Kaieteur News

Saturday Edition

Online readership yesterday 95,577

February 02, 2013 - Vol. 7 No. 05 - Price $80 kaieteurnews@yahoo.com Website:http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly

U.S. gives $172M to fight corruption, drug trade Work for Guyana's Champion of the Earth The United States embassy is helping to create a clean environment but there are those who have other ideas both in the city and along East Coast Demerara.

Final witness Controversy brews

testifies at over “illegal” land sale Linden COI in Lamaha Gardens Goldminer's execution…

Cops question occupants of Meadowbrook Gardens house

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

Russia cancels Guyana debts…

Writes off 1984 helicopter $57M loans Russia has cancelled almost $57M in debt owed by Guyana.

Yesterday, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, and Nikolay Smirnov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Guyana, exchanged official documents that concluded Guyana’s debt owed to Russia for US$277,490.24 or G$56.7M. The cancelled debt originated from two loans contracted on October 23, 1984 and December 24, 1984 between the former Guyana National Co-operative Bank (GNCB) on behalf of the Government of Guyana and “Aviaexport”, a Russian foreign trade agency, for an amount totaling US$9,409,044.71 to purchase two military helicopters for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

The Russian Federation had previously provided debt relief to Guyana on December 22, 2004 by writingoff 98.32 per cent of the US$16,573,498.37 that was outstanding at that time. The current write-off covers the remaining balance.

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, makes a point to Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Nikolay Smirnov (at right), yesterday. At left is an official of the Russian Embassy According to the stateowned news agency, this agreement puts into effect the decision taken by the Russian Federation in December 2006 to go beyond the Paris Club Initiative and write-off 100

per cent of the debt of those countries who had reached completion point under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative by December 31, 2006, including Guyana.

The funds are to be used

to assist Guyana in financing projects in the areas of poverty reduction, environmental protection as well as economic development.

According to the joint statement, the agreement was

signed by the two Governments with a view to developing cooperation, strengthening the cordial friendship between the two countries and striving together to attain the Millennium Development Goals as stipulated in the United Nations Millennium Declaration of September 8, 2000.

Russia and Guyana have been successfully cooperating in the areas of economic and human capital investments.

In recent years, a number of Guyanese students have benefited from scholarships from the Russian Government and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI), a subsidiary of RUSAL (Russia’s Aluminium Company), to attend universities in Russia.

In 2012, the five Guyanese students, who were sponsored by the Russian Government, returned to Guyana as specialists in the various areas, after having completed their course of study.

Another five students

who were sponsored by BCGI in 2011 to study in Russia are yet to complete their studies.

Upon their return to Guyana, they would be hired to work for BCGI. “BCGI is a flagship joint venture of successful economic cooperation and is a top bauxite producer with significant payments of royalties.

“The company has plans to increase production to 1.9 million tonnes in 2013 thereby bringing new jobs for Guyanese,” the statement said.

According to the government, RUSAL, throughout its local bauxite subsidiary, has spent close to $20M on various projects as part of its social commitment to the Region 10 community.

“Guyana continues to inspire Russian artists and to attract tourists. In October 2012, a Russian artist, Maya Lobova, employed by BCGI, presented her paintings at the Castellani House and received a warm welcome and positive responses from Guyanese as well as foreign visitors.”

DO YOU KNOW THAT JAGDEO’S BEST FRIEND IS THE ONLY PERSON IN GUYANA TO OWN THREE MEDIA HOUSES ...

Radio, Television and Newspaper?

Dr. Bobby Ramroop

1) Channel 28 now TVG 28 2) A radio station - 89.5FM 3) Guyana Times newspaper

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

Saturday February 2, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Controversy brews over “illegal” land sale in Lamaha Gardens

By Zena Henry Lamaha Gardens residents are peeved over what they say is the recent illegal sale of a huge plot of land used as a public playfield and community relaxation area for decades to a private businessman.

The residents are blaming the government whom they say is responsible for the illegal transaction that will now largely leave them without access to an open space.

According to them, the land, located at Durabana Square, has been available to the neighbourhood children and other residents since the early 1960s. Now, they charge that the “prime property” was “stolen and sold illegally, way below the market price” to a businessman with high connections.

Kaieteur News was told that the land is estimated at a market value of over $100M, but the plot which could hold about five executive houses, was sold reportedly for a mere $25M, as told to them by the businessman.

It is understood that the

open space had been for years maintained by residents, and “all of a sudden, we saw a sign that said private property and the land being fenced.”

One male resident, who preferred not to be named, said, “They stole the land.”

He remembered living in Campbellville-Kitty when Lamaha Gardens was being developed in the 1960s into a high scale residential area for senior public servants and Government officials, most of whom were members of the then Civil Service Association (CSA), now the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).

He said that at first the land held what could be called a guard hut, where residents would assemble at nights and have community patrols.

He said that the land was meant to be a playground and it was originally being looked after by the GPSU. The land, he noted, had been handed over by former President Forbes Burnham.

Giving details, another male resident said that in earlier days, there had been a

The plot of land at the centre of the controversy

citizens’ group which required a monthly subscription to help with security. That group became inactive, but recently efforts were being made to get the group going again.

He said that last Sunday he saw the fence going up around the said land and

learnt that the Government had sold the property.

The man who lived in the location for over 30 years said that he was told that the government had allegedly identified that land for some unknown activity.

He however opined that the land should not be sold

since it is part of the community.

“It has been a part of Lamaha Gardens from the beginning. It was born out of land allocated years ago. I don’t know how the government is making any claims.” Several well-known citizens have properties in the

immediate surroundings.

Residents have indicated their reluctance to let the matter go unnoticed.

A meeting is scheduled for the new week to discuss the situation and to plan the way forward. Legal action could result for the imminent forum.

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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: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210

Where is the quality healthcare?

It is a blessing that medical attention at the level of the government is free. For one, up until Clico folded there was little or no medical insurance so had one have had to pay for medical attention; then one would have had to dig deep into one’s pocket.

Colonial Life Insurance offered something of medical insurance to those who wished to contribute. Many of these contributors were public servants and in the end they all complained of being left in the cold because the insurance company failed to honour their claims. But even when these claims were honoured, the insurance company never matched the entire amount.

The National Insurance Scheme also offers some medical coverage. For some critically ill people the company would pay the money up front but in most cases the contributor is expected to pay his bill then forward the claim for reimbursement. And then, the NIS would only pay a fraction.

We note these points because relatives of a terminally ill patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital complained about the treatment meted out to this patient. The relatives spoke of the obvious lack of attention to the point that the patient was left in filth.

Surely, when the government decided that medical attention at public institutions would be free, it did not mean that patients would have to suffer at the whims and fancies of the health providers. It did not send a message that free medical attention attracted substandard medical treatment. Indeed, the public facilities are often overwhelmed. There are never enough doctors and nurses at these institutions. There is a reason for this. Nurses and doctors migrate as soon as the period of their contract ends.

Those who do not migrate establish private practice and are often lost to the public health care system.

The absence of trained nurses is most glaring. There was a time when Guyana boasted an excellent healthcare system. People who needed medical attention were properly cared for. The nurses were also properly supervised. The matrons patrolled their stations and were unforgiving when slackness presented itself.

When these nurses migrated the political administration in the health sector decided that the best thing was to train so much more so that even if there is migration there would be enough. The problem was finding suitably qualified people to begin the training. It is said that the recruiters have actually lowered the entrance qualification.

We noticed, too, that of those who qualified for entry a mere ten per cent happened to be successful at the final examinations. Something must be radically wrong. It must be that the trainees are not up to the required standard.

But healthcare goes beyond being academically capable of appreciating the finer points of patient care, it involves an attitude. That is why nurses take an oath. However, it would appear that many of those who take the oath only pay lip service to the words that fashion the oath.

And so we turn to the relatives of the terminally patient whom they said was forced to exist in conditions that one would not wish on their enemies. These relatives said that the nurses would either be sleeping when they should be checking on their patients or they are gossiping to the exclusion of the patients. Maternity patients often complain about being ignored by the nurses. Many have been the reports that women about to deliver their babies calling out to nurses who would be hostile. This is not nursing. So one must ask, “Where is the supervision?”

Women have delivered their babies on their own in hospital, something that could only happen in a place where supervision is lax and where professionalism is at a very low level. And as we examine the situation we cannot help but note that we have sent some five hundred people to be trained as doctors. By now we should have had more than we need but we seem to be little better that we were before the training began. It may be that people are disregarding the training contract.

We need to review what we offer as healthcare; we need to take condign action against the poor performers, and above all we need to understand that we could find ourselves in a hospital where we would take umbrage to shoddy treatment.

Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

A new attitude to our environment is vital DEAR EDITOR, Most people would agree that the way our capital city is managed leaves much to be desired. There are piles and piles of garbage to be seen at every turn, not to mention overgrown vegetation in our trenches and canals, cloggedup drains and dilapidated buildings which all conspire to create a depressing scenario. Georgetown, once regarded as a Garden City, is now reduced to what some people referred to as a “Garbage City”.

With all its shortcomings, Georgetown is still a beautiful place. Those of us who had the opportunity to view the city from above can testify to its beauty, its well organized network of roads and streets, and the amazing mix of architecture reflecting the vagaries of our colonial past.

This blend of Victorian, Dutch and local architecture is quite a wonder to behold and gives our city a sense of uniqueness which we should all be proud of.

Sadly, our city has deteriorated over the years and has lost its former glory.

There is need for a concerted

effort to rescue it. As a first step, there must be awareness by all that the City needs help and that every individual who resides or does business in the environs of the City should see it as a duty and responsibility to make the city cleaner and more environmentally friendly.

The Mayor and Council has statutory responsibility for the day to day management of the City, subject to policy directives from the Local Government Ministry. The general perception is that the City is not effectively managed and that much more could have been achieved if there were better organization and planning by the relevant bodies. There are also governance issues which are made even worse by the absence of Local Government elections which were not held for close to two decades. The Mayor of Georgetown has probably made municipal history by being the longest serving mayor in the city of Georgetown if not beyond, having been there since 1994 when Local Government elections were last held.

Georgetown is not just our capital city. It is also the seat of Government and where all of our foreign embassies and international agencies are located. It is the commercial and business centre of Guyana where tens of thousands of people interface and interact on a daily basis. It is a major tourist attraction and the first point of contact for foreigners who visit, especially for the first time.

One of the first impressions that foreigners have is the cleanliness of a capital city. It leaves a lasting impression on them. This is why all governments and municipal authorities all over the world practically go out of their way to ensure that their cities are kept clean and tidy.

Singapore is one such country where cleanliness and environmental health is taken very seriously. One of the first things that struck me during a visit to that country some years ago was the cleanliness of the city and the emphasis placed on enhancing the city with well kept lawns, beautiful parks and gardens and the overall greenery of the entire city.

I later learnt that the country has one of the most severe littering and pilfering laws in the world. Anyone caught littering or defacing public buildings could be flogged on conviction. There was the case of an American student who was caught some years ago and was ordered to be flogged. Despite appeals from the President of the United States and other high profile leaders for a stay

on the punishment, the authorities went ahead with the decision. Singapore is perhaps the only country in the world where chewing gums are banned in an attempt to safeguard public buildings from possible defacement.

There is, I believe, a case for tougher laws to prevent littering and garbage disposal. The existing legislation is in my view inadequate and for the most part not being rigorously enforced. The same is true for people who fail to live up to their own responsibilities to keep their surroundings clean and are wholly dependent on the government or local government bodies to do for them what they should be doing as part of their individual and civic duty.

There is need to review the current laws and regulations to address the issue of absentee property owners who leave their premises and surroundings unkempt. These are serious health hazards and provide safe havens for criminals.

In short, we need a culture change especially on how we treat and relate to the environment in which we live.

All of us like to see a clean and well-kept environment but too many of us are not contributing to the creation of such an environment.

The creation and maintenance of such an environment requires a new attitude which ideally should commence at the nursery level and reinforced at the home.

Hydar Ally

Saturday February 2, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

This situation is becoming unacceptably claustrophobic and debilitating DEAR EDITOR, A patriotic, urbane and distinguished Guyanese is now lying on a hospital bed as a recovering victim of a callous, brutal and vicious attack on his person and on his family by four ‘youth men’, one of whom reportedly shouted “Police”, before launching their assault.

Mr. Oscar Clarke, former Regional Chairman, Minister of Government and Diplomat and the current General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform, has been my colleague and friend for over four decades.

Our paths have crossed frequently here in Guyana and on assignments in Cuba and East Africa. He is one of the most respected men I have known.

The youth men who intruded on his premises at Plum Park, Sophia, last Tuesday evening seemed not to have known of the status and station of Mr. Clarke….. or did they? Was this assault influenced by a hidden agenda or was it just a criminal act - the manifestation of anger and greed by deviant youth against anyone in the society?

I am of the view that it is the latter. Acts of violence within recent times have been visited on a wide cross section of victims - the grandmother alone in her home, the miner in his camp in the hinterland, the watchman at a government office, the nouveau riche in the night club, the abused wife, the violated child, and the broken body of the drunken driver’s roadkill.

And there are other victims, experiencing other

types of violence. Our collective citizenry, impacted by the violence meted out to the environment and the health of citizens by the dumping of garbage, particularly of the non biodegradable kind, alongside our streets, path ways and trails, in our canals, rivers and on our sea shore.

Our conscience is stricken by the sight of homeless men and women dwelling on the pavements. Our patriotism is assaulted by the visible neglect of the symbols of our nationhood - evidenced by the frayed and tattered Golden Arrowhead fluttering on some of our flag poles and the decaying infrastructure of our most cherished buildings.

We feel robbed by the erosion of sacred traditions and values that seem only to be of passing interest to those vested with the authority and responsibility for managing our state, regional and local institutions. Symptomatic of this mindset is the intolerable unpunctuality by senior functionaries at official functions.

Media reports of incidents of stabbings at our schools, of sexual assault on students, of dysfunctional behavior by some deviant religious leaders, are topical issues for that day only before being overtaken or overshadowed by each new day’s reports of traumatic events. Churches of all denominations are mostly preaching to the converted and look with a jaundiced eye or blinkered vision at the youth men and women outside of religions’ comfort zone, who are stranded on the highways and byways of life.

They are unlikely to be on the

radar of any social service or law enforcement agency until they commit a crime or misdemeanor, become wards of the Court and are shipped off to the New Opportunity Corps. These perhaps are the more fortunate ones who, hopefully, will derive benefits from the counseling, guidance, remedial education and vocational training to which they are exposed for the duration of their stay. But after that, what? The recruiters are waiting to initiate them into the criminal syndicates, if the after care and job placement opportunities are not available or ensured.

What do all of these manifestations of dysfunctionality in our society signify? In my opinion, we are not seeing the woods but for the trees. We are visionary when it comes to megaprojects but myopic when solutions need to be found to systemic issues that are undermining our society, its governance and its viability and sustainability.

I am not by nature and inclination a pessimist but this situation is becoming unacceptably claustrophobic and debilitating, sapping the morale and energies of those of us who, after 47 years of Independence, felt that we would have arrived at a safe harbour where national unity would be paramount even as we acknowledge and celebrate our religious, cultural and ethnic diversity.

We anticipated that the greater good of the nation and its citizens would be the mantra that would facilitate consensus and provide traction to move the country and society and all of its

citizens forward.

Sadly, where we are now is not the outcome we anticipated 47 years after the euphoria of May 26, 1966.

Fissures in the fabric of our society along the fault lines of politics and ethnicity continue to fuel the perception, rightly or wrongly, that political alignments, ethnicity and social standing are factors that influence decisions relating to equity, access, security and justice.

If we are to change this perception then one systemic change I proffer, is to harness the potential of the youth men and women who are falling out of the formal society and embrace them, counsel, guide and train them to be proud and productive Guyanese, realising their true potential. I believe such an initiative, planned and implemented through creative partnerships, will garner support and traction.

We need to fashion an enabling environment, not of garrisons, gated communities and gaols, but one where we

the people feel motivated to empower ourselves to pursue our vocations, display our talents, entrepreneurial skills, patriotism, and good neighbourliness, with the enthusiasm, vigour and vitality of a Nation and its people on the move.

In his book: Interventions (2012), former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan referred to the concept of ubuntu, a Xhosa word describing a notion that all citizens of Africa instinctively relate to, a notion of collective dependence: “I am because we are”. It is a philosophy that denotes a sense of an equal share of all in society and in one another.

In three years time, 2016, we shall be celebrating our 50th year of Independence.

We owe it to ourselves to arrest the slide, to remove the muzzles from our mouths, the blinkers from our eyes, the ear plugs from our ears, and truly pledge ourselves individually and collectively:“To honour always the Flag of Guyana, and to be loyal to our country; to be

obedient to the Laws of Guyana; to love our fellow citizens; and, to dedicate our energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana”. In this Year of C o m m e m o r a t i v e Anniversaries, we must reflect on the trials and tribulations undergone by our ancestors in their quest to free themselves from the shackles of slavery, the bonds of indentureship and the boundaries of reservations, and to devote their energies towards leaving us a rich legacy. We can draw strength and inspiration from their examples and deeds.

If we can do our own stocktaking now and strive to consolidate the good and expunge the bad, and if we can rededicate ourselves to building a nation and society of which we can all be proud, then the blood shed by Oscar Clarke and other victims from all walks of life, status and station, including our ancestors, would not have been in vain.

Joseph G Singh Major General (ret’d)

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

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

A 20-year cycle of completely valueless spending and a recurring gravy train

DEAR EDITOR, An ordinary Guyanese man or woman tries to buy the best his/her money could afford. That individual wants quality, longevity and an item that will deliver the best quality for his/her dollar. That Guyanese man or woman in the street will care for and maintain that item to ensure it lasts its shelf life or even beyond.

It is this value system and the awareness of value for money that has helped many

of the poor in this country stay afloat even as the PPP’s enrichment of their wealthy friends at the top while neglecting the working class continues.

The working class people who are economically marginalized are struggling but in their struggles, they practice these philosophies that allow them to get good value for the little money they have to spend. On the other hand, there is the PPP government. It robs this

country with a mountain of draconian taxes. There is the 16%VAT and the 33S!% personal income taxes, plus NIS, plus all kinds of fees for vehicle licences and everything else that the PPP takes from the working class.

What does the PPP do with this money? It takes money from those who prudently manage their money to stay alive and barely stay afloat and it refuses to seek value for that money it spends. If this

happens now and then, it could be chalked up to accidents. But this is a 20-year cycle of completely valueless spending that continues day after day in Guyana.

Why does this reckless squander mania continue?

Because the PPP and their cronies have created the perfect system to rip the Guyanese people off. A bridge collapses and the contract is given to the same contractor. A road falls apart within months of being built

and more money is given to the same contractor or another failed contractor to do the job again. The road lasts only a few more months before falling apart again. A brand new building starts sinking and the PPP builds another one at five times the price of the former while that one starts seriously cracking.

The Guyanese people complain bitterly yet the PPP continues to play this corrupt game. Why? Well, there is money to be made from inferior work performed again and again by substandard contractors. Just like there is serious money to be made from absurd single sourcing contracts to select companies.

When things keep falling apart the day after they were built, there is the excuse and justification to spend more of taxpayers’ money fixing and re-fixing or replacing. The more money is spent, the more opportunities exist for kickbacks. This is a recurring gravy train. Theft has to hide under some pretense so why not under the constant failure of infrastructure and the constant need to fix and

renovate and replace?

Then there is the buying junk philosophy and trying to fool the Guyanese people with it. The latest shocker was the ‘wheelchairs’ it obtained, basically a plastic chair with some wheels attached to the legs. I am not making this up.

Check the newspapers if you are prepared to laugh and cry at the same time. These are all scams intended to profit a few at the expense of the country.

The PPP cannot change the cast because they need these players to keep playing the game of ripping off Guyanese and filling their pockets. This entire thing is a massive kickback scheme to transfer taxpayers’ money to the cabal and their friends.

The poor man has to ask himself if he would have spent his little bit of income in the manner the PPP is doing. That is the question serious persons ask themselves when voting in developed countries. That is why over half a million Guyanese are living in those lands and many more are fighting desperately to flee the PPP paradise.

M. Maxwell

DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me to respond to a letter which appeared on page 4, of the Friday, February 1, 2013 edition of your newspaper under the caption “Drivers finding GRA difficult to access”.

According to the letter, the writer Ms. Nadia Burke, while trying to access the services of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA)’s new headquarters on Camp Street, encountered some difficulties with parking. In the letter, Ms Burke noted the fact that she had to leave her vehicle unattended close to Church Street as that was the closest available parking area.

On behalf of the GRA, I would like to publicly go on record and apologize to Ms Burke, and all other taxpayers, who may have faced similar occurrences, for the inconvenience caused. We at the GRA understand your frustrations and are currently working assiduously to ensure that this matter is resolved as soon as possible.

To this end, the GRA, with the support of the Government of Guyana, is currently in the process of acquiring several locations in the environs of its new headquarters to facilitate

orderly and secured parking for its valued taxpayers.

It is expected that the proposed parking lots and areas will significantly alleviate the aforementioned nuisance that is not only being experienced by well over seven hundred (700) GRA officers that will be occupying the building by the end of February 2013, but also the many hundred members of the public who visit GRA’s offices for various transactions on a daily basis.

These new parking lots and designated areas for parking, once acquired and prepared in a suitable manner, will offer options to our stakeholders and will be equipped with trained security personnel.

Like every new venture, the GRA has faced problems with the transition from several locations around Georgetown, to consolidate all of its operations into one single location.

It is believed that this consolidation will reap many benefits to the taxpaying public in the months and years to come. In this regard, we humbly ask for the continued patience and support of the taxpaying public as we transition.

Khurshid Sattaur Commissioner-General

Kindly bear with us as we transition

Saturday February 2, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

US Embassy launches Creativity and Innovation Contest for High School Students -as it tackles garbage situation Under the theme “Looking for new ways to reduce the ecological footprint” the 2013 Creativity and Innovation Contest was launched yesterday morning at the St Joseph High School.

The competition is sponsored by the US Embassy here in Georgetown, along with Conservation International, Environmental Community Health Organization (ECHO) and the Pick it Up Campaign Guyana, in association with “Guyana Shines” The contest seeks entries from high school students as they propose viable solutions to environmental challenges in the homes, communities, schools and neighbourhoods.

The contest, according to organizers, is between students from Guyana, Suriname, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Present at yesterday’s launch was US Ambassador D. Brent Hardt, Miss India Worldwide Alana Seebarran, British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre; Canadian High Commissioner, David Devine; Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, European Union Ambassador Robert Kopecky; along with representatives from Youth Challenge Guyana and Conservation International.

Ambassador Hardt who gave the feature address, said that he was pleased to be with representatives of the diplomatic, civil society organizations, along with vlounteers that form a part of

US Ambassador to Guyana Brent Hardt Guyana Shines.

According to Hardt, Guyana Shines was launched on Earth Day last year, and the work has never really stopped. He said that the motivation and goal in creating Guyana Shines is to encourage and mobilize citizens and communities to maintain a clean environment, address the serious littering problem, and return Guyana to its former splendor as the Garden City of the Caribbean.

He said that maintaining a clean environment is important for public health, maintaining Guyana’s extraordinary biodiversity, and for encouraging tourism development. According to Hardt it also helps keep waterways from becoming clogged — which makes flooding less likely and improves the quality of life for everyone.

“We need look no further than the recent high tides when the Liliendaal pumps could not be turned on because they were blocked by

garbage, resulting in flood damage to nearby properties and it took the Minister of Public Works himself to directly supervise the removal of trash at the pumps to get them up and running the next day…So we can see that trash is not just an eyesore, but something that can threaten lives, property and public health.”

The ambassador said that “Guyana Shines” seeks to encourage the people of Guyana to embrace civic activism and to come together as communities to find solutions to the litter problem.

So far, he said, under the umbrella of Guyana Shines, the United States embassy has supported a number of hands-on, clean-up projects within specific Georgetown neighborhoods. These cleanup campaigns, Hardt said, have brought communities together in common action.

He added that the team has worked together with local communities in Lodge, Tucville, East La Penitence, and Festival City to clean up these neighborhoods.

“We have modified our school presentations this year to make them even better.

Students will be left with concrete information about opportunities for recycling in Guyana and where they can send their waste in return for cash.

“They will be taught some new methods to reduce and re-use materials. Students will learn how easy it is to make a compost heap, at school or at home. And most importantly, students will learn about ways to spread awareness and inspire others to care about the environment.”

Saturday February 2, 2013

Culture Ministry launches Drama School

The present batch of students performing a piece titled “creativity” at the launching ceremony last Tuesday The Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports on Tuesday evening last, formally launched the National Theatre Art School which will be housed in the upper flat of National Cultural Centre.

Culture Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, during his remarks at the launching ceremony stated that a drama school has been a long awaited venture by his ministry. He describes it as a dream come true.

“Through the National Drama Festival we realized that a lot of people are interested in drama in our country and we feel that the role of the school is helping them to polish those skills. The school will help persons with their performances and look at the technical side of theatre because we want to utilise the facilities here at the (National)

Cultural Centre to do lighting on stage and stage management and sounds and special courses to deal with designs, wardrobe and so on to enhance what we are doing,” Dr Anthony said.

Director of Drama, Collette Jones-Chin, commenting on what the theater is all about, explained that the courses offered are acting, voice, movement, English Language and literature, lights, sounds, directing and the history of theatre, script writing, and costume and creativeness, makeup for theatre, business of theatre, introduction to theatre and set designs and stage craft and management.

D r.

Anthony in explaining the reason for the location of the school said that the National Cultural Centre was chosen after it was realized that the facility is being underutilized.

He added that in an effort to put the vacant space to use, the Ministry we would like to later open a café and an art gallery. The aim is to create an area where persons can go during the day to enjoy a nice cup of coffee while they observe the local art.

Courses at the National Theatre Art School will commence next Monday with the 18 students who have already enrolled. Upon completing two years, students will be accredited with diplomas.

Certificates will be awarded to those who complete the first year program. It was explained that it is compulsory that first year students take all the courses offered.

During the second year, students will be able to select a subject area in which they want to either major or minor.

The students will then be awarded a diploma which will enable them to move up to another level in an effort to secure an associate degree in theatre arts.

Secretary to the Guyana Prize for Literature Management Committee, Professor Al Creighton, who gave a background on theatre in Guyana, stated that the opening of a Drama school is a very significant event as it brings together drama and education.

He said that the first theatre in Guyana was opened in 1810, with its first production being held in February 24 of that year.

New Norway Honorary Consul accredited Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn RodriguesBirkett, yesterday, handed over to Mr. Desmond Sears the Exequatur confirming the approval of the Government of Guyana to his appointment by the Government of Norway as Honorary of Consul of Norway in Guyana.

This act took place in the Main Conference Room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Sears who replaces Mr. Lance Carberry who held that position from 1995, is the

Executive Director of Delmur Company, Limited.

He previously held the position of Executive Director of Omai Transportation and Equipment Services and Forestry and Technical Consulting Services.

He also worked in the Bauxite Industry from 1974 to 1993.

He has qualified in professional shipping with an emphasis on ship management and the economics of shipping.

Saturday February 2, 2013

Kaieteur News

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WHAT IS SOURCE OF OUR FEARS? Dr. Ali Mazrui, the renowned African scholar NEVER said that it is unfortunate that for a sizeable portion of Guyana’s population, the memory of hate is not great.

While it is debatable that the memory of hate in Guyana is also short, it would be inaccurate to attribute such a statement to Mazrui.

Ali Mazrui never commented on Guyana’s historical memory of hate. He came to Guyana in 1988 as part of observances that were organized to mark the 150th anniversary of Emancipation and he did not dabble in our country’s fractured politics.

During his address, he did however publicly urg0e then President Desmond Hoyte to restore “national legitimacy” to Walter Rodney. This appeal was greeted by warm applause from the audience.

Mazrui never dealt with how deep or lasting was the memory of hate in Guyana. In the context of his address he argued that on his continent there is a short memory of hate.

Mazrui has, as an academic, consistently argued this position. It was his way of advancing the view that in Africa there is a culture of tolerance. He never discussed the memory of hate in Guyana; never did, at any time.

He called for national legitimacy to be restored to

Walter Rodney. This call could not have been more misdirected. It was asking too much of the then PNC government which the WPA once held responsible for the murder of Rodney, to deliver “national legitimacy” to Rodney.

Further, Rodney did not need national legitimacy. He has been described as the “prophet of self emancipation” and certainly does not need the stamp of legitimacy from a government which his party held culpable for his assassination.

The call for “national legitimacy” must not be confused with the call for the closure to be put to his death.

This latter call which was consistently supported by his party was made by the family of Rodney. It was made during the 25th anniversary observances of his death.

There has been no closure. This process became a victim of opportunistic politics from within Rodney’s party. His family’s request for closure became a victim of the WPA quest for alliance politics.

The lack of closure was a sad outcome for a party which claimed to be Rodneyite but which was clearly willing to sacrifice Rodney on the altar of political opportunism.

Any possibility of bringing closure to Rodney’s assassination is now remote

Dem boys seh...

Bar Bee sharing out Whizz Because dem got sorry mek li’l boy does mash big man toe. De Burke boy find out that somebody thief he identity and commit nuff traffic violation. But somebody who vex wid Burke because he always got a protest on hand fuh when Jagdeo visit New York decide that dem gun sink Burke suh dem holler how Burke get arrest fuh identity theft.

Dem send de news to Kwame who order de Chronicle and de Gee Tee Vee fuh carry de story. Bar Bee hear de news and he decide that he gun carry de same story because Burke was always tormenting he friend Bar Rat. That is how he carry de story in he papers and pun he TV. Rob Bert, who controlling Channel 65, order dem to carry de story. De next thing you know is that all of dem who close to Bar Rat had de story.

One day later was wailing and gnashing of teeth. De story wrang and Burke put a lawyer pun dem tail. When dem realize that Burke gun lash dem fuh all dem gat Kwame order de Gee Tee Vee to apologise.

Now Burke deh in New York. How he can hear a TV apology in Guyana?

But de story didn’t done deh. Burke seh that sari does sell in Fip shop and he don’t wear dem. Bur dem boys seh that de man in New York eh pun he own. He pick up fire rage and carry a story pun a web page he set up pun de instructions of nobody but somebody in de government. He didn’t form a company suh he got to tek de lash.

He begging dem fuh help he get a lawyer but nobody in Guyana ain’t tekking he calls. Dem ignoring he. He deh pun he own and now he regret that he tie bundle wid dem in de first place.

Bar Bee smile when he didn’t get a lawsuit but one land pun he desk de other day. In fact he get three—one fuh he radio, one fuh he TV and one fuh de Hard Times paper.

He got a headache. He does mek Whizz and Limacol fuh headache and de amount he share out already almost empty he bond. Talk half and soak a towel in Limacol fuh Bar Bee and Kwame

even though the PNCR has publicly indicated that it supports such an inquiry.

The WPA never demanded any act of contrition from the PNC before it jumped into bed with that party under the banner of APNU. The “confession” that the WPA was stockpiling weapons at the time of Rodney’s death will open a can of worms should any inquiry be held. This “confession” will perpetually haunt the WPA. Recently when there was a call for an investigation into violence in Guyana between 2006 and 20011, there was a rejoinder as to why such a call did not extend to the death of Rodney, the ballot box martyrs and all those who were killed or robbed in the crime wave that followed the

2002 prison break.

The call for an investigation into post 2004 violence is part of APNU’s agenda in prosecuting its campaign promises. This is why it is spending so much time passing non- binding motions in the National Assembly and then seeking to apply censure for no compliance with these nonbinding motions.

Like the AFC, APNU feels obligated to ensure that its campaign promises are at least placed on the parliamentary agenda. This is why there was a Bill tabled to cap the benefits for former Presidents.

And this is why there was a motion tabled to investigate violence after 2004.

These were all campaign issues of APNU and therefore they feel that they must do something to fulfill the

promises they made on these issues even though they do hold political power.

Their supporters are not going to hold the nonfulfillment of these promises against them because the supporters know that APNU does not have executive power.

This fact however does not mean that careful consideration should not be given to investigating violence in Guyana or whether any such investigation will contribute to national reconciliation.

There is a view that holds that digging up these skeletons from the past will do more harm than good.

There is also the view that a limited investigation into selected episodes of violence will create greater unease than any good that it will serve. It

is contended that what is needed is a wider Truth and Reconciliation process.

But will such a process really heal the wounds of the past, or will the suggestion flow from an exaggeration of our historic memory of conflict?

Have we moved on from that past and are the demons that now scare us of more recent vintage rather than historical in nature? Does the memory of hate still exist or have we moved on? In short are our fears of more recent vintage or are we still trapped by the past?

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

Women’s Army Corps celebrates 46 anniversary th

…Commodore Best calls on Army women to aim for higher standards The Women’s Army Corps of the Guyana Defence Force is observing its 46th year of existence and a grand church service was held yesterday to kick start a series of activities which will coincide with the celebration.

The church service was held at the auditorium at Base Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands.

On the occasion, the women were urged by Chief of Staff, Commodore Gary Best, to aim for higher standards for themselves and to seek out positive role models. Best, with specific reference to serving women in the army noted that they should make time to carve out their own identity and time for personal development.

“I urge you to establish a sense of value for yourselves and to find a positive role model like Ruth in the Bible, as women you must recognize that you are not trophies for men to have as possessions.

You were not born to be abused or cast aside; you were born to be success stories.”

The Chief of Staff further

implored the ranks, not to sell themselves short. “Do not trade your reputation for instant pleasure. Find a role model.”

He also underscored the fact that their working environment can sometimes be harsh but over the years efforts have been made to ‘soften’ it through standard operating procedures.

“We have put systems in place to deal with sexual harassment, domestic violence, deviant conduct and education.

Take advantage of these opportunities to better yourselves while you are serving.”

It was also noted by Commodore Best that over the years there have been some new and unprofessional attributes among the females in the army.

“Over the years in the Army, women stood out for their dress and uprightness and I’m not saying it was perfect but over the past four to five years the standard of the dress by our women has fallen dramatically.”

The Chief of Staff added

A section of the gathering at the Church Service yesterday. that there have also been an alarming number of instances where women in the army have been stealing from their own. To this the Chief of Staff said that this must not continue . “Aim for higher goals and standards and learn to be contented,” he advised.

The gathering was also given sound words of advice from Elder Angela Massiah of the First Assembly of God Church who delivered the sermon. The women were encouraged to be women of honor and of good standing.

The Women Army Crops has over the years been making significant contributions to the Guyana Defence Force. In the year of Guyana’s Independence, the GDF had barely established its first battalion of less than 500 men when it was forced

to deploy troops to Eteringbang on the country’s westernmost frontiers to confront Venezuela’s aggression.

The sudden removal of such a large number of men from such a small force resulted in a huge loss of

manpower. Soldiers had to be found quickly to secure the borders and others had to take their place in the camps.

The GDF’s solution was to recruit women.

The WAC was established in February 1967, with 60 female ranks.

Giftland celebrates 15th anniversary, offers “Lucky dip” promotion - New mall to open in October

Staff at the store dressed in their 15th anniversary outfits ready to serve patrons.

Giftland OfficeMax, in Water Street, Georgetown, yesterday launched its “Lucky dip” promotion as part of their 15th anniversary.

The promotion begins on February 15, 2013 and concludes 15 days later.

Customers will be able to benefit from 15 per cent discount today on selected items until February 14.

Giftland Officemax Public Relations Manager, Compton Babb, said that from the commencement of the event 15 persons will benefit from

the ‘Lucky Dip’ promotion daily. Persons shopping over $3,000 will be able to enter the competition.

Adding that prominent personalities would be doing the draw of the winners, Babb said that prizes include various array of items from within the store.

He also added that the Giftland OfficeMax Mall at Plantation Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara is set to open in October 2013.

It is being touted as the largest shopping mall in

Guyana with over 170,000 square feet of absolute excitement, including nine 20 feet aquarium, spacious, wide walkways and convenient seating areas with six escalators and four elevators, a food court with some 20 local and international cuisine choices, secure parking for 600 vehicles, services such as automated teller machines (ATMs) for all banks, beauty shops, spas, postal and bill payment services, creating employment for 200 people.

Saturday February 2, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Final witness Samad likely to be Berbice testifies at Linden COI campus director

By Latoya Giles The second phase of the Linden Commission of Inquiry ended yesterday, with Chairman of the Inquiry Justice Lensley Wolfe promising to have the full report completed and presented on or before February 28, 2012.

The commission was set up as part of an agreement between the government and the Region Ten representatives to ascertain who is culpable for the deaths of three protestors.

Margaret Somerset, the last witness to be called yesterday is the mother of 18year-old Ron Somerset.

According to the woman even though she got assistance from her other children she would still depend on her son financially.

The woman told commissioners yesterday that after her son’s burial she and her two young grandchildren migrated to Suriname to escape from the pain. Mrs. Somerset explained that her son was employed with her son-in-law at the Lake’s electronics store at Linden. The woman stated that her son would normally get a salary of $15,000 per week. According to the woman her son usually gave her about $10,000 per week to help with the house. She also stated that her son had started working since he was

Margaret Somerset, yesterday giving evidence.

16 years old, and was attending the Linden Technical School at the time of his death.

The mother added that she would periodically go into the interior and sell clothes, which earned her some money. She also said that three of her five children would also contribute to her, but the amount varies since they have their families. The children reside in the US, St. Maarten and in Brazil.

After she stated the source of her assistance, the commissioners opined that she was not truly dependent on her dead son. The commissioners are Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal, Queens Counsel K D Knights, former Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe, Justice Cecil Kennard and Justice Claudette Singh.

In August last year the Government and the Opposition came to an agreement on a foreign component being added to the Commission of Inquiry into the Linden protest killing.

On July 18, last, 24-year-old Shemroy Bouyea, 46-year-old Allan Lewis, and 17-year-old Ron Somerset were killed on the first day of a planned-five day protest by Lindeners.

The deaths stretched the protest for a month, as Lindeners pressed for a full investigation and opposition parties called for an international inquiry.

On August 21, Government and the Opposition finally signed an agreement paving the way for the beginning of a Commission of Inquiry into the unrest. The signing also saw the mining town returning to normality.

Recently released prisoner bolts from courtyard

…after learning he was jailed again ‘in absentia’ Selwyn Jackman who was recently released from the New Amsterdam Prisons and who was back in court on a charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, bolted from the court after learning he was sentenced to three years in jail on the charge.

He was found with 19 grams of cannabis on March 2, 2012 while he was in the New Amsterdam prison and serving a sentence of larceny.

Jackman, 40, of Angoy’s

Avenue and Cumberland, East Canje, Berbice, was a prisoner in the New Amsterdam prison when he was seen acting in a suspicious manner. He was searched and the drug was found in a plastic bag concealed in his crotch.

The matter was investigated and the man was subsequently charged. In court he pleaded not guilty.

However in the interim, his sentence on the larceny charge was completed in

December and he was granted bail on January 14, in the sum of $30,000.

When his matter was called on Wednesday he was not in court and he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail in his absence.

When he turned for his trial, he learnt that his matter was finished and that he was jailed.

Upon receiving the news, the man disappeared before he could be arrested.

A known drug dealer who mocked the police after he was released on bail one week ago on another drug charge has been nabbed again.

The court was told that police who were on a mobile patrol noticed Gordon Bruce throwing something over the fence of his St John Street, New Amsterdam premises them make a run for it.

He was pursued and nabbed and taken into custody. The substance was

retrieved, weighed, tested and found to be 7.8 grams of cocaine.

Bruce, called ‘Joe’,30, and a father of two of 18 St. John Street, New Amsterdam, appeared before Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the Sisters Magistrate’s Court, East Bank Berbice, and pleaded not guilty to the charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Bail was refused and he

was remanded to jail.

The man, along with two others, was caught in a house with two grams of cocaine and two grams of marijuana on January 16, last.

They were placed on $100,000 bail on the cocaine charge and $25,000 on the marijuana charge.

He had reportedly mocked at the cops after bail was posted for him.

Bruce will have to return to court on February 15.

Drug dealer nabbed with cocaine again

Professor Daizal Samad has been selected as the new Director of the University of Guyana, Berbice Campus (UGBC). A senior source has revealed that the list of applicants was shortlisted two weeks ago and the selection was made.

However, the UG Council still has to formally meet to ratify the selection. Samad is in Canada due to the death of his mother.

Prof Samad proceeded on end-of-contract leave in November, just days before the campus convocation ceremony. Phillip Da Silva proceeded to act as Director during the period. No Director ’s report was presented at the graduation.

Kaieteur News understands that several persons had applied for the managerial position, including several lecturers from the Berbice Campus. It was a highly competitive opening for Director.

Prof Samad is an academic with several lists of qualifications in academia. He taught for three years each at Cummings Lodge Secondary and the Port Mourant School.

He was awarded a scholarship in 1980 at the University of New Brunswick in Canada.

After the Master’s Degree, he was offered a job to lecture at the St. Thomas University in New Brunswick.

He was reading for the PhD at the time as well, and was appointed Assistant Professor there. He also taught Shakespeare to the students.

In 1993, he was awarded one of many to be had, Best Professor Award at the University.

Professor Samad returned to Guyana in 2008 and assumed the position of

Professor Daizal Samad Director of the Berbice Campus UGBC in 2010.

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Saturday February 2, 2013

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Gold miner’s execution…

Cops question occupants of Meadowbrook Gardens house Police are questioning two people who were in the Pine Grove, Meadowbrook Gardens house when gunmen shot and killed gold miner Jason Wills, called ‘Teddy’, on Thursday night.

One of the individuals in custody is a man who is related to the owner of the house. He is also a close friend of Wills. The other individual is the man’s mother-in-law, who, along with the friend, both reside in the house where Wills was slain.

The friend has reportedly told police that he, Wills and his mother-in law were all watching television on Thursday night when he and his mother-in-law went into the kitchen.

The friend alleged that he heard gunshots some 30 seconds after entering the kitchen and when the gunfire ceased, they found Wills’ bullet-riddled corpse in the living room.

Kaieteur News understands that the man and his mother-in-law also told investigators that the front door was open at the time.

It has been suggested that the gunmen entered via the open front door after scaling the fence.

However, this newspaper understands that police are baffled by the fact that a bullet was found in the kitchen,

understands that the father of seven was shot once behind the ear, twice in the armpits, once in the left shoulder and also in the abdomen.

A female resident said that she called 911 and Force Control after hearing the heavy gunfire but got no response. The woman said that she then called the East

Jason Wills which is separated by a wall from the living room where the gunmen shot Wills.

Investigators are still to find anyone who saw the killers enter or leave the premises. Some of the immediate neighbours said that they switched off their lights and lay low as soon as they heard the gunshots.

The 33-year-old goldminer from Mahdia was riddled with bullets around 20:00 hrs on Thursday, reportedly by at least two unidentified gunmen who stormed the Meadowbrook residence.

He was shot at least seven times at close range with what appeared to be an M-16 assault rifle and a .45 automatic pistol.

Kaieteur News

Caricom Secretariat worker dies in accident

A contractor assigned to the Caricom Secretariat died at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) around 03:15 pm yesterday, hours after he was struck by a minibus in front of his work place.

Dead is 67-year-old Wishart Thomas of Lot 41 Plaisance, East Coast Demerara.

Thomas was struck by a minibus while he was standing on the parapet of the Caricom Secretariat, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.

The dead man’s son, Steve Thomas, said that he was at work when he received a call around 10:00am from an employee at the Caricom Secretariat, informing him that his father had been involved in an accident.

“They call me and tell me about the accident and I come straight here to the hospital.

And when I reach I saw him; he was conscious and he was calling my name,” the younger Thomas said.

He added that eyewitnesses claimed that a minibus which was heading

Dead: Wishart Thomas up the East Coast was overtaking another vehicle when the driver lost control, hitting the 67-year-old man who was standing in front of the Caricom Secretariat.

“He was driving too speed, and he ended up in the other lane and hit my father,” Steve Thomas claimed.

The father of two was rushed to the Georgetown Hospital but died while he was undergoing surgery.

The driver of the minibus is said to be in police custody at the Turkeyen Police Station.

La Penitence Police Station and the phone rang once before being cut off. She finally contacted police ranks at IMPACT Base, Brickdam, and ranks arrived at the scene within ten minutes.

Close associates of the slain miner revealed that Wills, a former night club bouncer, operated a dredge

and a truck at Mahdia. He travelled from Mahdia two Saturdays ago. Kaieteur News was told that the slain m a n ’s mother returned to the United States on Thursday morning. She has since been informed of her son’s death.

Wills, a deportee, was a close associate of Ricardo

Rodrigues, who was slain in almost similar fashion in October 2012.

He is survived by his reputed wife and seven children, with the eldest aged 12 and the youngest, one year.

Wills’ father, Tony Wills, was also executed at Roxanne Burnham Gardens in the late eighties.

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Saturday February 2, 2013

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Link Show billed for February 15th opening

Guyana’s most popular annual satirical review, the GTT Link Show 29 opens on February 15 at the National Cultural Centre. It will continue until February 18 and again on February 24 and February 25.

Patrons are advised to secure their tickets early as there is no guarantee that there will be other shows.

The Link Show, first staged in 1981, is an annual

production that has been entertaining audiences throughout Guyana for the past three decades.

It has been performed in Toronto, New York, Washington and New Jersey.

There has never been a shortage of material for this popular theatrical production as Guyana’s social and political climate along with its political personalities, be they Government or Opposition, all

provide material for the scripts.

The cast is a combination of the veteran actors and others who have been in the past four Link Shows.

Director Ron Robinson will be teaming up with a large number of Guyana’s most prominent actors- Ajay Baksh, Sonia Yarde, Rajan Tiwari, Michael Ignatius, Simone Dowding, Lavonne George, Lloyda Nicholas-

Garrett, Kijana Lewis, Sherry Ann Dyal, Tishandra Inniss, Nuriyyih Gerrard, Raymond Persaud, Sean Budnah, Mark Kaim, Mark Luke-Edwards, Randolph Critchlow, Nirmala Narine, Troy Parboo and Paul Budnah.

Producer, Gem MadhooNascimento, is advising patrons to be there early as the show starts promptly at 20.00hours (8.00p.m.)

The GTT Link Show 29 is

produced by GEMS Theatre Productions and The Theatre Company.

Tickets are $2000, $1500

and $1000 and will be on sale at Ashmins, Giftland, Nigel’s and the National Cultural Centre.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

U.S. gives $172M to fight corruption, drugs trade In two agreements signed yesterday Guyana and the United States agreed to ramp up their cooperation in the areas of anti-corruption, law enforcement and information sharing.

The agreements valued at $172 million were signed between Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and U.S Ambassador Brent Hardt, result from the amendment of an agreement which was signed last April.

The United States government is funding the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, and has already plugged 200 million into the region.

However, under the initiative, it also arranges bilateral programmes with specific governments.

Over the last three years, Guyana has been granted assistance valued at US$1.5 million.

The first agreement signed yesterday was a modification of an agreement signed last April under the Caribbean Basin Initiative and will provide additional funding to allow for cooperation in

the areas of rule of law and anti-corruption, law e n f o r c e m e n t professionalization support, which would include border and ports, strengthening counter-narcotics control capabilities, money laundering and financial crimes.

The new agreement will train officers in the area of forensics with the aim of e n h a n c i n g t h e P o l i c e ’s ability to collect, analyse and present forensic evidence in criminal investigation and prosecution. Assistance would also be provided in justice reform to enhance the country’s ability to address narcotics trafficking and transnational crime.

Of specific note is that the new agreement caters for a socalled vetted unit to be used in the fight against narcotrafficking; that unit would only be made up of officers who pass a polygraph test.

The second agreement facilitates an arrangement called Cooperative Sensor and Information Integration Programme.

This system is an internet

based information sharing network that will allow Guyana and the United States to fuse data on airborne, maritime and ground tracks in order to develop a common operating picture in such areas as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, flight safety and search and rescue operations.

The Caribbean Basin Initiative was launched in May, 2010 is now entering its third year.

The Initiative is a security partnership that has allowed the US and the Caribbean to develop a comprehensive regional response to security, law enforcement and social challenges affecting the safety of citizens in the region.

At the recent ministerial level meeting of the initiative, held in Trinidad last December, the United States, Guyana and other Caribbean partners marked the extraordinary progress of the partnership and recommitted themselves to the priorities of substantially reducing illicit trafficking, advancing public security and promoting social justice.

U.S Ambassador Brent Hardt listens as Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett makes a point at the signing ceremony yesterday.

Missing man’s body found at funeral home Relatives of 83-year-old Winston DeHaarte, who had been missing since Tuesday, got the shock of their lives when their search ended at a city funeral parlour yesterday.

The man’s grandson-inlaw, Nigel Austin, said that while efforts were made to search various places that the elderly man was known to frequent, they were urged by concerned individuals to make a few checks at some city funeral parlours.

This appeal saw one of the now dead octogenarian’s nephews venturing to the Sandy’s Funeral Home where he inquired whether any unidentified body was stored there. Officials there responded in the negative.

The nephew then headed to the Lyken Funeral Home.

It was at this location, Austin said, that he learnt that it was confirmed that Mr. DeHaarte’s decomposing remains was being kept.

This publication in its Thursday, January 31 edition had carried a report that

Dead: Winston DeHaarte police were trying to ascertain the identity of a man whose body was fished out of a trench opposite the Night Shelter in East La Penitence, on Wednesday.

According to reports, undertakers from the Lyken Funeral Home had received a call around 18:00 hours the same day and recovered the

body. The matter was being investigated by police.

Relatives were however able to ascertain that the body was in fact that of Mr. DeHaarte who was the father of five.

This publication was informed on Thursday that the elderly man left his D’Urban Street Housing Scheme (Scheme Yard), Georgetown home around noon on Tuesday last and was not seen alive again.

According to his granddaughter, Tamara Austin, she only learnt of his disappearance on Wednesday and became very concerned. She said that Mr. DeHaarte, who resided at the aforementioned address in excess of 20 years, was living there with his nephew, Sean Greaves, at the time of his disappearance.

According to Mrs. Austin, considerable efforts were made to ensure that her grandfather did not leave the premises since he was known to suffer from memory lapses.

Saturday February 2, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

GUYANA WHERE and WHAT Muse or Amuse is back on the market It’s only a life – as long

as it’s not our own The serious aspect of health has now changed to the serious aspect of LIFE. The health situation has deteriorated so much that scant respect is paid to the value of life. Nurses and doctors have grown to callously say “It’s just a life.”

Maybe it’s just a life – so long as it’s not their own. But when it’s their own, then there is hell to pay.

Every day you can hear woeful tales about health. The rotund Minister of Health finds time to complain about toilets and coffee. He is out of touch with the reality of the health service. A reality that is taking the lives of poor people who cannot afford private care.

The Minister and his Permanent Secretary can find the time to complain and curse people who oppose them. In fact I was shocked to learn that the rotund one ‘buse-out’ the wife of another Minister.

He is really getting it wrong and fooling himself that it is all-right. Very soon the health system will collapse, thanks

The cover design of this edition The sixth edition of Guyana: Where and What was recently launched by the Minister (ag) of Tourism and Trade, Irfaan Ali, in the Ministry’s boardroom.

This pocket-size guide book provides useful information for the traveler to Guyana.

Some 20,000 copies are now in circulation and are to be found at hotels, restaurants, airports, tour operators, resorts, travel agencies, Embassies and

overseas at Foreign Service departments through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The guide is free. Its publication is supported mainly through advertising revenue from businesses.

The 120- page Guide book now has a pull out 10in x 12in map of Georgetown and the Guyana map.

The Georgetown map is of greater Georgetown, showing up to Cummings Lodge to the East and Caneview Avenue to the South.

The first edition was published in 2007 for World Cup Cricket and has been published annually since then.

Fishing at Rewa Village and Guyana’s minerals have been new additions to this edition. Copies can be obtained from the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana and the Guyana Tourism Agency.

It is published by Gem Madhoo-Nascimento of GEMS Inc

to this guy.

With the spate of deaths and the poor health care, the rotund Minister should learn how to become a religious person just so that he can take care of the last rites of the poor people – just as he has read the last rites of the health system in Guyana.

And there is his boss, the President who reflects a don’t-give-a-damn attitude.

Maybe the President of this country should take an eye test since he is obviously blind to the glaring things around him.

Poor people cry out in anguish each day and the President and his merry men are oblivious to their cries.

People go to the Public Hospital without bedding, without utensils – and guess what? They cut water bottles to make a utensil to use.

Maybe, it is sad to say, but maybe when sickness strikes those in authority then they start to care. If the President or the rotund Minister were to require medical attention and land in

Public Hospital, they would see the problems – or may not! Indeed they may not because they would be treated “specially”.

What must we do Mr. President for you to see the light?

All around you there is incompetence! There is no REAL area of progress!

Health is sick, liberalization of telecommunications has pneumonia, public works and the city of GT has diarrhea.

Gail Teixeira should stop hiding behind the politics of parliament and get back into the reality of this country.

Look guys, you are all getting old. Gail, Roger, Komal, Ralph, Donald, etc. are moving on.

The younger ones are now old, Frank, Irfaan, Seeraj etc. God forbid that you need medical care in an emergency, then you will realize what has happened to health.

Where are you Mr. Ramotar? Where do you live?

Can you not see what is happening? The tears of poor people are falling on you.

Steuuuuppppsssss!!!

“Tall Man” remanded after ganja find On January 22, last, the police at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice were manning a roadblock in the vicinity of the police station, when they stopped a car around 22:00 hrs.

The vehicle had a number of passengers on board. All were asked to disembark and their belongings checked.

Among the passengers was Kenny Gulliver called “Tall Man”, 29, of Cane Grove, Mahaica and La Grange, West Bank Demerara.

During the search the police checked a Haversack owned by Gulliver and unearthed nine parcels wrapped in scotch tape.

The contents were checked and contained what was suspected to be seeds, leaves and stems of the marijuana plant.

The accused was arrested and taken into custody.

The contents were subsequently weighed and tested and were found to be 4.3 kilograms of marijuana. He

was charged and appeared in the Fort Wellington Magistrate’s court before Magistrate Roby Benn.

The man who gave the police an address that was different from what was on the document he had in his possession was refused bail.

He gave investigators his address as Cane Grove Mahaica, while his documents had his address as La Grange, West Bank Demerara. His next court date is set for February 28.

Leon Alphonso, a/k ‘Bolo’, 38, the man who is said to be mentally unstable was remanded to prison until a date in March,

by Magistrate Sunil Scarce, one day after police successfully subdued him by resorting to force.

Alphonso was shot in his left foot after police alleged that he attacked them with a claw bar and a cutlass during their attempt to arrest him.

The man was slapped with ten charges that include damage to p r o p e r t y, assault, threatening behavior and indecent exposure.

Magistrate Scarce recommended that a

physiological assessment be undertaken on Alphonso to determine his mental condition.

The man who is popularly known by Essequibians as “Bolo”, due to his physical strength would usually walk miles barefooted on a daily basis but of recent he became aggressive, especially towards females and was seen walking naked in public

places.

On Thursday January 31, the police in a report said around 5:00hrs, police ranks went to the home of Leon Alphonso, at Danielstown to arrest him on an allegation that was levelled against him.

D u r i n g e f f o r t s to apprehend him, the report added, Alphonso attacked the police.

Mentally unstable man remanded

Saturday February 02, 2013

Kaieteur News

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MEXICO BLAST KILLS AT LEAST 32, FLAGGING PEMEX SAFETY WOES MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Rescue workers pulled out more bodies from debris at the headquarters of Mexican state oil giant Pemex yesterday after a powerful explosion killed at least 32 people and threw a spotlight back onto the state-run company’s poor safety record.

Scenes of confusion and chaos outside the downtown tower block in Mexico City have dealt another blow to Pemex’s image, just as Mexico’s new president is seeking to court outside investment for the 75-year-old monopoly.

Thursday’s blast occurred at a Pemex building next to the 50-story skyscraper, and chief

executive officer Emilio Lozoya said the number of confirmed dead now stood at 32, up from 25 overnight. A further 121 were injured, he added.

Officials have been unable to say how many people may still be trapped within the wreckage of the office block. A military paramedic at the scene said there were likely many, and that he expected the death toll to continue increasing.

Lozoya said it was not clear what caused the midafternoon explosion, which has been the subject of speculation ranging from a bomb attack, to a gas leak, to a boiler blowing up.

“A fatal incident like yesterday’s cannot be

explained in two hours, we are working with the best teams in Mexico and from overseas, we will not speculate,” he told a news conference.

Pemex, both a symbol of Mexican self-sufficiency and a byword for security glitches, oil theft and frequent accidents, has been hamstrung by inefficiency, union corruption and a series of safety failures costing hundreds of lives.

President Enrique Pena Nieto has said overhauling the company is a top priority, and investors have been closely following how far he will go in enticing private capital to boost flagging oil output in a country that is the world’s number seven producer.

Cuba, US spar over blame for poor ties

Josefina Vidal HAVANA (AP) — A senior Cuban official sharply criticized U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday for suggesting Cuba was stuck in the past, saying the only anachronistic element of the relationship is Washington’s half-century-old economic embargo.

Josefina Vidal, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s North American affairs division, said Obama was poorly informed if he thought Cuba had not changed in recent years. She said her country has always been willing to negotiate improved relations with the U.S. “It’s unfortunate that President Obama continues to be poorly advised and illinformed about the Cuban reality, as well as the sentiments of his own people who desire normalization of our relationship,” Vidal said in a statement sent to foreign media on the island.

She said Cuba was “changing and advancing,” a reference to economic and social reforms enacted in recent years under President Raul Castro.

In an interview with the Spanish news channel Telemundo broadcast Wednesday, Obama said his administration is open to better ties but that “it’s got

to be a two-way street.”

He said Cuban jails are still filled with political prisoners and that the island’s leaders are clinging to a failed model.

“It’s time to join the 21st century,” he said. “It’s one thing to have cars from the 1950s. It’s another thing when your whole political ideology .. is 50 years or 60 years old and it’s been proven not to work.”

In recent years, Cuba has allowed for limited capitalism and legalized the real estate market, among other reforms, while insisting the changes did not constitute a break from its socialist model.

Among the measures getting the most attention was last month’s lifting of a longstanding requirement that islanders ask the government’s permission to travel abroad.

Dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez’s request for a new passport was granted on Thursday. Last year she was denied a “white card,” or exit permit, when she tried to travel to Brazil for a film festival, something she says has happened to her about 20 times in recent years.

“Visas for (hashtag)Brazil and for the (hashtag)Schengen agreement nations arranged, they will be delivered to me next week,” Sanchez said on Twitter on Friday. The

“Schengen area” is a region in Europe within which there are little or no border or visa controls between Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and France.

But Sanchez and others bemoaned the denial of passports to two other government opponents.

Dissidents Angel Moya and Jose Daniel Ferrer were turned down under a clause that lets the government withhold travel papers to people facing legal cases, or for reasons of national security or public interest.

The men were among the 75 activists jailed in the 2003 “black spring” crackdown on dissent.

While they were later freed, their release was conditional and technically are still serving long sentences.

Mixed in with the mutual recriminations between Obama and Vidal were the usual conditional affirmations of openness to dialogue.

In her rebuttal of Obama, Vidal says America “can always count on the willingness of the people and government of Cuba to work to advance bilateral relations.”

Obama, in his Telemundo interview, said that he could foresee improved ties during his second term if Cuba meets him half way.

Bandits rob bank in Trinidad PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – Three armed men held up a branch of the Republic Bank in south Trinidad yesterday and escaped with an undetermined amount of cash, police said.

They said the men, armed with a gun and cutlasses,

forced customers to lie on the ground and ordered the tellers to put the cash in a bag soon after the bank in point Fortin opened for business.

The bandits escaped by forcing a motorist to hand over his new vehicle that was later found abandoned along the south trunk highway.

“This incident speaks very poorly of the image of Pemex management, and that’s interpreted as additional risk in the market,” said Miriam Grunstein, an energy researcher at Mexico’s CIDE think tank.

One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a preliminary line of inquiry suggested a gas boiler had blown up in the building to the side of the main Pemex tower, which houses administrative offices.

However, he stressed nothing had been determined for sure.

Investigators have cordoned off the blast site, and a local Red Cross official, Isaac Oxenhaut, said the ceiling had collapsed in three lower stories of the building.

Lozoya said the four floors worst affected by the explosion normally had about 200 to 250 people working on them. That compared with about 10,000 staff in the entire Pemex complex.

The blast followed a September fire at a Pemex gas facility near the northern city of Reynosa which killed 30 people. More than 300 were

killed when a Pemex natural gas plant on the outskirts of Mexico City blew up in 1984.

Eight years later, about 200 people were killed and 1,500 injured after a series of underground gas explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second biggest city. An official investigation found Pemex was partly to blame.

Shortly after Thursday’s the blast, Pena Nieto was at thea scene, vowing to discover how it happened and to punish any individuals found to be responsible.

Whatever caused the explosion, the deaths and destruction will put the spotlight back on safety at Pemex, which only a couple of hours earlier had issued a statement on Twitter saying it had managed to improve its record on accidents.

“I suspect this was a bomb,” said David Shields, an independent Mexico Citybased oil analyst. “There are clandestine armies across Mexico, not just the (drug) cartels.”

Shields pointed to the bombing of several Pemex pipelines in the eastern state of Veracruz in 2007. A

shadowy Marxist rebel movement took credit for some of the blasts.

Meanwhile, George Baker, director of Energia.com, a Houston-based energy research center, says that past history suggested the government could seek to exploit the incident.

He pointed to the 1992 Guadalajara blast and the subsequent deal that followed to overhaul the Pemex administration led by then-President Carlos Salinas, like Pena Nieto a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. “Salinas said he wanted a response from Pemex, and months later Pemex announced a restructuring.

The restructuring had nothing to do with the Guadalajara accident, but it was used as a pivot to do something,” Baker said.

Pena Nieto has yet to reveal details of his Pemex reform plan, which already faces opposition from the left.

Both Pena Nieto and his finance minister were this week at pains to stress the company will not be privatized.

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Saturday February 02, 2013

St Kitts Chamber wants motion of no confidence in govt. debated as soon as possible

Dr. Denzil Douglas BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - CMC – The St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce yesterday called on Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas to ensure that an opposition inspired motion of no confidence in his administration is “brought before the National Assembly without further delay”.

In a statement, the private sector group reminded Prime Minister Douglas that in his address to them last month he had indicated that several matters before the parliament including the motion of no confidence could erode investor confidence in the country.

It said that Prime Minister Douglas had pledged to do

all within his power to avoid damage to the investment climate and the economy and that the motion of no confidence “should be heard expeditiously”.

Prime Minister Douglas in his address to the private sector last year, said that “the motion (of no confidence) will have to wait in line with what is the calendar of the House that is before the Speaker”.

But last month, Opposition Leader Mark Brantley said the motion should take precedence, adding “it is obvious under established practice and procedure in the House the motion of no confidence should take precedent over something like a Senators bill. “I don’t see the urgency I don’t see the importance of an increase in Senators bill in light of the motion that is outstanding,” he said then.

Parliament earlier this week passed the Senators Bill by a slim 8-7 margin.

The Chamber said its members have expressed

“great concern that the delay in the consideration by the National Assembly of the motion of no confidence for the full month of January has already affected the investment climate and that further delay could cause lasting damage”.

Chamber president David Lake said that the board of directors “unanimously supports that view” urging Prime Minister Douglas “to do all within your power to ensure that the motion of no confidence in your government is brought before the National Assembly without further delay”.

Earlier this week, dismissed senior government minister Dr. Timothy Harris said he was daring Prime Minister Dr. Douglas to allow parliament to debate the motion no confidence in his administration.

Harris, who was fired over the weekend for failing to adhere to government policies and programmes, said that Dr. Douglas does not command the support of a

majority of legislators in the parliament “and should now do the honourable thing and resign, or call a general election. “Put it to the people.

He does not command a majority of Members of Parliament at this particular moment in time and so if he want to talk about procedures and support let him put that to the test, ,” Timothy said on a local radio station here.

Harris and another senior government legislator Sam Condor have openly disagreed with a number of government measures including the national budget and the decision to increase the number of senators in the

legislative chamber.

On Thursday, Condor, the deputy prime minister, resigned from the Cabinet with immediate effect.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Douglas told parliament that Harris had asked him to resign as head of the government last December and accused the former minister of being part of a “conspiracy to bring the government to an end” and establish a unity government in St. Kitts-Nevis.

Dr. Douglas said he had been bombarded with calls from regional colleagues and diplomats about the situation within his administration,

telling legislators this was affecting foreign investment into the twin island Federation.

“This is not right, this can’t be right, this can’t be right in the sight of God,” he said, accusing them of wanting to create “instability in a stable government”.

Dr. Douglas accused some within his party of believing that “they were born with prime minister on the forehead” and again said that there was unity among the government regarding the motion of no confidence against it. On Thursday, members of the Cabinet held a news conference expressing their support for Dr. Douglas.

Colombian forces kill FARC commander close to chief negotiator BOGOTA (Reuters) Colombian government forces have killed a FARC brigade commander close to the Marxist group’s chief peace negotiator, the defense minister said yesterday, as combat heats up after the expiration of a unilateral guerrilla ceasefire.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said that Jacobo Arango, a FARC commander in a northwestern area straddling Cordoba and Antioquia provinces, a known drug route, was among six rebels killed in an assault on Thursday. “It’s a strike of great importance,” he told reporters. Arango was close to chief FARC peace negotiator Ivan Marquez, who was also Arango’s direct commander, and he had been a rebel for more than three decades, Pinzon said.

Fighting has intensified since a unilateral FARC ceasefire expired on January 20, with guerrillas taking hostages, killing soldiers and blowing up oil and energy infrastructure. Government

security forces have also stepped up operations.

The violence comes while the two warring sides talk peace in Havana to try to end a five-decade-long war that has killed tens of thousands of people.

Earlier this week, FARC freed three kidnapped oil contractors, but six guerrillas and five government soldiers were killed across the country.

Marquez questioned whether the government was serious about peace - the same doubt Bogota leveled at the guerrillas earlier this week.

“Now there have been many and strident government ‘No’s’ to all our initiatives for peace in Colombia,” Marquez told journalists on Friday in Havana.

“The Colombian people have heard through the media the repeating of the government order to intensify the war, now strangely it’s accompanied by complaints about its consequences, while they call us cynics,” he added.

President Juan Manuel

Santos has said he wants to achieve a peace deal within a year, and the FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have called for a bilateral truce. However, Santos has rejected the idea of a ceasefire until a deal is signed.

The area where Arango was killed had historically been a region where rightwing paramilitaries fought guerrillas for control and is near the site where paramilitary leaders agreed with the government to demobilize in the early 2000s.

Today, the region is a microcosm of the security challenges plaguing many of the areas of Colombia where guerrillas and powerful gangs linked to the former paramilitaries fight for control over drugs and territory.

A U.S.-backed military offensive against rebels and drug gangs since 2002 has made vast strides in improving security in what is Latin America’s No. 4 oil producer, opening up swathes of the country to investment, especially in the oil and mining sectors. But Colombia has yet to fully escape its bloody past.

Colombian forces killed 353 members from all the country’s rebel groups in the January to October period last year, almost as many as killed in the full-year 2012, but down from highs of around 2,000 in the early 2000s, defense ministry data showed. The ministry does not break down security forces killed by insurgents alone, but 336 members were killed while on duty in the January to October period in 2012, down 94 percent from the same period in 2011, the data showed.

Saturday February 02, 2013

Kaieteur News

Taiwan Foreign Minister visits St. Lucia CASTRIES, St. Lucia CMC – Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lin is due to leave here this weekend after a two-day visit.

Lin, who was met by Foreign Minister Alva Baptiste, will also inspect several public construction projects funded by Taiwan prior to his before his departure, according to a statement issued by the Taiwanese Embassy here.

The statement said that Lin thanked St. Lucia, one of Taiwan’s 23 diplomatic allies, for support of his country’s efforts to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Lin said President Ma Ying-jeou has been working to ease tensions over the Diaoyutai Islands dispute by putting forth an “East China

David Lin Sea Peace Initiative” and that there has been great improvement in the relations between Taiwan and mainland China, which have signed 18 agreements since 2008.

Baptiste expressed approval of Ma’s peace

initiative, saying peace and stability are consistent with the interests of all countries.

He also voiced support for the peaceful development of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and thanked Taiwan for its assistance with St. Lucia’s development in the areas of infrastructure, a g r i c u l t u r e , telecommunications, health services, education and energy.

The previous St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) government had enjoyed diplomatic relations with China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and there had been fears that Castries, which broke off relations with Beijing six years ago, would have reestablished links with China after the Kenny Anthony administration returned to power in 2011.

Political parties nominate candidates for Barbados election

Freundel Stuart and Owen Arthur BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC – The two main political parties here have nominated candidates to contest the 30 seats in the February 21 general elections ahead of the official Nomination day Wednesday.

In the unprecedented move, not witnessed before in Caribbean politics, the main opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) led by former prime minister Owen Arthur marched to the Treasury Building on Thursday to pay the required US$125 per candidate.

“This is a party that knows how to plan and to take charge of its affairs. And today, you have seen for the first time in the history of Barbados, a group of candidates constituting themselves as team which can become the next government of Barbados coming together in unison.

“Throughout the

campaign we will show how to government the country.

We are focused, disciplined, well organized and well prepared,” he said, adding “this country needs a disciplined, focused, united political institution at this very difficult time in the country’s development”.

Not to be outdone, the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart Friday nominated their candidates for the polls.

DLP spokesman, Ronald Jones told reporters the party would not engaged in any grand public display, an apparent reference to the opposition party.

“We do what we know we have to do, we do what is right. We are into people, people matter, not power,” he added.

Arthur told supporters, who had marched with the BLP candidates to register for

the poll that the BLP would make no unrealistic promises on the campaign trail.

“We will not promise duty-free cars, interest-free mortgages, free housing or a lot of baloney. This country is facing its greatest ever calamity. We are bringing realism and hope. We have chosen a campaign slogan that is empathetic and we want to give this country not an ideal future, but a better future.”

The BLP will launch its campaign on Saturday and Arthur said that the party’s manifesto has been completed.

“Our manifesto has been prepared after the fullest possible consultation with the widest cross-section of people.

I have never worked harder on a manifesto in my time and in due course it will presented to the people as symbol of realism and of hope”.

“We have seen a deterioration in the quality of our life and Barbados has retrogressed socially, we want to change that,” he said.

In the 2008 election, the DLP, which had been in opposition since 1994, won 20 of the 30 seats, defeating the BLP under Arthur’s leadership.

The DLP, won 53.21 per cent of the popular votes, while the BLP received 46.52 per cent.

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Brazil nightclub owners, band detained 30 more days after fire (Reuters) - A judge in southern Brazil ordered 30 more days of detention yesterday for the owners of a nightclub and band members involved in a fire that killed 236 in the college town of Santa Maria last weekend.

The order came after a 20year-old woman succumbed to her injuries late Thursday, pushing up the death toll from the country’s second most deadly fire ever.

Civil defence authorities in Rio Grande do Sul, the state where Santa Maria is located, said the victim suffered a heart attack while struggling with injuries that included burns on more than half her body.

An additional 126 people remain hospitalized after the fire, which was caused by an outdoor flare set off by a musician performing at the Kiss nightclub, investigators said. The flare ignited overhead soundproofing, a synthetic foam that burned and within minutes spread toxic fumes throughout the venue.

Most of the victims died after inhaling the fumes,

investigators concluded on Thursday.

Many of those in nearby hospitals, more than half of whom are on respirators, have developed scorched airways and inflamed lungs from the poisonous vapours.

Authorities fear more survivors could be sickened by the fumes, noting that it may take a week for symptoms to appear.

On Friday, a judge extended the detention of two owners of the club and two band members for 30 more days as police look into safety violations that led to the disaster early on Sunday.

The judge considered preliminary testimony from an employee faulting club owners for faulty extinguishers and carelessness about

overcrowding. The owner of a fireworks store testified that he had warned the band’s producer that the flare was banned for indoor use.

Lawyers for the club owners and band members have maintained their innocence. Police have not yet charged any of the four detainees, but said at minimum they are likely to face manslaughter charges.

Prosecutors are also investigating city and fire officials to determine if they were negligent in allowing the club to remain open despite safety violations including broken exit signs and blocked access to the club’s only exit.

The factors led to a stampede that crushed some of the victims and kept others from fleeing the flames and toxic smoke.

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Saturday February 02, 2013

Moscow, U.N. play down report of four-way Syria talks AMMAN (Reuters) Moscow and the United Nations played down Syrian opposition assertions that its leader would hold a joint meeting with the U.N. Syria envoy and officials from the United States and Russia at a security conference in Munich yesterday.

But a Russian diplomatic source did not rule out a meeting taking place ‘spontaneously’ at the weekend Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the southern German city.

If it occurred it would be the first time the United States and Russia, who have been at loggerheads over whether President Bashar alAssad can have a role in a transitional government, had sat down together with the opposition.

Opposition sources had said early yesterday that National Coalition President Moaz Alkhatib would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on the sidelines of the conference.

But a U.N. official and a senior Russian diplomat said there no plans for them all to meet together.

“The U.N. special envoy is not involved in any trilateral meetings,” a U.N. official in Munich said, though Brahimi did plan separate meetings with Biden, Alkhatib and Lavrov.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Lavrov was not scheduled to take part in expanded talks.

“Media reports of a meeting in Munich in the format of Lavrov-BidenBrahimi and Syrian opposition representative Alkhatib do not correspond

with reality,” he said.

Lavrov has yet to meet Alkhatib, who in December rejected a Russian invitation to come to Moscow for talks and urged Lavrov to apologies for what he said was Russian intervention in Syria and support for Assad.

Russia, Syria’s main arms supplier, has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions on the 22-monthold Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 60,000 people.

Alkhatib had to fight off an overnight challenge to his authority after going against the opposition’s established position by saying he was willing to sit with Syrian officials to discuss a transition if tens of thousands of political prisoners arrested since the revolt began were freed, without Assad stepping down first.

A high-level Coalition member told Reuters Alkhatib’s changed position is what softened the resistance of the Russians to a meeting.

Brahimi told the Security Council this week that he believed an international accord reached in Geneva last year, which was deliberately vague about Assad’s future role, was “largely understood... (to mean) that the President would have no role in the transition”.

Brahimi likened cities in Syria to the battered German capital Berlin at the end of World War Two. Citing the “mass murder” of nearly 100 students at Aleppo University, the “slaughter” of civilians in Homs province and the apparent execution of 65 men in an Aleppo suburb - all in the last month - Brahimi said Syria’s “tragedy simply does not have an end”.

Sergei Lavrov The Coalition’s 12member politburo met until 5 a.m. yesterday and instructed Alkhatib not to respond to any proposals made in Munich without consulting with them first.

The structure of the 70member Islamist-dominated coalition, which was formed with Western and Arab backing in December, makes Alkhatib, a Sunni preacher from Damascus, a first among equals rather than an outright leader.

The opposition source said the “knives were out for Alkhatib” from Islamists on the politburo and from the Syrian National Council after his remarks, which Kamal alLabwani, a secular leader and long-time political prisoner, said hurt the morale of the revolt.

Alkhatib responded that he was motivated by the plight of the prisoners, many of whom are in secret police dungeons, and made clear that he still believed Assad and his cohorts must eventually leave.

A Western diplomat in contact with the Syrian opposition said any proposals made in Munich had to be crafted carefully if Alkhatib was going to be able

Moaz Alkhatib to accept without losing credibility.

“The level of frustration among the opposition with lack of international support for the revolt is very high,” the diplomat said. “We may

be seeing one of the last chances before the opposition says: ‘To hell with the international community, and let’s direct all our efforts toward war’.”

U.S. Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton urged Assad’s allies Iran and Russia on Thursday to rethink their positions, saying the conflict could still spill beyond its borders. More than 700,000 Syrians have fled into neighboring countries.

She told reporters there were signs that Iran was sending more people and increasingly sophisticated weaponry to support Assad’s war, in which he has lost swathes of rural areas but managed to hold on to the central parts of most major cities.

“I personally have been warning for quite some time of the dangers associated with an increasingly lethal civil war and a potential proxy war,” Clinton told a small (Continued on page 24)

FIREWORKS CAUSE DEADLY HIGHWAY COLLAPSE IN CHINA Fireworks explosion destroys Chinese highway. (Reuters/China Daily)

BEIJING (AP) — An elevated portion of highway in central China collapsed yesterday after a truck loaded with fireworks for Lunar New Year celebrations exploded, killing at least nine people and sending vehicles plummeting 30 meters (about 100 feet) to the ground.

The official Xinhua News Agency said nine people were confirmed dead and another 13 injured, including four in serious condition. It said the collapse smashed and buried at least 25 vehicles.

Earlier reports by China National Radio and some other outlets of 26 people killed were later removed from websites, without explanation.

An 80-meter (260-foot) stretch of the major east-west highway collapsed in Mianchi county in Henan province. It scattered blackened chunks of debris and shattered the windows of a nearby truck

stop.

A truck driver interviewed on CCTV said he was only 20 meters (yards) away from the explosion.

“I heard a huge bang and immediately braked. I saw small fireballs falling down one by one,” said the unidentified truck driver, whose truck windshield was smashed from the impact of the blast.

“I then heard the sounds of clanking and exploding for five to six minutes,” the driver said. “My face was covered in dust.”

Photos posted online by Xinhua showed a stretch of elevated highway gone, with one truck’s back wheels perched at the edge of a shornoff section of the highway.

Other photos showed firefighters below spraying water on scorched hunks of concrete, wrecked trucks and flattened shipping containers.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion. It occurred about 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Luoyang, an ancient capital of China known for grottoes of Buddhist statues carved from limestone cliffs.

Fireworks are an enormously popular part of Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. To meet the demand, fireworks are made, shipped and stored in large quantities, sometimes in unsafe conditions.

A result is periodic catastrophe: In 2006, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a storeroom of fireworks exploded at a temple fair in Henan, killing 36 people and injuring dozens more. In 2000, an unlicensed fireworks factory in southern China exploded, killing 33 people, including 13 primary and secondary school students working there.

Saturday February 02, 2013

Kaieteur News

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OBAMA OFFERS FAITH GROUPS NEW BIRTH CONTROL RULE WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration yesterday proposed a compromise for faith-based nonprofits that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans.

Some of the lawsuits appear headed for the Supreme Court, threatening another divisive legal battle over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law, which requires most employers to cover birth control free of charge to female workers as a preventive service. The law exempted churches and other houses of worship, but religious charities, universities, hospitals and even some for-profit businesses have objected.

The government’s new offer, in a proposed regulation, has two parts.

Administration officials said it would more simply define the religious organizations that are exempt from the requirement altogether. For example, a mosque whose food pantry

serves the whole community would not have to comply.

For other religious employers, the proposal attempts to create a buffer between them and contraception coverage.

Female employees would still have free access through insurers or a third party, but the employer would not have to arrange for the coverage or pay for it. Insurers would be reimbursed for any costs by a credit against fees owed the government.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the plan would satisfy the objections of Roman Catholic charities and other faith-affiliated nonprofits nationwide challenging the requirement.

Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing religious nonprofits and businesses in lawsuits, said many of his clients will still have serious concerns.

“This is a moral decision for them,” Duncan said.

“Why doesn’t the government just exempt them?”

Neither the Catholic

Barack Obama Health Association, a trade group for hospitals, nor the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had an immediate reaction, saying the regulations were still being studied.

Some women’s advocates were pleased.

“The important thing for us is that women employees can count on getting insurance that meets their needs, even if they’re working for a religiously affiliated employer,” said Cindy Pearson, executive director of the National Women’s Health

Network.

Policy analyst Sarah Lipton-Lubet of the American Civil Liberties Union said the rule appeared to meet the ACLU’s goal of providing “seamless coverage.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement that the compromise would provide “women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns.”

The birth-control rule, first introduced a year ago, became an election issue, with some advocates for women praising the mandate as a victory but some religious leaders decrying it as an attack on faith groups.

The health care law requires most employers, including faith-affiliated hospitals and nonprofits, to provide preventive care at no charge to employees.

Scientific advisers to the government recommended that artificial contraception, including sterilization, be included in a group of services for women. The goal,

in part, is to help women space out pregnancies to promote health.

Under the original rule, only those religious groups that primarily employ and serve people of their own faith — such as churches — were exempt. But other religiously affiliated groups, such as church-affiliated universities, Catholic Charities and hospitals, were told they had to comply.

Catholic bishops, evangelicals and some religious leaders who have generally been supportive of Obama’s policies lobbied fiercely for a broader exemption. The Catholic Church prohibits the use of artificial contraception.

Evangelicals generally accept the use of birth control, but some object to specific methods such as the morning-after contraceptive pill, which they argue is tantamount to abortion, and is covered by the policy.

Obama had promised to change the birth control requirement so insurance companies — and not faithaffiliated employers — would pay for the coverage, but

religious leaders said more changes were needed to make the plan work.

Since then, more than 40 lawsuits have been filed by religious nonprofits and secular for-profit businesses contending the mandate violates their religious beliefs.

As expected, this latest regulation does not provide any accommodation for individual business owners who have religious objections to the rule.

Questions remain about how the services ultimately will be funded. The Health and Human Services Department has not tallied an overall cost for the plan, according to Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, an HHS deputy policy director.

However, in its new version of the rule, the department argues that the change won’t impose new costs on insurers because it will save them money “from improvements in women’s health and fewer child births.”

The latest version of the mandate is now subject to a 60-day public comment period. The overall mandate is to take effect for religious nonprofits in August.

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Saturday February 02, 2013

Suicide bomber kills guard at U.S. embassy in Turkey ANKARA (Reuters) - A far-leftist suicide bomber killed a Turkish security guard at the U.S. embassy in Ankara yesterday, officials said, blowing open an entrance and sending debris flying through the air.

The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body after entering an embassy gatehouse. The blast could be heard a mile away. A lower leg and other human remains lay on the street.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the bomber was a member of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a far-left group which is virulently anti-U.S. and anti-NATO and is listed as a terrorist organization by Washington.

The White House said the suicide attack was an “act of terror” but that the motivation was unclear. U.S. officials said the DHKP-C were the main suspects but did not exclude other possibilities. Islamist radicals, extreme left-wing groups, ultra-nationalists and Kurdish militants have all carried out attacks in Turkey

in the past. There was no claim of responsibility.

“The suicide bomber was ripped apart and one or two citizens from the special security team passed away,” said Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

“This event shows that we need to fight together everywhere in the world against these terrorist elements,” he said.

Turkish media reports identified the bomber as DHKP-C member Ecevit Sanli, who was involved in attacks on a police station and a military staff college in Istanbul in 1997.

Turkey is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East with common interests ranging from energy security to counter-terrorism and has been one of the leading advocates of foreign intervention to end the conflict in neighboring Syria.

Around 400 U.S. soldiers have arrived in Turkey over the past few weeks to operate Patriot anti-missile batteries meant to defend against any spillover of Syria’s civil war, part of a NATO deployment

Medics carry an injured woman on a stretcher to an ambulance after a suspected suicide bomber donated an explosive device at the entrance of the US Embassy, yesterday. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) due to be fully operational in the coming days.

The DHKP-C was responsible for the

assassination of two U.S. military contractors in the early 1990s in protest against the first Gulf War and launched rockets at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul in 1992, according to the U.S. State Department.

Deemed a terrorist organization by both the United States and Turkey, the DHKP-C has been blamed for suicide attacks in the past, including one in 2001 that killed two police officers and a tourist in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square.

The group, formed in 1978, has carried out a series of deadly attacks on police stations in the last six months.

The attack may have come in retaliation for an operation against the DHKP-C last month in which Turkish police detained 85 people. A court subsequently remanded 38 of them in custody over links to the group.

U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone emerged through the main gate of the embassy shortly after the explosion to

address reporters, flanked by a security detail as a Turkish police helicopter hovered overhead.

“We’re very sad of course that we lost one of our Turkish guards at the gate,” Ricciardone said, describing the victim as a “hero” and thanking Turkish authorities for a prompt response.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the attack on the checkpoint on the perimeter of the embassy and said several U.S. and Turkish staff were injured by debris.

“The level of security protection at our facility in Ankara ensured that there were not significantly more deaths and injuries than there could have been,” she told reporters.

It was the second attack on a U.S. mission in four months. On September 11, 2012, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three American personnel were killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi,

Moscow, U.N. play down...

From page 22 group of reporters.

“Therefore, I think it’s incumbent on those nations that have refused to be constructive players to reconsider their positions because the worst kind of predictions of what could happen internally and spilling over the borders of Syria are certainly within the realm of the possible now.”

Western support for the uprising has been mostly limited to political rhetoric

denouncing Assad and humanitarian aid, despite pleas from rebels for arms.

On Wednesday, Israeli jets struck what Syria said was a military research centre and diplomats said was a weapons convoy heading for Lebanon.

Syria warned of a possible “surprise” response.

Lebanese residents reported that Israeli war planes were flying in Lebanese airspace on Friday, a common occurrence but more sensitive after the strike.

Libya.

The attack in Benghazi, blamed on al Qaeda-affiliated militants, sparked a political furor in Washington over accusations that U.S. missions were not adequately safeguarded.

A well-known Turkish journalist, Didem Tuncay, who was on her way in to the embassy to meet Ricciardone when the attack took place, was in a critical condition in hospital.

“It was a huge explosion.

I was sitting in my shop when it happened. I saw what looked like a body part on the ground,” said travel agent Kamiyar Barnos, whose shop window was shattered around 100 meters away from the blast.

The U.S. consulate in Istanbul warned its citizens to be vigilant and to avoid large gatherings, while the British mission in Istanbul called on British businesses to tighten security after what it called a “suspected terrorist attack”.

In 2008, Turkish gunmen with suspected links to al Qaeda, opened fire on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, killing three Turkish policemen. The gunmen died in the subsequent firefight.

The most serious bombings in Turkey occurred in November 2003, when car bombs shattered two synagogues, killing 30 people and wounding 146. Part of the HSBC Bank headquarters was destroyed and the British consulate was damaged in two more explosions that killed 32 people less than a week later. Authorities said those attacks bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.

Saturday February 02, 2013

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US gains 157K jobs; jobless rate rises to 7.9 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market is proving sturdier than expected at a time when the economy is under pressure from Washington gridlock and the threat of government spending cuts.

Employers added 157,000 jobs in January, and hiring was much stronger at the end of last year than the government had previously estimated.

The Labor Department’s estimated job gains for the final two months of 2012 — a period when the economy was being threatened by the fiscal cliff — rose from 161,000 to 247,000 for November and from 155,000 to 196,000 for December.

The mostly encouraging jobs report yesterday included one negative sign: The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in December. The rate is calculated from a survey of households, and more people in that survey said they were unemployed.

The monthly job gains are derived from a separate survey of employers.

The hiring picture over

the past two years also looked stronger after the department’s annual revisions. The revisions showed that employers added an average of roughly 180,000 jobs a month in 2012 and 2011. That was up from previous estimates of about 150,000.

“The significantly stronger payroll gains tell us the economy has a lot more momentum than what we had thought,” Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said in a research note.

Stocks surged immediately after trading began at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, an hour after the jobs report was released. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 130 points and briefly touched 14,000 for the first time in more than five years, before falling back.

Other economic news yesterday contributed to the stock rally. Manufacturing expanded at a much faster pace in January compared with December, a private survey found. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors all reported double-digit sales

gains for January. And construction spending rose in December at a healthy pace.

The employment report revealed a notable shift in the job market: More hiring by construction companies.

They added 28,000 jobs in January and nearly 100,000 over the past four months.

Those job gains are consistent with a rebound in home construction and a broader recovery in housing.

Retailers added 33,000 positions. Health care gained 23,000 jobs. Manufacturers reported a small increase of 4,000. Restaurants and hotels added 17,000.

The solid hiring in retail, construction, restaurants and hotels suggested that such companies expect consumer spending to hold up in coming months.

“The strong and steady job gains from retail trade and construction look a lot more like a normal economic expansion,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West.

“This is a sign that consumer spending is playing a far more important role in this expansion than it has so

far.”

The job market has remained steady despite pressure on the economy from the rift between President Barack Obama and Republicans over taxes and spending. Across-the-board spending cuts are set to kick in March 1.

Financing to run the government will expire by March 27, raising the threat of a government shutdown.

And the federal borrowing cap must be raised by May 18 or the government could default on its debt.

Friday’s jobs report showed that average hourly wages rose 4 cents to $23.78 and have risen an encouraging 2.1 percent in the past 12 months. That’s slightly above the inflation rate, which was 1.7 percent.

Last month’s hiring should cushion the impact of the higher Social Security taxes that most consumers are paying this year. And it would help the economy resume growing after it shrank at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the October-December quarter.

Higher Social Security

taxes are reducing take-home pay for most Americans. A person earning $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend in 2013. A household with two high-paid workers will have up to $4,500 less.

Taxes rose after a 2 percent cut, in place for two years, expired Jan. 1.

Analysts expect the Social Security tax increase to shave about a half-point off economic growth in 2013, since consumers drive about 70 percent of economic activity.

The hit to consumers is coming at a precarious moment for the economy. It contracted in the fourth quarter for the first time in 3½ years. The decline was driven largely by a steep cut in defense spending and a drop in exports. Analysts generally think those factors will prove temporary and that the economy will resume growing.

Still, the contraction last quarter points to what are likely to be key challenges for the economy this year: the prospect of sharp government spending cuts and uncertainty over whether

Congress will agree to raise the federal borrowing cap.

Most analysts predict that the economy will grow again in the January-March quarter, though likely at a lackluster annual rate of around 1 percent. They expect the economy to expand about 2 percent for the full year.

Two key drivers of growth improved last quarter: Consumer spending increased at a faster pace.

And businesses invested more in equipment and software.

In addition, homebuilders are stepping up construction to meet rising demand. That could generate even more construction jobs.

And home prices are rising steadily. That tends to make Americans feel wealthier and more likely to spend.

Housing could add as much as 1 percentage point to economic growth this year, some economists estimate.

Auto sales reached their highest level in five years in 2012 and are expected to keep growing this year. That’s boosting production and hiring at U.S. automakers and their suppliers.

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MARAD launches speedboat safety campaign…

Inspectors to patrol E’bo River, 20 defaulters nabbed

Cadets enforcing safety measures to captain and crew on a boat before it departed Parika, Region Three The Guyana Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has embarked on an aggressive safety campaign on river transportation following two deadly boat collisions in the past two months. These collisions claimed 17 lives.

The accidents, which occurred one month apart, have put maritime safety under severe scrutiny and MARAD has responded to the challenge, moving swiftly to ensure complete enforcement of regulations, a government statement said Thursday evening.

The campaign is targeting Bartica, Region Seven; Supenaam and Charity, Region Two; Georgetown, and Vreed-en-Hoop and Parika stellings in Region Three.

Officials moved to enforce licensing of boats, boat captains, emergency and fire equipment and the proper use of life jackets.

MARAD officials, with maritime cadets in tow, coordinated with boat operators and passengers on

the safety promotion campaign at Parika, a very busy stelling. By the end of the exercise close to 20 defaulters were identified.

Some were granted time to correct their faults, government said. “The boat owners and operators acknowledged the wisdom and need for the campaign and complied with regulations. Many were quick to move towards installing the required items into their boats. A river patrol has been implemented and will see a roaming presence on the Essequibo River where routine checks will be carried out.”

MARAD official, Michael Tennant, said that the campaign is being carried out to promote safety on the waterways while simultaneously enforcing the laws governing the operation of passenger and other vessels.

He noted that the response has been commendable and the administration hopes to continue the campaign for an

extended period.

Passengers and boat operators, in responding to the campaign, said that effective monitoring which includes the use of trained personnel is definitely needed to execute such functions. They also noted that proper identification must be made by officials conducting the awareness campaign and members of the patrols must always be clearly identified.

It was also suggested that defaulting parties must be made an example to the public so a stern message is left as an example to others who may want to do the same.

The first of the accidents which prompted the campaign occurred on December 18 on the Pomeroon River where six persons lost their lives. It was found that navigational lights were not used and rain had decreased visibility.

The January 22 accident on the Mazaruni River which left 11 dead was caused by speeding and lack of life jackets.

Unconscious patient not ‘dumped’ at institution - GPHC The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), via a statement has indicated that an unidentified male patient who is currently in its Intensive Care Unit was not dumped there as reported, but was instead picked up by an Ambulance from the Ogle Airport.

According to a previous article carried in this publication “Security staff at

the hospital failed to ascertain the identity of the people who brought the man to the hospital.”

However the hospital stated that the patient who has only been identified as ‘Porridge’ was escorted to the GPHC by a nurse from the Port Kaituma Hospital.

The Hospital further stated that the ambulance number which took the man

to the hospital was also recorded.

The GPHC reiterated its call for assistance in identifying the individual.

Reports are that the man was picked up in an unconscious state around the Big Creek area in Port Kaituma and taken to the district hospital before being transferred to the city.

MARAD official, Michael Tennant briefing cadets at Parika before the commencement of the safety campaign

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 2, 2013

Major rotation of senior GPF ranks Officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the command level were yesterday introduced to their new postings as the acting Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell, DSM, sought to make quite a few changes within the force through the rotation of Commanders.

The changes took effect yesterday.

Brumell told Kaieteur News that the switches were overdue. He noted that there were gaps that needed to be filled and the changes, in his opinion, are within the best

interest of the Force.

Further, Brumell said that “these men are fully capable of operating efficiently within each of their new portfolios; I know they will do good jobs.”

Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud, previously the Assistant Commissioner, ‘Operations’, will now be performing the duties of Assistant Commissioner ‘Administration’. While, Assistant Commissioner George Vyphuis, DSM, who for the last four years held the post of ‘A’ Division Commander has been posted

to the office of the Assistant Commissioner ‘Operations’.

Vyphuis was also Commander of ‘B’ and ‘G’ Divisions (Essequibo and Berbice.) He also spent some time in charge of Immigration and was in 2009 certified a Justice of Peace (JP) However, last evening, he told Kaieteur News that he considers his new post a challenge and intends to do his best. He said that his focus will now have to be widened to observe all divisions. “I consider it a good thing because I see it

as a challenge and I appreciate challenges, it allows him to further improve as an officer serving the Force.”

Assistant Commissioner Derrick Josiah will assume the responsibilities that Vyphuis would be vacating. He has been posted to be in charge of ‘A’ Division. Josiah previously held the position of Divisional Commander ‘B’ Division. Last year, for a short period he acted in charge of the A Division while Vyphuis was hospitalized.

The responsibility for ‘B’ Division (Berbice) now lies in

Assistant Commissioner : George Vyphuis

Commissioner of Police (ag), Leroy Brumell

the hands of Assistant Commissioner Brian Joseph, who was previously the Traffic Chief. Joseph was only last year August promoted to

Assistant Commissioner.

The previous Deputy Traffic Officer, Hugh Denhert, has been promoted to Traffic Chief.

Shawn Saul was placed on $25,000 bail after he was accused of assaulting a police officer.

On January 29, at Croal Street, Georgetown, Saul allegedly assaulted police constable Kevin James, a peace officer acting in execution of his duties.

Saul denied the allegations before Chief

Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court.

The vendor from Lot 39 Howes Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, reportedly struck the police officer while he was in the process of arresting another person. His case is fixed for report and fixture on February 27.

Vendor on bail for police assault

Labourer remanded for stealing I-phone Linden Branville was refused bail yesterday after he allegedly stole an Apple lphone valued at $120,000 which belonged to Dr. Joey Jagan. The defendant, of Lot 169 Charlotte Street Georgetown, told the court that he is innocent of the charge when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court.

According to the police report, the defendant would usually do errands for Dr.

Jagan. On Thursday January 31, Jagan left his cellular phone in the left compartment door of the car and entrusted his keys to the defendant that he might clean the vehicle.

However, Jagan after realizing that he had forgotten his phone in the car returned in search of it. He then discovered that the article was missing.

The matter was reported to the police and the accused was arrested and placed before the court on the allegation.

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Enough is enough…

Opposition to table motion to restore ‘Garden City’ The state of the country’s capital city has Parliamentarians concerned.

Garbage, blocked canals and alleyways and abandoned vehicles are all health hazards and eyesores.

Next Thursday, during a sitting of the National Assembly, at least one Parliamentarian wants something done.

Member of Parliament for A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), Volda Lawrence, is tabling a motion to have Government pull out all stops and use all resources to restore Georgetown to its original splendor of being the “Garden City”.

According to the motion to be tabled by Lawrence, Government will have to “utilize every machinery, work force, and agencies at its disposal and command in conjunction with the Georgetown City Council, members of the National Assembly, the business and commercial sector, NGOs (non-governmental organizations), clubs and citizens in the removal of garbage, abandoned vehicles and builders waste as well as

…says M&CC unable to perform

Parliamentarians are upset over the state of Georgetown. the de-siltation of canals and alleyways over the next three months in an effort to “Restore Georgetown to the Garden City of the Caribbean.”

She is asking the National Assembly to also establish a committee consisting of

MPs, officials of the Georgetown City Council, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and the Ministry of Transport and Hydraulics to monitor the progress of the restoration.

This special committee

will have to report to the National Assembly within four months of its establishment.

In her arguments for the motion, Lawrence noted that the expanded boundaries of Georgetown have placed severe strain

and pressures on the drainage systems.

“In addition, the heavy siltation of canals, the dumping of refuse and various other kinds of items which block drains, and the lack of maintenance of the outfall channels have all led

to poor drainage of the city.”

The MP made it clear that garbage collection and disposal have reached a critical point where there is dumping on street corners, open spaces and canals, creating public nuisance and health hazards.

She also said that many construction sites continue to block drains and dispose of waste on city parapets and in many instances create stagnant pools of water that encourage the breeding of mosquitoes.

According to the proposed motion, the Georgetown City Council is unable to carry out its mandate as prescribed in the Municipal and D i s t r i c t Councils Act of 1969 and the Local Democratic Organs Act of 1980, due to the severe under-collection of taxes, rents and fees as well as the miserly subvention received from Central Government.

By way of the motion, she wanted the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana to commit its support towards the restoration of the capital city, Georgetown.

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Saturday February 02, 2013

Saturday February 02, 2013

MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 Sign on 06:00 hrs - Living Word presentation 06:30 hrs - Peace Love & Harmony (live) 07:00 hrs - Dabi’s bhajan Hour 07:30 hrs - Times of Refreshing (live) 08:00 hrs - Full Life Broadcast with Pastor Findlay 08:30 hrs - News Update 09:30 hrs - Living the Life 10:00 hrs - Camille’s Institute Presentation 10:30 hrs - Children Movie: Niko Pt.2 12:30 hrs - Cartoon 13:00 hrs - Youth excel…with Ms. Diva 13:30 hrs - MTV School Quiz

Kaieteur News

with Ms. Diva 14:00 hrs - National Geographic: I’m an animal 15:00 hrs - National Geographic: Australia’s frontier 16:00 hrs - Sitcom 16:30 hrs - Alabama Trading Music break 17:00 hrs - Birthdays & other Greetings 17:15 hrs - Death Announcements/ In Memoriam 17:30 hrs - Sitcom 18:00 hrs - Searching the Scriptures with Devi 18:30 hrs - Cabinet Briefing 19:00 hrs - Apex Forum (Live) 20:15 hrs - MTV music break 20:30 hrs - Indian Movie: Kaal

22:00 hrs - English Movie: Silver Linings Sign off DTV CHANNEL 8 08:55 hrs. Sign On 09:00 hrs. Power Ranger Samurai 10:00 hrs. Supah Ninjas 11:00 hrs. Saved by the Bell 11:30 hrs. Prime News 11:50 hrs. Movie: The Lizzie McGuire Movie 13:30 hrs. Movie: Jack Frost 15:15 hrs. Movie: Legend 17:00 hrs. The Baptist Hour 18:00 hrs. World News 18:30 hrs. Nightly News 19:00 hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00 hrs. Alliance on the Move (Live) 21:00 hrs. Indian Movie 00:00 hrs. Sign Off

Guides are subjected to change without notice

Saturday February 02, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) You’re better off keeping your most intense feelings to yourself now that your key planet Mars is traveling through your 12th House of Secrets. Instead of creating a lot of fanfare about a new project or interest, quietly finish up old business because it may take longer than you expect.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Success seems within your reach now that enriching Venus is visiting your 10th House of Public Life. Exciting opportunities encourage you to believe that fame and fortune are just around the next corner.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You may feel as if you need to re-evaluate your career objectives and readjust your priorities.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) The next few weeks can give you the emotional boost you need. It’s not that you are overflowing with energy; the effects of assertive Mars in your 9th House of Big Ideas are more subtle than that.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Although you may not be in denial, a situation close to home could seem better than it actually is today. You might want to gloss over criticism that you receive from a good friend or family member.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) Concentrate on a project today that you recently let slip through the cracks. Remind yourself of your achievements as you re-establish new goals.

But instead of trying to make big changes on your own, involve others in your process.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your creative phase continues for a few more weeks, even if the energy is already beginning to shift. You may feel pressure to make money from your artistic pursuits, but you’re not quite ready to cash in your chips yet.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) You are brimming over with energy now that your planetary ruler Mars is marching through your 5th House of Self-Expression.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Stress arises today from the judgments that others may make about your commitment to caring for those you love. Even if you act responsibly, your efforts might not be enough to satisfy everyone.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) Spending extra time to fully prepare for the upcoming changes in your social life is a wise move now. Remember, no matter how ready you are, there still will be surprising obstacles to overcome.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) You’re relieved with the recent cosmic changing of the guard; pushy Mars has left your sign and is now heading for the open seas of softhearted Pisces.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) Your imagination is buzzing today, but you’re n o t content to just lose yourself in fantasies; you want to seize the day now that impulsive Mars is visiting your sign.

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SportsMax to Broadcast Williams Sisters, Sharapova signed a four-year agreement with Swedish rights company IEC in Sports for the broadcast rights to the WTA. As the new broadcast partner of the WTA in the region, SportsMax will broadcast 22 tournaments per year, including all semifinals and final matches from the WTA tournaments.

SportsMax’s coverage is scheduled to serve up on February 15 with the Qatar Total Open featuring all top

Serena Williams Kingston, Jamaica Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka plus other top female tennis players in the world now have a new home as SportsMax will broadcast

the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour to the Caribbean audience starting this year through to 2016. International Media Content Ltd. (“IMC”), SportsMax’s parent, has

=== Letter to the Sports Editor ===

A NEED TO FOCUS DEAR EDITOR, The football climate in Guyana is one in which the possibilities for the sport are endless with the intervention of FIFA. The Georgetown Football Association (GFA) already had its AGM and elections where some of the former present executives regaining their posts with two successful tournaments under their belts.

The Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) is slated to have their elections next month and already there is a buzz around Linden about the prospective candidates vying for the leadership of football in the UDFA. One of the persons is the present Regional Chairman who is positioning himself to dominate every facet of life in the Community.

It should be important to note that this narrative is not to say that he is bad intentioned, but he is over stretched and that in itself can foster undesirable results.

The issue is why would the

head of the political arm of government with the abundance of typical issues which are unresolved want to present himself as the savior of football in his community.

As a football enthusiast I think that they are other likeminded persons who are tried and tested to give the game leadership. I would like my Chairman to focus on the economic front - about the challenges facing Linden and not get petty trying to consolidate power in all strata of the society. He can ask to be the Patron of the Association or a Club but he should restrain himself from the day to day management of the game which is what he will have to do if he is elected.

It will be an insult to the Community of Linden if no other deserving contender is not identified since it will appear as though only one person can lead.

Consequently, when the rigors of leading the Regional begin to take toll, it is football that will suffer.

Concerned Resident.

10 WTA ranked players.

The strong field will be led by this year’s Australian Open champion and defending Qatar Open champion Victoria Azarenka, two time Qatar Open champion Maria Sharapova plus Grand Slam and Olympics champions Venus and Serena Williams and 2011 Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova.

SportsMax marketing manager Tanya Lee believes this will allow the tennis fan

base to see more tennis than is currently available regionally. “The WTA Tennis with a list of high profile players will be a great addition to our already strong line-up of football, cricket, track and field and boxing programming” Lee stated.

“We continue to build on the best sports lineup in television in the Caribbean as we look to cater to all sports lovers”.

Along with the WTA rights through 2016,

SportsMax’s parent IMC is the regional rights holder of premium content such as Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Soccer, West Indies away tours, Ashes, Indian Premier League and IAAF Grand Prix Meets.

The 2013 WTA season includes tennis Championships in Qatar, Istanbul, Dubai, Miami, Rome and Tokyo, among others from February 15 to October 27, 2013.

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Saturday February 02, 2013

Vegas bookmakers backing 49ers in Super Bowl (Reuters) - The San Francisco 49ers can count Las Vegas among their newest supporters for this weekend’s Super Bowl, but casinos in the gambling city would prefer they win by a small margin in a low-scoring affair.

The over-under, or the combined score of the two teams in the National Football League’s title game on Sunday, is 47 1/2 points and the 49ers are 3 1/2-point favorites to beat the Baltimore Ravens.

For MGM Resorts International, which operates 10 sports books on the Las Vegas Strip, the millions of dollars wagered so far has made it clear what outcome they are hoping for when the two

teams clash in New Orleans.

“Our worst case scenario is going to be a Niners win and the over, so we will probably be rooting for any scenario except for that,” Jay Rood, vice president of the race and sports book at MGM Resorts, told Reuters in a telephone interview. “A Niners win by a field goal, and for the game to stay under, would probably be the dream for all the bookmakers.”

San Francisco, powered by second-year quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took over the starting role after an injury to incumbent Alex Smith midway through the season, are back in the game for the first time since winning in 1995.

For the Ravens, who are led by strong-armed quarterback Joe Flacco and retiring linebacker Ray Lewis, it is their first Super Bowl appearance since winning in 2001. This year’s game features brothers as opposing head coaches and a west coast team for the first time since Seattle made it in 2006, two factors that could help challenge the record $94.5 million that was wagered in Nevada when Pittsburgh beat Seattle, seven years ago, according to Rood.

“It’s a west coast team, the Niners are pretty popular in northern Nevada and Colin Kaepernick is creating quite a bit of excitement because people are able to do a lot of

San Francisco 49ers tackle Joe Staley (L), guard Joe Looney (C), and guard Al Netter work on blocking drills during a NFL Super Bowl XLVII football practice in New Orleans January 31, 2013. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes exciting proposition bets with him,” said Mike Lawton, a senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. “So I would say I would be surprised if we did not beat the record.”

Aside from traditional bets on which team will win

or who will be chosen as the most valuable player, gamblers can also wager on a range of things, including whether Grammy-winning singer Beyonce will be joined onstage by her husband, rapper Jay-Z, during her halftime performance. There

are also a slew of betting options related to the headcoaching matchup between bothers John Harbaugh of the Ravens and Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers, including which will be shown first during the game and how long their postgame handshake/hug will last.

Rose Hall Town Pepsi and D’Edward to clash tomorrow The Albion Community Centre ground would come alive on Sunday when the final of the first ever Neal & Massy Intermediate/Berbice Cricket Board 50 Overs Tournament is contested.

Rose Hall Town Pepsi is set to clash with surprise finalists D’Edward in a game that is anticipated to be very close since D’Edward have proven to be no push over, developing a reputation as the ‘silent killer’ having recorded victories over powerhouses Albion and Young Warriors. Rose Hall Town Pepsi is seeking to add another championship trophy to their already large collection and would be spearheaded in the batting

department by captain Ravi Narine, Delbert Hicks, Dominique Rikhi, Jason Sinclair, Eon Hooper, Askay Homraj, Devin Baldeo and the experienced Michael Hicks.

Pacers Jamal Jarvis and Ingram Dey would share the new ball for Rose Hall Town but the bulk of the bowling is expected to be done by off spinners Hooper, Baldeo, Rikhi, Arif Chan and leg spinner Ravi Narine.

D’Edward’s strength has been the ability to chase down large scores with power hitting and on the large Albion ground they would depend heavily on skipper Jaipaul Heeralall, Keith Fraser, Eon Abel, Romesh Boodram, Barratt Persaud, Roshan

Gafoor, Heralall Bridgelall and Govindraraj Khan.

Their bowling would be led by medium pacers Keith Fraser and Navindra Rampersaud with support from spinners Romesh Boodram, Derick Narine Lalsa Jnr, Eon Abel and Roshan Gafoor. The Winning Team will pocket $60,000 and the beautiful Neal & Massy trophy, the runner up of $30,000 and the Man-of-theFinal $6,000.

Senior Management of the Neal & Massy Group of Companies is expected to meet the teams before the final and assist with the presentation of prizes. The match starts at 09.30 hours.

Rose Hall Town Pepsi: Dominique Rikhi, Devin Baldeo, Jason Sinclair, Delbert Hicks, Askay Homraj, Michael Hicks, Eon Hooper, Arif Chan, Ravi Narine, Jamal Jarvis, Ingram Dey, Brandon Prashad, Daniel Lewis.

Manager: Patrick Lewis, Coach: Michael Hyles Franco.

D’Edward: Romesh Boodram, Barratt Persaud, Roshan Gafoor, Heeralall Bridgelall, Jaipaul Heeralall, Givindraraj Khan, Lakeraj Sookra, Derick Junior Narine, Keith Fraser, Eon Abel, Navindra Rampersaud, Nashad Gafoor, Rakesh Ivan, Christian France and Derick Lalsa.

Saturday February 02, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Banks DIH, Jumbo Jet, Shariff up sponsorship for Bush Lot United horserace meet Preparations have been completed and all is set for the Bush Lot United Turf Club (BLUTC) grand one day multimillion dollar horserace meet tomorrow at the club’s entity, Sea View Park, Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice.

Thousands are expected to swarm the now famous venue which has racked up the praise of being the most improved racetrack over the last two years in Guyana. As the authorities make sure all is in order, a number of sponsors have boosted their sponsorship with hefty contributions to cater for the increased activity promised on the day.

Leading the way are beverage giants Banks DIH Limited, top horse racing entity Jumbo Jet Auto Sales and racing stables and the Shariff Business Enterprise and racing stable.

The nine race-meet with over $8.5 M in cash and trophies up for the taking and with over 80 horses now entered, action is expected to be riveting. Especially since some of the horses will be having an opportunity to compete for the first time for the year and some the first time in Guyana. Leading horseracing stable for last year, the Jumbo Jet racing entity, will be looking to start the year on the right footing.

They leads the way with a multiplicity of entries which

features 10 racehorses, while others such as Shariff, Elcock, Singh and Crawford also have multiple entries.

Another look at the events will see the feature race event for animals classified B and lower with a winning take of a sumptuous $1.2M over 1400M has an impressive entry list with the likes of Score’s Even, the Message, Grande Roja, Renia Del café, Got to Go, Diamond Dazzling, Who is on the Case and Diamond Illusion among others. The other two top events are also 1400M events.

The race for three year old Guyana and West Indies Bred horses features Wild Grinder, It’s my turn, Another Jet and Block Bay grinding it out for the $500,000 and trophy.

A fiery encounter is anticipated for the $450,000 and trophy D and lower over 1400M event with Stormy Flame, Red and Lovely, Quiet Storm, Miss Karina, Home Bush Baby, Top of The Line, Traditional man and Fresh Again, Diamond Illusion, Renia Del café, Diamond Dazzling all looking for sparkling display.

The other events which are also expected to be crowd pleasers are the 1200M F and lower event for a first prize of $400,000 and trophy. The G class 1200M race for a pole position taking of $350,000 and trophy, there is also $350,000 and trophy available

for the winner of the Guyana Bred three year old event which will be a 1400M affair.

The race for I class horses has a pole position taking of $200,000 and trophy over 1200M. The J class event will see the animals racing for a winner’s money of the $150,000 and trophy in another 1200M contest. The K class match up will see the winner pocketing $120,000 and trophy over 1200M. Among others looking to stake an early claim in the horseracing season are Sleeping in Town, Majestic Windy Killer, Obama, Technology, Settle In Seattle, Third World, Captain Crook, Windy War, Serenity, Storm In a Tea Cup, It my Turn, Silent Lizzy, Another Jet, I want Revenge, Rosanna, Wonder Flower, Gold Rush, The Girl Them Sugar, Ameera’s Joy, De Gump, Alana, Secretariat, Mr. Kool, Flying Object, Mona Lisa, Silent Flight and Flying Baby.

The individual performers including top jockey, stable and trainer will be presented with trophies compliments of The Trophy Stall, Bourda Market and the organisers.

The venue is in top shape and a grand day of racing is anticipated. Among other sponsors on board are Eron Lall Civil Engineering and Construction Company,

Rain prevents play on final day in warm up game Rain prevented any play on the final day of the practice match between the Guyana team and the Rest IX yesterday at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

The national team was set to resume their first innings on 192-5 with Christopher Barnwell on 45 and Derwin Christian on 21. The Rest XI had earlier made 144 all out batting first.

Meanwhile, the players who were not in the Twenty\20 team but were selected in the 50 over and 4 day squad did their fitness test when play was called off after tea. Manager Alvin Johnson told Kaieteur Sport that the players are disappointed with the loss of play for the entire day. He said the players are fit and raring to go.

“I am impressed with the fitness level of the players, they showed that they are willing to work hard for

Players participating in the beep test yesterday. success”, added Johnson.

The manager also stated that the pitch at Everest was unpredictable on the first day but improved on the following day. “I am not blaming the club authorities, it was due to the short notice and I must thanked the club for the use of their facilities”,

stated Johnson.

The teams will meet again today for another match which will be of 50 overs duration before they depart Guyana on Tuesday. Guyana will take on the Leeward Islands in their first limited over game on the 7th at the Antigua Recreation ground.

Zahir Shariff (left) of the Shariff racing stable hands over the sponsorship cheque to Murtland Williams of the BLUTC as trainer in Glendon Sooklall (right) and assistant Daniel Flores (centre) savors the moment.

Lakeram Sukdeo, Rommel Jagroop, Trophy Stall Bourda Market, Inshan Bacchus, Buddy Shivraj, Trophy Stall of Bourda Market, Shano Seenarine,

Phagoo General Store and Balbadose Sue Sankar of West Berbice among others.

Interested persons can make enquiries with Coordinator and Treasurer

Lakeram B. Sukhdeo on Number 232-0558 or 672-0810 or President R. Jagit (tel 2320231).

Race time is 12:30 hrs. (Samuel Whyte)

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 02, 2013

CAC Boxing championships...

11 boxers called to National team to prepare

Cuban Coach, Francisco Roldon intently observes Imran Khan (right) and Marvin Ageday going through their paces during training sessions Wednesday evening last.

President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle has recently handed over a document to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Frank Anthony that detail the plans and projections of his organization over the coming years. The document also presents a blueprint of the associated expenses for successful participation in preparatory activities leading up to the 2016 Brazil Olympics.

GBA organizers have identified several international events that could serve as the catalyst to the boxers’ development, thus enhancing their chances at acquiring the coveted but elusive Olympics Gold medal.

Consequently, they have identified several boxers to

comprise a national team for possible selection to the Central American and Caribbean Games scheduled for Costa Rica starting March 3 next.

The boxers will be taken through their paces at the Andrews ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Boxing Gym, Albouystown from 16:00hrs on Weekdays and 10:00hrs on Saturdays.

The pugilists will also be required to report to the National Park, Thomas Lands, at 05:00hrs weekdays for roadwork exercises.

Tournament Director, Terrence Poole said that his charges are working hard and it would be nice if administrators could acquire sufficient funds to field a full contingent. He said the boxers have been placed in order of priority.

Even so, these boxers must retain a high level of fitness and must attend at least 90% of training sessions and demonstrate some measure of constant improvement, key variables for selection.

The boxers would operate under the tutelage of several coaches including Cuban Francisco Hernandez Roldon, Terrence Poole, Carl Franklyn, James Walcott, Wensel Thomas and Sebert Blake.

Those called up for the squad are, Imran Khan and Stephon Gouveia (Harpy Eagles), Dennis Thomas (Police), Laured Stewart, Delon Charles and Theresa London (Forgotten Youth Foundation) and Eon Bancroft, Bert Braithwaite, Ron Smith, Clairmont Gibson and Omar Charles (GDF).

GABA invites LABA to Basketball Fun Day - Two new Executives to ‘rub shoulders’ With two young officials now at the helm of basketball in Linden and Georgetown, the two most active subassociations are mulling collaborative efforts that will continue to aid in development, and the establishment of mutually beneficial relationships.

Kaieteur Sport learnt yesterday that the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) is interested in hosting teams from the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) when they jump off their 2013 programme next weekend on Burnham Court.

GABA President, Michael Singh told this newspaper yesterday that he has engaged the LABA to have them participate in the 3-on-3 Basketball Fun Day scheduled for February 10 where the top compositions from the two towns will entertain the community.

The LABA under its new President, Haslyn Graham has not yet responded to the challenge from Georgetown, but the GABA is optimistic that the result will be positive.

Singh said this is a good way of two new Executives officially meeting and collaborating.

Haslyn Graham

Michael Singh

Saturday February 02, 2013

Kaieteur News

Fruta Conquerors/Namilco One Love Football Classic...

Western Tigers out to avenge defeat to Buxton United in curtain raiser Fresh from a scintillating performance that earned them the prestigious Kashif and Shanghai Football title January last, Buxton United FC will look to emulate that performance when it clash with Western Tigers FC when the curtains go up on the Fruta Conquerors/Namilco One Love Football Classic tournament at the Tucville Ground tomorrow afternoon. That game commences at 18:00hrs and will be the first of a double header that also pits the skills of defending champions, Guyana Defence Force against Northern Rangers at 20:00hrs.

Naturally, the Buxtonians, who had defeated the ‘Tigers’ in the 23rd edition of the Kashif and Shanghai tournament, will enter the match on a high, confident that they could replicate the feat. Try as they might, football fans cannot forget the intensity of the game when these two units last met at the Buxton Community Centre Ground last December.

The score was nil all with the game perched to proceed into extra time when Buxton United player, Michael Phyll pulled the proverbial ‘rabbit out of the hat’ with a powerful right foot shot from mid field that miraculously sped past Western Tiger’s custodian, Derrick Carter, and handed the Buxtonians a deserving 1-0 victory.

The ‘Tigers’ will still be bristling and would be out to avenge that loss and will depend on their strike crew, Shawn ‘Bubbly’ Beveney and Devon Millington.

Conversely, the Buxtonians demonstrated

grit and determination and were certainly not impressed by their opponent’s star studded lineup and chances are they will once again be unfazed for tomorrow’s encounter.

The ball weavers from the East Coast Demerara will depend on the likes of Denzil Phillips, Les Charles Critchlow and the dependable Michael Phyll to take them through to the next round. There is no bad blood between the two teams but Western will be approaching this game with vengeance, armed with the knowledge that the Buxtonians would be fierce competitors.

The teams will compete for more than $4.5 million in prizes after Namilco has acquiesced to a larger sponsorship package. The winning team will take home $1.2M, while the runners up pockets half that amount. The third and fourth place finishers receive $400,000 and $200,000 respectively. Several other business places have donated other prizes including Junior’s Jewelry (one gold chain), Bayridge Taxi Service (one cell phone) and Global Technology (2 computer scholarships).

The tournament would encompass the involvement of teams from five sub associations competing in a knockout tournament over 8 competitive playing days.

The grand final and the 3rd place playoff are scheduled February 24. Matches will be played at the Tucville Ground but the organizers have hinted that some games might be played at additional venues.

(Michael Benjamin)

Boxer’s prognosis seems dire as GBBC Doctor seeks CHIs’ intervention Guyana Boxing Board of Control’s (GBBC) Doctor, Max Hanoman, is mildly optimistic that top Light/ Middleweight contender, Gladwin Dorway, might be able to resume his boxing career following the intervention of medical practitioners at the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) in whose hands the case has been referred.

On January 25 last Dorway was scheduled to match gloves with Mark Austin for the local Junior Middleweight title, but prefight medical examinations, conducted by Dr. Hanoman, discovered a heart ailment that posed serious risks to the boxer’s health, forcing the doctor to suggest further tests and consequently the cancellation of the bout.

GBBC President, Peter Abdool, was disturbed by the turn of events and ordered a re-evaluation; he was also optimistic that medical intervention would have corrected the anomaly.

One day after the purported bout, the affected pugilist visited the doctor but the prognosis remains inconclusive and Dr. Hanoman has referred the matter to the specialists at the CHI for further tests and a firmer prognosis.

On the night of the card,

Gladwin Dorway Mr. Abdool had informed that following Dorway’s prognosis, boxing officials conducted background checks and discovered that the boxer’s condition appears to be hereditary as several other family members were stricken by similar problems.

He also indicated a willingness to assist in any way possible and had sought medical advice to ascertain whether his organization could have helped in corrective procedures thus the referral to Dr. Hanoman.

Kaieteur Sport spoke with Dr. Hanoman who explained that medical examinations of all boxers are a prerequisite and conducted by him before a fight following which, the fighter receives the green light. He said that after

examining Dorway he noticed that his heart rate was at an abnormal 43 per minute as against a regular 60 beats per minute.

The doctor surmised that Dorway might have been experiencing a conduction defect of the heart and he (Doctor) ordered an echocardiogram, a graphic outline of the heart’s movement which emits highfrequency sound waves, called ultrasound, provide pictures of the heart’s valves and chambers and allows the sonographer to evaluate the pumping action of the heart.

Dr. Hanoman also prescribed an electro cardiogram, a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. He said that based on the results he detected that Dorway’s heart was blocked thus preventing a smooth flow of blood and he then referred Dorway to the specialists at the Caribbean Heart Institute.

The doctor said that those experts are currently conducting the requisite tests to ascertain the gravity of the situation. “It’s risky business in the ring and I am not prepared to risk any fighter’s health,” pronounced Dr. Hanoman. In the meantime, Dorway’s career has been put on hold.

Page 37

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Kaieteur News

Saturday February 02, 2013

Milo U-20 Schools Football action all weekend - Sizzling encounters anticipated Action in the Milo Under20 Schools Football Competition, which is being organised by Petra Organisation, continues over the weekend with six more matches, at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue.

Starting today, Charlestown takes on Ascension from 12:00 hrs and that will be followed by the clash between Christ Church and North Georgetown from at 13:50 hrs, while the curtain comes down with Tucville versus Tutorial High at 15:45 hrs.

Three more matches are slated for tomorrow when St. George’s engages St. John’s College at 12:00 hrs to be followed by the encounter between Cummings Lodge and Queen’s College at 13:50 hrs and then South Ruimveldt opposes Bishop’s High from 15:45 hrs.

In the Charlestown versus Ascension affair, the former will certainly start as favourites following their impressive showing against

North Georgetown, who they defeated 4-0 thanks to some exciting play from Barron Dick, Aroydy Bradford and Ravin Naughton.

They will once again be looking for solid performances from this trio to secure their second victory in as many matches.

Ascension on the other hand looked out of sorts against a clinical Christ Church team, but will no doubt be looking to make amends for that dismal first outing.

In the second game, Christ Church who registered the most impressive performance to date will be aiming to maintain that record and Andre Trotz, Nyron Joseph, Kadeem Blackman and Javontat Best will be asked to once again spearhead their quest for victory.

North Georgetown, who lost their opening encounter just like Ascension, will know that another loss could put them under severe pressure to qualify for the final stages

and therefore will be going all out for a win.

In the final clash of the day, Tucville notable winners against St. John’s College in their first game of the competition are hot favourites to continue in that vein.

Hubern Blair, who netted a treble will be looking to replicate that performance, while Denzel Green, another player with some talent is part of the supporting cast.

Tutorial who lost their

Part of the action in this year’s Milo U-20 Schools Football Competition.

opening game against St. George’s will be eager to rebound and secure their first set of points in the tournament.

The day promises to produce sizzling action and fans are being implored to come out and help spot the next local ‘Messi’ or ‘Neymar’.

Meanwhile, the top four schools will receive cash awards which will go towards the creation of a project of

their choice.

The champion school will receive $200,000, runner-up $100,000, third place $50,000 and fourth $25,000. All four institutions will also be given medals and trophies, while the Most Valuable Player, Highest Goalscorer, Best Goalkeeper, Best Coach and Most Supportive Parent will be recognised for their achievements.

The schools hunting the top prizes are: Charlestown,

North Georgetown, Christ Church, Ascension, Tucville, St John’s College, St George’s, Tutorial High, Cummings Lodge, Bishop’s High, South Ruimveldt, Queen’s College, Lodge, David Rose, Dolphin Secondary, Guyana Education Trust College, St Winefride, North Ruimveldt, Carmel, Brickdam, New Campbellville, Sophia Special School, Richard Ishmael and Central High.

Saturday February 02, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 39

Zeeburg beat Independence Sports Club to take Barakat Brothers T\20 title Zeeburg Beat Independence SC by two wickets off the final ball to win the 2013 Barakat Brothers 20/ 20 final played at Uitvlugt last Sunday.

Batting first after winning the toss, Independence struggled to 88 all out off their allotted overs.

Safraz Esau top scored with 37 which included 2 Fours and 1 Six and Anand Bharrat supported with 23 not out.

Bowling for Zeeburg Ronald Kellawan snared 2-12, Timor Mohamed 2-11 and Amrit Rai 2-17.

Zeeburg in reply were 455 at one stage and eventually reached the target off the last ball, Timor Mohamed Top Score with 16 and Joel Ramsahai contributed 14 for the winners. David Allert grabbed 4-16 from his Four Overs.

Zeeburg pocketed two hundred thousand dollars

and a Trophy, while Independence collected Fifty Thousand Dollars and a trophy. Allert was named Man of the Match and earned himself ten thousand dollars and a trophy. He was also adjudged the most outstanding bowler while Arvin Seepersaud of Zeeburg was given the most outstanding batsman prize.

Meanwhile, in the First Semi-Final which was played at Uitvlugt on Sunday 27th, Zeeburg Beat Meten-MeerZorg by 12 runs, batting First Zeeburg made 128-8 off their 20 overs.

Arvin Seepersaud Batting at No.7 top scored 37 including 2 Sixes and 1 Four, Ganesh Narine supported with 26 including 3 fours and Joel Ramsahai chipped in with 25 with 1 six and 1 four.

Sheldon Alexander 2-12, Vinod Rajkumar 2-19 and Avinash Sharanandan 2-35 were the pick of the bowlers

Members of the victorious Zeeburg team displaying their prizes. Representative of the sponsor Feroze Barakat is left (standing). for Meten- Meer-Zorg who managed 116-7 in 20 overs in response.

Jermaine Reynolds top Scored with 40 which

Bajan Connection for Oscar E. Shew Memorial Dominoes - Feb. 17 -18 teams to vie for whopping prizes; 1st place collects $180,000 The much anticipated annual Oscar E. Shew Memorial Points System 18team dominoes competition has been fixed for Sunday, February 17 next at the Everest Cricket Club Pavilion, Camp Road, Georgetown with double six time set for noon.

The format will be on a two-round aggregate basis with several top teams vying for supremacy including Bajan Connection from the Land of the flying Fish, Barbados.

The late Oscar E. Shew passed away on February 15, 1999 in the USA and in a fitting tribute to the dynamic businessman, his son Manniram “Packer” Shew has been staging annual tournaments ever since 2000.

Apart from being a successful businessman, the effervescent Shew was also a Charter Member of the South Georgetown Lions Club, During his tenure with the club, Shew was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship, signifying 25 years Lionism Service. In honour of his outstanding service, a minute’s silence will be observed prior to the commencement of the tournament.

This will be followed by tributes from the Club’s President and other Executive members.

The winning team will cart

off a whopping $180,000 and trophy; second place $90,000 and trophy; third $54,000 and trophy. A special incentive of $5,000 will also be paid on the spot to the player sharing the first double love. Entrance fee per team is $18,000 and teams are asked to walk with good pack of dominoes.

The points system rules developed by dominoes enthusiast Manniram Shew will be in effect and are as follows: For each 6 games made the team will gain 15 points, for each 5 games made the team gains 10 points, for each 4 games made the team gains 8 points, for each 3 games made the team gains 6 points, for each 2 games made

the team gains 4 points, for every 1 game made the team gains 1 point, for each love the team receives the team loses 5 points.

Among the teams slated to be in action are F&H Supremes, Bajan Connection, Strikers, Zeelugt Sports Club, TNT, Wild Bunch, Assassins, C-7, Renegades, B-6, Lions, Transport, Tone, Snake, Canal 6, Everest, International 6, Professional 6 and Rooster.

Other interested teams are asked to contact Manniram Shew on 227 2447 and 625 4134 and Roderick Harry on 623 7670. Teams will be allotted places on a first come basis.

Trophy Stall Inter Jamaat Tapeball Cricket...

Registration closes on Tuesday Jamaats desirous of competing in the 2013 edition of the Trophy Stall sponsored Muslim Youth Organisation, Inter Jamaat round-robin Tapeball cricket competition have until Tuesday next to complete registration.

Based on reports, quite a few Jamaats have already completed the process which costs $3,000. Attractive trophies and other incentives will be at stake as will bragging

rights for the next year, only the winner will enjoy such status and recognition.

The tournament is set to bowl off on Sunday February 10 at the MYO Ground, Woolford Avenue and Albert Street.

More information regarding the registration process can be obtained from Brother Imran Ally (231 9822; 689 7425) of Brother Azad Ibrahim (624 3362).

contained 2 sixes and 2 fours, while Kevin Feele made 15 and Ashim Bashir 16.

Ronald Kellawan picked up 2-11, Mandalall Doodnarine 2-25 for Zeeburg.

In the Semi-Finals No.2 at Zeeburg on Sunday 27th, Independence beat Windsor

Forest by 4 wickets batting first, Windsor Forest was bowled out for 109 in 17-1 overs batting first.

Muneshwar Balgobin top scored with 28, Lalta Sukhnanand supported with 20; Thakur Persaud took 3-14, Safraz Esau 3-37 and David

Allert 2-22.

Independence in reply reached the target for the loss of Seven Wickets in 19.1 overs ending at 110. Anand Dhanpaul scored 15 Anand Bharrat 14 and Kishan Shivgobin 13 to give Independence Victory.

Australia v West Indies, 1st ODI, Perth

Mitchell Starc celebrates the wicket of Kieron Pollard (Getty Images).

T

wenty years ago, almost to the day, Allan Border won the toss and batted before Curtly Ambrose obliterated Australia at the WACA ground in a spell of 7 for 1.

Whirring the ball down with speed and fiendish late swing, Mitchell Starc paid homage by splintering the West Indies in a burst of 4 for 1 to set up a facile nine-wicket victory, achieved with all of 244 balls to spare.

This time it was the touring captain Darren Sammy who paid a heavy price for choosing to bat first on a lively surface.

Australia’s pitiful 74 against Sri Lanka at the Gabba is no longer the lowest score of the limited-overs summer, it’s now the West Indies total of 70 that was only reached after some late-order resistance following an earlier free-fall to 5 for 19. It was the most meagre total in all ODIs between the two countries, extras (17) providing the

t r o Sp

Starc splinters West Indies

top score.

Ever the tactical opportunist, Australia captain Michael Clarke promoted Glenn Maxwell to open, and his supercharged half-century ensured the target was gobbled up inside 10 overs.

Maxwell crashed 18 from Kemar Roach’s first over, and may find himself opening again after such a star-turn. In all, only 33.1 overs were required to complete the match.

Starc finished with 5 for 20, and was given splendid support by Clint McKay and James Faulkner.

The two new balls ensured there was movement through the air and off the pitch for the entirety of the We s t I n d i e s i n n i n g s , a s a succession of batsmen were either bowled or offered catching practice to a well-stocked slips cordon.

Sammy’s choice to bat first took his opposite number Clarke by surprise, after Australia had stacked their team with pace bowlers and

Jason Holder appeals (Associated Press).

planned to bowl if successful at the toss. The pitch carried a tinge of grass that suggested it would be at its fastest and most lively.

Chris Gayle and Kieran Powell were soon pushing hopefully at deliveries that seamed and swung away from them at pace, though it was not until the fifth over that a wicket fell. Gayle’s recent ODI scores have been underwhelming, but it took a fine ball from McKay to seam across him and take the shoulder of the bat for a catch in the slips cordon.

At the other end Starc was swerving the ball late and with tremendous control, and the ball after Powell drove him to the cover fence began a sequence of destruction that would plainly show that there are few bowlers more dangerous than the fast left-armer moving the ball through the air.

Powell pushed tentatively at a ball slightly shorter than the one he had struck to the fence and offered a

Glenn Maxwell prepares to swat one down the ground (Getty Images).

catch to Clarke at slip.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, in his first international since 2011, was late and crooked on a ball that hooped back into him to spread-eagle the stumps.

Noting the swing on offer, Clarke brought Phillip Hughes in to short leg, and Dwayne Bravo obliged by squeezing a catch to the man just posted.

Kieron Pollard’s first ball was millimetres away from finding him lbw, and his second arrived too soon for a hesitant push that served only to deflect the ball onto leg stump. Starc had taken 4 for 1 in seven balls.

At 5 for 19, the script for the innings had been largely written, and the remainder could only add nuisance runs as the ball continued to zip about. Faulkner claimed a pair of wickets on debut with a disciplined line, while McKay followed up his earlier incision by dismissing Sammy, who offered

only token resistance.

West Indies’ plight was best epitomised by Sunil Narine, who groped haplessly at the first five balls of a McKay over before edging the final one into Matthew Wade’s gloves. Starc was brought back by Clarke to claim the final wicket, another inswinger plucking out Jason Holder’s leg stump.

Maxwell’s promotion showed Australia were keen on a quick finish, and his domineering approach worked brilliantly in a scenario where instinct and freedom were rewarded over thoughtful consideration.

Some of his shots were bizarre, but most were well struck, leaving Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja very much in his wake. Sammy will think twice before batting first again.

Scores: Australia 1 for 71 (Maxwell 51*) beat West Indies 70 (Starc 5-20, McKay 3-10) by nine wickets.

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