Kaieteur News
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
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
LIFE AND DEATH
Doctors are trained to give of their best to nurture, improve, protect and if possible, save lives within the scope of medical knowledge. This is in accordance with the Hippocratic Oath, written in Greece between the 5th and the 3rd century BC. It requires physicians to take an oath to uphold specific ethical standards. Of historic and traditional value, the oath is considered a rite of passage for practitioners of medicine in many countries. There are cases when physicians are unable to save lives because of the very thin line that exists between life and death. This underscores the inherent frailty of human life that is highlighted at funerals. “In the midst of life there is death” is one of the common phrases uttered by pastors during funeral services. It serves as a powerful reminder to those in attendance that life is both precious and fragile. Death has always been considered an integral part of human life. Philosophers have referred to death as reaching the highest level of earthly existence. Yet, whenever death strikes, whether in sudden tragic circumstances or by normal illness, it takes most people by surprise and leaves many in shock because they are never really prepared for such eventuality. The unusual spate of traffic fatalities and murders has left many Guyanese in search for answers. As reported, most of the deceased are youths appeared to be generally in good health. With a small population Guyana cannot afford to lose so many of its youths. There is no disputing that Guyanese from all walks of life are generally experiencing pain and suffering in coping with deaths. What is most surprising is that many of the traffic fatalities are caused by reckless and drunk driving. The question that is being asked by many is why so many young men are dying from such horrible deaths. There are of course various inferences which can be drawn, and one of them is that youths in general are more careless with their lives because they believe that they are invincible. Youths are known to have a far more reckless lifestyle than others. They pay little attention to their health. Besides, they tend to indulge in certain destructive behaviour, such as excessive use of drugs and alcohol, which are harmful to their health. They merrily go about their business as if they do not have a care in the world. They seldom seek medical attention until symptoms of serious illness strike or when accidents occur. It is said that a person’s health is a person’s wealth, therefore, it is the responsibility of everyone to take care of their health or suffer the consequences. Sudden deaths will always happen because of accidents on the roads or elsewhere. Given the incidence of hypertension, diabetes and other chronic non-communicable illnesses in Guyana, there are young people who appear to be in perfectly good health but are really walking time bombs. Neglecting their health has exacted a heavy and sometimes deadly consequences. If there is a positive lesson to be learned from accidental and senseless deaths, it is that those who have been negligent need to stop their reckless behaviour of speeding or driving while intoxicated. Also, young men have to start paying serious attention to their health by visiting a doctor at least once a year for a thorough medical check-up to be aware of their health status and allow for timely intervention if any medical issues are discovered. This could save many lives and spare relatives and friends the agony that comes from the sudden loss of loved ones by accidents or who are seriously ill but believed to be in perfect health, based on appearances which at times can be misleading. Going forward, as a nation we should at least agree to commit ourselves not to be reckless on the roads and to seek help before taking one’s life. Remember, there is a thin line between life and death.
Editor’s Note; If your sent letter was not published and you felt its contents were valid and devoid of libel or personal attacks, please contact us by phone or email.
Rawle Welch offers names to vie for the GOA Presidency DEAR EDITOR, T. Pemberton in a letter published in the Kaieteur News dated Monday, September 12 under the caption ‘Rawle Welch must identify his challenger to Yassin’ dared me to name a successor for the current Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) President. He opened by stating for the record that he was rewarded with a plaque by the GOA for his independent photographic coverage of sports over the years, additionally informing that he has never met Mr. Yassin in person and has never spoken to him, but recently sent a request to be on his contact lists via Facebook. I have to admit that I do not know whether T. Pemberton is male or female so it should not be construed as me being rude in addressing the individual by title. However, I found it strange that Pemberton in asking me to identify a challenger for Yassin found it necessary to preface his comments by declaring he did not know the GOA President personally and that he had received an award, but did not attend due to other commitments, while informing that he had joined him on FB recently. My gut feeling is that this individual
is being less than forthcoming about their friendship and felt compelled to respond on behalf of the President. In naming my possible nominees for the Presidency of the GOA I will say that I’ve had no conversation with any of them nor have I any information pertaining to their interest in running for the post. However, I will stand up to the challenge and nominate individuals such as Attorneys-at-Law Roysdale Forde, Nigel Hughes, David Fernandes and Vidushi Persaud as among those who I believe possess the credentials to serve as President. The operations of the GOA have been shrouded in secrecy with the staging of elections and its process and eventual outcome very often being disseminated to the media sometime after being held so there is little or no chance of scrutinising the elections. Pemberton then spoke about the GOA being the first to declare audited financial records, but is that the decisive factor in maintaining office after a dismal performance that spanned more than two decades? In fairness to Yassin, he is not the longest serving Olympic Association
President with Jamaica’s Mike Fennell’s reign netting forty years, but look at where he has positioned his country in terms of sporting achievements. I need to remind Pemberton that the discussion here is about Yassin’s performance or lack thereof in office and not the length of his tenure. I must remind him also that because he has been unable to convince other major stakeholders such as the Government and corporate community, it would seem that he does not have the cachet or respect to influence their thinking hence the need for those who could bring about a transformation of the sport landscape. One of the greatest leaders of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samarach, who lead the Movement for 21 years once said, “Cemeteries are full of people who thought they were indispensible. I will leave. And another President will come.” As we approach the December elections, I urge those council members and any other stakeholder who could determine the outcome to vote to stop the present quagmire that Sports finds itself in. Rawle Welch
OUR EXISTENCE IS BOUND UP WITH PAPER UPON PAPER DEAR EDITOR; Editor’s note; this is the conclusion of Mr. Hackett’s letter captioned originally as; “what does the Wai Wai culture have to offer Guyana?” carried in our Monday edition. There is a title change because of the contents of his conclusion. When we acquire enough goods and services, society looks up to us; the more we get, the better. Our names might even make it on pieces of paper circulated for the population to read. Eventually when our time comes to die we make markings on a piece of paper giving our assets that other pieces of paper got for us to our relatives and beloved ones. When we die, others desperately rely on that last piece of paper of our humanity to get what we have left for them. When they get it, they have to go to a place called a court to get that final paper accepted. Then the assets become fully theirs, generating in the process more pieces of paper. Our entire lives are governed, influenced, controlled, recorded and given meaning by pieces of paper. Our lives begin with a piece of paper – the birth certificate, and ends with a piece of paper – the death certificate without which the will is not accepted by the court. Our entire humanity has been reduced to pieces of paper with markings on them. Without those pieces of paper our lives have no meaning.
We cannot live in today’s world without those pieces of paper. Paper, paper, ink, ink for everything. Where is our humanity in all of that? We begin with a piece of paper, live for pieces of paper, even worship pieces of paper, slave for pieces of paper and our lives end with a piece of paper. To be human in today’s society means to make and find representation of oneself in pieces of paper with the right markings on them. That is what we have become – pieces of paper with markings on them. But long ago before there was text, language was oral, verbal and aural and our humanity more peaceful, egalitarian, richer and fuller. We are human not because of pieces of paper, but because we can reciprocate and exchange and inter-depend like no other creature on Earth can. So we have to learn above all to reciprocate in the best manner so that all will benefit and none will lose. So what have we become? Paper, ink, markings – is that all we are? That is why a picture or a painting is said to be worth a thousand words. With the advent of the electronic information technology age and digitized data, our humanity will be reduced even further to electrical and magnetic forms to be recorded on tapes, discs and other means of electronic storage. We will then become an electronic-based society and our humanity will be further reduced to
devices with electronic markings in or on them. That is why we panic when we lose a computer, a storage device or a mobile phone with our humanity impressed in electronic markings in it. Every time we reduce our humanity, we lose an essence of our being and become dehumanized. So what are we really? What is the essence of our being? Markings on pieces of papers? Markings on electronic devices? Winston Churchill wrote volumes of books on pieces of paper, but he is remembered for his deeds and his spoken word, not so much for his written words. Spoken words existed long before written words and when the written words or electronic markings no longer exist, as will certainly happen one day, our spoken words will be eternal and the thoughts from which they spring will also be eternal. For the words we speak into air and the thoughts we think from our mind (brain) will emanate throughout space and time long after we gone, carrying the record of our humanity on and outward forever. This is a physical uncontestable fact. So let us ensure we speak the right words, think the right thoughts and do the right actions. This is the essence of our being: our thoughts, words and actions. Michael Xiu Quan Balgobind Hackett
Wednesday September 14, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Permanent Secretaries I hope God sends us a should not be political true leader for the appointees 2020 elections DEAR EDITOR; Peeping Tom continues to demonstrate the narrow vision of his name, Peeping Tom. When a person peeps he can only see so much and sometimes what he sees is not the true picture. Our Tom seems to find fault with everything the government does without giving any background perspective of his innuendos and thus he cannot be taken seriously in anything he says. However he must be taken seriously because he poisons the minds of the gullible. Where was he when many purported PNC public servants lost their jobs in the twenty three years hegemony of the PPP cabal? It should be argued that the same ways these people lost their jobs under the PPP are the same ways the PPP special appointees are losing theirs. He cannot bring himself to utter this basic truth but continuously try to portray the past government as a shining beacon on the hill. In a democratic developed society a whole group of people does not become jobless when a political opposition party comes into power, only political appointees (Ambassadors and Cabinet heads are liable for dismissals) Guyana can do better if permanent secretaries are apolitical appointees with extensive experience in the functions of their ministries and they are the ones who hire and fire on merit, not on political affiliations. What the present government should presently do is to root out all permanent secretar-
ies who are card carrying member of a political party and put them in the office of the president (the political dumping ground). They should be men or women with extensive knowledge of their ministries from the bottom up. Ministers should not be allowed to hire or fire anyone nor pressure the secretaries to do so. Peeping Tom continues to bemoan the theory that the private sector is crumbling under the present government. Where was he when the previous government elevated some of these men and women to governmental positions and they profited from insider information? If he had done any historical analysis he will find that many types of people suffered under the PPP and their only escape was public sector jobs. Does he know that certain Guyanese are not given the same level playing field by the business people when compared to the other major groups in the country? Unfortunately, Guyana is a government dominated economy and the government needs to get out of the business of creating jobs. This should be task of the private sectors. It was good to see in your paper the sourcing of government contracts but these should be out of the hands of Cabinet and into the hands of the permanent secretaries. Each ministry should have a budget for a one, five and seven year period and cabinet should scrutinize their progress. Peeping Tom must be truthful when comparing the action of the present government and stop his mischaracterization of them. John Williams
DEAR EDITOR, During the last election’s campaign, the Guyanese people listened with enthusiasm to Mr. David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo hoping and praying that they would be great leaders like their biblical’ s namesake. The APNU+AFC supporters had hoped that Mr. David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo would be great like King David and Prophet Moses in the Bible. According to Jewish’s history, King David was the most brilliant leader of ancient Israel. King David gained fame as a youth when he killed the Philistine Goliath with his slingshot. Like King David, the Prophet Moses was the most important figure in Judaism. Moses parted the Red Sea to free his people and brought
them the Ten Commandments on stone tablets. Editor, when the APNU+AFC supporters went (many of them for the first time) to the polling stations to vote, most were expecting that Mr. David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo would be great leaders like King David and Prophet Moses. During the campaign, I remember them lifting up to the citizenry’s spirit and giving them hope by encouraging them to dream about the future good life. Like many others, I too, felt for the rhetoric hook, line and sinker. They promised the citizenry that if they vote for them that they would not have to worry about anything everything is going to be all right. They were singing and dancing to songs like: Don’t worry about a thing,
This sunken dredge should This man’s balance sheet be removed is a destructive one
DEAR EDITOR; When one reads of the perpetual demonstration of arrogance, deception, callousness and wrongdoing being propagated against the citizens of our capital by the present Town Clerk, Royston King, one can only wonder two things. A -why and for how long the authorities are going to allow him to continue to destroy our capital city and B - what is his real and ultimate objective? The list of idiosyncrasies committed by King in just over a year since he was installed by the former Mayor who had the court halt their proceedings against him after he was arrested, criminally charged by the national police and hauled before the courts, is too long to publish
in this letter. However, to recall some of the more blatant ones we can easily call to mind the wanton destruction of the ‘Dread Shop’, the rounding up of the Water Street vendors and cramming them into the old Auto Supplies compound, the placement of roadside Barbers, Hairdressers, Manicurists, Pedicurists and Tattooists on the Mall under conditions that break the public health regulations of the very City Council, the creation of a ‘White Elephant’ car park on East Street between Middle and New Market Streets which no one uses, the eviction and subsequent overcharging of wholesale vendors on Merriman’s Mall between Orange Walk and Cummings Street to oc-
I am back in Trinidad DEAR EDITOR; With regards to the above captioned, I write to inform you that I am back in Trinidad and Tobago. Came in on Friday morning on CAL flight out of Guyana at 5:45am. Upon my arrival I encountered no issues. Still mentally scared and trying to pick up
the pieces from the drama over the past week. My son is out of hospital but not yet fully recovered. Came home yesterday, Sunday September 11, 2016. Thank you for publishing the letter, thus giving me a voice to put forward my issue. Cephil Hodge.
cupy some dog kennels they constructed, then the scandalous parking meter contract which he disgracefully signed and awarded to an unknown sole trader and, the wasteful spending and construction of a Presidential Park. The question that needs to be asked is whether King has an agenda and is deliberately doing these heinous things to the poor people to discredit the President and Government of Guyana or is it that in his quest for fame and fortune, he could care less for the injury and discredit and disrepute he is causing the governing party, merely considering it collateral damage as he pursues his own ambitions? James McOnnell
DEAR EDITOR; I just returned from Guyana where I normally go for vacation. I am more of the adventurous type but could not do my normal Mazaruni trip this time because a dredge owned by Crown Mining Supplies has sunk and completely blocked the channel at Piremap falls. I learnt that this mishap happened almost two months ago and not much is being done to remove the dredge, rather most of the effort by the company is to recover and remove equipment that is on the dredge and little to move the actual hull. The two jet boat companies are closed off, the main fuel supply line is blocked even school children returning to school at Bartica cannot do so. What are the relevant Ministries and authorities doing? Why is there such
silence on this matter? I know the owner of this company is a national sportsman and well known within the Government and the mining associations but that does not give him the right to put so many people out of jobs, and other inconvenience. I call on the relevant authorities to do something urgently. Thank you, Ralph Persaud
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.. Rise up this mornin’, Smile with the risin’ sun, Three little birds Pitch by my doorstep Singin’ sweet songs Of melodies pure and true, Sayin’, (“This is my message to you-ou-ou: “). The supporters, too, sang and danced to the propaganda songs. Today, many supporters regretted voting for them, because they believe that were scammed. They are worried and they don’t believe everything is not going to all right. Many, many months later, the APNU +AFC supporters have come to realize that Mr. Granger and Nagamootoo are not great leaders like King David and Moses of the Bible that they were hoping for. As a result, the supporters are deeply disappointed, frustrated and angry with the APNU+AFC government. Instead electing great leaders and deliverers like King David and the Prophet Moses, the supporters have elected a Pharaoh. The Bible tells us that Pharaohs was the leader who was responsible enslaving the Israelites in Egypt. Rather than being the supporters’ deliverer, the APNU+AFC supporters feel like they are being enslaved again. Therefore, editor, in the upcoming 2020 general elections, who will be the citizens’ deliverer? I hope and pray that God will send us a true deliverer not the phony ones like (Mr. David Granger and Moses Nagamootoo) who deceived the populace and are no different from the PPP/C. Anthony Pantilitz
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
The mistakes of the PPP Is Royston King an agent Govt. have cost us dearly provocateur of the PPP? DEAR EDITOR; Editor’s note; this is the conclusion of Mr. Vieira’s letter carried in yesterday’s edition Pinehill milk produced in Barbados is a good example of the difference between Guyana and Barbados; the difference between G$204 to one US$1 today, and Bds$2 to US$1. Exactly the same as it was on the independence of that small island from the UK. And when both two Barbados dollars and two Guyana dollars were equal to one US dollar. The Pinehill story is in fact based on a masterpiece of cooperation and collaboration between the Barbadian government, a private company, and private farmers. And as small as it is, because they are working together, they have created something wonderful, and even in the opinion of Mr Barrow, something incredible. The Pinehill website contains the following paragraphs: “The local dairy industry consists of farmers and producers with some contribution from the Government of Barbados. With the supplying farms being typically family owned, there is a long legacy of dairy farming in Barbados with farms often spanning generations. This is a legacy which the farmers along with the PINEHILL team consistently seek to preserve and extend. There are 15 farms which currently supply PINEHILL with an average of 4 million litres of milk per year which equates to approximately 500 cows being milked daily across the island. “The farmers have worked in conjunction with PINEHILL (owned by Banks Barbados) to improve their farming standards, make technological advancements in their farming practices and modernize their milking operations. PINEHILL has
sought to strengthen the interest in the farms and improvements in technology, in order to more readily satisfy the local market and secure external markets to the benefit of the local dairy industry. The Government through the Ministry of Agriculture lends support via their many agricultural programmes and the farmers have established the Barbados Beef and Dairy Producers Association which is part of a wider body called the Barbados Agricultural Society. International agencies are also available to the farmers such as the Caribbean Agricultural Research Institute (CARDI) and the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)” (end of quote). Editor, imagine they have only 500 milking cows and they have taken it this far, even breaking into the US market in the Tristate area New York/New Jersey/ Connecticut in America. And this same informed, enlightened and intelligent way of handling its affairs, is apparent in other sectors, for example the Barbadian government has sought to keep its electricity rates low at around 25 US per kilowatt, and to do so Barbados even subsidizes its electrical generation by 45 per cent, so that Barbadian manufacturing can flourish through a combination of vision, experience and knowledge. Equate this enlightened approach with farmers in Guyana asking that their fuel, fertilizer, and insecticides be sold to them at a price which has some concessions built in (duty free, vat free maybe) to keep them competitive with other countries, which are in fact subsidizing their agriculture in major ways and which are competing unfairly with our farmers. These farmers are earning foreign exchange without which this country cannot flourish or even survive.We have now learned that we
have a huge amount of oil offshore Guyana, but nowhere do I see that we have approached the IDB or the World Bank to finance our hydropower potential. Having learned that we suddenly have this monstrous collateral as a country with this oil, why are we not acting to secure finance to develop our nation? That is how you get elected to govern! Having the potential for hydropower in the same country with bauxite is a double blessing, and taking Venezuela as an example there are only 4 countries which are bigger exporters of oil than they are, yet they generate 98% of their domestic electrical power from hydro. Most of Venezuela’s hydro production facilities are located on the Caroni River in the Guayana region of that country. The 8,900-megawatt Guri Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Caroni River is one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world, and provides the majority of Venezuela’s electric power. Using Google earth I have discovered that this massive Guri Dam is situated less than 250 miles due west from Mount Roraima in the same Pakaraima mountain chain, which extends from east to west between Guyana and Venezuela and in the same geological latitude which gives us, and them, our enormous amount of rainfall annually. What is wrong with us? It has been there for millennia and we have not used it. Build it with the Brazilians as our strategic partners; if we did that Venezuela will be unable to do anything about it against Brazil’s interest. Venezuela spent from what I can find out around US$3.3 billion on its military in 2012, but has since slashed its military budget by 34% since 2014. Brazil spends US$25 billion annually on its military, which is number 11 in the world. No matter how much oil we find, we will not prosper until we work together. A divided nation cannot thrive; it will crumble as have all such which went before. Tony Vieira
DEAR EDITOR, From the advent of the APNU-AFC Coalition in would appear that the City council is not managed by all its elected officials and its statutory procedures. The name of Royston King keeps repeating itself, over and over again, each time through independent acts of hostility and aggression against citizens who need guidance rather than spasms of egomania, the presumption has to cease that there is a ‘Republic of City Hall’ independent of the livelihood of those who trade in this town. King may very well be the extension of a partisan group who directly or indirectly are poised as ‘Agents of the PPP at City Hall’ through their actions that are continuously creating public embarrassments, which by now ‘John Public’ has come to recognize as a character flaw of the Republic of City Hall. Perhaps it’s time that both the Ministries of business and communities pay serious attention to this state within
the state of Guyana. This recent Alexander Street to Bourda Street onslaught was prompted by a legal complaint made by a certain Robb street businessman, against vendors’ untidiness. What is curious is what entitles this business to the jurisdiction of an entire economic block-Alexander to Bourda Sts? It was at the insistence of another businessman that the stalls of the Bourda St. Vendors were destroyed, again without legal procedures adhered to. Addressing Staborek Market square was necessary, but its handling was undoubtedly disastrous, etc. The fact is that because I am a self employed small business operator I can emphasize with what the disruption of the flow of business can have on fragile economies and on the very health of persons, Royston King and his compatriots at the ‘Republic’ are salaried employees and lack any empathy with this reality, incapable of comprehending
that things are very, very difficult for the small business economy today. Guyana for the last decade has hardy had an economy. This is where the Ministry of Business comes in, to direct the ‘Republic’ towards meaningful strategies. Why? Because it is likely that changes in the employment sector will lead to growth in the small farming population that will require more display and trading space, and there are already indications of serious problems concerning the dangerous premeditative contamination of fruit and vegetables for economic expediency that will need expertise beyond the ‘Republic’s’ capacity, that is, when the authorities in Agriculture do wake up or are awakened, it’s time to shed the small minded predator nature of the HIPC Republic of City Hall and get them to serve rather than what they have become, I am wondering, where is the voice of the New Councillors? Barrington Braithwaite
THE AUTHORITIES MUST ENSURE THIS PONTOON IS OUT OF THE RIVER DEAR EDITOR; I am a concerned gold miner from Bartica, with a work force of over forty (40) persons currently. I am writing to highlight a situation that is happening with a pontoon that sunk in the channel of the Mazaruni River. Approximately three months ago a (Draga) as this pontoon is called, by owner of Crown Mining supplies, ran aground just at the top of the Piremap falls in the Mazaruni River. Initially it was out of the channel, but after efforts were made by Crown Mining Supplies to remove it from its position it shifted into the channel. That is when the problem started. The Crown Mining Company would just leave it there for weeks and then they would make a half hearted effort to salvage it, then once again retreat and not be seen for a while. All the time workers and supply boats that work for, and service over fifty mining operations located above the falls, have to use whatever way they could to gain access to their mining camps, which includes manually fetching of supplies over rocky and dangerous terrain and in some cases in waist dept water just to survive.
I am concerned about the non action by this company which seems to be above the law as they continue daily to totally disregard the inconvenience that their sloppiness in handling this situation, has caused to so many miners. Let me also mention the operations of the two Jet boat services that service the locations have been completely halted, putting almost sixty workers out of a job and the Secondary School children that normally use the jet boat service to return to their school at Bartica are stuck. I call on the relevant authorities, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Education, the Maritime administration, even the Ministry of Public Health (God forbid we get some sort of medical emergency) to please do something . One is being led to believe that because the main principal of Crown Mining supplies is a national sportsman and carries a lot of clout in the government and also the mining associations, they are being allowed to do as they feel. Once again I do hope this situation is looked at urgently by the relevant authorities. G. Adams
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Granger to press Venezuela border controversy at UN meet Guyana’s President David Granger is expected to raise the border controversy with Venezuela with several international bodies at the 71st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The annual meeting of 193 countries officially opened yesterday, at the UN’s headquarters in New York. Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, said that President Granger is expected to raise the issue during his presentation to the General Assembly on September 20. “He will doubtless also be addressing issues pertaining to the greening of Guyana and Guyana’s controversy as regards the border with Venezuela,” Minister Greenidge said during a round table discussion on the Foreign Policy Fact Files Programme. The President is also expected to highlight issues of global governance during his presentation. “He will touch upon the problems of global governance, the issues pertaining to how the small and the voiceless can be given the opportunity to have their messages heard, and to have the UN act in a man-
ner that is consistent with their interests,” Minister Greenidge said. Guyana will have marginal meetings with Heads of Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers during the General Assembly where a sub-committee is expected to address this country’s border controversy with Venezuela, Greenidge pointed out. “The Commonwealth Foreign Ministers will in the course of their deliberations be looking at issues they’ve highlighted: problems of governance within the Commonwealth and also problems of borders,” Greenidge explained. The border issue will again come up during meetings with CARICOM’s Council for Foreign and Community Relation (COFCOR). “COFCOR will also be meeting with the same view, to look at common issues and to ensure that their positions are synchronised,” Greenidge further explained. Peace and security are major concerns of Guyana during this sitting. Minister Greenidge added that agriculture and issues pertaining to gender are among some of the other focus areas for Guyana
President David Granger at the UN General Assembly last year.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge at this year’s General Assembly. Minister Greenidge and a team from his ministry, along with Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Michael TenPow, will be in attendance at the General Assembly. Last year, Venezuela upped its claim to a large section of Essequibo, including the oil-rich waters of Guyana. However, the new Granger administration immediately signaled intentions to protest and bring global attention to Venezuela’s bullying. The border controversy has been simmering for more than a century now.
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
Voir Dire continues into Babita Sarjou murder PI A Voir Dire (trial within a trial) is currently underway in the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder Babita Sarjou, who was allegedly killed by her ex-husband and buried in his yard six years ago. Sarjou’s ex-spouse, Sharnandand Naraine, called ‘Anand’ of Lot 51 Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown;, and Darel Pronton called ‘Yankee’ of Lot 54 Broad Street, Charlestown
are currently on remand for the woman’s murder. The Voir Dire is being done to ascertain whether statements allegedly made by Pronton were willingly or involuntarily given. It will also determine if the statements can be admitted as evidence in the PI. Maheseree Masihgas testified yesterday when the PI continued before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in
the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. After her testimony, the trial was adjourned until September 21, when Detective Inspector Suraj Singh is scheduled to testify. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum and his team of detectives were able to crack the case on May 22, after they spent over five hours digging up a site at Naraine’s Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, home where
MURDERED: Babita Sarjou
Sharnandand Naraine
Darel Pronton
they believed Sarjou’s body was buried. After digging the site, detectives recovered skeletal remains, they suspect are those of the woman. However to confirm, police have since sent DNA samples overseas for testing. According to
reports, Sarjou had left her home to go to the Diwali motorcade on the eve of November 4, 2010 with Naraine who had called her. He reportedly picked her up in his car and while she was sitting in the front passenger seat she was strangled by
Pronton who was reportedly seated at the back of the car. Sarjou’s lifeless body was allegedly transported to Naraine’s house he resided with his wife and children. Reports had indicated that Naraine had dug her grave two days before she was killed.
PSC insists on public debate on parking meters Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Edward ‘Eddie’ Boyer, told this publication that the organisation’s position on the parking meter contract remains the same. It is demanding full disclosure and Public Debate on the subject despite amendments. Recently, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council announced several amendments to the contract via the media. It was reported that the Contract Term had been reduced from 49 years to 20 years, subject to the approval of the City which would not be unreasonably withheld. Equally notable was the inclusion of a clause whereby the vehicles belonging to persons with disabilities will be given special parking considerations. Additionally, there were changes to the City Fees Consideration. The amendments were to the effect that instead of 20% gross of parking and enforcement revenue, 10% of gross garaged parking revenue and 10% of net value added services, there will be a collective 20% for the first nine
years, 25% for years 10 to 19, and 30% for years 20 and onward. The salary for Traffic Wardens was also amended resulting in an increase from $50,000 to $78,000 per month. A Joint Project Review is to be held once a year instead of once every five years as was previously agreed. The Council made these and other amendments in light of the reviews of the contract which were made by the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. The PSC having learnt of the Parking Meter Project last June, held the position that the Mayor and City Council, in particular the Mayor and the select few she chose to surround her, had dealt with the project in an unacceptable manner. The organisation believes that an initiative of this magnitude, affecting as it does the entire citizenry of the city and beyond, demands public consultation, transparency and open debate. The Commission has been calling for full disclosure of the contract details and in-
PSC Chairman, Eddie Boyer formation about the contracting company so that they can be publicly scrutinized. The organisation had made it clear that it cannot and will not support the attempt to impose parking meters on the population until there has been full public debate and support for the matter. According to Boyer, yesterday, his entity has not been contacted on the amendments and as such the PSC’s position on the matter has not changed.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
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Kaieteur News
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME At least for the next three years, Guyanese law students can breathe a little easier knowing that 25 places are guaranteed to them for admission to the law programme of the University of the West Indies. The top 25 law students will make it to UWI but for the remainder of the class there is uncertainty about their future. The students, recognizing this fact, are now calling for an abolition of the quota system. They want automatic admission into UWI’s law programme. But why should UWI consent to this demand. The University of Guyana is not part of the UWI family. So is UWI not being generous enough to set aside 25 places each year for
Guyanese students? Apart from this quota, the Guyanese students can apply directly to UWI to gain admission. This means that more than twenty-five students can and are usually admitted each year to the law programme at Hugh Wooding. The arrangement will still leave some graduates of the law programme offered by the University of Guyana out in the cold. They will simply not be able to gain admission even with the quota system in place. This leaves them hanging. Some will continue to have a UG law degree but cannot move forward because they may never be able to complete the LEC at UWI. The long term solution is for UG to have its own law
school which is recognized around the Caribbean for admission to the Bar. But UG is not that ambitious at this stage. Charity must begin at home. The law programme at the University of Guyana has its problems. While Guyanese students are complaining about the quota system, there is a deafening silence about the fact that there is also a quota locally as to how many students can gain admission to the law degree programme at the University of Guyana. A number of students who applied and who met the entry requirements could not be admitted because there is a limit to the number of places locally. The same thing happens for the medical programme. A
number of students who applied were not able to gain admission to the UG medical degree because the school can only hold so much. We are disenfranchising our own students and then turning around and complaining about UWI limiting the number of law students to 25. The Guyana government is going to spend millions of dollars each year to subsidize the tuition of law students, most of whom when they graduate will earn millions of dollars per month, judging from the comment of one lawyer who justified a pay rise on the grounds that what a Minister previously earned is what he paid junior counsel in his law firm. Not everyone can afford the steep tuition
fees at Hugh Wooding, Cave Hill and Mona. So it is nice for the government to help the students who are going to study there and graduate as lawyers. But what about the many secondary school graduates who have the requisite qualifications and would like to sign up for the law degree programme at the University of Guyana? Should the government not also try to ensure that they too can have a chance to become lawyers by expanding the law school at UG? Is Guyana not in need of more doctors? And should the medical programme not be expanded to ensure that more students can be admitted? We should be helping our 25 law students who will gain
admission under the quota system at UWI. But we should also be helping UG to admit more law students to its programme. The more students that are admitted, however, the greater will be the complaints about the quota system at UWI. The long-term solution is for UG to aim for its own LEC so that our students do not have the annual competition for the limited places at UWI. The best 25 go forward. What happens to the rest?
Robb Street triple-murder/arson…
Prosecution tenders statements from 31 witnesses
Theresa Rozario, Feresa Rozario and their father Hilrod Thomas
MURDER ACCUSED: Ganga Krishna and Avishkar Kissoon Statements from 31 witnesses- including those from 11 police officers -were tendered and marked as exhibits when the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the murder of Feresa and Theresa Rozario and their father, Hilrod Thomas, continued yesterday, in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. The PI is being conducted by way of paper committal by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. Ganga Krishna, 72, a businessman of Lot 11 North Road Bourda; and his employer, Avishkar Kissoon, 24, of Lot 1 Sheriff Street, Campbellville; are currently on remand for the capital offence. Theresa Rozario, 15, and her 12-year-old sister, Feresa Rozario, were burnt to death after an early morning fire destroyed a Robb Street, Georgetown building they occupied with their father. The fatality occurred in November 2014. The two sisters, who were reportedly asleep, were trapped in the early morning inferno. Thomas, 63, managed to jump
through a window to escape the flames. He, however, sustained second and third degree burns and later succumbed while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Investigations in this matter took police two years to crack. A drug addict reportedly confessed to police that he was offered money to set fire to the disputed building. Police believe that the building was torched to drive out individuals who were also claiming ownership of the property by prescriptive rights. When the matter came up yesterday, Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers indicated that the prosecution has 31 witnesses. The statements and further statements of these witnesses were tendered by the prosecutor and marked as exhibits in the PI by the Magistrate. During the tendering of the statements, Attorney Mursalin Bacchus, who is representing Kissoon and Attor-
neys Glen Hanoman and Nigel Hughes--representing Ganga, made applications for two civilian witnesses to be crossexamined. These were Rosemary Rosario and Adam Rojario. The attorney also requested three police witnesses, Detective Inspector Suraj Singh; Sergeant Phillip Bowman and Detective Sergeant Devon Lowe to also be cross-examined. Officer in Charge, Greene who signed a statement on behalf of the Guyana Fire and Ambulance Service will also be subjected to cross-examination. Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan granted the attorneys’ request. Further, Prosecutor Jeffers also tendered a Form C19-this is an identification parade document- in favour of Ganga. The PI has been adjourned until September 22, for the tendering of other documents and possibly for the commencement of crossexamination. It was an emotional testimony from Clarissa Rosario, the children’s mother, which prompted the Chief Magistrate to have the PI completed by paper committal. During her testimony, the older Rozario fainted while standing in the witness box.
Dem boys seh...
BaiShanLin crying fuh see wha funeral dem gun get When people plan long in advanced authorities does call it forward planning. When a man plan a crime well in advance dem does call it premeditation. GECOM always want quick election results but de country too big. In Burnham days some people use to tek de results and fetch it by boat to some far area. By de time de boat meet de election results change. Every election after Burnham Guyana witness something new. GECOM was always adding this and adding that. Last year dem add radio sets days before de elections. Dem seh de reason fuh these radios was to radio in or fax de results immediately to dem headquarters. Dem boys hear de radio never fax in one result or was able to call in any figure. Dem never wuk because dem sit down in a fowl pen from since 2006 to de week before de last election. In that same year, 2006, BaiShanLin start dem kakishness in Guyana. Dem get big, big duty free this and duty free that. Dem boys hear and other people hear how some of dem get duty free women too. Dem use to live de life in Guyana Ask de boss man—Chu Bumbo. Dem had a field day wid Guyana gold,
timber and everything dem coulda bring in under de sun as duty free item. Now dem crying. Dem boys seh dem crying to see wha funeral dem gun get. Dem padnas in crime lose de election and Soulja Bai clip dem balls plus dem wings and now dem crying like a baby. Dem tell de Big Market paper how dem does give charity. Right away dem boys wonder wha dem mean when dem talk bout charity. Dem boys know dem grab up three-quarter of Guyana timber and mining land. Dem never expect dem to come pun de Essequibo Coast and tek over Charity. Is when dem boys read down, dem realize that de company seh dem give out one and two handout and never call de media to tek out photo fuh put it in de public. When dem boys read dat sentence dem had to laugh because if dem did use to call de media de whole country woulda see how paper bag full of US dollars buss down when rain fall while dem was going in Rob de Earth office, one midday. Dem use to go steady to de Home Affairs Ministry wid paper bag too and never come out wid it. Dem boys want to know if that was Charity or Supenaam or something else. Talk half and give Chu Bumbo some newspaper to wipe he eye.
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Tax evasion: Kurshid Sattaur did not make my day We have a new tax chief. I have to tread carefully with him. The last chief, Khurshid Sattaur, did not take too kindly to my constant criticism of his untouchables that he barefacedly protected. I have information of morbid tax evasion going back to the last fifteen years that is extremely shocking. They all occurred under Khurshid Sattaur. Let me digress briefly. I may not publish my
memoirs before I die because I do not think I want to be climbing the court steps every week for the rest of my life. At the rate trials take to finish, I will be in court everyday for the next fifty years (though I doubt I want to live that long). My point is that my memoirs will bring me dozens of libel suits. I mention this, because people who knew what Sattaur did turned around and supported him when the government did not keep him on. I could mention what I know from this gentleman himself yet he turned
around and publicly supported Sattaur. The going of Sattaur from the Guyana Revenue Authority was one of the best things that ever happened to this country. Tax evasion under Sattaur was a daily sport for multi-billionaires. I want to go on record as saying that when an independent foreign audit is done of the GRA, the information will be the most sordid ever to come out of this country barring the Rodney, Waddell and Crum-Ewing murders and the contents of the crime syndrome -- 2002-2005. Huge tax evasion by multi- billionaires under Sattaur’s watch went on for years. Gerhard Ramsaroop, formerly of the AFC, and a citizen who is well known, was in the car when this gentle-
man referred to the paucity of taxes on one of Guyana’s richest contractors paid. Sattaur cannot survive a forensic audit. Let’s juxtapose Sattaur and the Chairman of the GRA, Rawle Lucas. Writing in his Stabroek News column, Lucas said that property tax brought in virtually nothing. How do you stack this up against the fact that prior to 2014, property tax was payable on assets over $7 million. This is where Guyana achieves the irony of being a circus and a graveyard at the same time. If you have to pay property tax on assets over $7 million, then counting up the super-billionaires we have, how could Lucas write the words in the Stabroek News? Who to believe? Lucas or Sattaur? My answer is that I do not believe or ever believed a word that came out of the mouth of Khurshid Sattaur. He didn’t collect property tax from these superrich contractors; he never ever enquired. But he found time
to write me; a UG lecturer on property tax whose only income was the pittance he received as salary from UG. He found time to demand in excess of $15 million from me from monthly income of $500, 000 I make at Kaieteur News. Only a fool or a complete idiot would ever believe that I ever earned $500,000 monthly for my columns. Sattaur failed to make my day because he did not bring charges against me after Nigel Hughes wrote to tell him we would have our day in court. Had Sattaur gone to court, I would have subpoenaed a plethora of tax returns to show that the GRA was not collecting taxes from very wealthy people, including Bharrat Jagdeo’s infamous contractor and friends. So we arrive at Geoffrey Statia, the man who replaced Sattaur. As I wrote above, writing about tax evasion has brought me “nuff trouble” from the GRA. Will Statia emulate Sattaur’s attitude when my pen starts to flow about tax evasion since May 2015? I don’t know Mr. Statia at all, never seen him, never talked to him. But this I know; there has been hundreds of
Frederick Kissoon billions of tax dollars that went into private hands because instead of paying those sums into the GRA, these private hands did not. I remember when there was a huge exchange between me and Sattaur in the Kaieteur News, the owner of one of the largest hardware stores in Georgetown said to me when I went into his store; “Freddie yuh right, I myself gat to start paying some taxes.” When the quarrel between me and Sattaur escalated, former husband of Gail Teixeira, Fazil Khan, met me and said, “Freddie, I know one of the richest men in Guyana who never even submitted a property tax form.” So I end with a question for Mr. Statia; are those superrich contractors paying taxes? I know the answer. It is no.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
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Kaieteur News
Corentyne man on trial for attempting to murder another in 2012 Vedanand Chander, 37, of No.71 village, Corentyne Berbice is on trial for attempted murder before Justice Jo Ann Barlow and a mixed Jury in the Berbice High Court. The man is accused of attempting to kill Chabbidat Tejram, 35, also of No 71Village on October 16, 2012. The incident occurred following a ‘name calling incident’, at No. 71 Village, Corentyne. State Prosecutor Stacy Gooding is presenting the State’s case. Attorneys at law Mursalene Bacchus and Perry Gossai are representing the defendant. The prosecution has so far called a number of witnesses. According to the State’s case, Tejram was tiling a bench at the front of his yard at No.71 village when the accused, who was riding a bicycle, said something to him. He responded. The man reportedly returned with a chisel, which he used to injure Tejram. Testifying, Latchmanarine Ramsundar a Neighbourhood police stated that on the day in question he was patrolling in the No. 71 area when he saw a crowd. He made inquiries and observed Tejram grab-
Vedanand Chander bing his armpit with a cloth. The accused was nearby with a chisel in his hand. He said that he collected the chisel and handed them over to the police. Both men were taken to the Springlands Police Station. Dr. Ryan Campbell in his testimony stated that he examined Tejram at the Springlands Hospital. During his examination he saw a stab wound on the victim measuring about four centimeters in the region of his arm pit. He said under cross
examination by Bacchus, that the injury was caused by a sharp pointed instrument. He was also questioned by the jury. Police Officer Troy Munroe uplifted the medical certificate which he tendered into evidence. Police Detective Corporal Terry Cummings in his testimony stated that he arrested the accused at the Springlands Police Station when he put the allegation to him that he tried to murder Chabbidat Tejram. The man responded by saying that “Officer, I don’t know wah going”. He was arrested and placed in custody. Chabbidat Tejram, the virtual complainant was also at the station, where he had gone to make a report. He was subsequently taken to the Skeldon Hospital and was later transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. He said under cross examination he got instructions from his superiors to charge the accused. Tajeram in his evidence stated that around 18:00 hrs on the day in question he was tiling a bench at the front of his yard when the accused, who was riding bicycle, passed by and called him a deportee. The accused told
him he would be back. He subsequently returned. He was not paying him much attention, but saw him coming with something in his hand. He said that the man used that object to bore him.
He subsequently realized it was a chisel. After he was stabbed he fell to the ground. Questioned by Bacchus, Tejram denied calling the accused “a waste man”, but maintained that the accused
called him a “Deportee”. He also denied pelting the accused with a concrete brick, or attacking him at any time. The prosecution has closed its case. The matter is continuing.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday September 14, 2016
FATF/ICRG team in Guyana to conduct on site inspections
The high level meetings between Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, and the Financial Action Task Force/International Coordinating Review Group (FATF/ICRG) are slated to commence today, at the boardroom of the Ministry of
Legal Affairs. According to reports from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, yesterday, the team is said to be visiting Guyana over two days from September 14 to conduct a meeting with the Attorney General and his AML/CFT Compliance Team.
During the visit, the team is expected to visit the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Bank of Guyana, Guyana Securities Council (GSC), money transfer agencies and the commercial banks. Among the things that they will be looking for is to ensure that Guyana is criminalizing money laundering and terrorist financing; that Guyana has adequate measures to confiscate assets related to money laundering and that the country has the legal framework to identify, trace and freeze terrorist assets. Last July, Minister Williams announced that FATF/ ICRG team will be conducting onsite inspections of several
- banks, money transfer agencies among financial units to be targeted of Guyana’s institutions in order to verify Guyana’s progress and its readiness to come off of its watch list. Williams had explained that a favorable report from the team will allow Guyana to begin the process of removing itself from the FATF/ICRG review list, at the October plenary meeting. He noted that the team will also be ensuring that the FIU is functioning effectively. The FIU is supposed to oversee SOCU. Other reforms which the onsite visits will seek to confirm is that there is enhanced transparency with these financial systems and that the mechanisms for reporting suspicious transactions are in place. Finally, the team will seek to ensure that there is an adequate supervisory framework. ”Once the FATF/ICRG co-chairs conclude that Guyana has satisfied its on site verification, then a motion will have to be moved in the
October Plenary, to remove Guyana from the FATF/ICRG review list.” On being removed from the said list, Guyana will thereupon qualify to exit the CFATF follow up process.” Williams had stressed, however, the country had made significant strides and had been commended at the June 59th ninth plenary meeting which was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Williams, who attended the meeting, stated that the country was commended for having substantially completed its action plan at the technical level and that it received thumbs up on its “Tenth follow up report.” ”Guyana has substantially completed its overall level of compliance and most importantly, Guyana has fully addressed the core and key recommendations,” Williams reported. ”While Guyana satisfies the criteria for application to exit the follow up process, it is still in the FATF/ICRG
Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams process which it needs to complete first.” ”It is recommended that Guyana stay in enhanced follow up and be required to report on continuing implementation to the next plenary in November.” Since the coalition came into office last year, FATF has been giving favourable reviews to Guyana on its efforts to address anti-money laundering deficiencies. Last December, Government passed the Anti- Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill of 2015. The passage of this legislation was seen and noted as a major step, in particular by the Americas Region Review Group (ARRG), the regional arm of the ICRG.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Gov’t to establish monitoring centre to crack down on inferior drugs
Director of the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department, Marlan Cole; WHO team officer Leticia Megias; Medicine Safety representative, WHO Geneva, Dr. Shanthi Pal; Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings; PAHO/WHO representative Dr. William Adu-Krow; team leader of the BRICS medicine alliance, Dr. Gurumurthy Parthasarathi (all seated at front) with participants of the Pharmacovigilance sensitisation workshop. Director of the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department (GAFDD), Marlan Cole, yesterday, announced that by December 2016, a pharmacovigilance centre for monitoring and inspecting drugs will be set up. Pharmacovigilance is the practice of monitoring the effects of medical drugs after they have been licenced for use, especially in order to identify and evaluate previously unreported adverse reactions. This announcement came during brief remarks at a Pharmacovigilance awareness workshop at Duke Lodge yesterday where the GA-FDD in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) is creating sensitisation among health officials. Making reference to a presentation made earlier, Cole said, “The presentation would have indicated
to us, those that are members of the WHO reporting system and all those countries that are currently not being represented. I can assure that we at the Food and Drug Department are working and as of December 2016 we would be in blue as well.” Guyana is currently not a reporting country, which means there is no system for nurses at health facilities to report any adverse reaction to drugs that have been administered to patients. There is also no tracking system that would allow for one to identify the production date, batch number and other necessary information that help the identification process. Cole pointed out that, “…a pharmacovigilance centre will allow us to ensure that drugs are of the requisite quality.” Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings, said that “indeed all medicines,
all products imported or manufactured in Guyana, are subject to a strict testing and assessment of their quality, efficacy and safety before being authorised, and once placed on the market they continue to be monitored so as to assure that any aspect which could impact the safety profile of a medicine is detected and assessed and that necessary measures are taken.” Minister Cummings further stressed: “Pharmacovigilance is crucial to the Ministry of Public Health’s work in ensuring that Guyanese benefit from the best quality medicines making them safe, efficacious and hence the need for ongoing surveillance.” The ongoing workshop is aimed at providing the health officials with the necessary information relating to pharmacovigilance and their role in the implementation of the programme.
Sharamla Singh is Indigenous... (From page 14) and the ways of how to combat climate change and save this world.” Education month is also being celebrated in September and according to Minister Garrido-Lowe who has direct responsibility for women and youth “the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs remains committed to supporting the two hundred and twelve indigenous communities and for this new term we have so far given scholarships to and we are still counting 48 GTI Students, also four for Carnegie School of Home Economics, four for GSA and Kurukuru College who we have worked
with for a number of years have accepted a number of our brothers and sisters.” She said, “Learning a skill is so very important for our communities… many of our communities, peoples lack the skills to develop their communities…..many of our people need the skills so that they can help themselves and learn to operate certain machinery instead of depending on skills from Georgetown.” The minister reminded that the indigenous peoples are a proud and talented people. Prior to its ascension to office the then opposition coalition party promised that once elected the party
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Kaieteur News
will ensure technical schools are established to meet the high demand of skills in the hinterland, a promise that will become a reality. Included in the day’s activities were wood-cutting and canoe racing. The evening’s entertainment included a bonfire, a pageant and a cultural show. An Indigenous Heritage Exhibition opens t o m o r r o w at Castellani House from 5 pm or 17 hours where a number of Paintings, Sculptures and Ceramics exhibits will be on display and sale. The exhibition closes at the end of the month.
SARU keeps watchful eye on Sanata Complex well deal Troubled by the makings of the deal, the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) says that without a doubt, it is now “keeping a watchful eye” on the controversial situation involving a well that is located in the Sanata Textile Complex in Ruimveldt. This was confirmed by Head of the Unit, Dr. Clive Thomas. Thomas said, “I find it alarming that a public well can be sold as part of a deal to a private citizen. I can understand if the well is being leased but I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that Ramroop was gifted this state asset as part of some deal with the former regime. So we are definitely keeping an eye on this matter. It is marked on our list.” For more than three decades, it was under the control of Government. Then in the late 2000s, a water well at the Sanata Textile Complex, Ruimveldt, was sold under questionable circumstances by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) to Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. (QAII), a group of companies under the direction of Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. Why the administration of former President Bharrat Jagdeo decided to sell the well which was managed by the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) is now the big question. Jagdeo is a close friend of Ramroop. While the well was located in the Sanata complex, it served and continues to serve over 9,000 customers in
SARU Head, Dr. Clive Thomas
Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop
the Ruimveldt area, including D’Aguiar Park, Alexander Village, Meadowbank and West Ruimveldt. Each month, GWI has been paying almost $3M in electricity bills for the well as well as sending its technicians daily. Its technicians access the well through QAII security. The ownership of the well came up recently when technicians attempted to conduct checks of water connection at the QAII at the Ruimveldt facility, but were later asked by management of the water company to suspend all investigations until further notice. The complex houses a newspaper, radio and storage bond, as well as administration offices of QAII. QAII claimed that the visits by technicians were in retaliation to a report carried in a newspaper it
owned that GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, benefitted from a fuel import and storage licence. Dr. Van-West Charles later admitted that he told the technicians to stand down after he was requested to do so by Chairman of the GWI Board, Mr Nigel Hinds. Hinds, when asked, said that ownership of the well was in question and GWI needed to probe this. The Chairman said he would be releasing the findings of the probe. In the meantime, GWI in a statement to the press said that Dr. Ramroop indicated that he had bought the entire complex which included the well but “inherited the daily checks of the well by GWI.” He assured GWI that he would not interfere with this arrangement.
SARU Head accuses NICIL... (From page 3) would have to petition the United Kingdom courts. NICIL had said that in an attempt to avoid costly and lengthy adjudication of the matter in the English Courts, it called on the Government to encourage HKGT through diplomatic channels, to honour its contractual obligations. NICIL said that what was alleged by HKGT was that following a series of communications with the former Guyana Ambassador to China, HKGT was assured that it was not required to pay the balance of US$5M. This was because HKGT had not been granted the same minority protection rights enjoyed by NICIL—that is two representatives, instead of one, on the GT&T Board of Directors. HKGT alleged that it was initially promised two seats by the then government of Guyana. NICIL said that HKGT
also alleged that the decision to waive the US$5M was contained in a side agreement. NICIL noted that it has not been able to verify the veracity of HKGT’s claim of waiver and has requested the assistance of the Government of Guyana to verify the validity of HKGT’s assertion and the documents they produced to support same. The second version of what happened to the GTT shares further complicates the controversy. In this age of technology, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon in the company of a NICIL legal officer went all the way to China to ascertain if Guyana was actually paid the money by the entity which initially bought the GTT shares. Harmon subsequently returned to his homeland with some documents on the GTT shares saga that the nation is yet to see. Nevertheless, Natural Re-
sources Minister, Raphael Trotman, had told the media that Harmon had retrieved documents from his trip to China which indicate that the money had been paid before last year’s general elections. Dr. Thomas confirmed that even though he and Harmon share the same compound at the Ministry of the Presidency, he has not seen these documents on the GTT shares. He reminded, too, that Harmon is NICIL board member. “NICIL has an obligation to do its work and avoid placing the blame, and falsely at that, on others for its lax behaviour.” The SARU Head added, “We (SARU) are an efficient unit and we take cases involving state assets very seriously, hence, my extreme disappointment when those reckless comments were made by the NICIL Chairman. He should shed some light on the documents Harmon received from his China trip.”
PAGE 22
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
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Newly renovated three bedrooms top flat @ Pike Street, Blygezight. Telephone and Parking- Call: 601-3268/ 227-2543
Study in US/Canada, deal for 2016 CXC, students $500 Canadian, VISA processing Centre, Parika. Call: 260-4850/ 649-3073
Michelle’s Touch of class beauty salon station to rent. Call:226-4388/ 661-0946
Residential Property for sale, located at second Avenue, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, price $14M negotiable. Call: 609-7863 / 691-2372
Bachelor’s Apartment to rent. Call: 233-0327 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
6 Bedrooms house at Lot 2 Coghlan Dam, Pouderoyen. Call: 622-3992/ 618-7483
2 Bedroom Apartment in exclusive residential Airport, close to Ogle Airport , with all modern amenities. Call for appointment 622-5725.
La Parfaite Harmonie, 124 Recht Door Zee, WBD: 2 storey house, 3 bedrooms upstairs, toilet & bath upstairs & downstairs & a guess room. Call: 623-5566
9 Courses; Diploma in Computers -$35,000, Computerize Accounting; 4 courses -$35,000, PC repairs/ graphics courses, Micrographics Technology, Vreed-en-Hoop. Call: 264-3057
Self-contained rooms in Prashad Nagar. Tel: 2272993
PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 High value transported land and 2 bedrooms newly built house, Greater Diamond E.B.D -$14M negotiable. Call: 265-4338 Brand new property @ Craig E.B.D 3 rooms, 1 self contained, House: 28X45ft land: 90X50ft -Call: 679-8091 or 718-213-6496
New Road, WCD: Land 177’X40’, building 15’X36’. Call: 226-9788
VACANCY
Experienced Drivers, cashiers, Roti/Puri cook, cleaners. Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with written application, 5 Commerce Street.
Exist for one experienced dispatcher at confidential cabs. Call: 231-5784/ 231-4000
Factory workers from 18yrs and older with working experienced for more information. Call: 223-0090
1 Male able bodied clerkCall: 616-5954; 231-2029
1 Canter driver from WBD area ( La Parfaite Harmonie), must be able bodied & have sound secondary education. Call: 618-4257 Land to buy @ Tuschen, Zeelugt, Uitvlugt, La Parfaite Harmonie, best price offered. Call: 642-1252 Labourers & experienced garbage truck drivers. Kindly contact: 670-7920 One bartender, security & cleaner. Call: 668-8332/ 6385303 One live-in couple to work in Mahaicony River; must know about cows. Call:2256571/ 644-6905 Receptionist, desk staffs (male) between 25-45yrs apply within 233 South Road, Lacytown. Call: 225-0198 Straight Stitch/over edge sewing machine operators – Call: 222-2541 8:00am4:00pm, Mon-Fri A person to supply bagged cow mold on a continuous basis, (must be dry & crush). Call: 219-0468/ 648-1821
FOR RENT
9 Courses Diploma in computers -$35,000, Computerized Accounting 4 courses -$35,000 @ Cybertron Technology, Parika. Call: 260-4850
WANTED
Republic Park Family looking for domestic/caregiver, 1 week on, 1 week off, 45yrs plus, starting-$13,000. Call: 667-2535 We buy land @ La Parfaite Harmonie, Tuschen, Uitvlugt, Eccles, Providence & other places we pay best price & cash. Call: 604-6724 Welder to work in workshop on the West Coast on a percentage basis. Call: 684-1247 We buy A&B grade hardwood, we accept the best offers. Call: 658-5897/ 673-2692 1 Van driver, 1 live in family, handyman, experienced an asset, 1 fitter/machinist, welding experienced an asset. Call: 227-1830 Personnel with High machine shop exposure for management duties, high remuneration. Call: 672-1703 LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages)
Gardeners apply in person at Nirva Supermarket, 49 Sheriff & Craig Street. Call: 227-5771 Experienced cashier age 30 & older, salesgirls apply @ American Variety Store, 140 Regent Street & Light Street Georgetown. Cashiers for supermarketCall: 624-0033, salesgirls – Call: 624-0033, Pump attendants –Call: 680-3863 Welder/Fabricator for interior location. Applicants must be experienced with verifiable references. Call: 618-2020 Welder – apply in person at Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling, Stabroek. Heavy Duty Diesel Mechanic to work @ mining site, age 25-45, 3 yrs experienced. Apply @ Technical Services, 18-23 Eccles Industrial Site Welder/fabricators to work @ mining site, age 25-45, 3 yrs experienced. Apply @ Technical Services, 18-23 Eccles Industrial Site FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Cargo Trawler. Call: 682-8724; 616-5954 Aluminum heat resistant paint, 2 USA made, 37 KVA transformer, 120-240V, S.Q.D – $350,000 each. Call: 2653541/ 6163411 Gas/stove range GE- American made, stand up freezer, hot dog machine, supermarket mirror. Call: 680-3863 Toyota Premio 2008 PSS series with chrome mag rims and remote start, alarm -$1.9M. Call: 6585897/673-2692 Brand new fridge, Ashley Furniture, Norditruck Treadmill, washer, dryer, swing and more for one big deal. Call:673-2692/658-5897 One “45” feet complete cabin cruiser, trout seines, excellent condition. Call:654-2817/648-6815 One new 1000W generator $30,000-Call:676-1697 Junior Din 1 55ft Fishing boat, 2 Engines, GPS, Compass & 2000 lb seine, price -$4.5M. Call: 676-1363/ 652-5184 Continue page 23
Wednesday September 14, 2016
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Financial Proposals submitted for consultancy services - Demerara River Bridge at Wismar - Study, design for Soesdyke-Linden Highway rehab During the opening of the Tenders at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministry of Finance, Main Street Georgetown, Financial Proposals were submitted for Consultancy Services for the construction of a Bridge across the Demerara River at Wismar, Linden Region Ten.
Eleven contractors submitted bids for the extension and upgrading of the Squash Court at Wolford Avenue, Georgetown. The Procuring Entity is the Ministry of Education; Department of Culture, Youth and Sport. The engineer’s estimate was announced at $9.8M.
Tenders bearing Financial Proposals were opened for Consultancy Services for the Hydrogeological and Geotechnical Investigations at the Proposed Sanitary Landfills at Linden, Mahdia and Lethem. Two companies submitted Proposals. The Ministry of Communities was listed as the Procuring Entity. Tenders were opened for the Construction of a Recording Studio and Perimeter Fence at the National School of Music, Region Four. The engineer’s estimate was announced as $14.7M. Four Companies submitted bids for the procurement of Indent supplies. The Procuring Entity was listed as the Ministry of Health.
Finally, tenders were opened for the restoration and upgrade of Castellani House, Georgetown. The engineer’s estimate is $14.3M. Bids were opened for the Construction of a Day Care Centre. Twelve contractors submitted bids for this project. The Procuring Entity is the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The engineer’s estimate was announced as $39.9M
Govt. Issues Drafting Instruction For Campaign Financing Regulation Tenders bearing Financial Proposals for Consultancy Services for a study to determine the economic impact of Air Transport on Guyana’s economy were also opened.
Financial Proposals were submitted for Consultancy Services for the feasibility study and design for the rehabilitation of the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
Tenders were also opened for the completion of the Training Centre, Phase Two at Sophia. The Procuring Entity is the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport. The engineer’s estimate was announced at $24.8M.
The Gleaner - The Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, Derrick Smith, says he has now received instructions for the drafting of regulations to govern the campaign financing legislation that was approved by the Parliament earlier this year. The political party registration and campaign financing laws, although approved by the House, have been awaiting the accompanying regulation so that they may become fully operational. The pressure for the enactment of the regulation intensified after the People’s National Party campaign donations scandal which has raised questions about corruption, donor contributions and disclosures. Meanwhile, the regulations to give effect to the legislation mandating the registration of political parties are one step closer to being implemented. Smith, the spokesman on electoral affairs, says the Electoral Commission of Jamaica submitted the draft regulations to his of-
fice yesterday and they will now go to the parliamentary counsel for legislative review. However, Smith, speaking at the resumption
of parliamentary sittings this afternoon, did not say when the regulations would go before the House for approval.
From page 22
CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM WINGS CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP REATES,SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE SUMMER. CALL: 690-6494
CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YAHOO.COM/WWW. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL: 4WD PICKUP, CHEAPEST RATE & SPECIAL RATE FOR LONG TERM. CALL: 698-7807
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Toddler, 7-year-old sister killed in Blankenburg early morning smashup
Injured: Mark Halley (left) and Michell Miguel (right) Dead: Baby Marvin Two children are now dead following yet another fatal accident on the roadways. The children have been identified as 10-month-old, Baby Marvin, and his sevenyear-old sister, Tina, both of Covent Garden East Bank Demerara. According to sources, the
children were in a car with their mother, Michelle Miguel, and their stepfather, Mark Halley, heading to Parika when tragedy struck. A police source told this publication that the incident occurred some time after 02:00hrs yesterday along the Blankenburg Public Road, West Coast Demerara.
Information reaching this publication stated that the car, PRR 38, reportedly being driven by Halley, lost control and ran into two vehicles that were parked on the southern side of the thoroughfare. Both children were pronounced dead on arrival at the Leonora Diagnostic Centre. Meanwhile, Halley and Miguel are in a critical state at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The death of these two children came days after the death of four-year-old Ambeka Providence, of Lot 133 D’Andrade Street, Newtown. The toddler died on the spot after she and her mother were involved in an accident on Sheriff Street, Georgetown earlier this week.
Architect of Rousseff’s downfall stripped of power (CNN) The politician who led the charge to impeach Brazil’s former President Dilma Rousseff has himself been ousted from power. Eduardo Cunha, the former speaker of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, was removed from office Monday night by a landslide vote in the chamber of 450 votes to 10 with nine abstentions. Lawmakers decided overwhelmingly that Cunha had lied during the investigation into corruption at Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras, and had hid millions of dollars in offshore accounts. On top of losing his seat as speaker, Cunha also loses all political privileges for eight years. Cunha had resigned as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in July, and was already suspended as speaker
Eduardo Cunha in May by the Supreme Court, at the request of the attorney general, who accused him of obstructing justice and hiding millions of dollars in bribes in Swiss bank accounts. The corruption investigation has already brought
down some of the country’s top political and business leaders. By being voted out, Cunha loses partial immunity from prosecution offered to members of Congress and high-ranking politicians. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies make up the country’s Congress. When announcing his resignation earlier in the summer, Cunha, who has been widely compared to the character Frank Underwood in the TV series “House of Cards,” had said: “I will continue to defend my innocence and that I told the truth.” I n J u l y, t h e congressional ethics committee voted to strip him of his congressional seat. Although resigning as speaker, he still hung on to the seat until Monday’s denouement.
Syria truce largely holds, aid preparations underway Reuters - A new ceasefire in Syria brought a full day with no combat deaths in the war between President Bashar al-Assad and his opponents, a monitoring body said yesterday, and efforts to deliver aid to besieged areas got underway cautiously. Twenty-four hours after the truce took effect, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura declared the situa-
Greenwich Park ... (From page 19) obtained by Kaieteur News, the older Gajraj had promised the virtual complainant (Hemchand John) that he had the capability of getting the man’s relatives out of police custody in the United States. John’s relatives were reportedly caught with a stolen computer and other items. The man is said to have made arrangement with the defendant to pay him some $1.5 million to have his relatives released from the custody. He had allegedly handed over $750,000 to Gajraj when he realised that he had been tricked. John subsequently lodged a complaint with t h e C I D a t E v e L e a r y. Gajraj was later arrested but before the ranks could apprehend him, his daugh-
Wednesday September 14, 2016
ter purportedly intervened. She is said to have verbally abused the officers. The woman allegedly damaged a police officer’s shirt after the ranks proceeded to arrest her for the verbal abuse. However, following the court hearing yesterday, Gajraj contended that it was the police who detained his daughter unlawfully with the intent to use her as a ransom, since he was not home at the time that the police came to the house. “They dragged her out of the house because they could not get to me,” the man claimed. He is currently on $150,000 bail while his daughter was placed on $30,000 bail. The two are scheduled to reappear at the Leonora Magistrate’s court on September 26 for a continuation of the matter.
A member of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) is seen with local people in the border town. REUTERS/Umit Bektas tion had improved dramatically, saying U.N. aid access should be possible soon including to eastern Aleppo, the rebel-held half of the city which is under blockade. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that it had received not a single report of combatants or civilians killed by fighting in any areas covered by the truce. The ceasefire, brokered by the United States and Russia, is supported by countries that back Assad and his opponents, and marks the second attempt this year to halt a war that has frustrated all peace efforts since fighting began more than five years ago.It marks the biggest b e t y e t b y Wa s h i n g t o n that it can work with Moscow to end a war that President Vladimir Putin
transformed a year ago when he sent warplanes to join the fight on Assad’s side. Moscow and Washington have agreed to share targeting information for strikes against fighters from Islamic State and the former Syrian branch of al Qaeda, the first time the Cold War foes have fought together since World War 2. The Observatory said the most intense fighting since the ceasefire began had taken place last night in the village of Maan in Hama province. Insurgents operating in the Hama area include jihadists and nationalist rebels fighting under the Free Syrian Army banner. It was not immediately clear if the rebels involved in the fighting were parties to the ceasefire.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
No UK market access without free migration EU parliament negotiator Reuters - The new Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament reiterated yesterday that the EU legislature will not accept giving Britain access to Europe’s single market if it blocks free access to EU immigrants. “If the UK wants to remain a part of the single market, it will also have to accept the free movement of our citizens because in the opinion of the parliament these four freedoms of the Union are inseparable,” liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt told a news conference at the Strasbourg legislature. Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister and leading supporter of closer EU integration, was appointed by party leaders last week to represent the parliament in negotiations on Brexit. Parliament will have to approve any final deal.
Guy Verhofstadt The four basic freedoms under EU treaties are for free movement of goods, services, capital and labour. Verhofstadt also urged the British government to trigger formal negotiations with
Brussels as soon as possible so that they could be completed before the next EU parliament is elected in mid-2019: “I cannot imagine that we can start the next legislative cycle without agreement,” he said.
Clinton to resume campaigning on Thursday, ‘details to come’ Reuters - U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who is recuperating from pneumonia, plans to resume campaigning tomorrow, her spokesman said. Clinton “has spent the day catching up on reading briefings, making calls” and watching on television President Barrack Obama’s speech at a campaign appearance for
the former secretary of state in Philadelphia, spokesman Nick Merrill said yesterday. “We will resume campaign travel tomorrow, more details to come,” he added. Hours after Clinton, 68, almost collapsed on Sunday at a New York memorial ceremony for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, her doctor said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier.
Clinton said on Monday that she would rest a few days before resuming her campaign for the Nov. 8 election against Republican Donald Trump. Clinton said she had ignored doctor ’s order to rest and had not revealed her diagnosis earlier because “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.”
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
India says holds ‘substantive’ nuclear talks with China Reuters - India said it had held “substantive” talks with China yesterday on its bid to become a fully fledged member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a club of nations that trades in civil nuclear technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is campaigning to join the NSG to back a multi-billion-dollar drive to build nuclear power plants in partnership with Russia, the United States and France, and reduce India’s reliance on polluting fossil fuels. Yet his bid to win accession to the 48-member group that was founded in response to India’s first atomic weapons test in 1974 has so far failed to win over strategic rival Beijing, which enjoys a de facto veto because the group operates by consensus. India’s foreign ministry said in a statement that its chief nuclear negotiator, Amandeep Singh Gill, had hosted a Chinese delegation led by Director General Wang Qun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Narendra Modi The talks, agreed earlier by the two countries’ foreign ministers, covered issues of mutual interest in the areas of disarmament and non-proliferation, and focused on India’s bid to join the NSG. “The discussions were candid, pragmatic and substantive,” the Indian statement said, adding that further talks would be held. China also issued a statement on the talks, saying both
sides agreed to exchange views on the NSG issue and that existing members needed to have further talks on how to deal with countries that are not signatories to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty recognises the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - as nuclear weapons powers but not others.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
India to send delegations to Guyana and Suriname GEORGETOWN, Guyana — India’s foreign ministry plans to send delegations to visit 68 countries, including Guyana and Suriname, in an effort to expand and improve India’s international presence amidst growing escalation of violence in the Valley of Kashmir, a disputed territory claimed by both India and Pakistan. The leaders of Guyana and Suriname and top diplomats from these countries have all visited India, which has become a customary practice. However, neither Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor his Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj have visited Guyana or Suriname and, in fact, for the past two decades there have not been any high level visits from India to Guyana and Suriname. The planned upcoming trips were revealed by the Indian foreign ministry in New Delhi this week. The ministry did not announce the dates of these visits, but Swaraj has named Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh to head the delegation to Suriname. The minister to visit Guyana hasn’t been identified yet. Guyana, like Suriname, has strong emotional bonds
Radha Mohan Singh to India — about 50% of the population in these countries is made up of ethnic East Indians who are mostly Hindus or Muslims. India has embassies in both countries and bilateral ties with Guyana and Suriname are strong. The two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries also have embassies in New Delhi. India has funded many projects in these countries through foreign direct investment, capital and technology. Trade and investment between Guyana and Suriname and India is still modest but growing although several projects funded by India in
Guyana and Suriname are still being held up. For example, an MOU between an Indian company and Suriname in 1993 to invest in the palm oil industry of Suriname still isn’t off the ground. India has offered Guyana a credit line of US$50 million to fund various roads and ferry projects. In addition, a specialty hospital in Guyana is being funded by India. India has also built Guyana’s first world class sports stadium in the capital. The Modi government has also promised to open a world class information technology (IT) centre in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. (Caribbean News)
Concerns about the pace of CLICO’s restructuring Daily Nation - Government is very concerned about the pace at which CLICO’s restructuring process is taking place. Minister of Finance, Christopher Sinckler, expressed those concerns while delivering an address at the Domestic Financial Institutions Conference yesterday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. Sinckler disclosed that in December some decisions were taken, which were contingent on the courts’ acceptance of the restructuring plan for CLICO. “We have put certain things in place, including financial resources, which we have done with the assistance of our Central Bank and others. We have given full and complete support for that restructuring plan to proceed and I can say that six, seven, [or] eight months on, we are in fact disappointed that the pace at which that…reform has transpired, has not been at a satisfactory level,” he stated. The Minister further revealed that he met recently with the team working on the
restructuring from the Government’s side and the judicial managers to express Government’s concerns. He gave the assurance that an appropriate statement on the matter would be issued in a couple of weeks. “Hopefully, it will be done jointly with the judicial managers to indicate the timeline which we have now determined that transition should be completed in and with it, the resumption of the payment of the various awards and premiums that are due to the members of the public,” he added. Stressing that his Ministry was not involved in the day-to-day execution of plans pertaining to the restructuring of CLICO, he continued: “I want to say to those Barbadians who have been ill affected continually by this process that we have not abandoned you and therefore we should apologise publicly for those delays. “But rest assured that now that the Budget is out of the way, I am going to see to it that that timetable is kept and that that transition is
completed before the year is out and that the process will move into the next phase of execution.” During the conference, which is being hosted by the Central Bank and the Financial Services Commission, Sinckler said Government was keeping an eye on Britain’s exit from the European Union and urged the public not to panic. “The pound sterling is a strong, internationallytraded currency, and once the British economy settles down from this temporary shock…we expect that the pound sterling will regain its strength and once again be a leader in the international currencies across the world. “So from the level of the Government, we are keeping eyes on it; we are sensitive to the issues but we are not getting overly excited and worrying about what will take place,” he stressed. Sinckler said Britain was one of Barbados’ greatest international partners and the two countries had worked together in a number of areas. (BGIS)
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
WICB head quarters to be relocated in Antigua ST.JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC-The head quarters of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) are to be relocated to another venue in Antigua early in the New Year, WICB president Dave Cameron has announced. The head office, currently located in St. John’s, will be moved to the Stanford Cricket Ground at Coolidge, north east of the capital, following the joint acquisition of the Grounds by the WICB and the Antigua & Barbuda government. Cameron says he expects the acquisition to be completed early next year but says work could start on improving the facility before the
deal is done. “Whether we acquire the stadium, and irrespective of the timeline, we are looking at starting to improve the park so that we can use it next year,” Cameron was quoted by the Antigua Observer as saying. “It will become the home of West Indies cricket”. Prime Minister Gaston Browne first announced the joint acquisition while addressing an event to celebrate WICB’s 90thyear of recognition by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Antigua earlier this year. Prime Minister Browne said negotiations were continuing with the Stanford liquidator to acquire the Stanford
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Cricket Ground, Sticky Wicket and other amenities valued at US$6million. “We will lease the restaurant, because that’s not the business we’re in, and the idea is to create a cricket experience upstairs for tourists and of course, our islanders from Antigua & Barbuda and surrounding islands,” said Cameron. “The head office will be re-located there and we ideally want to make that our home within Antigua & Barbuda”. The Antiguan government has promised to underwrite up to 50 per cent of the cost of the acquisition.
Over 65 entered as top racers set... (From page 27) over 7 furlongs. Cat Messiah, Miss Lova Lova, Appealing Harvest, It’s My Turn and Rosetta leads the entries among those slated to run in the H and Lower over 6 furlongs event for a winner’s take of $240,000 and trophy. The race for 2 years old Guyana bred horses will see the likes of Who Shock the Sheriff, The Rocket Supreme Cat, Perfect Record and Royal Jet in contention for a first prize of $200,000 and trophy over 5 furlongs. Jockeys and their mounts will also contest several other races including the, J1 and lower event over 6 furlongs and two L class races - one for winners and the other for non-winners all over 5 furlongs. Top individual performers including best jockey,
stable and trainer will be presented with special prizes compliments of Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall of Bourda Market and the organisers. According to rules set out for the event, if there are less than five (5) horses entered for any event the club reserves the right to cancel or reframe the said event. Five horses must start a race before third prize will be paid, while seven horses must start before a fourth prize will be paid, while the prize moneys could also be adjusted. Among the sponsors are Nand Persaud Group of Companies, Demerara Distillers Ltd, Hand In Hand Group of Companies, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales , Roy’s Pharmacy, Guyana’s Oil Company, Mohamed Enterprise, Goodwood Racing Service, Ansa Mc Cal Trading Limited,
New Building Society, Jaikarran Seegobin of New York,U.S.A., Courts (Guyana), Silvie’s General Store, Guyana Tourism Authority, Metro, Kissoon’s Furniture Factory, Horse Shoe Racing Service, Dalip Trading Ltd, Mike’s Pharmacy, Noble House Sea Food, Berbice Bridge Company, IPA Group of Companies and P and P Investments and L. Seepersaud Maraj and Sons among others. Horse owners can contacting Justice Cecil Kennard (226-1399, 225-4818 or 6237609), Niketa Ross (662-4668 or 325-3230), Roopnarine Matadial (325-3192), Ivan Dipnarine (331-0316), Lionel Moonsammy (614-5812) or Isabella Beaton (325 3007 or 693 7812) for any additional information pertaining to the races. Race time is 12:30 hrs.
Ethiopian runner who made protest... Wednesday September 14, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Get back down to earth and to basics. Discord could be unnerving. Be sure to sidestep those who are eccentric or unpredictable. TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21) Relationships will be emotional today. Don't sign up for too many extra activities or you'll have trouble fulfilling your obligations. You can certainly gain popularity; however, don't do it by paying for everyone else. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You need to start planning that vacation. Don't hesitate to voice your opinions when it comes to matters pertaining to work. Think about taking the time to complete unfinished domestic chores. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Small business ventures can earn you extra cash. If you can get away for a vacation, do so. Listen to a good friend who is truly looking out for your best interests. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You have your own family to consider as well. Go after your professional goals. You will have a childlike approach today, big hearted and full of spunk. Get together with friends and do something entertaining but not too expensive. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Don't let situations get out of control. Disappointments are likely if your mate embarrasses you in front of
friends. Don't hesitate to take short trips. LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Plan to visit friends or relatives. You can change your living arrangements. Your communication skills may win you points.
(From page 30) Ethiopian officials said they were ready to welcome him home. Speaking through an interpreter, Lilesa on Tuesday told reporters he did not take that offer seriously. He has since entered the
SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Help others solve their dilemmas. Don't let others bully you into agreeing with them. Romantic opportunities are evident if you get involved in large groups or organizations.
Phil Simmons fired...
SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Don't involve yourself in the emotional problems of those you work with. A residential move may be necessary to get a better job. This could be a serious relationship. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) Try to be reasonable. Dream a little today. You will be emotional when dealing with coworkers or employers. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Stomach problems could prevail if you haven't been watching your diet. Don't let individuals with wild schemes talk you into a financial deal that is not likely to be successful. Avoid disputes with family; their complaints can't change anything anyway. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You can make money if you concentrate on producing services or goods that will make domestic chores easier. Take precautions while traveling; you don't have to get anywhere that fast. Sudden changes concerning coworkers may surprise you.
(From page 32) Internationals, One Day Internationals and Test matches, starting September 23rd, against Pakistan, will be headed by the Barbadian trio of Manager Joel Garner, and coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick. Estwick was previously appointed as the bowling coach in the previous series, but Springer is now a new addition to the set up. Some reports had said that the WICB was interested in hiring Jimmy Adams, the former test middle order batsman now coaching English county Kent. But he is reported to be not interested. Another report said that current director of cricket Richard Prybus may take up the role in the short term.
United States on a temporary visa and is considering settling in Arizona or New Mexico, where he has friends, Lilesa told reporters. But he rejected the idea of changing his nationality, or competing under another
nation’s flag. “I am asking for freedom for my people, not asylum in the United States,” he said. “The government has lost legitimacy, they are just using the power of the gun to maintain control.”
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
Monday Night Football shines spotlight on national anthem protests Kaepernick’s protest goes national SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick brought his protest against racial inequality to a nationally televised Monday Night Football audience, kneeling on the field rather than standing as the national anthem played. Other players joined the African-American athlete who has ignited a furor within the National Football League through an act of defiance he introduced during pre-season games. 49ers safety Eric Reid knelt beside Kaepernick on the sidelines on Monday. Two other teammates, safety Antoine Bethea and linebacker Eli Harold, stood with fists raised during the performance of the “Star
Spangled Banner”. “You have a badge, yes. You are supposed to be protecting us, not murdering us and that is what the issue really is,” Kaepernick said of police after the game, referring to a series of shootings of unarmed black people by white officers that h a v e p r o m p t e d demonstrations across the country. Two players on the opposing team, wide receiver Kenny Britt and defensive end Robert Quinn of the Los Angeles Rams, also raised their fists for the opening ceremony recalling the salute by black athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) and free safety Eric Reid (35) kneel during the playing of the national anthem before a NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports) The protest has angered some fans, who see it as disrespectful to the U.S.
GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U-17 League
Den Amstel trounce Beavers
Edward Dash (right), Reuben Dainty (left) and Murtland Peters - Den Amstel FC Den Amstel joined Slingerz as the latest winners of their respective matches as play in the West Demerara Football Association ( W D FA ) l e g o f t h e G F F / N A M I L C O Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 Intra Association league continued at the Den Amstel Community ground on Monday last. By the end of the first half, the home team was well on their way to taking full points as they were 2-0 up
against Beavers. Edward Dash dashed past the Beavers defenders before slotting past their goalkeeper in the 12th minute. It did not take Den Amstel long before they doubled the advantage; two minutes later Murtland Peters had the nets rocking even as Beavers from that early seemed not to have an answer to the home team’s offensive ambitions. For the remainder of the opening half Beavers
stepped up and kept Den Amstel at bay. It was in the early stages of the second half that Den Amstel was able to fire in their third and final goal of t h e m a t c h . Reuben Dainty it was who did the honours nine minutes into the half, 54th minute. While the home side was not able again to hit the back of the nets, they had done enough to and walked away comfortable 3-0 winners. Matches will continue this weekend at the same venue.
flag, the military and the nation. While military personnel unfurled a giant American flag over the field, a number of fans shouted at Kaepernick, “Why don’t you stand up?” according to an ESPN commentator reporting for the Disneyowned sports channel’s broadcast. “AN INJUSTICE” But the protesting players have been seen as allies of the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew in response to the police shootings. About twothirds of NFL players are black. “One injustice against one American ... is an injustice against all
Americans. We should all get behind that,” said Daryl Graves, 52, a fan who was in the stands during the game in San Francisco. “Change doesn’t happen without confrontation.” President Barack Obama has weighed in, saying Kaepernick was exercising a constitutional right and provoking conversation “around some topics that need to be talked about.” Olympics protester Carlos, now 71, praised Kaepernick, Peters and other NFL players in a Reuters interview on Monday for using their televised platforms as professional athletes to give Americans a “shock treatment.” On Sunday, Kansas City
Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, also black, raised his fist during the national anthem for his team’s home-game season opener against the San Diego Chargers. Other members of the Chief s l i n k e d a r m s during Sunday’s anthem, as did the Seattle Seahawks at their home game against the Miami Dolphins. The exact meaning of their gestures was not clear. Four members of the Dolphins knelt while the “Star-Spangled Banner” played on Sunday. In Thursday’s NFL season opener, Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall knelt during the anthem.
Kaieteur News
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Controversy looms over the Bush Lot United Sports Club Controversy looms large over the Bush Lot United Sports Club on the West Coast Berbice, as a group of young people are claiming that individuals have been misrepresenting their organization, and have been illegally seeking to use the name of the organization to further their cause. The group of young people are claiming that the article published in Kaieteur News on August seventeenth, under the headline “Local Businesses, NDC Support Bush Lot United SC and Rising Stars c r i c k e t A c a d e m y, ” i s misleading since members the Bush Lot United Sports Club were in no way involved in the activity listed, as the general public have been led to believe, and neither have they received
Executive members of the Bush Lot United Sports Club. or benefitted from any such donations. Therefore, the very publication would have given rise to many speculations. The executive members of the Bush Lot United Sports are concerned that people may have been
misrepresenting the organization, and are seeking to make it clear that they are a separate body from the Rising Stars Cricket Club. The Bush Lot United Sports Club, registration number:1304, was registered on June twenty-
ninth, 2012, as a Working Men’s Club under the Friendly Society Societies Act, Chapter:36:04. At the elections held last F ebruary, Chris topher Bissoon was elected president, Dr. Jagnanand Ramnarine, secretary and Ryan Thakurran, treasurer.
RHTY&SC Town Week Celebration
Twelve teams to compete in Hand in Hand 5/5 Cricket Tournament on Sunday The Area ‘H’ Ground located in the township of Rose Hall would be a hive of activity on Sunday 18th of September, as the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club hosts a Day of Sports in honour of the 46th Anniversary celebration of Guyana’s smallest town. The day’s events would be a 5/5 Cricket tournament sponsored by the Hand in Hand Insurance Company, an Inter Secondary School Football tournament sponsored by Balram Shane General Store and the Anamayah Memorial Hospital Inter Ward Basketball Tournament. Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster, who is heading the organising committee for the Town Anniversary, stated that twelve teams would be taking part in the Hand in Hand Insurance 5/5 Cricket Tournament which bowls off at 9:30AM sharp. The teams would be clashing for close to $100,000 in prizes, while entrance fee for the tournament is free. Teams would however have to walk along with cricket balls and their own lunch. The twelve teams are Rose Hall Town Bakewell ‘A’, Rose Hall Town Bakewell ‘B’, Rose Hall Town Metro Female, Young Achievers, Bush lot United, Good Bananen Land, Young and the Restless, Path Finders, Rose Hall Canje, Courtland, Belvedere United and Tamarind Roots. The teams for the Inter Secondary School Football would be Lower Corentyne Secondary, J.C. Chandisingh Secondary, Port Mourant Secondary and Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary, while North and South Rose Hall would clash for the Basketball title. The Football and Basketball tournaments would start at 1:00PM and trophies along with a winner take all financial prize would be at stake. Fans are invited to the Day of Sports and Foster disclosed that entrance into the venue is Free. Meanwhile, several teams has announced their squad for the 5/5 cricket tournament.
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‘Old Boy’ Sarwan to announce retirement at Stella Maris tomorrow Former Guyana and We s t I n d i e s C a p t a i n Ramnaresh ‘Ronnie’ Sarwan will officially retire from Cricket tomorrow at the Stella Maris Primary school where he started his career with his first two centuries in the under-12 tournament. Apart from the 36-yearold Sarwan, Stella Maris produced several others who made cricket their career including former Guyana and West Indies U19 Captain Steven Jacobs, Nezam Hafiz, who played for both Guyana and the USA where he died in 7-11 Terrorist attack on the twin towers and Guyana t20 batsman Orin Forde. Cricket Commentator and former Guyana U-19 player Sean Devers also attended Stella Maris. Ronnie will present one of his autographed bats along with Scotia Bank Kiddies shirts and a Scotia Bank Kiddies cricket gears bag with a bats, stumps and balls for the school’s
Kiddies cricket team. The school has also planned a small presentation to honour the elegant right-hander, at one time regarded as the best ‘finisher’ in ODI cricket. Sarwan played 87 Test matches for the West Indies between May 2000 & June 2011. He scored 5,842 runs with a highest score of 291 with 15 centuries and an Ave of 40.1. Sarwan made his ODI debut in July 2000 against England and played 181 matches scored 5,804 runs at an Ave of 42.60 with five hundreds. He played 220 First-Class matches and made 33 centuries at an Average of 38.52 and still is the youngest West Indian player to play First-Class Cricket which he first did as a 15-year-old. Sarwan, who was born in Wakenaam, Essequibo but represented Demerara in Inter-County cricket, last played for Knight Riders in this year ’s CPL Tournament.
Over 65 entered as top racers set to light up KMTC this Sunday By Samuel Whyte Preparations have almost been completed for the much anticipated Kennard Memorial Turf Club, Grand Post Emancipation Horserace meet set for Sunday at their Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice racetrack. Over the past weeks the horses have been engaged in good gallops with the jockeys preparing and the track being in immaculate condition an action pack and scintillating day of racing is anticipated. Seven races are listed for the day and over $5M in cash, trophies and other incentives are up for grabs. The main attraction is the ‘A Class’ event with $1M and trophy over 7 furlongs at stake. Turfites could expect scorching action as a lineup of top thoroughbreds includes the best in the business.
Among the top class field entered are Princess She Not, Score’s Even, Jack In M Style, C.P Got Even, Just Call Me Boss, Spit Fire, Golden Blue Echo, Lady Budapest, Light UP Canada, Climate Change and Red and Lovely. An action packed encounter is expected in the D3 maiden and E and Lower over 7 furlongs event with the winner riding away with an encouraging $600,000 and trophy. Among those in contention are Release the Beast, Goodwill Boy, Right to Rule and California Strike. A competitive field that includes Campador, Cat Messiah, Got to Go, Big Man Boss, and Captain Crook among others have been lined up in the G1 and lower race for the $280,000 first and trophy (Continued on page 25)
Kaieteur News
PAGE 32
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Thompson dominates IAAF Diamond League series (Jamaica Observer) Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson earned a cool US$100,000 in prize monies from the IAAF Diamond League series in what has been a dream season for her. Thompson, 24, was just crowned Olympic 100m and 200m champion, thus becoming the first woman in 28 years to achieve the double. Then to top it off, she won four of the seven 100m
Diamond League races tallying US$40,000. She won at the Rabat meet on May 22 in 11.02 seconds; Rome in 10.87 on June 2; Lausanne on August 25 clocking 10.78, and Brussels on September 9 in a Diamond League record 10.72 seconds. Each victory is valued at US$10,000. A total of 50 points was enough to secure Thompson the prestigious Diamond Trophy and another
US$40,000, taking her earnings in the 100m to a whopping US$80,000. Thompson only participated in three 200m Diamond League races where she garnered US$20,000. She picked up US$4,000 after finishing third in Eugene in 22.16 seconds on May 28. Then she improved to second in Oslo with 22.64 on June 9 and walked away with US$6,000.
Thompson would save her best for last in winning the Diamond League final in Zurich in a record 21.85, defeating arguably the best 200m field ever assembled. Dafne Schippers, Allyson Felix and Veronica Campbell Brown were all left in her wake. Another US$10,000 for victory pushed her season’s prize monies to US$100,000 and second place in the 200m Diamond race with 30 points. Schippers won with 48 points. It has been a remarkable
season for Thompson who became the first woman in history to run four legal sub 10.8 times in one season. On July 1 she clocked 10.70 inside the National Stadium and equalled the national record held by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. On August 13 she won Olympic gold in 10.71 seconds, won the final of the Diamond League in 10.72 seconds on September 9, and did 10.78 seconds on August 25 in Luasanne. She has the three fastest 100m times in the world and four of the top five times in
what was a most dominant display this season. Only three years ago, Thompson, who trains with the MVP track club, had a personal best of 11.41 seconds achieved in February of 2013. She improved to 11.17 seconds in May 2 0 1 4 , a n d lowered it even further by .33 seconds to 10.84 in 2015. Her personal best stands at 10.70 since July, which is a true testament to the outstanding work of coach Stephen Francis and the hard work she has put in.
US$100,000 woman
Jamaican Elaine Thompson (centre) wins the 100m women’s event ahead of The Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers (left) and South Africa’s Carina Horn at the Memorial van Damme athletics Diamond League meet in Brussels, Belgium on September 9, 2016. (Photo: AFP)
Thunder forward McGary suspended for 15 games
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) grabs a rebound past Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mitch McGary (33) during the second quarter at the United Center. (Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports) (The Sports Xchange) Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mitch McGary had his suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy increased by 10 games on Tuesday, and he will now miss the first 15 games of the 2016-17 season, the NBA said. The latest violation is for non-compliance of the
l e a g u e ’s d r u g p o l i c y, according to Yahoo! Sports. McGary was originally suspended for five games in July. The 24-year-old has played in just 52 games for the Thunder since being a first-round draft pick (21st overall) in 2014. McGary played just 72 minutes for the Thunder last
season and averaged 1.3 points per game. He left the team late in the season for what the Thunder termed “personal reasons.” McGary also failed a drug test in college at Michigan. The penalty required him to sit out an entire season but he instead declared for the NBA draft.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
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SICC Eyes Youth & Women’s Cricket Development T h e S a r a s o t a International Cricket Club (SICC) recently hosted a weekend-long American Cricket Federation (ACF) Level 1 and Level 2 cricket coaching certification session attended by 16 prospective coaches. West Indian Legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul was at the coaching clinics to interact with the participants. Interest is high in Youth and Women’s cricket in the State of Florida, as well as in after school cricket programmes there, however the development is being hampered by the lack of certified cricket coaches. Encouraging and expanding the number of coaches is a vital part of SICC’s mission to promote cricket in Florida and the USA. The SICC club owns two side-by-side cricket fields, which can be used for youth and women’s cricket. The recent coaching clinics were conducted by A C F ’s D i r e c t o r o f Coaching Jatin Patel, and produced 10 new Level 2 coaches and six new Level 1 coaches; it is a first step towards providing an adequate number of trained coaches to help develop the potential of the youth and women cricketers in the Sarasota area. Founded in 1983 by a diverse group of SICC cricketers who brought their knowledge and love of the game to the west coast of Florida, with the aim of giving people there the opportunity to learn, play
and enjoy the world’s second most popular sport. The club’s activities are geared to achieving its formal mission: To promote the sport of cricket by conducting games and tournaments for amateur cricketers nationally and internationally, and to support the development of amateur cricketers, particularly youth cricketers for those competitions, by providing facilities, equipment and training. SICC is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) (3) of the revenue code, and the club is the only one in the USA organized solely for the purpose of promoting and playing cricket, that has its own facilities. Its Bermuda grass playing field, ICC- approved non--turf match wicket, practice net and clubhouse, are recognized as being among the finest facilities in the country. SICC activities include a year-round schedule of games in Sarasota with teams from across Florida; occasional games with teams from up and down the east coast; the hosting of touring teams from other countries; the staging of an annual cricket tournament since 1997 that has drawn entries from Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Australia, Israel and Holland, as well from all over the United States; sponsorship of a local youth cricket programme; tours that have taken Sarasota
with ACF Coach Certification Clinics
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (3rd left) along with officials and participants in the cricket coaches programme in Florida. cricket to England (twice), Scotland (as ambassadors for Sarasota to its Twin-city of Dumfermline), South Africa, the Bahamas, Canada (four times), California, Guyana, Trinidad and the Philadelphia International Cricket Festival (six times). Milestones for the club include the visit of the Lord’s Ta v e r n e r s , E n g l a n d ’s primary cricket charity benefiting physically challenged children, in 1995: matches against the cricket team of Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia in Sarasota and in the UK in 1997; the visit of the Primary Club, Australia’s principal
IOC sanctions Russian Olympians including silver medalist Abakumova (Reuters) The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday sanctioned four Russian Olympians who competed at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London games for failing drug tests, including silver medalist Maria Abakumova. Abakumova, who placed second in the javelin at the 2008 Games, was stripped of her medal after a re-analysis of stored samples resulted in a positive test for the banned s u b s t a n c e dehydrochlormethyltestoste rone, or turinabol, the IOC said. The other athletes
Maria Abakumova (REUTERS/ Kai Pfaffenbach)
disqualified following retesting are 10,000 meters runner Inga Abitova and 400 meters runner Denis A l e x e e v, w h o b o t h competed in Beijing, and
track cyclist Ekaterina Gnidenko, who competed in London, an IOC statement said. None of them placed in the top three in their events.
cricket charity in 2003; and two matches with the MCC touring team from London as part of their cricket
development tour of the eastern USA organized by the International Cricket Council and the England and
Wa l e s C r i c k e t B o a r d , respectively, the world and UK governing bodies for cricket.
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday September 14, 2016
Messi sets hat-trick record as Barca hit seven Luis Suarez volleys home Barca’s sixth goal as Eoghan O’Connell looks on. (Getty Images)
Celtic had no answer to Messi’s sublime skills. (SNS) B A R C E L O N A (Reuters) Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday. Messi produced a stunning display, hitting a record sixth hat-trick in the competition to hand the 1967 winners their heaviest European Cup defeat. He smashed home a pass from Neymar in the third minute and the Argentine maestro struck again in the 27th after
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Neymar curled in a free kick to stretch Barca’s lead in the 50th minute before crossing for Andres Iniesta to volley the fourth. Messi then grabbed his third goal, overtaking Real Madrid greats Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas to reach six European Cup trebles. Neymar laid on the sixth for Suarez and the Uruguayan completed the rout with his second strike in stoppage time, capping
Ethiopian runner who made protest gesture in Rio wants to stay in U.S. WA S H I N G T O N (Reuters) An Ethiopian marathon runner who made a protest gesture against government violence versus members of his tribe at last month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that he wants to stay in the United States. Feyisa Lilesa held his arms over his head, wrists crossed, as he finished second in the Olympic marathon, a gesture that he described as being a sign of support for members of his Oromo tribe who have been protesting government plans to reallocate farmland. The protests have been met with violent police action, sparking the country’s worst unrest in more than a decade. “At the moment, the Ethiopian government is killing and imprisoning its own people,” Lilesa told a news conference. “If this situation continues as is, I have no doubt Ethiopia is
staring at the abyss.” Ethiopian officials were not immediately available to comment on Lilesa’s claims. The country has long been one of the world’s poorest nations but has industrialized rapidly in the past decade. The g o v e r n m e n t ’s p l a n t o reallocate land near the capital proved a thorny issue in a country where many are subsistence farmers. Authorities scrapped the scheme in January, but protests continued over the detention of opposition demonstrators and rights groups say hundreds have been killed. The government disputes the figures and says illegal protests by “anti-peace forces” have been brought under control. After his silver medal performance, Lilesa said he was concerned that he would not be safe if he returned home after making the protest gesture, though (Continued on page 25)
Barca’s biggest win in the competition. “It was a spectacle from start to finish, the team enjoyed themselves and so did the supporters. It’s a great welcome back to the Champions League,” coach Luis Enrique told a news conference. “We did so many things well. We were great in our pressing and in recovering the ball after losing it. We were intense and it’s a great night for the fans, rounded off by the record.” ROTATION POLICY Luis Enrique reverted to an almost full-strength team
after his rotation policy backfired in Saturday’s shock 2-1 La Liga defeat at home to Alaves. The hosts quickly asserted themselves as Neymar slid the ball into Messi’s path following a short corner and the Argentine took a touch in the area before scoring. Barca continued to exert early pressure but were almost undone when Ter Stegen tripped visiting striker Scott Sinclair. Despite scoring a hattrick against arch-rivals Rangers at the weekend, the
20-year-old Dembele looked short of confidence when he took the penalty and Ter Stegen dived to his right to beat his shot away. T h e G e r m a n international has now saved three out of four penalties in the Champions League for Barca. Luis Enrique’s men showed no mercy with their next attack, Neymar and Messi cutting Celtic’s defence to ribbons. Neymar played a onetwo with Messi before cutting the ball back for the Argentine to score. Neymar got the goal his
superb display warranted early in the second half, fizzing a free kick beyond Celtic’s helpless goalkeeper Dorus de Vries. In other results: Paris St G 1 - Arsenal 1 Man City P - B M’gladbach P - Match postponed - Waterlogged Pitch Basel 1 - Ludo Razgd 1 Benfica 1 - Besiktas 1 Dynamo Kiev 1 – Napoli 2 Bayern Mun 5 - FC Rostov 0 PSV Eindhoven 0 - Atl Madrid 1
Shouting ‘Liar, liar,’ protesters disrupt Lochte’s dancing debut (Reuters) “Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron said on Tuesday he was shocked and unnerved by protesters who shouted “liar, liar” and rushed the stage after a live p e r f o r m a n c e b y Ry a n Lochte, the gold-medal U.S. swimmer who made up a story about being robbed at the Rio Olympics. The two protesters were tackled by security and arrested for trespass and other people in the audience booed before being removed by security, the ABC network and police said. Lochte, who was vilified in the U.S. media for lying about being robbed and held at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics last month, appeared shaken by the incident on Monday night’s show. Afterward, he told journalists he first thought the disturbance was a joke. ABC on Tuesday released video of the incident, which was not seen by audiences at home when Bergeron cut to a
commercial on Monday night. It showed two men wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts rushing onto the stage shouting as Lochte and his dance partner, Cheryl Burke, were being critiqued by judges after their foxtrot. Four women in the audience, wearing the same T-shirts, booed and were shown leaving. No one was injured. “We were shocked and we have a very good security system here,” Bergeron told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday. He denied the incident was a pre-arranged stunt. “There are always skeptics about everything but look, it wasn’t a bit,” Bergeron said. “It was really unnerving and again, I applaud our security team for making it very short.” Bergeron said that “the mood in the room was definitely in Ryan’s corner after these guys were escorted out.” In Rio, Lochte had said he and three teammates were
Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte of the U.S speaks at a news conference at an event to unveil the new line of Speedo LZR Racer X swim suits . (REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo) robbed at gunpoint but it was later revealed that they had vandalized a gas station after a night of partying. After the lie was revealed, Lochte lost all four of his sponsors and was suspended from U.S. swimming competition for 10 months. He apologized for the incident. The 12-time Olympic medalist is the most high profile celebrity on the 23rd
season of “Dancing With the Stars,” which has been a popular venue for those seeking a comeback or trying to change their image. Lochte and Burke got a respectable score of 24 for their dance but were topped by U.S. Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez and her partner with 31. No one has yet been voted off the show by the audience.
Wednesday September 14, 2016
Kaieteur News
PAGE 35
49ers shut out Rams in Kelly’s debut (The Sports Xchange) Carlos Hyde ran for two scores, Blaine Gabbert threw a touchdown pass, and the 49ers rolled to a 28-0 win against the Los Angeles Rams, giving new San Francisco coach Chip Kelly a victory in his debut Monday night at Levi’s Stadium. The Rams were shut out in their first game since returning to Los Angeles after 21 seasons in St. Louis. Hyde gained 88 yards on 23 carries. Gabbert completed 22 of 35 passes for 170 yards and an 8-yard touchdown to t i g h t e n d Va n c e McDonald. Backup running back Shaun Draughn scored on a 3yard run in the second quarter, and wide receiver Jeremy Kerley caught seven passes for 61 yards. The 49ers’ defense held the Rams to 185 total yards and 10 first downs. Running back Todd Gurley, the NFL
Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, managed just 47 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Case Keenum, starting a season opener for the first time in his career, completed 17 of 35 passes for 130 yards with two interceptions. Rams rookie QB Jared Goff, the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, was inactive. Linebackers NaVorro Bowman and Ray-Ray Armstrong each had an interception for the 49ers. After building a 14-0 first-half lead, the 49ers went three-and-out on their first three drives of the second half, and the Rams moved to San Francisco’s 26 after Tavon Austin’s 28-yard punt return. However, on second-and-9, Armstrong cut in front of tight end Lance Kendricks to intercept Keenum’s pass over the middle. The 49ers marched 77 yards on 10 plays for
Gabbert’s third-and-goal TD pass over the middle to McDonald with 12:07 remaining. Hyde capped an 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:14 left. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was ejected for making contact with an official with 7:02 remaining. The 49ers took a 7-0 lead o n H y d e ’s 11 - y a r d touchdown run with 3:24 left in the first quarter. Hyde juked one Ram then bolted through a huge hole up the middle. They drove 52 yards on 10 plays for their first score under Kelly, 3:18. Gabbert threw for 17 yards and ran for 16 on the drive. San Francisco increased its lead to 14-0 with 8:16 left in the first half when Draughn raced around left end for a 3-yard score. This time the 49ers marched 59 yards in nine plays in just 2:44.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Quinton Patton (11) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers won 28-0. (John HeftiUSA TODAY Sports)
Bowman set up San Francisco’s second TD with an interception of a pass by Keenum at the 49ers’ 41 that was deflected by defensive lineman Quinton
Dial. One play earlier, the Rams had an apparent first down at the 49ers’ 30 after Gurley gained four yards on fourth-and-2. But after the
whistle, Gurley was p e n a l i z e d f o r unsportsmanlike conduct — he threw the ball at a 49ers defender — pushing the Rams back 15 yards.
Wada says systems Romello Johnson’s brace hacked by Russian leads Monedderlust to cyber espionage group victory over Lichfield
GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U-17 League
A second half double off the boot of Romello Johnson piloted West Berbice’ Monedderlust to a 3-1 win over Lichfleid Nuggets in the lone match that was possible in the Berbice Football Association leg of the GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 Intra Association league. It was anybody’s game at the half way mark as the score was locked at one goal apiece, Lichfield Nuggets neutralizing Monedderlust’ opening goal which was scored by Brentnol Frank who capitalized on a loose ball in the six yards box that was clinically slapped past Lichfield’s goalie Orin Bowen in the 20th
Kremlin says Russia’s involvement in WADA hacking ‘out of question’ - agencies
Romello Johnson minute. But six minutes later it was an even match when Tyrone Pompey banged his shot past Monedderlust’s
Brentnol Frank custodian Roger Smith, making it any body’s game. Monedderlust came out re-energised in the second half of the 70minute affair and took the attack to Lichfield, in the process they fired in two unanswered goals thanks to Romello Crawford. He first scored in the 65 minute and minutes later pounced on a rebound from a Tyrone Delph shot that came back into play from the cross bar from an 18-yard missile. th
(Reuters) The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Tuesday that confidential athlete data relating to the Rio Olympics had been hacked by a Russian cyber espionage group that had published some of it and was threatening to release more. “WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global antidoping system,” said director general Olivier Niggli in a statement. “ WA D A h a s b e e n informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia.” Russia’s track and field team, with the exception of one athlete based in the United States, were banned from the Rio Games in August over what WADA said was a state-backed doping programme. Meanwhile, Any possible participation of the
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Laos’ Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith following the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, Russia, May 20, 2016. (REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin) Russian government or secret services in the hacking of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) data “is out of question”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Tuesday by Russian news agencies.
WADA said on Tuesday that confidential athlete data relating to the Rio Olympics had been hacked by a Russian cyber espionage group that had published some of it and was threatening to release more.
t r o Sp
Phil Simmons fired as West Indies head coach End of Simmons innings as head coach of West Indies.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC- Phil Simmons’ rocky tenure as head coach of the West Indies cricket team came to a premature end Tuesday afternoon after West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced that they it had terminated his contract. A brief statement released by the WICB Tuesday afternoon confirmed the sacking and ended days of speculation in the regional media which preceded last weekend’s quarterly Board of Directors meeting in Dominica. The statement said Simmons’s sacking takes immediate effect and that the decision was taken by the WICB on Saturday. “ E ff e c t i v e l y immediately, the WICB today announced it has
Monday Night Football shines spotlight on national anthem protests Kaepernick’s protest goes national
A San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (not pictured) fan holds a sign after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers won 28-0. (John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports)
separated from the Head Coach Phil Simmons,” the statement said. “In a meeting of the Board of Directors, on Saturday, September 10, this decision was taken”. WICB president Dave Cameron consistently dodged reporters’ questions about the impending dismissal in the days leading up to the Board meeting in Roseau. Simmons was appointed head coach 18 months ago, after last y e a r ’ s Wo r l d C u p , following a spell with Ireland. However, the former West Indies all-rounder has had a troubled relationship with his employers, emphasised by his suspension six months later for his controversial comments about team
selection. “In recent times, based o n t h e p u b l i c pronouncements of the coach and the approach i n t e r n a l l y, w e h a v e identified differences in culture and strategic approach,” said the WICB statement, released 4.30PM Eastern Caribbean time. “The WICB would therefore like to thank the coach for his contribution and wishes him the best in his future endeavours”. No replacement has been named for Simmons as the team gets ready to leave in a matter of days for its next international assignment against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The WICB said that the team, which will play T20 (Continued on page 29)
‘Old Boy’ Sarwan to announce retirement at Stella Maris tomorrow
Ramnaresh Sarwan
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