Kaieteur News

Online readership yesterday 100,905

April 09, 2013 - Vol. 6 No. 15 - Price $80

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Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

Withdraw all Jagdeo-issued radio frequencies now - Nagamootoo - “There will be no compromise on this matter” Thieves Britain’s only female using car PM Margaret Thatcher caught on camera stealing car parts

Teen stabbed to death on Kitty seawall Budget 2013…

Rohee boasts of achievements in Security sector

"Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher

dead at 87

Opposition wants Government Ministers to take polygraph

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Corent yne River Bridge, proper road among concerns raised Corentyne with President Ramotar A section of the gathering

President Donald Ramotar presents the Business of the Year Award to Nand Persaud and Co. Ltd The Berbice Chamber of Commerce during its second Annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner on Saturday at the Albion Estate Senior Staff Club, raised several concerns with President Donald Ramotar. These included the need for a proper East Bank Berbice Road; a connecting road from the Berbice River Bridge leading directly to New Amsterdam; proper

drainage and irrigation for farmers, and an update of the bridging of the Corentyne River.

Many complained about the reduced commerce and the decreased volume of traffic in New Amsterdam, since the construction of the Berbice River Bridge. The New Amsterdam Ferry Stelling stopped

functioning as a hub due to the opening of the bridge and the town is said to be “dying”.

The Chamber, which comprises several corporate entities in Berbice, and is Guyana’s oldest, celebrating its 81st Anniversary this year, has also inducted its newest President, Mark Roopnarine, of Ainlim

Berbice Inc. “People need to have access to their lands and to proper drainage,” said outgoing President, Imran Sacoor, while speaking about the dilapidated state of the 25mile long East Bank Berbice access road.

“The Suriname Bridge is going to create a lot of opportunities for commerce once it comes on board”, he said.

He asked President Ramotar to give an update about the state of works for the construction of the bridge across the Corentyne River.

“We recognize that when persons travel across the Bridge (to East Berbice) they go directly to the Corentyne.

The government must find a shorter route into New Amsterdam.”

The businesses also called for the government, especially the Tourism Ministry, to stop the 30 per cent tax that Guyanese, especially corporate employees during their vacation leave, have to pay if they were to visit local sites, for example Kaieteur Falls.

“Many persons don’t want to pay the 30 percent and would rather take a trip to Trinidad than to Kaieteur [Falls]”.

Sacoor touted the contributions of the Chambers during recent times, “and I think we have done many types of commerce- related activities within the last two years”.

The Berbice Business Magazine was launched recently and work is ongoing for a new edition, “so the vision is not only to build commerce in Berbice, but also to be able to sell Berbice internationally”. Numerous seminars, too, were conducted to train young people and businesspersons to expand their businesses. Seven of these persons who participated in those workshops even started up their own businesses, much to Sacoor’s delight.

Amjad Ally of Rose Hall Estate was awarded Sugar Worker of the Year, while Maggie Motaziuer received the Nurse of the Year prize.

Detective Corporal Ryan

Caesar received the Cop of the Year Award.

He was crucial to the solving of the murder of the late Berbice Constable, Diaram who was murdered last year.

The Sports Personality of the Year Award went to Quacy Matheson while Stamond Adams received the Award for Academic Excellence. T&R Karran and Sons received the Farmer of the Year Award while the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam copped the Community Service Award.

And Ansa McAl received the Corporate Award in Commerce and Corporate Responsibility, while President Ramotar presented Nand Persaud and Company Limited for Business of the Year in Berbice, and for its corporate contribution to the Berbice business c o m m u n i t y, having a rice- milling and packaging facility, plastic bag manufacturing facility and two massive call centres at Port Mourant and on East Bank Demerara, which combined, employs over 700 persons.

‘Confidential Cabs’ owner remanded for attempted murder Kwame Anderson, the owner of Confidential Cabs on Robb Street was remanded to jail yesterday when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. He was charged with unlawful wounding with the intent to commit murder.

Anderson, 35, of 449 Diamond Housing Scheme, was not required to plead.

According to Prosecutor Seon Blackman, on April 4, around 17:50 hours, Lawrence Fanfair was riding his pedal cycle in the vicinity of Camp Street when, a motor car

nearly hit him. An argument ensued between Fanfair and the driver and that soon became a fight.

Anderson reportedly tried to separate the two then returned to his business, when Fanfair attacked him with a sharp instrument.

Anderson then stabbed Fanfair with knife, who was subsequently taken to the hospital where he still remains in a critical condition.

Attorney Mark Waldron, who represented Anderson, requested reasonable bail based on the fact that his client’s case is one that rests

on the platform of “self defense.” He added, “It should be noted that my client walked away from the incident and was attacked by the complainant first, and I think anyone who is being attacked would try their best to defend themselves.”

The prosecution objected to bail, on the grounds that the complainant is still hospitalized and remains in a critical condition, the nature of the offense and the punishment it attracts.

The defendant was ordered to return to court on April 12.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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APNU wants Govt. Ministers to take polygraph

By Abena Rockcliffe A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has, twice since the reading of budget 2013, signaled its desire to have Government Ministers take a polygraph.

A press conference held

by APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge, subsequent to the reading of this year’s budget, marked the first instant where the call for government Ministers to be subjected to lie detector tests was registered.

Deputy Speaker Deborah Backer, during her contribution to the budget debates, also voiced the party’s request to have all Government Ministers submit to the polygraph.

She made the application based on the fact that only the day before Junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill noted that the government is developing a code of conduct.

“He went through a list of

APNU’s shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Speaker: Deborah Backer things.”

The APNU just want to challenge the government to “do one thing; get your Ministers, individually to submit to a polygraph test.”

The House erupted.

House Speaker, Raphael Trotman then interjected. He

APNU shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge said that all members would have to do the same. To that Backer respond, “We don’t have a problem with that.”

Simultaneously, another member on the APNU’s side loudly voiced “But we don’t spend state monies; is you guys got to account for the taxpayer’s money that y’all spend out.”

The Deputy Speaker said that APNU is willing to work with Government Ministers “even though we don’t know which Minister we would find if the polygraph goes through, but we are willing to work together to move this country forward.”

Just as Backer concluded her speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues- Birkett took the floor and assured the House that the government is ready to take a Polygraph test. “You guys just come with us, (referring to the opposition.)

Two weeks ago, Greenidge had sought to debunk the government’s statement that it is seeking to maintain a Guyana where equality is at the forefront. He said despite those statements by the government; public servants remain subjected to polygraph tests while no such policy is in place for Government Ministers and other top Government

Thieves caught on camera stealing mirror from KN staffer’s car

The Toyota Spacio car which trailed the KN staffer.

Car parts’ thieves, emboldened by their slickness, decided to strike once again this weekend, but may have picked the wrong target.

This time they followed a female Kaieteur News staffer from Kingston to her workplace, on Saffon Street, La Penitence, where they quickly removed her right side mirror. They were caught on camera.

The video may show how the parts thieves operate. The burgundy colored Toyota Spacio, with hire car plates,

waited until the coast was clear; but its occupants were clearly unaware of the surveillance cameras.

The matter is now engaging the attention of the police.

According to the staffer, earlier on Saturday she attended classes at Nations University in Kingston. The car was parked in the vicinity of the institution. Her left side mirror was missing. She returned to Kaieteur News and parked her car, a Toyota Belta.

It seemed as if the thieves

were disturbed while stealing her left side mirror and in order to grab the pair, they apparently followed her.

Around 11:58hrs, the cameras recorded the Spacio heading south but it made a U-turn in front of the newspaper ’s office. It stopped a few feet from the Belta.

For several minutes it idled, clearly waiting on a group of children to move. It also waited on a staffer to ride off on his motorcycle.

A male then quickly exited from the left side back door

and went directly to the Belta.

In a matter of seconds, he returned to the car and it pulled off.

The back passengers’ glass of the Spacio was heavily tinted.

The mirrors are said to be retailing at $20,000 apiece.

Thieves have over the years been running rampant targeting especially mirrors and lights.

Many car owners have been forced to engrave their licence plate’s number on the parts but even this has not been a deterrent.

officials.

“The government speaks of equitable treatment but distributes radio license to its family, friends and party members.”

“The fact that the PPP (People’s Progressive Party) is still to submit names for the Public Procurement Commission…the government also made more than adequate provisions for these Capital projects, conveniently for its friends and at the whims and fancies of the president.

Look how many projects allocated to Chinese firms.”

The former Minister added, “The government has created many, many commercial ventures that have concessions that are not open to anyone else.”

Greenidge asserted that every year the Finance

Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, goes to Parliament with an increased Budget estimate from the year before but proof of its use is lacking.

“If it was effectively being used, then Guyana wouldn’t have had its current rate of migration.”

The former Finance Minister said that discrimination, lack of transparency and abuse of power, “are some the reasons Guyana is seeing so much migration. These people need to be held accountable.”

Greenidge also pointed out that the “rapid” growth of international indebtedness, which was “flagged by Clive Thomas, is something that we really need to care about. Where is all the money going?” That would be a good question for the polygraph.

Reporter charged for assaulting School girl A reporter from Channel 16 appeared yesterday before Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court, to answer the charge of assault.

Rolston Elliott of 38 Barnwell Street, Samatta Point, pleaded not guilty to the allegation.

According to the police prosecutor Corporal Seon Blackman, on April 5, last, about 11:00 hours the complainant was standing outside the Georgetown Magistrates’ court when she was asked for an excuse and touched on the shoulder by the defendant who wanted to take a photograph of someone.

The juvenile became annoyed and reported the matter. The defendant was then arrested and charged for the said offence.

Due to the nature of this matter, the Chief Magistrate sent it for advice, whilst the defendant was released on self bail.

The case has been adjourned to April 12.

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana.

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

EDITORIAL

When decency prevails Death will come to everyone at some time although no one will accept this fact. Such a statement is as profound as death itself but remains as nebulous as a dream. The fact that no one expects it causes people to be shocked when there are reports of a death.

And so it was that people were stunned when the news came that Rev Dale Bisnauth had died. Dr Bisnauth earned his doctorate in Jamaica way back in 1977 from the United Theological College in Jamaica. Back then he was a young man who played cricket for the Guyana students who were pursuing studies in Jamaica.

To see him bat, bowl and field was to see a man far from death. That phenomenon was not even contemplated, not even when he took the oath of office of Minister of Education back in 1992. He understood what was needed in the education system and using the resources at his disposal sought to fashion something that would ensure that young Guyanese continued to enjoy the right to make a meaningful contribution to national life.

The shock of his death had barely passed when news came that Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud had also died.

It is not that Dr Bisnauth and Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud were the only people to die. Many others would have died at the same time. Three miners died, one by his own hand after killing his workmate. Then a truck heading into the interior toppled on a hinterland trail and caused the death of four people. And hours later, a teenager lost his life on the seawalls, the victim of a vicious stabbing.

While each death was something to stun the nation, the deaths of the two Ministers were on every tongue. They were prominent people; more Guyanese knew of them and knew then that any number would have known some of the others who died. That is what makes an event significant.

As was noted in George Orwell’s Animal Farm some animals are more equal than others.

Yesterday, there was another death. This time the person was none other than former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. The whole world sat up and took notice because this was one woman who had indeed made her mark. For starters, to this day she remains the only woman to serve as a Prime Minister of Britain.

Her achievements go further; she was also the longest serving Prime Minister of Britain in the 20th Century. She stood up to some of the powerful men who ruled nations at the same time she did.

When General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli decided to test the resolve of the British over the Falkland Islands, he did not bargain for the fact that Margaret Thatcher would send her warships and troops to that corner of the South Atlantic.

Galteiri paid a heavy price, one that cost him the leadership of his country, when Thatcher’s troops beat him.

Both are dead and at the passing of each individual the world took notice.

Tradition dictates that one speaks no ill of the dead.

Indeed the fallen might not have been loved by many but people in the civilized world try their utmost to refrain from saying anything untoward. Even enemies tone down the rhetoric. The Americans were not unnecessarily caustic about the death of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

But such niceties are not always observed by some in society. There were many blistering comments when Forbes Burnham died.

The boors were out in their numbers. There was no such boorish behaviour. Similarly, they were not around for the death of some of the other people who would have made enemies among the population but who were indeed national leaders.

The tributes are being paid to two men who served this country in critical areas and at crucial times. Their relatives are hurting and the nation is mourning.

Guyana is now recalling the significant contributions that Dr Bisnauth and Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud would have made. And in the not too distant future, the National Assembly would be gathered to pay tribute to these two men and one of their colleagues who died a few weeks earlier.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

A bewildering and distressing development DEAR EDITOR: Kaieteur News reported on Saturday, April 6, 2013, that the Government has vowed to continue with its plan for building a transmission tower on the Plaisance playground.

This is both bewildering and distressing to me.

I was a resident of Ogle for more than 30 years and I have vivid, fond memories of my childhood days, of the countless hours of play every day in those big open spaces that we called ‘pastures’.

Play involved every game that we could imagine and create including kite flying, racing, catching insects and ‘cocabelly’ from the surrounding ditches, picking seeds, bird calling and just good old fashioned play.

Research confirms that play is one of the most pivotal, fundamental and life shaping requirements for children to develop critical thinking, negotiation, cognitive abilities, boundaries, assessment of personalities, motor skills, communication, judgement, and creativity.

Gradually, these pasture lands no longer existed because houses were built up, and by then I was no longer a child needing those open spaces.

The children of Plaisance do not have enough green or open spaces in their own yards and desperately need the Community Playground for their development into civic-minded adulthood.

These areas provide a place for cultural and sporting

events and for playing – and with all the additional benefits that come from team sports, sharing, and building healthy bodies, minds and communities.

We welcome the efficient and ever expanding telecommunication and ecommerce development within our communities, but see no justification for that to be at the expense of diminishing our playgrounds.

The Government of Guyana should cherish the wellbeing of all the children of Guyana including the children of Plaisance. I hope therefore that the State can work with the local authorities to identify a more appropriate spot for the erection of the tower.

It is logical to think that if

we set the precedent of building on community lands today then we open the doors for eventual varying commercial arrangements by any and every business interest tomorrow. This precedent is not in the interest of the Government or the people and these Companies should purchase their own lands for commercial purposes.

It was stated in a KN article on Sunday, April 7, 2013 that 55 transmission towers will be constructed and the following questions arise for the public: (i) Can the public be provided with a list of the proposed locations where the other 54 transmission towers will be built? Are there other

DEAR EDITOR: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher passed away yesterday (April 8), the first female prime minister of Britain, having led the country from 1979 to 1990.

She would be remembered for her tough stance against the striking coal miners, forcing them to return to work after nearly a full year of strike action and also for her strong advocacy of free market policies which consequently led to greater

income inequality between the rich and the poor. She was fiercely anti-communist and found common cause with former United States President Ronald Reagan who once described her as the “best man in England.”

Not to be outdone, Thatcher referred to Reagan as ‘the second most important man in my life.”

Mrs. Thatcher would also be remembered for the decision she took to send British troops and warships

in 1982 over the disputed Falkland Islands with Argentina. She, along with Reagan, could be considered as the two main architects in the anti-communist crusade which eventually led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union and the destruction of the Berlin Wall that resulted shortly afterwards. Because of her toughness, she was described as “the Iron Lady of Britain.”

Looking back, both ‘Thatcherism’ in England and

‘Reaganomics’ in the United States have failed to address the burning issue of unemployment and skewed income distribution in these two countries.

If anything, there are today much higher levels of unemployment, cuts in social spending and greater income inequality not only in those two countries but in Russia which is ranked among the highest in terms of unequal income distribution.

Hydar Ally

Thatcherism’, unemployment and skewed income distribution

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

Primitive and nonchalant attitudes towards aesthetics and cleanliness in our country DEAR EDITOR: At the time of writing this, I have just returned from a walk at the Georgetown seawall. On the journey there my mood was slightly depressed by the sight of accumulating food and beverage containers, plastic bags and general garbage on the grounds of the National Park and the surrounding trenches. The same situation was perpetuated among the stones and the walkways of the seawall.

I can say I was only slightly depressed because, as a Guyanese, I have become desensitized to the garbage in the trenches, rooted along the parapet and blowing in the wind. It seems as Guyanese we have accepted this state and garbage has become a natural part of our life.

We are devolving as a culture, there are hardly any aesthetic values being promoted by the people in charge of running the country.

What is being promoted is selfishness and rampant materialism. But it must be recognized that respect is currency and any foreign

diplomat or head of state visiting Guyana will fail to supply us with either, because we do not respect ourselves and have no pride in the upkeep of our country.

To make a comparison to another country on similar economic footing, we only need to look to our neighbour Suriname.

Travelling from the ferry landing in Suriname to Nickerie I can challenge any Guyanese to find a single scrap of plastic or other eyesore along the road. I have not travelled to Paramaribo recently, but I would be surprised if this is not also the case there.

Cleaning up Guyana is not an impossible task, but will is required, political and otherwise. We need regular messages on state TV, radio and print to educate and inculcate the populace in a culture of responsibility for our surroundings.

We don’t need people to pick up the garbage; we need them to stop littering in the first place.

There are garbage collectors for that. I really believe fines should be put in

place to penalize those who litter and flood the public areas with garbage. People should also be made responsible for the cleanliness directly in front of their premises on penalty of a fine.

These measures may seem harsh, but drastic action is required if this ugly condition is to be reversed.

Perhaps the government can collude with the private sector to provide garbage containers and disposal units in public gathering places. The use of bio-degradable food containers and packaging can be incentivized and plastic and other perpetual containers penalized. Start a recycling program if it is feasible; find a way to make if feasible if it’s not.

I believe that a majority of Guyanese have a sense of beauty and cleanliness in their makeup, because this is evidenced in the gardens one regularly sees in the yards of this country.

But the government must take the lead on this issue.

Make Guyana a country we will be proud of living in.

Yogistra Anderson

The continued stifling of human development growth DEAR EDITOR: The PPP has been in power for the past 20 years and despite their constant criticism of the Burnham government, this cabal is the worst regime ever to rule Guyana. Today, Guyana has become the disgrace of the Caribbean region and that disgrace has now accentuated. The only thing this Jagdeo/Ramotar group has mastered in their more than twelve years in power is that they have become world class “cuss birds,” evil, vindictive, plunderers of the Treasury for self-enrichment, contempt for the constitution and absolute disrespect for the rule of law and the people of Guyana, hence the stifling of human development growth.

The General Secretary of the PPP said in a newspaper article of March 11, 2010 that “the party [PPP] is working towards the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission”. The General Secretary of the PPP, who is now the holder of the most powerful office in the land, promised the people that his party will soon be

“shortlisting names to be submitted for consideration for the commission.”

It has been three years now and the PPP has not submitted any names and has done very little work to support the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission. If an ordinary person had promised such and did what was done by the PPP, in common parlance they would have been deemed a liar, a custodian of falsehood and a purveyor of deceit and deception. Needless to say we are dealing with a rogue regime that has lost all its senses, its ability to reason, and has exhibited continued failure to weed out corruption and govern this nation.

In May 2012, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in response to Ms. Deborah Backer in Parliament said the Public Procurement Commission would be established by the end of June 2012. No such development.

Another broken promise.

Why is this Public Procurement Commission so important? Close to G$40 billion per year is leaked from the Budget from legitimate activities into corrupt private pockets. The Public Procurement Commission

will be a constitutional commission independent of the corrupt PPP regime control to ensure that the Guyanese people secure the best value for their money on all public procurements. That is $40 billion a year that the PPP can re-direct towards paying the workers decent living wages and providing a substantial increase to pensioners.

A government that cannot take care of the most vulnerable in society—seniors and the extreme young—is not qualified to govern. A government that does not govern in the interest of all is unfit to govern. A government that is spiteful and cusses down its citizens should not be allowed to govern. These are the trademarks of the current leaders of this regime.

The PPP regime continues to stifle human development in Guyana. No hope for the people, especially the downtrodden. The time has come for some serious decision-making.As an example, the Public Procurement Commission should be established. The time has come for change in Guyana and it must start at the top.

Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news

Was Margaret Thatcher really an icon and a great leader?

DEAR EDITOR: The passing of Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, has brought favourable comments from world leaders and other top ranking and powerful personnel describing her as an icon, “the iron lady”, an influential and powerful leader who served 11 years as head of government and most importantly the first and only woman to be Prime Minister of Britain.

Among the praises showered on her was that she was influential in bringing an

end to the Cold War and dismantling the Soviet Union and was a close friend and model to US President Ronald Reagan, but did not support the move by the US to invade Grenada. She was also praised for recapturing the Falklands and even Tony Blair when he took over as Prime Minister from successor, John Major, in 1997, lauded her for the important role she played for her country.

Her party kicked her out following criticisms from the public, among them that she

was a ‘milk snatcher’ having denied school children of their regular supplies and for using the courts, the police and gullible Brits to destroy trade unions and communities. She was also condemned for introducing poll tax.

Former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sir James Mitchell, met Thatcher on a couple of occasions and in his book ”Beyond the Islands” said that Thatcher had invited him to 10 Downing Street because he

gathered that she felt that “he’s one of the sensible ones”. She had also given him the assurance of showing interest in the market of Caribbean bananas, and she indicated to him she was thoroughly against the use of illegal drugs, stating that it was a killer. Mitchell said he had asked the “Iron Lady” if it would be a good idea to legalize drugs as a way to deal with the drug money.

Sir James in his book said he told the British Prime Minister that “we in the

Caribbean could not implement such an idea unless the British and the Americans led the way” and the response was “absolutely not” Dealing in drugs is dealing in death.

If drugs become more available more people will die,” Thatcher responded.

Despite criticism in some

quarters about the woman who was known as the Iron Lady, the tributes paid to her from the world over were overwhelming - the 87 –yearold, who had done a fantastic job not only to her country, but to the Commonwealth and the wider world. May her soul rest in peace.

Oscar Ramjeet

DEAR EDITOR: Readers might recall the recent debates between Mr. E.B. John and myself on migrant workers and the suboptimal work ethic, commitment, skills and related deficits among local counterparts. Such banter is happily reminiscent of the serious debates on societal and management issues we used to have in the halcyon days of our entry into the exciting world of Personnel & Industrial Relations.

I know that he is as disappointed as I am with the apparent indifference shown by current HR practitioners, in that there has not been any rejoinder from them nor other colleagues in the management/labor relations field.

Some people abhor the term ‘paradigm shift’, but whether you like it or not, we are in the midst of one. We are smack in the middle of one school of thought which views people as ‘assets’ for development versus the other which sees them as ‘costs’ to be cut.

Those days when employers took a longer-term view of employees, careers and the economic landscape are now giving way to shorter term expectations which view the work to be done less in terms of careers and more as ‘jobs’ and ‘tasks’. The days when the bigger firm was the better employer have been replaced by the mantra of “down-sizing” or

euphemistically “right-sizing” the organization and desperate searches for ‘how to do more with less (people)’.

It is foolhardy for little Guyana to swim against the tide, nay the tsunami, sweeping across the globe.

In such contexts, workers must be increasingly selfreliant by engaging in serious self-development. Happily, the advent of IT and with it the initiatives and opportunities for programs of self-study have been proliferating. Of course interventions by enlightened employers /organizations/ leaders are always welcome, but to sit back and await such initiatives by others is tantamount to laziness and akin to irresponsibility. In this regard, the age-old Succession Planning formula favoured by Mr. John must be applied, if at all, with great caution: too many of these end up as documents that promise a lot, but deliver too little in terms of the time, effort and emotions expended in their laborious crafting.

HR practitioners must eschew any attempts to mollycoddle; instead, serious mentoring of employees to assume responsibility for their own development must be the norm. Training and development must focus not only on hard skills and competences but equally, if not more so, on attitudes and behavioral aspects of employment.

Nowrang Persaud

From page 4 community playgrounds slated for the building of such towers? (ii) Why is the Government setting a precedent of demarcating other land uses for lands set aside for recreational purposes for the Community? (iii) What are the arrangements between the Government and the Company and with the Community Management

Committees for the uses of community playgrounds? (iv) Are there other proposed business arrangements with other Companies for community playgrounds in Guyana? (v) As in other countries, why can’t the Companies purchase their own lands for commercial purposes? Did the Government have an agreement to provide lands for such development?

Sharon Ousman

Paradigm shifts and new realities in employment

A bewildering and...

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 7

This year’s budget focuses on every Guyanese - Human Services Minister

By Latoya Giles Minister of Human Service and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, says that representatives in the National Assembly must be committed to working together for the benefit of all Guyanese. Webster made that remark during her recent contribution to the budget debate.

According to the minister the representatives must be steadfast in their endeavours and continue the process which the government began some two decades ago.

She stated that this “process” will enable Guyanese to realize their dreams and aspirations thereby making Guyana a better place. According to the minister, her administration has demonstrated over the past years through its policies and programmes that it has a sustained track record.

It is Government’s position that every single Guyanese must have access to the same opportunities, irrespective of where they live.

Webster said that it is therefore of utmost importance that greater emphasis be placed on the delivery of improved social services within the various communities. With this in mind, the minister said, her Ministry in accordance with its mandate will focus on meeting human needs through the provision of human services.

According to Minister Webster, the Child Care and

Minister of Human Services and Social Security Ms Jennifer Webster Protection Agency will continue to play a leading role in child abuse cases reported throughout the country. She said that there was an increase in the number of child abuse cases investigated— from 3653 in 2011 to 3690 last year. She explained that of the 3690 cases, 396 children were successfully removed from abusive situations and 81 of them were reintegrated into their biological families.

Webster noted that this year, more emphasis will be placed on the implementation of the early childhood development programme with the registration and licensing of all daycare facilities for children.

According to her, there are in excess of 200 such

facilities in operation throughout Guyana and this year the Ministry’s intention is to introduce night care facilities for children of single parents in an effort to support those parents, particularly mothers who by virtue of their employment are required to work long hours.

Webster noted that this was one of the clearest reflections of the government.

She said that the administration has seen the need to reduce the vulnerability of children being left without adequate supervision and care with emphasis being placed upon the safety of children.

She added that the Ministry continues to work towards the prevention of separation of children from their families. The Minister also stated that specially trained officers will be tasked with the responsibility to register and license these care facilities as well as monitor their operations to ensure that they operate in accordance with established standards.

Minister Webster noted that there are plans for the expansion and strengthening of the foster care and kinship care programmes as an alternative care option for children at risk. Heightened focus would be given to reducing the number of children in constitutional care by promoting family-based care.

In the area of family assistance, the Minister stated that there will be increased psychosocial support and other assistance to families at the risk for the

Sophia’s fire…

Burnt baby succumbs Little Jabarri Stanford who was badly burnt in a fire at his ‘D’ Field Sophia home last Saturday died around 06:30 hours yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

The one-year-old sustained burns about his body and was in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

On Saturday, the infant’s mother, Rehanna Jones, left him with his three siblings, aged eight, seven and three at their one-bedroom Sophia home to run an errand when the fire started on a mattress on which the toddler was sleeping.

The fire is believed to have been caused by the seven-year-old, who along with his 12-year-old friend, was reportedly playing with matches in the bedroom.

Yesterday, the children’s mother told Kaieteur News that her son is giving her different versions of what

Dead: Little Jabarri Stanford took place on that fateful day.

She wants the police to question her son’s 12-yearold friend who was with him that day.

“The li’l boy (her son’s friend) is talking but his mother is trying to cover things up. All I want is for the police to question him,” the

dead child’s mother revealed.

Meanwhile, little Stanford’s father, Steve, told Kaieteur News that on the day of the fire, it was his birthday. “I went and see him (his son) and then I left to go up the East Coast and that was when I receive a call about my son’s incident.”

He explained that the seven-year-old is a “very stubborn child” and he believes that if his child mother didn’t leave her house that day, his son could have been saved.

“She got children and their father doesn’t maintain them.

If her children father used to look after them, then she should have never had to leave the house to go and work. I would have looked after her and my baby,” the older Stanford said.

The matter is now being investigated by the police as well as the Child Care Protection Agency.

prevention of child abuse and the separation of children.

She explained that the family assistance programmes include day care services support, school uniform assistance, skills training for parents and food assistance vouchers.

The New Mahaica Home The new state of the art building constructed to house the Mahaica Children’s Home has been completed and will be commissioned shortly. Webster said that this facility will provide care and support for our children including our teenage girls who have been exploited.

This year, the Minister said that special attention will be given to complement the existing programme in place with the re-integration of teenage mothers into the school. She said that it is quite

important as government must ensure that young girls are educated and empowered. Webster noted that daycare services will also be provided to support teenage mothers in continuing their education and building a livelihood for themselves.

Capacity building of Child Care staff According to the Minister, through funding being provided by UNICEF, capacity building workshops and training programmes will be conducted this year as the administration continues to place emphasis on enhancing the human capital to realize the national goals.

The Minister said that this year, there will also be the reorganization and

decentralization of the services provided by the agency throughout the ten administrative regions. The minister highlighted that this year some $233.7M has been budgeted to meet current expenditure associated with the agency’s work plan for 2013.

She further noted that the sum of $15M has been provided to meet capital expenditure.

Improving the lives of the elderly Minister Webster stated that improving the lives of the elderly continues to be one of the major concerns for the government.

The minister noted that every Guyanese who resides here in Guyana aged 65 and older is eligible to receive the monthly non-contributory old age pension.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Teen stabbed to death on Kitty seawall Police have detained four men as they try to ascertain how a 19-year-old Lodge resident ended up being stabbed to death near the Kitty seawalls around 02: 30 hrs yesterday.

They are also probing claims by one of the detained men that the youth was attempting to rob a vendor when he was slain, a claim that the dead man’s relatives are angrily denying.

Detectives have also impounded a Toyota Raum that the victim had rented from an acquaintance.

Police said that Jamal Harris, said to be an employee of the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation,

and of Lot 81, Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, was stabbed in the chest and abdomen during an altercation with a group of individuals at the Kitty seawalls.

Police said that he was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Police have detained the individual who allegedly stabbed Harris, as well as two brothers whose family owns the sports utility vehicle that Harris had rented. A friend of the slain youth is also in custody.

Kaieteur News understands that the man who allegedly stabbed Harris claimed that he had intervened when the teen and another youth attempted to rob an acquaintance of his, who vends regularly on the

The passing of former Party Executives, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud and Dr Dale Bisnauth, is being described as “a significant loss to the People Progressive Party and the PPP/Civic Government.”

The administration continues to reflect on the lives and death of the “two men who served their country and people until the time of their deaths”, the party said yesterday.

Party members in a press statement yesterday noted the contribution of both men to the cultural, religious and social development of Guyana during their time in Government.

“Both men were part of the team selected by Dr. Cheddi Jagan in 1992 and went on to play crucial roles in the rebuilding of our nation,” the Party’s Executive

Secretary Zulfikar Mustapha said.

Mustapha also expressed condolences on behalf of the Party on the passing of the two stalwarts.

“Their passing is a significant loss to the People’s Progressive Party and the PPP/Civic Government. Up to the time of their deaths both continued to serve their country and the people in various capacities.”

“The cultural and religious background and contribution to society of these party stalwarts represent the diversity within the PPP and the successive PPP/C Government,” Mustapha said.

Former General Manager of the Guyana Broadcasting Service, Sir Ron Sanders, commenting on the passing of Pandit Reepu Daman

- four detained

Dead : Jamal Harris seawalls.

The man allegedly said that he inflicted the fatal wounds while struggling with Harris, who was armed.

Detectives have questioned the seawall vendor, who allegedly corroborated the suspect’s story. He has since been

released.

Ranks from the Kitty Police Station took the handcuffed suspect back to the scene several hours after the incident. Some of the ranks were observed searching the area, but Kaieteur News was unable to ascertain whether they were looking for the murder weapon.

It was alleged that after Harris was stabbed, the teen’s accomplice fled the scene, while another individual in a black Toyota Raum then drove up, placed the injured man in the vehicle and drove away.

Hospital sources confirmed that someone in a Toyota Raum took the mortally wounded Harris to the GPHC, but disappeared, leaving the vehicle in the hospital compound.

Kaieteur News was told that Harris and another friend rented the vehicle for $5,000 around 17:00 hrs on Sunday, while indicating that they were “going to the creek.”

Harris’s girlfriend, Tandika Hinckson, told Kaieteur News that he had picked her up in the rented vehicle around 02:00 hrs yesterday from my mother’s house in Tucville, and dropped her off in Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge.

Some time later, she received a call from an individual who said that Jamal had been stabbed.

Harris’s mother, Yvonne Smith, said she accompanied her son’s girlfriend to the GPHC. Ms. Smith told Kaieteur News that she was not allowed to see her son, and was informed that the doctors

in the Emergency Unit were “working on him.”

Eventually, a nurse emerged from the Emergency Unit and informed them that the doctor wanted to see them.

“We go in and the doctor said that they had tried but because of the amount of blood he had lost he couldn’t make it.”

Ms. Smith dismissed any suggestion that her son, who she said was employed at the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation as an electrician, was no criminal.

“If they say that my son fight, I would believe that, but thiefing, I would never believe that. I would never believe that at all.”

Expressing similar sentiments, the slain teen’s girlfriend said that he had a “well-paying job” and was a dedicated worker.

political commitment to the PPP did not affect his capacity for respecting the views of others and enjoying their company.

“He was an example, we should all remember.”

Just days earlier, the PPP/ C lost long-serving party member, Reverend Dr. Dale Bisnauth, who succumbed to a heart ailment at the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI), mere hours after being admitted. He was 76.

Dr. Dale Bisnauth served as Minister of Education from 1992 to 2001. He went on to become Minister Human Services and later Chairman of the Board of Industrial Training up until the time of his death. Dr. Bisnauth also served as a reverend of the Burn’s Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Pandit Persaud was Guyana’s longest serving

politician, with his stint beginning in 1958.

Persaud was appointed Agricultural Minister in 1992 and held many positions in Government, including Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and Vice President of Guyana.

In 1996, Persaud received Guyana’s second highest National Award, the Order of Roraima, as he would later open a Foundation in his name as part of an education drive.

Pandit Persaud was also the founder of nation‘s largest Hindu organization, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.

Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud died last Sunday at the Georgetown Hospital’s Caribbean Heart Institute while receiving treatment for health complications.

He was 77 years old.

PPP laments passing of Bisnauth, Reepu Daman

Pandit Reepu Deman Persaud

Dr. Dale Bisnauth

Persaud, said, “I was saddened to learn of the passing of Reepu Daman Persaud. I recall well his diligence and commitment as a presenter of Hindu religious programmes.

“Apart from the

professionalism he brought to his broadcasts, he was also a quintessential gentleman who enjoyed a respected relationship with his broadcast colleagues of all races and religious persuasions. His own deep

Tuesday April 09, 2013

This past week the nation of Guyana lost two of its jewels: the former Minister of Education, Dale Bisnauth; and the former Minister of Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs, Reepu Daman Persaud.

Both men were men of religion but were also politicians. And there are perhaps no better examples that how best it is to fuse the two occupations that Rev. Dale Bisnauth and Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud.

Dale was of course a Presbyterian minister and Reepu a Hindu Pandit that was at one time the most popular and respected Pandit in Guyana. Their sudden passing in just a matter of days has robbed Guyana of two gentlemen who never allowed politics to make them bitter or nasty towards their opposing numbers.

Today when you witness the venomous attacks that some politicians launch on their opposing counterparts and when you see how widespread this practice is today, you begin to understand why the two departed ex-ministers were so special, why they were unique and why they will be sorely missed even though they have been out of the political limelight for some time now.

Despite going into political retirement, both men still offered their services to

Kaieteur News

the nation. It is hard when you have dedicated so much of your life to politics and especially given the trials and tribulations that they endured, it is hard to simply walk off such an important stage and not want to wait for at least the encore.

One of the sad things of last year’s Budget cuts was that there were many who were and still are convinced that it was intended in some areas to get back at individuals, there was a vindictive element to some of the cuts and that one of the persons who was being targeted was one of those who passed away recently.

Yet, when you look at the lives of these two men and especially their involvement in politics, they never harbored or practiced the sort of viciousness which many felt was directed at one of them after he was no longer a minister.

They both tended to shy away from personal attacks and both sought to not be consumed by hatred and bitterness.

If perhaps all politicians could have related to each other the way these men related to others, the political temperature in our parliament would have fallen quite a few degrees and there would have been greater civility in the discourses with the House.

This ability to step

Dem boys seh...

Shaatie don’t understand he own budget Some people was talking and dem boys hear a man seh that Guyana woulda end up wid a lot of one-hand Minister.

Dem boys couldn’t understand. Was only when a man seh that in some Muslim countries dem does chop off people hand fuh thiefing that dem boys understand.

De other day in Parliament one of dem, opposition people jump up and seh that all dem Government Minister in Guyana should do a polygraph.

Dem boys seh that is a pity that JAGDEO ain’t in de government no more because he woulda go to lead de Ministers. He was de man who mek some senior people tek de polygraph but he stay clear and dem boys know why. De machine woulda bruck up.

Well de call start up again. Dem got Ministers who would pass. Carolyn seh that she willing to lead de procession but she also seh that dem opposition people must follow she and tek de test too.

Right away dem boys seh that it ain’t necessary fuh de opposition to tek de polygraph because dem don’t touch Government money unless de people in de government give dem as perks or fuh keep dem mouth shut about something.

Shaatie gun surely fail because he is de man who prepare de budget.

Dem boys seh that dem really believe that he did understand de budget that he prepare. Is when he go to parliament that dem know that he and all don’t understand de very budget that he prepare.

He go pun some outreach and when people question him, he couldn’t explain. Then he come to town and tell people how dem must go in de village and educate de people bout de budget. Well if he couldn’t do it, and he prepare de budget, who he expect to do de explaining?

But then again, dem boys seh that is suh con men does operate.

Talk half and try to keep dem Minister far from dem polygraph.

outside of situations may have had to do with their religious beliefs which allowed them to not be entrapped by their own political leanings. How much greater in this respect is their departure from this world.

The younger generation of political leaders can take a leaf out of the book of these men.

Many of them should reflect on the fact that Dale Bisnauth was never a member of the PPP executive. He remained a member of the CIVIC from 1992 until 2006

when he left the government.

Yet, he held important ministerial positions and was a trusted and highly respected member of the government for a very long time.

Many should also reflect on the career of Reepu Daman Persaud who many seem to forget was appointed a Second Vice President of Guyana and who for a long time before that was seen as the heir-apparent to Cheddi Jagan.

Despite being bypassed

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for that position when Cheddi on his deathbed decided that his wife should succeed him, Reepu continued to serve faithfully and without ever rebelling against what happened to him.

He never allowed ambition to triumph over his service to his party and government. Today there are many within the PPP whose ambition has overcome their value to the PPP. This is why too; these men will be more missed.

They were not into any dog-

fights for power; they did their thing, served their country and now have gone to serve a higher power.

May their souls find a good resting place!

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Freddie Kissoon Column

They were laughing at me at the Pegasus The time was 13.00 hours last Sunday. The place was the Pegasus Hotel. The occasion was the completion of a budget symposium in which Chris Ram and Anand Goolsarran gave excellent analyses of the 2013 budget.

These were followed by legal adumbrations by Khemraj Ramjattan of what can be done to stop the Ministry of Finance violating certain laws pertaining to governmental spending. I think Anand Goolsarran has a good

political future.

It was time to leave and AFC remigrant, Raymond Halls, invited four of us to have lunch at the poolside.

My initial reaction was to eat at some Creole restaurant where we would spend less.

But Raymond turned to me and said, “Freddie I am patronizing the Pegasus because I want to support Mr. Robert Badal, so you can wait outside for us while we eat.

That was the end of the matter. I was going to have

my lunch at the Pegasus.

The other three persons were AFC photographer, Ivan Bentham; AFC executive Michael Carrington and the current chairman of the People’s Parliament, Leonard Craig. We spent a prolonged period over lunch taking about how empty the budget is for the poorer classes.

As one topic followed another, I said something that caused immense laughter among those seated at the table. Raymond Hall was

laughing continuously; Michael Carrington kept grinning while looking at me.

Ivan Bentham kept staring at me, cynically, with a huge smile trying to tell me that I was talking nonsense.

The exception was Leonard Craig. He was totally unsettled. He grinned, he smiled, he laughed, he got out of his seat, he sat down again, he put his face into his palms, he banged his forehead on the table, he went into my face telling me that what I was

saying about Guyana was unbelievable and that it was too bizarre for him to believe.

All eyes around the table were on Craig. His expression was one in which shock met hilarity into a confluence of psychological torture.

So what did I say to cause such a tempestuous wave of emotions around that lunch table? I told them that a meterreader of GPL gets twenty dollars to read a meter. Craig jumped up and said, “You mean twenty American dollars?” Ivan Bentham who sat next to me, looked at me and intoned; “It has to be more than twenty American dollars.”

Carrington was still in his permanent grin saying, “Ya’ll worry with Freddie.” By this time, Raymond Hall was still in the throes of laughter but asked me how much was the actual figure.

You know I have a big voice so I loudly exclaimed that GPL pays meter-readers twenty Guyana dollars to read each meter.

All hell broke loose around the table. It was time to prove it. My invitation was that we go into my car and drive around Georgetown and its environs and stop at the home of meter-readers we all know.

That would not be a problem for me because I know a few and that is how I became aware of the $20 Guyana absurdity.

Raymond Hall decided he will call his son and ask him to get the information. His son did not answer.

It was now time to call a meter-reader. My cell phone does not have speaker system, so we used Raymond’s Blackberry and

Frederick Kissoon put it on speaker so everyone around the table can hear.

Here now are the facts as coming from the voice of a meter-reader. A GPL meterreader starts at eighteen Guyana dollars and if he consistently brings in over eighteen hundred readings a month, he gets four Guyana dollars more. So the rate begins at $18 and stops at $22.

Here now were the reactions around the table.

Ivan Bentham sat in cold silence. Raymond Hall said the first thing he is going to tell his girlfriend when he saw her later in the afternoon was this absurdity about Guyana.

Michael Carrington expressed condolences for the meter-readers because he said that for such a pittance they have to walk long distances.

I was laughing because I knew a long time ago that Guyana is a failed state. Again it was Leonard Craig who proved to be the exception.

Craig has my complexion but his face was a whiter shade of pale.

I thought it was $20 but in fact it is $18. People will read about this incredible jumbie reality in this country and do nothing about it. Twenty years from now, the pay will still be monopoly money for GPL meter-readers. Guyana died a long time ago.

Teen remanded for stealing army officer’s car Of the three teenage boys that allegedly stole an army officer’s car, a 16-year-old boy appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court where he pleaded guilty to the accusation.

Police reports revealed that on April 5, the army officer had parked his car on Camp Street with the engine running and went to the ATM at Citizens Bank to withdraw money. It was then that the lads entered the car and drove off with it.

It is believed that the youths went on a lengthy joyride before ending up in Republic Park.

On their journey, the trio reportedly spotted a police patrol. Consequently, the lad who was at the wheel panicked and reversed into a ditch. It is alleged that the youths exited the car and after

walking some distance away, shamelessly asked another driver to help them extricate the stolen vehicle from the ditch.

The driver reportedly left the scene and returned with a rope to haul the wedged vehicle.

Around the same time, police ranks also turned up at the scene and arrested two of the teens.

The third accused who escaped, was subsequently caught in Nandy Park by the very driver that assisted them.

The man, with assistance from ranks of a security firm, took the boys to the Ruimveldt Police Station.

Though the vehicle was recovered at Nandy Park, the 16 year-old who resides at Lot 2 Henry Street, Werk-en-rust was remanded to police custody pending a probation report.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

GDF member to testify in AWOL court martial hearing A Guyana Defence Force (GDF) member will take the stand today to testify as to whether he received what is called a SOS (Struck off Strength) from his colleague who is now on trial at Camp Ayanganna for being absent from work without leave (AWOL).

Corporal Alistair Adonis of 164 Campbellville Housing Scheme, surrendered himself to the GDF about two weeks ago after learning that he was wanted for reportedly leaving the army without permission.

The soldier was one of the several persons that members of the army were seeking when they reportedly stormed the University of Guyana Campus (UG) earlier this year.

According to the facts of the court martial, Adonis had breached army rules by being absent without permission.

The Warrant Officer of the G2 Unit where Adonis was attached, said that on the morning of October 16, last year, when he fell in the unit to mark the register he found Adonis absent.

After 21 days, Sergeant Christopher Alleyne said the necessary procedures were performed to show the soldier missing.

Corporal Alistair Adonis However Adonis’s lawyer Melvin Duke is seeking to prove that his client was in fact sick and that the information had been submitted to the GDF but for some unknown reason the army is allegedly claiming that the information was not provided.

Several unfavourable reasons had been cited by Adonis and his family claiming that ill treatment by some senior officers had been meted out to the defendant while on duty. For this reason, they charged that Adonis is being victimized. On Tuesday, the witness will however testify

as to whether he received the SOS from Adonis to deliver to the army, since senior officials are claiming that the documents were not submitted. Additionally, a National Insurance Scheme (NIS) medical certificate was said to have been submitted on Adonis’s behalf but was allegedly refused by officials.

The unit secretary who testified in the matter told the court that he had not received any documents, and even if it was delivered, he admitted that he would not have accepted it since the procedure was incorrect; that is, Adonis sending his SOS via mediator. Adonis’s defence is that he had been suffering with a named illness and the relevant documentation was not accepted by the army.

The prosecution which is headed by Major (Hon) Melissa Yearwood-Stewart is claiming that Adonis’s leave was unjust. The matter which will continue today is being heard by Major Dale Ann David, Captain Andre Williams and Judge Advocate Winston Moore. If Adonis is found guilty of being absent without permission, he could spend up two years in military prison.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Woman makes claims of repeated physical abuse against Government Minister’s son A 28-year-old woman is scared for her life after repeated reports to the police about an abusive exboyfriend continues to go unaddressed.

According to woman (name given), her exboyfriend happens to be the son of a senior Government minister. The woman said that she met the young man last year June. Soon after they met, the abuse started.

According to the young lady the abuse started from “small” things then quickly escalated to hitting. She said that she still stayed in the relationship, even though friends warned her not to. She told Kaieteur News that last October she was beaten so badly that she had to be taken to a private city hospital for medical treatment. According to her she was required to take a CT scan.

Call it naiveté or plain stupidity the woman said she nevertheless remained in the relationship. She had learnt from other women who shared a relationship with this man that he had beaten all of them.

Not more than a month later, the woman said she suffered a more severe beating. The woman said that she was in her early stages of pregnancy and was beaten so severely that she miscarried.

That incident happened at her home, and she had stabbed him once in self defence.

“He kicked me to my stomach ...he kept saying that he was going to make me not be able to make other children”. This, according to her was her final straw, and she discontinued the relationship. However that still didn’t deter the official’s son from contacting her.

She told Kaieteur News that since last year she has been receiving threatening phone calls. The woman said that the man also shows up at her house and demands to be let in, something she says she has not done. A report has been made, but she claims that the police seem not to be interested in the matter.

She said that this may be due to her discontinuing prosecution on two previous occasions.

The latest attack she sustained happened on Friday night at a popular Middle Street Restaurant.

According to her she was out on Friday night with friends, when the official’s son made several attempts to contact her on her mobile phone.

She said that she refused to answer his calls since she knew what would follow.

“Had I answered the phone, he would have started to

abuse me verbally so I just didn’t answer the phone.”

Somehow the woman said that the official’s son managed to find out where she was. She told Kaieteur News that he entered the restaurant and demanded that she leave with him. She refused. An argument quickly ensued between the official’s son and the woman’s friends.

Kaieteur News was told that the man grabbed her handbag and physically tried to remove her from the table with friends. However the woman said that her friends and other person’s who were in the restaurant did not sit and allow him to get a hold of her.

Kaieteur News was told that the young man eventually left the restaurant.

A report was made, but to date he has not been arrested for the assault. The woman told Kaieteur News that her life has become a nightmare, since she has been confined to her home.

Further, the woman said that she made contact with a government official who begged her not to go public about the story, but the official did not offer any support to her. The woman is calling on the relevant authorities to step into the situation before it’s too late.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Govt dubs opposition plans to cut NCN allocation a “direct assault on media” Despite disclosures by the National Communications Network of a $500 million profit last year, vehement attempts were yesterday made by Government to defend plugging some $81 million of taxpayers’ money into the entity this year via the National Budget.

At a press conference at the People’s Progressive Party, Robb Street, Georgetown, headquarters yesterday, Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, not only condemned proposals by the parliamentary opposition to cut the allocation but dubbed it “a direct assault on the media.”

Ali, who also holds the portfolio of Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, insisted yesterday, too, that the allocation to the state medium would in no way create a disadvantageous situation to the country’s other media entities.

“We see this as a critical investment that is required for the national good.”

NCN, the Minister said, is known to undertake a number of programmes that are of national interest such as cricket and many other public cultural events, which according to him, are important “for the fabric of our society, so we have to balance it.”

Last Friday, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)

- insists Skeldon and GPL subventions are necessary Executive Member, Joseph Harmon, during the ongoing budget debates, insisted that the party would not support the allocation to NCN. This move, he said, was premised on the fact that President Donald Ramotar who also fills the capacity of Minister of Communication is yet to release the report of the investigation into wrongdoings at the state medium. Harmon said that this state of affairs had seen the Office of the Leader of the Opposition inking a letter to the President’s office on two occasions with the only response being that “we are considering the report.” But according to Harmon, “we need the report; the public needs it.”

According to Ali, yesterday, based on his knowledge all allegations relating to misconduct at NCN have been dealt with and the necessary administrative mechanisms have been put in place.

He viewed the assertion of a budget cut of the allocation to NCN as a deliberate move “...to starve a legitimate media entity of resources that are necessary to ensure that there is freedom of speech to ensure that the democratic views of people are carried in a fair and

open manner.”

Alluding to earlier concerns voiced by Opposition Leader, David Granger, about the debate coverage of both the Government and Opposition sides by the Government supported entities, Ali said that “it is amazing that the Opposition Leader would ask for NCN to carry more of what they are doing and at the same time issue a threat to cut the budget of the entity.”

According to Ali, Government has the right to an entity through which it can disseminate information adding that the Government Information Agency (GINA) has been doing a good job in this regard even as he commended the work of NCN for its “journalism”.

He noted that “we see any cut in any of these organisations as an assault on free speech and democracy.”

Skeldon and GPL too serious to cut Turning his attention to sizeable financial injections to the Skeldon Sugar Factor and the Guyana Power and Light Company, Ali noted that “you cannot afford to cut...these are two interventions that are too serious to cut.”

APNU officials have since warned that both the Skeldon

AFC will cut waste and extravagance from 2013 budget The opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) has issued a clear warning that it will cut bad project allocations, waste and extravagance from the 2013 national budget.

AFC front bencher, Moses Nagamootoo, told the National Assembly that allocations that hurt the national interest, “like subsidies for the state-run propaganda machines that continue to lock-out the opposition and refuse to give us fair and reasonable access, should not get a cent!”

Nagamootoo said that the nation must ask itself, why should it allocate more than $350 million for presidential excursions overseas?

“Can we afford this?”

But Nagamootoo assured that his party will be guided by protocols related to cutting the budget.

He noted that last year Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, in winding up the 2012 budget debate, recognized the right of the National Assembly to cut budgetary allocations.

“He said ‘It is, indeed, the

legitimate right of the Opposition to propose any change within the boundary of the Standing Orders, to any of these numbers. The PPP will always defend that right’,” Nagamootoo reminded the House.

He however pointed out that the Attorney General Anil Nandlall thought otherwise, and hauled the National Assembly before the Courts, bringing the situation to a point of “legal and political mess” with the question to be resolved in the next few days, of whether to “approve or disapprove” the estimates.

“For the AFC, there must be protocols guiding cuts.

Unless forced to disapprove the entire budget, AFC would not cut allocations that are in the national interest—wages and salaries for the non-contracted public service, and for essential services including social sector spending for education, health, housing and water,” Nagamootoo stated.

According to Nagamootoo, the minority

PPP/C Government has lost its way.

“They seek their own interests even when it clashes with the national interest,” he stated.

“As I speak, my thoughts are with “Madiba” - Nelson Mandela who undertook his “Long Walk to Freedom” in South Africa for the people he served. Like the Mahatma, sacrifice is the duty of genuine patriots. Then I think about what is happening here, in this House: Those elected to serve, with bombast and in shameless manner, claim credit for attending to the sick.

“People’s illness becomes a subject for vulgar boast by an insensitive regime, eager only for applause and approval.

They see every project done as an act of benevolence, and every cent spent or allocated as coming from their personal purses. They see progress in the midst of poverty, and steal gains from those who sacrificed, sweated and suffered to achieve,” Nagamootoo said.

Sugar Factory and GPL require restructuring before additional monies are plugged into their operation.

But according to Minister Ali yesterday the $11.2 billion proposed investment in GPL will in fact serve to negate an almost 28 per cent increase in tariff on a national scale.

“You cannot afford to cut this; it has tremendous other economic factors that you have to take into consideration. You have to take the inflationary factor into consideration and you have to take the pass-on effect and the pass-on effect if you cut it most definitely; it would affect the poor working class.”

According to him, too, the

government has no apology in saying that the Skeldon Factory must perform thus the Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, has awarded $1 billion towards the operation of the Guyana Sugar Corporation.

Minister Ali noted that “they have to understand that they have to take up the responsibility to step up their performance...This would call for positive action from management and workers,” he added pointing out that “...in the same vein we have no apologies in saying that sugar and the sugar sector is too important to fail and too important to be eliminated from the economic structure of our country.”

Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali

14-year-old boy missing since last November

Missing: Deryck Oudkerk The family of a missing 14-year-old boy is desperately hoping for the young man’s safe return. He went missing from their West Watooka, Linden home, last November.

Deryck Oudkerk’s distraught mother, Josoda Singh, told Kaieteur News that she was oblivious to

where the child could be and his purpose for reportedly running away.

Singh said that her son, after taking a bath on the day of his disappearance, told her that he was going to look for his elder brother who was sent to buy kerosene a short distance away. The mother said the elder brother returned home but told her that he had not seen his younger sibling.

Ever since that day, Singh said she never saw her son again. She told Kaieteur News that her son has had a few run-ins with the law because of the bad company he follows. She said that the child is currently before the court after he was reportedly found with a “joint” at the Harmony Secondary School he attends.

The mother said that he was also sent to the juvenile detention centre but moves

were being made to assist her son and to take him away from his wayward behaviour.

Singh said that prior to her son’s disappearance, there was no argument or row.

She said that she had not scolded her son or thrown him out of the house, but he walked out and never returned. The mother said that she would hate to believe that her son willfully abandoned his family. She added that since last year she had engaged various police stations but they too have been unable to locate the child. She said she has also gone to the child welfare office in an attempt to get assistance in locating her son.

Singh is however asking the public that any sighting of the teenager be reported to the nearest police station or the family could be reached at 660-2172.

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

Queens-based Guyanese lawyer, sister charged in US$3.3M mortgage fraud Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by New York State Department of Financial Services, Superintendent Benjamin M. Lawsky, on Friday announced that three individuals, including a Richmond Hill attorney and his sister, have been charged with conspiring to commit mortgage fraud and larceny from Wells Fargo Bank.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining mortgage funds in excess of $3.3 million pertaining to the purchase of six properties – including four in Queens – during a six-month period in 2008.

District Attorney Brown said, “This complicated and devious scheme allegedly involved defendants who were so greedy that they pushed through more than $3.3M in fraudulent mortgage loan transactions in just over six months by falsely inflating the income and assets of the borrowers.

Their alleged actions resulted in all six properties going into default and forcing the bank to initiate foreclosure proceedings against the borrowers. Some

Charged: Michael Gangadeen of the properties were sold in short sales for up to one-third less than the sale prices that were paid to acquire the properties in the transactions involved in this case.”

Superintendent Lawsky said, “As alleged, the defendants not only stole money out of these mortgages, but even worse they left their victims out in the cold and facing foreclosure. We will continue to vigorously pursue

mortgage fraud so that perpetrators are punished and homeowners are better protected.”

District Attorney Brown identified the three defendants as Guyana-born, Attorney Michael Gangadeen, 47, of 332 North Village Avenue in Rockville Center, New York; his sister Savitri (a.k.a.

Savi) Gangadeen, 49, of 48 Willis Avenue in Floral Park, New York; and former Wells Fargo loan officer/mortgage consultant Paul Constante, 38, of 41 Ellison Avenue in Westbury, New York.

The defendants have each been charged with firstdegree grand larceny, firstdegree criminal possession of stolen property, first-degree falsifying business records, fourth-degree criminal facilitation, first degree scheme to defraud and fourth-degree conspiracy. If convicted, they each face up to 25 years in prison.

The defendants Constante and Savitri Gangadeen are awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, and an arrest warrant has been issued for defendant Michael

Gangadeen. District Attorney Brown said that, according to the charges, the defendant Constante, who at the time was a loan officer/mortgage consultant for Wells Fargo Home Loans, prepared and submitted the loan applications of the applicants purchasing the six properties – and which contained information, such as the borrowers’ employment, income, assets and liabilities – and stated that he had obtained the information from interviewing the applicants.

Wells Fargo business records allegedly included supporting loan documentation that consisted of the applicants’ pay stubs and bank statements. It is alleged that in reviewing the supporting loan documentation several of the bank statements submitted for the different borrowers, contained the same transaction details for deposits and withdrawals but had been changed to reflect the respective borrower’s name, a different account number and a different opening and ending balance.

It is additionally alleged that the same account numbers were used for different borrowers in at least two instances and that there

were instances where a borrower ’s name was reflected on one page of a bank statement but a different name was reflected on a second page of the same bank statement.

It is further alleged that at least four of the borrowers stated that they had never provided the defendant Constante with the information contained on the loan applications about their employment, income and assets and, in fact, had never communicated or had any dealings with him and that the information on the applications was false and inflated and that they were unaware that the bogus information was submitted in order for their loans to be approved.

The four borrowers allegedly stated that the person they met about their loan and to whom they provided information regarding their actual employment status, income, pay stubs and bank statements was defendant Savitri Gangadeen, an employee of MTS Funding, a mortgage brokerage company located at 85-52 114th Street in Richmond Hill, Queens.

MTS Funding was owned and operated by defendant Michael Gangadeen, who

also maintained a law office at the same location between January 1, 2008, and June 26, 2008, and it was there that the closings for all six properties took place and in which Michael Gangadeen acted as the settlement attorney for the bank and as the individual preparing the settlement statements. Similarly, in each of the other five transactions, the buyers were required to bring a total of more than $315,000 to the closings in order for the closings to proceed and mortgage funds to be released – otherwise Michael Gangadeen was required by Wells Fargo to stop the closings and not proceed.

It is alleged that in three instances, the buyers did not pay a total of $187,650 that was due at the closings and that the closings proceeded – with Michael Gangadeen allegedly signing certifications as the bank’s attorney attesting that the money due from the buyers was paid.

Finally, it is alleged that a review of Capital One Bank business records pertaining to Michael Gangadeen’s escrow account showed that Gangadeen made disbursements of the mortgage proceeds to himself.

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

Withdraw all Jagdeo-issued radio frequencies now - Nagamootoo Former People’s Progressive Party ‘Big Wig’, Moses Nagamootoo, yesterday called for the withdrawal of all the radio frequencies that were recently handed out by former President Bharrat Jagdeo, declaring that there will be no compromise on the matter.

Delivering his contribution on the 2013 budget debate, Nagamootoo, who now represents the opposition Alliance For Change, said that there is a serious conflict of interest with regards to the allocation of frequencies.

“It is disgraceful and scandalous. This is naked nepotism,” Nagamootoo declared.

In 2011, just before he demitted office, President Bharrat Jagdeo doled out radio frequencies mostly to close associates of the ruling PPP/C regime, in a move that Nagamootoo also described as lawless and discriminatory, since the process was not transparent.

The Broadcasting Bill was passed in the National Assembly on July 28, 2011, and assented to in September, 2011.

President Jagdeo distributed the frequencies days before the November

“There will be no compromise on this matter”

AFC Member of Parliament Moses Nagamootoo 2011 elections.

One recipient, Telcor & Cultural Broadcasting Inc., whose principal is Ruth Baljit, the sister of Robert Persaud, was granted five radio frequencies in November, 2011.

New Guyana Company Ltd., publishers of Mirror newspapers also got five frequencies.

“This is the company for which I worked as a journalist for some 22 years,”

Nagamootoo told the National Assembly.

According to the AFC Member of Parliament, at present, the Mirror’s press is non-functional.

The newspaper has been outsourced for printing by Guyana Times, owned by Jagdeo’s best friend Bobby Ramroop, “and the printery, hived off to Ed Ahmad, a convicted felon in the USA, and friend of Mr. Jagdeo.”

Nagamootoo went into a bit of history, explaining that the New Guyana Company Ltd. was first registered on October 30, 1959 as Company No. 657.

For many years the Directors were Bissessar Jairam, Charles Jacobs, Derek Jagan, George Robertson, Earl Maxwell and M. Poonai – all deceased.

“There are two other names currently associated with this company. One is Haripersaud and the other is Donald Ramotar, who is named as Secretary. Need I say anything more?”

Nagamootoo asked.

“In addition, multiple frequencies have been allocated to Dr. Ranjisinghi

‘Bobby’ Ramroop, Mr. Jagdeo’s friend. Then in 2010 there were cable licenses given to Brian Yong and Vishok Persaud,” he added.

Nagamootoo reminded the National Assembly that except for a few, all the recipients of radio frequencies are connected with the PPP; are themselves high state officials, and are associated with Government leaders as “comrades, friends or relatives”. He referred to a newspaper article dated March 24, 2013 which reported the Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael

Trotman, as describing the allocation of frequencies as “obscene”.

“He said, ‘decency, commonsense and good governance dictate a reversal of the allocations’,” Nagamootoo stressed.

“The spectrum is our limited national resource, a public property. It could be a great money-earner. It must not to abused or given away willy-nilly,” said Nagamootoo, who then referred to a famous case in India to solidify his point.

“In India, auction of wireless broadband brought

in US$12 billion in 2010. But before that, in 2008, 2G spectrum frequency allocation for mobile telephone was handed out to friends in a massive scam. Big people went to jail.

“The Stabroek News on April 2, 2013 reported that the Supreme Court of India declared the allocation “unconstitutional and arbitrary” and quashed all the 122 licenses issued in 2008.

The court found that the Minister ‘had gifted away an important national asset’. The scam of India is now haunting Guyana!”

Government is looking to embrace a public/private approach as it seeks to encourage more air traffic to these parts, a move which comes in wake of plans by Delta Airlines to depart the local skies.

Delta Airlines in a statement earlier this year cited a significant decline in passenger loads and by extension loss of revenues as the primary reason for its departure. The company’s General Manager, Sarah Lora, in the statement said that “Delta Airlines will close its station in Georgetown, Guyana, discontinuing flights between the John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.”

This move which was described as a “difficult decision” is expected to take effect from May 6, 2013, thereby allowing the airline to better focus its resources on profitable markets, said Lora.

At a press conference at the People’s Progressive Party, Robb Street, Georgetown, headquarters, yesterday Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Irfaan Ali, said that Guyana was a very important market

to Delta Airlines. “It was operating at an approximately 89 per cent load factor. We now know internationally they are looking at many markets that they are operating at 90 per cent.”

Expressing his opinion yesterday, the Minister said that a number of “airlines that are merging are looking for the more short high-end market where you have more business class short-end market.”

Moreover, he noted that it is important to make a few proactive moves in the local airline industry and “I want to deal with this holistically...one is that we need to get into the South American market. We see Guyana has the ability to be what Panama is for navigational traffic when you look at where we are located in South America and there are a lot of interest,” said Minister Ali. He said that last year Virgin Atlantic had had discussions; several meetings with Government and there were also similar discussions with Jet Blue.

Government had also made initial contact with other airlines including West Jet and Air Canada, informed

Minister Ali yesterday.

In order to ensure a holistic approach is realised, the Minister emphasised the importance of the public/ private collaboration even as he revealed that “we are putting together a team comprising of Government and the private sector to go to Atlanta where many of the corporate head offices of the North American based airlines reside to have face to face meetings with top executives.” This move is expected to forge agreements which will allow for added airlift to Guyana.

Although Caribbean Airlines was recently bestowed with the Flag Carrier status, the airline has however not been able to effectively take charge of the local skies. This is particularly since there has been a tremendous response to the drive by the Ministry of Tourism’s Rediscover Home Campaign, according to Minister Ali, who informed that while the airline “did its best to put on four additional flights, it still did not have enough flights to bring persons into Guyana.”

The local skies are also currently being attended to

by Suriname Airways.

Govt embracing public/private partnership to augment airlift service

Tuesday April 09, 2013

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

Stiff screening for mining outfits to prevent money laundering - more lands to be released this month-end

By Leonard Gildarie New laws will soon be introduced to prevent possible money laundering and the entrance of questionable characters into the mining business.

Mining officials yesterday admitted that current legislations do not readily address the question of screening.

Soon, new measures under the Ministry of Finance will empower mining regulators, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), to conduct backgrounds on persons applying for mining concessions and land.

Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, and Rosemary Benjamin-Noble, Legal Advisor of GGMC, were at the time responding to questions from reporters during a press conference yesterday on the mining

sector. There have been reports of money laundering in the sector.

In the face of lucrative gold prices, Guyana has been facing enormous challenges of monitoring the terrain. An increase of raids unearthed several cases of illegal mining.

Illegal workers, from especially neighbouring Brazil and from Venezuela to a lesser extent have been found.

There have also been reported increases in crimes including murders, accidents and robberies.

According to the officials, on April 26, there will be a national lottery to open several new areas for mining activities.

This will be in six blocks of 100 acres each, Minister Persaud disclosed.

President of Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association, Patrick Harding, in expressing condolences and concern over Sunday’s tragic truck accident in the

hinterland, warned that carelessness may have played a part. He too noted that the difficult terrain is a major challenge for miners and authorities alike.

The association is now working with GGMC and the Ministry of Home Affairs to regularize Brazilians who are working in the gold fields but who face delays in receiving work permits. More than 300 Brazilians have received work permits so far.

Also at the press conference at the Ministry’s office in the GGMC compound, Brickdam, were Commissioner Rickford Vieira, and Donald Singh, Manager of Land Management.

Recently, scores of miners accused of illegally operating at Marudi Mountains in the Rupununi, Region Nine, were evicted.

During an incident, a female miner and her child were allegedly beaten by a policeman drawing widespread anger. The

Mining minister, Robert Persaud, and other officials during the press conference yesterday. policeman was charged last week. Regarding the evicted miners, they are likely to face charges as soon as investigations are complete.

They will not be barred from participating in the lottery for lands.

Last year, gold mining activities broke records in the

absence of the large scale producer, Omai Gold Mines.

Gold has now become the biggest foreign currency earner for Guyana.

Budget 2013…

Rohee boasts of achievements in Security sector Home Affair Minister Clement Rohee in his 2013 Budget debate speech, yesterday, started off in a solemn mode, offering his condolences to the relatives and friends of the late Dr. Dale Bisnauth and fellow party member, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud.

The Minister then wasted no time sorting out’ some members of the Opposition for their budget presentation.

First Rohee took jabs at APNU member Mr. Carl Greenidge. Rohee said that he fully supported his colleague, Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, when he described Greenidge’s speech as ‘ramblings’.

Rohee went on to hit at

the APNU shadow Minister for Finance stating that he over the weekend sought the view of some persons and they described his speech as ‘Greenidge feeling fowl for eggs’.

Rohee said that over the years the Ministry and every other organization have worked collectively to ensure the safety of every citizen of Guyana.

“I want to submit to you that we should not have seen economic growth if there was a total breakdown in law and order. How come the government was able to provide so much additional resources to the security sector if the country was doing so badly? For a

country’s economy to be performing it must mean that the workers in all sectors are producing.”

The Minister added that sugar production, rice production, gold production and cattle production have increased.

“In a country where there is no law and order and where crime is out of control there is no way that all these persons would have come out in such numbers to produce. This also shows that the people feel a sense of safety and security and I strongly argue that these persons are living in fear for their lives.”

Rohee also sought to draw the attention of the National Assembly to several

newspaper headlines showing that thousands came out to celebrate, Phagwah, Mashramani and the Easter.

“Even in respect of investment when people invest, whether local or foreign, it is a sign of confidence in the economy. It is from that perspective we must place our analysis or make our analysis on public safety and security not by taking out one aspect and dwelling only on crime”.

The Home Affairs Minister added that he has no qualms taking ‘licks’, nor in correcting errors his Ministry has made but his Ministry has much to boast about.

According to Minister

Rohee when he first went to the Ministry to work he had a handful of staff members to work with. Today the staff is up from 12 staff to a 127.

“This is an additional 115 staff members, not people just sitting down and drinking scotch, they are working, we have established task force on narco and illegal firearm, smuggling, security arrangement for airports crime observatory, even so far as establishing a stray catcher programme which has nabbed 2817 animals,”.

The Minister boasted about his Trafficking in Person campaign. His Ministry will soon be able to produce birth certificates electronically as well as

provide skills training for young people.

Other projects soon to be undertaken, the Minister said, include the state of the art forensic laboratory training for traffic wardens and the expanding of the Community Policing Groups.

Responding to opposition Member Winston Felix’s remarks about the Guyana Fire Service, Rohee said that the organization has over the years seen significant growth.

“In the last eight years of the PPP we have spent $2.2B on security.

Fluff or no fluff, this is real money. Were we not to spend it, we would have still be damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

Tuesday April 09, 2013

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T&T Agri Bank boss axed Devant: Chairman fired for not following procedures and policies, $9.6 million rent for empty building (Trinidad Express) Four months after he was reappointed chairman of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Rudy Maharaj has been fired.

Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj on Saturday confirmed that last Thursday, based on a note he took to Cabinet, Maharaj (Rudy) was removed from his post.

He was replaced by Yasid Gilbert.

Minister Maharaj told the Express Cabinet agreed to the decision to remove the chairman based on reports he had received related to governance issues.

He conceded while Maharaj (Rudy) had “turned around the bank”, he was not following proper procedures and policies.

In October 2012, Opposition Senator Fitzgerald Hinds had questioned Maharaj’s (Rudy) behaviour during his contribution to the budget in the Senate.

“Rudy Maharaj is

involved in operational matters in the bank, interviewing staff alone, receiving resumes, behaving like an executive chairman, short-listing people for interviews, dictating things to HR managers and loan managers about loans in the ADB. Poor governance,” he had said.

Hinds had also alleged the racial composition within the organisation was of “grave concern”, claiming that under the chairmanship of Maharaj, 35 people were hired, “all of one race”.

The Express understands a decision by the ADB to lease a building along Mulchan Seuchan Road in Chaguanas at a cost of $200,000 a month for four years, amounting to $9.6 million, from Wayne Gosine is also under review, given that the building does not have Town and Country Planning approval.

Gosine is the owner of 21st Century Insurance Brokers and the brother of

National Petroleum chairman Neil Gosine.

The Express was told the building was painted in the ADB’s colours long before the contract was signed, and it remains unoccupied.

The bank has a branch at Ramsaran Street, Chaguanas.

“The irony of the entire transaction is that while all these negotiations and dealings were taking place, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation was publishing notices in the press to all those with illegal structures to show cause why the buildings listed should not been demolished in accordance with the law,” a source told the Express.

“Because the ADB is not a Government ministry, they are not subject to the rigorous scrutiny by the Property Management Division of the Ministry of Housing,which oversees the procurement of properties that are to be rented for Government offices. These requirements

include all statutory approvals, including completion certificate from the local health authority, fire certificate and OSHA compliance clearance. The building was joined at several places and, by so doing, has now compromised the structural integrity of the compound,” the source explained.

Minister Maharaj confirmed the building and lease did come to his attention, and he plans to deal with it.

A source said of greater concern to senior staff at the ADB was the loans that have been disbursed. “Checks have revealed that more than 60 per cent of these loans given out to the farming community are nonperforming. Requests have been continuously made to the line ministry for additional funds for the ADB, which should not be so if these loans disbursed have been performing,” said a source.

SACKED: Former chairman of the Agricultural Development Bank Rudy Maharaj Maharaj explained that when he moved to the Food Production Ministry last June, he asked them to look at all delinquent loans. He said the bank is now in the process of doing that.

Several attempts to reach the former chairman for comment Saturday and yesterday were unsuccessful.

In an interview with the Express published on October 18 last year, when concern

was raised by Hinds about the ethnic composition of the ADB, Maharaj (Rudy) had said he was put in the chairmanship position to “save the country from the PNM’s (People’s National Movement) squandermania”.

Minister Maharaj also acknowledged there were staff challenges at the ADB and he was hoping the organisation could return to a level of stability under its new chairman.

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

Venezuela’s Maduro faces tricky post-Chavez panorama (Reuters) - Acting President Nicolas Maduro may struggle to advance the late Hugo Chavez’s socialist policies if he wins Venezuela’s election on Sunday, lacking both his predecessor’s iron grip on a disparate ruling coalition and the robust state finances that cemented his rule.

Maduro holds a wide lead in opinion polls over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles for the election triggered by Chavez’s death last month after a two-year battle with cancer.

Late last year, Chavez named Maduro as his chosen successor in case he did not survive his fourth surgery for the disease. That was his last public speech and Chavez died on March 5.

If the 50-year-old Maduro wins the election, he will inherit government finances strained by heavy spending during Chavez’s 2012 reelection campaign, the highest inflation in the Americas, and nagging shortages of basic consumer goods.

Widely liked among

Chavez supporters but lacking his mentor’s charisma, the former bus driver and union organizer may also have trouble controlling “Chavismo,” a movement ranging from military officers and oil executives to slum community organizers and ideologues.

Top allies have recognized the importance the politically wily former soldier Chavez had in keeping them all in line.

“Chavez was a barrier to a lot of the crazy ideas that occurred to us,” said Diosdado Cabello, a powerful party leader seen by many Venezuelans as a potential rival to Maduro.

“He imposed his leadership, his prudence and his conscience, and in many cases ensured we did not carry on.”

Maduro scoffs at suggestions of divisions in the coalition. As president, he would have the backing of those who over a decade benefited from Chavez’s ambitious oil-funded social programs that put free clinics in slums, provided subsidized groceries and built hundreds

of thousands of new homes.

Jose Albornoz, who worked alongside Maduro for years as a lawmaker before joining the opposition, said his experience as a union negotiator would stand him in good stead to forge consensus among different factions.

But he noted that Cabello has considerably greater sway than Maduro in important areas such as the military, the legislature and state governorships, and predicted that Maduro could come under pressure from inside the coalition.

“With the death of President Chavez, the struggle for leadership is starting to heat up,” said Albornoz, who is now one of the leaders of a small opposition party.

Maduro served as Chavez’s foreign minister for six years and, as he now campaigns for president, he is trying to elevate his former boss’s image to that of a saint.

He is also portraying himself as Chavez’s political “son,” pulling at the heart strings of millions of rankand-file followers who might

Venezuela’s acting President and presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro waves to supporters during a campaign rally at the state of Bolivar, in this picture provided by Miraflores Palace on April 6, 2013. Reuters/Miraflores Palace/Handout otherwise doubt his leadership.

Despite maintaining his late boss’s shrill rhetoric including calling foes heirs of Hitler - Maduro is unlikely to maintain Chavez’s torrid pace of nationalizations, his regular confrontations with private enterprise, or the diplomatic run-ins with the United States and its allies.

Maduro may be more inclined to hold discussions with the opposition or business leaders who have been at odds with the government for years.

Last year, he held informal talks with the U.S. State Department after years of bilateral tensions, although that back channel was cut last month when his government took offense at U.S. criticism of democratic standards in Venezuela.

A more diplomatic approach may lead to restlessness among ideological stalwarts, including armed groups in the slums who vow to carry on Chavez’s legacy and see confrontation as the

cornerstone of his “21st century socialism.”

“Maduro has to stay true to Chavez’s spirit, or we are lost,” said lawyer and government supporter JeanCarlos Mendoza, 32, pondering the future during a recent visit to Chavez’s coffin.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES The challenging economic environment will likely require a reorganization of state spending and potentially an overhaul of the strict currency control system, but Maduro has offered few clues about what - if anything - he might change if he is elected.

Venezuela’s oil industry still provides an enviable source of revenue, but heavy borrowing to finance home construction, pensions for the elderly and stipends for poor mothers has left the government without the abundance of 2012.

With a rising amount of oil revenue being soaked up by repayment of Chinese loans and generous assistance to

allied nations including Cuba, Maduro may have less revenue available for the social programs, or “missions,” that underpinned Chavez’s popularity.

Currency controls have reduced the amount of dollars available to local businesses, limiting capacity to import basic goods such as wheat while preventing industry from buying machinery and replacement parts.

State-run companies such as steel and aluminum producers are operating far below capacity amid chronic labor problems.

A key bellwether for the future of the OPEC nation will be whether Maduro, assuming he wins the election, maintains Finance Minister Jorge Giordani, the architect of Chavez’s steady expansion of state control into the private economy.

A more moderate finance ministry could loosen price and currency controls that local private businesses blame for shortages of products ranging from flour Continued on page 21

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

IMF considers larger loan to Jamaica; board to meet end of April ( J a m a i c a Observer)KINGSTON, Jamaica - The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) management said that it will add US$200 million to Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Jamaica.

It also plans to recommend the approval of the US$958 million arrangement to its board, which is expected to meet on the matter at the end of April, according to a press statement issued yesterday afternoon “The Fund welcomes the progress that has been made in the implementation of the programme thus far including the authorities’ efforts to complete the prior actions

and structural benchmarks, and on the assembling of a financing package,” said the press release.

“The success of this programme crucially depends on full and timely policy implementation by Jamaica of a coordinated s e t o f r e f o r m s , to strengthen the public finances, restore debt sustainability, enhance growth, and bolster the resilience of the financial sector.”

In a conference call this morning, the IMF said that the disbursement of funds, after approval, would be front loaded, although they didn’t say what the first tranche would pay out.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS)— Just over $2 billion has been set aside in the Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to bolster the operational capabilities of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The larger share of the sum, of $1.13 billion, will go towards activities at the JDF. This includes $430.7 million to facilitate repairs and improvements to the barracks at Up Park Camp; and $400 million for the purchase and overhaul of aircraft, and repairs of two twin-engine helicopters.

In addition, $150 million will go towards the improvement of service buildings, such as the construction of a jetty at the HMJS Cagway, Port Royal; while $100 million will be spent to facilitate the purchase of spare parts, and the dry

docking of a ship to enhance its seagoing capabilities.

The remaining $50 million will be used to purchase operational and administrative vehicles.

Meanwhile, the JCF’s Maintenance of Law and Order programme, has received a sum of approximately $941 million.

Of the amount, $324 million will go towards the construction and rehabilitation works at select police stations islandwide, while $300 million will be used to purchase vehicles and boats.

Another $249.55 million will be used for improvements of the Automated Palm and Fingerprint Identification System (APFIS), while the remaining $67.83 million will be used for upgrading of the Motorola Analog Digital Radio Network System (Motor Vehicle Tracking System) of the JCF.

Over $2B allocated to bolster JDF and JCF operations

Venezuela’s Maduro faces...

From page 20 to medicines.

Those shortages, which the government blames on capitalist “speculators,” have upset many Venezuelans including rank-and-file ‘Chavistas.’

Cesar Aristimuno, an economist, said Venezuela had such abundant oil revenue in recent years that it was able to replace locally produced goods with imports, but that dollars are now scarce and the private sector considerably weakened.

“It’s impossible for an economy to expand when local productive capacity is being weakened,” said

Aristimuno. “There reaches a point when you have to pay for past errors.”

Venezuela’s economy is, though, forecast to grow at a healthy 6 percent in 2013, according to the government, or a couple of points lower according to most private estimates.

It grew an estimated 5.5 pct in 2012.

While public impatience with grinding daily problems such as violent crime, power cuts and shoddy infrastructure tended not to hurt Chavez’s popularity, due to his nearreligious status among supporters, Maduro may not be so immune.

Meanwhile, the Net International Reserves, for which the EFF is meant to support, fell to US$884.25 million, representing 11.49 weeks of imports at the end of March, from US$939.5 million (11.92 weeks of imports) at the end of February.

The international benchmark, below which foreign reserves are deemed low, is 12 weeks

Page 21

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

“Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher dead at 87 (Reuters) - Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died yesterday following a stroke.

She was 87.

Britain’s only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led her party to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous term in office for a British premier in over 150 years.

A grocer’s daughter with a steely resolve, she was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed trade unions, privatized vast swathes of British industry, clashed with allies in the European economic bloc and fought a distant and improbable war to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentinian invaders.

She struck up a close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the Cold War, backed the first President George Bush during the 1991 Gulf War, and

Former British prime minister and Conservative party leader Baroness Margaret Thatcher declared that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was a man she could “do business with”.

“Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast,” said Tony Blair, whose term as Labour prime minister from 1997-2007 he acknowledged owed a debt to the former leader of his Conservative opponents.

“Some of the changes she

made in Britain were, in certain respects at least, retained by the 1997 Labour government, and came to be implemented by governments around the world,” said Blair.

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron cut short a visit to Europe to return to Britain after the death was announced and British flags on government buildings and royal palaces across London were lowered to half mast.

President Barack Obama

led an outpouring of tributes from the United States: “America has lost a true friend,” he said.

Mourners laid roses, tulips and lilies on the doorstep of her house in Belgravia, one of London’s most exclusive areas. One note said: “The greatest British leader” while another said to “The Iron Lady”, a soubriquet bestowed by a Soviet army newspaper in the 1970s and which Thatcher loved.

But, in a mark of lingering anger at a woman who explained her belief in private endeavor by declaring “there is no such thing as society”, someone also left a bottle of milk; to many Britons, for scrapping free milk for schoolchildren as education minister in 1971, she remained “Maggie Thatcher, Milk Snatcher”.

The former premier died peacefully yesterday morning at the Ritz Hotel after a stroke.

Having retreated into seclusion after being deposed by her party, the death of her businessman husband Denis in 2003 and

creeping dementia had kept her out of the public eye for years. She had been in poor health for months.

Lord Bell, a spokesman for the family, likened her to her hero Winston Churchill - a comparison echoed on the recaptured Falkland Islands while Cameron said she would go down as Britain’s greatest peacetime prime minister.

“We’ve lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton,” Cameron said.

“The real thing about Margaret Thatcher is that she didn’t just lead our country, she saved our country.”

The government said Thatcher would have a ceremonial funeral with military honours at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, which falls short of a full state funeral, in accordance with the wishes of her family.

The abiding domestic images of her premiership will remain those of conflict: huge police confrontations with mass ranks of coalminers whose year-long strike failed to save their pits and communities; Thatcher riding

a tank in a white headscarf; and flames rising above Trafalgar Square in the riots over the deeply unpopular “poll tax” which contributed to her downfall.

“I found her to be confrontational, dogmatic, abrasive, she attacked people in her own country and didn’t listen to people in her own party,” recalled Caspar Joseph, 51, a history teacher in Manchester. “She was destructive, nihilistic.

“I will be raising a glass.

I have some 1992 Dom Perignon which I have been saving for either the birth of my first grandchild or the death of Margaret Thatcher ... but actually I might drink some Argentinian wine - her attitude was contemptible over the Falklands.”

Some opponents said on social media that they would hold a party to celebrate her death while a website set up to ask if Thatcher was dead had received 180,000 likes by midday and was updated with a large block-capital “Yes. To those who opposed her she was blunt to a degree.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 23

North Korea suspends last project with South, Putin cites Chernobyl (Reuters) - North Korea suspended its sole remaining major project with the South on Monday, after weeks of threats against the United States and South Korea, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said any nuclear conflict could make Chernobyl look like a fairy tale.

Reclusive North Korea’s decision to all but close the Kaesong industrial park coincided with speculation that it will carry out some sort of provocative action another nuclear weapons test or missile launch - in what has become one of the most serious crises on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Tension has been rising since the United Nations imposed new sanctions against the North in response to its third test of a nuclear weapon in February.

Pyongyang has been further angered by weeks of joint military exercises by South Korean and U.S. forces and threatened both countries with nuclear attack.

Putin said conflict on the peninsula could cause greater devastation than the

Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

“I would make no secret about it, we are worried about the escalation on the Korean peninsula, because we are neighbors,” he told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to a trade fair in Germany.

“And if, God forbid, something happens,

(Reuters) - A U.S. visa program ran a lottery on Sunday to award 85,000 slots for high-skilled workers just one week after the application period opened, the Citizenship and Immigration Service said, signaling companies feel confident enough about the economy to hire more foreign workers.

The USCIS held the lottery to approve petitions for the slots after it received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions last week, including petitions filed for holders of advanced degrees from U.S. universities. The USCIS started accepting petitions for the visas just a week ago, on April 1 and stopped accepting them five days later because of high demand.

The last time the USCIS used a lottery this quickly to grant H-1B visas, a type companies must initiate, was in 2008, before the economic crisis hit. In April that year, when unemployment was around 5 percent, it received 163,000 petitions in five days.

Now the economy seems to be improving, with the unemployment rate nudging down to 7.6 percent last month according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as wages edge up.

The cap includes 65,000 high-skilled workers, plus a separate H-1B allocation of 20,000 masters and PhD

graduates from U.S. universities. The actual granting of visas is made by the State Department, the final step for any H-1B applicant.

Petitioners are being notified by U.S. mail if they have won a slot, USCIS said.

Those who have not will receive their petitions in the mail, along with their refunded filing fees.

The H-1B is a nonimmigrant visa in the United States that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The duration of stay is three years, extendable to six years.

U.S. companies, particularly in technology, say they need the visas to fill vacant positions. But some worker-advocacy groups counter that the companies are using the visa program to hire cheaper foreign labor.

While the official quota is 65,000, the actual number of people who enter the United States on H-1Bs is higher because workers at universities and some other workplaces do not count toward the limit. The USCIS is still accepting petitions for those exempted categories of worker, it said.

Last year, the government issued 129,000 H-1B visas.

Indian nationals received the largest number.

North Korean soldiers take part in a shooting drill in an unknown location in this picture taken on April 6, 2013 and released by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang on April 7, 2013. Reuters/KCNA

U.S. holds visa lottery for 85,000 skilled workers

Chernobyl which we all know a lot about, may seem like a child’s fairy tale. Is there such a threat or not? I think there is... I would urge everyone to calm down... and start to resolve the problems that have piled up for many years there at the negotiating table.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said North Korea could not go on “confronting” the authority of the Security Council and challenging the international community.

“I sincerely hope that they will fully comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions. This is an urgent and earnest appeal from the international community, including myself.”

A senior North Korean official, quoted by the official KCNA news agency, said after a visit to Kaesong that

authorities would withdraw North Korean workers and then decide on whether it would continue to operate.

“It will temporarily suspend the operations in the zone and examine the issue of whether it will allow its (continued) existence or close it,” KCNA quoted Kim Yang Gon, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, as saying.

KCNA said leaders in South Korea, a major U.S. ally, were “running the whole gamut of intrigues to find a pretext for igniting a war against (North Korea) after reducing the Kaesong Industrial zone to a theatre of confrontation”.

Seoul, it said, was trying to “turn the zone into a hotbed of war” against the North.

The North last week barred South Koreans from

entering the zone and South Koreans had been leaving the zone gradually in the past week as raw materials and food begin to run out.

Analysts had suggested Pyongyang would continue to allow Kaesong to operate as it accounted for some $2 billion in annual trade, with 50,000 North Koreans working in the zone making household goods for 123 South Korean companies.

It also generates more than $80 million a year in cash in wages - paid to the state rather than to workers.

About 475 South Koreans workers remain in Kaesong.

Thirteen factories have stopped operations due to lack of raw materials, according to the South’s Unification Ministry.

“North Korea’s unilateral decision to push ahead with this measure cannot be justified in any way and North Korea will be held responsible for all the consequences,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The Korean government will calmly but firmly handle North Korea’s indiscreet action and we will do our best to secure the safety of our people and the protection of our property.”

Bruce Cumings, a historian and author of “North Korea: Another Country”, said in a report Pyongyang was behaving to a pattern.

“Nothing is more characteristic of this regime than its preening, posturing, overweening desire for the world to pay it attention, while simultaneously threatening destruction in all directions and

assuring through draconian repression that its people know next to nothing about that same world,” he wrote.

The zone was the last shared link between the two Koreas as the North cut off three telephone “hot lines” and declared it was tearing up the armistice that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. Earlier on Monday, the South’s Defence Ministry denied suggestions that a nuclear arms test was imminent in North Korea, saying reported movements around the reclusive country’s atomic site were routine, contradicting earlier government comments.

China’s Foreign Ministry said it wanted to see nuclearfree peace on the Korean peninsula.

Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a Beijing briefing that China “believes that the only way to realize denuclearization is dialogue among all the parties concerned”.North Korean authorities told embassies in Pyongyang they could not guarantee their safety from Wednesday - after saying conflict was inevitable amid the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end of the month. No diplomats appear to have left the North Korean capital.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Seoul this week and the North holds celebrations and possibly military demonstrations next Monday to mark the birth date of its founder, Kim IlSung - grandfather of the current leader, 30-year-old Kim Jong-un.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Serbia rejects Kosovo deal, begs EU for more time

People block a street during an anti-European Union protest in Belgrade April 8, 2013. Reuters/Marko Djurica

(Reuters) - Serbia rejected a European Union-brokered plan yesterday to tackle the ethnic partition of its former province Kosovo, a move that could hurt Belgrade’s hopes of starting membership talks with the bloc.

But the coalition government called for the “urgent” continuation of negotiations to reach an accord, with the EU set to consider this month whether

to recommend the start of accession talks with Serbia.

Membership talks would mark a major milestone in Serbia’s recovery from a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic and provide a much-needed boost for its ailing economy, still the biggest in the former Yugoslavia.

The EU had set a Tuesday deadline for Kosovo and Serbia to accept the principles on the table after talks ended last week without result. Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia in a 1998-99 war and declared independence in 2008, had already said it was ready to sign the deal.

European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has mediated negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo over the past six months, urged Belgrade to make a last push for a deal.

“I believe that all the elements for an agreement on northern Kosovo are on the table ... I regret the decision of the Serbian government to reject the proposals and call on them to make a last effort to reach an agreement, for the benefit of their people,” she said in a statement.

Facing a potential backlash from hardliners and a warning from the influential Orthodox Church, Serbia balked, saying the offer fell far short of the broad autonomy it wants for a small Serb

enclave of majority ethnic Albanian Kosovo.

“The government of Serbia cannot accept the proposed solution as it does not guarantee the safety and human rights of Serbs in Kosovo,” the government said in a declaration read out

by Prime Minister Ivica Dacic at a meeting of his cabinet.

The declaration called for the urgent continuation of talks.

Ashton is due to issue a progress report on the situation on April 16 that will likely decide whether the EU launches Serbia on the long path of accession talks this year. She had said an inconclusive 12-hour meeting last week between the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia would be the last.

But her statement on Monday appeared to suggest she would be prepared to host more talks if there was hope of an agreement.

“They (Serbia) need to come up with very clear ideas of what they want,” an EU source said.

Expressing disappointment at the Serbian decision, Kosovo also said it was prepared to continue the negotiations.

The proposal “would have marked the beginning of the end of an historic conflict in the region,” the government said in a statement. “The government of Kosovo continues to believe that dialogue is the only solution”, it said.

Beyonce, Jay-Z visited Cuba with Treasury Department OK - source (Reuters) - A visit by American pop star Beyonce and rapper husband Jay-Z to Havana last week was a cultural trip that was fully licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department, a source familiar with the trip said yesterday.

The longstanding U.S. trade embargo against Cuba prevents most Americans from traveling to the communist-led island without a license granted by the U.S. government.

Two Cuban American members of Congress, both Republicans representing south Florida and supporters of a firm stance on Cuba, had asked the Treasury Department for information on what type of license the couple obtained for their trip.

Beyonce and Jay-Z celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in Havana and were greeted by big crowds as they strolled through the Cuban capital. Cubans recognized the music industry

power couple as celebrities despite the past half-century of ideological conflict that separates the two countries.

The source told Reuters that the trip included visits with Cuban artists and musicians, as well as several nightclubs where live music was performed, and some of the city’s best privately run restaurants, known as “paladares.”

The visit was planned as a “people-to-people” cultural visit and involved no meetings with Cuban officials, or typical tourist activity such as trips to the beach, the source said.

Even a walk around the Old City of Havana, mobbed by crowds of excited Cuban spectators, was led by Miguel Coyula, one of the city’s leading architects.

Publicists for the couple did not return emails or phone calls seeking comment.

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 25

American tot makes donation Thieves steal mattress, set to St. Ann’s Orphanage fire to new La Parfait home A new homeowner faced his worst nightmare Sunday evening after fire believed to have been set, gutted his home in Phase Two, La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.

There are indications now that persons entered the Lot 2099 Phase Two home while Adrian Allicock and his family were out, and started the blaze. A clearly upset Allicock, who returned home to find neighbours battling the fire, said that he was forced to kick down the front door of the one-flat home, which was mysteriously locked from the inside.

There are indications that the persons gained access through a bedroom window by removing the louvre panes. The two-bedroom

A nine year-old who said she was inspired by former First Lady Barbara Bush, made a donation of books and other items to the St. Ann’s Orphanage, recently.

Little Emma Issabella Rasheed who attends the Notre Dame Catholic School in the United States

said, during her interview with the former American First Lady she had a discussion about promoting literacy and this was her way of doing that.

Emma said that she plans to make this venture an annual one as she intends to follow up with the girls she

home had no bars or grilles.

“I only moved in a month now. I built this house from scratch,” said Allicock.

His sofa set and kitchen cupboards were badly damaged. In the bedroom, all that remained was the bed frame. The Allicock family believed that the mattress was stolen.

The family lost several important documents also.

It is suspected that a kerosene lamp was used to ignite clothing that was strewn on the bedroom floor.

Allicock lived there with his wife, Bibi, and his little daughter, Ashana. “This fire deliberately set. They bolt the front door from inside. How could that happen?”

He said that he left his home around 16:00hrs to go

to the city. He had no inkling of what awaited him later that night. It was while walking through a street leading to his home, around 19:00hrs that he learnt of a fire in the area. To his horror it was his home.

The building was not yet connected with power.

Allicock was sure that the fire started in a particular corner in the bedroom because the kerosene lamp was on the floor in another section – clear evidence that it was moved.

In addition, burn patterns indicated that the fired started in that section of the bedroom.

Neighbours formed a bucket brigade before a fire engine arrived. Fortunately, the roof remained largely intact although the windows are gone.

met at the orphanage. She will be visiting Guyana again with her parents who are both Guyanese but migrated to the US several years ago.

Meanwhile the recipients were very delighted by the presentation and promised to make the best of the items received.

Number 47 village residents want access to quality potable water Residents of Number 47 village in Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice) are calling on the authorities to establish a source of potable water for the village and its environs.

The village, population 300 persons, is located along the Linden- Lethem Highway on the watershed between the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers , 50 miles south of Linden and just few miles north of Mabura .

Residents of the village complained that they have not had a source of potable water in the area for the past five years.

A spokesman told Kaieteur News that Government, through the Guyana Water Inc., had dug two wells in the village about

five years ago, but both wells failed after only weeks in operation.

Residents of the village, a logging and small scale gold mining community, have since then been relying on a nearby creek for water for drinking and domestic purposes.

But as one pointed out: “The water at the creek ain’t too nice, definitely not too healthy.”

He said that recently a young lady had just dipped her container into the creek and was about to brush her teeth when she saw the corpse of an animal floating in the water nearby.

Each child at the primary school has to take a container with water to school to be

used during school hours .

The quality of water at the creek gets worse during the dry weather and it is now that period.

The spokesman said that there are a few persons with vehicles who travel to the Demerara River to get a better source of water supplies but, this is some distance away and the majority, particularly those w i t h o u t vehicles, are suffering.

The residents of the village community are requesting that their plight be looked into urgently.

“We would like a well to be dug in the village or nearby as soon as possible . We want access to quality water; and a better quality of life.

Parmanand Ramroop, 21, formerly of Danielstown Village, on the Essequibo Coast, died instantly Sunday morning, after he attempted to re-attach a dislocated (burst) wire, at a location in Richmond Village early that morning.

He fell some 40 feet and broke his neck.

A unit technician at the Guyana Power and Light,

Essequibo Branch, Ramroop was called out for emergency duty at Richmond Village to reconnect the wire from an electric pole.

According to reports, Ramroop was venturing down from the electric pole after completing the task when he attempted to release the safety belt around his waist. He apparently slipped

from the ladder and broke his neck in the fall.

Public spirited persons in the Richmond area attempted to resuscitate him by throwing water on him.

Ramroop worked at the electricity company for the last four years.

His body is at the Suddie funeral parlour awaiting a Post Mortem examination.

GPL crewman falls from pole, dies

Adrian Allicock (2nd right) and his wife Bibi with fire investigators Sunday night.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): You may think your perceptions are so precise today that you don’t need to consult anyone else.

Unfortunately, you might understand exactly what’s happening and take foolhardy action anyhow.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): You may head into work with a secret today, not that you’ll be able to keep it to yourself for long. Even if you promised someone else that you wouldn’t talk, you could always try to justify your actions if you believe that telling the truth outweighs everything else.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): Hanging out with friends sounds like a fine idea now, but you can’t run out on your work commitments just to have a good time.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): It’s a challenge to rein in your impulses now, but telling others what they need isn’t such a smart move. You can easily talk about your life, career goals and plans for the future, yet your message might not align with what’s in your heart.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): Your Leo roar might be quite ferocious today as the expressive Aries Moon bumps into difficult aspects with stern Saturn and relentless Pluto.

You are willing to stand up for your beliefs, even if it means engaging in an open conflict. answers now.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): This is the perfect day to discuss the larger issues that are often set aside in the name of getting things done in the present moment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): You are the partnership people of the zodiac and you tend to be even more engaged with those around you.

Fortunately, you can easily accommodate the needs of others.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): If you recently failed at an attempt to make changes in a diet or exercise program, now is a perfect time to try again because of all the planetary pressure on your 6th House of Routine.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): This is a very productive day if you can find the maturity to capture your creativity instead of squelching it. But even if your spontaneous expression is not practical, don’t let that stop you now.

CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): If you have been wrestling with problems on the home front, things may appear to improve today, especially if going to work takes the pressure off your more personal concerns.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): Your life can be quite exciting now, filled with a variety of things to do and people to see. But all this noise might also increase your anxiety, making it difficult for you to think about the real work at hand.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): Others may think that you have a great deal of confidence at this time, but, ironically, you might feel as if you aren’t standing on very solid ground. Unfortunately, it only makes matters worse when you project an air of false optimism.

Page 27

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Downes and Miller to contest Men’s final

Assuria Invitational Tennis - Lowden leads Over-35 Group Classic...

Men’s Singles top seed Anthony Downes was made to fight for a straight sets victory over junior sensation Daniel Lopes, before prevailing 6-1,7-6(7-4) as play in the Assuria Invitational Tennis Classic opened, at the National Tennis Centre, Woolford Avenue.

The opening stanza saw Downes break the young Lopes three times to close out it in 15 minutes.

Lopes, who looked uneasy and out of sorts playing on the quick surface, struggled with his footwork and ground strokes and was completely out of rhythm.

However, he begun to settle in the second set and matched the top seeded Downes stroke for stroke, fighting off numerous break point opportunities to force the contest into a tie break.

This was evenly contested up until the decisive ninth point of the tie break when Downes used his superior experience to serve for the match, which he duly

completed successfully.

With the win Downes moves to the top of the Group with three wins following victories over Leyland Leacock, who he battered 61, 6-0 and Gavin Lewis, who offered a walkover after suffering from the heat.

Second seed Jeremy Miller had a much easier outing as he easily dispatched Gavin Lewis 6-3, 6-1.

In his opening match up against third seeded Leacock, the marquee matchup of Day 2 action, the clash had to be stopped with Miller taking the first set 6-3, before his opponent retired after complaining of a respiratory problem due to the stifling mid-afternoon heat.

That now leaves the top two seeds to battle it out in the final with the winner to be crowned champion of the Assuria Invitational.

Also suffering health problems due to the extreme mid afternoon heat was Gavin Lewis during his match against Daniel Lopes.

Meanwhile, in the men’s Over 35 Singles, Carlos Adams trounced hapless Harry Panday 6-0 6-1in his opening matchup. However, Berbician Godfrey Lowden leads the group with three wins from three, with victories over Rudy Grant (6-3, 6-0), Harry Panday (6-3, 6-1) and a three-set victory against Mario Niamatalli (3-6, 6-2, 108).

Lowden is in a comfortable position to take the Men’s over 35 crown with one game left for him in the bag against the top seeded Carlos Adams.

Adams was expected to be in action last evening against Harry Panday from 5:30 at Panday Place in Bel Air Park.

Panday would be going all out for a consolation victory to end on a high note since he currently sits at the bottom of the group with a 0-3 record.

The competition now shifts to the Diamond Tennis Center for the remaining set of matches this weekend.

Godfrey Lowden

Anthony Downes

Jeremy Miller

Lewis Hamilton favoured by Mercedes...

From page 37 challenge for Hamilton. “I actually think Nico has done very well, especially in Malaysia,” added McNish, whose best result was seventh in the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix.

“Team-mates have gone up against Hamilton and failed - he’s a tough nut to crack but he’s a world champion for a reason. So it’ll be interesting to see if Rosberg can keep pushing him.”

While Mercedes have started strongly, Hamilton’s former team McLaren are struggling.

Jenson Button and his new team-mate Sergio Perez have taken two points apiece as Button battled to ninth in Australia and Perez followed suit in Malaysia.

But on Friday Button said he was confident the Woking-based team could build on the improved pace they showed in Malaysia before a bungled pit-stop ended hopes of a podium.

“I don’t think you can count them out,” said McNish, who has twice won the Le Mans 24 Hours.

“Perez is quick, but he’s new to the team and there will be a lot of reliance on Button’s experience.

“McLaren don’t traditionally start the season well but they are very good at developing a car throughout the season.

“They will give Button a car that can challenge for the championship but will they be able to do it in time?”

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 29

President Cameron pledges WICB support for LICA secretariat WICB Board of Directors a proposal on how the regional body can assist in strengthening cricket in the Leewards and urged that the proposal is completed by LICA in short order.

The newly elected WICB President also congratulated LICA for being the forerunners to formal competitive structured interisland cricket in the West Indies and highlighted that the 100th anniversary was the first of its kind being

Dave Cameron

St John’s, Antigua – President of the West Indies Cricket Board, Mr. Dave Cameron has pledged the assistance of the regional governing body towards the setting up of a permanent secretariat for the Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA).

Speaking at the LICA 100th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony at the Grand Royal Antiguan Resort on Saturday evening last, Cameron said: “The WICB is prepared and willing to assist with the setting up

of a permanent secretariat for LICA here in Antigua.”

Speaking prior to the WICB Head, Antigua and Barbuda Minister of Education, Sports, Youth and Gender Affairs, Senator, The Honourable Winston Williams Jr announced that his government has given a commitment to provide office space to house the LICA Secretariat in Antigua and “will also provide certain amenities to operationalize the office”.

Cameron also said that he was prepared to take to the

“Yes we can” have change...

From page 32 The obvious exhibition of mistreatment and downright contempt for none other than the players and in some cases key stakeholders over a prolonged period, are sufficient infractions for them to be removed from office.

The continued reluctance to release the terms of agreement, financial gains following the switching of the Mexico game, and to give a full disclosure as to whether the aggrieved players who represented us during the World Cup campaign were ever payed the promised percentage of the Mexico proceeds, are even more compelling evidence of the

current GFF’s view on governance…”It is either our way or no way.”

Stakeholders must now decide whether or not they want to go forward for the next four years with an executive which if nominated will be dominated by those who played an integral role during Colin Klass’ time in power, when fear of reprisal gripped and paralysed the fraternity.

Another famous American, comedian Bill Cosby once said, “the past is a ghost, the future is a dream.

All we ever have is now.”

As we head to the polls once again, those with the power to effect change should remember that, ‘all we ever have is now’.

Number of entries and ...

From page 30 Then there is an event for three and four year old maiden animals bred and born in Guyana for a top money of $300,000 and trophy over 1200M. The G class race will be a 1200M affair with the animals running for a winning purse of $300,000 and trophy.

The ‘I’ and lower event is also a 1200M contest for a winning purse of $240,000 and trophy.

J class event will see the animals racing for a winner’s money of $180,000 and

trophy also in another 1000M event. The K class match up will see the winner pocketing $140,000 and trophy running over 1200M. The individual performers including top jockey, stable and trainer will be presented with trophies compliments of the organisers.

Interested persons can make enquiries with Coordinator and Treasurer Lakeram B. Sukhdeo on telephone 232-0558 or 6720810 or President R. Jagit (tel 232-0231). Race time is 12:30hrs. (Samuel Whyte)

formally celebrated in West Indies Cricket.

Present at the event was fast bowling legend Mr. Andy Roberts along with the first man from the Leewards to play for West Indies Mr. Elquemedo Willett.

The function was also attended by the Premier of Nevis The Honourable Vance Amory and Ministers of Sport in Nevis, The Honourable Hazel BrandyWilliams and Montserrat The Honourable Colin Riley and

Vice President of the WICB Mr. Emmanuel Nanthan and Directors of the WICB Gregory Shillingford – also President of LICA – and Enoch Lewis.

LICA held the gala event to celebrate 100 years of organized cricket among the islands in the Leeward Islands.

Teams initially played for the Hesketh Bell Shield in honour of the then Governor of the Leeward Islands – Sir Hesketh Bell.

The Leeward Islands team began playing First Class cricket in 1958. Between 1966 and 1981 the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands competed in regional cricket as Combined Islands. After the Combined Islands won the regional tournament in 1981, they were again split up into the Leewards Islands and Windwards Islands.

Dominica was initially part of the Leeward Islands but now forms part of the Windward Islands.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Number of entries and sponsors on board for Bush Lot United Turf Club Horserace meet With less than one week to go for the Bush Lot United Turf Club one day horserace meet set for Sunday 14th April at the club’s racetrack at Sea View Park, Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, preparations are moving at a satisfactory pace.

The venue, which has been considered the most improved over the past year and has been gaining in prominence since the club

returned to competitive racing a few years ago, has been a hive of activity over the past week.

The authorities were busy putting in finishing touches on the track, stands, paddocks and lavatory facilities and finalizing arrangements for the big day.

According to coordinator Lakeram ‘Buddy’ Sookdeo, they are making sure every aspect is up to scratch as

West Demerara beat...

From page 34 reached a respectable total with an unbeaten fifth wicket stand of 72. Chanderpaul slammed six fours and one six in scoring 74 not out, while Savory was not out on 36 which contained one four and three sixes. Kamesh Yadram and Dhanraj took 1 apiece.

When East Coast began their chase Brian Sattaur got them off to a positive start as they reached 30-1 in 7 overs when the rain came. Upon resumption they were given an adjusted target of 91 in 20 overs. Vishal Narayan and Devon Lord managed to pull things back with consistent bowling. Lord triggered a collapse when he had Sattaur caught at cover for 32 (4x4, 1x6) before Narayan sent Yadram packing. East Coat then lost a few more quick wickets before Ranjeet Hiralall kept his cool to take his team over the ropes with an unbeaten 26(4x4). Mark Hamilton was not out on 02 as East Coast finished on 94-8 in 19.2 overs. Narayan snared 3-17, Lord 2-12; Bernard Bailey, Steven Sankar and Chanderpaul had 1 each.

they want to continue to set the high standard that the club has come to be associated with so that others can follow.

Seven races are carded for the day with the action set to get rolling at 13:00 hrs.

Entries have mounted to over 50 and with over $6.5 M in cash and trophies up for grabs, an action pack day of racing is anticipated and with the Bush Lot track known for its high standard owners, trainers, grooms and jockeys will looking to capitalize on the conductive atmosphere.

Some of the horses taking entry so far are Diamond Dazzling, Majestic, Fresh Again, Ameera’s Joy, Karina, Red Cloud, De Gump, Alana, Damascus Dream, Silver Kid, Embalm My Heart, Red and Lovely, Flying Baby, Funny Factor, Diamond Dazzling, Spice, Dream Boy Feels Like Gold , Angel Black, Technology, Got To Go, Home Bush Baby, Settle In Seattle, Third World, Top Of the Line, Cat Messiah, Captain Crook, Serenity,

The homestretch in front of the grand stand at the Bush Lot United Turf Club cuts a serene picture, but come Sunday will be a hive of activity as another exciting horseracing event is expected.

Roxona, Mary Ann, Lovely Linda, Royal Intention, Magga Line, Champ, Silent Lizzy, Wild Grinder, Gold Rush, Mr. Kool, Flying Object, Little Tip Top, Pixie Fire and Mona Lisa.

Among the sponsors on board are Banks DIH, Mohammed ‘Nankoo’ Shariff of the Shariff racing stable,

Inshan Bacchus Business Enterprise, Baijnauth Sawmilling, Hand In Hand Insurance, Buddy Shivraj, Shano Seenarine, Digicel, International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA), Kumar Sree Krisenjee and family of West Berbice, Lakeram ‘Buddy’ Sukhdeo, Guyana Tourism Authority and businessman

Premo Baldeo among others.

The feature D and lower event will be run over 1600M for a pole position takings of $500,000 and trophy.

The other events on the days card are the F and lower race for a winning purse of $360,000 and trophy over 1400M. (Continued on page 29)

Tuesday April 09, 2013

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Kaieteur News

Quicks fire Rajasthan Royals to second win ESPNcricinfo - A brace of double-wicket overs from fast bowlers, Rahul Shukla and Siddharth Trivedi, was the decisive blow that secured a second consecutive victory for Rajasthan Royals this season. They did not pick a spinner on a fast and bouncy pitch in their first home game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and the strategy worked; all five quicks took wickets and were able to prevent a dogged Eoin Morgan from single-handedly dragging Kolkata Knight Riders to the target.

Knight Riders had also read the pitch right, replacing the slower seamer L Balaji with Shami Ahmed, and Sunil Narine was their sole spinner. Narine, however, went for 18 in his third over - his most expensive in the IPL - as Royals managed to accumulate 144, because of a steady innings from Brad Hodge and a cameo from Dishant Yagnik. Their fast bowlers then vindicated their selections, dismissing Knight Riders in 19 overs.

Sreesanth opened the Royals’ defence with a 14-run over but that did not set the tone. Shaun Tait hustled batsmen with speeds that touched 150 kph, and the less-heralded seamers did the damage. Shukla bustled in, bowling in the early 140 kph-range, and had immediate impact, demolishing Manvinder Bisla’s stumps and drawing an edge from Jacques Kallis off successive deliveries in the third over.

In the seventh over Rahul Dravid brought on his fifth seamer, Trivedi, who trapped Manoj Tiwary lbw with his first ball, and then had Gautam Gambhir caught behind with his fifth. Knight Riders were floundering at 43 for 4. When Kevon Cooper drew another edge,

this time from the potentially dangerous Yusuf Pathan, only Morgan remained in Royals’ way.

Morgan was in the way for a while, transforming his innings that began scratchily into a threatening one with precise shots through the infield and over the boundary.

His pick-up loft over long leg against Tait was the highlight and he kept the asking-rate under control. What he couldn’t control, however, was the tendency of his partners to play rash shots - like Brett Lee did. At the start of the penultimate over, Knight Riders needed 23 off 12 but only had two wickets left. Morgan was bowled by Cooper first ball, and that was that.

The Royals innings had also suffered from the fall of regular wickets but they had Ajinkya Rahane anchoring the start and Brad Hodge staying until the finish to provide them with a competitive total.

They recovered from the failure of Shane Watson, who was playing his first game of the season, and the fall of Dravid and Stuart Binny, who had played valuable innings in the victory against Delhi Daredevils.

Narine then derailed the innings in the 16th over, having Rahane caught behind and Cooper stumped. At 114 for 5 at the start of the 19th over, Royals needed something special and Hodge and Yagnik provided it.

They attacked Narine for 18 runs, and then Hodge ensured 12 more came off the final over, as he finished on 46 to give his fast bowlers enough to defend.

Scores: Rajasthan Royals 144 for 6 (Hodge 46*, Narine 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 125 (Morgan 51, Trivedi 323, Cooper 3-15) by 19 runs.

Siddharth Trivedi was Man of the Match for his 3 for 23 © BCCI

Tuesday April 09, 2013

“Yes we can” have change

By Rawle Welch It became one of the most famous quotes ever by a US President when Barack Obama speaking during his victory speech shortly before commencing his first term in office, told the American people “Yes we can”.

Obama cleverly used the three words to infuse hope in a nation that was overwhelmed with a massive amount of problems due to bad policies by the then ruling administration, that consequently resulted in a negative performance in the economy.

As the countdown towards the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Electoral Congress nears, those with the mandate to change the route that football has taken should let that well-known quote resonate in their collective consciousness and get rid of those who have led the sport down a path of decline.

Many in the present administration will be hoping that their choice Aubrey ‘Shanghai’ Major takes the reins of power so that they could continue to govern in a

style that clearly imitates the autocratic approach that symbolises the current administration.

How else could you categorise a bunch of administrators, who despite numerous pleas to be more accountable, remaining steadfast in their resistance to do anything but that?

It is clear as day that they are not interested in accountablity or good governance, but rather are willing to continue on the path of suppression and retribution should they retain office. The window of opportunity to rid the local football landscape of intolerance and cronyism has arrived and come Friday, stakeholders have to grab the chance that FIFA / CONCACAF handed to them to release the sport from those who clearly do not have the motivation to be inclusive and rule for all.

The vote to change the current status quo will provide a new lease of life for Guyana’s football which has been in a comatose state for so long.

(Continued on page 29)

Tuesday April 09, 2013

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Mayor’s Cup Football Championship...

Stage set for Final Four of Super 50 Alpha United needles Slingerz FC to cart off St. John’s, Antigua – The semi-final line-up for the WICB Regional Super50 Tournament has been decided following an action-packed final round of preliminary matches on Sunday.

The Final Four of the tournament will be played under the lights at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Trinidad & Tobago face Combined Campuses & Colleges on Thursday, April 18, while Jamaica meet Windward Islands the following day.

The Grand Final will be played on Sunday, April 21.

First ball in all matches is 2:30 pm (2:30 pm Jamaica Time).

T&T beat long-standing sporting rivals Barbados to top the table after the preliminary round with an unbeaten record of six victories and 25 points, Jamaica had a last-ball victory

one million dollars and trophy

over Guyana to finish in second spot on 23 points, and Windwards beat Leeward Islands to finish third on 12 points.

CCC had a bye in the final round and had to wait know their fate.

They ended on 10 points, the same as Barbados, but qualified having beaten the Barbadians in the head-tohead contest.

Guyana ended sixth on eight points while the Leewards placed seventh with four points.

Businessman charged in referee’s sexual bribes case SINGAPORE (Reuters) Businessman Eric Ding Si Yang has been charged with three counts of corruption relating to the sexual bribes case involving three Lebanese football match officials, Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said on Monday.

Singaporean Ding, described by local media as a bookmaker, will appear before the judge on Tuesday, the Attorney General’s office told Reuters.

On Wednesday, FIFArecognised referee Ali Sabbagh and assistants Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb will appear in court where they can request bail or enter a plea against the charge of corruptly receiving gratification to fix a match.

Eid missed Friday’s initial hearing as he suffered an

“episode” in detention and was under observation in a Singapore hospital, but the Attorney General’s office said he was brought before the judge on Monday.

The three officials were in Singapore to take charge of the AFC Cup match between local side Tampines Rovers and East Bengal of India but were hastily replaced hours before Wednesday’s kick off by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The judge has ordered the three to stay in separate cells with the prosecution arguing against bail for fear they were part of a syndicated operation.

The officials face a maximum fine of S$100,000 (52,700 pounds) and a fiveyear prison term if found guilty, while Ding faces the same punishment on each charge.

WICB working on finalizing Pakistan tour schedule In light of recent media reports emanating from the Asian Sub-Continent, the West Indies Cricket Board wishes to advise the media and the public that negotiations with the Pakistan Cricket Board are on-going with regard to finalizing the schedule for the West Indies v Pakistan Series to be held in the Caribbean in July. The WICB remains optimistic that the tour will proceed once arrangements are concluded, and further, the WICB looks forward to the much anticipated visit of the Pakistan Cricket Team as indeed all cricket-loving fans of the Caribbean do.

The WICB wishes to assure the players, the fans and the wider public that it views in the highest regard its ICC Future Tours Programme commitments (which includes the Pakistan tour of the Caribbean) and will fulfil all such commitments to the mutual convenience of the players and teams involved and for the benefit and enjoyment of fans. Once all arrangements are finalized they will be announced to the media and public in the usual manner and at the earliest opportunity.

A clever bit of dribbling

by Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson followed by a sharp right foot shot that flew past Slingerz FC custodian, Ronson Williams, in the 9th minute, earned Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United FC the championship trophy and one million dollars when the two teams battled for the premiere prize in the Mayor’s Cup Football Championship at the Georgetown Football Club ground Sunday evening last.

Slingerz FC has been touted as the underdogs but has created quite a few upsets, the most significant, a 4-0 defeat over Camptown FC at the quarterfinals stage.

The pundits were assured that Slingerz could have replicated the feat against Alpha and clearly the largest crowd of the tournament thronged the venue in anticipation of the duel.

Alpha started positively with crisp passes that saw them occupying the opposition’s half during the early exchanges. Slingerz eventually seized possession and kept the ball in Alpha’s half but without success. In the meantime, Slingerz’ point man, Dwayne Jacobs patrolling the left flank, latched onto a pass from one of his teammates and opted for a long shot to his right.

His efforts amounted to naught as Alpha’s defence averted any danger by clearing the ball to the centre of the field.

The battle for possession was fierce and during one such session Richardson was left unmarked when he

received a pin point offering.

He sprinted to the opposition’s goal, dexterously evading two of Slingerz defenders, and plastered their custodian, Ronson Williams.

Dwayne Jacob immediately responded when he tore down the left wing in pursuit of the equalizer. He attempted a powerful left foot shot but failed to get past Dwight Peters who intercepted the ball which eventually went into touch.

The ferocious battle continued with first one team and then the other enjoying great moments; these did not translate into success, including a header from Jacobs which was the closest Slingerz came to equalizing.

In the meantime, Richardson continued to work hard and featured once again with his trademark dribbles. The oppositions’ defence team were prepared for him, checking him in mid stride.

It was around then that Abrams featured after being fed a dolly of a pass. He struck with a mighty kick that slammed into the crossbars for Ronson Williams to retrieve. Shortly afterwards the whistle sounded to end the first session but not before Richardson received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.

Slingerz kept up the competitive spirit into the second half but it was soon apparent that Alpha was the superior team. Despite the obvious chasm in skill and experience, with Alpha being the superior, Slingerz held

their own and even though they failed to equalize, must have felt heartened by the fact that they were able to hold ‘The Hammer’ to that one goal advantage.

The general consensus is that Slingerz, a relatively new kid on the block, if given time, will rise to be a fierce competitor of Alpha, undoubtedly the best football squad locally.

Alpha will receive a cheque for one million dollars, while Slingerz wins $500,000.

The GDF would have already been assured of the third prize of $300,000 following their truncated game against Den Amstel FC. Giftland Office Max has put up a special prize for the Most Valuable Player but the organizers are still to disclose this player’s name, while each Alpha player will while receive a hamper donated by Ricks and Sari.

The player scoring the most goals will receive a microwave oven from Keishars and a mattress from AH&L Kissoon Ltd. Though he has not scored in Sunday’s game, Abrams is in line for this prize after entering the finals with 5 goals to his name.

Patrons were also treated to two exhibition games featuring the GDF against Rhythm Squad and GFC against New Amsterdam United FC, while Mayor Hamilton Green greeted the teams just before the start of the match. GFF Presidential hopeful, Ivan Persaud and football administrator, Faizul Khan also accompanied the Mayor.

Meanwhile, organizer, Lennox Arthur lauded the

Gregory Richardson quality of the tournament. He said that the competition was intense and many of the top teams were booted out by their less fancied foes. Mr. Arthur said that he is especially grateful for the corporate entities that supported the tournament including Digicel, Ansa McAl and Two Brothers Gas Station. He said that they came on board after the tournament commenced but nonetheless, their input is valued. He also extended gratitude to several other entities for their support including General Equipment Ltd, MaCorp, Guyana Beverages Inc, CIDI, Mohammad’s Enterprise (Nazar Mohammad), Bakewell, Beepat & Sons, CBR Mining, Guyana Lottery, Digicel, GT&T, Ansa McAl, Ricks and Sari and Giftland Office Max. The prize giving ceremony will be held at City Hall Chamber today at 10:30hrs.

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

GUYANA BOXING BOARD OF CONTROL REDEMPTION BOXING CARD Clive Atwell

Clive Atwell to face toughest test when he tackles Venezuelan, Rafael Hernandez

By Michael Benjamin When Clive Atwell engaged Prince Lee Isadore for the WBC CABOFE Lightweight title in October last year, many felt that the puny sized Guyanese pugilist had bitten off more than he could have chewed. Indeed, with a record of merely 9 fights, Atwell could have hardly earned the respect of the top pugilists of the sport.

It took Atwell almost the duration of the fight to stop the tough Trinidadian (12th round TKO) and command some respect from local boxing buffs.

Two months later, Atwell enforced his position as a mighty force with a 3rd round knockout over Revlon Lake to take the local lightweight belt.

Earlier, in June last year, Atwell had faced off with Rudolph Fraser for, the local lightweight belt and by the end of the second round it was all over with Fraser

groping at the ropes in an attempt to clear his dazed head.

By now Atwell had built quite a reputation for himself and finding reputable opponents for him was proving to be somewhat tedious for promoters. After strenuous searches, officials of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) managed to clinch a fight for the Guyanese and on April 20 Atwell will square off with Venezuelan, Rafael Hernandez for the WBC CABOFE featherweight title at the Princess Hotel International, Providence EBD, on a card appropriately dubbed ‘Fire Storm.’

Hernandez, a native of Elorza, Apure Venezuela, has won 15 fights with 13 of them ending inside the distance. He has lost 3 bouts while 2 ended in drawn decisions. After boxing for 98 rounds, the Venezuelan boasts a knockout

ratio of 61.9%.

Atwell has a record of 9 fights and his only blemish is a drawn decision against his countryman, Mark Austin. He has boxed 38 rounds with a knockout ratio of 50%. Atwell has patrolled several divisions including bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight and has defeated all comers. What is indeed meritorious is that Atwell had climbed to the lightweight division after campaigning in the featherweight division and brutally knocked out the more seasoned Revlon Lake.

Hernandez stripped off his shirt in December 2003 during which time Atwell was still plying his trade as an amateur boxer. Hernandez had a good start to his professional career reeling off 3 victories before he fought his countryman Joel Romero in a fight that ended in a no contest. He then lost to Jaider

Parra but rebounded with 4 wins (3 by knockouts).

Hernandez then surrendered a bout to Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym of Thailand but has registered knockout victories in his last two outings; he defeated Columbian fighters, Jose Zuniga (KO 1) and Jelier Pacheco (KO 1). Kaieteur Sport was reliably informed that Hernandez has shifted camp to the USA since he has heard a lot about Atwell and is taking no chances.

Meanwhile, Atwell said that he is aware of his opponent’s record but he is far from impressed much less fearful of the Venezuelan.

Atwell has opened camp under the watchful eyes of Lennox ‘Cappel’ Daniels and Terrence Poole. He is also blessed with a team of advisors including Dexter Patterson and Max Messiah, while Managing Director of Town to Country Real Estate, Eurie Hohenkirk, is offering worthwhile financial and other support coupled with useful advice.

The triple champion has exuded confidence of winning the upcoming bout saying that he intends to be in the best shape of his life. He said that he has perused a few tapes of his opponents and is confident that he (Atwell)

could come out victorious.

Mr. Messiah was also confident that his charge will win the bout. However, he admits that Hernandez will not be a walkover. “We have recently learned that Hernandez has shifted camp to the USA and we are taking no chances with our preparations,” said Messiah.

Mr. Eurie Hohenkirk explained that his role in Atwell’s boxing life is also to provide support as well as issue advice. The Managing Director of Town to Country Real Estate said that he is impressed with Atwell’s work ethic and his dedication to the sport. Several other bouts will comprise the card including the main bout between Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman against Jamaican, Sakima Mullings for the

World Boxing Council Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBACABOFE) and the World Boxing Association Fede Caribe (WBAFEDCAR) welterweight belts. Then there are the bouts featuring Mark Austin against Gladwin Dorway for the local welterweight belt and the Syrian boxer, Mahmood ‘The Extractor’ Loul, against Berbician, Derick Richmond in a 4 round super/middleweight bout.

Elton ‘The Bully’ Dharry will also be in action against Hewley Robinson for the local bantamweight title, while Republican amateur lightweight boxer, Nankumar Singh appears in the ring after a long hiatus against another top amateur fighter. There will also be a bout between two female amateur boxers.

West Demerara beat East Bank to take DCB Inter Association U-19 title - East Coast overcome GT

By Zaheer Mohamed West Demerara defeated East Bank by 6 wickets to win the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Inter Association U-19 50 over competition which concluded yesterday.

At Wales, West Demerara won the toss and asked East Bank to bat after the game was reduced to 45 overs due to rain. Ryan Shun who top scored with 54 and Stephan Brown (14) rescued the visitors with a sixth wicket stand of 65 after they were reduced to 13-5. Shun stroked five fours, while Amir Khan supported with 26(1x4) as East Bank managed 140-8.

Pacer Kevin Paul claimed 449 from 9 overs and Travis Persaud 1-16.

In reply West Demerara were 19-1 in 5.3 overs at when rain sent the players off the field. The home team were set a revised target of 62 from 20

overs which they achieved in 16.1 overs for the loss of 4 wickets, finishing on 64.

Chandrika Persaud and Rickey Hinds made 16 each with the latter being unbeaten.

Brown and Deonarine Seegobin had 1 each. West Demerara ended the tournament with three wins from three matches.

At Bourda, East Coast overcame Georgetown by 2 wickets. Rain caused the start of play to be delayed which resulted in the overs being reduced to 35. However, Georgetown who surprisingly omitted talented left hander Sherfene Rutherford from their starting eleven, batted first and posted 160-4 off their allotted overs. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Anthony Bhupdeo put together 35 for the opening stand, but poor communication between the wickets resulted in Bhupdeo

Tagenarine Chanderpaul being run out for 10.

Martin Pestano Bell joined Chanderpaul and took the score to 45 before Bell was run out in similar fashion for 5. Georgetown then lost Andrew Gibson for 4 before Chanderpaul and Vishal Narayan featured in a fourth wicket partnership of 38 with sensible batting. Yougeshwar Dhanraj then removed Narayan for 18, but Chanderpaul and Kemol Savory made sure their team (Continued on page 30)

Tuesday April 09, 2013

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::: Letter to the Sports Editor :::

Naim Chan clears the air on Unity SC/Shiv Chanderpaul issue DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me space to respond to a letter in another section of the media dated 2nd April 2013 Re:” No one authorised to collect funds on behalf of Shiv Chanderpaul Academy” and signed by Shiv Chanderpaul.

Shiv is our hero. We respect and love him.

Regrettably, a situation has developed that forces our hand to go public because of Shiv’s misguided excursions in the press, in which he makes a grave allegation of financial misconduct against me, and by extension the members of the Unity Lancaster Sports Club (ULSC). The ULSC was resuscitated in October 2012.

I was elected president. The club immediately identified a series of projects to work on.

The first was to honour our heroes— Shiv Chanderpaul, who was born into the same club, and the great West Indian speedster Colin Croft.

Unfortunately, Colin’s name was dropped because

Shiv Chanderpaul refused to have his face and that of Colin’s on the same billboard.

He refused to even negotiate on this issue.

At the resuscitation the club was penniless. To honour Shiv would have required approximately $1.5M. The club set out to accomplish this difficult mission. I approached the business community and raised over $600,000. These were the donors of cash: GUYTRAC $360,000; Buddy’s Pool Hall $100,000; Regal Stationery $50,000, Quality Seafoods $50,000, AFS Shipping $25,000, Surendranauth $25, 000, Ink Plus $20,000, a business friend of Shiv’s (Sheriff Street) whose name I can’t remember $10,000, Elegance Jewellery $25,000 and New GPC $30,000.

This was insufficient but the club’s executive, Vice President Dr. Errol Bassoo, Secretary Mr. R. Goolghar, Treasurer R. Dyal and myself kept spending our personal money just to make Shiv

proud. The donors of kind included Mr. Sheik Mohammed (Shiv’s buddy pal, spokesman and confidante) for all the trophies and printing expenses, Giftland Office Max, Global investment and above all Andrew Arts for a huge ($500,000) billboard, BK Int. and Nauth construction for the (lights). There were a few thefts. We honoured Shiv at a great ceremony and floodlight game with all the national players playing.

NCN radio was live. All the commentators (myself and Inderjeet Persaud) volunteered our comments free of cost. The club ran a bar-b-que and bar.

The proceeds from this totaled $373,000. We were able to honour this legend in a grand way on 8th December, 2012. At the ceremony we also announced the launch of the Shiv Chanderpaul academy.

The monies realised from that occasion, were all expended on improving the

Buxton United receives spoils for Kashif and Shanghai tournament

K&S’s Roxanne Hunter presents the uniforms to Buxton United’s Jason Cromwell while other players and representatives look on.

Dr. Colin Watson, a Washington DC based Guyanese who had assured a set of new uniforms for the winner of the 22nd edition of the Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament, has delivered as promised to the Buxton United Football Club.

At a simple presentation held at the Buxton Community Centre ground on Sunday afternoon, Roxanne Hunter, Finance Assistant of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, handed over the uniforms to the representatives of the Buxton United Football Club.

“This is part of the package promised to the winning team of the tournament,” explained Hunter upon presenting the uniforms to some players who had gathered.

Colin Watson is the twin brother of Clyde, better known as ‘Oiler’ a former national

stalwart and has been making such contributions to the tournament over the past eight years. Buxton United became the second East Coast team to lift the winner’s trophy for Guyana’s most prestigious football event after defeating Amelia’s Ward United on penalty kicks at the Guyana National Stadium on January 1.

Their run to the final seemed like a fairytale, having defeated both BK International Western Tigers and Guyana’s number one club Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United in the process.

They had received the winning purse of $4M, while Dwayne Jacobs, who had captained the team in the tournament, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and drove off with the Toyota Allex compliments of Edward B Beharry and Company.

main pavilion to introduce boxing and karate. In fact we ran short and could not complete that project. We can justify this item for item.

Our next mission was to raise funds to operate Shiv’s academy. I received a letter of consent from Shiv and wrote to the following potential sponsors late last year: DIGICEL, Sterling Products, Scotia Bank, GUYOIL and Banks DIH. In January Mr. Sheik Mohammed (whom we communicate with on all matters relating to Shiv) said to me repeatedly that Shiv wants his letter back because we are abusing his name and collecting monies all over the country.

My reply was that Shiv needs to write us saying this and we will return his letter.

I communicated Shiv’s “pull out” to all of the above stated ‘Potential Sponsors’.

We received no money for any academy. I neither wrote to, nor received any donation for Shiv’s academy from any other person. Not one cent.

The academy was scrapped before it became operational.

We also never participated in any fund raising venture using Shiv’s name. Not one.

Shiv and people like Reyaz Hussein (personal friends) may shortly be asked to produce evidence before a judge on their claims that letters are circulating and monies are being donated to this club in the name of a Shiv Chanderpaul academy.

Our challenge to Shiv is to bring forward the evidence.

I remain astonished and utterly surprised that our hero has gone public accusing us of receiving money in his name. Somehow, I believe this is not coming from Shiv himself. There must be an intellectual author.

From December 2012 to current, the club has held one fund raising event which was a Fun Park for the kids on 30th March 2013. This was almost entirely sponsored by Sterling Products. We raised just over $150,000 which we have in hand. This was the club’s project. Shiv’s name or - academy was never used to sell this event.

His charge of extortion

and fraud levelled against the club, is rubbish and that is now a subject of discussion with our lawyer. It is funny when someone like our hero who has never donated a piece of equipment, a ball, or even pay the club’s subscription fee of $400 per month for himself and son, but uses all of the club’s facilities, can now be so brazen as to accuse the club’s executive of fraud.

Talking about fraud, maybe the good cricketer can explain what is the club’s practice net doing at his home and which is now being used by him and his family only, along with the club’s lawn mower and cricket gear which were all accumulated under the Chetram Singh administration.

The club is now running a small academy for children free of cost. The club’s executives are paying for this from their pockets. Maybe Shiv should donate a ball or a dollar or come show a child how to bat. But then again our hero is not made of that stuff.

Naim Chan

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Tuesday April 09, 2013

Tuesday April 09, 2013

Kaieteur News

Downswell pleased despite draw Wendell Downswell

Jamaica Observer - CHORRERA, Panama — Jamaica Under-17 football head coach Wendell Downswell praised his team for battling “gallantly” to a 1-1 result against hosts Panama in Saturday’s CONCACAF Championship Group A match at the Estadio Muquita Sanchez.

The Jamaica team finished the sometimes bruising encounter with only nine players.

Central midfielder Ryan Miller was red-carded in the 68th minute and right-back Tyshan Hill received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card in the fourth minute of time added.

The Young Reggae Boyz captain Junior Flemmings had silenced the over 1,500 home supporters when he showed good composure to stroke home a penalty kick in the 40th minute, but the sprightly Panamanians salvaged a point when Ismael Diaz headed in from a rebound in the first minute of stoppage time.

Downswell, who suggested that getting a point against the Jorge Dely Valdez-coached team is a good result, expressed contrasting emotions given how late his outfit conceded the equalising goal.

“It was a hard-fought game and I think the youngsters did themselves proud. I think we fought gallantly and I think it was unfortunate that we conceded that goal at that late stage

in the game,” he told the Jamaica Observer after the match.

There was special mention for the undersiege Jamaica defence as well as goalkeeper Nicholas Nelson, who kept the Jamaicans in the hunt with his sure ball handling in the area.

The hosts, buoyed by the vibrant singing and drum-beating Panama supporters, were earliest to settle into a passing rhythm and dominated the opening 15 minutes of play as Jamaica hung back patiently in search of the counter-attack.

Most of the Jamaicans’ attempts failed, however, as oftentimes both their nervouslooking short and long passes went astray.

Slowly, they did begin to use possession better midway the first half and they almost went behind when Diaz beat the off-side trap, but his tame snap-shot was saved by Nelson.

The Jamaicans continued to soak up pressure from Panama and fashioned a chance of their own when the busy Khallil Stewart shielded the ball well on the left before slipping a pass to Michael Seaton in the box, who was blatantly tripped inside the 18-yard box.

His strike partner Flemmings gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at the interval when he calmly side-footed his penalty effort into the right corner as opposing goalkeeper Jaime De Gracia went the wrong way.

Panama, hungry for the equaliser, maintained the pressure but it was Diaz again who was thwarted by Nelson only 11 minutes into the second half. This time Nelson had a dive low to his left to squirt an effort just around the upright. On the hour mark, Stewart could have given Jamaica a 2-0 cushion, but after rounding the ‘keeper neatly, he could only manage to hit the near upright from an acute angle.

Two minutes later, Jamaica had another golden opportunity when Flemmings latched onto a long clearance, but his 30-yard effort rolled wide of the goal after De Gracia advanced from his area to cut the angle.

With 22 minutes to go and Jamaica’s backsto-the-wall, their effort was made harder when Miller was sent packing for an off-the-ball incident with a Panama player.

Lewis Hamilton favoured by Mercedes says Allan McNish BBC Sport - Events in the Malaysian Grand Prix show Mercedes are favouring Lewis Hamilton in their pursuit of the world title, according to ex-F1 driver Allan McNish.

Mercedes implemented team orders at Sepang, denying Nico Rosberg’s requests to pass team-mate Hamilton for third. “Just look at that conversation over the radio,” McNish told BBC Sport. “Even though it’s not official, there’s definitely a strong focus on Hamilton being their main challenge for the championship.”

McNish, who will work as a BBC Radio 5 live analyst for at least six races this season, added: “They’ve opened their arms to Hamilton and they’ve certainly got their arm round him quite well at the moment.”

Hamilton, who joined Mercedes for this season after spending the first six years of his F1 career with McLaren, has out-qualified and outscored Rosberg in each of the first two races of the season. The 2008 world champion is currently fourth in the drivers’ world championship on 25 points, 15 behind leader Sebastian Vettel but 13 ahead of Rosberg who is entering his fourth season with the Brackley-based team.

“I think he’s definitely been comfortable with what they are going to give him and the

Lewis Hamilton (right) and Nico Rosberg (Getty Images) changes Mercedes are going to make to the structure of the team - otherwise he wouldn’t have gone there,” added McNish, 43.

“It was clear that Hamilton was the quickest guy on the grid last year and I’m not surprised he’s had the upper hand over Rosberg in qualifying because I do believe that Hamilton is the fastest guy over one lap.

He has brought a fresh lease of life to the team.”

However, the Scot, who raced for Toyota in 2002 and was a test driver for Renault in 2003, believes Rosberg will still provide a (Continued on page 28)

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Expect more positive tests, warns Russian athletics chief MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian athletics chief Valentin Balakhnichyov said he expected more doping cases involving Russian athletes to be revealed in the future because the country conducted more drugs tests than any other nation.

“Don’t be surprised if you hear about a few more suspensions coming our way,” the president of the Russian athletics federation (VFLA) told Reuters on Monday following an inspection visit by top officials from the sport’s governing body IAAF. With Moscow hosting the world athletics championships in August, Russian authorities have been forced to step up their fight against doping after nearly two dozen of the country’s leading athletes failed drugs tests in the past 12 months. Last week, the VFLA handed twoyear bans to three Russian female athletes, including former world and Olympic champions Olga Kuzenkova and Svetlana Krivelyova, for failing drugs tests after their samples were re-examined.

Kuzenkova, 2004 Olympic champion in the women’s hammer, tested positive at the 2005 world championships in Helsinki, where she also finished first. Krivelyova, who won the women’s shot put gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 2003 world championships in Paris, failed a test at the 2004 Athens Games.

They were the latest high-profile Russian athletes to fall foul of the doping rules and Balakhnichyov said he feared the worst.

“It’s simple arithmetic - the more you test, the more people are likely be caught,” he said.

ADVANCED TESTING “Together with the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) we do more drugs tests than any other country in the world. “Some nations only do 500 tests a year. On the other hand, last year we conducted 3,500 tests and this year we plan to do over 4,000 tests in and out of competition,” he added.

“We also do more advanced testing, not only urine but blood testing as well so those numbers (suspensions) don’t surprise me at all. On the contrary - I expect more of them in the future.” Former world youth race-walking champion, Sergey Morozov was banned for life by the VFLA in December for committing a second doping offence.

“You can’t fight doping without a serious punishment, long-term bans. The guilty people must pay the price - it’s the most effective tool in the fight against doping,” Balakhnichyov said.

However, Balakhnichyov said he did not know if more Russians might be caught cheating after re-testing of their samples which have been stored from previous competitions.

“The re-testing is done by the (World AntiDoping Agency) WADA together with the IAAF. The information is confidential. I’m a high-ranking IAAF official and even I don’t know all the details,” said Balakhnichyov, who serves as IAAF treasurer.

“I can only talk about tests which are done by the VFLA and RUSADA. We’re quite open about doping cases in Russia because we’re trying to tackle this problem head-on.”

t r o Sp

TGH Pacesetters go 7-0, Pepsi Sonics also win

Pepsi Sonics’ guard, Junior Lovell (airborne) beats Knights defence along the baseline to finish a classic reverse lay-up Sunday night on Burnham Basketball Court.

Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters improved its win/loss record to perhaps an unassailable 7-0 in the Georgetown sub-association Division I League Sunday night on Burnham Basketball Court while Pepsi Sonics’ win helped them to a 5-1 record for second in the League, having lost to only Pacesetters.

TGH Pacesetters beat Plaisance Guardians 70-64 with Stephon Gillis and Royston Siland scoring 17 points each for Pacesetters and Naylon Loncke adding 13 points. Enoch Mathews had 16 and Ron Campbell 12 points for Guardians, who also had Nicolas Cassius and John Fraser in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.

In the second Division I game of the night, the featured contest, Pepsi Sonics beat Knights 71-64 to improve its record. Guard, Jason Squires shot his way to a whopping 34 points and showed the kind of last half leadership worthy of a second ranked team.

Pepsi went up 20-18 in the first quarter, but found themselves trailing 33-37 at halftime after some vintage plays from Kester Gomes and his Knights dominated the second quarter. However, Pepsi soon recovered through some big shots from Squires in the second half to regain the lead.

Trevor Smith scored 12 points for Sonics in the game.

For Knights, it was Owan Walton, who once again fetched their offence with 22 points with both Gomes and Randy Aaron scoring 11 points each.

In the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Division III League, Panthers blew away Nets 62-39 with Jonathan Pooran scoring 16 points, and both Murtland Ward, and Orlando Gibson 15 points each in the lopsided win. Mortimer Robertson had eight points for Nets in that game.

Colts also secured another Division III win Sunday night, beating Guyana Defence Force (GDF) 98-88 in overtime. Clebert Thornhill scored 23 points while Lennox Thornhill added 16 points to give Colts the win.

Evans Johnson and Delon LaRose each had 12 points while Daniel Ramlagan had 10 points also for Colts.

Defence Force’s Phillip Earle dropped 40 points, which is the highest individual score in both the Division I and III League, for his team. Mark Rose scored 30 points while Jermaine Newton had 10 points for the Defence Force unit in the contest. (Edison Jefford)

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