Kaieteur News

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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: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

The blight of addiction A major culprit for crime and corruption is addiction to drugs and alcohol. Addiction starts with the repeated experience of the same sense object and this creates a sense of craving for it. Leaving the habit becomes painful, but having it does not give you any bliss, or ecstasy. Nobody is born with a craving, but you have started a habit within you that has created the craving.

Drinking coffee every day is not carrying you to heaven, but leaving it gives you a headache. Similarly, all those who are into alcohol and drugs, look at their faces, they are not in an ecstatic state of consciousness filled with joy. In fact it is the other way around; there is no joy on an alcoholic’s face.

That joy and innocence with which one is born has been robbed, washed out. So alcoholism, or any type of drug addiction, is the result of repeated experience, or association of a particular sense with the object of sense. I see people who smoke marijuana — look at their faces— there is no joy, no vibrancy, no radiance and they have no aura.

If you go to a Kumbh Mela, you will find a lot of sadhus who smoke hookah, charas, opium, but this is far from anything you would call spiritual. They are completely oblivious of everything else in the world. This is not the sign of enlightenment.

There is a saying in Sanskrit, ‘An intelligent person spends his time in knowledge, music, literature, science, and in bringing people together. But the foolish always enjoy spending their time indulging in vyasanam, addictions, altercations and fights.

All these recreational drugs just destroy your body. It will temporarily give you a high that just takes you off from the mundane to a seemingly subtle feeling.

There are three ways to overcome addictions: Love, fear and greed. If you have alcohol and cigarette addiction, and I tell you that you will get one million dollars if you don’t smoke for one month, you will stop. Won’t you?

Greed can check your bad habit. Or if you promise someone you love, even then you will get over addictions.

Third is fear. If I say, you will die in a month if you do this, you will not do it. Fear can stop an addiction. I prefer love over the other two. All those who are using drugs, tell them to do pranayama, meditation and Sudarshan Kriya, and the addictions will drop easily.

A villager complained that he was having a headache, and so he asked his friend, ‘What should I do?’ His friend told him, ‘Just drink some alcohol.’ He was surprised. He said, ‘If I drink alcohol, my headache will go?’ His friend said, ‘Why will it not go? My land went, my job went, and my wife’s jewellry have also gone. Everything has gone with alcohol; a headache is no big deal!’

So when people are under the influence of intoxicants, they don’t know what they are doing. As mothers and sisters and men of wisdom, you should all stop our younger generation from getting addicted to any of these intoxicants that are harmful for health and wealth.

Together, all of us can make a change and we can build a better, safer and beautiful society.

Malaysia has a way of dealing with those who seem bent on foisting narcotic drugs on the society. It executes the drug carrier. The international community which is waging a war on drugs, or so it says, is often inclined to beg for the life of the captured drug mule. Guyana has its drug addicts and its drug mules and its drug dealers. As fate would have it the dealers focus on markets overseas, the mules on the few dollars that are on offer and the few addicts have long been lost to the society

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur M@ilbox Send your letters to Kaieteur News 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown or email us kaieteurnews@yahoo.com

The APNU-AFC must be watchful, least desperate people create the ‘Intended retaliation’ DEAR EDITOR, The evil callous assassination of Courtney Crum-Ewing is best described

by Ret Major General Joe Singh’s letter in the Stabroek and Kaieteur News Papers of March 12, nothing can be manufactured to label this man deserving of this, to quote “cowardly murder”. But nothing differs with Ewing’s murder from those of the Linden Martyrs, the Intention was the same, I have said it , the leaders of the AFC have projected these warnings, and Latchman Singh had defined it in his recent letter in Kaieteur News, March 8. This failed group of dysfunctional politicians bears the characteristics of the illegitimate

mother in the Biblical Solomon story, that preferred the baby to be slain and divided ‘dead and destroyed,’ rather than lose what was not legitimately hers. In the case of the PPP, a country nor any group within belongs to the political party in Government, you are its top servants, but to survive, the PPP must create racial hatreds. Why do you think President Ramotar publically deceived the country with his media recitations , but never swore in the Ethnic Relations Commission.

He knew that after the years of abysmal PPP pillage, lies, mediocrity and blatant abuse of all powers, values and principles. The Nation has had enough, is fed up of being the laughing

stock of every Island Nation; and now wants them gone. The APNU-AFC must be on their guard, least these desperate people create the ‘Intended retaliation.’ It was only a few years ago that ‘Chowtie’ and his gang dressed in Rasta Wigs terrorizing Indo Guyanese on the East Coast, especially Indo Guyanese who were willing to put Guyana first. That Ewing picketed the office of the A.G who has erroneously defined himself as a Kshatriya, and thoroughbred, this PPP Attorney General who declared that...’he’ “who run things in Guyana’’ and has ‘’people with weapons”, That such a disturbed mind holds such an office, and is beyond (Continued on page 6)

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur M@ilbox

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Which Queen’s College tradition will we stand for?

Who is right, Jagdeo or Ramjattan?

DEAR EDITOR In October 2014, the media released a private conversation in which the current Attorney-General Anil Nandlall is heard making threats against the Kaieteur News for critical coverage, discussing how to get the sexual services of a young woman for a relative and admitting to taking government money for private purposes. Near the end of the call, Nandlall, an alumnus of Queen’s College, states: “Is Queen’s College people does run this country, you nah realize that?”

Queen’s College, seen by so many for so long as one of the top schools in Guyana, can stand for different traditions. One is the reproduction of the status quo, the politics of exclusion, of climbing the ladder and kicking it away when you get to the top. It’s about clinging on to your power and your privilege, no matter what the cost, no matter what the price.

The most recent and vulgar example of this part of the Queen’s College heritage is represented by these actions

of Anil Nandlall, the Queen’s College graduate who occupies the office of the Attorney-General.

There is another tradition that has also always been part of the Queen’s College heritage. It is about saying no to abuse. It has to do with speaking back to power. It has to do with taking a stand whatever the cost. It has to do with breaking the silence despite the fear, and because of the fear. This tradition was for example represented in the hope that resided in two alumni (Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan), when in 1953 Guyana took the world by storm, before things fell apart , before our beloved country fell into a deep antidemocratic slumber that started close to a half-century ago and from which we have still not awoken. It is represented by Walter Rodney. It is represented most recently by Courtney CrumEwing, a QC alumnus of the same generation as Mr. Nandlall, who tragically, heart sickeningly, was gunned down earlier this week while calling out people in his

community to vote in May. When Mr. Nandlall, who occupies the office of the Attorney-General, says ‘Is QC people does run this country,” let us understand that the tradition which he represents feeds off little more than contempt for Guyanese other than a select few.

I ask as a Guyanese woman, which tradition will we stand for?

To my fellow Queen’s College alumni, when Anil Nandlall (who has taken the disgrace of public office to a record level) says that Queen’s College people run things, does he speak for you? And if not, what has our silence meant so far, and what is the work to be done?

My deepest condolences to the family and friends of Courtney Crum-Ewing. We must all suffer this unbearable loss with you.

Alissa Trotz

DEAR EDITOR, So Babu Jaan has come and gone and that pesky “cuss bird” who calls himself doctor to the “filth” power, is at it again.

This person really has a talent – a world-class inability to tell the truth. What we saw at Babu Jaan was political desire nixing memory.

The political desire is that the PPP leaders want to win even though they failed at elementary governance over the last decade.

Even if these political Rasputins have to raid the tombs of Joseph Goebbels to dispense their vials of untruths to the transported audience, so what – Freedom House claimed they transported them from all over Guyana, clothed them for the day, fed them for the day and more than adequately financially compensated them; so they better had listen to the propaganda.

But the rest of the nation

does not have to accept this “gobble gook” from people who have built mansions less than five miles from Pigeon Island where East Indian families from the sugar belt have to live in even worst conditions than under the PNC days.

But today I want to fact check one blatant untruth dispensed at Babu Jaan.

Mr. Jagdeo was caught saying that out of “naivety or desperation on the part of the AFC, they had to link up with APNU”.

There is a biblical quote in Luke 9:50 that says “But Jesus said to him, do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you”.

In 2011, when Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan approached the PPP with suggestion that the parliamentary parties should work more closely in the tripartite committee in ironing out the national developmental challenges, it was the PPP who dulled his enthusiasm and did everything to reject his (Continued on page 6)

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur M@ilbox

President Ramotar should be forthright about Is the Local Government Ministry now stationed perceived corruption of all public officers DEAR EDITOR, President Ramotar must have good reason to address the Guyana Police force as published in the KAIETEUR NEWS of MARCH 13, 2015, But should President Ramotar not be as forthright with regards to all public officers?

I read the article and wonder why the same judgement is not made about perceived corruption.

President Donald Ramotar has ordered the local lawmen to clean up their act to remove the perception, as the least trusted among law enforcement agencies in the Region, President Donald Ramotar urged the Police Officers to discuss, the perceived decrease in trust, what may have fuelled those views and what can be done

to turn this decrease in trust to an increase in confidence by the citizens. President Donald Ramotar continued, “Let me be clear on this point, this perception is not acceptable to me or any Guyanese and should not be acceptable to any of you here today and we must take steps to change these perceptions.

President Donald Ramotar urged the leadership of the Guyana Police Force to lead by example and show all the other members the path forward.

President Ramotar stressed that every officer has national responsibilities that have to be executed with a high degree of efficiency, professionalism and effectiveness within the ambit of the law and due process.

President Donald

Ramotar identified professionalism, knowledge, people skills, firmness and fairness as the hallmarks of officers and ranks of the Guyana Police Force in the discharge of its duties.

President Donald Ramotar also said, “in so doing, you will inspire public confidence and trust and (will) be looked upon as role models who are careeroriented and patriotic.”

President Donald Ramotar lashed out at those few “rotten oranges”, who are bent on tarnishing the image of the police force and urged the officers to identify and get rid of them.

President Donald Ramotar “expects the police to exercise zero tolerance in identifying the corrupt, the social deviants, the misfits

who have infiltrated their ranks, and then take appropriate action…

President Donald Ramotar emphasised that a Police Officer cannot be a walking contradiction; on the one hand, pretending to be a paragon of virtue, but on the other, clandestinely lining his or her pockets.

President Donald Ramotar nevertheless, expressed optimism that the officers can address the perceived lack of trust but warned, “make no mistake, if you fail to perform your duties and fail to honour the oath you took to protect and to serve the Guyanese people, then I will do what I have to do to ensure that the Guyanese people have proper service by the Police Force.”

Faiyaz

This crime affords the Commissioner a glorious opportunity to rebuild confidence in the force DEAR EDITOR, So our President, His Excellency Donald Ramotar at the Annual Police Conference, has called on the Police to find the killers of Courtney Crum-Ewing. He went further to talk about the ‘intellectual authors’ who may be behind this dastardly act of assassination.

As I understand it, a credible Police Operation in such circumstances and given their mandate would allow the police to follow every lead, and pursue all possibilities thoroughly. The police therefore ought not to ignore the following: First, Courtney has for weeks been picketing about the Attorney General Mohabir Anil Nandlall, Kaieteur News conversation, which anywhere else would have seen the back of our Attorney General, but this is Guyana – Courtney’s main focus was in front of the Attorney General’s Office.

Second, we ought not to ignore the aggressive nature

of Nandlall’s Kaieteur news reporter conservation, threats are implicit.

The Police ought by now, to have at least invited the Attorney General to say if the young man’s protests had angered him and may have driven him to the point where he may have wished to be rid of the nuisance or embarrassment caused by Crum-Ewing’s protest. After all, this is a normal human reaction.

In any murder you look for all possible motives. Who may have disliked the victim, etc, but even as Standard Operational Procedure, the best of our knowledge, this has not been done.

Then there is the haughty loud mouthed gentleman at a high State Office who daily threatens people who criticize the PPP establishment, and the fact that young Crum-

Ewing reported to the police that he had been threatened by this individual and is it true the Police have been monitoring his movements and what is the relationship to the equipment stolen when previous unknown persons broke into his minibus.

But am I wrong to believe that these ‘sacred cows’ are beyond the reach of the Commissioner of Police and his top ‘brass’? These big ones could not be the intellectual authors of Courtney’s assassination.

Mr. Commissioner, this incident affords you a glorious opportunity to make a reality of President Ramator’s Plan to rebuild the confidence in the police force.

We all, in the interest of Guyana, would like something done to deal with the flagging faith the majority of citizens have in our police,

anywhere where there is a loss of confidence in the main law enforcement agency, the society is on the brink of disaster or can implode.

As an aside, don’t have your Commanders ‘solve’ this murder by picking up some poor chaps from Albouystown, Agricola, East and West Ruimvledt, Buxton and Tiger Bay and administer the torture, which we unhappily associate with some of your promotable ranks – then announce a ‘confession’ end of story and the ‘intellectual author’ or authors’ enjoy the satisfaction that they are immune from all Police action.

Later we’ll provide you a list of persons who ought to be charged for a number of crimes, but are still walking free. I write in honour of Courtney, and all patriots.

Hamilton Green, J.P.

Why wait until National Elections to upgrade the Maternity Unit?

DEAR EDITOR, I happened to be in the vicinity and on checking, there was the grandiose turning of the sod event for the expansion of the Maternity Ward in Georgetown Hospital.

Then it was flipped over to a mini PPP Campaign Rally where the Minister of Health consistently harped that this project is what the PPP/C is all about. Is it the PPP/C’s money spending on this project? Or would that be our tax dollars put together with

some funding from an International Agency. The PPP/C’s money does not go to developmental projects which would be of benefit to all Guyanese. To the contrary – money for developmental projects, goes to the PPP/C cabal to feather their individual nests.

Why wait for 22 odd years to upgrade the maternity unit just when they are pushed to National Elections. The space problem has been there for ages. As we all know, this Government came into power

bearing promises.

Incidentally, those promises are still in the manifestos and must be archived.

Then in attendance there was the PPP/C’s Prime Ministerial Candidate whose presence was way off mark since it was not a Babu John event, but serious business way above her miniscule scope of political involvement. She managed a smile or two but did not hide her candidacy for a leading role in “The Silence of Lambs”.

Tax payer

at Mabaruma?

DEAR EDITOR, Well the PPP is running scared. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government is on a real tight mission, since it seems his office is now moved to Mabaruma in the North West District. He and the Regional Chairman have been doing the rounds in the rivers and nearby communities, especially the borders. It

cannot be that he is usurping the functions of the Foreign Affairs Minister trying to get Venezuela to ease off their territorial claim to a part of Guyana. Maybe, they are counting votes already.

Thing is, we know what they are up to and we will foil their attempts.

We are moving forward come May 11!

Resident of Mabaruma

The APNU-AFC must be...

From page 4 curtailing, defines the government. This dastardly act is also intended to terrorize opponents, but it will not work.

Had I written a play and allowed the leading villain to say “ This is a Coolie Party,” then placed his acolyte in the next scene to justify it, then in the following scene to have the villain to return with a pedestrian, transparent lie, saying that he didn’t say so, and that he isn’t what he said his party was, the director would ask if I had taken a beer two much in writing such an inar-

tistic Act. Unless, of course, the play was a pantomime, centered about a mental institution. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

It’s a different day, Afro Guyanese and Indo Guyanese will not murder each other at the evil but insipid plots hatched by abominable minds.

We will together exorcise Guyana from the lost political souls of another day, so rest for now ‘soldier’ you will not have died in vain, nor will you be denied justice.

Barrington Braithwaite

Who is right, Jagdeo...

From page 5 ambition to work in an environment of greater national unity. Even Mr. David Granger worked hard for all of 2012 to build a stronger relationship with the PPP. The message from the PPP was always the same total rejection of the majority opposition.

So why is Jagdeo fretting today with this attitude of total desperation? His party chased away the majority opposition and set the foundation for the APNU and AFC to work together in rebuilding Guyana.

I know most politicians around the world are usually hungry for positions rather than service to the common man, but there are a few men from every country who stand out – Mandela in South Africa, Gandhi in India and we have our very own Ramjattan in Guyana. Mr. Ramjattan has always walked the Cheddi Jagan road of putting the business of the people first before personal benefits. We cannot say the same for Mr. Jagdeo; after all, it is the mansion and the pension that cost them the election in 2011.

So why is this political “peditum” trying to lecture the AFC? It was not an easy decision for the custodian of principled politics in Guyana, Mr. Ramjattan. The choice was clear before Valentine’s

Day, five more years of the PPP’s thievery or sit with people from all political persuasion in a rainbow coalition and work together, since “betta must come”. Any schoolboy will tell you, when faced with such a choice, no one will want more of the PPP thievery. It is only an ideological racist who cannot understand the Ramjattan way.

To change Guyana, the AFC needs to be at a vantage point of being able to influence change. When they reached out to the PPP in 2011, their olive branches were knocked away. When they reached out to the APNU, they were warmly embraced. If there is anyone who carried the battle against the APNU, it was me, but today it warms my heart to be listening to James Bond from the APNU and Mark Ross from the AFC on Berbice TV chanting a common message – unity, peace, people empowerment and respect for the rule of law. The AFC’s decision was just!

It is the PPP that wants to keep Guyana divided and the people of Berbice will have to decide – will they allow five more years of PPP’s policy of divide and rule or five new years of different peoples working together for one nation with one destiny under this Broad Based Alliance.

Sase Singh

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Iraqi Kurds say Islamic State used chlorine gas against them (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish authorities said on Saturday they had evidence that Islamic State had used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon against their peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq in January.

The Security Council of the semiautonomous Kurdish region said in a statement to Reuters that the peshmerga had taken soil and clothing samples after an Islamic State car bombing attempt on Jan. 23.

It said laboratory analysis showed “the samples contained levels of chlorine that suggested the substance was used in weaponised form.” The Kurdish allegation could not be independently confirmed.

Chlorine is a choking agent whose use as a chemical weapon dates back to World War One. It is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits all use of toxic agents on the battlefield.

Peter Sawczak, spokesman for the Dutchbased Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said: “We have not had a request from Iraq to investigate claims of use of chemical weapons in Iraq, and the OPCW cannot immediately verify the claims.”

Chlorine has been used “systematically” in the civil war in neighbouring Syria, an OPCW fact-finding mission found last year.

The OPCW would have to get its own samples to confirm the use of chemical weapons in a member state.

The Kurdish statement said the car bombing attempt happened on a highway between Mosul and the Syrian border. A Kurdish security source said that the peshmerga fired a rocket at the car carrying the bomb so there were no casualties, except for the suicide bomber.

About a dozen peshmerga fighters experienced symptoms of nausea, vomiting, dizziness or weakness, the source said.

The statement said the analysis was carried out in a European Union-certified laboratory after the soil and samples were sent by the Kurdish Regional Government to a “partner nation” in the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The source described the samples as “leftovers from the suicide bomber”, but declined to identify the laboratory.

The White House said in a statement it could not confirm the allegations but found them “deeply disturbing” and was monitoring the situation “very closely.”

A U.S. defence official said the use of chlorine as a weapon was a possible sign of “growing desperation due to the pressure being applied by coalition air power and Iraqi ground forces.”

Iraq’s Kurds were the victims of the deadliest chemical attack of modern times when Saddam Hussein’s air force bombed the town of Halabja in 1988, gassing at least 5,000 people to death.

WEAPONS EXPERT KILLED The U.S. Central Command said on Jan. 30 that an Islamic State chemical weapons expert had been killed in a coalition air strike six days earlier near Mosul - the day after the car bombing cited in Saturday’s statement.

The expert, Abu Malik, had been a chemical weapons engineer during the rule of Saddam Hussein and then affiliated himself with al Qaeda in Iraq in 2005, Central Command said at the time. When he joined Islamic State, it gave the insurgent force a chemical weapons capability, it added.

Nigerian troops discover Boko Haram ‘bomb factory’: military Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria’s military said on Friday that it had uncovered a Boko Haram bomb-making factory in the northeastern town of Buni Yadi after soldiers retook the town from the insurgents.

Islamist fighters captured the town in Yobe state in August last year as the group seized swathes of territory in the crisis-hit northeast.

The military announced that it had wrested back control last Saturday.

Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said that search operations in the area led to the discovery of the bomb-making factory manufacturing improvised explosive devices or IEDs. “A large quantity of IEDs, including those commonly used by suicide bombers

were recovered from the site,” he added in an emailed statement.

“The factory, which was located in a fertiliser company, has also converted some of the materials therein for production of all types of IEDs. “Troops are still evacuating the materials which include a large quantity of suicide bomber vests from the facility to their base.”

Boko Haram has increasingly used suicide attacks in its six-year campaign to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

Women and young girls with explosives vests strapped to their bodies have been sent into crowded markets and bus stations, causing mass casualties.

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Jagdeo is a curse on the country – APNU+AFC “Everything he and his administration undertook has the shadow of corruption hanging over them”

Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo

APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate, David Granger

APNU Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo recently lambasted several members of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) for what he believed to be unfounded criticisms from the opposition camp against the government over the years.

He had singled out APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate, David Granger, and Prime Ministerial Candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, APNU Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge and APNU General Secretary, Joseph Harmon.

The former President, during a press conference at Freedom House, chided the opposition for accusing the government of a lack of accountability. He said that it is the opposition that is guilty of such a charge.

Jagdeo even lashed out at the APNU+AFC for their challenges to Government’s development projects without putting forward its own alternatives.

But the opposition has responded to what it says are Jagdeo’s ‘careless’ remarks.

Granger told Kaieteur News that the former President has a tendency to linger in the past but the APNU+AFC is a forward looking coalition.

He said that the party wants to assure citizens that they will have a bright future under a new government and would advise Jagdeo to put emphasis on the future.

“Unfortunately he has been involved in a number of economic projects which have jeopardized the future of young people. Money has been wasted so I am not really

interested in what he has to say. What he needs to do is use whatever influence he has to correct the mess he created.”

His Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge, had even sharper retorts.

Greenidge had also been heavily criticized by Jagdeo who said that the opposition member lacked accountability during his tenure as Minister of Finance.

The APNU executive member said that it is opportune that the former President’s comments follow the erroneous and ridiculous comments by Winston Brassington regarding the status of NICIL and its accountability.

He reminded that in 2012 when Resolution 15 was passed by the National Assembly, the Minister of

Dem boys seh...

De Bharrat Bharwah Barriott and Brassington Brassington, Jagdeo and Ashni are not only scamps. Dem is bareface scamps. A few days ago, Brassington tell this nation half truths and many lies.

At a press conference that he call, to talk bout de Marriott, de fuss lie he tell is that all he dealings wid de Marriott was transparent.

He had to be wearing nylon shirt wha only Donald, Ashni and Jagdeo coulda see through.

Then he seh that de hotel is de first major hotel in Guyana in 45 years. Wha happen wid de Pegasus? Is that a rum shop?

Then he seh that de feasibility study show that de hotel gun mek eleven per cent profit.

He did not tell de whole story in de people report.

He ain’t even tell half. He didn’t tell people that fuh mek de eleven per cent profit Guyana had to find oil, must have a road to Brazil, plus a deep water harbor. De people talk bout other things but Brassington hide that from de people. That was de con.

Then he try to show that Guyana is not de only government to invest in a hotel. He seh that Trinidad own de Hyatt and got share in de Hilton.

Wha he didn’t tell de nation is that Trinidad economy is six times that of Guyana; that de population is almost three times Guyana own and is like comparing chalk to

cheese.

He then seh that de opposition attack de project from de inception. He shame fuh seh is de media that expose dem dutty tricks.

Dem four crooks, Brassington, Donald, Jagdeo and Ashni, seh that de Marriott gun create nuff job. De place done build and not one Guyanese ain’t wuk pun it.

De hotel near done and instead of creating new jobs fuh people, Brassington and he clique thiefing people from other hotels, bars and rum shops.

And de biggest lie to kick de bucket is when he seh that not one cent of tax dollars build de hotel. He seh all de money he spend on de hotel is NICIL money.

Well dem boys got questions fuh dem.

NICIL is owned by Brassington and he family? Jagdeo and he whatever you call it?

Ashni and he family? Donald and he family?

Dem boys find it strange because dem know that all de money that goes into NICIL coming from state corporations, state institutions and state properties.

Whether it comes from dividends, profits, sale of state assets, it come from the people of Guyana, not de private bank book or de safe dem got in dem house or de one dem got buried in dem backyard.

Talk half and wait fuh much more on the Bharwah Bharriot.

Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had not laid audited accounts for NICIL since 2007. Greenidge said too that today, the last accounts laid are for 2012.

The APNU Shadow Minister of Finance said that Dr. Singh and Jagdeo overlook this and dwell on what happened in 1992 for which the PPP is not without blame. In 1993, he asserted that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) took a deliberate decision for political purposes to discontinue the reconciliation of accounts for the period 1985 to 1991.

“The national accounts were sacrificed to that political end,” he added.

The former Finance Minister said that in auditing; it is undesirable to allow accounts to fall behind because it becomes difficult to come up to date.

Greenidge explained some of the challenges he encountered when he served as Finance Minister.

“The accounts seriously fell behind in 1970 prior to my accession to the position of Minister of Finance in October 1983. Due to difficulty with the computerization of the Ministry’s accounts using an early machine from International Business Machines Corporation and the late auditing of the Gold account held at the Embassy in NY, the entire process of closing accounts each year was derailed. Some 10,970 accounts could not be laid until 1979.

Efforts were made to bring them up to date but just as has been the case with NICIL; unless the previous year’s accounts are closed, the following year could not have

an opening balance. In spite of the best efforts problems with the computerization complicated matters.

So in 1992 the accountants started from zero as it were, not as a result of PPP accession to office but as a result of administrative and accounting decisions accepted by me. When the People’s National Congress demitted office in the last quarter 1992, a team was still working on bringing the accounts up to date for the period 1985 to 1992.

“But whilst I was in office they completed and submitted statements as recommended by the task force for the years 1975 to 1985.”

Greenidge stated that only the PPP can explain why that work was terminated and why the records disappeared along with those of the debates in the House for the Hoyte years.

The politician said, too, that for Jagdeo to suggest therefore that he was somehow culpable for the late accounts or that he was part of a process of hiding Government failures or misdemeanours is farcical.

Unlike any other Minister of Finance in Guyana’s history, Greenidge said that his reports have been very candid and critical where appropriate.

He added, “The accuracy of those reports has withstood the test of time.

That cannot be said of either Jagdeo or Dr. Singh’s terms.”

The financial point man for the APNU also said that there has never been a single case of him spending illegally or facilitating the economic advancement of his relatives and friends by

misappropriating state resources. On the other hand, Greenidge said that the reports on public accounts have revealed persistent lawbreaking and misuse of state funds.

“The Minister of Finance and the government have not only failed to do anything about it, they have sought to justify their illegal behaviour.

In that sense Mr Jagdeo’s behavour in particular has been a curse on the country.

He has given the President’s imprimatur to wrong doing and has spawned an orgy of corrupt transactions which Dr. Singh and the Attorney General undertake and treat as a virtue although they involve breaking the law and infringing the Constitution.

It is this behaviour which has led us to the first Government being brought down without the aid of outsiders or of circumstances of communal riots and disorder.”

As far as the development projects are concerned, the Opposition member said that the Government has itself to blame for the technical failures and glitches that the government has been subjected to. He said the fact that both Jagdeo and President Donald Ramotar can bemoan the blockage of these projects points to the total contempt and disregard they have for honesty and probity in the use of public funds.

“Everything Jagdeo and his administration undertook has the shadow of corruption hanging over them,” said Greenidge.

On that basis, he reminded of the failed $200M Continued on page 11

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

City nursing school building will be used as a University - CMO The nurses during their protest.

CMO, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud

Days after nurses protested outside the Ministry of Health Brickdam, Georgetown Office, against being forced out of the city nursing school building, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud has announced that the building will be used as a university.

This, he said, is all in the interest of developing the health sector.

The Georgetown Nursing School building, which is located in East Street, Georgetown, will at times be used to facilitate

both doctors and nurses.

“There are two groups of nurses. One group comes in the morning and another comes in the afternoon and they share the space. For some of the courses, the nurses have to be placed at the hospital. Not everyone has to be seated in a classroom,” Persaud explained.

He added that the building is more like a classroom where you do your work and leave, and then another batch comes in and does the same.

According to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), the facilities that are being developed by the health sector are shared facilities.

“Part of the building the nurses use, an addition, has been made to accommodate some of the doctors,” The CMO said.

He added, “It is not a case where we are abandoning the nurses to the advantage of the doctors. The medical school needs space and if they are going to expand to provide more competent local training then they need additional space.”

The CMO explained that the Ministry has acquired a large building in Kingston where most of the nurses training activities will be conducted-they will still be able to use the East Street location.

“There are other people who are occupying that building so what we will have

to do is move those persons to more suitable venues.”

He explained that the doctors’ classroom is inadequate.

The nurses are however still occupying the East Street building while the doctors are housed in a classroom in the upper flat of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)’s Mortuary.

On February 20, last, scores of nurses from the city nursing school mounted a protest in front of the building after they were forced out of the facility by contractors who had informed them that their school was given to the doctors.

Upset over this, the nurses demanded an immediate meeting with the Health Minister, Bheri Ramsaran but their request was turned down.

The student claimed that the facility has been a teaching institution for nurses

since 1970 and handing it over to the doctors would be unfair.

The building was handed over to the GPHC and the University of Guyana during a meeting with the Heath

Minister and representatives from both facilities.

The students say that they were only informed about the development when they were forced out of the building by contractors.

GHRA dubs Crum-Ewing killing a political act The shooting to death of Courtney Crum-Ewing on the night of Tuesday March 10, has sent a shock-wave through the Guyanese society, fine-tuned as it is to detect political violence, said the Guyana Human Rights Association.

“Had he been physically attacked and his loud-hailer thrown into the trench, the matter would have caused a tremor, condemned as the work of low-level party zealots. His assassination is another matter, challenging all Guyanese who believe in the right to peacefully express their own opinions.

‘The perception of killing as a political act is encouraged by the fact that at the time of his death Mr. Crum-Ewing was using a loud-hailer in the Diamond community on the East Bank, exhorting people to come out and vote in the upcoming General Elections of May 11.

The GHRA added that Crum-Ewing had come to the attention of the public in recent months by virtue of his 80-day one-man vigil, calling for the resignation of the Attorney-General.

The murder has provoked extensive disgust because Crum-Ewing’s political activism, while singular, reflected widespread public repugnance over constant revelations of political sleaze, corruption and drugtrafficking, GHRA said.

Courtney Crum-Ewing “Courtney Crum-Ewing was murdered because he took freedom of expression seriously.

When his persistent call for the resignation of the AttorneyGeneral extended to exhorting others to also express themselves freely by casting their ballots, those who felt threatened were provoked to murder.”

There have been warnings that one should not conclude that the killing was politically motivated but GHRA stated that the killing “reveals dangerous levels of political intolerance at large in the society.”

The murder of Courtney Crum-Ewing might also be seen as the beginning of a process of manipulating ethnic insecurity aimed at people voting for ‘race’, rather than for their political convictions. These tactics have distorted Guyanese elections for the past sixty years, it added.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

NIS allegedly compromises pensioner’s claims Mahadeo Singh, 72, a pensioner of 72 Village Corentyne, Berbice, is alleging that his rights to receive pension payments have been compromised by a dishonest senior staff member of the NIS Springlands Office.

The man said that over the years, he has been making contributions through Toolsie Persaud, located in Providence EBD, and Skeldon Estate in Skeldon.

He said that in 2003 after he became eligible for pension, he went to the NIS Springlands location to register for his pension book.

Kaieteur News understands that the senior staff, the then Senior Inspector, informed him that there were no records of his contributions at the institute.

He made mention of having three NIS cards in his possession on his visit there.

He added that one of the cards that he used for contribution through the Skeldon Estate was taken by the Inspector.

The man alleged that he was not aware of the consequences of releasing his NIS card.

Kaieteur News was told that the Inspector acted in a distasteful and unprofessional manner towards Singh. Singh said that the Inspector told him “You can’t get that pension boy, unless you gave me my thing…my “top up.”

According to Singh, he took it on his own to visit the Area Manager at New Amsterdam NIS Office, in an effort to locate his file.

However he was instructed to return to the Senior Inspector. “When I went back to him, since I got in,” he said, “You went and report me,’” before pulling my file out of a drawer.

Singh was told that the contribution in the file does not belong to him as he did not have in his possession an NIS card to represent the file.

The man lamented that the card that was taken away by the same Senior Inspector is the said card that represented the file.

At this point the elderly man said that he realized how compromising it was when he was relieved of his NIS card.

He told Kaieteur News that he had obtained a letter bearing his NIS number from his former place of employment, Skeldon Estate.

He said that he was informed that the document was not legitimate.

He was told, “I don’t know where you got that paper from. In this country you could get that paper from anyone. You could give them a top up and get it.”

These words were uttered by the Senior Inspector, he said. After running to various NIS offices, Singh was still not able to prove that the file did indeed belong to him.

The matter was then placed before the tribunal.

A series of Tribunal hearings between 2007 and 2013, Singh said, are yet to offer the decision by the Tribunal.

Singh opined that something is amiss, that it is clear that his Contributions were compromised by the Inspector after he refused to give him a “Top up”. The man is calling on NIS to address him with a written letter informing him of the decision of the Tribunal.

Yesterday when contacted, a Tribunal Clerk told this publication that the matter was still under investigation.

Jagdeo is a curse on...

From page 9 Skeldon plant, the brazen gifting of radio licences to family and friends, and the implementation of a plan to take over the telecommunications sector. He then pointed to the fact that Government went ahead with the Specialty Hospital even though it was warned by the opposition.

The decision, he said, saw the contractor carting away millions of taxpayers’ monies without providing the services.

“If Jagdeo wants to talk about the lack of accountability then he needs to talk to the man in the mirror. Without a doubt he is the embodiment of that which he accuses others of.”

He said, too, that Jagdeo should note what a Washingtonbased Council on Hemispheric Affairs, an otherwise sympathetic agency to the PPP Government, has to say about his legacy to Guyana.

“Jagdeo has failed during his presidency to advance the freedom and fairness of Guyanese public life, or the inequities of the Indo-Guyanese dominated society, increased economic growth is futile if it does not translate into a greater sense of prosperity within the entirety of society.

“Jagdeo’s two-term presidency fell woefully short on that point.”

Page 11

I am ready to debate Ramotar under any circumstances - Granger

By Abena Rockcliffe Brigadier (Rtd.) David Granger has committed to debating President Donald Ramotar under any circumstances.

Granger said this on Friday in response to the President’s utterances as to why he aborted debates during the 2011 elections. The President has also made a declaration that he will not engage in another debate unless it is organized by his campaign team.

This, Ramotar said, is because he has a bad taste left in his mouth from the last debate held during the 2011 elections. That debate was held at the University of Guyana.

Even before Kaieteur News had spoken to President Ramotar on the issue, Granger had alluded to

Opposition Leader, David Granger

President Donald Ramotar

those very debates. He had said that the debates were organized and all three parties— the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the Alliance For Change (AFC) and APNU—agreed to go through with it.”

“But by the second round, President Ramotar disappeared and it was only me and (AFC Leader and 2011 Presidential Candidate) Mr. (Khemraj) Ramjattan,” said Granger.

Subsequently, President

Ramotar said that his no show at that debate was due to the fact that it was horribly organized.

He explained that the fact that he could not hear himself during the debates. There were other glitches and these caused him to abort the schedule.

But even with that said, Ramotar noted that he is not remotely opposed to having debates.

However, he sought to make it clear that the final decision has to be made by his campaign team.

Granger said that could not care less about if the debate is held at the seawalls or at the Conference Center.

He is ready “under any circumstances.”

“I am fully prepared to go public to put forward the good plans this alliance has in store for Guyanese”.

Collecting child support at the court is an unbearable hassle

By Feona Morrison It’s a hot weekday morning; a mother sits on a hard wooden bench, her baby crying loudly in her arms as she struggles to quiet him.

Around her, other mothers sit, waiting impatiently for the office to open for them to collect the money they rightfully deserve.

This is a regular scene at the Collection Office at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The office has come under great scrutiny over the past few weeks, as frustrated mothers vented their anguish at the poor level of service they have been receiving at the hands of staffers assigned to that department in collecting child support payments.

The mothers who depend on every dime to provide for their children describe the situation as an unbearable one.

Several women who come from various parts of the country to collect monies from the Magistrates’ Courts complained to Kaieteur News about the inconvenience.

One of the women, who gave her name as Krissel Haynes, stressed that the situation is getting very unbearable. She said she would have to take time off from her job to be at the collecting office for 08:30hrs.

Haynes stated that she does not have a problem coming to the office since the money is always there. However, she said, she has a problem with the time and process to

— says frustrated mothers collect it. “We need when we get here to collect our monies in a timely manner,” she said.

She further explained that on some occasions when the bank their cheques are assigned to closes at 12:00hrs, they would have to pay another bank $500 to change their cheques when in dire need of the money.

Haynes, who has been visiting the court for a number of years to collect money for her son, recalled that the situation has been happening for a long time.

She said that the situation is only getting worse and she had expected to see some form of improvement when the court moved from its Middle Street location.

“We don’t need to spend half day or lose half day pay to collect remittance for our children, we are not going to the doctor’s office,” she said.

The angry mother noted that some mothers are coming to collect as little as $1,000 and if they have to spend two hours it’s not worth it. “We just need to collect our monies and go about our business,” she vented.

Haynes explained that management needs to better the time system. She also said that, if mothers are coming to uplift the monies, it means that children are left unattended in many cases.”Mothers need to get home and get back to their jobs,” the angry woman shouted.

She claimed that the

staffers are very unprofessional and that some of them have an “attitude”.

“Sometime I feel like I have to beg them to serve me,” she added.

Similarly, another mother of three who has been collecting money for the past ten years claimed that mothers would be left sitting outside for hours on the benches with nobody to attend to them. “We have to wait till they look dem face in the mirror, yuh no ‘rouche’ up dem face and thing before they look after us,” she stated.

The mothers hope by highlighting the problem better systems will be implemented for other mothers in the near future. She said that sometimes it would take at least two days to get the cash after going through the excruciating process. She explained that the office opens at 08:30hrs and closes

for lunch at 11:30hrs promptly.

“If we don’t get through with the cheque by time dem ready fuh guh pun lunch, we have to wait till they start back at 01:30hrs, this is a real headache when de day come man,” she said. The mother claimed that the employees are extremely slow at executing their duties and they would stop to talk their own story with fellow colleagues while attending to them.

They are blaming the everyday chaos on bad management. Some of the mothers claimed that staffers would usually come to work late and take up to two hours to write up their cheques.

These mothers described the situation as frustrating and tiresome and are now calling on the relevant authorities to look into the situation.

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

LITTLE EVIDENCE LOCAL JOBS CREATED DURING MARRIOTT’S CONSTRUCTION

Bharrat Jagdeo Government-built Marriott Hotel is nearing completion and set to open mid next month. It had promised hundreds of jobs during its construction phase, and later in its operation.

But more than three years after the sod-turning in November 2011, there is little evidence of benefits to the country as far as labour is concerned.

While Government has announced that it has hired 228 locals for the running of the US$58M hotel, it was not until the very end that local help was contracted to correct some works, in time for the critical final inspection that will be done by Marriott officials before the facilities are handed over in the coming weeks.

During a press conference last week to defend its spending of more than US$36M of taxpayers’ funds, head of the Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI), Winston Brassington, was unable to tell reporters how many locals have been hired during the construction phase. He could not say also how much money was paid out.

Questioned about the use of local labour, Brassington said that there was a “significant reduction” in the number of Chinese labour imported by Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), as workers went back home for the New Year celebrations.

Just about 30 workers of SCG remained and about 15 more will be returning. In total, there will be about 100 persons on site with half of these being Guyanese.

Brassington admitted that the majority of the workforce on Marriott were Chinese.

SCG had also been granted numerous tax breaks that local employers are mandated to pay.

In 2013 as questions rose over the glaring absence of local labour, Government insisted that the hiring of labour by any particular contractor is one that is ultimately left to the contractor’s discretion.

It would have conflicted to the promised hundreds of jobs being created.

A mixture of union representatives, political parties and other activists had protested in front of the construction site on news that only Chinese labour was being used.

Brassington had said that the use of an all Chinese labour force to construct the multi-milliondollar Marriott Hotel was just one of several conditionalities necessary for the facility’s efficient and speedy construction.

He also said that the lack of local skills and communication problems were the reasons why the contractor, SCG, decided to bring in Chinese workers.

That particular statement had immediately triggered criticism, especially as SCG had not publicly said that there was a shortage of skills. There were no advertisements in the local newspapers.

Labour Minister, Dr. Nanda Gopaul, defending the decision of foreign workers, said that the contractor was using “highly technical and advanced construction methods” and that it would be some time before Guyanese workers would learn these.

Government spokesman Dr. Roger Luncheon, questioned in 2013, said that the issue of an all-Chinese labour force was not discussed with the government. He said that the government became aware when it was asked to process the applications for work permits and visas.

He noted that it is “reasonable” that most contractors would go for a labour force with which they are familiar. The fact that SCG opted to use Chinese workers came as no surprise to government, he said.

In defending SCG’s decision to hire Chinese nationals, Brassington said that the company indicated that “(it) had examined the level of skills available for the project as well as the levels of productivity.”

Brassington added that while the company was being asked to employ locals, it was obvious that if the construction of the flagship hotel was to be completed within the specified time, there must be the flexibility of the input.

The use of local labour would be significant going by Government’s figures. An estimated US$20M would be pocketed by SCG for the hotel’s construction.

Under the controversial

financial arrangements, Guyana would receive the least amount of dividends when the time comes to split the profit.

On top of this was the recent disclosure that Government spent, in addition to US$20M, another US$16M after a court case blocked two sets of investors from plugging in their share of the US$35M needed.

Only US$15M has been forthcoming so far from Republic Bank, from which a mortgage has been sought.

The project has been under fire not only because the arrangements have been shrouded in secrecy, but because Government used billions of taxpayers’ dollars without Parliament’s approval and oversight.

Winston Brassington surveying the Presidential Suite in the Marriott Hotel, Kingston, last week.

The hallway to the ballroom.

The ocean-front side of Marriott.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 21

The Diabetic Diet: Do’s and Don’ts explained by Dr. Zulfikar Bux Diabetes is a disease which is affecting a significant portion of our population. It is estimated that 14.3% of the adult population in Guyana has diabetes and it causes over a thousand deaths yearly.

With such a significant impact, there is a good possibility that you are reading this article because you are either directly or indirectly affected by diabetes.

Having a healthy eating

There is a certain madness at this time.

Accusations will fly and the reactions would vary. Once more an openly aggressive person is going to challenge some people who proclaim support for the political opposition and raise even more accusations of a recent tragedy. The government and the opposition would come together to call for calm but such calls are often ignored by the recalcitrant people in their midst. **

plan can prolong life for those with diabetes and prevent others from acquiring it. A diabetic diet is a healthyeating plan that’s naturally rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories, with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

In fact, a diabetes diet is the best eating plan for almost everyone. We will therefore review some key concepts that make up a healthy diabetic diet.

EAT LESS MORE OFTEN

Domestic abuse is more rampant than it has ever been. Two more women are going to end up in a serious condition after attacks by their spouses. In one case the victim would attempt to end an abusive relationship.

Resort to the courts would help these women, but the deed would have already been done. ** Violence against home owners is never far away and most of these would occur in the eastern part of the country. Three men would attack a home but they would not get far, although they would seriously injure one of the occupants.

The community would demand greater protection, although better cannot be done through a lack of adequate mobility.

Instead of eating three large meals that overwhelm your body and send surges in your blood glucose levels, it is wiser to eat smaller portions at regular intervals.

Having three smaller meals with two snacks in between is a good way to start.

EATHEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES During digestion, sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates) break down into blood glucose. Focus on the healthiest carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans, peas and lentils) and low-fat dairy products.

USE FIBRE-RICH FOODS Often patients tell me they were advised to avoid fruits since they are rich in sugar.

This is a myth. Fruits are rich in fibre and when used in moderation, it will be of benefit to you. Dietary fibre includes all parts of plant foods that your body can’t digest or absorb. Fibre can decrease the risk of heart disease and help control blood sugar levels. Foods high in fibre include vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes (beans, peas and lentils), whole-wheat flour and wheat bran. There are also fibre preparations in tablet or powdered forms

which can ensure you have your daily fibre requirements.

EATHEART-HEALTHY FISH AT LEAST TWICEAWEEK Fish can be a good alternative to high-fat meats.

They have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than do meat and poultry. Fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines and bluefish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote heart health by lowering blood fats called triglycerides. However, avoid fried fish and fish with high levels of mercury, such as king mackerel.

‘GOOD’ FATS Foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - such as avocados, almonds, pecans, walnuts, olives, and canola, olive and peanut oils - can help lower your cholesterol levels. Eat them sparingly, however, as all fats are high in calories.

MINIMIZE ORAVOID THE REGULAR USE OF THE FOLLOWING FOODS: Simple carbohydrates Simple carbohydrate foods send your blood glucose surging rapidly.

Limiting foods such as Jams, sugar, cake, candy, soft drinks, white rice, white bread, pastries, fruit juice concentrates etc. will help to

prevent surges in your blood sugar. I wish to highlight the prevalent Guyanese diet of rice and roti. It is a custom to regularly eat rice and roti daily. Minimizing the portions of rice and roti in your diet daily should help to curb your high blood sugar levels over time. If you must have rice and roti daily, then use wholewheat flour and brown rice.

Saturated fats High-fat dairy products and animal proteins such as beef, hot dogs, sausage and bacon contain saturated fats.

Get no more than 7 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat.

Trans fats These types of fats are found in processed snacks, baked goods, shortening and stick margarines and should be avoided completely.

Cholesterol Sources of cholesterol include high-fat dairy products and high-fat animal proteins, egg yolks, shellfish, liver, and other organ meats.

Sodium This is found in salt and some beverage preparations.

Avoiding foods and drinks high in salt/sodium preparation should contribute to a healthy diet.

There isn’t such a thing as the one perfect food. Using a variety of different foods

Dr. Zulfikar Bux and watching portion sizes is key to a healthy diet. A healthy diet and a diabetic diet should not be different.

So as much as I started the article introducing the diabetic diet, the reality is it should be the family diet and everyone should eat the same healthy meal, not just the diabetic.

(Dr Zulfikar Bux is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Vanderbilt University and Medical Center and holds the position of Head of the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department.)

Page 22

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

The Police Role in National Elections

By Dale Andrews The conduct of the upcoming National and Regional Elections will place the entire operations of the Guyana Police Force under the intense glare of local, regional and international bodies whose raison d’être is to focus on the performance of credibility-challenged

police forces operating in more or less democratic cultures.

The decisions made and actions taken at this juncture will help to define the future of the organization and its role as the foremost law enforcement body in the nation. This article examines the role(s) of police services at elections and the issues

that the GPF is likely to face in the near future; how these are resolved will give an indication of possible changes that might accompany reforms.

First we should take a brief look at what training the police receive in preparation of their role. Just last week, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud sought to assure the public

that the force is prepared for the worst case scenario. He said that he has been preparing for the challenge ever since the date for the elections was announced by President Donald Ramotar, earlier this year.

“As matter of fact since Parliament was prorogued we were preparing for a lot of the side impacts of an election,” Persaud had explained in response to journalists following his swearing-in.

“We started retraining on public order issues, election campaign issues and so on…so our ranks could have an understanding of what the law is and what they are required to do when they get on the ground,” the Commissioner added.

Up to now we have seen highly publicized crowd control training in all police divisions indicative of a sense of anticipation probably with experiences of past reactions to elections results as a significant factor.

The current concern seems not to be with the possibility of election fraud, but with potential public disturbances arising out of the conduct of the electoral process. But at this stage it is apposite to consider the

strong possibility that the usual suspects may not end up targets for police rubber bullets and tear smoke this time around.

What would be of interest to the populace as well as election observers is the type of training provided to the disciplined services that enhances their professionalism and sensitivity during elections.

A review of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s copyrighted Guide on Action Points for the Prevention and Mitigation of Electionrelated Violence (Stockholm, September 2013) a support document to the Electoral Risk Management Tool, highlights several police training curriculum topics including: (a) the nature of the electoral legislation and an overview of the electoral process; (b) the role of the police in supporting the democratic process; (c) human rights issues in relation to the police’s role; (d) the police’s role in an election; (e) security objectives and strategy in relation to the election; (f) the standards of professional, neutral and nonintimidating conduct to be

upheld by police forces during the election; (g) contact mechanisms and liaison details (on an as-needed basis) between the electoral commission and police forces; (h) details of specific offences against electoral laws; and (i) details of other laws such as those regarding public gatherings that will have an impact on police planning.

In particular, training should focus on an enhanced understanding of the roles and responsibilities of electoral actors, electoral offences and professional standards.

At this stage it would be of great comfort for all lawabiding voters and observers to be reassured that the GPF is cognizant of the above listed areas, and has taken steps to ensure that all pertinent information is disseminated throughout the organization.

It would also be helpful for the credibility of the Force administration if it establishes and maintains a posture of absolute political neutrality while eschewing any action that could be construed as intimidatory against parties and voters.

The police (and army) (Continued on page 31)

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 23

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar were right on what they said about me It is doubtful the leaders of any other country speak the daily nonsense as that which comes out the mouths of those in the PPP leadership.

An entire column can be devoted to just two recent pieces of idiocy mouthed by Donald Ramotar last week First he said he will not participate in any presidential debate if the arrangements and format are not made by his team. Should one comment on such foolishness?

Simply put, Mr. Ramotar is saying that he must decide in a game of cricket who will be the umpires.

Secondly, Ramotar indicated that if those who blame the government for the assassination of Courtney CrumEwing cannot supply the proof, then they are guilty of inciting. In other words, citizens cannot offer their opinion on who was behind CrumEwing’s murder.

But it was Jagdeo who outshone Mr. Ramotar for incredible nonsense. And the media allowed him to get away with it. Mr. Jagdeo at his press conference last week showed in graphic details why this

country is living in the ashes of mediocrity as a 10th rate country.

Arguing for the legitimate expansion of the wealth of his friends, Mr. Jagdeo said years ago, he didn’t see so many cars on the road. Years ago there wasn’t Nigel’s Supermarket. In other words, there is wealth creation, so why focus on his friends. The pathetic nonsense in that submission was so overbearing that the media should have jumped on Jagdeo and stripped him bare.

The difference with Nigel’s Supermarket and the owners of those cars is that the money didn’t come from the taxpayers but his own. Mr. Johnson, owner of Nigel’s, toiled away as a Bourda Market vendor all his life, then, bought his Robb Street supermarket with bank loans and not a cent from the Government.

Teachers, soldiers, UG lecturers and civil servants are driving cars bought with bank loans, not from government’s money. You can count on your finger, the private contracts Brian Tiwarie gets. His con-

tracts, thus his wealth, came from the twelve-year reign of Mr. Jagdeo, and he is still getting more under Ramotar.

You can count on your fingers, the private jobs Bobby Ramroop gets. His procurements, thus his wealth, came from the twelveyear reign of Bharrat Jagdeo and he is still getting more under Ramotar. Mr. Jagdeo knows, the reporters who were present at his press conference know, and the whole of Guyana knows that Bobby Ramroop doesn’t face any serious type of competition to supply the Ministry of Health with goods.

This columnist was told an interesting story. A close friend of Bharrat Jagdeo took a bank loan of two billion dollars to buy a quarry. He then got a three-billion-dollar contract from Mr. Jagdeo’s government to supply stone. He instantly paid off the loan. I don’t know if the story is true, but this was what was alleged.

Mr. Jagdeo said he bought his house, sold it, bought another one and people criticize him for so doing. So he asked the question why after twenty

years of public service, he cannot own his own house.

Mr. Jagdeo is not foolish. He is simply trying to fool the Guyanese people. It is not home ownership in itself that is the focus. It is the type of mansion you build that raises suspicion.

After twenty years of academic employment at UG, I couldn’t buy a proper home befitting an academic. When I did in 2006, in that same year at the anniversary of Dr. Jagan’s death at Babu Jaan, President Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar publicly stated that they knew businessmen helped me to build my house.

Donald Ramotar went a step further. He wrote a letter in the Kaieteur News repeating his accusation.

It wasn’t an accusation by Mr. Ramotar. He and Jagdeo were right about the purchase of my home. I did receive generous help, because I simply couldn’t buy a proper lowermiddle class home with my salary from UG after twenty years of continuous service.

How did some of Mr. Jagdeo’s acolytes in the PPP leadership build theirs when they didn’t

do so before, and only after they entered the government of Bharrat Jagdeo?

Finally, the “coolie” statement of Mr. Jagdeo. No circus could be larger than the continuous one in Guyana.

Jagdeo repeated at his press conference, a comical utterance he made at Babu Jaan days before. He claimed that if any East Indian in the party had made a racist statement against African Guyanese, the type of which opposition poli-

Frederick Kissoon ticians made against “coolie” people, they would have been expelled.

Do we need to comment any further on this joke?

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts The “Cummingsburg Accord” is a ‘social contract’ between A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change ¯ the combined majority political parties ¯ and the people. It aims at creating a just society, a stable political environment with a prosperous economy. It is a commitment to change the political culture of this country and the way we see ourselves and each other.

APNU and the AFC are already more than two parties; they have started a movement for national unity. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The momentum that the coalition has generated is evidence of the people’s satisfaction and their desire for change. United, the people stand a better chance to fulfil the national destiny. Divided, they fall to the tactics of the PPP which could return to of-

fice and perpetuate its mismanagement of the affairs of this nation.

Life in Guyana could continue to be nasty and brutish for the majority. The truth is that the Guyanese people are weary. They are fed up with the PPP’s winner-takes-all strategy for holding on to power at any cost; its divideand-rule tactics that foment hatred and foster hostility and its one-size-fits-all village policy that impoverishes our countryside and hinterland.

Guyanese will have endured, by 11th May, over twenty-two and a half years of PPP corruption and incompetence. The people have experienced the erosion of their quality of life and the corrosion of their cherished national institutions, particularly our National Assembly.

They have witnessed how political empowerment at the

national, regional and local levels has been damaged; how the environment has been mutilated; how individual equality for the young and social protection for the aged have diminished and how public health care and human safety have been degraded.

The APNU-AFC coalition, therefore, will adopt a unified approach and bring an end to: Cronyism at high levels, that is a drain on our financial resources and is blocking our development; Crime, that is bleeding the lives and bodies of our women and youths, and scaring away investors; Corruption in the law-enforcement and regulatory agencies in the mining, forestry sectors; and Constitutional abuse by the President, Cabinet and executive branch of the government.

APNU and the AFC have collaborated for more than three years in the National Assembly. They worked together to elect an AFC nominee as Speaker and worked together towards making government more transparent.

They demanded the reduction of oppressive taxation and disapproved wasteful expenditure in the budget.

APNU and the AFC were together when they adopted a concerted approach to the passage of enabling legislation for: Anti-Money-Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism legislation; the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission; conduct of Local Government Elections by 1st August 2014; a Motion of NoConfidence in an arrogant administration; resolutions calling for investigations into trafficking in persons; the deaths of Amerindian children from gastroenteritis, river accidents and much more.

APNU and the AFC have worked together for the people of this country over the past three years in the 10th Parliament and will con-

tinue to collaborate for the good of the people of Guyana in the 11th.

The APNU-AFC coalition will bring a fresh, new way of looking at this great land that God has given us. Life in Guyana must not be a nightmare for the next generation as it has been for the last two decades. Neither should the future be an idle dream. The Coalition must aim at creating a more humane society with a high level of culture.

Schoolchildren, for example, must be able to embark on a bus in Crabwood Creek on the Corentyne River and drive all the way to Sand Creek on the Rupununi River. Children must be able to get close enough to observe the world’s largest anteater, the world’s largest eagle, the world’s largest freshwater fish, the world’s largest river otter, the world’s largest rodent, the world’s largest river turtle; South America’s largest cat and largest snake…right here in the Caribbean’s largest, natural zoological park – Guyana’s hinterland. Children must grow up loving Guyana and

looking forward to living long in the land which God gave them. They ought not to have to race to migrate.

The backward PPP administration is too blind to see the beauty of this country. It is deaf to the cries of our people.

It is too lame to provide opportunities for the people to prosper. The PPP has refused to invest in the infrastructure of highways and bridges that would integrate our people and our regions and promote social cohesion and economic growth.

Guyanese will celebrate their fiftieth anniversary of Independence in May 2016 and, then, will be able to look back with satisfaction at the restoration of the nation by the APNU-AFC coalition.

The future beckons. The Coalition will assure everyone, but most especially women and youth, that it will work towards ensuring Guyanese that they can have a good life. The parties together will be able to achieve much more than if they remained separate. The whole is greater than the sum of all its parts!

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

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MY COLUMN

A messenger is silenced, brutally I was at my desk when word came that a man had been shot multiple times at Agricola, Tuesday night. So there I was assigning a reporter and telling him that he needed to head to Agricola.

Soon after he called me to ask whether I was certain, because a contact had told him that the shooting was in Diamond.

I replied that I was certain.

Little did I know that there was indeed a shooting at Diamond, almost simultaneous with the killing at Agricola.

But I got the news pretty quickly and got another reporter to head to Diamond.

When the reporter called to say that the victim at Diamond was Courtney CrumEwing, I was stunned. A colleague editor, Nigel McKenzie, then called a number of people who had been associates of Crum-Ewing. He told me that their reaction was not dissimilar from mine. They simply could not believe it.

What has happened since then has been in the news.

I know that I visited the parents and I saw their grief first hand.

I heard their accounts of what people told them

and I got reports of what the police were doing.

Sometimes in life it is damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The police response was almost instantaneous and people reacted to this rapid response. They said that they had never seen such a response, so they wondered whether the police were party to the killing.

There were eyewitnesses; many of them testified to seeing some of what happened.

However, their account, while useful, has not borne the expected result. But I know that there was an eyewitness to the murder, and that the person is afraid to say anything for fear that the guns could be pointed in his direction, because in his view the state cannot protect him.

In a country where the Head of State has openly called for the killers to be brought to justice, I cannot understand the fear on the part of this eyewitness. But then again, people feel that many statements by officials only serve as window dressing; that they are not really serious. I know that President Ramotar was serious. I saw his face when he made his call and

I heard his call for not only the killers but also the intellectual authors to be brought to book.

The police had reported that there were four men in the car that carried the shooter.

From a telephone conversation with someone I knew, the eyewitness said that there were two. The police spoke about two cars; the eyewitness confirmed this, but added that two more people were in the other car.

He said to his friend that he saw a man come from the second car and peer at the body on the road then utter the confirmation, “Yes, is he.”

Another person said that he heard the gunman say to Crum-Ewing, “You don’t mean fuh done wid this stupidness?”

What stupidness? I would like to see the killers brought to justice, because a man in this country has freedom of speech. I say this because many believed that CrumEwing was killed because he was promoting APNU-AFC. In fact, people in the neighbourhood told me that he was saying, “If you don’t like black people, then vote for Nagamootoo. And if you

don’t like Indian people, then vote for Granger.”

He was said to be going house to house in Diamond with his message that must have infuriated some people.

But we don’t kill people for that. The political parties send people house to house. If we were to kill those people who come to our homes with a message that runs counter to our political views then the streets would be littered with bodies.

If this was a political killing, then Guyana has moved to another stage. It could make undecided voters adopt a position rather than curtail the support people may have for one political party or the other.

Indeed, it was senseless, and many people would rue this killing.

One foreign diplomat did say to me that for people to conclude that it was a political killing would be for them to make a quantum leap. But this is Guyana and I know people. There were reports that Crum-Ewing received threats and reported them to the Brickdam Police Station.

He named those who threatened him. I do not know if the police have questioned any of these people.

I saw a photograph of Crum-Ewing shortly before he died. Someone took the photograph of the man walking along the street with his bullhorn and a huge Guyana flag sticking out of his back pocket.

It was taken from an upstairs apartment and the sight moved me. Crum-Ewing did not know that he was going to his death.

He attended Queen’s College, was an excellent athlete to the point of representing Guyana. News of his death spread far and wide. Alumnae have penned an open letter to the people of this country. But even as this was being done there were people in our midst who believed that they could also be victims.

I hasten to add that the police recovered spent shells from the scene which suggested that the killer used a pistol. If that pistol was legally acquired, then the police have the capacity to match the shells to the gun and consequently to the owner. I hope that they do.

If it is an illegal weapon then that is another story and testimony to the fact that guns proliferate in the society.

There is another good thing. A colleague of mine, in my presence, asked CrumEwing’s parents to make a public appeal for calm. In short, he was asking them to resist the call for vengeance and I support him.

We can ill-afford such a thing. I lived through the early 1960s and I know what it was to wake up and hear about titfor-tat killings.

And to Donna Harcourt and her two remaining children, I say that I do know what it is to lose a child.

I lost mine through a medical condition. You have lost yours through senseless violence. But our loss is a loss.

Keep the faith.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

EMPOWERING OUR WOMEN

By Moses Nagamootoo, AFC Vice-Chairman All around the world, International Women’s Day provides the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of a nation’s women, while calling for greater equality of payment for services and employment, freedom from discrimination, and equal opportunities for educational and social growth.

The Alliance For Change salutes the intrepid women of Guyana who have succeeded in breaking through quite a number of barriers in our previously male-dominated society. The AFC salutes all Guyanese female Chief Executive Officers, General Managers, Financial Officers and the multitude of business owners and high functioning managers in the private and public sectors. Our pride resides as well in the women working in the mining, agriculture, services, manufacturing, hospitality, law, health and the numerous political, social and economic sectors of life and home-making in our multi-faceted Guyanese society.

…AN APNU+AFC GOVERNMENT WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN Guyanese women may not yet be in the position to claim that we have broken through the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’, but we are proud of the immense strides our women have made over the past 40 years. They continue to scale high hurdles professionally while maintaining peaceful, loving homes for our children.

The Guyanese reality, however, is that on some planes, we are sliding down a perilous slope, competing with the worst of the world’s nations that are actively engaged in Trafficking in Persons (TIP). This scourge on our society endangers the lives of our young girls. In addition, the fast increasing incidents of young girls, both urban and rural, being trafficked into the interior mining districts, throws into stark relief the inability, ineptitude and unwillingness of the incumbent government to stem the flow.

The egregious absence of institutions to house and effectively rehabilitate the victims who have been rescued,

contribute to the growth of this harmful ‘industry’. The government’s failure to effectively train law enforcement officers stationed in the city (at stations and the courts) and in the hinterland where TIP is most prevalent, actually succeeds in helping the offenders.

The most offensive TIP reports indicate that police ranks render actual aid in the movement of trafficked girls.

They reportedly collude with ‘shop’ owners to force ‘clients’ to pay up, and it is alleged that they implement a variety of measures to prevent the girls from leaving the areas.

These reports show very clearly that police officers, who were hired to serve and protect every citizen, irrespective of their location, are failing miserably to carry out their mandates. They have become part of this blight on our society and contribute to the stunted development of some of our youthful women.

While we commend the Child Care and Protection

Agency (CPA) for its limited interventions, we condemn the government in the strongest terms for failing to provide the funds and tools that would allow the CPA to effectively stem the flow of trafficking, to bring the traffickers to justice, and to provide the health, housing and legal facilities to reset the life trajectory of trafficked women.

The nation has been told more often than we would like to hear of the CPA’s willingness to ‘do more’ to help the teenagers who were rescued and returned to the city, but are unable to find the girls to inform them of court dates, or do not have the facilities to provide them with temporary living quarters until they are properly reintegrated.

The starkest light that exposes the administration’s failure is the fact that some of the rescued teenagers are retrafficked, either voluntarily due to the absence of viable options, or because they are re-captured and transported back to the gold mines, passing through numerous police check points.

The AFC has high commendations for the members of the NGO, the Women Miners’ Organisation (WMO), who have taken upon themselves the task of finding the young girls (some as young as 12) in the lawless mining districts, and making laudable attempts to house them and ensure that t h e y a r e c o u nseled and given some of the tools they need to re-start their lives as productive citizens. These women in the WMO have been performing the functions of the police force, and the Ministries of Human Services and Youth and Culture. To say that this unacceptable is an understatement.

Transparency International and a number of global watchdog groups first listed some alarming statistics in

their reports on Guyana a few years ago, even as the government through the then subject minister, Priya Manickchand, was adamant that there was no trafficking occurring in Guyana.

No, no TIP here, they said, but these highly acclaimed world organizations nailed that lie with indisputable statistics. So while the administration was busy contorting itself trying to cover its criminal ineptitude instead of going into action to protect our young women, the WMO was seeking assistance from external organizations, forming themselves into a literal brigade and setting out to scour the interior, especially the mining camps, for young women who should have been in school or gainfully employed.

Guyana’s population remains static at approximately 750,000. This country is blessed with numerous resources (which may be whittled down by half in three years if the PPP/C remains in office to continue to give our patrimony away to friends, family and others they favour with available pockets).

They will not acknowledgeable their responsibilities to each and every citizen and their offspring.

They appear not to grasp the fact that the responsibility is theirs to create the environment for a productive, economically viable nation with educated and socially fertile citizens.

Our 83,000 square miles of indigenous flora and fauna, rare earths, arable land, industrial, precious and semi-precious minerals, and the capacity for a wide array of industries, is more than enough for lightning fast development.

Unfortunately, our already small populace is driven from these shores seeking economic betterment. Our young women are forced into unpro-

ductive slave-like labour, and many of our children in rural and interior districts continue to receive a less than acceptable standard of education.

It is generally accepted in this 21st Century that women the world over are taking the driver’s seat. Guyana is being left behind, but the Coalition is determined to remedy this disastrous situation.

Through the Women and Youth arms, the Coalition intends to institute a comprehensive programme to achieve full empowerment by providing functional facilities for education (general and vocational), specialized skills training, facilitating financial assistance, particularly for small business development, and more.

On the social spectrum, the APNU+AFC Coalition intends to go into full attack mode to confront the incredibly high rates of suicides and domestic violence against women and children in both urban and rural communities, as well as that persistent stain on our health system – the high incidence of maternal death. The programmes will of necessity require the deep involvement of all social and religious groupings The theme for this year’s International Day for Women (March 8) was “MAKE IT HAPPEN”.

This is precisely what the Coalition Alliance and its respective Women’s Groups intend to do in order to change the economic and political paradigms in this nation.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

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SUNDAY SPECIAL

JAGDEO, ROHEE REFUTE “‘COOLIE PEOPLE’ PARTY” REPORTS

TAX-FUNDED MARRIOTT HOTEL…HALT TRANSFER OFALL SHARES UNTILCOMPLETE EVALUATION – SAYS ACCOUNTANT Disclosures by the Government that it spent at least over US$50M to build the Marriott-branded hotel, and is now planning to later hand over control to foreign investors for just US$8M, have drawn sharp criticisms from several quarters.

On Wednesday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Government’s chief spokesman, Dr. Roger Luncheon, admitted that the hotel is almost complete, with taxpayers’ dollars being the only monies that have been spent.

He added that the stateowned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), which handles investments for Government, has mechanisms in place for investors to “reimburse” more than US$34M spent by NICIL to finance the construction of the hotel, the restaurant and the casino in Kingston. The hotel is due to be opened in a few weeks’ time.

Last Saturday, prominent accountant and online commentator, attorney-at-law, Christopher Ram, said that Luncheon’s admission raises very serious issues about the source of the money and the legality of the transactions by NICIL, a Government company whose board is headed

by Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Finance.

Ram said that NICIL had raised millions of dollars on behalf of the Government, from among other things, the sale of preference shares to NIS in the Berbice River Bridge that realized close to US$5M, and another US$30M from the shares the Government owned since the early 1990s in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).

While pointing out that there is a vast difference between cost and value, Ram said that the hotel has cost taxpayers much more than they have been told, a matter that should trouble taxpayers.

He believes that part of the reason for excluding substantial costs is to conceal the exorbitant contract price, a point consistently made by this newspaper.

“As though the abuse of the Consolidated Fund was not disgraceful enough, the intention seems still to be to sell two-thirds of the equity in the company for US$8M. Surely this cannot be right or responsible. The sensible thing to do is to have a professional valuation of the

shares of the company. Such a valuation will form the basis of the selling price of the shares.”

judicial proceedings against the Guyana Police Force for breach of my husband’s rights.”

COPDETAINED UNDER ‘INHUMANE’ CONDITIONS SUFFERS NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

MONDAYEDITION

The wife of a detective stationed at Mackenzie is threatening legal action against the Guyana Police for allegedly detaining her husband under inhumane conditions, which she claimed caused him to suffer a nervous breakdown.

The detective constable and another colleague allegedly spent three days in a cell at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), Eve Leary. The cell reportedly had no lights, twobug-infested beds, was partially flooded due to a leaking roof and had no washroom facilities. ”There are no lights (in the cell); there is no washroom.

You have to rap when you want to be let out to use the toilet, and then nobody comes to open the door.

When the rain falls, you get wet because the roof leaks,” a police rank who was recently detained there said. ”It is worse than the Brickdam (Station) lockups. At least at Brickdam there are lights and toilet facilities.”

The two detectives are currently on open arrest, but the wife of one of the ranks said that he began to display unusual behaviour upon his release.

The woman said she was forced to take him for psychiatric treatment and he is currently undergoing counseling. ”I cried at the way that they treated him. He was treated worse than a prisoner,” she told Kaieteur News Saturday.

“I have been advised to file

PPP LAUNCHES ELECTION CAMPAIGNAT BABU JAAN…OPPOSITION FRUSTRATING MAJOR PROJECTS – JAGDEO TELLSAUDIENCE - URGES RAMOTAR TO “KICK SOME ASSES” Braving the hot afternoon sun, thousands flocked Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, Corentyne, last Sunday for the annual pilgrimage to the late founder/leader of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) and former President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, who the party refers to as the ‘Father of the Nation’.

Touted as the “unofficial” launch of the PPP/C Election campaign, the party’s top brass and much of the Cabinet as well as high-ranking government officials along with hundreds of youths from the party’s youth arm, decked out in red berets, turned up at the memorial site, for what can be called the largest gathering of party supporters in Berbice in recent times.

A march led the supporters into the ground, and the formal proceedings, which began around 15:00 hrs, were preceded by the laying of wreaths at the final resting places of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his wife Janet Jagan, also a former President. The air was replete with electioneering as every speaker spoke vociferously about the party’s vision for the future, linking it with the legacy of Dr. Jagan.

But the star speaker of the afternoon was Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who

spoke for about 30 minutes, commanding the attention of almost everyone.

He noted that Ramotar’s Presidency was “a nightmare for Ramotar”.

“Every plan that the Government has put forward, they ( the Opposition) have tried to stymie!”

Jagdeo urged Ramotar, whom he referred to as a ‘Democratic Man’, to administer some “kicks up some [the Opposition’s] asses, too”.

“We allowed them to frustrate everything!”

supporters, “Let us throw out the coolie people.”

Jagdeo added that the opposition “consistently shouts about the racism of the PPP but they practice racism. They whisper campaigns. In the last elections they went to some of the Afro villages and beat some drums at six in the morning and say let us throw out these coolie people. Get up and go out and vote.”

WEDNESDAYEDITION ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTOR ASSASSINATED

TUESDAYEDITION ROHEE ENDORSES JAGDEO STATEMENT THAT PPP IS A ‘COOLIE PEOPLE’PARTY - SAYS AFRO GUYANESE SHOULD WELCOME STATEMENT General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, on Monday supported the statements made by his comrade, Bharrat Jagdeo, to the effect that the incumbent party is a “coolie people” party.

As he hosted the PPP’s weekly press conference at Freedom House Robb Street, Georgetown, Rohee said that he saw nothing wrong with former President Jagdeo’s allusion to the PPP as a “coolie people” party.

Jagdeo made this statement on Sunday when he spoke at the memorial service held in honour of former President and founder member of the PPP, the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan at Babu Jaan, Corentyne, Berbice.

Jagdeo, who is known to speak rashly at this yearly forum, told thousands who gathered at the event that the “opposition” whispers to its

Opposition political activist, Courtney Crum-Ewing, well known for his one-man protests, was shot dead Tuesday evening at Third Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) while urging residents to vote against the ruling party in the upcoming General and Regional elections on May 11.

The 40-year-old Crum-Ewing of Golden Grove, EBD, was shot five times.

The shooting is believed to have occurred sometime around 19:40 hrs.

Police in a statement said that Crum-Ewing was walking along the roadway at Third Avenue when a car with four men drove up, from which shots were discharged at him, “after which the men escaped”.

Minutes before he was killed, Crum-Ewing, who made the news for carrying out his one-man protest in front of the Carmichael Street, Georgetown office of Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, late last year, was reportedly heard via a bullhorn, urging residents of the neighbourhood to vote against the ruling party.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday shunned reports that suggested he made racist remarks.

He said that those reports could not have been further away from the truth as he, being a “son of the soil,” is an advocate for a united Guyana.

This newspaper carried a story on Tuesday with the headline “Rohee endorses Jagdeo’s statement that PPP is a ‘coolie people’ party.” The article quoted PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee as saying that the PPP garners most of its support from Indo Guyanese.

Both Jagdeo and Rohee registered disapproval with the article Tuesday. Rohee did so through a press release and Jagdeo, at a press conference he held at Freedom House, Robb Street Georgetown.

THURSDAY EDITION ASSASSINATION OF ANTI-GOVT PROTESTOR…POLICE REVIEWING CCTV FOOTAGE FOR CLUES Up to late Wednesday night investigators were carefully examining surveillance footage of the scene of Tuesday night’s assassination of activist Courtney CrumEwing. Detectives are hoping that the video can shed some light on who the perpetrators are. Police in a statement on the night of the shooting had stated that Crum-Ewing was accosted by four men in a car, one of whom discharged several rounds hitting him about his body.

So far police are working on trying to identify the car that was used in the attack. ”We were given a licence number but when we checked with the GRA, it did not match the description of the car that was used,” a senior police official told this newspaper Wednesday. ”Earlier (Wednesday) we looked at one tape but we did not get anything concrete, we are checking another tape to see what we can get out of it,” the official added.

Detectives also recovered four spent .32 shells from the scene of the crime and are carrying out ballistics tests to try to establish a link to the weapon that was used.

JAGDEO GETS UNLIMITED CONTROL UNDER ECONOMIC COUNCIL – SAYS FORMER PRESIDENTIALADVISOR Former President Bharrat Jagdeo will control the bulk of (Continued on page 45)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

An unyielding passion for classical music drives ‘The Circle of Love’ Perhaps one can call it destiny that, after four boys had an enchanting encounter with classical a cappella music (specifically group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way) in the church, a developing passion for the genre would led them to each other and later see the formation of one of Guyana’s most traditionally sophisticated groups, known as The Circle of Love.

Many have proclaimed that this group is not only a strong reminder of the calming soulfulness of the American group, The Platters, but it also embodies the uplifting sounds of gospel music.

The seasoned singers are group leader Fenton Park, Charles Griffith, John Shepherd and Public Relations Officer Clayton Hinds.

They have been adored and requested to do special performances on umpteen occasions by political figures, regionally and locally, and have even sung for a few of President Donald Ramotar’s private functions. Their recitals around Guyana are simply too numerous to mention, but one thing that is certain is that it only takes one performance by this group to leave their name permanently engraved on your mind.

In an interview with Kaieteur News, Park related

that while they were on the path to developing a career in music, each member had been singing in various groups and even came together in one called the Georgetown Quartet.

He asserted however that around 2001, the Circle of Love was created by Shepherd, a medical technologist, who is currently in the USA, and serves as secretary to the group.

Griffith then explained that each member had his beginning in the Adventist Church. It was there, he said, that not only did they discover their first true love, but it was there that their voices, passion and knowledge for the art form was nurtured and encouraged.

Hinds, who grew up in a home of music, said that it has always been a driving force in his life. He recalled that in his younger days, participating in devotions and ‘church music’ was a must, and learning to sing was non-negotiable.

What the church did back then, Park said, was to also impart the valuable lesson of vocal ranges. Currently, the 48-year-old sings bass in the group, while Griffith and Shepherd are tenor ranges and Hinds, baritone. Each member has also undergone extensive formal training in music.

Griffith then emphasized that the members of the group are also most passionate

The members of the Circle of Love, (from left) Clayton Hinds, Fenton Park and Charles Griffith about a cappella and harmony singing.

“You won’t find a lot of a cappella singing now, but it is a rich and beautiful form of singing that dates all the way back to slavery, and it was also sung in the church. We were accustomed to listening to good a cappella music from various specialized groups such as the King’s Heralds Quartet,” the 53-year-old asserted.

While the group does not sing the upbeat or high tempo gospel music which is mostly prevalent today, Hinds said that the Circle of Love is centred on peaceful and classical music, the type that connects the audience with the intensity and feeling of the lyrics of the song.

The Circle of Love sings mostly hymns, ‘resistance’ songs, oldies, national songs, and calypso. They have even tried their voices at reggae but every song they attempt is usually done in a cappella.

“We really do see this as our calling, our passion, and when we sing a cappella it is for the listener to hear

One of the inspirations of the Circle of Love, The King’s Heralds heartfelt music. Sometimes we go to entertain people at the karaoke sessions when we don’t have a gig, and feel so moved to sing. We sang at a number of PPP and Opposition events.

“Even for private sessions for President Ramotar at the State House and we were opening acts for several

international gospel singers at the stadium, so the demand is there for us, but we are working on documenting our history,” Hinds expressed.

In that regard, the 65-yearold said that after receiving the blessings and promise of support from Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Opposition Leader David Granger, the

group has agreed to make moves to work on putting together a CD which would be a compilation of Guyana’s national songs, in a cappella of course. Hinds said that they also plan to create a programme with guidelines for singers interested in their style. The Circle of Love is not (Continued on page 31)

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Caricom urges ‘diplomatic engagement’ for Reparations The fact that former slave colonies have good diplomatic relations with former slave trading nations is enough to see the region approach Europe for Reparations on a basis of ‘a diplomacy of engagement’ rather than ‘a diplomacy of protest.’

This understanding comes as the regional body forges ahead with the mammoth task of getting compensation from the former slave owning, European powers; mainly Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Some 15 Caribbean countries, including Guyana, are seeking compensation for the damage caused by indigenous genocide and slavery.

With talk about time span, evidence and witness availability already popping up, Caricom has stated categorically that it will not give up on the issue of reparations, claiming that it is too big an issue that is necessary for healing and bringing honour and dignity to the Caribbean.

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart assured that Caricom will not “pursue the issue of reparations on the basis of diplomacy of protest” but “on the basis of a diplomacy of engagement.”

Prime Minister Stuart, who chairs the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Reparations, addressed the issue at the closing press conference for the just-ended 26th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) held in the Bahamas.

He said that so far as the issue of reparations is concerned, it was discussed at length during the meeting.

It is an issue to which the entire region is irrevocably committed and “there is going to be no retreat on the issue of reparations.” the Prime Minister insisted.

The retired Head of State noted that the point must be made that the region does not pursue the issue of reparations on the basis of a diplomacy of protest, since

“We (Caribbean) are pursuing the issue of reparations on the basis of a diplomacy of engagement.

That is very important because all of us have today civilized diplomatic relations with former slave trading nations and we’re not about to undermine, depreciate or destroy those relations,” Stuart noted.

He charged however that, “At the same time we cannot turn our backs on our history and the legacy which has been bequeathed to us as a result of slavery and native genocide.”

“We contemplate therefore as a first measure, having a discussion with designated countries – former slave trading countries to see what areas of agreement exist and whether there can be an amicable and civilized resolution to our differences,” Prime Minister Stuart added.

The issue of Reparations has been high on the agenda for the Caricom Heads of Government. Last year the regional leaders accepted the Caribbean Reparatory Justice Programme (CRJP) as a basis for discussions on reparations. The CRJP is part of a strategic and operational plan prepared by the Regional Reparations Commission consisting of ten points that need to be addressed.

An update was given on the CRJP during the recently held conference. The former Prime Minister clarified that he did want the regional media to have the impression and disseminate that “this (reparation) is the kind of situation where we are pursuing a case for monetary compensation which is easily quantifiable and which would satisfy the requirements of a modern municipal court of law.”

“There is a legacy with which we are dealing, and what we are trying to sensitise former slave trading nations to, is the existence of that legacy and the connection between that legacy and their actions in the 17th and 18th and part of the 19th century as well.”

“Having done that, we

look at our areas of continuing deficit - social deficit, economic deficit and sometimes political deficit … and try to see what developmental initiatives we can initiate as a result of our discussions to redress some of these hideous imbalances.”

Prime Minister Stuart said that is the course Caricom is intending to pursue and the regional effort will be linked to related international developments.

“Fortuitously, the United Nations has just designated the current decade as the International Decade for People of African Descent, and the victims of slavery and

native genocide have been predominantly people of African descent. Therefore we have to take full advantage of this decade to ensure that the agenda of the decade reflects some of our more fundamental concerns. So we have to take the long view on this issue, recognize that the legacy we are fighting did not take shape overnight and therefore it is not going to be dismantled overnight but we have to start somewhere and we are starting with the pursuit of reparatory justice,” Prime Minister Stuart imparted.

Former slave colonies have blamed Europe for many

of the challenges they are facing; health related, economic, social and other areas. University of the West Indies’ Administrator and Professor, Dr. Hilary Beckles, who also chairs Caricom’s Reparations Committee, had said during an address to the House of Lords in England last year that slavery’s legacy was still impacting on Caribbean nations.

In Jamaica, for example, Britain’s largest slave colony was left with 80% black functional illiteracy at Independence in 1962. They struggled with development and poverty alleviation.

Britain owes Jamaicans an educational and human resource investment initiative, Beckles stated.

He emphasised that Britain’s first slave society, Barbados, is now called the “amputation capital of the world” because among other things they face dietary disasters making the country the most virulent diabetes and hypertension epidemic.

Barbados, he said, is owed an education and health initiative likewise “the Bahamas, the Leewards, the Windwards, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, and beyond”.

(Zena Henry)

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Sunday March 15, 2015

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

The Police Role in...

From page 22 must commit to overseeing free and fair elections while helping in the maintenance of peaceful non-threatening environment.

The role of the police is to keep the peace and not support the partisan efforts of others bent on disrupting public order. The police should also not be perceived to be helping one political party at the expense of its opponent(s).

At the same time, all political parties must do their utmost to convince their constituents of their duty to vote in accordance with the rules. Moreover, wild, reckless and inciting statements should be avoided by political representatives during the campaign. Every voter must undertake to prove that the Guyanese people are stronger and wiser this time around, and will not be falling for any ridiculously blasphemous or slanderous utterances.

The foregoing is not intended to make light of the police responsibility to ensure effective policing before, during and after the elections.

The GPF will have to establish a command structure with officers being responsible for: (1) developing strategy and retaining strategic oversight and overall command throughout; (2) developing and implementing the tactical response in line with command strategy; (3) resources, and functional or geographical responsibilities related to the tactical plan. A single point of contact should also be identified as the liaison between the GPF and GECOM, preferably in all policing divisions or electoral districts.

It would be foolhardy to believe that the police by themselves will have the capability to handle all aspects of elections duties. This observation brings into focus the need for partnerships with

others in the security sector, and the activating of auxiliary bodies. This need, however, must not ignore partners’ priorities and availability of resources while recognizing that early engagement and clear communication and ownership of agreed actions will ensure that everyone involved in the joint planning for policing the elections is aware of their role in the general operational framework.

One problematic issue is the practice of using community policing groups during elections and which it has been argued - comprise of supporters of the ruling party. This practice if it is allowed to continue for these elections will have to be managed very carefully if we are to avoid claims of electoral malpractice. Because of the debilitating nature of Guyanese politics, it is an imperative that in joint operational planning there should be a sharing of knowledge and information; an awareness of political sensitivities and an

assessment of the potential risks. What this means is that policing decision-making is organised and informed by issues and stakeholders’ expectations under active consideration. Chief among the latter would be the expectation that the GPF would have assessed the risks that are impediments to violence-free polls, and have devised mitigation strategies to counter them.

Furthermore, reference to the debrief report following the 2011 elections which reviewed the event, the systems in place, and which identified areas for improvement or an alternative approach, could assist greatly in preparing the risk assessment. Indeed the general public anticipates that many of the issues raised in this article would have occupied the attention of the just concluded Annual Police Officers’ Conference and will be a significant feature in the conference report.

(To be continued)

An unyielding...

From page 28 particularly fond of musical competitions, but they have participated in the National Song Festival in 2013 where they placed third, and the following year which saw them walking away with the winning prizes.

Though they are seasoned singers, Park said that one of their hurdles remains finding enough time to practice, given their individual jobs. Another matter Griffith said they hope to address is moving the management of the group to

such a stage where they would be properly rewarded for their talent.

“The reality is that some don’t want to pay top prices for us, but we are hoping that organizations will be supportive when we approach them for assistance with promotional activities we plan to host,” he added.

Nonetheless, the group is particularly proud of the impact they have had with their talents, as well as being able to stand the test of time for 12 years and still remain united.

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Sunday March 15, 2015

Supporters call for fundraiser...

From page 20 Guyana Consulate in New York where he made an ardent appeal for them to advocate for the President to take immediate action in order to bring the killer(s) of CrumEwing to swift justice. The man said that it was explained to him that while that was not

the role of the President, it certainly was one that would gain the keen attention of the Commissioner of Police.

Rashid is however convinced that “the buck stops at the President. Imagine if this was your father gunned down in the streets just like what would you do? I can tell

US and Venezuela...

From page 20 countries could not by themselves be brokers of peace.

However, they may be wellplaced to initiate such a process in collaboration with key Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico and others.

They should at least try.

Taking sides would be unconstructive and unproductive. Quietly trying through diplomatic channels would be constructive and beneficial.

The 2015 Summit of the Americas is just weeks away in Panama on April 10 and 11.

It should be a Summit at which

for the first time all countries of the Americas are present; where Cuba would be welcomed to the table; and President Obama could celebrate with other leaders, including Raul Castro, the normalisation of relations between the US and Cuba.

The theme of the meeting is: “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Co-operation in the Americas”. A big challenge to such co-operation now is the troubling relations between two important hemispheric nations.

And, the responsibility of their neighbours is not to fan the flames, but to extinguish the fire.

(The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at London University) Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com

you, you would want everything possible to be done to get your justice...”

Terming Crum-Ewing's killing “senseless”, Rashid who migrated in 1996 said that although he keeps abreast with the happenings in his homeland, never before has a shooting incident troubled him as in this case.

“People are entitled to their rights,” he added as he turned his attention to the dead man's now fatherless children.

“I don't have children of my own, but I feel for these children. You take away a father and you take away their hero, you take away their provider, and that is not fair to them,” said Rashid as he vowed to solicit as much support as possible to towards the proposed fundraiser.

“I would be happy if Kaieteur News could do this for this man (Crum-Ewing)...I would be even happier if people support these children as part of their effort to help bring about a solution to the problem. It's not just about what has happened, but how we move forward,” said Rashid.

Publisher of this newspaper, Mr Glenn Lall, is also prepared to pledge the sum of US$500 (G$100,000) to the fundraiser.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 41

Myself, Courtney... An Election Reflection on the...

From page 40 have said that his protests actions were in vain.

Courtney came into Kaieteur News quite a few times. He was a muscular man with an intensity of purpose.

At one time, he complained that someone broke into his minibus and stole his computer, making the vehicle immobile. He believed that it was part of a deliberate campaign to shut him up. He even expressed fear for his life.

He shook my hands. I did not at that time recognize him from QC. I have since learnt that he was preparing to campaign for the Opposition for the elections.

There is an emerging pattern that is coming out about Courtney, based on his Facebook postings and from accounts of close associates.

Courtney was no pushover. A former soldier, he was a highly intelligent and aggressive individual, and goaded officials whom he disagreed with, including from the Opposition. In fact, he was highly critical of the way the Opposition was being run. The point is that Courtney had a mind of his own. He was exercising his rights and not willing to toe the line or be like anyone else.

His family told me that on Tuesday, when he was killed, no one knew he was heading to Diamond to use his loud hailer. It was unplanned. Even the Opposition folks he was working with were unaware.

So we come to the issue that seems more obvious. I will admit that there are various scenarios.

POLITICAL STANCE Was Courtney killed for his political stance? I have heard so many theories that it sickens me. You be the judge. Let me say that as Guyanese we have rights. We don't have to agree, but we do have right to associate with any political party we choose to, to express ourselves freely and to be critical of our leaders (Opposition included). No one can take away that right. A good friend once told me that if we don't

stand up for something, we will fall for anything.

Courtney stood up and was counted.

I am highly emotional by this particular cold-blooded murder by cowards.

Courtney represented, to me, all that is free and fair. I don't have to agree with his methods. He had loved ones and his friends. What were his thoughts in those final moments? Did he get the time to think about his three daughters? His mother? His brother? His sister?

My father, a policeman, was killed in January 1980 while he was on duty. I am still angry. Why us? Why? I have been warned that as a journalist in the limelight, it may be best to leave Guyana. Go somewhere, anywhere. I am not afraid. If the Good Lord has mapped out my way, then so be it. I will continue doing my work too.

I hope we don't make another mistake like the killing of Courtney again.

I see the social websites discussing his past in a very disrespectful manner. How is this relevant to the cold manner in which Courtney met his end? As Guyanese, regardless of our political persuasions, Courtney's killing by whoever pulled the trigger and whoever ordered it, should be roundly condemned.

We should be ashamed of ourselves. It was a dark day.

We have a bright future, but this brutal, senseless act has made us all collectively responsible, by our very silence.

I saw no politicians out in front of the AG's office last week. It said much.

One placard, “I am Courtney�, said it all.

On Monday afternoon, the Independence Park (Parade Ground) on Middle Street is where a vigil will be held for Courtney. I will be there. So will my colleagues.

I pray to God for Guyana.

From page 33 think and feel this way. Most say they do. Then why do we live in societies where we suffer so much political, social, economic, and spiritual disintegration?

Obviously these are questions that one cannot begin to answer in any comprehensive manner in an article like this; in fact there may be no true answer, only thoughts and theories; a heap of ifs, buts and maybes.

And in such a scenario, a layman's response may be as valid as any expert's. Why not? If all of the professional men and women, all the good people, all the thinkers, researchers and planners, the executors, and the governments cannot effectively manage or assuage our social ills, then who?

The Christian Bible has some intriguing and radical notions about human origins, existence, behaviour, laws, and government, some of which sail over my head.

But of that which I comprehend, I am amazed at what it says about these ideas, and how little of it even the most 'religious' of us seem to take seriously. Here is a bit of what I mean.

According to what I have read and understood, and what most Christian pastors and teachers I have spoken with tell me, the 'Good Book' says we should believe in

God, believe in His word, receive Jesus as our saviour, and his atoning blood as our salvation, and by God's grace, live a life of love and righteousness after having been born anew in the spirit. Some Christians include doing 'Good Works' to guarantee salvation. Do these, they say, individually and collectively, and our lives, our nation will be transformed.

What about non-Christians? It is generally accepted that other Holy books like the Talmud, the Quran and the Bhagavad-Gita embrace similar truths about the notions of good and evil, and the ultimate triumph of the former over the latter.

It is said that all major religions teach versions of something called the Ethics of Reciprocity, known to Christians as the Golden Rule, namely, treating others as you wish to be treated by them.

So, if all of the Guyanese who profess to live by the tenets of their faith really do so, and practice what they preach, then we, and our country, should be in much better shape. It's funny, because in all likelihood most Guyanese, including politicians, would claim that they are (a) basically good persons, (b) love Guyana, and (c) are doing their best to secure a better life for themselves and each other. So, who is lying?

Practicing the ethics of

reciprocity and upholding the principles to which one subscribes is not easy.

We are human. Greed and self-preservation are our legacy.

Psychologist Sigmund Freud would have explained how our personality's demanding id and ego tend to push aside the moralistic superego when their interests clash.

Without the superego, he implies, human behaviour would revert to mostly selfish, instinct-driven, aggressive expression. Is that what is being displayed now?

During the tumultuous, racially-hostile period of the early 1960s, an AfroGuyanese cousin of mine was saved from possible death by the courageous action of an East Indian woman and her family who hid him from a marauding gang of would-be killers on the Mahaicony River. That woman may have been terrified, but she did what had to be done to save the life of an innocent man.

Nearly 40 years later I prevented a group of aggressive young men in Fourth Street,

Alberttown, from assaulting an East Indian youth I was teaching to drive, just before the 2001 general elections.

They had been playing football on the street and he had parked my car too close to where they were.

They did not see me at first, and had actually pushed the boy against the car before I intervened. They threatened me too, and though I was scared, I stood my ground, and we walked away unscathed.

The human spirit is an immaterial thing. It is an energy that transcends physical limitations and cannot be destroyed. Elections in Guyana will come and go. Leaders, governments, ideologies, laws, and society itself, will change. The spirit goes on.

As we draw closer to May 11th, I will weigh my options and my actions practically and cautiously before I enter the voting booth.

What happens after that may mean less to me than the fact that my conscience overrode my ego when I placed that X on the spot.

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Sunday March 15, 2015

In-service midwifery training for nurses imminent The Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) will soon be introducing inservice training for nurses in Guyana.

This is according to Minister of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, who made the revelation during the turning of the sod for the $263M expansion and remodeling of the maternity ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Ramsaran said the ministry has been able to recruit the capacity to train inservice midwives. He said that with the assistance of PAHO, the training of the nurses will be introduced shortly.

Ramsaran said the training would ensure that nurses will be trained as midwives when they go to the maternity ward.

“We’re starting a process whereby the small portion of midwives will be increased and by the end of a short time, every single nurse in the maternity ward will have had to pass through that quality, supervised training,” Ramsaran said.

Dr. Ramsaran said too that the Ministry of Health is working towards improving neonatal care across the country.

He said that an analysis of under-five mortality showed that some 48% of the deaths fell on neonatal care.

He also noted that the neonatal intensive care unit did not have the capacity to address in the best manner the needs of babies born under the recommended weight or

Health Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran with other diseases.

Ramsaran said too that many of these babies require special, expensive care.

He emphasised that improved neonatal care would lead to happier and healthier families. He also urged nurses to work on their ethics and their “human touch”.

“Good behaviour is not only a building and equipment, but you, the people,” Ramsaran noted. He stressed the importance of having trained nurses who adequately execute all aspects of their duties. He further stated that there are “rotten apples in the barrel” and urged all nurses to work towards removing “that small potential blot”.

Dr. Ramsaran also said that more obstetricians and gynecologists will be trained in collaboration with the UNFPA.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Guyana’s proactive response to malaria drug resistance (From the desk of the Vector Control Director, Dr. Reyaud Rahman) In 2013 the Vector Control Services/ Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization conducted a study to determine if persons in Guyana had any resistance to the first line malaria drugs used to treat Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

This particular study is done every two to three years in Guyana to ensure that the medication is working well and the malaria parasites are being destroyed when used.

When Guyana reported its findings from previous studies it was recommended by the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization to do another study to determine if we in fact had Artemisinin resistance.

This was some cause for concern, as Artemisinin resistance was only recorded in South East Asia.

It was noted that some patients in Guyana appeared to take longer to clear parasites than others in comparison to what had previously been reported years before.

It was necessary at this point to conduct a study to determine if there was Artemisinin resistance in Guyana or resistance to the first line drug that treats Plasmodium falciparum malaria, which is the most dangerous type of malaria to contract.

If an individual contracts P. falciparum malaria and does not drink any medication, 90 per cent of such persons will die.

This alarmed us, as history reminds us of what transpired 50 years ago when resistance to the drug Chloroquine emerged in Asia, then spread from Myanmar (in South East Asia) and then to India and the rest of the world, killing millions of people.

If we carefully look at history, it appears like history is repeating itself in terms of how the resistance is spreading. In 2015 the World Health Organization was able to confirm that five countries - Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam - have confirmed Artemisinin resistance.

People develop resistance to drugs because of several factors such as poor adherence to the drugs prescribed.

Patients sometimes only drink a few tablets, and when they feel better they stop using the

tablets altogether, poor quality medication (counterfeit medication), and widespread availability to poor quality single drugs.

This is a problem because malaria should be treated with combination drug therapies and no single or monotherapy regime.

There are, however, some main reasons why resistant parasites develop. In 2013 researchers identified a particular molecular marker which was associated with the delayed parasite clearance, it was known as the K13. This K13 assists as a means to map and monitor the resistance pattern.

Guyana, like Suriname, completed the therapeutic efficacy study in 2014, and it must be highlighted that these were the only two countries in South America to have completed this study to rule out Artemisinin resistance.

Guyana had also recruited many more patients, and had almost zero patients who did not follow up, but had submitted samples to check for K13 mutations and gotten back the results from those samples.

We were able to find no K13 mutations, which meant that we do not have Artemisinin resistance at this moment. However, what we were able to find is that parasites were taking longer to die than normal.

In 2012 the World Health Organization released a Global Plan for Artemisinin r e s i s t a n c e containment calling on all stakeholders to ensure that there is a beneficial change to the use of the malaria medication and the reduction and elimination of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Since 2012 we have taken a stern approach towards scaling up our activities.

We have recognized the very important fact that the only way to protect the people of this country is to ensure

Dr. Reyaud Rahman that we minimize the number of people who contract malaria or become infected with malaria.

It was therefore necessary to increase/step up activities to manage and control malaria in Guyana.

We started by increasing the work that we were doing in endemic regions such as increasing our distribution of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN’S); sensitizing the public to vector-borne diseases, especially malaria; ensuring that medication is always available at health care facilities and no stock out of medication occurs; followingup on patients to ensure medication adherence was being observed and doing active case detection work by going to camps, villages and places where malaria was being transmitted to take off blood smears, find a diagnosis or type of malaria and treat the cases in the field.

This has proven very successful as we have recorded a significantly low number of malaria cases as we have cut malaria by more than 50 per cent in 2014 in comparison to our 2013 figures.

In order to scale up prevention and control interventions, it is necessary for increased funding in malaria, a long term political commitment, and the cooperation of the public/atrisk population to adhere to medication and prevention methods.

Without this commitment and discipline from individuals, we will not be able to sustain gains or make any significant impact to this huge public health problem.

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Sunday March 15, 2015

Sunday March 15, 2015

(From page 27) t h e c o u n t r y ’s e c o n o m y once the recently announced National Economic Council (NEC) comes on stream. The former head of state was appointed chairman of the body by incumbent President Donald Ramotar several weeks ago.

Ramotar handpicked the former state head saying that with his vast experience in economics, both domestic and foreign, he would be ideal to help catapult the country’s economic aspirations to greater heights.

However, the government is still to state specifics about the “pro-bono” services that Jagdeo would be rendering the state.

Some commentators believe that his role in this body would have a much greater and powerful impact on the country’s economic community than what is being signaled.

MAGISTRATEALEX MOORE REINSTATED The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has ordered that Alex Moore, the Magistrate suspended on a number of allegations since last year, be reinstated to the bench.

Moore, who received the order Wednesday, had been suspended with pay since November 28, last, days after allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by an East Coast Demerara businesswoman, Seerojanie Singh surfaced.

He was represented by Senior Counsel Rex McKay. FRIDAYEDITION ASSASSINATION OF ANTI-GOV’T PROTESTOR… FIND THE KILLERS! – RAMOTAR TELLS POLICE President Ramotar has ordered the police force to leave no stone unturned in finding the killers of Courtney CrumEwing, and if necessary, find the “intellectual authors” of the crime.

Kaieteur News

Page 45

ela, as the two countries are part of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) under which a number of lucrative trading deals have been reached.

In the case of Guyana, Venezuela has for almost a decade now been selling oil at concessionary rates and in return, this country has been supplying rice.

The president was at the time addressing officers and invitees to the opening of the annual Police Officers’ Conference held Thursday at Eve Leary, and it was his first pronouncement on the killing that has sparked countrywide outrage.

The President made reference to intellectual authors due to the many pronouncements that followed the killing which is being described as an assassination in some circles.

BRASSINGTON SAYS MARRIOTT HOTELBUILT WITH NICILMONEY, NOT TAX DOLLARS - PEGASUS OWNER RUBBISHES CLAIM, CALLS BRASSINGTON A FRAUDSTER Head of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Winston Brassington, strongly insisted Thursday that the US$58M Marriott Hotel has at no point in time, been funded with taxpayers’ monies.

Brassington, during a press conference held at the unfinished complex, told media operatives that in the meantime, NICIL, as the principal owner of Atlantic Hotel Inc., “has from its own resources, earned directly from the sale of investments owned by NICIL or dividend returns from its investments, and not from taxpayers’ money. It provided bridge financing to an amount of US$16M for the completion of the construction of the hotel.”

He said that NICIL will be reimbursed in accordance with

the financial arrangements originally projected.

Brassington was then pressed to say what exactly NICIL sold in order to finance the construction of the hotel.

He claimed that while it was not intended for that purpose, some of the proceeds from the sale of the 20 percent interest in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company were invested into the project. He said, too, that dividends from different investments in stateowned entities and others in which NICIL has a minority interest were also used.

SATURDAY EDITION EXXONMOBIL OIL DRILLING… TENSIONS RISE AS VENEZUELA ISSUES ‘SUBTLE THREAT’TO GUYANA In one of the worst diplomatic spats with Guyana in recent times, neighbouring Venezuela has warned that it is prepared to take action following the recent start of oil drilling activities by a US exploration firm, in what it considers disputed territory.

But the Government of Guyana on Friday stood firm, calling on its neighbour to be respectful of the age-old boundary award which gives this country right to explore its economic potential.

Venezuela just over a week ago warned US-owned ExxonMobil, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, not to drill for oil in what it considers its waters, offshore Georgetown.

However, ExxonMobil insisted that it has an agreement

with Guyana and not Venezuela. A drilling ship is in the concession and last week reportedly started its activities, Government announced.

Following the warning to ExxonMobil, Guyana sent a protest note to Venezuela stressing that the neighbouring country is stymieing the development of Guyana and its people, and that would be in contravention of international law.

The situation is a delicate one for Guyana and Venezu-

ASSASSINATION OF ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTOR… POST MORTEM REVEALS…THREE BULLETS TO HEAD, TWO TO CHEST The gunman who killed political activist Courtney Crum–Ewing shot him twice to the temple, once to the back of the head, and twice to the stomach. The killer used a .32 pistol and fired at such close range that gunpowder burns were left on his victim’s

clothes and body.

This was revealed Friday during a post mortem that was witnessed by Attorney-atLaw and Alliance For Change member, Nigel Hughes.

Ca u s e o f d e a t h w a s given as shock and haemorrhage.

Crum-Ewing’s mother, Donna Harcourt, said that the post mortem left her with no doubt that the person who executed her son was skilled in the use of firearms.

“The person who shot knew how to shoot; it’s someone who knows to kill,” she told Kaieteur News yesterday.

Crum-Ewing, a former Queen’s College student and army officer, was gunned down last Tuesday night at Third Avenue, Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, reportedly while urging residents, by way of a bullhorn, to vote against the ruling party in the upcoming General and Regional Elections on May 11.

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Sunday March 15, 2015

On a night out, more Simple vision test may help catch concussions friends means more drinks

A simple vision test using a stopwatch and a few flashcards may help parents and coaches screen young athletes for concussions, a small study suggests.

“In the youth leagues in particular, when there may not be doctors or athletic trainers on the sidelines when a kid gets hit, this enables parents with proper training to participate in the preliminary assessment of concussions,” said study author Dr. Steven Galetta, a researcher at New York University Langone Concussion Center. “It’s so affordable and easy to administer that any coach or parent could use it to determine when an injured child can return to the game and when they need to sit out.”

Many injured athletes currently get a standard concussion assessment. These evaluations test coordination, using exercises like jumping jacks, and memory and cognitive function by asking athletes to memorize and recall short lists of words and quizzing them about simple facts like the date or the name of the president.

The current study focuses on an exam, the King-Devick test, that requires speed reading numbers on a card from left to right as quickly as possible. Numbers are arranged in pattens that are harder to read after a concussion, making the answers slower and less accurate after an injury.

At the start of the study, researchers tested 243 youth league hockey and lacrosse play-

ers, ranging in age from 5 to 17, and 89 college athletes, to see how quickly and accurately they could read the numbers on the cards.

Later in the season, the researchers repeated the eye exams on 12 of those players who had concussions. Screened on the sidelines, these athletes’ average time on the test was 5.2 seconds slower than the average time before the concussion.

But among 14 athletes who repeated the test after a game, but who hadn’t been injured, the average time on the test was 6.4 seconds faster than before, the researchers reported in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology.

“A lay person can see if a kid gets hit, and then it’s standard for them to remain out for that game, but this test gives you a way to measure the injuries you might not see and decide what to do when the kid says they’re good to go back in the game and you don’t know what really happened,” said Dr. Laura Balcer, another author on the study and codirector of the concussion center at NYU. The NYU researchers did a separate study looking at how concussions impact sight and found that visual performance tests can improve detection and management of concussions. Approximately half of the brain’s circuits are related to vision and many of these pathways can be damaged by a concussion, the researchers found.

One advantage of the rapid vision test used in the study is that it’s easy to administer with relatively little training, said Dr. Robert Dimeff, director of primary care sports medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

The hardest thing to control for in this test is the kids, he said. “You worry with a test like this that there will be some athletes who might go deliberately slower at baseline if they know it will be used against them to be pulled out of a game later,” said Dimeff, who wasn’t involved in the study. (Reuters Health)

For young people out on the town, having more friends come along in the group is tied to downing more drinks per hour, according to a new study.

That’s not entirely surprising, but this is the first time researchers have used smartphone-based assessments over the course of the evening to understand the drinking behavior of young adults in real life situations, said lead author Johannes Thrul of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.

For the new study, 183 young adults from universities in the French-speaking region of Switzerland were contacted by email and filled out Internet questionnaires.

For the next five weeks, on Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays, they were sent six text messages between 8 p.m. and 11 a.m. the following day. The texts included a link for the students to complete questionnaires on their smartphones, including questions about how many drinks they had and how many friends were present.

The authors excluded people who did not drink at all or who failed to fill out their questionnaires.

Men and women seemed to stick with relatively small groups of friends on Thursdays, and drinks per hour de-

clined from 8 p.m. to midnight.

They tended to have the most friends around between 10 and 11 p.m. on Saturdays – an average of more than six friends for men and more than five for women.

As the number of friends increased, so did drinks per hour, according to the results published in the journal Addiction. Men peaked at an average of 2.5 drinks per hour between 11 PM and midnight on Saturdays, and women had 1.9 drinks per hour during the same period.

“The conclusions we can draw from our study is that friends and drinking are related,” Thrul told Reuters Health by email. “To really show that friends cause more drinking we would need a different study design, for example randomly assigning different numbers of friends to individual participants and assessing their resulting

drinking behavior.”

It is still too soon to say exactly what the mechanism might be connecting larger groups and higher drinking volume, Thrul said.

It is possible that drinking reports became less accurate as the evening progressed and participants became more inebriated, he noted.

In The Netherlands, and likely also in Switzerland, people tend to report their drinking fairly honestly, according to Ninette van Hasselt, head of the Youth and Risky Behavior department at Trimbos Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

“Nevertheless, self reports on drinking are only an indication of people’s alcohol use, as people’s recollection of the exact amount of drinks consumed during a long night out is not very accurate,” van Hasselt told Reuters Health by email.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 47

Disney’s ‘Cinderella’ taps grown Disney feeds ‘Frozen’ women and their purchasing power frenzy with news of sequel Fairy tales and frothy princess gowns might be the perfect draw for kids, but with Walt Disney Co.’s retelling of the “Cinderella” story, the grown-ups might find themselves doing the fantasizing.

British director Kenneth Branagh has taken the fairy tale that Disney’s 1950 animated film made famous and turned it into a live-action spectacle. Stars include Lily James as Cinderella, Richard Madden as her Prince Charming and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett as the glamorous, wicked stepmother.

Opening Friday, the film could top the U.S. and Canadian box office in its opening weekend with $64 million, according to Boxoffice.com. But Disney will also spin revenue from adult-focused merchandise, including high heels inspired by the glass slipper.

Branagh said he wanted to bring Cinderella into the 21st century with woman power.

“She’s not a victim; she’s not passive,” he told Reuters.

“She’s a strong woman, but her generosity of spirit is an inspiring thing.”

At a recent screening, Cinderella’s sojourn elicited sighs and tears from the predominantly female audience, something that Branagh said reflects demand

Cast member Lily James poses at the premiere of ‘’Cinderella’’ at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, California March 1, 2015. for more movies that appeal to women.

“The female audience across all ages for movies, they drive moviegoing,” Branagh said.

“Why shouldn’t they see stuff that somehow reflects them?”

The film closely follows the classic tale of the orphaned girl bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters.

Her fairy godmother transforms her into a princess to attend the royal ball, where she dances with Prince Charming and runs away at the stroke of midnight, leaving the famous glass slipper behind that leads the Prince to her.

“It’s the story of the underdog, that you root for the girl who has nothing but deserves so much more because she’s so good and kind,” James said.

Disney drew top names in retail, design and make-up for its movie merchandising afterglow.

Saks Fifth Avenue spun high-end designer renditions of the glass slipper, with Jerome C. Rousseau’s midnight-blue stiletto starting at $795 to Jimmy Choo’s crystal-studded heel at $4,595.

MAC Cosmetics developed a limited-edition “Cinderella” collection of fairy dust-inspired eyeshadows, blushes and lipsticks priced between $17 and $44. It sold out online wi t h i n h o u r s o f release. “ T h e r e ’s s o m e t h i n g about how Disney brings characters to life,” said MAC Global Brand President Karen BuglisiWe i l e r, “ a n d h o w t h e y resonate with so many people of all ages.”

(Reuters)

The Walt Disney Co has started work on a sequel to “Frozen,” the best-selling animated movie of all time and a global merchandising phenomenon that helped push the media giant to record profits.

Directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee are returning for the sequel, Disney said on Thursday.

No release date was set for the follow-up to “Frozen”, a surprise smash in 2013 that brought in nearly $1.3 billion in global ticket sales.

Disney also said it will release the eighth episode in the “Star Wars” sci-fi film series on May 26, 2017. A spinoff film called “Rogue One” debuts on Dec. 16, 2016, shortly after the release of highly anticipated seventh episode, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

The company made the announcements at its annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco, where investors reelected 10 board members including Chief Executive Bob Iger and defeated a proposal to split the roles of CEO and chairman.

The news of a “Frozen” sequel comes hours before short film “Frozen Fever” opens for Disney’s liveaction “Cinderella” movie, which debuts Friday.

“We enjoyed making

‘Frozen Fever’ so much and being back in that world with those characters,” said John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios. “Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have come up with a great idea for a sequel.”

Lasseter spoke alongside Josh Gad, who provided the voice of the snowman Olaf in “Frozen.” Iger said Olaf will appear in the second film.

“Frozen” tells the story of two royal sisters, Anna and Elsa, in an icy Nordic kingdom. Kristen Bell voices Anna, and Idina Menzel is Elsa.

On “Star Wars,” Iger said “Rogue One” will star Oscar best actress nominee Felicity Jones. British director Gareth Edwards, who did the “Godzilla” remake, had previously been announced

as director of the spin-off.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is one of the most anticipated films of the year, directed by J.J. Abrams and starring returning franchise stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher and newcomers Oscar Isaac and Lupita Nyong’o.

Two shareholder proposals were rejected at the meeting, according to preliminary tallies.

One would have required that future CEOs be prevented from also holding the title of chairman, as Iger does now.

A second proposal would have placed limits on accelerated executive pay.

Disney shares rose 3.9 percent to $106.78 on the New York Stock Exchange and are up 25 percent in the past year.

(Reuters)

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 61

Southland International Inc… Tony’s Auto Spares launches new promotion for 25th anniversary $1M top prize for “Moussy

Colour Your Life Drawing” Since its second edition launch, scores of Guyanese have been sent into a frenzy to enter the Moussy Colour Your Life promotion eyeing the grand cash prize of $1M and other exciting prizes such as Samsung Smart TVs, grocery vouchers and US dollars.

Southland International Inc, official importers and distributors of Moussy Non-Alcoholic Malt in Guyana, conducted several wet sampling exercises across the city receiving overwhelming feedback from delighted Guyanese who enjoy the product and, of course, the huge grand prize up for grabs - $1M. Many instantly purchased the product to submit their three crowns with their name, address and telephone number to have a chance to win.

The company emphasised the suggest retail price of the product ranges between $180 and $220. The company urges many Moussy fans to submit their entries early and to state their information clearly on the envelopes to adjudge the winner.

The first of six countrywide drawings will be held on Saturday 21st March at 16:00hrs at N&S Mattai on Water Street where 3 lucky winners will win a 40 inch Samsung Smart TV, groceries worth $20,000 and US$50 cash.

The Mazda RX-8 sports car that is up for grabs After being in business for the past 25 years, Tony’s Auto Spares will be giving away a Mazda RX-8 sports car manufactured by Mazda to any customer who enters this promotion which begins Monday. To enter, any

customer spending $8,000 or more at Tony’s Light Street, Alberttown, Georgetown branch or at the company’s new branch at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara will be given a coupon. In addition to the

Body of miner found with suspected gunshot wound Police are investigating the death of a 40-year-old miner whose body was found with a suspected gunshot wound to the head at Five Star Backdam, North West District.

The dead man has been identified as Anthony Lewis of West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

In a statement, the police said that they are investigating the murder which occurred around 20:30 hrs on Friday, last.

Lewis was found with a suspected gunshot wound to his head in the vicinity if his mining camp.

Investigations are ongoing.

$3M vehicle which is upgraded with accessories, 20 consolation prizes will also be up for grabs.

Last year, an East Coast Demerara resident walked away with one Nissan March Motor Car as part of the company’s dual car promotion which it plans to host annually.

Marketing Manager at Tony‘s Auto Spares disclosed that the company will also be collaborating with other entities to further give back to loyal customers.

He noted that most people know that Mazda builds sporty cars. But for some, it’s the company’s history of building true sports cars with lightweight rotary engines that sets it apart from the competition. The Mazda RX8 was one of these models.

Bajan appeals court dismisses appeal for convicted drug running Guyanese Barbados - THREE JUSTICES OF APPEAL on Friday dismissed an application led by Sir Richard Cheltenham QC after he and four fellow Attorneys faced a harsh rebuttal from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Charles Leacock QC. Sir Richard was applying, despite a Court of Appeal decision last February 5, for an extension for leave to appeal against the sentence of Rohan Rambarran, one of six Guyanese sentenced in December 2009 to a combined 428 years in prison for 28 drug offences involving 91.3 kilogrammes of cannabis and 119.4 kg of cocaine.

Sir Richard argued, based

on Dana Seetahal’s Commonwealth Caribbean Practice and Procedure, that there had not been unreasonable time in applying for the extension, and that his client’s appeal had merit. However, Justice of Appeal, Sherman Moore, reminded Sir Richard that a decision had been given on February 5 – in relation to Rambarran, Gavin Greene, Lemme Campbell and Somwattie Persaud – that none of those four appellants had a valid appeal against their convictions, and that under Section 19 of the CriminalAppealAct, an appellant must apply within 21 days of the conviction or verdict.

(Coastline Communication)

Sir Richard Cheltenham

Page 62

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

Guyanese are not as divided as politicians would like us to believe

By Ralph Seeram It’s a ritual, every afternoon when I picked up my grandson from his nursery school; he has to give each of his friends a body hug, boys and girls before leaving. His friends are from all races and nationalities— Chinese, Hispanics, White, Afro American and so forth.

There was the innocence of five-year-olds, so fond of each other, not an iota of racialism in their young minds.

As these young ones can prove, no one was born a racialist; racialism is taught, by parents or immediate family members, by environment, culture and to a lesser extent shaped by politics. We humans are never satisfied to accept that we are all equals, no; we have to find a way to divide ourselves, to distinguish who

are more superior to the other.

So if we are all from one race, we divide ourselves either by religion, tribes, class, castes, political affiliation and nationalities.

So the question becomes at what point our views or conscientiousness of race or racialism instincts developed, especially in Guyana. Of course this depends on many factors. For me I prefer to look at it from my experience and observation.

A few years ago I visited some relatives in Crabwood Creek on the Corentyne.

CWC as many of you may or may not know is virtually at the end of the Corentyne Highway and end of the coastal highway on the East end of Guyana.

Now CWC is a predominantly Indo Guyanese village. I can’t recall seeing an Afro Guyanese resident in CWC. During my

staying I could not help observing the teenagers playing a lot of Reggae and Soca music, more so than Indian music.

For the young today this may not have any significance, but I have been visiting the Corentyne and CWC before I left Guyana, and there was a time, when all the music played were Indian music. Any other music was considered “black people music”.

The young generation has crossed that cultural barrier through music.

Speaking of music, look at those big music shows whether at the National Stadium or clubs, they are multi cultural multi ethnic affairs. Musically, the young generation has moved out of their parent music environment, to a more integrated society.

Part of the problemenvironment. You will observe that years ago, pre-

1964 race riots, our villages were not as segregated as they were after the riots. You suddenly had “black people village’ or Indian or coolie village.

The period set our race relations way back, it took quite a few generations to where there is more integration of races in various villages than there ever was.

Places like New Amsterdam where I grew up, were far more integrated, there never was a race problem even in the dark days of the 1964 race riots. As I said environment could contribute to the formation of racial prejudices.

During the race riots, two brothers relocated in our area, Smythfield, New Amsterdam, and the first thing they wanted to do was incite violence against Afro Guyanese in the area. We formed a “posse” both Indo and Afro Guyanese and confronted them with the ultimatum if they try to incite violence they will be ‘run’ out the area.

They could not understand that we were brought up with no racial intolerance. That is where the problem lies, quite a few parents have not brought up their kids to embrace other races, and they passed their prejudices to their children.

Thankfully the majority of the young generation in Guyana has transcended that barrier.

There is more assimilation in the society today than politicians would care to admit. Why because it suits their political ambitions, and I am talking about both major parties. Recently with the election season on, we are hearing how the PPP appealed to its Indian base, but whether some want to accept or not, the PNC-led

APNU is not different, not better, they make the same kind of appeal.

Last weekend I went to a concert of one of Guyana’s brightest upcoming music stars, Romeo Mystic, one of the best reggae singers I have heard, but his popularity stems from his hit song “Coolie Bai”. (Will have more to say about this artiste in another column).

The singer said in so many ways expressed that he is proud to be a Coolie Bai. Obviously the singer does not feel that the term in today’s context is not in anyway derogatory. Neither do I. Personally I never view it as any other way but identifying me as an Indian.

It would be foolish to really think the word is used today in its literal sense and meaning.

I bring this up because much is being made of former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s use of the word ‘coolie”.

Some in the opposition deemed it race baiting, but had no problem with Moses Nagamootoo use of the work “Black man’ which in my view was race baiting for Indian votes.

If there is any politician whose political survival is based on race in the coming election, it is Moses Nagamootoo.

The fact of the matter is both the PNC-led APNU and the PPP have always been engaged in race politics, both of their strengths lay in race voting, and don’t let them fool you. I will have more to say about Jagdeo campaigning for the PPP later. Suffice to say, he is the PPP prescription for losing the election.

I can’t close this column without mentioning the cowardly murder of political activist Courtney Crum-

Ewing. To say his executioners are cowards is to put it mildly. Their actions go beyond murder. It strikes at the heart of democracydissent, free speech, the right to express political views in public.

The big question is who could be behind this dastardly crime. Rhetoric from the opposition and their supporters on social media has all but convicted the PPP. In fact, the murder of CrumEwing has given the opposition ammunition. You have to ask yourself who has more to gain politically from the execution of this man.

Certainly not the PPP, as we can see the flack they are taking politically over this murder. His death is clearly not in the best interest of the PPP. Given the inflammatory nature of some comments on social media, a writer for this newspaper and from the opposition itself as to who his actual killers are, one would have thought that they would have already forwarded their information to the police to bring the culprits to swift justice.

The truth is no one at this point knows who the “intellectual authors” are of this execution. It is all speculation, naturally like all Guyanese I would like to see the perpetrators brought to justice. The last thing we need is for his death to be used as a “political football” for politicians, especially during this election season, the last thing we need, is to use his death to raise racial tension.

The man deserves better than that. He deserves justice, regardless of where the “chips fall”.

Ralph Seeram can be reached at email; ralph365@hotmail.com and on Facebook

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

SALON Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257 Salon to rent at 5th Street Albertown – Tel:666-6307; 667-8440 CAR RENTAL

WANTED

PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL: CARS & SUV FOR RENTAL-$4,000&UPPERDAYCALL: 643-5122, 219-3900, EMAIL:PRO_AUTORENTAL @YAHOO.COM

Senior Accounts Clerk, 5yrs experienced, CAT or equivalent.

Email: snow198390@hotmail.com

Aidan’s Car & Pickup rental, cheap rate, low security – Tel:698-7807

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Advertisements; Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535.

Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves.

Contact Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206 Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 6626045 Mahadeo Construction for all construction, carpentry, masonry, pluming, painting etc. Free estimates and plan Contact # 669-7376 Accounting & Taxation Services: tax returns, compliances, financial statements. Avinash Persaud Tax Consultancy, 163 Parika, EBE – Call: 260-4762.

We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer Call Omar: 2310655,683-8734 BrianMoe@642-3543; Computer Technician; FB:Brian.Moe.165; Home and office visits at your comfort!!

24 Hour Shutter repair- Call: 677-4695; 613-1921; 223-0998

Business/Economics Writer, email application to snow198390@hotmail.com 1 babysitter between ages 4055; must be living on West Bank/ Coast – Contact: 2643268/ 671-9716 One handy boy to work in a shop in the interior- Call: 6916260 One Accounts Clerk – Call: 614-4358 Office clerk: CXC English, mathematics. Live in, live out babysitter/domesticCall:219-5354 Urgent male shop assistant to work in Interior, salary $90,000 monthly. Age 21-35Call:664-5199 Female to work in Restaurant in the Interior, salary $90,000 monthly. Age: 25-40- Call:6645199 One live-in domestic to work.

Age 35-45- Call:664-5199 Need worker to work in Trinidad, 1 office clerk, 1 domestic between age 35-25, text or call: 1868-755-1990; 1868-683-1528 Salesgirls & porters, apply with written application @ Best Buy Food Supplies, Dennis & Middleton Street, Campbellville.

Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665 Drivers living in Georgetown with minibus license, for contract – Call: 646-8748 Experienced Drivers with minibus and hire car license – Call: 645-0025 Wash bay staff – Call:6295913 One maid and salesgirl – Contact: 683-7936; 668-3985 Essquibian/Berbcian, Live in domestic, excellent rates, light duties – Tel: 227-1830 Live in waitress - Call: 2285129 or 604-8277 Salesgirl, porter, & cleaner – Tel: 225-7417

MASSAGE Massage Therapy Service – Tel: 674-8147

A r c / A c e t y l e n e w e l d e r, fabrication and mechanical, driving skills - Tel: 227-1830

Page 63

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.

Paintings by Heligar; all $100,000 negotiable – Tel: 621-4000

American Made, Aluminum ladder 24ft -$38,000 & 32ft $52,000 –Tel: 602-5794; 6097257 3 Engel moulding machine – Please Contact: 695-0333

FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 1 -8000 SQ Feet ware house, located 20 miles from City $5000USD monthly – Contact: 695-0333 Apartments for rent in Nandy Park E.B.D – Tel:227-5194; 624-5194 One 3 Storey building at 104 Regent Street – $9,000.USD negotiable – Tel: 223-6299; 617-7028 GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, , JACK HAMMER, CONCRETE SAW & MORE - CALL: 6750767, 627-5098 1 Business place to rent at Stewartville W.C.D opposite Schools – Call: 613-5261 Prime business place for rent on Sheriff street only for offices- Call: 627-6740 Concrete 3 bedrooms upper flat house fully grilled, parking available @ Agricultural road Mon Repos, E.C.D- Call:687-1050 Refurbished 2 bedroom apartment @ Liliendaal (between Bel Air & Turkeyen) parking space – Call: 910-5514109 (whatsapp & viber) Upper & lower flat apartment (2 bedrooms each) with toilet & bath – Contact: 220-6799; 657-4969 One 3 bedroom flat building at 19th Street Diamond Housing Scheme; Lot 1640.

Tel: 233-2805 2 Bedrooms executive apartment in exclusive residential area, security cameras, AC, good parking, etc.

Call: 653-2920 or 664-1070 1 Bedroom apartment for rent @ Soesdyke E.B.D- Phone: 604-7022 New spacious 2 bedrooms apartment with kitchen, bath, camera grill, fenced secured yard, family only @ Vreed-EnHoop- Call: 682-5230; 628-9596 1-3 Bedrooms apartment for rent @ 74 Atlantic Ville – Tel:644-9088 (after 6pm)

Air Conditioners, 2 pcs, 5 ton split system (Midea) like new - $200,000, (1) $36,000; cassette a/c - $100,000.

Phone: 621-4000 Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc Call: 225-9032, 647-2943 Business man leaving country have a fishing boat, 32 feet, 15HP, Yamaha engine, catguts seine 4½ & 5" seine – Contact:668-9077

Kids three in one pools, ice hockey ad table tennis table - $55,000 – Tel: 621-4000 2 Fireproof safe 2FTX2FT, Sentry Brand - $45,000 each also smaller cones – Tel: 6214000 Trailer for Jet Ski built locally, strong - $75,000 – Tel: 6214000 Electric Saw 25,000, Drill 20,000, Table electric Saw 35,000, hand grinder 10,000, Sal saw - 20,000 –Tel:6214000

1- Taylor Soft serve cone machine (triple head), 1-donut nut machine, 1-6 burner gas stove – Call: 683-5234 Woodmizer Resaw with gas engine - $1,500,000, 1 Blades sharpener - $500,000, 1- 4X4 JCB Forklift –$1,200, 000- Tel: 683-2575 Glass case: 8FTX2FTX2FT 10pcs, $60,000 each; 6FTX3FTX10" -10pcs$55,000 each, motorized glass case -$25,000 –Tel: 6214000 One 700 DVD movies with 7 Disc burner, 1-DSC security system, 1 Business Sign outdoor, Hamilton Beach mixer – Call:683-5234 Dachshund Puppy -$15,000 – Tel:216-0521; 694-3567

Tread mill electric with electric incline, need belt, almost new - $120,000 –Tel: 621-4000

3 Pcs Led TV, Flat Screens $75,000 each, computer printer laser - $40,000 – Phone: 621-4000

Gents 18 Carat gold Movado watch, like new - $100,000 – Tel: 621-4000

One Stale Pool Table – Price: $300,000 (three hundred thousand) - Tel:228-2098; 628-5796.

2 Long foot Yamaha 25HP, 1 with warrantee, another 1½yr old; 25 Tohatso, 2 complete foot, power head parts – Tel: 611-2729

50 Gallon Aquarium on stand - $30,000, exercise bike $30,000, Nordi Track $50,000. Phone: 621-4000

Electric Scooter 4 Pcs$30,000 each – Tel: 621-4000

2 – Three year old working horse cart, owner leaving country – Tel: 219-2877; 6006406

White & Brown eggs, ducklings also – Tel:6887291; 652-6425

Used zinc sheets 8Ft length, 100pcs-$450each–Tel:621-4000

82" TV, 3D with 6 glasses $375,000 – Tel: 621-4000

1000 pcs Maxwell watch batteries, all sizes, make offer from $200 -Phone: 621-4000

Used King size sleish bed with double box spring and mattress $180,000- Call:6655811, 668-8220

CD, Karaoke, blue ray duplicator – 1-1, 1-3, 1-7, display racks, half prices also on CD display racks -$5,000.

Phone: 621-4000

Glass cases all aluminum, different sizes from 10,000 – Tel: 621-4000

Alligator trucks + spare parts, portable sawmill – Contact: 681-5839; 663-2291

One Toyota Tundra, Mag rims – Contact: 650-8289 One 15 Yamaha outboard engine next to new- Call:6884139

FOR SALE Male pit bull dog, 1 year old, red nose, trained for family use & fully vaccinated $75,000. Phone: 621-4000

3 Clarke Forklifts, 2000lb,3000lb, 4000lb lifting capacity. All $375,000Phonel: 621-4000 Generators SDMO, Diesel, electrical – Phone: 621-4000 5,000 Watts, diesel generator - $130,000, 15000 Watts Generator Generac 375,000 – Tel: 621-4000 10 Pcs disco lights, some need, bulbs, otherwise working. All $90,000. Phone: 621-4000 Ice maker- 800lb, working $200,000 and 100lb - $ 95,000Phone: 621-4000 Signs & Sign frame, make an offer, LED signs, 6FTX3FT $300, 000; 36’X12’ - $95, 000.

Phone: 621-4000 Exercise equipment: Joe welder gym set -$65,000, exercise bike -$30,000; abs board -$ 15,000 & morePhone: 621-4000 Speaker boxes for cars from $5,000; car rims: 22" chrome 6 hole -$120,000; 15" rims$45,000 Phone:621-4000 Set of 4 original hummer mag wheels and tires – $140,000 Phone: 621-4000 Fans 3Ft- $50,000; 24" $20,000; 20" with stand $15,000- Phone: 621-4000 Computer monitors from $3,000; star receipt printers from $20,000 –Phone: 6214000

Colour, Black & White laser printer - $20,000 – Tel: 6214000 Rims 15" Alloy 5 Hole $40,000, 15" Chrome, 5 holes -$45,000, Mercedes, original rims 5 holes -$35,000, 3 Pcs 23" rims chrome -$50,000 – Tel:621-4000 Watch batteries, Maxwell all sizes from $200- Call:621-4000 Shades display stand $15,000 each, 2pcs.

Motorized glass case from $15,000- Call:621-4000 Water cooler with 65 gallon bottle, hot & cold $35,000. 6ft Display fridge $75,000- Call: 621-4000 Freezer $40,000, large fridge $45,000, medium fridge $35,000- Call: 621-4000 Can-Am 200cc motorcycle (new) unregistered with reverse gear $100,000- Call: 621-4000 3000GT sports car, 3000cc 5 speed, 18 mag wheel & alarm.

All $1.2M cash- Call:6214000 Toyota BB 2007, 40,000km only, auto start, 18" rims, triple TV system, back-up camera $2.2M- Call:621-4000 Nissan maxima, needs some repairs but selling “as is” with documents $140,000Call: 621-4000 Mercedes Benz S300, fully armored, fully powered, leather, 19"rims & more $1.5M- Call: 621-4000 Dodge stealth sports car, 3000cc, automatic, fully powered $1M neg-Call:621-4000 Continued on page 64

Page 64

Kaieteur News

VEHICLE FOR SALE

VEHICLE FOR SALE

1-AT192 Carina (never work hire), automatic, fully powered, A/C, mags, price $925,000 Contact Rocky 2251400,621-5902

Toyota Prado, Price$4.7M Neg. Call: 643-2403

1 Isuzu canter open back (diesel engine), manual, short base, price $1.3M Contact Rocky 225-1400,6215902 1 Toyota tundra extra cab (4x4), manual, fully powered, A/C, V6 (unregistered) price $3.2M Contact Rocky 6215902,225-1400 1-AT212 Carina (new model), automatic, fully powered, A/ C, mags, CD, alarm, Price $1.4M Contact Rocky 2251400,621-5902 1 Toyota Tacoma (2003 model) unregistered, manual, fully powered, 4x4, 3RZ engine, low milage $3.5M Contact Rocky 225-1400,6219502 1 Honda Fit motor car (4 door1330 cc), automatic, fully powered, A/C, mags, price $1.7M Contact Rocky 6215902,225-1400 1 Honda C.R.V (immaculate condition), automatic, fully powered, A/C, mags, crash bar, Price $2.3M Contact Rocky 225-1400, 621-5902.

Tractor Massey Ferguson from Canada MF135- $1.2M, MF165 -$1.8M, MF285 $2.4M, Ranger Pickup $1.5M – Tel: 682-5230; 6289596 Blow Out Sale!!!

Unregistered Toyota IST $2,150,000- Bodykit, TV, Spoiler, Fogs, Alloy Wheels, Crystal Lights & Alarm – Call: 643-6565, 226-9931 Toyota Ipsum: automatic, fully loaded, excellent condition - $1.350M - Call: 672-3699

Two Tacoma 2006- price $3.9M negotiable, 2009 $4.6M, negotiable. Silver, crash bar & alarm- Call: 6956461, 639-7758, 656-9990 One Nissan X-Trail, year 2004, PRR series. Fully loadedPrice $3.1M Neg- Call: 6470016 One Toyota Tacoma SR5 4WD pickup, left hand drive and manual transmission, only 22000 miles – Contact: 623-1202 L-Touring Wagon, excellent condition -15" rims; DVD, TV, R. Start Alarm - $1.3M negotiable – Tel:667-9013; 233-2538 Bedford Model M 4X4 truck – Tel: 693-2237 Toyota Voxy to be registered in “G” - $1.7M – Tel:617-2891 Smart Choice Auto: Premio, Allion, Bluebird, Spacio, Fielder, Carina 212, Sienta, IST – Call: 652-3820/665-4529 Allion PRR, DVD deck, reverse camera, alarm, HID, hardly used (40,000KM) $2.1M- Call:616-3566 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call: 680-3154 RZ BSS Series, remote start, alarm, TV Deck, Reverse Camera, Fog lights – Tel: 6155784 One AT212 New Model PRR series; excellent condition, price $1.2M negotiable – Tel: 653-0120

DAF Truck, GRR 9599 – Unregistered Toyota IST, fully $4,000,000 Tel: 693-8349 loaded - $2.150M – Call: 691One Hino Canter- Tel:2287475 2098; 628-5796. Price $1.3M Just Arrived! 09 & O6 Tacoma, manual & auto, new model Allion, Bluebird, Belta, Fielder – Tel:621-4190, bestcarautosales @ f a c e b o o k . c o m One Silver, new model Mitsubishi Colt – Tel: 6103746 Nissan Titan for sale, immaculate – Call: 647-3924 First Class Auto: Allion, Premio, Bluebird, Sienta, Runx, Axio, Verossa, Mark 2Call : 609-8188; 638-3045 Unregistered Toyota Spacio with body kit, spoiler, rims, fog lamp -$2M – Tel: 617-2891

PROPERTY FOR SALE Two storey, 3 bedrooms house with furnished kitchen, 36X40 & yard space @ Land of Canaan New Scheme- Call:690-6570, 6859994 Business property located @ Supply public road, E.B.D. Entering either by river/ public road- Call: 698-8100 Flat concrete house for sale in Grove with land spaceCall: 679-3913 Property @ Lot 63 West Ruimveldt, Estate Housing Scheme Georgetown – Contact Mark: 618-9744 Houses & land available for sale in Non- Pariel, Enmore, Providence & Diamond – Contact: Pacific Development Inc # 223-6035; 231-8480 Parfaite Harmonie, West Minister, Onderneeming, Cornela Ida, Tushcen, etc Contact: Pacific Development Inc # 223-6035; 231-8480 Prime commercial property @ Cummings & Middle Streets, Alberttown, Georgetown, 3 lots, 2 buildings - $110M negotiable – Tel: 621-4000 2 Lots with house @ Pigeon Island, large land, 7 Million Negotiable – Tel: 621-4000 Double Lot Zeelught E.B.E with concrete house -$9M negotiable – Tel: 621-4000 Two storey; 2-3 bedrooms apartment at Tuschen H/ Scheme East Bank Essequibo – Contact: 6502982 Caneville Grove E.B.D $2.6M, Sophia ‘C’ big foundation - $3.1M, Parfaite W.B.D - $1.3M, L.B.I EarlsCourt 90X120 - $20M – Call:231-2199; 618-7483 Haslington, E.C.D: Building ‘A’, concrete/ timber modern 2 storeys, 7 bedrooms, grilled & fenced. Building ‘B’, 3 apartments, fenced- $18M negotiable - Call:255-3437; 698-3678

Sunday March 15, 2015

(From page 63)

VACANCY Female Accounts & Sales clerk also for porters, Apply in person @ Alabama Trading Georgetown Ferry Stelling.

FACTORY STAFF, GTI / GITC Male /Female graduates preferred.

CANTER DRIVERS, MARKETINGASSISTANT, Drivers Licence required, GUARDS. Tel: 266 4427 Vacancy for body work man – Tel: 649-0659 Reception / maid, cook/chef, to w o r k a t H o t e l / Restaurant, apply in person – Tel:223-6284; 231-1908 International Cruiseline AB Sailors, waitresses, waiters, cooks, receptionists, storekeepers, cleaners, electricians, carpenters, welders, costmetologist, etc – Tel: 231-6296, 650-9880 One driver/salesman to work on water truck, must be living around W.B.D, attractive salary – Tel: 618-4257 Secretary, cleaners, office clerk, waitress / waiters, security officers, drivers, kitchen assistant, restaurant manager –Tel: 603-4094 CANTER DRIVERS FOR DAILYDELIVERIES, MUST HAVE DRIVING EXPERIENCED, POLICE CLEARANCE REQUIRED. CALL FOR INTERVIEW:231-8344 FAST GROWING IMPORTER/DISTRIBUTOR SEEKING ACCOUNTS CLERK, MUST HAVE A C C O U N T I N G, COMPUTER & C O M M U N I C AT I O N SKILLS. CALL FOR INTERVIEW @ 231-8529 Gasoline Mechanic – Call: 223-5273/4 Experienced Cashier – Shift Work, Computer Knowledge, Apply: Fortune House Restaurant, 98 Sheriff Street.

No Phone Calls.

TO LET 4 bedroom house, AC, Security camera, GEB alarm, telephone, 2 vehicles parking, etc @ Friendship E.B.D- Tel:674-6363 Unfurnished 3 bedroom house in Diamond Housing Scheme, in yard parking for 1 car -$60, 0000 monthly – Call: 618-8847; 613-6711 Two bedrooms house @ Lot 499 Cane Ville E.B.D – Tel:674-0169 or 627-9220 Commercial building @ Cumming & Middle, Alberttown, Upper Flat US$800; lower flat US$1500, yard – US700; back house US$1200- Tel:621-4000 1 -Two bedrooms apartment to rent in Lynn Street - $50,000 per month – Tel: 670-7171 1- Three bedroom house to rent in Prashad Nagar $1000US per month – Tel:6707171 One bedroom apartment, prefer working couple or single person - $35,000 monthly – Call:672-3699 1Bottom flat, apartment to rent at Grove – Tel: 658-1073

DRESSMAKING Designing & Sewing classes, ladies wear, curtains etc.

(Canadian Trained Tutor), Schoon-Ord, W.B.D- Tel:6262629, 676-6312 Jean offers courses in Dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake decoration @ 153 Barr Street Kitty- Tel:618-1706; 670-2653

LAND FOR SALE 2369.664 Sq/ft of land @ Victoria village, E.C.D$750,000 Call: 255-3437; 6983678 Riverside land 75 acres @ Soesdyke Linden Highway, best price offered – Tel:2238590; 678-1575.

Parfaite Harmonie -$1.2M, $1.3M –Tel: 675-7292 Vacant high income house lot @ Diamond New Scheme, 2nd Avenue - $6.8M negotiable – Tel:697-4659; 629-5300; 684-6536

American bully pups gottiline remyline – Call: 2207933; 667-4845; 610-0068 Signs & signs frame, from $10,000 – Tel: 621-4000 Lot 1, 2 bathtubs, bathroom fittings & fixtures & toilet set, shower fittings -$150,000 & 1 Dell Desktop, computer & HP Scanner - $25,000 – Call: 601-5285 Get your cooked and smoothly grind split peas, for all your daily cooking needs – Contact Dr. Sharma’s : 670-8212; 2259701 One new Samsung refrigerator (French door with drawer), size: 35.78"WX70"HX35.67"D – Contact: 622-5512; 687-5006 One female adult pit-bull, excellent G/dog or for breeding – Tel:612-2258

15FT Fiber glass boat W/35 HP Motor & Trailer – Call: 694-8905

ACCOMMODATION Saturdays & Sundays after lunch @ Inner Retreat Hotel Parika: Bar-B-Cue & games: pools, darts, table tennis etc – Phone: 260-4504.

LAND FOR SALE 50 Acres titled farm land @ The Belle, Upper Dem, River Front - $100M Negotiable, serious enquiries only! Tel: 669-8152

One mining block in Puruni District – Contact:650-8289

Blow out Sale on mechanical and construction tools, chainsaw and generators – Call: 694-8905

Property @ 62 Bent Street Wortmanville Georgetown – Tel:629-6101; 660-5019 Two Storied concrete & wooden building with apartments @ 26 Hill Street Albouystown, price negotiable – Contact:2230110

FOR SALE Dell Computers, New HP8600, Business printers, outdoor speakers & more @ low prices – Tel: 231-8414

LAND FOR SALE Lots 189 & 190 Block XXIX Parcle Garden of Eden Fariah Dreams- $2M each – Contact: 225-9839 Canaan semi-gated 42x80 $3.6M, 54x90 $4.3M, Charity Housing Scheme $2.8M, Kuru Kuru residential 100x200 $2.6M Call: 6234790,222-5116

Inner Retreat Hotel Restaurant & Bar, Retreat Road Parika. Indoor / Outdoor bar in Picturesque setting – Phone: 260-4504 LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj Building- Tel:644-5166; 622-2872; 615-0964; 6895997

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 65

Ten Americans being flown to U.S. after possible Ebola exposure (Reuters) - At least 10 Americans possibly exposed to the deadly Ebola virus were being flown to the United States from Sierra Leone for observation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

They will be transported by non-commercial air transport and will be housed near the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, or Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, the CDC said.

All of the individuals who are being flown back to the United States are free of symptoms, the CDC said.

A U.S. healthcare worker who tested positive for Ebola while in Sierra Leone arrived at the NIH on Friday and was in serious condition, the NIH said. It is not clear how the person became infected with Ebola, CDC said.

While the virus has killed about 10,000 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, only a handful of cases have been seen in the United States, Spain and Britain.

CDC spokesman Thomas Skinner said 10 people who may have been exposed to the unidentified Ebola patient or who had a similar exposure to the virus as the patient were being flown to the United States. But he said the investigation was continuing and there may be more Americans evacuated from Africa. A CDC statement said the 10 individuals will follow the center’s recommended monitoring and movement guidelines during the 21-day incubation period.

If someone shows

No evidence of Jamaicans joining terrorist groups - Security Ministry KINGSTON, Jamaica — The following is a statement issued by The Ministry of National Security on a statement made that Jamaica is one of several countries in the Region from which recruits have departed for Syria: The Ministry of National Security has become aware of a reported statement made to the United States Senate Armed Services Committee by General John Kelly, Commander of the United States Southern Command (US SOUTHCOMM). The report listed Jamaica as one of several countries in the Region from which recruits have departed for Syria. The Ministry has been monitoring the emerging situation with respect to the recruiting efforts of Terrorists Groups and there is no information of any Jamaican being so involved. Jamaica enjoys high levels of cooperation with the United States of America on security matters. To date, we have not received any information to indicate that Jamaicans have departed our

shores to join terrorists groups. Consequently, the Government of Jamaica has initiated dialogue with our United States counterparts in order to ascertain the source of the reported claim and the extent of any potential concerns that may require our intervention.

The fact is that, the actual prepared text of the speech delivered by General Kelly did not name Jamaica, and as such it is possible that the reported comment may be the result of a misunderstanding.

As soon as that situation has been clarified an update will be provided. (Jamaica Observer)

Peter Bunting

symptoms, they will be transported to an Ebola treatment center for evaluation and care, the CDC said. On Friday, CDC sent a team to Sierra Leone to investigate how the healthcare worker became exposed, and determine who might have been in contact

with the infected person.

CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes did not know where all of the patients would be sent, but he said the CDC is working out a plan with the U.S. State Department to determine who is coming back and where they will be sent. The CDC

said one patient was being sent to Emory University Hospital’s special isolation unit, where several Ebola patients have already been treated. Four others are being sent to Nebraska Medical Center to be near their special isolation unit in case they develop Ebola symptoms.

Page 66

Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

Texas lawmakers introduce bills to legalize medical marijuana Texas lawmakers introduced comprehensive medical marijuana legislation Friday that would allow patients suffering from serious conditions — including cancer and seizure disorders — to access the plant with a doctor’s prescription Rep. Marisa Márquez, DEl Paso, introduced House Bill 3785, and Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, introduced a companion bill in the Senate to remove barriers between patients and treatment, according to Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.

“By continuing to deny access to patients, we limit the rights of families to seek the best possible treatment for conditions that do not respond to other drugs or therapies,” Rep. Márquez said in a news release. “We should create paths, and not obstacles, in allowing doctors to recommend medicine that has been shown to work.”

The House and Senate bills differ from previous proposals that would allow access to cannabidiol (CBD)

oils with little or no THC, the chemical that gives users their high. “Obviously this is a conservative state, so some are concerned about coming forward on something that’s not traditionally a conservative issue,” Heather Fazio, the Texas political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in an interview with Yahoo News.

Still, she says, fiscal conservatives interested in small government and liberal activists passionate about social justice are finding common ground in marijuana legalization. “It’s really sweeping the nation. People are realizing this plant is not all the government has told us it is,” Fazio said in an

interview with Yahoo News.

“The information is available on the Internet, and everyone has access to learn for themselves - rather than hearing from politicians, some skewed study, or law enforcement.” Some Texans have already moved to states where medical marijuana is legal. Dean Bortell, for instance, relocated his family to Colorado so his 9-year-old daughter Alexis would have access to medical marijuana to treat her epilepsy.

“With prescription drugs, we never had a symptom-free stretch spanning more than 2 days,” he said in the release.

“With cannabis oils, we’ve set a record of 11 days with no end in sight.”

Venezuela says opponent of Maduro commits suicide in jail

CARACAS (Reuters) An opponent of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro committed suicide in jail, where he had been locked up on charges of fomenting street violence against the socialist government, the Interior Minister said on Friday.

An outraged Venezuelan opposition demanded details surrounding the death of commercial pilot Rodolfo Gonzalez, 64, who was imprisoned in April on accusations of seeking to overthrow the government via massive demonstrations.

He had not yet been sentenced.

“Rodolfo

Gonzalez took his life by hanging himself,” said Interior Minister Gustavo Gonzalez.

The state prosecutor’s office said it is investigating the death. The pilot’s daughter said he had been anxious about an upcoming transfer to a common Venezuelan jail.

Such jails typically are rife with gangs, weapons, drugs and violence.

Reports of a jail transfer are false, said Interior Minister Gonzalez, whom the United States sanctioned earlier this week for alleged human rights violations as head of state intelligence service Sebin.

Opponents say Maduro is cracking down on dissent

as his popularity plummets and a severe economic crisis takes a heavy toll on Venezuelans ahead of parliamentary elections this year. They point to last month’s arrest of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma for allegedly seeking to topple the president, as well as the killing of a teenage boy during a protest in the Western city of San Cristobal.

Maduro charges local opposition leaders are in league with the United States to bring him down and get their hands on the OPEC country’s oil wealth, an accusation foes decry as a ludicrous smokescreen.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Govt. says it will not interfere in judicial system of Venezuela Antigua Daily Observer Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar has said her Government cannot and will not interfere in the national security apparatus and judicial system of another country.

Persad-Bissessar made the comment as she responded to a question posed by Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner on the status of five Trinidadian Muslims who are incarcerated in a Venezuelan prison on terrorism charges. “Dialogue between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago officials will take place,” she said.

She continued, “President Maduro agreed that Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Security of both countries will continue with a view to see how best this matter could be resolved.” Persad-Bissessar said it was agreed that all talks will be without prejudice to

Kamla PersadBissessar

the Venezuelan legal system.

The PM and President Maduro discussed the matter when he came to Trinidad and Tobago for bi-lateral trade talks last month.

Warner then asked the PM if the Trinidad and Tobago Embassy in Venezuela is helping the men, since they are scheduled to be transferred to another prison,

which he said is more dangerous.

She said the Embassy has been interacting with the men.

The five men were among a group which was detained Venezuela after a raid at the Plaza Hotel, Caracas.

Venezuelan authorities said the men were part of a group who had planned to over throw the Government.

Venezuela holds massive military maneuvers amid new US sanctions Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela begins a week and a half of military exercises on Saturday, amid rising tensions with the United States over sanctions imposed on officials accused of an opposition crackdown.

About 80,000 troops were due to take part in the massive display of weaponry, as Caracas shows off its Chinese amphibian weapons, Russian-built missiles and other military hardware.

The exercises will last 10 days and will enlist the participation of 20,000 civilians, in addition to the troops, officials said.

The manuevers come at a time of heightened tensions with the United States, which has clashed repeatedly with the leftist-led South American country over the years.

Relations hit a new low on Monday, when US President Barack Obama slapped new sanctions on the regime, calling the oil-rich Venezuela “an extraordinary threat to the national security” of the United States.

After Obama made the move, which targeted senior Venezuelan officials for cracking down on the opposition, Caracas angrily recalled its envoy to Washington and ramped up its military preparedness.

The country’s defense minister, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, said Saturday that the maneuvers, many of which were to be held in the south of Caracas, were meant

to prepare soldiers for “their mission, their goal, and with the will to be victorious.”

Other maneuvers will focus on Venezuela’s oilproducing areas, including the Caribbean coast and an oil field some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the west of Caracas.

Military officials said they will also test the nation’s air defenses and will ensure that its anti-aircraft systems are ready to be deployed if needed.

President Nicolas Maduro has accused Washington of backing an alleged opposition plot to overthrow him. He is seeking extraordinary powers from the legislature that would

allow him to rule by decree.

Maduro’s popularity has sunk in the past year amid an economic crisis, galloping inflation and huge lines outside supermarkets plagued by drastic food shortages.

Elected to succeed his late mentor Hugo Chavez in April 2013, Maduro had obtained one-year-long powers to impose economic laws by decree later that same year.

Communist Cuba rallied behind Maduro this week, pledging “unconditional support” to Caracas. Another ally, Ecuador’s leftist President Rafael Correa, denounced the US sanctions as “grotesque” and a “sick joke.”

Page 67

Page 68

Kaieteur News

Venezuela stages military exercise to counter U.S. ‘threat’ CARACAS (Reuters) Venezuela yesterday staged a military exercise to counter an alleged U.S. threat, deploying soldiers and partisans across the country to march, man shoulder-fired missiles and defend an oil refinery from a simulated attack.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro has framed recent U.S. sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials as a bid to topple him, and yesterday his government mobilized 80,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians as part of a 10day military drill.

“The United States has declared Venezuela a threat,” said General Vladimir Padrino, Venezuela’s defense minister.

“And that means an imminent danger for us, so we have to use the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) as part of our constitutional mission to guarantee independence and sovereignty.”

Opposition leaders labeled the exercise a farce and accused Maduro, increasingly unpopular as a result of an economic crisis, of seeking to distract Venezuelans from long queues for scarce products, sky-high inflation and rampant crime.

Sunday March 15, 2015

PSA deal hefty bill for taxpayers…

$2 BILLION PAYOUT

Nicolas Maduro

Some also voiced disquiet over the growing role of the military amid a larger crackdown on opposition.

Last month, Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma was jailed and a 14 year-old boy was shot and killed by a police officer during a protest.

Washington’s move on Monday to declare Venezuela a “national security threat” is proving a godsend for the Venezuelan leader.

The former bus driver and union leader has given fiery, hours-long speeches nearly every day this week as he seeks to rally his base around deep-seated distrust of the superpower.

During the so-called “Bolivarian shield” military exercise, parading red-shirted civilians pumped their fists in the air in a show of loyalty for the late Hugo Chavez, the firebrand leftist who governed Venezuela for 14 years before dying of cancer

in 2013.

Venezuela’s navy performed exercises in the Caribbean Sea and statecontrolled television broadcast footage of a simulated intrusion at the Amuay refinery, the OPEC country’s biggest.

With parliamentary elections looming, Maduro’s adversaries were quick to bring attention back to more basic issues.

“How many soldiers or their relatives have been victims of crime? And Nicolas tells them of an imperial war!

War is what there is in the street,” opposition leader Henrique Capriles said in a tweet. “They don’t have civilians to parade anymore so they’re forcing the military to do it and fill up political rallies!

What an embarrassment, Nicolas,” added Capriles, who narrowly lost the 2013 presidential election to Maduro.

Chief Personnel Officer Stephanie Lewis, centre, looks on as president of the Public Services Association, Watson Duke, right, signs the collective bargaining agreement for a 14 per cent salary increase for public servants. At left is Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Rudranath Indarsingh.

PHOTO: SHIRLEY BAHADUR Trinidad Guardian - The State will have to pay out $1.9 billion in arrears to public servants within the next few months, after the Public Services Association (PSA) Friday signed a collective bargaining agreement for a 14 per cent salary increase, including a hike in other allowances.

The State will additionally pay $325 million in recurrent expenditure to cover the salary increases.

This was revealed by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Rudranath Indarsingh Friday as he spoke to public servants at the signing of the agreement at the Cascadia Hotel, St. Ann’s.

“Today, you are the

beneficiary of a 14 per cent increase with COLA after 14 meetings which will cost the Government of T&T over a billion in arrears and 325 million in terms of per annum of recurrent expenditure,” he said.

PSA president Watson Duke said while public servants were glad to have the agreement signed, it was just another step towards them receiving market rates.

He said he expected public servants to receive salary adjustments and arrears within a few months.

“We expect new salaries and backpay to be within three months’ time. We, however, would try to get it done before that because we understand people have need for this money and it is quite urgent and it should not be delayed.” He said the PSA expected public officers to enjoy terms of employment

and conditions of service akin to that of serving a king, so that they in turn could provide first-class service to the public. “We expect public officers to be more productive and to live by the words of Jesus, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ So as they render excellent service they would also expect excellent service,” he said.

“One of the things we sometimes forget is that we too are members of the public and so when we serve we expect the same service back and it will be the dawn of a new day, it would be a revolutionary change. This money would act as an incentive.”

Duke said in the next few months the PSA expected to conclude a job evaluation exercise which would mean contemporary salaries in line with contemporary jobs.

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

The Inaugural Clash: Guyana vs St. Lucia January 1987 at Mindoo Philip Park Guyana Golden Jaguars and St. Lucia will clash at the Guyana National Stadium on March 22nd 2015 in an international friendly.

Today Statistician Charwayne Walker looks back at the inaugural clash between the two countries 28 years ago.

The venue was Mindoo Philip Park, the city was Castries; the St. Lucia capitol.

The year was 1987 January 26.

Guyana led by Pele FC Stalwart Terrence Archer deplaned at the George S.L Charles International Airport with 13 players, Manager Mark Bender, Coach Lennox Arthur and assistant coach Mervyn Wilson.

Please note that the reason why only 13 members played in the St. Lucia game was mainly based on the fact that Anthony Williams, Dion Roberts, and Oscar Rodney absconded in Miami after

Guyana defeated the Bahamas 3-1 in an Olympic Qualifier on January 24.

Playing under the lights in front of a packed Mindoo Philip Park, the land of the majestic Kaieteur Falls went ahead in the 25th minute when 17 year old Deon Barnwell beat the St. Lucian custodian with a thunder bolt. St. Lucia equalized in the 65th minute when Robert Street powered past an advancing Gerald Austin Williams. Man of the match Deon Barnwell put Guyana in front again with a magnificent touch in the 80th minute.

Elson (Chilly Kong) Hinckson silenced Castries with a deadly strike in the 86th minute.

Please note that this inaugural soccer clash between St. Lucia and Guyana was organized by Joseph Reds Perreira, who was OECS Sports Organizer at the time.

The Guyana 13 man squad that defeated St. Lucia 28

years ago in the Inaugural Clash includes the following: Terrence Archer: Captain Pele Aubrey Taylor: Pele Deon Barnwell: Thomas United Gerald Austin Williams: Western Tigers Rupert Gordon: Western Tigers Antony Bowen: Western Tigers Trevor Maxwell: Western Tigers (deceased) Elson Hinckson: G.D.F (deceased) Colin Pollard: G.D.F (deceased) Shawn Williams: Conquerors (deceased) Neil O’Choa: Camptown Adrian Forde: Police Frank Alphonso Jr: Santos Lennox Arthur: Coach Mervyn ‘Pug’ Wilson: Assistant Coach (deceased) Mark Bender: Manager.

Sunday March 15, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Intellectual and spiritual discussions should bring you even closer to people dear to you, Aries.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) A rally or other sort of mass meeting could take place in your neighborhood today, Libra.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Intellect combines with intuition to produce a particularly enlightening day on all subjects, Taurus, whether they're intellectual, practical, or metaphysical.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today you might try to put computers or other forms of advanced technology to work for you, Scorpio. This could be of great benefit to you.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Group activities dedicated to intellectual or humanitarian matters could prove rewarding, Gemini.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) If you've been thinking about writing, teaching, or pursuing a career based on the dissemination of information, Cancer, this is the day to look into it.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Today you could feel like you have one foot in another world. It's a great feeling, Leo, with a lot of love and wisdom mixed in.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) A number of exciting people could attend a party or group meeting at your home. You're in just the right space to be a great host, Virgo, and you're likely to meet some interesting new people.

SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You might feel especially adventurous today, Sagittarius, and wish to go away for a while with a romantic partner.

CAPRI (Dec.22–Jan.19) A group that shares your interest in an intellectual or spiritual discipline might meet at your home today, Capricorn. This could be a stimulating event, especially since new members could become good friends.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Communications with friends should go well, Aquarius.

You have what it takes to express yourself clearly and honestly and give information without confusing the issue.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) A talent for a new field that you might never have tried before could come to light, Pisces.

Page 69

Hamilton takes pole for dominant Mercedes MELBOURNE (Reuters) World champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg as the Silver Arrows continued to underline their dominance in Formula One. The Briton recorded a fastest lap of one minute 26.327 seconds, trouncing Rosberg by nearly six-tenths of a second while leaving the Williams of Felipe Massa well adrift in third.

Hamilton set the early running in the final session before roaring home to capture his 39th pole on a windy afternoon at Albert Park.

“It’s been a great start to

the weekend,” Hamilton told reporters after capturing his first pole since the Russian Grand Prix last October.

“A big rush and a huge effort from all the guys back at the factory to enable us to come here and have this performance so I feel incredibly blessed to have this car.”

The two-time world champion’s pole was Mercedes’ 12th in succession and victory in Sunday’s race would appear a formality for the team that raffled 16 of last year’s 19 race wins.

Rosberg led Hamilton in two of the three practice sessions but locked up and spun into the grass in the final qualifying phase after complaining

of an engine cut-out in the second.

However, last year’s championship runner-up blamed himself for being off Hamilton’s pace.

“It wasn’t a great day today,” he said. “For me, the speed was there. I just didn’t get it together.”

Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel will start fourth on the grid on his debut for Ferrari with his Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen fifth.

Valtteri Bottas will start sixth in the other Williams, although the Finn will rue an error on the final straight that denied him a chance of claiming a spot on the second row.

Cariah unbeaten 70...

(From page 68) Chanderpaul held the offering to send Ottley packing for 34 at 112-3 after the pair was just beginning to look threatening.

Jason Mohamed joined Cariah, who stroked Permaul sweetly through the covers with consummate ease and reached his fourth fifty at this level with a flowing square drive off Permaul. His fifty came from 115 balls, 127 minutes with five fours.

As one of the bands from the ‘Clash of the Titians’ Soca/Chutney concert which was held on the Tarmac of the Stadium last evening, warmed up, the Trinis must have felt right at home since that type of music is indigenous to the Twin Island Republic.

The small crowd in the Red Stand watched as Cariah tucked into the Jaguars’ bowlers with increasing relish as he moved closer to his maiden First-Class ton.

Mohamed, the only Trinidadian with a hundred this season, gave himself room and smashed Permaul to the backward point boundary before the leftarm spinner from Albion in Berbice, trapped him LBW

DEFENDING CHAMPS LODGE RUMBLES...

(From page 75) $100,000 respectively, also towards the funding of a school undertaking.

Awards will be given to the event’s most valuable player, highest goal scorer and best goal keeper; while four full scholarships to attend Chase Academy free of cost is up for grabs.

next ball for 13 to leave the Red Force on 147-4.

With angry dark clouds hovering overhead and a strong breeze blowing across the ground, Yannick Ottley and Cariah batted cautiously until the skies ‘opened up’

and produced a colossal downpour to send the players scurrying off the field with 14 overs to be bowled in the day’s play, which never restarted. Weather permitting play is scheduled to start 09:30hrs today.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday March 15, 2015

“Four to look out for in quarterfinals at ICC CWC 2015!”

Says Colin E. H. Croft Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan, No. 2 ranked allrounder in the world, always contributes positively to his country’s determined efforts.

He could easily play for any team, be that magnificent India, marauding Australia, embarrassed England or hopeful West Indies, but he will never defect. He is too valuable to the Tigers!

Batting, the dynamic lefthander plays like most modern batsmen when driving straight or on off-side, moving his front (right) foot away from the ball’s length and line, allowing more space for his arcing bat to make proper contact with the ball.

Shakib does not hit many sixes, but his strokes dissect fielding positions with great precision.

With his athleticism, he completes two’s and three’s often if strokes do not produce boundaries. In another life, he could well become a Land Surveyor!

Bowling, Shakib tantalizes batsmen with generous flight from looping leftarm deliveries.

Brendon McCullum (Cricinfo)

Shakib al Hasan (Cricinfo)

With spells usually economical, he confuses batsmen with extreme slowness more than with turn, allowing batsmen to hit up more often than out, giving catches while trying to hit sixes.

Relatively sedate to date, expect Shakib to be much more productive now that Bangladesh has qualified for quarter-finals, as they try to get to semi-finals for the first time ever in their history!

Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan is one of my favorite present-day opening batsmen, possessing all of

the aggressive shots in the book, especially when facing outright fast bowlers.

Taller but just as fearless, Dilshan reminds many of that diminutive, pugnacious SL opener, Romesh Kaluwitharana.

“Little Kalu”, with legendary left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya, totally changed general attitudes and approaches as to how the first 15 overs in ODI’s should be played, setting the stage for Sri Lanka’s ongoing galloping starts, allowing them to win ICC CWC 1996.

Similar to Shakib, and aptly

demonstrated recently against Australia’s Mitchell Johnson, Dilshan is clinical and classical in his unique way, with lithe feet movement, removing left foot and pad from general lines of deliveries, thus making way for his viciously swinging bat.

Matador-like, Dilshan cuts, drives, parries, thrusts, hooks and pulls with tremendous aplomb, power and outright abrasiveness. He will need them if SL are to win in 2015.

He almost always uses that magnificent, unforgettable stroke he invented for fast but short deliveries, the geometric and correctlyaligned “Dill-Scoop”, cunningly using the balls’ speeds and lengths as aids to lifting and helping them to boundaries behind wicket-keepers.

Dilshan’s ultra-aggression and sometimes carelessness often cause his dismissal, as was also evident v Australia, with slower deliveries occasionally getting him out bowled or LBW. Complementing his devastating batting prowess, “The Dill-man” is an excel-

lent fieldsmen, especially in the slips region.

He is also a useful offspinner who does not turn the ball much, but, with quick-armed flexibility and wrist movements, regularly fools batsmen into driving too early and too straight at his deliveries, presenting return catches.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc is one of the world’s more underrated bowlers, fast or slow.

Many expected left-handed namesake and team-mate Johnson to produce better statistics, but Starc has been ahead simply because he stands up much more erectly on delivery than Johnson.

One of Johnson’s basic problems, an aspect that also negates his accustomed swing, is that he is now trying to bowl too quickly.

Hence, his last stride is extra-elongated, resulting in a drop of his lead (right) shoulder and bowling leftarm, causing him to bowl almost round-armed, short of length and being expensive.

The taller Starc has been consistent, with good pace, and has actually been trying to elongate that height into being even taller on delivery.

Therefore, he could control his lengths better, his “yorkers” working well, as seen in that dazzling losing effort against New Zealand.

2-47, 6-28, 2-18 and 2-29 in Australia’s first four preliminary games give a perfect picture of Starc’s effectiveness to date. He could be a tremendous force when Australia tour West Indies later this year for two Test matches, before they go to England for Ashes 2015.

Before that, though, Australia will want Starc to play his important part if one of the pre-tournament favorites are to lift that trophy.

Brendon McCullum, New

Z e a l a n d ’s c a p t a i n , h a s been a revelation, with outright disdain for bowlers and tenacity as captain, putting his country on that road to perhaps winning its first CWC. He is vying, with South Africa’s A.B. De Villiers a n d S r i L a n k a ’s Kumar Sangakkara, to be ‘best player to the end of preliminary stages.’

McCullum’s captaincy is reminiscent of 1970’s and 1980’s, when close-in fielders by Australia, WI and England complimented fast, aggressive bowling, a phenomenon that NZ presently has in great abundance.

Not since perhaps (Sir) Vivian Richards, recently voted “The best ODI cricketers ever”, has a batsman come out with obvious malicious intentions of obliterating bowlers, regardless of what they deliver, as has McCullum in this CWC. Bowlers are deathly scared to bowl to McCullum right now!

The man is not possessed, as suggested somewhere, but supremely sure of his abilities, especially for 2015’s competition, which, for him, realistically constitutes mostly home games.

Along with these four, expect the unexpected from other players in the quarter-finals too! Enjoy! (e-mail : c.e.h.croft@gmail.com)

Sunday March 15, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 71

Technical team taking Golden Jaguars from bust to boom!

By Santokie Nagulendran Behind every successful National football team is a network of technical staff who all work together to ensure the greater good of success for the team. Guyana’s National Team, known as the Golden Jaguars in footballing circles, has recently installed an array of staff to help facilitate such success for the nation and revitalise a team which has seen many low points in recent years.

Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz was appointed to the post in January, the third time he will lead the Golden Jaguars, and for him, making the decision on who should form his backroom staff was an easy one: “Once I was appointed I chose my staff and it was natural for me to have Wayne Dover (assistant coach), Mark Xavier (operations manager), Trevor Burnett (equipment manager) and Debita Harripersaud (physiotherapist) in particular. Faizal Khan also worked closely with us.”

Wayne Dover serving as assistant coach is of a massive benefit to Guyana: here is a coach who led the team when they achieved their highest ever FIFA Ranking of 86th and is also the only ever person to take a Guyanese club (Alpha United) to the CONCACAF Champion’s League group stages. Having worked with Shabazz for years now in the National setup, the two men have enough knowledge and experience to take Guyana to the next level: which is to consistently be one of the best teams in the CFU region.

Whilst a few fans may question the nature of thesupport staff roles, they are all vital components to the success of the Golden Jaguars team on the pitch. For example, Faizal Khan serves as the team’s ‘Administrative and Commercial Manager’, which involves booking player flights to Guyana, ar-

Staff unite to help the cause of Guyana’s National football team.

ranging hotel accommodation, and a great deal of communicating with overseas clubs to try and get their permission for players to join the Guyana National Team. Khan also has a hand in scouting potential Guyanese players, and was instrumental in bringing overseas-based players such as Leon Cort, Carl Cort and Ricky Shakes into the Golden Jaguars. Such a role invokes a great deal of professionalism into the National set-up and helps to ensure that the ‘Golden Jaguar’ brand grows and grows; it is a role that allows football to be seen as a business, as well as a sport.

Shabazz made a special mention of Faizal Khan, who has clearly had a big impact on Guyanese football, both with the National Team and at a domestic level, where he managers Georgetown Football Club. “Faizal came at the end of 2006 and he put into action an idea we had to bring in foreign-born professionals into the Guyana programme.

He has spent hours and hours and of his own finances to ensure the Cort brothers (Leon and Carl) and a lot of other players give Guyana a thought,” Shabazz remarked.

“On the staff he still handles dealing with International players and all the commer-

cially-related tasks, he has a passion and, in cricketing terms, he is a Chris Gayle when it comes to starting projects!” he went on to say.

Jamaal Shabazz also highlighted the role of Trevor Burnett, the team’s equipment manager, declaring that he is, “very professional, and has

helped create a new position in Guyana’s football…before we introduced the role of Equipment Manager in 2005, the National team did not have a designated person dealing solely with equipment.”

Debita Harripersuad also stands out, not only for her exceptional work with the

team, dealing with injuries and health issues players face, but also for being a Indo-Caribbean woman, as noted by Shabazz, who said, “Debita has been able, as an Indo-Caribbean female, to operate in an Afro-Caribbean, male-dominated environment with professional distinction.” Indeed, it is hoped that Debita will start a precedent for more females and also more members of the Indo-Caribbean community to involve themselves in the sport.

What’s vital to a successful team however, is the ability to communicate and trust each other, with Shabazz summarising the dynamic of the group by saying: “The most important thing about our staff is bringing a different culture to Guyanese football: the ability to work together with comradery, sincerity and a certain amount of loyalty. The relationship we have developed is tremendous. Even when I was not involved in Guyana’s football,

Santokie Nagulendran I would talk to Wayne, Faizal and Mark on a daily basis, we would keep in touch. It’s such a tremendous professional environment where we are very passionate about what we do and also very determined to succeed.

While we have had disagreements on several things, we always try to agree to disagree, and the trust that has developed between us is great.”

ALL SET FOR ANAMAYAH INTER CLUB BASKETBALL FINAL IN BERBICE Smythfield Rockers and Rose Hall Town Jammers to contest All is set for the final, today of the second annual Anamayah Memorial Inter Club first division basketball competit i o n b e t w e e n seasoned campaigner and last year’s runner-up Smithfield Rockers of New Amsterdam and giantkillers Rose Hall Town Jammers of the Rose Hall Corentyne Area.

The game is slated for the Area H Basketball Court, Rose hall Town, Corentyne.

The two teams in the final had their last practoce on Friday and both are brimming with confidence.

The stakes are even at

the moment. Smythfield is the more seasoned and experienced team and has been in the final of most basketball competitions played in Berbice in the last few years, winning on a number of occasions.

They will be expected to use their experience to advantage.

The Jammers has a few things going their way also.

Home court advantage and crowd support will be two essential factors.

The Jammers will also be brimming with confidence being the team that knocked out defending champion New Amsterdam Warriors from the tourna-

ment and will be going into the final with the same momentum.

Jump ball is 16:00 hrs.

Cash, trophies and other incentives will be available for the winner and runner up teams, while outstanding individual players will also be presented with incentives.

Both teams have named their squad for the encounter – Rose Hall Town Jammers will be expecting to jam their opponents from every corner with the likes of Emon Wiggins, Antonio Islam, Percy Cort, Osafo Profit, Michael King, Kevin Wiggins, Troy Paul, Sherwin Murray, Troy

Lashley, Kevin Deolall, Machel Lewis and David Hope.

The Smythfield Rockers invasion will be lead by Neil Wills, Jamal Felix, Robert Esseboom, Jason Fraser, Tyrone Dey, Denyson Fraser, Michael Bowen, Samuel Downer Sherwin Braithwaite and Kevin Patterson among others.

Personnel from the sponsors are expected to be in hand to do the tip off and help with the presentation ceremony immediately after.

The tournament t is being coordinated by Vibert Garrett.

(Samuel Whyte)

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Kaieteur News

MCYS/EBFA Pee Wee League

Sunday March 15, 2015

WICB First-Class Cricket Franchise

Shoran James’ helmet-trick secures Cariah’s unbeaten 70 hold up Jaguars at Providence title for Herstelling Raiders Captain Shoran James saved the best of his striking abilities for the last and most crucial game of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports/ East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Under-11 Pee Wee League which ended yesterday at the Grove Playfield.

Needing full points (3) form the game along with scoring at least three goals without conceding any, Herstelling Raiders delivered the goods with Captain James the orchestrator as his team defeated Mocha Champs 4-0 to win the tournament, the first for the EBFA in 2015.

Mocha were no pushover but could not handle the nippy James who could have scored much more if he didn’t go wide of the mark on a few occasions. It did not take long for Herstelling to get on the score sheet, James found the back of the nets in the 4th minute.

Mocha tried their best to keep Herstelling at bay and did a good job as the first half (15mins) of the game did not produce more goals. The final 15 minutes was going to be the most interesting and anticipated of the tournament and it did turn out that way.

Not only the Herstelling players and supporters were locked into the proceedings but the players from the other teams which participated in the competition except for Diamond United. James picked up where he left off in the first half and was a thorn in the flesh of the Mocha players and he never relented.

He found the back of the

By Sean Devers

MCYS Director of Youth Ms. Gillian Frank is flanked

by Best Goalkeeper & MVP Christopher Adams (left) and Highest Goal Scorer Shoran James. nets in the 21st, 27th and 29th minutes to secure the critical win that not only saw his team past Mocha 4-0; it also was their third win of the tournament, the most by any team and the performance also secured the highest goal scorer trophy for James who ended the competition with six (6) goals.

Agricola Red Triangle which walked away with the 3rd place trophy and 16 bronze medals also captured the best goalkeeper and most valuable player awards; Christopher Adams was the unani-

mous choice for both awards having conceded only one goal in their five matches.

Director of Youth at the MCYS, Ms. Gillian Frank, who was on hand to present the trophies and medals to the teams, congratulated the winner and all the teams who participated pointing out that the ministry is committed to development of youths within the communities.

She commended the players for their dedication and discipline in coming out each week to play their respective matches. The Coaches and those parents who supported were also complimented by Ms. Frank for playing their roles in helping to shape a positive future for the young players.

The EBFA will take a one week break before commencing an Under-13 league, the Stag Beer Senior League will also commence shortly.

Guyana Jaguars missed a third batting point by nine runs on the second day of their eighth round West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Four-Day First-Class Cricket Franchise game against Trinidad & Tobago’s Red Force as Pacer Marlon Richards bowled a tidy spell after Lunch to help dismiss the Jaguars for 291 at Providence yesterday.

By the close the Red Force, spearheaded by a fluent 79-run third wicket partnership between 22-yearold Yannick Cariah (70*) and Kjorn Ottley (34), reached 173-4 when rain stopped play at 17:05hrs, 118 runs away from a first innings lead with six wickets in hand.

Vishaul Singh (52) and Anthony Bramble (63) extended their overnight stand to 96 as the hosts began the day on 264-6 and lost their last four wickets for nine runs as Richards, who hails from the Mining Town of Linden, picked up 3-46 on a placid surface.

Leg-spinner Imran Khan supported with 3-55 to take his tally in the tournament to 49 and break the record for most wickets in a season which was set in 1996 by legspinner Rajendra Dhanraj, who claimed 47 scalps that year. Off-Spinner Jason Mohamed chipped in with 244. When play resumed yesterday, the left-handed Singh and Bramble batted responsibly and Singh soon brought up his fifth halfcentury in his 20th First-Class match with his fourth boundary, a thick outside edge to third man. His third fifty in the tournament took 222 minutes and 152 balls and was a well compiled innings on a track already showing signs of variable bounce.

Kjorn Ottley gathers on side runs against Deonarine during his 78-run stand with Yannick Cariah.

A heavy shower stopped play at 10:38hrs and after a delay of 42 minutes play resumed in sunny conditions.

Bramble pulled Shannon Gabriel to the mid wicket boundary before the diminutive Singh was stupendously taken at slip by Cariah to give Richards his first scalp at 282-7. Singh’s innings took 171 balls, 304 minutes with four boundaries.

Bramble, whose halfcentury lasted 244 minutes, 181 balls with eight fours, top edged an impetuous pull off Richards high to mid-off at 283-8, while Devendra Bishoo was bowled by Gabriel for a duck without addition to the score as the Jaguars lost their way badly in the rain-hit first session yesterday.

Permaul, who has backto-back fifties in the tournament including one against the Red Force in Portof-Spain, hammered Richards for consecutive boundaries before Richards scattered his stumps for nine as the lower order played with little ‘game awareness’ and lost an extra bonus point which they

would have earned had they reached 300 in the first 110 overs.

When the Red Force began their reply, they lost talented 19-year-old lefthander Jermaine Solozano, caught at slip off Chris Barnwell for three with five runs on the board as his nightmare time on Guyanese soil continued.

At Lunch the score was 25-1 and after the break Khan (18) was caught behind in Narsingh Deonarine’s first over as the Red Force slipped to 33-2 despite some untidy work from fast bowler Keon Joseph who sent down 12 noballs in six overs.

Ottley and Cariah played an array of attractive shots as the pair easily picked the gaps and by Tea the lads from Carnival Country were 104-2, still 188 away from first innings lead. Cariah was on 42 and Ottley on 29.

After the break, Ottley hammered part-time offspinner Johnson for four before he lofted Bishoo to long-on, where Shiv (Continued on page 69)