Page 2
Pomeroon tragedy... By Michael Jordan and Yannason Duncan A passenger from the Region Two vessel that was involved in Tuesday’s deadly crash said yesterday that she heard an official shout: “Captain look out, there’s a boat coming!” seconds before the two boats collided. The passenger said that the captain, known as ‘Buddy’, swerved and the other boat struck the side of the vessel she was in before “pelting up in the air and going into the bushes.” The woman said she believes that she and the other passengers would also have perished had the boats collided head-on. The passenger’s account appears to confirm accounts given by the captain of the Region Two vessel and Regional Chairman Parmanand Persaud, who both said that the smaller vessel had headed into their path. The boat captain, who was released on station bail yesterday, stated that the other boat should have been travelling on the other side of the river.
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
“Other boat swerved into my path” - captain The captain and Region Two Chairman Persaud denied that they left the scene without attempting to assist the victims. Persaud told Kaieteur News that the captain discharged his passengers and went back to help the victims but by then, two other boats had already gone to the scene and reported that all the passengers were dead. Confirmed dead are boat captain Harrynarine Bhagwdeen; Velda Rodrigues, 50; Shawn Anthony, 14; Rajkumar Singh, 14 and his sister Amerieta Singh, 10; and Vincent Singh, 42. The lone survivor, Eli Orlando, of Adams Creek, has been admitted to the Suddie Public Hospital. A hospital source said that his condition has improved. Post mortem examinations performed on Rodrigues and her son revealed that the woman sustained multiple injuries while her son’s spine was broken. All of the other victims, like Rodrigues, suffered multiple injuries Relatives of some of the victims have alleged that the passengers of the Regional vessel fled the scene without
attempting to assist the victims. Speaking to Kaieteur News yesterday, a passenger from the Regional vessel recalled that they were travelling during a heavy downpour at around 17:30 hrs last Tuesday. They had all discarded their life jackets since they were some ten minutes away from Charity. “I can remember that rain was pouring real hard… and all of a sudden we hear (Regional official) say ‘Captain look out, there is a boat coming!’ and we saw a boat about ten seconds away from us,” the passenger said. “We panic and start shouting, and our captain did not get flustered…he pivot for the bush and the boat hit our boat side and pelt up in the air and go in the bush. I told myself that I am dead. We were not wearing life jackets and I don’t know to swim. “We saw people lying in the water. We went back halfway…but by then another boat came back and they assisted, and they said ‘you go to the police, we going to look after them (the victims).’” She said that the Region Two vessel was “moving
fast” and the boat heading towards them appeared to be speeding. The passenger believes that her captain’s quick response saved his passengers. “His response was swift, saving 12 lives.” According to boat captain ‘Buddy’, he was ‘coming from upriver’ in pouring rain. “We were on the right side (of the river) and the other boat was on my side and like he come straight up to me and he pass under my boat bow and end up in the bush. He (the other boat captain) should have been on his right side, but he been on my right side.” “I put off the passengers and when I go back to see what happen, a boy from another boat say that eight people dead.”According to ‘Buddy’, his passengers advised him to go to the Charity Police Station, which he did. The captain confirmed that the Regional vessel has a 200horsepower outboard engine, but said that he was going at about “half of the maximum” speed. And Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud also alleged that from all indications, the other boat “ran into” the regional boat. “The other boat swerved
across and the Regional boat ran over it.” He recalled that the smaller boat ended up in some mangroves after the collision. Refuting reports that they drove away without trying to render assistance, Persaud said the captain discharged his passengers on a river bank, with the intention of going to the aid of the victims. By then, two other boats had gone to the scene. He recounted that a community member went to the area where the crash had occurred. He returned about 30 minutes later to inform them that all the passengers were dead. “The man came back and said ‘Chairman, you can’t do
nothing.” Officials from the Region Two administration and staffers from the One Laptop Per Family project were returning from the Upper Pomeroon after distributing laptop computers when the tragedy occurred. It is believed to be one of the worst boat mishaps to have occurred in the Pomeroon River, and appeals are being made for more safety measures to be implemented for speedboat operators. On Wednesday, President Donald Ramotar and several Government officials expressed condolences to relatives of the victims while promising to assist them.
Another teen murdered in the interior The murder figure continues to climb with yet another killing in Guyana’s interior. The police are investigating the murder of Trevor Thomas, 19, of Lethem, which occurred at about 23:00 on Wednesday at Mudhole Backdam, Eteringbang. According to the police, Thomas and another man were imbibing, when an argument developed, during which he was fatally stabbed to his chest. The suspect has not yet been arrested.
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Toy gun bandits arrested by citizen with real gun Two toy gun bandits thought they had gotten off scot-free after robbing a city resident of his cell phone and jewellery; but they did not cater for the presence of a public-spirited citizen with a real gun. The two thieves were nabbed around 15:45 hours on Wednesday after robbing 30-year-old O’Neil Fraser in the city.
According to a police statement, Fraser, of North Ruimveldt, Greater Georgetown, was in the vicinity of Quamina and Thomas Streets, Cummingsburg, when two men rode up on a motorcycle. Fraser was held at gunpoint by one of the men, who took away his BlackBerry cell phone and gold chain.
The licenced firearm holder, who was in the area, responded, and suspecting that the men were carrying a toy gun, arrested the two perpetrators before they could escape The police were subsequently informed and the firearm in their possession was confirmed to be a toy gun. The stolen articles were recovered.
Prison officer remanded for smuggling ganja into jail A prison officer will be spending Christmas with some of the same inmates he guarded after he was allegedly caught attempting to smuggle 70 grams of marijuana into the Camp Street penitentiary. The accused, M a h e s h w a r Jailall, was remanded to prison yesterday after appearing in the
Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. It is alleged that on Monday, December 17, Jailall, a prison officer, took two jerseys into the Georgetown Prison and was seen entering a restricted area. A search was conducted on the defendant and the narcotics were found wrapped in the jerseys. The defendant was
arrested and later charged. Police have alleged that following his arrest, Jailall claimed that a barber who operated in the Stabroek Market area had asked him to take the drugs into the prison. However, when questioned, the barber denied knowing the accused. Jailall is scheduled to return to court on January 2.
Woman gets one year in jail for cocaine Forty-two year-old Audrey Cummings, of St. John Street, New Amsterdam, who was charged with possession of narcotics, was yesterday sentenced to one year in jail by Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo, at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s court. The case for the prosecution as presented by Corporal Orin Joseph was that on October 7, 2011, the police were on
patrol when they received certain information. They then proceeded to the woman’s home where they conducted a search. In the interim, Cummings was behaving in a suspicious manner. She was also indisciplined. Cummings was arrested and taken to the Central Police Station, New Amsterdam. As a female police officer was about to search the suspect, the
woman put her hands in her crotch and pulled out the drugs which she dropped on the floor. She then denied that she had the drugs in her possession. The item was collected tested and weighed and found to be two grams of cocaine. She was charged. Cummings, a single parent of minors, was said to have no previous conviction.
West Coast man gets three years for drugs in ‘Hannah Montana’ books A 29-year-old West Coast Demerara man was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison and fined $30,000 after he admitted to attempting to ship at least 100 grams of cocaine in ‘Hannah Montana’ books via the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC)’s main building in Georgetown. The drugs were destined for the United States. Dellon Mac David, 28, of Back Street, Stewartville, pleaded for leniency when the sentence was handed down by Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. After admitting to the
crime and entering a guilty plea, the man, who was deported from the United States, highlighted the difficulty he faced financially, citing that “it is hard to survive in Guyana.” The charge against the father of two stated that on Wednesday last, December 19, at the GPOC, he had 100 grams of cocaine in his possession for the purpose of trafficking. The police said that the man had concealed the drugs in ‘Hannah Montana’ books and within the walls of a cardboard box. The prosecution, lead by CANU prosecutor Donald
Downer, claimed that on the day in question, the defendant went to the post office with the intent of sending two boxes containing items he said were for his two daughters. While Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) ranks posted at the facility conducted a search on the man’s package the drugs were unearthed. The defendant confessed to the CANU officers at the post office that a man had “linked him with another man and he decided to do a little thing” because since he came back, “it is very hard to survive in Guyana”.
Page 3
Page 4
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
Clothes and Identity An intriguing discussion is unfolding in our letter pages about a possible nexus of the clothes of females and acts of violence including rape, perpetuated on them. Over three years ago we had weighed in on the “signification” of clothes which we resubmit with the intent to place the discussion within a context. Clothes, they say, “maketh the man”, not to mention the woman. While man has been making clothes for quite awhile (as far back as the Palaeolithic cavemen furs) it is safe to say that in the beginning the reason was far more mundane than creating status for the wearer: “making the man”. The weather, we now know, had been quite nippy, and moving through thick brushes and forests in their quest for food must have focused our early ancestors’ mind wonderfully on the need for protection of their rather exposed yet tender hides. But somewhere along the way - one presumes not long after they covered their nakedness - questions of status crept in. The swiftest hunter must have insisted that the hide of the most prized prey should literally fall on his shoulders. And so we witnessed first, the “head hunter”, then the chief and then the king insist that more ostentatious and ornate clothes should signify their higher status. This affectation was mocked in an early spoof, The Emperor who had no Clothes”. But there is another early social nexus with clothes: morality. While the popular story of Adam and Eve being forced to cover their nakedness after “eating the apple” may be from the Judaic to the Christian and Muslim tradition, all the other high cultures at some point or other insisted that the human body, especially the female body, had to be covered in deference to “public morality”. The height of the European colonial expansion coincided with the Victorian insistence of “covering it all” to go with a strict moral code and even those societies that may have had a more liberal concept on what constituted “proper” clothing, fell into line. The beginning of the “modern” era in the west, however, saw a gradual slackening of public morality in which Victorian mores were derided as prudery. Given the connection noted above, there was a corresponding revolution in clothing, which culminated in the “free love” era of the sixties, typified by the “micro-mini” of Carnaby Street. While many were drawn into accepting the loosening of morality and its corresponding raising of the hemlines under the influence of wanting to be “modern”, some cultures balked. To be modern, they insisted, did not mean automatically jettisoning all that was traditional to their culture. Modernity was not coincident with “westernisation” and there was no inherent reason to discard a traditional practice, especially if it was related to a deeply felt moral order. Up to this point, the divergence in what was considered proper dress, even with its subtext of who defined morality and one’s identity, may not have amounted to more than a case of de gustibus non est deiputandum - there’s no disputing about tastes, and settled with a shrug of the shoulders. However, because of the immigration of millions of Muslims from all across the globe into Europe, the matter has precipitated a major debate there. The Europeans, beginning with France and spreading into Britain, are insisting that the mode of dress of the Muslim womenfolk is conflicting with their values. In reality, the objections on the clothes are a stalking horse for the deeper concerns as to “who” and “what” is to define “European culture”. The Muslim community are standing their ground and challenging the bases of the multicultural ideal that had been touted in those societies (especially Britain) as encouraging “diversity” and “tolerance”. The question, as always has to do with power: in this case the power to define. In Guyana, our multiracial and multiethnic society should take note of the debate, for sooner or later there may be some who may try to use the same rationales to stifle the right of others who want to live authentically by the traditions of their culture.
Friday December 21, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news
The holidays should be for healing our national leaders DEAR EDITOR, While Christmas is a festive season that represents peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind, our sympathy goes out to all those who have lost loved ones during the year. We are still all in shock at the brutal and senseless murders of young men such as Shaquille Grant (Agricola), Dameon Belgrave (Pouderoyen), the three Linden Martyrs; Shemroy Bouyea, Ron Somerset and Allan Lewis and others who were cut down in the prime of their lives by some brutal and corrupt agents of the Jagdeo/ Ramotar cabal. These foolish acts by the unprofessional members of the police force should be a wake-up call for all Guyanese to challenge this savage, corrupt and uncaring regime before others have to suffer the same fate. It is a crying shame that those who took the oath to serve and protect the people are themselves turning their weapons on the defenseless citizens of Guyana. But in the midst of their collective grief, the mothers, fathers and relatives of all those slain by the State in 2012 must continue to hope that good is coming to the land and that they are not alone in their pain and sadness. As concerned Guyanese, we urge the government to make sure that justice be done so that the parents and relatives of the slain could have closure.
So in this festive season of sharing and goodwill to all, we want to gently remind the people that Christ did not believe in such brutality. The Old Testament speaks to the Law of Moses especially to the Ten Commandments that said, “Thou shalt not kill” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Today, twelve months after the inauguration of a new President, the poor and the working class are no closer on that journey out of poverty. This Yuletide season should serve as a period of reflection on our lives and how we must redouble our efforts in 2013 to refuse to cooperate with the Jagdeo/ Ramotar cabal, the primary oppressor in Guyana. The State cannot function without the cooperation of the poor and the working class. They have to boycott their newspapers; their goods sold by their supporters and commence a program of isolating the agents of the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal just like how the opposition isolated Clement Rohee, rendering him politically useless today. This is the only solution to stop these wanton and barbaric acts of maladministration and corruption by the Jagdeo/ Ramotar cabal. We call on the government to heed the wishes of the people by
paying greater attention to their needs. If they fail to listen to the pleas of the people then increase the strategy of isolation of the regime and their cronies by not supporting their businesses. This will bring order back to the society through plain and simple passive and peaceful resistance. We must stand up today and stop this race to anarchy being perpetuated by the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal as they threaten the very fabric of our society. It cannot be allowed to continue and the PPP regime must adopt strict measures that will end police brutality and murders of innocent citizens and commence the process of distributing the patrimony of the Treasury to the most deserving such as the farmers at Cotton Tree and Black Bush Polder and the mothers and children of Linden, Agricola and Plastic City. In this festive season, we pray for the prosperity of all Guyanese and for common sense and understanding to prevail in their actions. We also pray for peace
and goodwill toward all and for love towards each other. Perhaps the holidays will give our national leaders a chance to reflect on a national plan that is inclusive so that they can make better personal choices in 2013 to manifest that year into one of healing, atonement and success for all, especially the poor and the working class. We love our politics but we love Guyana and the people more. Our fervent wish in this season is that all will put their shoulder to the wheel to develop and build Guyana so that all, not only the PPP business buddies can share in the bounties of prosperity. God bless our beautiful Guyana and more important God bless a resilient people who like Teflon will see the changes through to the end and outlive the corruption, oppression and the selfish politics foist upon the nation by the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal. We remain proud of the people of Guyana and wish them a bright future. Regards, Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh.
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 5
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
APNU challenges the integrity of the Chief Justice The PPP/Civic Administration views with deep concern the recent proclivity of the Joint Opposition, both in and out of Parliament, of making statements that, expressly and by implication, constitute an attack on the integrity and independence of the Judiciary. Further, it is the view of the Administration that these statements by their expressed language and tenor are designed to pit the Executive against the Judiciary. Frequent references are made of the Government’s resort to the Judiciary for redress against flagrant violations of the Constitution by the Joint Opposition in the National Assembly. The government’s exercise of this democratic right and constitutional freedom is, irrationally, viewed by the Opposition as an attempt by the Administration to wage “war” against Legislature. The latest statement issued by the Alliance For Change published on the 18th December, 2012, must be viewed against this politically inspired backdrop. This statement, in effect, blames the Administration for the non- appointment of office holders to the positions of Chancellor and Chief Justice,
respectively. The statement further insinuates that the Government is deliberately perpetuating such state of affairs in order to derive, presumably, favourable rulings from these office holders. Its falsity apart, this insipid insinuation constitutes a most callous assault on the integrity and reputation of two distinguished jurists of this land who have served their country with distinction. Additionally, the AFC, whose leadership consists of several lawyers, fully well knows that the persons who are acting in those two offices are, substantively, the Chief Justice of the country and a Justice of Appeal and therefore they currently enjoy the most impregnable security of tenure that the Constitution offers by virtue of those substantive appointments. Significantly, the makers of this statement, either by design or because of unfamiliarity with the issue, omit to acknowledge the documented efforts of both former President Bharrat Jagdeo and His Excellency President Donald Ramotar to secure the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition, as is constitutionally required, to fill these vacancies. Unfortunately, these
DEAR EDITOR, Allow me to make some comments on Mr. Mark Archer’s latest letter, published in the Kaieteur News on December 19, 2012 under the caption “AG’s continuous run to the courts is habitual”. Mr. Archer is a well known APNU member and activist and it is no secret that APNU has been consistently violating the constitution both inside and outside parliament. It is not only the AG’s constitutional and democratic right, but also his constitutional duty and responsibility to move to the High Court whenever he believes the constitution has been violated. Under the constitution of Guyana, it is the High Court that has exclusive jurisdictional responsibility in dealing with constitutional matters.
Mr. Archer ’s letter, therefore, represents a clear attack on the independence of the judiciary and the integrity on the Hon. Chief Justice, Mr. Ian Chang who is tasked with the responsibility of hearing and determining the case bought by the AG on behalf or the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee. Letters of this nature are nothing but deliberate attempts by the opposition directed at undermining the independence of the Judiciary and must be condemned for what they are. It is no secret that the PNC has always been afraid of an independent Judiciary. I encourage the Attorney General to continue access the Court to preserve the rule of law and to challenge Constitutional Violations, irrespective of who commits them. Shyam Doodnauth
APNU is challenging the independence of the judiciary
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King, Jr.
efforts were futile. The Administration remains hopeful that an agreement can be realized earliest. In fact, the Administration urges the AFC to focus their attention on encouraging the Leader of the Opposition to respond to the President‘s overtures to fill these vacancies. The AFC’s contentions are therefore, characteristically, devoid of any merit. The Administration
further regards as an outrage, the bizarre allegation of the AFC that it has declared “war” against the Legislature. Ours is a position which is founded in principle. The Administration will challenge all or any violations of the Constitution or onslaught of the rule of law whenever it occurs and whoever is the perpetrator. It is our democratic right to do so and indeed, a devolved constitutional duty, from which we will not shirk.
In this regard, the National Assembly enjoys no exemption either in logic or law. Finally, the Administration does not discount the possibility that this statement is a veiled attempt by the AFC to intimidate the Honourable Chief Justice, who currently, has conduct of a matter filed by the Attorney-General challenging the Opposition’s actions in the National Assembly which resulted in
the Speaker prohibiting the Minister of Home Affairs and an elected member of the National Assembly, Mr. Clement Rohee, from discharging his duties in the House. The Administration intends to vigilantly monitor and expose this new AFC’s political strategy of judicial intimidation. Hon. Mohabir Anil Nandlall MP Attorney General, Minister of Legal Affairs.
Page 6
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
PPP supported parliamentary unity back then, but not now DEAR EDITOR, When Jagan’s PPP proposed shared governance and national unity government to Burnham’s PNC, was the PPP and PNC ‘wan” (one and the same)? This ridiculous attempt to paint the AFC and the PNC as one single entity that the PPP ethnic provocateurs continue to peddle to the people of this country has to be one of the most stupid attempts at trying to fool people. It insults the intelligence of the PPP’s own constituency. People know that even the most bitter enemies must agree on some issues if they confront the same evil. Jagan’s PPP offered support to Burnham’s PNC during the times when Venezuela illegally ramped up its territorial annexation rhetoric because Jagan knew that the PNC and PPP had to stand together to defend this land. Even when the Venezuelans were not fooling around trying to claim our territory, Jagan proposed shared governance and a national unity government to
Burnham and the PNC. Several high ranking PPP officials, some of them are probably holding power now, approached and held secret talks with the PNC to this end. Now, these miscreants conveniently forget their history. They were in favour of merging the PPP and the PNC, which would have destroyed this country by creating a oneparty state run by incompetent communist and socialist dictators. Just imagine a government of the Burnhams, Jagans, Corbins, Rohees, Greenidges, Jagdeos and Grangers. We would not have had a free and fair election to this day. The government would have had fifty ministers and the banditry would have left this country further down the economic hole than Haiti. When the PPP suggested joining the PNC dictatorship, many of these same rogues trying to spread bigotry and the PPP supporters who backed them religiously had no problem holding hands with the dictators or their own becoming co-dictators. It was the PPP which
approached the PNC to become joint dictators and despots. It was all about power and nothing else. How could PPP supporters who had no problem with two unelected parties joining forces in a common dictatorship then now have a problem with a democratically elected majority opposition joining forces not for totalitarianism or despotism but for the defence of democracy, justice, fairness and the rights of the people? We have those who had no difficulty with the PPP trying to get the PNC to share illegally obtained power with it because the PPP knew even if it got a shared government, there would never be any future elections. Yet those same supporters have a problem with an opposition coming together, not all the time but when necessary, not for power but to fight corruption, injustice, inequity and incompetence. The real problem with this country is not just racism but the hypocrisy that accompanies that racism. When the PPP tried to be
‘wan’ (one) with the PNC, there were no cries from PPP supporters against it even if it was one of the most dastardly acts ever contemplated in this country’s history, an act that would have further enslaved the PPP’s own constituency to perpetual dictatorship. But today when the AFC stands up with the PNC/APNU and demands answers on a $13 million taxi expenditure by a PPP ministry or asks for answers on where taxpayers’ money is being invested in a dubious hotel project or demands responses on a plethora of corruption issues, some put on their hypocrisy coat and forget their history of willingness to bow down to dictatorship to get power and get in on the leaking soup. The gang-running, and ruining, the PPP cannot fool people. When the AFC stood up to the backroom deal between the PNC/APNU and the PPP on Linden which then caused the PNC/APNU to backtrack on the matter, was the AFC ‘wan’ with the PNC/
APNU? PPP supporters must ask themselves if they want to be played and conned by these jokers who are trying to think for them. If a man steals millions from a government media house and it is now public knowledge, should the AFC refuse to cooperate with the PNC/APNU when the latter launches a Parliamentary investigation into the matter? Should the AFC support the PPP when it covers up theft from the treasury simply because the PNC/APNU is launching an enquiry into the matter? Should a party shed its decency, integrity, honor and duty to the people just to avoid being linked to a party that is doing the right thing? What kind of bloody country do we really want if we want our opposition to be divided on matters of corruption just to avoid the racially nasty tag the party in government may try to establish by linking the opposition parties together? Should the AFC side with the PPP when its officials steal, plunder and pillage the national coffers just so it does not appear to be ‘wan’ with
the PNC/APNU which is pursuing this corruption? This dirty racist angle to our politics will haunt us. The beasts that try to illustrate two parties as the same on racial grounds are trying to destroy this country. They are trying to weaken the voice of the opposition to unite when necessary to confront universally accepted evils like gross corruption. They are trying to protect their turf so that they could continue to rape this country while the opposition divides itself because it does not want to appear to be ‘wan’. If the AFC stands apart from the PNC/APNU and vice versa on corruption, i n e q u a l i t y, u n f a i r n e s s , incompetence, malpractice and immorality, this bunch of Ali Babas who have bullied the PPP away from its supporters get to continue their merry ways of making off with the people’s patrimony. People should stop and think carefully about what this message from the PPP is trying to do. M. Maxwell
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 7
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
KISSOON’S SOCIAL CONTRACT AND BLAMEGAME DEAR EDITOR, So Mr. Freddie Kissoon, now dishes out a “social contract” for our Guyanese taste buds, hoping that the spice of Western philosopher Thomas Hobbes would make it palatable. Amazingly he hopes that the PPP/C government, even in sniffing his dish, would straightway succumb to the Hobbesian spice and change the Guyana constitution. Mr Kissoon wants to harness and affix this social contract to enhance the opposition powers in Parliament because, what else, “the PNC is desperately trying to survive”. The PPP/C government may as well hang itself knowing who cooked the “social contract” dish. By any means this does not necessarily mean to excuse the PPP/C’s failings with all its unfulfilled promises as much as the PNC must also survive by all that is right and legal. What exempts, in such a “social contract”, the opposition parties from their parliamentary responsibilities when they are actively involved in fomenting violence, arson, harassment of defenceless commuters, burning taxpayers’ buildings and targeting their fellow Indo Guyanese countrymen in racial hatred? The AFC/APNU opposition must also abide, nay be exemplary, in compliance of this same Kissoon unearthed Hobbes ‘social contract” to treat all Guyanese with equal rights including respect. They stand to gain more. A “social contract” must not appear as another
disguise to flaunt and flounce in opposition to the Guyana Government’s sacred duty to preserve law and order. APNU’s receptability will in fact be judged by how it disassociates its symbiosis to the AFC’s extremism and violence at Linden and Agricola. A positive record substantially enhances the PNC chances to become the next government for sure. In the meantime no one can expect the PPP/C to cut its nose to spoil its face. Clever Mr Kisssoon quietly forgets to tell us that Englishman Hobbes also believed in “absolute” government. Between the current freely elected PPP/C and its previous rigging undemocratic PNC predecessor the choice can only be obvious. The PPP/C must however get its act together by seizing the bull by its horns. Who in Guyana has not grown up poor? Contrast Mr Kissoon now living a privileged life of luxury with a big house in a gated community having even got a free university education in Canada. He suffered no hardships as a student as his bread has always been well buttered. Me? I had to work two jobs in factories in the good old USA living in cockroachrat infested slums before completing my post graduate university education to become a teacher. In America we call this paying a heavy price. Pitiful Kissoon. For someone promoting a new “social contract”, Mr Kissoon is the best living example of non compliance
especially since he has absolutely no “social contract” with his ancestors and other descendants whose home is Guyana. When Hindus recently observed Pitri Paksh ie the rememberance and homage to former ancestors it was totally lost on our Kissoons. For our Kissoons those same Guyanese who rescued and blossomed the sugar and rice industries can be easily denied their natural rights and freedom from onslaughts to their security in their own country. Apparently when they built roads, cleared canals, lived in sub human logies nurtured the sugar cane and rice plants,growing food every day in the boiling sun in muddy fields to feed the Caribbean, it meant nothing to Mr Kissoon. The “educated” Mr Kissson can boost his ego by quoting Hobbes but his “social contract” proclivities are only triggered after three Lindeners are unfortunately and mysteriously killed due to AFC instigated arson, robbery and harassment of Lethem bound travellers now that Linden wants to avoid paying their fair share for electricity. In the aftermath, violent thuggery and racism on mostly Indian commuters at Agricola becomes seemingly excusable and justifiable only because of Mr Kissoon’s self admittance that “I am ashamed to be an Indian”. Can there be a more pathetic human psychological deficiency in denying or acknowledging something which afforded him life, liberty and the
DEAR EDITOR, I write concerning the disrespect, dishonesty and blatant “eye pass” shown by the Managing Director and Board of Directors of the now defunct Globe Trust And Investment Company Limited to persons who put their hard earned money into accounts at that financial institution. Large sums of money which were never repaid, were loaned to their friends and associates, some of whom I know personally, without the requisite collateral. Of course we all know of the “Hand wash Hand”, or the “Yah you Yah me” stories. Some of these persons are alive and well and living right here in Guyana moving about shamelessly and without any remorse.
Their assets should be seized and sold and the proceeds used to pay poor people who were robbed. I, a housewife, had a small fixed deposit of $380,869.09 prior to the turn of the century, was given a “hand out” of $11,954 last week. There are Guyanese living abroad whom I know have been saving their pension there and have now lost it. There are also poor people’s children who have lost their little savings. I have a cousin who deposited $1,000,000 one day
before that institution closed doors, when he returned the following day to transact some other business he was greeted by a closed door. He also was given a pittance last week. Would any sane person believe that Globe Trust did not know that it would have been out of business the day after they took that man’s money? They should all be wearing pumpkin suits for their deeds. But again as the saying goes, this is Guyana. Nazmoon Zorina Adams
The disrespect of the Globe Trust Board
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King, Jr.
pursuit of happiness but which is now despised with open disdain? Who would remind our Kissoons of Plato’s admonition “Know thyself”! This “social contract” that Mr Kissoon touts can only make a mockery of Guyana’s sensitive reality not so much in its advocacy but who cooks and serves it. Despite his visible Indianness, last name and cultural food habits he cannot be but a dichotomous living, walking monument of what must be overcome...someday.
What he is he in fact only God knows. But he must not be hated regardless as we have also failed. Regardless of the deficiencies which abound I would still be favourably disposed to be charitable, sharing with equal sacrifices even limiting my share to give those more in need. Moreso I am always predisposed to hearing and facilitating all sides because of my religion, origins, cultural beliefs, traditions and race. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said, “I want the culture of all the lands to be blown
about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.” Most emphatically I resent being demonised because I am of Indian origin, religion or race, culture or my economic status. How can this Hobbes “social contract” which Mr Kissoon promotes be beneficial to us all remains to be seen. Its significance would be reflected when Mr Kissoon heals himself first.We know in whose court the missing ball resides. Vassan Ramracha
Some advice for the Broadcast Authority DEAR EDITOR, The government has appointed a Broadcast Authority under the chairmanship of Ms Bibi Shadick. To date, the Authority has not been reported in the media as having done anything. Could the Authority immediately get in touch with the radio stations and require them to have the following defects rectified: (1)The station should publish its daily programme schedule in the print media
and stick to it. Programes are dropped without warning or are moved willy-nilly everywhere without any explanation or apology. (2)The BBC rebroadcast which comes on at midnight is sometimes dropped without warning. The news in particular could sometimes not be heard as either the technicians pre-record on a faulty tape or those catching the BBC did not do so with any skill. (3)Have some care and knowledge brought to the
presentation of the Sunday Concert Hall programe. This is one important programme which is often dropped or has its broadcast time changed without warning. The programme needs to have a presenter who is acquainted with Classical Music and could identify and choose interesting music. The above-mentioned faults could immediately be rectified and give the Broadcast Authority a good opportunity to show its mettle to the public. Victoria Giles
Page 8
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 9
THE THINGS I MISS ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS There are so many things that I miss about Christmas. I however have to content myself with the thought that not everything lasts forever and therefore things will change. But there are few things that I have sorely missed over the years and today I wish to list them. 1. The first one is the cinema. A few years ago my heart soared when I passed by the Strand Cinema and noticed that it was being given a face-lift in the form of an exterior painting. My hopes increased that perhaps the cinema was making a comeback. I was to be disappointed. I later learnt that the building had been rented out to a church and is no longer a movie house. I really do miss the old days of the cinema and this feeling intensifies at Christmas since it used to be the time when you could look forward to the best movies being shown in the country. The Astor is still going and I do plan to support that cinema if and when they do, since I believe that this is the only way in which we can encourage a revival of movie houses in Guyana, something that is surely missed,
especially at this time of the year. 2. The second thing that I miss is the carol-singing that used to form a part of Christmas celebrations in Guyana. Groups of persons used to come knocking at your door, ready to sing carols for you, after which you would give then some refreshments and a donation for their group or church. I know the public is skeptical about allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry into their homes in these crime-ridden times. But this should not have downsized the art of carol-singing which I am sure could have adapted to the security concerns of citizens. 3. The third thing I miss, and have missed for decades, and which I will probably never live to see return to Guyana is window-shopping. It used to be a delight for the entire family to go and walk around the commercial districts admiring the showcases. These showcases have long given way to grillwork and now steel doors, which have made showcases redundant, and in the process has killed an important Christmas event – window shopping. I liked admiring the show
Dem boys seh...
Rohee , Brumell and Brazzy playing three blind men Dem boys deh good good when dem cell phone ping. Was a message from Gee Tea and more Tea plus coffee. De message tell dem that if dem see a crime dem must call Rohee wuk place or tsext de Police Force. Well dem boys seh that these people got to be really joking. Dem got to be blind, dumb and deaf and even lose dem sense of smell because de Waterfalls paper reporting crime pun crime and scampishness every day. De same people who send that message to de nation is part of de crime situation in Guyana. Dem boys want to know if dem believe that people gun really tsext dem when de nation know that dem is either part of, does tun dem face or shut dem eye. Dem know all who is de criminal. Irfaat selling land to dem remigrant fuh $7 million fuh a quarter acre. That is land in some out of sight place. But Jagdeo get one hole acre beach front land fuh $5 million. Well dem boys want fuh know if that is not a crime. Rohee get de same land at de same price like Jagdeo and he watching how dem overseas people does get rob. He can’t ask people fuh tsext he and tell he bout crime. Brazzy pick up a man
suitcase at de airport and drive away. He lef he own deliberately. That is a crime because dem boys seh that he had to know. He had a green suitcase and he pick up a brown one. Dem boys talk yet Rohee, Broomell and Nolall/Blindlall still want dem tsext bout that. Tax dodging is a crime and all of dem big ones hiding from Khurshid Lall. Gandalall and Nanda Lall got nuff property and dem still don’t pay dem proppa tax. Ask Khurshid Lall. Suh wha happening is that Rohee and Broomell and Nolall/ Blindlall seeing corruption big and bold by day, and tekking fire stick fuh look fuh it by night. Of course dem boys seh that it might be a trick fuh send Broomell and Nolall/Blindlall pun all who talk bout Rohee friends and who corrupt. This is a man who drive a car wid de siren blaring all round town because Jagdeo lef he to act as President. That was stupidity and stupidity is not a crime. When Rob Earth act as Prime Minister and drive through de back dam wid he siren, he mek nuff of dem bull run helter skelter. Some jump trench, some jump parapet and some jump he, tell dem boys if that is a crime. Talk half and read bout crime in de Waterfalls paper
windows of stores in the old days. In some instances there was a sort of unofficial competition among store owners to see who would have the best showcases. I love to spend Christmas in Guyana, but I do remember that one of my best holiday seasons ever was when I went overseas and had the privilege of admiring the wonderful displays in their show windows. It made me nostalgic about the old Christmases of Guyana. 4. What I hate most about the Christmas of today is the lack of variety, especially for toys. In the old days, you could find all manner of toys
and every store that you went in you could be sure to find a great deal of different things from the one you visited before. Today there is no variety in toys. And finding a good toy can take some looking and can cost a fortune. I miss the old stores such as Bettencourt and Cosmopolitan, who really imported good quality and interesting toys that lasted a long time and left indelible memories in the kids who received them. 5. I miss Santa Claus. One of the sad things that has occurred this year is that very few stores – if any – advertised Santa. I know just
how many kids look forward to visiting Santa. We had developed a great idea over the past few years of having Santa take out photographs with the kids. This gave the children an unforgettable experience and a chance to really believe in Santa, which is something that no parent should deny their child. I had to ask myself this year whatever happened to Santa. 6. Finally, for years now I have seen a gradual decline of the Old Year’s Night home parties. People are now more outgoing and are prepared to spend a large amount of
money to go out with their partners and have a good time. Others are prepared to stay at home and do nothing. This was never quite the way that Old Year’s Night was spent. I loved the home parties. I loved the smell of that pot of cook-up on the stove. It did not matter where I was, how rich or how poor, were the hosts, I truly identified with these gatherings as we waited for the midnight hour. These are the things that I wish could return.
Page 10
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
=== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ===
Cricket in Guyana has joined the circus for Christmas
I don’t expect a High Court judge to respond to what the press, commentators or public officials say. Judges normally stay away from that arena. This applies throughout the world. When the government of a country keeps lamenting what a particular judge has done and if the judge feels that the comments are not accurate, he or she will make a public statement. It is common knowledge throughout the world that a judge or the Chief Justice will step in if the political directorate, be it a Minister or the President or Prime Minister, casts aspersions on the judiciary or utters a statement about a High Court
trial that has national implications for the credibility of the judiciary. We don’t have to look far. Right here in Guyana a few months ago, a Minister (Ms. Manickchand) made a remark about a court matter involving the then Police Commissioner and presided over by the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice wasn’t too pleased, and in a direct reaction to what the Minister said, publicly stated that he would consider resigning. Yet for over two years, another Minister, Frank Anthony, and at least on one occasion, Roger Luncheon, have misquoted the Chief Justice on a matter of extreme national importance and the judge
would not correct them. My question is if the Chief Justice can respond to one Minister who spoke only once on an issue, why is he silent on the constant misrepresentation of his words by another Minister (see four letters of mine on this in the KN – December 8 and December 31 last year, and January 2 and January 7 of this year)? Three times over an eighteen-month period, Minister of Sports, Dr Frank Anthony referred to the “mandate” of the Chief Justice when the Minister sought to dissolve the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). The Chief Justice has never issued a mandate, spoken about a mandate or even alluded to a mandate from the court about Government’s involvement in removing the GCB. I will repeat for the fifth time in my writings on this issue in this newspaper what came out of the mouth of Justice Ian Chang. He refused an injunction against the GCB on the
ground that the GCB is not a legal entity. He then observed that given the turmoil in local cricket administration the Ministry of Sports MAY (my emphasis) want to intervene. On this opinion of the Chief Justice, the Sports Ministry acted. The books of the GCB were seized and padlocks were placed on its premises. The Ministry of Sports invented an Interim Management Committee headed by Clive Lloyd. The courts ordered the padlocks removed; the IMC was not recognized as the legitimate cricket administration. A CARICOM deal was not accepted by the Guyana Government, the West Indies Cricket Board continues to deal only with the GCB, the GCB continues to function and international cricket has been removed from Guyana. Now we have a new development. The IMC has come up with a constitution for the GCB. The GCB Secretary, Mr. Anand Sanasie, has sent a
copy to me. I have read this document and I know that even before it reaches Parliament, APNU and AFC will not even touch it much less allow a debate in Parliament. Contrary to the expressed edict of International Cricket Conference (ICC) that politics must be kept out of the sport, the constitution of the GCB, if accepted by the Guyanese cricketing public, puts the administration of cricket in this land straight onto the lap of the Ministry of Sports. What is egregious and asinine is the statement from the Government that the document is a replica of what obtains in Trinidad. How can the ruling clique in Guyana be so silly? The opposition is going to read the Trinidad version, see no role for the Government, and will commonsensically reject Clive Lloyd’s paper. But even if we agree that the ruling politicians are capable of all kinds of mediocrity, this is a blueprint that came from Lloyd’s IMC.
Frederick Kissoon Lloyd worked with the ICC, so he must know that the international administrators of cricket do not want any substantial role for governments. So where do we go from here? My advice to the GCB is to call a meeting of most of the Guyanese stakeholders – Bar Association, APNU, AFC, Transparency Institute, Guyana Human Rights Association, People’s Parliament, Olympic Association, Red Thread, Guyana Medical Association, Private Sector Commission, Guyana Press Association, TUC, Guyana Council of Churches among others, and ask their advice as to how they can proceed with cricket in Guyana. Most, if not all, of these stakeholders love cricket.
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 11
UG on course to shed archaic mechanisms – Pro Chancellor
UG Pro Chancellor, Dr. Prem Misir Having been in existence for almost 50 years and with aging infrastructure, the
University of Guyana can today be considered outdated. This
pronouncement was made by Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Prem Misir. However, there are likely to be some changes on the horizon, as according to Dr. Misir, “very soon hopefully we might see some refined changes structurally within the university.” His comments were forthcoming as he addressed a recent press conference to name the new Vice Chancellor of the University, Trinidad-based Professor, Dr. Jacob Opadeyi. “I think that it is important that we understand that we have to start somewhere. We have to start with this,” said Dr. Misir, of the University Council’s decision to approve the Nigeria-born Vice Chancellor.
GRA taking revenue protection seriously - Sattaur Ensuring that the country’s revenue earnings are protected has been no walk in the park but the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) this past year was more than up to the challenge. At least this notion was highlighted by Commissioner General of GRA, Khurshid Sattaur, during a recent interview. Through the Revenue Protection operation of Customs, Sattaur said that efforts are not only made to detect items that can be deemed unfavourable, but to reduce the instances of tax evasion. “That area works on the principle of intelligent management. It is an Intelligent Risk Management System that is in place,” said the Commissioner General. He revealed that entries are deemed to be high risk in a sense that “if we allow it to be processed without examination you are likely to have a high level of evasion of revenue and perhaps importation of items that are inimical to the interest of the nation such as guns.” The system, according to Sattaur, operates on a random selection basis and allows for the revenue protection area to go through selected entries in detail. First the selected entries are requested then they are physically sent to the revenue protection area where all related documents are examined. Sattaur said that importers are also questioned at times if there are any discrepancies that need to be resolved. This
initial process could last for about three days and once the recommended examination is completed, then the process can move to another level where additional taxes are required before the goods under review are released. But even after being released, the goods selected for examination could still be subjected to further examination, Sattaur noted. “A system like that therefore does not have all the entries or containers that come into the country subject to a physical examination. A system like that if it is working perfectly, as most systems do not...would be able to do far more effective work in a quicker timeframe and with far greater turnaround than a system that requires every single document to be examined,” Sattaur explained. He emphasised that with this system working to its maximum potential, the GRA is effectively able to raise the revenue of the country, as it entails a process where containers that are imported or exported pass through a scanner. At the moment Customs has one scanner, but there are plans to incorporate another by next year, Sattaur
disclosed. This move, he said, is linked to the fact that in the near future the United States Government will be seeking to ensure that every container that leaves the local port are compliant with the maritime regulations for exporting goods. This requirement will be extended to a number of other countries. “When the time comes we will have to ensure that we fully qualify with those requirements and we have to be very compliant as well, as it relates to how we carry out our functions. So having one (container) scanner might not be enough we have to have a backup,” Sattaur stated. There are plans to bring on board a better and more superior scanner to support the current one. The GRA boss surmised that with a second scanner in place, efforts may very well have to be made towards instituting a charge for the process, a state of affairs that obtains in most countries. At the moment, no charge is incurred by exporters or importers as according to Sattaur “the cost of operating the high maintenance scanner, the labour cost and everything associated with scanning containers, is borne by GRA.”
The Pro Chancellor is optimistic that refined structural changes within the tertiary institution could potentially translate to a different kind of organisational behaviour, a transformation which he believes the campus badly needs. He alluded to improvement plans which are likely to be realised through a Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) grant which is expected to help transform the institution. Commenting on the expectations of the CDB grant, Dr. Misir had earlier this year said that “with respect to the current institutional structure of the university, efforts are underway to transform the archaic institutional mechanisms of the university, in order to promote efficient administration, analogous to that of contemporary universities.” In this regard, he said that the CDB approved a grant of US$250,000 with UG matching
this funding with US$50,000 to guide the rehabilitation of the regulatory and operational framework of the institution. The expected outputs from this project, he related, include presenting recommendations on a relevant regulatory framework, a resource mobilization plan, a change management programme, and corporate systems and operational procedures. Through a public tendering process, a consultant was selected and the project is set to commence imminently. At the recent press conference, Dr. Misir said that the University is currently in possession of a CDB consultation report that “we are gradually looking at, at this time, and Professor Opadeyi is aware of this development.” “This report is already with us and we are looking at it and we are hoping that there will be some changes in the structure,” said Dr. Misir, who speculated that changes will
not only be realised in the structure, but there will be some functioning recommendations for other changes as well. According to the Pro Chancellor, the University is currently on a course of evolution and “we are getting there.” Member of the Council, Ms. Gail Teixeira, who was also at the press conference, said that revamping the university is a process and “there is no magic wand that we can wave...” She also alluded to the CDB project even as she pointed out that it is designed to look at the whole framework of the university. She disclosed too that a stakeholders meeting will be held early in the New Year as it relates to the project. “What we are doing is not a flash in the dark...it is a whole process we are engaging. There are things happening at the university and I think the press needs to become more knowledgeable of what is happening,” Teixeira added.
Page 12
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Govt. reneged on Linden’s TV agreement – Vieira
Anthony Vieira
Region 10 Chairman, Sharma Solomon
Chairperson, National Broadcast Authority, Bibi Shadick
Four months after signing a deal with Lindeners for an independent television station, Government has reportedly reneged on its promise. According to former Parliamentarian of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Anthony Vieira, over a week ago, Region 10 Chairman, Sharma Solomon, received a letter from the National Broadcasting Authority signed by Chairperson, Bibi Shadick, instructing him to apply for permission to broadcast in Linden. “This is completely contrary to the agreement the government and the Lindeners signed on August 21st (2012), and is therefore a political matter way above the head of Shadick. The PPP has once again repudiated one
more aspect of the Linden/ Government of Guyana agreement of 21st August 2012,” Vieira said in a letter published in Kaieteur News yesterday. The television station was part of the deal hammered out for Lindeners who were protesting plans by the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) to raise tariffs. Three protestors were shot dead in the month-long protest which essentially shut the mining town down and crippled hinterland activities. According to Vieira, the failure by government to honour the commitments made must be seen in the light of agreement signed. He noted that the July 18th protest at the Mackenzie/ Wismar Bridge during which 30 people were shot - three of whom died - had been met
with local and international outcry. Three days later an agreement was signed in which government committed to hand over a dish and transmitter that were given to the Linden community to the Region 10’s Regional Democratic Council. Both were to have been transferred within 14 days of the signing of the agreement. It was also agreed that the region will apply for a broadcasting licence and the Government will facilitate its granting. “The expected transfer was never made and the Lindeners were instead instructed to apply to the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) for the licence to operate, but the understanding was that 14 days after the signing of
the agreement the dish and the Channel 13 transmitter would be given to the Linden community and that thereafter they would apply for a licence.” Lindeners also applied to the NFMU along with their broadcast plan and the technical specifications of the installation, all of which were submitted by the end of August 2012. “They never heard from the NFMU again. The promised transmitter and the dish had still not been handed over to the Lindeners as of December 17th when the agreement required that it should have been handed over 14 days after August 21st 2012…” Vieira insisted that this was a gross deception on the Opposition negotiators since 10 licences for radio were granted by the administration
of former President, Bharrat Jagdeo in 2011, without the necessity of applying to the NFMU or the Broadcast Authority. “In addition, the Learning Channel was put on the air in 2011 without application to any agency to do so. Therefore during the talks leading to the August 21st agreement, the Opposition was coerced to accept a completely unacceptable Broadcast Authority since (Presidential Advisors) Gail Teixeira and (Odinga) Lumumba told them that the Linden station could not be licenced any other way.” The former Parliamentarian, who has been involved in television for years before selling his operations to Queens Atlantic, said that by agreeing to facilitate the Lindeners, the Opposition was deceived into accepting
an unconstitutional Broadcast Authority which can never be impartial, independent or autonomous, and which would have never surfaced if the Linden issue did not arise. “The Opposition therefore now has a responsibility to undo this situation and I am happy to see that they have placed the Broadcast Authority Act high on their Parliamentary agenda when Parliament reconvenes. This unconstitutional, biased Broadcast Authority must be repealed immediately.” The Linden incident had spurred the establishment of a high profile Commission of Inquiry, comprising local and regional legal minds, which has wrapped up hearings and is set to present its report on the Linden protests early next year.
Specialty hospital forging ahead - Health Minister By Zena Henry Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran has rejected claims that work on the multimillion-dollar Specialty Hospital has stalled. He was adamant at a press briefing yesterday that the “project is on and moving forward,” citing that there are processes and procedures to be followed which may be contributing to the slothfulness of progress. The Minister was speaking about the preparation process before the actual building of the hospital. According to him, the Indian firm awarded the contract has already visited the country, while noting that the preparatory work for the hospital’s construction has been completed. Dr. Ramsaran stressed that the Indian Government, the hospital’s financer, has raised no objections with the manner in which Guyana is handling the process and has released the money set aside for the health facility. “The Indian government has raised no objections because they are fully in sync with what’s happening,” Ramsaran clarified. He however mentioned that there was a challenge pertaining to the contract’s awardee. “One company contested the contract; the contest was rejected after going through the correct process.” He stated that the challenge was rebuffed and pointed that any discrepancies pertaining to the hospital would be handled by the relevant government agencies, whether it is financial or legal.
The contractors, he said, have that right to challenge the award of a contract through the correct process. Minister Ramsarran reiterated that the hospital is on stream since, “I confirmed it with my Minister of Finance, because if there are any changes it will happen at the financial level.” Ramsaran said the project was advertised through the tender board and “someone won it and we are dealing with that company. Any other side antic or side game, the relative support organizations and ministry in the government will have to deal with that. If it’s the Ministry of Legal Affairs or the Ministry of Finance, they will deal with it and advise us.” On the start of the hospital, the Minister reminded that the Indian company has spoken to his permanent secretary and noted that the works will commence following the necessary processing. The project, he said, will be managed and supervised by the Guyana government, but the Export-Import Bank of India, from which the hospital’s US$18M is coming via a line of credit, will also play an integral role in overlooking the progress. The Specialty Hospital is to be built at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. The announcement for construction was made in February of 2011 by former President Bharrat Jagdeo when he returned from India after securing an US$18M line of credit. The Government had budgeted $150 million to commence the preparatory
Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran work and Cabinet awarded $97M to G. Bovell Construction Services in January 2012 to commence those works which included the construction of a fence, bridges and gateways. Minister Ramsaran, when talking about the hospital, spoke keenly about health tourism, citing that Guyana was way behind in accessing specialty services that would now be available free of cost at the imminent health facility. He expressed delight while opining that Guyanese abroad would want to return to the country to access top level health services. Apart from that, he noted that having a magnificent partnership with Cuba, it was his ministry’s view to be on par with the Spanishspeaking territory’s health system, noting that it has contributed immensely to this country’s health sector. The specialty hospital, he noted, would be a “top-of-the-line” health facility which would provide accommodation for families of sick persons. That accommodation, he continued would be more hotel - since they would not wish to have those families, stay in a patient-like environment.
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Page 14
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Bus driver gets 25 years for fatal Homestretch Ave. accident Magistrate Sueanna Lovell yesterday sent a strong message to errant minibus drivers when she jailed one of them for a total of 25 years for causing the deaths of five passengers, in July last year. Jermaine Jackson broke into tears as the magistrate sentenced him to five years each on five counts of causing death by dangerous driving. However, he will only have to spend five prison years as the sentences will run concurrently. The Magistrate also suspended Jackson from driving for three years, which will commence after the completion of his prison sentence. Jackson was the driver of mini bus BMM 9888 on July 18, 2011 when he lost control while overtaking another vehicle on Mandela Avenue, causing the deaths of Erica La Cruz, Crazel Paul, Junior Duncan, Elron Peter Mc Clennon and Coretta Benjamin. On that fateful evening,
the victims were travelling in a route 48 minibus, which had left Sophia, when the vehicle reportedly suffered a blowout shortly after overtaking another bus on Homestretch Avenue. The bus toppled several times. Many of the passengers were hurled through windows onto the roadway. Yesterday, the 30-year-old Jackson stood trembling in the court as the magistrate handed down the sentence. His mother was inconsolable and had to be comforted by other relatives who were present throughout yesterday’s hearing. Following the accident, there was a massive public outcry, including protests and vigils, lamenting the wanton loss of lives as a result of the carelessness of road users, especially drivers of public transportation. Relatives of the victims were not present in court yesterday when the sentence was handed down. However, those who were contacted by this newspaper expressed pleasure that some amount of justice was served.
Doris Anita Shelto, whose son Elron Peter Mc Clennon was one of the victims, said that she is still reeling from the pain of losing him. However, she said that while she welcomed the decision of the magistrate, she is trying not to look back at what happened, but ahead to what she can do to ensure there is less loss of lives on the country’s roads. Shelto, who has been playing a leading role in advocating for proper use of the roads, said that she hopes that the Magistrate’s ruling will serve as a deterrent to other minibus drivers who use the road without care. “Maybe that was what the magistrate had in mind when she sentenced him. I agree with her. I think that the sentence will send a message. I take my hat off to the magistrate. I think that she understands what is taking place on our roads and the hurt we are feeling as a result of the carelessness of the driver and she wanted to put a stop to it,” Shelto stated. Joy Ann Duncan, whose
husband Junior also perished in the accident, was relieved that the matter was over and some sort of justice was done. “For me he is paying for his crime. I can’t bring back my husband and the other little children that died,” she said. Duncan told this newspaper that she sees one of the injured children almost every day and she cannot help noticing the scar on his face - a reminder of the horrific ordeal he went through. “The driver came out without a scratch, so this 25 years will serve as an example to other drivers. He should be serving the full 25 years.” “I have three children who have to grow up without a father, and it’s really hurting, especially at this time of the year,” Joy Ann Duncan added.
Jailed bus driver Jermaine Jackson
2012 was a year of challenges, successes, learning and ‘firsts’ - AFC Alliance for Change member Dominic Gaskin has described 2012, as a year of challenges, successes, learning and ‘firsts’ for the party. Gaskin was at the time addressing members of the media at a press conference. According to Gaskin, at the national level there was renewed interest in general political life and especially in the work of the Parliament. He said that with the results from the 2011 polls, the Alliance For Change was able to reinforce its position, as the conscience of the nation placed it as the real balance of power in the new parliamentary dispensation. Gaskin said that despite the “tug–o–war” between the political giants over the position of Speaker of the National Assembly, the AFC was able to successfully put forward a candidate of impeccable credentials whose very demeanour and experience saw the other
parliamentary parties accepting him to hold that critical position. Moreover, he said that at the level of the Parliament, the AFC led cuts to the 2012 national budget estimates. Gaskin pointed out that it was a first for Guyana and the results that they have seen were well worth it. He asserted that “after all the chest-beating and protesting, with ministers on the protest line bearing placards and making all sorts of promises to ensure NCN workers and the staff of the One Laptop Per Family get paid, time revealed the level of corruption and theft at these two agencies”. “The AFC has fought for and was able to pressure the government to increase Old Age Pension to $10,000 and while it’s still not enough, many pensioners are glad for the increase. 2012 also saw the AFC leading the fight against corruption and
Brazilian killed in truck, ATV collision A Brazilian national working in Guyana’s gold field was killed when the allterrain vehicle (ATV) he was travelling on crashed head on into a truck along Waini Road, Buckhall, Essequibo River on Wednesday. Elenildo Ferreira, 33, reportedly died instantly, while another Brazilian and a Guyanese received serious injuries.
Police in a statement said that according to reports at about 14:30 hours on Wednesday, Ferreira and the two injured men were travelling on the ATV, which collided with a motor lorry that was proceeding in the opposite direction. The driver of the motor lorry is in custody assisting with the investigations.
opening the eyes of the public to the lack of accountability and transparency surrounding multi-billion-dollar contracts, such as those for the expansion of the Timehri International Airport, construction of a Marriott Hotel, the Amaila Falls Road Project, NDIA and many others.” “The AFC visited all ten Administrative Regions and while we were not able to reach all the communities, at those that we visited, all the residents lauded our efforts to stamp out corruption. Recognizing our efforts, the residents came forward with information on corruption in their communities.” He further noted that the party sought to engage in a meaningful way with the other parties in parliament and with the administration. “Needless to say, there were varying degrees of success. However, we remain committed to meaningful dialogue and consensus building.” “The AFC also engaged with stakeholders in the private business sector and was able to share information on our policies and positions on a number of issues. As we look towards the New Year, we remain committed to the fight against corruption. It is our position that proper accountability and transparency must accompany all government transactions. In this regard, we will be pushing for more information to be made available to the public.”
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 15
President announces one month pay for disciplined forces Cheers erupted in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Camp Ayanganna auditorium when President Donald Ramotar announced a “one month pay” to members of the disciplined forces and informed that instructions have already been passed for the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the payments are available before the Christmas holiday. The eagerly anticipated announcement came at the force’s Christmas luncheon commonly referred to as Soldiers’ Day, where senior ranks serve meals to junior officers and civilian staff of the force. President Ramotar participated in the tradition of the serving officers whom he hailed for sacrificing time away from home and family for the defence of the nation, at times in difficult circumstances. Reference was
made to the hostile demonstration in Linden during July where the army was called in to support efforts to restore law and order after the town was cut off by protestors blocking the main access points. The force also confronted and adequately addressed issues of indiscipline using the necessary procedures, Commodore Best was assured. He was also satisfied with the force perpetuating a policy of regard for rights, rewarding officers for their performance and setting the precedent as the best accounting entity within the Government system. With an annual Government subvention, the GDF has been well resourced to promote training for officers and provide them with adequate medical
President Donald Ramotar serving soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force during yesterday’s Christmas luncheon at Camp Ayanganna (GINA photo)
services which next year will cover soldiers and their families with a newly
Buxton kids receive Christmas cheer from businessman
Leader of the Opposition Retired Brigadier David Granger presenting children of the Buxton community with gifts. Yesterday in excess of 200 children were treated by Buxton businessman Morris Wilson and his wife Jasmine during their annual Christmas Party for children of that community. The couple, who are the owners of the Buxton/ Friendship Gas station, hosted children of the community. The kids were presented with toys and refreshments. Also present at the function was Leader of the Opposition Retired Brigadier David Granger, who said he was “more than pleased” to be a part of the exercise as it brings cheer to
some children who have been left without parents as a result of the 2002 to 2006 crime spree. “Some of these children had really rough lives and this is a little way of bringing
some cheer to them”, Granger said. Meanwhile Wilson said his family has been a part of the exercise for the past six years and it is their way of giving back to the community.
CORRECTION The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School held its 14th Graduation, Induction and Prize Giving Ceremony on Friday, December 14, last. The venue was Ogle Airport. On the programme the
names of the graduating class were listed but, unfortunately, one was listed incorrectly. The name listed should have been Jonathan Mohabir and not Jonathan Marcus.
introduced insurance programme. Commodore Best said that the force is particularly pleased with the support received this year from the Government which he assured will continue in years to come. The army’s mandate to
protect Guyana’s frontier is being supplemented by its role in the Joint Services, to maintain law and order in the country but with poverty, transshipment of narcotics and access to science and technology, President Ramotar sees the need for the force to adapt.
“We cannot only see ourselves as only defenders, but we have to understand the purpose of the things we are doing, and that is to create a secure environment for us to have progress and development in Guyana,” President Ramotar said. (GINA)
Page 16
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Friday December 21, 2012
NTN CHANNEL 18/ CABLE 69 0500h - Sign on with the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra 0510h - Meditation 0530h - Queenstown Masjid Presents Quran This Morning 0600h - R. Gossai General Store Presents Durga Bhajans 0615h - Jettoo’s Lumber Yard Presents Durga Bhajans 0630h - Muneshwar Limited Presents Durga Bhajans 0645h - Double Standard Taxi Presents Durga Bhajans 0700h - RRT Enterprise
Kaieteur News
Presents Durga Bhajans 0715h - M & M Snackette Presents Raja Yoga Discourses 0730h - Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital Inc Presents Durga Bhajans 0745h - The Family of the Late Leila & David Persaud Presents Durga Bhajans 0800h - Timehri Maha Kali Shakti Devi Mandir Presents Durga Bhajans 0830h - NTN This Morning Live with Reyaz Husein 0930h - Indian Soap Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke
1000h - Indian Soap - Rab Se Sohna Isshq 1030h - Indian Soap Pavitra Rishta 1100h - Indian Soap - Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuyien 1130h - Indian Soap Punar Vivaah 1200h - Cricket - 1ST T20 - SOUTH AFRICA vs NEW ZEALAND 1600h - TBA 1700h - Drying Tears Live with Pastor Edson 1800h - Ganesh Parts Presents - BHAGAVAD GITA ( Discourses in English) Serial 1815h - Birthday
Greetings / Deaths Announcement & In Memoriam 1830h - Living The Abundant Life (Live) 1900h - Muslim Lecture 1930h -Timeless Melodies Live with Frederick Rampersaud 2030h - New Life World Outreach 2045h - 15 Minutes for Allah 2100h - The Family Album Live with Frederick Rampersaud 2200h - Forgotten Melodies Live with Frederick Rampersaud 2330h - Sign Off with The Gayatri Mantra
Guides are subjected to change without notice
Friday December 21, 2012 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You may be fired up, yet you could grow overly excited about the wrong things today. Your reactions might even be more impulsive than usual now that the Moon is back in your enterprising sign for a couple of days. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You might actually convince yourself that you can keep your emotions hidden today, but they may leak out in ways you don’t even notice. Others see through your casual attempts to play it cool now, so don’t make matters worse by denying your feelings. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) This is a great day to pursue a moneymaking idea as long as you don’t try to take on the project all by yourself. Forging a working relationship with a powerful partner improves your chances for success. CANCER (June 21–July 22) It’s wise to proceed slowly today because you could quickly talk yourself into revealing more than you intend. Normally, you’re inclined to keep your desires private unless you feel very secure. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Reaching your destination is an uphill battle today because the serious life issues and corresponding responsibilities have not gone away. In theory, you’re ready to leave with nearly anyone who has an idea for spontaneous fun. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You may feel as if you’re ready to strike out on your own and do something exciting today, yet the best love and support come to you from the closest quarters.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You might think that you can enjoy whatever you are doing today; however, you may quickly grow weary with any sort of repetitive work. Although your heightened restlessness could pleasantly surprise you, don’t be seduced into thinking that this temporary phase will last. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Find a different way to do your routine jobs today because the Moon joins unpredictable Aries in your 6th House of Details. But don’t be overly concerned if a new method doesn’t work out as you expect; wasting some time now is a small price to pay for your mental health. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Turning on the charm today increases your ability to get away with a bit of mischief. However, it isn’t smart to push limits or people may realize that your emotional veneer isn’t sincere. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You cannot tell your friends and co-workers what you want today because it might alienate them and possibly make your goals less attainable. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You may feel energetically scattered today and might take on a busier schedule than necessary. Although you can derive joy from all the distractions, frustration will set in if you actually try to complete something you have started. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) An innovative way to tackle an old money problem is just what you need today to break out of a rut. Your current impatience with finding a solution only makes matters worse.
Page 17
Page 18
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Iraq finance minister says staff members kidnapped BAGHDAD (AP) Iraq’s finance minister on Thursday accused a “militia force” of kidnapping members of his staff, saying he holds the prime minister personally responsible for their safety. Finance Minister Rafia alIssawi leveled the accusations just hours after Iraq’s ailing president was flown to Germany for medical treatment following a stroke. The 79-year-old president, Jalal Talabani, is widely seen as a unifying figure who is able to rise above Iraq’s often bitter politics and mediate among the country’s ethnic and sectarian groups. Al-Issawi made the accusations in a late night press conference. The move is certain to enflame Iraq’s ongoing political tensions, which have been heightened since an arrest warrant was issued against one of alIssawi’s political allies a year ago. Al-Issawi is a member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, Prime Minister Nouri al-
Maliki’s main political rival. He was flanked by senior members of the bloc during the televised address. A spokesman for alMaliki, whose government draws support from Iraq’s Shiite majority, could not immediately be reached for comment. A year ago, bodyguards assigned to another senior member of Iraqiya, Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, were detained. Shortly afterwards, an arrest warrant was issued against alHashemi himself accusing him of orchestrating death squads — a charge he dismisses as politically motivated. Al-Hashemi initially stayed at a guest house belonging to Talabani, but later fled the country and is now living in neighboring Turkey. Iraqi courts have since found him guilty in absentia and handed down multiple death sentences against him. Earlier Thursday, Iraq’s
stricken president was flown to Germany for further medical treatment following a stroke. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Associated Press that doctors have determined the president had a “very serious stroke,” but that he is showing signs of improvement. “He is starting to regain his senses. He is able to feel pain, and this is a sign of progress,” Zebari said. Talabani’s spokesman, Nasser al-Ani, said the president is able to move some of his limbs and communicate with simple signals, but is unable to speak. The decision to move Talabani to Germany was made after his condition was stabilized and he began to show signs of improvement, according to Iraqi officials. Vice President Khudier alKhuzaie, an Arab Shiite, will temporarily assume Talabani’s duties during his absence, Zebari said.
Iraqi Presidential security stand guard next to the Presidential ambulance outside the hospital where Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is receiving treatment at the Medical City in Baghdad. Iraq’s parliament has the authority to choose a new president should Talabani’s office become vacant. The Kurds would likely insist on retaining the presidency to maintain the government’s power-sharing balance. Berlin’s Charite hospital, the German capital’s largest, confirmed Thursday that Talabani had been admitted to its Virchow Clinic but wouldn’t give any details on his condition nor what he was being treated for, citing patient confidentiality. In a statement on its official website, Talabani’s office said the treatment he
underwent in Baghdad “provided the right conditions for the transfer of (Talabani) out of the country for follow-up treatment in Germany.” It gave no further details on his condition. The presidency of Iraq is largely a ceremonial role. AlMaliki is the head of government. Talabani is overweight and has undergone several medical procedures in recent years, including heart surgery in 2008 and knee replacement surgery this year. He has previously received treatment in Germany. Before he fell ill, Talabani
was actively involved in trying to mediate in a crisis between Baghdad and the Kurds, who have their own fighters and considerable autonomy in their enclave in northern Iraq. The two sides last month moved additional troops into disputed areas along the Kurds’ self-rule region, prompting fears that fighting could break out. Last week, Talabani brokered a deal that calls on both sides to eventually withdraw troops from the contested areas, though there was no timetable for how soon the drawdown might take place.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
start fighting the government that becomes the opposition, so that it goes on forever.” Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, said Moscow’s stance has been consistent and Putin’s statements do not signal a change. “Russia has always said it did not support Assad personally, that it wanted a political dialogue” between Assad’s government and the opposition, Lukyanov said. Putin said Russia’s position “is not to keep Assad and his regime in power at any cost, but to allow the people to come to an agreement on how they will live further and how they will ensure their safety and their participation in governing the country and then start changing the current order based on those agreements.” Only a negotiated settlement, he said, would “prevent a breakup of the country and an endless civil war.” “Agreements based on a military victory cannot be effective,” Putin said.
Putin: Russia recognizes need for change in Syria
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin distanced himself further than ever before from his longtime ally in Syria on Thursday, saying he understands Syria needs change and that he is not protecting its president. Putin, however, warned that efforts to unseat Bashar Assad could plunge Syria even deeper into violence. He insisted that Russia has not changed its stance and believes that only a negotiated settlement can end the civil war. Putin’s assessment came a week after Russia’s top envoy for Syria was quoted as saying Assad’s forces were losing control of the country. Although the Foreign Ministry backpedaled on that statement, analysts have suggested for months that the Kremlin is resigned to Assad’s fall. Russia has blocked international attempts to step up pressure on the Assad regime, leading to accusations that it is supporting Assad. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has long stated that
Russia is not propping up Assad, as did Putin in strong words on Thursday. “We are not preoccupied that much with the fate of the Assad regime; we realize what’s going on there and that the family has been in power for 40 years,” Putin said during his annual hourslong news conference. “Undoubtedly, there is a call for changes.””We are worried about another thing: what happens next,” he said. “We don’t want to see the opposition come to power and
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 19
No Room For Error - Government Cautioned Ahead Of Scrap-Metal Trade Reopening (The Gleaner) The Jamaican Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) is warning Industry Minister Anthony Hylton that the administration must ensure no errors are made in the establishment of the framework which will govern the reopening of the scrapmetal trade. Hylton yesterday announced during the weekly Jamaica House press briefing that the trade would be reopened by the third week of January next year. “The scrap-metal trade is an important contributor to economic activity in Jamaica,” Hylton said. He added: “We need the scrap-metal trade. It provides jobs, it earns foreign exchange and clears the environment of derelict vehicles and other forms of scrap metal. We must also recognise that certain mineral deposits are declining and are not renewable. Recycling of non-renewable resources, therefore, is important for sustainable living.” HOPE CONCERNS WERE NOTED But JMA President Brian Pengelley said the minister had no room for error in the re-implementation of the trade. “The minister has been
given a lot of advice. He has been consulted,” Pengelley said. “When he goes to reopen it, we hope that he has taken all the feedback and all the concerns that have been noted so that this time it can be done right so that we don’t open it and close it down again in three months,” he added. Jonathan Aarons, president of the Scrap Metal Federation of Jamaica, said his members welcomed the reopening of the trade, even as they prepare to meet with Hylton to discuss the guidelines. “It has been a long time that we have not traded, and most of us have faced financial ruin already,” Aarons told The Gleaner. He said that when his members meet with Hylton today, they will be seeking to have him revisit any condition which appears to be onerous on dealers. The Bruce Golding-led Cabinet in July 2011 imposed an indefinite ban on the trade in light of widespread theft of metal across the island. IMPORTANT TRADE The Portia Simpson Miller administration, which came to power less than a year ago, had promised to reopen the
Convictions in Brazil End High-Profile Corruption Trial SÃO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced the last 3 of 25 defendants convicted on charges involving a congressional cash-for-votes scheme, bringing to an end a high-profile corruption trial that has riveted Latin America’s largest country for nearly four months. The court on Wednesday sentenced a former congressman, the former leader of the governing Workers Party and a former treasurer of the Brazilian
Labor Party on charges of money laundering, passive corruption and embezzlement. The corruption dates to the government of the previous president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, though he has not been charged. This month the court convicted Mr. da Silva’s former chief of staff of racketeering and of leading the vote-buying scheme in Congress. The aide, José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison.
trade, saying it was important to economic activity. Wednesday, Hylton said a ban “only serves to drive the trade underground, and undermines the very objective that it had set out to achieve.” The minister said the reopening of the trade would be guided by “very stringent rules and regulations with appropriate penalties for noncompliance.” “It cannot be a laissez-
faire, ad hoc approach where traders and exporters do as they please. That will not happen under my watch,” the minister said. According to Hylton, at its zenith, the scrap-metal trade provided employment for more than 10,000 persons among the lower socioeconomic group. “It proved itself as an earner of foreign exchange and peaked at US$100 million in 2006. But at the height of
the industry, there was evidence of wanton disregard for public infrastructure and personal property and the level of theft and vandalism was at an all-time high,” Hylton said. He added that while the trade was earning a significant amount of foreign exchange and creating employment, losses from theft over the past four years totalled approximately J$1 billion.
JMA President Brian Pengelley
Page 20
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Petrobras seeks to cut Moving Cargo Across Jamaica A costs by $15.4 billion Hassle For Freight Stakeholders (Reuters) - Brazil’s stateled oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) plans to cut costs by 32 billion reais ($15.4 billion) between 2013 and 2016 to stanch the impact of falling output and rising debt on its ambitious expansion plan. The plan will focus on 39 areas that accounted for 43 billion reais of spending in 2011 and seek to reduce these costs by about 8 billion reais a year, the company, known as Petrobras, said in a statement released on Wednesday. Petrobras is seeking to slash costs and increase revenue after a decline in output, a government fuelprice freeze, soaring prices for offshore oil development and rising debt, all put its $235 billion 2012-2016 investment plan, the world’s largest corporate spending program, at risk. To help finance the plan Petrobras is also selling an estimated $14.8 billion of non-Brazilian assets in the United States, Japan,
Argentina and other countries. On December 5 Reuters reported that Petrobras has been having trouble selling some of those assets. The company may also have trouble getting the prices it expects if it does sell the assets. Moody’s Investors Service could lower Petrobras’ “A3” ratings within the next 12 months should debt keep increasing considerably. Reuters has reported that Petrobras debt has exceeded its own ceiling of 2.5 times EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, rising to 2.6 times EBITDA, according to a source with direct knowledge of the company’s finances. By cutting costs, the program, known as PROCOP, seeks to increase cash flow, increase productivity and increase the efficiency of its spending and measure improvements using international benchmarks, the statement said. Preferred shares of
Petrobras, the company’s most-widely traded class of stock, jumped 2.9 percent to 20.73 reais in early afternoon trading in São Paulo. According to company and industry sources, Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras often spends far more than rivals to drill wells, build refineries, purchase ships and distribute its product than other major oil companies. In the exploration and production division, Petrobras hopes to reduce the cost of fuels for offshore operations, reduce spending on on-shore oil and gas well work, increase productive days on drill ships, increase activity at natural gas processing facilities and reduce the number of ships that serve each offshore operation. Its refining and supply operations seek to cut maintenance costs and reduce the use of chemicals at refineries. It wants to increase the efficiency of its tanker fleet and cut transportation costs.
Ambassador Paola Amadei, head of Delegation of the European Union to Jamaica, greets Anthony Hylton. (Jamaican Gleaner) Freight stakeholders are urging the Jamaican Government to sort out issues related to intra-island transport of cargo, even as it pushes to make Jamaica a global logistics hub. Denise Lyn-Fatt of Freight Handlers Limited raised the issue during a Jamaica Chamber of Commerce breakfast forum Wednesday, where the guest speaker was Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton. Hylton and Dr Eric Deans, chairman of the Logistics and Investment Task Force, were presenting the plans to establish Jamaica as the
world’s fourth logistics hub, following Rotterdam in The Netherlands; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Singapore. An impassioned Lyn-Fatt pointed out, though, that there were hindrances just to move cargo from Montego Bay to Kingston. “We are not allowed to move that cargo over land. It has to go coast-wise, which means waiting one week,” she said. “That’s the kind of bureaucracy we’re talking about.” Lyn-Fatt felt some in the gathering who represented overseas companies would want to make Jamaica a hub for their goods, but the
hurdles were too many and Jamaica was taking too long to clear them. “Miami is ready. They have their warehouses, free zones ready. And they are able to take advantage of the opportunity,” she said. “We need to be able to move that cargo and move it expeditiously.” Lyn-Fatt said Jamaica had people qualified to do the job, and the stakeholders were willing to work with the Government to get it done. Hylton assured the gathering the task force was aware of the concerns and noted all sectors, including the railways, would be incorporated.
(Reuters) - The Cayman Islands’ governor appointed Deputy Premier Julianna O’Connor-Connolly as premier of the British Caribbean territory on Wednesday, refusing a request by the ousted premier to dissolve parliament and call early elections. O’Connor-Connolly, 51, succeeds McKeeva Bush, who was ousted in a noconfidence vote of the legislature on Tuesday, a week after his arrest on suspicion of corruption. British-appointed Governor Duncan Taylor said he appointed O’ConnorConnolly on the advice of a majority of lawmakers from the ruling United Democratic Party, which holds nine seats in the 15-member Legislative Assembly. “I am satisfied that the Honorable Julianna O’Connor-Connolly can form a stable, functioning government,” Taylor said.
The Cayman Islands are a major financial center, offshore home to more than half of the world’s hedge funds, and a leading global tax haven. The governor said Bush had asked him to dissolve parliament and call new elections but that “after careful consideration and using my discretion as the Constitution entitles me to do,” he instead appointed O’Connor-Connolly as premier. General elections are to take place as previously scheduled on May 22 and O’Connor-Connolly planned to meet later on Wednesday with her newly shuffled Cabinet. “My colleagues and I are determined to move this country forward in a united fashion with honesty and integrity and in all-inclusive government,” she told Reuters. “We will continue to work
on enhancing our relationship with the United Kingdom and we are certainly going to make all efforts to empower the people so that our modus operandi is one of a consultative government.” O’Connor-Connolly was first elected to the legislature in 1996 and was a founding member of the United Democratic Party. Bush, a veteran politician who became premier in 2009, has lost his Cabinet post as minister offinance, tourism and development but retains his seat in the legislature at least until the next election. Police arrested him on December 11 as part of a corruption investigation. He was released on bail until February, pending the possible filing of criminal charges. Authorities declined to give specific details of the investigation but said it included allegations of theft and misuse of a government credit card.
Cayman Islands governor appoints new premier
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 21
Fuad: Millions for Venezuela VP: Chavez private health care conscious and recovering
(Trinidad Express) Private hospitals in Trinidad and Tobago have been raking in big bucks from the State health sector as Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan disclosed yesterday that hundreds of millions of dollars were paid to these medical institutions for outsourcing services. He was responding to a question on the Order Paper by Independent Senator Harold Ramkissoon during the Senate sitting at Tower D of the International Waterfront Complex, Port of Spain. Khan said approximately 153 private hospitals, nursing homes and healthcare facilities (including those performing investigative tests such as CT scans, MRI scans and laboratory tests) were used to outsource medical services. Caribbean Heart Care (Medcorp Ltd), Medical Associates, West Shore Medical, Advanced Cardiovascular Institute (ACI) and John Hayes Memorial Kidney Foundation were some of the hospitals named by Khan as having received multimillion-dollar payments for services. Ramkissoon had asked Khan to provide figures for the period 2009-2010 and 2011-2012. Khan said the figures were too numerous to list, but he listed the big amounts paid to the main provider hospitals. He said approximately $164 million was spent by health authorities for outsourcing services for the period 2009-2010. The SWRHA, said Khan, paid the Community Hospital of Seventh Day Adventists
...153 hospitals, facilities benefit $34 million, Southern Medical Clinic $4.7 million, Surgi-Med Clinic $2.6 million and Cross Crossing Medical Centre $2.5 million. The Eastern Region outsourced services from ACI at $2 million, Caribbean Heart Care $6.4 million, Medical Associates $8.4 million and Westshore private hospital $7.9 million. ACI also received from the NWRHA some $9 million in outsourcing services, John Hayes Memorial Kidney Foundation received $2.7 million and the Community Hospital of Seventh Day Adventists was paid $1.1 million. The NCRHA pumped more millions into ACI with another $23 million in outsourcing services, some $73 million to Caribbean Heart Care, $31 million to Medical Associates and another $23 million to the Community Hospital of Seventh Day Adventists. Khan only quoted the million-dollar figures, saying these were the sums paid for services such as n e u r o s u r g e r y , cardiovascular services and intensive-care treatment. “ I m u s t s a y, t h e outsourcing has basically gone right down in this period from January to December 2012,” said Khan. Speaking to the Express by phone last night, Khan said these figures (over $400 million) were the driving force for him to stop all outsourcing to private hospitals except with the authority of the minister or the Chief Medical
Brazil to announce new airport investment programme (Reuters) - Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff will announce new private investment opportunities in airports on Thursday as the country races to unclog transportation bottlenecks before it hosts the 2014 soccer World Cup, her office said. The overhaul of international airports is also part of Rousseff’s push to address the many infrastructure woes choking growth in Latin America’s biggest economy. In February, the government awarded contracts to upgrade two airports in Sao Paulo state
and the main airport in Brasilia for 24.5 billion reais. Since then Brazil has invited some $90 billion in private investment to modernize its roads, railways and seaports. Rousseff is courting private capital just as some investors have begun to grow wary of her government’s r ole in the economy. A senior analyst for Fitch Ratings warned in September that Brazil’s aggressive negotiation of energy rate cuts could spook foreign investors, for example, sapping appetite for concessions in other sectors.
Officer (CMO). “This money should have been used to upgrade the public health system and develop procedures inhouse; this money should have been spent on much more comprehensive services such as increasing the amount of equipment in the system,” said Khan. “Look at the kind of figures we are looking at...at the end of the day, if this continued, money would have just been spending like crazy,” said Khan. He said there were constraints on the system because he could not increase the salaries of doctors in the public health sector without the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO), yet RHAs were paying millions to private hospitals for services provided by doctors with larger salaries. “This outsourcing is an inefficient system that needs to be addressed,” said Khan. He said the ministry was working to develop cardiac care and other services, of which millions were being paid for previously at private institutions. Asked whether there was any indication of questionable practices given the money paid over the years, Khan said: “I know that certain people have an affinity for certain areas.”
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is conscious and progressively recovering more than a week after cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said Thursday. In a televised address, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Chavez was receiving treatment for a respiratory infection and has been with his family resting. “He’s well. He’s conscious,” Maduro said during the speech in central Guarico state. “He’s fighting a great battle ... for his life, for his health.” Maduro reiterated that the president had undergone a complicated surgery. The vice president’s remarks, which varied little from other recent updates on Chavez’s health, came as National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello defended his suggestion that Chavez’s Jan. 10 inauguration could be postponed — a statement that has fed uncertainty about the his recovery. Maduro, however, had said Wednesday that he didn’t want to speculate about such a scenario and that the Supreme Court could settle any such question if needed. “I only expressed my opinion, of which I’m absolutely convinced since it’s in line with our constitution,” Cabello said in a message on his Twitter account.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Speculation has grown about Chavez’s condition more than a week after an operation in Cuba, his fourth in 18 months. The 58-year-old Chavez has not spoken publicly since his Dec. 11 surgery for pelvic cancer, and on Tuesday the government said he had a respiratory infection, though it was controlled. Chavez also suffered bleeding during the six-hour operation, which the government said was promptly stanched. Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin said Thursday she and other officials plan to attend Chavez’s inauguration on Jan. 10 as planned. “We’re going to see how the president’s health evolves,
and whether it’s done on Jan. 10 or it’s postponed,” Holguin said in Bogota. Venezuela’s Constitution says the president should be sworn in for a new six-year term on Jan. 10 before the National Assembly. Maduro, whom Chavez designated as his chosen successor before the surgery, said that if the president weren’t able to be sworn in as planned, “he left clear, public instructions about any scenario.” Medical experts who aren’t involved in the president’s treatment say his recovery is likely to take a month or more if all goes well because he had undergone several surgeries, radiation treatment and chemotherapy. State television on Wednesday night showed a documentary about Chavez’s life, including his days selling sweets on the street as a boy in the rural town where he lived with his grandmother. Maduro praised Chavez in his Thursday speech to supporters, calling the president a unique leader and echoing some of Chavez’s battle cries. “The unpatriotic oligarchy will never return to govern this country,” Maduro said. “We’re all Chavez! Chavez is a nation that’s on its feet! And it will never, never be defeated!” The crowd responded, chanting, “Chavez, friend, the people are with you.”
Page 22
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Snow in Midwest leads to fatal 25-vehicle pileup DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The first widespread snowstorm of the season crawled across the Midwest on Thursday, with whiteout conditions stranding holiday travelers and sending drivers sliding over slick roads — including into a fatal 25vehicle pileup in Iowa. The storm, which dumped a foot of snow in parts of Iowa and Wisconsin, was part of a system that began in the Rockies earlier in the week before trekking into the Midwest. It was expected to move across the Great Lakes overnight before moving into Canada.The storm led airlines to cancel or delay several hundred flights ahead of the Christmas holiday, though many carriers were waiving fees for some travelers who wanted to change their plans. On the southern edge of the system, tornadoes destroyed several homes in Arkansas and peeled the roofs from buildings, toppled trucks and blew down oak trees and limbs in Alabama. In Iowa, drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn’t see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on
some of his neighbors weren’t so fortunate. “I saw some people in my neighborhood trying to get out. They made it a few feet, and that was about it,” Shubert said. Along with Thursday’s fatal accident in Iowa, the storm was blamed for road deaths in Nebraska, Kansas and Wisconsin. In southeastern Utah, a woman who tried to walk for help after her car became stuck in snow died Tuesday night. The heavy, wet snow made some unplowed streets in Des Moines nearly impossible to navigate in anything other than a fourwheel drive vehicle. Even streets that had been plowed were snow-packed and slippery. Eight jackknifed semitrailers were reported on a section of Interstate 80 east of the city. The storm made travel difficult from Kansas to
Wisconsin, forcing road closures, including part of Interstate 29 in northern Missouri and a 120-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Ames, Iowa through Albert Lea, Minn. A section of Interstate 80 in Nebraska that was closed from Wednesday evening to Thursday afternoon. Iowa and Wisconsin activated National Guard troops to help rescue stranded drivers. Those who planned to fly before the Christmas holiday didn’t fare much better. Shanna Tinsley, 17, and Nicole Latimer, 20, were both headed to the Kansas City area to see their families for the holiday when their flight Thursday morning out of Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport was canceled. Neither cared about a white Christmas, and were hoping to get on another flight later in the day. “It would be cool I guess, but I’d rather be there than stuck without family with a white Christmas,” Latimer said. Added Tinsley, “Wisconsin is full of snow, you see it all the time.” In Chicago, commuters began Thursday with heavy fog and cold, driving rain, and forecasters said snow would hit by mid-afternoon. Airlines delayed and canceled hundreds of flights out of Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports. Southwest Airlines canceled all of its flights at its Midway hub that were scheduled for after 4:30 p.m. American Airlines canceled 120 flights system-wide. Before the storm, several cities in the Midwest had broken records for the number of consecutive days without measurable snow. In the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale, Kristin
Isenhart, 38, said her three kids, ages 9, 5 and 3, were asking about going outside to play after school was canceled for the day. “They are thrilled that it snowed,” she said. “They’ve asked several times to go outside, and I might bundle them up and let them go.” As far as the region’s drought, meteorologists said the storm wouldn’t make much of a dent. It takes a foot or more of snow to equal an inch of water, said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people lost power in Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska as heavy snow and strong winds pulled down lines. Smaller outages were reported in Alabama, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Louisiana. “The roads have been so bad our crews have not been able to respond to them,” said Justin Foss, a spokesman for Alliant Energy, which had 13,000 customers without power in central Iowa. “We have giant four-wheel-drive trucks with chains on them, so when we can’t get there it’s pretty rough.” Tom Tretter and his wife, Pat, had been without power since Wednesday night, and temperatures Thursday were dropping. The retired seniors were shoveling their steep driveway Thursday afternoon and scraping ice off the walkway to their Des Moines home. Blake Landau, a cook serving eggs, roast beef sandwiches and chili to hungry snowplow drivers at Newton’s Paradise Cafe in downtown Waterloo, Iowa, said he has always liked it when it snows on his birthday. He turned 27 on Thursday.
(BBC) The Republicanled US House is set to vote on a package of spending cuts and tax rise party leaders say will keep the US away from the “fiscal cliff”. The vote includes tax rises on earnings above $1m (£614,000) on Speaker John Boehner’s so-called “Plan B” option. It comes as talks with the White House appear to have stalled, with President Barack Obama seeking a lower threshold. A deal must be reached by 1 January, or a combination of steep tax rises and sharp spending cuts will take effect. Analysts in the US and
overseas have expressed concern that failure to reach a deal could take the US into recession. A vote is expected by the late afternoon on Thursday, but could stretch on into the evening. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said on Thursday: “ We , as Republicans, have taken concrete actions to avoid the fiscal cliff.” He and Mr Boehner say the bill as proposed would ensure permanent tax cuts for 99.8% of Americans. On 1 January 2013, a series of tax increases and huge spending cuts are due
to come into force - the socalled fiscal cliff The deadline was put in place in 2011 as a means of forcing the president and Congress to agree on ways to save money over the next 10 years If they can reach a deal before 1 January, the cliff will be averted The fear is that raising taxes while massively cutting spending will have a huge impact on households and businesses Experts believe it could push the US into recession, and have a global impact on growth, especially in China and Europe.
This photo provided by the Iowa State Patrol shows the scene of a 25-vehicle pileup that killed three people Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 north of Des Moines, Iowa. Authorities said drivers were blinded by blowing. Interstate 35 about 60 miles north of Des Moines, state police said. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway. At least one person was killed.
“It’s time to listen to warnings and get off the road,” said Iowa State Patrol Col. David Garrison. Thomas Shubert, a clerk at a store in Gretna near Omaha, Neb., said his brother drove him to work in his truck, but
Republicans to hold vote on fiscal cliff ‘Plan B’
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Mayor of Trenton pleads not guilty to corruption
Mayor Tony Mack TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - The mayor of Trenton, New Jersey’s capital city, and two associates pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a corruption case prosecutors say is laced with esoteric aliases, clandestine meetings and payments code-named Uncle Remus. Trenton Mayor Tony Mack, who still holds office, his brother Ralphiel Mack and a restaurant owner named Joseph Giorgianni appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp to enter their pleas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Moran read out maximum penalties that could amount to 110 years in prison for Mayor Mack, 46, and his brother Ralphiel, 40, and 130 years for Giorgianni, who is 63 and appeared in court in a wheelchair. Shipp set a trial date of February 19, though Mayor Mack’s lawyer, Mark G. Davis, told reporters outside the courtroom he would probably ask for a postponement. “I have not seen any evidence,” Davis said. “Everyone is going to need more time, not just myself.” The lawyer ruled out any suggestion of a plea deal for
Mayor Mack, and said the mayor had no plans to step down despite a call to do so by Gov. Chris Christie. “He is going to keep his job until state law says otherwise,” Davis said. The three are charged in an eight-count federal indictment in what prosecutors say was a 2010 scheme to accept $119,000 in bribes so that Mayor Mack would help in the development of an automated parking garage on city-owned land. They were out on bail. About $54,000 was actually paid, the indictment against the three said, with the rest to be paid later. None of the defendants, all in business suits, spoke in court Wednesday, except to confirm arrangements for lawyers to represent them. According to the indictment, a scheme was hatched to keep Mayor Mack from being caught. Money was channeled through Giorgianni and Ralphiel Mack, the indictment charged. “They often used coded and cryptic language, including using the term ‘Uncle Remus’ to refer to the corrupt payments,” the indictment charged. Part of the effort to hide the scheme involved Giorgianni using the name “Mr. Baker” when sending text messages about the payments, prosecutors said. Mayor Mack, not a tall man, was referred to as “the little guy” and “Napoleon.” Giorgianni was also known as JoJo, which is the name of his Trenton steakhouse, and “the Fat Man,” according to the indictment. Prosecutors accuse the three of trying to conceal their activities by avoiding meetings in City Hall, which is near the federal courthouse, and instead gather at Giorgianni’s residence, his steakhouse and restaurants in Atlantic City.
Page 23
Action to combat police corruption urged (BBC) Police forces in England and Wales must improve plans to combat corruption in the service, inspectors have said. Investigations into corruption are rising but too few forces are gathering intelligence to prevent it happening, the Inspectorate of Constabulary found. HMIC looked at issues such as how police interact with the media and the acceptance of gifts and hospitality. Inspector of Constabulary Roger Baker said HMIC was concerned progress was “inconsistent” and lacked “urgency”. ‘Low’ staffing levels Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary looked at 44 forces to assess progress against recommendations made in a 2011 report into police relationships. Inspectors found in the progress report that although police forces registered gifts and hospitality, there was “little evidence” that chief constables were questioned about items they received. Staffing levels in some anti-corruption units had fallen or were very low, inspectors found. The report acknowledged it could be difficult to challenge people in senior positions but said checks must take place at “all grades and ranks”. It also found a further clampdown on the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, was needed. A total of 357 instances of potentially inappropriate behaviour were identified on social media, spread across 185 profiles, HMIC said. Offensive language, comments on police procedure, negativity towards work and extreme opinions on government were among the examples, it said. The Without Fear or Favour report found no evidence corruption was
endemic in police relationships with the media and others. But it revealed concerns that few forces provided any policy or guidance in relation to key integrity issues. This report...confirms that the majority of officers and staff, at all levels, seek to act with integrity” “HMIC found that the police service is responding to our 2011 report, Without Fear or Favour, by making improvements to how it identifies, monitors and
manages integrity issues; but we are concerned that this progress is inconsistent, and lacks a uniform sense of urgency,” said HM Inspector of Constabulary Roger Baker. “Integrity is fundamental to the core values of the police and what it means to be a police officer. As such it must be at the heart of every action carried out and word spoken by police officers and staff. “HMIC will therefore continue to monitor and inspect the service’s progress
in order to provide the public with confidence that all forces are adhering to high standards in these respects.” The Association of Chief Police Officers’ (ACPO) lead on professional standards, Chief Constable Mike Cunningham, said: “This report, in common with other independent analysis from bodies such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission, confirms that the majority of officers and staff, at all levels, seek to act with integrity.
Page 24
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 25
- Opposition denies $170 million more The government yesterday revealed that it has spent a whopping $480 million (US$2.4M) to modify the former Clico building on Camp Street, Georgetown, and wanted a further $170 million to complete it for rental to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). However, the opposition Parliamentary parties, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), voted against the additional spending. The building now belongs to the National Insurance Scheme, and Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill said that the GRA would offset the cost that the government has spent on the building. Edghill said that there have been negotiations on a rental agreement, but while figures have been “floated”, no concrete or final price has been arrived at. However, APNU Parliamentarian Jaipaul Sharma, expressed surprise
that certain branches of the GRA have already moved into the building, but no tenancy agreement has been concluded. Edghill said that the GRA is consolidating its offices in one location and hence the building had to be modified to accommodate all of its operations. The money was spent on installing the Authority’s Information Technology, a supply of “clean power,” the installation of cubicles and telecommunication facilities, putting in place a fire escape, and other construction, such as a lunch room and filing rooms. Edghill said that several sections of the GRA have moved in already and that before December 31, other sections would also move in. The additional $170 million the government sought, it said, was to cover “critical works” in order to facilitate the GRA’s relocation. A task force was
The 200/201 Camp Street property which now houses several sections of the GRA appointed to oversee the exercise from its many Georgetown-based locations to the former CLICO building. Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon had indicated that the task force was working closely with GRA to complete the shift to the n e w
premises by the end of this month. Already, rented facilities such as the one previously housing the VAT Unit have been vacated and the staff relocated to Camp Street. Dr. Luncheon had said that in order to accommodate the hundreds of GRA staff
and the thousands of daily customers, the Camp Street facility needed significant and continuous upgrading and particularly, proper management of facilities. The 200/201 Camp Street property was purchased by CLICO from the Guyana Sugar Corporation in 2005. The
property with a size of 36,863 square feet was valued between $1.7B and $1.8B by the valuator contracted by the insurance company, while the government valuator placed it at $1.316B, a difference of more than $400M.
Page 26
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Approval sought in parliament after $204M paid to consultants, advisors In what Parliamentarians dubbed a flagrant violation of the rules on public spending, the government yesterday sought approval for $204 million to pay consultants and advisors, but the opposition voted against it. Khemraj Ramjattan, leader of the seven-seat opposition party Alliance for Change, said what the government did was “almost criminal” but later told Kaieteur News that the law makes provision to haul government ministers before the courts. He said that the law only provides for “officials” to be charged if there is a violation of the financial regulations, and ministers of the government do not count as “officials” as far as the Director of Public Prosecutions is concerned. The government was seeking to clear $136 million to meet the salaries of contract employees and a further $68 million to clear what it had paid consultants and lawyers. In a heated debate, Attorney General Anil Nandlall argued that a ruling by the Chief Justice on the budget cuts earlier this year identified provisions in the
AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan constitution that allow the Minister of Finance to access monies from the Consolidated Fund and the Contingency Fund if there was an insufficient allocation made. However, Basil Williams of opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity argued that the Chief Justice’s ruling was not intended to be seen as the court substituting for the Minister of Finance. He said that if the Minister found that the amount voted in the budget
was not sufficient he had to “lay before the National Assembly” the additional sums he wanted. Ramjattan said that the government was treating the Chief Justice’s ruling “half way” and noted that a supplementary estimate of excess spending needed to be approved by the National Assembly. “They’ve gone and spent it already; it is almost criminal,” Ramjattan declared. He said that the government was “misreading” and then “misleading” about the ruling of the Chief Justice. Among the consultants paid were Office of the President Advisor Kevin Hogan ($13 million); former head of the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) office Sesh Sukhdeo ($3.8 million); Office of the President Advisor Steven Grin ($15 million); Kapil Mohabir ($12 million); Kit Nascimento ($1.3 million); and Dario McAlmon, who had a title as Public Relations Officer at the OLPF office ($ 3.6 million.) Among the legal fees paid were those to Robin Hunte in the amount of $400,000 and $600,000 to Jaya Manickchand.
Farfan & Mendes employee killed in hit-and-run accident An accident at Lamaha and Carmichael Streets claimed the life of a young man last evening when a speeding car slammed into him while he was walking with his girlfriend. Dead is 22-year-old Rodwell Brummell of 25 ‘A’ Montgomery Richard Hill, Linden and of 20 ‘B’ Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara. The man, who was an
employee of Farfan and Mendes Ltd, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital. His girlfriend was not injured in the accident. The vehicle sped away after hitting the victim. Reports reveal that the police retrieved a bumper at the scene of the accident. However, there were no eyewitnesses.
Rodwell Brummell
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 27
Page 28
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 29
Page 30
Kaieteur News
NTN CHANNEL 18/ CABLE 69 0500h - Sign on with the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra 0510h - Meditation 0530h - Queenstown Masjid Presents Quran This Morning 0600h - R. Gossai General Store Presents Durga Bhajans 0615h - Jettoo’s Lumber Yard Presents Durga Bhajans 0630h - Muneshwar Limited Presents Durga Bhajans 0645h - Double Standard Taxi Presents Durga Bhajans 0700h - RRT Enterprise
Presents Durga Bhajans 0715h - M & M Snackette Presents Raja Yoga Discourses 0730h - Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital Inc Presents Durga Bhajans 0745h - The Family of the Late Leila & David Persaud Presents Durga Bhajans 0800h - Timehri Maha Kali Shakti Devi Mandir Presents Durga Bhajans 0830h - NTN This Morning Live with Reyaz Husein 0930h - Indian Soap Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke
1000h - Indian Soap - Rab Se Sohna Isshq 1030h - Indian Soap Pavitra Rishta 1100h - Indian Soap - Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuyien 1130h - Indian Soap Punar Vivaah 1200h - Cricket - 1ST T20 - SOUTH AFRICA vs NEW ZEALAND 1600h - TBA 1700h - Drying Tears Live with Pastor Edson 1800h - Ganesh Parts Presents - BHAGAVAD GITA ( Discourses in English) Serial 1815h - Birthday
Greetings / Deaths Announcement & In Memoriam 1830h - Living The Abundant Life (Live) 1900h - Muslim Lecture 1930h -Timeless Melodies Live with Frederick Rampersaud 2030h - New Life World Outreach 2045h - 15 Minutes for Allah 2100h - The Family Album Live with Frederick Rampersaud 2200h - Forgotten Melodies Live with Frederick Rampersaud 2330h - Sign Off with The Gayatri Mantra
Guides are subjected to change without notice
Friday December 21, 2012 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You may be fired up, yet you could grow overly excited about the wrong things today. Your reactions might even be more impulsive than usual now that the Moon is back in your enterprising sign for a couple of days. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) You might actually convince yourself that you can keep your emotions hidden today, but they may leak out in ways you don’t even notice. Others see through your casual attempts to play it cool now, so don’t make matters worse by denying your feelings. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) This is a great day to pursue a moneymaking idea as long as you don’t try to take on the project all by yourself. Forging a working relationship with a powerful partner improves your chances for success. CANCER (June 21–July 22) It’s wise to proceed slowly today because you could quickly talk yourself into revealing more than you intend. Normally, you’re inclined to keep your desires private unless you feel very secure. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Reaching your destination is an uphill battle today because the serious life issues and corresponding responsibilities have not gone away. In theory, you’re ready to leave with nearly anyone who has an idea for spontaneous fun. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You may feel as if you’re ready to strike out on your own and do something exciting today, yet the best love and support come to you from the closest quarters.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You might think that you can enjoy whatever you are doing today; however, you may quickly grow weary with any sort of repetitive work. Although your heightened restlessness could pleasantly surprise you, don’t be seduced into thinking that this temporary phase will last. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Find a different way to do your routine jobs today because the Moon joins unpredictable Aries in your 6th House of Details. But don’t be overly concerned if a new method doesn’t work out as you expect; wasting some time now is a small price to pay for your mental health. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Turning on the charm today increases your ability to get away with a bit of mischief. However, it isn’t smart to push limits or people may realize that your emotional veneer isn’t sincere. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You cannot tell your friends and co-workers what you want today because it might alienate them and possibly make your goals less attainable. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You may feel energetically scattered today and might take on a busier schedule than necessary. Although you can derive joy from all the distractions, frustration will set in if you actually try to complete something you have started. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) An innovative way to tackle an old money problem is just what you need today to break out of a rut. Your current impatience with finding a solution only makes matters worse.
Friday December 21, 2012
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 31
Dean and Jacobs Ronaldo and Zidane in re-run of 1998 World join the MVP Race Cup final head-to-head for charity match for Toyota Allex
Delroy Dean
Dwayne Jacobs
Travis Watterton
Gregory Richardson
The race for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award of a brand new Toyota Allex in this year’s Kashif and Shanghai football tournament just got interesting following sterling performances by BV Triumph United striker Delroy Dean and Buxton United Sports Club star player, Dwayne Jacobs. Both players helped their respective teams to comfortable wins with Dean scoring the tournament’s first hat-trick and Jacobs netting
a brace. The inclusion of the duo sees them joining Amelia’s Ward United skipper Travis Watterton and Pele striker Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson as the persons so far in contention to drive away with the car. Edward B. Beharry and Company Limited are the sponsors of the vehicle, making it the first time in any football tournament in Guyana that a Motor Car would be given to a player.
A slimmed-down Ronaldo captained his side to victory as he went head-to-head with Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday night in Brazil. Both players were in charge of star-studded squads in the Ronaldo and friends v Zidane and friends annual charity match. The Brazilian’s team emerged 3-2 victors, thanks to a late strike by Tottenham target Leandro Damiao. Legendary Italian referee Pierluigi Collina came out of retirement to officiate the game which will raise funds to support projects to reduce poverty in Brazil and Africa. In Zidane’s side were former greats including Deco, Freddie Ljungberg and Fernando Hierro, as well as futsal star Falcao. ‘ Ronaldo’s squad included Zico, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Romario and Neymar. It was all too much for one mascot, who broke down in tears as he got to meet the Santos star. Neymar played in Bebeto to open the scoring for Ronaldo’s team before Falcao levelled things up. Zidane led by example as he fired in a fine volley to put his side ahead, but Caca Ferrari and Damiao made sure it was Ronaldo who ended up smiling. Famously an off-colour Ronaldo could not help his side during the France 1998 World Cup final, with Brazil going down 3-0 to the hosts. But tonight the Samba star, who has slimmed down considerably in recent weeks, had the last laugh. Full Squads RONALDO & FRIENDS
TEAM Danrlei, Dida, Cafú, Serginho, Réver, Junior Baiano, Roque Junior, Roberto Carlos, William, Lucas, Juninho Paulista, Zinho, Djalminha, Roger, Zico, Denilson, Ronaldo, Neymar, Leandro Damião, Bebeto, Cacá Ferrari, Romário, Edmundo, Paulinho. Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira. ZIDANE & FRIENDS TEAM Vitor Baía, Juliano Belletti, Diego Cavalieri, Emerson, Fernando Hierro, Míchel Salgado, Fernando Couto, Juan Pablo Sorín, Paolo Montero, Carlos Gamarra, Hidetoshi Nakata, Zinédine Zidane, Deco, Santiago Solari, Fredrik Ljungberg, Juan Román Riquelme, Christian Karembeu, Alex de Souza, Pedro Pauleta, Sebastián Abreu, Hulk, Falcão, Mário Jardel. Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Meeting of legends: Ronaldo tries to steer the ball away from Zidane in their charity match
Page 32
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
SCHOLES, GIGGS AND FERDINAND HEADING FOR MANCHESTER UNITED EXIT
End of an era!
to look at ways of freshening up his squad. Recently, for example, Ferguson sent scouts to watch £15million-rated Argentinian defender Ezequiel Garay play for Portuguese club Benfica in games against Sporting Lisbon and Olhanense. He has also been looking closely at Molde’s Norwegian international centre back Vegard Forren. Formerly of Real Madrid, Garay has to be sold by Benfica next summer since they are struggling to pay his wages. His former club in Spain are entitled to half of whatever fee he is sold for. Garay has 11 caps for his country and has also been tracked by Juventus. As for
Giggs, Scholes and Feridnand could leave Old Trafford at the end of the season Paul Scholes plans to retire once and for all at the end of this season as Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson prepares for another summer shake-up at Old Trafford. United midfielder Scholes has told
friends that he intends to bow out in May and that this time he will not be back. Ferguson is also facing up to the probability that another veteran, Ryan Giggs, will leave his one and only club this summer, and the
Manager is aware that defender Rio Ferdinand has yet to indicate publicly whether he wishes to extend his contract. With Captain Nemanja Vidic also struggling of late with knee problems, Ferguson has already started
Scholes, he quit the game at the end of the 2010-11 season but famously returned to United in January of this year. He was later persuaded by Ferguson to stay on for this season as well and has played 13 times so far. However, the 38-year-old believes that his influence on the field is waning and has said privately in recent weeks that he may have given as much as he can. It remains to be seen if Ferguson attempts to persuade one of his most trusted players to soldier on for another season. Welshman Giggs is a year older than Scholes and is also on a one-year contract. He has played only eight times in the Barclays Premier
League this season and has also seen his influence on the field drop off significantly in recent months. Giggs has not made his own mind up yet but said recently: ‘When I do finish playing, I’ll try to find the next best thing. Management does interest me. The nearer I get to finishing, the more I think about it. All I can do is prepare myself as best I can for when I do finish. ‘I’ve been doing my coaching courses with Nev (Gary Neville) - levels one, two, A-Licence. We’re starting the Pro-Licence next year.’ Giggs hopes to compete in a couple of triathlons and Scholes may be handed a coaching role at Old Trafford. (Mail Online)
City star Yaya pips Drogba to defend African Footballer of the Year title Thank you - Yaya Toure accepts the award for the second consecutive year
Manchester City midfield powerhouse Yaya Toure has beaten his Ivorian compatriot Didier Drogba to be crowned African Footballer of the Year for a second time running. The 29-year-old helped his country reach the African Cup of Nations final and was one of the key men as Roberto Mancini’s side won the Barclays Premier League in May. Barcelona midfielder Alex Song, who left Arsenal in the summer, finished third as the award was made at the African Football gala in Accra, Ghana. Although Toure has not quite been able to replicate his form this season, his incredible power and tenacity helped City dominate games last term. He grabbed six goals in the top flight including two in the penultimate match against Newcastle - which City won 2-0 and gave them a fighting chance of snatching the title from rivals Manchester United on the final day. The Ivory Coast lost to
Zambia in the final of the African Cup of Nation in a penalty shoot-out, but Toure had been substituted by that point. Zambia were rewarded for their success by being named African Team of the Year and their boss, Herve Renard, was Coach of the Year. Toure joined Senegalese forward El-Hadji Diouf on two victories, although it is unlikely he will be able to eclipse Cameroonian exBarcelona striker Samuel Eto’o, who picked up the title four times. Drogba, 34, was also in with a strong chance of winning the award because of his influence on Chelsea’s successful pursuit of the Champions League title. When the going got tough in Europe, the striker was there to produce for his side. With the Blues needing a result in their final group game against Valencia to qualify, Drogba struck twice and was at his dominating best, despite indifferent domestic form, to get Andre Villas-Boas’s team through. After the Portuguese
manager was sacked, Drogba gave his replacement Roberto Di Matteo a huge boost in his third game in charge. He opened the scoring and turned in another superb display as Chelsea came back from a first-leg defeat to rout Napoli before grabbed another crucial goal against Barcelona in the semi-final. Drogba saved the best for last - equalising against Bayern Munich in the dying moments with a bullet header, then converting the deciding penalty in the shoot-out. After his key contribution Drogba left the club on a free transfer, moving to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua. Song, meanwhile, came into his own under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. The 25year-old curbed previous indiscipline and became a creative force going forward - his passes to Robin van Persie were a key part of the Gunners’ attack. Barcelona picked him up for £16million in the summer and he has featured 14 times for the Spanish giants since. (Mail Online)
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 33
Blueberry Hill, Kwakwani Strikers latest teams to advance; action returns today at GCC Aided by two controversial decisions which resulted in goals, Linden’s Blueberry Hill Football Club edged visitors Caribbean United 3-2 in a testy affair, while another determined performance from Kwakwani Strikers saw them dispose of GFC by a 2-1 margin as the two teams advanced after the latest action in the GFA/Banks Beer Knockout Cup. Transferred to the Fruta Conquerors ground in Tucville due to the soggy conditions caused by the inclement weather that left the GCC ground in an unplayable state, the large crowd was treated to two exciting encounters. In the opening game, Blueberry Hill’s doggedness and psychological strength proved a little too much for an equally tough Caribbean United team. The opening period began at a frantic tempo with both teams attempting to establish their dominance early in the game. The Lindeners wasted no time in taking the lead through Blueberry Hill a great strike from Quincy Stephens in the 2nd minute. Bouyed by the early success, they continued to dictate the run of play and quickly added to their lead thanks to Ronel Bristol, who netted in the 10th minute albeit a questionable decision. Undaunted by the controversial call, Caribbean United quickly pulled one
Action in the clash between Blueberry Hill and Caribbean United on Wednesday evening at Tucville ground. back through an Alston Gardener strike in the 18th minute from a corner kick. The game quickly opened up and some probing forays from both teams deep into rival territory kept the vociferous crowd on the edge of their seats as they tussled for the ascendancy. The visitors search for the equaliser was denied shortly before the half thanks to a magnificent save from the Blueberry Hill custodian. The game had now taken on a free flowing nature in the final period as the Caribbean side hunted for the elusive equaliser, while the Linden unit orchestrated some menacing counterattacks of their own. It was another unconvincing call that accounted for Blueberry Hill’s third goal which came through Troy Miller, who nonchalantly scored from the penalty spot in the 55th minute. For some inexplicable reason the Lindeners ‘eased
on the throttle’ and uncharacteristically conceded possession to the opposition with alarming frequency and everyone in the arena accurately forecasted that it was only a matter of time, before they paid the ultimate price. What followed next was a glut of threatening attacks from the Caribbean side that finally broke through the previously fortified garrison of Blueberry Hill and resulted in Culburt Culley scoring from a spot kick in the 83rd minute. However, Blueberry Hill held on until the final whistle sounded to progress to the next round. In the feature event, Kwakwani Strikers clearly proved “it’s not over until the fat lady sings’ when they manufactured another come from behind win to eject GFC from this year’s competition. Both teams looked on par during the early exchanges and fans could have
anticipated that they were about to witness a thrilling encounter. GFC surprised the partisan crowd when they took the lead compliments of a marvelous strike from Paul Daniels in the 18th minute. The ‘Bourda Blue’ unit came near to increasing their lead only to be deprived by a
magnificent save from the Kwakwani goalkeeper. Even as the half came to a close, neither team really looked settled with none able to threaten beyond mid-field which was where the battle centred. On the resumption, Kwakwani Strikers pushed forward and it took robust defending to keep them off the scoresheet and it was clear that the inter-play between the teams’ mid-field and attacking third were in harmony as the level of play improved. Urged on by their fans, Kwakwani Strikers came forward with menace and found the equalizer in the 54th minute through a Roy Leacock strike that sent the partisan crowd into hysterical delight. Sensing their opponents was up for the ‘kill’ they continued to attack ferociously, but exceptional work between the uprights by goalie Shawn Browne kept them at bay and his team still
in with a chance. By this time it was evident that fitness would be the decisive factor and that favoured the guests as they simple ran the GFC backline ragged with consistent attacks, especially the silky Dale Sauers. The game winning goal came from a dazzling build up that was topped off expertly by Ted Rogers in the 75th minute, sending spectators rushing on to the playing area to celebrate. GFC searched relentlessly to level the contest, but was repeatedly denied from breaching the Kwakwani Strikers fortress and the scoreline remained the same until the final whistle came. Meanwhile, the action returns to the GCC ground Bourda with a double header slated for today with Ann’s Grove All Stars tackling Blueberry Hill FC in the curtain raiser at 18:00 hrs to be followed by Riddim Squad FC taking on Beacon FC in the feature clash at 20:00hrs.
Page 34
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
All-round Yuvraj powers India to victory Yuvraj Singh’s decadelong attempt to secure a permanent spot in the Test team may have been thwarted once again this month, but in the first Twenty20 against England he once again showed why he is indispensable in limitedovers formats. First, his spell of left-arm spin upended England’s innings and then his burst of hitting smoothened India’s path to a comprehensive victory. In the first international match at the Subrata Roy Stadium in Pune, Alex Hales and Luke Wright had muscled 68 in seven overs for the second wicket as England rattled along at more than 10 an over. Hales began with two powerful pulls for four in the first over, and then showed off his straight-hitting to sprint to a 26-ball halfcentury, his fourth for England. Unlike Hales, Wright hadn’t spent time in India with the England Performance Programme squad but he too played a fluent boundary-
filled innings, not flustered by the change in conditions from the Big Bash League in Australia. Yuvraj’s introduction in the ninth over transformed the game. He was the seventh bowler MS Dhoni turned to as India desperately searched for ways to stall the runs, and he immediately delivered. Five of the previous six overs had been punished for 10 runs or more, but Yuvraj in his first gave away just five singles. In his next, he had Luke Wright caught at long-off. In his third, Hales was dropped by Dhoni, then bowled before England captain Eoin Morgan gave long-on a catch. The triple-blow sucked out the momentum from the innings, and by the end of his spell the run-rate was down to around seven-and-a-half. Ashok Dinda, leading India’s pace attack though he himself is fairly new to international cricket, delivered the perfect penultimate over, taking two wickets and giving away only two runs. Either side of that
though, Dhoni’s go-to bowler in Twenty20s, R Ashwin, and debutant fast bowler Parvinder Awana were hit for two sixes in an over each as Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 33 lifted England to 157. That was a score India looked happy to concede on a good track in a stadium with short boundaries. Their task was made easier by the poor line of England’s new-ball bowlers, who gifted plenty of runs down the leg side. Ajinkya Rahane, a nearpermanent fixture on the India bench, finally got a chance in the middle, and he jumpstarted the chase with a couple of straight sixes. Though Tim Bresnan got his first international wickets since September by removing both Rahane and Gautam Gambhir in the fifth over, Yuvraj kept the large crowd cheering with a 21-ball 38. That included an onslaught on left-arm spinner Danny Briggs, who was taken for 18 in his only over of the game. Soon after, Yuvraj topedged a pull off Luke Wright for six and though he
Yuvraj Singh claimed three wickets connected solidly on the next delivery as well, it soared too high and didn’t clear the rope, falling in the hands of Stuart
Meaker. India were already 93 for 3 in the 10th over by the time Yuvraj was dismissed, and Suresh Raina
and Dhoni weren’t unduly troubled as India knocked off the runs required to confirm victory in the 18th over.
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 35
Aguilleira confident as she leads Windies against South Africans St John’s, Antigua – Merissa Aguilleira will again be at the helm of the West Indies Women when they face South Africa Women in an important series in St Kitts, Dominica and St Lucia next month. The WICB Selection Panel on Thursday named the 13-member squad for the first three One-Day Internationals. The squad features most of the players who helped the West Indies reach the semifinals of the ICC World T20 tournament in Sri Lanka in October. There is a recall for June Ogle, the powerful,
experienced opening batswoman and Guyana Captain. She played her only One-Day International for West Indies in India in January, 2011. “We have a good team and we are really focussed on the upcoming series against South Africa. We have done very well against them in recent years and as a team we strongly believe we can beat them in this series as well,” a confident Aguilleira told WICB Media. “We always enjoy playing at home and we are especially
comfortable in St Kitts, where we will start the series. Warner Park has been a good hunting ground for us, so that’s the perfect place to get going. We look forward to a good series as we prepare for the World Cup in India.” The squad is full of quality allrounders including: ICC Women’s Player-of-theYear Stafanie Taylor, Shanel Daley, Tremayne Smartt, and Shemaine Campbelle. The batting is led by Taylor and also includes the powerful world record holder Deandra Dottin, and opener Juliana Nero, who is the most capped
TNT ARE ORIN JOSEPH DOMINOES CHAMPS
Captain of the victorious TNT team Sean Morgan collects the winning trophy from Mrs. Faye Joseph in the presence of other members of TNT team. TNT amassed 81 games to win the final of the Orin Joseph Dominoes competition which was contested on Wednesday evening at Transport Sports Club. Kita Transportation Service placed second with 62 games followed by Blue Birds on 61. John Chance scored a
maximum of 18 games for the winners, while Lionel Gittens marked 17 for Kita Transportation Service; Elroy Richards chalked 13 games for the third place team, Blue Birds. Orin Joseph and Lionel Britton of Blue Birds were the love birds. TNT received a trophy
and $100,000 for their efforts; Kita Transportation Service collected $40,000 and a trophy. At the presentation ceremony which followed, President of the Georgetown Dominoes Association, Orin Joseph who sponsored the competition thanked the teams for participating and congratulated the winners.
USACA might split with... (From page 36) Dainty and Maxwell, the chief executive of CHA, gave conflicting accounts on the state of proposed league. Dainty told ESPNcricinfo that Associate-level players would be recruited to form the nucleus of the player talent pool while Maxwell stated in a separate interview that the league was still hoping to secure top-flight players from Full Member nations for a launch next summer with six teams playing on artificial pitches in New York. According to a source
with knowledge of the situation, Dainty is also at odds with Maxwell over the latter’s plan to stage matches on artificial pitches, which is
presently the only viable way to play matches in New York and other major metropolitan markets due to a lack of turf facilities.
Champion of Champions Dominos set for Sunday A Champion of Champions dominos competition is set for Sunday at the Transport Sports Club, Thomas Lands starting from 15:00hrs. Entrance fee is $10,000. Among the teams slated to take part are TNT, Mix UP, Assassin, Specialist, Wild Bunch, Blue Bird, C 7, Rage, Renegade, Turning Point, Frankies, Trappers, Snake and West Side. Trophies and cash incentives will be up for grabs.
Shemaine Campbelle
Subrina Munroe
June Ogle
West Indian woman in ODIs. The bowling is led by offspinner Anisa Mohammed, who is the leading wickettaker in Windies Women history with 85 wickets in 54 One-Dayers. She will be backed by teenaged legspinner Shaquana Quintyne; Smartt, with her clever seam bowling; and the pace and accuracy of new ball bowlers Shakera Selman and Subrina Munroe. Full Squad: Merissa Aguilleira (Captain), Stafanie Taylor (Vice Captain), Shemaine Campbelle, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Kycia
Knight, Anisa Mohammed, Subrina Munroe, Juliana Nero, June Ogle, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt, Shaquana Quintyne. Team Management: Sherwin Campbell (Head Coach), Pat Greenidge (Team Manager), Andre Coley (High Performance Coach), Janel Springer (Physiotherapist), Amena Highland (Strength & Conditioning Trainer), Trent Sargeant (Analyst). West Indies v South Africa Schedule Monday, Jan 7: 1st OneDay International – Warner
Park (9:30am) Wednesday, Jan 9: 2nd One-Day International – Warner Park (9:30am) Saturday, Jan 12: 3rd OneDay International – Windsor Park (9:30am) Sunday, Jan 13: 4th OneDay International – Windsor Park (9:30am) Tuesday, Jan 15: 5th OneDay International – Windsor Park (9:30am) Saturday, Jan 19: 1st T20I – Beausejour Cricket Ground (4pm) Sunday, Jan 20: 2nd T20I – Beausejour Cricket Ground (4pm)
Page 36
Kaieteur News
Friday December 21, 2012
Champions League: Manchester United draw Real Madrid Manchester United have been drawn against Spanish champions Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League. The match will see Cristiano Ronaldo return to Old Trafford for the first time since his £80m move from United to Real in June 2009. Celtic will play Italian side Juventus, while Arsenal take on last year’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich. Four-times winners Barcelona take on seven-times champions AC Milan, while Valencia face Paris St Germain. Borussia Dortmund have been drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto take on Malaga, while Galatasaray will play Schalke. But the undoubted tie of the round sees nine-times winners Real take on United for the first time in nine years. The sides last met in the 2002-03 quarter-final with the Spaniards triumphing 6-5 on aggregate. Real won the first leg of that tie 3-1 and went through
after a virtuoso second-leg performance from the Brazilian Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick and was applauded off the Old Trafford pitch, as United won 4-3. United club secretary John Alexander said: “Out of several stand-out ties, I think this is the one. If history has anything in our favour our one [aggregate] victory against Real Madrid in this competition was in the season when we won the final at Wembley [in 1968].” Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno said it would be a special match for the two managers, United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Real’s Jose Mourinho, who will meet for the 15th time in the first leg. “I know the coaches have a great relationship,” he stated. “Sir Alex Ferguson knows how to get the best out of his players and they have top players, but we are Real Madrid and we will try
our best.” In 14 previous matches as manager of Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan, Mourinho lost just two games against United, with six being drawn. Mourinho first took on Ferguson in the Champions League round of 16 in the 2003-04 competition, leading his Porto side to a 2-1 home win before snatching a draw in injury-time at Old Trafford to spark a manic touchline dash. The duo met 10 times when Mourinho was manager at Chelsea and their latest games came in the 2008-09 Champions League when United knocked Inter Milan out of the competition with a 2-0 aggregate win. As group winners, United will again play the second leg of the tie at home. Celtic and Arsenal, as group runnersup, will play their first legs at home. Hoops manager Neil Lennon is looking forward to a “beauty” of a tie against
Italian champions Juventus. “In terms of glamour it’s a beauty,” he said. Meanwhile, Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is optimistic his side will see off Arsenal. “We enter this match as the slight favourites but we can make the mistake of
underestimating them,” said the German. The first legs will be played on either February 12/ 13 or 19/20, with the return matches on March 5/6 or 12/ 13. Champions League round of 16 draw:
Galatasaray v FC Schalke; Celtic v Juventus; Arsenal v Bayern Munich; Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund; AC Milan v Barcelona; Real Madrid v Manchester United; Valencia v Paris St Germain; FC Porto v Malaga.
USACA might split with T20 investor, league in doubt A proposed Twenty20 league in the USA, headed by the USA Cricket Association and New Zealand Cricket, may be on the verge of collapse after USACA President Gladstone Dainty allegedly informed stakeholders at the Annual General Meeting on December 15 in New York that the board’s partnership with Rajiv Podar, the primary investor supplying funding to USACA through Cricket Holdings America LLC, might be coming to an end. It is a scenario that is being denied by Podar. “It is true we have been and we are still in active discussions with some investors,” Podar wrote in an email to ESPNcricinfo. “There have been some delays, mainly due to detailed planning and putting a proper structure and plan together. Given the magnitude of the project and our desire to have a world-class event, delays are normal. Frankly, I do not see how this is going to be a potential danger in ending the league. The company is being financed and progressing as planned.” When the CHA LLC agreement was signed in 2010, USACA was supposed to receive $2 million in annual payments from Podar in the form of advances drawn against future earnings from licensing fees secured by the proposed league. A further $3 million bonus payment was
set to be disbursed to USACA from Podar by the end of 2011 in the form of share sales after securing another investor in the CHA LLC partnership to join Podar, Top Bloom, Neil Maxwell’s Insite Organization, USACA and NZC. Dainty admitted to ESPNcricinfo in November that USACA had actually been getting “about half” of the $2 million in annual payments from Podar that were originally agreed to as part of the CHA LLC deal. According to sources, an additional investor was never secured and USACA never received the $3 million bonus despite two extensions granted to broker an agreement. The latest extension passed on December 15. Podar however was quick to dispel notions that the proposed league or his affiliation with CHA is in danger of coming to an end. Dainty, who is also the chairman of the board of CHA in addition to being USACA president, is set to have a meeting in New York with Podar next month regarding the funding issues. If the sides part ways, it could mean that there will be no CHA T20 league unless a different investor is found to take Podar’s place within the CHA structure to prevent it from collapsing. It could also mean that USACA would have to repay
Podar the millions of dollars he has already advanced them since 2010, which could pose problems for USACA since they do not have any significant revenue streams to facilitate repayment. The money Podar extended to USACA was initially seen as a resource for funding USA development programmes. However, onfield endeavours took a back seat to legal battles in 2012 as USACA spent well into six figures this year on lawyer fees. Consequently, USACA only organised one domestic tournament in 2012, a solitary 50-over match for the national championship on November 11 in Florida between a group of players handpicked by the USACA administration and designated as the Eastern and Western Conference. Despite multiple press releases promising to do so, USACA failed to organise a women’s national tournament in 2012 and never put together a national junior tournament either despite receiving roughly $300,000 in funding from the ICC for the purpose of such development initiatives. As of now, the CHAorganised USA Twenty20 league is scheduled to begin in June but signs that the league initiative was on shaky ground came to the surface earlier this month. (Continued on page 35)
Friday December 21, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 37
Gayle wants Test victory on Aussie soil Chris Gayle
Adelaide, Australia Apart from helping the Sydney Thunder win the Big Bash League, Chris Gayle has
three simple things he still wants to achieve in his career. “Win a Test series in Australia,” the big West
Indian told The Daily Telegraph. “That would be a big accomplishment. Those things only happened in 1980s when the West Indies came here and won. “It’s always difficult to win overseas, wherever you play. Teams like South Africa, England, Australia, India, they’re always challenging. That would rank high in my cricket career, to win a series in one of those places - to win in Australia would be really nice. “I’ve got 14 Test hundreds at the moment, and I’d like to finish with 20 Test hundreds.
Sarwan hits half century as Guyana thumps Rest XI by 28 runs The Guyana team preparing for the 2013 Caribbean T20 championships defeated a Rest XI by 28 runs in a warm up match on Wednesday evening at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Ramnaresh Sarwan slammed a timey half century as the national team amassed 143-4 off their allocation of 20 overs. He hit three fours and one six in his innings of 53 which came off 42 deliveries and included three fours and one six. Sarwan was ably supported by wicketkeeper batsman Derwin Christian who made 45 (3x4 1x6) and Leon Johnson who made 25 (4x4 1x6). Left arm spinner Raj Nanan picked up 2-17. The Rest XI in reply managed 115-5 in 20 overs. Rajiv Ivan top scored with 30 which contained three fours, while Rajendra Chandreka assisted with 25 (2x4) and Assad Fudadin 20. Skipper Veerasammy Permaul grabbed 2-20 while pacer Ronsford Beaton, Christopher Barnwell and N a r s i n g h Deonarine had one each.
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Asian giants India and Sri Lanka for Tri Nations in West Indies St John’s, Antigua – The bumper season of international cricket in the Caribbean will reach a crescendo when the three biggest teams in Limited Overs cricket clash in the Caribbean in June and July next year in a seven match One Day International Tri Nation Series. Reigning World T20 champions West Indies will host the two Asian giants – World 50 Over champions India and Sri Lanka – the losing finalists in both the ICC World Twenty20 Championship and Cricket World Cup. Each team will play the other two teams twice with the matches scheduled for Sabina Park in Jamaica and Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. The Series will bowl off in Kingston on June 28th with
the Windies tackling India. A total of three matches will be played at Sabina with four matches, including the final, to be staged at Queen’s Park. The final will be played on July 11th, by the two teams with the most points after the six preliminary matches. The Limited Overs portion of the Sri Lankan tour of the West Indies which was originally scheduled for April/ May will now be played as part of the Tri Nation Series. The Sri Lankan tour of the West Indies was rescheduled to allow players from both teams to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL). As part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP), Sri Lanka was originally scheduled to tour the Caribbean for two Tests, three ODIs and two
Twenty20 Internationals in 2013. The two Tests have been deferred and will be played at a later date in the FTP cycle. In addition to India and Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Pakistan will also tour the Caribbean in 2013, making it the first time four international teams will visit the region in a calendar year (outside of a world tournament). Full Schedule (All matches – 50 Overs) Sabina Park Friday, June 28: West Indies v India; Sunday, June 30: India v Sri Lanka; Tuesday, July 2: West Indies v Sri Lanka. Queen’s Park Oval: Friday, July 5: West Indies v India; Sunday, July 7: Sri Lanka v India; Tuesday, July 9: West Indies v Sri Lanka Thursday, July 11: Final.
“And if I can finish with an average of 45, that’s pretty decent for an opener.” Gayle’s hopes of a Test triumph on Australian soil will have to be put on hold. The Windies won’t play a Test here until the end of 2015. In the meantime, Gayle is determined to help move the Sydney Thunder off the bottom of the Big Bash League ladder, starting tonight against Adelaide at ANZ Stadium. To prove how serious he is about helping the Thunder, Gayle took it upon himself to address the players in the ANZ Stadium dressing rooms late Friday, well after their loss to the Melbourne Renegades. He wanted his young
teammates to back their ability and pointed out one win could change their summer. Gayle then arrived at training this week and cracked four successive sixes. “We’ve had a bad start, we’ve lost two games so this is a must-win for us, that’s how I view it,” Gayle said. “We need to try and get back in the groove and give ourselves that chance to make the final four.”As for how the BBL stacked up against the almighty Indian Premier League, Gayle said: “It’s up there, second to the IPL. Even though you don’t have all the Australian superstars or more senior guys playing, the standard is still very high, and it’s a good
quality surface to bat on. “It could be bigger. But the IPL pump a lot of money into (their tournament), and everyone gets the chance to play in it. The window is very different compared to the Australian summer. This is the time they (Australia) play international cricket. We understand that, but the standard is still very high and competitive.” Teammate Sean Abbott said the players took Gayle’s pep talk on board. “He definitely wants to be here and definitely wants this team to do well,” Abbott said. “He’s so relaxed and good to have around the group - he relaxes when he needs to, and turns on when he needs to.”
t r o Sp
Large crowd witnesses Buxton United & BV Triumph advance to next round
T
he match was initially billed for the Georgetown Football Club Ground but the organizers shifted to the Betterverwagting Community Centre Ground at the last minute. This certainly did not affect the attendance and a huge crowd of cheering spectators witnessed two exciting matches that left them satisfied and exhilarated
when the 23rd edition of Kashif and Shanghai football tournament continued on Wednesday evening last. Coach of the Buxton United Sports Club (BUSC), Herbert McPherson, had pinned his hopes on his C a p t a i n , m i d f i e l d e r, Dwayne Jacobs to take his team to the next round when they faced off with Winners Connection and the dapper
Buxton United’s Dwayne Jacobs in control of the ball against Winner’s Connection in Wednesday’s clash midfielder did not disappoint, netting a double in the 45th and 50th minute with support from Esan
Hammer on the stroke of full time to earn the BUSC a well deserved 3-1 victory after Rawle Gittens pulled one back in the 81st minute for the Linden based Winners Connection. BV Triumph United also turned in a spectacular performance and disposed of Timerhi Panthers 3-1; Delroy Dean netted the hattrick in the 7th, 39th and 54th minute. The Buxtonians demonstrated great ball control from the onset, frequently distributing the ball and making the opposition work overtime. Representing the Buxton based unit, Keoma Sullivan collected a pass and quickly sent the ball to Pierre Joseph but the latter player only managed a tame kick that the Winners Connection ‘goalie’ effortlessly scooped up. Jacobs featured early in the game when he also latched onto a loose ball and thundered to the goal. He was also guilty of a similar blunder when he gently tapped the ball into the waiting hands of the Wi n n e r s C o n n e c t i o n custodian. The war of attrition continued with Jacobs, the consummate busy body, efficiently manning the mid-field cordon. B o t h t e a m s demonstrated great defensive tactics and it appeared as though the first session would have dwindled to a nil all stalemate. This was not to be
as Winners Connection player, Gary Thompson attempted to send one of his team mates through but his kick was intercepted by Jacobs who slammed in his first success at 45 minutes, on the stroke of the end of the first session. Five minutes after resumption Joseph repeated the feat after Winners Connection sent out Keyon Fudegnay at the expense of Shawn Smith but even that could not restrain a rampaging Jacobs who sent his team up 2-0 in the 50th minute. Winners Connection’s success came off the boot of Rawle Gittens who narrowed the score in the 81st minute with a humdinger of a free kick that flew past the Buxton United custodian. In the feature game, Delroy Dean’s 7th minute effort came after the ball rebounded off the goal post but his victory was short lived as Dexroy Adams equalized for Timehri Panthers in the 37th minute when he deceived custodian Lindon Dennis whose goal kick fell in Adams’ path and he made no mistake in making the BV side pay for that lapse. But the advantage was soon restored when Deen on a solo run finished clinically, at the half BVTU enjoyed a 1 goal advantage at 2-1. The Betterverwagting based team upped the ante at the start of the second session and launched several
raids to the opposition’s goal. Their efforts were futile mostly due to wayward shots or the astute work of the ‘Panthers’ custodian. Deene featured once again when he dribbled the ball past the opposition’s defense but Dominic Walsh was up to the task and his acrobatic theatrics averted what looked like a sure goal. The dapper striker was like a thorn in the opposition’s side and finally netted his third goal in the 54th minute. The action continues tonight when Alpha United takes on Rosignol United with the winner going on to oppose Betterverwagting on Christmas Day while Western Tigers go head to head with Grove Hi Tec with the winner tackling BVTU on Christmas Day. Teams participating in the tournament will be vying for a top prize of four million dollars while the team finishing second receives one million dollars. The third and fourth places will cart off $750,000 and $500,000 respectively. Additionally, the Most Valuable Player will win a luxury motor car while the best coach receives one motorcycle. Patrons also have an opportunity to win lucrative prizes following draw at the respective fixtures. Already, two lucky patrons have won motor cycles while several others have won microwave ovens, cell phones and other gifts. Tonight’s games commence at 18:00hrs sharp.
Printed and published by National Media & Publishing Company Limited, 24 Saffon St.Charlestown, Georgetown.Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 or Fax: 225-8473/ 226-8210