Kaieteur News

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February 26, 2013 - Vol. 6 No. 09 - Price $80

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

Are Chinese convicts working on Marriott? …Brassington offers “no comment” East Bank four-lane highway stalled ...

Contractor seeks new deadline

… saw no need to correct investor information

Brassington blank on Guyana Stores subsidiaries Trial for EZjet's boss delayed to April at lawyer's request

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Brassington blank on Guyana Stores subsidiaries … saw no need to correct investor information The court received a string of “I don’t know” from Winston Brassington when he was questioned yesterday about the subsidiaries of Guyana Stores Limited (GSL) in which Royal Investments was interested.

Brassington, as Executive Secretary of the Privatisation Unit, managed the privatization of Guyana Stores in October 2000.

In the information pack for investors, Brassington had listed a number of agencies and distributorships which formed part of the business of Guyana Stores.

Reeaz Khan, who was leading the negotiations for Royal Investments, had written Brassington, underlining the importance of those agencies and distributorships. Khan wrote in a November, 1999 letter that Royal Investments intended to develop all franchises in the Guyana Stores business.

The court was told that Reeaz Khan had written asking for all franchises, distributorships and agencies held by Guyana Stores and for a copy of those agreements to be provided.

Brassington could not tell the court if he had responded to Reeaz Khan and undertook to provide the correspondence if he has it.

But he said that given the importance of the information to the investor, it would have been important for him, Brassington, to respond.

In the information pack Brassington prepared for investors, he had stated that there were a number of agencies that were valuable and could be further developed. But then he told the court that he did not agree that the agencies would have had to be in existence in order for them to be of any value.

Brassington told the court that at the time the Privatisation deal was signed, he was aware that some of the agencies under Guyana Stores no longer existed.

However, when asked to say what companies he knew for a certainty did not exist, he could not.

Senior Counsel Edward Luckhoo read out the names of several franchises to see if Brassington would know of their non-existence at the time

Winston Brassington the agreement was signed.

Brassington responded “I don’t know” to at least 17 names called by Luckhoo.

Brassington maintained his position that the so-called Diplomatic Shop, or Duty Free shop, was not part of the transaction in the shares sale agreement.

However, “off hand” he was not able to say if this was particularly stated in the information pack to investors.

Brassington was pointed to a November 2000 letter by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, then Chairman of the Privatisation Board, advising Guyana Stores

about the re-establishment of the duty free shop.

Brassington told the court that if in any event he found that information in the information pack to investors was not accurate, he was under no obligation to correct the information.

He said that the investors had time to conduct their own due diligence, through means such as workshops.

Further, Brassington pointed to the existence of an information room at Guyana Stores where documents were stored and updated.

However, he could not say if that information room

Edward Luckhoo existed at the time Tony Yassin took over the negotiations from Reeaz Khan in August 2000.

The case is being heard

by Justice Roxanne GeorgeWiltshire. NICIL is being represented by Rafiq Turhan Khan, while Yassin is being represented by Senior Counsel Luckhoo and Rex Mc Kay, and attorney Sasenarine Gunraj.

In an affidavit signed by Mr. Tony Yassin, he admitted that on October 4, 2000, he entered into an agreement with National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) to purchase the shares in Guyana Stores

Limited which was owned by the Government of Guyana.

Furthermore it was stated that before entering into the agreement with National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited, Yassin was given various information memoranda on June 5, 1996 and packages in March 1999 in respect of the matters and facts which were peculiarly within the knowledge of the NICIL, the Government and Privatisation Unit.

To these, the defendant stated, he had no access method of verifying through his own investigation and inquiry.

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

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

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No evidence Marriott’s contractor registered in Guyana - Brassington’s “unrestricted” powers “unthinkable”- Chris Ram There is no evidence that the Chinese contractor involved in the Marriott Hotel project is incorporated or registered as an external company in Guyana as is required.

Writing in his weekly column in the Stabroek News on Sunday, columnist Christopher Ram also expressed alarm over revelations that one government official had unrestricted powers to spend billions of dollars in the project which has been generating more and more controversy.

Ram has, overtime, questioned Government on a number of Government projects, in his columns and comments.

The columnist, also an accountant and lawyer, said that from all indications, there is no evidence that Winston Brassington, head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), even agreed to waive the mandatory statutory duty of having SCG registered.

The opposition and critics have been punching holes in the contract and feasibility of the US$51M deal which is under construction in Kingston, next door to the Pegasus Hotel, questioning the real intentions behind the project.

Ram wondered how Government went ahead allowing Brassington alone to take responsibility for billions of taxpayers’ dollars.

“It is almost unthinkable that a single individual who in law has no obligation but to the

company (NICIL) would be allowed such vast and unrestricted powers over expenditure exceeding ten billion dollars.”

NICIL, a governmentowned company which handles investments for the government, has created a local subsidiary, Atlantic Hotel Inc. (AHI), which is the parent company for the Marriott Hotel.

Ram noted that at all times, Brassingston operated as the shareholder representative, Chairman, sole director and Chief Executive Officer of AHI. “In addition, these and other documents which I have seen, indicate that Mr Brassington was the point man for negotiations with the contractor as well as Government agencies.

What is not unthinkable and indeed was foreseeable is the ‘shamateurishness’ of the negotiated documents and the potential implications for the Guyanese taxpayers who bear the full cost of the investment and any potential losses.”

Citing the US$200M Skeldon Sugar Factory, Ram said that with its large and powerful board and with inputs from Booker Tate, GuySuCo could not prevent a “lopsided contract” with a Chinese contractor in a matter in which the balance of expertise resided in Guyana.

“Sadly, the taxpayers continue to suffer the consequences of that mistake. And yet, even before that mistake is rectified … we are…repeating it.”

The Police are hunting for a couple who allegedly forged the signature of a young woman and collected a car from a city wharf. The woman had imported the car from Japan with the help of one of the accused.

Va n e t t a N a i p a u l , o f Better Hope, Essequibo, said that she was introduced to Kenrick Charles some time last year by a friend.

L a s t S e p t e m b e r, s h e decided to import a car, a Toyota MRS Convertible from Japan with the help of the man.

He created the account for her and she paid US$9,500 through Republic Bank Limited.

“To process the transaction you have to

create an account and he created the account in my name and I paid the full price through Republic Bank.

During the processing of the documents we get wrong and we stop talk,” Naipaul stated.

She added that when the car reached Guyana she received a letter from the wharf but “I did not have all the money to pay because I thought the duty was $1M but it was around $2M so I left the car at the wharf for a while until I could have arranged the money.”

Naipaul explained that her mother visited the said wharf some time last week only to discover that someone had already uplifted the car with an authorization, bearing her daughter’s signature which

Christopher Ram

Dr. Roger Luncheon

NICIL’s Head, Winston Brassington

Recently, amidst disclosures that there were no locals being employed in the construction of Marriott Hotel, there were angry protests by Opposition parties, activists and others at the Kingston worksite.

Brassington, whose role

in a number of other investments and numerous privatizations deals is under scrutiny, explained that the Chinese contractor resorted to foreign workers because of the absence of skills and language barriers.

He also disclosed that it was part of the contract agreed to with the

contractor…a statement that drew widespread anger.

Last week, in startling statements, Government said that it has no intention to hold on to the Marriott Hotel once it is completed. Rather, it will be released to the investors.

At first, Government said it was a public/private partnership (PPP) initiative.

Couple uplifts car with fake authorization

is said to be a fake.

“When I go, the person in charge showed me an authorization which they claimed I wrote and someone tried to sign like me.

These people also had a copy of my ID card,” the woman explained.

She added that the authorization was written in the name of Shanna Monroe of Lot 17 Little Diamond, East Coast Demerara.

“That is his girlfriend; I don’t know how he got the car because to uplift the car you need to show a letter from Japan which I have, but I don’t know if he call the car company and requested another copy.”

The matter is being investigated by the Ruimveldt Police.

The National Assembly, controlled by the Opposition, has not given its blessings for the project as taxpayers’ dollars being used are controlled by NICIL. In late 2011, former President Bharrat Jagdeo officially turned the sod for the construction of the hotel with the promise, that the project will create hundreds of jobs in the construction phase, and beyond when it becomes operational.

The 197-room hotel and entertainment complex is expected to be completed by February 2014.

Local hoteliers have over the years been reporting that there are too many hotel rooms.

A number of hotels built for Cricket World Cup in 2007 have since been sold or have been turned over to new management, including Buddy’s Hotel (now Princess Hotel and Casino) in Providence, East Bank Demerara.

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Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

Some issues with OLPF Two years ago Guyana launched what it called its One Laptop Per Family programme. The aim was to provide 90,000 laptops across Guyana in three years. This programme was seen as a step to help Guyana move into the technological age in keeping with the rest of the world.

Indeed, just about everything is done on the computer these days. There is internet banking which has now moved to the level of mobile banking; there is the use of the computer to pay just about every available bill; and people now make purchases from their computer.

Gone are the days when the more affluent households bought the large volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica which was the prime reference document because it contained information about everything possible under the sun. All the research information could be accessed from the confines of the most ordinary home that possesses a computer.

Learning is simplified because the computer could be a most willing teacher. In fact, in the developed world there is distance learning facilitated by the computer. With programmes such as Skype and the other visual connection facilities people could be in another continent and share knowledge. And if this sounds farfetched, there was the case of doctors in one continent seeking the assistance of others during a sophisticated surgical intervention.

It was with these things in mind that many people welcomed this Government initiative. We are short of teachers in many skilled areas. Mathematics and the sciences are the worst hit in the education system. With the few teachers around one can imagine the impact of the computer, especially since Guyana launched a distance education programme.

However, all does not seem to be well with this programme. There were initial complaints about the unit cost of the computer. These were netbooks, only capable of accessing the internet and to have them cost some US$250 per seemed exorbitant. Similar netbooks were being retailed at just over US$150 per unit. And there was a view that this should have been the cost of the computers supplied by the government.

Indeed providing the computers could not have been a cheap programme. It was supposed to cost the country US$27 million. But the government got some special concessions from the Chinese manufacturers. They donated a few hundred computers to the programme and they spoke about setting up an assembly plant in Guyana. Again the OLPF was proving more than beneficiary.

To construct an assembly plant in Guyana was actually bringing employment to Guyana. The other benefit was that the shipping cost for the computers would have been removed from the cost of the total package.

At the same time the government was laying a US$30 million cable to transmit its own bandwidth to facilitate among things, e-governance and the OLPF. Suddenly these two programmes seem to have run out of steam. For one, the OLPF programme which was initially a programme that would be fuelled by applications from the people suddenly found itself mired in problems. Political considerations saw some households getting as many as five computers.

There were instances of the police being asked to intervene into the irregularities but there have been no prosecutions. Again the political directorate has risen to the support and defence of its own. We have not failed to notice that some of the people administering the programme have been sent home pending an investigation into a fraud.

More than 100 of the computers disappeared from the headquarters.

The cable programme is mired in problems. Something as simple as laying cable seems to be a technological nightmare to the extent that almost one year after that cable should have been in the capital and ready for use, it is still nowhere near to being installed.

The worst of all is that schools in the hinterland are ignored. These are the schools that do not have the best teachers; instead they have substandard facilities. The computers would have helped them through the distance education programme. The distribution package has not reached them. But it did reach a few pensioners and those government departments where special people work.

Wednesday February 20, 2013

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

A nonsensical panegyric of Cheddi Jagan DEAR EDITOR, I refer to a letter, “Flawed criticism of Cheddi Jagan,” SN, Feb 22, 2013. It is always interesting when you read these types of propagandistic angles, the condemnatory words the writers use to describe the views of others.

Those very descriptions apply to their assessments too.

The letter-writer was responding to M. Maxwell’s criticism of Jagan’s legacy and Maxwell’s work was referred to as nonsense. Yet, “Flawed criticism of Cheddi Jagan” is not only a nonsensical panegyric of Cheddi Jagan, but an extremely silly description of the non-existent virtues of Dr. Jagan.

First, the writer denies any embrace of racial politics by Cheddi Jagan and barefacedly refers to Jagan’s early reliance on non-Indian like Sydney King (later to be named Eusi Kwayana). What a major fault in the essay. Eusi Kwayana has literally dozens of essays that accuse Dr. Jagan of playing the race card from the fifties onwards.

I will not dwell at length on the argument that shows the race content of Jagan’s politics from the fifties onwards. It is not necessary to do so and for one

fundamental reason – the organization of East Indians was to Dr. Jagan what water is to a plant. One should not dignify any polemic that puts Dr. Jagan and the PPP above race.

You can take a book and quote what you want from it.

This is what the letter-writer did. Usage is made of Stephen Rabe’s book, “US Intervention in Guyana: A Cold War Story.” The very Rabe on the back cover describes Jagan as a politician popular among East Indians. Rabe goes on to tell his readers where he got his source materials from – the archives of the US Government. The archives of the Russian Government remain closed off from Western academics doing research on the Cold War. I guess Guyanese will have to wait longer to find out how frenetic and servile was Cheddi Jagan, a puppet of Soviet hegemony. Finally on Rabe, he had some unflattering comments on Jagan. As for the Cubans, I doubt they would ever open up their archives for that period. Maybe until the Communist Party is removed from power Next, is Clem Seecharran’s “Sweetening Bitter Sugar”.

What the letter-writer left out

was the chapter where Seecharran exposed Jagan’s treachery and even remarked that sugar workers were too fond of the Booker boss, Jock Campbell, and that led Jagan to undermine Campbell.

Moses Nagamootoo has an interesting story that he should tell the person who wrote that letter of praise for Jagan in the SN about Seecharran’s book launch.

Clem Seecharran (we were contemporaries at MacMaster University) and David Dabydeen are good friends, so Dabydeen came to Guyana for the book launch.

Dabydeen failed to get Mrs. Jagan to accompany him because Mrs. Jagan was hostile to the book which she claimed was an unfair portrayal of her husband The letter-writer made no mention of the October 2011 publication of two huge volumes on Dr. Jagan, “The Indelible Red Stain” by Mohan Ragbeer. I reviewed this book during the Christmas period (2012) and what a shock I got when his nephew telephoned me to say the author was in Guyana. We talked over the phone.

Ragbeer literally demolished Jagan’s legacy in his work.

Readers should note that Ragbeer, who literally grew up under Jagan as his big

brother, was one of Jagan’s early advisors in the late forties and early fifties The tall tales of Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham will go on once there is a country named Guyana.

Those who admire them will be selective in what they tell us. Those who hate them will adopt the same attitude. The problem with the historiography is Burnham.

He appears as the perennial culprit and Jagan as the permanent angel. All that is changing as more and more scholars and elderly Guyanese write. Some of the virtues of Burnham are coming out, and many of the eerie, nasty dimensions in Jagan’s long career are emerging Finally, the letter-writer requested that his/her name not be published. We can easily understand that. When you write the puerile, nonsensical stuff that is contained in that letter, then you surely don’t want people to know who you are. Sadly, look today at the people who Jagan nurtured and protégéd in politics. I say most unashamedly, give me Burnham’s choices any day.

With the exception of one or two they were just better people Frederick Kissoon

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

The Speaker in Guyana is not non-partisan because s/he does not have to renounce political affiliation DEAR EDITOR, Never too far from the mind after reading Vishnu Bisram’s letters and questionable ‘polls’ is the thought that this gentleman’s greatest strength is that he has no shame. Reference is made to his letter “Majority should have its way with respect for minority” (KN 24/ 2/2012) in response to mine “The Speaker’s action puts into question his leadership and temperament (KN 17/2/ 2013).

Contrary to his understanding, at no time have I, expressly or implicitly, said the Speaker should “execute the agenda of the majority [and ignore] the respect for the minority.”

My positions on minority and majority are: 1) “The Speaker in Parliament or Congress is elected by a majority vote, and is expected to lead in realising an agenda set by the majority with the input of the minority, with the intent that the society shall benefit from the best ideas, since no individual or specific group has all the answers to resolving the problems and influencing the desires of the people;” and 2) “And it is expected that as Speaker he will lead in ensuring that the principal agenda of the groups that elected him be advanced in the House, even as he takes on board suggestions and modifications from the opposite side of the House.”

Given that tyranny can happen with the majority and minority, the spirit, intent and letter of Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution, guarantees a “political system…to establish an inclusionary democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organisations in the management and decisionmaking processes of the State, with particular

emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”

Should this article be upheld, it would work at reducing such fear/action and ultimately the people would be better served. For years Bisram has been the notorious cheerleader of the PPP’s wrongs and abuses of power, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, he rightly wants the universal application of Article 13. But even as he seeks it in one instance, he demeans it in the other with his efforts at delegitimising the parliamentary majority by calling them “a dictatorship of one.” And with regard to his position on the noconfidence motion passed on Clement Rohee executing duties as Minister of Home Affairs, it lacks merit.

Arguing the “violat[ion] of norms, rules, regulations and principled politics” and a mangled understanding of the Chief Justice’s rulings do not make the no-confidence motion null and void. A decision of this nature, having been taken, can only be withdrawn by those making it or the court.

Further, using India as “perhaps the strongest example as a model for liberal democratic parliamentary governance…”only serves to expose his dishonest intent. The issue of Rohee speaking (fundamental right) as an elected representative and Member of the National Assembly is different from him executing duties as Minister of Home Affairs.

The right to speak as MP is fundamental and secured having being elected to represent a constituent. But with regard to a noconfidence motion passed on his stewardship as Home Affairs Minister, to disregard the decision of the House and the voice of the majority, through their elected

representatives, is to show contempt for the institution and the people.

In fact, were one to refer to India’s scenario, a noconfidence vote passed on a subject minister signals to the Head of State (President) the said person no longer enjoys the people’s confidence (via the elected parliament) to function in such capacity.

It is expected this decision would be acted upon, because among other things, it upholds the universal principles of honour in name and service to the public, and when such are brought into question, persons remove themselves to facilitate the clearing of their names, or in respect for the desire of the people. Additionally, this mindset connotes that public officials see themselves in service to the people and subject to the desire of the people, unlike here where this cabal think they are above the people and are doing them a grand favour. And where Bisram sees the noconfidence decision in Guyana as a “dictatorship of one,” such is consistent with the “majority” principle equally upheld in the India parliament. Thus Bisram’s mention of teaching Government in New York and his lack of understanding of how government works brings home the urgency of Barack Obama’s passion to the fix the U.S. broken education system.

In any democracy, while a constitution/law authorises a president to make appointments, these appointments are expected to be made taking into consideration the desires of the people. For instance, the president is not expected to appoint the likes of Roger Khan to head the security forces. And turning a blind eye to the will of the people and their representatives are factors that contribute to

divisive behaviours in society and ferment the Arab Springs.

Constitutions and laws are not made for a few people in government to do as they please; they are meant for all to play by the same rules and held to the same standards.

In independent societies, governments are established to serve the people and laws are built to ensure such service through vigilance/ policing by the people. In a colonial society, the government dictates to the people, and is unmindful of the people’s views because it sees the people as subject to its dictates. This society must determine what environment we live in or want to live in and act in accordance.

Many seem to forget the Ronald Gajraj issue. For while the executive may have felt Gajraj was not guilty, in the court of public opinion he was, and Jagdeo acceded to the people’s request by removing him from office. In a case of similar nature Jagdeo is doing better than Ramotar, for while Jagdeo has responded to the people’s cry, Ramotar thus far has

turned a blind eye and his back on the matter.

The Rohee issue falls within the ambit of fundamental principles of governance and to take the position that this matter is an irritant would be aiding and abetting the lawlessness perpetuated by this government. And while this issue may not have personal impact/interest for some, its determination impacts on good governance that will ultimately have personal impact.

To want to ‘forget the issue of Rohee fiasco in parliament and move on’ opens the door for some other group/individual to argue that persons must forget the environmental crises in Georgetown, abuses at NICIL and Marriott Hotel, non-appointment of an Ombudsman, etc., and move on, yet all are important, can be handled concurrently, since collectively they impact on governance and the people’s welfare.

And with regard to the Speaker, Article 56 (2) of the Constitution expressly states,

“The Speaker may be elected either from among the members of the Assembly who are not Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries or from among persons who are nor members of the Assembly but are qualified for election as members.”

Unlike the British parliament where the Speaker remains strictly non-partisan and renounces all political affiliation when taking office, no such requirement is made of Guyana’s Speaker and this falls more in line with that of U.S, Caribbean and other countries that while in principle have adopted the Westminster system of governance, they have localised it to suit their indigenous need.

Consequently, the Speaker in Guyana is not nonpartisan because s/he does not have to renounce political affiliation; s/he is openly elected by political group(s) through yeas/nays votes and therefore has a responsibility to further the agenda of those who have put their confidence in her/him.

Lincoln Lewis

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

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

The lives of these people are cause for celebration DEAR EDITOR, Vision is described as the ability to see things not as they are but as they will be.

This ability to think and see beyond the immediate is an attribute that not all human beings are gifted with, even though we are all governed by certain basic instincts which allow us to behave rationally and make decisions in our life that help to ensure our survival both as individuals and as members of the human species.

That ability to think big and to foresee trends of

societal change and development is perhaps the most significant distinguishing characteristic between greatness and mediocrity. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Cheddi Jagan belonged to that category of great and visionary leaders who not only sought to interpret the world, but more importantly to change it for the good of humanity.

In this regard, these men could be considered not only as visionary leaders but as

also transformational leaders who by their actions and deeds have resulted in a rupture of an old and decadent order to one that is much more liberating and enlightened.

In the case of Martin Luther King, he led a revolution again racism in the United States of America which helped in no small measure to change race relations in America to a point where the country experienced for the first time the election to office of the first ever Black President of the United States of America

in the person of Barack Obama.

Nelson Mandela defied the odds but managed to end apartheid rule in South Africa and became the first democratically elected President of that country.

Today, he is highly respected throughout the world as one of the greatest living statesmen.

Cheddi Jagan was instrumental in liberating Guyana from the bondage of colonialism, servitude and undemocratic rule and until his last days championed the

cause for social justice and a new global order. Like Nelson Mandela, he later became the first democratically elected Executive President of Guyana.

The lives of these people are cause for celebration.

These outstanding personalities are change agents who impacted on the lives of ordinary people in

positive ways.

Unfortunately, there are some ‘small minds’ who seek to denigrate the ideas and contributions of Dr. Jagan out of a parochial mentality which no amount of schooling can remedy. But, as the saying goes, ‘small minds talk about people, big minds about ideas.’

Hydar Ally

In time all will be revealed DEAR EDITOR, I had my OMG moment (or as a prominent US politician is apt to say my ‘Oh s..t’ moment) when I read the column “The government and the dark secrets”.

Linking different parts of that piece together, I concluded firmly that the country is heading for the rich field of Information Technology and electronics big time, and the infrastructure is being primed for that purpose behind-thescenes, perhaps within a decade. I see Guyana a few years from now as an important area for outsourcing IT from the industrialised countries, particularly America, hence so much secrecy at the moment.

And Guyana has the advantage of having English as its primary language and enough clever, patient people to carry it off.

It all adds up. Do not be too sure that “the government recognizes that it will never be able to attract

contractors from the developed countries.....”

My own assessment is that the Guyana government has an ace up its sleeve, playing its cards close to its chest, for a very good reason - what with the building of a luxury hotel, inviting tenders for the operation of a casino and restaurant, perhaps eventually, turning “everything over to the so far unnamed and unidentified private investors.”

Indeed, “people are not fools”. But in time all will be revealed and Guyana may well be on the road to a welldeserved, long-awaited recovery.

In the meantime, let us hope our youngsters hone their IT skills so as to be ready to take over from the Asian tigers. They should be encouraged to train themselves like an athlete would for the Olympics.

“I have a dream today”, so let us start seeing the glass as half full.

Geralda Dennison

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Stalled court case forces victim to cite mischief in anticrime system Almost four years after someone close to her allegedly stole a range of expensive and sentimental jewellery from her home, Shalieza Razac, is still fighting for a fair outcome in a lengthy and frustrating court battle.

Razac, a housewife from Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, said that the prolonged court case started sometime in February 2011, several months after the accused reportedly stole a quantity of cash and gold jewellery from her.

“I know is my cousin thief these things cause I got witness to prove. She is the only person that could know where I put my things. She asked to borrow my bangles and chain which were valued almost $400,000 apiece to go to wedding and I didn’t answer she but she call me and say she deh till at Diamond hospital and ask where I deh.

“I tell she me didn t deh home and so she get the opportunity to go in my house and thief my things.

Why I hurt is because my parents de give me as a wedding present and both my parents are dead and me ain’t got nothing to really remember them by. Is not the money so much but them things is precious to me,” a tearful Razac stated.

Razac recalled the difficulty she encountered before her issue could have made it to the hearing of the court. Following the incident, the woman claimed that she

made several reports at the Leonora Police Station which were ignored until a senior officer decided that he would take the case into consideration if she would provide him with $50,000 as a bribe.

“This officer tell me that he gon arrest my cousin and he make me hire a taxi and travel with him to my cousin home till in Mahaica. But before we reach he make we stop and call in a corner and tell me he want this money and he gon do what he got to do, that is, arrest the girl.”

Razac said that she refused the policeman’s offer and he in turn called off the mission.

She explained that she made complaints to the Police Complaints Authority and to the various divisions of the Police Force about the situation but that all her efforts were virtually ignored.

“Me went to de commander, CID official, all, nobody help me. They tell me they get knowledge that my cousin has connections with high ranking officers in de force. This is what mek me case ain’t getting nowhere.

“At one time she even call me uncle and admit to taking the things. She say she gon pay me back piece, piece. We got that pun record and so.”

When the case finally made it to court early in 2011, Razac said she was the victim of another game of “cat and mouse”.

“De case call before a Magistrate at Vreed-en-Hoop

plenty time and de prosecutor ain’t get the file. When I find out, dem tell me how the file deh with the DPP. All the time the case calling and my cousin ain’t showing up.

I make sure I get all my witnesses dem ready when dey say dey want me then them misplace my original statement and give some lil piece of wording fu read and I refuse so I had to do back my statement all kinda confusing thing dem a tell me.”

“I think that de file duck or something cause me ain’t understand how long now dem got me running here there and all around to get justice. It hard pun me cause me got face me husband who does tell me what me cousin do and it does hurt cause is me family and everybody know how me does help she with anything and give she.”

Razac said that on September 26, 2012 she was told that the matter was before the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). However the woman is of the view that some form of mischief is afoot.

After she made constant inquiry she was told to report to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court this month. “When me come to court dem still need to send out summons fu the witness whereas when I had the witnesses present dem didn’t ready. Now dem a pressure me fu witnesses and some of the people done gone overseas,” the visibly discouraged woman stated.

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Trial for EZjet’s boss delayed to April at lawyer’s request Embattled EZjet airline executive, Sonny Ramdeo, will now face an April trial after his new lawyer said that he is unable to proceed because of another case.

Ramdeo, whose airline fell into financial troubles late last year, was suspended by authorities in Guyana, US, Canada and Trinidad in December.

Ramdeo himself had been facing accusations of fraud and was on the run for months from the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) before agents cornered him in a basement in Queens, New York. He appeared in a New York court where his detention was extended and he was later transferred to Florida to face the wire fraud charges.

Ramdeo dropped his state-appointed lawyer and retained Valentin Rodriguez, a West Palm Beach, Floridabased lawyer.

According to the lawyer in court documents filed for the trial to be extended, Ramdeo would have faced trial for the week of March 11th.

However, the lawyer said that he only received the documents pertaining to Ramdeo’s defence after January 30, when he officially appeared as the EZjet lawyer.

He said that he started another fraud case that was set to conclude on February 22 and which forced him to travel to Miami, another part of Florida.

EZjet’s boss, Sonny Ramdeo Rodriguez said that “documents are rather voluminous and contain thousands of bank records pertaining to a rather complex fraud allegation. An investigator has been assisting the undersigned; however, it is anticipated that the undersigned needs at a minimum 60 to 90 additional days to digest the discovery and be ready for a trial, if necessary.”

Ramdeo has agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial to accommodate the delay.

Ramdeo is accused of embezzling US$20M as early as 2005 from Promise Healthcare Inc. and Success Healthcare Group, a US hospital chain where he worked as the payroll

supervisor.

As the payroll supervisor for both companies, Ramdeo managed the payroll for more than 3,500 employees in hospitals nationwide.

Federal officials say Ramdeo incorporated PayServ Tax Inc., and told the hospital chains he would handle the transfer of local, state and federal payroll taxes to the proper agencies on their behalf. Instead, authorities say, he kept the money.

In October, Promise Healthcare filed a lawsuit accusing Ramdeo of embezzling more than US$5 million to keep his airline afloat.

He was arrested by the FBI in New York late last year, after reportedly being on the run.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Ramdeo, 35, started EZjet in late 2011, as the cheaper alternative to fly on the New York to Guyana route.

However, from the onset there have been questions over the source of Ramdeo’s finances for the airline which at first glance seemed unable to maintain itself based on the low fares.

However, Ramdeo denied rumours that former President Bharrat Jagdeo and his close friends had investments in the company.

Government had continuously defended EZjet’s presence saying, that the market was badly in need of such an airline.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

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THE SPEAKER IS EXPECTED TO BE FAIR AND IMPARTIAL Just one week ago, the Speaker of the National Assembly was being advised that he was expected to facilitate an agenda set by the majority with input from the minority. Or in other words, the Speaker should facilitate a situation in which the majority dominates and the minority participates.

This posture of partiality, it was argued, was justified because the opposition parties in the National Assembly were responsible for electing him as Speaker.

Never mind, the fact that he was a compromise candidate after the original choices of both of the main opposition parties failed to get each other ’s backing for their original nominees.

Last week, the Speaker was being urged to be partial towards the opposition because it was the opposition that put him there. It was argued that for the Speaker to be impartial was to abrogate the commitment of those who had given him their support.

This, of course, is not what is expected of a Speaker.

When a Speaker is elected, those electing him should do so not because he is expected to side with them but because they feel that he is best suited to undertake the responsibilities of the office of Speaker.

That office demands that the Speaker be impartial and fair in his judgment. He is expected to facilitate the business of the entire House and not lean towards one or

the other side. In presiding over the affairs of the House, the Speaker is expected to be objective and to be guided by the Standing Orders, laws and the Constitution.

The parliament is one of three arms of the State: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Our system of government is based on a separation of powers between these three arms. Thus motions passed in the legislature are not binding on the executive nor can they encroach on the independence of the judiciary.

This has always been the case. There have been many motions that have been passed in the history of the National Assembly, most with government support, that have not been implemented.

And it is a fact that parliamentary motions, except for a motion of no confidence, are not binding on the Executive.

No argument can unseat this fact. Not even the attempt to claim that motions passed by the legislature represent the expressed will of the people.

Motions passed by the National Assembly represent the expressed will of the people’s representatives but because the legislature cannot assume the role of the executive, parliamentary motions demanding executive action can only be given effect if the executive so desires.

Even when it comes to legislation, the Constitution of Guyana recognizes that

Dem boys seh...

Buy rope fuh Brazzy Brazzy is a troubled man. Dem boys watch he face de other day and de man look like if he realize that he sell he soul and that he can’t see St Peter face at de Pearly Gates. Of course that is why he been going to church every Friday.

De man claim how Guyanese can’t wuk like dem Chinese.

Wha he didn’t tell people is that dem Chinese workers is people who ain’t got no choice but to wuk. Is de same way when dem prisoners get let out from Camp Street, dem does wuk like if dem ain’t got tomorrow. But as soon as dem sentence done is another story.

Well is de workers story pun de Marriott mek Brazzy face drop and dem boys know that wid a face like that is like when dough fall over de baking pan after it raise to a height.

De people ain’t got ID card. When de workers apply fuh work permit is only number (de prison number), no name. And Brazzy order that de Home Affairs Ministry grant de work permit.

Is now dem boys understand why Brazzy save US$9 million pun de project. De labour cheap. Imagine dem same workers had a float pun Mash Day. By 10 o’clock dem was off de Mash route. Dem had to run back to wuk pun de Marriott.

Dem didn’t get holiday or time off like dem Guyanese workers.

And is now dem boys understand why de contractor don’t want no Guyanese pun de project. De Chinee workers gun learn de language and dem gun get away when de time come.

If dem ain’t got nobody but Chinee to talk to then dem can’t learn no other language and de contractor safe.

And Gail got de nerve to talk how when dem Guyanese protest because dem racist. When people only want wuk wid dem own kind who more racist? That is wha dem boys want to know. That is why dem boys know that Brazzy sell he soul and dem don’t mean fuh done wid he.

One man seh that dem ain’t got enough rope fuh Brazzy hang heself. Talk half and buy rope fuh Brazzy

presidential assent is required before a Bill becomes law.

Without the support of the executive no Bill can become law.

It is parliament that makes law, not the National Assembly. The National Assembly passes Bills. For these Bills to become law, the support of the second Member of Parliament needs to be had: the assent of the President.

It is for this reason that Bills passed by the National Assembly have to be passed through the Attorney General’s office for him to vet and determine whether he would recommend presidential assent. There is no automatic process whereby the President must assent to Bills.

The Constitution itself vests with the President the right of refusal of assent.

When exercised, this triggers the return of the Bill to the National Assembly. And the reason is simple. For a Bill to

become law both parts of parliament have to be involved: support of the House and assent by the President.

Refusal to assent is thus not the same as a veto even though it is often referred to as a veto power. It is not a veto because the Head of State is an integral part of the law-making process and there is reposed in him the option to assent or not to assent.

If he assents, the Bill becomes law; if he does not assent, he has to provide reasons within a specified time frame and the matter has to be returned to the National Assembly.

There still lingers, however, the misguided notion that parliament is supreme and therefore anything that parliament says or does is binding on the executive.

In the United Kingdom, parliament is supreme because there is no written constitution. As such even

the courts cannot direct the parliament there.

However, most independent countries have subordinated the supremacy of parliament to a written constitution.

The Constitution of Guyana speaks to two forms of supremacy: the supreme law of the land and the supreme organs of democratic power. In the case of Guyana, the supreme organs of democratic power are the President, the Cabinet and the parliament. There is therefore no single supreme organ or arm of the State.

However, there is a supreme law and that law is the Constitution. The actions of parliament cannot violate the Constitution and if and when they do, redress can be had through the judiciary.

Parliament cannot ignore the adjudicatory role of the Courts. The courts are the guardians of the Constitution, the highest law of the land, and while the

National Assembly enjoys sovereignty over its own internal affairs, this sovereignty is limited in that the National Assembly is bound to act in accordance with the Constitution.

The Constitution provides a member with the right to speak and to represent his constituents in the National Assembly. It is immaterial whether the person is a minister or not; once that person is elected to the National Assembly that person has an inherent right to speak. No presumed sovereignty can affect that right which is given by the supreme law of the land.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

=== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ===

Madness at the Brickdam Police Station The concept of a failed state is a hotly debated topic among social scientists. There isn’t consensus among those who study the concept on the cluster of variables to use.

There are those who argue that you don’t need the presence of all the characteristics that constitute a failed state.

Take the question of legitimate authority in the State. One set of writers will argue that if there is still a central government that exercises the authority over

the sovereign State, then, the country is not a failed state.

There are others who go beyond the question of sovereignty. For them, it is the functioning of State organs that are important, not the mere existence of these institutions.

In Guyana, this columnist has long posited that Guyana is a failed state. There has been a massive dysfunction in State organs that began around 2002 and deteriorated to the point that though there is a central government, that

repository of power is not coterminous with the society.

State functions have broken down for a long time now in Guyana. The judiciary has been in a shambolic state since the eighties and there is no optimism among citizens that it will return to normalcy in another twenty years. The school system has totally broken down. Like the judiciary the depression began in the eighties and things have not picked up since. School buildings are in worst conditions than in

countries in the throes of civil war. The massive shortage of teachers gets worse everyday. Even in private schools, there isn’t a quota of teachers. My daughter went to Marian Academy and School of the Nations and had to take extra lessons once “Common Entrance” was approaching.

The security system is in ruins. No country is as unsafe as Guyana. You could be robbed and killed anywhere at any time. The army has not come up with any major

narco-trafficker in the interior where runways for small aircrafts are visible to everyone except the army personnel. Years ago, I wrote that the mining areas are Chato’s Land. Even Chato’s Land had some civilization about it. Electricity and water supply come at random. The ubiquitous garbage in Georgetown would make a foreign visitor condemn Guyana as a failed state.

Finding a citizen in Guyana that has faith in the police is like looking for elephants in the Botanic Gardens. You are likely to come across an elephant or two quicker than you can find a professional cop. Last Friday, in the Fraud Squad room, I told the four policemen present there that they pay come from two sources – the Government and the rich business class.

About ten years ago, I wrote a trenchant Sunday column on the semi-civilized conditions I saw at the CID offices on the second floor of the Brickdam Police Station.

It was horrible to think that a police force in the 21 century could work under those primitive conditions.

Before that article was written, I had concluded that this country was a failed state.

If APNU and the AFC can see that, then they would know that they have no business in Parliament. After I wrote that column, I encountered the present acting Commissioner at an informal get together and he was uncontrollable in his laughter at the way I painted the CID offices. Nothing has changed since then. Last Friday, Leonard Craig (current chairman of the People’s

Frederick Kissoon Parliament) and I took a rape victim (alleged I supposed) to the CID at Brickdam. I called the private media and Red Thread. Karen De Souza arrived first and suggested we see the deputy head of the CID, Mr. Chalmers. The victim had complained to me and Craig that the police were taking a long time to complete her statement because the CID computer had broken down. In front of Karen De Souza and Craig and the rape victim, Mr. Chalmers admitted that. I asked him if in the entire building at Brickdam there isn’t another computer and he gave a thin smile and didn’t answer. The statement was typed on a private laptop and a policewoman went on the road to get it printed. While waiting for Mr. Chalmers to finish his lunch, Craig and I went into the office of the Fraud Squad. I showed all the officers on duty (they were all watching cricket) that woodants were eating out their workplace. They responded with cynical reticence.

The CID offices at Brickdam are without phones and not one desk has a computer. The senior officer was drinking a hot Pepsi. I asked him if there was a fridge.

His responsive smile was broader that the Brickdam station itself. I wonder if Leroy Brummel will laugh again when he reads this article.

US-based Guyanese charged with assaulting stepdaughter A US-based Guyanese was yesterday placed before the court charged with unlawful assault. Ashton Arthur, 59, a security officer of 1403-211Street Queens, New York appeared before Magistrate Allan Wilson charged for assaulting Leslyn Paternell, his stepdaughter.

The court was told that the incident occurred on February 22 at Williamstraat Road, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown. Arthur pleaded not guilty to the allegation.

His attorney, Emily Dodson, also argued that her client did not assault the woman but that it was Paternell who was abusive to her client after she refused to pay money she owes him.

The lawyer claimed that it is the complainant who should be charged instead.

“All my client did is ask her

to leave his home.”

In addition, the lawyer asked that a copy of the medical be produced to the court.

In a bail application, the Attorney stated that medical certificate would reflect that her client had not laid a finger on his stepdaughter.

According to medical certificate Paternell had not received any life threatening or serious injuries.

Arthur was released on $5,000 bail.

Dodson requested a speedy trial as Arthur is scheduled to return to the United States, Friday. She also appealed to the court to have charges brought against Ms. Paternell who, she said, verbally abused her client but has not been charged.

The matter will continue today.

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Doobay Renal Centre still awaits MoU with Govt. to reduce dialysis cost A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is yet to be signed in order for renal failure patients to continue to benefit from the reduced cost of dialysis offered at the Doobay Renal Centre Inc. This is according to founder of the not for profit organisation, Dr Budhendranauth Doobay, who said that “Government is supposed to sign an MOU so that we can keep our dialysis cost at $9,000.

For whatever reason it has not been signed and we are not getting any assistance.”

The Renal Centre located at Annandale, East Coast Demerara, is arguably the only privately operated facility in the country that offers dialysis at the reduced cost of $9,000 with a vision to further reducing it.

This further reduction, according to Dr Doobay, could only be realised through the proposed MoU. He noted that “if we do not get that assistance then we cannot even keep it at $9,000.

We will have to go higher; we would not like to do it because some of our patients cannot even afford to pay this amount. I personally would like to see we don’t even charge $9,000 but way below that,” insisted Dr Doobay.

Dr Doobay is a Canadabased Vascular Surgeon, who migrated there several years ago and as part of his efforts to give back to Guyana, founded the renal care centre.

At the moment there are some 40 renal failure patients accessing treatment at the Centre.

And since the operation is not to make a profit, Dr Doobay said that “we don’t take one cent from the funds...we pay our own expenses to come here, we pay to stay here every time we come here.”

Dr Doobay has been travelling to Guyana on a regular basis with other medical professionals from the McMaster Medical Centre in Canada, who according to him, “pay their own expenses when they come here to help us out with these patients.”

Alluding to his belief that the genuine efforts made to ensure that patients gain only the highest quality care is often undermined, Dr D o o b a y s a i d , “ We a r e blocked at every place...”

He however disclosed that there are plans apace to expand the operations of the facility and it was expected that this expansion would be done in collaboration with the

Georgetown Public H o s p ital Corporation (GPHC).

Already the procedure of Arteriovenous (AV) fistula is offered to patients free of cost to allow for improved dialysis.

In a matter of months free kidney transplants are expected to commence too, Dr Doobay related.

The AV Fistula procedure commenced last year but according to Dr Doobay access to the public facility is not always forthcoming since “for us to go to the GPHC we have to wait till 4 o’clock in the afternoon and it is so much of trouble to get in there...They do allow us from time to time but there is so much red tape.”

He said that moves were made to set-up a temporary operating room at the East Coast facility and a number of patients were operated on last week.

Dr Doobay disclosed that when he first started offering the added renal care service he was asked by the Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, to utilise the West Demerara Regional Hospital and a few operations were done.

However, he noted that even fewer patients were attended to there. “We can only do one or two there so we decided to rig up an operating room and do our thing here.”

This warranted that instruments be brought in and even that was no easy task, said Dr Doobay.

He recalled that although all of the instruments were acquired through donations no tax exemptions were allowed by Customs Officers upon entry at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

He claims he was made to pay some $54,000 for instruments valued at approximately US$400.

“I told the Customs Officer if he could come and see what we are doing and if after that he thinks we should pay the tax we will pay...

These people weren’t even nice they were acting as if we were intruding,” complained Dr Doobay.

“I said, look at all these lines, we got them for free; there is no cost...but a Customs Officer was still asking me for a rough cost...”said Dr Doobay. The ordeal occurred around 10:00 hours on a day that operations were planned for a number of patients at 14:00 hours.

“I thought, let me just pay this money because what is $54,000 to our patients’ lives...so I paid it and myself and my colleague Dr Gafoor, who is

Dr Budhendranauth Doobay (sitting) is being supported during an AV Fistula procedure. a surgeon like myself, we came in and we did the operations.”

Once subsidies are made available particularly for items, such as filters and lines, to facilitate the ongoing dialysis treatment, Dr Doobay is optimistic that the service which is offered at $9,000 per session could be greatly reduced.

“This is what I am hoping for; this is my objective...but at the moment we are begging for money in Canada and we are begging for money here; that is the only way we can do it right now...”

As part of the proposed collaborative effort between Doobay Renal Centre and the GPHC, Dr Doobay said that there was a decision to have the doctors of the Public Hospital be exposed to the procedures.

“I told GPHC to send their doctors and we would teach them but they come and then they don’t come...they come whenever they want...”

It is his hope that government will make available subsidies to ensure an expanded facility to the Guyanese populace.

In its attempt to bolster the relationship between the two entities the Vascular Surgeon disclosed that four (dialysis) machines were donated to the GPHC which allowed for the commencement of a dialysis clinic there.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

GRA extends service hours to alleviate congestion The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says that several of its services will now be accessible during the lunch period.

This feature began yesterday and seeks to alleviate unnecessary congestion at the GRA’s Headquarters located at 200201 Camp Street, Georgetown, while facilitating those taxpayers who may need to conduct business with the GRA during this time.

GRA CommissionerGeneral, Khurshid Sattaur, noted that this feature will enable taxpayers to better manage their time and to access services in a more convenient manner.

Mr. Sattaur also noted that previously, persons wishing to transact business with the GRA had to do so between 8:00hrs and 11:30 hrs and from 13:00hrs to 15:30hrs Mondays to Thursdays. On Fridays, services were accessible from 8:00hrs to 11:30hrs and from 13:00hrs to 14:30hrs.

With the increase in service hours, taxpayers will now be able to access services from 8:00 hrs to 13:30hrs Monday to Thursday and 8:00hrs to 14:30hrs on Fridays. This

means that taxpayers will now be able to utilize the 11:30hrs to 13:00hrs to conduct their business with the agency.

With the introduction of this new time schedule, the Registration and Lodgement, Cashiers, Trade and Miscellaneous Licences, Compliance, Liability, and Estate Duty Sections will be open to members of the public on a continuous basis. Further, it should be noted that all of these services are located on the ground floor of the GRA Headquarters on Camp Street.

Additionally, taxpayers are asked to note that parking facilities are currently available on Waterloo Street bordering the Parade Ground and the Avenue extending from Quamina to New Market Streets and systems are in place to ensure that all vehicles are monitored by trained security personnel.

The GRA is constantly working to improve its service to taxpayers and is looking forward to offering even better services in the future.

The GRA further noted that in an effort to provide adequate and secured parking facilities for taxpayers

visiting the entity to transact business, the agency has established parking facilities which cater to the needs of these taxpayers.

This requirement was necessitated based on complaints made by taxpayers who were forced to leave their vehicles unattended, away from the p r o x i m i t y o f G R A’s

building.

To this end, parking facilities have been established in Waterloo

Street, bordering Independence Park and the avenue extending from Quamina to New Market

Street.

Together, these two sites will provide parking for 244 vehicles.

Post mortem confirms cop died from hanging

A post mortem examination performed yesterday on the body of Special Corporal Clarence Giles by Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh, has given the cause of death as compound pressure to the neck due to hanging.

The findings of the pathologist have almost put to rest suspicions by some relatives of the dead cop. The relatives had suggested foul play into his death.

Special Corporal Clarence Giles was found hanging in the bedroom of his home on Mash Day. His close relatives, among them his brother and sisters, had clashed with relatives of the dead policeman’s wife at the Haslington South, East Coast Demerara residence where he was found hanging.

From the inception, police were treating the matter as a clear case of suicide, despite the reservations of Giles’s close relatives, who posited several theories.

In the first place they questioned his wife’s actions after word of his death was relayed to her.

When they arrived on the scene, they were greeted with the sight of the man hanging from the ceiling of the house with a wire tied around his neck.

“His wife called me and told me to get a taxi and come up to the station. I asked her for what and she said that the children told her that they were waking up the father and he was not waking up,” Beverly Giles told Kaieteur

Clarence Giles News.

“We heard that he was not waking up, only to come here and find him hanging,” the woman said.

Beverly Giles questioned why her brother’s wife went to the police station before checking to see if what the children told her was true.

“The houses are just a few feet apart and she could’a go and check first.”

She also questioned the police actions in the whole investigation.

“If they de come and meet she dead, they would’a carry he down. That is the procedure. So why wasn’t she detained? Is it because she is a police? The police does carry you down for less than that,” Beverly Giles told this newspaper.

Giles’s wife, Shondell, a Police Sergeant attached to the Cove and John Police Station, had said that she and her husband were having domestic problems which stemmed from him constantly

accusing her of having extra marital affairs.

However, him taking his own life was a shock to her, since she had held the belief that everything was “okay” between them, although he had attempted suicide before.

She told Kaieteur News that on Friday night her husband came home after drinking with friends.

“He sit down and say, man, he de drinking with some friends and somebody tell he dat I deh with some bus man from Ann’s Grove and he gon call de man.”

Shondell Giles said that when her husband continued to argue with her she left the house and went across to her mother’s just a few metres away in the same yard.

She said that the following morning their elder son came over to her and told her, “I raising up dad hand and like he lie down in deh dead.”

She said that she did not go over to her house but instead went to the Cove and John Police Station where she reported what she had heard.

“I didn’t go in (the house) to see anything. Myself and the rest of the police came and went in and is then we see that he hang heself,” she explained. The couple’s nine year old son, told members of the media that when he awoke Saturday morning he saw his father hanging and he was “stiff”.

He recalled that on Friday just as he was about to fall asleep, “I see he go on a (stool) and hang heself…He had a knife and he hide it under de sheet.”

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Are Chinese convicts working on Marriott? …Brassington offers ‘no comment’ With the government sealing its lips and banning the Chinese construction company from speaking, uncertainty over the Marriott Hotel project has now shifted to the identity of the workers.

Reports reaching Kaieteur News indicate that

as is the case in other countries, the construction workers could in fact be Chinese convicts, but the authorities are offering no clarification on this and other issues surrounding the building of the hotel.

Winston Brassington, the

Man needs financial support to remove life threatening tumour

Dennis Abrams who is currently suffering from a tumour to the spine Strapped for cash and overwhelmed by her son’s failing health, 56-year-old Gloria Chase, a resident of Joseph Pollydore Street, Lodge, Georgetown, is seeking the help of members of the public and organisations for financial assistance.

With evident concern on her face, the mother of seven said that she is currently unable to work as she must attend on a full-time basis to her 30-year-old son, Dennis Abrams, who suffers from a tumour located in the lower section of his spine.

The woman said that the condition surfaced about seven years ago. She noted that her son, who is the third of her children, started developing a limp which forced her to take him to a number of doctors both public and private. However no result was forthcoming to ascertain what was causing his ailment. It was not until a few months later, the woman said, that she was advised to speak with a Trinidadian Neurosurgeon who was at the time visiting at the Davis Memorial Hospital. He was able to diagnose that Abrams was suffering from a tumour but insisted that it be confirmed by an MRI. This was done at the St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital and according to the Neurosurgeon, Chase said, the condition could be brought on by a hit or it could

take on the form of a spontaneous sickness.

Following the discovery of the tumour, the woman said that efforts were made to have her son operated on at the Mount Hope Hospital in Trinidad.

However, she noted, that there are reports that because her son was not given radiotherapy following the operation, the tumour has since grown back.

“He started using a walker and appeared to be a little bit better after the operation but as time went by he just started getting worse,” said Chase. Another MRI done at the St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital confirmed that the tumour has started growing back.

According to the woman, the financial need which amounts to $2.2 million or TT$72,000 is required to conduct a surgery for the removal of an Ependymoma (tumour) from his lower spine.

The Ministry of Health, she noted, has committed to giving $1 million towards the operation.

The operation will be done at the St Clair Medical Centre in Trinidad and Tobago and according to the Consultant Neurosurgeon, Dr Robert Ramcharan, who is expected to perform the operation, Abrams has a recurrent thoracic ependymoma and is already paraplegic from reports seen.

“I would recommend a reoperation to remove the ependymoma or it would continue to enlarge and spread and become fatal.”

This required operation, he said, should be followed by radiation treatment to the thoracic spine to prevent any reoccurrence. However, the cost for the radiation treatment was not detailed on an estimate provided by the surgeon. Those desirous of rendering assistance to Abrams’ operation can deposit cash to Republic Bank Account 161-308-2 or contact family members on 696-3500, 687-7213 or 2230451.

man who has spearheaded the Marriott deal, said he was offering a “no comment” on questions regarding the Marriott Hotel project.

Brassington has also warned the Chinese construction company not to speak to the media.

Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) has been handed the US$52 million contract to build the hotel, and demanded from the government that they import their own workforce.

As such, a large group of Chinese workers are contracted at the site.

Even with burning questions surrounding the issue, the government has released no details on who the Chinese workers are.

There is no indication that the workers have work permits.

And if they have work permits, nothing is known about what skills they have in order to be granted a work permit. Gail Teixeira, Presidential Advisor on Governance and a top executive in the ruling PPP, had said that the employment of every Chinese working on the project would have had to be justified. But except for crying out about the lack of local labour, she offered no details on the justification for bringing in an all-Chinese workforce.

Now, there is speculation that the workers could in fact be Chinese convicts dumped here

by China to ease its overrun prisons. This allegation is

nothing new where Chinese workers are concerned.

It is known that when it comes to overseas projects, Chinese companies have the common practice of hiring few, if any, local workers and import most of their workers, some of whom could be Chinese convicts released on parole to do overseas work.

The workers are usually housed close to the worksite, so that if they were to escape, they could be easily located in a foreign land. In the case of the Guyana Marriott Hotel project, the Chinese eat, sleep and work at the Kingston, Georgetown site.

There has always been speculation of the various

ways China uses to ease its prison population, from sending them off to developing countries to work, and executing some.

Amnesty International has reported that in 2007, China secretly executed over 20 prisoners every day.

There are reports that hundreds, if not thousands of Chinese convicts were sent to work on projects in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. From the Guyana angle, the government is so far using taxpayers’ money to fund the construction of the Marriott Hotel, with some $2 billion already handed over to the Chinese firm.

The government has so far failed to sign on investors for the project.

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Wednesday February 20, 2013

Wednesday February 20, 2013

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Illegal dredges ordered removed in Region Nine - GGMC officers probed for collusion Authorities conducted a number of raids in the Marudi Mountain area, Region Nine, recently and have ordered a number of illegal dredges to remove.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE), its mining regulatory arm, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, has since launched a probe of its officers in area who allegedly may have colluded with operators to turn a blind eye to the mining operations.

The operation in the Marudi Mountains found three unregistered dredges with most of the persons

employed, being unable to produce documentation legitimizing their occupancy in the mining district by way of mining privileges or certificates of registration.

“Of the 14 dredges in operation, 10 were Guyaneseowned and the remaining four were Brazilian-owned.

There were eight six-inch dredges and six four-inch dredges, with some of the operations being supported by excavators.

Most of the personnel employed by the dredge owners were of Guyanese nationality and of 13 the Brazilians, eight were without work permits.”

A dredging operation during inspection of the Marudi Mountain According to the Ministry yesterday, all of the operators acknowledged that

No porters on the night shift at Diamond Hospital

citizens usually assist but apparently the matter is currently being addressed.”

This publication understands that the region’s accounting officer, Deolall Rooplall, who is also the Regional Executive Officer for

Region Four is responsible for the hiring of porters. The matter concerning the shortage of porters at the facility has been addressed with him for “the longest while.”

Hospital porters help transport patients to different areas of the hospital; they assist doctors, nurses, and other hospital employees with a variety of tasks. Porters help to operate and repair medical equipment, and they clean and sanitize to make sure the hospital is operating in the most sanitary manner possible. Porters need mental equanimity because a hospital is a place where emergencies are routine and stress levels are high. New recruits are given induction training so that they would know how to lift and carry patients.

However, there have been numerous reports that on many occasions, nurses would lift patients.

attacked from behind; Charles reportedly used a knife to inflict injuries to the woman before escaping with her chain. At yesterday’s hearing Charles was sentenced to two years on the wounding

charge and four years on the charge of robbery.

The matter was prosecuted by police Sergeant Jumo Nichols.

Charles was unrepresented throughout the trial.

“…relatives of the patients or public spirited citizens assist” —-CEO There are currently two porters manning all the daily activities and emergency cases at the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital, according to the institute’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kevin Mana.

The CEO made this disclosure last week. He recalled an incident on February 6, last, when a policeman was forced to perform the job of a porter.

Kaieteur News was told that the hospital has no porters to work in the night and this was confirmed by the facility’s CEO who added that “we only have two porters and they are working during the day.”

When asked if an emergency occurs at night who would lift the patient, Mana said, “Well relatives of the patients or public spirited

The hospital’s CEO: Kevin Mana

Six years jail for robbery defendant

Robbery accused Shawn Charles has been sentenced to spend six years in prison

by Magistrate Leron Daly.

The court found the accused guilty of felonious wounding and robbery.

Charles was accused of feloniously wounding Magnolia Frank during a robbery in August 2012. The facts of the case are that Charles attacked and robbed the woman of a $40,000 gold chain while in the vicinity of Durban backlands.

The complainant was

they were involved in raiding on a mining property and the GGMC advised operators that they were in contravention of the mining regulations and the resulting consequences.

“Only three of the operations were actually found to be working at the time of the inspection and were issued with Cease Work Orders (CWOs). Those who were not working were issued with Orders to Remove within

five days.”

The Ministry warned that ‘Operation El Dorado’ will be intensified in all the mining districts to ensure compliance of the Mining Act and Regulations and is expected to be supported by the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Guyana Police Force.”

Buoyed by high world prices, gold mining has become one of the biggest

earners for the Guyana economy in recent years.

However, smuggling, unprotected borders, illegal mining and lawlessness have been proving a daunting challenge for GGMC, which has been facing manpower problems also.

There have been accusations of collusions between GGMC officers and miners also.

Page 16

Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

“Li’l Mark” murder accused set free

The heavens smiled on Dexter Marshall yesterday when a unanimous verdict of not guilty was returned by a 12-member mixed jury who heard the murder case of Mark Caesar, called ‘Lil Mark’.

Marshall hurriedly exited the court when Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire told the accused that he was free to go. But not before he expressed sincere thanks to the jury which restored his freedom.

Justice George-Wiltshire told Marshall that he was very lucky since she believed that the evidence was strong enough. She however said that it was the decision of the jury and whatever they said was final.

Marshall and another were said to have murdered Caesar execution-style on

October 1, 2010. Caesar was seated on a fire-hydrant when two men started to shoot at him from a motorcar. The men then exited the vehicle after the accused fell to the ground and pumped more shots into the deceased.

During the case, several persons including the star witness and brother of the deceased, Robby Jeffers, and state pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh, gave evidence. Jeffers was said to be an eyewitness to the crime. He claimed that he was seated away from his brother on the day in question when a car passed and stopped in another street.

He said two men shot at his brother who was seated on a fire hydrant on the corner. He said that his brother fell backwards after receiving the first set of

Executed: Mark Caesar called ‘Lil Mark’

Freed: 24-year-old Dexter Marshall

gunshots and the assailants went over him to finish the job before escaping in the said motorcar.

The brother fingered Marshall as one of the

shooters, but Attorney-atlaw Hookumchand sought to discredit the witness by telling him that he made up the whole story just to get revenge for his dead brother.

Hookumchand during his cross examination; put to the prosecution witness that he was never at the scene of the

Man disowns then owns ganja

… to do community service Quincy King, a 21-yearold mason from Alberttown was yesterday sentenced to community service for three days along with a $5000 fine after he confessed to having two grams of marijuana in his possession.

King’s attorney, Paul Fung- A- Fat, told Magistrate Allan Wilson at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday that his client is a first offender. As such the court should be lenient with him, the lawyer pleaded.

On February 21, last, on Church Street, Georgetown, King had two grams of cannabis in his possession.

Police Prosecutor Seon Blackman told the court that the defendant was apprehended by police officers after they conducted

a routine search on persons attending a Stag Beer Promotional event at Merrimans’ Mall.

“A quantity of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis were found in the defendant’s front right side pocket. He was told of the offence and taken into custody where the substance was later weighed in his presence,” the Prosecutor stated.

Another patron of the Stag Beer event was later brought before Magistrate Wilson accused of being in possession of one gram of the illegal substance. Trevor Forde, 41, of Norton Street, Lodge initially told the court that he was not guilty of the charge.

“Your worship, Thursday

I was at the Mall going and breeze out when the police line we up fu search we I went behind four other persons and someone of dem drop a zip lock bag on the ground and the police see it and pick it up and say how is me own” However Forde later changed his plea after he was further questioned by the Magistrate.

Forde in taking ownership for the drugs, said that he has been using the substance for over 38 years but only for recreational purposes.

“Is jus fuh me meditation” The presiding Magistrate also ordered Forde to pay a $5000 fine and complete three days community service as a sentence for the crime committed.

The Magistrate also told both defendants of the dangers of drugs and the penalty it attracts.

crime at the time of the shooting. According to Hookumchand, the brother was in a barber shot in another street when the incident took place.

Jeffers however denied the lawyer ’s claim but Hookumchand defended that the witness’s story was made up. Prior to Caesar’s death, there was another murder involving one Steve Jupiter called ‘Steve man.’ He too was killed execution style and is said to be the older brother of the accused. Rumours surfaced that the accused avenged his brother’s death by executing Caesar. It was on this basis that the lawyer said the star witness made up his testimony.

Dr. Singh said that the deceased was shot 12 times.

Under the direction of State Prosecutors Rhondel Weaver and Natasha Barker, Dr Singh said that the ninth bullet fired at the deceased went through

the right side of the skull and brain and exited through the left side.

The tenth bullet went through Caesar ’s right temple, through the skull and brain and exited the left side.

The eleventh bullet went through the deceased back, piercing his lungs and exiting through the left arm pit. This caused one-fifth of the blood in Caesar’s body to flood his lung, Singh said.

In Marshall’s unsworn statement he said that he played no part in the crime.

He said that he was never associated with the star witness and was not called by the nick name “Deckie.” Last Wednesday, the court went to the murder scene and later that afternoon Hookumchand gave his closing arguments.

Thursday the prosecution gave their closing arguments and yesterday the court summed up the case before the jury deliberated.

Police acted with dispatch on report of sodomy—statement The Guyana Police Force commenting to an article published in the Kaieteur News on Saturday February 23, 2013, under the caption “Canadian citizen says Army Major sodomized her, police slow to act”, said yesterday, that “while the police do not wish to comment on the detailed and vivid manner in which the victim’s alleged ordeal has been publicized, we are strongly refuting the boldly stated claim that the police (were) slow to act in response to the report made.”

In a press release, the Guyana Police Force stated that during the morning of Friday February 15, 2013, the woman telephoned a senior police officer whose office is at the Leonora Police Station, and whom she knows personally, and reported to him that she had allegedly been sodomised by an army officer the day before at a hotel on the East Bank of Demerara.

“She was advised to come in to the station in order to give a statement in the matter and she reported there at around midday.

“Following the recording of the report, and the taking of a written statement from the woman, she was escorted to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where she was medically examined.”

The police said that on the same Friday February 15, 2013, the senior police officer at Leonora whom the victim had spoken to, telephoned the Divisional Detective Officer at Brickdam and informed him of the matter.

“A transit report was also sent from Leonora Police

Station to Brickdam in keeping with police procedures.”

“A” Division, has responsibility for the East Bank of Demerara and since the alleged incident occurred on the East Bank Demerara, the matter became a case for ‘A’ Division.

On Monday February 18, 2013, the woman reported to the Divisional Detective Officer at Brickdam, who was in possession of her written statement and the medical report which had been forwarded to him earlier.

“Efforts were then made by the police through the appropriate procedures for the army officer implicated to report that day to the police at Brickdam, but these were unsuccessful as the police were informed that he was on a training programme out of town.

“However the police visited the scene where the incident is alleged to have taken place and later

arrangements were put in place for the army officer to report to the police on Thursday February 21, 2013.”

This information was communicated to the victim, the police said.

The police added that on that day (February 21, 2013), the army officer accompanied by two lawyers reported to the police at Brickdam where a confrontation was held between him and the woman.

“The file in this matter is expected to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.”

“It is apparent that the perception that the police were slow to act in this matter is the erroneous view of the Kaieteur News; as the woman was contacted on the day of the publication by the police officer whom she initially reported the matter to, and she stated emphatically that at no time had she accused the police of lethargy in dealing with her report.”

Sacked City Hall employee takes employer to court A man who was employed with the Mayor and City Council for the last 13 years is taking the municipality to court after he claimed that he was wrongfully dismissed. According to Troy Isaacs, he was employed as an accounts clerk.

Isaacs in a court order said that he received a letter from the Minister within the Ministry of Local Government informing the defendant that his services with the municipality were terminated from December 31, 2012.

Isaacs is seeking the court’s intervention to get his salary for the months of January and February 2013. He is also seeking damages in the sum of $5 million being his employer’s contribution to his retirement benefits.

The municipality is commanded within 10 days to respond to Isaacs. Failing to do so will result in judgment being given against you.

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 17

Guyana, CDB sign US$40M loan agreement Guyana signed two agreements with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), yesterday, totaling US$40.3M, one of which is for the seventh cycle of the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) or BNTF-7, and the other for the bank’s fourth roads project.

The BNTF agreement is valued US$6.154M, of an overall total of US$46M for the region as a whole of which Guyana is receiving the largest amount.

The BNTF is aimed at meeting essential social sector needs across the region through critical poverty alleviation interventions.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh in his remarks lauded the CDB for its role in administering the fund, as well as the contributors, especially Canada, which is

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and Vice President (Operations) of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Carla Barnett after the signing of the agreements at the Finance Ministry’s boardroom, Main Street the largest donor in recent cycles.

He informed the visiting team from the Bank that the

BNTF has had a phenomenal developmental impact on Guyana; especially in terms of infrastructural development

Another road fatality…

Plaisance resident latest victim

By Abena Rockcliffe Donna Hunte was inconsolable last evening at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation upon confirmation that her elder brother had been killed on the roads.

Davis Burnett, 49, who is also known by his alias Al Capone , resided, at Lot 2 Graham Street, Plaisance. He was struck down by Dhanraj Kumar, 25, who was driving a Toyota 212 bearing number plate PLL 3302 on the Beterverwagting Public Road.

Burnett had just come out of a bus and was making his way across the Public Road to visit his mother who lives at Beterverwagting Sideline Dam.

Burnett, said to have been a musician by profession, sustained injuries to almost every part of his body.

There was a deep puncture on his left temple.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at GPHC. Rasley Ferguson, a younger brother of the deceased, told Kaieteur News that from all indications, it seems as if the driver was speeding.

According to the grieving man, he understood that Burnett was hurled some distance away.

Hunte blurted out in the compound of GPHC ,”They killing people on the road daily and nothing, not a thing wouldn’t happen to him. A l’il money gon pass and we family will left to

mourn. Is go he de going to see he mother and this li’l boy stop he.”

Kumar, the driver, refused to say anything. A relative believed to be his aunt, uttered, “We don’t want no media story.”

Burnett is survived by his wife, Donna Burnett and one son. His brother, Ferguson, said that he hopes that justice can be served.

Just last week, acting Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell addressing the recent increase in road fatalities said that the police will begin to stake out drinking spots to monitor drivers.

“I’m wondering what is happening. Persons are losing their lives like animals just running down the road.”

Couple uplifts car with fake authorization The Police are hunting for a couple who allegedly forged the signature of a young woman and collected a car from a city wharf. The woman had imported the car from Japan with the help of one of the accused.

Vanetta Naipaul, of Better Hope, Essequibo, said that she was introduced to Kenrick Charles some time last year by a friend.

Last September, she decided to import a car, a Toyota MRS Convertible from Japan with the help of the man. He created the account for her and she paid US$9,500 through Republic Bank Limited.

“To process the transaction you have to create an account and he

created the account in my name and I paid the full price through Republic Bank.

During the processing of the documents we get wrong and we stop talk,” Naipaul stated.

She added that when the car reached Guyana she received a letter from the wharf but “I did not have all the money to pay because I thought the duty was $1M but it was around $2M so I left the car at the wharf for a while until I could have arranged the money.”

Naipaul explained that her mother visited the said wharf some time last week only to discover that someone had already uplifted the car with an authorization, bearing her daughter’s signature which is said to be a fake.

“When I go, the person in charge showed me an authorization which they claimed I wrote and someone tried to sign like me. These people also had a copy of my ID card,” the woman explained.

She added that the authorization was written in the name of Shanna Monroe of Lot 17 Little Diamond, East Coast Demerara.

“That is his girlfriend; I don’t know how he got the car because to uplift the car you need to show a letter from Japan which I have, but I don’t know if he call the car company and requested another copy.”

The matter is being investigated by the Ruimveldt Police.

and skills training.

The other agreement that was signed is for a loan to the value of US$34.2M for the execution of the fourth roads project. This loan will see the upgrade of the West Coast Demerara road from Vreed-enHoop to Hydronie, Region Three.

This entire project has an estimated cost of US$47M and the Government will be providing the funds to cover costs that will not be met under this loan.

The project will consist of several components

including engineering services for project preparation and supervision; road works to improve 30.7 kilometres of highway; highway development and management training; a road safety awareness campaign; and a monitoring and evaluation system, the bank’s website stated.

This project forms part of the government’s ongoing programme to modernise Guyana’s road infrastructure, as well as the institutional framework supporting its management. “This project is the latest installment in our extensive efforts to upgrade and expand our country’s physical infrastructure and in particular, transport infrastructure,” Minister Singh emphasised.

Vice-President (Operations) of the CDB, Dr. Carla Barnett said that the bank is currently in talks with regards to its country strategy, which will see the two parties working closely together for the next four years to meet specific developmental goals.

Over recent years, Guyana’s partnership with the CDB has derived significant benefits. The Community Roads Improvement Project (CRIP) is a good example, through

which community roads are being upgraded in 12 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) across the country; improving the quality of life for people in the targeted areas.

CDB has provided support to the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project, the Community Services Enhancement Project (CSEP) and the newer technical and vocational training project that will establish and equip training centres to enhance the skills of young Guyanese.

The support to the Skeldon Project relates specially to the agricultural works while the CSEP project finances critical infrastructure, including improving access to markets, schools, health centres and other facilities for residents in several regions of Guyana.

In the education sector, the BNTF has constructed two new technical and vocational centres at Mahaica and Leonora; thereby improving significantly, Guyana’s capacity to deliver technical and vocational education. “The bank continues to have phenomenal development impact in Guyana…and we value tremendously the role that the bank is playing,” the Minister said.

Page 18

Kaieteur News

Wednesday February 20, 2013

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Kaieteur News

Entertainer Machel Montano, on his way to the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning.

MACHEL FINED, NO PRISON TERM ...Montano to pay TT$27,200 in fines, compensation send a message that such behaviour would not be tolerated.

She said that given the seriousness of the offences, she did not believe that community service should be imposed.

For the offence of common assault against Gerard Bowrin, Montano was fined $300 and ordered to pay

(Trinidad Express) Soca superstar Machel Montano will serve no prison time.

Montano was yesterday afternoon ordered to pay fines and compensation totaling $27,000, for beating four persons and using obscene language.

Entertainer Kernal Roberts was also ordered to pay a fine and compensation for assaulting two persons.

The ruling was delivered

by Magistrate Maureen Baboolal-Gafoor in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court.

The sentence had to be adjourned to this afternoon, because the magistrate became trapped in the traffic gridlock caused by the blockade of the highway by protesting Sea Lots residents yesterday morning.

On December 10 last year Montano was found guilty by the magistrate of assaulting Brandis Browne, Russell Pollonais, Janelle Lee Chee and Gerard Bowrin and using obscene language outside the Zen nightclub on the

morning of April 26, 2007.

Roberts was found guilty of assaulting Pollonais and Browne.

Joel “Zan” Feveck and Rodney “Benjai” LeBlanc had also been charged along with Montano and Roberts, but they were both found not guilty of the charges brought against them.

During the trial, which lasted more than five years, Montano had given ten days of evidence. During his testimony, Montano had denied the charges brought against him, stating instead that he was the one who was attacked by the group and spat at.

In passing sentence, Magistrate Gafoor-Baboolal said she had taken into account Montano’s good character, and that he had made a valuable contribution to the country. However, the magistrate said that despite this, the two offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm were very serious and the court had to

IMF negotiations pressure J$ (Jamaica Gleaner) Bank of Jamaica governor Brian Wynter said the ongoing negotiations between the government and the International Fund has contributed to speeding up the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar against the United States dollar.

At the same time, Wynter said the above average decline in the value of the currency during the October to December 2012 quarter reflected excess demand for foreign exchange.

For the quarter, the local currency lost 3.3 per cent of its value compared to a depreciation of 1.4 per cent for the September 2012 quarter, and an average decrease of 2.1 per cent for the corresponding five

December quarters.

The Jamaican currency traded at J$96.63 to US$1 last Friday.

For calendar year 2012, the Jamaica dollar depreciated by 6.9 per cent against the US dollar compared with a depreciation of 0.9 per cent for the year 2011.

But despite the quickening of depreciation and concerns about the trajectory of the Bank’s net international reserves, Wynter remains adamant that the level is adequate.

He told the quarterly press briefing on monetary policy at Nethersole Place, downtown Kingston yesterday that the gross reserves amounted to US$1.98 billion, representing (Continued on page 21)

Page 19

$1,000 compensation. On the charge of common assault against Lee Chee, he was fined $300 and ordered to pay $1,500 in compensation.

On the obscene language conviction, he was reprimanded and discharged.

For beating Browne, Montano was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $3,000 in compensation.

For beating Pollonais, he was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $8,000 in compensation to his victim.

Montano was told that should the fines and compensation not be paid by March 4, he could serve as much as two years in prison.

Roberts was also sentenced to pay a fine of $3,000, and pay compensation

of $3,000 to Browne.

For beating Pollonais, he was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $8,000 in compensation or serve as much as two years in jail.

The State was represented by attorney George Busby, while Dana Seetahal SC and Keith Scotland represented Montano and Roberts respectively.

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Kaieteur News

Another retired cop murdered

Church members and residents gather at retired Deputy Superintendent of Police Denzil Boyd’s home as news spread of his killing

The sounds of multiple gunshots, followed by screeching car tyres and the cries of a weeping wife

shattered the silence in the Queensborough, St Andrew, community Sunday morning.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Moments later when curious residents unlatched their gates and ventured out, it was the sight of retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Denzil Boyd, sprawled in the middle of the road with blood running from h i s b o d y, t h a t g r e e t e d them.

Described by residents as someone who gets along with everybody, the shooting death of the retired DSP has angered the residents and once again plunged the Jamaica Constabulary Force

in mourning.

“I tried my best to save him. Every corner me tek with the vehicle fi carry him to KPH (Kingston Public Hospital), a so the car a dip,” a policeman who was on the scene recounted to someone on the other end of his phone.

As news spread of his killing, members of the JCF, including Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Cornwall ‘Bigga’ Ford, Senior Superintendent Delroy Hewitt and Sunday morning churchgoers, arrived on the scene.

A pool of blood bearing blood-soaked hundred dollar bills marked the spot where Boyd fell.

“What hurt me is how we see the big man lie dung inna the road like a dog. Them kill him like a dog,” one resident who said he has known Boyd for several years told The Gleaner.

Residents say about 11:45 a.m., the retired DSP and his wife pulled up in their motor vehicle near their gate on Candlelight Crescent. The two were on their way from church.

MEN WAITING IN VEHICLE Further reports stated that shortly after they emerged from the vehicle, two men who were waiting in a motor car approached Boyd and engaged him in a brief conversation. His wife proceeded to unlock the gate and went inside.

It was said that shortly after, the men brandished firearms and shot Boyd multiple times before leaving the scene in the waiting motor vehicle.

The residents’ version of events was corroborated by SSP Hewitt who heads the St Andrew South Police Division.

Hewitt added that the police who responded to the shooting chased the vehicle in which the suspects were believed to be travelling in, but was unable to catch up with them.

Preliminary investigations have so far revealed that the retired policeman’s firearm was stolen. Detectives are, however, awaiting the outcome of further probes to establish a motive.

In a release, Police Commissioner Owen Ellington condemned the killing, calling it a “shameless, heartless and senseless act”.

He assured Boyd’s family that no effort would be spared in the quest to bring his killers to justice. The commissioner said Boyd’s career in the JCF was marked by exemplary service and commitment to his country and implored anyone with information to come forward. The Police Officers’ Association, in paying tribute, said Boyd had an exemplary record in the force where he inspired many.

Boyd is the second highranking retired officer to have been murdered in the last five months.

His killing followed that of retired Senior Superintendent Anthony ‘Tony’ Hewitt, who was shot and killed in September last year when gunmen attacked him shortly after he drove into an apartment complex in St Andrew. Minister of National Security Peter Bunting also condemned the killing of Boyd.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Kaieteur News

‘Queen has to go…It’s for Jamaicans to decide’ - PM - Portia firm on moving away from the monarchy

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller (right) has the attention of Mrs Sonia McCook (second right), widow of late athletics administrator Neville “Teddy” McCook, triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt, and Opposition spokesperson on youth, sports and entertainment Olivia “Babsy” Grange Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has reiterated the Jamaica Government’s position on shifting Jamaica further away from its neocolonial state by putting plans in place to remove The Queen as Jamaica’s head of state.

In an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer on Sunday, Simpson Miller said that utterances by Shaun Bailey, special advisor to Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, would not throw the island off course in its quest to move away from the monarchy.

“What we said before, we are sticking to it,” Simpson Miller said at the end of the service of thanksgiving for the life of athletics administrator Neville ‘Teddy’ McCook at St Augustine’s Chapel on Kingston College’s North Street campus.

Bailey, who is of Jamaican heritage as his parents were

born on the island, is a black Conservative Party official who ran unsuccessfully for a parliamentary seat in Britain’s 2007 general election.

Bailey urged Jamaica to tread cautiously in its mission to abolish The Queen as Jamaica’s head of state, adding that such a move could have negative, farreaching consequences for this North Caribbean island.

“I would say Jamaica should be careful about doing that (disbanding The Queen),” Bailey, said at last week’s Observer Monday Exchange.

“It gives Jamaica access to a broader world market, a broader world community, and Jamaica is a small place that could be powerful, but not on its own. It needs to be in that. The reason that Britain keeps it going from its side is that Britain can see the benefit in being in that community, and I would argue that

Jamaica would feel the benefits of it as well,” Bailey added. But Simpson Miller remained firm that there ought to be a paradigm shift in Jamaica’s political ideals, and maintained that the time had elapsed for Jamaica to remain cloaked in The Queen’s colonial garments.

“We have got to a stage and a level of our country’s development and independence, having celebrated 50 years of Independence, it is with Jamaicans to take the decision, and the changing times call for changes,” the prime minister said, arguing that she remained The Queen’s biggest fan.

“The Queen is a wonderful, beautiful lady. I have every love and respect for her and I think I am her number one fan, but the decision to replace her lies with us here in Jamaica,” Simpson Miller said.

IMF negotiations...

From page 19 13.2 weeks of projected imports of goods and services. However, he said the net international reserves fell by US$131.7 million to US$1.13 billion during the review quarter.

Headline inflation for the October to December quarter was 2.6 per cent. Wynter said that is projected to be within the range of 2 to 3 per cent for the March quarter.

This is due largely to expected moderation from persistent weak domestic demand and the tight fiscal

stance now being undertaken by the Government.

The inflation forecast for fiscal year 2012/2013 remains unchanged in the range of 7.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent, the governor said.

However, some inflationary impulses are expected to emanate from imported prices such as oil as well as upward adjustments in the domestic economy to service fees and contracts such as rent, he said.

The Jamaican dollar lost a further $0.18 against the United States dollar at the

close of trading yesterday, reaching $96.81.

It gained $0.99 against the Canadian dollar when compared with the average selling rate on Friday, and gained $1.03 against the British Pound Sterling.

The Pound Sterling has come under some pressure since credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Britain’s government bond rating one notch from the top AAA to AA1 last Friday, citing weaknesses in the economy’s medium-term outlook.

Page 21

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Obama urged to back tough arms trade treaty at U.N. talks (Reuters) - Three dozen arms control and human rights groups have written to U.S. President Barack Obama ahead of new arms-trade negotiations at the United Nations next month, urging him to back a tough treaty that would end loopholes in international weapons sales.

Arms control campaigners say one person every minute dies worldwide as a result of armed violence and a convention is needed to prevent the unregulated and illicit flow of weapons into conflict zones and fueling wars and atrocities.

The U.N. General Assembly voted in December to restart negotiations in midMarch on what could become the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global arms trade after a drafting conference in July collapsed because the United States and other nations wanted more time.

“The United States, as the world’s leading arms supplier, has a special responsibility to provide the leadership needed for an ATT (arms trade treaty) with the highest possible standards for the

transfer of conventional arms and ammunition,” the groups wrote to Obama in a letter delivered late on Friday.

“The Arms Trade Treaty can provide a key tool to help reduce enormous human suffering caused by irresponsible international arms transfers and arms brokering,” the letter said.

The 36 groups that coauthored the letter include Amnesty International USA, Arms Control Association, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Oxfam America, National Association of Evangelicals and other groups.

The point of the treaty is to set standards for all crossborder transfers of any type of conventional weapon light and heavy. It also would set binding requirements for nations to review all crossborder arms contracts to ensure the munitions will not be used in human rights abuses, do not violate embargoes and are not illegally diverted.

Deputy U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden confirmed the White House

had received the letter, saying it “raises a number of important issues.” She said Washington would support a treaty under certain conditions.

“The March 2013 Arms Trade Treaty Conference will seek an Arms Trade Treaty that will contribute to international security, (and) protect the sovereign right of states to conduct legitimate arms trade,” she said in an email that provided the most extensive public U.S. statement on the treaty in months.

U.S. SAYS “NO WEAK TREATY” Hayden said Washington would not support a treaty that infringed on the constitutional right of U.S. citizens to bear arms - a sensitive political issue in America. Since adoption of a treaty next month will require consensus, the United States and all other delegations have de facto veto powers.

“The U.S. objective is to bring other countries in line with existing U.S. best practices, which will have a positive humanitarian impact and reduce the chances that

illicit arms flow to terrorists and those that would commit human rights violations,” Hayden said. She also said Washington would not accept a “weak treaty.”

If a treaty is approved, it will require ratification by signatories’ legislatures before it goes into effect. The leading U.S. pro-gun group, the National Rifle Association (NRA), has vowed to fight hard to prevent ratification of the treaty if it reaches Washington.

The treaty’s supporters accuse the NRA of deceiving the U.S. public about the pact, which they say would have no impact on domestic gun ownership and would only apply to exports.

The main reason the arms trade talks are taking place at all is that the United States the world’s biggest arms trader, which accounts for more than 40 percent of global transfers in conventional arms - reversed U.S. policy on

the issue after Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support a treaty.

The authors of the letter called on Obama to ensure that any approved treaty requires exporting states to “assess the risk of a proposed export being used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international human rights or humanitarian law, or acts of terrorism.”

They also urged the United States not to back exclusion of ammunition from the arms trade treaty, which will be negotiated by about 150 countries at U.N. headquarters March 18-28.

“The exclusion of ammunition from the scope of the treaty would greatly reduce the treaty’s ability to achieve many of its most important goals,” the groups wrote, adding that the United States already licenses the import and export of ammunition.

But the White House

Barack Obama made clear it would continue to oppose the inclusion of ammunition in the draft treaty.

“Ammunition is a fundamentally different commodity than conventional arms,” Hayden said. “It is fungible, consumable, reloadable, and cannot be marked in any practical way that would permit it to be tracked or traced.”

Major powers to offer Iran sanctions relief at nuclear talks (Reuters) - Major powers will offer Iran some sanctions relief during talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week if Tehran agrees to curb its nuclear program, a U.S. official said yesterday.

But the Islamic Republic could face more economic pain if it fails to address international concerns about its atomic activities, the official said ahead of the February 26-27 meeting in the central Asian state, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“There will be continued sanctions enforcement ... there are other areas where pressure can be put,” the official said, on the eve of the first round of negotiations between Iran and six world powers in eight months.

A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who leads the talks with Iran on behalf of the powers, said Tehran should understand that there was an “urgent need to make concrete and tangible progress” in Kazakhstan.

Both Russia and the United States stressed there was not an unlimited amount of time to resolve a dispute that has raised fears of a new war in the Middle East.

“The window for a diplomatic solution simply cannot by definition remain open forever. But it is open today. It is open now,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in London.

“There is still time but

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad there is only time if Iran makes the decision to come to the table and negotiate in good faith,” he added in a news conference in London. “We are prepared to negotiate in good faith, in mutual respect, in an effort to avoid whatever terrible consequences could follow failure.”

It was not clear what he meant by “terrible consequences.” Top U.S. officials have repeatedly said the United States will not take any options off the table, code for the possibility of a military strike. They also fear Iran’s getting a nuclear weapon could set off an arms race across the Middle East.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was “no more time to waste”, Interfax news agency quoted him as saying in Almaty.

The immediate priority for the powers - the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France -

is to convince Iran to halt its higher-grade enrichment, which is a relatively short technical step away from potential atom bomb material.

Iran, which has taken steps over the last year to expand its uranium enrichment activities in defiance of international demands to scale it back, wants a relaxation of increasingly harsh sanctions hurting its lifeline oil exports.

Western officials say the Almaty meeting is unlikely to produce any major breakthrough, in part because Iran’s presidential election in June may make it difficult for it to make significant concessions before then for domestic reasons.

But they say they hope that Iran will take their proposals seriously and engage in negotiations to try to find a diplomatic settlement.

“No one is expecting to walk out of here with a deal but ... confidence building measures are important,” one senior Western official said.

The stakes are high: Israel, assumed to be the Middle East’s only nucleararmed arsenal, has strongly hinted at possible military action to prevent its old foe from obtaining such arms. Iran has threatened to retaliate if attacked.

GOLD SANCTIONS RELIEF? The U.S. official said the (Continued on page 24)

Tuesday February 26, 2013

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Huge protest vote pushes Italy towards deadlock (Reuters) - A huge protest vote by Italians enraged by economic hardship and political corruption pushed the country towards deadlock after an election yesterday, with voting projections showing no coalition strong enough to form a government.

With more than two thirds of the vote counted, the projections suggested the center left could have a slim lead in the race for the lower house of parliament.

But no party or likely coalition appeared likely to be able to form a majority in the upper house or Senate, creating a deadlocked parliament - the opposite of the stable result that Italy desperately needs to tackle a deep recession, rising unemployment and a massive public debt.

Such an outcome has the potential to revive fears over the euro zone debt crisis, with prospects of a long period of uncertainty in the zone’s third largest economy.

Italian financial markets took fright after rising earlier on hopes for a stable and strong center-left led government, probably

backed by outgoing technocrat premier Mario Monti.

The projected result was a stunning success for Genoese comic Beppe Grillo, leader of the populist 5-Star Movement, who toured the country in his first national election campaign hurling obscenity-laced insults against a discredited political class.

With vague election promises and a team of almost totally unknown candidates, the shaggy haired comedian channeled pure public anger against what many see as a sclerotic and useless political system.

The likely result was also a humiliating slap in the face for colorless center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who appeared to have thrown away a 10-point opinion poll lead less than two months ago against Silvio Berlusconi’s center right.

Berlusconi, 76, who staged an extraordinary comeback from sex and corruption scandals since diving into the campaign in December, appeared to be leading in the Senate race, but Grillo’s projected bloc of

Senators would leave him well short of a majority.

Projections gave Bersani’s center-left alliance a lead of less than one percentage point in the lower house. If confirmed, that would be enough to control the chamber because of election laws that guarantee a 54 percent majority to the party with the largest share of the vote.

In the Senate the picture was different. The latest projection from RAI state television showed Berlusconi’s bloc winning 112 Senate seats, the center-left 105 and Grillo 64, with Monti languishing on only 20 after a failed campaign which never took off. The Senate majority is 158.

Berlusconi, a master politician and communicator, wooed voters with a blitz of television appearances and promises to refund a hated housing tax despite accusations from opponents that this was an impossible vote buying trick.

Grillo has attacked all sides in the campaign and ruled out a formal alliance with any group although it was not immediately known

Voting officials count the ballots in a polling station in Rome.

REUTERS/Yara Nardi how he would react to his stunning success or how his supporters would behave in parliament.

DANGER OF NEW ELECTION A bitter campaign, fought largely over economic issues, made some investors fear a return of the kind of debt crisis that took the euro zone close to disaster and brought the technocrat Monti to office, replacing Berlusconi, in 2011.

The projected results showed more than half of Italians had voted for the antieuro platforms of Berlusconi and Grillo.

Officials from both center and left warned that the looming deadlock could make Italy ungovernable and force new elections.

A center-left government either alone or ruling with Monti had been seen by investors as the best guarantee of measures to

combat a deep recession and stagnant growth in Italy, which is pivotal to stability in the currency union.

The benchmark spread between Italian 10-year bonds and their German equivalent widened from below 260 basis points to above 300 and the Italian share index lost all its previous gains after projections of the Senate result.

(Continued on page 24)

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Tuesday February 26, 2013

Thousands mourn Palestinian prisoner, revolt fears grow SE’EER, West Bank (Reuters) Masked Palestinian gunmen fired in the air and youths clashed with police yesterday as thousands marched at the West Bank funeral of a prisoner following days of rioting that have stoked Israeli fears of a new uprising.

Israeli police shot and wounded five Palestinian youths during confrontations in Bethlehem and outside a West Bank prison, leaving one 15-year-old boy in a critical condition, Israeli and Palestinian medical sources said.

Arafat Jaradat’s death in disputed circumstances in an Israeli jail on Saturday, together with a hunger strike by four other Palestinian

inmates, have fuelled mounting tensions, a month ahead of a visit to the region

by U.S. President Barack Obama.

On the roof of Jaradat’s home in the village of Se’eer, masked Palestinian fired volleys of automatic gunfire into the air in tribute, as dozens of Israeli troops gathered on the outskirts of town.

“We sacrifice our souls and blood for you, our martyr!” mourners chanted.

Elsewhere other youths were wounded by rubber bullets and suffered tear gas inhalation during the latest in a week of clashes that have raised memories the Intifada, Arabic for uprising, which started in 2000 after Israeli-

Major powers to...

From page 22 powers’ updated offer to Iran - a modified version of one rejected by Iran in the unsuccessful talks last year - would take into account its recent nuclear advances, but also take “some steps in the sanctions arena”.

This would be aimed at addressing some of Iran’s concerns, the official said, while making clear it would not meet Tehran’s demand of an easing of all punitive steps against it.

“We think ... there will be some additional sanctions relief” in the powers’ revised proposal,” the official said, without giving details.

Western diplomats have told Reuters the six countries will offer to ease sanctions on trade in gold and precious metals if Iran closes its Fordow underground uranium enrichment plant.

Iran has indicated, however, that this will not be enough.

Tehran denies Western allegations it is seeking to develop the capability to make nuclear bombs, saying its program is entirely peaceful. It wants the powers to recognize what it sees as its right to refine uranium for peaceful purposes.

The U.S. official said the powers hoped that the Almaty meeting would lead to follow-up talks soon.

“We are ready to step up the pace of our meetings and our discussions,” the official said, adding the United States would also be prepared to hold bilateral talks with Tehran if it was serious about it. Ashton’s spokesman, Michael Mann, said the updated offer to Iran was “balanced and a fair basis” for constructive talks.

Palestinian peace talks failed.

A previous Intifada, in 1987-1993, led to interim accords and limited Palestinian self-rule.

Israeli Civil Defence Minister Avi Dichter, former chief of the Shin Bet intelligence service, warned a new uprising might start if confrontations with protesters turned deadly.

“The previous two Intifadas ... came about as a result of a high number of dead (during protests),” Dichter told Israel Radio.

“Fatalities are almost a proven recipe for a sharper escalation.”

The Israeli military said dozens of Palestinians threw stones at soldiers across the West Bank on Monday.

Troops responded with teargas and stun grenades, the army said.

A source in the Israeli military said its forces had used live ammunition in some cases where they considered protesters a lethal threat.

THROWING STONES Jaradat, 30, was arrested a week ago for throwing stones at Israeli cars in the West Bank.

Palestinian officials said he had died after being tortured in prison. But Israel said an autopsy carried out in the presence of a Palestinian coroner was inconclusive.

The U.S. State Department said American diplomats had contacted Israeli and Palestinian leaders and appealed for calm.

“All parties should seriously consider the consequences of their actions, particularly at this very difficult moment,” deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters.

Robert Serry, the U.N.

Relatives mourn during the funeral of Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat in the West Bank village of Se’eer, near Hebron (Credit: Reuters/Ammar Awad) coordinator for the Middle East peace process, called for “an independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Jaradat’s death, the results of which should be made public as soon as possible”.

Palestinian frustration has been fuelled by Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank, stalled peace negotiations and a rift between President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority and the armed Islamists of Hamas who run Gaza and reject coexistence with the Jewish state.

“We have no choice but to continue the popular resistance and escalate it in the face of the occupation, whether it be the army or the settlers,” Mahmoud Aloul, a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah movement, told

Reuters.

Abbas has said he will not allow a third armed Intifada.

The president chaired a meeting of his top security officials as clashes continued into last night, instructing them “to preserve the safety and security of citizens,” state media said.

“The Israelis want chaos...

We will not allow them to drag us into it and to mess with the lives of our children and our youth,” Abbas said.

TREAD CAREFULLY Dichter said Israel had to tread carefully in dealing with protests, accusing the Palestinians of trying to portray themselves as victims before Obama’s visit.

“I don’t think the Palestinian Authority will gain from an Intifada, just as it didn’t achieve anything from the first or second Intifadas,”

he said.

“But I would say that, after conducting themselves with poor and warped thinking over the years, they don’t always recognize what’s in their best interests.”

Israel demanded on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority curb the protests.

“They (the Palestinians) are trying to drag us to a situation where there will be dead children,” Dichter said.

Palestinians have rallied to the cause of the four hunger-strikers, two of whom are being held without trial on suspicion of anti-Israeli activity.

Israel killed more than 4,500 Palestinians in the second Intifada. More than 1,000 Israelis were also killed, half of them in Palestinian suicide attacks mostly against civilians.

Huge protest vote pushes...

From page 23 “These projections suggest that we are heading for an ungovernable situation”, said Mario Secchi, a candidate for Monti’s centrist movement.

Stefano Fassina, chief economic official for Bersani’s center-left, said: “The scenario from the projections we have seen so far suggests there will be no stable government and we would need to return to the polls.”

If the results are confirmed the only possibility looks like a “grand coalition” combining right and left, like the one Monti led for a year.

But politicians said before the vote this could not work for long and would struggle to work decisively.

Monti helped save Italy from a debt crisis when Rome’s borrowing costs were spiraling out of control, but

few Italians now see him as the savior of the country, in its longest recession for 20 years.

Grillo’s movement rode a huge wave of voter anger about both the pain of Monti’s austerity program and a string of political and corporate scandals.

It had particular appeal for a frustrated younger generation shut out of fulltime jobs.

“I’m sick of the scandals and the stealing,” said Paolo Gentile, a 49-year-old Rome lawyer who voted for 5-Star.

“We need some young, new people in parliament, not the old parties that are totally discredited.”

Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon, exploited anger against Monti’s austerity program, accusing him of being a puppet of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but in many areas

Grillo was a bigger beneficiary of public discontent.

Italy desperately needs a strong, reform-minded government to revive growth after two decades of stagnation and address problems ranging from record youth unemployment to a dysfunctional justice system and a bloated public sector.

Italians wrung their hands at prospects of an inconclusive result that will mean more delays to these reforms.

“It’s a classic result.

Typically Italian. It means the country is not united. It is an expression of a country that does not work. I knew this would happen,” said 36-yearold Rome office worker Roberta Federica.

Another office worker, Elisabetta Carlotta, 46, shook her head in disbelief. “We can’t go on like this,” she said.

Wednesday February 20, 2013

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Wednesday February 20, 2013

Guyanese shot, killed in Queens fire

Guyanese Azeem Ali was shot in the head early Saturday morning before his body was set on fire in Queens’ block.

EBD four-lane expansion...

Expansion of the East Bank Demerara Public Road from Providence to Diamond will not be completed this year. Instead, the multimillion-dollar project may conclude in the first quarter of 2014, says an Engineer of the Public Works Ministry.

The road is being widened to accommodate four lanes.

Physical works on the project began in January 2012 and had a duration of 18 months. In October 2012, the Ministry had said that the project is “way behind schedule” citing poor weather and utilities.

It was expected to be behind schedule by four months. However, now it will take another 10 months for the thoroughfare to be transformed.

The delay is primarily because of utilities that are in the path of the construction sites.

According to the engineer, removal and replacing of Guyana Water Incorporated’s pipelines and conduits are almost completed. In addition, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company’s cables were also relocated.

However, the Ministry is

hoping that cables belonging to the Guyana Power and Light Company will be relocated this month-end.

The contracts totaling US$17,249,965 were signed on October 3, 2011 by the contractors, Dipcon Engineering Services, BK International, and Gaico Construction in association with General Earth Movers of Trinidad and Tobago.

Dipcon was awarded the Lot One phase of the project and is expected to construct the road from Providence to Prospect to a tune of US$8,003,265. Lot Two, which begins from Prospect to Diamond ‘high-bridge’, was awarded to Gaico Construction to the tune of US$5,802,640.

Meanwhile, BK International will be carrying out construction works under Lot Three, at a cost of US$3,444,060.

These works will see the expansion from the ‘highbridge’ at Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) to Diamond/ Grove Housing Schemes entrance.

According to the engineer, Lot One is only 30 percent completed. The contractor is now sand filling and installing wick drains and

A 43-year-old man was found bound in his bed and shot once in the head after firefighters extinguished a fire early Sunday in a Queens apartment building, a lawenforcement official said.

More than 100 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire in South Richmond Hill, the Fire Department said.

Once the fire was extinguished, investigators found Azeem Ali “tied at the feet with electrical cord, tied around the shoulders with speaker wire and shot one time in the head,” the official said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe the fire was deliberately set in the back bedroom of the secondfloor apartment, where Mr. Ali

was located, and investigators were treating the death as a homicide, the official said. No one else was injured in the fire.

The New York City medical examiner’s office had scheduled an autopsy on the body for Monday.

Mr. Ali’s brother arrived on the scene shortly after the fire was extinguished and positively identified the victim, the official said.

A friend, Edward Ramrop, 58, described Mr. Ali, known as Andy, as a hardworking Guyanese immigrant who sent money home to his wife and teenage daughter.

“He was a quiet person,” Mr. Ramrop said. “He worked as a body man; he was a machinist.”

Contractor seeks new deadline Stalled road works at Diamond

geo-textile fabric. This Lot involves converting trenches to form two-lanes to make the four-lane carriage way.

Some engineers were critical of that and emphasized if lands were not transformed into housing areas the two lanes could have been built east of the trenches. Like what is being done in Lot Two, where cane fields are being converted

into roadway.

Gaico Construction commenced their construction works on Lot Two in October 2011 and though, has the most progressive of the three Lots there is still much to be done.

The engineer related that this Lot is 45 percent completed.

The contractor has been converting the roadway in the cane fields. A section of that

roadway sub-base has been completed while the contractor is working on the sub-base in another section.

Meanwhile, construction works in Lot Three have been stalled for several months because of the presence of utilities.

Utility companies are currently relocating their materials. The engineer said that the contractor has to start

remobilizing materials to recommence construction works.

According to the engineer, once the utilities are relocated there will be no major challenge obstructing works. However, it is anticipated that there may be traffic congestion when construction works begin in this Lot particularly at the ‘high bridge’ at DDL.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

NCN CHANNEL 11 03:00 – Movie 05:00 – Inspiration 05:30 – Newtown Gospel 06:00 – NCN Late Edition(R/ B) 06:30 – Kala Milan 07:00 – Guyana Today 08:00 – Feature 08:30 – Pulse Beat(R/B) 09:00 – Cartoons

Kaieteur News

10:00 – 3RD ODI 17:00 – Anderson 18:00 – NCN News Magazine – Live 18:30 – Close Up 19:00 – Al Jazeera 20:00 – 3d/daily millions/ play de dream/lotto draw 20:05 – NCN Newsbreak 20:10 – Feature 21:05 – XI Interface

21:35 – Feature 22:05 – NCN News Late Edition 22:35 – Caribbean Newsline 23:00 – Movie DTV CHANNEL 8 07:55 hrs. Sign On 08:00 hrs. DTV’s Festival of Biblical Movies for the Lenten Season: “Samson &

Tuesday February 26, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Be wise and tone down the delivery of your message because you probably seem more belligerent today than you intend. You might not realize how much energy you’re putting into everything you say now that your ruling planet Mars is agitating communicator Mercury.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Your co-workers may look to you for guidance today, even if you don’t know what to tell them. But don’t try to be profound; simply speak your truth as a compassionate observer. Your unique perspective gives you a much wider range of options than you realize.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) It’s challenging to keep your cool in a social situation today because you may have reached the end of your rope.

You believe that you have been waiting long enough.

Fortunately, you realize what has to happen next in order to restore balance to your life, but knowing what to do isn’t the same thing as doing it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Be careful about what you say today because your current words inspire others to action — even if that isn’t your original intention.

Ironically, you don’t know how to convince anyone to join in your cause, mostly because you are so emotionally involved with the outcome that it’s tough to be objective.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Communication at work may be strained now that your ruling planet Mercury is moving retrograde in your 10th House of Career. Your frustration could prompt you to lose your tempter if you believe your choices are thwarted.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) Postpone signing an important document or making a final agreement today, because you won’t likely be satisfied with any deal that comes to a conclusion now.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) You may think that you’re being direct in what you say, but you have so much going on now that you probably appear more scattered than you realize. You might even begin sentences without completing them, which can drive others crazy.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) You may be engaged in a battle of wits today as your key planet Mercury backs into warrior Mars.

Unfortunately, there might not be a clear winner or loser no matter how intent you are on coming out on top. No one benefits if anyone feels depleted or demoralized from unnecessary fighting.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) Your career objectives are more important than ever, but you could become so enthusiastic about your vision that you lose touch with being practical today.

However, it’s not wise to just improve your current plan so you can accomplish everything on your list.

CAPRI (Dec. 22–Jan. 19) You may be better at formulating a winning strategy today than you are at executing it. Even if your plan is a good one, it’s probably not concrete enough to make real.

Fortunately, you could receive more support than you expect, but you might have to ask for help first.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Although you may see the world through a very practical lens now, you might run into trouble getting your feet to stay on the ground. You analyze each situation by comparing the financial and energetic cost with the possible return.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You might behave in an uncharacteristic manner today by initiating a discussion about a subject that you normally avoid like the plague.

Delilah” 11:00 hrs. Roseanne 12:00 hrs. The View 13:00 hrs. Prime News 13:30 hrs. The Young and the Restless 14:30 hrs. The Bold and the Beautiful 15:00 hrs. The Talk 16:00 hrs. Criminal Minds 18:00 hrs. Awakening 18:30 hrs. World News 19:00 hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00 hrs. Alliance on the Move 21:00 hrs. NCIS 22:00 hrs. NCIS: Los Angeles 23:00 hrs. Golden Boy 00:00 hrs. Sign Off

Guides are subjected to change without notice

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Tuesday February 26, 2013

Strong Suriname contingent for Int’l Drag Meet Since its revival, the competition between Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago in Drag Racing has generated renewed interest in the particular segment of the sport and come Sunday, March 3 when the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMRSC) stages its International Meet, at the South Dakota Circuit.

This is the day that motor racing fans will have another opportunity to determine which country is the best among the three nations and an occasion that is anticipated to be just as action packed as previous Meets, making it a must for those who love to see

demonstrations of skills and daredevilry.

According to Club official Aaron Bethune, the foreign teams have already stated their intentions to come down to the South Dakota Circuit, the home of motor racing in Guyana and dominate the local drivers, while the locals have responded by saying that they will defend home turf at all cost.

Suriname which has been Guyana’s biggest threat will once again have as part of their team the fastTyphoon which is no stranger to these shores and has been a thorn in the flesh of our machines, while additional information coming out of the Dutch

(Flashback) - Part of the action at a previous Drag Race Meeting, at the South Dakota Circuit.

FIFA extends China...

From page 31 Shanghai Shenhua, who recently lost big name strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka to Galatasaray and Juventus, were fined one million yuan and deducted six points for next season for fixing a game in their 2003 league-winning campaign.

FIFA has been especially keen to be seen to be cracking down on corruption after European anti-crime agency Europol caused consternation in the game when it announced on February 4 that around 680 matches were suspected to have been fixed in a global betting scam run from Singapore. Critics said many of the matches were already known about.

territory is that a quick Supra will also be making the trip.

However, on the local end the likes of Ramchand’s Supra and Rondell Daby’s lightening fast Red Evolution will all be battling to ensure that at the end of the day, the top honours will be shared by the Guyanese.

Among the other big names expected to represent the ‘Land of Many Waters are Afraz Ally, Syed Ali, Danny Persaud and Sanjay Persaud.

Bethune further informed that the Superbikes category is also expected to add to the excitement and Stephen Vieira, Carlos Rodrigues, Carey

Griffith will be looking to not only outdo each other, but all the other contenders as well.

The official added that race fans, for the first time will have the opportunity to experience the Porta Tree Timing System which is equipped with specialized

starting lights and allows quarter mile speeds to be recorded.

Races commence at 12:00 hrs and admission for adults is $1000, while children under12 and vehicles are free.

The day’s activities also come with the compliments of Banks DIH Ltd.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

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Sarwan says well-made ton was the perfect tonic

Ramnaresh Sarwan St George’s, Grenada – Fresh from his magnificent, match-winning century on Sunday, Ramnaresh Sarwan is looking for more “significant contributions” as he continues his return to the game at the international level.

The experienced 32-yearold was recalled for the recent five-match One-Day Series in Australia but he found the going tough. However, he responded with an impressive batting display on Sunday to guide West Indies to a sevenwicket win over Zimbabwe at

the Grenada National Stadium. The result gave the home side an unassailable 20 lead in the International Home Series 2013. The Windies won the opening match by 156 runs last Friday and the two teams will meet in the final match on Tuesday at the same venue.

Sarwan is the premier batsman in the West Indies squad with 5,783 runs in 178 matches at an average of 43.48 runs per innings. He demonstrated his class and ability with a well-crafted 120

Alpha United...

From page 35 With the minutes ticking away and both sides sensing that extra time would have been needed to separate them, Travis Thornhill sneaked in the winner for Conquerors in the penultimate minute of regulation time to secure the third place cheque of $400,000 for his team. GDF collected the fourth place prize of $200,000.

Alpha United received the champion’s cheque of $1.2M, while half that amount was presented to Santos. New Amsterdam United was voted the Most Disciplined Team.

Individual Prizes – Highest Goal Scorer Alpha’s Andrew Murray with

7; Best Goalkeeper – Alpha’s Richie Richards; Most Valuable Player – Conquerors’ Dwayne Lawrence.

At the presentation ceremony which was attended by Director of Sport Neil Kumar and NAMILCO Officials, Kumar complimented the organisers and sponsors for bringing off a successful tournament that was well received by the fans and teams. He also complimented the media for their coverage of the event.

Mr. Bert Sukhai in his remarks also complimented Fruta Conquerors for another successful tournament while stating his company’s continued commitment.

not out as he batted at the top of the order for just the second time in his ODI career.

The knock was his careerbest score – as he surpassed the 115 not out against India at Warner Park, St Kitts seven years ago.

“I felt a burden lifted when I reached my hundred.

I was lacking a little confidence before this performance so I have my confidence back now. When I hit the first few (shots) out of the middle of the bat I felt

good again,” Sarwan said.

“I have been doing a lot of hard work. Everyone knows I didn’t have the best tour of Australia, but I was determined to do well after I was given the opportunity to open the batting after Johnson Charles was unable to play.

He added: “The management team and the captain asked me to do the job and move up and for me I saw it as a great chance to bat 50 overs and get some runs

under my belt. All the work I did in the nets with the coaches and the others who assisted me paid off. I just have to continue from here and look to get better and get back to where I was a few years ago when I was fully on top of my game.”

Sarwan added 111 for the first wicket with left-hander Kieran Powell, who made 57 and maintained his good form. Narsingh Deonarine (41) also played well in a partnership of 118 with

Sarwan. After he fell, Kieron Pollard pounded 41 not out off 20 balls as the West Indies reached 274-3 off 49 overs in reply to Zimbabwe’s 273-8 off their 50 overs.

“There are a lot of people out there who wanted me to do well and I want to thank them for their tremendous support. I have been working hard to reach this kind of level again and I am happy I was able to put in the kind of performance to help the team to success,” he added.

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Tuesday February 26, 2013

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Grande De Roja takes top honours at Rising Sun Mashramani horserace meet

By Samuel Whyte The Jumbo Jet stable took off, touched down and raced away with championship honours when the Rising Sun Turf Club in collaboration with Banks DIH Limited held their annual Mashramani Horserace meet on Sunday 24th February at the Rising Sun Turf Club, Arima Park West Coast Berbice.

The feature B class 1400M event saw the horses of the Jumbo Jet stable setting off on a mission with Who is on the Case ridden by May, leading the way from Grande de Roja being piloted

by Jockey Ajai Sansarran going out early with Renia Del Café and Score Is Even also in the hunt. There was some juggling for positions and exchange of places as the race got older with the animals picking up speed down the back stretch and into the far turn. They were going at a searing pace, galloping for all their worth.

Grande de Roja had taken over the lead with Score’s Even and California Strike by then making their move on the front runners. However their last gasp effort were not enough as Grande de Roja with Ajai urging it on having enough left in its belly to cross the finish line ahead of Score’s Even and California Strike with Who is On the Case holding on for third. The win was worth $1M and the Banks DIH trophy all compliments of Banks DIH. Gold Rush of the Romel Jagmohan stable ridden by Rupert Ramnauth rushed to front

Compton Sancho (left) of the Rising Sun Turf Club presents the winning Dynasty Sports bar trophy to representative of the Habibulla Stable for The Baliff win in the F class event. to claim top honours from Monsoon of the Crawford stable as it galloped away with the $400,000winners money and trophy in the co-feature Three years old 1400M event for horses bred and born in Guyana and the West Indies.

Set for fame and Another Jet were the others that placed.

The Bailiff of the Habibulla Stable and trained by Senior Council Marcel Crawford seized control down the homestretch in the 1400M F class race and took possession of the $340,000 winners money and the Dynasty Sports bar trophy from Top of the line, Swing Easy and Feels Like Gold.

The Jumbo Jet stable was in winner’s row in the Three Years old event for Guyana bred horses when She So Special piloted by Junior won a contentious race from Dream Boy, Easy to Win and Silent Night. This was after

Silent Night was relegated to fourth after crossing the line in second position. The officials ruling that the animal caused some infringement during the race. The win was worth $300,000 and trophy.

The G class 1400M event was won by Treacle of the Habibulla stables with Richmond on the hunch as it won its second consecutive race and the $300,000 and The Lakeram” Buddy” Sukdeo trophy ahead of The Bailiff, Rosetta and Feels Like Gold.

There was much controversy in the final event of the day which was staged for horses classified I and lower over 1100M for a winning prize of $200,000.

Although it was glaring that the two horses that placed first and second Dream Boy and Dream Girl both of the Singh stable conspired continuously to block and squeezed out the horse that

FIFA extends China matchfixing bans worldwide ZURICH (Reuters) Match-fixing bans on 58 Chinese football officials and players will be extended worldwide, the sport’s governing body FIFA said on Monday.

The 58 were banned by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on February 18 following a threeyear push to clean up rampant corruption in the sport in China.

“The sanctions by the Chinese Football Association’s disciplinary committee involve players and officials, with 25 receiving a five-year ban from all football activities while the remaining 33 individuals were banned from all football activities for life,” a FIFA statement said.

“The Chairman of the

FIFA Disciplinary Committee has extended the sanctions to have worldwide effect.

“In taking those sanctions and notifying FIFA of them, the CFA has emphasised its on-going commitment to stamping out all forms of match-fixing and corruption in the game.”

China’s Xinhua news agency reported last week that the 58 included two former football chiefs who were jailed in June for accepting bribes in a scandal.

Nan Yong, the former head of Chinese football, was sentenced to 10 and a half years for taking bribes worth more than 1.48 million yuan ($237,500) while his predecessor Xie Yalong received an identical sentence and was also fined 200,000 yuan.

Former CFA deputy head Yang Yimin and World Cup referee Lu Jun, once hailed as China’s “Golden Whistle”, were also among the 33 banned from football for life.

Others included four former Chinese national team players Shen Si, Qi Hong, Jiang Jin and Li Ming, all jailed for up to six years in June for match-fixing.

The sentences “followed investigations and trials conducted by Chinese judicial authorities between 2010 and 2012 in which the Chinese Football Association (CFA) cooperated fully,” FIFA added.

“The cases involved relate to incidents of match-fixing that took place in the 1990s and early 2000s.”

Super League club (Continued on page 28)

Banks DIH Manager Mortimer Stewart (3rd left) presents the winning Banks DIH trophy to representative of the Jumbo Jet stable for Grande De Roja victory in the feature B class event.

placed third, Silent Night of the Shariff stable, the authorities erred badly when they did not disqualify the two animals although viewing the event on video showed that the infringements were deliberate.

Elevating Silent Night to number two and relegating Dream Girl to third place was not good enough.

Golden Reprise with

Jockey Ramnauth of the Mohabir Haripaul stable of Tain Corentyne Berbice tasted it first victory in the racing arena when it entered the winning enclosure in the J and lower event to carry home the $150,000 winners money and the Goodwood Racing Service trophy.

The Jumbo Jet Stable took top trainer and stable awards. They all received

accolades compliments of The Trophy Stall Bourda market and the organizers. Over 100 horses were entered to participate in the day’s proceedings and close to $6M in cash up for offer.

The police led by Assistant Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan were commended for marshaling his troops well in an incident free day of racing.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Johnson wins Daytona 500, Patrick eighth

Jimmie Johnson celebrates atop his number 48 Chevrolet after he won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida February 24, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Skipper DAYTONA BEACH (Reuters) - Jimmie Johnson cemented his place in NASCAR’s list of greats by winning his second Daytona 500 on Sunday, while polesitter Danica Patrick placed eighth, the best finish for a woman in the ‘Great American Race’.

Five-times Sprint Cup champion Johnson led for the final 10 laps to finish ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr and 54year-old Mark Martin.

Patrick, who was the first

woman to start on pole in the 500, went into the final lap in third but fell back five places during the final push to the finish line.

Driving the number 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson first won the race in 2006 but had not finished above 27th in the last six editions of stock car racing’s premier event.

“I had a lot of confidence in those final two laps leading the train because I knew just how fast this car was,” said

Johnson.

The race came a day after a crash in the second tier Nationwide race at the Daytona International Speedway left around 30 fans needing treatment after debris flew into the crowd.

As usual there were some wrecks in the always incident filled race with an early collision on lap 33 involving nine cars but there were no injuries. Several vehicles span off the track, including favorites Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne, and previous Daytona winners Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray.

It was more disappointment for Stewart, who having won virtually every honor in the sport has yet to taste success in the famous Daytona Victory Lane. Stewart took little comfort from the fact there is a long season ahead. “To hell with the season. I wanted to win the Daytona 500,” he said.

“We had a car that we could pass with today. We were passing cars by ourselves. “I don’t know what started it, but we just got caught up in another wreck,” added Stewart.

INEXPERIENCE Patrick conceded her inexperience may have cost her at the decisive stage of the race but that her performance was more significant than winning pole position.

“I think it was better to have run up in the top 10 all day ... being able to stay up and lead at one point for me that was more of an accomplishment”, she said.

But Johnson proved too quick for Patrick and the pack.

“Once Jimmie got into the outside line he showed that he was fast. It was a steady day for me. Nothing superduper eventful,” she said.

The 30-year-old former Indy Car driver led for five laps shortly before the halfway stage, becoming the first woman drive to lead the Daytona 500. She had lost her pole position to Jeff Gordon on the first lap.

Earnhardt Jr, whose father died at in the race 12 years ago, finished second in the Daytona 500 for the third time in four years.

Johnson powered past reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth, after the final re-start with his challengers unable to match his speed.

After a restart on the 182nd lap following the fifth caution

of the race Keselowski and Johnson jousted for the lead while their rivals closed the gap. Debris forced another caution, setting up a six-lap sprint to the flag with Johnson in the lead in the outside lane and he did not give an inch.

The victory was the 61st of Johnson’s career in his 400th start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“It was just awesome, there is no other way to describe it,” said Johnson. “I felt like I was sitting on something all day and was just ready to have some fun when it counted - and I did,” he said.

Young Warriors Cricket Club fund raiser postponed The president and members of the Young Warriors Cricket Club of Cumberland Village, East Canje, Berbice wishes to notify members of the public and teams that entered to participate in their fund raising cricket tournament, that the Club was forced to postpone the competition to March 10, 2013.

The shift was due to excessive rainfall overnight and during the day on the weekend.

The club hopes that the tournament comes off on the new date so that they can use

the funds to purchase the covers to avoid future postponements of cricket games fixed for the ground.

All arrangements remain the same and tickets purchased will be valid.

The club takes the opportunity to say thanks to our sponsors that have come on board so far: Republic Bank Ltd, J’s Supermarket, Metro Office Supplies, Ansa McAl, Banks DIH Ltd, S Satar General Store, Inshan Satar, J. Sripal, Chandra Sohan, Charrandas Persaud, Martin Singh, Terminate, A Mahabir, Zaheer

Liquor Restaurant, Homeline Furnishing, Mangru Supermarket, Ramadhar Liquor Restaurant, Roger Trucking Service, Natasha Travel Service, Sharple Furniture Estb, Geddes Grant, Ashiek and Son Motor Supplies, Pan American Auto Sales, N Hamid and Sons, Balram Shane, Danzies Auto Sales, Price is Right, Bishram Chicken Estb, Home Design, Clarence David, Church View Gift Shop, Digicel and Rafeek Kassim.

They are still open to receiving sponsorship and tickets are in circulation.

CONCACAF supports changes to FIFA presidency terms ZURICH (Reuters) CONCACAF, which represents soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, has backed a proposal to limit the FIFA presidency to two four-year terms and to impose an age limit of 72 for the president.

CONCACAF, whose 40 member associations compromise just under one fifth of the FIFA total of 209, also supported the same age limit for FIFA executive committee candidates, who would be limited to three fouryear terms under the proposed reform.

World soccer’s governing body is due to discuss and vote on proposed changes at its congress in Mauritius in May in a bid to make itself more transparent and accountable following string of corruption scandals in recent years.

Three members of FIFA’s 24-man executive committee were sanctioned for

corruption, including former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam, who was banned for life, and another two resigned amid allegations of wrongdoing.

The reform proposals have been put forward by an independent governance committee (IGC) headed by Mark Pieth, a professor in criminal law at the independent Basel Institute on Governance.

Each of the 209 member associations holds one vote.

“After more than a century since FIFA’s inception, the global landscape of our game has clearly changed,” said CONCACAF President J e ff r e y We b b i n a statement.

“It is gratifying to see we are finally accompanying this profound renovation of the world of football.

“We thank FIFA’s independent governance committee for this timely

initiative of reform and express our pride to our member associations for their commitment to supporting this transformation.”

The FIFA president currently serves an unlimited number of four-year terms with 76-year-old Sepp Blatter, the incumbent, currently serving his fourth term.

There is also no term limits for the executive committee, where Argentina’s Julio Grondona has been present since 1988 and Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou since 1990.

European soccer’s governing body UEFA, which has 53 members, had opposed the eight-year limit for the FIFA president, instead suggesting a first term of eight years followed by a second of four.

The IGC has recently criticized the European associations for “attempting to dilute the thrust of the reform”.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Kaieteur News

16th Cheddi Jagan Memorial Road Race in Berbice on Sunday The main streets of Berbice, from New Amsterdam to the Corentyne will be a colourful spectacle this Sunday when the 16th annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial Cycle Road Race is contested; this is the first of three races held during the month of March to commemorate the death of the former Head of State.

Riders from the Ancient County will have to step it up with the expected invasion of the best cyclists in the country if they are to defend home turf successfully in the BK International sponsored event.

Following a successfully organised Mashramani event by the Flying Ace Cycle Club, the Berbice contingent are bracing for a higher level of competition come Sunday. Race time is 09:00hrs from Freedom House, New Amsterdam.

The peloton will proceed to Number 55 Village and return to Jagan’s birthplace, Port Mourant, Corentyne for the finish, covering a distance of 55 miles.

The Veteran, Upright, and Female riders will turn back at Hogg Style on the upward journey and finish at Port Mourant, an approximate distance of 24 miles.

Cheddi Jagan Rising star Raynauth Jeffrey is the defending champion of the senior category, winning last year in Two Hours 23 Minutes 29 Seconds. He also won the junior category, but has since moved up to the senior level, making way for a new champion to be crowned this year.

Leading the charge for the top podium spot among the seniors will be Alonzo Greaves, Warren McKay, Geron Williams, Marlon Williams, Paul DeNobrega, Orville Hinds, Jude Bentley, Robin Persaud, Eric Sankar and Rastaff O’Selmo among others.

The junior brigade will be

a showcase of some young exciting talent with the likes of Raul Leal, Michael Anthony, Alonzo Ambrose and Akeem Arthur, all in contention.

Veteran Kennard Lovell, who has not been in good form so far this season, will find the coping tough in defending that title. Junior Niles will start as favourite but with the likes of Shameer Baksh and Stephen Fernandes also in contention, this category will be interesting.

Nigel Jacobs (Upright), Naomi Singh (Female) and Walter Isaacs (Veteran Over60) will look to keep a hold on their respective categories.

Lead Organiser, National Coach, Hassan Mohamed M.S said that the West Demerara leg of the race will be contested on March 10 while the Essequibo leg is set for March 24.

Transportation for cyclists and officials for Sunday’s race will leave the Ministry of Sport building at 91 Middle Street, Georgetown, at 05:00 hours.

Cyclists are being urged to be on time to facilitate a timely departure for Berbice.

WICB announces nominations for Presidency and Vice Presidency St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday March 27, 2013 in Barbados. As part of the AGM, elections will be held for the positions of President and Vice President of the WICB. The deadline for nominations to be received for the respective posts was Friday February 22 of last week. The following nominations were received (all in alphabetical order): For President Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron Dr. The Honourable Julian R Hunte

For Vice President Joel Garner Emmanuel Nanthan The voting members of the WICB are the shareholders and are as follows (in alphabetical order): Barbados Cricket Association - 2 votes Guyana Cricket Board - 2 votes Jamaica Cricket Association - 2 votes Leeward Islands Cricket Association - 2 votes Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board - 2 votes Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control - 2 votes

Barnwell called up to Windies T20 against Zimbabwe WICRICNews - THAT old saying, “Good things come to he who waits,” can certainly apply to both Demerara Cricket Club’s Christopher Barnwell and Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets’ first division player Rajiv Ivan, who both received good news over the weekend.

As he was leading his charges through their practice session ahead of the WICB Super50 contest against the Windward Islands, the 26 year old Barnwell was greeted with the news of a West Indies call up for the T20 engagement against the visiting Zimbabwe team.

Christopher Barnwell Satisfied with such news, Barnwell and Guyana’s tour selection committee handed

Ivan his Super50 debut in Sunday’s game, following which he made 19.

Ivan was also greeted with the news of him being selected by the Guyana Cricket Board senior selection panel to replace B a r n w e l l i n G u y a n a ’s Regional 4Day squad, which will also take on the points leading Windward Islands in the third round from Wednesday.

According to reports, the left handed DCC opener will leave the national team to join forces w i t h t h e S a g i c o r High Performance Centre later this week.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Top teams advance in Mackeson ‘Street Football’ Contest The top teams in the Mackeson Super-16 ‘Street Football’ Contest in Linden, with the exception of favourites Hard Knocks 1, have all advanced to tomorrow night’s quarterfinal showdown that goes down at the Mackenzie Sports Club Hard-Court.

Sunday night, scores turned out at the Amelia’s Ward Hard-Court to witness the opening of what has become a keen contest among the best ‘small goal’ players in the Mining Town with eight of them exciting the first round of the knockout competition.

Phoenix opened the night’s proceedings against Young Sports, and eventually won on a penalty shootout after a 2-2 stalemate in regulation time. Retrieve Unknowns also had an easy time in the first round, winning as a result of a ‘walkover’ to Bosai.

Hard Knocks II booted Silver Bullets on penalty again highlighting the keen nature of the contest that ensued in Linden. We is De Boss beat Team 25 2-1 to give the numbers that turned out to an exceptional event, a real taste of a deciding game in regulation time.

However, penalties had its final decision of the night when El Dorado beat Retrieve Well-Knowns on penalty following a nil all stalemate.

New Era Russians’ Terrence Aaron (#25) skilfully splits two defenders Sunday night in one of the entertaining games in the Mackeson Super-16 Street Football Contest at the Amelia’s Ward Hard-Court Top Class then edged $100 Cars 4-3 before two of the top ‘street ball’ teams in Linden experienced mixed fortunes.

The skilful New Era Entertainment Russians easily dismissed Young Ballers 4-1 to advance with Hot Skulls upsetting pregame favourites Hard Knocks 1 4-0 in the final game. Four more teams will exit the competition following tomorrow night’s quarterfinals.

The semi-final and final

will be held on Saturday also at the Mackenzie hard-court.

The top team will walk away with $250,000 and trophy while second place pockets $150,000 and trophy; third place $100,000 and trophy and fourth place $40,000 and trophy.

In addition, the interactive promotions to get the fans involved where there will be giveaways on game nights will continue. The Most Valuable Player will also be rewarded.

New Era ENT March Madness Basketball tournament...

Corporate Supply adds to MVP prize IN ADDITION to having a Motorcycle, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of this year’s New Era Entertainment Super-8 basketball tournament will also be outfitted with a pair of high end basketball sneakers, compliments of Corporate Supplies.

Headed by Deron Adams, the business is known in Linden as a one stop place since it strives off internet orders of basically any and everything consumers need.

Adams said that his business is heavily supported by the people of Linden, and he would often give back in what ever way that’s its possible, adding that basketball has always been one of the favourite sports to play, so supporting the tournament came easy.

With Cell Smart and Mackeson being two of its major sponsors, the tournament which is held in conjunction with the Linden Amateur Basketball

Corporate Supplies proprietor Deron Adams (center), flanked by New Era Entertainment Directors Kenrick Noel (first from left) and Aubrey Major Jr. during the presentation.

Association (LABA), has seen its fair amount of support from entities both in and out of the mining community.

The tournament that’s set to bounce off on March 9 at the Mackenzie Sports Club

Hard Court, will officially be launched on Friday, in Georgetown at the Water Chris Hotel, where sponsors will give details of their support to the event along with relevant information will be disseminated.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

NAMILCO One Love Classic Final...

By Franklin Wilson Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United have added another champion trophy and cheque to their wide array of accolades when they disposed of Santos FC 3-1 in the final of the NAMILCO One Love Classic contested at the Tucville Playfield on Sunday evening last.

Witnessed by a fair sized crowd and the top brass of main sponsor, NAMILCO which included their Managing Director Bert Sukhai, Finance Director Fitzroy McLeod, Engineer Ralph Hemsing and Director of Sport Neil Kumar, Alpha absorbed the initial fireworks of Santos before dousing them with some fireworks of their own to lift the crown.

Earlier, in the third place game, host team Fruta Conquerors were able to stave off a robust fight by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) before subduing and edging their opponents in the final 10 minutes, 2-1.

But all the attention for the evening was placed on the championship game of a tournament that has become a part of the football calendar which also serves as a fundraiser for the Fruta Conquerors FC. Santos, as was expected came out all guns blazing against the nation’s top club as they sought to exert early pressure on the team aka ‘The Hammer’. This ploy produced the desired results as Santos were awarded a penalty when the game was a mere 12 minutes old.

Santos’ Jermain Bamfield was brought down just inside the area on the left side and he made no mistake in sinking the ensuing penalty kick, blasting the ball past the

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Alpha United are new champs; Conquerors arrest’s GDF for 3rd tournament’s best goalkeeper, Richie Richards.

To have hounded Alpha down and take the lead was commendable and no doubt had taken the Alpha boys somewhat by surprise, but like the seasoned unit they are and led by Captain Anthony Abrams, they absorbed their pressure and gradually changed the tide.

Santos had the opportunity to double the advantage in about the 35th minute with goalie Richards already beaten; Ryan Seales shot went agonizingly past the right upright. The exchanges continued with Santos keeping up the pressure with Abrams and Andrew Murray trying their best to pull one back.

Santos did a fine job in keep Gregory Richardson out of the game but it was not an easy task. Their {Alpha} time would soon come with 4 minutes to half time. On an enterprising throw over from one of their calculated offensive raids, Abrams connected with a powerful header from within the six yards area that rebounded off custodian Oswald Cornette but before Cornette and the Santos defence could have thought about clearing the rebound, Mervin Joseph pounced on the loosed ball to redirect it back into the back of the nets.

Alpha, were now on a roll and made Santos pay for a defensive mistake a mere two minutes later. A fumble by Cornette too close for comfort was pounced upon by the lurking Murray who blasted home the first of his double on the night.

The break came soon after with Alpha feeling relieved having taken the lead following the early torment at the hands of their opponents.

Williams to conduct course for St. Lucia Karate Darryl Williams, International karate official and coordinator of referees for the World United Karate Organization (WUKO), has been invited to conduct National referee course for the Association of Professional Martial Artists (APMA) of St. Lucia. APMA is WUKO representative for St. Lucia and registered with the St. Lucia Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. Its President is Benny Chitolie.

This is part of APMA National Martial Arts tournament which will take place March 22nd and 23rd at the Beausejour Indoor Sports Facility located in Gros-Islet,St.Lucia.

Teams from the Caribbean as well as the United States are expected to attend the major event. Trinidad and Tobago Karate Federation (TTKF) will also be represented. Williams has been a karate referee since 1982 and is now among the top officials in the World. He conducts courses all over the World for major karate organizations.

NAMILCO’s Managing Director Bert Sukhai handing over the champion trophy and cheque to a smiling Alpha United Captain Anthony Abrams in the presence of his animated teammates and Technical staff.

As expected, the second half was almost a replica of the first in terms of the intensity of the game but this time, minus goals for the most part. The fact that goals were hard to come by worked to Alpha’s advantage having taken the lead.

But with one minute to game time, Murray, the tournaments Highest Goal Scorer with a total of 7, made sure that his team put the game well beyond the reach of Santos when he completed his double in the 89th minute.

It was a beautiful goal to witness, an authoritative and well timed shot from about 25 yards out; Cornette did not

have a sniffer of a chance to save the ball.

The third place encounter was a bruising affair between Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force, neither side giving up too many chances in their respective attacking thirds.

The game was finally decided in the last 10 minutes.

First it was Eon Alleyne who would send Conquerors ahead from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute. But even as the home team was celebrating their lead, GDF’s Marlon Benjamin drew the Soldiers level two minutes after trailing.

(Continued on page 29)

MVP Andrew Murray receiving his trophy from NAMILCO’s Ato Lakeram.

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Tuesday February 26, 2013

MOISES HENRIQUES DELAYS DHONI’S TEAM BBC Sport - An unbeaten 75 from debutant Moises Henriques averted a fourthday defeat for Australia, who closed just 40 ahead of India at 232-9 in the first Test.

The tourists looked set to lose by an innings after slumping to 170-8, 17 runs short of making India bat again. But Henriques, who made 68 in the first innings, hit eight boundaries and put on 57 with last man Nathan Lyon (8).

India had resumed on 5158 and Mahendra Dhoni added 18 to his overnight 206 before his team were all out for 572.

Dhoni eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the highest score by an Indian Test captain, stepping down the wicket to thump Lyon ruthlessly over long-on for six.

But he fell eight runs short of Andy Flower’s landmark as the highest scoring wicketkeeper in an innings when he gloved a James Pattinson bouncer in the sixth over of the morning, the Australian paceman securing his third five-wicket haul in only his eighth

Test.

Debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept the Australians in the field for an additional eight overs as he and Ishant Sharma added 26 more for the last wicket.

Australia promoted Shane Watson to open with Ed Cowan after David Warner was deemed too ill, and they were confronted with spin from both ends on a rapidly crumbling surface.

With the final ball of the morning session Ravichandran Ashwin found some sharp turn and bounce as Watson pushed forward and the ball took the shoulder of the bat to give an easy catch to slip.

There was only one boundary in 12 overs after lunch before Australia then lost wickets in consecutive overs to spinners Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja.

Michael Clarke took the attack to Ashwin early in his innings, coming down the pitch to loft over mid-on for six and pulling a short ball next up for four but he lost Warner, who was lbw pushing forward to Harbhajan Singh

Moises Henriques ensured Australia staved off an innings defeat (BCCI) for 23.

In his 100th Test, Harbhajan also added the wicket of Matthew Wade who missed an attempted sweep and was bowled, before Ashwin claimed the key wicket of Clarke for 31 with the third ball after tea. The captain attempted to cut but the ball spun sharply in and pinned him lbw in front of offstump.

Peter Siddle was another to succumb bowled attempting a sweep, before Ashwin left Australia on the brink with wickets in consecutive overs, the spinner taking his tally of Test victims to 75.

But the powerfully-built Henriques played in correct, circumspect fashion, occasionally breaking the shackles with a boundary,

R Ashwin got rid of Shane Watson cheaply (BCCI) such as the six he hit over long-on to record his second successive fifty, when he stepped down the pitch to Harbhajan.

Henriques added another six down the ground off Ashwin but India will remain confident of completing

victory on the final day in Chennai and taking an early lead in the four-match series.

Scores: Australia 232 for 9 (Henriques 75*, Ashwin 590) lead India 572 (Dhoni 224, Kohli 107, Tendulkar 81, Pattinson 5-96) by 40 runs.

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Kaieteur News

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t r o Sp

‘The Sniper’ assassinates ‘The Assassin;’ Dharry edges ‘Cutting Hedge’

‘Night of Champions 2’ Boxing card...

By Michael Benjamin

Jones spent most of the evening Dharry unleashes a ‘lovingly’ holding on to Cox until wicked straight right to He was at his ferocious best, yet the Bajan extricated himself and Hedge’s midriff that forces Elton ‘The Bully’ Dharry had to dig ended the charade the Jamaican to cover up deep for every minute of ten rounds in order to defeat Jamaican, Rudolph ‘Cutting Edge’ Hedge when the two faced off in the main event for the World Boxing Union (WBU) bantamweight title on the ‘Night of Champions 2’ boxing card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), Sunday evening last.

The main supporting bout between Kwesi ‘Lightening Struck Assassin’ Jones and Barbadian, Shawn ‘The Sniper’ Cox had promised to be action packed but dwindled to a one sided affair after the ‘Sniper’ aimed correctly and assassinated ‘The Assassin’ way before he was able to effect his murderous plans.

Patrick Boston proved no Hedge to cover up from the the Jamaican beginning to assert timidly while Cox appeared unfit to continue after an match for Syrian, Mahmood ‘The onslaught. himself with stiff exchanges. cautious with none willing to take examination by the doctor. The Extractor’ Loul and after an It was only in the fourth round Dharry then began to show the unnecessary chances. This resulted time of the stoppage was 1:40secs especially vicious attack in the but already Hedge sported bruises effects of the tough battle and in a dull first round where both of the 6th round. In between that second round; the Guyanese and lumps under both eyes. resorted to holding. Hedge then fighters loaded up but failed to land period, both fighters enjoyed bright tumbled to the canvass, forcing the N e v e r t h e l e s s , h e e x h i b i t e d landed a wicked straight right and any meaningful blows. moments and it was clear that referee to wave the proceedings off remarkable courage, exchanging followed up with a crunching left The second round was a replica Fraser was better prepared and on the stroke of the bell, while blows with his counterpart despite hook shortly before the bell rang. of the first where Jones swung more determined to cart off the Dexter Marques needed merely coming out the worse for wear.

The 10th round was surely a aimless blows and without waiting spoils; the Williamson injury 2:42secs of the second frame to The pace picked up in the fifth gem as both pugilists went after to see where they landed or if they removed the input of the judges. dispose of Selwyn Lett to take the round when Dharry launched a each other. Dharry’s countenance were effective, clung to the arms of Patrick Boston was absolutely honours in their flyweight body attack; two wicked left hooks remained unscathed while Hedge the muscular Cox thus nullifying no match for Mahmood ‘The encounter. Rudolph Fraser was also slammed into Hedge’s body but sported welts and bumps under his power shots.

Extractor’ Loul and was knocked in winners’ row and avenged an rather than wilting, the Jamaican both eyes. Both fighters enjoyed Jones continued with his out on the stroke of the bell to end earlier loss to Berbician, Richard responded with a vicious straight great moments up to the bell. The strange tactics of lunging aimlessly the second frame. “The Dentist” is Williamson, after the doctor halted right and a left hook that earned him fans settled for the eleventh round and then holding on for dear life only now making his debut as a the bout at the end of the 2nd of admirable applause from the medium when the ring announcer declared even as Jones attempted to wriggle professional boxer though he has their 8 rounds flyweight affair. the bout over. Subsequent queries free to throw his bombs. The compiled a decent record as a kick sized crowd that attended the show.

Dharry was all business at the D h a r r y e m p l o y e d s o m e by this writer elicited a response referee warned Jones on several boxer. Indeed, he needn’t to resort start of the bout and merely one psychology and declined the stool that all championship bouts under occasions for excessive holding to the use of his feet as Boston was minute had elapsed when he during the one minute respite at the the aegis of the WBU were and eventually became disgusted hardly able to withstand the launched a two fisted attack that end of the 6th frame while his restricted to 10 rounds. (This issue and deducted a point from his clubbing blows of his fist. A vicious pushed the Jamaican into the ropes. adversary could hardly wait for the will be fully ventilated in a score. This did not deter Jones who right collided to Boston’s temple ‘The Bully’ followed up with a bell before he plunked down to subsequent article). continued to hold and at one time, and he fell to the canvass with a crunching right hook to Hedge’s allow his trainer, Wayne Sharpe to After the bout, Dharry admitted wrapped both arms around Cox’s thud. He rose but referee Dexter jaw and he tumbled to the canvass perform his magic. Dharry must that the Jamaican was indeed a legs to in crude evasive tactics.

Torrington ruled that he was in no for the mandatory 8 count. have regretted that decision as tough contender. He said that he The muscular Bajan finally condition to continue and waved Hedge managed to beat the Hedge stepped on the accelerator in had wanted to prove that he was a broke free and slammed home a the bout off. count and upon resumption, the succeeding round. It was worthy champion and he hoped that roundhouse left followed by a Marques has shown great climbed on his bicycle and around that time that ‘The Bully,’ after Sunday night’s performance vicious right hook. Jones staggered improvement to his strategy and managed to evade the ensuing recognizing that he was up against a his detractors would be convinced from the first blow and tumbled has demonstrated the ability to onslaught up to the bell. game opponent, adopted a more of his prowess. He said that Hedge down from the second. He quarter the ring; a trait glaringly He entered the second stanza cautious and systematic approach. was truly a warrior and envisaged a managed to rise when the referee absent from his repertoire in earlier with high guards while adopting a Hedge still sported bruises on his great future for the Jamaican. had reached the 4th of the bouts. As such, Lett did not stand a peek-a-boo style but Dharry still face but he displayed remarkable Hedge was a little more mandatory eight count but his legs chance. The Bajan attempted managed to breach his defence, courage, matching Dharry’s every restrictive in his views but while were rubbery and refused to obey several weak punches but was first with a vicious left hook and blow. praising Dharry said that he was not him, forcing the referee to wave off absolutely no match for Marques then a stiff straight right. Hedge When Dharry had upped the optimistic of clinching a close the one sided fight at 55secs of the who went on to unleash a barrage of refused to be daunted and lashed ante early in the fight he had Hedge decision. “I would like to do this 4th round. A few minutes after punches that forced the referee, out with a wicked body shot. on the retreat and few imagined the again,” he declared when asked if a regaining control of his faculties, Torrington, to call a halt at 2:42secs Dharry was up to the challenge and fight progressing beyond the return encounter was on the cards. Jones attempted to address the of the second round. responded with a crunching body halfway stage; Hedge surprised Posed a similar question, Dharry crowd, explaining the reasons for his The card produced some dig shortly before the bell. them all when he not only stayed said he did not rule it out but he limp performance but no one inspiring performances and might Hedge greeted Dharry with a around up to the 8th round but came needed to rest after such a tough bout. seemed to be in a mood for his just be the catalyst for the return of straight right at the start of the third out slugging. A vicious toe to toe “Afterwards we could discuss the diatribe and booed him accordingly. the crowds to the fights. Some round but Dharry slipped to his battle ensued and for the first time possibility of a return clash,” he said.

Rudolph Fraser avenged an fighters did back their chat while right and unleashed a four punch in the fight Dharry appeared to be Meanwhile, Jones hardly fitted earlier loss to Richard Williamson others simply confirmed to the old combination that pushed the fatigued and tired. the bill of a worthwhile contender and broke his losing streak after the Guyanese idiom that ‘mouthar and Jamaican backwards. Dharry was The ferocious exchanges despite his many pre-fight boasts. latter fighter sustained an injury to guitar are two vastly different relentless in this round and forced continued into the 9th round with He approached the first round his left shoulder and was deemed things.’

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