Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

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NCN’s CEO must be fired Nandlall says Rodney family DEAR EDITOR, The Prime Minister, according to news reports, has advised the CEO, NCN to apologise to Natasha Smith for removing her from the air because she is pregnant. There is something surreal about this entire affair. Like some dark comedy set in the 1940s. The CEO of NCN should be fired and the Board of Directors replaced. We live in a rules

based society, where laws exist to protect citizens. If the CEO and the Board did not recognise the discriminatory nature of this act then they have no place in management. I observe, with some amount of rage, that the woman becomes a supplicant, seeking equity, relying on the assertion of her rights through the acts of well intentioned third parties. Nadia Sagar, Attorney at Law

President Granger has to be more pro-active on the Venezuelan claim

DEAR EDITOR; “The Secretary General praised the willingness of Presidents Granger and Maduro to uphold their countries’ tradition of dialogue while a path toward resolution of the controversy is crafted that will be beneficial to both countries and their peoples.” The foregoing is an excerpt from the statement by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon following his meeting with Presidents Granger and Maduro during last year’s UN General Assembly. At that time, and even now, it remains to me unclear what the Secretary General means by “while a path toward resolution of the controversy is crafted that will be beneficial to both countries and its peoples”. How would the resolution of the controversy be beneficial to the two countries and their peoples other than through some new arrangement(s) through which Venezuela gets something? The evidence which would be presented in the judicial process will certainly be in Guyana’s favor since Guyana’s position is firmly rooted in international law and therefore would have the current demarcations remain intact. However, there continues to be a school of thought in some circles that shared or joint exploitation of the resources of the Essequibo region including its maritime

space would represent “a path toward resolution of the controversy that will be beneficial to both countries and their peoples.” This path is unacceptable and such thinking must be countered in no uncertain terms. At a press conference at the UN last year President Granger said that it could not be lost on the Secretary General that the resources of the Essequibo region and the waters off its coast belong to Guyana and will be developed for the benefit of Guyanese. It will soon be one year since the UN Secretary General would have this issue before him to rule on a mechanism for resolving this controversy. Last Wednesday, I was invited to be a part of a round table discussion on the Venezuelan controversy with Guyana and again the suggestion of joint or shared exploitation of the resources, especially Guyana’s oil and gas resources emerged as a popular school of thought, if not argument in support of ending the controversy. I posed the question whether one can expect Ban Ki Moon to rule on a mechanism before he leaves office at year’s end and the answer was a resounding no. None of the participants expects him to do so and a majority was confident he wouldn’t and perhaps is of the view he shouldn’t. It is said that former US

Vice President Dick Cheney’s internal code name for the Iraq war was “Operation Iraqi Liberation”...OIL. Notwithstanding the movement toward green energy, oil and gas will remain critical commodities in the conduct of international relations and geo-politics. So what does this mean for Guyana? In my view Guyana must continue to push ahead with the development of our oil industry but we must be cognizant of the geo- politics associated with this industry particularly against the backdrop of what future governments of Venezuela and the United States may turn out to be. At Wednesday’s forum there were maps of Guyana and Venezuela mounted. The Venezuelan map did not have the Zona Reclamacion” wording. From my reading it seemed that the word Venezuela was spread right across the map to include the area that previously would have been identified as the “zone to be reclaimed”. If my reading is accurate, this map suggests that Venezuela has “taken back” what is not theirs. It is clear that Venezuela is relentless in (Continued on page 8)

wanted no role for the WPA

DEAR EDITOR; Editor’ note; because of its length, we publish the concluding section of Mr. Nandlall’s letter carried in our edition yesterday Expectedly, the PNC would never be comfortable with and would always be critical of any thorough and competent Commission of Inquiry into Dr. Rodney’s death. The findings would, naturally, be damaging to them. As a result, the APNU was critical of every component of the Commission: the terms of Reference; the Commissioners; the evidence, the witnesses and the findings. In the same vein, it was easy to predict and expect that the Rodney’s family would find

the PNC participation in the establishment of such a Commission, objectionable. They did. Likewise, a similar posture was adopted in relation to the WPA, which by that time, had already entered into the political bed with the PNC. What I have written here and what I have said in the National Assembly that night is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This is exactly what I will recite before any privileges committee to which I may be summoned. Only Mrs. Rodney’s word in my presence before that committee can contradict me. Even if she does, it does not mean that what I said is untrue. I will produce emails and other pieces of evidence to

There are financial conspiracies under the Coalition Govt. DEAR EDITOR, To the outside world that is seeing our hinterlands for the first time, Guyana is a paradise. Taking a drive along the East Coast up to Happy Acres and watching all the big houses, we might think Guyana is a land of millionaires. But the majority of the local people in the villages (hinterland and rural) live mostly in poverty thanks to the PPP and PNC. This paradise however, has not only been lost; it has been purloined. First, financial conspiracies were started by the PPP and now they are being carried out by the PNC under a PNC led government headed by President David Arthur Granger.

What has happened to Guyana since May 2015 is outrageous? The people in their numbers voted against the corruption of the PPP, but ended up with a worst form of the PPP (the PNC and the Granger Cabinet). Then under the PPP’s Office of the President, we had

vindicate my assertions. I wish the Attorney-General well in securing Mrs. Rodney’s presence and getting her to contradict me in that committee. Needlessly to say, that the Attorney-General is hereby assured that I will not be silenced by threats and intimidation. I am made of sterner stuff. I will continue to discharge my responsibility to the people of this country without fear or favour. It is amazing that thirty-six (36) years after his death, Dr. Walter Rodney can still evoke the wrath of the authoritarian. Without more, it speaks to the measure of the man. He was only thirty-eight (38) years old. Imagine if he was allowed a full life. Anil Nandlall operators making deals left right and center; not for the country’s benefit but for the corridors of power. Today in the Ministry of the Presidency, from the top to the bottom, it is deals and more deals all focused at flushing big chunks of cash out of the Treasury into the pockets of the friends of cabinet members and their neigbours, their buddies and even their drivers. Today we have Ministers appointing their relatives in key positions in the (Continued on page 8)

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The medical This Regional Vice-Chairman has a school’s comedy dictatorial attitude of errors DEAR EDITOR, After having done a brief mental self-examination I am now ready to pen these few lines. I daresay that each and every day that I read the local Guyanese newspapers; I try to quell my troubled mind, check my cognition, while racking my brain to find answers to the multiplicity of questions racing through my mind. Currently in Guyana “ who is in charge of the asylum” and perhaps some form of solace may be found in the answer, given in the 1989 film Dr. Caligari by Stephen Sayadia where the doctor becomes the patient and the inmates are left running the asylum. Point in question is the recent saga surrounding Administrator Nanda Kissoon and the North Shore Medical School. I would certainly feel more mentally relieved if the last two terms were not used as part of the name. If my personal level of cognition serves me correctly, a medical school is a faculty or school of a university that trains would-be medical doctors, with the end result being individuals who would be tasked with caring for the sick and injured with a view to prolonging or saving lives. In other worlds, medical schools have to be accredited before they can conduct programs aimed at training potential doctors. Accreditation is viewed as the influential tool for quality control and improvement of medical education programs. Grant me a listening ear as I try to seek answers to the following queries - What role did the National Accreditation Council of Guyana play in this so-called medical school at least opening its doors, let alone being able to take funds from medical students? Only in Guyana, I daresay could such a thing take place. What are the qualifications of those who compose the Guyana National Accreditation Council? What percentage of this includes trained medical personnel? What were the qualifications of the Administrator,

Nanda Kisoon? At what institution would the medical students be receiving their field experience? Take it or leave it, this situation while lamentable on the part of those who have been scammed, nevertheless cries out (and loudly too), for a deep investigation of the Accreditation Council. Guyana cannot afford to play dolls house when it comes to the training of those who will be ultimately sworn to uphold the Hippocratic Oath. The price to pay is far too high. To say the least, the Administrator had a chequered (but unchecked) past, with aliases rivaling that of a chameleon. North Shore Medical College was advertised in 2009 as being one of the leading medical colleges in Guyana, offering many professional careers in the Health Care. Dr. Kavita Singh was listed as one of the loan (low) officers. In 2013, she opened the Inter American Nursing School, and the Guyana Health Care Education Institute, both of which under the watch of the previous government were closed down following discovery of fraud practices. In 2014 she reopened the Inter American Nursing School which was ultimately closed down. How can one human, run roughshod through a system and over so many aspects of governmental regulations. While the Guyana government with its damaged image may be heading down the direction of charging the administrator with fraud, let me find the weakening radial pulse and demand that in addition the present Government launch a thorough inquiry and investigation. According to a medical practitioner the current system contain loopholes that allow such schemes to proliferate. Well the game is over; the loopholes are known and have been shown. Armed with the facts the Government Is not called on to act. Nanda Kissoon, through her dastardly actions has not only tarnished her name but has brought a nation to shame. The asylum must be wrenched from the hands of the lunatics. Yvonne Sam

DEAR EDITOR; Kindly publish this letter to add more clarity to the issues I raised with regards to the Region 6 2017 Budget Proposals. The caption of the budgetary estimates speaks for itself: ‘Proposed Capital Expenditures 2017’ so there is no doubt that it is a proposal made by the RDC to Central Government. On 9th September, the Regional Vice Chairman held a press conference in an attempt to do some damage control and kept on reiterating that the 2017 Estimates ‘is just a proposal…only a proposal’. He also belabored the fact that there were many proposals made by NDCs and that all cannot be accommodated. He then made a remark about the whole issue being politicized by an RDC Councillor. Firstly, I made it pellu-

cid in my letters to the media that the ‘proposals’ in the 2017 Estimates were not derived from a broad consultation from stakeholders and that it was admitted by the Regional Vice Chairman that himself and the Regional Engineer drove through the areas and knew what proposals should be in the budget. I also emphatically stated that consultation should be at the heart of any budget formulation. Secondly, I also admitted in my letter that not all the NDCs proposals can be incorporated in the RDC Estimated but pointed out that proposals from the NDCs should be prioritized. This prioritization of projects should have been subjected to consultation with the NDCs and this was not done. Therefore the Re-

gional Vice Chairman to address these pertinent issues in his press conference and failed to give valid reasons. Furthermore, he claimed that I made ‘wild allegations’ with regards to the fact that he caused the NDIA assigned small excavator to do ‘private works’. I want to assure him that I took photographs of the ‘private work’ in the presence of an NDC Councillor and I took pictures of the flooding at Chesney the said day in the presence of the residents who were affected. These pictures were attached to my letter to the press. Lastly, the Regional Vice Chairman instructed the HymacOperator to move out of the Cropper School area even though some residents, upon my instruction, approached the Hymac operator to clear some clogged drains which contribute to flooding in the area. We have

works schedule which was prepared by the NDC at its statutory meeting, yet the Regional Vice Chairman showed total disregard for the work prioritized in that schedule. This has led us in the NDC to conclude that Mr. Deoroop is also the Chairman of the Kilcoy/ Hampshire NDC and Mr. Joshua Appadoo, a councilor of the said NDC is the Vice-Chairman. Mr Deoroop made an important observation that the PPP/C is not in Government but what he failed to admit is that he should stop behaving as though he is in Government. This type of political interference by him will be counterproductive to the functioning of the NDC and I again call on Minister Bulkan to address this dictatorial attitude of the Regional Vice Chairman. Haseef Yusuf Chairman Kilcoy/ Hampshire NDC

Minister Jordan wants to know who the advocates are DEAR EDITOR, I refer to an article, titled “Govt. must seriously commit to prosecuting those who abused laws, public resources - Goolsarran”, which appeared in Kaieteur News, Friday September 9, 2016. On reading the article, I was struck by the audacity of the writer’s claim that “Anticorruption advocates have also questioned whether the current Minister of Finance Winston Jordan has truly displayed an interest in seeing Brassington face the full extent of the law.” I do not know who these “anti-corruption advocates” are. Do they include Anand Goolsarran who, in recent times, has set himself up as a transparency and accountability czar? At least he won’t “put all the blame on the Finance Minister, even though he [the Finance Minister] would have an influential voice at the level of Cabinet.” Should I be grateful for these small gratuities thrown my way? Two things seem to have escaped these so-called “anti-corruption advocates”. First, I am not a lawyer. Most of my professional life has been devoted to economics and finance. But even without the benefit of substantial legal training, I know that everyone is presumed innocent,

until proven guilty. Mr. Brassington facing the full extent of the law is a function of the outcome of police investigations and the judgment of the Director of Public Prosecutions, not the bleating of the anti-corruption advocates. This brings me to the second issue. Even though it has been explained in detail, repeatedly, these “anti-corruption advocates” appear to be unaware of the process established by Cabinet to deal with the forensic audits. In March of 2016, a SubCommittee of Cabinet was appointed, consisting of Hon. Khemraj Ramjattan, Vice President and Minister of Public Security, as Chairman; Hon. Basil Williams, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Hon. Jaipaul Sharma, Minister within the Ministry of Finance. The Sub- committee was set up to scrutinize the forensic audit reports to determine which of them dealt mainly with administrative irregularities and which entered the sphere of criminality. The matters of an administrative nature addressing issues of weak internal controls and disciplinary action against those at fault will be forwarded to the respective Boards of Directors. Those of

a criminal nature will be sent to the Commissioner of Police for further investigations. In the specific case of NICIL, the Final Report of the Forensic Audit and Review of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) was submitted to Cabinet in December 7, 2015. At its meeting of December 22, 2015, Cabinet directed that the Report and the work papers of the Forensic Auditor, Anand Goolsarran, be handed over to the Commissioner of Police and the Head of the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU), to determine whether there were any acts of criminality committed by those concerned. On December 28, 2015, Hon. Jaipaul Sharma, who has oversight of the audits, met with the Commissioner of Police and handed over the Comprehensive Report of the Forensic Audit of NICIL, a review of the Comprehensive Report and the working paper file of the Forensic Auditor. Copies of same were also handed over to Mr. Sydney James, Head, SOCU on the same day. Subsequently, Mr. Winston Brassington and Ms. Marcia Nadir Sharma were both sent on administrative leave to facilitate the transaction audit. Mr. Brassington

later resigned and subsequently left the jurisdiction. In January 2016, a transaction audit was undertaken by the Audit Office of Guyana. However, the Auditor General reported several challenges in accessing and analyzing records, since the records were stored at SOCU’s office. While the Auditor General wanted the records to be returned to NICIL,in order for his Auditors to carry out their analysis and investigation, the on-going investigation by SOCU precludes the agency from releasing the records. Eighteen (18) issues from the NICIL Audit have been identified for further investigation. However, this will translate to a sizeable number of separate investigations. It should be noted, too, that on June 7, 2016 the Chairman of NICIL’s Board of Directors (of which the Minister of Finance is not a member) was advised to commence examining the Internal Forensic Audit Report’s findings and report on actions taken /to be taken. The Chief Executive Officer of NICIL responded on July 1, 2016, detailing actions taken and those yet to be taken. The above sequence of events and actions gives a synopsis of developments to date and nails the contention of the anti-corruption advocates that the Government is not serious about pursuing those who might have been involved in or committed criminal acts during their time in office. Winston Jordan Minister of Finance

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Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox UG law students want the quota system abolished DEAR EDITOR; Editor’s note; we reproduce this letter from yesterday’s edition since it was unfortunately truncated. The purpose of this missive is twofold. First, the University of Guyana Law Society (“UGLS”) is elated to hear that a new Collaborative Agreement between the University of Guyana (“UG”) and the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill) has been finalised, and here congratulates those who were instrumental in making this a reality. These persons include, but are not limited to, former Head of the Department of Law, Mr. Sheldon McDonald, current Head of the Department of Law, Mr. Ronald Singh, various members of UG’s administration, including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Dr. Barbara Reynolds, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall and current Attorney General of Guyana, Basil Williams. This agreement, among other things, and perhaps most importantly, assures automatic matriculation of the top twenty-five (25) students from UG’s Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme into the Hugh Wooding Law School (“HWLS”) in Trinidad and Tobago to read for the Legal Education Certificate (“LEC”). Securing the LEC is essential for an LL.B holder from institutions governed by the Council of Legal Education (“CLE”) to practice in the region. What is less clear, and what we are grateful for, is clarification as to when this new agreement will expire. It is important to point out that our ideal reality is one where every student who completes the LL.B programme at UG is allowed to enroll into the HWLS (subject to whether students are desirous of such enrollment, and are capable of paying the costs associated with this undertaking), as opposed to being subjected to a quota. In the absence of such an

ideal, however, the UGLS supports parallel undertakings to maintain, and increase the spaces secured, as well as to do away with the quota system. We acknowledge that there is an alternative in the Eugene Dupoch Law School, in the Bahamas. However, that tuition and the cost of living associated with such studies in the Bahamas (near double the cost of living and tuition at the HWLS) makes the option not at all feasible. The last Collaborative Agreement between UG and UWI (Barbados) expired in 2013, and, since 2014, students graduating from UG’s LL.B programme, and looking to commence studies toward the attainment of their LECs have been facilitated on an ad hoc basis through yearly negotiations. For two years, LL.B students at UG have endured uncertainty as to whether they would be accepted into the HWLS upon graduating. This has been an additional, unnecessary burden, especially when one considers the stresses, and sacrifices already associated with attaining the requisite grades to make the top twenty-five (25), as well as securing the approximately $5.8 million needed for tuition. Food and accommodation during the almost two (2) years of LEC studies at the HWLS cost several million more, and, contrary to what is undoubtedly and ill-perceived, yet popular perception, a vast number of UG LL.B graduates are usually not in a financial position to, in part, or at all, afford the costs associated with attaining their LECs, and, therefore, most never do. It is against this backdrop that we delve into the second purpose of this missive, which is to laud the Government of Guyana for its decision to resume the payment of the economic cost associated with pursuing the LEC at the HWLS, though, for now, the

amount constitutes part of the economic cost. We are also thankful that the National Assembly approved the$17.9 million, asked for by Mr. Williams, who championed the initiative, and are optimistic that this decision signals intentions to resume payment of the full economic cost, as per the agreement under which Guyana is a party to the CLE. With this decision, the Government of Guyana has, after more than a decade, put itself in a posture of compli-

ance with Article 9 (1) of the Agreement Establishing the Council of Legal Education, which stipulates that “the revenue of the Council shall be derived from contributions from the Governments of the participating territories, from grants and donations, and from fees payable by persons admitted to the Law Schools.” This decision is quite timely, in light of a decision by the HWLS last year to increase its tuition by more than 30%, taking the amount from $4.2 million to approximately

$5.8 million. Such investments in the continuous production of legal counsel are essential for the development of states such as ours, providing that they are used creatively, and effectively. As such, fallacious arguments to the effect that Guyana is already inundated with lawyers must be resisted. Indeed, we have noted contentions that the amount meant to pay the economic cost at HWLS would be better spent elsewhere, and are of the view that such criti-

cisms are ill conceived. Despite the quota of 25, it is quite rare that 25 LEC hopefuls leave these shores for the HWLS or Eugene Dupoch yearly. Nevertheless assuming that, upon obtaining the LEC, 25 students return from the HWLS yearly, this would amount to the production of 500 lawyers over a period of 20 years. By what yardstick are we determining that such numbers amount to overload? We must never forget that every (Continued on page 8)

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UG law students want the Foreign Financial Institutions must evaluate projects they... quota system... From page 7 area we hold dear, particularly the areas of science, medicine, and technology, operates within a legal framework, and, that by virtue of the technical, specialised education they are exposed to, lawyers are best placed to ensure that that such legal frameworks operate effectively, either by applying the mechanisms which exist, and making changes when changes become necessary. We have also noted the concerns that this decision is being taken, against the backdrop of revelations that some attorneys are errant in the repayment of loan. However, it is illogical to contend that the failure of

past students to repay loans, as per their loan agreements, justifies refusing financial assistance to students currently undertaking LEC studies. Are students who are not connected to the actions of their predecessors to be punished for a state of affairs they did not have a hand in creating? The question can only be reasonably answered in the negative. It is against the foregoing that we again laud the efforts of the Government of Guyana in its representation of the interests of LL.B students, remain cautiously optimistic that such progressive undertakings will continue throughout the years. Ultimately, we hold aspi-

rations for the realisation of a local law school which, we believe, will circumvent the issues which continue to plague us, and create avenues for swifter improvement. In the interim, we are grateful. Chevy Devonish - UGLS President Patrice Wishart - UGLS Vice-President Kalesh Loakman UGLS Secretary Arti Outar - UGLS Treasurer Sonia Nauth - UGLS Secretary Darshanie Lall Organising Secretary Abiola Lowe - UGLS Third Year Representative Mathew Humphrey – Second Year Representative Otis Chase – 2016 Graduating Class Representative

President Granger has... From page 5 maintaining its claim. It is also clear that the Opposition in Venezuela and the Venezuelan Diaspora is convinced that the claim is valid and must be

pursued. This was clear during yesterday’s forum. I must therefore once again point to the need for Guyana to intensify its public outreach efforts to help shape public opinion

in its favor. It is time that President Granger meet with the editorial board of the New York Times, Washington Post and other influential dailies and that our embassies, consulates and diaspora organizations reach out to various organizations such as the Council for the Americas not merely to inform and educate various audiences as to invalidity of the Venezuelan claim but to demonstrate the seriousness of this issue and the negative impact it potentially has for the future development of our country and the quality of life of Guyanese. Wesley Kirton

From page 4 government during the dictatorship period. Every day it is one procurement scandal after another. We can name them; 1) Drugs bond cabinet fiasco, 2) and we are hearing of another sole source of 400Million dollars for pharmaceutical drugs in which several ministers are involved in coming to light. 3) sole sourcing of contractors aligned to the PNC and AFC to do construction works at government buildings, 4) source sourcing of for the 400M fertilizer contract, 5) the award to BK international of millions of US dollars after a simple letter, we can tell how much the coalition members received on that deal. 6) the award of contracts to Cummings electrical for supply of Generator after he was the 5th highest bidder and a crass explanation given that lowest bidder is not always the right bidder given by Mr. Williams from the Hinterland Electrification Programme. This same Cummings

have had other projects gifted to him by the government even though he is not the lowest bidder a case in point is the street lighting on the Ogle Airstrip Road. However with Mr. Williams’ explanation we do not need competitive bidding since 5 other bidders who bid low for a supply of a simple generator were all under-qualified. The list does not stop there; we have the Mayor and city Council who everyday are giving contracts to the friends and family. Again no tendering and the Mayor recently said no audit. We can only imagine how pervasive corruption is in City Hall. The infamous parking meter corruption scandal is still going on. City Hall is busy running hard working venders off spots they have been occupying for decades to earn a living while setting up chicken and fish huts on these very spots that are operated by family members. The list is still long however, I believe the point is made. As

a concerned Guyanese, I want to urge the International Organizations and the The diplomatic community needs to reevaluate the evaluation reports, and the recommendations emanating out of the tender board and government offices. Do not fall prey to the corrupt practices of some individuals. When these stories hit the ceiling it is the hard working staff of these organizations that will feel the most sanctions since the policies governing their work on anti-corruption are far more stricter than those of governments. Do not let them bully you to make awards to their friends who are not qualified for the work and it is time that you reintroduce the mechanisms where you have independent international evaluators for the projects which you are funding in Guyana. We cannot go back to the days of corruption in public procurement; we have to move on. Nigel Samaroo

THERE ARE FINANCIAL... From page 5 government and their army mates to act as facilitators for the grand scheme. I challenge Minister David Patterson to deny that someone very close to him who is under-qualified and who could not even get a job overseas is now strategically placed in the government. Then he has another

close relative, high up in the Minister of Business office when she does not even have the requisite qualifications. Already in just 14 short months, more than three billion dollars have been muddled in controversial deals. The dangerous thing is the PNC/AFC boys and girls may have mastered their art even faster than the PPP. Is this why the Granger government is not transferring the $10 billion from the agencies that Anand Goolsarran identified as having moneys outside of the Treasury like Forestry Commission and

NICIL? When will they slip these funds away into other areas rather than deposit them into the Consolidated Funds? When we thought only the PPP could use the state for all sorts of conspiratorial activities, let me introduce you to Team Granger. The ATM of the Treasury is the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Ministry of Natural Resources run by two AFC Ministers. A thick-headed competitor in the Ministry of Health tried to challenge them at the game. Jai (Harry) Lall

Sunday September 11, 2016

SARU stalling Pradoville Two case The State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) is now being accused of holding up the highly controversial Pradoville Two Case. In a brief interview with this newspaper yesterday, Police Legal Advisor, Justice Claudette Singh said that it is now well over three months since the Unit has been unable to provide her with the valuation of the lands in the case. Justice Singh opined that the lack of valuation of the controversial lands was one of the loopholes in bringing criminal charges against those implicated in the Pradoville fiasco. Justice Singh said she made it clear to the investigators that if their claim is that the public officials got state lands at “dirt cheap prices”, and then resold it for a fortune, they must first determine what the original cost of the lands was at that time. In doing this, Justice Singh said she would be able to evaluate by how much the lands were undersold. The Police Legal Advisor said, “If they get the valuation of the lands at that time then we can move forward. I made that clear to them a long time now and I am still waiting on that valuation. They don’t even call to give an update on what is going on.” Singh also noted that she is extremely disappointed in the Unit, and expected that it would have dealt with the matter in a more timely manner, especially when one takes into account that SARU produced the initial report on the case. In early October 2015, SARU completed a report which stated that in 2010, the Bharrat Jagdeo Cabinet made a decision authorizing the National Industrial and Commercial Investments

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– Police Legal Advisor

SARU Head, Dr. Clive Thomas

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo

Limited (NICIL) to privatize State lands. NICIL is the body tasked with overseeing the pr i v a t i z a t i o n o f S t a t e assets. It reportedly spent more than $200M to develop the seafront community without the knowledge and blessings of the National Assembly and other relevant bodies. The said lands were then secretly sold to former Ministers and known friends and associates of the previous regime. At the time of the sale, the report said, the lands were grossly undervalued and sold at a price substantially below the market value, thereby depriving the state of its full benefits. SARU said, “There is a direct link between the misconduct and the abuse of powers and duties of their position. The former Cabinet members knew they were doing a wrong in transferring State lands to their names and that of their acquaintances for

undervalued market prices for the land. The lands were sold for $114 per square foot at the time.” “Public officers ought to carry out their duties, not for the benefit of themselves, but for the benefit of the public as a whole. If they neglect or misconduct themselves by their actions in the course of their duties, this may lead to a breach or abuse of the public’s trust. The act of the Cabinet members for their benefit is serious enough to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust.” In a letter addressed to Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, SARU had said that based on its findings, it was requesting that Ramjattan’s Office proceed to further investigate unlawful aspects of this matter, with the aim of establishing whether criminal action should be instituted. “It is the duty of this Unit in the Ministry of the Presidency to ensure that no Minister of Government in Guyana would be the beneficiary from any acts of

misconduct or unlawful conduct while being holders of Public Office.” SARU had also informed the Public Security Minister that it had also forwarded its report to the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, along with a copy of a Legal Opinion on the potential misconduct in Public Office by the former Ministers. The document on the Legal Opinion says that there is legal scope for the argument of willful neglect by the former Ministers in performing their duties without reasonable excuse or facilitation to an extent amounting to an abuse of the public trust. Further, based on the cases cited, the document outlines that the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, has Legal Standing on this matter. Williams had said that once sufficient evidence is gathered by his Chambers, a civil action against the former Cabinet Ministers would be instituted. He had explained to the media that former President Bharrat Jagdeo could face prosecution. The SARU report however lists the DPP, Mrs. Shalimar Ali-Hack, as a beneficiary of the controversial Pradoville Two deal. The report said that on September 7, 2011, the DPP bought Lot 184 Sparendaam, ECD, Block IV, which is 0.2767 acres of land. Asked how this looming situation of conflict of interest would be dealt with, Williams had said, “She would have to recuse herself in the determination of the matter.”

Vendors’ Union wants dialogue with M&CC to prevent recurrence of Bourda suspension President of the Guyana Market Vendors Union, Eon Andrews, has taken the position that there needs to be dialogue between the newly-established union and the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, so as to avoid a recurrence of the suspension of vending last Tuesday on Robb Street between Alexander and Bourda Streets. During an interview with this publication yesterday, Andrews said that dialogue is what his organisation has been calling for since its establishment. The union first came into being on July 28, 2016. Andrews said having to always clash with the Council, particularly its administrator, Town Clerk Royston King, isn’t an avenue of productive dispute resolution. Andrews believes that having the Vendors under one umbrella seems to have stirred some fear in the Town Clerk for not wanting to engage the Union to discuss and settle matters affecting the city in relation to vending. Moreover, the Union’s President is asking vendors to be more militant in light of the constant harassment by constables. He relayed an instance whereby a man was accosted by constables for littering, however, when they were required to appear and give evidence of the offence, no one showed up. Andrews said that there are several issues which the Union has been made aware

of which are affecting the vendors, and as such, the body wishes to engage the Council to have them addressed. In July last, a letter was sent informing the Council of the Union’s presence and interest in representing stallholders and vendors in Georgetown. At that time, Andrews said that he expected Council would have engaged the body directly instead of having meetings whereby all vendors were invited. The wisdom behind this was to save stallholders from having to leave their post to attend meetings. Having the Union is to allow vendors to continue plying their trade knowing that their interests are being represented at any particular forum. Andrews had described the state of vending in Georgetown as having gone to a “low level,” whereby constables have to be spying on vendors and running behind them in the event of some violation. He explained that the Constabulary is not mandated to look into vending but rather to function as a crime-fighting unit of the City. According to the Continued on page 12

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Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

No criminality in Sussex St. - systems in place to prevent bond deal recurrence – Granger After 15 months, there have been several incidents that would have caused, to some extent, damage to the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change ( A P N U + A F C ) administration’s image. The most recent being the controversial Sussex Street, Albouystown bond deal between the Ministry of Public Health and Businessman Lawrence “Larry” Singh –Principal of Linden Holdings Incorporated. Due to this controversy, there have been calls for Cabinet Officials to be disciplined or even removed from office. During the Ministry of Presidency’s weekly production of “The Public Interest”, Head of State, David Granger, was asked on how he plans to address issues in the form of decisive action pertaining to the performance of his Ministers in an aim to fix the APNU+AFC brand. “Whenever something happens, we feel that it is damaging to the government, and we have an investigation and we ask Minsters to explain or to give reasons for their conduct. These matters are deliberated at Cabinet level and we see (an) inquiry...we see an investigation as means to improve performance.” The Head of State said. The President admitted that during the past 15 months there have been errors, however those errors have not been that of criminality. He said that every Government makes errors and the implementation of systems to ensure that there is no recurrence, is characteristic of good governance. “So yes, we accept that they’ve been errors, but those errors have not been that of The Sussex Street Bond, Albouystown Georgetown

President David Granger

Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton

criminality. There have been administrative errors and they have been corrected and every government makes errors, and we just want to make sure that we make fewer errors...Some of them are human errors, and some are administrative errors and some have resulted from the situation we inherited last May.” The controversial deal inked between the Government and Singh had made headlines throughout the country. In August, Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton sought to defend the deal in the National Assembly, however he was unable to give a plausible explanation to the Parliamentary Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. Norton had claimed that the agreement was in the interest of cost effectiveness. He had explained that the company was selected to store drugs and other pharmaceuticals for the Ministry of Public Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation instead of New GPC, which is owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi (Bobby) Ramroop, because the latter’s rental fees per month was $19.2M while the other entity, Linden Holding Inc. would

cost the government $12.5M. But New GPC, in a subsequent statement, debunked Norton’s claims. The company said it had been storing pharmaceuticals at its warehouse without charges to the Government for more than a decade. It was also pointed out that there was no need for the added storage space since Government has an equipped storage bond facility at Diamond, East Bank Demerara. The Public Health Minister has since issued a public apology for “misleading the nation”. Subsequently, amidst mounting criticism, the Government finally caved and in a statement, announced that Cabinet engaged in full and thorough discussions on the issue where it came to the conclusion that the arrangement was undoubtedly undesirable and the search is on for a new facility. Government also stated that it is committed to transparency and accountability. The announcement and assurances by government came days after a private citizen threatened to take legal action to nullify the transaction.

Sunday September 11, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Govt. making “silly excuses” for failing to - Evidence overwhelming enough to win pursue Ashni Singh several cases without witnesses – Goolsarran sons who have to give eviIt was Public Security different tune. At his party’s press con- dence and testify, when they Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan who gave the nation a solemn ference on Friday, Ramjattan know what the investigations promise on New Year’s Day, was asked by Kaieteur News, are all about, have been tellthat former Finance Minister if given the stumbling blocks ing some of the policemen that Dr. Ashni Singh will face the he is facing with the forensic they are scared to death.” The AFC Leader continmusic for his gross financial audits, he would still pursue the Ashni Singh case. ued, “And we do not have a transgressions. The politician stated that witness protection plan. We At that time, he insisted that Dr. Singh’s case would be the matter would have to be have now gotten a Bill for that. reopened, as he refuses to placed on the back burner as And that Bill will soon go to parlia“allow ment. We those PPP “The Government has displayed a high are trying culprits to degree of reluctance, for reasons best known our best to break the to it, in terms of taking appropriate actions in persuade law and get these very away with cases where acts of criminality and other vital witit.” forms of misdemeanour have been uncovered nesses In fact, who have he had said, in the forensic audit reports.” the con“If we don’t set an example, then this cogent witnesses to the build- vincing evidence to please nonsense will continue. This ing of the case “are scared to talk”. He added, “We are given financial lawlessness has to death” to offer evidence in a multiplicity of reasons why change. We saw under the court. The Public Security Min- some of them are not coming PPP, the lawless spending of taxpayers’ monies in defiance ister said, “The stumbling forward. But you can’t go and of the laws. It just cannot go block in Ashni Singh’s case is beat a person in the head and down as though it is okay, or people not wanting to give tell them go and testify or give else we would be saying too written statements. As was a police statement... Once this that this is the norm, and our mentioned earlier, you can could be overcome then cerown will think they can do the give a lot of the evidence to tainly we can go into investisame and everything will be an auditor but when it comes gations into all these people.” to criminal prosecutions, you Ramjattan also reminded as cool as cucumbers.” Nine months later, the AFC have to do the written state- that while in opposition he had Leader is singing a completely ments, and some of these per- filed a complaint with the

Former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh

Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan

Dr. Anand Goolsarran

Guyana Police Force against Dr. Singh over the unlawful spending of $4.5B from the nation’s coffers. But the matter was one which was plagued by delays on the part of the Police Force. Ramjattan was later asked to prepare an extensive report showing how the Finance Minister could be charged. From the standpoint of criminal proceedings, the matter died a natural death. It was then taken up by former Opposition Leader, David Granger. He was repre-

sented in the High Court by Basil Williams who now serves as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. Former Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang ruled that the $4.5B spending by Dr. Singh was unconstitutional. Justice Chang had told Kaieteur News that while he was criticized for not declaring sanctions, it should be noted that it is not his business to deliver disciplinary measures against the defaulters. He said that is the responsibility of the National Assem-

bly. He had said, too, that the only option would be for APNU+AFC to take the case up in a criminal proceeding. Ramjattan’s recent comments regarding Dr. Singh’s case, do not sit well with several anti-corruption activists. They believe that Government overall, is making “silly excuses” as to why they cannot go after Dr. Singh. They recalled that it was pointed out by Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran that the former (continued on page 57)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

AIRPORT EXPANSION PROJECT...

Local truckers accuse contractor of exploitation Trucks carrying sand to the expansion site

As the Cheddi Jagan International airport expansion project continues to move at a fast pace, little is known about the plight of the local truck operators who work with the contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. This publication visited the expansion site recently and it was evident that the

project has gone a far way. But, despite the progress, local truckers are concerned about the working conditions they have to endure, the fact that they’re being underpaid, late payments, exploitation, their vehicles are being damaged almost on a daily basis in addition to their employees risking their lives on dangerous roads leading to and from sandpits. Most of the contractors speaking to this publication said that in the contract signed with the Chinese company, it was stipulated that they would be paid 14 days after the 21st of every month, a stipulation that was never honoured by China Harbour. Another monetary issue is the fact that they (contractors) are being underpaid, one contractor said that after buying fuel and paying employees, there is no money left to pay auto dealers who they would have purchased trucks from to work on the Airport expansion project. As a result some have missed as many as two months of instalments and are on the brink of court cases in addition to sometimes not being able to pay employees. Another sore issue raised by the trucking contractors is that they are being paid the same price for trucking sand longer distances than in the initial stage of the project. An example related was that in the beginning of the project, they used to truck sand from the pits to the area of expansion for a distance of 1 kilometre, now in the latter stages they are being paid the same money for carrying sand as far as 5 kilometres. It was revealed that if a truck is capable of carrying a 30-ton load and they carry a ton short, they’re not paid for the short load but instead the Continued on page 14

Vendors’ Union wants... From page 9 objectives of the Union, in addition to helping vendors, it plans to offer assistance to the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce in fixing prices and charges for vendors in the various Municipalities. King’s actions on Tuesday were condemned because it caused vendors to lose out on much needed income as they were suspended from plying their trade without prior notice. They were given no warning as the Town Clerk proceeded to shut down the area. The day’s losses were estimated to amount to millions since the majority of their goods were perishables.

Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

Guyana’s Ambassador to Kuwait denies guilt in US fraud case Guyana’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Dr. Shamir Ally has vehemently denied culpability in the charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the company he was employed with. In a previous article Kaieteur News had noted that Ally, a convicted felon, was appointed as Guyana’s ambassador to Kuwait. According to information garnered by Kaieteur News, Ally was convicted on March 4, 2003 by United States District Court Judge, Michael M. Baylson, for

dissemination of false financial information by Acrodyne Communications, Inc. The conviction was specifically for violations of the antifraud and recordkeeping provisions in keeping with the United States Securities regulations. Ally, who was charged jointly with A. Robert Mancuso and Ronald R. Lanchoney, was fined US$10,000. His co-conspirators were fined US$50,000 and US$10,000 respectively. In addition, the final judgments prohibited Ally’s co-conspirators,

Mancuso and Lanchoney, from acting as an officer or director of a public company. After the news broke, Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge said that an investigation would be launched into the allegations. He said too that Ally will be questioned about the matter. However the Alliance For Change, (AFC) in a statement yesterday noted Ally had vehemently denied the charges. According to the statement Dr Ally was employed by Acrodyne, a Public manufacturing Company, for

a short period, from February 2, 1999 to May 9, 1999 as the Cost Accounting Manager. “On May 10, 1999 he was promoted to Controller and he served in this position for fifteen (15) months up to July 10, 2000.” According to the information disseminated by the AFC, the company’s President, A. Robert Mancuso had asked Ally to help turn around the company as they were preparing to manufacture Digital Television Transmitters for Television Stations, converting from Continued on page 14

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Guyana’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Dr. Shamir Ally

PAGE 14

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

Local truckers accuse contractor...

Damaged trucks and excavators.

From page 12 Chinese company takes the short load for free. A truck driver speaking under condition of anonymity told this publication that the Chinese contractor had agreed to maintain the roads leading to and from the sandpits, however they never lived up to the agreement, and as a result the roads are badly deteriorated. This poses tremendous problems for truck drivers, as they damage their vehicles almost on a daily basis. At the camp site this fact was evident as there were at

least 10 vehicles being worked on and numerous others that were parked due to damage. Another issue lamented by the truckers was that the Chinese supervisors would normally force them to dump the loads of sand in dangerous spots; this has resulted in four trucks overturning and drivers sustaining injuries. In another damning allegation, a local contractor told Kaieteur News that he had made a road for the Chinese company to use as part of an agreement. The

company was supposed to pay him for the use of the road; after one week and the destruction of the contractor’s “private road”, the Chinese said they no longer wanted to use it and did not compensate the man for the one week or the damage. This has led to the contractor calling on the relevant authorities to investigate China Harbour. Other truckers are pleading for the Ministry of Social Protection to step in and intervene in what they call “modern day slavery”.

Guyana’s Ambassador to... From page 13 analogue to digital systems. “ B u t D r. A l l y w a s terminated in July 2000 w h e n t h e Te c h n i c a l Director Ostroff became the new President. The company was at the time in the midst of a power struggle, falling revenue/ income &a depleting labour force.” Two (2) years later in May 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the United States agency for maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets in-country, served notice on Acrodyne Pty. Ltd and its former principals of its intention to take civil action. According to the document the charge read that the SEC was accusing former President A. Robert Mancuso and former Chief Financial Officer Ronald R. L a n c h o n e y, a l o n g w i t h Controller Shamir Ally, of disseminating false financial information in

press releases and Commission filings in 1998, 1999 and 2000. D r. A l l y w a s t h e n charged jointly with Mancuso and Lanchoney. Instead of proceeding with a long and costly trial, the Party outlined that the three professionals were strongly advised by that company’s Attorney-atLaw, Mr. Steven Thomas, to make a deal with the SEC to pay fines without admission to guilt. As such, the document outlined that Dr. Ally’s vehement denials of any culpability were first contained in correspondences to the Staff Attorney of the SEC’s Central Regional Office, Ms. Dawn Leporatileget, on May 29, 2002. In all of his correspondences to the SEC and Acrodyne since 2002, Dr. Ally has said that he “most vehemently disagrees with the SEC’s charges”, and that he had

agreed to pay the US $10,000 penalty under protest. The CFO also paid a US$10,000 penalty a n d t h e c o m p a n y ’s President US$50,000. Dr. Ally also accused the SEC of making him a scapegoat, since the Accounting procedures he had worked with he had inherited from his predecessors, and he has consistently iterated that he worked under the close supervision of Mr. Lanchoney, the CFO. He said that his July 2000 termination ruled out his ability to access the accounting records which would have enabled him to substantially rebut the SEC’s 2002 charge. Contrary to information carried recently in several sections of the local media, the Ambassador is also claiming that the SEC’s 2002 charges never took away his voting rights in the USA.

Sunday September 11, 2016

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Kaieteur News

Freddie Kissoon assault case ...

Lawyer raises concerns over Kissoon’s competence as a witness Defence Counsel Glenn Hanoman, on Friday, raised concerns over the competence of Kaieteur News Columnist, Frederick Kissoon as a witness in the matter for which three men are on trial for an alleged assault on Kissoon in May 2010. Hanoman is among a team of lawyers representing the three accused Kwame McCoy, Jason Abdulla and Shawn Hinds in the case. It is alleged that on May 24, 2010 in Georgetown, McCoy, Abdulla and Hinds assaulted Kissoon, a newspaper columnist. The trio allegedly walked up to Kissoon and instigated the throwing of faeces in Kissoon’s face after he emerged from Nigel’s Supermarket, Robb Street, Georgetown. During the commencement of the proceeding at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday, the defence attorney also requested a discontinuation of the matter involving the three men. Hanoman‘s application was based on the fact that the only witness who could have connected the defendants to the crime, is dead. Osmond Griffith, a key witness, was killed in an accident on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) Public Road, in the vicinity of Industry on September 2, last.

As such, the lawyer said that a discontinuation of the case would be in the interest of saving precious judicial time. But Magistrate Judy Latchman said while she was not aware of the witness’s death, it has no bearing on the life of the trial. She then asked that Hanoman proceed with the cross-examination of Kissoon. Kissoon was asked whether he met Osmond Griffith during a visit to Kaieteur News office following the attack. The witness essentially denied the attorney’s suggestions. “You seem to know more about my life than I do Mr. Hanoman,” Kissoon stated in response. Hanoman then pointed to an article which was purportedly written by Kaieteur News, Editor -in Chief Adam Harris. According to the lawyer, in the article Harris said that Kissoon met with Griffith, who apologised to him (Kissoon) following the incident. The line of questioning was overruled by the Magistrate. “What does that have to do with the price of cheese? she asked. “What is written in an article is neither here nor there. It is of no evidential value,” Latchman added. She instructed the lawyer to move

Newspaper Columnist, Frederick Kissoon forward from the line of questioning. The lawyer went on to ask Kissoon about his recollection of the incident and whether he was still traumatized by it. “No. This incident occurred six years ago,” Kissoon said. “Are you aware that you are obligated to the truth, the whole truth, in this court today?” Hanoman asked. “That‘s commonsensical. I am aware,” the witness responded. The defence attorney then questioned the witness‘ recollection of the incident. He asked specifically for licence plate of the vehicle which the attackers would have used to escape.

According to Hanoman, Kissoon had mentioned some “uniqueness” about the number plate. Kissoon was adamant that he said unusual. “Unusual and unique are two very different things Mr. Hanoman,” Kissoon noted. The witness was unyielding to the suggestion. The witness was also shown his statement, from which he reaffirmed that he said the word “unusual.” He even explained that the number plate he saw was linear and not rectangular as suggested by the attorney. Under further questioning, Kissoon was asked whether or not he felt that the substance was thrown on him accidentally “The substance was deliberately thrown on me,” the witness said. “There is nothing about his (the attacker’s) actions that made believe that he didn’t intent to throw it on me,” he added. During the proceedings there were a number of outbursts between the witness and the attorney, which prompted the Magistrate to intervene.

Kwame Mc Coy “Alright! alright Mr Kissoon! Mr Hanoman let’s move on,” the Magistrate would repeatedly say. Toward the end of the proceeding, the defence attorney made an application to have Kissoon’s testimony withdrawn. The attorney said that Kissoon‘s testimony should be questioned on a matter of competence. According to the lawyer, the responses provided by Kissoon clearly indicate that he is not competent of giving straight (direct) answers. Hanoman pointed out that when questioned Kissoon went on a philosophical rant rather than answer the question. The attorney pointed to sections of the law which deal with competence of witnesses. Hanoman noted that a capable witness must be capable of telling the whole

Shawn Hinds truth. According to Hanoman that there was at least one instance in which Kissoon told the court that he is not aware that he obligated to tell the whole truth. Hanoman said that if Kissoon‘s testimony is found in violation of the laws outlined in the Evidence Act, it should be struck out. But Magistrate Latchman perused the evidence and she found that Kissoon had said that he was there “to tell the truth.” “He said he was here to tell the truth, Mr Hanoman. “According to the Magistrate‘s record, the KN columnist further affirmed that there are different dimensions of the truth. The matter was subsequently scheduled to continue on September 16 at 10: 30 am.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

Damaged Demerara River submarine cable…

GPL mulls $160M repair works to same Chinese company that laid it Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) could end up spending up to $160M to repair the damaged submarine cable which links West Demerara to the city. Government officials indicated this week that a proposal is currently before the Board of Directors of the state-owned power company for the contract to be handled by China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CMC). CMC is the same Chinese company which had installed the cable in the first place. The cable was part of a US$40M-plus project to build seven sub-stations and new transmission lines along the coast. The submarine cables included built-in fibre optics to create a total grid in Berbice and Demerara, and were laid across the two rivers. However, in July the Demerara River cable was badly damaged by a vessel, leaving the East Demerara and Berbice area without the extra power that is being produced by the 26 megawatts new Wartsila power plant at Vreed-enHoop, West Bank Demerara. There has been an increase in outages in especially the East Bank of Demerara areas.

According to GPL officials, there have been concerns about the work of CMC had carried out with regards to the laying of the cable. “It is felt that the cable should have been buried deeper in the river. The fact that the cable was damaged is evidence that attention was not paid to the river traffic and the many vessels that traverse the area,” a senior GPL official said Friday. It could take up to two months to repair the cable and have it operational again. The cable and other parts have to be shipped in, in all likelihood from China. “We will be insisting that the armored cable be sleeved (another protection) to ensure what happened here does not occur again.” GPL has said very little of the cable damage, but there have been questions about the actual installation and the kind of supervision that went into it. The monies that were spent were from a Chinese loan. In the meantime, it is unlikely that the current, sporadic outages will go away anytime soon. Residents have been complaining bitterly about an

increasing spate of blackouts, in especially places like Eccles and Republic Park, East Bank Demerara. A key report, dated November 2014, was submitted to GPL on that project by Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants, Inc. (CEMCO), a local firm that had partnered with SMP Engineering, a Canadian outfit, to supervise the project. The report had raised questions about the installation of the submarine cable. The consultants urged that it be re-examined. The report pointed out that it is possible that the life of the cable may have been compromised during installation due to the methods employed and the possible dragging of the cables by fuel boats that were traversing the Demerara River. As an alternative to a second submarine cable, GPL may have to consider an overhead transmission line at a suitable point along the Demerara River, the consultants had urged. The report had blistered the Chinese contractor and noted that the prequalification or postqualification assessments were either not performed or inadequately performed during the tender and selection phase of the project. The evidence was clear that CMC was ill-prepared for what it takes to run a project of this magnitude, the report had said.

Sunday September 11, 2016

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Kaieteur News

YCG recommits to youth development, empowerment The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) has been making significant strides in the enhancement of youth development and empowerment in Guyana via its many skills training programmes/workshops conducted nationwide. Just recently the organisation, with financial support from the Oil and Gas Giant, ExxonMobil, embarked on a project to strengthen the inquiry-based scientific skills of children in Grade Five by expanding an existing programme to several schools in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam). The programme provided training and science kits to participating schools for teachers to be able to have greater participation of pupils in scientific learning. The training, which was developed by the Ministry of Education’s National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), provided a practical guide to using the science kits and tools for effective participation in science in the classroom. The training was held at the CV Nunes Primary School and involved participation of students from CV Nunes, Taymouth Manor, Charity, Suddie, Good Hope and Lake Mainstay Primary Schools. This initiative first started in 2012 and has continued after promising results in the schools that benefited in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), Four (Demerara/Mahaica), and Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne).

ABOUT YCG In an interview with the organisation’s Executive Director, Dmitri Nicholson, YCG was established in 1989 and is currently headquartered at Lot G Enachu Street, Section ‘K’ Campbellville. He said that YCG offers young people from Guyana and abroad opportunities to utilize leadership and conflict resolution skills to contribute to community-driven development projects. The organisation implements projects that build and strengthen the capacity of communities in an aim to improve the livelihood of individuals across Guyana. YCG has immense focus on education, entrepreneurship and life skills and health. Nicholson said that YCG is not only focused on implementing training along the coastland but also in the hinterland. YCG, he said, will remain focused on delivering entrepreneurial skill training to the various hinterland communities where a substantial amount of social deficiencies exist. Nicholson stated that training programmes were previously carried out by YCG in Regions 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo). HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING Aimed at bringing innovation to the field of human rights, Nicholson said that earlier this year, YCG embarked on a strategic project which embraces the

The Baccoo Speaks Scarcely a day goes by without some madness. Young people who do not even read the newspapers or have time to worry with the news are teaming up for a crime spree. That explains the series of armed robberies. Young men in different communities are keeping in touch. Each plans a robbery for bragging rights. That would be the case of the gun crime that would occur in an East Bank Demerara community. Community reaction would again lead to vigilante justice. ** Another case of drunk driving would result in a crash. This driver would have been suspended from driving because of a

previous accident. ** The political scene would be disturbed by a scandal of interesting proportions. One group is pushing to see a diminution in the power and popularity of a party member. But some things are easier said than done. The fight would be bitter, but popularity always wins out.

YCG’s Executive Director, Dmitri Nicholson notion of exchange and cooperation among organisations in a number of countries. This undertaking is scheduled to be held in Romania between December 2016 and July 2017 which will see countries like France, Denmark, Italy, Peru and Guyana participating. “The main aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations that work with young people to develop an effective, coherent, inclusive and sustainable framework for using human rights education,” Nicholson related. He stated that during the training programme, the youths from the targeted countries will be involved in sessions that focus on human rights, inclusion and equity, understanding minorities, dealing with minorities and intercultural understanding. YCG opted to be a part of this venture, since according to Nicholson, “for a number of years we (YCG)

A YCG representative hands over a science kit to a teacher during a session of the inquiry-based scientific skills training implemented programmes that bring international volunteers to Guyana and we have seen the kind of growth that it offers to persons who come to Guyana. He added also that there will be a massive exchange of culture and so far, three Guyanese have been shortlisted to represent Guyana and will be departing the country in November CHALLENGES Nicholson revealed that there has been a reduction of the amount of foreign volunteers coming to Guyana – which poses as a serious challenge for the organisation. He added that this is mostly due to these volunteers feeling unsafe. However, Nicholson said that the three persons going

to represent Guyana are currently being trained to share Guyanese history and culture with other participants to make Guyana a more attractive volunteer destination. Another challenge Nicholson highlighted was the lack of Private Sector involvement. Like most NGOs, YCG needs the assistance of both Public and Private Sector Organisations. Though the organisation has the support, and shares healthy relationships with some Private Sector bodies, Nicholson insists that there

is more that needs to be done. He said that the organisation will be releasing its Strategic Plan to better facilitate and expand its cause. One of these initiatives is improving upon its relationship with other NGOs. “We will be looking to strengthen our relationship with other NGOs. Although we do have relationships with other NGOs, it is limited to when there are resources available, but we want to strengthen so that we can do more together with the limited resources that we do have.”

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Kaieteur News

The invisible drowning man

Sunday September 11, 2016

By Michael Jordan

He was six feet tall, but Sadeek Juman might just as well have been invisible, because no one saw him die in the hotel pool, a few days shy of his twenty-first birthday. The pool was near the hotel bar, and there were reportedly guests nearby. But yet, no one apparently saw him struggle in the water, no one heard him cry out, no one saw him go under. So how did this healthy youth drown? Here’s some of what we know… Sadeek Juman left his parent’s Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara home on Sunday, November 18, 2012, with birthday plans on his mind. He wanted duck curry for that special day, and he headed for his grandma’s home at Ruby, East Bank Essequibo, to see if she had any ducks to sell. The old woman told him that she only had ‘white fowls’. Sadeek then left, stayed awhile by an uncle’s, then at around six that evening, called his mother, Farida Juman ,to say that he was ‘with friends’, and would be home by eight that night. But eight o’clock came and Sadeek failed to show. By eleven, with Sadeek not answering his phone, Farida began to fear that something terrible had happened to her son. At around five-thirty on the morning of Monday, November 19, 2012, with her son still missing, Mrs. Juman contacted a sister who confirmed that Sadeek had indeed visited his grandmother before stating that he was heading home. Now worried relatives and friends checked at the hospitals and sections of the seawalls, while his mother filed a missing person report at the Den Amstel Police Station.

Sadeek Juman

Sadeek Juman (facing camera) with friends in the pool

Then, later that day, one of Sadeek’s friends called with news that they had all feared. Sadeek’s body had been found at the Double Day hotel at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. It was clad only in swimming trunks, and the man’s cell phone and other belongings could not be located. The hotel manager, Rabindra Bhola, would later tell Kaieteur News that his

employees found Juman at around four o’clock, some 24 hours after Juman was seen entering the facility. It was the first time that relatives knew that the young mechanic had ever visited the hotel. There are reports that Juman had received a call from someone who had told him to go to the poolside. He was reportedly seen on Sunday evening at the poolside with two friends, including a

young woman. A taxi driver who knew Juman alleged that he left the poolside at eight o’clock that Sunday and offered to give Juman a lift to his home. Juman reportedly said he was not ready to leave. It is alleged that the two friends later told detectives that they left the hotel before eight that night. The young woman allegedly later also claimed that she had spent

the night at the hotel with a foreigner. A pathologist would later state that the mechanic died from drowning, compounded by blunt trauma. This seemed to indicate that Juman had somehow struck his head. Juman was laid to rest on the very day that he would have celebrated his twentyfirst birthday. But how had this young man met his death? How had no one seen him die? According to Juman’s mother, her son could not swim, and was in a shallow section of the pool, which enabled him to stand. The family also showed photographs, taken on the day he had visited the hotel, of Juman and friends in the pool. They also alleged that he had consumed no alcohol, and said friends took photographs of his drinking fruit juices. Juman’s relatives alleged that they were told that the pool was checked at around 01.00 hrs on Monday, November 19, and there was no sign of a body in the pool. One relative also stated that the pool was in close proximity to the bar, and that a security camera was pointed towards the pool. But a hotel official who spoke to Kaieteur News this week denied that there was any security camera pointed towards the pool back then. He suggested that Juman’s body had sunk to the bottom of the pool, but the presence of other swimmers had caused the water to become ‘cloudy,’ thereby obscuring the body. He stated that the corpse floated to the surface the following day.

The official declined to comment further, while stating that the case is still under investigation. Juman’s mother, Farida Juman, remains convinced that her son was the victim of foul play, and alleged that information that has been relayed to her confirms this. She said that police had twice questioned the young woman who was with her son at the poolside. However, she was never detained. Mrs. Juman said that the young woman had once called her and indicated that she wanted to divulge something, but then terminated the call. She has since migrated. But Mrs. Juman continues to check with the police about her son’s case, but appears to have run into the proverbial ‘brick wall.’ “They promise to look over the file and then they say that they can’t find the file. I got fed up. I went to (then former Home Affairs Minister) Rohee, and he told me that I need evidence.” She’s been told to move on, since the tragedy has affected her health. That is easier said than done. “I am glad if they can pick up my son’s case so I can have justice.” If you have any information about any other unusual cases, please contact us by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown office. Our numbers are 22-58465, 2258458 and 22-58452. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address: mjdragon@ hotmail.com

Sunday September 11, 2016

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Kaieteur News

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Applying Heidegger to Guyana If you asked me 30 years ago which was the most informative, fascinating nonfiction I ever read, I would have said, Martin Heidegger’s ‘Being and Time’. If you asked me 20 years ago which was the best academic book I ever read, I would have said, Martin Heidegger’s ‘Being and Time’. If you ask me now to name the one book of all the books I have read that has influenced the way I see life, nature, people, the world and my own existence, I will say it is Martin Heidegger’s ‘Being and Time.’ Stacking ‘Being and Time’ against the great ideas found in Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Marx, Hegel, Wittgenstein, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Hobbes, Sartre, Foucault, Freud and Derrida, to name a few, I would say, ‘Being and Time’ is very far ahead. I find three books the most fascinating to date. Two are from my favourite philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” and “Human, All Too Human.” And Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontent.” But ‘Being and Time’ has outclassed them. Heidegger ’s magnum opus is a notoriously difficult book to read. If any philosophy student from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard etc., says that he/she comprehended Heidegger on

the first or second reading that may not be true. An advanced graduate student would need professorial help in understanding this text. I certainly got such professorial assistance. I was fortunate to have an extremely patient philosophy professor. Heidegger’s masterpiece is an exceptionally brilliant, ontological adumbration of what constitutes the essence of human existence; what role our own individual “Being” plays in that existence and how “Being” should relate to time, space and death. Heidegger, in obtuse language, explains why life shapes “Being” and not the other way around, and how “Being” could survive to have “Authentic Existence” in relation to “Time”. It is outside the scope of a mere column to explain Heidegger, but this column is not about the book, but the man himself. It is about one of the deep mysteries of human knowledge. Here was a man whose mind was so penetrating and whose brilliance could compare to any classical or modern philosopher yet in reckless and mysterious

abandon, supported the most sadistic, violent, hateful and semi-civilized government that human society has ever known – Hitler’s Third Reich. The name Martin Heidegger does not travel well in academic circles in any part of the world. My approach to Heidegger is not the man but his work. You can love a person’s work and feel totally distant from what the person is. It will remain one of the greatest enigmas in human knowledge why such an extraordinary mind chose to support Adolf Hitler. Few have attempted to find the answers, none have been satisfactory. When you read one of the reasons for the wrong path Heidegger took, then as a Guyanese your mind comes

to Burnham and Jagan. With the intervention of Burnham’s daughter, Roxanne, eulogizing her father in a letter in this newspaper and the caustic responses it evoked, one wonders if Heidegger can be applied to understanding why good men like Burnham and Jagan who started out with Quixotic dreams turned out to be so badly flawed. One theory is that Heidegger didn’t concentrate on Hitler and the Nazis but Germany itself. Taking up from where Nietzsche left off about the soul of Germany, and that Germany will produce the Übermensch to save civilization, Heidegger saw Germany under Hitler as the beginning of the German “geist” that would eventually bring sanity and rationality to

civilization; in other words the Übermensch was coming. This explanation puts Heidegger in a different light, meaning that his intentions were good and he was inherently wishing well for the world. Could one apply Heidegger’s methodology to Jagan and Burnham? Could it be that Burnham wanted to make Guyana and its people great, and he saw himself as the Übermensch? What he was doing was for the good of the country and its soul, and he believed it was destined for him to perform that task. After all, Nietzsche contended in ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’ that the Übermensch had to come. I am sure Burnham was familiar with the philosophy of Nietzsche. This Heideggerian

Frederick Kissoon application to Burnham meant therefore that he had no inherent tendency to do harm. Maybe this was also how Jagan saw it. That in communism lay the Übermensch. Perhaps Jagan was not bothered by his exclusive ethnic support, since communism was the Übermensch that would make Guyana a glowing nation. Like Burnham then, the intentions were originally pure. I guess as the years move on and more research is done, we will know.

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Sunday September 11, 2016

“A lot of action since HEYS was rolled out” Last week we presented the first part of the address delivered by Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe to the 212 Toshaos and Senior Councillors who attended the 2016 National Toshaos Conference at the ACCC. Over four days the leaders were addressed by H.E. President David Granger, by several Ministers of Government and quite a number of stakeholders who re-committed to working with them to craft a viable course of action for the development of indigenous communities. Minister Garrido-Lowe is an unrelenting advocate for the economic development of our Indigenous Peoples. This is the second part of her address. “At last year ’s NTC, President David Granger unveiled a 10-point plan of action for the development of the hinterland. I am happy to say that there is now a lot of action going on in 106 hinterland communities in the 10 regions since the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) was rolled out in those communities. Of course, there are some challenges but the reviews are absolutely fascinating. One young lady from Paramakatoi wrote to ask me to take some of her savings and purchase some joinery tools for her, Phillips brand, mind you. When I later visited

Paramakatoi she came to meet me and she told me about her plans to open her own Joinery. She had already bought seven zinc sheets to put on shed she was building. I asked about the (unit) cost of the zinc sheets and she said $7,000. Former MP, Eula Marcello, told me with admiration in her voice, “You know, Val, these youths are thinking. They are purchasing things like tools and other materials, and they have good plans.” In Mora, the youths are learning about Food Management and Nutrition, and Catering, and they are working to resuscitate their nature walk (Tourism

product). They also plan to host a debating competition with other members of the HEYS programmes - debaters from other villages. This is proof that our hinterland youths are hungry for knowledge and they are making good use of the opportunities this programme provides. Another beautiful thing is happening – they are bonding. They are helping each other, demonstrating great patience and care … and there are many more heart-warming stories. Very soon our Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Cohesion, NAREI, IAST and the farmers of Paramakatoi, will begin producing sun-dried organic tomato salads for sale. This project, which includes the creation of a training centre, will have a far reaching effect for the residents of all villages of Region #8. It will create and build human capacity in agriculture and food preservation among other areas. Needless to say, it will create jobs.

This project is being financed by the Government of Guyana and the Canadian High Commission, and we are very thankful. DEVELOPING OUR INDIGENOUS WOMEN We can’t stress enough how important it is to educate and build capacity among our Indigenous women. By educating them, our families will thrive. Your Government, through the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs will continue to work with our women, providing training in various fields including adult education/literacy and business. Their business training programme was initiated by the First Lady. Technical assistance and small financial grants have already been allocated for the establishment and growth of micro businesses in the regions. Of course, the ultimate objective is to generate much needed income for households, put more nutritious food on the table for children, and clothing on their bodies.

RESPECTING OUR NATIONALHEROES I implore you to respect our heroes. Indigenous Guyanese in every hinterland region love their land. Land is life to our indigenous brothers and sisters. The late brave and wise Stephen Campbell understood this when he made representations on our behalf during the Independence struggle leading up to 1966. He had been elected to the National Assembly on 10th September 1957, making him the first Amerindian Member of Parliament. Over the years he played a monumental role at the highest levels of government. Yet, with all of our artistic talent, I still see no statues of this great Indigenous Guyanese. In fact, he is almost forgotten in the villages. Perhaps the Toshaos Council should put this on your ‘To Do’ list. You would certainly be able to count on your Government for support. After all, the leader of our nation is a brilliant Historian. This month is Amerindian Heritage Month. The late

President Cheddi Jagan had declared in 1995 that in September every year we must honour the contributions of the nation’s First Peoples. This year’s observances are being held under the theme: “Our Culture, Earth’s Future” and it provides numerous opportunities for our diverse society to know more about the Amerindian communities. There is no time like the present for us to identify and pursue our common interests. It is only through understanding, appreciation and respect for each other, and by requisite institutional protection, that people in a multicultural society could co-exist in peace and harmony. I would like to end by borrowing (and tweaking a little) from the 1961 inaugural address of that famous American President, John F. Kennedy. He said, and I today say: “Ask not what your Government can do for you, but what together we all can do so that every Guyanese can experience a good life.”

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Kaieteur News

My column

The truth means nothing to the politician I am convinced that politics is about deception. It is about making one group of people look good and at the same time, criticizing the other. But in doing so the politicians give credence to the adage that the more things change, the more they remain the same. When the coalition government came into office it did so on the back of a lot of promises. It has been able to keep some of these promises, but others have proven difficult. The result of the failure has led to rampant criticisms. One of the promises was transparency. The government had promised to make available the numerous contracts signed by the previous government. However, the nation has suddenly found that it cannot be made privy to the Marriott contract. That is something that I cannot understand. The former head of the National Industrial Commercial and Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, kept telling the reporters who sought the contract that there were confidentiality clauses. That in itself was strange, given that the people’s money was being used to construct the Marriott Hotel. Then came David Granger’s promise to make those contracts available. Today, Maurice Odle, the new head of NICIL says that there is a confidentiality

clause and he details the clause. But to my layman’s mind, if the government spends its money then it is obligated to let the people know what’s in store. I can’t spend Glenn Lall’s money and then tell him that I cannot disclose to him how I spent his money. There is another issue that politicians thrive on, and this is deception. There was the story about the Ambassador to Kuwait. For starters the Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, said that his Ministry did background checks, but because he United States is so large certain things would fall through the investigative cracks. He was being less than honest. In the United States, if one is to be employed then one must provide a criminal report. And that cannot be forged. Guyana never asked Shamir Ally to provide his criminal report. Further, the Foreign Minister was alerted to this man’s criminal record, but he chose to ignore the warning. He recently said that he cannot rely on a mere newspaper report. He doesn’t have to. The information including the court docket was provided to him on Thursday. He has all the proof he needs. He also does not need Kaieteur News to supply him with that information. Gail Teixeira, the Opposition Chief Whip, must

also cease her attempt to deceive the populace. In the wake of the report on Shamir Ally, she objected most vehemently to the report that Satyadeow Sawh was rejected by the Venezuelan Government. She also had the gumption to demand an apology. The late Satyadeow Sawh was reported as being convicted in Canada. Ms Teixeira did not address this issue. She chose to pick on the aspect of the report that suggested that Sawh was rejected by the Venezuelan Government. She was correct when she said that Sawh served as Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela for three years. What she did not say was that his recall was based on the fact that the information about his conviction reached Venezuelan ears after his accreditation. I broke the story of Sawh’s conviction in Canada. I published his federal penitentiary number after the then Foreign Minister Clement Rohee kept denying the conviction. I had given him three weeks to verify the initial report of the conviction but like the ostrich, and like Gail

Teixeira today, he refused to see the truth for what it was. Now Ms Teixeira contends that Sawh did serve as Ambassador to Venezuela. I concur but I also say that Guyana was forced to recall him and that he had a conviction. I now want Ms Teixeira to deny those facts. I will do to her the same thing I did to Rohee more than two decades ago. I will bait her to call me a liar then spring the facts for all to see. There is another thing that the politicians love to bandy about, and this has to do with the economy. Every day I hear that the economy is in a tailspin. People point to the decline in certain sectors. For example, sugar continues to do badly as do bauxite. These were once the top export earners. Also not performing as expected is the timber sector. The performance decline did not begin yesterday. For example, Guyana built the Skeldon sugar factory to reduce production costs in the face of the cutback by the European Union. That new factory is still to perform more than a decade after its construction. I expect to hear the coalition

government being blamed for the poor performance of the factory. In the timber sector we know that some foreign companies got huge concessions, both financial and otherwise. One can only imagine the loss to the economy because one particular timber company injected little or nothing for the concessions it received. The two vehicles seized can in no way compensate. Yet this company, BaiShanLin, is heading to court to challenge the government’s decision to repossess the timber concessions. If I break a contract then I am liable to have the contract revoked. Perhaps BaiShanLin knows something that no one else knows. What I do know is that the amount of money lost to the country by way of these tax concessions would have had the public servants smiling all the way to the bank. The political opposition would not have been there to stoke fire, although the very opposition hardly gave the public servants a thought. One individual then contends that the economy has not declined, because gold is doing wonderfully

Adam Harris well. I do remember how the previous government hugged the gold industry. Way back when, it actually forsook safety concerns to get Omai Gold Mines back on stream. Perhaps this was why it granted BaiShanLin gold concessions on the North West. Economic decline is all around. Trinidad, the oil rich country is struggling with economic decline as in Venezuela, where there are reports of hunger. Jamaica is in the same bind with its dollar slipping almost daily. Barbados, too, is having its problems. That being the case, why is it that the politicians at home want to make out that the coalition government is taking the economy along a downward slope?

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Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

Culture and the future (An address by His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, at the launching of Indigenous Heritage Month on September 1st, 2016) Indigenous Heritage Month is a celebration of the breadth, depth and wealth of Guyana’s indigenous cultures. It is a time to savour our diversity. It is a time to take concerted action to preserve, protect and promote the rich customs and traditions of the Indigenous peoples – the Akawaio, Arawak, Arecuna, Carib, Makushi, Patamona, Wai-Wai, Wapishana and Warrau. The Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana mandates (at Article 149G): Indigenous peoples shall have the right to the protection, preservation and promulgation of their languages, cultural heritage and way of life. Indigenous communities are the repositories of the cultural heritage of our first peoples. The protection preservation and propagation of values and traditions and way of life of Guyana’s indigenous peoples therefore must take place within the indigenous villages and communities. The cultural heritage of our indigenous communities, unfortunately, is under threat. Slow pace of growth threatens communities’ cultural heritage. Limited economic opportunities over the past two decades caused social distress. Communities have lost some of their human capital by the migration of persons to neighbouring countries in search of employment.

Social problems have increased. Educational standards in hinterland communities lag behind those of the coastland. Vector diseases take a toll on human health. Environmental degradation caused by mining and logging affects the hinterland more than anywhere else. Rivers have been polluted. The infrastructure - aerodromes, bridges, roads and stellings - is inadequate. Alcoholism, abuse of girls, trafficking in persons have affected the quality of life in many places in the hinterland. Indigenous peoples are custodians of the patrimony of our hinterland. They protect our natural assets through their intimate relationship with nature and through sustainable agriculture, fishing, forestry, hunting and mining. The customs of our indigenous peoples, passed down through the decades, can be preserved and protected only if we have cohesive communities, free from the threat of social decay or economic decline. The indigenous cultural landscape is complex. Indigenous culture is not monolithic. The indigenous community of Guyana consists of nine nations speaking nine different languages. Indigenous peoples constitute 10.5 per cent of our population and own and control 14 per cent or about 30,000 square kilometres of Guyana’s territory. Indigenous communities are often remote and distant from the main development centres of the country. They consist mainly of small settlements, many of which are scattered, isolated and accessible only by air transport, on foot or by river. The management of scores of such varied communities is compounded by the complexity of

President David Granger development issues. Indigenous communities’ governance structures are ill-equipped to respond adequately to the widespread and varied threats posed to numerous small communities. The threats, if left unchecked, could hasten disintegration and hinder the ability of indigenous communities to propagate their values, traditions and way of life. The three principal indigenous governing structures concerned with indigenous affairs are the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, the National Toshaos’ Council and the Village councils. The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs is tasked with the administration of the Indigenous Peoples’ Act, formerly the Amerindian Peoples’ Act. The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, in concert with other Ministries, is responsible for hinterland development, including hinterland electrification and water resource management. Education, health, physical infrastructure and security responses have to be coordinated with the respective line ministries responsible for those sectors. This produces a more fractured and time-consuming governance process than the more densely settled coastland. Difficulties of transportation and communication lead to unwanted delays. The National Toshaos’ Council was established under Section 38 the Indigenous Peoples’ Act, formerly the Amerindian Peoples Act of 2006. The functions of the National Toshaos’ Council (NTC), as prescribed by Article 41 of the Act, include the promotion of good governance in indigenous villages; preparing strategies for poverty reduction and improved access to health care and the provision of sustainable management of village lands and natural resources. The NTC meets once a year but, possibly, some of its decisions could remain unimplemented if there is no executive agency to implement them. The NTC is now in the process of establishing a permanent secretariat. A single annual conference, however, might not have the capacity to effectively execute the day-to-day management needed to address the myriad problems facing indigenous communities. The village council is the third governance mechanism. Its functions, as outlined in Section 13 of the Indigenous Peoples’ Act,

include providing for the planning and development of the village, managing the occupation and use of village lands, promoting the sustainable use, protection and conservation of village lands and the resources in those lands and levying of taxes on residents. Village Councils might not possess the organizational structures, the managerial expertise and the financial resources to effectively discharge their functions. Their budgets are small and they have become dependent on Central Government grants and other forms of assistance. The three principal governance structures – the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs; the National Toshaos Council and the Village Councils – cannot effectively address the myriad and intense problems sweeping indigenous communities. No administrative apparatus or organizational architecture exists to assist the three principal governance structures concerned with indigenous affairs. This is quite unlike the coastland where a village could look for support from the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC). The NDC, in turn, can lean on the Regional Democratic Council (RDC). The RDC, in turn, can seek support from the Ministry of Communities or the Central Government An administrative agency is necessary to support the implementation of policies made by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, decisions made by the National Toshaos Council and the plans of the village councils. An administrative agency, with a national reach, that fills the gap between the village and the Ministry is needed. Implementation is the muscle of progress. Intentions remain mere words without implementation. Governance structures to address indigenous peoples concerns need to be complemented with greater implementation capability. It is for this reason that I proposed the establishment of a National Indigenous Peoples’ Authority – NIPA - which will possess the financial resources, the managerial acumen and organizational structures to support the implementation of decisions made at the levels of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs or the National Toshaos’ Council. The three principal governance structures for indigenous affairs are all vested with the protection, preservation and propagation of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples. The inability, however, of indigenous communities to address their social and economic concerns will detract from their efforts to protect, preserve and propagate their cultural traditions and values. A strong implementation mechanism supporting the work of the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and the National Toshaos Council will, on the other hand, yield a cultural dividend. It will provide an environment that is conducive to protecting, preserving and promulgating the cultural heritage of Guyana’s indigenous peoples. The proposed NIPA is intended to strengthen the MIPA, the NTC and the village councils. It is intended to support implementation. The proposed NIPA is intended to be a five-person agency to ensure the implementation of decisions made by government and to make the work of both the MIPA and the NTC more effective. The month of September, each year is designated as Indigenous Heritage Month. It is a month devoted to highlighting and celebrating the cultural values, traditions and way of life of Guyana’s indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage is under threat because the repositories of this heritage – the villages and communities – need assistance.

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Cauda Equina Syndrome: When lower back pain becomes an emergency By Dr. Zulfikar Bux Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine The cauda equina is a bundle of nerves that spread out from the bottom of the spinal cord at your lower back. The primary function of the cauda equina is to send and receive messages between the lower limbs and the pelvic organs, which consist of the bladder, the rectum, and the internal genital organs. Cauda equina syndrome is the medical term for a group of symptoms that happen when some of the nerves in the cauda equina get squeezed or damaged. This condition is considered serious, as the patient could permanently lose the functions of their bowel and bladder, and can lead to permanent paralysis of the legs. This is a condition most often ignored by patients until it becomes complicated. WHATARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CAUDA EQUINA SYNDROME? The symptoms of cauda

equina syndrome include: * Pain, numbness, or tingling in the lower back and spreading down one or both legs * Leg weakness or a problem called “foot drop,” which is when you cannot seem to hold your foot up (for example, while walking) * Problems with bowel or bladder control * Problems with sex WHAT CAUSES CAUDA EQUINA SYNDROME? To understand the causes of cauda equina syndrome, it’s helpful to first learn a little about the back and spine. The back is made up of: * Vertebrae – A stack of bones that sit on top of one another like a stack of coins. Each of these bones has a hole in the centre. When stacked, the bones form a hollow tube that protects the spinal cord. * Spinal cord and nerves – The spinal cord runs

through the vertebrae. Nerves branch from the spinal cord and pass in between the vertebrae. From there they connect to the arms, the legs, and the organs. (This is why problems in the back can cause leg pain or bladder problems.) * Discs – Rubbery discs sit in between each of the vertebrae to add cushion and allow movement. The discs that sit between the vertebrae have a tough outer shell and jelly-like centre. The outer shell of the discs can sometimes break open, spilling the jelly material inside. This is what doctors call a “herniated disc.” * Muscles, tendons, and ligaments – Together the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are called the “soft tissues” of the back. These soft tissues support the back and help hold it together. Cauda equina syndrome can happen because of

changes in the back that affect the nerves. For example, cauda equina syndrome can happen because of: * A herniated disc – The material from a ruptured disc can press on or irritate the nerves in the cauda equina. This commonly occurs after injuring your back. * Infection or inflammation – Different types of infection or inflammation can damage or irritate nerves in the cauda equina. * Cancer – In people with cancer, tumors can form within the spine and press on the nerves in the cauda equina. * Spinal stenosis – Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the vertebrae form bumps called bone spurs. These bumps can squeeze or press on the nerves in the cauda equina. In people with spinal stenosis, the discs between the vertebrae also tend to dry up and shrink.

That causes the space between the vertebrae to get smaller, sometimes pinching nerves. SHOULD I SEE A DOCTOR? Yes, if you have symptoms of cauda equina syndrome, see a doctor right away. Cauda equina syndrome is a medical emergency. WILL I NEED TESTS? Yes. Your doctor or nurse will need to find out what is causing your symptoms. You will likely have an MRI. This is an imaging test that can create detailed pictures of the spinal cord and nearby tissues. HOW IS CAUDA EQUINA SYNDROME TREATED? Treatment for cauda equina syndrome involves treating whatever is affecting the nerves and causing the symptoms. Often, that means having surgery to remove bits of bone or discs, or tumours.

Dr. Zulfikar Bux If the cause of the cauda equina syndrome is a tumour, radiation to shrink the tumour might be an option. If the cause is an infection or inflammation, medicines to treat those problems might be needed. Most often your first symptom is lower back pain which then progresses to the other symptoms mentioned. Do not ignore your back pain, especially if you are having any of the other associated symptoms of cauda equina syndrome. Visit your doctor as soon as possible.

Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

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SUNDAY SPECIAL STATE AUDITORS PROBE GECOM OVER $100M PURCHASE OF RADIO SETS State auditors have launched a major probe in a $100M purchase of radio equipment by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) shortly before the May 11 polls last year. The communication equipment was from all indications never used by GECOM, with some of the high frequency sets not functioning. Many of the 50 radios are still in boxes, raising questions as to the reasons used for the purchase. GECOM reportedly wanted the radios to make contact with its workers in outlying areas on Elections Day. Auditors would also be investigating whether GECOM paid too much, as well as try to determine whether the proper procurement procedures were followed. On Friday, Auditor General Deodat Sharma confirmed that indeed a team of auditors from his office have been probing the purchases of communication equipment. The auditors descended on GECOM’s offices over a week ago with checks currently ongoing at the entity’s bond at Coldingen, East Coast Demerara. The probe was launched after the Audit Office reportedly noticed a number of issues with the transactions. The Auditor General declined to go into details. The multimillion-dollar purchase would lift the lid on the procurement practices of GECOM, the body that runs General and Regional Elections in the country. Recently, legislation was amended to allow GECOM to manage its own budget, which amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars every year. According to Government sources familiar with the radio purchases transaction, a few weeks before the May 11th elections last year, GECOM signaled its intentions of using selective tendering for 50 Barrett High Frequency (HF) radios. There are different models of Barrett radios. The newer ones have the capability of sending faxes, emails and even make voice calls. GECOM’s wording of the tender apparently left it open to what models of the Barrett radios the entity wanted. GECOM received quotes from a number of companies, including Mobile Authority. Mobile Authority was chosen for the supply of what was supposed to be 50 Barrett HF radios. The company was paid $99.5M. However, checks by the auditors last week found a number of problems. Government officials indicated that based on information, GECOM collected 30 ICOM (IC-718) radios and 20 of what were described as Barrett 2040 radios. Government officials said what is interesting is why GECOM decided to include another brand in the

order –the 30 units of ICOM (IC-718) radios without the suppliers being notified LEAKED EMBASSY DOCUMENTS… BRITAINAND GERMANY HAD RAISED CONCERNS OVER HUGE NUMBER OFGUYANA VISAS TO BAISHANLIN – HUMAN TRAFFICKING SUSPICION CITED There is evidence that as far back as 2013, concerns were raised by British and German immigration officials over the huge number of Chinese workers that were brought into Guyana by Baishanlin International Forest Development. According to correspondence between former Government ministers and Guyana’s Embassy in China, seen by Kaieteur News, as far back as 2013, the manner in which the Chinese company was requesting visas for Chinese workers left much to be desired. The embassy in October 2013 wrote the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, complaining that Baishanlin was warned not to book tickets for Chinese workers it wanted to bring to Guyana until visas are issued. The Chinese company has built up a heavy presence in Guyana, but several of its promised multimilliondollar projects have stalled as the company is facing financial problems. It owes the Government and local companies millions of dollars for properties it has acquired. Government last year halted logging exports for a number of Baishanlin’s operations. The company had brought in several Chinese workers to work on one of its projects, a US$70M wood processing plant in Region 10. That

plant, like so many others of its projects, is stalled. According to the embassy correspondence to the former minister, in October 2013, the embassy in China granted Baishanlin over 20 visas. The company requested five more shortly after. But the embassy appeared to be irritated. The email to the former minister made it clear that Baishanlin was warned several times, verbally and in writing, that it must not book air tickets for Chinese workers unless the visas are ready – this normally takes 10-15 working days. The minister was told that Baishanlin was suspected of human trafficking and this had even been conveyed to former Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee. In 2013 alone, up to October, Baishanlin had applied for 290 visas. It appears from the emails that the Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs had approved a huge batch of visas. The embassy complained that Baishanlin failed to provide details whether persons issued business visas to come to Guyana ever returned to China. The activities of Baishanlin appeared to have also come under the radar of both the British and the German immigration authorities. They alerted the Guyana Embassy in China to their “suspicions that Baishanlin is engaged in people-trafficking”. The correspondence claimed that Baishanlin even offered ‘gifts’ to the staffers of the embassy, but were rebuffed. The attempted bribery was reported to the Ambassador, Professor David Dabydeen. Baishanlin’s Chief Executive Officer, even turned up the embassy

and asked for the aforementioned five additional to be issued. According to the correspondence to the minister, the company official threatened to call former President Donald Ramotar to complain. NICIL DIRECTOR SHOWS TWO FACES ON RELEASE OF MARRIOTT CONTRACT While it conforms to the principles of transparency and accountability, NICIL’s Chairman, Dr. Maurice Odle expressed that when it comes to the release of certain agreements and contracts signed under the previous administration, there are some “constraints”. With this in mind, Odle said that in the case of the Marriott Management Agreement, it cannot be released, as the terms of the document are “strictly confidential”. In a statement to the media on Friday he said that the agreement cannot be disclosed without the written consent of Marriott. However, Odle’s comments are in stark contrast to those he gave Kaieteur News on June 17, last, on the said contract. Using the same line of “transparency and accountability” Odle had stressed that the contract for the controversial Marriott Hotel should be made public. In fact, Odle remarked that too often, the citizenry hears of agreements being made between the Government and private parties and when there is a call for scrutiny to take place, “the infamous confidentiality clause is invoked.” The NICIL Chairman added, “And where there is too much confidentiality clause it leads to corruption as in the case of the Marriott Hotel. For the Marriott, too many

confidentiality clauses led it into the avenue of corruption. All those different confidentiality clauses they were invoking led to a set of actions which cannot be substantiated.” Odle had emphasized that the more the nature of such agreements are known to the electors and the taxpayers, on whose behalf the Government is acting, the better it will be for the accomplishment of good governance in Guyana. Asked to say if he will provide a copy of the Marriott Hotel contract to the media, he had remarked, “I am Chairman of NICIL and not Atlantic Holdings Inc. (AHI) which is the Board overseeing the operations of Marriott. Beverly Harper is in charge of the AHI and they should have a copy of the Marriott Hotel contract at hand and it should be released to the public. There may be a copy of the contract buried somewhere at NICIL, but AHI has easier access to it.” The NICIL Chairman said that he is all for transparency and accountability and insists that such agreements should not be treated as “state secrets.” He had said that the Marriott Hotel contract should be in the public domain for all upright and concerned citizens to peruse. MONDAY EDITION WOMAN’S MUTILATED CORPSE FOUND THREE DAYS AFTER DEATH THREATS Shockwaves gripped the community of Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara yesterday after the body of Anita Mohan, 48, was discovered lying in the bottom flat of her twostorey home with multiple chop and stab wounds. Mohan, also known as Sandra, (Continued on page 42)

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(From page 41) of Lot 315 South East Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara was found lying in a pool of blood in her kitchen by her 27-year-old son Intiaz Khan, her only child, whom she resides with along with a nephew. The nephew has been taken into custody for questioning. Speaking with Kaieteur News, her son, Intiaz Khan, said he discovered his mother’s body around 16:45hrs upon arriving home. He said that upon checking the home, he discovered that the wardrobe was ransacked; however, he could not say if anything was missing as he was still in shock. Khan and his cousin, known as ‘Chucky,’ do carpentry and masonry. There are reports that a man owes Khan and his mother $20,000 for some ‘boarding’ work they would have done for him. Based on reports, on Thursday last, the said individual appeared in front of Anita Mohan’s home threatening to kill her by the end of the week. On that day too, the same individual, along with five other men had threatened a relative of the deceased. KEEPING NICILALIVE CAN RESULT IN FUTUREABUSES – ANAND GOOLSARRAN Regardless of whatever explanations the Government may present for keeping NICIL, former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran insists that there is great danger in keeping the controversial entity alive in its present form. Goolsarran said that prior to 2002, a Privatization Unit was functioning under the Ministry of Finance. He said that by a Management Cooperation Agreement entered into, the Privatization Unit, headed by the infamous Winston Brassington went over to NICIL and took over the operations of the entity. The Chartered Accountant said that since then, state revenues, in the form of dividends and privatization proceeds have been intercepted and retained by NICIL as its revenue. These revenues he said were used for purposes as dictated by NICIL’s board. Goolsarran said that while corrective actions might have been taken in relation to some of the irregularities uncovered by the forensic audit he conducted on NICIL, there is the inescapable reality that “there is the clear danger that keeping NICIL ‘live’ can result in future abuses.” The Chartered Accountant said that there is no reason why the current activities of NICIL cannot be undertaken as a department

Kaieteur News

NICIL Chairman, Dr. Maurice Odle under the Ministry of Finance, as was done in the past. He stressed that NICIL was established in 1990 to monitor the Government’s privatization programme and to collect all dividends from public corporations and other entities in which controlling interest is vested in the State, as well as privatization proceeds and pay them over to the Consolidated Fund. The former Auditor General said that the privatization programme came to an end some five years ago. As regards Goolsarran’s recommendation to shut NICIL down, Chairman of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited, Dr. Maurice Odle said that this is a policy decision that Government has to make. In a statement to the media, Odle said that a decision was taken by the Board not to recommend the disbanding of NICIL. He said that the Board recommended that NICIL retain both its original custodial and oversight role as a holding company and, also, its development role. Dr. Odle believes that the development role, in conjunction with line Ministries, involves capitalization, financial and legal structuring, and project management, with respect to certain investments approved by Cabinet. In addition, to this, the NICIL Chairman said that the entity to date continues to be responsible for various types of assets, par-

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Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran ticularly land and property, until such time that the Government may deem it necessary to privatize same. He stressed that collaboration with Ministries and Agencies is being used to enhance effectiveness. In this regard, the NICIL Chairman cited that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Ministry of Business concerning the administration of Industrial Estates. TUESDAY EDITION $100M PURCHASE OF 50 RADIO SETS…ITEMS COST $300,000 EACH, BUT GECOM PAID SEVEN TIMES MORE As state auditors continue to probe the purchase of 50 communication radios last year by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), there are serious concerns about the high acquisition costs. The entity bought the radios shortly before the May 11th General and Regional Elections to help with communications between staffers in far-flung areas on Elections Day. However, from all indications the radios were never put into use, raising questions about GECOM’s hurry to order them in the first place. An investigation has been launched by the Office of the Auditor General to determine whether procurement procedures were fol-

lowed, and to verify reports whether the equipment is working and was operational when purchased. According to officials close to the investigation, GECOM ordered 50 HF radios and paid Mobile Authority, a Water Street company, $99,560,000 last year. Suppliers were under the impression that GECOM wanted Barrett HF radios which go for about $2 million apiece. Some of the newer Barrett models have the capability of sending emails, faxes and voice calls. However, what GECOM received from Mobile Authority were 20 Barrett radios, said to be the older models, and 30 ICOM radios, which sell at local suppliers for just over $300,000 each. Assuming that each of the 20 Barrett radios supplied were over $2M apiece, it meant that GECOM doled out at least $1.7M more for those ICOMs radios – a profit of over 600 percent for the supplier. Mobile Authority is owned by Water Street business, Mike Brasse. Brasse, according to records, also owns another company – M Tech Business Solutions – which has supplied GECOM with millions of dollars in other items, including scanners. The revelations would shine the spotlight on GECOM’s procurement practices. If it is indeed true that the 20 Barrett radios supplied were of a model that were discontinued by the manufacturer, GECOM’s officials could find themselves in deeper hot water over the availability of spare parts and even warranties. Reportedly, auditors checking GECOM’s Coldingen bond found the radios in poor condition, with some still in boxes. On Friday, Auditor General Deodat Sharma confirmed that indeed a team of auditors from his office have been probing the purchases of communication equipment. The probe was launched after the Audit Office reportedly noticed a number of issues with the transactions. The Auditor General had declined to go into details. GECOM’s Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally, was not immediately available for a comment yesterday. A list of questions was sent to GECOM’s public relations department, but there was no response. LEAKED EMBASSY DOCUMENTS… BAISHANLIN REFUSED TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE WORKERS RETURNED TO CHINA In the last five years or so, Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin International Forest Developments Inc., applied for visas for hundreds of workers from China. In 2013 alone, up to October, the company was approved up to 290 visas by the Government of Guyana, some of them business visas. And the company wanted more. When the British and German immigration authorities detained a number of Chinese workers destined for Guyana on a number of flights, they were convinced that it could be a case of human trafficking. The Guyana embassy in China was warned of the suspicions after a number of female workers who did not fit the profile of forestry workers were held just as they were about to board flights. According to leaked embassy correspondence seen by Kaieteur News, BaiShanLin was written about the need to provide timely updates that the workers were returning to China when their contract period was up (Continued on page 43)

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(From page 42) in Guyana. The correspondence, which came to light last week, would indicate how little attention the authorities of Guyana, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) paid to the logging company and those workers. BaiShanLin was written to in November 2014 by the Guyana Embassy in China warning that they needed to be more forthcoming with information and that immigration officials in Europe were paying keen attention to workers who were leaving China for Baishanlin’s local operations. The correspondence made it clear that Baishanlin’s local head, Chu Hongbo, was apprised of the scrutiny. The embassy threatened the logging company to establish a system whereby there would be spot checks on Baishanlin to make sure that the workers given visas are still in Guyana rather than trafficked to Suriname and Brazil, as was being alleged. The leaked correspondence said that the embassy started to pressure BaiShanLin to submit evidence that business visa holders had returned to China. This “evidence” was a photocopy of their Chinese entry stamp. However, BaiShanLin was unmoved by the threats of the Guyana embassy. As a matter of fact, the embassy threatened to stop issuing BaiShanLin any business visas and instead referred any application the Ministry of Home Affairs. The embassy in October 2013 had written the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, complaining that BaiShanLin was warned not to book tickets for Chinese workers it wanted to bring to Guyana until visas were issued. The Chinese company has built up a heavy presence in Guyana, but several of its promised multimillion-dollar projects have stalled due to the entity having financial problems. It owes the Government and local companies millions of dollars for properties it has acquired. Government last year halted logging exports for a number of Baishanlin’s operations. The embassy correspondence has claimed that Baishanlin even offered ‘gifts’ to the staffers of the embassy, but were rebuffed. The attempted bribery was reported to the then Ambassador, Professor David Dabydeen. WEDNESDAY EDITION IN LIGHT OF BREACHED AGREEMENTS…GOV’T MOVES TO SEIZE ALL BAISHANLIN’S FOREST CONCESSIONS In its first major strike to stamp out lawlessness and regain control of the forestry sector, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) on Tuesday announced that it is moving to repossess over 600,000 hectares from BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc., a Chinese logging company that has been under fire for its operations here. The news of the concession seizures will come as the commission continues to assess the operations of a number of large concession holders to ensure that they are in keeping with regulations and that commitments made in agreements are being honoured.

Kaieteur News

The GFC statement yesterday came hours after Cabinet met and gave its blessings to the commission for actions to be taken against BaiShanLin. According to GFC, the decision was taken after the cash-strapped BaiShanLin failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the commission and failing, despite being given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately $80M debt. A new Guyana Forestry Commission, headed by experienced furniture manufacturer, Jocelyn Dow, was announced last year by the new David Granger administration with a mandate to bring back confidence into a sector that was struggling to keep its head above water. MONEY-CHANGER SHOTAND ROBBED AT G/TOWN STELLING A popular Water Street money-changer, who was on his way to work, was shot and robbed shortly before 10:00 hrs yesterday. The man, 40-year-old Mahendra Deonarine aka Dharmendra, had just disembarked from a speedboat and was walking out of the Georgetown Ferry Stelling when a man approached him, whipped out a handgun, and fired a single shot hitting him in the abdomen. Deonarine’s assailant relieved him of a haversack which contained an undisclosed sum of local and foreign currency, before proceeding to search his pockets, and then hurriedly left the scene on a motorcycle. According to an eyewitness, the bandit had braids (plaited hair) and was of medium build. GUYANA’S APPOINTS CONVICTED FRAUDSTER AS KUWAIT AMBASSADOR Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge either did not do thorough background checks on his appointees to ambassadorial positions, or he was reckless with his appointments. He appointed convicted felon, Shamir Ally, as Guyana’s ambassador to Kuwait. Ally was convicted on March 4, 2003 by United States District Court Judge, Michael M. Baylson, for dissemination of false financial information by Acrodyne Communications, Inc. (“Acrodyne”) in press releases and Commission filings in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The conviction was specifically for violations of the antifraud and recordkeeping provisions in keeping with the United States Se-

curities regulations. Ally, who was charged jointly with A. Robert Mancuso and Ronald R. Lanchoney, was fined US$10,000. His coconspirators were fined US$50,000 and US$10,000 respectively. “MEDICAL SCHOOL” ADMINISTRATOR IN HOT WATER AGAIN OVER FRAUDALLEGATIONS Medical School Administrator, Nanda Kissoon, has once again found herself in hot water, after scores of students and parents descended upon her institution Tuesday, demanding refunds following damning revelations of her involvement in school frauds spanning back almost a decade. The institution, which goes by the name, “North Shore”, is located at 218 Lamaha Street Georgetown, and has approximately 120 students attending. One parent, Mrs. Bascom (only name given), said that she learnt of the courses being offered at the school during a popular weekly television programme. She subsequently enrolled her son some weeks later and claims she has already paid in excess of $120,000 to Kissoon. However, it was brought to her attention that the administrator was fingered in various Medical School scams within the last decade. Mrs. Bascom said that she became concerned and began conducting a series of investigations – all of which led to Kissoon being the same woman that was accused of fraudulently obtaining money in exchange of phony medical certificates that are not excepted anywhere in Guyana. The disgruntled woman said that she tried to make contact with Kissoon, but to no avail. It was after she visited the school yesterday with her son that she realised – she was not the only one suspicious of Kissoon. In fact, there were scores of parents and students standing outside the building requesting an audience with Kissoon, who refused to meet with them. Kissoon had locked the doors and remained inside with the few students who were unaware of what was going on. EBD TRUCK ACCIDENT LEAVES ONE DEAD,ANOTHER INJURED A smash-up between two heavy duty trucks early yesterday morning claimed the life of truck porter Dhanraj Dataram and left truck driver, Munir Mohamed with a broken leg. Dataram and Mohamed were reportedly on

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their way south along the East Bank Demerara highway in the vicinity of the Providence Stadium when tragedy struck at around 04:30hrs. According to a relative of Mohamed, another heavy duty truck belonging to a West Demerara businessman, was carrying a load of cement when the driver overtook Mohamed and suddenly slowed down directly in his path. The sudden deceleration by the driver caused Mohamed to slam into the back of the laden truck. The collision severely damaged the cabin of Mohamed’s truck and as a result the porter was s e v e r e l y i n j u r e d a n d trapped. There was no significant damage to the other vehicle. The other truck driver is said to have escaped the accident without injury, while Mohamed’s leg was trapped in the twisted steel of the truck he was driving. It took public spirited citizens a little over an hour to free Dataram from the wreckage. Dataram and Mohamed were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Dataram was pronounced dead on arrival. PRIVATE CITIZEN THREATENS LEGAL ACTION OVER DRUGS BOND DEAL Weeks after a controversial drug storage bond deal made the news, a private citizen is threatening litigation, if the contract is not rescinded. According to documents seen by Kaieteur News, Majeed Hussain, a resident of 118 Avenue A, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, has promised to take the matter to Court if the deal is not annulled. In a lawyer’s letter addressed to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health yesterday, Hussain in his capacity as a citizen and a taxpayer of Guyana vowed to file legal proceedings against the State if the deal is not rescinded within seven days. “If you fail to do so, I have firm instructions to institute legal proceedings challenging the legality of the said agreement without further notice.” Hussain’s contention surrounds a deal inked by the Government and local businessman Lawrence Singh. Singh, the principal of Linden Holdings Incorporated had entered an agreement with the government via Public Health Minister Dr. George Norton, for the rental of a storage bond located at Sussex Street, Albouystown. However, last month when Minister Norton sought to defend the deal, he was (Continued on page 44)

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(From page 43) unable to give a plausible explanation to the Parliamentary Opposition.

MOTHER, 95, RESCUED IN CANJE FIRE A fire of unknown origin on Tuesday evening took the life of a 64-year-old disabled man who lived with his 95-year-old mother at Adelphi Village East Canje Berbice. The elderly woman was rescued by one of her grandsons. Dead is Parsram Samaroo called “Isaac.” Samaroo who has reportedly been ill for about 10 years could not walk and had to be assisted by other relatives. He sometimes moved about by his buttocks. The charred remains of Samaroo were subsequently recovered from the rubble by the police and fire service and taken away. His mother Cherryann Mangru, who was rescued, stated that her son would sleep downstairs in a shack that she had built for him since he could not walk and would hardly move about. She said that she was with him earlier and subsequently retired to bed. She was awakened by intense heat. The woman said that as she attempted to escape the blaze, her grandson who resides next door jumped the fence and lifted her to safety. The woman mothered nine children (all boys), but only three are alive. The woman continuously cried for her son.

THURSDAY EDITION BAISHANLIN: A TRACK RECORD OF WRONGDOING One day after Government announced that it was seizing the forest concessions of BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc. for failing to honour commitments, there is news that the Chinese company has racked up hundreds of millions in debts across the country. The Chinese company reportedly owes small loggers and others in the Kwakwani area, Region Ten, millions of dollars for some time now. The situation appears to be the same in other areas, including Regions Seven, Eight and Nine. It seemed that the company knew it had over-extended itself and was in a cash crunch since 2014 when it forked out millions of dollars to buy a prime plot of 100 acres of land, at Providence, East Bank Demerara. By the time the Providence housing land, 100 acres of it, was purchased from BK International for US$8M that year, a massive nearby mall being built by BaiShanLin that would have showcased Chinese products had stalled, signaling that monies had run out. BK International claims that BaiShanLin owes it US$4M and has taken the logging company to court for its money and the return of the land. But BK had secured the very plot for US$4 million. At Linden, a US$70M wood processing plant never materialized. Instead, BaiShanLin invested millions of dollars in dredges for gold mining and other activities. The company also bought up the Cacique Banquet Hall, located behind the Ramada Princess Hotel and Casino, Providence, East Bank Demerara. It still owes Government over $600M for that property which currently houses workers and offices. According to Government officials Wednesday, the company has been under pressure from its creditors to pay its debts for some time now. To raise cash, BaiShanLin reportedly started selling out the steel that it had imported under its duty free concessions and even use its logging trucks to illegally compete in the transportation sector. Its barges were also competing in the river transportation business. But for all the hundreds of millions of dollars it owed, the straw that broke the camel’s back was a mere $80M accumulated payment to the Guyana Forestry Commission representing payments for logging related activities. The Government regulator said it had been trying since April to collect the monies and even to get BaiShanLin to bring in its majority Chinese partner that it had announced earlier this year. That partner, China Longjiang Forest Industry (Group), did not appear in Guyana to meet GFC. It was supposed to bring billions of dollars in to the country as the major partner in BaiShanLin. But BaiShanLin’s public track record along appeared to cause China Longjiang Forest Industry (Group) to change its mind. On Tuesday, the GFC’s Board of Directors recommended that over 600,000 hectares of lands that BaiShanLin controlled be confiscated. GUYANESE HORROR STORYAT BARBADOS AIRPORT

In the wake of recent allegations by a Jamaican of mistreatment at the hands of immigration officers while detained at Barbados’ Grantley Adams Airport, a pregnant Guyanese has said she suffered similar handling Tuesday. Five months pregnant Annecia Ariel Alfred said she was denied entry into the island because officers believed that she was going to work without a permit, but was made to sit on a bench for some 12 hours while awaiting a return flight to Guyana. Alfred who had visited Barbados earlier this year, and spent time with a relative who is resident on the island, had traveled from Guyana with the relative’s two Barbadian children, whom she was returning to Barbados after their holiday. She explained to Kaieteur News that the intention was to spend Christmas with her relative in Barbados before flying back home, then to join her husband in the USA. But immigration officers doubted Alfred’s story and accused her of seeking to enter Barbados for a job. MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS LAUNCHES PROBE INTO AMBASSADOR’S BACKGROUND Following reports that Guyana has appointed a convicted felon as Ambassador to Kuwait, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge has said an investigation has been launched to ascertain the accuracy of the information. Minister Greenidge was at the time, responding to questions on the appointment of Dr. Shamir Ally, Guyana’s current Ambassador to Kuwait. Kaieteur News had reported that Ally was convicted on March 4, 2003 by United States District Court Judge, Michael M. Baylson, for dissemination of false financial information by Acrodyne Communications, Inc. (“Acrodyne”) in press releases and Commission filings in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The conviction was specifically for violations of the antifraud and recordkeeping provisions in keeping with the United States Securities regulations. DISABLED MAN, 64, BURNS TO DEATH;

MASSIVE GOLD PRODUCTION MASKING GUYANA’S ECONOMIC DECLINE – OPPOSITION The gold sector has delivered a remarkable performance thus far for 2016. In fact, a holistic view of that sector along with other revenue earners would give the impression that the economy seems to be doing just fine. But is the performance of the gold sector masking an unsavoury truth? According to the political opposition, what lies below the flowery picture of continued economic growth under the Government, is a worrying economic decline. Specifically speaking to this matter was Opposition Member, Irfaan Ali. He believes that there is now consensus among many that the economy is backpedalling or in reverse gear. Ali said, “The contraction is felt by all and sundry and after a prolonged period of silence, even some apologists are provoked by their conscience to admit that the economy is on a slippery slope.” He continued, “At first, some of the apologists were out and about arguing that the economic slowdown was transitory and linked to the anxiety associated with the 2015 elections. However, since the elections ended 15 months ago, evidence shows that the economy is regressing at lightning speed. It has become

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difficult for the spin doctors to sell the story that ‘elections jitters’ is stifling our economic performance.” The Opposition Member added, “The harsh reality is that every major economic sector recorded lower output except the mining and quarrying sector. As I had explained before, the production of gold by two foreign companies, which set up operations under the PPP/C government, masked our economic decline. As a matter of fact, if we were to exclude the production of gold by these companies from the computation of the real growth rate, we would be posting negative growth rather than the 2.0 percent reported by the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan.” FRIDAY EDITION CABINET MULLS SHORTENING LEASE FOR CONTROVERSIAL DRUG BOND After facing weeks of gruelling criticisms from various anticorruption advocates, Cabinet members went back to the drawing board and unanimously decided that it is in the nation’s best interest to explore the possibility of shortening the lease for the controversial Sussex Street Bond contract. In a statement to the media Thursday, Cabinet said that it was recently engaged in full and thorough discussions on the issue of the storage of government pharmaceuticals at Sussex Street facility which is owned by Lawrence Singh of Linden Holdings Inc. Cabinet concluded that the arrangement was “undoubtedly undesirable” and considered the options and recommendations in the report of its Sub-Committee which was tasked with reviewing the decision of the Ministry of Public Health to lease the Sussex Street facility. The three-man committee consisted of Minister of State Joseph Harmon, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. Specifically, Cabinet said that it explored a range of options including shortening the lease period for the rental of the Sussex Street facility while expediting the search for another facility. EXXONMOBIL COMES UP EMPTY ON THIRD WELL A third well drilled by US-owned ExxonMobil has failed to find oil in commercial quantities, Government announced on Thursday. But the setback is not daunting the company, which is steaming ahead to develop another well which struck oil last (Continued on page 45)

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(From page 44) year. Announcing the results of the third well, the Ministry of Natural Resources disclosed that it was informed by ExxonMobil and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) on August 29, 2016 that the ‘Skip Jack’ well proved not to have commercial quantities of hydrocarbons. “We are continuing to have verification work done and awaiting a full report and more information will be provided then. This announcement reminded us of the undulating fortunes of mining in general and of oil exploration in particular.” However, the exploration company will continue with plans to develop the Liza well, the first one drilled last year, with its declared capacity of approximately one billion barrels. The ministry said that the company will also look for other possible targets for drilling. SOLE SOURCING IN DISGUISE? PAYMENTS SUGGEST CONTRACT SPLITTINGAT GECOM As state auditors continue their probe of a $100M purchase of communication radios for the May 11th 2015 elections, there are disturbing indications that all was not right with the procurement systems at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). According to Government records of spending at the entity, one businessman at the centre of the radio supply probe received almost $290M in contracts for supplying items to GECOM last year. There is nothing much wrong with that, except that the businessman, Michael Brasse, had at least three companies that were doing business with the commission. And if that does not seem suspicious enough, the pattern of payments seems to suggest that some amount of contract-splitting was involved, so as not to alert auditors and others who would have been watching. Three companies linked to Brasse - Mobile Authority, M-Tech Business Solutions and Mibra Trading - eased up doing business with GECOM after the elections results came out and the David Granger-led administration was sworn in. According to records seen by Kaieteur News, Brasse appeared to be a preferred supplier for stationery for GECOM. He delivered items such as toners, office furniture and equipment, photo paper and scanners, printing accessories, and even Duracell batteries. CANADIAN COMPANY HIRED TO RESTRUCTURE GPL MANAGEMENT Cabinet, during its meeting last Tuesday, approved a $1.6B contract for the provision of consultancy services for the implementation of a Management Strengthening programme for Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL). The contract was awarded to Manitoba Hydro International Limited. This was made known by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at this week’s PostCabinet Press Briefing held at the Ministry of the Presidency. Harmon explained that the project is part of a European Union (EU) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Power Utility Upgrade Programme (PUUP) which will be rolled out in phases. Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, further explained that the first component of the project involves the improvement of capacity building for the executive management of the power company.

Kaieteur News

BERBICE BUSINESSMAN MURDER PI…MAGISTRATE POSTPONES MATTER DUE TO BAT-INFESTED COURTROOM The Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the murder of Berbice Businessman Shameer AliMursalin was postponed for a fortnight due to issues of bat infestation, which has been reportedly plaguing the Springlands Magistrates’ Court, in East Corentyne, Berbice. The matter which is ongoing before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh has seen a number of adjournments. On the last occasion, the main witness, Rocky Profitt was ordered into police custody to facilitate further crossexamination in the matter. Profitt was ordered to return to court Thursday, for the cross-examination. However, when he and the other witnesses turned up, they were told that all court proceedings would be postponed for the day. Kaieteur News understands that the postponement was due to concerns raised by Magistrate Singh over the physical conditions of the Springlands Magistrate’s Court. As such, the Magistrate adjourned the matter until September 22. The main witness was therefore ordered to return to court on that date to face further cross examination in the matter. This newspaper was told that the Springlands Court has been plagued by issues of bat infestation for some time now. Employees attached to the Court expressed concerns that their superiors in Georgetown have been ignoring their calls for infrastructural improvements. “The ceiling is damaged and the bats live there. When you come to work in the morning the place is covered in dust and rat dropping and the smell is just terrible. It causes my skin to itch and break out in rash,” one court personnel stated. “We would be glad if the relevant persons… the Chancellor or whoever is responsible, would pay more attention to the Springlands Court,” another added. ‘CHUCKY’ REMANDED FOR KILLING AUNT DURING ROBBERY A mason who is alleged to have killed his aunt after robbing her of $10,000 cash was on Thursday remanded to prison. Kevin Mohan, also known as ‘Chucky’, 22, of 315 Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara was arraigned for the capital offence of murder, when he appeared before Magistrate Zamilla Ally-Seepaul in the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court. Mohan was not required to plead to the charge which alleged that on September 4, he murdered Anita Mohan, 48, during the course of a robbery. Clad in a filthy white T-shirt and a pair of jeans, the accused denied killing the woman and told the court that police ranks had beat him to confess to the crime. “Me guh murder meh own aunty meh does live wid?.Me nah know nothing about no murder.” Mohan claimed that police officers gunbutted him and lashed him with a chopper to sign a statement. “Dem strangle me and put black bag over me head,” the unrepresented accused said. When asked by the Magistrate if he was ever charged before, the accused told the court that he currently has a matter before the Leonora Magistrate’s Court for assaulting his girlfriend. Police Prosecutor Sherlock King indicated that investigations into the matter are complete. The case was transferred to the

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S p a r e n d a a m Magistrate’s Court for October 28. SATURDAY EDITION SACKED GPL BOSS TO GET $15M PAYOUT More than six months after he was sacked, former chief of the state-owned Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), Colin Welch, has been approved for a multimillion-dollar payout. GPL officials on Friday confirmed that its Board of Directors this week approved around $15M that Welch was said to be entitled to under his contract. Welch was let go back in February after a new Board of Directors, chaired by businessman Robert Badal, decided that they had lost faith in him. Reliable GPL sources confirmed that under Welch’s contract, he was entitled to certain conditions, including a few months’ pay in case his services were brought to an end. It was not a case of negotiation, but rather what Welch was entitled to, the GPL officials said. Welch had been appointed to act as the company’s head in August last year, but his tenure was rocky, with several clashes with GPL’s management. There were questions also about his qualifications. Following the appointment of a new Board of Directors for GPL in January, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, who is charged with responsibilities for the electricity sector, had made it clear that issues and questions of Welch would be dealt with. Senior GPL officials in February met with Board officials to complain about Welch. GPL is currently searching for a new chief, with Mr. Renford Homer currently acting as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. GUYANESE TEACHER FOUND STABBED TO DEATH IN BAHAMAS APARTMENT A 34-year-old Guyana-born teacher was found murdered in her Summer Street, Nassau Village, Bahamas apartment at around 09.00 hrs on Friday. The Bahamas Press reported that Marisha Bowen, who taught at the Charles Saunders High School, appeared to have been stabbed multiple times. All the apartment doors were reportedly locked. “There was no forced entry into the apartment, and from evidence now being sketched out, the suspect[s] on the run may be known to the victim,” the Bahamas Press stated. The report indicated that Bowen, who has a 16-year-old son and ten-year-old daughter, may have been slain shortly after 07:00 hrs, since it was at around this time that “loud screams were heard in the community from the complex, after what was thought to be a domestic dispute inside.” According to the report, no one called the police, who only arrived at around 09.00 hrs, after Mrs. Bowen failed to show up at work.

The owner of the apartment assisted the police in gaining access to the locked premises. POINTLESS GOINGAFTER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR RECOMMENDING SUSSEX ST. BOND – RAMJATTAN Going after the person responsible for even recommending the Sussex Street bond in the first place would very well turn out to be an exercise in futility. “Besides, who would turn up and say I was the one who did it? It is hardly likely, since we are dealing with humans and not angels,” expressed Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan. The Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) made this comment, among others, during a press conference which was held Friday at the party’s Railway Line, Kitty headquarters. Ramjattan is of the firm belief that Government has done everything possible in trying to correct the embarrassing bond scandal. He reminded that Cabinet established a sub-committee which investigated the matter and subsequently produced a menu of recommendations. “I don’t know what a further investigation might prove…should we then bang our heads against the wall in finding out what that is all about or who started it? Why not remedy the situation by looking at solutions and remedial actions taken? That is what we feel is priority,” the Public Security Minister firmly expressed.

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Govt. making “silly excuses” for failing to pursue Ashni Singh From page 11 Minister of Finance committed gross constitutional and legislative violations when he authorized $4.554 billion to be issued from the Consolidated Fund without parliamentary approval. In this regard, anti-corruption activists are asking for Ramjattan to point out what witnesses he has difficulty accessing while going after Dr. Singh on a matter that occurred before the entire nation. They said, “Is the Court ruling on the matter not enough evidence to prosecute? And don’t we have copies of the financial papers presented to the National Assembly to attest to the constitutional violation?” Additionally, Goolsarran had recently emphasized that Dr. Singh violated the nation’s budget laws and related constitutional requirements. He said, “Dr. Singh has also violated Section 77 Fiscal Management and Accountability Act which states that a Minister or an official shall not make a gift of public property unless the making of the gift is expressly authorised by law”. In this regard, Goolsarran explained that the former Minister authorised the transferred State lands to NICIL by way of a deed of gift. NICIL in turn sold the lands to third parties. He said that Singh abused Section 8 of the Public Corporations Act 1988 by signing vesting orders for the transfer of State lands from NICIL to third parties. Goolsarran made it clear that Section 8 was not made applicable to NICIL. Further, Goolsarran said that as Chairman of NICIL, Ashni Singh oversaw the creation of a parallel treasury at NICIL and was complicit in the diversion of State revenues into NICIL’s coffers to be used for various projects and activities not authorized by Parliament. He said that these include the construction of the Marriott Hotel, expenditure on Amaila Falls, Pradoville Two and the Berbice River Bridge. The Chartered Accountant said that these are violations of Articles 216 and 217 of the Constitution. “We still have the abandoned 44 High Street property which was constructed at a cost of $346.417 million using diverted funds from NICIL, not to mention significant sums remaining unaccounted for in respect of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Carifesta X and hinterland roads,” the former Auditor General stated. He said, “All in all, the anti-corruption advocates feel very much disappointed that the Government initiated numerous forensic audits and when the results were presented, there is a display of unwillingness to move forward, as evidenced by Ramjattan’s recent statement.” According to Goolsarran, “the Government has displayed a high degree of reluctance, for reasons best known

to it, in terms of taking appropriate actions in cases where acts of criminality and other forms of misdemeanour have been uncovered in the forensic audit reports.” The former auditor general is also of the firm conviction that “the evidence against Dr. Singh

is overwhelming enough for Government to win several cases without the witnesses Ramjattan said he is so dependent on.” The anti-corruption advocate said that the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) is trying its best with limited staffing and resources. He insisted how-

ever that it needs the tangible support of the Government to go after those who have raided the Treasury and mismanaged the resources of the State. He added that it is pointless creating SOCU to satisfy the Financial Action Task Force requirements, and then in turn

treat it as a step-child, starved of resources and support for

its work, which evidently is the case.

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Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

Communities Ministry to collaborate with UNDP The Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan on Thursday met with United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Mikiko Tanaka to highlight the work of the ministries and discuss

possible areas of collaboration with the international agency. Ministers within the

Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan (centre) at the meeting with UNDP representative Mikiko Tanaka (left) Ministry of Communities Valerie Pa t t e r s o n (responsible for Housing) and Dawn HastingsWilliams, (responsible for Water) - also presented their perspectives on the way forward for their respective sectors. With the aim of establishing autonomy, Bulkan said that capacity building at the level of the local democratic organs must take centre stage. He said the previous dysfunction which was due to the stymieing of local government elections is a graphic reminder of the philosophy which prevailed with regard to local democracy. Patterson also remarked that the importance of capacity building cannot be overemphasized. Patterson said that coming out of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) gender equality is a critical factor in national development. She noted that as such, government has a huge responsibility to include women at every level of decision-making. “And so we have a responsibility to women. We have quite a number of women

in local democratic organs and in parliament, so the opportunities are there,” the minister stated. However, she lamented the fact that although some women have the capacity and are in a position to lead, they are still heavily dependent on men. “We have the ability, but we sometimes don’t take the opportunity as it comes. It has to do with the women’s mindset. So that’s an area we need help,” Patterson stressed. She also highlighted the need for the development of a strategic plan that will drive government’s agenda in the housing sector. The UNDP has already collaborated with the ministry to undertake a housing profile study that will guide the implementation of a strategic plan. However, the government is faced with many challenges including the monitoring of the skilled, the academic workforce over the years, and the tasks of encouraging the diaspora to return here. UNDP Resident Representative Mikiko Tanaka, who has experience in rural community development, underscored the need for synergy since

the issues. She explained that cross-cutting and financial mobilization are crucial. She emphasised that UNDP welcomes any information regarding useful areas of collaboration, since development can only go as fast as the resources available. The UNDP Representative remarked that a better life for everyone is normally best attained through efforts at the grassroots level. “It’s easier to begin at the community level, and as change happens gradually, then you will be able to see the results at the national level,” Tanaka pointed out. She referred to Guyana as a “glass half full” and explained that the small size of the country makes it easier to reach out to all communities in the various regions. Tanaka commended the ministers’ approach to a decentralized governance system and pledged UNDP’s support to furthering the agenda. “I can feel the political will and I would love to assistance with the capacity building interventions that are useful and appropriate,” Tanaka said.

Sunday September 11, 2016

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Kaieteur News

PHANTOM TOOTH PAIN By Dr. Neromini Fagu Phantom tooth pain is a real condition in dentistry. It is also known by such names as atypical odontalgia, neuropathic orofacial pain, idiopathic odontalgia, and oral neuropathic pain. Similar to phantom limb experienced by amputees, phantom tooth pain may be felt where there once was a tooth. This pain may begin as an ache where a tooth had been and may spread to nearby parts of the mouth and face. For some people the pain can be so frustrating that they will visit various dentists only to be told that there is nothing wrong with their teeth. This mysterious pain may often begin after a dental procedure such as a root canal, an extraction, or a filling. SYMPTOMS Some of the symptoms of this frustrating condition include the following: · Moderate to severe throbbing tooth pain

· Tooth pain triggered by pressure and/or hot or cold temperatures · Tooth pain lingering after a dental procedure · Tooth pain that begins at the site of a dental procedure but spreads to one side of the mouth or extends throughout the entire mouth · Tooth pain in single or multiple locations · Tooth pain despite dental x-rays that do not reveal any tooth decay or other damage CAUSES OF PHANTOM TOOTH PAIN The cause of phantom tooth pain is not clearly understood, but the following may play a role in the condition: · Dental treatment or surgical procedures in the mouth · Trauma to the face · Needle puncture · Referred pain from other parts of the head or body DIAGNOSIS OF PHANTOM TOOTH PAIN Phantom tooth pain can

be difficult to diagnose, as patients with this condition often feel pain when there is no identifiable physical cause. Sometimes, a series of specific diagnostic tests may result in the proper diagnosis, but a diagnosis

is more often arrived at by eliminating other potential causes for the pain. Your dentist will take a detailed dental history, perform a clinical examination and look at whether you have had any invasive dental work

done in the past. Dental x-rays will be taken and an MRI or CT scan may also be requested. You might also be asked a number of questions, including your pain’s intensity and location, whether any particular circumstances are associated

you might also be asked whether you experience depression, anxiety or any psychiatric disorder. In the end, diagnosis is a process of elimination where other causes for the pain are ruled out. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis can also occur.

with the onset of pain, whether anything improves or worsens the pain, and whether your pain is periodic, continuous or intermittent. Since phantom tooth pain usually does not have any associated physical problem,

TREATMENT Treatment usually involves pain management and NOT dental work. The most effective way to achieve pain management depends on whether the pain originates in the peripheral nervous system (nerves in the, arms, legs, face and mouth) or in the central nervous system (the brain and spine). If the pain is peripheral, patients may find relief with local anesthetics, steroids or the application of topical pain-relieving creams which help to curb nerve activity. Treatment for pain stemming from the central nervous system includes antidepressants, anticonvulsants or narcotic pain relievers. Acupuncture and certain other alternative medical procedures may also be suggested. Because diagnosis is so

STANDARDS IN FOCUS

SUSTAINED EFFORT NEEDED TO LESSEN TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS By PAT DIAL Traffic accidents is one of the greatest killers in Guyana. At the beginning of World War II and until the end of the 1960’s traffic accident deaths were comparatively rare. Well-to-do citizens went about in horse-drawn cabs, goods were transported by horse or donkey carts and the majority of the population, including children rode bicycles. Motor- cycles, cars and lorries were used by a fairly small number of people and taxis were comparatively few. After the 1970’s, motor vehicles, despite the shortage of foreign exchange, came into the country in an increasing crescendo resulting in our road systems, especially in the larger towns and villages, becoming inadequate to accommodate this great influx of vehicles. Road accidents became more common as well as deaths. A few weeks ago, there was a serious accident involving a minibus in Regent Street, one of Georgetown’s busiest streets. One passenger died and several others were hospitalized with their injuries. Luckily, no

pedestrians, who are always in large numbers in the street, were hurt. After such accidents, there is almost a ritual of the Police saying their part and the public bemoaning such accidents, usually blaming the drivers. Most of what is said tends to recommend punitive action on the parties concerned. A comprehensive and sustained nationwide activity, however, needs to be mounted to deal with the problem, subsuming whatever positive suggestions had been made in the past. This activity has to be a shared responsibility between the State, motorvehicle drivers/owners and pedestrians. The Guyana Consumers Association (GCA) has been putting forward the following suggestions over the years: Firstly, in both the primary and secondary schools, children should be taught the basic traffic laws and how to use the roads, and on the walls of every classroom the traffic rules and regulations should be posted up. Traffic films should be used at the Social Studies classes. Children could be given some practical

experience by having them direct traffic in the school street during the midday and end-of-day session. They should wear the traffic director’s sash and jacket and the exposure should be done in rotation. The responsibility for this activity lies with the Ministry of Education. Secondly, the Police must actively enforce the Laws against having recorded music in the minibuses. The music played is quite loud and when the conductors and drivers listen to this loud music continuously all day, their hearing becomes impaired. A driver who is deaf to whatever degree is a danger on the roads. Thirdly, the Police must enforce the Law against vehicles using tyres with worn out tracts. Though minibuses rarely have tyres with worn-out tracts, they often use imported used tyres where the defects are concealed. One very common defect of these used imported tyres is that the tyre walls are very weak and could suddenly and easily give way with disastrous results. Though Government has banned the importation of used tyres,

they are still seen in the market. Fourthly, in granting vehicle-fitness, the Police should have a doctor or medex do basic vision and hearing tests of applicants since poor vision or poor hearing could result in accidents. Fifthly, minibuses and other public transport should not be allowed to have televisions on their dashboards since even a momentary distraction by the TV could result in an accident. Also the rule against using a cell phone and driving should be rigidly enforced. Motor-cyclists need to be kept under surveillance, since they often go above the speed limit not only on the highways but in populated areas. Pedestrians have to be taught or reminded of the rules of using the roads safely such as on which side of the road to walk, when to wait and when to cross streets, the meaning of traffic lights, and the danger and illegality of jay-walking. The Police should advise pedestrians and such advice could also be carried on television.

Dr. Neromini Fagu difficult, many unnecessary teeth extractions and root canal procedures are performed in failed attempts to stop the pain. Sadly, these procedures will not help when the problem is phantom tooth pain and pain may still linger at an extraction site or in a root canal-treated tooth. Sometimes, surgical intervention may actually make the condition worse, leading to more widespread pain. For more information contact OMNI DENTAL at 295 Quamina Street, Georgetown Tel: 227-0025, Parika Tel: 260-3133 or send emails to nerominifagu@hotmail.com.

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Kaieteur News

Govt. is Moving to Clear Its Customs Agency of Corruption KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, has warned that the Government is leaving no stone unturned in its effort to weed out corruption within the Jamaica Customs Agency. He pointed to a number of breaches within the JCA, including goods at the transshipment point — meant for overseas destinations — remaining here in Jamaica, and the importation of illicit cigarettes, alcohol and pharmaceuticals. “Let me make it absolutely and abundantly clear that in moving from direct to indirect taxation, we are going to create more equity. More individuals will be contributing to the tax system and if we cut out the corruption of imports we can lower our taxes as well; more compliance and everybody will have a more ordered civilized and decent society. That is the mission of this administration,” he said. “A lot of you have had a good run bringing in illegal goods into the country - some of which are dangerous to our health. A lot of people in a lot of places - and they know when they hear my voice on television or radio, they know who they are…You’ve had a good run, but we are going to leave no stone unturned to clean up the system, create better equity for all Jamaicans and at the end of the day have

Audley Shaw

a cleaner quality of life with better economic growth,” Shaw added. Shaw, who was speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (Amcham) President’s Breakfast on data and document security on Thursday, noted that corruption is becoming a nationwide crisis. In a panel discussion involving members of the banking, entertainment, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries, the group highlighted that fraudulent paperwork has not only cost local companies millions in technologies to mitigate the activities, but has also led to the Sagicor Group closing one of its critical illness plans in light

of fraudulent insurance claims. Globally, fraud currently accounts for US$400 billion. But by 2020, that number is expected to reach US$1 trillion. One solution discussed among the members is the implementation of hologram images on official documents and the public education of these images. “We are doing our best to control this situation because the corruption is moving somewhere from endemic to epidemic. We can’t sweep it under the carpet and as the minister I’m not going to tolerate it, and we are going to find a way to solve it,” Shaw told members of the audience. (Jamaica Observer)

Local banking system, economy may crash if bill not passed - Imbert Trinidad Guardian - American banks will halt relations with T&T’s banking sector and that sector and the local economy will crash if the tax information sharing agreement legislation is not passed soon, Finance Minister Colm Imbert has warned. “Put country first today. This isn’t a time for politicising,” Imbert appealed to the Opposition during Friday’s Parliament session when he piloted the legislation. He made an impassioned plea for Opposition support, necessary to pass the bill, to the point of saying he was prepared to suspend the sitting and immediately hold talks with the Opposition to get its support before the September 30 deadline. The bill requires a three-fifths vote for passage since sections affect constitutional rights. Government needs 26 votes for passage but only has 23 on its side. It will allow T&T’s Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) to share information with the US’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If the IRS seeks information on US citizens doing business in T&T or regarding a bank account, the BIR currently has discretion to refuse to give it. The new legislation will facilitate the BIR’s sharing the information. Imbert said T&T was now on a grey list since it did not have systems for sharing information in place and stood to be blacklisted

Colm Imbert

resulting in the suspension of relations of US banks with T&T. He said that would cause the banking sector to crash and the economy to be similarly affected. “All banks would lose the corresponding relations they have in the US if this legislation isn’t passed. We have to co-operate or T&T’s banking systems will crash and the economy will crash,” he added.

Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

Germany warns of threat from more than 500 ‘potential attackers’ Reuters - Germany’s interior minister has warned that the country is home to more than 500 Islamic militants who could be capable of carrying out assaults on their own or as members of “hit teams.” Speaking in an interview with Bild newspaper, Thomas de Maiziere said there were currently at least 520 “potential attackers” in the country, which has been on edge since two Islamic State-inspired attacks in July. He said another 360 “relevant” people were known to police because of their close proximity to the potential attackers. Many Germans fear that fighters belonging to the Islamic State jihadist group could have slipped into Germany with the roughly one

million of refugees from Syria, North Africa and Asia who arrived last year. “The terror threat now stems from foreign hit teams as well as fanatical lone wolves in Germany,” de Maiziere said in the interview ahead of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, which were partly coordinated from Germany. “The hit teams are secretly smuggled into Europe and prepare their actions without being noticed, as we saw with the attacks in Paris and Brussels,” he added. “But it’s even more difficult to uncover the fanatical lone wolves. Unfortunately, there is a real and present danger from both threats.” He said security authorities were doing every-

thing possible to monitor “the potential terrorists” and noted that there have been more investigations and arrests this year. Despite their efforts, he said, “the authorities are assuming there are undiscovered lone wolf terrorists out there.” Germany had until July been spared the kind of militant attacks suffered by neighbouring France and Belgium. But in late July, Islamic State claimed two attacks - on a train near Wuerzburg and at a music festival in Ansbach in which asylum-seekers wounded 20 people in total. The anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has seized on the attacks to criticise Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant policies.

U.S.-Russian Syria peace deal raises rebel doubts as fighting rages

Residents inspect a damaged site after airstrikes on a market in the rebel controlled city of Idlib September 10, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah Reuters - The United States and Russia reached a breakthrough deal early yesterday to try to restore peace in Syria, but air strikes hours later added to rebels’ doubts that any ceasefire could hold. The agreement, by the powers that back opposing sides in the five-year-old war, promises a nationwide truce from sundown tomorrow, improved access for humanitarian aid and joint military targeting of hardline Islamist groups. But hours after it was agreed, warplanes bombed a marketplace in rebel-held Idlib in northwestern Syria, killing at least 40 civilians, according to rescue workers and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Locals said they believed the jets to be Russian. Idlib province has endured escalating strikes by

Russian planes in recent months, according to international aid workers and residents, destroying scores of hospitals, bakeries and other infrastructure across rebelheld territory. Aleppo was also hit from the air and fighting continued on the ground yesterday. The army attacked rebel-held areas, both sides said, pushing to maximise gains before the ceasefire deadline. Ten people were killed by barrel bombs dropped by army helicopters on the besieged rebel-held east of the city, and jets, either Syrian or Russian, bombed rebel-held towns along important insurgent supply routes. Insurgents said they were planning a counter-offensive. “The fighting is flaring on all the fronts of southern Aleppo,” rebel spokesman

Captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razak said. Razak, of the Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades, part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) which is backed by the West, said they were studying the peace deal but feared it merely gave the Syrian army a chance to gather forces and pour more Iranian-backed militias into Aleppo.

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La Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M, $1.6M (80ftX45ft), UItvlugt $2M (50ftX100ft), Farm $3.2M (55ftX110ft), all title available.Call:658-5897/673-2692 LAND IN 11 STREET DIAMOND. CALL: 2253234

Tuschen School Street $3M, Uitvlugt -$2.5M, La Parfaite Harmonie -$3M, $1.6M, $1.3M, $1.7M, V/Hoop $27M, Providence -$5M. Call: 604-6724

EDUCATIONAL IAE – CXC Jan/June 2017 – full time school; lessons/ classes for students, adults, repeaters & beginners. Call Mr. Roberts: 683-5742

VACANCY

Gold & Diamond mining property for rent in the Puruni, Siparuni & Ekereku area. Call: 668-3100 or 6158810

Furnished apartments & rooms for long term and short rental. Call: 668-0306/2181400/694-7817

1 Bedroom @ Haley Durban St -$30,000, 2 Bedrooms @ B Field Sophia -$50,000. Call: 600-0036/223-1273

WANTED

3 TON CANTER ENCLOSE AND OPEN BACK WITH 4D ENGINE, PRICE -$3.6M, NEVER REGISTERED – CALL: 617-2891

35 Acres of land located at plot 5, Eight miles, Port Kaituma. Call: 619-5173 for more information.

Stylish comfortable 2 bedrooms apartment for vocation rental. Web: Airbnb Georgetown, FB: Prestige Property Vocational Rental. Call: 592-678-6690

VEHICLE FOR SALE

Transported land for sale @ Craig E.B.D just off the main Road 100X60 -$4M negotiable. Call: 600-8321/ 683-2138

One bedroom tiled, grilled apartment @ Middleton Street, Campbellville. Call: 650-0716/ 667-1896; 223-1051

Guytec Repairs Services & Spares to washing machines, pressure washer, dryer, stoves, refrigerator, treadmill, vacuum, etc –Call: 680-2377 Need a fast & reliable delivery service? Delivery of meals, documents, groceries & more. SmartCart Delivery. Call: 2259727/679-7575/619-6218

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Kaieteur News

HEALTH Improve your health with Herbal Supplements. Contact Hazel’s Herbal Store. Call: 226-9136 LEARN TO DRIVE C. Persaud & N. Outar Driving School formerly Soman & Sons Driving School @ Maraj BuildingCall: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997 (affordable packages)

We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 Nissan Sylphy PTT 3955, excellent condition, dark blue, vehicle used three months only, $2.3M negotiable- Call: 2662947; 662-6091 NZE for sale, excellent condition -$700,000 – Call Kirk: 603-5283 One Spacio good working condition, price -$1.3M negotiable. Call: 612-3456/ 618-1828 1 White RAV4 PNN 2445 $2.5M –Call: 673-7071 Unregistered Corolla Fielder 2009, Axela 2011, dark interior, rims, TV, navigator, rear spoiler. Call: 617-5536 2010 and 2008 Tacoma Excellent condition, owner leaving country -$3.3M or best offer. Call: 676-2174 picture available. Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, like new 37,000km, all duties paid. Call: 689-2356 1 Honda Fit -$1M, 212 Car$1M, Vios 1.4M, RZ bus. Call: 604-6724

WINGS CAR & PICKUP RENTAL: LOW DOWN PAYMENT, CHEAP REATES,SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE SUMMER. CALL: 690-6494

1 Salesgirl & 3 Labourers. Apply with police clearance & reference. Alpes Variety Store, 74 Robb St. G/town.

CAR RENTAL DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YA H O O . C O M / W W W. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM AIDAN’S CAR RENTAL: 4WD PICKUP, CHEAPEST RATE & SPECIAL RATE FOR LONG TERM. CALL: 698-7807

One general domestic & one gardener. Apply @ R.Sookraj & Sons, 108 Regent Street opposite GBTI.

1 Cleaner for growing business, must have One experienced cook to excellent recommendations. work in snackette & bar –Call: Call: 655-1560 from 08:00hrs647-7432; 223-5798 15: 00hrs Mon-Fri.

Factory workers from 18yrs Delivery Riders – Call: 223and older with working 5273/4 experienced for more information. Call: 223-0090 One handyman between ages 30-40. Contact:2231 Canter driver from WBD 5273/4 area ( La Parfaite Harmonie), must be able bodied & have 1 Male able bodied clerksound secondary education. Call: 616-5954; 231-2029 Call: 618-4257 Gardeners apply in person at Land to buy @ Tuschen, Nirva Supermarket, 49 Zeelugt, Uitvlugt, La Parfaite Sheriff & Craig Street. Call: Harmonie, best price offered. 227-5771 Call: 642-1252 Experienced cashier age 30 Labourers & experienced & older, salesgirls apply @ garbage truck drivers. Kindly American Variety Store, 140 contact: 670-7920 Regent Street & Light Street Georgetown. One bartender, security & cleaner. Call: 668-8332/ 638- Cashiers for supermarket5303 Call: 624-0033, salesgirls – Call: 624-0033, Pump One live-in couple to work in attendants –Call: 680-3863 Mahaicony River; must know about cows. Call:225Experienced and qualified 6571/ 644-6905 teachers for the secondary level at A.I.M Pouderoyen, Receptionist, desk staffs W.B.D- Call: 264-3176/ 668(male) between 25-45yrs 7705/643-0777 apply within 233 South Road, FOR SALE/RENT Lacytown. Call: 225-0198 American Pool Table. Call: Carpenters & Masons. Call: 277-0578 602-9469 1 Domestic worker within GTCall: 25-35yrs. Call: 223-9677 We buy land in La Parfaite Harmonie, Eccles, Providence, Herstelling & Farm – Call: 6585897/673-2692 Straight Stitch/over edge sewing machine operators – Call: 222-2541 8:00am4:00pm, Mon-Fri Personnel with High machine shop exposure for management duties, high remuneration. Call: 672-1703 Republic Park Family looking for domestic/caregiver, 1 week on, 1 week off, 45yrs plus, starting-$13,000. Call: 667-2535

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE CAR RENTAL: CARS& SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 6560087 , EMAIL: PRO_ AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO. COM

Experienced Drivers, cashiers, Roti/Puri cook, cleaners. Apply @ Hack’s Halaal with written application, 5 Commerce Street.

1 Van driver, 1 live in family, handyman, experienced an asset, 1 fitter/machinist, welding experienced an asset. Call: 227-1830 We buy land @ La Parfaite Harmonie, Tuschen, Uitvlugt, Eccles, Providence & other places we pay best price & cash. Call: 604-6724

PROPERTY FOR SALE Brand new property @ Craig E.B.D 3 rooms, 1 self contained, House: 28X45ft land: 90X50ft -Call: 679-8091 or 718-213-6496 Residential Property for sale, located at second Avenue, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, price $14M negotiable. Call: 609-7863 / 691-2372 6 Bedrooms house at Lot 2 Coghlan Dam, Pouderoyen. Call: 622-3992/ 618-7483 La Parfaite Harmonie, 124 Recht Door Zee, WBD: 2 storey house, 3 bedrooms upstairs, toilet & bath upstairs & downstairs & a guess room. Call: 623-5566 Continue page 63

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STANDARDS IN FOCUS

International standard developed to improve community sustainability The International Organisation for Standardisation has developed the ISO 37101 standard, Sustainable Development in Communities which sets out requirements for guidelines to help communities become more sustainable. It can be a useful standard for Guyana, particularly if there is need for a structured approach to help communities set objectives and define a strategy for sustainable development at the local level that takes into account the views of all interested parties. Sustainable development is development that meets the environmental, social and economic needs of the present without compromising the future ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today and the subject of much debate by politicians and business

leaders. In the end, many of the concrete actions to build a sustainable future are made at the local community level by citizens themselves and this is what the standard has been designed to support. The ISO 37101 standard sets out the broad principles of what a community may wish to achieve with a sustainable development strategy, such as responsible resource use, preserving the environment, and improving the well-being of citizens. In addition, it requires communities to take into account sustainability issues such as governance, empowerment, education, health and mobility which will help to define its sustainable development objectives. The ultimate goal of implementing the ISO 37101 is to create a more sustainable feature for communities. This means an improved local environment, a happier and healthier place for citizens,

and a community that can better anticipate and adapt to natural disasters, economic shocks and climate change. The standard will also bring a host of additional benefits to communities, including the following: · The creation of a specific structure within a community that is mandated to drive the sustainable development process. · The standard puts a strong emphasis on involving all interested parties in discussions to define and implement a sustainable development strategy, which means that the community’s ability to connect with all its stakeholders will improve · The principles and themes included in the standard reflect international best practice on sustainable development, and are wholly compatible with evolving ideas in the sector. · The standard will give greater visibility to a wider number and category of

stakeholders within communities. Using the ISO 37101 standard is very simple. Firstly, define the structure or group that will drive the implementation of the standard. It is important that the interests of as many stakeholders as possible be reflected in this group. Secondly, assess the current situation of sustainable development in the community and define who else will need to be involved in the process. Lastly, define the sustainable development strategy for the community by looking at the six principles and issues highlighted in the standard. These will help you to create a framework and identify the objectives that are important to your specific community. For further information, please visit www.iso.org or contact the GNBS on telephone numbers: 2190062, 219-0065, and 2190066.

MPI assisting to remedy Bartica power outages

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FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Vreed-en-Hoop Junction: office, church, storage bond lessons, internet, stationery & photocopy shop, other place -$20,000 per month. Call: 603-6400 2 Bedrooms apartment with toilet & bath @ Lot Q19 Pigeon Island, Chateau Margot E.C.D. Call Bibi: 2206799/ 603-9547 1 New & spacious 2 bedrooms apartment 5th Avenue Diamond, New Scheme. Call: 610-0652/ 6878113 Restaurant/Bar or doctor’s office, business place, at Lot ‘C’ Hydronie Parika –Call: 664-9245; 665-6138 Bottom flat supermarket located @ First Bridge Diamond E.B.D- Call: 6017749; 216-3069; 626-7064; 691-4808

The GPL facility at Bartica

Fully furnished 2 storey house with 3 AC bedrooms, security & sensor lights, etc at Gated Community. Call: 685-5845; 668-8714; 612-3400 Bachelor’s Apartment to rent. Call: 233-0327 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm 2 Flat building, 3 bedrooms, Broad Street. Call: 223-9677

As Bartica continues to grapple with power outages following the failures of two engines, Government is asking for residents there to be patient. Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure said that it is lending support to the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) to speed up the process of bringing up the engines back into operation. According to the ministry, it has been briefed by the utility company and is placing special attention on Bartica’s situation, with “measures being put in place to remedy it as quickly as possible”. The failure of two of GPL’s engines in Bartica has led to an untenable situation and the Ministry will assist where

possible, a statement said. “Additionally, the Ministers of Public Infrastructure seek the understanding and patience of the residents of Bartica while a major overhaul, expected for completion by September 17, is underway.” The Ministry said it apologises for the inconveniences the mining community is experiencing. Bartica is located up the Essequibo River, in Region Seven and is a main gateway to the mining and logging areas. Last week, GPL said that it is rushing a generating unit to the area to help stabilise the power supply. Residents are currently facing scheduled blackouts as the repair works continue.

Newly renovated three bedrooms top flat @ Pike Street, Blygezight. Telephone and Parking- Call: 601-3268/ 227-2543

FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. 2 Tug boat (ocean going), 12000 HP, 1-2200 HP. Call: 6630633 1 Gas station in Cotton Tree Village Berbice. Call: 6630633 Cargo Trawler. Call: 682-8724; 616-5954 1-4 Piece Stereo set, 1 bass box -$65,000. Call: 665-4944 Pit bull pups for sale, already vaccinated. Call: 625-0356 Aluminum heat resistant paint, 2 USA made, 37 KVA transformer, 120-240V, S.Q.D – $350,000 each. Call: 2653541/ 6163411 Gas/stove range GEAmerican made, stand up freezer, hot dog machine, supermarket mirror. Call: 6803863 ROAD TO BELWASA & A DIP AT THE SANGAM. AVAILABLE @ AUSTIN’S BOOK STORE- TEL: 2267350/7 & AT LATCHMANSINGH DRUG STORE. TEL: 226-5053 Dachshund pups mixed with Pekingese for sale-$20,000 (one female only remaining). Call: 677-2476

Liquor restaurant & bar, E.C.D - $80,000 monthly. Call: 6007228 for information House to rent, top flat, 3 bedrooms @ Diamond Housing Scheme –Call: 6194490 Michelle’s Touch of class beauty salon station to rent. Call:226-4388/ 661-0946 Self-contained rooms in Prashad Nagar. Tel: 227-2993

PROPERTY FOR SALE Transported property @ Grove and Diamond $16M negotiable. Call: 625-5461 House and land for sale in Sharpe Street Leonora, price negotiable. Call: 686-3512 Kitty - $40M, Tuschen -$9M, Zeelugt -$8M, no agents, serious enquiries only. Call: 662-0176 High value transported land and 2 bedrooms newly built house, Greater Diamond E.B.D -$14M negotiable. Call: 265-4338

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Sunday September 11, 2016

‘Breaking Bad’ creator to work on Jim Jones series for HBO Vince Gilligan, creator and executive producer of the Breaking Bad TV series has signed on to write for Raven, a limited series about Jim Jones for HBO. Gilligan will work once again

with Michelle MacLaren, who will direct Raven. Both will also serve as executive directors along with actress Octavia Spencer on the project, reports Deadline. Raven is based on Tim

Reiterman’s personal account of meeting Jones in Guyana in November of 1978 and he barely lived to tell about it in his book, Raven: The Untold Story of Jim Jones and His People. The book tells the

Rev. Jim Jones, founder of People’s Temple, clasps an unidentified man at Jonestown, Nov. 18, 1978, during Congressman’ Leo J. Ryan’s visit. Shortly after, Ryan, newsman Don Harris, Cameraman Bob Brown and San Francisco Examiner photographer Greg Robinson, who took this photo, were killed in ambush at Port Kaituma. (Photo by Greg Robinson / AO Images) history of Jones’ life from childhood to his death, as well as many of the followers of The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ cult. According to Reiterman’s book, Jim Jones had always struggled with wanting to be accepted and wanting to control. He would often play preacher with the neighbor kids up in the loft of a barn and would lock them in so that he would have a literal captive audience. As he grew up, he learned that he had a gift of preaching in that he was able to draw people out who wanted to make a difference in the world. Tim Reiterman was a journalist working for the San

Francisco Chronicle, who had been following Rev. Jones for some time when his reports of the man began to concern Congressman Leo Ryan. Ryan had constituents who had joined Jones’ group. Reiterman shared with Andrea Sachs of Time magazine in 2008 the accounts of what had happened when he and a small group of other journalists joined the congressman on a factfinding mission to Jonestown, Guyana. “He did not appear to be well. His skin appeared sallow. His eyes were almost gelatinous. His handshake seemed rather weak, and

when he spoke there was a constant undercurrent of paranoia,” said Reiterman. “He even seemed to put a figurative gun in the hands of us journalists, saying we don’t need to shoot him, that our words have that kind of effect. He was clearly viewing himself as a martyr and it was very bothersome to realize that over 900 lives were in the hands of this man.” While there, Reiterman witnessed 15 disciples, who had been long-time followers of Jones, state that they wished to leave Jonestown. Jones said that his temple was about to be destroyed from within. “What he meant by that was that these defectors were going to tell the world eventually what was really going on inside Jonestown, and that the end was drawing near,” says Reiterman. “So it was a very ominous moment before we even left Jonestown.” When Tim and the rest of his group were about to leave and board their plane, they were ambushed by Jones’ gunmen. The congressman and four others were killed. Reiterman was shot, but survived. Unfortunately, 900 members of the Jones’ church, including Jones himself, died that same day by drinking a poisoned beverage. That is where the phrase, “drinking the Kool-Aid” came from. Ironically, Raven isn’t the only Jim Jones series that is in the beginning stages. Another is being created for A&E that is being produced by Jake Gyllenhaal. The second project is said to be an anthology series that would focus on different American cults, with the first season dedicated to Jones.

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Sunday September 11, 2016

Haitians fed up with politicians: presidential candidate

Jude Celestin Port-au-Prince (AFP) Jude Celestin, who finished second in last year’s annulled presidential elections, believes Haitians have little interest in voting because the country’s politicians have a history of broken promises. The 54 year-old Celestin is gearing up for another run for the presidency in a vote set for October 9. The field includes 26 other candidates, and a runoff vote is scheduled for January 8. “We have had politicians who have lied a lot to the

people, with exaggerated promises, and the people have realised that it was nothing but talk,” Celestin, who is the leading opposition figure in Haiti, told AFP in an interview Friday. Haiti has been mired in deep political crisis since violence disrupted parliamentary elections in August 2015, prompting the vote to be canceled in nearly a quarter of constituencies. The crisis later came to a head following the announcement of results from the first

round of the presidential vote in October. Challenged by the opposition after an independent commission concluded that the vote had been plagued by “massive fraud,” the government annulled the results and called for a fresh presidential election. Celestin, who was eliminated in the second round of voting in the 2010 presidential election following an Organisation of American States (OAS) recount, said that Haitians are suspicious of interference by foreign countries. “People say: ‘it doesn’t change anything because even if I vote, if the candidate doesn’t please the international community, he won’t be elected,’” Celestin said. “We have therefore launched a motivating, mobilizing campaign so people will go out and vote.” The “international community” — which include major donors like the United States, and groups like the OAS and the United Nations — have an important role in the country’s affairs given impoverished Haiti’s reliance on foreign assistance.

Barbados denies using banned chemicals in fight against mosquitoes BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – Barbados health authorities have dismissed media reports that the chemical being used as part of the efforts to rid the island of mosquitoes responsible for the Zika and Chikungunya viruses had been banned in other countries. The Ministry of Health said that Malathion had been by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as contained in its Recommended

Insecticides for Space Spraying against Mosquitoes, updated last February. An article recently published in the Daily Nation newspaper, headlined “SMOKE SCREAM,” suggested that Malathion and diesel were banned chemicals and should be replaced with water-based fogging or aquaculture which would allow fish to consume the mosquito larvae. “Malathion is the most

cost effective and sustainable method of killing adult mosquitoes. It has not to date demonstrated mosquito resistance, similar to some of the newer agents that are being used elsewhere,” the Ministry of Health said, adding that diesel was used as a propellant at a concentration of five per cent, so that exposure was very low. “The fogging schedule is published, not because of excess risk from the chemicals, but because some people have respiratory conditions and may be more sensitive to fogging than others,” the Ministry explained. It said it would continue to urge Barbadians to take vector control seriously and to prevent mosquito breeding on their premises by adopting source reduction practices. These include managing water storage containers and eliminating conditions which can lead to collections of water. Barbados, like most Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have reported cases of the Zika virus that is spread by the Aedes qegypti mosquito.

Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

Venezuela opposition says blocked from meeting near summit Henry Ramos

CARACAS (Reuters) - The leader of Venezuela’s opposition-led parliament accused President Maduro’s government yesterday of blocking legislators from flying to Margarita island for a planned session alongside this week’s Non-Aligned Movement summit. “The government prohibited sea and air carriers from transporting us,” National Assembly president Henry Ramos said via Twitter, amid a controversial build-up to the Sept. 13-18 meeting of the 120-nation bloc of mainly developing nations. With Venezuela mired in economic crisis and political protests, the Maduro government hopes to use the event to bolster its international legitimacy, while the opposition wants to embarrass him and advance their campaign to end his rule. The National Assembly had announced it

would hold a session from Sept. 15 in Margarita, in the Caribbean off Venezuela’s northern coast, to take advantage of contacts with visiting delegations for the Non-Aligned summit. The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ramos’ accusation. Venezuela’s opposition says the government is engaged in a wave of repression, including arrests of activists, while Maduro says his security forces are thwarting U.S.backed coup plots. The government has not yet said who is coming to the Non-Aligned meeting, though local media have reported there will be few heads of state beyond Venezuela’s main political allies around the region like Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia.

St Vincent PM slams some regional immigration officers

Dr. Ralph Gonsalves

Daily Nation - St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has slammed some regional immigration officers for their treatment of Caricom nationals, saying some should be sanctioned and retrained. Those who cannot function in the post should be placed elsewhere, he recommended. Gonsalves’ comments to the SATURDAY SUN come in the wake of fresh complaints by at

least two Jamaican women and a pregnant Guyanese about their treatment at the Grantley Adams International Airport. He said the real problem was not regional governments but rather lay with the refusal of some immigration officers to carry out the law as specified in the Caribbean Court of Justice case involving Jamaican Shanique Myrie, who challenged her treatment in Barbados and subsequently won the case.

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South Korea says North’s nuclear capability ‘speeding up’, calls for action Reuters - South Korea said yesterday that North Korea’s nuclear capability is expanding fast, echoing alarm around the world over the isolated state’s fifth and biggest nuclear test, carried out in defiance of U.N. sanctions. North Korea conducted the test on Friday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain. The test showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was unwilling to alter course, and that tougher sanctions and pressure were needed to apply “unbearable pain on the

North to leave no choice but to change”, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byungse said. “North Korea’s nuclear capability is growing and speeding to a considerable level, considering the fifth nuclear test was the strongest in scale and the interval has quickened substantially,” Yun told a ministry meeting convened to discuss the test. The blast, on the 68th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, drew global condemnation. The United States said it would work with partners to impose new sanctions, and called on China to use its influence - as North Korea’s

main ally - to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear programme. In Beijing yesterday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui told North Korea’s ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryong, that the test was “not conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula”, China’s Foreign Ministry said. “China urges North Korea not to take any more actions that could exacerbate tensions, and return as soon as possible to the correct direction of denuclearisation,” Zhang said. But Russia was sceptical that more sanctions were the answer, while China was silent on the prospect of a new U.N. Security Council resolution, although state media did carry commentaries criticising the North.

CARICOM to host CSME workshop in J’ca

Joseph Cox GEORGETOWN, Guyana - CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat says it will stage a oneday sensitization workshop on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in Jamaica tomorrow. It said the event for the

private sector will inform the sector how it can maximise benefits under the CSME that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the 15-member grouping. The Secretariat said that the CARICOM team will be

headed by Assistant Secretary-General for Trade and Economic Integration, Joseph Cox and that funding had been obtained from the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat and the European Development Fund (EDF). “The workshop will cover the current status of the CSME; the CSME as a platform for private sector growth and development; and an update on the implementation of the CSME in Jamaica,” the Secretariat said, adding that the one-day meeting “ is an opportunity for participants to share their concerns and get clarification on issues regarding the CSME. Following the Private Sector workshop, the Secretariat will also be conducting training for approximately 50 immigration officers on the facilitation of travel procedures under the CSME free movement arrangements

Barbados and UK health care agreement to end October 1 BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) — From October 1, 2016, a reciprocal healthcare agreement between Barbados and the United Kingdom, which allows Barbadians travelling to the UK to access free health services under the National Health Service (NHS), will come to an end. The existing protocol provides for a citizen of the UK or a citizen of Barbados who requires immediate medical treatment while temporarily in the other country to receive treatment on the same terms as citizens of that country. Once the agreement ends, Barbadians visiting the UK, who are currently eligible for free health care for up to six months, will now be required to pay for such services.The ministry of foreign affairs has therefore advised

travellers to make sure that they have adequate travel and health insurance before travelling. Additionally, British visitors to Barbados will also no longer be eligible for free services, which include hospital treatment, treatment at polyclinics, ambulance travel and prescribed medicines for children and the elderly. Meanwhile, the UK government has also imposed a new immigration health charge, applicable to persons applying for visas to reside in the UK for more than six months. Nationals of Barbados, applying for such visas, are now required to pay £150 (US$200) per year for students and each of their dependents; and £200 per year for others, payable in full for each year that their visa applications cover. (Caribbean News)

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Kaieteur News

UCCA NPG t20 cricket competition continues today with 18 matches Play in the Upper Corentyne NPG T20 cricket competition for teams in the Upper Corentyne/ Black Bush, Berbice area is expected to continue on the Upper Corentyne with 18 matches. Some of the games are expected to be played at 10:00 hrs, while a number of others are set for 14:30 hrs. In games set to begin at 10:00 hrs - At No. 43 - No43 Scorpion will square off with Yakusari Caribs; at No. 59 Sports Club the host will be challenged by No 48 Chal-

lengers; No72 ground will be the venue for the game between N0 72 Cut and Load and No. 73 Young Warriors; No 70 ‘A’ will be at home to No. 69 Vikings; Scottsburg United will take on Corriverton at Scottsburg and No. 71 will have home advantage in their game against No. 72 All Star. The 14:30 hrs scheduled games will see Scottsburg United playing their second match for the day at home verses No. 72 All Star; No. 71 will also be at

home for their second encounter when they play Corriverton; No. 43 Scorpion will be have home advantage as they look to turn back the challenge of No. 48 Challengers; No. 59 Sports Club take on Yakusari Caribs at No. 59; Yakusari Horizon verses No. 43 Joppa Warriors games is fixed for the Yakusari ground; No. 72 Cut and Load and No. 69 Vikings will play at No. 72; No. 70 ‘A’ clash with No. 73 Young Warriors at the No. 70 venue. (Samuel Whyte)

Sunday September 11, 2016 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Don't gossip. Don't get depressed, get busy. You can accomplish a lot if you're willing to put in a little extra time. Heed the advice given by family or old reliable friends.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your ability to converse with charm will entice someone you may have had an interest in for some time now. Snap out of it. Don't fall for damaging rumors, and refuse to get involved in gossip.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Take time to explain your intentions to loved ones. You need a day to rest and relax with the ones you love. Unexpected romantic connections can be made if you go out with friends or take a pleasure trip.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) If you want to make your mark, try to get involved in projects that will bring you some glory. You have your own family to consider as well. Go after your professional goals.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Your ability to be a self starter will help get things done and motivate others. Your high energy, original ideas, and excellent memory will aid your accomplishments. Travel will be exciting. CANCER (June 21–July 22) Your anger may be impossible to contain if you get into debates with family members. Your personal life will still be experiencing difficulties and you are best to avoid the issues for the time being. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Be careful not to consume too many spicy foods, or minor health problems could put you out of commission for the day. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Be cautious who you deal with financially. Changes at home will be necessary. Sign up for tours or courses that will enlighten you.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You will be able to find the perfect outfit, and the greatest new accessory for your house. Money can be made if you use your ingenuity. You may find that someone at work hasn't been trustworthy. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You may get some opposition. Personal changes will be to your benefit. You may have personal problems, but professional duties might be pressing. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Your time, not your cash, will do a lot more for your relationship. Get involved in a competitive sport that will bring the challenges you thrive on. They won't get away with it. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your charm will mesmerize members of the opposite sex today. You may not be as well received in group endeavors if you try to force your will on others.

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Paralympics day 2: Jason Smyth emulates Bolt, controversy on the track (CNN) After an explosive first day of Paralympic action, day two had a lot to live up to — and it didn’t disappoint. Daniel Dias got one of three gold medals for the host nation on the opening day and there was plenty more action for the locals to get excited about, including their favorite sport: football. Ireland’s sprint star Jason Smyth was looking to make history and there was plenty of controversy on the track for one British athlete. Emulating Bolt? Plenty was written about Usain Bolt’s historic “tripletriple,”, but one Irish sprinter matched the Jamaican by winning his third consecutive Paralympic gold. After claiming the T13 100m title in Beijing and London, Smyth made it three in a row on Friday, finishing 0.14s ahead of Namibia’s Johannes Nambala in a time of 10.64s. The 29-year-old cruised into the final in Thursday’s heats, recording 10.76s and, much like Bolt, could afford to slow down before the end and coast over the line. Smyth was the overwhelming favorite to defend his title, but had to produce his best with Nambala running a personal best in the final. Australia’s Chad Perris took bronze in 10.83s. The Irishman is also reigning Paralympic champion in the 200m but won’t have the opportunity to win a “triple-double,” after the International Paralympic Committee opted to drop the event from the Games. “It’s been incredible,” he told reporters after the race. “It’s my third consecutive Paralympic Games and fifth gold medal. To be honest, it’s a little bit like a fairytale. I keep wondering when this fairytale is going to end but thankfully it doesn’t.” Smyth, who is also the world record holder, was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease as a boy and it has left him with less than 10% of his vision. He has also competed in able-bodied meets, clocking a personal best of 10.22s. Disqualified... then not It was certainly a day of mixed emotion’s for Team GB’s Libby Clegg. After smashing the world record in her T11 100m semifinal, the 26-year-old was informed by officials that she had been disqualified. Her guide, Chris Clarke, was adjudged to have illegally pulled her in the middle of the race by being more

than a stride length ahead. However, after a successful appeal from ParalympicsGB, Clegg was reinstated along her world record of 11.91s — the first time she had run sub-12 seconds in her career. Clegg and Clarke put the drama of disqualification behind them and stormed to victory in the final, edging out China’s Guohua Zhou by two one-hundredths of a second to add a gold to her two silvers from London and Beijing. “To be honest, it’s not really hit me just yet but I’m obviously over the moon. These things (disqualification) happen and you gotta get on with it and hope for the best.” Her guide Clarke said of the disqualification: “Libby handled it well, I was fuming! But Libby was calm. “It’s been absolutely fantastic. Obviously she had a change of guide back in November and we starting working in February. “It’s been quick getting me into it, but she did all the work and I’m just here like John Terry.” Brazil begins gold medal defence No matter how or where Brazil plays football, it seems

to be good at it. After Neymar and Co. inspired the national with gold at the Olympic Games, the 5a-side team will be hoping to do the same. But while the Barcelona superstar and his teammates were always met by a raucous Maracana, the 5-a-side players were met with complete silence. Not because they had disappointed the crowd, but because the blind players need the silence to hear the rattle of the ball. This was never more apparent than when the ball fell to Nonato in the box during the first half. With Brazil trailing, a nervous cheer went up from a crowd so accustomed to roaring on their countrymen, causing the striker to miss the ball. While all players suffer from some form of visual impairment — apart from the goalkeeper who is fully sighted and acts as a guide — they still wear blindfolds as a leveler. Gold medalists from London four years ago, Brazil began its defense with a 3-1 win over Morocco, despite the African nation taking a shock lead in the first half.

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Kaieteur News

First blood to Guardiola as De Bruyne inspires City (Reuters) Pep Guardiola drew first blood in his renewed managerial duel with Jose Mourinho as Manchester City deservedly won an absorbing Premier League derby 2-1 against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday. Kevin de Bruyne, who was never appreciated by Mourinho when they were at Chelsea together, proved instrumental in City’s magnificent win, scoring the opener and making the second for Kelechi Iheanacho before halftime. With his side being outpassed and outclassed in a one-sided first half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought United back into the match just before the break after a mistake by City’s new goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Bravo’s error on a hugely unconvincing debut inspired a mu c h m o r e e v e n second half and Ibrahimovic had goal ruled out for offside before man of the match De Bruyne hit the post as City maintained their 100 percent record this season to move three points clear at the top of the table. Mourinho, whose cordial embrace of Guardiola at the start of the match was warmer than the response Old Trafford gave to the new City boss, was left frustrated, saying he believed referee Mark Clattenburg should have awarded United two penalties. After months of hype in Manchester - and well

Sunday September 11, 2016

IOC chief Bach in ticket scam spotlight

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne hits the post with this shot. (Reuters / Phil NobleLivepic)

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach waves as he is introduced during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 5. (Photo: AFP)

beyond -following the appointment of the two great managerial foes, it was G u a r d i o l a ’s s i d e w h o initially took complete control of a game that was being billed as one the whole world was watching. For much of the first half, City’s slick passing and neat movement brought back memories of the way Guardiola’s old Barcelona side would once often pass rings round Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Ye t t h e i n i t i a l breakthrough came from an unGuardiola-like route one approach in the 15th minute, A l e k s a n d a r K o l a r o v ’s hoofed ball being met by a flicked header from Iheanacho which allowed the excellent De Bruyne to nip in past a leaden-footed Daley Blind and fire home. Iheanacho, ensuring that suspended Sergio Aguero was not unduly missed up

front, underlined City’s dominance, tapping home after De Bruyne’s 36thminute left-footed strike had come back off the post. CONTROVERSIAL MOVE United were offered a lifeline when Bravo, whose signing to replace City favourite Joe Hart has been the most controversial move of Guardiola’s brief reign, failed to claim a straightforward free kick from the right. He dropped the ball under no great pressure, allowing the alert Ibrahimovic to volley home from the edge of the box and quite transform the game’s dynamic. Bravo looked a bag of nerves and nearly presented United with an equaliser before halftime and when Mourinho sought a more positive approach from his side with a double

substitution at halftime, youngster Marcus Rashford made an immediate impact. The teenager’s 70thminute shot left Bravo well beaten but the goal was ruled out as it had brushed off the shin of Ibrahimovic who was standing offside. The hapless Bravo could easily have given away a penalty with a studs-up challenge on an infuriated Wayne Rooney but City regained their composure, defended with resolve and could have wrapped up a more emphatic victory when De Bruyne’s late shot hit the post and ran across the face of goal. A delighted Guardiola praised his team’s first-half performance and jumped to the defence of former Barcelona keeper Bravo. “In the second half, he continued to play and that’s a good thing about his personality. He was one of the reasons we played well in the first half,” Guardiola said. Mourinho, though, was adamant that Clattenburg should have awarded penalties when Bravo, having lost control of the ball in his own area, lunged in with studs showing to tackle Rooney and also when a cross hit Nicolas Otamendi’s arm. “Mark made two big mistakes. Claudio Bravo is a penalty and a red card,” Mourinho said. “The second one is a handball by Nicolas Otamendi - some pundits will say no because it’s the back of the arm but he knows. He’s looking at the ball. We are not happy with these decisions.”

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP) – Recently under pressure in the Russian doping scandal, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach now faces further problems with Brazilian police wanting to call him as a witness in a suspected Olympic ticket scam. Rio de Janeiro police official Ronaldo Oliveira said investigators had seen an email that the top suspect in the probe, Ireland’s Olympic chief Patrick Hickey, sent to Bach requesting tickets. “We want to question Thomas Bach as a witness because he features in emails and we want to clear up certain uncertainties,” Oliveira said on Thursday. The German Bach failed to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Rio this week and the IOC said he has no immediate plans to go back there. However, the IOC insisted they are ready to fully cooperate with Brazilian police, but say they have had no request for testimony from them. “Neither the IOC nor the IOC President have been contacted by any Brazilian authority concerning a request for information,” a statement said yesterday. “The IOC is in this respect only informed by media. “This includes the publication of obviously private messages not related to the allegations against Mr Hickey by the police. “There was and there is no request for a hearing as witness for any IOC official.” The police move comes just after Bach was criticised for the handling of the allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia and for the handling of organising the Games in Rio. Now Bach is caught up in an affair which centres on the August 17 arrest of Hickey, who is suspected of illegally trading Olympic tickets. Bach has given no indication of publicly addressing the matter. After attending the funeral of former West German president Walter Scheel on Wednesday, he is due in Croatia this weekend for a 25-year celebration of the founding of their Olympic Committee. An IOC member since 1995, 71-year-old Hickey was arrested on August 17 before being released on health grounds under condition of remaining in Brazil. Frenchman Jerome Valcke lost his post as FIFA general secretary after presumed implication in a ticket-touting ring during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Rio police seized some 781 tickets which they say were destined to be sold on the black market and also claim that around $3 million was generated by the ticket scam. “If Mr Bach comes to Brazil we will call him as a witness, but this does not make him a suspect in the case,” Rio Police commissioner Aloysio Falcao said on Friday. Bach’s absence from the Paralympic opening ceremony is unprecedented for an IOC president since 1984, and had already led to speculation in the Brazilian media. In July 2015 Hickey sent an email to Bach asking to be allocated more tickets for the Rio Games, saying he had had more for the London Games in 2012, fraud squad commissioner in Rio Ricardo Barbosa de Souza revealed Thursday. “Mr Bach did not reply but we do know that Mr Hickey got 296 extra tickets for Rio, and that is why we want to question the IOC president,” he explained. The email was discovered after Rio police confiscated the computer of a third person, Martin Burk, also of the Irish Olympic Committee, at their delegation’s hotel.

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

Lower Corentyne storm back to defeat Upper Corentyne after dropping first innings points The fighting spirit of the team from the Lower Corentyne/ New Amsterdam Canje area once again came to the fore on Saturday. Led by a destructive spell of left arm spin bowling from Kasim Khan with figures of 6-23 helped Lower Corentyne storm back after dropping first innings points to defeat neighbours Upper Corentyne for a come from behind win in their Jaguar Franchise cricket match played at the Port Mourant ground. Upper Corentyne resumed the day on 22-2 in pursuit of 148 for victory and were in need of a further 126 runs. The home team found the going tough as the failed to negotiate the combined attack employed by the Lower Corentyne. Khan, who plies his trade with Young Warriors, was all over the batsmen and befuddled them with his spin, bounce and turn. His six wickets followed his first inning figures of 3-73 to end with match haul of 9-96. Off spinner Saraj Ramsarran supported with 2-30, while pacer Raun Johnson and off spinner Gajanand Singh snared one each. Overnight batsman Jashua Ramsammy was the only batsmen to offer and resistance with 44. Upper Corentyne had earlier gained first innings points and were in with a chance of creating an upset when the game ended on the second day as the two teams were locked in battle. However, Lower Corentyne had other ideas. Lower Corentyne had elected to bat first after winning the toss on the first day and was dismissed for 162. Surujnarine Kandasammy continued his good form with 66 (8x4), the prolific Jonathan Foo made 22(2x4, 1x6) with Gajanand Singh 20(2x4) and Waheed Edwards 17. They had slipped from 143-5 with the last five wickets tumbling for 19 runs. Off Spinner Eon Hooper was the main destroyer for Upper Corentyne with 5-18, while there were one wicket each for Clinton Pestano, Rajiv Ivan, Omesh Mathura, Shaun Periera and Keon Sinclair. (Samuel Whyte)

Rains prevents play in Clive Gobin Memorial tourney

Members of the Zorg SC with Dereck Gobin (4th from right), Region two chairman Devanand Ramdatt (2nd from right) and little Xia Sankar (center) with her mom Shevon Simon just after the cutting of the ribbon to mark the opening of the pavilion. Heavy rainfall on the Essequibo Coast prevented any play of the opening game of the Clive Gobin Memorial U16 cricket tournament yesterday at Zorg Sports Club ground. A new date for the commencement of the competition will be

GCB Jaguars 3-day League

Final day of E/Coast, GT match washed out at Bourda The final day of the third round of GCB Jaguars threeday cricket League between East Coast and Georgetown at Bourda was abandoned due to overnight rain yesterday. Although there was no rain for the entire day, the sunshine was only hazy but coincidently just as the day’s play was called off at 14:00hrs the sun came out in all its glory but the damage had already been done and the outfield was deemed too soggy to play on. East Cost who started the round in second position behind Lower Corentyne, were overtaken by West Demerara who beat West Berbice in two days in Canje, while Georgetown remained in the penultimate position. Georgetown began the day on 63-3, 85 runs behind

Gajanand Suknanan East Coast’s 148 after only two sessions of play was possible in the contest and were desperate to score quick runs yesterday and to try and for a win. Off-spinner Gajanand Suknanan captured 7-37 for the hosts to be the outstanding performer in the

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truncated match. Both teams collected three points for the draw, while GT collected three bowling points for dismissing East Coast inside 110 overs in the first innings plus .2 of a point for fast bowler’s wickets (pacer Chris Barnwell & Renaldo Ali-Mohamed took a wicket each). GT gained 6.2 points from the game to move to 16.3 points. East Coast only got one bowling point to give them four points from the match and 35 points in the eightteam tournament. The fourth round is set to commence on Friday and East Coast play L/C’tyne at Everest, West Berbice face East Coast at Enmore, West Demerara battle U/C’tyne at Wales and GT oppose E’bo at GCC. (Sean Devers)

announced shortly. The tournament, which will be played on a round robin basis at the U16 level, involves Abramville, NOC, Johanna Cecelia and Aurora Secondary schools as well as Zorg Sports Club and will be of 20

overs duration. The club also will be staging a female softball competition on October 1 starting at 08:30hrs. Entrance fee is $5,000 and teams can contact Debra Daniels on 6027110 or Davina Goberdhan on 673-5792

for information on registration. Meanwhile, the organisers held a brief ceremony to mark the reopening of the Zorg Sports Club members pavilion which was recently renovated the by the Gobin family.

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Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

National Intermediate Boxing Championships

Fistic fury resumes as GDF and Republican boxers share the spoils By Michael Benjamin Wild swings, crunching punches and screaming fans characterized by beating drums brightened the atmosphere and set the tone for an entertaining night when the action got underway in the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) National Intermediate Boxing Championships at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, last Friday evening. Fans came to the venue in high anticipation of the fistic battles between the boxers of the Republican Boxing Gym (REP) and the counterparts from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and when the smoke had cleared both entities had registered 3 victories apiece after intense and action packed encounters.

Director of Prisons, Carl Graham, was pleased with Anthony Patterson’s performance and personally acknowledged the feat. The Republicans drew first blood when their b a n t a m w e i g h t representative, Anthony Patterson faced off with soldier, Jushaine Ferrier and the latter boxer commenced the bout at a furious pace.

Punches rained on Patterson’s body and head as Ferrier seemed determined to end it there and then. Patterson sought refuge behind highly held guards but could not totally evade several crunching shots

Clear Waters on board for Kennard’s Post Emancipation day horserace meet

KMTC Chairman, Justice Kennard (left) accepts First prize cheque from Mr. A. Hardat, Marketing, Sales & Distribution Manager of Clear Waters. Clear Waters joined Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) as a sponsor for their annual PostEmancipation Day Horse Race meeting fixed for next Sunday September 18 at their Bush Lot, Corentyne, Berbice racetrack. On Friday morning last, at a simple ceremony, Mr. A. Hardat, Marketing, Sales & Distribution Manager handed over the first prize for the2 Years old race

($200,000) to Justice Cecil Kennard at his Brickdam office. The race would be contested under the ‘Clear Water’ label and during F r i d a y ’s h a n d o v e r c e r e m o n y, H a r d a t emphasised that Clear Waters, which entered into a sponsorship arrangement with Chairman of the KMTC, Justice Cecil Kennard, is in support ofthis equestrian performance

sport and can say with absolute certainty that this event will be well received. In response Justice Kennard relayed deep gratitude, while acknowledging the value of such support and believes that no sports programme could be successful without s u c h c o r p o r a t e intervention and is in great appreciation of the support rendered by Clear Waters over the years.

Jamal Eastman

thrown by the rampaging Ferrier. Midway into the round the GDF representative appeared winded and it was here that Patterson took over with several volleys that pushed his man on the back foot where Patterson asserted his dominance with several crunching punches that set the pace for the second round. Fighting out of a southpaw stance Patterson met his man in the second round, head-on in center ring and the two pugilists became engaged in a delightful exchange that had the appreciative crowd on its feet. It was really difficult determining who would have taken that round as both boxers lashed out in a toe to toe battle that really set the fans on fire. Patterson then surged ahead at the start of the final round with several telling punches but a determined Ferrier stood his ground and matched his blows. In a show of pure courage both boxers stood center ring in a vicious exchange of punches and stayed there right up to the final bell which sounded with Patterson who, despite the grueling nature of the fight, ended with flailing fists which acted in his favour as the judges decided that he had done enough to earn the decision. Undaunted by the loss suffered by his colleague, Jason Trotman (GDF) made reparations in his lightweight bout against Republican, Donald Trapp. Anxious to surge ahead, both boxers were guilty of shabby approaches and that bout

was characterized by clinches and ragged offences. In the end, it was Trotman who walked away with a unanimous verdict. Delroy Nero (REP) then earned a lopsided unanimous verdict over Colin Hinds (GDF) and the latter boxer should thank the referee that he did not lose by TKO. The soldier had received several wallops that sent him reeling but the referee inexplicably refused to call a halt to the bout even after she had instituted two mandatory 8 counts. Nero had his man on the back foot from the very first bell but to his credit Hinds fought back and stayed in contention. On resumption, the latter boxer was greeted with several crunching punches to his jaw which had him on wobbly legs but inexplicably, the referee refused to issue a count even as Hinds indicated that he had injured his right hand. Eventually, the referee summoned the doctor who examined the injury and ordered the resumption for Nero to press on with several crunching blows that drifted Hinds and attracted another mandatory 8 count. With a painful grimace, Hinds held on to his injured hand yet the referee refused to call a halt to the contest or even summon the doctor. Obviously in pain, Hinds barely made it to the bell but failed to positively influence the judges who gave the bout to Nero. Soldier, Mark Blake feared no better and it took

Joshua Joseph just 1:52secs of the first round to establish the better boxer of their welterweight clash. Blake was all over his man from the first gong and forced the referee to institute a mandatory 8 after an especially wicked onslaught. Shortly afterwards, Joseph retaliated and Blake received a hard clout to his temple and the doctor was called in to check a small wound to his face. Joseph attacked upon resumption and was well on his way to a knockout when Blake’s handlers decided to save his hide and threw in the towel at 1:52secs of the inaugural round. The Guyana Defence Force stayed in contention when Lorex Cummings unleashed a brutal assault on Republican, Terrey Peters in a welterweight affair and it was all over in just 59secs of the first round. As the night started on an unsuccessful note for the soldiers, it ended successfully after Darren McPherson won a unanimous verdict over Faisal Moore in a middleweight encounter. Earlier in the night, lightweight boxer, Jamal Eastman of the Rose Hall Jammers (RHJ), was all aggression as he pummeled Republican, Ryan Albert and forced him to quit on the stool at the end of the first round. Eastman is always a class act and sent out ominous signals from the first gong. His punches were precise and had his man tossing around until the bell rung. Albert then decided that he was not interested in reentering the fray and quitted on his stool at the start of the second frame. The night started successfully for the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) when its representative, Keevin Allicock, scored a unanimous points decision over Ajay Jageshar of the Young Achievers Boxing Gym. The action resumed with the semi-final last night while the finals will be staged tonight.

Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

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GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U-17 League

A brace each from Bobb, Macey and Smith leads Slingerz past Beavers Slingerz FC made light work of Beavers FC when they hammered them 6-1 yesterday as play in the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) of the G F F / N A M I L C O Thunderbolt Flour Power National Under-17 Intra Association league continued at the Den Amstel Community ground. The result for the young Slingrez outfit never seemed in doubt and by the end of the first half they were

leading by a comfortable 2-0 margin; both goals came off the boot of Brentnol Bobb in the 10th and 30th minute, respectively. Ronaldo Macey hammered in the first of his double in the 48th minute before Beavers finally pulled one back through Shaquel Richards in the 55th minute. But that was the first and last time that the West Bank boys were able to find the back of the nets. Three minutes later it was

back to goal scoring business for Slingerz when Macey achieved his second goal and to close off proceedings, Rivaldo Smith banged in two of his own in the 70th and 72nd minute to complete the rout for Slingerz. Today, Wales United will come up against Eagles FC in the lone match from12:00hrs while tomorrow from the same time, Den Amstel will lock horns with Beavers.

Rivaldo Smith of Slingerz nets his second goal against Beavers whose goalie is well off the line and a Beavers player tries to deny the chance.

Degree/DeSinco Ltd. Annual National Park Cycle Meet

Michael Anthony outsprints Leung and De Nobrega in feature race

Sponsors representatives, competitors and officials pose for a photo following yesterday’s presentation at the National Park. Michael Anthony of Team Evolution outsprinted Raphael Leung and Clive DeNobrega to win the feature School Boys and Invitation 35-lap race when the 16th annual Degree National Park 11-Race Cycle Meet sponsored by DeSinco Ltd. was held yesterday. In winning the contest which saw five cyclists leading for most of the race, Anthony stopped the clock at One Hour 17 Minutes 38.49

Seconds which betted last year’s winning time of One Hour 18 Minutes 22.77 Seconds that was achieved by Junior Niles who managed 5th place this time around; Christopher Griffith ended 4th with Paul Choo Wee Nam taking the 6th place. Griffith won four of the eight sprint prizes with Anthony collecting two. There was one each for Niles and De Nobrega. At the presentation

ceremony, Human Resource Manager of DeSinco Ltd. Ms Gemma CorneliusWi l l i a m s t h a n k e d t h e cyclists for their continued dedication and commitment towards competing at the National Park. Ms. Williams informed that DeSinco Ltd. has also shown its commitment towards the development of the sport by committing for sixteen years to this event which attracted close to 30 riders.

Race Organiser Hassan Mohamed also expressed thanks to the riders who made yesterday’s event and

all those over the years possible. All the riders and officials were presented with

Degree products compliments of DeSinco Ltd. (Franklin Wilson)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday September 11, 2016

Mini football extravaganza on today as Mayor’s Cup final fixed for Tucville ground A mini football extravaganza starting from 3:00pm has been fixed for the Tucville ground today as the Mayor’s Cup football championship concludes with the grand finale. The Aruwai first prize of $700,000 and the Mayor’s Cup is at stake in the feature event of the day starting at 9:00pm. Two outstanding teams in this tournament will collide for championship honours in what promises to be a keen encounter. The game brings together Western Tigers and Police. Before that at 7:00pm the third place playoff pits Federal Winners Connection against Ann’s Grove. However, the day’s programme begins at 3:00pm with the Sparta Family sponsored7-a-side I n t e r Wa r d / Vi l l a g e competition for the Sparta Family trophy and $50,000

involving several teams. The fixtures for the 7-a-side will see Sophia facing Golden Grove in the opening match, while at 3:30pm Kingston battle Uitvlugt, Albouystown clash with Grove at 4:00pm and North East La Penitence challenge Buxton at 4:30pm. The winners advance for the chance to play for the cash prize. This segment should whet the appetite of fans for t h e e v e n i n g ’s m a i n attraction. A n n ’s G r o v e w i t h Nickosi Denny, Shamar Barry and Quincy Johnson will look to stave off the disappointment of not being in the final with a win in the third place game. H o w e v e r, F e d e r a l Winners Connection will also harbour similar thoughts. They will depend on Keon Sears and Marmaleque Davidson to head their charge in the

absence of Rawle Gittens, who was suspended following a red card in the last match. The main event will see the favourites, Western Tigers looking to turn back the challenge of giant killers Police. Lead goalscorer Dwayne McClennon (6), Randolph Wagner (4) and Dellon Kelly (3) along with Dwayne Ali will try to push Police to the limit and out of the reckoning for the title. Police will have Quincy Holder, Dwayne Charles, Keron Boston, Dwain Wilson and Kester Dundas pushing their cause for title honours as they look to continue their giant killing status. Whichever way the game goes, fans are in for a treat all evening long. The final winner will claim the top prize of $700,000 and a trophy donated by Aruwai Resort. The second place team

Kerber begins reign as number one with U.S. Open win

Angelique Kerber (right) is the first German to win the US Open since Steffi Graf in 1996 after beating Karolina Pliskova. (Getty Images) NEW YORK (Reuters) G e r m a n y ’s A n g e l i q u e Kerber began her reign as world number one in imperious style battling past a determined Karolina Pliskova 6-3 4-6 6-4 to win the U.S. Open final on Saturday and claim her second grand slam title of the year. K e r b e r, w h o w i l l officially take over from Serena Williams as the

world’s top ranked player on Monday, underlined her number one status displaying the heart of a champion as she fought off a fierce challenge from Czech 10th seed Pliskova on a steamy Arthur Ashe Stadium court. Pliskova, who arrived at Flushing Meadows with the reputation of grand slam under-achiever having never before been beyond the third

round of the major, shed that label by making it all the way to the final and going toe-totoe with second seed Kerber for just over two hours of suspenseful, high-quality tennis. Kerber began the grand slam year winning her first major at the Australia Open and ended with a U.S. Open title to go along with a runner-up finish at Wimbledon.

Dwayne Ali pockets $300,000 and the Ansa McAl trophy, while the third place team carts off $200,000 and the John Fernandes trophy. The fourth place finishers will receive $100,000 and the Ministry of State trophy. Ricks and Sari has also donated hampers which will go to the winning team,

Randolph Wagner

Keon Sears

while tournament’s top goal scorer will get a three piece suite compliments of AH&L Kissoon Furniture Store. Top Brandz of Broad and High Streets, distributors of Interstate vehicle batteries, is among the key sponsors on board assisting the tournament. Apart from Aruwai Resort and Top

Brandz, others on board include: Ansa McAl, Minister of State Joe Harmon and his ministry, John Fernandes, Ricks and Sari and AH&L Kissoon. Coordinator Lennox Arthur has expressed thanks to his sponsors, nothing that their support have been the lifeline.

Sunday September 11, 2016

Kaieteur News

PAGE 75

Gym 53 gives life Fitness Express contributes to GAPF Raw Nationals membership to Kaysan Ninvalle Fitness Express has once again stepped and maintained its support of national sports with a contribution towards next week’s Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) Raw Nationals championships set for the Critchlow Labour College. Owner/Manager of Fitness Express Jamie McDonald who handed over his entity’s contribution to GAPF’s PRO Tai Eusebio noted that Fitness Express has been supporting the sport for many years and was pleased to continue that tradition. ”We at Fitness Express are very happy to be supporting you once again. We have seen the rise of many athletes who have gone on to excel at the highest level and we are proud of playing a role in

Ramnaresh Sarwan (left) presents the gym membership to Gym 53 to Kaysan Ninvalle in the presence of Godfrey Munroe.

In recognition for his efforts at the recently concluded Caribbean PreC a d e t Ta b l e Te n n i s Championships in Jamaica where he won the lone gold medal in the Under-11 department, Kaysan Ninvalle was given life membership to the Ramnaresh Sarwan owned Gym 53. The former West Indies star batsman who recently opened the facility at Providence on the East Bank of Demerara, himself handed over the membership card to young Ninvalle, noting that fitness is very important to an athlete’s

progress, having performed at the highest level himself. He read of the youngster’s achievements and thought it fit to aid and encourage him in his sporting life and hopes that the use of the facility will help mold him into a better sportsman over the coming years. Ronnie, as he is popularly known, promised to be a second father to young Ninvalle in the gym. Kaysan Ninvale thanked the former West Indies star for his generosity and encouragement and stated that to be a top class athlete

this type of facility is needed to hone your skills and stamina. Ninvalle was accompanied by Guyana Table Tennis Association executive Godfrey Munroe. This is another in a series of accolades doled out on the youngster, known for his tenaciousness and fighting spirit. Gizmos and Gadgets, Dexter ‘Bushman’ Garnett and Colours Boutique and Chase Academy have all recognised his efforts. These accolades should serve as motivation for Ninvalle and the many other young athletes across the various sports to perform at the highest level.

Rain ruins play on third and final day at Everest Heavy overnight rain prevented any play on the third and final day of the third round Guyana Cricket Board Jaguars three-day league between Essequibo and East Bank Demerara yesterday at the Everest Cricket Club. The umpires called off the day’s play after lunch handing both teams three points each from the fixture with Essequibo moving to 21.1 and East Bank to 13.1. Batting first, Essequibo were 8-1 after three overs on the first day when the rain sent the players off the field.

Kevon Boodie was the lbw to Ryan Shun for five while Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Avenash Persaud were on one each. Meanwhile, Speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday, coach of the Essequibo unit, Michael Franco stated that while they are disappointed that the game was rained out, there are some areas to improve on looking ahead in the tournament. He added that he would have like to see the players being encamped for some time prior to the tournament

and the Essequibo Cricket Board should have made a better effort in doing so, while adding that this an ongoing trend there. Franco pointed out that while they are satisfied with their victory in their previous game, for players to perform consistently they must spend enough time together which will help to build team spirit. The Coach stated that the presence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul is a plus for the team since it helps to bring the best out of the players.

Owner/Manager of Fitness Express Jamie Mc Donald (left) hands over sponsorship cheque to GAPF’s Tai Eusebio. t h i s r e g a r d . ” Eusebio, who expressed gratitude to Mc Donald for their continued commitment and investment to the sport, noted that the GAPF is

pleased with the traction the RAW category is receiving locally, and anticipates credible performances by many in attendance on Sunday next.

Asst Commissioner Amsterdam, FACC event peddles off in Berbice today Divisional Commander of the Berbice ‘B’ Division Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam has teamed up with the Flying Ace Cycling Club (FACC) to stage a grand cycling event today in Berbice from 09:00hrs as a part of their sports and community enhancement activities. The event is being held in observance of the C o m m a n d e r ’s b i r t h anniversary and several Berbice Cyclists will take to the road in a 35-mile event which peddles off from the Rose Hall Town Arch in Corentyne. The race proceed east to the Felix Austin Police Training College in Adventure before turning back to finish at Main and Alexander Streets in New Amsterdam. Prizes will be presented to the first six cyclists to cross the finishing line while the first three juveniles and the first two females will also be awarded prizes. Eight sprint prizes will also be up for grabs. C o m m a n d e r Amsterdam, since his posting in Berbice has come up with many new initiatives which have helped in the reduction of crime. Sports, Education and Community development are among the

Assistant Commissioner Ian Amsterdam issues being dealt with while a number of youth, sports, Community policing, scouts and other groups have been formed or receives assistance from the police force. FA C C P r e s i d e n t Randolph Roberts said he was impressed by the work

ethic of Commander Amsterdam and thanked him for his contribution, especially his work with youths which plays a major role in keeping them away from the social ills and illicit activities. Roberts pledged to make the event an annual affair.

t r o Sp Degree/DeSinco Ltd. Annual National Park Cycle Meet

Michael Anthony outsprints Leung and De Nobrega in feature race

Michael Anthony is all smiles as he collects his prize and trophy from DeSinco Ltd. HR Manager, Gemma Cornelius-Williams.

Michael Anthony powers to victory ahead of Raphael Leung and Paul DeNobrega. (Franklin Wilson photo)

GFF/NAMILCO Thunderbolt Flour Power Nat. U-17 League Kerber begins reign as A brace each from Bobb, number one with U.S. Open win Macey and Smith leads

Slingerz past Beavers

Angelique Kerber, of Germany, holds up the championship trophy after beating Karolina Pliskova, of the Czech Republic, to win the women’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Slingerz goal scorers from right, Ronaldo Macey, Rivaldo Smith, and Brentnol Bobb.

Mini football extravaganza on today as Mayor’s Cup final fixed for Tucville ground 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