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June 10, 2012
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Parliament will investigate Pg 9
US$150M CJIA secret deal
- House Speaker
Officials from the Chinese company meeting with Speaker of the House Raphael Trotman
From addict to educator ... Pg 18
Hire-car driver unaware . . as probe he is still employed and continues being paid salaries by NCN
Meet the lovely
Vinera Pg 12 Doobay
Govt pays New GPC six times retail cost Sandra Braithwaite is a 'Special Person for pharmaceuticals Pg 10
Pg 17
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Sunday June 10, 2012
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KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210
Editorial
CAPITAL MOVE Much has been said recently about Georgetown having been transformed from a “Garden City” into a “Garbage City”. The initiative of the ambassadors to stimulate some sort of citizens’ action and the latest flooding yesterday brought this home. But the problem (literally) goes deeper. It is a matter of hydraulics. While most of us learn (by rote) that our coastland is below sea-level – and that this applies in spades to Georgetown - we blithely ignore the demands that this circumstance places on us. In addition to the water accumulated from rainfall, we have to factor in that continually streaming into the canals and sewers from the Lama Canal via our faucets and toilets. Georgetown has to be continuously drained to save us from wallowing in filth and garbage. Of course we can work to make the drainage systems more efficient, but even with a tenth of the present population back in the 19th century, the benighted state of our city’s hygiene was the butt of bitter jokes. We are in the throes of a vicious spiral: we all clamour for our country to be developed; development is interpreted as the expansion of Georgetown – first by building sideways and of recent, upwards –all of which places ever greater strains on the capabilities of our hydraulic systems. We are, unfortunately, constrained by the tides – drainage can only take place at low tides. At other times we have to constantly keep our fingers crossed that our drains, canals and sewerage lines can hold the build-up of effluents. With our propensity to dispose of our Styrofoam waste directly into our drains, that has been a losing battle. Then, we should all know by now - on account of the intense bombardment we have been subjected to on Climate Change - that sea levels are inexorably rising due to global warming. With the developed countries in no mood to sign off on a new Climate Change Protocol, Georgetown will face ever increasing pressures from the waters – externally as well as internally. What are we to do? This paper has been clamouring for years that we cease placing most of our development eggs in Georgetown. Has anybody looked at our New York style traffic jams to our not so fair capital during ‘rush hours”? We have to ease the pressures from our major city or it will sink into more than just a pile-up of garbage. We have suggested that we start by moving our administrative capital inland to higher ground. Georgetown will remain a central commercial location and harbour - but only if it is given an opportunity to keep its challenges from the waters, at bay. The world has recognised the dangers to low-lying coastal nations posed by rising seas and money is available for assisting countries that have to take preventative measures from being inundated. From our own special circumstances, there are many other just as valid reasons for moving our administrative capital inland. All development experts – in and out of government – agree that our economic future lies in increased trade and communication with Brazil, the giant on our southern flank. We need the infrastructure to handle the anticipated boom. We cannot afford to wait until we are literally overwhelmed. However, it is no use asking private developers to speculate: it is the task of Government to prepare for such eventualities. The relocation of our administrative infrastructure away from Georgetown, a la Brasilia, to an interior location along the road to Brazil will generate several synergies. The new capital will serve as the nucleus around which others can be encouraged to invest and thereby further relieving the pressures on Georgetown. Just as importantly it will force those occupying the seats of power – which now includes a heady Opposition - to become enmeshed within the realities of what it will take to actually develop our longlauded “interior potential”. Then, who knows, maybe if politicians are not promised automatic enjoyment of the bright lights of Georgetown, it might dampen our insidious political competition somewhat?
Sunday June 10, 2012
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We have made giant leaps to nowhere DEAR EDITOR, Sometimes I wonder if my country is cursed; if its people suffer because of a great and unforgivable sin committed by their predecessors. This is a country that has untold wealth; gold, diamond, bauxite, fertile lands, vast timber reserves and the list goes on. We have less than a million people inhabiting 83000 square miles. More than 70 percent of them live below the poverty line. You can count the billionaires who are rich according to British and American standards. A stone’s throw away from Parliament Building where men in expensive attire, with lib tongues and big bellies
park their million dollar vehicles and eat expensive meals and drink vintage wines, are ragged and destitute women and children seated on the dirty pavements outside Demico House. They sit there begging for crumbs to survive another day in their world of misery. Even those who claim they are fighting for the rights of the poor, but drive expensive vehicles and live in lush houses have been unable to win the battle of housing the many on the destitute, dirty and cold pavements outside Demico House and around Parliament Building, much less, changing the plight of
Guyana’s poorer class. Millions are given by international organisations to help the poor. Yet,the poor are becoming poorer. The dynamics in Guyana politics have changed after 20 years. Much is being exposed in terms of government corruption. Many believe that what is being exposed will not be corrected in the interest and to the benefit of taxpayers. Many believe that back door negotiations are being made by opposition players for their personal aggrandisement. These exposures are fuel for another elections period when there is a hypocritical struggle for the seat of power. Meanwhile, those seated on
the pavement of destitution will be there come rain or sun. We are not fools so we don’t expect any corrupt politicians or businessmen to be brought to justice. We will just read of their sins. Sins that have brought death and misery to countless of Guyanese people who fall into the category of vulnerable or unfortunate. Until genuine results come from the power of our new found political situation, our opposition politicians will be measured by the same stick of oppression as the government before and the one present. We have made giant leaps to nowhere. Things are even worse in 2012. Norman Browne
Sunday June 10, 2012
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There is the urgent need for an environmentally-friendly recycling plant DEAR SIR, The theme for this year’s World Environment Day is “A Green Economy- Are You Included.” It is an appropriate theme because it seems to suggest that there is need for greater environmental consideration in global and local economic activities. Globalization appeared to have virtually removed the dividing line between the global and the local communities. The world is one. It is one big global village, a shared social space, where environmental problems are more fluid affecting everyone, everywhere on the earth. Climate change, global warming, the pollution of our air and seas, the destruction of coral reefs and other aspects of biodiversities and the general ecology is not confined to one country; it affect every village, every community in the world. The theme calls for a better balance between economics and good environmental stewardship. The question is which one comes first- economics or the environment? Whichever way we look at it corporations and businesses do have a very vital role to play in facilitating a green economy. To achieve such an economy corporations must have as a serious priority environmental responsibility. During the industrial revolution of the 19th century business was concerned with profit making and had little interference from the authorities. However, the concept of social responsibility came to the fore during the 1960s in response to society’s changing values. In developed countries, the public policy debates of the 60s and 70s raised awareness of social issues. Prominent social issues surfaced including the environment and product safety. Businesses were forced to not only engaged in social causes but also consider the social consequences of their economic activities. Therefore, business evolved from a purely economic instrument to a socioeconomic one. As it now stands, corporations are viewed as not only economic institutions but also social institutions. As such corporations have responsible to society. Thus, they have an obligation to solve some of society’s problems and to devote some of their resources to the solution of these problems. Notwithstanding that,
Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize- winning economist, believed that corporations have no responsibility to society that goes beyond adhering to the law and maximizing profits for its shareholders. Even in that, Friedman did not suggest that corporate charitable giving be reduced if the activity contributed to profit making. Indeed, being perceived as socially and environmentally responsibility can attract customers and employees- an investment that increases future profitability. In this period of human development, every organization must assume full responsibility for its impact
on the environment- the way they use natural resources to manufacture and distribute their products to their customers. They must also account for their approach to waste management. In Guyana, waste management is becoming increasingly unmanageable. Plastic, including PET bottles constitute a major public health nuisance in many local communities. Plastic is suffocating the environment. It puts at risk the health of animals, birds and marine life. It is bad for the ecological system. Much of the plastic we see in drains and on parapets were used as wrappings or packaging materials for
certain products. Many of the Styrofoam boxes on roadways were used by fast food outlets and other food shops to serve their customers. Corporate social responsibility provides for businesses to plan not only to sell their products and make a profit but also to account for the way of those products. This is important because in some cases, the waste from certain products has a greater impact on the environment than the actual product. However, this challenge also presents an investment opportunity for businessrecycling. There is the urgent need for an environmentally
friendly recycling plant to effectively manage the abundance of plastic tossed about our communities. The utility of such an investment is not only in monetary profits but also in protecting the environment. This in itself will allow businesses to give back to society. Imagine how different our communities
would look if we could only remove the plastic bottles and other non biodegradable materials from our environment. Imagine the impact such an environment would have on your neighbourhoods and communites. Royston King Executive Director ECHO
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Cargo vessel disaster…
Missing cook had complained about over-laden vessel minutes before mishap cargo…but did not find anyone.” “He (Da Silva) could be stuck in some part (of the boat) or his body could have washed out; in which case we will do some searches in the western side of the harbour. Minister Benn said that information suggests that the vessel began listing “by the first bouy.” “They tried to shift the cargo and the listing became more pronounced, and they decided to return to Muneshwer’s Wharf, and when they tried to make the turn (back to the wharf) the vessel capsized and this happened quickly.” According to Benn, the ‘water taxis’ and the Harbour Master responded, followed by the Coast Guard. “The water taxis took the crew off the vessel and they were transferred to the Maritime boats.” Minister Benn dismissed suggestions that Da Silva could have been rescued had divers been brought to the scene promptly. “If there were divers at the site, probably they would have come up with the same result. “The Coast Guard guys were hammering (on the overturned vessel) and we thought that maybe there was someone (inside).” He added that cutting torches and gas tanks were brought to the scene, with the intention of cutting into the vessel, but then it was determined that the sounds had come from an area where there were ballast and fuel tanks, and were not being
made by the missing cook. “The knocking had to be some of the cargo floating around. The experts decided that if there was someone there, that person is dead, or not in the vessel.” He assured that an investigation will be launched into the circumstances that led to the mishap. Disaster struck late Friday afternoon, when the vessel destined for Trinidad and Tobago capsized in the Demerara River, about quarter mile offshore. Seven crewmen were on board at the time. Kaieteur News was told that the cook got trapped in the boat because he went back for a haversack. The captain had said that everyone was up at the time of the incident and that the cook was in the kitchen. The man said that the crew quickly got life jackets and abandoned ship. The cook, however, reportedly said that he was heading back for the bag. A man who operates a passenger vessel at the Georgetown stelling said that he was heading over to the Vreed-en-Hoop stelling with passengers when he saw the boat capsize. The man said he noticed that an excavator was on the vessel. He said that it appeared as if the boat was turning, but in doing so, the excavator began sliding toward one side of the craft. For a while, he said the boat was leaning to starboard and then without warning it capsized.
- hours after jeep loads of ranks raided her shop
cases of mixed alcoholic beverages from the shop because though it is licensed to operate it is not so permitted to sell alcoholic beverages. “Me din mind that, cause we ain’t got liquor license but nobody else was in the shop. Dem could a let he lock up.” The woman said that when she arrived she locked up the shop and went home. However, early the following morning, she received a message that the shop had Continued on page 51
Minutes before the Miss Ellisa capsized on Friday, veteran seaman Gerald Da Silva had expressed concern that the cargo vessel was over-laden. He was also concerned about the apparent haste to reach their destination, his wife said yesterday. Da Silva, the vessel’s 67year-old cook, was reportedly trapped in the 65-foot vessel when it capsized in the Demerara River shortly after leaving the Muneshwer’s Wharf. Divers who scoured the vessel yesterday failed to locate the missing man, and it has been suggested that his body is still trapped in some inaccessible section of the craft or that it floated away. Minister of Public Works and Transport, Robeson Benn, told Kaieteur News yesterday that efforts will be made within a few days to tow the vessel closer to land. However, relatives of the missing cook reported yesterday evening that the owner of the cargo boat had towed it close to Customs House. Some of the missing cook’s close relatives have remained outside Muneshwer’s Wharf and near the Stabroek Market wharf since the mishap. Da Silva’s spouse, Jean Thompson, told Kaieteur News that she last saw her husband around 08:00 hrs on Friday, when he left home to board the Miss Ellisa. She said that her husband had expected that the vessel would have departed at
midnight. However, he then called around 17:30 hrs to inform her that they were departing. “He call and say that the people change their mind and that they leaving. He said ‘I don’t know why they hurry to go right now. The back of the boat is down (low in the water) and it (the vessel) overloaded. He say ‘you hear the engine?’ and I say yes. He said ‘you know I love you’, and I say ‘yes, I will pray for you.’” Ms. Thompson said that shortly after, Da Silva’s son called to inform her that the vessel her husband was on had capsized. “When I call, the phone go to voice-mail.” Da Silva’s wife alleged that on the previous voyage to Trinidad, the seaman had also complained of overloading and of what he perceived to be their haste to reach their destination. “The last time he say that the boat below the blue seal and that they reach in two days instead.” The woman alleged that after the disaster, another crew-member told her that the Miss Ellisa had been overladen during the journey Relatives said that Da Silva knew how to swim, and had been working some 36 years at sea. Speaking to Kaieteur News yesterday, Minister Robeson Benn said that divers had searched the “accessible portions of the vessel”, without locating the missing cook. “They found the usual
Woman forced to provide taxi to take police to crime scene
Three jeep loads of police Friday evening swooped down on a Vriesland, West Bank Demerara shop to arrest a man. However they did not have any vehicle, a few hours later to return when thieves broke into the shop. In fact the police advised the man’s mother, who reported the attack by the thieves, to hire a taxi to take them back to the scene so that they can investigate the
Sunday June 10, 2012
breakage. Reports reaching this newspaper are that ranks from Wales Police Station on Friday evening arrested shop owner, Eissharad Samad, after searching his shop for narcotics. However, the following morning his mother, Amena Khan, reported to the said police station that the shop was broken into and she had to provide a taxi for a rank to
return to the shop. Khan, recounting her son’s arrest, said that about ten ranks entered “a small shop like this” to search for narcotics. According to her, nothing was found but police arrested her son and took him to Wales Police Station; “without allowing he to lock up de shop or nothing,” said the woman. She said that along with her son, ranks took three
MISSING: Gerald Da Silva He said numerous passenger vessels raced to the scene to render their assistance. From where he was positioned, the eyewitness said he saw persons waving their hands in the air, signaling for assistance. He said the men were wearing life jackets. Minister of Public Works
and Transport, Robeson Benn, said that the vessel left Muneshwer’s Wharf around 16:00hours. He said that the boat was carrying timber, rice, coal, and coconuts. The captain of the vessel, St. Vincent national, Justin Bynoe, said that he realized as soon as he departed the wharf that the ship started to lean and was taking in water. He said that he decided that he was no longer going out to sea and was preparing to return to the wharf to adjust the cargo. That is when he said the boat started to take in water from the starboard side. “She started to take in water from the side and she kept going and never turned back.” Bynoe said that apart from himself and the missing cook, Ronald Saroop; first mate, Deodat; Chief Engineer, Victor Christopher; second engineer, Anthony Bowen; and Sahadeo Baldeo were on board.
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Wasn’t the fight for independence supposed to end these imperialistic attitudes? DEAR EDITOR, Independence day came and went and we heard many speeches. This missive is not against that fight to break the shackles of the colonist back in day. This is about that journey from 1966-2012. This is the independent view of a young, 28 year old African male, born and living in Guyana. I can only share my views based on my perspective. What does independence mean to me? What should independence mean to me? In this current time and with this current social, political, cultural atmosphere, independence means nothing to me. It is sad to say, but it is my truth. Living in Guyana in 2012, I am really not sure what it should mean to me. I speak to my elders and I read history books about life in Guyana before 1966 and I strongly believe that those architects of our independence would be extremely disappointed at Guyana today. As an African our history takes us back to our glory days as rulers of the world to our slip and fall into slavery
under the cruel Europeans to colonial times. Guyana’s independence came out of these times. Today, Indians are running the country. In colonial times A f r i c a n s faced discrimination while persons with lighter complexions were given preferential treatment in terms of jobs and accessing goods and services. Has that changed? Today, it would seem as if only Indians are preferred for the top jobs. My family would always be amazed when we see on television all of the various heads and directors of the various state agencies. In our eyes –we may be wrong- it seems so blatantly and deliberately one sided. The top ranking government official in the court of law saying that they were no African Guyanese qualified for ambassadorship overseas really hits home my point. Do you think this mentality may be applied for inland jobs too? I sure think so. Wasn’t the fight for independence supposed to end all of these imperialistic attitudes? Today, if we want
to build a school, bridge or road (none of which are built correctly, anyway) we go into excessive pleading for funds from USAID,EU etc former slave masters and colonists. Aren’t we free? Jamaica got its independence since 1962, yet only last year did the Prime Minister say they will no longer recognize the queen as the Head of State. What were they doing all this time? It seems more like these colonists tricked us with this thought of independence? I think in Guyana and the Caribbean the ‘hard, roots minded’ leaders of the past have been undermined by these new-age, modern minded, totally disconnected leaders. Then there is this tourism thing. Tourism is just another form of us bowing and serving our masters all over again while diplomatically brushing aside our own local people. Who are the vast majority of the tourist? We are training our people to cater to the whim and fancies of the whites. “may I take your bags, sir” “let me get that for your sir”
“let me clean up your drunken vomit for you sir” In so many independent, developing, non-white countries they are places that are out of touch to locals as the pricing and policy caters for only that “foreign clientele”. I thought independence was suppose to put an end to white supremacy in our country. Look at who is driving the air conditioned, huge SUVs with the yellow number plates enjoying their immunity. The fact is Guyana is sitting on an agricultural and food goldmine, we have been blessed with so much green, so we really don’t to expend all that resources for tourism. Other Caribbean nations are not so blessed, unfortunately. At the end of the day when we calculate all the facts the colonists are still running the show and calling the shots. Africans have suffered at the hands of British but Africans are suffering at the hands of this small group controlling the ruling party today. What is the difference for Africans? I would choose the post-colonial Brits over
these current leaders; at least we had a much cleaner country then. Am I crazy for thinking like that? In all fairness, the mentality of many Africans has been less than wise and is shares some of the blame for our current predicament. We should be ashamed. With all that is said and done the natty had got to keep on riding, strengthen his spirituality with the Creator and live according to the Holy Laws. The natty has got to
continue being patient, stand still and admire the architectural skills of the Father as he goes into the discarded heap and picks up the stones that have been thrown away by the current builders of this so called independent nation. Then the natty will watch as the Father uses these stones as the main pillars in his majestic house. Who knows, maybe my feelings will change next independence. Montgomery A. Chester
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Sunday June 10, 2012
Trinidadian coalition partner resigns Bermuda’s pro-independence government en bloc from statutory boards paves way for new referendum PORT OF SPAIN - CMC Trinidad and Tobago’s coalition was dented Friday as one of its five partners, the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), resigned en masse from the boards of ten state corporations, protesting the way the People’s Partnership government was running the country. The MSJ’s General Secretary Ozzi Warwick confirmed that all its members from ten state boards have
heeded a resignation call by their political leader, Senator David Abdullah, over his criticisms of the coalition’s system of governance. In a bid to create a multiethnic challenge to the PNM government ahead of the 2010 election, the United National Congress, which has a predominantly IndoTrinidadian base, and a splinter party, the Congress of the People (COP), formed the People’s Partnership with
three other smaller parties, the Tobago Organization of the People (TOP), the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) and the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ). The coalition won the general election with 29 out of 41 seats in the House of Representatives. The MSJ and NJAC are not represented in the lower chamber but Abdullah, a prominent trade union leader, was appointed a government senator.
Dudus will not appeal sentence Convicted gangster, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke’s lawyer, Stephen Rosen says his client will not appeal the 23 year sentence he was handed in a United States Federal court Friday. Rosen says he believes Coke will be released in his 60s and allowed to return to his home country. Coke was extradited from Jamaica on June 24, 2010 following a bloody incursion into his
Tivoli Gardens stronghold. And in August last year he pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. In addition to the 23 year sentence, US Federal Judge Robert P. Patterson has signed an order for the forfeiture of US$1.5 million from Coke’s estate. (Jamaica Gleaner)
HAMILTON, Bermuda CMC - With a general election due here by December, the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) government on Friday cleared the way for a referendum to be held on independence for Britain’s oldest colony – 17 years after Bermudian voters overwhelmingly rejected cutting ties with London. The newly-tabled Referendum Act was passed in the House of Assembly – at 392 years, one of the five oldest parliaments in the world – to give Bermudians the power to decide in a fresh referendum whether to end a link to the British Empire that dates back to settlement in English colonial settlement in 1609. Since 2002, Bermuda has been one of 14 overseas territories that are under the
jurisdiction of the United Kingdom but do not form part of it. London retains responsibility for the defence and foreign affairs of 53square-kilometre (20 square miles) island in the North Atlantic. The UK government must also approve any changes to its constitution. But despite its proindependence stance, the PLP faces an uphill task to retain the government at the next general election, which must
be called no later than the date of the last poll, December 18. Opinion polls put the year-old main opposition party, the One Bermuda Alliance, ahead of the PLP, in power since 1998 when it ended 30 years of uninterrupted rule by the United Bermuda Party (UBP). The PLP was re-elected in 2003 and in 2007 won 22 of the 36 seats in parliament, leaving the UBP with only two MPs.
Volney: Time to get tough ’21st Century Policing not working’ Justice Minister Herbert Volney Friday expressed disappointment over the 21st Century Policing Initiative of the Police Service, saying it is not reaping the results as it should. Volney, in an interview with the media during the Parliament’s tea break at Tower D, Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain, said a tougher approach in the crime fight is needed. Asked if felt that 21st Century Policing Initiative was too soft, Volney responded, “It hasn’t worked as well as we would want it to work, but we have to give it some time to see whether it is working. I find it is taking a little long to roll out all over the country because you can’t have 21st Century initiative taking six months to roll out in another district, after you have it in one district, cause all that happens is that the criminals will run from the district into another district. We have to be constantly behind them.” Questioned on the recent spike in homicides and what
he felt was not being done to curb the crime problem, Volney, who was reluctant to answer, said, “I think we could perhaps be a little tougher on crime.” Pressed further to explain what he meant, he said, “I think the time has come to take back, street by street, take back the State’s space from criminals and put them behind bars.” Questioned on whether this was not achieved during the State of Emergency, which ran from August to December last year, Volney said, “It worked, the State of Emergency was quite a success as far as I’m concerned and I have been in the criminal justice system for the last 30 years and I can speak without fear of contradiction that the State of Emergency worked. I can look at it from all angles of the system, what we need perhaps if we don’t have a State of Emergency, is a similar sort of policing and we also have to ensure that the antigang legislation is carried out now.” Asked whether he felt criminals no longer had respect for law enforcement, Volney said, “They think they won’t be caught and, as a result, the deterrence is not there. When they are caught and public examples are made of them by having them tried quickly and locked away for long periods of time others will be deterred by it.”
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Parliament will investigate US$150M CJIA secret deal - House Speaker A senior official and team representing the embattled Chinese company involved in the massive Timehri airport expansion project flew in, yesterday for a meeting with government and at least one opposition party, amidst rising concerns. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and its parent company, Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC), have both come under intense scrutiny in Guyana and Jamaica recently for revelations that the World Bank has debarred them until 2017 for bribery. A Chinese official was last year sentenced to death while the son of a former Bangladeshi Prime Minister was jailed for six years for taking bribes from the company and its subsidiaries. Yesterday, Zhou Gang, a Vice President of CCCC led a team that met with Prime Minister Sam Hinds. The team later met with Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman and Parliamentarian for the Alliance For Change, Moses Nagamootoo, at the Parliament Buildings. While the team said it is officially here to explore the possibilities of bringing US$10B in investments to Guyana in terms of infrastructure, the issue of its seriously dented credibility dominated the agenda. According to the Speaker, the Parliament will be investigating the US$150M deal to rebuild the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). He noted that Guyana has a long standing relationship with China, but from time to time issues of concerns and difficulties will arise. According to Nagamootoo, his party is “strongly against corruption. And we are strongly advocate accountability in everything we do. In that regard, we are very disturbed… very concerned about the newspaper reports about CCCC in issues of accountability in Jamaica. We want you to give us some assurance about the creditability of your company. We want to embrace you as a friend of Guyana but (we are) worried about what we hearing.” Zhou Gang and his team said that they are here to learn more of Guyana’s concerns and will be relaying the findings back to his headquarters. On Thursday, seven months after his administration secretly inked an agreement with CHEC in Jamaica, for the CJIA expansion, former President Bharrat Jagdeo backpedaled,
- Chinese company official flies in for emergency meeting
AFC’s Moses Nagamootoo (centre) and Vice President of Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC), Zhou Gang and his team on the way to the meeting in the Parliament Building yesterday. calling for President Donald Ramotar, to review the contract. Jagdeo’s position, now, is that the World Bank pronouncement on the Chinese contractor “should not be taken lightly.” He is urging Ramotar to seek explanations from the Chinese Government about the conduct of the company. This Government to Government route has been suggested given that CHEC is ultimately owned by the Chinese Government. The former President’s utterance as it relates to his new position for a review of the project is purportedly premised on the need for “value for money” as well as to weed out any possible illegalities that may be Continued on page 51
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Dem boys seh
Like dem MP mouth glue down
Dem have a saying ‘Live and let others live. Eat and lef fuh others eat.’ But dem got some people—one name Bernie Madoff, one name Allen Stanford, one name Jagdeo and one name Bobby. Everybody know wheh de first two end up. Jagdeo and Bobby gun follow dem soon. Dem not only greedy, dem extremely, extremely, extremely greedy. Dem boys just find out that Bobby medicine company jook out everybody eye wid de price dem charge fuh de drugs wha dem sell de government. Dem charge six times de retail price in de store fuh de same drug and Jagdeo buy dem wid a smile. Imagine if this only unearth now, imagine wha dem bin a do from fifteen years to now. How much billion deh in dem pocket. And if people think that is bad and greedy tek de airport one. Jagdeo seh that fuh he to get a $40 million China loan fuh build de airport he have to tek a Chinee contractor. And de Chinee contractor then turn round and tell Jagdeo that airport gun cost US$150 million. Dem boys seh that scenario, is like going to a bank fuh a loan to build a $15 million house. And de bank tell you that fuh you to get de loan you have to tek de bank contractor. That bank contractor tell you is $50 million fuh build de house wha you want. Now tell we, which jackass tekking that loan? Who gun fall fuh that if you not getting a big kickback. And dem boys seh, guess what, all de politicians, except Prakash and Trotman, sitting down and keeping dem mouth shut as if dem a get kickback too. Dem jackass. De nation want dem fuh seh something –maan. Dem boys seh that if you can’t stand up fuh something you gun fall fuh anything. And that is wha Jagdeo gun give dem. Talk half. And call pun dem donkeys fuh speak up.
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Sunday June 10, 2012
Govt. pays New GPC six times Greenidge petitions Parliament for money to probe NICIL retail cost for pharmaceuticals Last year, when the government awarded a $311M contract to the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation, importers found that some of the prices put forward by the entity were exorbitant; that the government was paying much more than it should for some of the pharmaceuticals being imported. They noticed for example that the cream, Ketoconazole, which was imported in 15g and 30g containers, was priced by the importer at $2,000 per tube while the local retailers were offering the cream to the public for $140 and $300, the latter being the retail value. These items were imported in large quantities and a casual inspection revealed that the importer priced the contract at $50 million more than what it should have been. Ketoconazole is used to treat fungal infections such as dandruff and athlete’s foot, jock itch and similar ailments.
Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop More recently, an inspection of a shipment of Omeprazole, which is imported in 20 milligram and 28 milligram packets, also found huge price discrepancies. The importing company, New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation, is charging the government as much as six
times the retail price of the drug on the local market. Omeprazole is used in medicine to treat Gastro esophagel reflux disease, gastric and duodenum ulceration and gastritis. Simply put, it treats ulcers and what the ordinary people call ‘burnt stomach’. A source said that the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation charges $1,909 per tube while International Pharmaceutical Corporation retails the drug at $364 per tube. Head of International Pharmaceutical Agency, Lloyd Singh, said that he is analyzing the list of imports provided by the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation and that in the coming days he is going to make the disclosures. Singh said that his company, IPA, has largely been sidelined by the government in preference of its favourite, the New Guyana P h a r m a c e u t i c a l Corporation.
HSDU reduces anemia in Guyana The Basic Nutrition Programme (BNP), implemented by the Health Sector Development Unit (HSDU) of the Ministry of Health (MoH) was awarded the ‘Development Impact Honours’ by the United States Treasury on Thursday. This presentation was made by U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner to Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, IDB President, at the U.S.
Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. The Executive Director of the HSDU, Keith Burrowes, said that the BNP was a “flagship project implemented by the HSDU” and he is particularly happy with the work done by the project staff especially since the project “…was able to make a difference in the lives of the people of Guyana.” The BNP was initiated in
response to the Government of Guyana’s recognition of the high levels of anaemia and malnutrition in some regions, particularly the rural areas, and is jointly funded by the Government of Guyana (GoG) and the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB). It seeks to reduce anaemia and malnutrition among pregnant women and children, six months to 24 (Continued on page 55)
…moves to force Dr. Ashni Singh for full disclosure of Privatization Deals The Guyana Government through its Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and Chief Spokesman Dr. Roger Luncheon has already indicated an unwillingness to entertain an independent probe of NICIL but this is not deterring Carl Greenidge in his quest. Carl Greenidge, who serves as the point man on Finance for A Partnership for National Unity, has moved to the Parliament with a motion to seek to have the House set aside monies to facilitate an in-depth and independent financial probe of the Government-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). That motion will be debated Wednesday in the House. Greenidge has premised his demand with the fact that “Guyanese are concerned about the widely reported acts of lawlessness in the guardianship of our national resources and assets as well as the lack of transparency and accountability associated with the disposal of those assets.” As such, he is seeking to have the Parliament direct the substantive Ministers, namely Dr. Ashni Singh and Bishop Juan Edghill, to “make financial provision for the urgent commissioning of an independent financial audit of the operations of NICIL and the Privatisation Unit.” The former Finance Minister is looking even
before monies are allocated for the probe, to have the Minister turn over all documents in relation to all of the privatization deals undertaken by Brassington. As it relates to information in the possession of the coalition and a police report as had been intimated by Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell (ag) one party Executive says that at present, APNU merely harbours suspicion of financial irregularities or malfeasance against Winston Brassington and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). Deborah Backer, one of the more senior executive members of the party, told media operatives that while the party is in possession of “some information” in relation to Brassington and NICIL, she does not believe that it’s enough to constitute a police report to launch a formal investigation. The former Shadow Home Affairs Minister, who now holds the Foreign Affairs portfolio for APNU, was speaking at the party’s press briefing when she said that the move to the courts by the Government on the Budget Cuts were merely a diversionary tactic. She spoke of diversionary tactics to remove the light of scrutiny from incidences of financial irregularities, NICIL and now the recent brouhaha over the Chinese CJIA Airport Expansion Project Contractor. Backer drew reference to the party’s motion on NICIL for debate this coming Wednesday and said that this is one of the avenues that the APNU coalition will be using to ascertain whether there is enough information to warrant a report to the Police against Brassington.
Carl Greenidge The Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge has repeatedly since returning to Guyana recently, condemned the current operations of the Government Holding Company to the point of calling it a “slush fund” for the Administration. As such, Greenidge is looking to have the House call on the relevant Ministers namely Dr.Ashni Singh and Bishop Juan Edghill to also provide a report of “all the fiscal concessions, including duty free concessions, granted in response to specific requests or as part of contracts awarded by the Tender Board and the criteria on which these awards were based, be placed before the National Assembly for review.” He is also seeking to have the Ministers “lay in the National Assembly for review and where applicable, for ratification, all international agreements, (including mining agreements involving the award of state lands and fiscal concessions), signed by the Government since 1st January, 2000.” Among other things, Greenidge is also looking also to have the Ministers clearly outline what criteria were used for the disposal of the State Assets by NICIL through the Privatization Unit.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Bobby Ramroop blows whistle to defend his $1.3B pact - as Health Ministry awards $$M contract to unqualified supplier
The QAII Boss, Dr. Bobby Ramroop inspects a piece of his machinery. New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (NGPC) owned by Queen’s Atlantic Investment Inc (QAII) and headed by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby “Ramroop has taken umbrage over the recent spate of criticisms on a $1.3B contract it received. Dr. Ramroop is insisting that his company was prequalified by the Ministry of Health to supply drugs ever since 2010. He further argued that another local company which has lodged complaints has also been a beneficiary despite failing to pre-qualify. The NGPC statement to the media yesterday said that, “Apart from NGPC, Health International Inc (HII) and one international supplier,
only two other local companies expressed interest, that is, Medpharm Co. and International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA).” “To NGPC’s knowledge and in keeping with the AG’s recommendations, the (Ministry of Health) has ever since been operating within this mandate.” The outfit run by Dr. Ramroop in its response to the criticisms of the $1.3B Contract awarded to his company, said that “despite the fact that IPA failed to prequalify, this company has been the beneficiary of contracts from the MOH for the supply of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars every
year.” QAII is now contending that “it should also be noted that NGPC had to intervene to avert a national crisis when IPAfailed to supply anti retroviral drugs (ARVs) for which they had been awarded.” The company’s statement said that reports in the media the past week suggest that NGPC is being given preferential treatment by the Government of Guyana and claimed that this is far from the truth. “The general public must be informed that it is the MOH and the Government and people of Guyana who
derive a number of benefits by purchasing from NGPC.” Dr. Ramroop’s company states that the Government and people of Guyana benefit from in excess of $400M per year from purchases made from NGPC. “A large part of this comes in the form of savings derived by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and the various taxes the company pays. NGPC also contributes to various social causes.” Dr. Ramroop’s company in defending itself as a recipient of the $1.3B
contract, contends that, “Only Medpharm Co. and NGPC were duly certified and approved to join a list of established international organizations including PAHO, IDA, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP to supply pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to the Government of Guyana.” Additionally, the company claims that at least one benefit for Guyana by using the services of NGPC is “Internationally competitive prices….NGPC does not utilize the 10 per cent preference in the legislation
for local companies.” The company also boasts credit and flexible payment terms to all state agencies and charges further that “on many occasions pharmaceuticals and medical supplies are supplied long before a single cent is received…This is true even for internationally and publicly tendered supplies such as the anti-retrovirals.” The company claims that it also provides free storage in temperature regulated conditions at various locations and argues that, “This alone saves the MOH/GPHC millions of dollars per year.”
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Hire-car driver unaware he is employed, paid by NCN - massive malpractices being unearthed at state-owned entity Amidst revelations that a senior official of National Communications Network (NCN) was sent home Friday pending an investigation into discrepancies with the accounts, there are reports that all is not well with that state-owned company. There are growing concerns over the apparent mismanagement and how monies are being spent. The alleged wrongdoings have reportedly stretched to the New Amsterdam, Berbice operations. In one case, a driver who was reportedly hired by the New Amsterdam operations and whose name was given as Zabarally Armogan, left in December yet his salary was still being sent monthly to that Berbice station. The cheque was being cashed and pocketed by a senior official there, it was claimed. Kaieteur News started the investigation after being told that the NCN headquarters, which prepares salaries, was deliberately not informed that the driver had stopped working. Investigations by this
newspaper into this particular case have pointed to a cover up in progress. The Human Resources Department at NCN Georgetown confirmed that Armogan is still working at NCN New Amsterdam. He is on a month to month contract, an official said. Armogan confirmed that he stopped working as a driver in December. He had been hired for elections work by the operations there. He is now daily working his hire car in the New Amsterdam area. A female who would answer the phone at the Berbice location during working hours would consistently claim that Zabarally was “on the road”. Yet later that evening, staffers working the night shift would say that the NCN New Amsterdam location has no driver. One male operator (name given) was unsure who Zabarally was. The station is being managed by Faizal Jaffarally, a Parliamentarian of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic.
Sent home: Martin Goolsarran
CEO, Mohamed Sattaur
NCN’s Berbice Manager, Faizal Jaffarally
There are other allegations of financial wrongdoings by NCN New Amsterdam. One particular incident in recent times that stood out has to do with the coverage of cricket games, including IPL and the West Indies tour of England. Advertisements being placed by major companies are supposed to be shown in Berbice as they were being paid for. However, a staffer at the New Amsterdam station has claimed that orders were
given to remove these paid advertisements and for the slots to be sold to other advertising businesses in Berbice. The monies from this were pocketed. Businesses who placed their ads thinking they would be shown in New Amsterdam were being robbed of their monies’ worth. The microscope was placed on NCN after startling revelations were made in Parliament that the network, which controls the country’s
only radios and a number of TV stations with coverage in all three regions, raked in more than $500M in revenues last year. Yet it was depending on subsidies from government. This year’s $80M subsidy was reduced to $1 by the two opposition parties in Parliament during the recent budget debates. Both parties cited a heavy bias by NCN towards government and called for reforms. Recently, the Board of
NCN’s Chairman, Prem Misir Directors reportedly requested financial statements for several contracts with large advertisers, including the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T). In addition, there are claims to cases of conflict of interest with at least one relative of a senior NCN staffer working at an advertising agency and yet drawing commissions for ads placed with the network. There are also allegations of advertising monies being misappropriated and nonexistent staffers on the payroll. On Friday, Production Manager, Martin Goolsarran, was sent on leave pending investigation. Also under probe is Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Sattaur. The investigations are being headed by Board Chairman, Prem Misir. Goolsarran’s job would be performed by Michael Gordon, who is now Programme Coordinator. Some of the payments claimed have no supporting documents. Another part of the investigation has to do with a female who is associated with a very senior official and who operates her own advertising department. The investigators say that this woman has been running her own operations by way of advertisement diverted away from NCN and then returned to allow for her to attract a commission.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Guyana Stores Limited has claimed that the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) allegedly committed fraudulent acts and exhibited fraudulent conduct before the sale of the company in 2000. Guyana Stores and NICIL are at present before the courts. NICIL is claiming that Guyana Stores failed to pay the balance of US$2 million for the 70 million shares in Guyana Stores which the company acquired for US$6million. The tender offer to the highest bidder was for US$6 million with the assets of the company to be unencumbered. Owner of Guyana Stores, Mr. Tony Yassin through his lawyers Senior Counsel Rex Mc Kay, Edward Luckhoo, and Sase Naraine, are
Kaieteur News
Head of NICIL Winston Brassington contending that NICIL caused a dividend to be paid to the shareholders of Guyana Stores Limited prior to the transfer of the shares to the defendant which payment was unlawful and contrary to the provision of
the companies act and financially detrimental to Guyana Stores. The lawsuit further stated that NICIL caused the assets of Guyana Stores Limited to be encumbered before the transfer of shares to the defendant well knowing that it was contrary to a specific representation made to the defendant and acted on by the defendant. NICIL is also accused of deliberately causing the current assets of Guyana Stores to be reduced, to an amount substantially below the current net assets which excluded the time the defendant made a bid for the shares paid to a deposit and a successful bidder was declared. Yassin’s lawyers are also contending that NICIL willfully or recklessly caused
Demerara Mutual nets $100M profit in 2011 ...Ranked leading insurance provider in Guyana, Again! Guyana’s number one insurance provider for the second year running has for 2011, paid out some $300M in claims with almost half linked to deaths. The Company, Demerara Mutual, has had healthy returns for the audited year, raking in some $411M from investments and other sources of income while premiums realized $1.2B. This, coupled with several other positive factors, has led the group to realize some $1.7B in revenue and some $101M as profit after taxation. The total company assets for Demerara Mutual in 2011 rose by more than a billion to $9.4B up from 8.4B the previous year. The Group held its 120th Annual General Meeting on Friday last where the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Keith Cholmondeley lauded its performance. He said that despite the crisis that gripped financial institutions over the world, Demerara Mutual “came out virtually unscathed.” Cholmondeley reported that for the year under review “we remained solid in our quality of service, we managed our fiscal relationships prudently, and we were able to become market leader in both API and the number of Lives Assured.” While the company’s administrative and employment costs have been on the decline, its management expenses were tagged at some $704M in
2011 as against $594M the previous year. The company had to make a payout of some $109M as commission payable to insurance agents. This was up by more than $15M from the previous year. In 2010 the company paid out in commissions, some $94.5M. The company, however does not view being ahead of the pack as enough and according to Keith Cholmondeley, they need to set new industry standards if the successes achieved in recent years continue to bear fruit. He says that the company has realised that “we are not lean enough, not nimble enough, not grounded in the fundamentals enough to thrive in the coming years.” Cholmondely hinted that for the company’s future “there are definitive and strategic shifts in the way we do business which will ensure our continued success…We must be able to, like the Greek phalanx, be in locked step as we move forward, each interlocking layer protecting the one to the left, and thus become impenetrable.” As he addressed the AGM, the CEO warned, “We are not there yet….We still have operational gaps that must be addressed now.” He warned that the company’s successes in trying times has caused some complacency in that, “we are forgetting the first principles…The time has come for us to consolidate our positions by holding each other accountable.”
Cholmondeley told those gathered that the company’s managers have to be more diligent in ensuring that all functions in their respective departments are executed with efficiency, with no wastage of resources. “It means that they would have to be proactive by ensuring that the quality standards we set are maintained throughout…We must meet and exceed expectations, if we are to deliver on our promise of world class service.” At the Annual General Meeting the company also disclosed plans to enhance its customer service. The Demerara Mutual Customer Charter, a document that sets out the company’s commitment to quality and the standards that are adhered was launched. According to the Chairman, Richard Fields, the document commits to the fact that the customer is the centre of Demerara Mutual business, and the reason the business exists “It will be the single most important step in the realization of our long-term objective; slow, steady growth which ensures that we are here serving you for the next 120 years and beyond,” Fields said.
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the Guyana Stores revenues working capital and its cash flow to be depleted after the defendant had made a bid for the shares and had paid a deposit and had been declared the successful bidder. They are also contending that NICIL willfully caused the assets of Guyana Stores Limited to be encumbered by creating a loan of $300M from the National Bank of Industry and Commerce which was subsequently replaced by a promissory note signed by then chairman of the Guyana Stores Limited, prior to the transfer of shares to the defendant but after the defendant had made a successful bid for shares and made a deposit. The suit claims that NICIL unlawfully made promises and
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assurances to the board of Guyana Stores prior to the transfer of shares to the defendant that the loan of $300M would be refunded if the privatization and sale of the shares to the defendant did not materialize, therefore making the loan a “sham and charade” for the benefit of the shareholders of the plaintiff. Royal Investment Inc. which is operated by Yassin was sued by the Privatisation Unit/ NICIL for failing to pay the balance of US$2 million for the 70 million shares in Guyana Stores which the company acquired for US$6million. In an affidavit signed by Mr. Tony Yassin, he admitted that on October 4, 2000, he entered into an agreement with National Industrial and Commercial Investment
Limited (Privatisation Unit) to purchase the shares in Guyana Stores Limited which was owned by the Government of Guyana. Furthermore it was stated that before entering into the agreement with National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited, Yassin was given various information memoranda on June 5, 1996 and packages in March 1999 in respect of the matters and facts which were peculiarly within the knowledge of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited, Government and Privatisation Unit. To these, the defendant stated, he had no access method of verifying through its own investigation and inquiry.
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Kaieteur News
GuySuCo withholds millions $$$ from packaging plant contractor
Sunday June 10, 2012
ImmigrationTALK
What is an Affidavit of Support? By Attorney Gail S. Seeram
The Enmore Sugar Packaging Plant.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is reportedly withholding over US$180,000 ($36M) from the Indian-owned Surendra Engineering Corporation, contractor of the Enmore Sugar Packaging Plant. GuySuCo officials confirmed that the corporation has withheld the money for a number of outstanding issues relating to
the plant. Suppliers and other subcontractors are now claiming, also, that the company owes them about $200M (US$1M) for work done. Included in the monies that the construction firm owes is rent. Also, balance of payment for civil works on the actual building to house the plant is outstanding.
Kaieteur News understands that while GuySuCo has paid the company, the subcontractors are still to receive their monies from Surendra. In the meantime, the company was last year granted a US$4M ($800M) contract by Government for the supply of 14 large capacity drainage pumps. The project under a
special line of credit from the Indian Government was touted as one of the largest boost to the country’s resources to help face the growing threat of flooding, to especially the coastlands. Surendra has reportedly also submitted a bid for the construction of a planned specialty hospital to be built at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.
West Demerara Regional Hospital dubbed a dead zone
Government has refused to comment on the deplorable condition of the West Demerara Regional Hospital. There have been increasing complaints of the worsening state of that hospital over the past few months. Staff members are now worried about their safety and the safety of patients. According to the staff at the facility, the hospital is falling apart and management is not doing anything to address the issue. When Kaieteur News visited the hospital, the Emergency Room (ER) was a “dancehall.” The Air Conditioning Unit (AC) was replaced with two fans, both of which had no protective cover. There were no dividers to separate patients. “There is no privacy there; everybody can see what is going on with each other,” a nurse stated. A patient, Indira Ramlall, said that she was experiencing abdominal pain when she visited the hospital. “When I went there, I was so embarrassed because I am Muslim and our religion does not allow us to be so “open up” in public, but because of my financial condition I was forced to go there. “I was shy, and I tried telling the doctor but it didn’t make any sense because he hardly knows English. Another thing which bothered me was that I was lying there, while the doctor was examining me, and
The Emergency Room with no privacy another Cuban doctor came and she was talking with him in Spanish and they were laughing in a vulgar tone. At one point I thought they were laughing at me,” the woman claimed. The hospital’s Records Department is “out of order”. Patients’ cards were packed in boxes and stored in the abandoned room, while the staff of that department placed tables and chairs in front of the ER room and had started a new records collection. A staff member, who is scared of being victimized, said “The thing with them is that every time a patient comes in, they issue a new card and
the doctor has to ask that person all over again about their illness. “Take for instance, if an old woman comes in, the doctor has to ask whether she is allergic to a certain type of medicine but that was not supposed to happen if they had a proper records system. Suppose that woman had come in unconscious?” the staff questioned. “Is since when this Minister take over then all these things start fah happen,” an asthma patient noted. Some patients were collecting their X-ray’s films without envelopes.
“The lab is not doing any chemistry test, any cholesterol, sugar, FBS or RBS tests because the machine is not working,” a technician stated. At the dispensary, live wires were hanging on the ceiling, the shelves were broken and the cupboards were door-less. “Right now people don’t even want go to that hospital because they call it the ‘dead zone.’ I personally would not take any of my relatives there. Those Cubans don’t even understand some of the complaints people go there with but they ready to give injections,” one of the hospital staff noted. Kaieteur News understands that the hospital has been in that state since last November. “When any staff go up and talk to the administrator about the condition, he ready to fire us but we are not wrong. Suppose one day, the wires hanging above our head fall and kill us, what will happen to our family?” Hospital Administrator, Bharat Persaud, refused to speak, although he was told that the staff at the facility held him accountable. Calls to the Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran, went unanswered, while one of the calls was answered by ‘someone’ who claimed that the Minister is busy and he will return a call as soon as he is available. Three days have passed and the Minister never returned a call.
An affidavit of support is a document that must be completed by all petitioners for family-based and some employment-based sponsorship. In the affidavit of support, an individual signs to accept financial responsibility for another person, usually a relative, who is coming to the United States to live permanently. The person who signs the affidavit of support becomes the sponsor of the relative (or other individual) coming to live in the United States. An affidavit of support is legally enforceable; the sponsor ’s responsibility usually lasts until the family member or other individual either becomes a U.S. citizen, or can be credited with 40 quarters of work (usually 10 years). If you filed an immigrant visa petition for your relative, you must be the sponsor. You must also be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. You must have a domicile in the United States or a territory or possession of the United States. U s u a l l y, this requirement means you must actually live in the United States, or a territory or possession, in order to be a sponsor. If you live abroad, you may still be eligible to be a sponsor if you can show that your residence abroad is temporary, and that you still have your domicile in the United States. In some cases, the sponsor/petitioner does not have the income required by law and would have to get a joint sponsor to also complete an affidavit of support. A joint sponsor is someone who is willing to accept legal responsibility for supporting your family member with you. A joint sponsor must meet all the same requirements as you, except the joint sponsor does not need to be related to the immigrant. The joint sponsor (or the joint sponsor and his or her household) must reach the 125 per cent income requirement alone. You cannot combine your income with that of a joint sponsor to meet the income requirement. When you sign the affidavit of support, you accept legal responsibility for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant(s) generally until they become
Gail S. Seeram U.S. citizens or can be credited with 40 quarters of work. Your obligation also ends if you or the individual sponsored dies or if the individual sponsored ceases to be a permanent resident and departs the United States. Note, divorce does NOT end the sponsorship obligation. The following individuals are required by law to submit an Affidavit of Support, completed by the petitioner to obtain an immigrant visa or adjustment of status: 1. All immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (which include parents, spouses, and unmarried children under the age of 21) 2.Relatives who qualify for immigration to the United States under one of the family based preferences such as: unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (adult means 21 years of age or older); spouses of permanent residents and the unmarried sons and daughters (regardless of age) of permanent residents and their unmarried children; married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and their unmarried minor children; and brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, their spouses and their unmarried minor children. 3.Employment-based preference immigrants in cases only when a U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative filed the immigrant visa petition, or such relative has a significant ownership interest (5% or more) in the entity that filed the petition. Failure of a sponsor/ petitioner to submit an affidavit of support or to meet the income requirement would result in denial of visa issuance or denial of adjustment of status. If you change your address after you become a sponsor, you are required by law to notify the USCIS within 30 days by filing Form I-865, Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address. If you fail to notify the USCIS of your change of address, you may be fined.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Costly misjudgment!
The owner of this vehicle is probably still totaling his expenses after inadvertently steering into the trench adjacent to Laing Avenue. Despite the valiant attempts of public-spirited citizens the vehicle nestled there for the better part of two hours
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Three shot, one army rank stabbed - as football match gets violent Several persons including a Guyana Defence Force rank were injured after two separate attacks outside of a football match at the National Cultural Centre, on Friday night. Army boxer Mark Pierre, 31, of Albouys Street, Albouystown was stabbed several times about the body. His condition is said to be critical while he remains a patient in the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital. Pierre's sister, Roberta Walcott, told Kaieteur News that information about the incident is sketchy. According to Walcott her brother while at the football match followed a friend to the toilet. The woman said she was told that Pierre got into an argument with some boys who were standing at the toilet. “I heard he was involved in the argument with the boys and they left and return with the knife and stabbed him in his belly,” Walcott said. Her brother was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he underwent surgery. Meanwhile, former football player, Oriley Small, 28, of lot 6 Ketley Street Charlestown was also shot three times at the football match. According to relatives, Small was shot in the mouth, neck and shoulder. His mother Petal Small
Mark Pierre yesterday told Kaieteur News that it was a nephew who called her some time after 23:00hrs and broke the news to her. The woman told Kaieteur News that she was told that her son was standing with some friends at a football match when the incident happened. “All I hear is that he was standing with his friends and somebody walk up from behind and open fire at him,” Small told Kaieteur News. He was rushed to the Woodlands Hospital where doctors immediately prepared him for surgery. Two of the three bullets were removed. Riley is said to be resting in the Intensive Care Unit where his condition is said to be stable. His mother said that she could not say what might have triggered the incident, since she was not
aware of any problem that her son might have had with anyone. Stabroek Market businessman, Lawrence Wayne, was also shot twice. According to reports he was standing with Oriley Small when he was shot. He is presently a patient at the Balwant Singh Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit. The police in a press statement said that the incident happened around 23:00hrs on Friday. According to the police, a man armed with a firearm discharged several rounds at Oriley Small, who was among a crowd of persons at a football competition at the National Cultural Centre tarmac. The police said that Small was hit to his chest, face and right leg, while Shondell Benn, 30, of Melanie Damishana, ECD, was hit in her abdomen and left arm. It added that Lawrence Wayne, 34, of Lamaha Gardens, Georgetown, was struck to his abdomen. The perpetrator managed to escape.
A bloodied Mark Pierre after extracting the knife that wounded him
Oriley Small being loaded into a vehicle after the shooting
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Meet the lovely
Vinera Doobay
Meet the lovely Vinera Doobay who enjoys reading, shopping, travelling, listening to music and browsing the internet; not forgetting mingling with family and friends. Her advice to young people is that they should always be true to themselves.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
From 'junkie' to mentor …
Sandra Braithwaite is a 'Special Person By Neil Marks “Y'all ever see a junkie?” That's the question Sandra Braithwaite has for a group of Grade Six students at the Mocha Primary School, East Bank Demerara. “I know one!” one student shouts from at the back of the classroom. “How they look?” Sandra shoots back, and the answer comes back immediately, “dutty and stink.” She knows the story all too well. Nowadays, Sandra travels around the country talking to young people. She is on a mission to get them to stay away from drugs and from the addiction that paralysed her life for 17 long years. “You go to hell before you die,” is what she tells them about persons who are addicted to drugs, including alcohol. She trembles at times and has a handkerchief ready in case the tears flow as she tells her story. “Do you find it difficult to talk about this?” She nods in agreement, lips clenched, eyes to the heavens. She pauses for a moment and looks you straight in the eye: “This is therapy for me. Every time I tell my story, it's like I am in a therapy session.” This week, Sandra was in one of those therapy sessions. Along with two other recovering drug addicts, she told her story at the Mocha/Arcadia Primary School. Some of them admitted gambling out their
lunch money, or drinking beers, or a cup of cherry wine. Her message was that becoming an addict starts with a little and then “graduates” into an unforgiving craving that consumes one's life. But Sandra wanted them to know one thing: “You have a choice.” “In my time, I didn't have anyone to tell me about drugs,” she told the students. But she hopes her life story would help to save them from the disease that overtook her life. “PARTY GIRL” Sandra was born to Miriam and Hensley Tuesday back in 1953. The first place she called home
made her made to Berbice, and ended up staying there for six months. Her friends' relatives were into business, and Sandra worked in their ice-cream shop. During that time, she met a young man and became pregnant. Full with pregnancy, she returned to her mother's house in Tiger Bay. “The belly didn't showing and my mother did not even think I would do something like that,” she remembers. But, as she reflected “the “kochore” neighbours start talking”, insisting on the mother that Sandra was pregnant. Her mother doubted until Sandra “tek in” right at home. Her mother was livid, but
“Everytime I tell my story, it's like I am in a therapy session.” was in Cowan Street, Kingston. She was the third of six children born to her mother, who moved to Tiger Bay while Sandra was yet young. Her mother and father separated and she went off to live with her father in Laing Avenue, West Ruimveldt. From there she attended St Stephen's Scots Primary School. She subsequently returned to live with her mother in Tiger Bay and attended high school from there. In August of 1968, aged 15, Sandra wanted to go to Berbice with her friends, but her mother would not tolerate it. As a result, the determined teen secretly
that was covered by the sheer joy of the birth of a beautiful baby girl. In fact, it was Sandra's mother who ended up naming the baby Michelle. “The baby was her eyeball,” Sandra explains. S i x m o n t h s l a t e r, Sandra's mother died, and she had to deal with the torment of those around her blaming her for her mother's death. With a six-month old baby and the accusations that she had stressed her mother to death, Sandra moved to Plaisance, East Coast Demerara. She moved in with a young man for whom she had amorous affections, but his family disliked her. So
when her aunt, Jean Brandt, offered her a place at her home in Albouystown, Georgetown, she jumped at the opportunity. While there, she started knitting, selling clothes and styling hair to make a living. But she had another unique job, that of “picking the fur” of Clarks desert boots men wore. Using an ingenious technique with needles, she would have the Clarks looking “fluffy and nice.” With her income, Sandra put food on the table and supported her party girl image. Almost every night she was at one “picnic” or the other, moving around town and even to the East Coast at the popular Carib Front, just opposite what is now the Ocean View International Hotel. In time, Sandra came to have a total of four other children – Carletta, Colleen, Honey and Jermain. But during the day, Sandra acted as mother and teacher to many other children. “I would help them out with the 'long division and the 'decimal sums' that they just could not understand,” she remembers. Thankfully, it would be one of those grateful little boys who would rescue her from her wretched life many, many years later. ADDICTION On a fateful Saturday night 21 years ago, Sandra and a relative were approached by a man who said that he had a parcel to take to Suriname. He offered
Sandra Braithwaite
Sandra and her relative a taste of what he was taking. He rolled up two 'black joints' – a mixture of marijuana and cocaine. Sandra succumbed to the temptation and in that moment her life spiraled out of control. From that one joint, she developed an insatiable appetite for cocaine and did all that she could to sustain her addiction. The gold jewellery that she had acquired was the first to go, and then she started stripping her children of the gold that she had bought for them. Next, it was time for the furniture. “You would believe that my house was Courts and I had a big blowout sale!” She sold everything, including the bed her children slept on. “Everything was gone in the blink of an eye.” Her children found refuge in the home of one of her sisters, and in time, they moved on with their own lives. She did not even know when her son was taken away by his father to the United States. Sandra was now a “fullblown junkie.” She had made her resting place the “block,” the place where she could get her supply of cocaine. She did everything she could to survive, including stealing. She always had with her a knife, a bottle and a cutlass. The implements acted as protectors. But the cutlass helped her find work “weeding yards and so on for a small piece” so she could add it up at the end of the day and buy the cocaine. She still feels the effects of a broken arm after she fell from a mango tree while
stealing mangoes to sell on rainy day. And her left eye is damaged from a fight she ended up in. “The things I was doing was full insanity,” she recalls. She was a popular junkie, everyone knew her. “I was a stick wrap-up in cloth,” she said, describing her stature during that period. Her family, however, did not give up on her. They would keep her away because of her stealing habit, but they made sure she had food to eat. Just up the road from the cocaine yard she spent her nights, Sandra knew she could go to the home of her little sister to get a meal. Every morning, she would check in for a full breakfast and a meal later on. One day, while her sister was busy frying the plantains and egg, she noticed the cupboard “ram pack.” There was everything in it - from bottle jams and corned beef to peanut butter. Sandra loaded up her bag well, forgot about the breakfast, and headed for a sale. At times, persons were skeptical to buy from her, knowing they were buying stolen goods. At one house, one woman asked her where she stole the things from. Sandra insisted that she had not stolen anything. As the woman picked up one of the tins, at the bottom of it she found Sandra's name written on it. Apparently, her children and other relatives would send supplies so that the sister would prepare meals for her. “It turns out that the things were indeed mine. I just didn't realize I was (continued on page 48)
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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DONALD WAS HERE! I
t is not too late for Donald Ramotar to stamp his authority on the nature of government's business. Those who know him can confirm that no one has ever pointed an accusatory finger at him. There are numerous persons who respect him for his personal qualities. They want to see him do good and they are prepared to help him to do good, because they know he is a good man. He is also a decent man. But it will take more that decency for him to be an effective president. It will take all the moral strength that he can muster, a fair bit of courage and a willingness to make decisions that will not always find favour with everyone. If President Ramotar is to avoid the label of being a lame-duck president he has to stamp his authority on the seat of government now. He is a matured individual and has his own style. He lacks the honey-tongued slickness and cunningness of a Forbes Burnham. He does not display the arrogance and intolerance of a Desmond Hoyte, the sternness of a Janet Jagan or the willingness to closely manage every detail of government business that was characteristic of his predecessor. He has the heart and openness of a Cheddi Jagan and is prepared to take his time and do things his own way. That is his style and the Guyanese people will have to be patient with him. However, he will have to become impatient with those around him, because he is surrounded by many persons who would love to see nothing better than him becoming a lame-duck president. They would love to see him do very little to reverse
all the wrong things that happened in the past, because some of them are benefitting from these things. While the opposition may not admit it, they too would love also for the president to continue in the vein of his predecessor, because they know that the reason why the PPP did not gain the parliamentary majority is primarily as a result of the practices of the Jagdeo administration. The PPP ought to know this also. But they may be fooling themselves that they lost the election only because of complacency. Instead of the in-house analysis that they have undertaken, they should commission a poll to interview their supporters and ask them why they stayed at home. Some will say that they assumed the party would win easily but many, a great many, will express their disgust at what happened between 2006 and 2011. Instead of the PPP gaining 60% of the votes cast, it got the shock of its life when it failed to gain a majority at last November elections. And the main reason was because their supporters were concerned about what was taking place during the second elected term of President Jagdeo. If there is anyone that President Ramotar should distance himself from it is his predecessor, because he is not going to do his future electoral fortunes any favours if he continues to be seen as being close to the very individual whose policies were the main reason for the PPP not gaining a majority. The PPP supporters by staying away from the polls were making a statement. They were rejecting what
took place, and therefore it is reasonable to conclude that for the incumbent president to regain the support lost, he will have to distance himself from the former president and some of his more controversial policies. He does not need this gentleman. No man is indispensible. While it is natural for the incumbent to feel some obligation to the person who may have engineered his nomination as his party's candidate for the election, he cannot allow any such obligation, if it exists, to cause his personal support,
and that of his party, to further decline. He also needs to be reminded of the realities of politics. While he is the most decent, fair-minded and affable politician you can find in Guyana, he is not going to enjoy for too long the support of the new economic oligarchy that emerged, especially during the last six years. He is also not likely to be their favoured candidate for the PPP for the 2016 elections. The oligarchy will want a lambada. And they will engineer their own
moves to undermine President Ramotar within the party and within the government. If President Ramotar wants to be one-term president, then he should have little reason to change anything. But if he is serious about allowing the PPP to regain its lost support and to move this country forward for the benefit of all Guyana, then he has to wake up and smell the coffee, because that coffee has been percolating seven months now. He has to therefore begin to do more things from his
heart, because he has a good heart and he is a good man. He does not need around him anyone who has brought nothing but disrepute to the country and to the party. He has to be his own man and he is capable of being just that. He must not leave the presidency without some achievement that would forever show that “Donald was here!�
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SUNDAY SPECIAL NBS ENJOYS WINDFALL FROM BERBICE BRIDGE The New Building Society (NBS) is one of the largest beneficiaries of the Berbice River Bridge. Minister of Labour Dr. Nanda Gopaul told Kaieteur News that NBS invested $1.8B in the Bridge and so far has collected $532M in returns Private investors in the Berbice Bridge currently enjoy a secure rate of return between nine and 11 percent. Until recently, the names of the investors have always been withheld. This publication has learnt that apart from Government, one of the significant investors is Queens Atlantic Investments Incorporated (QAII), owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. Another is the National Insurance Scheme. The other private investors include Hand in Hand Insurance Company, New Building Society, Demerara Distillers Limited and Beharry Group of Companies, Automotive. Dr. Gopaul also said that all of the commercial banks have invested in the Berbice Bridge as did some insurance companies. According to Gopaul, who spoke on behalf of NBS, the investment was a good one and he is happy that the company went ahead. He told Kaieteur News that investors are enjoying a hearty rate of return which is guaranteed. 12-YEAR-OLD GIVES BIRTH TO STEPFATHER’S BABY Motherhood has been
Kaieteur News
foisted on a 12-year-old who gave birth to her stepfather’s child at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) two Thursdays ago. The baby boy was delivered by caesarian section. Reports are that the girl was repeatedly raped by the man since she was 10 years old. She became pregnant last August, shortly after her menstrual cycle began at age 11. Kaieteur News understands that the culprit hails from the North West District and moved into the young girl’s Berbice home about two years ago. This is when the sexual abuse began. Her stepfather, who is a cane cutter, would threaten to use his cutlass on her if she told anyone about his actions. A source told Kaieteur News that teachers at the girl’s Primary School observed her being consistently nauseous during morning assemblies and informed the Schools’ Welfare Department. Investigations began, and in January 2012 she was taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital for a medical examination. There it was revealed that the girl was five months pregnant. Upon being questioned repeatedly, the girl told authorities that it was her stepfather who raped her and that the baby was his. When approached, the alleged perpetrator denied such allegations and said he never touched the child inappropriately. He was subsequently locked up at one of the police stations in Berbice.
******************** MONDAY EDITION HAIRDRESSER FOUND WITH THROAT SLIT, HUSBAND KILLS SELF The body of a 32-year-old cosmetologist and hairdresser was discovered by family members in a pool of blood at her Lot 6 Public Road home at Onderneeming, West Coast Berbice around 19:30 hrs last Sunday. Rhonda Thompson’s body was discovered in the dining room of her residence. Kensley Thompson, the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, took his own life almost in the same fashion in which he allegedly killed his spouse. Thompson, 35, was found with a gaping wound to his throat in the backlands at Hopetown/Onderneeming, West Coast Berbice. Reports indicate that he also ingested a poisonous substance. He was rushed to the Fort Wellngton Hospital before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he succumbed. BRASSINGTON MADE BROTHER SECOND LARGEST SHAREHOLDER IN HIHT
Sunday June 10, 2012
of the Alliance for Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan. Ramjattan is the person who blew the whistle on the questionable transaction involving the Brassingtons. As such, the Parliamentarian says that Head of State, Donald Ramotar, will be undergoing a strenuous examination, as it relates to his resolve to address corruption in Guyana, on the Brassington matter. Ramjattan explained that he will be seeking A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s support in bringing to the House, legislation to deal with the issue of the abuse of insider information as has been aptly demonstrated in what is now being termed the ‘Brassington’s quandary.’ Commenting on a column by Attorney-at-Law and Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, Ramjattan says that it illustrates the depth of the dilemma emanating from the sale of shares in Hand in Hand Trust Corporation. Ramjattan says that his party will be looking to have in place legislation to curb the practice, but it will essentially have to be assented to by President Ramotar. This, he stressed, will be the test of the President’s resolve to tackle corruption. ******************** TUESDAY EDITION WORLD BANK BANS CJIA CONTRACTOR
Winston Brassington
Greg Christie
Jonathan Brassington There is enough information in the public domain to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt that Winston Brassington, the Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) abused the financial information that he was in possession of, when he purchased for his brother, Jonathan, a $225M stake in Hand in Hand Trust Corporation, says Chairman
The parent firm of the Chinese firm that was controversially awarded the US$150M deal by the Bharrat Jagdeo administration to rebuild the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) was banned by the World Bank three years ago for corruption, Jamaica authorities have said. Jamaica’s ContractorGeneral, Greg Christie, was quoted on Monday by the Jamaica Gleaner, as saying that China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) has been debarred since January 2009, by the World Bank, under the Bank’s ‘Fraud and Corruption Sanctioning Policy.’
CCCC is the parent company of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) which was controversially awarded the contract to carry out massive expansion works on CJIA in November last year. That contract was secretly inked in Jamaica and Guyanese only learnt of it after it was reported in newspapers there. On Monday, the independent Office of the Contractor General (OCG) which is tasked with monitoring government contracts in Jamaica issued a strongly worded statement. The OCG said under the terms of the World Bank debarment, CCCC and “any firm directly or indirectly controlled by CCCC”, have been declared ineligible to be awarded any World Bankfinanced contracts that are related to “roads and bridges”, during the period January 12, 2009 to January 12, 2017. CHEC is a major subsidiary of CCCC, and one of the two entities that is currently listed by CCCC as its “overseas business”, as such the debarment automatically extends to CHEC. HAND-IN-HAND YET TO PAY GOVT. PERFORMANCE BOND The US$1.5M Performance Bond that the Government had laid claim to, in relation to Synergy Holdings Inc and Hand-inHand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Ltd is still to be paid. Project Engineer Walter Willis told this publication when contacted that he has not be given the relevant clearance to make any pronouncements on the issue. Subject Minister Robeson Benn while being unable to pronounce definitively on the matter, confirmed that the payment by the Hand-inHand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Ltd has not been effected as yet. This money, which on the surface appears payable to the government, is not automatic upon claim, said a source close to the imbroglio. The source has confirmed that the contractor Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall’s performance bond expired on July 2011. That bond was negotiated and brought into force when the contract with Motilall was signed in January 2010, with a duration of eight months. This means that for the latter half of last year, Synergy Holdings Inc. was operating with an expired bond, pursuant to its stipulations.
The bond did carry a stipulation that claims could be made for six months following its expiration. Government did lay claims prior to this deadline, but according to a senior official close to the matter, “This doesn’t mean that the claim is automatically valid. All aspects of compliance have to be thoroughly checked.” The source, knowledgeable on the issue of insurance, explained that Hand-in-Hand will have to conduct investigations on every aspect of the claim before it is accepted or rejected completely. Reports that the government and Synergy Holdings Inc still have some balancing up to do to determine who owes whom, could also affect the outcome of the claim made by the government on the performance bond. ******************** WEDNESDAY EDITION POLICE FULLY CAPABLE OF PROBING NICIL ISSUES IF REQUIRED – BRUMELL The Guyana Police Force, if required, is fully capable of pursuing and effectively conducting an investigation into any alleged financial malfeasance or fraud as it relates to the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). This was the assertion of Commissioner of Police (ag) Leroy Brumell, who expressed confidence in the investigative capability within the Force to deal with ‘white collar’ crime, but emphasised that to date “there has not been a single report at any police station against (Winston) Brassington or NICIL”. The acting commissioner said that he was cognizant of the numerous newspaper reports on the allegations of corruption and financial laws being breached, but said this in itself is not enough to prompt an investigation by the Force. He stressed that at least there must be a formal report, and should this requirement be fulfilled, then he is confident that a full-fledged investigation will be launched. PULL BACK AIRPORT CONTRACT NOW – AFC Amidst revelations that the Chinese contractor involved in the US$150M Cheddi Jagan International Airport project has been banned by World Bank, government has come under pressure to immediately halt it. On Tuesday, Parliamentary Leader of the (Continued on page 37)
Sunday June 10, 2012
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Ravi Dev Column
I have thought long and hard about responding to Lincoln Lewis’ ironically titled, “My position is in sync with international prerequisites for good governance and social justice.” (5-29-12) What do you say to a narrative that begins with the ad hominem charge of me being a ‘racist” then goes on to define Jan 12, 1998 when ‘it is said 303 Indians were attacked” as an ‘incident” and not a “Civil Disorder” as GIFT called it? Or that the “11 persons’ murdered at Lusignan was not a ‘massacre”? If there is to be some kind of discussion rather than polemics there will have to be at least an agreement on our Foucauldian “history of the present” and our “horizon of ends”. Histories are always written within a particular “space of experience” - the ways that the past is remembered in the present and a “horizon of expectation” – the anticipation of the non-yetknown future beyond the horizon. A history of our present, in the words of David Scott demands that “histories of the past ought to be interventions in the present, strategic interrogations of the present’s norms as a way of helping us to glimpse
The madness will continue. Some gunmen are looking for a man whom they know is a thief. They want to kill him because one of his victims was closely related to the gunmen. The message is that bandits should be careful of whom they rob because these days almost everyone has a criminal connection, wittingly or unwittingly. Already there was an assassination attempt that failed because of the crowd. The next attempt will not fail because people like to be outside at places where most would not be caught
the possibilities for an alternative future.” Without even addressing whether the narrative of revolutionary romance, which Lewis champions, has ever fulfilled its promise of deliverance and redemption, can we at least agree that our present is not the same when the narrative was crafted? Our “problem space” – the threats and opportunities that confront us in our sociohistorical conjuncture - is radically different. At a minimum, our “us” and “them” within the old narrative is not a unified “us” versus the “them –British”, whom we hoped to kick out – the “us” and “them” are now “all-ah-we” that have to coexist in our common homeland. What then should be our “horizon of expectation”? Criticism is always strategic. What is it that Lewis wants as a consequence of his criticisms, narratives, actions and exhortations? What is the “Good”? While there will never be – for the simple reason that it just cannot be – a single horizon of ends for all of us, I am pretty sure that among the various possibly competing ends, that of a more harmonious society would be there in common, in all formulations. As I wrote earlier, “I am
dead. ** There was the reluctance on the part of some people to heed my advice so there was the electrocution. This is never a pleasant event. With the rains people in areas where electricity theft is
suggesting that with the privilege of hindsight, we should connect the past with the present in a broader narrative that is healing rather than destructive? We cannot change the past but we can certainly change the future.” Our horizon of expectation must generate strategies that speak to those normative ends rather than further dividing us as Lewis and others like Kissoon seem determined to do. They must ask whether their particular narrative (of revolution) or any narrative that seeks to connect our past to the present and envision a more positive future, will deliver those normative ends. Another way our problem space is different even from our immediate postindependence period, is that the demographics now deny any built-in ethnic majority, and so opens up the possibilities of a working democracy. A constructive narrative cannot then picture our opposing groups locked in mortal combat. (This was originally written before the elections. It’s been proven right.) Crucial to the formulation of a constructive narrative would be what Hayden White labelled the “content of the form” of the narrative – particularly its plot to link
the norm are at greatest risk. An unfortunate wader is going to come to this realization. ** There is going to be medical outbreak caused by excess water on the ground. Children, especially those in the depressed area, are going to be the most affected The situation would have been worse had these children not developed certain immunities. ** Look out for another road accident that would send a vehicle into a canal.
past, present and future. While Lewis’ narrative of revolutionary romance sets “us” against “them” into a frenzy of nihilistic Fanonian violence – not to mention teleologically promising a future that can never be delivered – Hegel’s famous interpretation of Antigone as the paradigmatic Greek tragedy might be particularly apt to our situation. In this narrative both “sides” are morally right: the conflict is not between good and evil but between “goods” on which each is making exclusive claim. Isn’t this the situation that our mutually exclusive narratives of victimhood with its facile binary oppositions have delivered us into? Such
an emplotment within a narrative, I am suggesting, should suggest compromise rather than a battle of one side overcoming. That would be a constructive narrative for our time, place and circumstances. ‘In noting the importance of narratives in the task of nation building, Benedict Anderson has identified the importance of newspapers that are read every morning in constructing what he has tellingly labelled “Imagined Communities”. “The significance of this mass ceremony – Hegel observed that newspapers serve modern man as a substitute for morning prayers – is paradoxical. It is performed in silent privacy, in
Ravi Dev
the lair of the skull. Yet each communicant is well aware that the ceremony he performs is being replicated simultaneously by thousands (or millions) of others of whose existence he is confident, yet of whose identity he has not the slightest notion.” Let us use our newspapers for nation building rather than tearing it apart by narratives that are fighting long-gone terrors.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
The carpenter’s execution - who pumped a bullet in Vikesh Budram as he slept? By Michael Jordan It was at around 23:00 hrs on Saturday, November 22, 2008, that police ranks from the East Coast of Demerara rushed to Lot 642 Seventeenth Street, Foulis, to find themselves confronted by one of the most mysterious cases to come out of the crime wave period. The home belonged to Vikesh Budhram, a 25-yearold carpenter, who lived there
with his reputed wife, Basmattie, the couple’s two daughters, aged two and one year respectively, and their grandmother. When the cops arrived, a hysterical Basmattie informed them that Vikesh was dead. According to the woman, she, Vikesh and the one-yearold daughter had retired to bed in the same room. The two-year-old daughter and Vikesh’s mother had occupied another room.
Vikesh Budram Basmattie said that at around 23:00 hrs, she was awaked by a loud explosion in the bedroom. The woman claimed that she opened her eyes in time to see two masked men in dark clothing fleeing the room. According to Basmattie, her reputed husband was still lying on the bed, she shook him. It was then that she saw the blood gushing from his neck. Basmattie claimed that Vikesh tried to speak, but was unable to. She then called out to neighbours, but no one came. Vikesh succumbed shortly after from a wound to
the right side of the neck. Detectives recovered a bullet casing and a warhead similar to those used in AK47 and M70 assault rifles. Checking the scene further, they discovered that someone had removed the louvre panes from a window in the bottom flat. It appeared that the killers entered through the bottom flat via the window, then proceeded to the upper flat, where they shot the sleeping carpenter. But detectives were baffled. For one thing, there appeared to be no clear motive. The killers had apparently fled the home without touching the family’s valuables. The other thing that was puzzling was the fact that the gunmen had apparently known which bedroom Vikesh had occupied. The investigators were also baffled by the fact that, apart from the victim’s wife, no one else in the household had seen the killers. Indeed, no one in the neighbourhood had seen the fleeing men. Dhanmattie Budhram, the murdered man’s mother, recalled being awakened by the gunshot and hearing her daughter-in-law screaming. She also recalled hearing someone running in the house. At the time, she had assumed that it was her son
running to investigate. It was then that her daughter-in-law called out to say that Vikesh had been shot. And there appeared to be no reason for anyone wanting to kill the young carpenter. Relatives and neighbours described him as a peaceful, hard-working individual who appeared to have no problems with anyone. An autopsy would later reveal that the gunman had shot Budhram at very close range, since there were burn marks around the wound. Ballistic tests failed to match the bullet casing and warhead to any known weapon. The detectives were also bothered by what appeared to be conflicting statements from the victim’s family members, and particularly by the fact that only one occupant of the home had seen the killers.
They took Vikesh’s reputed wife into custody. However, the woman stuck to her story and police were unable to find anything to incriminate her in the man’s death. They also detained two of the victim’s brothers, but they, too, were eventually released. Police officials say that since then, they have received no new information on the baffling death of Vikesh Budhram. If you have any information about other unusual cases, please contact Kaieteur News at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown location. We can be reached on telephone numbers 2258465, 22-58491 or 2258473. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email a d d r e s s mjdragon@hotmail.com.
SEEKING HELP TO LOCATE RELATIVES OF EIGHT CHILDREN KILLED BETWEEN 1969-1970 Michael Jordan is trying to contact relatives of eight children who were murdered between March 20, 1969 and June 1970, by Harrynauth Beharry, also known as Harry Rambarran, Charles Bissoon, Charles Pereira, Anant Persaud and Maka Anan. Some of the victims are Basmattie, an eight-year-old schoolgirl from Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara. David Bacchus, 15, of Tucville, 11-year-old Mohamed Fazil Nasir, of Number 78 Village, Corentyne, Mohamed Faizal, of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Jagdeo Jagroop, Mohamed Nizam Ali; Paulton of Hogg Island, Essequibo; Orlando Guthrie, of Grove Village, East Bank Demerara. Please contact him via his email address mjdragon@hotmail.com., or on telephone numbers 22-58458, 22-58465, or 22-58491. HeI can also be contacted on 6452447.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==
I found myself in a confrontation with the security of the High Court. I refused to have my rights curtailed in this country without a fight. Georgetown experienced terrible rains last Friday. The rains flooded the two public entrances to the High Court. On that day, the trial of Bharrat Jagdeo’s libel suit against me resumed. I did not sue Mr. Jagdeo. He sued me. The court has ruled that I have to offer a defence. The High Court then has an obligation to facilitate my entry into the building because I am required to be there. These two gates were so badly flooded that to gain entry into the compound of the High Court you had to take off shoes and roll up your trousers. That water was fetid because there is a permanent sewage problem right at the public entrance of the High Court on South Road. I went to the Charlotte Street gate. That is reserved for lawyers, employees and judges. The security at the gate stopped me. I told her I was a litigant in a case and that the public openings are terribly flooded and I will not take off my shoes to walk in that dirty water. She said it was the Chief Justice’s ruling that the public be prevented from using the Charlotte Street opening. I refused to be restrained
and I walked up the High Court stairs for my libel case. When it was over, I asked the Chief Justice to relax his restriction when there are emergencies, as with the flooded gates. He said the security lied on him; he never gave such an order and that it was the Registrar of the High Court that made such a decision and that I should raise the matter with her. She was not there, but I spoke to her Secretary, Ms. Deo. My complaint is that when there are preventions to the public entrances of the High Court, for example, the floods on Friday morning, the embargo on public use of the Charlotte Street gate should be temporarily lifted. Ms. Deo went to the security who, in my presence, confirmed that it was the Registrar who gave the instruction that the Charlotte Street pathway must not be used by the public.
Ms. Deo got on to her boss by phone and relayed my request. The Registrar refused to offer a response or make a decision. I have kindly asked Ms. Deo to inform the Registrar that I will not accept being prevented from using the Charlotte Street gate if there are instances when the South Road paths are flooded. I am emphasizing that position of mine by printing it here. Guyanese citizens using the High Court for legitimate business should not be made to take off their shoes and walk in fecesinfested water when there is an alternative, dry entrance. It is wrong, unreasonable and authoritarian to force people to that level of discomfort when a genuine exception should be made in situations of natural disasters or accidents. I am signaling here my refusal to obey the Registrar’s edict if the public entrances
to the High Court are flooded. I do not like to be in the Supreme Court of Judicature at all. It makes me psychologically uncomfortable. I have to be there often because Bharrat Jagdeo sued me and Juan Edghill is asking a judge to send me to prison for contempt of court. The picture of the High Court in my mind whenever I am there does things to my psyche. Each time I enter that place and look at it I remember the words of Carol Horne of the US Embassy. Ms. Horne and Ambassador Jones were annoyed at the High Court decision of Justice Chang not to order the extradition of Barry Dataram. Then Ms. Horne said that she was appalled that when Roger Khan was being searched for to be arrested by the security
forces, a judge was keeping a car for Khan under his (the judge’s) home. She then named the judge. I couldn’t believe it. I could never understand why Ms. Horne did not take away his American visa. One day I will publish the name Ms. Horne identified. By the way, what has become of the State appeal against the High Court’s decision on Barry Dataram? I called the Registry officer of the Court of Appeal, Ms. Francis, and she said the appeal is still pending. But a High Court judge told me the State has withdrawn the appeal. I asked the High Court librarian, Mr. Maughn. He told me that then Attorney General, Doodnauth Singh, asked for a stay of the decision but Court of Appeal Judge, Charles Ramson, in chambers refused it, so Singh
Frederick Kissoon appealed. He promised to facilitate me tomorrow with the relevant documents. Wish me luck with my research.
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Sunday June 10, 2012
Our children are crying... Is anyone listening? By Dawn Stewart, Bsc, MPA, PHD It is noted in much research that violence against infants and younger children is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders and suicide, and has lifelong sequelae including depression, anxiety disorders, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, aggression and violence towards others, risky sexual behaviours and posttraumatic stress disorders, all of which we have seen in some degree over the most recent years. There is a marked increase in suicides as well as alcohol use, drug use, aggression and violence within the vulnerable group. The spread of intentional physical and mental violence against children from their parents or guardians has been extensively noticeable and revealed over the last few years in Guyana. By becoming more transparent, the violence that is committed against children, we discover that children are more susceptible to becoming victims of violence than adults. The dependency of children - and especially traditional belief that parents and grownups have total rights over children - has exposed them to violence. On top of this, traditional belief that says children are not reliable witnesses has time and time again resulted in not listening or ignoring children’s complaints or cries for help. It is a crying shame for mankind, when the smallest and most vulnerable members of the human race must wait longer than others to have the right to physical health and their social identity be recognised by all, and be protected from violence.
In this article I will use the definition of violence as “a kind of intentional behaviour of people towards people that could inflict physical or mental injuries”. According to World Health Organization (WHO) the term child abuse is any behaviour directed toward a child by a parent, guardian, caregiver, other family member, or other adult, that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. Any form of sexual exploitation for the fulfilment of sexual needs such as, sexual intercourse, touching up, and any kind of behaviour that is sexual
to its increasing transparency throughout all societies there are positive moves that are taken in support of children. It seems that most sexual child abuse cases take place within the home and by their relatives; although it does not go without saying that it does not take place outside of the family either. Just like physical violence identifying sexual abuse against children is followed by identifying sexual abuse against women, in the majority of cases those that commit sexual abuse are men, in Guyana assault or sex without consent regardless of age is against the law and prohibited.
standing. According to the definition, any form of sexual activity with the adults in the family is a crime. Studies indicate that incest is usually committed by men of the family, the father, brother or uncle. Young girls are more threatened with the dangers of sexual exploitation. The numbers of girl children who are sexually exploited are higher than any other group. On top of this, pornography, which is a derivation of sexual exploitation of children and especially organized sexual exploitation, is the publication of the fundamentally shameful act against children. With the
towards children, is deemed sexual child abuse. Sexual child abuse like other forms of violence against children is not something new, however due
The definition of sexual exploitation of children includes any sexual activity that either is done without consent or even the child’s consent is not legally
wide use of cell phones in Guyana there has been an increase of this type of sexual exploitation. In this form of child abuse, not only photos and films of
children are published and/or circulated, but other children can be in danger of exposure and viewing of these obscene images. Unfortunately, despite all attempts, child pornography has increased on the Internet and other new technologies. WHAT ABOUT NEGLECT? Child neglect is the continued failure to provide a child with necessary care and protection including adequate shelter, food, clothing, medical care, etc. Lack of appropriate supervision, especially for young children, for extended periods of time is also considered child neglect. Signs of possible neglect include: Appears poorly nourished or inadequately clothed; - Appears consistently tired or listless; - Inconsistent attendance at school; - Lack of good hygiene or an obsession with cleanliness; - Is regularly left alone in dangerous situations, or over long periods of time; - Exhibits evidence that medical needs are not being met; - Unable to relate well to adults or has trouble forming close relationships. EMOTIONAL AND MENTALABUSE Children, especially dependent children, are particularly vulnerable to mental abuse committed by their parents and others. Different forms of this type of violence can be from cursing and reproach, to humiliation and insults, all of which result in the alienation and harassment of the child. Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child uses the term “emotional violence”, and
Dr Dawn Stewart points to the necessity to pay attention to the direct and indirect effects of domestic violence against children. Studies on domestic violence have shown that acts of mental or physical violence committed by parents to each other leave deep emotional scars on the children. Children that are subjected to emotional violence and humiliation by their parents or teachers, lack in self-confidence and suffer from emotional problems during adulthood. These individuals caught in the cycle of violence could possibly become violent in adulthood. HOW YOU CAN HELP Parenting is one of the toughest and most important jobs in the world and we all have a stake in ensuring that parents have access to the resources and support they need to be successful. Entire communities play a role in helping families find the strength they need to raise safe, healthy, and productive children. Here are some things you can do: · Get to know your neighbours. Problems seem less overwhelming when (Continued on page 26)
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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My column
Rampant corruption is now exposed It is not by accident that Kaieteur News opted to put the spotlight on corruption. Indeed, there has always been corruption but these days, the plague has reached unprecedented proportions. I still remember the days when the party that now forms the government kept accusing the previous administration of corruption. In fact, I was at the centre of some of those discussions. I always asked the accusers to show me where the stolen money was and they would tell me that the money is hidden in foreign banks. I then asked about the wisdom of having money just for the sake of having it. The people who were accused of raiding the public treasury lived in houses that can by no stretch of the imagination be described as opulent. Twenty years later, I am still to see this stolen money come out. But in that time I have seen the sudden increase in wealth of the people who now form the government. It could not be that they had what was known as old money. They have nothing short of palaces and their bank accounts have already split the seams. I have also looked at the functioning of some areas. NICIL is just one. Another is the use of the Lotto funds. Then there are the awards of contracts. At one time, Kaieteur News focused on the contractors, and it was this that led to the spotlight being placed on the people in the administration. The contractors simply said that they had to pay some
engineer or Minister in order to be awarded a contract. Because the contractor would not go on the record, the newspaper could not treat such reports as facts. In a court of law there would have been no defence. The Brazilians spoke of paying people inside the Home Affairs Ministry, huge sums of money to secure work permits. But this was chicken feed when compared to the money that the so-called big ones collected. In more recent times, we have now seen the preponderance of Chinese contractors. For a long time I have been hearing and reading that the Chinese were no different from other Asiatics when it came to pursuing a certain goal. They would do this aggressively and they know that there is nothing like money to sweeten the pot. We now have a lot of Chinese undertaking every major project in Guyana. The multi-million-dollar cable being strung by Guyana Power and Light is being done by the Chinese. One thought that the offer was by competitive bidding, but now it is in the open that one large Chinese company with many subsidiaries has been dominating the Caribbean scene and that that company has been banned by an international financial institution. The One Laptop Per Family project has also gone to the Chinese. That project is more than a laptop distribution programme. It involves communication cables, which has sparked the
belief that some of the major beneficiaries are people who were close to the former President Bharrat Jagdeo. These contracts most surely involved kickbacks, and while I do not know the beneficiaries, I can hazard a very good guess. I sat and watched as the government, through the public treasury, put aside US$9 million for 27,000 laptops. I heard of the Chinese making cash donations ostensibly to the country to further support the programme. Then just the other day, I noticed that the very Chinese made a donation of 30,000 of the laptops to the government. That would be worth more than the US$10 million that Guyana would have spent. I saw the cost of these netbooks and I knew that they were too highly priced and concluded that somebody was getting money from the Chinese. Then there was the Marriott. Another Chinese company has been contracted. I began to wonder whether the only contractors we could secure were Chinese. Then I learnt that the Chinese were making soft loans available to Guyana and
that once we accept the loan we have to use a Chinese contractor. This is interesting. The airport project attracted yet another Chinese company. Were there more kickbacks? I need not worry about the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric project. The Americans are rough on any of its companies that would be involved in any corrupt dealing. And so we come to the heart of the matter. This ban on the major Chinese company and by extension, any of its subsidiaries, was some time ago. If the local officials said that they did not know, then they were not doing due diligence; they were not investigating the ability of the company to undertake the scope of work. I do not want to believe that we are a slack and complacent nation. I don’t want to believe that apathy has crept into our psyche. But surely that must be the
case. The question about due diligence was asked of Winston Brassington when the government awarded a contract to Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall. Brassington told me that the company offering the performance bond should have done that. That company was not spending money on the contract. If I am to build my house and the contractor is seeking a loan I cannot expect the bank to investigate the contractor to ascertain whether he would build a good house for me. The bank would only be interested in the contractor’s ability to repay the loan. I knew there and then that there was a kickback. Corruption is rampant. Just this past week, I learnt of another massive bit of thieving at the National Communications Network. And I must not forget the contracts awarded to the New Guyana Pharmaceutical
Adam Harris Corporation. That story would be presented and the public would be able to judge. As an aside, the British High Commissioner called to inform me that he never said that Guyana should get out of sugar. That was a statement I made last week. I must say that the statement was made to me some four years by an earlier British High Commissioner, Fraser Wheeler. Indeed the story was written in 2012, but this High Commissioner Mr. Andrew Ayre never made those comments.
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Sunday June 10, 2012
What next? The Constitutional Motion and the Budget Cuts By Khemraj Ramjattan This week, most Guyanese watched in disbelief and some in amusement at our Government’s most recent visit to the Courts. It is now clear to all that this is a case where a disgruntled Executive seeks a bypass to get back the flow of funds which was, in accordance with all due
constitutional requirements, blocked by that constitutional body called the National Assembly. The bypass mechanism being deviously sought is an interim Order of the High Court which, for all intent and purpose, is to permit the Executive to raid the Contingencies Fund; and, to redeem through such an exparte interim order, what it
could not procure lawfully through the Legislature. It is a process that is perverse as it is misconceived. The legislative action of reducing the proposed Budget and then an Appropriation Bill from $180B to some $158B was made pursuant to a constitutional scheme of enacted legislation and Standing Orders, all of which empowers the National Assembly to be wholly responsible for, and with exclusive jurisdiction to monitor spending. Nowhere is it provided in the Constitution, or in any statute or Standing Order, that a High Court or any tier of the Judicature has that power. It is also axiomatic that in matters concerning spending and appropriation that the Executive proposes and the Legislature disposes. In the circumstances preceding this litigation, the President through his Finance Minister proposed a Budget of $180B;
the National Assembly and the President, the two constituents of Parliament under our Constitution, disposed of $158B. The Honourable Attorney General seems to have forgotten the fact that the President assented to Appropriation Act No. 3 (2012) which reduced the proposed allocation of $180B. Is he saying that his boss’s action is wrong? The AFC, on whose behalf I speak, knows that this is an area which many Courts would not be eager to stray into. A Court ought to be reluctant to venture into this political thicket created by the National Assembly’s actions which led to President Ramotar assenting and hence giving legislative effect to the $158B Budget. This kind of controversy in my submission is nonjusticiable. But if I am wrong, then the Courts must make it clear that it will not uphold the
Executive’s attempt to shortcut – no matter how specious its arguments as to convenience or hardship – the redemption of funds it lost as a result of the happenings in Parliament during the Budget deliberations. Such an attempt will conflict with any reading or construction of our Constitution. And as the Speaker of the National Assembly and leader of the AFC warned earlier, that consequence will be very dangerous for this country. Disagreements which have been emerging and which, as a consequence of this litigation, are mounting in our Nation because of a lack of harmonious, reciprocal action between the Executive branch of the State and the Parliament, must not result in a tearing apart of our Constitution. Our Constitution makes it abundantly clear that the power to execute laws, (a function of the Executive),
does not include the power to make them, (a function of the Parliament). And an Executive which has failed to see the making of a law fully in accordance with the shape and content it desires, because of a partial legislative veto to what it sought approval of, cannot use the Judiciary through such a side-wind of an exparte interim order, and as a back door device to procure an appropriation. The Court does not have a remit to approve, disapprove, or reduce a Budget; that is exclusively the jurisdiction of Parliament. And since the passing of the Appropriation Act No. 3 (2012), which is not being sought to be declared unconstitutional by the Attorney General, then the Attorney General should advise his Executive to go plead their case with the members of Parliament. Not with the Chief Justice.
Our children are crying... Is anyone... From page 24 support is nearby. · Help a family under stress. Offer to babysit, help with chores and errands, or suggest resources in the community that can help. · Reach out to children in your community. A smile or a word of encouragement can mean a lot, whether it comes from a parent or a passing stranger. · Be an active community member. Lend a hand at local schools, community or faithbased organizations, NGOs, hospitals, human service agencies, or other places where families and children are supported. · Keep your neighbourhood safe. Start a Neighborhood Watch or plan a local “Community Night Out” community event. You will get to know your neighbours while helping to keep your neighbourhood
and children safe. · Learn how to recognize and report signs of child abuse and neglect. Reporting your concerns may protect a child and get help for a family who needs it. CHILD ABUSE IN GUYANA Approximately 46% of our population is under 18 years of age, and Guyana is one of the youngest societies in the world. Child abuse and exploitation in this country is the same as anywhere else, in four ways: physical, sexual, emotional and neglect. There are laws in Guyana that meet the requirements based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child - the subject of child abuse is being afforded serious attention. Most child abuse cases in Guyana are carried out by those very near to the child in who the child often have a certain degree of trust.
Based on surveys, the elements of child abuse can be linked to the following conditions in Guyana: Poverty, Addiction (mainly alcohol), Lack of parental skills, Psychological imbalance (such as depression and anxiety). Also out of these are the patriarchal cultural factors, as well as the existence of sexual discrimination between boys and girls. Other factors which increase abuse include the existence of weaknesses in the legal system in terms of delayed trials, proper and timely investigations, and parents’ acceptance of monetary settlements for offences against their children. Child abuse and neglect can be prevented. Local governments, community organizations, and private citizens take action every day
to protect children. You can help. Research has shown that parents and caregivers who have support—from f a m i l y, friends, neighbours, and their communities—are more likely to provide safe and healthy homes for their children. When parents lack this support or feel isolated, on the other hand, they may be more likely to make poor decisions that can lead to neglect or abuse. Increasingly, we believe that concerned citizens and organizations are realizing that the best way to prevent child abuse is to help parents develop the skills and identify the resources they need to understand and meet their children’s emotional, physical, and developmental needs and protect their children from harm.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Labouring in the vineyard: The 2012 Dr Eric Williams Memorial Lecture By Sir Shridath Ramphal (Continued from last Sunday) But, besides Sir Arthur’s particular questions are others which we cannot avoid; questions not only for Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, but for all of us; questions which probe whether as independent countries we have done as well individually as we might have done collectively. To mention only a few, starting with the specific and contemporary: Had there been a Federation, with a regionwide regulatory agency, could it have done better in preventing the debacle of CLICO and BAICO and the terrible consequences for ordinary people now being felt throughout the region, including here in Trinidad and Tobago? Would we have been in a better position to feed our growing population by mobilising the land resources of Guyana, Suriname and Belize, the capital of Trinidad and the skills of Barbados and other countries to create a viable food economy that reduces our import bill of over US$3 billion? Would we have been better able to manage the security of our borders, and to exploit the possibilities afforded by the Exclusive Economic Zone authorised by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, by the establishment of a seamless maritime boundary across much of the Eastern Caribbean island chain? In the UN Climate Change negotiations, and at the upcoming Rio+20 Summit on Environment and Development, would we have been listened to with greater respect and attention, speaking as a single voice from a bloc of island states and low-lying countries whose very existence is threatened by climate change, and having a common climate change mitigation and adaptation regime governed by a common political authority? Would the Federation not have created a larger space for the creativity, productivity and advancement of our people, especially the youth? And, could we not have done better in keeping at home the over 60% of our tertiary educated people who now live in the OECD countries? Would not our Caribbean companies been more competitive in the global community than our locallyplaced nano-industries? Would what Eric Williams
(Part 2 of 3) described as a single centre of decision-making vis-à-vis the outside world have been able to bargain more effectively in the global community — including with the World Bank and in the WTO, with the European Union and now with Canada and China — for better terms and conditions for trade, aid and investment than our individual states with their smaller resources have been able to do? With its greater resources and larger pool of human talent, would the Federation not have given us a wider field of opportunity and greater protection and prospects than our individual states have provided? Of course, not all will agree on the answers. Separatism has its beneficiaries: in political establishments, in commercial sectors, among anti-social elements that prosper in environments of weakness. That has always been the allurement of ‘local control’. But what of the West Indian people – the ones for whom Norman Manley spoke when he looked to federation as providing a wider field for ambition? Whatever our speculation - and it can be no more than that - 50 years ago the moving
finger of history wrote out ‘federation’, and having ‘writ’ moved on. But in writing out solutions, history does not erase needs. What about those needs of which Eric Williams wrote in 1969, within 7 years of Independence? How have we done in our separate independences in responding to the real case for unity that he saw in the creation of a more united front in dealing with the outside world – diplomacy, foreign trade, foreign investment and similar matters? How have we responded to his view that “to increase the countervailing power of our small individual units... requires nothing less than the creation of a single centre of decision-making vis-à-vis the outside world”? How have we acted to change the present disgraceful state of fragmentation of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries of which he wrote with trenchant authority? Having disposed of federation for better or for worse, have we retrieved through economic integration the gains we had hoped for from federation? What success has attended our labours in the vineyard? Have we been labouring? These are all
aspects of the second question; and our answer can, indeed, be more definitive. Within three years of the dissolution of the Federation, these imperatives had actually ensured the resumption of the Caribbean dialogue of unity through the Antigua/ Barbados/Guyana initiative of 1965 which led to the establishment of CARIFTA – the Caribbean Free Trade Area, in which ultimately all the previously federated territories would be involved. But CARIFTA was just the beginning. The Agreement establishing it had expressly foreshadowed the ultimate creation of ‘a viable economic community of the Caribbean territories’ – a Community itself enabled by closer economic integration between its units. When Eric Williams inscribed “From Columbus to Castro” to me in 1970, the Caribbean Community and Common Market was on its way to being agreed. The vineyard was being planted; but the labour of nurturing would continue. Work on the Treaty to formalise and fill it out was in hand under the guidance of William Demas at the Secretariat – another brilliant son of this soil who toiled in the vineyard of regional economic integration and inspired a generation of West
Sir Shridath Ramphal
Indian regionalists: economists and others. The Treaty was signed at Chaguaramas on July 4th 1973 – the original Treaty of Chaguaramas – signed initially by Prime Ministers Barrow, Burnham, Michael Manley and Williams. The signing of the Treaty has been described as ‘a landmark in the history of West Indian people’; and so it was. And it was a highpoint of regional unity and confidence. In that same year we were negotiating with the still new European Community as one Caribbean – with our own Community – and using our oneness to forge the unity of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (the ACP) – reducing the developing countries negotiating the Lomé Convention with Europe from 46 to 1. And we were holding our own at the UN in New York and Geneva in the international ‘make-over’ debate on a New International Economic Order.
And, just months before the signing of the Treaty, on Guyana’s initiative Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago had defied hemispheric opinion and broken the diplomatic embargo against Cuba in December 1972. And there was more. Long before US President Ronald Reagan’s Caribbean Basin Initiative we had advanced proposals for an Association of countries of the Caribbean Basin, with Trinidad and Tobago offering to host the defining Summit Conference. But we had flattered to deceive. Within years, we had relapsed into inertia and worse. For 7 years, from 1975 to 1982, the Heads of Government Conference – with the Common Market Council, CARICOM’s ‘principal organ’ — did not meet. This is not the time or place for an inquest into Caribbean dissipation; the excuses were multiple: the enlarging economic disparity (Continued on page 39)
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Sunday June 10, 2012
“AN OTHER CARIBBEAN”: THE ARTS JOURNAL Volume 7 Numbers 1 & 2 (2011) Review by Professor Nigel Westmaas Keeping an arts journal (or for that matter any journal) alive and active is a traditionally difficult commission in Guyana. By the standards of journals and periodicals of any kind Timehri, Kyk-Over-al and Kaie are the three way ahead of the rest in terms of durability. Timehri has the record with a century of publication. Kyk-Over-Al, more exclusively cultural in content than Timehri, was started by the British Guiana Writers Association in 1945 and was still being maintained, with the occasional lapse, until the late 1990s. Fifty years plus! A remarkable record by any standard. Timehri, Kyk-Over-al and Kaie apart, why has it been so difficult for the survival of journals? There are two timeworn and obvious reasons. First, anything to do with the arts or literature can unfortunately be interpreted as an esoteric preoccupation thereby suffering a deficit in popular readership. Second, financial reasons caused many a journal to falter and many have with the problems of cost, circulation and receptivity. For example, the late Brian Rodway, along with others, launched the Georgetown Review in 1978. It lasted for all but one issue. The unsold surviving copies were so plentiful that many were given away gratis. Expectedly, the publishers and printers were broke. The fate of terminal periodical syndrome hit many other attempts to sustain a magazine or journal in Guyana. Still very active after its emergence in May 2004, The Arts Journal does not set out
to rival or surpass Timehri and Kyk-Over-Al and others journals for longevity of production. With this latest (September 2011) issue The Arts Journal: Critical Perspectives on contemporary Literature, History, Art and Culture of Guyana and the Caribbean has chocked up eight years of stability and now carries a heavy responsibility for analyzing and chronicling the development of the arts in Guyana and the Caribbean. It has quietly built up constancy, reliability, exemplary standards of content, and respect for the arts and culture across the region. The original plan for The Arts Journal was bi-annual publication. But this might have been too optimistic and the record confirms that only in 2005 did the journal publish twice. From Volume 3 it resorted to the more realistic
double volume each year and this has since led to a substantive collection of excellent contributions from the region and Guyana. Like its predecessors this Arts Journal contains an array of rich material over a wide cultural span inclusive of photos of paintings and different genres of assessment in the arts. There are sixteen different contributions inside – embracing as the theme suggests – diverse writing and visual arts contributions from the Caribbean. The pattern corresponds with previous issues where the thematic offerings of history, art, literature, creative writing, book reviews, short stories and poems were editorially invoked or guided. Edited by Ameena Gafoor and Art Editor Bernadette Persaud the latest Arts Journal theme is a deliberate play on the title An Other Caribbean. And the pieces
Ameena Gafoor
Professor Verene Shepherd
Emeritus Professor Kenneth Ramchand
Jan Lowe Shinebourne
collectively correspond perfectly to the central theme. In a keynote address and celebration of the work of Sam Selvon (1923-1994) the famed Trinidad novelist, outstanding scholar and literary critic Kenneth Ramchand examines and compares Selvon’s early work (for example, his Lonely Londoners) and the writer’s later novels and poetry. Ramchand touches aplenty on all aspects of Selvon: the complexity of his work; his linguistic achievement; his humour but above all what Ramchand sees as a shift from the early “cultural nationalist” to the “breakdown of order, purpose and value” and the arrival of a cynicism in Selvon’s later productions. In another recorded speech Dr. Keith Lowe explores “Counter cultures: Exploring shop keeping in the Chinese Diaspora.” Although the title speaks for itself, the thrust of the content is encapsulated in this extract: “The ‘chiney’ shop of Jamaica and other plantation cities was in many respects a global Enterprise. Settling into the remotest of villages and the highest of mountains, the shopkeepers brought the world commodities to local people.”
Professor Mariam Pirbhai looks at the “emerging tradition” of Indian Guyanese Women’s fiction and explores the content of their work. The female writers she reviews include Jan Lowe Shinebourne, Narmala Shewcharran, Oonya Kempadoo, Ameena Gafoor, Ryhaan Shah, Marina Budhos and Andrea Ganraj. Pirbhai reveals the interesting fact that Gafoor and Shah are “poised to be the first Guyanese women novelists to feature female accounts of the kali pani voyage, settlement within the colonies and life in the indenture and post-indenture periods.” This focus on the proliferation of Indian Caribbean and Guyanese women contributions, illustrates the remarkable rise in works and in the arts and culture by and on women in the Caribbean and Guyana. And The Arts Journal has been foremost in promoting the sometimes unrecognized contributions of women in multiple genres of the arts. Emeritus Professor Frank Birbalsingh explores Janjhat, a novel by Rooplal Monar, and the complicated cultural and religious impact of Christianity on Hinduism and “cultural adaptation and creolization” on characters in
the physical environment of the novel. According to Birbalsingh, Janjhat, on account of the implications of its content, could “point a way to the future for most post-colonial nations.” Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine meditates on the “new” art of Stanley Greaves in the series Spectrum Shadows. Greaves, Roopnaraine emphasizes, remains one of the most innovative and durable of Guyanese painters and his focus as critic are the implications of the spaces and shadows in the new paintings of this celebrated Guyanese artist. Conveniently, this article provides Greaves’s paintings in colour on glossy pages thereby uniting analysis and visual record. Where possible this facility should be extended to other articles for balance of photo and text. In other terms, the allocation to other pieces in the journal inclusive of images of the books being covered or reviewed and/or photos of authors can be considered by the editors. In “Remembering Phibbah: Ancestral Reflections in the International Year for People of African Descent”, proficient Jamaican historian (Continued on page 36)
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Who should head the Commonwealth? By Sir Ronald Sanders Now that there has been an enormously successful rejoicing of the 60-year reign of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom and her 15 other realms, it is time to tackle the question upon which there has been much speculation: will her successor also succeed to the headship of the 54-nation Commonwealth? The outpouring of affection from millions of British people, who sought every opportunity to attend the events celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, and the presence at those events of many Heads of government and other senior representatives from other Commonwealth realms, underscore the deep satisfaction with, and admiration, for her reign. In Britain, the acceptance of the Royal family has been re-validated, and recognition given in abundance to the important role it plays there. The monarchy will remain for some time to come. Much of this is due to Queen Elizabeth herself. But, there has been evident satisfaction too with the performance by the Queen’s children, particularly Prince Charles, and her grandsons, William and Harry. Charles has overcome reservations held in some quarters, and his sons have captured the imagination and affection of the people of many Commonwealth countries. No useful purpose is served by not also putting to rest questions raised about the future headship of the Commonwealth. As Elizabeth seamlessly assumed the headship of the Commonwealth from her father King George VI on his passing in 1952, so should her successor adopt it from her.
The headship of the Commonwealth came about on the creation of the modern Commonwealth in 1949 when India chose to become a Republic and to remain a member of the Commonwealth. It was the suggestion of India’s Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, that India’s association with the Commonwealth would be based on acceptance by India of the status of the King as the symbol of the free association of Commonwealth countries. Thus, in their 1949 London Declaration – the founding document of the modern Commonwealth Heads of government of countries, that included India, Pakistan and Ceylon (later Sri Lanka), declared “acceptance of The King as the symbol of the free association of its independent member nations” and “as such the Head of the Commonwealth”. It is on that basis that every country has joined the Commonwealth since 1949. Like her father before her, the Queen is an ardent champion of the Commonwealth and of the Commonwealth’s diverse peoples. She has no role in governance of the Commonwealth as a whole, even though she has a constitutional role in her 15 realms for as long as they choose to retain her. She has steadfastly never mixed the two duties. Her principal function for the Commonwealth of independent nations is to symbolize their voluntary association. In this, the Commonwealth could have no better representative. As the senior Commonwealth Head of Government, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St KittsNevis, said in proposing a toast to her on behalf of
Commonwealth governments during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations: “You have been a source of stability in times of trouble, a relentless champion for freedom and, through your dedicated public service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realm and the Commonwealth, have come to epitomise grace in service, steadfastness in commitment, compassion in leadership, dignity in loyalty and devotion in duty.” On her 21st birthday in 1947, the then Princess Elizabeth gave an historic public undertaking: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of the Commonwealth to which we all belong.” She has never faltered in delivering on that commitment. Her children and grandchildren have also demonstrated their inherited commitment to the Commonwealth and C o m m o n w e a l t h causes. Without being intrusive in the work of governments, the Prince’s Trust, set up by Prince Charles, and the William and Harry Foundation, have reached out to help worthy causes in Commonwealth countries. They are, therefore, trained and prepared for Commonwealth
duty. Significantly, even while the Queen plays no part in the governance of the Commonwealth as a whole, the costs associated with her headship of the Commonwealth are not met by Commonwealth governments. The Commonwealth nations as a group benefit from her stature and standing, given voluntarily and plentifully, as it will be from her successor. To change from this system that has worked flawlessly for the Commonwealth for 63 years, Heads of government would have to agree on a new method for selecting the Head of the Commonwealth. That task would be as problematic as it is unnecessary. Even if agreement could be reached on some distinguished Commonwealth citizen to take over the headship, issues such as who would finance the office, and its salary, travel and entertainment
expenses, would prove to be a basic difficulty, as would the tenure of the office, and issues of geographical representation. The notion that the post could be rotated among Heads of Commonwealth countries is also fraught with severe challenges. What happens if domestic conditions demand that the Head of State remain at home when a Commonwealth event requires his or her presence? And would the Head’s embroilment in local politics compromise the Commonwealth as a whole? In any event, on the basis of rotation, the present Queen (or her successors) would be entitled to 16 terms as Head of state of 16 of the 54 Commonwealth countries. Beyond all this remains the huge challenge of changing the binding basis by which countries have joined the Commonwealth since 1949 - acceptance of the crown as the symbol of their voluntary association and
Sir Ronald Sanders “as such” Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth makes decisions by consensus. If a number of governments argue for the retention of the present system there would be no change. The present system of the headship of the Commonwealth works for all. It isn’t broken; there’s no need to fix it. (The writer is a consultant and former Caribbean diplomat) Responses and previous c o m m e n t a r i e s : www.sirronaldsanders.com
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“AN OTHER CARIBBEAN”: From page 28 Professor Verene Shepherd looks at the female slave Phibbah, the symbol of one of the many victims of Jamaican planter Thomas Thistlewood who kept a diary of his sexual and social domination on the plantation. In a moving reflection, Shepherd unearths the various responses, including accommodation and resistance, to sexual domination of Caribbean slave women. Ameena Gafoor examines The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace and aspects of African cultural practice including African Baptist Orisha worship as the base of the novel. Carefully unveiling the roles and words of the central characters for the reader Gafoor makes extant the novel’s sourcing of the “tragic and redemptive” black experience in Trinidad under colonialism. A somber analysis of “Ethnic Histories the IndoCentric narrative of Trinidad’s history” follows in an article by Trinidadian academic Emerita Professor Bridget Brereton. Brereton identifies the various streams of the south Asian experience and narrative in Trinidad history and concludes poignantly that “in their extreme forms …neither the Indo-centric nor the Afro-centric narrative, as developed by the ‘ethnic entrepreneurs’…seems to have advanced the search for a more unifying approach to the country’s past and present.” Dr. Paloma Mohamed explores the African Guyanese Creole newspaper which for a black newspaper in a hostile publishing and political environment enjoyed a remarkable publication career from 1856 (the year of the Angel Gabriel riots) to 1907 (two years shy of another renowned Guyanese riot of 1905). There are also selected extracts of novels and short stories by Professor Cyril Dabydeen (Welcoming Mr Anang), Professor Lomarsh Roopnarine (Drupatie’s Vanishing Hopes), Jan Lowe Shinebourne (Chinese Women), Willi Chen (Return to Guangdong), and Stephanie Bowry (Coffee Watch). Poems by Cyril Dabydeen,
and book reviews by Akima McPherson of Art in the Caribbean (by Anne Walmsley and Stanley Greaves) and Bernadette Persaud on Ryhaan Shah’s new novel A Silent Life conclude another impressive issue of The Arts Journal. As the editorial states, The Arts Journal “deepens its focus on the arts with a more nuanced approach to studying the multiple strands of Caribbean society. It brings fresh perspectives to neglected areas of what has gradually emerged as a complex and unique heritage. There is no one label that can fit the distinctive cultural and historical experiences of Caribbean peoples and in some territories there is evidence of a plural society emerging…” This claim stands up well given the content of this issue of this eight-year-old journal of the Arts. Readers now look forward to Volume 8 of The Arts Journal. Given the very preparatory nature of production, the next issue might have already been conceived, but the reading public would doubtless love to see reviews celebrating the work and career of late national artist extraordinaire Philip Moore. Other suggestions that come to mind for review and analysis include the awardwinning novel on Guyana by Rahul Bhattacharya, The Sly Company of People who Care; and Clem Seecharan’s newest history Mother India’s Shadow over El Dorado: Indo-Guyanese Politics and Identity 1890s1930s. The latter would be an excellent tonic for those who narrowly restrict and glorify Guyanese politics, especially Indo-Guyanese politics, to the narrative of Cheddi Jagan and the PPP from the 1940s to the present. Tony Martin’s new book Caribbean History from PreColonial Origins to the Present, with its emphasis on a younger Caribbean audience, is also ripe for review. Given its intent and trajectory there is no doubt that The Arts Journal will continue to provide a crucial public service in highlighting, analyzing and documenting the arts and cultures of Guyana, the Caribbean and their Diasporas. ***** Editor’s Note: THE ARTS JOURNAL is available from all leading bookstores in Guyana and the Caribbean or from the Editors: theartsjournal@live.co.uk Telephone: 592 227 6825 or bernadettepersaud5@hotmail.com Telephone: 592 220 3337.
Sunday June 10, 2012
From page 20 Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, called for the contract to be “rescinded forthwith”. Prominent attorney-atlaw, Vic Puran, who said he was speaking as a private citizen, also raised questions over due diligence that was conducted by the Guyana government on the firm, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). He is calling for the person(s) involved in this process to be named. Due diligence is basically a background check of a business entity or individual prior to signing a contract, thus ensuring their eligibility and credibility. On Tuesday, Jamaica’s Contractor General, Greg Christie, revealed that China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), the parent company of CHEC’s parent company, was debarred by the World Bank in 2009 for eight years as a result of corruption. By extension, CHEC was also debarred. ******************** THURSDAY EDITION EX-PM’S SON JAILED FOR TAKING KICKBACKS FROM CJIA CONTRACTOR A son of the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia, was last year jailed for laundering millions of dollars in bribes taken from the Chinese company that has been handed a US$150M contract to rebuild the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). It is among the latest in a series of shocking revelations about China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the parent company of which has been debarred by the World Bank from participating in any of its contracts until 2017. According to Bangladeshi press reports, the case had attracted widespread coverage as it involved Arafat ‘Koko’ Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia. Rahman was jailed, in absentia, for six years for laundering money he received as kickbacks from CHEC and the Bangladesh subsidiary of Germany’s industrial giant, Siemens AG. Days before President Bharrat Jagdeo left office and before the November 28 General Elections in Guyana, his administration signed a US$138M contract with CHEC in Jamaica. ANOTHER ESCAPED PRISONER JUMPS TO DEATH IN MAHAICONY RIVER The Mahaicony River
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claimed the life of another prisoner who escaped from the nearby Mahaicony Police Station. Fifty-three-year-old Colin Sealey disappeared under the fast-flowing waters after plunging into the river to avoid recapture by police Wednesday. Police using fishing boats combed the river but did not find Sealey’s remains. Sealey was arrested by the police about 16:30 hours on Tuesday during investigations into allegations of threatening behaviour, assault and indecent exposure. Wednesday’s incident occurred around 11:15 hours as Sealey was being escorted to court. Police in a statement said that a police rank went to the lock-ups to take out Colin Sealey, a fisherman of Zeskenderen, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, to escort him to the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court. During this process, Sealey overpowered the policeman just as he was about to be handcuffed and escaped out of the station. “He ran to the bridge across the Mahaicony River from where he jumped into the river,” the police statement said. ******************** FRIDAY EDITION CHINESE OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH TAKING BRIBES FROM CJIA CONTRACTOR More shocking revelations have continued to rock the country about the Chinese firm that was controversially handed the US$150M project to rebuild the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). In November 2011, former Chairman of the China’s Hebei Port Group, Huang Jianhua, was sentenced to death for taking bribes from the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and its parent company, Communications Construction Company Ltd. (CCCC), among other entities. CCCC, according to investigations by Chinese authorities, gifted Huang a house worth more than 4 million yuan (US$628,000) after he arranged for them to win a bid in 2008 for the construction project at the Huanghua Port Wharf in China. Executives of a sister company of CHEC, CCCCTDC Binhai Environmental Channel Dredging Co. Ltd. gave Huang 40,000 yuan and US$10,000 in three payments. Investigators found a trail of corruption by CCCC and at least two of its subsidiaries, including CHEC.
IMPORTERS CRY FOUL AT US$6.5M SECRET PHARMACEUTICAL AWARD TO RAMROOP’S NEW GPC The award of a US$6.5M (G$1.3B) contract for the importation of pharmaceuticals is being queried by the other companies that import drugs. Three major importers, among them the International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) said that they were never made aware of the contract; that there was no tender and that if there was they were never allowed to tender. The award was made to the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) in a continuation of a policy that had been in place for years. Owned by Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation had a monopoly of pharmaceutical imports for the Ministry of Health and for the Georgetown Public Hospital. The Auditor General had cause to criticize the methods used to ensure that the GPC monopolised the drug imports. He pointed to irregular tender practices which saw the government actually splitting contracts to avoid going to tender for the imports of the drugs. The law dictates that imports over a certain amount of money must go to public tender. Instead, the government always ensured that the contracts were below the range of the tender board and simply offered the awards to Ramroop’s New GPC. ******************** SATURDAY EDITION JAGDEO BACKPEDALS ON SECRET DEAL INKED WITH ‘CORRUPT’
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CHINESE COMPANY After his administration secretly inked an agreement with a Chinese Contractor in Jamaica, for the US$150M expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), former President Bharrat Jagdeo is now backpedalling, in the face of damning World Bank revelations. Jagdeo, who had adamantly defended the decision to enter into a contract with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), is now calling on his successor, President Donald Ramotar, to review the contract. Jagdeo’s position, now, is that the World Bank pronouncement on the Chinese contractor “should not be taken lightly.” He is urging Ramotar to seek explanations from the Chinese Government about the conduct of the company. This Government-toGovernment route has been suggested, given that CHEC is ultimately owned by the Chinese Government. The former President’s utterance as it relates to his new position for a review of the project is purportedly
premised on the need for “value for money” as well as to weed out any possible illegalities that may be uncovered. Jagdeo has also informed that based on whatever responses would be garnered from the Chinese Government, Ramotar, “on the basis of the explanations given, should make a decision on the project’s feasibility”. VESSEL CAPSIZES IN DEMERARA RIVER, COOK FEARED DEAD Terror struck late Friday afternoon when a 65-foot cargo vessel destined for Trinidad and Tobago capsized in the Demerara River, about quarter of a mile offshore. Seven crewmen were on board. One of the vessel’s occupants’, 63-year-old Gerald Da Silva, the cook, was trapped inside the overturned boat. The others were rescued by passenger boats traversing the GeorgetownVreed-en-Hoop crossing. Kaieteur News was told that the cook got trapped in the boat because he went back for a haversack. The captain had said that everyone was up at the time
of the incident and that the cook was in the kitchen. The man said that the crew quickly got life jackets and abandoned ship. The cook, however, said that he was heading back for the bag. Eyewitnesses said that the incident occurred a short time after 17:00 hours. A man who operates a passenger vessel at the Georgetown stelling said that he was heading over to the Vreed-enHoop stelling with passengers when he saw the boat capsize. The man said he noticed that an excavator was aboard the vessel. He said that it appeared as if the boat was turning, but in doing so, the excavator began sliding toward one side of the vessel. For a while, he said the boat was leaning to starboard and then it capsized. He said numerous passenger vessels raced to the scene to render their assistance. From where he was positioned, the eyewitness said he saw persons waving their hands in the air, signaling for assistance. He said the men were wearing life jackets.
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Labouring in the vineyard: The... From page 27 between Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana and Jamaica in particular; the virus of ‘ideological pluralism’ that infected the integration process; the divisive effects of the emergence of Grenada’s Revolutionary Government specifically, and the threat of a return of the region to external power rivalries; the deterioration of personal relations between Caribbean leaders to the point of incivility. By the end of the 70s it was realised that an impasse had been reached in Caribbean affairs and the CARICOM Council turned to William Demas and a team of regional experts to “review the functioning of Caribbean integration.....and prepare a strategy for its improvement in the decade of the 1980s”. The Group’s findings were blunt and worth recalling: “An analysis of the performance of CARICOM in its three areas of activity shows that, although gains were registered in many aspects of functional cooperation and to a lesser extent with respect to interregional trade, inadequate progress was made in production integration and coordination of foreign policies... The misunderstandings... that characterised certain initiatives taken by some member countries in the field of external economic relations also gave a poor public image to the Community.” But their conclusions contained seeds of hope: “The fact, however, that the institutional framework of the community remains intact, that an intergovernmental dialogue was and is being sustained and that intra-regional trade and functional cooperation continue to show resilience and in some cases growth, indicate that the foundations of the movement are still intact.” But hope was misplaced. The Grenada invasion in 1983 effectively put paid to any “re-launch” of CARICOM. As Professor Anthony Payne commented in his indispensable 2008 Political History of CARICOM: “It was not just that the region disagreed about what to do in Grenada once the internal coup had taken place, but that the countries that actively supported and promoted the idea of a US Invasion (Jamaica, Barbados and the OECS states) deliberately connived to conceal their intentions from their remaining CARICOM partners – Trinidad, Guyana and Belize... No mention was
made of such a commitment during the CARICOM discussions, which focused exclusively upon the sanctions which could be brought to bear on the new military regime in Grenada. In these circumstances, the other leaders – especially George Chambers and Forbes Burnham.... understandably felt that they had been made to look foolish. Bitter recrimination followed... Many commentators wondered whether CARICOM would finally fall apart. The critical factor was whether anyone would actually work to destroy it.... A number of (leaders) came increasingly to suspect that (the then Prime Minister of Jamaica, Edward Seaga’s) real aim was the replacement of CARICOM with a looser organisation embracing non-Commonwealth countries and excluding any existing member state that was not willing to accept US leadership in regional affairs. He fuelled these fears by speaking of the possible creation of CARICOM Mark II, arousing the suspicion in Trinidad and Guyana that he was making a threat directed mainly at them. ... The Region was left in no doubt that during the 1980s CARICOM matters were a much lower priority in Kingston than the question of Jamaica’s dealings with Washington.” I have quoted at length – and from such a dispassionate source – because we need to remember how we used our separateness, some will say our sovereignty, against each other. No wonder that CARICOM languished during the 80s as well; but towards the end of the decade fortunes changed. Michael Manley replaced Seaga in Jamaica and in Trinidad A.N.R. Robinson entered the vineyard lamenting CARICOM’s lack of not only political but philosophical underpinnings. Manley brought Jamaica back to its Caribbean roots; but it was Robinson that helped CARICOM return to its intellectual moorings. His Paper addressed to the 1989 Heads of Government Conference at Grand Anse, Grenada, which he entitled The West Indies Beyond 1992 was a ‘wake-up’ call to the region. It stressed that: The period since political independence has been one of continuous awareness of the common identity which distinguished the Caribbean people, and the structural constraints imposed upon them as small units in the international community. It warned that: “Against (the)
background of historic change and historic appraisal (in the world) the Caribbean could be in danger of becoming a backwater, separated from the main current to human advance in to the twenty-first century.” It called on West Indians to: “prepare for the future ... to consider how best to bring about real betterment in their condition of life, to achieve their full potential as free people responsible for their own destiny, and to improve their Region’s place in the community of nations.” And it proposed that a West Indian Commission be established to help the people of the West Indies to prepare for the 21st Century. In adopting this proposal, CARICOM Heads mandated that the Commission should formulate proposals for advancing the goals of the Treaty of Chaguaramas. We were back in the vineyard, led by another Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; another regional labourer. And this time Caribbean political leaders went further; they decided on the tasks they would undertake and set targets for their completion. In the “Grand Anse Declaration and Work Programme for the Advancement of the Integration Movement”, they asserted that: “.... inspired by the spirit of cooperation and solidarity among us (we) are moved by the need to work expeditiously together to deepen the integration process and strengthen the Caribbean community in all of its dimensions to respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by the changes in the global economy.” This cannot be dismissed as mere rhetoric. It was followed by clear commitment and a comprehensive Work Programme which stated: “We are determined to work towards the establishment in the shortest possible time of a single market and economy for the Caribbean Community. To that end, we shall ensure that the following steps are taken not later than 4 July 1993.” (To be concluded next Sunday)
Don’t take stress! By Krista Brooks Hello readers! I work with nurses, nurses in training, retired nurses and many others in the health field. I myself am not a nurse, but every day I hear the good advice that nurses give to their patients. Sometimes it might be hard to get through with that advice or even know where to start. This column is here to help you live healthier and happier and to answer your questions about health, so hopefully you don’t have to go see ‘nursey’ all that often (unless it’s to gaff). One thing I always hear nursey telling patients is “don’t take stress!” I know it isn’t good to stress, but it can be really hard not to stress out about things. It could be a sick relative, getting the children out to school, finding a job, or dealing with a bad relationship. Not everyone feels stress over the same things. Stress is our body’s natural reaction to change. Small amounts of stress are good when you need to finish a project or get out of danger quick. Too much can be bad because it can weaken your immune system or your body’s way of fighting off a cold or infection. If you have a disease like pressure or sugar, stress can make them worse. I recently moved to Guyana and I love it here, but I’ve also had some stress. For example, trying to figure out what minibus will carry me where, sweeping giant crapauds out my front door with a broom, and trying to make roti that doesn’t turn out like cardboard. So when nursey says don’t take stress, what can you do?
Health Tips:
First, you have to realize when you are feeling stressed. You might get headaches, bad feelings, feel anxious, have trouble sleeping, or have a change in weight. Next you have to find out what is causing you to feel stressed. Once you can identify what is stressing you out you can begin to manage it. Some things in life are just out of our control and we have to recognize this, have faith, and let them go. Other situations we can take steps to control or at least make them less stressful. If you find that you are feeling stressed try some of these tips: · Talk to friends, family, neighbours, or other people that will help support you. You don’t have to go through any situation alone! · Keep a journal of things that stress you out and how they make you feel. · Take some time from work or chores each day to relax and have a moment to yourself. · Go out on the road for a walk or dance to your favorite song. Exercise makes you feel happier! · Spirituality has been linked to stress relief so try going to your own place of worship or meditate at home. · Get enough sleep at night and eat fruits and vegetables. This will keep your body in good physical shape and keep you from getting sick. · Think positive, happy thoughts. If you have a positive attitude or think that you can do something, it will help make change easier. Just smiling at yourself in the mirror can put you in a better mood!
Krista Brooks · If you are always feeling sad or depressed because of too much stress, see a health care provider. A good thing to remember is that everyone has stress, even nursey herself, but it is all about how you choose to deal with it. I decided to ease the stress of crapauds coming into my house by making a game out of getting rid of them. I try to see how far I can sweep them with my broom (they can fly pretty far). I also realized that when I am not stressed about crapauds, I can focus my attention on other things such as answering health questions from you. I hope you enjoyed my column for today and as nursey says don’t take stress! I will be back next week to tell you more things that nursey says. Until then! If you have any health questions or comments please send them to nurseysaysguyana@gmail.com. Krista Brooks is a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer working with the School of Nursing, which trains Nursing Assistants, Professional Nurses, and Midwifery Students.
Health Tip: Help prevent heart disease
(HealthDay News) — You can’t control all risk factors for heart disease, but living a healthy lifestyle and taking medication prescribed by your doctor can help prevent many of its dangerous risk factors. The Womenshealth.gov website suggests these steps to help reduce your risk of heart disease: · Maintain healthy cholesterol and blood pressure. · Quit or avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol. · Take steps to control diabetes. · Maintain a healthy body weight. · Get plenty of regular exercise and adhere to a regular sleep schedule. · Control conditions such as sleep apnea and metabolic syndrome.
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Country profile:
DJIBOUTI
The Port of Djibouti on the Red Sea is the main shipping terminal for the Horn of Africa. OVERVIEW Controlling access to the Red Sea, Djibouti is of major
strategic importance, a fact that has ensured a steady flow of foreign assistance. During the Gulf War it was
the base of operations for the French military, who continue to maintain a significant presence. France has thousands of troops as well as warships, aircraft and armoured vehicles in Djibouti, contributing directly and indirectly to the country’s income. The US has stationed hundreds of troops in Djibouti, its only African base, in an effort to counter terrorism in the region.
Djibouti’s location is the main economic asset of a country that is mostly barren. The capital, Djibouti city, handles Ethiopian imports and exports. Its transport facilities are used by several landlocked African countries to fly in their goods for re-export. This earns Djibouti much-needed transit taxes and harbour fees. After independence from France in 1977, Djibouti was left with a government which
enjoyed a balance between the two main ethnic groups, the Issa of Somali origin and the Afar of Ethiopian origin. But the country’s first president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, installed an authoritarian one-party state dominated by his own Issa community. Afar resentment erupted into a civil war in the early 1990s, and though Mr Gouled, under French pressure, introduced a limited multiparty system in 1992, the rebels from the Afar party, the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Frud), were excluded. Thus, Mr Gouled’s Popular Rally for Progress party won every seat and the war went on. It ended in 1994 with a power-sharing deal which brought the main faction of Frud into government. A splinter, radical faction continued to fight until 2000, when it too signed a peace deal with the government of Gouled’s successor, Ismael Omar Guelleh. FACTS Full name: The Republic of Djibouti Population: 906,000 (UN, 2011) Capital: Djibouti Area: 23,200 sq km (8,950 sq miles) Major languages: French, Arabic, Somali, Afar Major religion: Islam Life expectancy: 57 years (men), 60 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 Djiboutian franc = 100 centimes Main exports: Re-exports, hides and skins, coffee (reexported from Ethiopia) GNI per capita: US $1,270 (World Bank, 2009) Internet domain: .dj International dialling code: +253 LEADERS President: Ismael Omar Guelleh Ismael Omar Guelleh, known in Djibouti by his initials, IOG, won a second term in a one-man presidential race in 2005 and a third term in April 2011. Parliament - which does not include any representatives of the opposition - approved an
amendment to the constitution in 2010 allowing the president to run for a third term. The constitutional reforms also cut the presidential mandate to five years from six, and created a
President Ismael Omar Guelleh senate. Mr Guelleh succeeded his uncle and Djibouti’s first president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in April 1999 at the age of 52. He was elected in a multi-party ballot. Mr Guelleh supports Djibouti’s traditionally strong ties with France and has tried to reconcile the different factions in neighbouring Somalia. MEDIA There are no privatelyowned broadcasting outlets in Djibouti. The government owns the main newspaper, La Nation, and Radio diffusionTelevision de Djibouti (RTD), which operates the national radio and TV. Reporters Without Borders describes Djibouti as a “media black hole”. The state media do what they are told, it says. Legislation provides for prison sentences for media offences. Djibouti hosts a powerful medium wave (AM) transmitter which broadcasts US-sponsored Arabiclanguage Radio Sawa programmes to East Africa and Arabia. Local FM relays carry the BBC (99.2) and Voice of America. An opposition radio, La Voix de Djibouti, broadcasts from Europe via shortwave and online. There were more than 61,000 internet users by December 2011 (Internetworldstats.com).
Sunday June 10, 2012
9 Beauty Tips a week before your Wedding If you were getting married, you would want to look your radiant best. Following a good skin care and beauty regime is essential to look your best through the hectic marriage ceremonies and the honeymoon. Your marriage is the perfect excuse to indulge yourself and be pampered. Here are 9 essential beauty tips that you should follow a week before your wedding. EXFOLIATION:- Exfoliate your skin every alternate day a week before your wedding. Exfoliation before the wedding is crucial to get rid of dirt, grime and dead skin cells. Regular exfoliation will visibly lighten your skin tone giving you a fairer complexion that glows with beauty and health. In order to exfoliate, wash your skin with a gentle cleanser and follow it up with a good exfoliating face scrub. STAY OUT OF THE SUN:- Now is not the time to be hitting the beach or running errands. Leave the running around to someone else. Delegate responsibilities and do your best to stay out of the sun. Your beauty treatments will be ineffective if you are spending long hours in the sun. The sun can severely mar your skin causing it to tan and become pigmented. If going out becomes essential, use a good sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30. MANICURE AND PEDICURE:- Get your hands and feet attended to by going in for a spa manicure and pedicure. There are special bridal packages which are on offer a week before your wedding. Manicures and pedicures will take care of corns, calluses, chipped nail paint and rough skin. They will also keep your skin soft, supple and moisturized. BRIDAL FACIALS:- A bridal facial is important to get that rosy glow on your face. A good bridal facial also brings out the beauty of the bridal make up and makes you look resplendent. The facial will remove dead skin, open up the pores and help to keep your skin moisturized. HAIR CARE:- The hair is an oft-neglected feature, as most brides tend to concentrate more on their skin. However, the hair needs to be thick, lustrous and shiny in order to look its best. This is true if you are planning on leaving it open for the functions. Go in for a neat, trim and hot oil massages. Regularly shampoo and condition your hair. You can also use a hair mask made from kitchen ingredients to naturally beautify your hair. HAIR REMOVAL:- Make sure you have removed all unwanted hair from your hands, legs and underarms before your marriage and honeymoon. Nothing will appeal to your husband more than smooth and satiny skin. LOSE WEIGHT:- Looking svelte and slim on your wedding day is also very important to fit well into the bridal clothes. Go for regular walks and eat healthy. Have a lot of fruits and vegetables, which will detoxify you from the inside. DRINK WATER:- Have lots of fluids in the form of water. Water will cleanse your skin and flush out all harmful toxins. It will also keep your hydrated and healthy especially when the festivities become hectic. DENTAL TREATMENTS:- If chipped and yellowing teeth are troubling you, perfect that smile by going in for simple teeth whitening procedures.
SOLUTION FOR LAST WEEK’S SEARCH & FIND
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Sunday June 10, 2012
Born Loser
COLLEGE PROFESSOR Annoyed by the professor of anatomy who liked to tell “naughty” stories during class, a group of female students decided that the next time he started to tell one, they would all rise and leave the room in protest. The professor, however, got wind of their scheme just before class the following day, so he bided his time. Then, halfway through the lecture, he began. “They say there is quite a shortage of prostitutes in France.” The girls looked at one another, arose and started for the door. “Young ladies,” said the professor with a broad smile, “the next plane doesn’t leave till tomorrow afternoon.” ******** CORRECT CHOICE An angel suddenly appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean of the college that, in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, he will be given his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom. “Done!” says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, “Say something wise.” The dean looks at them and says, “I should have taken the money. ******** TRAFFIC COURT A woman was found guilty in traffic court and when asked for her occupation she said she was a schoolteacher. The judge rose from the bench. “Madam, I have waited years for a schoolteacher to appear before this court.” He smiled with delight. “Now sit down at that table and write ‘I will not run a red light’ five hundred times.” ******** FISHINGILLEGALLY A farmer in the country noticed that a gentleman would fish at the lake (close to the farmer’s house) and would always leave with a stringer full of fish. The fellow had a boat but a fishing pole was not to be seen. The farmer mentioned the situation to the lake ranger. The ranger then started watching this man and all that the farmer said was true! The man would arrive at the lake in the morning and by early afternoon, he had a stringer full of fish. The ranger dressed like a fisherman one day and approached the man. They exchanged pleasantries and the stranger asked the ranger in disguise to come fish with him. They boated for 45 minutes and arrived at a secluded spot. The stranger then pulled out a stick of dynamite. Ranger: “I’m going to have to place you under arrest I am a Ranger and you are fishing illegally!” The stranger calmly lit the stick of dynamite and handed it to the ranger. Stranger: “Are you gonna talk or fish?” ******** ROOKIE POLICE OFFICER A rookie police officer was out for his first ride in a cruiser with an experienced partner. A call came in telling them to disperse some people who were loitering. The officers drove to the street and observed a small crowd standing on a corner. The rookie rolled down his window and said, “Let’s get off the corner people.” A few glances, but no one moved, so he barked again, “Let’s get off that corner... NOW!” Intimidated, the group of people began to leave, casting puzzled stares in his direction. Proud of his first official act, the young policeman turned to his partner and asked, “Well, how did I do?” Pretty good,” chuckled the vet, “especially since this is a bus stop.”
Garfield
Non Sequitur
Peanuts
Shoe
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
LUSCSL commissions much-needed forestry equipment
T
he Linden Utility Services Co-op Society Limited (LUSCSL) on Friday, last, commissioned a stationary sawmill Wood-Mizer LT15 and Blade sharpener to the tune of some $3.5 million, at the utility's offices on Burnham Drive, Wismar. The equipment is expected to help LUSCSL maximize returns from its forestry concession, and is 'a last-ditch effort' to ensure that the concession which had hitherto been underutilized, is not seized by the Guyana Forestry Commission. D u e t o t h e underutilization of the concession, LUSCSL had reportedly been written to by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), who threatened to repossess the site unless a minimum of some 830 cubic metres of logs were harvested in 2012. With such a prospect looming over them, LUSCSL's Committee of Management subsequently took the decision to seriously expand the operations of its logging concession, which is situated at 28 Miles, Mabura Road, in an effort to maximize its returns. Operations at the concession, using the WoodMizer, are expected to kick start within another week, with the Wood-Mizer's production limit set at 10,000 bm by the Guyana Forestry Commission. According to Chairman o f L U S C S L , Va l e r i e Patterson, the Committee of Management, recognizing the high demand for logs and wood products, and the fact that LUSCSL owns the concession, took advantage of the unique opportunity presented, as the focus of the utility has been on diversifying and maximizing revenue streams that generate income. With this in mind, the Committee members commissioned a study to create a business plan, for the operation of the concession, which sought to determine the feasibility of the enterprise. An Inventory/forest
survey was also undertaken by the GFC to identify what was available in terms of logs, Patterson added. Subsequent to the preparation and approval of the business plan, which projected that LUSCSL stands to garner over $2 million in profits by the end of 2012, the Committee of Management appointed one of its members, Mortimer Mingo, to play a pivotal role in the operationalizing of the logging concession. Initial investments involved the purchase of the Wood-Mizer and Blade sharpener, a tractor as capital input, and the hiring of staff. After Mingo researched the relevant information, as it related to the appropriate size of equipment to be purchased by LuSCSL, given the allowable rate of harvest, which is approximately 58, 671 bm or 139 cubic metres of logs per month, for the last six months of operation in 2012, it was decided that the Wood-Mizer LT 15 was the best option, according to Patterson. LUSCSL was also mandated to secure the necessary permits, including an environmental one from the EPA, after a site visit, and the securing of a temporary sawmill licence from the GFC, to facilitate the testing of the Wood-Mizer. Tax exemption for the purchase of the Wood-Mizer and tractor was also applied for, and should be received shortly, Patterson added. So far, initial clearing of the campsite, and preparation of the sawmill site has already been undertaken. A facility to house the sawmilling operations and mobile campsite is expected to be completed within a week. LUSCSL is now fully authorized to move straight into production of squares and boards, after the test period for the equipment would have expired on Friday (June 15). Additionally, a tractor valued at some $6.5 million will be added to the society's fleet of machinery by next
Sunday. Chairman Patterson pointed out that LUSCSL's decision to go into logging on a larger scale will benefit its 4000-plus members who would be granted 'concessionary' costs for wood products. “So now, no member will have an excuse not to own their own home - we are making provisions, so that they can do so at reasonable costs. Operator of the WoodMizer, Anthony Waldron, who said that he has been
Page 47 Operator Anthony Waldron and the Wood-Mizer LT 15
working with LUSCSL at their logging concession for the past twelve years
utilizing power saws, revealed he was given a twoday training exercise on how
to operate the new equipment, by local agents, Farfan and Mendes.
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Sandra Braithwaite is a 'Special Person From page 18 stealing from myself.” In time, Sandra became self-centred and selfish about her cocaine. She did not want to be bullied into having to share her cocaine, so she moved from the “block” and started living in the cemetery. “That's the place where nobody would come and bother me.” GETTING HELP Seventeen years into her addiction, Malcolm Ferreira, one of the children she used to help, returned home from abroad. Ferreira, now a popular broadcaster, went looking for “Grams” as she was fondly called. He got the shocking news that “Grams” was now a junkie. He went in search of her. He found her and continued to visit her from time to time, even in the cemetery. She was always happy to see him, as he would bring a “fine change” for her. Not
surprisingly, she took it and bought more cocaine. In the meantime, Ferreira looked for ways he could help Sandra and one day decided to ask her directly if she would accept help. She said yes, and that was all that was needed for her to begin the process to recovery. The then Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, arranged for a six-month sponsorship for Sandra with the Phoenix Recovery Project, a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts that opened in August 2008. Sandra was fortunate to squeeze in as the last person of the first batch of inmates. She remembers the day she entered as if it was written in the palm of her hand – September 9, 2008. A lot of the inmates would escape from the home, but Sandra says that she never did, not for a single day. “I realized I had a choice. Life is about choices. I
During an edu-tainment programme at the Mocha/Arcadia Primary School decided to stay in the rehab centre and turn my life
around.” When the six months was
up, her eldest daughter, Michelle, who was then in the United States and kept in touch with her, agreed to pay for a further four months in rehabilitation. After ten months, Sandra was now ready to live a new life. She sought a house she could rent and her relatives helped pay for it, her daughter Michelle in particular. In time, Sandra returned to Phoenix Rehabilitation Centre as the “Home Mother” looking after the new drug addicts who have decided to make a turnaround. Every time a new woman enters, Sandra is reminded of the life she once lived and
she is determined never to go back to that life. “I couldn't look at myself in a mirror.” N o w, S a n d r a i s employed by the Ministry of Health as part of the “edutainment” team. She leads a team throughout the country finding fun ways of educating children about the dangers of drug abuse. She tells her story without any hesitation. She goes into the gory details to really let the children know the grubby life of an addict. In her days as a youth, she said she had no one to educate her. If she did, perhaps she could have been spared. But now, she wants no one to make the mistake that she did. September would mark four years of her recovery, and she wants to spend another year at Phoenix to ensure her full recovery. “They say that it is only after five years at Phoenix that you really start to feel and think as a normal person again; I want to experience that.”
Sunday June 10, 2012
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From the Diaspora... By Ralph Seeram It was a town hall style meeting with over five hundred persons drawn from the Caribbean Community in attendance. The meeting was hosted by the Orange County Sheriff Department in Orlando, Florida as part of their outreach programme to discuss problems affecting the Caribbean residents in the County. The Sheriff (Chief of Police) was listening to speakers after speakers when one gentleman in the audience got up to address the meeting. “Men don’t beat your women; if you do you will get deported back to your country”. The entire audience burst
Kaieteur News
Guyanese men women beaters out in laughter. Most of them, I am sure, did not understand the seriousness of his statement, in part because most men in the Caribbean “get away” with domestic abuse”. They never see it as a serious problem. In the U S, domestic violence is taken seriously, so serious that the immigration laws have provisions to deport men who assault their wives. In some cases there are provisions for some married women to get to get legal status (Green Card) if they have been victims of domestic violence. There are quite a few Guyanese men who have been deported back to Guyana for this very serious crime. They came over to the
USA from Guyana with the same attitude and mentality that they can beat their women without consequences, only to find out that there is a zero tolerance for domestic violence. The problem is that the women don’t have to report it. You have a loud domestic argument in your house you see the police at your door. That’s because the neighbours call the cops. They feel that if the police come early it would prevent the situation from escalating into violence, which happens in most situations. Doctors and hospitals are required by law to report any suspicion of domestic battery. So if a woman turns up at the hospital with marks
Fishermen rescued at sea after engine trouble The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) coast guard rescued a fishing boat and its five crew members on Friday after receiving reports at the Rosignol Police Station at 14.45 hrs. According to the Agriculture Ministry, reports began circulating Friday morning about a missing fishing boat from the Rosignol area. Indeed, the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture received a formal report from the owner of a fishing boat about 15.15 hours the same day that he had lost contact with his crew and boat.
Sunday June 10, 2012
The owner reported that the boat with five crew members left on June 7, last at 6.00 hours and was expected back at 19.00 hours the same day. However, the boat and its crew did not return at the expected time and he had not heard from them. At 7.00 hrs on June 8, another boat with a crew went in search of the missing boat and crew. The search boat returned at approximately 14.30 hours on Friday, and reported that they found no signs of the missing vessel. A report was lodged at the
Rosignol Police Station at 14.45 hours and with the Fisheries Department at about 15.15 Friday afternoon. The Fisheries Department immediately contacted the GDF Coast Guard. However, the fear that the crew was attacked by piracy was allayed when the boat was located around 16.45 hours with its crew intact and unharmed. It turned out that the boat was not attacked by pirates, but had experienced engine trouble. The boat was assisted back by another vessel from the Rosignol Fisherman’s Cooperative Society.
of violence on her body, medical authorities have to report it regardless if the woman agrees or not. I had a tenant whose exgirlfriend went to the hospital with an illness; the medical personnel observed some marks on her hands and immediately called the police, who in turn came and arrested the tenant for domestic battery. Not only that, the judge ordered him to leave the house, even though the exgirlfriend was not living there (he had put her out). Turns out she was the aggressor and he was only defending himself, but it took months and lawyer’s fees to get that straightened out. The point I am trying to make is how serious domestic violence is taken here in the US. Men for the most part try to avoid conflicts with women because they know the consequences whether they are right or wrong. While I am emphasizing on men, I should add that the laws work vice versa. Coming back to Guyanese men, I recall reading of a Guyanese man in
New York who repeatedly assaulted his wife. While on bail for domestic battery, he broke the judge’s order of protection, and damaged her house. He was jailed, and when released from prison a year later still went and stalked the woman. He was deported back to Guyana where I am sure he is continuing his abusive behaviour. Men with that attitude seldom change. A domestic batterer hardly changes; it’s in his DNA to have control and domination over women. Some would claim as Sparrow would say “it’s the bag of sugar down there” that causes men to hold on to these women at all cost, even to the extent of murdering them. However the simple truth is it is all about power and control; these men cannot stand losing control. The thought of writing this article came after reading of the murder of two Guyanese women within days by their respective lovers, lovers who by the way did the community a service
by committing suicide. Slavery, if I recall, was abolished in 1834 but this has not yet dawned on most Guyanese men. They feel if they are with a woman they own her, like a piece of property. This is the type of culture and mentality they grew up with, and have been “getting away with it” over the years. The government has been making some strong pronouncements on the issue, but needs to back it up with meaningful action. The question is what alternative the women in Guyana have? Their first line of protection is the police who for the most part are (a) men, (b) not trained to handle these situations, (c) generally do not consider it a serious offence as it should be. This is more prevalent in the rural areas. I am aware that the Guyana Police have made statements to the effect that they will take this type of offence serious, but the reality is a bit different. Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: ralph365@hotmail.com
Epileptic drowns in his yard A man said to be suffering from epilepsy has reportedly drowned in his yard. The man, Harry Doobay, known as Makazoon, report suggests apparently fell in some accumulated water which had risen a b o v e normal, on Saturday. While residents of Lima
Housing Scheme, in the Jones area, cannot state the exact time of the man’s death, they however said he remained in the water for a lengthy time, until the police were summoned and removed his lifeless body. The 35-year-old labourer lived with his
mother, Shiroon. Other reports suggest that the man who was also described as an alcoholic had apparently fallen into an unconscious state and drowned in his yard. Police have since transported his body to the Suddie Funeral Parlor.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Rampant superstition forces women Black Bush couple charged to quit jobs at Essequibo Oil Mill with abusing grandchild
Numerous questions continue to baffle those who were made aware of the recent incident, at Charity. The incident was described as a near-death experience for a 20-year-old after she fell into an abandoned reservoir. Oletia Harry, of Westbury, almost drowned after she fell into an abandoned reservoir, while attending to duties on June 4. Harry is slowly recovering at the Oscar Joseph Hospital. She has since resigned from her duties as a worker at an oil factory at Charity and her employer has since compensated her to the tune of $30,000. Nurica Deally, Harry’s mother, recounted that on June4, last, she was at her Westbury home when she received a telephone call from one of her daughter’s coworkers, informing her that Oletia had fallen into reservoir. Deally said that she immediately hired a car to where her daughter previously worked. The frustrated mother said when she arrived at the work site she noticed her daughter sitting shivering, and apparently oblivious to her surroundings. Ms. Deally added that from the report she was fed, her daughter was sent to wash a filter cloth but at that
Oletia Henry resting at the Oscar Joseph Hospital time sufficient water was not available, so one of Harry’s superiors sent her to turn on the reservoir. Deally said that prior to her daughter being sent at the reservoir, the said her boss had instructed everyone who worked at the oil company not to go near that restricted area. He suggested that someone could possibly lose their life. Deally explained whilst her daughter was heading towards the reservoir she told someone that she saw a man sitting on some copra (dried coconuts) and after she fell into the reservoir she was assisted out by her boss. Deally said three times her daughter fell to the bottom of
the reservoir, which is 11feet deep, but after the third instance, she felt as though someone pushed her upwards. “It’s indeed a miracle because what happened to me was not ordinary.” Harry who attends the Life Spring Church, in Hampton Court, paid credit to her pastor, Ramesh Joodan, who spend time praying for her safe delivery. Harry said since the incident no one visited her from her former work place and almost half of the women who worked alongside her have since stopped working. Police have since conducted investigations.
GPHC attendant claims police brutality A 48-year-old man from La Grange, West Bank Demerara is calling for a thorough investigation into what he calls police brutality. Mohamed Saffie told this publication that on Wednesday last, he was arrested at La Grange Police Station, minutes after his brother tried to chop him with a cutlass. According to Saffie, he and his sister-in-law had a confrontation about “the noise she does be making all hour in the night and beating the children.” Saffie, who is residing at the back of his sister-in-law, said that he made numerous reports to the police about her attitude towards the children and the noise she makes in the night “but because she and the policemen are friends
Mohamed Saffie they don’t do anything.” “I does work at the Georgetown Public Hospital and I does reach home in the night and when she see me
she does mek a lot of noise.” He said it became overbearing last Wednesday, so he told her about the noise, “after I tell her about the noise, she wait till my brother come home and tell he she own thing and he start run me with the cutlass to chop me.” “After he couldn’t get me, he went and bring the police and they come and the police put me in the vehicle and start fuh kick me all over till I reach at the station.” The man explained that after he reached at the station, he demanded a medical and while the “same set of police” were taking him at the hospital “They were saying ‘is na me, I didn’t do him anything.” Efforts to contact La Grange Police Station for a comment were unsuccessful.
A Mibikuri, Black Bush Polder couple was arrested, charged and placed on bail at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for child abuse and neglect of their 16- yearold granddaughter (name given). The couple, Nazmoon Azimullah and Ishmael Azimullah, had been reportedly abusing the girl for years now, by flogging her in public places, and tying her up with ropes, details of which came to light recently through the intervention of CADVA’s Sukree Boodram in Florida. Boodram, who knows the girl’s mother, Drupattie Jacob, in the U.S was informed about the sordid matter of the child and her two siblings being abused on a daily basis by the paternal grandparents. The teen’s father lives in the Black Bush area but does not really participate in the children’s upbringing. The mother left the country many years ago and left her three children in the care of the grandparents. According to Budram, CADVA learned of the abuse back in March at the Mibikuri Community Developers, “however, we were not able to obtain the evidence until now”. Boodram had begged for officials to get assigned to the case “as it involved three minor children who were repeatedly beaten from the reports coming to CADVA”. When Kaieteur News contacted the teen, who was placed in the care of a generous couple, at an undisclosed location on the Corentyne, she appeared to be safer and happier. She related the pathetic tales of being beaten and tied up in public by the grandparents and the daily abuses she and her siblings endured. She said that two
...teen was beaten, tied with ropes Wednesdays ago, because of reports that she was “with a boy” in the area, her grandparents caught her at Rose Hall Town, Corentyne and beat her badly in front of the shopping stores. They then took her to Johns Settlement, Port Mourant to some friends of theirs and it was there where the teen ran upstairs and hid in the house and called the police. Fifteen minutes later, the grandparents were able to catch her upstairs, subdue her “and they tied my two hands around my belly and give me some more lashes and took me home and told me I would not go back to school”. The child is a student of the Berbice Islamic Academy School at Port Mourant and was also scheduled to write her remaining CXC Subjects that same week at the Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary on the Central Corentyne area. “They didn’t want me to write my exams and the teachers (at the Islamic School) said I was going to be the top student in the school— I couldn’t let them down and I felt depressed”. As a result, the teen drank a dose of gilbacin that same afternoon and was admitted at the Mibikuri Hospital, where she was subsequently visited by the grandparents who started to abuse her verbally and had to be put out of the hospital. The teen was allowed to write Integrated Science and Information Technology Exams right in the hospital the following day. Subsequently, the police and welfare department intervened fully and placed her with other guardians at a location that has remained undisclosed, in case the
grandparents would want to go after her. The couple was arrested and charged and then placed on bail. They are currently free and the teen’s 13- year- old brother is still under their supervision. The teen said that she has been living with the couple for 14 years. “My father is careless and lackadaisical— I heard from my mom this morning— she calls regularly”, she said. She described the grandparents as a very dysfunctional couple who would fight and quarrel “any least thing”. “Any little thing, they does get mad and beat me and fight and get on crazy”. She said her 16- yearold sister “went through more hardships” with the couple and is glad, too, that the girl is with her at the location, safe. When asked about her plans now, she said that she has applied to pursue Computer Science at the University of Guyana, since she loves that subject area and wants to begin in September. “I am kinda more happy— I ain’t get nothing on my head anymore— I was living in a cave”, she said. When asked if she was not worried about her brother who remains under the care of the grandparents, the child said “my brother is a boy; if they beat him, he will run away”. Kaieteur News was provided with two cell phone videos of the child being beaten badly and abused in public.
A mini health check is the first step to donating blood
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WANTED Guards for Land of Canaan location, accommodation available Call: 676-6700 Wanted to buy, Washiba Squares & Logs. Call Jettoo’s Lumberyard & Sawmill @ 261-5041 or 2615042 Investors for peanut business Call: 644-9975 One live in domestic to work in Mahaicony River , 20years to 35years $45,000 monthly Call: 225-6571 Handyman to do cleaning. Apply to 68 Robb Street, Nut centre. 1 Carnegie trained cook 2035yrs Call: 614-4358 East Coast Guyoil pump attendants wanted (day and night), wash man, office assistant & sales girls. 6842838, 602-5031 Taxi drivers (yellow) Tel: 2253234 1 mechanic to work in the interior. 688-4905 Porters; male & female, to work in Grocery Shop, Stabroek Market. Call: 2269800 Reputable taxi service is seeking experienced hire car drivers and dispatchers Call: 622-8350 1- Male cleaner. Apply Technical Services Inc., Eccles 18-23 Industrial Site EBDem. One maid Call: 227-8529,6268003 Urgently needed, live-in waitresses to work in Bar. Attractive salary offer. Tel# 259-0574 Male tool room clerk, computer literate. Apply Technical Services Inc. 1823 Eccles Industrial Site EBDem Call: 614-4358 Labourers to work on wood concession , accommodation provided $4000 per day Call: 653-6236 Live in domestic Mon-Sat, no cooking, no washing Call: 639-7700 Sales girls. 10 Bent and Camp Streets. Apply in person with written application. 227-7182. Carpenters with own tools, Apply to 68 Robb Street, Nut Centre. Sales representatives for electronic store, 3 CXC subjects. Apply in person to Guyana Variety Store,68 Robb Street.
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SERVICES Blackberry unlock $2000, also PC games starting from $1500 Vickram at Cell: 652-7560 Do you need? Excavator operator, project manager, security officer, driver Call IKS Services 223-1719 Mining exploration, profession, recruitment and business support services www.iksservices.com Call: 223-1719 WANTED Sales representative to work in electronic & bicycle department. Apply to Guyana Variety Store,68 Robb Street. Carpenter to work in Linden, must be able to work with limited supervision Call: 6478040,609-3281,694-3058 Family to live on farm near Craig/ Grove. Free housing & stipen . Call: 226-0011,6117777 1 kitchen assistant/cook to cook for family in the interior. 688-4905 1- Small engine mechanic,1handyman Call: 2332408,233-2631 Sawmill workers Call: 6539752,261-6412
SERVICES Permanent &Visitors Visa Applications Professional Immigration Consultant Sabita - Room E-4 Maraj Building 225-6496/ 223-8115/662-6045. US & Canada VISA application services. Call 643-6630. Family discounts available. We refill HP cartridges for $1,800. Call:650-7699 Visa and Immigration forms prepared for Canada, USA and UK. Also Passport forms. Call 626-9857 Repairs, sales & spares, air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & Stoves. Ultra Cool: 225-9032, 647-2943 ONLINE SHOPPING NO COMMISSION, WEEKLY SHIPMENTS,AFFORDABLE RATES, FREE PRIVATE MAILBOX. TEL: 231-5789. FREIGHTLINKEXPRESS@ GMAIL.COM WE FILL OUT PASSPORT & VISA FORMS: USA, UK & CANADA. TEL: 231-5789 Electrical installation domestic & commercial maintenance & repairs also AC installation , estimates , call Marlon Tel: 216-0934,626-6298 or 669-8992
Wanted immediately (1) rip saw operator to work @ East Bank Sawmill, salary commensurate with experience. Call: 6098727,625-9475
HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING FOR ONLY $10,000 Call: 694-9843 Bodywork & spray paint your vehicle at an affordable cost today, fast, efficient & reliable Call Kenneth 2220811,619-4550
Waitress & experienced cook @ Mambo’s Bar,93 Bar St. Kitty Call: 678-1481
We repair fridge, freezer, AC ,washer, dryer Call: 231-0655, 683-8734 Omar.
Painters with own tools. Apply to 68 Robb Street, Nut Centre.
Repair to fridge, stove, washing machines, AC unit CallLindon641-1086,694-2202
Joiners with own tools. Apply to 68 Robb Street, Nut Centre. One cleaner from Enmore – Unity Area, 3 days a week Call: 259-0953 or 623-3231 Canter driver $22,000, porters $16,000 weekly, ladies to do cleaning to work in Tuschen, EBE Call: 684-8231 Salesgirl D. Singh & Sons Call: 226-0881 Counter servers, pastry makers, roti cooks. Apply Hack’s Halaal,5 Commerce St. 9-11AM. One tractor to rent, preferably four wheel drive Call: 690-2538 1 Handy boy to work , living accommodation and meals free. Call: 2285655,628-1756 1- Acetylene gas welder and 1- apprentice mechanic, living accommodation and meals provided free. Call: 2285655,628-1756
Hello, the doctor is back!! Have your gas stove repaired and serviced. Tel: 601-0595, 220-4073, 220-5785 Mahadeo’sConstruction , reliable services for your renovations, contact Tony Tel 618-3523,669-7376. For free estimates and plans. Do you need a female bahir (cook) or bartender to work in interior? Call Andrea: 6921798,652-7355 S&H Expediter for you, procurement/expeditingspares,food,fuel,workers etc., mobilizing & demobilizing camps Call: 694-1440,663-3179 For welding and fabrication Call: 225-7907 TV repairs, DVD, Micro waves, amplifier, stereo, washing machine etc. and house wiring Call: 693-2683 Get registered now at IKS Services , security, jetman, mechanic, office help Call: 223-1719
Sunday June 10, 2012
PROPERTY FOR SALE House & land, Diamond, E.B.D. Tel: 677-3472 Property for sale at EnmoreFoulis. Contact 2550584 or 696-3186 South $10M, Kitty $25M, Newtown $18M, Alberttown $21M,Church street $39M Call Diana 227-2256,626-9382 House at Friendship, double lot Neg. Tel: 270-4149,647-8595 20x40 Two flat concrete building @ Kitty. All amenities. Price $23M to be seen. Call: 668-9512,223-2570 16 La Penitence, Lamaha Spring, price negotiable Call: 662-5036,695-6090
FOR SALE 6 brand new in box IPod touch. 8GB $60,000, 32GB $75,000. Price neg. Contact: 686-5004 Brand new American made Crosely 10.5 cu ft Refrigerator for sale $75,000. 626-4452/697-5677
Toyota Spacio,2002,Silver, bodykit, mags, spoiler,CD, never registered Call: 2690432,686-0323
Spares for washer, microwaves, fridges, stovetimers, gear boxes, pumps, etc. Contact 225-9032, 647-2943
International Tow Truck with flat aluminum bed; takes two vehicles. Call: 6393900, 619-5400
One ERF hauler and 45FT trailer in contact Call: 6534455
PPP series Alteza, fully loaded. Tel: 677-7666, 6107666 Two (2) Nissan Titan; year 2004. LE and SE model; new tires $3.5M and $3.7M, price neg. Contact 681-3300.
Pallet Wrap & Plastic Film. Tel: 231-8819
Business spot, 3 lots, Cummings & Middle Street,2 buildings including Store with glass cases Call: 6214000,690-6000 PEN PAL Male seek female pen pals, cultural & ethnic & socially diverse Call: 698-6391
1 Cabin cruise boat 43x8x5,1in board boat hull 50x13x6 at Soesdyke EBD Call: 622-5500
FOR SALE
One 15HP Yamaha long foot Call: 689-5254,643-0332 Games for PS2 $900,PS3 $2600,Xbox $2600 Call: 6722566,265-3231 Toyota Carina “My Road” , AT170- stick gear car PEE series Call: 226-1757,225-6446 1 Toyota Spacio, PNN series Call: 266-2320,662-5036
Toyota Camry-left hand drive. No reasonable offer refused. For inspection Call: 226-1176,618-9512 (9am5pm)
1 Tundra, 1 Perkins engine & Welder 400 amps. Call: 660-5462, 611-5114
2 Bedroom toilet & bath,$4 million Call: 616-1093
AC, thread mill, jump start compact multiuse hydraulic jack, Milwaukee saw Call: 676-0399
VEHICLES FOR SALE Just arrived: Allion and Premio, tel: 624-2000, 622-1610
Complete floristry equipment & supplies, variety of paints, office chairs, one electric stove (GE) Call: 623-1575
One Allion- female driver,1 year old- automatic $2.6M Negotiable Call: 618-3093
Brand new Blackberry Torch 9800, under $100,000. Call: 676-7443
3 Ton freezer canter, unregistered Call: 617-2891 First Class Auto. Allion, Premio, NZE, Fielder, AT212, Carina & Raum. Tel# 6098188, 602-6307
Pine lumber for sale @ River View Wood products Inc. Address: 164-165 Friendship EBD Call: 266-0296,639-2577
2005 BMW 3201,2007-2005 Allions, 2004 Avensis L 1some with TV &backcam Tel: 615-4114,665-4480
15" Celestion speakers 1600 watts, one complete stage, size 24ftx20ft Call: 644-3390 or 667-7511
GMC Tw truck, scrap 720 Nissan pick up,one industrial lathe Call Richard 609-7675,233-2614,610-2506
Roofing shingles Call Mr. Skepmire 227-5195 (8AMto5PM)
2004 Mazda Axela with spoiler, body-kit, chrome rims etc. price $2.150 Call owner: 600-1898
Eight week old mixed breed Tibetan Terrier and Pekingese Tel: 644-1972,6612837,644-1965 Motorcycle/4x4 tyres (225x16). All sizes Call: 2260011,611-7777
Pure breed Doberman pups Call:226-9548,670-2653
One 212 car, consisting of AC, alarm system, mags, back-up camera, full HID kit Call: 624-6471
15-15-15 Fertilizer Call: 2662711,609-4594 Cheap earth delivery to spot ECD,EBD Tel: 627-9977,6980182 Clean garden earth and builders waste also bobcat rental, excavating, clearing and leveling Call: 616-0617, 663-3285 Generac Generator/Americn made, 7000w, fully enclosed; low noise. Propane/gas cylinder, ATS available. Call: 612-1486, 646-8326 1 Small minibus for sale $450,000, excellent condition Call: 680-3863,222-3459 Tibetan Terrier pups Call: 689-3668 One Jialing bike 110CC Call: 666-7439,628-1450
NARS lipgloss, eyeshadow & Clinique Chubby Stick. Tel: 669-8374. Generator Mitsubishi SDMO diesel, silent 27KVA on 400 gallon fuel tank, keystart, like new $1.8M Neg. Call: 690-6000 Generator Mitsubishi SDMO diesel, silent 27KVA on 400 gallon fuel tank, keystart, like new $1.8M Neg. Call: 6906000 Dell Computers, complete with LCD monitor, $59,000. Tel: 225-3709, 691-2077, 6410537 American Ladders/Scaffold, 30ft/10ft, adjustable/ platforms. 20 ft heavy duty scaffold, platform/locking wheels. Call: 612-1486, 6468326
Zoom Auto Sales: Allions:2006,2004, Toyota Belta 2006,TV back camera etc. Call: 685-7611 1 Toyota 4x4, V6. Tele: 642-4779 3 ton enclosed & open back canter, unregistered. 6172891 Toyota Prado, 2004 Prado, 2005 Mark II GX110, 2005 Tundra. All fully loaded. Excellent condition. Call: 600-5759 Hummer H2 Sut Model 22" rims, DVD sound system Call: 639-7700 One EP 71 Starlet Auto, 1 Toyota Ceres, 212, 192, RZ minibus. 1- 2 seater Go Cart. Tel: 644-5096, 697-1453. Toyota Corolla (NZE), fully loaded (rims etc), mint condition Call: 6276317,691-5703 Leading Auto, unregistered Allion, Premio, Runx, Fielder, Raum,212, Verossa Call: 6777666,610-7666 2004 Mazda RX8, fully loaded, unregistered $2.9M 617-2891 (Continued on page 56)
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
The Abigail Column Woman who’s happily single wants to keep it that way
DEARABIGAIL, I’m a 28-year-old, newly single female who has never been happier. I’ve had a couple of long-term relationships that didn’t turn out well, so my quiet, uncomplicated life is refreshing. All I’m looking for now is to make new friends and enjoy myself. A few men have asked me for my phone number and have suggested getting together for a couple of drinks. As nice as that would be, the last thing I want to do
is lead anyone on or give him the wrong impression. When I do decide to start looking, it will be for no one less than my Prince Charming, and I don’t regard any of these men as that. Going out with girlfriends is hard because they’re mostly married with children. What and when is the best way to tell men that, as much as I enjoy their company, I am looking only for friendship at this time? Wants Only Friendship Dear Wants Only Friendship, I understand your feelings, but please allow me
to point out that meeting Prince Charming can be an accident of luck and timing. In addition to that, he doesn’t always come dashing forth on a white horse. If you announce to any man who asks you out for a couple of drinks that you’re interested only in friendship, h e w i l l i n t e r p r e t it as rejection, so I don’t advise you to make that your lead sentence. A better retort might be that rather than going out for drinks, you’d prefer to start with a conversation. Who knows? The longer he talks, the more attractive he may become. .
Sunday June 10, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Feel free to consider yourself first today! It's not about being selfish, it's about putting things in the proper priority. For too long, you have been putting the needs, wants and wishes of other people way ahead of your own priorities. ****************** TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Have you been giving someone the silent treatment? It won't do you much good ... you can't make your point unless you clearly communicate what you are feeling and what you need. ******************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Right now your reputation is shining brighter than ever, but that only means that it's more important than ever to maintain its spotless sheen. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): At a loss for words regarding the ridiculous comments of a friend? Don't think about things from a political angle -just listen to your intuition and do what it says to do. ******************** LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Today you would be wise to try to get some alone time ... do not let social expectations drive you out into the world if you're not feeling it. ********************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): While planning a big event might not be your favorite activity of all time, it is something you will be very good at today. People around you will not be as organized as you, so you should step up and take charge. ********************** LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): A heated debate between you
and someone else today could create more than just an intellectual connection -- it might just trigger some romantic feelings as well. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): If you see a chance, take it today -- that applies to any type of opportunity, but especially to the romantic kind. When someone holds your eye contact a little too long, smiles at you a little too broadly, or asks some personal questions about your availability, they want to get to know you better. ********************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): All the willpower you've been relying on lately is still going strong, so have no worries that you will succumb to any irresistible forces today. ********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): The people who are important to you probably do not realize how important they are to you, so it's up to you to make them understand. *********************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): Mistakes happen, and unfortunately sometimes mistakes happen at very inopportune times. Today, a voice of authority will prove that it doesn't quite know everything -- and you'll be extremely inconvenienced by it. *************** PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20): You need to start understanding that expressing yourself is necessary to get you to the next level of happiness. In other words, for a healthier life, you need to share your feelings -- no matter what they are.
Page 55
HSDU reduces anemia... (From page 10) months. Its first four-year implementation has resulted in an approximate 30 per cent reduction in anaemia and wasting (weight for age) among targeted populations, reduction in stunting (height for age), increase in breastfeeding rates and increased compliance with early child-feeding practices. The highlights of the project included the production and distribution of Sprinkles Micro-Nutrient, an iron supplement specifically
targeting pregnant women and children six to 24 months and endorsed by the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) specialized Centre of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). It also included the distribution of food coupons to enhance complementary feeding – coupons were valued at G$1000 and were exchanged for porridge items (cornmeal, plantain flour and barley) and milk. Coupons
under the programme were directly distributed to mothers and provided them with a financial supplement. More than 100 shopkeepers in the various communities also benefited since they were responsible for cashing the coupons. This has led to an improvement in both the nutritional and social welfare status of a number of communities. There was also the training of over 400 Health Care Workers (HCWs) nationally.
NTN CHANNEL 18/ CABLE 69 05:00hrs - Sign on with the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra 05:00hrs - Timehri Maha Kali Shakti Devi Mandir Presents Krishna Bhajans 05:15hrs - Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital Inc Presents 05:30hrs - Queenstown Masjid Presents Quran This Morning 06:00hrs - R. Gossai General Store Presents Krishna Bhajans 06:15hrs - Jettoo’s Lumber Yard Presents Krishna Bhajans 06:30hrs - Muneshwar Limited Presents Krishna Bhajans 06:45hrs - Double Standard Taxi Presents Krishna Bhajans 07:00hrs - Ramroop’s Furniture Store Presents Religious Teachings 07:30hrs - The Family of The Late Leila & David Persaud Presents Krishna Bhajans 07:45hrs - Sankar Auto Works Presents Krishna Bhajans 08:05hrs - Sa Re Ga Ma (Musical Notes) A Live CallIn Program 09:30hrs - DVD Movie:ANGEL (Eng: Sub:) *ing Nilesh Sahay & Maddalsa Sharma 11:30hrs Guyana’s Entertainers Platform 12:00hrs - Hinduism in a changing world presented by Pt. Ravi 12:30hrs - LET’S TALK with LAKSHMEE 13:00hrs - DVD Movie-: 16:00hrs - Teaching of Islam 16:30hrs - Lil Masters 17:30hrs - Ganesh Parts Presents - BHAGAVAD GITA ( Discourses in English) Serial
17:45hrs - Birthday Greetings / Death Announcement & In Memoriam 18:00hrs - Lil Masters 19:00hrs - Geet Gaata Chal Live with Joel 20:00hrs - Indian Soap - Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuyien 20:30hrs - Indian Soap Yahaan Mein 21:00hrs - Indian Soap - Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke 21:30hrs - DVD Movie:AMERICAN BATTLESHIP *ing Mario Van Pebbles 23:00hrs - Sign Off with the GAYATRI MANTRA
Indies VS England – Day 4 08:00hrs – Lifting Guyana to Greatness 08:40hrs – Cricket Resumes 13:30hrs – Dharma Vani 14:30hrs – Catholic Magazine 15:00hrs – The Naked Truth 15:30hrs – Feature 16:00hrs – Family Forum 16:30hrs – Shape 17:00hrs – Farmers’ Connection 18:00hrs – NCN Week in Review 18:30hrs – Guysuco Roundup 19:00hrs – Close up 19:30hrs – Kala Milan 20:00hrs – Inside the Government 21:00hrs – Guyana Model Search 22:00hrs – Movie
NCN CHANNEL 11 05:00hrs – Inspiration 05:30hrs – Newtown Gospel 06:00hrs – 3rd Test West
Guides are subjected to change without notice
Page 56
Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Union Rags nips Paynter...
TO LET 3 Bedroom semi furnished 2 flat house, Nandy Park, fully grilled, enclosed garage Call: 670-930 Apartments,35 Howes Street, Georgetown. Contact Petboy Shop. Apartment Call: 6760399,688-1435 Short term apartments , business space Call: 6671549 Short term apartments, Eccles. Call: 679-7139 East Street US650,US750, Alberttown US750, Nandy Park US1200, US1700, Diana 227-2256,626-9382 2 Bedroom upper flat with toilet & bath,2 bedroom lower with toilet & bath, Meten Meer Zorg WCD Call: 227-3743,626-0150 Excellent spot for offices/ school or other business, Camp St area Call Richard 6097675,233-2614,610-2506 Furnished studio apartment (third floor) Call: 233-2770 Top flat to rent,261 Golden Grove EBD,(2) two bedroom Call: 216-2629,617-2261,2335802 Busy 4 corner business spot, Cummings & Middle Street , presently housed Brazillian Saloon, immediate possession $850US Neg. Call: 690-6000 2 Bedroom apartment to let ECD Call: 687-1442 Prime business spot at 14 Peter’s Hall EBD Tel: 6680309 Fully furnished 3 bedroom top flat US$950, Republic Park 2 flat 3 bedroom fully furnished US$2,800, Kitty 2 flat residence/business US$1,200, 609 2302/645 2580/233 5711
(From page 54)
VACANCY 1- Domestic, must know to cook, preferable from Greater Georgetown Call: 223-9725 One female clerk. Call: 2315171 Bilingual representatives. Must be fluent in Portuguese and English. Send CV to: 64 Industrial Site, Beterverwagting ECD Call: 220-0401-3 One refrigeration, washing machine technician Call: 2310655, 683-8734 Attractive salary for bright, well spoken sales assistant with 5 CXC. Write to P.O. Box 101599 Georgetown. 1- Male / female to work @ Internet Café Call: 223-9725 1- Part time gardener from Kitty / Campbellville Area. Salesgirl/boys & guards. Apply Avinash Complex, Water St. Georgetown Call: 226-3361,227-7828 Be part of our World Class customer care team. Send CV to: 64 Industrial Site Beterverwagting ECD Call: 220-0401-3 IT Technician & Occupational Health & Safety officer. Please send CV to: 64 Industrial Site, Beterverwagting ECD. Call: 220-0401-3 or email: recruitmentguyana @qualfon.com.
TOURS Suriname 4 days Caricom Holiday weekend return. Trip June29-July2 Call: 6392663,665-5171,644-0185,2278290 EDUCATIONAL Learn to speak Spanish in 1 month. Call: 673-1232 Princeton College. CXC Adults/Students. Slow learner classes. Day & Evening. January/May June 2013. 690-5008, 611-3793 Imperial College- CXC 2013. Forms (1-5)/ lessons/adults classes, flexible hours. Affordable fees Call: 2277627, 683-5742 Practical Electrical Installation course $25,000 Call: 227-3091,622-7036,6610515
SALON Make up courses, artist trained & certified in Trinidad: 6605257,647-1773 Qualify yourself in Cosmetology or nails, make up, Register, Limited spaces. Call Abby: 216-1950, 6197603, 666-5241 Cosmetology courses Call: 225-6026,682-2604
CAKES & PASTRIES VEHICLES FOR SALE One Nissan Station Wagon (FB13) stick gear call: 6228350 Toyota Runx, special edition, PNN $2.3M, New Model Nissan Wingroad Sports Wagon $2.3M unregistered Call: 612-2522,6455893 Jags Auto: Spacio, Premio, Wagon. Cheapest. Call: 6167635 One AT212, immaculate condition, cost $1,100,050 Call: 654-7828,268-3105 Hilux Solid Axle Pick-up. Just arrived. Tel: 222-2662, 6912077 Unregistered 2 Ton enclosed Mitsubishi Canter Call: 6229123,679-8056 Blue Mitsubishi Lancer, complete with press start alarm and music set $1.2 Neg. Call: 651-9983 Mitsubishi Pajero GXL V8 engine 2972CC, 5 speed, fully powered, AC,DVD/TV/ drop screen $8M Neg. 6906000 Mercedes Benz S300, fully powered, armoured, DVD system $4.5 million Call: 6214000,690-6000 Cherokee Lorado,4 doors, AC, powered locks & windows PHH series $1.850,000 Call: 621-4000,6906000 Mercedes Benz A140, fully powered, sound system PMM series $2.5M neg. Call: 621-4000,690-6000 Hummer H2 SUT model-22" rims, multiple TV, back-up camera, DVD/CD, sound system Call: 639-7700 Stretch Limousine 160 inch, fully powered, DVD/ TV,sound system, see & make offer. Call for appointment 621-4000 Mercedes Benz 190E, needs repairs, view @ Sandy Babb Street & Railway Kitty ( Davo Lumber yard) $600,000 Call: 690-6000 Toyota ACE $800,000 negotiable Call: 645-0852 Clearance Sale!!!! Unregistered Toyota BB (Scion) & Sienta. Lowest prices ever!!! Call: 6436565,226-9931
LEARN TO DRIVE Prudential learning “ Training to Pass” automatic also stick/ manual 642-4827. We’re #1 Soman & Sons Driving School; First Federation Building Call: 225-4858,644-5166,6222872,615-0964
Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery, tel: 670-0798. Wedding dresses for sale & rental.
From page 57 backstretch and never in contention at the finish. Before the race, I’ll Have Another was honoured with a retirement ceremony in the winner’s circle at Belmont Park before the Belmont Stakes, the chestnut colt having his saddle removed by
trainer Doug O’Neill. “We felt that this would be a fitting ceremonial retirement for an incredible racehorse,” O’Neill said. “Many fans traveled from near and far to see I’ll Have Another and we wanted to give them a chance to help us send him off to retirement.”
Underdogs D’urban Street... CAR RENTAL Progressive auto rental, cars from $4,000 per day. Call: 6435122, 656-0087, www.progressiveautorental.com Premio, 110 Corolla. Call: 6797139 DATING SERVICE Immediate link-Singles 1880yrs. Confidential: Tel: 2238237,648-6098. (No -text) 8:30am-5:00pm Mon-Sun (Both phones same hours).
LAND FOR SALE 95 acres, transported land, W.B.D, Maria Lodge, fully drainage and aggregation. $40 million. Contact 266-5447 1½ acre V/Hoop 48ft x 1300ft, housing, parking lot, work shop, lumber yard, etc. Call: 627-9351 5 Acres Enmore Public Rd. ideally suited for (mall, hospital, housing scheme etc) Richard 609-7675,2332614 Land V/Hoop 3 acres: school, housing. Factory etc. Call: 658-0115 Land of Canaan Wharf 140’ X 50’ on lot 11.88 acres US$2.5m, Adventure Linden highway 150 acres G$40m 609 2302/645 2580/233 5711 Brickdam 96’X 63’ G$82m, Eping Ave B.A.P 150’ X 100" US$500,000, Carmichael Street 100" X 62" US$500,000, Grove H/S 86’ X 50’ G$4.5m 609 2302/645 2580/233 5711 Ogle Railway Corner 200’ X 78’ US$750,000, Ogle Public Rd 140’X100’G$45m, Sophia Public Road 130" X 86’ US$550,000,609 2302/645 2580/233 5711 Land at Yarrowkabra, Linden Highway,100x200 $1.1M Neg. Call: 619-1249 32 Acres for sale, Lot 5 Content, E.C.D, $256,000.00(USD) Call: 813319-4219 or rpooran@tampabay.rr.com Large land Bagotville 37x732 Great for poultry or green house farming $6.5M Call: 223-1719.
From page 61 especially Shaka Jones and versatile midfielder Renault ‘Bat’ Fraser, brought cheers from the crowd as they expected a goal to be scored at any given time. But, while some fans expected D’urban Street to be nervous, taking into consideration they were the underdogs, the Omali Nassy led side saved the best for last and played their hearts for the team, drawing some of the support away from the unbeaten Albouystown fans in the process. To the delight of the crowd on hand, some of whom were left in a trance, Dellon Cadogan rounded Fraser and beat the Albouystown’s defence on the near post in the 9th minute, handing D’urban Street the lead, which they kept up to half time. Despite being a goal down, Albouystown kept their composure and staged several attacks on D’urban Street’s goal area, but sturdy defence from Jamal Hunte denied them the much needed equalizer they were looking for to push the game into extra time. However, shortly after seeing Hunte receive a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct, Albouystown were rewarded a penalty in the 27th minute for a handled ball, with Murray Jnr. opting to take the spot kick. But to the delight of the D’urban Street fans and detriment to Albouystown’s, Murray’s kick struck the right post of the small goal and went into touch and with more unyielding defence meeting TO RENT Office space ideal for Doctor’s office etc. 2 Rooms & bathroom, Lower Carmicheal St. Tel: 2262181 Space to rent location diamond housing scheme. Contact# 6455347
MASSAGE American style massage service Call: 609-4036 Treat yourself to a relaxing massage call: 622-6256
Albouystown, Durban Street were the ones celebrating when the whistle went to signal the end of the contest. In the third place playoff, Eusi Phillips tormented Back Circle/Team Guyana’s defence and fittingly scored the first goal in the 5th minute of play. Six minutes later Paul Porte made it 2-0 with his strike and following an unchanged score-line at halftime, and one minute after play resumed in the second half, McCurdy collected a pass from Phillips and calmly placed the ball through the legs of Ola ‘Tall Boy’ Pedro, to give his team a 3-0 lead. Two minutes later the scoreline read 4-0 in favor of Island All Stars, after McCurdy found an open goal that was deserted by Wayne Wilson and despite Bertie Pedro responding with Back Circle’s lone goal in the 27th minute, after missing a penalty kick three minutes before, the writing was on the wall for the disgruntled looking national street football champions. In the semifinals, Christian Gallaway’s hat-trick which was scored in the 11th, 32nd and 37th minute handed Back Circle a 3-1 defeat, with skipper Daniel Wilson finding the back of the net for his team in the 27th minute, a goal that forced the game into extra time. Murray’s 7th minute strike was even to relegate Island All Star to contest the third place fixture, while propelling Albouystown into the final. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and on the final night of action, that was the scenario for Albouystown, whose unbeaten run throughout the tournament met a much more determined Durban Street lineup in the final. Durban Street, Albouystown, Island All Stars and Back Circle received $200,000, $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 respectively, while the remaining four teams in Broad Street, West Front Road, Alexander Village and Tiger Bay each received $15,000. The tournament was organized and sponsored by Banks DIH, to facilitate Back Circle/Team Guyana who will be representing Guyana in the Guinness Caribbean Street Football Challenge which kicks off on 21st June at the National Park.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 57
“Will West Indies be better in One-Day series?” Colin E. H. Croft West Indies has it all to do to win Test No. 3. Losing, again, is not that important in the grand view, since, as captain Darren Sammy confirmed recently, West Indies has been losing so regularly, almost exclusively, since relinquishing the world championship, to Australia, in the ancient days of 1995. For the 3rd Test, nearly 20 years of the most downward vertical spiral in the annals of sport anywhere, should have been the only thought on West Indies’ players’ minds. Surely they must have wanted to come away from this Test series with more positive suggestions than that they are only useful warm-up, and basic fodder, nowadays, for most Testplaying opponents! Everyone has already openly admitted that all West Indies are, now, is the preamble to that promising, much more anticipated smorgasbord series, England v South Africa, occurring later this summer. Indeed, it has been ages since West Indies has been main course in England’s cricket; way back in 2000! There is at least one thing that West Indies could still regain in Test No. 3 at Edgbaston. Despite considerable condescending noises, West Indies have been somewhat, publicly, mostly privately, derided as being no more than a collective rabble of sportspeople, rather than a good sports team. Meanwhile, Edgbaston cricket ground actually brought back many positive memories personally. Even though I eventually played county cricket for Lancashire, at Old Trafford, and consider Trent Bridge the best cricket ground in England, my first ever sojourn to England, as a 19 year old in 1972, was to be coached at Warwickshire County Cricket Cub. That stint was courtesy of real West Indies legend, Lance Gibbs, Guyana’s Chronicle newspaper and its then Sports Editor, that sports-loving visionary, Godfrey Wray. Coached and mentored by two other coaching legends, Jamaican Derief Taylor and England’s Alan Oakman, I was, as Warwickshire’s and England’s Nick Knight, now a television commentator, quoted recently, “a Baby Bear – An Edgbaston and Warwickshire Cub!” I won two “Cubs” bowling awards that season,
and three months in 1972 certainly shaped my appreciation for the hard work that was absolutely necessary overall, in cricket, to have success! Warwickshire; “Bear County”; was awesome in 1972, winning everything. Captained by England’s Alan (A.C.) Smith, it included West Indies’ Gibbs, Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kallicharran, Deryck Murray, Pakistan’s Khalid “Billy” Ibadullah, England’s Bob Willis, David Brown, John Jameson, Dennis Amiss and Mike (MJK) Smith. Neil Abberley, Barbados’ William Bourne, Geoff Humpage, who was, then, and still is, now, a police officer, recently retired Edgbaston ground curator, Steve Rouse, Eddie Hemmings, who eventually played for England too, and Norman Mc Vicker, augmented those internationals well. So, even with much time lost to weather in Test No. 3, West Indies could still try to regain some respect for its cricket, its overall progress, even its organization, with an excellent showing. Having lost both Day 1 and Day 2, and with rain still so much in the air, it would be very difficult to get a positive result for either team, except “if” one team bats tremendously badly. Only time will tell how this Test will end, but already, English minds have progressed to that series against South Africa! The enigmatic, seemingly sometimes invisible Chris Gayle recently had talks with Caribbean’s Prime Minister’s Sub-Committee on cricket, headed by Antigua & Barbuda’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, and St. Vincent & Grenadines’ Prime Minister Ralph Gonzales. Why so anyway? Only God Knows! Gayle had given up a contract with Somerset, worth, it has been suggested, 150,000 Pounds (US$225,000), just to indicate his availability for West Indies for parts of this tour, but after IPL duties. That meant that he could have been available for Test No. 3, if selected, and ODI and T-20 series to follow. Then, why were more talks necessary? West Indies cricket’s subservience is so full of crap! It is a wide open secret that there are extremely well educated, if obviously absolutely asinine, ferocious factions in West Indies cricket who still do not want Gayle to ever play for West Indies again, even if he had cow-towed, as has been requested in the past, to
Colin E. H. Croft issuing an apology. They must be seething now! Conversely, other factions, with better judgment, wanted him reinstated immediately, if not sooner, to this team, which, plain to see, again, demonstrates that being educated does not make anyone smart! So, Gayle will now play in the limited overs series in
England. West Indies batsmanship needs all help that it could get to counteract the swinging deliveries that they had succumbed to in Tests No’s 1 & 2. The upper order batsmen simply have not coped at all, might it have been in the quite wintry days at Lords, or the barmy climate of Trent Bridge. Our younger batsmen have been found badly wanting! West Indies bowlers too have struggled, and with the removal of Kemar Roach – remember that I had, unfortunately, foretold this happening, for the strains and stresses were much too much for the young man to cope with – West Indies bowling situation has become as worrying as that of its batsmen. Ravi Rampaul has survived, but he is nothing more than a trundler, very ordinary indeed, not one to make batsmen quake in their boots. With Roach gone,
Union Rags nips Paynter to win Belmont Stakes NEW YORK (AP) Union Rags nipped Paynter at the wire in a photo finish to win the Belmont Stakes yesterday, beating a field without Triple Crown hopeful I’ll Have Another who was retired with an injury. The finish was another thriller in the final leg of the Triple Crown, and hard luck trainer Bob Baffert was on the losing end each time. I’ll Have Another used two stirring stretch drives to beat Baffert’s Bodemeister in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. In the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, it was Union Rags who provided the thrills. A crowd of 85,811 cheered as the horses battled down the stretch, and Union Rags barely caught the front-runner at the end. Union Rags, trained by Michael Matz, finished a disappointing seventh in the Derby and skipped the Preakness. “He did everything that he did in the work in the morning,” jockey John Velazquez said of the winning horse. “I thought he had a great trip in there. “Incredible. I don’t have words to describe it.” Favoured Dullahan was trapped in the pack on the (Continued on page 56)
Fidel Edwards or Tino Best, both even, has to take his place. Either, or both, will have to up their bowling game considerably to succeed in the ODI’s. Sunil Narine, the young Trinidad & Tobago offspinner who has confused IPL and limited overs’ worlds with ‘knuckle balls’ and ‘doosras’, will find rain and atmosphere not to his liking, but this is the type of experience and maturing he desperately needs, if he is to become the bowler that his potential depicts. Eight ODI’s, two T-20-I’s and six First Class games is not much of a history, even if Narine’s aura and mystery preceded him. In his favor, though, 34 First Class wickets at the meager average of 11.88, set him apart from all of present day West Indies, if not even world, bowlers. He is indeed a spin prodigy! Regardless of the outcome of Test No. 3, this England v West Indies rubber was long dead, the Wisden Trophy already restored to England’s trophy cabinet. Indeed, it was
so dead, that England even rested its premier fast bowler, James Anderson, a decision that is still being questioned everywhere. One supposes that Narine was called up primarily for his prowess in the game’s shortened forms, given his recent history, and the next scheduled games that West Indies has. The recall of Andre Russell, Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo will make West Indies a quite different, even better, team for ODI’s. Meanwhile, injuries to two featured fast bowlers when this tour started, Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach, worry me greatly. Something seems drastically wrong with either the way these players are being trained for international cricket, or indeed, the equipment that they actually use to play in. Too many younger West Indies cricketers are being regularly injured. At least, the shorter game suits West Indies better, so let us all hope that they can show that in the ODI’s. Enjoy!
Page 58
Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel takes pole position in Canada Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took a stunning pole at the Canadian Grand Prix from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. The world champion was 0.303 seconds quicker than Hamilton - the biggest margin between the two quickest cars there has been all weekend. Hamilton and Alonso both seemed to be on target to challenge Vettel’s time on their final runs but fell short. Force India’s Paul di Resta was eighth and McLaren’s Jenson Button 10th. Button had struggled all day after missing much of Friday practice with reliability problems and was never in with a shout at the front. That battle was left to the three men who most regard as the finest drivers in the world. Vettel was the form man throughout qualifying. He headed the first two sessions and was the only man to dip
below the one minute 14 seconds barrier. Vettel managed that on both his runs in final qualifying, setting a pole time of one minute 13.784 on his final run. As Hamilton joined Vettel at the weigh-in afterwards, he appeared to say: “Wow, that’s a good time.” Vettel said: “We have learned a few lessons in the last two races where we were quick but didn’t get it out of the car in qualifying. “We trusted the car we had and were able to go with the circuit and try to read the conditions, I was very happy in qualifying. “I was able to always go a little bit quicker. It looked very tight but in the end it seemed we could make a bit more of a difference.” Nevertheless, both he and Alonso looked as if they might challenge Vettel on their own last laps, but they faded in the final sectors. Hamilton, who had been very happy
with his car on Friday, said it had not been as good in the run-up to qualifying. “It was definitely a bit harder for us today,” he said. “We struggled working with the tyres in P3, and we were having to work hard to switch the tyres on. “I’m very happy with the performance. I’m surprised to see us on the front row.” Alonso’s performance equals his best qualifying position of the year and comes after a re-design of the rear bodywork improved the Ferrari’s downforce. “The car felt quite good on Friday when we tested some new parts and we feel much more happy now with the balance and grip,” he said. “It’s a first step. The work will never stop for us and the competitors, but at the moment we are extremely happy and thankful to the guys in the factory.” Mark Webber’s Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel takes pole position was fourth, while the expected challenge from Mercedes never materialised - Nico Rosberg was fifth and Michael Schumacher only ninth. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was sixth, ahead of Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, whose team-mate Kimi Raikkonen did not make it into
the top 10, his attempts hindered by a hydraulics problem. Williams’s Pastor Maldonado was on course to knock Button out of the top 10 but crashed at the last corner on his final lap. That meant he ended up 17th - and out-qualified by his team-mate Bruno Senna for
the first time since the Bahrain Grand Prix three races ago. There was an impressive performance from HRT’s Pedro de la Rosa. The veteran Spaniard qualified 21st ahead of both the Marussia cars, to underline the strong progress the restructured Spanish team has shown in the last few weeks.
Adams stars as Meten -Meer- Zorg East, Uprising Star record victories National U-19 player Ricardo Adams stared with both bat and ball as MetenMeer- Zorg East Uprising Star recorded consecutive victories as the West Coast Demerara United Cricket League\ President’s twenty \ 20 competition continued recently with a number of matches. Last Sunday at Cornelia Ida (10:00hrs), Meten - Meer -Zorg East Uprising Star triumphed over the host by 98 runs. Meten - Meer - Zorg batted first and posted a respectable 170-6 off their allocation of overs. Adams was at his brilliant best smashing fifteen sixes and one four in a top score of 107(30 balls), sharing a first wicket stand of 137 with Wayne Osborne (22) in the process. A. Dhaniram 4-18 and Shawn Jairaj 2-40 were the wicket takers for Cornelia Ida.
The home team in reply found the going tough and only managed 72-6 when their overs expired. Left arm spinner Imran Khan and offspinner Nokta Moses grabbed 2 wickets each for the winners. At Tuschen (10:00hrs), the host defeated Crane by 5 wickets. Crane took first turn at the crease and were bowled out for 97 in 19.4 overs. S. Bissessar top-scored with 49 (6x6, 2x4) as A. Bacchus claimed 3-20, M. Safie 2-16 and B. Sookdeo 2-34 for Tuschen who responded with 98-5 in 17.4 overs. Wendell Cornelius was their leading run-getter with 56 (4x6,1x4) while I. Hussain picked up 234 for the visitors. Last Saturday at Tuschen, Zeelugt failed to turn up for their fixture at 10:00hrs, handing victory to the home team by way of a walkover. At Tuschen (13:00hrs),
Meten- Meer- Zorg East Uprising Star hammered the Home team by 78 runs. Meten - Meer - Zorg batted first and were dismissed for 101 in 19.5 overs. Navishaul Pooran 27, Komal Persaud 16, Nazeer Mohamed 14 and Ricardo Adams12 were the only batsmen that reached double figures as Ally Nazeer bagged 3-13, Debideen Ravindra 2-16 and Roopchand Vibhudayai 2-19. Tuschen in reply never threatened to overhaul the target and were routed for 23 in 12.1 overs. Adams, a left arm spinner bagged 5-5 off 4 overs while Chandreka Ragnauth supported with 2-4. Meanwhile, the Competition Committee Chairman Bawan Mac Coon is once again asking that match reports bear the full names of all players and be submitted on time. (Zaheer Mohamed)
4th Annual Aqua Water 40-mile cycle road race pedals off in Berbice today Cyclists in the Ancient County of Berbice and those affiliated to the Flying Aces Cycling club will today get the opportunity to wet their appetites with the staging of the 4th Annual Banks DIH Limited Aqua Water 40 miles cycle road race. Beverage Giants, Banks Limited recently handed over the sponsorship package to Coordinator and coach of the Club Randolph Roberts at Banks DIH Berbice Branch at Main and New Street in New Amsterdam, by Banks DIH Berbice Regional Manager Reggie Matthews and Berbice Sales Manager Joshua Torrezao. There will be various prizes up for grabs
with the first six cyclists to cross the finishing line collecting the lion’s share. There will also be prizes for the outstanding riders in the veterans, juniors, juveniles, females and 1214 categories along with a number of sprint prizes. The event is expect to pedal off at 09:00 hrs from in front of Banks DIH New Amsterdam Branch and proceed to Adventure on the Corentyne and then back to the place of origin. The defending champion is Neil Reece, while Mercia Dick is the defending female champion. Officials of the beverage company are expected to be on hand to start the race and distribute the prizes at the end.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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18 seconds over 200m? ... Preparation commence for Ryan Crawford I’ve thought about it, says Bolt Memorial Turf Club CARICOM Day meet
Young spectators cheer and try to touch Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt after he won the men's 100m at the Diamond League athletics meet at Bislett Stadium in Oslo (AFP) OSLO, Norway (CMC) — Sprint sensation Usain Bolt said Wednesday he had flirted with the idea of running 18 seconds in the 200 metres, but reiterated his immediate focus was the successful defence of his sprint titles at the London Olympics later this year. The 25-year-old Jamaican currently owns both sprint records after storming to 19.19 seconds in the 200 metres and 9.58 seconds in the 100 metres at the Berlin World Championships three years ago. “You can’t pinpoint the time, but over the years, me and my coach (Glen Mills) have discussed 18 seconds, running under 19. It’s just a thought, we haven’t really said it’s possible that I could do it,” said Bolt, ahead of his outing at the Bislett Diamond League here Friday. “If everything goes well, execution is right, you never know, it could be possible. “The record in the 200m is easier to lower because there’s a lot more room for improvement. You can always execute the corner and the straight a little better so there’s always room to run fast over the 200m.” Bolt is yet to debut in the 200 metres this
season but is already the world-leader in the 100 metres with a time of 9.76 in Rome last week. He pointed out that while the half-lap remained his pet event, the 100m title was still the most sought after in track and field. “I love my 200m and that’s what I always dreamed to be, the 200m champion, because that’s what I started out in,” Bolt explained. “But the 100m is the glory event and I definitely want to double.” While Bolt will enter the London Olympics as the heavy favourite, resurgent American Justin Gatlin announced himself as a serious contender after clocking 9.87 seconds in Doha recently. However, Bolt said he saw the entire field as a threat and not just one runner. “Nobody wants to be second or third place. Everybody wants gold so it’s what you do on the day that counts. That’s what everybody wants — gold,” Bolt contended. “There’s a lot or running left to go. I’m never worried about one direct person, it’s about seven persons in the lanes beside me. “I focus on what I do, my technique. I’m just looking forward to my (Jamaica) trials first and then the Olympics.”
Despite this being the regular out of season racing period and the inclement weather is also putting a damper on pre-season preparations for the second half of the racing season, the second segment is set to kick off on Monday July 2nd (CARICOM Day) with Ryan Crawford Memorial Turf club &Sports Facilities (RCMTC&SF) one day mega horserace meet. With about three weeks to go before the start of the second half, which will see the introduction of the Two year old animals for the first time this year, the principals of the RCMTC &SF has begun and are pushing ahead with preparations for their Mega race meet set for the club’s facility at Alness Corentyne Berbice. So far a number of sponsors are already on board including Banks DIH Limited, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, Businessman Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market, Delmur Company Limited, Omai Transportation, Mohammed , Attorney at Law Rajendra Poonai and The RCMTC itself. Ten events will be contested with close to $9M up for grabs. The list of events are The Banks DIH sponsored B and lower
1700M event with a sumptuous first prize of $1M and trophy up for grabs and a total purse of over $2M. There will be a race for 3yrs old Guyana and West Indies Bred horses for a winning take of $500,000 over 1600M. The E and lower 1200M race will have a first prize of $500,000. The race for Two Year old Guyana and West Indies Bred Horse will have a winners’ purse of $450,000 over 1100M. The Guyana Bred Three Year old event is for a first prize of $400,000 over 1400M, Two-year old Bred horses will also be competing for a $400,000 first prize over 950M. The G and lower event will see the animals racing for a $400,000 winners money over 1600M. The H and lower race will be a 1400M affair with a first
prize of $300,000. The animals in the ‘I’ class event will be competing for $180,000 winners money over 1400M. The K&L (Division 2 and 3) event will fetch a winning prize of $150,000over 1400M. Outstanding individual performers including top Jockey, trainer and stable will be presented with accolades compliments of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market and the RCMTC. Interested persons can contact the club’s office at Number 13 Hermitage East Coast Berbice (19 Road). Bobby Vaughn can be contacted on telephone number 624-6788 or Noresa Saul on numbers 333-0290 or 333-0301. Doctor Dwight Walrond on Telephone numbers 623-0100 or 2206557. (Samuel Whyte)
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Kaieteur News
Sunday June 10, 2012
From the ‘square jungle’ to Great Britain’s cold streets Derek ‘Teacher’ McKenzie refuses to stop fighting
A recent photo of Derek ‘Teacher’ McKenzie years after the culmination of an illustrious boxing career. If there is one thing about Guyana worth bragging about, it is our rich boxing history. There are a few household names that have contributed to this legacy and many will immediately remember seeing or hearing of the feats of such pugilists as
Patrick Forde and Lennox Blackmore. Then there is Reginald Forde, Vernon Lewis, Kenny Bristol and the many other world beaters that have etched their names into local annuls of history. The above names are easily remembered but how
many could honestly admit to knowing Derek ‘Teacher’ McKenzie, a boxing stalwart of the late seventies and early eighties. He was born on July 20, 1957 and was better known as ‘the fighting teacher’ a sobriquet he earned from his professional engagement as a school teacher. The uninitiated might have even surmised that he might have earned the nickname due to his activities in the sport where his slick movements taught many of his adversaries a thing or two in the fistic sport. McKenzie fought during the era when purses ranged from just around five dollars to fifteen, depending on one’s status. His contemporaries included Calvin ‘Valdez’ Marcus, one of Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis uncles. He also fought among Desmond ‘Fat boy’ Callender, who really was a boxer with well toned physique and one just wondered who the practical joker was that plastered such a sobriquet on him. Then there was Keith ‘Creature’ Adams, who could not have been faulted for such a nickname as was Clifford ‘Piggy’ Griffith. Maxie ‘Street fighter’ Sergeant was
far more active, and successful with his street brawls thus his nickname but the fellow did turn in some action packed affairs whenever he ducked into the ‘square jungle.’ McKenzie defeated them all. One of his most memorable bouts is his 15 rounds shindig with Commonwealth Gold medalist, Winfield Braithwaite for the junior welterweight title of Guyana. At the end of the fight, the judges could not distinguish any significant skill deficiency among the two pugilists and rightly called it a draw. The gangly fighter went on to lose to Michael Parsons and David Noel of Trinidad and Tobago before earning a fight against a Nigerian, Obisia Nwankpa, on November 7 1980, for the British Empire Junior welterweight title. He was knocked out in the second round and stayed in that country, engaging in active combat during 1982-1983. The ‘Teacher’ retired in 1986 after amassing a record of 27 fights, 14 wins, 12 losses and one draw. Kaieteur Sport recently tracked down the former
Commonwealth Gold medalist, Winfield Braithwaite pushes the ‘Teacher’ backwards with a two fisted attack stalwart and was informed that he has been enduring fluctuating fortunes in the United Kingdom and resides in one of the shelters in the UK. Our contact even went the extra mile to send a previously snapped photo of the former boxing stalwart. In
almost every country our stalwarts are either enjoying life or biding their time until something positive or negative changes their situation. Whatever happens, they remain a rich part of our sports history and we ought to salute them.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Underdogs D’urban Street upstage Homer is on top of her game Albouystown for top prize Jamaali Homer (centre) is enveloped by her Coach, Idi Lewis and mother, Joanna Homer.
- Team Guyana (Back Circle) end fourth After witnessing their team play unbeaten in all of their matches leading up to the finals, fans and supporters of Albouystown were already tooting their horns in anticipation of victory over D’urban Street in the final of the Banks DIHorganised Guinness warm-up competition, which culminated, at the National Cultural Centre tarmac last Friday night. However, D’urban Street, who recorded an upset victory over reigning Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ champions Back
Circle/Team Guyana in their semifinal matchup, returned to inflict a 1-0 win over Albouystown in the final to take the $200,000 top prize for their efforts. In the battle for third place between Back Circle/Team Guyana and Island All Stars, Orson McCurdy scored a brace to lead the latter team to a commanding 4-1 victory over the former, who like Albouystown, had defeated them in the preliminary rounds. However, it was the final match of the tournament which commenced two weeks
ago and saw five nights of pulsating and enthralling action, which set tongues wagging even before the sound of the referee’s whistle to signal the start of play. Albouystown kept their opponents waiting for close to five minutes, before they took to the playing area, led by their energetic and versatile striker Andrew Murray Jnr., who has found the back of the net in all of their matches, to loud cheers from their supporters. Every touch of the ball by Murray and his teammates, (Continued on page 56)
Digicel and Norman Singh Turf Club team-up for July 22 horserace meet Digicel has teamed up with the Norman Singh Turf Club for a 8-race horserace meeting on Sunday July 22 at the Turf Club’s Bel Air, West Coast Berbice racetrack. Keen competition is anticipated and most of the country’s leading racehorses are expected to be on show. Entries close on July 15 at the Club’s Office No.6 Village, WCB. Owners/trainers can also have their horses entered through Ghansham Singh @ Tel: 600-3626/649-3636 and Compton Sancho @ Tel: 6900569. Telephone Company Digicel is the main sponsor and officials from that company will be on hand for the day’s activity. Among the events carded is the feature B & Lower race over 1700M for a first prize of
$2,000,000. The second prize is $1,000,000, $500,000 for third, $250,000 for fourth and fifth $220,000. The 3 yrs old open-West Indies Bred 1700M race is the co-feature with $1,000,000 going to the winners with the other places collecting $500,000, $250,000, $125,000 and $112,000. The other races are E & Lower over 1200M for a $700,000 first prize, the G1 & Lower covering 1200M for a $500,000 purse, 2 yrs old Open – West Indies Bred covering 1000M for a $600,000 winner’s take, the 2 yrs old Open– Guyana Bred event over 1000M with a $400,000 taking at stake, the I1 and Lower 1200M race with $250,000 going to the winner and the Unclassified Div. 1, 2 & 3
(J,K&L) race over 1200M and a $200,000 first prize. All races are being run under the rules of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority. All 2 yrs old horses shall provide their Certificate of Registration. 50% payment of the entry fee at the Club’s office is required, to be entered on the Official Race Day Programme. No correction of classification on race day. Horses must be properly entered. No late entry will be accepted. The Club reserves the right to cancel or reframe any race mentioned above. Seven horses to start or no fourth prize will be paid. Five horses to start or no third prize will be paid are among the rules governing the event.
KMTC race meet set for today All roads leads to the Kennard Memorial Turf Club today when that entity stages their grand Post Independence Horse race meet at the club’s entity Bush Lot Farm Corentyne Berbice. The race meet, which was previously postponed, will see seven races being staged with over $3.5M at stake. Over 55 of the country’s top race horses have taken entry in what is expected a fascinating and scintillating day of racing. The feature event is for animals classified D and lower over 7 Furlongs with the winner set to race away with a first prize of $500,000. The lineup is an impressive on with a few newly imported animals also expected to compete. Headlining the entries are Fresh Again, Wad A Luck, Mission King, Ferry Landing, The Girl Them Sugar, Marathon Man, Face The Fire and Silent Lizzy. The G class event will see the winner running away with $250,000 also over 7F with the likes of Sabrina’s Joy, Sleep In Town, face the Fire, The Gap, Weekend Surprise, Miss Regina, Gold Prince, Peace and Love and Royal Champion all in contention. The 7 Furlong race for three year old
Guyana and West Indies Bred horses has a winning purse of $350,000 and trophy up for the taking. The H class race will the see the likes of Apostle, Speed Vision, Wicked Intention, Princess Renuka, Third World, Funny Sided, Pixie Fire, Quincy, Royal Champion and The Gump among those going for the $200,000 winners money over 6 furlongs. The race for the ‘I’ class animals carries a winning purse of $180,000 also over 6 Furlongs with Third World among those set to compete. The J&K class 6 Furlongs race has a pole position taking of $120,000 and trophy. There is also a race for L class animals which will see them racing for a top purse of $100,000 and trophy over 5 furlongs. The Champion Jockey and Runner up Jockeys, Trainer and stables will all receive accolades compliment of Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall, Bourda Market and some other donors. Race time is 13:00 hrs and according to the organizers despite the inclement weather the track and other facilities are in good condition.
By Edison Jefford The adage that suggests that patience is virtue may be true for some while archaic for others, but in the context of someone who has literally emerged from the shadows of others to holding form locally and internationally, that maxim is more than just an aphorism. Jamaali Homer has watched her fading shadow in the burgeoning light of others disappear into a distinct brightness of its own over the last eight months. Her ascendancy in table tennis has been attributed to her personal discipline and correction of technical flaws. “I have watched people I have grown up with, succeed in tennis; I have watched them grow and I have watched myself grow as well. Now I’m performing at a high level and I think that my game is right up there,” Homer told Kaieteur Sport in an exclusive interview. The somewhat quiet table tennis player, who has to be sometimes prodded psychologically to get insight into her career, believes that once she continues to be focused and gets the kind of contact necessary to succeed, her ascendancy will continue at its current rapid pace. “Once I get the kind of training and exposure I know I can be one of the best players in Guyana,” the 13year-old Marian Academy student asserted. Her astonishing record has to do with the fact that she has not lost a major final in or out of Guyana in the last eight months. Homer is the current National Under-13 Champion, following which she went on to capture the Mashramani and Independence titles on the local circuit while internationally, she won the U-13 title at the Silver Bowl Junior Championships in Trinidad and Tobago. Her rally to the apex began in early December when she defeated Priscilla
Greaves to secure her first national title. It was sustained in February at the Mashramani competition when she got the better of Greaves again. Her rich form continued in the Twin Island Republic. Homer defeated Nalini Boodoo in Trinidad to win the U-13 title at the Silver Bowl before taking the Independence title last weekend. She received the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) President’s Award for her performance in the Independence competition. Homer is on top of her game and is enjoying the success. She told this newspaper that her psyche is on the Caribbean Junior Championships in Jamaica, July 20-25, and with her current trajectory there could be a regional medal on the horizon once she remains committed. “When I started playing my aim was to play at the World Championships, but I know that would require a lot of work. Here I am now, preparing for the Caribbean Championship. I’ll accept that, but I am still thinking of my bigger goals,” the ambitious player continued. She said that the Malteenoes Sports Club, to which she is attached under Idi Lewis, has been the right revelation for her game. “It’s more disciplined, you can’t do certain things, you have to take the sessions seriously and you can’t do half-way sessions,” she informed. Her Coach, Lewis said that her work ethic and commitment to the sport is good, which is one of the reasons she continues to evolve as a definite force in the sport. He said that they are working on refining her technique ahead of the
Caribbean Championships in Jamaica. “We really started working last year and we discovered some problems that she was having. We ironed some of them out, which is why she is playing at the level she is right now. Now it’s time to tackle the Caribbean Championships in a couple of weeks’ time,” Lewis noted. Homer did not just arrive at the top, she had the necessary structure. Her grades are good and her club structure is intact. Then, as added inspiration, she benefits from the mentorship of the World Vision Church of God, which accommodates her family on a regular basis. She is a well-rounded athlete and her mother, Joanna Homer, has the confidence that she will be the ultimate role-model. “Since she has moved from playing ping pong to table tennis as I would say, she has also shown a parallel in her improvement in school work,” her mom said. In addition, her mother indicated that Jamaali handles responsibility very well. “Our family value about training her is that she must be a leader,” Mrs Homer disclosed. What has become pellucid is that Jamaali is already a leader in an individually demanding sport.
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Sunday June 10, 2012
World Cup Qualifying round-up: West Indies make the most CONCACAF giants out of the gates of Engish butterfingers
Mexico and USA both pulled off predictable wins against lightweight opposition in their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ qualifying openers, but neither one of the CONCACAF giants had things all their own way. Canada and Panama both grabbed impressive wins on the road, while Jamaica also emerged victorious. FIFA.com wraps up all the action from the first day of semi-final round qualifying in North, Central America and the Caribbean. Match of the day Honduras 0-2 Panama Home-field advantage counts for much in the CONCACAF zone, making Panama’s win on the road in Honduras all the more impressive. Blas Perez of MLS club FC Dallas came up the hero with a pair of goals for the Panamanians, who are hunting their first-ever appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals. The so-called Super Raton’s first strike displayed his prowess with the ball on the turf, as he turned brilliantly and fired home. His second was a nononsense, thumping header. The Honduran fans in San Pedro Sula were clearly not happy after the final whistle, and they will be expecting more from their heroes next time out. IN OTHERACTION Jurgen Klinsmann won his first competitive game as USA coach as his North Americans defeated Caribbean minnows Antigua and Barbuda at the rainsoaked Raymond James Stadium in Florida. The United States looked wobbly in patches, but scrappy goals from captain Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey and Mexico-based Herculez Gomez were enough to see the Stars and Stripes to the summit of Group A with a 3-1 win. “It wasn’t pretty, but we ground it out,” said Gomez after the game. Jamaica had no troubles at home in Kingston, where they beat Guatemala 2-1. Demar Phillips and Ryan Johnson put the Reggae Boyz
US players celebrate a goal
up alongside the Americans at the top of the section, while Dwight Pezzarossi’s late strike was mere consolation for the Central Americans. CONCACAF champions Mexico opened their Group B account with a simple victory over Guyana at their fortresslike Estadio Azteca. Carlos Salcido opened the scoring in the 11th minute and then turned provider in the 15th, beginning a lovely move that led to a Giovani Dos Santos goal. Guyana defender John Rodrigues made it 3-0 for Mexico early in the second half when he clumsily put through his own net. Hector Moreno did the same at the other end shortly after, though, to make the final score 3-1. Group B’s other game was a high-tempo, all-Central American contest between Costa Rica and El Salvador, which finished tangled at 2-2 following a lengthy delay due to a power outage at the stadium in San Jose. Panama pulled off a shocker on the road in San Pedro Sula, beating Group C favourites Honduras 2-0 to take pole position in the section. The other game in the group saw Canada also win out on the road, earning a tricky 1-0 victory against Cuba in Havana. Germanybased striker Olivier Occean took advantage of some slack defending to head home the game’s only goal as the Canadians lost first-choice goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld to
Guyana to face Bermuda for a place in 2015 WC Southern Zone champions Guyana will have to travel to Bermuda to take on the hosts after they defeated the Bahamas 16-8 yesterday, in the Northern Zone final in the Bahamas. Guyana, who defeated Trinidad and Tobago one week ago at the National Stadium in Georgetown in the Southern Zone final of the North American and Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Regional Qualifiers for the 2015 Rugby World Cup will take on the Bermudians on June 23 in Bermuda in what is a repeat of last year’s final here the host defeated the Guyanese.
a red card and barely survived a late Cuban onslaught. “We got our one chance and our one goal, three points…fantastic,” said an elated Occean after the game. CONCACAF third round, match day one Cuba 0-1 Canada USA 3-1 Antigua and Barbuda Mexico 3-1 Guyana Honduras 0-2 Panama Costa Rica 2-2 El Salvador Jamaica 2-1 Guatemala Up next Tuesday12.6.2012 Antigua and BarbudaJamaica El Salvador-Mexico Canada-Honduras Guatemala-USA Guyana-Costa Rica Panama-Cuba
Yahoo! Cricket – BIRMINGHAM: Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin both scored fifties as West Indies reached 280 for eight against England at stumps on the third day of the third Test at Edgbaston here on Saturday. Samuels followed his hundred in England’s nine-wicket second Test win at Trent Bridge with a stylish 76 as this match finally got underway after the first two days had been washed out without a ball being bowled. West Indies, who had been a solid 85 for one at lunch, slumped to 152 for five but rallied thanks to a sixth-wicket stand of 56 between Samuels and wicketkeeper Ramdin. At the close, Ramdin was 60 not out after completing a 97-ball half-century with six fours. Ravi Rampaul was unbeaten on two. Graham Onions marked his recall to Test duty in the absence of rested paceman James Anderson and Stuart Broad with three wickets for 56 runs in 24 overs while Tim Bresnan took three for 74 in 26. England’s position might have been stronger had they not dropped three slip catches. History was against either side winning this match as only twice before, when England beat New Zealand at Leeds in 1958 and New Zealand defeated Bangladesh at Hamilton in 2001, had teams won a Test after the first two days had been washed out completely. That England captain Andrew Strauss opted to field first after winning the toss against a West Indies side whose top-order collapses had helped the hosts into an unassailable 2-0 lead in this three-Test series was no surprise. And Onions, in his first Test in over two years, nearly had an early wicket. Adrian Barath had made four when he edged the Durham quick only for Ian Bell, fielding in the third slip position often occupied by Anderson, to drop the straightforward
chance. Instead it was Bresnan who struck first when he had Kieran Powell caught by second slip Graeme Swann for 24 to leave the tourists 49 for one. Barath was still on his lunch score of 40 not out when he was reprieved again by Bell, who dropped an easy chance off fast bowler Steven Finn, recalled in the absence of Broad. Fortunately for England, it was not an expensive miss as Barath had added just one run when Onions had him lbw. Test debutant Assad Fudadin, in for the dropped Kirk Edwards, saw his promising innings end on 28 when he gloved a well-directed Bresnan bouncer and Bell, to the delight of his Warwickshire home crowd, at last held a catch. Samuels struck successive deliveries from off-spinner Swann for a six and a four to complete a 76-ball fifty. But shortly before tea Narsingh Deonarine, in for the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul, edged Onions to Strauss at first slip. Samuels, again involved in plenty of ‘verbals’ with his opponents, was out when, five deliveries before the arrival of the new ball, he fell lbw to Bresnan’s off-cutter. The Jamaican reviewed New Zealand umpire Tony Hill’s decision but replays indicated the ball had just pitched in line and Samuels’s entertaining innings, featuring a six and 10 fours, was at an end. West Indies captain Darren Sammy, who scored his maiden Test hundred at Trent Bridge, was dropped badly by Strauss off Middlesex colleague Finn. But the all-rounder was still on 16 when he fell to the same combination to leave the West Indies 241 for seven. And shortly before stumps, the accurate Onions had Test debutant Sunil Narine playing on for 11. Scores: West Indies 280 for 8 (Samuels 76, Ramdin 60*, Rampaul 2*) v England.
Maria Sharapova wins French Open by beating Sara Errani BBC Sport - Maria Sharapova blasted her way to victory over Sara Errani in the French Open final to become only the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam. Sharapova, 25, claimed a one-sided 6-3 6-2 win to add to the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open titles from earlier in her career. The Russian overwhelmed her Italian opponent, who was playing in her first Grand Slam singles final. Sharapova’s run in Paris has also moved her top of the women’s rankings. At a time when the women’s game is lacking a dominant and consistent figure, Sharapova provided more evidence that she is capable of filling that vacuum. Since she was last world number one in June 2008, the top ranking has been held by eight different players and changed hands on 15 occasions, while the last six Grand Slams have been won by six different women. Sharapova, who has battled back from shoulder surgery that threatened her career and severely disrupted her serve, produced a display
of power and precision which will now see her head into Wimbledon as a strong favourite. She and Errani had never met before and, while the Russian was the clear favourite, her opponent posed a threat having won three clay court tournaments coming into the French Open. But the Italian had her first two service games broken and struggled to handle the power of her opponent’s game. The Russian had lost her last two Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the Australian Open but was clearly determined not to slip up again. Errani engineered a break back to register her first game but it was a temporary reprieve as Sharapova claimed a third set point with a backhand down the line. Sharapova broke to love at the start of the second set and despite Errani drawing cheers from the crowd with some adventurous shotmaking, it was not enough to disrupt the second seed. Errani had won the women’s doubles title with Roberta Vinci on Friday and, after her semi-final win over Samantha Stosur, said she had to start showing
greater belief against more illustrious opponents. But the Bologna-born right-hander rarely looked like she thought she could overcome Sharapova and after wasting a break point in game four, she was broken again in game five. Sharapova
set up her third match point with a magnificent running forehand winner up the line, and converted it when Errani sliced a tame backhand into the net. It was her first Grand Slam title since the 2008 Australian Open and she sunk to her knees in celebration.
Sensei Kum promoted to 3rd Degree Black Belt After more than twentytwo years of training Sensei Ken Kum was promoted to the rank of Sandan (3rd Degree Black Belt) in ShitoRyu Karate by Bassai Karate Dojo –International (BKD-I) after passing (with over 90%) all technical and academic requirements. The exam took place in Orlando, Florida on Saturday 26th May 2012. Sensei Kum will be opening a branch of BKD-I in Queens, New York in the near future. He is currently pursuing his coaching certification from the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) and advance training in Kobudo and Officiating.
For his test he had to perform the katas- Bassai, Niseishi, Gojushiho, Seipai, and Kosokun Dai and show the bunkai (application). He also taught Seipai Kata to some black belts at the dojo. Sensei Kum has been training under Shito-Ryu Karate expert, Sensei Darryl Williams, 6th Dan since 1994. He is a member of the USA Chapter of the Guyana Karate Association (GKA). His karate grade will be officially listed in the Black Belt records of the World United Karate Organization (WUKO). He can be contacted at email kenkum4u@gmail.com for any information.
Sunday June 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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West Indies make the most of Engish butterfingers Pg. 62
Marlon Samuels celebrates his half-century
Tim Bresnan trapped Marlon Samuels lbw Adrian Barath launches Graeme Swann for six.
Underdogs D’urban Street upstage Albouystown for top prize - Team Guyana (Back Circle) end fourth
Banks DIH’s Environmental and Safety Officer Nirmala Surujbal (right) hands over the top prize to Durban Street to Dellon Cadogan in the presence of teammates and a multitude of supporter on Friday night.
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Maria Sharapova wins French Open by beating Sara Errani Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in the women's singles final
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