Kaieteur News

al i c e p S

Online readership yesterday 83,820

September 30, 2012

$140

Email: kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

Website:http://www.kaieteurnews.com

Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Woman and three children perish in Charlestown blaze

Dead: Akesha Cordis

p. 15

Dead: Abiola Taylor

Dead: Justin Taylor

A Plaisance girl…

Nadia Dawn

p.

17

p.

18

Beryl Haynes is a woman of distinction

GGMC approves 75 duty free concessions for ATVs, GRA records show over 500 p.

3

- $700 million in duties lost

Page 02

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

GGMC approves 75 duty free concessions for ATVs, GRA records show over 500 Over $700M in duties and taxes is believed to have not gone to the state’s coffers in what is turning out to have been an elaborate scheme involving the use of duty-free concession letters.

From all indications, the scam may have spanned several government departments.

Although government has reportedly ordered a probe into the issuance of the letters over the past week, they have been tight-lipped.

According to GRA sources, President Donald Ramotar has reportedly become involved in the matter and recently a senior official was summoned to the Office of the President to provide some insight.

Earlier this year, two persons from the Remission Unit of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) were reportedly dismissed for forging the signatures on the duty-free letters.

But recent incidents have indicated that the scam may have been deeper than originally thought. This time around, the letters were said to be the real thing, bearing the signatures of top GRA officials.

According to government sources, checks at the GRA’s Remission Unit found that around 500 duty-free letters would have been issued to miners for the year.

However, the main government agency tasked with authenticating the miners’ credentials, the

- $700M in duties lost Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), has reportedly only green-lighted around 75 of these.

As a result, it is believed that at least 425 transactions for the year may have been processed at GRA involving some degree of illegality.

Recently, the state-owned tax collection agency admitted that it had suspended three officers for allegedly demanding money from a Kuru Kururu businesswoman from whom they seized an ATV that was later discovered to have been subject to the fraudulent granting of partial remission of the taxes. GRA had said that it had launched its own probe.

According to a GRA statement last week, “Mr. Khurshid Sattaur disclosed that the results of the preliminary investigations revealed that the officers were involved in the criminal act.

Their suspension will pave the way for a full and more thorough inquiry to be conducted, that may lead to their dismissal, and charges being laid against them.”

The businesswoman, Marsha Chase, had claimed that she would import ATVs and sell them to miners. She would pay in excess of $1.5M duties and taxes on each ATV. However, the woman claimed that GRA officials from the Remission Unit, which deals in duty-free letters, told her earlier this year that she could

qualify for duty-free concessions as a miner. The officers allegedly claimed that they were in a position to help her acquire the necessary documents. They reportedly charged her between $500,000 and $600,000 for each dutyfree letter.

The woman said she received letters for at least five of the four-wheel motorbikes, which are a preferred mode of transportation for miners and hinterland residents.

However, the affair came to light in August after officers of GRA’s Law Enforcement and Investigation Division stopped a truck with one of the ATVs and discovered that the paperwork was not right.

The businesswoman claimed that she was asked to pay over $500,000 or two ounces of gold.

She refused and the ATV was seized. She later gave a statement to GRA senior officials and pointed out one of the officers who allegedly asked her to pay a bribe.

Chase was reportedly prepared to strike a deal with GRA to testify against the officers, but this all changed when she was sent assessment letters asking her to pay over $8M in penalties

and duties.

Sources are saying that it is believed that GRA staffers may have been in cahoots with GGMC staffers.

It is unclear at the moment how deep the racket runs.

The letters allow for duties to be waived. But only bona fide miners are eligible for the letters and will have to prove they are miners. This means that the GGMC, which regulates miners, will have to authenticate registration and other documents.

But Kaieteur News understands that two staffers sent home earlier this year at GRA were junior employees.

The ATVs are being sold in some cases for as much as $3M. Farmers and miners are the ones that can apply for the tax waivers. They would have to submit approval documents from the relevant agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Agriculture and the GGMC, among other relevant entities, to GRA, where they will be checked before approval is granted.

According to GRA sources, in all likelihood, the supporting documents were not submitted.

Page 3

Change Begins With Choice Any day we wish, we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change.

We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month or next year. We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform.

And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause.

As Shakespeare uniquely observed, “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.”

We created our circumstances by our past choices.

We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today.

Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And, if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice, for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life - If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life - and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

— Jim Rohn — Submitted by Lauren C. — New Jersey

Page 4

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

The Mentally Challenged We revisit a rather troubling subject. Guyanese are not very subtle (and certainly not very kind) when we speak of the unfortunate souls who, afflicted with one or another mental defect, live in our midst. “Mad people” is about the kindest designation invoked and hurled at them.

The State mental health institution, located in Berbice, has always been known as “The Berbice Mad House”. The state of mind encapsulated by the name was even thought to have rubbed off on Berbicians: “You from Berbice, or what?” The rest of the world, however, cognisant of the insidious effects of a disparaging name, talks about being “mentally challenged”. Accepting this nomenclature should be the beginning of a national effort to deal with a problem which, by all accounts, has gotten out of control.

In the last decade or so, the population of individuals who are mentally challenged has grown exponentially – if we are to go by the burgeoning numbers that can be seen roaming our streets. Most of the reports on this phenomenon focus on the state of affairs in Georgetown, but the problem is nationwide. Every rural village has its share of the mentally challenged inhabiting the public space and, in too many instances, are abused in myriad ways.

One would have thought that by now the authorities would have revisited its rules for dealing with this group in a structured manner. Some years ago we were informed that the regulations for institutionalising the mentally challenged had been loosened radically, resulting in the influx into our streets.

Another factor during the same time period has been the increased use of hard drugs, which has a deleterious effect on the mental faculties of the habitual users. The change that has had the greatest impact, however, has been the gradual shift in the mores of our population as to their responsibilities towards relatives who are mentally challenged. Up to the seventies, the family was expected to take care of their own and state institutionalisation was seen as an extreme last resort – and considered as a failure of the family. Today, the loosening of the Guyanese family structure has forced many of even the borderline cases into the streets.

The state certainly has an interest in seeking to help these unfortunate souls to live a life that is integrated more positively with their fellow citizens. As it is, the average citizen literally skirts very warily around the mentally challenged who inhabit our streets, especially after the newspapers highlight the occasional acts of violence to which a small minority sometimes resort. Most of the mentally challenged are more of a threat to themselves than others. It would be an interesting statistic, for instance, if we could be informed as to the number of the mentally challenged who are the victims of accidents, rapes, beatings and other atrocities, in comparison to those they inflict on others.

A mark of our humanity is how we treat our less fortunate.

If life in Guyana has proven to be so challenging to those of us with all our faculties intact, imagine what it must be like to those who are mentally challenged: they are certainly our most unfortunate. We have a Ministry of Social Services that must deal with this problem in a coherent and structured manner.

Let us begin with a study that informs us of the magnitude of the problem. We are certain that it will qualify as a public health emergency. The phenomenon of mental health is not a new one and various intervention strategies have been attempted across the globe. We are sure that our public health officials, in collaboration with our social services personnel, can craft an initial intervention programme suitable to our circumstances. The programme would then be monitored and amended as necessary.

Funding cannot be a constraining factor. We are positive that funds can be sourced to help the mentally challenged among us, who live in the most oppressive, depressing and disgraceful conditions.

Sunday September 30, 2012

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

Who were the five officers that uplifted weapons but were not recorded as traveling to Linden?

DEAR EDITOR, I don’t know how many Guyanese have been following the hearings being undertaken by the Commission of Inquiry into the July 18 police shootings in Linden, but I hope most that have been following, are aware of the questions arising from testimonies of police ranks so far.

First, acting Top Cop, Mr. Leroy Brummel, appeared before the commission and stated that there was no justification for the police shooting.

When former Commander of the E&F Division Clifton Hicken appeared before the commission, he said reports he received indicated that police were facing a lifethreatening situation from protesters at Linden on July

18 when three persons were killed.

Next up before the commission was Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Patrick Todd, commander of the Tactical Service Unit (TSU) ranks who were deployed to Linden on July 18. He denied that his men fired on protesters resulting in the deaths of three persons and injury to several others.

Todd told the Commission that he was the only policeman he knew of that fired any weapon in keeping with Standard Operating Procedures - a CP riot gun which fired tear smoke cartridges and shotguns- on July 18. Here are his direct quotes, as reported by the media: “I then take the CP riot gun from Constable George

and fire one cartridge tear smoke towards the Linmine area, shooting it towards the ground to take off the velocity.”

“I then took a CS hand grenade (tear smoke) from Constable McBean and throw it in the same direction,” “I then took Constable Parker’s shotgun and fired one shot to the ground to take off the velocity so as to scare the persons away.”

“I continued to throw another canister of tear smoke and I heard a loud explosion coming from the centre of the bridge and blazing fire. I then informed Senior Superintendent Hicken that the bridge was on fire.”

Todd said he continued to alternate the use of tear smoke and the shotguns with him

being the only person from the TSU ranks firing. When asked if there were other police besides TSU ranks in the vicinity Todd responded yes but stated that he did not see any of them fire a weapon.

He added that he did not order anyone else to fire.

Question: If there were other police besides TSU ranks in the vicinity, but he did not see any of them fire their weapons, who were the other police?

Then there was Sergeant Aubrey Bowman, who issued the arms and ammunition to the seventeen ranks and an officer on July 18. He told the commission that he issued four .38 revolvers with six rounds each; two 9mm pistols with 17 rounds each; four FN automatic rifles with 40

Continued on page 5

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Peeping Tom inaccurate about GuyExpo DEAR EDITOR, I refer to an article in the Kaieteur News of September 29, 2012 under the caption “GuyExpo is a fairground”, attributed to a columnist writing under the pseudonym “Peeping Tom”. My initial response is the writer probably either ingested something which severely affected his or her judgment, wrote the said piece prior to the evening of September 27 when the curtain came up on this year’s GuyExpo, or focused attention on an event which he or she did not witness But upon reflection, I thought of giving the writer the benefit of the doubt by assuming this was the

Who were the five...

From page 4 rounds each; two CP riot guns with 10 cartridges each; four shotguns with 10 cartridges each; and 20 tear smoke grenades.

That’s a total of 16 weapons that were issued to 17 ranks and an officer, and it is either my arithmetic skill is bad or Bowman should be recalled to clarify the number of weapons he issued.

According to Kaieteur News (“Police books show no record of five specific armed ranks deployed to Linden,” September 26), based on police records presented to the commission, of the twenty-three named Tactical Services Unit (TSU) ranks that were deployed to Linden, the names of five officers who uplifted firearms were not recorded as actually being sent to the mining town during the electricity tariffs protest.

What were the names of the five who uplifted arms but were not recorded as travelling to Linden? Can they or any superior account for their whereabouts after they uplifted their weapons? Did anyone do ballistic tests on the guns of these five upon return of their weapons to the police ammunitions storage facility? Did anyone interview them?

Emile Mervin

Persons desirous of visiting our website can do so by logging on to http:// www.kaieteur news.com

penmanship of someone of repute expressing an honest, professional opinion. As a consequence, I feel compelled to respond since I am of the view that GuyExpo 2012, noble intentions of politicians as well as the stature of Guyana’s private sector are very different from what is portrayed by the writer.

Peeping Tom writes in the second paragraph “…there is nothing much new to see…….GuyExpo is simply a soda repackaged each year.”

I have had the distinction of serving as Co-chairman the GuyExpo planning committee for the last five GuyExpo events, 2012 included, and could attest that this is simply not true.

Over the years GuyExpo planners have been guided by the direction of national policy (theme and attendant emphasis on what is projected); input from private sector and civil society organizations; feedback from exhibitors and patrons; and the respective evaluation reports of every GuyExpo.

Thishas resulted in noticeable improvements in; organization, layout, variety of exhibits, and related

initiatives such as business seminars, informative magazines, and seminars linking buyers/ investors and exhibitors.And though only two days into the event, GuyExpo 2012 is already seeing exceptional success in these areas. I daresay a revolutionized GuyExpo is currently stimulating a responsive private sector to enthusiastically embrace the virtues of Public/ private partnership.

The private sector of Guyana comprises captains of industry and owners of service organizations who have proven their mettle as astute entrepreneurs. The fact that manufacturers have been able to confront, overcome and grow their businesses despite challenges associated with the comparative regional disadvantage in areas such as production and development finance cost, speak volumes and point to the fact that the sector is far from ‘feeble’ as stated in the pen ultimate paragraph.

I would not elaborate further at this time. I am aware that politicians and private sector representatives

Page 5

portrayed negatively in the article under reference are quite capable of responding if they think it appropriate. I would simply close by suggesting some alternative captions for the article for consideration. They are:“Dreaming of experiencing a shopping mall”; “Longing for a return to my childhoodcinema days”; “ Its evil to be rich” ; “My misunderstanding of Government policies”; or “Curious case of a GuyExpo illusion”.

Derrick Cummings

Disorganised GUYEXPO

DEAR EDITOR, I wish to expose an occurrence on 28th September , 2012 at GuyExpo . I had bought tickets for myself and family and also a Parking Ticket for $1000 at a city supermarket for the above event .On arrival there approximately two blocks away from the entrance I was told by a policeman that I couldn’t proceed further in my car . I showed him my prepaid parking ticket but despite that he insisted that

the parking lots were filled and that I had to park in a small avenue in Lamaha Gardens .What a long trek that was to the Exhibition site . What was even worse was that the officials at the GuyExpo office told me that that they were unable to do anything about that and that I couldn’t be refunded .

This letter is just to warn others of the risk of purchasing parking tickets for the GuyExpo event .

Krishna Sankar

who has been at the center of allegations of financial skullduggery in one of the largest RDCs of the country.

It would be remiss of me and an injustice to the Guyanese people in general, and the Muslim Community in

particular if I do not bring this issue to bear. I shudder to think what can and may happen to donations, given with good intentions, when it gets in the hands of those people.

S. Khan

Is there a cover-up here?

DEAR EDITOR, It is after careful consideration that I have decided to write this missive.

Within a sizeable Islamic organization of Guyana, there are reports of a massive fraud.

This fraud is being investigated by one of its own, as part of the cover-up, and that person is himself guilty of injustices in dealing with the matter. The former CEO has been removed and replaced with a person of questionable integrity, and

Page 6

Kaieteur News

UGBC launches Writing Centre

By Leon Suseran The University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) last week launched a Writing Centre, the first of its kind in this part of Guyana this week.

Dr Jerry Jailal, lecturer at the university noted that it was another innovative idea of UGBC in responding to the needs of students and wider community. Writing, he posited, and use of language is at the heart of academic excellence and good communication, yet, he noted, writing is a problem all over the world even in developed countries.

“Students have problems with written and oral language. Harvard and Brown Universities in the U.S.A…They have writing centres,”.he stressed.

The idea for a writing centre at UGBC is credited to Professor Daizal R. Samad, Director of the campus.

“I have known Professor Samad to be an innovator and a transformational leader, someone who not only wishes, but who works hard at being a doer and implementer,” Dr. Jailal said Professor Samad, at the launching ceremony, in speaking to a group of

English lecturers including Ms Camanie Khedaroo and Ms Pamela Rose, among others, as well as the Research Methods class, stated that the writing centre is meant to strengthen English language usage across the board and on the campus, irrespective of disciplines.

The centre is equipped with six “cutting-edge” computers, one serving as a central monitoring device; all are fully connected to the internet with high- speed connectivity. There is also wireless access for additional lap-tops; an overhead projector that could convey internet downloads or centralised computer teaching tools to all the other computers including the campus’s computer centre.

There is also a live central screen access, so that meetings with the main campus at Turkeyen can be done right in Berbice without having lecturers travel to Georgetown, cutting on costs.

Samad noted that they plan to use the strong students as tutors “to facilitate strengthening other students who are not as strong or who are just downright weak, so we will have student volunteers managing this under a faculty

member”. An outreach, too, is planned to the CXC Candidates, “and we know that English Language usage is a problem and the thing is, that people have been complaining and I have not seen much concrete being done to solve that problem— this is concrete!”

Samad stated that UGBC has spent some $8M for lecturers to travel from Berbice to Turkeyen for meetings from January to June this year. “Now that’s a lot of money, man, $8M! But we could use this centre for small meetings and use things like Skype. It means no traveling; it means we save time and money”.

GT&T, he noted, has identified the campus as a potential ‘hot- spot’ location for its network.

Within two years, Samad noted that the campus envisages the establishment of a Centre for Academic Studies (CADS) which will be charged with responsibilities such as student- advising; short certification courses; outreach activities; teaching and learning excellence; orientation; the writing centre; retreat- type activities on campus; c a r e e r o r i e n t a t i on; peer tutoring and mentoring and student counseling.

Sunday September 30, 2012

C’tyne chamber expresses concerns over customer services in Guyana The Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (UCCCI), in a press release, has expressed its deep concerns over the low levels of customer service provided by public sector staff in Berbice and around the country.

“The complaints reaching our organization range from agencies closing their offices during working hours to have meetings, to non-attendance of customers at seemingly well-staffed offices and staff being on their cell phones or engaged in personal conversations while having persons waiting.

The issue of public sector staff giving persons a hard time in order to gain inducements further degrades the image of these entities an image which is then propagated worldwide by our many overseas visitors who have had unfortunate public sector interactions.”

“While the UCCCI in no way attempts to highlights all the public sector staff in a bad way, the deviants within this sector need to be identified and dealt with accordingly.

These public agencies can no longer hide behind the

excuses of inadequate facilities, inadequate or underpaid staff and a general lack of resources. The majority of these public agencies now operate under working conditions that are on par and in some cases beyond what our private sector can currently offer,” the release added “Since none of these agencies have any real competition, it will be the duty of every citizen to demand the level of service that will make our interactions with public agencies, respectable and pleasant,” UCCCI said.

“The ‘legal’ private sector continues to be subjected and complies with, a myriad of regulations and requirements, adding not only to operating costs, but also to the level of service provided. The time is definitely ripe for public agencies to reflect internally, create and enforce service standards, and actively monitor and adjust compliance with these standards. The UCCCI, as always, remains a willing partner to all involved on the road to develop Guyana into a country we can all be truly proud of,” the statement concluded.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 7

Guantanamo’s last Western Ancient market burns as detainee returned to Canada fighting rages in Syria’s Aleppo prison.

Omar Khadr (Reuters) - The youngest prisoner and last Westerner held in the Guantanamo military base, Omar Khadr, was sent to finish his sentence in his native Canada yesterday, the Canadian government said.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said that Khadr, who was a 15-year-old fighting in Afghanistan when captured in 2002, had been flown from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a military base in Trenton, Ontario and transferred to the province’s Millhaven maximum-security

Khadr’s case has been controversial both in Canada and abroad given his age when he was captured, the nature of his detention and hearing, and the reluctance of Canadian officials to accept his return.

“I am satisfied the Correctional Service of Canada can administer Omar Khadr’s sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed and ensure the safety of Canadians is protected during incarceration,” Toews said in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

A U.S. war crimes tribunal in 2010 sentenced Khadr, now 26, to 40 years in prison, although he was expected to serve just a few more years under a deal that included his admission he was an al Qaeda conspirator who murdered a U.S. soldier.

Khadr pleaded guilty in 2010 to charges that included murdering American Army medic Christopher Speer with a grenade in a 2002 firefight, conspiring with al Qaeda to

China leaders stage show of unity after expelling Bo

(Reuters) - China’s leaders put on a show of unity yesterday after their damning accusations against disgraced politician Bo Xilai, whose expulsion from the Communist Party drew an outcry from leftist supporters in a sign of the rifts his prosecution could inflame.

Once a charismatic yet divisive star who stood out on China’s stolid political stage, Bo is almost sure to face trial and jail after the ruling Communist Party announced his expulsion on Friday and issued a list of allegations: bending the law to hush up a murder, taking huge bribes and engaging in “improper sexual relations with multiple women”.

The party buried Bo under the accusations at the same time that it announced a November 8 date for a congress that will anoint a new generation of top leaders - a line-up that Bo held barely disguised ambitions to join.

Yesterday evening, top leaders gathered in the cavernous national parliament building for a National Day reception, their first public appearance since the revelation of the accusations against Bo. Premier Wen Jiabao did not mention Bo or any other controversies in his remarks to hundreds of diplomats, officials and other guests.

“Looking ahead, we are full of confidence,” Wen told them,

adding that “no hardship will prevent us from forging ahead”.

The eight other members of the Politburo Standing Committee - the party’s innermost core of power - also attended. Bo’s downfall has unsettled their preparations for the leadership succession, and exposed high-level abuse of power after his former police chief briefly took refuge in a U.S. consulate and revealed that Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, had murdered a British businessman.

commit terrorist acts, making roadside bombs to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan, spying on American military convoys and providing material support for terrorism.

Khadr was the first person since World War Two to be prosecuted in a war crimes tribunal for acts committed as a juvenile. He was the youngest prisoner still at Guantanamo, but younger boys were previously held there.

Canadian-born Khadr was taken to Afghanistan by his father, a senior al Qaeda member who apprenticed the boy to a group of bomb makers who opened fire when U.S. troops came to their compound. Khadr was captured in the firefight, during which he was blinded in one eye and shot twice in the back.

BEIRUT (Reuters) Hundreds of shops were burning in the ancient covered market in Aleppo yesterday as fighting between rebels and state forces in Syria’s largest city threatened to destroy a UNESCO world heritage site.

The uprising-turned-civil war that is now raging across Syria has killed more than 30,000 people, according to activist groups such as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But beyond the dramatic human cost, many of Syria’s historic treasures have also fallen victim to an 18-monthold conflict that has reduced parts of some cities to ruins.

Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad

(Reuters) - Somalia’s al Shabaab rebels retreated from the southern port of Kismayu overnight, abandoning the last major bastion of their fiveyear revolt to an offensive by African Union and Somali government troops.

The loss of Kismayu a day after it was attacked by Kenyan and Somali soldiers backed by air strikes is a major blow to the al Qaeda-linked rebels, weakening morale and depriving them of revenue from taxing local businesses and shipping.

“We moved out our fighters ... from Kismayu at midnight,” al Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, told Reuters yesterday, promising to strike back. “The enemies have not yet entered the town. Let them enter Kismayu which will

soon turn into a battlefield.”

Al Shabaab, which formally merged with al Qaeda in February, has pulled out of a number of urban areas including the capital, Mogadishu, in recent months under pressure from African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces and the Somali government.

The government in Mogadishu said Kismayu was now under its control and called on residents to co-operate with security agencies and AU forces in improving security.

Locals confirmed the militants had pulled out under the cover of darkness but said Kenyan and Somali soldiers were still camped on the city’s outskirts.

Analysts warned against prematurely assuming the rebels had disappeared, saying they must have left a few fighters

announced a new offensive in Aleppo, Syria’s commercial hub of 2.5 million people, on Thursday, but neither side has appeared to make significant gains.

In Aleppo, activists speaking via Skype said army snipers were making it difficult to approach the Souk al-Madina, the medieval market of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades in the Old City, once a major tourist attraction. Videos uploaded to YouTube showed dark black clouds hanging over the city skyline. Activists said the fire might have been started by shelling and gunfire on Friday and estimated that between 700 and 1,000 shops had been destroyed so far. The

accounts were difficult to verify because of government restricts on foreign media.

Aleppo’s Old City is one of several locations in Syria declared world heritage sites

by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, that are now at risk from the fighting.

UNESCO believes five of Syria’s six heritage sites which also include the ancient desert city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts of old Damascus - have been affected. The British-based Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria, said Assad’s forces and rebels blamed each other for the blaze.

SOMALIA’S AL SHABAAB REBELS PULL OUT OF KISMAYU BASTION behind.

The insurgents, who once controlled swathes of the lawless Horn of Africa country, have turned to guerrilla tactics,

harrying the weak government of newly-elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud with suicide bombings and assassinations.

Page 8

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Clinging to Britain’s coat tail PNM, trade unions, groups demand PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC - Former Jamaica prime minister P.J. Patterson says he is at a loss why his country and Trinidad and Tobago are still clinging on to the London-based Privy Council as their final court, 50 years after attaining political independence from Britain.

“Why are we still so lacking in self-confidence that 50 years after our independence, our two largest member States - one of which is already a Republic – final appeals still have to be directed to Her Majesty in Council,” Patterson said in a lecture on “International Law, World Trade Organization

P.J. Patterson (WTO) – Interface with the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)” here earlier this week.

In April, the Trinidad and

Tobago government announced that it would introduce legislation to replace the London-based Privy Council as the island’s final court of appeal.

“Consistent with our approach of caution and gradualism, this country has not rushed to surrender the jurisdiction of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council but has rather kept the issue under constant review, “Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar said.

In the case of Jamaica, the Portia Simpson Miller administration has tabled two Bills in support of making the CCJ, the island’s highest court. She said it is the duty of Parliament to guarantee the people a right of access to a final court of appeal that is within their reach.

removal of the AG and Warner now

Trinidad Guardian - Some 17 organisations, including the People’s National Movement, the Movement for Social Justice, the Joint Consultative Council and other civil organisations Friday night demanded the immediate removal of National Security Minister Jack Warner and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan from the Cabinet. That was among the major recommendations contained in the declaration issued by the group after a three-and-ahalf hour meeting at Hotel Normandie, St Ann’s.

The issue of the proclamation of Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act

Antigua Suspends Scrap Metal Export Caribbean Journal - Looking to tackle a growing problem in the Caribbean, Antigua has suspended the export of scrap metal in the country, according to National Security and Labour Minister Dr Errol Court.

The 60-day suspension, which began last week, applies to all scrap metal including copper. Antigua’s government has also agreed to establish a special committee to review issues relating to scrap metal export in the country.

The committee is set to make a report within 30 days on measures to better regulate the scrap metal industry in Antigua, and to tackle the problem of illegal exportation of copper. Senator Joanne Massiah is chairing the committee.

Court urged those involved in the scrap metal trade to comply with the suspension, calling it in the “best interest of the industry.”

Austin Warner and Anand Ramlogan 2011 and the subsequent attacks on media workers in T&T were among the major discussion points at the meeting. Ossie Warrick, secretary of the Joint Trade Union Movement told reporters there was a need for the People’s Partnership Government, led by Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar, to explain the entire Section 34 fiasco.

The call was made hours after acting President Timothy Hamel-Smith issued a statement saying citizens had a right to be concerned about the development.

Warrick said Warner’s attack on President George Maxwell Richards, Dean Sampson, of the Anglican Church, and Asha Javeed, a journalist, “was an attack on the head of State, the clergy and freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Warrick said the groups remained “committed to further action to ensure the these demands are met.” He said the meeting wanted fundamental change to the

system of governance and the need for constitutional reform. Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley led the People’s National Movement team, which included the party’s vice-chairman Camille Robinson-Regis, PNM whip Marlene McDonald and PNM PRO Senator Faris Al-Rawi.

Some 41 people attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Rowley was the recipient of a death threat yesterday. Sources revealed this, saying it appeared to be a matter of serious concern.

Sources said Rowley was told of the threat earlier yesterday.

Sources say he reported the matter to the police.

Rowley, however, did not comment on the matter last night.

The PNM leader had been in the forefront of criticisms of the Government in the past several months. He told a party meeting in Five Rivers on Wednesday it was time for someone to stand up against the Government in the interest of the nation and put citizens of T&T first.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 9

PNCR Column UNICEF lauds NOC students in skills Are Clement Rohee’s days as Minister training programme of Home Affairs numbered?

Deputy Director of UNICEF, Ahbeet Solomon on Friday last emphasised that the Non Governmental Organization is committed to ensuring that students of the New Opportunity Corps continue to be facilitated with a normal life during their integration tenure.

Solomon was speaking at the institution’s first-ever Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) Programme graduation ceremony held at Onderneeming on the Essequibo Coast.

Nineteen students received awards in areas of Joinery, Carpentry, Electrical Installation, Welding, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Arts and Culture, Information Technology, Handicraft and Tailoring.

Solomon reminded the graduates that the occasion presented an opportunity for further growth and development.

He said UNICEF, one of the major partners, seeks to support the Government’s effort in strengthening the preventive and response

environment for children, whether through Education or through ensuring that detention is always a last resort.

“Undoubtedly, our success, your success will be stronger and greater once we always can unite for children.”

Solomon added that through the students’ success they were afforded “a second chance” to pursue their dreams and be part and parcel of ensuring that positive contributions are made in homes, society, country and the world at large.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, in his remarks, said the juvenile facility, which became operable some 133 years ago has been transformed from where the primary idea was merely to “lock up” delinquent youths.

The first Yo u t h Entrepreneurial Programme commenced on January 5.

The New Opportunity Corps became operable in the year 1879. (Yannason Duncan).

Dem boys seh

De Rat and de Bishop in de same church Do fuh do nah obeah. Old people always seh suh.

Sometimes people does guh wheh ain’t concern dem and when dem see things that don’t belong to dem trouble does start because dem does pick up and use like if is dem own without leave or licence.

De Rat don’t like go to church because one of he Minister seh that de best thing fuh do outside of being a President is to be a church leader. This man come from nowhere and tun Bishop and because of how he does tek de people money and put it to he own use, de Rat mek he a Minister.

Wid all de spare time pun he hand de Rat decide to visit de church to see if he can find out how de Bishop doing because when de same Bishop get de wuk in de Finance section he start fuh act li’l Edgy till dem call he a name like Edge something.

De Rat see a room in he Bishop friend church and he go inside and pull de blind. From he small days he use to do confession but now that he get big, if he start de confession, de priest gun dead and bury before he de Rat done list he sins.

But he like de room. It had perks. It had Grey Goose, which he don’t drink, but it had some of de most expensive wine. It had Moulin Rouge, Sauvignon, and it had Moet Blanc and Moet Rouge, things that de ordinary man can’t even pronounce. Is wine like that mek he get Brazzy to open a wine bar in de city. Is suh de Rat sit down and smiling and sipping de wine. When de Bishop walk in de Rat tell he how he got class and how he does treat all he sinners good. He want fuh know wha dem sinners does bring because he claim that when dem Bees and Irfaat sin he does mek dem give he a share of wha dem collect. He claim how he name spoil and it can’t spoil more than it spoil already.

De Bishop watch he and tell he that is only a fool ain’t gun mek heights when money deh round.

De Rat ask he wha de wine doing deh, and if de Bishop want run off Brazzy. That is when de Bishop tell he that just like how de Rat collect all de money even wha people ain’t give he, is suh he collect de wine and he put dem pun he side of de room.

Suh de Rat ask, “You mean I deh pun de wrang side?”

De Bishop tell he that he born pun de wrang side and now he sitting down pun de wrang side.

Talk half and don’t confess

September has not been a good month for security in the state of Guyana. As monthend approached, the nation has had to endure the comical classroom antics of senior officers of the Guyana Police Force who appeared before the Linden Commission of Inquiry over the past week.

People have been left to wonder what sort of guidance and superintendence the Force has been receiving from Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee over the past six years during which he held that important portfolio.

People wonder also whether the Force will ever be able to protect citizens, enforce the law and ensure public security under Rohee’s stewardship. The Police Force’s performance might have been laughable and forgettable had people felt safer in the country. This has not been so, however. The country is still trying to come to grips with the worsening security situation in several sectors.

First is the Police Force’s own report that robberies under arms increased by 23 per cent from August 2011 to August 2012. There are now about three armed robberies every day in this country.

Second, residents of Bartica in the CuyuniMazaruni Region – together

with non-governmental organisations such as Red Thread, Help and Shelter, the Guyana Red Cross and the Hope Foundation, Guyana Women Miners Association, and officials of the US embassy – spoke out against the scourge of human trafficking, especially in the Region’s mining and logging districts.

Their arguments – which included residents’ personal testimonials – contradicted Rohee’s repeated denials and the claims of the so-called Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, over which he presides, about the scale of the crime.

Third, despite the arrest of suspected pirates, fishermen are still fearful of going to sea after reports that some of their colleagues were beaten and robbed by armed pirates on September 8 in the PomeroonSupenaam Region.

Fourth, James Singh, Head of the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU), reported at mid-month that CANU made two cocaine busts – amounting to about 30 kg – at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, six hours apart of each other, during which several persons were arrested. The combined value of the drugs is said to be $21M. It is evident that the failure

of the Ministry of Home Affairs to promulgate a functional National Drug Strategy Master Plan and the ineffectualness of the socalled task force on contraband smuggling set up by the Home Affairs Ministry, have led to CANU’s inability to prevent the continuous export of cocaine from the international airport.

Fifth, the US Department of Labour’s recent Report on International Child Labor and Forced Labor, to add to September’s somber, security scenario, pronounced that children in Guyana are victims of “the worst forms of child labour”, including forced prostitution of girls as young as 12. The Report placed the responsibility for this situation squarely on the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic administration. It blamed the administration indirectly for the absence of legislation and lack of a national action plan to combat the crime of child labour.

Finally, President Donald Ramotar himself seemed to be at his wits’ end. He was obliged to vent his frustration with the deteriorating public security situation, especially with regard to the Police Force, which, over the past two months, has been accused of shooting and killing four persons. The first

incident occurred at Linden on 18th July when three persons – Alan Lewis, Shemroy Bouyea and Ron Somerset – were shot dead after the police opened fire on persons at the WismarMackenzie Bridge. The second incident in which the Police Force has been accused of killing a citizen was on 11th September, when Shaquille Grant was shot dead in Agricola, East Bank Demerara.

President Ramotar, responding to questions from the media, complained that he was worried about police killings in the country. He said: “I am concerned with every death and shooting that takes place in this society and I want Guyana having a name as being a peaceful society, a friendly society. I don’t want our country to have a reputation of being a violent society.”

Was President Ramotar saying that it is time for a change in the security sector and was he sending a subtle signal that Rohee’s term of service is coming to an end?

For our advertising rates call: 225-8491, 225-8465, 225-8458

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

OAS’ Ramdin promotes Participate, elevate your dialogue to resolve differences existence and contribute NEW YORK, USA — The assistant secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin, says the power of dialogue should not be underestimated in the handling of global, regional or domestic disputes.

Speaking at a Ministerial Breakfast of the Group of Friends of Mediation, during the UN General Assembly in New York last week, Ramdin said, “Far too often, we are inclined to take immediate and confrontational actions, in response to a perceived threat or conflict. Yet recent cases around the world and right here in the Americas, have demonstrated the power of dialogue to mitigate tensions.”

Chaired by the ministers of foreign affairs of Finland and Turkey, the Group of Friends of Mediation Ministerial Breakfast was convened to launch the most recent report by UN

Secretary General Ban KiMoon titled, “Strengthening The Role Of Mediation In The Peaceful Settlement Of Disputes, Conflict Prevention And Resolution.”

Addressing the meeting, Ramdin also emphasized the urgent need to develop more inclusive approaches to resolving differences.

“We must ensure that all stakeholders affected by conflict are included in our mediation efforts, if we are to build a strong culture of peace and dialogue in our societies,” he said, adding “capacity for conflict management and dispute resolution also needs to be built within countries and international organizations so they can respond when the need arises.”

The assistant secretary general also pointed to the need to improve cooperation mechanisms among international organizations and called on all

representatives present at the meeting to remain committed to an inclusive approach, ensuring continued consultation with all sectors of society, including vulnerable groups, youth, women, the private sector and civil society.

The aim of the Group of Friends of Mediation meeting at the UN was to raise awareness within the international community about the importance of mediation as a means of conflict prevention and resolution.

Last week, foreign ministers and heads of regional organizations from around the world gathered to discuss ways to increase cooperation among regional organizations and civil society in the field of peace mediation. Present at the Ministerial Breakfast were high-level representatives from 33 countries and five regional organizations.

- Youth Leaders urge on Caribbean Youth Day The following is the full text of a message by youth leaders on Caribbean Youth Day, under the theme.

“Youth Harnessing Positive Energy For Caribbean Development”: “September 30th has been recognized annually as Caribbean Youth Day, and at this juncture, youth leaders and agencies across the region, take the opportunity to recognize the achievements of our youth as well as the issues, successes and desirables of our times.

On this occasion, we take this opportunity to speak to the beckoning reality of integration and corporate development as a region, and are proud to reaffirm the commitment of all Caribbean youth leaders toward the formation of a regional youth entity to be known as the Regional Youth Council (RYC).

Our beloved Caribbean has often been described as a patchwork of countries with varying histories, linguistic traditions, cultures and identities. Fragmentation and separation have often characterised us moreso than unity and togetherness, and divisions within local territories have often been widened by divisions across territories.

Yet, with persistence and vision we have been able to overcome systems of social and economic stratification based on exploitation, deprivation and over dependence on metropolitan countries. Our achievements should never be taken for granted, but while we celebrate them, we must also forge ahead with efforts to improve the standard and quality of life of our people.

Our capacity to build and develop our region, and to generate unique Caribbeanbased solutions should not be downplayed.

Being a region where a significant section of the population comprises youth between the ages 15-29, there can be no doubt that one of the main tools for Caribbean development lies in harnessing the positive energy of our young people.

Across the Caribbean outstanding examples of young people working hard and maximising their potential can be seen. From the likes of our Golden Jaguars to our very own Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Nicolette Fernandes for excelling in sports and our successful entrepreneurs, writers, models and other music artists who brought international acclaim to the

Region in terms of their contribution. Caribbean young people have risen from a place of obscurity to place of reknowned global recognition. They have brought us pride and joy and continue to add significant value to our social and economic landscape.

Youth continue to be impacted disproportionately by social problems such as crime and unemployment, yet we remain confident that these issues can be resolved with greater investment and involvement of young people in decision making.

Old practices of tokenism, patronage and exclusion must be replaced by a framework of rights and inclusion for Caribbean Youth in which, we hold those in positions of power and authority to a greater standard of accountability and transparency. Our governments, businesses, development agencies and civil society all have significant roles to play, and it is now an obvious requirement that we work more harmoniously to ensure sustainability and for the dreams and aspirations of our youth to be fulfilled.

Fortunately, no longer are our youth constrained by (Continued on page 13)

Sunday September 30, 2012

GT&T hails former CEO

Former CEO of GT&T, Yog Mahadeo Yog Mahadeo on Friday ended his employment with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co. Ltd (GT&T).

The telephone company in thanking Mahadeo, recognized his “energetic and creative” leadership which “built tremendous goodwill” for GT&T “in and out of Guyana”.

The company also recognized Mahadeo’s integrity and hard work.

The executive announced his resignation in June after blowing the whistle on irregularities of payments to a senior official of the National Communications Network (NCN). It sparked a major investigation that saw NCN official, Martin Goolsarran, being sent home and his CEO, Mohamed Sattaur, resigning.

“Under his leadership, GT&T reduced rates for consumers, made significant investments in Guyana, improved customer service and financial performance, and successfully launched innovative new products such as our Blackberry service.”

The company lauded

“Yog” as an energetic and creative executive who built tremendous goodwill for GT&T and was an effective ambassador for its brand both in and outside of Guyana. The company expressed thanks for Mahadeo’s assistance in effecting transition to the new team.

“We thank Yog for his many contributions to GT&T and wish him every success in all his future endeavors.”

Mahadeo had been credited for revitalizing the GT&T Jingle and Song competition which became wildly popular last year. He introduced a number of promotions and events including the GT&T FastBall competition and the Ten/10 softball competition.

Mahadeo was often quoted as inviting Guyanese to “dare to dream” and “we will make your dream reality”.

In addition to sport, he embraced new horizons launching the Spelling Bee competition, Literature quiz and the Cinderella show along with the play “Berbice Uprising”.

Mahadeo had been involved in a host of developmental activities across the country. These included Mabaruma, Buxton, Corriverton, and other places. The telecommunications link at Kaieteur Falls was achieved under his watch as the company also grew landlines to 150,000 and DSL subscribers grew by 18,000.

The pony-tailed executive was a fixture at many events.

“He revolutionized marketing and leadership in Guyana,” an official of the Private Sector Commission said yesterday.

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Essequibians sign petitions for release of former death row prisoner Scores of residents from the Essequibo Coast have signed petitions for the release of convicted killer Noel Thomas.

The petitions which were signed by residents of Thomas’s home village of Pomona on the Essequibo Coast are being sent to the Chairman of the Committee for the Prerogative of Mercy (Parole Board) and other senior government functionaries, including the Minister of Home Affairs.

Thomas and three others had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment by Chief Justice Ian Chang, and since Thomas would have already spent a life sentence, having been on death row for more than 20 years, there is the likelihood that he could be released from prison to spend the rest of his life back in society.

Thomas’s sister, Carol, had already written to former President Bharrat Jagdeo pleading for his release and last week she again made a public plea, citing his medical condition and poor response to it by some prison officials.

The prisoner has been suffering from hemorrhoids for the past 16 years and is still in need of surgery.

Thomas himself is longing to return to the society he was pulled from after he chose to give up his freedom for a measly sum of $100.

In a surprise interview with this newspaper, the former death row inmate opined that he has already paid the price for the act he committed two and a half decades ago, and he believes in his heart that he should be a free man once again.

Chief Justice Chang in commuting the death sentences had remarked that Thomas and the three other prisoners were actually being penalized twice for their crimes.

In Thomas’ favour is the remorse he is showing for his actions on March, 19, 1987.

On that day he shot dead Abdool Kaleem Yassin in his Riverstown, Essequibo home, after Yassin’s elder brother Abdool Saleem hired him as the hit-man in a murder plot to get his hands on his brother’s inheritance.

“I still sit and study how it happened. I wasn’t supposed to get involved… but not working, not getting employment. It was just poverty and advantage was taken on me. I wasn’t no thief man on de road,” he told this newspaper.

According to Thomas, even a relative of the man he killed had shown him forgiveness.

“He had an aunt who used to come to court every day and she treated me like a relative. She was Auntie Jean; I don’t know if she still alive,” he added, acknowledging that there were also those who would be against his release from prison.

Already, the 53-year-old Thomas has been assured gainful employment by his businessman friend ‘Latcha’ should he be released soon.

He referred to two former death row colleagues, two brothers Asif and Shafeek Mohamed, who were released soon after their sentences

were commuted to life imprisonment.

“These men were convicted twice. They appealed twice and they did not spend 12 years in jail and they are now free. I have spent 25 years,” Thomas lamented.

Thomas, believed to be the current longest serving death row prisoner, longs to reunite with his two children and the many nieces and nephews he has never seen.

He also longs to lay eyes on the transformation that has taken place on the Essequibo Coast, since he was last there 25 five years ago.

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Solitary protestor against Guyana Govt. at UN

By Lin-Jay HarryVoglezon in New York While the General Assembly of the United Nations was in its Thursday session here in New York, individuals, protest and advocacy groups turned up to expose the conditions of survival within their countries and implore the United Nations to act.

A number of Guyanese were expected to protest or advocate their case against the Guyana government but only one person, who gave her name as Asha, turned up and picketed for a few hours, alternating her several placards. Later, another person arrived looking for company.

Other loners were: a Palestinian with two placards which itemized “facts”, “truth” and “solutions” pertaining to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict; a Paraguayan woman who apparently meant to be sarcastic with her placard which read “I am the First Lady of Paraguay, I want $1,500,000 for my summer closet”; and an American, whose siblings were in the wars with Iraq and now in Afghanistan. His placard read: “They lied about Iraq, they’re lying about Iran.”

The African groups from Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo seemed to

have been handicapped by the language barriers, but they brought attention to themselves and placards through songs and African protest dance. The most active and passionate group was the Tibetans, who like the Congolese, and the Jumna People of Bangladesh, displayed graphic images of bodies mutilated by the armed forces, and of those whose self-immolation were acts of resistance to the state.

The Tibetans continuously chanted antiChina messages for hours, including “We are humans too”, “China lies Tibetans die”, “Five-Nations Security Council Must Act Honestly and Fairly”, and “United Nations Speak for Tibetans”.

They said that since their occupation by China in 1959, 1.2 million people of their 9 million population were killed by the Chinese state, and from 2009, 52 Tibetans committed self-immolation in resistance.

They want resumption of their independence.

The other impacting antiChina group was the Falun Gong practitioners, who like others, distributed newspapers, fliers, etc. on their plight in China. They put up a large banner which stated that: “Falun Gong practitioners killed in CCP concentration camp for their organs and cremated to hide evidence.” They explained

that their persecution began on July 20, 1999, when former President Jiang Zemin realized that their 100 million membership and practitioners were larger than the communist party which is about 60 million.

Even though there is no evidence that they were ever political or subversive, but an organization which promoted morality, meditation, and healthy life styles, they are continuously arrested, isolated, forced to give up their beliefs and killed in concentration camps to harvest their organs for the local and international markets.

According to the Volunteer Coordinator, Jianten Zhou, the organization which started in 1993, spread to 100 countries, and is practiced in 30 languages, is the target for organ harvesting because of the healthy lifestyles. She added, the state media is used to malign the organization while state operatives which forced prostitutes into selfimmolation, for example, pin that to organization to label it destructive.

Another member, Chun Xia Ma, is worried about her older sister Chun Ling Ma who was kidnapped in the street about a month ago by the “so-called police”. No family member has heard from, or seen her since.

According to the organization, when their members are arrested or kidnapped medical tests are done to determine their blood type, etc. At the moment, members are on a signature campaign in New York.

The Jumna People, who are the indigenous people of Bangladesh with their language (Chakma) and identity but 0.7 of the population, have grievances similar to the Tibetans. They

This woman cuts a lonely picture outside the United Nations building in New York, where President Donald Ramotar was in attendance at the General Assembly. are located mainly in the hills, but claim that since Bangladesh obtained independence in 1971, they lost their freedom, have no constitutional rights and are not recognized.

Instead, the government is violent towards them and pursuing a policy of assimilation. As they exhibit graphic images of persons killed a few days ago by the army, they are demanding that the peace agreement signed between their party, the PCJSS and the government in 1997 be implemented and be constitutionally recognized as an indigenous people.

The group from

Equatorial Guinea was the only pro-government group.

In September 2011 the French government seized 15 cars, including a Maserati, Aston Martin and Rolls Royce, belonging to the President’s son and Vice President, Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue.

Later they also seized his luxury mansion in Avenue Foch, France, worth 100m150m euros. In October 2011, the US government went after him to recover assets greater than $70m. Earlier this year, he paid the national football team $1m for winning the opening game of the African Cup of Nations.

In July this year, the French government issued an arrest warrant for him on money laundering charges.

French judges are also investigating his father, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on embezzlement charges. His government asked the International Court of Justice to stop France from investigating the ruling family.

The protest group is arguing that the matters are for ‘Guinea’s jurisdiction not France’s.

Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa largest oil exporters and most of its 720,000 people are impoverished.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 13

Top achievers honoured as Heritage Top Cop urges Junior Officers Month activities conclude to be honest, professional …as another Course gets underway

The Annual Heritage Dinner 2012 event presented an opportunity for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to honour Hinterland Scholarship students and top achievers. It was also a chance to lend support to hinterland Amerindian patients who travel to Georgetown for medical treatment.

The dinner was the final event scheduled in the capital to culminate the activities of Amerindian Heritage Month 2012.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai stated that while Heritage Month itself was a much anticipated month, over the years activities have grown.

“We’ve seen greater enhancement of the cultural expressions of our people – we have seen also, the wider Guyanese population accepting the integration of the diversity of Amerindian culture,” she said Minister Sukhai pointed out that while there are nine Amerindian nations in Guyana and their cultural expressions may seem to be the same, “each one has its own peculiar cultural traits.”

She added that that the songs and dances have their own unique blends to the various nations.

Whilst the Government subsidises treatment and transportation costs for hinterland Amerindian residents who travel to the capital for medical treatment, annual dinners hosted by the Ministry focus on supporting children who fall into this category. However, this year’s Heritage dinner was in aid of support for all patients who do so.

Additionally, top hinterland students were presented with awards for their outstanding performance this year.

Awardees included Reanna Rodrigues of Region Nine, who was the top student for the region in the National Grade Six Assessment.

Reanna attended the St. Ignatius Primary School. She

By Abena Rockcliffe

Otis Chase, Best Graduating Student of the Hinterland Scholarship Programme 2012, receives his award from Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai (GINA photo) is now also a Hinterland Scholarship Student attending The Bishops’ High School. Two other top students from the Region were also presented with awards.

Bartician, Otis Chase was the Best Graduating Student of the Hinterland Scholarship Programme 2012. He gained five distinctions; three grade ones and one grade three at the 2012 CSEC exams.

Former Hinterland Scholarship student, Dr. Salome Henry who now serves the Linden Hospital Complex was also singled out for a special award.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who attended the dinner observed that while improvements are taking place all over the country, Amerindians are receiving their fair share of attention. He also reported that about 12,000 solar panels have already been distributed to date, ensuring that 80% of hinterland homes have electricity. Under the Hinterland Electrification Programme, 11,000 households have been targeted, but prior to that others were distributed.

PM Hinds added that similar progress will soon be made in the One Laptop Per Family project that has a

target of 90,000.

On the issue of mining, while noting that partnerships are being developed between hinterland residents and coastlanders who are traditional miners, the Prime Minister expressed pleasure that many Amerindians themselves are taking their place in the gold mining sector.

The Prime Minister pointed to the fact that while there is the potential for many challenges to be met, “significant progress is being made all around – and Amerindians are taking their place fully in the growth and development of Guyana”.

He said that while many Amerindian doctors are returning to Guyana from Cuba, the challenge to develop Guyana still has to go a far way to achieve more advanced living. “But we have to make progress materially and in coming together; in resolving differences and potential conflicts in historical events.”

Amerindian Heritage Month 2012 was observed through several activities such as Heritage Day at Micobie village, Region Eight, a weekend of sports, Heritage walk, and mural painting. (GINA)

Participate, elevate your...

(From page 10) classifications of race and class which were used to divide us, instead, Caribbean Youth see their creativity and potential being explored for the greater good as they connect with their brothers and sisters via new technological means or in person.

Our youth are therefore standing ready to play their part in forging ahead with the region’s development. All that is needed is for the “conditions to be created”, the presentation of clear

corporate vision, and the unwavering belief in our youths’ potential for the caribbean region to climax in its development.

The Youth Representatives of Guyana urges the youth of Guyana and the rest of the region, to

participate, elevate your existence and contribute as it is your God-Given and national right, to the development of yourself, your community, your country and our world - the ecosystem of Life. Happy Caribbean Youth Day!”

The Guyana Police Force on Friday launched its Junior Officers’ Course, and Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell urged the 29 participants to be honest and professional in all their endeavours.

This is the second course of its kind for the year. The stated objective is to “improve student professionalism and upgrade participants’ knowledge in the art of leadership, techniques of human behaviour, and the skills of communication”. It is also intended to “stimulate the thoughts and energies of participants and enable participants to appreciate their role in the context of the legal framework pertaining to Guyana”.

Brumell identified training as part of the force’s developmental strategies and said that each rank, when leaving the force, should have the balance of academic development and physical fitness.

The Top Cop urged the participants of the course to “grab the opportunity with both hands” as he stated that it is designed to help develop managers. Brumell charged the participants to be good examples to other ranks and, from the course’s content, take back “…new ideas to

your respective services”.

With intent to encourage participants, the Commissioner posited that “promotion will come” but affirmed that this would only be possible through hard work and ethics.

In addition, he expressed the notion that honesty breeds respect, and emphasised “Tell the truth where the truth must be told and you will be respected”.

Further, Brumell stated that the ranks should, “at all times” deal with matters in a professional manner. “Lead from the front as it relates to getting the job done and strive to reduce complaints.”

He opined that if ranks do the aforementioned, the gap will be bridged between the force and the public.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who was also present at the launching, said that he is fully behind training and development within the Force. He pointed out that the modern-day rank is faced with issues that require “clear and objective thinking”.

“During this training, consider yourselves generalists and not specialists, so as to have a wider outlook on things.”

The Minister identified several areas that will be covered during the course, including Information Technology (IT), strategic management, organizational management and handling of complaints.

Rohee noted that training in the area of Information Technology is imperative in a technologically advanced society. He urged the officers not to take their responsibility “lightly”. He cautioned that the successful completion of the course marks only one aspect of the training and reminded the participants that their training must be put to use.

Rohee asserted that each rank must be able to carry out an in-depth investigation.

The Head of Professional Development, University of Guyana, Dr. Winston Headley, during his remarks, stated that training is important in any organization especially the force, as it facilities comparisons.

He said that the force is indirectly mandated to develop society, and in order to do so effectively, training is inevitable as “…we are living in a society not so ordinary”.

Page 14

Kaieteur News

UWI Press to publish Prem Misir’s HIV/AIDS book manuscript The University of the West Indies Press has approved publication of a book manuscript of ProChancellor of the University of Guyana, Dr. Prem Misir, on HIV/AIDS knowledge and stigma-related attitudes among high school students in Guyana.

According to a statement from Misir, General Manager of the University of the West Indies Press said that the UWI Press was “delighted to be adding such an important book to our publishing programme”.

This study assessed knowledge and stigma-related attitudes toward HIV/AIDS among high school students, and determined any relationship between the demographic variables of gender, age, religion, and race/ethnicity and HIV/ AIDS knowledge.

“The study’s conclusion showed fissures in HIV/AIDS knowledge and substantial stigma-related attitudes.

Undoubtedly, limited understanding of the myths and misconceptions of HIV/AIDS indicated that prevention education and awareness policy must focus more than ever on

how HIV is not transmitted,” Misir said in his release.

The implication that knowledge did not seem to impact attitude and behavior change, given the moderate HIV/ AIDS knowledge and a high prevalence of stigma-related attitudes, would suggest that these HIV/AIDS apprehensions and negative attitudes may have links with sexual and other prejudices.

“The HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and reproductive health policies are rarely actively impacting the attitudes of adolescents. It is possible that the time has come to move beyond conventional strategies and methods of program implementation, evaluation, and control toward a social constructivist approach to address HIV preventive intervention.

In addition, the Editor of the bi-monthly peer-reviewed Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (JIAPAC), Dr. Jose M. Zuniga has accepted Dr. Misir’s revised manuscript “Structuration Theory: A Conceptual Framework for HIV/ AIDS Stigma.” JIAPAC is a SAGE Journal.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Rehabilitation of inmates…

Prison craft “a sell out” at GuyExpo

By Rabindra Rooplall Art and craft can play an important role in supporting the rehabilitation process of prisoners, and the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) for the first time this year is playing a part in the GuyExpo 2012.

The annual trade fair opened Thursday evening with lots of pomp and ceremony. A number of features have been added to further enhance the host venue, the Sophia Exhibition Complex.

One of the many booths at the event include the GPS: one depicting craft and sculpture made of paper and soap, and another where wood is used for sculpting and furniture-making.

Only prisoners with good behavioral records are given the opportunity to take part in the art-and-craft programme. Some of them are convicts, while others are awaiting trial for various crimes.

According to Principal Officer II Kirk Joseph, the GPS at the expo is displaying furniture and craft made by inmates from various prisons locations. He noted that the soap craft and paper craft are very popular and added that “there is not enough to supply patrons at the expo”.

“From the first night people wanted to buy out the entire booth, but we had to

Principal Officer II Kirk Joseph at the GPS booth where the soap and paper craft is being displayed at GuyExpo 2012 give them brochures and contact information for orders to be placed…the inmates use their time in prison to produce beautiful creations, which has a positive impact on them since they channel their energies into a positive direction,” he explained.

Adding that incarceration is basically seen by society only in a negative light, the officer said presently the GPS has many rehabilitative courses and options for inmates to learn and develop a skill that can benefit them in society.

Officials noted that prison education, or correctional education, is vocational

training or academic instruction provided to prisoners while they are incarcerated.

These educational programmes can be part of inmate rehabilitation and can help prepare prisoners for their lives upon release.

The educational programmes offered in correctional institutions vary by region and by facility.

Educational programmes are extremely popular in prisons.

Some people will always oppose correctional education, but statistics have shown that prison education reduces recidivism rates.

Inmates who pursue

education and complete programmes while incarcerated are less likely to return to prison.

The result is that less tax money is spent on housing, feeding and rehabilitating a potential repeat offender, because any amount of money spent on prison education saves twice as much money as that applied to re-incarcerating an offender. It also means that former prisoners who have been given the educational tools and marketable skills necessary to become productive members of society are very likely to use them.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 15

Woman, three children perish in Charlestown blaze

By Zena Henry and Abena Rockliffe Horror unfolded in Charlestown early yesterday morning when four persons, including three minors, perished in a fire of unknown origin which gutted the heavily-grilled two-storey building they occupied at Lot 2 Drysdale Street, Charlestown.

Dead are Princess International Hotel employee, 23-year-old Abiola Taylor and her fouryear-old son Justin Taylor; three-year-old Kelisha Solomon and her one-yearold sister Akesha Cordis.

The latter two children's mother, 20-year-old Yolanda Cort, an employee of Edward B. Beharry and Company, is currently nursing third degree burns at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Reports are that around 07:45hours, cries for help were heard emanating from the house. Allan Dick who lives behind the burnt building said he was at the time hanging out clothes when he, “…heard an adult crying out help, help, with children's voices in the background.”

He said after making checks, he noticed a small light at the side of the house which he realised was fire.

Dick said his brother quickly

Badly burnt: Yolanda Cort

aided him in getting buckets of water to douse the blaze.

He said, “We then run around to de front door. So when we knock out de door now de fire push out, but de grille prevent we from doing anything.”

The man said everyone had believed that the occupants had escaped the house, since there was one safety grille at the back of the house that was open. “But no one make it out. They got trapped,” he stated.

Another man, who only gave his name as 'Jermaine' said he lives in the area and learnt about the fire after persons raised an alarm. He said he aided the firemen who arrived promptly at the scene.

Jermaine explained that the glass windows of the building shattered due to the intense heat. He explained that firemen had a difficultly passing the safety grille at the front of the building, but eventually succeeded in doing so.

He narrated that when he entered the building, the house was completely filled with smoke which made it impossible to see anything past his stretched out hands.

He said the roof of the house had already caught on fire with fragments falling on his person while firefighters doused the building. The man explained that along with the fire ranks,

The bodies of Yolanda Cort's children being removed by undertakers he ventured further into the house, where he passed a small child on the floor, whom he believed to be Kelisha Solomon. Jermaine explained that the minor was crouched just outside the bedroom door.

“We pass a li'l child outside de bedroom. It look as if it de creeping out de bedroom and is right deh it lef; in de same position.”

Jermaine continued that Abiola Taylor was crouched in her bed, still clutching her pillow while her son, Justin, was still resting at her side.

Kaieteur News learnt that the woman had worked the latenight shift at the Princess Hotel and had returned home around 02:00hrs yesterday.

Many opined that the woman was too tired to have woken up.

Jermaine recounted that he along with the firemen ventured into another bedroom where they found Yolanda Cort, seated upright on her bed panting for breath, with one of her daughters lying in front of her on the bed.

The man explained that the woman was half-naked and rescuers had to be extra careful as the woman's skin began peeling at the slightest touch.

“We had to be careful.

We had to use a cloth and lift she from underneath, because when we try holding she hand and ting, is suh you see she skin peeling off.”

Cort was rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state.

Kaieteur News was later informed that seven persons occupied the three-bedroom

house. According to Yolanda's sister, Sueann Cort, six persons resided there at the time; her brother Kevin Cort, her sister, her cousin and the children. She explained that another

family member also occupied the house, but is currently working in the interior.

Cort said her boyfriend called her via cell phone at her Anira Street,

Queenstown home and informed her about the fire.

She explained that her brother assisted the women with the children, but yesterday morning he had (continued on page 16)

Page 16

Kaieteur News

Woman, three ...

From page 15 left early to attend church. He returned after receiving word of the fire and was at a loss for words. He stood in a corner fighting tears.

As more relatives converged at the fire scene, the atmosphere quickly turned to a mood of despair as relatives wailed continuously, especially when the bodies of the infants were being removed from the house.

Sueann Cort told this publication that her family is originally from Bartica but after most of the relatives had moved to the city, her sister also made the move to be closer to them. It had been almost two years since the

women and their children occupied the upper level of the rented apartment.

Residents expressed kudos to fire officials whom they said were quite professional and prompt in their response to the fire.

One resident opined that the ranks saved at least seven houses from the blaze, since there are five houses situated in the yard where the burnt house is located.

Apart from that, two other adjacent wooden structures were saved from the blaze.

Police said in a press release that investigations are being conducted into the fire, which is so far of unknown origin.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Just in time!

Overseas-based Guyanese, Harry Gill, on Friday made a timely donation of blood to a Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara resident, Gordon Peters. Mr. Peters is preparing to undergo critical surgery and the only two relatives whose blood type matched his were unable to assist for varying reasons.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Nadia Dawn

Meet the beautiful Model/actress Nadia Dawn who has Guyanese heritage. Her passion has always been to model and act.

Page 17

Page 18

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

A Plaisance girl…

Beryl Haynes is a woman of distinction

By Rabindra Rooplall She has received numerous awards and worked relentlessly to ensure that Plaisance, a community on the East Coast of Demerara, does not fade into obscurity.

Her achievements, too many to count, may be blamed on her teachers who constantly goaded her. Or it may have been largely in part of the fact of who Beryl “Bobby” Adams-Haynes is.

A teacher for 26 years, she was born in 1944 in her beloved village of Plaisance to George and Ursula Pereira. She was the eighth of 12 children.

She was an ordinary “country girl” and married to Dennis Haynes with the union producing three children- Ian, Kim and Fay. She also has seven grandchildren.

Haynes attended Plaisance Methodist School where she completed her primary education under the stewardship of Headmaster F.A Cruickshank. She then went on to Chatham High School in the city where she successfully gained the College of Preceptors Examination Certificate.

In 1964, Haynes migrated to the United Kingdom as a student, first training as a nurse but she later switched career

branching off into the field of education.

She attended the University of London, studying education and qualifying herself in social sciences.

While in the UK, she lectured in Food and Nutrition, Health Education and Child Development before entering the secondary school system.

According to Haynes, she was one of the first black teachers in the UK. She would later become a special education specialist and

three other foreign teachers.

This project lasted one year.

This was under the C a r i b b e a n Te a c h e r s ' Exchange programme funded by the London Education Authority.

After 32 years in the UK, Haynes had had enough and decided to return to her homeland. Her story really began then. On her return, she immediately aligned herself to the village embarking on a series of community activities aimed at improving the lives of the residents there.

“For those who lack the will to change or to challenge the limitations placed upon themselves and others, we need to support and encourage them to transform their lives for the better in whatever way we can.” counselor. During her teaching career she sat over several committees and served for four years as a liaison person with the longstanding West Indies League in London.

She was also the coordinator of the Marsha Phoenix Trust in the UK- a trust which in 1992 brought the first Information Technology project to St. Stanislaus, Guyana under a high school exchange programme. She was director for special needs support centre along with

She founded the Plaisance Dorcas Club.

In 2002, an arm of the Dorcas Club Youth Group was awarded the C o m m o n w e a l t h Yo u t h Service Award for its continued provision of services to the community, and its commitment to the HIV/AIDS programme.

Haynes' engaging personality and commitment to reaching out to the community came to fore when she was nominated in 2003 for “The Women of Distinction Award” for

outstanding community service.

In 2006, she was honoured by the Plaisance/Sparendaam Emancipation Committee for her sterling contributions in the field of community development and service.

She is also liaison person in the village for the overseasbased villagers of Plaisance.

According to the educator, she has helped to raise funds for the Plaisance Methodist School and also donated educational materials and sports equipment.

Along with three villagers, Haynes adopted three schools in Plaisance, and has been supplying educational materials for years.

Haynes finds time from her busy schedule to write poems and is also a musician in her spare time. She has also produced a Caribbean cook book for schools in the UK in 1980s and the proceeds went to natural disaster victims in Dominica and St Lucia.

Learning that Plaisance was bought by freed slaves, she helped spark an initiative for the first Emancipation celebrations in the village in 2000.

“Today Emancipation celebrations are looked forward to with great anticipation and pride,” the

Our special person meets with boxer Wayne 'Big Truck' Braithwaite after he won the WBA belt.

Beryl “Bobby” Adams-Haynes woman said.

One of her biggest projects, possible the most significant one, to date was her research, compilation and chronicling of events, people, dates and contributions made by ethnic groups to the development of the twin village of Plaisance/Sparendaam.

On June 16th, 2010, a publication- “Plaisance from Emancipation to Independence and Beyond” was launched. The proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards the renovation of 'The Plaisance/Sparendaam Friendly Society Building' which will accommodate a cultural venue.

She had some messages to the youths of Guyana – they should equip themselves with the necessary skills to make them marketable. “They must seize every opportunity

that comes their way, stay focused. For those who lack the will to change or to challenge the limitations placed upon themselves and others, we need to support and encourage them to transform their lives for the better in whatever way we can.”

Haynes has a few ideas.

“My vision for the community is to create avenues to empower our youth by providing training and job opportunities, to see a more family focused c o m m u n i t y, t o b u i l d n e i g h b o u r h o o d organisations, so that we can use resources in the community to enhance the lives of the villagers…”

Haynes is very health conscious and ensures she lives a fit and healthy lifestyle.

“My greatest stresses are (continued on page 45)

Mrs. Beryl “Bobby” Adams-Haynes on her way to receive the Medal of Service from late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte for her service to the community in the capacity as President of Plaisance Dorcas Club.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 19

Reorganizing the state requires an organizing idea

T

he question has been asked. It should be

answered.

It is not the type of question that can be answered with a simple “yes” or a simple “no”. It is a complex question that requires a simple but by no means a straightforward answer.

The question is whether we can organize to live more wholesomely. That question needs however to be rephrased to mean can our political parties improve their relationships because when it comes to the ordinary citizen, they do, for the greater part, live wholesomely with each other.

W h e r e t h e unwholesomeness emerges is when it comes to the political organization of the State and more specifically the competition for State power by political parties.

This competition, however, is mere symptomatic, exemplifying rather than being the source of divisions within the society.

At the heart of this division are suspicion, fear and insecurity of the “other.”

That fear, insecurity and suspicion can only be partly overcome by appreciating our common humanity.

Pleas for such appreciation are merely plasters used to conceal the real and deeper rooted problems that subsist within plural societies and especially societies in which there are two main dominant ethnic or cultural groups.

So how can our society be organized in a way that would allow us to live more wholesomely? Several models have been proposed.

But can models truly attenuate the underlying fears, suspicions or insecurities?

Or will these models themselves become victims to the underlying fears, insecurities and suspicions?

Or can there be a model that is actually tailored to deal with these fears, insecurities and suspicions?

One model that has been proposed to deal with the problem is federalism.

Those who advance it argue that it will promote ethnic security and cooperation.

But this model has been rejected, and it has been rejected because those who reject it are really not interested in the “wholesome” power sharing that the model claims it can

produce.

This is not to say that federalism is not without its s h o r t c o m i n g s . Tw o criticisms have been made of the application of this model to Guyana. The first is that federalism is not likely to work in small federal constituencies; and secondly, the specific model of three federal states in Guyana can actually lead to ethnic domination by one group rather than the sort of wholesome sharing of power that it seeks to achieve.

But these shortcomings are by no means insurmountable. After all instead of three federal states, there can be ten whose boundaries can approximate to the existing regional boundaries.

Those who are calling for power sharing will however not agree to federalism. Why should they, when power sharing is not seen as an end product but rather as means towards the eventual goal of coveting political power. Why would there be support for federalism when there can hardly be agreement on sharing power at the “lowest common denominator”- the local government level? Is it because it is not power sharing that is the ultimate goal but rather political power?

And if the present Westminster system is such an aberration and impractical for plural societies such as ours, then what can be wrong with organizing State power differently, say federalism even if it is for a trial period?

Instead of quarreling about IMCs for NDCs which is really an obsolete model that even the Cubans are disbanding, how about disbanding the entire regional and NDC systems and having a more wholesome and smaller local government system based on the old village council model? How can there be wholesome development when so much

valuable human and financial relations are being absorbed by the local government structures in a country that is suffering from a brain drain.

We have failed to reach agreement on a model for organizing the State and one of the reasons why we have failed is because we have skipped over the most fundamental step: an agreement on the political philosophy that should inform such an organization.

If there can be no agreement on a model of organizing the State, then how about an agreement on an ideology around which the State can be organized.

Every form of organization reflects an organizing idea or ideology.

If one is clear about the organizing idea or ideology, then the mechanics can easily fall into place. Since both of the main political parties have a socialist background and since their

leadership are often accused of still having socialist sympathies, how about an agreement on what should be the organizing idea around which the State could be rearranged.

After all is the subliminal source of the fears, suspicions and insecurities based on concerns about who gets what within the State? If there can be an organizing idea that promotes each according to his need or each according to

his work, then can this not be a starting point for agreement on a model? Can there be an agreement on an organizing idea?

What happens if there can be no agreement on a central ideology for the reorganization of the State?

See why organizing to live wholesomely is like going around in circles?

Page 20

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Ravi Dev Column

Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about the phenomenon of suicide. It’s not that I’m morbid.

As an Indian in Guyana, I’m not sure how one can avoid such thoughts. With almost 200 suicides a year and more than three-quarters of them being Indians, there’s hardly a week you don’t get a call from some friend or acquaintance about someone they or you know who took their life. Who hasn’t been touched?

It’s been so ever since I can remember. Friends from other communities would joke: “What’s the name of an Indian cocktail? Malathion!”

But interesting enough when I started looking into the epidemic, I found that in the villages of the Bhojpuri belt from where most of us had migrated from, suicide had been a rare occurrence. The figures of the 19th century showed that Uttar Pradesh had a rate of 6.3 per 100,000 while in the countries to which we had been exported to labour on the sugar plantations the numbers had skyrocketed to at least ten times that number. From Fiji to South Africa to the Caribbean, the authorities compiled meticulous records, even as they took no measures to deal specifically with the problem. It was just another factor that convinced them Indian immigration had

to continue - to fill the gaps so to speak.

Matters haven’t changed much since, as far as the numbers go. Two years ago, Guyana hit the international news with a piece on Al Jazeera, reporting from Black Bush Polder, that we’d placed among the countries with the highest suicide rates in the world. Officially, by WHO figures, we’re # 3. We don’t need Jim Jones to place us on the suicide watch any longer.

But that # 3 position was earned as a country as a whole – with a population of 780,000 – producing a rate of 25/100,000. If, as the studies show, we disaggregate the rate for Indians (over three quarters of the victims) then we take the undisputed #1 spot with about 50/100,000.

We’ve been highlighting this fact for the last decade and a half to emphasise that whenever the authorities designed a suicide intervention program, they’d have to ensure that the cultural responses of Indians to the triggering mechanisms for suicide be taken into account.

There has unfortunately been a studied refusal to take the hint. Last year, noting that “Multicultural societies require cultural sensitivity in all suicide prevention efforts,” the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) designated

the theme for World Suicide Day as: “Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies.”

It was emphasised that, “Risk factors for suicide vary across cultural groups.

Knowledge about common risk factors in a society often stems from research in majority populations.

However, in a multicultural context we need to be aware that some risk factors may play different roles in the suicidal process as well as in suicide prevention for some minority groups compared to the majority population…

“In addition, other factors that might have a different impact on minorities compared to the majority population are attitudes towards suicidal behaviour and suicidal people (e.g. taboo, stigma), religion and spirituality, and family dynamics (gender roles and responsibilities).” It is therefore not surprising that as a result, as is the case in Guyana, “The strategy/ program is often aimed at the majority population and a specific cultural perspective or focus is missing.”

One problem arising with the traditional approach in dealing with suicide has been its strong linkage with mental health services.

It’s not that the latter are failing people, but that they are not always the right service in the first place. If you

are deeply distressed and feeling suicidal, then visiting a place seen a dealing with ‘mad people’ would be the last place you’d want to go. Very few persons who committed suicide sought out available mental health workers.

The government in the last five years has made an attempt to get ordinary individuals within communities trained in a ‘gatekeepers’ program to be available to counsel individuals contemplating suicide. But the initiative appears to have been mothballed for reasons that are not clearly apparent.

The former Minister of Health had confessed that funding had always been a constraint but we had hoped with the enormity of the problem, this would have been rectified.

Earlier this month, there was a report of a Peace Corps volunteer working with a local group in Black Bush polder, the Mibicuri Community

Developers. He surveyed the community’s specific conclusions as to why they’ve become the ‘suicide nest’ of Guyana.

In descending significance these were “the inability to cope, domesticrelational problems, parents disapproving of their children’s boyfriends or girlfriends, alcoholism as a pattern, impulsivity, insufficient money to live on or to repay loans, easy access to agricultural pesticides/ poisons, poverty/limited opportunities, manipulation to get what they want from parents and Satan/the Devil tempting them to do it.”

These may be compared to some general factors identified by the IASP - for instance depression, unemployment, poverty, oppression, marginalisation, stigmatisation, or racism.

We have to connect the specific and general triggering factors but more importantly identify why the

Ravi Dev

particular response in elicited.

Other groups probably face these same challenges but their response is different. An effective intervention program has to answer this ‘why’ and offer alternatives to the “Indian Cocktail”?

Page 22

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Patricia Charles’ last phone call

By Michael Jordan On Saturday, October 7, 2005, a group of persons was walking along the Kitty seawall just before dawn when they came upon a rather disturbing sight.

A man who appeared to be a drug addict was straddling a young woman who lay on the ground in a secluded area. The woman

was putting up no resistance, and the onlookers suspected that she was under the influence of alcohol.

One of the passersby angrily chased the vagrant away and after the man had fled, the rescuer and his companions went to the woman’s aid.

It was then that they discovered that the ‘intoxicated’ victim was in fact dead.

The victim, an attractive woman in her

twenties, was partly nude. She was wearing a pair of blue pants, which were partly pulled down; one blue Nike boot, and a toe-ring and studded earrings.

The absence of the second boot made the detectives suspect that she had been slain somewhere else.

Detectives also observed abrasions on her knees and right forearm. They suspected that she had been raped and strangled and this would later be confirmed during a post mortem.

Initial reports suggested that the victim was a Brazilian.

But the following day, she was identified as 26-year-old Patricia Newman-Charles of Waini Street, Meadow Brook Gardens.

The day before, October 6th, the attractive 26-year-old had left home dressed in blue jeans, black shirt, blue boots and jewellery, including two gold chains. Toting a handbag, Patricia informed a sister, Diana Ramotar, that she was going out.

Before leaving, Patricia asked the sister to keep an eye on her three children, aged seven, nine and 12.

A relative also remembered that Patricia had received a phone call from someone.

Patricia would normally call to enquire about her children whenever she was away, and the sister had sensed that something was wrong when the mother of three had failed to call.

Shortly after Patricia Newman-Charles’ body was found, police arrested three men who were allegedly seen near the body. They were released shortly after.

Then, two days afterwards, investigators picked up four other male suspects.

According to reports, the men were held after records at the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) revealed that the

suspects had telephoned Newman-Charles shortly before her death.

One of the suspects was a minibus owner.

He appeared to be the last person that had contacted the victim by telephone before she disappeared. But detectives met another dead end and had to release the suspects.

Days later, the family received more bad news. The post-mortem confirmed that Newman-Charles was manually strangled.

And after almost seven years, police appear to have all but forgotten about this murder.

Relatives who visit the police to enquire about the status of the matter are merely told that investigations are continuing.

“Our family did not get any justice,” one relative had told Kaieteur News. “When I look at her children I just want to cry many times because they are left without a mother. No one knows the pain we feel and I don’t think anyone can comfort us. I know if we get justice then maybe we can get closure.”

“We still live close as a family but whenever we are together, there is always someone missing.”

If you have any information about this case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location.

You can also reach us on telephone numbers 22-58465, 22-58473, and 22-58491.

You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address mjdragon@hotmail.com.

You need not disclose your identity.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 23

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

There is a lovely ‘70s love song, “This Masquerade,” composed by a ‘60s hippie singer, Leon Russell, made famous by Karen Carpenter and for which George Benson won a Grammy. A verse of the song goes like this; “We’re lost inside this lonely game we play.” For a long time now, the nation of Guyana has been living inside a masquerade, lost completely in a lonely game dictated by the savagery of power domination.

The Mayor of Georgetown dropped in last week at the People’s Parliament and handed us a document titled, “The Odyssey and Trial of the Georgetown Mayor and Councilors 1992 -2012.” To understand power domination and its ethnic underpinning, one must avoid putting emphasis on the author of this document. It is not important who wrote it. It could have been a schoolboy.

On perusing this document, the reader is exposed to a masquerade that perhaps has no counterpart the world over.

Whether you think Mr. Hamilton Green was a bad politician from the past, whether you think he has not done a good job as mayor is not the point. The document lays bare the complete (not partial) emasculation of an elected body. The citizens of Georgetown went to the polls in 1994 and voted for the Mayor and City Councilors.

The ruling party at the centre obtained eight seats out of thirty. Yet from 1994, this elected authority of the Georgetown municipality has had its jurisdiction overridden by a party in the central government that has ignored the rules and power that flow from a free election.

If the Constitution or the laws of Guyana allow for the central government to bypass the Georgetown City Council,

then the 1994 election was a farce, and any future local authority poll will be such if the laws are not amended.

This masquerade takes on a ghoulish dimension when two realities are factored into the equation. One is that the very central government since 1992 has had its votes from selected constituencies and not proportionately across the territory of Guyana. It means then that morally, politically and electorally, central government should not display power arrogance, because its mandate is not a popular one.

The second reality is that the Georgetown Municipality is a part of Region 4 and since 1992, the ruling PPP has not won a majority of the votes on the lower part of the ballot paper when it comes to Region 4. The graphic reality then is that since the nineties began, the PPP has been a

terrible loser in elections in Georgetown and Region 4. Yet since 1992, the ruling PPP has wielded enormous power over the Georgetown Municipality and Region 4 administration.

Earlier this year, the Chairman of Region 4, Mr. Clement Corlette sat at his desk in his office and said to me across the table, “Freddie, they cut the Region 4 budget by seventy-two percent.” He was referring to the budget that his administration handed the Finance Minister when the national budget was being prepared. Shortly after the general elections in November last year, the central government began redeploying Region 4 overseers to different Regions across Guyana.

What then is the purpose of the second vote on our ballot paper? On Friday, I was part of a delegation from the People’s Parliament that made

representation to the Lusignan NDC over complete lack of toilet facilities for the large vendor community at the Friday Lusignan market.

At the NDC office we were told that the NDC Councilors have been removed and an IMC has been installed.

Lusignan is in Region 4, yet I was informed that the chairman of Region 4, elected in a free and open poll last November, was not even informed about the IMC at Lusignan.

Here is where the PNC and now APNU have failed Guyana badly. But that is in the past. We now have the phenomenal results of the last general elections. There is now the AFC. Both parties have a moral and political obligation to go to the people of Guyana, the Caribbean Governments and the ABC Governments, and declare that they will not accept central authority’s complete

Frederick Kissoon jurisdiction over the affairs of Region 4, because it is a depraved rejection of the fundamental value of free and fair elections.

Why are elected politicians in the Georgetown Municipality and Region 4 not allowed to govern? This masquerade has now entered the realm of the bizarre and the macabre. The domination of the Georgetown Municipality and Region 4 continues in 2012 when in 2011, the ruling PPP lost a majority in the national elections. Who will stop this masquerade?

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Dead: Suresh Jhaman and Indrani Narine SUNDAY COUPLE, DAUGHTER DIE IN TWO-VEHICLE CRASH A couple and their 16year-old daughter died instantly around 10:30 hrs last week Saturday after a truck rammed their car on the Supply, East Bank Demerara public road. The tragedy occurred minutes after the father had made plans to assist with preparations for his mother’s funeral.

Dead are 39-year-old truck driver Suresh Jhaman, his 41year-old reputed wife, Indrani Narine and 16-year-old Amanda Deonarine, all of Lot 12, Supply, East Bank Demerara. All reports indicate that the accident occurred after Jhaman swerved into the path of the truck.

The impact was so great that the vehicles ploughed through a concrete wall on the western side of the roadway. The white Toyota Allion, PNN 1696, was so badly crushed that it was barely recognizable.

Persons who rushed to the scene had to prise the wreckage apart to reach the victims, who were pronounced dead at the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital. Police said that the driver of the truck has been detained. A police traffic official told Kaieteur News that Jhaman was driving south along the East Bank Demerara Public Road and had just crossed a bridge, when he apparently drove over a rough area on the

Dead: Amanda Deonarine roadway. According to the official, the car spun out of control and ended up in the path of an approaching truck.

PRESIDENT RAMOTAR WILL NOT STOPANY OF JAGDEO’S PROJECTS The Donald Ramotar administration is unlikely to pull back any of the major projects announced under the Presidency of Bharrat Jagdeo.

Nine months have passed since the 62-year-old economist and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party was sworn in after Jagdeo’s two-term reign ended last year. There have been criticisms that the new Ramotar government is of the same old faces, with no immediate discernible shift in policies and programmes.

There have even been suggestions that Ramotar is a mere puppet while the former President remains in the background but still in control.

However, the new

President made it clear two Fridays ago that the projects and policies of the present and past administrations were all consistent with those of the PPP. During a press conference two Fridays ago at his Vlissengen Road office, the President, in responding to questions whether Guyana is likely to see him “charting his own course” instead of being in the shadow of Jagdeo, made it clear to reporters that this was far from the truth. “I don’t think you understand how we (the PPP) operate… That is why you probably ask a question like that. Jagdeo was not a law unto himself. He has never been a law unto himself. Those were programmes of the PPP. Those were policies of the PPP/C.” MONDAY TRIPLE MURDER ROCKS ANNA CATHERINA… WOMAN, TWO SONS FOUND WITH THROATS SLASHED Residents of Anna Catherina along with police on the West Coast of Demerara are trying to make sense of a brutal triple murder of a popular bar owner and her two young children. Dead are Jennifer Persaud called ‘Jenny’, 41, and her two sons, Afridi, six years, and 15month-old Jadon of Lot 67

Sea View, Anna Catherina.

They were all found with their throats slashed on the evening of Saturday, September 22 when worried family members entered the home after not hearing from the businesswoman during the day. Police have since held on to her young reputed husband who was reportedly thrown out of the home days earlier. The man, a deportee, said to be in his early 20s, is the father of the woman’s younger son. He is currently facing drug charges, police sources said.

Police confirmed, in an official statement that the woman and her two children were found with their throats slit shortly after 20:00 hrs on Saturday.

It is believed that the woman and her two sons were killed between midnight Friday September 21 and early the morning of Saturday September 22.

The family had spoken to Persaud late that Friday night and her business place had been open after midnight.

GUYANA’S ECONOMIC PROJECTION REVISED DOWNWARDS Guyana has produced a most commendable economic performance for the first half of the year despite an external environment that continues to be extremely unpredictable.

However, due to sugar not performing as expected, the economic growth projection for the remainder of 2012 has been slightly reduced from 4.1 percent to 3.8 percent. This was indicated by the Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh during an interview with the National Communications Network.

Dr. Singh said that sugar is unlikely to improve in the second part of the year hence the slight moderation.

Speaking about the unpredictable external environment, Minister Singh said the effects can be seen

in the performance of sister CARICOM nations which have been buffeted by the external environment which continues to be unstable.

Additionally, he noted that in the domestic economic environment in Guyana, some sectors performed well while others did not meet expectations. Minister Singh emphasised that economic growth depends on the outside environment and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) since “if the price outlook is not stable and favourable, large investors will not be investing in large projects, they will probably wait until they can get a more favourable environment.”

TUESDAY TOP COP TELLS COMMISSION…LINDEN SHOOTING WAS UNJUSTIFIED Police Commissioner (ag), Leroy Brumell, stated Monday under oath that the shooting of the three Lindeners on July 18, last, was “unjustified”. He told the commission that Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Patrick Todd gave the order to shoot.

Brumell made the statement while giving testimony as the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the fatal shootings at Linden got underway in the High Court Library. The commissioners are Jamaicans Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe and Senior Counsel Keith Knights; Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal of Trinidad and Tobago; and former Justice Claudette Singh, CCH and former Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard from Guyana. The Acting Top Cop, who was the first witness called to present evidence, said that at no point did he give order or approve the use of lethal force. According to Brumell, he did not receive any order from Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee on how to deal with the Linden

protest. Brumell was at the time being questioned by Jamaican Senior Counsel Keith Knights who guided him through the series of events before and after the shooting that resulted in the deaths of three Linden residents and severe injuries to over two dozen others. The Top Cop said that prior to the shootings he issued instructions to the then Commander of E&F Division, Clifton Hicken, to conduct talks with the protesters and locate the leaders in an attempt to have them disperse the thousands of protesters.

ANNACATHERINA TRIPLE MURDER… PRIME SUSPECT’S BLOODSTAINED PANTS RECOVERED As investigators continue to piece together the details that led to the shocking murders of a popular West Coast Demerara bar owner and her two young sons over the weekend, there are emerging details of drugs and arrests. Monday, the reputed husband and an uncle remained in custody even as reports say that a noisy fight took place in the bar around midnight Friday September 21, shortly before the murders are believed to have taken place. A postmortem examination was performed on the bodies of Jennifer Persaud, 41, and her two sons, Afridi, six, and 15month-old Jadon by Government Pathologist, Dr. Vivikenand. Brijmohan gave the cause of their deaths as haemorrhage and shock due to stab wounds.The woman’s body bore several stab wounds and her neck was slashed. The bloodied bodies of the businesswoman and her two sons were found in their home, on a bed, at Lot 67 Sea View, Anna Catherina with their throats slashed on the evening of Saturday (Continued on page 37)

Sunday September 30, 2012

Book Review…

By Dr Glenville Ashby In a scene reminiscent of the Buddhist priest setting himself ablaze to protest the Vietnam War, Ramzi Al Abboudi, a young Tunisian graduate, immolated himself to highlight his plight and his country’s crippling economy.

This act of ultimate defiance - of altruistic suicide - sparked what has since been dubbed, The Arab Spring.

With angst, rage, and hope marked by tens of thousands of protesters - the end of family dynasties and rubber stamped parliaments were seemingly imminent.

But in countries, such as Yemen and Syria, the old guard resisted - leading to political turmoil and civil war.

Surely, no one can predict the fallout of the Arab Spring.

However, we can identify the dynamics involved – the socalled paradigmatic elements that can help us understand our own societies.

As a teacher of Middle Eastern politics, no one is more qualified than Professor James L. Gelvin of the University of California to guide the reader through this political labyrinth.

Gelvin is the go-to guy for analysis when the powder keg called the Middle East shows signs of another eruption. The year-long developments there had Gelvin working overtime, crisscrossing the media circuits.

Amid all the interviews, he found time to deliver a literary autopsy on a crisis with global implications. Gelvin’s work is painstakingly detailed.

He challenges the worn theory that Islamic fundamentalists are the puppeteers behind the chaos.

Instead, he examines the socio-political dynamics of each country, sidestepping gross generalizations. He explores demographics,

Kaieteur News

Page 25

The Arab Spring: What’s next? political and economic g o v e r n a n c e , secularism, sectarianism, monarchical rule, and every nuance of Middle Eastern expression that has added to the social cauldron called, “The Arab Spring.” But, he avoids using this term, calling it premature and misleading.

Spring connotes a rebirth feelings of joy and expectation - a reality absent in that region - at least for now.

Gelvin findings are provocative. He evaluates the impact of the region’s “youth bulge” where approximately 60 percent of the population in the Arab world is under the age of thirty.

In Egypt, he comments, “young people with college degrees rank highest among the unemployed of any sector of youth, and in Syria, a vast majority of college graduates spend at least four years looking for employment before landing a job.”

Gelvin assesses the impact of cumbersome governmental take-over of economies that lead to sluggish GDPs, unsustainable subsidies, and lack of economic diversification. He states that socio-economic change at the behest of the IMF, has led to deregulation, and what he calls, “Crony Capitalism.”

Gelvin posits that decaying economies, suffocating social control (caused by decades-old state of emergencies), suspension of habeas corpus, a ubiquitous security apparatus, and the total disregard for transparency and accountability have produced the perfect storm that we are witnessing today.

The author pays particular attention to Syria. And for obvious reasons. A staunch Iranian ally with sway over the Hezbollah terror network in Lebanon, Syria has

positioned itself as a deal maker in the region, especially in regards to peace with Israel.

The author uses Orwellianism, and Machiavellian politics to describe the Syrian response to protests. It’s about naked survival of the minority Alawite clan - rulers for over four decades.

Here, the brutality is incredulous and unrivalled in the region. However, Gelvin is wrong in attributing Syria’s close ties with Iran only to geopolitics.

To minimise the role of the historic rivalry between Sunni and Shia Islam in this particular conflict - as it is in Bahrain - is highly questionable. Sectarianism dies hard, if ever.

Overall, “Uprisings” proves engaging and elucidative. Despite its unflappable academic grounding, its appeal is universal. In many ways it’s a handbook on Arab politics with all its global implications.

Indeed, it may serve as a warning to governments that are disconnected from the pulse of its young people – oftentimes criticised as the iTunes generation, steeped in self-entitlements and the whimsical.

But Arab youths (with technology at their finger tips) have proven quite capable of starting revolutions - on a dime -without firing a single bullet. Just ask Hosni Mubarak, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Abedine Ben Ali, and Colonel Gaddafi (if he were alive).

Dr Glenville Ashby, literary critic – The Caribbean Book Review The Arab Uprising: What Everyone Needs To Know by James L. Gelvin Oxford University Press, 2012 ISBN 978-0-19-989177-1 Available: Amazon.com Ratings: ****: Highly Recommended glenvilleashby@gmail.com

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Is the UG student getting the best value for money?

Attending university is a significant investment and like any other investment, the person making the investment would be looking to get maximum returns on what he or she puts in.

A university student not only pays the relevant fees

but would have to purchase textbooks (not pirated hopefully), notebooks, other stationary, transportation to and from campus, time to attend classes, time to study, time for research and assignments.

Very often the student

couples attending classes with work and in some instances, the student is not given time-off from work to attend classes so he/she is very often rushing in to classes late or just in the nick of time.

All of this adds up to a

significant investment for the student. It is therefore only natural that the student would expect something worthwhile and tangible at the end of the time put in to get that diploma or degree.

As employees or prospective employees, we

make that investment in higher education so we can be more competitive.

We expect that after all the sacrifice and hard work our reward will be not only a document that confers on us a Degree in some area of study but more importantly it will also say to employers, here is a person who will be of benefit to your company or organization.

Do employers have that confidence in a graduate from the University of Guyana and to what extent is that confidence demonstrated?

Let us look at how we compare with applicants who are graduates from other universities when seeking a job. Let us say there is an opening at a manufacturing company for a Business Executive, someone with management qualification.

Three persons with similar job experience and qualification apply, one from the University of Guyana, one from University of the West Indies and the third from an American University.

We do not need scientific research to conclude that the employer will mentally least favour the graduate from the University of Guyana.

This has nothing to do with the ability of the graduate or the grades he/she has received. It is subjective to the way the university is perceived.

While we acknowledge that the University of Guyana has produced some outstanding students in its time, we must accept that of recent, the University status has declined and we must question the reason behind this.

Are UG graduates getting the best value for their investment? Given what the

student puts in into acquiring a degree and the value of that degree on the regional and international market, it is doubtful that the US student is getting the best value for his/her investment.

This must not be seen as a critique of the lecturers or administrative staff of the University but more of the policy makers who ultimately determine the status of the university.

Let us be clear, we believe that those lecturers who stay on and continue to lecture year after year in the deplorable conditions that exist at UG must be commended.

The University of Guyana needs drastic overhaul starting with the Council and a massive influx of funds to provide visual aids, renovate buildings, equip labs, provide 21st century technology and provide other critical aids and resources that every modern day university now has access to.

To develop the University of Guyana, we need to take the politics out of the policy making and allow academia to be at the helm. The present situation where government and its cronies control not only what funds are given to the university but also what policies guide the university is a recipe that ensures a singular way of thinking – that of the PPP. We need to take away that control from the government.

Let us look around the region‌ there are examples at Cave Hill and Mona of what can be done to make a university work in the best interest of the student.

Government’s investment in the university is an investment to ensure development.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 27

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

…an obscure place in Linden

By Enid Joaquin No more flying downhill in Kokerite boats! No more Wabanie under the Correa trees. No more bonfires under the big bamboo tree, with story telling of Kanaima, and other spirits- no more pepperpot simmering with every wild meat imaginable, and certainly, and sadly-no more cassava bread making!

‘Today the Amerindians here don’t make cassava bread; they buy cassava bread from other people who make it! It’s a shame!” an Amerindian, from Buck Hill recently said cynically.

Sad but true, that as we celebrated Amerindian Heritage this past month, for many Amerindians especially those living in and around Linden, the aforementioned are just nostalgic recollections, of cultural traditions that have all but disappeared.

There are too many things that our people no longer do, too much of “no more” and too little of carrying on of customs and traditions that have become all but forgotten.

The above scenario graphically illustrates the traditions lost, at what once was considered Linden’s only Amerindian reservation“Buck Hill” also known as

Wismar Hill which, as you might rightly conjecture, got the name because it was first inhabited by Amerindians, who remained the predominant race living there for many years. But things have changed.

Buck Hill, as this relatively small and obscure community is popularly called, has changed.

Curious I remember vividly, my own curiosity about this place as a little girl, and wondering about the people who lived there. In my childhood mind I conjured up images of people running around, with feathered headdress and arrows and bows at the readyimages of trullie covered benabs with women baking cassava bread, and making pepperpot.

But by the time I was old enough to visit the community on my own; all semblance of Amerindian culture had disappeared.

Back then There was no benab or trullie house, no cassava bread baking, and definitelyno wabanies!

I was disappointed, but that was short-lived, as I soon grew to love this quaintly beautiful place, with its crystal clear spring water, toe blistering white sand and

numerous Coreaa trees. Oh and the view- the view from atop this hill is breathtaking, particularly at nights, when one could admire the lights across the river at Mackenzie.

First inhabitants The Chappelle’s were one of the first Amerindian families to settle at Buck Hill.

Old Ma and Pa Chappelle had moved from the Rupununi and Pomeroon respectively, to seek a better life at Wismar. Pa Chappele was an Arawak, while his wife, came from the Macusi tribe.

The couple settled on Buck Hill, where the Chappelle clan grew.

Presently only one of the Chappelle offspringBridgette, resides on the Hill, with her husband and children. Her other siblings have all moved away.

But Bridgette still remembers the old days, of Kokerite boat skating, and storytelling under the big bamboo tree. The bamboo tree is no longer there, but the memories remain.

One of Buck Hill’s oldest residents Leonard Rodrigues well known as ‘Uncle Lennie” , pointed out that the Amerindians who first occupied the community, most likely chose the area, because of its proximity to the Demerara River and its lush

Leonard Rodrigues and Bridgette Chappelle (sitting at left and right) are two of the few older Amerindians still living at Buck Hill. hunting grounds.

“In those days there was a lot of Koreea trees around here, so the people could hunt the labba, deer and so on without having to go very far.

You know the animals would graze under these trees, because the seeds are what they eat, so the people would just set up wabanie nearby and shoot them, when they came out to feed.”

Most of the korrea trees were cut down as the population grew, and as they disappeared so did the animals that fed on their seeds, Rodrigues noted.

He added that cutting down the trees has also led to massive erosion over the years, as these trees roots had stabilized the sandy soil.

Rodrigues is of Amerindian and Portuguese heritage. He moved to Buck Hill, from Susannah’s Rust, down the Demerara River, in the early seventies.

He had moved to the area

to work with the then Demerara Bauxite Company, he said. “Right away I fall in love with the place- but is a woman (Joyce), that keep me here”, he declared proudly.

He would later marry her, and father eleven children with her.

Buck Hill obscured But Buck Hill is not the same, as when he first moved there, Uncle Lennie reminisced. Most of the older generation of Amerindians have either died out or moved away.

Their offspring, he noted, could not really be considered Amerindians as most of them are the result of interracial marriages and relationships.

Another resident Hyacinth Isaacs, an Afro Guyanese said that she has been living on Buck Hill for more than forty years, having moved there with her husband Rupert, and their son John in 1970. Isaacs said

that she has not regretted the decision to move there, as she has always felt comfortable among the Amerindians.

“When we moved here I felt a little strange, but not for long, because the people were nice to me, and there were already other people living here- like Victorine De Florimonte, Mr Simeon and the Sampsons. And we all lived as one. Some of my relatives even married Amerindian girls, or formed relationships with them and had children; and everybody got along fine. We ain’t got no racism here.

Wismar Hill, more popularly known as “Buck Hill”, is one of the few places in Linden, that people hardly hear anything about now, despite its location on a hill top, almost in the centre of the town. It is home to less than three hundred residents, most of whom are certainly not Amerindians.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 29

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 31

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Page 36

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Young woman undergoes successful operation ...expresses gratitude to those who assisted

H

a v i n g undergone a costly but crucial life-saving operation at the West Medical Hospital in Trinidad, 23-year-old Keane Lynch is on the path to full recovery after suffering a severe case of aneurism last month.

This newspaper had reported on her condition and had highlighted her need for financial assistance for the medical procedure needed to save her life.

Assistance in many forms was extended to the Guyana Revenue Authority employee allowing for her to undergo the operation which turned out to be timely and successful.

Speaking to this publication yesterday Keane disclosed that while doctors were not able to ascertain what caused her to suffer the aneurism, they were able to deduce that the cause of the condition would have been pre-existing.

Doctors, she said, also informed that several factors could lead to aneurism such as alcoholism, stress coupled with high blood pressure or a really hard fall.

At the time of her attack, Keane was residing at Y a r r o w k a b r a , Soesdyke/Linden Highway with her boyfriend. This newspaper was told that Keane began feeling unwell on August 17th last as she carried out routine chores around the home. Her mother, Cheryl Lynch, disclosed that her daughter's unnerving sensation would continue until the evening when she attempted to take a bath.

According to the woman who resides at Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, she learnt that her daughter began feeling extremely dizzy before collapsing to the bathroom floor. Her boyfriend came to her aid

Keane Lynch is much improved after undergoing a successful operation after hearing faint screams from Keane emanating from the bathroom which is located in the yard.

On recognising the state of his girlfriend, the concerned young man sought the assistance of an elderly female neighbour. Together they rushed the young woman to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

She was unconscious by the time they arrived at the East Bank Demerara health facility. Medical personnel were able to ascertain that there was a swelling to her head which was linked to the fall.

Family members were advised to take the young woman to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where she was admitted a patient.

The young woman, according to her mother, was s een b y at leas t tw o neurologists who

recommended that she undergo a Computerised Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.

Having examined and reexamined the CAT scans, the doctors were able to deduce that Keane had a rupture and an irregular rhythm in a cerebral artery. As a result she was placed on medication for pain to help reduce inflammation, according to her mother.

However, the doctors had advised that the young woman be taken to Trinidad for further examination and surgery to repair the detected damage to her brain.

The cost for facilitating the operation was estimated to be in excess of G$5M while an additional US$3,160 was required to charter a plane to take the ailing woman to the Trinidad health facility.

S u p p o r t w a s forthcoming in abundance which allowed for the lifesaving operation which has not only left Keane feeling much better but extremely grateful to all those who assisted. She revealed that though she feels a bit dizzy and very weak her physical condition is much improved.

She is required to rest and ensure that she does not become stressed. She is also required to have follow-up checks at the Trinidad medical facility within six months.

Keane's friends and family extend gratitude for the monetary assistance and prayers.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

From page 24 September 22. Police arrested the woman’s reputed husband, said to be in his 20’s and the father of Jadon, after he arrived on the scene and after the bodies were discovered. He had been thrown out of the home early the previous week.

Police sources Monday said that semen was found on the woman, indicating that there was sexual activity sometime Friday.

WEDNESDAY COMMISSION OF INQUIRY… RANKS DENIED SHOOTING PROTESTORS – TOP COP Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell, Tuesday testifying before the Commission of Inquiry into the Linden shootings that killed three person said that ranks on July 18, last, did not open fire on protestors while at the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge.

He was explaining to Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes who conducted a crossexamination, that according to statements taken from police ranks on the ground on the day in question, none of them related that they shot at Lindeners who were protesting the hike in electricity tariffs. Brumell told Hughes that he was expecting eyewitnesses to come forward with statements to ascertain what actually took place on the day Shemroy Bouyea, Ron Somerset andAllan Lewis were killed, but to date, none of those eyewitnesses have given statements, thus causing the police investigation file to be incomplete. Hughes questioned the Top Cop on whether the police statements identified the ranks that fired at protestors, but Brumell again responded in the negative. He said that none of the police statements confirmed which ranks opened fire.

Apart from that, Brumell told Hughes that in the video footage received from Linden, none of the ranks were seen shooting at the protestors.

INJUNCTION GRANTED PROHIBITING ‘PIRATED’ SCHOOL BOOKS An injunction filed by the British Publishers’ Association was on Tuesday granted by Justice Rishi Persaud at the Supreme Court, prohibiting the publication of ‘pirated’ school books in Guyana.

Attorney-at-law Andrew Pollard is representing the Publishers’ Association, whom he said moved to the High Court as a means of protecting and safeguarding their intellectual property rights. The British Publishers’ Association is an umbrella body of United Kingdom publishers whose members

include large publishing houses such as Nelson Thornes Ltd., Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Macmillan Ltd. and Pearson Education Ltd. They are the holders of copyright in an extensive number of works which are being pirated and sold openly in Georgetown and other urban centres in the country, Pollard explained.

He said that the publishers had no alternative but to seek recourse for their rights through law. They have thus filed the injunction restraining the defendants from reproducing, selling and exposing for sale or dealing with infringed copies.

THURSDAY LINDEN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY… POLICE COMMANDER CLAIMS HE HAD NO AUTHORITY OVER TSU RANKS A police sergeant who works in the police arms room on Wednesday listed weapons, including rifles and pistols, which were given to ranks deployed to Linden on July 18 when three Lindeners were shot dead.

However, at Wednesday’s sitting of the Commission of Inquiry in the July 18 events, Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken claimed he did not know what weapons the ranks from Georgetown had.

Further, Hicken said he had no authority over the ranks from Georgetown.

He testified that he had requested Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell to send a unit from the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) to support him in Linden given that permission was granted for a five-day protest march.

That TSU unit comprised of 18 ranks under the command of Assistant Superintendent Patrick Todd.

According to Hicken, any decision to fire at the crowd would have been the call of the commander on the ground. Even though he requested the TSU unit, Hicken said he had no authority over them and any instructions to the unit would

have been directed by the Commissioner of Police.

Hicken said he briefed the TSU unit on the morning of July 18 about the location, seeking to familiarize them with the area. He said that he did not know whether the ranks from the unit had bulletproof vests, whether they had shields or whether they had weapons, and if they did, he did not know what kind of weapons they had.

WOMEN CAUGHT SMUGGLING DRUGS IN HAIR WEAVES New York-(The Smoking Gun) The suspiciously towering hairdos of two women who had just flown into New York City from Guyana prompted federal agents to conduct searches that revealed each traveler was carrying more than two pounds of cocaine sewn into her weave, according to court records. After arriving early Sunday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Caribbean Airlines Flight 526 from Guyana, the women appeared fidgety and extremely nervous during routine questioning by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. In a U.S. District Court affidavit, a federal agent noted that Kiana Howell “appeared as if she was going to faint” and “her carotid artery was pumping.”

During a pat-down, an investigator felt “an unusual bulge beneath the defendant’s hair weave.”

When asked about the bulge, Howell claimed that it was “part of her hair weave.”

When asked to remove the weave, Howell said that she could not “because she had a package that was sewn into it.”

Howell stated that her boyfriend in Guyana “told her to bring that package under her hair weave to the United States for him.” While claiming that she did not know the package’s contents, Howell admitted, “It was not a good thing.” Howell’s weave was subsequently dismantled at a medical facility at JFK, where agents removed a rounded package wrapped with clear plastic.

Inside was nearly a kilo of cocaine – 996 grams. After Howell’s arrest, she told investigators she had been promised US$7500 to “smuggle the package under her hair weave.”

FRIDAY NIS IN TROUBLE… IMMEDIATE REFORMS NEEDEDAS INCOME DWINDLES – BOARD Immediate reforms are needed at the state-owned National Insurance Scheme (NIS), its Board of Directors warned Thursday. “The year 2012 has issued in a period of importance for the scheme and importantly for its stakeholders. The challenge of maintaining its financial viability has become even more pressing and it is evident that immediate solutions are necessary,” NIS said in a statement from Board Chairman, Dr. Roger Luncheon, on the state entity’s anniversary. It was established in September 1969 to maintain a system of social security through which enough income is secured to take the place of earnings when such are interrupted by sickness or accident. The scheme was to also provide for retirement through age and sudden death of a breadwinner. However, expenditures in recent years have risen and there have been fears of a collapse. Many pensioners depend on NIS’ pension. “Expenditure has risen in the face of payments for rising benefits claims, particularly those related to long-term old age pension.

The situation has been compounded by rising commodity prices for goods and services needed by the scheme for its operations.”

According to the Board Chairman, on the other hand, revenue growth has stalled, lagging behind expenditure growth.

DETECTIVES GET THRASHINGAFTER BOTCHED CARJACKING Two detectives who were among a trio who reportedly attempted to hijack a car from a Grove taxi service Thursday evening received the beating

Page 37

of their lives from an angry mob. To compound their woes, they are now likely to face charges. The two men, said to be attached to the CID headquarters, Eve Leary, were up to late Thursday night at the Diamond Hospital. Police sources confirmed the incident. According to reports, two men went to the Platinum Taxi Service, located on the Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara, and hired a private car that was reportedly attached to the base. They indicated that they wanted to go to the city. It was in the vicinity of Prospect, which is located about two miles from Grove, that things seemed to turn nasty. The men, using expletives, asked the driver whether he had documents to operate the car as a taxi, and it was then that the driver noticed that the two men were armed with knives and appeared menacing.

Believing that he was about to become the victim of a robbery, the driver immediately stopped the car, opened the door and dashed into a street to a place called ‘110’. He alerted a group of men at the corner that he was being robbed.

SATURDAY AUDITOR GENERAL PROBING “MOST CONTROVERSIAL” PROJECTS DRUG SUPPLY CONTRACTS, AMAILA FALLS ROAD, HOPE CANAL ON THE RADAR OVERPAYMENT OF CONTRACTORS REMAINS MAJOR PROBLEM Some of the most controversial government contracts are being investigated, Auditor General Deodat Sharma said Friday as he presented his audited report on the Public Accounts of Guyana, including the accounts of Ministries, Departments and Regions for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2011, to Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman.

The Speaker stated that it was a “travesty” that no member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which is tasked with reviewing the report, was present at the ceremony. The report will be tabled in the National Assembly when the House comes out of recess in mid-October.

While he could not give details about the report, Sharma said that an ongoing problem is overpayment to contractors.

But apart from the report, Sharma said that his office is looking into a number of projects.

His department is

currently finalizing a report on drug supply contracts, which have generated much debate. He said that report would be laid in the National Assembly soon.

Among the other projects he intends to probe are the Amaila Falls road project, which is costing taxpayers over US$15 million and the Hope Canal on the East Coast of Demerara.

Sharma said that he was not prompted by anyone to carry out investigations into these ventures, but was doing so because he is responsible for auditing all public projects.

In his 2010 report, Sharma had stated that a sum of $1.252 billion was paid to New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited on the basis of sole sourcing approved by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board and not by competitive bidding, as required under the Procurement Act (2003). The transactions with the firm were for the procurement of drugs and medical supplies.

The Procurement Act No.8 of 2003 makes provision for the regulation of the procurement of goods, services and the execution of works, the promotion of competition among suppliers and contractors, and the promotion of fairness and transparency in the procurement process.

UNIT COMMANDER TELLS COMMISSION… ‘I DID NOT HAVE CONFIDENCE IN MY RANKS’ Assistant Superintendent of Police Patrick Todd on Friday admitted that he made the decision to be the one firing “tear smoke” at protestors in Linden, because in his opinion the ranks that were under his command at the time were inexperienced, and he did not have confidence in them performing the said task and other related duties efficiently and effectively.

Todd, who was responding to several questions put to him by Commissioner KD Knights, also revealed that it was the first time that he was with the unit. The Unit Commander was then asked if he had trained the men, to which he responded in the affirmative.

According to Todd, although all of the ranks were competent of using the weapon to launch the 1.5 cartridge tear smoke canister, he chose to use it so as to prevent any mishap or unnecessary injury, as well as the fact that certain weather conditions had to be taken into consideration, particularly the direction of the wind.

Page 38

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Page 40

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Born Loser MISINTERPRETATION I was in a pub last Saturday night, and drank a few, and noticed two very large women by the bar. They both had pretty strong accents, so I asked, “Hey, are you two ladies from Ireland?”

One of them chirped saying, “It’s WALES, you friggin’idiot!”

So, I immediately apologized and said, “I’m sorry. Are you two whales from Ireland?”

That’s pretty much the last thing I remember...

HEAVEN OR HELL A young woman came home and told her mom that her steady boyfriend had proposed, but she had turned him down because she found out he was an atheist, and didn’t believe in Heaven or Hell.

“Marry him anyway, honey. Between the two of us, we’ll show him just how very wrong he is.”

Garfield

DEATH BED Miriam was dying and on her deathbed, she gave final instructions to her husband Sidney.

“Sidney, you’ve been so good to me all these years. I know you never even thought about another woman. But now that I’m going, I want you to marry again as soon as is possible and I want you to give your new wife all my expensive clothes.”

“I can’t do that, darling,” Sidney said. “You’re a size 16 and she’s only a 10.”

A MAN HAS SIX CHILDREN AND IS VERY PROUD...

A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud of himself that he starts calling his wife “Mother of Six” in spite of her objections. One night they go to a party. The man decides that it’s time to go home, and wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well.

He shouts at the top of his voice, ‘Shall we go home now Mother of Six?” His wife, finally fed up with her husband shouts back, “Anytime you’re ready, Father of Four!”

WITNESS A man returning home a day early from a business trip got into a taxi at the airport. It was after midnight. While enroute to his home, he asked the cabby if he would be a witness. The man suspected his wife was having an affair and he intended to catch her in the act. For $100, the cabby agreed. Quietly arriving at the house, the husband and cabby tiptoed into the bedroom. The husband switched on the lights, yanked the blanket back and there was his wife in bed with another man.

The husband put a gun to the naked man’s head. The wife shouted, “Don’t do it! This man has been very generous! I lied when I told you I inherited money. He paid for the Corvette I bought for you. He paid for our new cabin cruiser. He paid for our house at the lake. He paid for our country club membership, and he even pays the monthly dues!”

Shaking his head from side-to-side the husband slowly lowered the gun. He looked over at the cab driver and said, “What would you do?”

The cabby said, “I’d cover his up with that blanket before he catches a cold.”

SARGE The Marine Drill Instructor noticed a new recruit and barked at him, ‘Get over here! What’s your name?”

“Paul,” the new recruit replied.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of bleeding-heart pansy crap they’re teaching in boot camp today, but I don’t call anyone by his first name,” the sergeant scowled. “It breeds familiarity, and that leads to a breakdown in authority. I refer to my recruits by their last names only — Smith, Jones, Baker. I am to be referred to only as ‘Sergeant.’ Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir, Sergeant!”

“Now that we’ve got that straight, what’s your last name?”

The recruit sighed “Darling, My name is Paul Darling.”

“Okay, Paul, here’s what I want you to do .....”

DIRTY MAGAZINES Soon after being transferred to a new duty station, A Marine husband called home to tell his wife he would be late - again. He went on to say that dirty magazines had been discovered in the platoon’s quarters and they had to discipline the whole squad.

She launched into a tirade, arguing that many men had pictures hanging in their quarters at our previous post, so his new platoon should not be penalized for something trivial.

The husband calmly listened to my gripes and then explained, “Dirty magazines: the clips from their rifles had not been cleaned.”

Non Sequitur

Peanuts

Shoe

Sunday September 30, 2012

3 Easy Honey Hair Treatment Methods There are many natural treatments, which you can try out in order to increase the beauty and health of your hair.

Of these, the treatments that involve the use of honey are quite popular.

The popularity of using honey for hair care can be attributed to the fact that it is devoid of side effects. In addition; this natural product also possesses many properties, which will help to make your tresses gorgeous.

Do read on to know more about three effective honey hair treatment methods, which you can easily try out.

HONEY FOR DEEPCONDITIONINGTREATMENT Those of you who have extremely dry hair can try the honey deep conditioning treatment at least once a week.

This treatment can be done by using a mixture of 3 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If your hair is oily, then you can restrict the use of olive oil to 1 teaspoon.

The honey-olive oil mixture is to be applied on damp hair, which is freshly shampooed. You can also massage the mixture thoroughly onto your scalp. Leave on the mixture for about 15 minutes, and then rinse off with cold water. The moisturizing properties of honey, combined with its ability to cleanse the scalp, make it a very suitable candidate for a deep conditioning treatment.

Olive oil at the same time will enhance the moisturizing properties of honey, and will leave your hair with a healthy shine.

In a variation of this process, a deep conditioning hair mask is prepared by adding an egg yolk to the honey – olive oil mixture. Blend this mixture thoroughly and apply it on wet hair. Cover your hair with a warm towel and leave on the mixture for around 30 minutes. After the stipulated time, do wash off the deep conditioning mask with cold water and towel dry your hair thoroughly.

HONEY HAIR RINSE An easy way to give your hair a healthy shine and to keep it moisturized all day long, is to make use of a honey hair rinse. To prepare this hair rinse, all you will have to do is to mix 1 teaspoon of honey with 4 cups of warm water.

Apply this rinse on your hair after shampooing, leave it on for 5 minutes and towel dry your hair thoroughly. By storing this honey hair rinse in an airtight plastic bottle, you can prevent it from getting spoilt for at least a period of 2 weeks.

HONEYHAIR LIGHTENINGTREATMENT If you wish to lighten the color of your hair, then instead of using chemical products, you can very well try out the honey treatment for hair lightening. The presence of hydrogen peroxide in honey is seen to give it excellent bleaching properties.

To lighten your hair, you will have to make a mixture of 1 cup of honey and 2 cups of your regular hair conditioner.

Rinse your hair and leave on the mixture for a period of 8 hours. After the stipulated time, do rinse off the mixture with cold water. The disadvantage of this treatment is that it is slow acting and one will have to use this mixture for a continuous period to obtain prominent results.

As a step to increase the efficiency of the honey hair lightener, you can use it in combination with cinnamon powder. Thus, without fail, try out the above said honey hair treatment recipes and be the proud owner of gorgeous and healthy tresses.

SOLUTION FOR LAST WEEK’S SEARCH & FIND

Kaieteur News

Page 41

Page 42

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 43

Page 44

Kaieteur News

Country profile:

TAJIKISTAN

OVERVIEW A former Soviet republic, Tajikistan plunged into civil war almost as soon as it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

A rugged, mountainous country, with lush valleys to the south and north, it is Central Asia’s poorest nation.

Tajiks are the country’s largest ethnic group, with Uzbeks making up a quarter of the population, over half of which is employed in agriculture and just one-fifth in industry. Nearly half of Tajikistan’s population is under 14 years of age.

The Tajik language is very close to Persian, spoken in Iran, and to Dari, spoken in Afghanistan.

The five-year civil war

Sunday September 30, 2012

Emomali Rakhmon exerts tight control over the levers of power between the Moscow-backed government and the Islamistled opposition, in which up to 50,000 people were killed and over one-tenth of the population fled the country, ended in 1997 with a United Nations-brokered peace agreement.

Tajikistan’s economy has never really recovered from the civil war, and poverty is widespread. Almost half of GDP is earned by migrants working abroad, especially in Russia, but the recession in 2009 threatened that income.

The country is also dependent on oil and gas imports.

Economic hardship is seen as a contributing to a renewed interest in Islam including more radical forms - among young Tajiks.

Tajikistan has been accused by its neighbours of tolerating the presence of training camps for Islamist rebels on its territory, an accusation which it has strongly denied.

Tajikistan has relied heavily on Russian assistance to counter

continuing security problems and cope with the dire economic situation.

Skirmishes with drug smugglers crossing illegally from Afghanistan occur regularly, as Tajikistan is the first stop on the drugs route from there to Russia and the West.

Russia maintains military garrisons in Tajikistan and in 2004 took back control over a former Soviet space monitoring centre. These developments were widely seen as a sign of Russia’s wish to counter increased US influence in Central Asia.

Russia is also mindful of the planned Nato pullout of Afghanistan in 2014 and is keen to maintain security in the region.

Economic ties with

neighbouring China are extensive. China has extended credits and has helped to build roads, tunnels and power infrastructure.

Chinese firms are investing in oil and gas exploration and in gold mining.

FACTS Population: 7 million (UN, 2011) Capital: Dushanbe Area: 143,100 sq km (55,251 sq miles) Major languages: Tajik, Uzbek, Russian Major religion: Islam Life expectancy: 65 years (men), 71 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 Tajik somoni = 100 dirams Main exports: Aluminium, electricity, cotton, fruit, textiles GNI per capita: US $870 (World Bank, 2011) Internet domain: .tj International dialling code: +992 LEADERS President: Emomali Sharipovich Rakhmon (Rakhmonov) Emomali Rakhmon, a former cotton farm boss, was elected chairman of the Supreme Council of Tajikistan in 1992 after the country’s first post-Soviet leader, Rahmon Nabiyev, was forced to resign.

He was elected president in 1994 and re-elected in 1999 when his term was extended to seven years.

In 2006 he won a third term in office in an election which international observers said was neither free nor fair. Opposition parties boycotted the vote, dismissing it as a Soviet-style staged attempt at democracy.

Mr Rakhmon was instrumental in the proCommunist effort to remove Islamist rebels from Dushanbe in the early 1990s.

He led troops from southern Kulob District and supported the intervention of forces from other former Soviet republics. After years of civil war and violence, some stability returned to Tajikistan.

The president has a firm grip on power. His People’s Democratic Party holds virtually all seats in

parliament.

Western observers said legislative elections in 2005 and 2010 failed to meet international standards.

Mr Rakhmon does retain substantial public support.

Tajikistan is still very poor, but many people are thankful they no longer have to face the civil war of the 1990s which killed tens of thousands and caused more than 10% of the population to flee the country.

Mr Rakhmon was born in 1952. His surname was Rakhmonov until 2007 when he ordered his countrymen to drop Russian-style surnames, in a break with the nation’s Soviet past. He removed the Russian suffix “-ov” from his surname.

MEDIA Television is the mostpopular medium. Alongside the state broadcaster there are more than a dozen private TVs, most of them entertainment-based.

Russian channels are widelywatched.

There are more than 200 registered papers, but no dailies. Some titles are government-owned, and others are linked to political movements. Privately-owned papers have a very small readership.

Radio is the only broadcast medium that can be received in all areas of the country. Private stations operate alongside state-run networks.

Media rights organisations report that, although provided for in the constitution, press freedom is not widely respected.

Freedom House says independent journalists face harassment and intimidation.

The government controls most printing presses and broadcasting facilities, it adds.

There were 794,000 internet users by December 2011 (InternetWorldStats).

Competition among providers is low, and access charges remain high.

Independent news websites are prone to blocking. Facebook was blocked for a time in March 2012 - a move that Reporters Without Borders said was “absurd”, as the platform had only 35,000 users in Tajikistan, far fewer than on Russian social networks.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 45

Beryl Haynes is a woman of distinction From page 18 the aimless wandering of some of our youth with no direction as to where they are going; the lack of training and employment opportunities...”

Haynes also has a dislike for the abuse of women and some of the music frequently played in this era.

She wants to keep on publishing more books, master the art of playing the guitar, travel some more and

Mrs. Beryl “Bobby” Adams Haynes is continuously practicing to master the art of playing the guitar.

After migrating to the United Kingdom as a student, Mrs Haynes was first trained as a nurse.

visit Africa to trace her ancestry.

Her defining moment in life was when she left the shores of Guyana for the United Kingdom. “The opportunities that were available and the advice and support of persons who were willing to guide me towards achieving my goals have made me who I am today.”

Reflecting on the hardest part of her teaching career and addressing various

issues, Haynes said it was in the UK. “During my years as a teacher in the UK the hardest thing for me was to come to terms with the excessive waste of materials both by the students and teachers, this prompted me to start collecting materials and send to my Alma Mater in Plaisance which assisted in educating others.”

N o t i n g t h a t communication comes easy after being a teacher for a prolonged period, she admitted that teaching came with some embarrassing moments. “…two of my male

students (English) had a fight over me …both apparently had a crush on me.”

She also implemented her own teaching style in Guyana working individually with students in the community.

U n d e r s c o r i n g misconception that people often have, Mrs. Haynes said some persons are of the opinion that she is wealthy, because she lived overseas.

She said one of the things in life that she would have done if she wasn't afraid was to climb Mount Roraima.

Reflecting with a smile

on her best compliment, Haynes said persons would often say she looks younger than her age.

She has teamed up with internationally recognized Guyanese singer, Eddie

Grant, to open a library in Plaisance earlier this year.

Her hobbies include writing, singing, listening to music, reading and swimming… whenever she gets the opportunity.

Page 46

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Sunday September 30, 2012

Arachnid A

Kaieteur News

Page 47

Interesting Creature ...

rachnids are a c l a s s (Arachnida) of joint-legged invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, although the front pair of legs in some species are converted to sensory function, while in other species, different appendages can grow large enough to take on the appearance of extra pairs of legs.

The term is derived from the Greek word ? ñÜ÷íç (aráchnç), meaning "spider".

Almost all extant arachnids are terrestrial.

However, some inhabit freshwater environments and, with the exception of the pelagic zone, marine environments as well.

Arachnids may be easily distinguished from insects by this fact, since insects have six legs.

However, arachnids also have two further pairs of appendages that have become adapted for feeding, defense, and sensory perception. The first pair, the chelicerae, serve in feeding and defense. The next pair of appendages, the pedipalps, has been adapted for feeding, locomotion, and/or reproductive functions.

Arachnids are further distinguished from insects by the fact they have no antennae or wings. Their body is organized into two tagmata called the prosoma, or cephalothorax, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen.

The cephalothorax is derived from the fusion of the cephalon (head) and the thorax, and is usually covered by a single, unsegmented carapace.

The abdomen is segmented in the more primitive forms, but varying degrees of fusion between the segments occur in many groups. It is typically divided into a pre-abdomen

and post-abdomen, although this is only clearly visible in scorpions, and in some orders, such as the Acari, the abdominal sections are completely fused.

Like all arthropods, arachnids have an exoskeleton, and they also have an internal structure of cartilage-like tissue called the endosternite, to which certain muscle groups are attached. The endosternite is even calcified in some Opiliones. Most arachnids lack extensor muscles in the distal joints of their appendages.

There are some characteristics that are particularly important for the terrestrial lifestyle of arachnids, such as internal respiratory surfaces in the form of tracheae, or modification of the book gill into a book lung, an internal series of vascular lamellae used for gas exchange with the air.

While the tracheae are often individual systems of tubes, similar to those in insects, ricnuleids, pseudoscorpions, and some spiders possess sieve tracheae, in which several tubes arise in a bundle from a small chamber connected to the spiracle.

This type of tracheal system has almost certainly evolved from the book lungs, and indicates that the tracheae of arachnids are not homologous with those of insects.

Further adaptations to terrestrial life are appendages modified for more efficient locomotion on land, internal fertilisation, special sensory organs, and water conservation enhanced by efficient excretory structures as well as a waxy layer covering the cuticle.

The excretory glands of arachnids include up to four pairs of coxal glands along the side of the prosoma, and

one or two pairs of Malpighian tubules, emptying into the gut.

Many arachnids have only one or the other type of excretory gland, although several do have both. The primary nitrogenous waste product in arachnids is guanine.

The blood of arachnids is variable in composition, depending on the mode of respiration. Arachnids with an efficient tracheal system do not need to transport oxygen in the blood, and may have a reduced circulatory system. They are mostly carnivorous, feeding on the pre-digested bodies of insects and other small animals.

Arachnids pour digestive juices produced in their stomachs over their prey after killing it with their pedipalps and chelicerae.

The digestive juices rapidly turn the prey into a broth of nutrients which the arachnid sucks into a pre-buccal cavity located immediately in front of the mouth.

Behind the mouth is a m u s c u l a r, s c l e r o t i s e d pharynx, which acts as a pump, sucking the food through the mouth and on into theoesophagus and stomach. In some arachnids, the oesophagus also acts as an additional pump.

The stomach is tubular in shape, with multiple diverticula extending throughout the body.

The stomach and its diverticula both produce digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients from the food. It extends through most of the body, and connects to a short sclerotised intestine and

anus in the hind part of the abdomen.

They have two kinds of eyes, the lateral and median ocelli. The lateral ocelli evolved from compound eyes and may have a tapetum, which enhances the ability to collect light. The median ocelli develop from a transverse fold of the ectoderm. The ancestors of modern arachnids probably had both types, but modern ones often lack one type or the other.

The cornea of the eye also acts as a lens, and is continuous with the cuticle of the body. Beneath this is a transparent vitreous body, and then the retina and, if present, the tapetum. In most arachnids, the retina probably does not have enough light sensitive cells to allow the eyes to form a proper image.

In addition to the eyes, almost all arachnids have two other types of sensory

organs. The most important to most arachnids are the fine sensory hairs that cover the body and give the animal its sense of touch.

These can be relatively simple, but many arachnids also possess more complex structures, called trichobothria.

Arachnids may have one or two gonads, which are located in the abdomen.

The genital opening is usually located on the underside of the second abdominal segment. In most

species, the male transfers sperm to the female in a package, or spermatophore.

Complex courtship rituals have evolved in many arachnids to ensure the safe delivery of the sperm to the female. Arachnids usually lay yolky eggs, which hatch into immatures that resemble adults. Scorpions, h o w e v e r, a r e e i t h e r ovoviviparous or viviparous, depending on species, and bear live young.

(Source: Wikipedia – The Free Online Encyclopedia)

Page 48

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Tenth anniversary of EPA Negotiations:

Not a time for celebration

By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is a Consultant and former Caribbean diplomat) September 27, 2012 marked the tenth anniversary of the beginning of negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements ( E PA s ) b e t w e e n t h e European Union (EU) and the 79-member countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group. But non-governmental o rg a n i s a t i o n s ( N G O s ) throughout Europe say it is not a time for celebration.

According to a joint statement issued by many of the NGOs, “10 years on, EPA negotiations continue to be fraught with concerns that, far from supporting development efforts and promoting regional integration, will do more harm than good”.

This anniversary has prompted protests in Brussels, the location of the EU headquarters, and in other European capitals, notably London where demonstrations were held outside the ministry of UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, calling on him to keep his promise to make trade work for development and

making specific demands regarding EPAs. A letter was delivered to Cable, signed by leaders of 18 powerful UK organisations including the Trade Justice Movement, the Trades Union Congress, the Fairtrade Foundation, the National Union of Teachers; and the War On Want.

Apart from being the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the negotiations on the EPAs, the significance of the protests in Europe by European-based organisations on behalf of the ACP countries, is that the European Commission is proposing to withdraw dutyfree and quota-free market access for key exports of those ACP countries which have not signed EPAs. African countries have been strongest in resisting signing-up to EU's EPA approach which they don't believe works in the interest of their economic future.

Hence, the 'big-stick' tactic by the European Commission.

The Commission is clearly bargaining that those countries that have so far held out from signing the EPA will do so now simply to safeguard their traditional exports.

The Commission has

good reason for their thinking. Threats worked in the negotiations with the 15 Caribbean members of the ACP that signed a 'full EPA' in 2008. In the previous year, the Commission's negotiators threatened that if Caribbean countries did not sign-up to the EPA, the EU would raise its import tariffs on certain key Caribbean exports making them uncompetitive in the EU market. This would have led to unemployment as well as revenue losses that Caribbean governments could not face. Even the most reluctant governments signed.

However, Caribbean countries did not have to sign-up to a 'full EPA' which went beyond an agreement that would have been compatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

But, some governments accepted the promise that the 'full EPA' would open the European market to Caribbean services. Of course, five years later this has not happened in any meaningful way.

Meanwhile, under the 'full E PA ' C a r i b b e a n governments gave the EU commitments on services,

competition, procurement and trade facilitation that are still to be settled as global rules in the WTO, but which the EU wanted to establish not only for the Caribbean, but also as a precedent for negotiations with the more important and lucrative markets of Africa.

As it has turned out no Caribbean country has derived any great advantages from the 'full EPA'; they have continued to rely on the Cotonou Agreement that was signed in 2000 and expires in 2020. Indeed, the Caribbean experience of the EPA is that several governments have not implemented their commitments to remove tariffs on EU imports according to an agreed schedule and each of them is now at risk of being taken to arbitration by the European Commission.

Realistically, governments continue to need the revenues from tariffs on European imports in the face of high debt, and budget and trade deficits.

And, in the case of the governments that have implemented their commitments to remove tariffs on a number of EU goods making them cheaper, a number of local companies have found themselves unable to compete. The promised opening of the doors to the EU for Caribbean goods and services has also not materialised as much from a

lack of informed effort by Caribbean companies as from blocks at the national level in many European countries.

Against the background of the Caribbean experience with the EPA, African countries are justified in not wanting to sign without significant changes. Dot Keet, a long-time trade activist in Southern Africa, said: “Europe's trade negotiations are undemocratic and the agreements are unjust. As part of a flawed global economic system, the current trade regime is fuelling the food, economic and climate crises facing Europe and the world.

In that context, African and other countries cannot sign long-term agreements that set their policies in stone, because they can't know in advance what policies they will need to deal with these looming problems.”

The proposal by the European Commission - to withdraw duty-free and quota-free market access for key exports of ACP countries that have not signed EPAs has to go to the European Council for agreement before it can be implemented.

This is why the protests in Brussels and the letter handed to the UK Business Minister, Vince Cable, by the 18 British NGO's are so important. The letter urges

Sir Ronald Sanders Cable not to accept the proposal when it comes before the European Council and to ensure that the European Commission “respects on-going discussions about outstanding contentious issues and under no circumstances forces countries to ratify unamended interim economic partnership agreements”.

What is striking about these herculean efforts by leading European NGO's to defend ACP states and their people, and to influence the decisions of their governments on the EPAs, is that there are no corresponding mass actions in ACP countries by NGO's and others to get the message of disappointment home to EU governments. In part, this is because ACP governments have not informed their civil society and – in some cases not even their parliaments – about the EPAs and the demands of the European Commission in these negotiations.

All ACP governments should be standing-up for fair EPAs, and right now they should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Africa.

Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Extension Service Unit to be created within GGMC - Better interaction with miners expected An Extension Service Unit geared at supporting, providing information and fostering a better working relationship with miners may be established within the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud made this disclosure on Friday during a 'New Entrants Seminar'.

Addressing potential miners and miners, Persaud related that this new Unit that is being considered will a d d t o G G M C ' s responsibilities towards miners. He noted that GGMC should not only focus on the enforcement of regulations, but provide support and education.

Providing an insight into the functions of the Unit, Persaud indicated that Extension Officers would be tasked with visiting mining camps and interacting with miners. They would assist miners to correct certain deficiencies in their operations.

“So instead of us saying 'I am going to write you down', our Officers can spend a couple of hours or days and work with that miner and say 'this is how you should arrange your sluice box' or 'this is how you should position your dredge' or 'this is what you can do better',” he stated.

Persaud is optimistic that these interactions could make miners' operations more efficient and possibly reduce the problem of low rate of recovery. He added that GGMC has different estimates of the rate of recovery ranging from 30 to 50 percent. This low rate of recovery is attributed to the lack of technology and training, among other factors.

While GGMC is pondering on the creation of this Unit, the Ministry plans to host more seminars to reach out to miners. The seminars will provide miners with information on regulations in the industry for sustainable mining. It is hoped that the knowledge gained would help to cultivate a culture of selfregulation in the sector.

“At the end of the day we do not want to see regulatory agency and staff as the big, bad guys, but rather all of us will have the level of understanding and collaboration as to rights and responsibilities.

“We must not have the situation whereby persons know what they are doing is not exactly expected of them, but would continue to do so until someone comes to either sanction them or issue a cease work order. All of us must know what our expectations are, even with or without the presence of regulator GGMC officers,”

he added.

This will also call for a better relationship between stakeholders so that the mining sector would be devoid of suspicion. Efforts made by staff of GGMC to ensure compliance with regulations should be seen as beneficial to the industry.

However, miners should operate in accordance with regulations so as to prevent interventions by GGMC, he emphasised.

Page 49 Operations at a mining camp in Guyana's interior

Page 50

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Page 52

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Guyana’s economic climate encourages greater diversification

Under the theme ‘strengthening the traditional and embracing the new’, the Guyana Exposition (GuyExpo) which commenced last Thursday will see both Government and the private sector sending a very strong business message to entities and countries around the globe.

At least this is the opinion of President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Mr Clinton Urling.

Urling was at the time addressing a GuyExpo networking forum at the Guyana International Conference on Friday which saw the attendance of a

number of overseas delegates who are participating in the exposition.

According to the GCCI President, “Guyana isn’t just open for business but it can be one of the best places to succeed in business”. In his brief presentation to the gathering, he highlighted a number of reasons to invest in Guyana, among them the fact that Guyana has had six consecutive years of economic growth. He alluded to the recent mid-year report which shows a growth of 2.8 per cent. adding that “we are expecting an additional year of growth when the final figures have been crunched

at the end of the year”.

Urling pointed out too that there is a clear and robust economic blueprint for Guyana which is emphasised through the country’s Competitiveness Strategy.

Additionally, he alluded to the robust and fair regulations Guyana has had over the years coupled with a strong macro-economic environment and a strong financial sector that was not affected by the financial crisis of 2008/2009.

The GCCI President also made reference to the fact that Guyana has no currency controls, has attractive investment incentives, there is affordable land and labour, free and open trade and economic policies, and there is an active trade and investment facilitation agency – Go-Invest.

In addition, he said, GuyExpo will present an opportunity “for you as potential investors to get a more detailed and comprehensive picture of what businesses and the private sector companies in Guyana are investing in, and what are the emerging

- Urling opportunities available”. The exhibition, which is set to conclude today, is also expected to expose investors to the programmes and policies of Government that contribute to a favourable economic environment, Urling added.

According to him, the event is also geared at helping potential investors to network and establish business links with other businesses and individuals.

This particular component, Urling stressed, can prove to be a very critical factor for the success of any endeavour. In order to maintain and extend on economic successes and also build on its resilience to global economic shocks, it is absolutely critical that increasing exports and foreign direct investments are two core economic priorities of Guyana, Urling noted.

As such, he highlighted that the exposition will help in the realisation of both of those goals even as he explained that since Guyana

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

is a small country with a small market population, it must look externally to the global market place for companies to succeed.

“Similarly, when looking at the market for investors, we have to look globally at the companies with the vast resources, large financial capital and the know-how to exploit the opportunities available in Guyana, hence the critical role played by foreign direct investments,” Urling asserted. He related, too, that another important policy and vision goal has to be the “almost obsessive and stubborn commitment to diversification as opposed to concentration.”

“Over the course of our history, Guyana has seen enormous success with investments in our agricultural and natural resources’ sectors, both primary producing sectors.

But for us to succeed in the long term and to reduce our exposure and vulnerability to exogenous economic shocks, we must expand the export portfolio to include trade in high value industrial goods.”

Urling underscored too that it has been shown by numerous studies that where high levels of export concentration exist, export earnings fluctuate with international price

GCCI President, Clinton Urling fluctuations. This, he said, is seen especially in the case of commodity and primary products, whereas countries with more diversified export portfolios have a more stable stream of export and reliable revenues.

“This is an area that I know that our Government is committed to and if one is looking for any clear indication of this you just need to look at what the theme of GuyExpo is.”

The GuyExpo theme, he stressed, is a clear indication that the direction that the country is seeking to go, is towards diversification into new products and services.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 53

- Regional seminar concludes today The last of four seminars conducted throughout the Caribbean by the scouting fraternity got underway at the headquarters of the Scout Association of Guyana on Friday last.

The Regional Seminar on Educational Methods, which focuses on Adults in Scouting and the Youth Programme of the movement, saw the participation of 28 scouts, including members from Guyana, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent.

Operations Executive for the Caribbean, Trinidadian Ronald Richardson said these seminars aim to provide the training and knowledge necessary for a ‘re-thinking’ of the entire scouting system, particularly as it relates to incorporating the ideas of young people.

“In an effort to move away from the old system, a new approach that takes the concerns and inputs of young people is necessary.

Young people are supposed to be responsible for their own development.

These programmes aim to shape mechanisms that would help to incorporate their ideas and also transform the mind-set of leaders on how they implement programmes.

Richards o n s a i d t h a t while scouting has been growing in the Caribbean, the rate is not as fast as it could be, but the fraternity believes that this will improve as a new and more modern approach is adopted and implemented.

“The involvement of more non-members in scouting will also serve to attract new

Scout leaders are here for the Regional Seminar membership because when they come and participate in various activities they will get a first-hand view of what scouting is all about. They can then go out there and spread the word, not only

becoming members themselves, but encouraging others to come on board also,” he said.

Other visiting leaders participating in the seminar included Ralf Dillmann Trau,

Adults in Scouting Director, and Mauricio Calderon, Youth Programme Director, both based in Panama.

President of the Scout Association of Guyana, Ramsay Ali, and other leaders

of the local body and visiting scouts opened the seminar with a luncheon on Friday at the association’s headquarters. T he seminar will conclude today.

New East Bank B’ce road not likely until next year

By Leon Suseran Residents and taxi drivers along the East Bank of Berbice are not likely to have a new road until next year.

This was revealed by Region Six Chairman, David Armogan, during a press conference at his office last Friday.

“It is hardly likely that they will have a new road by the end of the year,” Armogan told the media. He added that while the administration sees the venture as a “possible” one, “my understanding is that Cabinet is in the process or has already gotten almost US$7M from a negotiated loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to do that road project”.

Armogan did not want to commit that the project would

come on stream before yearend or in January.

“I cannot make a definitive decision or pronounce definitely on that, but what I can tell you is that funds have been sourced and maybe, but you know IDB has all these little things you’ve got to satisfy, so although the funds are sourced, you’ve got to tender, then it’s back to the IDB, then to the bank to show what you will be doing and the benefits of the road and so on; and all these things have got to be done so hopefully sometime next year that road project should take off.”

The Chairman revealed, too, that the Region had $10M in its budget to do remedial works on the road, “so we have given Ministry of Public Works that $10M… so that

...85 per cent completed on Black Bush Polder thoroughfare money, together with what Public Works put into it, was able to do some preliminary works on that road”.

Armogan noted that he visited the location recently and people seem to be “reasonably comfortable” at the moment, with the conditions of the East Bank Berbice (EBB) Public Road.

The US$7M will do the road in a major way, he asserted, up to Lighttown Village, and other phases will take it further along the EBB corridor.

The 25-mile stretch of roadway has been in the spotlight for its deteriorated, pot-holed state for years. The

road was shut down on several occasions by hire-car operators and angry residents. Several vehicles, including estate trucks, were stuck in huge craters along the road over the past few months, renewing calls and cries for a new thoroughfare.

The EBB roadway is one of the poorest in the country.

Only upon traversing the road or area does one get a true understanding of the scope

and extent of its deterioration over the years. Countless remedial works have been performed, with huge sums of monies spent, but these were ineffective.

BLACK BUSH POLDER ROAD Meanwhile, Armogan revealed that 85 per cent of the Black Bush Polder Road has been completed, but he did not speak with confidence about the November 2012 deadline, which is merely weeks away.

“BK International is progressing nicely there in Black Bush Polder, but they

still have another 15 per cent of work or so to complete and based on my own visits to Black Bush Polder, which I do every fortnight, I don’t know if there might be need for a further extension of a month or so.”

The Black Bush Polder Road should have been completed months ago, but the contractor, BK International, had requested more time from the Government to complete the agri-based community road on the Corentyne.

The US$6.6M project has seen several delays.

Page 54

WANTED Experienced drivers and dispatchers for a reputable taxi service Call: 645-0025 1 Acounts Clerk. Must know to prepare monthly VAT, NIS and PAYE. TSI, Eccles. Call 614-4358 Driver for car/van/canter 3 years experience Call: 2250188, 225-6070 Survival Shopping Complex, 173 Sheriff Street, needs bond attendants and bond supervisors. Call 227-5286-90 One customer service representative to work at Cyber Zone internet café, must be computer literate Call: 683-7400

Kaieteur News

Furnished 2-bedroom apartment with hot & cold in Amelia’s Ward, Linden; short term overseas & local guests. Call 614-4415

Driver/salesman for Canter.

676-6700 1 Guard, Monday-Sunday, Eccles Call: 614-4358 East Coast Guyoil wants day & night pump attendants, salesgirls/office assistants, wash man, housekeepers, gardener. Call 684-2838, 6904198 P.S.G.C.S - able-bodied labourer. Apply at Lot 122 Covent Garden Island, EBD. Call 265-3586, 617-8369, 6653550 One rectangular showcase, average size 3 ft high x 4 ft wide in good condition Call: 622-4386 Driver, dispatcher to work day only; good salary paid, living quarters available. Call 226-5609, 663-9352 Live-in waitress to work in bar. Call 661-8965 Experience operator for LT70 sawmill, sharpener, resaw, edger and 6 head plainer Call: 684-5868 Rockaway Auto SalesSalesman wanted with driver’s licence, weekly pay plus commission Call Imran 639-5635 One experience heavy duty mechanic Call: 225-8889, 2257909, 225-7905, ask for Mr.Richard

FOR SALE

Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery, tel: 670-0798. Also Wedding dresses for sale.

Just arrived: Allion and Premio, tel: 624-2000, 622-1610

Live chicken. Call 650-4421

FOR RENT 2 Bedrooms house, top flat, 19 Hutsonville New Hope EBD Call: 618-2517, 660-6739·

PARTY RENTAL

1 reasonable house in Coverden E.B.D to rent Call: 623-1615

FOR SALE / RENT

Land and building for rent 13,000 ft at Peter’s Hall Public Road Call: 233-6161, 651-8870

American Pool Table Call: 277-0578

Spaces for Business at Vreed-en-Hoop Junction, Top flat Call: 264-2515, 6897569, 684-5561 or 678-4892 Business place to rent @ Wortmanville. Call 616 - 2445

WANTED One live in maid Call: 220-9873

One bedroom apartment, Walle’s Delight. $25,000. Call 264-2945

Labourers and Porters, Apply Wieting & Richter Ltd. To work in interior jetman, marack man Call: 671-9351 1 part-time maid. Call 614-8022 2 male cleaners, Eccles Call: 614-4358 One live in maid must know to cook, age 25 to 40 Call: 6770610

TOURS Suriname Tours & Vacation Trip, Shopping, Site-seeing, Malls, 6 to 9 October, 26 to 28 October. Call 639-2663, 644-0185, 665-5171, 227-8290

One private car/bus driver must be able to work flexible hours Call: 677-0610 2 ½ day cleaner, 2 porter $18,000, 1 driver $25,000 between Parika & Leonora WCD Call: 684-8231 One welder for grill work, call: Backer 676-8254, 625-5763 Security & Investigator officers, wages $2000-$2500 daily, base on qualification plus fuel allowance Call: 6602393, 680-0515, 223-7619 Visiting officers with motorbike, wages $2000$2500 daily, base on qualification plus fuel allowance Call: 660-2393, 6800515, 223-7619 Responsible hire car drivers Call: 226-0765 Refrigeration Technician/ Electrician, Apply Wieting & Richter Ltd. Live-in attractive waitress.

Call 332-0845 One live-in domestic, age 1835. Call 613-7888

2004 BMW 318i Sport, DK grey PLL series, Fully loaded, $3.8 M tel: 623 – 2176 Hilux! Hilux! Hilux!. Just arrived Toyota Hilux Solid Axle Pickups. Excellent condition Call: 623-0243

Trampolines and Bouncy Castle. Call 225-2598, 6410784

Urgently Needed! Centrally located venue (Bottom flat) for the purpose of evening lessons. Call 643-9443, 6800825

Single working females to rent room Call: 265-7180

VEHICLES FOR SALE

Business Place to rent @ Wortmanville call 616 - 2445

Skilled carpenters and mason. Call 615-7526

One experienced salesgirl, 1883 Festival City, North Ruimveldt. Call 218-0651

CAKES & PASTRIES

TO LET Office space from $60,000, Albertown $120,000, Bel-Air US$2,200, Ogle US$2000 Diana 227-2256, 626-9382 One (1) bedroom apartment in Grove E.B.D Call 687-7376

Sunday September 30, 2012

1 EP71 Starlet, 1 Toyota 192, 212, Ceres, G-Touring wagon, AT 150 Corona, 1 Nissan E24 Van, Alteeza PMM Call: 6445096, 697-1453 2003 RZ Minibus, AP Unregistered Call: 677-6410, 647-1729 First Class Auto, unregistered Premio, Raum, Runx, Spacio, Carina 212, Avensis - PPP Series. Call 609-8188 V.D Auto Sales & Motor Spares, In stock Allion, Premio, Runx, Alex, IST, AT 212 Call: 655-8471, 689-5009 Honda CRV PJJ 8561 $1,875,000 Neg. Call Ayube 233-5557, 610-1309 1 Toyota Hilux Surf: automatic, fully powered, A/ C, megrims; price $2M. Call Rocky, 621-5902 One minibus, price $850,000; excellent condition. Call 6197160 Tundra for sale, 2003 silver bubble tray workable in good working condition, call: Keisha on 660-8925 1 diesel RZ minibus, $850,000. Call 675-3093 2004 Toyota Avensis, newly registered, 6 CD changer, White, low mileage $3.7M Call: 622-4245 1 RZ Minibus, BGG Series Call: 629-0172, 687-0487 2 & 3-Ton open back Canter, never registered. Call 6172891

VACANCY One part time seamstress, 1 full time cutter Call: 622-4386 One live-in general domestic, 50-55 years Call: 697-4397 1 Experience hauler driver, Apply Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling.

2007 Toyota Ractis: fully loaded, never registered. Call 617-2891 3 ½-ton enclosed Canter, never registered. Call 6172891 Honda Civic $900,000 Call: 653-2620 1 old model Raum, corporate yellow, good condition, 4 wheel drive, $1M Call Carlos 646-3777 One Toyota Corolla NZE, excellent condition, fully loaded, 16 inch rims, music, alarm etc Call: 264-2870

VEHICLES FOR SALE 1 2 ton Mitsubishi canter truck GJJ, price $750,000 negotiable, excellent condition Call: 697-4770 Toyota Premio, Alex & Vitz unregistered Call: 269-0432, 686-0323

2005 Tacoma 4-cylinder, Honda ATV. Call 233-6161, 651-8870 Toyota Starlet EP71 Call:6482075 Large broilers (meat birds) Call: 266-2711, 609-4594 One 15-HP Yamaha, long foot. Call 689-5254, 643-0332 Massey Ferguson tractors model 188 & 290, Honda ATV model 500 4x4 2012 Call: 6886274, 691-3851 Just Arrived! Pressure washers 2700 & 3100 PSI, pallet jacks, car mats & seat covers. Call 614-8564, 680-0862 1 290 MASSEY FERGUSON TRACTOR, 3 TRAILER & 1 THREE DISH PLOUGH, WORKING CONDITION CALL: 601-5402, PRICE NEGOTIABLE. Yellow cars, Tacoma, Canter.

Call 614-8022 One ERF Hauler with one 45ft log trailer & one model M truck Call: 653-4455 Damaged corrugated zinc sheets Call: 226-7054 Pure bred pitbull pups vaccinated, ears cut Call: 6960997, 223-9101 New and use furniture power tools also garbage bin 96 gallon Call 220-5788 anytime.

5 Acres developed farm at Pearl EBD, 16,000 Capacity, chicken pans, bearing fruit trees Call: 689-9991 Toyota Allion PNN Series, $2.4M. Contact: 600-6464 25 inches TV and Playstation2 with (5) five games Call: 6731980, 227-7175 Plants, Petunia, Marigold, Salvia, Perri Winkle, Carnation, Zinnia- 5 for $1000, vegetable seedlings, A.K Plant Shop Call: 610-7363 Plants. Mussaenda 3 for $1000, Hibiscus 2 for $1000, Bougainvillea 5 for $2000, A.K Plant Shop Call: 610-7363 Sale! Dell Computers with 20’’ LCDs $55,000, Future Tech 231-2206 One 35 Tractor Engine (4 cylinder perkins) fully refurbished (price $450,000) Call: 624-9149 or 671-4707 Ready made dance costume, all styles, leotards, tights etc, visit upstairs Rayon House of Fashion Call: 622-4386

Leading Auto, Unregistered Allion, Premio, Runx, IST, Alexa, Raum & 212 Call: 6777666, 610-7666

1 stall @ Vreed-en-hoop stelling next door to Fatboy Store Call: 680-0143

Must be sold 1 Tacoma double cab pick up, no reasonable offer refused Call: 227-8721, 226-3309

DRESSMAKING Classes in designing/ sewing. Call Sharmela, 2252598, 641-0784

FOR SALE 1 225 KVA Generator, 1 Hiace Canter, Premio, 3 light towers, car batteries Call:624-2000 Roofing Shingles 15-15-15 Fertilizer Call: 266-2711, 6094594 Caterpillar front-end loader with tracks, model 953C; low hours, good condition. Call 649-0299 Green coffee 800 and 1000; available wholesale & retail.

Call 277-3531 10 KVA stabilizer, filing cabinet, office chair, 350 amp breaker, pumps. Call 6277835 Male enhancer Viagra $4,000, 4 in pack Call: 6381627 Spares for washer, microwaves, fridges, stove timers, gear boxes, pumps etc Call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Caterpillar backhoe low hour 426c Model, double jackhammer compressor, briggs, straighten roller compactor Call: 233-6161, 651-8870 Exotic Hibiscus, Roses, Mussaenda, B/Ville, Ficus, Marigold, Periwinkle, Petunia, Herbs, Vegetable seedlings, A.K Plant Shop.

Call: 260-0005 American Eagle T-Shirts (ladies & gents) & Aeropostle T-Shirts (ladies & gents). Call Marcia 6902174, 266-5831 Prestige car alarm with keystart & pager $26,000, HID lights $15,000 Call: 6616793 Clean garden earth and Bobcat rental; excavating, clearing and leveling. Call 616-0617, 663-3285 Granite with 6 inches backsplash, 5 colours; size 2ft x 8ft. Cement mixer, generators & tools. Call 2230943, 646-6732 Games for PS2 $900, PSP $900, Xbox360 $2,600, PS3 $2,600. Call 265-3231, 6722566 Stainless steel meat saw, meat grinder, electric wheel chair. Call 233-6161, 651-8870 Seadoo Jetski 18ft fiberglass speed boat with 175 Hp Yamaha engine. Call 233-6161, 651-8870 IBM Lenovo laptops, $60,000; Acer laptops, $100,000; Toshiba laptops, $120,000. Brand new Call 681-2111 Doberman/Rottweiler puppies, 12 weeks old, tails docked, all shots current Call: 681-1385 (Continued on page 56)

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 55

The Abigail Column Am I being irrational?

DEARABIGAIL, My man’s ex tried to break us up by telling people that they’d recently slept together.

I know they didn’t, but I’m still having a hard time trusting him.

He thinks I’m out of control and got mad when I asked for his e-mail password. Am I being irrational or should he understand what I’m going through?

Nadia

Dear Nadia, If you “know they didn’t,” why are you acting like they did? Either you trust your boyfriend or you don’t — you can’t say you think nothing happened and then treat him as though you think he’s guilty.

I don’t blame him for refusing to open up his e-mail account to your scrutiny. It’s a little like asking to look at his journal; he could have personal stuff in there that has nothing to do with his ex or any other woman. Think about it: Even assuming you’re faithful, would you want him reading your e-

mails?

Your boyfriend definitely could have handled this better. Rather than call you out of control, he should have called his ex and told her she was out of line.

He also should have done a better job of assuring you that she’s a liar. But you have to remember that by letting this evil ex make you paranoid and angry, you’re playing right into her hands.

Like you said, she’s trying to break you up. So don’t make drama where there is none or you may be giving the psycho exactly what her heart desires.

Sunday September 30, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Ambition is a powerful and positive force, but it has been taking too much control over your life lately. Today, it's time to hop off the career ladder.

Stop working so hard to move yourself upward. ****************** TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Moving forward in your life is rewarding and exciting, but every day you do get a little bit older. And aging is aging.

Your body may be suddenly revealing its vulnerabilities. ******************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Are you suddenly itching to try something new? It's not surprising -- the universe is sending you some incredibly potent wanderlust right now, and you will be dying to get out into the world and explore! ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Today, you will wake up with a lot of energy. You'll probably want to hit the ground running! But to be safe, you should hold off until later in the day before charging full steam ahead. ******************** LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): One of the many good things about having so many people in your life right now is that you always have tons of feedback available at your fingertips. ********************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): Someone is going to get what they want by appealing to your analytical side today -but you may find yourself buying their argument emotionally as well. ********************** LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Age or appearance may set you apart today, but it will not negatively affect how much

respect you'll be given -- so don't let anything put a damper on your positive attitude. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): Your urge to protect someone is getting stronger today, when you witness an unacceptable exchange. Be careful how you approach the situation, and try not to let your emotions get the better of you. ********************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Harmony happens in more places than just songs, although wherever it appears it is always beautiful. Multiple voices singing the same song are much more beautiful when one or two of those voices are singing a slightly different tune. ***************** CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): You will be making plenty of connections today, and each of them could plant a seed in your life. There is strong potential for a new career opportunity, although it may take weeks if not months to come together. *********************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): Look at the world around you honestly, today, and see the truth about where you live. Witnessing the plight of people who are less fortunate than you might bring up a few pangs of paralyzing guilt, but ultimately your enormous sense of compassion will take over. *************** PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20): IAn innocent mix-up between a few of your friends is starting to snowball -- and if you are not too careful, you could get caught up in the avalanche's path.

DTV CHANNEL 8 09:25hrs. Sign On 09:30hrs. Turning Point 10:00hrs. Kickin’ It 10:30hrs. Lab Rats 11:00hrs. The Ultimate SpiderMan 12:35hrs. Movie: The Swan Princess: Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure 13:50hrs. Movie: Mr. Holland’s Opus 18:00hrs. Catholic Magazine (Faith in Action) 18:30hrs. Know Your Bible 19:00hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00hrs. Once Upon a Time (Season Premiere) 21:00hrs. The Good Wife (Season Premiere) 22:00hrs. The Mentalist (Season Premiere) 23:00hrs. Sign Off MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 06:30hrs Prayag Vanie 07:00hrs MTV Bhajans 07:20hrs Development digest 08:00hrs Christ for the Nation 08:30hrs Puran Brothers: Shiva Bhajans 09:00hrs Muslim Melodies with Al Madina Exclusive 09:30hrs Teleview Kutbah 10:00hrs DJ Stress Indian

Movie 13:00hrs Garam Geet 14:00hrs Sitcom 15:00hrs The Variety Show with WR Reaz 16:00hrs Bollywood Sensation with Kavita 17:00hrs Birthdays & Other greetings 17:15hrs Death Announcements/ In

memoriam 17:30hrs BBC World News 18:00hrs Entertainment Buzz with Shivanie 18:30hrs Wendy Khan and Dheeraj Show 19:30hrs Focus on GRA 20:00hrs Sangeet Mehfil 21:00hrs Indian Movie: Ek Tha Tiger Sign Off

Guides are subjected to change without notice

Page 56

Kaieteur News

(From page 54)

PROPERTY FOR SALE VEHICLES FOR SALE 2005 H2 Hummer Sut model, fully powered, leather, 22’’ rims, music system; price negotiable. Call 645-9977

FOR SALE Clarke forklifts: 2000-4000lbs lifting, imported USA; need basic servicing, sold as is; $400,000 & up. Call 621-4000, 690-6000 Projection television from 40’’ to 80’’; minor problems, sold as is. Price $75,000.

Make cash offer. Guyana Variety, call 227-3939 Yamaha motorcycle YBR 125cc in perfect working condition. $190,000. Check Guyana Variety & Nut Centre, 68 Robb Street. Call 225-4631 SDMO Generator (Mitsubishi), 28 KVA Diesel.

Silent with 400-gallon storage tank, not working; $550,000.

Call 621-4000, 690-6000 S D M O Generator(Mitsubishi), 28 KVA Diesel. Silent with 400gallon storage tank, not working; $650,000. Call 6214000, 690-6000 3-cylinder Perkins diesel engine with generator.

Perfect for interior, $1.2M. Call 621-4000 2 greenheart buildings to be dismantled and removed.

Call 697-8545 Dell computers with LCD monitors, $59,000. Call 2253709, 691-2077, 641-0537 Fluffy Pups. Tel: 642-6664.

Pure bred Rottweiler & pure bred German Shepherd pups, fully vaccinated Call: 6822148, 655-8674 1 display large double door cooler, 1 new polar split door freezer 12.65 cubic Call: 2278721, 226-3309 Salter hanging scales 210lbs $20,000-$30,000 each Call: 227-8721, 226-3309 MAKE UP – top Brands: MAC STUDIO FIX POWDERS, $7,900; SACHA 2 in 1, $2,000; BLACK OPAL, $2,700. Tel 647-1773

Stretch Limousine Lincoln town car: perfect condition, perfect for rentals, wedding, etc. Realistic offers accepted. Call 621-4000 2009 Trident car, brand new, never registered. $1.1M, Guyana Variety Store & Nut Centre, 621-4000, 690-6000 Grand Cherokee Loredo Jeep: automatic power window locks, projection LED lights. Cash $1.4M. Call 621-4000, 690-6000, 2273939 Mercedes Benz S300 automatic luxury car; fully leathered, fully powered 19’’, fully armoured. $3.5M cash.

Call 621-4000 Blowout Sale!! Unregistered Toyota Allion, IST, New model Raum & bB (Scion).

Cheapest prices, 643-6565, 226-9931 1 Honda CRV (immaculate condition): automatic, fully powered, A/C, Mags. Price $2.3M. Call Rocky, 621-5902 1 Toyota RZ (Long base) 15seater (EFI), manual, immaculate condition, hardly used; price $1.6M. Call Rocky 621-5902, 225-1400 1 Toyota Harrier (2001): automatic, fully loaded, alarm, immaculate condition; price $4.8M. Call Rocky 6215902, 225-1400

1 Toyota Rav 4 (hardly used): automatic, fully powered, A/C, mags; price $2.3M. Call Rocky 225-1400, 621-5902 1 Toyota Prado (2000): automatic, fully loaded, immaculate condition; price $6M. Call Rocky 621-5902, 225-1400 1 Honda CRV: (New Model) 2004, automatic, fully loaded; price $3.9M. Call Rocky 621-5902 or 225-1400

1 Leyland 620 dump truck, 1-bed truck, lots of parts for 620. Call 642-5915, 654-3488

Aidan’s car, pick up & canter rental Call: 698-7807 Progressive Auto Rental cars from $4000 per day. Call 643-5122, 656-0087; email www.progressiveautorental.com

Nandy Park 2 storey concrete, 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, garage 2 drive ways Call: 622-6619

Jags’ Auto: IRZ, VVTI, manual buses, Raum, Rav4; cheapest. Call 616-7635 Hilux Solid Def pickup in excellent condition. Call 2222662, 691-2077 Buses, Premio(s), gone cheapest. Call 616-7635

PEN PAL East Indian male from overseas seeks female for friendship. Please0 email rpersaud2012@hotmail.com

Kitty $22M-$25M, Eccles $40M, Campbellville $30M, South $20M, Republic Bank $45M Diana 227-2256, 6269382

Guyanese male seek female, age 30 to 45 for serious relationship Call: 639-5296, 662-4863

Enterprise ECD, 4 bedrooms family home, rooms air conditioned, paved yard, building secured. Pearl Reality 689-9991

Female 30 years, American Citizen, looking for male friend. Send profile and full body picture to P.O Box 101702.

House and land situated at Lot 9 Friendship Public Road, E.B.D. $25M negotiable. Call 689-4143

Guyanese businessman, Indian, 32 yrs, is looking for female, possible marriage.

Send picture & contact to P.O Box 101702

Continential Park, US$1M; business property, Alexander Street, Kitty - $50M. Town to Country. Call 672-7390, 2250854 Mahaicony luxury home, US$500,000; Regent Street, US$2M; Parfaite, 2-storey $19M (Financing available).

Town to Country. Call 6727390, 225-0854

Hindu male seeks female friends for possible marriage.

Call Ricky, 641-4699 Male seeks female pen pals that speak Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, English languages. Call 698-6391

South Ruimveldt (Kaikan St), $17M; Mandela Avenue, $23M; Robb Street, $40M. Town to Country. Call 6727390, 225-0854 Prashad Nagar, $72M; Pike Street Kitty, $32M; International Hotel & Wharf, US$2M. Town to Country, 672-7390, 225-0854

WANTED Male & female salespersons to work in electronics store, 3 CXC & experience. Call 2254631, Nut Centre.

Female tellers (cashier) for Western Union. Must have past experience. 68 Robb Street, Guyana Variety & Nut Centre.

One domestic to come & go, age 18-35. Call 613-7888 Hair stylist, barber, masseur, manicurist for new salon opening soon. Call 681-6156

LAND FOR SALE 1 ½ acre, 48ftx1300ft V/ Hoop Call: 627-9351 Vreed-en-Hoop house lots.

Call 658-0115 Public Road Bachelors Adventure 52’x165’(opp.

Guywa) Call Pearl Realty 6899991 Nandy Park, $12M; Diamond - $3M, $6M, $3.5M, $4M, $8M; double lot, $8M. Town to Country. Call 672-7390, 2250854 32 acres for sale, Lot 5 Content, Mahaicony, E.C.D. $256,000 (USD). Call 813-3194219 or rpooran@tampabay.rr.com $1.5M down payment - large land in Bagotville, WBD. Great for farming and residence. Tel 614-0036/223-1719 LIBRARY Sale! Novels, Texts, UG, others from $100 to $3,000. Call 2238237

SERVICES We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call:2310655,683-8734 Omar ONLINE SHOPPING NO COMMISSION, WEEKLY SHIPMENTS,AFFORDABLE RATES, FREE PRIVATE MAILBOX. TEL: 231-5789.

FREIGHTLINKEXPRESS@ GMAIL.COM WE FILL OUT PASSPORT & VISA FORMS: USA, UK & CANADA TEL: 231-5789 We refill HP Cartridges for $1800. Call 650-7699 US Visa Application Services. Call Nicole (Y.E.S) 643 6630. No CDs/flash drives needed. Family discounts offered.

Looking to sell your property? Contact House Recruits & we will take care of your business Call 6437633, 643-7699 Sandblasting of ships, trucks, vehicle chasis, any other aluminum or steel material Call: 693-7893, 225-8802

Diamond: 3-bedroom flat, $12M; Diamond, 2-storey $18M; Nandy Park, $32M. Town to Country. Call 6727390, 225-0854

1 AT 212 Toyota Carina (New Model): automatic, fully powered, A/C , mag rims, alarm; price $1.6M. Call Rocky 621-5902

Honda fit 2005 year; $1.75M negotiable. Call 687-8100

CAR RENTAL

Sunday September 30, 2012

1 Live-in babysitter. Call 6011097, 692-7779 Live-in waitress, 18 – 25 yrs; boarding & lodging free, salary $50,000 monthly. Call 610-5043

We repair fridge, freezer, A/ C, washer, gas stove, TV and other electric appliances Call: 683-1312, 627-3206 (Nick) Thomas Tree Cutters, It’s here if you need you tree to cut just call 667-4719

MASSAGE American style massage service Call: 609-4036 Massage Therapy Service Call: 622-6256

Apartment & business place - New Road, West Coast Demerara. Call 682-3011 2-bedroom apt, 40,000. B Field Sophia. (3mths up front) Tel 614-0236.

Restaurant for rent, excellent location – Linden/Soesdyke Highway.

Tel 223-1719.

FOR RENT Business place to rent, upper flat 177 Charlotte Street. Call 680-1969, 679-1579 Salon chairs to rent, Pauline’s Hair Salon, 177 Charlotte Street. Call 680-1969, 6791579 Nandy Park, 3 bedrooms; A/ C, hot & cold water, pressurized water, garage.

US$1,500. Call 622-6619 South Road office space, US$3,500. Town to Country.

Call 672-7390, 225-0854

Pandit Chrishna Persaud, Justice of Peace, Commissioner of Oaths, marriage officer. Call 2256344, 642-5165 Cell phone unlocking. Contact 652-7560; also Blackberry Bold for sale.

Looking for land to set up gold and diamond mining operations? Tel 223-1719

Immediate link: singles 18-80 yrs. Confidential. Tel 2238237,648-6098; 8:30am5:00pm, Mon-Sun (Both phones same hours) NO TEXTING.

TAXI SERVICE

EDUCATIONAL After school classes for Grade 2 assessment pupils Call Mrs.Gittens 641-6484, 673-7186

Whole day domestic. Call 667-5717, 650-4761 Workers to work on land dredge. Call 623-2728, 6675717 LEARN TO DRIVE Soman & Sons Driving School, First Federation Building. Call 225-4858, 6445166, 622-2872, 615-0964

TO LET Prime business spot, Cummings & Middle Streets, Alberttown. Perfect for offices, salon, etc. Call 6214000

Return of J & D Taxi Service & car rental, around Town $340 only Call: 231-9434, 2230036

SALON Make up courses, artist trained & certified in Trinidad: 660-5257,647-1773 New Classes in Cosmetology, nails & makeup Call Abby 216-1950, 6665241, 619-7603

DATING SERVICES

Imperial College- Register Now CXC 2013. Fulltime/ Lessons/Adults classes.

Excellent results Call: 6835742, 227-7627 Part time & evening classes in Modern Digital Electronics, Microcontroller Programming, PLC Programming. City & Guilds.

Call 645-7936 Electrical & Electronics Technology, CAPE Mathematics, Physics & Electronics, UG ELE 1101, EMT 1101. For further details please call C. Benjamin, 645-7936

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 57

“ICC WT-20 2012 – West Indies taking small steps towards the big hurdles to come!”

Colin E. H. Croft Right now, West Indies could still win ICC WT-20 2012, but it is not going to be easy; still about 50-50! That showing against England, especially after the embarrassing debacle against Australia, should give West Indies’ legs more lift for hurdles to come. Yesterday’s (Saturday) game, v Sri Lanka, was one such!

Hurdles are sometimes very tough things to overcome, might they be human, metal, even psychological!

Athletically, especially on tracks, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, and 3000m steeplechase are probably the toughest races to compete in, and win, disregarding such races as marathons. The stresses that bodies go through to compete in, and complete, hurdles must be much more than running on just flats!

Human hurdles can be overcome by simply ignoring the idiots in your way, passing around, or through, them. As that old saying goes, “The only person who could stop anyone achieving his or her objective is that person himself or herself!”

No-one can stop me getting where I want to be!

Psychologically, hurdles are mostly self-inflicted, as, ‘if you believe it, then it is true!’

There is nothing like self belief.

As Theodore Roosevelt suggested, “The only thing to fear is fear itself!”

That should be West Indies’ motto for the rest of tournament. Time will tell if they have such fortitude!

The game against Australia had me, many others too, asking the same questions: What the hell do these guys do in those camps that they hold before championships and competitions? What exactly do they need to know, or learn, from camps, to bowl four overs – 24 legal deliveries – in the right spot?

The bowling performance against Australia was as obtuse as ever. How can any entire bowling attack go to such pieces when the head coach was a bowler? There must be something wrong with that picture!

West Indies were always destined to beat Ireland, to get to Super 8’s. For a short while there, though, I am sure that there was panic around, even if Darren Sammy and his

Chris Gayle

Shane Watson

players pretended that all was well. It really was not. For supposed favorites, West Indies still looks quite shaky, especially in its bowling!

Weeks ago, I warned of Shane Watson. Now, he is even ‘out-Kallising’ the great maestro, Jacques Kallis!

Watson has been player, so far, of the tournament. His efforts v West Indies were stupendous; 4-0-29-2, ever so parsimonious, even as West Indies managed the tournament’s 2nd highest total to date; 191-8.

Then, to rub salt, or sand, in that gaping wound that was West Indies bowling, Watson made 41, from 24 balls, as Australia totally manhandled them; 100-1, 9.1

overs; to win by the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Every team has one bad game per tournament. West Indies must hope that theirs, v Australia, has gone. They certainly cannot, or should not, play that badly again!

One commentator even confirmed that West Indies bowled too many bad balls!

You think? Dotish! That is like saying that sun, stars and moon are in the heavens! Tell us something that we did not know!

If Watson was good against West Indies, he was even more unbelievable against fluctuating – one day hot, one day cold – Indians.

3-34 (4 overs) in a paltry Indian 140, then a muscled 72, from

ENGLAND, AUSTRALIA CLINCH...

From page 62 42 off 28 balls that featured two sixes and shared a 67-run stand with Lisa Sthalekar after Australia opted to bat. The partnership came off 45 balls and helped Australia post 146.

The openers - Alyssa Healy (36) and Meg Lanning (16) - set the foundation for Cameron’s assault with a halfcentury stand. But for a little while - after left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf removed the openers in three balls Australia appeared to have

lost the momentum. However, Cameron and Sthalekar took just an over to regroup before launching an attack. Yousuf’s next over, the 12th, was taken for 15 runs, as 59 runs were scored between overs 10 and 15. Both batsmen were out by the 17th over, but had by then taken Australia to a strong position.

Pakistan’s hopes of putting up a fight were dealt a blow in the first over when captain Sana Mir was caught behind off Ellyse Perry. The

other opener, Qanita Jalil, struck two boundaries but was out to Julie Hunter in the third over. Perry added another wicket - of Nahida Khan - in the seventh over of the innings to push Pakistan into deeper trouble.

However, rains came soon after and no further play was possible with Pakistan stuck on 38 for 3 off nine overs which was 25 behind the D/L par score.

Australia captain Jodie Fields said: “Even though we

started out a little slower than we probably wanted, it was great to see a player, like Jess Cameron, come in and play their natural game. We wanted to win the toss and bat today so that was always in the plan, it was good to get a few of our middle order batters through as well.”

Scores: Australia Women 146 for 5 (Cameron 42, Lanning 36, Yousuf, 2-39) beat Pakistan Women 38 for 3 in 9 overs (Perry 2-19) by 25 runs (D/L).

42 balls – seven sixes and two fours – confirmed Shane Watson as, now, being the world’s premier T-20 cricketer.

Some of West Indies bowlers seem out of kilter.

Sunil Narine looks to have lost his fizz, while Fidel Edwards is fast, furious but not as fertile as he should be, especially with his long playing experiences.

Kieron Pollard needs runs. Reputations do not make scores. The openers, especially Chris Gayle, and, in that game against England, Johnson Charles have done a very good job. However, it should be noted that the score was 103-1 (11 overs) when Gayle went for 58. Yet West Indies only mustered 179.

Poor!

Had Charles not played the innings, in any format, of his life, to make 84, West Indies would have been in shambles. Even as Ravi Rampaul got two wickets in his first over, England still came much too close, losing by just 15 runs. West Indies should have ensured a bigger margin by getting much closer to 200!

The dependence on Gayle is way too much. He has good form, but, even with his much more disciplined approach;

Colin E. H. Croft one might even suggest a dressing room plan; more is needed from the other batsmen.

New Zealand, to date, jointly holds that 2nd spot total, 191, with West Indies.

For West Indies to progress properly to semis, they must beat New Zealand, regardless of the outcome of yesterday’s game, v Sri Lanka. New Zealand will not win ICC WT20 102, but they surely can spoil West Indies’ bid!

Most of my predictions come through. I expect West Indies will get to semi-finals, where they could meet Pakistan, but, somehow, I think that they will again meet Australia, their waterloo! If Australia and West Indies head their respective groups, it is even possible that they could meet in the final! Enjoy!

Page 58

Kaieteur News

Camille’s Institute, GITC, IBE among early winners Camille’s Institute, G ITC and IBE were among the early winners when the 21st Annual Christmas Term Windball Cricket Tournament organized

by Al Sport & Tour Promotions opened on Friday at the National Park.

According to a member of the Organising Committee, a number of players who have represented Guyana in regional tournament will be on show throughout the competition except for Guyana Educational Trust College (GETC).

In the day’s full results: MaleCamille’s Institute for Business & Science Studies beat Monar Educational Institute (MEI) by 9 wickets.

MEI batted first and compiled 57-4 off the allotted 6 overs with Dennis Heywood 26 (4x6s) and Nicholas Ganesh 14, being the principal contributors Camille’s Institute for Business & Science Studies in their reply reached 58-1 off 3.2 overs.

Keron Seenarine made 18 with 3 x 6s and Omar Persaud 12.

GITC defeated IPE by 10 wickets.

Institute of Professional

Education (IPE) (Mon Repos) made 58-5, Ganesh Debedin 12.

Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) 61-0 off 3 overs, Jamoi Norton 32 with 8 x 4s & Troy Heyliger 11.

GETC went down to IBE by 6 wickets.

Guyana Education Trust College reached 33-5, Joseph Bart stroked a patient 16. Oderi Abrams grabbed 5-5 off his allotted 2 overs.

IBE in reply, 34-4, off 5.4 overs Vidyanand Jailal hit 16 and Kedar Amsterdam 10.

GirlsIBE beat L’Aventure by 6 wickets.

L’Aventure totaled 44-6, Dian Smith 3-8 bagged off 6 overs and Marcia Ward 2-7.

IBE replied with 48-4 off 4 overs. Kavita Yadram 13.

IPE then cruised past GETC by 8 wickets.

GETC made 34-4.

IPE ended on 40-2 off 4 overs.

Camille’s Institute girls’ team is also part of this programme.

The secondary phase will commence shortly involving the government schools, while a similar programme will be organised in Region #10 & Region #2.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Julian Edward Moe - A talent ruined - former Guyana international 1983 – 1987 Statistician Charwayne Walker continues his series of features on Guyana’s World Cup Football players. Today we are pleased to feature Julian Edward Moe, Guyana international 1983 - 1987.

The year was 1987 and the National Team led by Pele Football Club’s Terrence Archer deplaned at the Grantley Adams International Airport, Bridgetown, Barbados to contest an International friendly against the host.

Whilst they were clearing immigration, the most skillful and flamboyant playmaker, Julian Edward Moe was apprehended for possession of an illicit drug. He was subsequently charged and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

To make matters worse, the then Guyana Football Association banned Moe for life. At 24-years-old, Julian Edward Moe was the most gifted midfielder in Lennox Arthur’s arsenal but he paid a heavy price for misunderstanding his role as an ambassador.

However, before that moment of miscalculation and poor judgment which unfolded at the Grantley Adams Airport in March 1987, Julian Moe was the kid with the ‘golden touch’ although he never featured at the National Youth Level as a result of no National Under19 teams in 1981 and 1982. His elevation to the Senior National Team in 1983 was inevitable.

Moe was Western Tigers Football Club outstanding

playmaker in the 1981 and 1982 in the Demico League division-one tournaments.

He also featured regularly for Georgetown in Inter Association competitions.

So it was no surprise when the Western Tigers star midfielder was included in Coach Mervyn ‘Pug’ Wilson 1983 National Squad for the Caribbean Football Union Senior Championship. His first outing in National colours was the return game between Guyana and Barbados at the GCC, Ground Bourda.

From the bench he observed the mastery of Neville ‘Zipper’ Johnson and Colin Hinds who scored the goals that sent the Bajans packing from the 1983 CFU campaign. His first touch in National colours came in the next match against Antigua & Barbuda at the same GCC, the game ending 0-0.

The return fixture in St. John’s where the host won 40 was Moe’s first loss as a senior. The result meant that Guyana was eliminated from the 1983 CFU Championship.

Moe’s next international assignment was to Trinidad & Tobago for two friendly matches against the hosts as they prepared for the 1983 CFU Finals in French Guiana.

In 1984, Moe’s international campaign started with a 2-0 loss to T&T at GCC. Guyana was also defeated in the return encounter in Port of Spain, 3-1 but according to Coach Lennox Arthur, Moe created several opportunities but the Guyanese

strikers failed to convert.

He {Moe} produced the corner that allowed Lannie Maxwell to score the lone Guyanese goal. The next opponent for Moe was the India National Team that deplaned at the Timehri International Airport a confident bunch after defeating Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain.

But the boys from Delhi will never forget the name Julian Moe. He tormented their defence netting a memorable double and creating the final goal that Terrence Archer scored, Guyana triumphed 3-0.

His next match was a 1-0 World Cup Qualifier loss to Suriname in Paramaribo. Moe was spectacular in the return fixture which Guyana drew 11 at GCC. His international programme in 1984 concluded with 1-1 draws against Suriname at GCC and once again he created the goals that Nigel ‘Mice’ Cummings scored in both matches.

The following year, 1985, Moe and company were too much for the Mighty Cuba culminating in a 1-0 series victory at GCC. This win was followed by another 1-0 triumph for Guyana over hosts French Guiana, Anthony Williams was the Guyanese marksman.

He failed to reproduce the same form that mesmerized

the Frenchmen in Cayenne against Suriname at Camp Ayanganna in the next round of the CFU Championship and regrettably Guyana lost 1-0.

Moe’s only internationals in 1986 were for Western Tigers against Transvaal of Suriname, the visitors won both matches at the GCC Ground. Strange enough the star midfielder was amongst the spectators when Guyana engaged Barbados in two friendly internationals in June 1986 at GCC. He also missed the two internationals against Venezuela at Camp Ayanganna, November 1986 and the opening Olympic qualifier against the Bahamas in Nassau. After the exodus of Anthony Williams, Dion Roberts and Oscar Rodney in Miami January 1987, Moe was recalled to the National fray for the return Olympic Qualifier against the Bahamas at GCC Bourda, this was the last time he donned National colours.

International tours 1983 Antigua & Barbuda - CFU Championship 1983 Trinidad & Tobago - two friendly internationals 1984 Suriname - World Cup Qualifier 1985 French Guiana - CFU Championship 1987 Barbados - Friendly international

Sri Lanka crush Windies...

From back page and Kieron Pollard was bowled by the brilliant Ajantha, who took his tournament-leading wicket tally to nine.

Samuels continued to carry the fight, spanking the longest six of the tournament at 102 metres as the Windies plundered 21 runs off Kulasekara’s last over. But they could only add 10 more from the final 12 balls as Malinga and Mathews rounded off a superb bowling performance.

Tillakaratne Dilshan set the tone for a routine run chase as he steered three consecutive balls from Fidel Edwards to the boundary.

His dismissal to Ravi Rampaul was of little conse-

quence as Jayawardene and Sangakkara effortlessly steered their side home. Captain Jayawardene scored heavily over the infield on the off side to reach his sixth Twenty20 fifty, while Sangakkara contented himself with a supporting role.

With the end in sight, Jaywardene cracked Rampaul for four boundaries in the 15th over.

And a forgettable day for the Windies was complete when an overthrow gifted Sri Lanka the winning run.

Scores: Sri Lanka 130 for 1 (Jayawardene 65*, Sangakkara 39*) beat West Indies 129 for 5 (Samuels 50, Bravo 40, A Mendis 2-12) by nine wickets.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 59

BCB/Hand-in-Hand West Berbice 40-Overs Finals...

Jeremy Bascom, South America’s fastest man in 2012, looks ahead to Moscow Hopetown and Cotton Tree Die Jeremy Bascom, Central Park’s Track Club, New Balance star sprinter, fresh from equaling Guyana’s National 100m record of 10.19 secs at USATF’s Club Nationals, in Omaha, Nebraska on July 6th, went into the London Olympics overly confident that amongst other things, he would leave London as the sole owner of the title he shared with James Wren Gilkes.

But a bum Achilles tendon and tightness he felt at the start prevented that from happening. Bascom instead had to reprogramme his mind to wait for another opportunity; an opportunity he hopes will come before the Moscow World Championships in Athletics.

“I was so ready for London” Bascom told a former training partner and friend Troy Fraser, “My start, which is my staple, was together, I had ironed out a few technical details concerning my last 40 meters and I was very confident.”

“I accidentally misjudged the time when my race was scheduled to go off by two hours” he continued, “It cost me what I believed would have been a personal best for me. I was unable to get loose having to go through my entire warm-up routine all over again and at that level, the smallest of mistakes can prevent you from advancing to the next round.”

Jeremy who hails from Georgetown Guyana, South America, has steadfastly maintained that his first love in sports has always been cricket. He was only steered ‘trackside’ after his sprinting-prowess, chasing boundary-bound balls emerged and caught the attention of his High School coach.

It has been an upward climb ever since for the 5' 7", 165 lbs dynamo, who immigrated to the USA in 1997 and who always believed he has what it takes to run sub 10. After completing High School, he put a target on his country’s 100m national record and started hacking away at it.

An alumni of Long Island University with a BA in Business Management, Bascom only got as far as 10.41 by the conclusion of the 2011 season and as the Olympic year approached, he decided to adopt a new ‘nothing can stop me’ approach to his game.

“I remember shoveling snow in winter to do sled work”, he told Trackalerts.com. “I was so focused that I would drive up to the track and instead of seeing freshly fallen snow, I saw lush green grass, I wasn’t going to be denied an Olympic berth.”

Things began to fall into place for Bascom during the 2012 indoor season. He couldn’t claim the title of ‘fastest Caribbean man’ because of the fleet footed Jamaicans, but his 6.70 secs run at The Millrose Games made him the fastest South American of 2012 in that

Hard to clash in Finals today

Guyana's 100m record holder Jeremy Bascom at Day 8 of the London Olympics event and as he breezed through the 55m mark in that same race, he was clocked at 6.25 secs and awarded an all time South American 55m record.

As the outdoor season started, a lead-off leg split at The Penn Relays of 10.10 secs, gave Bascom a big boost of confidence, but he was still unable to get that elusive A qualifier for London and his countryman Adam Harris was breathing down his neck. Bascom held a slight B qualifier advantage over him with a 10.21 time to Harris’ 10.28.

Then came Club Nationals in Nebraska, where he lined up against training partner Jermaine Brown (10.26) in the 100m finals.

Earlier that week in training, they both went neck to neck against each other doing block starts under the watchful eyes of coach Andrew Harry and Bascom knew that to beat Brown, he had to do it from the starting pedals.

That race took him into Guyana’s record books, when he equaled the legendary James Wren Gilkes 10.19 national record and became the USATF’s National club record holder. He also vaulted himself into the coveted spot, as the fastest South American 100m sprinter of 2012.

Gilkes, a 1975 Mexico City Pan American Games gold medalist in the deuce and a 1980 Moscow Olympics semi-finalist in both short sprints, held that title by himself for 35 years.

“I plan to make 2013 my best year”, the ever smiling Bascom told TA, “I don’t intend to just participate anymore, I intend to be a medal contender every time I don my spikes.”

Whether or not the Istanbul, 2012 World Indoor 60m semi-finalist, dips below the sub 10 mark or not, it still bodes to be an exciting year for track and field. Bascom resting at home and rehabbing his Achilles tendon, kicks off his 2013 season next week, a season in which he hopes to run fast times and personal best.

Cricket fans in the Ancient County will troop to the Bush Lot Cricket Ground today in high anticipation when the finals of the Berbice Cricket Board /Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company 40-Overs Second Division Tournament culminates in an exciting encounter between Hopetown and Cotton Tree Die Hard in a highly anticipated thriller.

This tournament is the first of three organized by the BCB for clubs in the west side of the county, in an effort to nurture fresh talent in the area.

Both teams in the finals are very strong but as always, it’s the team that holds its nerves that is expected to cart off the spoils.

This is the first of three such tournaments to be hosted by the BCB for clubs in West Berbice, in an effort to discover new talents in the area and has proven to date to be very popular with the fans in the area. Both teams in the finals are very strong on

paper but as always, it’s the team that holds its nerves in the historic affair that is more likely to cart off the spoils.

Stephan Adams captains the Hopetown squad and is proficient with both bat and ball. Other batting stalwarts include Delon Wade, Kareem Mentore, Claude Saul and Tyrone Liverpool. They could also depend on a strong fast bowling unit spearheaded by Emerson Benjamin, Carwin Wayne, Ruel Edwards and Claude Saul. Off spinners Adams and Kenje Sedoc would also offer variations for Hopetown.

The prolific Jagdeo Persaud leads the opposing side whose batting line up includes Pooran Persaud, Roshan Gafoor, Fizal Khan and Nashad Gafoor. The bowling department would be spearheaded by pacers Aszal Haroon and Shaqad Gafoor with support from the trio of off spinners, Roshan Gafoor, Pooran Persaud and Wagar

Hassan.

The winning team receives $50, 000 and a trophy while the runners up win $30 000. The Man of the match in the finals would take home $10,000 and a trophy.

Representatives of the Berbice Cricket Board will join the sponsor to meet the team at the start of the proceedings and return later on to present the prizes. The first ball will be bowled at 11:00hrs sharp.

Teams: Cotton Tree Die Hard - Roshan Gafoor, Pooran Persdaud, Nashad Gafoor, Jagdeo Persaud, Aszal Haroon, Fizal Khan, Ashim Abrahim, Wagar Hassan, Tag Singh, Ishwar Singh, Shaqad Gafoor, Ishard Gafoor and S. Shamadeen.

Hopetown - Emerson Benjamin, Carwin Wayne, Stephan Adams, Delon Wade, Ruel Edwards, Kareem Mentore, Darwin Nelson, Claude Saul, Ludwig Joseph, Tyrone Liverpool, Kevin Blair, Kenje Sedoc and Antona Alfred.

Carib Beer and Friends of Cricket, Heroes Cup\GCA 1st division 2 day tourney...

Barrington hits ton but GYO fight back on day one Guyana Defence Force opener Shemroy Barrington fashioned a fine century against GYO as play in the Carib Beer and Friends of Cricket, Heroes Cup\Georgetown Cricket Association first division two day competition continued on Saturday with one match at the Malteenoes Sports Club.

Batting first, GDF suffered an early set back when opener Isaiah Brijader was bowled by Garfield De Roche (06) with the score on 11 before Barrington and Dillon Heyliger took the total to 101 with sensible batting in front of a fair size crowd.

Heyliger was then removed for 22 before spinner Pravindralall Persaud trapped Marcus Watkins leg before for 10 as GYO fought back.

The rest of the batting then rallied to take them to 285 before they were bowled out in 57.2 overs with Barrington who mixed aggression with defence, leading the way. He stroked fourteen fours and on six in an attractive 105 before he departed. Jerry Fraser was the next best scorer with 63 which contained three fours and a similar number of sixes.

Randy Lindore chipped in with 32 as Kamesh Yadram finished with 4-62 off 11 overs

Shemroy Barrington while De Roche took 3-44 and Persaud 2-62.

GYO started off their reply on a positive note with John Champagne blasting five fours in an unbeaten 27, while his opening partner, Tagenarine Chanderpaul was not out on 28 (2x4) as they closed the first day on 63 without loss after facing 20 overs. The game continues today. (Zaheer Mohamed)

Page 60

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

All roads lead to Bush Lot United Turf Club horserace meet today All preparations have been complete and the day has finally arrived and thousands of Turfites are expected to throng to the newly refurbish Bush Lot United Turf Club (BLUTC), Sea View Park Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice for that entity’s massive $7M horserace meet at the club’s entity Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice.

With massive renovation work done to the venue including the construction of a new grand stand, new rails, new toilet facilities with running water, more stables and viewing area and an expanded parade ring, Jockey’s area and scale house and the track re-laid, Turfites cannot wait to be a part of the riveting action expected to unfold.

An attractive 10 race meet has been put together by the club with some lucrative prizes on offer. Over 80 horses are down to take part.

Some of the country’s top horses have taken entry including The Score’s Even, Who So Ever, The Message, Marathon Man, Donut Prince, Fresh Again, Got to Go, California Strike, Diamond, Top of the Line,

Appealing harvest, Storm in a Tea Cup, Red Cloud, Come Dance with me, Rock Sonia, Happy Choice and Pride and Joy, Ferry Landing, Work Force, Super cat, Dubai Duchess, Majestic, Swing Easy, Stormy Lass, Miss Regina, Captain Crook, Settle In Seattle, Celebrating Love, Gold Plated, Sabrina Joy, Weekend Surprise, Miss Regina, Big Show ,Gold Romance, Flying Baby, The Legend, Gold Princess, Silver Jet, It’s My Time, Sent from Above, the Gump, Sir Balagie, The Bailiff, Wicket Intention, Dream Girl, Savion , Princess Renuka, Pixie Fire, and I want revenge, Silver Kid, Mona Lisa, Little Trickster, Northern Junior, Silent Night, Romeo, Mc Gyver, Ameela’s Joy, Flying Object, Royal Time, She is Royal, Hard Running, Pleasant Surprise and Star Boy among others.

The list of sponsors include; Banks DIH among the other sponsors are Mohammed Shariff of the Shariff racing stable, Buddy Shivraj, Jumbo jet, Rommel Jagroop construction, Trophy Stall Bourda market, Dr Bramdeo Singh, Inshan Bacchus, Lenny Singh,

Chatterpaul “Chen Singh” Deo, Ramcharran Singh, Phagoo General Store, B. M. Soat Auto Sales, Dennis DeRoop, Guyana Tourism Authority, Dr. Bernard DaSilva, Innovative Construction Incorporated, Mohammed “Aga” Khan, Regency Hotel, Hand In Hand Insurance and Feroze Ishack among others.

The Full list of events are the feature A’ and lower event over 1500M for a whopping $1M first prize and trophy.

The co feature event for three Year old animals Bred and Born in Guyana and The West Indies over 1200M with a first prize of $500,000 and trophy.

The E and lower race with a first prize of $450,000 and trophy also over 1200M. The G class 1000M gallop for a winning purse of $300,000 and trophy. The event for two year old Guyana and West Indies Bred horses which will see the winner running away with $400,000 and trophy also over 1000M. The winner of the H and lower 1400M event will see the winner taking home $200,000 and trophy. The pole position for the horses in the two year old Guyana bred event over

Part of the Bush Lot Turf Club where keen competition is anticipated today and fans will enjoy better accommodation.

1000M will collect $200,000 and trophy. The I3 and lower event is another 1000M event for a winning purse of$150,000 and trophy.

There is the J class event 1400M event which will see the animals racing for a winning purse of $100,000 and

trophy. The K and L class match up will see the winner pocketing $80,000 and trophy over 1200M. The individual performers including top jockey, stable and trainer will be presented with trophies compliments of The Trophy Stall, Bourda

Market.

Late information can be had by calling the President R. Jagit (tel 232-0231), Secretary Arjune Singh on 688-4764 and Treasurer Lakeram “Buddy” Sukdeo on Number 232-0558.

Race time is 12:30 hrs.

Flying Ace Cycle Club day of track racing set for today

BCB Bobcat of Guyana 20/20 tournament gets underway today Cricket fans in Berbice thirsting for more of the sport will certainly feel delighted that administrators of that region have their best interest at heart when they launch the Bobcat of Guyana second Division 20/20 Cricket Tournament for teams in the New Amsterdam/Canje area —from Kortheberadt to the No. 19 Village, this morning.

Already, several teams have signaled an intention to participate in this historic tournament including Kendall’s Union, Bristol Warriors, Sisters, Glasgow

New Scheme, Flying Star, West Canje, Gangaram Strikers, Besty Ground Triple Star, Young and Restless, Celebrity Times, Canefield, Tucber Park, Seawell, East Canje, Overwinning Bible Church, Young Warriors, Goed Bananen Land, Edinburgh and Police.

However, several other tournaments are currently being played in other parts of the region forcing administrators to run off just five first round matches today.

In the first encounter Kendall’s Union will play

Bristol Warriors at Kendall’s Union and later on Sisters will be at home in their match against Glasgow New Scheme.

Flying Star will also come up against West Canje at Kortheberadt, while Gangaram Strykers oppose Betsy Ground Triple Star at Gangaram.

The final encounter for today will see Young and Restless opposing Celebrity Times at Goed Bananen Land. Matches start at 13:00hrs and would use red balls while the players would be outfitted in white.

The side screens will also be white and teams are allowed only one first division player per game.

Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer of the Berbice Cricket Board, Hilbert Foster, is urging all teams in the Upper Corentyne to prepare in anticipation of a similar tournament in several communities between No. 43 Village to Moleson Creek.

The Berbice Cricket Board as part of its cricket development programme is already hosting tournaments in the Berbice River District and for teams in the West Berbice Sub-zone.

Claudette Watson handing over soponsorship Check to Neil Reece in the presence of Randolph Roberts The Flying Ace Cycle Club in Berbice will today hold their annual one day Track Attack cycling event at the Skeldon Community Centre.

Apart from cycling the there will also be flat races and a number of novelty events. Cyclists and athletes from all over Berbice including New Amsterdam, Canje, West Berbice and Corentyne are expected to trek to the Skeldon Community centre to be a part of the day’s activities.

All the top cyclist of the club including Neil Reece, Dwight Holder, Wasim Hassnu, Rohan Persaud, Ray Millington, Syborne Fernandes, Elijah Brijadder, and top female cyclist Marica Dick among others are expected to take part in the day’s action.

While there will be events for Open riders, juniors, juveniles, BMX, veterans, schoolboys, starters, females and schoolgirls where the cyclist will compete against each other over various distances, there will also be flats races of various, categories, distances and age groups.

Starting time is 10:00 hrs.

A number of businesses have contributed towards the staging of the event among them are Stretch ‘D’ Dollar Supermarkets and groceries, A. Ally’s and Sons, Watterson Catering Services, Kings Jewelry, CGX Inc., Water Chris Hotel, Anthony’s Funeral Home, Polly’s Delight Shameer‘s Cycling Store, Vicram’s Jewelry and Darry Tulsi Construction among others.

On Thursday Claudette Watts of Watson’s Catering

handed over a cheque for a sizeable sum towards the successful staging of the event.

Watts a supporter and sponsor of the club stated that it is always her pleasure to contribute to an event that makes a positive impact on the society.

She also took the time to urge other businesses to come forward and assist. She also stated that business must not be selfish, but should seek to give back to the community from where they garner their support.

Coach of the club Randolph Roberts said that sport is one of the few activities which help to keep youths focused. He explained that today’s event is expected to bring out the best athletes in Berbice. (Samuel Whyte)

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 61

FIVB World Congress was GTC/PM 1 maintains winning streak positive and productive - Shuffler President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation (GVF) Lenox Shuffler, who attended the FIVB World Congress 2012 in Anaheim, Los Angeles, California in a release, reported that the Meeting, which was attended by 206 federations worldwide, was both positive and productive.

At a special meeting for Levels 1 and 2 Federations, the reports from various countries showed how the new direction of FIVB, with its development fund, was helping in a positive way.

Shuffler in his presentation ‘Promoting Friendship, Influencing Change’ pointed to the many friends that FIVB has created by this new approach since development requires time, effort, finance, passion and patience, but without finance

many of the other areas will falter.

At the Congress, Dr Ary Graca from Brazil was elected the new President of the world body, while Shuffler was also able to get Brazil to agree in principle to be ‘Big Brother’ to Guyana and the South

American Federation CSV for a South American Zonal Association that will include the federation of Amapa, Cayenne, Suriname, Guyana and Boa Vista in order to promote greater activity at lower cost.

Guyana recently benefited from the fund after receiving a world class Taraflex floor from Gerflor and funding for a fouryear nationwide schools programme that will see the game being introduced to 400 schools that will also be provided with balls, nets and training material.

Already 67 schools have participated in the programme, while another 44 is expected to benefit in this first year.

Nicholas Fraser, Head of the Physical Education Department of the Ministry of Education is coordinating this programme along with the GVF.

vs Renegade. 3:00pm-Lady Jaguars vs Trophy Stall Angels. Pitch 3: 9:00amTrophy Stall B vs Young Guns. 11:00am-Amiya’s Furniture Store vs Young Guns. 1:00pm-Tornado vs Amiya’s Furniture Store.

3:00pm-4R Lioness vs Enterprise Stars.

Education ground: Pitch 1: 9:00am-Savage Masters vs Better Hope. 12:00pm-East Bankers Masters vs Enterprise Legends. Pitch 2: 9:00am-Challengers vs East Bankers X1. 11:00am: Challengers vs Jaguars.

1:00pm-Park Rangers vs Bedi Ramjewan X1.

Cyril Potter College ground: Pitch 3: 9:00am-One Love vs Success Warriors.

11:00am-One Love vs Rafman.

1:00pm-Rafman vs Success Warriors. 3:00pm-Queens Park Rangers vs Cena. Ogle Community Centre ground: Pitch 1: 9:00am-P & P Vipers vs Flashers. 11:00am-Desperados vs Flashers. 1:00pm-El Commandante vs Lusignan Third Street. 3:00pmLusignan Third Street vs Accomplishment.

GNEC ground: 9:00amRegal Masters vs Success Masters. 11:00am-Regal X1 vs Princess Hotel All Stars.

1:00pm-Mahaica Creek Princesses vs Regal Champs.

For fixtures in Essequibo and Berbice contact can be made with: Khalid Baksh at 618-1908 in Essequibo, Robby Saywack at 660-0049 in West Berbice/Mahaicony, and Ray Ashraf Jahoor at 6264956 in East Berbice.

Lenox Shuffler

GFSCA Softball tourney continues today

The Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) competition sponsored by Mike’s Pharmacy, Ariel Enterprise, Trophy Stall, Ramchand Auto Spares, Survival, Motor Trend, and Petama Enterprise, continues today with several matches at various grounds.

Fixtures are as follows: Demerara: Everest Cricket ground: Pitch 1: 9:00am-Wellman vs Dynamic Security Force. 12:00pmTrophy Stall A vs Country Road. 2:00pm-Herstelling vs J & J Bengal Tigers. 3:00pmWellwoman vs Fazal Kayume Angels. Pitch 2: 9:00amFloodlights vs Never Lose.

12:00pm-Farm vs Front Liners. 2:00pm-Front Liners

The youthful and energetic GTC/PM 1 volleyball team continued their dominance of volleyball in Berbice when they defeated all the other teams in a tournament played last Sunday (September 23rd) at the Kilcoy – Chesney Community Centre Ground on the Corentyne.

The tournament attracted six teams, namely: Albion United, GTC/PM 1 and 2, Rollers of New Amsterdam, 3 Door Strikers of D’Edward and Port Mourant Jaguars.

GTC/PM 1 only lost one set to Rollers but defeated all the others in straight sets to capture the first place trophy donated by the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC).

Port Mourant Jaguars placed second in the ‘round robin’ competition to win the trophy donated by Tony Gavaskar Amerally of Memorex Cricket Club.

GTC/PM 1 was spearheaded by brilliant spiking by Quacy Matherson and Creston Rodney and ‘on spot’ setting by captain Jason Seelochan.

The tournament was organized by promoter Ravi Narine of the RHTY&SC in collaboration with the Berbice Volleyball Association (BVA).

The early rounds commenced at 3:00pm

GTC/PM 1 captain Jason Seelochan (right) receiving first place trophy from a sponsors’ Rep.

(15:00hrs) and were played in blistering sunshine, while the latter rounds were played under floodlights simultaneously with softball cricket involving males and females. The tournament concluded at 10:35pm (22:35hrs) and immediately after, trophies were presented by a representative of the promoter.

In brief remarks before the presentation, BVA president

Gregory Rambarran, thanked the promoter and the sponsors of the trophies, and congratulated the players and spectators for their good behaviour, noting that some had witnessed a volleyball tournament for the very first time.

The MVP trophy went to Quacy Matherson of GTC/ PM 1 and the best setter trophy to Jason Seelochan also of GTC/PM 1.

Page 62

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 30, 2012

Luke Wright ENGLAND, AUSTRALIA powers England CLINCH SEMI-FINAL SPOT to victory ICC WOMEN’S WORLD TWENTY20 2012...

ESPNcricinfo - England Women made it two wins from two at the Women’s World T20 and qualified for the semifinals with a stroll of a victory over India. A target of 117 was not even close to troubling England as they won by nine wickets with 17 balls to spare.

The opening pair, captain Charlotte Edwards and Laura Marsh, put on 78 at over a runa-ball to eat into the target before Marsh was stumped.

Sarah Taylor arrived at the crease and struck four boundaries in 25 from 18 balls - she and Edwards, who

reached fifty in 49 balls, saw England home untroubled.

Their sublime run in T20s has stemmed from the best bowling and fielding unit in the women’s game. Katherine Brunt conceded just 16 from her four overs and spinners Marsh and Holly Colvin took three wickets between them; Marsh removing Poonam Raut who made 51 and shared India’s only partnership of note - 75 in 13 overs with Mithali Raj. “We batted really well on a great pitch and Laura and I were really pleased to make a

positive start to the chase,” England captain Edwards said. “The wicket was great today; the ground staff did a good job to get us on after the rain this morning.”

Scores: England Women 118 for 1 (Edwards 50*) beat India Women (Raut 51, Marsh 2-22) by nine wickets.

Meanwhile, Jess Cameron starred with the bat in Australia’s 25-run win against Pakistan that saw them through to the semi-finals in a rain-affected match match in Galle. Cameron scored a quick (Continued on page 57)

Norman Singh Turf Club and Jumbo Jet to stage race meet October 21 The Norman Singh Memorial Turf Club in collaboration with Jumbo Jet Auto Sales will stage a one day Horserace Meeting on Sunday October 21 at their Racetrack Number 5 Village, West Coast Berbice.

A total cash prize and trophies of approximately $7.5M will be on offer in the nine races carded on the programme.

The Provisional Programme shows the B & Lower race over 1400M as the feature with the winner set to carte off $1,200,000 in prize money. Second place will receive $600,000, third $300,000 and fourth $150,000.

Other races to be run are: E & Lower o v e r 1200M for $450,000 purse; The 3 yrs old open-West Indies Bred horses will cover

1400M for a first prize of $500,000; G1 & Lower over 1200M will see the winner collecting $300,000.

The 2 yrs old Open for West Indies Bred racehorses covering 1200M will ensure a $400,000 purse; while the 2 yrs old Open– Guyana Bred event covering 1100M has a $300,000 payday for the winner.

The I 2 and Lower gallop is over 1200 M with $150,000 on offer; while the H 1 & Lower horses also running over 1200M has a $200,000 first prize at stake and the Unclassified Div. 1, 2 & 3 (J,K&L) event over 1200M will see the winner collecting $120,000.

All races are being run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority, All 2 yrs old horses shall provide

their Certificate of Registration.

Owners/trainers can have their horses entered through Ghansham Singh (Ganesh) @ 649-3636/600-3626, Chandu @ 624-9063/232-9711, Compton Sancho @ 6900569.

Entries close on October 14 at the Club’s Office No.6 Village, W.C.B. Among some of the other rules applying for the programme: No correction of classification on race day.

Horses must be properly entered. No late entry will be accepted.

The Club reserves the right to cancel or reframe any race mentioned above.

Seven horses to start or no fourth prize will be paid.

Five horses to start or no third prize will be paid.

H. H. Halim Generator Contracting Co and Sons sponsors today’s GASP Open The intense battle for honours will resume this morning when the nation’s premiere word formers convene in the pavilion of the Malteenoes Sports Club to battle for a place on the podium as well as lucrative prizes in the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) Open Scrabble Championships scheduled to get underway at 10:00hrs.

H H Halim Generator Contracting Company and Sons have agreed to pick up the sponsorship tab and the top three players will receive lucrative prizes for their efforts and, as is now the norm, the best player outside of the top ten rankings would receive a special prize as the executive of GASP continue their developmental drive.

National Scrabble Champion, Abigail McDonald, will start as the firm favourite to cart off the top prize but as of recent, this presumption has been defied by the young players who have all improved remarkably.

As such, McDonald could expect fierce opposition from Moen Gafoor, a sharp contender who is always at the top of his game, Leon Belony, who had been a tough customer in the three best in five showdown for the national title, James Krakowsky, always a clear and present danger, Colin Chichester and the Michaels, RO and Orlando among others. The females have also been creating ripples and should not be disregarded.

They include Lindener, Grace Hercules and Ruby

Cummings among others.

Whereas, in the past one could have easily picked the winning three, the situation has changed to a more complicated one where the young rookies like Maurice Munru and Wayne Cave have improved tremendously and can be worrisome.

Apart from destabilizing the top rated players, the low tiered players will have their eyes on the consolation prize for those of their ilk. Selecting a winner might not be as cut and dried as it seems.

Participants are reminded that they are required to be at the venue by 09:45hrs for registration and a prompt start 10:00hrs sharp. The rules in relation to lateness, where those clocks will be activated, will be enforced.

BBC Sport - Luke Wright cracked five sixes in his 76 as England beat New Zealand by six wickets in the Super Eights to revive their World Twenty20 hopes.

England were much improved with ball as well as bat, with Steve Finn taking 3-16 as they kept New Zealand to 148-6.

The match remained in the balance as England reached 60-2 after 10 overs. But Wright, assisted by Eoin Morgan’s 30, timed his assault perfectly, smashing four sixes in seven balls as England won with seven balls to spare.

After defeats to India and West Indies in their last two matches, another loss would have all but eliminated England from the tournament. But Wright’s second fifty in four games keeps them in with a chance of reaching the semi-finals if they can follow up with another win over hosts Sri Lanka on Monday.

England changed their bowling attack by bringing in Hampshire spinner Danny Briggs and Tim Bresnan for Samit Patel and Jade Dernbach. And the result was a disciplined bowling display as England took wickets at regular intervals to deny New Zealand momentum.

Finn struck twice is his first two overs to remove Martin Guptill leg before wicket and the big-hitting Brendon McCullum, who was caught at third man.

Rob Nicol, Kane Williamson and captain Ross Taylor all made it into double figures, but could only muster four boundaries in 61 balls between them as England continued to dominate proceedings. James Franklin provided the injection of energy New Zealand badly needed, helping himself to 16 runs off Briggs’s last over and 10 off two balls from Bresnan.

Nathan McCullum smacked Stuart Broad for two sixes as New Zealand plundered 17 off the penultimate over, but England hit back well in the last, with Franklin run out and only seven runs added to the score.

For the first time in the tournament, England managed to survive the first over

Luke Wright slogs his way to a half-century (AFP) unscathed and were motoring by the end of the second after three boundaries from Alex Hales. At the other end, however, Craig Kieswetter’s struggles continued as he scratched around for four runs before being bowled through the gate by Daniel Vettori.

The Somerset wicketkeeper has made just 39 runs in four innings and may now come under pressure for his place from Nottinghamshire’s Michael Lumb, with Jonny Bairstow able to take the gloves. Hales followed for 22 in an almost identical manner as he failed to connect with a huge heave at Nathan McCullum to leave England on 38-2.

With such a modest target, there was no need for Wright and Morgan to be reckless from the off and the duo played themselves in while picking up ones and twos.

Wright chose the 15th over to break the shackles, creaming two sixes off Tim Southee, and another two off part-time spinner Rob Nicol in the next. Morgan was brilliantly caught at long-on by Doug Bracewell in the 17th over, but by then England’s required run rate was below one run per ball.

And by the time Wright slapped Bracewell to extra cover England only needed seven from nine balls. Bairstow pulled the next delivery for four and, three singles later, the victory was secured.

Scores: England 149 for 4 (Wright 76) beat New Zealand 148 for 6 (Franklin 50, Finn 3-16) by six wickets.

Busy period for amateur boxers as GABA maximizes activity levels Novice C/Ship set for coming weekend The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association will maximize its activity levels over the next few months as it focuses on keeping young boxers active. The intense programme of events commences Friday and Saturday coming at the National Gymnasium Tarmac with the staging of the National Novices Championships.

A total of about 60 boxers from the gyms around the country will be competing for honours. GABA President, Steve Ninvalle, indicated that they are catering for some 33 young fighters coming from out of town for the event.

Ninvalle informed that they have a hectic schedule planned and it’s all aimed at keeping the boxers active and giving them as much competition as is possible. He also informed, strengthening his point, stating that just recent a team of boxers were

in Trinidad and Tobago to participate in a card there including Imran ‘Magic’ Khan. Khan had to fight as a Lightweight on the card which was used as practice for those making the trip. Ninvalle noted that going up to that level was a good test for Khan that will help him in future fights.

A few amateur boxers recently turned professional and GABA will be keen to stem that flow, giving their fighters top flight competition to look forward to. They will hope to keep the better fighters focused, coupled with better training and preparation in the hope of targeting medals at the next Olympic Games.

The GABA head stated that they are making every effort to secure top flight activity for the boxers at every opportunity available.

The programme of activities continue on October 20 and 21 with the staging of

Steve Ninvalle the Under-16 Championships, followed by the National Intermediate Championships in the first week of November, while in the first week of December it’s the National Open Championships.

GABA executives met recently and have reorganized their programme on the way forward and the upcoming increase of activity is expected to be the trend looking ahead among other improvements.

Sunday September 30, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 63

t r o Sp

Sri Lanka crush Windies to top group read Ajantha Mendis’s googly and was stumped for 12 and Chris Gayle was caught behind for two off slashing wildly at a Nuwan Kulasekara ball well outside off stump. Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels did

Mahela Jayawardene attempts an unorthodox shot (AP).

Ajantha Mendis dismissed Johnson Charles (Getty Images).

B

Marlon Samuels smashes a delivery (ICC Getty)

BC Sport - Sri Lanka are on the brink of the World Twenty20 semi-finals after thrashing the West Indies by nine wickets to go top of their Super Eights group. The Windies limped

to 20-2 in the six-over powerplay and only posted 129-5.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis was the pick of the home side’s bowlers as he finished with figures of 2-16.

The run chase was turned

into a procession by Mahela Jayawardene (65) and Kumar Sangakkara (39), who put on 108 to wrap up an easy victory. The veteran duo were at their supreme best as they paced themselves through the innings and finished the job with 28 balls to spare in a flurry of fours.

After an off-colour display in a rain-shortened defeat by South Africa and a nerve-jangling ‘super over’ victory over New Zealand in their first Super Eights match, Sri Lanka appear to be peaking at the right time.

If they can avoid a heavy defeat by England on Monday, they will be

through to the semi-finals as they seek to capture the title for the first time on home soil.

The Windies, on the other hand, looked a shadow of the side which overcame England on Thursday and will now face New Zealand on Monday with a semi-final place on the line.

Under the lights at a packed Pallekele, Darren S a m m y ’s s i d e n e v e r recovered from a dreadful start in which they lost both their big-hitting openers cheaply and slumped to 20-2 after six overs, the lowest powerplay score of the tournament.

Johnson Charles failed to

Camille’s Institute, GITC, IBE among early winners P. 58

Participating teams assemble shortly before the start of play.

their best to get the Windies back into the match with a partnership of 65, but the Sri Lanka spinners wrestled back the initiative.

Bravo holed out to longon off Jeevan Mendis for 40 (Continued on page 58)

Inclement weather postpones Linden Zone Finals - tournament continues Tuesday night in East

I

nclement weather postponed the Linden Zone Finals of the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball Competition Friday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club Court, forcing the organisers to reconsider an alternative date for the muchanticipated showdown.

After two nights of intense competition in the preliminary round in the Mining Town, five teams will compete for two spots in the National Round-of-16 scheduled to start next week.

A new date for the Linden Zone Finals will be announced soon.

Mackeson Brand Manager, Jamaal Douglas told Kaieteur Sport that it was wise to put the games off to another date so that there are less issues related to injuries and support. He said that Linden has been one of the best communities to support the competition.

“We had to look at the best interest of the players and those involved; we can’t risk playing on a wet surface that could risk serious injuries. So will reschedule those games so that we give those teams equal chance to qualify for the final round,” Douglas said.

“Linden has been supporting this tournament very well and we want to give them the opportunity to

Jamaal Douglas enjoy their finals,” he continued, adding that there will be increased efforts to include patrons in the event, as has been ongoing on game nights throughout Guyana.

Meanwhile, the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3on-3 Basketball Contest continues Tuesday night at California Square, East Ruimveldt with competition in the Georgetown Zone.

There will also be competition in the Berbice and Bartica Zones this weekend.

Players from across Guyana are vying for the $1M first place winner-takeall prize after putting together their best three players to compete in the mega event. Two weeks remain before Guyana knows who are the best ‘street-ballers’ in the country.

Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210