Kaieteur News

Page 04

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

Reformng the Constitution The country is approaching its 50th independence anniversary next year. This is a very important milestone for a nation that has endured a wide range of constitutional abuses. It is accordingly appropriate that the nation should reflect on the experience with its Independence constitution that was enacted in 1966, as well as on some of the proposals and changes that have been advanced for reform in 1980. The present constitution has not only outlived its usefulness, it no longer serves the will of the people. Guyana, like Ghana and South Africa, has a hybrid system of presidential and parliamentary system of governance in which Parliament is controlled by the majority party or parties. The discussion about reforming the Constitution should involve the desire to give Parliament more powers of scrutiny over the executive and to make sure that laws passed by Parliament are not overturned by the Courts. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land-a preeminent document with no regards for the role of the court. The political and constitutional impasse over presidential term limits is still to be resolved. The lower courts have ruled that the term limit imposed by the constitution is illegal and unconstitutional. The matter is heading to a higher court. The court also ruled that the budget reductions made by the majority opposition in Parliament in 2012 and 2013 were unconstitutional. The mere fact that the Court encroached on the turf of the Constitution and negated two of its important clauses has demonstrated the urgent need for a comprehensive review and reform of the document and the system of government. Surely, politicians must recognize that serious reforms of the Constitution are long overdue and that changes must be made to reflect the recent advances in society. At the moment, the stakes are very high, but the people are optimistic that the authorities will perform their duties accordingly and reform the Constitution to coincide with government policymaking. The citizens are aware that the present constitution is flawed because of the powers of impunity it bestows on the executive and its inability to harness the true potential of the nation.The President is Head of State with almost absolute power. He also has the power to dissolve and recall Parliament and dictate its agenda. So any discussion about constitutional reform would be incomplete without some reference to reduce the powers of the executive and at the same time strengthen the powers of Parliament. The people have shown a clear dissatisfaction with the perceived power of the elected officials and their not so stellar performance. One issue that has emerged as an important constitutional matter is the fact that parliamentarians are not held accountable for their actions or inactions by their constituents. There is the lack of mechanisms to ensure greater levels of governance, transparency and accountability of elected officials and senior public officers. Historically, most parliamentary systems of governance have no time limit or recall of elected officials. Term limit restriction should be one of the entrenched provisions in the new constitution. Guyana needs a Constitution that gives the voters the choice and the right to recall their members of Parliament. The terminology is used to describe a process whereby the electorate can petition to trigger a vote on the suitability of an existing elected representative to continue in office. The intention of these recall provisions would be to ensure that MPs perform their constituency duties to the satisfaction of their constituents throughout their term of office. These recommendations present a real opportunity for the elected officials to make genuine and concrete political changes that will require the political parties to actually reform the constitution and change the way they operate and force them to observe standards of ethics and probity that they and the current system take for granted. There are too many elected officials who complain about the Constitution, but when faced with the real prospect of changing or reforming it, they quietly shy away from their responsibility.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Letters... Where your views make the news

Jagdeo must be held accountable through every institution in this country DEAR EDITOR, Inclusionary democracy is grounded in the Constitution, laws and internationally acceptable timehonoured principles. Bharrat Jagdeo is a breed of politician with crude Machiavellian instinct, driven by a singular focus of oligarchic desire to control the nation’s wealth and resources. Having wrenched control from immediate past President Donald Ramotar, to return to parliament along with other nefarious characters, has become Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition is a constitutional office and the holder has to be treated with in an official manner. But while it is so, one cannot lose sight of Jagdeo’s track record as a leader in this society, who acquired wealth under questionable circumstances and associates with questionable characters. Under his government, he has signed agreements with Desmond Hoyte as Leader of the Opposition, Robert Corbin as Leader of the Opposition, the Guyana Public Service

Union and Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC). He refused to honour one iota of the things he had agreed upon. It will be an understatement to say Jagdeo has no moral standing and cannot be trusted. It is a sad day for Guyana that such a man can continue to hold public office where he will be automatically attributed dignity and prestige that he does not deserve. If Forbes Burnham, Desmond Hoyte, Cheddie Jagan and Janet Jagan who are dead, their records are scrutinised today and many are critical of their stewardship, he who is alive must be asked to account for his stewardship. At no time the society must be led into the false illusion that because Jagdeo is Leader of the Opposition we must turn a Nelson’s eye to his past. The recent meeting between him and President David Granger that has been dubbed as a process of inclusionary democracy/inclusive governance cannot be shrouded in secrecy, because Jagdeo’s track record is one of such that will see him most

likely come out later to say: 1) there was never any discussion of the issues with the president and, 2) at some point down the road when he is asked to account for any agreement made with the president, he is most likely to say there was never any agreement on the issue/s. The GTUC can speak from experience, having had meetings and agreements with him. Let it be known that on 8th March 2000, the parties agreed, in the presence of then President Jagdeo, that the government will make available a plot of land on the Linden/Soesdyke highway for an allinclusive housing settlement, on the condition that the GTUC presents a concept note on the issue. This was done and when same was presented to the government, Jagdeo said that that was not the agreement. Roger Luncheon was so embarrassed about Jagdeo’ attitude that he turned to him and said ‘Chief, what the TUC is saying that was the agreement we had.’ Jagdeo then said, if that was the agreement, make the (Continued on page 5)

Govt. did not know the Venezuela deal would be in limbo and that the Petrocaribe fund was empty DEAR EDITOR, With reference to Benjee Singh’s letter published in Kaieteur Newspaper on Friday September 4, 2015 bearing the caption, “APNU\AFC did promise rice farmers $9000 per bag of paddy,” permit me a space in your newspaper to offer a gentle rebuttal. To begin with, assuming that Mr. Singh is correct with the evidence put forward in his missive the public should and must understand that the promise was made under the belief that the PetroCaribe fund is intact. The current government while in opposition was told by the now opposition who was in government that the PetroCaribe fund is alive and well. Knowing this, the APNU\AFC must have made the promise to offer rice farmers $9000 for a bag of paddy. Again, I am assuming that Mr. Singh’s letter is meritorious in nature, for I was not present at all the public meetings of APNU\AFC. I maintain, however, that the meetings I was in attendance, that promise was never made. Secondly, one will recollect that it was May 26, 2015 that Nicolas Maduro disrespected Guyana by signing a decree claiming Essequibo which later led to turbulence by and between Guyana and Venezuela hence putting the Petrocaribe deal in somewhat a limbo. I need not go into details with this point for the public is well aware of it and I am absolutely sure Mr. Singh knows it well too since my assumption is that he is well au fait with current affairs. Editor, please do recognize that even though I did not hear the APNU\AFC making that promise to give rice farmers

$9000 per bag of paddy, I am not disputing Mr. Singh’s claim for he may be correct, since, as I said before, I was not present at all the public meetings. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. However, what bothers me is the fact that Mr. Singh did not find it necessary in his letter to publicly condemn the PPP\C Government for managing the PetroCaribe fund in a haphazard manner. The public was lied to about the amount of money available in the PetroCaribe fund and officials were withdrawing monies at their own whims and fancies. (Reference: Kaieteur News July 12, 2015 - “Billions missing from PetroCaribe funds,” and “Caribbeannewsnow.com July 24, 2015 - “Forensic Audit in Guyana reveals unauthorized transfer from PetroCaribe fund”) No right minded person would ever pressure this government to deliver $9000 per bag of paddy when they are aware of what the PPP\C government did to the PetroCaribe fund. Had the

PetroCaribe fund not been raped, used and abused I would have also requested of this government to fulfill the promise because my entire family are rice farmers. Adding insult to injuries was the Venezuelan barbarism. Editor the APNU\AFC government went into office not expecting half of the ills that they unearthed. Let us give them a chance to make things right. It has only been 5 months now. Our President and Ministers are human beings not machines. Mr. Singh, I know you are not intellectually circumcised thus I beg of you to stop stifling your conscience. I know that you are aware of the many hurdles this government had to jump over and is still jumping over to give that good life they promised.Let us work with them to ensure that everyone gets that good life. Let us be objective in our writings and let us be fair in our judgments. Let us assist in offering solutions. In other words, let us co-operate for Guyana. Ganesh Mahipaul.

It’s time to actually

“DO MORE” GT&T

DEAR EDITOR, It seems ironic that at a time when there is much celebration at the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company, in light of its recent rebranding efforts, that I have been plagued for about two weeks now with no landline telephone service. This was reported with reference number 1726562 being

provided by the representative. Several calls later to the 0488 and 0907 numbers ended with a promise by the officials at that company to ‘look into the matter’. As a subscriber to several of GTT’s services, I would only trust that the company would ‘Do more’ to restore my telephone service. J. Chester-Innis

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 5

Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

We have to break from the Crossing of floor adversarial politics of the past act unconstitutional

DEAR EDITOR, The Round table organised by the Ministry of Social Cohesion in collaboration with the UNDP on advancing the process of national reconciliation is laudable and a step in the right direction. However, for it to be meaningful and productive, there must be the willingness on all sides to rise above narrow and partisan interests and put the good of the country above everything else. In other words, this must not be seen as another cosmetic exercise but as a genuine attempt to find common ground on the way forward for the country. The fact is that race is a strong factor in our political life and therefore cannot be ignored. The last general and regional elections, as indeed

all elections following the split of the PPP in the mid1950’s, have demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between ethnicity and voting behaviour especially as it relates to the two major race groups in Guyana, namely IndoGuyanese and AfroGuyanese. At the same time, we should not overemphasize race since Guyanese are not hostile to each other based on race or ethnicity. I have always maintained that race relations in Guyana is generally good despite a clear pattern of voting behaviour along ethnic lines. This is why the search for a political solution that would help to bridge the political divide along race lines must be vigorously pursued. The country need to advance beyond race-based

politics to one in which every Guyanese, regardless of race or ethnicity feels that they are involved in equal measure in the task of nation-building. We have to break from the adversarial and confrontational politics of the past. This requires wise and matured leadership and an ability to think big. There should be no place for small minds and those who lacks the ability to see the larger picture. There is need for new thinking to prevail in our body-politic, and the sooner the better. We cannot continue with a system of governance where close to half of the population feels alienated whenever one or the other of the major political parties obtain political power as is currently the case. Hydar Ally

Are we taking too long to clean the Augean stables of corruption? DEAR EDITOR, In view of all the corruption and abundance of dishonest, underhand carryings- on in Guyana, I am immediately forced to bring to mind, though somewhat reluctantly, the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes. In full and broad daylight, Diogenes could be seen strolling the streets of Athens, on a cloudless sunlit day carrying a brightly lit torch. On being questioned as to why he went about with a lamp in broad daylight, Diogenes confessed, I am looking for an honest man. He looked for a human being but reputedly found nothing but rascals and scoundrels. No one matched the description. It is reported that Alexander the Great once said, “Had I not been Alexander, I should have liked to be Diogenes.” Once, while Diogenes was sunning himself, Alexander came up to him and offered to grant him

any request. “Stand out of my light,” he replied. Please do not for one moment jump to the assumption that contrary to Diogenesian philosophy I am not alluding to the fact that all the politicians in Guyana are corrupt. However, I can unequivocally state that there seems to be a dearth of trustworthy ones. The populace has gradually come to realize that not all talk leads to action and again talk is cheap. Some of the pre-election grandiose promises have failed to materialize, and the coalition has now been transformed into coals on the nation. Basically and plainly put in Guyanese vernacular: you get what you want, and now you don’t want what you get”. Yes we did not like how the P.P.P lied and cooked the books, or how the party was inundated with crooks, but now you have had your voice and the APNU/ AFC was the resounding choice.

Remember that politics determine who has the power not who has the truth. It was Albert Einstein who said thus: “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” Are we any way nearer to where we need to go? Can Post-election progress be charted in a tangible and significant course? Seemingly the people are still drifting. However, the truth be told this is a question that the voters must ask themselves. A recent editorial ( K.N September 3, 2105) pointed out the fact that the State has failed to generate sufficient improvements to improve the life of the masses. Is the Augean stables of corruption taking too long to be cleaned up, or has the present Government lent credence to Diogenes search? Yvonne Sam.

DEAR EDITOR, Chief Justice Ian Chang recently ruled that the 2001 parliamentary amendments to the constitution are unconstitutional unless approved in a referendum. It follows logically that any subsequent amendment to the constitution, unless approved in a referendum, is unconstitutional. In 2007, both the PNC and PPP “amended the constitution” disallowing the crossing of the floor. All the M.Ps from both the PNC and PPP voted for the amendment. The AFC M.Ps opposed the bill and made a compelling case why it should not have been approved. The amendment bill was tabled and approved in 2007 as a result of the crossing of the floor by Rafael Trottman (PNC), Khemraj Ramjattan (PPP) and Sheila Holder (WPA) around 2005 leading to the formation of the AFC that contested the 2006 elections winning five seats. The two major parties collaborated to prevent such floor crossing that could impact on their support in the House. Ramjattan and Trottman did not follow their party whip. The WPA was also not pleased that Holder was leaving her party to form the AFC. I was in the Assembly for the eloquent debate put up by Ramjattan, Trottman and Holder. No one from the PPP and PNC budged on the issue although several of them told me privately they opposed it. Even my friend Moses Nagamootoo was

silent on the matter even though he privately opposed the bill. He voted for the PPP/PNC bill that essentially disallows a “’conscience” vote on any issue. The bill is dictatorial in nature. It promotes absolute dictatorship. If a M.P votes against a bill (against the party whip), he or she can be automatically replaced by the leader of the party (party’s list). Since my friends Ramjattan, Trottman, and Nagamootoo were against the crossing of the floor act in 2007, I expect them to introduce a bill now to remove (repeal) that amendment to the fraudulent constitution that was imposed on the population without a free and fair referendum. Alternatively, voters can go to court as they did challenging the term limit law, to challenge the legality of the bill. And since Justice Chang has ruled that amendments to the constitution are null and void unless approved by the voters in a referendum, then the crossing of the floor act is “unconstitutional”. Furthermore, since the learned Chief Justice has ruled that a referendum must be held to “legalize” the constitution or any amendments to it, and since no referendum was held to approve the Burnham constitution, then voters should challenge its constitutionality. It follows logically that the Burnham constitution is null and void. Vishnu Bisram

Jagdeo must be held accountable... From page 4 application to Lands and Survey and instruction will be given for it to be processed. During the Jagdeo and Ramotar governments the application was never processed. On the change of government, the file was presented to the GTUC and we were advised that instruction came from the Office of the President that the application must not be processed. Asgar Ally, former Minister of Finance in the PPP government publicly described Jagdeo as a liar. Today Jagdeo is on record saying he will champion the fight against corruption, and is demanding transparency and accountability, when from the outset in every form of life he had denied people their fundamental rights and together with his cohorts

raped the coffers of this nation. He will be par excellence in fighting corruption because he has the strongest attributes identifying how corrupt practices ought to be executed. President Granger, while well intentioned, cannot be allowed to be lulled into any level of complacency, but must be encouraged to hold the course in making sure that the period Jagdeo led this

country, a public inquiry be conducted to find out who was behind the extrajudicial killings of 400 plus young men and the rapping of the national coffers. The people have voted for a change which is premised on good governance and accountability. Jagdeo must be held accountable through every institution in this country, inclusive of the judiciary. Lincoln Lewis.

Page 6

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

Govt. can defend sacking former GuySuCo boss - Minister of State Should the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Dr. Rajendra Singh, make good on his threat to take the government to court for wrongful dismissal, then he would be in for a good fight. The State stands ready to defend its position. This was articulated to the media by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, during a post cabinet press briefing, yesterday. Harmon was asked to say why Government did not pay the former CEO his benefits, given that his five-year contract with the state-owned company was terminated prematurely.

He was also asked whethe r G o v e r n m e n t i s prepared to defend its position in a court of law should Singh choose to go in that direction if settlement is not reached. The Minister of State said, “As a lawyer myself, I know that when you have claims in a civil matter you have counter claims and the counter claim is sometimes bigger than the claim. The CEO can proceed in a manner which best suits him. But just be assured that the State will respond in a firm manner in this case.” Kaieteur News subsequently asked the Minister to say whether Dr.

Singh was informed by the government of all the grounds for which he was being dismissed. Documents recently surfaced citing various infractions that were committed by the former CEO. “You only have to be aware of sometimes one matter. As you are aware, there is an inquiry into GuySuCo and it is turning up several other infractions of the law, of the regulations, and even o f ( D r S i n g h ’s ) o w n contract. These things are coming up and you will know more of them,” the Minister of State said. The politician added that given that the inquiry has

Bandit attack, rob residence of M&CC Town Clerk Town Clerk of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, (M&CC) Royston King is the latest victim of an early morning, home invasion. Kaieteur News understands that the Town Clerk and members of his immediate family were asleep when armed bandits entered at their South Ruimveldt Park residence, at around 2: 00 am yesterday morning. The gunmen reportedly demanded cash and valuables from members of the family. They managed to escape with a cellular phone and an undisclosed sum of cash. The Town Clerk confirmed that the thieves carted off items but added that luckily no one was hurt. The intruders reportedly gained access through a window of the two-storey building

Town Clerk Royston King which is currently being renovated. Kaieteur News understands that a member of the household (name given) was studying at the time. The

teenager recalled that there was a strange figure near the window, and she alerted the rest of her family, who were asleep upstairs. “She woke us up and we came downstairs and turned on the lights by then one of the men was pointing a gun through the back door and the other one collected a cellular phone and some money that was in a chair,” another member of the household related. Kaieteur News understands that sections of the house including the window, through which the bandits gained entry were damaged during the break-in. Three persons have since been held in connection with the robbery. Meanwhile police investigations into the incident are continuing.

started, and given the absence of Dr. Singh, several persons feel more at ease to divulge information. He said that the information may just end up proving that what was initially known by the government was just the tip of the iceberg. On Wednesday, documents surfaced that Dr. Singh was dismissed for various reasons, some of which include the violation of GuySuCo’s procurement procedure for equipment, spares and other items, the infringement of the corporation’s disciplinary procedure and the contravention of the corporation’s procedure regarding recruitment, promotion and remuneration of employees. But Dr. Singh is threatening the government with legal action over his dismissal which he claims is without cause. According to those documents, Singh deviated from a decision handed down by the previous Cabinet and authorized the sale of 2.6792 acres of land at Plantation Good Hope, East Coast Demerara to one Kelvin Gobin. The former CEO also engaged in the procurement of one whole stalk harvester for mechanized harvesting at the cost of $19.2M despite technical advice to the contrary from the corporation’s technical personnel. “This machine is a wasted asset wholly unsuitable for operation throughout the entire cultivation,” one document stated. Dr. Singh also entered into management agreements

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon with Global Casetech and Global Cane Sugar services out of India for the management services on a number of estates at unreasonably high cost, and without approval of the Board of Directors. Research into the financial accounts of GuySuCo, found that Dr. Singh had “deliberately misled” Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder, on the true financial state of the company prior to the passing of the 2015 budget. He had said that GuySuCo only had sufficient cash flow to sustain it until the end of May and subsequently informed the unions that due to inadequate funds, the corporation was on the brink of closure by the end of May 2015 when it would be unable to pay employees. In a bid to defy the odds and criticisms from various quarters that GuySuCo was ailing, poorly mismanaged

a n d c o u l d not reach its production targets, Dr. Singh did the unthinkable. He instructed operational management to bring forward unprecedentedly high acreages of cane to achieve the revised production targets in 2014 and first crop for 2015: Last year, 5,272.5 hectares of cane averaging 48.3 tonnes of Cane per Hectare (TCH) were brought forward. The former CEO through his A t t o r n e y - a t - l a w, Ashton Chase, S.C is hoping to settle the matter with GuySuCo. If this route is not successful, they will move to the courts. Dr. Singh is suing for wrongful dismissal. He said that his contract which came into effect in May 2013, allows him to be employed for a period of five years. In a letter addressed to GuySuCo, the lawyer outlines that Dr. Singh’s contract had about three more years to run and that he should be paid six months’ remuneration in lieu of notice would not be unreasonable. Chase said, too, that his client’s “complementary benefits” should not be overlooked. These include coverage for telephone, electricity and water services and the provision of a vehicle and a driver. In addition, Chase said that Singh is due six weeks’ leave, leave passage entitlement of $1,168,081 and a gratuity every six months. They are hoping to reach an agreement on his basic net salary which was US$12,530 per month and $70,000 for other allowances.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

The judge to decide on trial for detained Guatemala ex-president

Guatemalan ex-President Otto Perez (C) speaks with journalists at the end of a hearing at the Supreme Court in Guatemala City. AFP PHOTO / Johan ORDONEZ GUATEMALACITY(AP) — Otto Perez Molina sat in a defendant’s chair yesterday and declared his innocence in a customs corruption scandal that forced him to resign a day earlier as president of this Central American nation. The former leader denied prosecutors’ allegations that he was involved in a conspiracy to defraud the state by letting businesses evade import duties in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes. “The first thing I want to deny, I don’t belong to ‘La Linea,’” Perez Molina said, referring to the name of the fraud scheme, Spanish for “The Line.” The hearing wrapped up in the afternoon, and Judge Miguel Angel Galvez said he would make a ruling Tuesday on whether to order a trial. Perez Molina was ordered to remain in custody until then at the same military barracks where he spent his first night as an ex-president. Prosecutors argued that Perez Molina was aware of the conspiracy, and formally asked the judge for a trial on charges of illicit association and graft. They presented 77 wiretap conversations totaling more than five hours and recorded over multiple days, as well as photographs and seized documents that detailed how the bribes were divided up. Prosecutors contend that when people in the wiretaps refer to No. 1, they were

alluding to Perez Molina and that former Vice President Roxana Baldetti was 2. “The structure under the 1 and 2 received 50 percent, and the 1 and 2 received the other 50 percent” of the money, prosecutor Jose Antonio Morales alleged. Baldetti resigned May 8 after her former private secretary, who remains a fugitive, was named as the alleged ringleader of the scheme. Baldetti, now jailed and facing charges, also says she is innocent. One recording played twice for the court was of two voices said to be Baldetti and Salvador Estuardo Gonzalez, the alleged financier of the ring, who has also been jailed. Prosecutors argued that it was evidence of a hierarchical relationship between the two, and that they discussed “numbers” and “payments.” Prosecutors alleged that Perez Molina knew about the scheme, cooperated to allow it to operate and received a percentage of the illicit proceeds. They also showed a photo of Gonzalez with Perez Molina. Defense lawyer Cesar Calderon invoked a restaurant metaphor to argue that the state’s case was weak. “I was left waiting for the main course ... of their investigation,” Calderon said. “Your honor, I am not going to risk my dignity, my work, nor all the effort I have made for Guatemala in return

for $800,000,” Perez Molina said in allusion to dollar figures presented by prosecutors. Dressed in a sharp blue suit and striped tie, Perez Molina addressed reporters as the hearing concluded and before he returned to the military base. He expressed regret about his legal situation and that the political drama was playing out on the eve of elections. “Personally I am very saddened,” he said. Earlier he told The Associated Press he had been uncomfortable and slept little the previous night, and hoped to be granted bond or house arrest. “No jail is good. ... I hope the judge gives me an alternative,” Perez Molina said. Perez Molina formally stepped down Thursday as Guatemala’s political crisis came to a dramatic climax, and Vice President Alejandro Maldonado was sworn in hours later as the country’s new leader.

Page 7

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 9

A REGIONAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER IS A PUBLIC SERVICE POSITION The government did promise a professional and impartial public service. It made it clear that persons who were on the list of candidates for elections would not be retained within the public service. The position of Regional Executive Officer (REO) is akin to a public servant position. An REO is not a political appointee. That person is considered to be the accounting officer for the Region and therefore has to be a public service appointee even if that person opts for contract employment. There is nothing in the law that prevents a public servant opting for contractual tenure. People may have good

reasons for doing so. The new government has gone ahead and appointed someone as a REO who was on the list of candidates for the APNU+AFC. This is not consistent with what the government had committed itself to. Also, the positions of other REOs have been advertised. But the one which is now going to be filled by someone who was on the ruling coalitions’ list of candidates has not been advertised. This is a worrying development. The government is contradicting itself. A number of REOs who served under the previous government have been sent

packing. Their contracts were not renewed or they were sent off on leave and not allowed to return. Some of these persons have had long years of service within the public service. One of them was known to be on his party’s list and therefore ought not to have been retained. But there were others who were public servants and whose services ought to have been retained. The former REO of Region Four was not a political appointee. He was a professional public servant even though he was a contract employee. He was not on any party’s list of candidates and was not known to be affiliated with

any political party. Yet his contract was not renewed despite his considerable experience within the local government system. The removal of so many REOs at one time will create problems for the government. A whole cadre of persons experienced in local government and more importantly in administering regions has been removed. The local government system has been decapitated of considerable experience. When in opposition APNU+AC had stressed the importance of Local Government Elections. The party had called for Local Government Elections but now in power seems to

forgetting that the local government system is also part of the public service and to remove so many experienced persons at one go will create major administrative problems. The government needs to issue a list of the positions that it considers to be public service positions and those in which it is allowed to make political appointees. For example certain position such as Director of Sports, Director of Youth and Permanent Secretaries etc. should be public service positions and should be advertised. People should apply for those positions. It should be made clear that once you

would have contested public office, you should not be eligible for those positions. The government either has to keep its promise about a professional public service or admit that it has changed its mind. It cannot have it both ways. An REO is supposed to a person without any political affiliation. The PPP did foist at least one such person on the regional system. APNU+AFC should not be making the same mistake. By the way, who is the Head of the Public Service?

The media has been unfair to me - Prime Minister By Abena Rockcliffe Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo is of the view that the media has been unfair to him by publishing several articles that lacked accuracy. The articles referenced to were those that spoke about Nagamootoo's approach in

handling the affairs of the state media, as the Minister responsible for information. It was reported that Nagamootoo accosted a young Chronicle reporter who wrote a story that carried the headline: “Gov't blunders on Budget Estimates … violates laws assented to by President Granger”. The reports contin-

Dem boys seh... Chronicle drop Rickey like a hurricane When you talk about resignation you got to be employed. For example, Jagdeo, de devil, can’t resign from de Waterfalls paper. He never wuk deh although he would complain to Donald de Dumb that is just like if he does write fuh de paper because he name inside every day. Dem boys seh that there is a valid reason to keep he name in de newspaper every day. Dem boys know that he and a whole heap of dem gun join that same Guatemala president in jail very soon. Then you got de one who use to write how de moon tek over de sun and how Georgetown tek over Essequibo and how Linden move to Berbice. Dem boys seh that it ain’t got nutten that he ain’t about in de Chronicle. He write some of de most beautiful thing about Jagdeo and de more he write was more money doling out from de treasury into he bank account in Barbados. This man never had a contract or never wuk at de Chronicle since he run from Burnham. Dem boys hear things bad wid he in Barbados and de money he use to get from Jagdeo fuh writing in de Chronicle use to maintain him in Barbados. Jagdeo, Donald Dumb and de Pee Pee Pee get kick out and Rickey Singh ain’t realize that he ain’t got a paymaster no more. But he continue writing, hoping that Soulja Bai gun tek care of de bill. Soulja Bai never publish wha he write. Three month pass and nutten nah publish and he nah get pay from Chronicle. Yet he got de nerve to tell Jagdeo newspaper that he resign. That is like a man who seh he divorce and was never married. This match Jagdeo, that scamp, to a ‘T’. But de man who holding all of Jagdeo’s wealth in he name, under his name, divorce too, but he was married. His divorce, dem boys seh, was like a hurricane name Barbie. People always wonder why dem name hurricanes after women. Barbie seh that he wife come like a hurricane— wet and wild. When she lef, she carry he house, he car, and he credit cards. She nearly carry Jagdeo too. Talk half and beg Soulja Bai to help Rickey wid eh drink bill in Barbados.

ued that Nagamootoo told the reporter about his disappointment with the article. Sections of the media also had it that as a result of the publication of that story that painted Government in a bad light, Nagamootoo instructed that all headlines in the Chronicle be approved by his Director of Public Information before publication. Other reports lamented that Nagamootoo was seeking to tamper with overall press freedom in Guyana. During a recent interview, the Prime Minister said that those reports could not be further from the truth. “In fact, I am appalled that people who come out to express solicitation to the media had not paid attention to accuracy. I never intimidated the reporter; I have never threatened the reporter. He approached me, I had not accosted him; he accosted me,” said Nagamootoo. The Minister said that the reporter wanted to interview him so he inquired to which newspaper the reporter was attached, “He told me 'Chronicle' and I said 'Oh, that

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo newspaper with the horrible headline.” The Prime Minister continued, “Those who have made allegations against me of interfering with the professional duties of journalists, those who said that I have asked people to toe the line, those who said that I have threatened press freedom, I think they have been unfair to me and they ought to have been able to report factually.” Nagamootoo said that he resisted “the temptation to answer to all of this.”

Nagamootoo said, “I have never asked Chronicle, for example, to project the APNU+AFC. I have seen Jagdeo on the front page, in the middle pages; I have seen the PPP and Rohee all over the Chronicle. Mark Ramotar came to me to offer his resignation and I refused to accept it. “I said Mark you can do better; I brought you into the world of journalism and I think I can trust you to return to the path of professionalism. That's all that I did.” The Prime Minister said that he took blows from his colleagues in government because he appeared not to have had “things under control” in the State and Government media. Nagamootoo said that the

State media needs to develop a more balanced and fair approach towards the government and to ensure that the government business is given adequate, fair and proportionate coverage. Nagamootoo then moved to defend his right to an opinion saying, “I am a citizen of this country and I have a view. Being Prime Minister and Minister with responsibility for Public Information, do not take away my right to agree or not agree with a headline. “But like I said, I had not spoken to this reporter about his article. We had a conversation and I had wanted this journalist to place on the record what exactly happened during this conversation.”

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Berbice is watching the APNU-AFC regime with hawkish eyes Last Thursday, I was invited by the West Berbice Chamber of Commerce to attend one of its meetings. The confabulation was held in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Five at Fort Wellington. The Chamber suggested that I be there to hear legitimate complaints its members had and to have them highlighted in the press. I was glad that I had that experience. It was an eyeopener for me both as a political activist, and as a student of political theory. I would be lying if I say I didn’t feel sorry for the business

people who spoke to me at that event. But that experience only served to deepen my cynicism about politics and power in this land. I also learnt at that meeting of how tragic has been racial politics in Guyana. At the meeting, there wasn’t one African face or even a businessman of mixed race; not even a Portuguese Guyanese or Chinese entrepreneur. As I listened to the grievances pouring down on the fine, polished table around which we all sat, my mind was bombarded with thoughts of political theory – what did the PPP do for these

people the past twenty-three years, the period for which it was in office and winning every General and Regional election in Guyana since 1992. Was this a case of power contempt when powerholders know their constituents are Pavlovian respondents? This was the first time in my entire life that had I stopped at Fort Wellington. Of course I had passed it hundreds of time on my way further up Berbice but never stopped in the area. I spoke at many APNU+AFC 2015 campaign meetings but was never on the platform in that village.

There was a conspicuous strangeness at Fort Wellington. Its immediate neighbour (to the east) is the village named Naarstigheid. No one lives at Naarstigheid. I took a look over the entire landscape. Why doesn’t the new APNU-AFC Government do something with the entire ghost village named Naarstigheid? Is it possible that no one wants to live there because of the ancient tale of Dutch jumbies (Naarstigheid is a Dutch name) that has been passed on to generation after generation in this country? I was told by one of the Chamber members that there are hundreds and hundreds of villages in Guyana where no one lives. Before I return to the meeting, let me say boldly and unambiguously that I was given a genuinely warm reception around that table before and after the meeting. There are scores of PPP leaders, including their intellectual propagandists (chief among whom is Dr. Baytoram Ramharack who commented that I had and have no cultural background) who wrote consistently in all

the newspapers that I am a Guyanese who criticizes Indian people all the time and Indian people do not like me. This was elephantine ignorance that I have ignored over the years. It was crazy to find during the 2015 election campaign, Mrs. Sarah Punelall, the AFC’s campaign manager for the lower East Coast, saying to the AFC’s logistic office that she didn’t want me speaking in Indian areas because Indian people would not take kindly to me. In fairness to the AFC leaders, they all rejected Mrs. Punelall’s misanalysis of the nature of Guyanese society. The members of the West Berbice Chamber of Commerce have ventilated grievances that should have been dealt with long, long ago by the PPP Government. And they are looking at the new Guyana Government to see what its attitude will be. The people around that table have openly said to me that they want the new government to know that Berbicians are well aware that their vote will be asked for in 2020. They said that rejection of gun licence applications is hurtful. And they want

Frederick Kissoon answers from the APNU-AFC regime. The room was told that Chamber members asked President Granger for a review of two rejections. The review was granted yet three months after the APNU-AFC came to power there is no communication on the outcome. It was clear to me that these people feel that crime and security are priorities for West Berbice and they want firearms for protection. Next they want police harassment to stop including unprofessional conduct among traffic ranks who they say hide in the bushes then they spring out like kangaroos on unsuspecting drivers. The garbage has become a health menace as in Georgetown. My parting advice to them was to let their vote be their weapon and to let politicians know they have that weapon and to air their hurt in the press.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 11

GTU satisfied with attention being - as discussions over new multi-year given to teachers agreement gets underway With comments such as “teachers should be better compensated” being echoed by Government officials, several teachers within the public education system, were quietly anticipating an announcement of a salary increase specific to public school teachers in the 2015 National Budget. This was not the case and some teachers have since voiced their concerns. However, President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Mark Lyte, has observed that teachers will in fact benefit from an augmented pay package that was announced for public servants. Commenting on the concerns of teachers, he said that over the years the national budget has not included an increase specific to teachers. “Teachers are

technically public servants, so when the budget is read and we hear about public servants it is the same benefits that teachers would enjoy.” Finance Minister Winston Jordan in his budget presentation announced a five per cent salary increase to all public servants, whose gross basic monthly salaries were greater than $50,000. He however, disclosed that public servants with salaries that were equal to or lower than $50,000 were eligible for an eight per cent increase. He highlighted Government’s intention to increase the minimum basic salary of each public servant to $50,000, effective July 1, 2015. This, he said, translates to a 26.4 percent increase for those still earning the old minimum wage of $39,540 and

17.1 percent for over 4,000 public servants earning the current minimum wage of $42,703. As of July 1, 2015, he said that all other public servants will receive a five percent salary increase plus an additional $5,000 monthly, allowing for a greater increase in the lower income brackets. A worker currently earning $50,000 will have a monthly increase of $7,500, or 15 percent; a person currently receiving a salary of $100,000 would get a 10 percent increase. But according to Lyte, teachers will stand to reap additional benefits based on an agreement the Union is usually able to forge with Government on behalf of public school teachers. Moreover, Lyte said that the Union is rather pleased with what is being offered in

the 2015 budget. “At least teachers will be having an increase above what we are accustomed to receiving...We will be getting more than the five percent and in some cases, some of our teachers at the lower end of the scale will get as much as 20something percent.” “From a GTU perspective we are happy for those teachers who will be getting increases, while at the same time, we are hoping that more increases will be given to teachers,” said Lyte. He said that the Union is also elated that the Ministry is prepared to continue to honour the exiting multi-year Agreement that was forged with the previous administration. This therefore means that teachers will be afforded clothing allowance due to them, and a five percent increase that should have

Local Govt. legislation lone item on govt.’s parliamentary agenda for next week The new government continues to go to lengths to make good on a promise to hold Local Gove r n m e n t Elections before the end of this year. In this regard, the administration has opted to, just one day before the National Assembly goes into recess, schedule a sitting to facilitate the passing of one piece of Local Government legislation. The Bill is designed to, according to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, “further clear the way for elections to—hopefully— b e h e l d t h i s y e a r. ” H e stressed that this is in keeping with the desire of the administration. Therefore, Prime M i n i s t e r, Moses Nagamootoo is set to move the “Suspension of Standing Order no. 54.” The Bill will be piloted by

Bulkan. Its purpose is to amend the Local Authorities (Elections) Act. Contacted yesterday, Bulkan, said that the Bill will bridge some minor gasps in the existing legislation. Noting that the last Local Government Election was held in 1994, the Minister said that the legislation used then had empowered the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to extract the voters’ list from the Official List of Electors used for the 1990 General and Regional Elections. The new Bill empowers GECOM to use the National Register of Registrants (NRR). The legislation will also transfer some authorities from the Minister of Communities (previously Minister of Local Government) to GECOM. This, Bulkan said, widens

the scope of the officers of the commission. Bulkan contended that the Local Government System has collapsed. That is why Government is treating the holding of Local Government Election as a priority, he added. “Central Government cannot efficiently manage the country. We need 71 functioning local democratic organs.” The National Assembly officially goes into recess on September 10 for a p e r i o d of one month. Parliament is scheduled to reconvene on October 10, 2015. During the period of recess; there will be no sittings of the National Assembly or meeting of Parliamentary Committees and/or sub committees. G a i l Te i x e i r a , C h i e f Whip of the PPP/C, the same Party that stayed

away from the National Assembly for over two months, had told the House, “Sir…I just want to say that the House has an enormous amount of work to do. T h i s is the people’s House and the people’s business that we are addressing. Whilst we think that we deserve a rest and I’m sure all politicians deserve a rest at some point, nevertheless we have a lot of work to come back and do here. “So whilst we are not opposing the motion for recess, we believe that we must hasten and start a lot of work that has to be dealt with,” she told the Members of Parliament.

been payable at the start of this year. “In our multi-year agreement we are entitled to a five percent increase from January to June along with our annual clothing allowance, that is fixed; so whatever increases announced thereafter (by Government) will be expected from July like all other public servants,” disclosed Lyte. While no commitment has been made by Government as to when the outstanding payments will be made available, Lyte said that he is hopeful that this would be possible by next month. This publication understands that the GTU has been able to share a number of its concerns, regarding the education sector with Government, and a meeting was yesterday set to be convened with Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, to further discussions. Among the issues that are likely to be addressed, is the teachers’ housing revolving fund, house lot allocation as well as the payment of debunching monies and the awarding of outstanding duty free concessions to eligible teachers. Lyte had intimated to this publication that the GTU is hopeful that the coalesced A

GTU President, Mark Lyte Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change Government will be able to swiftly bring closure to the latter too issues. The two issues had seen the GTU and the Ministry of Education under the previous administration engaged in unsavoury exchanges with each blaming the other for their non fulfilment. Meanwhile, this publication has learnt that the GTU has plans to commence negotiations with Government to bring into being a three-year Agreement, as the current Agreement will expire at the end of this year. The Union, Lyte has acknowledged, will be seeking to present a proposal in this regard to the Ministry of the Presidency as well as the Ministry of Education for consideration.

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

Look beyond ‘next elections’ - says Sir Shridath Ramphal …proposes Civics course in schools to aid social cohesion World renowned Guyanese diplomat and former Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Shridath Ramphal, has urged politicians to lead the way to national unity by making their vision for the nation more than the “next elections.” Sir Ramphal has implored that the political class consider the impacts decisions taken on a daily basis could have on social cohesion. “Political leaders in particular bear a special responsibility to inspire, motive and encourage Guyanese people to ensure that they are one nation, one people, with one destiny,” expressed the Senior Statesman as he addressed scores of Guyanese during a Social Cohesion Roundtable (SCR) on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. “The common managers imposed on Guyana a policy of race as an instrument of control. Some of the leaders who replaced them adopted the same policy for their own political ends. A few even proposed partition. All this has left the country as one

nation in name and one people except in politics. All Guyanese must summon the joint history of struggle to inform the joint future of prosperity to which they aspire.” He said while there must always be room for political difference— and democracy itself dictates that good governance must allow for it— political difference must turn on policy, and compromise on policy must guide governance. “That implies a more mature system of nation building that has characterized our first fifty years,” he said. Sir Ramphal said for Guyana today, social cohesion and political correlation by whatever formula political unity replaces racial division, are two sides of the same national coin. The Guyanese diplomat further intimated that in the context of social cohesion, it is not only the politicians but all must consider the impacts their decisions can have on at least the generation following theirs. The renowned diplomat also believed that there is a need for a long and patient

cultivation of tolerance, understanding and responsibility. “This is not something that is likely to take place spontaneously. It will need to be nurtured from sound educational roots,” said Sir Shridath. “To this end there should be instituted as an integral part of primary education, a course in Civics,” said the senior statesman to a resounding round of applause. He recommended that after due consideration with the teaching profession, religious leaders and other interested parties, a standard text book on the subject should be provided. “The aim should be to provide all pupils receiving primary education with a broad knowledge and appreciation of the historical and constitutional basis of the state; of its administrative, political, juridical functioning; of the racial, religious culture and other main components and elements of society; and of the rights and duties of citizenship with due emphasis on tolerance and cooperation. “In fact, differences such as based on race and religion

should be deemed to be an enriching rather than a divisive feature.” He said that there are many research papers on the absence of cohesion in small plural societies like Guyana; the erudite publications of the Social Cohesion Project Coordinator, Roxanne Myers among them. Sir Shridath based his recommendation on a 1965 report dubbed Racial Problems in the Public Service, which came after the then government invited the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) to inquire and report on discrimination in the then British Guiana. He said that the conclusion was that constitutional guarantees and the legislative prohibitions cannot, without more, mould the diverse races, religions and cultures of British Guiana into a viable integrated nation. There would be a need for a long and patient cultivation of tolerance, understanding and responsibility. He said the ICJ recommendation was looking to cultivate a governmental civic change, gauged to variety in an enriching rather than a divisive nature. “It accepted that social

cohesion has begun from within each and every one of us. It has to be nurtured at the level of understanding; it has to become a part of our national ethos. A Guyanese cannot be an educated person unless he is educated or have educated himself in civics related to our one people society,” he expressed. Sir Shridath held that Independence cleared the way for social cohesion, “but ironically it was postindependence politics that set back the sole attainment of social cohesion. The main political parties, while not avowing a racial identity, found themselves trapped within its tentacles.” He said the progress of society towards social cohesion was set back by what was happening. Matters were not helped by the Westminster system when race became identifiable with the “political adversary.” The Senior Statesman said that Guyana’s independence started with a coalition government and the freedom from colonialism may not have been possible without it. “The ultimate coalition is a government of national unity. It has eluded us thus far but as we strive to

World renowned Guyanese diplomat, Sir Shridath Ramphal complete the process of social cohesion I am sure that we will be driven in that (path).” Sir Shridath applauded the meeting of President David Granger and Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, earlier this week. “We may need to be innovative in our responses, particularly our constitution responses if we are to attain the goal of social cohesion. But if our national motto is to guide us it is in that direction of oneness that we have to go and from the path of otherness that we must turn from. Which way we go is a challenge we face always, every day,” he said.

We will make nursing an attractive and well paid profession - Dr. Norton Many would dare not deny that the nursing profession is a most noble one. The late hours of working and duties are endless. It requires the nurse to be the doctor’s other hand. But scores of these hardworking public servants have complained bitterly over the years about receiving little thanks for the job they do daily with dedication and have even protested for improvements in their field. Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, intends to change all of this. He said that his government will make nursing “once more an attractive and well paid profession.” Dr. Norton said that the coalition government is committed to implementing a system in which Health Education can be taught at a restructured university level with quality staff, proper infrastructure, adequate facilities including

Public Health Minister, Dr. George Norton modernized library with Information Technology to the benefit of nurses and other health officials. He said that the APNU+AFC administration finds this to be a most imperative change as there is a need in the health sector for 1,700 registered nurses. There are only 600 to date. The Public Health Minister said that in his first meeting with the nurses at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, there were 50

valid complaints in the first half hour mostly about poor working conditions and job dissatisfaction. Noting that this was disheartening to say the least, he vowed that he will do all that is necessary to better the working conditions for Guyana’s nurses, giving them more benefits and incentives thus making them into a happy work force. The Minister said that plans are already a foot to have a day-care centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital and a canteen facility of the highest quality. He said that already, the gym is in full function. “I do agree with the past minister, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, in training and retaining a wide range of health care professionals for the public health system…I can assure that this will be done,” said the Public Health Minister. He said, too, that his ministry will provide a forum for discussion and invite the Community Support Officers of the People’s Progressive Party “to join in and be exposed to real training to get a real job and to work for a real salary.”

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Joint Services Patrol APNU+AFC violated Parliamentary process captures would-be for nominating MPs to Committees - PPP/C - as several Ministers to sit on standing and sectoral committees executioners - Lodge Gang' members held Following a car chase and the exchange of gunfire, ranks from the Joint Special Operations Group (JSOG) last night apprehended three suspected gang members who were reportedly on their way to execute a woman because of a soured drug deal. A taxi driver is reportedly among the detained men, who a senior police official said, belong to a group known as “The Lodge Head gang.” The senior official said that the JSOG team came under fire during the operation. The drama reportedly began shortly before 17.00 hrs, when police officials received word that gunmen were planning to kill a female shopkeeper who resides in East La Penitence. Acting on information, a heavily armed JSOG team tracked down a taxi with three male occupants on Mandela Avenue, near West Ruimveldt. Police said that the occupants shot at the ranks, while trying to avoid capure. The ranks returned fire, and the chase eventually ended after the taxi crashed near Rasville. The suspects were all unarmed when arrested, but police said that the men were seen tossing objects out of the taxi just before the vehicle crashed. At press time, ranks were still scouring the scene.

A Rasville resident recalled seeing three men lying on the ground, surrounded by police and army ranks. They were eventually taken to the Ruimveldt Police Outpost. The owner of the taxi service confirmed that a vehicle had been impounded. He was unable to say whether the driver was in custody, since the man was not answering his cell phone. According to the owner, the driver was not on company duty when the taxi was impounded. While not confirming reports about the execution plot, the senior official who spoke to Kaieteur News said that police have had the “Lodge Head Gang” under surveillance for some time. The official identified Kevin Fields, slain during a botched robbery in 2014, and Sherwyn Barrow, gunned down in East Ruimveldt a few months ago, as members of this gang. “They (the gang) were under surveillance for some time…We’re going all out to dismantle this gang.” There have been at least 17 execution-style killings for the year and at least 104 murders. Police had reported a 100 percent increase in execution killings up to the end of last July, in comparison with the same period last year.

Trinidad based yachts ... From page 17 of realized potential. “We have a good example close by to us in Trinidad, mainly Chaguaramas, which more than 20 years ago was all mangrove. Now it is transformed into a massive mariner.” Additionally, Haralsingh said that Guyana's potential is increased due to the fact that it is a safe haven for yachts. “We're further south of Trinidad, we are out of the hurricane belt or zone and we all know what happened recently in the Caribbean when a hurricane passed through,” he noted. He said that Guyana also has a “strategic location” right at the top of South America. Haralsingh gave a rundown of the upcoming rally. He explained that the yachters who arrive will be treated to tours to different sites around Guyana, including Kaieteur Falls and historical landmarks in Georgetown. A Beach Day will be held on September 13 and will be open to the general public with tickets costing $17,000 each. These tickets are available at the GTA or the

National Cultural Centre. Persons who are already in Bartica will pay $6,000 for the event, a substantially lower figure. After Guyana, the yachts are heading to Suriname and French Guiana. According to Hurakabra Proprietor, Christopher 'Kit' Nascimento, the rally “helps promote Guyana as a premiere yachting destination because it's a unique way of bringing yachts to a country.” He said that each year the event becomes bigger and better and sees wider participation as its popularity grows. He added that it is an event known throughout the Caribbean and links Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana together. Minister of Tourism Cathy Hughes and a team recently visited Chaguaramas in Trinidad to meet with the potential yacht owners who will be coming for this rally. So far there are about 10 yachts confirmed to be coming along with about 18 sailors. The participants will hail from a number of countries including Sweden, England, the USA, and Trinidad.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) yesterday blasted the appointment of several Government Ministers on the Parliamentary standing and sectoral committees, something it says flies in the face of the norms and customs of the constitution, in addition to article 119B of the constitution. The Committees to which Members of Parliament were nominated, yesterday, are the Parliamentary Management Committee, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Constitution Reform Committee, the Committee of Appointments, the Oversight Committee for the Security Sector, the Parliamentary Sectoral Committees on Economic and Social services, Foreign Relations, Natural Resources, the Standing Orders Committee, the Assembly Committee, the Committee on Privileges and the Statutory Instrument Committee. Appearing at the Press Conference were former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, and former junior Finance Minister Juan Edghill. According to Edghill, it was during the nomination to the Public Accounts Committee that it was disclosed that a sitting Minister, Volda Lawrence, would be a part of the Committee. “The Public Accounts Committee is the one where Government Accounts are scrutinized and chaired by the Opposition. To have a sitting Minister, whose Ministry will come under scrutiny by the same committee, sitting on the committee, is a departure from accountability, transparency and the rule of law,” Edghill declared. He also revealed that the Economic and Social services, Foreign Relations and Natural Resources Committees would be faced with the same dilemma, as this time several Ministers will be sitting on each of these committees. Edghill was adamant that this had never happened before and that when confronted about its nominations, Government MPs had stated that there is no rule or constitutional/ standing order prohibiting a Government Minister from sitting on the PAC or other standing sectoral committees. “But it was never allowed for the decades these committees have been meeting. The PPP/C never had Ministers sitting on the PAC or other committees, they were all back benchers. And we are now advised by the A

Winston Jordan will be on the Natural Resources Committee Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) that this is a new Government, new approach. Those are their very words” Edghill noted. Edghill went on to reveal that at the time he proposed the Government go ahead with the nominations to those committees, but that the two sides “meet and talk to find a political solution. He pointed out that “if APNU+AFC have 26 ministers out of 33 elected members of the National Assembly, they (will have difficulties) in finding nonMinisters for these Committees.” However, Edghill stated that his overtures were rejected, as they went ahead and named all their members to the committees. The Bishop went on to forward these events as evidence of the “insincerity and hypocrisy” of the Government, at a time when it is promulgating discussions of social cohesion. Calling these disclosures “offensive and startling”, Dr. Roger Luncheon accused the government of altering the composition of these committees solely for the purpose of providing “control that is so much a fetish” of the Government. He declared that the move by Government was “outlawed”.

The Public Accounts Committee will have Agriculture Minister Noel Holder While the PAC is to have Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence, the Parliamentary Sectoral Committees on Economic Services will have Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, Junior Minister of Finance Jaipaul Sharma, and Junior Minister of Social Protection Simona Broomes, with the alternate being backbencher Jennifer Wade. The PPP/C MPs on this committee were named as former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali, Edghill, Komal Chand and Collin Croal. The Ministers sitting on the Social Services Sectoral Committee are Natural Resources and Governance Minister Raphael Trotman, Junior Minister of Public Health Karen Cummings and Junior Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs Valarie Garrido-Lowe. John Adams will be the APNU+AFC representative on the committee. For the PPP/C, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Alistair Charlie and Indra Chandarpal, with Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo as an alternate, will comprise the Social Services Committee. The Foreign Relations Standing Committee will have Minister Lawrence, Minister of Indigenous Affairs Sydney

Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence will be on the Public Accounts Committee Allicock, Business Affairs Minister Dominic Gaskin and Hemraj Rajkumar, with the alternate being John Adams. The PPP/C representatives will consist of Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, Africo Selma and Zulfikar Mustapha, with Nigel Dharamlall being the alternate. Natural Resources will have Finance Minister Winston Jordan, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, and Audwin Rutherford, with Jermaine Figueria being the alternate. The PPP/C will have Odinga Lumumba, Pauline Sukhai and Neend Kumar on this committee, with Yvonne Pearson as the alternate. “And while there could be the argument that the Minister responsible is not on the committee, the cabinet sits as a collective,” Edghill affirmed. Meanwhile, Parliament is to resume on Wednesday September 9, with Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo expected to table a motion to suspend Standing order No. 54 in order for the sitting to proceed. Bulkan is then expected to present a Bill to amend the Local Authorities (Election) Act, after which the Committees business will proceed.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

LEGALNOTICE SALON Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Visa Application: U.S.A, Canada & UK; Guyana Passport application. Graphics design, Advertisement. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. PARTY DECORATING: balloon creation, back drops etc. for weddings, birthdays, anniversary etc. Make your event extra special! Tel Maya: 642-6664 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES,AIR-CONDITIONERS, WASHINGMACHINES,TVS, MICROWAVES,FREEZERSCALL: 629-4946 OR 225-4822 REPAIRS & SPARE, FRIDGE, FREEZER, A/C, WASHERS, STOVES CONTACT NICK: 6831312, 627-3206 Floor sanding & Lacquering House plans, Estimate & painting, boat for Santa Mission - Call: 650-4362 Repairs at affordable prices: fridge, air conditioner, washing machines, dryers, TV, microwaves & freezerCall: 610-5846 or 661-8158 Eagle’s fridge re-gas @ 99100 New Market Street $8,000 & washing machine repairs. Phone: 697-2969, 223-5818 Licensed Custom Broker/tax consultant: tax compliance certificates, assistance with customs documentationsCall: 660-9478 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building. visadocumentsgy@yahoo.comCall : 225-6496, 662-6045 Welding & fabricating, grill & Boat work –Call: 666-2101 Construction and maintenance of Terrazzo – Call Bacchus: 642-2289

LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj Building- Tel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997

WANTED Kitchen Assistant, apply at Shanta’s; lot 225 Camp & New Market Street. Domestic Worker: hardworking, single, dependable, trustworthy, resident In or around Georgetown –Call: 646-1758; 650-8632 (9:00am-7:00pm) 2yrs Experienced seamstress – knowledge: flat/ over lockers/ Serger machines, meeting of deadlines/target a must- Contact: 270-4852 6am6pm & 645-5533 6pm-? Male sales clerk to work at hardware store at Pouderoyen West Bank Demerara. Call: 264-2524 One single honest live in housekeeper or domestic help for long term. Preferably from country areas-Call: 6645725 Pump attendants and cashiers –Call: 670-6005, 6997782 or 627-2550 One live in maid must know to cook – Contact: 677-8484 Handy boys to work. Free live in accommodation and meals provide. Call: 628-1756; 2285655 Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665 One cook to cook for family in the interior –Contact: 6778484. One maid - Call: 691-7271 Straight stitch/Over edge machine operators. Call: 2222541 (8:00am-4:00pm MonFri) OFFICE CLERK FOR WHOLESALE FOOD COMPANY MUST KNOW C O M P U T E R S , A C C O U N T I N G, INVENTORY FROM 25YRS-35 –CALL: 2318344 OR 231-8529 Security to work at a mining firm must have military experienced –Contact: 2269768; 661-5307 Office clerk: senior/junior. With CXC Maths/English, Computer Knowledge is an asset. Call: 219-5354 Experienced Cook @ Hibiscus Restaurant –Call: 231- 5857 Hire Car Drivers and contract cars from ECD-Call: 220-1000 TOUR Trip to Suriname 20th -24th November 2015 -$38,000; Brazil 25th -30th, 2015- $46,000Call: 660-0312, 695-4506

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 3 Bedroom bottom flat Section D, Non Nonpareil E.C.D - $50,000- Call: 642-3927 One 1 bedroom apartment, Grove New Scheme, EBD $36,000 per month –Call: 6421956 Business Spot located on Public Road en route to East Bank Public Road-Contact: 613-0448; 672-8625 Bottom Flat @ Lot 166 DaSilva Street Newtown, Georgetown. Preferably for Daycare centre or private dwelling-Call: 227-3578; 6232342 Furnished 3 bedrooms flat @ Supply E.B.D –Call: 648-5149; 678-3826 1 FURNISHED 2 BEDROOMSAPARTMENT WITH WI-FI, SHORT TERM /LONG TERM – CALL: 2227891; 609-9202 One top flat house to rent with two bedrooms –Call: 6671473 GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, JACK HAMMER, CONCRETE SAW & MORE- CALL: 6750767, 627-5098

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL:CARS&SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UPPER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 2193900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM DOLLY’SCARRENTAL-CALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM Aidan’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up, cheapest rate, low security- Call: 698-7807 Wing’s Car & 4WD Vigo pick up- Call: 690-6494

2015-HC-DEM-CIV-W-142 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE CIVIL JURISDICTION BETWEEN:1. INDERJEET SINGH2. NARANJAN SINGH Plaintiffs-and 1.WESLEY SAUNDERS 2.REGISTRAR OF THE SUPREME COURT DefendantsJointly and Severally NOTICE OF PUBLICATION TO: Wesley Sunders New Amsterdam, Berbice, Guyana TAKE NOTICE that an Exparte Application by way of Affidavit for and Interim Injunction No. 2015-HCDEM-CIV-W-142 on the part of the above-named Plaintiffs against you WESLEY SAUNDERS has been filed in the Registry of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature against you for the following: (a) An injunction restraining the Second-Named Defendant whether by himself, his servants, agents or otherwise from conveying or otherwise alienating property at lot 124 Roraima Housing Scheme, Versailles held by Deed of Transport No. 3122 of 2013 from the First Named Plaintiff to the First Named Defendant, his servants, agents or assigns without leave of this Court or the consent of the Plaintiff. (b) Such further and other relief UPON APPLICATION in person or by letter to MR. SANJEEV J. DATADIN, Attorney-at-Law, whose address for service and place of business is at Lot 78 Hadfield and Breda Streets Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown a sealed and certified copy of the Writ of Summons and Exparte Application by way of Affidavit for Interim Injunction No. 2015-HCDEM-CIV-W-142 will be delivered or sent to you. If within 28 (twenty eight) days after the date of the second and final publication of this Notice no appearance has been entered by you the Court may proceed to hear the said Writ of Summons and Exparte Application by way of Affidavit No. 2015-HC-DEMCIV-W-142 and pronounce judgment therein your absence notwithstanding. AND that this matter do stand adjourned to the 3"1 say of September, 2015, at 11:00am, before the Honourable Chief Justice Mr. Ian Chang.

FOR REGISTRAR. Dated at Georgetown, Demerara, This 27 day of August, 2015.

LEGALNOTICE 2015-HC-DEM-CIV-W-142 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE CIVIL JURISDICTION BETWEEN:1.INDERJEET SINGH 2.NARANJAN SINGH Plaintiffs-and 1.WESLEY SAUNDERS 2.REGISTRAR OF THE SUPREME COURT Defendants Jointly and Severally BEFORE THE HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. IAN CHANG (IN CHAMBERS) DATED THE 3RD DAY OF AUGUST, 2015 ENTERED THE 27TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2015 UPON READING the ExParte Application on the part of the above-named Plaintiffs sworn to and filed herein on the 23rd day of April, 2015 AND UPON HEARING Attorney-at-Law for the Plaintiffs IT IS ORDERED that leave be and is hereby granted to Plaintiffs to dispense with personal service of the a sealed and certified copy of Summons returnable for that date to continue this injunction together with a sealed and certified copy of Writ of Summons filed herein and a sealed copy of the Ex-parte Application by way of Affidavit sworn to on the 23rd day April, 2015 together with a sealed and certified copy of Order of Court dated the 27th day of April, 2015 on the First-Named Defendant herein AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that service of the sealed and certified copy of Summons returnable for that date to continue this injunction together with a sealed and certified copy of Writ of Summons filed herein and a sealed copy of the Exparte Application by way of Affidavit sworn to on the 23rd day April, 2015 together with a sealed and certified copy of Order of Court dated the 27th day of April, 2015 herein be deemed to be effected on the First-Named Defendant by way of Publication of a notice in two (2) consecutive Saturday issue of a Daily newspaper of wide and general circulation in the State of Guyana and the said notice to be settled by the Registrar at the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this matter do stand adjourned to the 3rd day of September, 2015 at 11:00am before the Honourable Chief Justice Mr. Ian Chang in Chambers.

LAND FOR SALE Land for sale at Farm E.B.D – Tel: 219-5526 15 Acres land situated at Naamryck East Bank Essequibo-Call: 655-9227 We buy & sell land: Farm, Herstelling, Eccles, Grove, Parfaite Harmonie, Stewartville, Uitvlugt, Zeelugt, from $1.2M- Call: 611-7223, 604-2207 Land @ Parfaite Harmonie & Tuschen -$1.5M, $1.3M – Call: 604-6724 Friendship house lot for saleCall: 617-0465, 223-0733 Parfaite Harmonie 80X45 $1,250,000. Call: 683-0009

EDUCATION I.A.E currently registering students for full time secondary school, lessons & evening CXC classes for adults- Call: 683-5742 Princeton College Forms 1-5 (5000) CXC adult classes $1,500 a subject, Phonics/ Grade 2,4,6,9 lessons Call: 231-1209, 690-5008,657-7398 International Language Institute Classes for adults & Children, Spanish, English as Second Language, Portuguese, Dutch –Call: 2233556 CXC Lessons: Mathematics & English- Small Class Size, Teacher: Student Ratio 1:15, day and night classes, adults and youths –Call: 690-9378 Didn’t Do Well for CXC? Let Us Help you get better grade@ MicroGraphics, Vreed-En-Hoop.264-3057 Advanced Diploma in Computers: Office 2016, Windows 8/10, 9 Courses @ MicroGraphics, Tel: 264-3057, Vreed-En-Hoop Computerized Accounting: Quick-Books, Peachtree, POS, Excel 2016 @ MicroGraphics, Vreed-En-Hoop. 264-3057 Makeup Classes @ La Vie Est Belle. Come register and be apart, its life changing! Call: 682-9699; 218-2092 Affordable Reading, Spelling, Phonics Classes etc for children of all agesCall: 675-4379 VACANCY Vacancies exist for cashiers/ supermarket, helper. Apply in person with written application at Nirva Supermarket –Call: 227-5771 Continued on page 23

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Clinton says ‘sorry’ for email confusion, says she wasn’t thinking Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said yesterday she was sorry that her use of a personal email account while secretary of state had caused confusion, and blamed herself for “not thinking a lot” about the matter when she took the job. In her most contrite comments yet about an issue that has plagued her White House bid, Clinton said she had made a mistake by not using a government email account. But she maintained she had done nothing wrong and did not apologize explicitly for using a private email account for her work as America’s top diplomat. “At the end of the day I am sorry that this has been confusing to people and has raised a lot of questions but there are answers to all these questions,” the former first lady told MSNBC in an interview. Clinton, front-runner to be the Democratic Party nominee in the November 2016 election, has faced steady criticism from political opponents since it emerged in March that she used her own email account on an unsecured private server in her New York home for official business. Republicans say she flouted rules on recordkeeping and transparency. “I certainly wish that I had made a different choice and I know why the American people have questions about it,” said Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. “I take responsibility. I should have had two accounts, one for personal and one for work-related.” Doubts over Clinton’s trustworthiness have damaged her numbers in opinion polls, allowing liberal Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to narrow the gap with her before the first contests early next year to pick the Democratic Party nominee for the election. Clinton’s slump in polls has also given space for a

possible run by Vice President Joe Biden. Biden’s elder son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer in May aged 46 and the vice president said on Thursday he is trying to determine whether he has the emotional energy for a White House bid. Clinton said she used the personal email account for convenience and did not give the issue much thought when she started her job as secretary of state. “I was not thinking a lot when I got in. There was so much work to be done. We had so many problems around the world. I didn’t really stop and think what kind of email system will there be,” she said. Clinton said that while she should have acted differently, she had done nothing wrong. “It was allowed and it was fully above board. The people in the government knew that I was using a personal account,” she said. The FBI is now investigating the security of the private server and any classified information on it. Reviews by Reuters of Clinton emails released to the public under a judge’s orders found 87 email threads that the State Department has marked to show they include information shared in confidence by foreign government officials, from prime ministers to spy chiefs. U.S. government regulations say this sort of information, whether written or spoken, must be classified from the start and handled through secure, governmentcontrolled channels. The Republican National Committee said Clinton was only sorry about being the center of so much controversy over her emails. “What’s clear is Hillary Clinton regrets that she got caught and is paying a political price, not the fact her secret email server put our national security at risk,” RNC spokesman Michael Short said in a statement.

Page 23

TO LET

VEHICLE FOR SALE

Three bedrooms house at Dennis Street Sophia $85,000 - Call: 621-7366

1 Mazda Axela, PTT series, low mileage, e x c e l l e n t condition -owner migrating Tel: 649-0956

Four storey business place located on Robb Street, next to Bourda Market-Call: 6237731; 629-0636 Apartment in Eccles, rooms in Albertown –Call: 225-3234 Kitty 2 Self Contained Bedrooms apartment, cable TV, Internet, parking security cameras-$100,000 monthly –Call: 645-0247

VACANCY General Worker and sales person needed-Call: 6680159 Work from home; earn $5,000$20,000 daily Call MondayFriday 9am-5pm #233-6517, 6 3 8 - 0 5 9 5 www.jobfairworldwide.com Office clerk, porters, apply at Survival Wholesale Depot, Lot 10 Vlissengen Road

Year 2003, Toyota Spacio, HC5070, first registration 29-012015. Price $1.6M negotiableContact:226-2558 or 29 Sandy Bobb Street Kitty . In Stock @ First Class Auto: 08 Premio, Allion, Runx, Axio, Bluebird, Sienta, Fielder, Rush –Tel: 609-8188, 638-3045 Toyota Rav4 2008 yr, dark blue PLL series, fully loaded, no accident excellent condition Tel: 652-2409 1 Toyota Landcrusier Prado, PMM Series – Call: 223-7500 (Monday – Friday) (8:154:15pm), Saturday 8:151:115pm) SALE! SALE! SALE! 2008 TOYOTA PREMIO-$3.3M, 2006 TOYOTA ALLION$2.3M, ALL VEHICLES FULLY LOADED & UNREGISTERED- CALL: 642-7295 2000 Freightliner hauler, C12 Engine –Tel: 609-7257; 689-9041 EP 82 Starlet, AC 4 Doors, working standard rims, lady driven – good condition $550,000 – serious inquiries only - Call: 662-5052 1 Model M Truck with winch, big tire- Call: 692-9577; 619-2406 Toyota Hilux extra cab 2003 yr gasoline GTT series, fully loaded, excellent condition Tel: 652-2409 Unregistered Toyota IST – Fully Loaded -$1.9M –Call: 657-1796 Kaw a s a k i N i nja 650R, excellent condition, lime green $650,000 asking price Tel: 655-2561 1-192 Carina, Alarm, A/C, Music Deck, working condition, PLL/HC series now $700,000 cash & go! Owner migrating. Call: 687-3241

From page 22

VEHICLE FOR SALE We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call:680-3154 Nissan Bluebird PEE Series, very good condition, asking $900,000 –Call: 267-2999, 6192141

Property for sale, Grove $20M / Rent: $50,000 per month. Tel: 625-5461. Republic Park Phase 1- $48M, Prashad Nagar -$49M, 4 bedrooms -Call:609-2302, 645-2580, 609-6516, Property for sale, business place at Kuru kururu, New Town on High Way- Call: 261-6282 or 676-4787 Pearl: Well built 1,995 SF concrete building on 58X165 lot, formerly used at meeting halls-$13.5M-Tel: 649-1670

1 Ford 2005 F350 Pickup, extended cab, 4X4 Diesel, 35 inch tyre auto, 1 Chevy Van 2007 –Call: 610-5370

Flat house 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, double garage, 2160 sq ft on 0.2 acres land in Parfaite Harmony Tel: 652-2409

Toyota 212 Carina - $650,000 –Call: 696-2251; 693-1474

Liquor Restaurant going business with 2 pools table, 2 fridges, 1 freezer, 107 Middle Road La Penitence, price $18.5M –Call Lovin: 225-7796

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. One 318 BMW never registered for $ 3M down payment $500,000 contact # 650-0402 or 616-0429 Land at Schoonord (Next To Demerara Harbour Bridge), 45' X 100' $ 6 M, 60' X 100' $ 7.5M- Contact 650-0402 / 260-4988 Reusable ¼ & 3/8 inches marine steel plate – Contact: 688-7256

One Leyland Daf LF with 6 ton Hiab 2002 GTT series (New) price $5 million Call: 622-6746

1 Complete six inch dredge inclusive of pick up and ATV- price 6,000,000Contact: 660-0422 52ft complete cabin cruiser. In excellent condition- Tel: 592-654-2817, 592-622-2958.

One Fuso canter truck with 3 ton crane GTT series, price $4 Million Call: 622-6746

Ford Escape 2004 model Contact No: 641-4952/6621991

Star Cars Auto Sale: Just Arrived: Rush, Allion, Pitbul, Bluebird, Alteeza, Benz, 06 Premio. Tel: 679-3140, 2683509 Star Cars Auto Sale: 04 Premio, Allion,06 Runx, 03 Runx, Axela, New Raum, IST, Vitz. Tel: 679-3140, 268-3509 Venus Auto Sale: September Specials: 2004 Premio $2.350M, Pre-Order specials on IST -$1.9M –Call: 624-5617

2 Canters going cheap, owner migrating –Call: 6281756, 228-5655

1 RZ minibus BJJ series – Call: 678-5887 or 677-3177

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Automatic Gate opener, garage door opener, chainsaw 51 HP, Dell Projector, Toyota Fielder, year 2003 –Call: 644-4582, 662-8665 50LBS BAGS DOG FOOD, W/SALE & RETAIL- CALL: 222-7891; 609-9202 One 928F Caterpillar Wheel Loader $8M contact # 6500402/ 260-4988.

Transported concrete, Block “8” Mon Repos E.C.D, top flat 2 bedrooms, bottom flat 2 bedrooms- $18M. Call: 6251514 office hours 231-7255 Property for sale, East La Penetance Arapaima Street $17M negotiable –Call: 6484420, 662-6173 Brand new 2 storey concrete building in 5th Avenue, Diamond, E.B.D, all modern amenities - $45M –Call: 6629335; 612-3244 Property for sale: House, Campbellville, Georgetown. Call: 223-0733 or 617-0465 Property for sale: House, Craig, East Bank Demerara. Call: 223-0733 or 617-0465 Are you interested in selling your home? Call T &T Realty: 660-9478; 672-0865 North Ruimveldt- 2 Storey Wo o d e n a n d C o n c r e t e house –price $9M-Call: 653-8082 2 Storey 45x35 concrete property, lower flat incomplete. Land 65x120 @ Diamond N/S 5th Avenue,E.B.D- Call: 629-4017 Property for sale: Land, North Klien, Pouderoyen West Bank Demerara. Call: 223-0733 or 617-04 Grove/Diamond E.B.D, next to brand new, 5 minutes from P/Road, fully air condition/ well security. Call: 216-1285; 617-9982 TO LET Business apartment for rent at 7 Durban Street Lodge $20,000 per month –Call: 6905796

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

STEM - a crucial focus of the Ministry of Education An addition has been made to the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) syllabus for Science. This according to National Science Coordinator, Petal Punalall-Jetoo, translates to the inclusion of a project component which requires that students plan and write a proposal on how they can use science to solve problems. The addition is one that is designed to see students incorporating tactics that are similar to the approach embraced by the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge. The Sagicor Visionaries Challenge encourages secondary and high school students to develop effective, innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges faced in their respective communities. The annual challenge is open to entries from Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, St Lucia, the United States and Trinidad and Tobago. It is geared towards boosting institutional capacity in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in secondary and high schools; ignite interest among youth in the Challenge countries for innovation in STEM to

help build and integrate sustainable communities and integrate knowledge gained from formal and informal education to enable future leaders to build more sustainable communities. The National Science Coordinator, during a recent interview, pointed to the Ministry of Education’s recent collaboration with Pueblo Science, a sciencefocused non-profit organization based in Canada, as a means of helping to emphasize the importance of utilizing science based solutions in the school system. With support from Pueblo Science, several teachers were enlightened about ways they could teach STEM subjects in the classroom in a simple and cost effective way. According to PunallalJetoo, “What we want to do is to find more than one approaches to using these (science based) experiments…we need to use them in the classroom.” She therefore noted that with the Sagicor approach, students are expected to bring together different scientific methods complete with planning and designing, observation, data collection and analysis.

Berbice river opens to passenger boats From page 3 is expected to travel to Berbice over this weekend to fine tune the details, including locations. Harmon also disclosed that there was a loophole in the agreement between the Government and the bridge company, which while blocking vessels from transporting vehicles across the Berbice River, does not say anything about passengers. Over a week ago, Minister Jordan had also made it clear that the Berbice River does not belong to BBCI. The BBCI situation has been angering the new administration especially after it was disclosed that private businesses were allowed to invest five percent into the construction of the bridge which was opened in December 2008 but managed to gain ownership control of almost 50 percent of the equity. There was disbelief when it was learnt that New GPC and Queens Atlantic Inc., two companies owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi 'Bobby' Ramroop, a close friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, were able to install two Directors on the Board of Directors while Government of Guyana had little say in the affairs of BBCI. BBCI claimed it has not

paid any dividends to any of its ordinary shareholders since its 2008 opening. The ordinary shareholders are Secure International Finance Company Limited, National Insurance Scheme (NIS), New GPC Inc., Queens Atlantic Investment Incorporated (QAII); Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Co Limited and Demerara Contractors & Engineering Limited. BBCI did not immediately disclose what dividends it paid to the investors who plugged cash in the construction. These included NIS; Demerara Bank; New Building Society, Bank of Nova Scotia; Citizens Bank; Republic Bank; Guyana Bank For Trade and Industry; Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation; Trust Company (Guyana); Hand-inHand Mutual Life Assurance; North American Life Insurance; North American Fire Insurance; Guyana Geology and Mines Commission; Guyana Power and Light Inc; Guyana Sugar and Trade Enterprise-Pension; Hand-inHand Trust Pension' GAWUPension; Demerara Distillers Limited; New GPC Inc; T. Geddes Grant Guyana and New and Massy Pension Scheme. NIS also has preferred shares.

Students are also required to complete a project report. According to Punalall-Jetoo, “What we have found in our schools is that while students do an experiment and they learn how to observe and report, they may do another exercise where they learn to plan.” But the National Science Coordinator asserted that “sometimes the difficulty is bringing the planning and the observation together. This is what is connecting the dots. What is good about the kinds of sessions (offered by Pueblo Science) that we have is that it shows integration between biology, physics and chemistry which is good for teachers.” With the support that has been forthcoming to science development, Punalall-Jetoo is confident that improvements in STEM will be realized as it is expected that the knowledge gained will be effectively utilized. “It is beginning to initiate interest,” said the Science Coordinator as she made reference to the fact that “not many of our students enter the science stream in the secondary schools and I think that is because there is fear that scientists are weird or science is difficult.” She however asserted that Science can be learnt by anyone since it is merely a

National Science Coordinator, Ms Petal Punalall-Jetoo way of thinking. “We just want everyone to use that scientific method of analyzing a situation or any problem that’s presented to them or even if they want to go and purchase a vehicle.” With scientific knowledge, Punalall-Jetoo noted that people can ask vital questions to ascertain if such a purchase would be suitable for their purposes. “Would it be suitable for you to buy a small or bigger car? What kind of gas consumption would it have? And we use these kinds of processes in our everyday life sometimes; we do not

make the connection to science and sometimes if we do not use the scientific method, we can end up making decisions that are detrimental to ourselves,” she asserted. Alluding to a Paddy Husk Particle Board Project which allowed Abram Zuil Secondary School to be named the national champion, and subsequently triumphing over seven territories, including the United States, earlier this year, Marlene Chin, representative of Sagicor spoke of the viability of the winning project. According to her, “It is our desire that local businesses could appreciate the commercial viability of this project and adopt it. This is a call out to the Chambers of Commerce, to the Rotary Clubs, to the

business community to take a look at this winning project; it is certainly one worth investing in,” said Chin. The Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF), Sagicor Life Inc. (Sagicor) and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) believe that, through greater community involvement, the citizens of the Caribbean can live more sustainably and build a better future. With this in mind, the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge was designed to promote STEM subjects in the school system, a path that the local Ministry of Education is fully embracing. Already the 2015 leg of the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge has been launched and Chin has already impressed on Guyana the importance of working towards success.

High Court prohibits ... From page 15 trustees, heirs, executors, administrators predecessors, successors, alter egos, related persons, entities or companies or assigns acting collectively or individually and each and everyone of them directly or indirectly from operating or permitting the operator of a school or business at the said location. Kissoon is also seeking a

mandatory injunction directing the defendants to remove all school and commercial furniture from the property. He is claiming special damages to the tune of $20 million and $100,000 worth in general damages. Mr. Kissoon has since expressed his gratitude to the Mayor for “his prompt response and willingness to act in an effort to restore our city.”

Search for missing woman extends into Kaieteur gorge Yesterday, the team from the Special Forces of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) again came up empty-handed in the search which has now descended into the Kaieteur Gorge. The team is searching for Gyaneshwarie Laleta Sivanand, the female tourist who was reported missing at Kaieteur National Park on Tuesday September 1. According to the Ministry of the Presidency, the search is very dangerous. The team members have to carefully navigate their way through the extremely rugged and rocky area. At the same time the Kaieteur Falls is at full flow. As of 16:00 hrs last evening, there was no further word on their efforts. Late Tuesday afternoon, there were reports that one tourist from a flight to the Kaieteur National Park, which initially had nine passengers, was discovered missing. A search operation was immediately launched by the National Parks Commission Rangers. Sivanand, who was employed in the field of Human Resource, is a former

Gyaneshwarie Laleta Sivanand

employee of Laparkan and Singer’s. She was part of a nine-member touring party that left the Ogle airport for a tour of the world famous

Waterfall in an Air Services Limited aircraft. Reports are that the woman was seen crying and talking on her phone while the

airplane was heading to the tourist destination. When the aircraft landed at the falls the woman appeared in better spirits. Sivanand was discovered missing when the tour guide was distributing chits to the passengers for snacks, at the Kaieteur airstrip before they boarded the aircraft back to Ogle. One of her colleagues on the trip said that the missing woman was with the party when it was returning along the trail from the falls. She said that the woman lagged behind and when they urged her to walk up she said that she knew the place and that she had been there several times before. She spoke of being with a British team that discovered some caves in the Kaieteur Falls area a few years ago. That has been found to be not true. Reports are that all of the trails in the Park were searched. Binoculars were also used to view the area below the falls and along the sides of the gorge. However, there is still no trace of the woman.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 25

Saudi Arabia welcomes Iran nuclear deal Thousands rally in Beirut over politician’s presidential election call after Obama meeting - foreign minister Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) carry flags during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Reuters - Thousands of protesters rallied in Beirut yesterday to support Christian faction leader Michel Aoun’s call for Lebanon to elect its president by popular vote to address a crisis that has paralysed government and parliament. Aoun’s supporters waved the orange banners of his Free Patriotic Movement, and listened to a brief televised address by him. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, another leader of the movement, told the gathering: “We Lebanese want to choose our president.” The president, who the sectarian power-

sharing system stipulates must be a Christian, is chosen by parliament. But MPs have failed in at least 26 sessions to elect one since Michel Suleiman’s term expired last year. Aoun would like the post, but cannot muster the cross-party consensus required, and there is no sign of a credible alternative. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s government, which groups parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum, has been largely crippled since it took office with the blessing of Iran and Saudi Arabia, which back rival Lebanese factions.

Reuters - Saudi Arabia is satisfied with U.S. President Barack Obama’s assurances about the Iran nuclear deal and believes the agreement will contribute to security and stability in the Middle East, the country’s foreign minister said yesterday. Speaking after a White House meeting between Obama and Saudi King Salman in Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel alJubeir said Obama had assured Salman that the agreement prevents Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, includes inspections of military and suspected sites, and has a provision for the snapback of sanctions if Iran violates the agreement. Iran and six world powers, including the United States, negotiated an agreement in July that lifts economic sanctions on Iran in return

for limits on its nuclear programme. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was satisfied with these assurances after having spent the last two months consulting with our allies,” al-Jubeir said. “We believe this agreement will contribute to security and stability in the region.” Saudi Arabia hopes the Iranians will use any additional income from the lifting of sanctions to fund domestic developments rather than engage in nefarious activities, alJubeir said. Saudi Arabia and Iran are opposed on a number of regional issues, including conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Obama and Salman also discussed the threat from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the political situation in those countries, alJubeir said.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington yesterday. REUTERS/GARY CAMERON

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

CARICOM sends election observer Jamaica Making Strides mission to Trinidad and Tobago With PetroCaribe Deal - PM The Gleaner - Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller says Jamaica continues to make strides in national development as a result of the PetroCaribe deal. Petrocaribe is an oil agreement with Venezuela which allows Jamaica and other countries to buy fuel at preferential rates. The country also benefits from a loan facility which is channelled to Jamaica’s PetroCaribe Development Fund. Jamaica has been involved in the PetroCaribe arrangement for 10 years and Simpson Miller says over that time savings accrued from the facility has positively impacted the Jamaican economy. She cites the expansion of Jamaica’s road network; improvement in mining infrastructure; upgrading of

Portia Simpson Miller

port infrastructure; and the provision of working capital to some public sector entities as among the benefits. Today, the prime minister will co-chair the 10th

Anniversary Commemorative Summit of the PetroCaribe Agreement with president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will send a CARICOM electoral observer mission to monitor the general elections to be held in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday. The chief of mission is Orrette Fisher, director of elections, Electoral Commission of Jamaica. He will be assisted by the deputy chief of mission, Josephine Tamai, chief elections officer, Department of Elections and Boundaries of Belize. The other members of the mission include experts in electoral management and administration from Barbados, The Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname. They will be accompanied by a two-member CARICOM Secretariat support team. The chief of mission arrived in Trinidad and

Orrette Fisher

Tobago on Wednesday and the remaining members were due to arrive Thursday. The mission departs the twinisland Republic on September 9, 2015. The CARICOM electoral observer mission will meet with the Trinidad and Tobago electoral officials, leaders of political parties and other stakeholders. On the day of the elections, the mission will

monitor the electoral process, including the opening of the poll, the voting process, the closing of the poll and the counting of the ballots. For CARICOM, election observation serves as a platform to support existing democratic traditions within the Caribbean Community as part of its wider policy of supporting democracy. (Caribbean News)

‘I am CARICOM’ drive launched to raise money for storm-hit Dominica Rate of new HIV infections GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) have launched a two-month ‘I am CARICOM’ drive to raise money for storm-affected Dominica. “This drive has been named ‘I am CARICOM’ as we declare as one single Caribbean Community to be each other’s keeper,” the CYA said in a release. “The pain and suffering caused by the occurrence of this natural disaster continues to ache the hearts of the members of our Caribbean Community. The role of this community is to help our sister island restore her brokenness and to give her a sense of hope in such trying times,” it added. Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica last week, leaving more than 24 dead and

causing widespread damage to the country’s infrastructure. The government has declared nine special disaster areas. Through the drive, the CYAs will seek monetary contributions from respective country district youth councils, schools, community groups and churches of the member states where Youth Ambassadors are present and make those funds available to the two Youth Ambassadors in Dominica to assist young people there in need. The effort officially began on Wednesday and ends on October 31. “The CARICOM Youth Development Action Plan (2012-2017) outlines six major goal statements of which Protection, Safety and

Security, and Health and Wellbeing are highlighted. It is not always easy to protect a nation from natural disasters but, as a Caribbean unit, the mandate is to ensure that security is restored when it has been broken down and that the health and wellness of its people are take care of,” the CYAs said. CYAs are young Caribbean nationals mandated by CARICOM Heads of Governments to advocate for and educate young people about regional priorities such as HIV and AIDS and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. They perform a dual role, addressing youth issues at the national level within a regional strategic framework, as well as bringing national issues to the attention of the region’s policy makers and planners.

on the decline in Barbados BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Health Minister John Boyce says the annual rate of new HIV cases in Barbados had started to decline. And he has attributed that development to the expanded use of anti-retroviral therapy in the HIV treatment programme, adding that steps were being taken to decentralize HIV services and offer diagnostic and treatment services outside of the HIV programme.Boyce made the comments as he addressed a Caribbean Regional Health Policy Project workshop with the theme Stigma Reduction – Moving from Understanding to Outcomes, but gave no statistics. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Health Policy Project focused on reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination in health care facilities in the Caribbean.

Boyce welcomed the outcomes of the project which he said provided a country-specific road map for a coordinated response to the challenge of stigma and discrimination in health care facilities. “While medical and technological innovations such an anti-retroviral treatment can help to prolong life for persons living with HIV, there are aspects of the response which cannot be addressed in this way. Our attitudes are personal, they influence our behaviour and interactions with each other, either consciously or unconsciously,” he said. Boyce said it was therefore necessary to have in place programmes for constant training and

retraining to help health care workers to understand their own belief systems and attitudes that might influence their response to clients. In addition, the minister said, appropriate policies and legislation needed to be enacted to force change where necessary. Boyce acknowledged that financial and technical assistance would be necessary to take the process forward, as well as greater engagement with partners in civil society. He pledged Government’s commitment to take action on the findings of the Health Policy Project and to ensure the implementation of the necessary training, as well as the development of the recommended tools.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Trial winding down for popular Venezuela dissident leader Caracas (AFP) - Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez appeared in court yesterday for the final phase of his trial on charges of inciting violence during protests that shook the country last year. Scores of supporters gathered outside the court as Lopez arrived for the hearing, which could stretch over a matter of days. Lopez, who has been held at a military prison since February 2014, faces up to 12 years in jail if convicted. Numerous human rights groups have called for his release, condemning the case against him as politically motivated. His lawyer says there have been serious irregularities in his trial, which has been held behind closed doors. The judge admitted 138 witnesses for the prosecution but just one of the 50 witnesses and pieces of evidence submitted by the defense. Lopez, a US-trained economist, is one of the main leaders of the radical opposition movement seeking

to force the ouster of socialist President Nicolas Maduro’s government. He was a prominent figure during last year’s protests, which erupted in response to violent crime, a sinking economy and severe shortages of basic goods. Between February and June last year, 43 people were killed in protest-related violence. Lopez was arrested on February 18, 2014, handing himself in to police after

giving an impassioned speech to his supporters. In May, the 44-year-old opposition leader staged a month-long hunger strike to pressure authorities to set a date for legislative elections. He ended the strike after the vote was set for December 6. Opinion polls indicate Maduro’s movement risks losing for the first time since his late mentor Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999.

Page 27

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

Drowned refugee boys and mother buried in Syria - Crackdown crumbles in Hungary

Relatives mourn during the funeral of two Syrian toddlers who drowned with their mother as they were trying to reach Greece, at the Syrian border town of Kobani yesterday. REUTERS/RODI SAID Reuters - A Syrian father yesterday buried his wife and two little boys, drowned as they tried to flee to Europe, while hundreds of migrants fled from a detention camp and escaped a train stranded under police siege in Hungary. Hungary’s hardline leader said Europeans could end up a minority on their own continent as a crackdown appeared to crumble in his own country, the main entry point for tens of thousands of refugees and migrants reaching the EU by land over the Balkan peninsula. Hungary has cancelled all trains to western Europe to prevent migrants from travelling on and seeking sanctuary in richer countries north and west. Its prime minister, Viktor Orban, says he is enforcing EU rules by forcing all migrants into camps to register, rather than let them proceed on to other countries. But hundreds escaped yesterday from a camp near the southern border and later clashed with police there. Hundreds more fled from a train that had been halted west the capital Budapest. Others crossed police barricades to set off on foot from the capital’s train station, heading west for the distant Austrian border led by a Syrian refugee with one leg. Orban’s chief of staff, Janos Lazar, said Hungary would lay on buses to transport the 1,200 migrants on foot and thousands more still at the station to the border in coming

hours. An Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman said Vienna had been informed and together with humanitarian organisations was preparing for their arrival. Austrian police said the driver of a truck found abandoned last week with the bodies of 71 migrants in the back was among a group of people arrested in Hungary, and gave new details about their deaths. Dozens more had narrowly avoided death by using a crowbar to escape from another truck owned by the same Bulgarian man, they said. More than 300,000 people have crossed to Europe by sea so far this year and more than 2,600 have died doing so. Many of those making the voyage are refugees from the civil war in Syria, now in its fifth year. More deaths at sea were reported yesterday. About 30-40 people drowned in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya after a dinghy carrying 120-140 Somalis, Sudanese and Nigerians deflated, causing panic on board, the International Organization for Migration said. In the Syrian town of Kobani, 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi was laid to rest alongside his mother and 5-year-old brother at the “Martyr’s Cemetery” in the predominantly Kurdish community near the Turkish border. Images of Aylan’s tiny body washed up on a beach near the Turkish resort of Bodrum gave a human face to the casualties and prompted a global outpouring of sympathy this week.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 29

Serena Williams rallies to beat... Strategic applications must... From page 34 for Djokovic to rediscover his first serve at the perfect time to close out a 6-3 7-5 7-5 victory. Defending champion Marin Cilic saved two set points against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin before winning 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 in four hours and 11 minutes. Top-10 ranked players Milos Raonic and David Ferrer were both eliminated, with Ferrer’s conqueror

Jeremy Chardy remaining on course to face fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - who eased past Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets in the quarter-finals. Laura Robson’s US Open campaign came to an end as she went out of the doubles with Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, going down 6-2 6-3 to fifth seeds Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik. Next in line for the former British number

From page 31 goes, ‘Easy snake does bite hot.’ A m i d s t s u c h r a w talent and ferocious application, Gonsalves refuses to attach any suggestive sobriquet to his name but those that would have had the opportunity to see him in action believes he should consider ‘The

Cougar,’ ‘The Tiger’ or ‘The Jaguar,’ not to frighten away his opponent but more to warn them of his pugilistic propensities. The truth is, whether he chooses to brag or even affix any of the aforementioned sobriquets, Dexter Gonsalves is, and will always remain a dangerous cat.

Whether a Cougar...

one is a return to the lowerlevel challenger tour in Mexico. Jonny Marray’s progress at Flushing Meadows ended as the 34-year-old Englishman and New Zealander Marcus Daniell lost 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) against Austria’s Philipp Oswald and Canada’s Adil Shamasdin. Fellow Briton Dom Inglot and Srebotnik were beaten 76 (7-3) 3-6 10-5 by seventh seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Raven Klaasen in the mixed doubles. But there was better news as Jamie Murray, older brother of Andy, reached round three of the men’s competition alongside Australian John Peers. The eighth seeds, who finished as Wimbledon runnersup earlier this year, earned a 61 7-5 victory over Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo and Australia’s Rameez Junaid.

Saturday September 05, 2015 ARIES (MAR. 21-APRIL 20) You're in a high cycle for romance. If you've taken on a lot of work, be sure to leave some time for yourself and family. You are best to do your research before taking on such a venture.

LIBRA (SEPT. 24 -OCT. 23) You can expect to have a problem with your lover. Don't put off the things that they have asked you to do. Don't try to twist things around so that they sound more enticing.

TAURUS (APR. 21MAY 21) Uncertainty about your relationship is prevalent. Watch for empty promises that may give you false hope. Try to do things with children that will enable you to bond closer to them.

SCORPIO (OCT. 24 NOV. 22) Opportunities to show your worth will enhance your reputation and bring possible advancement. Go after your goals. Try to avoid being extravagant today.

GEMINI (MAY 22-JUNE 21) Mingle with individuals who are established and can give you some serious insight into business and future trends. You can make progress if you deal with the right individuals. Focus your efforts on details, and keep to yourself in order to finish your work.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 23 -DEC. 21) Adventure will result in added knowledge. Leave your checkbook and credit cards at home. You may want to look into warm vacation spots.

CANCER (JUNE 22JULY 22) Develop some of your good ideas. Toning, fitness, pampering should all be scheduled. Don't be afraid to pursue unfamiliar grounds. LEO (JULY 23-AUG 22) You might find that the extra cash will come in handy when an opportunity to invest comes along. Compromise will be necessary. VIRGO (AUG. 23 -SEPT. 23) Expect your workload to be heavy. Use your creative abilities to come up with new ideas and directions. Your ideas will be well received.

CAPRICORN (DEC 22.- JAN. 20) Those you live with may be experiencing problems. You'll be pleased with the results if you take the time to decorate your home. AQUARIUS (JAN. 21 FEB. 19) Someone may be trying to damage your reputation. Your home environment may be volatile if precautions aren't taken. Communication must be open, precise, and honest. PISCES (FEB. 20MAR. 20) Lack of funds may add stress to your already uncertain situation. Don't rely on others to handle the workload. Try to spend some time on your own.

From page 32 them in the intricacies of boxing which was the catalyst to their rehabilitation. Roberts’ methods might have been somewhat unorthodox but he got the job done and I can rattle off a host of names that left that institution with a new lease on life, never to return to their nefarious ways. Similarly, the GBA executive has a wonderful opportunity to assist these youngsters in the rehabilitative process through boxing and the partnership with the DDL may be just the right avenue. However, there must be a strategic approach and the will to precipitate those changes must be evident. These boxers are greenhorns and obviously lack the finesse of their more experienced counterparts which is understandable at this stage of their careers. However, the trained eye would have noted potential among those unorthodox applications. Shaquancy Wright, a pint sized boxer of the Essequibo Boxing Gym (EBG) and boxing in the 64-69lbs division is one such boxer that may be worth the investment. He fought twice and defeated Leslie Marques of the Harpy Eagles before replicating the feat against his gym mate, Deron Williams. Wright has been a feature in this tournament since it commenced some three years ago and his consistency is truly commendable. If the organizers are really serious about honing talent in the nursery for future representation then Wright is a perfect catch but his continued development must be structured. Keevin Allicock (HE) was a standout and needed just 1:11secs to dispose of Troy Charles (NOC). The problem is that Allicock should have been debarred from this tournament in the first place as his standard is way above those of the other participants. Charles is yet to learn the barest fundamentals and it would have been a miracle if he had lasted out the first round against a much more experienced opponent. The tournament was organized for the Simon Pures who would then make the transition to the tougher outings. Ninvalle should summon those responsible for this matchup and strongly reprimand them while urging more vigilance in the future. In an obvious attempt to encourage their officials and other stakeholders GBA administrators doled out awards for notable

performances. Orrin London received a large food hamper after he was adjudged the best coach. Those that frequent the gyms will applaud this act since London’s commitment is unbelievable. This award, I am sure, will do wonders for his upward mobility and naturally the boxers will benefit. The physical fitness of referees has been called into question before; far too many of these officials are not as nimble as the profession requires. Maybe the GBA officials are beginning to take note and decided to dole out an award for the best official of the day. Referee, Mark Drakes copped the prize while his colleague, Medford Wilson’s efforts were also noted and he received a similar award for being second best. Leslie Marques is merely 11 years old and he fights out of the 64-69lbs division. He was

unable to get past Wright but his participation as the youngest boxer on show was noted and he received a special prize. Before, administers just opted to give awards for the best gym and best boxer. They act of broadening their scope could serve as the fillip to create more enthusiasm among their officials and other stakeholders. However, the key objective is to weigh the benefits to the principal stakeholders, the boxers. Did the tournament serve its function? The sport has recently taken a beating and there is a compelling need for keen scrutiny and unbending applications as the situation might demand. The end of the tournament must witness the beginning of strategic action otherwise the sponsor’s efforts will be rendered useless.

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

Holder replaces Ramdin as Captain; Bishoo and Chandrika included West Indies Test squad for Sri Lanka...

St. John’s, Antigua - The West Indies Cricket Board announced yesterday a 15member Test squad for the Tour of Sri Lanka next month. Squad: Jason Holder (Captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (Vice Captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajindra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican. Team Management Unit: Phil Simmons (Head Coach), Sir Richie Richardson (Team Operations Manager), Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach), Sir Curtly Ambrose (Assistant Coach), Andre Coley (Assistant Coach), C.J. Clark (Physiotherapist), Richard Berridge (Performance Analyst), Virgil Browne (Massage Therapist), Philip Spooner (Media Relations Manager). Notes: The WICB has announced that Jason Holder will be the new captain of the West Indies Test team. He replaces Denesh Ramdin. The appointment was recommended by the WICB Selection Panel and endorsed

unanimously by the Directors during a teleconference meeting on Wednesday. Head WICB selector Clive Lloyd said Holder’s appointment was made with an eye to the future. “He is a young man that all of the selectors, people in the Caribbean and worldwide believe has several of the qualities that can take our team forward,” said Lloyd. “We felt the time was right for a change and we feel he will do as well as he did when he was elevated to the position of One-day International captain ahead of the World Cup. Lloyd added: “We had a number of detractors when he was appointed ODI captain, but he showed during the ODI series in South Africa and the World Cup that he had the qualities that were needed to take our team forward. “We expect to get new thinking and new dynamism from him. Jason commands respect. He is a fine young man, very intelligent and he seems to get the best from the players because he is a straightforward guy. I think the players will warm to him. He has a young bunch of

players and we feel he can guide them in the manner that is required for internationals.” The 23-year-old Holder also currently holds the position of captain of the West Indies One-day International team. He has appeared in eight Tests, following his debut against New Zealand last June in his native Barbados. Lloyd said though he felt Holder had the ability to lead West Indies in all three formats, the selectors had no immediate intentions of making him Twenty20 captain right now. “We do not want any captain to lead in all three formats just now,” said Lloyd. “It would be quite burdensome on anyone. We think we can have a separate Twenty20 captain.” Lloyd thanked Ramdin for leading the Test side and said the wicketkeeper/batsman was still had a important part to play in the success of the team. “I have spoken to Denesh and he understood the situation and there was no animosity,” said Lloyd. “We just want him to perform a little bit better right now, particularly with the bat, and give of his best and support

New York teacher arrested after drone crashes into stands US Open:

Flavia Pennetta said she feared the worst when she heard the drone during her match. A teacher in New York has been arrested for flying and crashing a drone into empty seats during a tennis match at the US Open, police say. Daniel Verley, 26, has been charged with reckless endangerment and operating a drone in a public park outside of a prescribed area. Tennis officials say noone was injured, though the drone briefly interrupted a

tennis match. The incident took place at the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Thursday evening. One of the players in action at the time, 26th-seed Flavia Pennetta, described hearing the drone fly by, not knowing what it was and fearing the worst. “With everything going on in the world... I thought, ‘OK, it’s over.’ That’s how things happen,” Ms

Pennetta, 33, told the Associated Press news agency. She said they were never told by the umpire or US Open officials that the object was a drone. It reportedly broke into pieces as it landed, interrupting the match as police and fire emergency personnel investigated. “If there had been spectators, it would have hit them and done a lot of damage,” she added. The 10,000-seat stadium was only partially filled at the time, compared to several hours earlier when it was packed. In fact it was not the first time the Italian player has had an encounter with a drone mid-match, according to New York Daily News. Another New York man was arrested during last year’s US Open for piloting a drone outside the tennis grounds while Ms Pennetta was playing Serena Williams in the quarter-finals. Ms Pennetta later went on to win against Romanian Monica Niculescu, 27, taking her into the third round of this year’s tournament. (BBC)

the new captain.” Commenting on the announcement, WICB President Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron said: “The Directors discussed the recommendation put forward by the selectors. We have all seen Jason’s clear leadership potential and believe he can perform an excellent job for West Indies cricket over many years. We congratulate him on his appointment. “We would like to thank Denesh for taking on the responsibility of leading the Test side over the last 15 months. He remains an integral part of West Indies cricket and will continue to have a vital role in our Test side.” Holder is out of the Caribbean on personal business and will comment on his elevation to the position

when he returns. The squad includes uncapped left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, the only newcomer to the international scene, and uncapped fast bowler Carlos Brathwaite, who has made appearances for the Caribbean side previously in One-day Internationals. The players will be encamped in Barbados from September 20 for a period of eight days and are scheduled to arrive in the Sri Lanka capital of Colombo on October 1. MATCH SCHEDULE October Sun 4 to Mon 5 Tour Match – To be confirmed Thu 8 to Sat 10 Tour Match – To be confirmed Wed 14 to Sun 18 1st Test – International Cricket

Stadium, Galle Thu 22 to Mon 26 2nd Test – Singhalese Sports Club, Colombo Thu 29 Tour Match - To be confirmed Sat 31 1st One-day International - Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (day/ night) November Wed 4 2nd One-day International – Rajapaksa Stadium, Hambantota (day/night) Sat 7 3rd One-day International – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (day/night) Tue 10 1st Twenty20 International – International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele Thu 12 1st Twenty20 International – International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele (WICB)

TYSON FURY VOWS TO ‘end’ Wladimir Klitschko

Wladimir Klitschko (left) and Tyson Fury pose during a press conference ahead of their title fight next month

Tyson Fury’s world heavyweight title challenge to Wladimir Klitschko will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office. As revealed by Sportsmail, Sky were given the virtually unchallenged opportunity to screen the Dusseldorf spectacular when their subscription rivals Box Nation withdrew from the bidding. Klitschko vs Fury will be the highlight of a broadcast on October 24 which will include Kell Brook’s Sheffield defence of his world welterweight title against

Diego Chaves. The fight for all Klitschko’s heavyweight alpha belts will be immediately preceded by a live performance by rock legend Rod Stewart in the 55,000 capacity Esprit football arena. Klitschko said: ‘It’s fantastic to have Sky as a partner for this great fight. I promise an exciting evening and I hope that Tyson is ready to walk the walk after all his big talk.’ Fury responded: ‘I vow to the British public I will end the Klitschko era. All of

Europe wants to see me beat him. For too long Wladimir and his brother Vitali have spoiled boxing with their boring jab and grab style. ‘I’m the new blood in the heavyweight division and I will send him packing and become the new world champion.’ The pay-per-view price for the event has yet to be announced but is likely to be the same £19.95 order charged for what turned out to be the non-fight of the century between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in May.

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 31

Whether a Cougar, Tiger or Lewis Hamilton pips Nico Jaguar, Dexter Gonsalves Rosberg in Italian GP practice remains a dangerous cat By Michael Benjamin Professional boxers, maybe in an attempt to scare the living daylights out of their opponents, affix frightening appendages to their names, maybe as some sort of psychological ploy. The sport is inundated with their types, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, John ‘The Beast’ Mugabe and James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith among others. Some boxers justify their sobriquets but there have been times when after damp performances boxing pundits have suggested that boxers affix realistic tabs like John ‘The Mouse’ Taylor or Peter ‘The Fright’ Douglas. Guyanese boxers have developed similar ploys and we’ve had Leon’ King Kong’ O’Neil, Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman, Quincy ‘Assassin’ Jones and Elton ‘Coolie Bully’ Dharry — ominous tabs that seek to reduce the man in the other corner to a whimpering mouse thus procuring the psychological advantage or in boxing terminology, drawing first blood. There are exceptions to the rule and we’ve heard of the more subtle sobriquets like ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, Pernell ‘Sweet Pea’ Whittaker while Muhammad Ali practiced his trade devoid of any sobriquet. Boxing history is replete with pugilists that appeared unable to harm the proverbial fly until that first bell sounded and as Guyanese would say, ‘all hell breaks loose.’ Dexter Gonsalves belongs to the last group and is scheduled to match gloves with his countryman, Iwan Azore for the latter fighter’s welterweight championship belt in the main bout of a card dubbed ‘Brawl at the Mall’ on the outskirts of Georgetown, at the Giftland Office Max Liliendaal facility on Saturday September 26. Gonsalves shuttles around in the most unassuming manner and gives the impression that he is a virtual walkover. His demeanor is deceptive and many boxers signed to fight him with a smirk on their faces, maybe visualizing the easy route to a big purse and a similar victory only to have their dreams deflated. Barbados based Guyanese pugilist, Revlon Lake, nurtured such thoughts when he faced off with Gonsalves for the National Jnr/Lightweight title in the 28th edition of Guyana Fight Night cards. The result was brutal as Gonsalves employed a vicious two fisted attack and blasted Lake into oblivion and left those in attendance awestruck by such brutality. The experts say that most fighters experience such a flash in the pan and fade into oblivion afterwards. Not Gonsalves, he went on to defeat Mark Austin on points and though the display lacked the brutality of the Lake encounter, the trained eye detected the precision with which Gonsalves delivered his punches and the animalistic fervor of his attacks. He was scheduled to fight Austin in a return bout late last year but the fight was aborted after Austin collapsed in the dressing room shortly before he was to have entered the ring. This had caused the fans to joke that Austin reminisced on the first encounter and collapsed out of fright. Gonsalves’ only problem is that he is not fighting as frequently as he ought. Really, this is no fault of his; it’s just that the Friday Nights fights had hit a snag and the youngster, with no manager to look over his affairs, depended

Dexter Gonsalves

Lewis Hamilton arrived for practice at Monza on his motorbike.

on the officials of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) to pilot his career through frequent outings. Gonsalves only acquisition of international activity is his fledgling career is his tenure at the Cecil Forde Boxing Gym in Marabella when he was based in Trinidad and Tobago. It seems though, as if fights are more easily accessible in Guyana and he opted to return home. He boasts an 11-1 record with the only defeat coming at the hands of Barbadian, Miguel Antoine. Boxing pundits have seen Antoine in action, when he defeated all of his Guyanese opponents in previous bouts, and would admit that he is no pushover. In an earlier interview, Gonsalves disclosed that one of his biggest wins was against Barbadian Prince Lee Isadore and boxing buffs will remember, oh so well, when the latter fighter fought Clive Atwell late last year and extended him into the deep rounds before the Guyanese eventually stopped him and captured the Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) light/welterweight title. This is the Isadore that Gonsalves knocked out in the 2nd round in a fight in Trinidad in 2009. Gonsalves has already opened camp at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) and is under the tutelage of Joseph Murray and Sebert Blake and from all appearances, he means business. His training regimen consists of numerous rounds of sparring supported by several fast paced rounds on the heavy punching bag where he sustains his stamina. He also engages in another set of rounds on the light punching bag to enhance his speed. A lanky boxer with deceptive power, Gonsalves was also taken through his paces with several furious rounds on the strike pads while rounding off sessions with a lengthy period with the jump rope followed by a hectic session of calisthenics. He is not the garrulous type and one literally has to place him at gunpoint to drag out any threat or vile remark against his opponent. This is what makes him as dangerous as a cobra. As the Guyanese idiom (Continued on page 29)

Lewis Hamilton pipped team-mate Nico Rosberg to the fastest time in second practice at the Italian Grand Prix as Mercedes left their rivals trailing. The world champion beat Rosberg by just 0.021 seconds, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third fastest but 0.759secs off the pace. The day’s running suggested an upgraded engine had moved Mercedes even further clear of the field. The design used up all of the team’s permitted inseason engine development. The new engine is available only to the factory team. Mercedes were not able to give a date for when customer teams Lotus, Force India and Williams would receive it. Nevertheless, the Mercedes-powered Force India cars of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were fourth and fifth quickest, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and the Lotus of Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman’s teammate Pastor Maldonado was eighth fastest, ahead of the Mercedes-engined Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Hamilton would take his seventh victory of the 2015 season if he wins at Monza tomorrow. The Briton leads the World Championship by 28 points from team-mate Rosberg. The list of fastest times suggested a similar competitive picture to the last race in Belgium, where Grosjean took the final podium place and Perez finished fifth. The events of Spa continued to echo in other ways, too, with tyres a major topic of conversation following the high-speed blowouts suffered by Vettel and Rosberg over the weekend in Belgium. Pirelli has imposed stricter tyre usage limits this weekend following the problems, and yesterday the Mercedes drivers, Vettel and Fernando Alonso were called to a

meeting also involving F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Pirelli and leading team bosses. All four had expressed concerns or criticisms of Pirelli following the Spa failures. Pirelli insists two changes to the recommendations on tyre usage issued in the space of one day on Thursday were due to extra data and research rather than the criticisms from the drivers. It will be a difficult weekend for McLaren and Red Bull, both teams using this high-speed track to introduce tactical engine upgrades because they expect to be uncompetitive as a result of the power deficit of their Honda and Renault engines. All four of their drivers will be hit with grid penalties as a result of using more than their permitted number of engines. On top of that, McLaren driver Jenson Button managed only three laps because of reliability problems, and the team went as far as to test on Alonso’s car a cooling package aimed at the next race in Singapore, which McLaren expect to be their most competitive race for

the remainder of the season. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat were 13th and 22nd fastest and Alonso and Button 16th and 21st. Like nowhere else, Monza has a claim to be the spiritual home of Formula 1. It’s not the best circuit, and it’s not where grand prix racing started. But Italy is the oldest surviving race on the calendar - and Monza the oldest track still in use. The first Italian Grand Prix there was held in 1922 and through the near-century since Monza has seen it all, from the closest finish on record to the deaths of some of the sport’s greatest drivers. That history hangs heavy in the protected trees of the royal park that houses the Autodromo. They say you can feel the ghosts of yesteryear’s heroes there. That might be stretching it a bit. But as the first morning mists of the Piedmont autumn hang in the air, the foothills of the Alps visible in the distance, there is something undeniably special about the place. Monza fills you with awe like nowhere else on the motorsport calendar. (BBCsports)

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Saturday September 05, 2015

Strategic applications Taylor replaces Aguilleira must be employed towards for WI Women boxers’ advancement By Michael Benjamin During the late seventies/early eighties, boxing had earned its place as one of the top achieving disciplines locally and boxing pundits of that era will also entertain nostalgic memories of the feats of the late John ‘The Beast’ Brummell, Winston ‘Service’ Richards, Darius Forde, Winfield Braithwaite and a host of others too numerous to document in this article. Those were great days and our boxers were most feared around the Caribbean and Latin America. In August 1978, Winfield Braithwaite clinched a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Edmonton Canada and merely two years later, Michael Anthony Parris came through with a bronze medal at the Moscow Olympics Games, a feat that still stands as no other Guyanese sportsperson have managed to emulate, much less eclipse it. Maybe the fact that Guyana enjoyed fruitful sports relations with Cuba through frequent exchange programmes might have been the reason for such successes. During those days, Guyanese boxers held their own

The one day affair took place about a week ago at the Andrew ‘Sixheads’ Lewis Boxing Gym, a facility erected in honour of another boxing great whose feats are well documented. The tournament was funded by Demerara Distillers Ltd, christened in honour of Michael Parris and catered specifically for young boxers, 16 years and under but more importantly, who are basically greenhorns, making their entry into the fistic sport. There were approximately 12 bouts and Parris sat throughout witnessing and assessing the youngsters on show. Naturally, based on years of experience in the ring, firstly in the amateur ranks and subsequently a professional boxer, the Olympics bronze medalist qualifies as just the right person to identify those youngsters with potential for the future. One is, therefore, tempted to question whether there was a post fight evaluation and whether Parris’ views were sought during those evaluations. Such strategies would have given credence to GBA administrators’ objectives for the young boxers’ future development.

Michael Parris (right) decked in his 1980 Bronze medal pose with Shaquancy Wright moments after the latter boxer won his second bout.

against the best in the Caribbean, Latin America and even further afield. In 1985, a 4 main boxing team travelled to Barbados to participate in the inaugural Carifta boxing Championships and returned with two gold medals (Michael Benjamin and Earl Green), one silver medal through Terrence Munroe and a bronze from Garfield Sam. Guyana’s place as a strong boxing nation was secured right up to the mid-eighties when there was an influx into the professional arena with stalwarts the likes of Parris, Darius Forde and most of the top amateur pugilists opting to enter the professional arena. Fast forward to 2015 and Parris’ achievement still stands as the beacon of local sports excellence. Inexplicably, while sports officials yearn for that elusive Olympic gold medal, there has been no genuine or tangible effort to preserve the importance of this achievement. As such, it was indeed refreshing to see the officials of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) acknowledge this son of the soil by dedicating a boxing tournament in his honour.

Several boxers represented the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) and maybe those administrators consider their participation integral to their rehabilitation. Unfortunately, these boxers prepare for combat at their Onderneeming location, devoid of a competent coach and requisite gears. Their tutor, Lawrence Kellman, while committed to the task, is not a qualified boxing coach. Yes, he may be able to whip the youngsters into decent shape but is way below par in relation to the dispensation of hard core boxing techniques. Therefore, though possessing the will, the NOC pugilists lacked the fundamentals. Had the GBA administrators engaged in a post evaluation review they would have recognized that there is a need for technical assistance in Essequibo and start making the requisite efforts to better the fortunes of those boxers. Administrators of the NOC have molded many youngsters sent there by the court of law for rehabilitation after the late Warrant Officer (GNS), Winston Roberts, had tutored (Continued on page 25)

St. John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board announced yesterday an 18member training squad for the International Home Series against Pakistan Women next month. TRAINING SQUAD Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Shakera Selman (ViceCaptain), Merissa Aguilleira, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Stacy-Ann King, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Shaquana Quintyne, Karishma Ramharack, Tremayne Smartt, Vanessa Watts. NOTES: The WICB has announced that Stafanie Taylor will be the new captain of the West Indies Women’s team. She succeeds Merissa Aguilleira, whose tenure of captain started at the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup in Australia. The appointment was recommended by the WICB Selection Panel and endorsed by the Directors during a teleconference meeting on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Taylor, who is a top-order batsman and part-time offspinner, has played 84 Oneday and 62 Twenty20 Internationals, since making her debut for Windies Women. She has been the longstanding vice-captain of the team and led Jamaica Women to a sweep of the Regional Women’s titles between 2010 and 2014. Head WICB selector Clive Lloyd said Taylor had many of the qualities needed to be an inspirational leader. “Merissa has been there for a long time and did a pretty good job, but we feel the time is right for a new leader and we have chosen Stafanie,” said Lloyd. “She has done well for Windies Women with bat and ball, and has led Jamaica Women successfully, so leading the team would not be alien to her. “It’s a change that we hope will bring new energy to the team and take it from strength to strength. We believe we can develop a pretty good women’s team for the future and we see Stafanie as the person that could give us that impetus for the future. Stafanie has played quite a lot, she has been ICC Playerof-the-Year and she will be able to lead by example.” Commenting on the announcement, WICB President Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron said: “The Directors

Shemaine Campbell. ©Randy Brooks/ WindiesCricket.com have confidence in the decision made by the selectors and accept that it has been made in the best interests of the women’s team. “Stafanie has held a senior role in our women’s team for some time and has been a good role model for the younger players. She is someone who we believe can take on more responsibility and we congratulate her on this appointment.” He said: “We also would like to thank Merissa for her leadership of the Windies Women over the last six years, a period during which she helped to establish the side as one of most competitive in the World. “She was the longest serving West Indies Women’s captain, leading the team to the Final of the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2013 in India and the semi-finals of the last three ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup.” Karishma Ramharack, a 20-year-old off-spinner, is the only complete newcomer to the squad with Kyshona Knight, Chedean Nation and Vanessa Watts earning recalls. Medium-fast bowler

Tremayne Smartt. ©ICC/Getty Shakera Selman, who takes over as vice-captain, and legspinner Shaquana Quintyne return following injury and playing leading roles for newly-minted regional champions, Barbados Women. The squad will be encamped in Barbados from late September for a period of two weeks prior to the start of the series. MATCH SCHEDULE October Tue 13: Tour Match – Beausejour Cricket Ground, St. Lucia (Start: 10 am) Fri 16: 1st One-day International – Beausejour Cricket Ground (Start: 10 am) Sun 18: *2nd One-day International – Beausejour Cricket Ground (Start: 10 am) Mon 19: Reserve Day Wed 21: *3rd One-day International – Beausejour Cricket Ground (Start: 10 am) Thu 22: Reserve Day Sat 24: *4th One-day International – Beausejour Cricket Ground (Start: 10 am) Sun 25: Reserve Day Thu 29: 1st Twenty20 International – National Cricket Stadium, Grenada (Start: 2 pm) Sat 31: 2nd Twenty20 International – National Cricket Stadium (Start: 2 pm) (WICB)

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Round 3 Qualifying in CONCACAF for the 2018 FIFA World Cup continued yesterday with a number of matches in Round 3. Following are the results, full details in tomorrow’s edition. St. Vincent & The Grenadines defeated Aruba 2-0 Haiti overpowered Grenada 3-1 El Salvador got past Curacao 1-0 Canada trounced Belize 3-0 Antigua &Barbuda edged Guatemala 1-0 Jamaica went down to Nicaragua 2-3

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Floyd Mayweather rules out retirement U-turn for 50th fight as pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather insists he will not make a U-turn on his decision to end his career after his 49th fight

Floyd Mayweather plans to go out unbeaten and on his own terms, as ‘The Best Ever’, when he ends his career in Las Vegas next week with his welterweight title defence against fellow American Andre Berto. Should Mayweather win, as is widely expected, he would match the 49-0 record of former heavyweight great Rocky Marciano but says he would not be tempted to come out of retirement for a 50th fight. ‘Forty-nine is my last fight,’ the five-division world champion, aged 38, told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday before saying that self-preservation in the ring had always been a top priority. ‘My health is more important. Anything can happen (in boxing). I am not really worried about losing. You can make a lot of money but you still won’t be able to talk, walk and have a sharp mind. ‘Of course, it’s always about self-preservation. I come first but I appreciate the fans. I do. The only thing I can do is believe in myself. I’m going to be TBE (The Best Ever) until the day I die.’ Many pundits have doubted Mayweather’s claim that he will end his career after the September 12 bout, pointing to the American’s U-turn when he came back from a 21-month retirement to fight Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in September 2009. ‘Like I have said and Floyd has said a number of times, this will be his last fight,’ Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, said. ‘Why can’t a man go out when he has had an illustrious career, accomplished everything that he needed to accomplish and be done? And he has done it his way. ‘Over the last week, I have received three major movie offers. We fully expect Floyd to be heavily, heavily involved in the entertainment industry because this is what he does right now... that is going to occupy a lot of his time.’ Mayweather, whose 48-0 record includes 26 knockouts, is renowned for his brilliant defence in the ring though he has often been criticised for selecting easy opponents while building his impressive resume. Asked what he regarded as the greatest achievement of his career, he replied: ‘Every fight played a major key and No 49 is going to be important also. But my career’s not over yet.’ Berto, a twice former welterweight world champion, will step into the ring as a heavy underdog after losing three of his last six fights but Mayweather is wary of underestimating his opponent. ‘When you’ve got a guy that’s put in a situation with nothing to lose, it makes him work that much harder,’ said Mayweather. ‘He has a chance to be one of the top guys in the sport when I am through. You never overlook anyone.’ (MailOnline)

Page 33

Lens Craft Optical/EBFA U-13 League resumes today at Mocha ground

C

ompetitive football is set to make a grand return to the Mocha Community ground today when the inaugural Lens Craft Optical / East bank Football association (EBFA) under-13 league resumes following a period of inactivity due to the prolonged rainy season. Today’s double header will see point’s leaders Grove Hi Tech, joint leaders on 9 points with Herstelling Raiders but ahead on goal difference playing the feature game against host team Mocha Champs who are on 4 points. Opening play at 10:00hrs brings together Agricola Red Triangle on 6 points against Kuru Kururu Warriors lagging in the penultimate position on the table with a single point. Agricola would be led by the competitions leading goal scorer to date, Leon Moore who has six goals

Agricola’s Leon Moore (left) celebrates with teammates after scoring one of his three goals against Mocha Champs.

(two hat-tricks), one more than Herstelling’s Shoran

Latest Lens Craft Optical / EBFA U-13 Points Standings: Club Played Won Lost Draw Grove Hi Tech 4 3 1 0 Herstelling Raiders 4 3 1 0 Agricola Red Triangle 3 2 1 0 Diamond United 4 2 2 0 Mocha Champs 3 1 1 1 Kuru Kururu Warriors 3 0 2 1 Craig 3 0 3 0

James. Lending support would be Shamar Morrison, GF 9 8 13 9 5 3 0

GA 1 2 2 1 8 8 10

GD Points 8 9 6 9 11 6 8 6 -3 4 -5 1 -7 0

Kerwayne Lyte and Kareem John. For the Warriors, Kevon Scott and Oric Austin will lead their charge for a win. Grove Hi Tech will bank on the likes of their leading scorer to date, Akeem Wi l l i a m s ( 3 ) , D e v o n Padmore, Rasheed Evans and Jamallo Benjamin to deliver three more points to their title bid while Mocha will bank on Ian Mars and home advantage to turn back the challenge of Grove. The Executive of the EBFA wishes to express gratitude to NDC Chairman Mr. Gregory John for giving the go ahead for matches to be played at the Mocha ground. It is almost 15 years that competitive football has not been played at this venue due to varying reasons including lack of funds to maintain same. There-start of this league will also signal a busy period for the EBFA which intends to start its senior league among a number of other tournaments, shortly. The association’s affiliates are also expected to convene shortly to review and adopt the new constitution that has been circulated to the affiliates of the Guyana Football Federation by the Normalisation Committee.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

GT BEER/PETRA ORGANISATION FUTSAL Competition secures Trophy Stall support

W

i d e l y recognised as an entity that offers great support to many sports disciplines and organisations, Trophy Stall extended the act of goodwill to the GT Beer / Petra Organisation Futsal Competition by presenting the trophies for the first to fourth placed teams, during a simple ceremony that was conducted, at its Bourda Market location yesterday. Making the presentation on behalf of the entity was Devi Sunich, wife of Proprietor Ramesh Sunich, who handed over the trophies to Petra Organisation CoDirector Troy Mendonca. Mendonca in his response thanked Sunich for his support, adding that the

relationship between the two parties dates back to years ago and remains strong to this day. Meanwhile, the competition resumes tomorrow with the start of the knockout phase and four matches are planned. The fixtures are as follows: West Front Road battles West Back Road, Sparta Boss goes up against Kitty Weavers, Festival City square off with Albouystown and Bent Street opposes Sophia. Up for grabs is $500,000 and trophy for the winning team, while the second, third and fourth place finishers take home $250,000, $125,000 and $75,000 respectively. National Milling Company (NAMILCO) and Trophy Stall are the other sponsors on board.

Saturday September 05, 2015

TNT capture Wiltshire/Bowman dominoes title

T

Trophy Stall Devi Sunich hands over one of the trophies to Petra Organisation Co-Director Troy Mendonca yesterday.

NT chalked up 41 games to capture the Mark Wiltshire/Reginald Bowman four-game dominoes title when the final was contested recently at Lil Mark Boutique, Festival City, North Ruimveldt. Turning Point placed second with 41 games followed by Sparton on 34. Shawn Morgan marked 11 and Dane Bynoe 10 for the winners, Colin Mc Ewan and Jane Chase made 11 apiece for Turning Point while John Chance scored 11 for Sparton. Morgan copped the Most Valuable Player prize while TNT pocketed a trophy and $40,000 and Turning Point $20,000. Meanwhile, Wiltshire and David Hunte will be hosting an 18-team two-in-one-out competition tomorrow at Hunte’s residence Middle Street, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara. The tournament is dubbed ‘Sunday in the Country 11’ and among the teams slated to battle for supremacy are Rage, Thunder, West Side, Mix Up, Blue Bird, Providence, Unruly Bunch and R&R. The winning team will take home $120,000 and a trophy, compliments of V & V Variety Store. The runner up will receive $40,000 and trophy sponsored by Hunte while third place will pocket $15,000. Action gets underway at 14:00 hrs and entrance fee is $10,000. Following the contest TNT, Saddam and GT will clash in a specially arranged fixture.

Serena Williams rallies to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands Serena Williams

Top seed Djokovic is bidding for his second US Open title after winning in 2011

Serena Williams was two games from defeat before recovering to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands and keep her

Grand Slam hopes alive at the US Open. The world number one came back to win 3-6 7-5 6-0 in round

three at Flushing Meadows. Williams, 33, is aiming to become the first player to win the calendar Grand Slam

since 1988. Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic also progressed. Williams’ fight back against fellow American MattekSands, ranked 100 places lower, means she remains on course to meet older sister Venus in the quarter-finals in N e w Yo r k . Tw o - t i m e champion Venus Williams, the oldest player in the draw at 35, upset 18-year-old 12th seed Belinda Bencic in a 6-3 6-4 win. For the fifth time in her last six matches she fell a break behind, and for the 13th time this year she dropped the first set, but once again Williams found a way to win. With Mattek Sands, 30, showing the attacking skills that won her the Australian and French Open doubles titles this year, Williams could not find her feet for the first hour. The 21-time Grand Slam champion was visibly tense,

repeatedly screaming “Come on!” and looking pleadingly at her support team as 11 of 12 break points slipped by. Her edginess was clear for all to see when two double faults saw her broken when serving for the second set, but three rasping returns finally got her over the line. Williams, 33, had won all nine of her deciding sets at Grand Slams in 2015 and an early break set her on course to making it 10 out of 10. Mattek-Sands was swept aside in a final set that lasted 25 minutes, and Williams said: “Players come out really strong - I don’t think I came out too slow. Williams will next face another American, 19-year-old 19th seed Madison Keys, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3 6-2. Swiss teenager Bencic was only six months old when Venus Williams, unseeded and ranked 66th,

made a stunning run to the final before losing to Martina Hingis. Eighteen years on, the Swiss great was watching from the stands on Arthur Ashe Stadium as part of her teenage compatriot’s team. Bencic is the only player to have beaten Serena Williams on a hard court this year, but if both sisters remain on course it could now be Venus who provides the major obstacle to her sister’s hopes of a calendar Grand Slam. Wo r l d n u m b e r o n e Djokovic served out against third-round opponent Andreas Seppi at the second attempt to win in straight sets. The Serb, 28, lost his serve at 5-4 in the third set, only to instantly break back against the 25th-seeded Italian. Seppi earned two more break points in what turned out to be the final game, only (Continued on page 29)

Saturday September 05, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Colts collide with Bulls in colossal clash tonight GABF builds new bleacher at MSC Court By Edison Jefford Georgetown’s Colts will collide with Linden’s Half Mile Bulls in a colossal clash tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Hard Court in the final of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Forbes Burnham Memorial Championships. Colts most impressive win in the tournament came in the closing minutes of their semi-final game against Linden’s Victory Valley Royals. Colts were outplayed throughout the game, but managed to dig deep to eek out a victory nevertheless. Similarly, Bulls trudged its way to the final with a huge win against top ranked Georgetown side, Pacesetters. The upsets placed two unlikely, but emerging teams, in the spotlight for the title in a town named after late President, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, in whose honour the contest is being held. Colts is entering the final after winning a Georgetown

Works ongoing yesterday to get the southern bleacher at the MSC Hard Court finished ahead of the big game tonight.

Shane Webster

Terron Welch

Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall four weeks ago. Their inside-out game with national point guards, Shelroy Thomas and Dave Causway manning the ball, makes them a threat. Thomas and Causway resort to the ‘big-man’ feed with former Lindener, national centre, Shane We b s t e r, t h e m a i n benefactor, whenever they are pressured. This is an area that Bulls will need to

address to have any chance of winning the game tonight. The Linden-based team got off against Pacesetters despite Randy Richardson and Royston Siland dominance on the boards. It exposed the weakness of Bulls’ presence in the paint. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that Webster will be the key for Colts. For Bulls, guard/ forward, Terron Welch has been on top of his game, dropping 35 points against Pacesetters with support

Petama Enterprise/Motor Trend Softball continues this weekend Ramo Malone

P

lay in the Petama Enterprise/ Motor Trend softball competition is set to continue tomorrow. At GNIC ground from 09:30hrs, Regal Masters play Savage Masters; from 12:30hrs Herstelling Raiders will oppose Regal. Over at the Carifesta Sports Complex ground on Pitch 1 from 09:30hrs, Young Guns face United Brothers, at 12:30hrs Farm opposes Wolf Warriors. On Pitch 2 from 09:30hrs, Brickery Super Stars come up against Princess Hotel and at 12:30hrs,

Parika Defenders play Enterprise Legends. Meanwhile, in results from matches played on Sunday last, Ramo Malone hit an unbeaten 90 for Fishermen Masters in a losing cause against Enterprise Legends. Farm defeated Princess Hotel by 157 runs. Farm 230-5 in 20 overs; Rajesh Reddy 59, Ricky Sargent 51, Sheldon Perch37, J. Masha 3-32. Princess Hotel 73 all out in 12 overs, Azharudden Mohamed 3-10 and Lalta Karim 2-15. Brickery Superstars got past United Brothers by 5 wickets. United Brothers 150-7 off 20 overs; R. Ajooda 43, S. Ghanie 29, Stephano Morgan 3-18, Fredrick Wilkie 222. Brickery 151-5 in 17.2 overs; Kelven Kanhai 32, Deon Ramdial 26, R. Geewan took 2 wickets. Enterprise Legends squeezed past Fishermen Masters by 2 runs. Enterprise 164-4 in 20 overs; N. Wilson 52, Seemangal Yadram 33 no, R. Ali 30. Fishermen 162-7 in 20 overs; Malo Malone 90 no, V. Gobin and S. Seebarran took 2 wickets each. Savage Masters trounced Park Rangers by 9 wickets. Park Rangers 161-7 in 20 overs; Mohamed Rafeek 41, Talesh Ramoutar 33, Herbie Jentle 3-2, Wallack Joseph 2-15. Savage Masters 163-2, R. Samaroo 49, Kennard Luke 36, H. Jentle 27 no, Nadir Baksh 21 n.o.

from Michael Turner. The youthful duo will need much more support to pull this victory out of the bag of complete obscurity. A year ago, no one knew of Half Mile Bulls. Now they are playing for a major GABF title with home court advantage. Everything must come together for Bulls against the

more complete team in the tournament, Colts. It will be an entertaining showdown. Colts have an impressive 5-1 record in Linden over the last two years, losing to a combined Jets and Raiders team this year. They are familiar with the MSC surface as is Bulls, which puts both teams on even ground. A new

basketball champion will emerge. In the third place game, Royals will battle Pacesetters from 7pm. Meanwhile, the GABF took it upon itself to invest in rebuilding the dilapidated bleachers on the southern end of the basketball court ahead of the big game tonight.

t r o Sp West Indies Test squad for Sri Lanka...

Jason Holder © AFP

Holder replaces Ramdin as Captain; Bishoo and Chandrika included

Rajindra Chandrika ©WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks LaTouche Photo Devendra Bishoo ©Getty Images

Whether a Cougar, Tiger or Jaguar, Dexter Gonsalves Taylor replaces remains a dangerous cat Aguilleira for

Windies Women Stafanie Taylor

Gonsalves (right) caught in an exchange during sparring sessions with Anson Greene, who fights Quincy Gomes in one of the preliminary bouts. Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210