saturday, september 7, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com
Countrywide:
Guyana is the first Caribbean country to have ratified the landmark treaty for domestic workers which came into effect on Thursday.
Winds: Easterly at 4.02 metres per second.
High Tide: 05:27h and 17:42h reaching maximum heights of 2.78 metres and 2.79 metres respectively.
Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times indicated that Guyana has signed on to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 189, landmark treaty for domestic workers.
Number one
Low Tide: 1:19h and 23:37h reaching minimum heights of 0.47 metre and 0.39 netre respectively. Friday, September 6, 2013
Guyana has ranked number one among its Caribbean neighbours to have signed on to the treaty which extends basic labour rights to domestic workers around the globe.
Currently, there are at least 53 million children worldwide, not including child domestic workers, and this number is increasing steadily in developed and developing countries, 83 per cent of which are women.
Dr Gopaul reiterated that the number adds to an estimated 10.5 million children worldwide, most of them under age, working as domestic workers in people’s homes.
The new convention becomes binding international law as of September 5. It needed ratification by two ILO member states. This, according to the minister, will set the stage for better workplace benefits which would normally be guided by the lawful workplace stipulations.
The minister said only recently, a team of experts were in Guyana to assist in different areas like being able to prepare regulations for the mining sector as is necessary under the occupational and safety health regulations.
Domestic workers comprise a significant part of the global workforce in informal employment and are among the most vulnerable groups of workers, the ILO has said. They work for private households, often without clear terms of employment, unregistered in any book, and excluded from the scope of labour legislation.
The ILO said deplorable working conditions, labour exploitation, and abuses of human rights are major problems facing domestic workers.
To this end, the organisation undertakes to protect the rights of domestic workers, promote equality of opportunity and treatment, and improve working and living conditions. Its global strategy consists of strengthening national capacities and institutions, including policy and legislative reforms; promoting the ratification and implementation of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (Number 189) and Recommendation (Number 201); facilitating the organisation of domestic workers and their employers; awareness-raising and advocacy; and development of knowledge base and policy tools.
According to the ILO, the general conference having been convened at Geneva by the governing body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its 100th Session on June 1, 2011, and mindful of the commitment of the ILO to promote decent work for all through the achievement of the goals of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation, and recognising the significant contribution of domestic workers to the global economy,
which includes increasing paid job opportunities for women and men workers with family responsibilities, greater scope for caring for aging populations, children and persons with a disability, and substantial income transfers within and between countries, and considering that domestic work continues to be undervalued and invisible and is mainly carried out by women and girls.
Many of whom are migrants or members of disadvantaged communities and who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination in respect of conditions of em-
ployment and of work, and to other abuses of human rights, and considering also that in developing countries with historically scarce opportunities for formal employment, domestic workers constitute a significant proportion of the national workforce and remain among the most marginalised, and recalling that international labour conventions and recommendations apply to all workers, including domestic workers, unless otherwise provided, and noting the particular relevance for domestic workers of the Migration for Employment Convention.
Editor: Nigel Williams
Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134
Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown
Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com
Adversity defines what we are really made of. It can make us better or bitter. T D Jakes says, “A setback is a setup for a comeback.” We can overcome adversity and allow it to make us stronger, wiser and more empowered. In other words, adversity helps build character, resourcefulness, courage, perseverance and self-discipline.
Last week Guyana Times carried a very uplifting and inspirational story in relation to a 17-year-old boy who managed to overcome serious adversities and made himself, his family, friends and his community very proud.
After his parents separated, Alex Vimal Kahdhai grew up for a short while in a single parent home. But not long after, his mother found it difficult to make ends meet and as a result took Alex and his siblings to the Prabhu Sharan Orphanage at Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara. In a quest to become an educated and respected member of society, Alex was subsequently enrolled at the Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) School, at the Grade Eight level.
Dear Editor,
We need to get drastic. I am sifting through how three men were recently held for a gun and ammunition found in their car. What makes it worse is
that the three men are known to the police, since they were previously charged with robbery under arms. It seems as though the firearm was stolen during a recent robbery. Thankfully, the three men are
in custody pending charges.
The opposition did vote down the bill that would have put a check on the easy inflow of guns in Guyana. I wonder how the members are now feeling. Guns must
Alex, like many other children from broken and povertystricken homes, had very little in terms of the resources needed to become successful. Many children in his situation would have given up, or turned to drugs and alcohol or engage in a life of crime. But Alex believed in himself, and with hard work and perseverance, he secured 15 subjects, including 12 grade ones, at the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, placing among the top students in Region Three. This is quite an accomplishment and those who have supported him and his peers such as the volunteers at the orphanage and his school teachers must be commended for this team effort.
Overwhelmed by his excellent results, Alex had some very positive words of encouragement for his peers, especially those in similar situations. He said, “Anything can be possible as long as you believe you can succeed and it really doesn’t matter where you come from and how hard your life is… you can be successful as long as you work hard, be focused and know your goals.”
An important lesson to be taken from Alex’s situation is that; it is important not to allow our past or current circumstances to dictate our future. Problems and circumstances are normal. Everybody has and will face adversity in life. But it is important that we hold on to our hopes, beliefs and values. We must always envision victory.
Alex’s success story should serve as a reminder that it is necessary that we instil in our children the need to stay focused on their purpose and vision and to never give up. This is what makes it possible to get through any adversity faced in life.
Also, the message that is worth emphasising is the need to be persistent no matter what the situation is. Typically, losers are those people who didn’t realise how close they were to triumph when they gave up. There is a story about a man who was stranded in a blizzard. He had walked for miles and gave up. They found him frozen to death 20 yards from shelter.
Further, Alex’s story gives us reason to appreciate how much we have, as one look around the world will show there are millions more who are worse off. It is therefore important that we fill our hearts with moments of thanks which would then leave little time to complain or play the victim.
There were other success stories at the said orphanage which are worth publicising. For example Priya Mahase, who attained eight subjects at CSEC is a trained medex; Rajendra Singh, who secured four subjects is now a customs clerk; and Sandra Bissoon, who obtained 13 subjects is now an employee at a prominent bank as a teller. Stories such as these, are worth repeating as they serve to inspire and motivate citizens all over the country that no matter what situation one is in, once one is hardworking, dedicated and believes in his/her dreams, anything is possible.
It is hoped that orphanages such the one that rescued Alex and his siblings (Prabhu Sharan) would continue to get the support of the wider community in carrying out their work. Organisations such as this, are also serving a very important function in Guyana’s developmental efforts, and for this reason, both the government and the private sector must provide the necessary support in helping them make a difference in our country.
Dear Editor,
With reference to the immediate dismissal of the University of Guyana (UG) bursar and chief accountant, the secretary of UG Student Society (UGSS) made a comment which can be read online at http:// www.ugnow.gy/2013/09/04/ ugs-council-fires-bursarand-chief-accountant-alloptions-on-the-table-ugunions/.
The secretary stated that natural justice is important and the persons fired should have been allowed to present themselves before the
relevant committee to answer to the charges laid before them.
He further stated that he was not sure if there are any charges known to the persons who were terminated, or if they had committed any crime.
I wish to ask the secretary of UGSS one very simple question: was I charged with any crime and, if so, was I allowed to present myself before the relevant authorities to answer to the charge(s) laid before me? The answer is no.
This double standard is
highly unacceptable and speaks volumes about what were really the intentions of UGSS. Notwithstanding the above, I stand in solidarity with the UG unions over the unfortunate dismissals.
The chief accountant was recently appointed to that prestigious position and I know for a fact that she has been constantly venting her frustration with regard to the manner in which the bursary was carrying out its functions.
This extraordinary lady has always, for the years
be removed from our streets. I like the police work of recent but they must continue to take drastic measures.
For a safer community, Jacob Ally
I have known her, acted with professionalism. She had UG at heart and kept it floating. What I believe the council should have done and, can still do, is carry out an investigation so as to ascertain why is it that the bursary was functioning with so many malpractices. This investigation I am certain will reveal that all bursary staff were not allowed to effectively perform their duties.
Yours respectfully, Ganesh Adjtya Mahipaul
We should be civic-minded
Dear Editor,
It is so disgusting to hear about this taxi driver – the man played the role of helper/thief and I am left to wonder how a human being can sink so low. I am glad now
that he has to answer to the charge of stealing valuables, while pretending to help remove household articles during the fire at Da Silva’s House of Optics. I can only appeal to citi-
zens to activate their nobler sides. We need to show a spirit of pity, when others are going through a crisis. If we do not want to help, the thing to do is not to get involved.
Let us not repeat the July
Agricola incident, when both driver and conductor bullied one of the female passengers after an accident.
Yours truly, Wazir Jaffarally
Dear Editor,
A former player on a football team leaves to mourn his reputed wife and daughter after he was stabbed to death recently. The incident took place around the wee early morning hours of three to four following an argument with another man.
In Jamaica and Trinidad,
the police are saddled with this kind of thing. In fact, both countries took some dramatic measures to curb violence of this nature.
Here, it was at an hour when people should be sleeping. I guess freedom and adulthood (too early) cannot be handled by a lot of people. I always ask free
to what? Not only our police, but our social workers must now come to the fore to help. Violence is now so natural for too many people.
As far back as 2008, the organisers of the Guyana Youth Development Association came up with a suggested programme aimed at helping out in this area. The plan
was to do a number of things: crime reporting, youth patrols, drug education, conflict resolution, mediation, peer and cross-age teaching – all with the intention of curbing violence among the younger people on the streets.
Yours faithfully, Vivienne Carmichael
You can send your letters with pictures to:
Dear Editor,
It looks as if young people of today are more on the prowl for weak victims. This moral breakdown is really swallowing up a lot of today’s youths.
I am left to wonder what is being taught to our young people. What about the input of adults, the church, teachers and politicians? Are the young being told that education is a must?
Are they being exhorted to work hard and live disciplined lives?
People are peddling the idea that government must provide employment and that government is caus-
ing some not to be educated. Our politicians must stop misleading our young people.
Yours truly, Shanace Thomas
Dear Editor,
This Dr David Hinds excerpt is very interesting:
“The minister’s comment, though coming in the form of a scolding and partisan rebuke, should be a wake-up call for African Guyanese; we have to play our part –individually, as families and as communities – in stopping the education slide in our communities.”
Well, to this I say make it personal and collective. This will redound into a sense of responsibility that will arrest any educational slide of any group. The excerpt
is part of the ongoing controversy in relation to what is happening within the education system in Guyana, namely, that there are a few bright ones, but the majority are at best, average performers.
I have no statistical information to actually know what percentage in passes we have in various grades and subjects. Until I see this kind of thing, I will not comment.
The other factor here is that there was a strong admonition by Dr Hinds and I urge all to pay him heed:
“We have to play our part –individually, as families and as communities – in stopping the education slide in our communities.”
This also came out at the Forum on African Guyanese that took place mid-August. This clearly shows that some people know where some of the problems are in this country. It is refreshing to note that these people, though few in numbers, are making a call for personal and collective responses from the very people who have the problems. Self-rebuke and recovery are very important
in every aspect of life.
If only we can all be honest, I think Guyana will progress far quicker and there will be less bickering. Generally, we all have the same things to deal with –working for a living, going to school and taking care of our families, among other things.
The ones who come out successful are the ones who are very disciplined. This is so irrespective of colour and creed.
Yours sincerely,
Edwin Baldeo
Dear Editor, Wakenaam Police Station needs to be seriously investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibilities within the Guyana Police Force. For the past two months, the amount of corruption that has been condoned at this police station is beyond infinity.
Can you imagine the magistrate of the Wakenaam Magistrate’s Court issued an arrest warrant for a man and some officers of the station were seen consuming alcohol with the said man.
This is just the tip of the
iceberg. Neighbourhood police officers have been stopping motor vehicle users demanding their licences and registrations and, if they don’t have all the documents on them, they demand money. Also, officers have been allowing unlicenced drivers and riders, who are directly related to them, to drive and ride on the public road. This I considered to be very disrespectful to law abiding citizens.
In addition, there are many other corrupt activities which occur at this station on a daily basis. What shocks me the most is the
fact that numerous residents have made complaints but absolutely nothing has been done about it. I can confidently say without any fear of contradiction that the Office of Professional Responsibilities and the minister of home affairs don’t know of these unfortunate crimes.
However, now that the issue has been brought to their attention, through this medium, I expect them to act accordingly as they have been doing. Hence, I am publicly calling for a forensic investigation into the
affairs of the Wakenaam Police Station.
Yours
faithfully, Ganesh Adjtya Mahipaul Concerned Wakenaam resident
or letters@guyanatimesgy.com
Dear Editor, When it comes to thievery, usually with certain types of stolen products, the buyer should also be nabbed. We all know that many people are buying, off the streets, things like cellphones and other small gadgets.
Last week, I was at the junction of Robb Street and Avenue of the Republic and I was accosted by a young man who had two water pumps for sale. I played along with him and I could have gotten both for $3000. To him, he is still making something, since he, in all likelihood, just stole the two pumps from someone.
I have had people come
to me asking if I wanted to buy things like car mirrors and hubcaps. That is why I am saying that we can stop the road thieves. They make life difficult for the people.
I think that a few goodwilled citizens should make the effort to turn over to the police these peddlers of stolen goods. I am sure that the cops would be very interested in finding out where these items are coming from. We have to make the effort. We cannot live on the edge, worrying about where to park our cars and focusing on who will break in.
Regards, Loaknauth
Tiwari
Congratulations on your baby!!
Now that you know you are pregnant, your doctor should be checking your blood for the Rh-negative (Rh) Factor. So what does this mean and why does it matter?
There are eight main blood types in human beings. The Rh-positive types are A, B, AB and O. The Rh-negative blood types are A-, B-, AB- and O-. The Rh-negative (Rh-) factor is much more rare than the Rh-positive (Rh+) factor, accounted for only 15 per cent of the U.S. population. When you are Rh-negative it means that you do not have a protein called, The Rh factor, named for the Rhesus Monkey protein or the D antigen, on the surface of your red blood cells. Blood type and factor play an important role in pregnancy when an Rh-negative (Rh) woman becomes pregnant with a man who is Rh-positive (Rh+). Since 85 per cent of the U.S. population is Rh-positive (Rh+), it stands to reason that Rh-negative women are more likely to get pregnant by an Rh-positive mate.
There are reasons why your doctor will test your blood during your pregnancy. However, finding out your blood type and the compatibility of your mates is the most important. If you are pregnant and Rhnegative and are carrying a child that is Rh-positive, like the child’s father; your baby
and future pregnancies can be at risk for a serious medical disease, birth defect or worse –miscarriage and death.
When an Rh-negative mother is exposed to her Rhpositive baby’s blood, the mother’s body is at risk for becoming “sensitised”. This
unaffected. However, once an Rh-negative mother has been exposed or sensitised to her child’s Rh-positive blood, the process of building a multiplying army of antibodies has began. These antibodies will sit in wait for the next pregnancy and once the Rh-positive cells
of medical intervention was invented and a product called RhoGAM or (Brand Rho(D) Immune Globulin (Human), became FDA approved and available for use. When an Rh-negative mother is given an “injection” of RhoGAM, it protects her immune sys-
research on the positive and negative effects, risks and ingredients of each drug, so that you can make the most informed decision on how to handle your bodies Rh- pregnancy.
causes the mother’s immune system to shift into gear and begin producing antibodies that are specifically designed to find and destroy these foreign blood cells.
During your first pregnancy, these antibodies are typically not dangerous, because chances are that you will not be exposed to your child’s blood until delivery. Therefore, the first child would typically be
are recognised, the antibodies are programmed to attack. Without medical intervention, all of your subsequent pregnancies are at risk of being self-terminated by these antibodies.
In the late 1940’s the Rhnegative factor was discovered by two scientists, who began looking for a cure to a disease that killed two dozen babies each day. In 1968, a process
tem from being exposed to the Rh-positive blood. RhoGAM is usually administered twice during your pregnancy, if you choose to get it, once at 28 weeks and again within 72 hours of delivery. RhoGAM is a human blood/plasma product.
Since 1968, other competitive products have also become available for use in this situation. Please do your own
Without use of medical intervention, the immune system of an Rh-negative mother will not be controlled. These sensitised antibodies it has created are from the first pregnancy are specifically programmed, ready and waiting to attack the Rh-positive (Rh+) blood cells of your subsequent pregnancies. As the antibodies begin to attack and destroy the red blood cells of your pregnancy, it can lead to serious complications including anaemia, jaundice, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, heart failure and even death in severe cases. This horrible condition is called Hemolytic Disease of the newborn or HDN and in severe cases would typically cause a still birth or cause death very shortly after birth.
In general, for the protection of your future pregnancies, all Rh-negative woman should be treated for Rh-positive sensitisation after a normal delivery, a miscarriage, an induced abortion or menstrual extraction, an ectopic pregnancy, chorionic villus sampling, external cephalic version, amniocentesis, hemorrhage, abdominal trauma, still birth, foetal blood sampling and any blood or plasma transfusions. (rhnegativeregistry.com)
“Ok, it’s time to start getting ready for bed. After your bath, brush your teeth and get your pajamas on. It’s getting late.”
If you have a bedtime routine, pat yourself on the back. Bedtime routines are so vital, especially for young children. Consider adding one more step to your bedtime routine. Give your children a chance to tell you about their schoolday.
Remember that if your child is in school all day, your teacher is with your son or daughter for an average of 30 hours a week. That’s almost the equivalent of a full work week. You’ve missed quite a bit of time with your child.
Make an effort to keep the communication free flowing. If you set good habits while your child is young, it’ll be easier to talk about just anything as the years pass. For starters, don’t ask yes or no answers. You don’t want to establish a nightly Q & A, but rather two-way communication. Sometimes “tell me about your day” doesn’t generate much conversation. You could begin with, “tell me five things that happened today; recess and lunch don’t count.” That is usually a great ice breaker. Children learn real quickly that if you don’t ask, they’re not telling.
In addition to asking what was for lunch, ask who your child sat next to. Who did they play with at recess? What did they play during recess? Was anyone sick today? Did anything funny or embarrassing happen to anyone in school today?
Sometime it is difficult to keep track of the specials. By specials I mean: gym, music, art, computer lab, etc; the extra classes that usually take place with a different teacher outside of the main classroom. Keep a cheat sheet if you need to; ask what activity they did in gym.
If you can get your child to tell you about someone who may have had a hard time (in gym, with math, with reading aloud, etc.) it is a great segue for a life lesson in difficulties and hurt feelings.
It really doesn’t matter what you talk about; it’s more important that you talk. Make talking about your child’s day a regular part of the bedtime routine, you’ll be surprised what you learn! (apples4theteacher.com)
saturday, september 7, 2013| guyanatimesgy.com
The Education Ministry said it continues to garner much support for its Education Month activities from leading Guyanese throughout the country.
Some of the persons already supporting the ministry in its activities are President Donald Ramotar, Opposition Leader David Granger, Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan, and representatives from the religious community, namely Marcel Hutson, Dr Vindya Persaud and Shaikh Moen ul-Hack.
Other leading personalities include national cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) top student Zimeena Rasheed, and hinterland to student Dacia Chappelle.
people nationwide to read. The campaigns showcase that anyone can give a book regardless of its origin, subject matter and author.
Everyone can stop what they are doing and read for 15 minutes every day, starting on Monday, September 9. From the average citizen to leading politicians, religious leaders and other Guyanese of notable repute, all can support and help each other in the national efforts to get Guyanese to actively read again.
is participating in both the “Give a Book” and “Drop Everything and Read” campaigns.
Speaking on the continuous support the ministry is receiving as it rolls out its Education Month campaigns, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said: “We hope that their enthusiasm and commitment to supporting literacy in Guyana will inspire others to become partners with the ministry in further advancing literacy in Guyana.”
According to a release, the first two initiatives being undertaken in celebration of Education Month are “Give a Book” and “Drop Everything and Read”, both of which will take place on September 9.
These campaigns are clear and simple, and can form the catalyst from which the ministry can continue to disseminate its key messages of the importance of reading in everyday life, the ministry said.
The goal is for these campaigns to become visible movements that will lead
The ministry is very happy that this diverse group of leading Guyanese figures
It is the aim of the ministry to ensure that each child is equipped with the requisite literacy skills to lead a better life. Through these campaigns, it is hoped that the sustained stimulated actions in the days, months and years to follow will really get the nation enthusiastically reading again.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) programme on Friday graduated the 21st group of youths to receive life skills training through the programme.
The group of 29 youths received certificates for completing the four-week “Work Ready Now!” training. The SKYE programme is part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) partnership between the U.S. and
Caribbean countries.
Members of the private sector and civil society, parents of the graduating youths and programme partners were present.
U.S. embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan Hunt, speaking at the graduation, said “for youths to realise their potential, they must be able to successfully navigate that transition from childhood to being a productive adult.
Governments, families, civil society organisations, and the private sector, all
play critical roles in enabling that successful transition by supporting the development of youth”.
The training was implemented by the SKYE’s local partner – Volunteer Youth Corps – and draws on the experience and advice of local public and private sector employers who provided vital tips for success in employment, to guide young Guyanese to better understand what businesses are looking for when selecting employees.
After completing the
training, the USAID SKYE programme continues to support youth in finding and keeping employment. Existing partnerships with the private sector are central to this aspect of the programme.
Members of the private sector provide guidance to the programme, participate in programme activities, identify employment sector alliances to maximise programme resources, and assist the USAID SKYE team in identifying employment opportunities for youth beneficiaries.
The SKYE programme focuses on at-risk youths, mainly young men, who are school dropouts, youths who completed formal education, but do not have the necessary skills to find employment, and youths involved in the juvenile justice system.
To date, a total of 577 youths have completed life skills training and 170 youths have been placed into full-time employment.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) is making a big hullabaloo about their “Guidelines for disclosure by AFC leaders”. But in matters of morals and manners, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, isn’t it? And as Barack Obama once observed, after putting lipstick on a pig what you have is still a pig. And what we have with the AFC is a stench that no amount of perfume, much less lipstick, can hide.
The most malodorous fact is that Khemraj Ramjattan blurted out that he never knew that Nigel Hughes was actually the company secretary and legal officer of Sithe Gobal. All the protestations (and methinks they protest too much) about “recusing” can never wash away this fact that’s on record.
If the leader of the party didn’t know this most pertinent fact about how high up Hughes was on the Sithe’s totem pole (or how deep his nose was in the feeding trough), how the heck would he know what to discuss or not discuss on the issue that has transfixed their party for the past year?
But the AFC’s statement for bringing back Hughes into the fold has to be a classic in political opportunism and cynicism. Hughes, they said, “has a huge following and he was beneficial to the party”. So the criterion of moral probity for the AFC is one thing and one thing only – how big is your following? Once you have a “big” following, it doesn’t matter whether you are a child molester or whatever – there will be a place for you on the AFC’s leadership table. But we always knew that, didn’t we? Just look at the motley crew!!
But let’s take a look at the “guidelines”. The very first one declares: “A conflict of interest may arise where an elected member of the management committee and/or the national executive committee (MC/NEC) of the AFC has a private material interest that can be affected by the outcome of deliberations in which this leader is participating”.
So we ask for the umpteenth time: how is it that Ramjattan pushed in Parliament and is still pushing the case of his client Fedders-Lloyd’s bid to construct the Specialty Hospital? Now let’s not hear about Ramjattan (or Hughes from Sithe) not receiving any money: a lawyer can’t have a “client” unless he’s given you a retainer. Ramjattan tried to be slick on this question: he said he hasn’t decided to take the big bucks “as yet”. For Hughes we know from the contract that Sithe legal fees were budgeted at US$5 million.
...bolted for others
It’s not only by the language you can tell the AFC’s “guidelines” were crafted by the lawyers who make up the top leadership – Hughes, Ramjattan and the apprentice Nagamootoo – the wriggle room they allow themselves is a dead giveaway.
Take guideline number nine: “Public disclosure by the party of any private material interest of an AFC leader shall be decided on a case by case basis, after due consideration of confidentiality or third-party interest, and shall be made only with the consent of the said leader”.
Now this is the same AFC that has mercilessly attacked Winston Brassington of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) for not revealing details of investors in several matters because of “due consideration of confidentiality or third-party interest”. So sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander? Well evidently not once the gander is NICIL.
We’ve had reason before to point out this failure of character by AFC leaders: they have one set of rules for themselves and a completely different one for others – especially the government.
...open for bitch-slapping
After Suspenders Ram was bitch-slapped by Brassington on the ridiculous claims he’d made on Sithe’s rate of return on its Amaila Falls investment, he came back with a whole slew of new, irrelevant questions. Is Suspenders masochistic?
The Amerindian Craft and Food Exhibition and Cultural Night which ran from September 2 to 5 saw scores of persons in attendance on the final night, ending on a high note.
The event which was held at the Amerindian Village, Sophia Exhibition Complex, displayed the diversity of the indigenous culture and was part of the planned activities for the 19th Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations. On sales were a variety of indigenous jewellery, such as beads and necklaces. The food exhibition afforded Guyanese an opportunity to taste a wide variety of dishes and drinks prepared and used by Amerindians. This year’s event was said to be the largest as compared to previous years.
The talent show saw electrifying cultural pieces in the form of dances, songs and rituals from Amerindian talent groups from Surama, Karadaranau, Sand Creek, Mainstay, Kwebanna and Barima Wini.
Amerindian Affairs Ministry Liaison Officer
Yvonne Pearson said the ministry is pleased with the success of the event and the participation of persons this year, adding that the min-
istry is looking forward to have greater participation in 2014.
“A lot of effort was put in all the planning, to get the people out here, so we are glad the event is so successful.”
Room for improvement
She stated that the ministry is always open to input on how it can improve its activities, adding that there is always room for development. The event received mixed views on the overall response from exhibitors
who took part, hailing from Regions One, Two, Four, Five, Six and Nine. Many of the exhibitors noted that being a part of the exhibition over the years has aided them significantly, to financially support their families, adding that they hope the exhibition would have extended into the weekend.
Margerie Rodgrigues of Moruca, Region One, who has been a part of the exhibition since it began, said “It was good on the first day while the second, the third, it wasn’t that good, but to-
night has been very good and I can assure that before the end of the night, all my products will be finished.”
Beneficial
She added that being a part of the annual event has helped her to send some of her products overseas to be sold and showcased. Meanwhile, Barbara Thomas of Moruca, Region One, said initially, business was slow, but on the final night, it improved.
Another craftsman, Neville (only name given)
from Kabakaburi, who has participated in the event from the inception, added that this year was quite different from the previous years. “The sales and the organising has really changed up, it costs more.” However, he said the event has helped him to gain more customers over the years.
Some of the exhibitor’s said they believe the event should have been advertised more, positing that it was not enough to market their products. “Today when I went down town,
I reach some of my fellow Amerindians and they wanted to know when the final night…was, so perhaps, if it was advertised, they would have known.”
The month is being observed under the theme: “Honouring Our Culture, Advancing Our Future”. The next activity to mark Amerindian Heritage Month is the Heritage Village celebration in Karasabai, scheduled to take place tomorrow. It is expected to attract a massive crowd.
BY: SVETLANA MARSHALL
Amid criticisms that the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) continues to operate below par, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bharat Dindyal expressed optimism that the power company will soon overcome its challenges.
Speaking at a public forum at Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Geogetown on Friday, Dindyal said the completion of the US$30 million 26 megawatt Wartsilla Power Plant at Vreed-en-Hoop and the US$38.96 million Infrastructure Development Project which includes the construction of 69KV transmission line, seven new substations and the expansion and upgrade of three existing sub-stations will set the foundation to propel the company forward. These projects are expected to enhance the efficiency of the power company.
Demands
“The 26 megawatt plant that we are building will deal with the generation problem, and I should say, in the electricity business, nothing is static. While we are building that plant, the demands for electricity continue to rise at an alarming rate, it is continuing to rise in an alarming rate, meaning the 26 megawatts that we are going to installed, this is not the end all of it.”
With the completion of the 26 megawatt Wartsilla Power Plant in April 2014, Dindyal said major emphasis will be placed on loss reduction. In 2009, losses peak at 44.3 per cent; however, from 2010 to 2012, it remained at approximately 31 per cent. Despite the decrease since 2009, operational and electricity theft continue to be a major hurdle.
He said the Infrastructure Development Project which is being funded through a concessional loan from the China Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank of China), is the first major investment to reduce technical losses in the history of the company.
Turning his attention to commercial losses, Dindyal said with financial back-
ing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the tune of US$5 million, the power company has implemented a project which involves the distribution of technologically advanced Prepaid Metering System that will reduce the high number of illegal connections. Residents of Cummings Park and Sophia are the first to benefit from the initiative. According to Dindyal, the project has already proven to be effective. “It has dramatically reduced the level of theft in the area, and there is a further upgrade that we are doing.”
With the involvement of major technical expertise from the IDB, GPL has created an environment which reduces the high possibility of electricity theft. Customers in Sophia and Cummings Park are now directly connected from the transformers; hence, there are no open conductors for them to extract illegal power.
Optimistic about the reduction of commercial losses, Dindyal said by yearend, the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) or ‘smart metering system’ will be implemented with the distribution 2000 meters across Georgetown and neighbouring communities.
Boasting about the initiative, Dindyal said the smart metering system is popular among North American nations and in other parts of the
world, since it allows for disconnection, reconnection and readings of consumers’ energy consumption from one central location, in this case, GPL’s main office. However, to achieve a major reduction of commercial and technical losses, millions of U.S. dollars are required. “It needs monies in the tens of millions of U.S. dollars to apply this, because we cannot count on this scourge of theft changing, unless there is technology to shepherd people in that direction.”
Meanwhile, in addressing the periodic power outages that have hit the country, the GPL chief executive officer said these were caused due to torrential rains. It was explained that two of the transmission lines from Garden of Eden recently experienced an elevated level of lightening activities. These lines, he said were built in the 1970s and were not designed to withstand such lightening activities. This is a major contributing factor to the power outages. Senior Divisional Director (Operations and Project) Colin Singh, Divisional Director (Operations) Elwyn Marshall, Senior Divisional Director (Commercial Services and Information Technology) Renford Homer, Divisional Director (Loss Reduction) Kumar Sharma and Deputy CEO Aeshwar Deonarine also made presentations at the forum.
Old people seh when water pressure get high it does buss pipe. But that don’t happen now in Guyana. It definitely don’t happen at de water place. GEE-W-High water pressure never high, so it can’t buss no body pipe. In fact, de more GEE-W-High spend money pun connections and metres fuh people, is de less water de same people gettin.
Then when GEE-W-High put in more big pipe in de ground, that does mek it even wuss, because de road does bruk up too. And GEE-W-High can’t fix pipe much less road. Yet dem does bruk up de same road that people gotta walk pun fuh de water that dem can’t give.
These days de only ting high wid GEE-W-High is de water bills that people gettin every month. De more de water come low, is de more de bills get high. Is just like G-PEE-Hell. And de customers seh when dem go to see de high ones, dem can’t get through. De high ones always in de field gettin high somewhere.
De whole water situation in Guyana is a contradiction. This is known as de land of many waters, but not much comin through people pipe to drink and bathe. Shake Back might have to stop shakin down de big bottles and start shakin up de engineers at GEE-W-High, that is, whenever dem not wid he gettin high at dem bars in Kitty.
GEE-W-High tellin people that water is life and dem must save it. Well it look like dem engineers practisin that motto very well. Dem engineers believe that more than dem believe in God and dem tek this motto ting too far. Dem savin water so much that dem barely givin people through de pipeline.
Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! Soon Shake Back gone have to get a new motto fuh he and de engineers: “save water, drink more beer”.
As investigators continue their probe into the murder of Kirk Davis, who was gunned down in Eccles on Tuesday last, new information has revealed that more than $32 million was removed from the murder suspect’s home over a period of time.
The money is believed to have been removed from the safe belonging to the businessman, reportedly by a close member of the family.
This publication understands that the man did not go to Davis’ house to confront him on the allegation of infidelity committed by his wife, but rather to enquire about the money that he suspected his wife had given to Davis.
The businessman's wife, who remains hospitalised, was tightlipped about the shooting incident.
Meanwhile, the post-
mortem performed on Davis proved that he was shot 15 times with a 9mm pistol. The autopsy was performed at the Georgetown Public Hospital by Dr Nehaul Singh, who gave the cause of death as shock and haemorrhaging, due to multiple gunshot injuries.
Close friends
Sean Davis, a brother of the dead man explained that he was not too familiar with his brother’s financial status and cannot comment on the missing money from the businessman’s safe. He said from reports received, his brother was accused of having a relationship with the suspect’s wife.
He confirmed that the suspect and his now dead brother were close friends and agreed that it had to be something that triggered the businessman to react in that manner.
“He would call out Kirk anytime and he does come out his house and meet him… They were close like that, but I never get involve in them business, so I would not know about money,” he said.
He stated that the family is not pleased with the manner in which the police are conducting their investigations and feel that his brother’s death could become another unsolved mystery. The family, he noted is expecting to meet with Crime Chief Seelall Persaud shortly, while noting that his brother’s body was handed over to the family to make funeral arrangements.
However, police said that the hunt for the Georgetown businessman has intensified and they have since con-
tacted their counterparts in Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela.
Riddled with bullets
Investigators thus far verified that the 30-year-old biker was first shot while he was in the back passenger seat of the businessman’s car before he was dragged out and shot several times.
The businessman, his wife and another relative had reportedly gone to the Davis’ home to confront him on an issue.
On the night of the fatal shooting, the businessman appeared in front of Davis’ property in a silver Toyota Premio. Davis reportedly walked towards the car and went straight into the back passenger’s seat, where an argument started.
After a few minutes, the 28-year-old suspect left the driver’s seat and walked toward the backdoor of the car, pulled out a gun and discharged a few rounds which struck Davis. Being in an angry state, the suspect pulled Davis out from the car and riddled his body with bullets. The incident took place in front of Davis’ 7th Street, Eccles, East Bank Demerara home Tuesday evening. He is expected to be laid to rest next Saturday.
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) recently disclosed that duties and other taxes are imposed on imported items based on the cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) and is calculated on a compound basic.
This comes almost a week after it was brought to their attention via a letter in a daily newspaper captioned “Protracted process, high charges to retrieve package at GPO”, which claimed that the cost paid to clear a package was high.
The rates of duties and taxes are listed in the Customs Tariff (Chapter 82:01), the Excise Tax Act, Number 11 of 2005, and the Value Added Tax Act (VAT), Act Number 10 of 2005. The GRA in a statement explained that it must be noted that there was no CP72 Form (declaration from the exporter) attached to the package; hence, the customs officer examined and valued the items based on the description, and affixed the CIF using the identical goods method of valuation.
The items were valued at $4000 and calculated at a rate of 20 per cent duty and 16 per cent VAT. A further break down of this amount is as follows – Customs duty $800 and VAT $768 – which gives a total of $1568 in taxes.
“When the Guyana Post Office Corporation’s handling fee of $500 was added to the total duty and taxes, the amount payable equaled $2068.”
It was also stated in the letter that the package was opened by a customs officer. It must be noted that, at the GPOC, packages are never opened by customs officers, but rather it is the function of the staff of the facility to do so. However, it is clear that at no point during the inspection did the aggrieved customer query the cost, or the procedure.
“Had this been done, an explanation would have been provided,” the release added. The GRA is urging persons who have queries to call its Tax Hotline on 2276060, extensions 1201-1204.
saturday, september 7, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com
The Caribbean should take an active role at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) debate on the post2015 Agenda.
This was the view expressed by Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett as she addressed the opening ceremony in Grenada of the fourth meeting of foreign ministers of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Cuba on Thursday evening. The discussions take place on Friday.
The minister said that later this month, when the UNGA debates open, countries would be called upon to engage in healthy dialogue on the future beyond the global development compact represented by the Millennium Development Goals.
ness changes to his country’s agriculture, private sector, tax, and economic policies. These changes, she said, attested to Cuba’s resilience, its ability to adapt and its commitment to pursuing a development path that benefited not only the people of Cuba, but also the wider Caribbean. The foreign minister added that, “in this regard, we will continue to advocate for the removal of the U.S. embargo on Cuba. It is wrong and unjust”.
The secretary general indicated that Caricom would continue to engage with other actors in pursuit of Cuba’s full participation in hemispheric affairs. He said the community “looks forward to the day when Cuba will be invited to take part in the Summit of the Americas process”.
ANSA McAL re-launches new Lucozade in 300ml unbreakable bottle
“We are looking forward to this discussion and it is our hope that we all take an active role in the deliberations with a view to ensuring that our region’s interests are adequately and effectively addressed,” she added.
Rodrigues-Birkett told her Cuban counterpart that Caricom was pleased to wit-
Caricom Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, in his remarks, also alluded to the embargo. He noted that the community had stood steadfastly with Cuba in hemispheric and international arenas on matters of great concern to the region. “Paramount among these is the community’s continuing demand for the lifting of the U.S. embargo,” he stated.
Ambassador LaRocque, in recognising Cuba’s role as President Pro Tempore of the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean States (CELAC), observed that the organisation’s objectives of deepening dialogue and interaction between the sub-regional groupings and their member states and promoting greater synergies and opportunities for cooperation between these groupings, resonated with Caricom’s belief that there was need for the hemisphere to become more cohesive.
Alesha Alli, the daughter of Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) Administrative Assistant Bibi Alli, was selected as the company’s top National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) student for 2013.
Alli secured 481 marks at the examinations and was awarded a place at the Rosignol Secondary School. She was honoured during the BBCI annual bursary awards on August 30. According to a release, the programme featured remarks from the company’s Chief Executive Officer Omadat Samaroo, Operations Manager J Koosial, Administrative Supervisor Amarnauth Singh, acting Electro/ Mechanical Engineer Sameer Ally and Bibi Alli.
Alesha Alli thanked the BBCI for the kind gesture in brief remarks.
The BBCI does not only play the role of collecting tolls and facilitating vehicles crossing the Berbice River Bridge and vessels transiting through the retractor span and under the high span, but also discharges its corporate responsibilities.
In the past, the company has sponsored many events that benefited communities on both the eastern and western sides of the bridge, and many other regions such as Georgetown, Linden, Parika and the hinterland.
This year, the company has received some 62 public relation requests thus far; 55 of which were approved.
These include sponsorships of Mashramani 2013 events, horse racing events and donations of trophies to various non-profit organisations and educational institutions.
ANSA McAL has recently re-launched Lucozade 300ml; in a sporty and classy new look plastic bottle that is available at all leading supermarkets.
The new packaging design has been heavily influenced by research and development. With the adequate use of new technologies, the company has allowed the manufacturers of Lucozade to come up with this exciting new design.
The research found ways to preserve the product's quality in a new advanced hard plastic bottle, thus providing the same quality as glass. With the Launch of this new packaging design, consumers can be assured that the product is the same size (300ml) they are used to, same great taste and same great value.
To add to this, the product's new packaging is now safer, portable, has easier storage for customers such as retailers and wholesalers, less damage and importantly, Lucozade is now in an environmentally-friendly recyclable bottle.
However, Lucozade is a glucose base product that makes it uniquely different from other energy drinks on the market. The prod-
uct offers glucose energy to persons who are physically weak. It is completely healthy, nutritious and safe for all.
The company believes that the brand Lucozade has built a strong reputation over a number of years and will continue to offer a quality product to consumers. Lucozade is manufactured and sold in Asia, Europe, Africa and Caribbean markets.
Lucozade was created in 1921 by Owen Williams; a chemist. He envisioned creating a product to replace lost energy, in particular, persons who suffered from weaknesses caused by common cold, flu and influenza. The product grew in popularity with hospitals because it provided a liquid source of energy for persons who could not eat solid foods.
The product over the years not only energised people, but it was tested and proven to provide an excellent source of glucose energy for persons who required increased physical performance during times of feeling weak. Lucozade has been widely used by athletes for many years to also enhance their physical performances.
Caribbean countries suffered greatly during the international crisis in recent years, and therefore need to develop integration based on a new development paradigm that is better able to tackle such challenges, Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Foreign Minister Winston Dookeran said at a lecture on Thursday.
At the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, Minister Dookeran gave a lecture on “A New Frontier for Caribbean Convergence: Integration without Borders” to an audience made up of authorities, diplomatic corps representatives and experts from international agencies.
Dookeran was received by ECLAC Deputy Executive
Secretary Antonio Prado, who welcomed him on behalf of this United Nations regional commission, of which Trinidad and Tobago has been a member since 1962. According to Prado, “Trinidad and Tobago has just celebrated 51 years of independence, and continues to be a success story and an example to the region of a country with a strong democratic tradition [...] As pointed out by Minister Dookeran in his model of convergence, despite the daunting circumstances around us, if we are to survive then unity must embrace the whole region of Latin America and the Caribbean”.
In his lecture, Dookeran described the main political and economic trends in the world today, and outlined his convergence proposal for the Caribbean. According to him “the external
shocks that international financial institutions consider to be temporary have become permanent for small Caribbean economies. The recent world crisis in 2008 and 2009 only cost the
United States one per cent of its GDP. In the Caribbean, estimates for the collapse suggest that it affected between 10 per cent and 18 per cent of GDP (depending on the country)”.
After emphasising that Caribbean countries have been isolated from external events but not insulated from their consequences, Dookeran stated that there is a structural problem related to development, and that it was therefore vital to create a “new economic space”, based on public-private partnerships aimed at increasing production efficiency.
He affirmed the need to implement a convergence strategy in the Caribbean based on the following four pillars: inclusive and equitable development, transformative and endogenous growth, innovative and entre-
preneurial competitiveness, and adaptive and realigned institutions.
“All of these areas are related to development and refer to the paradigm that we must change,” insisted Dookeran. He said “As with any integration process, there will be winners and losers. Some winners will not have been born yet. We need to take a leap of faith towards the future and change our development”.
Lastly, the TT foreign minister called on ECLAC to continue providing technical assistance to Caribbean countries so that they can build a new framework for development. He gave special recognition to Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena, for being the main advocate of a new model of economic thought for the Caribbean region.
Government said the opposition has misinformed the nation about the unemployment level in Guyana, noting that efforts should be made instead to educate its members about the programmes and initiatives taken by the administration to address the issue.
Labour Minister Dr Nanda Gopaul told Guyana Times that every year; thousands of youths have been gaining employment though its Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency.
Dr Gopaul said he strongly rejects the false statements by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) suggesting that Guyana’s youths are struggling with unemployment. He lamented that the APNU’s members are clearly
working with old statistics as government has been vibrant in its efforts to ensure no person is unemployed.
The minister said that government has been training young people who are school dropouts though the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), qualifying them with the right skills and abilities to secure well paying jobs.
A few weeks ago, Opposition Leader David Granger had voiced the opinion that the country is sitting on a time bomb where unemployment is concerned.
He cited a decadeold International Labour Organisation (ILO) survey which found that 44 per cent of the working age population
was not “economically active”.
However, Dr Gopaul said that the party is working with old statistics and should get up to date with the time and progress made in this area.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) said that is disbelieving, especially since the APNU has continuously voted against several major developmental projects which would have created employment opportunities.
The party said while the statement by Granger is perplexing, it hopes that this serves as a reality check, which would move APNU into first gear as it relates to its participation in national development and the creation of job opportunities.
In a matter of days, a convoy of yachts will grace Guyana’s shores, as they make their way from Trinidad and Tobago to French Guiana, as part of the Nereid’s Rally.
The first of seven vessels is expected to arrive as early as today, while the remaining yachts in the fleet will sail up the Essequibo River by Wednesday, September 11 and will be welcomed in grand style at the Hurakabra River Resort, owned and operated by Christopher Nascimento and his wife Gem Nascimento.
According to a Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) release, this welcome activity, sponsored by the Tourism Ministry is being facilitated through an inter-agency collaboration with the Coast Guard, Customs and Immigration, the Guyana Police Force, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and other private sector stakeholders.
The joint approach being employed is in keeping with Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali’s commitment to ensure that all systems are in place to make the inaugural event a success, with safety, security and ease
of access of principal importance.
Yacht industry
He said too that the ministry’s aim is to use this event to catapult the local yacht industry and to harness the influx of yachts to develop the necessary infrastructure to further support the industry. As testimony to the stir this event is creating and the interest of participants, a second convoy is expected in October; this will be led by former international sailor Simon Wall.
When the vessels arrive, they will make their way to the mining town of Bartica, 30 miles from the mouth of the Essequibo and at the centre of the confluence of three great rivers, the Mazaruni, Cuyuni and Essequibo; this is an official port of entry and welcomes the arrival of cruisers.
Meanwhile, planning for this highly anticipated event began months ago and a team travelled to Trinidad and Tobago, in early August, to promote the event and to encourage maximum participation from yacht enthusiasts there.
During the meetings with
the yachtees in Trinidad, GTA Marketing Manager Carla Chandra and now Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) President Christopher Nascimento made presentations on Guyana’s tourism product, including visitor tips and travel information such as visa’s and customs clearance, which are to date, the most efficient and straightforward in the Caribbean.
Cruising destination
Cruisers may now sail up the Essequibo River, about a four-hour motor sail from the estuary, to clear customs, immigration and health authorities within an hour of checking in by completing the simplest of customs clearance forms to be found at any cruising destination in the Caribbean and South America.
Close to 50 persons attended the session and most all the participants there expressed excitement at the possibility of sailing into the mighty Essequibo River, which is featured prominently in the third edition of the Chris Doyle Cruising Guide for Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and
Guyana. Doyle, regarded as the guru of pleasure cruising in the Caribbean and North Eastern South America, decided to feature Guyana in his guide.
The Doyle Guide (www. doyleguides.com) provides full chart and waypoint navigational advice on approaching the Essequibo River and sailing upriver to Bartica and the attractive anchorages in the vicinity off Baganara Island Resort, Hurakabra River Resort and the Shanklands Resort.
Addressing this aspect of the journey, Nascimento provided details about technical sailing information for the Essequibo, including tide, draft, waypoints etcetera. The Baganara and Hurakabra Resorts, in particular, now cater to receive cruisers anchored close off-shore.
These resorts are exceptionally beautiful nature destinations which offer exceedingly comfortable and well appointed accommodation, jungle walks, birding, beach front dining, well stocked bars, recreation facilities, water sports and dingy docking.
The Caribbean Community (Caricom) on Friday declared that any military strike on Syria over allegations that the government used chemical weapons on its opponents must be backed by a United Nations (UN) resolution.
The U.S. has declared its intention in striking the country, but President Barack Obama has not been able to win congressional support as yet.
The Reuters news agency reported on Friday that President Obama will take his case for military intervention in Syria directly to the American people next week, stepping up his campaign to convince a deeply sceptical Congress to back strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
Speaking in Russia at the conclusion of the G20 sum-
mit, Obama acknowledged on Friday he faces an uphill fight to build public and congressional support for a military response to the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons. Early vote counts in Congress do not look encouraging for Obama, with scores
of lawmakers still undecided about whether to authorise a military strike after the president said last week he would seek their approval.
Administration officials have given public testimony and daily closed-door briefings on Syria this week to members of Congress, who remain concerned that even limited strikes could draw the U.S. into a prolonged war and spark broader hostilities in the region.
Meanwhile, in a statement following a CaricomCuba foreign ministers meeting in Grenada, the community recalled the commitment made at previous Caricom-Cuba summits and, in that context, reaffirmed the strong and unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, as well as to all terrorist actions, methods and practic-
saturday, september 7, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com
In light of World Suicide Prevention Day being observed on September 10, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is urging government to implement stringent measures to tackle the scourge.
Speaking at the APNU’s weekly press conference on Friday at the party’s head office, Hadfield Street, Georgetown, shadow health minister Dr George Norton said his party is not pleased with how government has handled suicide prevention in Guyana, blaming the administration for the current state of suicide here.
As a result, the main opposition party advocated for government to create a new plan to deal with this issue at all levels and across all 10 administrative regions in the country. When asked what measures the party sees fit for the government to put in place to tackle this issue to compliment its current initiatives, Dr Norton only supplied one suggestion, and that is for the government to train more psychologists, and make them freely available to the public.
He said the country needs to move away from dealing with psychiatric problems only at the relevant psychiatric institutions. “It needs to be taken into the community, particularly since suicide seems to be happening in the rural communities.”
He maintained that the
APNU believes that the lack of education plays a major role in the lives of persons committing suicide, suggesting that “one of the main reasons the rural areas are prone to suicide is because they are poorly educated”. Dr Norton believes another reason for suicide in these communities is unemployment and low paying jobs. “By providing more jobs, you certainly would be able to curb this issue.”
Despite the cries that the suicide rate in Guyana is on an upward spiral by the party, Dr Norton only provided statistics up to 2006, adding that the party’s database on suicide is not up to date. Suicide has had some negative impact on the Guyanese society, especially among indo-Guyanese and has been reported to be more prevalent in Region Six. The APNU voiced its view that the establishment of a National Committee for Suicide Prevention (NCSP) six years ago in 2007 under the chairmanship of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has failed to curb the problem. In August, Mohammed Aroon, 16, of 4 Miles Housing Scheme, Bartica, Region Seven, took his own life after his mother reportedly refused to allow him to further his studies at the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI). More recently, Sunil Diaram, 16, of Lot 536, Block 19, Line Path, Corentyne, Berbice, died moments after ingesting a poisonous substance.
es committed anywhere, by whoever perpetrates them against whomsoever, included those in which states may be directly or indirectly involved, which are unjustifiable whatever reasons and factors may be invoked to justify such terrorist actions.
“The Caricom minister reiterated the community’s unwavering commitment to the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the avenue of multilateralism offered for concerted positive global action, the fundamental principles of international law, the respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal matters of states, territorial integrity, the peaceful resolution of disputes and the prohibition of threats or the use of force in international relations,” the statement said.
Carol Ann Lynch Farouk Razac
Police on Friday issued another wanted bulletin for former beauty queen
Carol Ann Lynch in relation to the murder of her husband, former Swiss House Cambio boss, Farouk Razac.
It is believed that the former Miss Guyana/World contestant is still in Guyana since her passport and other travel documents are with law enforcement officers.
Lynch’s last known address was give as Lot 106 Ireng Place, Bel Air, Georgetown. Anyone with information on Lynch is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 225-6411, 226-7065, 225-7625, 226-1326, 227-1149, 225-6941 or 911, or the nearest police station. All information will be treated with strict confidentiality.
Lynch was charged in May 2007 with the murder of Cambio boss, Farouk Razac,
who was found dead on the floor of their Eping Avenue, Bel Air home.
Evidence provided to the investigators stated that upon his discovery, he was bleeding through his nose and mouth and his hands were at his neck. The autopsy confirmed that the businessman was strangled.
In 2008, the former beauty queen was discharged after Magistrate Gordon Gilhuys found that a prima facia case was not established. She was later arrested after the first wanted bulletin was issued. At the time of the businessman’s murder, his life was insured for US$1 million, leaving relatives to believe the former beauty queen killed him for the money. She has since denied all allegations, claiming that she found him lying on the ground and contacted law enforcement officers.
Aman was shot and killed on Wednesday night, becoming the 11th person murdered The Bahamas in 12 days. Police said the man was shot shortly before 22:00h. Details were still sketchy up to press time.
backgammon with a group of men shortly before 14:00h when he got into an altercation with one of the men.
The victim was shot several times in the chest, police said. He died at the scene.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson appealed for anyone with information regarding this murder to come forward.
Labour and Social Security Minister Derrick Kellier insisted on Thursday said that his ministry was “not distributing work permits willy-nilly”, while rejecting suggestions that jobs were being given to Chinese nationals over Jamaican workers.
these considerations is the protection of the Jamaican worker,” Kellier told journalists at a press briefing at Jamaica House in St Andrew on Wednesday.
told journalists. He, however, admitted that for a number of these investments there are conditionalities and employment ratios that are predetermined.
Police also reported that a teenager was shot and killed during a game of backgammon on Wednesday afternoon. Police also confirmed that a man who was shot on Tuesday died in hospital early Wednesday morning. He was identified as Alexander Joseph, 20.
“I wish to say at this moment that I would like for members of the public and those persons who were around and in the company of the deceased when this incident took place to provide us with information so we can bring closure to this particular matter,” he said at the scene.
Regarding the murder on Wednesday afternoon, police said the victim was playing
These latest incidents pushed the murder count to 80 for the year. Four people died between Friday and Monday after they were shot in separate incidents on New Providence, police reported previously. (Caribbean News Now)
“New era for education” unveiled at CAPE launch
Amid warnings of the need to transform regional education, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) launched the first of six new CAPE subjects designed to introduce a “new era for education.”
Digital Media will be taught for the first time at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) level across the Caribbean, while the other five subjects will be introduced in September 2014.
CXC Registrar and Chief
Executive Officer Didacus Jules said it’s about moving from consumers to creators of technology.
“In this arena, geography is irrelevant and size is no impediment; it is imagination that matters,” he said, noting that digital media offered a niche opportunity for the Caribbean.
“By increasing the cadre of digital media practitioners in the region we are able to secure the skill sets and knowledge base essential to sustaining the digital economy in
rime Minister Freundel
PStuart says his administration intends to meet the deadline set for implementing the fiscal adjustment programme as Barbados grapples with a sluggish economy. The adjustment programme was announced in the national budget presented last month by Finance Minister Chris Sinckler and Prime Minister Stuart, who met with union leaders on Wednesday, said “we intend to meet this 19-month programme of targets, not in a chaotic way, but in a clear and humane way”.
Prime Minister Stuart met with officials from the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) to clarify issues pertaining to temporary employees in the public service.
Stuart underscored the critical role the NUPW has to play in helping its membership adding it was, therefore, necessary to put all the issues into perspective so the union could advise accordingly.
“I met with the relevant government officials and we have put in place a set of procedures that will govern the process which was outlined in the budget. The ministries and departments are expected to gather all relevant information by September 30..., for the analysis of the existing financial situation.
“That analysis will put us in a position to assess the real impact of the 10 per cent cut in government’s expenditure on the emoluments of temporary employees, persons in acting positions and substitutes,” he added. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)
the Caribbean,” CXC Senior Assistant Registrar Dr Carol Granston added.
The other five subjects will be sport tourism, entrepreneurship, physical education, visual and performing arts and agriculture. Under consideration are subjects like green energy technologies.
The CAPE Digital Media is expected to lead students to careers such as animators, web developers, graphic artists and mobile app developers among other opportunities. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)
“The business of permits falls under the control of the Labour Ministry and we do administer a rigorous regime in this regard; in doing so we take an account of certain conditionalities such as investment, economic growth and employment opportunities. Foremost in all
“In other words, qualified and skilled Jamaicans are always given preference over foreigners. Jamaica is constantly in search of investments and in fact one of the major priorities of government is to promote and encourage investments that have the potential not only for economic growth but also for employment opportunities,” the labour minister
Kellier said for the period April 2012 to July 2013 a total 4098 work permits were issued, with 1741 or 43 per cent going to Chinese nationals.
According to the labour minister, this is indicative of the level of Chinese investment in the country at this time. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)
As part of a Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago now has a new National Security Minister, Gary Griffith, a former captain in the TT Defence Force and the prime minister’s national security advisor.
The announcement was
made on Thursday afternoon by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar during the weekly post Cabinet media briefing. Griffith is the fourth person to hold the post after Brigadier John Sandy, Jack Warner and Emmanuel George.
Persad-Bissessar said
Griffith would be an ideal fit since he has military experience.
“The new minister has been an adviser to the Office of the Prime Minister and to the National Security Council and is very aware of the plans, of the programmes, the projects. What we wanted was to have someone with that background, military background, who will be able to drive the projects at a faster rate,” she said.
Griffith resigned from the United National Congress but refused to say what political party if any, he has joined. Despite much speculation to the contrary, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan retained his post. Persad-Bissessar assured the public that performance reviews will be conducted on a regular basis and further changes will be made if necessary.
(Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)
Haiti’s president, Michel Martelly, recognised on Thursday during an official ceremony the first military contingent of what will become the new security force the Haitian leader promised to establish, following the dismantling of the Caribbean coun-
try’s army 18 years ago. Forty-one military officers and technicians, including 11 engineers, will be deployed along with Ecuadorian Blue Berets in the northern Artibonite area, where they will undergo field training in engineering works and other practic-
es that will be part of their mission in Haiti’s new security force.
“In welcoming you here today, engineer-officers and technician-soldiers, I have the exhilarating feeling that I am resurrecting the Haitian military engineering body,” Martelly told an
audience made up of military, government officials and other dignitaries at the presidential palace on Thursday.
The 41 newly-graduated recruits received training at the Eloy Alfaro military school and Los Vencedores del CENEPA of Ecuador during the past 10 months. The Haitian defence minister, Rodolphe Joazile, said the new Haitian military will be used in border surveillance, the fight against contraband and other illicit activities, civil protection, disaster preparedness and environmental protection work.
“President Martelly promised, during the electoral campaign, to reinstate the military and this is a concrete step toward that goal,” Joazile told HCNN. (Excerpt
The Cold War is over, though given the increasingly heated exchanges of late, it’s hard to tell. For decades, Moscow and Washington went at it – diplomatically, militarily, economically, you name it – until the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union changed the equation. Yet anyone following officials biting backand-forth in recent days on what to do in Syria could reasonably surmise the two world powers are at it again.
What this means for what unfolds in Syria, for relations between the two nations, and for world politics generally remains to
be seen. Yet a look back at comments since Vladimir Putin returned for a second stint as Russia’s president, and particularly as
the barbs have grown testy over the past few weeks, suggests the two sides have grown even further apart.
President Barack
Obama said as much in August, referring to his relationship with Russia’s powerful leader. At the same time, he acknowledged, “anti-American” rhetoric has ramped up since Putin returned to the presidency in May 2012. And, Obama added, he’d had “mixed success” trying to get “Putin to think forward, as opposed to backwards” on some issues.
Things appeared to go differently when Dmitry Medvedev was president.
(At that time, Putin had become prime minister after serving his first eight years as president.) (Excerpt from CNN)
Holy man castrates self after India guru charged with rape of 16-year-old girl
AHindu holy man castrated himself in India Wednesday following the arrest of popular preacher Asaram Bapu, revered by millions across the country for his sermons on enlightenment. Police have charged the 72-year-old guru with raping a 16-yearold schoolgirl at one of his ashrams, or religious centers, in August.
Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh found Baba Premdas, a 60-year-old follower of Bapu, bleeding at his home in Amethi from apparently self-inflicted wounds, city police chief Alankrita Singh told CNN. Premdas was admitted to a local hospital and then tak-
Millions of Australians are preparing to vote in a general election, which is widely expected to end six years of government by the Labor party. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has faced stiff competition from opposition leader Tony Abbott, whose Liberal-National coalition is favourite to win.
The rivals are split on how to tackle Australia’s budget deficit, but both have pledged tough action to stop asylum seekers arriving by boat. All citizens over 18 must vote by law.
Rudd called the election after ousting Julia Gillard in a leadership challenge in June, amid dismal polling figures. Gillard had herself ousted Rudd as prime minister in 2010.
Labor initially saw
its figures improve significantly. But in recent weeks Abbott has again broadened the gap. He has enjoyed the strident support of Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, and remains ahead in the opinion polls.
The two leading candidates made their final push on the campaign trail on Friday, with Rudd appealing to undecided voters, saying they could close the gap.
Rudd was campaigning in the New South Wales Central Coast, while Abbott spoke at a guitar factory in Melbourne. Rudd emphasised the Labor government’s economic record and said his priority was “jobs, more jobs and jobs, health, hospitals and broadband, and to keep support for cost of living pressures”.
(Excerpt from BBC News)
en to a bigger health facility for surgery where his condition “is stable”, said Singh. Asked whether his act was related to the arrest of Asaram Bapu, Singh added, “We have heard such things, but all this is unconfirmed.”
“Some say it was because of Bapu’s arrest,” said Singh to AFP earlier, “some say it was because he feared ending up in Bapu’s situation. No one knows.”
Bapu has denied the sexual assault allegations leveled by the teenage girl and her parents, both devotees of the guru. The elderly preacher has also claimed he is physically incapable of rape but police say medical tests show him to be in good shape. (Excerpt from CNN)
Baghdad and foreign oil companies at work in Iraq’s giant oilfields are adopting extra security measures in anticipation of retaliatory attacks if the United States strikes neighboring Syria, industry sources said on Friday. Car bombs and other attacks in recent weeks have led to the deaths of hundreds of Iraqis as the civil war in neighboring Syria aggravates deeprooted sectarian divisions.
So far the violence in Iraq has not hit the operations of companies such as Exxon Mobil, BP, Eni and Royal Dutch Shell or deterred them from increasing oil output and turning Iraq into OPEC’s secondbiggest producer. Since 2010, these companies have been reviving the southern fields
near the oil hub of Basra, helping raise output by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to three million bpd, and they want to carry on expanding output without incident.
“All the foreign companies are taking additional measures to guarantee their staff remain safe,” a Western oil industry source said on condition of anonymity.
The oil majors, as a rule, declined to comment on their security arrangements.
As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares for limited strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Iraq’s South Oil Co (SOC), which oversees operations around Basra, has warned Western oilmen to restrict their movements. (Excerpt from Reuters)
France will await conclusions by UN inspectors investigating last month’s chemical weapon attack in Syria before deciding on any action, President Francois Hollande said on Friday.
That could mean French involvement in any military strikes against Bashar al-Assad not being decided until close to the end of the month at the earliest. UN diplomats have said the results of the UN analysis may not be ready for weeks.
“We shall await the report of the inspectors just as we will await (U.S.) Congress,” he told a news conference after a summit of G20 nations in Russia’s St Petersburg, referring to an expected U.S. vote on military strikes.
Domestic critics say Hollande risks diplomatically isolating France by pushing it into a military intervention alongside the United States but without a UN mandate. Russia and China are seen vetoing such action in the UN Security Council. The French leader acknowledged that G20 leaders at the summit disagreed on who was responsible for an August 21 gas attacks on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus which Washington says killed more than 1400 people. He said a clear UN mandate was preferable but said that he would aim to bring together a coalition of states in favour of intervention if the UN Security Council could not agree. (Excerpt from France24)
Atenfold spike in malaria infections in south-east Chad, with many of the severest cases in young children, has triggered an emergency operation by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The number of reported new cases rose from 1228 in the first week of August to 14,021 by the end of the month at the charity’s project in Am Timan, Salamat region. The estimated death toll is more than 50; the town has a population of 213,000.
At its outreach sites, the charity’s teams said 73 per cent of patients they have been treating were suffer-
ing from the mosquito-borne disease. One in four deaths in Chad is attributed to malaria and it is the most common cause of death in children. MSF said it was not unusual for cases to peak during the rainy season, from July to November, but the increase was alarming. Jason Mills, the charity’s head of mission in the country, said the most likely explanation was a lack of protective bed nets combined with unusual rain patterns. Heavy rain left pools of stagnant water, which was exacerbated by further rain and a large number of mosquitoes, he added. (Excerpt from The Guardian)
Poachers have used poison to kill 41 elephants in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, an official has told the BBC. Zimbabwe Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said it was suspected that cyanide was used to poison salt pans but tests are still being carried out. She said it was Zimbabwe’s worst case of elephant poaching. There has been a rise in the killing of elephants and rhinos in parts of Africa in recent years, mostly to feed demand for horns and tusks in Asia. The horns and tusks are used in traditional medicine in parts of Asia, even though scientists say they have no beneficial properties. Five of the suspected poachers have been arrested, Washaya Moyo told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
She said touching the poisoned carcasses posed a danger
to any animal or human.
She said the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority had reminded people who live near the park, in western Zimbabwe, not to eat the meat of any dead animals they find.
Some poachers were found with a large haul of tusks and cyanide earlier this year.
Two years ago, nine elephants, five lions and two buffalo were poisoned. (BBC News)
Faster than projected sales from manufacturing and retail operations boosted Caribbean Producers Jamaica’s (CPJ’s) profit by five per cent over year-earlier levels.
The US$3.1 million (J$316 million) was actually 14 per cent higher than the year before when expressed in Jamaican dollars, according to graphical indications in CPJ’s management discussion published on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) website.
The company explained
that sales in the second-half of its financial year “exceeded expectations” and compensated for weaker first-half sales. “This was the result of increased production and efficiency of the manufacturing division, the consumer support of CPJ Market Kingston and Cru Bar,” said the report accompanying the company’s financial statements. “In addition, the hotel sector remained buoyant during the quarter as high occupancies were enjoyed throughout the period notwithstanding the
closure of major hotel properties.”
The Deli at CPJ Market and the CRU Bar and Kitchen, which opened in late 2012, provides the company with the opportunity to showcase its “rapidly” growing selections of meat and seafood products. The cost of running the retail market and bar increased selling and administrative expenses for the year by US$1.8 million to US$13.4 million compared to last year, the discussion indicated. (Jamaica Observer)
Unemployment in the U.S. fell slightly to 7.3 per cent in July, its lowest level in over four years, but the sluggish pace of recovery continued as the economy added just 169,000 new jobs.
The latest nonfarm payroll figures come at a crucial moment for the Federal Reserve, which is weighing when and whether to cut its US$85 billion a month economic stimulus programme, known as quantitative easing (QE). Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has tied cuts in QE to the health
of the job market. The Federal Reserve open markets committee (FOMC), which is split on when to pull back on the QE programme, meets on September 17-18.
The jobless rate has now fallen from 8.1 per cent a year ago but the pace of job creation remains slow and the Labour Department revised down its numbers for the previous two months after concluding job growth was less than expected.
The U.S. added jobs in retail, healthcare, food services
and drinking places, professional and business services and wholesale trade in August, said the bureau of labour statistics.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was largely unchanged at 4.3 million, these individuals accounted for 37.9 per cent of the unemployed. Unemployment for teenagers remained extremely high at 22.7 per cent and for black people, at 13 per cent, and Hispanics, at 9.3 per cent. (The Guardian)
The struggling economy of Cyprus has suffered its worst annual contraction since the mid-1970s, according to official figures. Its economy shrank 5.9 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, more than expected.
And it fell 1.8 per cent between April and June compared with the first quarter – the eighth successive
quarterly fall. In March, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed a 10 billion-euro (£8.5 billion) bailout for Cyprus.
The news came on the same day Cypriot MPs adopted legislation demanded by international creditors in return for the second instalment of the bailout money. Cyprus received the first tranche, worth three billion euros, in May.
The legislation, rejected in an earlier vote, will see the country’s cooperative banks come under the direct supervision of the central bank.
According to the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and IMF, the Cypriot economy is expected to contract 8.7 per cent in 2013, 3.9 per cent in 2014, before recovering 1.1 per cent in 2015. (BBC News)
All that glitters is not gold, and not all designer jewellery is made from precious metals and gemstones. A few years ago, Linda Lwanga’s love of traditional African designs led her to her ancestral home in Uganda’s capital of Kampala, giving up her career in electrical engineering in the UK.
Once in the country, the British-born designer started Zanaa, a luxury label producing high-end jewellery and accessories made from a variety
of materials, including ankole cow horns.
Used for centuries for their milk and meat, ankole cows are indigenous to east Africa. Yet once they are slaughtered their striking long horns are usually discarded – and this, Lwanga thought, represented a sustainable business opportunity.
“If it weren’t for making something out of cow horn it would have been disposed of,” says Lwanga. “Typically in Africa we tend to burn a
lot – our garbage, our waste is burnt and it’s not environmentally friendly at all so I just thought of collecting it and transforming it into something beautiful.” From horn bangles and chic rings to eye-catching necklaces and earrings, Zanaa’s growing jewellery line is sold to high-end buyers in the United States and Europe. Lwanga says that all the products are handmade by a small dedicated team of local artisans. (allAfrica)
The price of memory chips for mobile phones and computers has soared by 19 per cent, a threeyear record, following a fire at a factory in China belonging to Apple supplier SK Hynix.
The world’s second-largest chip maker after Samsung, Hynix supplies a third of the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips sold globally. The company has halted production at its factory in Wuxi near Shanghai after the
blaze tore through the foundry for 90 minutes.
The impact on prices at the DRAMeXchange, the largest Asian market for components, highlights how device makers face rising costs. Booming smartphone sales mean demand for specialist materials is so high that it can quickly outstrip supply.
The cost of the benchmarck DDR3 two-gigabit chip jumped by 30 cents to US$1.90 on Thursday, the biggest in-
crease since September 2010, Bloomberg reported. Hynix is said to supply Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell and Sony, which use its components in a range of devices from phones to tablets and laptops. The fire on September 4 during installation of equipment at Wuxi damaged the clean room, which one industry expert said could take half a year to fully rebuild. (The Guardian)
Dubai’s iconic island resort, Atlantis, The Palm, has closed an US$880 million syndicated loan, a US$30 million increase from its original US$850 million target, according to banking sources.
The loan was provided by a group of seven local and international banks comprising Barclays, HSBC, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, National
Bank of Abu Dhabi, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Union National Bank and Emirates NBD, the bankers said.
As previously reported by Thomson Reuters, the deal is priced at 500 basis points (bps) over LIBOR. Proceeds will be used to refinance a US$700 million, 12 year term loan that was signed in July 2005 and priced at 160 bps over LIBOR. That loan
backed the construction of the luxury hotel resort and aquatic theme park. Atlantis, The Palm, opened in 2008 as a joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings and UAE holding company Istithmar. Luxury hotel chain Jumeirah Group, part of Dubai Holding, is also in the market for a six-year US$1.4 billion loan, priced at 275 bps. (Arabianbusiness)
In the United States, the formation of the American Labour Union in 1886 was the seminal event in the legalisation of collective bargaining, and the 1926 Railway Labour Act, which required employers to bargain with unions, solidified the presence of unions in America. In the early days of collective bargaining, skilled higher-demand labourers often used their skills as bargaining tools while lower-demand manual labourers would assemble and protest in large groups to apply heavy pressure on their employers. Labour unions gradually evolved from these crude organisations, sometimes with criminal ties, into legitimate organisations with both heavy political and corporate weight.
When a worker pool initially contemplates unionising, employees must take a vote to come to a group decision. If passed, then all employees are required to join a union upon employment, so the union can maintain its seamless front. In the United States, a union may also charge a fee of one to two per cent to represented employees as part of a union security clause. New members are required to agree and abide by the rules of the union, and will be granted the right to vote on issues and elect union representatives. These elected representatives are responsible for drafting a proper statement of demands from the compa-
ny, and are responsible for the direct negotiations with the company until a settlement can be reached. During these negotiations, which can last for months, union members may offer their input on the terms through their union representatives. The company will also set its demands for employees, which must be met in exchange. Once both sides agree on the final draft, the CBA is signed and set in place, representing a cooperative contract between employee and employer. However, a union and employer can start a strike or lockout, respectively, if terms cannot be agreed upon. This is usually used as a last resort as it adversely impacts both the employees’ pay and the employers’ earnings. (Business Dictionary)
The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited (GBTI) held a “Tech Camp” on Friday at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen, Campus, offering loans to students interested in buying products which were made available to them.
The Tech Camp was part of the bank’s “Easy to own tech loans” promotion which was launched recently at the International Building Expo 2013 in July. On Wednesday, the bank hosted its first Tech Camp, where it partnered with several companies to give students the chance to buy cutting-edge technology devices through low interest loans.
The one-day initiative saw participation from several companies. The promotion received excellent reviews by students, most of whom took advantage of the great deals being offered. The loans offered by GBTI varied from as low as $70,000 and $300,000 and the repayment plans varied from $9000 to $19,000 per month. The interest rate is 10 per cent.
The companies which partnered with GBTI to stage the event were Global Technology, Gizmos and Gadgets Electronics, NT Computeac, Digicom, Starr Computers and Digital Technology.
According to the bank’s
Junior Manager Tonia Griffith, their first loan was granted to a mother of a National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) student. She noted that GBTI wants to help young people because it realised the importance technology plays in today’s world, more specifically in education.
“We see it as important that they educate themselves and having access to affordable technology will benefit them to build a better standard and a better lifestyle,” stated Griffith. She said the response from students was overwhelming and the bank has received over 100 serious enquiries. GBTI intends to host the Tech Camp throughout Guyana.
Beneficial
According Starr Computers General Manager Rehman Majeed, the initiative is a beneficial one as it allows students to equip themselves with the necessary devices which will keep them in touch with the modern world of technology.
He noted that his company specialises in all Samsung products, such as computers, laptops, tablets, televisions and these can now be purchased through the loan programme offered by bank at minimum repayment plans.
“We found that people are excited about technology, with the Internet and the
availability of it and social media, so they want to get these equipment and need financing so that’s why we came onboard so we can give people that opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Gizmos and Gadgets Marketing Assistant Wendell Badrie said the company has partnered with GBTI for the promotion because it is a unique way of helping students and making it easier for them to get the devices they need to assist them in their studies.
“We want to step out and lead because we have a wide range of Apple and Samsung products available to students and we know people want reliable technology, so that it what we are offering,” he stated.
Badrie said students were excited about the promotion and were asking questions about the offers available.
Kenisha Wills of Global Technology, which is an authorised retailer of the full line of Apple products, said the project targeting students is a good idea.
“A lot of people know the Apple brand so they are curious about this promotion and the after sales services which they now know is available in Guyana,” Wills said. She added that Global Technology will also be looking to participate in all of the tech camps hosted by GBTI.
The Berbice Regional Health Authority (BRHA) in collaboration with the Pan American health Organisation (PAHO) on Friday launched the “Clean Hands Saves Lives Campaign”.
The campaign was launched at the Skeldon Hospital and is soon to be introduced countrywide. Health Ministry Epidemiologist Dr Bendita Latchmansingh in stressing the importance of the programme, noted that hand washing with soap can save more lives than vaccines.
BRHA Special Projects Manager Dr Melissa Ramdeen said since the health sector is improving with the addition of more doctors, nurses and modern facilities, it is the hope that the culture of washing hands with soap will take root.
“In so doing, half of the deaths from diarrhoea and
quarter of the deaths caused by respiratory ailments will be prevented. Hand washing with soap will make a significant step in reaching the millennium goal of reducing child mortality,” Dr Ramdeen said.
The Skeldon Hospital was chosen for the launch, and according to the BRHA, it is of the view that it is easier to use Skeldon as a model, before taking the project to other hospitals and health institutions.
The project will also see schools being sensitised on the importance and proper ways to wash hands.
“It does not hurt and is harmless… hand washing is for everybody doctors, nurses, maids, matrons and the patient.” However, she warned that it is not the only method to prevent the spread of diseases and infections. “We are highlighting the washing of hands because it is the focus today and because it is very important.”
Acting Regional Health Officer Dr Haripersaud Chand praised PAHO’s support of the project, noting that the initiative will also be taken to communities and non-governmental organisation.
According to Ramdeen, while new sinks and sanitisation areas are currently being constructed at the Skeldon Hospital, the project targets both healthcare providers and patients. PAHO representative Dr Malhi Cho said the project is part of the quality care programme being promoted by PAHO. According to Cho, some 155,000 institutions around the world have joined the campaign to promote the washing of hands. Meanwhile, PAHO/WHO consultant Dr Pilar Ramon-Pardo in brief remarks noted the harmless use of soap and water.
On Thursday, a man appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts after he was charged with abusive and threatening language.
It was alleged that on September 4 at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Oginga Borne of 654 East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme
made use of threatening and abusive language to Onika Crandon where a breach of the peace was occasioned. He pleaded not guilty to each charge as it was read to him.
He told the court that he is 35 years old and a labourer employed at John Fernandes with no prior or pending matters. He further stat-
ed that the matter occurred over “box-hand” money. There were no objections to bail put forward by the prosecution. Magistrate Latchman granted bail in the sum of $30,000 for the threatening language and $20,000 for the assault, a total of $50,000. The matter is set to return to court on September 18.
Focus on things you need to fix at home. If you take care of your responsibilities, you will feel better about your current situation. Avoid interacting with someone who upsets you.
By Bernice Bede Osol
(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)
Let your imagination be your guide. You can set trends and get the support you need to invest in something that you uncover. A new or rejuvenated romance appears likely.
Set some rules that will help your household run smoothly, and be sure to include incentives in order to avoid opposition. A moderate approach to change can lead to more options down the line. You could have mixed emotions about the people around you. Before you address your feelings openly, take a look at the ups and downs you face and the consequences that could ensue from your words.
(Aug. 23Sept. 22)
(July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20-March 20)
Rethink your strategy and consider a more pragmatic course. A medical issue will improve if you employ both alternative and traditional options.
(March 21-April 19)
Your emotions will be scattered, but your heart will know the right way to go. Your intuition will not let you down when it comes to a serious relationship matter. Be proactive, not reactive.
(April 20-May 20)
Use your intellect to get what you want. You will see situations clearly, making it easy for you to handle tough negotiations. Be cautious on the domestic front.
(May 21June 20)
Cast a gimlet eye upon any offer being made to you. A fast talker could mislead you if you aren’t careful. Before moving forward, do your research diligently.
Plan to have fun. Get out with friends or take a day trip that will open up new opportunities for relationships, hobbies or a self-improvement project.
(Sept. 23Oct. 23)
Emotions will escalate and troubles will surface if you aren’t careful about how you react to the day’s tumultuous events. Step back and keep a cool head. Let others speak first.
(Oct. 24Nov. 22)
Don’t take chances that can lead to arguments or injury. Discipline and common sense will be your friends; impulse, your enemy. Try to make some small but necessary changes on the home front.
(Nov. 23Dec. 21)
If you’ve been feeling down in the dumps or green around the gills, a lifestyle change might be in order. Don’t allow anyone to meddle in your affairs.
Tourist villa apartments 1, 2 & 3
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One 320 CL Excavator located at Mahdia; excellent working condition. Owner migrating, call 682-0365 or 614-1669
Gold Land, excellent investment. Priced to sell, call 682-0365, 6141669
Healthworld Holistic Centre: Psychotherapy available for all types of abnormal behaviors – addictions, emotional, suicidal, anger, relationship and sexual problems. Treatment of stress disorders, depression, fear, low self-esteem, insomnia, trauma, psychosomatic sicknesses, and children's disorders. We also conduct IQ evaluations and behavioral assessments. By appointments only. Clinic hours: 11:00 – 17:00h. Tel: 592-621-0552. Email:healthworldhc@gmail.com
Ayurvedic herbal treatment for all chronic genetical /none genetical and diseases, including, HIV, Cancer, diabetic, pregnancy, sexual (weakness) etc. Phone: 685- 3220.
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2-storey concrete house 32’x 55’, 4 bedrooms, block 8 Mon Repos, ECD, $35 million. Phone: 642-2116
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Repairs to LCD, LED, plasma, projection, CRT TV’s, microwave ovens, etc, ordering of circuit boards and hard to get spares, Abdul Electronics. Phone: 2250391
Greenes Electrical Contracting Services For all electrical services contact Greene Electrical Contracting Services, we specialize in phoneS & data, CATV, CCTV, intercoms, fiber optics, fire alarms, security systemS, SVC equipments, all other residential, industrial & commercial installation. Phone 223-0973, 618-3075 for safe & reliable services.
Divinations and cleansing of spiritual problems of all kinds. Powerful Ifá and Khemetian spiritual guards, pendants, crystals and rune stones to help you overcome problems with love, relationships, legal, sexual, pregnancy, business, sickness, jobs, enemies, work, money and many more. Call 10:00-16:00h on: +592690-1824. Email: anew-life@live.com
7-bedroom family/students/ individuals. Bungalow for long & short term rental (local & overseas guests), facilities included, vegetarian meals available. Contact BG Real Estate Agency on: 622-7079, 220-2130.
One office space for rent at 195A Camp St, Georgetown. Phone: 6173673, 677-0073
2 bonds with 30,000 and 15,000sq ft space, with offices and residence; 15 minutes from Georgetown, ample parking. Call 647-8077/613-0567
One house located in Lamaha Gardens, hot and cold water. Call 219-4535
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The alleged perpetrator of the stabbing that took place on North Road, Georgetown was on Thursday remanded to prison after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts. Kurt Clarke was not required to plead to the indictable charge which read that on September 4 at North Road, he murdered Jamal
Fernandes.
According to the facts presented, at around 03:20h, Ferandes was standing on North Road with two females when Clarke drove by and called one of the women 'sexy'. Fernandes in turn called him gay and a fight broke out between the two. Clarke then pulled a knife and dealt Fernandes five stabs to his chest. Fernandes was taken to a medical institution where
he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Attorney Peter Hugh, representing the defendant told the court that his client has been receiving several threats from persons telling him about what he will endure in prison. He also made an application for Clarke’s vehicle to be released from police custody. The matter stands adjourned until September 20.
Afather of two was on Thursday sentenced to prison after he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry on possession of cannabis charge.
Ducey Skeete pleaded guilty with explanation to the charge which read that on September 5 at Mabura Public Road, Linden, he had in his possession 470 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking. He told the court that this was his first offence and it was the only option he had to provide for his two minor children. He stated
that he had applied for work three months ago and is yet to get a response. He added that he was desperate since school had just begun.
According to the facts read by Prosecutor Bharat Mangru, on the day in question, the police were on patrol when they stopped motor car HC 28 and conducted a search. The ranks noticed Skeete acting suspiciously and conducted a search on his person and personal belongings. The police discovered a black plastic bag and made inquires as to whom it belonged to. The defen-
dant claimed it and inside the bag the officers saw what appeared to be leaves, seeds and steams, suspected to be cannabis. The substance was weighed in the presence of Skeete and it amounted to be 470 grams. The defendant was later charged with the offence.
Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry considered the fact that he has two dependent children and that he pleaded guilty at the first instance before she made her ruling. Skeete was sentenced to three years imprisonment along with a fine of $30,000.
On Thursday, a man appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge of break and enter with larceny.
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She found the defendant with a bag running out of the house. An alarm was made and he was apprehended. The items were found in the bag.
An unrepresented Khamid told the court that he lives at 144 Dagaraad
It was alleged on September 3 at Dagaraad Avenue, McKenzie, Wayne Khamid broke and entered the house of Gracia Nedd and stole a quantity of items valuing $413,000. He pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read against him. According to the facts, Nedd and Khamid are siblings and on the day in question around 07:45h she secured her home and around 18:00h she received a call and hurried home.
Avenue along with his sister and is a handyman around the neighbourhood.
Prosecutor Bharat Mangru objected to bail on grounds of the seriousness and prevalence of the offence, along with the fact that both the complainant and defendant reside at the same address.
Bail was refused and the defendant was remanded to prison. The matter was transferred to the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court for September 10.
Afast food chef was on Thursday placed on bail after he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge of threatening language.
It was alleged on August 31 at West Ruimvedlt, Andrew Glassglow of 77 West Ruimveldt, made use of threatening language to Akeem Anthony where a breach of the peace was occasioned. He pleaded guilty with explanation to the charge when it was read to
him.
He told the court that he is 18 years old and is employed as a chef. He went on to say that he had lent Anthony some money for some period of time and had asked to be reimbursed. When he didn’t receive the cash, he told the complainant he will go to the station and make a report which will state that he stole an article from him. He added that he has no pending or prior matters before the court.
Based on his explana-
tion, a not guilty plea was entered for him. According to the facts read by Prosecutor Vishnu Hunt, the complainant had borrowed some money from Glassglow and when he didn’t have it to repay, the defendant threatened to kill him. However, the prosecution did not object to bail. Magistrate Judy Latchman granted the defendant his pretrial liberty in the sum of $10,000. The matter was transferred to Court 10 for September 17.
On Thursday, a man was brought before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer to the charge of attempted break and enter with larceny.
Mark Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charge which read that between September 2 and 3, in Georgetown, he attempted to break and enter the house of Wayne Duff.
Wilson was represented by Attorney Paul Fung-AFat who told the court his
client is a 20-year-old mason and lives at 1238 Canje Pheasant, South Ruimveldt. He went on to say that on the day in question, the defendant was going home when he was arrested by police ranks who said that they were looking for two boys who ran away.
In his application for reasonable bail, he stated that there was no evidence linking Wilson to the case.
The prosecution objected to bail stating that their facts were different from those of counsel. Prosecutor
Vishnu Hunt said on the day in question, the defendant was caught on Duff’s property. Prosecutor Hunt also objected to bail on the grounds of the penalty attached to such an offence and the fact that Wilson knows the address of Duff, and that he will most likely try to tamper with the complainant and pervert the course of justice.
Bail was refused and Wilson was remanded to prison. The matter was transferred to Court Six for September 17.
Margins of error are miniscule for an underdog striving to cause an upset in a Test, and Younis Khan capitalised on his reprieves to bury Zimbabwe’s chances with his fourth double-century on Friday.
He set the hosts the challenge of making their highest total in the fourth innings, in a little over three sessions, on a wearing pitch, against an attack led by Saeed Ajmal. Battling for a draw, the more realistic objective, was demanding in itself.
first half-hour, off the first ball of the 76th over bowled by Hamilton Masakadza, Younis slashed and edged. Tino Mawoyo was not low enough at first slip, and the ball scurried between his legs.
There were no more chances in the first session. The new ball was given to Chatara and Tinashe Panyangara, and though they were disciplined, the pitch was placid and there were no alarms barring the odd delivery that held its line to beat Akmal’s bat.
Zimbabwe had hope at the start of the day. Pakistan were 90 ahead and four down, and Tendai Chatara bowled Asad Shafiq in the first over. Another wicket in the next few overs would have exposed Pakistan’s tail just around when the second new ball was available.
Younis, however, found reliable company in Adnan Akmal, whose career-best 64 was the larger contribution in their 118-run partnership that swung the Test. Zimbabwe had an early opportunity too, but they were left wondering what could have been if only they had taken it. On 83, in the
Younis Khan’s unbeaten
double-century on the fourth day gave Zimbabwe a target of 342 to chase in the first Test in Harare
Younis slowed down against the new ball, and he eventually brought up his century by flicking the last delivery of the 85th over to the boundary. He did not play another rash shot but soon began to score more briskly, while Akmal broke stretches of defence with the occasional boundary, including a reverse sweep. Zimbabwe did not go to pieces but the bite in their bowling was not as sharp and run-scoring was largely risk-free. At the end of the first session, Pakistan were ahead by180 and Zimbabwe had only one wicket to show for their morning’s effort. After the break, Younis and Akmal remained content with blocking. The first
The first one-day international between England and Australia at Headingley was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Friday.
Heavy rain throughout the morning left puddles on the outfield and the umpires called the game off at 13:30 BST. The two sides will hope for better weather in the second game of the five-match series at Old Trafford on Sunday.
England will be captained by Eoin Morgan in the absence of regular skipper Alastair Cook, who has been rested.
Batsman Kevin Pietersen is back with the squad after missing the drawn Twenty20 series but James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and
Ian Bell have also been given time off following the Ashes, which England won 3-0.
Their absence has meant call-ups for 19-yearold Somerset pace bowler Jamie Overton and Sussex’s 24-year-old Barbados-born paceman Chris Jordan.
Australia have included Aaron Finch, who hit 14 sixes and 11 fours in 156, the highest international Twenty20 score, in the first T20.
Pakistan-born leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed, who made his ODI debut in Tuesday’s 200-run win over Scotland, and Josh Hazlewood, a fast bowler who made his debut in 2010 as a 19-year-old but has not featured for three years, are also in the squad. (BBC Sport)
ten overs post lunch produced only nine runs and during that time Younis, on 117, slashed at Hamilton Masakadza once again, and once again he was dropped, this time by Malcolm Waller at gully. Pakistan’s lead had not yet got out of hand, but Younis ensured it did.
Akmal brought up his third Test half-century and made 64, a personal best. He struck the first boundary of the second session, pulling Hamilton Masakadza, only in the 111th over. Younis, meanwhile, scored only three runs in the first hour but if his slow strikerate was bothering him, there was no evidence of it. The key player in keeping the scoring down was Panyangara, who finished the innings with 14 maidens in 30 overs.
The wicket, when it finally came, was via a run-out. No other mode of dismissal seemed likely and even this error was out of the blue. Both batsmen were guilty of ball-watching after Akmal played to deep point and turned for the second without looking at his partner. The partnership had taken the lead beyond 200.
Pakistan had only scored
51 between lunch and tea and so when four wickets fell in a clutch - three to Prosper Utseya - Zimbabwe could have limited their target to around 250. Their bowlers, however, were tiring and Younis, batting with the last man Rahat Ali, began to open up. After passing 150, he began to slog sweep to the boundary and play the reverse of that shot too. And once he realised Rahat was making clean contact, striking several blows to and over the boundary, he didn’t bother with farming strike.
The question remained about when Pakistan would declare and the longer they left it the more likely it seemed that Younis would be given the chance to score a double-hundred. Eventually, with ten overs remaining, Misbah-ul-Haq signalled from the dressing room that he had one more over. Three balls later Younis mowed one over the midwicket boundary and left the field with arms raised in triumph. His lastwicket stand of 88 with Rahat had set Zimbabwe a target of 342. (Cricinfo)
Pakistan 2nd innings
Khurram Manzoor lbw
b Panyangara 5
Mohammad Hafeez c Mawoyo b Chatara 16
Azhar Ali lbw b Panyangara 0
Younis Khan not out 200
Misbah-ul-Haq* c Sibanda
b S Masakadza 52
Asad Shafiq b Chatara 15
Adnan Akmal† run out (Raza/S Masakadza/Panyangara) 64
Abdur Rehman lbw b Utseya 9
Saeed Ajmal lbw b Utseya 1
Junaid Khan b Utseya 8 Rahat Ali not out 35
Extras: (b11, lb1, w2) 14
Total: (9 wkts dec, 149.3 overs) 419 Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-21, 3-23, 4-139, 5-169, 6-287, 7-309, 8-313, 9-331 Bowling: T Chatara 33-7-99-2, T Panyangara 30-14-42-2, P Utseya 37.3-5-137-3,
England set the platform for Tuesday’s crucial World Cup qualifier with Ukraine in Kiev by securing a routine win over Moldova at Wembley on Friday.
Roy Hodgson’s side now stand top of Group H after Montenegro’s draw in Poland - and are a point ahead of third-placed Ukraine after playing the same number of games.
Danny Welbeck was England’s spearhead with goals either side of half-time but he will miss the trip to Kiev through suspension after being harshly booked for playing on when the whistle had gone for offside seconds before the interval.
Steven Gerrard started England out on a satisfactory night’s work with a superb early strike and Southampton’s Rickie
Lambert made it two goals in two international outings with a header before halftime.
Hodgson was able to give an England debut to Everton’s exciting teenager Ross Barkley in the second half but will now be seriously concerned about his short-
age of strikers with Wayne Rooney out injured, Daniel Sturridge struggling with a thigh injury and Welbeck suspended.
Welbeck’s goals and allround performance will only increase Hodgson’s obvious sense of frustration that he will be unable to call on the Manchester United striker for a game that will do so much to shape England’s qualifying campaign.
At Wembley a predictable pattern was established immediately as Lambert was just off target - but it took only 12 minutes for England to benefit from their early pressure.
Welbeck, used predominantly on the left flank, showed good technique to play in Frank Lampard and his short pass was drilled low past Moldova keeper Stanislav Namisco
by Gerrard for his first England goal in more than three years.
Namisco’s dreadful goalkeeping was a constant source of encouragement to England. He did well to block Jack Wilshere’s shot after a surging run, but he was hopelessly out of his depth dealing with Theo Walcott’s shot after 26 minutes, palming the ball invitingly into the path of Lambert, who scored with a stooping header.
It was hardly a taxing evening for England but there was a moment of despair for Hodgson and Welbeck just before halftime when the striker received the caution that will keep him out in Kiev for attempting a shot on goal when the whistle had gone for offside. (BBC Sport)
Defending champion Serena Williams will face second seed Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of 2012’s US Open final after they swept through their semi-finals on Friday.
Belarusian Azarenka beat Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium in a match with 13 breaks of serve.
Williams, the 31-year-old world number one, then needed seven match points before sealing a convincing 6-0 6-3 win in the second semi-final. The American has dropped just 16 games in six matches at this year’s event.
“It was a good match,” said Williams. “Li Na is such a great player. I got a little nervous but I was able to close it out, finally.”
Li had been expected to provide some sort of a test for the four-time champion and actually topped the tournament aces chart heading into the match, but Williams set about dismantling her serve from the outset.
An early double fault did not help the unsettled Li, who saw the first set fly past in 29 minutes as Williams put her under huge
pressure by returning 84% of her serves.
Li, 31, finally got on the scoreboard after almost 40 minutes, and when Williams dropped serve in the following game for only the second time in the tournament, the huge cheer suggested the American crowd appreciated just what the Chinese player was up against.
It was only a minor blip for Williams, however, and she took the next four games in a row to move one game from victory.
The final exchanges proved to be the best of the contest as Li battled desperately to stay alive in a 15-minute game, saving six match points.
Williams was now on edge, despite her commanding lead, and screamed “Come on!” several times in the following game, but converted her seventh chance with a first serve to reach her seventh US Open final.
“Today (Friday) it doesn’t matter who is the opponent,” said Li. “The problem is myself. Even if today (Friday) I was playing against maybe the player ranked 100, still the same problem.”
Azarenka was a strong favourite in the first semi-final against a player making her Grand Slam semi-final debut at the age of 31, but Pennetta is a far better player than her ranking of 83 suggests as she makes her way back after wrist surgery.
Seven of the first nine games went against serve as an off-key Azarenka leaked errors, while Pennetta struggled desperately to defend her second serve.
It was the Belarusian who edged the opening set by managing to cling on when serving for it in a tight 10th game, but 18 unforced errors suggested she was far from at her best.
The BCCI’s disciplinary committee has found Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, guilty on eight different charges of “various acts of indiscipline and misconduct”.
The charges, relating to irregularities in various financial and administrative matters of the IPL including the sale of franchise and media rights, were pressed by the BCCI in 2010 soon after Modi’s swift and dramatic exit from the league he founded.
The 134-page report - prepared by a committee comprising senior BCCI functionaries Arun Jaitley, Chirayu Amin and Jyotiraditya Scindia - has been submitted to the BCCI and will be discussed at a special general meeting on September 25. It is believed that a life ban for Modi will be recommended and accepted at the meeting.
In his reaction to the report, Modi pointed out several flaws in both the procedure and the findings. He alleged that Jaitley had a bias against him and also was the “strongest supporter” of N Srinivasan, the BCCI president.
Modi said one of his main lines of defence was that the enquiry against him was “vitiated on account of malafide” because he had opposed Srinivasan’s conflict of interest as team owner and administrator. He claimed that Jaitley “did not allow any question to be put in respect of Srinivasan’s conflict of interest and virtually skirted the issue of Srinivasan’s conflict of interest in his report.” His response to the committee’s actual findings echoed his defence on the various charges.
The committee found Modi guilty of rigging bids during the franchise auction
in 2010, arm-twisting the Kochi franchise and threatening to terminate their franchise agreement in favour of another bidder, selling media and internet rights without proper authorisation from the BCCI and showing interest in creating a rebel T20 league in England without the knowledge of the BCCI and the ECB. The key charges that stuck:
Rigging bids
In 2010, the BCCI drafted an invitation to tender [ITT] for rights to two new franchises that were to be auctioned later that year. The BCCI claimed that Modi added - without formally informing the board - two “onerous conditions” to the ITT: the bidder should have a net worth of US$1bn and must provide a bank guarantee of Rs 460 crores [$100 million]. According to the BCCI, these conditions were not in the draft ITT, which was approved by the IPL Governing Council, and were added by Modi to the final document. Modi’s defence was that he had informed the then BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, verbally but the disciplinary committee con-
cluded that Modi had acted without the authorization of the governing council. The panel reasoned that this was done to “exclude healthy competition and favour two bidders, which is evident from the fact that only two bids were received in pursuant to the ITT.”
Arm-twisting franchises
The rights to the two new franchises in 2010Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers - were bought by Sahara Adventure Sports and Rendezvous Sports World Pvt Ltd respectively.
The BCCI’s contention was that Modi was “favouring another bidder” and had threatened a “representative” of the Kochi franchise to give up the rights, failing which he could impose various sanctions that could harm the new entrant. The BCCI claimed that Modi’s threat was an “act of indiscipline and misconduct”.
The disciplinary panel found that the charge stood against Modi because “despite being the successful bidder, Mr Modi made a roving enquiry on the ownership details of the Kochi fran-
chise at the stage of signing the Franchise Agreement.”
The report stated: “He goes out of his way in making intrusive questions about the ownership details of the Kochi franchise.” The panel said the act of arm-twisting was detrimental to the BCCI’s interest and “endangered the harmony and affected the reputation of the BCCI.”
In January 2008, World Sports Group (Mauritius) was granted television rights for the IPL between 2008-2017 and entered into a partnership with Multi Screen Media (MSM), which would broadcast the IPL in India. In March 2009, the BCCI unilaterally terminated its agreement with MSM and signed a new broadcasting deal with WSG Mauritius, for worldwide and subcontinent rights between 2009 and 2017, in the matter of a few hours.
However, under the rules of the agreement, WSG Mauritius had 72 hours to find a broadcast partner failing which it would need to pay Rs 112.5 crores and the rights would revert to the BCCI. According to the BCCI, the clause was a way of stalling until MSM agreed to pay the facilitation fee of US$80 million (Rs 425 crore) to WSG, a sum that the BCCI should have ideally got.
The disciplinary panel found that WSG Mauritius had attempted to find a broadcasting partner but Modi, by not allowing BCCI the 112.5 crore had acted in a manner “detrimental to the board”. On the facilitation fee, Modi claimed that neither he nor the BCCI could be expected to know what qualified as “untenable” for the panel. (Cricinfo)
With the first set secured, Azarenka began to hit more freely and she took a 3-1 lead with a succession of magnificent forehands, rounded off with a thumping drive volley.
Pennetta cut the deficit with another break to trail 4-2 but once again could not defend her own, and despite a couple of flashing returns she could not prevent the world number two serving out the match.
“I’m happy I’m in the final,” said Azarenka. “There are always things that can be better. I felt like the first set was a little bit tricky, the momentum wasn’t there a little bit.
“Just one shot wasn’t working and threw my rhythm a little bit off balance.”
Pennetta admitted: “I didn’t serve really well today (Friday), but she didn’t either. I think there was a lot of wind in the court. It was moving the ball all the time. It was not easy to serve.
“But I think I didn’t serve in the way I was serving before because she put me under a lot of pressure.” (BBC Sport)
Brussels, BELGIUM
- Jamaican sprinter Warren Weir has won this season’s Diamond League 200-metre title and the US$40,000 first prize.
The Olympic and World Championship silver medallist confirmed his victory by winning the men’s
200-metre at the season ending Diamond League meeting in Brussels Friday.
Weir clocked 19.87 seconds to cross the line ahead of his Jamaican teammate Nickel Ashmeade, who recorded a season-best 19.93 seconds.
American Walter Dix was third in 20.12, also a season-best.
Rasheed Dwyer, the other Jamaican in the lineup, clocked 20.40 for sixth place. Meantime, Jamaica’s sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clocked a sizzling 10.72 seconds to smash the meet record and win the women’s 100-metre. The Moscow World Championships triple gold medallist finished well clear of American Alexandria Anderson who was second in 10.97. With the victory, FraserPryce has added the 100m Diamond League title to her 200m title won last month. Fraser-Pryce gets US$40,000 for each title.
The other two Jamaicans Carrie Russell and Kerron Stewart finished third and fourth respectively. Russell clocked 10.99 and Stewart 11.19.
saturday, september 7, 2013
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) Gymkhana exhibition event, scheduled for Sunday at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary, is expected to have some track events to add excitement to the show.
Thus far, the two events released for the exhibition have been the 100m and 400m for men and women. According to coach of the Police Sports Club Lyndon Wilson, these events are open to all athletes to participate.
The event will pit some of Guyana’s top sprinters against each other that should add some more flair to the exhibition show.
The likes of the talented Alita Moore, who recently defeated sprint queen Alisha Fortune should be on show. She clocked 12.00s on a wet ground to beat Fortune, so one can only as-
sume what she will do on Eve Leary once the ground is dry.
Moore’s biggest competition might be 200m Carifta bronze medalist Tirana Mitchell, who earlier in the year edged Moore in the 100m.
With Fortune injured, it
is unlikely that the 36-yearold veteran will feature in the field. However, Fortune’s club mate Neisa Allen can pose a threat to Moore, if she has quick enough start.
On the men’ side of things, with Olympian Winston George back in the country after his training stint in the U.S.A. and his participation in the World Championships in Moscow in August, it will be a battle between himself and the talented Stephan James. James has never beaten George and will be looking to do so while George will be looking to showcase why he is the most versatile sprinter in Guyana. The showdown between the two might definitely be the show-stealing event of the Gymkhana.
Asafa Powell is among five Jamaican athletes whose B samples have shown an "adverse analytical finding" after they failed drugs tests in June.
Former 100m world record holder Powell tested positive for oxilofrine at the Jamaican national trials.
Olympic medallist Sherone Simpson, discus throwers Allison Randall and Travis Smikle and a junior also failed tests at the trials. The Jamaica AntiDoping Commission said the B samples were tested in Canada.
The findings will now go before an independent body for further consideration prior to disciplinary hearings.
A Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) statement, released through the Jamaica Information Service, said it had "received results from the Wada-accredited [World Anti-Doping Agencyaccredited] laboratory in Montreal, Canada".
It said those results "confirmed the prohibited substances which were identified in the A sample analyses for the five ath-
letes who were tested at the National Junior and Senior Championships in June 2013".
"All athletes have been notified and have acknowledged receipt of their Notification Letters of an Adverse Analytical Finding for a B Sample," it continued.
"JADCO has therefore referred these findings to the independent Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel for their consideration and establishment of the Hearing Panels."
Powell and Simpson's
Shivnarine Chanderpaul used his vast experience to steer Derbyshire to a nailbiting Championship win over Somerset on the final day at Taunton on Friday.
The visitors reached 2448 to scrape home by two wickets, with Chanderpaul 74 not out after being dropped on 64.
Victory lifted them off the bottom of Division One and left Somerset and Surrey in the relegation places.
India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla claimed 5-97 for match figures of 10-208, but it was not enough for the home side.
The win, Derbyshire’s third in four games, took them to 116 points, with Somerset on 115 and Surrey - who have a game in hand on both - on 100. A team is awarded 16 points for a victory, with eight bonus points available depending on their first-innings performance.
Derbyshire began the final day on 127-4, needing another 117 for victory, and immediately lost Richard Johnson, caught behind off Chawla for a duck.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Alex Hughes made 33 as he and West Indies batsman Chanderpaul added 68 priceless runs, but he was then lbw to Jack Leach (3-54) and the match swung back towards Somerset as Chawla accounted for Tom Poynton and David Wainwright.
However, Craig Meschede crucially dropped Chanderpaul, on 64, at midon and the visitors only needed six more for victory at lunch.
The home side took the new ball one over after the restart, but four leg byes off Lewis Gregory brought the game to an end. Somerset face Surrey at Taunton next week in a game which could effectively be win or bust in terms of relegation, while Derbyshire also have home advantage as they take on leaders Durham. (BBC Sport)
St John’s, ANTIGUA – The West Indies Cricket Board announced on Friday that Ashley Nurse will replace fellow off-spinner Shane Shillingford in the West Indies A-Team for the three “Tests” on their tour of India, starting later this month.
Revised “Test” squad: Kirk Edwards (captain), Kieran Powell (vice-captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Jahmar Hamilton, Delorn Johnson, Leon Johnson, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Veerasammy Permaul and Chadwick Walton.
The WICB also announced the Team Management Unit for the trip which includes Head Coach Junior Bennett, Assistant Coach Stuart Williams, the former West Indies opener, and Lockhart Sebastien, the former Windward Islands batsman. All three were part of the TMU for the A-Team home series against Sri Lanka-A in June.
Team management unit: Junior Bennett (Head Coach), Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach), Lockhart Sebastien (Manager), David Bernard Sr (Fitness & Conditioning Coordinator), Beverley Nelson (Physiotherapist) and Dexter Augustus (Video Analyst).
manager, Paul Doyle, has pointed the finger of blame for their failed tests at their trainer, Canadian Chris Xuereb, who only began working with the sprinters in May.
Xuereb denies responsibility and says he is being made a scapegoat.
Powell's initial failed drugs test became public on 14 July, the same day the United States' Tyson Gay, the fastest man in the world this year in the 100m, admitted he had also tested positive for a banned substance. (BBC Sport)
At the same time, the WICB has been advised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India of a number of changes to the dates and venues for the series.
The three One-day matches, as well as the single Twenty20 will all be contested at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and will all be played a day earlier than previously scheduled.
September
The three “Tests” will now be contested at Gangotri Glades in Mysore, the JNNCE Ground in Shimoga and the KSCA Ground in Hubli, with the first two starting a day earlier. (WICB)
Sun 15; 1st One-day match – Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Tue 17; 2nd One-day match – Chinnaswamy Stadium
Thu 19; 3rd One-day match – Chinnaswamy Stadium
Sat 21; Twenty20 match – Chinnaswamy Stadium
Wed 25-Sat 28; 1st “Test” – Gangotri Glades, Mysore
October
Wed 2-Sat 5; 2nd “Test” – JNNCE Ground, Shimoga
Wed 9-Sat 12; 3rd “Test” – KSCA Ground, Hubli
Courts Guyana Inc is looking to attract the largest contingent of athletes for the Courts 10k road race and 3k health walk on September 22.
Over $2 million have been put into the preparation of the event with a total of about $1.3 million going towards prize monies and trophies, according to Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Courts, Kester Abrams, at the launch on Thursday.
The 10k, which will start at 06:00h in front of the main office of Courts on Main Street, will see the winner of the event walking away with $100,000 while second place will take home $75,000, third, $50,000, fourth, $30,000, and fifth, $20,000.
There will also be a junior and masters’ category with the top two prizes in both categories being $60,000 and $40,000. The masters’ 55 and above will see the winner receiving $40,000 and second place, $25,000.
Abrams, who believes that while the prize money is still the same as the third
edition, the event is still one of the best 10k events to compete in.
“This is just to let persons know that the Courts 10k and health walk is back this year and we expect it to be big and if you feel that you cannot compete with the likes of the Clevelands and
the Josiahs then we want you to come and just be a part of the walk that we are setting up, it’s going to be fun and big,” Abrams told media representatives present.
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Aubrey Hutson
thanked Courts for the hosting of the event, noting the event has become a staple for athletics in Guyana.
“I just want to say thank you to Courts and to the board of directors right down for continuing to partner with the AAG and we want them to continue to
support this event because it has become a calendar event so again I just want to thank Courts for hosting the event,” Hutson stated.
Marketing Manager of Courts Guyana Pernell Cummings issued a challenge to the Guyanese public to be a part of the event.
Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets first division team on Tuesday defeated the Moruga Life Sports Centre of Trinidad by three wickets at the Port Mourant cricket ground.
The Moruga Life Sports Centre is touring Guyana as part of the entity’s development programmes. The boys from Moruga Life Sports Centre batted first and were given a solid 51run opening partnership by Gabriel Blackwell and former Trinidad Under-17 player Silvis Cooper in 10 overs before West Indies female pacer Erva Giddings bowled Blackwell for 15.
Richie Joseph joined Cooper and they posted 54 for the second wicket in seven overs before off-spinner
Erva Giddings
Khemraj Mahadeo bowled Joseph for 35. Former Trinidad Under-19 cricketer Adrian Cooper then took the home team’s bowling attack apart with an aggressive 59
Shemaine Campbelle
(3x4s, 5x6s) as the visitors reached 192-8 off their allotted 30 overs.
Silvis Cooper supported his elder brother with a solid 49 (5x4s). Bowling for
RHTG&G, Giddings took 2-15 and Khemraj Mahadeo, 3-33.
In response, RHTG&G, playing without most of the senior players, were given a solid opening partnership of 56 by national Under-19 players Shawn Pereira (25) and Askay Homraj (28) in nine overs.
They however, found themselves in a bit of trouble at 99-5 in the 17th over when left-arm spinner A. Cooper took three quick wickets. A sixth wicket partnership of 60 between Jason Sinclair and veteran Ravi Narine brought the home team back in the game.
Narine was forced to retire hurt for 30, but West Indies female player Shemaine Campbelle (12)
and Sinclair added 26 to almost see RHTG&G home. Campbelle was dismissed off the first ball of the last over with six runs required. Sinclair and Berbice youth player Nicholas Cameron then took their team home with Sinclair smashing the last ball for a boundary.
Sinclair ended on a well played 61 not out with six boundaries. Bowling for the visitors, A. Cooper ended with 3-29 off his six overs, while Celes Patrice took 2-34.
Secretary/CEO of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, Hilbert Foster, wished the visitors a successful tour of Guyana and expressed his club’s willingness to develop a permanent relationship with the visitors.
Usain Bolt may have won three world titles but after securing victory in his final race of the year he said 2013 had not been his best season.
Bolt won the 100m at the Diamond League finale in Brussels in 9.80 seconds, ahead of Mike Rodgers of the United States (9.90) and fellow Jamaican Nesta Carter (9.94).
“I got injured at the start so it was not the perfect season or the best of my career,” he told BBC Sport.
“The best thing is I finished on top.”
The 27-year-old was again slow out of the blocks in Brussels, but powered past his rivals in the last 40m to win.
“My start felt better but I need to work on it. I can defi-
Usain Bolt
nitely run faster,” added Bolt who won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles at August’s World Championships in Moscow.
Briton James Dasaolu,
the second fastest Briton ever after recording 9.91 seconds this season, finished eighth on Friday night.
“For me it was about executing the start and I didn’t do that as well as I would’ve liked to,” the 26-year-old world 100m finalist told BBC Sport.
“I gave it my best, but maybe I was a bit distracted. When you look at my goals for the season I wanted to run sub-10 seconds, which I have done twice, and I made the final in Russia.”
There was success for Jamaican athletes elsewhere, with triple world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce winning the women’s 100m in an impressive 10.72 seconds - just one hundredth of a second slower than the fastest time of the
year, set by the sprinter at the Moscow championships.
Victory sealed the Diamond Race - won by those who have accumulated the most points in their respective event during the Diamond League seasonfor the Jamaican and the $40,000 (£25,591) first prize that goes with it.
Compatriot Warren Weir secured the men’s the 200m Diamond Race with victory in a time of 19.87 seconds.
Martyn Rooney’s win in the men’s 400m was the best performance by a Briton on the night. The Croydon runner, who also won in Zagreb this week, was awarded first place in a photo-finish with Belgian Jonathan Borlee, both runners clocking 45.05s. Hannah England was involved in the most entertain-
“Courts will continue to support this event because as they say a fit nation is a productive nation, I want to see everybody that’s in the park and the seawall come out and test your mettle just to see your level of fitness and Courts will continue to serve Guyana,” Cummings told media representatives.
Meanwhile, Abrams also thanked Banks DIH for coming onboard with their Aqua Mist and Powerade brands to hydrate athletes along the route. The route: The race will start in front of Courts (Main Street), proceed North to the seawall road, east along the seawall road, continue east along Rupert Craig Highway northern carriageway to turn at Church Road, Rupert Craig Highway southern carriageway into Kitty Public Road, South on Vlissengen road, west on Lamaha Street, south on the eastern carriage way on Main Street, turn around at the cenotaph to finish on the western carriageway of main Street in front of Courts.
“We recognize that investment at the developmental stage is critical if we are to continue to perform on the big stage. It is for this reason that this particular tournament is important to us,” Wills concluded.
Super bonus points
Meanwhile, this year’s tournament will see teams receiving super bonus points. For every team which scores in excess of 300 runs will receive two super bonus points.
ing race of the meeting. The Oxford athlete had to leap over four runners who had fallen on the track after a collision as she approached the bell in the 1500m. England went on to finish fifth.
“Some of the girls were trying to get out of the pack and I have no idea how I didn’t fall over,” she told BBC Sport.
“I took a few steps on the inside, but I had no choice.”
British 400m world champion Christine Ohuruogu came fifth in the women’s 400m, won by Natasha Hastings of the US, while another Briton, Tiffany Porter, who won bronze in Moscow, was fourth in the 100m hurdles. American Dawn Harper-Nelson clinched victory in a season’s best time of 12.48 seconds. (BBC Sport)
In addition the losing team which scores in excess of 300 runs will be awarded one super bonus point while two super bonus points will be awarded to the team that dismisses their opponents below 150 runs.
Fixtures Round one of the tournament will see a clash between Essequibo and Demerara. Round two is scheduled for Tuesday September 24, between Demerara and Berbice. The final preliminary round will is fixed for Thursday September 26 where Berbice face Essequibo.
The two top teams will clash in the final on September 29. All the matches are scheduled to start at 09:00h.
Admissions for the preliminary rounds are free while an entrance fee is yet to confirm for the final.
Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), under their Pepsi brand, in collaboration with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), launched this year’s Inter-County 50-over round robin competition on Friday at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) pavilion, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive.
The tournament, which gets underway on September 21, forms part of the preparation for the upcoming regional 50-over competition. It is also being used as a benchmark to select the local squad to participate in the regional competition, slated for January next year.
The three preliminary rounds will be played at the famous Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) while the final is scheduled for the Albion Community Centre, ground.
Speaking to the media at the launching, GCB President, Drubahadur emphasised the importance of this tournament to Guyana’s preparation for next year’s participation in the tournament. Further, he stated that this tournament cannot be underestimated,
INSIDE TODAY’S SPORT
since the best possible team will be selected to represent Guyana.
“Over the years the selectors would have used this competition to select our na-
tional team and this year will be no exception, so we hope that these games will
give the selectors an opportunity to select the best possible team to represent our country,” Drubahadur said.
The GCB president said he is happy with the commitment of DDL and the support for the local tournament.
DDL Pepsi brand executive Larry Wills stated that DDL is once again pleased to partner with the GCB in hosting this year’s tournament.
“While this tournament is new to Pepsi, it is not new to DDL, since we have been proud sponsors of this tournament for over 15 years. It is our pledge to continuously supporting the development of sports in Guyana and cricket in particular,” Wills said.
Wills further disclosed that both Pepsi and DDL have strong ties to cricket around the world. He noted that Pepsi continues to sponsor several grassroots programme which are intended to develop cricket at the local level.
Christopher Barnwell’s XI registered a 43run victory over Steven Jacobs’ XI in the final Demerara trial match on Friday at the Georgetown Cricket Club, ground. Two matches were organised to select the Demerara team to contest the upcoming Pepsi 50-over InterCounty tournament, scheduled from September 21-29.
Despite starting the game with the upper hand, after winning the first trial game the day before, Jacobs XI came up short in the end. Chasing a massive 320 for victory, they finished on 277 for 5.
Openers Shemroy Barrington and Robin Bacchus showed positive intent from the beginning with a partnership of 175 runs. Barrington smashed a topscore of 88 while Robin Bacchus hit 85.
Bowling for Barnwell’s XI, Trevon Griffith and Dexter George claimed two wickets apiece.
Earlier, after winning the toss and batting, Barnwell’s magnificent knock of 72 helped his side post a challenging 320 for 9 off their allotted 50 overs. His knock
was decorated with two fours and seven maximums as he took apart the opposition’s bowling attack.
However, national opener Trevon Griffith and Andrew Lyght Jr had earlier laid the foundation with a 110-run opening partnership. Griffith made an ag-
gressive 67, inclusive of five fours and three sixes while Lyght Jr hit 40. No other batsmen made any meaningful contribution.
Off-spinner Yatesh Dhanpaul was the best bowler, picking up 4 for 30 off seven overs.
Meanwhile, in the first
trial game on Thursday, Steven Jacobs XI defeated Leon Johnson XI by four wickets. Jacobs led from the front with 55, inclusive of three fours and two sixes as his team reached 131-6 in 31 overs, replying to the 1309 made by Johnson’s XI. Jamal Hinckson and lefthander Arvin Seepersaud supported with 21 and 17 respectively. Skipper Leon Johnson captured 3-30 from six overs.
Earlier, when the game was reduced to 32 overs a side, Barrington topscored with 38. Vincent Forrester, 17, Jeetendra Sookdeo, 14, and Tagnarine Chanderpaul, 10, were the other principal scorers.
First-Class off-spinner Zaheer Mohamed took 2-22 from five overs and leg-spinner Amir Khan supported with 2-32 from six overs.