Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

House votes for end to Cuban embargo

By Abena Rockcliffe Guyana yesterday stepped up the pressure for the United States to remove what it described as the “unjust” economic and financial embargo against Cuba. That blockade was instituted since 1960.

The National Assembly unanimously passed a motion titled “40th Anniversary since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Cuba.”

The motion stood in the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who stated that yesterday marked the first time the National Assembly voted to continue support for the removal of the financial embargo against Cuba.

The United States embargo against Cuba is commercial, economic, and financial. It was partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960, almost two years after the Batista regime was deposed by the Cuban

Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett Revolution. It was fully enforced after Cuba nationalized the properties of United States citizens and corporations on February 7, 1962.

Titled the Cuban Democracy Act, the embargo was codified into law in 1992 with the stated purpose of maintaining sanctions on Cuba as long as the Cuban Government continues to refuse to move toward “democratization and greater respect for human rights.”

In 1996, the US Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which further restricted United States citizens from doing business in or with Cuba, and mandated restrictions on giving public or private assistance to any successor government in Havana unless and until certain claims against the Cuban government are met.

In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton expanded the trade embargo even further by ending the practice of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies trading with Cuba.

In 2000, Clinton authorized the sale of certain “humanitarian” US products to Cuba.

Yesterday’s sitting saw representatives from each of the parliamentary parties making contributions. Those members of Parliament who would have benefitted first hand from the Cuba-Guyana relationship through scholarships shared their personal experiences.

The Cubana Air Disaster and victims of the unfortunate event were also acknowledged along with

numerous other achievements of Cuba.

However, what seemed to be the most popular point of reference was that Cuba always stands in solidarity with the region. Both members of the opposition and the government agreed that should Guyana become a truly united nation, lots more can be achieved for its development.

The passed motion also called for the National Assembly extending its gratitude to the government and people of Cuba for the “valuable” assistance they have rendered to Guyanese while enduring great sacrifice.

It also called for the National Assembly to convey congratulations to Cuba on it 40 year anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Guyana and Cuba.

Further, the motion seeks to ensure that the National Assembly reaffirms commitment to strengthening and deepening relations between the two countries to realize the legitimate aspirations of their peoples.

Friday January 4, 2013

Unidentified male in GPHC

The unidentified man On December 18, last, a male of East Indian descent and aged about 35 years of age, was dropped off at the Accident and Emergency Department.

He was unconscious at the time with wounds to his head and no one accompanied him. The vehicle that dropped him off left the Hospital Compound

before any information could be garnered from the driver.

The patient underwent emergency surgery and remains in the Intensive Care Unit. To date, he has not regained full consciousness.

The hospital has been waging efforts to have him positively identified but these efforts have been futile.

Friday January 4, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Missing GEA employee …

Detained man claims he was instructed to hide victim’s vehicle

Police have detained a 32year-old Soesdyke man who appears to have information about the fate of Guyana Energy Agency employee LeVoy Taljit, who disappeared ten days ago.

The suspect was detained on Wednesday at his home and has reportedly admitted to stashing Taljit’s Toyota Raum on the Soesdyke/ Linden highway. He has reportedly also admitted to selling the missing man’s mobile phone. Sources close to the missing man also said that the suspect was found in possession of financial documents belonging to Taljit. An associate of Taljit’s said that the man claims to have befriended the 25-yearold GEA employee some time ago. He alleged that they had first communicated via an internet site.

This newspaper understands that the Soesdyke resident claimed that Taljit visited his home around the time of his disappearance. He alleged that the young man had a bag of money and asked the suspect to stash the Toyota Raum.

According to the source, the suspect had initially told

Missing: LeVoy Taljit detectives that the missing GEA staffer was alive and well and has spoken to him from Paramaribo, Suriname. However, he reportedly eventually admitted that this was a fabrication and that he had sold Taljit’s phone.

An official told Kaieteur News that the new developments have left investigators even more worried about Taljit’s fate.

They are to intensify their search today.

Police got their first break a few days ago when phone records revealed that someone had used Taljit’s mobile phone in the vicinity of Marudi, on the Soesdyke/

Linden Highway, a few days after he went missing. The individual also used Taljit’s phone to make a call to a landline.

The individual reportedly had inserted a different chip in the cell phone, without being aware that the phone could still be traced when activated. It was around that time that residents from Yarrowkabra found the abandoned vehicle. The battery and some of the electronic appliances, as well as the keys, were missing. Crime Scene ranks found no trace of blood on the vehicle or other evidence suggesting foul play. With the suspect’s arrest there are now suggestions that robbery is the primary motive for Taljit’s disappearance. There have also been suggestions that persons dealing in fuel smuggling might be involved in his disappearance.

Yesterday, the missing man’s father said that he is still holding out hope that his son is alive.

“I believe in God; the whole family feels that he’s still alive, but they (abductors) might want to get rid of him. I need my son back alive.” He said that the family

admits to selling LeVoy Talji cellphone

Detained: Sherwin Francis

has not received any ransom note, leaving them at a loss as to who may have his son.

Taljit, who is of Amerindian and East Indian descent, was reported missing last week Sunday. This newspaper understands that he was last seen wearing a burgundycoloured tee shirt and faded blue jeans. He was driving a Toyota Raum, PNN 8315. Family and friends have not heard from him since then and say that it is unlike him to not be in contact with

them.

His sister, Anastasia, had told Kaieteur News that her brother had recently started working with the GEA. According to the woman, Taljit was previously employed in the enforcement department of the Guyana Revenue Authority for several years. Persons with information are asked to make contact with 226-0433, 2267336, 666-4012 or the nearest police station.

and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to meet expenditures associated with flood management and water control.

Under the Ministry of Housing and Water, approval for $1.5B is being sought for by the development of new housing areas, and improvement to existing ones.

This supplementary paper will be considered at the next

sitting of the House.

Another $393M is being sought for the period ending December 31, 2012, as “supplementary provision on capital estimates”. Some $293M is needed as “additional” monies for the Citizen Security Programme while the Ministry of Public Works is requiring $100M more for its “Bridges Rehabilitation 2” –Transport Infrastructure Project.

Govt. seeks additional $2.4B for housing projects, drainage Minister of Finance, Dr. Àshni Singh yesterday asked the National Assembly for an additional $2.4B. In the first financial paper, government is asking for a supplementary capital provision for $2B to cover the period December 18, 2012 to December 31, 2012.

Approval for the sum of $500M is being sought for by the National Drainage

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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

Democracy, the public and welfare This year, we begin our third decade of governance under ‘free and fair” elections. The arrangement of democratic life, especially in political aspects, has been established. The last elections showed that even our entrenched ethnic voting may at last be shifting under the pressures of demographics, as much as its patent failure since independence.

Some indicators of the improvement in the performance of democratic institutions relate to civil liberties and political rights, especially the performance and stability of the electoral system, which as mentioned, might finally ensure the regular turnover of elites here. But it is widely conceded that democracy is not solely related to political freedoms or the electoral system.

Since demonstrated in so many other countries, a democratic system is now expected to deliver development and prosperity.

As such, many demand that our democracy deals with economic, social and cultural rights. The success of democracy, they claim, cannot be measured solely on the sustainability of its political aspects, but must also be measured by its role in the process of development. But what is not so well appreciated is that democracy should not be achieved through non-democratic means, and implementation of democratic means only does not necessarily result in a democratic situation.

As an ideal, democracy aims to create a system that ensures the effective popular control of public affairs on the basis of equality (equal rights). From that sense, there are at least three dimensions inherent in the notion of democracy, i.e. popular control, public affairs and equality.

The recognition of political freedom and improved electoral systems is only part of the required instrumental aspects and is related only to the aspects of popular control and equality. Of course, the implementation of instrumental aspects is not meaningless. Progress in the field of civil liberties and political rights is required to improve public control of power. Along with those areas, improving electoral systems and procedures (including oversight) has led to a formulation of the best ways to ensure and fulfill the rights of citizens in elections. The situation may still be far from ideal, but it must be admitted that there is progress in Guyana.

Nevertheless, improvements in the instrumental dimensions oftentimes ignore the public affairs dimension. This shortfall brings about two problematic issues. First, vertical tensions emerge between elected public officials and the public who voted for them. The political process in the aftermath of elections witnesses the formulation of public policies entrusted or handed over solely to public officials. In fact, their real task and role is to manage, not define or determine the boundaries of public affairs. As a result, the management of public affairs becomes very elitist and increasingly determined by the interests of public officials. The term “public interest” mirrors “elite interests”. Second, are the horizontal tensions between different societal groups – in our case, ethnic. The narrow public space left by the dominant elite emerges as a “hot” arena for the contestation of interests and ideals between our ethnic groups.

They fight each other to transform their ideas and interests into public policies, which often involves conflict between public and private interests. In more advanced countries, the struggle between private and public issues is not too obtrusive, because there are already clear boundaries separating the two. Such a gap of understanding may also interrupt the development process of our democracy.

In turn, implications of the ignorance of the public affairs dimension will spark uncertainty as to which way democracy is headed. Democracy seems to be limited to the rules and regulations that facilitate power struggles and interests, without clarity on what the power struggle is for. We seem to fail to establish a logical correlation that links the importance of public control and equality on the one hand and public interest — general welfare — on the other hand.

It is time now to revisit and rearrange our democratization agenda according to more advanced aspects of public affairs and the creation of welfare, while maintaining our previous democratic achievements. Let us begin this process in this New Year.

Friday January 4, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

GPL can be most disinterested DEAR EDITOR, My new year started with my first visitor being a guy from GPL disconnection crew.

He was there to inform me that he will be back tomorrow to disconnect my electricity if my arrears were not paid off.

Well what a way to start the New Year!!!!

I informed him that I can recall paying my bill last month so what was the problem?

He called the office and was told that I had a balance on my account.

This is not how we operate; we don’t mess with any of the utility companies.

Then I remembered that my in-laws whom I live next door to and I received another bill for the same billing month i.e. November, later in December and figured that they made a mistake and that we would look into it this month.

So of course I had to rearrange all my activities to dance to the whims and fancies of GPL. When I came to my husband’s office to pick up the paid bills along with the other set of bills I found out that the bills have differences of $194,522 for meter #IT0002894, and $106,270 for meter #IT0002897.

Lo and Behold I was informed that the same thing had occurred at the business place and that GPL disconnection crew came on Old Year’s Day to inform them that they have to pay up or face disconnection on the next working day and this is for the three meters on the

premises.

So I proceeded to secure all the bills from January 2012 and head down to GPL. Well if you have ever been into GPL Main Street you would know that you have to be prepared for the long haul.

So I took my pain killer and set off...preparing to have my patience tested.

Luckily I met a courteous young lady who proceeded to help me.

Firstly she was puzzled to see two sets of bills for one month so she told me that she had to go talk with her supervisor.

The explanation she gave was that the first bill that came was an estimated reading and that the second bill is an actual reading. So she proceeded to explain that the estimated bills were not supposed to be sent out and by the time they try to stop the bills they were already sent to GPO. Now, if GPL made a

mistake and sent two bills to its consumers, couldn’t the power company wait until the next bill and make the relevant adjustments? NO, it can’t.

The disconnection crew is one of the most prompt and efficient departments at GPL. However, when you pay GPL for any other service you have to wait months before anything is done.

For example, I paid GPL since July 12 to have my service line (Meter #40946) relocated.

The crew did not come until October and said that it can’t do the job because the post is rotten. Calls continued to be made for the removal of the post and one other team visited and said the same thing but no one is coming to remove the post.

So I figure that the power company is waiting for the post to fall and cause damage before one gets immediate attention.

Now when I told the girl this story she says that what

she is going to say to me I wouldn’t like.

She said that the guys who came only came to relocate the service line and have no interest in the post, that it was my duty to inform GPL about the rotten post.

Great…so I just learnt that it is not the duty of the crew to report any other problems that they may encounter pertaining to GPL. Way to go GPL…excellent service. Your money means a lot to you but another man’s money does not have any value?

Ironically while I was waiting I saw this notice on the wall of GPL….”Penalties can be imposed on GPL if standards are not met.” So I asked the girl who will impose the penalties and as she hesitated and smiled I told her I am heading straight over to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). So the matter is now with the PUC who is investigating.

Saudia Ferouz

DEAR EDITOR, May I introduce myself as Sam Vijay Kumar from India. I recently came across your website and was very impressed with the variety of news that you publish. I was also so glad to find one of my own writings published h t t p : / / www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2012/01/01/courage-are-yougame-enough/ I must say I felt overwhelmed and glad that

my article has found favour in your sight. Now, I just wanted to bring to your kind attention that it is a copyrighted article and that you have failed to mention my name.

I am not saying that you have purposefully avoided my name.

I am just saying that maybe you were too busy to note that omission. Hence I wanted to request you to kindly include my name as the

copyrighted author. The original article could be found at http:// w w w. m o t i v a t e u s . c o m / s t o r i e s / live_a_courageous_life.htm I once again thank you for liking my article.

Sam Vijay Kumar “Hakuna Matata”

A serious omission

Editor’s note: We regret the omission and we will seek to make the necessary corrections

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Kaieteur News

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

COMPROMISE AND POLITICAL WILL NEEDED IN NEW YEAR DEAR EDITOR, The political climate for 2012 was one of confrontation and staunch resistance between the Government and the combined opposition (APNU/AFC) following the latter’s control of Parliament with their collective one seat majority of the House.

None of the parties had the political will to seize the initiative or even the key to break the gridlock that encapsulated most of the important business in the House. Such experiences were a break in norm and practices of the House and interestingly the constitution was used in significant and historic ways to interpret and challenge many of the undertakings within Parliament.

It seems in some ways a competition of healthy political maneuvering given the country’s democratic principles. In the end there was need for redress by the Courts. These experiences however must form a catalyst

for compromise and rededication by the political directorates to place the electorates as the prime motivation of progressively transforming the country’s interest. Perhaps, even if temporary the political victory by the Democrats and Republicans of the United States over the worrisome fiscal cliff debate should be an inspiration within our political echelons.

President Donald Ramotar’s encouraging New Year’s Message to the nation to transform the country towards a modern economy and society, must be an opportunity by all stakeholders to ensure that the Government is held accountable by such virtues.

These virtues must include accountability, inclusive governance, consultation and the collective political will to rationalize issues in a mature and consistent way in determining solutions to complex and sensitive matters of public and national interest.

DEAR EDITOR, In the Stabroek News Diaspora series written by Ms Alicia Trotz in the SN of 31-12-12 titled “A constant teacher, a constant student: A collective tribute to Randal Mohan Butisingh” there were significant glaring omissions.

Mr. Randall Mohan Butisingh of the USA who lived most of his early life in Buxton feared for his life and fled the 1960’s riots to the nearby Indian village of Annandale as did Pandit Sama Persaud (died in Guyana) and Mr. Rampersand Tiwari, (in Canada) amongst many others.

With this tribute being inspired by his “close friend” Mr. Eusi Kwayana, who was an early migrant from Lusignan to Buxton, long after Mr. Butisingh’s Buxton’s presence they struck up a friendship. Mr. Kwayana was a well known and regular visitor to many of Buxton’s Indians homes prior to the outbreak of the racial animosities of the 1960’s.

The tribute to the esteemed gentleman is not complete when such significantly important details are left out. It is ironic that Mr. Kwayana who is renowned and a consistent lifelong advocate of black culture and political empowerment remained loyal to his beliefs and opinions throughout his history. Mr. Kwayana must be commended that, inspired by his Indian connections to stand up for “something”, “he never fell for anything”

akin to “I am as constant as the northern star” (Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar). In his early life in Buxton, Mr. Butisingh is portrayed as an original nurtured Hindu but then Christian convert (Buxton) who later found nirvana in his original Hinduism (Annandale) only to finally find solace in Islam’s richness in Florida.

Has Mr. Kwayana found “redemption” as is attempted by his close protégé Ms Trotz within the juxtaposition of the other “contributions’ to the “Buxton Indian”?

Mr. Kwayana’s leadership and prominence in Buxton was significantly still unable to safeguard and protect Mr. Butisingh’s family during the 1960s racial attacks in Buxton causing his friend to flee.

In Mr. Kwayana’s concession that the entire King family (his original name) was occasionally supported financially by his good friend Pandit Sama Persaud and his father Pandit Latchman Persaud it is a good example of friends helping out. There is no shame in being poor as the majority of Guyanese so well know. But in times of need one depends on one’s friends when they come under life- threatening attack.

In being “born again” Mr. Kwayana can redeem himself significantly more, long before more of his other “friends” pass on. My condolences to the Butisingh family.

Sultan Mohamed

RANDAL BUTISINGH’s TRIBUTE OMITTED HE FLED BUXTON

The New Year is a golden opportunity for the Government and the combined opposition to objectively work in unison towards improving the lives of the people in a more dynamic and systematically representative way that has the potential to alleviate mistrust, cheap political ascension, animosity and division among the people.

The holding of snap elections or who controls Parliament is not an immediate solution that will shape the destiny of the country; instead the will of the people must be an appreciation of the policy makers

and therefore the impact of every decision whether in Parliament or otherwise must signify the intent and purposes of being genuine and to the direct benefit of the people.

Notwithstanding, I believe that President Donald Ramotar is firm in reinforcing his commitment towards working with all stakeholders including the opposition and it is a challenge that should be grasped with optimism and an appreciation towards realizing and achieving collectively the goals that will define the economic and

social progress of the country that continues to achieve economic growth over the last three years despite the global recession. The country will be healthier politically and democratically when the confirmation of an Ombudsman, Chancellor, Chief Justice and Commissioner of Police are enforced since their significantly important and constitutional offices affect the daily lives of the people and institution that they serve and therefore such foresight and wisdom by the

Government and the Leader of the Opposition must act in the national interest to confirm those appointments.

This will call for compromise from all sides and given the political will, the current tense environment can lead towards the Government and combined opposition ensuring that Parliament under Raphael Trotman secure Bills of worthy support and consent rather than accumulating bills (Refreshment) that will cost the taxpayers.

Elroy Stephney.

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Friday January 4, 2013

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

Exposing a dictatorship in the Rupununi DEAR EDITOR, Please permit me space in your letters column to highlight two issues-that were discussed at the last sitting of the Regional Democratic Council Meeting of December 14, 2012: The first has to do with Parisharra Village in the near North Rupununi.

Earlier this year, Village elections were held across the Region. Parisharra nominated a certain gentleman to be their Senior Councillor to

represent them on the Village Council of Nappi/ Parisharra/Hiowa.

The Regional Administration was swift to inform the Village and the gentleman thatthe nomination was invalid and that they should nominate someone else.

The reason profferedwas that the man was under investigation by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for some malpractices that were committed while he was

Toshao way back in 2006.

The investigation was conducted in 2006.

N e e d l e s s t o s a y M r.

Editor, the village and the gentleman are still awaiting the findings of this investigation.

The village refused to partake in the elections.

The Regional Executive Officer subsequently took a Police rank to Parisharra in an attempt to intimidate the villagers into participating. Again the villagers stood their

ground.

For them it was this gentleman or nobody else.

The Administration’s choice was elected with very limited participation - his relatives and a few of his friends.

Obviously, the villagers refused to recognise the elections.

This matter was raised at a previous sitting of the RDC, and with a majority, the PPP side, of the council, voted down the proposal to settle Parisharra’s problems once and for all.

At the sitting of 14th December, a letter from Parisharra was read to the council informing us that they have conducted their own elections and the officers so elected will be the village representatives.

The PPP side of the Council was swift in condemning the actions.

What’s more is the fact that the Clerk of Council, who is also the Regional Executive Officer, informed Council that she will have nothing to do with Parisharra.

The opposition side of the council objected to the jaundiced remark of the Clerk and vowed to be on watch when developmental works are being apportioned in the Region The remark was condemned for what it was.

The other issue had to do with a recent protest by the students of the leading school in the Rupununi. St. Ignatius Secondary.

The students had protested when their Headmistress, offered her resignation over her dissatisfaction with the way the Regional Authorities handled a matter of discipline of a teacher who was obviously disrespectful to the school, the students, the community and the headmistress.

At the RDC, the PPP took the position that the Headmistress was to be blamed for the entire episode and questioned whether we are breeding a nation of protesters.

It was pointed out that the children have a right to protest, as a form of expressing themselves in accordance with the United Nations Charter on the Rights of the Child. This was more necessary since their attempts to have an audience with the Regional Education Officer were bluntly refused.

The same officer had refused to meet with the parents the previous day concerning the same issue.

The Regional Administration is seriously lacking in the resolution of conflicts.

It views every actions opposed to its ineptitude as political. It cannot understand that the region has evolved from radio sets to BBM, where information is shared in an instant; and that that information is being used to enlighten communities.

Gone are the days when the only newspaper available was the Chronicle.

We now have access to Stabroek News and Kaieteur News. We also have an educated vibrant opposition who is resolved to ensure that the affairs of the Region are conducted in a professional manner.

We are undaunted by the criticisms leveled at us.

Kudos to Parisharra; kudos to the students of St. Ignatius Secondary. They have taken a stand, and it is hoped that the revolution will spread to other communities.

Carl. A. Parker Regional Councillor

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friday January 4, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

A worthwhile partnership DEAR EDITOR, I would like to commend the Georgetown Football Association (G.F.A.) and Banks D.I.H. for running off another tremendously successful end-of-year football competition.

Together they ran with this competition a second year, tackling numerous challenges and scoring big with a Grand Finals that will be on the lips of many Guyanese throughout many months of 2013.

As promised, the competition was bigger and better that the inaugural one, with a winner-take-all $4M first prize adding considerable motivation for players and clubs to perform to their best.

The grand finals held on January 1, 2013, was nothing but spectacular. And the football loving public showed their appreciation for the work of the GFA and Banks DIH, by turning out in their thousands to support this relatively new and innovative competition.

With a ground already filled to capacity by the time Northern Rangers displaced GDF 3-1, the match of the night between Sunburst Campton FC and Riddim Squad was to begin before tens of thousands of

football loving fans.

I took a glance outside the pavilion during the half-time break of the final match and was moved by the mere sight of the crowd on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, all the way to North Road, and spilling into Robb Street waiting to enter.

I am not sure what the scene was at the other entrances, but when the organizers decided to open the gates restraining thousands from coming on the field under the pavilion; the stream of patrons seemed to be never ending.

By the time of the final whistle of the final match, Sunburst Campton FC emerged dominant winners of the 2012 Banks Beer/ GFA Knockout Competition brushing aside Riddim Squad 2 0. With the games concluded and the party commencing, the entire field was quickly engulfed with patrons.

Guyanese really turned out in their numbers to celebrate Guyanese football and to celebrate Banks.

A hard working Mingles Sound Machine tried its best to set the mood for Beenie Man. But it seemed clear that patrons were already in the mood for “The Doctor”, and were just biding their time for Mingles to leave the stage.

And then he came on.

Belting out a superb mix of old and new school tunes, Beenie Man rocked the crowd in a manner only he could, impressively showcasing all the majesty reminiscent of the “King of Dancehall”.

The support shown to Banks DIH and the GFAis clearly highlighting a fact that perhaps the Finals are beginning outgrow the GCC venue.

There were a few low points of the evening that threatened the ability of many patrons to enjoy the proceedings.

The throwing of very loud fire crackers onto the field by very misguided individuals disturbed the senses of many who came to enjoy the matches.

At one point, a Sunburst Campton striker missed a very easy goal only to be further distracted by a loud firecracker thrown at the goal.

Perhaps searches need to be thoroughly conducted the next time and all fire crackers seized.

Throwing firecrackers onto the field during play is not funny, safe, or sensible.

Two other things of notable mention seem to be endemic at entertainment events throughout Guyana. Bar service was extremely poor and at best inadequate in dealing with the

massive crowds, thirsty and out to drink and party.

The other issue of note was the poor sound quality. One easily got the impression that the after party concert was only for the patrons directly in front the stage. Much sound was lost to the wind and the density of people on the field.

Surround sound forms the basis for modern effective sound management at events regardless of their magnitude.

The piling of speakers in front of a stage is simply not good enough.

Speakers need to be strategically placed within a venue so as to ensure patrons are afforded the best sound quality possible. This ensures that all will be able to enjoy the entertainment of which they are a part.

I sincerely hope that as evaluations are conducted, these issues can be properly addressed for more improved event hosting.

The GFA and Banks DIH have done well again! May this strategic partnership continue to bear more successes for football in Guyana. I urge Guyanese to continue celebrating Banks and Guyanese football.

Richard Francois

Does ‘wench’ have a new meaning?

DEAR EDITOR, The word ‘wench’, which has been cropping up so much of late, reminded me of a misogynistic boss I once had. He had inherited five assistants, one of whom was a self-assertive young woman, a university graduate, whom he always referred to as ‘the wench’.

I always regarded this description as an unnecessary put-down and nothing more but wonder whether it now carries a different connotation, although my dictionary defines ‘wench’ as “facetious young woman”.

“Lovely lasses dressed as wenches”? How does a wench dress? Food for thought. I am inclined to the view that sexual harassment can take many forms, some of them extremely irritating, humiliating and difficult to prove. One such is visual. In the late-1960s or early-1970s, when charter flights from the UK to Guyana were popular, I

had to visit the London office of the outfit arranging such a visit for me.

As the chap and I discussed details, I was subjected to what could only be described as a visual stripsearch – eyes darting up and down in a disrespectful manner. I was shocked - I had not expected that. His older colleague, in another room, seemed to guess what was going on, came out on hearing my name and asked whether I was related to ‘the schoolmaster’, whom he knew.

That put an end to the chap’s unpleasant behaviour and offered an escape route, which I had not yet figured out. My husband handled the matter from then on.

Indeed, as V. Kissoon says: “...let us hope that all Guyanese... would feel free from fear and be able to identify themselves and own their viewpoints as we discuss issues publicly”.

Geralda Dennison

“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

-- Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear

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ETHNIC ISSUES SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH SENSITIVITY There is a dispute about the monument which the government is constructing to commemorate a past slave uprising. The dispute has nothing to do with location but everything to do with who is undertaking the project…namely the government, and how they went about this matter.

At the heart of this dispute is not whether the monument should be located at the Parade Ground. The Parade Ground, in fact, is gravely unsuitable for such a monument, because the Parade Ground is a site of grief for Africans. Slaves were hanged at this location. It is a place of great pain for the rebelling slaves and therefore is ill-suited for a monument commemorating a slave rebellion.

At the core of the controversy over the location of the monument is the issue of what gives the government the right to decide where to locate a monument for African ancestors. This is the central issue that no one wants to publicly admit.

How dare a government which is perceived by some as an Indian government, take a decision to build a monument without the consent of those groups who believe they have the right to be part of that decision?

This was the same undercurrent that surfaced a few years ago when a special

programme was being developed to commemorate a year dedicated to persons of African descent. There were similar sentiments expressed then that the government should not go ahead and plan anything, unless it gained the approval of those who hold themselves out to be representative of Africans in Guyana.

It was same undercurrent that caused a leader of the Working People’s Alliance to argue that an elected President of Guyana had no right to be welcomed in Buxton.

This is the issue. How dare the democratically and constitutionally elected government arrogate to itself the right to decide an issue that should rightly be the prerogative of the representative organizations of Africans? Is this not what is at the heart of the present dispute? Is it not?

It matters not that the government had invited consultations on this matter and no one responded. What gave the government the right to invite consultations?

Did they not know that they had to approach the organizations - rather than invite them - and seek their consent?

What matters is not where the monument is located?

What matters is that there are those who will not accept that the present government has any right to go ahead with a project of this nature, without

Dem boys seh...

Jagdeo hug up nuff criminals

When de Feds hold on pun Stanford de man had he own money fuh pay a lawyer.

This was a man who promote heself as a rich man and he live de life.

When dem same Feds hold Bernie Madoff, de man had money fuh pay not one but many lawyers. He was a man who tell de world that he was rich and he and all live de life. Madoff and Stanford was two Americans.

But dem boys know that Guyanese like pomp a scene.

When dem pretend to be rich most of dem don’t have a proppa cent. Sonny Ramdeo prove that. He was a man who seh that he own a plane. He use to travel to Guyana first class and whenever he want.

He come to Guyana and he tell Guyanese that he got money fuh operate he own airline and that he don’t live hand to mouth. But dem boys know that he couldn’t pay he mortgage. Old people always seh that whatever do in darkness does come to light.

De Feds hold Sonny and now de whole world know that ain’t got a cent.

He go till in de court and tell de judge that he ain’t got money. From flying first class this man sleeping in a cot and peeping through bars when de morning come. This was a man who use to eat at dem top flight restaurant, now he got to eat out of enamel plate, and only when dem prison authorities tell he to eat.

Dem had another Guyanese who use to play big. He use to ship containers to Jagdeo. He and all telling de court how he don’t have money to pay back wha he thief from people. He got till March to tell de court how much he thief and he admit that he did defraud de people of dem money.

This was a man who Jagdeo use to hug up. De same Jagdeo use to hug up Bernard Kerik, de former New York Police Commissioner, who also doing jail time.

It got to be that Jagdeo like hug up criminals and is a good example of show me you company and I will tell you who you are.

Talk half and keep an eye pun Jagdeo friends.

the blessing of those who feel that they have a right to decide on matters concerning the interests of Africans.

This, of course, raises another wider concern as to how a plural society can be developed along these lines. If before anything is done on behalf of any of the numerous ethnic groups that comprise our country, direct consent of the “representatives” of these groups has to be had, we are in fact questioning the political model of democratic government that we have adopted and laying claim to the fact that it may be unsuited to our realities and thus necessitates the need to organize our country along different lines.

Even if at this stage a compromise is reached and a new

and suitable location is agreed upon, there remains the issue of the monument itself. Has the design of the monument been accepted by the representative organizations of Africans in Guyana? If it has not, there is again going to be another uproar as to who commissioned the sculptor to design such a monument.

The issue of ethnicity is a sensitive one in our bifurcated society and it has to be handled sensitively. It matters not that there was an agreement to build the monument at the Parade Ground. What matters is that there was no consent given by those who feel that their stamp of approval should have been had for all stages

of the project.

This is at the heart of the dispute, because even if tomorrow the government allows the monument to be built at the Parade Ground, a new round of controversy is going to erupt on some issue on which there was no agreement.

The government should therefore place the present works on hold. It should find an alternative use for the location near the seawall where it has planned to erect the monument. Surely, there must be some other use which can be put to that site, given the monies that have already been expended.

The government should decommission the monument

project and start afresh by consulting with the representative organizations on the design, location, cost, timing and maintenance of the proposed monument.

This is obviously going to delay the project a few years, but given the sensitivity that is necessary when honouring our ancestors, it is best that the project be restarted from scratch, rather than become another source of dispute which will discredit the purposes for which the monument is being erected.

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=== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ===

An extraordinarily unbelievable year for Guyana If any Guyanese had regrets over 2012, it had to be those persons in the People’s National Congress who allowed their leader, Forbes Burnham, to draft a constitution as if he was immortal.

As 2012 began, those persons were hurting badly.

They missed their chance of returning to power after 20 years in the opposition.

The Guyana Constitution does not allow for parties to form a coalition, therefore the PNC has to contend with being in the opposition once

more.

The year 2012 produced a minority government crazily behaving as if it had won a majority in the national elections the year before. If anything was ironic about Guyana, it was a Guyanese presidency that refused to concede anything at all to the Parliament while across the Atlantic, the American presidency was pleading with his opposition not to push him off the fiscal cliff.

The difference in the two presidencies was that one was psychologically

conscious enough to recognize reality and that reality was that the country’s budget could not succeed without serious dialogue with and serious concession to the opposition. At the same time the other (in Guyana) was fanatical in its illusions that all power was still there to be controlled and hogged.

No policy, action, incident or event was more macabre in 2012 than a dossier sent by the Guyana Government to international stakeholders complaining about opposition intransigence in the Parliament.

One wonders if there is any commonsense left in a regime that has gone in bizarre directions that makes it a joke in Caribbean politics.

When that dossier reaches the stakeholders, obviously an explanation will be asked of the opposition. People just do not want to learn from the lessons of the past.

The reason why it took more than two years for the Jagdeo presidency to even collect a small amount of the promised US$250 million from Norway for his LCDS project, was because when the Norwegians met here with the certain NGOs and the

opposition, an impressive analysis was given to them about a government that was not transparent, democratic and clean. From thereon, Jagdeo had a nightmare collecting his money, to the point where he openly chastised the Norwegian Prime Minister, who remained unmoved.

So what are the UN, OAS, CARICOM and the ABC countries going to do with the dossier? It is doubtful that they will ever act on it, especially the Americans, because State Department officials are aware of the power of Congress to confront a president who does not have a legislative majority.

As for the Canadians, from their recent experience with minority governments, they will know that Parliament is supreme.

But the complaint is only one act in the circus. What about the complainer’s behaviour? This is what has created anger throughout the 83,000 square miles of this country.

A recalcitrant, corrupt, authoritarian regime possessed with a morbid instinct to dominate, and

dominates the people of Guyana in every sphere, sends a document to the major international organizations and influential governments asking for intervention over an opposition in Parliament that it says is abusing its power in the House.

A commentator typing a simple article evaluating the behaviour of the PPP administration in the year 2012 can inadvertently end up with a book manuscript. As you keep enumerating the egregious wrongs, you find that the pages are reaching into the hundreds, because the acts of depravity are in the hundreds.

Of course 2012 had just begun when my UG contract was terminated. Our esteemed Jesuit priest Father Malcolm Rodrigues in a letter in the Stabroek News on the termination commented on what a way to start the year.

Here in Guyana is a cabal that wants the world to focus on what the opposition is doing in Parliament while it continues on a path that could only bring destruction.

How close we were to it in 2012 when the people of Linden rejected authoritarian

Frederick Kissoon edicts. How close we came to mayhem when anger went in the wrong direction in Agricola.

A regime that accuses the opposition of bad behaviour wallows in the self deception that they are the good guys.

That is why it is advantageous to the Guyanese population if the international stakeholders listen to the PPP. They will come and investigate. They will come and listen.

The opposition should invite them to visit. This is where the opposition can use its enemies’ document to its own advantage. No probe into bad behaviour by the opposition can exonerate the PPP from the evidence of horrible governance in 2012.

More on the contents of 2012 in Guyana in later columns.

Friday January 4, 2013

Kaieteur News

Amended legislation needful to improve public health services - CMO The Ministry of Health will this year be seeking to have outdated legislation amended in Parliament with a view of better dealing with matters of a public health nature.

At least this is according to Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who revealed during a recent press briefing that among the legislation expected to attract the attention of the National Assembly is that of a Public Health Act which was passed in 1934. According to the CMO, the Health Ministry currently has a proposal for a new Public Health Bill which will seek to address all of the shortcomings evident in the old legislation.

“As you know, the Public Health Ordinance is very outdated...and since then only a few regulations were made.” Dr Persaud also observed that there have been numerous complaints about nuisances; noncompliance with public health requirements in building codes, the operation of businesses and reports of offensive trade have mounted, among other issues. However, he noted that although the existing legislation has provisions to address these issues “the penalties are so

miniscule that they are almost laughable. So we hope to bring this new Act to the parliament very soon and to have a few new laws in place that deal with public health”. Added to public health challenges, the CMO revealed that the Health Ministry has been faced with a great deal of difficulties as it relates to Environmental Health. He attributed this to the fact that the Department currently has a reduced capacity, having lost the services of the Director and one of the Senior Principal Environmental Health Officers – one to retirement and the other resigning.

However, moves have since been engaged to fill those vacancies, even as efforts are made to work in collaboration with other agencies to ensure that Environmental Health is given much needed attention.

Dr Persaud revealed that intensified efforts are also being directed to the need to reduce morbidity and mortality due to Communicable diseases.

However, he pointed to the fact that while such achievements are being made, the effects of NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs) are now becoming one of the major reasons for death among the population. “What we know happens is that a lot of untimely deaths do occur

from NCDs, especially heart diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.”

With this in mind, Dr Persaud said that as part of the Ministry’s effort to address this is the need to look more closely at the causes of untimely deaths, to ensure that people are able to access the right kinds of health services. Moreover, the Health Ministry has been working closely with the Cancer Institute and the Caribbean Heart Institute as well as other foundations that offer renal services in Guyana, he disclosed. The aim is to have the Ministry formalise arrangements with all of these agencies so as to reduce some of its expenditure. “Just as we do a lot of evacuations from the interior, we expend an enormous amount of resources in providing treatment overseas for patients who need such services.

There are not many, but they are very costly, and if you add them up a significant amount of the available resources is expended this way,” Dr Persaud noted. The Health Ministry spent more than $ 19 million to facilitate evacuations of patients from interior locations to the Georgetown Public Hospital in 2012.

Parliament off to stormy start in 2013…

Opposition refuses to back down on Rohee “gag” The 2013 sittings of the National Assembly got off to a stormy start yesterday, with government and the Opposition steadfastly standing their ground over matters related to Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee.

The main Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), insisted that the Minister, who was effectively gagged in the closing sessions last year, could not answer a question posed to Prime Minister Samuel Hinds by its Parliamentarian, Winston Felix, a former police chief. Felix was at the time asking the government side for an indication of when a critical citizens’ security report by Capita-Symonds Group, which was made public on December 31, 2012, will be laid in the National Assembly. Posed with the question, Prime Minister Hinds said that it should be directed to Rohee. There was unanimous approval from the government benches at this, as evidenced from the loud banging on the tables.

However, Felix was quickly on his feet, pointing out that the National Assembly last year passed a no confidence motion against the Minister and as such he

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee would not be allowed to “speak in this Parliament”.

However, Gail Teixeira of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) opined that Hinds, although head of the National Assembly, could not suitably answer the question and that it should be directed to Rohee. Teixeira, in agreeing with the Prime Minister, also suggested that Felix should place the questions in writing.

The sitting was chaired by Deputy Speaker Deborah Backer, of APNU. Speaker Raphael Trotman is reportedly out of the country. In ruling on the issue, Backer noted that while Teixeira could suggest that questions be placed in writing, it is hardly likely that the Parliamentarian (Felix)

APNU’s Winston Felix could be “directed” to do so.

She ruled that the National Assembly cannot force the Prime Minister, at whom the question was directed, to answer, and as such the issue ended there.

In late November, Speaker Trotman had ruled that an Opposition motion to prevent Rohee from speaking, be sent to a special committee.

Trotman’s ruling effectively blocked Rohee from tabling any Bills in Parliament until the matter has been heard by the Committee of Privileges. The Parliamentary committee, headed by the Speaker, is the one that can investigate the conduct of Members of Parliament.

Rohee, significantly, sits on the committee.

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Remove barriers that endanger, restrict persons with disabilities - PAHO/WHO The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is calling for the removal of barriers that endanger the health and restrict the participation of the estimated 140-180 million people with disabilities in the Americas.

Globally, some 15% of the world’s population—about 1 billion people—live with some type of disability, according to the WHO’s 2011 World Report on Disabilities.

In the coming years, disability rates are expected to grow as a result of population aging and the rise of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mental health problems.

Studies show that the most common disabilities in the region of the Americas are mobility-related, visual, mental, intellectual, communicational and visceral. The leading reported causes are chronic diseases, age-related decline, accidents of all types, problems related to pregnancy and childbirth, and occupational diseases.

As a group, people with disabilities tend to have worse health outcomes, poorer academic achievement, lower

rates of participation in the economy, and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities.

“Disabilities affect all sectors of society, and we need to formulate policies that recognize and promote the health and well-being of all people as a fundamental human right, irrespective of one’s functional status,” said Armando Vásquez, PAHO/ WHO regional advisor on disabilities. “We need to create a new culture of respect for difference and diversity, to promote equality of opportunity and a new political and social ethic.”

Major obstacles to improving the health of people with disabilities include a lack of clear policies on disabilities in the health sector; inadequate health services, especially rehabilitation services and the provision of assistive devices; poor coordination of services; and insufficient human resources, which negatively affect the quality, access and suitability of services for this group. “Unmet needs for rehabilitation can have negative consequences for people with disabilities, leading to general health deterioration, limitations on

their participation in activities, restriction of social participation and poorer quality of life,” said Vásquez.

Many countries have begun to adopt measures to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

However, a great deal of work remains to be done in such areas as formulating specific policies, programs and plans in the health sector addressing disabilities; ensuring that health systems are more inclusive and public health programs are accessible to people with disabilities; investing in the development of rehabilitation services and the provision of assistive devices; improving accessibility by introducing structural modifications into health facilities; using equipment with universal design characteristics; communicating information in appropriate formats, and special human resources training.

Also important is the implementation of rehabilitation activities at different levels, particularly at the community level.

In the Americas, many countries have developed situation analyses and

health-sector policies on people with disabilities, providing a framework for national programs and plans on care for people with disabilities in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which took effect in 2008. In addition, sub-regional cooperation has led to such initiatives as the Andean Policy on Care for People with Disabilities, which provides guidelines to help Andean countries develop specific

programs in this area.

Other areas of significant progress in the Americas include the development of programs for early detection and treatment of disabilities and the implementation of strategies for communitybased rehabilitation.

Vásquez also pointed to the development in most of the region’s countries of regulations on access (with emphasis on “universal design”). “Curitiba has the most accessible transportation system of any

city in Brazil, and people with disabilities can be mobilized through a network of integrated transportation,” he said.

PAHO provides technical cooperation to member countries in the development of health policies, programs and plans that take a comprehensive approach to disabilities. The organization also supports the development of services to provide assistive devices, as well as education and training of human resources for rehabilitation.

Rohee’s elaborate “security” plan has nothing new, govt. is desperate – APNU

By Latoya Giles “That elaborate security plan which was outlined in a statement by Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, on Old Year ’s Day was something on the cards for about 21 months, it (statement) has nothing new.

There is need to examine the cause of crime, drugs and gun smuggling. These serious issues are not being addressed by Rohee; instead he is talking about traffic accidents.” This opinion was expressed yesterday by APNU Leader David Granger during the coalition’s first press briefing for the new year. Granger demanded that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration “stop misleading the public, fiddling with the police and playing with new labels”. He said that they should instead introduce with a matter of urgency, a serious security strategy to protect the country’s citizens from criminal violence.

According to Granger, Rohee deliberately avoided references at his December 31, 2012 Press Conference, to the high rate of armed robberies, contraband-smuggling, gunrunning, money-laundering, narcotics-trafficking, peopletrafficking, piracy and banditry plaguing the country. He said that the minister’s so-called ‘plan’ failed to provide assurances that human safety will be enhanced and police conduct and performance will be improved. Granger further emphasised that his party demands that the CapitaSymonds Report - which was handed over to Mr. Rohee in March 2011, and now forms the basis of the new ‘plan’ be laid before the National Assembly.

He said that the report should also be published in the various media so that the public could read its contents

APNU’s Leader David Granger and assess its relevance to crime-fighting and the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Guyana Police Force.

Granger pointed out that there has been no shortage of so-called plans for security sector reform by the PPP/C administration over the past 12 years. He said that these efforts, however, have been deliberately derailed, and not one of them has been fully implemented.

He said that back in 2000, the British Department for International Development had funded consultants from the Symonds Group Limited, who later eleased their report on the Guyana Police Force after reviewing it, between October and November 2000.

Then in 2002, Granger said, the then President Bharrat Jagdeo promulgated a “menu of measures” claiming that they would improve the police force’s crime-fighting capacity. The former president went to London to meet the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to seek British assistance. Granger continued that in 2003 there was a Defence Advisory Team to Georgetown which conducted a study of the security sector and produced a report which recommended ways in which the Police Force’s capability could be

enhanced.

“It was in 2006 that British Parliamentary UnderSecretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Valerie Amos, and President Jagdeo agreed to a Statement of Principles which formed the basis on which the British Department for International Development proceeded with a fresh consultancy.

A new British-funded security sector reform team visited, in October 2006, and integrated various local and foreign initiatives into a holistic strategy. The PPPC administration adopted a Citizen Security Programme which was to be funded by a US$19.8 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Then in 2011, the British consultancy firm Capita-Symonds presented the final draft of the strategic plan for the modernization of the Guyana Police Force to the Home Affairs Ministry, on Thursday 29th March 2011.

Now in 2012, Mr. Clement Rohee made a statement to a Press Conference, on 31st December 2012, outlining recommendations contained in the same Capita-Symonds Report.”

APNU’s Deborah Backer said that the Symonds Report had called for the rebranding of the police force a long time ago. She added that “the government is desperate and is trying anything”. She said that it was the PNC who had recommended that the E and F divisions be separated.

She noted that back in 2008, when Rohee was confronted with the same report, he promised to implement it, but failed to do so.

Backer said that if the recommendations were taken into consideration the crime situation would have been better.

“Rohee is coming like the Messiah and trying everything. It’s like he is clutching at straws.”

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APNU calls for review of school feeding programmes - MP claims students “prostituting themselves” for food

By Abena Rockcliffe While government has indicated that it has invested a whopping $1.2B in school feeding programmes, an opposition parliamentarian yesterday stated in the National Assembly that there have been instances where children, both male and female, prostituted themselves in exchange for food.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Desmond Trotman, addressed the National Assembly on what he described as “the levels of starvation among primary and secondary school aged children” and asked the government whether or not there are plans to “as a matter of urgency” arrest the issue and lend a hand to those affected.

Trotman based his question upon the “fact” that “starvation is high among a large number of school children residing on the coast”. This he said can affect their school performance. The MP cited cases in Georgetown where children, both male and female, were found to have been sexually molested in exchange for food.

In the absence of Minister of Education, Priya

APNU MP Desmond Trotman Manikchand, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony responded that the government is not aware that there are cases of children being molested in exchange for food.

Anthony explained that the Education Ministry has long begun addressing issues of children’s nutrition through its three school feeding programmes. He outlined the programmes and their costs, stating that all have accumulated to $1.2 billion. He informed that the countrywide programme, namely the “juice and biscuit” programme cost the government $600M, while a community-based “hot meal” programme cost $550M and the “juice, peanut butter and

cassava” programme cost $50M. Dr. Anthony told the National Assembly that the juice and biscuit programme already addresses the coastal areas.

Trotman then asked that the Ministry of Education carry out a “pilot study” on how starvation among school-aged children affects those living in Georgetown and from that basis, the possible situation in other locations across Guyana, more specifically the coastal areas.

In response, Dr. Anthony noted that the government, in implementing the current school feeding programmes, had already carried out the relevant studies. However, he said that the MP’s concerns had been duly noted and he would see that the “relevant” individuals follow through in looking at the matter.

Also, the Minister asked Trotman to present a report on his gathered information so that Ministry personnel could have “something to work with” in relation to requisite investigations.

As it was resolved, acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Deborah Baker asked that both parties follow through in addressing the issue and presenting the requested information.

City Hall dismissals...

Implement recommendations to avert future mismanagement - Burrowes The sacking of several officers of the Georgetown Municipality comes as a direct result of the findings that were unearthed by the Keith Burrowes-led Implementation Committee.

The Committee had found a number of discrepancies in the operation of the municipality and had brought on board reputable Economist Ramon Gaskin to validate the damning findings. In addition to confirming what the Committee had revealed, Gaskin was also able to detect other inconsistencies which resulted in both the Auditor General’s Office and the Police being called in.

Several officers were sent home pending investigations.

Some of them have since been sacked by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, under whose purview the municipality falls. However,

while Burrowes, who is the Chairman of the Implementation Committee, says that he is pleased that expeditious action was taken following an investigation by the Auditor General, he is still concerned that more needs to be done to prevent further mismanagement at the city entity. “It is unprecedented that a Town Clerk and Treasurer of a municipality would be dismissed and the same thing repeats itself,” said Burrowes, as he alluded to a similar state of affairs a few years earlier where the then Town Clerk and City Treasurer were sacked in the face of financial mismanagement reports. This should have never occurred, Burrowes opined, since according to him “it follows logically that if you don’t take action, things will happen again. The 100-odd recommendations that the Committee had given

were not implemented. The Council had a comprehensive report to work with.”

According to Burrowes, there is need for the Ministry together with the Town Council to identify specific deadlines with a view to implementing the recommendations of the Committee.

This, he emphasised, is essential to ward off other potential cases of mismanagement at City Hall. “I would like the Ministry and the Town Council to map out an arrangement to ensure that the recommendations are implemented. There must also be a proper monitoring system so that we will not have this situation occurring again.” Burrowes asserted that he and a few members of the Committee are “more than willing” to continue to render assistance to the municipality with a view to improving its operations. Even as he offered comments on the dismissal of the officers, Burrowes said that he will make available to the media an in-depth statement on the matter.

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Sculptor Ivor Thom completes 1823 monument Guyanese sculptor Ivor Thom has completed work on the 1823 rebellion monument.

During a media briefing yesterday, Thom revealed that he has finished the bronze structure, even as works are ongoing at the actual site where the monument will be erected - a plot of land on Carifesta Avenue, east of GT&T’s Earth Station.

According to Thom, actual work on the monument began in December 2011 and was completed in August 2012. The date for its official unveiling is to be released.

However works are ongoing on the site where the monument will be mounted.

Thom said that a committee was established by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport and the site was chosen as well as the design for the monument. He added that there were several site proposals for the monument as was advertised in sections of the media.

Some of those suggestions included: Parade Ground; Success, East Coast Demerara; Victoria Law Courts; La Bonne Intention; Chateau Margot; Paradise; Melanie; Anns Grove; Bachelor’s Adventure and Mahaica. There were also some criteria, he pointed out, which the committee took into consideration before the current site was selected, such as physical and emotional connection to the rebellion, its being easily accessible to the wider public, and available parking.

In the meantime, construction work on the 1823 Monument site is ongoing at the aforementioned location.

This is despite calls by opposition parties as well as a number of organizations to have the monument erected at the Parade Ground, opposite the Promenade Gardens Several concerned citizens and groups are arguing that slaves were killed and grotesquely displayed at Parade Ground, and using that location would be a significant mark of respect.

They also claim that a sod turning ceremony for the construction of the monument was held there on August1, 2000.

Thom said his research proves that there was never any sod turning ceremony for the site.

Among the groups in opposition of the monument being erected on Carifesta Avenue are the All African Guyanese Council, the African Cultural and Development Association, the Pan-African Movement (Guyana branch), the African Welfare Council, the Guyana United Apostolic Mystical Council, the Forum for The Temples of Ka’Ma’atic

Guyanese sculptor Ivor Thom.

Spirituality, the Division of History at the University of Guyana, the Ghana Day Committee, The Committee For The Promotion Of The Decade Of The People Of African Descent, the Guyana Trades Union Congress, the Independence Group, the Kingdom of Descendants of Africans and the People’s Parliament. However, after considering accessibility, visibility and land space, Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony said it was decided that the monument would be erected at Carifesta Avenue.

The Minister had stated that if the monument is erected at Parade Ground, it would affect the playfield and basketball court there.

He explained that while thousands of slaves did take part in the rebellion, less than 30 were actually executed at the ground.

Instead, the slaves were killed in various places along the East Coast of Demerara, while their bodies were moved from plantation to plantation to be displayed.

He had also pointed out that the location selected, near the seawall, is a solid link to the East Coast locations, since all persons using the corridor would view it during their journey.

It was explained that in 2011, which was the International Year of Persons of African Descent, several announcements and advertisements were made nationally, calling for responses and suggestions in relation to the monument and its possible location. But there was reportedly no response.

Subsequently, the ministry went ahead, and after visiting all the locations where incidents took place and slaves were killed during the revolt, the decision was finally taken to place it at the seawall site.

The 1823 Monument was sculpted by Thom after he had won an open competition organized by the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry.

Construction work which is being carried out on Carifesta Avenue.

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Guyana’s coconut in vast demand - Agri Ministry promises to make industry a priority

There is now great demand for coconut locally, regionally, and internationally.

This is according to Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy who explained that Guyana’s coconut contains one of the thickest kernels in the world.

It is because of this that the Ministry of Agriculture has opted to make the coconut industry a priority for this year.

The Ministry’s end of year report stated that approximately 100,000 water nuts are required weekly to supply the local market’s

demand.

Its annual production (general) is about 240,000,000 nuts.

The Ministry via the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI) and the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) says that it will be working to further strengthen its coconut revitalization which was implemented in 2009.

A National Stakeholder Coconut Conference with international participation is expected to be held this month, to discuss ways of reaching these demands, as well as to promote a capacity

to take advantage of the opportunities to export products such as coconut water and coconut oil.

In 2012, the Ministry established “research and development support” for value-added products from coconuts, so as to allow it to become more profitable. This, Ramsammy explained, will see an increase in the incomes of poor farmers, via training and education programmes.

Last month saw the Ministry of Agriculture hosting an internal coconut assessment meeting, allowing new focus to be brought on to the coconut industry.

Friday January 4, 2013

Ministry’s strategic plan to help refine health care delivery Aided by its Strategic Plan which is being dubbed ‘Health Vision 20/20’, the Ministry of Health is poised to renew its delivery of health care premised on the two main pillars of primary health care and social determinants.

This notion was amplified recently when top health officials including Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran and Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud briefed the media on the 2012 accomplishments and future plans of the Ministry.

Speaking directly to the issue of primary health care, Dr Persaud said that “we know that there needs to be some strengthening of the primary health care services altogether.”

However, he insisted that there has been lots of development of infrastructure and human resources. Added to this, he said that “I have been working on improving guidelines for management so that we have a consistent application of medical services that are of a good quality throughout the country.”

Nevertheless, there are yet challenges in areas such as the delivery of laboratory services, said Dr Persaud, who is optimistic that “we can improve these services as time goes by. We are looking at developing those in terms of primary health care.”

He explained that a lot of work is currently done through mobile laboratory

services and even in collaboration with some disease control programmes like malaria, where microscopy service is offered.

Like primary health care, Dr Persaud noted that the social determinants are also a very critical part of the whole process of renewing the delivery of health care since “we recognise that chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are a major challenge now...not only here in Guyana, but across the developed and developing world, so getting more people involved in health care is a critical part of this development.”

A c c o r d i n g l y, the Ministry’s Strategic plan entails a component which focuses on efforts which will be made to first of all facilitate the establishment of a National Commission on NCDs. This move, according to Dr Persaud, is high on t h e H e a l t h M i n i s t r y ’s agenda and comes as a recommendation of the Port of Spain Declaration which was signed by Caricom’s Heads of Government in 2007.

At that forum, countries were asked to establish a body that could oversee and bring together all the stakeholders involved in the fight against NCDs, said Dr Persaud.

“So that Commission is being proposed...we hope that we will (this year) establish that Commission and the Commission will take this head-on.” However the

Chief Medical Officer, is convinced that all of the approaches dealing with the various risk factors cannot all be addressed by the Health Ministry, but other agencies must render support as well.

He was at the time alluding to the importance of diet, the choices of food and the need for more playfields and exercise to help address the impact of NCDs, which are often fuelled by lifestyle choices.

“It is a complex area involving not only Health, but also the Ministries of Agriculture, Trade and Culture, Youth and Sport, and these are some of the things we want to work on as priority for 2013,” Dr Persaud added.

As part of its NCDs programme, he noted that efforts will also be made to look at the expansion of health promotion and utilising some of the media outfits that can actually meet young people and children in particular.

In this regard, Dr Persaud said that efforts will be made to take advantage of the learning channel and the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative.

“I understand that very soon we will set up clubs at about 10 schools to commence access by OLPF recipients to the internet.

We hope that we can utilise that mechanism to share some vital information on diet and exercise and things that children need to do to reduce the prevalence of teen and adolescent obesity in our society.”

Friday January 4, 2013

Kaieteur News

Parliament proposes more judges for Guyana - error in sexual offences legislation fixed Government will move to introduce amendments to the laws shortly that will see an increase in the number of judges in the High Court.

The shortage has been blamed on the huge backlog of cases in the High Court which has over the years been clogging the justice system.

This has been the subject of much criticism by legal minds and other affected persons. There have been cases before the court for more than a decade.

The announcement was made by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, yesterday during the first sitting of the National Assembly of the new year.

The assembly earlier passed a significant amendment to the Sexual Offences Bill which was passed in 2010, but due to an oversight, allowed persons charged with rape not to be able to defend themselves in

the Magistrates’ Court.

That Bill allowed the magistrate to rule on a paper committal and send the matter straight to the High Court. A paper committal is when the magistrate reads the brief and decides on that reading that there is enough evidence for a trial.

The amendment was unanimously carried by both

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that low-income countries face the slow pace of the global recovery and increased volatility in food and fuel prices. However, a number of Caribbean and other low-income countries will benefit from a two-year extension of the zero-interest rate charged on loans by the Washington-based entity.

The IMF said the extension is part of a wider strategy to support concessional lending to poorer countries as they combat the effects of the global economic crisis.

Following further weakening of global growth and low-income countries’ declining ability to weather the crisis, the IMF said it approved a second extension to the exceptional interest waiver on loans under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).

The move, approved by the IMF executive board, extends the waiver through 2014.

In addition, the IMF announced a postponement by one year to end 2014, of the next review of PRGT interest rates.

“The executive board decision to keep interest rates at zero for all concessional loans for a further two years is testament to the Fund’s continued support for lowincome countries since the

global economic crisis hit in 2009,” said IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.

Lagarde said the zerointerest rate extension follows other recent steps by the IMF to bolster lending to poorer countries that include increased resources, higher borrowing limits, and more flexible terms.

She said these moves stem from the major overhaul of the Fund’s support programmes for low-income countries in mid-2009, which created a new framework for loans to the world’s poorest nations and initially set zero interest rates on concessional loans through 2011.

This is the second extension of the zero interest rates, the IMF said.

After the first biannual review under the PRGT interest rate mechanism in December 2011, the IMF said it decided that the significant downside risks to the global economic outlook required a one-year extension, through 2012, of zero interest rates on concessional facilities.

After the global financial crisis first erupted in 2008, the IMF said it stepped up its lending to Caribbean and other low-income countries to combat the impact of the ensuing recession.

Initially, the IMF said poorer countries succeeded in adjusting policies to offset the worst effects of the crisis.

But it pointed out that this

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C), A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).

In defending the amendment, the Attorney General noted that the Sexual Offences Bill was considered a landmark one when passed by the National Assembly in 2010 after wide ranging consultations.

However, it ran into problem in August of that year after Chief Justice (ag), Ian Chang, ruled that it is unconstitutional for a rape accused to not have an opportunity to defend himself/herself in the lower court.

Since that ruling, magistrates have been reluctant to use the paper committal route to send matters directly to the High Court…a horrendous situation, the AG said.

The amendment to the Sexual Offences Bill also included changes to allow minors who are witnesses to not have to sign but leave an identifying mark.

C’bean countries to benefit from extension of zero-interest loans - IMF success was partially reversed in 2011, with many low-income countries having limited fiscal space and running current account deficits that were higher than pre-crisis levels.

It said a recent review of low-income countries’ facilities noted a strong and continuous demand for fund support.

According to the IMF, empirical evidence shows that, over the long term, IMFbacked programs help raise growth, reduce poverty, and boost resilience to shocks in low-income economies.

The IMF said the PRGT replaced an earlier support programme and has been fully operational since January 2010. It added that the lending commitments to low-income countries have been approved under all three PRGT facilities the Extended Credit facility, Standby Credit Facility and the Rapid Credit Facility. The IMF said these facilities allow for greater access to financing and offer more flexible terms than previously.

In response to the increasing financial needs of low-income countries during the global financial crisis, the IMF said its concessional lending increased significantly from US$1.2 billion in 2008 to US$3.8 billion in 2009, and US$1.8 billion in 2010 to US$1.9 billion in 2011

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More fiscal clashes loom as new Congress opens WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Congress opened for business yesterday to confront long-festering national problems, deficits and immigration among them, in an intensely partisan and crisis-driven era of divided government. “The American dream is in peril,” said House Speaker John Boehner, reelected to his post despite a mini-revolt in Republican ranks.

Moments after grasping an oversized gavel that symbolizes his authority, Boehner implored the assembly of newcomers and veterans in the 113th Congress to tackle the nation’s heavy burden of debt at long last. “We have to be willing — truly willing — to make this right.”

Also on the two-year agenda is the first significant effort at an overhaul of the tax code in more than a quarter century. Republicans and Democrats alike say they want to chop at a thicket of existing tax breaks and use the resulting revenue to reduce rates.

There were personal

milestones aplenty as the winners of last fall’s races swore an oath of office as old as the republic.

Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Deb Fischer of Nebraska were among the newcomers sworn in, raising the number of women in the Senate to a record 20. Tim Scott of South Carolina became the first black Republican on the Senate in more than three decades.

On the first day of a new term, one old-timer made a stirring comeback.

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois returned to the Capitol for the first time since suffering a stroke a year ago, walking slowly up the 45 steps to the Capitol with the use of a cane. “Good to see you, guys,” he said.

Across the Capitol, children and grandchildren squirmed through opening formalities that ended with Boehner’s election as the most powerful Republican in a government where

President Barack Obama will soon be sworn in to a second term and his fellow Democrats control the Senate.

“At $16 trillion and rising, our national debt is draining free enterprise and weakening the ship of state,” said the Ohio Republican, whose struggles to control his members persisted to the final weekend of the 112th Congress when “fiscal cliff” legislation finally c l e a r e d . “The American dream is in peril so long as its namesake is weighed down by this anchor of debt. Break its hold and we will begin to set our economy free. Jobs will come home. Confidence will come back.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he, too, is ready for attempts to rein in federal spending, but laid down a few conditions.

“Any future budget agreements must balance the need for thoughtful spending reductions with revenue from the wealthiest among us and closing wasteful tax loopholes,” he said. That was in keeping with Obama’s

remarks after Congress had agreed on fiscal cliff legislation to raise taxes for the wealthy while keeping them level for the middle class.

Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have other ideas, both having said in recent days that the days of raising taxes are over.

“Now is the time to get serious about spending,” McConnell said. “And if the past few weeks have taught us anything, that means the president needs to show up early this time.” People won’t “tolerate the kind of lastminute crises that we’ve seen again and again over the past four years as a result of this president’s chronic inactivity and refusal to lead on the pressing issues of the day.”

While neither Boehner nor Reid mentioned immigration in their openingday speeches, Obama is expected to highlight the issue in the first State of the Union address of his new term. Lawmakers are already working toward a compromise they hope can clear both houses.

Most Democrats have long favored legislation to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, and Republicans have stoutly resisted. Now, though, many within the GOP appear ready to reconsider, after watching with alarm as Obama ran up an estimated 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in winning re-election over Mitt Romney in November.

There is little doubt that fiscal issues are at the forefront, though, as they have been since the economy cratered more than four years ago. The issue dominated the just-ended Congress from beginning to end as tea party-backed lawmakers pressed relentlessly to cut spending and reduce deficits.

They met with decidedly mixed success.

They won Obama’s signature on $1 trillion in cuts over a decade after using the debt limit as leverage, but were forced into a humiliating surrender a year ago after trying to block an extension in payroll tax cuts. And in the last major act of the 112th Congress, they were forced

to swallow legislation that contained next-to-no spending cuts, raised tax rates on the wealthy while keeping them even for the middle class and boosted deficits by an estimated $4 trillion over a decade.

And now, the newly enfranchised Congress will begin by raising deficits.

National flood insurance legislation to help victims of Hurricane Sandy will create slightly more than $9 billion in red ink if it passes as expected on Friday. A followup disaster aid measure that Boehner has said will be brought to a vote on Jan. 15 would add $27 billion — more if the bill grows, as seems likely, after it is reconciled with a $60-billion Senate version.

The next big clash is expected to begin within weeks. A two-month delay in automatic spending cuts expires at the end of February.

As well, the administration will seek authority to borrow more money in late winter or early spring, and financing expires for most government agencies on March 27.

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Fighting rages around Syrian military air base BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops and rebels fought intense battles yesterday around a strategic air base in the country’s north and a suburb of the capital that government forces have been trying to capture since last month, activists and state media said.

The fighting is part of the escalating violence in a Syrian civil war that the United Nations estimates has killed more than 60,000 people since the revolt against President Bashar Assad began in March 2011.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels stormed parts of the Taftanaz air base in the northwestern province of Idlib before withdrawing.

The state-run SANA news agency said government forces protecting the base “repelled the terrorists’ attempt to attack the airport” and inflicted heavy losses.

The Syrian regime

Forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad walk on the rubble of damaged buildings and shops in the old city of Aleppo January 3, 2013. REUTERS/George Ourfalian routinely refers to rebel forces as “terrorists.”

The Observatory said rebels resumed their assault early yesterday in an attempt to capture the base, which has resisted several opposition

efforts to take the facility in recent months.

The rebels have been pursuing a strategy of attacking airports and military airfields, targeting five air bases in Idlib and the nearby

India paying welfare directly, aiming to end fraud

Impoverished and homeless people stand in a queue to receive free food from a volunteer organization in front of a temple, in New Delhi, India, last Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) NEW DELHI (AP) — India will pay billions of dollars in social welfare money directly to its poor under a new program that aims to cut out the middlemen blamed for the massive fraud that plagues the system.

Previously officials only handed out cash to the poor after taking a cut — if they didn’t keep all of it for themselves — and were known to enroll fake recipients or register unqualified people. The program inaugurated Tuesday would see welfare money directly deposited into recipients’ bank accounts and require them to prove their identity with biometric

data, such as fingerprints or retina scans.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has described the venture as “nothing less than magical,” but critics accuse the government of hastily pushing through a complex program in a country where millions don’t have access to electricity or paved roads, let alone neighborhood banks. The program is loosely based on Brazil’s widely praised Bolsa Familia program, which has helped lift more than 19 million people out of poverty since 2003. It will begin in 20 of the country’s 640 districts Tuesday, affecting more than 200,000 recipients, and will be

progressively rolled out in other areas in the coming months, Chidambaram said Monday. The country has 440 million people living below the poverty line.

“In a huge new experiment like this you should expect some glitches. There may be a problem here and there, but these will be overcome by our people,” Chidambaram said.

He appealed for patience with the program, which he called “a game changer for governance.”

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the ruling Congress party of using the program to gain political mileage ahead of elections expected in 2014.

province of Aleppo, trying to chip away at the government’s air power, which poses the biggest obstacle to advances by opposition fighters.

With its troops struggling to make headway — let alone gain ground — against the rebels in the field, the government has increasingly

relied on its warplanes and helicopters to target opposition forces.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, reported clashes, air raids and shelling in several suburbs of the capital Damascus, including Daraya, which the regime has been trying to capture from hundreds of opposition fighters for weeks.

The pro-government alWatan daily said yesterday that the army destroyed rebel strongholds in Daraya and inflicted heavy losses, adding that the area would be declared safe later in the day.

Daraya lies in a key location, and a government takeover there would provide a boost to the regime’s defense of Damascus.

The suburb is just a few kilometers (miles) from the strategic military air base of Mazzeh in a western neighborhood of the capital.

It borders the Kfar Sousseh neighborhood that is home to the government headquarters, the General Security intelligence agency

head office and the Interior Ministry, which was the target of a recent suicide bombing that wounded the interior minister.

Al-Watan said thousands of rebel fighters from the extremists Jabhat al-Nusra group have holed up in Daraya in preparation to storm Damascus. Jabhat alNusra, which has been branded a terrorist organization by the U.S. and which Washington claims is affiliated with al-Qaida, has been among the most effective fighting forces on the rebel side.

One of the airstrikes hit a building in the Damascus suburb of Douma. Amateur videos showed the top floor of the building heavily damaged as wounded were rushed away in cars and pickup trucks. Many of the wounded were covered with dust.

People rushed to rescue the wounded in a street that was covered with debris and mangled metal.

The Observatory and the LCC said eight people were killed Thursday in Douma and nearby areas. Damascus.

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U.S. drone strike kills key Pakistan – sources Taliban commander (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed a key Taliban commander, his deputy and eight others in northwest Pakistan, intelligence sources and tribal leaders said yesterday, deaths that could substantially alter the power balance in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan.

Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir, was killed on Wednesday night when missiles struck a mud house in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, intelligence sources and residents said.

He had survived at least one previous drone attack and was wounded weeks earlier in a bomb attack believed to have been launched by Taliban rivals.

His key commanders and his deputy, Ratta Khan, were also killed in the attack at Angoor Adda, near the provincial capital of Wana, sources said.

Nazir had expelled foreign militants from his area, favoured attacking American

Maulvi Nazir Wazir, also known as Mullah Nazir forces in Afghanistan and had signed non-aggression pacts with the Pakistani military in 2007 in 2009.

That put him at odds with some other Pakistan Taliban commanders, but earned him a reputation as a “good” Taliban among some in the Pakistan military.

Nazir’s successor was announced in front of a

crowd of thousands at his funeral, a witness said. People will be watching closely to see if fellow Wazir tribesman Salahud Din Ayubi continues with Nazir’s policies.

The military has a large base in Wana, where Nazir and his men were based.

Nazir presided over an uneasy peace between the militants and the army there, but the truce was endangered by the military’s alliance with the United States and drone strikes, a military officer said recently.

“The (drone) programme is making things very difficult for us. Nazir is the sole remaining major militant leader willing to be an ally,” he said.

“If he decides to side with (Pakistan Taliban leader) Hakimullah, thousands of fighters will come to the frontlines against the Pakistani military. It is in our interest to keep him neutral, if not on our side, because then we can direct our resources

against anti-state militants with much greater efficiency.”

Militants have launched a string of attacks in Pakistan in recent months, including shooting dead 16 aid workers and an attack by multiple suicide bombers on the airport in the northern city of Peshawar.

Residents said the main market in Wana shut down on Thursday to mark Nazir’s death. The were calls over loudspeakers for prayers for his soul.

“The tribesmen are very grieved at his death as he was our hero.

He had expelled all the foreign militants from our villages and towns and given real freedom to our people,” a local shopkeeper in Wana bazaar, Siraj Noor Wazir, said.

Foreign militants, particularly Uzbeks, are disliked in some parts of the Pakistani tribal areas because of their perceived brutality towards civilians.

Nazir was wounded in the market in a bombing in

November, widely believed to be a result of his rivalries with other Taliban commanders.

Six others were killed in the same attack.

Both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban draw support from ethnic Pashtuns, who live on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border. Rivalry between militant factions often reflects old rivalries between Pashtun tribes.

Shortly after the bombing, Nazir’s Wazir tribe told the Mehsud tribe, related to Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, to leave the area.

Hakimullah Mehsud’s men frequently target the Pakistani army.

The army has clawed back territory from the Taliban since launching a military offensive in 2009. North Waziristan, along the Afghan border, is now the key Pakistan Taliban stronghold.

Pakistan’s ally the United States is eager for it to push further forward into North Waziristan before NATO

troops begin drawing down in Afghanistan in 2014 but the military says it needs to consolidate its gains.

Senior U.S. officials have frequently charged that some elements within P a k i s t a n ’s security services retain ties to some Ta l i b a n commanders because they wish to use the Taliban to counter the influence of archrival India.

Four men in a car were killed in North Waziristan in a separate drone strike, local residents said. Their identity was not immediately known.

Intensified U.S. drone strikes have killed many senior Taliban leaders, including the former leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, in 2009.

The strikes dramatically increased when U.S. President Barack Obama took office. There were only five drone strikes in 2007. The number of strikes peaked at 117 in 2010 before declining to 46 last year.

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Pan-Jam takes bigger stake in Jamaica Marriott project Jamaica Gleaner - Property company Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust has increased its stake in the proposed US$23 million (J$2b) Courtyard by Marriott hotel project from one-quarter to more than one-third in the wake of the exit of an unnamed fourth investor.

The project forms part of Pan Jam’s goal to increase its foreign-exchange earning potential.

Essentially, Pan-Jam’s stake will increase from US$5.7 million to US$8 million, according to Wednesday Business calculations of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimates of the total project cost.

“The company shareholding was adjusted to facilitate one of the partners.

And we were happy to increase our shareholding to 35.5 per cent from 24 per cent.

We always wanted a larger stake in the project,” said Stephen Facey, president of Pan-Jam. “It’s a good thing because Jamaica increased its stake in the project.”

The Courtyard by Marriott in Kingston will be operated by Marriott International.

The IDB indicates that construction would cost “US$23 million”, of which US$12.6 million would include the total debt facility financed equally by IDB and the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, the IFC. The current shareholders in the project include Caribe

Stephen Facey Hospitality SA (Costa Rica), Pan Jam and Moutte Capital (Trinidad), said Facey, who declined to name the former fourth investor.

The hotel project will be managed by Caribe Hospitality Jamaica Limited, incorporated in 2005, with Caribe Hospitality SA now holding 65 per cent and PanJam holding 35 per cent since May 2012, Companies Office of Jamaica records indicate.

Facey said that real-estate mogul Christian Moutte, who heads Moutte Capital, is the third shareholder in the venture.

Moutte’s participation is via an arrangement with Caribe Hospitality, said Facey. The fourth investor who has pulled out is not a Jamaican company, he said.

Caribe Hospitality of Jamaica directors include Facey, and Christian Moutte, Daniel Campos, John Keith and Edgar Zurcher of Costa Rica, according to Companies Office records.

One of the minority

partners wanted to cash out.

They wanted to pursue other ventures.”

Facey explained that the project planning commenced in 2005, but land acquisition and regulatory approvals delayed the project timeline.

The project entails a sixstorey 130-room hotel on 15,000 square metres of property located off Knutsford Boulevard, specifically behind Emancipation Park, and next to the National Housing Trust building, in New Kingston. Construction on the hotel is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013, Pan-Jam said in November.

The hotel plans were initially announced in 2009 with the purchase of lands in New Kingston by the Facey family-controlled group.

The IFC last week indicated in its preparation for loan disbursements for the project, that the plan had met its environmental and health standards.

The IFC statement followed a review of the social and environmental information provided by the project developer, Caribe Hospitality of Jamaica. It covered construction plans, questionnaires and a town hall meeting held in October.

“The proposed IFC funding for this project would be supplied under the terms of a facility agreement already defined between IFC and the project sponsor, Caribe Hospitality SA,” said the IFC.

Friday January 4, 2013

Govt. urged to protect women’s rights Jamaica Gleaner - Several women’s organisations are calling for an improvement in the way women are treated in the island, stating that last year was a less-thanfavourable year for the vulnerable group.

Executive director of Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre, Dorothy Whyte, said while the current economic climate is limiting the Government’s effort, more can be done to address issues such as crime which continue to plague the group.

“Last year, despite the attempts to make women more secure, there were so many atrocities that were highlighted through the media, half of which we don’t even hear because a lot of the incidents were not reported.

Last year was a pretty poor year,” Whyte told The Gleaner.

“I hope that there will be an increase in the plans that are made to ensure safety for women, for girls and for the entire family. We want to see some definite and serious actions taken to address this very serious problem in society,” she added.

Whyte also said it was time women take on more responsibilities for their families and take up leadership positions in the country.

“We want women in the informal communities realising that they have a vital role to play in the society, and

Dorothy Whyte the role that they can play is through how they lead and encourage their families to think positively and encourage their children to be in school. We want to see women taking on more leadership roles and not holding themselves back.”

Coordinator for public education and legal reform at Women’s Inc, Joyce Hewett, said at the top on her group’s agenda was to lobby for the signing of the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the enactment of a sexual-

harassment legislation.

“We have been fighting for years to have the optional protocol signed. While the Government had ratified the convention itself, women do not have a right when they have exhausted all legal remedies that they can take their case forward to the United Nations, and it is the optional protocol that will give them the right to do so,” she argued. “Also, the harassment legislation is important and we don’t want a policy, we want a sexualharassment legislation and this must come to the front burner for 2013,” she added.

LIME lays off 97 workers in Barbados - employees to meet with union

Barbados Nation Barbados’ telecom provider LIME Wednesday announced that it will lay off 97 employees.

Managing Director Alex McDonald said substantial losses have forced the company to make the cuts.

He said the layoffs were immediate.

Affected LIME workers were locked in a meeting with officials at the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) at its headquarters at Solidarity House in St Michael yesterday.

It is expected that BWU General Secretary Sir Roy Trotman will update the Press later on the outcome of the talks with workers.

Wednesday Barbados’ main telecommunication service provider LIME announced it was sending home 97 employees with immediate effect.

Managing Director Alex McDonald spoke of poor

Sir Roy Trotman customer service and substantial losses and told Barbadians that the company had no choice but to make critical business changes, one of which was to reduce its retail business and invest in new technologies.

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Argentina’s president urges Dominica intends to end Falklands talks with Britain ties with Privy Council

LONDON (Reuters) Britain rejected calls yesterday from Argentine President Cristina Fernandez for talks over the disputed Falkland Islands after she wrote an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron.

Britain and Argentina fought a 10-week war in 1982 over the remote South Atlantic islands, which are part of Britain’s selfgoverning overseas territories and are known in Argentina as Las Malvinas.

Fernandez has marked the 30th anniversary of the conflict with a sustained diplomatic campaign to assert Argentina’s sovereignty claim, whose significance has been raised by oil exploration in the waters around the islands.

In her letter, published in British newspapers, Fernandez accused Britain of breaching United Nations resolutions urging the two countries to negotiate a solution to the dispute.

“The question of the Malvinas Islands is also a cause embraced by Latin America and by a vast majority of peoples and

Cristina Fernandez governments around the world that reject colonialism,” Fernandez wrote.

Cameron rejected her call for negotiations, sticking to London’s stance that the approximately 3,000 people of the Falkland Islands had chosen to be British.

“The future of the Falkland Islands should be determined by the Falkland Islanders themselves,” he said. “Whenever they have been asked their opinion they have said they want to maintain their current status

with the United Kingdom.”

The islanders are expected to vote overwhelmingly in favor of the existing arrangement in a referendum this year.

“I hope the president of Argentina will listen to that referendum and recognize it is for the Falkland Islanders to choose their future,” Cameron said.

“As long as they choose to stay with the United Kingdom, they have my 100 percent backing,” he added.

Fernandez said her open letter was timed to coincide with the 180th anniversary of the day when Argentina was “forcibly stripped” of the islands in what she called a “blatant exercise of 19th century colonialism”.

Noting that the islands are 14,000 km (8,700 miles) from London, Fernandez accused Britain of expelling Argentines from the territory and carrying out a “population implantation process”.

Britain disputes this, saying no civilian population was expelled from the Falklands on or after January 3, 1833.

Anti-crime initiatives to be announced

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC - Following reports of a decline in murders and violent crimes across the country in 2012, the Portia Simpson Miller led administration has announced that it will be revealing additional anticrime initiatives this year.

Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, in commending the police on the significant progress made said an announcement on the new measures will be made early this month.

“There will be the intensification of the initiatives and strategies that worked in 2012 as well as there will be new initiatives” He also stated that the decline in the crime figures is expected to continue this year. “…Particularly since the last quarter of last year showed a very encouraging reduction of about 20 per cent in the number of murders relative to the corresponding period in 2011.

So this gives a positive momentum to go into 2013” he said.

According to information from the Police Statistics and Data Management Unit all categories of crime showed

Peter Bunting reductions in 2012.

One thousand and eight seven (murders were recorded – the lowest in nine years.

It was also revealed that seven police divisions recorded significant reductions in murder.

The police have reported that intelligence-driven raids and increased vehicle checkpoints resulted in a sharp increase in the recovery of firearms and ammunition in 2012.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has welcomed the reduction in major crimes for 2012.

JLP spokesman on National Security Delroy Chuck, commended the Police Force for the reduction in crime and called for the government to provide the force with the necessary resources to continue the fight Regarding the tools to fight crime, Chuck said, the government should introduce the anti-gang legislation, which was crafted under the previous administration of the JLP more than a year ago.

Barbados Nation ROSEAU, Dominica –Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says he intends writing Britain later this month seeking permission for Dominica to sever ties with the London-based Privy Council in order to join the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

“This month, January 2013 God’s willing, we shall write formally to the British government indicating to them our intention of severing ties with the Privy Council and seeking their agreement on that,” Skerrit said.

“As you know the Constitution of Dominica calls

Roosevelt Skerrit for a negotiated departure with the British government,”

Skerrit said, adding “if that is done it will not require a referendum, so we just have to get an agreement with the British government.

“Certainly in 2013 Dominica will move very speedily to recognise the CCJ as our final court,” he said, noting that the island has been paying for the regional court established in 2001 to replace the Privy Council.

CARICOM countries have taken a US$100 million loan from the Barbadosbased Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to meet the operation of the CCJ and ensure its financial independence.

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Disputes brewing over Hugo Chavez’s inauguration CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez is due to be sworn in for a new term in less than a week and his closest allies still aren’t saying what they plan to do if the ailing leader is unable to return from a Cuban hospital to take the oath of office.

Chavez hasn’t been seen or heard from since his Dec. 11 cancer surgery, and speculation has grown that his illness could be reaching its final stages. The president’s elder brother Adan joined a parade of visitors to Havana this week, while the vice president apparently delayed plans to return home after at least two bedside visits with Chavez.

The government has provided few details but describes Chavez’s condition, after complications due to a respiratory infection, as “delicate.”

His health crisis has raised contentious questions ahead of the swearing-in set for Jan. 10, including whether the inauguration could legally be postponed, whether Supreme Court justices might travel to Havana to administer the oath

In this Dec. 18, 2007 file photo Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, left, talks to then Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro at the University of Uruguay in Montevideo, Uruguay. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File) of office, and, most of all, what will happen if Chavez can’t begin his new term.

The main fault lines run between Chavez’s backers and opponents.

But while the president’s

allies so far appear united, analysts have speculated that differences might emerge between factions led by Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s chosen successor and vice president, and Diosdado

Cabello, the president of the National Assembly, who is thought to wield power within the military and who would be in line to temporarily assume the presidency until a new election can be held.

Cabello has dismissed

rumors of any discord within the socialist party and issued a Twitter message on Wednesday asserting “the unbreakable will of revolutionary unity.”

“We Chavistas are very clear on what we will do,” he said in another message, telling the opposition it should “take care of what you all will do.”

But as of yesterday, the plans of Chavez’s allies remained a mystery.

The Ve n e z u e l a n Constitution says the presidential oath should be taken Jan. 10 before the National Assembly, and officials have raised the possibility that Chavez might not be well enough to do that, without saying what will happen if he can’t.

Chavez said before his fourth cancer-related operation that if his illness prevented him from remaining president, Maduro should finish his current term and be his p a r t y ’s c a n d i d a t e t o replace him in a new election. The constitution says that if a president or president-elect dies or is

declared unable to continue in office, presidential powers should be held temporarily by the president of the National Assembly, who is now Cabello. It says a new presidential vote should be held within 30 days.

Opposition leaders have argued Chavez, who was re-elected to a six-year term in October, seems no longer fit to continue as president and have demanded that a new election be held within 30 days if he isn’t in Caracas on inauguration day.

“On Jan. 10 the current presidential term ends and another begins,” opposition leader Ramon Guillermo Aveledo said We d n e s d a y.

“If the president-elect can’t attend the swearing-in for reasons related to his health ... the president of the National Assembly should temporarily take charge of the presidency.”

But some of Chavez’s close confidants dismiss the view that the inauguration date is a hard deadline, saying Chavez could be given more time to recover from his surgery if necessary.

Manning faces tough 2013 - Hampered by ill health...

Trinidad Express - When it comes to titans in local politics- few figures loom large.

San Fernando East Member of Parliament Patrick Manning is one of them.

As this country’s longest-serving Member of Parliament, he’s served as Opposition Leader, political leader of the People’s National Movement (PNM) and has had several turns as Prime Minister.

As a geologist Prime Minister, Manning’s development strategy for Trinidad and Tobago was largely energy-based, but couched within developednation status of a Vision 2020 which he had for this country.

On January 23, 2012, Manning, whose decision to call early general elections in 2010 resulted in a massive defeat for the PNM at the polls, suffered a stroke at his Sumadh Gardens residence in Vistabella.

The news was cause for pause- whatever emotions Manning inspired as a political figure, his contribution to the country’s growth was unquestioned.

With a political investment at the age of 24, Manning gained extensive

Patrick Manning knowledge of the country’s economic history, having served as Minister of Energy as well as Minister of Information and Minister of Industry and Commerce.

And while his tenure ended as Prime Minister on two controversies- his support of former UDeCOTT executive chairman Calder Hart and his project manager position as it related to the church at Guanapo for spiritual adviser Juliana Pena, Manning remained committed to his profession of choice- politics. And had the suaveness to wear his power well.

Despite the aloof approach he took to politics

when the PNM was shelved to the Opposition bench, he continued to represent San Fernando East, which he’s done since 1971.

His statements in 2012 were short and judicious and made largely through the social media.

He withdrew two lawsuits which he had initiated challenging a decision of Parliament’s Privileges Committee.

After he was found guilty by the committee for statements made on November 19, 2010, during the debate on the Interception of Communications legislation, Manning initiated legal action.

His comments concerned Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s private residence in Phillipine, South Trinidad.

The former prime minister had sought leave from the court to challenge Parliament’s decision to suspend him and also sought to challenge the committee’s decision to refuse his request to have his lawyer question witnesses who were before the committee.

But the stroke undeniably marked an end to persistent political rumours that he was planning a comeback within the PNM to oust political leader Dr Keith Rowley.

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Scotiabank unveils another range of services

Scotiabank has launched a number of features to allow online and telephone bill payments.

Scotiabank has added another range of services to its wide array, making Guyana more current with trends worldwide. The financial institution yesterday disclosed that it has introduced Scotia Online, Scotia Mobile and Telescotia.

The new features will allow customers at home and aboard to pay their phone, light, water, internet, cable and insurance bills at any time, from anywhere.

According to Scotiabank, it was able to establish linkages with the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), Digicel, Guyana Net, Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Insurance Company (GTM), Movie Star and Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). GT&T customers can also pay their DSL bill with the facility.

“While the service was launched several months ago, we wanted to ensure that the process was seamless before we promoted it publicly.

We are confident that consumers will find our bill payment service hassle-free and secure,” said Amanda St. Aubyn, Country Manager.

Customers must first sign up for Scotia Online by

v i s i t i n g www.guyana.scotiabank.com.

Once the sign up is completed, customers can click on the Bill Payment and Manage Payees tabs to set up their bill payment accounts.

Once the set up is completed, a bill payment can be completed within a few minutes. Customers can then sign up for Scotia Mobile with their internet-enabled handset to be able to pay bills via their mobile phones.

According to the bank, for those customers who do not have internet access via a computer or mobile phone, Telescotia is the perfect solution. All one has to do is sign up for Telescotia and follow the prompts to set up bill payment.

“Customers must have their Scotiacard ready when signing up for Scotia Online and Telescotia.

This service is perfect for persons who live overseas or those who do not have the time to wait in line to pay their bills. Payments made before 17:00 hrs are sent to the companies the next business day.”

Customers get a confirmation number for each bill payment which can be printed and kept as proof of payment.

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Demolition crew leaves Victoria family under the stars

Albert Christie (right) and several members of his family including his wife (extreme left) stand in front of their dismantled house.

The Christie family had not yet completed celebrating the festive season when a demolition crew, acting with a court order, abruptly disrupted their livelihood yesterday afternoon by destroying the two-storey house they had occupied for the past 33 years.

The family, consisting of 20 persons, is now sleeping under the stars in the said yard, having vowed not to be “bullied” out of the property, despite the order of the court.

The dispute is between

Albert Christie and Desmond Saul over a plot of land at Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara.

Christie is claiming that he has a transport for the plot of land on which his house, a two-storey wooden and concrete structure, with three bedrooms in the upper flat and two below, has been located for the past three decades, while Saul told this newspaper that he legally acquired the land in the 1980s.

The matter has been engaging the High Court, with

Christie claiming that his Transport was found to be legal by way of prescriptive rights, and Saul challenging its authenticity.

Saul, who was domiciled in Canada for a while, told this newspaper that after acquiring the land, he had offered Christie and other “squatters” lease arrangements, since they had already had buildings there.

He said that all the other persons, except Christie accepted the proposal.

“He (Christie) said that he

Christie and his family could only watch helplessly as the demolition crew dismantled their house. doesn’t want a lease because he’s gonna get the land by prescriptive rights. I told him he couldn’t. I left the offer for the lease open to him for one year,” Saul explained.

He stated that when the year was up he wrote to Christie, withdrawing the lease offer, while initiating legal action to get him off the land.

But while that action was pending, according to Saul, Christie began building another house on the land which forced him to file an injunction to halt the construction.

“In the middle of the action going on, Christie turned up with a Transport.

How he got it, I don’t know.

But at the end of the action the judge ordered that the Transport be cancelled, which the registrar did. That

was in 2004,” Saul related.

He told Kaieteur News that since then, Christie has defied the court order to remove his house from the land, hence the move to have it dismantled yesterday.

But Saul’s move appeared to be unpopular with villagers, who had gathered at the scene where Neighbourhood Police ranks were observing the demolition to ensure that there was no breach of the peace.

Christie, buoyed by the support he was receiving, charged that it was Saul who had obtained the land by fraud. He insisted that he had a legal Transport and alleged that there was some skulduggery at the Land Court Registry that resulted in Saul getting judgment against him for the land.

As the demolition crew proceeded with their work, Christie’s wife lamented what she called the lack of justice for a certain class of people in Guyana.

“I get 11 children and 36 grands, almost all living in hey. I want to know if Guyana doesn’t have a law because we gat transport fuh dis place,” the woman cried.

She said that her husband has been paying the rates and taxes for the land, a process which was done even for the whole of last year.

Christie has since contacted his lawyer, but according to information received by this newspaper, his attorneys will first have to appeal the Chief Justice’s order before filing an injunction to prevent further removal of Christie’s property from the plot of land.

With the advent of vehicles entering Amerindian communities, ‘smoke signals’ will be a thing of the past. This is according to the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai.

At a press briefing yesterday held at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Headquarters at Quamina and Thomas Streets, Cummingsburg, the Minister stated that, “There is no longer the need to run by foot to take messages as was in the past or as my friend Yvonne (Former NTC Chairperson Yvonne Pearson) would say, throw up the smoke signals. Today the movement and the plethora of vehicles in the hinterland is also supporting communication.”

She explained that the provision of transportation has greatly aided students,

especially for health and emergency issues, along with goods and services being delivered to communities.

This, she noted, also speaks well for the improvement in the road networks, since prior to 2005, certain categories of vehicles could not be used in many interior locations.

Thus, this closes the gap for places without telecommunication and movement by vehicles which are a major form of communicating, with respect to getting to one place or another.

Noting the challenges of transportation in interior locations, the Minister said, “We have been able to procure tractors to boost agriculture and forestry in indigenous communities. We have been able to procure a number of pick-ups, ATVs,

minibuses; these vehicles are mainly used as transportation services for health, education and other services.”

Adding that the Budget last year provided the Ministry with $213M to assist and intervene with capital and infrastructure development, the Minister said for last year, eight tractors and trailers, two minibuses, five All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and 16 chainsaws were purchased.

These vehicles were used to assist residents and students in the mountainous trails.

Under the Amerindian Development Fund in 2012, she said there were investments in cultural and eco tourism projects. Support was provided to 19 villages under the eco-tourism project.

Provision of transportation greatly aids development in Amerindian villages - Minister

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EZjet boss extradited to Florida, remains in jail - say’s he’s broke; court to appoint defense counsel

Chief Executive Officer of the collapsed charter airline, EZjet, Sonny Austin Ramdeo spent a mere nine minutes in a Florida court shortly after his extradition from New York on an indictment of wire fraud.

He is charged with filching some US$20 million from Promise Healthcare Hospitals and transferring the money to his charter airline, EZjet.

Appearing before Magistrate Judge Dave Lee Brannon, Ramdeo again waived the formal reading of the indictments and pleaded not guilty. Earlier, he was informed of his rights and at his request to address the court, he pleaded indigence (that he had no money to afford counsel) so that the state would appoint a defender.

This case in Florida is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen L. Cohen.

In New York, he had also waived the formal reading of the indictment and had also pleaded not guilty. He remained in jail until his extradition to Florida on Old Year’s Day (December 31).

He has until February 4, next, to file all necessary pre-

trial documents in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Ramdeo was again refused bail and remains in a Florida jail.

The rules of court stipulate that the government shall, upon request of the defendant, disclose to the defendant a written summary of testimony the government reasonably expects to offer at trial.

This summary must describe the witnesses’ opinions, the bases and the reasons for the opinions, and the witnesses’ qualifications.

If the defendant seeks and obtains discovery, the defendant shall upon request by the government, disclose to the government a written summary of testimony the defendant reasonably expects to offer at trial.

Ramdeo was arrested at his Queen’s, New York home early in the morning of December 12. Kaieteur News was told that agents zeroed in on him after weeks of wire fraud investigations.

At the time of his arrest, Ramdeo was reportedly speaking to a senior official of EZjet’s Guyana office on

Former EZjet boss, Sonny Austin Ramdeo Skype, a video call that uses the internet.

Ramdeo, who lived in Florida, had reportedly been on the run since early November as US investigators started probing complaints that he allegedly stole US$5.4M from his employer, Promise Healthcare, and passed it through the accounts of EZjet.

He had also owned a payroll company that managed salary payments for Promise which runs a number of hospitals in the US. The accusations are that he would have illegally diverted the payroll money to the bank accounts of two

companies.

The monies, according to a lawsuit filed by Promise Healthcare against Ramdeo and EZjet, were stolen within the last three months.

He is facing up to 60 years in federal custody for a US$20M tax fraud scheme.

Some of the monies he is accused of stealing were said to be used to finance the operations of EZjet, a chartered airline that he started up last year December and which flew the New York/Guyana route with flights also to Toronto and Trinidad.

The Federal agents, led

by Wifredo A. Ferrer, United

States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said that Ramdeo transferred the money from Promise and Success Healthcare, which ran more than 17 hospitals across the US. He allegedly funneled the monies to his payroll tax company, PayServ, from where some were used to finance EZjet’s operations.

Court documents released by the Feds explained that Ramdeo was employed as the Director of Payroll of Promise Healthcare Inc. and Success Healthcare LLC. He was responsible for the payments of bi-weekly wages and related payroll taxes for more

than 3,500 employees of the companies.

According to the indictment, as early as September 3, 2010, and continuing through October 12, 2012, at Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, in the Southern District of Florida, and elsewhere, Ramdeo devised a scheme to defraud the hospitals by stealing the payroll taxes.

He did this by establishing Payserv Tax Inc. which he claimed, using false e-mails, was a subsidiary of Ceridian Corporation, a well known company that once did payroll services for the hospitals.

Bag snatcher relieves ‘Fowl Cock’ of currency, documents …offers reward

Businessman and contractor, Roopan Ramotar, popularly known as ‘Fowl Cock’ became the victim of a snatch-and-grab robbery yesterday at Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara.

The Essequibian had just parked his vehicle at a store in the area when a silver grey vehicle pulled up and a welldressed man rushed to his

vehicle and snatched a bag that contained $1 million in cash, a cheque for $5.8 million, two Demerara Bank cheque books, his passport, his identification card, a bill from Trinidad Cement Limited for 78 slings of cement, and a bill from Gafoors for 25 tons of steel.

Ramotar said that he had travelled to the city to

conduct some business.

He added that he normally does not travel with cash, but the business transactions led to him having more money in his possession than he would normally have.

He said that he is offering a reward for the return of his passport and his identification card.

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Friday January 04, 2013 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): You definitely still need to make decisions based on what is right for you, but you need to stop making decisions based on the minor things you want. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Who says that a having a routine is the same things as being stuck in the mud?

You might have a set of tasks, exercises or activities that you do every day, but you are hardly treading water in your life! ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): You're like a bright spark today -- you're all about flash, light and energy.

Keep in mind that a spark has a lot of sizzle but not a lot of substance, so don't get carried away with your fine self. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): If you're itching to get started on something new right now, that's wonderful -because today you're going to get a great big green light from the people who are in power. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): The smiles that people will be giving you today will carry a slightly more risque message than 'Hi, how ya doing?' -there is a lot of flirtatious energy around you today, and romance is most definitely favored. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): You should expect there to be a lot of activity around you today -- in fact, there will be a little too much happening. In other words, you could be a bit overwhelmed by everything going on in your

world. ********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Wherever you go today, try to elevate the atmosphere by flirting up a storm! Even if you are already in a relationship or are not in the mood to begin a new one anytime soon, there's no reason not to amp up your charm and make someone feel special. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): Do you have a fan? Today, don't be surprised if you notice someone saying wonderful things about you as soon as you enter the room, talking about how well you dress, or going on and on about how no one is quite as clever as you. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Don't panic if other people look to you for some answers or advice today and you're just as much in the dark as they are! .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): There's one primary thing to keep in mind today -have fun! But don't think that having fun can't require just as much work as anything else. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18):Don't you consider yourself an intellect u a l ? Yo u don't have to smoke a p i p e , q u o t e Nietzsche, or speak ancient Greek to be intellectually inclined. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): As unpleasant as it might sound to you right now, you would be wise to reevaluate your lifestyle.

DTV CHANNEL 8 08:55 hrs. Sign On 09:00 hrs. GMA 10:00 hrs. Live! With Kelly and Michael 11:00 hrs. The Ricki Lake Show 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. MacGyver 17:00 hrs. The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 hrs. World News 19:00 hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00 hrs. Channel 8 News 21:15 hrs. Movie: Gremlins 23:00 hrs. Sign Off NCN CHANNEL11 03:00 – Movie 05:00 – Inspiration 05:30 – Newtown Gospel 06:30 – NCN Late Edition (r/ b) 07:00 – BBC 08:00 – Bollywood Hits (R/B) 09:00 – Stop the Suffering 10:00 – CCTV 11:00 – History 12:00 – CNN 12:30 – NCN Newsbreak 12:35 – Oral Tradition (r/b) 13:05 – Movie 15:30 – Feature 16:00 – Cartoons

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17:00 – Anderson 18:00 – NCN News Magazine – Live 18:30 – Pulse Beat 19:00 – Al Jazeera 19:30 – Feature 20:00 – 3d/daily millions/play de dream/lotto draw

20:05 – NCN Newsbreak 20:10 – Grow With IPED 20:40 – GINA Presents 21:00 – Feature 22:05 – NCN News Late Edition 22:35 – Caribbean Newsline 23:00 – Movie

Guides are subjected to change without notice

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ESPN Caribbean to air entire Caribbean twenty20 live in the West Indies Additional Coverage on ESPN’s Networks in the UK, Australia, Middle East and Africa ESPN Caribbean will air the annual Twenty20 cricket tournament throughout the West Indies beginning this Sunday January 6 with Trinidad & Tobago, who won 2012’s tournament, up against Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval, in Port-of-Spain.

The tournament will feature some of the top players in the world, including those that helped lead the West Indies to the T20 World Cup title. The event will be played at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Beausejour Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.

ESPN Caribbean will bring fans live or as-live coverage of every game until the final on Sunday January 20th in St. Lucia on the ESPN Caribbean network and on ESPN Play, its regional broadband service.

“Through television and digital media around the world, ESPN has a long association with cricket that we will continue to enhance and expand. The Caribbean T20 is a great addition to our schedule,” Michael Walters,

VP programming, ESPN International, said.

The tournament will give fans an opportunity to experience West Indies cricket after the Windies won the ICC Twenty20 world championship inOctober.Among the top players competing in the Caribbean Twenty20 are Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Dwayne and Darren Bravo, among others.

The 2013 tournament features a new format, with each team playing six groupstage matches, up from four.

The seven regional teams competing will play each other once and the team with the most points at the end of the groupstage stage will automatically qualify for the final.

The other finalist will be decided after a play-off between the second and the third-placed teams in the group-stage. The winner of the tournament will also qualify for the 2013 Champions League T20.

Caribbean T20 on ESPN Caribbean and ESPN Play

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Malta Supreme Championship final on tomorrow between Jets and Royals at MSC Jets replace Kings at top of rankings, regardless of the outcome Regardless of the outcome t o m o r r o w ’s (Saturday) Linden Amateur Basketball Association’s 2012 Malta Supreme Christmas Magnificent Seven basketball championship final between Amelia’s Ward Jets and Victory Valley Royals, Jets will supplant the Kashif and Shanghai Kings as the number one ranked club in Linden.

LABA in January last year announced that clubs will in the various categories be rated on results of how they finish in competitions and this adoption saw the winners

get 10 points, second placed will receive seven, third position gets five, fourth receives three, fifth place gets one point and the other places no points.

Based on the newly instituted points system which became effective in January of last year, the Association has been able to run off three senior tournaments in Open or Division One categories where the Kashif and Shanghai Kings won the first, the Trophy Stall Regulation championship to jump start their top rating and Amelia’s Ward Jets placed second,

Football development set to continue - associations to be more involved; youth and female to take centre stage After a very fruitful 2012 despite the many challenges, football development in Guyana is set to continue and improve in 2013.

The ongoing rift between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and the Georgetown Football Association (GFA) will take centre stage next week when a team of officials from FIFA visit Guyana to hopefully bring an end to the impasse.

When this matter is resolved and the situation is back to normal, the only winner will be football.

Historic qualification to the semi-final stage of the CONCACAF leg of FIFA World Cup qualifying, a record number of warm –up matches by the Golden Jaguars, Guyana’s participation in the FIFA Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup Qualifying competitions, referees and coaches development were some of the high points for the sport in a challenging 2012.

The GFF expended millions of dollars to support the many programmes that it ran during the year and must be focused on improving and expanding the level of investment holistically in 2013.

It has already been reported that President (ag) Franklin Wilson said that the Associations will be much more involved in planning the way forward for the game and local coaches will be given the opportunity to chart the way forward for the sport.

Many challenges

confronted the Federation in 2012 and it must become involved in serious introspection as it gears itself to meet the challenges of 2013 and beyond.

While criticisms are good, they must be constructive and made with a view to making things better, for the good of the game and the development of all.

Coaches development along with that of the Referees, Players and Administrators have to be taken to the next level and the relevant individuals involved must also show the aptitude and desire to make honest contributions for the upliftment of the game.

The Associations must make this year a defining one in terms of showing more desire to complement and support the national body.

This year will be an active year for female football development and the Associations must do their part in ensuring that the grassroots level football is made priority.

Junior development will also take centre stage and with the Federation showing foresight when a pool of 60 players were brought together around February last year, exciting times are ahead for the game but all must work together to achieve maximum positive benefits.

There is no doubt that Guyana abounds with talented players, the challenge now must be for all involved to work in unison to really achieve the true potential that can be attained.

while Victory Valley Royals came third. Then there was the BOSAI Championship which was won by Half Mile Bulls after they were fifth among the clubs in the previous championship as Retrieve Raiders after placing sixth emerged second by losing the BOSAI championship. Kings placed fourth behind Jets who were third and Royals ended fifth at the tournament.

However, Kings had remained on top of the rankings as they had 13 points after two tournaments while Jets and Bulls were next on 12 points with Royals on seven.

Going into this tournament Kings can only get third of fourth place as they contest the third place playoff with Bulls and Jets, who play Royals in the championship, will get at least

seven points or a maximum ten if they win the final and will ended on either 22 or 19 points, whereby Kings from a win can only finish the season on18 points with a win or 16 if they lose.

Whichever way it ends, the Jets will claim the top ranking when the tournament concludes. A win by Royals can push them past Kings in the ratings as they will end on 17 with a win and, that is

providing Kings lose their game and end on 16 points, instead of 18 from a win tomorrow.

This means that the matches are key to how all four teams will end the year 2012 as they want to end the year end championship with a high ranking so as to start the new year in a position where they can be favourably placed in any knockout tournament this year.

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Barnwell wants to be a Guyana champion - again Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – As vice captain and main allrounder, Christopher Barnwell sees himself as having a major role to play in Guyana’s line-up for the Caribbean T20 2013.

He can bat at the top of the order and also bowl the new ball, so Barnwell is sure to be called upon during the upcoming weeks.

He was a member of the Guyana team which won the inaugural Caribbean T20 back in 2010 and dreams of a repeat when the tournament is played at Queen’s Park Oval and Beausejour Cricket Stadium from January 6 to 20.

“I have been in the team for a while now and I will look to step it up in this tournament. I am one of the

senior players in the team, having also played for the West Indies, and so I have my role in the team – and part of that is being a leader,” said Barnwell, who celebrates his 26th birthday on the opening day on Sunday.

“We have some very good T20 players in both the batting and bowling departments. We have faith

Friday January 04, 2013

Christopher Barnwell

we can win again. We have faced challenges before, but that has only helped to make us stronger as a team in the end.”

Back in 2010, it took the heroics of the highly-touted Devendra Bishoo, who bowled brilliantly, and the little known Jonathan Foo played the innings of a lifetime to blitz Barbados in

the final. This sparked wild celebration among the members of the Guyanese expatriate community who swarmed Queen’s Park Oval.

Since then, Guyana have struggled in the tournament.

They failed to reach the Final Four in 2011 and were again eliminated at the preliminary stage last year when they managed just two wins out of four matches. However, Barnwell noted that the mood in the camp is upbeat as they look to bring the same fire and desire they had three years ago.

“When we won the first tournament, we had Travis Dowlin as the batsman batting through the innings.

(Since then) we were looking forward to someone to stepup and emulate him. We were having some great starts, but no one was carrying on for us and I think that’s one of the areas we need to improve in,” said Barnwell, who has represented West Indies in four T20 Internationals.

“I think we played well in a couple of games last year but we didn’t advance. The last match against the Windward Islands was a must win situation for us. The rains played a part in that too, but we got to play the game and it is just that the result was not what we wanted to have to book a place in the next round. This time around we will make a fresh start, take control from the start and look to go all the way.”

Last year Guyana defeated the Leeward Islands and Canada before suffering defeats to defending champions Trinidad & Tobago and the Windward Islands. This year they open their campaign against Combined Campuses & Colleges at Queen’s Park Oval on Monday at 8 pm (7 pm Jamaica Time).

FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (AT QUEEN’S PARK OVAL, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad) Sunday, January 6 Opening Ceremony – 4 p.m.

Trinidad & Tobago vs Jamaica – 8 p.m.

Monday, January 7 Barbados vs Leeward Islands – 4 p.m.

Guyana vs Combined Campuses & Colleges – 8 p.m.

Tuesday, January 8 Jamaica vs Barbados – 4 p.m.

Trinidad & Tobago vs Combined Campuses & Colleges – 8 p.m.

Wednesday, January 9 Windward Islands vs Jamaica – 4 p.m.

Trinidad & Tobago vs Leeward Islands – 8 p.m.

Thursday, January 10 Combined Campuses & Colleges vs Windward Islands – 4 p.m.

Guyana vs Barbados – 8 p.m.

Friday, January 11 Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – 4 p.m.

Combined Campuses & Colleges vs Barbados – 8 p.m.

Saturday, January 12 Windward Islands vs Leeward Islands – 4 p.m.

Trinidad & Tobago vs Guyana – 8 p.m.

(AT BEAUSEJOUR CRICKET GROUND, Gros Islet, St. Lucia) Tuesday, January 15 Guyana vs Jamaica – 4 p.m.

Windward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago – 8 p.m.

Wednesday, January 16 Combined Campuses & Colleges vs Leeward Islands – 4 p.m.

Barbados vs Trinidad & Tobago – 8 p.m.

Thursday, January 17 Leeward Islands vs Guyana – 4 p.m.

Windward Islands vs Barbados – 8 p.m.

Friday, January 18 Combined Campuses & Colleges vs Jamaica – 4 p.m.

Windward Islands vs Guyana – 8 p.m.

Saturday, January 19 Play-off: 2nd Place vs 3rd Place – 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 20 Grand Final: 1st Place vs Winner of Play-off – 8 p.m.

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James helps Heat scrape past Mavs in overtime (Reuters) - LeBron James got off to a surprisingly slow start but kicked into top gear to lift the NBA champion Miami Heat to a 119-109 overtime win over the stuttering Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Eight-times All-Star James finished with a game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds, and guard Dwyane Wade weighed in with 27 points, as Miami cemented their place at the top of the Eastern Conference with their 15th home win of the season.

The Heat, who outscored the Mavericks 16-6 in overtime, improved their overall record to 22-8 after

being tested to the full in a clash of the last two NBA champions.

“Execution going down the stretch was very good,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “LeBron was really big and deep and showing his world-class conditioning level.

“They (the Mavericks) played a very good basketball game. It’s not as if we were necessarily letting them score.

It was highly competitive at both ends.”

O.J. Mayo led the way with 30 points for Dallas while 11-times All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, despite not being back to his best following

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (L) prepares to pass to teammate Dwyane Wade in overtime against the Dallas Mavericks during their NBA basketball game in Miami, Florida January 2, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity

Rayad Emrit to replace Ravi Rampaul in T&T squad Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – Allrounder Rayad Emrit has been approved to replace fast bowler Ravi Rampaul for the Caribbean T20 2013 Tournament.

The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board sought approval for Emrit to replace Rampaul who is unavailable due to an injury. The WICB Caribbean T20 2013 Technical Committee approved the replacement.

Emrit, 31, is a right-handed batsman and right-arm seamer. He has represented

the defending champions in all formats for a decade. He played two One-Day Internationals for West Indies in India in 2007. He will join the squad for their pretournament warm-up match against the Windward Islands at UTT on Thursday night.

Rampaul was a member of the Trinidad & Tobago team which won the Caribbean T20 last year and was also a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka last year.

knee surgery, had 19 points off the bench.

“It shouldn’t have gotten to overtime,” said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, whose team slipped to 13-20 for the season. “We were up by six with a couple minutes to go and our inability to keep them out of the paint was our downfall.”

FAST START Dallas made a fast start, surging 12 points clear at 3018 on the back of a 10-0 run

before ending the opening quarter with an eight-point cushion. James earned just six points on three-for-eight shooting from the field.

However, the Heat steadily reeled in the Mavs as James ominously began to find his range and they cut the deficit to 52-50 by halftime at American Airlines Arena.

James poured in a threepointer to give Miami a 81-79 lead after the third quarter but Dallas regained control and a

Mayo three-pointer put them 97-91 up with just over four minutes remaining.

The hosts battled back again and a Shane Battier three-pointer put the Heat 103-101 ahead with 14.5 seconds to go before Nowitski responded with a fadeaway jump shot to take the game into overtime.

After veteran Ray Allen sank another three-pointer, James followed up with a bank shot to put Miami 108-103 up

and there was no way back from there for Dallas. “You’ve got to respect these other teams,” Wade said. “They come in and play very well against us so we’ve got find ways to win ballgames. That’s what it’s all about right now.”

James, who finished just one assist shy of a tripledouble, was presented with the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year award by Heat president Pat Riley at halftime.

Page 38

Kaieteur News

Briton on trial for hurling abuse and bottle at Usain Bolt (Reuters) - A British man went on trial on Thursday accused of screaming abuse at Usain Bolt and hurling a beer bottle onto the track as the Olympic men’s 100 meters final was starting, a climactic moment of the London Games in August.

The court heard that the packed 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium had fallen silent in anticipation of the race when Ashley Gill-Webb, 34, began shouting insults like “Usain I want you to lose, Usain you are bad, you are an arsehole”.

The Jamaican sprinter did not hear the abuse or see a green Heineken bottle land behind the starting line, and went on to win the race in 9.63 seconds, the second-fastest time recorded.

Gill-Webb did not have a ticket to attend the 100 meters final but had somehow pushed his way to the front of an exclusive seating area, among members of the Dutch Olympic team. After his outburst, Gill-Webb was confronted by Dutch

Usain Bolt of Jamaica looks on ahead of the IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting, also known as Memorial Van Damme in Brussels September 7, 2012. REUTERS/ Laurent Dubrule

judoka Edith Bosch, an Olympic bronze medalist, then restrained by volunteer workers and arrested.

He has pleaded not guilty to a public order offence, the Press Association (PA) reported from Stratford Magistrates’ Court in east London, without saying what penalties he might face.

“In the stadium, along with the many thousands who should have been there legitimately and were watching the race in hushed

anticipation, was also Mr GillWebb who it is now accepted was unwell at the time,” said prosecutor Neil King.

“This bottle landed extremely close to the athletes and it’s probably luck rather than Mr Gill-Webb’s judgment that it did not do anything far more serious,” said King, quoted by the PA. In a written witness statement read out in court, Bosch said Gill-Webb’s taunts against Bolt had gone on for about two minutes. As

he started to move away after tossing the beer bottle, she confronted him, saying: “Dude, are you crazy?”

“He was trying to walk away so I pushed him hard to stop him,” Bosch said in her statement. “I was angry with what he had done which was so disrespectful.”

“I was sad to miss the 100 meters,” she added.

The court heard that GillWebb’s behavior after he was escorted to a police station had been “somewhat unusual”. He gave some “no comment” answers to police questions but also handed over a prepared statement signed “Alan Cumming”, the name of a Scottish actor.

He maintained he had nothing to do with throwing the bottle but said he had been “quite hyper” in the stadium.

Prosecutor King said although it was accepted GillWebb was unwell at the time, he knew what he was doing and intentionally caused distress to those around him.

Friday January 04, 2013

FIFA wants VIP status for Palestinian sports chief JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) — FIFA is asking Israel to return VIP status to Palestinian Football Union President Jibril Rajoub, allowing him to enter Israel without security checks.

The Zurich-based global football governing body said yesterday that it asked the Israeli Football Association to help secure Rajoub’s “freedom of movement”.

An Israeli defence official said Rajoub’s status was lowered last month along with

another Palestinian official, Nabil Shaath, because they had “incited violence against Israel”.

He was speaking on condition of anonymity, according to protocol. He said they can travel freely in and out of Israel, but now need to show credentials and can be subject to security checks.

The status change came after the UN endorsed a Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.

Specialist are Barnwell and Joseph Dominoes champs Specialist marked 80 games to win final of the Charlyn Barnwell and Faye Joseph Dominoes competition which was contested on Wednesday evening at Transport Sports Club.

Transport placed second with 75 games, while Providence finished third with 74. Andrew Hope chalked 17 games for the winners and Paul Lewis chipped in with 14.

Nicholls (only name given) scored 16 for the runner up team and Junior Smith 14 for Providence.

Specialist received $150,000 and a trophy while Transport collected $75,000 and a trophy. Hope took the most valuable player prize of $10,000. Speaking at the presentation ceremony Joseph thanked the teams for participating while Barnwell congratulated the winners.

Friday January 04, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 39

GSDF/GFF U21 Female tourney...

Scotiabank/Pepsi All Stars are inaugural champs

The wining Scotiabank/Pepsi All Star team display their silverware after the presentation.

The Scotiabank/Pepsi All Star team displayed outstanding skills to win the inaugural Guyana Sports Development Foundation / Guyana Football Federation Under-21 female football tournament which was held on Sunday December 30, 2012 held at the Ministry of Education Sports Complex Ground.

The other competing teams were West Demerara and Berbice. Competition got underway with the champions taking on a young and inexperienced West Demerara side. The first ten minutes saw the teams trying to get the measure of each other while also trying to get a grip of the s l i g h t l y s o g g y conditions of the field.

The deadlock was broken on 13 minutes when the experienced Scotiabank/ Pepsi unit through Sasha

James rocked the back of the West Demerara nets. The goal lifted the confidence of the team and they playing much more possessive ball with periodic quick buildups while covering and not leaving themselves exposed defensively.

The advantage was doubled in the 23rd minute when Kendra Thomas added her name to the score sheet.

Two minutes later it was Althea Holligan who increased the lead for the All Star side. Four minutes on (29) Thomas was again on target, she completed her triple strike with another goal in the 46th minute.

Holligan sealed proceedings and a solid win with her second goal of the game in the 55th minute. West Demerara were able to score a consolation goal through Stacey Forbes in the 53rd

minute, the game ended 6 - 1 in favour of the All Stars.

In the second game of the day, Berbice and West Demerara clashed with and the pressure was on both teams to win in order to keep their chances alive of advancing to the championship game.

Both teams played aggressively forcing the medic to make periodic runs on the field to deal with minor injuries; such was the intensity of proceedings which was witnessed by a sizable crowd with many of the parents in attendance.

Abioce Heywood of West Demerara broke the ice in the 20th minute when she hit a free kick just outside the top of the box that had goal written all over, the West Side girls went on to win the game 1 – 0. In the final game of the day, Berbice faced the Scotiabank

Flying Ace suspends indisciplined cyclist The Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) of Berbice has taken the tough decision to ban one of its cyclists for acts of indiscipline. The cyclist being punished is Brian Harris who has been suspended for three months. Harris’s punishment was slapped on him for his actions during the recently held Banks Premium 40- mile cycle road race.

Although Harris did not participate in the event he rode along with some of the cyclist. Cycling coach Randolph Roberts told the media that Harris was warned about his actions and told to desist from doing so, but Harris continued to flout the

rules although he is well aware that what he was doing was against the rules.

Roberts stated that when approached again Harris became abusive and continued to ride along with the cyclists although he was not involved in the event.

Another official also approached Harris and asked him to desist from what he was doing. But the young man responded with an obscene gesture.

Roberts stated that it is not the first time that he has been involved in acts of indiscipline and tried to smudge the reputation of the club. The three month ban

Brian Harris will commence from January 1 and will run until 31st March 2013. In the meantime he will not be allowed to participate in any event organized by the FACC. According to Roberts the Guyana Cycling Federation will be informed of the ban and has the authority to extend it to events which are sanctioned by that body.

/ Pepsi All Stars girls and the team from the Ancient County came out energised in a desperate bid to secure points to improve their chances of placing at least second.

Their hopes were however dashed when Kendra Thomas slotted in two goals (5, 15), Althea Holligan netting in the 25th minute and Sasha James a brace (32, 60) to seal a 5-1 win, and their second of the competition which sealed the title for them. Berbice were able to pull one back in the 29th minute, compliments of a Sarafina Lam strike.

The Scotia Bank All Stars Team emerged winners with 6 points from 2 wins, West Demerara placed 2nd with 3 points from 1 win and Berbice in the cellar without any points.

After the game the teams were presented with their trophies and medals. Treasurer of West Demerara FA Ms. Denise Lovell presented the winning trophy to Assistant

Coach of the All Stars Team Ms. Andra Fredericks, while President of the Berbice FA Mr. Keith O Jeer presented to the Coach of West Demerara Ms. Chevon Monchoir with the 2nd place trophy.

All three teams received medals compliments of the Guyana Football Federation whose General Secretary Mr. Noel Adonis, Treasurer Mr. Dwayne Lovell and Technical Development Officer, Lyndon France were in attendance.

In an invited comment, Coach of the Scotiabank/ Pepsi All Stars Female Team Joseph Wilson said that the weekly training that the team undergoes brought home the positive result. Wilson also stated that he has seen the players improve admirably and is hoping that many other tournaments of this nature are organised so that the females can improve their skills and awareness.

He reminded the public that to date it is the only the females who have represented Guyana at the

Gold Cup Finals and the GFF should not gave up on the women.

President of the GSDF Colin Baker thanked Scotiabank, DDL under the Pepsi Brand and the Guyana Football Federation for their assistance in hosting the tournament.

He also thanked the Ministry of Education for allowing access to the playing venue and the Referees Council in providing officials.

Baker also thanked the many parents for coming out and supporting the players in a well organised and competitive tournament.

Stanley Harmon came in for praise for acquiring the beautiful trophies.

The tournament is being proposed on an annual basis and Baker said that he is hoping to attract teams from Bartica, Lethem, East Coast, East Bank, Georgetown and Linden and has thrown out a challenge to them to start preparing for this year ’s edition.

Page 40

Kaieteur News

Friday January 04, 2013

GCB 50-over Senior Inter-County tourney to start tomorrow

The Guyana Cricket Board senior Inter-County 50-over competition commences tomorrow, Saturday 6th of January, 2013 with Essequibo facing Demerara at Everest and Berbice playing the President XI at DCC in the first round.

A release from the GCB indicated that only players participating in these competitions or those on national duties will be eligible for selection on the national squad for the WICB regional one day and four day competitions.

Players from Essequibo and Berbice are asked to assemble at the Chetram Singh Centre of Excellence by 6:00pm today, on Friday 5th January 3013. County Board Administrations are reminded to make contact with the GCB Administrator for travel arrangements.

Travis Dowlin will lead the Demerara team which includes Ryan Ramdass, Shemroy Barrington, Rajendra Chandreka, Zaheer Mohamed and Paul Wintz.

The Essequibo team will be captained by Royan Federicks; he will depend on the likes of Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams, Dellon Heyliger and Wayne Osborne for support.

West Indies middle order batsman Assad Fudadin will spearhead Berbice, while Shawn Periera will serve as his

deputy. The presence of Sewnarine Chattergoon, Richard Ramdeen and Gajanand Singh makes them strong contenders for the title.

Eugene La Fleur will be in charge of the President XI. He will look to support from pacer Brandon Bess, Krishna Arjune, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kevon Boodie.

Meanwhile the Inter County Four Day tournament will get under way following the conclusion of this competition.

TEAMS: Demerara(50 over and 4 day)- Travis Dowlin Capt), Ryan Ramdass, Shemroy Barrington, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Vishal Singh, Rajendra Chandreka (V\Capt), Zaheer Mohamed, Amir Khan, Joseph Perry, Paul Wintz, Kellon Carmichael, Andre Stoll, Robin Bacchus, Totaram Bishun, Shawn Massiah Manager, Orin Bailey Coach.

Essequibo ( 50 over and 4 day)- Rayon Fredricks (Capt.), Kenzo Baksh, Mark Tyrell, Dellon Heyliger, Jason Heyliger, Herrel Greene, Herry Greene, Anthony Adams, Ricardo Adams, Grayson Paul, Roopesh Motilall, Wayne Osborne, Mustapha Zaman, Vijay Surajpaul. Vibert Johnson (Coach), Otto Christiani (Manager).

Berbice (50 over and 4 day)- Assad Fudadin (capt),

Sewnarine Chattergoon, Richard Ramdeen, Shemron Hetemyer, Gajanand Singh, Jason Sinclair, Krisendat Ramoo, Eon Hooper, Jamal Khan, Delbert Hicks, Keon Joseph, Clinton Pestano, Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, Sean Periera (V/capt). Julian Moore (coach), Julian Cambridge Manager.

President’s XI (50 overs and Four day) Eugene LaFleur(capt), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Krishna Arjune, Kevon Boodie, Elton Baker, Jeetendra Sukdeo, Devon Clements, Anthony Bramble, Dexter Solomon, Raj Nanan, Stephen Latcha, Collis Butts, Brandon Bess (V/capt), Gilford Moore, Joshua Wade.

Adrian Amsterdam (coach), Dru Bahadur (manager).

Following are the fixtures (50 over) Round 1 - Sat, 5 January, 2013 Essequibo vs Demerara @ Everest Berbice vs President Xl @ DCC Round 2 - Sun, 6 January, 2013 Essequibo vs Berbice @ DCC Demerara vs President Xl @ Everest Round 3 - Tues, 8 January, 2013 Demerara vs Berbice @Everest Essequibo vs President XL @ DCC

Mayor Green 7-a-side Inter-Ward Football finals set for January 24 Mayor Hamilton Green 78th Birth Anniversary 7-aside Inter Ward knock out Football finals will be contested on January 24 at Den Amstel on the West Coast of Demerara starting from 18:00 hrs.

Two exhibition games will be played before the Quarterfinals with Sarah Lodge coming up against Pouderoyen at 18:00 hrs and Wales taking on Bagotville from 18:30 hrs.

Stewartville will battle Alberttown from 19:00 hrs in the first Quarterfinal, while Goed Fortune will clash with Newtown Kitty in the second game which is set for 19:30 hrs.

At 20:00 hrs Uitvlugt and Grove will clash for a place in the final four and Den Amstel will entertain Kingston at 20:30 hrs.

The winner of Quarterfinal one will play the winner of Quarterfinal 3 in the first semifinal match which will get underway from 21:00 hrs, and the winner of Quarterfinal two

Ashley Hardin will take on the winner of Quarterfinal four in the second semi at 21:30 hrs.

Crane and Jetty will come up against each other in another exhibition game before the final which is expected to get cracking from 23:00 hrs. The first place team will take home $200,000 and the runner up will receive $100,000. Among some of the key players representing the respective teams that will be on show are Ashley Hardin, Jahal Harvey and Andre Hector.

Andrea Hector

Friday January 04, 2013

Kaieteur News

Builders Lumber Yard sponsors D’Andrade for Suriname 10k

Managers of Builders Lumber Yard with outlets on Bent and Lombard Streets, Shivani Salim and Avinaish Salim, presents national distance runner, Lionel D’Andrade with their sponsorship cheque yesterday.

Builders Lumber Yard, which has outlets on Bent and Lombard Streets yesterday renewed their sponsorship commitment to Lionel D’Andrade, who will start his season at the Suriname 10km Road Race, where he is a two-time defending champ, on Sunday.

Builders Lumber Yard has been a long-time sponsor of the athlete, who is hoping for

a three-peat in Suriname on Sunday. Manager of the Lumber Yard, Avinaish Salim yesterday said that they are satisfied with how well D’Andrade has represented the sport.

Salim told Kaieteur Sport that D’Andrade has been a good ambassador for them and the country and they will continue to support his career. The Trinidad and Tobago-based D’Andrade

thanked the company for their continued support over the years.

He said that he is about 85 percent fit and will be looking for a top performance in Suriname on Sunday.

D’Andrade revealed that his intention is to use the race as preparation for the Trinidad’s International Half Marathon where he is also defending champion.

LABA hands down suspensions and fines to players Roberts banned for six months, fined $15,000 for throwing ball at referee The Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) belatedly handed out gifts after the Christmas holidays, but never-the-less has ended the season in a giving mood.

The sharing mood got started when the LABA suspended national centre/ forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts for six months, and also a one year bond to keep the peace, after he would have served that penalty.

Roberts, who has represented Guyana at both the junior and senior levels, was slapped with this suspension by the LABA’s Technical Commission for throwing the basketball at Referee Lloyd Ross with such force that Mr. Ross was hit in the head and suffered an injury while officiating in the 2012 BOSAI Minerals Group Open Challenge basketball competition game between Retrieve Raiders and the Kashif and Shanghai Kings at the Mackenzie Sports Club

hard court in November last year.

The suspension is from the day of the incident on 13th November, 2012 and to conclude on 13th May, 2013.

Roberts is also fined Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000) and in addition, he is suspended from attending all basketball related activities sanctioned by this Association.

And national forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts will now appear in front of the LABA Executive Committee tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 10:00hrs to answer the charges made out against him where he is reported to have threatened an official of the LABA and ‘crush’ the LABA, at the semifinals of the Malta Supreme basketball championship which will be concluded today with the final.

It was decided that the Retrieve Raiders and Block 22 Flames basketball clubs will be fined Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) for not attending the march past of the clubs at the Malta Supreme basketball

Dwayne Roberts championship opening.

Two players have been given five game suspensions for fighting during the preliminary round matches in the Malta Supreme basketball tournament between Amelia’s Ward Jets and Half Mile Bulls.

The players are Lawrence DaCosta of Jets and Sean Easton of Half Mile Bulls and they are also fined $10,000 for that fracas.

And Victory Valley Royals power forward Alwyn ‘Shaq’ Wilson has been slapped with a $10,000 fine and three match suspension for punching national centre Shane Webster of the Jets during their club game in the preliminary round of the championship.

Page 41

t r o Sp

Junior champ Anthony Drayton dominates seniors in Topco Rapid Chess tournament

N

ational Junior C h e s s Champion, A n t h o n y Drayton, has performed credibly in tournaments organized in his category over the past year. The prolific chess player continued his good showing when he amassed 6 ½ points after defeating his senior counterparts to win the Topco Juices One-Day Rapid Chess Tournament organized by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) at the KEI-SHAR’S Sports Club, Sunday December 30 last.

Frankie Farley and Irshad Mohamed finished on 5 points apiece with the former player earning the second place by dint of the tie break system. Alexander Duncan and Glenford

Corlette each scored four points, while Chino Chung won 3 games and drew one to finish on 3 ½ points with veteran player, Errol Tiwari amassing 3 points, the same as Alex Joseph.

Roberto Neto, Saeed Ali and Ron Motilall all finished on 5 points each in the junior category while Saif Afroze scored 4 ½ points. Carlos Petterson, Davion Mars and Omar Grant shared the cellar position on 4 points each.

Initially scheduled to participate among the juniors, Drayton opted to play among the seniors minutes before the tournament officially got underway. Ron Motilall, another junior player, participated among the seniors and was the only player to pose any threat to Drayton’s dominance.

Their game ended in a draw. Consequently, the junior champ carted off the senior trophy and the cash prize that went with it.

Meanwhile, Roberto Neto won in the junior category while Saeed Ali and Ron Motilall finishing second and third respectively despite amassing similar scores as Neto.

This was after the tie break system was employed.

Saif Afroze ended in the fourth place, while Carlos Petterson finished fifth.

Omar Grant was adjudged the Best Under-16 Player while Sheriffa Ali, the lone female, received a prize for her participation.

GCF President Shiv Nandalall congratulated the respective winners while encouraging the junior

The top finishers along with DDL Representative Alexis Langhorne (seated centre) take time out for a photo after the presentation. participants to emulate Drayton and challenge the senior players.

The prizes were distributed by DDL Sales Manager Alexis Langhorne

w h o r e i t e r a t e d D D L’s commitment to the promotion the sport during.

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