Kaieteur News

Online readership yesterday 100,570

March 19, 2013 - Vol. 6 No. 12 - Price $80

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

US$35M cable from Brazil a convenience for Jagdeo's friends E-Networks teamed up with Huawei on WiMax service Then Huawei gets US$35million cable contract Brian Yong, E-Networks are beneficiaries of cable

Amanda Phillips

US military doctor was shot with .25 weapon Linden ups pressure for TV Licence

Pitbull slaughtered to save 10-yr-old

CPCE trainees receive laptops from World Bank

Broadcast Authority had nothing to do with recent licences - Bibi Shadick

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

US$35M cable from Brazil a convenience for Jagdeo’s friends - E-Networks teamed up with Huawei on WiMax service - Then Huawei gets US$35million cable contract - Brian Yong, E-Networks are beneficiaries of cable The recent exposure of the way in which broadcast licences were issued shows how former President Bharrat Jagdeo may have created a special clique of his friends and associates to benefit from massive projects being funded by the Guyanese taxpayers.

More questions are now being raised about why Jagdeo secretly rushed to sign a US$35 million deal with Chinese company Huawei to bring a wireless cable from Brazil.

Now it seems that the cable deal was brought into the picture to make it nice and easy for Jagdeo’s friends to control the national spectrum.

Jagdeo granted two persons cable licences on the 2.5 GHz band in December 2010. These were ENetworks, under Vishok Persaud, the son of Reepu Daman Persaud, a stalwart of the ruling People’s Progressive Party, and Brian Yong, who Jagdeo invited to mount the PPP’s platform in the 2006 elections.

Bharrat Jagdeo

Brian Yong

Vishok Persaud

The services offered by the two men, such as 4G, require both the availability of licenced airwaves - also called spectrum - from the government, and considerable private investment in infrastructure.

In early December 2010, Persaud introduced his company’s WiMax 4G Network. He launched the service the very month that

he was granted a licence, indicating that he set up his technology with the assurance that he would be licenced. The same goes for Brian Yong, who started putting his infrastructure in place and waited to be handed his licence on a platter in December 2010.

The story becomes even more interesting when considering that Persaud’s

company, E-Networks, teamed up with Huawei of China to provide the WiMax network.

Huawei is the same company which Jagdeo’s government granted the US$35 million contract to build a wireless system to provide a range of so-called e-governance services. There was no formal announcement of the signing and neither

were details of that project made available.

In fact, Jagdeo announced the Huawei contract at the launching of Persaud’s WiMax service.

Jagdeo said that the system being built by the Chinese would hook up hospitals, police stations, military outposts and other facilities.

That brings the story back to Brian Yong, who said that his company would provide Guyanese Internet access for educational, commercial, and medical purposes – the same objectives of the government’s planned use of the US$35milion wireless cable system.

“This will allow us to move fully into E Government mode, hooking up our schools, our hospitals and everything else so that we can deploy technology to the service of our people,” Jagdeo said at the launching of the E-Networks WiMax service.

The former President had said there will be enough bandwidth to deploy different kinds of wireless technologies.

Through the use of the WiMAX technology, Jagdeo was optimistic that Guyana’s level of competitiveness and efficiency in health,

education, agriculture and manufacturing will improve significantly.

There were objections of ulterior motives on the part of the Jagdeo Government for spending money on a service which could be offered by the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company, which had launched a high-speed Internet service through a US$60 million fiber-optic cable network that runs from Suriname to Guyana.

It became clear that the cable was intended to meet the objectives of Jagdeo and the deals he was making with his friends.

The granting of cable licences allows the licencees to offer what in the United States and other countries call triple play—internet, television/radio and telephone services.

Even without being coupled with cellular service, cable on the 2.5 GHz Band is a virtual monopoly in the telecommunication sector for whoever owns the licence.

When a consumer accesses cable with the triple play, then regular landline services can become irrelevant.

The cable by itself monopolises the interactive flow of information and that is what Jagdeo has given to his two buddies.

ROBBERY OF OUR AIRWAVES

Bharrat Jagdeo

Robert Persaud: Jagdeo’s Nephew-in-law

Dr. Bobby Ramroop:Jagdeo’s Best Friend

DO YOU KNOW THAT JAGDEO GAVE HIS BEST FRIEND NINE RADIO AND TV CHANNELS, HIS NEPHEW-IN-LAW ROBERT PERSAUD FIVE RADIO CHANNELS AND THE MIRROR NEWSPAPER FIVE RADIO CHANNELS TOO, THE SAME MONTH HE LEFT OFFICE?

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Pitbull mauls 10-year-old schoolgirl …residents chop dog to free victim A roaming pitbull has put a doctor of Sheet Anchor East Canje, Berbice in hot water after the animal mercilessly mauled a 10-year-old girl on Sunday evening as she was on her way to the shop to run an errand for her parents.

Amanda Phillips, called “Manda”, 10, of Sookhu Street, No.2 Village, East Canje Berbice, and a grade six student of the Sheet Anchor Primary school is in a stable but critical condition at the New Amsterdam hospital.

According to reports the child is scheduled to sit her Secondary School Entrance Examination (SSEE) in a matter of days. She was going to the shop to purchase some things for her mother when the dog scaled a fence and attacked her.

Residents complained that the dog which belongs to Dr Roy Nankumar of the same street, would usually jump the fence which is low and would rush at persons passing. They stated that the pitbull was only brought at the residence about six

months ago. They stated that they have constantly complained to the doctor to secure his animal and to raise his fence all to no avail.

An eyewitness told the media that he was at home on his verandah about 19:45 hrs when he noticed the girl passing through the street.

She had a bag and a torch light in her hands. When she was about to pass the Doctor’s yard, he took his eyes away for a brief moment only to hear the girl scream.

When he looked back the dog was upon her.

He stated that after the child was pounced upon by the ferocious dog which threw her to the ground neighbours quickly rushed to the scene. However their use of sticks and other materials were not enough to free the girl from the jaws of the dog.

One resident stated that he kicked the animal which growled at him. He was forced to chop the animal which still held the girl in its jaws.

Another resident using cutlass also chopped the

animal across its back thus ending the girl’s horrifying ordeal. The entire torment lasted for about 15 minutes.

A resident stated that the girl was picked up, wrapped in a sheet and rushed to the New Amsterdam hospital where she was admitted and taken for emergency treatment.

During the operation doctors had to shave off some of the hair from the girl’s head which exposed some deep wounds.

During the time of the attack the doctor was not at home.

The matter was reported, and the police subsequently arrived on the scene. The doctor was arrested, but he was released soon after on station bail.

Speaking with the media the child’s parents, Teresa Persaud and Clinton Andrew Phillips, stated that they want justice for their child. They stated that the child would usually go to the back shop through the other street, but at the time the shop was

Advertisers are likely to feel the financial squeeze of the recent awarding of radio licenses which was ratified and perhaps allotted years earlier by former President Bharrat Jagdeo. Based on the observation of a commentator, Gordon Burnett, while the cost of operating and maintaining a radio station is negligible especially when compared to television, each radio station can function autonomously or as part of an integrated network.

He explains that independently stations can develop their own formats, target specific markets, seek their own sources of advertisement revenue, personnel as well as talent.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds just last week said that he sees no “big issue” over the granting of multiple broadcast frequencies to favourites of the government and the former President.

In fact, Hinds sought to explain that multiple frequencies were granted so that the programming of the station could be relayed to other parts of the country.

Hinds disclosed that three entities were given five radio frequencies each.

These are TVG, owned by Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop, the best friend of former President Jagdeo; Telcor and Cultural Broadcasting using a contact

name Omar Lochan, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources under Minister Robert Persaud; and New Guyana Company Limited, owned by the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), with the contact given as Dharamkumar Seeraj, a Member of Parliament for the PPP. According to Burnett in an extensive missive entitled ‘The Great Airwave Heist’, as a network, the operator is able to present a more attractive package to advertisers. “After all, if you were advertising would you prefer to have nationwide coverage or have your message just languish around the Georgetown area, for instance?”

As a result he insisted that the networks can therefore demand and get premium rates which in essence creates a “win, win” situation.

Expectedly the smaller operators on single frequencies, Burnett notes, could be in for a rough ride if they have to come up against “these mega-networks. Or in a more likely scenario, they may form ad-hoc alliances with the big boys, the better to stay alive.”

“Then again, some may be forced to eat the costs and operate driven by other nonprofit (political) considerations. Either way,

they will not be the ones driving the bus,” stated Burnett.

Referring to the biased distribution of radio licences, Burnett reiterated the recently publicised fact that “Government has liberally distributed multiple frequencies on the FM band, to entities that enjoy close relationships with the former President and his government.”

He also alluded to the dismissive mode of the Prime Minister on the basis of “technical issues.”

This state of affairs, according to Burnett, suggests that “the former President and his Cabinet have essentially looted the entire FM spectrum for the benefit of their friends and fellow travellers...it needs to be asked if those frequencies were simply assigned...or were sold, like the rest of Guyana’s patrimony?

“I believe it stretches the imagination to assume they were simply given away...”

In addition to the operators of the radio stations, Burnett pointed out that a few others are likely to benefit among them the local agents of BMI, ASCAP, SECAC and the other performance rights organisations.

“If half of the allotted frequencies (Continued on page 8)

Radio licence business more than meets the eye - Observer

Amanda Phillips closed. So she decided to use the one through Sookhu Street.

They are worried about what will become of their child and if she will be able to take her exams due within days. The parents stated that

according to the doctor. The flesh on her head was ripped away badly in more than one place. She will have to remain

in hospital for some time to be monitored.

Investigations are continuing.

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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

Liberalizing radio or limiting freedom of expression?

Last week we had cause to be critical of the issue of radio licences by President Bharrat Jagdeo as part of his promise to liberalise radio in Guyana. For nearly five decades there has been a solitary radio station, ever since the government acquired the then privately owned radio station that people had come to know as Radio Demerara.

That radio was spawned by the Rediffusion group that had radio stations in just about every English-speaking Caribbean country. As some businesses go, the time came when the Rediffusion group opted to sell its shares in the radio station. The Guyana Government bought it.

But by then the government had set up its own radio station, British Guiana Broadcasting Service (BGBS).This was later to become Guyana Broadcasting Service. When the government bought Radio Demerara it was not long before it merged the new acquisition with the governmentowned radio. From that time the government enjoyed a monopoly on radio.

By the mid-1990s there were calls for radio to be liberalized and many private people applied to Government for a spot on the spectrum for independent radios. Trinidad had already recognized that a radio monopoly was unconstitutional. The result was that radios began to proliferate in the country. There were religious stations, pop stations, and stations for every aspect of the culture.

In Guyana there continued to be the solitary radio station despite the best efforts of those who needed to make their broadcasts. People began to operate pirate radio stations and the government moved with alacrity to seize the transmitters. One of them went to court—Anthony Vieira through his company, Vieira Communications Limited.

Justice Jainarayan Singh ruled that Vieira had a right to broadcast. The government appealed but the matter remained in abeyance until Vieira sold his rights to Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. Indeed President Jagdeo had agreed that radio would be liberalized but that he did not want the same situation that prevailed before the attempts to curb television. But of interest is the manner in which radio has been liberalized.

We are not clear whether those granted licences were allocated a frequency before the licence. If they were granted the licence before the frequency then there was a high degree of irregularity. They had to know what equipment they would have needed hence the need for the frequency allocation to precede the licence.

We note that one of the recipients has voiced strenuous objections to being accused of enjoying Jagdeo’s largesse.

But in so doing he has lied most profusely. The argument that the radio channels (plural) resulted from his purchase of the assets of Vieira Communications Limited cannot hold water. Vieira, when he decided to buck the system, started to broadcast on 100.1 FM, a frequency later to be used by the government.

The other point of note is that since Vieira was squatting illegally he did not have a frequency. The courts ruled that he was entitled to a frequency so by extension, Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. would have bought the rights to one radio frequency to be allocated by the government.

That company got five. The lie is that the five accrued from the purchase of VCT assets.

Queens Atlantic Investments apart, the private media owners say that they have been slighted. Jagdeo made radio frequencies to his political party. This is discriminatory since no other political party was afforded a radio.

He then proceeded to allocate a cluster of radio frequencies to people close to him, close enough to be considered members of his household. Surely, there was a bias in the allocation and a certain level of dishonesty when Jagdeo said that he was liberalizing radio in Guyana.

At best, if the spectrum is not as infinite as they say Jagdeo could have organized a lottery with the applicants instead of handpicking those to whom he wished to give a licence. This being the case, the people who were denied without reason have every right to challenge this new dispensation and we believe that they would.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

Media operators should sue Jagdeo and the Govt. over this unfair handout of radio and TV licences DEAR EDITOR, No one in their right mind could ever allege that the handout of radio and TV licences given by Jagdeo and the PPP government shortly before Jagdeo left office is not patently unfair, discriminatory and unequal. It is time the aggrieved media operators sue Jagdeo and the PPP for this act.

Yes, I know the constitutional experts within the PPP will arrive here crowing that under section 182 of the Constitution, the president gets automatic immunity for presidential acts committed while serving as president. However, that immunity is applicable only in the President’s personal capacity and actions in his personal capacity.

The granting of radio and TV licences is not a personal act but an official act in an official capacity as president and also as Minister of Information. As such, these actions are not protected under section 182.

There is no immunity for such official actions under section 182. There is no immunity under section 182 to prevent the President from being sued for acts committed in his official capacity as president or in any other official role he retains such as Minister of Information.

Thus, based on section 182’s limitation to only personal immunity, a lawsuit could be pursued against the President in his official capacity, Cabinet and the PPP government for unfair,

discriminatory, unconstitutional and unequal granting of the licences.

Even if section 182 disallowed lawsuits against the President in his official capacity, which if clearly does not, there is precedent in the courts of the Commonwealth that show that even with official immunity, a President cannot act in a manner that is unfair, discriminatory, unconstitutional and unequal.

Unlike Guyana’s section 182 which provides only personal immunity to the President and no official immunity, section 38 of the Trinidad Constitution provides immunity for all functions/capacities of the President (both personal and official).

Yet, in February of this year, a court in Trinidad ruled that the T&T’s President’s termination of the Chair of the Police Service Commission (PSC) was unfair, illegal, null, void and of no effect because the President failed to provide the Chairman with due process, natural justice and his constitutionally protected rights. The T&T President did not appeal the decision.

The President acting in his official capacity is bound by the Constitution to take action and make decisions in accordance with natural justice and constitutional principles including fairness, due process, justice, equality, regard to the rights enshrined

in the constitution and the advancement of the nation above any individual or entity.

That is the guiding ambit of every presidential action.

Nation must be placed before partisan interests. The entire thrust of presidential decision-making must be to accrue the greatest benefit to the nation at large.

By no measure, and the Caribbean Court of Justice will agree with me, are justice, fairness, equality, safeguarding of the freedom of expression, media balance and the advancement of democracy satisfied with the granting of 15 out of 21 radio licences (five each) to (1) a personal friend who runs a pro-government newspaper and TV station, (2) the PPP‘s newspaper and news organ and (3) a Deputy Permanent Secretary within a Ministry of the PPP government.

To deny established and proven independent media entities like Stabroek News and Kaieteur News that possess incredible media expertise, skill, qualification and capital can only be characterized as a deliberate assault on the independent media. If the Mirror or Guyana Times newspapers could be granted radio licences, then there is nothing that prevents the two largest daily newspapers in Guyana (KN and SN) from obtaining such a licence. Not only do these media houses possess more resources than the Mirror or the Guyana Times, they have greater experience and have

attained respectability. This act vilifies the freedom of expression clause in our Constitution.

Handing out 10 out of 21 radio licences to a political party (PPP) and its media entity (Mirror) and to a serving member of the government (a Deputy Permanent Secretary) is also an attack on the democratic foundations of the state and its constitution. This is tantamount to the government directly controlling 10 out of 21 radio licences while the opposition has access to none.

If one adds the pro-PPP Guyana Times rag to the mix, this would be at least 15 out of the 21 radio licences granted to government and pro-PPP entities. This deadly domination along with the exclusion of the independent media houses from the radio frequencies amounts to media dictatorship.

In a country where newspaper access is still limited due to geographical and literacy constraints, the political weaponization of radio is upon us. There can be nothing fair in this outlandishness and on this ground alone, these actions are unconstitutional.

That a newspaper that was pivotal in restoring democracy to Guyana (Stabroek News) and in landing this very same PPP government back into power is now being barred from owning a radio licence when some PPP lackey in Continued on page 6

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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

Reasons why Brig. David Granger and Khemraj Ramjattan’s motion should be debated in the National Assembly DEAR EDITOR, This is not a procedural issue.

All procedural requirements have been satisfied. This is a matter of substance.

Attorney General Nandlall asked this question of the High Court – “Whether the National Assembly can prohibit Minister of Home Affairs Clement James Rohee MP, from speaking and/or not recognizing Minister of Home Affairs, Clement James Rohee MP, for the purposes of presenting any bills, motions or making other presentations to the House.”

Attorney General Nandlall omitted any reference whatsoever to the Resolution of No Confidence in Minister Clement James Rohee as Minister of Home Affairs by the majority of the National Assembly, upon which the extant motion was proceeding.

Since this has nothing to do with wrong procedure but substantive issues of the right of a Minister to speak in the National Assembly after no confidence has been

expressed in him as a Minister, or to bring motions, present bills, or petitions in that capacity, it is not a decision for the Speaker but for the Assembly. This is democracy. Rule by majority.

The Privy Council in the Rediffusion (H.K) Ltd. –vA.G. of H.K. [1970] held that the passing of a motion in the National Assembly is not of itself unlawful.

This is a question of Mr. David Granger and Khemraj Ramjattan’s right to move any motion in the National Assembly under Article 171(1).

This is a question of the right of the National Assembly to debate any matter brought before it, after confirming with the Standing Orders.

The Chief Justice has ruled in Action 94-CM of 2012 A.G. –v- David Granger and Khemraj Ramjattan, that questions of law and the Constitution are for the Court, not the Speaker.

The Speaker’s jurisdiction is the Standing Orders. They are silent and do not speak to

the substantive issues of whether a Minister or indeed a MP has a right to speak in the National Assembly.

The Court has been induced to act pre-emptively, before the Motion was debated. What if the motion was not successful?

Can the Court determine what issues must or must not be debated in the National Assembly before they are debated? I shudder for democracy and for the separation of Powers and the independence of the National Assembly if that were so.

Can the Speaker for that matter tell the representatives of the people within the National Assembly, what issues they may or may not bring? Can the Speaker tell political parties in the Assembly what their parliamentary agenda must contain?

The Court was asked whether Minister Rohee could speak or bring motions, present bills, or petitions in that capacity, not whether MP Rohee could.

The Learned Chief Justice

said no; and went on to say he had a right to do so as MP (ORBITER DICTA) Since Mr. Speaker had indicated what your ruling would be, before the Learned Chief Justice’s final decision in Action 94-CM supra, and which conflict with the latter, these questions arise: (1) Will the Speaker ignore the Chief Justice’s ruling to Attorney General Nandlall’s question, that MP Rohee has no right to speak as Minister?

(2) Will the Speaker ignore the Chief Justice’s ruling that matters of law and the Constitution are for determination by the Courts, not the Speaker?

A further question arises: is the right to debate an issue of substance (not procedure) in the National Assembly only for a governmental majority, and not an opposition majority?

Mr. Speaker we must be reminded that our Parliament/ National Assembly is not of a strict Westminister model.

We have an Executive President who is voted for

and who is also Head of State and an arm of the Parliament.

Our system of voting is by proportional representation.

We have a minority government and a majority opposition, in the Parliament.

Our Parliament is not supreme but the Constitution is, and the former derives its powers from the latter. We are not a Colonial legislature but an Independent Republican Parliament.

Mr. Speaker I contend that we are in a similar position to that of our Court of Appeal when it was established as our final Court.

That Court was no longer bound by precedents of the House of Lords, the Privy Council or by the law of any other country. All of those

laws insofar as they were not received into our law by legislation, were persuasive authority only.

Mutatis Mutandis (in like manner) our Parliament/ National Assembly from 1980 at least was no longer bound by the Rules of practice and procedure of the House of Commons which became persuasive only i.e. guidelines.

As in the case of the Court of Appeal, our Parliament/ National Assembly is enjoined to create its own precedents based on our own peculiar Constitutional Parliament/National Assembly arrangements.

Mr. Speaker I urge you, Let the Debate begin!

Basil Williams, MP

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

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

A nation in distress as its Treasury is devoured DEAR EDITOR, Like Bharat Jagdeo’s address to Parliament in 2006, President Donald Ramotar address to Parliament in 2013 spouted the same type of propaganda aimed at bamboozling the people.

He stated that he would do “all that is possible to enhance the skills and capacity of working people so that they will be able to enhance their earning power.”

He further stated that he “intends to ensure that the workers in Guyana are not left

on the sidelines of development.”

This statement has become the biggest joke of the decade? The refusal by the Chinese to hire Guyanese workers is repulsive to say the least. Mr. Ramotar is yet to prove to the people that he has the ability and requisite skills to lead this nation. As we all know, he is still governing in the shadow of his predecessor.

Let us pause for a moment and think of their physical and mental abuse of the

working class on the Marriott Project and then focus on another known project – the GPL Electrification Modernization project being managed by of the Office of the Prime Minister.

Here we have a G$10 billion project to construct seven new sub-stations and upgrade the transmission and distribution electrical system.

Is any of this G$10 billion being shared with the workers of Guyana?

All of this work is being executed by Chinese

contractors who have refused to hire Guyanese workers even though their children will be called upon to pay back this G$10 billion in the future.

To compound matters, we were advised by senior engineering personnel at GPL that the quality of work being done by this contractor is far from acceptable and will result in another white elephant like the Skeldon Sugar Factory.

Such shoddy work will result in the taxpayers being saddled with billions of

dollars in debt for poor work and the administration does not care.

Yet, being aware of this information, the lethargic majority opposition has done little or nothing to examine these white collar financial scams.

Why is the majority opposition not advocating on behalf of Guyanese workers to secure jobs on this project?

Who will manage these facilities when the Chinese are finished?

Please Mr. Granger; it is time for you and the others leaders of APNU to stand-up and defend the rights of the workers and do not allow this ruthless, uncaring and brutal PPP regime to trample on their rights.

To Gail Teixeira, this is not about your ridiculous claim of racism, it is about our

compatriots’ national sovereignty being trampled upon at the altar of a scheme to defraud this nation and devour the Treasury. We plead with the majority opposition to take action now to ensure that the Treasury is not consumed by those who hold the reins of power.

How many more Pradovilles do they have to build to make them happy?

How many more multi-million dollar swimming pools do they have to build from the sweat of the poor and the working class?

How many more billions do they plan to take to make themselves happy? We charge the opposition to stop this cabal from raping the country. This cannot continue indefinitely.

Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

From page 4 government gets five such licences is sickeningly shameful. There is no fairness in granting four TV licences to one man while excluding TV companies that have been around for decades when they all have existing TV licences.

This course of action by Jagdeo repudiates the equality provisions of the Constitution and recklessly damages the necessary balance in media that is required in Guyana. This act attempts to unscrupulously weaken the independent media by stacking the progovernment media.

This decision is blatant politicization of the airwaves and television spectrum of this country. It is rooted in political domination and coming from a government that now enjoys the support of less than the majority of Guyanese, it does not meet the public policy, constitutional, natural justice or political awareness litmus test.

This reprehensible giveaway of the nation‘s limited radio and TV spectrum is a brazenly calculated and callous assault on freedom of expression.

Its very despicability threatens to undermine an already

fractious nation and push it further into conflict.

The fact that these licences were given shortly before the President exited office should increase the scrutiny of the court, since many jurisdictions prevent presidents from doing exactly this when they are ready to leave office.

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will be happy to remedy this atrocity from the Jagdeo regime. The affected media operators should launch a lawsuit.

While that lawsuit will result in Jagdeo’s actions being reversed, more importantly, it will create a new legal precedent in Guyana by confirming that our executive president does not possess unlimited powers, is not above the law, and cannot exercise executive authority or discretion in contravention of the Constitution and principles of natural justice.

Aggrieved media operators, this is an opportunity to free this nation from the clutches of an allpowerful executive presidency operating with minority power and behaving like a dictatorship. Time for this madness to be fixed and curtailed.

M. Maxwell

Media operators should...

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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US military doctor was shot with .25 calibre weapon - police examine several theories Police in Berbice are hell bent on solving the latest mystery murder--that of United States of America military Doctor Captain Max Kungel.

The 42-year old Charlotte, North Carolina-based Guyanese was found dead on Sunday in a rented Toyota Tundra in rice producing areas of the Corentyne backlands. While the killing initially appears to be the result of a robbery, investigators are working on other theories which seem more plausible at this time.

Police sources in Berbice have told this newspaper that apart from robbery as a motive, investigators are probing reports of a family feud that could have been responsible for Kungel’s death. Kaieteur News understands that the police are examining reports that Kungel was linked to large portions of property left by his deceased relatives.

“Something was brewing,” was all that a source close to the investigations was prepared to reveal.

The police have not ruled out robbery, since several pieces of Kungel’s personal property were missing.

Kungel’s three cellular phones and three pieces of jewellery he was wearing when he was last seen alive were missing; his wallet was empty, save for a few U.S

coins and a US$20.

“This could be a camouflage, though. We are narrowing down things to see where to start,” the source said, adding that persons in the area either do not know anything or are being very tightlipped. A post mortem examination was performed on Kungel’s body yesterday, confirming that he died from gunshot wounds.

Two .25 calibre warheads were recovered from his body, leading police to concentrate in a particular direction although not ruling out all other possibilities.

“A .25 calibre weapon is usually associated with a female,” a police source told this newspaper. A close examination of Kungel’s wounds suggests that he was shot at close range. “Very close,” the source declared.

“Whoever did this planned it very well. This is a different murder from one in which two men are fighting.

It is not straightforward. The fact that the phones were taken could be a plan to remove all possible leads,” the source explained.

However, investigators were provided with the numbers for the cell phones and will be seeking the assistance of the local telephone companies to trace the calls made to and from them. So far no one has been arrested.

Kaieteur News understands that the local American embassy is very interested in the matter as police sources have confirmed that they have already contacted the local Police Force. The embassy has not yet issued a statement but it has indicated that it will be informing this newspaper of its position soon. Dr. Kungel arrived in Guyana on March 7, last, to attend a religious function to commemorate his grandmother’s ‘one-year’ death anniversary and was staying at his sister Anjanie’s residence at Lot 202, Number 72 Village, Corentyne.

He was scheduled to leave Guyana on Monday for North Carolina where he resided. He is not married nor does he have any children.

According to his cousin, Ernesto, the mysterious slaying of Kungel really came as a shock to the entire family since he [Kungel] was a very friendly, caring person who was never known to have problems with anyone, both in Guyana and the U.S.A. He stated that Kungel was last seen shortly after 21:00 hrs on Saturday evening at the place in which he resided, after he had mixed and mingled with his relatives and friends in the area.

He later left in a white Tacoma GLL 3356, which he rented from Rockaway

Relatives of US Army doctor deny he was involved in drugs ...police arrest male at crime scene with drugs in vehicle

Relatives of the U.S. Army doctor who was shot dead on the Corentyne some time between Saturday night and Sunday morning have denied he was involved in drugs.

The body of overseas- based Guyanese U.S Army Service member, Cpt. Dr. Max Kungel, 42, was discovered Sunday morning inside a vehicle in the Number 71 Village, Corentyne rice backlands. The body bore several gunshot wounds.

The doors of the white Tundra, which he rented, were sprawled open; Kungel’s missing iPhone as well as two other cell phones were missing; his wallet was empty, save for a few U.S coins and a US$20 and blood was oozing from his mouth.

Three pieces of jewellery were also missing.

He was a medical doctor in the U.S. Military.

Additionally, new details are coming to light. A male who was present at the scene

of the crime, during which time the body was discovered shortly after 09:00 hrs, was arrested after police searched his vehicle and discovered a quantity of cocaine. He is still in police custody. Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the individual may have been the person who gave police in Corriverton the tipoff about the crime.

“He [Kungel] never did drugs”, stated one family member. “There was another person who was there [at the crime scene]—there were plenty persons…the fella who made the call to the police— the police searched his vehicle and found drugs…they questioned him and searched his vehicle to look for traces of blood and they found the drugs and they arrested him”. Questions are left unanswered. Did Kungel and the man know each other? And what business did the man who was arrested have at the crime scene?

Meanwhile, a postmortem conducted on the body yesterday (MONDAY) showed that Kungel died from four gunshot wounds.

His mother and another sister from overseas flew into the country yesterday and are also assisting police with investigations.

The family member stated that “If he would have fought back, there would have been some marks of aggression and he was ‘big- built’…he woulda give a hell of a fight.”

Dr. Kungel arrived in Guyana on March 7 last to attend his grandmother’s ‘one- year’ death anniversary religious function and was staying at his sister Anjanie’s residence at Lot 202, Number 72 Village, Corentyne. He was scheduled to leave Guyana yesterday (MONDAY) for Charlotte, North Carolina where he resided. He is not married nor does he have any children. Detectives also searched the house in which Dr. Kungel was staying and confiscated two laptops, his U.S. passport and U.S. Army card.

U.S Army Captain Dr. Max Kungel

Rentals. “It look like somebody rob he and shoot he—he get shot just below his left side stomach—he was sitting in his car seat and his wallet and car keys—both on the ground- -wallet empty and usually he get a big cricket band, a chain and a ring—all three gone,” Ernesto

told this newspaper.

Word of his death was relayed to relatives at around 09:00 hrs on Sunday.

“Everyone went to the Number 71 backdam—the Branch Road—and he was lying in his left hand drive seat… One of his shoes outside the van and one

inside. “He’s not really a bad guy to anybody—he always good to the family and always willing to lend a helping hand to anybody,” he stated.

Detectives have taken possession of two laptops from the house he was staying, his U.S. Passport and U.S. Army card.

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Tuesday March 19, 2013

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 9

BREAKING SAD NEWS One of the most difficult tasks that you can ever face is breaking sad news to others. There is no prescribed approach, for example, as to how you should inform someone that a loved one had died.

Most persons would however advise that this be done with finesse but just what constitutes finesse in such circumstances is difficult to decide.

Should you, for example, simply come straight out and report that so and so had died? Or should you follow conventional winsome and break the news gently?

I once got a call from a cousin in the middle of the night. I knew even before he began to “break the news gently” what to expect. Any call in the middle of the night from overseas has to be bad news and invariably it has to be that someone close to me had died.

My cousin began with the usual greetings, as if I cared to be awakened out of sleep to be asked how I was doing.

After what seemed like an eternity answering questions about the well-being of my household, the caller got down to breaking the news gently.

He asked me whether I was standing or sitting and suggested that I sit. I did not need confirmation. I knew then that my great aunt had passed away and this was what the call was about. When I assured my cousin that I was seated, he said that he had

bad news for me.

I knew that already. He told me that something bad had happened. He said that I should prepare myself for a shock and that what he was about to tell me would not be easy.

I was almost tempted to interrupt to inform him that getting me out of my sleep to answer the phone was not easy. After a few more preliminary steps, he let out the bad news that my great aunt was no more. It took an eternity.

I would have preferred that he had simply shocked the living daylights out of me, coming outright immediately and saying, “Peeper, your aunt is dead.” But the poor fellow must have been worried about such sudden news on my cardiac system.

I once heard a story about a sergeant major who received a telegram that the mother of one of his ranks had died. He summoned the rank and bluntly told him, “Your mother has died!”

An officer who was passing at the time and heard what had transpired summoned the sergeant major and advised him to be more tactful in breaking death announcements to his ranks.

The sergeant major promised to do so in the future.

Lo and behold, the very next day, the sergeant major received a report that the mother of one of his ranks, Tom, had died. He decided then that he would be tactful in informing Tom that his

Dem boys seh...

Jagdeo start de cleanup campaign in 2006 Li’l boy bicycle ain’t got brakes and everybody know that. Dem like eat and some of dem don’t care how, where and what dem eat. Some of dem does eat till dem choke.

Jagdeo is a li’l boy. He gun get choke. Right now he hand full, he pocket full and he mouth full but he eye and de thing under de cow tail still open wide. He looking fuh more and more.

Before 2006 plenty things start fuh go he way. Nuff appear in he direction and some drop from above, or so it seem.

After 2006, dem boys seh that de man know was he last term.

He start a cleanup campaign. He clean up everything. He clean from state lands to de river. He didn’t only clean up de Atlantic, he clean up de Indian and de Pacific Ocean. And just before he left office he clean up de airwaves.

He couldn’t clean up de airwaves outside of Guyana because de Feds was watching he and all he kavakamites.

De man bring dem Chinee fuh help clean up. Dem building a washing machine near to de Pegasus; dem got another at de airport; dem got a cable under de water fuh provide special power fuh dem washing machine.

Dem boys hope and pray that one day everything would wash away except dem sins. Dem got to pay fuh that here and up there. You know wha dem boys talking bout. That is one BOSS who don’t sleep.

Donald eye open and he ain’t know wheh he deh.

Yesterday he go to GNIC and he tell Gee Nah that he deh at GNSC at de dry docks. Gee Nah go to GNIC, see Donald at GNIC and report that Donald been at GNSC. Dem even put out a statement to that effect. Was a case of a one eye man leading de blind.

Talk half and keep you eyes open.

mother had passed on. He thought about it and decided on a course of action.

He summoned all his soldiers and lined them up in formation.

He then announced, “All those with mothers step forward.” When Tom obeyed and stepped forward, he turned to him and said, “Not you Tom.” A similar thing happened to a man who was on vacation. Before proceeding on his holiday, he left his dog

with a friend. The friend forgot to feed the dog who died of starvation. Feeling sad about the whole thing he called the man on vacation and broke the sad news to him.

The man reprimanded his friend for being inconsiderate and breaking such sad news to him when he was trying to have a good time on vacation.

He told his friend that instead of simply coming out and informing him that his dog had died, he could have

broken the news in sequence, as for example one day calling to say that the dog was on the roof, the next day that the dog had fallen off the roof and the third day by coming to the point and saying that the dog had not survived.

The friend agreed that he was not considerate enough and decided that the next time something sad happened he would break the news gently.

A few days later the man on vacation got a call from his

friend. The friend calmly told him, “Your grandmother is on the roof!”

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Freddie Kissoon Column

No hospital washroom should be that stink Christopher Ram returned my miss calls at 4.28 AM Sunday morning. Chris said he got three missed calls from me so he thought it was urgent. I had telephoned Chris about Nigel’s illness earlier on Saturday. I went back to bed a little later but didn’t get much sleep and then traveled to Ogle airport for the arrival of Nigel.

After Nigel was transported to the Caribbean Heart Institute (inside the Georgetown Public Hospital), naturally, we went to the hospital. After two hours wait, I wanted to use the

bathroom. I went to the washroom which was behind the pharmacy.

My God! Are we living in the 21st century in Guyana?

The washrooms two thousand years ago in the Greek city states had to be cleaner. The stench was awful. I wanted to throw up. I went back to the bench, sat next to David Patterson, the General-Secretary of the AFC and told him what I saw and about the smell. He thanked me for telling him so he could avoid going there.

Then I felt movement in my stomach. I knew I was

going to throw up if I kept sitting. At Ogle I had a small tin of juice with a small slice of baked macaroni and cheese.

I don’t know if the tiny breakfast was the reason why I reacted like that to the stench but I was always told that if you encounter an unpleasant smell on an empty stomach early in the morning, then you are likely to vomit.

I left the hospital right away and drove home hoping my stomach will not empty its contents before I reached my house.

I made it. That smell in the

washroom really upset my stomach. I will never forget it and probably will do it behind a post on the street by the hospital instead of going into a washroom at the Georgetown Hospital should I want to urinate if I am in the building.

Clean toilet facilities in public buildings are always absent in Guyana and it has been like this for over thirtyfive years. I joined the UG teaching staff in September 1986 and I only used the urinals for the twenty-six years I was there. The toilets at UG are extremely dirty. This

lack of clean washrooms in public buildings is a gigantic reminder to the citizens of this nation that Guyana is a stagnant country going backwards instead of forward with each passing year.

When Mark Benchop and I were charged for traffic obstruction in 2011, I went once to use the washroom in that particular magistrate’s court. Again for a pee. As I entered the toilet room, I didn’t wait to see what was facing me. This country is a hell hole.

It would appear to me that the politicians in power have this psychological contortion that poor people are not humans but animals. Why spend money for the construction and maintenance of toilet service for animals? A person’s psychological prism can be a dangerous thing. If one’s psychological structure is nurtured by fiction rather than reality then fiction replaces reality. I have read countless books that sought to explain why the Nazi regime found it so easy to kill Jews. The analyses went like this. The Nazis bombarded their ideological adherents over a prolonged period of time with the propaganda that Jews were unfit animals. What happened then was that in the psychological prism of these Jew-haters, Jews were not humans.

This aspect of psychic

Frederick Kissoon destruction was vividly brought out in a scene in the movie, Schindler’s List.

The maid in the home of the Nazi commander of the concentration camps was a beautiful Jewish camp inmate. One night, the commander got infatuated with her and was about to make love to her. As he kept embracing her, there was this sudden realization that she wasn’t human and he almost beat her to death.

In his psychology, he was going to make love to an animal. In Rwanda, the Hutus indoctrinated their people to see the Tutsi as cockroaches.

Hutus would roam the streets armed with the mental conviction that a Tutsi was unfit to live.

This is my understanding of how poor people are treated in this country.

They are so contemptuously perceived as having less human quality by those who rule over them that the rulers’ psychology rejects them as humans that are entitled to modern facilities.

China to provide $2 billion for Caribbean, Latin America Co-financing Fund The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) approved the China Cofinancing Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean to support public and private sector projects that promote sustainable economic growth in the region.

The Fund, the first of its kind established by China and a multilateral development bank, will provide capital to complement the IDB’s own resources for projects seeking to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality, boost private sector investment, improve competitiveness and social welfare, and support programmes to mitigate the impacts of climate change and promote greater gender equality.

“China is a key partner for the Bank’s mission to alleviate poverty and inequality in the region,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. “This partnership is another example of our efforts to promote greater South-South

cooperation to narrow funding gaps in sectors with high developmental impact and enhance the social and economic impact of our projects. It will serve as a benchmark for future models of cooperation with China and other countries.”

In partnering with the IDB, China hopes to channel its resources toward development finance projects that require additional financing to make them viable.

The proposed $2 billion contribution by China will be used to co-finance a total of up to $500 million of IDB public sector loans and up to $1.5 billion for loans made by the Bank to private sector entities. Co-financing Fund resources will be used to complement IDB loans, subject to pre-established limits.

The funds from China will be available for the next three years for public sector projects and the next six years for non-sovereign guaranteed operations.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 11

CPCE trainees receive laptops from World Bank

Man pays police to aid in his escape James Hatton, a 40-yearold resident of 235 Grove Housing Scheme, was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment by Magistrate Sueanna Lovell yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ court.

According to police reports, the defendant was at Camp Street prison for armed robbery but was taken by a law enforcement officer to the Georgetown Public Hospital to receive treatment.

The incident occurred on August 28, 2012. Hatton, who

pleaded guilty at his initial appearance, explained to the court that “I told the officer that I needed to go home for some personal articles. I gave him $5000 and he gave me permission to go and return within a certain time.”

At yesterday’s hearing, the defendant was found guilty by the court for the crime and received his sentence.

Meanwhile, the armed robbery matter is still engaging the attention of the court.

The hospital at Lethem Region Nine (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo) was in total darkness Sunday night as electricity woes continue to plague the community.

A Lethem resident spoke of having to use the light on his cell phone to help the doctor make his rounds.

“Not even a torchlight at the Hospital,” he reported.

The source reported that one of the generators at the Lethem Power Company Inc. (LPCI) had developed major problems during last week, necessitating repairs in Brazil.

The repairs had been completed but then the Engineers found that a gasket was needed and could only be obtained from overseas.

This part, it is said, is being shipped in but had not arrived as at yesterday.

The concerned resident noted that the situation at the Hospital Sunday night was untenable since cell phone lights would be totally useless in the event of a medical emergency.

He is calling on the authorities to look at installing solar panels at the institution which could be

used as back up.

“In the meantime the Staff at the Hospital needs at the very least some form of emergency lighting to be able to assist people who may need medical help during blackouts.

“There was no form of emergency lighting (Sunday) night.”

Residents had reported that since June last year the LPCI had been unable to provide 24-hour a day electricity but had instead been offering twenty hours a day ie: from 8.00 AM to 4.00AM the next day.

Some said that even this was not guaranteed since the power is sometimes cut off after sixteen hours.

The situation deteriorated following the breakdown of one of the generating sets last week, residents said.

Sections of Lethem were cloaked in darkness last night.

It has been reported that some businessmen who had invested in the area are so disgusted with the situation over the past ten months that they are considering selling out their businesses and investing somewhere else.

Cell phone lights aid medical care at Lethem Hospital

Teachers with their laptops recently It was a day of joy for many teacher-trainees from the 2012 Cohort at Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), Johns Port Mourant branch in Berbice recently.

Teachers from the 2012 Cohort [batch] received their laptops for a minimal cost of $35,000. Payments will be done in monthly installments.

At the 2012 graduation ceremony which was held at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) in December, Opposition Leader, Mr. David Granger, in delivering his charge to the graduates said, “We are working on the proposal for every teacher to

have his/her own computer.”

A few days later, graduates from the 2010 cohort did receive their free laptops. However, last Wednesday’s distribution saw teachers having to pay $35,000 for their laptops. And the teachers were a bit disappointed.

One of the teachertrainees from Lower Corentyne Secondary School said, “I would really like for someone to explain to us why we of the 2012 Cohort, have to pay for our laptops while students from the 2010 Cohort did not pay a cent?

“I don’t have a problem

paying this amount of money, but I bet that for some of my fellow teachers whom I know, it would be very hard on them.

“I am also aware of the fact that the price for this computer that we have received here today from the World Bank is reasonable, but why some teachers have to receive free laptops, while others have to pay? This is definitely not equality to all teachers.”

Another teacher was asked to make a brief comment after receiving her laptop, and said, “It is really not fair that we have to pay for our computer and we are

part of the Associate Degree in Education (ADE) Programme just like the 2010 Cohort. However, I would like to extend thanks to all the persons who have helped to make this possible.

Students from CPCE Johns were asked to walk with their first part payment of $5,000 and their ID cards. Joy was evident on the faces of all the trainees after seeing the CPCE gray bus heading its way into the compound of the University of Guyana, Tain Campus Johns.

Teacher-trainees from other satellite centres also received laptops.

City Hall will go ahead with legal action against the government for the implementation of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) since the State has made it clear that it is unwilling to give any undertaking that it will not dissolve the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

When the matter reconvened before Justice Ian Chang at the High Court, lawyer for the state, Beulah Williams, conveyed the government’s position. The government was supposed to reply to plaintiffs’ Ranwell Jordan and Gladstone George’s request on the MC&C’s dissolution.

The city councilors had charged through their Attorney Llewellyn John, that if the government had given their word, the Council would withdraw the court matter.

The government however expressed its refusal and will now have to explain to the CJ

why he should not quash their decision against the Council.

M&CC charged that the defendants, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud and Attorney General Anil Nandlall, would be unlawful in their act, since Council members are duly elected persons, while the government is seeking to arbitrarily implement an IMC. In February, the two parties engaged in blaming each other for the woes of the city. John suggested that once the government agreed not to move against the Council, then there would be no need for the court matter.

The Council was blamed for negligence and breach of statutory duties. The government charged that among other things, City Hall failed to clear the garbage from the city, creating a public nuisance and in

contravention of the public health standards laws. They said the Council failed to weed playgrounds, road ways etc. thus breaching health laws.

The maintenance of street lamps was also an issue in relation to citizen’s security; Le Repentir and Kitty cemeteries came up for debate, while stray animals and drainage were also brought into the spotlight.

City Hall blamed the government for ignoring a law which states that any implementation to the City Council is a procedure for Local Government election which has not been held since the 90s. City Hall blasted the government for what it said is nonfeasance and malfeasance.

They said that the Local Government Minister blatantly refused to grant or agree to the subventions recommended by the Council.

They claimed that the Ministry, by servants and agents, has indulged in dumping sewerage (sometimes raw) into canals of the council.

City Hall is blaming the Labour Minister for, among other things, failing to pass the necessary legislation to arrest the ongoing damage to city streets by huge vehicles and containers.

Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon had made the announcement last year that an IMC would be replacing the long standing City Hall. Dr Luncheon had stated that the municipality of Georgetown had long time ceased to work in the interest of taxpayers and that, “it is now rife with a culture of corrupt practices and financial irregularities that have been chronicled in reports of the Auditor General.”

Government, City Hall in court over IMC implementation

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Tuesday March 19, 2013

Section of demolished house falls into school compound A section of the demolished building within the school compound

Reckless demolition caused a utility pole in the ISA Islamic School compound, East Street, Georgetown, to snap in half after a section of a neighbouring wooden building collapsed into the school compound during a demolition yesterday.

This occurred minutes after a break in classes at the school which caters for over 500 students. Luckily, no one was within the compound at the time of the collapse.

Guyana Power and Light emergency unit visited the scene and neutralized the power supply because wires

were dangling in the school compound. According to Principal of the Islamic School, Akram Hussein, it was observed that a demolition exercise was being done on a neighbouring building. However, no notice or consideration was given especially since it was being done next to a school.

He explained that it was clear that no necessary precaution was taken during the demolition, since straps were not used to prevent the building from falling into the school yard where children traverse. “It happened minutes before the school bell

rang after the break…One person was doing the demolition; there was nothing to restrain any movement of the walls. All that was heard was a loud sound, and the power went off. Normally students play in the same area where the wall and electrical wire fell,” the Principal said.

However, a generator was used to supplement the necessary power for the school.

Residents in the area are calling for the Mayor and City Council to address the issue of buildings being demolished without the requisite permission, safety method and manpower.

- Severs utility pole, endangers students

The snapped utility pole dangling in the school yard after a section of the building fell into the compound.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Rohee throws down the gauntlet to police

By Dale Andrews With the heat intensifying over his ministerial stewardship of the Guyana Police Force, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, has read the riot act to the police, expressing dismay over the long list of unsolved serious crimes.

Addressing officers at the just concluded annual Police Officers’ Conference, Rohee was particularly concerned about the growing number of unsolved execution type murders that remain on the records of the Guyana Police Force.

“We have reached a stage where some members of the public and the press have tended to insinuate that the Force lacks the ability or will to solve these high profile cases. The Ministry of Home Affairs is far from happy with this state of affairs. The Force would have to review its current investigative capacity and take corrective action,” he told the Police Officers.

One step recommended is the intensification of the training of detectives of the Guyana Police Force, Criminal Investigations Department for the long term benefits.

But the Minister pointed out that because of the immediacy of the problem, more dedication must be

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee (right) and Police Commissioner (ag) Leroy Brumell share the head table at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary. shown by the investigators of the Force in bringing perpetrators to justice.

Rohee’s consternation must have been fueled by murder statistics, which show a significant increase already this year, with 21 so far as against 18 for the same period in 2012, some 17 per cent more.

Last year also saw an increase in the number of murders with 137, seven more than for the previous year, representing a five percent increase. Last year, there were nine execution-style murders all of which remain unsolved.

This is in addition to the

more than 400 unsolved murders over the past decade. In most of these cases, the police have linked them to the drug trade and there appears to be no effort to bring closure to them.

According to the Home Affairs Minister, the inability of the CID to solve this large number of serious crimes is affecting public confidence in the Force.

“This negative trend must be reversed,” he demanded. Apart from murders, Rohee admitted that the number of robberies and crimes that are being committed in the country,

especially with the use of firearms, is still relatively high. According to Police Commissioner (ag) Leroy Brumell, last year the Guyana Police Force recorded an increase of 21 per cent in robbery under arms when compared to the 2011 figures.

He further explained that there was an increase of 16% in armed robberies involving the use of firearms and a 30 per cent increase in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms, such as knives, cutlasses and icepicks. These figures did not impress the Home Affairs Minister who told the Police

Officers that while it is acknowledged that the Force is continuing to seize illegal firearms from criminals and other persons, the increase in the level of gun related crimes need to be addressed more effectively.

“The Force is tasked with the provision of better citizen security, therefore more dedicated efforts must be made to reduce the incidents of robberies and other crimes in the country,” he said.

More use must be made of the images derived from the cameras that have been installed around the city as a tool in identifying suspects who have committed robberies within the view of the cameras, he stated.

Soon the police will have the use of a state of the art forensic laboratory to assist them in solving most of the crimes that are now baffling them. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has conducted a review of the Crime Stoppers Programme that was operationalized in 2012 and which allows members of the Public to report crimes to the Police via the telephone.

Rohee said that his Ministry is heartened by the responses so far from citizens and he called on the police to support the initiative.

However, the concerns

about confidentiality and trust will have to be adequately addressed for the programme to be meaningful.

The police force is receiving further assistance in the form of an information technology link up for the entire Force through the Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS).

Rohee said that with all these innovations there is the need for more education to be provided to Police Ranks about the benefits of these systems.

Another innovation that is about to be launched by the Ministry is the “I Paid Bribe Project” which is aimed at helping the Force curb corruption within the country and in the Force itself.

In defence of the Force, Commissioner (ag) Brumell said that within recent years, the police have been able to dismantle a number of criminal gangs.

“And while presently no such gang has been identified, we continue to work through intelligence led policing to interdict those criminal elements involved in armed robberies, especially with illegal firearms brought into the country through our expansive borders, which pose some difficulty for law enforcement,” the Commissioner (ag) said.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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BOG deputy wants banks to make it easier for small businessmen GBTI’s Port Kaituma’s branch

Dr. Ganga on Saturday as he receives a token from a GBTI’s staffer By: Romila Boodram Deputy Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Dr. Gobind Ganga, is challenging local banks to change the way they do business especially with first time entrepreneurs.

Small business owners who want to expand their business have been complaining over the years about the difficulties they face in accessing financing from local banks.

There have been several initiatives but the complaints remain. High interest rates and other demands are of the few which scare persons away from turning to banks

for financial assistance.

During the launching of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI)’s Port Kaituma, Region One branch on Saturday, Dr. Ganga noted that a small entrepreneur today can be a big one tomorrow and might as well become a multinational enterprise if given the comfort of financial support.

“We have to understand that there will be failures as well as successes. Banks will therefore have to tone up their risk assessment and risk management capacities, and provide these failures as part of their risk management,” the central bank official stated.

He said that the higher the economic growth, the role of the banking sector is poised to increase in the financing pattern of economic activities within Guyana.

“To meet the growing credit demand, the banks need to mobilise resources from the wider deposit base and extend credit to activities hitherto not financed by banks. Financial addition with financial literacy will strengthen financial deepening and provide resources to the bank to expand credit delivery to reduce interest rate spreads and enhance profitability,” Dr. Ganga stressed.

Port Kaituma is at a stage of rapid development and according to the senior bank official, the move made by the GBTI to take its services to

Several services affected as GT&T upgrades system - disruptions slated to end today

Even as the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) company seeks to upgrade its billing system, a number of its services have been affected.

A GT&T customer relations staffer yesterday confirmed that among the services that have been affected as a result of the process are the Blackberry, other cellular phones, C-point and landlines.

There have also been reports of persons being unable to add credit to their cellular phones using cards and customers have also reported that they have been unable to check their credit balance.

However, the phone company staffer did inform that the interference experienced by customers over the past few days is expected to end today.

In a statement issued on

Friday, the telephone company revealed plans to introduce a new billing and customer management system which will facilitate, among other things, the delivery of exceptional customer service and improved operational efficiency.

The upgrade will also see GT&T offering innovative pricing and promotions across all services.

It was, however, anticipated that the upgrade would have taken effect from yesterday as all of its business offices were closed on Saturday last to facilitate the company’s migration to the new system.

In its statement the phone company appealed to customers “for your patience and support as we continue to upgrade our system to offer a better service.” It would “seek to ensure there is as

little disruption as possible during this transitory stage and sincerely regrets any inconvenience that may occur in the initial phase.”

With the new system in place, customers will see changes in the appearance and layout of receipts and monthly bills.

Additionally landline customers would observe that calls to mobile and international numbers are controlled by their current credit limit and are therefore encouraged to review their current limits.

When using landline cards to make local calls, the Guyana country code 592 must be entered along with the seven-digit telephone number and according to GT&T “all customer queries and feedback should be directed to the staff in our Business Offices or our Call Centre via 0488.”

Region One is a reflection of the agility of the bank to capture the benefits and opportunities of a growing economy. “This branch of GBTI is obviously contributing to both financial deepening and financial inclusion and would benefit from this phrase of rising incomes in Port Kaituma, arising from an expansion of extant economic activities as well as creation of new activities,” Dr. Ganga stated.

Kaieteur News understands that business profitability has revealed sustainable trends and consumer incomes are increasing rapidly. All of these developments suggest that the demand for financial services, both for saving as well as production purposes, will be greater than it has been in the past. The senior official said that the expansion by GBTI to help deepen the financial system and widen

banking reach is crucial for both accelerating growth and for equitable distribution, given the present stage of Guyana’s development.

He explained that as poverty levels decline and households have greater levels of discretionary incomes, they will be first time financial savers. They will, therefore, need to have easy access to formal financial systems to get into the banking habit.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Eight Actuarial Review Crucial drivers spur economic development – HDR outlines NIS not compelled to implement Substantial progress in many countries over the past two decades has been recognised and those within the southern hemisphere have not been left out of this evolution.

This is according to the 2013 Human Development Report (HDR) which states that “several high achievers have not only boosted national income but have also had better than average performance on social indicators such as health and education.”

The Report poses the rhetorical question of ‘how have so many countries in the South transformed their human development prospects?’

It was outlined that across most of these countries there have been three notable drivers of development: a proactive developmental state, tapping of global markets and determined social policy and innovation.

These drivers, the Report explains, are not derived from abstract conceptions of how development should work; rather they are demonstrated by the transformational development experiences of many countries in the South.

“Indeed, they challenge preconceived and prescriptive approaches: on the one hand, they set aside a number of collectivist, centrally managed precepts;

on the other hand, they diverge from unfettered liberalisation espoused by the Washington Consensus,” details the Report.

Speaking at the launch of the Report on Thursday last, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, underscored that while there has been detailed recipes “there is no one size fit all” approach in terms of development.

Important to development, she noted, is the role of the State and a dedication to improving human development while at the same time promoting trade and innovation. “Some years ago the home-grown policies which focus on the social sector were deemed to be bad for economic development indeed I am advised there was one Report in which Guyana was marked down because of how much we spend on the social sector...we were deemed bad for business.”

But according to Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, the newest Report has emphasised that “growth without human development is unsustainable and is in fact dangerous.”

She emphasised that the Government of Guyana has always welcomed assessments, such as the Human Development Report,

that can stand up to scrutiny adding that “in this case the Report reminds us where we are placed in the global community.”

Guyana’s ranking in the Report’s Human Development Index (HDI) has moved one place up, suggesting that it has been doing something right over the past year. Nestled in the Medium Human Development section of the Index Guyana has a ranking of 118 out of 187 countries with a HDI average of 0.636.

Like its predecessors, the Minister insisted that the new Report could not have had a more appropriate theme, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in Diverse a World.”

This theme, according to her, is in fact true because there is a diversification of economic power and it can be said that the South is at the centre of such activities.

“We applaud the advances made by most of the world’s developing countries especially those larger ones that have made more rapid advances...Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey but the smaller ones have also been recognised.. .This is a welcoming sign given that equality and equity, as important as it is, for individual countries must also be seen when the global landscape is amalgamated.”

recommendations- Dr. Luncheon

With the first quarter of 2013 coming to an end, management of the troubled National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is not compelled to implement recommendations in its Eighth Actuarial Review, an independent analysis as of the fund at December 31, 2011.

In fact, not all recommendations in the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh reports were implemented, says Dr. Roger Luncheon, Chairman of NIS Board. It was reported late last year, in the Eighth Actuarial Review, that the insurance scheme was nearing crisis stage and funds will be exhausted in less than 10 years, unless contribution rates and benefits reforms are done immediately.

The review recommended an increase of the contribution rate from 13 percent to 15 percent no later than January 2013; increase in the monthly wage to $200,000; and the pensionable age should also be raised from 60 to 65 years on a phased basis and there should be a freeze on pension increase for two years until the contribution rate is increased and finances improve. According to Dr. Luncheon, the actuary only makes recommendations and does not have the authority to see the Administration implement those

Dr. Roger Luncheon recommendations. “We shouldn’t assume that there is a nexus between a recommendation and implementation.” He said that only some recommendations in the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh reports were acceded to while many were not implemented.

However, in the Eighth Actuarial Review the Administration criticized the National Insurance Reform Committee for failing to make critical changes that were recommended from the 2007 review. The reform committee was established to look at the NIS and provide guidelines as to the way forward from the 2007 report. “However, no

meaningful changes emanating from either of these reports have been made,” this recent assessment found.

According to the Chairman, the recommendations have since been in the public domain via consultations with various target groups including private sector and pensioners. Feedback from those interactions is mixed and is being considered.

“We had people who resisted, violently, the notion that my pension is at 60 years now I have to wait till I am 65 years. These are the public servants, who insist that if I now get my pension at 60 I have to wait five more years.

“Then there is the private sector; whenever an increase in contribution rates surfaces, the way in which we allocate responsibilities to payment is almost a 2:1 ratio- two parts for the employer and one part for the employee.

“Of course everybody sees the NIS contribution as a tax,” he explained.

Dr. Luncheon said that in April 2012 the Administration made a commitment to draw to the Parliament’s attention what precisely would be the way forward for the NIS. He noted that NIS in its 2013 Budget would provide some indications as to what the board is planning.

Nigel Hughes stable at CHI after heart attack Alliance for Change Chairman and Prominent Attorney at law, Nigel Hughes, remains in a stable condition at the Caribbean Heart Institute, in the Intensive Care Unit. A press statement from his wife, Member of Parliament Cathy Hughes, yesterday expressed thanks to the President Donald Ramotar, Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsarran “and his able team.”

Mrs Hughes also thanked Roraima Airways Capt. Gerry Gouveia who arranged to bring Hughes to the city and hospital where he is “under the excellent care of Dr. Carpen and his highly efficient team.”

According to Mrs. Hughes, the entire family, has been overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of the kind concern, support and caring from so many persons, from all walks of life and from all over the country.

She said that they deeply appreciate these sentiments and know that it will inspire her husband to overcome this challenge successfully and continue his dream of

Nigel Hughes helping to make a difference in the lives of the least of his countrymen, a vocation he considers his deep civic responsibility as a citizen.

She noted that he was responding satisfactorily to the excellent medical attention he is receiving and doctors are monitoring his progress. The lawyer was flown to the city early Sunday morning after he suffered a heart attack. Hughes was at the time in the community of Aishalton, Region Nine after visiting displaced miners at Marudi. Reports are that the medical tests revealed a

significant blockage in his Right Coronary Artery.

Local doctors were in touch with cardiologists in two Caribbean islands and they have agreed that a surgical procedure to clear the blockage is necessary. They have taken into account his medical history.

Meanwhile the Kissoon/ Jagdeo libel case was adjourned yesterday in light of Hughes’ hospitalization .

Hughes is the lawyer for defendants Fredrick Kissoon, Kaieteur News Publisher Glen Lall and Editor- in- Chief Adam Harris. Presiding Judge Brassington Reynolds adjourned the case of former President Bharrat Jagdeo suing the defendants for $10 million over one of Kissoon’s daily columns which called the former President an “ideological racist”.

The adjournment came after lawyers Khemraj Ramjattan and Christopher Ram who held for the ailing Hughes, requested it.

The matter is expected to conclude on April 5.

The time given would allow Hughes to tend to his health. He will then say whether he is ready to continue the case. Lawyer for the plaintiff, Bernard De Santos, had no objection to the request.

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“It’s a mystery why we chose Guyana” - Norwegian Government official

By Chris Lang, How did Norway choose its REDD countries? Brazil and Indonesia make sense because of the large areas rainforest and the rapid rate of deforestation. But Guyana?

In 2009, when the two countries signed the Memorandum of Agreement, there were no bilateral ties between the two countries, no Norwegian embassy in the country, and Norway had no political or commercial interests in the country.

The only countries that are smaller than Guyana in Latin America are Uruguay and Suriname.

Its population is well under one million people. In 2009, the Norwegian Ambassador was working from Norway. Only in January 2011, was the responsibility for Guyana moved to the Norwegian embassy in Brasilia.

Guyana is also a very corrupt country, ranking 133rd in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2012. Yet Norway has no one in the country to monitor where its REDD aid is going.

In a 2012 article in

Development Today, Lars Løvold of Rainforest Foundation Norway argues that Norway should have chosen the vast forests of the Congo Basin instead of Guyana. It’s a good point. So why Guyana?

Heidi Bjørkto Bade, a student at the University of Oslo, recently completed a case study of the NorwayGuyana REDD+ partnership under the title, “Aid in a rush”. She describes the Norway-Guyana partnership as “both surprising and groundbreaking, given that Norway has minimal knowledge about Guyana and no former official presence.” Her thesis asks why did Norway choose Guyana?

Her answer is that the decision was a political one, made, to a large extent by Erik Solheim, then-Minister of both Environment and International Development: The decision was characterized by lack of time, as the partnership was to serve as a model and had to be ready before the COP-15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.

In this context, development aspects and

potential risks were given less emphasis.

Before writing her thesis, Bade had worked on these issues as an intern at the Norwegian embassy in Brazil.

Thanks to Norway’s Freedom of Information legislation, Bade could access the relevant documents via Norway’s Electronic Public Records. Nevertheless, she writes that, “Many of the documents I have asked for have been classified as ‘exempted from the public,’” especially documents about on-going processes.

Bade also interviewed officials in Norway and Guyana, as well as NGOs and observers.

Bharrat Jagdeo, who was President of Guyana until November 2011, played a key role in pushing for the deal with Norway. Officials in Norway told Bade that Jagdeo, to a large extent, still governs from behind the scenes.

Bade provides a timeline leading to the NorwayGuyana partnership.

During 2008 and 2009, Jagdeo and Solheim met several times at international conferences. Other meetings involved Hans Brattskar,

leader of the climate and forest secretariat in Norway’s Ministry of Environment, and Jagdeo’s advisors Shyan Nokta and Kevin Hogan.

In February 2009, Jagdeo visited Norway and met Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

A joint statement after the meeting announced that Norway and Guyana “will seek to establish closer cooperation on climate and forest issues”. In April 2009, the Prime Ministers of the two countries both attended a meeting organised by Prince Charles in London. In June 2009, Guyana launched its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

The Memorandum of Understanding and a joint concept note was signed in November 2009. Four months later, a delegation from Norway’s Ministries of Environment and Foreign Affairs travelled to Guyana for a “fact-finding mission”.

Ten months later, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) completed a country risk report on Guyana.

Norad’s report concluded that there are high risks associated with the partnership and there is considerable negative reputational threat for Norway.

The report highlights a lack of governance transparency, deterioration in the freedom of the press and a poor political culture for consultations involving local people. But by then it was too late.

In October 2010, the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) was established with the World Bank as Trustee and the following month GRIF approved its first project: Institutional Strengthening in Support of Guyana’s LCDS. Bade writes, “Having the World Bank as Trustee of the

GRIF makes it possible for Norway to play a limited role.”

In fact, Norway declined offers from the UK’s Department for International Development and the World Bank for office space, so that Norwegian officials could be more involved in projects on the ground. Hans Brattskar told Bade that, “I think presence is important and positive, but it does not solve all our problems.

There will still be challenges.”

One of the people that Bade spoke to in Guyana told her it was “amazing” that Norway has no one in Guyana, considering the amount of money involved.

Steven Grin, a Wall Street Economist and Guyana’s consultant in the GRIF told Bade that, “The fact that there were no prior relations between Norway and Guyana means there was no trust.

I don’t want to use the word mistrust, but no trust.

Therefore it has taken time to build that trust.”

Building trust, however, must be even more difficult when there is no one in the country with whom trust can be built.

According to Per Frederik Pharo, deputy leader of Norway’s forest and climate secretariat in the Ministry of Environment, Guyana was willing to: “a) maintain deforestation at its extremely low historical level, b) spend the money ‘earned’ from REDD+ on climate adaptation and a transition to a low carbon economy, including renewable energy, and c) through a pay for performance approach.”

Pharo added, “At a general level, this is a win-win value proposition from our point of view.” However, Pharo described the scenario

described in McKinsey’s report about the possibilities of REDD in Guyana as “illustrative but totally unrealistic”. McKinsey estimated the opportunity cost of avoided deforestation as US$580 million per year.

Two of Guyana’s main negotiators were economists hired as consultants: Steven Grin and Kevin Hogan. Both were referred to by people that Bade interviewed as “very central actors in making the partnership happen”.

Solheim’s comments to Bade about Jagdeo are interesting: “He invoked confidence, there was no doubt that he meant what he said.” When Jagdeo left office he wrote to Solheim to say that, “Your personal dedication has been a major reason why we have travelled this far.”

It seems the love in between Solheim and Jagdeo pretty much explains Norway’s generosity towards Guyana.

One Norwegian Government official told Bade: “It’s a mystery why we chose Guyana.

I guess Jagdeo is to blame, or has the honor, for that. Minister Solheim and Prime Minister Stoltenberg were eager to make NICFI work fast. They wanted to show that we actually did something and to build this new paradigm.”

One of the people that Bade interviewed described Norway as being “quite naive” with its involvement in Guyana.

Another described the partnership as “bad aid”, adding that “Guyana is among the most corrupt countries in the world.

Jagdeo was steering it like his own farm.

They don’t even have a law for public procurements!”

(Taken from reddmonitor.org.)

From page 3 become operational, it will not matter what format they employ, they will need musical content...be it Bollywood, Soca, Reggae, Chutney, Rock...whatever.”

And as long as such music is played, Burnett insists, that the artistes will insist on getting paid.

This development, he indicates, could have “serious and detrimental implications for local artistes but that’s a separate discussion.

Nonetheless, it will be only a matter of time before the government finds itself under pressure from two sides; the operators on one

hand, looking for “free to air” content and the performance rights organizations on the other… demanding their rightful share on behalf of the artistes they represent.

“And we all remember what happened when Government tried to sanction the pirating of textbooks recently.”

Moreover, Burnett stated that what appears to be clear is that there is no coherent Communications Policy governing the liberalisation of radio and television in Guyana. Rather, he highlights, such undertakings appear to be administered by “executive fiat.”

“The criteria for

ownership appear to have been contrived to suit the expediency...the cronies get the good hook-up and others like the Linden community are left to wade through piles of gobbledygook and arrant nonsense...”

The observer was keen to emphasise that “whichever way this thing goes down, it’s not going to be pretty.”

He added that some will come to see this radio license business as mere fool’s gold, while communities that can genuinely benefit from liberalization of radio will find themselves kicked to the curb in the headlong rush by the greedy and well-connected, to cash out.

Radio licence business more...

Tuesday March 19, 2013

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Airport cameras come under scrutiny Retired Justice Anthony Carmona as Myrie case continues in Barbados sworn in as T&T president BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Cameras installed at the Grantley Adams International Airport have been functioning since they were put in place as part of the security arrangements for the 2007 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) was told yesterday.

The Trinidad-based CCJ is hearing testimony in the case in which Jamaican Shanique Myrie has sued Barbados, claiming that an immigration officer assaulted her in 2011.

Myrie, 25, who was granted leave by the CCJ to file the action, alleges that when she travelled to Barbados on March 14, 2011 she was discriminated against because of her nationality, subjected to a body cavity search, detained overnight in a cell and deported to Jamaica the following day.

Myrie also claimed that she was subjected to derogatory remarks by a Barbadian Immigration officer at the Grantley Adams International Airport and is asking the CCJ to determine the minimum standard of treatment applicable to CARICOM citizens moving around the region.

On September 27 last year, Jamaica was granted leave to intervene in the matter.

Last week, the CCJ held its first ever sitting in Jamaica to hear testimonies from several witnesses and is now holding a similar hearing in Barbados.

Ian Best, the Systems Manager at the Grantley

Adams Airport, told the panel of judges, headed by the CCJ President Sir Dennis Byron that all the cameras installed had a 360 degree coverage and all have been functioning since being installed.

Asked whether it as possible the cameras were not working, Best replied, “that would be news to me. I am not aware of the cameras not working.

“The cameras have all functioned from their installation to now,” he said, even as he acknowledged that a camera may fail from time to time and be replaced or upgraded.

But he told the court the airport is never without surveillance cameras for a period of time and that since they were installed in 2004, only one camera has been replaced.

In his testimony, Acting

Comptroller of Customs, Frank Holder, said he had requested the recording of the surveillance video from the Airport Manager Joseph Johnson and they were delivered sealed in an envelope to his office.

He told the court he personally delivered the video to Sergeant Vernon Farrell, who was carrying out investigations into the allegations made by the Jamaican.

Myrie’s attorney Nancy Anderson asked Holder whether or not during a meeting with the High Commissioner to Jamaica, Sharon Saunders, he had been asked about the cameras and whether they were functioning.

Holder said he could not give an exact date for when the cameras were installed, but they had been installed for the 2007 ICC World Cup. He said he told Saunders he was not sure if the cameras were functioning, prompting Queen Counsel Roger Forde, who is representing Barbados, to indicate that the Office of the Comptroller of Customs, was not responsible for installation or maintenance of cameras at the airport.

Airport manager Joseph Johnson told the court that the cameras were installed prior to March 2011 when the alleged incident involving Myrie occurred.

He stressed that they were not newly installed and were fully functional and that in April 2011, Holder requested the footage of the tapes, which were delivered on three discs.

WASHINGTON, USA — The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) is launching a new $80 million initiative for direct lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The initiative will provide loans and technical assistance packages to help export-oriented SMEs meet emerging international best practices in corporate governance.

“SMEs with otherwise strong indicators often lag behind in areas such as transparency and legal reporting,” noted John Beckham, chief of the IIC’s Operations Division. “By integrating technical assistance into our loan

operations, we give companies the tools to address these issues, enabling them to apply for additional IIC resources.”

The initiative targets primarily export-oriented SMEs, harnessing the IIC’s longstanding regional expertise. The loans will follow a fast-track approval procedure to cut processing times and increase responsiveness and will carry tenors of up to five years, providing SMEs access to highly-sought-after, longterm financing.

This new commitment comes in the context of a larger effort to target SMEs more directly and raise lending standards by integrating corporate

governance improvements into IIC operations. The Corporation is a signatory of the Corporate Governance Development Framework, established in 2011 by 29 development finance institutions to promote corporate governance at companies in which they invest. As part of its activities, the IIC holds annual training workshops for SMEs in the region and runs a technical assistance program specifically geared to governance issues in family businesses.

Between 2010 and 2012, the IIC approved 50 direct loans to SMEs for a total of more than $63 million. The new initiative is expected to finance another 25 loans.

Shanique Myrie

$80 million initiative to improve SME corporate governance in the C’bean

New T&T President Anthony Carmona (Trinidad Express) Retired Justice Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona is the new President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

President Carmona was yesterday afternoon sworn in as President at a public ceremony attended by politicians, and the people, at the Hasley Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain.

At 5.07 p.m, Chief Justice Ivor Archie administered the oath of office. The President was then congratulated and hugged by Justice Archie.

President Carmona then bowed to those who came to witness the inauguration.

He then performed his first official function - that of inspecting the 96-member, Guard of Honour.

President Carmona, 60, was greeted with a standing ovation when he arrived at the Hasley Crawford Stadium.

He arrived at 5.02 p.m, and walked hand in hand with wife Reema Carmona, followed by his children, Christian and Anura.

The ceremony was carried live on television and radio.

A post-inauguration reception was hosted by Professor George Maxwell Richards and wife Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards in honour of President Carmona and his

wife. A demittal ceremony was held on Sunday for Richards outside Knowsley, Queens Park West, that marked the end of his term as the country’s Commander-inChief of the Armed Forces.

Professor Richards and wife arrived at the stadium at 4.45p.m yesterday to applause from the crowd, many of whom were pupils from schools near Trinidad’s south coast, in the area where Carmona was born and raised.

On February 17, the day he received the instrument confirming his election to the office of the President, Carmona pledged to serve as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago with “clarity, objectivity, fairness and due process”.

He also said he wants to be no part of the “discarding of the old” in order to glorify the new.

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

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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British tourists shot in Barbados (Daily Mail) Two Britons on a Caribbean cruise were recovering in hospital yesterday after being shot by an armed robber during a stopover Sunday on the holiday island of Barbados.

Horrified tourists rushed to the couple’s aid after hearing shots and screams in an area popular with holidaymakers on the outskirts of the island’s usually safe capital, Bridgetown.

Several administered emergency first aid until an ambulance arrived and rushed the injured tourists, who are believed to be married, to the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The brazen attack happened in broad daylight, shortly before 2pm The man, in his 70s, was shot in the left pelvis area, while the woman, in her 50s, was shot in the right thigh as they made their way back to their cruise ship.

The Daily Telegraph reported they are a married couple.

Officers from the Royal Barbados Police Force said the attacker stole the

woman’s handbag and fled the scene before police arrived. The couple’s injuries are not life threatening and both are said to be in a ‘comfortable’ condition.

A spokesman for the Royal Barbados Police Force said: ‘We can tell you two British tourists, a couple, received gunshot wounds. ‘It appears the incident was a robbery, the female’s handbag was stolen.

‘They are currently receiving medical attention but are not in a life threatening condition.

‘They are talking to our detectives to assist with the investigation.

‘The incident occurred at about 2pm on the outskirts of Bridgetown. We believe the couple were making their way back to their cruise ship.’

Approximately 250,000 British tourists visit Barbados every year and attacks are rare, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). And many celebrities, including Sir Cliff Richard, Cilla Black and Gary Lineker have homes there.

But in January this year, leading Professor Dr James

Bridges, 72, and his wife Olga Bridges, 62, were savagely attacked by a knife-wielding intruder just moments after arriving at their holiday villa on the island.

Dr Bridges, who fought to protect his wife, was stabbed three times while his wife suffered grievous wounds, including a punctured spleen and diaphragm.

In 2010, two British women, Dr Rachel Turner, 30 and Diane Davies, 63, were raped within days of each other as they holidayed in Barbados.

A man was arrested for the incident but was eventually cleared of rape last year after the women informed police they had the wrong man. The assailant is still at large.

In 2005 young British holidaymaker Daniel May, 20, was shot dead as he wrestled with two armed intruders who were trying to enter the luxury villa he was sharing with his parents.

He was shot three times, once in the head and twice in the chest, while his devastated parents survived the horrific ordeal.

Two Britons on a Caribbean cruise are recovering in hospital after being shot by an armed robber in Barbados

An ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting and rushed the injured tourists to the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital (pictured)

Tuesday March 19, 2013

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Farrakhan to sue Bahamas newspaper NASSAU, Bahamas — Louis Farrakhan Muhammad Sr., the leader of the Nation of Islam, has instructed his attorney, Keod Smith, to sue The Tribune newspaper in The Bahamas after he said the daily put a “vicious” and “ugly” spin on an address he gave last week.

Farrakhan said the matter erupted after he spoke at a town hall meeting at The College of The Bahamas (COB).

He said there were suggestions in the article, published last Friday, that he hit out at Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard, which he said was untrue. “...They quoted my words perfectly, but the spin that was put on my words was vicious and ugly and very untrue,” said Farrakhan at a press conference on Saturday.

Farrakhan said he read the story while he was in Bimini and was happy he had not left the country so he could defend himself.

“The reason I take umbrage in reading such an article is because the mischief

inherent in that article is first to say that I came to this island and rebuked Mr Nygard,” Farrakhan said.

“Maybe I offended somebody so my lecture at the town hall meeting was never reported in any newspaper.

“If you are so in love with going along to get along, then who are your editors that would take my words and then twist them and put your name on it?

“Tell them to come out front.

I’m here now. Meet me and talk to me because I can defend anything I say to anybody from the head of government all the way down to the common man in the street.

“Nor would I come to The Bahamas and disrespect a man who hosted me in his home.

“I know nothing about Mr Nygard except the good that I saw and the good that I felt and the good that I’ve heard.”

Farrakhan, who had been in The Bahamas since March 9, held the impromptu press conference before his flight out of the country. He was surrounded by his staff, Smith and Nygard’s son, Kai. Smith said Farrakhan’s

Almost $1M in gold seized from unlicenced trader by Bajan cops (Barbados Nation) Nearly $1 million in gold has been seized and a representative of a cash-for-gold business is expected to appear in court shortly following a police raid last Friday.

According to police, Scott Goodman, a director of Barbados Gold Buyers, located in the James Fort Building, Hincks Street, Bridgetown, has been warned of intended prosecution under the Precious Metals And Second Hand Metals Act 2013.

He was warned that between February 25 and March 15 his company was engaged in the trade of precious metals without a licence.

The police executed a search warrant at the business place and removed the gold, along with documents. The 35-year-old Goodman, in his capacity as a director, was subsequently interviewed and warned.

A summons will be issued this week for a representative of the business to appear in court.

This is the second time that the police have exercised their powers under the act as they intensify their efforts to enforce the new law.

The first time was also last Friday, when Andre

“Pug” Payne, the owner of the Roebuck Street, Bridgetown store Brooklyn’s Finest, appeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court.

Payne was not required to plead to the indictable charge that he breached Section 4 (1) of the new act, and was released on bail of $50 000.

He will reappear in court on May 16.

Under the new legislation, which was passed on January 28, anyone who operates as a precious metals dealer, or as a second hand metals dealer, without a licence is liable, on conviction at the High Court, to a fine of $50 000 or imprisonment up to ten years.

If the offender is a business or a company, the fine is $50 000.

Police public relations officer Inspector David Welch said Sunday that the action was part of the twopronged attack the force was engaged in to effectively manage the impact the cashfor-gold business was having on the society.

The other was the establishment of a special squad which was making inroads on the snatch-andgrab robberies against locals and tourists, some with violence.

words were taken out of context. “It is injurious,” he said. “Minister Farrakhan is the spiritual and religious leader of an organization and of a group of people [who] frown on [certain kinds] of behaviour.”

Smith, who is also a former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) member of parliament, condemned The Tribune for the story.

Leader of the Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan is pictured at a press conference on Saturday. On the left is Kai Nygard, son of Lyford Cay resident and fashion designer Peter Nygard. Photo: Ahvia J. Campbell

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Venezuelan leader Maduro has big poll lead over Capriles (Reuters) - Venezuela’s acting president, Nicolas Maduro, has a commanding 14-percentage point lead over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles ahead of next month’s election, according to the first major poll published since the death of Hugo Chavez.

Maduro would win 49.2 percent of the April 14 vote compared with 34.8 percent for Capriles, according to the survey by pollster Datanalisis that was cited yesterday in a research note by Barclays Bank.

It followed other polls showing a solid lead for the 50-year-old former bus driver who has vowed to continue Chavez’s state-centered economic policies built on heavy regulations of business and generous social welfare programs.

“Considering the short campaign period, the sympathy effect in the wake of Chavez’s death, restrictions on the media, and

the demobilization of the opposition after two defeats last year, Maduro remains the favorite,” Barclays said.

Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, lost to Chavez in the presidential election last October, and allied candidates swept 20 of the 23 governorships in state elections in December.

Chavez’s death two weeks ago convulsed the country and triggered a new election in the South American OPEC nation.

The vote marks the first test of the “Chavismo” movement’s ability to maintain the late leader’s radical socialism after his death, and it will be crucial for regional allies that depend on Caracas for financing and cheap fuel.

The emotional outpouring of affection for Chavez following his March 5 death, along with ample use of government television broadcasts, has helped give

Maduro a leg up in the race.

CAPRILES LASHES CUBA TIES Millions of bereaved supporters have lined up before Chavez’s remains to pay respects to a leader who was loved by many of the country’s poor but reviled by adversaries who called him a fledgling dictator.

The youthful Capriles faces a delicate balancing act to highlight the flaws of Chavez’s governance without appearing to be attacking him or seeking to tarnish his legacy.

He has exchanged furious barbs with Maduro since launching his candidacy and renewed his criticisms from last year’s campaign over dayto-day problems such as unchecked crime, product shortages and high cost of living.

At a campaign rally yesterday, Capriles vowed to end shipments of subsidized

Venezuela’s opposition leader and presidential candidate Henrique Capriles (R) speaks to supporters during a rally in Maracaibo on Sunday. REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia oil to communist-run Cuba, slamming Maduro as a puppet of Havana.

“The giveaways to other countries are going to end.

Not another drop of oil will go toward financing the government of the Castros,” Capriles said, referring to Cuba’s present and past leaders, Raul and Fidel Castro.

“Nicolas is the candidate of Raul Castro; I’m the candidate of the Venezuelan people,” Capriles said during a speech to university students in the oil-rich state of Zulia.

A victory for Capriles would likely give global oil companies greater access to the world’s largest crude

reserves and offer investors more market-friendly policies after years of state-centered economics.

He said halting cheap oil sales to Cuba would free up resources to boost public employee salaries by 40 percent to make up for inflation that is one of the region’s highest.

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Congo ICC war suspect surrenders at U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (Reuters) - Fugitive Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda walked into the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda yesterday and asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court, where he faces war crimes charges racked up during years of rebellion.

By surrendering in Kigali, where an embassy official said staff was “shocked” by his sudden arrival, Ntaganda ended a career that saw him fight as a rebel and government soldier on both sides of the Rwanda-Congo border during nearly 20 years of conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region.

Ntaganda’s whereabouts had been unknown after hundreds of his fighters fled into Rwanda or surrendered to U.N. peacekeepers at the weekend following their defeat by a rival faction of M23 rebels in the mineral-rich eastern Congo.

“He specifically asked to be transferred to the ICC in the Hague,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.

“We are currently consulting with a number of governments, including the Rwandan government, in order to facilitate his request.”

ICC spokesman Fadi ElAbdullah said the court would put in place all necessary measures to ensure a swift surrender.

Ntaganda faces charges of conscripting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during the 2002-3 conflict in the Ituri district of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

But according to a U.N. panel of experts, Ntaganda, nicknamed “The Terminator”, was most recently a leader of the M23 rebellion, which has pursued a year-long insurgency that embarrassed Kinshasa and U.N. peacekeepers by seizing the capital of North Kivu province, Goma, in November.

The experts said the rebellion was backed by Rwanda and Uganda, both of which deny sending troops to aid the insurgency.

Born in Rwanda, Ntaganda grew up in Congo before fighting alongside Rwandan Tutsi rebels who seized control of the small central Africa country, ending the 1994 genocide in which over 800,000 people died.

Ntaganda then returned to Congo, where he took part

(Reuters) - The United States has a less clear understanding of Syria’s opposition than it did last year, the top U.S. military officer said yesterday, in comments likely to disappoint rebels hoping that America might be inching toward a decision to arm them.

“About six months ago, we had a very opaque understanding of the opposition and now I would say it’s even more opaque,” said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey, who is President Barack Obama’s top uniformed military adviser, said he would also advise extreme caution when deliberating any military options in Syria - saying the conflict posed “the most complex set of issues that anyone could ever conceive, literally.”

“I don’t think at this point I can see a military option that would create an understandable outcome,” Dempsey told the Center for Strategic and International

Studies, a Washington think tank. “And until I do, it would be my advice to proceed cautiously.”

More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a fierce conflict that began with peaceful protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad two years ago. Some 860,000 Syrians have fled abroad and several million are displaced within the country or need humanitarian assistance.

In a sign of the complexities of the conflict, Syrian government aircraft fired rockets into northern Lebanon, in what the U.S. State Department described on Monday as a “significant escalation.” Rebels said they had fired mortar bombs at the presidential palace in Damascus.

Dempsey along with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the heads of the CIA and State Department favored the idea of arming Syrian rebels during discussions within the Obama administration last year.

Top general urges caution on Syria options, rebels

in a series of rebellions but also served temporarily as a senior general and made a name for himself smuggling minerals.

Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende said Ntaganda had crossed into Rwanda on Saturday with help from the Rwandan army.

“We’d prefer to have him judged here, but if he is sent

to The Hague, that’s no problem either,” Mende told Reuters. “The most important thing is that justice is served.”

Neither Rwanda nor the United States has an obligation to hand over Ntaganda to The Haguebased ICC since they are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the court.

Asked whether Rwanda would support Ntaganda’s

transfer to The Hague, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said “Rwanda has nothing to do with that decision: General Ntaganda is on U.S. territory.”

Shortly after she was officially named special envoy of the U.N. secretary-general to the Great Lakes region, Mary Robinson on Monday called for countries to cooperate with the ICC.

Congo ICC war suspect surrenders at U.S. Embassy in Rwanda

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Many questions, few answers await Obama on Mideast visit

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office.

Obama is not expected to come with any new Palestinian peace initiative and will spend most of his time in Israel, the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East, where he will make a keynote speech to hundreds of students.

The American president will hold separate talks with both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who finally formed a new coalition on Friday after a January election that weakened his grip on government.

Here are some of the issues that are likely to dominate the March 20-22 visit.

Israel and the United

An employee arranges an Israeli national flag next to a U.S. one at the residence of Israel’s President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun) States agree that Iran should never get a nuclear bomb, dismissing Tehran’s repeated assertion that its atomic program is peaceful. However,

the two allies are at odds over how fast the clock is ticking down on the need for preventative military action should diplomacy fail.

Netanyahu last year set a “red line” for Iran’s nuclear program, saying the Islamic Republic should not be allowed to obtain 240 kg (530 lb) of 20 percent enriched uranium. Israeli officials have warned this tipping point could be reached by the spring or summer of 2013, although experts believe Iran has since slowed its stockpiling of 20 percent fissile uranium to ward off the threat of attack.

Obama said on March 14 that Iran was still more than a year away from developing a nuclear weapon and repeated his assurance to Israel that military force remained a U.S. option. Israeli officials, who see Iran’s nuclear advances as an existential threat, make no secret of the fact that they would prefer to see the U.S.

military, with its greater firepower, tackle Iran’s farflung atomic installations.

Tehran is improving its defenses and Israel worries that sooner rather than later Israeli warplanes will not be able to destroy this infrastructure. This would mean its own military option would be off the table, leaving Israel utterly reliant on Washington.

The White House believes Israelis have yet to reach a consensus on how to confront Iran, according to a source familiar with the administration’s thinking, who added that Obama would stress the need for patience with sanctions and diplomacy. U.S. officials also hope a high-profile recommitment to Israel’s security will increase public pressure on Netanyahu to avoid aggravating the situation while negotiations continue.

Obama is likely to press both the Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, but he told American Jewish leaders in private before the trip that he did not intend to deliver a “grand peace plan” during the visit. Participants said the president did not preclude the possibility of launching an initiative in six months or a year.

The mood was very different at the start of his first term, when Obama said peace between Israelis and Palestinians was a top priority. His 2009 “new beginning” speech in Cairo raised Palestinian hopes of establishing a state in the

West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Obama revived direct peace talks in 2010, but they collapsed soon afterwards when Netanyahu refused to bow to Palestinian demands to extend a partial freeze on settlement building.

Both the Palestinians and Israelis felt let down by Obama, for very different reasons. The Israelis begrudged the fact that at the start of his first term, he publicly told Israel to halt all Jewish settlement building, saying this put unfair pressure on Netanyahu to make unilateral concessions.

The Palestinians were furious when Obama then backed away from his demand over settlement construction, saying the peace talks were doomed unless Washington twisted Israel’s arm.

Both sides say that without a serious U.S. engagement, the chances of a deal are close to zero.

However, few U.S. analysts expect Obama to expend much political capital on an elusive peace accord that has tied up so many of his predecessors.

Netanyahu’s new government includes former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who will take charge of pursuing peace with the Palestinians. But the presence of fiercely pro-settler elements in the coalition, including within the prime minister’s own Likud party, suggests a breakthrough is unlikely.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

GPL to complete frequency National Vector Control Unit intensifies efforts to keep dengue at bay conversion by July According to the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), its network conversion from 50Hz to 60Hz is moving apace.

Bel Air Park is completed and preparatory work is being done in sections of Kingston.

“On completion of Kingston, attention will turn to Cummings Street.

Consumers, as always, will be advised of the progress of the frequency conversion, as it affects their supply.

GPL expects that the Georgetown supply frequency will be standardized at 60Hz by the end of July.”

The conversion is part of the bigger project to improve the transmission and distribution operations of GPL, which have been an area tapped as the cause of significant losses for the state-owned company.

On Sunday, in Demerara, there were a number of outages in Georgetown, East Coast, West Coast and parts of the West Bank and East Bank during the afternoon and evening hours.

GPL said that these were as a result of the ongoing works with its Sophia 69Kv substation and on various

feeders.

This particular project is to allow construction under the Infrastructure Development Project to proceed.

“GPL was able to substantially complete all these modifications but as the Demerara System was being reintegrated, a series of problems were encountered.

These problems included frequency converter, transmission line and feeder issues which caused multiple outages. Finally power was restored to all areas by 20:25hrs (Sunday).”

Last Tuesday, GPL shut down a number of areas to modify feeders serving the East Coast to provide a safe corridor for a new transmission line to be constructed between Sophia and Good Hope, East Coast Demerara.

On Sunday, work was done to construct temporary facilities at GPL’s 38-year old Sophia 69Kv substation to allow for expansion work.

It also facilitated stringing of conductors on various sections of a new transmission line between Sophia and South

Georgetown.

“These particular sections require the new transmission line to cross existing 13.8Kv feeders serving South Georgetown and parts of the East Bank.”

GPL, in apologizing for the outages, assured that they would be the worst.

“The planned outages (Sunday) were the most widespread envisaged under the Infrastructure Development Project.

Construction work is now expected to progress rapidly at our old and new Sophia substations and on new transmission lines to the East Coast and within Georgetown. GPL again wishes to thank its valued customers for their patience and understanding.”

The power company said that its frequency conversion of the Kingston 22MW Wartsila Power Plant is progressing according to plan.

“The second 5.5MW generator was released last evening for necessary works, on completion of conversion of the first generator. The entire 22MW plant is expected to be operating at 60Hz by the end of July.

With a young and vibrant Dr Reyaud Rahman at its helm, the Vector Control Services Department of the Ministry of Health has been taking a proactive approach to fulfill its mandate.

This is certainly true for the approach being used to tackle all vectors, including those related to dengue.

According to Dr Rahman, while the Ministry has been receiving reported cases of dengue the disease has not surged to any alarming proportions. And in the quest to ensure that this remains the case, the Director of Vector Control Services, disclosed that efforts are being made to hire more personnel, a move he insists is currently essential.

“We are in the process of hiring more people so that we can cover more areas to do vector control work. We have also tried to get more information education and communications materials to distribute to persons so that people can get better educated about how they can protect themselves too,” said Dr Rahman.

The female of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito is known to spread the very painful and debilitating dengue fever.

The Ministry of Health has in place an Aedes Aegypti fighting arm of its vector control unit.

The officers within this unit, according to Dr Rahman, are actively involved in field

activities and would usually intensify visitations to areas where there are increased reports of mosquitoes.

“They would go check yards and see if people have open tanks and even see if there are any places that are not cleaned...they basically sort of give you notice on those things and try to correct them,” informed the Director. Fogging is done by the Unit, an activity which is usually done in the capital city collaboration with the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown. But according to Dr Rahman although at the moment the City Council is not fully doing its part “we have done some fogging on the Coast and as far as Diamond and even further in some cases.”

However, this undertaking, he disclosed will be scaled up. Efforts will be

Association of Bible Churches staged its oneweek community dental outreach from last Monday March 11. The programme ended on Friday at the Overwinning Bible Church, Overwinning Greater New Amsterdam Berbice.

Founder and president of the association, Pastor Andy Girwarnauth, said that more than 100 persons received dental care every day over the five days. The medical team comprised 31 volunteers from

the US. Pastor Girwarnauth added that he is reaching out to his fellow Berbicians in the name of the Lord and for the love of persons.

The association would bring a medical team twice yearly to offer ophthalmology and dental care but uses a different venue at every commencement. According to Pastor Girwarnauth there are seventeen bible churches across East and West

Director of Vector Control Services, Dr Reyaud Rahman

made to shorten the fogging cycles.

“If we did it every six months we will now cut it down to every three months.”

This practice, he noted though, cannot be excessively done since “we cannot over-do certain things based on the fact that mosquitoes or anything else would develop some sort of resistance...so we have to be very careful of what we are doing and how we are doing it.”

According to Dr Rahman, the Ministry has for a number of years been utilising a safe and World Health Organisationapproved insecticide — Malathion — to carry out fogging. Although there are some concerns about the insecticide, he insisted that “once everything is done correctly there is no threat...like everything if you don’t do it right you will encounter problems and we haven’t had any recorded issues,” he noted.

All these measures are being engaged Dr Rahman said as part of the Health Ministry’s efforts to assure the public that the Ministry is on top of any potential dengue threat as it would for any other vector threat.

He said that members of the public can expect to see a very visible presence of vector control workers areas across the country, particularly those that maybe considered under threat.

Church mission offers dental care to Berbice

Berbice.

He said that he has never faced any challenges with the authorities or ministries in getting his team here to Guyana. And he commended the government for its timely response.

He said that the expense of getting the team here along with medicines and materials are all at the Association’s expense.

Overwinning Bible Church covers the Region six area which is home to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.

Doctors and nurses from the hospital were seen accessing this very compatible service of the US medical team.

Persons also traveled from Region Five to get dental care. Pastor Girwarnauth said there were also persons from Georgetown.

The dental care included cleaning of teeth, flossing, polishing, filling, and extraction. Scores of persons could be seen at the church gate from 05:00 hrs every morning as the word got around.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

DTV CHANNEL 8 08:25 hrs. Sign On 08:30 hrs. DTV’s Festival of Biblical Movies for the Lenten Season: “Thomas” 10:00 hrs. Roseanne 11:00 hrs. The View 12:00 hrs. Prime News

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12:30 hrs. The Young and the Restless 13:30 hrs. The Bold and the Beautiful 14:00 hrs. The Talk 15:00 hrs. Criminal Minds 17:00 hrs. Charmed 18:00 hrs. Awakening 18:30 hrs. Nightly News

19:00 hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00 hrs. Alliance on the Move 21:00 hrs. NCIS: Los Angeles (New Episode) 22:00 hrs. Golden Boy (New Episode) 23:00 hrs. Sign Off

Guides are subjected to change without notice

Tuesday March 19, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): You may try to escape an inevitable clash with your own emotions today, but this evasive tactic won’t likely work. A conflict with someone close to you throws your feelings right back in your face, even if you attempt to turn away.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): Incisive thoughts prompt sound decisions that may be very beneficial to you financially today, but it’s doubly important that you pay close attention to the details. Consider all possible solutions by keeping your mind open to what others say.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): You have direct access to valuable information today that is usually out of your reach. Fortunately, you can learn whatever you need to know if you are willing to put in the extra effort.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): Typically, you prefer to observe and contemplate before taking action, but you might feel the urgency to dive right into a critical situation today. Slow down and think twice before acting on an impulse, because you might inadvertently pour fuel on to a fire that you’re attempting to extinguish.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): Group-related issues are liable to eat up your time and attention today as you confront matters you thought were long behind you.

Unfinished business with friends or coworkers may seem like a disturbance at first, but it’s really an indication of something more significant that needs your attention.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): Constant changes at work may be your biggest challenge now as you attempt to stabilize your professional life. Your unconventional ideas could be quite useful, but you might not be willing to alter your approach to fulfilling your responsibilities.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): An intense conversation with an independent person may take you in an entirely unexpected direction today.

However, if you’re receptive to having meaningful discussions, the rich dialogue can stimulate you to reexamine your life and lead you to useful insights.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): Taking a risk is probably a smart thing to do now because you could benefit by pushing beyond your normal limits. You won’t ever reach your greatest potential unless you’re willing to push the envelope and go past your safe boundaries.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): There is movement in the air today, but it’s up to you to initiate action. Seize the day by setting goals and then going after them. A little competition may be invigorating for you now, so pick your challenges wisely instead of waiting for them to find you.

CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): You might not have the option to plan cautiously now as circumstances pressure you into action. There are many factors prodding you into motion, even if it feels somewhat premature.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): Attempting to focus could give you a real headache today because there are so many delightful diversions all around you. Unfortunately, seeing a job through to the end may not be as easy as you wish.

Although you can still be quite clever and amusing, spontaneous behavior won’t bring you any closer to your goals.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): It’s tricky managing all the facts now and even paying special attention to your words won’t necessarily be clear. You might not hear exactly what’s being said and the psychic interference could turn even the most straightforward conversation into a nonsensical passage.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Archer guides Stock Feeds GDF dominate Stewartville/ Slingerz XI to consecutive wins Mayor’s Cup football tourney...

Members of the victorious Stockfeeds team in a jubilant mood as they display their trophies

Half centuries by opener Clement Archer guided Stockfeeds XI to consecutive victories over Farm XI and Ray’s Auto Sale respectively in respective softball matches played recently at the Everest Cricket Club ground.

In the first encounter Stockfeeds XI overcame Farm XI by 47 runs. Stockfeeds batted first and rattled up 1789 in their allotted 20 overs.

Archer slammed three sixes and five fours in a top score

of 77, Patrick Khan grabbed 3-22. Farm XI in reply found themselves in early trouble and were eventually bowled out for 131 in 17.4 overs. Khan returned to score 68 while Archer grabbed 2-25.

In the second game, Stockfeeds defeated Ray’s Auto Sales by 19 runs in a 12 over contest. Stockfeeds made 74-2, batting first with Archer scoring 55 not out.

Ray’s Auto Sales responded with 55- 6 off their allocation

of overs.

Stockfeeds received two trophies for their efforts, while Archer was adjudged the man-of-the-match for both games. Speaking at the presentation ceremony Attorney- at-law Khemraj Ramjattan congratulated the participating teams, while President of the Everest Cricket Club Rajesh Singh thanked the sponsor, Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall, Bourda Market.

take honours via penalty shootout

A far improved audience was treated to two top class encounters when the Mayor’s Cup football championship continued at the Den Amstel Community Centre Ground Sunday evening last and when the smoke had cleared the Guyana Defence Force had established their dominance over Stewartville 4-1 shortly before Slingerz FC sent Northern Rangers packing 4-2 on penalty kicks.

With the cool Atlantic breeze behind them, the GDF players, noted for their roughhouse tactics attacked relentlessly from the first whistle and were duly rewarded fifteen minutes into the game when Quincy Craig received an offering and with only the goalie to contend with tucked the ball to the left corner of the goal.

Clearly the stronger team, GDF pressured the Stewartville lads into several errors and it was after one of these, in the 35th minute that Craig widened the margin for the soldiers after dribbling past the Stewartville’s defence.

Despite strong efforts by the Stewartville team, the score remained untouched and the players went in at the halfway point with the GDF enjoying a 2 nil lead.

The army upped the ante at the start of the second session and when Warren Gilkes collected a pass and sprinted to Stewartville’s berth it looked like a sure goal.

Challenged by the dexterity of the soldier, one of

Quincy Craig (left) dominated the scoring for the GDF with support from Sherwin Caesar and Delwin Fraser (center and left respectively).

Stewartville’s defence players, with no other means of checking the charging striker, opted for dangerous play inside the box prompting the referee to award a penalty to the army. Craig took the shot and his team mates watched in dismay as Stewartville’s ‘keeper’ scooped up his tame misdirected kick.

Marlon Benjamin, usually the Army’s marksman, was also guilty of a misdirected strike after collecting a pass squarely in front of the goal.

Of all the goals scored for the night, Kwami Hyman’s took the prize for being the most fantastic.

The Stewartville player struck the ball but instead of holding on to it, the GDF custodian opted to kick the ball back into play.

Hyman latched onto it once again and despite having to contend with the GDF’s stiff

defensive lineup, effortlessly weaved his way forward and this time ensured that he placed it well. It proved to be the only success for Stewartville as Sherwin Caesar and Delwin Fraser widened the GDF lead in the 61st and 89th minutes to send the soldiers through to the next round.

The action switches to the GFC ground tomorrow evening with another sizzling double header; Camptown will take on Golden Grove in the night’s opener followed by the Fruta Conqueror’s/ Mahaica FC showdown.

The teams are aware that they are competing for a first prize of one million dollars with the runners up carting off half that amount. The third and fourth place finishers receive $300,000 and $200,000 respectively.

GCA Launches Brain Street...

From page 31 competition. We have seen success out of this tournament where young players attained higher heights.

I hope this competition will help to instill discipline in the

youths and bring out better citizens for the country” stated Harper. He also thanked the media for their support.

Chairman of the GCA Competition committee Shawn Massiah gave a brief

rundown of how the tournament will be played.

The team with the most points at the end of the preliminary round will be crowned champions of the League phase, while the top four teams will go through to the semifinal. The winner and runner up of the league stage and finals will take home $60,000 and $35,000 respectively. There will also be awards for the most outstanding batsman, bowler, fielder, most valuable player and man of the match in the final.

The competition gets underway on March 23rd with Everest Cricket Club hosting Georgetown Cricket Club, Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) A versus DCC B, Transport travel to Gandhi Organization, GNIC entertain Malteenoes SC and Ladies coming up against Queen’s College at YMCA.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

RAFAEL NADAL BEATS JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO IN INDIAN WELLS FINAL

Rafael Nadal celebrates (Getty Images)

BBC Sport - Rafael Nadal continued his stunning return to action with victory over Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The Spaniard, playing his first hard-court tournament in a year following a knee injury, won 4-6 6-3 6-4.

He adds Indian Wells to the clay-court titles he won in Brazil and Mexico since his comeback in February. It was confirmed on Sunday that Nadal will not play in Miami

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next week, with European clay next on his schedule.

“The doctors recommend me to be back home for a few weeks, rest a little bit and keep practising the right way,” the world number five added.

“I need more power in the left leg quadriceps, so I need to keep working hard. The competition is hard for the body, so after four fantastic weeks I can’t go to Miami. I need to prepare and rest for the next one.”

He heads back to Europe having surpassed all expectations, ending the first stage of his comeback with victory in one of the biggest hard-court tournaments in tennis, which featured all the world’s leading players.

Nadal says his left knee has good days and bad, and had played down his chances on the more punishing hard courts, but it appears he is already back to his best whatever the surface.

“It’s probably one of the most emotional victories of my career,” said Nadal, who has now played 600 matches.

“The support since I came back has been huge. It’s an unforgettable week for me and an unforgettable tournament.”

Del Potro, 24, played his part in a tremendous final and went close to following up wins over Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic by making it a hat-trick with Nadal.

The Argentine came back

from 0-3, 15-40 to take the first set and move a break up in the second with a run of nine games out of 11, and victory was in sight at a set and 3-1 up.

Nadal was not done, however, and wrestled the momentum back as he began to win the battle of two of the biggest forehands in the game.

The Spaniard, 25, won five games in succession to force the decider and, after missing a chance to break at the start of the third, he did so with another vicious forehand winner in game three.

There was one final, brilliant cameo from Del Potro as he rescued a desperate situation at 0-40 and three match points down in game nine, but it was only a stay of execution.

Nadal served his way to another championship point and when he finally closed it out, the 11-time Grand Slam champion collapsed to the ground in scenes reminiscent

of his major triumphs as he earned a record 22nd Masters title.

“I started the match playing fantastic, then Del Potro started playing a little more aggressive,” said Nadal, whose last hard-court title came in 2010. “In my opinion,

I tried to change too early against his forehand. I was playing much too aggressive for my game. “When I was able to calm myself, I began to play better. I started to play a little bit slower; my movement was unbelievable.

Then I play a fantastic match.”

Warning signs point...

From page 33 the FIFA / CONCACAF officials. Why have so many voters been left out of such an important procedure, leaving not only a tinge of bitterness, but a surplus of bad blood?

The FIFA / CONCACAF team were warned of the entrenched obstinacy of a few among the warring factions and this has begun to manifest itself. The continued inflexibility, if not addressed before the GFF Congress, will ultimately result in punishment for Guyana’s football and despair for aspiring youngsters.

As has been witnessed in the past, the FIFA / CONCACAF Committee possesses the power to facilitate a clean process, but relying on a Federation that has repeatedly shown its hand as being devoid of acting fairly can be counter-productive. The next move would invariably be crippling sanctions.

The warning signs are there for all to see and only the direct intervention of the world and regional governing bodies could avert a repeat of the less than encouraging past.

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Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Maria Sharapova beats Caroline Wozniacki in Indian Wells final BBC Sport - Maria Sharapova’s attacking game proved too much for Caroline Wozniacki as the Russian powered to victory in the BNP Paribas Open final.

Sharapova, 25, won 6-2 62 in one hour and 21 minutes to claim the Indian Wells title for the second time.

In a battle of two former world number ones, Sharapova’s shot-making ability held sway as she fired 33 winners. The four-time Grand Slam champion will

move up to second in the world rankings behind Serena Williams on Monday.

“This is what I do all the work for is these moments,” said Sharapova. “You feel like everything has paid off.”

Sharapova broke to love at the first opportunity and the pace of her returns kept Wozniacki off balance at the baseline throughout the match.

Wozniacki’s father and coach, Piotr, came on court to dispense some advice at the

changeover after game five but it did not stop Sharapova breaking again.

The reigning French Open champion finally faced two break points when serving for the set but saved them with blistering backhands, before closing it out with a forehand arrowed down the line after 38 minutes.

Sharapova hit 17 winners to Wozniacki’s one in the opening set, and a thumping forehand drive set up break point number four at the start

of the second, the Dane giving it up with a double fault. Wozniacki, 22, stopped a run of five games against her with a hold, but another visit from her father failed to shift the momentum in her favour as the winners kept coming from the other end of the court.

The Dane fought valiantly but her trademark defensive skills were no match for the barrage raining down on her, and Sharapova broke for the fourth time in a

Maria Sharapova (Getty Images)

lengthy game at 4-2 before serving out to love.

“I think it was a tough match, a tough battle, and there were a lot of games that went to deuce and a lot of long games,” added Sharapova. “I always felt like I was always a foot ahead, especially with the breaks. I was able to serve well today, and that helped me.”

Wozniacki said: “She was putting pressure on me from the start. She was serving very well. I felt like everything that she wanted to do today was going in.

“She was making very few errors, and if she did, then it was really at the times where it didn’t really matter. I have to say she just played too well today.”

Senior Badminton officials visit

The two visiting Badminton officials, Vishnu Tolan (left) and German Valdez flank Priyanna Ramdhani at the GOA award presentation last Friday.

The Guyana Badminton Association was pleased to host the Pan American Badminton Federation Secretary Vishnu Tolan of Jamaica and Director of Development German Valdez of Peru who was is in Guyana for a two-day visit March 14 & 15, 2013.

Discussions were done on the development of badminton, and other important ideas were shared for the future development for Badminton in Guyana.

Badminton Shuttlecocks were also handed over to the GBA for the continuous training of the Junior Players.

The Pan Am Badminton Directors visited the Badminton Venues and

Sports Venues around Guyana, met with the Director of Sports, Mr. Neil Kumar, President of the Guyana Olympic Association, Mr. K. Juman-Yassin, and Ms. Marie Harper of Marian Academy.

They also attended the Guyana Olympic Association & Awards Evening held at the Georgetown Club March 15, 2013. They were delighted to see Badminton Player Priyanna Ramdhani receiving a Bouquet for outstanding sports achievements.

The GBA would like to thank the Badminton Pan American Federation for seeing our continuous Development and was happy to have them visit Guyana.

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Berbice Bridge Co Inc supports KMTC Phagwah Horserace Meet

By Zaheer Mohamed The Berbice River Bridge Company Inc has thrown its support behind the Kennard Memorial Turf Club (KMTC) Phagwah Horserace meeting which is slated for Sunday 24th of March at Bush Lot Farm on the Corentyne in the Ancient county of Berbice.

President of the KMTC, retired chancellor of the Judiciary, Cecil Kennard in brief remarks thanked the sponsor and informed that they have extended and repainted one of the stands so that spectators can be more comfortable. “It is because of the support from the business community we can upgrade our facility and continue to do so, there are also better accommodation for the horses”, added Kennard.

“For the third time, the Berbice Bridge Inc. will be on board with KMTC, sponsoring three of our horserace meetings that are on our calendar this year, beginning with the Phagwah meeting.

Sponsorship is essential for the successful promoting of any event and we are very pleased with this gesture

being shown by the Berbice Bridge Company Inc., as it helps to make the event a successful one,” stated Kennard.

The KMTC leader said the response from horse owners and trainers alike was very good, with some of them requesting an extension on the deadline to submit their entries today (yesterday), a request that was acceded to by the club.

Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice River Bridge Company Inc. Omadat Samaroo said his company received a request from the Secretary of KMTC late last year, who outlined the club’s programme for this year which fitted into his Company’s budget quiet easily.

“Further to that request, we also received a budget from the club, which outlined their expenses for the four proposed meetings that is held each year; the Phagwah, Independence, Emancipation and Boxing Day events.

Having looked at it thoroughly, we decided to go with three of those events, commencing with the Phagwah race meet, with the aim of making all three bigger and better, since we recognize that horseracing like cricket,

brings people together,” stated Samaroo.

He added, “The sport creates great attractions not only to Berbicians, but those fans who come from as far as Linden and at times the West Coast of Demerara and even Suriname to witness the events, while the proceeds are used by the club to upgrade and upkeep the track and facilities there.”

Reflecting on the negative way some people view the Berbice Bridge based on their toll fees, Samaroo said a survey was done before the prices were attached as it relates to crossing with the ferry that was used in comparison to the bridge which was commissioned and opened to vehicular traffic on 24th December 2008.

“Added to that, it takes about 15 minutes to cross via the bride while persons who used the ferry (whose service I am not being critical of) prior to the building of the bridge, would have a waiting time of close to one hour at times, while they also have to pay a fee for excess cargo,” stated Samaroo.

In addition to sponsoring the horserace meeting, Samaroo said his company was fulfilling its obligation as

GCA Launches Brain Street U-15 tourney

Chief Executive Officer of Brain Street Lance Hinds (right) presents the sponsorship cheque to Treasurer of the GCA Dennis Wilson in the presence of the other members of the Association.

By Zaheer Mohamed The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) has once again showed its commitment towards the development of cricket by launching the Brain Street U-15 round robin competition yesterday at the Malteenoes Sports Club, Woolford Avenue. Chairman of the GCA senior selection panel, former Guyana middle order batsman Mark Harper said the U-15 competition is beneficial to the youths. “The format of the tournament gives the youngsters a good opportunity to bat and bowl for longer periods so that they

can develop their game, young Tagenarine Chanderpaul came out of this competition,” added Harper.

He stated that the matches will be of 100 overs duration and the team batting first will be allowed to bat for a maximum of 55 overs. He informed that bonus points will also be given to teams.

“One bonus point will be awarded when a team reaches 100 runs and an additional point will be given for every 25 runs scored up to 200 and one bonus point will be awarded for every 2 wickets taken. A team can earn a maximum of 5 bonus points”,

informed Harper. Harper said he is looking forward to the competition and trust that it will bring about more talent.

Chief Executive Officer of Brian Street, Lance Hinds indicated they are pleased to partner with the GCA for the third year, “It is important to support cricket at this level so that teams can go from strength to strength”, stated Hinds.

President of the GCA Roger Harper thanked the sponsor for their continued support. “We are pleased that Brain Street gives us the opportunity to run the (Continued on page 28)

Chief Executive Officer of Berbice Bridge Inc. Omadat Samaroo (left) hands over the trophy and cheque to Honorary President of the Kennard Memorial Turf Club Cecil Kennard yesterday.

a corporate citizen by offering toll free crossing to NonGovernmental Organizations (NGO), school tours and the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, just to name a few, while they recently joined forces with the New Amsterdam based Flying Ace Cycle Club.

He later handed over a trophy and a cheque of an undisclosed amount to Kennard, which will be given

to the winner of the feature race which covers a distance of one mile and caters for horses classified B and Lower by the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA).

Samaroo stated that their sponsorship will cover for the entire B and Lower as well as the J, I and Lower races which precedes the feature event and covers a distance of seven furlongs, “…for as I said before, our aim is to make

this event and the other two we are sponsoring on the KMTC calendar this year, bigger and better.”

Other sponsors for the event includes Giftland OfficeMax, N and S Mattai, Pomeroon Oil Company, Top Notch Auto Sales, Kanhai’s (Guyana) Electrical Agency, Demerara Distillers Limited, Ministry of Tourism and Mike’s Pharmacy, just to name a few.

Popular horserace entrepreneur...

From page 35 Sports is also necessary. “This is the way it is done in other countries because of the primary involvement of animals,” he said .

Additionally, Mr. Elcock feels that there is a need for an Association to address the concerns of trainer, owners and jockeys. This group would then be affiliated to the GHRA. He is also calling for the establishment of a stud book to record the activities and accomplishments of the horses. “This would be very helpful in tracking the achievements and exploits of horses whether local or foreign based,” opined Elcock. The present situation sees local horses unable to compete in international meets because of improperly kept records.

Mr. Elcock next turned his attention to the judging process and dubbed it as ‘woefully archaic.’

He feels that the time has come for organizers to adopt technological approaches to establish the respective positions especially in those races that end in close finishes.

He feels that the current state of affairs is appalling and in urgent need of regularization.

He said that the entire fraternity is in chaos and the time for urgent reforms is long past.

As such, the horserace magnate feels that the recently installed GHRA should be disbanded and an interim body should be installed until some semblance of order and sanity is restored.

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Mahendra Dhoni leads hosts Tucville, South Ruimveldt to series win into semi-finals

Milo / Petra Organisation Under-20 Schools Football Competition...

MS Dhoni pulls to the leg side (BCCI)

BBC Sport - India beat Australia by six wickets in the third Test in Mohali to complete a series victory over the tourists.

In a tight finish on the final day, skipper Mahendra Dhoni smashed three consecutive fours to earn victory with 15 balls remaining.

India, who now lead the four-match series 30, had been set 133 to win after bowling out Australia for 223 in their second innings. Virat Kohli top-scored with 34 before Dhoni (18 not out) completed the win.

India’s victory had been built upon a fantastic innings by man-of-the-match Shikhar Dhawan, who scored the fastest century on debut in Test cricket as India compiled 499 all out in their first innings in reply to Australia’s 408 all out.

Opening batsman Dhawan, 27, took 85 balls to reach his 100 and went on to score 187 in an opening wicket stand of 289 with Murali Vijay (153). “It’s a dream come true,” said Dhawan. “When I entered the game, I was nervous for three or four balls. “But once I got into my rhythm I just played my natural game.

“I wanted to stay at the crease as long as possible, I didn’t want to throw my wicket away. I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”

Bowler Mitchell Starc had top-scored in Australia’s first innings with a stylish 99 at number nine, with Steve Smith (92) also contributing.

But without the four players, including

Part of the quarter-final action in this year’s Milo / Petra Organisation U-20 Schoold Football Competition played on Sunday.

vice-captain Shane Watson, that coach Mickey Arthur dropped for the game as a disciplinary measure, the Australians were bowled out for 223 in their second innings.

That left India needing to chase down 133 in just 34 overs, which they achieved with Dhoni and Ravi Jadeja at the crease.

The fourth Test starts in Delhi on Friday.

Scores: India 499 (Dhawan 187, Vijay 153, Siddle 5-71) and 136 for 4 beat Australia 408 (Starc 99, Smith 92) and 223 (Hughes 69) by six wickets.

The semi-final lineups in this year ’s Milo / Petra Organisation Under-20 Schools Football Competition have been decided following the completion of the final round of quarter-final matches on Sunday, at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue.

In the first game set for tomorrow at the same venue, St George’s takes on Carmel at 16:00 hrs and that will be followed by the clash between Tucville and South Ruimveldt.

In Sunday’s final round of quarter-final action, South Ruimveldt defeated Richard Ishmael 3-1 thanks to strikes from Jamain Beckles (20th),

Keith Caines (28th) and Martin Adams (70th), while Ray Stanton (36th) minute effort was the lone response for the losers.

In the feature matchup, Tucville beat Bishop’s High 4-2 in overtime after regulation period ended 2-2.

Dorwin Filter (52nd, 107th) and Ryan Blackman (72nd, 102nd) added to their regulation period goals with one each in overtime to complete a brace apiece, while Shamel Lewis’ (40th, 70th) minutes pair kept the contest on a knife’s edge until the 90 minutes expired sending the game into extra time.

In the day’s full results: South Ruimveldt defeated

Richard Ishmael 3-1 Goal Scorers South Ruimveldt Secondary Jamain Beckles 20th min Keith Caines 28th min Martin Adams 70th min Richard Ishmael Secondary Ray Stanton 36th min Game 2 Tucville beat Bishop’s High 4-2 in overtime.

Tucville Secondary School Ryan Blackman 52nd & 107th min Dorwin Filter 72nd & 102nd min Bishop’s High School Shamal Lewis 40th & 70th min

Warning signs point to chaos on April 12

By Rawle Welch It seems as though the commendable effort of the FIFA / CONCACAF Mediation team that visited Guyana earlier this year, to bring an end to the longstanding dispute between the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and its affiliates, will not generate the desired results as expected, and many feel that the sport could be heading – as it had been prior to the high-level visit – into an abyss.

This view surfaced following allegations of meddling of the processes by agents purportedly representing the GFF during voting at some of its affiliates’ Annual Election Meetings.

Many feel that with the impending Electoral Congress (scheduled to take place on April 12 as mandated by the FIFA / CONCACAF team) the local governing body’s extensive involvement in just the electoral processes is selfserving and suspicious, and does not bode well for a

harmonious relationship with important stakeholders going forward, or the future development of the sport, which has been severely affected by the ongoing rancor and distrust between the GFF and its affiliates.

The overwhelming complaint is why the GFF is continuing to preside over electoral processes that from all appearances do not conform to the standard constitutional requirements of the respective bodies.

This behaviour is threatening to create chaos heading into the Congress, a situation which could see the return of the FIFA / CONCACAF team, but regrettably this time to impose sanctions which could then set Guyana’s football further

back.

The GFF, which signed on to do all in its power to reignite thrust and holistic development among stakeholders for the good of the game, should be equipped with the necessary expertise to ensure that every club eligible to vote in their respective associations’ AGMs are allowed to do so following the completion of obligatory prerequisites.

From the reports seen to date, some of its officers have not facilitated this process and therefore have allowed a large degree of cynicism and in some cases double standards to infiltrate the procedure and more importantly, the minds of the voters.

How could the GFF feel comfortable and justified that it has done everything in its power to enable every stakeholder to have a say in who governs, when it supervises a process that leaves affiliates disgruntled and divided. This surely could not be the promise it made to (Continued on page 29)

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 33

Herath bags two late wickets to boost Sri Lanka COLOMBO (Reuters) Two wickets in two balls by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath in the last half hour of play on the third day tilted the balance of the second test towards Sri Lanka on Monday.

By stumps Bangladesh, who trailed Sri Lanka by 106 after the first innings, were 158 for four wickets - an overall lead of 52.

Mominul Haque scored an attractive half-century in the first innings and was unbeaten on 36 second time around with Mushfiqur Rahim on seven.

Both batsmen would have been out before the close had the Sri Lankan fielders been sharper.

Mominul was put down at mid-on by Nuwan Kulasekara when he was on 30 and Angelo Mathews missed Mushfiqur at slip also off Herath, who ended the day with figures of three for 45.

Mohammad Ashraful became Herath’s first victim when he was bowled for four by a quicker delivery in the second over after tea when his off stump was sent tumbling.

A stand of 47 followed between Jahurul Islam and Mominul that carried Bangladesh to 143-2 before Herath struck twice in his 19th over. He changed the complexion of the game by

Rangana Herath's double-strike towards the end of the day left Bangladesh in trouble (AFP) having Jahurul stumped by Dinesh Chandimal for 48 when the batsman lost his patience and charged up the wicket. On the next ball, Mahmudullah was beaten up by a tossed up delivery from Herath and had his off stump knocked out. Mushfiqur survived the hat-trick ball and was lucky to be there at the close.

RETURN CATCH Openers Tamim Iqbal and Jahurul provided a strong start to help Bangladesh reach 93 for one at tea.

On a surface which had flattened out at the R Premadasa Stadium, Tamim and Jahurul batted

confidently. Tamim, who missed the first test through injury, was the aggressor in the partnership reaching his fifty off 67 balls with the help of one six and four fours. He was dropped on 12 when Suranga Lakmal failed to hold a knee-high return catch.

A bowling change by Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews brought about the dismissal of Tamim, who tried to cut a ball from Shaminda Eranga but only succeeded in chopping it onto his stumps to depart for 59.

Earlier, Sri Lanka resumed on 294 for six and a lot depended on how long Kumar Sangakkara could bat

Two fans arrested over racism at Chelsea match

Frank Lampard of Chelsea celebrates scoring against West Ham during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning LONDON (Reuters) - Two fans have been arrested over racially-aggravated public order offences at the Chelsea v West Ham United Premier League match at the weekend,

London’s Metropolitan Police said on Monday.

A spokeswoman said bail had been granted to the two men with their return dates set for late March. Two further

arrests were made at the match for different offences, affray and criminal damage.

Earlier on Monday police said they were investigating missile throwing by West Ham supporters towards their former player Frank Lampard after the Chelsea midfielder scored in the 2-0 win on Sunday.

“We are investigating instances of coin-throwing at Chelsea versus West Ham. There have been no arrests.

Inquiries continue,” a spokesman added.

Lampard, who joined Chelsea from West Ham in 2001, headed in the game’s opener after 19 minutes at Stamford Bridge and the goal was greeted with abuse from the nearby away fans who threw coins and hot dogs.

The England international’s strike was his 200th for the European champions as he closes in on the club record of 202 set by Bobby Tambling in the 1960s and 1970s.

on to give the hosts a healthy first innings lead. Starting the day on 127, Sangakkara added only 12 runs to his overnight score when he went for a drive off Abul Hasan and, after a long delay, the third umpire ruled him out caught behind by Mushfiqur.

Sangakkara scored 139 off 289 balls and hit 11 fours in

Tamim Iqbal is bowled for 59 (AFP) what was his third century in this series.

Sohag Gazi bowled Herath for three and dismissed Kulasekara for 22 when the batsman gave Mushfiqur his fifth catch of the innings as the spinner finished with figures of three for 111.

Mahmudullah then removed Shaminda Eranga (15) as Sri Lanka were all out for 346 in their first innings.

Scores: Bangladesh 240 and 158 for 4 (Tamim 59*, Herath 3-45) lead Sri Lanka 346 (Sangakkara 139, Chandimal 102) by 52 runs.

Page 34

Kaieteur News

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Tuesday March 19, 2013

Kaieteur News

Speed XI and Savage record wins Speed XI and Savage Masters registered victories in two feature softball matches last Friday evening at the Everest Cricket Club.

Speed XI defeated Parika Defenders by 8 wickets.

Parika Defenders batted first and scored 170-7 in their allotted 20 overs. Oswald Chandelier made 45, while Aftar Khan chipped in with 30 as Yunus Yusuf claimed 316. Speed XI then responded with 174-2 in 16 overs. Falim Mohamed was their leading run getter with 64 and Rama

Malone supported with 30.

Speed XI received a trophy compliments of Trophy Stall.

In the second game, Savage got the better of Everest Masters by 61 runs.

Savage rattled up 227-6 in 20 overs. Zuilfe Ali top scored with 85, while Yusuf Yunnis got 28, Rama Malone 25 and Talesh Ramoutar 20; Hemraj Garbarran took 3-25. The home team in reply mustered 166-8 in 20 overs. Garbarran made slammed 71 as Vicky Ramsaywack and Satish Persaud grabbed 3 wickets each.

Under Dog are Cheddi Jagan Memorial Dominoes Champs Under Dog marked 80 games to win the Cheddi Jagan Memorial Dominoes competition which was contested last Sunday at the Wakenaam Community Centre in Good Success.

Asif Ahmad scored a maximum of 18 games and Deonarine Gokool supported with 16. Sea Wall Boys placed second with 71 and All Star came third with 67. Julian Ramoutar chalked 13 for the runner up team, while Shafdar

Ali with 18 and Khemraj Surajpaul 14 were All Star leading players.

The love birds were Vinood Ramadeen of Sea Wall Boys and Heera Sukram of Allstar. Ali took the most valuable player prize while Under Dog and Sea Wall Boys received trophies.

The competition was sponsored by Wakenaam PPP group and was played in memory of the late president Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

Sanasie 40 over cricket in Leguan...

Roopchand guides Rebels to victory, Young Warriors beat Satro Rebels and Young Warriors recorded victories as play in the Anand Sanasie 40 over cricket competition continued last Sunday in Leguan with two matches. At Whyte’s Park, Brain Roopchand stroked a fine 95 and got support from Satesh Latchana 31 as Rebels overcame Maryville by 9 wickets. Maryville batted first and scored 141 all out in 23.3 overs. Chetram Rabindra led with 23, while Mark Williams supported with 21 as Aquesi Arthur snared 3-40 and Wazir Ali 2-14. Rebels then replied with 144-1 in 23.3 overs. The game was reduced to 35 overs due to a late start.

At enterprise ground – Young Warriors overcame Satro by 4 wickets. Satro won toss and posted 130 all out in 22 overs with Saif Razack getting 27 and Kevin Gordon 22. Bowling for young warriors was Oudit Narayan grabbed 4 for 15 in 6 overs and Marlon Narine 2 for 33 in 6 overs. Young warriors responded with 131 for 6 in 24.4 overs. Onkar Premnauth top scored with 49 and Tyrone Narine made 27; Shazad Razack claimed 2 for 26 in his 6 overs. This game was reduced to 30 overs.

The last preliminary round will be played on Sunday.

Page 35

Popular horserace entrepreneur calls for regularization of the entity Colin Elcock

By Samuel Whyte Popular horseracing entrepreneur, Colin Elcock, is deeply concerned by the lax approaches of Government and some members of the horseracing fraternity towards the development of the sector and has issued a call for immediate measures to correct the anomalies that are threatening to usurp the development of the sport.

Mr. Elcock spoke with Kaieteur Sport and lamented the degeneration of the sport over the years, saying that the situation has reached a chaotic stage. He said that it seems as though the fraternity is operating devoid of rules that have reduced horse race to “an organized gymkhana event.”

He also lashed out at the Government officials saying they are to be blamed due to laissez-faire approaches in the

establishment of the requisite legislation to regularize activities within the fraternity.

“The fraternity is in chaos and people are doing as they please, devoid of sanctions,” lamented Mr. Elcock. He is urging Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony to expeditiously launch an investigation with a view of regularizing activities in the fraternity.

Some of his pressing concerns include the operations of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA), judges, commentators and stewards of meetings. Mr. Elcock also beseeches Mr. Anthony to investigate the procedure pertaining to acquisition of racing dates, classification of horses, stud books, registration of local and imported horses, training and licensing of jockeys, and the continued participation of

- feels Ministry of Agriculture should oversee activities jockeys even after they would have attained retirement age.

Consequently, Elcock is calling on major sponsors to withhold their largesse until horseracing administrators become more accountable and enact the necessary changes.

He bemoaned the high incidences of un-regularised betting at the meets, while calling on those responsible to establish betting booths in order to restore some semblance of order while controlling the large numbers of punters that spill onto the tracks during events.

Elcock chided administrators of the sport for their non-consultative attitudes before establishing dates for meets. He also urged administrators to respect traditional dates already enshrined under the yearly calendar of events.

The proper planning of races also came up for criticism; he said that horses make races and that is a factor that should be taken into consideration. “Horses are unique animals; some are good sprinters while others excel over longer distances; others are versatile and possess both traits,” explained Mr. Elcock.

He elaborated by saying that when races are arranged

over specific distances, some horse owners are d i s a d v a n t a g e d .

“Consultations should be held with all stakeholders so that their interests could be best served,” concluded Mr. Elcock.

The horserace magnate next took a swipe at the newly elected officials of the GHRA and referred to them as ‘toothless.’ He said that despite the absence of proper rules, adequate notices and a structured agenda, some members went ahead and held elections. “Who are the members? Who are the eligible voters and under what rules are elections being held,” Mr. Elcock wanted to know while calling on those executives to get their act together. “Right now it is a situation where the blind is leading the blind down the wrong path,” he asserted.

As a first, Elcock feels that the sport should be placed under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and even then activities should be conducted under the animal act. He pointed out that this entity deals with the care, transport, quarantine and treatment of animals and is the appropriate entity to overlook the workings of the fraternity.

He also feels that the input of officials of the Ministry of (Continued on page 31)

t r o Sp

Marics & Co. Ltd latest to support GMR&SC O

Operations Manager of Marics & Co. Ltd Winston Willabus (right) hands over the cheque to Manager of the GMR&SC Rayon Samaroo recently.

perations Manager of Marics & Co. Ltd Winston Willabus expressed delight when presented with the opportunity to join the growing list of sponsors to offer support for the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) March 24 Race Meet which is scheduled to be staged, at the South Dakota Circuit.

Willabus, who acted on behalf of the Company that is the local agent for Honda equipment, handed over a cheque for an undisclosed sum to Manager of the Club Rayon Samaroo, at the entity’s business location on Charlotte Street.

Samaroo in response thanked the Company on behalf of the Club for offering its support for the sport, adding that the club will endeavour to make the day an exciting one for the fans and to ensure that a high level of discipline is exhibited by the competitors throughout the day.

He also noted that with the support of the corporate community, the sport of motor racing is guaranteed continuity which will not only benefit the competitors, but all those who love the sport.

According to Samaroo, some 22 races are carded for the day and competitors will line up in all the different categories in what is already being hyped to produce some exhilarating performances.

The first race is set to begin at 09:00 hrs with the line up of competitiors set for 08:30 hrs.

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