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Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
The mentally ill among us In this day and age there are many medical conditions that doctors diagnose and even treat. Some of these medical conditions are indiscernible to the eye but they are present. One of them is mental illness. Like any country. Guyana has more than its fair share of mentally ill people. The problem is that these people are allowed to roam or simply to live their lives without any help from the medical system. One of the medical conditions that is perhaps more common than any other is depression. Until recently, this was not considered a mental health problem in this country. The result was that the casual observer would conclude that the depressed person is “moody.” And people always left the moody person to themselves until they “snapped out of it.” Today we see that people in the developed world pay a lot of attention to the “moody” person because these are the people who have the capability to wreak havoc. These are the people who blame the society for their state of depression and they sometimes lash out. Not so long ago we had the case of the boy who shot his mother to death and then turned his gun on the school he once attended, killing more than a dozen children and teachers. The mother recognized that her son had a mental problem so she kept him at home and taught him. These days, people find their psychiatrists with alacrity because they are now familiar with the symptoms and they know all about the effects. They also know that they could be treated, that they no longer need to lock themselves away until the episode passes, if it ever does. There are other mental health problems such as autism, attention deficit disorder and the more common mental disorders such as psychosis, dementia, schizophrenia and paranoia. Each of these is treatable but for the most part in Guyana, they go unrecognized or the people close to the patient would simply conclude that “he head ain’t good”. During the colonial period before these days of advanced treatment, the authorities simply locked these people away. Treatments are not as drastic as they were then but we seem to be paying less attention to these mental disorders. For one, we have not concentrated on training people to deal with mental illnesses. There are two known psychiatrists in Guyana and no more than three psychiatric nurses. From time to time the Government facility would secure a psychiatrist, courtesy of the Cuban Government. In the case of the latter the language problem is often a barrier. People would easily spot the chronic schizophrenics. Some of them have been known to attack people on the streets; some have been killed under weird circumstances and others simply move fromgarbagebintogarbagebineatinganythingonoffer. But there is one mental illness that is mostly unnoticed and it is autism. At least one in five Guyanese has autism in some form or the other. There is no physical manifestation but the patient would actually display some form of social impediment. Many have problems expressing themselves; they are all gifted in one form or the other except that we do not spend time to ascertain the gift of this child; and there is no special school for such people. We send them to public schools where they fail to cope with their more adjusted peers. Very few, if any, ever sought medical attention for the autistic child who more often than not, is lost in his own world. Yesterday, Guyana observed what it called World Autism Day, a day when the nation was expected to focus on autism. Sadly, the day passed largely ignored. The people who have banded themselves to help the autistic person have been talking to the wind. In this country it is expected that the government would undertake certain steps to help deal with some of the issues in society. From all observation, there is nothing in place for the autistic child. A few parents of these children would meet and resolve to deal with their problem. They get no money from any source. For them, their problem is theirs just as the other mental health problems remain largely individualized.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Letters... Where your views make the news
Sincere remorse must of necessity be followed by sincere forgiveness DEAR EDITOR, “As an intending witness, I make no comment on the composition and the Terms of Reference of the (Rodney) commission. That is for “stakeholders.” I say only that in relation to the appointment of the commission the record will show that all parties had their negative moments. There is wisdom in not entrusting defense of human rights only to political parties,” Mr. Eusi Kwayana notably reminds, and counsels in the SN of 30-3-14 titled “PPP cited Mrs. Rodney’s letter for propaganda purposes”. Has Mr. Kwayana now validated the astuteness of the extended Rodney family which wanted to avoid “entrusting defense of human rights only to political parties” so specified to the PPP/C government’s formation of the Rodney Commission of Inquiry (RCOI)? That faceless WPA statement which subsequently authorized WPA “members” to also testify later came
only after Mr. Kwayana’s letter was published. Does it mean its unsure leaders will abstain? As members, they may, or may not, giving them the space and time to later select which hat to wear presently hung in the PNC’s main bedroom, cosmetics and all. For sure the rhythm of the drums will beckon, enchant and influence those who are with enough spirit to attend all bedecked in their best flounce-off dress. Bet ambition’s sunshine from UG is with deft teflon sheen at the RCOI. Now that it’s each man for himself to avoid any blame and complicity in their leader’s death, what can be expected? Should Dr Rodney’s family take comfort that the WPA has relieved itself on them before the big event? The magnificence of Dr Walter Rodney’s springs from the fact that his excellence was not motivated by race but rather the resolve to reunite all, unlike some with partisan interests
surrounding him. His secret agreement with Dr Cheddi Jagan intended to eventually merge the WPA with the PPP. Since it was an open secret that Dr Rodney did not trust some in the WPA, the merger was apparently only known within his very tight inner circle! Who were they? The task of merging the WPA with the PPP would have crushed those who found it repugnant and unacceptable. How they resolved this problem was destined to become historic. Since by his own race he was automatically and officially prejudged guilty, he became both the threat and prime target by the same reason for his elimination from within the WPA and “outsider PNC”. A Rodney dead was better off serving both the WPA and PNC which motivated their collusion. With him out of the way, the WPA residue expected, the ongoing WPA momentum, not pointing to them, to still easily cruise (Continued on page 23)
This country will only start to improve when we witness respect at the top DEAR EDITOR, This an open letter to the below mentioned officials and all others in positions of authority… Dear President Ramotar, Dear Honorable Speaker Raphael Trotman, Hon Mr. Granger, Hon Mr. Ramjattan. We, the Guyanese people would like you to bring to the attention of your Honorable Members, the following things to consider: 1) The country is LOOKING and LISTENING to your speeches, slangs, heckles, insults, tirades, lies and acting at each other in parliament. 2) You are all big, educated people elected to serve US the people. Our children’s future depends on YOU. When you insult each other, curse each other and belittle each other - all in the name of the political game what do you think happens? 3) Your cavalier attitudes rub off on us. Your disrespect for rules is being
followed, your “show-off” attitudes are c o p i e d . Yo u r m o d e o f d r e s s , (non)punctuality, absenteeism and even your sleeping - makes us all the same. Do YOU all understand that YOU are supposed to be LEADERS? 4) Every one of us is becoming like YOU. You insult each other - We insult each other. You belittle and disrespect each other - We belittle each other. You lie and we tell lies on each other - just for the heck of it. 5) We also then become like YOU and, just for the sake of the political game, we insult you, become disrespectful of you after all - you are all disrespectful of each other - why should we respect you? 6) We are all intolerant of each other. We hurl insults; we use words to injure without thinking of repercussions. 7) We insult the Government and become intolerant of them and even the good that they do becomes bad - just because YOU have shown us how to
belittle and degrade. 8) The Government shares insults to everyone and uses its political stage to insult people - and the people in turn show disrespect and publish insults when and where they can. We can go on and on. If you want this country to improve, YOU have to start improving yourselves. Behave yourselves in parliament. Treat people with respect and we will respect you. TRUST ME, no one out here admires your glib tongue when it is used to belittle and lie. If you have facts on each other about rape, torture and theft, present it to the police or let’s take civil action. This country will only start to improve when you all start at the top. If you do not, then soon you will be exchanging fists in parliament and then this nation will spill over. God help us all - but YOU can too. Dr. Yog Mahadeo, on behalf of every affected onlooker
Nothing to hide - The face of Senicide/Geronticide DEAR EDITOR, Shock and dismay are inadequate words to describe the feelings that ravaged my mental faculties on reading about the demise of two septuagenarians in such quick succession. Guyana is experiencing what can only be termed a tsunami of immorality and lamentable decadence. These incidents point to a trending crisis as the population ages, and more and more of the elderly live alone or are being abandoned by their relatives, forcing them to become easy prey to the surfeit of sick people roaming the streets. Given the present state of things in Guyana, why is another burden being added or imposed on those less able to cope - the elderly. In addition to coping with declining health, now they have to muster enough might to fend off likely attackers. The Government is called upon to institute measures in an effort to
bring a grinding halt to this sad state of affairs in our country’s history. The rape of an elderly individual is a horrible crime. The perpetrator had to be either of an unsound mind, or the occupant of another planet, or both. In my early years growing up in Georgetown, the elderly were the safest members of the societal population. Any thought of deviance aimed at the elderly were only fleeting thoughts, ones that could never reach futurity or perpetration. The Golden Rule stood—Respect the elderly. Sadly, respect in and of itself is missing from Guyanese society. For centuries, humans have had the misguided notion that rape is about sexual desire. Nothing could be further from the truth - particularly about assault on the elderly. Rape is about power and control and rage. The way these crimes are handled should stand in
stark testimony of the progress level of our legal system. Sexual abuse of the elderly should be taken as equally if not far more seriously than when the victim is a child. Crimes need human faces to touch the public imagination. Concerns that are age-specific need to be incorporated into professional training programmes. Addressing the murder and rape of older women requires coordination of the efforts of Government authorities, community organizations and public awareness. For many women, being sexually victimized especially in the golden years is yet another battle amidst so many others prevalent in Guyana. We must put an end to it. We must make a stand, before such behaviour claims our land. A luta continua…The struggle continues. Yvonne Sam
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
These masqueraders do not have any interest in a stronger PPP DEAR EDITOR, I have always maintained that the PPP is not a perfect political party. In fact, no political party is perfect. The Party is not in Heaven, it is on earth. Usually it is those who leave the Party for one reason or another who would pontificate and seek to find fault with the Party, which they themselves once belonged, but having left opted to expose what they deem to be faults in the public domain. We, who continue to soldier on with the Party, and to battle with the fault lines and trip wires, do so because we want a better Party. We are committed to overcoming the challenges that arise from time to time within and outside the Party. Life itself throws up challenges in the Party, in Government, the Parliament and wherever the Party wields influence in society. In this regard, there are two choices available, either you stay and deal with the challenges or you walk away because you didn’t get your way or you simply didn’t have the staying power. When the PPP was in Opposition, the challenges were many; those challenges grew into tendencies within the Party; some members have a predisposition to gravitate towards leaders who articulate a particular viewpoint that appears to be attractive. Those individuals would eventually form themselves into factions or cliques. When this happens, such developments pose a danger to the unity and solidarity within the Party. It can be more damaging when factions become organized with the Party structure, thus the necessity to guard against factionalism and cliquism within the Party. The PPP’s Code of Conduct discourages such negative formations within the Party. The existence of political and ideological tendencies within a political party is nothing new; it is a natural evolution of the extant
political and ideological thinking influenced by the social, economic and political dynamics obtaining in society. A political party such as the PPP, with close connections to all classes and social strata in society, will obviously be affected by the way they perceive and react to political, economic and social developments in society. Their thoughts, perceptions and reactions will no doubt spring from their class interests, which are influenced by the way events unfold in the wider society. The PPP has never been and cannot be immune from these social, political and economic phenomena since, in the first place, it remains a Party with a large mass following and growing influence in Guyana, secondly, it is the Party that holds office and thirdly, it is the Party whose programmes and policies, visà-vis Government impacts the lives of every section of the population and perhaps every single Guyanese. We know from experience that the struggle to win political power is difficult, but the struggle to hold political power is even more difficult. There are only two political parties in Guyana that have this experience, the PPP and the PNC. A Party holding power will be under greater scrutiny than a Party in the Opposition; not that the Opposition parties do not come under scrutiny at all, on the contrary. While the Party in office will come under greater scrutiny with respect to issues pertaining to its
governance, and all that that entails as well as for its programmes and policies, and above all, upholding the Constitution, the Opposition Parties will come under scrutiny as regards, law and order issues, their predisposition to acts of subversion as well as in respect to their programmes and policies. In Guyana, the PNC and its surrogates in APNU have come under little or no scrutiny by sections of the Media whose editors and senior journalists support the political opposition. Henry Jeffrey in his “Future Notes” would from time to time offer feeble and weak-kneed criticisms of Granger and his APNU while feature writers and columnists in the opposition media are afforded daily and weekly space to launch scurrilous and baseless attacks against the PPP — the objective being to turn the minds of people against the PPP, and to make the Party look bad with the hope that people would not vote for the PPP/C at elections. But this is nothing new. Our critics have been legion from time immemorial. If it wasn’t race, it was ideology; if it wasn’t ideology, it was personal grouses and if it wasn’t personal grouses, it was sheer bitterness, because the losers did not get their way in the Party so they left or as they claim were “driven out” only to proclaim themselves the “true ones”, while those who remained were deemed the “sychophants” and the “subverted and stilled”.
One is left to wonder what were the roles of these “true ones” when men like Vincent Teekah, Ranji Chandisingh, Halim Majeed among others “were driven out” from the Party while those who chose to remain with the Party as the “true ones” eventually found themselves being “driven out” by others. What a turn of events! These developments are not unique to the PPP, such has been the case with the PNC and other political parties in Guyana, a tour d’horizon of the political landscape would show it strewn with political hasbeens, wannabes, failed presidential aspirants, victims of red carpet fever, political charlatans and narcissists. The PPP has always been and continues to be a Party in which intense internal debate and discussion take place on a wide range of issues. Throughout the lifetime of Cheddi Jagan as General Secretary of the Party, he had to convince members of the Central Committee and the Executive Committee, at separate meetings, whenever he wanted to introduce new and innovative political or ideological thinking and initiatives within the Party and by the Party. This was the case as regards participation or nonparticipation in the 1973 elections, the 1978 referendum
and the 1980 elections; the decision to launch the Civil Resistance and Noncooperation Campaign; the policy of Critical Support, the policy of alliances, the National Patriotic Front, and National Front Government, and later, the formation of the Civic component of the PPP. The same obtains today. Neither the General Secretary nor the President, or former President, can impose a policy initiative on the Party’s leadership simply because of the position they hold. What matters is how convincing, sound and logical their arguments are in the view of other Members of the Executive and/or Central Committee. Therefore to say that any single leader has a “grip on the throat of the Party” is total nonsense. The makeup of the current leadership of the Party and the way the Party works makes this almost impossible. With Comrades Cheddi and Janet gone; we do not profess to have any primus inter pares within the leadership of the Party. What we are witnessing in the unfolding situation, is an attempt to weaken not strengthen the Party. Our attackers do not have any interest in a stronger PPP. These masqueraders blame Ramotar for Jagdeo’s abiding political influence in the country, while they blame
Jagdeo for damaging the Party’s political fortunes, pretending to have the Party’s interest at heart. And as if this was not enough, the “Core Leadership” of the Party is accused of “succumbing to the personal ambition of Jagdeo”. Since the PPP in a previous statement already expressed its views on Jagdeo’s tenure in Office; there is no need to repeat it once again. Suffice it to say, however, that at some point in time Jagdeo will break his silence to deal with the political barnacles. It is to be assumed that he will have much to say and to expose. Who he will target and what he will say is anybody’s guess, but this much we can expect; instead of saying things to divide the Party or to undermine President Ramotar, as some are wont to believe, Jagdeo will certainly have the last laugh. His critics should therefore be on the lookout and keep in mind that it is easy to criticize but to be criticized is quite another matter. They just can’t take it. Clement J. Rohee General Secretary People’s Progressive Party
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Thursday April 03, 2014
Despite talk of reform, police investigative - slams govt. for not tactics have not changed -Felix prioritizing security
Eight years after he retired as head of the Guyana Police Force, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Winston Felix says he sees no change in the main civilian law enforcement body. In his presentation during the 2014 Budget Debates, Felix told the National Assembly that despite Government’s boast of spending millions to reform the Guyana Police Force, “there is still much of the same.” The former Commissioner of Police was referring directly to the Force’s lack of capacity to effectively investigate matters without the use of force or more specifically, torture. “When the investigators cannot solve a crime, we eventually hear of allegations of brutality or torture,” Felix stated. He reminded his fellow Parliamentarians about the highly publicized torture of teenager Tywon Thomas, who had his private parts burnt by police investigators, and more recently, in the
midst of the police reform process, there was the “despicable Colwyn Harding case”. Felix also reminded about the spike in armed robberies occurring on the Corentyne during the last quarter of 2013 when five families were attacked. This had sparked complaints from residents about police indifference to their reports. The former Top Cop slammed this year’s Budget allocation to the Guyana Police Force, saying that it was inadequate for the country’s principal law enforcement agency, which is tasked with wide responsibilities to provide protection for life and property, the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of the peace and the repression of internal disturbance. He recalled a presentation by the Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee in the latter part of 2011, when he told the nation that based on recommendations by the Capita Symonds Group, the Force would undergo reform in the areas of administration, succession planning, probity/ integrity, public relations and communications, among other areas. But according to Felix, the areas mentioned was
poorly thought out as they do not deal with the core issues affecting the police delivery of an efficient service to the public, and it explains why at this point there is no discernable change in the performance of the police. “For any quick impact on performance, the Government ought to have followed the recommendations of earlier work produced in the Security Sector Action Reform Project (SSRP),” he said. The SSRP was designed to address nine key areas. These include crime intelligence; anti crime unit, forensic laboratory; traffic management; strategic review of the GPF; community police relations; police accountability and transparency and national security policy, management and legal framework. Felix told the Assembly that he is certain that the future of the Guyana Police Force would have been well served with the implementation of the recommendations of the SSRP. He said that he had noted Minister Rohee’s remarks about the “unwarranted” criticisms of the recently SWAT team, a unit which Felix had been against from the outset. “I must enquire again of the Minister whether he is ever present when members of the GPF are allegedly uncouth to members of the public, brutalise and torture members of the public, fail to attend to reports promptly and efficiently, do not investigate crime efficiently or are either absent from court or fail to summon witnesses to testify,” Felix said. He added, “Members of the public are fed up and disgusted by the failure of the police to prosecute their mandate and bring justice to those offended…” Despite the Government allocating $19.5 billion for public safety and security, Felix said that the 2014 Budget
did not adequately cater for the needs of the Joint Services. “The Joint Services, which the Government relies on to provide safety and security for the people of this country, must suffer another year with no improvement in their emoluments and consequently no improvement in their lifestyles,” Felix said. Felix was part of a team from APNU, which had met with Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips and pledged support for budget allocation to assist the security forces to carry out its mandate. However, from all indications, the allocations have not met APNU’s expectations. Felix went on to state that the very important function of the Guyana Defence Force in the country’s national security architecture makes them available for national
Winston Felix defence and to support law enforcement in areas such as narco trafficking and piracy. To this end, Felix urged Government to ensure that the GDF is adequately resourced to execute its mandate without being sacrificed at the altar of expediency for specious capital projects.
“The Government has simply said to us, “not a cent more, we have to build a modern 8-gate airport terminal building, Amaila Falls hydro project and provide subsidies to those inefficiently run institutions. Those we will take care of first, you must wait your turn”, whenever that comes,” Felix noted. He also took a swipe at the treatment meted out to the other Joint Services entities. “Their allowances are horribly low in the face of the high cost of rent/mortgage, light bill, which is unstable, telephone and water bills. These are the very people who must put their lives on the line to prevent and detect crime, control traffic on the streets, confront armed and dangerous criminals, fight fires and maintain security of those who are confined by sentence of a court to a correctional institution,” Felix said in his Budget debate presentation.
Bandits target new Top Cop brother’s home Police swooped down in the village of Agricola yesterday, after arresting a suspect, as they probed the early morning attack on a close relative of Seelall Persaud, the man performing the duties of Commissioner of Police. The suspect, Aldrhen Adonis, was nabbed by members of a police mobile patrol as he was emerging from a bushy area near the scene of the robbery in the Eccles New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara. The man vehemently denied taking part in the robbery, claiming that his only crime was choosing a bushy alleyway to return to his home after leaving a shoemaker. Of course the police are not buying his explanation,
especially since he was one of the accused in the high profile robbery committed on persons who were escorting a Guysuco payroll on the West Bank of Demerara a few years ago. Police sources said that earlier yesterday, Seeranie Persaud, the sister in law of Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, was at her home in Eccles with her maid, when five armed men entered through an open door in the bottom flat of the two-storey house. The crime chief’s brother was not at home. The men held up the two women and after
slapping the maid several times, they relieved them of gold jewellery, a laptop computer, two cellular phones, US$700 and G$8000. They then made good their escape unchallenged. The matter was reported and police quickly went into action. When this newspaper ventured along East Bank Demerara, after receiving a report about the robbery, heavily armed police ranks were seen scouring the village of Agricola yesterday. However apart from Adonis, there were no reports of anyone else being arrested.
The suspect Aldrhen Adonis pleading his case yesterday while being transported in a police vehicle.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Thursday April 03, 2014
A more sinister plan is behind ‘Jagdeo Third term’ campaign - Moses Nagamootoo There seems to be something more sinister about the “Jagdeo Third Term” saga, says Alliance for Change Parliamentarian, Moses Nagamootoo. According to Nagamootoo the Ralph Ramkarran column from last Sunday really “hit the hammer on the nail”. Ramkarran, a former PPP/C stalwart in his weekly blog, delivered a stark warning to Head of State, Donald Ramotar, suggesting that former President Bharrat Jagdeo is attempting to scheme his way back into power. According to Nagamootoo, everyone saw how persons whom he refers to as the “gang of B’s” coined the campaign of “Bring Back Bharrat”. Nagamootoo told Kaieteur News that he strongly believes that the “gang” isn’t so “concerned” about a third term but something more sinister. “The gang knows that the notion of a third term
is a like kite that cannot fly. The tail is too heavy to make it fly” Nagamootoo said. He explained that the campaign is even more sinister and perhaps less noticeable by the general public and the PPP membership. It could see Ramotar being forced to step down as President before the end of his term and Jagdeo being installed. Then he does not breach the constitutional provision which states that he cannot be re-elected. According Nagamootoo, former President Bharrat Jagdeo has been a debilitating factor which was introduced into the PPP. He said that everyone has seen him operate by stealth trying to wield control. “Because he had access to the Ministry of Finance and it’s a fairly influential position he was able to corral under his side people who could be easily compromised” Nagamootoo opined. The idea in the PPP was described brilliantly by Dr.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo Joey Jagan who said that the “Gang of Eight” out of 15 members of the leadership, which is the executive committee, can control literally the party which is like the head. According to Nagamootoo, the former president had worked his way among the group of trained leaders of the party, and
APA benefits from EU grant for better forest management The European Union (EU) has provided the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) with a 150,000 Euros grant to strengthen the active participation of civil society in the Voluntary Partnership Agreement of the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade process (FLEGT). The EU in a press statement yesterday enlightened that the support forms part of the ongoing work programme being implemented by the EU and the Government of Guyana on the national Roadmap for EU -FLEGT. The aim of this project is to support the active participation of the Amerindian communities in the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) development process in a
manner that supports the national roadmap and builds synergies with the ongoing efforts of the National Technical Working Group, the coordinating body for EUFLEGT in Guyana. “This highlights the continuous commitment of the EU and the Government of Guyana to assure, in partnership with the Guyana Forestry Commission, the active participation of all stakeholders in the VPA process,” the release stated. The FLEGT VPA negotiations formally started with the first negotiation session held in Georgetown in December 2012. The process is planned to culminate with an agreement by September 2015. The VPA aims to promote
sustainable forest management by further promoting forest legality and securing access to European markets for legally-harvested and sustainable Guyanese forest products. This specific project will build the capacity of identified Amerindian Village Councils and villagers, indigenous peoples’ organizations and civil society to become actively engaged in the FLEGT VPA discussions at the local and national levels, as well as to enable their effective participation in the development and implementation of the FLEGT VPA in Guyana. The project will target Regions Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten and will have a duration of 24 months.
Moses Nagamootoo moved the Gang of Eight to his side. “I think that they are attempting to start a rift inside the party to be able to get Jagdeo to control the Gang of Eight, in which case they could ask President Ramotar to step aside for whatever reason as what has happened with Janet Jagan in 1999 and allow Jagdeo to act as president until fresh elections,” Nagamootoo posited. Ramkarran first alluded to an article in the Guyana Times, which said that the Opposition had caused a poll to be conducted last month which found that “former President Bharrat Jagdeo would be the most formidable
candidate that the Opposition parties…could face in any upcoming general elections.” He noted that the following day, the stateowned Guyana Chronicle carried a similar front page headline: “Jagdeo favoured as PPP’s presidential candidate” in an Opposition poll. Both the Alliance for Change and A Partnership for National Unity have denied any such poll. Ramkarran noted that the publications in the newspapers belie Jagdeo’s protestations that he is not interested in a third term. “This new campaign was no doubt inspired by talk of a landslide victory if he had been the candidate in 2011, and if he is now the candidate.” Ramkarran recalled too that an expensive campaign calling for a third term was also put together in 2010 which only fizzled out when the then General Secretary, Donald Ramotar, took a stand against a third term. According to Ramkarran, now that elections appear to be on the horizon, Jagdeo is “beginning to drool with renewed ambition and hunger for high office.” From the time he settled in to the Presidency and realized its potential to elevate him to ‘greatness’ and
wealth (by saving), Jagdeo set in motion a two pronged strategy, Ramkarran says. The former executive member of the party said that Jagdeo, while in office began to nurture and encourage a group of business people, many of whom expanded through opportunities available from state contracts and other linkages, into massive and still growing conglomerates. According to Ramkarran, the party leadership certainly did not recognize that the ambitions of Jagdeo, who was soon to leave office, could not be contained. “The 2011 elections revealed the extent of the damage to the Party.” The open campaign for a third term, the direct challenge to President Ramotar and his leadership and the attempt to deprive him of a second term, whether of a minority government or not, were nevertheless exposed by the two publications. He posits that Jagdeo “can only succeed if he divides the P a r t y, something he clearly has n o q u a l m s i n doing.” Ramkarran says that he can make bold to raise this direct challenge because, although President Ramotar recognizes the need to curb his influence, he has taken no decisive action to do so.
Bloody Wednesday
Robbers slash Soesdyke man’s throat, stab Tuschen woman Three persons are in serious condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after separate stabbing incidents, including a suspected robbery. Family of Ramrattie Bennie, 44, of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, said she was stabbed several times while venturing outside her home around 05:30hrs to throw out garbage. Two men were seen leaving the area and the woman was picked up shortly after and reportedly rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital before being transferred to
the city. It was unclear whether her attackers were waiting for her. There was no attempt to rob the home. Family members said that the police were investigating the incident with no immediate motive known. Meanwhile, a Soesdyke man was also in a critical condition after an attack while walking through a sandpit, on his way home along the Ideal Road. Wesley John, 28, had only recently returned home from the hinterland where he reportedly works with a lumber company. His family said that he staggered into the home yesterday afternoon with blood all over his clothes. It appeared that he was attacked as his silver chain was missing and there was a huge cut to his neck. It appeared that he was struggling with his attackers because his hands bore cut wounds, too. Family members said that they went to a nearby sand pit area where they found John’s haversack and saw signs of a struggle. He was in shock from loss of blood and was unable to provide any details. He was later rushed to the hospital. The stabbing madness also did not spare Berbice. Krishna Persaud, 47, was reportedly stabbed several times during a fight with his son. Neighbours and relatives said that the man, a habitual drinker, had an argument with his son and he was allegedly attacked and stabbed several times. His son was also taken to the hospital for stabbed wounds.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
A young boy lives in the countryside with his family. His father is a cow herder and also a farmer. This young lad is twelve years old. He awakes at 5:00 hours each day. Since his parents have instilled in him the importance of undertaking responsibilities in the home by doing basic chores, he does not have to be told what to do. His day follows a routine. The first thing that he does on getting out of bed is to make his bed and tidy his room. He then proceeds outside to the back of his house where the cow pens are located. For the next hour, he will milk the cows that have to be milked. He is skilled at this and tries to get as much milk as he can from the cows. By the time this is completed it is time for him to hand over to his father who will take care of the feeding and grazing of the cows in the pastures aback of the farm which his family plants. After handing over the
cows to his father, he proceeds to the standpipe in his yard where there are buckets and drums of water to be fetched. He has to fill many of these so that he and his siblings can bathe and also to ensure that there is sufficient in the home for the daily housework. After filling one bucket he places another bucket under the standpipe while he trucks the filled container inside. This routine continues until all the buckets are filled and inside the house. The twelve-year old then proceeds into the house where he assists his smaller brothers and sisters to get dressed and ready for school. Then the family sits down to a quick but hearty breakfast. Afterwards, he helps with the dishes and whatever else he can in the kitchen before dashing off to bathe and dress for school. On those days, such as Saturdays, when he is not at school, he has to go with his family house to house to
deliver milk and the remainder of the morning is spent at the market selling the produce that is produced on his family’s farm. On Sundays his additional chores include sweeping the yard and washing the family car. But since his parents value education, he is not allowed to miss school. Every weekday therefore he has to attend school. After school he comes home and after having a snack he goes to get his watering can. Each afternoon he has to attend to the kitchen garden and flower plants. His job is each day to water the various plants which are grown in his yard. He goes around the kitchen garden to see what is ready for picking. He does this and takes the produce inside. Then he heads for the pasture where the cows are grazing. The sun by this time is setting in the west. The cows have to be herded and guided back home. They are not always obedient and
Dem boys seh...
De Waterfalls paper renting Kamla De budget got people talking and some of dem ducking fuh cover. De story bout how Bobby enjoying free money from de Ministry of Health come up in parliament. People talk how de Auditor General had to note that nuff time Bobby ain’t deliver drugs although he collect de money. Well that is wha one Hem Pee talk about. De doctor who heading de Ministry answer de part bout de expire drugs. He seh that when people bring drugs to give to de hospital sometimes de drugs don’t have too long before dem expire. But if people give all dem drugs then people got to use dem. De Ministry don’t have to buy but that is just wha does happen. De Ministry still buying de drugs because Bobby does tell dem up front that he not giving back any money. De same Minister smart, though, He refuse to discuss de money that de government spending pun de drug purchase. He talk bout
everything but he didn’t dare call Bobby name. And is things like that mek dem boys seh that Donald got to tek charge. He can’t sit down and hear Rohee talk how de budget is fuh de masses when he know that most of de money is fuh a few. He is de leader of de party and he got to tighten up. Is tolerate that he tolerate people mek Jagdeo and he friends tek dem eyes and pass he. Jagdeo did plan fuh force he to resign and he, Jagdeo, woulda come in as de temporary president. Of course dem boys seh that dem sending fuh Kamla because Donald ain’t showing strength and certainly no balloons. De Waterfalls paper gun pay Kamla and then it gun arrange a sale fuh Donald. If dem don’t get a sale dem gun tek whatever offer dem get. Guyana need people wid balloons and if that too big dem would settle fuh people wid balls. Talk half and help Donald cut off de drug money
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sometimes a few may go astray. It is quite a tiring task and by the time he gets them into the pens, night has set and he is exhausted. But the day of this young lad is not ended. He has to help out around the house when he finishes and after dinner he has to tidy the dishes. By the time he is finished, there is little time to relax or study since he has been taught the importance of a good night’s sleep. One night, just before
retiring, the young lad sees his father reading the newspaper and mumbling to himself. He asks his father what is the problem. The father says, “This is a lot of nonsense! I have never heard of a more deplorable idea. The government has to be crazy to be even thinking about doing this.” “What is it that the government is thinking about doing?” asks the twelve year old. Without lifting his head
out of the newspaper, the father says, “They are thinking about allowing children to do light work from age thirteen. They cannot be serious. Children should not be allowed to work at such a young age.”
Port Kaituma shop owner charged with rape of 7-year-old girl A 32-year-old Port Kaituma business owner yesterday faced Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry, charged over the accusations of a seven-yearold girl who claimed that he raped her five days ago. Clifton Anthony Doris, a father of one, was indicted for rape of a child Under 16 years of age. The offence was allegedly committed on March 28 last at Barama Log Pond, Port Kaituma. Reports out from that area state that the incident occurred while the child was on her way to school. The child’s mother reportedly noticed that her clothes were blood-stained, and upon enquiring, she got the gory details of the child’s ordeal at the hands of the accused. The injured child was taken to the Port Kaituma Health Centre where she was examined and treated. The matter was reported and
subsequent investigations led to Doris being arrested and charged. Prosecuting the case is Inspector Michael Grant who offered several objections to him being granted bail. He said that the tender age of the child as well as the fact that the accused lives in close proximity, may lead to an attempt to interfere with her. Grant claimed too, that the nature and gravity of the offence were sufficient grounds for Doris to be ordered held. Doris was charged too for being in possession of 10 grams of cannabis at his business place in Port Kaituma, also on March 28. He, however, pleaded not guilty and submitted an
application for reasonable bail through Defence Attorney, Paul Fung-a-Fat. Fung-a-Fat stated that it was at his client’s boutique in Orinoque, Port Kaituma where the illicit substance was found. He said that his client was held in custody for six days before making his first court appearance. The lawyer urged the court to consider that his client has had no prior conviction or charges and offer him bail. Notwithstanding his bail applications, the Chief Magistrate upheld the objections of the Prosecution and ordered Doris held. The case will be called again on April 30 for statements.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
The Manickchand ban: The ‘moral’ politics of Ramotar I was about sixteen years old when I began fighting madly to understand philosophy books. At the time I worked at the Michael Forde Bookshop. As my capacity for comprehension began to improve, there was one subject in philosophy that defied me. Try as hard as I could, I couldn’t get it. I still can’t get. Can you? It is about the meaning of moral values. What are they? Is there a definitive scheme of moral values that can be graded? Until civilization dies out, no great philosopher will answer that question, none has,
although the brilliant Immanuel Kant and David Hume have made some profound contributions to the debate. This is an introduction to the “moral” politics of Donald Ramotar. But exactly what is the “moral” politics of Donald Ramotar? It began when Ramotar’s son, Alexei struck down my nephew in front of his (my nephew’s) Pike Street, Kitty home. Let me stay clear away from libel. I didn’t say “illegally” struck down. He hit my nephew with his Rav4 and left him in crutches for an entire year. Those are the facts. The police didn’t
prosecute my nephew for jaywalking or Ramotar for dangerous driving, so I can’t comment on who is wrong. Mark Benschop ran the story on his web page with the comments that followed. Ramotar then called Benschop to inform him that he was endangering his son’s life by posting those angry comments. Benschop then suggested to Ramotar that how can he, Ramotar, complain when Kwame McCoy puts up similar comments and he Benschop has a young son. Ramotar replied that he doesn’t read McCoy’s blog
then went on to tell Benschop that he, Ramotar, believes in “moral politics” (the words of Ramotar). Benschop taped the conversation and it was subsequently played for me. I don’t know if Benschop still retains the item but I think he keeps a library of such materials. If he does; I hope he can play it for the public. Exactly what Ramotar means by moral politics I don’t know but I am certainly not impressed with the politics and policies of Ramotar as a person and as the President, and his government too. I don’t see any moral values in them, but then again, remember we in society cannot pin down exactly what are morally right and wrong. Of course I don’t buy that jazz. Well, one is forced to ask the question; will Ramotar retain Manickchand after her unbecoming conduct in Parliament on Tuesday? If Ramotar believes in moral politics, he should not. Ramotar had sufficient time to observe Manickchand like the rest of the nation. She served in Parliament under Jagdeo. It was difficult to understand the mind of this lady when you saw her in Parliament. On every occasion when she was on the
floor, it was if she was in a boxing ring. The gesticulations, antics, use of words give huge indications that Manickchand was not aware that she was not in South Georgetown (where I am from) trying to win a brawl. But the “moral” politics of Ramotar worked in Manickchand’s favour. Ramotar made her Minister of Education, one of the most respected of all the Cabinet portfolios. It was while serving as Minister of Education, that M a n i c k c h a n d made her infamous remark directed towards Jaipaul Sharma. In heckling Volda Lawrence while the APNU Parliamentarian was speaking on rape, Manickchand shouted; “Ask your APNU member Sharma about that.” This was the Minister of Education, who is also a lawyer, speaking. Poor Manickchand. She chose the wrong person. Jaipaul Sharma is one of the quietest Parliamentarians. He does not rub anyone the wrong way. At the time of writing she has refused to apologize as requested by the Speaker. This refusal has tremendous analytical value for understanding the culture
Frederick Kissoon of the PPP. Countless Guyanese will be surprised that the apology was not offered. But not those who study the nature of the PPP. Except Jeff Da Silva, the former head of GOINVEST, who publicly apologized at a press briefing over concessions to Bobby Ramroop that were not backed by law, there has not been a single apology from any PPP person serving in the state sector at a high level and in the Cabinet. If Manikchand does apologize, it will not be voluntary like Da Silva. She cannot speak on the budget if she does not. But Speaker Trotman is playing games. If Manickchand continues to refuse, she should be banned from speaking in Parliament period! But what about the moral politics of Uncle Donald or De Donald or President Donald? Will he follow Kamla in Trinidad and practice moral politics?
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Allocation for Amaila Falls should be removed …until all documentation is provided
- 2014 budget does not reflect all the revenues Executive members of the Alliance For Change (AFC) disclosed yesterday that the 2014 budget presented by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, does not reflect all the revenues. They added that the Ministers who are requesting monies for certain projects will have to provide the necessary information to justify why it should be approved. This, among other critical concerns, was raised by AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, and supported by his Vice Chairman, Attorney at Law, Moses Nagamootoo. While reiterating that its walk out during the reading of the budget was to register its protest against the violation of the Constitution regarding meaningful consultation on the Budget, Ramjattan stressed, “We will however, participate vigorously in the debate and the consideration of the Estimates in the Committee of Supply.” In making their concerns known to media operatives during a press briefing held at Public Buildings, he said that the public should call on the Minister of Finance to rectify the Estimates before the Budget goes to the Committee. Ramjattan said that Article 216 of the Constitution requires that all public revenues or other moneys be paid into the Consolidated Fund. Therefore, the Budget must include several critical things. It must include the balances currently held and the projected surpluses for 2014 by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission; the Guyana Forestry Commission and also for the Guyana Harbour Bridge Corporation; the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation; the Guyana Co-operative Financial Services; and the National Frequency Unit; the Amerindian Purpose Fund; the Infrastructural Development Fund; UK Programme Aid - GEA account Agriculture Rehabilitation Project Loan Account; Social Impact Amelioration Programme account; and every other public authority in Guyana. He added that the total amount collected by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited up to December 31, 2013 from the sale of Government properties and from dividends received from Government investments,
must also be paid into the Consolidated Fund. “We are recommending that the amounts requested for GuySuCo and the Guyana Power and Light Inc. be supported by proper explanations and documentation including business plans, justifying the request…The relevant Ministers have failed to table annual reports of GuySuCo for several years and also for Guyana Power and Light Inc. “We wish to put the Ministers on notice that submission of all reports and statements required by law must be tabled in the National Assembly,” the AFC Leader expressed. As it relates to support for the sum allocated to the Specialty Hospital, Ramjattan said that this is no different. He is therefore demanding that the National Assembly be provided with the proper documentation to support the request for the allocation. “We need to know who will own the Hospital, how it will be managed, the pricing policy for the services to be provided, whether a member of the public would be excluded if that person could not afford to meet the cost to be imposed; and whether the State will be providing an annual subsidy to the Hospital. “Further, we need the public to know why Exim Bank of India has not made further releases to Surendra Engineering who was awarded the contract for construction.” The Attorney at Law said that the allocation for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AMP) of US$80 million be excluded from the Estimates until full documentation is provided to show the precise purpose of the investment, the name of the company (ies) in which the equity is to be invested, the ownership structure and a Business Plan justifying the expenditure. He said, “The AFC is aware that the last Interim Licence issued under the Hydro-Electricity Act Cap. 56:03 expired on December 31, 2013. We need to know, therefore, whether there is currently a Licence in place. The pursuing of Amaila seems questionable in the face of the actual drying up of the water for extended periods, and Sithe Global making it very clear that it will not be backing the project in view of not obtaining full
Khemraj Ramjattan, AFC Leader Parliamentary support. Thus, this proposed allocation for this project warrant serious re-consideration. “And we have not been informed about the contents of that much awaited due diligence study from the 1DB.” Ramjattan added that the government claims that US$115 million has been paid by Norway but only about US$70 million appears to have been transferred. The politician demands that a full report be presented. The AFC is aware that last year, the Minister of Finance spent sums of money in violation of the Appropriation Act and it wants Dr. Singh to account to the National Assembly for those sums. The opposition party has also noted that Dr. Singh has re-designated the line item ‘Revision of Wages and Salaries’ for which he was unable to account for three billion dollars in 2013. “Readers will recall that the 2013 budget had provided $4,403 million for revision of wages and salaries, which was around 13 per cent of all employment cost at January 1, 2013.” The AFC now asks, “If only five per cent was paid as increases, then where did the rest go?” In this regard, Ramjattan said that he is of the opinion that to avoid such questions, “The Minister decided this year that he would just change the item Revision of Wages and Salaries to Other Employment Costs. “Such a heading would include pensions, gratuities and other benefits which are separately provided for. The AFC expects some honesty from the Minister. He must tell us what exactly Other Employment Costs represents and how much is proposed for increasing the wages and salaries of public workers. He must not cheat workers with manipulating the Estimates.”
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
Govt gearing to fully sustain own Local $50B cash crop industry HIV/AIDS fight within three years taking on formal setting Government is gearing to take full responsibility for the local HIV/AIDS fight which is expected to see it, in a matter of years, plugging a sizeable sum in this direction. This notion was recently highlighted by Programme Manager at the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, Dr. Shanti Singh, who, during a recent interview disclosed that from the Government’s perspective there are plans to increase the budget being placed on the HIV response. However, an increased budget in this regard may not take full effect until another three years. This is in light of the fact that Guyana was recently able to secure a second tranche of Global Funding for the local HIV/ AIDS fight amounting to about US$14.6 million. In the meantime, though, Dr. Singh said that moves are being made to transition the system to accommodate an eventual move towards Government funding. As such she noted that already human resources currently involved in the HIV/AIDS fight are being transitioned. These resources, Dr. Singh pointed out, are however, not only those attached to the National AIDS Programme Secretariat. Moreover, she disclosed that Departments such as the Adolescent Health Unit, which has been doing work
NAPS Programme Director, Dr. Shanti Singh in the area of Health and Family Life Education through the Ministry of Education, and has been attracting donor funding, is being transitioned over to Government. “We have a number of staff on the Global Fund project...as a matter of fact, it is about 69 staffers that we have under this project and we have received approval from Cabinet for all of those positions to be transitioned over to the Ministry of Health (Government) over a threeyear time period,” said Dr. Singh. According to her, the Health Ministry had in fact submitted a plan that was approved by Cabinet thereby enabling the approval of the
transition move. Added to this, Dr. Singh said that approval was granted for the transition of a number of consumables in support of the HIV treatment programme. “So we have transitioned to some extent CD4 testing, viral load testing, HIV rapid testing and a number of the other consumables to support prevention as well as our HIV treatment programme.” Speaking of the efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS Guyana Country Coordinator, Dr. Roberto Brant Campos, emphasised that no longer is ending the disease a dream but rather it is a scientifically proven possibility. And this should be the goal that Guyana and the rest of the world should be aspiring for, Dr. Campos said, even as he noted that the factor of sustainability is one factor that must be given close attention. “That is something we need to reflect on, yes we can end it, yes we can decrease the number of cases...We are on the route but we need to reflect on the sustainability but is it not possible to be dependent so much on the Global Fund grants; countries need to raise domestic funds to complement the needed funds to achieve the end of the epidemic in the future,” Dr. Campos asserted.
Guyana’s $50B cash crop sector is growing with farmers trying to organize their activities into a formal setting like the sugar industry. This is according to Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Agriculture, who said that local farmers are moving away from producing crops at a subsistence level. With increasing vegetable and fruits production, locally, the emphasis now is to ensure that some of the produce enters the processed food industry. Currently, most of the produce is consumed locally. There is a small overseas market for fresh crops such as pumpkin, squash and pineapple. One of the challenges faced with exporting fresh crops is transportation. “You can’t send them with ships because they are perishables. You need the expensive air freight and that creates a problem for us because the cost would not be competitive,” Dr. Ramsammy said. As such, there is a great need to find ways to process foods. Guyana’s agroprocessing industry has grown to about US$2B worth of products. However, there are still challenges in the areas of packaging and labeling, he said. “You can’t export pepper sauce and plantain chips and all these things unless you meet the sanitary and phytosanitary standards and traceability etc…. For this reason the Ministry of Agriculture this year will be hiring two specialists,” he said. According to the Minister, one of the
specialists would be a food scientist tasked with explaining to agro-processors how to conduct their business in the manner that meets the requirements of the European, American and Caribbean markets. The other specialist would be responsible for teaching agro-processors how to qualify for both the food and drug registration locally and the ISO certification. Dr. Ramsammy said that this is an investment for the agriculture sector and the agro-processing sector since hiring technical experts for a factory would be quite costly. Therefore, the specialists hired will serve everybody. Dr. Ramsammy said that there is great potential for processed foods locally whilst emphasizing that Guyana imports $200M of frozen potatoes to make potato chips. He noted that Guyana could start packaging cassava as a frozen product to export, as one entity in Guyana is already doing. The Minister said that because of the new global order imposed by the World Trade Organization Guyana cannot ban foreign products from entering the local market. For instance, Guyana imports pepper sauce while pepper sauce is produced locally. “So whilst we don’t ban we need to create a demand for local products that cause low importation. That is one of the strategies we are using with one of our farmers now. We are creating not subsistence livelihood for them but a wealth generating business,” Dr. Ramsammy said.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Three granted bail for burgling overseas-based Guyanese home Three men accused of burgling almost $3.7M in property from the residence of an overseas-based Guyana over a 13-day period, faced a city Magistrate yesterday, and were granted bail to the tune of $350,000. Patrick Dundas, 21; Leon McKenzie, 41; and Michael Chabrol, 34, were brought before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to be jointly indicted on a break and enter and larceny charge. They are charged with breaking and entering the house of Hemdutt Kumar at Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, some time between March 16 and March 29 and making off with $3,690,000 worth of items from the store. The items stolen included a generator, two grass cutters, an electrical saw, three water pumps, 3 poultry fans, a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) system, two ornaments as well as pieces of jewellery and other items. The three men pleaded not guilty and later submitted bail applications through their defence attorneys. Sergeant Tracy-May Gittens prosecuted the case on behalf of the state. She explained that Kumar is an overseas-based Guyanese who left a caretaker in charge of his house. She said that during the period of time mentioned in the charge, the accused managed to break into the premises several times and steal the items. According to Gittens, on March 29, they were caught during another break in on the house and arrested by police
ranks. The two ornaments were reportedly found in their possession. Gittens indicated to the court that Dundas confessed to the crime while the other two denied the claims. Subsequent investigations led to the charge being instituted against the three men. In offering her objections to bail, the Prosecutor cited that the trio has other matters in court and urged the court to consider denying them their pre-trial liberty. She said too that the investigations are ongoing. His objections, however, were met with arguments from Dundas’s lawyer who submitted a bail application on his behalf. Meanwhile, Attorney-atLaw Melvin Duke said that
his client is a taxi driver who on March 29 was solicited to transport a young lady to a family’s house. He said that she then picked up two other men on the way. He said the three called a Canter truck and went into the house when the police arrived claiming that the house was broken into. Duke claimed that his client had no knowledge of the alleged crime. Attorney-at-Law Paul Fung-a-Fat also made bail application on behalf of McKenzie and Chabrol. In response to their applications for a court bond, Magistrate McGusty granted bail in the sum of $350,000 each. The case is set to be called before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Providence Magistrate’s Court on June 4.
Man dies a day after being struck in head by drinking partner Police on the West Coast of Demerara have detained a man who they suspect is responsible for the death of his drinking buddy, Mahendra Singh. Singh’s motionless body was found around 05:30 hours yesterday at his Philadelphia, East Bank Essequibo home. He was rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police in a statement yesterday said that their investigations so far indicate that on Tuesday, Singh and another man were imbibing at a house at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara when an argument developed and he was allegedly struck to his head with an object. He went home without seeking medical attention and subsequently fell ill. A post mortem examination will be performed on the body tomorrow and this will determine the way forward for the investigators.
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63-year-old on trial for friend’s murder Murder accused, Renwick Alexander, is appearing before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed 12 -member jury for the murder of his longtime friend, Carl Thomas, called ‘Dog’. On November 3, 2010 Alexander, 63, of John Street Lodge, had a row with Thomas, his childhood friend, over some missing clothing. The argument escalated into a fight and the accused allegedly dealt Thomas a single stab wound to the abdomen with a serrated “long knife”. When the matter was called for trial on Tuesday, Alexander pleaded not guilty. The court heard that the accused had told the police that the deceased who was also known as ‘Dog’, was a junkie. According to a police witness, Alexander said, “Carl Thomas who I know as ‘Dog’ is a junkie. He always disrespecting me and tonight he run up in me face, with a knife and I tek de knife from he and juk he. “Me ain’t know wha happen wid the knife after that. Me went home and de police come and hold me and bring me here at the station but me nah give nothing in writing and me ain’t signing nothing till I talk to meh lawyer.” He is being represented by Attorney-at-law, Mr. Huckumchand while state
counsel, Mrs. Judith Gildharie Mursalin is prosecuting. On Tuesday, three witnesses took to the stand to give their sworn evidence. Police constable, Maxwell Grant, who is attached to the photographic branch of the Guyana Police Force as a police photographer, told the court that he visited the scene of the crime and took photographs. “I went to the scene of the crime and took photographic exposures of an alleged murder at Lot 35 John Street, Lodge. The photographs were then tendered as evidence before the court. Detective Constable, Deon Prince, told the court, that he arrested the accused after cautioning him on November 3, 2010. “I told him of the allegations against him that he had murdered Carl Thomas and I cautioned him. He remained silent. I arrested him and I checked his body for marks of violence but none were seen. I asked him about the knife, which he used to stab Thomas. He said that he does not know of any, I searched the area for it but I
never found it.” Police Sergeant, Lillian Scotland told the court that she visited Georgetown Public Hospital, a few minutes after the incident occurred. Scotland said that she saw a man lying on a bed being attended to by hospital staff. The man, whom she later learnt to be Carl Thomas, was alive and groaning as if in pain, he had a wound to his belly in the region of his navel. Scotland said that she left and visited the scene of the crime and while there she learnt that Thomas had died. Scotland said that she met with the accused and procured an oral statement from him. Yesterday, Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh told the court that he examined the body and concluded that he died of hemorrhage and shock due to the stab wound to his abdomen.
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Kaieteur News
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MASSAGE
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Labba available in wholesale quantity – Call:261-5663 or Cell#6706122
FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620
1 Freight liner hauler with sleeping cab, 1 -48ft trailor with treated wood – Call: Rakesh 613-6979 1 Toyota Raum, excellent condition, PNN series, price:$1.150M negotiable – Call:646-9417 or 646-6440 One registered Allion 2003. Colour: Silver, In excellent condition - Call: 665-4529; 652-3820 Smart Choice Auto Sales: Unregistered: Premio, Allex, IST, Spacio, Allion - Call: 652-3820; 665-4529
Neisha Massage Therapy Services – Call:674-8147
Household Items: Stove, bed, sofa, dishwasher, antique tables, wicker chairs, closet, dresser – Call:2239719 or 227-1028 One unregistered – 65 CF 210 flat bed, one 50 160 Recovery DAF- Contact:615-9332; 6410932; 695-0023 Plough - New 2 pan dish plough; Made in India; excellent quality. $220,000 (neg). Call 257-0212 or 6288487. DAF Engines, Cummings engine, axles, springs, gear boxes, etc - Contact:6159332; 641-0932;695-0023
PROPERTY FOR SALE Two bedrooms transported property located at 3rd Avenue, Diamond, New Scheme, E.B.D. Price:$12M – Call:652-5601 Property for sale.Call:6275416 Double Lot with house - Tel: 220-9961 Prime Property for sale – Light Street, Alberttown – Contact:639-3619, 619-7299 Prime Business property, huge land space, 200'X50', next to Police Outpost @ Mc Doom 233-0570 3 Bedroom two storey Concrete House Parafaite Harmonie $16M. Contact 6221782, 264-0042 or 658-5803. Property for sale located at Windsor Forest, W.C.D – Tel:644-6066 C’ Field Sophia, First Street Price: $3M, Diamond with pool – Price: $50M, $27M, & Queenstown - $25M. Contact:231-2199 or 618-7483
Thursday April 03, 2014
LEARN TO DRIVE Shalom Driving School @ 2 Croal street. Fee $16,000Call:227-3869 Ultravoilet Driving School @ 106 Brickdam. 25% discount – Contact:231-2372;602-2583; 6584015
One RX-8 Mazda fully air conditioned, stick gear, wheel lights, fog lamps, power windows - Tel: 653-2477 One Toyota Hilux 4-Runner $1.5M negotiable – Call:6827220 or 602-0268 1 AT 212 Carina (private) automatic, fully powered with AC, alarm - New Model Price:1.3M. Contact Rocky: 621-5902 1 Toyota Will VS fully loaded, drop springs, etc. 1 Toyota Auris Fully loaded Call: 623-2999
VEHICLE FOR SALE One Extra Cab Toyota Hilux. Call: 685-6199 One 8,000 Ford Tractor, one 450 Ford Towing Truck & one pair 38 Tractor Wheel Contact Floyd: 694-5599 P&A Auto Sales: Premio, Spacio, Raum, Rush, IST, AT 212. Call:661-9651 or 6818474 1 Toyota Verossa 18” Chrome rims, excellent condition, low milage Price:$3,000,000 - Tel:6823396; 665-7206 1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.3M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400 AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / termsCall:680-3154
Spacio- Body kit, TV/DVD, camera, dark interior, unregistered, price starting $2.1M - Call: 617-2891 Pit bull 19 seats Grand Cabin $3.8M - Call: 652-5668 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154
Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves: Call 683-1312,627-3206 (Nick) HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR ONLY $10,000CALL:694-9843/227-2766 B R I D G E WAT E R CONSTRUCTIONS - CO: NEWHOMESREMODELING, NEWBATHROOMS,TILE& M A R B L E INSTALLATION, FREE ESTIMATES- CALL: 6606935; 676-9660; 269-094 Smart Tech Solutions: Security cameras, computer repairs, maintenance, sales & installation – Call: 6525668 Technicians available for appliance repairs - washers, dryers, microwaves, stoves, deep fryers, etc - Tel: 6190793; 218-0050 TO LET Two bedrooms apartment on E.C.D – Tel:684-8906 One bedroom apartment located at Uitvlugt Housing Scheme, W.C.D – Call:6804990 or 277-3033 Wings Two bedrooms apartment - Tel: 643-1131; 225-3234 2 Bedrooms furnished apartment in Linden for short term local & overseas guest. Tel:614-4415 or 4444704 Fully furnished apartments - $4,000-$6,000 per night - Call:223-0994
WANTED One girl to work in upholstery workshop and one salesgirl to work in store – Call:610-7005 or 219-1342 One live in Domestic between age 40-60yrs - Call: 220-9873
One two bedrooms bottom flat at Grove Public Road, E.B.D. Call:648-9726 1 - 3 Bedrooms bottom & top flat front house near hospital vicinity @ East Street, fully grilled, AC, parking Call:225-3756; 678-1913 Continued on page 23
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views
Sincere remorse must of necessity be... From page 4 them into political power, regardless. That they were all wrong was only due to their own miscalculations. How accurate or not was the keen historian’s analysis not to trust everyone in the WPA when he picked his beloved brother Donald for the fatal ride? Did later events prove his suspicions valid? Three strikes and you are out by the rules of the game in baseball. First strike was open collusion in changing the original PPP/C government parliamentary motion to investigate Dr Rodney’s acknowledged brutal “assassination”, watering it down to his “death”. Did he die in his sleep? The unbending PPP/C instead abstained from its own motion authorizing the RCOI’s formation. Again, and behold, second strike came just before the 2011 election when the WPA, just a skeleton, awoke in stride to reveal they had stockpiled weapons…for what purpose and why was this information being revealed at that time? No answers came. Third and final strike culminated three decades later in 2011 when the WPA again misfired by its shocking WPA-PNC unholy alliance, subsuming itself under APNU. Some believe it was skillfully engineered to reunite all Afro-Guyanese contesting the 2011 elections. What it accomplished was an awakening of all those latent suspicions in relation to Dr Rodney’s demise. Nevertheless the majority of those voters who had followed Mr. Raphael Trotman into the AFC in 2006 were recovered into the PNC in 2011 when Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan became leader. The very sick Mr. Trotman, unable to campaign in the 2011 elections, miraculously recuperated to become APNU’s preferred Speaker. Questions arose geometrically about the open WPA-PNC ties concerning the assassination? Could either risk going into government alone without surety of silence when they both were due “equality” of future spoils? During what time period was the WPA required to become mutually and publicly acceptable to the PNC by necessary cleansing? Was the WPA’s skeletal resurrection another step towards the future APNU alliance? Was the WPA’s public admission about its arms buildup to become its baptismal sacrament for mutual paybacks in an APNU government? Did the hidden relationships require public accommodation and consolidation with the weakened negli-
gent PPP/C government on the brink? “Equality” of closure (or lack of it) in their separate decisions and testimonies contributing to the RCOI findings will almost certainly define both the PNC and WPA. An automatic pardon is guaranteed for full confession and expires after the RCOI. Never in doubt were Dr Rodney’s noble motives and decisions for all Guyanese, regardless of race. It is indeed interesting that a once extremely tolerant Mr. Kwayana, can now get so very upset that the President, at an Old Year’s frolic, allowed himself to get into public “back balling” trouble, all without any relevance to the RCOI, but noteworthy, still
recorded in his SN letter. Such fuming and fretting in Mr. Kwayana’s letter about some unknown poem by a Kwame Apata, touting some obscure engagement record with a long dead Sir Eustace Woolford, a British Guiana governor, and chiding all those in cahoots with “cowards at Freedom House (who) fell back on a supposed letter from the widowed (RCOI) petitioner….(whom he mocks in mimicry)…. “The woman gave us the apple to eat,” as in the story of the Garden of Eden, one of whose five rivers “circled the whole land of Ethiopia” may only be frustrations boiling over for all he is going through, with no recognition for what he feels is personally owed.
When Mr. Kwayana’s broom sweeps so widely beginning from creation with Adam (Rodney?) and Eve (Patricia with her tempting apple so like Janet Jagan?), those despicable bygone British and especially all those present day Freedom House PPP cowards, only fit for garbage, it may indicate an iceberg of mysteries underneath. For the lone Mr. Apata’s poem to give him soothing comfort should be appreciated. To his credit Mr. Kwayana did concede that “Those who dismiss ethics as an element of politics and call themselves pragmatist will say that the PPP and any other party has every right to turn anything into an election cam-
paign in order to ‘win”. Who can still be in doubt to wonder if karma and the creator still decide everything? Sincere remorse must of necessity be followed by sincere forgiveness where necessary, with the complete truth established during the Rodney Commission of Inquiry. Sultan Mohamed VEHICLE FOR SALE 1- AT 192 Carina (Private) automatic, fully powered, mags, A/C - Price$1.2M Contact Rocky:621-5902 or 225-1400 CHEAPEST: - Pitbull, Manual Buses, IST, Allion Tel:616-7635
From page 22
WANTED One professional costmetologist to work in Eccles - Tel: 639-7672; 6584429 One pastry maker, must be able to cook and work in the interior – Call: 664-5199 or 675-7043 Land to buy in Parafait Harmonie, Herstelling, Tuschen, Grove, Diamond, Eccles, Non Pareil – Tel:6757292 ARMEDSECURITYGUARD WITH EXPERIENCED, MUSTHAVEREFERENCES ANDPOLICECLEARANCE - TEL: 231-8344 OR 2318529 CHAINSAW LUMBER: Kabukalli, Shibadan, Silverballi, Simarupa, etc – Tel:653-9752 Maid to work on Lower East Bank - Call: 671-7878 between 6am to 9pm, on weekdays and weekends Live in waitress- Call:6439007/ 697-2978 Shop Assistant to work in the Interior. Salary - $80,000 Call: 664-5199 or 675-7043 Urgently needed live in waitresses to work in Bar. Offering reasonable salary. Tel: 259-0574 1 general domestic to cook, experienced cashier, counter servers, pastry makers, handy-boys Apply @ Hacks Halaal, 5 Commerce St. Live out domestic & live in babysitter: Call: 225-0188 or 225-4492, Monday Saturday (8:15am-4:15pm) One Domestic – Call: 6144358. 2 Bedrooms house to rent on East Coast Demerara or in Georgetown - Price: $25,000 to $30,0000 Call:673-8887 One hire car driver, 35years and older, preferably from W.B.D or W.C.D - Contact: 616-0111 Sales representative for the distribution of groceries/ beverages. Send application to Maya @ Lot 24 Saffon Street Charlestown One Trained Carnegie/ Home Economics Cook. Four (4) times per week - Call: 6144358 One Handyman to work in the Interior - Call: 681-6044 One Live-in domestic and one part-time domestic. Must be between 18 years and 25 years. Apply in person. Phone 610-9493
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
Smuggled goods putting strain on SPEED RESPONSIBLE businesses in North West District FOR TRIPLE COLLISION Business owners operating in the North West District are complaining that smuggled items are flooding the markets there, causing internal sales to drop significantly. According to businessmen, the foreign items, including chicken, eggs, sausages, beers and rum are brought from neighbouring Venezuela on at least five boats and trawlers which usually offload shipments at Port Kaituma close to four times a week. Speaking with this newspaper yesterday, Rajesh Tirbania, owner of ‘R’ and ‘S’ Poultry Farm explained that while many of the items still have its Venezuelan label, the chicken is repackaged in Guyana before being distributed. Since the smuggled items are sold at a much cheaper cost, they attract more buyers, leaving local businesses to suffer. Tirbania, who transports chicken from Georgetown to Port Kaituma, told Kaieteur News that his sales have decreased more than 65 percent, since the smuggling started in August of last year. “It’s not just me; there are small scale farmers who rear chickens in places like Mabaruma and Port Kaituma. These people have to buy feed and so, and their investments go down the drain. And feed in them places isn’t cheap.” Tirbania told this newspaper that while those living in urban areas would pay less than $6000 for a bag of feed, the farmers in the North West District have to
Local businessman, Rajesh Tirbania pay more than $7000 for the same quantity. The man believes that the vessels bringing the illegal items may not even be registered to come to Guyana, since there are no names written on them. “I doubt that they get permission to come here, because with the operations that they going on with, they could be bringing anything and selling it in the Region and beyond that,” the man added. A businessman from Mabaruma, Region One attested to this, noting that police ranks are aware of the illegal operations, but usually choose not to take action. “They got to be getting a cut. The police know about wha going on, and yet dem ain’t doing anything about it,” the man said. He added that something needs to be done, since there are many shop owners who depend solely on their daily sales to make a living. As such, he said many of them feel like their livelihoods are
being sabotaged. “Obviously everybody trying to save an extra dollar, so I understand if customers buy from the people who sell the smuggled things dem, but we also got to look at the fact that we the Guyanese people who investing our money into building they lives getting a rundown. Is nah like we don’t want to sell cheap, we do, but we also got to make a profit. That is how business work,” the man said. The business people of Mabaruma and Port Kaituma believe that the vessels are operated by Guyanese living in Venezuela, who know the “runnings.” “The people who coming here, like they know everything. They know how when to come and what to bring and who to get involved in dey illegal business and so,” another vendor from Port Kaituma said. Kaieteur News understands that there are no customs officers stationed in the Region to check the items that are being brought in. Efforts to contact head of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Khurshid Sattaur, were futile. However, Rajesh Tirbania said, that he spoke with an official who promised that a team of officers will be sent to Port Kaituma to look into the complaints. A few businessmen of both Port Kaituma and Mabaruma are calling on the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Agriculture, to look into their plight, and investigate the illegal practices in the North West District.
The damaged Nissan Bluebird.
The accident scene Two vehicles collided at the junction of North Road and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Bourda yesterday then one of them slammed into another vehicle to join the smash up. Reports are that a Toyota Car PSS 2550 was heading south on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive while a minibus was heading west on North Road. The car failed to stop at the major road and ran into the path of the bus which toppled. The car then slammed into another car (Nissan Bluebird HC 3796) which had stopped to allow the flow of traffic on North Road.
The bus driver was taken to the hospital while the driver of the car, PSS 2550 was taken into police custody. According to the driver of the Nissan Bluebird, he was driving north on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive and stopped at the intersection. “The white car (PSS 2550) just jumped the bridge and was coming straight all the time and the minibus lash he and the car end up spinning into the front of my car damaging my lights and vehicle.”
APNU MP questions arrangement with New... From page 3 shortcomings no action was taken against the company. “Why should the Ministry of Health persist with a supplier that is failing to comply with the recommended delivery schedule, unless there is some hidden agenda?” questioned Dr. Norton. According to Dr. Norton, the Ministry would tender for
drugs and medical supplies for the entire year from this company. The company is then permitted to deliver in tranches despite the fact that the Ministry has adequate storage facilities “Is this supplier being allowed to do what he so chooses? It is definitely not in the public's best interest to have one supplier having a
virtual monopoly in the supply of drugs and medical supplies,” according to Dr. Norton. The APNU Shadow Health Minister told the House, too, that as it relates to the dumping of millions of dollars of expired drugs every year, “APNU calls the President to put in place an independent Commission of Inquiry into this fiasco of expired drugs with full investigative powers. He told the House that last year, more than $273M in expired drugs was dumped between the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Dr. Norton further challenged the Minister to provide an acceptable explanation for the expired drugs and the dumping in Agricola outside of the accepted protocol by the Food and Drug Department. Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran said that on each
occasion the issue of expired drugs is raised in the media his Permanent Secretary and team have always been able to give explanations. According to Dr. Ramsaran, there are sometimes large gift items that come to Guyana with short shelf lives. He said, too, that sometimes what happens is that many of the items dumped had been accumulated over the years. The Minister was adamant that what happened in Agricola was not the dumping of drugs but rather the workers were separating expired drugs so that they can be stored at a room in the building before being destroyed. Dr. Ramsaran at no point in time during his presentation, dealt with the drug purchases and the concerns raised over the relationship between the Ministry of Health and New GPC.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
Chile assesses damage after massive quake, tsunami (Reuters) - Chilean authorities were yesterday assessing the damage from a massive earthquake that struck off the northern coast, causing a small tsunami, but the impact appeared to be mostly limited. The 8.2 magnitude quake that shook northern Chile on Tuesday killed six people and triggered a tsunami with 2-metre (7-foot) waves. As the ocean waves receded, over 900,000 people who had evacuated the country’s low-lying coastal areas returned to their homes, some to find their houses and livelihoods in ruins. More than 2,600 homes were damaged and fishing boats along the northern coast were smashed up. However, most infrastructure held up and mines in the world’s No. 1 copper producer were generally functioning normally. The arid, mineral-rich north is sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated in the port
towns of Iquique and Arica, near the Peruvian border. In Peru, the earthquake led to temporary power outages and evacuations in some southern towns, but did not cause serious damage or injuries. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet visited Iquique on Wednesday and praised people’s orderly response to the emergency. “We are here to recognize the calm behaviour of the people of Iquique who showed great civic responsibility, as did those of Arica. I think you have given us all a tremendous example,” she said. The government would put great effort into restoring services, she added. Finance Minister Alberto Arenas said the government would place “no limit on the use of resources to address this emergency.” Bachelet, who was sworn in as president less than a month ago, is likely conscious of the stinging criticism she faced near the end of her first
term in office in 2010, when the government was seen to have responded inadequately to a much bigger 8.8 quake and tsunami that killed over 500 people. DAMAGE LIMITED It was too early to estimate financial losses, but they were expected to be much lower than the $30 billion from the 2010 quake, which affected the more densely populated central region, said earthquake expert Alexander Allmann at reinsurer Munich Re. “The quake has caused severe damage to some buildings in the affected region, but in general the building standards in Chile are comparatively high, allowing buildings and infrastructure to withstand such quakes reasonably well,” said Allmann. “The small tsunami triggered by the quake is not expected to have caused significant damage.” Small fishing vessels in the ports appeared to be among the worst affected.
Search for missing Malaysian jet drags on, as probe narrows to crew (Reuters) - Malaysian police have ruled out involvement of any passengers in the disappearance of a missing jetliner, while Australian officials warned bad weather and a lack of reliable information were impeding efforts to find wreckage from the plane. Up to 10 planes and nine ships from a half dozen countries yesterday scoured a stretch of the Indian Ocean roughly the size of Britain, where Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH370 is believed to have crashed more than three weeks ago. Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as causing the disappearance, but say all the evidence suggests the plane was deliberately diverted from its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysia’s police chief said the investigation was focusing on the cabin crew and pilots, after clearing all 227 passengers of possible involvement in hijacking, sabotage or having personal
or psychological problems that could have been connected to the disappearance. “They have been cleared,” national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama. The search and rescue teams are in a race against time to locate the plane’s black box recorder, which has an expected battery life of around 30 days and without which it may never be possible to find the wreckage.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Four dead, including gunman, in Fort Hood shooting
A military police officer stops a car at Fort Hood, Texas, after a shooting on the Army base Wednesday, April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Deborah Cannon) (NBC News) FORT HOOD, Texas - Four people were killed, including the gunman, and 11 others injured in a shooting yesterday at Fort Hood, officials tell NBC News. Fort Hood confirmed the shooting on the base in a brief statement last evening. The statement also said emergency crews were on the scene and that further details were not yet known. The official says reports circulating within the Justice Department indicate the shooter has died of what appears to be a self-inflicted wound. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is still ongoing. Bell County Sheriff ’s Office Lt. Donnie Adams says the sheriff ’s office dispatched deputies and troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the nearby Texas Army base. That shooting is said to have happened inside a medical building. Fort Hood’s Twitter account is asking all personnel on post to shelterin-place. The post is still on lockdown. The A&M Central Texas campus says all evening and night classes at Fort Hood and at the Fairway building are cancelled for Wednesday. A Fort Hood statement says the wounded are being taken to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood and other local hospitals nearby. Officials at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood referred all questions to post officials. The biggest is Scott and White Hospital in Temple, about 25 miles east of Fort Hood. Hospital spokesman Deke Jones issued a statement saying the
hospital has three patients from the shootings, but he provided no conditions. President Barack Obama says the government will get to the bottom of what happened in a shooting incident at Fort Hood. Obama says he’s following the situation closely but that the situation is fluid. He says officials are doing everything they can to make sure everyone is secure. Obama says the incident brings back painful memories of the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. He says, quote, “We’re heartbroken that something like this might’ve happened again.” Obama says people at Ford Hood have sacrificed so much for freedom and their sense of safety has been broken once again. Obama spoke at a restaurant in Chicago where he held a fundraiser. Gov. Rick Perry released the following statement: “Today, Ft. Hood was once again stricken by tragedy. As Texans, our first priority must be caring for the victims and their families. Ft. Hood has proven its resilience before, and will again. Texas will support those efforts in any way we can, with any resources necessary. The thoughts and prayers of all Texans are with everyone affected by this tragedy.” The base was the scene of a mass shooting in 2009. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 wounded in what was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in history. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death last year in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack on his fellow soldiers as they waited inside a crowded building at Fort Hood. Soldiers there were waiting to get vaccines and routine
paperwork after recently returning from deployments or while preparing to go to Afghanistan and Iraq. According to testimony during Hasan’s trial last August, Hasan walked inside carrying two weapons and several loaded magazines, shouted “Allahu Akbar!” — Arabic for “God is great!” — and opened fire with a handgun. Witnesses said he targeted soldiers as he walked through the building, leaving pools of blood, spent casings and dying soldiers on the floor. Photos of the scene were shown to the 13 officers on the military jury. The rampage ended when Hasan was shot in the back by Fort Hood police officers outside the building, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Hasan is now on death row at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. After that shooting, the military tightened security at bases nationwide. Those measures included issuing security personnel longbarreled weapons, adding an insider-attack scenario to their training, and strengthening ties to local law enforcement, according to Peter Daly, a vice admiral who retired from the Navy in 2011. The military also joined an FBI intelligence-sharing program aimed at identifying terror threats. In September, a former Navy man opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard, leaving at least 13 people dead, including the gunman. After that shooting, Hagel ordered the Pentagon to review security at all U.S. defense installations worldwide and examine the granting of security clearances that allow access to them.
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Thursday April 03, 2014
Dismissals no crisis for Govt. – T&T Trade Minister (Trinidad Express) There are lessons to be learnt from the removal of ministers Chandresh Sharma and Glenn Ramadharsingh from the Cabinet — one can fall as fast as one can ascend into power, says Government Minister Vasant Bharath. Following Sharma’s resignation, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made Cabinet changes where the Ministry of Communications was added to the Ministry of Trade and Investments which Bharath heads. Sharma’s Tourism Ministry portfolio was given to Gerry Hadeed. Bharath responded to questions from the media on Tuesday following the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (IFC) Business Process Management, Finance and Accounting Training Programme at the School of Accounting and Management (SAM), St Augustine. He said the loss of his colleagues from the Cabinet were regrettable but came with lessons. “They were both excellent ministers, they have both been colleagues of mine for a long time. But what it does is exposes human frailty, it teaches us as human beings how quickly we can rise and how (much) quicker than that we can fall. It grounds us all, I believe, and puts into perspective the humility with which I accept this Ministry, knowing that at a moment’s notice, we can all fall from grace,” said Bharath. Questioned on whether the removal of two ministers in less than a week signalled a crisis for the Government,
Bharath said, “Absolutely not. It signals the strength, courage and character of the Prime Minister in doing what she considers to be right, based on the election platform of 2010.” “In fact, it shows a massive difference between how we handle internal matters that become public as opposed to a previous administration where in fact many ministers and offices of that government committed many infractions and remained within the fold of the party and government,” he added. Bharath also assured that the Ministers’ removals would not impact on investor confidence. “One of the selling factors of Trinidad and Tobago whenever I travel abroad is the political and economical stability. Investors are interested primarily in the state of the economy and I think that Ministers Howai and Dookeran ought to be
congratulated for the wonderful job they’ve done in holding the economy together, particularly in light of the fact that many of our Caricom neighbours and other trading partners in Europe and the US have crumbled over the last five years and many of them are on the brink of bankruptcy,” he said. Bharath also praised Sharma, saying he has been an excellent representative to the people of Fyzabad. Asked if Sharma’s resignation would affect the United National Congress (UNC) and whether Sharma should step aside and make way for a by-election, Bharath said, “I don’t believe that his resignation would affect the running of the party. They are two separate issues—government and party. I think in time Sharma will, as he has always been, continue to be an excellent Member of Parliament for his constituency.
(Trinidad Express) Eighteen people lost their ministerial portfolio, their senatorial seat or both since the People’s Partnership administration, under the leadership of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, came into office less than four years ago. These 18 were either members of the House of Representatives or the Senate. Eleven ministers were fired. They were Mary King, Subhas Panday, Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, Nan Ramgoolam, Verna St Rose Greaves, Collin Partap, Herbert Volney, John Sandy, Christlyn Moore, Jamal Mohammed and Glenn Ramadharsingh. Of the 11 fired, four were axed in response to specific allegations—Partap, Volney,
King and Ramadharsingh— while the other seven lost their portfolio as the result of a Cabinet reshuffle. Additionally two ministers—Jack Warner and now Chandresh Sharma— resigned, following specific adverse allegations. Furthermore, Nicole Dyer Griffith lost her parliamentary secretary portfolio and her place in the Senate as a result of a Cabinet reshuffle. And three senators without portfolio—Patrick Watson, Dhanny Maharaj and Terrance Daynes—had their senatorial appointments revoked, while another senator without portfolio, David Abdulah, resigned shortly after his party, Movement for Social Justice, severed links with the ruling coalition following repeated
criticisms of its performance. Of the 11 ministers fired, eight lost both the ministry and their place in the S e n a t e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y. They were King, Panday, Baptiste-Cornelis, Ramgoolam, St RoseGreaves, Sandy, Moore and Mohammed. The remaining three who were fired—Partap, Volney and Ramadharsingh—kept their seats in the House of Representatives. Volney, however, lost his seat in the House of Representatives, one year after his sacking, when he resigned from the United National Congress (UNC) and made history by being the only person to have lost his seat as a consequence of the application of the provisions of the Crossing of the Floor Act.
Trade Minister Vasant Bharath
18 booted out of T&T Govt. so far
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Inter-Ward Football opens Play in the Grassroots Foundation Inter-Ward Football Tournament opened on Monday evening with two matches at the GFC g r o u n d . I n the opening encounter, Laing Avenue cruised to a 3-1 win over Agricola with Delroy Fraser netting a brace, while an own goal accounted for the other goal. Winston Rawlins converted the solitary strike for Agricola. In the feature game, West Ruimveldt led by a five-goal
effort from Devon Millington clobbered Leopold Stret 10-1. Colin Nelson contributed a treble, while Deron Benjamin and Joshua Briton added the other goals. Marco Lawrence was the lone player of target for Agricola. In full results: Agricola-1 vs Laing Avenue-3 Agricola Scorer Winston Rawlins-4th
Laing Avenue Scorers Delroy Fraser-19th and 66th Own goal-89th West Ruimveldt10 vs Leopold Street/ Lacytown-1 West Scorers Devon Millington-29th, 32nd, 35th, 42nd and 65th Colin Nelson-62nd, 70th and 84th Deron Benjamin-76th Joshua Britton-80th Leopold Scorer Marco Lawrence-66th
Thursday April 03, 2014 ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19): A minor conflict with a romantic partner in the morning is likely to end with a tearful reunion and much reassurance by mid-afternoon. *************************** TAURUS (APR 20 MAY 20): Your intuition, imagination, and insight have served you well on the job, and should pay off soon. A raise, commission, or perhaps a chance to invest in the company could be offered to you. *************************** GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUN 20): You can count on a very idyllic and romantic day today, Gemini. You’re feeling especially warm and sensual, and you tend to view the partner in your life through rose-colored glasses. *************************** CANCER (JUN 21 - JUL 22): Someone who is a student of natural healing may come to visit you and share some ideas today. *************************** LEO (JUL 23 - AUG 22): Books and movies may inspire you to get involved in artistic activities. Your aesthetic sense is very high today, Leo, and you may be drawing your inspiration from the higher realms. You might want to stroll through an art gallery or museum and try to sense the feelings of those from the past. ************************ VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEP 22): You could be feeling a bit flush today, Virgo, and therefore you might decide to do a little work on your house. This is more likely to be redecorating than any major repairs, as you’re more into beauty right now than practical matters.
LIBRA (SEP 23 - OCT 22): You’re feeling especially psychically and mystically inclined today, Libra. You might want to read about such matters or attend a lecture or workshop given by someone in the field. *************************** SCORPIO (OCT 23 - NOV 21): You’re usually a very practical and down-to-Earth person, but today you may be more inclined than usual toward mysticism. *************************** SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 DEC 21): Group activities involving meditation, psychic or spiritual topics, or artistic pursuits are probably very appealing to you right now, Sagittarius. *************************** CAPRICORN (DEC 22 JAN 19): You’re normally a very intuitive person, and today you may experience clairvoyance that could rival Jeane Dixon’s. You could be feeling especially attuned to other planes, and your dreams are likely to be powerful and vivid.
*************************** AQUARIUS (JAN 20 FEB 18): Your imagination is flying high today, Aquarius. Your interest in mystical and metaphysical matters is at an all-time high, and you could find yourself strolling through New Age bookstores. *************************** PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20): Some wonderful news concerning money and career matters could come your way today, Pisces. Your natural kindness and sympathy for others has led you to make some good friends who are also valuable business contacts. This is definitely paying off.
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Let’s honour our first Carifta gold medalist, Gladstone Hopkinson Taking a pause from his cricket presentations, Statistician Charwayne Walker, in the wake of the Guyana Athletics Association selecting their team to represent this country in the upcoming Carifta Games in Martinique, April 1921, looks at Guyana’s first medalist at this prestigious youth games. The first time the Land of many Waters won Gold at the Carifta Games was 42 years ago, April 1972, when Gladstone Hopkinson out ran 22 opponents in Bridgetown, Barbados to win the 1500 metres finals. Let’s take a look at Hopkinson’s early schooling: He started at St. Thomas Anglican School in Bagotsville in 1966, he was transferred to Goed Fortuin Government School where his athletic ability was quickly spotted by the School’s Physical Education teacher. In 1967 at the School’s Inter House Competition,
Hopkinson ran unbeaten to win the 800 yards and one mile events. Following his inter house victories at Versailles, Gladstone again won the 880 yards and mile races at district level and was selected to represent West Demerara at the National Championships at Anna Regina. Here, running on a rain soaked ground he won the mile convincingly and thus came to prominence. In the 1968 Inter Estate Sports he ran the 3000 metres and was third in the race won by National and West Indian champion Harry Prowell, with Boyo Changur second. Later in 1968 at a keep fit Athletic Sports held at Versailles and Leonora he won the 1500 metres on both occasions. 1969 was almost an inactive year as he took part in only one competition held at Versailles when he was second in the 1500 metres to H. Small who was then our National Campion for that
event. In 1970, responding to a scholarship offer to attend Tutorial High School, he entered a school where naturally enough he won the 800 and 1500 metres at the schools’ inter house competition. In the inter zone Championship at Eve Leary in November he was beaten into 2nd place by Motilall of Guyana Oriental College in both the 800 and 1500 metres events, but in 1971 running at the inter Secondary Schools Sports at the Guyana Sports Club he won the 800 and 1500 metres events and went on to win those events again at the inter zone championship in November. The 1972 Secondary Schools championships held at Guyana Sports Club in February brought him more glory when he convincingly won both the 800 and 1500 metres races to become the reigning champion in these two events. Shortly after at the AAA trials at Guyana Sports Club for selection to represent Guyana at the Junior Carifta Games, Berbice’s McKenzie beat him into second place in both events. Gladstone then proceeded to Barbados where he ran his hardest race. 22 Athletes participated in the 1500 metres, all of whom sped away in the first lap but the pace slowed down after the second lap and in the third he stayed at fifth position and moved up to third position in the last lap and showed real class by sprinting away over the last 100 metres to win Guyana’s first Carifta Gold Medal.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
World Cup 2014: Venues may not Letter to the Sports Editor AAG should beware of officials be ready for start of tournament of questionable characters Dear Editor, As a Member of the track and field fraternity in Guyana, I read with great concern the AAG’s (Athletics Association of Guyana) selection of a team for the upcoming CARIFTA Games to be held in Martinique later this month. My concern is not about the nine athletes selected, but more so, about the officials selected to accompany them. It is time the Executives of the AAG begin a process of vetting their officials prior to selecting who should accompany teams, especially when the team may consist of young athletes. Why is it they continue to select officials with questionable character to send with our young athletes? Has this Executive forgotten the incident that occurred at the 38th
CARIFTA Games, which was held in St. Lucia in 2009, and involving a long distance athlete and her Coach, who the General Council failed to investigate, even though the matter was reported by the St. Lucian Liaison Official? Was the AAG Executive not present at the recent CARIFTA Trials held at Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary, when one of these selected officials was engaged in a ‘cuss out’ with female athletes and their parents? Are the AAG Executives saying that they are not aware that the same selected official had to resign from a private school as Coach after being accused of sexual assault of a young female student athlete and after paying the victim’s parent? Are the AAG Executives not aware that the same official was arraigned in the
Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for sexually assaulting a female student of North Ruimveldt Secondary School and as such had to resign? Do the AAG officials know that this same official was accused by his club members and officials of having sexual relationships with an underage athlete? I do not believe they do not know when a Senior Executive of the AAG, moreso the President, is affiliated to the same club in question. Therefore, a word of caution to the parents of the selected athletes, please ensure that prior to signing any letter of consent for your ‘young ones’ to travel, you are satisfied that they are really in good hands. Do not take the word of the AAG Executives. Yours respectfully, Name and Address Provided
India, Jamaica sign MOU to have...
Indian High Commissioner to Kingston Shri Pratap Singh is bowled by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, even as the umpire signals no ball during Tuesday’s signing of the MOU to have floodlights installed at Sabina Park. Natalie Neita-Headley (right), minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, looks on. (PHOTO: MICHAEL GORDON) From page 31 entertainment events at night, the Prime Minister said “thanks to the tremendous generosity of the Government and people of India [that] this is now behind us”. The gift reflects the emergence of the Asian country, which has a population of over 1.2 billion people, as a rapidly growing economic giant. The Indian High Commissioner to Kingston Shri Pratap Singh said the collaboration is part of a move to further strengthen the “economic and commercial co-operation between the two countries for mutual benefit”.
“The first installment of US$0.77 million is being released right away and the balance would be provided later. I’m confident that this gesture on the part of the Government of India should pave the way for further enhancement of the relationship between our two countries. “I assure you that as high commissioner of India I will do everything possible to consolidate and strengthen our bilateral relations,” said the diplomat. The lack of lights at any cricket venue in Jamaica, the only premier Caribbean nation without the facility, has been
a vexing topic since the failure to put in the infrastructure for the region’s hosting of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The issue was highlighted during the inaugural CPL competition in 2013. Ahead of that tournament, the then JCA administration announced that Sabina Park Holdings had a partnership with a financier and contractor for the project. However, three weeks later, the deal collapsed after a breakdown in talks between Sabina Park Holdings, its affiliates and the would-be contractor.
Infrastructure may not be totally ready for the start of the 2014 World Cup says Fifa GS Jerome Valcke. (Reuters) BBC Sport Infrastructure may not be “totally ready” for the start of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil because of building delays, admits Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke. Two stadiums - in Porto Alegre and for the opening game in Sao Paulo on 12 June - are still not finished. But Valcke insisted there is “no way” that fixtures will be postponed. “If you want me to summarise, we are not ready. We have two stadiums where there is still work to do,” he said. Preparations for the World Cup have been beset by problems with a construction worker falling to his death last week at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, which is due to host the opening match between Brazil and Croatia. That took the number of fatalities at the site to three after two died in November
following a partial collapse of the stadium. A total of eight men have already died working on World Cup stadiums. Elsewhere, Porto Alegre’s local mayor had previously said the city may drop out if additional funding was not found to build facilities for media, sponsors and fans. The city’s Beira Rio stadium is due to host five matches during the tournament. But Valcke said: “For Porto Alegre, an agreement was made between the different parties in the city to make sure the temporary facilities would be financed, so it is now more the implementation of these decisions. “In Sao Paulo, it’s sad because a worker died a few days ago and the result is that the work has been stopped inside a stadium where there are a number of things to do.” Valcke, who visited Brazil last week, added: “There is no
way we can postpone the opening game. We have a match schedule and it will go until 13 July so there cannot be any delay. “Maybe there will be things which will not be totally ready at the beginning of the World Cup but the most important thing for the 32 teams is the training camp and fields, all of this will be there to ensure you have football. “Then we have to make sure television can get the international feed [of games] and we have to have all the telecommunication systems in place for the media, all the structures you need when you move from a normal stadium to a World Cup stadium. “You have no choice, you have to make sure that if you are not getting 100% you have 99.99% and that’s what we are working on.” The World Cup starts in 71 days.
Gordon, Brown added as Jamaica visit... From page 32 youngster Nicholson Gordon,” explained Jamaica coach, Junior Bennett. “And, then, there is also Odean Brown. He has been passed fit recently and who comes in for Jamie Merchant.” Jamaica, who departed the country yesterday, will next play Trinidad and Tobago at Queen’s Park Oval, beginning on Friday. Final Encounter The Tamar Lambert-led unit are then slated to travel to Barbados a week later
where they will play Combined Campuses and Colleges in their final encounter. Jamaica, who went down to a 245-runs home defeat to Barbados on Tuesday, are on a two-game losing streak, and currently fourth in the seventeam points standings on 41 points. The team is 15 points behind the Trinidadians, who occupy third position. Title-holders Barbados and the Windward Islands, who has played one game more that Jamaica and
Trinidad, are first and second, respectively, with 65 and 62 points. The four teams at the end of the preliminary round are slated to advance to the semifinals. Jamaica squad: Tamar Lambert (captain), Carlton Baugh Jr, Jon-Ross Campbell, Jerome Taylor, Nkrumah Bonner, Damion Jacobs, André McCarthy, Jermaine Blackwood, John Campbell, Horace Miller, Jamie Merchant, Brian Buchanan, Nicholson Gordon, Odean Brown.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 31
Jamaican boxers invade Guyana this GCA releases cricket fixtures weekend as boxing returns to the CASH for Saturday and Sunday When former local Bantamweight champion, Dexter Marques steps into the ring against Jamaican, Rudolph ‘Cutting Edge’ Hedge for the World Boxing Council Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBCCABOFE) Flyweight title, fans can be assured of an action packed encounter as both pugilists are well known for their determination and skill. The two will box in the main attraction of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) boxing extravaganza dubbed, Jamaican Invasion’ and slated for Saturday April 5 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) and Hedge needs no introduction to the Guyanese boxing public. Fans will well remember his epic encounter against Elton ‘The Bully’ Dharry even as they reflect on Marques’ bout against the same fighter and compare the results in an attempt to arrive at a realistic analysis. Hedge had fought Elton Dharry in February last year and has given the ‘Bully’ the
time of his life forcing him to dig deep before clinching a points decision. On the other hand, Dharry had made light work of Marques, stopping him in the 7th round when they fought for the latter fighter’s bantamweight title in May 2011. Notwithstanding, one should not be deceived into using the above scenario as foolproof analysis especially since the experts have advocated that ‘styles make fights.’ Marques is no slouch and is a classy fighter who always enters the ring in tip top condition. Hedge has demonstrated similar propensities in his fight against Dharry and the Guyanese pugilist will have to dig real deep to come out with a win. Yes, Marques has been somewhat inactive but in the interim, he has been training ardently and is experienced enough to adjust to the Jamaican’s style. This, coupled with his vast experience, may be just
enough to help him clinch the coveted belt but Hedge may have different ideas. The undercard will is also geared to provide some entertainment when Guyanese, Quincy Gomes oppose Jamaican, Toriano Nicholas in a 4 rounds lightweight bout, while local pugilist, Romeo Norville, fights another Jamaican, Kemahl Russell, in a 4 rounds super middleweight contest. Junior/Middleweights, Mark Austin (Guy) and Devon Moncrieffe (Jam) will then battle over 8 rounds, while David Thomas and Richard Williamson will set the tempo in the curtain raiser, an all Guyanese super/ lightweight affair over 4 rounds. The Jamaicans arrive tomorrow morning and will appear at a press conference at a venue to be announced. Consequently, they will conform to the weigh in process at the Regency Hotel on Friday evening. The action gets underway at 20:00hrs sharp.
India, Jamaica sign MOU to have floodlights installed at Sabina Park Jamaica Observer AFTER numerous delays and a handful of false starts, the wait appears to be over in the drive to have floodlights installed at Sabina Park. Tuesday at the worldfamous cricket ground, the governments of India and Jamaica signed a memorandum of understanding which will see the Asian country providing a grant of US$2.1 million towards the installation of lights at the venue. “We are pleased that the Government of India has agreed to sign a bi-lateral memorandum of understanding with the Government of Jamaica to provide financial support for the installation of the floodlights at Sabina Park. This support is in the form of
a grant in the sum of $2.1 million,” said Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller as she addressed the media and various stakeholders. Simpson Miller, who spoke feelingly of several landmark occurrences at the historic venue, explained that the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) will grant a further US$600,000 to cover the estimated total project value of US$2.7 million. The months of seemingly painstaking negotiations have also involved two different administrations of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), members of the Kingston Cricket Club, and representatives of Sabina Park Holdings, the entity which manages the venue and its facilities.
The project, which will be managed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), has been awarded to the FosRich Group of Companies, which will be working with Philips Lighting, a global firm that has strong ties in Europe, Asia and South America. The UDC and the contractors FosRich also signed an agreement for the project which is expected to be completed in three months. Stakeholders are already eyeing the possibility of having lights in time for the second staging of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament in June. With the expectancy that soon there will be the facility for cricket and other (Continued on page 26)
Demerara in sight of outright victory ... From page 34 from six overs, Antonio 3-5 from 2.4 and Ashmead Nedd 2-17 off 10. Bhaskar Yadram and Reaz Ally gave Demerara a bright start with an opening stand of 46 before Yadram was caught and bowled by off spinner Beesham Moses for 29 (3x4). Punraj Koldhar then trapped Ally LBW for 16 (3x4) at 52-2, but Kurt Lovell and Alphius Bookie entertained
the small crowd with attacking batting, adding 149 for the third wicket stand. Lovell ended unbeaten on 70 with eight fours while Bookie who brought up his fifty with consecutive boundaries finished not out on 66 (6x4). Koldhar had 1-14 off two overs and Moses 1-40 from 11. Needing to score 150 to make Demerara bat a second time, the visitors’ batting
crumbled once again leaving Demerara to get five wickets for full points. The impressive Barlow removed Wong (02) and Adams (03) to end the day with 2-1 while Nedd who has so far taken 3-12 accounted for Govendra Gobin (15), Indar (07) and Moses (02). Jailall and Vishal Singh are the not out batsmen on three and zero respectively. Today is the second and final day.
The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) has released fixtures for this weekend matchesin the various competitions being run by the association. In the CARIB BEER 1st Division T20 Cricket Competition on Saturday: G.C.C vs G.Y.O at Malteenoes S.C - Starting Time: 09:30 hrs.
Malteenoes S.C vs Everest C.C at Malteenoes S.C - : 14:00 hrs. In the HADI’S - WORLD INCORPORATED 1st Division (2-Day) Cricket Competition: Saturday & Sunday Starting Time: 09:30 hrs: G.D.F vs D.C.C at Camp Ayanganna While in the
NOBLE HOUSE SEAFOODS LTD. 2nd Division (2-Day) Cricket Competition: Saturday & Sunday Starting Time: 11:00 hrs: St. Stanislaus College vs U.G at Turkeyen Transport S.C vs M.Y.O at M.Y.O Police S.C vs G.N.I.C at G.N.I.C
O’Hara, Bryan added to revised Carifta Games squad Jamaica Observer.com CALABAR High’s Michael O’Hara and Wolmer’s Boys’ Christoffe Bryan are two of five additions to the Jamaica team that will participate in the Carifta Games to be held at the Pierre Aliker Municipal Stadium, Fort de France, Martinique, from April 19-21. Both were left off the original team that was released last week but were among the 84 athletes that were released on a new list issued on Monday evening. Kingston College’s Akeem Bloomfield was dropped from the team after he was injured at Champs during the boys’ Class Two 100m final, while Shanice Bonner and heptathlon winner Shanice Cannigan were added to the girls’ Under20 list. Shammawi Wellington and Waseem Williams were named to the Under-18 boys’ list as well. New decathlon record holder Maurice Harrison of Excelsior High was also a late addition. Bryan, the defending Carifta champion, broke the Class One high jump record at last week’s ISSA/ GraceKennedy Boys’ Championships at the National Stadium, clearing 2.23m after failing to make a
Michael O’Hara ... the hope of Calabar High in the 200m. (Jamaica Observer) height at the Carifta Trials held March 8-9 at the same venue. O’Hara, the World Youth Championships gold medallist in the 200m had not competed at the Trials, but had submitted a medical certificate and was third in the Class One 200m at Champs in 20.86 seconds behind Bog Walk High’s Jevaughn Minzie and St Jago’s Martin Manley, both of whom are also on the
team. O’Hara was sensationally disqualified in the 100m at Champs after failing to make it to the final in the 110m hurdles. Also, Mark Prince was added to the coaching staff, joining Marlon Gayle, Christopher Harley, Andrew Kidd and Petrona McClymont, who will be assisting head coach Neil Harrison.
Barca get transfer ban for... From page 35 Sandro Rosell. Including a payment of 13.5 million euros to the Spanish treasury after fraud charges were laid against the club, the Brazil forward ended up costing just under 100 million euros ($137.94 million). In March, the club’s vicepresident Javier Faus said Barcelona would have up to 60 million euros to spend on new players in the close season. KEY PRINCIPLES “The disciplinary committee underlined that FIFA takes the protection of minors in football very seriously,” said soccer’s world governing body.
“The protection of minors is one of the key principles included in the agreement concluded between FIFA, (European governing body) UEFA and the European Commission in 2001. “The disciplinary committee acknowledged that young football players are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a foreign country without the proper controls. “This particular fact makes the protection of minors in football by the sport’s governing bodies, especially by FIFA, even more important.” FIFA’s rules ban the international transfer of under-18 players except in limited cir-
cumstances which must be evaluated by its Players’ Status Committee. “The protection of minors in the context of international transfers is an important social and legal issue that concerns all stakeholders in football,” it said. “Above all, the disciplinary committee highlighted that while international transfers might, in specific cases, be favorable to a young player’s sporting career, they are very likely to be contrary to the best interests of the player as a minor.” FIFA said its investigations were conducted with the help of its electronic transfer matching system.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
Sri Lanka v West Indies, World T20, semi-final
Sri Lanka captaincy a guessing game ahead of semi ESPNcricinfo - Two things are certain in tonight’s semi-final. The West Indies players will have the Mirpur crowd eating out of their hands; a jig, happy or otherwise, is likely. And a formula surpassed only by the theory of relativity in complexity will be required to work out who Sri Lanka’s captain is, and what percentage of the captain’s customary tasks he has carried out that day. Twenty-four hours before the toss, the team’s official line was that they still did not know who would lead. As long as Mahela Jayawardene is allowed to marshal the team on the field, Sri Lanka fans may not mind if a rag doll was sent to conduct the toss. At least an inanimate object would not do any worse at remembering the playing XI than Lasith Malinga, bless him. When these teams clashed in the last World T20, the final had been a celebration of flair, but 18 months on, both teams have developed formulae with which to knead the talent at their disposal. West Indies have embraced conservatism with the bat, allowing Dwayne Smith to play as he wishes in the Powerplay, but generally seeking keep wickets in hand
to unleash at the back end. As the 82 runs in the final five overs of their innings against Pakistan proved, they have become increasingly adept at this through the tournament. With the ball, Samuel Badree and Krishmar Santokie have been as penetrative as they have been economical, thanks in part to a helpful Mirpur surface. Sri Lanka have had among the most entertaining trips to the semi-final. They opened their campaign against South Africa who ch… errr, made poor use of a winning position under considerable pressure from the opposition. They brushed Netherlands aside before their bus driver had found a parking space. Then, having hit 189, they lost in dispiriting fashion to England, before orchestrating a rabid defence of 119 against New Zealand. In short, Sri Lanka have been like Pakistan. Sri Lanka might have preferred a semi-final against Pakistan, because at least they understand how to counter Pakistan’s style of cricket, to some extent. A peaking West Indies unit will cause more worry in their camp, particularly because the wounds of Marlon Samuels’ game-breaking Premadasa assault will have barely healed over. West
Indies will be confident they can take Lasith Malinga apart, as they did during that match, so the onus is on Sri Lanka to arrive at an effective strategy. In the spotlight If there is one man who can put Sri Lanka in the final through strategy alone, it has to be the team’s best ever tactician, Mahela Jayawardene. He called the shots in the game against New Zealand, spreading fear in the hearts of opposition batsmen by placing a slip and short leg around them, and rotated bowlers masterfully. The whole thing made Sri Lanka fans nostalgic for the days of his leadership, when Sri Lanka played their most attractive cricket since the late ’90s, and inspiring turnarounds against powerful opposition almost became the norm. He is also Sri Lanka’s best big-match player in any discipline. He will be desperate for this match not to be his last in the format. Darren Sammy has unequivocally been the best finisher of the tournament, to the extent that West Indies’ game plan takes his success at the death for granted. He has come off in almost every game, and sits on a tournament strike rate of 224 and an average of 101. Sri
Australia v WI, Women’s World T20, semi-finals, Mirpur
West Indies hope to end Australia jinx today ESPNcricinfo - This is a repeat of the semi-final in Sri Lanka, which Australia won by 28 runs on their way to securing the trophy, and of the final of the 2013 World Cup, where they once again came out on top. Here, Australia made a losing start to their title defence against New Zealand before notching three wins on the bounce to finish top of their group - but only on net run-rate ahead of the rapidly improving South Africa, who had Australia 56 for 4 when they met. West Indies went the other way, winning their first three matches to ensure themselves of progress to the knockout stage before falling to a defeat against India, which meant they conceded top spot in the group, but a wake-up call is not always a bad thing before the business end of a tournament. A final piece in Australia’s
jigsaw may well have been replacing Delissa Kimmince with Elyse Villani who made an unbeaten 90 - her first international half-century - to set up victory against Pakistan. It is no surprise to see Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin at the top of West Indies’ run-scoring: they have 236 runs between them while the rest of the batting has 194. Dottin also has four wickets in seven overs to her name and her performance can so often set the tone for West Indies. “She is always very dangerous,” said a wary Meg Lanning. Watch out for Once again, Ellyse Perry is facing the challenge of being outstanding in two sports. She has recently been omitted from the Matildas squad (Australia’s women’s football team) with the suggestion that her days as a double international may be
drawing to an end although Cricket Australia believe it remains possible. For now, she is enjoying a profitable tournament with six wickets and a strike rate of 139 with the bat. While all eyes will be on Taylor and Dottin - and West Indies’ fate does rest hugely in their hands - Tremayne Smartt currently sits as their leading wicket-taker with six scalps. The medium-pacer has an overall T20 economy rate of 5.28 but she will face a huge challenge against a strong Australia top order. Team news Pitch and conditions This will be the first match of the women’s tournament in Dhaka - the group stages have been held entirely in Sylhet and the pitches have aided the spinners throughout the men’s matches which have been held here. Dew, however, has been less of a factor.
Lanka will also remember the unbeaten 26 off 15 that pushed West Indies’ total from competitive to commanding in the 2012 final, and more recently, the 30 not out from 14 that helped set up West Indies victory in a warmup match. Sammy v Malinga has the potential to become the defining contest of the match. Team news As Dinesh Chandimal has done little to warrant selection in the T20 side over the past year, his availability does not necessarily mean he will play. There are rumours Angelo Mathews will take the reins. There are rumours Lasith Malinga will retain it. There are rumours that no one in the team really knows for sure.
They even put up the coach for the pre-match press conference - an event customarily attended by the captain. Normally, such chaos would put elite sports teams off their game, but Sri Lanka are often not sensitive to upheaval. Will it make them play worse? Will it make them play better? No one really knows. West Indies have all their parts in place, well-oiled, humming like a Lamborghini on a Sunday afternoon drive. Their XI is more settled. Pitch and conditions Pitches have become notoriously difficult to score on at this end of the tournament, particularly for teams batting second. Dew is less of a concern in Mirpur
than it was in Chittagong. The weather is expected to be fine. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace defends the team’s captain, suggestingChandimale may yet play; “Chandimal is a very exciting young cricketer. He has got an excellent cricket brain and he was chosen because of those factors. He had a tough time and people have been very quick to point it out.” And West Indies captain Darren Sammy does not think Rangana Herath will bother his team; “The offspinners are the ones who have got wickets against us so we don’t mind their left-arm-spinner. Hopefully, we don’t play him as the New Zealanders did...”
Trophy Stall Softball Quarterfinal results Park Rangers got past Wellman, while Azaz Azeez starred as Wolf Warriors thrashed Tony’s X1 in quarterfinal matches, last Sunday, 30th March, in the Trophy Stall sponsored softball tournament, played at the Cyril Potter College ground. Wellman batting first rattled up 208 off their 20 overs. Lloyd Rooplall top scored with 45 and Samlall supported with 36. Mark Fung and Ricky Persaud took two wickets each. The Park Team then raced to 209 for 3 off 17.4 overs, thanks to Ron Ramnauth’s brilliant 109. Mark Fung made 45 and S. Massiah 36. Park Rangers won by 8 wickets. Wolf Warriors then demolished the youthful Tony’s X1 by 136 runs. Led by Azaz Azeez with a blistering 97, Wolf Warriors posted a challenging 232 for 8 off 20 overs. A Nizamudin
scored 45 and Amrit Rai chipped in with 29. K. Jailall took 3 for 46. Tony’s X1 were bowled out for 96. A. Zamin did the damage with 4 for 19 and Dharam Persaud took 2 for 29. Success Masters def. Frontliners by 60 runs. Success batting first did well to score 201 for 8 off 20 overs. K. Ramnauth led the way with 65. Raghunandan Narine took 2 for 36 for Frontliners who replied with 141 all out. Rudy Rodrigues top scored with 36. R. Mayors bowled well to snare 4 for 23. Trophy Stall A overcame Country Side by 46 runs. Trophy Stall A raised 213 for 8 off 20 overs, thanks to scores of 53 from S. Budhu, 35 from M. Dutchin and 34 from J. Deosaran. R. Gomes picked up 3 for 44 for Country Side who got to 167 for 9, when their overs expired. L Karim made 37 and Ramlakhan
25. S. Budhu took 3 for 31. Farm gained a walk from Trophy Stall B. Floodlights and Parika Defenders will square off tomorrow night from 6:00pm at the DCC ground to decide the fourth team to the Masters semi-finals set for Sunday 6th April. In the Open semi- finals Wolf Warriors will take on Trophy Stall A, while Regal will play Farm from 9:00am to see which two will take on Smith X1 and Die Hard of Essequibo from 1:00pm the same day to determine who makes it to the Grand Finals slated for Sunday 13th April. The Open semi-final matches are on the 6th of April at Bourda starting 9:30AM. The Masters Semi-finals will be played at DCC on Saturday 12th April under Floodlights. The Finals are set for Saturday April 26th under floodlight at the DCC Ground.
Gordon, Brown added as Jamaica visit T&T Jamaica Star - Kingston, Jamaica - Uncapped 22-yearold pacer Nicholson Gordon along with experienced legspinner Odean Brown have both been drafted in Jamaica’s 13-man squad for their remaining two WICB fourday tournament preliminaryround matches. Gordon, a former West Indies Under-19 representative, replaces the injured David Bernard Jr, while Brown, who is returning from a knee operation, has replaced off-spinner Jamie Merchant. “Bernard Jr is injured, and is not medically fit to play so we have brought in the (Continued on page 30)
Nicholson Gordon
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Eleven constituted clubs benefit from GFF goodwill
Representatives of the eleven clubs pose with GFF President Christopher Matthias (centre back) in the Boardroom of the GFF Head Office on Tuesday. Eleven constituted clubs were the beneficiaries of a quantity of equipment courtesy of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on Tuesday during a simple presentation ceremony that was conducted in the entity’s
Boardroom. GFF President Christopher Matthias made the presentation of equipment to the eleven clubs from different associations, stating that from the eighty-nine clubs to have submitted their
information, only the eleven would have met most of the criteria as outlined by the federation. According to the GFF Head, the criteria for clubs to be fully constitutes are: an executive with their respective names,
Grove Hi Tech receives more assistance
designation, mailing address, contact number, proof of a junior section, email address, constitution, bank account and number, minimum of eighteen registered players, practice venue, payment of affiliation fee to association, proof of two fund raising projects, annual audited financial statements and AGM due
date. He noted that the criteria for associations are nearly the same and providing that they meet these conditionalities the GFF will make a concerted effort to assist them with $1million to go towards further development within their respective associations. The eleven clubs to benefit from the GFF’s goodwill
included Grove Hi-Tec, Soesdyke Falcons, Corriverton Links, Henrietta FC, Hope FC, Rosignol United, Stewartville FC, Buxton United, Netrockers FC, New Amsterdam United and Monedderlust FC. Among the equipment they received are balls, cones, mini goals, shin pads, markers and ball bags.
Ramdin - We have to play Sri Lanka smart
Mr. Bharrat Narine (left) hands over one of the balls to coach Jermaine Alves in the presence of gratified club members. Following a donation of equipment to the Grove Hi Tech Football Club by Mr. Bharrat Narine; owner of Bharrat Taxi Service based at Grove, the club was contacted by a friend of Bharrat based in Canada to further assist them. Mrs. Marcia MingMotayne, who is the
Financial Officer of CCCAD spoke with club President Kevin Anthony and promised that the entity would be assisting the club in its overall development. An initial donation of four balls was made to Grove with Mr. Bharrat Narine handing over the balls to Club Coac h J e r m a i n e
Alves. Anthony further disclosed that Grove will be the recipients of more equipment from Mrs. MingMotayne in the not too distant future. Gratitude was extended to Mrs. Ming-Motayne and her entity for their timely support.
Trinidad Guardian - Port of Spain, Trinidad - T&T a n d We s t I n d i e s wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin says that for the West Indies to defeat Sri Lanka in the semis of the World T20 tournament, they have to play smart cricket and the top order has to fire. Ramdin was making his comments after the West Indies decimated Pakistan in their final preliminary round game at the Sher-eBangla National Stadium in M i r p u r, B a n g l a d e s h , Tuesday. With the win the West Indies will now meet Sri Lanka at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium today in the semifinal. It is a re-match of the finals of the tournament which was held in Sri Lanka in 2012. Ramdin who created a T20 record of four stumpings said: “Sri Lanka is a tough team to beat but once we continue to play smart cricket, I seen no reason why we cannot get into the finals. “They are very tricky,
Denesh Ramdin stumps Shoaib Malik. (AFP) they have experience with guys like Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillekeratne Dilshan, so we need to walk with our Agame when we meet. Our top order has to come good and give us that start within the first six overs, so that the other hitters can come in and play their natural game. “The win against Pakistan was great. We got a confidence booster and we are happy at the moment. I looked at the way Chris Gayle was moving on the field, wanting to be in the action all the time and really encouraging the bowlers and this was a
dangerous sign going into the semifinals.” Man-of-the-match Dwayne Bravo said West Indies all support skipper Darren Sammy hence the reason for success. “We have no malice in our team, whether it is Sammy or Gayle as the captain we support them and this is why this team is doing good. We are looking forward to the semifinals and we know that Sri Lanka is used to the conditions, they just won the Asia Cup here and they will be dangerous. Having said that we are a team with great self belief and we are going to fight all the way.”
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Kaieteur News
Thursday April 03, 2014
Igloo U-15 Inter County cricket
Kamalidin spurs Berbice to 1st innings points as President’s X1 bowled out for 56 President’s X1 Skipper Khemchand Hardyal is comprehensively beaten by one that bounced and turned at Wales yesterday.
President’s X1 batsman Brandon Corlette looked promising before he ran himself out yesterday. By Sean Devers Berbice dominated proceedings on the opening day of their second round Igloo Ice Cream two-day under-15 encounter against the President’s X1 at the Wales Community Centre yesterday with Berbice, having already secured first innings points, putting themselves in a commanding position to force a win today. Berbice enjoyed a first innings lead of 73 after making 127-7 off 46 overs in reply to the paltry 56 all out in 29.5 overs made by the President’s X1 and were seven wickets away from an outright win when play ended yesterday with the President’s X1 on 45-3, still 28 runs away from making Berbice bat again. Albion’s 13-year-old left-arm pacer Stephen ‘Santokie’ Kamalidin followed up his four wickets on debut against Essequibo at Everest in the first round with 5-19 from six overs and got support from left arm
spinner Kris Ramnarine as only two batsmen reached double figures for the Presidents X1 on a track which got better for batting when it dried out. Upper Corentyne’s 14year-old debutant Dineshwar Budoo then fashioned an attractive 36 and received good support from Alex Algoo (24) and Ramnarine (17) to help Berbice to first innings points. DCC left-arm pacer Junior Phillips, in his second year for the President’s X1, took 4-29 while off-spinner Khemchand Hardyal took 22 for the President’s X1 who lost Anil Singh (2) at 5-1 as the impressive Kamalidin continued to torment the batsmen in sweltering heat. Mark Ramsammy (9) and Stephon Wilson (12) were both removed by Ramnarine just before the close and a small but vocal crowd saw the President’s X1 survive the remainder of the day with Christopher
Campbell (24) and Stephon Wilson (2) being the not out batsmen. Earlier, Berbice, who captured the first ever twoday title at this level in 2011, won the toss and asked the President’s X1 to bat on a track with plenty of preparation moisture and quickly lost Ramsammy in the first over in sunny conditions. The right-hander promoted from number six in the order, gloved a short ball to the Keeper in the first over bowled by Kamalidin. Kamalidin ripped through the middle order, picking up the first five wickets in a destructive sixover spell to reduce the President’s X1 to 35-5. He removed Campbell (9), Robin Williams (4) Chandradat Veerasammy (5) and Wilson (11) before Ramnarine had skipper Hardyal (10) taken at slip and the President’s X1 who were saved from an outright defeat in the first match by
rain, collapsed to 42-6. Brandon Corlette (7) then ran himself out just after the 50 was posted as the combined team continued their poor showing with the bat, slipping to 53-7. It was soon 55-8 when Hardyal departed before the last two wickets tumbled at 56 as the President’s X1 were dismissed in 29.5 overs, 44 minutes before Lunch. When Berbice, who leads the points table on 14 points, began their reply on the large and lush outfield needing to bat 46 overs in their first innings, they lost Junior Sinclair for a duck, clean bowled by Phillips at 5-1. However, his unrelated namesake Kevin Sinclair and Budoo carried their team to 27 before Phillips struck with the final ball of the interval when he knocked back the stumps of Sinclair (15) and Lunch was taken on 27-2. After the interval Steve Deonarine (3) was removed by Phillips to leave Berbice
Stephen Kamalidin who opted not to participate in the 2012 tournament, on 37-3. The fourth wicket pair of Budoo and Ramnarine, aided by some sloppy fielding which saw nine catches being put down and a run out opportunity wasted, brought up the 50 in the 18th over. Their partnership was just beginning to flourish when Phillips broke the stand by trapping Ramnarine LBW for 17.
Ramnarine’s demise ended the 38-run stand and left Berbice on 74-4. Ramnarine was soon followed to the pavilion by Budoo who was dropped twice in the same over he was dismissed. He faced 95 balls in his innings before he was neatly stumped off Hardyal at 86-5. With the last five overs remaining, Algoo and Kevlon Anderson put their foot on the gas before Algoo who hit the only six in the match, fell to Campbell for a 42-ball 24, while Javeed Karim (5) was bowled by Hardyal leaving Anderson unbeaten on 10. Berbice scored 29 in their last five overs leaving the President’s X1, who were required to bat four hours and a minimum of 60 overs in their second innings, needing 74 to avoid an innings defeat. Today is the second and final day and action is scheduled to commence at 09:30 hrs.
GCB/Igloo Ice Cream U-15 Inter County tourney
Demerara in sight of outright victory against E’bo By Zaheer Mohamed Demerara are in sight of an outright victory against Essequibo in their second round game of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Igloo Ice Cream U-15 2-day inter county tournament which commenced yesterday. Facing a deficit of 114, Essequibo were 35-5 in 25 overs at stumps, batting a second time at the Enmore Community Center Ground on the East Coast of
Demerara. Earlier, Essequibo were bowled out for 52 in 33 overs in their first innings after they were inserted by Demerara who replied with 201-2 off their allotted 43 overs; the five overs that Essequibo failed to bat were added to the home team innings. Essequibo were off to a bad start when pacer Colin Barlow bowled Shane Wong (00) and Bhojnarine Singh had Darshanand Indar (00)
stumped by Joshua Persaud leaving the score at 4-2. Essequibo then lost Arnold Adams (02), Vishal Singh (01) and Beesham Moses (02) in quick succession before Orlando Jailall and Govindra Gobin added 22 for the sixth wicket. But once Jailall was removed by Anthony Antonio for a top score of 23 (2x4) at 42-6, the rest of the batting faltered as Barlow finished with 3-3 (Continued on page 31)
Demerara wicket keeper Joshua Persaud is jubilant after taking a catch to dismiss Darshanand Indar off Ashmead Nedd.
Thursday April 03, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 35
Milo/Petra Organisation Schools Football Competition
Lodge oozing with confidence ahead of Saturday’s final Players from Lodge High School seen during a training session yesterday.
Leon Bishop f one is to go by what Head coach of Lodge High School Leon Bishop told the media during a visit to a training session yesterday, then it is safe to conclude that defending champions of the Milo/Petra Organisation Schools Football Competition St. George’s will have to be at their level best to deny them the title.
Bishop, who has led his charges with perfection so far in the competition, exhibiting the ability to make technical and tactical changes, depending on their opponents seemed to be oozing with confidence ahead of this Saturday’s final fixture against the reigning champions at the Ministry of Education ground on
Carifesta Avenue. During a short rap session with the media, Bishop, while not willing to divulge much on the team’s strategy, did say that they’ve done some study of their opponents and have identified their strengths and weaknesses and the results of which will be seen in the game.
“We’ve seen that they are very strong in mid-field, they have some very good players in those positions and we know that once we shut down their mid-field buildups then we’ll be okay,” Bishop said. Asked how the players are feeling about the matchup, the coach said it feels like a grudge match and
his guys are excited about the encounter and rearing to get into action. “A win is what we are looking for just to get over the line and bring the title home to Lodge,” Bishop stated. He, however, felt that the two teams will treat the fans to some riveting football and fans, scouts and even
stakeholders willing to invest in football at this level should come out and witness what is anticipated to be an exciting spectacle. He thanked Milo and Petra Organisation along with the Ministry of Health for investing their time and money in the youths who’re participating in the tournament.
George leaves for US Barca get transfer ban for breaching rules on minors BERNE (Reuters) A general view shows FIFA headquarters, training stint today Barcelona have been given a the Home of FIFA, in Zurich October 20, O l y m p i a n Wi n s t o n George will wing out today for the United States of America where he will be commencing his second of two stints thus far at the Central Park Track Club in an aim to up his game ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. George told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that with a World Championships next year and Olympics in 2016, he needs to improve his times drastically, if he is going to give Guyana its long-awaited medal at the two blue-ribbon events in track and field. Asked why he has not returned to sub 46-second form since qualifying for the London Olympics with his personal best 45.89 in 2011, George said “only God knows; only God can say why I’ve not, even though I have tried my best and came close”. The Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC), George represented Guyana at the South American Games in Chile last month. He was a
Winston George finalist in the 400m race, finishing just outside the medals, in 46.10 seconds. Guyana returned medal-less from Chile.
transfer ban for two consecutive windows and fined 450,000 Swiss francs ($509,400) for breaching rules on the international transfer of foreign under-18 players, FIFA said on Wednesday. The Spanish federation (RFEF) was fined 500,000 Swiss francs after soccer’s world governing body found it had also breached rules on the transfer of minors, FIFA added in a statement. The decision by FIFA’s disciplinary committee means the Spanish champions will be barred from taking part in the transfer market until the end of the 2014/15 season. FIFA described the infringements, which occurred between 2009 and 2013, as “serious” and said Barca had been given 90 days to regularize the situation of the players involved. The RFEF was also given one year to “regularize their regulatory framework and existing system concerning
2010. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
the international transfer of minors in football.” FIFA said: “The RFEF and FC Barcelona were found to have violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of non-Spanish minors with the club.” “Barcelona has been found to be in breach of... the
regulations in the case of ten minor players and to have committed several other concurrent infringements in the context of other players,” it added. A Barcelona spokesman said the club were evaluating the decision and would not make any further comment, including on whether they intended to appeal.The
sanctions are another blow to Barcelona’s reputation following the controversy over the transfer of Brazil forward Neymar, whose signing from Santos prompted allegations of misappropriation of funds and tax evasion and resulted in the resignation of the Catalan club’s president (Continued on page 31)
Australia v WI, Women’s World T20, semi-finals, Mirpur
West Indies hope to end Australia jinx today P.32
Elyse Vilani made an immediate impact upon replacing Delissa Kimmince, scoring 90 against Pakistan Š ICC
Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin (right).
Sri Lanka v West Indies, World T20, semi-final
Sri Lanka captaincy a guessing game ahead of semi P.32
Mahela Jayawardene found his touch against England, but will he against the Windies. (Getty Images)
Darren Sammy and Andre Russell congratulate Samuel Badree. Will the intensity and celebrations continue? (AFP)
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