Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

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GUYSUCO boss to earn £84,846 per annum “The individual concerned will not be paid any more than the last full time CEO was being paid…That is the information that is currently in my possession.”

Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, yesterday also disclosed that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will be paying its top man, Raj Singh, no more than £7,076 per month.

Dr Singh has called the suggested US$25,000 salary being touted as being paid to the ‘GuySuCo boss,’ a ‘manufactured controversy.’

The Finance Minister yesterday while addressing a media briefing at his party’s Headquarters, Freedom House, further charged that Singh, who currently serves as Acting Chairman of GuySuCo’s Board of Directors, is “eminently qualified” to head the cash strapped entity that Government describes as too big to fail.

Singh is expected to be confirmed as Executive Chairman of the Company.

The Finance Minister told

….Finance Minister defends Geeta Singh-Knight on Board

GuySuco Board Member and former CEO of CLICO (Guyana), Geeta Singh-Knights

Former GuySuCo CEO, Errol Hanoman

Acting Chairman of GuySuCo’s Board of Directors, Raj Singh

media operatives that Singh would be paid no more than the equivalent of the most recent substantive Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

That position was held by Errol Hanoman, who resigned from the post in 2010.

His contract offered by the sugar company stated, “Your annual remuneration while working in Guyana (including salary and pension

allowance) will be paid by GuySuCo in Sterling.

“Your initial salary (net of income tax and other statutory deductions payable in Guyana) will be at a rate of £74,904 per annum, payable on a monthly basis. Your pension allowance will be paid with salary at the rate of £9,942 per annum.”

The Finance Minister was grilled on the ability of Singh to run the Corporation. He

responded, “He is eminently qualified and has worked in sugar for a number of years at senior levels.”

Dr Singh added that the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors has worked in areas relevant to the management of large organizations, similar to that of GuySuCo. The Finance Minister was also asked about public confidence in the Board of

APNU says not a cent more for GPL The country’s main opposition bloc, APNU, has totally rejected the announced proposal by the Guyana Power and Light Corporation (GPL) to increase electricity rates by 26.7 per cent, saying it is designed to “provoke unrest.”

While the government is backing the company on the grounds that it was denied $5.2 billion in subsidy from the national budget, APNU said the people cannot be made to pay for the company’s failures.

“GPL continues to underperform; there has been no improvement in services and no significant attempt to control line loss, while daily black-out continue to be a way of life,” APNU said in a statement last evening.

The party is calling for the removal of the entire board of

…says people cannot pay for company’s failures GPL and for a total managerial overhaul be undertaken.

The party noted that GPL itself has admitted that it is losing more than 31 per cent of the power that it generates, with technical loses listed at 14 per cent and commercial loss at 17 per cent.

“Anywhere else in the World a corporation with this type of track record, the board and top- tier management would be dismissed; instead the government of Guyana sought in the National budget to give GPL a whopping $5.2 billion, without demanding reorganization or a turnaround plan,” APNU stated.

“APNU sees this conspiracy between the PPPC administrations and the

Board and Management of GPL as an attempt to punish the people of Guyana for their (GPL) own failures.

“The tactic is clear to all that this government intends to link this proposed rate increase with the 2013 Budget cuts,” APNU added.

In the current climate, where citizens are burdened by high cost of living, stagnant wages and exorbitant taxation, rampant

unemployment, the party said it is unconscionable that any civic minded corporate citizen (company) would even consider saddling its customers with such an increase.

The party said that the PPP/C government’s support of GPL shows its antiworking class philosophy.

“APNU will stand by all Guyanese in their resolve not to pay one cent more!

Directors of the Company, given the calls for its reorganization.

He was asked about the fact that Geeta Singh-Knight, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the failed insurance giant, Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) Guyana, remains a board member.

The Finance Minister said that while he would not wish to be drawn into a debate on the matter over a specific individual, or to prosecute them at a press conference, “the board (on which she sits) comprises a diversity of skills and backgrounds as indeed we endeavor to accomplish with any public sector company, the composition of the board is reflective of this.”

He said that in any such large public sector corporation there is a need to have a specific particular skills set, with persons of various professional backgrounds.

This is represented in the current Board of Directors at GuySuCo as he emphasized that the composition on the board is reflective of its needs and challenges faced.

“Our commitment to the sugar industry has never been in doubt and cannot possibly be called into question.”

This commitment, he said, has been translated to the industry by securing all necessary steps to secure the long term viability and security of the industry.

He reminded that

following the sugar cuts when the European Union removed its preferential price that was afforded to African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, such as Guyana, many of those in the CARICOM Region, opted to exit the industry.

Guyana, he said, chose to remain and over the past years more than $40B would have been invested, namely through entities such as the Skeldon Sugar Factory and the Enmore packaging plant.

The aim, he said, was to revitalize the industry with an aim to ensure its return to profitability adding that as recent as last year a $4B subsidy was provided to the industry, followed by an additional $1B this year.

The challenges to the industry, according to Dr Singh, are well known and drew reference to what he termed erratic weather, industrial relations challenges and amenability of the fields for mechanization, among others.

He said, however, that the industry still requires signification cash injections.

“This is not going to be an easy process…this is a large industry, “conceded Dr Singh.

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Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

Flogging a dead horse It would seem that in recent times, projects undertaken by the Guyana Government seem to be mired in difficulties.

For one, deadlines are not being met. For example, when the government announced that it was going to fight the cuts imposed by the European Union by building a state-of-theart sugar factory, it set a deadline by which the cost of production would have been a reality.

The government had recognized that it needed to produce sugar at a cost of about US$0:12 cents per pound.

This would have made Guyana sugar competitive. Of course, only Guyana, in the region opted to fight the sugar cuts.

The other regional producers simply got out of sugar and used the lands for other developmental projects, not least among them housing and agriculture.

Of course, the sugar industry has a political history. It is rooted in the ruling party, it is one of the largest employers in Guyana and above all, it provides a livelihood for about 50,000 people directly and indirectly.

Sugar has long been a political issue to the extent that it split the country down the middle when the late Desmond Hoyte, as head of state, proposed closing a number of sugar estates that had become non-profitable. And some were closed. When the new Government came into office it said that it would not close the sugar estates. Some things are easier said than done.

The changing world sometimes dictates changes. The industrial revolution came and with it the reduced reliance on human labour. Indeed, there were the protests; people damaged machines which they said had come to take their jobs. In the end there was diversification of the human resource. There was also greater use of land that would normally have been left idle. Mankind benefited and the machine helped them immensely.

So it is with the local sugar industry. Guyana was soon caught up in the bind of finding human labour to feed the sugar mills. Over the past decade the labour force has been declining and with good reason. It is the same with the farm lands. People are moving away from the land.

Way back in the 1970s when sugar was king every country moved to maximize production. Cuba, the largest sugar producer in the region raced to mechanise its sugar industry. It sought to drag Guyana along. The Cuban authorities invited the Guyanese to examine the process of mechanization. Cuba also made available to Guyana, some of the equipment that would have aided in cane harvesting.

It turned out that Guyana should have revamped the manner of cane cultivation. But even more, there should have been some soil studies. When Guyana accepted the first bit of machine for mechanization it found that the soil conditions were not favourable for the machines that were imported to reap the cane.

Today, there is much more but the government is not willing to recognize that there is a limit to the volume of money a government can spend to prop up an industry merely for political purposes.

As it stands, the very sugar workers, cognizant of their importance to the government, keep making demands that are increasingly harder to meet. Such is now the state of affairs that although the nation is recording declining sugar production and declining earnings, the sugar workers want more money.

One would expect that the government would see the time when it would have to say enough is enough. However, politics can blind the leader and our leaders see the political interest as outweighing all other conditions.

The country is at present repaying the largest ever loan it made in the sugar industry but the returns are not what they should be.

The government says that the new mill is producing sugar; that the volume is of no consequence at this time.

This is how blinded the political leaders are. For them it matters not that Guyana is hemorrhaging money in place of sugar.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

We need to fix our education system before it breaks us all DEAR EDITOR, The National Grade Six Assessment results are out and students and their families all across the nation are preparing for the transition from primary to secondary school. Several commentators, politicians and educators have posited on the state of education and the cost to parents who want to ensure that their child/ children get into one of the five top schools in the nation; Queen’s College, The Bishops’ High School, St. Stanislaus College, St. Rose’s High School and President’s College.

However what should be extremely alarming is the fact that almost fifty years after Guyana achieved independence and after hundreds of billions of dollars spent in the education sector, Guyana still can only boast of five top secondary schools, four that are located in the City of Georgetown and all in the county of Demerara.

This single fact is indicative of a pattern of underdevelopment in all sectors, which has bedeviled citizens for several decades. For even as politicians and political parties boast about being champion of this and best of that, the truth lies right before us when one examines the facts.

In 1968 when I wrote the Common Entrance examination there were four top secondary schools in Guyana. Guyana, a newly independent nation had one

international Airport; one road from the city of Georgetown to that airport; one major seaport - Port Georgetown; one major road on both banks of the Demerara River and the same for the Essequibo River, and the same for the Berbice River and the Corentyne; one University; one teachers training college. Nothing has changed.

The major industries are the same sugar, rice, bauxite, gold, timber and diamonds - all of which fifty years later are still being produced as primary products.

Going back to the education sector, if one takes a closer examination the situation gets even more troubling. Over fifty years ago when many of the schools that still exist today were established, the goal of education was different.

The denominational schools and the few government schools were geared to produce clerks and servants for the jobs in the civil service, not the scientists and engineers that are needed today. The occasional Doctors, Lawyers and Engineers who came out of that system were the exception and not the norm.

Today, fifty years later, children still attend school in buildings that are not conducive to learning, schools where teachers are not properly trained or equipped to teach and curricula that lack the creativity necessary for

educating the 21st century student.

As is the norm, when confronted with some of these inconvenient truths, the first line of defence is usually a parade of governmental facts and figures.

That data however does not mask the fact that everyday twenty-four students drop out of school in Guyana. It cannot mask the fact that we are sitting on a time bomb, because a large percentage of our youth population is unemployed and a significant percentage un-employable.

The system is clearly broken and the government of the day is clearly out of its depth or unprepared to commit the kind of capital that it will take to fix the problems facing education in Guyana.

It is an inconvenient truth that in Guyana the sons and daughters of the rich, who can afford to send their children to private schools and pay the exorbitant fees for all manner of extra lessons, are guaranteed a superior quality of education.

It is also true that the children of the working class and what passes for the middle class are forced to attend schools that are poorly staffed, poorly equipped, schools that were built decades ago with no running water, no science labs, no computer labs, no audiovideo equipment, no libraries, gymnasiums, campuses cluttered with grass and garbage, staffed with

unmotivated and poorly paid teachers. This is the state of education in Guyana today.

While the Minister of Education, who was fortunate to attend one of the five top schools, boasts of “accomplishments”, the system is failing. The system failed the students fetching firewood at Kato (posed or not), the system has failed the child from Anna Regina who must travel to Georgetown to attend Queen’s College, the system has failed the Guyanese professional teacher who because of poor pay at home opts to teach abroad; the system has failed the youngsters who must endure primitive learning conditions in this the first quarter of the twenty-first century.

My generation came of age in an independent Guyana. Born in British Guiana we were still in primary school when our country gained independence, ours was the generation dubbed the new Guyana man and woman.

We were the beneficiaries of free education from nursery to university and most of us did very well, however today, almost fifty years later, one would be hard pressed to find members of this highly educated generation of Guyanese living in Guyana (and there is a reason for that).

Our education system just like our system of government is broken; we need to fix it, before it breaks us all.

Mark Archer

DEAR EDITOR, Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) on June 7th, 2013, indicated its intentions to apply for a tariff hike of 26.7 per cent. This proposal is fraught with deception and trickery. If one looks at the Final Return Certificate; one can establish that GPL had a Financial Deficit of G$5.2 billion in 2012. But financial deficits are not cash flows and do not accurately reflect the ability of GPL to pay its financial obligations.

The cash flow statement is more relevant to any analysis of GPL’s financial condition. The purpose of a cash flow statement is to provide readers with the information they need to make an assessment of the ability of the reporting entity to generate cash and cash equivalents, as well as the needs of the entity to utilise

that cash.

I will ask some questions that I hope will encourage the Consumer’s Association, the Unions and the political opposition to advocate strongly against this size of tariff hike at this point in time.

If one looks at the Cash Flow statement of GPL on page 5 of the audited accounts, one would see that GPL had an increase in its cash and cash equivalent in 2012 of some G$33 million as compared to a drain on its bank account of some G$2.9 billion in 2011.

If there was a year to request tariff increases, it was 2011, when GPL bled billions.

However, as per standard operating practice, politics overwhelmed commercial realism in the Government in 2011. Now they are using politics again to drive fear into the people with no

foundation of commercial realism.

In the final analysis, GPL will survive with no tariff increase or no further cash injection from the Parliament in 2013 unless there is an abnormal escalation in the price of fuel, and from all projection this seems unlikely…So why all this hysteria from GPL? In addition to the G$6 billion cash injection into GPL in 2012, the people also injected some G$5 billion in new cash in 2013, but yet GPL found reasons to attempt to devour the consumers with this indefensible 26.7 per cent rate hike request. If this is not the action of a serial bully, then what is?

The political opposition has to up their game on this situation since GPL has “taken its eyes and pass the people”. There is no valid

justification for any rate hike until GPL can clearly justify to the people the following: What was the cost per barrel of their last shipment of fuel and what is the budgeted cost of fuel in their 2013 budget?

The latest estimate I have seen has revealed that GPL will be saving some G$1.5 billion in the cost of fuel in 2013 as compared to 2012. So why is GPL asking for rate increases?

Why is GPL failing to curb the non-technical losses (mainly electricity theft)?

The records reveal that non-technical losses in 2010, 2011 and 2012 were 17.0 per cent, 17.1 per cent and 17.0 per cent respectively. ZERO progress! GPL is clearly not serious on this issue since from all appearances they seem to be going after the Continued on page 7

This GPL proposal is fraught with deception and trickery

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

Letters... Where your views make the news

The 33rd death anniversary of Dr. Walter Rodney is upon us and still no closure DEAR EDITOR, It was on June 14, 1980, when for the first time, the BBC 7.15 Caribbean report was blocked from the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation because the powers that be did not want the public to learn of the assassination of Dr. Walter Rodney, the popular and powerful historian whose life was snuffed out the night before Friday the 13th... ‘Black Friday’ - by a bomb which was in the form of a walkietalkie.

Up to this day, 33 years later, the authorities still fail to bring to light who was behind the daring murder of the great leader who bridged the racial gap between Indoand Afro-Guyanese.

The Forbes Burnham administration failed to hold an Inquiry, but the Desmond Hoyte-led government in 1988 - eight long years after the slaying - ordered an Inquest, only a f t e r R o d n e y ’s widow, Patricia Rodney addressed a sorrowing letter, followed by protest from a group called “Women in Guyana” which sent a petition via Rodney’s mother to President Hoyte.

However that Inquest was

“marred by grave defects” by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) when it visited Guyana. The finding of the Coroner “death by accident or misadventure” was said to be unsatisfactory and flawed for many reasons.

What is disturbing is that Dr. Cheddi Jagan when he took office in 1992, instead of ordering a high-powered Commission of Inquiry, threw cold water by stating that he “wondered what the conviction and imprisonment of the suspect would do for Walter Rodney”.

He however conferred Guyana’s highest award - The Order of Excellence - on Walter Rodney posthumously. The Guyana Archives many years later was named after him.

Jagan’s action did not find too much favour with the historian’s son, Shaka, who held a fast and vigil which prompted Caribbean Rights and the ICJ to be involved. Steps were taken to repatriate the suspect, Gregory Smith, from Cayenne in French Guiana, after he was formerly charged with murder in 1996 and a warrant of arrest was issued by the then Chief Magistrate, K Juman Yassin.

Smith, a former Guyana Defence Force sergeant left for French Guiana the day after the murder and was using another name, Cyril Johnson. His extradition was delayed because the French government prohibited extradition for offences involving capital punishment – the death penalty.

Smith is reported to have died in 2002 from stomach cancer. However the Rodney family and his supporters still want to know who was behind the assassination of this great man who was deemed persona non grata

by Hugh Shearer, Jamaica Prime Minister, which led to student demonstration at Mona Campus of the UWI, lead by Ralph Gonsalves, who was at the time Head of the Students Union. Dr. Gonsalves is now the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

After his ban in Jamaica, the Burnham administration denied Dr. Rodney a job at the University of Guyana which forced him to move into politics. His book “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” was a best seller in the 1970s.

Oscar Ramjeet

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

It is time that we let those in authority know that enough is enough DEAR EDITOR, I write to express my disgust and frustration over the maternal health care that is being provided by medical institutions in Guyana, particularly the governmentadministered ones. It’s quite disturbing that actually every month you can read or see, from the various media houses, cases in which a mother or baby died during pregnancy.

What is quite interesting is the fact that those in charge seem to not have a clue as to what is taking place and what needs to be done to curtail the number of maternal deaths.

Whenever there is a maternal death you will hear of a full scale investigation and after one or two months the story then dies a natural death.

The recent maternal death

at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation should be thoroughly investigated and if persons are found responsible, they should be made to face the law and be charged for manslaughter.

I wonder how persons who worked that night and were responsible for the care of that woman are feeling at this moment; given a situation where reports are that after tablets to induce labour were given, there was a failure to properly monitor the patient.

If it is true as reported in the Stabroek News that the nurses were called by other patients in relation to the state of the young lady, and their refusal to respond, then these nurses must not be allowed to perform such functions in Guyana anymore.

Millennium Development Goal # 5 (Improve Maternal Health) is to be achieved by 2015, but with the rate of maternal deaths that is taking place in Guyana, it seems hardly likely that we will be in a position to achieve this goal.

If we are to, then there is need for a comprehensive overhaul of the health system.

In addition, there is the urgent need for all Guyanese to speak out now on the madness that is taking place within our health institutions.

Let me congratulate the persons who took part in the vigil on Sunday night in front of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for their bold effort. It is time that we stand up and let those in authority know that enough is enough, fix it or we will have to fix it.

Garfield Boston

Antigua: No re-engagement with IMF ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) –The Antigua and Barbuda government says it will maintain a relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) even after the Washington-based financial institution said the island had successfully completed a multi-million dollar Stand By Agreement (SBA) despite “considerable challenges”.

Finance, Economy and Public Administration Minister Harold Lovell, however, made it clear that the Baldwin Spencer government does not have any intention of re-engaging the financial institution.

“I’ve said it before in another forum but it is worth repeating, Antigua and Barbuda is at the dawn of a new era. We weathered the worst of the storm presented by the global economic and financial crises, as well as home grown realities like the collapses of BAICO/CLICO and R. Allen Stanford.

“We did this with the grace of a mature nation, not

the grief of mendicants expecting the outside world to solve our problems,” Lovell said.

He said when the island entered into the 36 month IMF programme as art of the National Economic and Social Transformation (NEST) Plan “I am certain we all understood that we had to chart a new and very different economic and fiscal path, there was fear.

“Some of that fear came from a combination of the unknown coupled with yesteryear experiences. There was also serious and deliberate fear mongering,” he added.

Last week, the IMF said the government will receive an immediate disbursement of US$25.4 million following the last review of the SBA which expired on June 6.

The 36-month SBA was approved on June 7, 2010 for an original amount of US$121.9 million and the Washington –based financial institution said that the aims of the programme were “largely achieved despite considerable challenges”.

It said the fiscal deficit dropped from 18 per cent of gross domestic product

(GDP) in 2009 to just over one per cent last year.

The IMF said that much of the adjustment under the programme has come from cuts in public spending and investment, while tax revenue targets for 2013 have been met largely through one-off payments of back taxes.

“Another risk looms in the expiration of debt relief and upcoming payments due to foreign creditors. Further improvements in the collection of tax revenues are necessary to allow the authorities to meet their targets and while making needed public investment. In particular, the elimination of tax exemptions and a broadening of the tax base could help. “ The IMF said it had also approved Antigua and Barbuda’s request for a waiver of non-observance of the performance criterion on the central government budget expenditure arrears accumulation.

It said the waiver was granted on the basis of the temporary and minor nature of the deviations from the programme objectives and the corrective measures undertaken by the authorities.

After the expiration of the SBA, Antigua and Barbuda and the IMF will continue to maintain a constructive policy dialogue. Lovell said in addition to the tangibles, the island had received a psychological boost and that the achievements over the past few years in areas, including but not limited to, economic and debt management under extremely testing circumstances are indicative of the stewardship of the present government.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

Garbage, Litter – The Destruction of Our Country DEAR EDITOR, I think we would all agree that litter above everything else is the most serious problem in our country.

It clutters our drains, piles up on the roadside and simply covers our wonderful country in large, horrible – smelling, multi-coloured mounds that stretch across the Garden City, now referred to by people as the “Garbage City”.

Garbage is terrible here in our country. It feeds the rats and roaches which leads to multiple diseases and sicknesses. With the animals

multiplying those diseases it can easily bring on an epidemic.

This is only a small example of what the state of our environment can bring, but even the smallest of gestures can help. Imagine this.

If you say that your single plastic bottle or Styrofoam box won’t matter and you throw it onto the roadside, what if 500 more people decide the same? There would be 500 more pieces of garbage added to our environment. So don’t throw anymore garbage into it.

If every one of us took this problem seriously and refrained from dumping their trash ‘any and every where’ the pollution would lessen.

With the sanitation staff cleaning up the present garbage and no more excessive build-up, the garbage on the roadsides and public areas could disappear.

Please strive for your country’s excellence and beauty. This is where we live and grow up. Give yourself a reason to be proud.

Let us work together to make Guyana shine.

Concerned student

DEAR EDITOR, It is very rude and sad when a driver feels the need to cut into another’s lane.

As a mother of two, I drop my kids to school every day.

We leave home not later than 7:15 am to avoid the rush and be punctual.

Last Friday morning (7th June) as per normal, I am waiting in my lane at Cuffy’s

junction for the traffic lights to change.

When it did, I started to drive and just as I am about to cross over, the driver of Motor Vehicle (number and photograph provided) just cut into my lane forcing me to pull aside. If a cyclist was riding by he/she would have been hit.

The driver after

accomplishing his deed went on to jump the traffic lights at North Road corner. When my daughter was took out his photo he just waved at us.

When we stop this discourteous behaviour and respect the traffic rules or more so wait our turns, we will get where we are going, ALIVE! A. Rahaman

From page 4 marginal thieves when the real “fat cats” continue to burn their air conditioners and high powered security lights 24 hours a day, compliments of free GPL electricity.

Why is GPL not progressing on the question of bringing their technical line losses closer to international standards?

Actual GPL technical line losses have deteriorated between 2008 and 2012, jumping from 11.4 per cent to 14.6 per cent. The world is moving in a direction that reaps technical line losses of 8 and 9 per cent, but GPL is like a “kangala”; their horse continues to run in the opposition direction. After reviewing these figures, I am now beginning to question if we are going to get value for money for the G$22 billion being spent by GPL to construct five new substations, among other investments, since the argument they advanced to secure these funds is that it will contribute to the reduction of technical line losses to meet international standards.

Why is the Ministry of Finance not prepaying electricity charges for Government Agencies up front? Can’t the Government advance to GPL an estimated amount for electricity charges to October 2013 at this time to ease their cash flow situation?

Why is GPL not selling all of its properties in central Georgetown and consolidating all of its operations at Garden of Eden? Why is GPL renting properties in Central Georgetown? Western Union and the Post Office can be the preferred mode of bill payments and there can be a small sub-office at Sophia and Kingston for those who really want to deal directly with GPL. The sale of those buildings will reap several hundreds of millions that can be injected into GPL immediately. The Government, can also use the resources from NICIL and Lotto Funds to construct a “GRA-type building” at Garden of Eden and treat that as a further capital contribution to GPL. In conclusion, it is my firm view that GPL’s request for a 26.7 per cent increase in tariffs is ridiculous and should be rejected. It is designed to bully the opposition into voting under duress for more taxpayers’ resources for this badly managed company.

Secondly, I believe it is in the best interest of GPL that before the Parliament considers one dollar more for GPL, it become a nonnegotiable precondition that the current Board of Directors be fired and a new Board with a new Chairman that reflect the political, economic and social make up of Guyana be appointed. The role of the new Board should be mainly

stabilization but more importantly, one that will conduct comprehensive diagnostics of the company with a view of formulating a more people-friendly but business-smart action plan to take GPL forward.

Thirdly, the majority political opposition must use this opportunity to mobilize so that the PUC can be motivated to see the issues from the people’s perspective.

I am convinced that GPL can survive this year with no rates hike.

This public announcement by GPL is more grounded in politics rather than arithmetic; it is all about the big stick approach on the people.

Fourthly, the PUC should demand that GPL present its 2013 half-year financial statements, including the cash flow statement, before any serious consideration can be given to this ludicrous request.

I am of the firm position that this is all fear-mongering with a political agenda. GPL continues to mislead the public as to its not being financially viable, but this is not necessarily the truth. GPL has a solid stream of cash inflows every month. GPL is in a much better shape than GuySuCo or NIS, and thus my description at the beginning of this letter. The truth remains; this GPL proposal is fraught with deception and trickery.

Sasenarine Singh

Discourteous, errant and brazen driver

This GPL proposal is...

Without further delay, a full enquiry into GPL is needed DEAR EDITOR, On or around April 22 last, the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) announced it was seeking a 17% tariff increase because of the $5.2 billion Budget cut by the National Assembly. Yet only three weeks later, on May 15, the government-owned utility submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) what is called a Final Return Certificate (FRC) which it claims allows it to increase tariffs by an even higher percentage - 26.7% - effective May, 2013. According to a statement issued by GPL last Saturday, “the GPL Board is actively engaged in planning its implementation.”

According to the GPL, the increase is calculated in accordance with the 1999 Electricity Sector Reform Act (ESRA) and a Licence that allowed the previous private investor to increase (or decrease) its tariffs, using an internationally acceptable methodology based on a rate of return. According to the company, the FRC was accompanied by a Notice of Compliance issued by an unnamed independent firm of Accountants and GPL’s 2012 audited accounts which show GPL losing $7.6 B in 2012.

The effect of the increase is more than the difference between 17% and 26.7%. In dollar terms using GPL’s 2012 turnover of $29,028 million consumers will have fork out another $7,750 million per year. As we await the predictable calls from Government’s ventriloquists in the private sector and consumer movement, and we should consider the following: 1. Contrary to what whichever accountants loosely might have said, GPL did not lose $7.6 B in 2012. It lost $4,872 million but is now playing around with a book

entry of $2,795 million of Deferred Tax which any accountant ought to know is not a recurring charge.

Dishonestly it seems, the company is using this charge to come close to the figure of $7,750 million which it is asking the PUC to approve. It appears to have escaped the attention of the company and its independent accountants that if the 26.7% rate increase is approved, the Deferred Tax entry ought not to have been made in the first place.

2. The Licence on which GPL is relying is a licence signed between the Government and CDC, under which CDC as an investor was guaranteed a minimum rate of return. By its reliance on the Licence, GPL is effectively demanding increased returns on every dollar injected in the company by the Government. What makes such a reliance more absurd and illogical is that the licence is effectively between the Government and the Government.

3. GPL’s business model seems to be one that says regardless of how much the company is mis-managed the taxpayers or consumers must underwrite it. That is turning business on its head. It must first operate efficiently, charge fair rates and put itself in a position where it becomes attractive to investors and lenders.

Under the Brassington/Dindyal stewardship, the company has deteriorated.

4. The company derives revenue from only 68% of its production. It needs to explain why with the highest paid management team in Guyana (the CEO alone receives $4 million per month), it cannot drastically increase that percentage and therefore earn more revenue, or at least reduce its costly losses. The Licence imposes on the company a duty to

reduce losses but after several years and billions of dollars it has been unable to do so. If the Brassington/ Dindyal led team had managed to reduce losses by 1-2% per annum during their stewardship, they would not have been asking for any increases at this time, or for years to come, since the reduction of losses would release funds to the bottom line. As I wrote in the press in April of this year “… inappropriate policies and inept management at GPL are costing the country in the range of $5,469 million and $6,641 million per annum, based on 2010 turnover.”

Those numbers would have risen significantly since 2010.

5. It is commercial lunacy for the company to believe that it can increase charges by 26.7% without any impact on demand. I therefore look forward to an explanation from the company on the assumptions it has made about the impact on demand which a 26.7% tariff increase will have (elasticity of demand).

6. Even a utility has to take note of social considerations and the likely response of consumers to what appears to be arbitrary, unreasonable and unjust imposition on the people. The public would simply not accept the proposed rates.

The PUC, the Government and the public can no longer allow the company to operate with a failed model and incompetent management under an inappropriate Licence. A full enquiry into this company needed to have been held a long time now and meaningful action taken to address systemic policy, technical, managerial, human resources and regulatory issues. We see what the delay has cost us. We cannot afford any further delay.

Christopher Ram

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Tuesday June 11, 2013

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 9

The stranger next door As late as the early 1970s, when night fell, dinner consumed and the children completed their homework, members of the household would usually sit either in the sitting room or on the verandah and discuss various matters, but mainly the events of the day. In those days there was no television and for news we relied upon the radio. But that was not the only source of information.

Those members of the household who worked would return with their own stories and the tidbits of information they had picked up.

Even the housewives who went to the market would also return with stories they had heard.

At nights families would sit together and share these stories. They would also find some time to read or play cards before retiring. These activities tended to bond the household and provided an environment in which everyone looked out for his or her own family.

Sometimes while chatting on the verandah, you would

look over and see your neighbour and his family doing the same. And you would exchange greetings and even discuss matters without having to leave your home.

That was one of the benefits of living in a traditional society. Everyone within a street knew each other.

And within the home there were hardly any secrets.

Even when there was the odd dispute there was no shortage of people to bring the two disputants together.

There was also a strong sense of community. In any village, everyone got to know the other.

Even within the towns, it was unusual for a resident to not know the households on the streets in which he or she lived. Thus, if someone had a problem he could always appeal to his neighbours for support which was almost always forthcoming.

Such, also, were the benefits of living in a traditional society.

There are many reasons why Guyanese survived the

hard times of the late seventies and eighties. One of those reasons was due to the free exchange of information that took place within communities.

If for example, the then Guyana Stores would be selling cooking oil the following day and someone in the street got wind of this, that person would not keep this information to himself but would pass it on to his or her neighbours.

And if one member was short of a scarce commodity and another had, you could bet the latter would share with the person in need. This was the sort of system that helped to sustain Guyanese during the hard guava season.

With economic liberalisation, things began to change.

Liberalism is underpinned by the philosophy of personal initiative: that a man or a woman can become whatever he or she wants through his or her own effort.

Economic liberalism placed the interests of the community as secondary to the individual. What

Dem boys seh...

People paying back mortgage and de wuk ain’t done This country full of joke and bluff.

Imagine de leaders of this country tek out a mortgage pun Skeldon—a US$200 million mortgage and dem start paying back and de factory ain’t wukking yet. Is like tekking out a mortgage pun a house and paying back de mortgage and still can’t live in de house.

Dem boys seh that is de same thing Jagdeo and Brazzy do to Guyana when dem tek de money fuh de Skeldon sugar factory.

But when dem friends did tek de mortgage pun de Berbice Bridge dem mek sure that dem same friends get dem interest even before de Bridge did build. That is wha everybody know as self-interest.

Dem boys seh that de two big Bees already tek out a huge mortgage, this time fuh de hydro. That mortgage shoulda done sign already but nuff thing gone wrang.

People get set up again. Dem gun deh paying back de mortgage and de road ain’t gun even

done much less de hydro dam.

In some country, people does go to jail fuh things like that. Some people already collecting money pun de Marriott and that is one project wha people don’t even know who invest in it and who own it. Dem know who mekking de furniture and who got de contract fuh de kitchen.

That is smart investment. When is taxpayer money people ain’t got to worry about mekking a profit. When is thiefing money is a different story. Kimbia can’t attract thiefing money suh de Transport people got to beg fuh get de wuk done. And Brazzy ain’t even pick he teeth because he can’t get money from that project. All de project that he can get money from involve feasibility study.

He didn’t even waste time wid a feasibility study wid de Transport project.

Talk half and wait fuh more mortgage.

developed was a rat race whereby everyone tried to improve his or her own lot without regard to the overall benefit of the community.

In the process, social and communal ties which had helped to sustain us for so long began to fall apart.

Communities became highly impersonal. And with this impersonality, residents have become strangers in their own villages.

People do not mix as before. They also do not lend that degree of support that once existed. And this is one of the main reasons why each day, we can pick up the newspaper and be horrified at

what we read.

Each day we read about fights within villages, about one person stabbing another over a $500 bet, of a husband forcing rat poison down the throat of his wife, of neighbour breaking into the home of neighbour and of friends betraying the trust of each other.

Attempts can be made to reverse these negative trends through the strengthening of community ties, but this task will always remain difficult if liberalisation continues to be the guiding philosophy within the country.

Everything cannot be left to the invisible hand of the

market.

We have got to return to those values which existed in an earlier time, a time before television when family members sat together and shared their experiences, their dreams and their fears, a time when a n e i g h b o u r w o u l d come running to your rescue without being asked, and a time when having more than what your neighbour was not that important.

An alert security guard yesterday foiled an early morning attempt by bandits to break into a money-safe at the KFC outlet at Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara.

According to reports, the guard was in a hut near the southern side of the building around 03:00 hrs, when he saw a man standing under a shed near the outlet.

On being questioned by the guard, the man claimed that he was sheltering from the rain, which was pouring at the time.

However, the guard became suspicious when he observed that the man’s clothes were dry.

He then came out of his security hut and ordered the man to leave.

Kaieteur News was told that another man then rushed up to the guard and struck him on the head with a handgun and relieved the injured man of his cell phone. The guard’s screams alerted nearby residents, who began to switch on their lights.

The robbers, joined by two other men who had

already broken into the building, then fled in a waiting car.

When police ranks visited the scene, they observed a shattered window at the northern side of the building.

Further checks revealed that the intruders had attempted to open a safe in the building.

Kaieteur News understands that images of the intruders were recorded by surveillance cameras on the premises.

However, police were unable to identify the burglars because of the poor quality of the images.

Guard foils break-in at KFC money-safe

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Tuesday June 11, 2013

=== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ===

Pleasantly philosophical, pleasantly tragic I first met Reverend, Dr. Dale Bisnuth at UG. We were both on the staff. He lectured in history. You could not miss his learning. He had a doctorate and knew his subject in a vastly competent way. Always when we meet, we would talk politics because that was all I wanted to discuss.

After you knew Dale Bisnauth, you had to appreciate him. This was a human being that was very likeable.

As the race for free and fair elections under the Desmond Hoyte presidency heated up, someone got to Bisnauth and influenced him to take a public stand. I always thought that Dale was

WPA material. His style of politics was classically WPAish. But he ended up helping to form a quasipolitical movement named GUARD. You never know what life has in store for the people of the world. Elections were held in 1992 and Dale was invited to join the PPP Government as Minister of Education. I lost contact with him because he was no longer at UG and as a supporter of the WPA at the time, I lost contact too with friends I had in the PPP because a coolness developed between the WPA and PPP out of the PPP’s government snubbing of the WPA. During his sojourn with

the PPP, I met Dale Bisnauth only twice and both times we talked in his office. One occasion was pleasantly philosophical on both sides.

The other one was pleasantly tragic for Bisnauth not me.

I went to see him as Education Minister because his Ministry was unfair to my nephew from Barbados who returned to Guyana to live.

There were offering him a place in a third rate high school even though my nephew went to a top Barbadian school.

Dale looked at the equivalency report and said to me, ‘Take this note to Queen’s College.” I said no. I showed him that the equivalency report put the

school in Guyana as St. Stanislaus. But he said; “I am offering a Kissoon a place at Queen’s.” I smiled and responded, “Dale, I don’t want this to come back to haunt me, Freddie Kissoon used lines to get his nephew into Queen’s.” That was it. I chose St. Stanislaus and left without further discussion.

The other moment I was in his office was nearing the end of his tenure. He called me in to ask what was happening at UG because he got word that I was about to be fired.

I looked at him across the table and felt sad for my country. I knew Guyana was not going to go anywhere if people like Dale had this approach to justice.

Here was the Minister of Education and a senior Cabinet member secretly informing a UG lecturer that he is about to be unfairly sacked and he the Minister with some administrative authority at UG could do nothing about.

Why then did Dale form GUARD and why criticize the PNC Government for similar

dismissals when Dale was an outspoken UG lecturer?

Weeks later I was fired with Dale’s Permanent Secretary, Hydar Ally voting against me in the UG Council. Poor Dale, he couldn’t stop his PS from victimizing a UG lecturer.

For me, then, he had become a waste as a Minister.

I never felt the same way about Dale any longer although I knew he did not agree with my dismissal and had positive feelings about me.

Dale Bisnauth was moved out of the Cabinet after the assumption to power by Bharrat Jagdeo and lived the rest of his life in obscurity.

He wrote a weekly column for the PPP newspaper, the Mirror then stopped as he became more and more disenchanted.

I had one last conversation with him and that was over the phone. I was doing a eulogy for Dr. Josh Ramsammy after he died and rang Dale to consult on the Government’s mistreatment of Josh because of the independent stand he took at UG as Pro-Chancellor Dale was livid at the

Frederick Kissoon mistreatment of Josh, He shouted over the phone, “You write, you quote me, what Nanda Gopaul told you is nonsense. Josh was removed because he did not take instructions.” (end of quote). I published what Dale told me and never had another word with him.

Six weeks ago, I heard he died at the Georgetown Public Hospital at the A&E What a tragic life for a top Guyanese historian. His heart was never in politics. His heart was never happy in the PPP. But he was a weak human being.

He was under the strong influence of Janet Jagan and be broke from her when she refused to stop the rut. It was too late for him and his country.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

GNIC completes $25M variation to MV KIMBIA - Ferry should return to work this week

Tuesday June 11, 2013

City Hall threatened with blackout …has $1B in outstanding electricity payments

Councilors vote on their remuneration restored

A view of the repaired hull of MV Kimbia in the Drydock Amidst the contention that the Guyana National Industrial Corporation, GNIC, had demanded $79 million from the Government for unapproved work to the transport vessel MV Kimbia, Operations Engineer of the company, Jadesh Ramjag, explained the reason for added cost.

GNIC had requested the additional sum for repairs which were deemed “critical” and necessary for “preservation of the vessel seaworthiness.”

Ramjag said that the work

included repairs to the hull, a replacement of a discharge valve situated in the engine room, and replacement of several other structures of the boat.

He explained that prior to the docking of the boat an estimate was prepared by the company. “However after the vessel was docked it was discovered that repairs were beyond the estimated price.”

The vessel, MV Kimbia, is about 40 years old. It had not been in dry docks for the past five years. And on that occasion the work was done

by ECVieira Shipyards. Again the methodology of seeking to price jobs without a thorough check was applied.

It was resolved when Vieira threatened to move to the courts to recover the outstanding variation of $65 million.

Again, this time around, there was no estimate. GNIC never checked the requirements, according to practice, Instead it offered a repair cost but the work never got underway until two months later.

Continued on page 15

Man held for wife’s mystery death alleges police brutality A Mahaica man who remained in custody up to last night over the mysterious death of his wife is accusing police of beating him.

Kaieteur News understands that the man complained yesterday of feeling unwell, as a result of the beating which allegedly occurred at his house on Saturday night while police were probing his wife’s mysterious death.

The man had reported to police that his wife, 31-yearold Vanessa Seeram, had hanged herself following a row they had earlier that evening.

But when police arrived at the De Hoop, Mahaica house, They became suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death after they found her sitting in a chair with a leather belt tightly wrapped around her neck and her foot tied to the bed.

The dead woman’s brother, Ganesh Maye, who is convinced that Seeram was murdered, had confirmed that his sister’s husband was engaged in a scuffle with police ranks at the murder

Vanessa Seeram scene.

He could not say what caused the scuffle; but a police source suggested that it stemmed from the suspect’s aggressive attitude towards the ranks.

M e a n w h i l e , investigations into Seeram’s death suffered a setback yesterday, when the post mortem examination was postponed.This newspaper was unable to ascertain the reason for the postponement.

Seeram was described as

a suicidal alcoholic who prior to Saturday night had attempted to take her own life.

Kaieteur News understands that she had previously doused her body with kerosene and set herself alight.

Seeram and her husband have been living together for close to 15 years.

The woman’s teenage daughter, Dhanwattie, told this newspaper that she was attending a religious function on Saturday night, a few miles away from her home when her father came and informed her that her mother was dead. The news was so shocking that she lost consciousness.

“I didn’t get to speak to anybody; it was like I was wiped off completely, they had to take me to Mahaicony Hospital,” the girl said.

She admitted that her mother drank a lot and this caused a lot of problems in the home.

“My mom was always like that, she’s the one that is always wrong. The last time she put me out late in the night. Normally she drinks, every day,” the dead woman’s daughter explained.

As early as this morning, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will be hosting an urgent meeting of the Council’s Finance Committee to address the likelihood of the Council’s electricity being cut before the week is out or by early next week.

Not without the usual bickering between the Council and acting Town Clerk, a decision was subsequently taken to address the matter. They all agreed that ‘blackout’ means the Council will be unable to function.

City Hall is alleged to owe the Guyana Power and Light some $1,090,572,575 as at April 30, 2013. The letter addressed to Mayor Hamilton Green stated that the Council’s indebtedness to the power company rose by some $186,711,962 from last August when GPL would have been corresponding with the Council over outstanding payments.

GPL thus demanded that the Council pay all funds owing by Friday or face disconnection and legal action instituted by the power company.

The City Council however, expressed surprise at the colossal sum said to be owing. Councilor Ranwell Jordan reported that every month the Council has been paying $7M to the electricity company. For two years now, he continued, the Council has failed to reconcile payments for street lights which, he said is the major part of what was owed to GPL. GPL too was blamed for not reconciling the street light bill which according to him, had to be written off since it included sums acquired “umpteen years ago.” Two overdrafts were already written off. It was also expressed that there had been talks with GPL over outstanding bills and discourse on manners of payment, he said.

Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene added that she

had been following the GPL issue as it pertained to payments owing to the electricity company. After expressing her surprise at the current bill, she challenged the acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba to deny a contention that she was “dealing with the matter at another level.”

Chase-Greene said that under the Pluck (a former Town Clerk) administration, there were talks with GPL. She said when the current Town Clerk assumed her position, she (Greene) called the Town Clerk on many occasions to ascertain the position of those talks and was told by the Town Clerk that she was “dealing with it at another level”.

Chase-Greene pointed out that in relation to another outstanding electricity bill that was already dealt with, payments had to be made within six months and were so done despite the austerity measures.

An argument however sprung in the midst of talks pertaining to the GPL bill when the Town Clerk was asked to provide the proof she promised, to support allegations that the Mayor’s office had been abusing the use of gas and ink. The matter came up when the Mayor spoke about getting a copy of the GPL bill to the Town Clerk. He charged that his office was being denied ink and gas for travel by the Town Clerk, and a copy of the GPL bill to the Town Clerk was being done on a personal capacity.

The Council refused to accept a verbal report on the abuse allegation as they said Sooba promised that at the next Statuary meeting-which was yesterday- that she would provide written information.

Back on the GPL issue, the Council by way of a vote decided that the GPL matter would be earnestly dealt with this morning. The Town Clerk however sought to have her say on the matter and was

denied. She was told by the Mayor that the matter was going to be discussed at the meeting and there was no further need to discuss the matter.

The Town Clerk however, disagreed with the Mayor, contending that she had no information pertaining to the letter and as the Mayor ensured the Town Clerk that she would receive a copy of the letter, she noted, “No, your Worship not a copy will suffice me, the original will suffice.”

More arguments erupted when Councilors expressed disgust at what is said to be the Town Clerk’s disrespect.

The Town Clerk further advised that the Deputy Town Clerk (acting) would be attending this morning’s meeting as she is extremely busy. When asked about what could be more important than the Council’s business, the Town Clerk did not give a reply.

Several other matters up for discussion saw outbursts at yesterday’s meeting, especially the issue of cutting Councilors remuneration.

Councilors argued that cutting their pay for ensuring the Council’s work was not within Sooba’s authority.

They argued that it states nowhere in the constitution that their pay should be determined, whether a Councilor is at a meeting or not, nor does it say the Town Clerk has that authority to make cuts.

A response from the Local Government Ministry is anticipated since the Mayor said he has already written the minister on the matter. The Council however decided by way of a majority vote that the money will be restored to the Councilors; no one was against the issue, while three persons abstained since they felt that the Council should wait on the Minister’s response. The Council said they are waiting to see if Sooba will disobey their instructions.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

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GNIC completes $25M... Barnwell North residents share plight with AFC

From page 14 “Our ship yard manager took the initiative to execute some of the work in interest of the urgency and to maintain the structure and integrity of the vessel…Because this is the nature of our business we know what is best for a passenger vessel of this sort for the safety of the crew and passenger abroad.”

In November last year, GNIC was awarded the contract to repair the vessel, which has been plying the North West District for the past 20 years.

Correspondence seen by this newspaper revealed that GNIC and the Transport and Harbours Department entered into an agreement on November 5, for the docking of the boat at a contract sum of $118M. There was no inspection.

Subsequent to that, another variation of $79M was submitted to TH&D, as other essential repairs were outlined. Only $25 M of that amount was approved for work to be carried out.

None-the-less, the list was further reduced by the management of Transport and Harbours Department, in spite of a visit to the vessel

by President Donald Ramotar and Transport Minister, Robeson Benn who viewed the condition of the boat.

The Maintenance works executed on the vessel amounted to approximately $25M of the variation cost.

Priority was given to areas needing urgent remedial work.

According to the engineer, lack of regular maintenance has contributed mainly to the decay of the MV Kimbia. The vessel should be docked at least every 18 months.

The vessel has been sitting in the dockyard pending repairs since January 13. The delay has had a severe impact on the transportation service of the North West residents. They have been forced to rely on the much smaller Lady Northcote and other private vessels at great costs to get to and from the district.

Chief Executive Officer, CEO of GNIC, Clinton Williams disclosed yesterday that there is currently no dispute surrounding the maintenance work of the vessel.

“That issue was sorted out and the vessel should be released by Wednesday,” the CEO concerning the Main transport vessel of Region One, North West District.

Williams sought to clarify the contents of an article which was published in the Sunday Edition of the Kaieteur News under the heading, GNIC demands $79 million for unapproved work.

The Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) and the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) were in a

disagreement over maintenance to the MV Kimbia after the company requested an additional $79M over the original $118 M contract, but T&HD was only prepared to approve an additional $10.8M for variation.

“There exists no dispute at this time between Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated and the Transport and Harbours Department as it relates to the current Drydocking of the MV Kimbia.

“On the contrary, the relationship between GNIC and T&HD has been very cordial and professional for this particular job as has been the case for all of the previous Drydocking jobs executed over the years for T&H,” the CEO said.

Kaieteur News understands that the duration of the repairs was for 70 days. During a visit to the dockyard, it was recommended that the vessel should be scrapped as Minister Benn noted that may very well be last duties of the ferry for North West districts.

Benn had explained that the severe marine conditions along the North West route coupled with the age of the vessel make it unwise for the vessel to continue plying that route in the long term.

The cost for a new vessel of this sort would be approximately US$10M.

One of the resident standing in his flooded yard where he heard alligators and caimans crawling in the night and where he killed two snakes.

A team headed by the Chairman of the Alliance for Change, Nigel Williams, on Saturday visited the community of Barnwell North, East Bank Demerara to listen to concerns by residents of the area.

The community which is located east of Mocha Arcadia was established in the late 1970s when persons were given leases for one acre plots for agricultural development.

However over the years it has been inhabited and cultivated by various small scale farmers, among them

Granger’s comments on budget cuts disturbing - Edghill The Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has responded to an article, attributed to leader of the Combined Opposition, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, who reportedly said that the 2013 budget cuts have had no impact on the operations of Government.

The Finance Minister called the position “unnerving.”

“I am not sure of the basis on which he arrived at his conclusion, but we have before us clear evidence of the impact of the budget cut.”

Dr Singh said that the news from GPL in relation to the proposed tariff increase “not only drives home the grave implication of the cuts imposed, but I believe drives home the urgency of the Amaila Falls Project.”

He called for the Combined Opposition to come out clearly and definitively articulate its position on the Hydro Power Project.

Junior Finance Minister, Juan Edghill, who also addressed the proposed tariff increase, asked whether it

was a case where the political opposition was looking to deliberately set the stage for street protests as a result of people’s inability to pay the increase He said that politics should be about issues and not personality.

He reminded of the line of questioning in the Parliamentary Committee of Supply prior to the slash earlier this year.

Edghill suggested that even with the relevant information regarding the repercussions of a cut to the

GPL subsidy, it was still effected.

Responding to the claims

by Granger that the cuts have not had have an impact; Edghill suggested that “one could only think he was not well advised.”

The Junior Finance Minister said that Government did warn that 160,000 households will be affected.

“Is he creating a platform for political instability? Are they using people as pawns by brining suffering and untold difficulty?”

persons from Pomeroon and the North West District.

Access to the village is by way of a “poorly maintained” earthen dam which extends from the squatting area for about two miles in an easterly direction. The dam is adjacent to and runs alongside the canal which flows into the Demerara River. Several persons live on smaller dams which run perpendicular and lead to the canal.

At an unarranged meeting by the team, residents of the area raised a number of issues including no potable water to their homes. They also saw the need for a pump at the koker of the canal at the Demerara River to reduce the permanent flooding during the rainy season. They also called for electricity and the construction for an access road.

Some of the residents added that it was apparent to see that during the rainy season their agricultural holdings were permanently under water as the water in Canal would back up and

flood their holdings.

The AFC said that the serious consequence of this was that they could and would only plant during the dry season. The economic consequences of this were also very evident.

Also raised by residents was the daily task of getting their produce to the market proved to be a challenge; as the dam is in a poor condition and when the produce is taken to the good road at Mocha. Transportation to the market is unreliable as most of the minibuses and taxis would already be filled by residents of Mocha.

In a release from the AFC it was related that “The Community Development Council (CDC) had not held elections for the past four years. According to the residents, they are not satisfied with the manner in which the CDC conducts its affairs particularly between those persons who held leases and those further back that had applied for leases, Continued on page 18

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Tuesday June 11, 2013

Govt. refuses to disclose IDB concerns on US$840M Amaila Falls Project ...concedes GPL tariff increase will place additional burden on Guyanese

Substantive Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh addressing media operatives in the company of the party’s Executive Secretary Zulfikar Mustapha and Bishop Juan Edghill Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, yesterday refused to disclose any concerns that the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) may hold, regarding the construction of the US$840M Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project.

The Finance Minister was at the time addressing members of the media at the party’s weekly press engagement at Freedom House. He said that the due diligence being conducted by the IDB is at an advanced stage. IDB is investing US$175M. “I wouldn’t want to preempt the conclusion of the work by saying what the concerns are,” according to Dr Singh, but he did disclose that all of the partners have

been collaborating.

He said that each of the institutions involved would have its review processes that are ongoing; each of the hurdles met thus far have been overcome.

“The major international partners are at an advanced stage of due diligence....once complete we should see the project approved.”

Dr Singh said that he would not want to be tied to a date for financial closure, only to say that progress is being made.

GPL CRISIS The Finance Minister said that while the process is yet to be completed, the current financial crisis facing the Guyana Power and Light

(GPL), that prompted an application for a tariff increase, has served to emphasise the need for the completion of the 165MW Hydro Power Plant.

Dr Singh, supported by Junior Finance Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill and the party’s Executive Secretary, Zulfikar Mustapha, all of whom addressed the issue of the tariff increase, said that the blame should lie squarely at the feet of the Combined Opposition.

Executive Secretary of the party, Mustapha, said, “The party is very concerned at the recent application by GPL to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for the approval of a 26.7 per cent increase.”

He said that the party

would lay the blame squarely at the feet of the political opposition given that the subsidy was meant to stave off precisely such an increase.

INCREASED BURDEN Substantive Minister, Dr Singh, when asked about the affordability of the Guyanese consumer to pay an increased tariff, should it be approved, said that it will ultimately rest with the individual household and their need to prioritise their spending.

The Finance Minister said, should the GPL tariff be increased, “at an individual level, a person will have to decide whether he “can afford to buy one thing or another or pay for one thing rather than another...it’s really a determination of what that person consider to be more important from among competing demands.”

He said that the “reality is that this (tariff increase) does

impose an additional burden on the Guyanese consumer.”

Asked why the government did not approach the National Assembly to have the money restored prior to the proposed application for a tariff hike, Dr Singh said, the matter is under consideration.

Dr Singh used the occasion instead, to lament what he called an opposition smokescreen and asked why if all of the questions were initially answered; they cut the subsidy in the first place?

“The circumstances are well known to Guyanese people; we have said that we would like to improve the reliability of the grid and would like to improve affordability, in fact that is the genesis of the commitment to the Amaila Falls Project.”

DELICATE BALANCE He said that while the administration has been pushing to get the Amaila

Opposition Leader Brigadier (rtd) David Granger Falls Project, on stream the administration has been looking to ensure that the power company is equipped to meet the needs of the national grid. “We have invested in upgrading the generation capability.”

GPL’s most recent increase to its tariff structure was in December 2007. From then to now fuel prices have skyrocketed with GPL absorbing the higher cost, according to Dr Singh.

“The reality is that GPL was a company in financial distress anyhow...GPL has been carrying a fuel bill that has grown phenomenally without increasing its bill...GPL was facing financial challenges even before the cut was imposed, the cuts exacerbated the situation.”

He said, too, that while it was unwelcomed news, it should be surprising that GPL finds itself in a situation where its finances can’t sustain the company’s operations, hence the need to increase its tariff.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan serenades Barnwell North residents... audience at National Stadium

By Rehana Ashley Ahamad The show, as most Guyanese organized events, started almost two hours late, but as the actions kicked in, even those standing behind the bars at the back didn’t mind the wait.

Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the undisputed king of Sufi music, was welcomed on stage by a standing ovation, as his band did the instrumental version of Jiya Dhadak Dhadak from the movie, Kalyug.

Armed with his harmonium, the Pakistani vocalist created goose bumps for his audience as he opened with his popular piece ‘Allah hoo Allah hoo’ from his hit album, Janasheen.

As promised, the compilation of songs was

mostly from popular Bollywood films well known to Guyanese.

During his four hour-long performances that had two brief breaks, Ali Khan dished out some of the most loved filmi songs.

These included ‘Aaj din chadeya’ from the movie Love Aaj Kal; ‘Tum jo aye’ from the film Once Upon A Time in Mumbai; ‘Ore Piya’ from Madhuri Dixit’s come back hit, Aaja Nachle; Sajda from My Name Is Khan; Teri Meri from Bodyguard, and Teri Ore from Singh Is King; ‘O Rabba Main toh Mar Gaya oye’ from the 2011 film, Mausam. These pieces were all complemented

by Rahatji’s breathtaking classical renditions.

It’s one thing to watch the songs on television and to listen to them on radio and

mp3 players, but it was definitely unforgettable to see Rahat Fateh Ali Khan live, giving that unique kick to every note.

It was undoubtedly a magnificent performance by Khan, with the highlights being Dagabaaz Re from the movie Dabaang 2, and the closing song, Tere Mast Do Nain from Dabaang one.. Prior to Khan’s appearance, the opening act did a fantastic job in preparing fans for a night of musical magic.

Purnash Durgaprasad sang a few golden numbers which catered to the more mature folks.The Canje, Berbice lad’s performance was as natural as any International artiste.

This might’ve been from the acquired experiences as being one of the top 10 finalists in the SaReGaMaPa international competition, as well as being the opening act for music sensations Sonu Nigam and Kailash Kher.

The other acts included Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T)’s Jingle and Song contestant-- Neil Maraj and the Eshari Dance troupe, who could’ve put in at least a little work in changing up their usual dance routine.

From page 17 and had not yet been awarded leases”.

The resident also complained of favoritism in the way persons are selected by the CDC for jobs in the community for example, cleaning drains.

It was also brought to the attention of the AFC that in 2005 Mott Mc Donald, a UK engineering firm, was commissioned by the Government of Guyana and provided to the Government and the NDIA a

comprehensive report on drainage of the coast. The report included a report on the drainage of the lands in Barnwell North.

The recommendations made in the report on Barnwell North have not been implemented.

After the public meeting, the AFC team ventured into one of the side dams where they saw the impact of the flooding.

To think that flooding was the only plight of the residents, it was then related

that in the evenings they would hear the sounds of caiman/alligators moving about downstairs. The resident said, he had already killed quite a few snakes. The walk out from this property to the main road is at least two miles in what would be absolute darkness in the night.

During the visit the team also met with the chairman of the CDC who explained that he had spoken with the NDIA and the Minister about flooding in the area.

Policeman allegedly executed...

From page 2 police official told this newspaper, although he avoided concluding that Pitman was electrocuted.

Yesterday, when Kaieteur News visited the wet and muddy alleyway where Pitman’s body was found, there was not a soul in sight, nor were there signs of illegal wires.

One man who was standing about three corners from the scene recalled seeing two ranks chasing after a man early yesterday morning.

“I see a man run and then I see two policemen behind him and then a little after I hear the policeman run on an electrical wire and die,” the man claimed.

Pitman, a father of a fivemonth-old baby and a twoyear-old of Lot 23 North Road, Bourda served the Guyana Police Force for the past two years. He was previously stationed at the Brickdam Police Station and was transferred to the Outpost a few months ago.

No one from the Prashad Nagar Outpost was willing to speak to the media but investigators were seen in front of

the building pointing in different directions, probably trying to figure out the route the cops took.

At the GPHC yesterday, Pitman’s mother, Stacy Pitman was inconsolable. She along with other grieving relatives stood in front of the hospital’s mortuary in tears.

“An officer came to my house this morning and ask me my name and I told him and he ask if my son name Dorwin Pitman and I said yes.

He told me that my son died this morning. He said that my son didn’t have no gunshot wound and no marks of violence and that he is at the hospital,” the weeping mother recalled.

She said that the officer explained to her that her son and another rank were chasing after a prisoner. “He said that the two police took a different route and when the other one come to the location my son took, he saw him lying on the ground.”

The woman said she last saw her son Sunday night when he left home for work.

“He was suppose to come home today (yesterday) but

look what happened. They should really stop with this illegal connection, look how I lost my son.’

Meanwhile the police have launched a manhunt for the escaped prisoner.

GTI student hides three live rounds in mouth - remanded for arms possession Frane Mikhail Braithwaite, 19, who is a student of the Guyana Technical Institute (GTI) was yesterday remanded, and consequently charged for possession of ammunition, after he was allegedly found with three live bullets hidden in his mouth and without being a holder of a license at the time.

When Magistrate Fabayo Azore read the charge to the defendant at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, the defendant pleaded not guilty.

The particulars of the charge stated that on June 7, the defendant at Cummingsburg, had in his possession, three live nine millimeter rounds without being the holder of a license.

Court documents indicated that the defendant, who resides at 41 Station Street, Kitty, was in the Cummingsburg area when he was seen by officers to be acting in a suspicious manner. The accused was then stopped and searched.

An application was made for reasonable bail by his lawyer Mark Waldron, who said that his client is adamant that at no point was he in possession of the ammunition.

But the prosecution objected to bail.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

AFC wants regulatory body to probe GPL The weekend announcement by Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) to increase electricity rates by 26.7 per cent effective May, has prompted warnings from the Opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) that it could trigger “huge national unrest”.

The development has also seen the government party blaming the Parliamentary Opposition for exacerbating the financial situation at GPL with a $5.2B budget cut in April to its capital programs.

The AFC is now demanding that the regulatory, Public Utility Commission (PUC), investigate GPL’s call for the rate hike and hear other stakeholders interested in the matter before it orders or ratifies any increases by GPL. “Electricity increases by GPL comes under the jurisdiction of the PUC, and this regulatory body must not exhibit itself as a toothless poodle. The AFC would like to warn the PPP Government,

- warns of national unrest if tariffs hike imposed that this highly ill-advised and unjustified act on the part of GPL, will be provoking huge national unrest,” AFC said in a statement yesterday.

The Opposition party which together with A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), has a one-seat majority in the National Assembly, used that advantage in April to block $5.2B from GPL’s $10.2B Government subvention. The monies reportedly represent draw-downs from loans to repair GPL’s aging network and an electricity subsidy from government. GPL said that it faced severe losses totalling billions of dollars last year because of soaring fuel costs.

The Opposition in blocking the monies for GPL had said that not sufficient reasons were put forward on how the monies will be spent.

The Opposition also said that it was not convinced that GPL

has done enough to reduce its commercial and technical losses which account for over 30 per cent of its production.

RESIST IT! The proposed hike in electricity rates by the statecontrolled GPL “must be vigorously resisted by the Guyanese people. After in excess of 20 years in office, the PPP Government has consistently failed to provide reliable electricity to this nation. Even after spending billions of dollars every year through loans and prohibitively high prices on new generating capacity, it is vividly clear that the Government has no solution in sight in the context of its statutory duty to provide electricity at an affordable cost,” AFC said yesterday.

The Opposition party said that despite the abundance of alternative

sources of energy in Guyana, including wind, solar and hydro potential, the Guyanese people continue to suffer hourly blackouts with repeated adverse effects on homeowners’ appliances and goods, business-owners’ production equipment and school children’s education .

AFC said that GPL’s Board of Directors, comprising the “familiar square pegs in round holes and soupdrinkers”, has yet to devise a turnaround plan after so many years in office.

“In fact were they in the private sector or in a state entity in any other country, they would have long been fired for incompetence. First to go would have been its Chairman, Winston Brassington. But their loyalty to known PPP powers gives them a licence to pass on their inefficiencies to an already heavily burdened taxpayer.”

BOARD MUST GO AFC demanded that the entire board be replaced with competent and independent professionals.

“Whatever is keeping Mr. Brassington and his team at GPL in the face of chronic failure and incompetence, has broken the tolerance limit of all in Guyana.”

However, the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has said that it is concerned with the recent application by GPL to PUC for the 26.7 per cent hike in tariffs.

PPP made it clear that it is the fault of the AFC/APNU

alliance which combined to slash $5.2B from the 2013 National Budget that was “allocated by Government to GPL to prevent consumers having to face such a burden.”

PPP said that the cut was despite several pleas by Government, the management of GPL, other stakeholders and the party itself for the AFC and APNU to refrain from cutting GPL’s subsidy but “they ignored this and went ahead; fully aware of the consequences it would have on consumers.

The Opposition cannot pretend to be ignorant of the challenges and what is being done to correct them by the GPL’s management as all this information has been presented to both the AFC and APNU.” The ruling party said that what continues to boggle the mind is that while the Opposition is making excuses to deny consumers along the coast the benefit of such subsidies from Government; “they did not display this level of concern when they approved the subsidies Government had also set aside for Region 10 to the tune of close to $3B. On Saturday, GPL said it lost $7.6 B in 2012. It last increased tariffs in 2007.

The 26.7 per cent increase in tariffs will help GPL to recover from its deficit position, the statement said.

GPL, in highlighting the

GPL’s Chairman, Winston Brassington fuel costs problem, said prices have risen from a weighted average of US$64/barrel in 2006, to US$108, in 2012. In 2006, GPL’s fuel bill was $12.4B while in 2012, this doubled to $24.2B. Last year, fuel alone accounted for 83 per cent of GPL’s tariff revenue.

“GPL has delayed implementing full tariff increases implementing increases in only two of the last 10 years, resulting in GPL having foregone revenue of over $21.7 B, after taking account of the $5.2 B to be recovered from the 26.7 % increase.”

The power company said that the fuel situation is not likely to change until 2017 when the Amaila Falls hydro project is expected to be completed and generation costs will be reduced to half of what is the situation now.

Prisoner’s medication hits snag “It will be investigated”, - Director of Prisons

Prisoners of the Camp Street Prison have since complained that they are not being allowed to uplift their medication from the Georgetown Public Hospital; after a prisoner received the wrong medication.

The man who requested his identity not be revealed, said that about one month ago he received an envelope with his monthly medication.

His name was not on the envelope and the tablets were different from the ones he received.

He added that after he inquired why his name was not on the envelope, the officer then verbally abused him and as such he decided not to accept the medication.

The prisoner said that he then reported he matter to the chief officer who advised him not to take the medication. “I went one month without medication.”

However, the source added that when it was time to collect his medication the following month, he not only received the package with his name and prescription, but the tablets were also different from the set he had prior.

Meanwhile, a source from the GPHC said that normally, prisoners are the ones who uplift their medication.

“Only” in the case whereby a patient cannot come and receive their medication, that a written letter signed by the chief officer and the prisoner must be submitted.

Director of Prisons Dale Erskine told this publication that he was unaware of the matter but that “it will be investigated”. He added that there are a number of reasons why wardens go to uplift medication but it is not necessary for them to accompany prisoners.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Page 23

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

U.S. holds high-level meetings on Syria, including on arming rebels (Reuters) - The United States could decide as early as this week whether to arm Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said yesterday, as Secretary of State John Kerry put off a Middle East trip to attend meetings on the subject.

The meetings are taking place as the battlefield has tilted against the rebels in the Syrian civil war as Lebanese Hezbollah has entered the fray on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, helping his forces retake the strategic town of Qusair last week.

However, the White House has debated for months whether to give arms to the rebels and a U.S. official stressed that while a decision was possible as early as this

week, deliberations on the issue could easily take longer.

U.S. officials say they will not put “boots on the ground,” code for deploying ground troops.

Fredrick Hof, a former senior U.S. official who worked on Syria policy and is now at a think tank, said the administration might decide to take charge of the distribution of weapons to the rebels but not necessarily to provide U.S. arms.

Having withdrawn U.S. troops from Iraq and working to wind up the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has sought to avoid getting more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war.

The shift in the military momentum toward Assad has made it less likely that a U.S. and Russian planned peace conference to bring the rebels and the government to the table would yield a negotiated political transition to remove Assad from power.

With Assad’s forces, backed by Hezbollah and Iran, gaining the upper hand, he has little incentive to give up power.

The renewed focus on Syria comes two years into the uprising against Assad that has seen at least 80,000 people killed and has sent hundreds of thousands of refugees into Turkey and Jordan and displaced millions within Syria.

(Reuters) - Canada, a pioneer in the use of medical marijuana, will take legal production out of private homes next year as it seeks to address more than a decade of neighborhood spats and criminal activity.

Health Canada will also snuff out its own production, which has been another legal source of the drug, and leave supplies solely to licensed growers in the private sector.

More than 30,000 people in Canada are legally authorized to use marijuana, up from around 500 in 2001 when Canada became the first country to allow terminally ill patients to grow and smoke their own marijuana.

Canada’s marijuana medical access program also included a state-managed grow-op in a disused zinc

mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba, although users complained the quality did not match that from private suppliers.

“There’s far too much potential and actual abuse within the current scheme,” said Staff Inspector Randy Franks of the Toronto Police Service drug squad, adding that police do not have access to addresses of approved sites in private homes.

“These home-grown operations are able to produce far more than they need and they have to do something with it, so they sell it mainstream.”

The new regulations took effect on Monday, but the old rules will run concurrently until March 31, 2014, to allow time for Ottawa to license new growers, said Jeannine Ritchot, director of medical

marijuana regulatory reform for Health Canada.

The changes will place growing sites under greater scrutiny, through inspections, security measures and accounting of production volumes.

“While the courts have said that there must be reasonable access to a legal source of marihuana for medical purposes, we believe that this must be done in a controlled fashion in order to protect public safety,” said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.

Marijuana use remains illegal in Canada, with the exception of medical marijuana, which is used to manage chronic pain and for conditions that include multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

(Reuters) - Insurgents struck cities across Iraq yesterday with car bombs, suicide attacks and gun battles, killing more than 70 people in worsening sectarian violence.

No group claimed responsibility for the daylong attacks, most of them in northern Iraq, but officials blame much of the violence that has killed nearly 2,000 people since April on Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda’s local wing.

The bloodshed has accompanied rising political tensions between Iraq’s majority Shi’ite leaders and the Sunni community, who

believe they have been marginalized since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Yesterday’s attacks earlier targeted markets in two northern Iraqi towns. But later insurgents hit at security forces, including an assault involving suicide bombers and rockets on police headquarters in the northern city of Mosul that killed 24, many of them police and soldiers.

The recent monthly death tolls have been the worst since inter-communal bloodletting five years ago that killed tens of thousands, partitioned Baghdad into

districts based on religious sect and drove Iraq to the edge of wide scale civil war.

The increasingly sectarian conflict in neighboring Syria, where Shi’ite Iran and the region’s Sunni Gulf powers are backing opposing sides, has also put pressure on Iraq’s own fragile inter-communal and ethnic balance.

Invigorated by S y r i a ’s m o s t l y S u n n i revolt and Iraqi Sunni d i s c o n t e n t , a l Q a e d a ’s local wing, Islamic State o f Iraq, is recruiting and regaining ground lost during its war with U.S. troops who left Iraq in December 2011.

Canada to snuff out medical marijuana production in homes

Bombs and battles hit northern Iraq, 70 dead

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 25

Candid Camera - DPP’s building Region urged to use TIFA accord monitored at AG’s office Ramlogan: This is being raised to ‘prop up e-mail fiasco’ (Trinidad Express) Staff at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Port of Spain have expressed grave concern that their every move is being monitored and recorded on camera at the Office of the Attorney General.

The revelation comes in the wake of a security contract being awarded to a company owned by one of the United National Congress’s main party financiers and allegations of electronic monitoring devices being planted at the office to monitor the conversations of the DPP Roger Gaspard during the Section 34 debacle.

Concerned staffers told the Express that they only recently learned that cameras throughout Winsure building, on Richmond Street, can be accessed remotely at the ground floor of Cabildo Chambers, the head office of the Attorney General, on St Vincent Street, Port of Spain.

Reached for comment on the report, Gaspard would only say, “I have no comment at this stage.”

But in response to the concerns raised by staffers at the DPP’s Office, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, in a telephone interview Sunday night, said, “At no point in time has anyone voiced or raised concern about these matters with me. So that it has never been an issue to warrant my involvement in any way. I therefore do not understand how what was never a concern in the past is now being raised as though it is a novelty.

“I believe this is being

mischievously and maliciously raised to prop up and give credence to the incredible e-mail fiasco.”

The AG said were it not for the enquiries made by the Express he would not even have been aware of the security cameras at the DPP’s office are being monitored at his own office.

“This is news to me. I was not aware of this,” he said.

“I would not be surprised if it exists, indeed I hope that it does, because it would be foolish to have security cameras that are not capable of being accessed by persons who are supposed to be monitoring the area that these cameras cover,” Ramlogan said.

“I do not know where the monitoring takes place as I have never had the cause or desire to make such enquiries.

It is common knowledge that regular home security cameras can be remotely accessed via the Internet from one’s laptop or cellphone with the relevant security password,” he added.

The AG said that the security arrangements at his Ministry were the responsibility of the Facilities Unit, and were in place before his assumption to office. He said that he has confined himself to “the management of legal matters that involve the State and the public’s interest”.

The unit responsible for monitoring and reviewing the data from the DPP’s Office is the Facilities Management Unit, an independent unit at the Ministry of the Attorney General managed by Kyle

Transport Minister: Parents must warn children (Trinidad Express) Minister of Transport Chandresh Sharma said Sunday that too many young people were losing their lives on the nation’s roads. And he appealed to parents to begin a campaign in their homes to educate their children on road safety.

Sharma said educational campaigns in schools and places of worship were not enough to prevent people from dying. He was commenting on the fatal crash which claimed the lives of three young women, including twin sisters.

Khadijah and Khertima Taylor, 18, and Kafiya Gill were among six people returning from a party at a nightclub in La Romaine.

Driver of the car Anthony Balkissoon, Akinton Derrick and Teenisha Garcia were listed in serious condition at the San Fernando General Hospital.

“The Government is extremely saddened by this Sunday morning news of this accident. The Government has been on a national campaign.

Sharma urged young men and women to use public transport when going out to lime. “We have 5,000 maxitaxis and they all are willing to join in. We have gone to the fete promoters, owners of pubs and restaurants and they are doing their bits,” he said. The number of road deaths for the year now stands at 79.

Thomas. Thomas, who had been working at the Ministry of the AG since 2004, was appointed facilities manager on May 3, 2010.

Sources said that while Thomas is reportedly the only authorised person to access the room where the monitors are located he will have to comply if the Attorney General made a request for any data to be handed over.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) –The third annual Caribbean investment Forum (CIF) began here yesterday with delegates being urged to take advantage of the recently signed Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between the United States and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, addressing the opening of the two-day event, said the accord which was signed during the recent

visit of United States Vice president Joe Biden to the Caribbean provides an opportunity to expand trade for the benefit of the region, individual states and “every citizen in our respective countries.

“The Caribbean Investment Forum must take advantage of the leverage offered by this renewed international involvement in the region,” she said, adding that Caribbean countries should also seek to take advantage of the

opportunities being provided

by China as a result of the visit of President Xi Jingping.

“President Xi’s offer of TT$3 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) is of particular significance for our national development.

And I want to announce today that Trinidad and Tobago would be able to immediately access these funds to accelerate the development of business/ commercial and industrial parks throughout Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

South Africa win put Pakistan...

From page 29 catch to Tsotsobe on 42.

Misbah sought to consolidate after the wicket and was booed by some parts of the partisan Birmingham crowd, but as the captain attacked during the batting powerplay, Umar Amin and Kamran Akmal fell in the same McLaren over - Akmal to a sharp catch by Du Plessis at point.

Misbah continued his aggression, only to shovel Tsotsobe to Amla at midwicket for 55, effectively ending the contest. McLaren ran through the tail for figures of 4-19.

“As a batting unit, we can say we are totally lost,” said Misbah. “One day it’s praise, one day it’s boos. When you perform well, everybody appreciates us. When you

play like this, you deserve them.”

The insipid chase only served to highlight the importance of Amla’s earlier contribution and the costliness of Amin’s drop at point when the right-hander was on seven. That was one of several fierce cut shots from Amla, who was also adept at working through mid-wicket and moving across his stumps to negate the Pakistan spinners.

Reverse sweeps were also a feature of his play, but brought his downfall as he gloved Saeed Ajmal to Hafeez at short third man shortly after Du Plessis miscued a hook off Mohammad Irfan into the covers.

De Villiers announced his arrival by pulling Malik over the mid-wicket fence.

However, his dismissal - run out in a mix-up with Duminy was a signal of things to come.

Duminy, Morris and Aaron Phangiso all went to direct hits as Robin Peterson and David Miller provided some rare late boundaries but Amla had already made the telling contribution.

“We didn’t have a lot to defend,” said Amla. “But the way we fielded and bowled up front made 230 seem a lot more than it was.

“In this competition, if you lose the first one you are pretty much under the pressure to win the next two.

Fortunately we got on the board.”

Scores: South Africa 234 for 9 (Amla 81) beat Pakistan 167 (Misbah 55, McLaren 4-19) by 67 runs.

Tuesday June 11, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): Although you may be quite sure of a recent decision, it still takes a lot of energy to remain steadfast as someone shows you a different point of view today. Others might claim that they’re not trying to change your opinion, but you feel pressure being applied anyhow.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): Your ruling planet Venus entices you with her sweet beauty, but there might be a hidden price to pay for courting pleasure today.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): It’s difficult to avoid the heavy emotions in the air now no matter how much your clever wit dances around the issues.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): There are obstacles to overcome today and you may need to confront hurtful memories to reach your desired destination.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): If you’re having a hard time choosing a direction in life now, making a decision may be complicated by your struggle with a spouse or romantic partner. But even if you’re in it to win, there still could be deeper psychological issues that bring up your fears of scarcity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): If you’re having a hard time choosing a direction in life now, making a decision may be complicated by your struggle with a spouse or romantic partner.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): You often find yourself in the middle of interpersonal tension, which ultimately allows you to play the role of an ambassador, going back and forth until you negotiate a fair solution.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): Your feelings are intensified today as Venus opposes your key planet Pluto, turning a minor disagreement into a major conflict. You can probably see both sides of an argument, but it’s still challenging to be objective when it feels like so much is at stake now.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): You may become upset if you believe that others aren’t being totally honest. In fact, you would prefer to have all feelings aired so you can decide your level of involvement based on full disclosure.

CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): Your ability to remain neutral today in the midst of an emotional clash enables you to jump into the fray without even choosing sides.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): It isn’t that you’re completely immune to the melodrama being played out around you now, but you may be somewhat removed from center stage.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): It’s challenging to find your own voice if your feelings are drowned out by the magnitude of everyone else’s.

Page 27

Ramdin suspended for two ODIs ESPNcricinfo - West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin has been suspended for two ODIs, and fined 100% of his match fees, for breaching the Code of Conduct when he claimed a catch off Misbah-ul-Haq during the Champions Trophy game against Pakistan at The Oval.

Ramdin has the right to appeal the decision within 24 hours to a judicial commissioner but, even if he does, the sanction will apply until the outcome of the appeal, which means he will not be able to play against India today.

“This is regarded as a serious offence as it is the responsibility of all players to act in the spirit of the game,” ICC match referee Chris Broad said. “I hope Mr Ramdin has learnt his lesson from this incident and that we will not see such behaviour by him or any player in the future.”

The incident took place in the ninth over of Pakistan’s innings, when Misbah bottom-edged a Kemar Roach delivery to Ramdin. The wicketkeeper initially appeared to have caught the ball but lost control of it as he fell forward, and it slipped out of his gloves on to the grass.

Instead of bringing his mistake to the notice of the umpires or his team-mates, Ramdin returned the ball to the square-leg umpire and joined his team-mates in the celebratory huddle.

Square-leg umpire Nigel Llong, however, alerted the third umpire and the replay revealed the chance had been dropped. Misbah, who was on 0, was called back and went on to hit an unbeaten 96.

Misbah later had said Ramdin’s actions were not in the spirit of the game. “What can I say about that?” he said when asked about the catch.

“I think he should have told them what happened, but I don’t know what he was thinking at that time. I would

Denesh Ramdin not be very happy if my wicketkeeper did that. If we don’t know anything, then it’s fine, but if you know clearly that it’s not a catch, you should not claim that because

it’s not in the spirit of the game.”

West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo, however, had defended Ramdin, saying the wicketkeeper did not act deliberately. “Unfortunately, he did not catch it,” Bravo said. “He’s a very honest player, and as I said, history shows if you check the records that we don’t have any stigma or negatives around us as a team. We have been true in our cricket careers and history has shown that we play the game in true spirit of the way it should be played. I don’t think we did something like this deliberately.”

The charge - under article 2.2.11 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game” - was laid by the on-field umpires Steve Davis and Llong, third umpire Tony Hill and fourth umpire Richard Kettleborough. Ramdin had pleaded not guilty and attended a hearing adjudicated by Broad on Monday.

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Tuesday June 11, 2013

3rd Annual Digicel Schools Football Tournament launched (From page 23)

-standard expected to be much higher

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It was a ceremony that fittingly represented the high standard associated with Digicel when the 3rd Annual Nationwide Schools Football Tournament was launched yesterday in the Savannah Suite of the Pegasus Hotel.

In attendance at the Launch were the Company’s CEO Gregory Dean, Head of Marketing Jacqueline James, Marketing & Sales Executive of Banks DIH Carlton Joao, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Olato Sam, Director of Sport Neil Kumar, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Christopher Matthias, Head of the Allied Arts Department of the Ministry of Education Desiree Wyles-Ogle, Administrative Officer of the National Sports Commission Gervy C Harry, teachers, coaches and players.

Joao, who made the opening remarks, spoke of his Company’s involvement and how important it is for them to support such a venture.

He said the Company was extremely delighted to be asked to play such an important role in this year’s

tournament, especially through its provision of the Powerade drink which is meant to rehydrate the players.

Matthias in a more philosophical presentation spoke of Corporate Governance which he referred to as the accumulation of rules, policies, procedures and laws that affects the way a company operates, makes decisions and develops relationships with shareholders and the public at large, while reminding that it is virtually impossible to speak of such governance and not at the same time tie it to corporate citzenship.

According to Matthias, the corporate community is to some extent, socially responsible for meeting legal, ethical, economic and cultural responsibilities of the society.

He recognised the professional and smooth manner in which the programme is administered which according to him clearly establishes its platform to be one that is soundly structured and its policies and systems

evidently intended to positively affect the lives of persons far and wide.

Matthias said Digicel’s partnership with the Government and people of Guyana for the successful hosting of the programme not only targets the youths of the society, but moreover, the future leaders and developers of the nation, submitting that that is what constitutes good corporate citzenship.

He thanked the Management and Staff of Digicel for leading in such an initiative and promised the full support of the GFF. James gave a synopsis of the participation of schools at the two previously held tournaments, informing that in the inaugural tournament some 128 schools participated, while last year saw that rise to 152.

According to her, even though the tournament has seen an expression of 130 schools to date of which 20 are new entrants, they are hoping to have at least 160 schools confirmed by the time June 21 comes around for the commencement of competition.

James, also spoke of some of the things that Digicel has done different this year in order to enhance the

standard of the tournament all-round, including conducting training workshops for teachers so that they could return and impart their knowledge to the students, referees and officials workshops as well as the retention of past and present national players to enhance the skills of the players.

“So you can see we’ve laid the foundation for not only those players who will be playing this year, but those who will be playing next year as well.

The Tournament is not only about playing the game, but is also aimed at developing well rounded youths within our society,” James was quoted as saying.

Kumar gave a brief background on the genesis of schools football which he said dates back to the days of former NSC Chairman Ken DeAbreu.

He said it was from those tournaments that Guyana was able to select its InterGuianas Games squad from, adding that tournaments such as the one Digicel is hosting is ample evidence that the right atmosphere is being created for sports in schools.

Kumar welcomed the new

GFF President and expressed confidence that the new administration will ensure that the sport enjoys more accountability and transparency that will ultimately provide an environment for holistic development.

Sam in his presentation said Digicel has made its mark and should be applauded and recognised for the role it has played in helping to mould our children.

“Football in particular has a role to play in our national development, but we must ask ourselves seriously what we want for our young people,” Sam remarked.

He said the aim must be to have well rounded individuals who must become model citizens, which is just as important as possessing skills. According to the CEO, they must be able to go well beyond what takes place on the field, their behaviour at school and grade point averages must tie in with being able to play the sport at the highest level.

Sam in reflecting on last year’s tournament said he was impressed with the standard of play exhibited and is eagerly looking forward to a very exciting competition this time around.

LeBron James plays to form as Heat roll Spurs MIAMI — For two days, LeBron James tried to explain why he plays the way he does. He trusts his teammate.

So when he struggles offensively or defences make it difficult for him to find his shot, he can pass to someone who can score.

That’s why James has such a comfort zone with the Miami Heat. If he can’t do it, someone else can. Sure, it didn’t work out like that in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, but as James noted before Game 2, “I wish we could go 16-0 in the playoffs.

That would be awesome. …

Winning and losing is part of the game.”

That kind of perspective

gets lost in the cacophony.

But in Miami’s dominating 103-84 victory over the Spurs, the evolution — the beauty — of James’ game was on full display.

Even when he didn’t have it offensively, or least in the scoring column, for nearly three quarters, he continued to work in other areas.

He defended, rebounded, blocked shots, forced turnovers and involved his teammates. Through the first 32 minutes, 40 seconds, James made just 2-of-12 shots, had just six points and the Heat trailed the Spurs 6261.

San Antonio’s goal through two games is to prevent James from being a

Frenchman Lemaitre beats Gatlin over 100m Jamaica Observer KINGSTON, Jamaica — American Justin Gatlin was surprisingly beaten into second place by France’s young speedster Christophe Lemaitre at the World Challenge Meet in Morocco Sunday.

Gatlin, who Thursday at the Rome Diamond League handed world record-holder Usain Bolt his third defeat in

the100m, saw his unbeaten streak this year end when the Frenchman won in 9.98 seconds.

Gatlin finished in 10.02 seconds while former World champion Kim Collins was third (10.10).

Gatlin, the pre-race favourite, has the second fastest time of 9.91 seconds this year behind countryman Tyson Gay, 9.86 seconds.

one-man wrecking ball through its defence. Shrink the floor and keep him away from the basket. It worked in Game 1 and then the questions about James’ aggressiveness — or lack thereof — dominated the two days between games.

How long are you going to keep James from making an impact on the game? Only for so long, really. That leads back to the end of the third quarter, with the Spurs leading 62-61 and James totaling six points, four rebounds and four assists.

Where did James end up?

On the winning side with 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks. What happened in between? James led the Heat on a stunning 335 run.

He made all five shots he took, scored 11 points and had three assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block. James was plus-28 and on the court for every second of that demolition.

The decisive run began with a James rebound leading to a Mario Chalmers threepoint play and ended with a James three-pointer, giving Miami a 94-67 lead.

In between, Ray Allen hit a three and Chalmers made

Heat forward LeBron James blocks a dunk by Spurs forward Tiago Splitter during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.(Photo Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports) another three-point play.

James had a driving layup, an assist to Mike Miller for a three-pointer, a 16-foot jumper, another assist to Miller for a three, another layup, a block on a Tiago Splitter dunk attempt that sent Twitter into overload.

After the block on Splitter, the Heat set up on offense

and James delivered a bullet of a cross-court pass to Allen for another three.

Then James scored the next five points and the Heat led 94-67.

The beauty of James’ game is not always surface deep. It might be a reason why it’s sometimes so difficult to appreciate what he does.

Tuesday June 11, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 29

India v West Indies, Champions Trophy, Group B, The Oval

INDIA, WEST INDIES LOOK TO GET CLOSER TO SEMI-FINAL TODAY ESPNcricinfo – It is a little surprising that these two sides, hugely popular among the expatriate population in England, haven’t faced each other in an ODI in England in the last 30 years. When India last played West Indies in an ODI in England, ODI cricket and West Indies were the kings. India upset West Indies that afternoon, became the new kings of ODI cricket, and paved the way for a whole new commercial explosion in the format. Thirty years later, as they face off in England again, India are the world champions and the No. 1 ODI side, but the format itself is fighting for relevance, at least in popular discourse.

West Indies, knocked off their proud perch long ago, will like to believe they have begun the resurgence through Twenty20, the format that is supposed to be the premier limited-overs format.

This Champions Trophy provides them a big opportunity to carry that resurgence into the ODIs. And if they can beat India, the only way to keep West Indies out of the semi-finals will be net run rate. The same holds

Kemar Roach charges in during a practice session (WICB) for India, who can perhaps afford to lose more than West Indies because they will be playing last in the group.

These are teams built around batting might. The

new regulations might have made India sacrifice one of the seven batsmen they loved to play, but they still rely on their batsmen, who racked up 331 against South Africa. West Indies’ win might have come in a low-scoring game, but they played with just three specialist bowlers, with captain Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle left to share 20 overs between them. West Indies might add one bowler to the line-up, but it still remains a contest between the mighty batting units.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT Before Shikhar Dhawan stunned the world with his back-to-back centuries in international cricket, he was discarded because he had failed against West Indies in the West Indies. Going through a phase of supreme form and high confidence, Dhawan now has a chance to set that record straight. Or do West Indies know how to bowl to him better than others do?

India’s policy has been clear: play out the initial overs, and the batsmen coming in later can make up

South Africa win put Pakistan on brink BBC Sport - Hashim Amla’s 81 and a disciplined bowling display gave South Africa a 67-run win that pushes Pakistan to the brink of Champions Trophy elimination.

Amla’s effort, along with 31 from AB de Villiers and 28 from Faf du Plessis, helped the Proteas to 234-9. But, chasing what was no more than a par score on a slowing Edgbaston pitch, Pakistan were restricted to only 167.

South Africa could reach the semi-finals with a win over West Indies, while Pakistan must beat India. West Indies first meet India today, with the winner of that game well placed to secure a last-four spot.

Both South Africa and Pakistan were defeated in their opening games of the tournament but, while the Proteas, and their bowlers in particular, showed great improvement at Edgbaston, Pakistan displayed familiar failings.

Seam pair Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Ryan McLaren, who conceded 153 between them in the loss to India, went for only 42 in their combined 17 overs, while Chris Morris - in for the injured Morne Morkel - impressed on debut as the attack compensated for the batsmen’s earlier failure to capitalise on a sturdy start.

After Amla shared stands of 53 with Colin Ingram and 59 with Du Plessis, the Proteas faltered badly, scoring only 112 runs in the final 22 overs - despite having nine wickets in hand.

That was down both to sharp Pakistan fielding and another strong showing from a bowling unit that almost rescued Misbah-ulHaq’s side after they were bowled out for 170 in the defeat by the Windies. On that occasion, only Misbah and Nasir Jamshed reached

for the run rate if there are wickets in hand. Kemar Roach is a man who can put spanners in those works. He did so against Pakistan too, with 3 for 28.

TEAM NEWS India had to make two choices going into the Champions Trophy, and both have come off. Rohit Sharma succeeded as opener, and Ravindra Jadeja as allrounder.

Don’t expect any changes there Denesh Ramdin will not be available for selection after he was suspended for two ODIs by the ICC. Johnson Charles is likely to keep wicket, and either Darren Sammy or Tino Best will play.

Charles had good wicketkeeping practice at The Oval on the eve of the game, first standing to Sunil Narine

Shikhar Dhawan (Getty Images)

and then having more drills from the fielding coach.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS Conditions have been quite unpredictable. On the same Cardiff pitch that India scored 331, New Zealand and Sri Lanka lost 19 wickets for

277 runs. West Indies might have played a low-scoring thriller against Pakistan at The Oval, but you can’t surely say this game, too, will be difficult for the batsmen. A cool day with a 10% chance of rain is expected.

Paul named captain of E’bo U-17 cricket team Wakenaam all-rounder Kemo Paul has been named captain of the Essequibo U-17 team for the upcoming Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) 50-over Inter County tournament; Parmesh Parasotam will serve as his deputy.

The team batting seems strong with the likes of Travis Drakes, Akinie Adams and Keano Harry expected to support Paul and Parasotam at the top of the order. Paul and Latchman Dindyal are likely to share the new ball with back up from spinners Mahindra Balbadar, Miguel Jones and Akini Adams. The team will be managed by Nazeer Mohamed, while Andy Ramnarine will perform duties as the coach.

The team reads Kemo Paul (Capt.), Parmesh Parasotam, Ryan Adams (wk), Travis Drakes, Keano Harry, David Williams, Mahindra Balbadar, Akini Adams, Latchman Dindyal, Newland Cadogan, Kevin Martinborough, Insaaf Dindyal, Nathan Persaud and Miguel Jones. Nazeer Mohamed

Kemo Paul

(manager) and Andy Ramnarine (coach). The Inter County competition is set to start on Friday and concludes on Sunday.

BOLT RANKED 40 IN TOP EARNING ATHLETES Hashim Amla gave South Africa a stable start (AFP)

double figures, and it was that pair on whom Pakistan again relied in Birmingham.

Displaying an early caution that invited pressure, Pakistan saw Imran Farhat lose his off stump and Mohammad Hafeez caught on the hook - Morris the bowler on both occasions - before JP Duminy crept an offbreak through Shoaib Malik’s defence.

Misbah joined Jamshed with only 48 on the board in the 18th over and the scoring rate was upped before Jamshed offered a return (Continued on page 27)

Jamaica Observer KINGSTON, Jamaica — Financial fortunes of legendary sprinter Usain Bolt have grown with his heightened status since the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the sprint king is now ranked 40th on Forbes Magazine’s Highest-Paid Athletes list with US$24.2 million (J$2.4 billion) in earnings last year.

Bolt’s rank is 23 places higher than 2012 but more impressively his income is almost US$4 million more than last year.

According to the magazine, the majority of the six-time Olympic champion’s earnings came from lucrative sponsorship deals with Puma, Samsung and local telecoms giant Digicel among others.

The Forbes list is however

Usain Bolt

dominated by athletes from sports with greater sponsorship appeal such as American football, soccer, baseball and basketball.

Golfer Tiger Woods with US$78.1 million returns to the top spot which he has held since 2001, before losing to boxer Floyd Mayweather last

year. Mayweather is now ranked 14th.

Tennis star Roger Federer is second (US$71.5m), Kobe Bryant third (US$61.9m), LeBron James fourth (US$59.8m) and Drew Brees (US$51m) completes the top five. Brees plays football for the New Orleans Saints.

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Dublin cops Mr. Fitness Paradise title; wins Mixed Pairs with Warner

Tuesday June 11, 2013

WEST DEMERARA ARE DCB INTERASSOCIATION U-17 CHAMPS Travis Persaud to lead Demerara in Inter County tourney

Yhap is Miss Bikini; Small takes Best legs; Hope is FP Hot Body

By Franklin Wilson Fitness Paradise Gym Championships made a grand return at the Theatre Guild, Playhouse, Kingston on Sunday evening after a hiatus of more than eight (8) years.

Athletes did entertain the sold out crowd which was intimately involved from start to finish, the highlight of the evening being the welcome return of Mixed Pairs competition after 10 years; four pairs competed in three (3) entertaining rounds – right turns, compulsory posing and a free posing routine.

The pair of Orlando Dublin and Shawnell Warner strolled to the title based on the judges’ summation with Paul Meusa/Celestine Bentham having to settle for the second place. The combination of Casey Vickerie and Chelan Yhap placed third, while Christopher Seaford and Denzlyn Clarke took the fourth place.

The Free Posing routines by the pairs were all well choreographed and were well appreciated by the crowd.

Dublin and Warner’s presentation was a hit with the crowd, interspersed with a few acrobatic moves as well as some bodybuilding poses.

All the pairs sought to gain the nod of the judges with their well thought out and innovative Free Posing presentations.

Dublin’s win with Warner capped a gratifying night for the young competitor as he earlier won the Mr. Fitness Paradise contest in a four way battle, staving off an intense fight form Casey Vickerie who had to settle for second.

Paul Meusa finished ahead of Christopher Seaford for the third place. Such was the intensity of the competition that the judges first sought a comparison after the first round of posing between Dublin and Vickerie.

Another comparison was requested, this time between Meusa and Vickerie before the judges were able to separate the athletes. Barring a few murmurs in the crowd when the decision was announced, the decision was generally accepted.

Winner of the Miss Fitness Paradise Bikini contest was Ms. Chelan Yhap who gained the nudge of the

West Demerara captain, Travis Persaud, receiving the winning trophy from DCB Junior Selection committee Chairman, Nazimul Drepaul.

By Zaheer Mohamed Mr. Fitness Paradise Hot Body winner, Omar Hope judges following two rounds of competition, Ms. Denzlyn Clarke placed second and Ms. Clestine Bentham, third.

The young ladies were judged based on their execution of the four quarter turns and the T Walk to music in a two piece bathing suit.

Walking away with bragging rights for the next year as the young lady with the Best Legs in the Gym was Ms. Stacey Small after another two-round contest, which first saw the competitors parading in attractively designed mini dresses before returning to show that they were still the best in their whole bathing suits executing the five (5) compulsory poses.

Firmness, tone (smooth) and tightness of the legs were some of the qualities the judges were looking for.

It wasn’t easy going for Small as the judges first requested a comparison with herself and the second place Denzlyn Clarke, while there was a further comparison between the third placed Chelan Yhap and fourth placed Celestine Bentham.

The evening’s action got underway with the Mr. Fitness Paradise Hot Body contest which was won by Omar Hope ahead of Corvyn Sealey, Joel Cole and Gariel Yhan in that order.

All the first place winners were presented with hampers compliments of Fitness Express. Some of the other sponsors were Spice Garden Restaurant and The Trophy Stall of Bourda Market.

West Demerara were crowned champions of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Inter-Association U17 50 over tournament after rain washed the last round of matches yesterday without a ball being bowled. Georgetown was set to take on East Coast at the Police Sports Club ground Eve Leary, while East Bank and West Demerara were scheduled to battle Everest Cricket Club.

West Demerara ended the competition with two victories out of two matches to top the points table ahead of Georgetown and East

Coast with one win each.

Meanwhile, in Sunday’s lone fixture, West Demerara defeated East Coast by 73 runs at Everest.

Renaldo Renee fashioned a fine 41 at the top of the order as he laid the foundation for a sizeable total.

He dominated a 45 run opening stand with Narendra Persaud (10). Travis Persaud batting at number 3 supported with 21 as West Demerara scored 135-5 after the game was reduced to 25 overs due to rain. Mark Hamilton was the most outstanding bowler for East Coast with 3-18 from 5 overs, while Steven Mangal had 1-17 off 4 overs.

East Coast in reply found

the going tough and lost wickets at regular intervals and could only muster 62-8 off their allotted overs.

Hamilton (10) was the only batsman that reached double figures. Narendra Persaud was the main destroyer with 5-12 from 5 overs, while there was one each for Nicolai Reddy and Looknauth Chinkoo. Demerara Cricket Board yesterday announced their team for the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) InterCounty U-17 competition, which is slated to commence on Friday June 14. The team will be led by Travis Persaud and includes the talented Sherfene Rutherford and

Renee, Shamar Graham and Navindra Persaud.

The full squad reads: Travis Persaud (captain), Tevin Imlach (vice-captain), Ronaldo Renee, Chetnarine Pooran, Sherfene Rutherford, Clitus Johnson, Devendra Chunilall, Navindra Seeraj, Navindra Persaud, Keshram Seehadan, Mark Hamilton, Daniel Basdeo, Carlton Jacques, and Shamar Graham.

The Standby players are Samuel McKenzie, Sahadeo Ramkellawan, Nicolai Reddy, Steven Mangal, Dextroy Williams, and Joshua Ram. The Manager is Robert Adonis and the Coach is Gavin Nedd.

CYCLISTS GEAR UP FOR WEEKEND ACTION -13th P&P Insurance Brokers Nat. Park Meet & 14th Castrol Fathers Day 50-miler The nation’s riders are preparing for another weekend of rivalry this Saturday and Sunday when two events organised by National Coach Hassan Mohamed, comes off.

First up on Saturday will be the 13th Annual P&P Insurance Brokers & Consultants Limited 11-race National Park Meet which will commence at 09:00hrs.

Jude Bentley, who has been displaying ominous form this season, won last year’s feature event in One Hour 18 Minutes 26.37 Seconds. A new juvenile champion would be crowned since last year’s winner (24 Minutes 29.9 Seconds), Paul DeNobrega has graduated to the senior ranks.

Veteran Under-50 winner Junior Niles will be on hand to defend last year’s trophy.

Julio Melville won the 12-14 years race.

It is anticipated that Manager/Director Mr. Bishwa Panday will grace Saturday’s activity with his presence and also assist with the presentation of prizes.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, attention will switch to the West Demerara roadways for the 14th annual Castrol 50Miles Road Race sponsored

by Guyoil.

Pedaling off from the Wales Police Station, West Bank Demerara at 08:00hrs; the race will proceed along the traditional route, proceeding to Bushy Park on the East Bank of Essequibo before returning to Demerara Harbour Bridge for the completion.

Veterans, upright and females cyclists will turn back at Uitvlugt Community Centre to finish at the Harbour Bridge.

Prizes will go to the first six riders to cross the finish

line as will the first three juniors, veterans, upright and female competitors. The first veteran Over-60 rider will also be rewarded. That apart, eight prime prizes will be up for the taking.

Reigning National Road Race champion, Linden’s Orville Hinds is the defending champion having stopped the clock last year at One Hour 55 minutes 30.13

Seconds.

A new junior champion will come to the fore with last year ’s winner, Paul DeNobrega now competing in the senior league.

Raymond ‘Steely’ Newton won the veteran category, Hamza Eastman was the top upright, while Walter Isaacs took the veteran Over-60 trophy and Naiomi Singh, the ladies crown.

The usual events are as follows: Event BMX Boys 6 to 9 yrs BMX Boys 9 to 12 yrs BMX Boys 12 to 14 yrs BMX Boys Open 12 to 14 yrs Boys & Girls Veteran U – 50 yrs Veteran O – 50 yrs Veteran O – 60 yrs Juveniles Upright Cyclists School Boys & Invitation

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