al i c e p S
Online readership yesterday 74,533
December 09, 2012
$140
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Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly
Radio licences granted days before Jagdeo's departure…
Applicants deem Jagdeo's action dishonest, partisan Beharry Group, recycling company sweep GCCI awards
EZjet customers should seek refund from travel agencies Absence of PSC Chairman will again delay police promotions Marilyn La Rose is
'At your service…’
Faneeza
Ally
- disciplinary matters also at a standstill a 'Special Person’
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Sunday December 09, 2012
EZjet customers should seek refund from travel agencies A
s l o c a l passengers of the failed air charter, EZjet, hold onto their post-dated cheques with hopes of accessing their monies, overseas passengers, especially Guyanese in the Diaspora, are being left without any relief. EZjet which failed weeks ago seems to have abandoned its New York Office. The location is now a physical therapy office. There is no EZjet office or anyone for the affected people to talk to for refunds. Its Chief Executive Officer, Sonny Ramdeo, remains in hiding. It is unclear how many persons in New York are owed but an official there said that cheques were written but held after it was discovered that EZjet had no money in its account. It is believed that passengers are owed around US$2.5M there. According to Leader of the Alliance For Change
(AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, “Ezjet is stretching the process out so in time more people will give up pursuing the company for refunds. At least US$3M to US$5M of these passengers' monies would have gone with Ramdeo.” Ramjattan said that he strongly believes that the New York travel agents who did not transfer ticket monies to EZjet are responsible to issue payments to affected passengers. “A number of them have withheld payments to these affected passengers, hoping the matter will soon die and passengers will regard it as their individual loss. These travel agents, by virtue of their obligation under terms of licence and agreement with EZjet, must pay the passengers' ticket monies into an escrow bank. Had the travel agents followed the agreement, all of the passengers' monies would have been protected,” he added. According to the
Attorney-at-Law, a number of Guyanese in the Diaspora have been seeking his advice on the issue. Their remedies lie in getting at their travel agents who sold them the tickets. He added that these agencies apart from putting the monies into escrow and only paying over to EZjet when the actual flight is completed, ought to have been more careful in view of their fiduciary relationship to the passengers. “I am certain they were aware of the shadows and cloud over EZjet but chose to turn a blind eye so they can make money. I am aware that the Feds are doing their job to get Ramdeo and his associates, but travel agents in NY should not unjustly enrich themselves with passengers' money and walk away while the passengers suffer,” he stressed. Ramjattan argued that Guyanese must be concerned about the
EZjet NY office replaced by physical therapy clinic happenings in New York because many if not all of these passengers are family members of us Guyanese. Their losses and inconveniences are close to home. “We here have a vested interest in seeing that propriety and rules are adhered to. EZjet should
provide answers as it relates to why travel agents who sold tickets in New York did not follow the rules to place the passengers monies in escrow; were all the monies passengers paid to the travel agents transferred to EZjet; and what was acting CEO Rosalinda Rasul's findings when she visited New York,”
he inquired. Ramjattan also questioned whether the fraud or irregularities have been committed by just one person or if others are involved. What is Guyana Government doing about this whole debacle and to ensure that it does not recur?
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Radio licences granted days before Jagdeo's departure…
Applicants deem Jagdeo's action dishonest, partisan A decision by the then President Bharrat Jagdeo to issue a number of radio licences days before the November 28, 2011 General and Regional Elections has been described as an act that saw the then head of state giving more gifts to his friends and cronies. The Jagdeo government mysteriously and inexplicably refused to grant licences to many entities that had applied long before all of those now granted. Among those with applications dating back a long time were Kaieteur News and Stabroek News. In his last days in office, Jagdeo announced that he was going to liberalise radio. The only radio was the stateowned NCN which operates on five frequencies. Less than a week before he left office, Jagdeo announced 10 new licencees. He was reported as saying that the licences were granted from 55 applications that had been on file. The method of selection was never disclosed and even to date no one knows all of the 10 that was granted. When questioned just before he left office, Jagdeo said that he was keeping a
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo
Dr. Ranjisingh ‘Bobby' Ramroop
Enrico Woolford
AFC's Cathy Hughes
promise he made. He referred questions about the names of the 10 to Dr. Roger Luncheon. In turn, Luncheon identified Dr. Ranjisinghi 'Bobby' Ramroop, Jagdeo's best friend, Maxwell Thom w h o o w n e d Wi r e l e s s Connection, Rudy Grant, TelCorp, Alfro Alphonso in Region Two and Rockliffe Christie in New Amsterdam. He promised to release the other names later. He never did. Last week Ramroop's station went on air, the first of the 10 to do so. The remaining 45 applicants had already been told that their applications
were being scrapped and that they should apply all over again with new business plans. Two of the former applicants say that this is unfair and that they have no intention of applying again. Instead, they want the newly appointed President Donald Ramotar to revisit the issue and to deal fairly with everyone. Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, said that he was not happy when he was ignored for a radio licence. He said that the only reason Jagdeo could give for bypassing him is because of Kaieteur News's exposure of the corruption that became rampant during Jagdeo's tenure. He said that he will not sit back and accept this situation. “I will never allow people who had no prior involvement in media or Johnny Come Lately being
given radio licences before those who had applications in the system, among them Kaieteur News, years earlier.” He said that he finds the award of these licences not only unacceptable but also dishonest and disrespectful to those he ignored. “This is more an insult, not only to Kaieteur News, but also to the people of this country. I will not take it lightly. I will not allow this situation to slide. I will fight this issue to the end. Imagine denying applications to Stabroek News and Kaieteur News but granting licences to Guyana Times and to Wireless Connections.” Jagdeo had said that one criterion was that the licencees should not be in debt and should be of good standing in the society. Wireless Connections is up to its neck in debt and Guyana
Times is in no better position, operating at a daily loss. Cathy Hughes and Enrico Woolford, two who had also applied for radio licences and veterans in the broadcast industry here, were also denied. They said the government has to come clean on how those licences were issued. Hughes said that the process smacks of favouritism to benefit those closely aligned to the Jagdeo government. While it is the NFMU that determines the frequency under which the stations will broadcast, the Minister of Information – a portfolio assigned to the President – has the prerogative to grant licences. But he must do so in a f a i r, t r a n s p a r e n t a n d impartial manner. Woolford has repeated his call for the NFMU to publish who is allocated or
Food for thought
Value Everything Value your health. Take good care of yourself because many people pray just to be healthy like you. Health is wealth. Value your life, don't lose it. Don't even think of suicide because many people wished they had enough time to accomplish their dreams. You still have a chance to do that so why give up? Value your freedom because so many people are willing to spend all they have to buy their freedom. If you doubt this, go to the prisons. Value your parents irrespective of their status, whether rich or poor. If you think I'm wrong then go to orphanages and see how the kids wish they had someone they could call mother or father, no matter how bad they are. Value your friends because they are not easy to come by. Be a good friend too. Be left alone on an island for a year and see if you will not contemplate suicide. Value the food you eat, no matter how cheap because so many people have enough money to buy it but can't eat it because of their health. Value your job because so many jobless people out there envy your job and wish to have it. Value what you have because you might not have a chance to get it again. They say a bird in hand is worth 10,000 in the bush. Value the little things you are given because they have the tendency to attract bigger ones. Value yourself, value people and value the things around you, no matter how little. That's the best way to live and enjoy life.
Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall operating on what frequency. “The airwaves are a limited public resource and the public needs to know who owns what or who was allocated what,” Woolford stated. PUBLIC REGISTER He said the NFMU, like the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, GGMC should have a public register of who has what “claims.” The licences under Jagdeo may very well have been issued under the Wireless and Telegraph Act which has now been overtaken by the Broadcast Act. Hughes said she expects that the licences granted just before Jagdeo left office would have been set aside and have those applicants abide by the new rules. “What system was used to grant these licences?’
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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
‘Policy Dialogues Now that everyone agrees that our politicians have wasted a whole year in fighting over who should control power rather than how to use that power for the development of our country, maybe in this second year, a lesson has been learnt. During their campaigns, the parties all came out with a plethora of policies for addressing the various challenges that confront our country. We believe that in this ‘new dispensation” they should take advantage of this burst of creativity and ingenuity by initiating (at a minimum) what has been called, “policy dialogues”. The forum has been created in the Tripartite Talks initiated by President Ramotar, which might be broadened by the Social Partners of business, labour. Policy dialogues are carefully constructed, deliberative meetings that address both politically controversial and technically complex aspects of an issue in a dispute. Generally speaking, policy dialogues seek to exchange information and build consensus recommendations between the public, private, and civic sectors through leaders who are in a position to forge alliances, make decisions, or strongly influence the trajectory of a possible solution to a challenging issue. Policy dialogues generally: bring diverse interest groups to the table, focus on a regulatory, policy, or planning issue that is of common interest, have a life cycle with a beginning, middle, and end, and seek to formulate practical solutions to complex problems. The idea of democracy is founded on the persistent belief that citizens can, through effective deliberation, govern themselves. Not only can they, they should. Democracy assumes that ordinary people have the capacity, the means, and the will to participate in the shaping of key decisions that affect their own welfare. They do this through both elected representation in formal bodies, and participation and effective deliberation in informal decision-making mechanisms that influence formal processes. The idea of discussion and problem solving is fundamental. Unfortunately, “effective deliberation” — particularly in the face of a potent and highly controversial issue — is often problematic, especially in our fractured polity. In everyday parlance, deliberation is the act of thinking about a difficult or complex subject. In formally constituted bodies governed by parliamentary procedures, deliberation requires an on-the-record discussion of the reasons for or against passage of a measure. In policy dialogues aimed at grappling with a stubborn problem, deliberation has more textured meanings and nuanced applications. It is aimed at combating impatience, intolerance, and incivility and in furtherance of constructive and feasible solutions. Too frequently, as we have seen in the past year, discussions on important civic and public interest matters are defeated for the wrong reasons. In some cases, there is no shared or accepted process for dialogue. Sometimes, lack of a clear deliberation process leads to a premature push for decisions and “us” versus “them” votes. Communication breakdowns often trigger an escalating spiral of suspicion with increased tension and confusion between procedural, substantive, and relationship issues. In the most extreme situations, people of normal integrity and good will actively seek to defeat each other and, in the words of one writer, go “together into the abyss.” This we must do everything to avoid. Successful policy deliberations tend to progress through three broad phases: (a) issue focusing and convening; (b) information exchange and discussion; and (c) solution-seeking and consensus building. We can do worse than have our three parliamentary parties start over once again on next year’s budget. The process has already begun with the Opposition parties submitting broad areas in which they would like to have the budget focus on. These should be carefully evaluated by the technical teams in the Budget Office within the Ministry of Finance. The “issue focusing and convening with information exchange and discussion” stages will occur here. Their recommendations should be submitted to the President who would then discuss them with his cabinet. Their recommendations can then be taken into the broadened Tripartite Talks with the leaders of the two Opposition parties, along with the leaders of business and labour. This is where binding decisions can be arrived at through “solution-seeking and consensus building”.
Sunday December 09, 2012
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The “C” in PPP/C now, on empirical evidence, unmistakably stands for Corruption. DEAR EDITOR, In his presentation at the awards dinner of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry last Thursday Mr. Clinton Urling, the Chamber ’s President included in his wish list for Guyana a stronger civil society. In the course of his presentation Mr. Urling not only referred to the work of the Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc. but also echoed a recent call by that young organisation - made on the day Transparency International released its 2012 world Corruption Perceptions Index for measures to enhance accountability, combat corruption and strengthen governance. Mr. Urling would most likely have been aware
that only a few hours before he spoke the youth arm of the ruling party had attacked Transparency Institute, singling out its highly respected Vice-president Dr. Anand Goolsarran for its vituperation, and severely chastising Transparency International for daring to include Guyana in its 2012 survey. Significantly, even if Mr. Urling was aware of the attack, he offered no comment or defence of a civil society organisation in the presence of two Ministers of Government, Messrs. Irfaan Ally and Robert Persaud. One day later, PPP/C Governance czarina Ms. Gail Teixeira took the PYO vulgarity one notch down when she dismissed the 2012
CPI by stating that “only four persons were surveyed [by TI] as it related to Guyana’. She even suggested that they must all be male! Surely anyone who knows anything about surveys would know that no sane person would regard a sample of four as representative or reliable of any population and that such a statement simply could not be right. Indeed, Ms. Teixeira was wrong, very wrong. The Transparency International website discloses that for its 2012 CPI with respect to Guyana, TI used four surveys, which in total, and even allowing for overlap, would have covered hundreds of individuals and organisations. The four surveys were Global Insight, World
Bank’s Control of Corruption Index (WB), World Economic Forum and the International Country Risk Guide. If this better information does not have any impact on Ms. Teixeira and her “youths”, it is inevitable that any discourse in Guyana would continue to be backward-looking, uncivil and profoundly infected by manipulation and distortions. The leadership of the PPP/C must be in dreamland if it does not realise that for many Guyanese, the “C” in PPP/C has long since ceased to represent any evaporated Civic and now, on empirical evidence as well as well-founded perception, unmistakably stands for Corruption. L. C. Ram
Sunday December 09, 2012
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Hope Canal consultants respond to Alli, Sohan DEAR EDITOR, Response by Consultants to Comments made by Charles Sohan/Malcolm Alli on works undertaken on the EDWC Northern Relief Channel at Hope /Dochfour The recent observations by Mr. Charles Sohan and Malcolm Alli as published in the Stabroek News and Kaieteur News have forced the Joint Venture of CEMCO and SRKN’gineering to respond to the assertions expressed in the newspaper releases. We regard the writers as fellow professionals whom we feel would deal with these concerns on a face to face basis or through professional bodies such as the Guyana Association of
Professional Engineers. Had such interaction had taken place along with the competent authority the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), there would be no need to have to address the inaccuracies detailed in the report. It should be noted that the NDIA informed us that before commencement of the project, Mr. Malcolm Alli was asked by the NDIA to act as an adviser to the NDIA Board, but this offer was refused. It is worth noting that there was an independent team of engineers including international experts who reviewed the design for the project. One of the members
from the independent team of engineers was retained to provide technical support to the project. Through the Ministry of Agriculture’s website on January 4th, 2010, the public was also asked to review the design report, provide comments and recommendations. Upon completion of the design report, it was forwarded to the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) for information and comments and a response was received in April, 2010. Our supervision contract provides for the supervision of the civil works for the construction of the Head Regulator which is a 3 door structure, an elevated 40m
Urgent need for Local Government Reform and Local Government Elections DEAR EDITOR, We talk about democracy and the return of democracy that was restored after October 5, 1992, after the success of the P.P.P.C. at the National and Regional Elections.There is not a time the President and all Ministers of Government address any gathering for any reason, you can bet your last penny that the word democracy would be used several times and the year 1992 would be mentioned repeatedly. Beginning with the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (N.D.C.) residents of various communities were led to believe that they would have been the ones that decide or choose the group of persons to run the affairs of the community.Sad to say in reality this does not happen, in many communities. Long before the last elections, and after, it is more evident much to the
annoyance of the people. While I must concede that Section 13 of the Local Government Act, Chapter 28:02, Power of Minister to act as Local Authority, give the Minister sweeping powers to the extent that, if all of the Councillors voted for or against a proposal, the Minister if he/she so desire can instruct that N.D.C. to do otherwise or to carry out the wishes of the Minister. Failing to do so the entire N.D.C. can be replaced by persons the Minister chooses, if you read Local Government Act Chapter 28:02 every action taken by the Council is subject to the approval of the Minister. But if we are going to talk of any level of democracy or the authority of the people at the grass root level, the importance of including and to have meaningful consultation with them, then, when the sweeping powers that still reside with the Minister should be in the
people’s possession Under Section 32 of the Local Democratic Organs Act 1980 (No. 12 of 1980) Delegation of Functions to the Regional Democratic Council (R.D.C.) Section 42, 43, 52, 54, 55, 100, 103, 106, 140 of the Local Government Act Chapter 28:02 and the District By-Laws Chapter 28:02 Section 46 all of this authority that was given or delegated to the R.D.C. of course by the Minister have been taken back by him, and in so doing compromise the R.D.C. the said Council that the people in the Region elected to run the affairs of the region, the big question is where is this democracy that the Minister so often boast about, and that is why Local Government Reform then Local Government Elections are so important and must be done, and held as early as possible. Archie W. Cordis A.F.C.Councillor Region # 2
clear span highway bridge and an 8 door relief structure. We report directly to the NDIA and our reporting mechanism is weekly and monthly reports which covers progress, constraints, financial projections etc To give the impression that the Minister and NDIA are unaware of progress is a very misleading statement. We supervise based upon the terms and conditions of our contract with the Ministry of Agriculture and supervise the contractors on the terms and conditions of their signed contracts with the Ministry of Agriculture. The civil works contracts have a start and end date. Contractors request for Extension of Time which are assessed and the consultant’s responsibility is to make recommendation to the Client. Any unjustified period of time that the contractor takes to complete their contract is subjected to damages in accordance with the contract. At this point in time no extensions to any of the contractors have been granted. With respect to the high
level sluice a concern has been raised on the design of the foundation which require 520 no 120 ft timber piles with the inference being overdesign. The next comment was that the piles were driven out of line. This statement is incorrect. The piles were driven along a straight alignment (peg grid). All piles driven have achieved the required embedment and design blow count values. We recognize however that only along grid lines “S” and “T” there has been a deviation of the pile heads. The NDIA is aware of this situation which is being addressed. nIf as the writers suggest that there are too many piles and that the 7 door Abary conservancy was built without bearing piles (approximately 32 miles upriver) we would wish the writers to be honest and compare those soil conditions to the location at Hope. While we agree that a piled foundation may not be necessary for such a structure in some coastal locations, we believe that to generalize and conclude that a piled foundation for the structure is not necessary in
all coastal locations may not be necessarily correct. The design of the foundation of the high level sluice was based on a geotechnical investigation specific to the location of the sluice. It is our considered view that, based on the findings of the geotechnical investigation at the site location, a shallow foundation would have compromised the integrity of the structure. It should be noted that on October 9th, 2010 an article titled “Poor soil conditions could halt the Hope/Dochfour Project” appeared in the Kaieteur News where Mr. Malcolm Alli had suggested that a concrete roadway supported by piles would be needed to transport soil for the embankment. Further, he noted that machinery working on the canal would sink. However, the NDIA through a carefully designed engineering process has excavated over 80% of the canal without loss of equipment. The 10.3km canal is being undertaken as a Force Account operation with supervision by the Joint Venture. The (Continued on page 6)
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The PPP, with the help of a lazy opposition, continues to circumvent the public procurement process DEAR EDITOR, I will try to hit two birds with one stone here. First, in your news article, “NIS operating in the red- GM tells consultation,” (December 8), nothing was ever mentioned about the status of the government’s replenishment of the US$30M or GY$6B that NIS lost in the Clico collapse, or the roughly US$30,000 or GY$6M government took from NIS to help build the Berbice Bridge. Those being consulted need to ask whether these monies taken from the NIS have helped to negatively impact the institutions’ performance and what is being done, if anything, to make sure all the money is restored with interest immediately to help take the NIS out of the red. Maybe it is time for citizens to file a series of class action law suits against the corrupt PPP regime for the misappropriations of public funds at NIS and a host of other areas, because it is obvious that one set of
people keep profiting from state misadventures with public funds, while the masses are treated like fifthclass citizens. That brings me to the second news article, “Presidential Advisor announces… Cabinet grants no objection for more contracts,” (December 8), in which Presidential Advisor, Ms. Gail Teixeira, filling in for HPS, Dr. Roger Luncheon at the weekly press briefings, listed a number of contracts that she said were approved after Cabinet granted its usual no objection. For the longest while, I am having grave difficulty understanding how a Cabinet – made up of ministers handpicked by the President – can have the legal authority to grant no-objection waivers for public contracts involving state funds without there being any independent checks and balance system to make sure the contracts and or the contractors pass the smell test, given the growing mountain of evidence
pointing to questionable contracts and contractors, as per the Auditor-General’s reports. The PPP, with the help of a seemingly lazy opposition, continues to openly circumvent the public procurement process, even after all the shocking exposes done in the media about this rampant abuse and even after the November 28, 2011 election that was supposed to allow the parliamentary opposition to use its majority to start holding the government accountable. Mr. Editor, I challenge you or any reader to go back and read the article and see where the government has basically said that it went to ‘Cabinet’ and got approval to spend GY$475,924M for a variety of projects, plus an additional US$609,820 for two other projects, and there was absolutely no way of the public benefiting from a stringent checks and balance system that would have allowed someone other than the government and ‘Cabinet’
to ascertain the veracity of the contracts/projects and the contractors. This is mindnumbingly shocking! It is almost predictable for readers in and out of Guyana to wake up and read the daily ripping off of state funds by contractors, clearly aided by the corrupt PPP regime, and it has literally reached the point where we have to conclude the PPP regime does not care what anyone says about its corrupt practices because
there is no one who can do anything to stop it. Kaieteur News and Stabroek News can report the stories and letter writers and analysts can write and analyze ‘til kingdom come, the PPP seems determined to keep on keeping on with its bullying and corrupt ways. I wonder how many of those contractors who received billions of dollars in state contracts while operating in Guyana have
paid taxes or into the NIS. Does the GRA only go after political opponents of the government? Maybe it is time President Donald Ramotar to snap out of his slumber party, even if for the one moment, and get the GRA and NIS to form a team to go after all these state contractors. We just might find a gold mine to make the GRA and NIS smile and also put a smile on the faces of NIS beneficiaries. Emile Mervin
I applaud this initiative DEAR EDITOR, After a call by Mr. Joseph Harmon MP for a massive clean-up campaign of the city of Georgetown, made at the recently concluded General Council of the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), a meeting was held at the chambers of the Mayor and City Council. Several letters were sent to all of the stake holders, inviting them to a meeting on Friday 7th December 2012 at City Hall. The meeting was well attended and many of the invitees including the Diplomatic Corp were in attendance. Mr. Editor I was extremely disappointed that some of the stake holders that have a vested interest in a clean and beautiful capital city chose for one reason or another not to attend. The most glaring absentee were representatives of the
Ramotar administration. There were no government representatives, even though the Central government happens to be the largest single tenant of the city. The Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) was also absent and the captains of industry also chose not to attend. It is a sad legacy that everything in Guyana seems to be tainted by politics, and community initiatives that serve us all, seems to be trivialized by those who should be at the forefront of such activities. Mr. Editor, it will take a coordinated effort by all of the Stake Holders for the City of Georgetown to be restored to its former glory. The Religious community was another stake holder that was absent. There is a central tenet of Christianity that “cleanliness is next to godliness” and one would expect that religious
leaders would see the merit of such an important initiative. The Joint Services, especially the Guyana Defence Force was noticeably absent. The only service in attendance was the Prison Service. The GDF once dubbed the “people army” was instrumental in past cleanup campaigns and possess the skill set at the Officer and Noncommissioned officer level, necessary for coordinating and controlling such a massive exercise. When it comes to cleaning up our environment, politics should take a back seat. It is commendable that the government has ordered the Drainage and Irrigation teams to mount a cleanup lasting three days. However, what we are looking at is a massive clean-up exercise that will ensure that all ten wards of the city are scrubbed clean. We are talking about (Continued on page 7)
Hope Canal consultants... From page 5 construction of the canal is being undertaken in phases. There are 3 design profiles which are adopted for the embankment construction. With respect to the embankment construction, works have recently commenced in the pegasse area between the crown dam and conservancy dam. The design here caters for the laying of geotextile and over 200m have been laid and its application approved by the technical advisor from TenCate who is currently visiting the Project. To say that the consultants are contemplating how to lay the geotextile is malicious. Also, only 36% of the Hope Canal embankments will require reinforcement with geotextile fabric. It was also reported that part of the eastern embankment was on fire, burning uncontrollably and will probably compromise the geotextile fabric if installed. We wish to advise that the fire burnt an area east
and north of the alignment of the Hope Canal eastern embankment which is totally outside the wayleave limit of the relief channel. This section of the eastern embankment has not been constructed as yet and when constructed will comprise of wholly suitable borrow fill and geotextile fabric. In any event fire affecting this material is slim since at all times the canal would have water stored at the level of the geotextile It was also reported that weeds have taken up 40% of the canal waterway, and if not removed, will take over the entire waterway in 6 months time. The writers would have observed that a section of the canal downstream of the vegetation is clean indicating that NDIA has awarded a maintenance contract for the removal of weeds from the canal for completed section of the HopeCanal. It was reported that bush is growing profusely on the embankments and will have to
becontrolled by regular maintenance. The bush is currently growing on the material to be used for the construction of the embankments and will be removed during the trimming and shaping process. With respect to the bridge the comment that the installed pre-stress units show changes from the original design is disturbing as none of the pre-stressed beams have been moved from the contractor’s pre-cast yard at Onverwagt. Perhaps the writer is confused about the piles lying on site which have been rejected by the consultants. We trust that any future concerns by these experienced Guyanese engineers can be addressed through meaningful and ethical dialogue. We stand committed to this project and welcome any intervention which may be useful. R B Latchmansingh Dr. Krishna Narine Consultants; CEMCO INC JV SRKN’gineering
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Kaieteur M@ilbox Kaieteur M@ilbox This is a major scandal with possible criminal ramifications DEAR EDITOR, I read with some bemusement the comments of General Manager of NIS, Mr. Terry Thomas (Kaieteur News 8 December 2012). I’m afraid that rather than a consultation exercise, this was more a case of news management by dictating what the ‘talking points’ were going to be. How on earth can he even pretend that we have arrived at this position without making any reference to some of the rather dubious and legally questionable ‘investments’ made by the NIS? This follows hot on the heels of remarks made by Roger Luncheon less than a month ago that the Scheme was ‘currently healthy’ and that any suggestions that the NIS was in dire straits is “total nonsense”. Pray tell me Mr., Luncheon what constitutes ‘dire straits’ if not this? Let’s examine the facts. In 1989 N I S ’s expenditure to income or the monies it spent versus the money it collected was 55.4%, in the year 2010 the expenditures were 96%. Now in 2011, for the first time on its 43 year history, the NIS Fund has experienced its first deficit of $371M. Something has clearly gone horribly wrong and it cannot be explained away by the ‘aging population’ excuse, which is something that any
half decent actuary can plan for. There are many serious issues surrounding the management of the NIS Fund which are best addressed by those much more professionally qualified than me. However as a layman I have three specific questions which Mr. Thomas has remained curiously silent about: Question 1 – Berbice Bridge Why was $5.7 billion of NIS money invested in the Berbice Bridge? After all private investors in the Berbice Bridge are guaranteed a secure rate of return between nine and 11 percent. For private investors to enjoy such a rate of return two things must happen; revenues must be substantially increased (this has led to widespread protests), and/or capital costs must be subsidised. The latter seems to be the sole purpose of the NIS investment i.e. to guarantee an attractive rate of return for private sector investors. What rate of return has been earned by the NIS on this investment? Who took the decision? What professional advice was received? This advice must be made publically available. Question 2 What impact did the loss of US$30M during the
CLICO debacle in 2008 h a v e o n t h e f u n d ’s performance? This placed a major dent in NIS’s income but in addition CLICO Guyana invested 53% of funds into CLICO Bahamas in direct contravention of Section 55 of the Insurance Act requiring CLICO to invest 85% of its funds locally. It was the same Mr. Luncheon who said in February 21 2009 that ‘the Scheme is n o t worried about the security of the funds’. Former CLICO CEO Ms Geeta Singh-Knight oversaw the collapse of CLICO and was found by Ms van Beek as having ‘persistently breached the Insurance Act’. Her punishment? She’s appointed Head of the Berbice Bridge Company….only in the twilight world called Guyana can something like this happen. Who took the decision to invest in CLICO? What professional advice was received? This advice must be made publically available. Question 3 – Caricom Secretariat Who forced the NIS to lend the government a 25year loan of US$4 million for part-financing of the construction of the Caricom Secretariat? It was agreed at 4% in the first 15 years and 5% in the next 10 years. Given the fact that the returns are below average
HIV infection still a national threat DEAR EDITOR, There have always been controversies as to what constitutes a national security threat both at the conceptual and theoretical level and at the level of concrete policies. The way national interest is defined, by whom and how, which is the basis for national security threat analysis, and how the perceived national interest is under threat, has mainly been the source of controversies. If readers are wondering where I am going with this it would be instructive if they take a good look at how HIV infections in the public sector workforce could affect Guyana’s long term prospects as a viable nation. I am not convinced that enough seriousness informs the mind of a significant percentage of public servants and - I would make bold to say, that not enough involvement is evident in the informal economic and social sectors. Yes some effort have been made by the Ministry of Health through its various programs to address the healthy lifestyles education
and training needs of public sector workers and the external clients of those involved ministries. However, the thrust of this missive is that public servants have not done enough towards educating themselves about what it would mean if the workforce is depleted through high infection rates. In other words the concept of national interest does not seem to occupy a place in their collective consciousness. The focus probably should be on what is to be done in HIV prevention education to promote the prospects for a resolute national security posture on all fronts. It is in the national interest in pursuance of political and socio-economic stability that our development sectors are firing on all cylinders. Any event that undermines the proper functioning of the state, but more particularly any threat that has the potential for destabilization is a danger to national security. The AIDS pandemic if not checked could impact morbidity and mortality in the
public sector workforce. Therefore HIV must be seen for what it is - the potential precursor to underdevelopment and stagnation. If we were to consider the possible loss of our human resources in the agriculture, housing, mining, and security sectors caused by AIDSrelated deaths, then I am sure our appreciation for food producers, artisans, miners, policemen and soldiers and living healthy lifestyles would be greatly enhanced. Plainly put if we can no longer provide our own food, shelter and security (just to name a few) then we are likely to become vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a competitive and sometimes uncaring world. It is in this regard that I would like to urge a rethink of our intervention strategies to focus more on people seeing themselves and what they do as important to the maintenance of our national interest and the preservation of national security. Patrick E. Mentore
inflation rates, even a fool could have seen that this was very bad business. Who took the decision? What professional advice was received? This advice must be made publically available. There is an old Johnny Nash song with these lyrics:There are more questions than answers Pictures in my mind that will not show
There are more questions than answers And the more I find out the less I know Clearly, in relation to the NIS fund, real and searching questions must be asked about the interconnectedness between PPP politicians and the ‘business’ world. These cannot be swept under the table or left to an official who cannot offer up answers ‘above his pay
grade’. One is left with the distinct impression of reckless decision making and a callous disregard for the people whose money it is. This is a major scandal with possible criminal ramifications. I hope APNU and AFC will now act decisively; many thousands of Guyanese are owed and deserve answers. Colin Bascom
I applaud this initiative From page 6 bringing in machinery to clean the drains and brush cutters to clear the alley-ways, sidewalk and public spaces that have become overgrown with grass and bush. We are talking about education and public awareness campaigns, so that the dialogue can begin, and the re-education of our citizenry about civic responsibility, cleanliness, proper garbage disposal, recycling and civic pride started. This is a perfect opportunity for the government, the political
opposition and the private sector to come together and show some leadership. Georgetown is an embarrassment; it stinks, and in some places terribly unsightly. This is the capital city of our nation, and if we cannot put politics aside and clean up what should be a proud symbol of our nation, then we are truly lost. Mr. Editor, I hope that the media will play its part in the re-education of our people from the bad habits has caused us to become slovenly. I hope that, at the
conclusion of this exercise the city council will build on the face-lift and enact enforceable laws to deal with the garbage and drainage problem facing the city. A functioning and well funded Constabulary and municipal court system that deals specifically with code enforcement, zoning and city related matters, will be a good start. As a resident of the city, I applaud this initiative and call on all those who live and work in Georgetown to get involved in cleaning it up. Mark Archer.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
>>>> PNCR Column <<<<
Dem boys seh
PPP suffers another panic attack Ralph Ramkarran published a nearly five thousand-word thesis entitled “The PPP and the challenges ahead” last Sunday. The article appeared quite coincidentally, only one day before the first anniversary of Donald Ramotar’s inauguration as President on December 3, 2011. Ramkarran skillfully contrived a partial diagnosis of the symptoms of latest panic attack to a ff l i c t t h e P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party but ignored the real causes of the disease that aggravated the anxiety and deepened the dread within the ruling party. The PPP last suffered from a similar panic attack on New Year’s Day 2010, the party’s auspicious 60th anniversary. A group of concerned members and supporters then published a full-page advertisement entitled “Open Appeal to Leaders and Members of the PPP” in a daily newspaper. The authors of the ‘Appeal’ claimed, among other things, to be concerned that the PPP’s hard core was being marginalised and that the “new private sector” was becoming dominant and “allpowerful”. The fact is that the last twelve years have witnessed the emergence of a “new private sector” to which this advertisement referred. That sector has become part of the elected oligarchy– simply, the rule of the country by a few persons. The oligarchy is made up of some high-ranking party members, comprador capitalists, selected members of civil society and certain Government officials especially in the security sector. It uses its control over state resources, the state media and the lawenforcement agencies to consolidate its control of the state itself and to concentrate more power in its hands. It then directs state contracts into the hands of its cronies who accumulate enormous amount of wealth while the masses remain impoverished. A few gold and diamond miners, big contractors, rich rice farmers and comprador capitalists close to the PPP are able to prosper. The bulk of public servants, policemen, nurses, soldiers, teachers, sugar workers, rice workers and mining workers are still underpaid and under pressure to make ends meet. Ramkarran is aware that t h e P P P ’s p o s t - J a g a n policy agenda has gone off the rails. He does admit
that the Party’s fraternal association with the working class has declined, most spectacularly with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union – GAWU – representing sugar workers, which it even threatened with de-recognition. He does not admit that the greedy ‘oligarchy’ to which the Party gave birth and continues to nourish is a big part of the problem. Ramkarran studiously does not deal with the rise and role of the ‘oligarchy’ and with the issues afflicting the majority of the population. He seemed more concerned with reaffirming his lifelong love o f t h e P P P ’s p s e u d o socialist politics and ethnic electoral tactics. He was inclined to propose remedies to enable Ramotar and his party to hold on to power. His focus was not on repairing the damage the PPP has inflicted on the country over the past twenty years. It was all about deciding how best that party could burnish its image to remain in power for the next twenty years. Ramkarran, in so doing, has diagnosed the wrong disease. He sees the elections as an ethnic census and, mistakenly, seeks a remedy in racial politics. He seems to suggest that the cause of the PPP’s electoral defeat was the decreasing size of the IndianGuyanese population – now estimated to be below 40 per cent –which is the source of the Party’s “core support.” By focusing on IndianGuyanese ethnic electoral support, he displayed an amazing absence of objectivity and departure from reality. Ramkarran does not seem to understand that the real reason for the PPP’s predicament is not its ethnic arithmetic. He therefore has no idea about what to do to avoid the logical outcome of the loss of political
confidence by the public. Contrary to the Ramkarran’s declarations, the PPP’s main failure has actually been the loss of “trust and confidence,” even among its staunch supporters. This loss of trust and confidence was triggered by rampant corruption; everyday armed robberies; banditry in the hinterland; murderous maritime piracy; fuel-smuggling; gunrunning; contraband smuggling; backtracking that rages along the coastland and, not least, by the PPP’s tolerance of Guyana’s most notorious narco-trafficker – Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan – and the phantom gangs that wreaked havoc during the troubles. The source of the PPP’s difficulties is much more profound and much more problematic than Ramkarran cares to recount. The party finds itself being rejected by society because it has repudiated the very institutions on which democratic society depends. Its socialism was never about empowering working people to enable them to prosper. It was always a form of social authoritarianism by which the PPP expected to preside over the common people in perpetuity. The PPP, in twenty years, has sidelined important constitutional organs such as the Ombudsman and the Public Service Appellate Tribunal which provided assurances to the public and protection from executive lawlessness. It reduced the Parliament Office and several constitutional offices to docile departments under the executive. It undermined the independence of the Public Service. It choked regulatory and law-enforcement agencies – the Customs AntiNarcotics Unit, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana Energy Agency – of assets,
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equipment, financing and personnel to such an extent as to impair their ability to function effectively. The PPP still crudely attempts to manipulate public opinion through the Government Information Agency, the National Communications Network and the Guyana National Newspapers Ltd from which dissenting views are excluded and which have increasingly become propaganda agencies of the PPP. The cost of the degradation of national institutions during the Jagdeo era has been intolerably high but Ramkarran chose to avoid mentioning anything whatsoever about that. The PPP, if it is to start to transform Guyana into a modern democratic state, must dismantle the ‘oligarchy’, reject ethnic elections, respect the National Assembly and rebuild our national institutions.
Donald need obeah man in Suriname Fuh a long time dem people in de Cabinet mamaguying de whole nation. Year guh, year come Rob Earth, when he was de rice and cane Minister, tell de nation how rain mek sugar production drop. He seh he spend money fuh drainage to avoid flood and dem still get flood because no drain ain’t dig. Every day Hammy de Mare talk bout how de government not giving he money suh he got to pile up garbage all over de city. People fed up hearing that. He want de money same way like Rob Earth and all of dem others who mek Guyana become de most corrupt nation in this world. Irfaat digging a $30 million hole fuh $200 million; and he selling house lot fuh more than it worth. Then he telling people how de extra money is fuh infrastructure. Dem boys seh that infrastructure mean money in de pocket. And while all that happening everybody finding cocaine. Dem find cocaine in coconut milk, cocaine in straw, cocaine in wig, cocaine in fish and coke in poke. Is only lef fuh dem find cocaine in Kwame. Is de Rat mek all that happen. In de New Year, dem boys mekking certain resolution. Dem boys gun expose de Rat every day in 2013 whether you like it or don’t. Dem ain’t mean fuh stop. Dem boys plan fuh do everything fuh mek sure Brazzy and Barbie go to jail fuh all de wrong things, all de sick things, de dutty things dem do to de whole country. And in de New Year dem boys plan fuh carry De Donald to an obeah man in Suriname fuh open all dem place wha close pun he. And dem boys don’t mean clothes wha you does wear. He need de obeah man. Talk half and wait fuh de New Year.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
Absence of PSC Chairman will again delay police promotions
The absence of a Chairman for the Police Service Commission could create another crisis if the administration does not act quickly to appoint a new candidate. The death of the Commission’s last Chairman, Dennis Morgan, last month, has left a void that could lead to yet another delay in the promotion of senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force. Besides promotions, appeals from officers seeking redress, acting appointments and applications for cadetship are addressed by a fully constituted commission. The Police Service Commission is a five-man body that is responsible for matters relating to the upper echelons of the Force. While it consists of a Chairman and a Secretary, there is no Vice-Chairman to automatically take over the reins of the Commission, since that person will have to be appointed by the President. The present Commission was sworn-in in January 2011 after the previous commission’s life ended in October the previous year. During that time there were
delays in promotions and appointments, and disciplinary matters involving officers at the top of the Guyana Police Force. Between 2000 and 2003, matters relating to this aspect of the force were held up due to the absence of a properly constituted Commission. This newspaper has been unable to ascertain how many disciplinary matters are pending at the Police Service Commission. The delay in dealing with these could impact the careers of the officers involved. But one of the pressing issues at the moment is the appointment of a substantive police commissioner. At present, Deputy Commissioner Leroy Brumell is the Commissioner of Police (Acting) and he can only be appointed to the substantive post by a properly constituted Police Service Commission. Article 211 (1) of the Constitution states that the Commissioner of Police and every Deputy Commissioner of Police shall be appointed by the president acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and Chairperson of the Police
- disciplinary matters also at a standstill Service Commission after the Chairperson has consulted with the other members of the Commission. “We have this culture of waiting for a crisis before we fix a situation rather than preventing the crisis,” a senior officer of the Guyana Police Force stated. As the year comes to a close, the big question is whether the force will revert to tradition of announcing promotions at the beginning of the year, a move that now appears hardly likely. For the past two years the police promotions have been pushed back by several months for different reasons. Last year’s promotions were announced in August, a delay that was blamed on the problems arising from the unforeseen stepping aside in December of the late Commissioner Henry Greene, in the face of allegations of rape made against him. But there may not be too much bickering for promotions at the very top of
the organization since the Guyana Police Force has its complement of assistant commissioners. With two Deputy Commissioners and a total of 13 Assistant Commissioners all told, some might argue that the force is top-heavy. In 2001, the Symonds Group Ltd, consultants for the UK Department for International Development, had recommended the reduction in the number of Deputy Police Commissioners to one with a clear definition of the post and the reduction of the number of assistant commissioners from twelve to four. It also recommended the amalgamation of the four ranks of Senior Superintendent, Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, and Assistant Superintendent into one rank of Superintendent. The number of Superintendents in turn should decline from 137 to approximately 35. In line with this structure,
Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell
The late PSC Chairman Dennis Morgan
the report suggested that the Deputy Commissioner should be assigned the sole responsibility for disciplinary matters. This would allow the Commissioner to adjudicate on disciplinary matters with complete impartiality. The question of impending promotions within the Guyana Police Force will be in most interest to several Cadet Officers who have been languishing in their current positions for more than two years. The Disciplined Services
Commission had recommended that a revitalised cadetship scheme could be canvassed among successful secondary school and university graduates and a Police Academy should be established, with at least one intake of Cadets every year, owing to the need to produce well-educated officers. There is the argument that as long as the Officer Corps of the Guyana Police Force remains static, there will be little room for upward mobility of the junior ranks.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Beharry Group, recycling company sweep GCCI awards Bakewell, Denmor owners recognized posthumously
A relative of Bakewell’s founder, Naeem Nasir, receives the posthumous award. The private sector, in the second consecutive week, has recognized business leaders who passed away but whose legacy has continued to leave its mark on Guyana. Businessmen, Naeem Nasir, who made Bakewell’s bread and tennis rolls into a household name, and with Dennis Morgan, whose Denmor Garments saw him employing over 1,000 persons in just over a decade and acquiring lucrative overseas contracts with companies like Victoria’s Secrets and TJ Maxx, both received posthumous Awards of Achievement. The annual awards ceremony, hosted by the private sector advocacy body, the Guyana Chamber of
A representative of Survival Supermarket receives the GCCI Business of the Year Award (Small to Medium).
Commerce and Industry (GCCI), was held at the Pegasus Hotel on Thursday evening. It would have been the second award in a week for Morgan who built Denmor from scratch, employing predominantly women, and racking up numerous awards, locally and overseas. Nasir, determined to build a love for his products, opened several satellite roadside bread stands, distributing to many a shop across the country. His contributions to the social and sporting sectors of the countries were also noted. At the awards ceremony were several politicians including Prime Minister Sam Hinds, insurance and
banking officials and powerful business leaders. Grabbing the two top honours in the Business of the Year Award were Survival Supermarket in the small to medium category, and Air Services Limited (ASL) for the large category. ASL is a charter company that conducts hinterland flights operating out of the Ogle Airport. The company is getting ready to acquire its own helicopter to start charter flights next year, senior executive Annette ArjoonMartins disclosed in her acceptance remarks. This particular award was for companies that demonstrated good overall performance in the areas of
ASL’s Annette Arjoon-Martins receives the Business of the Year (Large) from Prime Minister Sam Hinds.
financial growth, customer satisfaction, internal processes improvements, employee relations, development and corporate citizenship. The Young Business Executive Award went to Patricia Bacchus, the Chief Operating Officer/Company Secretary of Caribbean Container Inc. (CCI) for her “demonstration of ambition, skill, vision and tangible business success under the age of forty”. CCI, which recovered from near bankruptcy to remain the largest recycling plant of its kind in the Caribbean, has been growing, now taking cardboard for recycling from several countries in the region. It biggest customer is Suriname.
It received the Award For Innovation 2012, for among other things, its Eco-Pac container, made from the pulp of sugar cane. Its Chairman, Ronald Webster, received the award. In a new category, Tourism Minister, Irfaan Ali, beat out Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud for the GCCI’s Public Service Award of Excellence 2012 for “effectively facilitating the work of the business community by exhibiting the highest standard of service”. Both ministries are handling sectors that have been the biggest earners for the economy. The Corporate Citizenship Award went to Scotiabank Guyana, while the
Lifetime Achievement Awards were shared between the famous brothers, Rabindranauth “Chico” Beharry and Inderjeet “Indi” Beharry. Their family-owned Edward B. Beharry and Company Limited has made “Chico” bubblegum and “Indi” curry a household name. Guyana Bank for Trade a n d I n d u s t r y, p a r t i a l l y owned by the same Beharry f a m i l y, r e c e i v e d t h e President’s Award for its achievements and significant investments. According to Anand Beharry who received the award, GBTI is moving to introduce mobile banking before the end of the year. The other awardees were Digicel Guyana which received the Chamber Award for its “demonstrated and continued active interest in the well-being of the Chamber and significant contributions to the overall success of the organization and its work; Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies with the Long Service Award and Stabroek New Business for its coverage of the GCCI. (Leonard Gildarie)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
BACIF takes cheer to children of West Ruimveldt community
Santa Claus being swarmed by the children of the West Ruimveldt community that came out to get an early glimpse of the gift bearing man from the North Pole. More than 400 children from West Ruimveldt got early Christmas presents, compliments of Brass Aluminium and Cast Iron Foundry (BACIF), which feted them yesterday, at the Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Head Office. According to Managing Director, Peter Pompey, the presentation of gifts to the children of the community has been an annual event for the past 10 years.
The reason was simply to give back to the neighbourhood which has accommodated the business for the past 40 years. Pompey said that the vast majority of the children who benefited are those directly from the area, while a few are those of employees. The children in addition to being fed niceties were also given gifts from Santa Claus and
were provided with an opportunity to be photographed with the man from the North Pole. Pompey added that the Company also awards bursaries to outstanding students in the community. BACIF is an entity that manufactures brass aluminium and cast iron products and has been an integral partner with the sugar industry.
Police receive donation from GGMC/Natural Resources Ministry The Guyana Police Force has received a spanking new All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and two satellite phones, courtesy of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources. The items were handed over on Friday during a simple ceremony at the GGMC compound. Executive Member GGMC, Dabria Marcus, presented the items to Acting Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell. Among those present for the presentation were Minister of
Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud; Permanent Secretary Joslyn Mc Kenzie; President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Patrick Harding and several officials of the GPF. Minister Persaud in his remarks noted that security for miners is important for agencies including the police and the army it is also a burning issue for the Ministry. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is one thing for us to say that the police need to do much more, and we have the means of helping the police
and we are not doing anything,â&#x20AC;? Minister Persaud said. Brumell said that the donation is a very timely one and is very welcomed by the force. He said he is quite sure that the Commander in the E&F Division will ensure that they are used for the right purposes. The Acting Commissioner said that the force will remain committed to ensuring the safety of miners in the different mining locations and at the same time ensure the safety of their ranks.
At left Acting Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell receives the items from President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Patrick Harding in the presence of Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 13
Census enumerators get shortchanged Enumerators (censustakers) expressed their disgust and dismay yesterday after turning up at the Bureau of Statistics Annex, High Street, only to receive half of their contracted monthly salaries after six weeks of grueling work. Enumeration exercise commenced on Census Day, September 15, 2012, and was projected to last for an initial period of six weeks. It only recently concluded. National Census Day was conducted at a cost of some US$4M. “They have the majority of money for us. When we turned up they give us a $14,000 cheque and $2,000 in C-point. My supervisor now telling me that we have to wait until the budget, and we all know the budget has nothing to do with this situation,” one woman said. Some enumerators who
turned up from East Bank Demerara also complained bitterly since they were told to return tomorrow for a portion of their earnings. “The contract states you had to work six weeks with a $28,000 retaining fee. Persons had to work to pay themselves. Lo and behold we only getting $14,000 and nothing else, we are being told. It was $120 per form and $120 per household. If an institution was done it was $1,000.” Enumerators collective agreed. “They told us we will be paid for all work completed. Now that its complete there is a problem!” According to another woman, “They make people update all those maps, update all those buildings, put in all the businesses and this is how they are treating us, and they collected all their materials back...They didn’t even call a meeting to inform
us that we won’t be able to collect all our money until whatever time.” Other issues cited were the unavailability of the forms. Some enumerators were not given other stocks to complete their work. Some were without envelopes, paper, erasers and pencils. They stated that the fact that more than 200 enumerators had quit in just two weeks told a sordid tale. According to the Bureau, the Census is conducted every ten years. Enumerators (census-takers) visit every household in every part of the country to administer questionnaires that collect social and economic information and data on the population. Attempts to contact Chief Statistician/Census Officer Lennox Benjamin at the Bureau of Statistics Annex, High Street, failed.
Prestige Manufacturing distances itself from mango drug bust at CJIA A La Grange businessman has distanced himself and his company from a recent drug bust at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) in which five persons were arrested after a cache of 48 pounds of cocaine was discovered in a shipment of mangoes and macaroni. Reportedly, the shipment originated from Prestigious Foods of Lot 1-2 Plantation Walk, West Bank Demerara. Yesterday, owner of the Prestige Manufacturing and Bottling Enterprise, Ramanand Prashad, said that the Plantation Walk company has no relationship to his company. “I have seen some media blogs and other news reports and have received calls. My business has been around for over 20 years and has no relations with any other company carrying the words ‘Prestige’.” According to Prashad, his business has been operating from its location at 10 La Grange, West Bank Demerara, for several years now, bottling essences, vinegar, mustard oil, pepper sauce and achar.
Owner of Prestige Manufacturing and Bottling Enterprise, Ramanand Prashad, receives an award from GMSA.
“I have even seen this website that somebody told me that has an image of myself and Ravi Dev. I am not sure what this attack is all about but it is indeed strange and shocking that someone can make such a connection
without verifying anything.” According to the businessman, it was only last week that the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association awarded his company for its contributions to the business sector.
Essequibo fire was electrical The fire that destroyed farmer Nazareen Khan, a/k Gums’s bond, his tractor, spray cans, tarpaulins and a number of other farming equipment on December 5 ,at his Riverstown, Essequibo residence was actually caused by a short circuit, his cousin, Rajo, said. Khan had apparently left his tractor with its ignition on and went to the back dam to
attend to his rice field. Rajo said that Khan’s sister, Bhagwandai Sukhai, noticed the smoke emanating from the bond and subsequently alerted her neighbours. Residents who formed a bucket brigade managed to contain the fire to the bond. The Guyana Police Force, Guyana Power and Light and
the Guyana Fire Service at Anna Regina were summoned but made it after the fire was extinguished. Rajo lamented that in a situation in which the fire service would have to travel a far distance whenever there is an occurrence of fire on the Coast, there should be another fire outlet, preferably at Supenaam to lend efficiency.
Bureau of Statistics Annex where enumerators received a portion of their contractual sum.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
EBD four-lane road taking shape - still behind schedule East Bank Demerara four-lane road taking shape.
The transformation of the East Bank Demerara main carriage way into the four-lane road is beginning to take shape. Though the overall project is behind schedule, works from Covent Garden to the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) are progressing. The merging of the existing roadway at the Guyana Water Incorporated Well at Covent Garden and DDL is a major sign that the project may not be lagging way behind. This section, which is Lot Three of the road widening project, is being carried out by GEICO Construction Company in association with General Earth Movers. Neighbouring Lot Three (from DDL to the Diamond Housing Scheme Entrance) has been stalled for months; and works at Lot One (from Providence to Covent Garden) have been moving slowly because of utilities, GEICO Construction Company was able to carry out works since there were no
utilities in the cane fields. According to Komal Singh of GEICO, his section of the project saw no hindrance from utilities and traffic. Key to the progress of the works was the presence of adequate drainage at the site. In addition, emphasis was placed on the pumping of sand for the works to move ahead. The contractor also maximized the sunny weather. Singh anticipates that by next March, a significant section of the road would be completed. He noted that when the works are completed, the asphalted roadway will be 12.75 meters wide. The stretch will have hard strip for parking, pedestrian walkways, and street lights. There will also be four foot bridges linking the new roadway to the existing one. The contractor will also have to upgrade the existing roadway. While this is ongoing, traffic will be flowing on the newly constructed two-lane road.
ImmigrationINFO (Immigration News For Our Community)
Inspection Upon Arrival in the U.S. Attorney Gail Seeram United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. The agency is responsibility for keeping America’s borders safe and secure while encouraging legitimate travel and trade. To accomplish this, CBP officers must screen all arriving people, goods and vehicles to make sure they meet all requirements for entry into the United States. The Congress of the United States has authorized CBP to enforce all homeland security-related laws and laws of other federal agencies at the border and to conduct searches and examinations necessary to assure compliance with those laws. CBP’s broad authority therefore allows them to conduct searches of people and their baggage, cargo, and means of transportation entering the United States. If you are subject to inspection, you should be treated in a courteous, digniûed, and professional manner. The CBP officer may request speciûc, detailed information about your travel, may inspect your baggage (including electronic devices), or may conduct a
personal search. A search may not be made on any discriminatory basis (e.g., solely based on race, gender, religion, ethnic background). You may always ask to speak with a CBP supervisor. CBP collects information about people traveling into and out of the United States. This includes basic biographic data, travel documents and their unique identiûers, where the traveler is staying in the U.S. and the planned purpose for the traveler’s visit. This information may be collected from a traveler at a port of entry, or, in the case of international air and sea travel, it may be collected before a traveler’s arrival in or departure from the U.S. This information is used to determine the admissibility of aliens and to effectively and efficiently enforce U.S. laws at the border. Why you may be chosen for an inspection - Your travel documents are incomplete, or you do not have the proper documents or visa; - You have previously violated one of the laws CBP enforces; - You name matches a person of interest in one of the government’s enforcement databases; or
Gail S. Seeram - You have been selected for a random search. It is at this point of entry into the United States that non-immigrant visas (such as a B-1/B-2 tourist visa) and lawful permanent residents are inspected to determine whether they will be admitted to the United States. There are various reason and laws that may be applied to find such a person inadmissible into the United States. The holder of a visa or permanent resident card (green card) is not automatically allowed to enter the U.S. – he or she must be inspected and found to be admissible into the U.S. by CBP officers. If a non-immigrant visa holder is found inadmissible and not allowed in the U.S. then that person will be turned away at the port of entry. If a permanent resident is found inadmissible (due to length of stay outside the U.S. or criminal grounds) then that person will be paroled into the U.S. pending removal proceedings at the Immigration Court.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Politics and big business in Guyana W
e live in the age of neoliberalism. The economic mantra of this ideology limits the role of the government in the economy and encourages it to get out of the economic sphere and leave this space for the private sector which, it is said, is more efficient at delivering goods and services. The only sectors where the government is encouraged to become involved are those areas where it is not profitable for the private sector to do so, such as mass transportation services and infrastructure. The government is therefore asked to assume loss-making economic activities, under the pretext that this involvement facilitates private sector development. Interestingly, while this neo-liberal ideology seeks to distance the government from the economic sphere, it does not seek to limit business from politics. In fact in many countries, the facade of democratic rule is perpetuated every four or five years. The citizens are made to believe that they are the ones who elect the government when, in fact, it is the big corporations which determine the outcome of every election through their support of political candidates and parties. Big businesses splurge huge bucks into shaping public opinion. And despite the small man feeling that his small donations make a difference, in reality the more influential financial support comes from big businesses. When the elections are over, these corporations, through their lobbyists, ensure that their interests are reflected in the make-up of the government and in the policies that are pursued. This is why following the financial crash of 2006 in the United States, the Obama administration had to bail out many of those institutions which were responsible for the crisis. The pretext for this support was that these corporations were too big to fail. I guess that for the millions on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Main Streetâ&#x20AC;? who lost their jobs and whose mortgages were foreclosed, they were much too small to be saved.
It is no different in Guyana, the economic oligarchy is spreading its wings. But this oligarchy now owns the government. What we have is a government that represents the interest of a powerful economic oligarchy whose purpose is to corner the Guyanese market. The danger, of course, is that this market is too small to be allowed to be cornered, and because it is increasingly coming under the control of a small group of businessmen, then the entire country is at the mercy of this oligarchy, which is also interested in taking over sport. The oligarchy was never going to allow forces outside of its control to assume the government, and so it ensured that it had political influence within the government. The PPP has become beholden to this political oligarchy. This oligarchy funds its political campaigns, making the PPP less dependent on other sources of campaignfinance. And the PPP has become almost totally dependent and tied to this oligarchy which also has its acolytes within the government. The oligarchy pours out generous support to its acolytes, and therefore it can be said that the oligarchy has its lackeys within the government to safeguard its interests. This is a real challenge that the incumbent President of Guyana faces: How does he recuse his administration from this overweening control by the economic oligarchy. It is not going to be easy to simply let go of those whom he may feel are in bed with the economic oligarchy, because he still faces the dilemma of where the support for his party's election campaign will come from. The President is a wily and astute political figure. He is attempting to unshackle his government and his political party from the influence of the oligarchy, and this is why he has kept old party loyalists close to him within the government. He is hoping to wean his administration and the party away from this influence. But do these loyalists have what it takes to undertake the massive task of breaking
links with the new oligarchy, and how many of them have not already been compromised? But the big question remains where will the funds for his party's reelection come from if there is a confrontation between the government and the economic o l i g a r c h y, w h o s e rapaciousness caused the PPP/C to lose ground with its traditional political base in last year's elections? Do not expect the
masses to fund any election campaign. They cannot. And while overseas-based supporters of the party may flatter themselves that their financial contributions are substantive, they are only fooling themselves. The election campaigns of the political parties have always been funded substantively by the local business class. And this is where the local business class, which is outside of the
economic oligarchy, must appreciate their long-term interests. They may be surviving now, but eventually this oligarchy will steamroll them and put them out of business. And eventually, as the powerful economic oligarchy spreads its wings, it will stifle existing businesses in Guyana. It is therefore necessary for these businesses to appreciate the threat that they face from, and the power and reach of, the
oligarchy. They must therefore step in and help the President to wean his administration and party away from the economic oligarchy, that is, if that is what he really wants. Does he?
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
GPHC nurses continue their protest “What is good for the goose is good for the gander”- Norton “ T h e G e o rg e t o w n Public Hospital dismissed and suspended these nurses because a portion of morphine has disappeared, but what are they doing when millions of dollars in expired drugs are being dumped?” Ophthalmologist, George Norton queried on Friday. Nurses at GPHC staged a sit in to protest the dismissals and suspensions of their colleagues last Wednesday. They deemed the actions wrongful. Morphine injection disappeared from the Accident and Emergency Unit some time back. Dr. Norton, who joined a few nurses during their thirdday picketing in front of the h o s p i t a l , o n F r i d a y, questioned the facility's “way of dealing” with the missing morphine. He accused the hospital of being unfair to the nurses. “If there is a problem, it must be solved but there must be a fair way in which we solve these problems. The nurses deserve a fair hearing. You can't just send them home like that”.
The Ophthalmologist noted that these nurses were suspended at a time when the entire Guyana is short of nurses, especially the GPHC. There are reports that
nurses are being forced to work under poor and stressful conditions which will ultimately hinder the delivery of quality health care to patients. A nurse had told Kaieteur
News that in some cases, one nurse has to deal with 40 patients. Nurses' representative on the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), Kemton Alexander, told Kaieteur
News that the protest will go on as long as it takes to get their demands. “Bring back our colleagues; they deserve a fair hearing. The Constitution of
Guyana states that a man is entitled to a fair hearing and they (GPHC) did not allow our colleagues to have that,” Alexander stated. The protest is likely to be continued on Monday.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
Corentyne driver suffers broken leg after three-vehicle accident
The Banks DIH beverage truck The canter in the trench
The low- bed vehicle after it swerved into this resident's fence yesterday
An Alness, Corentyne man, Shaun Ahmad, 31, sustained a broken leg and other injuries after he swerved his vehicle into a trench in order to avoid a head-on collision with a Banks DIH beverage truck (GEE 5182) yesterday. Additionally, the driver of a low-bed trailer (GHH 9110) also swerved into the yard of a resident to prevent f u r t h e r c a l a m i t y. T h e incident occurred yesterday around 13:00 hrs on the Letter Kenny Public Road, Corentyne, about 16 miles east of New Amsterdam. “The low- bed pulled down and gave him (the beverage truck driver) the road and he came into this boy's (the Canter driver's) lane”, said one resident. “The Canter driver gave him way
too, but…” The low- bed and beverage truck were heading to New Amsterdam while the canter was heading further up the Corentyne Coast. Ahmad was rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital immediately after the accident. The beverage truck driver was arrested and taken to the Whim Police Station. Reports are, too, that the beverage truck performed the overtaking procedure on a double- line, which is against road safety regulations. “He overtake from the double line from so and ended up here”, said one observer. Residents in the area stated that had the low- bed not pulled into the neighbour's fence, there could have been a major catastrophe.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
Clear Waters cops another international award
E
ssential Supplies Inc. (E.S.I) a member of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Pharmaceutical Agency (I.P.A) Group of Companies has copped another international award for its bottled water – CLEAR WATERS. The award presentation took place in Italy at the Rome Cavalier Hotel on November 18, last. M r. L l o y d S i n g h , Chairman of International Pharmaceutical Agency (I.P.A) Group of Companies and Mrs. Miranda Singh were invited to receive the prestigious award. C l e a r Wa t e r s w a s selected to receive The Global Award for Perfection, Quality and Ideal Performance – November 2012 by the Otherways Management and Consulting Association. Otherways Management and Consulting Association focuses particularly on the Quality Management, the durable development, management by objectives and by projects, the advices and control, the planning, the marketing, information systems and staff
management. It equally has a goal to defend and co-ordinate the interests of its members as well as to facilitate the relations and experience exchange. The Global Award – November 2012 represents the third award that Clear Waters has received for the past two years. In November 2010, the Company was awarded the International Quality Crown Award (IQCA) in London. Additionally, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association also awarded the company for the development and marketing of bottled water product in 2010. Clear Waters continues to maintain the company's management policy of ensuring that its number one priority is the production of high quality water. The company enjoys a significant market share while servicing all coastal areas and some interior locations. As part of the company's waste management strategy, Clear Waters is the only company that recycles bottles in the production of
Mr Lloyd Singh (right) and his wife, Miranda, with the award new bottles as an all inclusive effort of maintaining a green environment. The recent award is a
reflection of the continued success by Clear Waters for the production of a high quality of water and its market share.
This award is only possible as a direct result of a committed and dedicated contribution by the staff of Clear Waters. The Chairman
takes this opportunity to express his sincere appreciation to the staff for a job well done and to dedicate this award to them.
Sunday December 9, 2012
Kaieteur News
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LIAT defends high airfare costs ST JOHN’S, Antigua CMC - Chairman of the financially strapped regional airline, LIAT, has defended the high cost of airfares charged by the Antigua based airline. “There are those who argue that all the problems of air transportation in the region will be solved by competition which will lead to lower fares. They point out that when Caribbean Star, Caribbean Sun and REDjet, were operating and offering cheap fares, a great deal more people were travelling,” said LIAT’s chairman Jean Holder. He told regional journalists that “if indeed, such airlines had decided,
instead of offering cheap fares, to offer no fares at all, the number of people travelling would be so great that it could not be contained by the regions’ airports. “The people, who argue in this manner, seem to take away no lessons from the fact that all the airlines mentioned above, went bankrupt and ceased to operate and the investors lost their money.” He said currently, the operations of all Caribbean carriers offering fares not covered by their commercial costs, are subsidized on an annual basis by their governments. He said the situation is also the same in
the United States. “The fact is, that any airline operating on these intra-Caribbean routes, which charges fares that reflect its real costs, cannot offer cheap fares, and any airline, not in receipt of subsidies, offering fares that do not reflect its true costs, will not survive.” Holder said there seems to be a general belief abroad in the Caribbean that somehow LIAT has been exempt from the pain and suffering caused to all businesses by the poor state of the global economy, especially the economic difficulties in our tourism source markets, including the Caribbean market.
Media group outlines concerns to OAS on freedom of expression issues WASHINGTON, CMC – The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) says it is concerned at recommendations that will have the impact of significantly weakening the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression by compromising its independence and weakening its resource base. ACM president Wesley Gibbings told an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Friday that the regional media grouping had “in fact propose a more concerted effort to elevate such a function of the inter-American system to a position of greater influence and prominence”. “Recent actions to repeal criminal defamation in some Caribbean territories and growing recognition of the need for access to information laws provide us with some confidence that this subregion is ready to reflect collectively, as we often do,
on a question of grave relevance to our future as sovereign states. “Development achieved in the absence of freedom and rights is guaranteed not to persist over the long term. This is especially so when we recognise the interdependent relationship between economic, social and cultural rights and the civil and political rights we cherish and are prepared to strenuously defend,” Gibbings told the OAS Council, which met will discuss the “Report of the
Special Working Group to Reflect on the Workings of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with a View to Strengthening the InterAmerican Human Rights System”. He said that regional media practitioners “view the role of the Inter-American Human Rights System as indispensable. “However estranged from its processes Caribbean member states sometimes appear, had there not been such a mechanism for mediating questions of con-compliance with accepted norms, we would have had, in 2012, to invent such an institution. “Indeed, there is perhaps space for greater professional Caribbean participation and more direct acknowledgement of the contributions we already make, but there is no excuse for indifference to the requirement of a strong, independent and appropriately resourced infrastructure for monitoring and reporting trends and violations.”
Jamaica Gleaner - Some of Jamaica’s cane farmers stand to reap a windfall from environmentally and ethically sound cultivation practices, which could see them earning a premium of US$60,000 per tonne for up to 20,000 tonnes of the local sweetener. That’s the amount Tate & Lyle has committed to purchase this crop year under the Fairtrade scheme and is in addition to the basic price it has contracted to pay for the cane. Julia Clark, Fairtrade relationship manager with the London-based Tate & Lyle Sugars, explained that this is consistent with the
international trade justice organisation’s aim to help small producers in a wide variety of agricultural sectors all across the world. Fairtrade does this by first helping farmers to meet the standards and then creating demand for the ethically produced and environmentally sound commodities in countries interested in buying the produce. The farmers then qualify to market their produce with the Fairtrade stamp of approval, the logo gaining global acceptance as a mark of produce cultivated under the highest environmental
standards and ethically sound and humane working conditions. In Europe, there is huge demand, and Tate & Lyle has been working with farmers in Belize, Guyana and Fiji since 2008 to help them achieve Fairtrade certification. Now it is Jamaica’s turn to cash in on what Clark describes as a win-win situation. She told The Gleaner recently: “We’re very proud that this year we’ve seen Worthy Park, Westmoreland, Hanover and Clarendon cane farmers’ groups certified, so they now qualify to sell their sugar under the Fairtrade scheme.”
Wesley Gibbings
Jamaican cane farmers get sweet offer
He said LIAT is not exempted from the extremely high cost of fuel, maintenance and manpower. “Perhaps the reason for this, is that through all these difficult times, LIAT has continued to deliver its extensive services, many of which are not commercially profitable and amount to nothing more than a public service. This situation cannot continue, especially when only three of the 21 destinations served by LIAT come to its aid when it is in financial difficulties. “Unlike all the other Caribbean airlines in the region, LIAT does not enjoy the luxury of an annual subsidy in its annual budget up front to cushion annual financial losses. It also does not frequently enjoy the marketing support and flight guarantees that several foreign operators receive. “As far as its daily operations are concerned, LIAT stays alive by negotiations with its bankers, the skills of it management, and being forced to charge the customer a level of fares that meet its costs. LIAT has
no control over the level of taxes charged. It simply collects them.” Holder told regional journalists that the real barrier to private sector airline competition is not LIAT, which is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. He said it is the realistic fear of failure, urging the private sector to invest in the regional airline “which has stood the test of time. “I am confident that this would lead to us having an airline which will perform successfully both in and outside the region,” he said, as the airline Friday unveiled a new business plan that it said would reverse years of economic problems. Holder said that for the last six years, LIAT has not gone to its shareholder governments for any financial support for its daily operations. But it now has no option but to approach its shareholders for some capital investment in a new fleet, he said, adding that the capital investment now needed
Jean Holder would be a lot less onerous if it is shared among those for whom LIAT provides services every day.”It is time, as was suggested by the President of the Caribbean Development Bank, to feed the cow, rather than drinking its milk, using a straw through the fence,’ Holder said, adding that he was “very encouraged by the promises of financial support” made by the Dominica government. “I hope that others will follow this excellent example,” he said, reminding journalists that the airline faces daily challenges providing network services to 21 countries in the English, Dutch, French, Spanish Caribbean.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 9, 2012
Former government minister to be charged Trinidad Express - Last Week, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard gave instructions to charge former junior minister of National Security Collin Partap with failing to submit to a breathalyser test but police only yesterday began acting on his advice. His instructions remained untouched until Friday when acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams was alerted to the confidential memorandum, reliable sources
said last night. Gaspard, who left the country on official business on December 3 and returned on Thursday, confirmed last night that he had given the instructions on Monday for a charge of refusing to submit to a breath test. Senior police officers confirmed last night that the file had been received but noted that they were initially unsure whether the elements of the offence had been made out.
Police were working last night to serve the Cumuto/ Manzanilla MP with a summons to attend court on a later date to answer to the charge. Partap was fired by Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar hours after he was detained by police outside the Zen nightclub, in Port of Spain, for allegedly refusing to submit himself to a breath test on August 25. The charge against Partap is a routine offence, police
said, but investigators treated the matter with sensitivity and ensured that all matters were explored before finally submitting a file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in late October. But that file was missing a critical piece of evidence and a request was made for the police to obtain the missing information before the DPP could make a decision, the Express was told. The DPP’s request for the
additional information came two weeks after Williams had submitted the file to acting DPP Joan Paul-Honore on October 21. Despite promising to deliver the report in a speedy fashion, the police took almost two months to complete their investigations into the matter. According to police reports in the case, Partap was stopped by cops for activating the emergency siren in his vehicle and turning on the blue swivel lights at the corner of Keate and Frederick Streets, Port of Spain, where he was asked to take a breathalyser test. Partap refused, according to the police, and was detained and taken to the Belmont Police Station where he contacted his lawyer. It was only after the arrival at the station of acting Commissioner Williams about one hour later that Partap submitted to the test and was found to be within the legal limit. The case attracted a public outcry over the delay by police to treat Partap’s case
Collin Partap with urgency. Acting Commissioner Williams also attracted negative comments because of his involvement in the matter, but he defended his appearance at the station saying that he had stepped in to take charge of the matter and that it was necessary for him to assume direct leadership in it. Williams could not be reached last night to explain why the DPP’s instructions were not acted upon sooner.
Prime Minister against legalising marijuana Caribbean Journal Grenada will not follow the decisions of certain states in the United States in decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana, Prime Minister Tillman Thomas said Friday. Thomas, who was speaking to the Ninth Annual General Meeting of the Grenada Drug Information Network and National Observatory (GRENDIN) on Drugs, rejected calls to decriminalize marijuana, given the potential impact on “national well-being and law and order.” “”Today, amid renewed attempts at the regional and international levels, I wish to place on record that my Government will not yield to such pressures or persuasions. We will not decriminalize or legalize marijuana,” the Prime Minister said, while reaffirming the Government’s commitment to the national anti-drug campaign. “Today, amid renewed attempts at the regional and international levels, I wish to place on record that my Government will not yield to such pressures or persuasions,” he said. “We will not decriminalize or legalize marijuana,” the Prime Minister said, while reaffirming what he said was
Tillman Thomas the government’s commitment to a national antidrug campaign. He pledged to continue working with the Caribbean and international community to help stem the flow of illicit drugs across the region to the North American market. Thomas said the etsablishment of GRENDIN was an “invaluable part of our fight to reduce and ultimately eradicate the use and abuse of illegal drugs in Grenada and our region.” The region’s highestprofile advocate for drug legalization has been Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina.
Sunday December 9, 2012
Kaieteur News
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After long disdain, Jamaica gets 1st patois Bible KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — When English teacher Faith Linton first proposed translating the Bible into Jamaica’s patois tongue in the late 1950s, most people who heard the idea shook their heads. Some on the deeply Christian island believed it was sacrilegious. Others opposed it because the unique mixture of English and West African languages was widely disdained by the elites as a coarse linguistic stepchild to English, which is the only official language in this former British colony. “There was shock at the mere suggestion,” said Linton, now 81, a longtime board member of the Bible Society of the West Indies. “People were deeply ashamed of their mother tongue. It was always associated with illiteracy and social deprivation.” Decades later, Linton’s vision is becoming a reality: After years of meticulous translation from the original Greek, the Bible Society is releasing in Jamaica print and audio CD versions of the first patois translation of the New Testament, or “Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment.” The battle lines have softened somewhat, but there is still substantial opposition to patois in the pulpit. Critics say it will dilute Scripture and undermine the already weak hold many poor Jamaicans have on standard English. Advocates see it as a bold, empowering move that will finally affirm the indigenous tongue as a distinct language in Jamaica. For patois expert Hubert Devonish, a linguist who is coordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit at the University of the West Indies, the Bible translation is a big step toward getting the state to eventually embrace the creole language created by slaves.
“We’ve now produced a major body of literature in the language, whatever people may think about it one way or the other. And that is part of the process of convincing people that this thing is a serious language with a standard writing system,” Devonish said. The Rev. Courtney Stewart, general secretary of the regional Bible society, said there is a widespread conviction that Scripture is best understood in a person’s spoken tongue. He predicts many Jamaicans will be inspired to hear and read the translation in which the shortest verse — “Jesus wept,” following the death of Christ’s friend Lazarus in the Gospel of John — becomes “Jiizas baal.” In the depiction of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary that foretold the birth of Jesus, the New King James Bible’s version of Luke reads, “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.’” The patois version says: “Di ienjel go tu Mieri an se tu ar se, ‘Mieri, mi av nyuuz we a go mek yu wel api. Gad riili riili bles yu an im a waak wid yu aal di taim.’” “It’s extremely powerful for people to hear Scripture in their own language, the language they speak and think in. It goes straight to their hearts and people say they are able to visualize it in a way they’ve never experienced before,” Stewart said. On the other side, some religious leaders, Anglophiles and other critics characterize Jamaican patois as a rowdy, ever-changing vernacular or “lazy English” that is fine for the playground or market but entirely inappropriate in a place of worship. “Patois is not potent enough to be able to carry the
meaning of the Gospel effectively. It just does not have the capacity to properly reflect the word of God,” said Bishop Alvin Bailey, who leads the evangelical Holiness Christian Church in the southern city of Portmore. While most words in Jamaican patois have English origins, much of its grammar derives from the languages of West Africa, so it can be nearly incomprehensible to foreigners. The language was created by slaves who were brought to the island by European colonizers, and some say it was designed to prevent slave masters from understanding their words. Despite the low view some Jamaicans hold for patois, nearly all islanders, regardless of class, can speak and understand it. Those who speak standard English fluently, mostly people from the middle and upper classes, tend to use patois for
In this Dec. 3, 2012 photo, the covers of two editions of the new Jamaican patois translation of the New Testament are shown at the office of the Bible Society of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. (AP Photo/David McFadden) emphasis, to affect a down-toearth persona or to talk to someone of a lower class. The New Testament translation was recently released in Britain, where there is a large Jamaican diaspora. “The reaction was curiosity at first, mixed with
some skepticism, surprise and amusement when the words were spoken, but quite quickly replaced by enthusiasm and admiration,” said Matt Parkes, fundraising director for the Swindon, England-based Bible Society. In the central England
town of Northampton, the Rev. Dennis Hines of the New Testament Church of God said the patois Bible has been received well, especially in prisons where he works as a chaplain and inmates of Jamaican heritage are clamoring for a copy.
US$10M CLICO investment became 25 cents – T&T probe hears Trinidad Express - IN return for a US$10 million investment in CLICO Investment Bank (CIB), the National Insurance Board (NIB) received a “piece of paper worth 25 cents”, attorney for the CLICO Policyholders Group Terrence Bharath said Friday. Bharath made the statement during his crossexamination of Inspector of Financial Institutions Carl Hiralal at the Commission of Enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial, three of its subsidiaries and the Hindu Credit Union (HCU). “There was no assignment of any securities for the money. In other words, all it was a piece of paper worth 25 cents in a photocopying store
in exchange for US$10 million. Twenty-five cents essentially, when they thought they had a security.” Two State agencies, NIB and National Gas Company (NGC), both had deposits at CIB valued at a total of more than $1 billion, Bharath said. “Now you have $1.6 billion of people’s money invested in CIB and you get a piece of paper like this. When you go to collect and they cannot give it to you you get a piece of paper like this, that in return for your $1.6 billion at maturity.” Bharath described the situation as a “fraud perpetrated on people”. He accused the Central Bank of not protecting investors.
BHARATH: It perplexes me. It must have been apparent in 2008 when your team was there (investigating CIB) that there were significant obligations to NGC and NIB and if they certainly did not protect themselves by getting this piece of paper, which was worth nothing but 25 cents at the end of the day, in exchange for such a substantial amount of money. It was left up to you as the regulator to do so. You did not did you? HIRALAL: Well the answer is that the company was supposed to be available to meet its obligations. BHARATH: You did not protect the interests of these people who deposited their money in CIB in exchange for this piece of paper.
Bharath accused Hiralal and his team of having a lax approach to regulating. “This is the manner in which you and your team at the Central Bank as regulators regulated these institutions and were protecting the interests of the companies, the State bodies, the persons who put and entrusted their life savings in this institution called CIB and CLICO.” He added: “It is the lax way in which you all conducted regulations into these entities that have us here today.” Bharath said the Central Bank should have intervened in the affairs of CLICO and CIB “long before” executive chairman Lawrence Duprey approached it for assistance.
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Sunday December 9, 2012
Storm that killed 600 threatens Philippines again NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — A typhoon that had left the Philippines after killing nearly 600 people and leaving hundreds missing in the south has made a U-turn and is now threatening the country’s northwest, officials said yesterday. The weather bureau raised storm warnings over parts of the main northern island of Luzon after Typhoon Bopha veered northeast. There was a strong possibility the disastrous storm would make a second landfall today, but it might also make a loop and remain in the South China Sea, forecasters said. In either case, it was moving close to shore and disaster officials warned of heavy rains and winds and possible landslides in the mountainous region. Another calamity in the north would stretch recovery efforts thin. Most government resources, including army and police, are currently focused on the south, where Bopha hit Tuesday before moving west into the South China Sea. With many survivors still in shock, soldiers, police and outside volunteers formed
Rescuers work to retrieve another flash flood victim from the debris of Tuesday’s Typhoon Bopha at New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
most of the teams searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders swept down from steep hills surrounding the worst-hit town of New Bataan, municipal spokesman Marlon Esperanza said. “We are having a hard time finding guides,” he told
The Associated Press. “Entire families were killed and the survivors ... appear dazed. They can’t move.” He said the rocks, mud, tree trunks and other rubble that litter the town have destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once
stood. On Friday, bodies found jammed under fallen trees that could not be retrieved were marked with makeshift flags made of torn cloth so they could be easily spotted by properly equipped teams. Authorities decided to bury unidentified bodies in a common grave after forensic officials process them for future identification by relatives, Esperanza said. The town’s damaged public market has been converted into a temporary funeral parlor. A few residents milled around two dozen white wooden coffins, some
containing unidentified remains. One resident, Jing Maniquiz, 37, said she rushed home from Manila for the wake of two of her sisters, but could not bring herself to visit the place where her home once stood in Andap village. Her parents, a brother and nephew are missing. “I don’t want to see it,” she said tearfully. “I can’t accept that in just an instant I lost my mother, my father, my brother.” She said that at the height of the typhoon, her mother was able to send her a text message saying trees were falling on their house and its roof had been blown away. Maniquiz said her family sought refuge at a nearby health center, but that was destroyed and they and dozens of others were swept away by the raging waters. “We are not hopeful that they are still alive. We just want to find their bodies so that we will have closure,” she said. Mary Joy Adlawan, a 14year-old high school student from the same village, was waiting for authorities to bury her 7-year-old niece. Her parents, an elder sister, five nieces and a nephew are missing. “I don’t know what to do,” she said as she fixed some flowers on the coffin. Esperanza said heavy equipment, search dogs and chain saws were brought by
volunteers from as far away as the capital, Manila, about 950 kilometers (590 miles) to the north. Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental provinces, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives. The typhoon plowed through the main southern island of Mindanao, crossed the central Philippines and lingered over the South China Sea for the past two days. It made a U-turn Saturday and is now threatening the northwestern Ilocos region. President Benigno Aquino III, after visiting the disaster zone, declared a state of national calamity late Friday to speed up rescue and rehabilitation, control prices of basic commodities in typhoon-affected areas and allow the quick release of emergency funds. In Bangkok, Thailand, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said the Philippines had appealed for international aid. She said many countries have already provided assistance, but did not specify the amounts. Officials say 276 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 155 in New Bataan, and 277 in Davao Oriental. About 40 people died elsewhere and nearly 600 are still missing, 411 from New Bataan alone. Davao Oriental Gov.
Syrian rebels elect new military commander AMMAN (Reuters) Syrian rebel groups have chosen a former officer to head a new Islamistdominated command, in a Western-backed effort to put the opposition’s house in order as President Bashar alAssad’s army takes hits that could usher his downfall. In Turkey, a newly formed joint command of Syrian rebel groups has chosen Brigadier Selim Idris, one of hundreds of officers who have defected from Assad’s army, as its head, opposition sources said yesterday. Idris, whose home province of Homs has been at the forefront of the Sunni Muslim-led uprising, was elected by 30 military and civilian members of the joint military command after talks attended by Western and Arab security officials in the Turkish city of Antalya. The unified command includes many with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Salafists, who follow a puritanical interpretation of Islam. It excludes the most senior officers who have
Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Hamzeh AlBinishi/Shaam News Network/Handout
defected from Assad’s military. On the Damascus battlefront, Assad’s forces used multiple rocket launchers on Saturday against several suburbs that have fallen to rebels who have fought their way to the edge of the city’s international airport, where foreign carriers have suspended all flights. Rebels, who have overrun several army bases near Damascus over the last month, appeared to be
holding their ground, encircling a main military base in the northeastern suburb of Harasta, known as “idarat al markabat”, near the main highway to Aleppo, according to opposition campaigners. “The fighters made slight progress today. They captured a weapons depot and got to a tank repair facility in the base, but all 20 tanks inside were inoperational,” said Abu Ghazi, a rebel who was speaking from the area.
Sunday December 9, 2012
Kaieteur News
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South African icon Nelson Mandela hospitalized
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela was admitted to a military hospital yesterday for medical tests, though the nation’s president told the public there was “no cause for alarm” over the 94-year-old icon’s health. The statement issued by President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman said that Mandela was doing well and was
receiving medical care “which is consistent for his age.” The statement offered no other details. Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later retired from public life to live in his village of Qunu, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. “We wish Madiba all the best,” Zuma said in the statement, using Mandela’s clan name. “The medical team is assured of our support as they look after and ensure the comfort of our beloved founding president of a free and democratic South Africa.” While the government sought to reassure South Africans about Mandela’s health, he remains viewed as a father figure to many in this
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Seeking to control global warming, nearly 200 countries agreed yesterday to extend the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that limits the greenhouse gas output of some rich countries, but will only cover about 15 percent of global emissions. The extension was adopted by a U.N. climate conference after hard-fought sessions and despite objections from Russia. The package of decisions also included vague promises of financing to help poor countries cope with climate change, and an affirmation of a previous decision to adopt a new global climate pact by 2015. Though expectations were low for the two-week conference in Doha, many developing countries rejected the deal as insufficient to put the world on track to fight the rising temperatures that are shifting weather patterns, melting glaciers and raising sea levels. Some Pacific island nations see this as a threat to their existence. “This is not where we wanted to be at the end of the meeting, I assure you,” said Nauru Foreign Minister Kieren Keke, who leads an alliance of small island states. “It certainly isn’t where we need to be in order to prevent islands from going under and other unimaginable impacts.” The two-decade-old U.N. climate talks have so-far failed in their goal of reducing the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that a vast majority of
scientists says are warming the planet. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which controls the emissions of rich countries, is considered the main achievement of the negotiations, even though the U.S. rejected it because it didn’t impose any binding commitments on China and other emerging economies. Kyoto was due to expire this year, so failing to agree on an extension would have been a major setback for the talks. Despite objections from Russia, which opposed rules limiting its use of carbon credits, the accord was extended through 2020 to fill the gap until a wider global treaty is expected to take effect. However, the second phase only covers about 15 percent of global emissions after Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Russia opted out. The decisions in Doha mean that in future years, the talks can focus on the new treaty, which is supposed to apply to both rich and poor countries. It is expected to be adopted in 2015 and take effect five years later, but the details haven’t been worked out yet. U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern highlighted one of the main challenges going forward when he said the U.S. couldn’t accept a provision in the Doha deal that said the talks should be “guided” by principles laid down in the U.N.’s framework convention for climate change.
Nelson Mandela
UN conference adopts extension of Kyoto accord
nation of 50 million people. Each hospital trip raises the same worries about the increasingly frail former leader of the African National Congress — that the man who helped bring the nation together is slowly fading away. In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, however, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for
what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. Mandela contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. While Zuma’s statement offered no further details about who would provide medical attention for Mandela, the nation’s military has taken over caring for the aging leader since the 2011
respiratory infection. At 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Saturday night, the facility that previously cared for Mandela in February, everything appeared calm, without any additional security present. Mac Maharaj, a presidential spokesman, declined to say whether Mandela had been flown by the military from Qunu to Pretoria. He also declined to say what the tests were for. “It’s quite normal at his age to be going through
those tests,” Maharaj told The Associated Press. Mandela’s hospitalization comes just days after the crash of a military aircraft flying on an unknown mission near Mandela’s rural home in which all 11 onboard were killed. The plane was flying to a military air base in Mthatha, which is about 30 kilometers (17 miles) north of Qunu. Military officials declined to say whether those on board had any part in caring for Mandela.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 9, 2012
Egyptian military says only Italy’s PM says he dialogue can avert disaster intends to quit over crisis CAIRO (Reuters) Egypt’s military, stepping into a crisis pitting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi against opponents who accuse him of grabbing excessive power, said yesterday only dialogue could avert “catastrophe”. State broadcasters interrupted their programs to read out an army statement telling feuding factions that a solution to the upheaval in the most populous Arab nation should not contradict “legitimacy and the rules of democracy”. That sounded like a swipe at protesters who have besieged the palace of the freely elected president and called for his removal, going beyond mainstream opposition demands for him to retract a decree that expanded his powers. The statement also called for a “serious” national dialogue - perhaps one more credible than talks convened by Mursi on Saturday in the absence of opposition leaders. They insist he must first scrap his November 22 decree, defer next week’s popular vote on a
new constitution and allow the text to be revised. Deep rifts have emerged over the destiny of a country of 83 million where the end of Hosni Mubarak’s 30 years of military-backed one-man rule led to a messy army-led transition, during which the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies won two elections. Many Egyptians crave stability and economic recovery. The spokesman for the main Islamist coalition demanded that the referendum go ahead on time on the constitution drafted by an Islamist-led assembly from which liberals had walked out. The army, which ran Egypt for months after Mubarak fell in February 2011, again cast itself primarily as the neutral guarantor of the nation. A military source said there was no plan to retake control of the country or its turbulent streets. “The armed forces affirm that dialogue is the best and only way to reach consensus,” the statement said. “The opposite of that will bring us to a dark tunnel that
will result in catastrophe and that is something we will not allow.” Mursi’s office said the president opened his “national dialogue” with about 40 political and other public figures discussing “means to reach a solution to differences over the referendum...and the constitutional decree”. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil told an Egyptian television channel that the talks had led to creating a committee to review Mursi’s November 22 decree and to work out legal ways to postpone the referendum. He said a new decree could be issued. “All options are on the table to reach consensus,” he said, adding that it was vital to take action to shore up Egypt’s economy that has been battered by the turmoil. The main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, which boycotted Mursi’s dialogue repeated its call on Saturday for scrapping the decree and the referendum on the constitution.
ROME (AP) — Premier Mario Monti told the Italian president yesterday he plans to resign following the sudden loss of support from Silvio Berlusconi’s party, paving the way for early elections a year after the economist helped pull the country back from the brink of financial disaster. Only hours earlier, Berlusconi announced he would run again for premier, aiming for a comeback just a year after he quit in disgrace under the pressure of financial markets as Italy teetered toward the brink of financial disaster. The office of President Giorgio Napolitano, who met for nearly two hours with Monti at the presidential palace, said the premier told the head of state that without the support he could no longer effectively govern Italy, which is mired in recession and trying to emerge from the eurozone sovereign debt crisis. Monti, an economist who heads a non-elected Cabinet of technocrats which replaced Berlusconi’s a year ago, will
Prime Minister of Italy Mario Monti gestures during the World Policy conference in Cannes, southern France, yesterday. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
quickly consult with political leaders to see if they can pull together to pass a budget and financial stability law deemed critical to healing Italy’s finances. Once he does that, Monti will “hand in his irrevocable resignation in the hands of the president,” the presidential palace said. The palace communiqué quoted Monti as concluding that Berlusconi’s conservative Freedom People party essentially had made a
“judgment of categorical nonconfidence on the government” and its strategy. In comments to lawmakers Friday, Berlusconi’s No. 2 aide, party secretary Angelino Alfano, had blamed Monti’s austerity strategy for failing to jump-start the economy. Before an election date can be set, Napolitano must dissolve Parliament ahead of its full term’s end in late April. Elections must then be held within 70 days of Parliament’s dissolution.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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WILL THE PPP LISTEN TO THE ADVICE OF RALPH RAMKARRAN? By Ralph Seeram Human beings in general do not like being corrected or criticized, it's in our nature. We tend to close down or shut the individual out, which in most cases is not beneficial to the individual being criticized. My threeyear-old grandson gets like that sometimes. One day this week his school report said that he was in “time out” for not listening to his teacher. I calmly explained to him why he has to listen to his teacher. The following day when I picked him up from school, his first words were “Papa I listened to my teacher; I make you happy, Papa, and make my Mommy happy”. Whenever you explain to him what he is doing wrong he would correct his mistakes and would end up saying, “I want to make you happy Papa, I want to make my Mommy happy”. He never left out his mother. He is only three years, but he shows the maturity that he can correct himself of any wrongs pointed out to him. In the political world of Guyana, one wonders if those in the leadership of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) have the maturity of my three-year-old to accept criticism rather than shut down and ignore their critics. Ralph Ramkarran can be considered a grandfather to the PPP. Ramkarran's father, Boysie, was a stalwart in the PPP going back to the 50s. Ralph Ramkarran grew up in the PPP; PPP is in his veins, so one can understand why he is grieving over the current state of the PPP. As a parent or adult, you know what's right or wrong for a child and you try to guide him or her through life hoping the individual would grow up to be upright citizens, rather than one leading a life of crime. One can understand how agonized Ramkarran must be to see his party descend to the point where it is harbouring a bunch of white collar criminals. Of course he did not put it that way but niceties aside that is what he is saying. Of course he did try internally to have the PPP correct its ways, and we all know what happened. He was forced to sever his relations with the party. When a senior PPP member like Ralph Ramkarran is not
allowed to criticize the party, do you expect those in the lower echelons of the party to criticize the leadership? It speaks of the undemocratic nature within the PPP. Those at the top of the “gravy train” are stifling dissent from the rank and file. Like a father or grandson who has gone astray Mr. Ramkarran, this week, wrote out a road map for recovery of the PPP, if they are to survive, if they are to continue as a ruling party. Question is will the PPP remain a stubborn child or will it see the error of its way as pointed out by Ramkarran. He talks of “democratize the PPP more effectively”. I have spoken to a number of PPP members and this was a problem they expressed. Those at the bottom are afraid to criticize those at the top because of retribution. On democratization of the PPP here is what Ralph had to say. “Membership rules must be flexible and must allow for permanent status rather than loss of membership after one year if dues are not paid. All important decisions, including potentially the party leader and the presidential candidate, must be made by vote of the members……the Central Committee and Executive Committee must be elected by Congress”. This obviously had to with the way the PPP selected Donald Ramotar as its Presidential candidate, when the present system was used to shut out Ramkarran and Nagamootoo. This is a tall order for the PPP, at least for those who hold power in Government by manipulating the present system. People do not like to give up power and there are those who are feathering their retirement nest egg with public funds, be it kickbacks or whatever illegal means, who will not see it the way the former House Speaker sees it. However Ramkarran is looking at the bigger picture, the survival of the PPP as a whole. The PPP has moved from its roots, more so during the last few years of the Jagdeo regime. The current state of the PPP and its government in my view can be attributed to Jagdeo. The corruption was spawned under his watch. My old departed friend, Guyanese folklorist
Wordsworth Mc Andrew, often told me “Yuh can't ride tiger and dismount”. At the time he was speaking of the PNC government. The PPP finds itself riding the tiger of corruption, and dismounting will present it with a serious problem. To quote Ralph Ramkarran, “The allegations of corruption and lack of transparency in the country remain among the major weaknesses that the party has failed to confront”. “There are now some reluctant admissions that corruption exists … unless institutional and legal measures follow these admissions, this would be a
major continuing source of disappointment among Party supporters”. That is putting it mildly; the entire voting public in Guyana sees the PPP government as corrupt. Do you think the PPP will dismount the tiger? Will the party set up a Commission of Inquiry into corruption and jail those Ministers and contractors caught pocketing taxpayer's money? Mr. Ramkarran detailed statistics showing the declining support for the PPP at the polls during the past four elections. Some ten months before the last elections I pointed out in an article the possibility of the
PPP losing the elections not only because of declining support but also losing the cross over votes. I actually posed this question to then President Jagdeo and Presidential candidate Donald Ramotar during a fund raising campaign in Orlando. I got the impression that both men did not give it much thought, but expressed optimism that they will win the elections. We know what happened. So Mr. Ramkarran has a tall order for the PPP, democratize itself internally, get back to its rank and file and its trade union roots(GAWU etc.) rid itself of corruption, prosecute
those found stealing, move beyond its ethnic base to a wider cross section of the Guyanese population “a big and wide tent” as he puts it . Will they listen to Papa? I doubt it very much. I doubt those holding power at the top off the PPP have the maturity of my three-yearold grandson to correct the error of their ways to make the Guyanese voters HAPPY. Like Mc Andrew said, “Yuh can't ride tiger and dismount”. To dismount you have to make more room at Camp Street. Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
‘At your service…’ Marilyn La Rose is a ‘Special Person’ By Leon Suseran Nearly all of the persons we feature each week have given a life of service by using to the maximum their respective God-given talents and gifts, which ultimately make them special. Marilyn La Rose of New Amsterdam has lived a life of service; service to the sick and those who were in her care. Then she gave of herself even more through the Lions Club of New Amsterdam, in several positions. Service is the motto of Marilyn La Rose and today, retired and all, she continues to take care of her 97-year-old father, Percy, believed to the oldest mental health-care worker alive in Guyana. Marilyn enjoys it, she said and if she had to live her life all over again, she’d serve as a nurse and matron as well as midwife. Her mother, Marianne, is also still alive. Marilyn La Rose attended the All Saints’ Primary from age 6. She later attended the Roman Catholic Girls’ School, and Victoria High, also in the town, following which she wrote the College of Preceptors Exam and secured six subjects. In late ‘60s, she was a member of the Lionettes Organization, a semi-military group for young people, managed by Inspector Martin Pereira, who was assisted by Sgt David Reddock. “We used to go and practice three afternoons per week. I remember those days well… we did these skillful types of marching”. Marilyn was also a member of the Cougars Club in the early 1960s. At that time, they played volleyball at the N/A Fire station court.
During that hectic period, she taught for 3 years at St Therese’s Primary School. She then left teaching and decided to enter nursing, since she liked caring for people. “I am the eldest of nine children, so I was always in the position helping my mother take care of the rest, so I had a caring instinct and that encouraged me to go into nursing”. She assumed duties as a Student Professional Nurse on May 10, 1965 and wrote her finals in 1968. On
Berbice and was assigned to the eye department at the New Amsterdam Hospital, where she managed the operating theatre services and the wards. She worked there until May 1985 and later transferred to the Supervisor’s office, where she supervised shifts and allocated nurses, among other duties. She later applied to become a Ward Sister and was appointed same on April 2, 1974. La Rose was again assigned at the Fort Wellington Hospital from
“For most of my life I have found that once somebody is ill or needs help in some way, they know they can call on me. Let’s just say, I am always at their service.” December 6, 1968, she was appointed Staff Nurse. She worked on all the wards for about a year and was selected to do her midwifery training a year later. She was appointed Midwife on October 3, 1971. NURSING Marilyn reminisced about her years spent in a career which she loved every so dearly; a career which she said that family support is needed. “You cannot stand alone; you need the support of your relatives to make it as a nurse. The family is supposed to assist the nurse, especially as it relates to working shifts and going to out-stations.” After passing her Midwifery exams, she worked at Fort Wellington Hospital in 1971 where she spent 6 months. She returned to East
1979-1981 as Sister-inCharge. She was responsible for the nursing and ancillary staff management. Marilyn continued to work full-time in the Supervisor’s office after 1981. Subsequently, she was appointed MiddleManagement Junior Departmental Sister on October 22, 1986; Matron - 1 on July 1, 1991 and on February 17, 1997 she became Matron - 2 , a position she held until January 1, 2000, when she retired from the nursing system. “I have never regretted being a nurse. To be a nurse you have to be a person who can be forbearing, really sympathetic. My life has been much richer because of my profession.” It is very important, she
stated, that nurses communicate properly with patients’ relatives. “The mission of a good nurse is to preserve life and to maintain good health; to prevent illness and assist in the curative aspect when the patient gets ill, and to assist the patient to their dying day. A nurse has to be very tolerant. Nurses need to be confidential. We can discuss the condition, but never the person. “I know in our time, we were told that nurses need to be seen and not heard; it doesn’t mean that nurses should not have a voice, but in a situation of illness, you need quietude—no shouting across the corridors and across wards.” Marilyn joined nursing at a time when they wore different uniforms to distinguish the various kinds of nurses, and she reflected “…but today everybody is in white”. She stated that she enjoyed working as a midwife because it was “a responsibility to two persons—mother and baby”. She recalled an incident that really affected her as well as cause her to emotionally breakdown on the job. “I was a Third Year Student Nurse and was assigned one night to the casualty department. In those days, they used to do home delivery, and this midwife came across the Berbice River with a patient, a very obese patient. The minute she put the woman on the bed, I observed her draw her last
Marilyn La Rose breath and what upset me even more, was that the baby died due to the absence of oxygen. This baby just kept tumbling and tumbling and tumbling in this woman’s stomach until it died. It still gives me chills when I remember that.” “I knew as a nurse that I was not expected to be so emotional, but I honestly couldn’t bear it and I cried terribly, because I just felt so helpless.” She recalled another instance at the Fort Wellington Hospital, when in 1971, a woman came to deliver her child in the night and the blood-pressure apparatus had ‘conked out’. Marilyn recounted that she again felt virtually powerless, since she could not test the woman’s pressure, which was imperative at the time.
“The patient complained asked me to ‘do something’ as she was not feeling well. I could see she wasn’t. I had no blood pressure apparatus, so what I did…it’s a chance I took…I drew up an injection called a cocktail, and I just told myself that her pressure was high and I needed to do that. I prayed over it with the injection in the dish and gave it to her. She subsequently went to sleep.” Marilyn stated that at 5:00am, after she had awakened the other patients, she went to the expectant mother. “I remember touching her with my index finger to wake her up and she told me that she felt much better… and she repeated it. She told me that the injection had really helped her because she was ‘seeing stars’ and she believed that if I didn’t do (Continued on page 27)
(Continued on page 39)
Lion Deborah Backer presents Ms La Rose (right) with a special lapel pin marking her conversion from the Lioness to Lions Club in 2003
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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‘At your service…’ Marilyn ... (From page 26) anything, something bad would have happened to her. “That was a very challenging experience for me, whereby I made a critical decision on my own. As a nurse you have to pray, because sometimes there are situations with patients, where you need to apply spiritualism. I sincerely believe that.” When asked what was different about nursing from then to today, she made specific mention of training and methods. “The government only used to train in New Amsterdam, Linden and St Joseph’s Hospital… as well as Georgetown Hospital. More nurses are being trained today…so much so that they have to be trained in shifts. That did not happen long ago and I don’t know how effective it is having to train so many people at a time, because remember, nursing is serious business—its life, health and death – and you have to be very, very careful that people understand what they have to do and as I described to you, it can be very challenging sometimes.” She praised the training of nurses back in her time. “I must say, we had the privilege of being tutored and trained by Medical Consultants, Gynecologists, Obstetricians, Surgeons, etc., and they would go to the classroom and lecture at length to us, and in particular cases, they would take us and we would be around the patients’ bedsides. Today, I have observed that studentnurses do visits to the actual wards and observe patients,
Receiving a special retirement gift from Sister Javitrie Eugene and the students of the New Amsterdam School of Nursing at the N/A Hospital in October 1999 but they do not seem to be spending as much time in training as we did.” LIONISM But it wasn’t only as a dutiful nurse that Marilyn’s services were required, she had more to give. And so it was that Mrs. Leila ClarkeDaniels recommended her to join the New Amsterdam Lions Club in October 1995. They had the Lioness Club back then, but the members were asked to convert into Lionism, and one club emerged, which La Rose converted to two years later. She held several
positions as a Lions Member, including Health Committee Chairperson and Education Chairperson. She was twice awarded the prestigious ’Lion of the Year’ in 1997 and 1998, as well as several Committee Chairperson Awards. She received the Presidential Award in 2001 and 2003, as well as Zone Chairperson Award in 2004. She was President on two occasions – 2002-2003 and 2009-2010. “As a child, I was always in the position to care. I went through it as a nurse and in
Lionism, they expected you to take your profession or whatever you were involved in, to assist. And so I took my nursing skills into the organization (Lions). And her skills were needed, since the flagship project for Lions International was eye- care. “I was able to get some of my colleagues (nurses) to come along and assist the Lions Club in setting up an eye-clinic”. With the assistance of Texas-based Guyanese, Dr Tulsie Dyal Singh, the Lions Club benefitted from a major service project and training
programme, of which La Rose was appointed Chairman, whereby numerous persons were trained in eye care. The eye-care centre still exists and operates today at the New Amsterdam Lions Den. “I was able to train nurses right there to do the basics and tell them about various eye conditions—at least I put them there and showed them the way.” “You teach what you know, because as a nurse and retired matron—its two ways—the profession and the management. You take your skills there and can also
learn from Lionism. As a member of the Lions Club, I have learnt that one needs to continue to educate oneself and not only plan and execute fundraisers and service projects.” “Being the eldest of my siblings essentially put me in a position to serve and to assist my mother, so I was always in a leading situation, if you will, when it comes to care. For most of my life I have found that once somebody is ill or needs help in some way, they know they can call on me. Let’s just say, I am always at their service.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
Art and Book Review Author’s witty assault on T&T Healthcare hits mark By Dr Glenville Ashby caribbeanartsreview@gmail.com Trinidadian novelist Lyndon Baptiste is no stranger to exploring uncanny, if not, off-the-cuff subjects. But this one is a gem – hilarious, sardonic, and enlightening. In a nutshell, Baptiste’s ailment – testicular torsion, a condition that could cause the surgical removal of one of his testicles, and threaten his virility, becomes the fodder for a searing, disturbing epiphany, and damning conclusion: Health care in his country is in a state of disr Health care is characterised by a rigid strata based on economic class and privilege. Sure, similar situations exist in countless countries, but in a small nation such as Trinidad and Tobago – embellished with “black gold,” one would have least expected decent health care for all its citizenry. Alas, as “Oh My Testicles,” satirically concludes, health conditions
are egregious, with shabby hospital facilities, extended waiting periods in emergency rooms, and medical personal unfamiliar with the cultural nuances of the country. Even his brief sojourn at Special Care Associates of Medicine – a hospital for the opulent, in a tony part of Port of Spain, reeks of ingenuity - nothing more than a naked capitalist venture. Baptiste’s wry jocularity takes little away from the message of hopelessness that bedevils the poor. If you are downtrodden and sick, decent health care is inaccessible. Poorly treated, and against the backdrop of a physically repulsive surrounding, you are enveloped in a stench of doom. Of Mount Hope hospital, one of Trinidad’s largest facilities, he writes: “The most noticeable feature of the waiting room was the stink, lingering stench of death although there were more than fifty people huddled together in a tight box...I can
only describe the conditions of the hospital as deadly, and I say this not of ignorance, but having sat and absorbed the complicated arrangement..” And amid this nightmare, Baptiste, “waited and waited.” Surely, the disenfranchised are made to wait, for eternity, it seems. But at Special Care Associates, affluence seems to smooth the roughest of edges - eking a smile from the most unlikely. And you are cared for, if only because of your deep pockets. Baptiste paints a world of contrasts, of class warfare, of sorts. A lengthy stay at “Special Care” can erode one’s life savings, and Baptiste is mired, deep. It dawns on him, painfully, that “the health industry was a very lucrative business.” With a seven thousand dollars down payment, and seven hundred dollars per night - for starters - he couldn’t be more accurate. How much then would his procedure cost? “Oh. It could
be as little as twenty thousand dollars,” he is told. Baptiste straddles the gravity of his predicament with moments of levity, replete with vintage “Trini” style argot. His memorable exchange with his brother proves dizzyingly mirthful, pulled from the very top drawer. “Dread, you need to get out of there or them people will rob you by the hour. That doctor just want you to stay in the room so he could make money and the place could make a thing on the side. You paying for tablet, meal and balls inspection through your teeth. And at the end of it all, you not even guaranteed to have two balls. Is better you let the government cut it off for free,” a ruffled Baptiste is advised by his sibling. The author by the hand of Providence is led to the General Hospital, and, fortuitously escapes surgery, and survives. Yet the experience scars him. The shrieks of suffering are
unbearable, indelible reminders of his mortality, and life’s vicissitudes. But equally troubling is that life expectancy, amid astounding medical breakthroughs, is still determined by access and money. Dr Glenvile Ashby, literary
critic - Caribbean Book Review Oh My Testicles by Lyndon Baptiste Potbake Productions, Trincity, Trinidad ISBN: 978-976-95236-3-0 A v a i l a b l e : www.potbake.com Ratings:***Recommended
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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The Abigail Column An unusual ex-wife issue
DEARABIGAIL, My boyfriend of almost a year is good friends with his ex-wife, which is great. Before I met him, I worked with said ex-wife. We were friendly coworkers — had nice chats, etc. but never hung out. I never knew the two of them as a couple, and everyone is happy with the current situation; there’s no
tension. We occasionally catch up over drinks — sometimes the three of us, sometimes with other mutual friends. It’s all great. Here’s my issue: They both think she and I should be good friends independently, while I see us more as friendly acquaintances. We don’t have much in common besides a shared work history and a man. For the record, I view this in the same light as going out with his sister; I wouldn’t want to go out with her alone, either. My boyfriend thinks I’m being unreasonable in having reservations. He says I only
think it’s weird because “society” tells me I should think it’s weird. It makes me uncomfortable, so I’m siding with society, but what do you think? Confused Dear Confused, Right now, the score is you, me and society: 1; boyfriend: 0. You might ask him why this matters to him. If pushed, you could say she’s OK, but she wouldn’t be your pick for a girlfriend if left to your own devices, and what you find weird is that he is trying to push the friendship. That ought to settle the matter.
Sunday December 9, 2012 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A creative approach to your chores today may not be great for efficiency, but you could have a lot of fun in the process. However, rushing to get things done quickly isn’t as useful now as sticking with a project until it is completely finished. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Being open to new ideas doesn’t mean you need to give up your sensible approach. Thankfully, you’re able to accomplish a lot today if you’re willing to make concrete plans. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You can reap rich rewards from slowing down and sinking into your emotions today, especially if there’s someone special in your life with whom you can share the day. CANCER (June 21–July 22) You may grow annoyed if someone doesn’t listen to you when you say that you want some time alone today. Unfortunately, you might have to express your anger for the other person to back off. LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You want to be with your friends today, but you prefer socializing on your own terms. You would like to be able to determine when and where you go, without letting others control your day. VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) It’s time to get out of your head and into your heart today as physical Mars stirs up your 5th House of Self-Expression. Words won’t communicate your message now as clearly as direct action. Even if you’re not certain about what you want, act as if you already know.
LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) You’re likely to change your mind many times now with the moody Moon visiting your thoughtful sign. But your enthusiasm may mislead others to interpret your optimism as certainty. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You are respected as an authority figure because the knowledge you have is based on your own powerful personal experiences. But people might not notice that you’re also questioning reality now. SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) You need to be around likeminded people today since the Moon is activating your 11th House of Social Networking. Ironically, you have a lot that you’re not sharing now with several passionate Scorpio planets occupying your 12th House of Privacy. CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Although you have your own personal agenda, you’re able to set it aside for the good of the community now that the Moon is reflecting your 10th House of Status. You have earned respect from your peers and you intend to live up to your reputation. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Yo u m a y f e e l m o r e balanced than you did yesterday, but you still need to exercise caution or you’ll make too much of a fantasy. Your imagination is running strong now and it can recharge your soul. PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Even if you have things to do and people to see, carve out some time to pursue a variety of activities at home today.
NTN CHANNEL 18/ CABLE 69 0500h - Sign on with the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra 0500h - Timehri Maha Kali Shakti Devi Mandir Presents Krishna Bhajans 0515h - Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital Inc Presents 0530h - Queenstown Masjid Presents Quran This Morning 0600h - R. Gossai General Store Presents Krishna Bhajans 0615h - Jettoo’s Lumber Yard Presents Krishna Bhajans 0630h - Muneshwar Limited Presents Krishna Bhajans 0645h - Double Standard Taxi Presents Krishna Bhajans 0700h - Ramroop’s Furniture Store Presents Religious Teachings 0730h - The Family of The Late Leila & David Persaud Presents Krishna Bhajans 0745h - Sankar Auto Works Presents Krishna Bhajans 0805h - Sa Re Ga Ma (Musical Notes) A Live Call-In Program 0930h - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012 1030h - Sunday Morning Fiesta with Angelica 1130h - Guyana’s Entertainers Platform 1200h - Hinduism in a changing world presented by Pt. Ravi 1230h - LET’S TALK with LAKSHMEE 1300h - DVD Movie-:RAJA SAAB (Eng: Sub:) *ing Shashi Kapoor & Nanda 1600h - Teaching of Islam 1630h - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012 1730h - Ganesh Parts Presents - BHAGAVAD GITA ( Discourses in English) - Serial 1745h - Birthday Greetings / Death Announcement & In Memoriam 1800h - Mere Awaaz Suno Live with Anand Persaud 1900h - Geet Gaata Chal Live
with Joel 2000h - Indian Soap - Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke 2030h - Indian Soap - Rab Se Sohna Isshq 2100h - Indian Soap - Pavitra Rishta 2130h - Indian Soap:- Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuyien 2200h - Indian Soap:- Punar Viivaah 2230h - Headline News 2330h - Cricket:- 3RD TEST INDIA vs ENGLAND DTV CHANNEL 8 09:25 hrs. Sign On
09:30 hrs. Touching Lives 10:00 hrs. Pair of Kings 10:30 hrs. Crash and Bernstein 11:00 hrs. Movie: Telling Secrets 15:00 hrs. Movie: The Pastor’s Wife 17:00 hrs. Family Feud 18:00 hrs. Catholic Magazine (Faith in Action) 18:30 hrs. Know Your Bible 19:00 hrs. Greetings and Announcements 21:00 hrs. Once Upon a Time (New Episode) 22:00 hrs. Christmas with Holly 00:00 hrs. Sign Off
Guides are subjected to change without notice
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Sunday December 09, 2012
The man who vanished on Christmas Day By Michael Jordan I guess you know about the Marie Celeste, but if you don’t, that was the American ship whose captain, passengers and seven-man crew vanished without a trace back in December 1872. And that brings me to another December mystery, more recent and more close to home. It began on the Christmas Day of 2008 at a two-storey house located at Lot 607 Hippani Oval, Retrieve, Linden. The bottom flat was occupied by Michael Harris, a 58-year-old contractor who was also the caretaker of the premises, which belonged to an overseas-based Guyanese. A female acquaintance of the owner lived in the top flat. The story that relatives have been told is that sometime that day, Harris climbed onto his bicycle and travelled to Wismar, where he had a ‘Christmas drink’ with a friend. Word is that the contractor was once a hard drinker. But earlier in the year, an intoxicated Harris had tumbled off his bicycle and
almost drowned in the Demerara River.That had caused him to drastically reduce his alcohol consumption. So, when he met up with his friend at Wismar, Michael Harris reportedly only drank a malta. According to reports, the contractor then rode to Poke Street, Wismar, where he had a drink with another friend. This time, it is alleged that he took a small amount of alcohol. Mr. Harris reportedly then visited a third friend at Wismar/ Christianburg. The second friend would later tell relatives that Harris had passed his way again, and that he had observed that Harris’ clothes were soiled with mud. The friend concluded that Harris had fallen somewhere during his journey. Later in the day, one of Harris’s sisters called his home to wish her brother a merry Christmas. When the landline rang out, she tried to reach him on his mobile phone, but no one answered. About two days later, the relative again tried to contact Harris on the landline at his home. It is alleged that this
time, the woman who lived in the upper flat informed the caller that Mr. Harris had gone out on Christmas Day but had not returned. The concerned relative contacted Wayne Harris, one of the missing man’s sons. Wayne Harris contacted another brother and they travelled to the home at Linden where their father resided. Wayne Harris said that when they entered their father’s apartment, they found everything intact. There was pepperpot and black cake on the table. According to Wayne Harris, they visited the woman who lived in the upper flat. She reportedly revealed that she was in possession of the missing man’s mobile phone. Wayne Harris’ story is that the woman said that after his father failed to return home, she went into his flat and retrieved his phone. Worried relatives then widened the search by checking at the hospitals and even in the cemetery for any sign of their missing father. They found none. They placed advertisements on the radio and television. Callers
The pepper-pot and black-cake were on the table…but where was Michael Harris?
responded by giving the family several leads about the contractor’s whereabouts. All proved to be false. Wayne Harris said that about a month later, a man confided to them that he was scouring the abandoned mines for ‘metal’ to sell when he came across a bag, which appeared to contain human bones. According to the son, this information was conveyed to ranks at the Mackenzie Police Station and they confirmed that the man had given them a similar report. But he alleged that the policemen claimed that they had checked the area but failed
to find the bag of ‘bones.’ Harris said that he and other relatives checked the vast abandoned bauxite mines. They, too, found nothing. To date, not a trace of the contractor or his bicycle has been found. Wayne Harris was less than complimentary when he spoke about the police efforts to locate his father. He alleged that the police ignored information that family members provided about two possible suspects. H e ’s c o n v i n c e d t h a t someone murdered his father. As another Christmas approaches, family members
will once again ponder about the fate of Michael Harris, who disappeared on Christmas Day, just as if the earth had opened up and swallowed him. If you have any information about this unusual case, please contact Kaieteur News at our Lot 24 Saffon Street location. We can be reached on telephone numbers 2258465, 22-58491 or 2258473. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email a d d r e s s mjdragon@hotmail.com.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
I was so mentally hurt, I could have cried Last Tuesday, I took Linsday Moriah, a policeman stationed at the High Court, to the Georgetown Public Hospital for treatment for pain in his left shoulder. Mr. Moriah is a policeman who is soft spoken and quite unassuming. He lives in Berbice where he has his family, but since 2007, he has been based full-time in Georgetown. I knew him from the countless appearances I have made at the High Court, first because of then President Jagdeo’s libel suit and Minister Juan Edghill’s writ to commit me to prison for contempt of court. I have attended the High Court so often that I think know everyone that works there. At 15.30 hours we entered the X-ray room. The technician directed Mr. Moriah to a cubicle where she requested him to take off his shirt and shoes. When she made the request, she was at the back of the X-ray room so I am not sure if the policeman heard all the instructions. He was told to lie with feet facing north
and head facing south. As he was about to lie on the table, she yelled out to him that he had to take off his shoes. I was taken aback by her tone. Then he went in the opposite direction, contrary to what he was told. As he spun around to put his head to the south, this technician shouted loudly at him again; “get off from the edge of my table.” The man was stunned and so was I. I immediately said to her; “You can’t speak to him like that.” And for a rare moment in my life, I controlled my anger but was deeply hurt. Mr. Moriah was my responsibility and I felt I let him down by the unpleasantness he faced. Had I remonstrated with her, I know I would have lost my case. The next thing you would have heard was that Freddie Kissoon was loud, aggressive and abusive. The last time I was in such a vortex was with my KN colleague Dale Andrews. I did a column on the incident and I will repeat it here and now. It was late a Friday afternoon and Dale ran out of his crucial medication that he
must take daily. He couldn’t see his doctor because the Outpatient section was closed for the day and would not be opened on Saturdays. Dale would be in trouble over the weekend if he didn’t get his tablets. We went to the pharmacy but their response was that they could not fill a prescription without a doctor’s signature. We went to A&E and found the perfect situation. The female doctor on duty was the person in A&E who admitted Dale when I first took him there. She knew Dale’s ongoing condition. Not only did she refuse to write the prescription for which he had his chart so that she could see his medical status, but she was downright hostile. This woman didn’t even give us a chance to explain about Dale’s condition. Mike Khan, the CEO, was not there, and the matron was kind enough to secure a doctor’s signature I lodged a complaint with the medical superintendent, Sheik Amir. I left my account with his secretary and an appointment was made for me
to see Amir two days after. Dr. Amir failed to show, but worse of all, when I saw the expression on his secretary’s face I knew politics and Freddie Kissoon’s name got in the way. No other appointment was made. I was unable to meet with Amir. I lodged a written complaint with the matron’s office, I never heard back from the administration of the hospital. Dale could have died, but I knew the country I was dealing with and living in. The administration took a statement from me about the X-ray technician, but I doubt I will be asked to come in. My research on the technician reveals some interesting details which I will not discuss, but many little ones in Guyana are powerful people. The Georgetown Public Hospital is one of the largest testimonies, to date, of the failure of the PPP Government. In any other hospital, even in brutal dictatorships, that doctor in the Dale Andrews incident would have been disciplined. I wanted her to be dismissed, because I felt she had no
place in the practice of medicine. The unwillingness to discipline its subordinates remains a sickening indictment of the PPP Government. Shortly after Nirmal Rehka got his job at the Ministry of Finance, I documented his attitude to the public in a ten-page document and submitted it to President Jagdeo and copied to Robert Persaud. I was stupid not to see the mediocrity, banality and
Frederick Kissoon intellectual vacuum that had overrun my beloved Guyana.
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The couple’s home SUNDAY SPECIAL ‘GOLD’BOAT DEPARTED FROM SURINAME As local authorities scramble to ascertain whether a multi-million-dollar shipment of gold stolen in a daring heist in Curacao two Fridays ago (November 30, 2012) came from Guyana, there are strong indications that the bulk of it is from Suriname. According to government sources, the vessel, the Summer Bliss, is indeed registered in Guyana to one Deo Shivpaul. The local address on the registration is given as Canal # 2, but checks by local officials found that the location is an empty lot, adding even more mystery to the incident. According to the sources, the vessel would normally be moored at the mouth of the Berbice River, between Guyana and Suriname.
Sources have said now that boat never did leave from Guyana but from Suriname. Gunmen disguised as police officers raided the fishing vessel which was moored at the port in Willemstad, Curacao, an Antillean island located off Venezuela. In what appeared to be a well planned heist, the gunmen using three cars beat the Guyanese captain and held the three crewmen, also from Guyana, at bay with guns. They later escaped with 70 gold bars worth US$11.5M (G$2.3B) that had been on the boat. APNU, AFC CALL FOR AMAILA FALLS HYDRO REVIEW IN LIGHT OF IMF’S CONCERNS The two opposition parties in the National Assembly have called for a review of the multi-million-
dollar Amaila Falls hydro project, amidst concerns expressed recently by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the project’s economic viability. Both A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) last week Saturday urged government to immediately make full disclosures of the financial arrangements regarding the project which could cost in excess of US$840M, making it the country’s most expensive infrastructural undertaking. On Friday (November 30, 2012), the IMF, following a routine assessment of the country’s finances, called on Government to take steps to ensure the venture’s economic viability. The IMF’s Executive Board also “recommended careful consideration of the risks and contingent liabilities arising from that project, and welcomed the authorities’ efforts to pursue international best practices in its management.” Last week Saturday, APNU’s Shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon, said that following the General and Regional Elections of 2011, the government had made a presentation to the opposition, but things have changed dramatically now with new information. “We have no objection in principle to the project. What we are concerned about is what will be the cost per kilowatt.” MONDAY EDITION 76-YR-OLD FARMER SHOT DEAD A 76-year-old farmer was shot dead under bizarre circumstances at around 02: 30 hrs Sunday outside his Corentyne home. Saheed Hamid, called “Uncle Tulu”
Sunday December 09, 2012
TIGI officials: From left is Vice-President, Dr. Anand Goolsarran; President, Gino Persaud and Director, Frederick Collins. was shot in the chest shortly after exiting his back door to go to a latrine. He succumbed shortly after. Police and relatives have come up with no motive for the killing, though some have suggested that he may have unintentionally surprised a group of bandits who were lurking in the area. The victim and his wife, Nazmoon, lived alone. Mrs. Hamid told Kaieteur News that her husband was in the habit of getting up before dawn to go to the latrine at the back of the couple’s yard. She said she was in bed at around 02:30 hrs when she heard Mr. Hamid shout “what the (expletive) y’all doing hey.” She said that he then shouted “Naz, come”. The woman said that she then heard an explosion, but she assumed that the person her husband had seen had shattered a light bulb outside the house. Responding to her husband’s call, Mrs. Hamid said she ventured outside and saw him lying in the yard near the back door. According to Mrs. Hamid, she assumed that the intruder had assaulted her husband and said: “Wha dem do, dem beat yo”? At that point, the injured man attempted to crawl back into the house but then stopped and lay motionless. GPL ENERGIZES SUBMARINE CABLE Guyanese are being promised an adequate supply of electricity during the Christmas season as Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has begun to energize the US$5M submarine cable which runs across the Demerara River. GPL‘s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bharat Dindyal assured that “Georgetown is already covered for the season.” Dindyal explained that the cable has already been powered from Kingston to the Substation in Vreed-en-Hoop and completion is likely within the next two weeks. The CEO stressed that West Demerara will be benefitting tremendously from
the cable which is said to weigh over 100 tonnes that has the capacity to deliver over 150MW. The cable was brought to Guyana in February and was laid mid-March. The project was part of GPL’s programme to improve the network across the country and make it ready for a planned 165 megawatt hydro electric facility at Amaila Falls, Region Eight. But that project has been suffering numerous hindrances and according to engineers, does not seem likely to be completed anytime soon. This newspaper understands that GPL will also be adding a new Wartsila SubStation at Vreed-En-Hoop which will allow for the closure of the substation at Versailles. The old submarine cable which linked the Garden of Eden power plant to West Demerara has been problematic, with constant interruptions to power recorded in recent times. TUESDAY EDITION ANGER BOILS OVER AT EZJET’S OFFICE FOR REFUNDS Refunds to passengers have not been an easy ride for the embattled air charter, EZjet, as several angry persons converged at the Brickdam offices Monday for their money. Many of them went away and were told to return Tuesday. Some of them were issued with cheques dated December 12. This is even as news came that passengers in New York are not hearing much from staffers there about their refunds. EZjet’s founder, Sonny Ramdeo, who is based in the US, has not been returning calls and is only answering emails, an official of the New York office told Kaieteur News Monday evening. It was disclosed last month that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating Ramdeo. It is believed that EZjet owes in excess of 3,000 passengers from the Guyana end which translates to over US$2M ($400M). It is unclear
how many persons in New York are owed but an official there said that cheques were written but held after it was discovered that EZjet had no money in its account. It is believed that passengers are owed around US$2.5M ($500M) there. Several passengers, attracted to the low prices of EZjet, had purchased return tickets early for events, including the popular Trinidad carnival, at low prices of between US$700 and US$800. PARLIAMENT GRILLS PS OVER $10M TAXI BILL
Permanent Secretary Willet Hamilton Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Willet Hamilton, was grilled about why the Ministry spent $13M in 2009 and $10M in 2010 over the use of taxi services for staffers. Hamilton was called to the Public Accounts Committee to answer a series of questions relating to irregularities that were highlighted in the Auditor General’s 2011 report. The Auditor General’s report stated that the Ministry spent a whopping $11.1 million on transporting activities. In 2009, R and T Taxi Service, received $7,471,000; Green Ice received $752,000 and Courtesy Transport received $5,538,000; a total of $13,761,000 to transport Ministry staffers for supposed work-related purposes. (Continued on page 38)
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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MY COLUMN
There is a lot wrong with the NIS The season of Christmas is here, and with it comes the time when I want to remember those things that made me enjoy my childhood and actually fashioned my life. It is the time when I look at the less fortunate and see their smiles as though they are rich beyond compare. Indeed, the poor are happier than the rich; they do not have and they do not know what it is to have, so their life is one of contentment with whatever they get that makes their lives slightly better. However, this is something that I will be talking about in the coming weeks. Today I am focusing on those who are also poor and who look forward to the little pension they get from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). I am one of those pensioners, but I allow it to pile up so that when I receive it I do get something substantial. Indeed, my pension should have been greater, but there are some missing years from my contributions. I worked from the time the scheme came into existence
and I began paying what was asked of me. Those were the years when the employer was required to buy stamps and I had my book. At any time I could have asked the headmaster of my school to allow me to check on my contributions. But that book system changed; the world eventually went the way of the computer so the clerks, wherever they happened to be, simply noted my contribution and made the requisite recordings. Today, there are people nearing the time when they are supposed to be collecting whatever they should and like me, there will be the missing records. It is strange that the government is allowed to make the kinds of mistakes it does with impunity. If for some reason I had slipped up with income tax or even the NIS contribution I would have been punished, even prosecuted. So the NIS is actually saving money by not paying me for the missing years and earning an interest on that sum. And there are many like me who contribute doubly to the Scheme. This must be a tidy sum, but the scheme is
telling the nation that it is operating at a deficit. It is paying out more money than it is receiving. An individual who is living in this way would attempt to control his spending, although there are those who continue along their merry way and end up in so much debt that they simply cannot pay. I have known some of them to end up in court, but because they owned nothing, there was nothing that the debtor could levy on. The NIS could easily be placed in this category of spenders. I remember going to Berbice to see the $69 million construction that to my mind should have cost so much less. Right next door was a building that had three times the floor space on a foundation that was superior to the one that the NIS constructed. That building was being sold for $33 million and the owner was making a healthy profit. There and then I realized that the Scheme wasted money, some of my money. But what was more disturbing was the fact that the Scheme,
in the quest to invest and so build on its deposit base, made a substantial investment in Clico. Clico collapsed, and with that collapse, many pensioners were placed in a position of not being able to collect what was due to them. Scarcely a day goes by without people telling me that they are being pushed around by the NIS. And the Scheme has every good reason to push them around. If it is paying out more than it can collect then it must do something to cut back on the payout. The Chairman, Dr Roger Luncheon, actually said to me that the Scheme has a large deposit and that there is no way that it would run out of
money in the immediate future. Well if that is the case then there should not have been so many complaints. Indeed the Scheme had told people that once they paid their contributions it would record the payment and deal with the employer. But even this is a problem. When one considers that the NIS put some US$4 million into the construction of the Caricom Secretariat and another large sum in the Berbice River Bridge, one should have been feeling proud of the Scheme. But when it is realized that the Scheme is getting no return from the Berbice Bridge, even as private investors are, then one must
Adam Harris worry about their money. However, there is a plan to compensate for the wasted money. People are going to be asked to pay more and others are going to have to wait even longer to qualify. One reality is that many did not live to qualify at sixty. Now that the proposal is for the retirement age to be extended to sixty-
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Sunday December 09, 2012
How corruption keeps us poor and vulnerable Transparency International in its latest report ranked Guyana at 133 out of 176 countries surveyed. This is within the lowest range out of all the countries surveyed and for the English-speaking Caribbean Region, Guyana was ranked the lowest, scoring a mere 28 points out of a total 100. If this was the report card of a student, the parents would have been tremendously perturbed and immediate remedial action would have been initiated. Such low ranking by Guyana seems to have become the norm, with apparently little effort on the part of the government to improve and move up the rating ladder. Corruption is a scourge that eats away at the very fabric of society. It is like a nasty mould that takes over, tarnishes and destroys everything it comes into contact with. The Alliance For Change does not need to emphasise here how corruption and the perception of corruption have caused the deterioration of public confidence in the Guyana Police Force, suffice to say that even if a good, decent, God-fearing man or woman was to join the Force, from the moment they don the uniform, they will be perceived as corrupt. Such is the stigma that is attached to the Force. This lack of public confidence in the Force obviously does not aid in crime fighting or instil in citizens a sense of security. The end result of this is many-fold – it becomes harder to solve even the simplest of crime when eyewitnesses are hesitant to come forward. Citizens may go to extreme and oftentimes illegal measures to protect themselves and their property, and this of course could have a ricochet effect on crime. We can go on at length on the negative impact of a corrupt police force, but let us turn our attention to what are the likely impacts of other corrupt public officials on the wellbeing of citizens. The first and most important point that must be made is that money spent by government is money that belongs to the people. Every dollar spent by government, whether it comes from taxes, loans or grants, is money that belongs to the people of Guyana. The money belongs to the people, and the government are like investors, whose responsibility it is to decide how best the money should be utilised. The National Assembly, especially the opposition, is charged to provide the necessary scrutiny to
ensure that the people’s money is not squandered or stolen. Citizens of this country must understand that it is their money that the government is spending and when they understand this then they will begin to demand proper accounting for their money. This is what happens in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and in many Caribbean countries, forcing the governments in those nations to be transparent and accountable and resulting in a better quality of life for their citizens. Many persons have questioned why the AFC is so harsh on corruption and why the Party has been digging into the award of contracts in such a relentless manner. The answer is simple; stamping out corruption means improving the quality of life for all Guyanese especially the poor and vulnerable. Every $1 million or $10 million siphoned off into a private bank account through some corrupt means, is in effect removing a critical service for mostly poor people. The millions that are skimmed off by corrupt officials and their friends are the very millions that should have been spent to buy furniture for the school your child attends, or for an ambulance that would have taken the accident victim to the hospital which would have saved their life, or it was money that could have been spent to properly equip the hospital so the woman may not have died while giving birth. Corruption also means that taxes, including VAT, will never be reduced, as enough tax dollars must be collected not only to cover the cost of those services which a government ought to provide, but, also for ‘kickbacks’ and bribes to corrupt officials. So, the next time your child complains of not having a proper bench to sit on in school or you are forced to wait a whole day at the emergency section because there is a shortage of doctors, or you are told that your loved one died because the hospital could not provide the care needed, or even when you have to spend money to fix your car because of the damage caused by potholes in the road, remember that the money that was to be spent to remedy these situations and avoid the mishaps and catastrophes, was siphoned off by a corrupt public official. The next time you question why you have to pay so much in VAT or why so much is taken out of your salary as taxes, remember some of that money is going to line the pockets of corrupt officials!
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
Two blows for Whales
By Sir Ronald Sanders The policy of the Japanese government to slaughter thousands of whales every year in the name of “science”, suffered two major blows in recent weeks. Before proceeding, let me register an interest against whaling as a campaigner for the protection of endangered whales and other wildlife. The first blow to Japanese whaling is a survey by an internationally recognised Japanese organisation, Nippon Research Centre, which has found that as many as 88.8 % of the Japanese people have not bought any whale meat in the last 12 months. Further, a mere 27% of respondents to the survey expressed support for whaling and only a meagre 11% said they support it strongly. The survey also showed that young people in Japan have a particular distaste for their government’s continuing whaling policy. Respondents between the ages of 15 and 19 least support whaling, according to the survey. Apart from the general rejection of their government’s whaling policy, the survey also revealed that the vast majority of the Japanese people also seriously object to approximately $9.78 million of their taxes being spent annually to subsidise whaling which continues to operate at a loss. Recent reports have drawn attention to the Japanese government’s pledge to put the backing of public money behind an expensive refit of the ageing whaling factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. The ship needs repairs that will run into millions of dollars to keep it operational. Even more expenditure will be required if Japanese whalers are to continue travelling to Antarctic waters to harpoon whales. The Nippon survey showed that 85% of the people surveyed in its poll expressed opposition to the use of millions of tax payers’ money to build a new factory ship for whaling. Across the world, no nation or groups of people within nations object to whaling if it has to be done to feed persons who depend upon it for food. Despite the fact that the Japanese government has mandated the use of whale meat in government-funded institutions, the vast majority of the Japanese people have long opted not to eat whale meat. Today, an indication of the Japanese preference not to eat whale meat is that the government is forced to stockpile it. In 2009, it
increased from 3,096 tonnes to 4,246 tonnes. In 2010, it exceeded 5,000 tonnes, before falling slightly to 4,284 tonnes in 2011. But, whaling in Japan is a strong political lobby, exerting considerable influence on the political directorate, even though it has no popular grounding in the general population, as the Nippon survey clearly demonstrates. t is that lobby and its purposes that governments in small vulnerable countries, including five in the Caribbean, support at the International Whaling Commission when they tie their votes to the Japanese position. This is especially obvious against the background that none of the small countries, except St Vincent and the Grenadines, can claim to hail from a whaling tradition, and certainly not one of them needs whale meat for food. The second recent blow to Japan’s insistence on whaling is the decision by the government of The Republic of Korea to abandon plans to resume whaling, following an international outcry. Last July at an IWC meeting in Panama, the Korean government announced its intention to begin “scientific” whaling – the term that Japan uses for what is essentially commercial whaling. The announcement was met with astonishment and revulsion by environmental organisations and people all over the world concerned with sensible conservation especially of threatened species. To its credit, having been inundated with expressions of deep concern from people across the globe, the Korean government opted not to submit a formal proposal by a December 3 deadline, and it will, instead, pursue nonlethal research. The Korean decision illustrates the point that scientific research can be conducted without slaughtering whales. It also underscores the validity of the argument made against Japan that its socalled “scientific” whaling is really commercial whaling as evidenced by its large stockpile of whale meat and the government mandate that it should be used in government-financed institutions such as schools. The Korean government will now become the beneficiary of support from environmental and conservation organisations from around the world. As an example, Patrick Ramage, Director of the Global Whale Programme of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, has said: “We stand ready to support the Republic of Korea in
whatever appropriate way as it embarks on state-of-the-art, non-lethal whale research in Korean waters.” There will be many others as Japan becomes more isolated in the world, relying only on a handful of small countries. Those supporting countries do themselves more harm than good, particularly as many of them earn money from whale watching, which is now a US$2.1 billion industry worldwide and growing. These countries need live whales not dead ones. This is increasingly true
of Japan itself. While its whaling operation is losing millions of Yen every year, whale watching in Japan is earning money. The industry has grown strongly, at an annual average rate of 6.4 percent. Its customer base – a large number of them, Japanese people – has grown from under 11,000 in 1992 to almost 200,000 in 2008, generating more than US$22 million in total revenue. Knowledge is spreading in Japan of the losses incurred by whaling operations and the subsidies the government is providing to keep it afloat although whale meat is not
widely consumed. It is also becoming known that while millions of Yen in taxpayer subsidies continue to absorb money, whale watching is a small but profitable industry that has all the potential for growth. Just about this time, Japan’s whaling fleet is expected to make yet another excursion into the Southern Ocean Sanctuary around Antarctica to continue killing whales. But, domestic economics dictate that the Japanese government cannot for much longer sustain an unprofitable programme of whale slaughter that has little
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Sir Ronald Sanders support among its own population. (The writer is a Consultant and former Caribbean diplomat) Responses and previous commentaries at: www.sirronaldsanders.com
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From page 34 to the Public Accounts Committee to answer a series of questions relating to irregularities that were highlighted in the Auditor General’s 2011 report. The Auditor General’s report stated that the Ministry spent a whopping $11.1 million on transporting activities. In 2009, R and T Taxi Service, received $7,471,000; Green Ice received $752,000 and Courtesy Transport received $5,538,000; a total of $13,761,000 to transport Ministry staffers for supposed work-related purposes. In 2010, Indian Chief Taxi Service received $144,000, R and T Taxi Service received $7,153,000 and Green Ice was paid $2,750,000; a total of $10,047,000 to again transport Ministry staff for work-related matters. Last year, for transporting purposes, Indian Chief received $5,089,000 from the Tourism Ministry, R and T Taxi Service received $3,046,000 and Green Ice received $2,979,000. It was explained Monday through the Permanent Secretary, that the Ministry staffers would have used taxis since vehicles are limited. According to Hamilton, the Ministry currently has three vehicles. The PS said he has made the request to have more vehicles be afforded to the Ministry, but has not received any. Government’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira, asked Hamilton if there was a monitoring body at the Ministry to make sure that the service is not misused and what some of the control mechanisms are, if any, for people who use the taxi service. WEDNESDAY EDITION INDEPENDENT ENGINEERS CALL FOR URGENTREVIEW Two independent engineers, who recently visited the ongoing US$15M Hope Canal project which is geared to help reduce long term flooding on the East Coast of Demerara, are calling on government to launch an urgent review in face of faulty works and delays. Both Malcolm Alli and Charles Sohan in a letter published Wednesday in Kaieteur News, spoke of piles being driven in an unacceptable manner and other factors which could threaten the project. Last weekend, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, reportedly expressed concerns that critical aspects of the Hope Canal project may not be completed by the June 2013 deadline. But he expressed optimism that the contractors
Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
sender – O’Brien White of 1-2 Plantation Walk, West Bank Demerara. The shipper was among five persons, including a female, who were arrested.
Some of the nurses during the protest action
could meet that target if they increase the pace with which works are being expedited. According to the Minister, its arm – the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) –is utilizing its own machinery, and has carried the construction of the actual canal almost to the conservancy. In October 2010, government had launched the canal project after major flooding threatened the coastlands. The flooding had threatened a catastrophic collapse of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) which holds millions of gallons of water in the southern Demerara area. THURSDAY EDITION GUYANAMOST CORRUPT COUNTRY IN ENGLISHSPEAKING CARIBBEAN New rankings have placed Guyana as the most corrupt country in English-speaking Caribbean countries. According to watchdog corruption body, Transparency International (TI), the 2012 Annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has placed Guyana at a lowly 133 out of total of 174 countries. Guyana managed a miserly 28 points out of 100. And in the presentation of the Transparency International findings, head of the local chapter, Attorney at Law, Gino Persaud, and Secretary Frederick Collins, both lauded Kaieteur News which has been highlighting corruption in Guyana. The newspaper has been investigating the various contracts issued under questionable circumstances and examining the numerous projects, many of which were believed to be overpriced. The results were released
by Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI), the local contact of TI. TI would have conducted its surveys gauging perceptions to corruption by examining relations in the public sector, the local police, Customs, procurement and doing business. THREE NURSES DISMISSED FOR MISSING MORPHINE Nurses at the Georgetown Public Hospital have said they will continue to stage a sit-in which started Wednesday over what they deemed wrongful dismissal of three of their colleagues and the suspension of another. Nurses’ representative on the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), Kempton Alexander, was joined by several other nurses outside of the Georgetown Public Hospital for a picketing exercise to show solidarity with their colleagues. According to Alexander, three nurses were dismissed from the GPHC while another was suspended over some morphine injections which went missing from the Accident and Emergency Unit some time back. The Nurses’ rep also said that the nurses will continue a ‘go slow’ which began Wednesday until the nurses are reinstated. Alexander said that he feels that the nurses involved were not given a fair hearing by the Hospital’s administration. Alexander said initially they were informed of the ‘missing morphine’ issue being investigated. However, it was only on Tuesday that they were informed of the nurses’ dismissal. The representative said that the Hospital’s administration did not seek to
engage the Union at any time during the investigation, neither was the Union forewarned about the outcome and the disciplinary action to be taken. FRIDAY EDITION JAGDEO, RAMROOP EXPAND MEDIAEMPIRE A press release from publicrelationsqueensatlantic @gmail.com announced, Thursday, that “Radio Guyana Inc. (RGI) was launched on Thursday December 6, 2012.” Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. (QAII) is the company headed by Executive Chairman Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s best friend. President Jagdeo is also believed to be a major shareholder in Queens Atlantic. Ramroop’s QAII now owns a newspaper—Guyana Times, a television station once owned by Anthony ‘Tony’ Vieira and operated as VCT 28 and is now TVG— this radio station, Radio Guyana Inc (RGI), and a host of other companies. The release added, “The radio station is the first of new radio licencees to commence operation here. In January, the Government of Guyana (GOG) issued licences to ten entities to operate radio stations.” QAII enjoyed special privileges when it set up the newspaper, when it began to operate the television station it bought from Vieira, and now with the radio. President Jagdeo had withdrawn advertisement from Stabroek News. However, he was to reverse this decision when he launched Guyana Times, the newspaper owned by QAII, in which he is said to be a major
shareholder. He began to give advertisements to Guyana Times and to justify this he reinstated advertisements to Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. The television station enjoyed even greater privileges. Jagdeo, the then head of state, had informed the nation that no new television licence would be issued until Broadcast Legislation was introduced. COCAINE FOUND IN DRINKING STRAWS IN AIRPORT BOND Five persons are currently in police custody following the discovery of a quantity of cocaine which was concealed in drinking straws in a Canada-bound shipment and had been presented as macaroni noodles. This publication was told agents from the Police AntiNarcotics Unit were at the time carrying out a routine inspection at a cargo bond at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). Reports are that among the items checked during the examination were 68 boxes of mangoes and several boxes containing packets of macaroni noodles. The ranks became suspicious of the weight of the noodles and decided to carry out a thorough investigation. Upon emptying the packets, it was discovered that among the contents were a number of drinking straws sprayed in the colour of noodles and packed with a white powdery substance. This was subsequently tested and confirmed to be cocaine – a total of 21 kilograms 874 grams (approx 48 pounds). The mailing address for the shipment was listed as 44 Mount Crescent, Ajax, Ontario, Canada, and the
SATURDAY EDITION US$10M COCAINE UNEARTHED ON CITY WHARF The local Drug Enforcement Agencies seem to be close on the heels of drug traffickers. In less than 24 hours they have busted two large shipments, each worth more than US$10 million. According to a statement from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), its Drug Enforcement Unit and its Goods Examination Unit unearthed a quantity of cocaine pellets worth approximately $2 billion. The drug was hidden between 1500 bags of fish food destined for China. The GRA said that the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit has been called in and investigations are continuing. Meanwhile, sources close to the investigation have revealed that the shipper was identified as Andre Bristol, of Garnett Street. The container was destined for Angel International Logistic Limited, Hong Kong. The source said the cocaine weight some 230 kilograms (506 pounds). Two persons have since been detained to assist with investigations. NIS OPERATING IN THE RED - GM TELLS CONSULTATION The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is operating at a deficit. It is paying out more benefits than contributions received on a monthly basis. This is according to General Manager of the NIS, Mr. Terry Thomas. He was discussing the Eighth Actuarial Review during Public Consultation of the NIS at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) on Wednesday. “Our income has not been matching our expenditure…We have to do certain things to correct that so that we can have enough income in order to pay all the benefits that we have rather than eating into the reserves that we have.” The official added, “We are having an aging population and therefore, the rate of our outflow is much more than our inflow…there are less persons employed who are paying, so that’s why we have to increase the rate or get more persons to contribute to the scheme and investment income is also falling and therefore we are not getting lots of money from investment”.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
Flex Night Fitness Expo...
22 Exhibitors showcase products and Services
The attentive audience at yesterday’s opening of Flex Night Fitness Expo. The inaugural Flex Night Fitness Expo which saw some 22 exhibitors showing off their products and services, has been deemed a success. The event which was held yesterday at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) as part of the Flex Night International Bodybuilding and Fitness Show was opened by Managing Director of Flex Night Incorporated Donald Sinclair. Representatives of the exhibitors, apart from a number of senior citizens
were a part of the opening. Also attending the Expo during the course of the afternoon were students, members of the Guyana Defence Force, Peace Corp and members of the public. A special session was held for seniors teaching them how to stretch while special fitness routine sessions were held by Curtis McKenzie of Curtis Workout, Genesis Fitness Express and Fusion Fitness. Among the exhibitors were Ansa McAl, Alter Body,
Arrowpoint Resort, The Bag Bay Inc., B’s Beauty Circle, The Gift Centre, Giftland OfficeMax, Fitness Express, Interline Fitness, IPA, MCY&S, NAPS, Fitness Paradise Gym, D&J Shipping, Geddes Grant, Spice Garden Restaurant & Bar, Planet Fitness and Digicel. The Flex Night International Bodybuilding and Fitness Show was set for last evening where athletes from Guyana and Suriname clashed for individual and country glory.
Pele will not be playing in the Banks/ GFA tournament says Club President President of the Pele Football Club (PFC) Cecil Jacques has dispelled all rumors about his team’s participation in this year’s Banks DIH - sponsored Georgetown Football Association’s (GFA) Banks Beer President’s Cup. Pele is set to participate in the Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament and would begin their quest to capture the $4M first prize on Sunday, December 16 against Buxton Stars at the GFC ground. A highly vocal Jacques in fact condemned the GFA and their sponsors for wanting to lure the club’s senior members in playing, for the want of enhancing the image of their tournament. “They offered the players whom I wouldn’t name, as much as $800,000 to play in the tournament and that’s even before they kick a ball, but I’m making it known that Pele will not be playing in the GFA tournament. I told them (the players) who want to leave, go ahead but they are consequences that come with doing so,” said Jacques. According to the Club’s president, the players named a
Cecil Carey Jacques very senior Banks official and GFA Executive who made the offer which he labeled as unethical and unprofessional. “I want to condemn the Banks official that the players said who made the offer and the GFA executive because such things are bringing division in football; causing more harm than good. But over my dead body, Pele will not be playing in that tournament,” Jacques exclaimed. He pointed out that his remarks are not a personal attack on the GFA or their tournament sponsors, but mainly to point out that it’s not principle to make such advancements to members of
another team that are not part of their tournament. “We are not going to be dragged into the whole dispute that’s happening right now, our club just like the previous year’s committed to play in the Kashif and Shanghai tournament since we fall under the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and that should be respected. I will not name the officials from GFA or Banks DIH, but they have no right making contact with my players or team and I find it rather upsetting,” Jacques noted. Pele is said to be one of Guyana’s oldest football clubs at 40 years old, founded in 1972. The club has the likes of Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, one of Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s top strikers, as well as Konata Manning, Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant and several others of the country’s leading players. The team has only captured one Kashif and Shanghai title, winning in 2008 against Sunburst Camptown, while they have also finished as runners-up four times with last year being the most recent.
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Sunday December 09, 2012
IOC strips 4 medals from 2004 Athens Olympics LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Eight years after winning Olympic medals in Athens, four track and field athletes from eastern Europe were ordered to hand them back yesterday because of positive doping tests. Lance Armstrong, meanwhile, can hold onto his bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games for a little while longer. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board disqualified four athletes whose Athens doping samples were retested earlier this year and came back positive for steroids, including shot put gold medallist Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine. Also stripped were hammer throw silver medallist Ivan Tskikhan of Belarus and two bronze medallists — women’s shot putter Svetlana Krivelyova of Russia and discus thrower Irina Yatchenko of Belarus. The case of a fifth bronze medallist, weightlifter Oleg
Perepechenov of Russia, remains pending. The IOC said it will ask the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to get the four medals back and readjust the results and rankings from the Athens Games. Until then, no decision will be taken on reallocating the medals. Adam Nelson of the United States finished second in the shot put in Athens behind Bilonog and would stand to move up to gold. The IOC, meanwhile, held off stripping Armstrong of the bronze he won 12 years ago in the cycling road time trial in Sydney, citing procedural reasons for the delay. IOC leaders want the medal back following the damning US Anti-Doping Agency report that painted Armstrong as a systematic drug cheat and led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005. But the IOC said it must wait for cycling’s
governing body UCI to formally notify Armstrong of the loss of all his results since August 1998. The IOC wants to avoid any legal problems in connection with the eightyear statute of limitations in the Olympic rules. “The IOC today will not move,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said at a news conference following a twoday executive board meeting in Lausanne. “We need to have the situation whereby the UCI notifies officially Mr Armstrong of the fact that he will be disqualified, declared ineligible and that he should hand over his medal. “This is a legal obligation not for the IOC but for the International Cycling Union. When he will be notified, Mr Armstrong will have 21 days to launch an appeal if he wishes. It is only after this period of 21 days that the IOC can legally take action.” The intention of the IOC to wipe Armstrong from the Olympic record books remains clear.
Messi in Barca squad for Betis game after scare
Lionel Messi MADRID (Reuters) - Lionel Messi should be available for today’s La Liga match at Real Betis after recovering from a blow to the knee sustained in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Benfica, Barca said yesterday. The Argentine World Player of the Year initially appeared to have suffered a more serious injury after colliding with Benfica goalkeeper Artur late in the 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp but tests ruled out anything worse than bruising. “The Barca number 10 trained with the rest of his team mates on Saturday and (coach) Tito Vilanova has decided to take him to Seville,” the club said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es). “The Argentine footballer has recovered from the bruising to the bone on the outside of his left knee which meant he had to be taken off the pitch on Wednesday on a stretcher,” they added. “After the collision with Benfica keeper Artur the Barca forward had been working
hard to be available for the coach as soon as possible.” Vilanova suggested Messi would be included in the starting 11, as his unbeaten side seek a 14th win in 15 matches this season. They top the table with a La Liga record 40 points, six ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid and 11 ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid in third. “If there was any risk of injury Messi would not be travelling,” Vilanova told a news conference at Barca’s training ground. “Today he trained well without any discomfort,” he added. “There are still a lot of hours before the game.” Messi has the 40-year-old record for the most goals scored in a calendar year firmly in his sights. The 25-year-old, favourite to secure a fourth straight World Player award when the winner is announced next month, has 84 for club and country in 2012, one short of Gerd Mueller’s tally of 85 set for Bayern Munich and Germany in 1972. Barca also have Alexis Sanchez, Dani Alves and Marc Bartra available for the Betis game after the trio were declared fit by club medical staff on Saturday. The club have struggled playing away against Betis in recent times and have only managed one win in 11 matches at the Benito Villamarin stadium since 1999.
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Gerald Austin Williams former Guyana Int. 1983 - 1987 Statistician Charwayne Walker continues his series on Guyana’s World Cup players; today we are pleased to feature Gerald Austin Williams aka ‘Air Force One’, former Guyana International 1983 – 1987 and World Cup goalkeeper, 1984. Former Western Tigers and National custodian Gerald Austin Williams is the first World Cup goalkeeper to represent Guyana in qualifiers without any experience at either the national Under-18 or Under-23 levels. Williams’ predecessors, Wendell Sandiford, Denzil Thompson and Vibert DeFreitas were custodians in World Cup Qualifiers between 1976 and 1980. Sandiford and Thompson represented Guyana at the Under-18 level while DeFreitas did so at the Under-23 level in 1978. So the trio all had some level of International experience when they were called for their debut World Cup duties. The same cannot be said of Gerald Williams who was first called to the National team in 1983 but the men performing duties between the uprights were Kenrick ‘Blackie’ Pollard and the late Brian Tracey. In 1984, Lennox Arthur took over from Mervin ‘Pug’ Wilson as National Coach and the man between the uprights for Guyana was Gerald ‘Air Force One’ Williams, the Western Tigers custodian debut ended in a 3-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago at Skinner Park. He was hardly tested in his second International because Guyana thrashed India 3-0 at the GCC Ground, B o u r d a . Wi l l i a m s w a s superb in his third game b u t S u r i n a m e won that World Cup Qualifier 1-0 in their capitol, Paramaribo. Williams admitted that it was his carelessness that caused Suriname to equalize which earned the Dutch speaking nation a 1-1 draw in the return fixture at the GCC Ground, Bourda in August 1984. According to Williams, Coach Arthur was very upset because Guyana was sent packing from the 1984 World Cup campaign. He however redeemed himself by performing outstandingly against the same opponents in November when Guyana drew both encounters 1-1. If there were any doubts about Williams’ ability and composure at the highest level, he put those fares to rest in his next series
against the Mighty Cubans, January 1985 at GCC. He spectacularly denied the Cubans strikers in both matches; as a result of ‘Air Force One’ brilliance in goal, Guyana defeated Cuba for the first time in an International series. Williams still remains the only Guyanese goalkeeper to play in a victorious series against Cuba. His 7th game was a 1-0 Guyana victory over French Guiana in Cayenne. Suriname seemed to be his biggest nightmare because in the next game the Dutchmen needled Guyana and the English speaking South American nation was eliminated. Williams and Richard ‘Lion in the Cage’ Alphonso shared duties in his 9th and 10th games against French Guiana under lights at Camp Ayanganna. Guyana won that series 1-0. The same duo shared duties the following year, 1986 when Guyana drew their series against Barbados 1-1 at GCC. Williams said his easiest series between the up rights was against Venezuela because Guyana won 7-0 and 6-0 in November 1986 at Camp Ayanganna. Game number 15 for Williams produced 3-1 win for the Guyanese over the Bahamas in an Olympic qualifier in Nassau, 1987. Williams was fearless in his next game when Guyana won 3-1 against St. Lucia in Castries. In the next match, Guyana blanked the Bahamians 4-0 in the Olympic return fixture at GCC. He was tearful when he talked about his 18th International because his team mate Julian Moe was arrested and jailed for a banned substance on arrival at the Grantley Adams Airport and despite that challenge; Guyana still drew that friendly 2-2. Williams said that he was hardly tested in his 19th game, an Olympic Qualifier when Guyana humiliated the Dominican Republic 4-0 at GCC. He turned out for the return game in Santo Domingo along with Richard Alphonso to stand between the uprights. Williams returned to the International scene against Grenada at GCC in August 1987 and in that series, Guyana drew the series opener 1-1 before going on to secure a solid 3-0 win in the finale which was contested at the Mackenzie Sports Club, Ground, Linden. Those matches were
Williams’ 20th and 21st games, the next ended in a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors at Camp Ayanganna. His next two caps were Olympic Qualifiers; Guyana lost 6-0 and 3-0 respectively to Guatemala in Guatemala City, October 1987. ‘Gerald Air Force One’ Williams’ last duties in national colours was December 3, 1987 at the
Municipal Stadium in Santa Rosa California where Guyana lost to CONCACAF giants Mexico 9-0 playing with exactly 11 men. According to Deon Barnwell who was the national striker, Gerald was superb in goal although the team lost by such a wide margin. International Tours 1984 Trinidad - friendly International 1985 Suriname – World
World Cup goalkeeper 1984 Cup Qualifier 1986 French Guiana – CFU Eliminator 1986 Santo Domingo Olympic Qualifier 1987 Bahamas – Olympic Qualifier 1987 St. Lucia – Friendly International 1987 Barbados – Friendly International
Guatemala – 1987 Olympic Qualifier 1987 Los Angeles – Olympic Qualifier Williams spoiled his impeccable record by absconding with several other players after the Mexico game in Santa Rosa. He played 25 International between 1984 and 1987.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
Memories of Clement David DeFreitas By Aubrey Bryce Great memories make the best stories. Taking that thought a little further, especially in this particular case, there are certain memories so powerful that they seemingly reach out and compel you to tell its story. Such is the case of Clement David DeFreitas. Most of us knew him simply as David DeFreitas. To me, he was the indomitable one. But never mind me here is what the experts have said about him: “Simply Terrific”. Sports Editor – The Chronicle “Wonder Boy….DeFreitas - a world beater” Cedric Wilshire “David DeFreitas – a new Caribbean Champion” J. A. “Pirate” Alexander “British Guiana’s cycling Champion” “Guyanese Star Cyclist – David DeFreitas is a likeable individual with a pleasing personality”. ‘Bruiser’ Thomas, Editor, Graphic Sports These are only but a few of the accolades describing David’s accomplishments as a bike rider but more importantly, one can only imagine, the personal self-worth and esteem he obviously achieved as a result of it. Then, observing the response of the thousands that experienced the immense joy which he brought by winning in front of them, one got the impression that in as much as he was winning for himself, he was also winning for them. By doing so, he created a tremendous source of national pride even within the confines of the GCC ground at Bourda or the BGCC ground in Thomas Lands or for those
David DeFreitas gathered around the Band Stand on the Sea Wall at Eve Leary. His dominating victories seemingly galvanized a nation and brought a new and real meaning to our motto, “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”. David DeFreitas was born January 27, 1945 to his mom, Enid. He was the third of seven. His other siblings being Michael, Ed, Brian, Aubrey, John and his only sister, Loretta. As a young boy growing up not too far
from where he lived, I could not wait to get my hands on the day’ newspapers to see what they would be saying about him on that particular day. See, I wanted to be like him so that they could write the same things that they were saying about him, about me. I would train on the same roads he trained on. I knew when and where. I pretty much stalked him. I positioned my training just so I could see him and maybe, he might see me. A hello, a wave or even a mere nod from him would give me wings and made me feel like I could fly. And I did – I soared. In my naivety, my thinking was that if I emulated exactly what he did, then maybe, I might be as good as he was. But he just wasn’t good, the man was great…excellent really. David started racing as a junior in 1959. Here is his resume: . 1959 – Started a racing career as a junior cyclist . 1959 – 1962 – Moved aggressively through the ranks from juniors to “A” Class in a matter of a very short 3 years. . 1962 – Appointed to the National Team . 1964 – Selected National Representative to the West Indies Championships – Barbados, West Indies . 1965 – National Representative – Central American and Caribbean Championships, San Juan, Puerto Rico Bronze Medal - 4000-m Pursuit West Indies Track & Field Championships – Barbados, W.I. Gold Medal – 4000-m Pursuit Sportsman of the Year – an honour shared with the great West Indian cricket legend, Sir Basil Butcher . 1966 - British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Jamaica, West Indies . 1967 – Pan American Games, Winnipeg, Canada In the beginning, performances were consistent, but not what cycling fans would see as spectacular. Successes were enough to earn him the required promotions that would eventually place him in the elite class of cycling in Guyana. On arrival there his training intensified, his skills developed and his performances blossomed. Winning in this class against the cream of the current crop of cyclists became commonplace but even more significantly, his ownership and outright domination of the longer races are legend. From 1962 through 1968, David became a permanent fixture on Guyana’s national cycling team. Local and international, he cut a path of successful and valiant performances that would become the standard by which others, following in his footsteps, would be required
to emulate. Not just for Guyanese cyclists but for cycling in all the Western Hemisphere. Reports of his representation of our country against the best competition in the world, whether locally or internationally, was always in high praise of his physical abilities and mental toughness. When asked by a prominent sports writer of the day to share his secret of success as a bike rider, he simply said, “…a rider has to have the ability to go beyond the burn”. How profound, yet does not engender even the least bit of boastfulness. Success for David was not always in victory. David was an intelligent rider. He rode with panache, he was aggressive, he was determined and tenacious, but more importantly, cycling fans were always thrilled and entertained by his Herculean demonstration of stamina and power. No more was this evident as in The August Olympiad held at the British Guiana Cricket Club Ground in August of 1965. On this auspicious occasion, in the final event of Day 1 of an highly competitive international cycling meet against the best competition from the West Indies, The United Kingdom, The United States and South America, David lapped the field, not once, but three times in the Blue Riband 20,000-m event. The rationale by the so-called pundits of the day was an obvious one – “a one-time thing”, a fluke, if you will. But when, just a mere 21 hours later, that same athlete returns with the singular intention to win in the same fashion by lapping the field twice in a much longer 25,000-m event, it’s no fluke. Especially when all of the variables remain the same. In this instance, the same competitive field having full knowledge that there is a definite possibility of the inevitability of being lapped twice in as many days and can seemingly do absolutely nothing about it. When this occurs one can be very sure that it’s not a fluke but rather, a demonstration of an extra-ordinary talent. These moments and many more like them were the very nature of David’s contribution to the nation. Personally, these images and the lifetime of memories like them are what mine are all about. I am sorry to hear and experience the death of a man with whom I shared the same passion and whom I consider a compatriot and friend in the traditional sense of the words. Death is sad but his life to me, brought great joy. I choose to celebrate David’s victories, to enjoy his memories, to be grateful for them, to cherish them and to give thanks that they have enriched my life. Finally, when I remember them, I get that urge that I’d like to sit down and write a story about them. Kaieteur Sport extends deepest sympathy to the relative and friends of the late Clement David DeFreitas.
Thunder rumble over Lakers, win seventh straight (Reuters - Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook gorged himself with 27 points in the first half as the Thunder extended their recent dominant run with a 114-108 win over the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The victory was the Thunder’s seventh in a row, and their 16th win of the season, while the Lakers are struggling at 9-11. After trailing by a point after the first quarter, the Thunder (16-4) exploded in the second with 41 to open up a 14-point lead at the half, a gap the Lakers could not reel in. “That was a solid win, we had some very good stretches but then in the second half we had some not so good stretches. We relaxed some on defense in the second half,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Westbrook had a huge first half,
scoring 27 of his 33 points to help the Thunder open up the big gap. The battle of the scoring big guns went to Thunder forward Kevin Durant with 36 points and nine rebounds, while Lakers guard Kobe Bryant finished with 35 points. “It wasn’t us, Westbrook just went crazy on us and they’re a great shooting basketball team that had a hot quarter,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters. The teams met in the Western Conference semi-finals last season with the Thunder winning in five games before eventually losing to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. While the Thunder had the upper hand on Friday, the Lakers will undoubtedly improve with the return of Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Pau Gasol. Howard contributed 23 points and 18 rebounds.
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“Sometimes in Test cricket, three are too few; five would be much better!” Colin E. H. Croft India and England, having shared the first two Tests, are in a 3rd Test tussle to the death in as tough a cricket series as you could get anywhere. This series will go right down to the proverbial wire, both sides mauling and brawling along the way! At least there will be a fourth Test, the final Test due in Nagpur next week, very useful for both economics and good cricket. Neither team will fall without a tremendous fight! Only last week, South Africa concluded what was a truly memorable victorious series, in three Test matches, against their old nemesis in cricket, rugby, tennis, Formula 1, any and all sports - Australia! Even with series nowadays having just two or sometimes three Tests matches, these two series especially should have been extended to the traditional five Tests. The cricket on display is that good! Room must be made for total entertainment, first class sports consumption and outright excellence on the field of play. Indeed, that is what any sport is all about! Even when these teams play to draws, the cricket is so exciting! South Africa started this recent Test series against Australia while being ranked No. 1. The Antipodeans, always proud of their “Baggy Green’, were ranked at No. 3. What a great contest both teams put on!
Graeme Smith
India, meantime, is ranked No. 5, but with its recent No. 1 ranking rapidly sliding downwardly , one had to expect, like super-ship SS Titanic, a final cumulative effort before the large, gigantic form of a country of over one billion finally rolled over and died, as its great cricketing heroes left one after the other! England was also recently No. 1, but playing against India was always going to bring out the best of the “Boys from Blighty”. They knew, like they do when preparing for eternal foes Australia, that playing, and actually winning, a series in India is as close any Test team comes to being accepted globally. Just for statistics, 3913 runs were scored in the three Tests featuring South Africa and Australia, in fifteen days
of the most glorious cricket. That was, by simple mathematics, about 260 runs per day. If that was not enough, even if batting dominated overall, ninety six wickets were also taken in three Tests, over six wicketsper-day average. If that is not real entertainment, then nothing in Test cricket is! Not surprisingly, bowlers took a pasting with such batting talent at hand. South Africa had six centuries, from the superlative Hashim Amla, twice; Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Faf Du Plessis and AB De Villiers. Australia countered well with four centuries; from their eternal wizard, Mike Hussey, twice; Ed Cowans and David Warner. Michael Clarke, batting with such class, pomp and certainty these days, scored two double centuries in this short series, and still
Top horses for Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club horserace meet Boxing Day may be three weeks away but already turfites and horserace fans are gearing up for the action when the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club in collaboration with Carib Beer and the Ramnarayn family of New York presents a one day horserace meet at the club’s Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne location, December 26 next. As usual, those attending the event can expect scorching races as horses from all of the top stables are scheduled to grace the tracks. The feature attraction, the B & Lower, will be contested over a one mile distance with the winner becoming an instant millionaire, carting off $1.2M, while the second
place finisher receives half that amount. The third and fourth places receive $300,000 and $150,000 respectively. Turfites will also be thrilled with the race in the D3 & Lower over 6 furlongs with a top purse of $500,000 and a second place prize of half that amount. Jockeys finishing 3rd and 4th receive $125,000 and $63,000 respectively. There will also be the H & Lower, I/3 contest, the 2 years old, and the J & Lower among others. Horse owners will be contesting for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes and patrons could look forward to highly competitive races among the best thoroughbreds locally. Horse owners are
reminded that entries close on Sunday, December 16 and late entries will not be entertained. Events are conducted under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority and owners of horses must pay at least $5,000 for each horse at the time of entry. If not paid the horses’ names would not appear on the official programme. Owners and trainers are also reminded that they could have their horses registered through Justice Kennard (226-1399, 225-4818, 6237609), Roopnarine Matadial (325-3192), Ivan Dipnarine (331-03160, Lionel Moonsammy (614-5812) or Isabelle Beaton (325-3007, 693-7812).
came out on the losing team! What can sports produce? There were only two fivewicket hauls in eleven innings of this series, showing that no one can dominate bowling in any Test team anymore. Only Morne Morkel, for South Africa, and Michel Stark, for Australia, managed that. With such batting available, it really could, maybe should, have been worse! Australia had its chances too. In Test No. 2, they came very close, with eight of the needed ten Australia wickets, in 2nd innings, the Proteas having been set 430 to win. That South Africa managed a creditable draw was due almost single-handedly to the unheralded debutant Du Plessis, who made 110no! As Graeme Smith, one of my favorite international cricket captains, who ranks equally in my mind with Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene, suggested after winning that final Test at Perth; “I am extremely humbled.
I hope that the people of Australia can respect what we have done and the way we have done it. For us, it means the world!” Yes, South Africa beating Australia at anything is that important. They do not come any bigger that that! Not to be outdone by Australia and South Africa, India and England have, so far, put up some outstanding numbers in the three Tests to date, with over three thousand runs being scored so far in the first two and one half Tests. Boy, are bowlers, especially faster bowlers, taking a beating these days! To date, as Test No 3 bubbles up to its titillating climax, India has scored two centuries; Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara, then a double hundred too from Pujara. England captain Alastair Cook can do no wrong with the bat, with three of England four centuries to date, while the other was from the indomitable Kevin Pietersen.
Colin E. H. Croft India won Test No. 1 due almost entirely to the up-andarrived 24 year old Pujara, who made 206no in India’s 1st innings of 521, along with Pragyan Ojha, another relatively inexperienced 26 year old slow left-arm orthodox spinner, who had nine wickets in that game. What a start for India! England struck back immediately, eventually winning, at a canter, Test No. 2, by ten wickets. With this fast and resultoriented Test cricket, such teams should have had fivegame series. Enjoy!
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Kaieteur News
Sunday December 09, 2012
Torres scores twice to deny Sunderland BBC Sport - Fernando Torres scored twice as Chelsea secured a first Premier League win in eight games and ensured Sunderland dropped into the relegation zone. The Blues dominated early on and a classy Torres volley made it 1-0. Sunderland responded but a rash tackle by Sebastian Larsson gifted Torres a second from the penalty spot and Juan Mata drove in a third after the break. Adam Johnson’s fine shot gave the hosts hope but Chelsea held on to give Rafael Benitez a first league win as boss. It was the Spaniard’s first Premier League win in four attempts but it increases the pressure on counterpart Martin O’Neill, whose side have won only two games in 23 league matches and have slipped to 18th place in the table following Southampton’s win over Reading. A dismal run of form had left an 10-point gap between Chelsea and leaders Manchester United at the start
of the day. Benitez had insisted the deficit at the top of the table was not insurmountable. But with no wins in seven league games and an enforced break because of the World Club Cup in Japan, defeat against a hopelessly out-of-form Black Cats side would surely have ended their title chances. Chelsea established control from the outset. Eden Hazard appeared unfortunate not to win a penalty when Larsson tugged him back as the Belgian raced through on goal, Mata elected to try to find Torres and the Spaniard was only denied by smart goalkeeping from Simon Mignolet. But Torres soon steered them ahead with a beautifully controlled volley from Hazard’s cross. Chelsea’s rhythm was disrupted when holding midfielder Oriol Romeu was forced off after 20 minutes with what appeared to be a knee injury. And, having been completely outplayed, Sunderland suddenly upped the tempo. They started to
press further up the pitch, denying the visitors space in their own half and forcing mistakes. O’Neill’s side still struggled to create clear chances, but Stephane Sessegnon tested keeper Petr Cech with a swerving long-range effort and there were a couple of nervy moments in the Blues defence. However, any fears of a repeat of last week’s secondhalf capitulation against West Ham all but disappeared as Chelsea scored either side of the interval. Larsson raced back and needlessly chopped down Ramires on the goalline. And Torres showed renewed confidence to assume spot-kick responsibilities and found the corner with his first penalty in English football. Three minutes after the restart Mata had made it 3-0, calmly shooting across goal when an instinctive first-time Torres strike crashed back off the bar. Moses almost added a fourth soon after but Johnson’s breathtaking strike
Fernando Torres scores (Getty Images)
across Cech gave the hosts hope with 25 minutes left. And suddenly Chelsea started to look shaky. David Luiz and Gary Cahill both made important defensive interceptions as Sunderland dominated territory.
Johnson forced a fine save from Cech from a 25-yard free-kick, Wickham - who replaced the injured Steven Fletcher up front - went close with a low shot across goal and Craig Gardner struck the bar with a powerful
free-kick. But Sunderland were unable to prevent a 15th defeat in 16 games against Chelsea, who head off to Japan in a much better frame of mind and with Torres suddenly in form.
European Olympics: Baku, Azerbaijan to host first Games
BBC Sports - The first European Olympics will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2015. Delegations from the 49 members of the European Olympic Committee (EOC) met in Rome to vote on the proposal. “The National Olympic Committees (NOC) have received assurance that the event will not cost them a penny, but bring financial gains,” the EOC said. The competition, similar to the Asian or Pan-American Games, will take place every four years and feature around 15 sports in its programme. Backed heavily by EOC president Patrick Hickey, the European Games were first suggested in 2010. After a cool response initially the proposal has now been voted through. The EOC held a secret ballot at its 41st General Assembly in Rome with 38 voting in favour, eight against and three abstaining. It was thought Russia and Turkey would be candidates in the race to host the competition but it has since emerged that Baku was the only city to bid. The EOC said: “The exact dates have not yet been fixed, but the Games will presumably take place in late spring or early summer and will have around 15 sports on the programme. “There are plenty of technical details to
decide, but the Assembly has above all shown its will to go ahead, and make this sports event, which is in no way intended to be a copy of the Olympic Games, a tool with which to enhance the attractiveness of sport.” The British Olympic Association (BOA) is one of the 49 members of the EOC, and chief executive Andy Hunt travelled to the Italian capital for Friday’s meetings and Saturday’s vote. Before the vote, the BOA was understood to be cautiously supportive of the concept, provided room could be found for it in a crowded timetable. That was a major worry for some of the larger sports in the Olympic movement, with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) particularly opposed to any new addition to the international schedule. The European Athletics Association (EAA) has already voted against the participation of its members in the Games. An IAAF spokesman told BBC Sport: “The IAAF position remains as voted few months ago with other summer Olympic IFs and we support European Athletics Association position not to accept to participate. This is our position.”
Sunday December 09, 2012
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Alastair Cook’s men on verge of Test victory BBC Sport - England are on the brink of a resounding win over India i n t h e t h i r d Te s t a f t e r ripping through the home side’s top order on the fourth day. Chasing 207 to make England bat again, India raced to 86-0 at lunch. But Graeme Swann bowled Virender Sehwag to spark a collapse in which India lost six wickets for 36 runs. The tourists looked certain to wrap up an innings win, only for Ravichandran Ashwin (83) to steer India to 239-9 at the close, a slender lead of 32 runs. Ashwin’s superb cameo, which featured partnerships of 38 with Ishant Sharma and and an unbroken 42 with Pragyan Ojha, spared India the ignominy of an innings defeat and took the match into a fifth day to the delight of a raucous home crowd. But England will be confident of finishing the job today to take a 2-1 lead in the series with one match to play. A day of fluctuating fortunes hinged on a single delivery as Graeme Swann got the first ball after lunch to rip between Sehwag’s bat and pad and cannon into his off stump. The dismissal stopped India in their tracks and gave England the opportunity to reassert the supremacy they had enjoyed for the first three days of the Test. Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a double hundred and a century in the first two Tests, was the next to fall as Ian Bell capitalised on a mixup with Gautam Gambhir to throw down the stumps from midwicket. Gambhir survived an appeal for a slip catch from the next delivery when the
R Ashwin recorded a half-century whilst batting with No. 10 (BCCI)
England got rid of Ishant Sharma after a 38 run ninth wicket partnership (BCCI) third umpire established the ball had not struck his bat but was out for 40 in the following over as a waft at Steven Finn was snaffled by Matt Prior. Sachin Tendulkar’s disappointing series continued as he edged a ball from Swann that did not turn before Yuvraj Singh was clean bowled by one from James Anderson that kept low. Captain Mahendra Dhoni was caught behind for a duck off the same bowler to round off a thrilling passage of play. After a brief pre-tea lull, Finn produced an awayswinger to have Virat Kohli caught behind for 20 and trapped Zaheer on the back foot right in front of his stumps. With India still 48 runs in arrears with only two wickets in hand, England appeared primed for their first innings victory in India since 1976,
but Ashwin had other ideas. Expertly farming the strike and surviving a fumbled stumping chance by Prior, he belied his position at number eight with an increasingly authoritative innings. Panesar bowled Sharma to leave India nine down and 10 runs behind, but Ashwin attacked the new ball to ensure England’s work is not quite done. The tourists had earlier failed to build on their overnight position of 509-6 as India enjoyed a near-perfect opening session. Swann nicked his first ball of the day to slip and Prior was caught behind trying to run Zaheer down to third man. Anderson edged Ashwin to Sehwag at slip for nine and when Panesar was harshly adjudged lbw from the next delivery England had lost their last four wickets for 14 in 25 minutes.
Football restlessness will be eased today with double header at GFC The restlessness that football fans experienced awaiting the start of this year’s Banks Beer Knockout Cup will be eased today with the commencement of competition at the GFC ground. In the opening game, Banks All Stars takes on Rusal at 18:00 hrs and that will be followed by the feature clash between Victoria Kings All Stars versus Eagles United. The tournament carries prize monies in excess of $9million and is expected to last for eight playing days commencing on December 16 with the grand Opening Ceremony and is expected to
conclude on January 1 with matches being played, at the GCC and GFC grounds. The winning team will receive $4Million, runner-up$2.5M, 3rd place-$1.5M and 4th place-$1M with outstanding individual performances to benefit from
additional incentives. Among the clubs entered in the competition are: Houston Stars, GFC, Riddim Squad, GDF, GPF, Fruta Conquerors, Camptown, Banks All Stars, Georgetown Masters, Nothern Rangers, Black Pearl, Flamingo, Beacon, Santos, University of Guyana and Charlestown United. The tournament resumes on Wednesday with another double header planed for the same venue. In the first game, Ann’s Grove All Stars tackles Botofago of Linden and that will be followed by Blueberry Hill versus Caribbean United. Kick-off time is 18:00hrs.
India carried the momentum into their batting performance as Sehwag sprinted to 49 off 56 balls and Gambhir smashed Panesar for a six and four in the last over before lunch to leave the hosts only 121 runs behind with all 10 wickets intact.
But Swann’s removal of Sehwag swung the balance and set England on course for a win that would leave them needing only a draw in the fourth Test in Nagpur for a first series victory in India since 1985. Scores: India 316
(Tendulkar 76, Gambhir 60, Dhoni 52, Panesar 4-90, Anderson 3-89) and 239 for 9 (Ashwin 83*, Finn 3-37, Anderson 2-38, Swann 2-70) lead England 523 (Cook 190, Trott 87, Trott 57, Pietersen 54, Ojha 4-142) by 32 runs.
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Sunday December 09, 2012
Over 100 entries for Bush Lot United Turf Club $7M horserace meet today By Samuel Whyte Over 100 entries have been received as horse owners made last minute effort to be on board the Bush Lot United Turf Club in collaboration with the Young Achievers Sports and Entertainment Group one day mega horserace meet set for today at the club’s entity at Sea View Park, West Coast Berbice. With all entries received for the eight-race meet the line up in all of the events promises much excitement for the fans. Added to that is the more than $7M in cash incentives and trophies available including two Black Berry phones. The stage is all set and with the massive renovation works at the venue the arena is expected to be packed as the day’s activity is expected to be riveting. The events to be contested are the feature B and lower 1500M match up compliments of Banks DIH Limited for $1M and trophy
out of a total purse of $2M and among those to do battle are Score is Even, California strike Grande De Roja, Sleep In Town, Got to Go, Top of the line, Marathon Man, Prado’s Gold, Mission King, Miss Karina and Gold Plated in their quest for the gold. The co-feature D3 and lower 1200M gallop for a top prize of $450,000 and trophy has the likes of Who is on the case, Diamond Elusion, Rena Del café, Home Bush baby, Diamond Dazzle, Dark and Lovely, Dubai Duchess, Super Cat and Stormy Flame burning up the track for top honours. The other co-feature race for Three year old Guyana and West Indies bred horses over 1200M for a $450,000 winners money and trophy over 1500M will see the likes of Settle in Seattle, Serenity, Storm in a tea Cup, Windy War, Feels Like gold, Red Cloud, Rosetta, Flying in the Park, Silent Lizzy and R.J Express in battle. Ameera’s Joy will be looking for another win in the
Horses will be thundering off from these starting gates today as they hunt a share of the $7M in prizes on offer.
Guyana and West Indies Bred two year old 1000M event for the $350,000 winners take and trophy but will first have to contend with the likes of Gold Rush, The Wild Grinder, Silver Jet and It’s My Turn.
The G and lower is another 1000M race and has a first prize of $300,000 and trophy with a full complement of entries that includes: Sleep In Town, Third World, Joyful Victory, Captain Crook, Gold Plated, The Girl Dem Sugar, Gabriel’s Gold, Damascus Dream, Appealing Harvest, Traditional man, Dream Girl, Feels Like gold, Indian King and R.J Express. The race for Guyana bred two year old horses over 1000M and a first prize of $200,000 and trophy will be assaulted by Silent Night, Little Axe, Pleasant Surprise, Dream Boy, Royal Passion,
She So Special, Party Time, Jasmine and Easy to win. The ‘I’ and lower animals lining up in the 1000M event for the winning purse of $170,000 and trophy includes Mona Lisa, I want Revenge, Princess Renuka, Easy to win, Pixie Fire, Sun Raiser, Royal Time, Try Again, Windy Killer among others. The other two races for the J &K and lower class horses over 1400M has winning monies set at $150,000 and trophies. Among those in the lineup are McGyver, Bounty Flyer, Royal Request, Summer Breezer, Mr. Cool, Lucky Gold,
Gully God, Silver Kid, Miss Katrina, Speed Vision, Bounty Flyer, Royal Intention among others. The top individual performers including top jockey, stable and trainer will be presented with trophies compliments of The Trophy Stall, Bourda Market. Last minute queries can be made by calling Coordinator and Treasurer Lakeram B. Sukhdeo on Number 232-0558 or 6720810 or President Rooparam Jagit (tel 232-0231), Dennis De Roop on number 609-9143, Annie on 613-1884 and Campton on 690-0569. Race time is 12:30 hrs.
World and regional governing football bodies FIFA and CONCACAF has responded to a earlier sent by Alpha President Odinga Lumumba making representation on the situation in football here with the aim of seeking the two bodies help or for him to intervene and find a solution. However, a release from Khalsan Pr Inc. has informed that the governing football bodies has requested that Lumumba make on moves to intervene because they will be making efforts to do so early in the new year. The release stated, CONCACAF, the Caribbean, Central American and Caribbean arm of FIFA has recommended that Alpha United president Odinga Lumumba not go ahead with a plan to form a third party to govern local football. CONCACAF, by way of a
letter signed by deputy secretary general Markus Katter, informed that FIFA and CONCACAF are currently working in bringing together all involved parties with the view of finding an amicable and prompt resolution to the present matter and are planning a joint mission to Guyana in early January 2013 with that aim. “We thank you for your profound concern in the current situation involving the Guyana Football Federation and the Georgetown Football Association and for your efforts in attempting to bring harmony to Guyanese football,” the letter from CONCACAF stated. “In view of the cited legal precepts and in earnest of the preservation of due process and hierarchical order in the administration of football in Guyana, we strongly
recommend not proceeding with the intended course of action described in your sent correspondence. Just over a week ago Lumumba had written to FIFA, CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union, updating them of the chaos in Guyana’s football. In that letter the former GFA president outlined his ultimatum to both the Guyana Football Federation and Georgetown Football Association that should they fail to arrive at a resolution to the crisis by January 1, 2013 then he, along with other concerned members of the football fraternity, would form a parallel body to run football. Lumumba today said that he will abide by the CONCACAF recent request but will continue his petition drive in case the mediation fails. The petition drive has already received over two thousand signatures.
FIFA, CONCACAF responds to Odinga Lumumba
Sunday December 09, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Mayor Green 78th birthday football Chess officials move to Berbice for tourney fixed for Friday at Den Amstel DDL Topco Juices one day tourney
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lay in the Mayor Hamilton Green 78th birth anniversary interward KO soccer tournament concludes Friday at the Den Amstel Ground with an eight-match fiesta which will see several of the Westside teams on show. When the action gets underway at 19:00hrs, Sara Lodge will play Pouderoyen in an exhibition encounter. That will be followed by quarterfinal matches. Stewartville opens this segment against Alberttown; Goed Fortuin follows on pitch against Newtown Kitty, Uitvlugt battle Grove and Den Amstel tangle with Kingston. The respective winners collide in the semifinals, with the winners of those encounters facing off in the Grand Finale. However, before the final, an exhibition contest will bring together Crane (Seawall) and Police. At stake in the tournament is the MACORP
Anthony Harding $200,000 prize, while the runner-up claims the Eddie Grant $100,000 second prize. Expected to be on show are Jahal Harvey for Uitvlugt, Ashley and Anthony Harding of Goed Fortuin and Gideon Payne of Den Amstel leading their respective teams. General Equipment Limited, BK International and Odinga Lumumba are responsible for the lighting at the venue. After the on field action, Black Kat and Slingerz Family Sound
Ashley Harding
Gideon Payne Systems will provide entertainment for the after game hang.
s the year comes to a close, the executives of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) continue to address its mandate to broaden the scope of participation and will travel to the University of Guyana Campus, Tain Corentyne, Berbice where they will stage a one-day rapid chess tournament this morning. Beverage giants, Demerara Distillers Limited, have once again acquiesced to a sponsorship deal and Thursday evening, DDL Sales Manager Mrs. Alexis Langhorne visited the at the KEI-SHAR’S Shopping Complex where she handed over a cheque of $40,000 to the organizers to facilitate the successful staging of the tournament. The DDL Sales Manager reminded of her organization’s involvement in the development of the sport which has aided in the resuscitation process. She spoke of her executives’
Ms Langhorne hands over the cheque to Mr. Nandolall.
desire to provide the chess players with enough opportunities to compete at tournament level. “We believe that our input will serve as the catalyst to foster regular tournaments and by extension, enhance support for this sport,” she said. She then opined that the game will grow from strength to strength, Ms Langhorne further said that DDL is committed to the development of sport in Guyana and is pleased with the way in which the federation operates. “TOPCO
is proud to contribute to chess as it is not only a fun pastime activity but it also helps participants to be self motivated while increasing their imagination and creativity,” the company official added while encouraging more broad based involvement. President of the GCF, Shiv Nandalall thanked Ms Langhorne and the DDL for their support throughout the year. He also disclosed that this is the 4 of the 5 tournament commitment of DDL with the final one slated for December 30 next. th
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Bangladesh hold nerve to win series
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a n g l a d e s h ’s batsmen held it t o g e t h e r, b u t only just. After failing to chase 211 Friday night, they overcame three difficult phases in their pursuit of a target of similar proportion, to win a series they had led 2-0 but almost let slip out of their grasp. Twenty-four hours after their fans exited Shere Bangla in despair, the stadium was a venue of riotous celebration, as Nasir Hossain carved the winning boundary to drag his team to a two-wicket victory and claim the series against West Indies 3-2. There was chaos at the finish. With one run needed, Nasir smashed the ball over cover and raised his arms in triumph as he completed the winning run. His partner, the N o . 1 0 E l i a s S u n n y, however, did not make it to the other end because he thought the ball had gone for four. The fielder in the deep returned it and Kieran Powell uprooted a stump amid the celebrations. Darren Sammy’s protests that a run had not been completed prompted the
Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim lead Gangman Style celebrations (AFP).
Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo run between the wickets (AFP). umpires to check. No run had indeed been completed; nobody had been run out either. Everyone took their positions again and Nasir’s slashing bat sparked off another round of celebrations. The confusion in those final moments was in contrast to the calm with
which Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir steered a tense chase, after Bangladesh’s bowlers had recovered admirably from a Kieron Pollard battering. C h a s i n g 2 1 7 , Bangladesh were 30 for 3 in the ninth over, the top order unable to withstand Kemar Roach’s pace and bounce.
The previous evening, the collapse had ended only when the hosts were shot out for 136, but not in this deciding contest. The shift in momentum was immediate; Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah scored 29 runs off the 11 balls f o l l o w i n g J a h u r u l ’s dismissal. West Indies’ bowling was poor: their lengths were too short and their lines were scattered outside off and down leg side, resulting in 18 wides. They had conceded 26 extras in each of the previous three ODIs; they gave away 27 today.
Sammy, who excelled with bat and ball in the fourth match, leaked 16 runs in the tenth over. He conceded six runs in wides, bowled a long-hop that Mahmudullah pulled for four and a halfvolley that was driven to the cover boundary. The change bowlers also struggled. Andre Russell pitched short and wide and was cut twice by Mushfiqur to the boundary. Sunil Narine bowled five tight balls in his first over before the sixth was loose and punished. Roach returned for his second spell in the 19th over and he too conceded two boundaries. Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah ran hard between the wickets, and cut and pulled forcefully. Only when they had added 91 at better than a run a ball did West Indies have any respite. Both batsmen were bowled by Narine in their 40s and Bangladesh were in front no more. After 30 overs in the first innings, West Indies had been 145 for 3. Bangladesh, at the same stage of their chase, were 148 for 5. West Indies had collapsed thereafter, though, while Bangladesh did not. Nasir, in the company of rookie Mominul Haque, added 53 for the sixth wicket. They consolidated at first, and,once the batting Powerplay was taken in the 36th over, they attacked. Nasir slogged Veerasammy Permaul over the midwicket boundary to bring the runs required to fewer than 40. And when Mominul was dismissed with Bangladesh
close, Sohag Gazi took then closer with quick boundaries. He too fell, but Nasir stayed the course. That Bangladesh were not chasing a target closer to 250 was because their spinners took a clutch of wickets on either side of a 132-run stand between Pollard and Darren Bravo. They kept West Indies scoreless for 34 deliveries, between overs 2.6 and 8.4, and dismissed Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle during that period to leave the visitors on 17 for 3. The repair job was up to Bravo and Pollard, who had failed in three matches after saying he would smash the ball into another city. Pollard didn’t hit any into Khulna, but he hit eight balls for six between midwicket and long-off, punishing Sunny in particular. Mushfiqur needed to call on a fifth spinner to dismiss Pollard; Mominul got one to keep low and sneak past the bat to hit off stump to dismiss him for 84 for 74 balls. A real scrap was in progress as West Indies began the last ten overs on 188 for 5 and Mahmudullah struck twice in the 41st over; his first wicket was of Bravo for 51. West Indies were dismissed in 48 overs, and in a game of small margins, 12 unused deliveries and 27 runs concedes in extras was the largesse Bangladesh needed to achieve a momentous result. Scores: Bangladesh 221 for 8 (Mahmudullah 48, Narine 3-38) beat West Indies 217 (Pollard 85, Bravo 51, Shafiul 3-31) by two wickets.
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