, 6876083, 678-5438
Store to rent in Lethem Commercial Zone, prime location - Call: 664-5401
Ford F150 - $1.1M, GX90 Mark 2 - $1.1M, enclosed pitbull with refrigeration, never registered, reasonable offer accepted – Call: 6106066 2002 Toyota Premio $2.450M, 2003 Toyota Spacio (new model) $2.150M – Tel:681-7117, 227-5950
TO LET
Apartment, bottom flat, 3 bedrooms, car parking space, telephone –Call: 6160427, 220-8770, 689-3612
We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar:2310655,683-8734
Series: PRR 9216, White Premio. Call: 265-3053, 6273139
Black Friday Online Sales $3US Per LB Cybertrongy.com, VreedEn-Hoop - Call: 264-3057
2003 Toyota Fielder PRR Series - $1.750 – Call: 6628665, 677-1745
Young woman looking for domestic work for the holiday - Tel: 688-7958, 6860536
Experienced wash bay attendants – Call: 646-8748 Relief Minibus Driver for Sundays – Call: 602-8143
Friday November 28, 2014
EDUCATIONAL Earn a Certificate in Cosmetology or nails alone. Tel:225-5360, 687-7566, 6257844 Pre- Christmas Give away $20,000 OFF 9 Course Computer Diploma. Promotion ends this week! Micrographics, Vreed- EnHoop. Call: 264-3057
VACANCY Counter Staff, Cashiers and Kitchen assistants. Bring written application to Bettencourt’s Dinner at 22 ZZ Durban Street W/Ville. Salesgirls apply @ D. Singh & Sons, 95 King Street. Tel: 226-0881 IT Technician to install outdoor antenna, must have driver’s licence. Send application to jobs@awngy.com. 1-Night Security – Tel:6675717, 650-4761 or 629-2912 Nail Technician, barber, hairdresser. Tel:225-5360, 687-7566, 625-7844 CANTER DRIVER/ SALESMAN and Factory Assistant living on E.B.D, free accommodation also available. 266 4427
Silver Mitsubishi Lancer Car; PKK 4953, $900,000 negotiable - Call: 683-0150 Unregistered Premio with Rims - $2.250 – Call: 657-1796 AT 192 Carina, in excellent condition - $900,000 negotiable - Call: 641-4192, 229-6515 Honda CRV PKK Series, excellent condition –Call: 615-2007, 666-4327, 644-7000 Allion PSS Series – 1700cc engine - $2.8M negotiable – Call: 604-0883 or 660-4904 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call:680-3154
Christmas Giveaway Off, 4 course computerized accounting certificate, MicroGraphics @ Vreed-EnHoop - Call:264-3057
International Cruiseline Purser officers, waitresses, waiters, cooks, receptionists, storekeepers, cleaners, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, musicians etc – Tel: 231-6296, 650-9880
MASSAGE
MASSAGE
Toyota Fun Cargo - $1.2M negotiable – Call: 604-0883, 660-4904 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 Toyota Hilux, 4X4 single cab, diesel, turbo, pick-up registration GRR, no reasonable offer refusedContact: 616-0427/689-3612
Miracle Touch Gents Spa with professional masseuses Candy & Summer for appointments - Call: 688-9286
Happy Touch Day Spa: Come & Experienced heavens touch, visit us today! – 668-4554
Cheapest VVTI and 1RZ Super GL buses, CAMI, Road Side Property in Bougainvillea Park, Farm E.B.D –Tel:616-7635
Qualified personal tutor for CSEC Chemistry/Biology, very limited places available. Call: 622-7983
Sales girls & boys @ Avinash & Ravina’s Stores – Call:226-3361, 227-7828
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Plants! Plants! Orchids, Poinsettia, roses Etc. Outside St Roses High School, Saturday 29th November 2014 - Call:652-8322. Sheep for sale - Call: 6956139 One 14 inch dredge / draga Call: 663-0742 WASHINGMACHINEAND REFRIGERATOR – TEL: 644-5151 AE170 Carina, as scrap 5- A Engine plus reasonable, 5A Engine & transmission – Call: 645-4088 One Toyota Rav4 PMM Series, in excellent condition, owner leaving country, price $3Million. Call: 231-6278 9 weeks German shepherd pups – Contact: 654-6355 Complete sawmill operation with lots of equipment, customers & suppliers and large land space – Contact Swamee: 614-1466; 672-4438 Gasoline Generator – 110/220V, 60hz.25Kw, price to sellContact: 616-0427/ 689-3612 Excellent quality used salon equipment & AC units. Owner leaving country. Call: 664-5401. Imported German Shepherd and Huskies pure bred pups. Call: 664-5401. Fluffy, loving puppies – Tel:645-0240 or 629-3814 Home Hardware item: Fast Efficient & Courteous Service, Discount for “small time” contractors @ Sheriff Street. Phone: 227-1363 Grand Yard Sales @ 19 Garnett Street, C/Ville, Floral, gifts, herbal, clothes & craft – 50% off all items – Call: 225-2681, 684-5868 Baby Sesame Street Walker & Car Seat, Projector (Epson) Power Wash, Grill, Stove Hood Dishes, grass weeder. Call: 669-0366 1 -33FT Flat bottom boat, 400lb 5" cat guts seine, 1-40 Yamaha engine. Contact: 220-7655, 695-9860, 220-0410 CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL:CARS&SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 2193900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM (Continued on page 31)
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views
Dialogue would have given the opposition an opportunity to better represent its constituents
DEAR EDITOR, It is my belief that the Combined Opposition missed an opportunity when it rejected the President’s call for Dialogue, which causes me to think that the opposition is not serious about the development of our country nor the upliftment of its people. An opportunity for dialogue between the Government and Opposition would have created an atmosphere for the members of the opposition to better represent their constituents, instead of engaging in street protest, knowing fully well our history as it relates to protest. The call to protest action over dialogue can only be seen as a cheap, narrowminded attempt to interrupt
the peace our people now enjoy and to damage our now repaired image abroad. The opposition has accused the Government many times of not being flexible to their needs. This call to dialogue would have given them a fresh chance to have those demands laid out on the table, and would of created an opportunity to negotiate their positions and to find common ground on the issues they purport to represent. It is my firm believe that APNU in particular has no sense of direction nor doesn’t seem to know which is the direction towards progress. One day they are out demanding Local Government Elections, next
day they are demanding fresh General Elections knowing fully well that GECOM is not in a position to hold either at the same time or within a year of each other. I believe this is one of the reasons they continue to reject dialogue because they don’t really want those unreasonable demands to be discussed. Their politics is not one of compromise and flexibility but rather a politics that is confrontational, one sided and anti-developmental. None of this auger well for our country and this can only lead anarchy and confusion. I read with absolute outrage the demand by APNU members for a boycott of businesses that do not show its support for APNU’s
position. This in itself is a crude reminder of the dictatorial practices that was unleashed on the business community and the wider society when the PNC held power. Demands like these strongly support the notion that this party has the proclivity to engage in intimidation. The business community has a right to be free of fear and intimidation. This notion of “what I say is the only thing that matters” is of a by gone era and has no place in today’s political arena. The opposition must now seek to put that nation’s business ahead of vindictive politicking. They must realize that they were elected to represent the interest of the constituents for the common
good of all. The Combined Opposition must now decide where their priorities lie and seek to engage the Government on the way forward. To head into another election with this same attitude will be catastrophic for the leaders of AFC and APNU. What can be the response when the question is asked why have you close the door on talks, which could have led to More Job Creation, Stronger Legislation and Enforcement against Money Launderers and Drug Traffickers, a Modern Airport that meets International Standards and Improvement in the Health Sector among others. Ossie Rodgers
Goolsarran has adopted a direct and partisan political position DEAR EDITOR, I refer to letter from Samuel J. Goolsarran captioned “On the Prorogation of the National Assembly/Parliament” that was carried in your November 26, 2014 edition. It was clear from Goolsarran’s missive that not only has he adopted a supportive role of President Ramotar’s prorogation of Parliament, but also a direct and partisan political position in support of the ruling party when he stated “The voting
population will not be fooled, for it is well known that bitterness and spite from some politicians are the motivating factors for their postures.” There were more invectives and violent denunciations of the opposition parties in his missive, citing them as “poor role models for the children and people of this dear land of Guyana” and setting a “distasteful national tone” through “their political theatrics”. Mr. Goolsarran
even had a go at his own brother’s organization “the not-so transparent and biased Transparency Institute of Guyana (TIG)”. I wonder what would be Goolsarran’s brother’s response to the description of the TIG. Editor, Mr. Goolsarran is the Executive Director of the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industries Limited (CAGI), which is the representative body for all employers. Where is the
neutrality of Mr. Goolsarran as Head of the Employers’ Organization in adopting a position that is obviously in support of a particular political party? Is Mr. Goolsarran speaking on behalf of the employers that have subscribed as members of CAGI? It is a known fact that Mr. Goolsarran, a retired ILO officer, enjoys the largesse of this government as head of CAGI by being afforded the opportunity to sit on more
One by one, the kleptocrats are being... From page 4 Khamraj Lall, the pilot and owner of the Lear Jet that was seized by the FBI for having US$620.000 that was not declared to customs. It seems to us that Pilot Khamraj Lall has political connections at the highest level of the government which accorded him the privilege to travel to and from Guyana without going through immigration and customs like every passenger.
Not only that, based on reports from Kaieteur News and confirmed by Minister Robeson Benn and the CEO of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Ramesh Ghir, Pilot Khemraj Lall was given special permission to build a private hanger at the airport where his passengers are permitted to take their baggage to the plane without security checks. Further, we were informed that both presidents Ramotar and Jagdeo have on
several occasions used Lall’s Lear Jet to travel to various destinations. And the Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon who seems to know almost everything what the government does is now behaving as if he is dumb by saying that he is not aware of Pilot Khamraj Lall’s operations at CJIA or whether his Lear Jet was used by the president. This Ramotar administration is 1000 times more cor-
An involved elder on the... From page 5 Member of the Elections Commission, Mr. Vincent Alexander, confirmed publicly, without official denial, that he had exposed and prevented an attempt to juggle the results to give the new president an overall majority. He did not go beyond blaming an official of the Commission. The political parties in Guyana will no doubt keep to their horse racing notions of politics. in which agreement is ruled out. It is win or lose. In their view, agreement is a sign of weakness. The Guyanese voters, they think,
have no right to vote that way. The leaders insist that the voters must give one party the victory or “suffa!” This is a race for thoroughbreds, seems to be their conviction. This has not worked for half a century. They let things slide since 2011. The Executive was not short of offences, And now this! The latest move is in the spirit of a discredited political style. The President publicly humiliated the non PPP people’s representatives and then invited them to talk. However, with no disrespect to horses trained
for the track, I dare to suggest that our people need human political relations generally, and especially in matters of governance Eusi Kwayana
rupt, more evil, more brutal and more deceptive and crooked than all the countries in the Caribbean. Guyanese have never before experienced this level of corruption and crookedness and the large number of kleptocrats in the regime since independence. But in the US, anyone who steals from the government and the public will be caught as in the case of EZ JET BOSS in Florida who now faces up to 40 years in prison. One by one, the PPP kleptocrats are being caught not by the corrupt and dictatorial regime in Guyana but by Uncle Sam. Asquith Rose and Harish Singh.
than 10 state boards, including the University of Guyana; and not forgetting the numerous overseas trips accorded to him as a government nominee representing the employers’ organization. Editor, I think Mr. Goolsarran needs to clarify whether his missive is in his personal capacity or as the Executive Director of CAGI, and if it’s the former how will he not allows his personal ideological position to not influence the discharge of his professional role in a supposedly impartial manner? There is a serious conflict of interest here. Akash Sen Gopaul
From page 30
PROPERTY FOR SALE Diamond Section “A”, 274 Great Diamond, E.B.D, 56’ by 40’ building on 111’ by 60’ land- $17.5 Million- Call: 233-2546, 233-5859 Six acres prime roadside land and metal workshop in Corriverton, can be sold with or without workshop. Call: 626-6245 2 STORIED 3 BEDROOMS CONCRETE & WOODEN PROPERTY ON LARGE LAND 300FTX40FT, IN BERBICE, NEAR CANJE BRIDGE. CALL MAX: 6098132, 672-8569 Diamond Front Concrete on 60X110 Lot price $16M & $22M, 2 Storey @ Enterprise - $35M – Call:2317805, 618-7483 2 Storey building , 8 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, hot & cold water, Lot 11 Coghlan Dam, W.B.D, Just off main Road- Tel:264-1582, 6797587 3 Bedroom 2 bath, bar restaurant, pools hall 2 kitchen, private dining room, 1 bedroom apartment @ Mon-Repos – Tel:669-0366 Transported Property @ Grove/Diamond, 3 bedrooms, 1 self-contained, concrete fence, grilled store room & Shed, (45X26)– Call:660-1353,216-4338 1 Massive 2- story concrete house & land @ Public Road, Vreed-En-Hoop, can be used for business or residence – Call:626-2237, 602-3294 ACCOMODATION
PEN PAL Indian Male from USA is seeking female age 30/33 with good personality. Call:6653246 (no texting) 30yr old woman is looking for a Single, Independent & Caring Man who loves children. Tel: 698-6869
SIGNATURE INN: Luxury Suites & Apartments. Free Wi-Fi & Breakfast; AC & Self Contained Rooms @ 83 Laluni Street Queenstown. Tel: 592-226-2145 Harmony Inn: Furnished apartments (A/C, Hot & Cold, refrigeration, microwave, etc) $5,000-$8,000.Your luxury hide away. Tel: 668-0306, 694-7817 LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997
CAR RENTAL
VEHICLE FOR SALE
DOLLY’S CAR RENTAL CALL: 225-7126/ 2263693 DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM/ WWW.DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL.COM
Nissan- 200SX sport car, turbo, automatic, like new, price to sell- Contact: 6160427/ 689-3612
Aidan’s Car & Pickup rental, cheap rate, low security – Tel:698-7807
Toyota Forerunner, 4X4, automatic, power steering, A/C, bargain price negotiable- Contact: 6160427/ 689-3612
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Kaieteur News
Bahamas fends off critics over new migrant rules
Haitians repatriated from the Bahamas, wait in line for transportation, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, after landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — On the first day new immigration rules took effect this month in the Bahamas, officers in green fatigues swept through poor sections of the capital filling two yellow school buses with dozens of people who couldn’t document their right to be in the island chain. The government, amid fierce criticism of the raid, later insisted the timing of the operation was coincidence. Still, the message of the surprise morning raid, in which the officers were accompanied by local media, couldn’t be clearer: The Bahamas aims to become less hospitable to its swelling population of migrants lacking legal status. “The fact is that illegal migration is a huge problem for us,” Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell said in a recent interview. “ We s p e n d enormous resources for it. It is a drain on our social services, health care and education and we need to get the matter under
control.” The island chain of about 360,000 has a foreign-born population of more than 18 percent, according to an official report released last month. While the precise number of those who migrated illegally is unclear, the islands long have drawn migrants sailing from nearby Haiti. Census figures from 2010 show more than one out of 10 people in the Bahamas is Haitian, up from 3.6 percent in 1970. Mitchell said haphazard enforcement of existing laws has put too many people in legal limbo and has made the Bahamas a magnet for migrants, arriving often in dangerously overloaded smuggling vessels. But the manner in which the Bahamas is carrying out this tightening of its borders is coming under criticism from human rights activists, who complain of arbitrary and heavy-handed enforcement that is sparking fear in the shantytowns where many
migrants live. “People are afraid to go to work,” said Annette Martinez, a human rights lawyer documenting the situation with local activists. “They say ‘We are afraid because at any moment the immigration officers will come or their bosses will identify them as foreigners.’” Martinez also said conditions at the detention center where migrants are held are “appalling,” with heavy crowding and poor access to adequate food, sanitation or medical care. The government says it’s working to reduce the population in the detention center and sent two planeloads of migrants to Haiti on Wednesday. “In the Bahamas, they treat Haitians like dogs,” Youtchike Dormeus, an 18-year-old deportee, said as she got off the plane in Port-au-Prince. The country, which denies treating anyone inhumanely, has deported 3,000 people this year. Under the new rules that took effect Nov. 1, everyone must have the passport of their nationality and, if they are not a Bahamian, a valid residency or work stamp. In addition, the government is tightening the process for employers to receive work permits for non-Bahamians and requiring first-time applicants for residency permits to apply in their home countries. Mitchell says the Bahamas briefed Haiti’s government before the new rules took effect and was assured it could provide the passports and other documents needed by Haitians.
Friday November 28, 2014
Hundreds of Thousands without power due to US East Coast Storm
More than 350,000 electric customers from Maine to Virginia were without power this morning, after a storm dumped a sloppy mix of rain and snow along the East Coast. New Hampshire residents experienced the heaviest level of outages, with more than 180,000 electric customers there reported without power this morning. More than 78,000 customers in Maine lost power, along with 55,000 customers in New York. The storm system grounded hundreds of flights and turned highways hazardous along the congested Washington-toBoston corridor Wednesday, fouling up transportation on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Further travel issues are expected today. The snow piled up from North Carolina to Maine, bringing down branches and power lines. Marin Murray, a spokesman with Public Service Company of New Hampshire, said the snow’s consistency – wet and heavy
– along with little wind has contributed to the power outages. “We do anticipate, unfortunately, that some of our customers will not have power likely for a couple of days,” Murray told ABC News. “It’s going to take that long to restore power to all of customers, unfortunately.” Sara Willingham of Concord, New Hampshire, lost power at her home. “I think all my food now is going to need to be thrown out,” she said. Amid the heavy snowfall, some hospitals were forced to rely on backup generators. Residents in the Midwest also experienced wintry weather Wednesday. The whipping winds in Des Moines, Iowa, sent snow sideways, and cars off the road. Some travelers tried to change their plans and catch earlier flights to beat the storm Wednesday, and major airlines waived their rebooking fees. But most planes were already filled. Numerous traffic
accidents were reported across the Northeast Wednesday, where by midafternoon the line between rain and snow ran roughly along Interstate 95, the chief route between Washington and Boston. Schools and businesses also closed in some areas, and state government offices let workers go home early. Pat Green and her husband drove from Saugerties, New York, Wednesday to the Albany airport for the first leg of their trip to San Francisco. She said the drive on the New York State Thruway was “a little hairy,” but they made it. “It was snowing so hard you couldn’t see the car ahead of you,” she said. “We slowed down so we were fine. We also give ourselves a lot of extra time.” An estimated 41.3 million travelers are expected to hit the nation’s highways between Wednesday and Sunday, a 4.3 percent increase over last year, according to AAA.
Two civilians killed in shelling in east Ukraine rebel city DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - A 12-year-old boy and a 55-year-old woman were killed by shelling in the eastern Ukrainian separatist stronghold of Donetsk on Thursday, the city administration reported, despite a Sept. 5 ceasefire deal. According to UN data an average of 13 soldiers, rebels, and civilians have died every day since a formal ceasefire was agreed by Ukraine, Russia and the rebels, with Ukrainian government forces and the separatists accusing each other of violating the terms of the
truce. Donetsk city administration, which is aligned with Kiev, said the child was killed in the street and the woman when a shell hit her flat in an area pummeled by artillery fire in recent days. “A shell hit her directly,” her son Aleksander said, standing outside the building. “I don’t know why I was not hit. I was standing right next to her. Only my neck is slightly burnt.” A Reuters witness saw a puddle of blood and a crater at the scene where the 12-year-old was struck down in Kuybyshevsky district.
Residents said he had been running to a bomb shelter when he was hit. Many buildings in the district bear witness to the intensity of the recent shelling, including a paediatric hospital, where a shell crashed through the roof and others left craters in the road outside. More than 4,300 combatants and civilians have been killed in eastern Ukraine since pro-Russian rebels seized border regions in April. Nearly a million people have fled the area, with a surge in the past two months, the U.N. said on Nov. 20
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Kaieteur News
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Friday November 28, 2014
Williams have Mercedes in their sights Reuters - Williams are back among Formula One’s top trio of teams but deputy principal Claire Williams does not hesitate when asked whether she senses a return to the Williams of old. “No, it feels like a new Williams,” the daughter of founder Frank told Reuters at the end of a season that saw the former champions finishing third overall in their best performance since 2003. “It’s not that I don’t love the old Williams... But I think for a number of years we’ve been kind of static, kind of held down and the brand not really knowing where it was, the team not really knowing where it was going.” Last year, Williams scored
just five points and finished ninth overall. The oncedominant team, winners of nine constructors’ and seven drivers’ championships between 1980 and 1997, also scored only five points in 2011 and had not finished higher than sixth overall in the last six years. So far was the fall from grace that some had begun wondering whether Williams might be headed the same way as now-defunct exchampions Tyrrell. This season has highlighted the importance of the switch from Renault to dominant Mercedes engines but the marked improvement in performance comes down to much more than just bolting
a different power unit into the back of the car. The arrival of technical head Pat Symonds, who won championships with Benetton and Renault, as chief technical officer in July 2013 was one key moment as were the signings this year of engineers Jakob Andreasen and Rob Smedley from Force India and Ferrari. The arrival of title sponsors Martini has also freshened up the image. “I think that’s played a real part mentally and culturally for a lot of people at Williams and that this is a new, bright fresh future for the team,” said Williams. “It’s about a new generation and taking it to recreate the glory days, but
Friday November 28, 2014 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Perhaps you should suspend your inhibitions for the day, Aries, and let your dreams guide you. For instance, you might imagine that the need to make any choices has vanished. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) This is the type of day you enjoy. The climate is positive and the energy is flowing. It's as though you have a magic wand. You give it a wave and - presto - the day's tasks and chores are done! GEMINI (May21–June20) If the world collapsed today, you wouldn't bat an eyelash. You're perfectly content sailing along on cloud nine! CANCER(June21–July22) You may have had some emotional disappointments lately, but today will restore your faith in love. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Put on your traveling shoes, Leo. Fear of the unknown may have prompted you to postpone certain trips. You claimed you were too busy, but no one really believed this, not even you. VIRGO (Aug. 23 – S e p t . 22) Something is currently compelling you to be more of a world citizen than usual, Virgo. You may find this somewhat disturbing. You feel as though the roots of your identity, such as your fa mily bac k g r o u n d a n d s o c i a l s t a n d i n g , are dissolving little by little.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your surroundings are currently changing, Libra. Perhaps your circle of friends has already undergone a major change. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Scorpio, you're demystifying the concept of talent. You used to look enviously at other people and think, "I wish I had a natural ability like that." SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Are you thinking of going into business for yourself, Sagittarius? Being selfemployed doesn't automatically mean you will have more freedom. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Within the next few days, you're likely to gain access to dimensions of perception you never suspected, Capricorn. Perhaps you will become aware of certain energy phenomena, peak experiences, or other highly sensitive states of consciousness. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Often fiery temperaments like yours are drawn to fight for great causes despite the better judgment of more down-to-Earth people. As a result, you have great leadership potential that may emerge today. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your optimism is likely to receive a little boost today, Pisces. A memorable emotional encounter may be the source of some extra zeal. Or you may derive great satisfaction from being part of a group.
in a different way. “That’s really exciting for me. I don’t think we’ve heard one conversation about this may be a fluke for Williams. It’s a new path, a new start.” Williams signed off in Abu Dhabi with Brazilian Felipe Massa and Finland’s Valtteri Bottas second and third to Mercedes’ race winner and champion Lewis Hamilton. Massa had led the race during pitstops and looked threatening throughout. It would not have come as a massive surprise, in a season that saw Massa on pole in Austria and the team take nine podium placings, if the former Ferrari driver had gone on to win and that has to be the ambition for 2015. “It’s the next step that’s going to be the hardest piece of work,” recognized Williams. “Next year it’s got to be making that step up and closing the gap to Mercedes... winning races and taking the fight to them. “It’s down to us to challenge them and to take victories away from them. And that’s really what we want to do. And not to do it flukily, but because we’ve got the competitive advantage.” Williams, whose tetraplegic father has been in hospital in England for the past month for treatment to a pressure sore, said the success on the track was also being reflected in sponsor interest. “It really is picking up. People want to be a part of it,” she said. “We’ve got lots of really positive conversations going on in the pipeline. Success breeds success, doesn’t it?” Some of those brands, she
Former World champion... From page 39 a two weight world champion!” True to his word, Harris had rebounded with victories over Shakha Moore and Danny O’Connor with his last bout against Jorge Paez (Jnr.) occurring in March this year. He has fought 32 times, lost nine while stopping 19 of his opponents with a knockout ratio of 43.18. Alvarez is currently the World Boxing Organization North American Boxing Organization (WBONABO) champion. He has 20 wins (12 by KO) with 4 losses. He drew 2 of his bouts and has a knockout ratio of 46.15. He last fought in September and registered a win against Mexican, Omar Chavez.
Williams Formula One deputy team principal Claire Williams said, were more youthoriented than in the past and that too was a testament to how Williams had re-
positioned themselves. “It’s not just a team that had great success in the 90s but a team with a future,” she declared.
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Phillip Hughes: Australian England close on top batsman dies, aged 25 ten, Portugal climb
Australia Test batsman Phillip Hughes has died aged 25, two days after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball during a domestic match in Sydney. Australia team doctor Peter Brukner said he passed away in hospital, never regaining consciousness. Hughes, who also played for Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcestershire, was hit by a delivery from bowler Sean Abbott. “It’s an understatement to say we’re completely devastated,” said Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland. “The word tragedy gets used too often in sport, but this freak accident is a real life tragedy.” Australia captain Michael Clarke read out a statement on behalf of the Hughes family at a news conference held at St Vincent’s Hospital, where the player, who would have been 26 on Sunday, was treated. Speaking on behalf of parents Greg and Virginia, sister Megan and brother Jason, he said: “We’re devastated by the loss of our much-loved son and brother, Phillip. It’s been a very difficult few days. “We appreciate all the support we have received from family, friends, players, Cricket Australia and the general public. “Cricket was Phillip’s life and we as a family shared that love of the game with him. We would like to thank all the medical and nursing staff at St Vincent’s Hospital and Cricket New South Wales medical staff for their great efforts with Phillip. We love you.” A clearly emotional Clarke then stood up and left the room. Hughes, batting for South Australia, collapsed face first on the ground after being hit by a bouncer from 22-year-old Abbott during a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales. Hughes
Guyana drop to 170
Hughes of Australia enjoys victory with his father Greg after his Test debut against South Africa in 2009 had been wearing a helmet but the ball struck him at the top of the neck, causing the injury. He had CPR and mouthto-mouth resuscitation at the ground before being taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he had a 90-minute operation to relieve pressure on his brain. Abbott and members of the Australian national team, including Clarke, visited Hughes in hospital. But his death was confirmed in a statement yesterday. “It is my sad duty to inform you that a short time ago Phillip Hughes passed away,” said Brukner. “He never regained consciousness following his injury on Tuesday. “He was not in pain before he passed and was surrounded by his family and close friends. “As a cricket community, we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to Phillip’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time. “Cricket Australia kindly asks that the privacy of the Hughes family, players and staff be respected.” Speaking at
the news conference, Brukner explained that Hughes had died as a result of “vertebral artery dissection”. He said the artery had been compressed, causing it to split and leading to a “massive bleed” into the brain. Brukner said the injury was “freakish”, adding: “Vertebral artery dissection is incredibly rare. If you look in the literature, there is only 100 cases reported. There is only one previous example caused by a cricket ball.” Dr Tony Grabs, who treated Hughes at St Vincent’s, said scans had shown that the stricken cricketer needed surgery quickly to help get the pressure down in the brain. “He had extensive surgery to remove some of the skull from around his brain to help allow the brain to expand,” added Grabs. However, his recovery did not go as hoped. “Over a period of the first 24 to 48 hours, he did not make very much improvement and unfortunately, as a consequence of the injury, he died,’’ said Brukner. (BBCsport)
WICB issues statement on the passing of Philip Hughes The West Indies Cricket Board has said it was extremely sad to hear of the passing of young Australian batsman Philip Hughes, following an injury he suffered during a first-class match on Tuesday at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia. WICB President Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron said: “It was with a sense of shock and sorrow that we learned of the death of Philip Hughes and I know that these
feelings are shared by all who knew him and played with or against him. “There is little one can say at such a time, but we would like to express our very sincere sympathy to his family, friends and all those involved with the game in Australia. “This is truly a tragic loss of a fantastic young player who promised to deliver so much for Australia and who has already done so much in proving his pedigree as a top
flight batsman on the international stage. “To honour the memory of our fallen colleague and show solidarity with our friends in Australia, we have asked that a minute’s silence be observed prior to the start of all matches in the third round of the WICB Professional Cricket League Regional 4Day Tournament which starts tomorrow (today). All players and match officials will wear a black armband during the match.”
The November edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking reveals very little change in the top ten, with the top seven positions unaltered from last month and world champions Germany still out in front ahead of Argentina and Colombia. France, however, are now in joint seventh place together with Portugal (7th, up 2). In the top 20, England (13th, up 7), Romania (15th, up 6) and Czech Republic (17th, up 5) have all made good progress. Guinea (38th, up 17) have climbed into the top 50 on the back of two victories in CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2015
qualifiers, as have Mali (49th, up 9), with their rise coming at the expense of Trinidad and Tobago (54th, down 5) and Egypt (60th, down 22). As a result, the regional composition of the top 50 has shifted slightly in favour of Africa (10 teams, up 1). With the exception of CONCACAF (3 teams in the top 50, down 1), there are no other changes to the number of top 50 teams of the other confederations (UEFA: 31; CONMEBOL: 6; AFC: 0; OFC: 0). Further down the ranking, the Faroe Islands (105th, up 82) have made considerable progress thanks to their surprise victory over Greece (25th, down 7) in the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers. The other teams to have climbed more than 20 places are
Jamaica (71st, up 42), Cuba (79th, up 33), San Marino (180th, up 28), Haiti (68th, up 25), Liechtenstein (130th, up 25), and Thailand (144th, up 21). For San Marino, their draw with Estonia - also in the EURO 2016 qualifiers - sees them climb off the bottom of the table for the first time in six-and-a-half years. A total of 150 new ‘A’ international matches have been taken into account for the November edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, bringing the total number of matches evaluated in 2014 to 817. Sixty-one of these matches were part of continental qualifiers in Europe, Africa and the CONCACAF region, with the other 89 being friendly matches. (FIFA)
GCA competitions continue this weekend The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) New Building Society (NBS) second division and Banks Malta Supreme Under-13 competitions will continue this weekend. In the NBS 40-overs tomorrow from 10:30hrs, Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) will host St. Stanislaus (umpires Javed Persaud and Mario Nicholls) and Gandhi Youth Organisation (GYO) will entertain Demerara Cricket Club (Clyde Layne and Cyril Garnath). On Sunday from 10:30hrs, Transport
Sports Club (TSC) will play Guyana Defense Force at GYO (Hortence Isaacs and Garnath), GNIC will face Georgetown Cricket Club at MYO (Layne and Deon Faessal) and Police will battle Third Class at Malteenoes SC (Joseph Jeffery and Mario Nicholls). In the Banks Malta Supreme Under-13 tomorrow, Malteenoes SC will play TSC from 09:30hrs and GYO will challenge DCC at 13:30hrs at GNIC (Daniel Richmond and Randolph Rose).
Brazil legend Pele in special care unit in Sao Paulo hospital Brazil legend Pele has been transferred to a special care unit following treatment for a urinary infection. The Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo stated the 74-year-old three-time World Cup winner had been moved after suffering “clinical instability”. Reports had suggested Pele, admitted on Monday, was in intensive care. Pele, a World Cup winner in 1958, 1962 and 1970, was initially discharged from hospital on 13 November after surgery to remove kidney stones. It is understood that while treatment in special care is above the level of routine care, it is less
serious than intensive care, and the Brazilian - widely regarded as the greatest player of all time can still receive visitors. Local media says it is possible Pele picked up an infection during the procedure to remove kidney stones and that the current treatment is usually straightforward. Pele scored a world record total of 1,281 goals in 1,363 games during his 21-year career. The FIFA Player of the Century won 91 caps for Brazil and scored 77 goals. He made 14 appearances at World Cup finals, scoring 12 goals, and picked up the FIFA
Brazil legend Pele Golden Ball award as the best player at the 1970 tournament. (BBCsport)
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CPL T20 tournament injects US$166 M into the Caribbean Region
Friday November 28, 2014
Supreme Petroleum and Big Yard Auto Sale T20 - EBE
Parika Salem, Supreme Petroleum Increase of 58% on 2013 economic impact and Philadelphia record victories
Kingston, Jamaica: A new, independent Economic Impact study revealed today that the Caribbean Premier League injected a massive US$166 million into the region’s economy during the 2014 tournament – a significant increase of 58% on 2013. Host country for the finals, St. Kitts and Nevis, reaped significant benefits with a whopping US$25.1 million invested in the local economy – second only to Barbados with US$28.7 million. Key findings in the report show: - Incremental spend by regional and international fans totalled US$47.4 million (excluding accommodation and airfares) An estimated 217,176 regional and international spectators watched CPL 2014 live - The international TV audience increased to 65 million in 2014 from 36 million in 2013, with 29 broadcasters from around the world airing the games live - Over 21,500 international visitors (approximately 10% of total spectators), attended CPL 2014, spending US$7.9 million - Thousands of new jobs were created in tourism and travel across the region by CPL and more than 156,000 jobs positively impacted - The tournament’s high profile international broadcast media campaign (which encouraged tourism in the region) generated US$4.47 million in advertising value Commenting on the findings, Caribbean Premier League CEO, Damien
O’Donohoe, said; “These results are fantastic and are a testament to CPL’s significance as an economic driver in the region. While we have always said that the Caribbean is without doubt the natural home of T20 cricket, we are very proud to say that CPL is now a truly international event appealing to fans and players from around the world - and one that the people of the Caribbean should be very proud of.” “With next year’s player line-ups close to being announced, we are very excited by the prospect of smashing these records in 2015 and further cementing CPL’s position as the most entertaining and exciting cricket tournament in the world,” concluded O’Donohoe. The study, conducted by SMG-Insight/YouGov, one of the world’s leading sports measurement, research and analysis companies, showed a breakout across each of the eight markets as follows: *Antigua and Barbuda US$13.8 million *Barbados - US$28.7 million *Grenada - US$13.3 million *Guyana - US$24.5 million *Jamaica - US$25.1 million *St. Kitts and Nevis US$26.3million *St. Lucia - US$13.9 million *Trinidad and Tobago US$21.1 million With an investment of over US$25 million to date, the CPL is the world’s second biggest T20 cricket tournament - behind the
Indian Premier League - and is set to continue growing in 2015 and beyond. CPL, in partnership with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) continues to invest in the development of the game, providing opportunities for players and fans to access world-class cricket in the Caribbean. In order to gather appropriate information to calculate the projected Total Economic Impact of CPL on the Caribbean economy, SMG-Insight/YouGov hosted an online survey on http:// cplt20.com/ where cricket fans could access an online questionnaire. To incentivise participation in the survey, cricket fans had a chance to win an exclusive signed shirt and 1,809 respondents from across the Caribbean took part in the survey. Further key findings of the SMG-Insight/YouGov Survey (2014): - 91.5% of respondents surveyed said they were “very interested” in cricket and 70.4% said they were “very likely” to revisit the area for leisure in the future based on their experience of CPL T20 - 62% of respondents said that the CPL T20 tournament was “very important” to the local Caribbean economy - CPL T20 has strong appeal to both men (65%) and women (35%) cricket fans where the biggest following amongst those surveyed was between the ages of 25 and 34 - Domestic spectators surveyed said they spent on average US$53.25 and international spectators said they spent US$138.45 per day. (CPLT20)
Parika Salem, Supreme Petroleum and Philadelphia recorded victories when the Supreme Petroleum and Big Yard Auto Sale T20 tournament continued last weekend on the East Bank of Essequibo. Parika Salem thumped Zeelugt by 51 runs at Tuschen. Parika Salem batted first and were sent packing for 99 in 17.4 overs with Kemol Savory and Daniram Lallaram scoring 15 each. Devindra Mangra and Kumar Shakoor picked up two wickets apiece. Lallaram then grabbed four wickets for five runs from 3.1 overs to help bowl out Zeelugt for 48 in 12.4 overs. Edwin Burnett and Troy Benn supported with two apiece. Mangra was the only batsman that showed fight with 26. At Vergenoegen, Supreme Petroleum overcame Hyde Park by 20 runs. Supreme Petroleum took first strike and managed 157-7 in 20 overs. Rajiv Ivan and Ricardo
Ricardo Adams Adams laid the foundation with an opening stand of 87. Ivan stroked 50 and Adams 42. Inshan Mohamed claimed 226 and Ucil Armstrong 2-35. Hyde Park threatened
somewhat but fell for 137 in 19.2 overs in response. Alim Mohamed scored 36 and Travis Drakes 34. Javed Shafeek snared 3-17 and Sheldon Alexander 2-24. At Tuschen, Philadelphia got the better of Tuschen A by four runs. Philadelphia made 99 all out in 20 overs, batting first. V. Boodhoo led with 31; Vickra Kissoon captured 3-20 and Altaf Khan 2-19. The hosts were bowled out for 95 in 17 overs in reply. Extras contributed 17 while Azar Safie made 15. Gowkarran Debi had 3-19 and Y. Baldeo 224. The competition continues on Sunday with Hyde Park facing Vergenoegen at Parika Salem at 09:30hrs, Tuschen A hosting Parika Salem at 13:30 hrs and Hydronie matching skills with Philadelphia at Parika Salem at 13:30hrs. Meanwhile, the East Bank Essequibo Cricket Committee will be holding its Biennial General Meeting at 17:00hrs today at Dwayne’s Wash Bay.
Everest to host Central Sports in T20 fixture today Everest Cricket Club will take on Central Sports of Trinidad and Tobago in a T20 fixture today from 13:30hrs. The host team will be led by Rajesh Singh and includes Hemraj Garbarran, Basil Persaud, Rakesh Gangaram and Lennox Cush while the visiting team comprises of Rajendra Mangalie, Hafiz Mohamed, Mukesh Persad and Dean Ali. Trophies for the game are being sponsored by Guyana Beverage Inc. Everest: Rajesh Singh (capt), Sahadeo Hardiou, Basil Persaud,
Rakesh Gangaram, Rohan Sarjoo, Hemraj Garbarran, Sheik Mohamed, Shaheed Mohamed, Lennox Cush, Ronald Jaisingh, Johnny Azeez, Sudesh Persaud, Saeed Khan, Dennis Mangru and Asif Khan. Central Sports: Rajendra Mangalie (capt.), Narine Bidheshi, Deonarine Deyal, Dean Ali, Amardeo Lutchman, Jodhan Manohar, Abraham Sammy, Leslie Rampersaud, Hafiz Mohamed, Navin Mungroo, Mukesh Persad, Lochan Bhagraj and Rohan Sookdeo.
Sebastian Coe announces he will run for IAAF presidency Sebastian Coe is to run for Presidency of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) next year. The double-Olympic 1500m champion has been a VicePresident of the body that governs world athletics since 2007. Having led the team that staged the acclaimed London 2012 Games, Lord Coe has been widely tipped to become the most powerful man in world athletics. Coe has made no secret of his desire to succeed Senegalese Lamine Diack, 80, who is stepping down after 16 years. The 58year-old former middle-distance runner, who won his gold medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, said his manifesto would “highlight the importance of our sport”. Coe has been credited with helping to secure an athletics legacy at London’s
Olympic stadium. Its running track will be kept after Premier League West Ham move into the venue in 2016. If elected IAAF president, the current chairman of the British Olympic Association will be expected to provide leadership for the most popular Olympic sport at a crucial time. Challenges would include falling TV audiences, competition for sponsors and spectators from rival sports like football, and the threat of regular doping scandals. Coe would also join a growing list of British administrators at the helm of global sports bodies, such as Sir Craig Reedie at the World AntiDoping Agency (Wada), Sir Philip Craven at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and Brian Cookson at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). “I want us to have a renewed
focus on engagement with young people and a real understanding of the global landscape that is shaping the next generation of athletes and fans,” said Coe. “If we are guided by these principles as we review and reform our sport then I am convinced that athletics can enter a new era with confidence and ensure a bright and exciting future.” Coe recently defended the IAAF’s controversial decision to award Doha the right to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Regarded as the front-runner, he is expected to be challenged by fellow vice-president Sergey Bubka, Ukraine’s world pole vault record holder. The BBC understands that Coe, a former Conservative MP, has now ruled himself out of a possible bid to succeed Boris Johnson as London Mayor. (BBCsport)
Friday November 28, 2014
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Profiles of the national rugby squad and Management The national Sevens rugby squad along with its management will depart today to participate in the NACRA Championship which will be played in Mexico. Guyana is placed in Group C along with defending champions Mexico, Cayman Islands and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and will open their campaign for top honours when they face the host in its opening fixture.
Melanie Patriots edge Knights in latest Phillip George fixture - Division III competition starts with win for Guardians Melanie Patriots topped Knights Wednesday night inside t h e C l i ff A n d e r s o n ’s Sports Hall in a bottom-ofthe-table first division encounter when the third Phillip George Legacy tournament continued with a mid-week clash. Patriots beat Knights 63-59 with Floyd Arthur pouring in 21 points. Owan Walton had 15 points for Knights. Both Patriots and Knights will exit the Division I competition based on their ratio of wins and losses as the competition heats up on Sunday. Meanwhile, Plaisance Guardians played out of its mind to beat the more favored Pepsi Sonics in the Division III level of the competition. Guardians won 62-59 with Colwyn
Chess Umada Cup 2014
Seven countries vie for honours as tournament gets underway
Colwyn Nurse Nurse putting up 24 points; Kerwin Jackson had 15 points for Pepsi Sonics.
Six other countries joined Guyana and would be competing for top spots in two categories when the curtains went up on the Umada Cup 2014 at the Sleep Inn Hotel, Brickdam, Stabroek, yesterday morning. Participants include those from the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony attended the opening ceremony and like he did at the official launching one week ago, congratulated the officials of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) for their
LABA invites clubs to discuss plans for Christmas tourney tomorrow at MSC Plans for the staging of the Linden A m a t e u r B a s k e t b a l l A s s o c i a t i o n ’s (LABA) Open Challenge Christmas championship are to be disclosed when the organizers hold an emergen c y meeting with club representatives, referees and table officials at 18:00hrs tomorrow at the Mackenzie Sports Club pavilion. A LABA official said that the
association is fine tuning plans for the tournament and among the matters that will be discussed is the format of the tournament which will involve the eight affiliated clubs with the association. Additionally, clubs will discuss the repairs needed at the MSC Hard Court ahead of the competition. The championship should run from next Friday, December 5 to January 3, 2015.
hard work in making the championship a reality. He wished the players well and cautioned the visitors that the local players have been training hard for the event and would be a strong force to be reckoned with. Minister Anthony further commended the President of FIDE, Kirsan Llyumzhinov, for his input in making the tournament a reality for the fifth successive year. The sports Minister also
noted that the championship augers well for chess in the region since it will provide a platform for the top players to test their skills against each other. Minister Anthony then moved the first pawn against national junior champion, Haifeng Su, to signal the start of the competition. Meanwhile, two rounds were contested yesterday and former Junior and Senior Champion, Taffin Khan, is the sole local player in the Open Category; the others are
competing in the Challenger’s Cup category. Local players, Anthony Drayton and Ronuel Greenidge were both promoted to Candidate Masters after turning in credible performances in the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway and were engaged in stiff rivalry with their respective opponents. Trinidadian, Ryan Harper, is the defending champion in both categories after winning in 2013 and 2012.
Basketball Coaches’ Association hosts fundraiser tomorrow The Guyana Amateur Basketball Coaches’ Association (GABCA) will be hosting a fundraising drive that includes two basketball games tomorrow from 1pm on the Burnham Basketball Court, at Middle and Carmichael Streets, Promenade Gardens. Plaisance Guardians Basketball Club will play Pepsi Sonics Academy in the first game while the Media Combined takes on the
Diplomatic Corps in the featured game. In addition, there will be a three-point and free-throw shootout Challenge for players. President of GABCA, Andrew Hercules is hosting the activity to raise funds for the Association; the fun day setting will also feature BarB-Que and Fish Fry among other forms of entertainment in a day aimed at bringing the basketball community together.
Andrew Hercules
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Friday November 28, 2014
WICB four-day Franchise cricket
Jaguars looking to maintain unbeaten run against Barbados By Sean Devers The Guyana Jaguars, on 34 points, lead second place Trinidad & Tobago Red Force by 14 points after two rounds of the WICB four-day FirstClass cricket Franchise and will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run with a third consecutive win against defending champions Barbados Pride at Providence from today in their last game at home for the year. The Jaguars have lost the services of Shiv Chanderpaul, Skipper Leon Johnson and Assad Fudadin who are in the West Indies squad preparing for the three Test series in South Africa which starts on December 17. Ta i g n a r i n e Chanderpaul, Shemron Hetmyer and Kemo Joseph are their replacements. Narsingh Deonarine staked an early claim for a Test recall for the English tour to the Caribbean with backto-back centuries in the first two games and also became the fourth Guyanese to score a ton and take five wickets in the same game in the last match. Deonarine took his runs tally to 283 from three innings and will offer spin support to leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who boasts the best bowling figures by a Guyanese in First-Class cricket (9-78) and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul whose 8-36, achieved in the
last match, is only bettered by Bishoo on a track that should again be low and slow and spin friendly. Permaul is the tournament’s leading wicket taker with 16 victims. Ronsford Beaton and Keon Joseph are genuinely quick and will have medium pace back up from all-rounders Chris Barnwell and Bajan leftarmer Raymond Reifer, who plays his first match against his home team. Deonarine will hope for batting support from Rajendra Chandrika, Trevon Griffith, Taignarine Chanderpaul, Shemron Hetmyer, new Skipper Vishaul Singh, Anthony Bramble, Barnwell and Reifer as Guyana hunt their first Regional First-Class title since 1998. Barbados, the most dominating side in Regional cricket with 20 tittles, sit in fourth position with 12 points and are without their leading run-scorer Kraigg Braithwaite. But they have in their line-up the recalled 33-year-old Ryan Hinds, who although picked primarily for his batting has the best bowling figures (968) in a Regional match in addition to having scored 12 First-Class hundreds. On his day Dwayne Smith can be as destructive as anyone and will look for support from Omar Phillips, Shai Hope, Kyle Corbin, Jonathan Carter, Skipper
The Jaguars going through their paces at Providence. Carlos Brathwaite and Shane Dowrich with the bat. Hinds, Ashley Nurse, leftarm spinner Jomel Warrican and Royston Chase should enjoy the Providence track while pacers Miguel Cummins, Tino Best and Braithwaite could have a harder day at the office. Although Guyana defeated Barbados in Bridgetown in 2012 when Deonarine snatched 7-26, the South Americans have not beaten Barbados on home soil since 1984 when they won by nine wickets at Bourda thanks to Andy Jackman’s century and an 11-wicket haul from Roger Harper. The last time these two teams met here last year Barbados won by 136 runs in a low scoring day/ night affair despite a fivewicket haul from Bishoo as the hosts were bowled out for
94 in their second innings. Guyana and Barbados have faced each other 82 times since they met in the first ever Regional First-Class game at the Garrison Savannah in Bridgetown in 1865 and Barbados have dominated with 33 wins to Guyana’s 14 while both team’s highest total at this level were achieved against each other. In 1966, when the Shell Shield was inaugurated, Barbados amassed 559-9 declared in Barbados against Guyana who responded with 641-5 declared the next year in the first series played by Guyana as an Independent Nation. Both of the matches here have been affected by adverse weather since this is the first time a Regional FirstClass tournament has been fixed for this time of the year
which is the rainy season and thunderstorms are again forecast during the course of this contest. However, bad light should not be an issue since the playing conditions clearly state “If in the opinion of the umpires, natural light is deteriorating to an unfit level, they shall authorize the ground authorities to use the available artificial lighting so that the match can continue in acceptable conditions. The lights are only to be used to enable a full day’s play to be completed as provided in clause 16. In the event of a power failure or malfunctioning lights, the provisions relating to the delay or interruption of play due to bad weather or light shall apply”. Today’s battle is scheduled to commence to at
09:30hrs and admission is free. Guyana Jaguars: Rajindra Chandrika, Narsingh Deonarine, Raymond Reifer, Anthony Bramble (wk), Christopher Barnwell, Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo, Ronsford Beaton, Vishal Singh, Trevon Griffith, Taignarine Chanderpaul, Shemron Hetmyer, Keon Joseph, Rayon Griffith (Asst Coach/ Manager), Esuan Crandon (Coach). Barbados Pride: Carlos Brathwaite (captain), Shai Hope, Kyle Corbin, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich, Ryan Hinds, Jomel Warrican, Dwayne Smith, Omar Phillips, Ashley Nurse, Miguel Cummins, Tino Best, Roston Chase, Hartley Reid (Manager), Henderson Springer (Coach).
Guinness ‘Greatest of de Streets’ Futsal Competition
Defending champs finally get a win; Globe Yard upset Back Circle Still not showing the kind of form that took them to two titles including the Georgetown Zone and the national playoffs, Queen Street of Tiger Bay were made to scrape and scrape against a feisty Tucville unit, before escaping with a 1-0 win to claim their first set of points in this year ’s Guinness ‘Greatest of de Streets’ Futsal Competition. Playing in the final game of Wednesday night’s action, the defending champions were led to victory by their talismanic leader Deon Alfred, who netted the lone goal of the encounter in the 7th minute. In the night’s full results: Game 1 - North East La Penitence 3 vs Riverview 0. Quincy Success (7), Timothy Telford (12th), Cordell Tudor (17th). Game 2 - East Front Road - 0 vs North Sophia – 0; East Front Road won 2-1 on
penalty kicks. Game 3 - Alexander Village - 1 vs Cross Street – 1; Cross Street won 2-0 on penalty kicks. Cross Street scorer Ronaldo Dover (23rd), Alexander Village scorer Shemroy Arthur (7th). Game 4 - California Square - 2 vs Adelaide Street Charlestown – 2; California Square won 3-2 on sudden death kicks. California scorer Christopher Darlington (19th & 21st), Adelaide scorer Marlon Cole (5th), Dellano Howes (16th). Game 5 – Albouystown ‘B’ - 0 vs Leopold Street – 0; Albouystown ‘B’ won 2-1 on penalty kicks. Game 6 - Hope Street Tiger Bay - 1 vs Laing Avenue – 0. Dwayne Dickson (3th). Game 7 - Globe Yard - 1 vs Back Circle – 0. Anthony France (16th). Game 8 - Queen Street Tiger Bay - 1 vs Tucville – 0. Deon Alfred (7th).
Part of the action in this year’s Georgetown Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of de Streets’ Futsal Competition.
Kaieteur News
Friday November 28, 2014
Page 39
Former World champion, Vivian Harris, goes after IBF/NABF Light/Middleweight title tomorrow night By Michael Benjamin The pundits have written him off saying that his best days in boxing are over but f o r m e r Wo r l d B o x i n g A s s o c i a t i o n L i g h t / We l t e r w e i g h t champion, Vivian Harris, is out to prove them wrong when he steps into the ring tomorrow night against Mexican Ramon Alvarez for t h e I B F / N A B F Light/Middleweight title in Guanajuato, Mexico. This is Harris’ 33rd professional bout after he was successful in his last against Jorge Paez (Jnr.) in March this year. Word out of Harris’ camp is that the former world champion is in tip top shape and rearing to
go. He will not have it easy against an opponent that has amassed 20 wins as against 4 losses ever since his professional career began in January 2008. Alvarez had lost his first fight to Augustin Marquez but has managed to compile a decent record that sports a knockout percentage ratio of 46.15. He was victorious in his last 6 bouts, his last being a unanimous verdict against Omar Chavez in September. Harris became Guyana’s fourth world champion after knocking out Diosbelys Hurtado in the second round in September 2002 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the International
Boxing Association (IBA) Light/Welterweight titles. He defended that title three times before his shock defeat to little known, Columbian, Carlos Maussa. Harris rebounded with three wins against Marteze Logan, Steve Johnson and Juan Lazcano, all on points before slipping once again with a loss to Junior Witter for the WBC Light/Welterweight title in Yorkshire England. His next nine fights were
unflattering with 1 win, 1 no contest, 1 draw and 6 losses. He was to have fought for the WBA Inter-Continental title but after travelling all the way to the United Kingdom, those authorities cancelled the bout after he had failed medical tests. Harris was incensed and was quoted then as saying, “The British Boxing Board of Control will not let me have a medical over here and are sending me back to
America in the morning so there is no more time to test to see if I am fit. I am in great shape thanks to Jesus and God for giving me a second chance in boxing. My skills are at the best ever, I am punching harder than ever you would see the old Vivian Harris but even better. I would have won!! I hope to be in the ring soon, God willing, and take each fight as a step closer to becoming (Continued on page 34)
Vivian Harris
Page 40
Kaieteur News
Friday November 28, 2014
IPA helping Flex Night to raise the bar One of Guyana’s leading pharmaceutical companies, International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA), is helping Flex Night Inc. to raise the
bar at the upcoming Flex Night International billed for Sunday December 7 at the National Cultural Centre. The support given by the
pharmaceutical company for the Flex Night event is a further demonstration of its long established commitment to the
development and promotion of bodybuilding in Guyana. IPA, distributors of the familiar Universal brand of bodybuilding and nutrition supplements, is also the distributors of Optimum Nutrition products and will be mounting a display of its bodybuilding and nutrition products in the lobby of the National Cultural Centre during the Flex Night event. IPA is also making supplements available to special categories of winners at Flex Night.
David Gomes. Flex Night Director of External Resources (left) receives the commitment of sponsorship from Mr. Reginald Persaud, Managing Director of IPA.
Friday November 28, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 41
t r o Sp P.37
Chess Umada Cup 2014
Seven countries vie for honours as tournament gets underway
In this photo, Dr Anthony moves the first pawn against national junior champion Haifeng Su to signal the start of the competition.
Former World champion, Vivian Harris, goes after IBF/NABF Light/ Middle weight title P.39 tomorrow night
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