Thursday Edition May 10, 2012 - Vol. 5 No. 18
Online readership yesterday 80,995
Price $80 (VAT Inclusive)
Online: http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com
Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly
Luncheon somersaults on sale of GT&T 20% shares ...
Chinese buyers never
Pg 11
examined company’s books Ramotar encourages Ogle Airport operators to be competitive Pg 2
The commissioning of the Ogle Airport extended runway
Former CLICO building now NIS property ...
Gunmen rob GRA to pay $10.5M per Pastor, wife month in rent - Luncheon in church Pg 6
Pg 14
Jagdeo's pension threatens showdown in Parliament today Pg 6
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Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Ogle Airport operators must be competitive - Ramotar S ervices offered at the Ogle Airport a r e n o w indispensable. The location has become a major hub for interior flights. It enables miners and timber operators an assured source to move their supplies and personnel, says President Donald Ramotar. According to Ramotar, Ogle has a great future. The airport is ideally located in proximity of population
centres and is therefore convenient as a connecting port between hinterland and the coast. He said that with the growing demand for interior flights owing to increasing economic activities, more development in hinterland communities the time is now for operators to look for future investments perhaps in larger planes and increased fleets that could move greater amounts of
people and cargo. The Head-of-State said, “Without this service many far flung areas inaccessible by other means of transport would have found themselves isolated from the coastland and from further progress.” He added that Government wants to see an increase in the proportion of persons being able to utilize air transport in and out of the interior.
“I am supportive and I am sure the private sector is of the same mindset of ensuring that through regulations applied consistently and equitably, we can ensure the continued development of the air transport and avoid any p o s s i b i l i t y o f disadvantaging anyone in the industry,” Ramotar said. Delivering remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the airport expanded
runway, Ramotar said that Government is not interested in taking over this aerodrome or its management. He assured that Government has a wider obligation to ensure that investments made at this facility promote robust competition so that the consumers that utilize services offer here do not suffer. “The general point of competitive fares should not be lost on our local aviation operators… We understand the operators that run this facility need to make a return on their investment but we are sure that these operators are conscious of the important social service they provide to many communities and citizens of Guyana, who would expect given the level of investments made here that they should derive some benefits at minimal through more affordable fares for them.” He said that his comments do not reflect a criticism of the tariff structure used. Operators were encouraged to be more competitive and appreciative that with more affordable fares there will be greater business, public confidence and support for public-private projects. Ramotar assured that Government will not shirk its responsibilities of supporting air transport. He said that substantial sums have been set aside in the national budget to maintain airstrips across Guyana. “Completion of the extension of the runway forms part of our progressive plan to develop Ogle into a major municipal aerodrome and a port of entry and departure for regional flights including those for destinations such as neighbouring Brazil, Suriname and the
Caribbean.” “The Ogle Airport Development Project was never conceived as a means of replacing or undercutting our main international airport at Timehri. We also have major plans for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. This year we will commence work there. The work entails extending the existing runway by some 3,500 foot, the construction of a new terminal, air bridges and taxiway,” he added. The Head-of-State emphasized that when those modernization works are completed the country's main port of entry will allow larger planes to land while conforming to international aviation and regulatory standards. Ramotar noted, “These plans, including the ones for Ogle, are all part of Government's recognition of the importance of air transport sector as a major service provider and catalyst for increased economic activity.” A c c o r d i n g t o Chairperson of the Ogle International Airport Board, Michael Correia, Ogle International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the Region with approximately 100 flights daily moving over 200 passengers and 15 tons of cargo across our borders and to all parts of Guyana. He noted that the airport at present has 10 scheduled international flights to Suriname. It is playing an important role in fostering trade and developing closer relationships with Guyana's neighbours to the east. Correia noted that similar services are provided to Brazil. Currently there are 24 scheduled flights to Lethem. “This runway meets international standards and is now in the class of 4,200 feet long by 100 feet wide 2C Regional Runway,” he said. He enlightened that by December regional big aircraft would commence accessing the airport. He explained that the completion of the runway in itself does not complete the certification of the Phase 11. “Additional works, including the installation of runway lights, terminal enhancements, parking apron, taxiways, fencing, drainage, among other requirements, will cost OAI an additional $4M,” Correia said.
Thursday May 10, 2012
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Kaieteur News
Do you know that a group of people using taxpayers' money, was laying the foundation to own and control the bulk of Guyana?
Thursday Saturday
Friday
The previous government under the stewardship of Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo paid a hefty sum to conduct a feasibility study for the setting up of a national airline. The study was conducted by Leon Hui and Francis Chung Ko of the Canadian company UNIMAC. The completed study, dated August 13, 2009, stated that the airline would be the sole designated national flag carrier of Guyana. Were taxpayers’ dollars being spent to facilitate a private airline or was the government re-entering the business?
Sunday
In early 2008, the Registrar of Deeds was ordered to register a company named 'Air Guyana'. At the time that name was already owned and in use by Wings Aviation. Wings Aviation challenged that illegal registration in the courts where a judge ruled that the registration was indeed illegal and that Wings Aviation rightfully owned 'Air Guyana'. Somebody desperately wanted to steal that name.
Wednesday
Airline business in the making
Paid advertisement
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Kaieteur News
Thursday May 10, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
We do have rights The Second World War taught a lesson to just about every country. One lesson was that there will always be countries with aggressive intentions and that these needed to be controlled by the global community. This aggression is also prevalent among individuals many of whom compete for and become national leaders. These people also need to be controlled. These aggressive people and nations led to the formation of the United Nations. In 1948, the United Nations adopted what has now become known as the Universal Declarations of Human Rights. This list of rights should be adopted by every country that is a signatory to the Human Rights convention. Simply put, people the world over should enjoy the same rights and privileges. Guyana is a signatory to these rights. It has vowed to ensure that its citizens enjoy these rights to the extent that its constitution, the supreme law of the land, has entrenched these rights. Article Nine of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no person shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest detention or exile. This is crucial. Many countries that profess to be democratic insist that one of the greatest freedoms is the freedom of liberty. The French have a famous slogan—Give me liberty or give me death. The United States has a Statue of Liberty which is a symbol to the rest of the world. This statue stands at the entrance to the Hudson River and welcomes all. The world cannot help but notice that one of the last things police officers do, for the greater part, is to arrest someone. Arrests come as a last resort. But there are countries where an arrest is the first resort. Then follows what may be considered unreasonable detention. Such detentions are commonplace in countries once considered communist, which is a title synonymous with being totalitarian. But in the Caribbean, and Guyana is not excluded, detention and arbitrary arrests are not unusual. One can understand an arrest once the law enforcement officers have reasonable suspicion. But all too often we have seen arrests and detentions that have been sparked by an angry policeman who wants to flaunt his power; we have seen people arrested on the complaint of a neighbour who may merely have ready access to the police. And what makes this even more regular is the fact that the police have been led to believe that they can detain a person for up to seventy-two hours. Sometimes, these people are released without any charge only to be picked up a few hours or days later, again on the whims and fancies of an exuberant police rank. The law does not tolerate this but many people, ignorant of the law and beaten by officialdom, simply accept their fate. They do not challenge their detention because they either do not know how to, or they do not have money to secure legal expertise. Some may not even know that they have the right to a legal challenge. People have complained to the police hierarchy often to no avail. The very police believe that every person they take off the streets is making a dent on crime. So pervasive is this arbitrary detention that recently, when the former Police Commissioner Henry Greene, opted to challenge a charge that was being levelled against him, the wider society was up in arms when the decision came that the charge against the police commissioner was irrational. The very people who should hug the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights were prepared to waive that clause. It may because of this action that there are so many human rights violation. People allow their rights to be violated because the irregularity becomes the norm. We have had cases of people being arrested for no reason and actually being forgotten in detention. This violation of rights never caused the person making the arrest to lose sleep. He was safe in the knowledge that he would suffer no penalty. Where there are laws there are monitors. One would expect the United Nations to have monitors to ensure that the signatories to the Charter are upholding the principles. We do not know that there is any monitoring in Guyana and it is not that we do not have violations.
The opposition must launch a Parliamentary probe into the PPP’s actions on oil exploration DEAR EDITOR, It has now been 15 years since the PPP has started this rigmarole that is the search for oil in Guyana. Fifteen (15) years of frustration and incompetence hiding behind outright ineptitude. Now that CGX has come up empty on one well, I am calling on behalf of every Guyanese for the opposition to launch an open Parliamentary enquiry into the PPP’s actions relating to the search for oil. That said, I am hopeful the other well being drilled at present finds oil. Every single Guyanese wants this country to find oil. However, what the PPP has done in the past 15 years is to make a mockery of the desire of the Guyanese people to discover oil. Here are the reasons why the opposition must ask serious questions about this oil fiasco. Firstly, what prompted the PPP government to grant the biggest exploration licences to a company that is a virtual unknown in the oil exploration business? CGX was created shortly before it got the Guyana licences. I could find no other evidence of CGX holding licences comparable to Guyana anywhere else. I could not find evidence of CGX exploring anywhere else but Guyana. CGX has no history of oil exploration success before the PPP handed them the keys to Guyana’s oil exploration hopes in a region called the second largest resource potential on earth by the US Geological Survey (USGS). As my American kids would say, that sucks. It sucks to the rankest levels. Secondly, commonsense, integrity, duty to the nation, competency and placement of the Guyanese people’s interests first would dictate the PPP get into bed with a massive multinational company with hundreds of billions at its disposal to discover and exploit the oil quickly enough so that the country can benefit in the shortest time possible or the PPP create a national oil company. CGX’s delay in getting this well dug is confirmation of its small size in the market. Now that it went over budget with this well and its stock has fallen more than 60% since the announcement of a dry well, it will have a hell of a time raising money to dig another well. This means more delays. Another well is not coming anytime soon. The opposition must investigate and tell us who are the players behind CGX
and the history of its creation. The opposition must get the PPP to answer why its cabal chose to hand over exploration of the nation’s potential wealth to a smalltime player when there are massive oil companies like Exxon, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and nextdoor Brazilian Petrobras which could have launched many wells by now and applied better technology and expertise to find oil? Why not require that exploration licences be handed out to oil companies that possess at least US$2 billion in capital that could drill enough wells to test whether oil is present or not in a short period of time? One of those giants mentioned would have told us by now if there is really oil present offshore. Thirdly, the opposition must question the recent moves by the PPP as they appear to relate to the potential oil industry. Is there anything more to the newly created Ministry of Natural Resources being held by Jagdeo protégé, Robert Persaud? Was NICIL intended to handle proceeds from the sale of oil? Is this why the PPP refused to bring NICIL under public scrutiny because it wanted to put billions of US dollars of oil revenues into it and not have the public see what is being done to the money? Should we read anything into Dr. Suresh Narine, a Jagdeo advisor and confidante, being appointed a director of CGX Energy Inc. just recently and quickly being elevated to Chairman of the company when he has no
experience running a publicly traded resource company? The PPP, as usual, made a horrendously incompetent decision in giving the licences to CGX. CGX was/is too small and too new to spend the kind of money needed to search for and find oil quickly. Too many people are living in poverty in Guyana for the PPP to make incompetent and disserving decisions like these with the nation’s resources. By making this atrocious decision, the PPP has ensured the Guyanese people have lost and continue to lose an opportunity for development. The PPP’s decision to put most of the nation’s eggs in oil exploration in the CGX basket has delayed the nation’s potential for a developmental takeoff. That is the kind of incompetence that attracts investigation in normal democracies. Parliament needs to do its job and open an enquiry about this oil exploration mess. It is grave disservice and rank disrespect to the nation and to the Guyanese people for any government to know that its country is overflowing with poverty and suffering and yet not take proper steps to ensure its resources are explored and tapped expeditiously. Fourthly, a government is saddled with responsible management of a nation’s resources. It must responsibly make the best decisions to benefit the people. Guyana’s oil exploration under the PPP has not been responsible, competent and qualitative. We need the opposition to tell us why. Fifthly, the opposition must
examine whether the licences are better served in the hands of another oil company. The self-serving and often pocket-filling decisionmaking process within the PPP destroys this country’s ability to get maximum value for its money and maximum value from the decisions made by those it elected. These ridiculously poor decisions further impoverish already poor people. Sixthly, why didn’t the PPP create like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran and others, a national oil company to fund the exploration ourselves? Why was there no public auction process for the leases and on what criteria was CGX selected? Does CGX, struggling to raise cash, have the money to pay for any environmental cleanup if it finds a well that blows out? If CGX finds oil on its own, it will have to enter into joint ventures to build a field which can cost billions of US dollars. This further delays the process. Petrobras plans to build 45 new floating rigs/ platforms at a cost of US $4$5 billion each in the next few decades. It is the duty of any government to ensure that the resources of the nation it governs are explored and tapped expeditiously. The PPP has failed in this duty. It must be investigated. The AFC and APNU must review the entirety of the PPP’s actions on Guyana’s oil exploration and let the truth come to light. Failure to do so would confirm the opposition’s incompetence. M. Maxwell
DEAR EDITOR, Permit me a few lines to express profound gratitude on behalf of the Board, management, staff and homepartners of Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc. (HFH Guyana) for continuous support of several local and international private sector organizations who have exemplified social responsibility and concern for the housing needs of poor families in Guyana. For HFH Guyana, our sponsors and homepartners achieving the dream of home ownership goes beyond the construction of four walls and a roof or the provision of repairs, renovation and extensions. Affordable and decent home ownership for poor
families is an opportunity to elevate a family out of poverty, to provide an environment conducive to studying for young children and to ensure that the homes we construct promote health and general well-being. Research has shown that promoting access to adequate housing among low income populations is a simple yet effective strategy of poverty reduction and livelihood improvement. Guided by our housing quality standards which are performance measurements and indicators for our construction process, HFH Guyana is committed to ensuring that accessing to housing finance and quality housing construction are accessible to families in need,
regardless of their socioeconomic status. Although Guyana has seen an increase in home ownership and land distribution for housing development, many entities along the value chain are profit-oriented, thus final costs for low income families remain prohibitive. In many cases securing financing for low income families is itself prohibitive since many may not have the necessary paperwork and meet pre-requisite conditionalities. HFH Guyana is currently revising our programme model to better serve families living in relative and extreme poverty. Rawle Small National Director, HFH Guyana
Habitat’s relationship with private sector donors
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Letters... Where your views make the news
The President has opted for the divide and rule strategy DEAR EDITOR, If President Ramotar does not retreat from his antics, by his own actions he creates the climate for a detestable or short-lived presidency, for he is building a relationship with the public that is adversarial, dishonest and vengeful. Since the president has no control over parliament, it would have been to his advantage to enlist an approach that respects the supremacy and independence of this branch of government, and work with the legislature, through the PPP parliamentary representatives, to effect a plan of action for the collective wellbeing of the people. Instead, he has opted for the divide and rule strategy, in the hope of the executive escaping accountability, and it must be denounced. His use of coded language to pit groups against each other to whip up sympathy against the budget cuts says this nation is confronting yet another leader who wants to govern by dictum, not by reasoning and the laws of this land. The president in his address to an Indian Arrival Day event at Plantation Highbury, East Bank Berbice, in referring to the budget cuts reportedly said, “We were working to build hydro power to give everybody cheap electricity as Linden enjoyed…We don’t want to raise the price of electricity on anyone; we want to bring it down for everyone.” (KN 6/ 5/2012). President Ramotar needs to tell this nation why six years ago Linden’s steam turbines, diesel generators and the 69KV lines between the Garden of Eden and Linden were removed and taken to develop electricity in the Berbice region. He needs to come clean on the PPP’s continuous attacks on Linden’s economic independence/self-
sufficiency, including transferring their electricity equipment to Berbice. The PPP also needs to come clean and tell this nation what they did with the money from the sales NICIL made on bauxite properties around the country and the prices these properties were sold for, including accounting for the residual of the over $2.5 billion bauxite workers’ pension plan the government destroyed. This is a mere sampling of the economic attacks Lindeners have been the recipient of, and endured. Linden always had an electricity operation independent of GPL. It must be said, Lindeners do not benefit from cheap electricity as the result of government benevolence or action. Let me state it clearly, the entire electricity sector in Region 10 was developed on deferred wages/salaries by persons who worked in the bauxite industry over the years. The unions negotiated remuneration packages that allowed an aspect to be channelled towards investment for such things as electricity and water. It is the PPP government that put in train a mechanism to: 1) deny the bauxite community of continuous and sustainable electricity, and 2) put in place a programme to impact negatively on the people’s economic sustenance. When the president informed a predominantly Indian community he would like to give them electricity at the price of Linden but failed to mention Linden’s electricity history, his party’s assault on the Linden community, and the government’s intent of making electricity prices higher for his audience, his utterings have to be seen within two contexts. One, he is essentially saying that the predominant African Linden community is getting preferential treatment
over his audience. And two, though he knows the GPL is presently engaging the Public Utilities Commission for a 20 percent increase, he hopes in hiding this fact, he can succeed in misrepresenting the cuts made by the parliamentary opposition. It is unfortunate when a president sees the need to stoop to such levels to deceive his base and the nation. It speaks to the contempt he holds for citizens, because were he respectful of them, he would know that lying will hurt the relationship. Unless he is taking his supporters for granted, thinks the PPP holds their supporters’ minds in captivity, and it matters not what others think or say. But for the greater good, the president must desist from playing wedge and dishonest politics with the lives of citizens he has taken an Oath to respect and protect. This is a man who came from the bowels of the trade union and presumably fought against class warfare, bigotry and racism, yet today, he zealously embraces practices that belong to the incinerator. As president he needs to understand he has a duty and responsibility to work with the people, legislature and the judiciary, and whatever he does must be consistent with building productive relationships or he will have to account for the disintegration he is instigating. Our public officials must be held accountable for the things they say and do. As such the president is called upon to tell this nation where he got the information “It was they [Indians] who called for the right to vote…” He either provides the evidence or should shut up when it comes to these issues or society will continue to view his conduct as playing groups against each other. It will be better for any
leader, regardless of race or political persuasion, to fashion relationships based on truth and quality, rather than seek to divide the people by deliberately misleading groups for their self-serving agenda. Evidently the coded language forms part of the PPP talking points in their fanout exercise on the budget. Regional chairman Bindraban Bisnauth is comfortable in a predominantly Indian gathering to say the $4B subvention for sugar “the opposition wanted that money to be channelled into the electricity in Linden although the AFC had claimed that it cared about the sugar workers and had promised them a 20% increase in salary” SN 3/5/2012. Looking at the gathering, it is clear they do not enjoy the chairman’s socioeconomic comfort. We are facing a situation where elected officials are unashamedly using unsettling messages to mask having to account and to enhance their class position at the expense of the working poor, underemployed and unemployed, whose numbers are growing every day. And these are the messages and policies they use our tax-dollars to propagate every day in the state-owned media. As public officials they are paid by all of us to respect and serve us, yet they seem uncaring of their duty and responsibility. As such it becomes over important every organization and citizen hold them to account since their antics threaten our collective wellbeing. Lincoln Lewis
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Thursday May 10, 2012
Jagdeo’s pension threatens showdown in Parliament today Government and the two opposition parties in the National Assembly are heading for a major Parliamentary showdown today over a number of motions being tabled by the latter. One of them is the repeal of a controversial multi-million dollar pension package for former Presidents. That pension package is the centre of a court action filed by Desmond Trotman, a Parliamentarian for A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) who is challenging the constitutionality of the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009. In a last minute push to have the opposition rethink the motions, senior officials of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/ C) yesterday said that the motions which are being tabled mainly by APNU are flawed and clearly in breach of established Parliamentary procedures. Whether the motions will be allowed for debate will rest on Speaker of the oppositioncontrolled National Assembly, Raphael Trotman. During a press conference at the NCN studios, Prime Minister Sam Hinds said that the nine motions by the opposition were clearly “hurried, premature” and not “given much thought”. The motions would have come swiftly on the heels of the recent $21B cuts that the Parliamentary oppositions, APNU and the Alliance For Change (AFC) made to the 2012 National Budget recently. Also at the press
Prime Minister Sam Hinds, flanked by Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, and Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh during the press conference at NCN studios yesterday. conference were Ministry of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. Following the November 28 National Elections which saw the PPP/C losing Parliamentary control since taking office in 1992, both the AFC and APNU had vowed to use their majority in the House to make sweeping changes. The budget was the first to feel the hammer.
AFC and APNU want the monies in NICIL’s accounts to be transferred to the central account- the Consolidated Funds. Government has stoutly
refused saying that nothing in the law says the money must be transferred to the Consolidated Funds. It has also denied that there was that much money
in NICIL’s coffers. According to the Prime Minister yesterday, the motion to repeal the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009 may be plain vindictiveness and spitefulness by the opposition. Hinds served briefly as President in 1997 and is eligible to benefit from a Presidential pension which according to the opposition is likely to be over $2M monthly, inclusive of free electricity, security and cash. According to Hinds, one of the motions filed by Carl Greenidge, a senior APNU Parliamentarian and former Minister of Finance under the PNCR administration in the 80’s, calls for financial independence of the courts and several service commissions, a situation that
the PPP/C is clearly against of the financial lack of control situation that is likely to occur. This, he said, “goes against the grain” and the PPP/C “finds difficulties in proposals like that”. Regarding a motion to force NICIL to provide more information, Hinds insisted that the sale of state lands and properties is published in the required forums including the National Gazette. He also blazed the opposition for now seeking to force independent agencies to hand over monies. This is in contrast with moves, dating back to the 80’s to make these same agencies more independent. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING Attorney General Anil (continued on page 11)
Former CLICO building is NIS property ...
GRA to pay $10.5M per month in rent - Luncheon
VINDICTIVE OPPOSITION The opposition then laid several of the motions which are to come up today. Some of the motions including forcing National Industrial Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and the Privatisation Unit, to release more information on transactions. The Alliance For Change had claimed that NICIL was holding on to almost $50B, proceeds of the sale of state properties, including companies and lands. Both
The CLICO building that is to be rented to GRA The former Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) building on Camp Street has been acquired by the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). It will be rented to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for $10.5M monthly, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon. He said that NIS paid
$600M for the building which was assessed at $1.8 billion. The money paid by NIS would be offset against the outstanding $6B indebtedness of the liquidator. NIS had invested some $6B in Clico. That money was all but lost when Clico collapsed. The local Clico went into liquidation. The purchase of the Camp Street building is
part of the liquidation process. Cabinet has since approved $227.1M for the completion and modification of the CLICO building on Camp Street. “Indeed that $600M is used to offset some of the $5B that is still outstanding for NIS. The funding that has been identified in the award when Cabinet granted its no objections, those funds are being invested by the new tenant (GRA) to reconfigure the building and particularly its electrical, clean power and a suitable environment for the conduct of GRA business as opposed to what it was before for insurance business, “ Luncheon noted. That property at lots 200 and 201 Camp Street with a size of 36,863 square feet was
valued between $1.7B and $1.8B by the valuator contracted by the insurance company, while the government valuator placed it at $1.316B, a difference of $400M. Liabilities for CLICO were in entities such as the NIS, GFC, GuyOil, and the Dependants’ Pension Fund. NIS had acquired the CLICO building in Camp Street and holds it as a long term investment. The Bank of Guyana has been appointed liquidator and is seeking to increase the liability of the failed insurance company by raising more money from activities such as the sale of the company’s assets as well as from taking legal action against BOSAI, CLICO (Bahamas) and Caribbean Resources Limited.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Greek socialist makes lastditch attempt at government ATHENS (Reuters) Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos will make a last- ditch attempt to form a government today and avoid a new election after voters rejected a bailout deal and pushed Greece into a political crisis. Chances are slim Venizelos can clinch a deal after both the conservatives and leftists tried and failed to cobble together a coalition in three days of talks following Sunday’s election, when voters spurned big parties and their austerity policies. The political deadlock prompted European threats to eject Greece from the euro, while impatient governments withheld part of the latest tranche of rescue funds to be
Evangelos Venizelos paid to Greece on Thursday. New elections in 3-4 weeks loom as Athens, due to run out of cash in June, needs to impose fresh measures in exchange for funds. “I will continue the effort because it is in the nation’s
interest,” Venizelos told reporters. “Prolonging this uncertainty only hurts the country and its economy, and in the end, the weakest and the unemployed.” But the mood was somber when radical Left Coalition leader Alexis Tsipras abandoned his efforts after meeting main political leaders and a raft of new groups propelled into parliament by public anger at mainstream parties. The biggest party, New Democracy, tried and failed to form a workable coalition within hours on Monday and there seemed to be little ground for compromise between the proand anti-bailout parties, split almost down the middle in the new parliament.
Syria rebels kill 7, bomb explodes near UN monitors AMMAN (Reuters) Syrian rebels killed at least seven pro-government militiamen in a Damascus suburb yesterday, activists said, and an explosion wounded eight soldiers escorting UN ceasefire observers in the southern province of Deraa. The Damascus attack with rocket-propelled grenades on a bus carrying the fighters through the suburb of Irbin prompted the army to seal off the area and respond with shelling, activist Mohammad Saeed said. Sustained violence in Syria, nearly four weeks after a ceasefire deal brokered by mediator Kofi Annan, has led
to warnings this week from the Red Cross, Arab League and Annan himself that the country is slipping into civil war. Annan’s truce was part of a wider plan aimed at ending 14 months of unrest, starting with peaceful but violently repressed demonstrations against President Bashar alAssad and moving into an armed conflict that the International Committee of the Red Cross says now meets its definition of civil war in some areas. Bloodshed in Syria has sharply divided world powers. The U.S. envoy to the United Nations declared on Tuesday that Assad’s
Russian jet with 50 aboard missing in Indonesia A Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 with about 50 people on board went missing in a mountainous area south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta during a demonstration flight yesterday, officials said. The plane disappeared from radar screens 50 minutes into what was meant to be a brief flight and rescue teams were headed on foot by early today towards Salak mountain, where the plane went missing. “We suspect the plane crashed, but we’re not yet certain,” rescue chief Marsdya Daryatmo told reporters several hours after the disappearance. “We tried to send two helicopters to search for the plane... but because of bad weather and strong winds they had to return. We will send them out again tomorrow,” he said. Two helicopters were forced to turn back last night because of bad weather and poor visibility, Daryatmo said. By midnight, hundreds of rescuers had set up three posts around the mountain. Reports of the exact number on board varied, with local rescue officials saying it was carrying 46 people and Trimarga Rekatama, the company responsible for inviting the passengers, saying 50 were on board. (AFP)
Kofi Annan government had not fully implemented any part of Annan’s plan, while Russia’s ambassador, who has been more supportive of Damascus, said “things are moving in a positive direction”. Yesterday a bomb exploded in Deraa close to a convoy of UN monitors, led by Major-General Robert Mood, tasked with observing the implementation of Annan’s April 12 ceasefire deal. The pro-government Addounia television said eight members of the security forces accompanying the monitors were wounded in the blast, but none of the UN observers was hurt. “The important thing is not speculating about who was the target, what was the target, but to make the point that this is what the Syrian people are seeing every day and it needs to stop,” Mood said afterwards. Despite an initial lull in fighting, the agreed ceasefire has not taken hold. Nor has the carnage stopped, despite a parliamentary poll on Monday which the government promoted as a milestone on its path to reform, but which the opposition dismissed as a sham and boycotted.
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Brassington to meet with press on NICIL Amidst growing calls for Government to bring more disclosures on the affairs of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL)-- the government holding company-- the ruling administration yesterday said that it is prepared to answer any question. As a matter of fact, NICIL’s head, Winston Brassington, is preparing to sit with reporters to speak of the transactions of that Government-owned company, says Attorney General, Anil Nandlall. NICIL has been coming under increasing fire with more questions asked after it was announced that hundreds of millions of dollars may be invested in a planned Marriott Hotel. Other transactions like the Sanata Complex deal and the sale of several parcels of Government lands and of Duke Lodge, Kingston, have been questioned by the Opposition. Recently, the Opposition claimed that there was over $50B in NICIL’s coffers, a claim which has been denied by Government. Speaking on the issue also yesterday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, said that Brassington will soon be speaking on NICIL and its transactions. He also slammed public statements by Khemraj Ramjattan, Parliamentarian for the Opposition’s Alliance For Change, who was accused of starting the $50B “rumour”. “I have absolutely no difficulty in identifying that $50B in liquid cash in the coffers of NICIL is a figment of Ramjattan’s imagination.” NICIL REVIEWED According to Luncheon, theoretically the assets under NICIL could add up to $50B but this will have to include both movable and immovable and other properties. The official also hinted of the possibilities of NICIL’s regulations or articles of incorporation being reviewed and amended. Meanwhile, according to Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, who is also the Chairman of NICIL, the opposition and its commentators are attempting to use the government company to whip up a storm in a teacup and generate hysteria. “The fact is NICIL is a registered company. NICIL is audited by the Auditor General. Financial statements are tabled in Parliament.” Singh insisted that NICIL had even held a special forum
NICIL’s head, Winston Brassington to clear the air on its transactions. Regarding the “$50B” that NICIL is supposed to have in its accounts, as claimed by the opposition, the Minister said that figures were never substantiated and could not stand up to the first round of scrutiny. NICIL’s transactions are transparent with tenders advertised, opened publicly and then awarded through a due process system before being publicly announced, he said. Despite this, there are still questions and controversies. “Were a question to be asked properly in Parliament, we would answer them as we have always done in the public domain.” According to the Attorney General yesterday, he spoke to Brassington who said he is willing to even speak to watchdog body, Transparency International on NICIL. COME CLEAN “He told me that he spoke to Kaieteur News as well... to Mr Glenn Lall and that he is
prepared to attend an interview and answer any question on any deal that Kaieteur News may have reservations about.” Yesterday, during a press conference also, AFC said it wants a smooth transfer of money in NICIL to the Consolidated Fund. “Recent statements by the President and Ministers trying to explain why they are not handing over the money from the NICIL account into the Consolidated Fund are quite ridiculous. The highest law of the country, the Constitution, makes it quite clear that all money, all revenue, raised or received by Guyana shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.” AFC reiterated that failure to hand over the money from NICIL is a blatant breach of the constitution and unlawful. “The AFC has explained that the money in the NICIL account belongs to the people of Guyana – not the government, not the opposition, but, all the people and as such it must be in an account where the representatives of the people can have oversight. That account is the Consolidated Fund.” By keeping the money in the NICIL account, AFC said that the government has left the door open for speculation as to what is happening with this money. “We have a situation where billions of dollars belonging to the people of this country are not being accounted for. This is a dangerous situation which has gone on for too long and one which the government should be working to rectify.”
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Kaieteur News
Warning for Jamaica WASHINGTON - CMC - A new report released by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is warning Jamaica that its fragile economic recovery will be dangerously hampered by demands by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors. “Pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies, implemented under the auspices of the IMF, damaged Jamaica’s recent and current economic prospects,” the report notes, adding that “this policy mix risks perpetuating an unsustainable cycle where public spending cuts lead to low growth, exacerbating the public debt burden and eventually leading to further cuts and even lower growth”. Financial observers note that Jamaica is currently paying more debt interest than any other country, including those in Europe that have been reeling under the near collapse of the Euro. In total, the island owes around US$18 billion. Prior to the global financial downturn, Jamaica’s growth was already stagnating at just 1.1 per cent per year. Since 2008, the island’s debts have climbed by nearly a third and while growth has picked back up somewhat over the course of 2011, the report suggests that high levels of poverty and unemployment will dampen any positive impact. The CEPR, the US-based economic policy think-tank in its report “Update on the Jamaican Economy” warns that IMF-enforced policies could keep the Jamaican economy in a “debt trap” for years. “The IMF, World Bank, IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), and other multilateral institutions deserve a large share of the blame,” CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot said in a statement, noting that “their contractionary policies prioritise the servicing of debt over growth and development.”
IMF analysing Grenada’s economic performance ST GEORGE’S, Grenada CMC - A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in Grenada holding discussions with government and other stakeholders on the performance of the island’s economy. A statement from the Ministry of Finance said that the delegation, headed by Nita Thacker is conducting discussions for the 2012 Article IV consultation “with all member states, to assess their economic performance for the past year. “It must be noted
however, that Grenada’s last Article IV consultation was conducted in September 2009, since after then, Grenada entered into an IMF programme, the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), which had its own schedule of reviews,” the statement added. It said while in Grenada the team will hold discussions with various stakeholders in the public and private sectors, including government and opposition representatives as well as those from the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN) and the Grenada Chamber of Industry of Commerce (GCIC). The delegation will end its visit here next week Thursday.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Abu Bakr could appear before Commission of Inquiry in August PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC - Yasin Abu Bakr, the man who led a radical Muslim group in an unsuccessful attempt at overthrowing the Trinidad and Tobago government in 1990, is likely to appear before a Commission of Inquiry probing the event in August, one of his attorneys said yesterday. Attorney Viveka Pargass told the five-member Commission chaired by prominent Barbadian jurist, Sir David Simmons, that the health of her client was improving and he is also due to appear in the High Court on May 14 on criminal charges related to another matter. She told the Commission that Bakr, 67, would most likely be available after the trial which is expected to last between six and eight weeks. “The final case
Yasin Abu Bakr management conference before Justice Mohammed took place last Monday, when it was confirmed that Mr. Bakr is in sufficient physical fitness to stand trial and it was confirmed by his Lordship Justice Mohammed that the trial will in fact start on the 14th of May,” she added. Bakr faces charges of promoting a terrorist act, sedition and four other
offences arising out of comments he made during an Eid-ul-Fitr sermon in November 2005. The trial has never really started because of his illness. Last month, the Commission ordered the Commission’s lead counsel, Avory Sinanan, SC, to write Bakr giving him a 14-day deadline to make an appearance before the commission. Sinanan had already informed the Commission that Bakr, who has in the past publicly indicated a willingness to testify before any commission, had been written to on three occasions, but is yet to respond indicating when he would be available. At least 24 people, including one legislator, Leo Des Vignes, were killed after Bakr led more than 100 men in the failed attempt at overthrowing the
government on July 27, 1990. Bakr and the members of his Jamaat-Al-Muslimeen group were tried for treason following the six day insurrection, but the Court of Appeal upheld the amnesty offered to secure their surrender, and they were released. However, The Londonbased Privy Council, the country’s highest court, later invalidated the amnesty, but the Muslimeen members were not re-arrested. The 24 month-old Kamla Persad Bissessar led People’s Partnership coalition established the Commission after acknowledging that for several years calls have been made “by a generous percentage of our population for such an investigation”. Sir David said that Bakr will now have to prepare a witness statement no later than June.
EU and CARIFORUM officials to meet in Dominica ROSEAU, Dominica CMC - Senior European Union and Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) officials meet tomorrow to further discuss issues of mutual interest under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed in 2008. The EU delegation will be led by Christian Leffler, Managing Director for the Americas of the European External Action Service
(EEAS) and will include Head of EU Delegations in the Caribbean and other senior and high level EEAS and European Union Commission officials. The meeting tomorrow is expected to provide an opportunity to exchange information, foster mutual and better understanding and define common priorities and shared agendas, according to a statement from the Ministry
of Trade here. It said that the meeting would cover all issues of mutual interest and concern on a common global, regional or sub-regional level. CARIFORUM comprises the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICCOM) grouping and the Dominican Republic. The EPA is regarded as the start of a new trade relationship between the
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC - Finance Minister Nizam Burke has dismissed as a “very cheap political manoeuvre” the
motion of no confidence filed against Prime Minister Tillman Thomas by the main opposition New National Party (NNP). Burke, who is here attending a conference on small island development states (SIDS), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the motion filed by Opposition Leader and former prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell will be defeated.
“It is a very cheap political manoeuvre which will be exposed for what it is at the sitting of the Parliament and will be defeated. We are confident that the motion will not survive. “It will provide in fact a wonderful opportunity for the government to first of all expose the leadership of the former Prime Minister for what it was what it did to Grenada
Christian Leffler Europe and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Dominica assumed the Chair of CARIFORUM in June last year.
Finance Minister dismisses motion of no confidence in govt.
and of course to speak to the achievements of this government. So we see this as an opportunity and we will deal with it as such,” Burke told CMC. “It is cheap because it is not motivated by a genuine belief that this Prime Minister is improper, inadequate or incompetent or inefficient. It is motivated by a simple and unadulterated grab for political office,” he added. Last week, the NNP said it had filed a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Thomas amid infighting within the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the government. The motion is accusing Prime Minister Thomas of encouraging internal division and strife within his Government since 2008 when the NDC won the general elections.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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A QUESTION OF POLEMICS VS. A FACT IN LAW A senior operative of the Government of Guyana has been quoted by letter columnists to have said that the National Industrial and Commercial Inc Limited (NICIL) is a private company. This statement whether or not actually originating from the government official- he has in other instances indicated that he was consistently being misrepresented in the media- has caused a tizzy in some circles since some persons find it difficult to understand how it is that an enterprise in which the government owns 100% of the shares, is not considered as part of the government but is described as a private company. The only logical explanation is that whoever made this assertion that NICIL is a private company or that NCN is a private company was attempting to make a distinction between an entity that is part of Central Government and a company that is not. Legally speaking it is defensible for someone to assert that a 100% government-owned public
corporation is not part of the government. But saying that it is a private concern may be a bit inelegant when addressing laymen. In the case of Wifentinga V. Insurance Corporation of Sri Lan k a (1985), Sharvenanda ACJ held that: “It is a matter of significance that the corporation employs its own servants and officers and exercises disciplinary control over them. Its servants and officers do not belong to the public service… Where the employer is a department of government, no question of separate legal entity arises. The question however becomes different when the business is carried out through a separate legal entity, for example, statutory corporations, because in such a case the employee is a servant of the legal entity other than the Government.” In this regard both the NCN and NICIL may for legal purposes not be considered part of the Government. T h e r e is within the opposition a great deal of
Dem boys seh ...
Bharrat James and Brian Jagdeo are friends A good, decent and successful boss always leads by example. That is a true, true saying. Old people seh suh; not dem boys. Brazzy was a boss man, but he ain’t no way close to dem three words fuh describe a boss. Dem boys seh that he is de complete opposite. And he had to surely learn that from he bigger bosses, especially de Rat. Imagine he writing letters to public companies ordering dem fuh their audited books. And he threaten dem. He even sue some of dem. Well dem boys seh that wha guh round does come round. Parliament now telling Brazzy fuh bring he audited books. He sweating, he hiding and ducking. But wid he size he got, dem boys gun smoke he out from any hole fuh carry dem same books to de Parliament, whether dem wrang, right or indifferent. Dem boys seh that this is de same man who seh that he nah got $50 billion in de NICIL account, despite half of Guyana sell out. If dem nah got $50 Billion in de account then dem boys on target wid wha dem seh in de paper on page 3 today. Dem seh that a group of people will own and control de bulk of Guyana. It mean that he tek wha he want and give away de rest of Guyana fuh free to de bunch of dirty Bees, including de Rat. He sk… got to answer fuh that while he wearing de pumpkin jumpsuit. And talking bout de Rat. He travelling to China steady and he always walking wid he interpreter who can’t talk none Chinee and he is a Chinee. Dem boys talking bout Bee James. Bharrat James and Brian Jagdeo are buddy friends. Dem both share plenty things in common—dem share de initials Bee Jay and de rest y’aal done know. Talk half and audit de other half.
interest in NICIL. And this concern stems purely from the statutory role that NICIL plays in the retention of the funds from privatization. But the agency that really does the technical work as regards the divestment of state assets is the Privatization Unit. The Privatization Unit has attracted its fair share of criticism over some of its divestment deals. NICIL in turn is giving certain members of the old oligarchy in Guyana headaches because of the possibility of it sinking equity financing into a major hotel project that is to be branded by the Marriott chain. As such, there are persons out to ensure that this deal does not go through since it threatens vested interests within the old oligarchy which is being overrun by the new oligarchs
( more about the war of the oligarchs in a subsequent column). In these circumstances, both NICIL and the Privatization Unit have found themselves more in the public eye than ever before and while there is a legitimate claim that both agencies should be allowed to defend their divestment deals, a distinction between the propriety of these deals and the legality of NICIL retaining funds accrued from divestment are two separate issues. There is without doubt a need for greater disclosure and transparency as regards deals regarding divestment and NICIL investment. The government itself has been opening up and recently even held a special briefing for the opposition on the Amaila Falls Project.
Since then the funding for this project has been cut from the Budget even though the criticisms of this project have fallen off the radar of the opposition in so far as criticisms are concerned. The government also released a number of contracts which involved the Privatization Unit. So there is improved transparency and there is nothing to prevent the opposition from using its majority in parliament to press for greater explanations as regards other contracts. However, even if it is found that these deals had major problems, this does not trigger a legal obligation on the part of NICIL to dissolve itself or to pass its proceeds through the Consolidated Fund. Legally it cannot, once it exists as a public corporation, pass its proceeds through the
Consolidated Fund, except for the payment of dividends. In so far as NICIL is concerned nothing has been presented that establishes a case for the proceeds held by NICIL to be transferred into the Consolidated Fund. And nothing is likely to be presented to establish a strong legal basis for such action. In the circumstances, the status quo will have to remain and NICIL, like NCN, can in strict legal parlance be deemed as separate legal entities from the Government. Whether they can be called private, is a question of polemics.
Jagdeo is getting too many benefits - Ramjattan Leader of the Alliance for Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, says that he will be supporting APNU on the motion to address the Presidential package that former President Bharrat Jagdeo is currently receiving. The former President enjoys tax free exemption, free first class airfare, security guards, and gardeners among other things under the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act. Ramjattan yesterday said that they had lobbied for repeal of the Act and to have a body to determine what benefits he should get. However, he said that they have decided to go with the motion by the APNU. He said that if the motion is approved a Select Committee would then determine what will be the President’s pension and other facilities and benefits. He further told the media that they are not calling for any repeal or reduction for his pension, but for the “Other facilities and benefits” to be addressed.
Ramotar gets about $1.4M a month free of tax. Seveneighths of this sum would make Jagdeo earn a substantial pension. However, he said that in 2009 after he was not allowed to run for a third term another law was passed, this was the President’s other facilities and Benefits Act. That Act, according to Ramjattan, outlined that gas, light and tax exemption would be free. He said that when these things are calculated it will show that the former president is enjoying some $3M. “We suppose a former
Khemraj Ramjattan Ramjattan said that he wanted people to understand the difference between pension and “other facilities and benefits”. He explained that in 2004 an Act was passed for the President’s Pension Act, which would be seveneighths of the salary of an existing president. Ramjattan said that the current President Mr. Donald
president might need a security guard, one clerical staff and probably a gardener...but what he is enjoying is uncapped; he’s getting about six or seven security guards, gardeners, which our economy at this state cannot afford,” Ramjattan posited. He said this should not happen, especially when regular old age pensioners are only getting $10,000 plus. And he is of working age. Ramjattan said that the opposition believes that his benefits are too much and too unlimited.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday May 10, 2012
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
There are three explanations flying around about the tempestuous cries the PPP is making about the money taken away from some areas of governmental spending in the 2012 budget. One is to create an atmosphere of an impeding election which puts the AFC and APNU in election overdrive thereby diverting them away from a relentless crusade of exposure and investigation that they both promised the nation in their respective campaigns last
year. Secondly, the PPP is trying to set the scene of a backlash against further opposition attacks on its bad governance by going on the offensive in order to blunt the sharpness of future battles. Finally, there is the assessment that the PPP feels that it has achieved a major victory over the cries of budget cuts and could win a majority if a national snap poll is put into operation. Which of the three has more explanatory power? It doesn’t have to be one of these factors. It could be a combination that explains the angry denunciatory mood the PPP is currently in. I would dismiss the election possibility for two reasons. One is that there is no stratum in the PPP that is so powerful as to force President Ramotar to call another election if the President does not want to. The PPP must be the only
party in the world that is not divided in its leadership even at an insignificant level. It has been historically a monolithic organization. There were tall stories about factions that would scream at each other in the fight for the 2011 presidential slot. It didn’t happen. There is no faction at the moment that is pitted against another group over anything in the PPP. Secondly, it is not in President Ramotar’s interest to give himself only one year of his first five-year term. Even if he finds the opposition control of Parliament over-bearing and mentally difficult to endure, he will not lop three or four years off his presidency. He will be content to do in the years to come what he is doing now – try to organize a propaganda war. Thirdly, a snap poll does not make sense at the moment because of two opposing strands. One is the opposition
has not really been dented over its budget behaviour by the PPP anti-cut war. The opposition has persuasive arguments that could reduce the effectiveness of the PPP’s anti-cut propaganda. Opposed to this is the total lack of ingenious leadership by the PPP since the November 2011 election. The PPP has done nothing to titillate or excite the imagination of Guyanese since it became a minority government. The common sense thing to do to blunt the opposition is to invent popular policies. Had it done so before the budget confrontation, it could have dealt a death blow to both APNU and AFC. It is not only the principles of politics that the PPP has ignored since its parliamentary defeat but commonsense too. You are a minority government, so implement popular policies that will make the country think of you in ways that are
different from when they voted in the last election. Then with a rise in admiration from the citizenry, hold your surprise national election. This writer contends that after November 28 if the PPP has increased wages and salaries by fifteen percent; free up television signals and radio licences; democratize the Chronicle and NCN; restart the grant to Critchlow Labour College, lessen its stranglehold on UG; expand the resources of the judiciary; resurrect the Ombudsman, open one of the public swimming pools to the population; put money to clean up Georgetown among other admirable pursuits, then it would have swept up a majority in any new election. At this stage, a new contest will be selfdestructive. It is this writer’s opinion that the PPP will lose more percentage points if it goes into another electoral battle. It simply has nothing
Frederick Kissoon going for it to take it over the fifty one percent. Mr. Ramotar isn’t going to risk it. To many in political society, the view is that the PPP will not be secure and feel secure with a Parliament that is going for the kill therefore it will gamble with another electoral contest. I beg to disagree. We come now to the answer for the insane rage that the PPP is displaying all over Guyana over the budget reduction. The simple explanation is that it has no other alternative but to go in the countryside and spread hate among its constituencies in order to let Guyana know that it is fighting back. That is all it can do to survive.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Luncheon somersaults on sale of GT&T 20% shares
Chinese buyers never examined company’s books Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon said that he erred when he reported to the press on April 5, last that Government’s 20 per cent shares in Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) followed an investigation and discussion by the Asian firm with the management of the telephone company. His explanation came during an address to members of the media at his weekly press conference at Office of the President yesterday. “I stand corrected. Those efforts in establishing the shares and the value were not taken in conjunction with GT&T management, but with resort to publicly available
GT&T financial reports and the audited statements.” He said that the Asian firm did not have any engagement or communication with the management of GT&T pertaining to its due diligence study in settling the value of the 20 per cent shares. Dr Luncheon had announced that the government decided on a proposal made by a Hong Kong-based company to buy the shares for US$30M. The money, he said, will be paid in two installments– US$25M upfront and the remaining US$5M to be paid over the course of two years. Up until the sale, the government was receiving from GT&T, an annual dividend of US$2.5 million.
Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon Dividends will more than likely be used to pay the $5M installment.
Edghill contempt case against Freddie Kissoon …
Defence lawyers question validity of proceedings Defence lawyers for Kaieteur News’ columnist Freddie Kissoon and the newspaper’s Publisher, Glenn Lall, have argued that the contempt proceedings filed by Bishop Juan Edghill are not consistent with the rules of the court. Edghill, who headed the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), and who later joined the ruling PPP and became Junior Finance Minister, wants Kissoon jailed for an article he had written. Edghill in his capacity as Chairman of the ERC was before Justice James BovellDrakes in an application for an injunction by then Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin, to stop Edghill from functioning as Chairman. Edghill is asking the court to institute penal sanctions against Kissoon because while that injunction was being determined, Kissoon had written a commentary on the ERC. Nigel Hughes represents
the first defendant in association with Mrs. HobbsNurse. The second defendant, Kaieteur News, is represented by Khemraj Ramjattan in association with Mr. Neil Parsram. “Frederick Kissoon contributed and caused to be published an article in which are expressed views and opinions touching the above court proceedings and which are aimed, calculated and directed to prejudice a fair and impartial hearing,” Edghill charged in his affidavit. However, yesterday, Hughes argued that filing the proceedings by way of “motion” was inconsistent with the rules of the High Court. He said that filing contempt proceedings by
way of motion can only take place in existing proceedings. Justice Diana Insanally is presiding in the case. Senior Counsel Chase, representing Bishop Edghill, asked the court for time to answer to the defence contention. Hughes did not object Chase’s plea for time, but told the court that costs will have to be involved given the number of times the defence team has had to go to court on the charge. The defence team also expressed frustration that Edghill was not in the courtroom and Justice Insanally concurred. Edghill should attend the proceedings, she said. The matter has been set for May 30
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President Ramotar to visit US State Department - for economic engagements, political and bilateral talks President Donald Ramotar will be attending a series of engagements with US administration officials, multilateral agencies and the Guyanese Diasporas in Washington DC, and New York City from May 12 to May 19, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon. At the time Dr Luncheon was addressing members of the media at his weekly press conference at Office of the President yesterday. Dr Luncheon said subsequent to those engagements the President will be returning to Guyana on
May 21, after partaking in a Barbados-hosted CARICOM/ Mexico summit on political and economic cooperation. The Presidential delegation will include Ministers Irfaan Ali, Robert Persaud, Dr Ashni Singh and Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be accompanying the President on his trip. He explained that the President would be engaging officials of the US State Department on further collaboration between Government and the US on issues of security initiatives,
President Donald Ramotar economic engagements, protection of investments, political and bilateral agreements.
Jagdeo’s pension threatens ... From page 6 Nandlall made it clear that the opposition motions showed a clear lack of understanding and appreciation of parliamentary procedures. There are distinct processes and mechanisms to deal with issues there, he stressed. Parliament’s Standing Orders say how questions could be asked whether orally or written and both AFC and APNU should have known that there was need for the motions. Regarding the motion to repeal the President’s pension act of 2009, Nandlall was of the opinion that since APNU’s Parliamentarian, Desmond Trotman, has already filed a constitutional motion in court challenging the Act, bringing a motion in the National Assembly would be wrong and against S t a n d i n g O r d e r s w hich would prevent discussions from taking place until the outcome of that matter.
Nandlall said that he would change his stance on the matter if the court case is pulled before the National Assembly is convened today. “This motion is in palpable violation of the Standing Orders. The PPP/C, through Nandlall, has since written to the Speaker of the House, urging him not to allow this particular motion to be heard. Ministry of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh also insisted yesterday that the Opposition parties have erred by tabling the motions. They could easily have asked questions and the government would have provided answers. It is a fact that the PPP/C in the last Parliament, answered all
questions that were asked. More than 100 reports of Government agencies were laid during the Ninth Parliament. Moves to have Government agencies like NICIL, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Forestry Commission; hand over its monies will require legislations being laid, not via motions, the Minister said. Singh also criticized the Opposition who after pressuring government to release information on the planned Marriott Hotel and Amaila Falls Hydro Project, gave not a whimper, a clear indication that they were just grandstanding politically. The reality is that information is available.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday May 10, 2012
GRA launches automated ‘Operation Safeway’ results is 23,385 traffic cases in first four months vehicle registration The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) launched its fully automated Motor Vehicle Certificate of Registration yesterday as the tax agency significantly reduces time and errors in processing the Certificates of Registration. Previously, Motor Vehicle registrations were handwritten. Effective from May 8, 2012, motor vehicle owners are being issued with the new document through a process which is expected to significantly reduce the time spent by motor vehicle owners at the Licence Revenue Office (LRO) where the registration of and updates to motor vehicles are facilitated. The Registration module of the Licence Revenue Processing System (LRPS) software, which is used to produce the new official document, was developed by GRA’s in-house software programmers. It includes enhanced security features such as a watermark, micro fibers and Ultra Violet (UV) images to allow for the detection of fraudulent duplications. Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, noted that the new initiative had been in the making for some time since new legislation was drafted to allow for the changes in the registration system. He explained that initially,
The Commissioner-General hands over the first automated Certificate of Registration to a motor vehicle owner in the LRO’s compound the new document would be issued to persons registering new vehicles. Speaking at the launch, the CommissionerGeneral noted that due to the large number of vehicles in circulation, in excess of 80,000, the previously issued manually-prepared documents would still be valid. Therefore, the GRA would, over a period of time, be phasing in the new document. “I think this system will
serve us well as it relates to our standards in this country,” he stated, explaining further that Guyana is striving to uphold international standards with regard to motor vehicle licencing systems. “We can now track Motor Vehicle Registration by their serial numbers. All registrations issued and cancelled will be recorded in the Licence Revenue Processing System (LRPS ) and therefore, LRO will be able to verify legitimate registrations. In addition, there will be a significant reduction in time and errors in processing the Certificates of Registration since the Motor Vehicle registrations will be printed and not hand-written,” the Commissioner-General noted. The initiative was labeled as a major achievement for the GRA. The commissioner general alerted the public that they should expect further improvements to be made shortly as the Authority continues to make strides to improve other aspects of its services to the public.
The police have stated that as a result of their zero tolerance traffic enforcement ‘Operation Safeway’, 23,385 cases have been brought before the courts against motorists breaching traffic laws between January and April this year. In 2009 the Police Traffic Department embarked on a campaign to reduce the carnage on Guyana’s roadways. As a result of this undertaking, a number of exercises were put in place to educate citizens about the necessity of heeding road laws. The police continued to drop the heavy hand of the law on traffic offenders resulting in road users being prosecuted for at least 16 traffic offences. Speeding is the most prevalent of traffic offences according to the police statistics report. A total of 5,556 persons faced the court for that offence, while 2,676 persons faced persecution for overloaded minibuses, the second most occurring road crime. The police said that 1,064
persons were prosecuted for breaching the conditions of road service licence. Seven hundred and forty two persons failed to conform to road signs and 627 persons were charged for obstructing the smooth flow of traffic. Six hundred and seventeen persons failed to wear their seat belts while driving and 391 persons overtook on double yellow lines. Three hundred and fiftyseven persons drove under the influence of alcohol (DUI), 328 were unlicensed drivers and 327 persons were caught using their cell phones while driving. Two hundred and five persons were pulled in for heavily tinted vehicles. One hundred and thirty-seven persons failed to heed traffic lights and 102 persons drove their vehicles dangerously. Ninety-two persons drove carelessly, 90 riders failed to wear their helmets and 10 persons were touting on bus parks. Apart from the various offences committed by road users between the specified period, speeding caused 17
accidents, inattentiveness caused nine and failure to conform to road signs caused one accident. And according to the report, those offences were the leading causes of fatal accidents for the specified period. Nine categories of vehicles were involved in fatal accidents occurring in the earlier part of the year. So far, 55 vehicles have been involved in accidents for the year. They included 13 private cars and 13 motor lorries. Seven pedal cycles, six hire cars and six motor pickups crashed in fatal accidents. Four minibuses and four motorcycles were also involved in such accidents. An ambulance and a motor van also crashed in fatal accidents. During the use of these modes of transportation, 28 road users were killed. The dead included seven pedal cyclists, three motor cyclists, one pillion rider, one passenger in a motor lorry, one in a motor van, one in a motor car, eight drivers, and seven pedestrians.
Guyana Sex Work Coalition takes campaign to Mahdia Over the weekend, officials from the Guyana Sex Work Coalition visited Mahdia where they held a sensitization campaign targeting sex workers and youths. A representative from the group, Quacy Fernandes, said that the aim of the campaign is to sensitize sex workers and youths in the mining community to safe sex practices. According to Fernandes, during their visits to the community they met with people at several bars and nightspots. The group also distributed condoms in the community while having pep talks with the target group. According to Fernandes the group was also given the
opportunity to meet with a group of young people from the Campbell Town Community. The youths were advised on the proper use of condoms and the importance of condom use. However, Fernandes said that their work in the community has been curtailed to some extent for various reasons beyond their control. “We were told that many persons moved out of their camps because of a campaign by the police and GGMC while some who went out for the Easter holidays have not yet returned,”. Nevertheless, Fernandes said they are pleased with the fact that they were well received although there were
some glitches. “Some persons were reproachful and when we got to the bottom of the situation we were told that they were hesitant because of a previous group which had visited the community and there was some breach of confidentiality.” According to Fernandes persons expressed their concerns about confidentiality, since during a recent HIV testing exercise the results of some persons were revealed. The group will continue its campaign over the next few months targeting other hinterland locations. Its members have already done extensive work along the coastlands.
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GTM collaborates with GPHC to host health fair Members of the public turned out in their numbers yesterday at the GTM Group of Insurance Companies, Hinck and Robb Streets, Georgetown office to benefit from a number of free health services. The event was a health fair spearheaded by GTM in collaboration with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and came as part of the continued observance of International Nurses’ Week. The architect behind the collaboration was GTM’s Marketing Officer, Yasmin Bowman, who said that the move was initiated even as the insurance company was organising its activities for the year. Although the officials of the company had embraced the hosting of a health fair it was recognised that a collaborated move would have been more impacting. “So through our management team we decided that we would partner with the GPHC since they usually have a health fair every year for International Nurses’ Week...We decided we would approach them – the matron
collaborative effort such as the provision of meals and the venue. Aside from officials from the various departments of the public hospital who were busy delivering services from strategic booths at GTM yesterday, staffers from the Ministry of Health’s National AIDS Programme Secretariat were also part of the activity. According to Bowman, “We are hoping to reach the general public that is why we had placed advertisements in the newspapers. We did brochures and we invited all of the various corporations around us; we targeted banks, the Guyana Revenue Authority, sister insurance companies, our own staff. We even did text blasts in an attempt to reach as many people as possible.” Among the health services offered were blood pressure, blood glucose and HIV tests, body mass index (BMI) and dental checks, diabetic foot care and breast examinations as well as VIA and vision screening. Clients were also afforded information on occupational health and safety. Evidently satisfied with the results of the health fair,
and the nursing staff at the GPHC and they were happy to come on board,” Bowman related. GTM’s role in the collaboration was to meet the financial needs of the
Bowman noted, “You can never tell the impact an activity can have on a community until you venture out into it...and so I am happy GTM engaged such an activity.”
Scenes from yesterday’s health fair
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Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Gunmen rob Pastor, wife in church
T
hree brazen bandits last evening robbed a Howes Street Pastor and his wife, minutes after the couple had concluded their Wednesday evening service. The invaders relieved Pastor Kenrick Corbin and his wife of several pieces of gold jewellery. Corbin, who is the pastor at Faith Miracle Ministries, told Kaieteur News that three men with guns came into the church. He was still standing on the pulpit with his wife not too far away. “They came into the church pointed the gun to my head…another pointed to my chest” Corbin said. The pastor said he didn't think twice to hand over his belongings to the three bandits. “I willingly took off my chain, and rings and they
took three of my wife's rings”. Corbin described the act as cowardly and asked that God shows mercy on the young men who could enter a church and rob a pastor. He said that this is just a backlash of a systematic problem which is being faced by society. “There's too much unemployment, no moral ethics and poverty….so these things will happen if they are not addressed,” said Corbin. He said that he is thankful to be alive and that he had already forgiven the men who robbed them. “I forgive them….they are cowards. Real men go and look for work...That's a cowardly act; I trust that they find grace in the eyes of God. They had no fear of God because I was on the pulpit”.
Motor Vehicle Licences amendment…
Driver defaulting on fines can lose licence - Luncheon Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon says that drivers who flout the law when given tickets to pay fines will soon be faced with penalties that could include disqualification from holding licences, after amendments are made to the Motor Vehicle Licences Act. At the time Dr Luncheon was addressing members of the media at his weekly press conference at Office of the President yesterday. He said that there is need for “amendments to allow for tightening the noose around ticketed traffic violators by mandatory police and Magistrates' Court collaboration to ensure compliance with payment of fines and to impose penalties for not paying fines will include the disqualification from holding licences.”
He added that the Bill will also be amended to allow for the renewal of Motor Vehicle Licences on its anniversary date of registration. Dr Luncheon added that the Bill for the Children and Family Court will also be a Bill of regulations pertaining to the rules for adoption of children 2012, status of children regulations, custody contract, guardianship, and maintenance of children. “These would all have got Cabinet go ahead, will now be used to meet cabinet protocols for them to be made ready and to be laid in Parliament,” Luncheon underscored. He also noted that music and dance licences will undergo amendments to regularize the increase in fees for such licences.
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Berbice tug crash victim died More police ranks needed in mining districts of fractured neck and drowning The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA) is dissatisfied with the limited numbers of police personnel that are dispatched in mining districts to protect citizens and their properties. With increases in the price of gold, mining in the interior is a lucrative business that many enjoy. This has attracted an increase in criminal activities that miners feel could reduce if more ranks are deployed in the interior. The association’s president, Patrick Harding stated, “The police who are responsible for interior security are not fully equipped… They don’t have sufficient manpower; they are now getting some new
equipment and facilities.” Harding related that the association members are willing to work with the Guyana Police Force to establish new outposts and guide ranks to troubled locations. He is optimistic that Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) through its reorganization plan would appoint additional Mines Officers to enforce order in the mining industry. “When miners operate under GGMC regulations, it would help reduce some conflicts they are having: raiding of claims; illegal shops- one cause of security breaches… We are hoping that with more manpower they would ensure shops are
setup on legal landings…They meet the requirements of an interior shop,” Harding said. He added that the association has requested GGMC to establish a complaints desk to facilitate and quickly resolve miners’ complaints. One of the most popular concerns that the Commission needs to look into is the issuance of cease work order indiscriminately. He explained, “That order stops the miner from operating, which would be problematic for the miner who would have already invested large sums… These things should be expedited quickly so that the miner could get back to work in the shortest time possible.”
... survived a similar incident Police and persons in the De Veldt area removing Thompson’s body
Bracing for a flood
Residents of Lethem, Region Nine are bracing themselves for a repeat of last year's devastating flood as water from the surrounding mountainous regions continues to pour down into the border community. Photo shows water about to cover a section of a main road in Lethem yesterday.
A post mortem performed yesterday on the body of 42year-old Andre Thompson of Number 28 Village, West Coast Berbice, revealed that he died of a fractured neck and drowning. Government Pathologist, Dr Nehaul Singh performed the examination at the New Amsterdam Hospital. Thompson died early Saturday after the tug, Hamburg, hit the boat, White Rose, in which he was sleeping. The impact caused him to fall into the Berbice River. The tug belongs to Germany- based bauxite company, Oldendorff Carriers (Guyana) Ltd and had two occupants at the time, H. La Goudoue and G. Conway. Conway has since been arrested and is currently in police custody assisting with investigations. The incident took place at De Veldt, located some 50 miles up the Berbice River. Thompson’s lifeless body was discovered around 11:00 hrs on Saturday and brought out to the coast and taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital Mortuary. Oldendorff Carriers has since issued a statement on the matter, saying that it is
“deeply saddened” about the incident and stands in commitment to support the grieving family members. The release noted that “His [Thompson’s] death is truly tragic and the company will endeavour to assist the family through this time of extreme bereavement.” When Kaieteur News visited Oldendorff’s New Amsterdam office yesterday, the Finance Manager, Marlon Jaundoo, stated that the General Manager A.J. De Lorenzo was in a meeting. Jaundoo said that the company has been in contact with the family of the deceased but they are refusing to pronounce further on the matter since investigations are ongoing. However, Thompson’s widow dispelled claims that the company had contacted any family member, including herself. The family of the dead man is seeking compensation for his death. The man’s sister, Portia Thompson, noted that two years ago, a similar incident occurred at Wiruni, further up the Berbice River, whereby the same company tug slammed into a boat in which
Thompson was sleeping. He, however, jumped in time to avoid a head- on collision. She added that the tug usually makes its way up the Berbice River with bauxite to Aroaima, where the journey ends. She added that the family wants the matter to be settled and the perpetrators brought to justice. The family, she said, even went as far as to take photographers into De Veldt to take photographs as part of gathering proof that the incident did happen, so that the company would not dispel their claims. She also is in possession of a video taken at the scene of the incident. Kaieteur News has obtained photographs of the gruesome discovery of Thompson’s body in the river and the Hamburg Tug after it slammed into the boat Thompson was in at the time. The tug bulldozed a large section of the bushes at the corner of the river banks after it slammed into the boat and was still moving at a fast rate, clearing the bush in its path. Thompson will be buried next Wednesday.
The launch in which Thompson was sleeping.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Shot teen claims his condition is “worsening” The teenager, who is now a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), nursing gunshot wounds to his feet is claiming that his condition is worsening day by day. Reports are that 19-yearold Leon Jabar of Courbane Park, Annandale, East Coast Demerara (ECD) was shot in his left leg after he was confronted by a rank of the policing group who accused the teen of breaking into an unoccupied house in the said area. The teen, however refuted what the rank claimed. He said that the man (rank) was under the influence of alcohol when he shot him. Yesterday, the injured man, who is under police guard at GPHC, claimed that his condition is deteriorating. He told Kaieteur News, “Me aint able talk, meh stomach hurting bad, bad.” Last Monday, Leon Jabar was shot in his leg. The rank from the Community Policing Group who shot him claimed that the teen had broken into an unoccupied house, causing him to fire a shot at him. The teen however, claimed something else. He alleged that his brother-in-law had sent him at the said location to inquire whether
The injured teen at GPHC anyone was at home. He said that he only went to the location at his brother-inlaw’s behest. He continued that at the location, he sat on a stool outside the building where he encountered a caretaker and another man who had a handgun in his possession. Jabar explained that the man who had the gun in his
possession approached him in a drunken state and asked him if he wanted a smoke and without warning, the man gun butted him. He said the man then tripped him to the ground and fired one shot. He added that the man left him on the ground and jeered him. He was left there until the police arrived and took him to the hospital.
Debating competition in Bartica …
Businessman makes donation to Bartica Secondary School
Teacher of the Three Miles Secondary Colette Ault, and Parent Teacher Association Chairman Erin Warde receive the first cheque from businessman Chunilall Babolall Local businessman and mining entrepreneur, Chunilall Baboolall, in a show of abundant generosity and sincere community interest, has sponsored a five-year inter-house debating competition for students of Three Miles Secondary School, in Bartica. Baboolall, owner of C.B & R Mining Enterprise, last week handed over the first of five cheques each worth $500,000 to cover costs of debate for this year. Three Miles Secondary
School teachers were overjoyed at the gesture and feel that as intended, these competitions will encourage students of the school to be drawn to academics and also foster development of pertinent social skills such as public speaking. PTA chairman and teachers present for the handing over expressed their gratitude to Baboolall for choosing to sponsor such a competition. Baboolall who was also a former teacher in the region, was adamant that he felt the
need to give back to the community and thought of no better way than to invest in the future of the young people. Competitions are slated to begin on May 22, after an official launching ceremony tomorrow. Students are to debate on scintillating moots on mining and youth empowerment. “The blame for the behaviour of young people today should be laid on the generation that raised them” and “The permitting of Brazilian miners is damaging the local mining industry” are just two.
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Speeding car smashes concrete fence
The tranquility of the Essequibo Coast was shattered around 11:00am on Tuesday when a grey coloured car crashed into a building owned by Drepaul Persaud at Lot 8 Golden Fleece , Essequibo Coast. In the process it shattered sections of the concrete fence on both sides of the location. Reports indicated that the speeding car was attempting to overtake a heavy duty Mack dump truck bearing licence number GPP 3291, and laden with sand. Both the car and the truck were heading in a southerly direction along the Golden Fleece Essequibo Coast Public Road.
The unidentified male car driver lost control. This resulted in the car flying into the fence, hitting and damaging the concrete posts supporting the front balcony, before crashing into the adjacent concrete fence. Drepaul’s wife, Lalita, stated that she had only just finished sweeping the front of the yard and had just entered the bottom flat of the building , when she heard a loud bang. She said that she turned around just in time to see the car hurtling past the front of the building. A female passenger was also in the car but according to eyewitnesses, she appeared to have escaped
unhurt because she exited the car unaided. She was however taken to the Suddie Public Hospital for a medical evaluation. Residents also stated that the driver of the vehicle has indicated that he is willing to compensate for the damage he caused. The police are still continuing with their investigations. And the Bartica police yesterday acting on information, intercepted a boat that was heading to the interior and discovered a quantity of narcotics in the possession of a male passenger who now is assisting them with their investigations (Edward A Persaud)
Schools in mangrove reserves participate in solid waste management, energy conservation The Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) has launched its solid waste management and energy conservation awareness programme in schools located in the Golden Grove to Belfield Mangrove Reserve. According to Chairperson of the Mangrove Action Committee, Annette ArjoonMartins, President’s College at Golden Grove was the first school to be targeted as it is considered the premier learning institution in the area which is expected to set a high standard in the programme. She noted that the GMRP awareness campaign, which will be opened to the community, has commenced in secondary schools in the mangrove reserve. Other levels of schools in the communities would also participate. Arjoon-Martins said that an important aspect of the
programme will be a “We’re the Cleanest” competition among the 12 schools in the mangrove reserve with a prize of $100,000, which has been sourced from a private donor. Over the next four months judges will visit random schools- photographs will be taken to feed into the final judging. The competition will conclude in time for the winning school to be announced at the beginning of the new school term in September. During the presentation at President’s College, GMRP utilized pictures taken of the school a week ago to demonstrate to students the need for a clean compound. Arjoon-Martins said, ”Using pictures of their own school demonstrated the value of a photo being worth a thousand words as there was no need for further explanation as to what the challenges were.” She stated that it is
encouraging that solid waste management is already being addressed by the school’s administration as larger bins had been placed in some areas and the students were urged at the general assembly to ensure that their smaller bins in the classrooms were emptied on a regular basis. “It is this proactive response that the awareness programme is seeking to promote,” she said. Lynne Lewis, environmental science teacher of the school, said, “It was very important that the Mangrove Project took time to come and discuss the value of mangroves and the function it serves, and to show the impact of looking after the environment. “It was particularly effective for them to use the Power Point rather than just talking to the students; that approach got their attention on this crucial matter.”
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Kaieteur News
LAND FOR SALE
WANTED One cook, must know to cook Roti & Puri. Call 6477432
Land V/Hoop 2 acre: school, housing, factory, etc call:6580115
Live in domestic. Light duties. 1 skilled Lathe Operator. Live-in Handyman duties. Excellent remuneration. Tel: 227-1830
32 Acres for sale, Lot 5 Content, E.C.D, $256,000.00(USD) Call: 813319-4219 or rpooran@tampabay.rr.com
1 male/female shop assistant to work in the interior # 688-0197
Land at block ‘E’ Sophia. Cultivated with permanent crops. Size: 160ftx80ft. Prices $2.7M negotiable. Call 6183093
Live-in domestic must know to cook and 1 waitress, salary 50,000 monthly. Call:610-5043 Persons/family to live & take care of farm @ E.C.D, attractive salary offered. Contact: 690-1943, 691-8021 Two male shop assistants to work in Georgetown & the interior, serious enquiries only. Call: 225-2940, 225-0305
Bazaar St., Parika. No agents. 661-3043 DATING SERVICE Immediate link-Singles 1880yrs. Confidential: Tel: 2238237,648-6098. (No -text) 8:30am-5:00pm Mon-Sun (Both phones same hours).
Urgently: chainsaw operator to work in the interior. Call: 626-0006, 231-3159 Live in attractive waitress contact 228- 5129 1 Tutor to teach Form 1, apply Bissan’s Trading, 94 King Street. Call: 227-7306 1 handy boy to work in the interior #688-0197 Lorry drivers to work Labour lorry at L.B.I Estate. 628-1756, 228-5655 Manager’s Assistant general duties including Custom and Bond, Security Guards, accommodation available. Call: 676-6700 Female workers needed, 3 subjects or sound secondary education call 225- 7307 Waitress to work night shift @ Container Bar, Vryheid’s Lust Road, E.C.D. Tel: 6585357, 220-3810 Honest/Experienced sales clerk. Apply with written application Nanda’s Boutique, 223 Camp St. Tel 226-1621 Experienced sewing machine operators. Tele no.: 220-4337 Sales Girls & Porters. Apply with written application at Best Buys Food Supplies, 1E Dennis & Middleton Streets, Campbellville. Security Guards. Investigative & Tactical Services. 227 South Rd. Lacytown. Must have valid ID, NIS & TIN. Cooks, Waitresses and Bartenders to work in Kitty area. Call tel# 226-7054 or 623-9645
SERVICES Permanent &Visitors Visa Applications Professional Immigration Consultant Room E-4 Maraj Building 225-6496/662-6045. Supreme Repairs. All wiring, fridge, washer (AC), freezers, dryer, ect. Tel: 629-8136, 6532719 US & Canada VISA application services. Call 643-6630. Family discounts available. Now open KDRS Pharmacy at Mon Repos Mall 220-8675 nutritionist available every Saturday We refill HP cartridges for $1,800. Call:650-7699 CVs, applications, typing, etc. Tel: 667-1549
One live-in female to take care of elderly woman. Call: 253-3049
Roxy’s Catering. Creole foods, cakes, pastries, snacks, finger foods, etc. Call# 223-0095, 223-0092 or 689-5169
Carpenter with own tools. Apply at Guyana Variety Store, 68 Robb Street. Tel no. 225-4631 1 female storekeeper. Must be computer literate. 1 female Bahir to work in the interior. Call: 231-3159, 626-0006 Experienced Excavator Operator, Jet Men, Pit Men, Marak Man, Saw Man. Please call: 684-6356 1 female to wash. Come in person to Dian’s Delli. Bar St., Kitty, opposite Kitty Market.
VEHICLES FOR SALE 99 Honda Civic Leather interior. Call:648-2075
Toyota Starlet 2 E Turbo engine with gearbox and ECU: Call: 624-7155.
Just arrived: Allion and Premio, tel: 624-2000, 6221610
NARS lipgloss, eyeshadow & Clinique Chubby Stick. Tel: 669-8374.
Leading Auto. Unregistered Allion, Premio, Allex, Runx, Verossa, Avensis, 2 ton Canter, 212. Tel: 677-7666, 610-7666
One Driver & one Salesman at Humphrey’s Bakery & Farm Products Ltd. Tel 2257864 Experienced Hair Dresser at Nalline Beauty Salon, Vreeden-Hoop Junction (Raymond Building). Attractive salary. Contact: 687-3341, 639-9884 Be part of our world class customer care team. Join us now! Phone: 220-0401-3 Vacancy exists for 3 guards, 2 males and 1 female, and a Mechanic for TM Trucks. Call: 642-0176, 699-4483
Hire car drivers & dispatchers wanted from East Coast. Contact 220-1000
We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer. Call: 231-0655, 683-8734 Omar.
Waitresses @ Diamond Gate Liquor Restaurant and Bar, Lot 18 Belmont Mahaica. Tel# 228-5013, 622-5599
One Hilux Vigo (new) GNN series 231-5171, 619-7134
Repairs, sales & spares, air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & Stoves. Ultra Cool: 225-9032, 6472943
WANTED
Sales representatives, country wide, for musical CD original. Tel: 267-1565, 6788193
FOR SALE
Kitchen assistant @ Charlestown- ages 18-35. Call: 614-1020
House plan drafting for only $10,000. Building estimate for only $10,000. Call 6949843
Contract cars. Must be in Hire & Yellow. Base free. $3500 weekly. Call 660-9977
1 driver to drive in the interior. Must have bus and canter license. Tel# 688-0197
VACANCY
One driver needed with at least (5) years experience. Requirements CXC subjects, driver’s license & police clearance. Tel: 2272969, 225-8229.
Looking for a job? Office Domestic & need assistance, contact Angela: 694-0096
Full time gardener/ handyman reference needed. Call: 226-0240, 225-3557
Thursday May 10, 2012
Job fair. Girls Guide Pavilion. May 18, 1-8PM. 223-1719 Hello, the doctor is back!! Have your gas stove repaired and serviced. Tel: 601-0595, 220-4073, 220-5785 Repairs to GHS, deep fryers, washing machines, electric stoves. Call Zepha 686-6202.
Joiners & Labourers. Call: 699-9671 Live-in Maid/Nanny. Long term employment. Location: (Kuru Kururu) 35-50 yrs. 6561284.
SALON Make up courses, artist trained & certified in Trinidad: 660-5257,647-1773
LIVE AND WORK IN CANADA. GET CANADIAN CERTIFICATION AS A CAREGIVER. CALL 227 – 4881 OR 416 674 7973
2x2x1.5MM, Hollow section $4500 VAT inclusive. Call: 220-6100, 680-5900 Peking ducks, call: 266-2711 / 609-4594 Quality upholstery materials tel # 220-3356/643-3627 Moulders, multirip saws, resaws, cross cut saw and genset Tel 616-5595 Rodney
One general domestic. Contact: 616-0335. Between 8am to 5pm.
Imperial College – CXC Jan/ June 2013 exam. Day/ Evening classes, flexible hours. Contact 227-7627, 6835742
Brand new 2700 psi Honda Pressure Washer. Best price guaranteed. 614-8564
One live-in or out maid & experienced sales girl. Call: 264-3356, 253-4149, 668-3985
Private tutor – homeschooling CXC/GCE English A&B. Call: 649-4247
Games for PS2 $900, XBox 360 $2600, PS3 $2600. Call Junior 672-2566, 265-3231
1 RZ Mini bus series BKK. Call: 667-9629
Unregistered Premio & Allion with TV, mags, back Cam. Call: 609-8188, 6026307
1 Mitsubishi Fuso truck, 4 ton enclosed, 20 feet, new $5.2M. Call Salim 641-5075, 622-6746
2005 H2 Hummer, 38,500 mileage fully loaded, chrome kit etc. Call: 6393100, 619-5400
New Air Brush Kit, gun, hose, compressor $35,000. 592-643-5720
Hilux 4x4 solid def pick-up, diesel, long base, excellent condition Call: 623-0243
Roofing shingles. Call: Mr. Skepmire . 227-5195 (8am to 5pm)
1 special edition Toyota Runx PNN. 2 Nissan Wingroad Wagon. Tel: 6122522
Mixed breed, short foot puppies. Dewormed & vaccinated. #663-3397 Going cheap, foreign used Perkins Engines. 661-3043
1 New Centurion Generator $175,000. 1 Frigidaire freezer $115,000. 1 Kitchen Aid Stainless fridge $140,000. 1 Samsung Microwave $12,500. Tel 694-5371
Dell computers, complete with 19" LCD, from $69,000. Future Tech. Call 231-2206, 644-6760
1 Nissan Cube ( like Raum) PMM 1088, 1.350 M Neg. call 233 – 5557, 610 -1309
One ERF Hauler with 45 ft trailer (in-contract) & one Model M Truck. Tel: 6534455
FOR RENT
FOR SALE
2 Raum, 1 Pit Bull contact 663 – 9727, 609 6458
Used: QSC Amps MX2000 & MX3000, Roland sampler SP404, Rcf speaker: 12" & 18", celestion speaker: 15". Contact: 644-3390
1 vehicle (Ipsum) in good condition. Call: 225-8673, 600-7448
Salon Chairs for rent. Exotic Glow Harbour Bridge Mall. # 233-5495/600-1969
Verossa PNN. Call:665-3067, 228-2609
2 – two ton canter, one enclosed. Good condition. Price $800,000 & $1.2m negotiable. 1 tapir price $160,000 negotiable. Contact# 253-3349
Qualify yourself in Cosmetology or nails, make up, Register, Limited spaces. Call Abby: 216-1950, 6197603, 666-5241 Chairs for rent. Pauline’s Hair Salon, 177 Charlotte St. #6443555/680-1969
EDUCATIONAL Princeton College Forms 1-5, CXC adults’ classes’; $1500 a subject S.A.T/ Phonics etc. Call: 6905008, 611-3793
15-15-15 fertilizer. Call: 2662711, 609-4594
15ft Fiber glass boat $170,000 call: 260-0301, 685-1233
Sale Sale Sale on all zinc sheets 40% off. All lumber 30% off. All pine lumber 8% off. Tel: 226-7054 Spares for washer, microwaves, fridges, stovetimers, gear boxes, pumps, etc. Contact 225-9032, 6472943
Corolla Fielder just registered, AT 170 Carina. Price negotiable. Call 6149623 One Toyota RZ Longbase EFI, hardly used BKK series $1.6M. Call: Rocky 621-5902 Lexus LS400/Luxury, BMW 740IL/Luxury, BMW 635CSI/ Sports. Bring mechanic, make offer. Call: 612-1486, 646-8326 One EP71 Starlet, 1 AE91 Sprinter, Toyota Ceres & Fun Cargo, 1 Nissan Pathfinder PMM, 1 Honda Fit 2004. Call: 644-5096, 6971453 Sale, Axela, Vitz, Toyota Succeed Wagon, cheapest. 616-7635.
Now in stock, solar panel, 180 watts, at Trophy Stall, Bourda Market. 225-9230 Brand new blackberry torch 9800, under $100,000. Call: 676-7443 1 dragline 10RB. 687-6174 1 240 Massey Ferguson Tractor. 687-6174
MASSAGE American Style Massage Service. Call 609-4036 Treat yourself to a relaxing massage. 622-6256 (Continued on page 25)
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Kaieteur News
Page 23
Region Ten residents meet over flood concerns The Region Ten Administration, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority and the Linden Town Council are to collaborate to address the issue of flooding in Region Ten, particularly Linden. Some $21M which was proposed for the clearing of canals and drains last year has been earmarked to facilitate the requisite works to alleviate flooding. This is according to Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, along with Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Lionel Wordsworth, and engineer Raphael Gravesande, who met with Linden residents to discuss necessary interventions to alleviate flooding in the community. The meeting occurred in the lEN conference room Tuesday evening. During the meeting residents were afforded the opportunity to voice their concerns about flooding and erosion in their respective communities. Concerns were raised about the West Watooka , Green Valley , Kara Kara, Noitgedacht and Fairs Rust areas. These communities were recently inundated by the torrential rains on Thursday last, and some areas like Green Valley experienced massive erosion in the form
of mudslides. Solomon told the gathering of concerned residents that he had looked at the effects of the rainfall on Thursday night, and what he saw was very intense flooding, never seen before. He alluded to the West Watooka community, which he said lost millions of dollars in produce. Solomon said that the spring tides and blockages in several canals and drains as well as the heavy siltation
played a significant role in the flooding, many conceded. Solomon said that he is currently looking at 27 contracts for desilting and clearing works in these areas, but that he would not be signing any of them, until verification- that is only CDC groups who are recognized by their communities as legitimate and functioning will be awarded contracts. That position was also reiterated by Wordsworth. “Some of these CDCs
Two more prosecution witnesses testify in Neesa Gopaul PI Prosecution star witness, Simone De Nobrega and Assistant Superintendent (ASP) of Police Marlon Chapman, were yesterday’s witnesses to take the stand in the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the death of 16-year-old Queen’s College student, Neesa Lalita Gopaul. The pre-trial matter that involves the mother of the dead teen, Bibi Gopaul and her lover, Jarvis Small, continued before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine- Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. The duo is accused of murdering the teen in October 2010. De Nobrega was the first to take the stand to be further cross examined by Gopaul’s Attorney, Vic Puran. Small’s lawyer, Bernard De Santos (SC) was not present at yesterday’s hearing. De Nobrega was previously cross examined by Puran but was called back to the stand to give further evidence based on information she had already given. Her testimony was short. Special prosecutor Pritima Kissoon declined cross- examination.
don’t even exist. Residents have said that, and we have to act in the interest of these residents, because if the work is not done satisfactorily, y’all gon come and complain to the chairman. “So I have an obligation to the residents to ensure that the CDCs function beyond drainage and irrigation work,” Solomon declared. He added that so far he has been in receipt of some of the contracts, and that some of the areas would have been identified, based on observations. Some others are to be added as these areas need some level of relief based on what was seen on the’ ground’. “Nobody in the RDC is entitled to set up
CDCs, or even the people in Georgetown. It is the people in the communities that should be setting up CDCs”, he emphasized. Wordsworth said that the interactive session was a good one. He pointed out that during the collaborative efforts between the RDC and NDIA more than 150,000 feet of internal canals and drains would be cleared. All the works are expected to be funded from the budgetary allocation for 2012, Wordsworth said. Some excavation works have already begun in the Hymara and Kotara creeks. Torrential rainfall late Thursday resulted in flooding of the Central Mackenzie
business district, and several communities in Linden, including West Watooka, Noitgedacht, Green and Victory Valleys and sections of Kara Kara and Retrieve. Some areas like Green Valley experienced landslides. Residents in these communities had to bail water from their homes, and one woman said that her family opted to bore a hole in the concrete wall for the water to escape. Part of the back road leading to Bucktown and the old Omai wharf were washed away, as the water washing down from the nearby hills was just too much for the tunnel which passes under the road. Some residents reveled in this and set cast nets and caught fish. Region ten Chairman Sharma Solomon, and Member of Parliament Vanessa Kissoon, along with councilor Douglas Gittens took time out to visit affected residents and to interact with them. Solomon noted that calls were made since February to address the drainage and irrigation system in the community. Ms Kissoon said that after observing some of the effects of the floods, “We need to come up with some long term solutions to rectify these problems which we are presently being faced with.” Some residents have suggested that stiff penalties be applied to persons who dump refuse indiscriminately, blocking drains and canals, and thus rendering communities susceptible to floods. (Enid Joaquin)
Logger missing after Pomeroon River boat collision
Bibi Gopaul and Jarvis Small Supt.Chapman was next to be cross- examined by Puran. The senior policeman related what he had done during the investigation of the murdered teen. He related evidence based on the location where the dead girl was found and certain evidence that was taken during the investigation. The policeman will return to court today to continue his evidence. Neesa Gopaul’s body was discovered when a family on an outing discovered a
partially submerged suitcase in a creek along the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway. It was discovered that half of the girls head was missing. Dumb-bells were attached to the suitcase in an effort to weigh down the body. Identification documents were also found in the suitcase that contained the dead girl’s body. The mother and her lover were suspected to be involved in the child’s death and were subsequently arrested and charged.
Police are currently probing an accident that occurred Tuesday night in the vicinity of Jacklow, in the Upper Pomeroon River. And in the wake of the accident, a logger, Samuel James, a/k,Sammy, of Arapiako, Upper Pomeroon River, is reportedly missing. He fathered 11. His boat and 75horsepower engine were discovered floating by persons in Martindale, Lower
Pomeroon River. Reports are that the logger travelled to Charity some time on Tuesday and was said to be returning home that same evening when he was involved in a boat accident. While some reports are that James’s boat collided with another boat, the other party is still unknown to the police. James, the report added, had purchased gasoline at
Charity and was returning to Arapiako when the collision occurred. He was the only person in his boat at the time. His wife, Maylene Daniels, said that it is unfortunate that she has lost her husband whom she described as very hard working. While police are continuing their investigations, James’s boat and engine are lodged at Charity boat house.
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Kaieteur News
Thursday May 10, 2012
The Abigail Column Married to a ‘Cheater’
DEARABIGAIL, Several weeks ago, something happened that keeps bugging me. My husband and I were in his car when I noticed a book he had been reading on the back seat. I picked it up and asked how he liked it. He said it was interesting and he was almost finished. I thought I might want to read it, too, so I flipped to the spot where he had marked his progress with a large card in
an envelope. To my surprise, the envelope had his name written on it in a fancy flourish. I asked what it was, and he said it was just his bookmarker. I am ashamed to say that an hour later I went back to the car to check it out, but the card and envelope had been removed and a blank piece of paper was in their place. My husband and I have had marital problems based on his indiscretion with other women. I thought we had moved beyond that awful time, but now I am afraid he is again showing signs of fooling around. I hesitate to ask him about the card again. How can I regain confidence
in our relationship and rid myself of the worry that is bugging me? Depressed Dear Depressed, Spouses who have cheated in the past have a responsibility to be honest, transparent and forthcoming in order to regain trust. Your husband owes you an explanation. Otherwise, his behaviour seems suspicious and undermines your marriage. Don’t let him off the hook. Ask him about the card. If he makes excuses (“I lost it”) or turns the tables and accuses you of being jealous or irrational, it’s time to seek advice, with or without him.
Friday March 09, 2012 ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 19): You may be very unhappy with the status quo right now, and yearn to break free of its restrictions. Fortunately, people are receptive to your proposals, although it may take some time for everyone to jump on board. *********************************** TAURUS (APR 20 - MAY 20): It’s extremely important to play by the rules, even if nobody else is. Underhanded behaviour will be discovered and punished in the days ahead. Obey your conscience in all matters, especially financial ones. *********************************** GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUN 20): Steer clear of controversial topics like religion and politics. Such discussions will only engender hurt feelings. Although you enjoy a lively debate, it’s important to know when to argue and when to promote peace. *********************************** CANCER (JUN 21 - JUL 22): Sexual jealousy could rear its ugly head if you’re not careful. If you’ve been pining away for someone special, you’ve got to make your feelings known or somebody else could steal this person away. *********************************** LEO (JUL 23 - AUG 22): A business, or romantic partner is driving you crazy right now. This person may be behaving badly. Stop harping on about good manners all the time, and start listening to your friend’s concerns. *********************************** VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEP 22): Disagreements with colleagues could undermine your productivity. You have better ideas for the way resources should be used.
LIBRA (SEP 23 - OCT 22): You may be preoccupied with personal matters, which alienates your loved ones. Make a special effort to enquire after your friends’ lives today, or you could cause offence. It’s easy to connect with a colleague or romantic partner. *********************************** SCORPIO (OCT 23 NOV 21): You’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar, especially on the home front. If a roommate or relative is resisting your ideas, back off. Let some time pass before bringing up the subject again. *********************************** SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 - DEC 21): Be careful of saying things you don’t mean in the heat of the moment. If you do happen to make an unfortunate remark, issue an immediate and sincere apology. Maybe the reason you’re so tense is that you haven’t been enjoying much leisure time lately. *********************************** CAPRICORN (DEC 22 JAN 19): You’ve got sex on the brain, and who can blame you? If your needs aren’t being satisfied, it’s time to reverse the trend. Getting in a sexier mindset is half the battle. *********************************** AQUARIUS (JAN 20 FEB 18): It’s hard not to be angered by stressful events in your workplace. It feels as though your boss has no consideration for his or her team. Try to find a productive outlet for your frustration. *********************************** PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20): This is not a good time to get involved with secret plans, as they will engender resentment. Even engaging in office gossip can be disastrous.
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Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 25
Deng, Boozer lead Bulls past 76ers 77-69 Chicago (AP) - The Chicago Bulls aren’t quite finished after all. They’re still in a dire situation, though. Luol Deng scored 24 points, Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Chicago beat the Philadelphia 76ers 77-69 on Tuesday night to avoid a first-round playoff exit. The top-seeded Bulls finally won without point guard Derrick Rose, building a nine-point halftime lead and staying in control down the stretch to pull within 3-2. Game 6 is today in Philadelphia, and the way Chicago sees it, maybe, just maybe, some of the pressure is now on the 76ers. It’s been a brutal series for the Bulls. Rose tore the ACL in his left knee late in the opening win, casting a huge cloud over a team that came in eyeing another big run after reaching the conference finals a year ago, and things only got worse from there. In Game 2, there was a second-half collapse at home. In Game 3, there was center Joakim Noah spraining his left ankle, and in Game 4, the Bulls came up short again. With
Rose out for the rest of the season and Noah sitting out his second straight game, Chicago came in looking like a team that was ready to bow out. Instead, the Bulls locked down the Sixers, holding them to season lows for points and shooting (32.1 percent). And with Boozer and Deng coming up big, Chicago kept its season going. Deng played more like an All-Star after averaging just eight points in the previous three games, hitting 4 of 5 3point attempts - three in the fourth quarter. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Boozer tied a career-playoff high with six assists, and the Bulls came out on top just when their season appeared to be unraveling. They still have no room for error. A loss today would make them the fifth No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in the first round and the second in as many years, after San Antonio fell to Memphis last season. But if they continue to play like this, the Bulls just might have a shot. Jrue Holiday scored 16 points for Philadelphia but hit
just 5 of 17 shots. Lou Williams scored 13 points and Andre Iguodala and Spencer Hawes both finished with 11 as the Sixers remained one win
From page 26 Nuggets’ lead to one point. Los Angeles had two more chances to tie after the veteran Miller’s free throws, but Bryant and Sessions missed 3-pointers near the buzzer. Game 6 is tonight in Denver. The third-seeded Lakers are one win from a second-round date with Oklahoma City, but they’ve still got work to do. Coach George Karl gratefully fed Bynum’s offhanded postpractice comment to his players, and they played like a team that isn’t going anywhere.
McGee threw down a mind-boggling array of dunks and converted alley-oop passes while dominating the Lakers’ superstar duo of 7footers. McGee dunked on a 60-foot alley-oop pass from Miller early in the fourth quarter, and he stared down the Lakers’ fans after dunking while getting fouled with 6:35 to play. Arron Afflalo scored a career playoff-high 19 points and Danilo Gallinari added 14 for the Nuggets, while rookie Kenneth Faried had 10 points and nine rebounds. Miller
scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and 17 in the second half, calmly leading his young teammates to the win. The Nuggets still must win two games to advance to the second round for just the second time in nine years, but they have already accomplished something rare by winning Game 5. Los Angeles had closed out a playoff series on the first try in 11 of its previous 12 opportunities, and the Lakers won 12 of their last 13 closeout games under departed coach Phil Jackson.
(From page 22)
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Loul Deng #9 looses control of the ball under pressure from (L-R) Andre Iguodala #9, Spencer Hawes #00 and Thaddeus Yound #21
Nuggets avoid elimination...
WICB full of praise for growth... From page 30 development of players at all levels as integral to the present and future success of the game in the Caribbean,” Dr Hunte said. “We are delighted with the performances of the West Indies Women’s team over the past few years as they continue to grow and mature. We have seen players blossom to reach the top of the world rankings. As a team, the West Indies have made significant strides up the ladder, and we expect that rise to continue.” Dr Hunte added: “The team has really come a long way in a short space of time. Again, against Sri Lanka, they demonstrated their individual brilliance as well as team unity
to overcome the challenges and bring joy to their supporters around the Region. We believe we have a team that can become Number 1 in the world. We urge the girls to let this be their goal.” Under the guidance of Head Coach Sherwin Campbell and the astute leadership Merissa Aguilleira; the West Indies have developed a team good enough to win their last four series. They beat Pakistan at home last September; played unbeaten to win the International Cricket Council’s World Cup 2013 qualification tournament in Bangladesh last November; outplayed the higher ranked Indians at home earlier this year and have now stamped their authority
against the Sri Lankans. The West Indies boast the World’s best player in allrounder Stafanie Taylor. The 20-year-old Jamaica won the prestigious ICC Women’s Cricketer-of-the-Year award in 2011 and is the ranked Number 1 among batters and allrounders in the world. Dr Hunte added: “Just a few short years ago we did not have a structured West Indies Women’s team. We at the WICB were aware that we had a number of talented young women in the Caribbean who deserved the opportunity to showcase their skills at the highest level and we made sure we put the systems in place to develop the game for the present and the future.”
from their first series victory since 2003. Hawes grabbed 14 rebounds, but it was a rough night for him after scoring 21 and 22 the previous two games. He wound up with a nasty scratch running from the side of his left eye to below the lip after going up for a shot during the fourth quarter. LIBRARY Closing down sale; text, university, novels & others from-$100 up. Call: 223-8237
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Page 26
Kaieteur News
Thursday May 10, 2012
Nuggets avoid elimination, Chris Gayle fires Bangalore to huge win over Mumbai hold off Lakers 102-99 Los Angeles (AP) - JaVale McGee went out with the attitude that Game 5 was the last game of his life. The other Denver Nuggets played their own mental games, some drawing inspiration from Lakers center Andrew Bynum’s comment about how closeout playoff games can sometimes be easy. The Nuggets went deep into their motivational wells for an impressive win at Staples Center, and not even Kobe Bryant could prevent the Lakers from getting on a plane back to Denver. Andre Miller scored 24 points, including two free throws with 12.8 seconds left, and Denver survived Bryant’s late scoring barrage in a 43-point performance, avoiding playoff elimination with a 10299 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night and trimming the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2. McGee had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the sixthseeded Nuggets, who barely survived a frenetic finish. Denver had a 15-point lead
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives on Arron Afflalo #6 of the Denver Nuggets midway through the fourth quarter against the lifeless Lakers, but Bryant engineered a swift comeback before his final three shots missed. Bryant scored 12 points over the final 4:45, hitting four 3-pointers that trimmed the
Nuggets’ lead to 98-96 with 59 seconds left. Bryant then missed a potential tying 5footer and a 3-pointer, but Denver missed two of four free throws before Ramon Sessions hit a 3-pointer with 12.8 seconds left, trimming the (Continued on page 25)
Mumbai: Chris Gayle exploded once again as Royal Challengers Bangalore bested Mumbai Indians by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday night. The win took Bangalore to fourth place on the points table, but this marquee match-up was not as one-sided as the margin of victory suggests. It could have gone either way when Gayle decided to exert his influence on the match. Bangalore were suffering from the same lethargy that had afflicted Mumbai in the first innings, as they chased an ambiguous 141 on a wicket with some help for bowlers. Tillakaratne Dilshan was back in the pavilion, Virat Kohli was struggling to get going, and Gayle, after being dropped on 21 (by Dwayne Smith), had also survived a runout chance. The going was certainly not easy for the visiting team when the West Indian took strike on the second ball of Pragyan Ojha’s second over. Ojha had claimed Dilshan and conceded just three in his opening over, and as he ambled in to bowl to the hulking southpaw Bangalore needed 88 from about 10 overs - an iffy situation at the best of times, slightly trickier considering the nature of the wicket. Gayle played out dots on the first two balls, following which he ran a brace. And then he did what he has come to be known for – he incinerated the bowler. Two sixes off two unpardonable full-tosses, of which the second was an unforgivable no-ball, and Bangalore were favourites. The free-hit too ended in the stands, not only strengthening the Challengers’ position, but also getting Gayle his sixth fifty of the season. In the process, Gayle regained the Orange Cap from Virender Sehwag. Such fearless hitting appeared to spark Kohli into action, and the Indian superstar deposited Kieron Pollard in the stands, before pulling Malinga to the boundary. It was Kohli who ended the match in style, carting Rohit Sharma for six over the bowler’s head, as Bangalore romped home with two overs to spare. Earlier, Kohli elected to field and on a pitch supporting seamers Bangalore made Mumbai struggle for runs. Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar started out with splendid opening spells, and Muttiah Muralitharan vindicated his selection over Daniel Vettori with a double strike in the 16th over. Zaheer and Vinay (playing after missing the previous game) reduced the home team to five for two after four overs as most batsmen struggled to make decent contact with the ball.
Chris Gayle James Franklin was the first to go, uppercutting a Vinay short ball to third man. In the same over, Vinay trapped Rohit Sharma in front. Tendulkar survived a confident shout for leg-before against Vinay and Mumbai’s distress would have been further compounded if Kohli’s throw from backward point had found the stumps, as Tendulkar was struggling to make his ground. The maestro hung in there, and hammered a succession of boundaries to get Mumbai on track. But just as things were on an upswing, Tendulkar top-edged a Harshal Patel effort ball that came on to him quicker than he had anticipated. Then began a phase of resurrection as Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik combined for 44 quick runs, before the former holed out to Harshal and was taken in the deep. All this while, Murali had been difficult to pick, and in the space of two balls – one of which was the famed doosra – the Sri Lankan wizard dismissed both Karthik and Dwayne Smith, the man who had won Mumbai their last match. Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh struck a few meaty blows, and the West Indian snatched 18 runs from the 20th over, bowled by Vinay, as Mumbai finished with 141. However, it was another West Indian who had the final say. (Yahoo. Sport)
Roger Federer battles to win over Milos Raonic at Madrid Open Roger Federer was given a real scare before beating Milos Raonic to reach the third round of the Madrid Open. Federer, playing his first match after five weeks off, had to dig deep to beat the in-form Canadian 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4). Raonic, who beat Andy Murray in Barcelona last week, showed some superb touches but found the Swiss star just too good. Defending champion Petra Kvitova lost 6-4 6-3 in the women’s event to Czech Republic compatriot Lucie Hradecka. The third seed struggled with her serve and was broken five times by Hradecka, who
will face Ekaterina Makarova in the third round. Federer, who had taken a break after losing to Andy Roddick in Miami in March, had to use all his experience to narrowly avoid his earliest tournament exit in two years. The last time the 16-time Grand Slam champion was eliminated in the second round was the 2010 Rome Masters, where he lost to Ernests Gulbis. Raonic, the world number 23, had seized on his solitary break point chance to take the first set, but Federer responded by breaking in the 12th game of the second to force the decider. After it went
with serve all the way, Federer edged through the tie-break to victory. Elsewhere, world number two Rafael Nadal criticised the blue clay courts after winning his first match. The Spaniard beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-2, breaking his Russian opponent four times to advance to the third round. But he was less than happy with the court, which had been changed from red to blue for the tournament, describing the surface as soft and slippery. Nadal will next meet Fernando Verdasco, who beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 27
West Indies are capable - Adams Connection qualifies comfortably for
Jimmy Adams
London, England - Jimmy Adams insists the West Indies has an attack capable of taking 20 England wickets, but admits the tourists start the Lord’s Test as underdogs. Former West Indies skipper Adams believes the ability of a youthful WIndies batting line-up to post competitive totals could be the difference in the series. “We have a bowling attack that is capable of getting 20 wickets so if we can post competitive totals it will be interesting” said Adams, who is currently in his first season as coach of Kent. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, recently restored to the top
of the ICC Test batting rankings after a hiatus of three years, will be the key man for the West Indies - but Darren Sammy’s side will need contributions from the likes of talented pair Darren Bravo and Adrian Barath if they’re to challenge world no.1 side England. And Adams admits the unfamiliar early season conditions will prove a real test for the top order, of who only Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels has experience of playing Test cricket in England. “It’s a case of how quickly the young batsmen can adapt to English conditions when
they are over here and obviously I’d like to see them succeed,” he added. “A tour of England for any young player is a good learning experience. But a lot of learning has to happen on the spot, so to speak, in the middle in a Test match.” Sammy - Despite marked improvements in their recent Test performances, the West Indies remain ranked a lowly joint 7th in the ICC’s rankings - a far cry from their heyday in the 1980s. Current Captain and former MCC Young Cricketer Sammy is the man in charge of a talented and improving young squad - but who personally divides opinion in the Caribbean. Sammy’s place in the side has often been questioned during a captaincy stint encompassing 16 Tests - but Adams backed the current incumbent of the job Adams did for 15 Test matches in 2000/01. Adams though spoke of his support for 28-year-old Sammy: “I’ve no issues with Darren; any West Indies captain has my support. “The powers that be think he’s the man to do the job then fine. Get on with it, do the best you can. I support anybody that sits in that role. “I haven’t been involved with cricket in the Caribbean for a while but I assume that he has a role to play outside captaining the team.” “The bottom line is that you have someone the squad respects leading the team, and that seems to be the case.” (Lord’s - Home of Cricket)
CFU Club Championship Final Four
W. Connection became the first Club to qualify for the 2012 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship Final Four by registering a contrasting 6-0 win over Surinamese side Inter Moengoetapoe on Tuesday night at the Ato Boldon Stadium. Connection, 2-0 winner over Haitian Club Victory SC on Sunday courtesy a pair of goals by striker Hashim Arcia, jumped to the top of the Group Five table with six (6) points, three points ahead of Antigua Barracudas (3 points), while Victory and Moengoetapoe are with just one point each. Barracudas and Victory played to a goalless draw in the first match of a round two Group Five double header at the Couva venue. However in the second clash, goals were abundant with Arcia and teammate Shahdon Winchester scoring twice and defender Kern Cupid and midfielder Rennie Britto also putting their names on the score sheet. Winchester, who had a miserable outing against the Haitians on Sunday, opened the scoring in just the 3rd minute guiding a firm cross by hardworking right winger Rennie Britto past goalkeeper Brayen Damba for a 1-0 score and got his second in the 52nd minute for his team’s fourth item. Coach Stuart Charles Fevrier started with a few changes from Sunday’s 2-0 winning squad against Victory, with injured defender
Pacers beat Magic 105-87, advance to 2nd round
Danny Granger
Indianapolis (AP) - Danny Granger and the Pacers are getting some well-deserved time off and he plans to spend some of it rooting for the Knicks against the Heat. It’s not that Indiana’s forward wants to see them win. He’s just hoping New York can extend the series against Miami so the teams keep beating up on each other in a series the Heat lead 3-1. Granger ensured the Pacers will be fresh for whichever team advances, scoring 25 points to help Indiana eliminate the Orlando Magic with a 105-87 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night. It was Indiana’s first series win since 2005 and its first clincher on its home court since the first round of the 2000 playoffs. Darren Collison scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who trailed by two at the end of the third quarter
but outscored the Magic 3616 in the final 12 minutes. Hill, an Indianapolis native who grew up a Pacers fan, enjoyed the crowd. Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 27 points and made 5 of 8 3-pointers. Glen Davis, a thorn in Indiana’s side throughout the series, scored 15 but made just 6 of 17 shots. The Magic made just 5 of 16 shots in the fourth quarter. Collison made a layup and hit a 3-pointer to give the Pacers a 78-73 lead with 9:33 to play. After Nelson drained another 3, Collison came back with a layup, then Leandro Barbosa’s steal and layup pushed Indiana’s lead to 8780 with 6:49 to play and forced an Orlando timeout. A few minutes later, Indiana’s Paul George stole an inbounds pass and found Granger under the hoop for a layup and a 91-80 lead. The Pacers dominated from there.
Indiana led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but as was the case throughout the series, it didn’t last. Orlando got hot late in the half, and a 3-pointer by Jason Richardson and a bucket by Davis cut Indiana’s lead to 4847. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert made a hook shot to push the lead back to three at the break. A putback by Ryan Anderson gave Orlando a 5150 lead early in the third quarter. A bucket by David West and a jumper and a 3pointer by Hill built Indiana’s lead to 57-51. Orlando rallied again and tied the game at 61 on a fadeaway by Davis before a 3 by Nelson gave Orlando a 66-64 lead. He hit another 3 in the closing seconds - he had 15 in the quarter - to give Orlando a 7169 lead. Hill added nine points in the period to keep the Pacers in the game before Collison and Granger put it away.
Shahdon Winchester
Leslie Joel Russell replaced by Akeem Benjamin and defenders Kern Cupid and Kemuel Rivers making the starting line-up while striker Jerrel Britto and midfielder Andre Quashie were rested on the bench. Connection looked confident from the beginning, with even defender Joevin Jones playing a central midfield role as appose to his regular left wingback position, had a crack on goal from distance in the 7th minute which was deflected out for a corner. Jones then provided a low telling cross two minutes later, only to see Arcia smashed an effort just wide. The Pro League club then made it 2-0 by the 31st minute with Arcia bundling in his third of the tournament thanks to a pass inside the area by Britto who missed one himself in the 24th minute, flicking just wide of the near upright off a short cross by Rivers. Connection then made it 3-0 three minutes before the break, leaving Moengoetapoe mangled when Winchester turned provider when he slipped a pass to Kern Cupid and the wingback made no mistake from close-up burying the ball into the back of the net. The Fevrier coached side had two misses over bar by Winchester and Jones against
the stunned visitors before the break. Moengoetapoe failed to produce a better second half performance conceding Winchester’s second seven minutes after the break, and Arcia’s second of the match in the 58th minute. Moengoetapoe boiled over even giving away a free kick just outside the area, and Rennie Britto demonstrated class when he whipped in a powerful effort to beat Damba for a 6-0 score. Dampa didn’t hang up his gloves despite the scoreline, making a pair of saves against substitute Jerrel Britto and Jones before the end. However a frustrated teammate Cladio Pinas called it a day when he picked up a red card from Referee Sherwin Johnson of Guyana in the 82nd minute for dissent. The Surinamese best effort on goal, even for a consolation item, was shut down by the upright against a decent effort by Stephano Pijssel four minutes from time. Today, Moengotapoe will be against Victory from 17:30hrs and Connection against Barracudas from 19:30hrs in the final Group Five match-day at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium. The top two finishers of the group will advance into the Final Four. (TTProleague)
Round 1 of GMR&SC Drag Meet set for May 20 The Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) will be hosting Round 1 of the Endurance Meet on Sunday, May 20, at the South Dakota Circuit, starting from 13:00hrs. According to a release from the club, there will be six categories that will be competed in and they are: Group A-0-1500 cc; Group B1501-1600 cc; Group C-1601 2000 cc; Group D-2001-2250
cc; Group E- 2 Wheel – Unlimited and Group F- 4 Wheel – Unlimited. It is expected that cars from Suriname will be coming to throw down the gauntlet to their Guyanese counterparts as the battle for supremacy among the two nations continue. Admission is free and fans are being urged to get down to the circuit to enjoy a day of speed.
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Thursday May 10, 2012
Windies to play in the USA Drifterz win Tobago Guinness Street Challenge St John’s, Antigua - Cricket fans in the United States of America will have a double treat this summer as the West Indies face New Zealand in two historic Twenty20 matches in Florida. The West Indies Cricket Board on Tuesday confirmed that the second half of the Digicel Series 2012 will commence in the North American country when the West Indies plays there for the first time. The double header will be played on June 30 and July 1 at the 15,000 capacity Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. The two teams will also play five ODIs and two Tests. The Digicel ODI Series will commence in Jamaica with two matches at Sabina Park and conclude in St Kitts at Warner Park which will host a triple header. The First Digicel Test will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds while the teams will return to Jamaica for the second and final Digicel Test. It will be the first time the SVRCG facility will host a Test match since 2009. WICB Commercial Manager Nelecia Yeates commented: “We are delighted and excited to finally bring international cricket to the US. We are confident of overwhelming support for the matches especially from the West Indians resident in the US and Canada but also from the wider Asian communities in the US as well.” “Our team is known globally as one of the most charismatic and entertaining teams,
especially in the Twenty20 format and they will face strong competition from New Zealand so the matches are certain to be thrillers and we are ripe with anticipation,” Mrs. Yeates added. Digicel Series 2012 – West Indies v New Zealand Schedule Digicel Twenty20 Series June 30 – First Digicel Twenty20 – Central Broward Regional Park, Florida, USA July 1 – Second Digicel Twenty2- - Central Broward Regional Park, Florida, USA Digicel One Day International Series July 5th – First Digicel ODI – Sabina Park, Jamaica July 7th – Second Digicel ODI – Sabina Park, Jamaica July 11th – Third Digicel ODI – Warner Park, St Kitts July 14th – Fourth Digicel ODI – Warner Park, St Kitts July 16th – Fifth Digicel ODI – Warner Park, St Kitts July 20th – 22nd New Zealand Warm Up Game – Antigua (Opposition TBC) Digicel Test Series July 25th – 29th First Digicel Test – Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds, Antigua August 2nd – 6th Second Digicel Test – Sabina Park, Jamaica Start times and match officials will be announced at a later date.
CHAMPS: Members of the Drifterz Answer Back team celebrate their victory in the Tobago leg of the Guinness Street Football Challenge, at the Shaw Park hard courts, in Tobago, last Saturday. Drifterz Answer Back, the 2011 runners-up, were the winners of the second annual Tobago leg of the Guinness Street Football Challenge, at the Shaw Park Hard Courts, in Tobago, last Saturday. Defending champions, Pirates Boat Yard Boys failed to reach the semifinals. Tobago had the honour of kicking off the popular Guinness Street Football
Fernando Alonso: F1 drivers lack on-track respect Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso believes there is not enough “mutual respect” between drivers on the track. The Spaniard was comparing the modern era with that of Gilles Villeneuve, the Ferrari legend killed 30 years ago. Alonso said: “It’s a problem that goes back a long way to the junior categories and I think the time has come to try to get it back. “I believe there is not that mutual respect there was back then.” Alonso attended on Tuesday an event organised by Ferrari to mark the 30th anniversary of Villeneuve’s death. He drew a direct comparison with one of the Canadian’s greatest races the duel over second place with Renault’s Rene Arnoux in the closing laps of the 1979 French Grand Prix. Villeneuve and Arnoux passed and re-passed each other a number of times in the final three laps of the race, and even banged wheels and went off the track. But Alonso, a double world champion, does not believe you would be able to race that close and hard now because there is not enough respect between many of the drivers. He said: “Unfortunately, these days, we no longer see this sort of fight because there are more difficulties to deal with. “The cars are now dominated by aerodynamics
Fernando Alonso
Challenge, and Drifterz the honour of being the first team to qualify for the national finals. Drifterz Answer Back played unbeaten in Saturday’s tournament, winning their four preliminary round games in Group B in the ten-team tournament, defeating Y2K Pub 2-0 in the second semifinal, and then getting the better of Whim 10 in a penalty shootout in the championship match. Drifterz Answer Back and Whim battled to a goalless draw in the final. And in the sudden death penalty shootout, Whim’s Kurland Louis missed his penalty and Drifterz’ Antonio Balfour scored to send his team and supporters into a frenzied celebration. The last of the five remaining zonal
tournaments in Trinidad is scheduled for June 9, while the finals will be staged on June 16, giving Drifterz about six weeks to prepare. Attractive prizes will be at stake in the finals, including an all-expense paid trip to Guyana to compete in the Grand Regional finals, $30,000 and the construction of a small goal field in the winning team’s community. Melicia Wilson, Marketing Manager for Guinness Trinidad and Tobago, boasted at the launch of the tournament in Trinidad, recently, that her company had fulfilled its promises to make the tournament a permanent fixture on the annual sporting calendar and to make it bigger and better.
FINA World Aquatics Convention
and those sorts of passing moves are no longer possible. “On top of that, there was definitely more respect then than there is now between us drivers, partly because they knew that, in those cars, they were risking their lives.” His remarks come in the wake of his criticism of some controversial incidents at the last race in Bahrain. He and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton were involved in separate but almost identical incidents with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, who drove over to the edge of the track in defence of his position against both rivals. Alonso backed off and failed to pass the German, while Hamilton did not slow down and succeeded in
overtaking - but only by going beyond the edge of the track, which the rules say is forbidden. After race stewards imposed no penalties for either incident, Alonso said on his Twitter account: “I think you are going to have fun in future races! You can defend position as you want and you can overtake outside the track! Enjoy!” Alonso, who was writing for his blog on the Ferrari website, said he was hopeful that updates to his Ferrari car will bring improved performance after a disappointing start to the season. The Spaniard is fifth in the world championship only 10 points behind the leader
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. He said: “We will be counting on making a step forward but we won’t know until Saturday if we have and, if so, how big a step it is. “We have updates on the F2012, some of which we tested in Mugello last week, and others which we will try out on Friday in free practice. “Having limited the damage in the first four races this year, we must turn things around. “If we are not on pole in Barcelona then it’s not the end of the world. The important thing is to make progress, first this weekend, then again in Monaco and after that, in [the subsequent races in] Montreal, Valencia and Silverstone.” (BBC Sport)
The 2nd FINA World Aquatics Convention will take place in the Congress Center of the World Trade Center Moscow 29th October to 1st November, building on the success of the inaugural event which took place in 2010 in Punta del Este, Uruguay. The content and format of the Convention has been developed in order to enhance the experience for our National Federation members, but also importantly for the aquatics industry representatives. One key development is the inclusion of the FINA Gold Coaches Clinic, which will gather leading swimming coaches from around the world in Moscow to discuss performance across the five aquatics sport disciplines. The FINA World Aquatics Convention is a biannual meeting place for the world of aquatics to come together, to share knowledge, ideas and build relationships so that each and every stakeholder in the sport is able to further their agenda. The Convention will assist FINA in the growth and development of Aquatic Festivals around the world and in the further enhancement of our five aquatic disciplines and the promotion of our Stars. The 1st FINA World Aquatics Convention in Punta Del Este, Uruguay was the start of a FINA initiative to build aquatics sports to create a future of promise for all stakeholders in the sport. The 2nd FINA World Aquatics Convention in Moscow will once again bring the aquatic world together and continue to build the future of promise our sport has the potential to realise.
Thursday May 10, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Local footballers to benefit as Food for the Poor/ West Indies still Guyana Football Federation forge partnership waiting on Deonarine
At a time when many sports associations are experiencing grave challenges procuring adequate sponsorship to address their programmes and objectives, Food for the Poor (FFP), a non-governmental, charitable organization, has answered the call and yesterday morning forged alliances with the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), donating gear and equipment towards the development of ‘that organization. The FFP organization also extended similar chivalry to the Guyana Police Force and the University of Guyana after donating 12 footballs and 1 computer training set respectively. President (ag) of the GFF, Franklin Wilson visited the Festival City offices of the nongovernmental organization and received
several units of sewing machines, footballs, computer training kits and a hefty supply of Whey (protein) powder. Managing Director (FFP), Leon Davis was present to hand over the gifts to the various entities and in brief remarks noted that despite the many internal challenges being experienced by the GFF he still felt constrained to support their objectives. Mr. Davis reminded that the primary objective of his entity is to provide relief and foster empowerment of the poor and needy. He also said that his executives have primarily made major contributions towards the cricket fraternity with the focus being on rural and outlying clubs. “Admittedly football is undergoing many challenges but we are not concerned with the adverse
effects placed on the entity; our objective is to positively support the sport,” informed Mr. Davis. He said that despite recognizing the need to support the many clubs, his executive felt constrained to focus on rural development. “Our objective is to aid in the developmental process of both male and female footballers and I intend to continue along this vein,” assured Mr. Davis. Mr. Wilson said that his executives are grateful for the corporate intervention by FFP. He said that his entity had benefited from the largesse of the FFP and he envisioned this initiative to be a lasting and fruitful relationship. Mr. Wilson further noted the positive relationship between school work and football and consequently advocated for the reintroduction of the
sport as a part of the school curriculum. He said that the balls would be distributed to each of the associations even as he promised to care the gift. The acting football boss also promised to keep the FFP Managing Director abreast of football developments. Meanwhile, Librarian of the University of Guyana Gwyneth George collected the computers on behalf of her organization and expressed deep gratitude to her benefactor. She further pointed out that the UG is now conducting a reading programme in the Sophia community and voiced the hope that UG executives could approach the FFP for future assistance. She also promised to reciprocate if the need should ever arise.
ICC ponders lbw change for switch hits The ICC is to review the playing condition regarding lbw decisions in International cricket in response to the emergence of the switch hit. E S P N c r i c i n f o understands that the ICC cricket committee, a group that includes Ian Bishop, Kumar Sangakkara and Mark Taylor, is to consider amending the playing condition whereby a batsman attempting to play the shot cannot be given out lbw if the ball has pitched outside the leg stump. The news, first mentioned in passing in The Guardian, will mean that any righthanded batsman who switches his stance or grip to effectively play as a lefthander, will be able to be given out even if the ball had pitched outside the leg stump and vice-versa. Bowlers will also be allowed more leeway as regards leg side wides in limited-overs cricket. The cricket committee meets in Dubai later this month. While any recommendations cannot come into force until they are ratified by the ICC Board and the ICC’s Chief Executives’ Committee, it is unlikely that the cricket committee’s proposals would be ignored. The decision will not affect the laws of the game, which are governed by the MCC, leading to the possibility that playing conditions in first-class cricket around the world will differ from playing conditions in the International game. It is up to each national
Kevin Pietersen's use of the switch hit shot has provoked a discussion of the lbw law © Associated Press
board to determine whether to adopt the ICC’s playing conditions in their domestic cricket. While some boards including those in Sri Lanka and South Africa - tend to default to the ICC stance, others - such as the ECB - are more independent minded. At present the major differences between ICC playing regulations and MCC laws concern the rules regarding the degree of flexion bowlers are allowed, the use of runners and decisions relating to the DRS. The MCC is also considering the repercussions of the more regular use of the switch hit stroke. Two members of the MCC’s laws subcommittee Dave Richardson and John Stephenson - also sit on the
ICC Cricket Committee. The switch hit first came to prominence in 2008 when Kevin Pietersen played it in an ODI against New Zealand in Durham. The same batsman was involved when matters came to a head in a Test in Sri Lanka recently when Tillakaratne Dilshan pulled out of his delivery stride on several occasions as Pietersen shaped to play the shot and the stand-off threatened to reach stalemate. The umpires, Asad Rauf and Bruce Oxenford, warned Pietersen for time-wasting, but the ICC is now looking for a more permanent solution. The ICC will be keen not to encourage negative bowling, however. The shot is sometimes played, even at Test level, to counter a leg
stump line from right-hand bowlers coming round the wicket and many feel that the switch hit, a shot requiring high skill levels and remarkable reflexes, has been an entertaining addition to the game. It may also be that the ICC asks for some analysis as regards the risk-reward ratio of the shot and whether its usage really does disadvantage bowlers. Any amendment to the playing conditions is likely to prove torturously difficult to phrase. For a start, it could prove tough to define exactly what constitutes a switch hit - whether it involves a change of stance, a change of grip and when they take place. It is worth noting that the ICC, reacting to David Warner’s decision to remain in his normal left-handed stance but with a right-handed grip, issued a directive to umpires in February 2010 that stated such a tactic should be tolerated as long as it did not change once the bowler had begun their run up. As things stand the laws do not define what it means to bat left- or right-handed. Fraser Stewart, MCC’s Laws Manager, recently raised an interesting quandary. “What would happen,” Stewart asked, “if a batsman stood chest on to the bowler? If may sound a ludicrous suggestion now, but we have a generation of young cricketers growing up playing the switch hit and prepared to experiment with their stance and their grip. It may well happen.”
Darren Sammy, the West Indies Captain, has said he has 14 fit men available for selection for the four-day tour match against the England Lions, starting today. Marlon Samuels flew in from India, where he was playing in the IPL, on Tuesday and Assad Fudadin, who was delayed due to visa issues, joined the squad on Wednesday morning. According to a West Indies spokesperson, Narsingh Deonarine, the only missing member from the 15man Test squad, was due to arrive on Thursday (today), but would not be available for selection in the Lions match. Sammy welcomed the new arrivals and said it would bolster the confidence of the team ahead of the Lord’s Test, starting on May 17. Sammy was happy to have virtually a full squad to pick from. “I’m quite pleased to see Marlon and Fudadin this morning. It is very good for us,” he said. “We welcome them and it’s good for them they are here to practice with us today. The whole family is united and now we are preparing ourselves for the first Test match.” It is understood the visa delay in the case of the Guyanese pair of Deonarine and Fudadin was inevitable. The West Indies selectors had waited for the home series against Australia to finish before announcing the Test squad for the England tour at the end of April. Once named, Deonarine and Fudadin then had to apply to the UK embassy for visas because nationals from Guyana and Jamaica do not get a free entry, unlike the other Caribbean countries. A further delay may have been caused by the UK Border Agency tightening its visa screening process. But Sammy did not want to gripe about something not in his control, saying the team would move forward. “We were aware once we were leaving the Caribbean that Narsingh and Fudadin were trying to sort it out,” he said, “and Marlon was with Pune
Narsingh Deonarine Warriors in the IPL. You just move on with things and handle distractions.” Sammy said all his players, including Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Fidel Edwards, who had been reported as fitness doubts, were available for selection. “We will come up with the best eleven in these conditions to prepare ourselves for the Test match,” Sammy said, adding with a smile that Team Msanager, Richie Richardson, would not be needed to handle 12th man duties. The visitors have not had much too much else to smile about in the last week, due to the cold and rainy weather prevalent across England. In their first tour match, against Sussex at Hove, only 34 overs were possible across three days. The forecast for the Lions match is not encouraging either. Sammy said it was frustrating, having been forced to stay indoors last week and now resorting to indoor nets in Northampton. But Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has been keeping the players busy by asking them to go through video footages and involving them in various team and oneon-one meetings. Such exercises, Sammy said, allowed the players to bond together. “It is disappointing because our main goal here is to play cricket, get out in the middle. But we have no control over the weather,” he said. “We are just moving along.”