Kaieteur News

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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: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

Guyana has a poor record of accountability, good governance Guyana does not have a distinguished record of accountability, transparency and good governance under the current administration. The reason is a deliberate attempt to dictate to the people and not to answer to them. As a society, too many of the citizens have tended to focus on intent rather than outcome as the primary factor in assessing the actions of the government and what impacts society the most. At the same time, many in society work themselves up into a rage about particular malfeasances by public officials but often only for the length of time, mostly for a week or two that the issue remains in the headlines. In Guyana, Ministers of the government and some key public officials who are assigned to manage some very expensive developmental projects such as the ICT Cable and the just completed Hope Canal projects have never paid much of a price for sub-standard performance, because, by and large, they have the support and protection of the government which viewed their ascent to power as far more important than good performance. Mediocrity is chaotic for any society and Guyana is no exception to such chaos. In my view, sub-standard performance which in essence is mediocrity has been a significant contributor to Guyana’s anemic economic performance, high unemployment, high crime rate and massive corruption over the course of the life of this administration which came to power 23 years ago with the promise to improve the economy and the living conditions of the masses. It is worth noting that while this administration boasts of its many achievements, many have concluded that the accomplishments which the government claims have dramatically transformed the economic landscape of Guyana, have resulted from autocratic rule characterized by an absence of accountability, good governance, political freedom, constraints on civic society and the press, morality, integrity and other restrictions. People would find it plausible for Guyanese to want their children and grandchildren to grow up peacefully and respectfully in the land of their birth. They also find it very difficult to contemplate these children growing to achieve their potential in a country that is devoid of the basic values of society and with a government that is corrupt, immoral and lacks integrity. Accountability, transparency and good governance are critical to public trust and confidence. However, this PPP administration which has a very high tolerance regarding shoddy performance, corruption, crime, vulgarity and racebased politics is less interested in such ethical values. Its leaders have not set out to build a meritocracy where every citizen could rise if he or she has the ability. Instead, the determining factor is political patronage. However, it should be acknowledged that no society was ever likely to be corruption-free, but if sanctions and or discipline are dispensed with such severity and without favour against corrupt officials, then Guyana could become one of the least corrupt countries worldwide. In previous elections the leaders of the PPP had promised a lot but delivered very little on their promises. Today, we have the same message from them of more promises of a better tomorrow for all. Some people feel that come May 11 they could see a break in the cycle of corruption, crime, and underperformance. Many of the objective indicators suggest that change is on its way.There is the belief that the new government will be better and different. But the people should always be vigilant to make sure that a new administration does not repeat the mistakes of the past.They must insist on accountability, transparency and good governance and an end to corruption and crime. This will gain the trust and confidence of the public and give credibility to the new administration.

Sunday May 03, 2015

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

A proven, greedy inclination for gifting away state assets to friends and cronies DEAR EDITOR, For the benefit of the doubting Thomases, naysayers and soup drinkers who adopt the Jagdeo refrain of “show me the evidence”, I refer them to consider the following facts which are irrefutable and establish beyond the shadow of doubt, that Jagdeo and his Government by devious and unlawful machinations, violated Articles 216 and 217 of the Constitution and sections 37 and 38 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 1993

(FMA): 1. Jagdeo and the PPP Government do not believe in democratic principles, the Rule of Law or obedience to the Constitution or to transparency and accountability. Jagdeo took a deliberate decision to contravene the democratic principles enshrined in the constitution and function as a Kleptocracy to empower and enrich himself and a certain group of his known friends and cronies, and at the same time to marginalise and impoverish the rest of the

citizens of the country. 2. An important part of the Jagdeo Government’s plan was not to appoint a “procurement commission”, mandated by Article 212¬W of the Constitution which gave the Government control over the award of Government contracts. Jagdeo and his friends and cronies such as Bobby Ramroop were the exclusive beneficiaries of the G o v e r n m e n t ’ s unconstitutional scheme. Bobby Ramroop in particular was given exclusive contracts annually to supply

Pharmaceuticals to the Georgetown Hospital worth several billions of dollars. 3. Next, Jagdeo decided that contracts which would require billions of dollars to perform such as Amaila Falls, Marriott Hotel and the Specialty Hospital, would not be submitted to Parliament for approval in as much as they would require Parliamentary oversight and authorization by Parliament to take funds out of the consolidated fund. 4. The Minister of (Continued on page 6)


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

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Kaieteur M@ilbox

The bloated Voters’ List makes the May 11, 2015 election ripe for rigging DEAR EDITOR, I believe that this letter is of critical importance to this country on the eve of its closest election since 1964. The massive increase in the voters’ list is a travesty that opens the entire electoral process to manipulation and rigging. GECOM continues to be evasive with respect to providing information and in doing so, it has only added fuel to the skepticism that surrounds this dirty Voters’ List. A statistical explanation and justification for the inflated Voters’ List cannot be found. A declining population as evidenced by the 2002 census (751,223) to the 2012 census (747,884) cannot statistically translate to such a massive increase in the voting age population in a mere five years. The 2011 official list of electors (OLE) had 475,496 electors. The 2015 OLE has 570,786, an increase of 95,290. Counting the voting age population as every voter from the 20 years to 75+ years age bracket plus two-fifths or 40% of the 15-19 years bracket, the voting age and non-voting age populations and percentages of general population for the 1991 and 2002 censuses were as follows: 1991 (total population of 723,673, 301,809 non-voters (41.71%), 421,864 voters (58.29%), 2002 (total population of 751,223, 307,301 non-voters (40.91%), 443,922 voters (59.09%). The 1991 and 2002 censuses have clearly shown that even with a population increase of 27,550 between 1991 and 2002, the voting age population as a percentage of the general population remained virtually stagnant.

Clearly, it is statistically improbable to argue that with the population declining from 751,223 in 2002 to 747,884 in 2012, the massive increase in the voters list is statistically validated. For a population of 747,884 based on the 2012 census, the 40.91% ineligible to vote population is 305,959 voters. This means the eligible to vote population should be around 441,925. The current 2014 Voters List contains 570,786 electors. This is 128,861 more voting age electors than what is statistically expected based on census results on age of the population.

Based on the 2012 general population of 747,884, a total of 570,786 electors provides a voting age population of 76.32% of the general population; a humongous number! That means only 177,098 Guyanese are not of voting age. The absurdity of this figure is exposed by looking at the 0-4 and 5-9 age groups of the 2002 census, which is comparable to the 2012 census given the small decline in the general population. These two groups, which absolutely cannot vote in any election totaled 185,655 in 2002. This number does not even count the 10-13 year

olds, who also absolutely cannot vote in a four-year period. The 10-14 year old group was 81,492 in 2002 with an average of 16,298 for each age and a total of 65,192 for all the 10-13 year olds. Adding the 185,655 to the 65,192 produces a non-voting age population of 250,847, not the preposterous 177,098 non-voting age population this Voters’ List is shamefully producing. It is horrible that anyone would attempt to argue with a straight face that this Voters’ List is not a farcical absurdity that brings this election into serious disrepute. GECOM’s Chairman, Mr. Surujbally, is reported to have stated that 37,355 registered persons who would not have

been 18 years at the time of the 2011 OLE, had come of age for the 2015 OLE finalized in April 2015. Logically, these persons would have been between 14 years and 17 years at the time of the finalization of the 2011 OLE at the end of September 2011. These individuals had to be 14 years by April of 2011 to be added to the 2015 OLE. Because the government has failed to release the age breakdown for the 2012 census, the 2002 census provides the best estimate of the age statistics as the census results from 2002 are likely comparable to 2012, given the virtually similar general population size. The 2002 census provides age statistics for two groups;

10-14 and 15-19. Without the actual data it is difficult to determine the total of each age number. However, an average is a statistically sound way to estimate how many persons existed for each age within that group. In 2002, there were 81,492 persons in the age 10-14 group and 66,923 in the 15-19 group. Divided by five, the average number of persons for each age was 16,298 for each age between 10-14 and 13,384 for each age between 15-19. Taking 16,298 for the 14year olds and 40,154 (13,385 x 3) for the 15-, 16- and 17-yearolds, the total number of 14to 17-year-olds at the certification of the 2011 OLE should have been around (Continued on page 6)


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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur M@ilbox

A proven, greedy inclination for gifting away... From page 4 Finance and Jagdeo, knew that our constitution provided that all revenues of the state must be paid into the consolidated fund and secondly, no money can be taken out of the consolidated fund without the authorization of Parliament. 5. To avoid approval and oversight by Parliament, Jagdeo made two decisions to avoid Parliamentary oversight, both of them unconstitutional and unlawful. They both required the participation of the Minister of Finance, firstly, to direct the heads of Government Corporations like Guyana Geology

and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the CEO’s of Government Companies to pay over to NICIL all monies collected by them for the state. The second decision required the Minister of Finance, who is the Chairman of NICIL, to direct the CEO of NICIL, Winston Brassington, to take possession of all the said monies collected from GGMC, GFC, Government contractors and Government companies and deposit same into NICIL’s Bank account. The Minister of Finance also authorized NICIL to col-

lect and deposit into NICIL’s Bank account, monies generated from the sale of state lands and other state assets such as the sale of the 20% Government shares in GT&T for the sum of US$30 Million dollars. 6. The diversion of billions of dollars of state funds into the bank account of NICIL, which should be paid into the consolidated fund is unlawful and unconstitutional. 7. It was this nefarious scheme by which US$58M dollars of state funds was used to Finance the Marriott Hotel Development without Parliamentary approval or

oversight. That is how the PPP intended to finance “billion dollar projects” without Parliamentary approval, oversight and financing. 8. NICIL operated as a subtreasury where billions of dollars belonging to the state were deposited and kept in NICIL’s account with a commercial Bank or Banks. Moneys were withdrawn only by Brassington to finance the construction of the Marriott Hotel project. Those monies belonged to the people of Guyana and should have been paid into the consolidated fund. 9. The Ramotar Govern-

ment is no different from the Jagdeo Government when it comes to gifting away state assets to friends and cronies in violation of the Constitution. A few days before the elections on the 11th May, 2015, the Ramotar Government granted to E-Networks clearance to land its own fibre optic cable in Guyana. E-Networks is owned and operated by a PPP member, Vishok Persaud. There was no invitation to the public. Further, the Government a few days before the elections, entered into a contract with DAX, a company incorporated in Guyana, with a seven

million Guyana dollars share capital and will be the beneficiary of a 40-year monopoly licence and use of the cable and every aspect of the US$100 Million ICT project. No invitation was made to the Public. Can you in good faith trust a PPP Government to deal with state assets, having regard to their proven predatory penchant for gifting away state assets to their friends and cronies; their disregard for democratic principles, the Rule of Law, obedience to the constitution and for transparency and accountability? F. Mohamed

The bloated Voters’ List makes the May 11,... From page 5 56,452. This cohort of around 56,452 should have come of age, not the lesser number of 37,355 such persons Surujbally said came of age. Surujbally’s number is about 19,000 less than what is statistically expected for young voters coming of age between 2011 and 2015 and yet we have a shocking and frightening increase of the Voters’ List of some 95,290 persons. This further reinforces the decrepit fiasco that is this 2015 OLE. How could the very group that is expected to fuel any massive increase of the voting age population (young people) be statistically smaller than expected and yet the entire Voters’ List has astronomically bloated to such insane levels? How could Mr. Surujbally expect us to accept his rantings that are increasingly exposed by simple mathematics? The other concern is that the massive increase in the Voters’ List has occurred in regions that the 2012 census confirmed had falling populations. For example, Region Six, which likely has the highest voter registration rate due to the PPP’s lifelong activism there, has experienced a declining population between 2002 and 2012. Region 6 had 123,695 persons in 2002 and declined to

109,431 in 2012, a loss of 14,264 persons, yet it has an astounding increase of more than 13,000 registered voters in 2015! The burning question is where is this major jump in the Voters’ List coming from? My understanding is that the Voters’ List is created from data obtained from two primary sources; from GECOM through registration and from the governmentcontrolled General Register Office (GRO), Passport Office (PO) and the Immigration Office (IO). The Voters’ List can knowingly or unknowingly be padded by GECOM registration personnel doing house to house registrations or with access to the GECOM database that build the Voters’ List. Unknowing padding will occur where persons feed false or duplicate information to GECOM personnel who lack the capability or fail to test that information. GECOM’s refusal to cooperate with the EAB in providing any crossmatching fingerprint analysis raises serious red flags, because this is one of the most effective methods of testing for fraud within the Voters’ List. Further, as far as I know, GECOM does not require fingerprinting before citizens vote and if it does, GECOM has never tested the fingerprint results after an

election to determine whether multiple voting or illegal voting (such as underage voting) took place. How does GECOM verify, sanitize and purify its registration data fed to it by its personnel on the streets and where is the evidence that such analysis has occurred? Then there is the manipulation of the Voters’ List that could come from the PPP government itself through the systems and databases that produce ID cards and passports (documents needed to register) and that feed immigration, birth and death data to GECOM. The PPP has complete control over these systems. There are no checks and balances over preventing the creation of false IDs and passports necessary to register voters. Data could be deliberately withheld, selectively produced, false data could be delivered and false registration source documents created to match the false entries. While GECOM allegedly has no direct access to the government’s databases, that does not absolve GECOM from its constitutional, legal, civic and democratic duties of ensuring electoral integrity. If the information is not forthcoming or is deliberately withheld from government, GECOM has a duty to publicly shame the

government into delivering that information. Similarly, with the information that is provided by the government to GECOM, GECOM has a duty to test, validate, analyze, cross-match and discrepancy test that information and to publicly publish its findings. GECOM also has massive historical databases, from which it should be able to conduct its own validation testing. Certainly, GECOM’s registration personnel get updated information on the migrated and dead directly from the households they visit. GECOM should know who should not be on the list because they migrated or are dead from their own registration exercises, and they should be able to publicly broadcast their findings, and in doing so, to shame the government into fixing the information. Massive sums have been expended with each new election on GECOM, so it has resources and can analyze data. GECOM can analyse, cross-match and seek discrepancies in this information using fingerprint, name, address, ID number, passport number, birth certificate number and other tests. Most critically, it can let the public know when there are concerns regarding this testing and its findings. For heaven’s sake,

GECOM had four years since 2011 to conduct these tests and we have had nothing. GECOM has failed to produce evidence from one single study into discrepancies, crossmatching or sample analysis. Despite repeated requests from the public, GECOM has failed to publish for scrutiny the list of 95,290 names that have made their way onto the Voters’ List. It has failed to publish whether GRO and the Immigration Office has submitted far less names for removal from the Voters’ List compared to the last elections. And this agency expects the public to accept this Voters’ List and the ensuing results of this election conducted on this statistically spurious Voters’ List as legitimate! Mr. Surujbally’s comment that GECOM has myriad systems and measures to thwart multiple voting is commendable, but it misses the point that multiple voting is not the only problem. This may be an even bigger problem of flawed (innocent or deviant) source data - whether from the PPP government side or from GECOM itself. Once you have a list of 95,000 persons larger than the last, or is 128,000 statistically higher than is numerically expected in a country of 747,884 people, this very travesty and tragedy opens the election every angle of rigging, thieving, wrongdoing, padding, ballotstuffing, fake ID passing, vote-buying, polling station official bribing, underage voting, underage vote buying, ink removal and revoting, and the stretching of already limited resources beyond its limits to the extent that the election oversight body cannot cover all the various angles, schemes and plans. The parties that have

the advantage in resources (the PPP is far ahead) can use this bloated list and the ridiculous increase in polling stations to match this artifice to literally extend and stretch the parties without resources. Further, if the OLE is stacked with overseas Guyanese, there is nothing to prevent a party with the means from paying for those persons to return to vote when they should not have been on the list in the first instance. Has GECOM instituted any measures to prevent those who may have sold their votes for a price from taking cellphones into the polling booths to take photos to prove they voted for the party that bought their vote? What measures does it have to prevent bribery of GECOM’s polling station officials? What oversight mechanisms such as increased independent observers has it put in place for voting day? GECOM’s focus is the Statements of Polls on Election Day. If the system and process that led to the creation of those Statements of Polls is corrupt, the validation of a corrupt result is all that GECOM is doing. The dead and the migrated may vote in 2015. When a voters’ list is dramatically inflated beyond statistical reason and explanation, it becomes receptive to all manner of skulduggery, for it provides a guise by sheer numbers for all manner of atrocity. The numbers don’t lie. GECOM has the numbers. Post-election volatility is too monstrous of a spectre for GECOM to continue to play defensive ostrich, head in sand and derriere in the air on this matter. It has seven days left to provide some answers. M. Maxwell


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

It’s a girl - Britain’s Duchess Kate gives birth The couple poses with the baby outside the hospital yesterday

(Reuters) - Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, the wife of Prince William, gave birth to a girl yesterday, the couple’s second child and a great grand-daughter to Queen Elizabeth. The royal family’s newest member was born at 8:34 a.m., some 2-1/2 hours after Kate Middleton was admitted in the early stages of labour to St Mary’s Hospital, West London, the couple’s Kensington Palace residence said in a statement. The couple emerged later yesterday with the baby wrapped in a white woolen shawl and bonnet to pose for photographs on the steps of the hospital, a little over 12 hours after Kate arrived. Kate cradled the sleeping princess in her arms as the couple waved to the cheering crowd, although they made no comment. A few minutes later, Prince William carried the baby in a car seat to a waiting vehicle, and then drove his wife and new daughter the short distance to Kensington Palace. The baby princess will be fourth in line to the throne behind her brother Prince George, father William and grandfather Prince Charles,

pushing her uncle Prince Harry down a place in the royal hierarchy. The baby, whose name has yet to be announced, weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and William was present at the birth, the palace said. “Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well,” it added. Both families of the couple had been informed, including the new baby’s great-grandparents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. She becomes the 89-year-old queen’s fifth greatgrandchild. William left the hospital later in the afternoon and soon returned with young George to introduce him to his new sister. “I’m very happy,” he told reporters and the large crowd of royal fans, some of whom have been camping outside for days. The birth will provide a welcome distraction for many Britons from the country’s knife-edge general election campaign, which comes to a head with the vote next Thursday. Britain’s leading politicians took time out from the election trail to send their best wishes. Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: “Congratulations to the Duke

and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their baby girl. I’m absolutely delighted for them,” while Labour leader Ed Miliband said the news was fantastic and added “I know the whole country will be wishing them well.” The birth has also provided a boon to the country’s bookmakers who having first offered odds on the child’s likely sex, now turn their attention to names, with Charlotte, Alice, Victoria and Elizabeth the current favorites. Slightly longer odds are available on Diana, Eleanor and Alexandra. William, 32, was born at the same hospital to the late Princess Diana in 1982. He and Kate, 33, met as students at St Andrews University in Scotland, married in a spectacular ceremony at Westminster Abbey in April 2011. Their first child, George, was born in July 2013. When Kate leaves hospital, the couple will return to Kensington Palace in central London for a couple of days before heading to Anmer Hall, their country mansion on the queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England.

French patrol ship rescues 217 migrants off Libya coast (Reuters) - A French patrol ship rescued 217 migrants from three small boats that had run into trouble off the coast of Libya yesterrday, the maritime police said in a statement. The Commandant Birot helped several dozen people in distress and intercepted two suspected people smugglers, according to the statement. “The intercepted vessels have all been

neutralized,” the maritime police said, adding that they were responding to a call from the maritime rescue coordination center in Rome as part of the European Union’s operation Triton. The rescued migrants and the suspected people smugglers have been handed over to the Italian authorities, the Toulon, France-based maritime police added. The sea is one of the main

routes into the European Union for tens of thousands of mostly Asian and African migrants fleeing war and poverty, with almost 40,000 people having arrived this year already. A migrant boat sank with the loss of more than 700 lives last month, raising pressure for action by EU countries, who pledged to step up search and rescue operations in the southern Mediterranean.

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Dem boys seh... Disciplined Forces complete BaiShanLin is voting for General Elections too serious fuh -- ballots will be stamped on E-Day

dis country

Ranks proudly display their inked fingers after casting their votes at the Cove and John Police Station. Members of the Joint Services yesterday cast the first set of ballots for the much anticipated General Elections. The actual elections will be held on Monday May 11 but the members of the Joint Services who will be required to provide security on that day were required to vote ahead of the normal voting populace. Over 7,000 ranks were expected to cast their votes yesterday, during a process that was described as a bit slow at the beginning but which picked up pace as the day progressed. Early lines turned into trickles of people and before the end of the day, most of the voting had been completed. Polling stations were set up at the various military locations including the Guyana Defence Force Headquarters, Camp Ayanganna, Police Headquarters, Eve Leary and the Guyana Prison Service Sports Club on Camp Street. Some of the voters described the process as a bit slow, estimating that it took about three minutes for each to complete the process. However there were no major hiccups, except for a few minor concerns about the stamping of the ballots, which was not done yesterday. In response to these concerns the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) explained in a press statement released yesterday afternoon that the ballots would be stamped on E-day, May 11th.

In the release, GECOM emphasized that the ballot papers issued to the Joint Services were indeed not stamped with the six digit stamp when handed to the ranks for their vote. The release went on to state that they will in actuality be signed on elections day, when they are inter-mixed with other ballots and counted on elections day at the gazette polling stations. GECOM also sought to assuage the concerns of the public by pledging that the votes of all the disciplined forces will be counted and that the entire process was being observed by agents of the political parties and Local and international observers.

Police ranks check the voters’ list for their names before going to cast their ballots.

BaiShanLin come to this country wid great plans fuh benefit dem and Guyana. Instead, ten year pass and is only dem get de benefit. Dem was to build a factory to employ couple hundred Guyanese. This factory was to process de wood that dem cut in de bush, then export wha dem process. When dem do that Guyana get more revenue from de wood and couple people get wuk. But BaiShanLin smart de wuk. Dem bring dem own worker and all of dem look alike. BaiShanLin change dem mind and go into gold. Then dem get land from couple people who nah like see money and dem go into housing. When dem boys expose wha BaiShanLin was suppose to do and didn’t do de company put out statement. And is nuff statement dem put out. De first one dem put out blame Go Invest. Dem claim how dem, send application to Go Invest four years ago and nutten nah happen. Go Invest never see a paper wid de company name much less an application. Dem boys never hear back a word from BaiShanLin after that. When de Waterfalls paper expose dem kakishness, right away dem seh how de paper chase way foreign investor fuh build de factory. BaiShanLin got billions of dollars in vehicles, machinery, equipment, land fuh housing and half of de forest. A fraction of this coulda build fifteen factory—five in every county. De vehicles come in duty free; de land dem get fuh free and everybody see. Dem never wanted to put down any factory and to give any Guyanese employment. De aim was to do exactly wha dem doing—thiefing de factory wholesale and passing money to Government officials wholesale. That is how de bag buss when dem was going into Rob de Earth office wid half a million Uncle Sam dollars. And that money coulda build at least one factory. Talk half and hope de factory come on stream.


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Ten years later, BaiShanLin still to establish wood processing plant After ten years of mainly extracting logs and benefitting from billions of dollars worth in tax concessions, remissions and tax holidays, Chinese company, BaiShanLin is still to honour its commitment to establish a Wood Processing Plant. Last year, it blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for this factory. Now, it is blaming the “hostile” media reports in 2014 for dispiriting financiers. In a statement last week, the Chinese company said that it is concerned about the apparent “misrepresentations and false reports” being carried by some sections of the media on its operations in Guyana. It identified Kaieteur News (KN) as the leader of the “hostile” campaign. It claimed that the newspaper had no evidence to support many of its claims. It cited a recent KN article with the headline: ‘BaiShanLin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging.’ Quoting the article, “BaiShanLin was “reportedly” approved US$70M to invest in a wood processing plant just off the Linden area. Instead it diverted the money to logging, gold and housing activities.”

- blamed Go-Invest in August 2014 for delays, now accusing media BaiShanLin, in its statement, insisted that it is a privately owned company and does not receive capital from the Government of Guyana. Kaieteur News at no time contended in that article or any article for that matter, that BaiShanLin receives funding from the Government of Guyana. The Chinese company also took offence to the word “reportedly”. It is of the belief that such a word lends more to sensationalism and less towards keeping the public informed. But even in its response to the article, BaiShanLin does not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities. With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, Bai Shan Lin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese. It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing

further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.” It would contradict what the company said in August last year when local media reported on the extent of BaiShanLin’s operations in Guyana. Back then, the company failed to mention in its published advertisements that “financiers” were scared to invest. Instead, back then BaiShanLin sought to throw the blame on GO-Invest for the delays. In one of its ads, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.” It had said then that it was experiencing delays. Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed. This caused many, including the opposition, to challenge the government to make public the investment agreement it signed on to with the Chinese logging company. To date, this is yet to be done.

Chairman of BaiShanLin, Mr. Chu Hongbo Further, on the note of logging, BaiShanLin said that as it relates to operations, it has consistently remained well within the law/ regulations governing the forestry sector. It has been reported on

extensively, by insiders and other well-informed critics, including Dr. Janette Bulkan, a forestry specialist, that BaiShanLin practices landlordism. The Timber Sales Agreement (TSAs) which governs logging does not allow that. BaiShanLin also sought to justify its great access to the mining sector. The regulations stipulate that only Guyanese can participate in auctions and bid for mining lands. It said that the company’s owner in Guyana, Mr. Chu Hongbo is a naturalized Guyanese and that he is entitled to benefit from that clause.He did not say whether all the statutory requirements for naturalisation were met. BaiShanLin failed to point out that it has been granted

hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions and other breaks and therefore has an unfair advantage when it comes to competing with local operators. Last year, Bai Shan Lin’s operations came under scrutiny after it became known that the company has been able to acquire several hundred thousand hectares of state lands for logging and mining. This was before Hongbo became a citizen of Guyana. In fact, it has become the third largest holder of state forests in the country. An advertisement in this paper earlier this week shows the over-reach and dominance of Bai Shan Lin across Guyana. The company is being blamed for a significant increase of log exports although Government says that those increases are still within the allowable figures.

After 13-year-old gives birth

CPA director repeats call for improved community involvement The Childcare and Protection Agency, (CPA) is closely monitoring the case of the 13-year-old student of Wakapoa Secondary School, who gave birth to twins at the Suddie Hospital Complex, in Essequibo, recently. The teenager who hails from the community of Wakapoa, Region Two, was left in the care of her aunt, Norma James, for almost five years, after her mother along with her husband, Trevor Abrams, was charged with the murder of 54-year-old Wilfred Williams, a/k”Willo”, of Grant Friendship Canal. The couple is currently on remand. CPA D i r e c t o r, A n n Greene, has said that the agency has since launched an investigation into the matter and has taken steps to provide counseling and further monitor the teenager as she recuperates and re-enters the school system to complete her education. She said that the case speaks to the need for members of the community to be more vigilant and involved in the fight against child molestation and abuse. T h e C PA D i r e c t o r explained that in the circumstances of minors who are left unsupervised after their parents who had been incarcerated, the agency steps in and makes the necessary

CPA Director Ann Greene interventions to find them suitable living conditions. But in this case of the 13 year-old, Ms. Greene noted that she had a substitute parent. The CPA, she said cannot probe a situation unless it is brought to the attention of the agency. She said that it is then left to the relatives, teachers, guardians, friends and other members of the communities to act as the “eyes and ears” of the agency. If they notice anything suspicious about any child/ children living in the neighbourhood or dwelling in their surroundings, they should report. “We do not have that many resources...It is the responsibility of every citizen

to pay attention, be watchful and report to the agency” Greene said adding that whenever a matter is reported, the identity of the person/ persons, lodging the complaint is treated with strict confidentiality. “People need to stop being so afraid. We don’t even need to know about the caller; they can remain anonymous. What is of utmost importance to us is the name and location of the child who might be under threat.” According to Greene, a number of similar incidents occur in those far flung areas of the country quite often. She said that the a g e n c y ’s heightened public awareness and education’ campaigns in the regions are aimed at bridging the gap culture and the law. The ‘Tell Campaign and ‘Education/Family Life programme’ are regular features in the school system. “Many times, in those areas, it is seen as a norm for a girl to become sexually active at a young age, but through the education/family life programme, students are constantly being taught and are starting to realize that it is not right for a girl/ boy to be exposed to such activities at such a tender age,” the CPA head noted.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Region Ten experienced hardship under spiteful regime - Chairman Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, in a Labour Day message to workers, lamented the hardship the Region endured because of the polices of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) administration controlled by former President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. He said however, that there is a ray of hope for the Region as well as Guyana under the governance of the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition. “We ( t h e p e o p l e o f Linden) have for almost the past two decades, become intensely aware of what it means to be marginalized and shut out from enjoying equal benefits as some communities in other parts of Guyana, and as some workers in other nonbauxite sectors. “And I do not mean public servants. Save and except a few cronies, families and friends who enjoy nepotism of the Jagdeo and (President, Donald) Ramotar governments, life has been real hard for most of us,” said Solomon. The Regional Chairman said that Guyana did not know what real hardship was until Jagdeo entered Presidential office. “Real hardship is not the restrictions on the importation of apples and grapes when nothing can

- Dubs a vote for APNU+AFC, a vote for betterment

Region 10 Chairman, Sharma Solomon stop a Buxton spice mango, a sapodilla, star apple and papaw.” He said that real hardship is when the youth of Guyana live in despair, with little or no opportunities to improve their standard of living thus falling prey to “sophisticated criminals of the narcotic industry.” He added that real hardship is when the youth of Guyana attain a university education but remain unemployed, not even being able to repay their loans. “Real hardship is when our youth have their private parts mutilated by the state police, when hundreds of families are left to mourn the death of their children and bodies thrown throughout the length and breadth of

Guyana in the most gruesome murders. “(It is) when dozens of business men are massacred in unsolved criminal activities and the state is satisfied with accusation, finger pointing and no crime fighting and solutions,” said Solomon. He continued, “Real hardship is when Ministers of the government can be embroiled in criminal acts and questionable relationships; Guyana now knows what real hardship is!

We now know what an abusive government is. We know what a spiteful president is. And we know what it is like to live under the policies and governance of a young dictator, named Bharrat Jagdeo.” Solomon said that those who want to avoid another five years of “real hardship” must vote wisely on May, 11 “Get up, do what you have to do the night before. Nothing must stop you…If you have extreme hardship call your

leaders in advance so we can make arrangements in advance to get you to the polls so we can vote these lawless people out of government.” He said that each Guyanese has the power to make a change and “move this country forward under different governance where all Guyanese can unite, and build this nation for the good of all.” “The APNU+AFC coalition has committed to you that they will listen to

you; they will create the enabling environment for jobs; address the broken healthcare and education systems; they will stamp out corruption; look into the plight of the sugar industry; restore law, order and good governance; improve the University of Guyana; improve and expand infrastructures; respect our rights; protect our natural resources; give Guyanese a real shot at building this nation- a nation that will be great and for all to see- as we live our creed of One People, One Nation, One Destiny,’ said Solomon.


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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 03, 2015

US$100M spent on ICT projects…

Jagdeo’s cronies begin takeover of telecoms sector Two years ago, Kaieteur News which has been reporting and raising questions over the spending of taxpayers’ monies, predicted that moves were afoot to take over the telecommunication industry. The aim of the takeover was to enrich family and friends of Bharrat Jagdeo. This was after evidence emerged that a number of companies with close links to the Jagdeo government were mandated to receive telecommunication licences to conduct operations in this multi-billion-dollar industry. The telecommunication industry is described as one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. Under the direction of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, draft telecommunications laws named E-Networks Inc., Quark Communications and Global Technology as companies that will be granted telecommunications Operator Licences when the market is liberalized. Heading E-Network is Vishok Persaud, whose sister is Dr. Vindhya Persaud. Both are children of the late PPP executive, Dr. Reepu Persaud. Rakesh Puri of Continental Industries and Keith Evelyn, of Hand in Hand, are also included. Quark Communications has as its directors, Winston Brassington, Jagdeo’s niece Sabrina Singh, and Brian Yong, a close friend of the

former President. A director on Global Technology’s Board is Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, Jagdeo’s best friend. It was made clear, based also on complaints by the two current licenced telecommunication companies, Digicel and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), that plans were afoot also to delay the liberalization and expansion of the market to facilitate these companies, which included E-Networks and Quark Communications. Among the nine cable operators in Guyana, seven were prevented from expanding while E-Networks and Quark Communications were allowed to expand countrywide. It is now the stark truth that the scheme has started to become a reality, as is evident by news over a week ago that Government has handed control of the Brazillinked fibre optic cable to a local sawmiller turned contractor, Faisal Mohamed, owner of Dax Contracting Services. In one fell swoop, the administration allowed Dax Contracting Services access to the Brazilian fibre optic cable and structure equipment including road access, access to poles, access to repeater stations and “others” countrywide. The entire investments by Guyana, exceed US$100M,

and will allow Dax and his partners to compete with GT&T and Digicel and give Faisal Mohamed exclusive rights to the communication cable. It will be recalled that in 2010, when GT&T landed its

US$30M fibre optic cable in a joint project with Suriname, former President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that Government was bringing one at the same cost. His administration argued, then, that the move

was to put Guyana on par with the rest of the world in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry. The country’s poor internet speed was singled out as the reason why development was lacking.

US$100M AND COUNTING Between 2010 and 2014, under the National Budget, Government allocated $20B (US$100) for a number of projects. These included: Continued on page 71


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Sunday May 03, 2015


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Garbage truck crushes worker The crowd that gathered at the scene yesterday.

The truck which crushed the man. The life of a Puran Brothers Waste Management employee was yesterday morning cut short in the First Avenue, Eccles area. Dead is Deon King, 46, of Lot 109 Best Village, West Coast Demerara. The man was reportedly struck down before being run over by the company’s garbage truck. Yesterday a small crowd gathered while police officers carried out their investigations. The dead man’s coworkers who witnessed the freak accident were observed to be in a clear state of disbelief as they fought to maintain their composure. One co-worker, Charles Washington, in his account of what transpired said that he and King had just emptied a bin. He had gone to replace the bin while King was at the back of the truck signaling the driver to reverse. Washington recounted that as he was walking back in King’s direction, when in the vicinity of the truck he heard his colleague shouting for the driver to stop. Before the driver could be alerted the man had already been struck down and run over. Another worker, Eion Williams, said that he was just a short distance away waiting for the truck to empty his bin when he heard his colleague shouting. He said that he saw King lying on the street motionless between the two back wheels of the truck. He had been crushed at the waist. The body was immediately hauled out by Washington, who expressed his disbelief that the man he was just conversing with had died in such a short time. The two described King as a jovial and good workmate. The driver claimed that he did not see the man at the back of the truck and by the time he was alerted the man had already been crushed. There were also speculations that he (King) might have attempted to ‘jump’ on the truck and slipped before he was crushed. The man’s mother, Miriam

Burke and sister-in-law, Fazila Khan, were escorted to the accident scene by two executive members of the waste management company. Upon learning of the mishap, Chief Directing Manager of the Company, Lakenauth Puran and the General Manager, Kaleshwar Puran, went to the man’s Best Village home to break the news to his family before escorting them to the scene. At the scene the two executives stated that King’s death is truly a loss to the company as he was a very “good worker”. King was employed with the company for quite a number of years. The man’s sister-in-law said that at first she thought that they were looking for King, but instead they were asked to accompany the duo to see King who was involved in an accident. The extent of the man’s injuries was not disclosed at that time. She said that she suspected something was seriously wrong because of the questions the man’s employers were asking. “Last night he teasing me; ‘gyal u na stop drink coke’. This morning I called him... About half an hour later the boss men came to the house,” Khan recalled. At the man’s home, family members they tried to make sense of what had happened. The mother had to be consoled by relatives. The heartbroken mother said that when she got to the scene she saw her son’s body sprawled on the road and covered with a white sheet, before breaking down into tears. The man’s reputed wife of four years, Pinky Ganga, also had to be consoled as she recounted her last conversation with her husband. In tears, she recounted that some 15 minutes before she got the news of her husband’s demise; he had called home, asking her to meet him on the road. She said, “He told me that he would be home to fulfill his

box hand and later in the day he will take me to the city to do some shopping for my birthday (today).” She recalled her husband leaving home for work about 5:30am and when he last contacted her he told her that he had just two bins left to empty. That was the last they spoke as her phone battery died. “Before anything I received a call by a neighbour who informed me of the incident.”

The man’s older sister, Tehelma Chandler, recalled that upon receiving the news she immediately broke down into tears dropping her mop and aborting her chores. Cecil Burke, King’s father, recalled seeing his son alive, yesterday afternoon. King, a member of the Guyana Police Force, Divisional Community Policing Group was the breadwinner who worked two jobs to maintain his family. While serving as a

community police, he worked full time with Purans Brothers Waste Management and parttime with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Kaieteur News understands that the company will be absorbing the funeral expenses. Meanwhile, King’s body was transported to Lykens Funeral parlour, and a woman who found it convenient to rob the dead man of his pink Raz’r cell phone was arrested.

The deceased: Deon King


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Kaieteur News

Bandits break stalls at Stabroek Bazaar Despite its deplorable state, the Stabroek Market Bazaar continues to be a haven for thieves and a venue for criminal activities as a result of it being ‘pitch’ black at nights. This was the view of many stallholders, yesterday, after two vendors of the market suffered major losses when their stalls were broken into last Thursday. Stallholder, Balram, (only name given) said that he received a call, from a market constable the next day informing him about the unfortunate incident. Balram, who has been plying the trade for over 15 years, operates stall #78 at the northern side of the market’s entrance. He has since expressed his frustrations after bandits broke into his stall and carted off more than $1.5M in cash, several bottles of shampoo, batteries and bamboos. The vendor said that upon learning about his predicament, he hurried down to the market only to find his stall door open and the stall ransacked. He said that the bandits gained entry by ripping open a wooden door. The man recalled that this is the third time within two years that he has experienced this setback. The businessman has since blamed the negligence of the city counsellors’ for the recent spates of theft at the market. Marlene Pratt, who operates stall #83-84, said that her stall was broken into as well. She stated that she is upset about the entire situation. The woman said that she also received a call

The usually busy Stabroek Bazaar yesterday.

from a constable at the market, the following day informing her of the break in. Pratt said that when she arrived, she saw that seven padlocks that were used to secure her stall door were broken. “Four times in fifteen months my stall break and the constable can’t give account for it,” Pratt stated. She added that upon checking, she discovered that her money along with bamboo was missing. Pratt angrily shouted, “We got to pay $26,000 every month for stall rent and if you don’t pay it you got to pay $4,000 in arrears.” The woman claimed that drug addicts would be seen roaming the market after hours. She also stated that the

market wharf has become the home for many persons. “People are living on the wharf. How can people be living there when it’s a place for people to store goods and so on…? Thieves could be hiding there,” the angry woman said. However, both vendors who experienced the breakage said that they were informed by other vendors that a man was spotted at the Bourda Market, selling bamboo. They strongly believe that the individual was the one who carried out the raids on their stalls. Although detectives visited the stalls to take fingerprints and other investigative works, they were unable to apprehend the

thieves. The vendors noted that the market constables have neglected to carry out their duties. They are also furious at the guards who never see or hear anything. “They suppose to walk around at nights and check this place, but they don’t do that,” one vendor said. They are adamant that the council is clearly taking no interest in the market. The vendors pointed out that the only activity undertaken by the Municipality is the collection of stall holders’ fees. In the meantime, the vendors are of the belief that their stalls will continue to be invaded if the Constabulary continues to neglect them.

Sunday May 03, 2015

Norman Mclean is new GMSA President The recently appointed Board of Directors of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) has elected Major General (Rtd.) Norman McLean, as President of the Association for fiscal year 2015/2016. He succeeds Clinton Williams who has completed a two-term stint which is the limit prescribed by the GMSA’s Articles of Association. Mr. McLean himself had previously served as President of the then Guyana Manufacturers’ Association (GMA) during the 1990’s. In his acceptance remarks, Mr. McLean noted his long history with the association, reminding members that he had in the past worked assiduously to ensure that the GMSA was adequately meeting and surpassing the needs of its membership. He said that he was happy to head the association again at this time when its record of recent achievements is good. He thanked the Board for the confidence reposed in him and asked members to continue to work together in order to meet the goals the Association has set itself. These goals include revisiting and recalibrating the GMSA’s Strategic Plan in keeping with the changing needs of member companies. Mr. McLean brings to the GMSA considerable experience in human resource development and Operations Management. In recent years the former Chief of Staff of the GDF has been working on the ‘winding up’ process for the now defunct Omai Gold Mines. He has transferred these considerable skills into his consultancy with ETK Sand Springs, an expatriate Gold and Mineral Mining Company which is currently preparing to commence operations in Guyana. Mr. McLean also serves as Company Secretary of the Bosai Bauxite Mining Company. Outgoing GMSA President, Clinton Williams, expressed his own gratitude for the unstinting support he received from the Board and membership throughout his two two-year terms. The first he served in 2010–2012. Williams said that he is vacating the Office with the finances in the healthiest state it has been in for some years, and will continue to work with the GMSA in his new capacity, as the Immediate Past President and Sub-Sector Coordinator. The GMSA held its two-

New GMSA President Norman McLean part Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 10 and April 30, respectively. The first session is usually held to discuss the audited accounts and to elect the core members of the Board of Directors. This new Board usually later attends Part II of the AGM to elect the President and identify the members who would head the sub-sectors, specified areas on the Manufacturing/ Services landscape which the GMSA oversees. These sub-sectors are Construction and Engineering, Services, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture and Agro-Processing, Forestry and Wood Products, Fast Foods and Minerals and Related Industries. The Board also selects the members who would manage the affairs of the main Standing Committees which include International Trade and Investment, Policy and Legislation, and Governance and Security. The Board of Directors are Norman McLean – President; Ramsay Ali – Sterling Products Ltd., 1st Vice President; Eon Caesar – Safeway Security, 2nd Vice President; Malisa Nokta – Environmental Management Consultants, 3rd VP/ Treasurer; Clinton Williams – Guyana National Industrial Co. IPP; Autamaram Lakeram – National Milling Company; Mark Bender – TCL Guyana Ltd.; Raymond Ramsaroop – Edward Beharry Group of Companies; Peter Pompey – Brass, Aluminum and Cast Iron Foundry; Clement Duncan – Swansea Associates; Yonette Jeffers – Laparkan Freight Forwarders; Mohindra (Neil) Chand – Barama Company; Ramesh Dookhoo – Banks DIH Ltd. And Luanna Persaud – Qualfon The GMSA is one of the three major Business Support Organizations in Guyana. It is now in its 51st year of existence.










Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

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The Role of Emergency Nurses By Dr Zulfikar Bux For those that would have accessed care at the GPHC Accident & Emergency Department (A&E) in the past couple of years, you would have noticed obvious improvements in efficiency and medical care. Given that we are the National referral centre and we also have to accommodate the large city population, we are often over-utilized and this intermittently leads to delayed waiting times for the not so urgent cases. Even then, our waiting times can still challenge waiting times of Emergency Departments in developed countries. Focus on systems development and education has led to improved efficiency in care even during times where the department is crowded with excess flow of patients from around the country. One of the reasons for improvements in patient care at the A&E is the drastic improvement of emergency nursing care. I have decided that it is only prudent that I highlight the importance of emergency nursing care in an emergency room so that we all can come to appreciate the work and role of Nurses in the A&E. Emergency Nurses like Emergency Physicians are specialized in delivering time sensitive care to patients whose medical condition warrants meticulous and urgent attention. They deliver time sensitive care for undifferentiated patients in a systematic manner. This means that they are always on the go and have little to no room for mistakes. Unlike patients in the other specialties, emergency patients generally come with unknown medical conditions and need care in an efficient manner so that the continuous flow of other emergency patients can be attended to. This takes scrupulous coordination between the emergency nurses and doctors and hence creates a team based environment of practice in emergency departments. THE NURSES AT GPHC’S A&E For the last couple of years, intimate coordination between the Nursing Services, the A&E management, GPHC management and the Vanderbilt Medical Center, has led to a transformation of emergency nursing care in the A&E. Although we have not formally started an Emergency Nursing specialty course as yet, we have so far managed to deliver

continuous training and development of the nurses in the A&E. Maintaining a core group of nurses in the department, fostering team building with all staff (especially nurses and doctors), and ensuring continuing emergency nursing education has led to a transformation of

The gunmen are coming out again. They are going to target more businesses. This time a gang will seek out a small business in a community on East Bank Demerara. The police patrol would have already made its round when the gunmen will pounce. The businessman is going to be shot as is often the case. The offshoot is

emergency nursing care in the A&E. There hasn’t been a report of a significant error in medical nursing care over the past eight months. This shows the magnitude of growth of the emergency nurses in the A&E. I must congratulate the nurses of the A&E for their commitment towards the

that the police will arrest two young men. ** Given the election fever, there is going to be talk of ballot papers being printed in strange locations. Of course, GECOM would say that this is not possible since the paper would be different. However, with tension so high, many rumours would fly. ** At this time fires seem to be commonplace. Another fire would break out in the eastern part of the country. The family would not be at home, so the argument would be that the fire is electrical. Investigations would prove otherwise.

development of emergency patient care. They have raised the bar in the A&E and I urge them to continue to strive for excellence and not be deterred during the challenging times. I am proud to have such a hardworking staff and I look forward to us striving together to continue to develop emergency medical care for our patients. We strengthen our efforts for our

patients. For them what we do matters, and what matters is what should do. (Dr Zulfikar Bux is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Vanderbilt University and Medical Center and holds the position of Head of the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department.)

Dr. Zulfikar Bux


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Kaieteur News

Do you know the Harlem killer? By Michael Jordan Someone dropped off a note to me at Kaieteur News. It said: “The suspect’s name is Durjhan…this is no joke. Help her.” I knew the ‘her’ that I was being asked to help. But that individual was long past help, because someone had murdered her. And now someone was appealing to me to help bring her killer to justice. A corpse was the last thing that the residents of the quiet rice-farming community of Harlem, West Coast Demerara expected to see on the long dirt road known as Back Street on Sunday, January 10, 2010. But there it was; the body of a fair-complexioned young woman of East Indian

ancestry. Someone had attacked her brutally, leaving some 16 stab wounds on her body. The injuries included two stab wounds to the throat and four to the abdomen. The victim was clad in a pair of blue three-quarter pants, white sleeveless top, blue and white brassiere and a pair of brown slippers. The killer had scratched her during his brutal attack. The villagers who looked at her realised that she was not from their community. The suspicion was that someone had transported the victim by car to the area, murdered her and dumped the body there. Police ranks eventually arrived on the scene. They took the victim’s fingerprints and photographed her before

Sunday May 03, 2015

Luciana Bhagwandin

mortuary attendants took the corpse to the West Demerara Regional Hospital morgue. Needing to have the victim identified, a police official reportedly ordered a senior rank to release pictures of the slain woman to the media, in the hope that someone would recognise her. However, the senior rank failed to follow through with the request and the victim remained unidentified for two days. This lapse may have

allowed a killer to cover his tracks or even go into hiding. Despite this, it seemed as if police already had a suspect. Shortly after the discovery, a young taxi driver went to a police station on the West Bank of Demerara with a rather strange story. According to police sources, he claimed that he had stopped to urinate on a roadway in Harlem on the night of Saturday January 9, 2010, when the occupants of another car attacked him and made off with his vehicle. The man’s taxi, which was smeared with mud, was found on the West Bank of Demerara. When the man made the report, the unidentified body had already been found. Investigators suspected that the taxi driver had some knowledge of the incident and took him into custody. They also impounded his car. Meanwhile, I was curious about the victim’s identity, so I visited the West Demerara Hospital mortuary, where I took photographs of the slain woman with the intention of publishing one of the less gruesome shots. We had used this method successfully before to assist the police in identifying murder victims. I developed one of the photographs, and showed it to some of the taxi drivers who ply the West Coast and West Bank Demerara routes. I also showed the picture to the owners and patrons of some of the popular nightspots. No one recognised her. However, the following day, several persons read the Kaieteur News. They immediately recognised the victim. One of those readers was a man from Pomona, Essequibo Coast. He realised that the victim was his daughter, 22-year-old Luciana Bhagwandin, a firstyear trainee teacher at the Cyril Potter College of

Education. Luciana had married in her teens and had resided with her husband at Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara. However, around August 2009, the couple had some domestic troubles and Luciana moved out and went to stay with an aunt at Industry, East Coast Demerara. Luciana’s close associates claim that it was at around this time that she caught the attention of a young man, who her friends portrayed as an obsessive and violent character, and also as someone with a shady past. According to some reports, the man, a darkcomplexioned individual of Indian ancestry, claimed that his first name was ‘Jerry’ and that he resided at Eccles, East Bank Demerara. He claimed to be employed at an embassy. He also claimed to be a senior security official with the state. Luciana’s associates also said that the man would sometimes pick up the trainee teacher in a dark-blue car with heavily tinted windows. The driver of the car had reportedly lived in Bel Air, but had moved to Ogle, East Coast Demerara. According to her colleagues, the man had repeatedly urged Luciana to leave her husband. It is said that he would sometimes brazenly turn up outside Luciana’s residence and demand that she accompany him. The trainee teacher had reportedly told friends that ‘Jerry’ made repeated threats to kill her and her spouse. He had once reportedly placed a gun to her head. Luciana’s colleagues said that they warned her to leave ‘Jerry’. They were certain that he would kill her one day. The aunt that Luciana was staying at told me that she left home at around 17:00 hrs on Friday, January 8, 2010 after saying that she was going to a supermarket. She failed to return that night and the following day the aunt went to the Sophia Police Outpost to report her missing. The woman said that a rank informed her that she had to wait 48 hours before filing a missing person’s report. It appears that police never sent out an all-station bulletin when the body was discovered to ascertain if anyone fitting the victim’s description had been reported missing. But according to some of Luciana’s friends, she had indicated to ‘Jerry’ that she

had wanted him to return some of her belongings. On the Friday that she disappeared, she was reportedly in the vicinity of Ogle, when the occupants of a dark-coloured vehicle abducted her. Luciana’s colleagues recalled that she attended classes on Friday, January 8, 2010. She was scheduled to take an exam on Monday, January 11, 2010, but failed to turn up. The friends tried unsuccessfully to reach her on her mobile phone. After hearing of the alleged abduction, police appeared to be convinced that the taxi driver that they had initially arrested knew nothing of the murder and released him. The case went cold. But about a week after appealing for information about Luciana’s killer, I received the envelope with the anonymous message. I then spoke to Luciana’s parents, who were also trying to gather information about her mystery boyfriend. They said that Luciana would often tell them that she was going to a popular hotel on the East Bank of Demerara. They said that the boyfriend, who identified himself as ‘Jagroop’ had contacted them by telephone at around 19:00 hrs on January 2, 2010. That call lasted for over 15 minutes. It is also alleged that ‘Jagroop’ had brazenly informed Luciana’s husband about his affair with Luciana, and that an individual had given the husband a phone which contained proof of the affair. The parents also said that they were told that their daughter had visited two locations at La Jalousie shortly before her death. I passed this information over to the police. They checked it out, but to date, they have found no trace of their suspect. But if Luciana Bhagwandin can somehow hear me, I want her to know that I’m still trying to find her killer. And I’m appealing to those who knew her to help me. If you have any information about this case, please contact Kaieteur News by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown offices. Our numbers are 22-58465, 2258473 and 22-58458. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address mjdragon@ hotmail.com.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 27

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Tribal desperadoes at the gate If God was to ask me to name something I would like to have, I would choose something I would like to see rather than have. I would like to see the faces of Indian supremacists after the PPP loses the 2015 elections. These are people whose souls are taken up with the obsession that Guyana must be in control of the PPP because African leaders are not preferred. I want to see what their faces would look like after GECOM would have announced the winner is APNU-AFC. For these people, a man who was once president of Guyana does not exist. He cannot exist for them because if they acknowledge his historical role then their supremacist world would come crashing down. It was Desmond Hoyte that allowed private businessmen to start a newspaper. He put Rabbi Washington and his own Cabinet Minister, Robert Corbin before the courts. He interdicted from duty the head of the army, Godwin McPherson, on the complaint of a private citizen, Mr. Glenn Lall. Mr. Hoyte sold off stateowned enterprises, removed

the ban on certain cherished food items, opened up the economy to Indian investors, accepted Jimmy Carter’s supervision of the 1992 elections, and gracefully gave up power. The selected memory of these Indian supremacists also locks out an important section of Guyana’s history. David Hinds, Tacuma Ogunseye, Eusi Kwayana, Walter Rodney, Andaiye, Omawale, etc., are names that never existed. As in the case of Hoyte, the existence of these historical names has to be denied because if acknowledged, then the propaganda of the Indian supremacists will be blown away. It was the PNC leader, Hoyte that democratized Guyana. It was African Guyanese like Rodney who paid with his life fighting an African-dominated government. Hinds and Ogunseye went to jail for opposing that very government. The Indian supremacists cannot bear to see such names printed in the history books because when that happens, the Indian supremacists no longer have

a methodology which they can loan to the PPP to keep the PPP in power. If you acknowledge that an African-Guyanese activist risked his life to confront an African-dominated administration then by the same dialectical reasoning, an Indian activist is legitimized in denouncing an Indian regime that is a legal dictatorship. So what do the Indian supremacists do? They deny the existence of Rodney, Hoyte, Ogunseye and Hinds, because it allows them to scandalize APNU politicians and Indian activists who denounce the PPP. It allows them to do so by asserting that such activists are against the PPP because the PPP is an Indian party. There is not one word that APNU, AFC and Indian critics denounce the reign of the PPP because the PPP is an undemocratic, corrupt, immoral regime. The chief proponent of this methodology seems to be a man named, Aksharananda, who calls himself a swami. All of a sudden he appears from nowhere and has been writing frequent letters in the media generating fear about the PNC getting back into power and

criticizing anti-PPP activists for being anti-Indian. According to the so-called swami, the custodian of the world of Indian Guyanese is the PPP. If you fight against the PPP, you are out to dethrone Indians. The so-called swami has joined a long list of Indian Guyanese who have suddenly undergone an attitudinal metamorphosis and have embraced the election bandwagon of the PPP. Ronald Bulkan of APNU has written a letter in the KN and SN naming a few of them and expressed surprised at their sudden transformation. Bulkan named Shaun Samaroo, Ralph Seeram, Asgar Ally, Leon Suseran and Peter Ramsaroop. Bulkan left out Ryhaan Shah, Dolly

Hassan, the so-called swami, Jagdeo’s former common-law wife, Varshnie Singh and now P. D. Sharma, who is an admirer of Eusi Kwayana. Bulkan asked why? The answer is the tribe is trying to save its domination. On Thursday night, Raymond Hall of the AFC and I were driving to a coalition public meeting. Inside the car was the wife of one of the most prominent opposition leaders. She asked me how I see Steve Surujbally shaping up. Obviously the question was asked in the context of the unexpected rush of these morphed Indians to the PPP’s campaign. I gave my frank assessment. I have never been a fan of Steve Surujbally in his capacity of Chairman of

Frederick Kissoon GECOM. I wrote in two columns that after 2011 he should have been removed. His recent vote with the PPP Commissioners to deny letters of employment to polling agents is dangerously worrying. So which way will Surujbally go? I don’t know, but I know he is Indian. I know too that the tribal desperados are at the gate.


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The PPP thinks it can fool all of the people all of the time…Version 2.0 The People’s Progressive Party thought that it was able to fool some people into believing that it was serious about implementing its promises in its 2011 elections Manifesto ¯ entitled Working Together for a Better Tomorrow. President Donald Ramotar therefore thought that he could get away with trying to fool all the people by re-warming and relaunching the same stale menu of promises four years later. He has no better chance of implementing this year’s 64-page Manifesto entitled “Our Vision, Guyana Version 2.0” than his failed 2011 version. Ramotar, in the PPP’s 2011 Manifesto, had pledged to hold the local government

elections within a year of his election to office. He later reneged on his promise, refused to implement an amended bill passed by the National Assembly calling for those elections to be held by 1st August 2014 and stubbornly resisted a sustained campaign by A Partnership For National Unity, civil society and the international community to hold the elections. Ramotar ’s Manifesto Version 2.0 now pretends that it is ready to finalise the Local Government Amendment Act and establish the Local Government Commission, which it has failed to do so far. Ramotar’s unwillingness to commit to a date for the polls in 2014 led to the APNU-AFC’s decision

to bring a no-confidence motion against the PPP administration last year. Ramotar, in response to this challenge, prorogued Parliament on 10th November 2014 and dissolved it entirely on 28th February 2015. Ramotar, similarly, pretended in his Manifesto Version 2.0, after years of failure, to move forward on the appointment and operationalisation of the Procurement Commission demanded by APNU and AFC. Ramotar is again promising to simplify the tax system, to review the impact of taxes on cost of living and restructure corporate taxes to support job creation. He had promised a continuous review of the taxation system, including the

contentious 16% value added tax (VAT) in 2011. He claimed in December 2011, less than a month after his election, that he had set up a three-man panel to review the taxation system. When asked about the review, however, he responded weakly, “…you have to recognise that when VAT was introduced in our country, we eliminated many other taxes…like the consumption tax. As far as the report you are talking about is concerned. Yes, I had set up a committee that I had given this task to do. There was [sic] some little problems with the terms of reference and so forth. I haven’t had a report on this as yet and I don’t know if they are waiting on us to resolve some of our differences.” Who can believe this after over three years? Ramotar, in his Manifesto Version 2.0, also pledges to continue to support the modernisation of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) which has been languishing under the malignant chairmanship of PPP Central Committee member Dr Roger Luncheon for the past 22 years. Ramotar had previously promised to conduct a comprehensive review of the NIS to ensure its long-term viability and to improve its accountability and strengthening the

supervision of pension funds to ensure the protection of post-employment benefits. An actuarial review found that the NIS was nearing a crisis stage. The NIS General Manager reported that the Scheme faced a projected deficit of G$713 M for 2014. Ramotar has now suddenly discovered that reform is needed to allow for improvements in the Scheme’s delivery of services and the viability of its investment. Ramotar, a former member of the board of the ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation, has now pledged in his Manifesto Version 2.0, to invest G$20B in the sugar industry. He seems oblivious of the fate of the challenged US$200M Skeldon sugar factory, the legacy of his predecessor Bharrat Jagdeo, which has been an expensive embarrassment for him. Jagdeo, a year before demitting office after serving twelve years as president, had promised ‘personal’ intervention to repair the problem-plagued, Chinesebuilt factory which has underperformed since its commissioning and has also required costly repairs. Ramotar ’s Manifesto Version 2.0, despite the Corporation’s miserable annual performance, makes an incredible commitment to increasing production to

about 400,000 tonnes annually although the industry has struggled even to produce half that amount. Can he be believed? Ramotar boasted that Manifesto Version 2.0 would propel Guyana’s development through “…world class infrastructure that support our industries and businesses and from which revenues are derived to guarantee our people world class education, superior health care, reliable and affordable electricity, water, housing and other social services. It is a Guyana in which our people are united; in which there is greater social and religious tolerance. It is a Guyana governed by the rule of law, and in which every citizen can live secure and safely, free from both internal and external threats; a Guyana where everyone can aspire to be the best that they can be.” Can he be believed? Ramotar continued, airily “...These plans include transforming the University of Guyana into a ‘world-class institution.” Ramotar’s commitment to hold new local government elections and to establish the long-delayed Public Procurement Commission have been heard before. Who will believe him this time? Donald Ramotar is still to learn the lesson that Abraham Lincoln taught the world over a century and a half ago: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”


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MY COLUMN

Madness has gripped the land Elections always bring out a side of people that we do not usually see. People who live as friends continue to live as friends but their conversations are limited because sometimes these friends sit on opposite sides of the fence. There are also the rumours because people feel that they have huge stakes to play for. I have been in the city for most of the campaign and just about everywhere I turn I hear people saying that ‘we got to vote dem out.’ Voting ‘dem out’ simply refers to the ruling party that has been accused of all manner of things under the sun. Early last week, there was the rumour of ballot papers being printed. The location of the printing varied. One person said Public Buildings, another said Freedom House and the rumours just kept flowing. Then there reports of people going around in PPP areas and threatening the residents about vendetta at the end of the elections if the opposition coalition wins. According to those reporting on these threats, the aim is to scare the PPP supporters into voting for the PPP-consolidating as they say. Such has been the persistence that the opposition coalition was forced to issue a statement on this report. Then there are reports of people going

around buying identification cards with the hope that people once devoid of identification cards would not turn up to vote. If there is any truth, I wonder at the sum of money that would keep someone from the polls. The money would disappear long before the elections and the person would be back where he or she started. If the person is so stupid as to know that he or she can vote without an identification card, then so much for voter education. Indeed, the incumbent would want to win these elections more than anything else. For one, the Attorney General has already been commenting on the possibility of the opposition coalition going after private property. There is the view that many of the leaders got property through corrupt means, and if one were to look at their earnings, one would be hard pressed to explain how they could own so much. It is this level of perceived corruption that has turned off so many in Guyana that they do want to see the back of the government. So the Attorney General has already voiced concern. And if indeed there is a change in Government, I would like to see these people explain their immense wealth. There were other reports that were equally embarrassing for the government. I learnt that in

the North West people close to the government went to homes to demand the solar panels distributed some time back. The reason was that these homes had slogans pertaining to the opposition coalition. If a government can be so petty, then it goes to show that in the first instance the solar panels were distributed as a vote-catching measure. And this was the government that took the oath to function in the interest of all. Perhaps oaths are mere words. A Mr La Rose was detained by the police because he failed to recover the solar panels. I did speak to a woman who confirmed that there were approaches to recover the solar panel from her home and from the homes of others. She told me that she and the others refused to turn them over. I am sure that the foreign observers would take note of this, not that it would mean anything, because once the elections are over the report could be damning, but the deed has been done. I remember President Jimmy Carter leaving in anger because the then President Jagdeo told him that there would be no change to the policy of winner takes all. Carter’s fury did nothing for a change in the policy and attitude of the government. Aid was not halted and no sanction was applied. Life

went on as usual since that day in 2004-some ten years ago. One thing about these elections was the impact of social media. Nothing was left hidden. Conversations between Bheri Ramsaran and activist Sherlina Nageer was posted almost as soon as it happened. Comments by politicians on the hustings were no longer secret, although at the start they were intended to be. Young people posted comments about those who were making comments from the other side of the political divide and kept the political debate alive. These young people probably did more than their leaders. And to think that through social media, even people outside Guyana were able to make their input. I saw public servants actively involved in the elections campaign, something that was a no-no prior to 1992. The reason was that the public servant was required to deal impartially with whomever he or she had to serve. That has gone through the window. In one case, according to reports, a Minister shared out house lots like mad ahead of

a rally on the west side, and in another, people wrapped money in campaign jerseys and distributed these to people wherever a rally was to be held. I also saw attempts to disrupt national life. For example, after a rally at Albion, the PPP was transporting its supporters back home when some aboard a truck were injured. Immediately the PPP announced that opposition elements had targeted the truck. None other than Bharrat Jagdeo contended that he was upset that people would claim that the attack did not happen. The truth was that people aboard the truck started fighting and caused injury to some of their colleagues. To this day, there has been no attempt by the ruling party to acknowledge the truth. The Home Affairs Minister, two weeks after the incident, would say that the police

Adam Harris have not reported to him. Poppycock. To believe that all signed a code of conduct to behave on the campaign trail just goes to show how serious people can be about serious issues. I sit and say that perhaps we should realize that people will be people, and that those in power are not prepared to relinquish that power. I expect worse things to happen but more than anything else, I don’t want to see a deterioration in social behaviour.


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APNU+AFC will reform every sector of the economy Presidential Candidate, David Granger “The principal objective of this Manifesto is to lay the foundation for establishing a government of national unity and democratic renewal as our country approaches its 50th anniversary of independence in 2016. APNU and AFC are assured that, in the campaign for the 2015 general and regional elections, the overwhelming majority of Guyanese – young and old, rich and poor, women and men in all ten administrative regions and in the diaspora – want to win. They want to improve their quality of life. They want to remove the oppressive and undemocratic People’s Progressive Party/ Civic from office. APNU and AFC have come together in this democratic coalition because the nation is at breaking point. Guyanese have been fatigued by two decades of fickle promises, fatuous platitudes and failed projects. Our young people demand jobs, not jails and drop-in centres; our women and children demand safe homes not ‘safe-houses’; our fishermen and miners demand protection from pirates and bandits; our paddy farmers and businessmen demand fairness and our hinterland regions demand development not goodies, gifts and grants.” Prime Ministerial Candidate, Moses Nagamootoo “On March 4, at the Media Launch of our 2015 Campaign, I stated that there is need for a new wave in our democracy, to inject life into our decaying political system by taking Guyana along the

road to multi-party, multiethnic, national rule. But of equal importance to political union by APNU+AFC are plans and programmes for investment, growth and development of a new Guyana. This Manifesto outlines these plans and is a composite of what our several parties and civil partners want for Guyana as a stimulant to our mismanaged economy. The aim of your new government is to create jobs, jobs and more jobs in the shortest time possible. Our young people cannot wait “five more years” for jobs for which they could be adequately trained and could get better pay and greater job satisfaction. The political reforms that our new government hopes to put in place would be meaningless without an economic turn-around. So, in some ways, this Manifesto is a new economic recovery package. However, no plan or programme can succeed without two ingredients. These are the broadest participation of our people in the governance processes, and a vision that is realistic and has achievable goals. This is why our Manifesto not only addresses the challenges in the major productive sectors, but also explores potential for a new economy by projecting our vision for economic growth, not for a single term, but to 2030 and beyond.” EXCERPTS Public Finances & Economic Development Since Year 2000 real annual economic growth has averaged less than two percent. The APNU+AFC Coalition

identify the follow-up actions that will render Guyana completely internet-ready in this fast advancing era of high technology.

David Granger

Moses Nagamootoo

recognizes that the achievement of a sustainable industrialization and development programme requires an average annual growth rate of at least seven percent. From a macro perspective, the APNU+AFC government will put in place well structured programmes to encourage citizens to engage in a wider range of small and medium scale enterprises which in turn will create job opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled persons. The structure will ensure that the bulk of revenue generated from economic activities will benefit the populace as a whole.

approach to industrial relations. It is expected that this approach would trigger further reforms in industrial relations in the public service.

The Coalition intends to:· Award a 1o% increase on the total Public Sector Wage, Salaries and Emoluments bill and thereafter consult/negotiate with the respective labour unions on the methods of allocation of increases on the wage scales. This is in keeping with our new

· Re-configure and improve the national planning framework and prepare a long-term National Development Plan with consequential Programmes, based on consultation with key stakeholders. The objective is to take careful and responsible advantage of the vast potential of Guyana’s resources. · Ensure effective management of the dynamic financial sectors of the economy (the foreign exchange rate, foreign currency reserves, inflation, rates of interest, fiscal surplus/deficit and debt management) to allow for expansion of economic and industrial activities, and stimulate higher levels of personal and business savings plus domestic and foreign investments. · Appoint a technically proficient oversight group to accelerate the promotion of Science and Technology (incl. Research and Development) and to establish a framework for development and promotion of new ideas and innovations. · Commission an investigation into ICT development in Guyana and

TAXATION The current system of taxation is highly inequitable and unjust. The PPP/C’s promise to reform the taxation system came to a dramatic halt after the passage of the VAT and Excise tax legislation and the windfall it provided. That party’s pledges to complete the reforms proved to be insincere and the tax burden on citizens remain considerable. The ratio of Guyana’s central government revenue to GDP is the highest in the Caribbean. The APNU+AFC will: · Commission a comprehensive review of current taxation systems and policies, including the valueadded tax, to identify and address the consequences of the current structure including the ‘hardship effects’, and ultimately create incentives that would attract investment in critical sectors. · Implement tax relief measures with five main features: . Consultation . Phased implementation . Equity and justice (interpersonal, cross-regional & sectoral) . Easy implementation . Establishment of a Tax Commission (to ensure stricter enforcement, more efficient administration, broadening the net of coverage and careful review of exemptions). · Reduce the Value Added Tax within the first term · Rationalise the VAT and excise duties on imported motor vehicles and diesel fuel to encourage the use and importation of energy efficient vehicles and equipment, promote fuel efficiency, · Increase the Personal Income Tax threshold to $100,000 in a phased approach · Review the toll for passenger vehicles on the

Berbice Bridge The structure for economic growth would be premised on a number of factors among which are transparency, accountability, allocation efficiency, and compensatory downsizing of currently bloated programmes. The early appointment of the Public Procurement Commission equipped with appropriate institutional capacity will be our first step in this direction. EMPLOYMENT AND GROWTH The most effective way of alleviating poverty is the provision of jobs at living wages and opportunities for self-employment. This will evolve from an integrated employment strategy that prioritises the: · Stimulation of local and foreign investment by providing strategic infrastructure, targeted tax incentives and radically less burdensome bureaucratic procedures · Creation of special funds for disadvantaged communities, and establish/ equip centres of excellence devoted to creating skills for the public and private sectors · Implementation of the self-employment training component of the employment and growth strategy to prepare new entrepreneurs for entry into the modern services sector e.g. computer programming and software development, business process management and medical transcription. · Implementation of a quick-acting, resultsoriented projects for job creation such as an Environment Enhancement Programme (EEP) and a Capital and Infrastructure Rehabilitation Programme (CIRP) for Georgetown and other urban and rural communities . The interlocking challenges of a business environment made poor by restricted access to capital and credit. We intend to explore the initiatives of existing international SME aid agencies which provide financial and technical support, e.g. the G20 Financial Inclusion Initiatives, the SME Finance Challenge, Feed-the-Future Initiative, the EIB’s MicroFinance Fund, and the EUR 100Mn Rural Impulse Fund II. (Go to www.apnuafc.net/ manifesto to download)


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Kaieteur News

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SUNDAY SPECIAL PATRICIA SANASIE EXECUTION…DAUGHTER POSITIVELY IDS MOTHER’S KILLER Three months after she was gunned down in front of her home, investigators are now preparing to charge a man who they are convinced was the killer of business woman Patricia Sanasie. Kaieteur News understands that on Friday police detained a man, Richard Stanton called ‘Ritchie’, who they say is the prime suspect in the woman’s murder that occurred in January this year. The man has since been positively identified by the woman’s daughter, who flew into Guyana Saturday morning for that purpose before flying back to the United States of America a few hours later. The man had been detained shortly after the killing but was released after 72 hours when no one came forward to identify him. At that time, Sanasie’s daughter who was with her in the car when she was murdered had left the country, citing safety concerns. However, this newspaper understands that investigators arranged for the daughter to return briefly to Guyana to identify the suspect who was being constantly monitored. Police had reviewed a number of surveillance tapes but were unable to come up with anything substantial that could have pointed them to the killer initially. It is not too clear how investigators got on to Stanton but a source revealed that his arrest was based on information received by the police. MIN. RAMSARAN’S BEHAVIOUR MIRRORS JAGDEO AND NANDLALL – APNU+AFC …CROSSES EVERY BOUNDARY OF DECENCY The Women and Youth Groups of A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition has added their voices to the many others which have registered utter disapproval of the ‘slap and strip threat’ made recently by Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran. Last Monday, Ramsaran verbally abused and threatened activist Sherlina Nageer because she, from all indications, touched a nerve as she questioned him about his presence on a protest front when the country’s health sector was in crisis. In expressing its disgust

Patricia Sanasie with the Minister’s comments the coalition on Friday said, “Ramsaran’s behaviour crosses every boundary of decency. He has once again demonstrated the crassness and total disrespect for this nation’s women. We are now convinced that this is an entrenched culture within the halls of Freedom House.” The APNU+AFC coalition recalled “countless incidents of similar behaviour by former President Bharrat Jagdeo” and the “utterly vulgar, expletive-laced and condescending descriptions of a young reporter by the incumbent Attorney General, Anil Nandlall… We still cringe when we listen to the recent threats Ramsaran issued to Nageer.” The APNU+AFC described the governing People’s Progressive Party/ Civic as a crew of “foulmouthed, disrespectful, uncultured officials” who have shown Guyanese time and time again that they have abrogated unto themselves the right to mistreat citizens.

”When they link up with the Military and come into your homes and start kicking the doors down and when they come after you, who is going to be there…?” he had questioned. Jagdeo had said that APNU has its entire Executive being dominated by ex-army ranks and officers. As such, “There can be no professionalism as was done in the past.” Those statements were immediately condemned by the top brass of the military, who insisted that its professionalism cannot be compromised and that they are always guided by the Constitution. But Sunday in the face of public condemnation for his remarks, Jagdeo back-pedaled from his statements. In fact, he praised the military at the PPP/C’s rally held in Stewartville, West Coast Demerara. He referred to them as being extremely “professional” and of “great integrity”. The former President told the party’s supporters that he really is at the rally to speak to two groups who were not there.

MONDAYEDITION JAGDEO DOES ABOUT TURN ON MILITARY In a desperate attempt to win the hearts of the military which will be voting next week, former President Bharrat Jagdeo and Presidential Candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) spoke highly about the members of the force Sunday and implored them to support the party which truly has their interest at heart. This is certainly a change in the party’s tune, considering Jagdeo’s remarks at the PPP/C’s rallies in Essequibo and Albion, Berbice. The former President had said that the opposition’s alliance with former military personnel should be feared.

APNU+AFC TO REVIEW AND REDISTRIBUTE RADIOAND TELEVISION LICENCES In what can arguably be described as A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change’s (APNU+AFC) largest crowd turn out to date, the Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara rally saw promises of a coming ‘revolution’ and pledges made to free the state media and ensure fair distribution of radio licences. APNU+AFC Presidential candidate David Granger and Prime Ministerial candidate Moses Nagamootoo, as well as Basil Williams took the stage. Speaking to the large gathering, which saw residents coming from as far as

Richard Stanton Mahaicony in the east and Plaisance in the west, Nagamootoo stated that it was not merely an election campaign, but a “peaceful revolution” that embodied the “hopes, dreams and aspirations of all ancestors, from slavery through indentureship.” He also reminded the coalition’s supporters of the responsibility on their shoulders, to not respond to any provocation that may be directed towards them, stating that such actions stem from efforts to discredit them and show Guyana that they were not ready to take charge. ”But we have to show that we deserve this revolution and we cannot afford to play into the game of those who want to attack us. A revolution in the first place must be to change the old, the corrupt and the negatives that surround us. Therefore we ourselves must lead by example,” he said. TUESDAYEDITION US$40M BRAZIL FIBRE OPTIC CABLE…CONTRACTOR SEEKS INVESTORS TO RECOUPREPAIR COST As part of the arrangements to correct defects with the E-Governance fibre optic cable from Brazil, Government has agreed to allow Faizal ‘Dax’ Mohamed of Dax Engineering, a contractor, use of bandwidth. The government, rather than pay Dax Engineering, will give him a portion of the cable bandwidth. They have also agreed to have the contractor maintain the cable for 25 years. Last week, Office of the President said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed which will see the cable rehabilitated at no cost to the government. The statement said that the

cable was reportedly 20 percent damaged with technical estimates putting rehabilitation at US$28M. The E-Governance project is headed by Alexei Ramotar, and includes not only the fibre optic element but a US$32M, three-component initiative to connect Government facilities along the Linden-Lethem road and the coastland, with internet access. The other two components include a cable from Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, through Georgetown to Moleson Creek, East Berbice, and a data centre with 54 towers that will create a wireless network. The data centre is completed and is located in the compound of Castellani House, Vlissengen Road. It is estimated that the EGovernance project is costing taxpayers in excess of US$40M so far. Monday, Faizal ‘Dax’ Mohamed of Dax Engineering, said that several sections of the Brazil cable strung on poles will be buried underground to minimize possibilities of breakage. Mohamed said that Dax Engineering which signed a contract last month with Government to bring the cable into operation, are also in talks with partners locally and overseas to utilize the bandwidth that will become available. LODGE MAN CHARGED WITH PATRICIA SANASIE’S MURDER Three months after she was gunned down executionstyle in front of her home, police have charged a man with the murder of Patricia Sanasie. Monday, Richard Stanton, 39, also known as ‘Ritchie’, of Princes Street, Lodge was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry charged with the capital of-

fence of murder. Particulars of the charge stated that on January 12, at 129 Atlantic Gardens, East Coast Demerara, he murdered Sanasie. The defendant, who appeared very calm during the brief court hearing, was represented by Attorney Mark Waldron. He was remanded to prison after not being required to plead to the indictable charge. He will make his next court appearance on May 4, at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. Stanton was detained on Friday last and was positively identified by the woman’s daughter, who flew into Guyana on Saturday morning for that purpose before flying back to the United States of America a few hours later. The man was previously detained shortly after the killing but was released after 72 hours when no one came forward to identify him. At that time, Sanasie’s daughter who was with her in the car when she was murdered had left the country, citing safety concerns. WEDNESDAYEDITION GOVT GIFTS US$40M BRAZIL FIBRE OPTIC CABLE TO CONTRACTOR …ALSO GRANTS TAX EXEMPTIONS, INCENTIVES, TAX HOLIDAYS, REMISSIONS, TAX WAIVERS, DUTY FREE CONCESSIONS ON VEHICLES ETC. The US$40 million fibre optic cable from Brazil is no longer to be the property of the taxpayers. Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon, literally gave the cable away when he entered into a contract with a small contractor, Dax Contracting Services Ltd owned by Faisal Mohamed on March 16, last. This same contracting service owned by Mohamed was one of the five contractors hired to lay the cable from Lethem to Georgetown. The cable programme started in 2011 and remains incomplete to this day. It should have been completed by 2013. The contract signed between Luncheon and Faisal Mohamed has been described as the most generous give away package, worse that the Sanata Complex in the run up to the 2011 elections. It also mirrors the giveaway of the radio frequencies in Jagdeo’s last days as president. Kaieteur News exposed the plot to steal the communication sector two years ago. This expose is still on the (Continued on page 49)


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More training key to sustaining local pediatric heart surgeries Rushelle McLean and her 2-year-old daughter Divine

Following surgery, Divine recovered quickly, particularly when compared to other children who developed complications. In fact, Divine took her first steps while in the Dominican Republic. “There were children who didn’t get better as quickly as Divine did; there were children who were bringing up blood and unfortunately a child died,” Rushelle said. “I’m extremely relieved that my daughter is getting to live a normal life.”

By Desilon Daniels From the time a child is born, its parents excitedly begin planning a future; the child will take first steps then, before you know, it is time for nursery school and soon afterwards, primary school. Very few parents imagine that their little miracles will be confined to hospital beds before they can even walk, tubes swirling this way and that from their little bodies. However, for Rushelle McLean, her entry into motherhood had not been straightforward. In November 2013, during a routine checkup at a clinic, an irregularity was noticed in the heart of her first child, oneyear old Divine. Subsequent checkups showed that Divine had developed a congenital heart disease known as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). PDA is a heart problem that occurs soon after birth, particularly in premature babies such as Divine. However, while the disease would sometimes resolve itself, it failed to do so in Divine’s case. Though Rushelle said she received assurances from the doctors that the disease was a relatively common one, she nonetheless did her own research and tried to calm her worries. “I tried not to see it as anything serious. Divine wasn’t showing any signs or symptoms; she seemed healthy and as active as any child her age,” the mother said. Nonetheless, the doctors warned her that her daughter needed emergency surgery overseas and so, less than two months after Divine was diagnosed with PDA, Rushelle and her young daughter boarded a flight to

Dr. Debra Isaac Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. There, Divine was scheduled to be the first child up for surgery due to the seriousness of her condition. However, she was pushed back and instead had to wait for 3 days before she was seen. Rushelle was forced to

CAPACITY BUILDING THROUGH TRAINING Though overseas surgeries such as Divine’s are saving lives daily, these trips are often not the best solution. Over the years, a number of overseas physician teams have made their ways to Guyana to conduct pediatric heart surgeries. However, these missions would only last a few weeks before the doctors leave Guyana, our physicians

“I want to be able to come back here at some point and have the people say, ‘thanks for coming but we really don’t need your help anymore’” - Dr. Debra Isaac keep her daughter fasting before the surgery, only able to sneak small bits of candy to her child to keep the girl’s energy up. “I tried not to panic and I just thought that I had nothing to worry about,” Rushelle said. “I was scared a bit because in Guyana I was told that it’s just PDA but when we got over there I’m hearing it’s more than that.” Despite the difficulties experienced in the foreign country, Rushelle is grateful that her daughter is now not only alive but healthy.

unable to replicate their expertise. Oftentimes, parents are forced to seek assistance abroad but the situation is complicated by a number of factors including high expenses and social disassociation. Dr. Debra Isaac of the Guyana Pediatric Cardiology Steering Committee and the Georgetown Public Hospital’s (GPH) Heart Failure Clinic emphasised that Guyana must look to building capacity, not only to save time and money but also to develop a legacy

for the country. Currently, a mission team from the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF), commonly known as the Baby Heart Foundation, is in Guyana for a few weeks to complete pediatric heart surgeries. Isaac, who is working along with the foundation, admitted that she was initially skeptical when she heard of the proposed surgeries. “I thought, ‘that’s not the way to do things; people just dropping in. How are we supposed to maintain that?’” She said that, after inquiries, she learnt that ICHF is not only coming to Guyana to conduct surgeries but will also be working along with local physicians to provide something sustainable over the long term. She emphasised that capacity building was key. She further said that though many children are identified with heart diseases, there are many more who are not being sent for diagnosis or who lack access. Isaac added that these children suffer when they are not diagnosed or screened, or when their heart conditions are not recognised. “When I first came here to

teach echocardiography and teach local physicians how to diagnose heart disease with ultrasound, it was through that that I recognised the great burden of pediatric or childhood heart diseases here. When we were identifying those, we also identified the lack of access to care and the lack of access to good diagnosis for these children. So now we’re able to diagnose them, but we’re not able to manage them.” In Rushelle’s case, she was not only fortunate enough to have her daughter’s condition diagnosed early but also to have surgery 2 months after diagnosis. However, many others are not as fortunate and wait long periods before their children can receive surgical intervention. “There were some children over the years that were sent to India and other places for surgery. The problem with that is that they happen to be at the right place at the right time and their physician wrote a letter to the right person at the right time and they ended up getting sent for surgery. They may or may not be the ones who

most needed it,” Isaac said. In fact, she said, in many cases the children are misdiagnosed in Guyana and receive no expert follow-up on their return here. Isaac, who in almost 4 years has made 19 trips to Guyana, said she is working along with the Ministry of Health to provide screening for local babies to identify if they have heart diseases. If they are identified with possibly having heart diseases, they will be sent to GPH where there is a certified pediatric ultrasound programme. From there, the Pediatric Cardiology Committee will meet with these children, triage them to Isaac and organise surgery. Furthermore, Isaac said 7 physicians have been trained so far and a fourth echocardiography programme for 8 weeks will commence soon. Isaac said she is also working on having local physicians trained in Canada to build sustainability. “I want to be able to come back here at some point and have the people say, ‘thanks for coming but we really don’t need your help anymore,’” Isaac said.

Youth, unemployment... From page 22 newer Antigua and Barbuda CIP which required minor fine tuning but no major overhaul. The Antigua and Barbuda government is also implementing the recommendations of the IPSA, including investing in modern computerisation techniques that would enhance the management of the programme and the high level of investigation required for its integrity. The point of all this is to create incomes for small countries that require investment to develop their physical infrastructure, improve the knowledge base and managerial know-how of their people, and create new industries that would allow them to provide jobs for their people and participate competitively in the

international community. Both the present governments of Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts-Nevis have committed themselves fully to ensuring that the interests of countries such as Britain, Canada and the United States are not compromised by the CIPs. Given such a commitment, the urgent need to address youth unemployment, and as long term partners with many links to these three more powerful countries, Caribbean small states deserve co-operation. (The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London University) Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com


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Impactful educator, Paulette Ragobeer, is a Special Person By Sharmain Grainger For those who barely know her, Paulette Ragobeer, is a soft spoken lady who currently earns her living as a Biology lecturer at the University of Guyana (UG). However, the many who can profess to know this woman would readily tell you, that not only is she is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the delivery of education, but they might even describe her as the type of human being who never surrenders; not even in the face of the most daunting of challenges. But there is a method to her endurance which you will learn of in this concise but very informative chronicle of her life which focuses mainly on her decades of educating students in different places and at varying levels. Paulette Elene Yaw of Beterverwagting East Coast of Demerara was born on March 21, 1957, to parents, Louis and Ena Yaw. She is the third of eight siblings. Her education was first at the Beterverwagting Government School and then the St Mary Virgin Anglican School. At the latter institution she was able to sit the school leaving examination which gained her a place at The Bishops’ High School. After spending seven years at high school where she excelled, particularly in the sciences, the young Paulette graduated in 1975 and immediately landed a job at a prestigious bank – the then Royal Bank of Canada. Although she would have ideally preferred to further her studies at a university on completion of high school, that just wasn’t possible since the sizeable Yaw family simply couldn’t afford it at the time. Her father was a postmaster and her mother a homemaker, and while there was enough money to cater to the family’s necessities there wasn’t too much extra. This therefore meant that Paulette had to find the finances to advance herself academically. The bank job was therefore ideal for her since she believed then that a job in banking was far more lucrative than working in the other sectors. “I thought that I could even help support the home and also save some money so that I can study later. I was looking at the financial aspect,” she related during an interview with this publication. But according to her, duties that saw her attending

Getting ready to administer an examination to her Biology students at UG

A portrait taken during her younger days

Department and later entering data in the Current Accounts Department was not all that exciting. “I was bored! The reason I was bored in banking is because it didn’t allow me to process information in a way that I liked. It didn’t afford me the challenges that

Ragobeer recounted that she opted to leave the banking system altogether but made it clear that “I am not saying that banking does not involve any kind of thinking, nor am I saying that banking is not challenging, but for me it did not provide enough of a

“”Working with students is very rewarding not because you can see their end result but you are learning too. They teach you so much, so you can keep learning all the time too…That is what is so fascinating about teaching.” I thrive on…I was basically doing the same thing every day and even though you got to meet people every day, it just was not challenging enough for me,” she recounted. One year later

challenge. I stayed at the bank for one year and it was like one year too long.” Her desire even as a young girl was to be involved in a field that allowed her to use her creative abilities. In

fact she was desperate for something that would give her the freedom to “think outside of the box.” Some might say it was her destiny but it wasn’t too long after resigning from the banking sector that she became enthralled with the teaching profession and was soon applying to become a teacher herself. Her first teaching assignment was at the Bladen Hall, East Coast Demerara, and Multilateral School. She was just a girl of 19 but even then was sure that teaching was the way to go. “I loved it. I taught Science - Chemistry, some Integrated Science and I think biology too but I loved it,” said Ragobeer of her early teaching days. With a smirk on her face she offered “I guess that is what I am wired

for.” But it was no small task to teach at a school that wasn’t remotely among the top performing schools of the country. An advantage however was the fact that the school’s laboratory was well equipped allowing for easy facilitation of experiments, Ragobeer disclosed. And so she was only too willing to share her knowledge with her students, especially those who to most people didn’t stand a chance of getting good grades. “I liked working with them because it gave me the opportunity to show them that this is not so difficult…We can take it a little piece at a time, a little step at the time,” was the assurance Ragobeer offered her students as she worked for hours on end with them. In fact, long before the extra lessons, after school, frenzy started, Ragobeer had implemented a similar tactic, except her sessions were at no financial cost to her

A photo opportunity with outstanding students and the Faculty of the New Guyana School

students. It was simply a teacher wanting to see her students eventually come to understand a concept before the day was through. “You could say I was giving them extra lessons for free because I wanted to see them excel; I wanted to see them reach their potential,” said Ragobeer. This was in spite of the fact that the school, at that time, didn’t enroll too many children with the potential of being high achievers. Her goal moreover was to ensure that her students learnt what was being taught. “I literally poured my life into those students…” reflected Ragobeer. But her contributions were not only on the academic front alone. She was also instrumental in bringing life to the school’s Bible Club which she saw as a means of helping to mould her students into better individuals. Although this too was a challenge to realise, Ragobeer noted that it was (Continued on page 34)


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Impactful educator, Paulette Ragobeer, is a Special... From page 33 eventually rewarding as she was able to see students leave school with some level of stability and direction. This, according to the satisfied educator, meant that students were being catered to on an academic as well as spiritual level. “I was able to bridge those two together and help them (students) to understand that if you work hard God will help you and you can do just as well as the students from the more recognized High Schools.” She also encouraged her students, “not to feel that because you are here (Bladen Hall) it is a death sentence or because you didn’t make it to Bishops or QC (Queen’s College) you are not good enough….” The end result was what any teacher worth his or her salt would expect. Many of Ragobeer’s students went on to not only perform outstandingly at local examinations but even further afield. She just last week ran into one of her students who has done exceptionally well in the field of nursing overseas. As she reminisced on the three years of her teaching life at the Bladen Hall School, she believes that the outcome

realized was directly linked to the fact that her intentions were always focused on empowering her students. This was in light of the fact, she observed, that there weren’t too many career opportunities, outside of farming in the East Coast Demerara locale, that her students could have easily delved into after completing their schooling. So keen was Ragobeer on empowering her students that she even took one of them, whose mother could barely cater to her learning needs, into her (Ragobeer’s) home just so that that student could have the quality of life that enabled her to study and eventually excel. “I saw my role as one where I was helping my students to be all they can be…it was about them achieving and moving on from there and using their high school experience as a springboard,” explained the educator as she made clear that “a teacher’s role should always be to prepare students for the rest of their lives.” And it was while preparing her students for the future that she met and married the love of her life, Lloyd Ragobeer, a fellow

In the company of her colleagues at the Rockwall Christian Academy in Texas teacher at the very Bladen Hall School. Their union, which ended tragically when he died just over two decades ago, produced three children.

According to her, coping with his husband’s death and having to raise three small children on her own could have been a breaking point in her life. However her belief in the Creator and her National Service training helped keep her very much intact. She was convinced that regardless of the circumstances faced she had the ability to do whatever she put her mind to. “When I look back at National Service I can see where it built grit in my life so that when I left I was filled with the thinking that there is nothing that is too hard for me to do. That was very beneficial to me particularly after my husband died…” she confided. At the time of her husband’s death, she and her family were residing in Jamaica where both she and husband taught at the Covent of Mercy School. Not willing to fall apart and deprive her children of a deserving future, she migrated to the United States where she lived and taught at the Rockwall Christian Academy in Texas. She is convinced that putting her faith in the Creator allowed for everything in her life to fall ideally into place.

So there was no resisting the overwhelming feeling that overcame her to return to her homeland after four years of teaching in Texas. There was no simple way to explain to her colleagues there her decision, as according to Ragobeer, things were going absolutely well for her and her children. “I just knew that my season there had come to an end and I had to come home,” she recalled. Although teaching was the only profession she knew, Ragobeer had no idea what she was going to do upon her return. She was even chided by some of her close associates for returning to a country that has a rather high migration rate, especially of skilled and experienced people. And she certainly was skilled and very experienced. Even before her move to Jamaica back in 1991 she had read for a Bachelor ’s of Science Degree in Biology at UG and had even gone on to complete a Master’s Degree too among other programmes. For a period too she also offered her services at UG organizing courses through the then Institute of

Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) programme. She also spent a stint in the Faculty of Health Sciences teaching Anatomy and Physiology. However, while she currently serves as a lecturer in the Faculty of Natural Sciences this did not materialize until a few years after her return from Texas. But although she hadn’t a plan upon her return in 1998 she was confident enough that the Creator would carefully lead her every move. And indeed when she least expected it she was invited to further utilize her teaching qualities at the New Guyana School where the position of Vice Principal was miraculously created for her. After a few successful years there she moved on to the Nehemiah Comprehensive School in Queenstown as Head Teacher there where she was no less impacting. It was however just over four years ago she couldn’t deny her calling to return to UG. “Working with students is very rewarding not because you can see their end result but you are learning too. They teach you so much, so you can keep learning all the time too…That is what is so fascinating about teaching,” said Ragobeer. Currently this very accomplished teacher at the age of 58 is still in the learning process herself reading for a doctorate in Transformational Leadership which she believes can equip her with the skills to further help young people under her tutelage “become all they can be.”


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Unanswered questions regarding the controversial Lethem to Georgetown terrestrial fibre optic cable Viewpoint by Mike Singh The recent detailed and most insightful reports emanating from none less than the Kaieteur News as it relates to the controversial Government of Guyana’s terrestrial fibre optic cable that purportedly runs from the border town of Lethem to Georgetown is definitely one for the history books. The most recent revelation is that this undertaking is part of a larger US $100 million ICT project that includes a Long Term Evolution Network (LTE) under the ambit of something that parades itself as “EGovernance”. This project is anything other than E-Governance because according to the industry best practices – the application of such a programme is geared towards the corrupt free delivery of basic state services to businesses, consumers, state

employees and even government to government. Therein lies the conundrum is this project above board, beyond reproach and can its principal architects seriously withstand professional scrutiny devoid of politics. The answer is a resounding NO! The hard questions that one begs to ask of the relevant authorities and their various underlings that have been assigned dubious roles in this ambitious but misguided undertaking are as follow: (A) Which state entity is really the one that owns this project? (B) Is it a public-private partnership as there have been many names from a number of well known local private sector entities aligned with the regime of the day that are linked to this nebulous undertaking? (C) Which company was assigned the main contract to design, deploy and maintain

this huge undertaking? There is the involvement of such Chinese state owned enterprises as Huawei and Datang - both with extremely close ties to the Chinese state intelligence agencies and the military? In fact, Huawei has been effectively barred from participating in any national telecoms projects in the US, Australia and India by their respective national governments on sensitive national security grounds. (D) In the award of this contract to Huawei and others – why was there no open tender according to standard international best practices so other respected players in the global ICT sector such as AlcatelLucent, Nokia Networks, Ericsson or Infinera could have participated, and in so doing the people of Guyana would have had the best bang for their buck so to speak? Something of this cost and magnitude always will be subjected to competitive,

international tendering procedures. (E) Could it be that they will not be entertained in such a transaction because they would have refused to be party to kickbacks which will be a gross violation of both the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (USFCPA) and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions as they are all based in OECD member states? (F) What professional qualifications, prior experience or global best practice standards or certifications do any of the local contractors such as Dax Engineering, Bovells or Dynamic Engineering

possess to have made them suitable to installing the now still-born terrestrial fibre? Were they simply given the contracts to undertake the work because in essence these companies are the fronts for the regime’s largesse of tax dollars to those enrolled in their ‘Friend’s & Family Programme’? (G) The Data Centre aspect of the overall ICT Project was never defined as to whether it is a Tier 1,2,3, 4 or5 as these are global standards by which any data centre would have been professionally designed, developed and maintained. Was this basic formulae ever adhered to? (H) Could the learned Dr. Luncheon do the nation

an immense favour in clarifying whether or not the TIA-942 Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers or the IEEE’s basic standards for data centres ever considered as a sound base point in the conceptualisation of such an expensive undertaking with scarce tax dollars? (I) It is almost next to impossible to construct a terrestrial fibre-optic cable along a non all-weather road and especially in the dense tropical rainforest where the Lethem trail basically gets washed away and constantly changes direction due to constant erosion thanks to downward grading. The cable will probably need to be buried no less than (Continued on page 45)


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Unanswered questions regarding the controversial... From page 35 6 feet and which is obviously not the case in the current situation as alarmingly there are photos and reports of the cable having been strung along the rainforest canopy which is unbelievable to say the very least. (J) In the US and other developed societies – no self respecting contractor such as Bechtel or Peter Kiewit will ever likely agree to be paid with ‘fibre pairs’ for any civil engineering work they would have undertaken for any of the major carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, TMobile etc. (K) The economic sustainability of such a cable was never a seriously considered because the existing Suriname-Guyana Submarine Cable System (SGSCS) Network has more than sufficient capacity to satisfy the existing to medium terms demands with the potential for STM upgrades if need be. The logical thing would have been to engage with the incumbent GT&T with a view to engaging in a long-term IRU with same. Besides, there is also the older Americas II cable which has existing capacity as the world knows. (L) There is also talk about the possibility of two

new cables to be landed in Guyana by E-Networks and Digicel. Can the local telecoms sector really support four subsea/ terrestrial cables in a market of less than a million? This will lead to price war, asset erosion and the ultimate collapse of at least two such investments because the numbers are simply not there to make any economic sense. Did any thought on this matter went in the decision to invest in the Lethem-Georgetown Terrestrial Fibre Optic Cable? The best place to locate a data centre now or in the foreseeable future will be in the higher plains of the Essequibo River and specifically moreso at Isika located just three miles from the Parika public road as there is already world class infrastructure in place, lots of land and where all future cable landings can take place at a professionally developed, carrier neutral facility. Clearly, this entire project was developed with very little professional input or any at all and for all intensive purposes has been used as state sponsored mechanism geared towards solely to ripping off the poor, overburdened, marginalised tax payer.

Amidst it all, anyone that questions the criminal mindset of those in high office would simply be singled out for political harassment by various state agencies. In most civilised societies there would have been a full scale public inquiry and prosecution of those that have committed such acts of fraud, embezzlement and other acts of corruption in public office but in Guyana – there are no independent investigative services including the police or the judicial system. The nation will like to have a straightforward and honest answer from President Ramotar as to the current tax status of Dax Engineering from the period of 2010 to present and by what means the principal of Dax Engineering graduated from being a firewood vendor to a saw mill owner and now to being a telecoms tycoon. Dax Engineering is a ‘paper tiger’ for all intensive purposes. We demand absolute and total transparency in this matter because it is not a PPP, PNC, WPA or AFC matter but a national matter because it involves the Guyanese tax payer. ABOUT THEAUTHOR: MIKE SINGH

Guyana, Planet Earth - cursed... From page 38 exploding or imploding under the burden of the former. I know some will see this as an escape from reality, from materialistic pursuit and the daily struggle for survival - an impractical indulgence which they cannot afford. Not so for me. I know firsthand the afflictions of poverty, frustration and stress, but I also know the escape routes. I ride a little red scooter, which takes me from East Ruimveldt into downtown GT, and often into heart-pounding stress and road fatigue, and I have the bruises to show for it; I mean literally. I was involved, (or rather involved myself) in three accidents over the past year, the most recent being one night two weeks ago when one of Man's best friends crossed Mandela Avenue in front of me then had a change of heart, made an abrupt U-turn, and cannoned into me and my bike. I lay sprawled on the street for a few seconds with traffic whizzing by, and only in retrospect realized how differently it could have turned out. I was lucky? Big up to my God and my guardian angels! Others elsewhere are not so fortunate. During the first four months of 2015, there have been numerous disasters, natural and man-made, around the world that should give us pause, and elicit from

us thoughts and prayers of gratitude. Some make the local news; others don't. We know about the Germanwings airline disaster that killed 150 people, the migrant boat catastrophe in which 800 perished, the Nepal earthquake that has resulted in over 6,000 deaths, so far, and the apprehension gripping Chileans as a volcano spews millions of tons of ash into the atmosphere. Several other tragedies and disruptions do not make the news locally, or barely so. Who remembers the dozens of climbers killed or missing in the Mt. Everest avalanche that accompanied the Nepal quake, or the 124 who perished in a similar tragedy in Afghanistan two months earlier? Who recalls that 16 persons were killed by Cyclone Pam which devastated the tiny South Pacific nation of Vanuatu in March with winds peaking at over 300 km/h? And thousands of children, most of them under the age of five, die every day from preventable diseases in some of the world's poorest countries. So I ponder these things, and in the middle of a stress fest I ride my motor cycle to the seawall, or the national park, or the botanical gardens, and for maybe half an hour, immerse myself in solitude and tranquility. Vistas of greenery,

expanses of ocean and the sounds of nature do it for me. At home I turn to the internet for the kind of music and video clips that elicit similar feelings of quietude. I look at images of pastoral life in Guyana, and those that showcase the pristine allurement of our hinterland. Kaieteur and Orinduik, Roraima and Ayanganna, Wauna, Karanambu, and Iwokrama are more than exotic names and locations to me. They are portals which open up a world of elemental beauty, right here in Guyana. When this happens, I am reacquainted with the balance of life. I also reassure myself that even though I live in a problem-plagued country like Guyana, I can divorce its human ugliness from its natural grandeur when I want to. For me it's a life-prolonging skill. It is something that helps me refocus on my place in the universe, and reaffirm my faith in a providence which does not stem from human effort, but embraces it. Because when you imagine Planet Earth as one spherical speck among innumerable others suspended in boundless space, then you have to feel a tug on the heartstrings which hold us together as earthbound kith and kin. Blessed or cursed, my home is Guyana, on Planet Earth, and I cherish both.

Mike Singh is a globally respected telecoms consultant and an investor in the Indus Americas Subsea Cable System (BRICS Cable) which is expected to solve the bandwidth constraints faced by the emerging markets of the Southern Hemisphere via the linkage of Asia, the Middle East, Africa & the Americas. He has been in the global telecoms & ICT Sector for 20 years and has worked with such global titans as AT&T, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications and XO Communications. He also spent time in Afghanistan on special assignment to Afghan Wireless – the leading mobile operator therein. He is well recognized for his wide ranging consultancy services to a growing number of global powerhouses on both the operator and vendor sides of the convergent communication sector with a specialized focus on DWDM, GPON, 4G/LTE, Wi Max, VoIP, IPTv, NFC, Mobile Commerce,

Mobile Health, M2M, IoT, SDN, CDN, NFV, OTT, Cloud Computing, Managed Network Services and Unified Communications as well as a number of related next generation solutions in an increasingly ubiquitous world. In addition, he is a visiting fellow at the world reknowned Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, The SP Jain Graduate School of Business (Dubai) and the University of the Western Cape (South Africa). He also serves as the Chairman of the IPv6 Council for Latin America & the Caribbean, The Steering Committee for the BRICS Cable Consortium, The Advisory Board of The Smart Cities Council and the Global Advisory Board of “Start-Up Village India” based in Kerala, India. Start Up Village is India’s Silicon Valley and is the nerve centre of India’s ICT R&D. He is also a globally

recognised thought leader and a regular presenter on issues of relevance to the global ICT sector with a special focus on mobileconvergent communications growth in the emerging markets of Latin America & the Caribbean, Africa & Asia. To date his global speaking engagements have taken him afar as The UAE, Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, France, Spain, Germany and of course throughout the Caribbean Basin. In 2008 and 2010 he was the only invitee from the Caribbean Basin to have participated in and also addressed the prestigious FORTUNE GLOBAL FORUM held in Delhi, India and Cape Town, South Africa respectively.


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PRESIDENT RAMOTAR SHOULD DEMAND MINISTER BHERI RAMSARAN’S RESIGNATION DEAR EDITOR, Bharrat Jagdeo has not only rammed both of his feet into his mouth at the PPP rally at Albion last Sunday, he also rammed his tongue down his throat at his Freedom House press conference when he said that he did not physically abuse his common-law wife and former first lady, Varshine Singh at State House for eight years. First of all, Jagdeo should be ashamed in that it took him six years to respond to his wife accusations of the abuse and the trauma she went through at State House. Second, for him to tell the nation that the only time he committed physical violence against women was at age ten when he fought his sisters is deceptive. Also, he has always portrayed himself to be the victim when in fact, he is the initiator of all his evil and vindictive wrong doings too numerous to mention. It should be made clear that no one has ever accused Jagdeo of physically abusing his wife and he knows that. It is the former first lady,

Varshine Singh who said that Jagdeo used high-tech domestic violence against her for eight years by locking her out of their marital bedroom at State House only after a week of their marriage, by refusing to support her and by using his power as president to sabotage every project she under took. Plain and simple, this type of devious behavior is what experts characterized as mental abuse, which is some cases is just as bad or as worse than physical abuse. Jagdeo has not only verbally and mentally abused his wife, but he also lied to the nation for almost a decade that he was married when he was not. And during their divorce proceedings, he lied to the court that he was poor and cannot meet the demands of financial support for his wife, but shortly after the divorce, he built a mansion. And Guyanese do not believe Jagdeo when he said that he condemned the actions of the Minister of

Health, Bheri Ramsarran for threatening physical violence against Sherlinga Nageer for exercising her democratic rights. Rather than addressing the issues raised by Ms. Nageer, Minister Bheri Ramsaran has chosen to verbally attack her and to physical strip her naked as well. He has learned well from Jagdeo who has set a very low bench mark for the way women should be treated in Guyana. If Jagdeo is honest and is so concerned about the Minister’s vulgar and abusive behavior against Ms. Nageer,

then he should ask Ramotar to demand his resignation. Neither Jagdeo nor Ms. Harper who also condemned the Minister’s disgraceful and vulgar behavior against Ms. Nageer would have demanded his resignation, because it is in the DNA of the PPP leaders to constantly abuse, mistreat and degrade women. And they will only apologize when they are caught on tape or video as was the case of the taped conversations between Anil Nandalall and Kaieteur News reporter, Leonard Kildarie. In the case of Ms. Nageer, an apology by the

Minister is not enough, he should definitely resign. The only reason Jagdeo condemned the minister’s behavior is because of the election campaign and they wanted the women’s votes. Had it not been for the current election campaign, Jagdeo, Ramotar and the entire Freedom House gang, including the female leaders would have praised Minister Bheri Ramsaran for his unrighteous behavior. Clearly, the President has made a terrible mistake by reprimanding and not getting rid of the Minister and for putting Jagdeo as the front

man in the campaign but they have no choice, because it is Jagdeo and not Ramotar who is running the country. Jagdeo’s racist and fear mongering statements and character assassinations are part of his DNA and so is his poor leadership. He is an oppressor who does not have the moral fortitude to defend the rights of women. Now they are making another grave mistake by not demanding the resignation of the vulgar and abusive Bheri Ramsaran. Dr. Asquith Rose, Chandra Deolall and Dr. Merle Spencer-Marks.

A response to Freddie Kissoon’s take on the impending presidential term limits ruling DEAR EDITOR, In your Sunday, April 19 edition, columnist and writer Freddie Kissoon intimated that he has no confidence in the impartially of Chief Justice Ian Chang (CJ) considering

prior rulings the Chief Justice made some of which appeared to be neither here nor there, the resulting ambiguity resulting in continued illegalities some may argue. I agree with Mr. Kissoon’s general thesis. However, there are a few other contextual elements which must be highlighted for us to get a clearer picture as to why it is more than likely the CJ will pronounce on the constitutionality of term limits in a way that creates ambiguity, vagueness and thus creating a scenario that could ultimately lead to the reinstallation of former President Bharrat Jagdeo. I therefore take Freddie’s observations further and project that the impending ruling will create the opportunity for Bharrat Jagdeo to be reinstalled as President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Some have been arguing that he will be a Vice President, then replace either Donald Ramotar or Elizabeth Harper as President or Prime Minister, but this I believe is too obvious. Editor, what follows is a list of contextual elements which not only makes it clearer for all to see how this is playing out but highlights the implications and

seriousness of the upcoming CJ ruling; Freddie may be correct in his projections after all. Here goes: (1) the timing of the challenge – why now, why not three or more years prior, what about between 2011 elections to the dissolution of Parliament? (2) Bharrat Jagdeo is listed as President of Guyana on the Revised List of Electors, his address is list as State House – you mean to tell me in three plus years he didn’t change his address to reflect his current place of abode? Similarly, the former President’s name is also on the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) list of candidates. (3) Bharrat Jagdeo has been the PPP’s chief spokesperson and attack dog during the election campaigning, he was not as visible, verbally abusive and divisive during the 2011 campaigns. Clearly he understands that the PPP is losing much support in Guyana and abroad, he also understands that should the PPP Government be removed from office, he and many Government officials and questionable associates may be subject to criminal investigations. (4) The PPP Government has been attempting to question the

integrity of GECOM’s preparation and capacity to host the upcoming national and regional elections. It has been one flimsy excuse after another, it is not hard to see that apart from the divisive rhetoric of the former President and other PPP campaign voices that part of the thinking is to create an atmosphere of fear within the citizenry and doubt about the integrity of the electoral process and results. I believe these efforts will continue until the Election Day. One hopes that the over 2,200 polling stations are properly secured and citizens are protected from attempts to disenfranchise them come Elections Day. Doing this presents an opportunity to challenge the both the process and results, thereby delaying any pronouncement. Finally, the PPP Government believes in zero sum politics, no room for meaningful negotiations. The main concern is a majority in Parliament so once again they and Bharrat Jagdeo can have their way with the resources and treasury of this country. Add the foregoing to the recent patterns of rulings by the CJ either directly or indirectly in favour of the PPP Government and the puzzle becomes clearer. The recent ruling to withhold spending of InterAmerican Development Bank is merely a bone he has thrown to the Opposition, an attempt for the CJ to show that he is not always on the side of Government. The intent of course is to foster complacency within the Coalition camp. Concerned citizen


Sunday May 03, 2015

(From page 31) Kaieteur News website as the ‘Media and Telecommunication heist of Guyana’. The agreement between the government and Faisal Mohamed is for the repair, use and maintenance of the fibre optic cable from Brazil. This agreement is for an initial 25 years with an option to extend it for a further 15 years. It says that the government will provide Mohamed with the necessary support to receive and transmit data by way of the cable after granting the company an operating licence. BAI SHAN LIN USES GUYANESE TOACQUIRE LARGE CONCESSION There is evidence that months before becoming a naturalized Guyanese, Chu Hongbo, the principal in Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc., had a Guyanese holding almost 700,000 hectares of state lands for him. The forested lands were immediately transferred to Chu and Bai Shan Lin’s control after the Chinese investor received his Guyanese citizenship last year. The transaction has raised several questions, one of which is why concerns were not triggered by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) that a Guyanese who is not a known logger, could be given control of such a large swath of forest as well as the legality of it being transferred later to Chu. After Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian operation which has 1.6 million hectares, Bai Shan Lin is the third largest holder of state land that has been allocated for forestry activities. The company reportedly also has a significant foothold in the Mining sector. Bai Shan Lin’s activities in logging and mining have been under the microscope for over a year now after indications that the company was responsible for exporting large amounts of logs. In January, GFC which monitors the forestry sector disclosed that the company only has “legal access” to 627,072 hectares instead of over one million hectares that was being reported. These include 344,849 hectares as State Forest Exploratory Permits (SFEP’s). Bai Shan Lin also controls 274,053 hectares of Timber Sales Agreement -Joint Venture Agreements and 8,170 hectares of State Forest Permissions. Government has been on the defensive over Bai Shan Lin which was supposed to put down factories for plywood and other value-added

Kaieteur News

wood products. These are yet to become operational. THURSDAY EDITION CONTROVERSY OVER BRAZIL FIBRE OPTIC CABLE COST…COMPANIES QUOTE US$30 MILLION TO FIX US$5 MILLION CABLE PROJECT – LUNCHEON Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, condemned in harsh terms, recent articles carried by Kaieteur News (KN) and Stabroek News (SN) on the Brazil to Guyana fibre optic cable project and Government’s latest “sweetheart” deal with a construction company to revitalize the cable. At his press conference which was hosted at the Office of the President, Wednesday, Dr. Luncheon said that he hesitated to respond to the “outrageous and scandalous” reporting by KN and SN over recent times, particularly since the start of the week, concerning the government controlled projects in the ICT sector. He said that of concern to government is the depth to which the two privately owned newspapers have “descended in efforts to discredit” the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C). The Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that what both of the entities reported over the last few days on the fibre optic cable project are not only erroneous but can be contradicted by stories which were done in earlier times on the said project, by both media houses. His first bone of contention was a headline carried in Wednesday’s issue of this newspaper, “Gov’t. gifts US$40M Brazil fibre optic cable to contractor.” He said that this contradicted statements in an earlier interview Kaieteur News conducted with the Head of the E-Governance Project, Alexei Ramotar. He said that Ramotar had said that only US$4.5M was expended for the procurement and laying of the cable from Brazil to Guyana. However, companies that were asked by the government for quotations to repair the US$5 million damaged cable quoted prices as low as US$20 million and as much as US$30 million, according to Luncheon. BAI SHAN LIN DELAYS US$70M WOOD PROCESSING FACTORY FOR GOLD, HOUSING, LOGGING – NO EVIDENCE COMPANY SIGNED INVESTMENT AGREEMENT Bai Shan Lin was reportedly approved US$70M to invest

Bai Shan Lin trucks with logs in Region One. in a wood processing plant just off the Linden area. Instead it diverted the money to logging, gold and housing activities. Bai Shan Lin which has several operations across the country, has been attracting attention not only because of its large logging operations but also the manner in which it acquired hundreds of thousands of hectares of state lands it now controls. The delay in the wood processing plant has been questioned by critics and Opposition alike who say that the absence of an investment proposal has only worsened matters. The US$70M was reportedly used to gain control of logging and mining lands. Bai Shan Lin was leased a large area off Linden by the National Industrial and Commercial investment Limited (NICIL) for the proposed processing facility and for which it is paying a significant monthly rent on. Guyana has been pushing for more value-added operations in the forestry sector but there is little evidence of how serious it is when it comes to monitoring Bai Shan Lin’s commitments and deadlines to make it happen. With Bai Shan Lin expanding operations rapidly in recent years, there was a noticeable increase in forest products’ exports. Last year, it was reportedly more than 20 percent. And it is believed that log exports were mainly responsible. The company came under the spotlight last year when Kaieteur News published photographs showing huge piles of logs in the Kwakwani, Berbice area ready for export.

cluded its E-Governance and fibre optic cable from Brazil and the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) projects. According to the budget estimates for the period, the funding was a mixture of loans and grants from China and India and financing from taxpayers. In 2010, the ICT projects kicked into gear, with $1.6B earmarked for the running of the Brazillinked fibre optic cable from Lethem, Region Nine. That amount was also for the construction of a central data centre for the E-Governance project at Castellani House, Georgetown, and construction of wireless and terrestrial network from Moleson Creek to Anna Regina. That year, Government said that $6.5B was coming from China and $1B from India. Guyana would have been putting in $1.2B. In 2011, the budget started to cater for the OLPF, under which Government promised to distribute 90,000 laptops to poor families as part of the ICT programme. $4.34B was budgeted that year. In 2012, the Government allocations went up to $6.75B and also included the procurement of software, equipment, vehicles and materials. The 2013 budget figures saw Government allocating $4.58B for the ICT project. By then, the data centre had already been built at Castellani House, so it was only the OLPF and the installation of the wireless network from Moleson Creek to Anna Regina that was left. There was no mention of financing that year, or in 2014, of the Brazil fibre optic cable. Last year, some $3.4B was allocated to the network system on the coast, the OLPF and the purchase of equipment.

FRIDAYEDITION CONTRACTOR GETS EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO US$100M ICT PROJECT

GIFTING FIBRE OPTIC CABLE REMINISCENT OF RADIO FREQUENCIES GIVEAWAY– GREENIDGE

Over a five-year period, between 2010 and 2014, Government budgeted $20B (US$100M) for its Information Communication Technology (ICT) programme that in-

A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) point man on finance, Carl Greenidge, and financial analyst, Ramon Gaskin, have blasted the

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Government’s “sweetheart” deal with Dax Contracting Services. He described the transaction as evidence of the government’s many questionable transactions and disregard for the rights of the general public to access of information. According to the contract, Dax Contracting Services has sole rights to the repair, use and maintenance of the fibre optic cable, for an initial 25 years, with an option to extend it for a further 15 years. Dax Contracting will also have access to and use of all structural components of the fibre optic project, including road access, access to poles and repeater stations. In the contract, Dax will also enjoy uncapped benefits from the state such as tax exemptions, tax holidays, duty free concessions on tools, equipment and vehicles. Greenidge, a former Minister of Finance, strongly condemned the deal, stating that the government should not be engaged in signing any long term contracts, in the run up to general and regional elections. This, he stated, is the rule in any democratic country. He also compared it to the radio licences giveaway before the 2011 General and Regional elections. “This Government believes it is not bound by rules. These are things they do in spite of the law for the benefit of a select few.” SATURDAY EDITION ARCHITECTS OFAGREEMENT BETWEEN GOVT AND DAX SHOULD FACE THE COURT –DR. CLIVE THOMAS Economist, Dr. Clive Thomas, believes that Government’s latest “sweetheart” deal which allows a local contractor some exclusive shares in a state cable is not only disrespectful to the Guyanese people, but highly illegal. He said, too, that given the details of the contract the architects of the agreement should be made to face the court. On March 16, last, Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon on behalf of the government, negotiated with and signed a special agreement with Dax Contracting Services Ltd. That firm is owned by Faisal Mohamed. Under the agreement, Dax will undertake, at no cost to the government, the repair, use and maintenance of the fibre optic cable from Brazil. This contract is for an initial 25 years with an option to renew it for a further 15 years.

This gives Dax a total of 40 years of cable rights. Government has also undertaken to provide Mohamed with the necessary support to receive and transmit data by way of the cable after granting the company an operating licence. And for free, Mohamed will be able to use some of the Governmentowned fibre optic cables and structures including, roads, the poles, access to repeater stations and other things. Dax Contracting Services would also be provided with tax exemptions and incentives, including but not limited to tax holidays, remissions, tax waivers and duty free concessions on equipment, spares, tools and vehicles. The vehicles would be two SUVs, and three four-door pick-ups, renewable three years for the next 40 years. The government insists that it will retain possession and use of the bandwidth, as agreed to between Dax and the government. PRESIDENT RAMOTAR’S APPEAL FOR VOTES MET WITH LOUD HECKLING …AT FITUG RALLY Placards bearing calls for unity, duty free allowances and a reduction in the Value Added Tax (VAT) were among those brandished Friday as hundreds of workers tramped through the city wards in celebration of Labour Day. Dressed primarily in red, the workers marched through the city streets in droves as various trade unions led their respective processions to two main meeting points of the umbrella trade union bodies, Federation of Independent Trade Union of Guyana (FITUG) and the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC). As is customary, the unions that fall under GTUC marched from downtown Georgetown led by Opposition Leader, David Granger, to the GTUC headquarters at Woolford Avenue and Albert Street, Georgetown. The FITUG march culminated at the National Park and the activity was being observed under the theme “United for Continued Progress and Development.” That event was graced by former trade unionist and current President, Donald Ramotar who delivered the feature address. Soon after the arrival of the President following which the National Anthem was sung, one of the men i n t h e c r o w d shouted “Moses and Granger forever” to a resounding round of applause. The heckling intensified throughout the activity.


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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 03, 2015

Corns and Calluses on your feet and hands By Dr. Kumar Sukhraj There are many people who are experiencing annoying and sometimes painful thickenings in certain areas of their feet and hands. Many may take actions while some may ignore because these are usually painless. These thickening of the skin on the feet or hands are called corns and calluses. The medical term for the thickened skin that forms corns and calluses is hyperkeratosis. A callus refers to a more diffused, flattened area of thick skin, while a corn is a thick, localized area that usually has a conical or circular shape. Corns and calluses generally form when the skin tries to protect an underlying area from injury, pressure or rubbing. These are found mainly in the skin in areas of pressure (Over bony prominence). Abnormal anatomy of the feet, such as hammer toe, bunion or other toe deformities, can lead to corn or callus. Patients often say they feel as if

they are walking on stones. The following signs or symptoms may indicate the presence of corns or calluses: · A raised bump which is hardened · A thick and rough area of skin · Flaky and dry skin · Flaky and waxy skin · Pain under the skin · Tenderness under the skin Corns and calluses can sometimes cause pain or discomfort if they interfere with walking or other activities, but they are typically painless. Corns and calluses affect women more commonly than men, as well as people who wear ill-fitting shoes, individuals with sweaty feet, and those who have to stay standing for long periods each day, those who equipment, tools, or instruments that exert pressure on specific locations on the fingers, certain occupations, such as farmers or garden workers etc. As mentioned above, any condition or activity that re-

Dr Kumar Sukhraj sults in increased friction over the fingers or toes can lead to the development of corns or calluses. People of all ages can be affected. Corns versus calluses · Corns are smaller

than calluses · Corns generally (not always) have a hard centre · Corns have a hard centre surrounded by inflamed skin · Corns usually occur in non-weight bearing parts of skin (not always) · Corns can be painful when pressed · Calluses are not generally painful · Calluses are usually larger than corns, and vary in shape · Calluses generally develop on the soles of the feet, especially under the heels or balls, on the palms of the hands, and also on the knees. In many cases corns and calluses can be prevented. The following measures may help reduce the risk of developing corns and calluses: · Wash your feet with soap and water every evening. Use a scrubbing brush. · Apply a specially moisturizing foot cream after

washing and drying them well. Do not use a body lotion. · Make sure your shoes and socks are well-fitting, and with seams that do not rub the skin. · Buy your shoes later on during the day - i.e. when trying on new shoes do so when your feet are at their largest (feet swell slightly as the day progresses). · Any foot pain or skin irritation in the foot should not be ignored. · Regularly see a foot specialist for a foot checkup. · When trimming your toenails, cut straight across, and not down at angles or over the edges. · Use a pumice stone or foot file regularly. Make sure you remove hard skin gently. · Change your socks every day. Do not let your feet become sweaty. · Protect your hands - when using tools, either wear padded gloves or pad the tool handles.

For many people, corns and calluses are annoying and sometimes are painful. They can be prevented by reducing or eliminating the circumstances that lead to increased pressure at specific points on the hands and feet and can be treated with many types of medicated products to chemically pare down the thickened, dead skin. People with fragile skin or poor circulation in the feet (including many people with diabetes or peripheral arterial disease) should consult their health-care professional as soon as corns or calluses develop. Please feel free to send an email to kumarsukhraj@yahoo.com or call 6228032 for further enquiry and discussion on the topic. Patient education plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of their illness. Please look forward for a continuation of the discussion on health related issues in the next publication.

What you need to know about Dengue Fever (From the desk of the Vector Control Director, Dr Reyaud Rahman) Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease which is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. It affects more than 400 million people worldwide on a yearly basis and can cause them to present with bad

symptoms that affects their day to day activities. This disease is mainly found in tropical and sub-tropical climates. In Guyana dengue fever is endemic and found in all administrative regions. It is however mostly found in urban areas where the population is dense. There are four types or

serotypes of dengue fever of which Guyana has three known types. Dengue fever is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes albopictus to a lesser extent. These mosquitoes also transmit Chikungunya and are found throughout Guyana in all households where mosquitoes are found. This makes the disease easy to spread from person to person and household to household. To become infected an individual in most cases is bitten by a female Aedes Aegypti mosquito that is infected with the disease already and passes the disease onto the individual. The time from the bite to the point when symptoms emerge is known as the incu-

bation period and this is between four to five days and maximum 12 days before a person will begin to feel sick. When a person is infected with dengue fever they generally manifest symptoms such as fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, pains to the muscles, joint pains, nausea, vomiting and symptoms generally last two to seven days. There is a chance an individual can develop severe dengue fever. However the person would have had to contract all four types of dengue fever and this would lead to severe dengue fever. Severe dengue fever is a life-threatening disease which is due to severe bleeding, accumulation of fluids, breathing difficulties and organ failure. It is

essential to receive specialized medical care to manage patients affected and diagnosed with severe dengue fever. If an individual contracts dengue fever there is no specific treatment to treat the disease. Management is based specifically on supportive treatment. This means that if a patient has fever they would be given some medication to bring the fever down, if they have joint pains or pains to the body, a pain killer would most likely be prescribed. The goal of treatment is to ensure that patients do not suffer and to ensure that the patient rides out the disease, as dengue fever will leave the body over a period of time. Also there is no vaccine available to cover individuals from contracting dengue fever. The most effective means to control dengue fever remains vector control. All individuals should ensure that there are no mosquito breeding sites. Any container or receptacle that holds water will be a potential breeding site. Tyres, stagnant puddles of water, artificial man-made habitats like ponds, bird baths and tall grass, provide great habitats for mosquitoes to thrive and multiply. It is important to cover all water tanks in our yards to ensure that mosquitoes do not enter and begin to multiply. Empty all containers and

Dr. Reyaud Rahman receptacles that hold water if they are not being used. Screen your house windows and for extra protection wear light-coloured long-sleeved clothing, wear mosquito repellent to exposed areas, use coils and aerosol sprays for further protection. This vector control fight remains one which cannot be won by one department or even the entire Ministry of Health alone. It is a fight which has to be undertaken by the general public. We need you to do your part and ensure that diseases do not continue to affect our nation. I am confident that once we work together we will decrease and eliminate vectorborne diseases from Guyana. Join us in the fight.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Britney Spears cancels Las Vegas shows after onstage fall

This composite shows Britney Spears falling onstage during a concert Wednesday in Las Vegas. An onstage ankle injury saw pop star Britney Spears rescheduling her Friday and Saturday night performances on the Las Vegas Strip so she doesn’t, oops, do it again.

A statement from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino where Spears performs her “Britney: Piece of Me” show said Thursday the star’s doctor recommended

she take the two days to heal. The statement says Spears injured herself during a Wednesday night performance.

Richard Gere and estranged wife reportedly fighting over $100M fortune Actor Richard Gere and his estranged “Bond girl” wife Carey Lowell are duking it out in divorce court over his estimated $100 million fortune after resolving their custody dispute over their 15-year-old son, according to the New York Post. A source told The Post Gere and Lowell, who have been married for 12 years, agreed to settle the custody portion of their divorce while ago, but the source declined to comment on the details of the deal. Unlike last time Gere came to Manhattan Supreme court over the split when he angrily poked an umbrella at press photographers, on Friday the devoted Buddhist was very zen. The “Pretty Woman” star flirted with a reporter in the elevator joking, “You want me to give you a special, intimate interview?” His attorneys, from the high-powered firm Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, cut him off with a “no comment.” Gere, 65, smiled and left in a black, chauffeur-driven Lincoln Navigator. Before meeting with the judge Gere and Lowell shared a friendly chat while reading separate copies of The New York Times. Lowell suggested a piece about suicide on an Indian reservation in South

Richard Gere and his wife Carey Lowell Dakota. Gere was so absorbed in his paper that he didn’t hear the judge repeatedly call him into his chambers for a compliance conference. “Parties on anonymous,” Justice Matthew Cooper said, using the official case name after it was sealed to try and hide the celebrities’ identity, before Lowell summoned her ex with a commanding, “Richard.” Lowell, 54, who filed the divorce proceeding last year, declined to comment after the parties met behind closeddoors with the judge and their attorneys for about 30 minutes.

But officers allowed her to snap photos of the elaborate WPA mural in the courthouse’s first-floor rotunda even though photography not allowed in the building. The former “Law & Order” actress then left the building using the famous front steps that are featured on the legal television series. The Post’s Page Six has reported that the duo split because he prefers to meditate while she likes to party. “The Buddhist actor craves privacy, and Lowell likes socializing with other bigwigs,” according to a source.

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Romeo Santos, Enrique Iglesias win big at 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards (CNN) Riding on the tails of major releases that circled the globe, Romeo Santos and Enrique Iglesias dominated the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards, taking home 10 and nine awards, respectively. Santos was the top winner of the evening, grabbing 10 awards — including artist of the year — during the ceremony, which was broadcast live on the Telemundo network from the BankUnited Center in Miami. Santos also won for songwriter of the year, producer of the year, Hot Latin Songs artist of the year and for Top Latin Album and tropical album of the year for Formula, Vol. 2. After securing his first award, Santos thanked all the musicians who collaborated with him on his album, naming Carlos Santana, Nicki Minaj and Drake. After winning the big award for artist of the year, he said he’d forgotten to namecheck someone “very important. I had the great privilege

Enrique Iglesias on stage during the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Awards of recording with a man I admire so much. More than an artist that I admire, he is like a brother to me. Thank you, Marc,” he said. Marc Anthony blew him a kiss from the seats. And in addition to the fans, Santos thanked the DJs that promote his music by

playing his songs and he named some of the big ones — Alex Sensation, DJ Lobo, DJ Africa, DJ Fabulare. Iglesias’ “Bailando” won Latin pop song of the year, digital song of the year, streaming song of the year, Hot Latin Song of the year, vocal event, and airplay song of the year. The track featuring Descemer Bueno and the Cuban group Gente De Zona spent a record-breaking 41 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. Iglesias’ awards also included Latin pop songs artist of the year, solo and Latin pop album of the year for Sex and Love. He made like an airplane and flew onstage to grab his first two awards. “I want to thank my fans for their support and love all these years,” he said, recognizing also his label and producer as he held onto both awards with tight fists. “Thank you Miami. Thank you Latin America. Thank you Mexico. Thank you world!”

‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ May Confirm A Huge Fan Theory (Huff Post Entertainment) You didn’t see this coming? “Avengers: Age of Ultron” finally hit U.S. theaters on Friday, and wow, wow, wow. The action is amazing, the jokes are hilarious and the Avengers are avenging. Even with all the awesomeness, there may be another reason altogether why the movie is a brilliant follow-up to the third highest-grossing release of all time. After the first “Avengers” movie, a theory began popping up online, and it may have just been confirmed in the final scene of “Age of Ultron.” In “Avengers,” Loki is set on trying to take over Earth, so the Avengers come together in the nick of time, save the day and now everything is cool, right? Well, maybe not.

In the first “Thor” movie, Loki makes it pretty clear that he wants power, but not to take over Earth. The dude wants Asgard. So why make a move for Earth at all? It seems like a super waste of time. Unless something else is going on... It’s probably a lot easier to take over Asgard if you’re actually on Asgard. Loki supposedly wants a ride back but doesn’t want to raise suspicions that he’s trying to take over. What better way to do that than epically failing to take over Earth and being taken home by your bro? But he’s not the only one that wants this to happen. Writer Andrew Black neatly lays it out on his website The Mask of Reason: Loki losing to the Aveng-

ers was the best possible outcome for both Loki, who can now try to take over Asgard again, and Thanos, who now has potential access to the Infinity Gauntlet. That’s right. Thanos wants the Infinity Gauntlet, Loki wants Asgard and the entire first movie was just their elaborate plan to make it happen: What’s crazy is there are little clues that hint at this along the way. First, the “Thor” movies show us glimpses of the Gauntlet, confirming it’s in Asgard: Then, at the end of “Thor: The Dark World,” we see Loki has taken control of the Asgardian throne. Finally, the last scene of “Age of Ultron” shows what? Thanos getting the Infinity Gauntlet. The Avengers















Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Bermuda opposition calls on government to explain missing $18 million HAMILTON, Bermuda At a press conference last week, Bermuda’s opposition Progressive Labour Party (PLP) called on the British territory’s government to explain the fate of some $18 million in loan proceeds secured by public property that have allegedly disappeared. Deputy PLP leader and shadow minister of finance, David Burt, said the opposition had called the

press conference to express concern at the silence of the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA), regarding that fact that the Par-LaVille car park owned by the Corporation of Hamilton is now under the control of a Mexican company. “More than two weeks after Minister Michael Fahy informed Bermudians that the $18 million dollars isn’t where it should be, and deflected blame to

others, it is wholly unacceptable that there has been no move by Premier Dunkley or Minister Fahy to provide additional information about this situation to the people of Bermuda,” Burt said. Shadow home affairs minister, Walton Brown, provided what he described as a timeline of events surrounding the missing $18 million. (Caribbean News)

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Sunday May 03, 2015

Guyana remains with ‘noticeable problems’ on World Press Freedom Index By Desilon Daniels Though Guyana’s position on the World Press Freedom Index has risen five places from 2014, the country’s overall score has declined in the 2015 report. As Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing World Press Freedom Day today, work is still needed to move the country out of the area assigned for nations with “noticeable problems” with press freedom. The report ranks countries into five categories based on where their index falls. The best ranked countries are placed in the “good situation” category while the second best are deemed to have satisfactory situations. The lowest ranks are countries with noticeable problems, difficult situations and very serious situations respectively. According to the 2015 World Press Freedom Index, Guyana ranked #62 out of 180 countries. This represented an upward jump of five spots from #67 out of 180 in 2014. However, though the country’s rank rose, its overall score dropped 0.13

- Overall score drops points from 27.08 in 2014 to 27.21 in 2015. Though Guyana’s newest position is the highest in the past five years, this year’s score is the first drop the country has seen since 2012. From 2012 to 2014, Guyana had acquired an overall score of 27.08 though its relative position shifted over time. According to Adam Harris, editor-in-chief at the Kaieteur News, Guyana is generally free when it comes to press freedom. However, he said, impediments such as libel laws and expansions in the areas of radio and television remain. Harris explained that libel laws can be used as inhibiting factors when an injunction is filed against media houses to muzzle them, whether the suit is justifiable or not. He said too that the government of Guyana is the only entity to successfully expand across the country in the areas of radio and television. According to the Press Freedom Index, Guyana also remained one of the lowest

ranked nations in the Caribbean: the only Caribbean nation which ranked lower than Guyana was the Dominican Republic at position #63 with an overall score of 27.31. Caribbean countries which ranked higher than Guyana were Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean nations, and Haiti. Jamaica was the only Caribbean country to be deemed to have a “good situation” at #9 out of the 180 countries. The Eastern Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago were deemed to have satisfactory situations at #37 and #41 respectively, while Haiti was the first country in the “noticeable problems” category at #53. The Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranks the performance of 180 countries according to a range of criteria that include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional

The World Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries by 5 different categories, ranging from a good situation to a very serious situation. and infrastructural environment in which the media operate. OVERALL DECLINE Worldwide, the World Press Freedom Index 2015 shows that freedom of information deteriorated in 2014. According to the report, wars, growing threats from non-state operatives, violence during demonstrations and economic crises have caused media freedom to retreat on all five continents. The report further showed that two-thirds of the 180 countries surveyed had their performances decline in 2014 from 2013. The annual global indicator,

which measures the overall level of violations of freedom of information in 180 countries year by year, has risen to 3,719, an eight percent increase over 2014 and almost 10 percent compared with 2013. Despite the overall declines, the European Union and the Balkans remained as the region with the most press freedom. The region was followed by the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia respectively. North Africa and the Middle East was the region with the lowest recorded level of press freedom. As usual, three

Scandinavian countries topped the list: Finland, which has been in first place for five years in succession, followed by Norway and Denmark. At the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea respectively were the worst performers. Though there was overall decline, a handful of countries managed to make big leaps in ranking. The biggest jumper was Mongolia which rose 34 places to #54. Surprisingly, Guyana’s neighbour Brazil also made a huge jump; the country rose 12 places to #99. The rise was thanks to a less violent year in which two journalists were killed compared to five in 2014.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Does the PNC need to apologize, should we forget the past By Ralph Seeram It was a large empty lot, occupied by cow pens and pig pens and covered with overgrown grass. Actually no one would think of even building a house there. But it had one advantage; it was a corner lot, strategically located at the corner of Smythfield and Cow Dam in New Amsterdam, more known today as Angoy’s Avenue. It would make a good business spot. To make a long story short my parents decided to purchase the lot to build a home with a shop underneath. After some hard work and sacrifices, rearing cows, pigs and making and selling coconut oil, they were able to make down payment and bought the land for a pricy sum (at that time) of $2000; a lot of money for a poor person back in the day. So they built the house and shop and had a decent business going. Everything seemed to be going well until they were informed that the PNC government then, that the government was confiscating the land, and will compensate them what the property was valued in 1939. Do you how much money the PNC government compensated my parents for confiscating their house lot? $300. Yes folks, they took away the land we worked so hard to acquire $2000 and PAID my parents $300 as compensation, then turn around and asked them to pay

a rent for the house to remain on the land or break it down and remove it. My parents were not the only victims; there would be nearly a hundred people that suffered the same fate. Yes this was at the height the PNC dictatorship, when the PNC party was paramount to the Government. It was the PNC party branch in Angoy’s Avenue that pushed the party to seize the lands. These were people who were renting house lots for a dollar a month and wanted the government to seize the land from the “big land owners” Today Angoy’s Avenue (Cow Dam) is the largest squatting area in Guyana, thanks to the PNC. Today murders are committed in the area over land that traces back to that period of seizure. It became a “Wild West” with people going and “planting their stake” to the land. It’s the PPP today that is tasked with regularizing the area, with water, electricity etc. Does the PNC which reincarnated itself into APNU owe my parents (who by the way are still alive) an apology? APNU-AFC and it supporters have been pushing the idea that we should forgive and forget the past. How convenient. The PNC-led APNU wants to govern the country again, but does not want to discuss its 28 years of dictatorship. We must forget about that period of history. It is my position that the past is very relevant. You want the job of running the country the

people, especially the young people need to know your record, unless the PNC opposition is ashamed of its record. In my view it is ashamed of the past. The PPP invokes the name of Dr. Cheddi Jagan; do you hear the PNC led APNU invoke the name of LFS Burnham? As a Christian (my mother would say I am a “salt water” Christian) who recites the Lord ’s Prayer that says we should forgive those who trespass against us, I have no problem in forgiveness. But my question is how can you forgive a person if they do not admit they did anything wrong? If you can’t admit you were wrong then don’t ask to forgive and forget. The PNC owes this nation an apology for its 28 years of dictatorship. Granger characterized the two ballot box martyrs who were murdered by the military on Election Day in 1973 as criminals. Let me tell you this, I was a reporter in Berbice covering that election on the Corentyne. I saw what went on that day. PNC members were going in buses to all polling booth voting. I am not even going to get into people who were deprived of voting. However the facts are those PPP protestors were insisting that their representatives accompany the ballot boxes, just as the opposition is demanding today. The bottom line was the PPP representatives were thrown out; the ballot boxes were seized by the army and whisked away to the GDF

compound in Georgetown. Those men were only trying to prevent the ballots boxes from being stolen and they were murdered. Do the David Granger and the PNC owe the families an apology? I stood on the Albion Bridge that election night and saw the police and military throw out the PPP representatives out of the vehicle that was taking the ballot boxes. The hundreds of people there swarmed the vehicle to stop the theft of the ballot boxes; the police and the soldiers drew their guns ready to shoot, I thought there would have been a slaughter, but they allowed the PPP representatives to accompany the boxes to the Albion police station where the police were more secured, then they threw the representatives out the station. Did the PNC ever apologize for rigging elections? I have seen shopkeepers charged and jailed on pretext they were hoarding or selling groceries at “black market prices”. This was PNC excuse for shortage of essential

foodstuff like oil, rice and sugar. It was the business community’s fault. They used the business communities as scapegoats for the shortage of foods. The truth was they were exporting the stuff to scrape up foreign exchange to pay off debts of the country. Hundreds of people were charged and fined for possession of things like sardines, flour, onions and garlic. Will the PNC apologize to those people who were fined for possessing food? Yes today it is not only the PNC asking you to forget the past, but two recent converts Rupert Roopnaraine and Moses Nagamootoo who were harassed by the very PNC. I know this is not going to go down well with the APNU/AFC crowd. Some say I am losing my objectivity, or I have undergone a transformation. Objectivity means one must not distort the truth, or facts it is simple as that. For the Bulkans of the world, objectivity is only when you criticize the PPP. If you criticize the APNU/AFC bunch, then you have lost

objectivity or you have gone through a transformation or you are an Indian racist. Don’t think it’s any different with PPP supporters. If you are critical of the PPP as I have done on very many occasions, you are an opposition supporter. What I challenge those critics is to disprove what I have written, pure and simple. My belief is if the PNC led APNU want the job of running the country, it needs to apologize to the nation for what it did in the 28 years of dictatorship. The electorate needs to compare that record against the PPP and let the people decide. By the way in a bit of irony, years later, the then Guyana National Service needed an office building in New Amsterdam and bought my parents property. Later they asked for the Transport for the land, only to be told they already owned the land they only bought the building. Today it houses the Ministry of Sports in Smythfield. Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com and Facebook.


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LEARN TO DRIVE Shalom Enterprise @ Lot 2 Croal Street, enquire about an international drivers permit “join us on facebook” Tel: 622-8162; 227-3869 Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel:644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Vacant land space at Supply East Bank Demerara –Tel: 227-1744 or 657-9237 One bedroom self contained apartment, Shell Road, E.B.D -$30,000 monthly - Tel: 6004823 CHARLOTTE ST, TWO STORIED, 3-BEDROOM, 3-BA, GARAGE, BUSINESS DOWNSTAIRS, NO AGENTS PLEASE $3200USD/MONTH – CALL: 650-1031 2 Bedrooms bottom flat @ Austin Street with A/C accommodation & parking space available –Tel: 628-7953 3 Storied building, bottom flat business, first & top floors 15 rooms Hotel- Call: 225-5639-40 Bagotstown Public Road: 2 Storied Commercial property next to Rays Auto) 3,500 sq.ft –Tel: 233-2546; 233-5859 One two bedroom apartment bottom flat $40,000 @ Norton Street –Tel: 694-5583

Kaieteur News

FOR SALE Household Articles @ Guysuco Gardens, Reduced Prices- Call:655-8171 LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.

SALON

VACANCY

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1 Inventory clerk, apply @ Technical Services Inc, 18-23 Eccles Industrial Site, EBD.

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TO LET

Hotel Manager for Xenon Hotel @ Essequibo: experience, good communication skill Send application & resume: rtilak@adamantium holdings.com Caretaker @ Siloam Bible Camp, situated @ Circuit Area Timehri East Bank Demerara – Call: 226-4596; 256-0488; 259-0695 or 615-1832

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Experienced female Accounts Clerk, apply in person with hand written application @ Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling Stabroek.

Male Enhancement; 4 in each pack -$500 - Tel:642-6664

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1 Cook to prepare Indian & English Dishes, to work in Georgetown –Tel: 698-7807

1 Mini marine tanker capacity 11,500 Gallons – Tel: 227-1744 or 657-9237 1 Wardrobe, gas stove & cylinder, blender, microwave, chest of drawers, chair set. Tel: 619-1510; 227-3120 3 Storey building 12 offices upper flat, established business @ 220 South Road. Contact: 601-3369; 218-2029 10 Acres Roadside land at Kuru Kuru for resort/ business- Contact: 601-3369; 218-2029; 227-1042 German shepherd puppies for sale –Tel: 682-5664 Pekingese mix with Tibetan terrier puppy - Tel: 623-8811; 227-0945 Rottweiler and German shepherd mixed puppies, one month old –Contact:6411771; 601-5500 King size bed frame, LG set with surround system, 2 big carpets, cabinet set –Tel: 6191510; 227-3120 Mixed bred pit-bull –Call: 6185220 JUST ARRIVED!! 18" BRUSH CUTTER BLADES WHOLESALE & RETAIL QUANTITIES - FREE DELIVERY CALL: 6148564/ 639-3675 Solar 12V lighting kit, battery, three 5M cables with bulbs & phone charger included, brand new – Call:693-1752; 226-7742

One upstairs 3 bedroom house; semi furnished, situated at Diamond Housing Scheme –Contact: 697-2456 Industry - $45,000, Diamond -$50,000, Nandy Park $600US, Kitty -$80,000, Parfaite, Campbellville, Eccles, Queenstown $1500US & more. Call: 2312199; 618-7483

One manager to work @ Hotel Purple Heart on the Essequibo Coast, accommodation provided, attractive salary – Contact: 226-9768; 642-7963 One refrigeration & Airconditioned trainee technician - Call: 2310655,683-8734 from 8 to 5 Work from home, earn $5,000$20,000 daily Call MondayFriday 9am-5pm #2336517, 638-0595 www.jobfair worldwide.com Exist for cashier & supermarket helpers apply in per with written application at NIRVA supermarket –Tel: 227-5771

FOR SALE D4H CAT bulldozer, Leyland DAF 55 Tipper truck, lengths- plastic sheet piles, 17FT Truck Tray – Contact: 275-0538; 693-7105 Pneumatic roller – 9 wheels, 2,500 GLS, steel tank, 2,000 GLS, steel tank , 428 CAT Back-Hoe Call: 275-0538; 693-7105 Pile driving hammers, weight 3 and 4 tons, 6 cylinder Leyland engine, 10 tons double steel wheeled roller. Call: 275-0538; 693-7105 Invertertec Automatic back up power home/businesses batteries included & remote alarm systems that will call owner. Call: 226-2646

Inner Retreat Hotel Restaurant & Bar, Retreat Road Parika. Indoor / Outdoor bar in Picturesque setting – Phone: 260-4504

Brand New: 3PH industrial motor, 2HP and 11KW 60hz – Contact: 617-2205; 681-1032 152 Lavarda combine, excellent condition, grain cart, 165 Tractor, block machine small rice mill & paddy cleaner – Call: 6834104

SIGMA GENERATOR 30KVA, BRAND NEW, AUTO TRANSFER SWITCH, DIESEL, SUPER SILENT, SINGLE PHASE, FROM USA -$3M –CALL: 650-1031.

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ACCOMODATION

Sunday May 03, 2015

Male supervisor for housekeeping dept.- Tel:2250198 or visit 233 South road, Lacytown Diva Hair Salon, Tortola BVI seeking professional Hairstylists & Nail Technicians, 5+ years experience. Call: 284543-1410 Email bvisalonowner @gmail.com SECURITY GUARDS FOR LAND OF CANAAN BUSINESS, POLICE CLEARANCE REQUIRED. PART TIME WELDER/ FABRICATOR. 266 4427 Manager for Xenon Hotel & 704 Entertainment complex in Georgetown. Send application and resume to rtilak@adamantiumholdings. com Room attendants, security guards, handyman & Desk Staff- Tel:225-0198 or visit 233 South road, Lacytown

One domestic cleaner, E.C.D Tel: 644-9802; 603-5416 Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665 One truck driver & bobcat operator preferably from E.B.D; 3 yrs experienced – Tel:648-1588; 663-8639; 6090766 Experienced rock driller, must know about Furukawa, Tamrock or Atlas Copco Hydraulics Machines - Call: 665-3959 or matiasorellana@explo service. com.ar Canter driver $5,000 daily, cleaner to work on W.C.D $12,000 weekly –Call:6848231; 629-4236 Urgently need land in Parfaite Harmonie, Eccles, Herstelling, Schoonord, Waterloo & Hope (West Berbice) –Tel: 675-7292; 6893339 1 Maid, 40years and older to work in Suriname- Contact: (+597) 322-5442; (+597) 6516666 One Pastry maker- please email application to jobvacanciesg1@gmail.com 1 Male or female or couple to look after layer in the interior Tel: 691-6260 1 cook for family in the interior Call: 691-6260 Porters to work in Grocery Stall, experienced is an asset @ Stabroek Market. Tel: 683-9500 Top soil from Mahaica Area, please Call: 219-0468 Business/Economics Writer, email application to snow198390@hotmail.com Live in waitress age 20 & older with Secondary Education @ Diamond Gate Liquior Restaurant, Lot 18-19 Belmont Mahaica - Tel: 2285013 Senior Accounts Clerk, 5yrs experienced, CAT or equivalent. Email: snow198390@hotmail.com 1 OFFICE ASSISTANT: Must have motorcycle, car/ van license, able to work flexible hours, from E.B.D. Email: snow198390@hotmail.com Taxi & Bus drivers, dispatchers at Princess Hotel, Providence –Tel: 616-5419

RA Soda Factory: vacancy for male & female workers and bond clerk @ Good Hope Bond/ Melanie. Tel :623-5920; 330-2399 Female workers in Suriname, ages 40-45yrs, boarding and lodging free - Contact: 6139708 or 597-875-4660,. Sunday 6am-8pm

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 Advertisements; Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves. Contact Nick: 6831312, 627-3206 Get a complete house plan for $10,000 for government allotted lands & $8,000 for a second. Tel:(592) 681-4161, (592) 657-2066 Your Dream Yard Today! Stunning designs, Assortment, colourful plant choices, Professional Landscapers Tel: 219-0468/ 648-1821 Balloon decorating for birthdays, weddings, anniversary etc, make your event extra special! Tel Maya: 642-6664 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIRCONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINES, TVS, MICROWAVES, FREEZERS - CALL: 6294946 OR 225-4822 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar:231-0655,683-8734 Promotional offer, get a free laptop checkup & upgrade during the month of May 2015 – Call: (592) 681-4161, (592) 657-2066 BrianMoe@642-3543; C o m p u t e r Te c h n i c i a n ; FB:Brian.Moe.165; Home and office visits at your comfort!! Spare for microwave, stoves, washing machines, fridge, motors, timers, gearbox etc @ Cooltech Solutions - Call: 233-2008; 675-4959

CAR RENTAL PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL:CARS&SUV FOR RENTAL- $4,000 & UP PER DAY- CALL: 643-5122, 2193900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM DOLLY’S CAR RENTALCALL: 225-7126/226-3693 DOLLYSAUTORENTAL@ YAHOO.COM/WWW. DOLLYSAUTORENTAL.COM

MASSAGE Relaxing Massage Service – Tel: 674-8147

Aidan’s Car & Pickup rental, cheap rate, low security - Tel: 698-7807 Continued on page 69


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 69

Drug addict torches parents’ house at Foulis Police at Enmore have detained a male drug addict who started a fire that demolished a two-flat wooden building at 553 14th Street, Foulis, East Coast Demerara yesterday. The blaze left his elderly mother and father with just the clothes on their backs. The young man, whose name was given as Amir Bassalut, has been threatening to burn his parents’ house down whenever they refused to give him money to support his drug addict. Yesterday, he made good on the threat after his mother Barbara, a seamstress, refused to give in to his demand for cash to buy drugs. Residents said that the woman first had to seek refuge at a neighbour’s house when her son began his threatening behaviour. It was while she was at the police station making a report that the man set fire to the house, even as neighbours tried to dissuade him. Esther Cort, a neighbour who lives oblique to the burnt house, recalled that it was around 16:00 hours when she was informed by her granddaughter that something was talking place at Bassalut’s house. She was not surprised since there was always some commotion coming from the house. But she nevertheless went outside to investigate, since she happens to be a Rural Constable. She said that she saw that the suspect had placed several of his mother’s household items, including her sewing machine which brings in her income, on the road. There was no fire at the time. Suspecting that the young man was in his usual abusive mind and sensing that things might get out of hand this time, Cort summoned help from another Rural Constable in the area,

(From page 68) Arsonist Amir Bassalut in police custody.

EDUCATIONAL Lessons with your private teacher, upgrading or CXC English; full SSEE - Call: 696-7467 LAND FOR SALE 5 Acres land (clean land) A1 Pearl E.B.D – Price negotiable. Call: 226-9731

who she advised to contact the police. Cort said that she eventually confronted Bassalut and questioned him about the way he was behaving. He responded by verbally abusing her too. The police eventually arrived on the scene and Bassalut’s mother who was at the neighbor, came out. According to Cort, the woman was reluctant to cooperate with the police at first but she forcefully persuaded her. “It’s a constant thing; every day she has to find money to give him to smoke and if she can’t find it, he would torment she and beat she,” Cort emphasized. The police tried to apprehend the young man but he managed to escape. They eventually left the scene with his mother from whom they wanted a statement about the abuse. “Many times he threaten her and he would break up the house and when I call the police, she (mother) would buse me; she would stop talking to me and he would curse me…But I don’t mind; I continue to do my duty as an RC,” Cort stated. She said that after the police left, the young man returned to the house and began breaking the windows. “Is go I go in to call the police to get a back-up to

apprehend this man and when I came out I see the front bedroom ablaze and he ran away,” Cort told Kaieteur News. She said she called out to other neighbours but they initially appeared reluctant to help put out the fire. Eventually a bucket brigade was formed but it could not contain the blaze. Khayum Bassalut, the arsonist’s father, told this newspaper that he was at work in the nearby village of Enmore, when he got word that his house was on fire. He said that although the burning of his house has devastated him, he was not surprised, since his son had always threatened to do it. “He does want fuh fight me too but he can’t mek it. When you see me deh home here, he nah get de chance fuh do nothing, but just as me lef de house, he ah fight he mother fuh money because me nah give am money,” Kayum explained. He said that by the time he arrived at the scene there was nothing he could do to save any of his personal belongings. “Wha me get? Me nah get wan pants and shirt more than wah me get on,” Khayum Bassalut said. Police eventually captured his son who they say will definitely face the court soon.

TOURS Suriname Tour Trip Return, Independence Weekend (May 23-May26) Book Early –Call: 644-0185; 639-2663; 665-5171

50 Acres titled farm land @ The Belle, Upper Dem, River Front -reasonable offer accepted, serious enquiries only! – Tel: 669-8152 Professional Realty: we buy/ sell/rent/value your real estate –Call:694-3875; 6490535; 654-6198

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Property on sale by owner in Tuschen New Housing Scheme – Contact:613-9108 (4pm-8pm) & Sunday from 6am-8pm House at 620 Greenwich Park, E.B.E –Tel: 686-4014; 678-4000; 699-9915

Toyota Prado, Price$4.7M Neg. Call: 643-2403 Smart Choice Auto Sale: Premio, Allion, Spacio, Fielder, Bluebird, Carina 212, IST - Call: 652-3820; 6654529 Two FUSO canter truck with three ton crane GPP & GTT series, price $5.5M & $4.5M. Call Ward: 622-6746 1 Toyota Raum HB Series, superb condition –Contact: 642-4779. Price negotiable. Prado Land Cruiser TZ, Automatic Diesel, PHH Series -$5.2M, fully loaded Tel: 233-2546; 688-5554 1 L-Touring Wagon, flair kit, remote start- $1.450,000, 1 Honda CRV, $1.850, 000, 1 AT192 - $850, 000. All in good condition, price negotiable –Tel: 626-2884

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Measuring 60FTX120FY in Pigeon Island E.C.D - $15M Tel: 621-4000

Kayum Bassalut surveys the area where his house once stood.

From $1.3M to $5M Parfaite Harmonie, Eccles, H e r s telling, Schoonor, Waterloo & Hope (West Berbice) – Tel: 675-7292; 6893339

VEHICLE FOR SALE

One Toyota VIOS (Black) model – PMM series, price negotiable - Tel: 688-0868 VEHICLE FOR SALE Toyota Allion HC 849, price negotiable- Contact: 6189971 Dodge stealth sports car, 3000cc, automatic, fully powered $975,000- Call: 6214000 Nissan maxima, need some repairs but selling “as is” with documents $130,000Call: 621-4000 Mercedes Benz S300, fully armored, fully powered, leather, 19"rims & more $1.1M- Call: 621-4000

Toyota AT212, AT192, Runx, Fielder wagon, 4 Runner, Tundra, Premio, RZ, Nissan Bluebird & Cargo small bus. Tel:644-5096; 697-1453 One 290 Tractor with plough and cage wheel –Tel: 668-6976; 675-5575 Bedford Model M 4X4 truck - Tel: 693-2237 3 Ford F350 2006 model, extended cab 4X4, 6" lift kit, 35" tyres, diesel, auto, excellent condition – Tel:610-5370

3000GT sports car, 3000cc 5 speed, 18 mag wheel & alarm. All $1.1M cash - Call: 6214000

1 Toyota RZ mini bus supercustom, BSS series, fully A/C, excellent condition -$1.950M neg. Tel:223-6059; 654-4219; 6453619

Toyota BB 2007, 40,000km only, auto start, 18" rims, triple TV system, back-up camera $2.2M- Call:621-4000

AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154

Sale! Allion new model $3.35M, Bluebird Sylphy $2.75M, Belter -$2.6M, 2006 Tocoma -$3.8M –Tel: 592639-7101 & bestcarautosale @facebook.com

We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154

Double Lot, 2 Zeelught E.B.E with concrete house -$8M Cash– Tel: 621-4000

Blow Out Sale!!! Unregistered Toyota IST $2,150,000- Bodykit, TV, Spoiler, Fogs, Alloy Wheels, Crystal Lights & Alarm – Call: 643-6565, 226-9931

Prime commercial property @ Cummings & Middle Sts, Alberttown, Georgetown, 3 Lots, 2 Buildings - $105M negotiable – Phone: 621-4000

Toyota IST Unregistered, fully customized, leather interior, low suspension, aero body kit, 16" sport rims, HID -Tel: 609-2815

AT 192 Carina, Red, 17 Rims, PJJ series - Tel: 683-1534 Toyota 110 Sprinter motor car for sale, in good condition, price negotiable – Call: 661-2888 for more info. First Class Auto: 09 Allion, 05 Premio, 06 Allion, Bluebird, Rush, Spacio, Runx, IST, Carina 212, Verossa, Mark 2, Axio –Tel: 609-8188; 638-3045


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Kaieteur News

World Press Freedom Day 2015…

Women remain underrepresented in world’s media

The University of Guyana Communication Studies Department during a previous observance of World Press Freedom Day. As hundreds of nations across the globe celebrate World Press Freedom Day today, gender equality and media safety, particularly in a digital age, have been placed high on the list of priorities as the day is observed. Celebrated each year on May 3, World Press Freedom Day will be observed this year under the theme ‘Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, & Media Safety in the Digital Age.’ According to a joint statement issued from the UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, UNESCO DirectorGeneral Irina Bokova and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, human rights must be respected for peace to be lasting and sustainable development. The officials also made a call for more voices to speak out and be heard, particularly those of women. “Twenty years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, women remain underrepresented throughout the media at decision-making level but also in the coverage of issues. We cannot let this stand; men and women must participate equally in making and sharing the news,” the officials emphasised. Worldwide, only 26 percent of women hold positions in media governance. “Everyone must be free to seek, receive and impart knowledge and information on all media, online and offline,” the statement read. It went on, “Quality journalism enables citizens to make informed decisions about their society’s development. It also works to expose injustice, corruption and the abuse of power.”

According to the officials, at least one journalist is killed each week in conflict and non-conflict zones. Deeming the killings as “horrendous attacks”, the joint statement continued, “We must redouble efforts to enhance the safety of journalists and put an end to impunity.” Meanwhile, though the official observance is today, the United Nations on Friday commemorated the day with a moment of silence for journalists killed in the line of duty. During discussions, the importance of greater gender equality in the media and the safety of journalists in the digital age where protection from surveillance is becoming increasingly important were listed as paramount target areas. During his remarks, General Assembly President Sam Kutesa said that 22 years after the day was established, delegations still gathered to express their utmost respect to the many courageous men and women who brave hazardous terrain and dangerous environments to tell the important stories the world needs to hear. “These men and women go about their critical work in often inhospitable environments. From the comfort and safety of our homes and workplaces, we can learn about important issues around the world, including some dark and troubling events,” he said. Kutesa also stressed that journalists bridged the information gap and, through their work, people are able to learn about discoveries and innovations shaping the world. “Without them, we would have difficulty knowing

about positive developments in the furthest corners of the world. In the same way, we would never hear the cries that are being silenced or the injustices being committed. We may never know of abuses being perpetrated, hostages being taken or lives brutally stolen,” Kutesa said. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights indicates that there is freedom for all to seek, receive and impart information, regardless of borders should not be tampered with. However, more than 40 journalists and media staff have already been killed around the world for 2015 while others are being held hostage or have simply disappeared. During the meeting, freedom of expression and press freedom were also noted as essential to success at every level as countries accelerate their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals before the 2015 deadline. Every May 3, the world celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993. Like many other countries, Guyana observes World Press Freedom Day. However, improvements in the areas of freedom of information and press freedom are still needed here; the 2015 World Press Freedom Index showed that Guyana still remains a nation with “noticeable problems” with press freedom.

Sunday May 03, 2015

UNFPA to support midwives globally in quest for healthy future Although maternal deaths globally have dropped by nearly 50 per cent, this achievement, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is still not enough. Currently recorded cases of maternal deaths stand at an estimated 523,000 in 1990 to some 289,000. This translates to approximately 800 women dying every day from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. “We must do more. And we must start with training and providing more midwives,” amplified a statement from the UNFPA which pointed out that evidence shows that midwives who are educated and regulated to international standards can provide 87 per cent of the essential care needed by women and their newborns. These disclosures come from UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, even as the world over prepares to commemorate International Day of the Midwife on Tuesday May 5, 2015. And according to Dr Osotimehin, “There is no stronger testament to their care and commitment than baby Obada, the 3,000th baby delivered safely at the women’s clinic in the Za’atari Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. Since the clinic started providing normal delivery services in June 2013, all babies have been born healthy and the infant and maternal death rate is zero.” Because of such achievements, the UNFPA Director has noted that “As we approach the deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we are proud of the progress made for Goal 5, to improve maternal health.” UNFPA is nevertheless calling for greater investments to increase the number of midwives and enhance the quality and reach of their services, adding that strong political commitment and investment in midwives is needed to save millions of lives every year. “…We need to close the gaps in providing universal sexual and reproductive, maternal and newborn health care. These gaps are documented in The State of Midwifery 2014 report, which points the way forward,” added Dr Osotimehin. The need for strong health systems and sufficient health workers was recently highlighted by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, where pregnant women

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin struggled to find available health services to ensure safe delivery. In response, UNFPA is expanding midwifery services to support resilient health systems in the affected countries. UNFPA will also continue to support midwifery and sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for all women. “Today, UNFPA funds more than 250 midwifery schools with books, training equipment and trained faculty, and has helped train over 15,000 midwives globally,” asserted Dr Osothimehin, who also pointed out that “UNFPA supports midwifery in more than 70 countries worldwide, and in 2014 helped launch Bachelor ’s degree programmes in midwifery in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Zambia.” In the past four years, more than 35 countries have made national pledges to strengthen midwifery. For instance, Ethiopia had pledged to quadruple the number of midwives from 2,050 to 8,635, and will achieve

this target ahead of time. Bangladesh pledged to train an additional 3,000 midwives, and some 2,000 midwives are already undergoing training at 31 training centres. Haiti dispatched the first group of midwives last year from its new midwifery school built after the 2010 earthquake. And Afghanistan revived and strengthened community midwifery, which has helped reduce maternal death ratios by more than 80 per cent since 2002. “This year, as we prepare for the post-2015 international development agenda, the future we want is one where midwives play their full role in ensuring safe deliveries, promoting healthy birth spacing, and protecting the health and rights of women and girls,” added Dr Osothimehin. The Executive Director has also noted that “This year and beyond, all of us at UNFPA will continue to support midwives globally as we strive for a healthy future for present and for generations to come.”

Thieves target church Police have detained a suspect in relation to the theft of an amplifier and a projector which were stolen from The People’s Restoration Ministries Church, located at Richmond Village, Essequibo Coast. Last week’s incident was the third such act of sacrilege which the members and followers of the Church have experienced over the period of eight years. While police continue to investigate the matter, reports are that some time last week thieves entered the back entrance of the Church building and stole the amplifier and a projector. Police, upon learning about the incident, visited the building, at Richmond and located a bicycle which was apparently left in front of the Church building. The owner of the bicycle had apparently fled. A few years back, the Church was vandalized and in one instance, a man was jailed for stealing a key board. Pastor of the Church, Samuels, is hoping that the police would find the person who stole the electronic items and the articles be recovered.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 71

Enhancing agriculture industry part of APNU+AFC plan to develop Hinterland regions A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has promised to develop Guyana’s hinterland region and its inhabitants through agricultural avenues in its recently released manifesto. The manifesto, which was released Thursday last at the Stabroek Market, outlined ways in which the party will be tackling the “depressed” state of those Administrative Regions considered to be part of the Hinterland. Of these were Regions One, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten, which

the manifesto described as having “rich natural resources and human capital”. In pointing out the vast area of land that the Regions occupy, that being over 76 percent of Guyana’s landmass, the APNU+AFC proposed their vision for the Hinterland region to be that of food security. “A food security policy for the hinterland will also result in savings in transportation costs for staples in some hinterland households, and broaden the

resident skills base,” read the document. Moreover the manifesto highlighted that the citizens of those regions have traditionally met their food demands through subsistence agriculture, hunting and fishing. However, the document said that with the upsurge in mining and logging close to Indigenous communities, these activities have “severely compromised” the traditional food sources of the districts. Under an APNU+AFC

PPP/C President Cup Horses race debacle

administration the document outlined that the party will work with stakeholders for a Hinterland policy; promote environmentally sensitive and diversified food production; have the hinterland cattle-rearing industry take advantage of the international demand for ‘organic’ beef, and focus programmes on the production of regional food needs. Additionally, the document included measures to enhance the capacity of hinterland communities through specified fund, the acquisition of appropriate technology and create arrangements for producers

for marketing. Moreover, the Party’s manifesto said that, if elected, the APNU+AFC will support an “environmentally and economically sound development strategy” that will seek to benefit Indigenous inhabitants and other local communities. Furthermore, the manifesto outlined that the party will support the economic empowerment of those living in the Hinterland regions, through requisite capital resources and capacities for agricultural development; housing and road construction along with manufacturing and services. Within the manifesto the

party also stipulated that it will be adhering to both international and local policies with regard to the treatment of Indigenous peoples. The document said that while the APNU+AFC recognises the improvements in the laws and conditions of Indigenous Peoples in Guyana; there is still “significant progress” to be made in this regard. The document maintained that an APNU+AFC administration will recognise the protection of the right to traditional lands, territories and resources that Indigenous Peoples of Guyana have.

From page 12 *A Brazil-linked fibre optic cable running from Lethem to Georgetown. Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, had said that the cost for procurement and laying of the cable was US$4.5. But in a paid advertisement last week, Government said the cost of US$4.5M was only for the laying of the cable. *A US$32M networking system that includes 54 towers and a data centre stretching from Moleson Creek, Berbice to Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast. *A US$27M One Laptop per Family project that will see 90,000 laptops distributed to poor family across the country over three years. A US$42M transmission lines project, with a built in fibre optic cable, of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) was also announced. This fibre optic cable stretches from Moleson Creek to Anna Regina. Late last year, following reports in Kaieteur News, Government admitted that the Brazilian fibre optic cable was damaged before it had even become operational. The fact that the Brazilian cable is still not in operation has held back the ambitious

E-Governance project from benefiting Guyanese. Thousands of citizens have the laptops distributed by Government but no internet. With all the attention on the ICT projects and its costs, Government announced over a week ago that it has struck a deal with Dax which had done work on the fibre optic cable in the early stages, to fix it. According to the government, Dax Contracting Services Limited will fix the cable at no cost. However, in Clause Six of the contract, it specifically states that the Government of Guyana would undertake “to contribute financially to the cost of specific maintenance service of an emergency nature.” The government also agreed for the contractor to use and maintain the fibre optic cable, repeater stations and equipment for a period of 25 years with the option of renewal for an additional 15 years. LICENCE Government promised to support Dax, according to the law, to obtain licences to transmit and receive data via the fibre optic cable. Among other things, the agreement said, Dax will be provided with tax exemptions and incentives including but not limited to tax holidays;

remissions; waivers and duty free concessions on importation of equipment, spares, tools and vehicles. The contractor, according to the agreement, will be free to enter into a joint venture arrangement with any other company or entity. This includes the use of the cable to transmit and receive data and information from any part of the world. Dax will become sole operator for the cable and granted an Operator Licence or its equivalent issued by the Government of Guyana under two conditions. According to the agreement, these will be if Dax fully and willingly accepts the risks involved in accepting and using an Operator Licence prior to the enactment of the applicable legislation and support the Government in any response that the Government has to legally undertake in the likelihood of intervention by GT&T/ATN with regards to the granting and use of the Operator Licence. When contacted by this newspaper last week for a comment, the contractor, Faisal ‘Dax’ Mohamed said, “Hey, hey listen, you can go and f***k yourself.” He hung up the phone immediately after.

Jockey charged with attempted Jagdeo’s cronies begin takeover... murder, granted bail At the conclusion of the PPP/C President’s Cup Horses race meet last Sunday, two men were brutally stabbed and had to be hospitalized. A jockey has been charged with the crime. Winston Appadu, the jockey, of New Market Street, Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, appeared on Thursday before Magistrate Carolyn Artiga, at the Whim Magistrate’s Court and was granted bail in the sum of $600,000. This was after he was first refused bail the day before by Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh. The man is accused of attempting to murder Yuhvendra Jeetnarine called Chris, 22, of Bush Lot Village, Corentyne. On Thursday, Police Prosecutor Sergeant Althea Solomon did not object to bail after a medical report was presented to the court indicating that the victim was still hospitalized but was in a stable condition. However Magistrate Artiga granted bail on certain conditions that the accused report to the Whim Police Station every day at 15:00 hrs.

Winston Appadu His next court date has been set for May 11. The melee began around 21:00 hrs on Sunday evening at the after party of the PPP/ C Presidents Cup Horse race meet at the Port Mourant Turf Club. During the melee Jeetnarine and Trevor Butcher, 20, of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne, Berbice were both injured. According to information, after the fight began some of the men ran between the crowd. Butcher who was in the area told the fighters to move away from Yuvendra Jeetnarine

Trevor Butcher

next to him but Jeenarine reportedly pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the region of his abdomen causing his intestine to protrude. Jeenarine reportedly made an attempt to escape but was caught and given a severe beating. He was reportedly stabbed about ten times about the body. Both men were subsequently rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital and later transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital where emergency operations were performed on them. Butcher’s cousin, Steven Kanya, was also reportedly slashed across his abdomen during the melee by Jeenarine after he tried to make peace. He was treated at the Port Mourant Hospital and sent away. Reports are that the fight resulted from an old grievance between Jeenarine’s father and some other individuals. During the horse race meet also, Jeenarine family horse- “De Girl Them Sugar”, broke two legs and had to be put down.


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Sunday May 03, 2015

Death toll from U.S.-led strike rises to 52 civilians in Syria (Reuters) - The death toll from an air strike by U.S.-led forces on the northern Syrian province of Aleppo has risen to 52 including seven children, a group monitoring the conflict said yesterday. Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britishbased Observatory for Human Rights, said the death toll from Friday’s strike was the highest civilian loss in a single attack by U.S. and Arab forces since they started air raids against hardline Islamist militant groups in Syria such as Islamic State. U.S.-led forces are also targeting the group in Iraq. The Britain-based Observatory said the raid had mistakenly struck civilians in a village on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River in Aleppo province, killing members of at least six families. U.S.-led strikes had killed at least 66 civilians in Syria from the start of the raids on Sept. 23 until Friday’s strike, which brought the total to at least 118. The campaign has also killed nearly 2,000 Islamic State fighters, the Observatory said. The group said at least 13 people were still missing from Friday’s raid. The U.S. military did not confirm the civilian deaths but said it takes all such reports seriously and would look into the matter further. “We currently have no information to corroborate allegations that coalition air

strikes resulted in civilian casualties,” Major Curt Kellogg, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in an email. The U.S.-led air strikes have had little impact on the hardline Islamic State group, slowing its advances but failing to weaken it in areas it controls. The group has built its own government in Syria’s city of Raqqa, where it is most powerful. Washington and its allies say their aim is to support what they call moderate rebels fighting against both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State. But four years into Syria’s civil war, no side is close to victory. A third of the population has been made homeless and more than 220,000 people have been killed. Government forces have seen a series of setbacks on the battlefield recently and Islamist fighters have edged closer to Assad’s stronghold in the coastal areas. Fighting continued on Saturday between government forces and Islamist fighters in government-held Latakia, heartland of Assad’s minority Alawite community. The violence follows advances in neighbouring Idlib province by the hardline Ahrar al-Sham group and Syria’s al Qaeda wing Nusra Front, as well as other allied fighters. Syria’s state news agency said the army carried out overnight strikes on Nusra positions in Idlib.

Venezuela raises minimum wage 30 pct amid raging inflation CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro raised Venezuela’s minimum wage this weekend for the second time this year to help workers being battered by the world’s highest inflation. Speaking at a May Day rally, the socialist leader said he is boosting the minimum wage and pensions for retirees by 30 percent, with two-thirds of the increase coming this month and the rest on July 1. He also said he would raise salaries for government employees and military personnel. The wage increase, while a welcome relief for many workers, fell short of expectations that the embattled Maduro might use Friday’s celebrations to expand state control of the slumping economy. In recent days, Maduro has stepped up attacks on the country’s business elite, prompting the head of the nation’s biggest food maker, Empresas Polar, to publish a rare public letter to the president calling for dialogue. “Sometimes we don’t see the face of the monster that wants to destroy the economy and irritate the people,” Maduro told supporters at Friday’s rally. He promised more

measures in the coming days that he said would wrest control of the economy from the “oligarchs” and “big wigs” who he accuses of trying to topple the government. The pay increase follows a 15 percent hike in January and will take Venezuela’s minimum wage to 7,324 bolivars a month. That is about $1,162 at the country’s official exchange rate but less than $30 at the black market rate widely used to set many prices.Economists say the wage increases are only likely

to feed the inflationary spiral that coupled with widespread shortages of goods is wreaking havoc on Venezuelans as the oildependent economy struggles. Inflation last year totaled 69 percent, the highest in the world. And with oil prices down by a third from a year ago, the amount of dollars available to pay for importing goods ranging from car parts to toilet paper has fallen sharply, leaving reserves of international currencies at their lowest level in nearly 12 years.

Jamaica’s National Security Minister says DNA law is solid KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of National Security Peter Bunting is confident that the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Evidence Act, 2015 which makes provisions for police to take samples from criminal suspects, with or without their permission, will withstand any constitutional challenges. He said that prior to tabling the Bill in the House of Assembly on April 29, he had the input of the Attorney General’s Department, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Legal Reform Department on the matter. “One of the challenges that we grappled with in developing the Bill and making the provisions for the taking of samples, particularly without the consent of the suspect, is to ensure that the rights of the individual are observed and that only reasonable force is used to extract the sample from a nonconsenting suspect,” Bunting contended.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Sturgeon steals the show in British election (Reuters) - Detractors have vilified her as the most dangerous woman in Britain and an existential threat to the United Kingdom. New-found admirers have lauded her as an astute operator who has shaken up Britain’s maledominated political establishment. Either way, Scottish National Party leader (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon has become one of the most talked about political leaders in the campaign for next Thursday’s election. Though a familiar figure in Scotland, Sturgeon was barely known south of the border until she put in a formidable performance in a televised debate between Britain’s political party leaders on April 2. “Sturgeonmania” said newspaper headlines after the debate. Her emergence has gone hand in-hand with remarkable surge by the SNP, which lost a Scottish independence referendum in September that could have broken the United Kingdom apart, but has since quadrupled its membership. It is now forecast to take most - perhaps even all - of the 59 Scottish seats in the 650-seat United Kingdom parliament, obliterating the Labour Party in one of its traditional strongholds and potentially making Sturgeon kingmaker if neither the Conservatives nor Labour gain a majority. Sturgeon, 44, says the SNP occupies the leftist ground that Labour has abandoned. It promises an end to spending cuts and to protect the national health service. Although independence is still its ultimate goal, it has downplayed the issue for now and says that it wants to reflect the aspirations of all Britons. “We won’t just serve Scotland’s interests - though we will most certainly do that,” she told students at the London School of Economics. “But we will seek do more than that - we will also seek to play our part in bringing about positive, longlasting and progressive change right across the UK.” All this has political leaders and right-wing media commentators fulminating from their perches in London. The Daily Mail dubbed her “the Most Dangerous Woman in Britain”. Its columnist sneered at her as “La Sturgeon” and mocked what he called her “choirboy mullet hairdo”. The Sun

tabloid photo-shopped a picture of her posing in a Tartan bikini, putting her head on the body of singer Miley Cyrus. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron said a Labour-SNP deal was a “terrifying prospect” and a “match made in hell”. Former Prime Minister John Major said the SNP posed a “clear and present danger” to the future of the United Kingdom. Yet Sturgeon has won many fans in England. A poll in the Herald newspaper showed Sturgeon had the highest approval rating of any party leader across Scotland, England and Wales among men and women of all age groups, with a net approval rating of +33, compared to +7 for Cameron and -8 for Miliband. “Nicola Sturgeon, a woman unknown to most English people until the leaders’ debates, was deemed dangerous and destructive because, frankly, she seems so capable,” wrote leftwing columnist Suzanne Moore in the Guardian newspaper. In fact, it is not clear how much influence the SNP can wield in London after the election, even if, as polls predict, it controls the balance of power. Sturgeon has committed to keeping the Conservatives out, which leaves her little choice but to back Labour leader Ed Miliband as prime minister. Miliband says he will not form a coalition with the SNP, effectively challenging Sturgeon to support him in a minority government or explain to her left-wing Scottish voters why she let Cameron keep his job. Still, having a large and vocal party to his left could influence some of Miliband’s policies, and force him to cooperate occasionally with

the Conservatives to pass laws, such as renewing Britain’s nuclear arsenal, which the SNP opposes. “I AM LEADER” Her popularity outside Scotland stands in stark contrast to her pugnacious predecessor as SNP leader, Alex Salmond, who resigned after last year’s referendum defeat and is loathed in England. An early Conservative campaign poster showed a picture of Salmond with Labour leader Ed Miliband in his jacket pocket. As Sturgeon broke onto the scene, the poster was changed to show Miliband in her pocket. Although she played tribute to Salmond as a friend and mentor when he quit, there is still the potential for rivalry. If he wins in his Aberdeen constituency, Salmond will take a seat in the House of Commons in London, while Sturgeon, who is not standing for a British seat, will stay in Scotland as party leader and first minister of the Scottish government. Sturgeon has nevertheless made it clear that it will be her taking the train south for any negotiations in the event that the SNP secures the kingmaker role. When asked if she had ever had a row with Salmond, she told the BBC: “Yes.” When asked what about, she said: “I’m not telling you.” “The final say now as leader of the party is now mine.... That’s how leadership works,” she said. “I am the leader.” Sturgeon was born in the southern Scottish town of Irvine. Her father was electrician and her mother a dental nurse and she was educated at a state school. She graduated in law from Glasgow University and worked as a lawyer.

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Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Rowley: Result of wild spending Trinidad Guardian Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley says the People’s Partnership Government should accept “personal and direct” blame for the Moody’s downgrade of this country. He made the comment in an impromptu interview in the Parliament Friday, as he labelled the situation a “day of shame” in T&T history. He said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was hoping the downgrade would not happen before the general election. “Today is a day of shame in T&T. What’s going on in the Parliament is a shame and our avoidable downgrade is also a shame.” Rowley said even in the face of “the dramatic decline in oil prices, the Government was telling us nothing should or would change because they were running surplus in the face of that revenue (shortfall).” He said the Opposition had been demanding for several months that the Government “come clean with

the population.” According to Rowley, the Moody’s downgrade was due to the continuous budget deficit with no plan by the Government to deal with it. “This Government has run a deficit in every single budget, spending far more than we were earning and there was no plan to change that, (only) old talk,” he added. Rowley said another reason for the downgrade was the effect of the oil price decline on the economy and that prospects for growth were not being achieved. He said this was quite contrary to what the Finance and the Economy Minister Larry Howai had been telling citizens and he accused the Government of “fabricating growth rates for us when in fact we were going over a cliff and the Government was telling us the opposite.” Rowley said the downgrade was also caused by the non-existent or unreliable data. “This Government has

Dr. Keith Rowley taken active steps to prevent the operations of a Central Statistics Office so we could get good data...so we now have to rely on ministerial misrepresentations and halftruths,” he said. “Moody’s had a good look at T&T over a protracted period and came to the conclusion that the country’s creditworthiness is not going to be based on what the Government says, but on what the facts are.”

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Sunday May 03, 2015

GSCL Inc/Independence Cup

Yusuf, Narine, Kingston shine; Regal to battle Shuttle Max in open final By Zaheer Mohamed

Outstanding performances by Yunnis Yusuf, Ramesh Narine and Samuel Kingston highlighted the opening round of matches when the Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL)/Independence Cup commenced over the weekend. Playing in the over-40 category, Yusuf struck 64 to lead Floodlight to a five-wicket victory over Industry Super Kings at Everest. Industry scored 189 all out in 18.2 overs. B. Persaud stroked 82; Greg De Franca, Wayne Jones and Narine claimed three wickets each. Yusuf got support from Imtiaz Mohamed 42 as Floodlight replied with 190-5; David Harper took 2-45. Regal Masters overcame Industry by 72 runs. Regal took first strike and rattled up 219-5 in 20 overs. Kingston

slammed 64; Rudolph Baker made 45 ands Eric Thomas 32. Jagdesh Persaud and R. Mohan had two scalps each. Industry replied with 124-8 in 20 overs. Harper scored 48 and Persaud 23; Vidian Da Silva, Troy Kippins and Mahendra Arjune took two wickets apiece. Park Ranger beat Tropical Spring by seven wickets. Batting first, Tropical Spring were bowled out for 122. Rudy Rodrigues got 42 as Ryan Persaud snared 3-32, R. Ramnauth 2-15 and Ricky Persaud 2-19. Park Rangers responded with 123-3 in 14 overs. Mohamed Rafeek made 46; Raymond Karim took 3-25. Floodlight thumped Savage by 72 runs. Floodlight batted first and managed 221 all out in 20 overs. Yusuf cracked 94 while Ramesh Narine made 36. Danny Thomas claimed 3-

Yunnis Yusuf (left) and Richard Persaud 30 and Falim Mohamed 2-20. Savage responded with 149-7 in 20 overs. Eon Lovell scored 43 and Mohamed 37; Narine had 2-9. Regal Masters trounced Savage by 140 runs. Regal notched up 225-4 in 20 overs. Eon Abel led with 64; Kingston made 51, Arjune 50 and Baker 44; Mohamed had

3-53. Savage replied with 1156 in 20 overs. Mohamed scored 48; Laurie Singh and Da Silva took two scalps each. Floodlight defeated Tropical Spring by 128 runs. Floodlight posted 277-6 in 20 overs. Ramesh Narine

smashed 99, De Franca 69 and Richard Persaud 45. Nandram Samall had 3-13 and Mike Singh 2-40. Tropical Spring were routed for 149 all out in 17 overs in response. Hafeez Samad made 52. Industry beat Park Rangers by 45 runs. Industry managed 195-8 in 20 overs, batting first with Surujlall Kumar scoring 84. Park Rangers responded with 150-9 in 20 overs. Regal thumped Tropical Spring by 171 runs. Regal rattled up 251-8 in 20 overs, taking first knock. Shahed Mohamed stroked 47. Tropical Spring made 80-8 in 10.4 overs in reply, innings closed. In the open category, Shuttle Max overcame Wolf’s Warriors by four wickets. Wolf’s Warriors took first knock and scored 181 al out in 20 overs.

K. Ramsundar made 32; Narine Budho claimed 3-43. Shuttle Max responded with 182-6 in 17.1 overs. A. Rooplall led with 61 while R. Ramnauth made 56. Regal beat Shuttle Max by 41 runs. Batting first, Regal scored 181-7 in 20 overs. Chien Gittens made 45. Shuttle Max were restricted for 148-7 in 20 overs. D. Deosarran made 47; Sewchand Budhu claimed 320. Farm went down to Regal by 158 runs. Regal batted first and scored 209 all out in 20 overs. Martin Dutchin cracked 63, Patrick Khan, Sheldon Perch and A. Mohan had two wickets each. Farm were skittled for 51 in nine overs in reply. Richard Latiff and Budhu took three scalps each.

Hat-tricks for Leon Moore... Sunday May 03, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You may need to take the day off to replenish your soul, Aries. You've been working exceptionally hard lately. While your output is impressive, it's coming at a high personal cost. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Pay attention to your dreams today, Taurus. They're likely to be interesting! If possible, write down your impressions the moment you wake up. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You may feel great about yourself, Gemini. It's no mystery why. You're looking better than you have in months. People are responding to you very favorably. CANCER (June 21–July 22) This may not be the most energetic day, Cancer. You've been working hard lately and your body needs time to refuel. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Take care that you don't spend beyond your means, Leo. There's no doubt about it - you like to shop! VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Today is a good day to join a group that shares your interests, Virgo. You will find comfort in numbers, as well as some real intellectual stimulation that comes from discovering new things with like-minded people.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You have a sharp, inquisitive mind, Libra. Today you're likely to put it to good use exploring some arcane fields. It's likely your chief area of interest is scientific. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) The astral configuration indicates that you can expect a financial windfall of some sort, Scorpio! This is great, but don't celebrate just yet. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) Love and romance are in the air, Sagittarius. The flame is going to be turned up a bit in an existing relationship. CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) You have a creative soul, Capricorn, and today it's working overtime. You can't stop all sorts of imaginative ideas. AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) If you've been feeling like you want to do more to help the world, Aquarius, today is the day to put those thoughts into action. There is a lot you can do locally. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) If you've had a longstanding interest in film or photography, today is a good day to explore that interest further, Pisces. You will likely receive an opportunity to learn some of the intricacies of the craft. Who knows?

(From page 82) of the second half when Jamallo Benjamin broke the deadlock drilling a well-taken shot past custodian Nigel Ram in the 40th minute. Four minutes later, Evans netted the first of his double as Grove gradually wrested the initiative from the Diamond Unit. Their inspirational leader and leading scorer Teon Forde who played in all the positions, tried his utmost to ensure his team was competitive but did not succeed. Evans put the icing on the cake in the 50th minute to see his team to full points. Shoran James returned to ripping form for Herstelling Raiders who put away the challenge of Kuru Kururu Warriors 4-0. James fired in his goals in the 19th, 21st, and 31st minute with the final goal coming off the boot of Elisha Crawford in the 55th minute in a commanding performance from the Raiders. The day’s opening game saw Agricola Red Triangle hammer Mocha Champs 6-1, thanks to a hat-trick from their leading goal scorer, Leon Moore, his second hat-trick of the tournament. Moore was on target in the 7th, 15th and 36th minute, Agricola enjoying a 3-1 half time advantage; Eon Mars netted their only goal on the stroke of half time. Kerwayne Anthony netted Agricola’s third in the 26th minute. After the break, Mocha put up some resistance as they held off Agricola until the final three minutes of the game. They were awarded a penalty in the 5th which goalkeeper Christopher Adams who was hardly tested, con-

verted effortlessly. One minute later, Shamar Hicks latched on to a direct

pass to put the ball past goalkeeper Shamar DeGroot with a first time shot.


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

ECB/Busta 50-over festival

Wakenaam and Central E’bo through to final Wakenaam and Central Essequibo will contest the final of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB)/Busta 50-over festival-both teams recorded victories in their respective semi final games yesterday. At Pomona, Wakenaam defeated East Bank Essequibo by four wickets. East Bank were bowled out for 122 in 28 overs, batting first. Kevon Boodie scored 50 (5x4) and R. Balgobin made 19 as Nokta Moses claimed 3-10 while Keemo Paul and Ricardo Adams had two each. Wakenaam responded with 124-6 in 26 overs. Adams slammed 50 not out (3x4) and Wayne Osborne 13. At Imam Bacchus ground, Central Essequibo overcame Leguan by 142 runs. Central

Ricardo Adams

Parmesh Parsotam

batted first and posted 212 all out in 47 overs. Parmesh Parsotam led with 53, while Ronsford Beaton made 46 and Yugeshwar Lall 29. Tyrone Narine picked up three wickets and Kevin Gordon two.

Leguan were bowled out for 70 in 21 overs in reply. Anthony Ifill bagged 5-18 and Herry green 4-12. The final is set for today at Imam Bacchus ground, Affiance.

Ruimveldt capture Sarjoo Memorial T20 title

Members of the victorious Ruimveldt team display their prizes with president of the EBDCA Anand Kalladeen (right) and Rohan Sarjoo (left). By Zaheer Mohamed Ruimveldt defeated Soesdyke by 12 runs to win the final of the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association/Neville Sarjoo Memorial T20 tournament played on Friday last at Laluni, Linden Highway. Batting first in front of a fair sized crowd, Ruimveldt managed 119-6 in 20 overs on a difficult pitch. Almando Doman stroked 40 aided with two fours and two sixes, while Eric Sukwah scored 31 with two fours and one six. The pair shared in a seven wicket stand of 56 to prop up their team total in the latter stages of their innings. Tony Mootoo and Seon Bovell had earlier made 15 and 12 respectively. Colin Benn claimed 3-19, while Ronaldo Jaisingh and Rakesh Gangaram took one each. Soesdyke threatened before they were bowled out for 107 in 19.4 overs in reply.

Melroy Gomes cracked 24 (2x4,1x6) at the top of the order, but Soesdyke lost their way in the middle before Jaisingh and Colin Benjamin gave them hope with an seven-wicket partnership of 46. However their separation in the 18th over virtually gave Ruimveldt victory as the other batsmen failed to take their team over the ropes. Jaisingh slammed 32 with one four and four towering sixes, while Benjamin scored 20 (2x4,1x6). Tony Mootoo snared 3-11 and Sukwah 2-13. Sukwah was named man of the match, while Bovell claimed the best wicketkeeper award and Doman the best batsman prize. Both finalist received trophies. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, president of the EBDCA Anand Kalladeen thanked the Sarjoo family for sponsoring the competition and encouraged the players to take the game seriously. Former International um-

pire Edward Nicholls recalled the late Neville Sarjoo as an ardent cricket fan who supported the development of the game. Former national cricketer and son of the late Neville, Rohan Sarjoo thanked the EBDCA for granting them the opportunity to sponsor the tournament and congratulated the teams. He added that his family will construct a pavilion in the name of his late father at the Laluni ground. Rohan thanked director of sport Neil Kumar who donated cricket gears to the outstanding players in the final and Scotia bank for presenting cricket kits to schools in Laluni and Soesdyke. Meanwhile, EBDCA executive XI overcame Laluni in the exhibition 12-over game played after. Terrence Decunha took the man go the match award. Neville Sarjoo served as a member of the Guyana Cricket Board for a number of years.

Page 77

Hawks soar over Nets to seal series victory (The Sports Xchange) Paul Millsap collected 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Atlanta Hawks closed out their first round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets with a 111-87 road victory in Game Six on Friday. Kyle Korver had his best postseason game from behind the arc by hitting six threepointers while scoring 20 points for Atlanta, who advanced past the first round for the first time since 2011 with a 4-2 victory in the best-ofseven series. DeMarre Carroll finished with 20 points and point guard Jeff Teague set a playoff career-best with 13 assists. The Hawks will host the Washington Wizards in Game One of the Eastern Conference semi-finals today. Brook Lopez scored 19 points for the Nets, who were two wins away from becoming the sixth eighth seed to

Atlanta Hawks power forward Paul Millsap (4) controls the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. (Reuters) win a first-round series and the second team with a losing regular-season record (38-44) to win a postseason series. The Nets had won Games Three and Four at home to make things interesting against top-seeded Atlanta but were unable to match the

Hawks in the final two contests. After falling behind early, the Hawks led for the final 45:31 and left little doubt about the outcome, outscoring Brooklyn 41-21 in the third quarter to blow the game wide open.

Favourites Sparta Boss... (From page 78) watering meeting with nemesis West Front Road on Tuesday. Earlier, Queen Street were a bit unlucky not to register at least three goals within the opening five minutes, before Nelson’s pace, power and individual skill prove decisive for the victors. Queen Street Deon Alfred ran on to a long ball from the back which landed a bit ackwardly for him, but he sxtill had the poise to deliver a volley which was pushed over the bar for a corner. They had at least two more chances to take the lead, but superb goalkeeping kept them at bay despite them dominating the first period. The second half belonged to West Front Road as Hubert Pedro, Nelson, Randolph

Wagner and Michael Oie found their rhythm, creating chance after chance and it took impressive defending and similar goalkeeping to keep them off the scoresheet. However, Nelson’s solo effort proved o much for the Queen Street backline and the rest is history. His goal came five minutes after the resumption. Queen Street will now play Kitty Weavers for third place and another large turnout is anticipated. The winning team will take home the championship trophy and $600,000, while the second, third and fourth placed finishers cart off $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively along with trophies. The Most Valuable player collects $50,000, Most Disci-

plined team $25,000 and the respective group winners $25,000. Apart from the Guyana Beverages Inc who is the Platinum sponsor, some of the other entities on board are: Lucky Dollar, GT&T, Star Party Rentals, Nigel’s Supermarket, 2Js General Store, Junior’s Jewellery & Pawn Shop and Mendonca Creole. Game-1 Queen Street Tigerbay-0 vs West Front Road-1 Colin Nelson-25th Game-2 Sparta Boss-4 vs Kitty Weavers-2 Sparta Scorers Devon Millington-4th Sheldon Shepherd-7th Travis Grant-35th Gregory Richardson-40th Kitty Scorers Colin Clarke-9th Sherwin Vincent-21st

A player from Queen Street Tiger Bay unleashes a shot at the West Front Road goal during their encounter on Friday night at the GFC ground.


Page 78

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 03, 2015

“Alastair Cook, England’s Test captain, is a boss!” Colin E. H. Croft Machel Montano, the justifiably much celebrated soca performer and front-man of his HD-Family band from Trinidad & Tobago, should agree that England’s Test cricket captain, Alastair Nathan Cook, to paraphrase Machel himself, is a “real boss” in many more ways than just the obvious! With team-mates committing hara-kiri or being genuinely dismissed by a West Indies bowling attack partly improved for Test No. 3, Cook showed how to battle on a tough deck, never flinching, giving no quarter, his concentration just waning at the end of his long, weary, first-day innings. To be so carelessly dismissed with the last ball of an attritional 1st day would have been Cook’s massive disappointment, after his 26th Test century, highest in the annals of English Test cricket, in 112 Tests, an excellent 105 in six hard hours of combat, an effort with which Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson would have

been proud. The British Flag Officer, Knight, and inspirational leader whose legend continues to this day – ‘Britain expects that every man will do his duty’ - could not have fought better in his final, fatal victory at Trafalgar. Cook was in his own “Battle of Kensington!’ Much maligned for slowness, lack of volatility at the crease, staid in overall approach, even accused of lacking any cricketing personality whatsoever, and dropped from his country’s ODI team, Cook retaliated with a superbly calm, classical, perfectfor-purpose century. You can bet that no English supporter would be ridiculing Cook now. His second century at the “Mecca”, after 94 and 139 not out there in 2009, was as authentic a Test century; dour but diligent; as has been seen anywhere in the Caribbean. Cook’s 105 was a true display of grit, doggedness and Test match batting character. WI won that first day, getting seven wickets, but Cook won

his own personal war, as that was his first Test century for nearly two years, his last coming against New Zealand on 24th May 2013. Having honed my fast bowling skills in the nets against Guyanese left-handed Test batsmen Roy Fredericks, Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran and Leonard Baichan, I can attest that lefthanders are terribly difficult to bowl to, especially if, as the best usually are, they can judge lengths and line almost to the millimeter, as Cook did on Day 1, Test No. 3, against WI. Any fast bowler’s additional weapon against good left-handed batsmen is to learn as to how to bowl just as well from around the wicket as bowling over the wicket, particularly if one bowls predominantly fast, slanted offcutters, as I did, and as Shannon Gabriel now does for WI. When I played for WI, “Big Bird” Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Malcom Marshall, due to their closeness to the non-strikers stumps on delivery, way

Laluni and Soesdyke schools receive cricket kits from Scotia bank Laluni Primary School and Camille’s Institute on Friday last received cricket kits from Scotia bank following the con-

clusion of the East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA)/Neville Sarjoo Memorial T20 tournament. Both

schools welcomed the initiative. Olufemi Sandy a teacher at Camille’s Institute thanked the entity and EBDCA.

“straighter” than I was on delivery, were the ones regularly tasked with getting opposing left-handers out. I did get some success, though, against prolific lefthanders including Pakistan’s Wasim Raja and Sadiq Mohammad, Australia’s Graeme Wood, Allan Border and Rodney Marsh, New Zealand’s underrated John Wright and Bruce Edgar, and arguably the best left-hander I have ever bowled to in international cricket, England’s batting doyen, David Gower. Knowing how to bowl well from around the wicket helped me with those excellent lefthanders, but delivering from around the wicket is not an easy exercise, taking much power, strength and vastly different positioning of the body. Gabriel must add that art to his bowling immediately, or, even as he bowled well in England’s 1st innings, he will miss out on other possible dismissals. Jason Holder also bowled well, but Jerome Taylor looked more like Kemar Roach

Olufemi Sandy (right) of Camille’s Institute receives the kits from Kalladeen.

Lance Gibbs and David Holford in their cricketing pomp. Edrich, not unlike Cook, made a dogged 146 in nearly eight hours at the crease, while Boycott, much to his chagrin, got a spritely 90, by his standards, in just over four hours, in a drawn game. Cook’s work is not yet done, for it is normally the third innings of a Test; today (Sunday); which changes fortunes of Test matches. Look out for him trying to lead from the front again. Enjoy! E-mail c.e.h.croft@gmail.com

Busta Soft Shoe Football Competition

Favourites Sparta Boss, West Front Road set up dream final -Weavers, Queen Street to play for third place By Rawle Welch

Sir Eben (only name give) accepts the kits on behalf of Laluni Primary school from President of EBDCA Anand Kalladeen (left).

appeared in that disappointing 2nd Test; tired, getting nothing from the reserves, perhaps also being too injured to be actually playing. Taylor’s pistons seemed similarly blown. Veerasammy Permaul could yet have a big part to play for WI to win this game, but he will have to be severely stingier if he is to be WI’s hero come Monday, before WI bats last. Anyway, Cook reminds me, more than anyone else, of England’s John Edrich, who in late 1960’s and early 1970’s, became the perennial opening partner of indomitable Geoffrey Boycott. Playing for Lancashire CCC at the start of my career in 1977/8, against Surrey CCC and Edrich, at the tail end of his career, he was still just as tough to get out, even then. Edrich and Boycott were also quite successful at Kensington Oval, in 1968, the pair putting on 172 for the first wicket against a great WI bowling attack which consisted of (Sir) Garfield Sobers, (Sir) Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith,

As predicted pre-tournament favourites Sparta Boss and West Front Road will clash in the final of the inaugural Busta Soft Shoe Football Competition after defeating their respective opponents Kitty Weavers and Queen Street of Tiger Bay in semi-final action which concluded on Friday night, at the GFC ground. Despite the eventual lopsided margin of victory, Sparta Boss with a cadre of top quality players in their line-up, were made to fight to eliminate a stubborn Kitty Weavers unit that showed no fear for their opposite number in an enthralling slugfest that at one stage looked to be heading for extra time and possible penalty shootout. However, former national striker Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson and national midfielder Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant erased those considerations after netting in the latter stages of the game to see their team to a 4-2 win and guarantee a place in the final. In the first semi-final, West Front Road and national striker Colin Nelson showed

his superior class to separate them from Queen Street in another pulsating clash that ended 1-0. The Sparta Boss versus Kitty Weavers lived up to all expectations as fans knew judging from the North Georgetown-based unit’s earlier performances they would have provided a stern test for the heavily favoured Sparta Boss side. Former national striker Devon Millington opened the scoring for Sparta Boss when he fired into the goal after four minutes. Sheldon Shepherd, who was returning from a onegame uspension after being red-carded in their clash against Globe Yard, made it 20 when he raced on to a squared pass from the left-sdie to blast into the back of the nets three minutes later. However, Weavers comprising a few players with national experience would not go away and Colin Clarke’s thunderous strike delivered from inside their half and which eluded all and sundry, before settling into the far corner signaled their intentions right away. It meant that they were not

going to bow down and wave a white flag and Sparta Boss fans were given a timely reminder that it would not be a canter for their team as the skilful Sherwin Vincent provided irrefutable proof of his ability when he cleverly faked one defender into the wrong direction, before swivelling and rifling past a stunned goalkeeper to level the proceedings after twenty-one minutes. It was enough evidence to suggest that a digfight was on and fans braced themselves for the ensuing battle. The youthful Sparta Boss side, however, was able to withstand the pace as the Weavers main playmakers Terrence ‘Olehead’ Lewis, Quincy Madramootoo and Wendell St. Hill seemed to run out of gas and allowed two more breaches in their defence which resulted in goals. Grant first rifled in from just outside the penalty area in the 35th minute, before Richardson, who was being kept at bay all night suddently sprung to life to squeez a shot past the keeper from a pinpoint pass on the stroke of full time to set up a mouth (Continued on page 77)


Sunday May 03, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 79

GAPF inaugural Clash of Champions Invitational C/ships

Andrea Smith and Vijai Rahim sizzle as records tumble; 14 year-old Britney Mack impresses Andrea Smith turned the tables on fierce rival Chloe Hunter to claim the overall title, while Vijai Rahim proved yet again that he is a class act to win the men’s overall crown when the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) held its inaugural Clash of Champions Invitational Championships on Friday May 1st at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue. Sizzling competition was the order of the day, put on by the respective weight division champions in Guyana which saw a number of records being smashed in the process whilst some lifters also recorded personal bests. Smith who had to settle for the runner-up spot at the 2014 National Championships to Hunter went all the way this time, outdoing her rival due to a lighter bodyweight which was decided by the Wilkes calculation. In the women’s 52kg class 14 year-old sensation Britney Mack in only her second appearance at the National level and coached by her father, Caribbean 74kg Open Champion Dr. Osmond Mack, displayed scintillating form as she inked her name in the National record books. The young Mack smashed the previous records that were set by Steffi De Nobrega by posting new marks in the Squat (115kgs), Bench Press (45kgs), Deadlift

Overall Female Champ Andrea Smith receives her prize from New GPC’s Livasti Bhooplall in the presence of Chloe Hunter. (107.5kgs) and Total (267.5kgs) replacing the former total of 257.5kgs to become the new undisputed Champion at the Sub Junior and Junior levels. The fierce rivalry between Smith and Hunter consumed another chapter in their ongoing duel in the 57kg category. Smith (Squat 137.5kg, Bench Press 67.5kg, Deadlift 165kg, Total 370kg) upstaged Hunter (Squat 132.5kg, Bench Press 77.5kg, Deadlift 160kg, Total 370kg) enjoyed the top spot this time as a result of a lighter bodyweight of 53.9kgs/Wilkes score of 448.55 compared to Hunter’s heavier bodyweight of 54.8kgs and Wilkes score

of 442.77. So fierce were the displays that both lifters unofficially have smashed the current Caribbean records held by Jannitzzi Tapia of Puerto Rico whose total stands at 357.50kgs. CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS OVERALL TITLE 1st Place - Andrea Smith wilkes points total 448.5 2nd Place – Chloe Hunter wilkes points total 442.77 3rd –Place – Britney Mack wilkes points total 348.90 In the men’s segment, National Open and Junior cham-

GCB wins first challenge to the CAB The national cricket authorities continue to make their opposition to the content of the Cricket Administration Bill known by winning their first challenge to this piece of legislation. On October 20th 2014, a group of cricket entities and their representatives within the structure of the GCB along with Cricket Guy Inc. filed a court challenge against the Cricket Bill primarily against the seizure of assets, inserting of new membership and arbitrarily imposing constitutions on the GCB and its membership without these being assented to by the very membership. Also, the cricket authorities and many members of the public continued to identify many significant flaws in the Bill, piloted through parliament. The court order issued last Thursday by the Honourable Chief Justice Ian

Chang basically stops the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Mr. Frank Anthony from calling any elections of the Guyana Cricket Board, Demerara Cricket Board, Essequibo Cricket Board or Berbice Cricket Board until the hearing and determination of the substantive matter. The full content of the court order reads: “UPON READING the Application by way of Summons on the part of the abovenamed Plaintiffs filed herein on the 20th day of October, 2014, and the Affidavit in Support of Summons sworn to by ANAND SANASIE, LALTA DIGAMBER, FIZUL BACCHUS, ROHAN SARJOO and JOHNNY AZEEZ the above-named Plaintiffs sworn to and filed herein on the 20th day of October, 2014, and the Affidavit in Answer of SITA RAMLAL of the Solicitor General’s Office sworn to and filed herein

of the 28th day of November, 2014, and the Affidavit in Reply of ANAND SANASIE, LALTA DIGAMBER, FIZUL BACCHUS, ROHAN SARJOO and JOHNNY AZEEZ sworn to and filed herein on the 9th day of December, 2014, and the Submissions on behalf of the parties AND UPON HEARING Attorneys-at-Law for the Plaintiffs and for the Defendants and the Court having delivered its Decision IT IS ORDERED AND DIRECTED that the holding of Elections of Office Bearers of bodies under the Guyana Cricket Administration Act No. 14 of 2014 be and is hereby suspended until the hearing and determination of the substantive Action AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this matter do take its Normal Course”. The Cricket Administration Bill is likely to face many court challenges.

Men’s Overall Champion Vijai Rahim collects his prize from GAPF’s Dawn Barker.

Britney Mack at the 2015 Novice competition.

pion as well as the Best Lifter Overall in 2013 and 2014 Vijai Rahim was the lone competitor in the 66kg class, bettered his own Deadlift record of 272.5 with a new lift of 275kgs before returning to the winners row for the Best Lifter Overall accolade. In the 74kg category the eagerly awaited match up pitting previously undefeated National and Caribbean Champion Winston ‘Little Master’ Stoby and 2014 Caribbean Champion Osmond Mack went down to the wire with Mack dethroning a game an extremely competitive World Masters 2 Deadlift champion, Stoby by a mere 5kgs. Final score Mack, (Squat 260kgs, Bench Press 152.5kgs, Deadlift 147.5kg, Total 660kgs) defeated Stoby (Squat 240kgs, Bench Press 140kgs, Deadlift 275kgs, Total 655kgs) to be crowned the new champion. Osmond Mack now holds the National records in the Squat, Bench Press and Total with Stoby holding on to his Deadlift record in the Open 74kg class.

In the 83kg class, Junior lifter Rudolph Blackman (Squat 272.5kgs, Bench Press 165kgs, Deadlift 272.5kgs) took advantage of the absence of top seeds Randolph ‘The Accomplisher’ Morgan and Anis Ade Thomas to squeeze out a winning total of 720kgs against challenger Hardat Tarson (Squat 275kgs, Bench Press 160kgs, Deadlift 280kgs, Total 715kgs). Competing in the 74kg category was Paul Adams who recorded a Squat of 195kgs, Bench Press 140kgs, Deadlift 235kgs and Total 570kgs. Ruling the roost in the 93kg class was 2014 Caribbean gold medalist Mariano Jeffrey whose commanding performance saw him set new National records in the Squat 272.5kgs, Bench Press 165kgs, Deadlift 245kgs and Total 682.5kgs to beat Nigel Phillips (Squat 275kgs, Bench Press 155kgs, Deadlift 230kgs, Total 660kgs). Seventy-one year-old Nairanjan Singh based in the USA returned home to compete claiming the records in

Masters 4 (93kg category) with lifts of Squat 142.5kgs, Bench Press 120kg, Deadlift 172.5kgs, Total 435kgs. The 105kg class saw seasoned campaigner and former Caribbean champion Karel Mars despite lifting below par achieve a Squat of 275kgs, Bench Press 165kgs, Deadlift 285kgs, Total 725kgs out lifted Fazim Abdool (Squat 272.5kgs, Bench Press 182.5kgs, Deadlift 250kgs, Total 705kgs. Claiming third was Jagdesh Budhram with a Squat of 215kgs, Bench Press 132.5kgs, Deadlift 250kgs, Total 597.5kgs. The120kg class saw the much anticipated heavyweight match up between Colin ‘Mr. Clean’ Chesney representing Upper Demerara and 2014 National champion Farouk Abdool of Berbice having the respective supporters urging the lifters on as they battled each other tallying a same squat lift of 320kgs before Chesney inched ahead with a Bench Press of 2 0 5 k g s t o A b d o o l ’s 200kgs. Chesney was again better in the Deadlift powering to 290kgs and Total of 815kgs to Abdool’s 282.5kgs and Total of 802.5kgs. The lone Classic/Raw category 120+kg class lifter Rondel Clementson (lifting without support gear continues to improve despite being the solitary unequipped lifter as well as sole competitor with a squat of 235kgs, bench press of 147.5kg, dead lift of 277.5kg and total of 660kgs). Sponsorship for the day’s event was provided by New GPC Inc., Sterling Products, International Pharmaceutical Agency and Banks DIH Limited. The lifters were also presented with monetary stipends to offset their training costs.

Serenity Restaurant & Bar two-day Domino Tournament commences tomorrow The big two-day Domino Tournament organised by Timothy Fisher of Land Surveyor’s Associates and Michael Sandy will commence tomorrow and conclude the following day, at the Serenity Restaurant & Bar on Durban Street, Lodge. The event, which is being organised by Mark ‘Jumbie’

Wiltshire, starts at 19:30 hrs tomorrow and 14:00hrs on Tuesday. According to the Organiser, most of the top local teams have already signaled their intentions to participate in the competition which carries a first prize of $150,000 and the winning trophy, while second and third placed finishers will receive

$75,000 and $35,000 respectively. Entrance fee is $10,000 per team and they are expected to come from all parts of Georgetown,m East Coast and West Coast Demerara and the West and East Bank of Demerara. Food and drinks will be on sale during the days of competition.


Page 80

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 03, 2015

Late afternoon wickets keep Windies in hunt Anderson (6-42), Blackwood (85) share 2nd day honours By Sean Devers in Barbados In association with Carib Beer & Noble House Seafoods Before another full house at the Kensington Oval, England spearheaded by James Anderson’s 17th fivewicket haul, ended the second day of the third and final Test against West Indies, with the contest intriguingly placed in a match the host must win to avoid a series defeat. Anderson shared honours with Jermaine Blackwood, who scored an aggressive 85 on a riveting day in which 18 wickets tumbled for 245 runs in 77.5 overs on a track still good to bat on. Blackwood batted 146 minutes, 88 balls and hit 11 fours and four sixes as West Indies, replying to England’s 257 were dismissed for 189. The 32-year-old Anderson captured 6-42 for England who ended the day on 39-5 in their second innings, with a lead of 107 with five wickets in hand. Gary Ballance (12) and Stokes (8) are the not out batsmen after a late afternoon burst from Jerome Taylor, Shannon Gabriel, Jason

Holder and Veerasammy Permaul kept hopes alive of a sensational win in a game not likely to last five days. By the close, England had lost Jonathon Trott (9), first innings centurion Alistair Cook (4), Ian Bell (0), Joe Root (1) and Moeen Ali (8) to leave the visitors on 39-5 with Taylor taking 2-16 , Gabriel 14, Holder 1-7 and Permaul 1-7 to set up an interesting day today. Play resumed with the visitors on 240-7 and they fell for 257, forty minutes into the opening session with Taylor (3-36) taking all three wickets to clinically mop up the tail on a day is which a male English streaker scampered onto the field and was eventually caught by Police officers. Taylor had Bajan-born Ray Jordon (3) caught behind at 247-8 and then dismantled the stumps of Chris Broad (10) and James Anderson (0) in two balls. Holder (2-34), Gabriel (2-47) supported with the ball for the hosts who were off to a horrendous start. Kraigg Braithwaite, one of batsmen depended on to play a ‘long innings’ got a ball which left him, found the edge and was smartly taken at third slip by Jordon for a secondball duck as Anderson struck.

Moeen Ali played on late in the day, West Indies v England, 3rd Test, Bridgetown, 2nd day, May 2, 2015 © AFP Shai Hope was off the mark in Test Cricket in fortuitous manner when he edged Broad through the slip cordon to the boundary. Darren Bravo was badly dropped at second slip by Alistair Cook off Broad before he had scored before Television replays confirmed Hope (5) was taken low down at second slip by Cook off Anderson and the West Indies were wobbling on 5-2.

Shewjattan dominates GMR&SC day of races Rupie Shewjattan.

Driving a Mitsubishi Evolution V, motor racer Rupie Shewjattan was among those registering dominating performances when the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) held its Club Day recently, at the South Dakota Corcuit. Shewjattan speaking with this newspaper said that he registered three first places throughout the day to crown a good performance.

According to the former standout racer who was among the leading Group 2 and 3 drivers, he won two races in the Group 2&3 categories, before returning to the track to lead the field in the Handicap race. Shewjattan said that due to his outstanding display combined with the reliability and pace of the car he believes he is now ready to throw down the gauntlet on the opposition for 2015.

“The car worked well we had no issues throughout the day and I believe that this year we could reap the rewards for all the hard work that the team did to get the machine to perform so cons i s t e n t l y, ” S h e w j a t t a n stated. He added that he is now keenly looking forward to having a successful season and issued a challenge to all competitors to deny him top podium spots.

Bravo continued to flirt with danger and got off the mark with an impetuous drive at a wide ball which flew past a leaping Jordon at third slip and down to the boundary. Marlon Samuels got going with gorgeous back foot punch off Broad which reached the cover boundary like a bullet. But Bravo looked very loose and a wicked bouncer from Anderson nearly took his head off to the delight of the English dominated capacity crowd. Samuels’ second scoring shot was a stunning cover drive for four, but on a track which was still good for batting, Broad and Anderson bent their backs and passed the outside edge of both batsmen as they produced prodigious movement in sultry conditions. Samuels (9) was beaten for pace and trapped LBW to Anderson as the Caribbean team slipped to 21-3 to bring veteran Shiv Chanderpaul, no stranger to such situations, to the crease. Although the 40-old Guyanese has not reached 50 in this series, the experience of 164 Tests (the most by any West Indian) and his tremendous record on this ground where he scored his first Test ton against India in 1997, he was still a threat. Chanderpaul, who has 30 Test centuries with four of them being at this ground where has scored the most Test runs by any batsman, tucked the balls into the gaps as he started his innings quietly and by Lunch was on nine. Bravo (9) was with him and, with their team on 37-3 they knew their job was a huge one and that occupying

the crease was very important if they hoped to put any pressure on the tourists. After the interval, Bravo never suggested permanence was taken at slip off Ali before the West Indies had added to their Lunch time score. Blackwood joined Chanderpaul, who began this game 112 runs away from Brain Lara’s record of the most Test runs by a West Indian and the left-hander from Unity Village, tickled Ali to fine leg boundary before flicking him for two to go into double figures. Before Friday, nobody had scored a Test hundred at this ground since Chanderpaul’s unbeaten 112 against Australia in 2012 and the aging ‘Tiger’ needed to repeat that feat if the West Indies hoped to avoid defeat. The 50 was posted in 81 minutes with a neat tuck off his legs by Blackwood off Anderson for a boundary before he deposited Ali for six and pulled him for a couple of fours. Under a clear blue, sky Chanderpaul rocked back and cut Ali for two before swiveling and pulling him for four as the off-spinner bowled too short. But with the partnership on 45, Jordon held a brilliant right-handed catch at slip as Chanderpaul edged a forceful punch to a ball that bounced from off-spinner Joe Root. Chanderpaul’s 25 lasted 71 minutes, 66 balls and included three fours but left him still short of 100 runs in this series and 87 short of Lara’s record. Chanderpaul’s demise sunk the West Indies to 82-5 and brought Skipper Denish Ramdin (13) to the wicket but he soon edged a big drive at Broad leave his team on 107-

6. Holder (5) was removed by Stokes at 124 but Blackwood continued to play aggressively and dumped Root for a huge six. The 23 year-old reached his fourth Test fifty to add to the ton he scored in Antigua. His halfcentury came from 98 minutes, 61 balls and included eight fours and two sixes. Blackwood counterattacked and along with Permaul took the score to 1397 by Tea with Blackwood on 67 and Permaul on one. After the break, the 150 was posted in the 45th over with a pulled boundary by Blackwood while Permaul, who played a glorious cover drive followed up with a commanding hook off Anderson before a firm tuck off his body was held at short leg as Anderson removed Permaul (18) at 162-8. Taylor took the attack to the bowlers hitting two fours and a six in an 8-ball 15 but with Blackwood on 73 Taylor irresponsibly attempted another brainless big shot and was bowled by Anderson to epitomize why West Indies cricket continues to struggle due to a lack of basic common sense. Blackwood, desperate to get his second Test hundred with the last pair at the crease, danced into Anderson and lofted him back over his head for six to gallop into the 80s. However, a stupendous catch by Ali on the boundary orchestrated Blackwood’s demise off Anderson. Scores: England 257 (Cook 103, Moeen 58, Taylor 3-36) and 39 for 5 (Ballance 12*, Stokes 0*) lead West Indies 189 (Blackwood 85, Anderson 6-42) by 107 runs.






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