Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Page 5

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DOES A CORRUPT, DICTATORIAL MINORITY PPP GOVT. REALLY WANT TO CONFRONT THE USA? DEAR EDITOR, The saying ‘monkey should know which limb to jump onto’ is very applicable to the PPP with respect to its recent misguided anti-USA rhetoric. For starters, the USA is telling the truth when it condemns the disgusting corruption and giveaways of the PPP. The USA is completely correct that this country remains a rotten excuse for a corrupt paradise under the PPP. Every single Guyanese knows this, including PPP supporters who may parrot differently but know in their hearts their party is dominated by rogues, vagabonds, scoundrels, misfits and bullies. While I understand the entire PPP leadership has no choice but to defend the puppetmaster ’s atrocities and abominations, a sign of the depth and severity of the depravity and rot that has

infested the PPP, this anti-USA soundbite from the Freedom House mockingbirds is a stupid and dangerous one.

Defending the indefensible is always a serious moral crime but caustically blasting a behemoth like the USA when it is telling the truth is really and truly asking for it. The PPP forgets it has no electoral legitimacy. It forgets that it is hiding under the frock of a shameful constitution crafted by a dictator to use power in absolutist fashion.

The PPP forgets that the majority of this country did not vote for it and it possesses no democratic, electoral or voter legitimacy to rule in majoritarian fashion, no matter how hard it hides under a corrupt constitution supported by a measly 10% of the entire Guyanese population in 1978. To increase the anti-US rhetoric when your own

Burnham took us on a journey that was just DEAR EDITOR, It is with dismay I note the debate on whether the government of South Africa should confer Guyana’s later President Forbes Burnham the Oliver Tambo award.

I believe it is quite unfortunate that some Guyanese cannot look at this achievement holistically and contextually.

Firstly, I do not just see this honour of an award towards a man but towards a nation he represented and presided over. President Burnham did the unthinkable at a time when many small states would not dare try and exacerbate tensions among global superpowers.

Guyana was not at its best days economically but we were a respected nation internationally because one man took the nation among giants where our national pride relieved us of any indignity.

While many may see this honour and award as a personal (posthumous) achievement for Burnham it is the nation that equally benefits for it was Burnham and more importantly Guyana that stood resolutely with our oppressed brothers and sisters in South Africa during apartheid.

It was Guyana and Guyanese that paid the cost when our tax dollars went towards efforts against apartheid. It was Guyana and Guyanese that auspiciously welcome, entertained and

honoured numerous African heroes and heroines to our shores that we as citizens stood in solidarity with against oppression and apartheid. It was Guyana and Guyanese that championed causes against oppression and apartheid in varied international forums from the United Nations to the Nonaligned Movement. It is Guyana (Continued on page 6)

constitutional legitimacy is suspect is akin to patting a lion with its mouth open.

Even worse, this is a regime faced with a credibility problem. It is seen by the majority of the populace, including many of its own supporters, as knavish, scampish and corrupt. That is exactly how the world sees it.

With America making spreading democracy a new cornerstone of its foreign policy, it is only a bunch of fools driven by their misplaced communist rhetoric and enslaved to their ‘wutliss’ puppet master who will even attempt to provoke the might of America when they lack democratic justification, operate on minority support, lack electoral majoritarian status and are in electoral decline.

The real problem within the PPP is that no matter how utterly scandalous and shamefully shocking the puppet master behaves, the minions have to bark for the puppet master. This is the PPP for you, a party in the psychosis of defending the indefensible, a party that cannot even remain silent to the egregiousness of the kingpin but has to speak up and sell its soul while defending the wrecker-inchief. Silence is not an option.

They have to bark. They must bark like rice eaters at the whim of the manipulator. This is a party of robots controlled by the Wizard of Oz and they surely picked the wrong yellow brick road by picking a fight with the USA. It does not matter that confrontational rhetoric

against the world’s only remaining superpower, the same superpower that along with the ineptitude of its communist king helped to send the PPP to political isolation for 28 years, has had a terrible repercussion for the foolish PPP. All that matters is to bark like rabid animals in defence of the king sitting in his castle pulling the strings.

Confrontation with the USA has never ended well with the PPP, which seems to have forgotten how it begged

the same USA to restore democracy in Guyana and the immense pressure the Americans placed on the PNC to yield. Just like they blindly followed Cheddi Jagan like willing sheep when he made blunder after blunder foolishly and tactlessly confronting the West and in doing so helping the PNC to eventually gain power, we have this pathetic bunch of PPP yes-men and spineless fodder backing their great sultan to their own political

graves. History does repeat itself and yet again, we have a bunch of sycophants walking hand in hand with their puppetmaster over the edge of a cliff. There is nothing wrong in the politics of confrontation when one is right and those confronted are wrong. But this is not the PPP. It is wrong and defending its wicked machinations and in doing so, it is recklessly challenging the biggest power in the world. Some charlatans never learn.

M. Maxwell

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Kaieteur News

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Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Guyana no longer has a prestigious presidency DEAR EDITOR, His Excellency President Donald Ramotar could see his first term become a train wreck based on his infantile political actions and his outrageous speeches especially on the budget cuts. One only has to recognize this attitude of the President from his address to a group of Berbicians as they observe the 175th anniversary of the Arrival of the East Indians to Guyana.

So if using his words, the majority opposition is so vindictive in their actions of cutting the budget, then why is he such a coward in tolerating this vindictiveness and is not calling a General Election?

Is he afraid of defeat at the polls or that the Jagdeoites might push him aside and chose someone else to be their presidential candidate.

Further, Mr. Ramotar could have avoided all of this if he had negotiated in good faith with the opposition in those useless tripartite talks in which he refused to compromise.

We had warned the opposition that this Stalinist PPP cabal will not yield anything to them and that they would use the tripartite talks as a propaganda stunt to show their supporters that they are engaging the opposition.

Since the death of Cheddi Jagan, Guyana did not have a decent president and as such, the people are getting tired of the poor leadership of the current and previous presidents who have lowered the standards of the presidency and have reduced it to a shell of what it was. Mr. Ramotar’s silly explanation of the radio licenses issued by

Jagdeo, to his failure to investigate and report to the nation on the NCN corruption scandal and the GPL generator rental scandal proved that he is shaping up to become another PPP disaster as President, thus wrecking the country in the process. Having said that, we believe that Mr. Ramotar predecessor is Guyana’s worst president so far.

This is the second Budget that the majority opposition has cut and there are clear signs that the majority opposition will cut even more come the 2014 Budget, but yet the Ramotar regime seems to have fizzled out to some sound bites to the dwindling flock here and there with no concrete economic strategy to create jobs for the youth whose unemployment rate is at an all time high of 45% and climbing. They tried to bully the opposition and the people but it did not work, so now they are using propaganda, distortions and untruths, but this will not work either because the people are much smarter than to buy their stories.

The mature thing to do as the Head of State is to seriously address the 11 points raised by the majority opposition; rather than jumping all over the place like his shameless predecessor making repugnant and racist statements even at a Pundit funeral. This political yard fowl has no cerebral matter and no integrity. In Guyanese parlance, one would say that “he was not brought up but was dragged up.” Nothing could render Ramotar a lame duck president quicker than his executive actions which support all the Ponzi schemes

in Capital Projects signed in secrecy by the Jagdeo regime.

He owes it to himself and the nation to at least understand what is really going on and he should cease and desist from operating like a political sheep with minimal mental faculty to discriminate what is good and what is not good for Guyana.

Simply put, he would do much better if he abandons Jagdeo and be his own man.

Even if the President really doesn’t know anything about any issue, his position should not blindly follow his predecessor who is so despised by the majority in Guyana and in the Diaspora.

The PPP did not win a majority in the 2011 general elections because of the inept executive actions of Jagdeo, the incompetence of Robert Persaud as the party campaign director and a very

poor “hand picked” presidential candidate in Ramotar. The nation cannot reverse two of these three failings, but surely the President can rehabilitate himself by acting mature and responsible by engaging the majority opposition and finding common ground for the greater good of the nation. Is he wise enough to do this! You be the judge!

Based on his actions with the no confidence vote against the unimpressive Rohee, we do not think so.

This communist form of attack politics practiced by the Jagdeo/Ramotar cabal has no place in modern societies such as Guyana where people should feel free to agree to disagree but should always work together to find common ground for progress. Are we to believe that President

Ramotar is against the AFC proposal of a 10% wage increase for all classes of workers or an increase in the old age pension from $10,000 to $15,000 per month? Even if the Minister of Finance advised against these AFC proposals, could Mr. Ramotar as president become the bigger man and do the right thing for the poor and the working class who are at their wits end to make ends meet. Such proposals from our calculation will only cost the Treasury about G$900 million in addition to what the Minister has already put aside for the annual year end PPP tradition of handing the workings the meager 5% increase. Who would have looked magnanimous and endear the workers, the AFC or His Excellency?

The ease with which President Ramotar and his

cabal gave Jagdeo such a huge pension package of $3 million per month and abandoned his duties to the people of Guyana defies all logics as he continues to engage in all these public banter of naked political opportunism. The President should redouble his efforts to heal the nation and not be Jagdeo squared. He should empower the institutions of State to function, penalize the corrupt animals in his administration, design public policies that enhance the economic and social wellbeing of the people and protect the masses from the political turmoil that is the new norm in Guyana today under the anti-poor and antiworking class PPP regime. Gosh man, when will he get it!

Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh

Burnham’s decision to allow Cuban planes to refuel in Guyana makes him deserving of the Oliver Tambo Award DEAR EDITOR, I wonder if those who oppose Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham obtaining the Oliver Tambo Award remember that he made a crucial decision that tilted the balance in favour of the liberation struggle in Southern Africa.

It must be recalled that the UNITA and FNLA South African backed forces were on the verge of inflicting a significant defeat on Agostino Neto’s MPLA and the entire liberation movement in Sothern Africa in the now famous battle at Cuito Cunavale in Namiba at the border with Angola. The liberation fighters requested Cuban military assistance.

The Cuban planes had to refuel somewhere in the Caribbean on their way to Africa. No Caribbean country wanted to incur the wrath of the US government and therefore they refused to allow the Cuban planes to refuel in their territory.

Burnham made that critical decision and allowed the Cuban planes to refuel in Guyana.

As a consequence, the Cuban military help arrived in time and the liberation forces and the Cubans defeated the South African forces and changed the balance in Southern Africa in favour of the African liberation movement.

Recall as well that

Namibia got its independence in exchange for the withdrawal of Cuban forces, It is important to note that Guyana and Burnham paid a heavy price for supporting the African liberation struggle at that critical juncture.

The US and the rest of the West brought crippling pressure to bear on Burnham

and Guyana after that. The decision made by Burnham to have the planes refuel in Guyana alone makes him deserving of the Oliver Tambo Award. No other Guyanese leader contributed to the African liberation struggle more than Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.

Aubrey C. Norton

Burnham took us on a...

From page 5 that erected monuments and symbols on our soil to honour heroes and heroines of the collective struggle against human bondage from the Non-aligned Monument to the African Liberation Monument in the compound of the Umana Yana for posterity. These were done under Burnham.

Our men and women in the diplomatic service were deployed on continents to champion a cause for people distant to us because the cause spoke to our collective humanity. The award is also for them. I believe those in the foreign service at the time can eloquently chronicle their efforts on this question under

the stewardship of Burnham.

Apartheid was ugly in all its forms. It was clear and blunt institutional racism. It was racism practiced by officialdom against a black majority and Guyana in Burnham was principled in being against this. All and sundry across the political divide at home were not against Burnham representing our ideals.

We are a free people and wished those in South Africa at the time to breathe the same free air like us and not in a system that suffocated the masses.

Burnham’s conviction against apartheid was morally right and is duly recorded and documented and today apartheid is in the dust bin of history. He did not live to see the end of apartheid but he nevertheless won on principle.

The award is not just a Burnham award but a Guyana award for Guyanese experienced what he did. The pride the Burnham family felt on news of the Oliver Tambo award being conferred to him we should equally share as Guyanese for we have a stake in it because Burnham took us on a journey that was just.

Maxwell Shaw

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

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Kaieteur M@ilbox

THE PNC’S PARTNERSHIP HAS CERTAINLY DEVIATED FROM ITS PROMISE OF NATIONAL UNITY DEAR EDITOR, Following the xenophobic pronouncements made by Carl Greenidge on the sugar workers we now have none other than Winston Felix making the following statement, “Precious little has been done to implement the money laundering Act and we see visible indicators of enormous spending which, in my respectful view, has enough grounds upon which an investigation can be launched but yet we see nothing,” Much can be extracted from this statement should an analysis be done. However, for the purpose of this letter, the focus will be on the ethnic implications of Mr. Felix’s pronouncement.

However, before producing the analysis proper, it is imperative for the readers to comprehend the nature of the messenger in this case Winston Felix, thus laying the catalyst for the discourse that will follow.

Winston Felix presided over the Guyana Police Force during a very difficult period in this nation’s history. It was during this period that we were held hostage by a gang of criminals which received tacit support in certain political quarters. During this time women were brutally raped and executed, not even the elderly nor children were spared when the gang descended at Agricola, Lusignan and Bartica leaving a path of death and grief behind. And whilst all this was going on Felix as the senior most law enforcement official was captured on tape along with senior PNC

member Basil Williams describing his efforts at misleading the public as to who the real perpetrators were. Felix seemed more concerned about the theft of a sizable sum of foreign currency from the office of the then PNC leader, Robert Corbin than the killing of several persons at Agricola by those criminals.

Additionally, no less a person than convicted drug trafficker Roger Khan admitted being a close friend of the very Felix in a newspaper ad. Khan also said that the two frequented a local dwelling place. The broken friendship which later ensued resulted in a crackdown against the very Roger Khan by his former close friend after the latter learned about the existence of his taped conversations. To this date Felix is yet to provide

this nation, and his supporters with an explanation on the issues mentioned above.

Clearly, this man lacks the moral authority to make innuendoes and concoctions as highlighted in the first paragraph much less to sit in Parliament.

The article on the Demerara Wave’s website stated that Felix highlighted the recent high rise buildings that have now become a permanent feature on our landscape, as signs of money laundering. On a side note, such visible aspects of national development were unheard or unseen during the PNC’s despotic reign.

When one examines Felix’s pronouncement, it reeks of subtle racism because many of these buildings are in fact owned

by Indo Guyanese who have

toiled to develop themselves and this nation.

Is it coincidental that at a time when Guyanese are preparing to observe the 175th Anniversary of the Arrival of East Indians to these shores that APNU via Winston Felix chose to target the Indian community to unleash its venom?

Therefore, the speech made by Dr. Jagdeo at the

funeral of Pandit Reepu Deeman Persaud once again shows its relevance in ensuring that Guyana remains a country where all are included in our national developmental trajectory.

Here the APNU is saying that we should investigate all the high rise buildings most of which are owned by Indo Guyanese and in the same breadth they are also

questioning the employment of Indians in the Public Service. The nation should bear in mind that APNU and also the AFC believe that Indo Guyanese are not good enough to gain employment in the Public Service and secondly with Winston Felix’s pronouncement, Indo Guyanese don’t have the right to material possession regardless how hard they might have toiled to achieve what they have.

Attiya Baksh

In support of pensioners DEAR EDITOR, About two weeks ago, in the K/N letter page a very observant Guyanese drew our attention to the fact that the increase of $2.500 monthly to old age pension as part of the 2013 budget (12 months) was being started in May of 2013 instead of January 2013, thereby robbing pensioners of four

months of their well deserved retroactive payments which total is $10.000.

Please correct this anomaly Mr. Finance Minister.

Additionally, unless there is a better idea, may I suggest that the ministry simply add two extra vouchers to the pension book to cover the GWI and the GPL subsidies and make

them encashable at any post office and save our dear senior citizens the current hassles they encounter while trying to get their benefits from the GWI. Do not leave this responsibility in the hands of the GWI and the GPL; Senior Citizens are mature enough to handle their own business.

BBH

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Sunday seawall ‘hang’ between Vlissengen Road, Ocean View Hotel banned Following high spring tides which flooded sections of the East Coast Demerara highway, Government yesterday announced a ban on activities on the section of seawall from Vlissengen Road to the Ocean View International Hotel.

This restriction will officially affect the Sunday evening hangout for the thousands who converge there. They would also gather there on holidays. The ban now restricts the visitors to another section of the seawall. According to the Ministry of Public Works, activities will now be centered on the area west of Vlissengen Road.

“The prohibition is as a result of damage to the sea defence infrastructure, excessive buildup of garbage in the drains and canals leading to flooding, and the increasing traffic congestion and its related safety risks, especially on Sundays and holidays,” the Ministry said in a public notice yesterday in the Guyana Chronicle.

“It is proposed to relocate all the vendors (inclusive of mobile units, drinks carts, hot dog stands, etc) to the section of the

Government has restricted vending and recreational activities between Vlissengen Road and Ocean View seawall embankment between Camp Street and Vlissengen Road, where a three-month permit will be issued for vending.”

The Ministry said that it will be meeting with vendors who operate between the closed area on Wednesday at 09:30 hours at its offices at Fort Street, Kingston, where issues relating to the relocation will be discussed.

“For the public convenience and safety, the

Five Guyanese girls in Bajan protective custody

Keenon Chase

Amelia Joseph

Barbados (Barbados Nation) –The five Guyanese girls involved in the first human trafficking case here are in protective custody as the Royal Barbados Police Force continues investigations into a probable ring involving scores of female non-nationals.

And Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also placed its intelligence and resources at the disposal of local police to aid in the investigation.

The five women from the South American country are being kept at an undisclosed location, the Nation has learnt. The women were allegedly caught in a human trafficking ring a fortnight ago, but are being detained to prevent any possible public interference as investigations continue.

Public Relations Officer of the Royal Barbados Police

Force, Inspector David Welch, on Friday confirmed that the females were in custody, but didn’t provide many details because, he said, three persons had already been charged and remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison at Dodds, but the investigation was still at a very sensitive stage.

“That is the usual practice in a situation like this. We have to protect everyone involved, including victims or alleged perpetrators,” Welch noted.

According to the inspector, a lot more has to be done with respect to the investigations before the five women can be released.

Amelia Joseph, Keenon Chase, and Joan Fernandez, 76, appeared in court last week and were arraigned on several charges of suspected involvement with the trafficking of the five Guyanese women.

section of road between Camp Street and Vlissengen Road will be made a one way heading east; the street lights on this embankment will be activated and the embankment will be cleaned to facilitate parking and vending.”

The closed section of the seawall has become a popular hangout for especially families and lovers on Sundays with cars, music and food very much prevalent.

However, Government and nearby residents have been complaining about the garbage situation and noise.

Recent high tides forced the area of highway to be closed as authorities embarked on a massive exercise to clean away the sand and garbage that piled up there last weekend. They had hinted then on a possible decision to stop recreational activities in that particular area.

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Dem boys seh

Guyana got nuff confusion

Everything in Guyana got to end in confusion. A nice girl win an international pageant. She is de first Guyanese to win that pageant and in keeping wid tradition, she was suppose to crown de next queen. But of course she come from Guyana.

De people who hold de franchise get vex wid she because she talk how de franchise holder sister pose as de winner.

Dem boys hear that she did want some Bollywood role.

Anyhow, de real queen talk and that start a whole story.

Now dem get sued and dem got to find nuff money if dem lose de case.

Dem had confusion when de budget get presented in parliament. De opposition chop off a big piece and cause nuff confusion. Donald now telling everybody that he gun get back de money that de opposition cut.

If dem boys think that de confusion did done deh dem lie. Dem had big confusion at de US Ambassador house. Ah Kneel mouth slip. He seh de right thing but that and all cause confusion.

After de Ambassador and some others suggest that de government do de right thing and check dem radio frequencies that it give out.

Ah Kneel tell de same gathering that Guyana got press freedom and he talk bout how radio can be dangerous in certain people hand. He talk bout Rwanda. Right away dem boys wonder who in Guyana can start a war using radio like wha some people do in Rwanda.

One man seh that dem same people who get de nuff frequency is de ones that people got to worry about because dem can reach de whole country. Nobody else ain’t got that scope. Then he seh that even if de wrang method was used, Guyana still got press freedom. Well that is de comment that start de confusion. He wasn’t supposed to even suggest that something wrang.

De water from de Atlantic cause confusion de other day and de Town Clerk and de Mayor in big confusion. Dem boys fed up. All dem can seh is that Guyana never out of confusion.

Talk half and think bout dem other confusion.

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox Why is the Parliament not officially....

From page 4 non-commercial reasons.

Once a Once a Once a Project demands even 1% of taxpayer resources, full transparency is essential; that should be the new normal in Guyana.

Therefore there is no option around the laying of the economic feasibility study and the full contract in the

public domain; after all you cannot want to spend taxpayer’s money and not seek their permission. Anything otherwise is public theft as we see occurring on that Atlantic Kingston Hotel.

These concerns about the on-going lack of visibility around a pipeline of infrastructure work are also

being voiced by the civil society, resulting in the Parliament taking a few of them out of the 2013 Budget for reasons of improper transparency; an act that is quite reasonable and justifiable.

Full transparency must be flourishing on these Projects.

As a final word, I want to emphasis the criticality of

public-private projects and welcome the proposal on another mega-project, the Amaila Fall Hydro Project.

However, once one cent of the taxpayer’s resources is used, full transparency is the order of the day.

We cannot have the State pumping G$16 billion into this Project and the Parliamentarians imprisoned from interrogating these contracts, even if they are sworn to a confidentiality oath. So as Moses Nagamootoo demanded, let us await the due diligence report on the Amaila Hydro Project from the Inter-American Development Bank; quite mature and sound advice.

At the end of the day any new debt on the children of Guyana must pass the test of economic feasibility including a practical payback plan, an analysis of the impact on the economy, an outline of the new permanent employment created as a result of these works, an understanding of the new income streams, among others.

The G o v e r n m e n t ’s plans to encourage economic growth through this airport expansion project remain unconvincing; let us extend the main runway only for now – we can afford G$12 billion, not G$31 billion.

Sasenarine Singh

Sunday May 05, 2013

American citizen blames Guyanese authorities for pet’s disappearance at CJIA Guyana-born American citizen Calvin Benjamin’s first homecoming in 23 years will certainly be difficult to forget, thanks to some inconsiderate officials at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.

Benjamin’s 17-month o l d pet puppy which he brought all the way from the United States, has disappeared and officials at the airport are telling him that they were forced to put it down and cremate it.

Of course Benjamin does not believe their story, but then again, he has been hitting a brick wall with his complaints, leaving him to conclude that he will never see his pet again, dead or alive.

In an interview with this newspaper yesterday, Benjamin said that the pet had been a part of his family for nearly two years, ever since his wife was diagnosed with cancer.

This year, he decided to take the long awaited trip back home and since he had no one to take care of the animal while he was away he made all the necessary arrangements (or so he thought) to bring along his dog, which weighed approximately 10 pounds.

According to Benjamin, when he contacted the airline, there was no suggestion that

he would have had any difficulty bring the pup along with him on his trip to Guyana.

“When I called Delta, they said that I just had to pay the US$240 and the dog can travel with me in the cabin,” he explained.

All went well until he arrived in Guyana on Thursday morning.

Officials at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, upon seeing the dog, promptly demanded from Benjamin the necessary documentation for the animal.

“They wanted to know if he was up to date in terms of the necessary vaccines.

I did not have his clinic card, so I had to call home and asked the Vet to fax down the stuff to Guyana.”

In the meantime, the airport officials informed Benjamin that they had no choice but to quarantine the animal until the required documentation arrived.

Benjamin told Kaieteur News that a few hours later that day, the required information was passed on to the officials who were in possession of his dog and he began making moves to retrieve the animal from Timehri.

But he soon got the shock of his life; the airport officials informed him that they had killed his pet.

“They told me that somebody high up gave the order (to kill the dog).

They said that three Vets did the procedure.”

And if that was not enough, when Benjamin enquired about the remains of his pet, he was told that it was already cremated.

“I cooperated with them; the dog did not have any disease like rabies or anything. I never saw the body; they said they burn it, but where? I did not sign anything giving them permission to put my dog down,” a distraught Benjamin told this newspaper.

He is convinced that his pet is still alive, but that someone wants him more than him.

“What am I going to tell my kids?” he asked.

He plans to make further efforts to ensure that he is satisfied with the fate of the dog that he has spent so much time and money to care for.

His story comes a week after this newspaper highlighted an American air hostess’ attraction to a stray dog in Guyana, which led to her adopting the animal and taking it to her homeland.

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Pregnant woman detained after killing amorous man

Porters remove the body while detectives escort the suspect (at right).

Police have detained a pregnant mother of four who allegedly stabbed a drunken and amorous 33-year-old man to death yesterday morning in the farming community of Barnwell North, East Bank Demerara, after he fondled her.

The victim, identified as Mark Fredericks, was found dead under his parents’ house around 09:00 hrs, several hours after he was stabbed in the right side of his chest.

The stabbing reportedly occurred near a ‘wake house’ where the suspect and the victim had been drinking.

Fredericks and his alleged assailant were said to be under the influence of alcohol when the incident occurred.

The slain man’s mother also said that she had seen her injured son shortly after he was stabbed and that he had identified his assailant as ‘Simone’.

It is unclear why no attempt was made to take the wounded man to a hospital.

A sister of the suspect said that her sibling alleged that she had escorted Fredericks parents’ home shortly after midnight and was walking on a dam when Fredericks, who was under the influence of alcohol, grabbed her from behind.

It is alleged that despite the woman’s pleas, Fredericks pushed his hand into the woman’s underwear.

“She say ‘Mark, loose me’...and she took out a knife and stab the boy,” the sister alleged.

The woman said that her sister, who was also drunk, went home and slept. It was only until several hours later that the family learnt that Fredericks had died.

A resident at the ‘wake house’ told Kaieteur News

that around midnight they heard someone shouting for help. They then saw Mark Fredericks sitting under the house, and the man informed them that ‘Simone’ had stabbed him.

The resident said he observed some blood on Fredericks’ shirt but the man did not appear to be seriously injured. Kaieteur News was told that Fredericks eventually got up and headed home, about half a mile from the ‘wake house’.

Kaieteur News understands that the woman told detectives that she had disposed of the knife in some bushes near to the ‘wake

Dead: Mark Fredericks house’. Detectives took her back to the scene but failed to find the weapon.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

GUYANESE DEATH SPURS ANGER, PROBE There continues to be furious responses in Barbados to the brutal murder of Guyanese Brenda Belle, nee Duncan-Taylor, with police and hospital administrators being called to task.

As Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mark Thompson, said his officers will investigate whether there were deficiencies in handling the matter, two social groups have reacted angrily demanding that administrators of the island’s main hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), explain why law enforcement or other relevant personnel were not alerted when this woman was treated for a wound from an obviously violent attack.

Prior to being hunted down and chopped to death, allegedly by her estranged husband on Tuesday, May 30, Brenda, on Saturday May 27, suffered a cut to her arm during an altercation with the knifewielding man at a Fairchild Street downtown hangout spot, popular among Guyanese. Close friends have complained that upon reporting the matter to police, she was sent to get a medical certificate of the injury, and there was no known attempt by law officers to bring the man in for questioning. She sought and received treatment at QEH. On Tuesday evening the man attacked Brenda with a cutlass and chopped her to death outside the house of a

friend she was visiting. Her house at another location was subsequently burnt down and police suspect the two incidents might be related.

Allan Belle, who was married to Brenda for some 12 years, was hospitalised that evening after he drank a poisonous substance. He remains under police guard in hospital. “Clearly something is fundamentally wrong with this scenario. It therefore seems - from what details we have about this matter - that the system failed Brenda Belle in a most shameful manner,” read part of a statement from activist organization, ‘September 3rd Foundation’.

That organization, comprising concerned citizens, was established in memory of six women - one Guyanese among them - who were burned to death on September 3, 2010, when one of two robbers of a Bridgetown clothing store threw a Molotov cocktail behind him when escaping, setting the place ablaze.

That person is now serving six life sentences in prison.

“The duty of all us citizens of Barbados is to raise our collective voices in denunciation of this inexcusable failure of the system to protect Brenda Belle, and demand reforms,” the foundation stated.

National Organization of Women President, Marva Rice-Bowen, turned on a premiere Barbados men’s social organization,

demanding that it speaks out against this and other acts of violence against women.

“I am calling on MESA (Men’s Educational Support Association) to denounce domestic violence ... We need MESA to join other organizations in fighting to end this serious problem in our society,” she said.

In apologizing to family members of Brenda Belle for a failing of the authorities, September 3rd Foundation Coordinator, David Comissiong, questioned what is the procedure when domestic violence is reported to the authorities.

“When a woman reports to the Accident and Emergency Department of the QEH suffering stab wounds or other physical injuries inflicted by a male, is the matter automatically reported to the police or to a specially designated social worker, or to a domestic violence victim protection institution,” asked Comissiong, an attorney and human rights activist.

Results of a 2009 report on domestic violence conducted by reputable Caribbean research and public polling organization, CADRES, found that 21 percent of murders between 2000 and 2007 in Barbados were the result of domestic violence.

“It is noteworthy that all of those who were killed in that time period were women,” Rice-Bowen said.

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ImmigrationINFO Immigration News For Our Community

NEW Customer Identity Verification at Immigration Offices

By Attorney Gail Seeram Starting Monday, May 6, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a new Customer Identity Verification programme in its field offices all over the United States.

Individuals will now be required to submit biometric data, specifically fingerprints and photographs, when appearing at USCIS offices for interviews or to receive evidence of an immigration benefit. The Customer Identity Verification system will help to both defend against threats to national security and protect customers from identity fraud by enhancing the agency’s ability to verify identity of individuals entering the local immigration field offices.

Currently, USCIS requires applicants and petitioners requesting immigration or naturalization benefits to visit one of our Application Support Centres (ASCs) to provide biometric data. USCIS uses this data to help determine eligibility for requested benefits. This requirement, along with providing a governmentissued document for examination, will not change.

Under the new Customer Identity Verification,

applicants appearing at a USCIS field office for an interview (adjustment of status or naturalization interview) or to be issued evidence of an immigration benefit (temporary travel documents, parole authorizations, temporary extensions of Form I-90, and temporary I-551 stamps on passports or on Forms I-94 to evidence lawful permanent resident status) will have his or her identity biometrically re-verified. Individuals coming to USCIS field offices for other purposes, such as an Infopass appointment or as the guest of an applicant or petitioner, will not submit biometric data. Note, any petitioner who is a lawful permanent resident appearing at an interview at the field office will also be required to submit biometrics data.

Upon entry into the building, staff members will take two fingerprints and a photograph of the individual and input this information into the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology’s (USVISIT’s) Secondary Inspections Tool (SIT).

SIT is a Web-based application that processes, displays and retrieves biometric and biographic data.

US-VISIT also links databases

Gail Seeram associated with border inspections and security.

After identity verification is satisfactorily completed, individuals will proceed to their interviews or be issued their immigration documents.

In reality, the Customer Identity Verification system will be able to verify whether an applicant or permanent resident petitioner who enters the field office building has a removal order, active warrant or criminal conviction that may require Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) to act on the individual.

So, for anyone planning to visit the USCIS field office, try to be at the office at least one hour before your appointment time because the new Customer Identity Verification will cause some delay in pre-screening you before your actual appointment time.

Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan mega concert on for tonight

By Rehana Ashley Ahamad Today’s date on many people’s calendars have been circled; Why? Because one of the most historic Bollywoodoriented shows ever to be held here in Guyana is on for tonight.

Not one, but two of the most renowned playback singers of all time will be sharing the stage.

Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan, the rightful King and Queen of melody are here to commemorate the 175 th anniversary of Indian Arrival to Guyana. Alka Yagnik is notably the next best thing to the iconic Lata Mangeshkar.

Her contributions to the Hindi cinema has spanned decades. Her songs have given many the reasons to dance, laugh and even cry.

Her fan base is wide and diverse. She is a record seventime winner from a record of 35 nominations of the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer, a two-time recipient of the National Film Award as well as winner of several other music awards.

Further, as many as 20 of her tracks feature in BBC’s “Top

Alka Yagnik

Udit Narayan

40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time” review. In 2012, on occasion of 100 years of Hindi Cinema, her song “Taal Se Taal Mila” from the movie Taal was voted as the best song of the century.

Alka Yagnik, has for many years, been among the top three singers for Bollywood cinema. She shared that rating with Udit Narayan, as well as Kumar Sanu who recently performed here at the previous ‘Music of the World Super concert’ organized by Fire Fest Productions.

As for Udit Narayan Jha,

popularly known as Udit Narayan, the King of Melody, he is the holder of three National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards and numerous other awards. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India.

The success story of his career began in 1988 when he sang all the songs for the successful Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which earned him a Filmfare Award for the hugely popular song Papa Kehte Hai. The film also brought

actor Aamir Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and as well as Alka Yagnik to stardom.

After the success of that film, “Uditji” became one of the leading playback singers in the Indian film industry.

He has sung for numerous blockbuster films like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Dil to Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Hum Saath Saath Hain, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Karan Arjun, Raja Hindustani, Devdas, Darr, Mohabbatein, Om Shanti Om and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi

Gham, to name a few.

The songs from these films were also among the collaborations between both him and Alkaji, and Kumar Sanu. Of all the great songs that he has been given full credit for, the now popular song “Radha” from the movie Student of the Year, is not entirely credited to Udit Narayan as the television advertisement may have suggested. Rather, Uditji was the voice of Rishi Kapoor who appeared almost at the end of the song which is collaboration between

himself, Shreya Ghoshal and Vishal Dadlani.

Today, the gates to the National Stadium at Providence will be opened from as early as 17:00hrs for the grand performances of these two legends, which is scheduled to begin at 19:00hrs sharp.

Just like the Sonu Nigam concert, the organizers, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has said that all proceeds of the concert will be going towards the construction of the Sabha’s Children’s Shelter “Bal Nivas” in Ankerville, Berbice; construction of which began in February of this year. There are three categories of tickets available - General seating tickets costing $2,500, VIP reserved seating at $5,000 and VVIP all inclusive tickets which cost $20,000. Stadium parking tickets costing $1000 are also on sale. Tickets are available at the Dharmic Kendra (2276181 or 219-1900), Red Mango, Bhagwans, E-Networks, Harinarine & Sons, Ashmins, NTN, M & M Snackette, R. Gossai & Sons General Store, Murti Sop – WCD and Spready’s – Berbice.

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

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My column

Guyana is not really a seven-day wonder Guyana has over the years not been known to pursue anything to finality. This attitude caused even the local politicians to describe the country as a seven-day wonder at worse and a threeday wonder at best. And indeed, people simply grow tired of happenings in very short order.

Examples are many.

Recently there was the bombing in Boston. People died and the hunt began for the perpetrators. From the way people behaved in front of their television, one would have believed that the bombing occurred in Guyana.

People stayed glued to the television when the bombing occurred and they talked well into the night.

By the second day the interest started to wane. Yes, there were those who stayed interested but the vast majority did not display the same interest they did when the bombing occurred. Their interest peaked when they heard that one of the suspects was killed and that there was the hunt for the second.

Interest peaked when the second person was located and when he was taken into custody.

Three days later no one seemed to care. Not even when the second suspect was being charged did the interest switch back to that event.

Today, if someone were to ask Guyanese about the name of

the suspects it is hardly likely that more than a handful would be able to do so.

It was the same thing when the plane crashed in Plaisance. The attention of the nation was focused on the village for all of two days.

Today, some two weeks after that plane crash, the first in a village in Guyana, many people simply could not be bothered. The villagers would still pass by the site but even the reporters seem to have lost interest.

One enterprising reporter visited the woman who lost her home to fire from the crash and did a story, but such is the interest in that incident.

There are many more such cases of shortened interest.

People are hardly interested in May Day parades. The crowds that line the route have dwindled. Even the workers taking in the parade hardly seem to bother. They use the holiday to do their own business. The late Dr Cheddi Jagan knew Guyanese and their interest in events and made bold to say that Guyana is a three-day wonder.

This may be the reason why many crimes remain unsolved.

There was a murder in Beterverwagting in 1989.

There was a dance and a young man was stabbed to death. The killer fled to Suriname and remained there for a few years before returning to the village. He is still there, some say mad as a

hatter, but walking around without fear of arrest. I am left to wonder whether, apart from the people closely associated with the victim, anyone is worried. For sure the police have not made any attempt to resurrect interest in this crime.

A man killed his wife and took their son to the border with Suriname before sending him back to his grandmother.

That man remains at large and there seems to be no effort to have him sent back, although Guyana has an extradition treaty with the neighbouring republic.That is why when President Bharrat Jagdeo freed up the radio frequencies and there was talk, the noise subsided almost as soon as it began. The issue was almost dead until a Member of Parliament, Cathy Hughes, decided to ask about the issue of these licences. She had applied for a radio frequency and she had been ignored.

The information provided

by Prime Minister Sam Hinds was a shocker, but even then the noise lasted for no more than two days, until the publisher of Kaieteur News took the bit between his teeth and mounted a serious protest.

He organized protests outside his office, outside State House, outside Office of the President and even outside one of the private media houses.

But while this was happening he found out that

no other media house had the urge to protest. At HBTV which broadcasts on Channel Nine, not one staff member came out. The owners certainly did not. Perhaps the authorities, safe in the knowledge that Guyana is a seven-day wonder at worst, did nothing. But Glenn Lall was not to be denied.

Today his objection to the allocation of the frequencies has led to a series of international condemnations of the action by President Jagdeo. United States Ambassador to Guyana, Brent Hardt, made a most interesting statement.

“Last year, I welcomed the decision by the Government to free the radio airwaves and end the model of limited, state-influenced radio. Radio is such an integral part of the public square throughout the Caribbean, and opening up that square in Guyana as it is in other Caribbean countries will do much to generate a more inclusive, participatory

public dialogue on issues of the day for the people of Guyana. “While new radio broadcasting licences are welcome, the process by which such licences are issued must be fair and transparent. Guyana created a reasonable foundation for such a process through its 2011 Broadcasting Legislation, which paved the way for the creation of a National Broadcast Authority. It is now time for the Authority to do its work — to promptly review and approve qualified applicants, including many long established media houses whose applications in various forms have been pending since the late 1990’s.”

The independent, Viennabased International Press Institute (IPI), in its assessment, noted, “While IPI was previously aware of allegations that broadcast licences have been unfairly distributed in Guyana, our visit revealed the full depth and gravity of this issue.”

Adam Harris Mission Director Allison Bethel-McKenzie added: ”It is unthinkable that the licence applications of certain media have been delayed or ignored for nearly two decades.

This practice clearly clashes with international standards on broadcast rights. We call upon the newly constituted Broadcast Authority to immediately undertake a speedy, fair, and independent review of any outstanding licence applications.”The radio licence issue has not gone away after seven days.

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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

GUARANTEEING THE BEST USE OF OUR TAX DOLLARS

Recently, the picture of the opposition that Government likes to paint is one of being angry, bitter, vindictive, irresponsible and irrational.

That is by no means the case, and today the AFC explains the “adjustments” it made to the 2013 National Budget. They were based on our commitment to ensure proper scrutiny of these public funds, as well as transparency and accountability of funds spent in the preceding year.

We take this opportunity to remind everyone that at any time, with as little as six days notice to the National Assembly, these cuts can be resubmitted for reconsideration and approval. Last year this was done on a few occasions as more information was submitted to the Parliament.

THE CHEDDI JAGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT While the AFC supports all necessary upgrades to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), we do not fully support the modernization project. In particular, we do not believe that a new terminal building is a high enough priority at this time to incur such a

massive foreign debt. Our objections focus on the following aspects: Our escalating national debt Our external debt has trebled since 2007 and we are fast approaching the limit of $400B set out in Guyana’s External Loans Act. Does the government plan to ask the National Assembly to increase this limit as required by the Act? We believe that a broad consultation should be initiated on this matter and any increase in our borrowing limits should be tied to a national development plan that prioritizes large projects over specified time periods.

The manner in which this project was conceived We believe that a project of this magnitude should have been conceived within the context of a larger development plan in which it would have been given a level of priority consistent with that plan. What has taken place in this case is the ballooning of the need to expand the runway which we agreed fully with, into a complete overhaul of the airport and its surroundings, including the relocation of residents and businesses. There is no study

or evidence that indicates that this is a priority even within the tourism sector, much less for the entire nation.

The contract and the loan agreement An agreement was entered into between the Government of Guyana and the contractor that appears to be outside of our own procurement procedures. This agreement only came to light through a press release carried in the Jamaica Observer. It is reported that a feasibility study for this project was carried out by the contractor. $4.5Bn for this project was placed in the Budget Estimates of 2012 prior to the signing of the loan agreement and prior to the tabling of this loan agreement in the National Assembly. The project was listed as critical and the expansion of the runway by 1000 metres was deemed to be a priority.

All projects funded by ExIm Bank of China are discriminatory in the selection of goods and services to the detriment of our own economy.

The capacity of the tourism sector We do not feel that the country is currently in a position to realize the potential of a modern airport. Such a project when completed would undoubtedly support the tourism sector, however this sector is yet to materialize, and is unlikely to do so without the successful implementation of a strategic plan to market Guyana internationally as a desirable destination, and also to transform it into such a destination.

In this regard, the AFC feels that the following areas of concern should be addressed in advance of any investment in a new terminal building: · Given the fact that the East Bank Demerara road is still a conduit for over ninety percent of the passengers using the CJIA, the priority should be to alleviate the traffic congestion on this road by investing in alternatives. · The state of the nation’s capital continues to deteriorate visibly from year to year. Investments in measures to halt and reverse this trend are critical if Guyana is to be marketed as a desirable destination. · Public transportation in Guyana leaves a lot to be desired and will need a major upgrade if Guyana intends to venture into tourism.

Questions on the CJIA Expansion project · The fact that a modern airport also provides a retail experience – food, perfume, gadgets, banking, parking, etc. – requires that concessions be allocated to various commercial entities. Is there a retail management plan for the new airport?

In particular: . On what basis will a person or entity be chosen to manage this aspect of the airport’s operations? . How many retail units will be available in the new terminal building? What is the breakdown between concessions in the departure, arrivals and landside areas? . What data is available to allow prospective concessionaires to evaluate the potential of taking up retail space in the new terminal? . On what basis will retail concessions be granted? . If these questions cannot be answered as yet, then when can we expect answers? · The relocation of residents from the surrounding area is of concern. . What arrangements are in place for relocation? . What arrangements are in place for compensation? . What assurances are there that lands vacated on the basis of safety concerns will not be developed for private enterprises once the residents have been relocated?

AMAILAFALLS HYDROPOWER PROJECT

The AFC has stated before and continues to support this important transformational project, and in fact approved funding for the completion of the road to the project, despite the many construction problems the road has faced. That is testimony to our commitment.

A total of $19B was not approved at this point in time simply because the IDB, the agency conducting the final due diligence on this project, has not signed off totally on the project.

The AFC stated in parliament and publicly that once the IDB gives final approval, the funds will be approved for the project when resubmitted to the National Assembly by the Minister of Finance. Of course NCN and GINA would never report that! The AFC was most concerned that if we approved these monies they would be available for spending regardless of whether the IDB granted final approval. Please note that one billion dollars was approved for a series of development projects for Amerindian Communities.

GPL The AFC recognizes the need to increase generating capacity to meet current and anticipated future demand. We also recognize the need for upgrading our transmission and distribution systems. We fully support the move towards prepaid metering and the strengthening of legislation to allow for prosecution of those caught stealing electricity.

Our concerns are with GPL’s failure to meet loss reduction targets and the implications of this for the Guyanese consumers and for our economy on the whole. We are unhappy with the fact that high compensation levels are not tied to tangible results in this regard, and we feel that Guyana cannot afford to encourage a culture of non-achievement in such an important sector.

We are concerned that the procurement process is being increasingly subverted by the terms and conditions of loan agreements hinged to Chinese contractors and equipment.

GPL has spent more than $25B over the past decade in infrastructural projects and at an ever increasing rate. It is not unreasonable for the opposition to be concerned and to seek assurances before approving more expenditure.

Questions: 1. In the 2013 budget estimates, a total subsidy of $10,255M was proposed for GPL. We would like to know where the $8,255M of unspecified foreign funding is coming from and whether these funds have already been secured and if so, the terms and conditions of this funding.

We would also like to know what precisely this part of the estimates is for since, apart from Provision for metering, plant, machinery and equipment, we see nothing new in the description of projects for this year.

2. Has the company been meeting its loss reduction targets over the last five years?

If not what NEW measures are in place to ensure that these targets are met over the next five years?

3. What are the technical loss reduction targets for the short, medium and long-term?

4. What is the estimated current cost to the company of its non-technical losses and what are its targets for improvement in the short, medium and long-term?

These were the concerns that guided our budget “adjustments” in the National Assembly.

The AFC remains committed to stamping out corruption and the misuse of public funds.

We look forward to moving Guyana forward acknowledging that all stakeholders – the Private Sector, Government, other Political Parties and Civil Society each have an invaluable role to play. This “Guyana” belongs to ALL of Us!

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Page 28

Death by disease comes easy every year in Guyana’s North West – now called the Barima-Waini Region (Region No. 1). Former Minister of Health in the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, declared quite frankly and factually three years ago that “the occurrence of gastroenteritis is seasonal, with the highest incidence occurring in

Kaieteur News

December, January, February and March.” He was dead right!

Zashada Bumbury, only two months old, was the first to die for the 2013 season on 15th February; seven-monthold Steve Adams was the second on 4th March.

The third death was that of an unnamed twelve-monthold. All three children were from the North West.

Current Minister of Health

Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, by mid-March, attempted to assuage the panic and assure the public that the outbreak was “under control.”

He claimed, unbelievably, that “The ministry has been on top of the issue even before it was highlighted by the media.”

That claim appears to be at variance with the facts.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, explained

that there are normally 20 cases of gastroenteritis in the North West per month.

The cases recorded from January 2013, however, soared to 700. Evidence suggests that this year ’s gastroenteritis outbreak started at Canal Bank on 20th January; it then advanced to Sebai by 3rd February and Port Kaituma by 17th February. The outbreak, clearly, was not “under control.”

The Ministry of Health misleadingly pronounced that the gastroenteritis outbreak “peaked” in the third week in February.

This was not so. The numbers of those afflicted by the disease continued to rise, reaching 529 cases by the third week in March.

The government suddenly declared that the situation had returned to “normal.” Reports of illness and deaths dropped off the headlines to make way for everyday crimes and the budget debate in the National Assembly. Public information on the health crisis ceased.

Persaud made it clinically clear that the source of the illness was E. coli (i.e., Escherichia coli).

He suggested that the presence of high levels of the bacteria in the water used by residents might be the cause of the public health crisis.

Samples of water taken from several wells and river sources all showed that they were of an “unacceptable” standard, Persaud said. “…The contamination was quite extensive.

The organism identified in all of these instances is E.coli and there was contamination from human waste,” he said of the solar-powered wells at Sebai.

Death and disease caused by gastroenteritis in the North West are dreaded by the residents.

The PPPC central and

Sunday May 05, 2013

regional administrations, however, seem to tolerate the appalling suffering of the population as an unavoidable annual ritual.

‘Gastro 2013’ comes in the wake of earlier outbreaks.

Arakaka, also in the BarimaWaini Region, experienced one which claimed seven lives in 2009. E. Coli was also identified in that outbreak.

Moruca suffered a similar outbreak in 2009 when six residents died from what the Ministry of Health determined was E. coli.

There had also been several deaths at Port Kaituma as well as cases of persons seeking treatment at the Mabaruma District Hospital and at health facilities at Matthew’s Ridge.

The Ministry of Health, back in April 2005, had also reported another outbreak of Acute Diarrheal Diseases (ADD).

The Port Kaituma Hospital reported 13 cases in the first week; this quickly escalated to 33 then to 100 cases. Seventy percent of the victims were children under five years and almost half of those were under the age of one year.

Scores of residents – in the North West community o f To b a g o H i l l i n t h e Mabaruma Sub-Region – complained of suffering symptoms similar to those of tuberculosis in November 2010. Residents also sustained symptoms associated with gastroenteritis such as vomiting and diarrhea.

A twelve-month-old child died the day after being rushed to the Mabaruma Public Hospital after experiencing vomiting and diarrhea.

Life could be short in the Barima-Waini Region.

Located in the northwest of the country, it is the fourth largest and, potentially, one of the richest. It covers an area of 20,339 km² or about four

times the size of Trinidad and Tobago.

The population is among the lowest for any region – only about 25,000 people –but is made up largely of Amerindian communities – mainly Arawak, Carib and Warrau – and is scattered thinly along the rivers.

The Region’s rich alluvial soil supports crops of c o f f e e , g r o u n d provisions (such as cassava, eddo and yam), bananas, beans, cabbage, corn, citrus fruit, plantain and peanut cultivation, and the economy is enriched by forestry and mining.

The Region should be prosperous but, owing to administrative neglect, remains one of the poorest and least developed. Its large rivers –Aruka, Barama, Barima, Kaituma, Wa i n i – a n d l o w - l y i n g lands are essential not only for transportation and irrigation but are also the source of drinking water.

Herein lies the problem – when the water is polluted, children die.

The central government and regional administration are well aware of the plight of residents of riverain communities who suffer from these annual crises, but do little to prevent these predictable recurrences.

Th e B a r i m a - Wa i n i Region is sitting on a public health time bomb.

People are living in dreadful conditions and are the unwilling casualties not of force majeure, but a lack of political will to remedy their environmental and health problems. One resident of Port Kaituma pointed out wisely, “Because of this gastro outbreak, they [the government] sending doctors in here; but, if they treat the water, they don’t need to send doctors and spend so much money because no one will be sick.”

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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

Worry for Guyanese as Delta flies out tomorrow Delta Airlines will be conducting its last flight from Guyana tomorrow.

Almost five years after adding the Guyana/New York route to its flights, US-based Delta Airlines will leave Timehri for the last time tomorrow, putting pressure on the administration to now scramble to attract other operators.

With the folding of EZjet and RedJet last year, it will only be the Trinidad-owned Caribbean Airlines left.

Suriname Airways has signaled intentions to start flights along that same route in July.

Yesterday, Delta’s local Sales Manager, Junior Horatio, confirmed that a Delta flight will arrive at 07:00 hrs at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), and leave one hour later – for the last time.

Delta touched down in Guyana for the first time in June 2008, conducting three to four flights weekly between JFK and Timehri. The number of flights during peak periods became daily.

The New York/Guyana route has been a lucrative one for airlines with thousands of Guyanese living in especially the tri-State area. This was especially so for Caribbean Airlines. The situation of one airline would worry both the government and the flying public who fear high fares will return again with only one player in the market.

It will also put Government in a defensive

position especially as Guyana has sealed the deal for a new US$150M CJIA expansion which is set to start by midyear. This latest development would also add fuel to the opposition who cut funding for the expansion from the National Budget. The opposition has been questioning the feasibility of the expansion. Government, on the other hand, has defended the project saying it will open new markets to Asia and Africa, because of Guyana’s position at the northern tip of South America.

In February, Delta Airlines, in a surprise announcement, said it was pulling out of the Guyana and cited profitability.

Government said it was puzzled as from all indications, the US airline seemed to be doing well. Indications are that it was commanding near full passenger loads, this year racking up its highest percentage…89 per cent, according to Transport Minister, Robeson Benn.

Government had denied reports that Delta was unhappy because Government businesses were taken away from the airline businesses like diplomatic bags and mail.

There were also persistent rumors that Delta was unhappy that Government was planning to grant Caribbean Airlines flag-carrier status.

Government had also denied a report that the airline was pressured after baggage belonging to former President Bharrat Jagdeo was searched.

Works Minister Robeson Benn had provided figures of how well Delta was doing, moving from 36,695 passengers between JuneDecember 2008 to 78,221 last year. “The Guyana aviation sector and its passengers have benefitted from the Delta experience. The ongoing and intended improvements at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, especially the slated runway extension and new terminal building, allow us to hold the door open for Delta’s rethink of its options for its engagement in Guyana,” Benn had said during a press conference in February on Delta’s planned pullout.

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

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Ravi Dev Column

The Indians that “arrived” in Guyana from India between 1838 and 1917 left a country that had been conquered by Britain.

But unlike the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, Britain always viewed itself as a “foreign power”. She conquered India between 1757 – when the adventurer Clive at the battle of Plassey seized the richest province of the moribund Mughal Empire – Bengal, for the British East India Company, and 1818, when it defeated the Maratha Confederacy in western India.

The Indians of Guyana cannot be understood unless one understands the history of India during this period. In her pursuit of wealth, the British plundered the country so thoroughly that the first Hindi word to enter the

English language was the word “LOOT”. In fact, Bengal and the United Provinces [Bengal, Modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh], the earliest conquests of the British, remain the most backward regions of India - such was the magnitude of the plunder.

The cotton and indigo industries, in which India had reigned supreme for thousands of years, was destroyed, as the cotton mills of Lancashire were established.

The importation of all machinery to India was forbidden until the pressures of World War One forced the British hand. India’s industrial base was stillborn, as its factories were snuffed out.

It was the beginning of the structural underdevelopment of India.

By introducing a direct tax on the land and refining the Moghul methods of collection, millions were uprooted from the land as they could not pay the onerous taxes.

Cash crops for export were encouraged as the uprooted millions wandered across the land in search of food.

Famines arrived in India.

Before the British arrival in India, under Mughal rule, the villages had remained self-sufficient … there were no famines. It is not mere fortuity that British rule and famines swept across India simultaneously.

Even though force, supported by treachery, bribery, vice and venality were the instruments of the British conquest of India, through “education” and a wide array

THE BACCOO SPEAKS There are some things that never fail to amaze people. One of these things is how try as they might, some people never understand that what is written cannot be changed.

That is why a mother will shed tears for a daughter whom she failed to control.

As the focus is on trafficking in persons, this mother who paid hardly a glance at her growing daughter will find the police at her door seeking information. The truth is that the girl, young as she is, will meet a horrible death. And this is going to be reported in the very near future. ** The police managed to

avert another execution in the city but they failed to save one of their own. However, they are going to get a lucky break when a telephone will reveal an interesting connection. It was the telephone that exposed a close relative of a prominent trade unionist. This man is now facing a murder charge.

The discovery will create

some problems because of a source in the midst of the police who would try to suppress the evidence because he too is in cahoots with the criminals. ** The king is dead, long live the king is a famous statement. In Guyana, the king is no longer king but his influence is pervasive.

There will be news of a certain move to suppress the information concerning the selection process for the radio frequencies.

The courts are going to rule one way but then again, the status quo would remain and the episode would continue until somebody gets tired.

of measures, they created and projected an image of them being incorruptible, just and god-like. A new paradigm was created to conquer the minds of the populace.

To correct the contradictions between the reality and the paradigm, the facts were simply re-written.

India was “backward, superstitious, and primitive”.

According to the new paradigm, India was not conquered for “gold” - its economic wealth, or “glory” – political expansionism, or “god” – religious fulfillment, but was ruled purely for the benefit of the Indians.

This altruism supposedly sprung from the British desire to: • establish amongst the “squabbling and warring peoples” in India, • bring civilization to Indians, • eradicate inhuman social practices, • establish law and order, • develop the Indian economy, and • save the souls of heathen Indians etc, etc.

All these had to be accomplished stoically, for it was “the white man’s burden”.

It was against this background of economic, social and psychological devastation that the emigration of Indians was engineered. So when one uses the word “voluntary” to describe Indian emigration, it is as if a man invades your home, destroys that home and

all its contents, and then claims you “voluntarily” chose to live elsewhere.

“Voluntary” implies a choice.

There was no choice for most of the Indian immigrants.

Even some of the immigrants’ reasons, which may be termed ‘personal’, actually stemmed from the destruction of their societal value system by the British invaders.

Another spur to Indian emigration to the ‘colonies’ was provided by the first Battle for Indian Independence [the so-called “Indian Mutiny”] of 1857.

With the defeat of the Indian forces, caused by internal dissent among the soldiers (sepoys) - brutal British retaliation on suspected and actual participants, forced many to flee for their lives.

Thousands were killed and entire villages were razed.

Many of the “sepoys” ended up in Guyana.

In a random sample taken by anthropologist R.T. Smith, of the 238,934 Indians who arrived in Guyana between 1838 and 1917, 84% were Hindus, 15.9% Muslims, and only 0.1% Christians. Of the Hindus, 13.6% were high caste Brahmins and Kshatriyas, while the others were mainly from the agricultural castes. The

Ravi Dev

percentage of high castes was higher than in North India as a whole, in spite of the prejudice against them by the British, who branded them ‘trouble makers’.

It is unquestioned that many of these individuals were literate in their own languages and were quite conversant with their religious texts, and chafed at being branded ‘illiterate heathens’ by the Planters.

Against great odds, and under great privation, these Indians worked to preserve the institutions of their culture.

The first Mandir in Guyana was noted in 1870 on Leguan Island in the Essequibo River and up the Berbice River. The first Masjid was built in 1869 at Vergenoegen on the East Bank of Essequibo.

By the turn of the century, these had spread exponentially and almost every village had a Mandir and Masjid, which formed the nuclei around which the Indians reconstructed their lives in the new land.

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Sunday May 05, 2013

The Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA)…

Promoting safe sexual and reproductive health practices

GRPA’s Executive Director, Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth Sexual and reproductive health for both men and women, as well as family planning, are key issues in any society, and for decades there has been a local organization that has been carrying the mantle in these areas.

The Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) was established in 1973 as an educational, training and family planning institution, but in 1995 the entity expanded its scope and developed a more holistic approach. Today it would be safe to assert that it is one of the leading nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the area of sexual and reproductive health and chronic diseases, providing optimum services in a safe and comfortable environment.

GRPA is an associate member of an umbrella organization known as the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation Ltd (CFPA).

The CFPA serves 13 island-Member Associations and 6 Associate Member Associations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. It supports these Associations with technical assistance and materials, and represents their collective interests at International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) meetings and in the Caribbean region among governments and NGOs. CFPA Island Member Associations are located in Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. CFPA Associate Member Associations are located in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

In a recent interview with this publication Mrs. Patricia Sheeratan-Bisnauth, Executive Director of the GRPA said over the years the organization has added numerous services to those initially offered. She said that the main objective is to develop high quality sustainable services and programmes in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

Through funding from the New-York based IPPF, the United Nations Population Fund, an annual Government subvention and United States Agency for International Developmemt, the GRPA has been able to keep most of its vital services open to the public.

At its Quamina Streetbased clinic, the GRPA offers family planning services via its very competent physicians. According to Mrs. Bisnauth, the clinic offers pap smears, colonoscopies, punch biopsies and cryosurgery, and has facilities for the diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. In addition, there are services for Gynecological conditions - irregular menstrual cycle, menopause, infertility; Family Planning orals, injectables, condoms, Intra-uterine devices, Medical Termination of Pregnancy, Pelvic Examination. There is pregnancy testing, Pre-natal Care, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, Testicular Examination and Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Focus is also placed on Chronic Diseases - diabetes, hypertension and arthritis The outlet provides access to a full range of contraceptive methods, including voluntary sterilization for men and

women. There is a small fee attached, but no one is ever turned away if they cannot afford to pay. The mission statement of the GRPA is “Promoting, advocating, providing services and support, and ensuring that every person, particularly those who are poor and vulnerable, have access to information, education and services needed to attain and maintain good sexual health and family life.”

Apart from its clinical services, the GRPA also caters to teens and young adults through its Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) programme. The YAM, as it is called, runs special youth initiatives, including an Under-20 Club. This provides training and support for outof-school young people and teenage parents. Public engagement with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues is promoted through lectures, family planning discussions, radio spots, poster displays and the distribution of pamphlets, brochures and manuals.

Mrs. Bisnauth explained that the youth arm of the GRPA targets in-school youths including with the aim of educating them on sexual and reproductive health issues. This is done through lectures at schools, upon invitation. YAM also has an open-door policy where youths can walk in and have interactive sessions with staffers of the GRPA as well as use the entity’s research centre for vital information.

“In order to help reduce some of the social issues we have, we need to get to the core; we have to educate the young and upcoming population so that they don’t fall into the troubling social cycles. We need to make information available to them and that is what we try to do,” Ms. Bisnauth said.

While acknowledging the need for more outreach programmes, the Director said the Association is involved in some level of community outreach, such as Family Life Education in schools, as well as training of service providers in Sexual and Reproductive Health and related issues. In addition, focus group discussions with men in relation to genderbased violence and sexual violence are held monthly.

She pointed out that gender-based violence screening is a prerequisite in all interaction with clients, while counseling is provided for victims and perpetrators

The building which houses the entity’s clinic and other offices. as well.

Speaking of some of its past work, Ms. Bisnauth recalled that in 2011, the GRPA delivered nearly 174,000 condoms and 56,000 sexual and reproductive health services. It provided an additional 12,000 HIVrelated services and 14,000 services were provided to young people in less than 25 years. Currently, the Association is working with Guyana Sugar Corporation workers with the aim of targeting men as part of the gender-based violence programme.

This programme, notably, is very close to Mrs. Bisnauth, as she feels men, while they are oftentimes the perpetrators, are also victims themselves. Being a religious leader, Mrs. Bisnauth said she has been privileged to work with men and to listen to their views on many issues ranging from domestic violence to what it is like to be a man in a society and their roles.

“We want people to know that the GRPA is not only an organization which serves the need to women and children, yes, I will say we have a very low number of men who

access our services, but we are working on a plan to target more men, as they too play a very important role in our society”.

Mrs. Bisnauth believes that communities become stronger when the abilities and competence of all persons, including men, are respected, embraced and maximized. It is for this reason, she says, the GRPA does not discriminate, as it is important for persons of any race, creed, ethnic origin, political belief, religion or sex, to have equal access to their services. Very soon, she added, the GRPA will be implementing a number of new programmes with the aim of getting more involved as they gear up to get the gender-based violence venture in full swing.

“While men are the main perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence, that is not the only fact about them… men are a part of the solution to end gender-based violence,” Mrs. Bisnauth stressed.

Hence, together with ‘Men of Purpose’, the GRPA will be embarking on a transformative process of promoting positive masculinities and transforming forms of

masculinities, which are destructive to women, men, families and society as a whole.

The approach is not to demonize men or to instill feelings of guilt and powerlessness, but to peel away the layers of gender construction, which are key to understanding manhood within the Guyanese cultural, economic, political and social context. Activities include establishing men’s networks across Guyana, awareness and education, advocacy, anger management, training in mentorship, peer counseling, and other community action.

An Action Plan is being developed in collaboration with key stakeholders.

In highlighting some issues men face, Mrs. Bisnauth noted that there is widespread unemployment and underemployment, thus leaving many men unable to fulfill traditional gender roles.

As a result, she said, some men are turning to violence against women and children because they see it as one of the few remaining ways that they can display power over others and ‘feel like a man’.

These and many more issues (Continued on page 50)

Barbers and beauticians in attendance at an outreach programme

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Kaieteur News

AG claim upsets Duprey’s lawyer - ‘Back off’ Trinidad Guardian Attorney General Anand Ramlogan’s use of the term “wanted man” to describe former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey is “illogical and inexplicable,” said Duprey’s attorney Lionel Luckhoo in a letter to the AG Friday.

Describing Ramlogan’s comments as “outrageous,” he warned that Duprey might have to consider seeking an injunction to stop the AG making “public statements with the weight of your office behind you that give the impression that you have already determined the outcome.”

However, in an immediate response Ramlogan said he was prepared to defend his claim and through his lawyer, Donna Prowell, told Luckhoo that he was ready to do to court if necessary.

Luckhoo Friday found it necessary to remind the AG several times of his constitutional role, summing up: “I am sure that you need no reminding that the role of the Attorney General does not stretch to being prosecutor, judge and jury.”

He also admonished

Lawrence Duprey

Ramlogan: “You are to be reminded, Attorney General, that you are a leader in the legal profession and should be setting examples of integrity and rectitude. Your interference is contrary to those tenets of your role.” On Thursday, in a postCabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, Ramlogan had said Duprey’s failure to appear at the commission of enquiry, where he is the “central protagonist,” made him a “wanted man.”

Luckhoo complained: “The use by you of the pejorative phrase ‘wanted man’ is frankly

both illogical and inexplicable.

The phrase has of course been seized by many newspaper reports.”

Luckhoo, therefore, told Ramlogan he was issuing his letter to the media in view of the prominent coverage Ramlogan’s comments had received. He noted that no criminal proceedings had been instituted against Duprey. “There is at this stage an enquiry which should continue without any political interference and without seeking to pre-judge its results or compromise the constitutional fair-trial rights that are possessed by all in this country.”

He also accused the Attorney General of breaking the promise he made to the people of T&T when he took office, and of usurping the role of the commissioner of the enquiry. “You have arrogated unto yourself the role of the commissioner, who, it is hoped, would consider all the evidence and the submissions that he has yet to receive before making any public pronouncements, which is further hoped and indeed expected to be within his terms of office.”

Sunday May 05, 2013

UNC rejects Jack Warner for by-election Trinidad Express - Jack Warner will be standing alone in his bid to be re-elected as the Chaguanas West MP. The by-election in Chaguanas West is set to be a heated one as former government minister and United National Congress (UNC) chairman Warner will not receive party approval to re-contest and will have to go it as an independent candidate.

Party sources told the Express yesterday that Trade Minister Vasant Bharath, who is also an adviser to the UNC executive, is being considered to run for the by-election, following Warner ’s resignation as MP on April 26.

Bharath, who is on official business in Guyana, told the Express he was not aware of this and he has not been approached.

However, when asked if he would accept if requested, Bharath said he was certain the best decisions in the interest of the par-ty and the people will be made.

Warner, in a brief interview with the Express, said he preferred to speak tomorrow when he officially launches his re-election campaign.

Warner will kick off his campaign with a motorcade starting at 1 p.m at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, followed by a public meeting in Felicity.

While the Chaguanas West constituency executive and hundreds of constituents came out in full force and support of War-ner last week Thursday at a public meeting in Pierre Road, Fe--li-city, it

Jack Warner

remains to be seen whe-ther the show of strength will continue.

Sources told the Express that correspondence and communication went out, informing activists and supporters, as well as constituency executives, MPs and party members, to distance themselves from Warner’s campaign.

On Thursday, the UNC executive, led by Prime Minister and UNC political leader Kamla PersadBissessar, held a meeting at Rienzi Complex, Couva, to discuss the issue.

Sources told the Express that concerns were raised about War--ner re-contesting the seat on a UNC ticket, given the fact that his name was not yet cleared on matters pertaining to his tenure at football bodies FIFA and Concacaf.

Warner resigned as National Security Minister and

UNC party chairman, as well as Chaguanas West MP, following the disclosure of a Concacaf integrity committee report in Panama which found he was fraudulent in his management of Concacaf as the organisation’s president.

Warner, at his public meeting in Felicity last week, had already hinted he was prepared to go it alone should he not get the support of the UNC. In a clear anticipation of rejection by party authorities to contest the seat for the UNC, War-ner’s advertisement campaign has now excluded the party logo and colours.

The Express understands that disciplinary action can be taken against Warner should he run as an independent candidate.

It would be a breach if the party approves one candidate to contest the seat and another par-ty member challenges that candidate.

The Express was told that War-ner will continue with his campaign and is determined to maintain his representation of the people of Chaguanas West.

In 2010, Warner received an overwhelming 19,000 votes for the Chaguanas West seat in the general election, the highest obtained.

Another bone of contention is the signal by the Congress of the People (COP) that they, too, desire to contest the Chaguanas West seat.

The COP has its party operations centre based in Charlieville.

T&T gang member, parents gunned down Trinidad Express - For being the parents of a 33-yearold gang member, a Diego Martin mother and father paid with their lives Friday afternoon when gunmen first shot and killed their son then, realising his parents were at home, murdered them as well.

In a separate incident which occurred earlier, also in Diego Martin, another man was killed, and he is said to be the first cousin of the murdered gang member.

The first murder took place at around 3 p.m. on Sierra Leone Road, Diego Martin, where gunmen walked up to 20-year-old Andre Ross, who was walking along the road, and shot him several times about the body, killing him on the spot.

A team of officers of the Western Divisional Task Force were first on the scene, followed by officers of the Crime Scene Unit, who arrived

to examine the body and search for clues.

Residents of Sierra Leone Road claimed they did not know the victim.

Around 5 p.m., the three other murders occurred at a house located off Mercer Road, Diego Martin.

There, four gunmen climbed a steep, treacherous hill and located their target, gang member Timothy James.

He was outside his house when they found him.

Police said James was very well known to them and was currently out on bail on gun possession charges, but although he was also a suspect in a number of shootings in the area, there was never enough evidence against him that would lead to an arrest.

Police said the gunmen shot James twice, killing him on the spot.

His parents, George James, 50, and Theresa Nelson, 55, walked out their small, ramshackle house when they heard the gunshots.

The gunmen then turned to them and opened fire, hitting both James and Nelson several times about their bodies.

They, too, died instantly.

The surviving members of the family, George and Janice James’s other son and daughter, arrived on the scene around 6.30 p.m., but they were too much in a state of shock to make a comment.

They both cried as they climbed the hill to see the bodies of their parents and brother.

A team of officers led by Snr Supt Ishmael David visited both scenes, and Homicide Bureau officers are continuing investigations.

The murder toll stood at 124 up to last night.

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 45

Obama says U.S. watching New study finds cholera could be eliminated ‘crackdowns’ on Venezuela opposition in Haiti with necessary investments (Reuters) - The United States is watching “crackdowns on the opposition” in Venezuela, President Barack Obama said in a television interview aired on Friday when asked if he considered newly elected Nicolas Maduro to be the country’s legitimate president.Maduro, elected in April by a narrow margin, earlier this year accused the United States of seeking to kill opposition leader Henrique Capriles to stir chaos and spark a coup. Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, was one of the world’s most vocal critics of the United States.

“I think that the entire hemisphere has been watching the violence, the protests, the crackdowns on the opposition,” Obama said in the interview with Univision News during a trip to Mexico. “I think our general view has been that it’s up to the people of Venezuela to choose their leaders in legitimate elections.”

Opposition-led protests

Henrique Capriles

the day after the April 14 vote turned violent and, according to the government, caused nine deaths. Maduro accused Capriles of trying to start a coup against him.

The opposition says officials exaggerated the violence, and some of the deaths were caused by common crime. It accuses the government of persecuting state employees who voted for Capriles, and arresting

some activists, in what it calls a wave of repression.

“Our approach to the entire hemisphere is not ideological. It’s not rooted back in the Cold War. It’s based on the notion of our basic principles of human rights and democracy and freedom of press and freedom of assembly. Are those being observed?” Obama said.

“There are reports that they have not been fully observed post-election,” he added. “I think our only interest at this point is making sure that the people of Venezuela are able to determine their own destiny free from the kinds of practices that the entire hemisphere generally has moved away from.”

Obama held up Mexico’s peaceful transition from a conservative to a centrist government last year, and flagged examples in Colombia, Chile and Peru.

The United States angered Maduro when it last month held back recognition of his narrow victory over Capriles.

Copa Airlines doubles airlift to Jamaica OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill has hailed Copa Airlines for its decision to host its annual convention in Jamaica, especially at a time when the airline has doubled its capacity to Jamaica, improving the possibility of more visitors from Latin America, which Copa serves.

An optimistic Dr McNeill, speaking at the opening ceremony of the ninth Copa Airlines annual convention held at the Sandals Grand Riviera in Ocho Rios on Thursday evening, said he expected significant growth out of Latin American markets where Copa has wide connections.

According to the minister, 18,700 passengers arrived in the island last year from Latin American countries, via Copa

Airlines, which he said was an increase of 50.9 per cent when compared to the previous year.

“We have seen phenomenal growth from the Latin American market in response to our marketing efforts.

The average growth rate within the last five years has been an impressive 11.6 per cent per year,” Dr McNeill said. Copa, which is hosting its convention for the first time in Jamaica, has been flying into the Jamaican capital, Kingston, since 1969.

However, it was a little over a year ago that the airline started flying into Montego Bay, St James. Since that time the airline has doubled flights to the island, Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa, told persons gathered for the historic event on Thursday.

Chairman of Sandals Resorts International Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, who was among the specially invited guests, said the convention which saw agents from more than 100 agents from Latin American countries coming to the island, was important for Jamaica.

He said it was “an opportunity to begin a partnership that can be long and lasting”.

Travel agents attending the four-day event will get a chance to visit several attractions as well as enjoy Jamaica’s culture.

Copa representatives from various countries are also expected to meet with hoteliers and other tourism interest groups during their four-day convention, scheduled to end tomorrow.

NY police accused of creating misdemeanours for Caribbean immigrants NEW YORK – CMC - A United States federal civil rights lawsuit claims that New York City police officers routinely stop Caribbean immigrants without cause and then charge them with lowlevel misdemeanours when their pockets are emptied and small amounts of marijuana are found.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of five Bronx men, in United States District Court for the Southern District, in Manhattan, also claims that the amount of marijuana

found on the men would have amounted to little more than non-criminal violations punishable by a fine of up to US$100 for first-time offenders.

But the lawsuit, which also claims that black and Latino men were also subjected to the searches, alleges that the charging officers falsely claimed the marijuana was in public view, making it a low-level misdemeanor under Section 221.10 of the New York Penal

Code, which allows for sentences of up to three months in jail.

Critics of the New York Police Department (NYPD) say the practice, described as “ m a n u f a c t u r e d misdemeanors,” is rampant.

They say the arrests are often a result of the NYPD’s stop and frisk programme, which is being challenged in US federal court for, among other things, disproportionately targeting Caribbean and other minority men.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti - CMC – A new study has found that cholera could be eliminated in Haiti with the necessary investments to restrain its transmission.

The study by a team headed by French epidemiologist, Dr. Renaud Piarroux has also found that the epidemic “is still evolving with a changing transmission pattern as time passes.

“Such an evolution could have hardly been anticipated, especially in a country struck by cholera for the first time. These results argue for the need for control measures involving intense efforts in rapid and exhaustive case trafficking,” they said in the report titled “SpatioTe m p o r a l D y n a m i c s o f Cholera” Dr. Piarroux, who teaches a lecturer at the Aix-Marseille University in France, said cholera is “only shrinking and has not yet disappeared.

“But it can disappear if the fight is correctly managed,” he said, adding that it is

important for Haiti to view eliminating cholera “as an emergency” issue.

“We can stop cholera transmission before providing safe water to the entire population,” says Dr. Piarroux, who has studied the deadly waterborne disease in Haiti since it first appeared in October 2010. “Of course, the end of cholera will not be a reason to stop investments in water supply.”

The new study comes five months after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon promised to “use every opportunity” to push for funding to eliminate cholera from Haiti and the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

Government officials in both nations, however, say they are still waiting on donors to open their wallets.

Jake Johnston, international research associate and lead blogger on Haiti’s relief and reconstruction for the US Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the “feet-dragging” comes as the

rainy season begins in Haiti.

“This isn’t a sign of cholera’s disappearance, but rather its persistence; and the reasons are simple: Funding for the cholera response has greatly declined, and the response capacity has, therefore, diminished,” he said.

Johnston said he is not surprised by the UN’s inability to mobilize funding to eradicate cholera in Haiti, where more than 654,000 have been sickened and more than 8,100 have already died.

More than three years after the international community pledged US$5.4 billion to help Haiti rebuild after its devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake, the UN said more than two billion US dollars remains outstanding.

Christophe Boulierac, a spokesman with the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) in Haiti, said the UN has discussed funding with the government and is awaiting approval of how the money should be disbursed.

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Obama says does not foresee sending U.S. troops to Syria (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he does not foresee a scenario in which he would send U.S. ground troops to Syria and outlined a deliberate approach to determining whether the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in a 2-year civil war.

Obama insisted that the United States has not ruled out any options in dealing with Syria as the United States investigates whether the government of Syrian President Bashar alAssad used chemical weapons.

But Obama, who has spent much of his presidency winding down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, made clear he was not inclined to send troops to Syria, saying “I do not foresee” such a scenario.

Leaders in the region that he has consulted on this issue agree with him, Obama said.

If Syria is found to have used chemical weapons, however, Obama will be under pressure to take some action beyond what the United States is already doing.

The Obama administration is considering sending lethal aid to Syrian rebels.

Obama, who has come under

Barack Obama

fire from some critics in Washington who contend he has a muddled approach to Syria, insisted the United States is not standing by even as it waits for a chemical weapons ruling.

“We’re not waiting,” he said. “We are working to apply every pressure point that we can on Syria.” The United States has said it has “varying degrees of confidence” that chemical weapons have been used by Syria’s government, which violates a “red line” that Obama had established against such action.

At his news conference

with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla, Obama said more evidence is bound to turn up if Syria is continuing to use chemical weapons.

“If in fact there is the kind of systematic use of chemical weapons inside of Syria, we expect we are going to get additional further evidence and at that point we will absolutely present that to the international community,” Obama said.

Any additional steps taken by the United States, he said, will be based on the “facts on the ground” in Syria and what is in the best interests of the American people and U.S. national security.” He stressed he would not be pressured prematurely into a deeper intervention into Syria.

“I’m going to make those decision based on the best evidence and after careful consultation, because when we rush into things, when we leap before we look, then not only do we pay a price but oftentimes we see unintended consequences on the ground.

So it’s important that we do it right,” Obama said.

Sunday May 05, 2013

Bangladesh urges no harsh EU measures over factory deaths

Rescue workers attempt to find survivors from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar, around 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka yesterday. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

DHAKA (Reuters) Bangladesh urged the European Union yesterday not to take tough measures against its economically crucial textile industry in response to the collapse of a garment factory that killed 550 people.

Bodies were still being pulled from the ruins on Saturday as tearful families stood by waiting for news of victims of the country’s worst ever industrial accident.

The European Union, which gives preferential access to Bangladeshi garments, had threatened punitive measures in order to press Dhaka to improve worker safety standards after the collapse of the illegally built factory on April 24.

The disaster, believed to have been triggered when the building’s electricity generators were started up during a blackout, put the

spotlight on Western retailers who use the impoverished South Asian nation as a source of cheap goods.

About 4 million people work in Bangladesh’s garment industry, making it the world’s second-largest apparel exporter after China. Some earn as little as $38 a month, conditions Pope Francis has compared to “slave labor”.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed the factory owners for the disaster, saying they ignored warnings about cracks in the walls of the building.

Duty-free access offered

by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh’s garment exports into a $19 billion-a-year industry, with 60 percent of clothes going to Europe.

“If the EU or any other buyers impose any harsh trade conditions on Bangladesh it will hurt the

country’s economy ... millions of workers will lose their jobs,” Mahbub Ahmed, the top civil servant in Bangladesh’s Commerce Ministry, told Reuters.

The government has not received any formal notification of punitive action from the EU or any other country over the deaths, he said.

Separately, a group of government officials and textile factory employers and workers met officials of the International Labor Organization and agreed on steps to improve the lives of workers.

These included plans to inspect safety standards at all export-oriented garment factories, and to increase the number of safety inspectors. They also agreed to push in parliament a reform package giving workers more rights.

KABUL (Reuters) Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the Taliban yesterday to fight Afghanistan’s enemies in what was widely seen as a swipe against Pakistan days after the neighbors’ security forces clashed on their border.

Karzai’s remarks are likely to unsettle already shaky ties with Pakistan and come as the United States wants Pakistan to help Afghanistan persuade the Taliban to engage in peace talks ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign troops by the end of next year.”Instead of destroying their own country, they should turn their weapons against places

where plots are made against Afghan prosperity,” Karzai told reporters in the capital, Kabul, saying this was “a reminder for the Taliban”.

“They should stand with this young man who was martyred and defend their soil,” he said, referring to a border policeman who was killed in the Wednesday night clash on eastern Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. Two Pakistani soldiers were wounded.

Hundreds of men took to the streets of the eastern Afghan town of Asadabad yesterday, near where the clash took place, to protest against both Pakistan and the

United States.

A day earlier, thousands of men in Kabul rallied in support of the Afghan security forces.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have had testy relations since Pakistan was formed in 1947, at the end of British colonial rule over India. Afghanistan has never officially accepted the border between them.

Pakistan helped the Taliban take power in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

Many Afghan leaders say Pakistan is still helping the militants, seeing them as a tool to counter the influence of its old rival, India, in Afghanistan.

Karzai urges Taliban to fight Afghan enemies after Pakistan clash

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 47

Israel bombs Hezbollah-bound missiles in Syria: official (Reuters) - Israel has carried out an air strike targeting a shipment of missiles in Syria bound for Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, an Israeli official said yesterday.

The Jewish state had long made clear it is prepared to resort to force to prevent advanced Syrian weapons, including President Bashar alAssad’s reputed chemical arsenal, being handed over to Lebanon’s powerful Shi’ite Muslim guerrillas. Assad and Hezbollah are allied to Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy.

With Assad battling a more than two-year-old Syrian insurgency, the Israelis also worry that the Sunni Islamist rebels could loot his arsenals and eventually hit the Jewish state, ending four decades of relative cross-border calm.

Lacking a side to support in its northern neighbor’s civil war, and worried about inadvertently fuelling escalation, Israel has exercised restraint. Its government did not formally confirm Friday’s air strike, which was disclosed to Reuters by an Israeli official who spoke on the condition

of anonymity.

“There was an air strike.

The target was not a chemical weapons facility. It was missiles intended for Hezbollah,” the official told Reuters. A U.S. official told Reuters the target was apparently a building.

The attack - the second reported Israeli air strike on a target in Syria in four months - took place after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved it in a secret meeting on Thursday night, a regional security source said.

CNN quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying Israel most likely conducted the strike “in the Thursday-Friday time frame” and its jets did not enter Syrian air space.

The Israeli air force possesses so-called “standoff” bombs that coast dozens of kilometers (miles) across ground to their targets once fired. That could, in theory, allow Israel to attack Syria from its own turf or from adjacent Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities reported unusual intensive Israeli air force activity over their territory on Thursday

and Friday.

A Lebanese security source said his initial impression was that Israeli overflights were monitoring potential arms shipments between Syria and Lebanon, potentially to Hezbollah.

Syrian government sources denied having information of a strike. Bashar Ja’afari, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, told Reuters: “I’m not aware of any attack right now.”

But Qassim Saadedine, a commander and spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, said: “Our information indicates there was an Israeli strike on a convoy that was transferring missiles to Hezbollah. We have still not confirmed the location.”

Rebel units disagreed about what type of weapons were in the convoy. A rebel from an information-gathering unit in Damascus that calls itself “The Syrian Islamic Masts Intelligence” said the convoy carried anti-aircraft missiles.

The rebel, who asked not to be named, said: “There were three strikes by Israeli F-16

David Cameron

leadership in 2005, said he risked appearing “out of touch” with voters he must win over if he wants to be reelected in a national ballot in 2015.

“The fact is that if we want to win the next election, we have to break this impression of being privileged and out of touch,” Davis wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“That means more straight talking and fewer focus groups ... and please, please no more Old Etonian advisers.”

The opposition Labor party has long accused Cameron’s inner circle of being “posh boys”, and the issue resurfaced last month when Jo Johnson, brother of London Mayor Boris and Cameron’s friend at Eton, was named head of the government’s policy unit.

Davis also argued for bringing forward a referendum on membership of the European Union, something Cameron has already promised to do if he wins in 2015 and after he has renegotiated Britain’s position within the bloc.

Cameron may now go one step further and enshrine that pledge in law, ministers have hinted.

Shed the elitist image, Britain’s Cameron is warned

LONDON (Reuters) British Prime Minister David Cameron must shed his elitist image and connect with ordinary voters, a senior party member said yesterday, after the anti-EU UK Independence Party scored major gains in local polls at the expense of the ruling Conservatives.

Discontent with immigration levels was a key factor behind UKIP’s dramatic victory in Thursday’s local council elections, in which it won over 25 percent of votes and recorded the best result for a party outside the big three since World War Two. Cameron, who once called UKIP supporters “fruitcakes and closet racists”, conceded his party had to work to win back disaffected voters, and he will try to regain the political initiative next week by outlining new measures on immigration.

“We need to show respect for people who’ve taken the choice to support this party and we’re going to work really hard to win them back,” he said. UKIP leader Nigel Farage demanded big cuts in immigration during his campaign, playing on public concerns about the prospect of large numbers of Bulgarians and Romanians

coming to Britain after they have full rights to work in the EU next year.

On Wednesday, Cameron’s coalition government will outline measures to restrict the welfare benefits available to immigrants, particularly in the field of health.

But for the leader, who like several key advisers attended one of Britain’s top private schools Eton College, the problem is one of image as well as substance.

David Davis, a senior Conservative who challenged Cameron for the party

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (C) walks among his supporters during an inauguration of a memorial dedicated to university students. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters jets that damaged a convoy carrying anti-aircraft missiles heading to the Shi’ite Lebanese party (Hezbollah) along the Damascus-Beirut military road.

“One strike hit a site near the (Syrian) Fourth Armored Division in al-Saboura but we have been unable to determine what is in that location”. Saadedine said he did not think the weapons were anti-aircraft. “We have nothing confirmed yet but we

are assuming that it is some type of long-range missile that would be capable of carrying chemical materials,” he said.

In January this year, Israel bombed a convoy in Syria, apparently hitting weapons destined for Hezbollah, according to diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources in the region.

Israel has not formally confirmed carrying out that strike.

Lebanese acting foreign

minister Adnan Mansour was critical. “Attacks such as these will result in more tension and blow up the situation which it promoted,” he said.

Giora Eiland, a former Israeli army general and national security adviser, said the apparent deadlock in Syria’s civil war, now in its third year, meant the Netanyahu government had to be prudent in any military intervention.

Ruling coalition faces fight of its life in Malaysian vote KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysians vote today in an election that could weaken or even end the rule of one of the world’s longestlived coalitions, which faces a stiff challenge from an opposition pledging to clean up politics and end race-based policies. Led by former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition is aiming to build on startling electoral gains in 2008, when the Barisan Nasional (BN), or National Front, ruling

coalition lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority. The historic result signaled a breakdown in traditional politics as minority ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians, as well as many majority Malays, rejected the National Front’s brand of race-based patronage that has ensured stability in the Southeast Asian nation but led to corruption and widening inequality.

Under Prime Minister Najib Razak, the blue-blood

son of a former leader, the coalition has tried to win over a growing middle class with social reforms and secure traditional voters with a $2.6 billion deluge of cash handouts to poor families.

He can point to robust growth of 5.6 percent last year as evidence that his Economic Transformation Program to double incomes by 2020 is bearing fruit, while warning that the untested three-party opposition would spark economic ruin.

Communal clashes in Nigeria kill at least 39 – police (Reuters) - Clashes between rival ethnic groups have killed at least 39 people in eastern Nigeria’s Taraba state since they erupted on Friday, police said.

Members of the Jukun were marching through the small commercial town of Wukari to a funeral when an argument broke out with local Hausa and Fulani youths, which quickly degenerated into pitched battles with guns and machetes.

Attackers set fire to around 40 houses, police said.

“At the end of the clash, 39 people were counted

killed,” said the police spokesman for Taraba state, Joseph Kwaji.

He said that 32 people were injured and 40 were arrested.

Taraba state is part of a volatile “Middle Belt” where Nigeria’s largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet. Violence often flares in the Middle Belt over land disputes between seminomadic, cattle-keeping communities such as the Fulani and settled farming peoples like the Jukun.

Fulani settlers tend to be Muslim and other ethnic

groups who see themselves as indigenous to the Middle Belt, including the Jukun, are mostly Christian, which sometimes gives the clashes a religious dimension.

Communal violence has also flared this year in Plateau state, which borders Taraba.

Last month, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan U.S. government agency, said more than 100 people had been killed in clashes there since March, and it urged the government to do more to tackle what it called religious violence.

Page 48

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 49

GREAT GUYANA VACATION DESPITE NO WATER, BLACKOUT AND THIEVING CASHEIRS AT TIMHERI AIRPORT

By Ralph Seeram I have always looked forward with great anticipation to having a good time when I go to Guyana and with equal eagerness to leave after a few days. To be clear, the anxiety to leave has nothing to with the country or people, but me.

After a few days, I miss my bed, my cat Chelsea snuggling up to me, and my two grandchildren, though not necessarily in that order.

Exiting Cheddi Jagan Airport at 2:00am after twelve hours of travelling, you are really hungry and ready for a good curry because the bag of chips and six-ounce glass of water or soda that Caribbean Airlines provides cannot cut it. This stupid airline to which Guyana gave

Flag Carrier status does not provide a meal for people travelling from Orlando to Guyana. But, more on Caribbean Airlines later.

Things are much more efficient at the airport in Guyana. It did not take me 15 minutes to breeze through Immigration and Customs. A word of warning to those Guyanese who bring lots of electronic stuff for families and go in the non declaration line; they scan your baggage, so to avoid any problems, declare your electronic stuff.

As usual, my clothes were relegated to my carry-on while my two suitcases were filled with gifts from friends and family to friends and families.

My first day could not have begun better. I had an EXCLUSIVE interview with President Donald Ramotar, a

Teen charged with impregnating 13-year-old A 16-year-old lad is before the court on a charge of rape.

The teen of Timmers’ Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam was on Friday arraigned before Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo at the New Amsterdam M a g i s t r a t e ’s c o u r t a n d placed on $100,000 bail.

He is accused of raping a 13-year-old and impregnating her.

According to prosecutor Sergeant Phillip Sheriff the accused and the virtual

complainant live in the same area and are known to each other.

He said that between November 1 and November 3, 2012 at Angoy’s Avenue he forced her to have sexual intercourse with him.

The matter was reported and the lad was arrested. A file was prepared and sent to the DPP for advice and he was subsequently charged. The case will continue on June 28, at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s court.

one on one interview with no one present and a no holds barred. Nothing was off limit.

The President was very forthcoming on all the issues, including firing Ministers, Marriott contracts and their investors as well as radio licences.

He also spoke about where he will take Guyana and his legacy. We will see the personal side of the President who sincerely loves his country.

My primary reason for the visit was a wedding which was a four-day affair that started Friday night with the usual food and drinks and loud music. It seems that no one objects to loud music going into the wee hours. I made it to twelve midnight before retiring.

The following morning I was sporting more than twenty-five red spots on my legs. The mosquitoes smelled fresh blood and spared no effort to extract it from me. I had come prepared with my mosquito repellant but thought I would “man up” and go without it.

Saturday was the Hindu version of the wedding. Don’t let the word Hindu mislead you. Hindu wedding these days in Guyana is a multicultural affair. If you want to see some if the most beautiful women in the world go to a wedding in Guyana.

One of the high lights of a Hindu wedding is when the groom has to pay for the return of his shoes (it was “stolen” earlier). The shoes were in the possession of a flirtatious young lady who

came from Canada to attend the wedding. She demanded that the money be placed in her bosom.

After quite a few thousand Guyana dollars and a bosom full of cash she released the shoes. Later, the guys would say they really got value for their money stuffing money down her endowed breasts.

Sunday’s English version of the Wedding was held in Georgetown at a banquet hall called “The Impeccable”. For those of us in the Diaspora I would like to say that the standard is no less than you would expect in the U S A. The ambience was great. Guyana could truly become a wedding destination, if you can bypass the filth and stench of the Capital city, Georgetown.

I had the honour of being MC for the reception and I was warned that Guyanese do not stick to time, to which I retorted, “Too bad; they will miss their food and free drinks as I intend to start on time which I did. I was told Guyanese do not come out to party early so 6.30 in the evening was too early. Too bad for them, I finished all formalities speeches etc and by 8 pm Chutney singer, De Hunter, had the dance floor filled. Yes a few did come late and they did miss their meals and drinks.

Monday, on my way to Berbice, I experienced some of the traffic problems caused by the Atlantic Ocean overtopping the seawall on the east coast. This is a serious problem, and if the government does not pursue a pro active solution one will

very well see the entire city of Georgetown under three feet or more of water.

Guyanese, it would seem, have become accustomed to blackouts and lack of running water. It is totally unacceptable that in this 21st Century Guyanese cannot enjoy 24 hours of running water and free of blackouts, two basic necessities for modern day living.

I go to my relative in New Amsterdam and there is no electricity and water, and to compound her woes, someone stole her water pump, so she could not pump water in her tank. Later in the evening she got some water from the neighbour’s tank.

I bathed with a bucket of water, which reminded me of how much water I waste taking a shower in Orlando.

If you can get past the minor annoyances, Guyana is still a great place for a vacation especially if you have friends like mine, Mara and his wife, Par, Joey as well as Gregory who generously gave his time to take me round. You also make new friends like I did.

Oh and for those dishonest cashiers at the Timehri airport. I purchased rum at the DDL duty free shop the cashier refused to give me my USD$2 change until I demanded it. Across at the Banks DIH shop the cashier over charged my friend USD$32 until he pointed it out to her. Later, in the snack shop in the waiting area, I overheard the cashier telling a passenger that his coffee and snack was USD$8 when in fact it was

USD$5.50. I intervened and pointed out the correct amount.

The common factor is that these dishonest cashiers assume that the visitor does not understand the exchange rates so they exploit unsuspecting passengers. I guess they make extra money ripping off tourists. The owners of these shops need to take note.

Time and space do not allow me to tell you of the hassle Caribbean Airlines put you through on the way back to Orlando. Suffice to say I had to go through security at Cheddi Jagan airport, disembark in Trinidad; go the security process again and to top it off, disembark in Jamaica go through security and customs again only to board the same plane. The Jamaicans were not even sure if to stamp the passport as in transit or as a landed passenger.

Never the less, my next trip to Guyana will be on Surinam Airways direct from Miami to Guyana, no stops.

Ralph Seeram can be reached at email:ralph365@hotmail.com

Page 50

Book Review:

By Dr Glenville Ashby Dalton Yap tells a rueful tale of dashed ambition, duplicity and the instinctive will to survive, at any cost.

A Jamaican national with strong ties to his Chinese roots, Yap paints his own portrait - that of a driven man, almost obsessed with success at the workplace. A former employee of Jamaica Citizens Bank, Yap is derailed, the fall guy of a cover up involving banking irregularities, negligence, malfeasance and conspiracy to defraud.

The plot thickens, and so too is the cloud of suspicion, as fingers point to Yap, to the consternation of family and friends. Yap narrates his woes

Kaieteur News

A MATTER OF CONDUCT - A Jamaican’s daring struggle for justice with raw intensity, as he initially wilts under scrutiny and obvious embarrassment.

His irascibility, his pain, his withdrawal take a toll on his wife and kids. To garner greater literary impact, Yap uses the first person recollections of his wife and children. The emotional turmoil at home is near palpable. “I was his little star,” his daughter reflects, but his predicament caused a frightening uneasiness. “I was only ten when I met another side of my father...”

Yap is consumed by rage, but redirects it, standing his ground, determined to fight back. He proves an

Promoting safe...

From page 36 will be addressed once the programme gets started.

Meanwhile, as the demand for services continues to grow, the GRPA is faced with obvious challenges.

Currently the organization is governed by a Board of Directors, of which all its members are volunteers.

They are statutorily required to meet on a monthly (second Wednesday) basis. The Board comprises 13 members (five males and eight females) of which two are ex-officio members. The day-to-day activities at the clinic are carried out by trained nurses and a doctor who works parttime.

However the organization is seeking to boost its staffing capacity at the facility. Training will soon commence for volunteers.

Mrs. Bisnauth said that another area of concern is the

Sunday May 05, 2013

inability to “reach out to other parts of Guyana”. She said that plans are in the making to reach the hinterland communities through the training of teachers, health workers and community development workers. These persons will provide assistance to those suffering from any form of abuse or other social problem.

If a referral is needed, the same will be done so that the individual can access professional help as well as legal services if needed.

The GRPA works closely with sister agencies with the aim of ensuring that persons get the requisite help and support that is needed. Some of these agencies include Red Thread, Help and Shelter, Child Care and Protection Agency, the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

unyielding fighter, ever willing to confront his adversaries, even at the highest judicial level. But A Matter of Conduct transcends court battles and legal intrigues.

Rather, it is an account that spirals down the slippery slope of Social Darwinism.

Yap is facing a seemingly insurmountable battle but he is unswerving, unearthing a resourcefulness that borders on primal, atavistic and selfserving. This is the crux of “Conduct.” It is an inexorable lesson of the will to survive.

“Two years is a long time to wait for your life to return to you,” Yap notes.

Amid the incredulity of his situation, Yap inveighs against his tormentors.

Surely, they rot of deceit. But Yap is no choir boy either. In asking a friend to risk his career by securing computer data under the shroud of darkness, is questionable.

Long on his emotional agony, he appears cavalier in potentially leading his friend into dangerous, uncharted waters. Yap states otherwise: “Before this I had never known what it was like to impose on others…but I was now learning that sometimes you need to hold your hand up and ask. You just have to muscle up and fight back.” He immediately adds: ‘I would, on one other occasion benefit from the information coming from within the bank’s walls.”

Conniving? Then again, a drowning man will grasp at straws.

Yap’s narration forms a matrix of interesting plots. On the surface, avarice stares at you, unflinching, as though lifted from that popular TV

feature, “American Greed.”

On a subcutaneous level, it is axiomatic, an extolment of the importance of family support in the face of disaster. Despite his prodigious legal team, it is his family that saves him from the depths of despair and emotional irreparability. For those who have cracked, living a blighted existence, one must ask: “How many could have been saved if others had only lent an ear?”

Yap well understands this.

Professional counselling at the behest of his sister proves helpful. He is advised to compartmentalise his problems, an approach that eases his insomnia. Of his family, he writes: “The test that brought me to my knees also brought me more knowledge…It armed me with the unshakable certainty that my family will remain intact no matter the obstacle….”

Admirably, he refers to his siblings as his coaches, his life jackets, and his voice.

In many ways, A Matter of Conduct inadvertently raises nagging sociological questions. Indeed, its message is lucid and loud: A wholesome family, privilege and access to resources, unfortunately enjoyed by a minority in every society, are a bulwark against injustice.

Deservedly, Yap triumphs, winning an undisclosed settlement against his former employer, after having his case adjudicated before the Privy Council. The brewing tension, as his fate is decided by the contents of a brown envelop, is well captured. Yap makes full use of cadence and tone in every word. ”… I shook as I snatched it (the

envelope) from him,” referring to his lawyer. “My mouth went dry as I pulled out the contents.”

Yap has since moved on, obviously bruised and less trusting. Yet, he remains thankful and optimistic in the innate goodness of human nature. “I honour my commitments as I always have, and truly believe that our initial instinct is to do right by one another,” he muses, but immediately adds, “…now I look more closely into the soul of a person standing before me. I listen more carefully and ask more

questions.”

A befitting philosophy from a man, duped by human wretchedness, but saved by human kindness. glenvilleashby@gmail.com/ Follow me on Twitter@glenvilleashby A Matter of Conduct: The True Story of a Man Who Battled the Bank and Won

by Dalton Yap with Alex Lee Sasy Sunflower Books, Ottawa ON, Canada ISBN 978-0-9869413-4-4 Available: Amazon.com Rating: Recommended

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 51

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

ARRIVAL DAY: SHOULD I BE ASHAMED TO BE AN EAST INDIAN? The Jagdeo presidency, his Government, their beneficiaries and supporters particularly Ravi Dev had belaboured the point ad nauseam (it is still happening this time under a new president) that I once wrote that I was ashamed to be an East Indian. What they left out was the context. And they did so deliberately.

I have no apologies to make on that judgement of mine made after the 2006 election results. I wrote then that based on the results I was ashamed to be an East Indian and that was how I felt at the time and I stand by that feeling in 2006.

The context was twofold – my experience between 1968 and 1992 and the behaviour of the PPP Government under Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP (Jagdeo was not the only dictator). Between 1968 and 1992 the political organizations I struggled in, with the exception of the PPP, had substantial African presence in their leadership.

In those decades, I saw the bravery and indomitable courage of African Guyanese in denouncing a government that was led by an African organization, the PNC. Those moments I will never forget, and my respect for the African race in Guyana based on their philosophical rejection of bad government will forever remain inside my soul.

Existing side by side with the decency of African Guyanese was the struggle of East Indians against discrimination and bad government. Everywhere you went from 1964 to the last day of the PNC Government in 1992, Indians would voice anger and angst at their denial of choice, opportunity, justice and freedom. I am an Indian

man and from 1968 to 1992, if my memory serves me right, I think or believe I was of Indian ethnicity in those days, so I know about the feelings of Indians back then, because they expressed their pessimism to me as someone who was politically radical (I hope I still am).

By some weird, psychic contortion, among the East Indians of Guyana, the pain of living with a bad government has suddenly disappeared. You have to be a complete fool to tell me that what you complained about, that is the terrible use of power by the government between1968 to 1992, is not happening today. You are either racist or a totally shameless, indecent creature to deny that what you cried about when President Burnham ruled this land is not recurring with even greater nastiness and morbidity.

It is in that context after the results of the 2006 elections I penned the statement that I was ashamed to be an East Indian. The Indians should have voted

out the PPP in 2006 and in 2011. Today is Arrival Day and on this day I say most unapologetically, I feel ashamed about what my race has become in the land of my birth.

My only redemption is that I have Indian friends that do not support what an Indian government is doing to Guyana. They are good people who have integrity of character and they remind me of the fantastic days when African Guyanese took to the streets to protest wrongdoing by their government without caring about the ethnic makeup of their rulers.

I do not feel all is lost among the Indian race in Guyana, because some Indian people have fought for us and I have been doing so at great sacrifice at the moment.

We must never forget that it was an Indian man who formed a party seven years ago to oppose PPP dictatorship. His name is Khemraj Ramjattan. He is someone I admire immensely.

Moses Nagamootoo’s name should never be omitted in such a discussion.

In 2011, Guyanese East Indians made a small beginning. It is this moment we should celebrate as Arrival Day. In November 2011 in Berbice, Indians began to do what African Guyanese did under Walter Rodney. They rejected a government based on the depravity of power.

Race was not in the equation.

On this day when Indians first came to this territory, they should try to redeem themselves (and yes, I say

“redeem” without even an ounce of apology) and recapture the decency and integrity they were supposed to have when the PNC was in control from 1968 to 1992.

They must save their country, their children, their own future by stopping, not attempting to stop, but stopping the increasing abuse of power that has literally destroyed the soul of an Indian party that when in opposition promised them so

Frederick Kissoon much. In the meantime, as the PPP continues to wreak havoc over Guyana, I am ashamed to be an Indian in the context of Indian silence and complicity.

Page 52

SUNDAY SPECIAL COPKILLEDAFTER STOPPING SUSPICIOUS CAR Police launched a massive manhunt for a gunman in a silver-coloured car who gunned down one of their colleagues last week Saturday night in the busy downtown Georgetown area.

Corporal Romain Cleto, 25, was riddled with bullets and later pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was rushed by his colleagues. Two other policemen Anil Raj Persaud, 28, of Claybrick Road, Number Two Canal was cut by flying glass, and Randy Haley, 20, of Mahaicony sustained gunshot injuries to his left hand after a gunman sprayed their patrol vehicle with bullets. The incident occurred around 18:40 hours on the busy Avenue of the Republic near Regent Street, just outside the Bank of Baroda.

Police in a brief press release said that ranks of a mobile police patrol came under fire from the occupants of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown.

“Corporal 20196 Romain Cleto was fatally shot, while Constable 21240 Randy Daly was shot and injured to his left arm and Constable 21144 Anil Persaud was injured by glass from the shattered windscreen. The injured ranks are being treated at the hospital,” the police statement said.

Miraculously, no else else was wounded although the area, which is adjacent to the Plaisance/Turkeyen Bus Park is usually busy around that time of the evening. There were bloodstains on the

Kaieteur News

pavement while bullet holes were clearly visible on the eastern wall of the bank.

Several spent 7.62 rounds and nine millimeter shell casings littered the scene.

GOVT. CONTEMPLATES SELLING OFF GOLD AMIDST PRICE JITTERS With the country’s biggest earners being threatened with low prices and in one case poor production, Government on Friday admitted that it is worried about the situation and has been examining a number of measures to ease the possible impacts on the economy. According to President Donald Ramotar, prices for gold on the world market have indeed impacted on buying by the stateowned Guyana Gold Board.

The Head of State was responding to questions on the low rice and gold prices and on sugar production.

Gold production has been a major prop for the country’s economy in recent years raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign revenues as price climbed to over US$1,800 per ounce at one time.

It was an area that attracted more than US$100M in local and foreign investments last year, officials say. Last year, gold production reached a recordbreaking high of 438,645 ounces, in the absence of large scale producer Omai Gold Mines.

The commodity earned US$737M. Investors, who have been banking on the prices to remain high, became worried after price fell below US$1,400 per ounce as news surfaced that Cyprus, one of several European countries seeking bailout for their

failing economies, would be selling off its gold.

On Sunday last, there were indications that gold prices had started to edge upwards again staying at around US$1,460 per ounce.

MONDAY EDITION HIGH TIDES SWAMP COASTALCOMMUNITIES Coastal Guyana was drenched last Sunday with flood waters due to extremely high tides combined with severe winds. Affected areas included the East Coast Demerara highway, communities on Essequibo Coast and communities in Berbice. Inundation caused several inches of flood water to wreak havoc on the residents of the various communities.

High tides caused overtopping of the seawalls between Liliendaal and Vlissengen Road, Georgetown, Rupert Craig Highway and parts of Bel Air, Subryanville, Skeldon, Den Amstel, Leonora and Uitvlugt. Police cornered off sections of the East Coast as authorities cleared silted sections of the drainage system on the highway.

An advisory was issued by the Ministry of Public Works for persons not to converge at the Georgetown seawalls Sunday. At Hampton Court, Essequibo a Koker door collapsed and authorities were mobilized to the area to repair the structure.

Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn confirmed that although the Liliendaal pump was working, several drains and trenches in the area were blocked, preventing the water from running off the land.

Benn explained that the tide was 3.11 metres high plus

Sunday May 05, 2013

another 1.5 metres of waves were riding on top.

choice and democracy.

threatens

TUESDAY EDITION RADIO/CABLE LICENCE GIVEAWAY REACHES US CONGRESSMAN Representatives of media proprietors in Guyana on Monday took their protest over the PPP government’s wholesale giveaway of Guyana’s airwaves to family and friends of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, to the United States Congress.

The media owners Monday met in New York with US Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of the Eighth Congressional District in Brooklyn. Congressman Jeffries sits on the Appropriations and Judicial Committees of the United States House of Representatives and is a rising star in the US Democratic Party.

The Guyanese delegation comprised owner of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, owner of Hoyte/Blackman TV, Dr. Noel Blackman and Mr. Charles Griffith of the Guyana Media Proprietors Association. The group was joined by Rickford Burke, President of the New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID).

The delegation informed the Congressman that former President Bharrat Jagdeo abused his powers and acted extra-constitutionally when he used his office to grant radio, television and cable broadcast licences to his relatives, close friends and supporters while refusing to grant such licence to legitimate media entities that applied for over 10 and 15 years in many instances.

The Congressman expressed grave concern over the discriminatory issuance and consolidation of broadcast licences in Guyana and said that such monopolization was a breach of democratic values and press freedom. It blocks the freedoms of expression and

63-YEAR-OLD REMANDED FOR MURDER OF PLASTIC CITY TEEN A large crowd swarmed the square of the Vreed–enHoop Magistrate’s Court on Monday to await the arrival of 63-year-old Fitzroy Josiah, the man accused of cold bloodedly knifing to death, his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

However, Josiah reportedly had an episode of diarrhea, which prevented him from being transported with other prisoners in the usual fashion.

He arrived at the court about two hours later in a white police pickup truck, escorted by several heavily armed ranks. The crowd of mainly women became visibly enraged at his appearance “Murderer, murderer! He wicked. He molest and kill that girl,” some yelled, while others screamed, “We want justice!”

Josiah was remanded to prison after he appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs.

Although he was not required to enter a plea, the accused appeared unaffected by his surroundings as he stood in the prisoners dock and inaudibly muttered to himself throughout the hearing. Several persons flocked the courtroom at the reading of the charge. The mother and several of the teenaged victim’s relatives were also present. They cried inconsolably during the hearing WEDNESDAY EDITION UGALSO REFUSED RADIO LICENCE As government continues to face more flak over the controversial granting of several radio licences by former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, to mainly friends and party supporters, days before he left office in 2011, there is emerging evidence that several prominent persons

and at least one statecontrolled educational facility were sidelined.

Indications are that the University of Guyana was overlooked. So were veteran broadcasters, Hugh Cholmondeley and Vic Insanally, longstanding media workers.

Cholmondeley is father of Cathy Hughes, an executive of the Alliance For Change, an opposition party that has seven seats in the National Assembly.

He has since died.

Insanally runs a major advertising company and has spent years in the radio business. UG reportedly wanted the licence to train students. The University was given a radio by the United Nations to facilitate training in the Communications Department. For a short while prior to the floods of 2005, the University actually operated a radio station, with a limited range.

PASSENGER DIES AFTER ALTERCATION WITH BUS CONDUCTOR OVER LOUD MUSIC A 52-year-old man was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital shortly after he was reportedly beaten by a route 44 minibus conductor having asked for the loud music in the vehicle to be turned down.

Basdeo Mangra, of 57 Vryheid’s Lust North was pronounced dead at about 17:45 hours on Monday.

According to the dead man’s wife, Kumarie Chintaman, she and her husband had just joined a minibus on the Vryheid’s Lust Public Road and were heading to the city. The woman recalled that when they entered the bus, music was blasting very loud in the vehicle, much to the dissatisfaction of many passengers, but no one said anything. Chintaman said the minibus then made a stop at (Continued on page 53)

Sunday May 05, 2013

(From page 52) Ogle Airstrip Road where they picked up a woman who requested to be put off at Sugrim Singh Road, Industry.

“The music de playing so loud de woman keep shouting and telling dem where to stop but de driver nor de conductor didn’t hear she and dey end up stopping till at UG road.”

The grieving widow related that the woman pleaded with the conductor and the minibus driver to take her back to the location that she requested, but they blatantly refused. “De woman tell them dey playing de music too hard that’s why dey couldn’t hear wha she say and den when de bus drive off me husband keep asking dem to turn down de music and he and the conductor end up in a argument.”

THURSDAY EDITION ESTRANGED HUSBAND KILLS GUYANESE WOMAN, 64 … AT LOVER’S HOME IN BARBADOS Just before midnight on Tuesday, a 64-year-old Guyanese woman was chopped to death at her lover’s home by her estranged husband in Barbados. Dead is Brenda Duncan Taylor Belle of St. Barnabas, St. Michael, Barbados and of Lot 50 Russell Street, Charlestown, Guyana.

The suspect later consumed a poisonous substance and is now hospitalized. This was reportedly after he set the woman’s house in St. Barnabas, St. Michael on fire.

Her lover was lucky to escape unhurt.

Kaieteur News

According to information, the mother of three was murdered around 11:25 hours at her male associate’s home in Cutting Road, Haggatt, St. Michael. On Wednesday, the woman’s daughter, Paula Duncan, told Kaieteur News that she was awakened by a telephone call from one of her friends in Barbados.

“She called me and she was panicking. She said something bad happen to my mother and she wants her (Belle) number. When I give it to her she promised to call back.” The woman explained that her friend who lives in the same area as her mother called her within five minutes and informed her that her mother was murdered by her estranged husband.

PRESIDENT VOWS TO RESTORE CUTS TO NATIONALBUDGET “The cuts that were made in Parliament, I will do every single thing possible to reverse them because I will not allow them to affect the people of our country,” was the assurance of Head of State, Donald Ramotar, Wednesday.

He was delivering the feature address at the National Park, the venue of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) May Day rally.

The announcement evoked applause from the gathering of workers who mainly occupied the western stand of the facility.

According to the President, his plan to restore the cuts made to the budget will certainly not exclude moves to consult with the Parliamentary Opposition.

“I hope that they will

remove the prejudices from their minds and see these projects for what they are.”

He said that the Opposition has, over time, made the accusation that Government has not been consulting with it “but I have personally invited them to talk…about anyone of the projects that they have difficulties with…that is still my attitude, that is still my position and I am ready to discuss all of these things and answer their questions.”

But according to the President some of the arguments that have been levelled by the Parliamentary Opposition to impose cuts to the 2013 National Budget are in fact difficult to understand.

He alluded to cuts to the Amaila Falls Hydro project.

FRIDAY EDITION RADIO LICENCESARE WELCOME, BUT ISSUING PROCESS MUST BE FAIR AND TRANSPARENT – US AMBASSADOR As Guyana joins the world in celebrating World Press Freedom Day today, United States Ambassador to Guyana D. Brent Hardt said that while new radio broadcasting licences are welcome, the process by which such licences are issued must be fair and transparent. The envoy made those comments Thursday evening at a reception that he hosted in honour of the event.

“Last year, I welcomed the decision by the Government to free the radio airwaves and end the model of limited, state-influenced radio. Radio is such an integral part of the public square throughout the Caribbean, and opening up

Page 53

that square in Guyana as it is in other Caribbean countries will do much to generate a more inclusive, participatory public dialogue on issues of the day for the people of Guyana.

While new radio broadcasting licences are welcome, the process by which such licences are issued must be fair and transparent.

Guyana created a reasonable foundation for such a process through its 2011 Broadcasting Legislation, which paved the way for the creation of a National Broadcast Authority. It is now time for the Authority to do its work — to promptly review and approve qualified applicants, including many long established media houses whose applications in various forms have been pending since the late 1990’s.”

SLAIN COP GIVEN FITTING SEND-OFF Police Corporal Romain Cleto, who was gunned down in the heart of the city on Saturday evening last was laid to rest Thursday with full military rites.

Cleto was shot and killed at the junction of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, as he attempted to approach a suspicious car which his mobile patrol had trailed, and which was fitted with an obscure number plate.

During the incident, two other ranks were injured.

The 25 year-old slain cop’s body was open for viewing at the Merriman Funeral Home. This process got underway around noon and, as was anticipated, the area in and around the Lime

Street, Werk-en-Rust location was filled to its capacity, as colleagues, friends and relatives flocked to pay their last respects.

There were emotional scenes all around as, apart from relatives, a number of the dead cop’s colleagues wept openly at the sight of his remains in the white casket while others tried to conceal their tears behind dark glasses.

Close relatives were seen consoling each other as they stood close to the casket bearing his body.

Commander Josiah, who spoke on behalf of the Force, said that no stone will be left unturned in order to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Commander hailed Cleto as “a hero who led his team with bravery and by example”.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee also attended the funeral service where he met with relatives of the slain rank and offered his condolences.

After a lengthy viewing and a service filled with moving tributes, the procession was led away from the Funeral Home in the form of a Ceremonial Parade.

Cleto’s body was taken to Le Repentir Cemetery where there was a 21-gun salute before interment.

POLICE STILL HUNTING “TRIGGER MAN” IN COP KILLING Police continue to hunt for a second suspect in the killing of Corporal Romain Cleto. Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the man was positively identified as the ‘shooter’ in the cop’s murder.

According to a source, the man is well known to police having survived several execution attempts himself. Investigators appear very positive that there will soon be justice in Cleto’s killing following the apprehension of the first of the prime suspects.

It is not clear if the suspect in custody is cooperating with investigators, since he has proclaimed his innocence of the crime. Corporal Cleto was gunned down at the busy Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic intersection last

Saturday night. Kaieteur News was also informed that checks are being made on the spent shells and investigators are expected to make some disclosures about the weapon that fired them.

“We will solve this one,” a senior police officer confidently declared.

Evidence is now emerging that Cleto and his colleagues were not wearing their bulletproof vests when they attempted to confront the suspects in a suspicious car that they had been trailing before coming under attack.

Kaieteur News was told that their bulletproof vests were recovered from the interior of their bullet-riddled vehicle. There are also reports that one of the ranks dropped his rifle while fleeing from the hail of bullets that pierced the vehicle.

SATURDAY EDITION GUYANA,VENEZUELA FINALISE RICE DEAL …SEAL PACT ON FIGHTING DRUG TRAFFICKING Venezuela’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elías Jaua Milan and the country’s Food Minister Carlos Felix Osorio visited Guyana on Friday and signed off on agreements guaranteeing the export of rice and fighting drug trafficking.

Osorio and Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, signed a letter of commitment, saying Venezuela will take 140, 000 tons of seed paddy this year and a further 70,000 tonnes of white rice.

The signing ceremony took place at the Guyana International Conference Centre and was witnessed by scores of rice farmers and even some millers, who were looking for the deal to be secured.

Dr. Ramsammy will travel to Caracas on May 15 to add the finishing touches to the agreement, which he says ultimately leads to food security for both countries.

The agreement to export rice was a deal secured by late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and the new government has pledged to continue the programmes of cooperation Chavez initiated with Guyana.

Page 54

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

PepsiCo drops rapper Lil HIV Cure ‘Within Months?’ Not So Fast, Foundation For AIDS Research Warns Wayne over controversial lyric

An HIV cure “within months?” Not exactly.

Researchers from Denmark have begun human clinical trials in their experimental HIV treatment, The Telegraph first reported.

However, the team is not on the “brink” of a cure for HIV, as some have said; they instead expect the first results from the trial “within months.”

“We’re not months away from a cure,” Kevin Robert Frost, CEO of amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, told The Huffington Post. “There is still a lot of work that has to be done.”

Funded by amfAR, Danish researchers recently launched the initial stage of their clinical trial following an in vitro laboratory study conducted at Aarhus University Hospital. In the study, the researchers found success in using a specific drug to reactivate the hidden form of HIV. Only then, once the virus is drawn out of the “reservoirs” it forms in immune cells, can researchers even attempt to neutralize the HIV infection.

“Essentially, the biggest obstacle to a cure for people with HIV is that the virus lives in viral reservoirs which are not susceptible to the current drugs we have,” Frost explained.

“What a lot of scientists have been trying to do lately is figure out if there are drugs that can stimulate the viral reservoirs so that we

may begin to target them.”

While expanding the scientific understanding of these reservoirs is only one path toward a functional cure for HIV — other researchers have sought to develop vaccines to create an immunity to the virus — Frost warns that we can’t establish a specific time frame for success.

“It is very risky business to try and predict the pace of scientific research,” Frost told HuffPost. Indeed, the process of taking a drug from discovery to approval by the Food and Drug Administration (for U.S.-based studies) may take 10 years, Frost said. And, at any point in multiple stages of clinical trials, the product could be discarded based on a number of factors, including negative side-effects and safety issues.

Just last week, the National Institutes of Health halted a U.S. clinical trial of an HIV vaccine after an independent review found the drug did not prevent infection or reduce HIV in the blood. The study, which involved 2,504 volunteers in 19 U.S. cities, was launched in 2009.

Though senior researcher Dr. Ole Søgaard, who works at Aarhus University Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases, says he’s confident the team will find success drawing the virus out of these reservoirs during the trial, he recognizes the obstacle of finding a way to destroy the virus once its in the body’s immune system.

“The challenge will be getting the patients’ immune system to recognize the virus and destroy it,” he told The Telegraph. “This depends on the strength and sensitivity of individual immune systems, as well as how large a proportion of the hidden HIV is unmasked.”

Frost said the Danish team’s study is one of the most important on the horizon.

The claim of an HIV cure “within months” comes just weeks after researchers at the Institut Pasteur in Paris published a study, reporting that 14 adults were “functionally cured” of HIV after they were given a combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).

Yet, unlike the research out of Denmark, the study out of France focuses on controlling the HIV infection, rather than seeking to neutralize it completely.

China Reports More Bird Flu Deaths The new strain of bird flu hitting China has claimed its 27th victim.

Chinese state media Thursday reported the deadly H7N9 virus killed a 55-yearold man in central, Hunan province. Officials say he died despite receiving medical treatment.

So far, more than 120 people have contracted the new strain of bird flu, most of them in eastern China. One man in Taiwan has also been diagnosed with the virus, though officials believe he contracted the bird flu while traveling in China.

The World Health Organization called the H7N9 strain “one of the most lethal” flu viruses ever seen. Unlike other flu viruses that cause upper respiratory problems like coughing and congestion, the new virus attacks the

lower part of the lungs, causing high fevers and pneumonia.

Chinese researchers last week confirmed suspicions that bird flu virus crossed from birds to humans at live markets where chickens and other poultry are slaughtered

and sold.

The researchers suggested “aggressive interventions” including suspension of live bird markets and culling of infected flocks could help slow or stop the further spread of the virus.

PepsiCo Inc severed ties with rapper Lil Wayne on Friday over a graphic reference to slain U.S. civil rights figure Emmett Till in a song.

Lil Wayne, 30, had been the face of the PepsiCo drink Mountain Dew’s “Deweezy” campaign, a play on the rapper’s “Weezy” nickname.

“We do not plan any additional work with Lil Wayne moving forward,” a Mountain Dew representative said in a

statement. “His offensive reference to a revered civil rights icon does not reflect the values of our brand.”

The Deweezy campaign website was taken down.

In a remix of the song “Karate Chop” by rapper Future, Lil Wayne likens the beating of Till to sex.

The song was leaked onto the Internet in February and prompted an apology from Future’s record company, Epic Records, after Till’s family had complained.

But the controversy did not stop there. In a letter to Till’s family this week, Lil Wayne called the reference “inappropriate” but stopped short of an apology.

Till, an African-American from Chicago, was beaten and murdered in 1955 at the age of 14 for allegedly whistling at a white woman in the village of Money, Mississippi, where he was visiting family.

An all-white jury acquitted two white men of Till’s murder, sparking national outrage. The trial is credited with mobilizing the civil rights movement and drawing attention to racial injustice and violence in the American South.

On Wednesday, PepsiCo pulled a series of online ads for Mountain Dew by rapper Tyler, The Creator which was criticized for embracing racial stereotypes and trivializing violence toward women.

Epic Records is owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp.

(Reuters)

Justin Bieber and Usher Sued for $10 Million Over “Somebody to Love” Did Justin Bieber and Usher not have “Somebody to Love” before De Rico came along?

That is what Devin Copeland (who performs as De Rico) is claiming in a $10 million copyright infringement lawsuit that alleges he showed Usher a tune of the same name and the R&B star usurped it for Bieber’s My World 2.0.

Copeland, who is suing along with his writing partner Mareio Overton, alleges that his album 2008 My Story II contained “Somebody to Love” and he and Overton applied for and were granted the copyright.

In the lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Virginia, Copeland states that he then met with scouts from major labels such as Island, Sony and RCA, who then broughtMy Story II to various artists, including Usher.

“Without any authority or consent,” the suit states, “[Manager Jonetta Patton] and Usher conspired with songwriters and producers...to directly copy Plaintiffs’ song ‘Somebody to Love,’ intending to appropriate Plaintiffs’ intellectual property as their own.”

Heather Bright, who is officially credited with cowriting the Bieber track with production team The

Stereotypes, is also named as a defendant, along with Patton, Universal Music Corp. and Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

Usher, who recorded the track as a demo for his ownRaymond v. Raymond before handing it over to his protégé, later rerecorded the official remix, which was released on June 25, 2010.

According to the suit, it was Overton who heard Bieber’s tune on the radio in the summer of 2010 and immediately called Copeland about it. “Prior to that time, neither plaintiff was aware of the Bieber version,” the

complaint states.

Copeland and Overton are asking for at least $10 million in damages for alleged copyright infringement, contributory infringement and vicarious infringement, as well as for a permanent injunction preventing Bieber, Usher and their fellow defendants from laying any further claim to the song’s copyright.

Usher is currently in L.A., where he’s shooting The Voice, and Bieber’s world tour just touched down in Dubai.

A rep for Bieber hasn’t responded to a request for comment.(E! News)

Page 60

Kaieteur News

FOR SALE

WANTED 1 live-in babysitter, honest and trustworthy, proper identification- ages 18-25: boarding provided, $40,000 monthly- call:675-0053 Urgently needed live-in waitress to work in Bar: Good salary offeredTele:681-9683 1 General domestic must know to cook Indian & English dishes, 1 live-in maid to work in BelAir- call:2275585 Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665 1 experienced cook, 1 snackette attendant around E.B.D (food handler’s certificate required) Tele:269-0045/650-4974 Live- in domestic must know to cook, live-in waitress: Salary $50,000 monthly.

Boarding & lodging freeTele:610-5043 One sales boy to work in interior- contact:695-3368 One live-in baby sitter to work in interior- contact:6953368 Cleaner- call: 225-9223 / 2253234 One porter, one salesgirl, preferably from Diamond area: 2 years experience in Grocery Shop- call:216-1420/ 691-9212 Office clerk Senior/ Junior: CXC English/ Mathematics: Computer knowledgeCall:225-0188/225-6070 Couple or small families to live and work on farm at New Hope EBD call: 266-2711, 609-4594

WANTED One mechanic/ welder to work in the interior: Interested persons call Tele: 625-5136: 8am-4pm One live-in or live out maidcall:668-3985/264-3355/6837936 Land to buy in Parfaite Harmonie- call:675-7292 Driver to work at Gem’s TaxiContact:667-9013 1 Handy boy must know gardening, 1 Excavator operator to work in Land of Canaan- call:227-5585

General Unskilled Male Workers ages 18-24 from E.B.D- Call:266-4427 Security Guards from E.B.DCall:266-4427

HID lights call: 642-2850 Live/pluck chicken call:6504421,220-9203 One Fiber glass 19ft Boat & Trailer with center console equipped with control box & multi-tech gadgets- call:6991711

1 Supervisor to over look road building, Landscaping and Construction- Contact: 227-5585 (1) One house Lot in Tushencall:616-1422/626-2612 One female to cook for family in Interior- contact:695-3368

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

Khemraj & Son landscaping - Call: 6275969; 18 months coconut tree, plant for sale, mould for sale, trimming plants

Lister Petter generator from UK 10KVA, with tank and exhaust system $950,000-call: 621-4000, 690-6000

Pitbulls for sale- call:674-1186 Games for PS 2, $900,PSP $900, Xbox360 $2600, PS 3 $2600, call:672-2566

One GX110 Toyota Mark2.

Lady driven. Excellent condition. $2.1M neg. Call 609 2466.

(1) Honda grass cutting Tractor; (1) US Marine 125 HP outboard engine; 6# High pressure pump- Tele: 6115292 1-500 Ford tractor engine; 1front and back DEF; 1Boutin winch- Tele: 261-2785/ 615-9862 1 Female Dachshund and Tibetan mixed breed puppy: De-wormed & vaccinatedcall:663-3397

FOR RENT Agricultural Land (5 acres) in long creek- call:216-1496 East street, hospital vicinity bottom flat fully grilled, A/C, good for Doctor’s officecontact B&G’s Realty:2274125/617-9717

VEHICLE FOR SALE 1 Tundra 2002 Model Portable welders 270 AMPS contact: 623-5055, 611-5114 Toyota Allion 2.6 Million Negotiable- Tele:616-3001 Nissan wing road Ryder wagon call:612-2522 Axio 2007 3.2 neg. Hiace pitbull 2008 - 3.6 neg.

Call:697-0294, 6695172 One Toyota Avensis: PNN series: Excellent condition: Price negotiable- call:624-6240 Toyota Spacio $2.350M, 4WD Fielder $2.250M, 2001212 $1.950M- Tele: 617-2891 1- F150 XLT in excellent condition, 22" Mag fully loaded- call:690-6520/6420110 Smart Choice Auto: Unregistered Runx, Allion call:652-3820,665-4529

1-225 Miller Welding Generator, 1- Big 40 Miller Welding Generator- call:6165424 or 220-4818

1- Flat screen TV 28"$55,000; 1- Fridge $130,000; 1- Four burner Gas Stove $30,000; 1- Double Bed frame + Mattress $35,000- Tele:6046435

One bedroom apartment to rent- call:222-3435, First Street Cummings Lodge H/S

1 Toyota Raum with sun roof, alarm & remote startcall:691-5485

One person to look after layer-birds in Interiorcontact:695-3368

1-MF 185 $2M, 1-MF 394 4WD $6M, 1 flat F130 4WD $7M- call: 699-2995/ 276-3701

AT 192 Rotor $7000, AT 192 Drum $5800, RZ Five hole rotor- Tele:654-6394/227-6689

Rooms to rent- Call:225-9223/ 225-3234 Furnished short term apartments- call:646-5147

Persons to work in Snackette, must know to cook- call:6477432/223-5798

Single Wooden bed without Mattress- call:233-2182

Lumber Sales, dressed (B) grade quality at Lumber Master Sawmill- Tele:684-5868

2 Bedrooms Apartment to rent: Coglan Dam- call:6426079/264-2763

Now in stock at Alabama Trading: Aloe Vera drink, Fruit drink, Cereal milkTele:225-5800

Diamond H/Scheme E.B.D, 3 bedrooms house to rent. $50,000 per monthTele: 667-9499

Unregistered Nissan Wing road 2003, 32000/cmcall:689-7325/644-9277 Mini bus RZ BLL Series: Excellent work conditionTele:622-3384/223-9955 1 2007 Toyota Avensis unregistered-Call:698-0674

Live- in waitress to work in a bar- call: 604-6832 Single female for live-in domestic duties- Tele:6103091 to learn of super offer One sewing machine operator & one cutter- Call Roxie:6224386 Experienced sales representative to work in electronic store- Guyana Variety Store & Nut Centre$12,000 Weekly One live-in Domestic, no cooking, no washingCall:639-7700

DRESSMAKING Designing and sewing classes by Sharmela (Canadian Trained) call: 2252598, 641-0784

Nail Technicians- Tele:6015824- Lot 6 Diamond, E.B.D Cooks and assistant cooks to work in Kitty area: During 7:30am-4:30pmcall Tele:226-7054

187.5 KVA Cummins Generator 3 phase- volt 208460: silent working $5 million Neg. Contact Daniel: 6221165/220-9889

One 1750 watt Inverter $60,000: One commercial fryer 2 compartments 20 liter capacity $100,000- call:6198008/676-2573/219-4484

Accounts Clerk, CXC Accounts grades 1 or 2, from E.B.D- Call:602-0945 Sales Assistant from E.C.D to work on Lorry- Call:2664427

LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY M E R C U R Y (QUICK SILVER) 9 9 . 9 9 9 9 5 % PURITY - $20,000 PER POUND CALL:604-6108

Sunday May 05, 2013

2- Perkins engine 6-4 CLY, 1 complete Bet (new), DVD player (new), 1 Samsung 32" TV- Call:604-1140 1 X Leyland DAF 60 Dump truck $2.6M- Call:668-4553 Diving suit call: 613-5158 M.Khan Two 250HP two stroke Yamaha outboard engine and one 80HP Mariner Variety of religious items, barbering & salon supplies: Stall 111 Merriman’s Mall, Bourda on Church St. Call:219-2133/669-1662 15-15-5 fertilizer call:2662711,609-4594 One #185 Massy Ferguson in very good working conditionTele: 444-7332 /681-5988 Pure bred rottweiler pups call:666-3061 Tibetan & Dachshund PupsCall: 680-0192/ 216-3408/ 2252958 Dell laptops & desktops complete computers from $49,000 Futuretech call: 2312206 Original games for sale call:265-3232

LEARN TO DRIVE

Wanted drivers and experienced dispatchersTele:616-5419/256-4167

Soman & Sons Driving School , First Federation Building Call 225-4858, 6445166,622-2872,615-0964

Contract cars to work at Gem’s Taxi – Tele:667-9013/ 231-3709

B & C Driving School, pick up & Drop off call:2250150,229-7258,680-6826

Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call:225-9032,647-2943 Rock star hollow blocks available in large quantity in 3",4" & 6" call: 269-1406, 617-9230

Now in stock at Alabama Trading: PVC Ceiling, white & coloured candles, Tarpaulin etc- Tele:2255800 Salon equipment, serious enquires only- Call Roxie-6224386 Sale! Roxie’s fashion has on sale black leotards & tights from 6 pairs up $500 each- call Roxie: 622-4386 Sale in Dell Dual Core Computers with LCDcall:691-2077 Hilux 2L Gear Box, Leaf Springs, Fenders, Lampscall:691-2077 Acer Aspire S515 AMD 1.6 GHZ, 160 GB, 3GB 15.4 display win8 upgrade- call: 642-3543 $35,000 Cannon IR 400 photocopying machines call 649-0956 Clarke forklifts 2000 to 4000 lbs lifting capacity needs $375,000 and up-690-6000

3 bedrooms Ixora Avenue Eccles $72,000 call:2332583,687-2022 (serious Enquires only)

Toyota Premio, Fielder, Vitz, Alex unregistered, Norpan Auto- Call:2690432/686-0323 Motorcycle 125 (scooter): (not working)- call:223-3303 1-55 Leyland DAF excellent working condition $4M negotiable- call:656-8346

LAND FOR SALE House lots 50"x118" New Hope EBD serious enquires only 266-2711, 609-4594 Kuru Kururu 20 acres with creek and farm housecall:261-5500/643-1861 2 Acres lease land with creek @ Kuru- Kururu, price $2.2M- call:601-7610/ 6693058

Bay liner boat 18ft with trailer inboard mercury 10 seater $2.4M neg. 621-4000,6906000

House lot 3D with vacant land situated @ Anna Catherina, Canal No.1 Polder W.B.D: Suitable for Industrial activities- Contact: 664-9923 Kurubrong, Ekeruku-top landing, Cuyuni, MazaruniPeiama, Issano, Imbaimadaicall GME Realty: 231-2200/ 618-7483/680-3687 Granite Quarry Blocks North West US$650,000- contact Shawn: 231-7805/618-7483

Chicken hatchery robbins 26,000 eggs capacity with trays, racks, complete system, sold as a package call: 6214000, 690-6000

Garden of Eden, EBD – Road front 45x80 Lots - $5M River front 50x300 Lots - Asking $15M– Call Derek @ RLTPRO 592-650-1234

1 Toyota 212 in excellent condition, magrims, CD deck & leather interior, was PKK now HB 8184- call:661-3525 Toyota Hilux Solid Diff- 4Y Gasoline engine, excellent condition: UK Auto 60 Brickdam- Phone:227-0424/ 676-6429 1 EFI Long base Mini Bus, BJJ- RZ Call:277-0042 HILUX SOLID DIFF Pickups 2L &3L, AC, excellent condition- call: 691-2077 Cheap! Premio, Hilux 5L Engine, VVTI Stick gear buses call: 616-7635 Toyota Hilux pickup 4×4 extra-cab $3.5M neg. Hyster forklift 5 tons $1.5M negTele: 264-2682 Suzuki Swift Car, working condition-$350,000- Tele: 616-5424/641-6217 or 2204818 Brand new trident car 250cc 5 passenger petrol 5-speed, CD player, special offer $850,000 cash call: 621-4000, 690-6000 (Continued on page 61)

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

(From page 60) SERVICES

VACANCY Administrative support.

Excellent English skills. Fast, accurate typist. $140K per month www. capitaltyping. com/gyjob to apply

Vehicle lights restoration service on the spot, 297 Independence Boulevard La-Penitence Georgetowncall:624-6471

Popular 24 hour East Coast Guyoil needs day & night pump attendants, sales girl, cleaners/maintenanceTele:698-5559/684-2838

Repairs, sales & spares air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & stoves. Ultra Cool, call:225-9032,647-2943

Experienced Bartender- Call 225-8572, between 7am10am: Must be able to work shift Vacancy for porters and drivers (age 25-35): Apply to 23 Lombard street, Werk-enRust- Tele:227-6458 Vacancy exist for computer literate person: Apply with written application to :Manager @ Trophy stall, Bourda Market Medical Clinic seeks driver/ office assistant: Please send applications to PO Box:26022

SALON Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call660-5257,647-1773 New classes -Cosmetology , Nails, Wigs, Designs, Make-Up, Hair-Styling; call Abby 216-1950, 666-5241, 619-7603 Natural beauty salon & spa: Grove Market Street EBD tele:265-4138,652-5800 specialized in everything for women & children

TO LET Camp street 1st & 2nd floor between New Market & Lamaha Streets Tele: 6394499 Secret Villa apartment, fully furnished apartments Landof-Canaan E.B.D- Call:2665243/266-5245 Diamond $75,000-$100,000; Campbellville $65,000$100,000; Eccles US$2500call Diana:227-2256/626-9382 Furnished executive two bedroom suite in Diamond.

Ideal for foreigners. Call 609 2466.

Diamond 5 bedrooms house, Parfaite Harmony, Thomas Street, Subryanville, La Resouvenir, Queenstown, Ogle: $300US- Phone:2312199/673-8148

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Page 61

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Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

The Abigail Column Use your time apart to assess the situation

DEARABIGAIL, I have been seeing a man for about four months and we’ve been dating maybe once per week on average.

We are in our late 20s. My boyfriend has recently started back studying. He says he does not have time to see me at all for the next three months. He said he will be able to communicate by email or text.

I understand he is very busy with studies. I asked him if he would not mind seeing

me weekly for a half-hour walk, just to keep in touch. He said no. I want to know if his behaviour is reasonable, or am I being selfish in thinking that he should make some small amount of time for me?

He knows I am interested in a relationship with him, and he says nothing has changed between us. I can’t help but think that I might be losing him.

Desperate Dear Desperate, Even if everyone agreed that he’s being unreasonable and “should” see you, what then? He has decided not to see you till his studies end — so there’s no way to win this.

You can’t prove him to be unreasonable and resume your weekly dates. Your available choices are all just different versions of “Get a hold of yourself” — of dealing with his decision not to see you. You can choose to fight him on it; to deem his explanation insincere and treat it like a breakup.

Viewed in terms of spending time with your boyfriend, they’re all bad choices, obviously. But when you view them in terms of building on the facts, the last two stand out. So take the facts you have, and decide: Either he’s worth a disciplined, three-month wait for the rest of the facts, or he isn’t.

Sunday May 05, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): People probably get out of your way today because they can tell that messing with you isn’t a smart idea. They may even worry that you’ll overreact to make your position absolutely clear.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): You may feel invincible today as you gain momentum and strive to reach your goals.

You might not have physical superpowers, but your sheer determination can be so strong and your energy so raw that obstacles dissipate as you approach them.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): Although you might not be in charge today, others may look to you to provide logical answers to some tough questions. You may feel frustrated if you are being held accountable for circumstances that are beyond your control.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): It may be a struggle to face other people’s negativity about your ideas now, but it still makes sense to have a positive attitude if a powerful ally comes to your rescue.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): It’s time to make your move if you have been waiting for the right moment to start on a new career path.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): You know exactly what you want today, yet you realize that life is more complicated than just fulfilling your immediate needs. You are concerned with larger dreams that may still need to take shape.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): It’s essential to overcome your doubts today so you can build on the foundation of experiences you already have accumulated. Lean on the structures that are in place, without feeling any pressure to start anew.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): A magical connection between your two planetary rulers, fiery Mars and formidable Pluto, provides you with the strength of your convictions to drive you forward.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): You’re inspired by practical concerns today, empowering you to accomplish more than your fair share of work.

CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): You may be at the top of your creative game now with action-hero Mars firing up your 5th House of SelfExpression. Your emotions seem to be directly in line with your intentions.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): You are committed to defending and protecting those who are less fortunate than you. You might even feel intuitively drawn to help someone in need today. Y PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): There isn’t much time to waste today because you have important things to do.

Although making steady progress toward your longterm goals is enough to keep you busy, your plans also inspire others now.

Page 63

Nurse Rodrigues tells a tale...

(From page 30) for her to convince him to heed a request to pray for their daughter’s safety, since he was keen on getting his field work done.

In fact it took a decision

by Verley’s mother to firmly take her husband’s hand and appealed to him to pray with her.

Verley is of the firm belief that it is God who had answered her parent’s prayers when the plane she was in started floating above the rice fields. “I could have been dead,” exclaimed Verley as tears welled in her eyes.

In fact her experience would bring new perspective to her life as she recalled that her upbringing in Waramuri was one which saw prayers being a natural part of everyday.

Born on March 6, 1970, Verley is the ninth of 14 children born to her parents.

Theirs was a relatively modest lifestyle. She was not able to attend secondary school.

This, according to Verley, was due to the fact that there were only two secondary schools in the Region that were located miles away at Port Kaituma and Mabaruma. Her

father could not afford to send her to any of the two.

However, she said that she was able to write the Secondary School Proficiency Examination and was soon after allowed to teach at the Manawarin Primary School some 45 miles away from her parent’s home. But the task was one that was arduous, as according to her, she was required to wake as early as 03:00 hours (3am) and paddle a boat along the Moruca River to get to school.

She would continue that routine faithfully for four years until she decided to pursue a career in nursing.

After being accepted by the Ministry of Health in 1995 to undergo training as a Nursing Assistant, she travelled to Georgetown and it was during this time that she recalled how she drifted away from her Christian upbringing.

However, in 2002 she was stationed at Kumaka, the same year in which she experienced the event that helped to revive her belief in God. Verley, who is today employed at the Versailles Health Centre, has since tied the blissful wedding knot and is of the firm belief that “God re-

ally exists and He really loves us. If He can do it for me He can do it for anybody; He can change situations around if you sincerely pray.” According to the La Grange, West Bank Demerara, resident, who has since added two more sons to her family, she is still faced with challenges everyday but noted that “you have to keep fighting...you have to have a lot of faith in God and he will see you through.”

Page 64

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 65

“Going the full circle in cricket, as common sense is not common!”

Colin E. H. Croft Two events marred last week, one about West Indies team, the other was about its past players!

Firstly, West Indies Cricket Board confirmed what I had previously mentioned; that the only Tests that West Indies would play in 2013 would be against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

West Indies thrashed Zimbabwe last March.

According to reports from WICB’s meeting in Trinidad & Tobago, regular Test players, those who do not normally participate in T-20’s or ODI’s, must wait to December next, to play internationally again!

News came that Pakistan will tentatively tour West Indies in July-August, but only for ODI’s and T-20’s, due to scheduling grid-lock.

That is unfortunate.

It means that West Indies, while trying to improve its position in International Cricket Council’s Test standings from No. 7, of nine countries, will have played only four Tests in 2013. Two were against Zimbabwe, a team not yet in the rankings, having not played enough Test cricket in the last year, and two will be v New Zealand, who are at No. 8.

How is West Indies to improve its position?

What happens to regular Test players like Windward Islands Shane Shillingford, Leeward Islands Kieran Powell, Trinidad & Tobago’s Shannon Gabriel or Barbados’ Tino Best?

West Indies present international cricketers fall into three, maybe four categories. Some, like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Shillingford, play Test cricket almost exclusively.

Several, like Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, play all formats, while players like Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith almost exclusively play T-20’s, maybe ODI’s. Others, like Denesh Ramdin and Chanderpaul, play County Cricket in England etc., or Champions League, for respective countries.

But what is a player like Powell, who only plays Tests, occasionally ODI’s, to do for that duration after ICC’s Champion Trophy in England in June?

Granted, it is a real tight rope for WICB, balancing international cricket, especially with lucrative T20’s dominating world cricket.

Like everyone else, West Indies must cash in too!

Nothing wrong with that!

I expect that upcoming Caribbean Premier League will, even from its inception in August, become as much a

Courtney Walsh

part of international schedules as Australia’s “Big Bash.” However, as noted recently, Australia still manages to meet that balance well, making sure that outings in Tests, ODI’s and T-20’s, international and domestic, are sufficiently dispersed so that players get chances to fully produce in each relative format! The second concern has been in the worry chambers even before I played Test cricket in 1976/7.

How, exactly, are past, present and eventually former, West Indies cricketers to be treated, once their professional cricketing careers are over and they move into “real life”?

Last week’s head-line in

Jamaica’s Observer newspapers was eyeopening, even embarrassing: “Jamaica Cricket Association apologizes to Courtney Walsh!”

Former West Indies captain “Cuddy’ Walsh, a Sporting Ambassador too, was stopped, by security, from entering certain parts of Sabina Park, where his name is blazoned on one of its pavilions.

The security person was not wrong. The guy or girl was only doing his or her job, as directed; to stop anyone at all who did not have proper accreditation from entering specific enclosures.

I blame West Indies Players Association and West Indies Cricket Board directly. Secondarily, I blame Jamaica’s Cricket Association and all other Caribbean Cricket Boards too.

Either they are lazy or do not care! Or is it about ultimate power and control?

Many might think this is funny; even that it is no big thing. I disagree. This has soured communications of our cricket and our cricketers for ages!

No ex-West Indies player has suffered more stresses and abuse than I have had around the Caribbean as regards going into cricket grounds, even as I always have the correct accreditation. Who knows, maybe I am hated most, for whatever reasons!

Bourda, New Garden Street, for a past New Zealand tour, even as I was 50 meters away, the security guard, in full uniform, screamed: “Kraff, if yuh ent gat a f…..g pass, yuh ent passin’ hey!”

Sir Gary Sobers was denied admittance to the stand at Barbados’ Kensington Oval which has his name.

I was in the company of another Knight, my own hero, Sir Everton Weeks, also at Kensington Oval, when we

Colin E. H. Croft both completed media duties, when Sir Everton was asked for accreditation.

He had none, and was refused entry, even though the security person knew who he was: “Sir Everton, I kno’ who yuh is, but if yuh don’t ha’ a pass, you can’t come in hay!” I cried that day!

We are “Heroes?” Yeah, right! Most do not know stresses that former West Indies players get to attend games. Some have to beg.

Only about 400 played for West Indies. Not even 10 percent will attend at any one time. This could be alleviated.

We are always treated better when we travel around the cricket world! All that WIPA, WICB and respective cricket boards have to do is to have a master list of past players, issue each with a yearly pass, if needed, also providing positions to be seated. Simple! But, common sense is not always common!

Enjoy!

GYO collects cricket Jamaica take first innings gear from Prem Singh but game evenly poised WICB Regional 4-day semi...

Jamaica grabbed first innings points but Trinidad and Tobago are fighting back at the end of the third day of their West Indies Cricket Board Regional 4 Day semi-final game yesterday at Sabina Park.

In response to the host first innings score of 246, Trinidad and Tobago resumed on their overnight total of 162-6 with Hosein on 24 and Imran Khan on 6 and were routed for 170.

They lost Hosein who failed to add to his overnight score, bowled by Nikita Miller before Sheldon Cotterell uprooted the stumps of Rayad Emrit for 3 with only 4 runs added to their total.

The visitors then slipped into further trouble when Miller had Marlon Richards caught and bowled for duck at 168-9.

Khan was then leg before to Cotterell for 9 as the Trinis innings ended in 70.4 overs. Miller captured 5-41, while Cotterell had 2-34, Brown 1-25 and Richardson 1-47.

With a lead of 76, Jamaica in their second innings lost Brenton Parchment who was leg before to Richards for 4 at 11 in the 6th over.

Richards then sent back Nkrumah Bonner (00) in the same over as Jamaica slipped into early trouble at 11-2. It then became 12-3 when Shannon Gabriel induced Andre McCarthy

(01) to edge one to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin in the 7th over. Richards continued to maintain the pressure on the host when he had Danza Hyatt taken by Khan for 09 at 16-4 before Tamar Lambert was then run out for 05.

David Bernard and Carlton Baugh staged a minor recovery with a sixth wicket stand of 55 but Khan kept the visitors in the game by trapping Bernard leg before for 23.

Emrit then sent back Miller (05), Richardson (07) and Odean Brown (02) in quick successions to leave the host tottering at 94-9. Cotterell was then run out for 02 as Jamaica were bowled out for 102 in 34.5 overs.

Baugh was left unbeaten on 38 as Richards grabbed 3-21, Emrit 2-25, Khan 1-25 and Gabriel 1-29.

Set 179 to win, Trinidad and Tobago were off to a bright start with Lendl Simmons and Jeremy Solozano putting together 41 before Bernard struck.

He forced Solozano (04) to nick one to Baugh in the 8th over before trapping Simmons in front for 31 at 43-2 before Rain stopped play with Trinidad and Tobago on 54-2 in 13 overs. Jason Mohamed is on 07 and Yannick Carriah 06. Bernard has so far taken 2-8 from 4 overs.

T h e G a n d h i Yo u t h Organisation Cricket Club last week collected several pieces of cricket gear from New Yo r k based businessman, Prem Singh, of Seven Star Fuel.

At a simple handing over ceremony at the GYO ground last Thursday, the Leonoraborn businessman turned philanthropist, who has annually contributed gear and finances to a number of clubs and schools in Guyana, promised his continued support to the Club, due to the work it continues to do in assisting very young cricketers. His generosity also saw two other smaller clubs receiving gear.

The Sophia Cricket Club (C Field) represented by Garth Allen was very happy to collect pads, helmet, wicketkeeping gloves, arm guards and a number of other pieces at the ceremony.

Benefitting similarly, too, was the Tuschen Cricket Club.

GYO Prem Singh- Prem Singh (left) hands over some of the gears to Garth Allen of Sophia at the GYO Pavilion.

A. Goolsarran, President of GYO, thanked Mr. Singh for his support over the years, indicating that without such support the club would have seen challenging times.

Cricket is getting more and more expensive and a nursery for youngsters has a

tremendous costs, it was noted. Both Mr. Singh and Mr. Goolsarran urged that more persons come forward and support the lovely game at the club level because here is where our national and international players are born.

Page 66

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

GREGORY WYLES: From North Ruimveldt Multilateral

to CARICOM Basketball Championship

Gregory Wyles Statistician Charwayne Walker continues this week with his look at basketball players who have done well representing Guyana in the past. Today he looks back at Gregory Wyles.

After being overlooked for the 1988 Caricom Championship which Guyana successfully hosted, Eagle’s power forward Gregory Wyles had to wait until December of the following year (1989) for his international debut.

Outstanding performances for both his club at the first division level and Georgetown at the inter sub association level, especially at the (1989) Guyana Games, left the national selectors with no choice but to include the name Gregory Wyles for three (3) International Goodwill matches against a strong Barbados Line up at the Nationals Sports Hall.

Wyles experienced limited time in his first series; he scored six (6) points in his first match in national colours as nerves took its toll as Barbados silenced a full house at Guyana’s premiere hoop venue.

His second international game was marred by a bottle throwing incident that brought a premature end to a contest that was dominated by the Bajans.

He celebrated victory for the first time as a National senior player when Christian, Tappin, and Cadogan ran the Bajans out of the Sports Hall with a blow out win in game three but that victory was consolation because Barbados had already won the series two games to one.

Although young Wyles court time was limited in his first international series the experience gained would later prove invaluable.

The following year 1990, GABF failed to provide the national team with any international competition so the hungry Wyles had to settle for division one inter ward and inter sub association action, Guyana also missed the 1990 Caricom championship in neighbouring Trinidad.

Ill luck seemed to be following the former North Ruimveldt Multi stand out, now employed by the Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation. Wyles left for his first overseas assignment in national colours at the 1991 Caricom Championship in Kingston, Jamaica.

His debut Caricom match was modest against Barbados which Leon Christian’s men lost 107 to 88. His second game at the Caricom level was much more productive. Wyles scored 13 points in a rough battle with former NBA pros Andrew Kennedy and Wayne Sappleton, The National team also lost 87 to 75 to reggae country.

His biggest moment came in the next game against the Cayman Islands. Wyles scored his Caricom championship high 19 pts. His club mate Sean Semple scored 21 points as the Eagles duo combined for 40 points and Guyana celebrated its only victory with a 132 to 66 points win which is still the widest for Guyana at the Caricom championship level (66 points).

In Guyana’s final preliminary game of the (1991) tournament, Wyles top scored with 18 points but Suriname edged the land of the mighty Kaieteur Falls 88 to 86.

Wyles finished his first Caricom championship with 57 points from four matches at an average of 14.25 points per game.

Only Auric Tappin and Wayne Andries scored more points.

After the July 1991 tournament in Jamaica, Wyles next overseas tour was to Suriname for Goodwill matches against the host and club teams in August of the same year. This was a memorable tour for Wyles, who scored his career high in senior national colours against the Suriname Defence Force who were the then club champs. Wyles had 29 points and Wayne Andries 30 points as Guyana led by Auric Tappin, blew out the Suriname national champs.

In the following year (1992) Wyles encountered his strongest opposition in Germany’s Professional Club TTL Bomery.

The visit by the Germans was the first European pro team to tour the land of the mighty Kaieteur Falls.

In the Series opener, Wyles top scored for Georgetown with 17 points in a losing cause.

The TTL Bomery lineup included two players that represented Germany at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Kai Numberger and Mike Jackel, two former NBA players Greg Butler and Clarence Svaderenger. They also played 7 foot 4 inches Arne Alig.

Guyana also went down by wide margins in the two international matches against the visitors 109 to 77, with Dwayne Kendell 23 points, Wayne Andries 18 points and Gregory Wyles 12 points reaching double figures. In the final game, the host lost 105 to 82 with Wayne Andries scoring 20 points, Robert Cadogan 15 points, Eion Leitch 10 points and

Horses being prepared for Kennard...

From page 68 The day’s activities end with the ‘I & Lower’ event over 6 furlongs for a first prize of$180,000 with $90,000 going to the second place. The 3rd and 4th places will win $45,000 and $23,000 respectively. Meanwhile, the horses have all been engaged in good gallops and turfites are assured of intense action.

The tracks have also been

recently renovated and a stable of well-bred animals will be on show. These include Grand Roje, Dubai Judges, Jet Set Go, The Message, Whadaluck and Ferry Landing among others.

The organizers also wish to remind horse owners that the event is being conducted under the aegis of the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA) and all of the rules

would be applied.

The registration period ends Sunday May 12 and horse owners can conform to this prerequisite by contacting Justice Cecil Kennard (226-1399, 225-4818, or 623-7609) or Roopnarine Matadial aka ‘Shine’ (3253192). Horse owners are asked to have their animals examined by the vet by 11:00hrs on race day.

Gregory Wyles 9 points.

His next international series was against Barbados at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in July (1993). Guyana lost 2-1. He also played an integral role in Guyana’s first international triangular series since 1970 involving DC Jammers and Suriname in August of 1993. A series the land of many waters dominated but

succumbed in the final to the Washington based team.

Overseas work commitment disqualified Wyles from taking part in the 1994 Caricom championship in Guyana.

He played his last international tournament in July 1995, the Caricom championship in the Bahamas.

Orb wins the 139th Kentucky Derby with late rally LOUISVILLE — Orb won the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs with a furious rally in the homestretch.

The victory gave famed trainer Shug Mcgaughey his first Kentucky Derby victory.

“I’ve always dreamed of this day and it finally came,” Mcgaughey said.

The Derby had a maximum 20-horse field, but it was reduced to 19 Friday morning when Black Onyx, 501 on the morning line, was scratched due to a chipped bone in his front left ankle.

Black Onyx had been in the No.1 position in the starting gate, which was left open for the Derby.

Rain fell steadily Saturday afternoon during the undercard, and the track was

officially listed as “sloppy.”

The downpour had many women scrambling to cover their fancy Kentucky Derby hats with plastic. But some younger fans body-surfed on the muddy infield.

The scratch came too late for alternate Fear the Kitten to get into the race. Fear the Kitten had been 21st in the new point standings used to determine this year’s qualifiers. The deadline for him to get in the race was 9 a.m. Friday.

The race was run 40 years after the historic 1973 win by Secretariat in a record winning time of 1:59 2/5. The time still has not been equaled. The Triple Crown series now moves on to the May 18 Preakness in Baltimore, followed by the

June 9 Belmont Stakes in New York. No horse has won the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

Among the many celebrities in attendance were quarterback Robert Griffin III of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, former NBA stars Scottie Pippen and Julius “Dr. J.” Irving, former major league baseball player Ken Griffey Jr., former NFL quarterback Warren Moon, entertainer Joey Fatone (N Sync) and actress Jane Seymour.

Fans, employees and media entering Churchill Downs were subject to increased security in the aftermath of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

New measures included bans on coolers and large purses.

Delhi knocked out after folding...

From page 70 start before Asad Rauf gave a rough lbw decision to Mahela Jayawardene.

Virender Sehwag followed soon after as he missed an indipper from Darren Sammy and lost his offstump.

That left only David Warner among the big names, and though he was put down on 6, he couldn’t make it to double-digits as he misread a Mishra googly and was stumped by yards.

The Sunrisers quicks had a plan on a track that was slow and had some variable bounce - they didn’t bowl

anything full, giving nothing that could be driven easily.

The surface also offered turn for the spinners, which both Mishra and Karan exploited.

Daredevils had lengthened their batting with the inclusion of two overseas allrounders, Johan Botha and Jeevan Mendis, but it was to little avail.

Mendis holed out to longon, Botha top-edged to the keeper, and Irfan Pathan dragged on a Steyn delivery to the stumps.

Daredevils went from 70 for 5 to 80 all out. Sunrisers

major weakness is their frail batting, and the pitch was not a batting beauty but the target was too small for Daredevils’ bowlers to stand a real chance of defending it.

Shikhar Dhawan made it seem like a flat track early on with some sumptuous shots, and though there were a few hiccups, Sunrisers maintained their 100% home record without too much trouble.

Sports: Sunrisers Hyderabad 81 for 4 (Dhawan 22) beat Delhi Daredevils 80 (Sammy 2-10, Perera 2-11) by six wickets.

Dwayne Bravo takes over as...

From page 67 gel well, play as a unit and do the Caribbean proud,” Butts said. “We have shown confidence in the players who have served well in both the batting and bowling departments and have identified some young players such as Jason Holder and Johnson Charles who add quality to the squad,” Butts said. Kieran Powell was not considered for selection

due to a finger injury.

Following is the West Indies squad for ICC Champions Trophy: Dwayne Bravo – Captain, Denesh Ramdin – Vice Captain/ Wicketkeeper, Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Christopher Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravindranath Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan

and Devon Smith.

DWAYNE BRAVO ODI CAREER STATS Dwayne John Bravo DoB: October 7, 1983 Age: 29 years old ODI debut: April 18 2004 at Bourda, Guyana v England ODI Matches: 137 Runs: 2311 Highest score: 112* Wickets: 160 Best Bowling: 6/43

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

GASA/WDES Circle Tennis Inter Sub-Association Club Meet Presentation

LEON SEATON & RILEY NURSE COP MVS TROPHIES

By Franklin Wilson Winners and top performers were all smiles yesterday afternoon at the Water Chris Hotel in the City when the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) in association with the West Demerara/Essequibo Islands Circle Tennis Sub-Association held the presentation for the recently held Hugh Desmond Hoyte 84th birth anniversary Inter Club Meet.

The Meet, which was held from April 11 14 at the National Aquatic Centre, was organised by the Desmond Hoyte Youth and Sports Committee led by President Mark Wilkes which is a sub-committee of the Commemorative Committee.

Each of the swimmers that participated – 37 in total – were presented with participatory medals whilst the first to third place athletes in each age group were presented with beautiful trophies at the simple but impressive ceremony.

Names as the Most Valuable Swimmers (MVS) overall were 8 year-old Leon Seaton a member of the Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club, while the best female was another 8 year-old, Dorado Speed Swim Club’s Riley Nurse.

The Hy-Tek Age Group Points System was used to determine the best male and female swimmer, overall.

Wilkes in brief remarks informed the gathering, that included many parents, that the former President of Guyana, Hugh Desmond Hoyte was an avid sportsman and enthusiast who was a very good swimmer having swam in almost every Caribbean country.

It was noted that the Desmond Hoyte 8 & Under Girls Name Riley Nurse Amber De Goeas Aleka Persaud 8 & Under Boys Leon Seaton David Scott Josiah King 9-10 Girls Naomi King Deborah E. Scott Jadyn George 9-10 Boys Lazaro Fraser Aaron Chan 11-12 Girls Sarah King Alyssa Nurse Kenita Mahaica 11-12 Boys Daniel Scott Nkosi Beaton Quivon Bourne 13-14 Girls Shanice S. Mahaica Cassie Adams 13-14 Boys Dylan Nurse Joseph de Nobrega Dominic Skeete Jamaal Skeet 15 & Over Girls Athena Gaskin Soroya Simmons 15 & Over Boys Niall Roberts Joseph Seguina Hannibal Gaskin

Commemorative Committee over the years have been using other sports events to observe the birth anniversary of Hoyte but has decided that the Swim Meet will now be an annual affair.

Dr. Karen Pilgrim in brief remarks stated that the event was a first in the swimming arena in terms of the level of sponsorship received and the expanse of trophies that were presented to the winners and top performers.

Member of Parliament and People’s National Congress Reform Vice Chairperson, Ms. Volda Lawrence in delivering the vote of thanks, enlightened the gathering that Hoyte believed in young people and the records will show that he always made provision for allowing youths to reach and achieve their true potential.

Ms. Lawrence stated that she was one of those young people that were given the opportunity by Hoyte to achieve and she is very grateful for that. “Mr. Hoyte ensured that young people had a chance to move ahead in whatever profession or field they choose. I myself am a product of him; he believed in me and gave me the chance to achieve so this is a proud moment for me in remembering him.”

The young athletes and invitees were all encouraged to strive for higher ideals. Other notable persons present at the function were National Secretary of the Guyana Youth and Students Movement Adel Lily, City Councilor Florence Bourne, Aubrey Norton and Gerald Willabus.

Following is the list of 1st – 3rd place awardees in each age group:

8 8 6

Age Team Dorado Speed Swim Club Orca Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club

Points 34 16 7

8 8 7

Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club

45 14 13

9 10 9

Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club

54 34 13

10 9

Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club

18 7

11 11 11

Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club Dolphin Speed Swim Club

81 56 12

12 11 11

Dorado Speed Swim Club Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club

63 30 6

13 14

Dolphin Speed Swim Club Silver Shark Aquatic Swim Club

9 7

13 13 13 14

Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club

72 23 21 21

17 16

Dorado Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club

45 34

21 18 15

Dorado Speed Swim Club Dolphin Speed Swim Club Dorado Speed Swim Club

45 38 33

Page 67

Dwayne Bravo takes over as Windies ODI captain, Champions Trophy squad named - Darren Sammy remains Test and T20 captain St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board yesterday announced Dwayne Bravo as West Indies One Day International captain.

The Selection Panel recommended to the Board of Directors that Bravo be appointed captain as the West Indies One Day International Cricket Team and the Board of Directors approved the recommendation.

The Selection Panel has also indicated that Darren Sammy will be retained as West Indies Test and Twenty20 International captain. Chairman of the Selection Panel, Clyde Butts explained the recommendation of the Selection Panel: “Our results in Tests and T20s have been showing consistent improvement and Sammy deserves every kudos for the work he has done in leading and moulding the team in these formats. We remain confident in his leadership in these formats and will recommend that he continues as the captain for Test and T20 cricket.

However our ODI results have not been as strong and we believe that it is best that we freshen the leadership of the team in this format,” Chairman of the Selection Panel Clyde Butts said.

“Dwayne Bravo is an experienced, seasoned and senior cricketer who has demonstrated leadership qualities. He has served as West Indies Vice Captain and has had some success when he has led the West Indies team on occasion. We believe that his transition to the position of captaincy will be a smooth one. The Selection Panel therefore recommended to the Board of Directors that Bravo be appointed captain and we are pleased that the Board has approved the recommendation,” Butts added.

“We have every confidence in Bravo as the leader of the ODI team and while his first assignment – the Champions Trophy – will be a challenging one we believe he will receive

the full support of the players and the Team Management for a successful campaign. The decision will also allow Sammy to focus on the Test and T20 formats as captain while he will remain in consideration for One Day cricket as an all-rounder,” Butts added.

Bravo said he was honoured to be appointed West Indies captain. “To be named captain of the West Indies One Day Team is one of the highest honours and I am truly humbled to have been appointed to this most prestigious position. I am really looking forward to the opportunity to lead a great team that has a combination of young talent and experienced players,” Bravo said.

“I must say congratulations to Sammy in his leadership of the team and I am very happy to be taking over from him. I am even happier that he remains in the team and I am looking forward to working with him along with the Team Management and all the players, especially Vice Captain Denesh Ramdin, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels,” Bravo added.

“The brand of cricket that I intend to bring is a never-say-die attitude and I am really looking forward to the opportunity,” Bravo said. Sammy congratulated Bravo and said he will give the new ODI captain his full support.

“I congratulate Dwayne Bravo and give him my full support as he leads the ODI team and he can be assured of my unwavering commitment to the team and our plans to be champions of One Day cricket,” Sammy said.

Commenting on the squad, Butts said that it was one which has a strong combination of experience and up-and-coming talent which is capable of doing well in the tournament.

“We have some of the most accomplished cricketers in the world along with some young talent who have shown tremendous promise and quality and we believe that the team will (Continued on page 66)

Forde, Morgan dominate Telesur 10k in Suriname Guyanese Cleveland Ford and Alika Morgan carted off the top honours in the male and female categories respectively in the Telesur 10k road race which was contested on May 1st in neighbouring Suriname.

Forde won the male open category ahead of fellow Guyanese Kelvin Johnson (2nd) and Lionel D’ndrade (3rd). Morgan the defending two time champion romped to victory in the female open in a time of 39:30 bettering last year ’s time of 39:57.

Meanwhile, Samuel Kaitan of region #09 placed third in the male junior category.

Speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday Morgan said she is happy with the victory.

“The race had 3,500 starters and I am pleased with my performance,” added Morgan. She stated that she is looking forward to the

Alika Morgan (left) displays her prizes alongside Samuel Kaitan yesterday. second leg of the race which will be held on the 18th of May in Nickerie and the Guyana Independence half marathon on the 22nd. She expressed

many thanks to Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co, Trans Guyana, Director of Sport Neil Kumar and Coach Leslie Black for their support.

Page 68

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 05, 2013

Flex Night Inc. conducts Seminar for Instructors and Administrators of Prison Gym The Prison Officers Sports Club on Camp Street was the venue for the Orientation Session and Gym Management Seminar that was conducted by Flex Night Inc. on Saturday morning.

The objective of the session was to sensitise those Staff and Inmates identified to be Gym Instructors and Administrators in the Prison Gym, to the essential features of gym management. The participants, drawn from the five Prison locations in Guyana, were welcomed by Officer-in-Charge of the Georgetown Prison, Senior Superintendent of Prisons Mr. Carl Graham. The event was then declared open by the Director of Prisons, Mr. Dale Erskine, who thanked Flex Night Inc. for its diligence and professionalism in advancing

this project which he observed would be of immense benefit to the Staff and Inmates and an enhancement of the image of the Prison service.

He also commended the Demerara Mutual Life Assurance Society Ltd. for coming on board to sponsor the acquisition of equipment.

The participants unanimously adopted the name Republicans Flex-In as the name for the new gym.

Candidates identified to be Gym Instructors and Administrators were then presented with Training Manuals which were compiled by Diane Sinclair, ISSA-Certified Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Consultant.

An interactive Seminar was then facilitated by

Donald Sinclair, Managing Director of Flex Night Inc. which allowed both Staff and Inmates the opportunity to share ideas on the matters of gym security, maintenance, quality customer care and professional selfimprovement.

Those chosen to be Gym Administrators are Superintendent of Prisons Kevin Pilgrim and Cadet Officer Deoraj Gyandat. Gym Instructors identified are Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Olivia Cox; Cadet Officer Roddy Denheart; Prison Officer II Sean Charles; Martin Rajmangal; Devon Limerick and Keith Roberts.

Training sessions continue on May 18, 24 and 30 respectively and the formal commissioning of the gym is expected to take place in June.

Trainer and trainees gather at the end of the Seminar, Left to right - Kevin Pilgrim, Devon Limerick, Diane Sinclair, Keith Roberts, Martin Rajmangal, Sean Charles, Deoraj Gyandat,Roddy Denheart and Olivia Cox.

GRFU squad continues ACTION CONCLUDES NACRA preparation GSCL 12/12 Championships...

AT EVEREST TODAY …raffle for charity will be drawn

From left, Regal XI’s Khalid Haslim, Mahendra Hardyal and Mario Allicock discuss a point as Tony operates the lawn mower within the inner circle of the playing area.

FOLLOWING two days of pulsating action and a postponement caused by the inclement weather, the inaugural Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) organized 12/12 tournament will conclude at the Everest Cricket Club ground today, with semifinals and final from 10:00hrs.

Group B champions Speedboat XI will face Group C winners Regal XI in the first match while Group A victors Memorex will play Trophy Stall in the second game.

Speedboat XI’s, Greg Singh, who has so far scored

the lone century in the tournament, Regal XI’s Patrick Rooplall and Memorex’s Shimron Hetmyer have all placed themselves in contention for the Man of the Series prize with outstanding performances in the preliminary rounds.

As an added attraction to the hundreds of spectators who are expected to witness the action free of cost, there will be a raffle at $100 per ticket and carries a first prize of one Daewoo double door refrigerator.

The second to fifth place prizes for the raffle are three-

piece living room suite, 32" LCD Sony Bravia television set, Royal fourburner gas stove and a Gshock mountain bicycle r e s p e c t i v e l y, w i t h a l l proceeds from the raffle going to charity.

Dilo Enterprise, DC Promotions, Five Star Minerals, El Dorado Trading and Ryan and Reuben Mahadeo (all out of Bartica), Star Party Rentals, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre, Romain Car Wash, Bank of Baroda, Ravi Sarwan and Trophy Stall are some of the sponsors on board.

The training squad of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) to date remains the same as they continue preparations for the NACRA senior men’s 15s Caribbean championships.

A release from the GRFU informed that, “The players are currently undergoing a painstaking Rugby Skills Fitness Training Programme every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday in the National Park, Rugby Field from 4:00pm.

The public is invited to come out and support the players while they train.”

The squad will further be depleted to twenty two (22) players closer to the NACRA senior men’s 15s Caribbean

championships against Barbados on the Saturday, May 18, 2013 in Guyana.

Meanwhile, three (3) new Committees have been established to further facilitate the Union and the players. These are: (1) Constitutional and Rules Review Committee, (2) Resources Committee and, (3) Oversight Committee.

The new Director of the Seven’s is Mr. Mike McCormack and the new Director of the Fifteen’s Alwin Etwah, who is also the Technical Director of the NACRA senior men’s 15s Caribbean championships.

The release noted that the Union is currently working on finalizing a Strategic &

Development Plan to ensure quality, preparation and performance at all levels. The GRFU is currently putting systems in place which will ensure much thoroughness and detail that epitomizes the sense of conscientious guardianship within the Union for the welfare of rugby football in Guyana.

“Based on the level of success achieved in the past, I have every confidence in the GRFU’s ability to again successfully realise many of the key objectives it has set,” it stated. The Union is currently devising a plan to reach out to several organisations for support to help facilitate the players in the upcoming matches.

Horses being prepared for Kennard Memorial Turf Club Independence meet In just over two weeks turfites would convene at the Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne headquarters of the Kennard Memorial Turf Club when organizers stage the Independence horserace meet on Sunday, May 19 next.

The organizers have promised much fun and frolic in 7 exciting races between the country’s top horses. The feature attraction promises to be sizzling and will be competed in the D1 & Lower category over a distance of 7 furlongs. The winner carts off $500,000 while the runner up

wins half that amount. The third and fourth place finishers receive $125,000 and $63,000 respectively.

Then there is the G and Lower Class over a distance of 7 furlongs where the top finisher will collect $300,000, while the second place claims $150,000. The third and fourth place finishers receive $75,000 and $38,000, respectively.

The action continues in the J2 and Lower over a distance of 6 furlongs where the winner carts off $150,000 while the second place finisher gets $75,000. The

third and fourth place finishers receive $38, 000 and $19, 000 respectively.

The other races consist of K & Lower over 5 furlongs for a first prize of $100,000, the F & Lower, over a similar distance, with $320,000 on offer for the winner. The race among the 3 years old horses over a distance of 6 furlongs will also net the winner $340,000 and the second place finisher $170,000.

The 3rd and 4th places receive $85,000 and $43,000 respectively.

(Continued on page 66)

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 69

Indiana Pacers eliminate NSBF starts in Georgetown, Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 leaders announce presence

A

TLANTA (AP) — The Indiana Pacers packed for an extended trip. Good call.

George Hill and David West each scored 21 points and the Pacers withstood a furious Atlanta Hawks comeback in the fourth quarter to win 81-73 Friday night and close out the opening-round playoff series four games to two.

After snapping a 13game losing streak in Atlanta dating to December 2006, Indiana headed north to take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in the first two games of the conference semifinals. The opener is Sunday, forcing an itinerary the Pacers prepared for by packing for a possible six days on the road.

The Knicks finished off the Boston Celtics 88-80 shortly after the horn sounded at Philips Arena.

The Pacers were certainly glad they didn’t have to return to Indianapolis for a decisive game against the Hawks.

The Georgetown Technical Institute (GTI) continued its fine tradition against another schools’ basketball powerhouse, Charlestown Secondary School when the Georgetown Conference of the National Schools’ Basketball Festival (NSBF) commenced at the Marian Academy Court yesterday afternoon.

Lassar Richard fifteen-point effort for GTI edged Charlestown Secondary 34-32 as the Youth Basketball Guyana’s (YBG) NSBF Georgetown Conference started with two fixtures.

Utilizing his lanky frame to dominate the David West looks to pass as Josh Smith defends. (Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports) The home team had won every game until the Hawks returned to Atlanta and set a franchise playoff record with just nine points in the second quarter on 1-for-15 shooting. The defense broke down in the third, allowing Hill and West to combine for 22 points, and the Pacers built a 65-50 lead going to the fourth.

To their credit, the Hawks showed plenty of heart, slicing Indiana’s lead

Martin steps up as Thunder boot Rockets

H

OUSTON (AP) - Kevin Durant texted Kevin Martin after his terrible performance in Game 5 to send words of encouragement, and tell him he knew Martin would bounce back on Friday night.

Durant couldn’t have been more right, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are advancing in the NBA playoffs. Durant scored 27 points and Martin added 25 to lead the Thunder to a 103-94 victory over the Houston Rockets, sending them to the second round for the third straight season.

The Thunder will host Memphis on Sunday afternoon.

Martin, who joined the Thunder in the trade for James Harden, rebounded from a tough Game 5. He missed his first nine shots Wednesday and finished with three points. Things were much difference in Game 6, when he had 21 points by halftime. “I had faith that he was going to come out and be aggressive and have a really good game,” Durant said of Martin. “He’s a big-time scorer. He carried us in that first half when I was struggling.”

The Rockets were looking to become just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0.

But the Thunder opened the fourth quarter with a big run to take the lead and cruise to the victory. Martin finally gave the Thunder someone to take scoring pressure off Durant for the first time since All-Star guard Russell Westbrook had season-ending knee surgery. He had 21 points by halftime and Westbrook’s replacement, Reggie Jackson, helped out by scoring 17.

(AP) IN MEMPHIS - The Memphis Grizzlies refused to be pushed around, especially on their home court, and now they’re headed to the Western Conference semifinals for the second time in three seasons.

Mike Conley and Zach Randolph scored 23 points each as the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-105 Friday night to take their first-round series 4-2.

The Grizzlies had never won four consecutive postseason games before this series. They became only the 10th team in NBA history to win four in a row after trailing 0-2 - the first to win those four all by double digits.

to 76-73 on Al Horford’s dunk with 2:13 remaining.

But the comeback fizzled. Atlanta didn’t score again, setting up what figures to be a tumultuous offseason.

Hawks made only 26 of 78 (33%). Horford led with 15 points, while Smith and Devin Harris finished with 14.

Indiana bullied the Hawks much of the game, overcoming their own poor shooting (32 of 76) by bullying Atlanta in the lane.

The Pacers finished with a staggering 53-35 lead on the boards.

Hibbert added 17 points and11rebounds.LanceStephenson also had 11 rebounds.

Over the final two games of the series, the Pacers absolutely manhandled the Hawks on the glass, piling up a 104-63 rebounding edge.

paint, Richard received capable support from team-mate, Dwight Gray, who contributed ten points in a winning effort.

Amoniki John and Murtland Ward led the Charlestown with ten points each.

Earlier, in the U-17 game, hosts Marian Academy, led by a Christopher Joao double–double of twelve points and fifteen rebounds defeated St. Roses High 33-17.

Judah Stephney also scored ten points for Marian Academy.

Nathan Howell scored eight points for St. Roses while Shamaar Huntley added four points in a losing effort.

EASY AS SUNDAY MORNING! A lay-up in the intense action between GTI and Charlestown Secondary in the 2013 NSBF

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Kaieteur News

Walcott opens in style

GDF, Police boxers feature as GBA names power team for Cuba tourney Seeks corporate help

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s the executive of the Guyana B o x i n g Association (GBA) continues to mold its charges with an aim of breaking the Olympics Gold medal jinx in the 2016 Brazil Olympiad, eight boxers, featuring several from the Guyana Defence Force and Police gyms, have been selected to comprise a national team for possible participation in the Cardova Cardin (June 4-11) and the Roberto Balado (June 1925) boxing tournaments scheduled for Cuba early next month. The team will also be involved in a training stint while in Cuba.

However, amidst assurances that the boxers will do well, executives of the GBA are faced with a bill that exceeds $3M and are appealing to all stake holder, whether Government and members of the corporate community for the requisite assistance to make the trip a reality.

Those boxers that have earned the nod and are scheduled to leave Guyana on June 2 are, GDF representatives, welterweights Eon Bancroft and Ron Smith, light/middleweight Bert Braithwaite and light/weight, Clairmont Gibson. Those from the Police are middleweight

Dennis Thomas and bantamweight, Imran Khan, while featherweight, Delon Charles (FYF) and Lightweight, Stephon Gouveia (HE) complete the team. Terrence Poole will double as manager/coach with Cuban coach, Francisco Hernandez Roldon as the Head Coach.

Moments after the selections, President of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle, lauded the selectors saying that the boxers represent the cream of the local crop. He said the Cuba trip is a continuation of the ‘Road to Brazil’ initiative where local boxers are receiving special attention to break the Olympics jinx.

Mr. Ninvalle further pointed out that several of the selectees are among those that were recently identified to receive a monthly stipend from officials of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA). They have also received support from the management of Bakewell.

Mr. Ninvalle further explained that the Cuba sojourn is an attempt by his executives to resuscitate the exchange programmes between Guyana and the Spanish speaking country, extinct since the early eighties. He also noted that it was around that time that local pugilists were most

Sunday May 05, 2013

T

Imran Khan

Stephon Gouveia

Steve Ninvalle productive.

The team will intensify training sessions from this morning at the Andrew Lewis Boxing Gym. They will also engage in roadwork exercises at the National Park from 05:00hrs every day before returning to the gym at 14:00hrs weekdays.

rinidad Express -Keshor Keshorn n Walcott produced Walcott a performance fitting of his status as Olympic champion, the Trinidad and Tobago field athlete hurling the spear 84.39 metres at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, late Friday, to capture the TnT Elite Twilight Games men’s javelin title.

In his first outing since his Olympic triumph in August last m e n ’s year, Walcott satisfied 400m field, the Simplex his adoring fans with his big quartermiler winning in first round effort. The throw 4 5 . 9 9 s e c o n d s , f r o m was just 19 centimetres short American Marcus Boyd of the 84.58m national (46.08). Jereem Richards record he had established in bagged bronze in a personal grabbing Olympic gold. best 46.20.

A fast-finishing Domonique Williams Michelle-Lee Ahye struck emerged victorious in the gold in the Twilight Games women’s 400m, the T&T women’s 100 metres dash in runner finishing strong to 11.37 seconds. The T&T force Jamaica’s Stacey-Anne sprinter finished ahead of Smith into second spot.

American Muna Lee (11.44) Smith came off the final and Ghanaian Flings Owusu- turn in front, but the lead was Agyapong (11.55). not big enough, Williams Ayodele Taffe won the reeling her in near the end of keenly contested men’s the race to win in a personal 100m dash, the teenager best 53.89 seconds. stopping the clock at 10.56 Smith clocked 54.03 to seconds. Silver went to pick up silver, while Moriba Morain, in 10.59. b r o n z e w e n t t o D a n a John Mark Constantine got Massiah in 54.13. bronze in 10.67, the same Mikel Thomas produced time produced by fourth- an impressive run in the placed Jonathan Farinha. men’s 110m hurdles, the F o r m e r w o r l d j u n i o r T&T athlete winning in champion Darrel Brown 13.46 seconds. clocked 10.74 to finish fifth.

National record holder Carifta Games boys’ Akeem Stewart dominated under-20 champion Machel his rivals in the men’s shot Cedenio was the class of the put. The Tobago Falcons

athlete threw the iron ball 18.68m for a huge cushion on Carifta Games boys’ under-20 champion Hezekiel Romeo, the runner-up with a 16.86m effort.

Last Sunday, Stewart established a new national record, throwing 19.32m at the Alvin Daniel and Point Fortin Games to erase Dave Stoute’s 18.91m standard from the books.

In the women’s shot put, Cleopatra Borel got the better of her Cuban rival, Yaniuvis Lopez. Borel, T&T’s best-ever female thrower, produced her winning effort of 17.75m in the very first round of the competition. Lopez threw 17.40m to claim silver.

Jorge Fernandez gave a classy display in the men’s discus, the Cuban thrower striking gold with a 63.04m effort. T&T’s Quincy Wilson threw 57.17m to secure silver.

And Kyron Blaise produced a 7.52m leap to capture the men’s long jump title.

Delhi knocked out after folding for 80

E

Darren Sammy (BCCI).

SPNcricinfo - A couple of years ago, the Hyderabad Cricket Association had performed several pujas at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal seeking divine intervention to change the fortunes of the home side which seemed to invariably lose at the venue.

Whether it was India, the local Ranji side or the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad crowd turned up only to see their side defeated.

Whether it is due to the pujas or not, the home side’s fortunes have certainly changed at the Uppal stadium. India won two Tests there this season, and the new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad have now won five in five after routing Delhi Daredevils with 37 balls remaining.

The bedrock of Sunrisers’ surprisingly successful season so far has been the bowling. Dale Steyn has bowled with frightening pace, Amit

Mishra and Karan Sharma have used their googlies to flummox the batsmen, Thisara Perera has had plenty of success with both bat and ball and Ishant Sharma, usually so profligate in the limited-overs format, has been effective with the new ball. All of that came together perfectly as they hounded out Daredevils for 80, the lowest total of the season.

Daredevils’ campaign had been on life support over the past week, with a couple of victories just about keeping them alive in the competition. Their chances are now dead and buried after their faltering batting failed once again.

There were only four fours and one six in the entire innings, less than what AB de Villiers managed in a single over against Ashok Dinda earlier this week.

Their openers survived a couple of pacy, probing overs from Steyn at the (Continued on page 66)

Virender Sehwag is bowled while trying to cut Sammy (BCCI)

Sunday May 05, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 71

t r o Sp

Orb wins the 139th

Kentucky Derby with late rally

Dwayne Bravo takes over as Windies ODI captain, Champions Trophy squad named

- Darren Sammy remains Test and T20 captain

Orb (2nd right) ridden by Joel Rosario comes down the final stretch at Churchill Downs yesterday (Getty Images/AFP, Andy Lyons)

GASA/WDES CIRCLE TENNIS INTER SUB-ASSOCIATION CLUB MEET PRESENTATION

APNU Member of Parliament Ms. Volda Lawrence (seated 4th right), Mark Wilkes (standing left) along with other officials share this Kodak moment with the swimmers following the presentation ceremony at the Water Chris Hotel. (Franklin Wilson photo)

Leon Seaton & Riley Nurse cop MVS trophies

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