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Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana Issue No. 1989 guyanatimesgy.com

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Saturday, December 21, 2013

APNU/AFC’s “half-baked” arguments exposed See story on page 17

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Anti- P money laundering bill resent to special select committee 3

Poor turnout mars GPSU protest Rose Hall Town littered with garbage P7

P9

These children were in the spirit of the holidays when the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) recently hosted its annual “Magical Night of Christmas” at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Wednesday, See story on page 13

Persaud challenges critics to public debate on New River deal See story on page 11

Gunmen rob Regent Street store of $17.2M See story on page 8

P AFC laments poor state of Mahdia Road

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SATURDay, december 21, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

3 Anti-money laundering bill resent to special select committee T News

BRIDGE OPENINGS

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, December 21 from 05:30h to 07:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday, December 21 from 06:35h to 08:05h.

WEATHER TODAY Countrywide: Light rain showers are expected during the day, with clear skies in the evening.

Temperatures are expected to range between 24 degrees and 27 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East north-easterly at 4.9 metres per second.

High Tide: 06:38h and 18:51h reaching maximum heights of 2.47 metres and 2.54 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 12:25h reaching a minimum height of 0.76 metre.

WEDNESday, December 18, 2013

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saturDay, december 21, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

he Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2013 has been sent to a special select committee for a second time. The decision was taken in the National Assembly late Thursday night, following a lengthy debate.

In moving the motion for the bill to be read for a second time, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall said Guyana’s failure to comply with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations has put the country at risk.

“Thus far we would have defaulted badly in our compliance with those regulatory prescriptions, and as a result, an adverse public statement has been issued against Guyana in November, calling upon member states which fall under the jurisdiction of CFATF to take such measures that are necessary to protect themselves from the risk that Guyana poses.”

Nevertheless, painting a vivid picture on the relevance of the bill, Nandlall said the bill was in compliance with the recommendations promulgated by CFATF. In accordance with the CFATF recommendations, the bill seeks to pave the way for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan

provide financial institutions and designated nonfinancial businesses that are required to report suspicious transactions, with adequate and appropriate feedback.

According to the legal affairs minister, financial organisations operating under the stewardship of the FIU are mandated to submit recordings of transactions.

Additionally, the bill paves the way for protection to be offered to individuals who would have offered critical information to FIU, in connection to suspicious activities.

But while Minister Nandlall called on the National Assembly to endorse the second reading of the bill, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)

parliamentarian Carl Greenidge told the House that the coalition’s position has not changed. Greenidge said the bill should be resent to the parliamentary special select committee for further scrutiny and amendments.

Nevertheless, Greenidge pointed out that the legislation passed in 2000 has not been implemented in any meaningful way, emphasis-

ing that the government has failed to implement legislature that is in place.

With CFATF calling on Guyana to amend 17 of the 107 clauses in current legislation, Greenidge said major emphasis must be placed on implementation. Greenidge also denounced the poor operation of the FIU, which is inadequately staffed, positing too that lack of enforcement is a major stumbling block.

Meanwhile, Alliance For Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan with no uncertainty, said “the Alliance For Change position on this issue of support for the anti-money laundering bill is... linked and attached to the procurement commission,” noting that the party will not cast its support if the commission is not established.

He said although the procurement bill has been enacted, Guyana still awaits the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission.

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, december 21, 2013

Views 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

Editorial

The IRI and regime change

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t has been reported that the U.S. embassy insists it will persist with its “Leadership and Democracy” (LEAD) Project in Guyana even though the government had rejected it. This raises serious questions of Guyanese sovereignty as it relates to having control over activities within its territorial borders.

Embassies operating in a host country must receive permission for engaging in activities in the country and out of its embassy compound.

On its surface, the LEAD Project appears well in line with other “democracy” programmes the U.S. has coordinated in Guyana, starting with former President Jimmy Carter’s intervention back in 1992, which resulted in free and fair elections here that year.

Evidently, it had its genesis subsequent to the November 2011 elections, which saw the combined opposition, consisting of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) securing a one-seat majority in the National Assembly, while the Peoples’ Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) formed the executive in control of the government, by securing a plurality of the votes.

What was different about this initiative was that USAID, which has previously coordinated democracy building, had withdrawn from the country and a newcomer to the Guyanese political scene was chosen to spearhead it – the International Republican Institute (IRI). Coincidentally, in October 2012 when President Donald Ramotar was informed about USAID’s proposed intervention (from its Barbados office), the IRI was in the news for another “democracy” project it had participated in – one in Egypt.

In that country, 43 persons, including 16 Americans from what were defined as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the IRI, had been charged by the government for actually subverting the democratic process there. Earlier in the year, several employees of the IRI, including an American-born individual of Egyptian origin, had resigned from the group.

They accused it of only assisting groups opposed to the then governing Muslim Brotherhood. By the time the individuals were sentenced, the Americans had been allowed to leave Egypt.

The IRI has been in the news even before. According to the Institute of Policy Studies’ RightWatch, the “IRI was created by the Ronald Reagan administration in 1983 to push democratisation efforts and roll back the influence of the Soviet Union. More recently, the taxpayer-funded IRI has claimed to play a role preventing global terrorism, though some of its interventions since 9/11 have been criticised for undermining democracy”.

A 2006 IRI brochure declared, “When IRI began its work in 1983, advancing democracy was seen as a noble endeavour; today, it is recognised as a defence against terrorism. IRI’s activities have included funding clandestine opinion surveys in Cuba (2008), monitoring the controversial and violence-tainted elections in Kenya (2007), and undertaking public opinion polls in Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency (2007).

More controversially, its “democracy building” programme in Haiti was accused of undermining both U.S. State Department diplomacy efforts and the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. IRI also channelled funds to forces in Venezuela that sought to overthrow the controversial but democratically elected President Hugo Chávez in 2002.

IRI has also been criticised for supporting and monitoring the 2009 elections in Honduras after the Organisation for American States (OAS) refused to send observers, seeing the election as an attempt to legitimise a right-wing coup that removed a democratically elected progressive government from power.

Against this background, it is not surprising that the perceived “left-leaning” PPP/C government, which has solidified relationships with countries such as Venezuela and Cuba, considered by the IRI as suspect, is concerned about that organisation executing a “democracy” project in this country.

Its charge that it was not consulted in the formulation of the programme adds substance to its concerns.

The critics who have expressed concerns about possible encroachment on our sovereignty on our southern borders should now weigh in on the same issue as it emanates from the U.S. embassy.

Santa Claus is all but swamped by the crowd of eager children and parents at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry’s Early Savers holiday party

Ethnic tokenism hasn’t worked

Dear Editor, Mahadeo Persaud (Stabroek News, December 11) is under a delusion that merely appointing someone from another ethnic group to lead an ethnic party will end conflict in Guyana. There is no known case where it has succeeded. Theoretical constructs must be evidence-based or else they become what distinguished Professor Stanley Aronowitz calls “kaka or looney talk”. If a theory is not evidence driven, one must not spin the data to make it fit a society.

Ethnicity is a complex issue that has defied solution for millenniums. Virtually no society has resolved its ethnic conflict although some (in the developed world, in particular) have managed ethnic crisis better than others.

Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, among others, grappled with the intractable problem of ethnicity and failed to find a solution.

They wrote that ethnicity will disappear with time as the workers developed class consciousness. It has not disappeared some 150 years later and has become more pronounced, affecting over 100 countries.

The USSR set aside homelands for the many ethnic groups in the socialist utopia and that also did not resolve conflict. Forbes Burnham and Eric Williams used tokenism and conflict did not disappear. Ethnic tokenism or appeasements do not work and tend to exacerbate rather than ameliorate conflict. People generally don’t vote for a party if the

leadership is not from their ethnic group.

For example, in 2006, Alliance For Change (AFC), led by an African, was supported primarily by Africans while the Indians avoided it.

In 2011, when the leadership switched to an Indian, the Africans bailed out and returned to the People’s National Congress (PNC), while some Indians became attracted to AFC, clearly substantiating the contention that ethnic tokenism does not bring votes from the groups of the ethnic tokens.

Also, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) tried rotating ethnic leaders and failed to win support.

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) historically put Africans as its number two and did not get African support. The Persaud model was tried in Trinidad, Mauritius and Fiji, among other countries, worsening the ethnic crisis, instead of ameliorating the conflict.

Ethnic groups in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa could not even think of appointing cross ethnic leaders fearing the violent consequences. Instead, they have tried varied arrangements of sharing resources and government positions among the ethnic groups; these countries still experience perennial ethnic violence.

Basdeo Panday tried the Persaud token model in Trinidad without positive results. Panday rejected the voters’ choice of Ramesh Maharaj as his successor, opting instead for an African and lost power as Indians stayed home on election day.

Do I need to remind

Persaud that Dr Cheddi Jagan tried the token model (Brindley Benn) regarding Balram Singh Rai and eventually lost power? Also, Samuel Hinds was president in 2007 during the election campaign when Indians were beaten, augmenting the argument that merely appointing someone of a different ethnicity of a ruling party will not resolve conflict.

Simply pointing facts and presenting supporting data and evidence to buttress or reject theories or Persaud’s token model does not mean I support ethnic politics.

Academia does not operate that way and it is disingenuous to mislead readers otherwise. Educated people must not make unsubstantiated pronouncements or misinterpret views. The purpose of queries is to make a theory better.

Persaud also feels “ethnic pretensions”, in which parties state they are not ethnic, is much preferred over any rejection of ethnic tokenism. That is hypocrisy and won’t solve ethnic conflict.

Ethnic voting is a reality in almost every society, including America. Ethnic domination is unacceptable. There must be equitable sharing of resources and cultural self-determination regardless of which group runs the state.

Ethnic appeasement and tokenism have failed. If it was wrong for PNC to persecute Indians and other ethnic groups during its dictatorship, and I spent two decades fighting that oppressive system, it cannot be right now for any ethnic par-

ty to dominate other groups even if democratically elected.

The leaders of ethnic groups or their parties must sit down and work out a system in which all the groups can have equitable access to the resources of the state and opportunities to play a meaningful role in governance – not tokenism. We need an open democratic system that truly empowers people to choose their leaders and a government that comprises the elected representatives, not appointees of another ethnic group, so that the groups feel they have real voice in governance (as is the case in Belgium, Switzerland and Ireland).

Federalism, as proposed

by Ravi Dev and Baytoram Ramharack, may help to reduce conflict. Another idea is election primaries in which parties are forced to open membership to everyone, as in the U.S., and the members choose the leaders, executives and candidates of the party that may allow someone outside of the ethnic group to be the leader of a party as happened in the U.S. Democratic Party in 2008.

An alternative could be some kind of system that allows for intra-ethnic competition to prevent a small group of individuals from having a monopoly in choosing the leadership of the group as currently obtains in Guyana for all three parties in Parliament. The leaders can then negotiate for their groups.

Respectfully, Vishnu Bisram

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, december 21, 2013

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Green’s scare tactics will not Substandard road maintenance intimidate me in Region Two Dear Editor, It is a customary habit of Mayor Hamilton Green to venture into personal attacks; attempts to intimidate, abuse and relegate Guyanese whenever he is challenged by them on his ineptitude. His letter in the December 20 edition of Kaieteur News supports my contention by virtue of its scandalous references, innuendos, half truths and unfounded utterances. Hardly any Guyanese would be surprised at the mayor’s next vituperations.

So Mayor Green’s scare tactics as contained in his letter will not succeed in intimidating me into silence. Green ought to know I am not someone to be intimidated. Mayor Green, I have narrowed my list of dozens of questions to a few in the interest of time. These questions surround matters that are part of our historical records, but have been largely unanswered by you: * Which prime minister of Guyana was found to be in possession of stolen government properties, specifically paintings, sheet piling and vehicles? * In the height of the 1992 post-election riots, Green addressed around 200 persons at the corners of Charlotte and Camp streets, just outside what is now Citizen’s Bank. Could Green state what he told his audience with respect to the election results

and what actions he suggested that they take? * On several occasions, while holding senior positions within the People’s National Congress (PNC) pre-1992 administration, Green met with individuals from several South Georgetown wards who went by the aliases “Tarzan”, “Herman Bage”, “Stage Coach” and “Tinny” among others.

Could the mayor state what these meetings were about, what roles these gentlemen played in the functioning of his offices? * A police raid on Congress Place, headquarters of the PNC, in May 1963 unearthed the infamous “X13” terror plan. A section of the document read as follows: “One day during the month of May 1963, a meeting was held at Congress Place between 11:00h and 14:00h

by LFS Burnham, Claude Graham and Green. At the meeting, it was decided to use explosives on all government buildings, the latter being the government’s Ferry Stelling and the government Produce Depot, Lombard Street.”

Does the mayor care to explain?

Part of Green’s whole intent was to deflect attention from his mismanagement of the city and in the process, again, Green tried to mislead us in respect to the real situation. While Town Clerk Carol Sooba is the administrative

head of the city, it is the mayor who has to demonstrate leadership in addressing the ills of the city.

Sooba is targeted because she is not complicit in the corrupt intent of those who use the city coffers for their personal gains. It is a pity Green has attempted to introduce character into his ramblings – most unfortunate, I might add.

It is a foregone conclusion that any competition between us on the measurement of good character, integrity and credibility is mine for the winning as Green would lose miserably.

But what baffles me the most is that despite his own claims of being overtaken by moral and spiritual revival, he persists with the most uncivilised behaviour which runs contrary to the norms and principles of morality and spirituality. But I will leave this judgement to the Almighty.

It is obvious that the mayor seizes every opportunity to vent his deep-seated anger/ hate which should not be taken for routine-type behaviour.

I would strongly recommend he consider therapy and medication. With such serious, deep anger/hate issues, I wonder if the mayor has ever thought about therapy, especially since I am aware there is some fantastic break through with medications these days.

Yours truly, Kwame Mc Coy

Granger should take a leaf from Lawrence’s book Dear Editor, I write in appal at the recent attempt to crucify Member of Parliament Volda Lawrence for the stand she took to support the development of Guyana.

I understand that there is party loyalty to be respected. However, as a Guyanese I am pleased to see that at least one elected official to the National Assembly on the op-

position side has taken the independent position to follow her conscientious. I call on all right minded citizens to offer their support to this exceptional parliamentarian for doing what is right despite the attacks she knew she would face by her own party.

I also would like to use this forum to call on David Granger to take a leaf from Lawrence’s book and support

her efforts to give the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) some dignity in the corridors of the Parliament buildings by supporting more developmental initiatives.

Lawrence voted her conscience and so too should the other parliamentarians.

Sincerely, Tamika Henry Williams

Dear Editor, As I traversed the main public road from Charity to Supenaam, I saw a contractor patching the road which has sunk and has some potholes and the approach of bridges were uneven with tar and quarry sifting, making it bumpy and very dangerous for driving.

This road was never maintained over the past 20 years, the regional administration of Region Two allowed it to deteriorate to such an extent that some parts of the road is shifting to the nearby trenches, for example, Queenstown Village.

Essequibians waited 28 years for this road and in 1993, the late Dr Cheddi Jagan and first Finance Minister Asgar Alli met with residents at a public meeting at Damon Park and the road was finalised.

The contract was awarded to Brazilian company Parapanema. Because of inadequate maintenance and some lorries fetching more than the tonnage or cubic, the

road sunk.

This road needs to be resurfaced with asphalt/bitumen where it can glue or bind and mix with aggregate particles to create a smooth concrete base, not the material the contractor has used on this road, making it uneven and a road hazard for drivers.

It was reported that many fatal and minor accidents occurred after the patching of this bumpy surface.

Essequibians are intelligent and literate people who possess a wide range of skills in road building and cannot be fooled with substandard work.

I would like to invite the Works Minister Robeson Benn and Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud to visit these substandard roads and streets which are being built with millions of subvention dollars each year in Region Two. They must act urgently to remove the many so-called road building contractors who have in the past been awarded contracts with taxpayers hard earned dollars. One of the most impor-

tant of these is that the roads do not last six months and are riddled with potholes.

They must do so urgently. Notwithstanding the extensive news coverage given every day to the so-called progress, the most important crisis facing the government is the lack of qualified engineers and personnel, while inroad fabrication infrastructure is threatened.

We see the need for highlevel and qualified road engineers with integrated thinking about road building issues that can save the government billions of dollars for the next 100 years.

We are faced with the same reality year after year with substandard roads and streets. In today’s changing world, we recognise that our main roadways are vitally important to the safety, well-being and quality of life in the Essequibo region.

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan

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SATURday, december 21, 2013

Page

Foundation

Making

BY LAURA LEWIS BROWN

F

or many of us, the new year means it’s time to take stock of our lives and fix what we don’t like. Whether it’s our diet, exercise routine or tendency to procrastinate, there is always room for improvement in the coming year.

We not only benefit from New Year resolutions; our children can also learn a lot about self-discipline and the value of making goals. Here are some tips on how to help your children benefit from making resolutions.

Make it a family activity

The best way to teach your children the importance of New Year resolutions is by making it part of the family tradition. Sit down each December and reflect on the past year, discussing your accomplishments and goals, as individuals and as a family. In your resolution conversation you can each talk about what worked this year and what didn’t.

guyanatimesgy.com

resolutions with your child Dr Benjamin Siegel, professor of paediatrics and psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, suggests saying, “Each one of us is going to state a few things that we want to continue to do and things we’d like to change that would make us feel better about ourselves and how our family works.”

Each family member gets a turn sharing something they are proud of and something they want to improve. It may help for parents to go first, to give children a model. If your child is old enough to write, he or she should write down their accomplishments and goals, and you can help your younger child by writing theirs down.

Resolutions for the entire family might include t a k i n g a monthly hike, play-

ing board games twice a month or committing to more volunteering activities. Try to limit the number so they are more doable and more meaningful. “A list of 100 things is impossible,” Siegel says. “It should be based on things that are doable without economic hardship.”

You can make a master list to hang in a public spot, like a bulletin board in the kitchen. Dr Kathleen Clarke-Pearson, a clinical assistant professor of paediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, suggests making a resolution box, in which each family member can drop in his or her resolutions, then pull them out at a later date to review them.

Different resolutions for different ages

What your child needs to work on depends on your child. If you are concerned about his diet, then encourage healthier eating habits for him as well as the whole family.

If your daughter’s room is a mess, try to help her commit 10 minutes a day to cleaning it. As your child ages, he can be more active in coming up with goals, which will

mean more to him when he achieves them.

For preschool-aged children, the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) recommends resolutions that focus on cleaning up toys, brushing teeth and washing hands and being kind to pets. However, parents who consider these behaviours part of their regular expectations may want to provide resolutions that focus on higher goals.

C l a r k e Pearson suggests preschoolers be encouraged to work on listening and helping skills. A resolution could be “I will be a better listener when mommy or daddy asks me to do something” or “I will help out more when mommy or daddy asks me.”

If you keep it simple, your child is more likely to understand the concept as well as succeed.

As a child reaches age five and up to age 12, he or she is more able to comprehend a resolution and participate more in the process of picking one. The AAP suggests this age group commit to drinking more milk and water on a daily basis,

wearing a seat belt and being friendly to all children.

What your child needs to work on is very personal, so work with your child to come up with areas for improvement. Is she having trou-

ble with a certain subject at school that needs more attention? Is he oversleeping and nearly missing the bus most mornings?

When your child gets into adolescence, the AAP recommendations focus more on the child taking more responsibility for his actions, including taking care of his body, dealing with stress in a healthy way, talking through conflict, resisting

drugs and alcohol and helping others through community service.

Serve as a role model

No matter what age your child is, he or she is more likely to understand the value of goal setting if you take the lead. Just as with everything else you do, your child is watching. “Parents should be reflective about how they wish to be in the coming year,” Siegel says.

“It’s a good opportunity to promote good mental and physical health.”

Think of how you can include your child in your resolution. “I’m going to drink more water this year, because water is good for me. Do you want to join me?” If you are finding yourself checking your e-mail when you should be spending time as a family, consider incorporating that into a goal. “I’m going to turn off my phone when I get home. Can you remind me and also remember to keep your computer in your room until after dinnertime?”

Rewards are long lasting

We all know the feeling of meeting a goal, whether it be losing five pounds, quitting smoking or putting in extra hours to earn a promotion. Children also relish that thrill of accomplishment, especially when their parents are acknowledging it. As you go over the family list of resolutions each month or quarter, take time to acknowledge the successes, along with reinforcing the resolutions that need more attention. “Children will benefit by having the parent praise them, which will improve their self-esteem,” Siegel says. “This will help them with selfregulatory behaviours that they can integrate into being a healthy adult.”

When you sit down to review resolutions, this is not time for punishment, however. It’s important to be flexible and understanding, especially if the child is making the effort. “You don’t penalise if you don’t fulfil a resolution,” ClarkePearson says. “The resolution is not written in stone.

It’s a guide.”

However, your family arrives at resolutions, the best part is that you’re doing it together and learning how to manage your role not only in the family but also in the larger world. (pbs.org/parents)

news

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SATURday, december 21, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Poor turnout mars GPSU protest

GPSU President Patrick Yarde addressing the few members who gathered for the protest/march at its headquarters on Friday

GPSU President Patrick Yarde leading the sparsely attended protest march in Georgetown

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Poor turnout on Friday marred a protest/march called by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) against the five per cent wages and salaries increase given by government.

The demonstration of less than one hundred people, organised by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), sought to get government to reconsider its position on the matter.

GPSU President Patrick Yarde blamed the late approval from the Guyana Police Force for the poor turnout to the peaceful protest.

Concerns Yarde said the union will not relent until the government addresses its concerns, noting that it is not taking the matter

lightly.

“All I need to say is that the government is rapidly losing its legitimacy… it has broken the law with the way they have treated us… broken the law in a variety of manners and they ought to take cognisant of what they are doing and correct it… if that continue down that path, they are inviting trouble to themselves.”

He added that this has been the 13th year since government has made a wages and salaries imposition on public servantsthinking that there would be no reaction.

“They eyes pass us… they have displayed utter disrespect for public servants in and out of uniforms,” Yarde said.

According to the GPSU president, the government has given certain sections of the public service

a month’s salary as bonus and though that they can manipulate them to go against those who are fighting for their right to bargain.

On that note, he called for public servants to come out in their numbers on Monday to join the protest.

Unreasonable Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon, who left business in his region to join the march, did not hesitate to vent his concerns, contending that the five per cent increase was unreasonable.

“We will continue to pursue without relenting in ensuring the govern-

ment honours its obligation to the working class people… go back to collective bargaining and ensure that workers are given their fair share, but more than that, to ensure that they are given what is meant for them.”

He claimed that the Parliament has set aside $4.9 billion to pay a 15 per cent increase across the board for workers, but this was not done.

“The Parliament would have given workers its due share and credit must be to the opposition parties who would have found it fit and also the government who is part of the Parliament would have approved the allotted sum

for workers to be given their fair share.”

Explanation However, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh had explained that the money allocated in the 2013 National Budget for revised wages and salary can only cater for five percent increase across the board to public servants, since the budgeted allocation not only catered for annual increases, but also to offset all the new recruitments and other employment shortfall costs that are not budgeted for under the different agencies in the central government system.

The minister pointed

out that the issue of the revised wages and salary was regrettably being manipulated and misrepresented by the opposition, whose members are well aware of how the funding is used, since the line item, which falls under the Finance Ministry itself is carefully scrutinised by them whenever it comes up for consideration during the annual budget debates.

He explained that this has been a practise enshrined in central government for a number of years, and for this reason, it is difficult to predict which agencies would be recruiting, and in what numbers and when.

8 news

saturday, december 21, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Gunmen rob Regent Street store of $17.2M

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wo gunmen on Friday carried out a brazen daylight robbery around 08:30h on a clerk attached to the Shamdas Kirpalani store on Regent Street, carting off $17.2 million.

According to information received, the clerk, Rajiv Singh, was about to enter a

commercial bank on Avenue of the Republic with a carton box containing the money when the bandits confronted him at gunpoint, before relieving him of the box.

Persons in the vicinity reportedly thought that the men were assisting Singh, since it appeared as though they were together. It was

not until the young man raised an alarm that persons realised that a robbery had been committed, but by then the bandits had already escaped on a motorcycle.

The police were summoned, but the heavy traffic prevented them from giving chase. Officers have since taken statements from sever-

al persons, including Singh, but no one has yet been arrested.

Guyana Times later learnt that Singh would normally go to the said bank every morning to make deposits.

Investigators said they are working on the theory that the clerk was followed by the bandits.

Duo remanded on firearm, ammo charges

T

wo 20-year-old men accused of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition were remanded to prison on Friday, after they appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts to answer the charges.

Standing in Court One before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, Jameen Fareen, of F24 Guyhoc Park

Georgetown, and Phillip McPherson, of B Field, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, both entered a not guilty plea to the charges which stated that on December 19 at Ogle International Airport, they were in possession of a .45 pistol and four matching live rounds.

Prosecutor Bharat Mangru told the court that

the two men were observed by a security guard who informed a police officer about his suspicions. A search was conducted on both defendants and the firearm, along with the ammunition, was found.

Attorney Euclin Gomes made an appearance on behalf of Fareen and said that his client was a student at

Global Technology. In his application for bail, he stated that his client had no knowledge of the firearm.

Meanwhile, an unrepresented McPherson said that he was also a student.

The matter was transferred to the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court to be heard before Magistrate Alex Moore on December 23.

3.9kg of Man refused bail on drug trafficking charge marijuana found in A Norton Street home man was on Friday brought before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on a possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking charge.

Godfrey Gordon pleaded not guilty the charge which stated that on December 19 at Four Miles, Port Kaituma,

North West District, he had in his possession 729 grams of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

Prosecutor Bharat Mangru told the court that on the said date around 01:30h, police ranks on patrol at Port Kaituma stopped the defendant and carried out a search. As a result, the illegal substance was found

on his person.

The prosecutor objected to bail, citing that no special reason was given by the defendant for bail to be granted.

The matter was transferred to Matthews Ridge Magistrate’s Court where it will be heard before the presiding magistrate on February 3.

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s drug enforcement units continue to put a dent in the drug trade, the narcotics branch of the Guyana Police Force on Friday searched a house on Norton Street, Georgetown and discovered 3kg 970grams of marijuana.

The raid was conducted about 13:45h, resulting in the arrest of one man, who is assisting with investigations.

Charges are expected to be laid shortly.

Recently, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud stated that the police this year have destroyed 555.077kg of cannabis, seized 20kg of cocaine and prosecuted at least 775 offenders.

Eyew tness Questions...

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...and Green rom his recent letter answering charges by Kwame Mc Coy, it seems Mayor Hamilton Green wants to imitate Socrates. He’s certainly old and wizened enough for the role – you know...where you answer every question with another question. Socrates, however, wanted to get people to think. Green, on the other hand, merely wants to wiggle out from taking responsibility for what’s happened to our Garden City. Yes, you youngsters, Georgetown was once called that – BG (Before Green).

Green denied having influence over spending the taxes collected from businesses and the citizens of Georgetown.

This, he says, is the job of the Town Clerk Carol Sooba. So blame her for the (miserable) state of Georgetown! Now if this is Green’s position, why’s he been fighting the woman tooth and nail (and then some) over every initiative of hers?

Take the removal of vendors who’ve cast such a blight (not to mention mountains of drainclogging, unsightly, smelly garbage) over the city. The town clerk moved immediately upon assuming office to address the problem – sending the city constabulary to ensure the law of the land was followed.

That’s good use of the citizens’ money, no? But what happens? Green organises the vendors to picket the town clerk!!!! Now in which city in the world would a mayor be allowed to get away with this sorta nonsense?

But it’s no use beating that particular dead horse. Green’s been dragged over the coals for his destruction of Georgetown by everyone under the sun... but he’s still mayor, isn’t he?

Criticism to him is like throwing water on a duck’s back. But if the wanker’s gonna be mayor for life, how the heck do we get him to wake up to his responsibilities? Well, maybe we can use his same Socratic technique...but not to try to embarass him like he tried to do to Mc Coy. So what questions to pose?

Well, as far as “responsibilities” are concerned, maybe he can answer the question that’s been on people’s minds for decades: who’s responsible for killing his wife, Shirley Field-Ridley?

And why did he have her cremated before an autopsy could be conducted – which could’ve shown whether she was poisoned? Here was a bright, beautiful and patriotic Guyanese female who outshone Green by every yardstick (she was minister of education) whose life was suddenly snuffed out.

And if Green wants to talk some more about “responsibility”, could he tell us why, even if he didn’t give a hoot about the rest of Georgetown, couldn’t he at least have the Shirley Field-Ridley monument on Merriman Mall taken care of? Wants to bury her memory also, no? ...from Suspenders The Socrates’ bug must be catching because Lalloo “Suspenders” Ram weighed in with a slew of questions to the newly appointed disciplined forces chief-of-staff (CoS).

“Suspenders” is another one with a whole lotta skeletons buried in his closet – so it’s also misdirection all the way with this slippery (some might say “sleazy”) character.

Suspenders got his buckta in a knot because the CoS merely confirmed that “the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will respect any decisions (of the government) made for the country.”

So what does he want the GDF to do? Disobey the civilian authorities? The wanker quotes a slew of laws and then sententiously announced: “My understanding is that no convention can take precedence over the law....”

But ignored the small matter that none of his quoted laws instructed the CoS to disobey the government of the day. Is he advocating treason?

We knew going into law so far into his dotage might fry his brain! ...for MuckrackerKN If it’s another week, there must be another apology from the MuckrakerKN in its addiction to sensationalism.

This time it’s to a Berbice female deputy teacher who, they lied, became drunk on students’ liquor. High female official...low female official... it doesn’t matter. The Muckraker’s job is to defame.

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saturday, december 21, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

336 graduate Rose Hall Town littered with garbage from CPCE

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Garbage dumped on a road in Rose Hall Town

Prizewinning graduating teachers at the 79th CPCE graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre

and human resource development programmes which enabled some staffers to pursue further studies.

Seventy-four of the graduates are now trained in early childhood teaching, 110 for the primary level and 156 are certified to teach at the secondary level.

Some of the graduating teachers at the 79th CPCE graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre

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hief Education Officer Olato Sam on Thursday saluted all of the nation’s teachers and educators for what he described as their tireless contributions to the improvement of the education system, as he delivered the feature address at the Cyril Potter College of Education’s (CPCE) 79th graduation ceremony.

He said government’s investment in the training and upgrading of educational facilities must be matched with the quality of the teachers necessary to take the system forward.

CPCE is on the upsurge and the graduates, according to Sam, must reflect the quality of investments being made towards their training.

He urged the 336 graduates to “not be complacent and let others denigrate your chosen profession, stand up, especially to those who don’t have any idea or understand the sacrifices that you go through to make a difference”.

He also reminded those who were successful to continue studying so as to improve themselves and those who will benefit from their teaching.

Remains committed

CPCE’s Principal Viola Rowe said that the institution remains committed to its mandate of preparing men and women from all regions of the country for formal entry into the teaching system, “using both face to face and distance modules (print and computer assisted). We are confident of that our graduates are capable of providing high quality instruction to students in urban and rural classrooms of Guyana, contributing to

the national development goal of having a competent citizenry”.

The principal said that 788 students initially registered for the academic year 2012-2013, 17 per cent males and 88 per cent females for the programmes of associate degree, the trained teachers’ certificate and the teacher upgrading programmes.

She mentioned some of the challenges as being unable to attract enough part-time staffers; hence, the need to utilise fulltime staffers to compensate for this shortfall, the absence of technology support in some schools and an inability to incorporate information communication technology (ICT) in the teaching/learning situation. This, she noted, is being addressed by the Education Ministry’s drive to equip all schools with ICT laboratories.

The need to get some stakeholders to “buy-in” to the need for regular attendance resulted in some of the trainees withdrawing from the CPCE.

Successes

Successes listed included the design of the induction year programme, course reviews and development, the use of the teaching practicum (a semester and classroom observation instrument), the procurement of furniture for the CPCE’s library, an emergency generator to power the campus, two ICT laboratories, an electronic student records system, closer links with other institutions such as the University of Guyana and the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD), continuous staff evaluation

eckless disposal of solid waste continues to be a major eye-sore in Rose Hall Town and its environs and residents do not have an option since the Mayor and Town Council has ceased collection some time ago.

The collection is now in the hands of Local Government Ministry, with private companies contracted to collect and dispose of domestic and commercial solid waste, throughout the

country.

According to frustrated residents, the private contractors only visit the area once per week and the collection fee is exorbitant.

They are of the view that the Mayor and Town Council of Rose Hall should continue the garbage collection as residents pay their rates and taxes.

“We are forced to burn our garbage and what we cannot burn, we have to throw away, we na afford to pay

money every time, some of we single parents can’t even send our children to school,” the woman said.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said even the tractor driver who was in the employ of the town council to pick up garbage from the parapets and allegedly took bribes from residents, is not in operation.

Rose Hall Town is in a messy state with garbage dumped on the roadways to the drainage canals and anywhere else deemed convenient for dumping.

Efforts to solicit a comment from the town council proved futile as this publication was told that the town clerk is on maternity leave and the IMC chairman is in New York attending his father’s funeral.

“We will continue to dump our garbage anywhere because we think it should be the responsibility of the M&TC to collect garbage weekly as they used to,” another resident said.

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guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, December 21, 2013

News

Ruling on budget cut appeal set for January 13

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hen the budget cut appeal hearing came up again on Friday in the Full Court, justices James Bovell-Drakes and Rishi Persaud announced that they will rule on the appeal on January 13.

On that date, Opposition Leader David Granger will know whether he will be allowed to be heard in the 2012 budget cut court case, which is being held in abeyance pending the course of the appeal.

On June 19, a decision was taken by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang to dismiss the opposition leader, as well as Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh from the case, on the grounds that as members of Parliament (MPs), the Constitution provides them with immunity.

Granger has since sought to waive his immunity in an appeal. Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who represents the government in the 2012 Budget cut case, had argued that Granger’s immunity as an MP prohibits any participation in legal proceedings. However, Granger’s Attorney Basil Williams had argued that his client was willing to waive his immunity.

Nandlall disagreed with the opposition leader’s claim that he has a right to waive his immunity, arguing that it is not immunity but a prohibition which could expose all other Parliamentarians.

The attorney general stated that for the opposition leader to relinquish his rights

to immunity, legislation has to be passed, amending the current law before this can happen.

The parliamentary opposition had slashed the 2012 budget by $21 billion, leading to the government to take legal action on the basis that the opposition has no power to cut the budget.

The acting chief justice in a preliminary ruling has said that the National Assembly cannot cut the budget and that the finance minister has the authority to allocate monies as needed. But the opposition again in 2013, despite the ruling, slashed over $30 billion from the estimates, prompting a return to the court for a final ruling.

U.S. store apologises to Hindus over Lord Ganesh socks

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rban Outfitters, a publicly traded American retail company which offers a variety of lifestyle merchandise, has apologised to Hindus upset over socks carrying the image of Lord Ganesh and offered to remove it from stores and website immediately.

In an email to distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest, Urban Outfitters Public Relations Manager Crystal Carroll wrote: “We sincerely apologise if we offended the Hindu community and

our customers. We appreciate Rajan Zed and the Universal Society of Hinduism for bringing this matter to our attention and for helping us understand the cultural and religious sensitivities this product carries. We will remove the Ganesh socks immediately from our website and stores.”

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada, U.S.A., thanked Urban Outfitters for understanding the concerns of the Hindu community, which

thought Lord Ganesh’s image on socks was highly inappropriate.

Zed suggested the corporations send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when creating new products or launching advertising campaigns.

Zed has earlier said that Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be wrapped around one’s foot.

Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophicly which should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Zed had argued.

Zed had also pointed out that such trivialisation of Lord Ganesh was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus are for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more, but faith was something sacred and attempts at trivialising it hurt the followers, Zed added.

Hindus found the sock which had a crewlength cotton sock topped with a Lord Ganesh graphic at the trim objectionable. It sold at US$8 on the website. Urban Outfitters website described it as “Awesome” and “UO Exclusive”.

Philadelphia, U.S.A. headquartered firm Urban Outfitters Inc, offers Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and BHLDN brands through stores in the U.S.A., Canada, and Europe; besides garden centre, catalogs, websites and wholesale. It boasts of its “established ability to understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level” and calls its brands “both compelling and distinct”.

Richard A Hayne is president of Urban Outfitters Inc while Tedford Marlow is chief executive officer of Urban Outfitters Group.

In Hinduism, Lord Ganesh is the deity of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.

Stan easy better than beg pardon

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ld people does always seh stan easy better than beg pardon.

But some people don’t believe so. Dem rather open dem big mouth and write wrong news and then beg pardon. Stan easy fuh dem don’t exist.

Dem like de kneel down and beg pardon part. De kneel down more than de beg pardon though.

One setta people had to kneel down and beg pardon a woman in de GT de garbadge town de other day. Dem was even friken fuh admit every ting whah dem write in de mud paper. Any body woulda believe that dem was in front a judge who about to jail dem. Dem even had to kneel down and beg another woman from de A-GEE office before that…twice.

Now dem had to kneel down and beg pardon another big woman in another part of de country this time. It gotta be some ting wid de kneelin down. It gotta be some ting that dem like wid that. It gotta be some ting that dem does do steady. It gotta be some ting that dem would never stop doin. Dem in this kneelin down business wid dem boys fuh life.

But according to dem boys who seh dem is boys, dem not really fonda kneelin down to any woman. Dem rather keep that among dem boys who seh dem is boys. And wid Green Ham, Lalloo and Ram Bow joinin dem boys, that is a lotta kneelin down fuh dem boys who so old that dem can’t really stand up straight.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend… mattie tell mattie! Well, according to de results of de march whah de Yarde Man, Grain Jah and Rum Jhaat call, it look like dem gon de joinin dem boys too. After all was more police than any ting else or any body else. De guvament shoulda tek de five percent and give de police. De guvament workers who march should kneel down and beg pardon now!

11 News

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, DEcEMBER 21, 2013

Housing minister treats senior citizens National Park brightens up for festive season to Christmas luncheon

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Housing Minister Irfaan Ali serving the elderly

ome 100 residents from Leonora and surrounding communities recently benefitted from a luncheon and hamper hosted by Housing Minister Irfaan Ali at the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) centre at Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

The minister said some 2500 persons in the past 11 months have benefitted from a series of medical check-ups hosted by various groups at the centre.

Chairman of the centre, Sadiqqi Haniff thanked the minister for establishing the centre in the community, pointing out that it has made a variety of services possible.

The elderly were served by young members of society.

Persaud challenges critics to public debate on New River deal

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud

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atural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud has thrown out a public challenge to those who have been criticising his actions regarding the issuance of the Permission for Geological and Geophysical Survey (PGGS) for the New River Triangle area, saying he was willing to debate anyone on the issue as to wheth-

er he sold out the country or broke the law.

He made this declaration on Wednesday at the 32nd Guyana Gold and Diamond Mining Association (GGDMA) dinner while addressing the gathering.

Persaud said “… any group, be it the media, environmental group or be it any political party, I am willing to enter into a public debate and let them set it up any place, any time with any one, on all the issues raised because what we have and what we’ve done, we are proud of. Its consistent with our laws and whatever we do in the sector, we do it because it’s in the best interest for Guyana’s development.”

Misrepresentations

The natural resources minister pointed out that there has been a lot of misrepresentations of what is happening in the sector. He said that there are some who still believe that everyone should live in an antagonistic atmosphere and so when

persons are in “talks with others over investments, they think you are selling out”.

“When we set about to have broad stakeholder partnership, be it with the mining, environmental community, it is not about compromising our social principles but rather in a society such as ours, it is important that we collaborate, it is important that we build consensus and it is important that we seek to work together, so not because when we open the papers in the morning, I’m not cursing down the mining sector means I’m in bed with the sector, that’s backward thinking,” the minister vented.

Persaud stressed that this is the first and only PGGS in the country where there was a call for a public expression of interest.

He continued that he has been accused of acting in a stealth manner, but refuted it, stating that he cannot do so when everything is in the media and there is an official

gazetteer.

The PGGS was granted to the Muri Brazil Ventures Inc, by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to conduct a survey after the company had expressed interest in the area.

However, many controversies had since arisen because the New River Triangle is said to be a pristine forest area and is extremely ecologically sensitive, as such, there has been a rudimentary understanding that it should be environmentally protected, especially against mining practices.

While a PGGS is considered a property exclusive to exploration and does not include any mining and/ or profit related activities, it was reported in the media that the permission was given to survey the 2.2 million acres of land, in which the company was also given the right to track 18 prospecting licence to mine the area.

President Donald Ramotar flicks the switch to illuminate the trees for the first time in the National Park

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he Protected Areas Commission of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry spearheaded for the first time, the lighting-up of several trees in the National Park in keeping with the Christmas season.

President Donald Ramotar flicked the switch to illuminate the trees and another to light-up the joggers’ track in the park.

The latter exercise, is part of the Three-Parks Initiative, and was specially added to the work that will be carried out under the programme, at the behest of the president.

President Ramotar explained that the aim was to make the park brighter and safer for those persons, who due to their work schedule, can only use the park to work out and relax, late in the evening.

The president himself has utilised the park for several years and is only seeking to ensure that all have the opportunity to enjoy the

beneficial effects of exercise.

President Ramotar noted that the government has always sought to ensure the park is accessible to all Guyanese, noting that it was this government that opened up the park to the public, which was once a golf club, restricted to members only.

The Three-Parks initiative being undertaken under the stewardship of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is aimed at bringing up to international standards the zoo, the National Park and the Botanical Gardens.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud, who was also present at the ceremony, noted that the initiative not only seeks to upgrade the parks, but also to bring to the city, the pristine environment that is enjoyed in the hinterland regions.

Lighting up of the joggers’ track will facilitate persons enjoying the use of the park up to about 21:00h.

12 News

Saturday, December 21, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

AFC laments poor state of Mahdia Road

The pothole-filled Mahdia Road

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he Alliance For Change (AFC) is expecting that the 2014 national budget will provide sufficient funds for the total and proper rehabilitation of the road in the Mahdia community.

The present condition of the road is in an appalling state, especially during the rainy season. The 2013 budget did not provide sufficient funds to rehabilitate the road.

The party in a release said it is unconscionable that for a region that contributes as much to the national coffers, Region Eight residents have to put up with a road as bad as the one they have.

The government while boasting of the growth in the economy and the record gold production, should put back

some of that money into the region whose resources are being plundered.

In addition, the AFC is urging the local government minister to cooperate with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and heed the call of the council to have the regional executive officer removed.

The AFC contended that the regional executive officer’s non-cooperative attitude has stymied the efforts of the RDC to bring development to the region, and as a result, the people are suffering.

Regional Chairman Mark Crawford has repeatedly written the local government minister, citing numerous instances where the REO has been less than professional, but, to date, the

minister has failed to see the wisdom of ensuring Region Eight has an REO who is committed to the development of the region.

“It seems that since losing control of the region to the AFC, the PPP/C government through the Ministry of Local Government and its appointed REO has been punishing the people of Region Eight for voting the way they did in 2011,” the AFC said.

Meanwhile, the regional chairman has had cause to write the permanent secretary of the Local Government Ministry enquiring about his copy of the auditor general’s report. It is customary for the ministry to forward copies of the AG’s report to all regional chairpersons.

ASL launches helicopter, aeroplane tours of Georgetown

New York immigrant population reaches peak

New York City’s immigrant population has reached a new peak, according to a new report issued by the city

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ew York City’s immigrant population has reached a new peak, with the percentage of foreign-born residents being the highest it has been in more than a century, according to a new report issued by the city.

More than three million immigrants – 37.2 per cent of its population – were living in the city in 2011. This is the highest percentage the city has seen since 1910, when 40.8 per cent of New Yorkers were foreign-born.

According to the Department of City Planning report, entitled “The Newest New Yorkers”, the city’s immigrant population hit a low in 1970 when only 18 per cent of residents had come from another country. It has grown since then, stabilising and growing the city’s overall population. “[Immigrants] were crucial in pushing New York’s

growth over the eight million mark in 2000, and have now propelled the city to its new population peak of 8.34 million in 2012,” a press release stated.

The largest percentage of immigrants has settled in Queens and Brooklyn, where two-thirds of the city’s immigrant population lives.

The Bronx and Staten Island both saw a jump in foreign-born residents between 2000 and 2011. The Bronx’s immigrant population grew by about 85,300, while Staten Island’s immigrant population increased by 36 per cent, the largest percentage increase of the five boroughs.

According to the report, the largest immigrant group hails from The Dominican Republic, with 380,200 residents living in the five boroughs. The second leading group was China with 350,200 residents.

The

Chinese population, however, has grown at a much faster rate between 2000 and 2011, the report found.

If these growth rates continue, they are expected to become the city’s largest immigrant group in the next few years.

Other countries represented by the city’s foreignborn population are Mexico, Jamaica, Guyana, Ecuador, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, India and Russia. The report also looked at the role immigrants play in the city’s economy. They comprise 47 per cent of all employed residents in all major industries, and they also disproportionately represent those who start new businesses.

“As the city stays economically attractive, it will continue to sustain immigrant flow, which in turn acts to sustain its economy,” the report stated.

Religious leaders discuss spiritual care with new nurses in Nevada

The ASL helicopter which will be used for the tours

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ir Services Limited (ASL) is now offering 10 minute aerial tours of Georgetown, with passengers having the choice to go by helicopter or aircraft.

The tours depart from Ogle using either the Bell 206 Long Range helicopter or Cessna 172 aircraft, and ASL is offering this exciting tour at a “Christmas Special Price” of $9000 per person in the helicopter, and $4000 per person in the aircraft, ASL said in a release.

The route commences from Ogle airport straight to the coastline then turns left, following the sea-

wall past the Marriott Hotel now under construction. The tour then turns south taking in the views along the Demerara River from town to the Harbour Bridge. One final left turn past the Princess Hotel and Providence Stadium takes passengers back to the Ogle airstrip.

ASL’s Annette ArjoonMartins said, “The aerial view is truly special. You see Georgetown from a new perspective – the seawall, Pegasus and Marriott hotels, Stabroek Market and St George’s Cathedral are highlights – and it also shows the intricate lay-

out of the various parts of the city stretching from the Demerara River to Sheriff Street. At that elevation, you can also see the Harbour Bridge connecting this area to West Demerara, the very healthy mangrove forests at Vreed-en-Hoop and our coastline stretching east along the Atlantic Ocean.”

ASL staff member Brittney Ally, who has been on test trips of the tour, said, “It’s a great experience.

The views are so amazing; it gives you a whole new feeling about your country. I would advise folks going on the tour to definitely bring a camera.”

Sitting in front row are religious leaders from diverse traditions while some of the new nurses and hospital staff are standing at the back. This photograph was taken soon after the panel discussion

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eligious leaders belonging to diverse traditions participated in a “Spiritual Care Panel” discussion with a group of new registered nurses in Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Centre in Reno, Nevada, U.S.A., on December 18.

The panel discussion was held under the theme “Transition to Practice Programme” for recent registered nurse graduates.

The participants included First Congregational Church of Reno, Pastor Richard L Smith;

Northern Nevada Muslim Community President Sherif A Elfass; Hindu statesman Rajan Zed; Matthew Fisher of Reno Buddhist Centre; Temple Sinai Rabbi Ethan Bair; Roman Catholic Deacon Gil Coleman; Patricia Meidell of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Saint Mary’s Director of Spiritual Care Marie Luback-Neves; and Saint Mary’s Chaplain William R Greaver III. Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and who explained Hindu tenets relat-

ing to patient care in the panel, said that it is very important that upcoming nurses know the basics of various religions/denominations so that they can better address the spiritual needs of patients, resulting in an improved experience of their stay.

All hospitals of the nation should train their nurses in the basics of the major religions/denominations as meeting the spiritual needs of patients is very important, especially during hospitalisation, Zed added.

news

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saturday, december 21, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Hundreds spellbound GPHC’s Neonatal Unit gets funding for foetal monitors at GT&T’s “Magical Night of Christmas”

A section of the gathering at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

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he Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company’s (GT&T) “Magical Night of Christmas” has become a traditional feature on the Christmas calendar of events in Guyana for the past few years.

The event has outgrown its traditional venue in the Promenade Gardens and this year was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

GT&T's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Radha Krishna Sharma welcomed the patrons to the event and noted the significance of this

ing with the spiritual observance of Christmas.

He noted that during the year, the company continued to offer goodwill and rewarded its customers in various ways, including its competitive cellular rates with its “After 2 promotion”, enhanced DSL speed at no additional cost, reduced roaming rates with no subscription and more recently, its initiative to request of the Public Utilities Commission approval to reduce international calls by 80 per cent.

Sharma said to top it

GT&T CEO Radha Krishna Sharma addressing the gathering at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

goodwill signature event, especially at this time of year.

The company, he said, in addition to its core business, has lived up to its many corporate and social responsibilities and has become more than a household name.

GT&T has made significant contributions in the areas of sports, national events, culture and national development as a whole.

The CEO endorses the universal feeling of brotherhood, joy and giving in keep-

all off, in the good spirit of Christmas, the company has provided the opportunity for its customers to win millions of cash for the Christmas holidays, the grand drawing for which takes place on Monday, live on radio.

Despite the inclement weather, hundreds of children showed up for the cultural programme and were notably excited as demonstrated by their jubilant reaction to the performances and gifts received.

A child receives a gift from Santa during the party at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall

GPHC Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan (seventh left); NAMILCO’s Finance Controller Fitzroy McLeod (third right), and ScotiaBank’s Marketing Manager Jennifer Cipriani (third left) with GPHC staff during the handing over ceremony on Wednesday

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he Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) Neo-Natal Unit was presented with cheques valued $900,000 towards the purchase of foetal monitors which are expected to boost the hospital’s ability to monitor unborn babies.

The National Milling Company (NAMILCO),

ScotiaBank and Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh made donations of $300,000 each to GPHC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Khan at the NeoNatal Unit on Wednesday.

The foetal monitor is a device that checks unborn babies to ensure that there are no abnormalities or difficulties.

One of the equipment is valued $1.2 million. The unit

has three monitors and over 15 foetal handhelds which are similar to the monitor.

Khan expressed gratitude for the donation which will enable the hospital to expand the quality of services delivered to the persons, especially pregnant women.

The GPHC has the largest number of deliveries in the country, with 60 per cent

recorded there.

Khan pointed out that the hospital has expanded the Neo-Natal Unit which now sees most of the sick babies not only from GPHC, but from the private hospitals with support from the Burn Care Unit and Guyana Help the Kids First Fund, which has been providing support to the unit.

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saturday, December 21, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Around the world

Chile's court orders tsunami Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer compensation

The tsunami devastated coastal communities in Chile

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hile’s Supreme Court has for the first time ordered the state to pay compensation to the relatives of one of the victims of the 2010 tsunami.

The BBC’s Gideon Long in Santiago says the ruling could set a precedent for hundreds of other compensation claims. More than 500 people died in the

February 2010 earthquake and the tsunami that followed it. Coastal villages were hit by enormous waves after the government lifted an initial tsunami warning.

The court ordered the state to pay the widow, children and grandchild of Mario Ovando, who lived in the southern port city of Talcahuano, 55 million pe-

sos (US$100,000; £63,000).

The court heard that following the earthquake, Ovando had heard an announcement on the radio that there was no danger of a tsunami. On the basis of that he decided to stay in his home. However, 20 minutes later his house was engulfed by huge waves. Although his relatives managed to free him and take him to hospital, Ovando died three days later.

The Chilean Navy – which runs the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service – admitted after the tsunami that it had made errors in its diagnosis and had given unclear information to government officials. The government issued an alert, then deactivated it, then revived it only after the deadly waves had struck. (Excerpt from

BBC News)

Uganda passes draconian anti-gay law

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gandan politicians have passed an anti-gay law that punishes “aggravated homosexuality” with life imprisonment.

The bill drew wide condemnation when it was first introduced in 2010 and included the death penalty, but that was removed from the revised version passed by parliament.

Although a provision for the death penalty was removed from the original bill, the law passed on Friday sets life imprisonment as the maximum pen-

alty for the new offence of “aggravated homosexuality” – repeat offending – according to the office of a spokeswoman for Uganda’s parliament.

Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that criminalised sexual acts “against the order of nature”, but the Ugandan politician who wrote the new law argued that tough new legislation was needed because gay people from the west threatened to destroy Ugandan families and were allegedly “recruiting”

Ugandan children into gay lifestyles.

The Ugandan gay community has disputed this account, saying that Ugandan political and religious leaders had come under the influence of American evangelicals who wanted to spread their anti-gay campaign in Africa. They have singled out Scott Lively, a Massachusetts evangelical, who they sued in March 2012 under the Alien Tort Statute that allows non-citizens to file suit in the U.S. if there is an alleged violation of international law.

(Excerpt from The Guardian)

Khodorkovsky arrives in Germany after Putin pardon

Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Berlin with German ex-foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, whom he thanked for helping with his release

R

ussian ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has arrived in Germany, hours after being pardoned by President Vladimir Putin and freed from a decade in jail.

In a statement Khodorkovsky, 50, confirmed he had asked Putin for a pardon due to “family

circumstances” – his mother is suffering from cancer.

He did not admit guilt and referred to those who were “unjustly convicted and continue to be persecuted” in his case.

Putin earlier said he had signed the pardon on “the principles of humanity”. Khodorkovsky, the former head of the now de-

funct oil giant Yukos, was once Russia’s richest man and had used his wealth to fund opposition parties. He was jailed for tax evasion and theft.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “happy” that Khodorkovsky had been freed. Khodorkovsky left the penal colony where he was being held, in the Karelia region of northwestern Russia, early on Friday afternoon.

Russia’s Federal Penal Service, quoted by news agency Interfax, said: “In the course of his release, Khodorkovsky asked for a passport for foreign travel.

His request was met.

“Once he was released from prison, he left for Germany. We stress that the flight took place at his request and his exit documents were processed at his personal request.” (Excerpt from BBC News)

A

s a key part of a campaign to embed encryption software that it could crack into widely used computer products, the U.S. National Security Agency arranged a secret US$10 million contract with RSA, one of the most influential firms in the computer security industry, Reuters has learned.

Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show that the NSA created and

promulgated a flawed formula for generating random numbers to create a “back door” in encryption products, the New York Times reported in September. Reuters later reported that RSA became the most important distributor of that formula by rolling it into a software tool called Bsafe that is used to enhance security in personal computers and many other products.

Undisclosed until now

was that RSA received US$10 million in a deal that set the NSA formula as the preferred, or default, method for number generation in the BSafe software, according to two sources familiar with the contract.

Although that sum might seem paltry, it represented more than a third of the revenue that the relevant division at RSA had taken in during the entire previous year, securities filings show. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Brahimi says Iran could attend Syria talks

W

hether or not Iran will be among the nations invited to attend Syrian peace talks in Switzerland is still a source of disagreement between the UN and the United States, peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has said.

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva on Friday, Brahimi underlined that Tehran was not completely off the list of those who would attend Geneva 2, despite U.S. objections.

“On Iran, we haven’t

agreed yet. It’s no secret that we in the United Nations welcome the participation of Iran, but our partners in the United States are still not convinced that Iran’s participation would be the right thing,” Brahimi told reporters after talks with U.S. and Russian officials.

“We have agreed that we will be talking a little bit more to see if we can come to an agreement about this.” Brahimi did announce the 26 nations who

were confirmed as attending the talks, due to start on January 22. Russia, a key ally of the Syrian regime, has sought to have Iran at the table but Reuters news agency reported that a senior U.S. official had said it was “difficult to imagine” Iran at the peace talks.

Brahimi also discussed his concern at the worsening situation in Syria, expressing anger and disappointment at the face that the conflict was still ongoing. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Jamaica: Attorney, co-accused offered J$10M bail each

T

he attorney slapped with money laundering charges Thursday and her three co-accused were offered J$10 million bail each, when they appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court this morning.

Fifty-five-year-old attorney Dawn Satterswaite was charged along with Paulette Higgins, 53, of Norman Gardens, Kingston 2; Janet

Ramsay, 50, of Bridgeport, Portmore, St Catherine, and Ann Marie Cleary, 40, of Woodlawn, Manchester, for breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act. They are to return to court on February 18, 2014 and are to report to the police every Monday until their court date.

The attorney’s Duke Street, Kingston office was raided by the police Tuesday, part of an island-

wide operation in collaboration with the Financial Investigative Division of the Finance Ministry (FID). The three women charged along with the attorney are said to be relatives of convicted drug trafficker, Andrew Hamilton, who was arrested in California, U.S.A. Hamilton is to be sentenced in February 2014. (Jamaica Observer)

New airlift into Antigua and Barbuda

O

n its inaugural journey from Manchester to Antigua, Thomas Cook Airlines received an invitation to extend its services year-round. Until that wish of Tourism Minister John Maginley is realised, the airline is expected to stick to its agreed non-stop weekly service into Antigua and Barbuda.

“You are going to have such success in Antigua

that you are going to have no choice but to come back in the summer as well,” Maginley declared.

The aircraft received a water salute after landing at the VC Bird International Airport Thursday afternoon with 100 passengers.

Tourism Authority CEO Colin James, in welcoming the airline, expressed optimism that despite several challenges, the UK market

will continue to grow. “In the UK market we are seeing our numbers beginning to turn, we see awareness of the destination improving and that can only be good news for everybody,” James said.

The head of the tourism authority said the flight is an additional 320 seats weekly in air travel between the United Kingdom and the destination this tourist season and adds an alternative gateway for visitors travelling from the UK into Antigua and Barbuda.

Thomas Cook will be utilising a fully refurbished Airbus A330 aircraft with a total seating capacity of 320 seats, with an economy-only configuration for this aircraft, the authority said in a release. (Excerpt from Antigua Observer)

15 News

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, dECember 21, 2013

Palm Court ready to Gravity Lounge hosting rock for festive season “Seven Days of Christmas” streets. And in the ball will be the talented singer, Meghan Vieira, who will be performing.

However, before Tuesday’s event, there will be the Naughty and Nice party hosted by Pulse Entertainment, which is known for its fun parties.

Not only is PC known for its club atmosphere in the evenings, but also for their daily lunch buffets.

Palm Court is the place to have a blast this festive season

W

ith the holiday seasons upon us and tons of activities planned, popular night spot Palm Court (PC) will be catering for partyholics with grand events for the two festive holidays.

Tuesday will be the Christmas Eve Jingle Bell Ball – a Palm Court tradition which is expected to be great fun as every other PC party.

Then to close off the year, the entertainment hotspot will have its second annual New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball. This will be held on the following Tuesday and patrons should expect big and great things to happen. Since this

event runs from all night into morning, there will also a dinner buffet including Guyanese specials such as pepperpot, cook-up rice and garlic pork.

VIP tickets for the Masquerade Ball cost $25,000 and is inclusive of dinner and a premium bar while regular tickets costs $5000. Masks will be available for those in the VIP area; however, those desirous of bring their own can do so.

Also on that night, the New Year will be ushered in with a ball drop similar to the event at Time Square.

The ball will be dropped on the corners of the western side of Main and Middle

A

s the festivities of the holiday season intensify, Gravity Lounge is hosting a series of parties every night until Christmas Eve for all those party animals.

The “Seven Days of Christmas” began on Thursday night with DJ Private Ryan spinning the records and on Monday, the Major Laser Group will be performing.

For the season, the nightclub has introduced new dishes and drinks.

Every night, there will a different drink special.

On Christmas Eve, there will be different drink specials every hour.

Gravity will also be hosting its first New Year’s Eve Party under the theme “This is London”. The cuisine and décor will be British-inspired, and pa-

trons will be able to observe other partygoers in the city welcoming the New Year with firecrackers from Gravity’s balconies.

Tickets for the event cost $15,000 for access to the premium open bar and $25,000 for dinner, drinks, and breakfast.

Music will be provided

by DJ Bevaughn and DJ Energy, and will satisfy everyone’s taste.

16

SATURday, DECember 21, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Asia

Caribbean

Guardian Group tops global stage China rejects U.S. corn on

G

uardian Group has been awarded four prestigious international marketing and communication awards in 2013. Guardian Group received two Gold Quill Awards from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), attaining an Excellence Award for Internal Rebranding and Merit Award for Internal Communication Research.

The 2013 Platinum and Gold MARCom Awards were received from the Association of Marketing and Communications

Professionals (AMCP) and most recently a Global Alliance Comm Prix PRIX Award in the Internal Communications category.

In April 2013, Guardian Group received a Gold Quill Award, from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). The Gold Quill is an international symbol of excellence in strategic communication that recognises smart thinking, flawless execution and proven results.

The IABC Gold Quill winning entry has also been recognised and awarded for the Internal

Communications category of the Global Alliance Comm Prix Awards 2013, under the auspices of Global Alliance for PR and Communication Management.

The MARCom 2013 winners were announced on November 1, 2013 and Guardian Group secured Platinum awards for its Rebrand/Marketing and Promotional campaign and its 2012 Annual Report design.

The new Guardian Group Logo, Internal Rebrand Campaign and 2014 Calendar were awarded Gold Awards.

(Trinidad Guardian)

Rising stocks push U.S. public pension assets to record highs

T

2013, a 9.8 per cent rise from the same quarter in 2012 and a four per cent increase from the previous quarter.

Investments provide the lion’s share of public pension revenues, and retirement systems are reaping the benefits of the stock market’s gangbuster performance this year. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX has delivered a total return, including reinvested dividends, of 29.6 per cent so far this year, put-

ting it on pace for its best year since 1997. Through the third quarter, its total return was 19.8 per cent.

Corporate stocks, making up about a third of pension holdings, hit US$1.06 trillion in the quarter, 11.4 per cent more than in the third quarter of 2012 and 3.8 per cent more than the prior quarter. International securities, a much smaller pool, rose 16.6 per cent over the year to US$637.8 billion. (Reuters)

Europe

Storyful social media firm bought by Rupert Murdoch

R

upert Murdoch’s media company NewsCorp has bought Storyful, an Irish “social media news agency”. The Dublin-based firm has been acquired for US$25 million (£15.3 million).

Storyful specialises in licensing and distributing social media content to major news organisations such as the Wall Street Journal and BBC.

“We believe that journalism in the age of social media needs to be open, innovative and collaborative,” Storyful founder Mark Little said.

Little set up the company in 2010. He had previously been a presenter on Irish TV network RTE. Storyful’s business is in verifying online video authenticity, and also licences usage rights to broadcasters for pop-

ular viral video. The company will remain at its current location in Dublin, and will act as a standalone company.

Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, added: “Storyful has become the village square for valuable video, using journalistic sensibility, integrity and creativity to find, authenticate and commercialise user-generated content.” (BBC News)

Market statistics Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Cambio Rates

Fixed as at July 24, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

Bank of Guyana Cur

Buying

Selling

GBP

$336.07

$340.28

CAN

$192.75

$194.97

USD

$205.73

$208.18

U.S.

$1335.00

Cambio

$202.67

Gross

$254,331

Net

$236,527

Selling

$262,426

Indicators as on December 20, 2013 Live Spot Gold

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1203.50

$1204.50

Low/High

$1190.60

$1208.50

Change

+15.70

+1.32

USD GBP EUR

Dec 18 USD GBP EUR

Last: 16221.14

AM

PM

1195.00 731.69 875.33

1195.25 730.10 873.66

AM

PM

1233.25 754.05 896.97

Price Silver

Platinum

London Gold Fix

Dec 20

Indicators Crude Oil

1230.50 750.35 894.26 Changes: +42.06

Open: 16178.57

High:16287.84

% YTD: 23.79

52Wk Hi: 16174.51

C

hina has rejected 545,000 tons of imported U.S. corn found to contain an unapproved genetically modified strain.

An unapproved strain called MIR162 was found in 12 batches of corn, China’s product safety agency said.

China backs genetically modified crops to increase food production, but has faced opposition from critics who question their safety. The agency called on U.S. authori-

ties to tighten controls to ensure unapproved strains are not sent to China.

China allowed its first imports of a genetically modified crop, soybeans, in 1997.

Authorities are trying to develop others that produce bigger yields or can resist insects without use of pesticides.

China has already approved 15 varieties of genetically-modified corn for imports and MIR162 is awaiting approval. “The safety evaluation

process [for MIR162] has not been completed and no imports are allowed at the moment before the safety certificate is issued,” said China’s vice agricultural minister, Niu Dun. The Agriculture Ministry has recently launched a publicity campaign to allay concerns over GM foods and says the criticisms are unfounded.

The first batch of corn was rejected in November after authorities detected MIR162.

(BBC News)

Middle East

North America he holdings of U.S. public pensions again reached record highs during the third quarter, as the stock market surged and governments and employees pitched in billions of dollars, according to U.S. Census data released on Thursday.

The cash and security holdings for the 100 largest public-employee retirement systems in the country, representing almost all public pensions, reached US$3.06 trillion in the third quarter of

fears over genetic modification

US$ per barrel

$110.29 USD per Ounce

$19.42 $1329.00

Change %

-0.05 Change %

+0.16 +14.00

Qatar investor buys into top New York hotel for US$240M

Q

atar’s Constellation Hotel Holdings has agreed to acquire an 80 per cent stake in a joint venture with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to own and refurbish a top New York Hotel.

Constellation Barclay Holding U.S., which is an affiliate of the Qatari-based investor, has bought the stake in the InterContinental New York Barclay for US$240 million.

IHG said in a statement that it will retain a 20 per cent interest in the hotel, adding that the transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2014.

It added that it has secured a 30 year management contract on the hotel, commencing in 2014, with two ten year extension rights at IHG’s discretion, giving an expected contract length of 50 years. “Constellation Barclay Holding U.S. and IHG have

agreed to invest through the joint venture in a significant refurbishment, repositioning and extension of the hotel,” the statement said.

“This is expected to commence in 2014 and will take place over a period of approximately 18 months,” it added.

The hotel opened in 1926 and the freehold has been wholly owned by IHG since 1998. In 2012 the hotel, which has 685 rooms, generated revenues of US$75 million. (Arabianbusiness)

South America

Saab wins US$4.5B Brazil fighter jet contract

S

hares in Sweden’s Saab jumped almost 30 per cent after it won a US$4.5 billion (£2.7 billion) deal to supply 36 fighter jets to Brazil. The deal is one of the most valuable ones in emerging markets and Saab had faced competition from rivals Boeing and Dassault Aviation. Many had expected Boeing or Dassault to emerge as the winner.

The BBC’s Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo says Boeing’s cause was not helped by a

recent row between the U.S. and Brazil over spying allegations. The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has been accused of intercepting emails and messages from President Dilma Rousseff, her aides and state oil company, Petrobras.

David Fleischer, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, said that Rousseff “had been favouring the Boeing plane and a lot of people thought she would announce her decision during

her state visit to Washington”.

“Boeing was very close but then the NSA booted them out of the air,” he said.

The spying allegations were made by Rio-based journalist Glenn Greenwald, who obtained secret files from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The claims led to Rousseff cancelling her state visit to Washington, initially planned for October this year.

Brazil had delayed the decision on awarding the contract for many years. (BBC News)

Investors' guide

Why good credit matters for both individuals and small businesses

I

n today’s society having good credit is an important aspect of being able to afford necessities such as housing, transportation and insurance. Various businesses may offer products and services based on your credit worthiness and some employers may look to securitise your report when applying for a job.

Your credit score is something that will follow you throughout your life and good credit

can help you obtain what you want at an affordable price.

If you don’t have money to pay for something outright such as a house or car, you’ll look to apply for credit. Buying a home includes making mortgage payments to the bank or lending institution who offers the loan. They want to know if you can be trusted in making payments according to the agreed upon terms of the loan. Having a good credit

history, that includes making timely payments, may help increase your chances of being approved by the mortgage lender. The same is true for an apartment; the landlord may review your credit history to learn about how well you make payments or other credit you may have. If your history is poor you could be denied the apartment. (Business Dictionary) TO BE CONTINUED

Business concept – Economics % Change: +0.28 Low: 16178.57 52 Wk Lo: 12471.49

The theories, principles, and models that deal with how the market process works. It attempts to explain how wealth is created and distributed in communities, how people allocate resources that are scarce and have many alternative uses, and other such matters that arise in dealing with human wants and their satisfaction.

NEWS

17

saturday, December 21, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Granger disagrees with APNU/AFC’s “half-baked” govt’s withdrawal from democracy project arguments exposed Parliamentary debate on PPC Amendment Bill

– Ali plugs need for Cabinet’s no-objection to contracts

Acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE

T

he arguments put forward by the opposition to support the rejection of attempts by the ruling administration to retain its oversight of critical and large contracts, for the provision of goods and services to the Guyanese people, were described as “half-baked” and “lacking potency” by acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali. Ali was at the time speaking during the debates in the 65-seat legislature on the Public Procurement Amendment Bill which eventually was deferred after a six-hour long debate yielded no fruit.

Minister Ali said that the argumentation advanced by the front benchers of the main opposition party, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and its parliamentary ally, the Alliance For Change (AFC), left much to be desired as it was riddled with deliberate inaccuracies.

Problem

“This is the problem we have. We have half-baked points which are not developed or are developed only to the political wonders of the opposition”, the minister insisted.

He pointed the House’s attention to several glaring misrepresentations of the facts surrounding both the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission and government’s desire to amend the 2003 Procurement Commission Act to safeguard and retain its oversight responsibility.

Ali said that the APNU/ AFC are seeking to pull wool over the eyes of the Guyanese public in an attempt to give creditability and credence to their argumentation, but their campaign fell short of

achieving its aim as it was clear from the onset that the opposition parliamentarians were only interested in flexing their political muscles by again misusing their combined majority status in the House.

He rubbished arguments that the finance minister had too much in the procurement process and was given the responsibility of appointment the 15-member board of the Procurement and Tender Administration which scrutinises and awards contracts as well as tenders.

Perception

The minister also dismissed arguments that the ruling administration was utilising its current oversight responsibility to influence the outcome of the procurement process.

“The board will exercise jurisdiction, not the minister.... the board will appoint, not the minister... the board will appoint a pool of evaluators, not the minister,” he said sternly as he drove home the point that the finance minister has to consult with a wide-cross section of stakeholders before making any decisions as far his authority and oversight responsibilities are concerned.

He appeared to be in sympathy with the opposition and its scepticisms as he reminded them of the deals which remain questionable under the rule of the People’s National Congress, alluding to some in passing.

“Prior to 1992, there was widespread criticisms of the system which was clouded in secrecy under the PNC... racial discrimination and widespread corruption and open lawlessness existed in relation to the execution of the functions of the executive in relation to issues relating to procurement, accountability and its financial management of the state,” he said.

In what can be described as his strongest exposé yet during his presentation, the minister proved earlier statements made by the shadow finance minister Carl Greenidge false. Greenidge and other members of the opposition had suggested that there was no independent recourse for aggrieved participants in the tender process and procurement process.

Ali explained that it is well established in the laws governing the procurement system in Guyana that all

suppliers or contractors who have concerns about the process used to award any contract or tender or the final award made by the board can mount a formal challenge at three different stages.

Can file complaint

He reported that they can file a complaint with the procuring entity within five days of the awards of the contract, cause an independent procuring entity not involved in that process to review the basis and legitimacy of the protest, and there is recourse to be had from the Public Procurement Commission which can mount a formal investigation into the protest. Minister Ali reminded the Parliament

cation and heckling from the opposition benches, insisted that it was another important “layer of oversight” which was already catered for expressly by another clause in the act.

He further declared that even though the contradiction between the two clauses existed, the Public Procurement Commission was not empowered to offer the critical “no-objection responsibility”.

“We are not denying the fact that this clause was inserted, but what we are saying is that the clause is flying in the face of the constitutional provisions and the latter must be supreme. What we are seeking to do is to correct something that all of us overlooked. We all have a responsibility to make that correct today,” he appealed last Thursday.

Procurement process

APNU parliamentarian Carl Greenidge

that article 212AA (1)H of the Constitution empowered the commission to so do.

The Minister took note of the concerns and arguments delivered by Greenidge, explaining that he merely levelled allegations and assertions with respect to the alleged flaws in the process as a result of a lack of transparency.

“I believe this is a smoke screen. He has not pointed to a single document to demonstrate this point he has made,” the minister rebutted in direct response to argumentation that there is no recourse for aggrieved parties.

Ali reminded too that Cabinet’s role was not to award contacts, but bordered merely on what he described as “having limited review” powers. He contended that were Cabinet to amend the act removing the offensive clause 54 (6) in the act, there would be no consequences on the establishment or powers of the commission.

He said that the power to offer a no-objection would not collide, impair or undermine the role of the commission.

Minister Ali, despite provo-

Ali, also rubbished argumentation which purported that Cabinet oversight of the procurement process was strange and sinister and signalled its intention to influence the outcome of the process.

He pointed to case studies and information available on the role that other governments and cabinets play in the process which saw some ministers and cabinets having either similar or far more authority in the said area, naming Jamaica, Belize, India, Canada and Singapore as examples.

He did not shy away from mentioning the role played by international financial stakeholders such as the European Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank as well as the World Bank in offering no-objection to contracts awarded for projects they are involved in.

“We are ready for the procurement commission but we are not ready to give up our fiduciary oversight role given to us by the people of this country... so blow hot, blow cold... we have a responsibility and we are going to execute that responsibility in keeping with the Constitution,” Ali told the legislators.

Back in 2003, Guyana was the first Caribbean Community country to undergo comprehensive procurement reform after it implemented recommendations of the UN Trade Act and the far reaching advice of several authorities in international law.

Overseas-based Guyanese perishes in car accident

T

wo weeks after arriving in Guyana for the Christmas holiday, an overseas-based Guyanese was in the wee hours of Friday killed in a head-on collision at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

The dead woman was identified as Osnah Jordan, 39, of

the United States of America.

She had been staying at Industry, East Coast Demerara at the time of her demise.

In a release, police stated that they are investigating the fatal accident that occurred about 00:05h on Friday.

Investigations have revealed that Jordan was a passen-

ger in motor car PNN 4182 which was travelling along the roadway when motor car PPP 1802, which was proceeding in the opposite direction, veered into its path, resulting in the collision. The motor car was reportedly travelling at a fast pace when the driver lost control. Immediately after the col-

lision, the driver left the scene.

Jordan received severe injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

At the home where the overseas-based Guyanese stayed, relatives remained tight-lipped about the accident.

T

he A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Friday expressed disappointment in the government’s move to reject the 2012 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project.

The US$13.1 million Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project was designed to advance development in health, economic growth, and democracy and governance. The government rejected both the design and the project, citing its non-involvement in the process and flaws in the programme.

However, APNU Chairman, retired Brigadier David Granger said the government’s decision to pull out comes as no surprise to the opposition. “I don’t understand the mind of the government, but this is not the first time that they would have rejected assistance; the most notorious case is when the country signed a 3.5 million pound sterling agreement with the United Kingdom government and then they rejected it,” Granger told reporters. In October 2009, the Security Sector Reform Project with the UK collapsed following differences between the two countries.

The leader of the opposition also alluded to the National Drug Strategy Master Plan which expired approximately two years ago.

Turning his attention back to the USAID project, Granger said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)) administration should put the citizens of Guyana first, positing that the USAID project was simply designed to foster growth in the country, with major emphasis being placed on the young. “APNU’s position is that they should have accepted the programme, because it is for the benefit of the people.”

Flawed

Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon, in explaining government’s rejection of the project, had said: “The project that habitually and conventionally is an engagement between Guyana and its development partner USAID – this one in 2012 departed from that convention. Firstly, we were presented with an agreement to sign, over which we had zero contribution. Secondly, when we officially got the design, there was considerable objection, as far as the administration was concerned.

This design would have never ever been provided for in any bilateral relationship; as a consequence, it was rejected.”

The Cabinet secretary added that the design allowed for the involvement of USAID in the national life

APNU Chairman David Granger

and politics of Guyana.

APNU executive member Basil Williams, in supporting the sentiments of the coalition’s chairman, said he could not comprehend why the government would reject a project that sought to educate the Guyanese public on the local government electoral process.

Other components

In addition to strengthening Guyana’s electoral process, the project would support the legislature in maximising the effectiveness of its existing website and the use of other technology in the National Assembly.

This may include live broadcasts of proceedings to better inform citizens, bringing the National Assembly closer to the public and encouraging greater public involvement. Project activities would have also included consultations, drawing on international experts, the public, members of political parties, and representatives of Parliament.

Key reform issues and agendas to be addressed included needed reforms to the Guyana Elections Commission, reform of the Constitution, local election policies, decentralisation, and political party financing.

The project was also expected to build capacity within the political parties and support the holding of local government elections, as well as women and youth political leadership.

On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt, in another section of the media, disclosed that the project would be implemented, while denying the government’s claim that it had zero input. The U.S. embassy released a series of correspondence showing the active involvement of the government from the start, the article stated.

“We will engage with those stakeholders who wish to engage… We will continue to work in that spirit. We hope the government will find a way to work with us,” the U.S. ambassador was quoted as saying.

18

guyanatimesgy.com

saturday, december 21, 2013

thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) You may be faced with handling the affairs of older relatives. Your partner may become frustrated if you are unable to fit in quality time together.

Finding balance will be your key challenge.

dilbert

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 19) Tension will cause confrontations with your partner. It is important to openly discuss the root of the problem. Secret endeavours may damage your standing. Be conscious of the consequences of your actions.

Calvin and Hobbes

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Don’t waste time on one-sided romantic connections. Be careful what you say at this time. It’s not the day to be controversial. Try to be cognisant of workplace politics.

CANCER (June 21July 22) Heated debates with people close to you may lead to an unexpected change. Overreacting will have catastrophic results.

Try to keep your emotions in check. Be careful about lending money at this time.

LEO (July 23Aug. 22) Your emotional reactions will leave you feeling alienated from the ones you love. Try to take a more practical approach to things, and avoid being melodramatic. Understand and respect your role.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Bureaucracy will cause delays where institutional matters are concerned.

Try to put off meetings with superiors until you are fully prepared. Leave time for entertainment.

Peanuts

SUDOKU

ARIES

LIBRA

(March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Travel in search of adventure and look to expand your horizons. Socialising will lead to new romantic opportunities. This is a great day to make a positive change.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Stubbornness will be your downfall if you refuse to take advice from friends or relatives. Try to see your circumstances as possibilities rather than limitations. Keep an open mind.

Focus and attention to detail will bring significant improvements to your affairs. Someone close to you may be confused. Your capacity to evaluate situations from multiple angles will help to resolve the problem.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Your mental acuity will be exceptional and must be used to advance your cause. Your ability to communicate your ideas articulately will draw interest.

Reach for your goals.

Thursday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) Friends will feel neglected if you are devoting too much time to a new friend or lover. Find a balance and keep everyone happy. Be cautious about getting involved in any joint ventures.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) Your lust for new adventures will be sated if you travel or seek out mentally stimulating groups.

New environments and ideas will likely inspire a shift in your professional focus.

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Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali presenting books on Guyana to Argentine Tourism Ministry Undersecretary of Tourism Quality Gonzalo Casanova Ferro while another member of the Argentine delegation looks on

G

uyana and Argentina will enhance their bilateral cooperation on tourism, which will redound to the benefit of the people and economies of both countries.

After meeting with a high-level Argentine delegation on Wednesday, acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali disclosed that the countries will work to more closely cooperate on this fast-growing sector in the South American market.

The meeting was a follow-up to Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn RodriguesBirkett’s meeting with officials from the Argentine Tourism Ministry, among others, during her trip to Argentina earlier this year.

Minister Ali said the expansion of the country’s market has been long outlined, but Guyana has not taken full advantage of destinations within the trading blocs of which it is a member.

“One such destination is Argentina,” Ali said,

Minister Ali in discussion with the Argentine delegation

stating that both countries are members of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). As such, it presents an “exceptional opportunity to expand the bilateral relationships that would, in a way, add value to our membership in UNASUR” and bring the two countries and their peoples together.

The minister said the countries needed to develop a common approach that could focus on the strengths of their tourism offerings to

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Argentine Tourism Ministry Undersecretary of Tourism Quality Gonzalo Casanova Ferro, who headed the delegation, said cooperation between the two countries will create more job opportunities in the tourism sector and the development of the economy.

Cooperation between Guyana and Argentina has intensified since the re-establishment of the latter’s embassy here two years ago.

U.S. to support national system for protected areas

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reach different markets by sharing and understanding each other’s product.

Ali added that since Argentina has a well-developed market, Guyana can use that country’s experience to develop its own in a collaborative effort.

He noted that Guyanese need to see the learning of Spanish as an important part of the development of the country that would break the language barrier.

He said, in this respect, exchange programmes such as student exchange initiatives would be a very important component.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud meeting with South Florida National Parks Trust Grants Committee Chairman Wayne Rassner on Friday

T

he Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is partnering with the South Florida National Parks Trust to strengthen the functioning of the Protected Areas Commission and the National Protected Areas Trust Fund.

The South Florida National Parks Trust has supported National Parks in South Florida since 2002, and has significant experience in environmental education, resource protection, visitor services, volunteer activities and community outreach.

This partnership was brokered in a meeting with Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud and South Florida National Parks Trust, Grants Committee Chairman Wayne Rassner.

At the meeting, which was held in the U.S. on Friday, Minister Persaud pointed out that “Guyana is currently revising its framework polices for natural resources development, and the establishment of a national system of protected areas in Guyana is timely to enhance environ-

mental management.

The South Florida National Parks Trust has expressed an interest to support and enhance Guyana’s capacity to support its national systems for protected areas.

Guyana is recognised for its high levels of biodiversity of which the protected areas system also forms a core component of the Low Carbon Development Strategy aimed at transitioning the nation’s economy onto a low carbon and climate resilient pathway, Persaud said.

Additionally, it was outlined by Minister Persaud that the Protected Areas Commission will require significant technical and management capacity to develop strategic and management plans and to strengthen the commission’s field programme.

As such, he sought the expertise of the South Florida National Parks Trust to collaborate with Guyana as the country accelerates the development of a world class protected areas system.

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guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, december 21, 2013

approached Kobe fractures left knee, Djokovic me the day he lost expected to miss six weeks top spot, says Becker

E

Kobe Bryant

L SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Kobe Bryant is expected to miss about six weeks with an injured left knee, dealing the second major injury setback of the year to the Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar guard.

An MRI exam on Thursday revealed Bryant has a fracture in his lateral tibial plateau - the top of his shinbone near his knee.

Bryant made his season debut with the Lakers on December 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He apparently was hurt again Tuesday night in Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights.

After playing six games in 10 days, the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history is out again until February or longer - and the Lakers’ already miserable run of injuries got even uglier.

“You hate it for Kobe,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters after practice Thursday. “He’s worked so hard to get back, but he’ll be back. He’ll be back in six weeks. We’ve just got to weather the storm until he gets back.”

The Lakers also announced

Steve Nash will be out for at least four more weeks with nerve root irritation, leaving injury-riddled Los Angeles without its top three point guards and Bryant who filled in at the point in recent games - for at least another week.

On Thursday afternoon, a tweet was posted on Bryant’s official Twitter account that consisted solely of the hashtag: BrokenNotBeaten.

“I think he’ll be back in six weeks, and he’ll be hunting for some bear,” D’Antoni said.

Bad news The rest of the Lakers found out about Bryant’s injury after practice for Friday’s home game against Minnesota. The remnants of the Lakers, who have lost four of six since Bryant’s return, will also host Miami on Christmas Day. “It’s hard to get this type of news, especially when we’ve got already so many injuries, when we’ve been through so many injuries the year before,” Pau Gasol said. “It just keeps piling up. It’s not the best thing for us, for sure, but we’ve just got to continue to

go forward. We understand it can happen.”

D’Antoni immediately faced questions about whether the Lakers allowed Bryant to return too quickly from his torn Achilles tendon. Athletes with an Achilles injury must remain immobile for months, and they typically need several weeks to regain muscle in their legs and get back into game shape.

Bryant pushed himself to return to the Lakers quickly, but his left leg appeared to be visibly smaller than his right leg after months of inactivity and atrophy. D’Antoni and the Lakers’ top brass often joke about their inability to control Bryant’s relentless determination to play, even at the risk of his own health.

“It could happen at any time,” D’Antoni said of Bryant’s latest injury. “That’s part of it. There’s always going to be a risk until he gets used to playing, but the doctors are all over it. That’s just bad luck.”

Los Angeles signed Bryant to a lavish two-year, $48.5 million contract extension last month, taking him into his 20th season with the Lakers. Most of Los Angeles’ roster will be free agents this summer.

Bryant matched his season high with 21 points in the Lakers’ win at Memphis, but he went to the floor with 3:25 left in the third quarter. He stayed on the floor briefly before standing up, and Bryant bent over at the waist as he flexed his left leg back and forth. He walked to the bench with trainer Gary Vitti, but returned to the floor following the timeout.

He hit a deep 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help clinch the win and finished playing more than 32 minutes. Bryant said after the game that he twisted his knee, but it felt all right.

“I just hyperextended it,” Bryant said when asked to describe what happened on the play.

“I tend to hyperextend my knees every now and then.” (www.nba.com)

Novak Djokovic (left) and Boris Becker will work together for the first time

N

ovak Djokovic approached Boris Becker to become his coach on the day the Serb lost his world number one ranking, the German has revealed.

Rafael Nadal usurped Djokovic, 26, by reaching the China Open final in October, a few weeks after defeating the Serb in the US Open final.

“I was approached by Novak and his manager while he was playing in Beijing,” Becker told BBC Sport.

“I was surprised - I didn’t expect the phone call. I was very honoured.”

Djokovic, who has won six major titles, will start work with Becker before the Australian Open, which starts on January 13.

The Serb’s long-time coach Marian Vajda will continue as part of his team.

Speaking to BBC Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller, Becker revealed he had a number of discussions with Djokovic after the initial contact before deciding he wanted to coach full-time.

“This isn’t a half-hearted job, it wouldn’t be right for him or for me,” explained Becker.

“You’re in it to win it. You either go at it fully or you don’t either I commit myself or I don’t commit myself.

“I said ‘I want to meet you and see how much you want it, how much that fire is burning inside you, how much is left, and what I

can bring to the table’.”

Despite winning seven titles in 2013 and beating Andy Murray in the Australian Open final, Djokovic lost not only his number one spot but two Grand Slam finals as well - the four-set US Open defeat by Nadal came after a straight sets loss to Andy Murray at Wimbledon.

“He had a couple of bad losses this year in the finals of the Grand Slams. He’s such a winner and wants to win so badly and wants to go into the history books of tennis,” said Becker.

“The fact Nadal has taken over and Murray has moved up a gear, he was left behind a little bit - I’m talking on a really high level, the last five or 10% that maybe has been missing for whatever reason.

“He decided he needed somebody in his corner that had been there and done it, and that’s why I’m coming in.”

The arrival of Becker on Djokovic’s coaching staff will put him against Ivan Lendl, Murray’s coach, who Becker beat three times in Grand Slam finals.

“When Ivan was appointed, I thought about what took some of these guys so long to talk about some of these all-time greats,” added Becker.

“There was a generation that really changed tennis and the way we played in the 1980s is not that different to how we’re playing today.” (BBC Sport)

Suarez signs new long-term Liverpool deal L

uis Suarez has signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Liverpool.

The striker, 26, joined the Reds in January 2011 and has scored 17 goals in 11 Premier League starts this season.

Suarez, whose original deal was set to expire in 2016, will earn around £160,000 until the end of this season and then £200,000 per week over the final four years of the contract.

“I am delighted to have agreed a new deal with Liverpool and have my future secured for the long term,” he said.

“I believe I can achieve the ambitions of winning trophies and playing at the very highest level with Liverpool. My aim is to help get us there as quickly as possible.”

Suarez’s relationship with leading figures at Anfield has improved

Luis Suarez

significantly since he attempted to force a move to Arsenal in the summer.

The Gunners made two bids for the Uruguay international, including a club-record offer of £40m plus £1 in an attempt to trigger a release clause in his contract.

Both were rejected, with Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers accusing Arsenal of “playing games”.

Suarez was considering submitting a formal transfer request and also the possibility of court action if the dispute was not resolved as he believed the second bid triggered a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the Anfield club.

Suarez was initially made to train alone during pre-season, but returned to the first-team fold on 16 August after talks with Rodgers.

“This is fantastic news for ev-

eryone associated with the club; the team, the owners and most importantly the supporters,” Rodgers said on Liverpool’s official website.

“Luis is a world-class talent and securing his services is crucial for what we are trying to achieve here.

“What’s most important and most exciting is that, at just 26 years old, his best years are still ahead of him and we now know we’ll be seeing him reach that potential in a Liverpool shirt.”

Suarez’s time at Liverpool has often been controversial and he has previously been handed handed two long-term bans.

He was banned for eight games in December 2011 for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and received a 10-match ban in April this year for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. (BBC

Sport)

saturday, december 21, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

21

Pujara, Kohli put India in control SCOREBOARD C heteshwar Pujara punished South Africa’s injury-hit attack to put India in command in the opening Test.

Pujara hit an unbeaten 135 on the third day to help India establish a 320-run lead after reaching 284-2 at the close.

He added 175 runs in the final session with Virat Kohli (77 not out) after Morne Morkel suffered an ankle ligament strain and was unable to bowl.

South Africa’s bad day was compounded by legspinner Imran Tahir dropping Pujara shortly after he passed 50.

They had started more promisingly with Vernon Philander becoming the fastest South African to take 100 Test wickets when Shikar Dhawan edged to second slip.

Philander reached the

India 1st innings 280 South Africa 1st innings GC Smith* lbw b Khan 68 AN Petersen lbw b I Sharma 21 HM Amla b I Sharma 36 JH Kallis lbw b I Sharma 0 AB de Villiers† lbw b Mohammed Shami 13 JP Duminy c Vijay b Mohammed Shami 2 F du Plessis c †Dhoni b Khan 20 VD Philander c Ashwin b Khan 59 DW Steyn c RG Sharma b I Sharma 10 M Morkel b Khan 7 Imran Tahir not out 0 Extras (lb-4, w-1, nb-3) 8 Total (all out; 75.3 overs; 361 mins) 244 Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Petersen, 13.1 ov), 2-130 (Amla, 38.1 ov), 3-130 (Kallis, 38.2 ov), 4-130 (Smith, 39.3 ov), 5-145 (Duminy, 44.1 ov), 6-146 (de Villiers, 44.3 ov), 7-226 (Philander,

69.1 ov), 8-237 (Steyn, 72.3 ov), 9-239 (du Plessis, 73.5 ov), 10-244 (Morkel, 75.3 ov) Bowling: Z Khan 26.3-6-884 (1-w), Mohammed Shami 18-3-48-2, I Sharma 25-5-794 (3-nb), R Ashwin 6-0-25-0

India 2nd innings S Dhawan c Kallis b Philander 15 M Vijay c †de Villiers b Kallis 39 CA Pujara not out 135 V Kohli not out 77 Extras: (b-5, lb-5, w-8) 18 Total: (for two wickets; 78 overs) 284 Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Dhawan, 7.3 ov), 2-93 (Vijay, 33.5 ov) Bowling: DW Steyn 21-4-64-0 (2-w), VD Philander 18-5-531 (1-w), M Morkel 2-1-4-0, JH Kallis 14-4-51-1, Imran Tahir 11-0-55-0, AB de Villiers 1-0-50 (1-w), JP Duminy 11-0-42-0

Sri Lanka win with two balls to spare

A

ngelo Mathews has not often lived up to his finisher’s tag in recent months, but he brought together all the qualities that make fine international captains, as he led Sri Lanka to the biggest successful chase in Dubai.

Mathews’ hand brimmed with poise, skill and fighting nous and though he did not see out the win, he had helped bring the equation down to four off five deliveries. Pakistan believed they were still in the match in the last over, thanks to Junaid Khan’s intense spells, but Sri Lanka’s batting depth eventually helped them level the five-match series. The visitors had two balls to spare when they passed the target of 285, with two wickets in hand.

Mathews’ score of 47 off 44 did not do justice to his contribution, as his calming influence was vital to the final push. He oversaw it all like a foreman at a roadworks construction site: doing little of the heavy lifting himself, but supervising and directing the operation from close up. Occasionally he chastised staff errors, like when Seekkuge Prasanna slogged dangerously at Shahid Afridi.

He even pulled stunts like deliberately running slow between wickets to induce a shy at the stumps, which in turn would yield an overthrow. Mathews had hit only one four in his first 42 runs, and having eroded the target with a stream of tense runs into the outfield, he seemed to have applied the coup de grace when he twisted the equation in Sri Lanka’s favour with a four off Junaid

in the penultimate over.

But with four needed off the last over, he pulled Afridi straight to short midwicket.

Kumar Sangakkara had struck a responsible halfcentury, and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal and Nuwan Kulasekara had all played important roles to set up the finish.

Dimuth Karunaratne batted way out of position at No.9 after being parachuted into the team when Lahiru Thirimanne picked up a last-minute injury, but his unbeaten 16 alongside Mathews helped keep Junaid, and to a lesser extent Saeed Ajmal, at bay.

Pakistan’s innings had also been a work of consummate batting intelli-

gence, as they hit the second-highest total at the venue and lost only four wickets doing it. Like a snowball heading down a slope, it began cautiously, gathered force through the middle and dealt considerable damage towards the end of its course.

Ahmed Shehzad had been the mastermind, composing 124 unruffled, unhurried runs, before Misbah-ul-Haq contributed his almost mandatory half-century to the innings.

It was Shehzad’s fourth ton in ODIs, and Misbah’s 14th fifty in 2013.

Cruelly for the Pakistan captain, and really through little fault of his own, it came in yet another loss.

(Cricinfo)

SCOREBOARD Pakistan innings Sharjeel Khan lbw b Malinga 7 Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Kulasekara 124 Mohammad Hafeez run out (Karunaratne/†Sangakkara) 32 Sohaib Maqsood c Chandimal b Prasanna 18 Misbah-ul-Haq* not out 59 Shahid Afridi not out 30 Extras (lb-3, w-10, nb-1) 14 Total (for four wickets; 50 overs) 284 Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Sharjeel Khan, 1.4 ov), 2-84 (Mohammad Hafeez, 19.6 ov), 3-128 (Sohaib Maqsood, 28.2 ov), 4-233 (Ahmed Shehzad, 45.1 ov) Bowling: KMDN Kulasekara 100-56-1 (4-w), SL Malinga 10-078-1 (1-nb, 1-w), NLTC Perera 2.4-0-19-0, AD Mathews 3.40-17-0 (1-w), S Prasanna 10-045-1 (1-w), SMSM Senanayake 10-0-42-0, FDM Karunaratne 1.4-0-11-0, TM Dilshan 2-0-13-0 Sri Lanka innings (target: 285 runs from 50 overs) MDKJ Perera run out (Bilawal Bhatti) 16

TM Dilshan run out (Mohammad Hafeez) 40 KC Sangakkara† b Saeed Ajmal 58 LD Chandimal b Junaid Khan 44 NLTC Perera b Junaid Khan 5 AD Mathews* c Ahmed Shehzad b Shahid Afridi 47 KMDN Kulasekara st †Umar Akmal b Shahid Afridi 32 S Prasanna b Junaid Khan 6 FDM Karunaratne not out 16 SMSM Senanayake not out 6 Extras (lb-9, w-6, nb-2) 17 Total (for eight wickets; 49.4 overs) 287 Fall of wickets: 1-49 (MDKJ Perera, 8.3 ov), 2-65 (Dilshan, 14.3 ov), 3-159 (Sangakkara, 31.5 ov), 4-168 (Chandimal, 33.4 ov), 5-173 (NLTC Perera, 35.4 ov), 6-230 (Kulasekara, 42.3 ov), 7-237 (Prasanna, 43.3 ov), 8-281 (Mathews, 49.1 ov) Bowling: Mohammad Hafeez 8-0-39-0, Sohail Tanvir 9-058-0 (1-nb, 1-w), Saeed Ajmal 10-0-44-1 (1-w), Bilawal Bhatti 7-2-39-0 (2-w), Junaid Khan 10-0-52-3 (1-nb), Shahid Afridi 5.4-0-46-2 (1-w)

milestone in his 19th Test, the joint-sixth quickest in Tests, and reached it one match faster than South Africa’s previous recordholder, Dale Steyn.

After South Africa resumed on 213-6, Philander

completed a battling 59, but India made short work of their tail and took the final four wickets for 31 to claim a 36-run first innings lead.

Helped by the loss of fast bowler Morkel, who is now doubtful for the second Test

in Durban on Boxing Day, India quickly accelerated into a commanding lead.

Pujara hit 18 fours in his unbeaten innings and forged an unbroken 191-run stand with Kohli in only 44.1 overs. (BBC Sport)

22

guyanatimesGY.com

saturday, december 21, 2013

West Indies bowlers Phillip George make it tough for NZ Legacy semi-final

Sunil Narine kept the New Zealand batsmen in check during a tight spell

W

est Indies followed up Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 29th Test hundred and valuable runs from their tail-enders with purposeful bowling to leave the third Test against New Zealand in an interesting state on Friday here.

Off-spinner Sunil Narine grabbed 2-43 from 22 overs, as the New Zealanders reached 156 for three, replying to the Windies’ first innings total of 367 at the close on the second day at Seddon Park.

For the first time in the series, it was not all one-way traffic, as Narine and Permaul wheeled away for 45 overs, tying the Black Caps batsmen down, although Kane Williamson made 58 and Ross Taylor continued in his rich vein of form with a pulsating, unbeaten 56 in a crucial thirdwicket stand of 95.

This had unfolded after Chanderpaul remained unbeaten on 122, drawing level with Australian legend Don Bradman’s 29 Test hundred, eclipsing another Aussie, fellow left-hander Allan Border’s aggregate of 11,174 runs and for the 45th time in 260 innings succeeded in making sure the opposition failed to dismiss him.

He worked with compatriot Veerasammy Permaul and the energetic Tino Best to earn

West Indies a decent first innings total.

Best made 25 and Permaul got 20, as the Caribbean side were dismissed about three minutes before the scheduled lunch interval.

The pressure from the newball spell of Best and Sammy, the only two frontline seamers in the West Indies attack, then took its toll on the New Zealand openers.

Sammy soon clutched a low catch to dismiss left-hander Hamish Rutherford for 10 in the sixth over and Peter Fulton laboured for an hour-and-ahalf for 11 from 71 balls without a boundary before he was caught at leg-spin, flicking at Narine’s third delivery, leaving New Zealand 43 for two.

West Indies failed to make further inroads into the New Zealanders’ batting for the remainder of the period between lunch and tea, and for all but the last half-hour of play, as Taylor came to the crease and formed a defiant alliance with Williamson, taking the hosts to tea on 76 for two.

After the break, West Indies continued to bowl steadily, giving precious little away, but Williamson reached his 50 from 116 balls with a back-foot drive off Best for two before he got tied down by the two West Indies spinners and was eventually adjudged lbw playing

across a well-pitched off-break from Narine, following his review that confirmed the dismissal.

With Permaul, if not Best keeping things on a tight rein from the other end, Narine started to deal his bag of tricks and both Taylor and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum were fortunate to survive, as balls whizzed past their edge and stumps regularly in the closing overs.

Earlier, Chanderpaul reached his milestone from 188

balls, when he cut Tim Southee between second slip and gully for his 11th boundary, following up Denesh Ramdin’s fourth Test hundred on the previous day that laid the platform for the visitors.

The 39-year-old Chanderpaul now has 11,199 runs at an average of 52.08 from 260 innings in his 153 Tests for West Indies, still 754 adrift of fellow West Indies left-hand batting legend Brian Lara on the list of all-time scorers. (www.

windiescricket.com)

SCOREBOARD West Indies 1st innings K. Brathwaite c Williamson b Southee 45 K. Powell c wkpr Watling b Wagner 26 K. Edwards c wkpr Watling b Southee 6 M. Samuels c Williamson b Anderson 0 S. Chanderpaul not out 122 N. Deonarine lbw b Deonarine 2 +D. Ramdin c wkpr Watling b Anderson 107 *D. Sammy c wkpr Watling b Southee 3 S. Narine b Boult 2 V. Permaul c Fulton b Southee 20 T. Best c wkpr Watling b Sodhi 25 Extras (b-2, lb-6, w-1) 9 Total (all out; 116.2 overs) 367 Fall of wickets: 1-41 (Powell), 2-77 (Brathwaite), 3-78 (Edwards), 4-82 (Samuels), 5-86 (Deonarine), 6-286 (+Ramdin), 7-296 (*Sammy), 8-307 (Narine), 9-332 (Permaul) Bowling: Boult 26-2-84-1 (w1); Southee 28-3-79-4; Wagner 21-4-67-1; Corey Anderson 19-3-47-3; Williamson 5-017-0; Sodhi 17.2-0-65-1 New Zealand 1st innings PG Fulton c Sammy b Narine 11 HD Rutherford c & b Sammy 10 KS Williamson lbw b Narine 58 LRPL Taylor c Samuels b Best 131

BB McCullum* c Sammy b Narine 12 Corey J Anderson c Deonarine b Permaul 39 BJ Watling† c †Ramdin b Sammy 20 TG Southee lbw b Narine 18 IS Sodhi b Narine 9 N Wagner c Edwards b Narine 22 TA Boult not out 1 Extras: (b 6, lb 8, nb 4) 18 Total: (all out; 117.3 overs) 349 Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Rutherford), 2-43 (Fulton), 3-138 (Williamson), 4-174 (McCullum), 5-224 (Anderson), 6-269 (Watling), 7-306 (Taylor), 8-317 (Southee), 9-332 (Sodhi), 10-349 (Wagner) Bowling: TL Best 14-1-63-1, DJG Sammy 23-8-69-2, V Permaul 35-6-103-1, SP Narine 42.317-91-6, N Deonarine 3-0-9-0 West Indies 2nd innings KC Brathwaite b Boult 7 KA Edwards c †Watling b Boult 1 KOA Powell c Southee b Boult 0 MN Samuels not out 8 S Chanderpaul not out 11 Extras: (lb 4) 4 Total: (3 wickets; 14 overs) 31 To bat: N Deonarine, D Ramdin†, DJG Sammy*, SP Narine, TL Best, V Permaul Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Brathwaite), 2-12 (Powell), 3-13 (Edwards) Bowling: TA Boult 7-1-233, TG Southee 7-5-4-0

round on today

T

he Phillip George Legacy tournament is set to culminate this weekend starting with the semi-final rounds today from 17:00 hours at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The tournament, which had a break in action last weekend due to the rain and the Sports Hall being booked, will have backto-back action as the tournament will finish off on Sunday evening with the finals at the said venue.

Four games will be played today with the first two being the semi-finals of the third division tournament and the other two being the semi-finals of the first division aspect of the tournament.

The Trinity Grid Holding (TGH) Pacesetters will face off against the Pepsi Sonics in the first third division semi, while the Plaisance

Guardians will face the Colts in the other semi-final that is expected to be highly competitive.

Meanwhile, in the first division competition, Republic Bank Nets will square off with the Colts from 20:00 hours, while Pepsi Sonics will go up against an in-form Dynas Ravens squad in the feature game of the evening.

In addition, the matchup between the Ravens and the Pepsi Sonics in the first division tournament is expected to be a thriller as both teams play a similar type of basketball and are good at running the break, which can translate into a high-paced game.

However, the game should come down to who defends and rebounds the ball better, and more than likely the winner of this game might go on to win the final.

Smith doubtful for Perth Scorchers

D

Dwayne Smith did not fly to Australia due to “personal reasons”

wayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, will miss the Perth Scorchers’ opening game of the Big Bash League 2013-14 on Sunday. Smith, one of the Scorchers’ two overseas signings, has not travelled to Australia due to personal reasons, and his availability for the remainder of the season is in doubt.

“Dwayne Smith will miss this weekend’s opening round of BBL … due to personal reasons which have prevented him from travelling to Australia,” the Scorchers said.

“Details regarding his availability for subsequent matches will be advised in due course. The Scorchers and Smith’s management are working through this situation and advise that it is inappropriate to make any further comment at this time.”

Justin Langer, the Scorchers’ coach, said the

team would have to “work around” Smith’s absence.

“He has personal problems back in Barbados. I can understand it from his point of view, but it’s frustrating that we only found out two days ago,” Langer was quoted as saying by Australian papers. “We’re just going to have to work our way around that and do the best we can without him.

“We’re working closely with his management group to see when he can arrive. I think he is going through some tough times at home, so there is some doubt [if he will play at all].”

The Scorchers take on the Brisbane Heat in an away game for their campaign opener before playing their first home match, against Melbourne Renegades, on Boxing Day. Their other overseas signing is South Africa pacer Alfonso Thomas. (Cricinfo)

saturday, december 21, 2013

guyanatimesGY.com

Clash of the unbeatens!

Entries close today for KMTC horse race meet

– Stevedore Housing Scheme, Queen Street-Tiger Bay to contest Guinness Street Football final this evening

By Avenash Ramzan

A

n electrifying final is anticipated this evening when the curtains come down on the Georgetown leg of the sixth annual Guinness Street Football at the National Park. A new champion will be crowned since 2012 winners Leopold Street failed to make it past the preliminary round.

After weeks of exciting rivalry, the competition, which started with 32 street teams based in the city, has boiled down to Stevedore Housing Scheme and Queen Street- Tiger Bay battling for the top prize of $500,000 and bragging rights for the next 12 months.

The two finalists would have weaved their way out of the preliminary stage and then won their respective quarter-final and semifinal encounters, entering the championship game without a blemish on their

Troy Mendonca

records.

Playing in the semifinals earlier this week, Stevedore Housing Scheme won 5-4 on penalties against Albouystown B after a goalless draw, while Queen Street- Tiger Bay defeated Hope Street- Tiger Bay 3-1.

Speaking to this publication on the eve of the grand final, one of the organisers, Troy Mendonca of the Petra Organisation reckoned that

Woodpecker Products annual Christmas Badminton…

Ramdhani, Mangra are category champions

Part of the action in the Under-19 Boys Singles final

N

ational players Narayan Ramdhani and Jonathon Mangra added a title each to their collections on Thursday evening when action in the Woodpecker Products annual Christmas Singles badminton tournament continued at the Queens College Courts.

Ramdhani easily won the Under-19 Boys Singles by outplaying Noel Shewjattan 21-11, 21-12, while Mangra got an easier time against Hemraj Beharry, winning 21-7, 21-9.

Mangra also registered two other victories, beating Ransell Ramsaroop 213, 21-4 in the semi-finals of the Under-15 Boys Singles, while getting pass Sachin Ramdhani 21-4, 21-7 in the first round of the Men’s Open.

Narayan Ramdhani also recorded a second win on the night, defeating Armand Ramdhani 21-7, 21-13 in the quarter-finals of the Men’s Open.The tournament was slated to continue last evening at the same venue.

a high-octane match is in the making, as both teams are keen on lifting the trophy and cash prize, along with wearing the tag of Georgetown champions.

He said both finalists have displayed “grit and determination” and it is hard to determine which team has the advantage, as both have been playing outstanding football.

Mendonca added the organisers are expecting a massive turnout, since both teams have a large following, aside from the fact that they are both unbeaten in the competition this year.

He also assured patrons that security will be of paramount importance, as members of the Guyana Police Force as well as privary security has been employed for the evening.

Admission is free and the

action is set to kick off at 20:00 hours The final and third place playoff, which will bring together Albouystown B and Hope Street- Tiger Bay, as well as three exhibition games, are billed for this evening.

The champion team will receive $500,000, while the runner-up will collect $300,000, third $200,000 and fourth $100,000.

Zone competitions will also be held in Berbice, East Coast, West Demerara, Linden and Bartica in the coming months with the top two teams advancing to the national playoff. The winner of the national playoff will earn the right to represent Guyana at the Caribbean Street Challenge in July 2014 in Trinidad and Tobago.

23

R

Cecil Kennard

egistration for the Kennard Memorial Turf Club’s (KMTC) Boxing Day horse race meet closes today and, according to president of the KMTC, retired Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard, no late entries will be accepted. The meet is scheduled for the club’s track at Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, from 12:30 hours.

It is being conducted under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) and, according to Kennard, those rules would be rigidly enforced.

Eight races are billed for the day with over $6 million in prizes to be distributed.

The feature race will be for

horses classified A and Lower and they will run a mile for $1.5 million.

Other events billed for the day are the D3 maiden and E Lower for $600,000 over seven furlongs; the Three-old West Indies bred median and Guyana bred open will run a mile, also for $600,000.

The J3 and K, G1 and Lower, Two-year-old Guyana and West Indies bred and J1 and Lower races will run over six furlongs. The winning purses for those four races are $150,000, $400,000, $400,000 and $200,000 respectively.

Rounding out the roster will be the I and Lower, over seven furlongs with the winner collecting $250,000.

Horses can be entered through Roopnarine Matadial or Ivan Dipnarine on 3310316, Cecil Kennard on 6237609, 225-4818 or 226-1399, Isabella Beaton on 693-7812 or Dennis DeRoop on 325-3301 or 609-9143.

Meanwhile, Kennard told this publication on Friday that the race track remains in excellent condition, despite some rainfall earlier this week.

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

saturDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2013

TOP SCORES

CRICKET: WEST INDIES 367 V NEW ZEALAND 156-3; INDIA 280 AND 284-2 V SOUTH AFRICA 244

Chanderpaul hopes landmark hundred spurs Windies to victory H

amilton, NEW ZEALAND – Shivnarine Chanderpaul established a few more personal landmarks when he became the sixth highest all-time run scorer in Tests on Friday, but he hoped his 29th Test hundred helps West Indies to earn a series-levelling victory against New Zealand.

The veteran left-handed batsman was undefeated on 122– drawing level with the late Australian batting legend Don Bradman on the list of Test century-makers.

Chanderpaul added valuable runs with tail-enders Veerasammy Permaul and Tino Best to help West Indies post a first innings total of 367 on the second day of the third Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park.

It was Chanderpaul’s 17th unbeaten Test hundred and placed him ahead of recently-retired Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar with the most “not-out” Test hundreds.

Chanderpaul now has 11,199 runs from his 153 Tests, placing him ahead of former Australia captain and fellow left-hander Allan Border, who scored 11,174 runs from 156 Tests before he retired in March 1994, the same month the 39-year-old Chanderpaul made his debut.

“AB is a great man and scored a lot of runs against us when we INSIDE TODAY’S SPORT

Pujara, Kohli put India in control

cord of 200 against New Zealand.

Satisfying

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was ecstatic after scoring his 29th Test hundred

had a lot of fast bowlers,” said Chanderpaul. “I’m happy to get up there. They are some really great guys up there.

“I’m just trying to take each game as it comes and do as well as I can. . .I have to thank God for giv-

ing me that hunger to want to go out there and do well.”

The previous day, Chanderpaul and Windies wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin, with his fourth Test hundred of 107, shared a new West Indies sixth-wicket re-

Chanderpaul said it was a satisfying to see the team’s plans finally fall into place.

“It was a fantastic effort from Denesh Ramdin and myself to get us to such a competitive total,” said Chanderpaul. “From having a good start, then the second session losing so many wickets, we managed to put us in a decent position.

“It’s the things we have talked about all season. Here and in India, we’ve been struggling, getting starts, but not going on. We’ve talked about batsmen getting hundreds and it was something we were able to do in this game so we are very happy about it.

“The New Zealanders have bowled pretty well, in good areas, which they have been doing throughout the series. They make things difficult, it wasn’t easy to score. They have done it throughout the series and keep on doing it.”

The fifth highest scorer in Test cricket is former teammate and fellow left-handed batting legend Brian Lara on 11,953, while Tendulkar heads the list with 15,921 from 200 matches.

The other players in front of Chanderpaul are Australia’s Ricky Ponting (13,378), India’s Rahul

Dravid (13,288) and South African Jacques Kallis (13,140).

But Chanderpaul has no plans to chase any records, rather he wants to take things in stride and focus on West Indies winning the third Test against the Black Caps to earn a series draw.

The Windies trail 0-1 in the three-Test series, following a defeat by an innings and 73 runs in the second Test which ended last Friday at the Basin Reserve in the New Zealand capital of Wellington.

Rain forced a draw in the first Test which ended two Saturdays ago at University Oval in the South Island city of Dunedin.

“The wicket is going to spin,” said Chanderpaul. “It has a lot of grass on top of it and the ball will grip. It will be interesting to see what happens.

“You could say we were a bit surprised by the nature of this pitch, that it offered so much turn…If we bowl well enough anything can happen out there [on Saturday].”

He also expects off-spinner Sunil Narine to play a big part: “Sunil is a very good bowler. It doesn’t matter the conditions he’s playing in. He’s difficult to deal with when he gets it right. If comes and gets it right [on Saturday], he will be difficult to deal with.”

(WICB Media)

Clash of the unbeatens!

– Stevedore Housing Scheme, Queen Street-Tiger Bay to contest Guinness Street Football final this evening

A

Cheteshwar Pujara (left) and Virat Kohli punished the South African bowling with an unbroken stand of 191

n elect r i f y ing final is anticipated this evening when the curtains come down on the Georgetown leg of the sixth annual Guinness Street Football at the National Park. A new champion will be crowned since 2012 winners Leopold Street failed to make it past the preliminary round. see full story on page 23

Flashback! The organisers are hoping to attract another massive crowd as they did for the Georgetown final in 2012

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