Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

Auditor General recommends dismissal of NDIA Engineer D e s p i t e recommendations for his dismissal or resignation, a controversial senior section engineer of the national drainage and irrigation board remains on the job.

The recommendations were made by the Auditor General’s office, which confirmed an earlier finding that the Engineer Aneel Chowbay was in a position of conflict of interests.

The probe by the Auditor General was undertaken after an initial report by the NDIA’s internal auditor on the operations of the NDIA had recommended the immediate

dismissal of the entity’s boss Lionel Wordsworth and the Senior Section Engineer, after several instances of fraud and conflict of interest were unearthed.

That report on fuel consumption and equipment operations and maintenance, was conducted between May and September and was completed and submitted to the Chairman of the NDIA Board of Directors on September 26 and carbon copied to President Donald Ramotar.

The report concluded that fraudulent acts were committed by the CEO-Lionel

- but officer still on the job Wordsworth and Senior Section Engineer (SSE) Mr. Aneel Chowbay…, breaching the Procurement Act 2003.

It speaks of conflict of interest and sole sourcing of services such as the supply of fuel and the awarding of contracts to relations by senior NDIA operatives, breaching national procurement procedures.

It subsequently led to the entity’s auditor being controversially sent on leave from breaching protocol, as a

result of him sending his report to the President, and the subsequent leaking of it to the media.

Kaieteur news understands that the auditor general in its subsequent audit found that the section engineer was in a conflict of interest position and in a preliminary report, recommended that he either be dismissed or tender his resignation.

According to a source at the auditor general’s office

that recommendation was made since early December last year.

When contacted employees of the NDIA confirmed that the engineer was still on the job.

The NDIA’S budget runs into billions of dollars, given the importance of drainage and irrigation for Guyana’s vast agriculture sector, the NDIA’s budget runs into billions of dollars.

The initial audit came in the wake of questions of value for money and accountability being raised.

The report had pointed to a major breakdown of internal control over the fuel system which lends itself for possible fraudulent activity since it cannot be fully tested and relied that fuel ordered was received in part at the pump station and used for its required purposes.

According to the report, fuel consumption and pump efficiency was inadequately monitored by the NDIA Mechanical Engineer Department which should have assisted in implementing steps to minimise risk exposures and losses.

It was the opinion of the auditors that the NDIA’s contract for fuel transportation and payments recommended, was poorly managed and verified by the Senior Section Engineer and ultimately the Mechanical Department.

Additionally, the report was scathing in its assessment that SSE Chowbay did not declare a conflict of interest and continues to prepare contract documents, certify payments for his uncle, one Kaydar Persaud, who was carrying out work for the entity.

This newspaper understands that Persaud is the contractor for NDIA works totaling $19M. The engineer’s brother Keshav Chowbay is also an engineer working with his uncle, the contractor.

The audit found that all the Bill of Quantities were prepared by and requests for

Auditor General Deodat Sharma payment verified and certified by the NDIA Senior Engineer for all contracts awarded to his uncle.

“This situation presents a conflict of interest and a great risk of the SSE’s primary interest being unduly influenced by a secondary interest,” the report stated.

It however deferred the evaluation of the Bill of Quantities/Engineers Estimates for possible corruption and financial gain to the Contract Audit for a more detailed test.

The report recommended that Chowbay should cease all functions relating to excavators including preparation of scope of works, bill of quantities and verification of payments. It further advised that he should be written to for not declaring a conflict of interest.

The auditors in their recommendation, submitted that both Wordsworth and Chowbay be fired. “the CEO and SSE’s services should be immediately terminated for committing the fraudulent acts and a full investigation of all awarded contracts for 2011 and 2012 be done…The procurement functions performed by the CEO should be relinquished immediately to the Procurement Department for strict adherence with professional procurement guidelines,” the report recommended.

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

Inmate held with ganja in New Amsterdam Prison A convicted prisoner has fingered a Prison Officer after he was caught with over 800 grams of marijuana in the New Amsterdam Prison on Friday night.

According to reports, an alert Prison Officer who was working in the compound of the prison around 21:30 hrs on Friday, saw a suspicious movement in the precincts of the facility.

Upon checking, he noticed convicted prisoner Clifton Ramcharran called “Witch”, 39, with a haversack over his shoulder.

Ramcharran is serving a

two-year sentence for escaping from lawful custody, The Prison Officer challenged him and ordered him to stop, but he continued walking towards the male dormitory.

The Prison Officer followed and when he finally caught up with Ramcharran, a search was carried out on the prisoner, revealing a quantity of cigarettes and spoons in one of his pockets.

A further search unearthed the bag in which a quantity of leaves seeds and stems suspected to be marijuana was found.

The contents were later tested and weighed and found to be 851 grams of the herb. Confronted with the harsh reality of being charged with possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, Ramcharran gave the name of a Prison Officer who he claimed had sent him to collect the drugs.

The Prison Officer when confronted denied that he knew anything of the arrangement.

The police and prison authorities are investigating and charges are likely soon.

No recorded case of TIP in Amerindian communities for 2012 In 2012 there were no recorded reports of trafficking in persons at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, according to Minister Pauline Sukhai.

“Last year we would not have had any reports of trafficking in persons that the Ministry recorded… in 2011 we had two reports. The minute we get should an indication of TIP, we have a protocol of indications falling into place.”

However, the Amerindian Affairs Minister explained that in terms of rape cases, there were seven referrals; 23 labour cases of nonpayment by employers were referred to the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security and 10 referrals were made pertaining to domestic violence.

“This is an issue which we are not soft on, even though we do not bring closure to it, because it’s outside the mandate of how much we deal with the rape cases…as soon as a rape

- Minister

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai case comes to our attention, we immediately document the case with exigency. What we do is refer it to the Ministry of Human Service s a n d S o c i a l S e c u r i t y, ” t h e Minister noted.

Young Amerindian girls are seen as one of the most vulnerable targets for trafficking in persons.

Brigadier (retd) David Granger, Leader of the Opposition, in 2012, had

criticised the government for its failure to act decisively to stamp out the scourge of Trafficking in Persons.

Citing the US Department of State’s annual ‘Trafficking in Persons Report’, which “usually gives Guyana an unfavourable ‘Tier 2’ ranking”, Granger called on the Government to reorganize the Guyana Police Force to enable it to enforce the law and comply wi t h international conventions against TIP. Granger warned that the virulence and persistence of the plague of Trafficking in Persons over the past two decades, demands new official attitudes and approaches.

He called on the PPP/C administration to establish a special Commission to investigate human trafficking and to promulgate a comprehensive national counter-trafficking enforcement strategy.

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Intruder caught breaking into hotel room, implicates security guard A burglar who twice broke into a customer’s room at a popular New Amsterdam hotel and stole a quantity of cash and other articles has implicated a security guard as the person who hired him to carry out the act.

The intruder was successful in his first attempt in which he stole $94,000, but was caught on the second attempt and given a sound trashing before being handed over to the police.

The guard was also apprehended and handed over to the police.

The guest and his wife who operate a lumber yard in Georgetown and are regular patrons at the hotel checked into the facility around 19:00 hrs on Friday evening.

They went out and returned around 23:00hrs and retired to bed.

The man said that he was awakened around 05:00 hrs the following morning by the noise of the nearby church doing morning prayers.

He stated that he was actually shocked when he noticed a light entering the room. Upon looking keenly he

noticed the blinds were pulled to the side and the bars removed or broken.

He then noticed a shadow outside the window. He secreted himself and soon after an intruder came crawling through the open window.

Gathering all the courage he had, he grabbed the man and the two were engaged in a tussle, with the ensuing commotion awaking his wife.

The woman said that she immediately called the front desk and reported that an intruder was in their room.

In the meantime, the men continued to tussle and after getting the worst of the encounter, the intruder began to beg, revealing that he was sent by the man in “red shirt” downstairs.

Not long after there was a knock on the door and a man with a red shirt was standing at the entrance. He identified himself as the guard. The intruder identified him as the man who sent him to break into the room.

The guard told the business man to allow the intruder to go, but suspecting

that something was amiss the businessman said that he picked up the broken window bar and commanded the intruder to go under the bed.

He then ordered the guard to join the intruder under the bed. The two engaged in a scramble before he overpowered the guard and forced him also under the bed.

The police were called and they arrived promptly to arrest the two men.

Upon checking the businessman noticed that all his money was missing from his pocket, and the intruder later confirmed that he had entered before and taken the money which he gave to the guard. He was on his second trip to look for more money, jewelry and other valuables when he was caught. The money was subsequently recovered.

The man said that he went to the hotel with $100,000. Six of which was used to pay the receptionist for the room. The guard was in the vicinity and had noticed him doing the transaction.

Proprietors of the hotel were tight lipped.

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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

Fighting the Rape Culture The gruesome rape of a 23 year old woman on a bus in India brought home graphically the intersection of sex and power. The sex-power relationship is the defining element of rape because men gain power over women by controlling and violating them sexually.

Researchers know rape as a gendered crime, that is, a crime against women that is perpetrated by men. Most rape victims are female, a small percentage of about 2% are male, but virtually all rapists are male.

Victim characteristics do not seem to predict whether a woman will be raped or not. Factors such as how she dresses, whether or not she acts “provocatively”, whether she is at home or on the street, sexually active or not, are not related to becoming a rape victim. It appears that the best predictor of whether or not one will be raped is gender— being female.

Guyana can be described as a rape culture where the act of rape is normative, meaning it is essentially a condoned behaviour. Although there are laws against rape, rarely are perpetrators charged or convicted. In a recent study, “Without Conviction: Sexual Violence Cases in The Guyana Justice Process”, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) shows an average conviction rate of 1.4% in rape cases compared to rape reports originally made to the police (9 convictions out of 647 reports) over the years 2000-2004.

This average figure disguises a trend which is even worse.

The conviction rate for 2000, the first of the five years, was 0.9% (1:117) while that for the final year, 2004, was 0.6% (1:154). Thus we regulate rather than prohibit rape.

Rape culture is further enabled by sex role socialization practices that teach non-overlapping ideas of masculinity and femininity. Boys are expected to be tough, independent, competitive and aggressive. The socialization of sexual aggression in males is complemented by a culture that uses rape as entertainment in film, video and pornography. Girls are socialized to be gentle, vulnerable, nurturing and physically weaker than males.

Female socialization as victims is complemented by an almost complete lack of training and support for resisting rape. In fact, the most common myth about rape resistance is that if a woman fights back against a rapist, she is more likely to be injured than if she submits.

Women are conditioned to believe the strong cultural message that rape resistance is both futile and dangerous.

Despite socialization to the contrary, it is surprising to learn that women are more likely to escape a would-be rapist than to be raped by him.

Psychologists are in complete agreement with the consistent evidence that shows that resistance may prevent rape and resistance poses no increased risk of injury.

Surveys have shown that most people think that injury is the most likely outcome of resistance even though no empirical evidence supports this view.

There are many benefits of resistance aside from escaping being raped. Women who fight back have a stronger sense of having done all they could and thus are less likely to blame themselves for what happened. Women who do not resist are more likely to be raped, more often blamed for the rape and are likely to suffer the associated physical and psychological after effects of rape.

If the woman wants to prosecute the man who raped her she will face disbelief from juries because the lack of resistance increases judgments that she consented. The more she resists the more certain are jurors that a rape occurred. This is the classic damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation.

Self-defence mastery is a radical act because it confronts rape culture by removing men’s control over women’s physical bodies. It challenges the sex-power relationship that is the defining element of rape. It empowers women by reducing the constant fear of rape that acts to imprison women in their homes and keep them in unhealthy relationships with male “protectors.” Most potent of all, self-defence mastery emboldens women by enabling increased freedom of action—the freedom to go, to do, to be.

Monday January 07, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

A Visitor’s Impressions of Guyana (Part II) DEAR EDITOR, On New Year’s Day, 2010, I shared a first-time visitor’s impressions of Guyana with the readers of this newspaper.

My comments then were mostly positive, since my very pleasant experiences here had contrasted so sharply with the negative feedback I was given prior to my departure from Canada, some of it coming from expatriate Guyanese.

Three years and two visits later, I would like to offer some further observations from an informed and sympathetic outsider’s perspective.

However this time around there will be some negatives mixed in with the positives.

THREE POSITIVES 1. The natural beauty of this country is truly breathtaking. I have been able to travel to many parts of Guyana outside Georgetown where my Guyanese-born wife and I have a winter residence.

My visits to Kaieteur Falls, The Rupununi, Berbice, and the Pomeroon region have all been fascinating, and there are still many more areas I look forward to exploring in the future.

As someone who has had the opportunity to see quite a bit of the world, I would say that Guyana compares favourably with many other better-known nations in terms of its appeal to visitors.

This country is richly endowed with a variety of natural environments, including rainforests, savannahs, and seacoasts that with some more development and promotion

could make Guyana a global tourist magnet and an international model for managed, sustainable tourism.

To cite just one example – my guidebook to Guyana pointed out that if the Iwokrama Centre were located in any other Caribbean or South American country, it would be an internationally-renowned destination, but since it is in Guyana it is practically unknown.

I hope that this situation will be remedied soon, and Guyana can start to attract more foreign visitors who will delight in its natural beauty and contribute to the country’s economic growth.

2. The warmth and friendliness of the Guyanese people is always a tonic for me on my visits here.

Everywhere I go, I am greeted cordially, especially during the Christmas season.

Despite some comments in the press about the decline of manners and civility here, I have not experienced a single instance of rudeness or intimidation, even though I can obviously be recognized as an outsider.

When I travel to other countries, I prefer not to insulate myself inside a “tourist bubble,” but instead blend as much as possible into the local milieu.

Here in Guyana, this means travelling on the minibuses, shopping at the Stabroek or Bourda markets, and sharing a coconut water (with jelly, of course) with my wife at a roadside vendor’s cart. Every time I became a

little exasperated with the heat, crowds, mosquitoes, traffic, etc, it only took one smile or friendly “hello” from a resident for my bad mood to evaporate like a drop of rain in the hot tropical sun.

On my return to the chilly Canadian winter, I plan to take a little of this Guyanese warmth home with me.

3. Guyana’s cultural diversity is intriguing to me. I grew up in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, but for such a small country, Guyana is a rich mosaic of different nationalities, all of which have contributed to the country’s cultural vitality.

The Amerindians, AfroGuyanese, East Indians, Portuguese, Chinese and others have all left their mark on Guyana’s culture in so many ways, including music, dance, traditions, proverbs, religion, food, sport, art, music and literature.

I have marveled at the Umana Yana, savoured garlic pork at Christmas, been moved by the beauty of mosques, mandirs, and churches across the country, laughed at the jokes, and listened to my share of soca and other musical styles that flourish here.

More than once I have expressed my astonishment to my wife that such a small country could produce and nurture such a vast variety of cultural expressions, many of which have enriched the world outside Guyana. This should truly be a matter of great national pride, and something worth preserving and fostering.

THREE NEGATIVES 1. The garbage and drainage situation, especially in Georgetown, should be a national disgrace. My heart frequently sank when I saw (and smelled) the unsightly mounds of rotting garbage that dot so many parts of a place that was once renowned as the “garden” of the Caribbean.

While reading an article about Georgetown in the 1940s, accompanied by period photos, I could scarcely imagine that the city had appeared so clean and well-managed in the past. I am aware that many Guyanese are also seriously disturbed by this garbage and drainage crisis, and want it redressed.

But as with so many of this country’s problems, it is my impression that actions speak much louder than words or good intentions. All parts of Guyanese society, including political and business leaders, church and community groups, and most of all ordinary householders and shopkeepers, must take on their share of responsibility if this blight on the otherwise fair face of Guyana is ever to be removed.

This is not just a matter of aesthetics –it is a clear and present health hazard for both residents and visitors alike.

Guyana will never be the appealing destination for travelers that it deserves to be unless this matter is addressed once and and for all, and sooner rather than later.

2. The gap between rich and poor is huge and appears Continued on page 6

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

We continue to hold the view that the opening hours at Haag Bosch landfill site are too restrictive DEAR EDITOR, Over the last few days, eight of our collection trucks have been out of service for repairs. The repairs to these vehicles have been delayed because of the unavailability of spares and the apparent difficulty to diagnose the problems affecting them.

Our technical team has been working assiduously to correct the situation but it is a daunting challenge. Had it not been for that, it must be admitted, we would have been able to do a better job at collecting garbage from our local communities. However, existing circumstances continue to restrain the effectiveness and efficiency of our collection system.

In the face of this mounting embarrassing problem, we continue to hold the view that the opening hours at Haag Bosch landfill site are too restrictive. It is impacting on the turnaround time of the trucks and the general rhythm of garbage collection in all sections of the city.

We are aware that the contractor operating the siteBK International- has certain contractual obligations and that an extension of the opening hours would require additional sums. The question is who will pay for an extension of the operational time at the site?

What is clear is that the council does not have the money to pay for that extension. In fact, a comparative analysis of collection of revenue for the last three years will show that last year council’s performance in the area of revenue collection was noticeably poor.

Add to that the fact that we have not had a valuation of properties in the city for more than two decades, substantial increases in the cost of certain essential commodities used by the council to provide services to citizens, the changing demographics of the city, lack of new revenue sources, and the increasing varying environmental, public health and other needs of the capital. The city’s treasury is very shallow.

The lack of financial and other resources along with other factors including an embrassing culture of indiscipline by some citizens, inability of council to enforce compliance with the law, and the lack of an aggressive environmental education programme have combine to encourage illegal dumping in almost every community.

As a result, the council must consider other options

to manage its solid waste. Let us examine two of them: The first approach is to increase the number of collection vehicles and crews in communities. This could compensate for the restrictive hours and distance the trucks must travel to tip. Additional trucks will double up on collection.

The advantage is that garbage will be cleared faster from local communities; citizens will not have to wait an additional two days to have their regular garbage removed from their premises. They will not have to see the disgusting site of vagrants rummaging through their bins or endure the nuisance of flies.

The disadvantage is that more trucks require more money, which the council does not have at this point in time. Additional collection vehicles will increase direct cost by 80%- 90% on what is currently paid to our contractors.

The second and more viable approach is to set up a transfer station to manage municipal solid waste. Waste transfer stations are facilities where garbage is unloaded from collection vehicles and briefly held while it is reloaded onto larger long-distance transport vehicles for shipment to landfills or other treatment or disposal facilities.

The advantages are by combining the loads of several individual waste collection trucks into a single shipment, local communities can save money on the labour and operating costs of transporting the waste to a distant disposal site. Also, they can reduce the total number of vehicular trips traveling to and from the disposal site.

Again, citizens would be encouraged to take the garbage to the facility. The station can then function as a regulatory valve to work with the time and rhythm of the landfill site at Haag Bosch.

The disadvantage is that such a facility requires substantial inject of funds, which is not within the coffers of the council. Yet there is an urgent need for a properly managed and efficient transfer station, to help with the management of municipal solid waste, in Georgetown.

However, a few months ago, Cevons Waste Management Company approached the council for permission to set up such a transfer station, on the portion of land off Nelson

Mandela Avenue, next to the Gymnasium. In addition, the company plans to put in place certain features to capture the methane gas from the old landfill site and convert it to energy to benefit neighbouring communities, and to set up a recycling plant for plastic and cardboard. The benefits of that proposal are clear: 1. It will facilitate small businesses with their canters and small trucks to disposal of their garbage without the headache of going the

distance, time and money. At the moment, certain types of vehicles and horse- drawn carts are not permitted to dispose garbage at the Haag Bosch site.

2. It will allow those horse- drawn carts that collect garbage from different areas and dump it anywhere, in the city, to dispose of it in an appropriate manner that will not hurt the environment and the health of communities.

3. It will be accessible to the public; residents can

assist our effort to keep the city clean by taking their garbage to the transfer station rather than getting involved in illegal dumping.

It is clear that, that area is most appropriate because it is close to a heavy duty main roadway, which is needed to haul heavy garbage from the city to Haag Bosch.

Having regards to those and other benefits facilitated by the project, the Mayor and City Council, at its Statutory Meeting, granted approval to Ceveon Waste Management

to utilize that portion of land.

Finally, we believe that, this environment challenge requires an aggressive national effort.

All stakeholders must be involved in very practical ways, to put an end to this situation that continues to spiral out of control. We need to work together to make Georgetown safe for us and the next generation. We need to act now!

Royston King Public Relations Officer Mayor and City Council

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Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

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

Freddie wrong, readers don’t need to know writers’ identities DEAR EDITOR, No one can quite understand Freddie’s obsession with wanting to know people’s profession, educational background, lifestyle, place of work, etc.

– everything under the sun about their identity (KN Jan 6). A person pens a commentary and if it is not libelous, the editor chooses to publish it. Responses are allowed under the media principle of “right to a response”. If Freddie, or anyone, has anything to add or seeks clarification or wishes to rebut what a person writes, he can pen a related piece as so many letter writers do. Freddie is not special to be provided information on a person’s identity. That falls under a person’s privacy which is not the public’s business.

M. Maxwell and Sultan Mohammed are excellent contributors to the letter pages. Few analyze, certainly not Freddie, as well as them with deep insights, objectivity, professionalism, and intellectual rigor that Freddie lacks. Readers praise the two writers for their contributions and are very critical of Freddie for his

assaults on peoples’ personality. Contrary to what Freddie pens, these men don’t attack peoples’ personality. They have never written anything libelous or could even be considered as attacks. They gave readers sound analyses.

For some inexplicable reason, he wants to know the person’s identity – education, occupation, jobsite, existence, etc. What do those requirements have to do with publishing a letter, the contents of what is written, etc.? A name and an address is all that should be required for a letter – that is the requirement everywhere.

The editor or publisher doesn’t go and check on the person’s existence.

The real problem with Freddie is he simply can’t compete in intellect with Maxwell, Mohammed, Annan Boodram, Emile Mervin, Devanand Bhagwan, Ravi Dev etc. – all outstanding writers who don’t manufacture evidence to support their arguments and who don’t misstate social concepts to mislead readers (unlike Freddie). So he questions their identity and derogates them because of their

honesty and truthfulness.

Freddie has had this tactic of questioning peoples’ existence as a way to discredit their superior skills and i n t e l l e c t t o h i s . I t wasn’t too long ago he also questioned whether I was a real person and wants to know where I was educated and employed.

Freddie complains that Maxwell has not responded to his invitation for a meeting.

Hasn’t it dawned on him that Maxwell and others don’t want anything to do with him for obvious reasons. They recognize his flawed analysis and personality driven writings and don’t wish to mingle with such an individual.

Editor, readers don’t need to know the lifestyle of any contributor. Freddie or the public knowing the identity of the writer won’t change the content. The truth is the truth and the analysis would be the same as long as it is l ogically substantiated. Readers can determine when an argument is logically sound. Readers can evaluate the intellectual ability of a writer based on his or her writing.

Their existence,

profession, lifestyle, etc. are their personal business that readers don’t need. Only Freddie needs the information to discredit the person. That is why he contacted by job for information about me.

People may write under

anonymous names because they may be a whistleblower or don’t wish to put their job or family on the line or some other justifiable reason.

During my political studies, we learn about Mr. X, the US diplomat posted to Moscow and Deep Throat, the source

for the Washington Post investigative report on Watergate, and so many others who used pen names or hid their true identities. It is the content of their stories that really matter, not their identity Vishnu Bisram

A Visitor’s Impressions of...

From page 4 to be widening. Although I have read many articles lamenting the crime wave, lack of manners, and crass materialism that pervade Guyanese society, I have seen very few that deal with what to me seems to be the root of many of this country’s difficulties. I refer to the huge income disparity between the “haves” and the “havenots.’”

My wife and I attended a very enjoyable Old Year’s Night party at the Pegasus Hotel, in the company of many local residents who I would characterize as the privileged “one per cent” of Guyanese society.

The cost of two tickets to the event would account for more than the total monthly salary of someone earning the minimum wage here, which I was informed was about $200 (US) per month.

This example helps me to put into perspective the patent unfairness and injustice of this situation, especially since the other “ninety-nine” percent can read all about the “lifestyles of the rich and famous,” including the country’s political elite, in the pages of the three daily papers, accompanied by glamorous photos of the goings-on.

I know that is is very difficult if not impossible for any country, including my Canadian homeland, to achieve perfect economic and social equality. But the situation here in Guyana appears to me to be reaching a breaking point. I wonder how much longer the disadvantaged and marginalized majority will tolerate this iniquitous state of affairs without resorting to violence and widespread civil disorder. This is an issue that clearly should be at the top of the agenda for Guyana’s political leaders, which leads me to my last negative point.

3. The ongoing bickering

among the various political factions here seems to prevent any serious action to address Guyana’s many problems.

I know that it is risky for an outsider to venture his opinions on the politics of another country, especially one where it has enflamed and continues to provoke serious clashes, but I would like to offer these comments for what they may be worth.

The unprecedented minority government situation resulting from the 2011 elections would have seemed to me to be a golden opportunity for political parties of all stripes to put aside their partisan differences in the interests of the country.

This has happened many times in Canada, which shares with Guyana the British Westminster parliamentary system inherited from our colonial days.

Instead, from my observations and readings of all three daily papers, it appears to have resulted in a continuous and tiresome round of finger-pointing and “blame-gaming,” with no side willing to admit to any failings or shortcomings on its part.

Yes the current PPP-C government has much to be proud of in terms of the legacy of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and its return to power in a free election in 1992 after decades of being unfairly shut out.

But after twenty years, like all parties long in power, it is beginning to show signs of being out of touch, complacent, arrogant, and if I may dare say so, perhaps a little corrupt. It needs a thorough housecleaning, from top to bottom, which I understand some party insiders have already called for.

For its part, the APNU is clearly a recognized and legitimate political force with much to contribute, but it would seem to me that its

credibility with at least one segment of Guyanese society would be vastly enhanced if it would unequivocally dissociate itself from the darker aspects of the Burnham-Hoyte PNC years, and commit itself to respecting the rights of all of Guyana’s citizens should it one day find itself again holding power.

Finally, the AFC, as a party that seeks to bridge the racial divide that has for so long poisoned the politics of post-independence Guyana, could in my view play a much more positive and mediating role, using its king-maker position in the National Assembly to compel both of the larger parties to turn from confrontation to cooperation.

I recognize that this is a very tall order, and may be a bitter pill for the political factions to swallow, but surely there must come a time when patriotic Guyanese leaders of all parties recognize that their number one duty as public servants is to strive towards the goal so movingly expressed in this country’s motto –that is, “one people, one nation, one destiny.”

From my outsider ’s perspective, that time is now.

I recognize that these opinions, especially the negative ones, come from the point of view of a visitor who did not grow up or live for a long period of time here in Guyana, and run the risk of being unfavourably received despite being well meant.

But as my wife and I are seriously considering making this country our place of residence, at least for the colder months of the Canadian year, and as someone with a degree of knowledge and background in the fields of history, politics, and society, I believe that my perspective may have some value.

In closing, I would like to wish all the people of Guyana a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. I hope that when I return in a year’s time I may see the positives accentuated and the negatives diminished. On that occasion, I will be happy to provide a third and more positive installment of a visitor ’s impressions of this fine country.

Dr. Peter Flaherty

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

Hiccups identified in CPCE’s ADE Programme

By Leon Suseran Several hiccups and problems have been identified within the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) Associate Degree in Education (ADE) Programme.

A senior official, in an interview with this newspaper, highlighted a plethora of difficulties and problems associated with the teacher-training programme in the Berbice centres, among them, allegations of exam papers being sent via e-mail and hard copies arriving at the centres hours late.

Additionally there is the allegation that studentteachers are being made to sit up to four exams in one day.

Berbice has two CPCE ‘satellite centres’ at New Amsterdam, which trains Nursery and Primary School Teachers and the Johns Corentyne Centre, which trains Secondary School Teachers.

The ADE Programme started in 2010. It replaced the Trained Teacher’s Certificate (TTC) Programme. The first batch of ADE teachers graduated a few weeks ago at the National Cultural Centre in Georgetown, the largest ever graduation of the

college.

However, many are questioning the quality of output (graduates) at the recent graduation, since the ADE programme was shorter—two years (the TTC Programme was 3 years) — and it was riddled with problems, as the Berbice official explained.

The official compared the smooth systems experienced under the TTC Programme to the one with difficulties currently being experienced under the administering of the ADE Programme.

“We used to receive examination papers like about a week before or three days before...but with the ADE programme this is not happening...the papers, we receive the day of the exam, and we have problems like having an exam at 9 and students writing that exam until 1 pm and they would go and sit there waiting anxiously to write the exam and I think that this is very frustrating.”

“To prepare for your exam and then exams start several hours later...that is one of the problems we are facing,” the official declared.

The next issue, the official

- emailed exam papers among allegations stated, was with studentteachers having to write three to four examinations in one day.

“Examinations would last sometimes up to 8pm in the night.”

The official went on to say that never in the history of the college have exam papers been e-mailed to the satellite centre and questioned the integrity of the papers which could be compromised as a result of this process.

The official, specifically speaking about the Johns Centre, stated that “now you got [exam] papers coming through e-mails wild west!

And then we have to print them out from the e-mails and give the students because sometimes the times these papers would arrive, the copy shops in the area would be closed.”

Another problem described was studentteachers receiving results “for subjects they never wrote.” “When we have exam timetables, we can’t just give teachers timetables and expect them to come out

Brave teen takes away cutlass and shotgun from bandits A teenager from the mining Town of Linden threw caution to the wind and relieved two bandits of their cutlass and a shotgun in daring display of bravery early yesterday morning.

His actions forced the two bandits who had invaded his family’s home to flee empty handed.

Police in a press release stated that at about 01:30 hours yesterday, two men armed with a shotgun and a cutlass pushed open the door and entered the home of a man at Wismar, Linden.

At the time the man was at home with his reputed wife and her 18-year-old son and her

daughter.

According to the police, 18-year-old first confronted the man with the cutlass and took it away from him, during which he received minor injuries.

Undaunted, the teenager now armed with the cutlass, then confronted the man with the shotgun, and wrested the firearm from the bandit. During this scuffle a round was discharged boring a hole in the roof of the building.

Both bandits made a hasty retreat and escaped. The firearm, a 12 gauge shotgun and the cutlass were handed over to the police who are conducting investigations.

because exams are written from 9am-5pm, and for us to have these teachers to come and write exams from 9am, we gotta get permission from the Education Officer and this is a trouble by itself— when you take exam time tables to the officer, it is very difficult to obtain permission for the teachers to leave their schools”.

The Regional Education Department would normally have to grant permission to student- teachers to leave school during school hours to attend CPCE to write exams, if the need arises.

The official cannot say whether the other satellite centres across the country are having similar problems with the ADE Programme, “but I know New Amsterdam is the same nonsense receiving examination papers via e-mail...getting exam papers on the day of exams and all those nonsense.”

There are several satellite centres of CPCE across Guyana, namely Johns, Port Mourant; New Amsterdam; Georgetown; Linden; Anna Regina; Vreed-en-Hoop and in Region One. The individual is of the view that the programme itself has caused all these problems.

“I don’t think they are ready for the ADE

Programme because the duration in which the teacher would have to cover the material to be taught, it is not enough— it’s too much work— soon as students would finish a semester, they don’t even have a day of rest, they have to jump into the other semester.”

Students have no time to recuperate and would also have to attend classes through all the school holidays.

The ADE Programme is so structured that one academic year is divided into 3 semesters, whereas the TTC Programme was divided into 2 semesters per academic year, with rest time during most if not all of the school holidays.

The official is of the view that the stringent, compact ADE Programme is indeed impacting on the output/ results of the students. “I want to feel so, because it is one of the reasons why we are having the amount of failures that we are having now”.

“The officials— seniors— would have known much better to sit with these people that are financing the programme— sit with them and talk to them and let them understand the students and teachers that we have and how much work they [the

teachers] can handle and those kinds of things, and I don’t think that was done.”

“Lecturers are frustrated, too, in so many ways, and there are times when they would have meetings at the main campus in Turkeyen where they would talk about these problems but nothing being done.”

“If they want to continue the ADE Programme, I think they need to extend the time or cut the content— the work— and if they don’t want to do either, they need to revert to the TTC programme...because this thing is not working.”

The official also noted that the recent teachers who graduated in the ADE Programme are clueless as to whether they would be given a salary increase. Salary upgrades were automatic under the TTC Programme.

Additionally, it was said that after teachers would have completed the ADE Programme at CPCE, they would just have to spend two additional years at the University of Guyana to obtain a Bachelor of Education Degree. This, too, the official said is uncertain.

“When you call Georgetown CPCE, the official said they do not know, and that they are not certain.”

Several efforts to contact Debbie Thomas, Principal of the Cyril Potter College of Education proved futile.

Businessman peeved at attempt to damage his character East Coast Demerara businessman Ramzan Gafoor is upset over allegations made by his two older siblings who are the principals in a bitter family dispute that is threatening to get ugly.

Gafoor was accused of hiring a gang of thugs to damage vehicles belonging to his brother Abdool at his Good Hope business place last week.

Ramzan has flatly denied the allegation and is claiming that it was his vehicle that was damaged by his brother during a scuffle.

The feud started over a plot of land that was left for the brothers by their deceased parents.

Ramzan, who was living with his mother on the plot of land up to the time of her death, occupies the front portion facing the East Coast Demerara Public Road, while his two older brothers had to settle for the piece at the back.

Now Ramzan Gafoor and his brother Abdool are engaged in almost similar business; selling vehicles and spare parts.

The contention stems from the fact that while Ramzan is free to display his

products to the general public, his brother is prohibited from doing so because of his location at the back of Ramzan.

This has been going on for years but the situation escalated within the past few months when Ramzan decided to erect a fence separating his portion of the family property, much to the annoyance of his two brothers, who have since taken the matter to court.

Ramzan told this newspaper that he actually resides in Canada, but operates a business at the Good Hope location.

He said that while he was away, his brothers proceeded to threaten his watchman and went on to place a padlock on the gate of his business causing him to lose a lot of his customers.

“They even break my fence,” he said.

This forced him to return to Guyana in November last year to sort things out in an amicable manner.

However that was not to be. The two sides continued to be at each other’s throat until it escalated into violence last week Wednesday.

Following the altercation, Ramzan was accused by his brother’s wife, of ordering the damage of three pick-up trucks. The woman claimed that she had identified him among the perpetrators.

However, Ramzan provided several witnesses who supported his claim that he was not at the scene at the time the damages were being perpetrated.

Footage of the destruction was captured on closed circuit television cameras.

“They had attacked me with wood and I had to run and leave my vehicle,” he said, adding that his windscreen was damaged in the process.

Ramzan was also fingered in a fire in 2006 that resulted in millions of dollars in damages to several unregistered vehicles belonging to his brother’s son.

Ramzan has also denied this claiming “I don’t have time to assault people. All I want is to do business.”

“These people are just trying to damage my character. I am not that type of person,” he declared.

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Suicide following allegations of a mysterious visit The case of the young man who reportedly hanged himself recently after a visit from Welfare Officers from the Ministry of Education needs to be investigated thoroughly by an independent group of individuals.

A personal tragedy has occurred but the suicide of this young man is also a matter of grave concern to the society as a whole, especially considering the circumstances that preceded the young man taking his own life.

The actions of the Welfare Officers, including the reason for their visit need to be explained not just to the Minister of Education but to the community from which the boy originated.

A life has been lost following an alleged visit

by Welfare Officers. If these Officers were not on official duty, if their mission fell outside of their job responsibilities, if they were

on a private assignment without the sanction of their superiors, then serious action needs to be taken.

Someone has lost his life and there are raging allegations being made associating the suicide with the visit by the officers. In other countries these types of allegations have led to strong outrage and we are fortunate that amidst the charges and counter charges there has been admirable restraint.

But clearly, passions will run high and the authorities need to ensure that things remain calm by initiating a process characterized by public confidence and aimed at determining the facts in this matter.

The Welfare Officers should, NOT like Minister Rohee, be prejudged. At this stage, the Officers should not be blamed for what happened because the full facts of the matter have not yet been determined.

The investigation will hopefully provide answers.

This investigation should be quick and complete and should answer amongst other things the questions as to why was it necessary in the first place for these officers to visit the home of the young man.

The visit was said to be related to the death of the young man’s 15-year old girlfriend three weeks ago. If the visit was in relation to this incident then it raises serious concerns.

The young woman committed suicide three weeks ago and even if there was an allegation that the young girl took her own life because of problems in the relationship with her boyfriend, what does this have to do with Welfare Officers? T his should be a matter for the police and not for Welfare Officers. Why were they at the house of the young man, if indeed they were there?

Dem boys seh

Bar Bee gun want start a funeral parlour Jagdeo life in danger. That is wha de hard times newspaper seh de other day.

Right away dem boys decide fuh check to see if he eat anything or if he following Chavez. Dem call some of he friends and dem call de hospital but nobody claim how dem didn’t know anything bout dat.

Dem call Brom Mell and ask he if he hear anything and he seh that if that was de case he would a know.

Anyhow, he decide fuh call De Donald. Nobody ain’t know nutten bout that and is then dem realize that de hard times paper trying fuh mek news fuh sell.

Even Jagdeo seh that he didn’t know bout that because he don’t eat about and he don’t drink. He even seh that Old Year’s Night he

been to Palm Court and he sit down wid all dem people and nobody ain’t even notice he.

Is a funny thing when people want to gain attention.

De other day Bar Bee claim how people envy he and how dem want fuh stifle he business.

Nobody didn’t know anything bout that because any business he got is something that everybody know about. Dem know bout de hospital business and de one he got wid de Ministry of Health.

Dem also know that he trying fuh sue people fuh get money but even that is a poor business. Just like de Easy Come Easy Go business that de Man wid de Hammer still crying about.

Dem boys want fuh know why Bar Bee and Jagdeo

crying like a wolf looking fuh sympathy. Dem also want to know if de security expert is Steve who is dem boys friend. When Jagdeo tek way ads from de Big market paper, De Caires did cry too. De life of de paper was threatened but de paper still live, Wha dem boys know is that everybody life in danger when dem go pun de road because is sheer madness happening. People don’t stop at traffic lights, don’t stop at major roads and when dem stop dem does stop suh sudden that anything can happen.

Wha dem boys suggest is that Bar Bee get into de funeral parlour business and de first corpse he gun get is de Hard time newspaper.

Talk half and pray fuh Bar Bee.

The Welfare Officers have to explain just what was the basis of any visit they had paid to the now deceased young man and whether there is any truth in the allegation that they threatened the young man.

These issues need to be cleared up because it is not unknown in Guyana for public officers to be engaged in work that does not fall within their authority or is not authorized by their superiors.

Some officers have in the past been known to abuse their positions and to use their offices to pursue private agendas.

This has not been established in relation to the young man who hanged himself soon after the incident but it must be one of the things that must be addressed in the

investigation.

The Minister of Education should therefore launch an immediate investigation into this matter.

The investigating team should be named and since there is great public interest in the matter, a deadline should be announced by which the report should be made public.

It is a New Year and there should be better ways of doing things. The Minister of Education should therefore move assertively to allay all the fears that are normally associated with announcements about investigations into a matter.

A child has committed suicide and fingers are being pointed. Those accusatory fingers may very well be unjustly directed at the Welfare Officers but there are

also outstanding questions about why the visit was made in the first place.

The government should get to the bottom of this matter and determine whether the conduct of the Welfare Officers were in keeping with professional standards and just what were they doing in the first place at the home of a minor and why was he reportedly questioned in the absence of and without the consent of his parents.

A life has been lost and it is important that this life is not cheapened because of the failure to explain just what triggered the young man to take his own life.

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Cops in another fruitless search for missing GEA employee Detectives yesterday evening scoured the Yarrowkabra backlands in yet another fruitless search for missing Guyana Energy Authority employee LeVoy Taljit, who went missing 14 days ago.

The police team rushed to the area late yesterday after receiving information that Taljit was tied to a tree, a short distance from the area where his vehicle had been found.

The ranks searched the area until nightfall without finding a trace of the missing man.

Meanwhile, police have since released the associates of the prime suspect in Taljit’s disappearance. However, the 32-year-old suspect from Soesdyke was still in custody yesterday.

Investigations have revealed that Taljit’s ‘friend’ was in possession of the missing man’s bank card and

withdrew money from the GEA employee’s account after he vanished. He reportedly handed over the bank card to the police after taking them to a house where he had hidden it.

The associate said that the suspect withdrew some $50,000 from Taljit’s bank account, but claimed that the missing GEA staffer owed him money and had given him the bank card.

According to the source, the two men communicated extensively via an internet site. A senior official said that investigators are going through the men’s computers in the hope of unearthing any evidence about Taljit’s whereabouts.

Taljit, who is of Amerindian and East Indian descent, was reported missing over two weeks ago.

He was last seen wearing

MISSING: LeVoy Taljit a burgundy-coloured Tee shirt and faded blue jeans.

Taljit had previously worked in the Enforcement Department of the Guyana Revenue Authority for several years.

Tourism Ministry working to have new airline carriers operating this year Within the first three months of this year, the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce hopes to initiate discussions with three large airline companies WestJet, Air Canada, and Jet Blue to stimulate and motivate interests in investing in Guyana.

WestJet is the secondlargest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, offering scheduled service to 81 destinations in Central and North America, and the Caribbean. It operates a fleet of 99 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft.

WestJet in November last launched a daily, non-stop service between Toronto and

Port of Spain. JetBlue on the other hand is an American airline.

Tourism Minister (ag) Irfaan Ali told the media on Friday that his Ministry has been in discussions with the Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana who is trying to facilitate meetings with Air Canada and WestJet. Both of the latter can provide a valuable service as there is a large Guyanese community living in Canada.

In 2011, EZJet began operating from New York to Guyana, offering much needed low airfares. However, the airline was suspended in late 2012 by the United States and subsequently the

Guyana Government had to suspend its operations here.

Guyana also lost the services of low cost air carrier Redjet due to economic reasons.

Among the airlines servicing Guyana are Caribbean Airlines, Delta Airlines, LIAT and Suriname Airways.

For 2012 there were 543,435 passenger movements or 15% more than that of the previous year.

Within the second quarter of the year, the expansion plan at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport will commence, preparing Guyana to accommodate large aircraft. (GINA)

Possible multi-sectoral approach to ending current City garbage woes The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development is hoping to solicit the support of a number of other ministries in bringing to an end the city garbage problem, especially around the markets and commercial areas.

Minister in the Ministry, Norman Whittaker said that the ministry has taken the

initiative and engaged the Agriculture, Health, Public Works and Tourism Ministries for their support.

According to Minister Whittaker, there have been meetings, with the aim of collectively arriving at the areas where there is a huge buildup of garbage in the city, the measure taken to address

such occurrence and the ministry that will take the responsibility for them.

Minister Whittaker said that since this meeting, the Ministry’s staff have been visiting the various groups in the city responsible for garbage. Special emphasis has been placed on visits to the market and commercials areas for which the council has responsibility.

The staff have been visiting these areas, interacting with the persons and documenting their observations and recommendations on what needs to done and with what resources.

Minister Whittaker said that the ministries will meet on January 11 to determine which agency will be responsible for what tasks.

(GINA)

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Defiant Assad pledges to continue fighting BEIRUT (AP) — A defiant Syrian President Bashar Assad rallied a chanting and cheering crowd yesterday to fight the uprising against his authoritarian rule, dismissing any chance of dialogue with “murderous criminals” that he blames for nearly two years of violence that has left 60,000 dead.

In his first public speech in six months, Assad laid out terms for a peace plan that keeps himself in power, ignoring international demands to step down and pledging to continue the battle “as long as there is one terrorist left” in Syria.

“What we started will not stop,” he said, standing at a lectern on stage at the regal Opera House in central Damascus — a sign by the besieged leader that he sees no need to hide or compromise even with the violent civil war closing in on his seat of power in the capital.

The theater was packed with his supporters who interrupted the speech with applause, cheers and occasional fist-waving chants, including “God,

Bashar and Syria!”

The overtures that Assad offered — a national reconciliation conference, elections and a new constitution — were reminiscent of symbolic changes and concessions offered previously in the uprising that began in March 2011. Those were rejected at the time as too little, too late.

The government last year adopted a constitution that theoretically allows political parties to compete with Assad’s ruling Baath Party. It carried out parliamentary elections that were boycotted by his opponents.

Assad demanded that regional and Western countries must stop funding and arming the rebels trying to overthrow him.

“We never rejected a political solution ... but with whom should we talk? With those who have an extremist ideology, who only understand the language of terrorism? “Or should we with negotiate puppets whom the West brought?” he asked.

“We negotiate with the master, not with the slave,” he answered.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad gestures as speaks at the Opera House in central Damascus, Syria, yesterday. (AP Photo/SANA) As in previous speeches and interviews, he clung to the view that the crisis was a foreign-backed plot and not an uprising against him and his family’s decades-long rule.

“Is this a revolution and are these revolutionaries? By God, I say they are a bunch of criminals,” he said.

He stressed the presence of religious extremists among

those fighting in Syria, calling them “terrorists who carry the ideology of al-Qaida” and “servants who know nothing but the language of slaughter.”

He said the fighters sought to transform the country into a “jihad land.”

Although he put up a defiant front, Assad laid out the grim reality of the violence, and he spoke in front of a collage of photos of what appeared to be Syrians killed in the fighting.

“We are now in a state of war in every sense of the word,” Assad said, “a war that targets Syria using a handful of Syrians and many foreigners. It is a war to defend the nation.”

He said Syria will take advice but not dictates from anyone — a reference to outside powers calling on him to step down.

The speech came amid stepped-up international efforts for a peaceful way out of the Syrian conflict.

Previous efforts have failed to stem the bloodshed.

U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Assad last month to push for a peace plan for Syria based on a plan first presented in June at an

international conference in Geneva. The proposal calls for an open-ended cease-fire and the formation of a transitional government until new elections can be held and a new constitution drafted.

The opposition swiftly rejected Assad’s proposals.

Those fighting to topple the regime have repeatedly said they will accept nothing less than his departure, dismissing any kind of settlement that leaves him in the picture.

“It is an excellent initiative that is only missing one crucial thing: His resignation,” said Kamal Labwani, a veteran dissident and member of the opposition’s Syrian National Coalition umbrella group.

“All what he is proposing will happen automatically, but only after he steps down,” Labwani told The Associated Press by telephone from Sweden.

Haitham Maleh, an opposition figure in Turkey, said Assad was offering the initiative because he feels increasingly besieged by advancing rebels.

“How could he expect us to converse with a criminal, a killer, a man who does not abide by the law?” he asked.

Assad has spoken only on rare occasions since the uprising began, and Sunday’s speech was his first since June. His last public comments came in an interview in November to Russian TV in which he vowed to “live and die” in Syria.

On Sunday, he seemed equally confident in the ability of his troops to crush the rebellion despite the recent fighting in Damascus.

“He did not come across as a leader under siege, nor as a leader whose regime is on the verge of collapse,” said Fawaz A. Gerges, head of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics.

“He seemed determined

U.S. dismisses Assad speech, says he must step aside to allow transition WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department dismissed a speech by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus yesterday as a meaningless attempt to retain power in his war-torn country and urged the beleaguered strongman to step down.

Assad’s speech “is yet another attempt by the regime to cling to power and does nothing to advance the Syrian people’s goal of a political transition,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a statement.

“His initiative is detached from reality, undermines the efforts of Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, and would only allow the regime to further perpetuate its bloody oppression of the Syrian people,” she added, and repeated longstanding U.S. calls for Assad to step down.

that any political settlement must come on his terms, linking those terms with the Syrian national interest as if they are inseparable,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called Assad’s speech “beyond hypocritical.” In a message posted on his official Twitter feed, Hague said “empty promises of reform fool no one.”

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s office said in a statement that the bloc will “look carefully if there is anything new in the speech, but we maintain our position that Assad has to step aside and allow for a political transition.”

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey said the speech was filled with “empty promises” and repetitive pledges of reform by a leader out of touch with the Syrian people.

“It seems (Assad) has shut himself in his room, and for months has read intelligence reports that are presented to him by those trying to win his favor,” Davutoglu told reporters in the Aegean port city of Izmir yesterday.

Turkey is a former ally of Damascus, and while Ankara first backed Assad after the uprising erupted, it turned against the regime after its violent crackdown on dissent.

Observers said the speech signaled the violence would continue indefinitely as long as both sides lacked the ability to score a victory on the battlefield.

Randa Slim, a research fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, said Assad’s made clear he has no intention of making way for a political transition.

“He sees himself rather as an orchestrator and arbiter of a process to be organized under his control,” she said.

The Internet was cut in many parts of Damascus ahead of the address, apparently for security reasons, and some streets were closed.

At the end of his speech, loyalists shouted: “With our blood and souls we redeem you, Bashar!”

As he was leaving the hall, supporters pushed forward and swarmed around him to try to talk to him.

Nervous security guards tried to push them away.

Many shouted “Shabiha forever!” — referring to the armed regime loyalists whom rebels have blamed for sectarian killings.

Amid the melee, Assad quickly shook hands with some of them and blew kisses to others.

Monday January 07, 2013

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Activists wary as India rushes to justice after gang rape

An Indian woman shouts slogans during a protest to mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India, Thursday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) NEW DELHI (Reuters) It’s no surprise the Indian street wants faster, harsher justice for sexual crimes after a horrific gang rape that rocked the nation, but some activists worry the government will trample fundamental rights in its rush to be in tune with popular rage.

Last month’s rape of a physiotherapy student on a moving bus and her death on December 28 in hospital triggered a national debate about how to better protect women in India, where official data shows one rape is reported on average every 20 minutes.

Many women’s rights groups are cautiously hopeful the protests and outrage that followed the crime can be channeled into real change - fast-track courts for sexual offences and a plan to hire 2,500 new women police in Delhi are measures already in the works.

But legal experts and some feminists are worried that calls to make rape punishable with death and other draconian penalties will cramp civil liberties and are unconstitutional.

They say India needs better policing and prosecutions, not new laws.

“If there are not enough convictions, it is not because of an insufficiency of law, but it is the insufficiency of material to base the conviction on,” said retired Delhi High Court judge R.S. Sodhi.

Five men have been charged with the student’s rape and murder and will appear before a New Delhi court later on Monday. They are due to be tried in a newly formed fast-track court in the next few weeks. A teenager also accused will likely be tried in a juvenile court.

Ahead of Monday’s court appearance the five still had no defense lawyers - despite

extensive interrogations by the police, who have said they have recorded confessions - after members of the bar association in the South Delhi district where the case is being heard vowed not to represent them.

The men will be assigned lawyers by the court before the trial begins, but their lack of representation so far could give grounds for appeal later should they be found guilty similar cases have resulted in acquittals years after convictions.

“The accused has a right to a lawyer from point of arrest - the investigations are going on, statements being taken, it is totally illegal,” said Colin Gonsalves, a senior Supreme Court advocate and director of Delhi’s Human Rights Law Network.

Senior leaders of most states on Friday came out in support of a plan to lower to 16 the age that minors can be tried as adults - in response

White House mulls broader approach to gun control

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is weighing a far broader approach to curbing U.S. gun violence than just reinstating a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

A working group led by Vice President Joseph Biden is seriously considering measures that would require universal background checks for gun buyers and track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, the newspaper said.

The measures would also strengthen mental health checks and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the Post said. The approach is backed by law enforcement leaders, it said.

President Barack Obama assigned Biden the job of designing the strategy after the massacre at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school last month that killed 20 children and six adults. To sell such changes,

the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association (NRA), the powerful gun lobby.

They include rallying support from WalMart Stores Inc and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses, the Post said. The White House has been in contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a gun control advocate who could emerge as a surrogate for the administration’s agenda, the paper said.

The Post cited several people involved in the administration’s talks on gun control for its story. They included Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.

The White House had no immediate comment on the Post story. A White House spokesman told the newspaper that Biden’s group was in the middle of its review and had not decided on its final recommendations.

to fury that the maximum penalty the accused youth could face is three years detention. A government panel is considering suggestions to make the death penalty mandatory for rape and introducing forms of chemical castration for the guilty. It is due to make its recommendations by January 23.

“The more you strengthen the powers of the state against the people, the more the possibility you create a draconian regime,” said Sehjo Singh, Programme and Policy Director with ActionAid in India and an expert on Indian women’s social movements.

“We want to raise the bar of human rights in India, we want to raise the standards, not lower them.”

The Indian Express newspaper warned against “knee-jerk” reaction and said any change to the juvenile law “must come after rigorous and considered debate. It cannot be a reaction to a fraught moment”.

Courts are swamped with a backlog of cases in the country of 1.2 billion people and trials often take more

than five years to complete, so the launch by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir of six fast-track courts in the capital to deal with sexual offences was widely greeted as a welcome move.

Several other states including Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are now looking at following Delhi’s example.

But Gonsalves says while the courts are a good idea on paper, similar tribunals in the past delivered dubious verdicts and put financial pressure on the rest of the justice system.

India set up 1,700 fasttrack courts in 2004, but stopped funding them last year because they turned out to be costly. The courts typically work six days a week and try to reduce adjournments that lead to long delays in cases. “The record of the fast-track courts is mixed,” Gonsalves said.

Conviction rates rose, he said, but due process was sometimes rushed, leading to convictions being overturned.

“Fast-track courts were in many ways were fast-track injustice,” he said.

The real problem lie with bad policing and a shortage

of judges, Gonsalves said.

India has about a fifth of the number of judges per capita that the United States has.

Indian police are often poorly trained and underpaid, and have sometimes been implicated in organized crime.

Rights groups complain the mostly male officers are insensitive to victims of sexual crimes.

Resources for, and expertise in, forensic science is limited in most of the country’s police forces and confessions are often extracted under duress. The judiciary complains it is hard to convict offenders because of faulty evidence.

Human Rights Watch said reforms to laws and procedures covering rape and other sexual crimes should focus on protection of witnesses and modernizing support for victims at police stations and hospitals.

The rights organization has documented the continued use of archaic practices such as the “finger test” used by some doctors on rape victims to allegedly determine if they had regular sex.

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Egypt strengthens Islamist role in cabinet, eyes IMF deal CAIRO (Reuters) Egypt’s president added fellow Islamists to a reshuffled government yesterday and the new finance minister pledged to finish talks on an IMF loan to stave off a currency crisis that risks provoking more popular unrest.

A senior IMF official is due in Cairo today to meet Egyptian leaders over the $4.8 billion loan deal, which was postponed last month to give Egypt more time to tackle political tensions before introducing unpopular austerity measures.

The new finance minister Al-Mursi Al-Sayed Hegazy is an expert on Islamic finance and is seen as sympathetic to the aims and thinking of President Mohamed Mursi, elected in June, and to his Muslim Brotherhood. A Brotherhood spokesman denied Hegazy was a member but said three other new ministers were.

The new ministers in what is still largely a government of non-partisan technocrats take office in an economic crisis which has seen the currency lose more than a

tenth of its value since the uprising two years ago which toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Political unrest over a new Islamist-tinged constitution had delayed tax increases believed to be key to the IMF deal, but in a brief statement, Hegazy said he was “completely ready to complete discussions” with the International Monetary Fund.

The political conflict triggered lethal street protests last month that added to pressure on the Egyptian pound and speculators began exchanging local currency for dollars.

As Hegazy spoke on Sunday, the pound reached a new low, trading at 6.45 to the dollar. It has lost more than 4 percent of its value against the dollar since the central bank brought in a new system of currency auctions on December 30 in an effort to preserve the country’s dwindling foreign reserves.

Importers have warned that the weakening currency and uncertainty about how low it will go could lead to sharp rises in the prices of

imports including food.

Hegazy, who replaces Mumtaaz Al-Saeed, a career bureaucrat, teaches economics at Alexandria University. In 1985, he earned a doctorate from the University of Connecticut, according to a biography provided by Alexandria University. It listed two dozen papers on Islamic economics which he had written or reviewed.

Religious strictures on charging interest on loans creates particular economic conditions for Muslim businesses.

The Muslim Brotherhood now controls eight of some 35 portfolios in Prime Minister Hisham Kandil’s cabinet, including the influential supply, information and housing ministries.

“Dr. Mursi would like to be sure that he has a cabinet which shares his major orientations,” said Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at Cairo University.

“He wants to be surrounded by like-minded ministers.”

The IMF signed the loan deal in November but final ratification was postponed last month at Cairo’s behest because of the unrest set off

by Mursi’s drive to fast-track a controversial new constitution.

Fearing further public anger at the time, Mursi cancelled tax increases believed to be part of a package of austerity measures agreed as part of the IMF deal.

The constitution was approved in a popular referendum and signed into law on December 26.

The IMF said on Saturday its Middle East director, Masood Ahmed, would visit Cairo to meet Egyptian officials to discuss recent economic

developments and “possible IMF support for Egypt in facing these challenges”.

Prime Minister Kandil said Monday’s meeting aimed to reassure the IMF about the government’s plans and the economy’s capacity for recovery.

The Brotherhood is wary of any government measures that could damage its popularity ahead of a parliamentary election due to get under way by the end of February.

The IMF deal is seen as vital for boosting investor confidence and staving off a financial crisis.

Having spent more than half the country’s foreign exchange reserves defending the pound since Mubarak was toppled, the central bank

has warned the reserves had fallen to a critical level.

Economists say the country’s readily available foreign reserves will cover just over two months of imports.

The central bank said the reserves were at $15.015 billion in December - little changed from November’s level.

The pound slid by half a percent on Sunday at the central bank’s fifth auction of foreign currency under the new auction system designed to preserve the reserves.

The bank sold all of the $60 million it had offered to banks at Sunday’s auction.

Last week, the bank sold $300 million at four similar auctions which bankers have described as a move towards a free float of the currency.

The security forces chased the demonstrators into side streets and arrested about 20 people, including a former MP, according to his Twitter account.

“I saw about a dozen people being arrested,” one witness told Reuters. An Interior Ministry spokesman said several “instigators of unrest” had been arrested but that security forces had used only stun grenades.

A long-running power struggle between members of Kuwait’s elected parliament and its cabinet, appointed by a prime minister chosen by the emir, has held up reforms, stalled investment and prompted the dissolution of a series of assemblies.

The last, oppositiondominated parliament collapsed in February. With the opposition boycotting last month’s election, the sixth since mid-2006, more than half the 50 lawmakers in the new National Assembly are newcomers to parliamentary politics.

Sunday’s protest was the fifth in a series organized by the opposition since the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad alSabah, used emergency powers to cut the number of votes per citizen to one from four, saying it would fix a flawed system and ensure security.

Members of Kuwait’s disparate opposition groups said the measure would hurt their ability to encourage supporters to cast additional votes for their allies and thus form political relationships in a country that does not allow political parties.

Kuwait has the most open political system in the Gulf Arab region - parliament has legislative powers and can question government ministers over policy.

But the Al-Sabah family, which has ruled Kuwait for more than 250 years, holds the key levers of power, with the top portfolios such as the interior, defense and foreign ministries held by members of the ruling family.

Kuwaiti forces disperse protesters with stun grenades People run from smoke bombs during a protest in Kuwait City yesterday.

REUTERS/ Stephanie Mcgehee

KUWAIT (Reuters) Security forces used stun grenades to disperse hundreds of opposition activists trying to stage a march in Kuwait yesterday, part of a series of protests against what they see as a rubber-stamp parliament, and made several arrests.

Protest marches have grown more frequent in the U.S.-allied oil producer since the opposition boycotted a parliamentary election on December 1 over changes to voting laws that they saw as an attempt to favor progovernment candidates.

Witnesses said between 200 and 300 people had barely gathered in an affluent suburb of Kuwait City late on Sunday when security forces ordered them to disperse because their rally was not licensed. One witness said that when the men and women moved to the middle of the road and began chanting, security forces attacked them with smoke bombs and stun grenades.

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NIS contributions go up today Jamaica Observer Contribution to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) will start paying more of their salaries towards the social security scheme as of today.

Labour and Social Security Minister Derrick Kellier first made the announcement during his 2012/13 Sectoral Debate presentation in Parliament on July 25 and issued another reminder last Wednesday as he addressed the first group of 172 workers to leave the island for Canada on the Overseas Employment Programme.

Additionally, effective this Thursday, all pension benefits payable will be increased, including Old Age Pension, Invalidity Pension and Widow’s/Widower’s Pension. Grants in these categories which are payable to persons who do not have sufficient contributions to qualify for a pension will also be plumped up.

Pension benefits have also been increased for all NIS Special Anniversary, and Sugar Worker pensioners and allowances paid in respect of Orphan and Special Child beneficiaries and Dependent Spouses will be increased.

The NIS Funeral Grant, which is payable on the death of an NIS contributor

Derrick Kellier or pensioner (or their respective spouse), will also be boosted.

Old Age, Invalidity and Widow/Widowers pension will move from $2,400 to $2,800 per week for the Full Rate; from $1,800 to $2,100 for the Three Quarter Rate, and from $1,200 to $1,400 for the Half Rate.

Both the Special Anniversary and Sugar Worker’s Pensions will be raised from $1,200 to $1,400 per week.

The new weekly rate for the Dependent Spouse Allowance payable to qualified Old Age and Invalidity pensioners will now be $900 (up from $800), while the Orphan and Special Child allowances will increase from $4,200 to $4,900 per week.

The NIS Funeral Grant will

be increased by $10,000, moving from $70,000 to $80,000. Old Age, Invalidity, and Widow/Widowers’ grants will also be raised by $10,000 to $50,000 (up from $40,000), while Orphan and Special Child grants will move from $48,000 to $55,000.

The increase in contributions comes as the Insurable Wage Ceiling (IWC) for the NIS moves from $1 Million to $1.5 Million per annum. The Flat Rate contribution made by Domestic Workers, SelfEmployed Persons and Voluntary Contributors also increases from $50 to $100 per week (using $100 NIS stamp cards).

The IWC is the maximum income from which NIS and NHF contributions are deducted.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the increase in the IWC is necessary to ensure the sustainability of the NIS and enable it to meet pension obligations. The IWC was last increased in August 2010, moving from $500,000 to $1 Million per annum.

The Ministry further advises that the rate of contribution remains at 5 per cent of gross salary with employees’ contributions being matched by that of their employers.

Plans to amend human trafficking legislation KINGSTON, Jamaica - CMC - With international pressure mounting on Jamaica to re-double its efforts to clamp down on human trafficking, the task force appointed to deal with this issue is pushing for amendments to already existing legislation.

According to Carol Palmer, Chairperson of the Task force Against Human Trafficking, the recommended amendments will be submitted to Cabinet shortly for approval. She said the changes were aimed at increasing penalties as well as including other aspects of human trafficking that may not have been included in previous legislation. She also revealed that they were contemplating changes to the

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

legislation to increase for the penalty for human trafficking from 10 years to life imprisonment.

Another step taken by the task force was the establishment of a shelter for victims.

“We have the national plan of action that takes into account the various recommendations that came out of the 2012 report and we are working apace at achieving all of those recommendations .For example our shelter is now ready so that if there is a victim today that person can immediately be removed to the shelter” She added that in addition to legislative change the establishment of a shelter is one of the principal requirements when looking to aid victims of human trafficking.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Constabulary Force will be increasing its efforts to make members more aware of the crime of human trafficking and

related offenses. Head of the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Organized Crime Investigations Division, Detective Inspector, and Carl Berry said training in human trafficking has now been included in the curriculum of the police academy.

“We have developed a curriculum for the training school, but not only that, every division that we have they have been mandated, trained and sensitized to not only to look at but to effectively executive operations on suspected sites.

Last year the US state department placed Jamaica on the tier two watch list for human trafficking. In June, National Security Minister, Peter Bunting responded by saying that a five-member ministerial team has been set up to respond to the downgrade and to ensure that Jamaica is fully compliant with the minimum standards to combat human trafficking.

Monday January 07, 2013

Venezuelan athletes pray for Chavez CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan athletes prayed yesterday for the recovery of President Hugo Chavez amid growing concerns over the socialist leader’s health.

Formula One driver Pastor Maldonado, IndyCar Series driver Ernesto Jose Viso and other pro-Chavez athletes attended a Mass at a church in downtown Caracas yesterday to pray for the ailing president. Athletes wearing jackets with the colors and stars of Venezuela’s flag stood before an altar, solemnly reciting prayers.

The government revealed last week that Chavez is fighting a severe lung infection and receiving treatment for “respiratory deficiency.” Chavez hasn’t spoken or appeared publicly

since his Dec. 11 operation in Cuba, his fourth surgery for an undisclosed type of pelvic cancer. Speculation about the leader’s condition has grown since the operation.

Maldonado, who is sponsored by Venezuela’s state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, expressed confidence that Chavez would soon recover and return to Venezuela.

The F1 driver said he hoped “very soon (Chavez) is here with all of us.”

Viso said he and millions of other Chavez supporters have “much faith that he’s recovering.” “We wish him the best,” Viso said.

Luis Alfredo Mendoza, a retired professional soccer player-turned-coach, credited Chavez for doing much more than previous presidents to promote and support the

Hugo Chavez South American nation’s sports programs.

“He’s always been mindful of supporting all the disciplines, not just soccer,” Mendoza said, according to the state-run AVN news agency.

Fired T&T Justice Minister calls Seetahal a hired political assassin Trinidad Express - Fired justice minister Herbert Volney Saturday launched a scathing attack against former independent senator Dana Seetahal after she raised concerns about contractor Hafeez Karamath Ltd (HKL) in her weekly column of Saturday’s Express.

Seetahal raised concerns following a Sunday Express story on December 30 about HKL seeking the nod to construct the Ministry of Justice’s multimillion-dollar judicial centre in Trincity.

HKL is the contractor at the heart of the unfinished Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

“If my memory serves me correctly, was this not the same company roundly condemned by Prof Uff in his 2010 report for what transpired in relation in the construction of the project?

Is there a realistic chance that a company with such a track record would be contracted to construct State buildings?” wrote Seetahal.

In raising concern about the millions of dollars thrown behind the project, Seetahal qualified the project as a national disgrace.

“In the Uff Report, released in April 2010, Prof Uff recommended a full investigation by the police into Calder Hart and the entire UDeCOTT (Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago) board in relation to the $885 million

Herbert Volney

Dana Seetahal

project. He deemed the project as ‘nothing short of scandalous’ and ‘a national disgrace’, and also recommended that the contractor, HKL, be fired immediately,” Seetahal said.

Volney has defended HKL’s right to raise questions about the tendering of the estimated TT$200 million judicial complex.

The Sunday Express reported on December 30 that after allegations that another company was favoured for the project, HKL turned to Volney— who was once in charge of the project—for help.

Volney had told the Sunday Express he was seeking the interest of his constituent Yashid Ellis Karamath, whom he felt had been unfairly treated and had submitted the lowest construction bid.

In a public statement

posted on blogs yesterday, in which he continued to defend Karamath, Volney said Seetahal got it wrong.

He linked her to a political party and described her as “no more than a hired p o l i t i c a l a s s a s s i n who cleverly uses her pen to try to destroy anything and anyone at a price. Her staunch defence of the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in the Section 34 matter is not only from the mind of one who receives most of her wellpaying briefs from the D PP himself but one who abused her then office as president of the Law Association to attack me as minister of justice on any occasion I had a difference of opinion with the DPP.” He described her statements on the Tarouba stadium as a “misinformed” attack “on the HKL group”.

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Caribbean under scrutiny as OAS reforms human rights system Trinidad Guardian Hemispheric human rights organisations are fearful that what is viewed as Caribbean complacency on civil liberties may contribute to the undermining of the interAmerican human rights system through recent initiatives led by some members of the Organisation of American States (OAS).

The test will come at a special session of the OAS General Assembly in March when member countries decide on a process to reform the human rights system through adjustments to the powers and influence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.

The measures are being championed by Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil and several other Latin American states.

They include limits on “precautionary measures,” re-allocation of financing, greater accent on the “promotion” of human rights and changes in reporting mechanisms for the

Commission. Foreign minister Winston Dookeran is asserting that T&T will support all measures to “strengthen” the Commission. “We believe,” he told Sunday Guardian, “that the Commission should be strengthened and there are certain aspects of the operations of the Commission that require some more teeth.”

However, some analysts argue that the proposals will in fact weaken the Commission and undermine the role of its Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. They believe a united Caribbean response can avert the worst dangers.

The OAS Caribbean Community (CARICOM) caucus comprises a potentially influential 14 of the organisation’s 35 member states. Only six CARICOM countries are however signatories to the American Convention on Human Rights and only three (Barbados, Haiti and Suriname) have acceded to the compulsory jurisdiction of the InterAmerican Court on Human

Rights.

T&T was an early signatory to the Convention in 1977 but announced its denunciation of the Convention in 1998 which, with one year’s notice, saw the country’s departure in 1999. This, together with a reservation registered under the United Nations Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, made way for the prompt execution of the Dole Chadee gang in June 1999. The country, however, still falls under the scrutiny of the IACHR which has a mandate to receive, analyse and investigate individual human rights petitions from all OAS member states.

Human rights advocates in the USA, Canada, Latin America, and to a much lesser extent, the Caribbean, are concerned that specific proposals to limit the ability of the Commission to act independently to impose legal “precautionary measures” to protect persons may significantly undermine its credibility.

They also believe changes to the mandatory processing times for cases, adjustments to reporting mechanisms for organs of the Commission and a greater emphasis on the “promotion” of human rights as opposed to affording protection will have the impact of watering down its influence.

So far, Caribbean interventions on the issues have been relatively muted.

But, in a submission to the OAS Permanent Council in November, Jamaica’s ambassador to the OAS Prof Stephen Vascienne admitted that CARICOM states believed through the work of the Privy Council and the Caribbean Court of Justice “our human rights issues are already properly addressed.”

He also pointed to the vexing issue of low Caribbean visibility within the InterAmerican system. There are two CARICOM nationals on the seven-member Commission Vice Chair Tracy Robinson of Jamaica and Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine of T&T, and just one full-time

CARICOM lawyer on staff.

“If the Commission wishes to encourage a stronger feeling of ownership among CARICOM states, it cannot ignore the availability of nationals from these states for service in the Commission,” Vascienne said. However, civil society organisations addressing the OAS Permanent Council on December 7 believed the focus should be on ensuring greater levels of awareness on the part of all member countries about the seriousness of the proposed measures.

The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) was the only CARICOM civil society organisation in attendance and argued that, among other things, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression faced special risks, should the reforms be enacted. Dookeran said T&T will support “all measures to protect freedom of the press (but) we believe that the process for dealing with human rights violations

Winston Dookeran must be able to stand up to scrutiny.”

Civil society organisations gathered in Washington DC in December, however, suggested in their presentations that the “scrutiny” being prescribed by some states is a euphemism for greater state control of the system and may spell danger for the 53-yearold commission and its work.

The March meeting promises to deliver a significant verdict on the issue.

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Governor reappoints three independent senators HAMILTON, Bermuda CMC - Governor George Fergusson has reappointed three existing independent senators to complete the 11member Upper House team.

Carol Ann Bassett, who was Senate President in the last parliament, will be again joined by Joan Dillas-Wright, who was Vice-President and James Jardine. They will join the One Bermuda Alliance

(OBA) Government team of Michael Fahy, Nalton Brangman, Alexis Swan, Jeff Baron and Lynne Woolridge.

Fahy, who is the OBA Senate Leader, and Brangman both hold ministerial posts in Premier Craig Cannonier’s cabinet. Fahy is Home Affairs Minister while Brangman has been handed the Education portfolio.

The three Progressive

Labour Party (PLP) senators are Diallo Rabain, who is Senate Leader, Marc Daniels and Renee Ming.

The OBA, founded in May 2010, ended 14 years of PLP rule when it won last month’s general election last month by 19 seats to 17.

Cannonier has hinted that parliament will reconvene for a new session at the start of February.

Venezuela looks for missing plane with Missoni CEO CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The search for a missing plane carrying Italian fashion executive Vittorio Missoni and five other people has entered its third straight day yesterday with no signs of the aircraft.

Venezuela’s National Civil Aviation Institute says search teams are using a plane and a helicopter and the Venezuelan coast guard to find the small plane, which

disappeared off the country’s coast.

The twin-engine plane was reported missing hours after taking off Friday from Los Roques, a string of islands and islets popular among tourists for their white beaches and coral reefs.

The plane was carrying the CEO of Italy’s iconic Missoni fashion house, his wife, two Italian friends and two Venezuelan crew

members.

Officials from Venezuela’s civil aviation agency have said authorities declared an alert after the plane didn’t make contact with the control tower at the Caracas airport or with the tower in Los Roques.

Officials said the twinengine craft took off at 11:39 a.m. Friday and had been expected to arrive in Caracas 42 minutes later.

Monday January 07, 2013

US Judge widens probe into juror misconduct in Buju case Jamaica Observer Kwame Lumumba, the attorney representing incarcerated reggae artiste Buju Banton, says the decision by United States Magistrate James Moody to expand his probe into allegations of juror misconduct is a positive sign for his client.

Moody announced on Friday that he was expanding his probe into allegations that female juror Teri Wright had defied his orders not to research any laws related to the artiste’s drug trial.

“The judge reserved his judgement and decided to expand the hearing as he needs more proof. We think that it was compelling that it was expanded and it gives us hope,” Lumumba told the Jamaica Observer in a phone interview Saturday.

Meanwhile, Moody ordered US Marshalls to seize computers belonging to Wright to allow a forensic expert to search for evidence that she had researched the

Pinkerton Law over the Internet. The Pinkerton Law was used by the prosecution to connect Banton to an illegal firearm that was found in the possession of a coconspirator, James Mack, during a cocaine transaction in a police-controlled warehouse in Tampa, Florida.

Banton faces an additional five-year sentence in relation to the firearm charge. However, that sentencing was stayed after Lumumba filed a motion for the evidentiary hearing.

Moody said he also plans to subpoena more jurors and conduct another hearing into the allegations. His latest ruling has given Banton’s defence team hope that they may be able to secure a new trial for the Grammy awardwinning reggae artiste.

Wright had allegedly told a reporter that she had in fact done the research during the trial, but later denied that she had done so after Moody had allowed the motion filed by Lumumba on Banton’s behalf.

Buju Banton Lumumba told the Observer that during Banton’s evidentiary hearing in October, Wright denied that she had told a reporter of her alleged misconduct, but a tape produced by the reporter of the phone conversation contradicted her statement.

“On October 26 at 11 pm she texted the reporter and said he betrayed her and said she did not take it down during but after the trial. That was the same day the motion was filed,” he said.

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Monday January 07, 2013

Over 400 doctors to be added to health system Tackling the issue of providing adequate health care providers was a massive task in 2012. Having to train those staffers was an even bigger task, but Health Minister Bheri Ramsarran said that his Ministry was successful in both areas.

He noted that like the major investments made in the building and upgrade of at least 10 medical facilities, large sums of money have been invested in the provision of health care workers and their training.

The government, through the Health Ministry, has paved the way for medical students to attain foreign training and education in the area of health care.

“Not only have we built hospitals and equipped them, we have seen to it that the workforce is drastically increased.”

Ramsarran said that over

the past five years, the Ministry has trained a significantly large number of nurses. But for last year, in particular, training has been extended to see an increase in midwives, X-ray technicians, medical laboratory technicians among other skilled workers.

Coupled with this workforce extension, greater focus was placed last year on doctors and, according to Ramsarran, with the assistance of countries like Cuba, a large group of graduate doctors are now expected to be available soon.

He highlighted that, “just fewer than 200 of those graduate doctors have returned to Guyana and are in various stages of preparation for dispersal in the health care system.”

While in the past, some locations only had a medex available, Ramsarran said, he

- Health Minister can now afford to deploy more than one doctor if necessary. “All sub-districts have their own doctor now and they have visitations from teams coming from Georgetown.”

Added to those already home, Ramsarran said that another 200 doctors are in their final stage of preparation in Cuba and will be coming home within a short period of time. The Minister reminded that in 2006, it was former President Bharrat Jagdeo who had led a small team to Cuba, when President Fidel Castro created a special Faculty of Medicine for Guyanese students.

Because of this move to expand the workforce, Ramsarran boasted that there are now doctors, “Available

at practically all hospitals, every small hospital and even at health centres where we did not have before.”

In connection to training and the availability of health care education, the Minister highlighted the “Introduction of post graduate programs which is so far based at the Georgetown Public Hospital as the clinical base.”

Although the program is attracting a small number of participants, the Health Minister, proudly announced that at least six areas of study are being offered with some being, general surgery; orthopaedic surgery; gynaecology; paediatrics and emergency medicine.

“With an influx of hundreds of Cuban-trained Guyanese doctors, we have a big pool now to create more post graduate doctors, that is, specialists.”

With the support and assistance of the Cuban Health Minister, Ramsarran said plans are already being devised on what must be done, “With this large cohort of Cuban trained, Spanishspeaking Guyanese graduate doctors.”

“Now out of these junior doctors,” Ramsarran asserted, “we have created ‘play dough’ to develop our specialist personnel, which means that in the near future we will not totally be able to remove our dependence on other specialists from other countries like India, China and Cuba, but we are creating our own patriotic, or own national core.”

Looking forward to 2013, Ramsarran reported that after a visit to Cuba, plans and preparations are being made for further expansion of post graduate programs with preliminary discussions in progress. “If we can have small post graduate programs in the country using graduates from the University of Guyana and other institutions, what is there to stop us from starting those programs with a massive influx of Cuban trained doctors?” Ramsarran asked.

Nevertheless, he mentioned that the government has invested heavily in these young persons and they will have to pay their dues. “It is expected that they will serve. The first contract, in the first instance, obliges them to serve five years, after they come back,

Health Minister Bheri Ramsarran graduated as what we term Graduate doctors. Anything added to that,” the Minister said, “the graduate would have to sign a new contract with the Guyanese people and they would have to serve well to stand a chance at getting into the competitive post graduate program”.

Ramsarran concluded that the Guyanese people could look forward to those positive changes for 2013. And while provision of the workforce and upgrade of health facilities were major matters last year, the focus continues.

“But it is also a task for the Ministry to provide quality and premium health service in 2013.”

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Old acquaintance, new style The twelfth of December 2012 (12/12/12) or combinations like 1/1/1 up to twelve are not going to happen for another century.

In this context, 2013 is already different. Adding to its uniqueness is that it is an interesting combination of 20 (a “score” as in Lincoln’s Gettysburg address “Four score and seven years ago”) and 13, deemed an unlucky number. In fact, there is a word coined especially for people who are afraid of the number 13 and associate it with bad luck.

Triskaidekaphobia (first used

by Isador Coriat in Abnormal Psychology) combines the Greek words for “three” (tris), “and” (kris) and “ten” (deka) with “phobia” meaning “fear” or “morbid fear”. The special fear of Friday 13th is “paraskevidekatriaphobia” or “friggatriskaidekaphobia”.

While Friday 13th in any month is the original “Black Friday”, retailers in the United States started calling the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because of the high volume of sales which took them out of the “red” and into the “black” or profit area.

For the superstitious there are 2013 is expected to bring a full score of bad luck.

It also contains two “black” Fridays that will be doubleblack. One is in September and the other in December.

For shoppers, Black Friday sales will start at midnight on Friday November 28th. For the extremely superstitious no predicament can be worse than the one experienced by the gentleman who while dallying with another man’s lady in a high-rise apartment heard the front door rattle and was told by the lady, “It is my husband. Jump out of the window quick!” He replied, “But we are on the thirteenth floor!” Scornfully she responded, “What happen?

You superstitious?”

Not being superstitious myself (or as one man said, “I’m not superstitious, in fact I believe thirteen is a rather lucky number) I look forward with my usual optimism to whatever 2013 has in store for me. What is interesting is that old acquaintance seems to have been forgotten, bypassed and deliberately discarded in favour of “Gangnam Style”. According to Britain’s “Independent” newspaper, “Karaoke fans rejected the traditional sentiments of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ this New Year and saw in 2013 ‘Gangnam Style’, according to a new poll. The K-Pop rapper Psy’s worldwide hit single topped a chart to find the most sung song in the UK on New Year’s Eve. It accounted for almost a quarter (23%) of the 100,000 songs sung on Monday on Karaoke firm Lucky Voice’s online service. It pushed the traditional favourite, based on a poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns, off the top spot for the first time since 2005.”

The Burns poem was the song I grew up with. Even when I was a little bit puzzled by what exactly it meant, I still found myself singing the version we learnt at primary school, “Should old acquaintance be forgot,/ and never brought to mind ? / Should old acquaintance be forgot, / In the days of auld lang syne.” Then the chorus, “For auld lang syne, my dear, / for auld lang syne, / we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, / for auld lang syne.” Over the years it was the song with which we greeted midnight on New Year’s Eve or Old Year’s Night. It accompanied me into every New Year’s journey for most of my life.

This year while Times Square in New York was rocking to Gangnam Style, I was in a different neighbourhood – several different places in fact. For a

Patients demand...

(From page 22) that a lot of times only one person attends to about 102 patients.

A few persons raised points that the centre needs more staff.

The facility sometimes sees over 500 persons visiting for treatment on a daily basis.

A clerical worker told this publication that most of the patients who visit the clinic for treatment are from the interior locations, hence they are asking for malaria medicine to be distributed in the hinterland to ease the burden on the main facility in Georgetown.

Kaieteur News tried unsuccessfully to get a comment from a senior medical staffer

at the institution.

Malaria is a mosquitoborne infectious disease of humans and other animals.

The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium (a sort of bloodsucking) parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases progressing to coma or death.

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood

short while I was in Park Place, then I went by chance to Boardwark, and headed past Baltic to Illinois via the Reading Railroad. I went to jail for raiding the Community Chest and ended up bankrupt at the start of 2013. Despite these travels and travails, I felt blessed and filled with a monopoly of good cheer. The presence of my family and the joy of being together at the start of the year more than compensated for the disappointment of losing my auld acquaintance Burns and reading into that act of drastic change that my way of life has fallen into the sear. The blister

will take some time to heal even with a yellow leaf poultice but the lesson will remain for the rest of my life.

Times change and so must we.

Burns gave us another lesson for the New Year that we should keep forever in mind and not replace by any Korean import. While ploughing a field, Burns overturned the nest of a mouse and saw in that act a lesson in life, for life. In his poem “To A Mouse” (1786) Burns observed, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/ Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry]/ An’ lea’e us nought

but grief an’ pain, / For promised joy.” In a way it echoes the Jewish saying, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”

He even laughed about his Second Coming. The boss of a headhunting or recruitment agency who made it through the Pearly Gates, hearing that that there were plans afoot for a second visit to earth, went to Jesus with two offers, one for a job in Russia for $2,000 a week and another for a posting in

Jerusalem at $200,000 a week.

Without any hesitation, Jesus said, “I’ll take the one in Russia.” The headhunter replied, “But the job in Russia is only $2,000 while the one in Jerusalem is worth $200,000.” “Yeah,” Jesus replied firmly, “But I worked there before and they hammered me with tacks.” *Tony Deyal was last seen quaffing a cup of kindness and hoping that he can make it last for the whole year.

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

Cat caught sneaking saw, phone into Brazil prison RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A cat carrying a saw and a mobile phone was “detained” as it entered a prison gate in northeast Brazil, Brazilian media reported on Saturday.

Prison guards were surprised when they saw a white cat crossing the main gate of the prison, its body wrapped with tape. A closer look showed the feline also carried drills, an earphone, a memory card, batteries and a phone charger.

All 263 detainees in the prison of Arapiraca, a city of 215,000 people in the state of Alagoas, are considered suspect in the plot, which is being investigated by local police.

“It’s tough to find out who’s responsible for the action as the cat doesn’t speak,” a prison spokesperson told local paper Estado de S.Paulo.

The cat was taken to an animal disease center to receive medical care.

The incident took place on New Year’s day but was first reported by national media on Saturday.

A prison guard holds a cat that has objects wrapped around his body with tape at a prison in Arapiraca in this handout photo obtained by Reuters Saturday. REUTERS/Superintendent General of Prison Administration shows /Handout

Objects that were found wrapped around the body of the cat. REUTERS/Superintendent General of Prison Administration/Handout

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): It's one thing to keep your hopes high, it's quite another to be in complete denial as to what your real chances for success are. Be realistic today. You are doing yourself no good by ignoring the facts that are confronting you. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Hold onto your dreams and don't let go! You can't let anyone tell you that what you want won't ever happen. You have the passionate determination you need to make anything happen, and you don't need naysayers bringing you down right now. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Today you will finally have the time you need to fully explore your feelings about someone. They've been sending you mixed signals, which has understandably frustrated and confused you. So it's a good thing you'll have some free time today to ponder just what the heck is going on here! ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Flipping a coin isn't the most sophisticated way of making a decision, but you've got to admit: It gets the job done. So if you are in an indecisive mood right now, grab a quarter (or a penny or a dime) and let it make the choice for you! ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): There are people who are planning something that you need to know about. It could be a party, it could be a caper, it could be a coup! Whatever it is, it is sure to go a lot better if you are involved. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): It might sound impossible, but today, your job is to analyze the unseen. You have all the clues and intu-

ition you need to do just that, today. So when your heart senses that someone is being less than up front with you, follow your suspicion. ********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Today, your business is your business -- and their business is their business. So keep your nose out of what's going on in other people's lives, or else you will get an earful from someone who feels like their privacy is being invaded and their actions judged. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): No matter how intense your emotions are, you can handle them! Do not be afraid of what your heart is feeling or fearing.

Your own inner strength will enable you to step forward. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): The insight you've been taking from your dreams hasn't been of much use to you lately, so it might be time to start thinking about a better way to figure things out. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Are you feeling like you're stuck in a rut? Don't look to other people to dig you out! You have all the power and determination you need to dig yourself out! ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18):You're an open person most of the time.

You have nothing to hide, so why should you waste time covering things up?

This may be true, but today you should guard your privacy at all costs. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): You'll have a fuzzy view of an issue today, but that might be for the best.

Too many factors are yet to be determined.

Page 25

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Page 26

Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

Warne involved in altercation with Samuels in Melbourne Twenty20 clash Daily Mail - Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels were embroiled in a furious row that overshadowed Sunday’s Big Bash clash between Melbourne’s two rival sides.

West Indian maverick

Samuels hurled his bat past Warne after the veteran had thrown the ball directly at him from close range, and the legendary Australian spinner responded with an expletive-

Samuels (left) and Warne exchange harsh words during the altercation. (Getty Images)

- fined and suspended laden rant that was heard live on television.

The tension started during the Melbourne Stars’ innings, when Samuels was seen to hold back David Hussey from making a second run.

Then, when Melbourne Renegades batsman Samuels emerged in the ninth over of their innings Warne greeted him with the clearly audible words, ‘f*** you, Marlon’, resulting in the umpires intervening to split the pair up.

When Warne cut off a single in the next over he threw the ball directly at Samuels’ upper body, and the Jamaican reacted furiously, throwing his bat down the pitch past Warne.

Warne then verbally tore into Samuels as the umpires again had to step in.

Asked about his temper

by Fox Sports commentators, the mic-ed up Warne said: ‘What are you meant to do

when someone throws a bat at you?’

Then next twist in the saga came when Stars skipper Warne gave the ball to Sri Lankan quick Malinga.

Samuels top-edged a short delivery from Malinga straight into his eye and was forced to retire hurt on 17 and head to hospital with blood gushing from the wound.

There was consolation for Samuels though as the Renegades recorded a ninewicket win over their rivals in front of a record domestic Twenty20 crowd at the MCG of 46,581.

Who said cricket was boring?

Meanwhile, Warne has been fined a total of $4,500 and suspended for one match following his Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour hearing at Jolimont this morning.

The full list of charges: 2.1 – downgraded to 1.2found guilty – $500 fine.

Samuels lobbed his bat in Warne's direction after being hit on the shoulder. (Getty Images) 2.2 – guilty – $3000 fine – 1 suspension point (1 Match) 2.5 – dismissed – not guilty

2.6 – guilty – $1000 Cameron White, who was also charged, pleaded guilty and received a $1000 fine.

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 27

India’s bowlers prevent whitewash Not since the winter of 1983, when Clive Lloyd’s West Indies avenged their loss in the World Cup final, had India been whitewashed in an ODI series at home.

Following their third poor batting performance against Pakistan, India were hurtling towards a 0-3 score line in the cold of Delhi, until their bowlers rallied in conditions that offered seam and spin, applying relentless pressure until Misbah-ul-Haq’s team cracked in the dead rubber.

As Yuvraj Singh, pursued by team-mates, went off on a celebratory run and slide after catching Mohammad Hafeez in the penultimate over to secure a hard-fought victory, the exuberant celebrations on the field and in the stands at the Kotla were a release of emotion from a country that has had precious little to celebrate in cricket in recent times.

An Indian victory, however, had appeared unlikely after their batsmen had crumbled against Pakistan’s versatile attack. A raw seam attack, spearheaded by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the debutant Shami Ahmed, had only 167 to defend and they went about it manfully.

Ahmed began his spell with two maiden overs and

The Pakistan team after the 2-1 victory. (BCCI) continued to bowl with economy. Bhuvneshwar nipped out two early wickets with inswingers and bowled his ten overs on the trot, leaving Pakistan 55 for 2 after 19 overs.

During that period, India’s fielding was at its best, with Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja throwing their bodies around on a chilly evening to cut off fluent flicks and drives. The only easy runs Pakistan got

were two leg-side wides from the offspinner R Ashwin that beat MS Dhoni and sped to the boundary.

Pakistan rebuilt through Misbah, who batted doggedly for 39 off 82 balls, first with Nasir Jamshed and then with Umar Akmal. Both those stands were ended by Ashwin, and at 113 for 4 in difficult batting conditions, India were gaining ground.

They received a lucky break,

when Shoaib Malik was adjudged lbw to Ishant Sharma though he was hit outside the line, and Akmal charged Ravindra Jadeja too early and was stumped.

Only Hafeez, batting at No. 7 because of an injury while bowling, stood between India and victory and he was dropped by Rahane in the 42nd over, a straightforward chance at leg slip. He dragged his team

towards the target and had to refuse singles with the No. 11 Mohammad Irfan, after Pakistan had lost three wickets in eight balls. With 23 runs needed in the last two overs, Hafeez hit two boundaries before holing out to off Ishant.

Any immediate anguish Pakistan felt, however, quickly dissipated as their players, heavily jacketed in the misty evening, celebrated

a 2-1 series victory.

That India had at least 167 to defend was largely down to Dhoni, who was Man of the Match for his captaincy and his 36 off 55 balls, and Jadeja. Having left out Virender Sehwag to give Rahane a run, India lost three early wickets to the pace and swing of Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan. And they continued to struggle against Saeed Ajmal, who dismissed Suresh Raina and Ashwin off successive deliveries on his way to a fivewicket haul. India were 111 for 6 in the 29th over. Dhoni immediately carted Hafeez for his third six over deep midwicket and in a later over he inflicted the blow - a flat smash that forced the Pakistan opener down the order.

Dhoni fell in the 35th over and Jadeja, because he was running out of partners, began to attack and score what he could. He hit a towering straight six off Umar Gul, and another off Ajmal over cow corner, but his riposte ended on 27. India were dismissed in the 44th over, but the wasted resources did not cost them the game.

Scores: India 167 (Dhoni 36, Ajmal 5-24) beat Pakistan 157 (Misbah 39, Ishant 3-36) by ten runs.

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

Sepp Blatter says AC Milan wrong to walk off in face of racism

Boateng and his Milan team-mates leave the field at Pro Patria last week. (EPA)

BBC - Fifa president Sepp Blatter says that players should not leave the field of play if they are faced with racism.

AC Milan players walked off during a friendly on Thursday after Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng was subjected to racist abuse from fans of fellow Italian side Pro Patria.

But Fifa president Sepp Blatter said: “Walk off? That’s not the solution.”

AC Milan’s players carried anti-racism messages on their shirts prior to Sunday’s match against Siena.

Blatter continued: “I don’t think you can run away, because eventually you can run away if you lose a match.”

“This is a very touchy subject, but there is zero tolerance of racism in the stadium,” Blatter was reported to have said in the Abu Dhabi-based publication The National.

The 76-year-old Swiss,

who has been the head of world football’s governing body since 1998, said there needed to be tougher punishments brought in, such as points deductions in order to deal with the issue of racism.

“The only solution is to be very harsh with the sanctions - and the sanctions must be a deduction of points or something similar.”

Former Tottenham and Portsmouth player Boateng picked up the match-ball midway through the first half of the friendly and kicked it towards the crowd after reacting to the abuse from a section of the fans.

The midfielder then removed his shirt and left the pitch with both sets of players and officials.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has announced an immediate inquiry.

The Football Association’s Alex Horne said referees should

ultimately be the sole person deciding what action to take if there are instances of racist abuse during a match.

“If players are receiving sustained abuse on the pitch they should be reporting it to the referee,” he told BBC radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme.

“The players, through the captain, should be reporting it to the referee. The referee should be taking the players off the pitch and warning the crowds that they should desist with their abuse, and ultimately there’s a sanction there if the fans don’t listen to that.

“If the players feel the referee isn’t dealing with it then I can understand why they walk off the pitch. Why should you have to tolerate that in this day and age?”

In June, Uefa president Michel Platini said that any players who walked off the pitch at Euro 2012 because of racist abuse would be booked.

Chandreka, Adams, Pestano hit half...

From back page Club ground, Berbice scraped past Essequibo by 3 wickets in the final over. Berbice won the toss and inserted Essequibo to bat after the game was reduced to 30 due to seepage on the pitch caused by the poor covers used. Norman Federicks and Royan Federicks posted 34 for the opening stand before Norman was caught off Clinton Pestano for 25 (4x4) which came off 30 balls. Dillon Heyliger then joined Royan and took the score to 70 before Heyliger was bowled

by Gudakesh Motie Kanhai for 21(1x4, 1x6).

Eon Hooper then trapped Royan leg before one run later to leave the score at 89-3 in 20 overs.

However national U-19 player Ricardo Adams, despite losing his partners Jason Heyliger (08), Anthony Adams (08) and Wayne Osborne run out for 01, ensured Essequibo reached a respectable 173-7 off their allotted overs with a breathtaking display of power hitting. He slammed four fours and five huge sixes in a top score of 63 which lasted for 35 deliveries.

Pestano and Eon Hooper grabbed 2 wickets each for 38 and 29 runs off 5 and 6 overs respectively, while there was one each for Keon Joseph and Gudakesh Moti Kanhai.

Opener Sewnarine Chattergoon started his team reply in positive fashion hitting pacer Dillon Heyliger for a four and a six in the first over but the bowler rebound to up root his stumps in the

Ricardo Adams

Clinton Pestano

said over with the score on 10. Fellow opener Richard Ramdeen was then run out in the 5th over for 07 at 22. Eight runs later Fudadin was caught off Jason Heyliger for 05 in the 7th over and without addition to the score Gajanand Singh was trapped in front by Anthony Adams in the next over for 04 as Berbice found themselves in trouble.

They then lost Delbert Hincks who was caught off left arm spinner Herry Green for 05 at 38 in the 12th over as an Essequibo seemed likely.

However, Pestano and Zamal Khan then staged a recovery as they took the score to 79 with sensible before Khan was run out for 14. Pestano then took the attack to the opposition, hitting Dillon Heyliger through cover point for four and followed that by smashing Anthony Adams for a maximum over long on.

He brought up his fifty off 44 balls with a six off spinner Royan Federicks and celebrated by smashing

Ricardo Adams for another, six and Anthony through point for four before he was run out for 82 (3x4,7x6,58balls) at 144.

A brilliant piece of fielding by Ricardo Adams who hit the stumps from square leg accounted for Eon Hooper for 17 (1x6) with the score on 159 as Essequibo fought back.

With 14 needed from 12 balls Kanhai and Krishendat Ramoo gathered 9 from the penultimate over. The final over was bowled by Dillon Heyliger and with Berbice needing 5 for victory he delivered the first ball for wide. Hooper then took a double off the next and glided the third to the fine leg boundary to seal the issued for his team as they finished on 176-8 in 29.3 overs.

Anthony, Dillon, Jason and Green picked up 1 each for Essequibo.

The competition continues tomorrow with Demerara facing Berbice at Everest and Essequibo playing the President XI at DCC.

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 29

Ronaldo double rescues 10-man Real MADRID (Reuters) Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to earn 10-man Real Madrid a 4-3 win over Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu after their goalkeeper Antonio Adan had been sent off in the sixth minute in La Liga on Sunday.

For the second game in a row Jose Mourinho courted controversy by dropping captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas to the bench, but the Spain international was soon in action after Adan was shown a straight red card for bringing down Carlos Vela in the area.

Casillas was unable to save Xabi Prieto’s ensuing spot-kick which cancelled o u t K a r i m B e n z e m a ’s second-minute strike.

Although Prieto grabbed two more for the Basque side, Sami Khedira

and Real’s leading scorer Ronaldo secured the points to end a run of three games without a win for Mourinho’s misfiring side.

The champions moved on to 36 points from 18 games, 13 adrift of unbeaten leaders Barcelona who play city rivals Espanyol at the Nou Camp later on Sunday.

Second-placed Atletico Madrid, with 40 points, travel to Real Mallorca in Sunday’s late game.

The Bernabeu was buzzing with the news that Adan was in the starting line up at the expense of fan favourite Casillas, behind a patched-up defence shorn of the suspended Sergio Ramos and the injured Pepe, Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao.

Real, with Ronaldo wearing the captain’s

armband, quickly took the lead when Khedira fed Benzema in the area and the France striker turned to score.

The game had barely settled down when Adan misplaced a pass, raced out to correct his error and brought down Vela for a penalty.

Adan was sent off and Casillas was brought on to chants of “Iker, Iker” from the home fans.

S p a i n ’s n u m b e r o n e was sent the wrong way from the spot by Xabi Prieto, however, and in a nervous few minutes he almost gave away a second with a poor pass out.

Khedira put Real ahead in the 35th minute, cleverly backheeling Ricardo Carvalho’s low shot past Claudio Bravo in a crowded area, but Sociedad levelled

Letter to the Sports Editor

RHTY&SC says a big thank you DEAR SIR, The Patron, Management & Members of the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club would like to use your newspaper letter column to express profound gratitude to every individual, NGO and Companies who assisted the club or played a part, no matter how small, in assisting us to fulfill our mandate in 2012.

2012 has been another highly successful year for us with over 160 programmes/ projects completed, the test debut of Assad Fudadin and our continued dominance of cricket in the ancient county.

We also received the International Olympic Committee Award for Sports in March 2012.

The Club during the year was able to surpass its target of 140 programmes/projects due to the hard work, dedication and passion of every single club member under the guidance of our Patron Ms. Beverley Harper and President Keith Foster and this is despite the loss of millions of dollars worth of office equipment, sport gears and other items that were for the charity programme that were stolen via four robberies at our club office during the year.

Among the programmes/ projects completed in 2012 were the Annual Awards Ceremony, Cricket Academy, Annual magazine, Republic Bank Summer Camp, Patricia Moniz Educational Trust Fund, Basil Butcher Cricketers Trust Fund, Western Union Junior

Ambassador Programme, Tribute to Heroes, Tribute to Head Teachers, Port Mourant Secondary School Teacher & Student of the Term, Lower Corentyne Outstanding Students Award, Gizmos & Gadgets Tribute to Teachers, Scotia Bank Tribute to Outstanding Teachers, Mother of the Year, father of the Year, Busta Champion of Champions, Spelling Bee Competition, Essay Competition, Television Programmes, Printing of Educational Posters, Printing of Cricket Posters, Senior Citizens Luncheon, monthly hampers for less fortunate, Christmas Children Party for 700 kids, publisher of Berbice Cricket Board Annual Magazine, granting of Educational Scholarships and donations to countless NGOs, schools and churches.

In addition the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club has used its office to raise millions of dollars in both cash and materials for Berbice Cricket and also sponsored over 50 programmes for the Berbice Cricket Board.

We are grateful for the support of our sponsors who supported us in 2012. We would also like to express gratitude to members of the media especially those at DTV-8, LRTVS CH10, NCN, Kaieteur News, TVG, Stabroek News, Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times for their coverage of our activities.

Special thanks also to the countless supporters of the Club who supported us throughout the years by turning up at cricket matches, by offering moral support when we needed it most and also for the criticism which kept us in line.

2013 promises to be a highly successful one for the Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports club and we look forward to the continued support of our sponsors, the media and our supporters as we strive to make God’s world a better place.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Hilbert Foster, Secretary/CEO, RHTYSC

again before the break.

Prieto pounced on a deflected pass in the 40th minute and slotted the ball past Casillas, and Khedira volleyed wide of an open goal after Benzema’s shot came back off the post.

Sociedad’s lack of

ambition let Real back into the game after the break, Benzema winning a ball in midfield and playing Ronaldo through to score their third in the 68th minute.

The Portugal international thumped a free kick in off the underside of the

bar two minutes later, his 16th goal of the campaign.

Althouth Prieto pulled one back for the visitors with 14 minutes remaining, their challenge faltered when defender Daniel Estrada was also sent off near the end.

Mohammed has eyes on 100th...

From page 31 role to play in this series.

“The other major goal is the World Cup in India. The West Indies have never won the Women’s World Cup and it would be amazing to go to India and bring back the trophy. We are preparing well and we will give all we have.

But first up is South Africa, we will look to win here and take it from there.”

The squad is full of quality allrounders including: ICC Women’s Player-of-theYear Stafanie Taylor, Shanel Daley, Tremayne Smartt, and Shemaine Campbelle. The batting is led by Taylor and also includes the powerful world record holder Deandra Dottin, and opener Juliana Nero, who is the most capped West Indian woman in ODIs.

The bowling is led by Mohammed and she will be backed by teenaged legspinner Shaquana Quintyne as well as new ball bowlers Shakera Selman and Subrina Munroe.

FULL SQUAD: Merissa Aguilleira (Captain), Stafanie Taylor (Vice Captain), Shemaine Campbelle, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Kycia Knight, Anisa Mohammed, Subrina Munroe, Juliana Nero, June Ogle, Shakera Selman, Tremayne Smartt and Shaquana Quintyne.

Team Management: Sherwin Campbell (Head Coach), Pat Greenidge (Team Manager), Andre Coley (High Performance Coach), Janel Springer (Physiotherapist), Amena Highland (Strength &

Conditioning Trainer), Trent Sargeant (Analyst).

West Indies v South Africa Schedule Monday, Jan 7: 1st OneDay International – Warner Park (9:30am) Wednesday, Jan 9: 2nd One-Day International – Warner Park (9:30am) Saturday, Jan 12: 3rd OneDay International – Windsor Park (9:30am) Sunday, Jan 13: 4th OneDay International – Windsor Park (9:30am) Tuesday, Jan 15: 5th OneDay International – Windsor Park (9:30am) Saturday, Jan 19: 1st T20I – Beausejour Cricket Ground (4pm) Sunday, Jan 20: 2nd T20I – Beausejour Cricket Ground (4pm)

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Monday January 07, 2013

Hussey finishes on a high with Australia sweep SYDNEY (Reuters) Michael Hussey ended his test career on a high on Sunday when Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets with a day to spare in the third test to sweep the series 3-0.

The 37-year-old was deprived of the ultimate fairytale ending when his batting partner Mitchell Johnson scored the winning run but Hussey, ever the team man, was not remotely concerned. “It couldn’t have ended any better,” he said after being applauded off the pitch by both teams at the end of his 79th test.

“I feel very proud to have worn the baggy green cap and I’ve probably achieved a lot more in my career than I ever dreamed I could.”

Australia, chasing 141 runs to win the test, lost three wickets in quick succession just before tea to bring Hussey out for his final test innings before retirement.

The break came with the hosts just five runs shy of victory and when Johnson pushed the ball wide of point for his only run of the innings, Hussey was already halfway down the pitch to secure the winning run.

“I was telling Mitch the over before if it comes up that you hit it, then I’m more than

Michael Hussey acknowledges the cheers after his final Test appearance. (Getty Images) happy to let us get this over and done with,” said Hussey, who finished unbeaten on 27 for a career average of 51.52.

“But I was more than happy to be out there when the winning run was hit. A dream come true. The important thing was making sure we won the test match.”

Australia had dismissed the tourists for 278 before lunch to set up the run chase but they inched nervously towards the target after David

Warner had departed for a duck without a run on the board.

Seamer Suranga Lakmal had the opener caught in the slips by his captain Mahela Jayawardene but it was the spin-bowling of Tillakaratne Dilshan and particularly Rangana Herath that was always going to provide most problems on a turning wicket.

The peace of a hot afternoon at the Sydney Cricket Ground was

punctuated by the loud appeals of the Sri Lankans pretty much any time the ball came near a batsman’s front pad. Jayawardene, so profligate with his appeals to the TV umpire in this series, made the most of his first of the innings to remove Phil Hughes for 34 with Australia still 96 runs short of their target.

There was some confusion as to whether they were appealing for a catch or

lbw off the Herath delivery.

The TV pictures showed no nick or glove but did reveal that the ball would have hit the stumps so Hughes was out.

HUSSEY CHANTS Clarke, the most prolific test batsmen of last year and later named Player of the Series, came to the crease for another duel with Herath, who took more test wickets than any other bowler in 2012.

In the end though, it was the spin of Dilshan which removed the Australia skipper for 29 although opener Ed Cowan (36) and Matthew Wade (9) did then quickly fall victim to Herath.

The crowd had already started chanting Hussey’s name before Clarke’s dismissal in the hope he would get out to bat again in his final test after being runout in the first innings and they got their wish.

“What a place to finish.

The SCG is probably my top three favourite grounds in the whole world,” Hussey said.

“The crowd support and the support in general has been a bit overwhelming and I’ve been a bit embarrassed by it. In a way I’m quite relieved that it’s over now.”

Sri Lanka had resumed on 225-7 in the morning looking to bulk up their lead of 87 and

give their bowlers something to work with. Dinesh Chandimal hit a defiant 62 not out off 106 balls but ran out of partners when Jackson Bird had Nuwan Pradeep caught behind for nine half an hour before lunch. Chandimal and Pradeep had put on 41 for the final wicket after Herath (10) and Lakmal (0) had departed relatively cheaply.

Bird, the least experienced of the four paceman deployed

by Australia in the test, was named Man of the Match after bagging figures of 7-117.

Australia won the first test in Hobart by 137 runs and the second by an innings and 201 runs inside three days in Melbourne last week.

“I think we fought really well, but it wasn’t good enough,” said Jayawardene, who is stepping down as captain after this series.

“When you are competing at this level, I think we need to be much better prepared and show more character to win test matches in these conditions.”

Scores: Australia 9 for 432 dec and 5 for 141 (Cowan 36, Herath 3-45) beat Sri Lanka 294 and 278 (Karunaratne 85, Chandimal 62*, Jayawardene 60, Johnson 334, Bird 3-76) by 5 wickets.

Monday January 07, 2013

Kaieteur News

Albion Sports Complex may get lights soon Berbicians may soon have another option to participate in regular night activities if all goes well and if Regional Chairman Region Six, David Armogan gets his way. The Albion Sports Complex on the Corentyne, the venue for the first ever one day international cricket match in the West Indies, which was played on the 16th March, 1977 between West Indies and Pakistan and won by the West Indies by four wickets is being considered for floodlights.

According to the Regional Chairman, after receiving several complaints about a permanent venue in Berbice for night activities and widespread discussions he had with various stake holders and several recommendations, He discussed the matter with President Donald Ramotar and the president has agreed that it is possible to have permanent lights placed at the premier cricket arena in Berbice.

The regional chairman, who is an ardent cricket fan and a former cricketer himself, stated that, “Not only will we

be able to have night cricket there, but it will enhance our chances of having any game played there in the night under lights.” According to Armogan, the type of lights to be installed at the venue is similar to those at the National Stadium which is expected to bring back the international flair to the venue. The project is expected to begin soon.

The venue which was one of the premiere cricketing venues in Guyana in tandem with Bourda, has hosted a number of one-day games so far but it’s been more than two decades now that an international game has not been played at the venue and with the recent decision of the West Indies cricket board to ban international cricket matches from Guyana, the return of high class cricket to the venue might be sometime in coming.

The venue holds a 300M athletics track comfortably and can also host a number of different sporting activities one can think about.

Boosting a number of stands and pavilions the venue can accommodate over 15,000

spectators.

In the past, the Berbice Cricket Board, in collaboration with the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) and a number of other private organisations have organized night cricket at the Albion Sports Complex, but because of insufficient lighting, the boundaries had to be brought in significantly.

The Chamber through the instrumentality of its president Imran Saccoor and executives has given the commitment to purchase lights for the outside of the complex.

According to Saccoor, the lights on the outer side will assist persons who want to exercise in the nights.

The venue is also used by the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) to host their Annual Trade Fair. The CCCC along with Business Deonarine Balram of Balram Shane store of Rose Hall Town has also been contributing to the upkeep of the venue which is owned by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO).

Mohammed has eyes on 100th ODI wicket

Basseterre, St Kitts – Anisa Mohammed will be on a major mission when she lines up for West Indies Women against South Africa Women in the five-match One-Day International Series, which bowls off today. First ball in the opening match at Warner Park is 9:30 am (8:30 am Jamaica Time).

The attacking off-spinner is presently sitting on 85 wickets in 54 matches – the most by a woman in West Indies history. She has taken her wickets at an impressive average of just 14.54 runs per wicket and an economy rate of a mere 2.94 runs per over.

“I’m looking for 100. I pay close attention to the details in the game and I am 15 wickets away from 100. My aim is to look to get to 100 or as close as possible during the series against South Africa. That would require an average of three wickets per match, which won’t be easy, but I believe I can achieve it,” Mohammed told WICB Media.

“That would mean I would have to be on top of my game in every match. It would be a great way to start the year in West Indies colours. The ultimate goal is to win the series against

Anisa Mohammed South Africa and get a good warm-up as we look to go to the World Cup in India – which is just around the corner.”

Mohammed is one of the most experienced members of the Windies squad. She made her international debut way back in 2003 as a fresh-faced 14-year-old against Japan in the Netherlands. Since then she has emerged as one of the leading players in the women’s game and holds the world record for the most wickets in T20 Internationals.

She had managed 64 wickets in 47 matches at the average of 12.75 runs per wickets.

“Before every year I set

myself goals and before every series I set myself targets. Last year one of my goals was to help the West Indies improve as a team and try to win the World T20 in Sri Lanka. We did well as a team – winning against India and Sri Lanka at home and we also reached the semi-finals in the World T20. You could say we are moving forward,” Mohammed said.

“This year one of the goals is obviously to reach 100 career wickets, but I also set goals with my team-mates.

The first goal is to beat South Africa in these upcoming matches. We always play well at home and we always play well against the South Africans... we know we can beat them. As a team, we have played together for a while now and we know each other ’s strengths and understand what each player is capable of.”

Mohammed added: “We have played against South Africa a lot as well and we know the weak areas to exploit. They have some good players, but we have detected a weakness against slow bowling so we will look to use a lot of spin. That means I will have a really big Continued on page 29

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