Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Friday May 17, 2013

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Kaieteur News

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

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

EDITORIAL

On the shoals One year and six months after our last election, which was supposed to elect a new government to steer our ship of state, we are stuck with the three parliamentary parties fighting furiously to control the steering wheel. Not surprisingly, being in “uncharted waters” as the Finance Minister observed after the elections, our ship has hit the shoals.

In medicine, it has been remarked that sometimes the medicine can be worse than the disease. Many in Guyana today are wondering whether the ballots cast in November 2011 to take care of our country’s woes may have not have actually exacerbated them. The present standoff is a good illustration of the fundamental problem created by the electorate creating a situation when one branch of government, the Legislature, is controlled by one party, and the Executive, which has authority to direct the operations of government, is controlled by another.

In other parliamentary jurisdictions where this anomaly has occurred, the Executive would work assiduously with one or the other parliamentary party to ensure that its Legislative agenda, necessary for governance, is passed. In Guyana, however, the introduction of an Executive Presidency by the 1980 Constitution, has introduced several innovations that offer the governing party the wherewithal to govern on its own, through a very positivistic reading of the Constitution.

In other words, it is the very narrow letter of the law that the Executive depends on for its authority, rather than the spirit of the law, which, the Opposition is evidently arguing, would give much more credence to the moral authority of it garnering a greater number of “the people”.

Take the two Bills passed by the Opposition-controlled Legislature. On the surface, it is reasonable that the Opposition should re-examine what they consider to be a carte blanche offered to retired Presidents, as far as several benefits such as number of motor cars.

However, because the governing party is convinced that the intent of the legislation is fuelled by spite and designed to humiliate former President Jagdeo, they have raised a valid Constitutional objection that, by previous judicial decisions, any action to reduce already specified benefits would be illegal, in that it is tantamount to the expropriation of “property”. Many would see this as the government raising a legal “technicality” to thwart the course of equity and fairness.

The same is true of the second piece of legislation rejected by the President. The Constitution is very specific that certain offices, established through its direct imprimatur (“constitutional offices”) must be directly funded from the Consolidated Funds so as to augment their independence from Executive influence.

This is what the “Opposition Bill” seeks to accomplish.

However, the Constitution also explicitly states that any bill that places a charge on the Consolidated Funds must emanate for the Executive. This was obviously placed there to ensure that only the government should initiate spending. Technically, while the Bill does not place an “additional burden” on the Consolidated Funds, it does nonetheless, initiate spending from it.

It is evident then that these varying interpretations can only be settled in the Courts, which have the mandate to perform this task. The government has already taken recourse to this institution on whether the Legislature can make cuts on its Budget. Obviously in retaliation for this hard-nosed approach by the government to use all Constitutional means available to avoid compromising, the AFC has threatened to hold up the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill in the Special Committee to which they had consigned it, unless the government reverses itself on the two Opposition Bills.

If this threat goes through, with the support of APNU,

Friday May 17, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

A daughter will not be silenced DEAR EDITOR, Father’s Day is rapidly approaching and I cannot help but think of the untimely death of my beloved father, Vickramaditya Vidyasagar Puran. We, the members of the Puran family, have been waiting in hope that some measure of justice would be meted out on those who killed him.

We were afraid for our own safety to take action, lest we should have “accidents” but I can no longer cower to the fear of death and let those responsible walk the earth and live in sweet bliss, while my father has been reduced to nothing but a molecule.

We have put in place measures, locally and internationally, so that in the event our vehicles wind up in Mahaicony trenches, our deaths would not go unsolved.

Also, please let it be known that none of us are suicidal.

I am sure that more than 90 per cent of the Guyanese population is already convinced that indeed my father was murdered and in fact from the forensic evidence I can come to no other conclusion.

My father prided himself in the fact that he had many friends in the legal fraternity, but I say that he had none.

None of the ‘friends’ have offered us an ear, assistance or even their condolences.

I need not drop names.

Those persons know who they are. Vic Puran offered assistance to many of those same ‘friends’ when they were in need. My father’s kindness and generosity extended to many persons who hold high positions now.

Those persons have done nothing to vindicate his death or to even set the record straight that it was no accident.

Everywhere I go I hear of ‘the lawyer who was killed and put in Mahaicony’ and it angers me that nothing was done.

Those of us who knew Vic Puran, knew that he never drove to Mahaicony with his windows up. Ask this, how can a person who drowned have a mask of dried blood on his face? Wouldn’t he have bled out into the water while drowning? How can you drown and be dry at the same time?

Those of us who had the chance to inspect the vehicle would also note that his vehicle was in park, the headlights not on, windows up and no air conditioning on. How those things escape police is a mystery to me.

Where is the vehicle now? I am told that it has been sold.

Pictures tell a thousand words and from them you will see that my father was tortured before he died, but officially, cause of death ‘asphyxiation’.

There are numerous things that I can list and I am

sure that the public is already aware of those things that will show that indeed my father was murdered.

I am surprised that the amateur pathologist on the scene on the morning of the 16th of October, 2012, when my father ’s body was discovered and uncovered, could make a declaration that ‘Given my experience, I am satisfied that it was an accident. I suspect that it was a combination of tiredness and hurrying to reach back to his wife to celebrate his birthday’. ( Ta k e n f r o m K a i e t e u r newspapers dated the 17th of October, 2012.)

From all reports, he never reached the farm and therefore could not have been hurrying back. I wonder if being an attorneyat-law qualifies you to practice forensic medicine?

Perhaps the brush up course at Hugh Wooding Law School is sufficient to allow a person to determine cause of death. My five years of medical school wouldn’t even qualify me to make such a statement.

I am ashamed of our justice system for making no effort whatsoever to investigate and find those responsible.

There has been much speculation as to who could have done this cruel act. I say the answer to that is quite simple. Who stood to benefit

from the death of Vic Puran and who has in fact benefited from the death of Vic Puran?

No need to call the FBI, Scotland Yard, or Sherlock Holmes to solve that!

I do not think that the ‘drug lords’ would seek to get rid of him. Why get rid of the best legal mind available? The government?

I keep hearing that, but no.

What threat was he to the government?

I know that the Guyanese population has many intelligent people and they will be able to decipher who has benefited from the death of Vic Puran.

I will never rest until justice is served. Our family wants the public to know that we are not idiots and we know what happened. I will keep on writing and doing whatever I can because I will not let my father’s murder remain unsolved.

To quote the FBI Chief in response to the Boston bombings, ‘someone knows something’.

I urge anyone with information to come forward and speak up. Let us not let a great son of our soil go unavenged. His name will live on forever in the hearts of those who loved him.

Let the trumpets be sounded and the horses parade. Justice will come for Vic Puran.

Mikhaila Puran

David Hinds Right on Kwayana but…

DEAR EDITOR, Reference is made to Dr. D a v i d H i n d ’s l e t t e r “Kwayana’s partition was the alternative” (KN March 29, 2013) in response to Mayor Hamilton Green (KN Mar 28) who stated that “Kwayana advocated partition for Guyana”.

Dr. Hinds noted that Bro. Kwayana called for “Joint and Equal Premiership” for the colony with partition as a last resort. And in lectures in New York as well as in my interviews with him in Guyana and in N.Y for published articles, Kwayana did clarify his statement and position (as reported by Hinds) on partition after his break with Jagan.

What troubles Guyanese, Indians in particular who supported Jagan, is Kwayana’s use of terse language disrespectful of Dr.

Jagan referring to him as “power drunk and top dog”.

Jagan was the Prime Minister and should have been referred to as such in spite of the racial tensions that existed in the country at the time.

K w a y a n a ’s l a c k o f respect for Dr. Jagan disappoints many of us who admire the senior African leader for opposing the Burnham dictatorship.

I should note that around 1994 at a lecture in Jamaica, Queens, Kwayana also did not refer to Jagan with the respectful title of President during his entire discourse instead referring to him as Mr. Jagan.

Also, it was revealed to me by Mr. Joe Ragnauth (leader of the DLM Support Group in N.Y), in 1973 at a rally in Georgetown to protest the deportation of Dr. Walter Rodney from Jamaica

then the country will face some severe hurdles ahead, which will certainly hinder our overall national progress. But this is the inevitable result of the hard-ball politics which all the local parties seem determined to play. It is our sincere hope that this latest move, which has thrown our country onto the shoals, will force our politicians to begin cooperating.

during the Black power demonstrations, “An African thug, sent by Burnham, kicked Dr. Jagan flat to the ground in the presence of Kwayana and he (Kwayana) said or did nothing about it.

Mike Persaud was there when it happened. Burnham was afraid of Rodney and he sent thugs to disrupt the rally called in support of the panAfricanist academic. I was shocked Kwayana did not utter a word of condemnation of what the thugs did to Jagan at a rally in solidarity

with Rodney”.

Hinds indicated that he does not “wish to quarrel with the Mayor” with whom he says he “has cordial relations” and because “Green is a fellow fighter against the PPP”. Hmmm!

Really! Does that mean that Hinds has forgiven Green for the abuses he (Hinds, Kwayana, etc.) suffered at the hands of the PNC during the freedom struggle? Is that because of an ethnic bonding?

Vishnu Bisram

Confusion in our administration DEAR EDITOR, I wish to give some support for the poor president, who after all, so you tell me, was only an office boy in Freedom House, never amounted to be a Minister in the PPPC parliament, but someone easily led; someone who was told to promise the people he would stop corruption if he became president.

That is something he cannot do as he was put there again as an office boy, and told what to do by the real creamers and stealers in the party.

Also please help me understand if the TV and Radio frequencies belong to the state; at which point did they become the personal property of the previous president to give away to anybody?

D.R.CARPENTER

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

THE CRIMINALS AMONG US A ROAD SAFETY

DEAR EDITOR, It is a common practice where renowned rogues and vagabonds seek refuge and comfort among individuals holding high offices, with the belief that their checkered pasts can be erased. There is such a character who is a councilor of the recently installed IMC at Bartica.

This nefarious character has a call-in programme on which citizens air their grievances. Recently, he willfully misled citizens saying that the IMC is not responsible for the collection and disposal of garbage.

In a previous missive in

your column I refuted the notoriety of such claim. The following week citizens awaited the answers as promised. This was not to be because celebrating his birthday was so important that he conveniently shortened the programme to celebrate his birthday with friends and family. Later on TV birthday greetings were sent to the wrongdoer by no other than the President.

I then realized that birds of a feather flock together and whether the President is aware of the character with whom he is associating.

White collar criminals make

up this regime and can be found at every stratum of Administration in Guyana.

I have a message from the residents of Kartabo. The community wants you to return their 40HP outboard and cutter which you took in 2010 in the guise that you would repair and service .

To date the residents have not seen or heard from this councilor who has a weakness for such articles.

There is also a similar complaint from Itabali where the engine which was to be repaired was seen on a speedboat plying the Essequibo River The

residents of Kartabo want their property either repaired or in parts. Their only option if this demand is not met with urgency is to have police intervention. I know the person involved is no stranger to such confrontation. Characters of his ilk make up the IMC. The PPP/C is known to disown these characters whenever they are caught or confronted. It did the same thing to Roger Khan and the notorious Chowtie who was their comrade and henchman committing crimes in areas not expected.

Umar Saied

THE REAL BURNHAM IS HARDLY KNOWN

THE EDITOR, Allow me to add my two bits to the matter dealing with the suspension of the award to Forbes Burnham by the South African Administration.

First, the question of Walter Rodney’s death has again surfaced - why after all these years we have not had a full enquiry as this administration promised is another matter. But then we seem not to like inquisition, even of our very own.

So far, we have had not one bit of evidence to implicate Burnham. What is clear is this L.F.S. Burnham, thanks to friends and foes, had developed an image or reputation of being all powerful.

Doubtless, Burnham was astute with ideas beyond the times. He stood tall, here and abroad, and so, in the minds of many he had near super natural powers - indeed one very senior PPP member asked me thus; truly he bestrode our world like a Colossus (Shakespeare). Any major event or incident, this giant among men, had to be responsible.

This was the environment when Walter Rodney, a man I liked and admired, met his end. At a large gathering in New York, many months after the tragic incident, two very enthusiastic persons posed the question to me, what did I know of Burnham’s involvement or direction of Walter Rodney’s assassination?

I responded by referring to the old trick question, “When did you stop beating your wife?” Next, please offer a single bit of evidence to link L.F.S. Burnham to the incident. Did Rodney know he was in possession of something other than a walkie talkie - his colleagues claimed then that he was parked outside of the Georgetown prison to test a Walkie Talkie.

If so, why did he not take a political associate, but someone he could trust, absolutely, his brother? There

were no further questions at that New York meeting.

But we must do nothing to bridge the unity of progressive forces. [WPA PNC et al] to fight today’s enemy in control of the State apparatus. Dr. David Hinds at an Election Rally happily referred to the extant political union- - let not the mischief makers make our struggle more difficult, not some letters attacking the W.P.A. Today, we have a massive task to restore decency and democracy. I beg one and all, young and old to stay focused. Let nothing cause us to take our eyes off the ball.

David Pollard’s letter in Stabroek News, ( May 4th 2013), ‘The ruckus over the award will may be prompt more informed debate about Burnham’s legacy’ is instructive.

Forbes Burnham was a ‘passionate’ crusader against apartheid and disrespect in all of Southern Africa. He stood tall on this issue. When he proposed in Parliament an annual sum of US$50,000 some folks who may or may

not be behind the effort’s to deny Burnham’s award, said, we could not afford it.

David Pollard’s letter is accurate but Burnham did so much more for Southern Africa. At every international event with his gift of oratory, he articulated the case to end discrimination in South Africa. When Zambia got its independence on 24th October, 1964, the colonial power, as they did in Namibia withdrew all non African staff; communication equipment disappeared, Burnham dispatched skilled Guyanese to fill the void. The late Yvonne Mboji, sister of the PNC/R leader was among the first batch. Others followed; ZANU, ZAPU and other cadres were trained at Tacama, all in the struggle against a stubborn, racist clique who had no intention of giving up power.

Wodrocphe said, “Ingratitude drieth up wells, and time bridges tell”.

I represented the Government at the Independent Celebrations of Namibia, 21st March 1990 and

all of the leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were loud in their praises of this Caribbean Leader, oft times alone, in the Region, L.F.S. Burnham who never faltered nor failed to advance their quest for self determination.

He championed their cause up to the time of his passing. Let the truth prevail and our youths be made aware of all of our history.

Hamilton Green, J.P.

HAZARD

DEAR EDITOR, I write to draw your attention and that of those responsible at the Ministry of Public Works of the severe traffic and road safety hazard caused by the placement of sandbags on the roadway in the area east of Sheriff Street.

There have already been many accidents caused directly by the accumulation of oil on the roadway due to the placement of these sand bags.

This is a clear example of foolishness and incompetence of the ministry and staff that carried out this exercise.

First of all, we are told that the overtopping is the principal cause of the flooding on the roadway and therefore the obvious short term solution to this should have been the placement of sandbags on top of the wall

thereby raising the height of the wall rather than placing them on the roadway, which does nothing to alleviate the problem.

Of course, there is urgent need to find a long term solution to the problem of very high tides throughout the coastal areas of Guyana.

The ministry is being congratulated for clearing away the vendors in one fell swoop using the overtopping as a convenient excuse to deal with a problem which festered for years.

Good for them. But the fact remains that a severe traffic hazard has been created and these sand bags need to be relocated to the wall itself.

Finally, the Ministry should compensate all those who suffered as a result of this foolishness.

John Seeram

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Roger Luncheon’s ‘cousin’ blocks construction of Community Policing Group outpost …cops ‘scared’ to intervene

A Vreed-en-Hoop businessman has clashed with a CPG group that is building an outpost and fence along this Plastic City entrance. His car is seen parked between the structures.

A Vreed-en-Hoop businessman is taking the fight for a reserve to the police, the community policing group and even the Neighbourhood Democratic Council, over a piece of Government reserve.

The police appear scared to intervene and the people

constructing the outpost cannot complete the construction.

“I am Luncheon’s cousin and nobody can touch me. I am not moving and nobody can move me,” the businessman identified as Godfrey Bess reportedly told the community policing

group that wanted him removed.

They added that the man has said that Sam Hinds is his uncle.

The site is at the entrance to the location called Plastic City on the West Bank of Demerara.

The matter came to a head earlier this week after the businessman used his car to block the entrance to the outpost which is currently under construction. The police turned up, but did nothing.

Yesterday, Bess said he has applied to the High Court for an injunction to block the construction of a fence that the CPG is putting up. He is also against the fence since he claims that the CPG had no permission to erect one.

Bess said, yesterday, that he was not against the outpost; rather, it was the fence that he is upset about.

He said that the CPG had no permission and even an NDC

statutory meeting on Wednesday failed to issue any such permission.

“I have been operating here for seven years. Why would I have a problem with an outpost that will offer security to everyone?”

He accused one of the CPG members of wanting to benefit, since that member is also an NDC councillor. He said the councillor wanted the fenced reserve for personal benefit and he decided to act.

“The police came and because they know it is a wrong that the CPG is doing, they decided not to act. They fenced around my car and I had to get the police to remove it.”

However, yesterday another car that the businessman had reportedly placed there to block the entrance to the fenced area, was still there.

Members of the Best Jetty CPG, which is building the outpost, disclosed that they

decided to do something about crime in the Plastic City area after continuous reports of robberies in the area.

“We applied to the NDC (Best/Klein/Pouderoyen) for a spot on the reserve land and they gave us permission to put up an outpost,” a member of the CPG explained. The reserve in question is located along the Vreed-en-Hoop School Road, just north of the junction and leading into Plastic City, a squatter settlement and a depressed community on the wrong side of the seashore.

The CPG officials said that they informed the Region Three Office. The NDC, on May 9, gave permission for the outpost to be constructed.

“We decided to build the fence to stop persons from squatting. They thought we were building a stall and they wanted to do so too.”

However, Bess who is renting a spot in an adjacent

building, protested the construction of the fence.

According to one CPG member, the businessman allegedly ripped out a post during a clash with the CPG earlier this week. The police were called in once more.

Again they did nothing Yesterday, the CPG members said the outpost is needed as nurses, school children and even teachers have reportedly been robbed repeatedly.They claimed that the businessman is taking over sections of the reserve, without permission. He even blocked a critical drain by building a fence over it and not maintaining that drain.

They claimed he is an aggressive person.

Kaieteur News was unable to make contact with the NDC Chairman, Omesh Balram.

Government has been on a campaign to remove squatters and vendors from state reserves throughout the country.

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The middle class of today is not the same as yesteryear The middle class has never been a revolutionary class. As the custodian of the intellectual class, it has however been the main repository from which revolutionary leaders emerge.

In the early stages of revolutionary agitation, the middle class often takes the lead in mobilizing for change, but as the process unfolds the middle class fades into the background and leaves the task of foot soldiering to the working class. The working class, however, always has to be led, and they are often led, sometimes to misfortune and betrayal, by

the middle class.

Karl Marx once called on the workers of the world to unite since all they had to lose were their chains. In Russia there was a peasant revolution in 1917, but the leadership of that revolution was drawn from the intellectual and middle classes because when it comes to social change, the middle class views its interests as being served by encouraging such change which will allow its members greater upward ascendency.

Burnham understood this very well, because he was a product of the lower middle

class. He was ambitious. He saw politics as a means to personal glory and he used and sacrificed both the middle class and the workers to secure what he wanted.

When the bureaucratic class that he created joined forces with other elements of the professional class and with sections of the lower middle class in turning against him, Burnham knew their weak spots and how to deal with them.

He unleashed a reign of terror and intimidation, the likes of which have never been seen before in Guyana. He transferred

Bills in limbo…

APNU mulls court action

By Abena Rockcliffe Even as A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) acknowledges that “we’re in a season of unreasonableness”, the party has stressed that it will not stand by and allow the government to continue its “authoritarian way of ruling”.

During an exclusive interview yesterday, Shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon, made known the party’s stance, noting that it is gearing to head to the courts for the President’s “inadequately justified” move to withhold his assent to two Bills.

The way Harmon and, by extension, APNU sees it, the government is trying to make a point, and President Donald Ramotar seeks to make good on his promise not to assent to any Bill that doesn’t secure the support of the government in parliament; even though the opposition parties hold the majority.

Since February 25, two opposition-proposed Bills Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) and Former Presidents (Benefits and other Facilities) - were sent to the Office of the President for his assent.

The Constitution stipulates a 21-day period for the president to return to the National Assembly any piece of legislation sent to him.

However, until May 3, the Speaker wrote the President reminding him of his duty to assent or return the Bills along with the reasons he didn’t assent. Eventually, the president returned the Bills with his reason not to assent being that the Bills were unconstitutional. However, APNU is “not prepared to accept that excuse”.

Harmon said yesterday

- says AG should be replaced

APNU MP Joseph Harmon

Attorney General Anil Nandlall

that the President must be aware of his duties and act maturely.

The Lawyer added that “It is clear that the decision was made on the basis of advice given to him (Ramotar) by the Attorney General (Anil Nandlall), which is not good advice”.

“In the first instance, he said that the Bills were unconstitutional; then he went on record saying that the Speaker erred. The Speaker can, of course, and has already defended himself, but I must add that something is wrong with the AG and again I say, he is giving the president bad advice.”

Harmon opined that the President might very well have the need to reconsider Nandlall’s appointment as Attorney General. “He should probably appoint him Minister of Information and get a new Attorney General.”

Harmon said that APNU knows it role and simply can’t afford to allow the government to walk all over Guyanese people “we won’t sit and accept that.”

He added that the party will be exploring both Court

and political action to try to get the president to understand that when “the National Assembly votes and the majority express its wishes, those wishes should be respected, unless there is really good reason not to, and in this case there isn’t.”

According to the Shadow Minister, the government doesn’t care whether or not there is good and legal enough reason, “once the AG makes a statement no matter what happens, the President is not going to assent.

Harmon emphasised that this is a season of unreasonableness and APNU is concerned.

He acknowledged the Alliance For Change’s announced way of dealing with “the situation” –tit for tat– and said that there are more tactics in the army of political parties.

Harmon also highlighted that the government is adamant to leave the president‘s benefits Bill as it is, but still blatantly underfund a constitutional office that is Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

“It’s total eye pass,” Harmon said in conclusion.

teachers, dismissed those who he felt were in sympathy with the WPA and set his goons loose on peaceful protestors.

Political opponents were intimidated. Their homes were searched and their every movement monitored. One young man became casual friends with the wife of an opposition figure only to one day discover that she was being tailed by the Special Squad.

Agents of repression turned up all over. They were planted at the University of Guyana to monitor what was being said in classes and to report back to their political masters.

In the face of these measures, the local middle class began to retreat slowly.

Their revolutionary torches began to dim rapidly. By the time Burnham unleashed his death squads, by the time Fr. Darke, Ohene Koama and Edward Dublin were taken out, the message was clear: Burnham would stop at nothing.

He made it clear that he would not easily entertain free speech. He not only sent

his thugs to break up opposition meetings, these thugs went after Rodney forcing the man to have to scale fences to escape. This narrow escape from the clutches provided a source of humour for Burnham who publicly ridiculed Rodney by telling his cheering supporters that he would send Rodney to the 1980 Moscow Olympics to take part in the high jump. Rodney did not end up in Moscow.

He ended six feet under.

By the time Rodney was assassinated, the middle class had been softened up. Many of them who had flocked in droves behind the WPA abandoned ship and country.

Many of them are to be found outside of Guyana and some have become critics of the incumbent government.

Today, the middle class in Guyana is devoid of revolutionary instinct. There may be a few individuals who have the spirit within them but as a class, the middle class cannot be expected to lead any process of social change.

The middle class of today was not subject to the deprivations and loss of

prestige that led to them to flock behind the WPA. What we have today is a different middle class, one that is generally self-serving and non-revolutionary.

To therefore expect that this class will speak out as a class and agitate for improvements is to ask too much, way too much.

The WPA no longer has a lien on the loyalties of this class. This class is behind the AFC which is a party that is tied to business interests and which cannot be a vehicle for social change. The AFC is incapable of organizing any meaningful social protest in Guyana and one reason is because the middle class is no longer the same as it was in yesteryear.

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THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The polygraph and the insane power Guyanese accept On a television programme with me on Channel 6 to discuss Jagdeo’s radio licence madness, Mr. Lincoln Lewis made the point that too many citizens supported the PPP Government only to find out later that they, themselves were victims.

The list is long and they courted their own disaster because they waited too long to speak out. Dictatorship inevitably becomes a devouring monster if you do not clip its wings at birth.

The example I use all the time to drive this lesson home is then PPP member, attorney Sadie Amin. I had a conversation one evening at

the downstairs restaurant of the trade union, NAACIE, with Ms Amin. The conversation naturally revolved around the PPP’s domineering attitude at UG since Ms. Amin was a member at the time of the UG Council.

Ms. Amin’s inflexible position is that she is a member of the PPP, is loyal to her party and is morally compelled to support everything the party does. I took objection to her use of the word, “everything” but she said that that is the way she feels as a party member.

About a year later, I met with Amin on Croal Street in the vicinity of the magistrates’ courts. During

our conversation she was compellingly frank and honest. She left the PPP and its women’s arm Women Progressive Organization because she could not accept what her party did to her husband.

He was overlooked for the second highest position at GuyOil, even though he met all the requirements. Her argument was pellucid – the PPP did an unacceptable wrong to her husband and she could no longer continue in the PPP (don’t know if she has since rejoined).

This was the very human being a year earlier who told me she had to vote for James Rose as the Vice Chancellor

of UG, because that was what her party wanted. But she rejected what her party wanted when she became a victim.

Civilization will never advance towards freedom and progress if we cannot see that the irrationality and nonlogic we accept in the world will one day head in our direction and devour us. Mr. Lewis was right.

This entire country, with the exception of this columnist - and yes let me beat my drum – did not protest when the Jagdeo regime gave lie detector tests to nine CANU officers including the head, and dismissed all of them after claiming that they all failed. The lie detector test can be reduced to scientific nonsense at times.

My wife would fail a thousand polygraphs on matters in which she is totally innocent given her psychological make-up. She is a very quiet person with tendencies to be introverted.

Nervousness can lead to answers that are misleading.

On the other hand, a streetwise culprit like me can pass a million lie detector tests even though I may be guilty as sin. When you grow up in rough times and learnt a lot from the streets, your psychology is a hardened one. For this reason, polygraphs are not reliable scientific processes.

Had this country adopted a no-nonsense approach to the first set of sacking (at CANU) after the polygraph was (to my mind, illegally) introduced, maybe we could have saved the twenty-one employees of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA). You play with dictatorship you get burnt. You give dictatorship an inch, it takes the whole nine yards. Guyanese stayed silent over the CANU dismissals. The Government got its way now the floodgates are open.

Yesterday it was the GEA. Today the polygraph morbidity will move to another section of the public sector until it comes your way.

What makes any Guyanese feel that after this denunciation of the lie

Frederick Kissoon detector scandal at the GEA, it will not be repeated? The people of this country are not learning the lessons of life.

We let the insanity that occurred at the GEA go unprotected and more manifestations of insane power will visit this nation.

Dictatorship will only stop if and when it is confronted, and you don’t have to do it with violence. The great Mahatma Gandhi did not use force against the British Raj. But it was Gandhi who said that “non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty.”

Where do we go from here with the lie detector madness at GEA? The head of GAWU, Komal Chand, felt that it was too much to take. He denounced the GEA depravity. As a trade unionist, he knows you just don’t dismiss workers because they failed a polygraph. And Chand was angrier when he heard about the asinine questions that were asked. So what’s next?

Dem boys seh...

Kakabelly lef fuh look fuh Shark De police got a way of trying to please de public. When dem got a robbery dem does pick up any Tom, Dick and Harry Lall and announce how dem mek some arrest. De public does feel nice and dem does believe that everything under control.

But dem boys notice that this announcement about mekking arrest happening li’l steady. Dem got a murder and de police announce how dem mek an arrest. But couple days later de same police does announce how dem got to release de suspects.

De truth is that is a scam to fool de public. Thank Heavens dem got newspapers that does follow de trend and report about arrest and release. Now people want de police to stop playing games. Dem got to stop picking up people and hoping that dem talk. Of course, some of dem does talk like de set in Berbice.

De police pick up two of dem because dem break into a phone place. De police then mek joke and tell one of dem that some file just come back from town and that he involve in a murder. De bandit holler out right away. “Is not me alone.” And he start fuh sing more than a canary.

Dem boys seh that is de same technique de police using when dem pick up people.

But is not only de police deh pun stupidness. A boat name Shark lef to go to North West and it breakdown. Right away de captain and de crew mek a call fuh help. Dem had to use radio. Dem boys couldn’t believe that de boat that dem send to look fuh Shark was Kakabelly. Kakabelly come back and report how it couldn’t find Shark and de people surprise.

Which Kakabelly gun go wheh Shark deh?

Shark find it own way to shore and Kakabelly was still searching. Dem boys laughing till now. But one thing fuh sure, next time Shark deh in trouble it deh pun it own. Just like how dem diplomats lef Guyana pun its own.

Dem don’t go to wuk. Some of dem ain’t been in office fuh months but dem drawing pay. And Donald don’t even know.

Talk half and wait fuh more stupidness.

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THIRD TIME UNLUCKY…

Berbician gets 10 years for manslaughter It was his third trial for the same offence, but 26-year-old manslaughter accused Wazim Mohammed called ‘Junior’ of Mara, East Bank Berbice, was unlucky this time around, as he was found guilty yesterday by a mixed jury sitting in the Berbice High Court and sentenced to 10 years in jail by Justice Dawn Gregory.

Mohammed was convicted for killing his onetime friend Russell Nelson, 62, called ‘Josie’ of Fyrish, Corentyne, Berbice, on the 27th September 2005 at Fyrish.

The accused bowed his head as the jury returned with the unanimous verdict of guilty of manslaughter and the judge handed down the sentence.

Justice Gregory took the morning session to sum up the evidence to the jury who then retired and took about two hours to return with the verdict. This was the third trial for Mohammed, the first two had ended in hung juries.

Earlier both defence attorney Charrandass Persaud and prosecutor Attorney at law Dionne Mc

10 years in jail: Wazim Mohammed called ‘Junior’ Cammon had delivered spirited addresses to the jury as they presented their arguments. This was after the state had closed its case after presenting a number of witnesses including Detective Corporals Primus Sam and Eon Grannum, former policeman Safraz Matadial, retired police Detective Corporal Paul D a v i d , Government Pathologist Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan and civilians Shameer Nabbi, C h a n d r a w a t t i e

Mangal, Ramanan Nabbi, Fazilia Nabbi, Fazila Nabbi and Esau Mohammed.

Dr. Brijmohan, who conducted the post mortem, had given the cause of death as a fractured skull and septicemia.

The prosecution’s case had indicated that Wazim Mohammed had beaten Nelson on a dam at Kilcoy Village on the Corentyne and left him in a critical condition.

The man was picked up and rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital, then Georgetown Hospital, before being transferred back to the New Amsterdam Hospital where he succumbed on December 5th, 2005.

Mohammed was later arrested and charged for the crime.

The accused had given an unsworn statement from the dock, in which he denied that he had lashed Nelson causing him to die. “I did not beat anyone. I did not give any statement to the police. I am innocent,” he had told the court.

In a plea of mitigation, defence attorney Persaud asked the court to be lenient.

He stated that his client had

been incarcerated for a long time (eight years) and that should be taken into consideration. He said that Mohammed still maintains his innocence, but is remorseful that his friend had died and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family.

Rebutting, prosecutor Mc Cammon stated that the accused was on bail for most of the time and had only been incarcerated for 23 months.

He was jailed on another offence.

The judge, before passing, sentence stated that she took all the mitigating pleas into consideration before arriving at the 10-year sentence.

A preliminary inquiry was

conducted by Magistrate Chandra Sohan and concluded on September 25, 2007, at the Albion Magistrate’s Court.

Mohammed was tried in 2008 and 2010.

The man’s relatives who were in court yesterday wept bitterly upon hearing the evidence. His attorney has given indications of appealing the outcome.

Mohammed, while on bail for the manslaughter charge, was caught by police who were on an operation up the Berbice River, with a quantity of marijuana. During that exercise the police had destroyed four fields comprising some eight acres of marijuana - over 18,000

plants which were between 2ft -6 ft. in height – in all weighing some 22kg. Five nurseries were also destroyed with some 25,000 seedlings. The cops had also found and destroyed two camps along with 350 kilos of dry cannabis. A Stihl grass cutter, a chainsaw and tarpaulin were also found on the location and were seized.

Mohammed was sentenced to a total of eight years in jail by Magistrate Adela Nagamootoo when he appeared before her at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court on two charges of possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. He was sentenced to four years on each charge.

K&VC hotel murder…

Estranged husband to appear in court today The estranged husband of Maryann Nauth, the woman who was brutally murdered in a city hotel, is expected to make his initial court appearance today as relatives of the slain woman prepare to bid farewell to her.

This publication was told that the man has ‘admitted’ to killing the mother of his three children. Sources close to the investigation said the man was angered after seeing what is believed to b e another man’s name tattooed to the woman’s abdomen. Relatives of the dead woman said only

Thursday last the woman got a new tattoo, but could not verify if it was indeed another man’s name.

The police had launched a manhunt for the suspect, since there is evidence that he had entered the K&VC Hotel on South Road, hours before Maryann Nauth’s body was discovered on a blood-soaked bed.

The woman, according to relatives, was last seen in the company of her estranged husband on Saturday around 20:30pm. Her body was discovered around 02:00 hours on Sunday.

Just before the discovery was made, the man alone was seen leaving the hotel. This prompted hotel employees to check the room they had rented.

There they made the gruesome discovery of Nauth’s body with a knife still stuck in the centre of her chest.

There was also a photograph of the woman and her estranged husband near to the corpse. The suspect was nabbed by police on the Essequibo Coast after arriving by boat at Supernaam.

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GECOM announces 27,000 OP employee lands in court for alleged abuse of police rank registrants to date in fourth cycle - Period ends tomorrow

An employee of the Office of the President yesterday had a date with the court; accused of being abusive to a police rank when informed that she was in breach of a traffic law.

Twenty-three year-old Lisa Lowe of 693 Section ‘A’ Diamond, East Bank Demerara, made her appearance at the Providence Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Leron Daly.

Lowe, who told the court that she works with the One Laptop Per Family Project, was read three charges failing to comply with police direction, breach of provisional licence and disorderly behaviour - and pleaded not guilty to all.

It is alleged that on Tuesday May 4, last, on the Providence Public Road, East Bank Demerara, Lowe was the driver of motorcar PPP 5617 when it was stopped by a

Lisa Lowe constable, who was on traffic duty. The court was told that during the routine stop, Lowe was asked to produce her driver’s licence and she handed over a provisional driver’s licence to the rank.

At the time Lowe did not have a licenced driver with her who had more than two years driving experience and she did not have two red ‘L’s on her vehicle.

It was further alleged that

when asked to drive into the police station compound, Lowe sped off and came to a halt some distance from the station.

The prosecution’s facts stated that when Lowe was informed of the breach of provisional licence charge she became verbally abusive to the rank calling him all kinds of derogatory names.

Further while in the police station, despite being warned to desist from making abusive comments, Lowe continued to be abusive to the ranks this time using a series of expletives, at one point saying “This police is a real cross”.

To the charge of failing to comply with police, Lowe was placed on $20,000 bail, to the breach of provisional licence, $10,000 and to the disorderly behaviour charge she was granted $20,000 bail.

Lowe will make her next court appearance on May 24.

Govt ready to honour scholarship pledge to top performing students Government is prepared to honour its commitment to the two top performing candidates of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examination (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) respectively.

This announcement was recently made by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, as she hosted a press conference.

President Ramotar at the 16th National Awards Ceremony of the Ministry of Education in October of last year revealed that the two top performers of e i t h e r e x a m i n a t i o n will automatically become qualified for scholarships to attend institutions of higher learning in any field of their choice. According to the President, “We are giving more scholarships than ever to students of this country to attend institutions of higher learning in Guyana and abroad.

I have instructed our colleagues in the Cabinet to see that the top two students from CSEC and CAPE be given scholarships automatically to study here (Guyana) or overseas.”

The President premised his decision on recognition of the important role that education plays in the area of national development. He pointed to the fact that Guyana has directed some $30 billion to the social sector of which the education system is a major part, even as he added that “investing in our country is investing in our future.” According to Minister Manickchand, the

scholarship programme is set to become effective shortly.

Top performers of the examinations last year, some of whom have already been accepted to universities, will become the first recipients of the scholarships and will be able to access it as soon as it is required, said Manickchand. “Not all of them have entered into universities as yet, they usually take a while to get accepted and determine what courses they are doing. The scholarship will be effected as soon as they (students) require the funding.”

The Education Minister also sought to highlight that in the last six years, except 2010, Guyanese candidates had topped the Caribbean at

the CSEC examination.

“We have also repeatedly received first prize in several subject areas,” she emphasised.

Moreover, she disclosed that the President had announced the scholarship programme in hope that it would help to alleviate the hurdles that could confront students as they seek to further studies.

These students, she noted, are essentially ‘gifts to the world’ and as such “President Donald Ramotar informed that the two top performers at CSEC and the two top performers at CAPE would be beneficiaries of Government scholarships to pursue studies at universities of their choice in any field.”

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has registered approximately 27,000 new persons during the ongoing fourth cycle of registration and is aiming to surpass 30,000 registrants. The cycle which commenced in January ends tomorrow.

During the period, Permanent Registration Offices opened from Monday to Friday 09:00hrs to 13:00hrs and 14:30hrs to 18:00hrs.

Temporary Registration Offices operated from Monday to Friday 15:30hrs to 19:00hrs. All offices will operate tomorrow from 10:00hrs to 14:00hrs.

Anyone who will be 14 years or older by June 30, 2013, and is a Guyanese citizen by birth, descent, naturalization, or is a citizen from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for

one year or more, is eligible for registration.

GECOM emphasised that it is the civic duty and legal responsibility of all Guyanese who meet the eligibility requirements to apply for registration.

By so doing, persons would also be ensuring that they are included on the official lists of electors for future elections.

The commission also noted that it is obligatory for persons who meet the registration criteria to apply for registration.

Persons eligible for registration could be prosecuted, fined and/or even sent to prison for failing or refusing to apply. In the case of eligible persons under the age of 18 years by the qualifying date, the parents/ guardians could be prosecuted for failure/refusal

to apply for registration.

GECOM is also distributing National Identification Cards from all of its permanent and temporary Registration Offices in all of the ten Administrative Regions.

Persons who were registered during previous Registration Exercises are urged to collect their new ID cards if they have not done so as yet.

They must also be in possession of an original birth certificate or original naturalisation certificate, original marriage certificate and original deed poll in the case of a name change or marriage.

Baptismal certificates, expired passports, photocopies of relevant documents or letters from priests, elders, head masters, village captains/toshaos and justices of the peace and existing ID cards will not be acceptable as source documents for registration.

Suspected bandits held after Digicel break-in Bandits who vandalized the Rose Hall Corentyne Branch of Digicel\Cell Smart Guyana carted off a number of Cellular phones, SIM cards and cash from the premises yesterday.

But later in the day two persons were arrested and were found in possession of the stolen cellular phones.

They also bore injuries suspected to have been sustained during the breakin.

They had used a saw to cut open the padlock from the door before s m a s h i n g a glass door to enter the building.

Blood was found inside the building as a result of

the bandits smashing the glass door.

A cutlass was left on the counter of the store and

detectives dusted the place for fingerprints.

Police are still investigating.

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Pay increases for GPL workers

By Zena Henry Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) workers, who went on strike earlier this year, yesterday felt vindicated in their claims that the company had not upheld the signed 2001 collective bargaining agreement.

Chairman of the designated arbitration tribunal, Justice Prem Persaud, yesterday handed over the related report to Labour Minister Nanda Gopaul, in which it was indicated that increases of 6 percent and 5.5 percent retroactive to January 2012, would be paid to employees in the categories from grade one to eight.

Disgruntled GPL staffers had taken to the streets countrywide to express their dissatisfaction with earlier developments, with the power company at that time having offered a 5 percent increase across the board.

The National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), through strike action, had wanted GPL to honour its 2001 collective bargaining agreement which called for negotiations for increase in salaries, outside of an automatic three percent

increment on the salaries of workers annually, and a performance-based incentive of between zero and 10 percent.

NAACIE General Secretary Kenneth Joseph said yesterday that the union’s contention was not particularly for the workers’ payment, but was really for the electricity company to honour the agreement.

“We have been vindicated, the (2001) agreement continues to exist.

The company was saying that the agreement ended in 2003, but at the moment that agreement continues to exist, and will exist until it is superseded by another agreement.”

Minister Gopaul asserted that he was pleased with the “expeditious manner” in which the matter was dealt with, and hoped that, “both sides would take heed of the recommendations made in the report”. He also emphasised that the report is binding on both parties.

Gopaul however noted that it was very unfortunate that the workers had to resort to industrial action over what seemed to be a situation of distrust. “In a collective agreement, not everything

…as arbitration tribunal presents report

Labour Minister Nanda Gopaul

Justice Prem Persaud

can be spelt out, but it is the spirit in which the agreement is entered into, and the interpretation when it was given…if done based on that spirit…we would have not had the strike.”

The Minister further urged the parties not to resort to strike action, but to use the services of the Labour Ministry.

He said that though strikes may at times be inevitable, they must seek to reduce them.

Following the handing over of the report, Joseph thanked those involved in the arbitration process for, “helping to bring about a

favourable understanding about the process of arbitration.” He said that the union was afraid that the process had been eroded.

“It is never favourable when trade unions have to use large sums of money and workers are losing out on money to fight for their rights.”

Joseph subsequently suggested that for the days the workers had protested, now that their cause had been justified, they should be paid for the days lost.

He continued that at present, GPL workers are concerned with what is taking place in Parliament, especially

as it relates to cuts made to this year’s budget, which brings concerns of an attempt by the electricity company to further release unionized staff.

Joseph said that the union is looking for a proper relationship with GPL and proper management of the company. He further called for an investigation into the operations of the company before the budget cuts are returned.

“They should not just give you and you spend.

There must be an investigation because we know… we have evidence that not all the money is well spent.” Joseph concluded that the union looks forward to instructions for the workers to be paid.

GPL’s Deputy CEO Aeshwar Deonarine said that the company would be honouring the arbitration’s decision. “In any ruling, one cannot expect both sides to be very pleased, but the company respects the arbitration’s objective and impartial decision, and as always we stand committed to honour any agreement we

have.” He highlighted the party’s current position as being unfortunate, when the evidence could have been evaluated and a similar if not identical resolution could have resulted.

In February, GPL workers downed tools over a five percent all-inclusive package.

This involved a one percent across the board pay increase that was rejected by the Union, which had demanded an eight percent across the board increase.

GPL was however adamant that it could not even afford the five percent package offered, much less the eight percent that was being demanded.

The company blamed this inability on high fuel price among other things.

After six days of strike action, when the two parties could not resolve their differences, the Labour Minister stepped in. He called on the tribunal comprising Justice Prem Persaud; Dr. Gobind Ganga, Deputy Governor of Bank of Guyana; and Grantley Culbard, former General Secretary of Clerical and Commercial Workers’ Union to deal with the issue, which resulted in yesterday’s report.

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Murder trial of former IDB-funded study to analyse Coast Guard ranks… main sectors moving apace Three more

Arrangements are currently being finalised for the implementation of a comprehensive InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB)-funded labour market intelligence study. This disclosure was recently made

by President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association, Clinton Williams, who doubles as Chairman of the Guyana Council for Technical and Vocational Education.

His comments came on Monday during the start of a three-day Strategic Planning Work aimed at developing a national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plan.

According to Williams, the study is being undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security along with the partnership of the private sector and labour unions.

The venture is designed to target and analyse the main sectors, including manufacturing, forestry, hospitality, commerce, education and construction.

Moreover, the focus of the survey will be the determination of demand and supply of adequately skilled artisans, that is, entry level skills for the named sectors.

“It is our fervent wish that the workshop would provide

us with necessary tools and techniques in our quest to realise our vision and mission,” Williams said He added that there is optimism within the Council that moves being engaged will foster maxi m u m c o m p a t i b i l i t y, n o t o n l y between the range and quality of skills that are being generated, but also in the realisation of international competitiveness, with respect to competency levels being attained for all skills generated in both the public and private sectors.

Williams said that the move to develop TVET in Guyana is coming at a time when the Council is in the process of introducing several innovative mechanisms that will have a national impact.

Among these are the implementation of competency-based training and education programmes across the country, for both formal and non-formal education institutions; the implementation of a national strategy of assessment and certification and the implementation of quality assurance guidelines for Guyana to be recognised as an accreditation body for the Caribbean Vocational Qualification, among others.

Williams said Guyana has been recording Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

- GMSA President

Clinton Williams growth in excess of five per cent per annum over the past four years. The main sectors which have been contributing to this performance are mining (particular gold and diamond), wholesale and retail trades, building and construction and information and communication technology. “All of these sectors have been experiencing growth in excess of 20 per cent, but unfortunately, in all these sectors there have been reported significant skills shortages, which have further been compounded as a result of the undesirable increasing phenomenon of what I would

call skills poaching between sectors, not to mention migration.” Also in traditional sectors such as sugar, rice, sea foods and forestry there have been significant skills shortages, the GMSA President said, adding that the resulting negative effects include: high prices locally for commodities, in addition to consequential competitive disadvantages in the export market for these products.

Williams said that against this background new sectors are emerging. These include hydropower, mining in manganese and spin-off industries from the Low Carbon Development Strategy such as eco-tourism.

“These new sectors would therefore only add to what I have described as a dire national skills development syndrome,” Williams said.

He said that in order to address this dilemma, the Council in collaboration with the Statistical Bureau recently conducted a skills demand survey within the mining sector. This was done in response to the specific request as it relates to the current manpower resource issues within this sub-sector under the current Cdn$200 million Caribbean Education for employment project.

cops testify

Deon Greenidge Three more police officers took to the witness box as the trial of three former Coast Guard ranks, charged with the murder of Bartica gold dealer Dweive Kant Ramdass, continued yesterday before Justice Franklyn Holder at the Suddie High Court.

The trial which began last week is now engaged in a second voir dire (trial within a trial) to determine the admissibility of caution statements allegedly made by the number two accused, Delon Gordon.

Testifying yesterday were Corporal Aniroudth Bissoon from La Grange Police Station, Corporal Lynette Phillips from Parika Station and Sergeant Joel Ally. The matter will continue today. Prosecutor Judith Gildharie–Mursalin is presenting the state’s case, while Attorney at law Peter Hugh is representing the three accused.

Sherwin Harte, the number one accused; Delon Gordon, number two and Deon Greenidge are charged with the August 2009 murder of Dweive Kant Ramdass which took place at Caiman Hole, East Bank, Essequibo.

The three men (at the time two Privates and a Lance Corporal) were manning a Coast Guard RC 12 motor boat in the Essequibo River, when

Delon Gordon

Sherwin Harte they allegedly confronted Ramdass in a vessel at the Parika Stelling. The soldiers allegedly forced him into their boat and took him to another location in the river where they relieved him of $17M in cash which he was carrying in a box to Bartica for his employer, who operated a gold and diamond business in the city.

The prosecution is trying to prove that the three accused strangled Ramdass, took the money he was carrying and dumped his body overboard in the vicinity of Bonasika Creek. They will argue that after murdering Ramdass, the trio returned to the Parika Stelling, where a female was waiting for them.

She (Continued on page 25)

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Anti-money laundering legislation…

Not enough time to pass before deadline - APNU Critical anti-money laundering legislation is unlikely to be passed before a deadline later this month, despite threats of possible international sanctions.

As tensions remain high in the National Assembly over the controversial Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML & CFT) Amendment Bill 2013, the Opposition’s largest faction, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) said a Special Select Committee of Parliament, that is considering the amendments, is unlikely to finish the required work before the May 27 deadline.

APNU, during a charged press conference yesterday to defend itself from accusations that it was stalling the process, instead accused the government of not being serious about tackling money laundering from especially drug-related activities, despite knowing since 2011 that the amendments had to be passed to meet impending international requirements.

Failure to have the Bill passed could see Guyana blacklisted for not doing enough to combat money laundering and stopping the financing of terrorism.

The government and the opposition are locked in battle to see who would budge first.

The government is due to defend its efforts to stem financial crimes when the Plenary Meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) meets in Managua, Nicaragua, from May 27 to May 30.

APNU said it is considering other options, which include presentations at the Plenary Meeting on what Guyana is doing.

The government attempted to have the amendments passed in the National Assembly two Tuesdays ago, but the opposition sent the matter to the Special Committee to examine the government’s proposal, saying the legislation is too important to be rushed.

It is now worrying

government, which says that the Opposition is irresponsible and holding the country hostage by demanding the administration meet a number of conditions before passing the amendments.

BLAME GOVERNMENT In a clear indication that APNU is not looking to hurry through the considerations of the amendments at the committee stage, Joseph Harmon, Member of Parliament of the 26-seat alliance, said that Guyana can expect no rush and that the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic is to be blamed.

“APNU wishes to make it very clear that we will not shirk our responsibility, for care f u l s c r u t i n y o f t h e amendments to the legislation before the Special Select Committee, on the altar of expediency. We will continue to work diligently, but are of the view that this is an emergency of the Government’s own making. Therefore, any failure to meet a deadline of 27th May, 2013, lies squarely on the shoulders of the PPP/C Administration.”

Harmon pointed out that President Donald Ramotar received a letter from CFATF dated April 10, 2013, warning of the need to speed up work to ensure Guyana’s readiness. APNU said that the body urged the President to ensure that the opposition and other stakeholders are involved in the legislation and a report for the Nicaragua meeting be circulated by May 6.

According to APNU’s Lance Carberry, there is no evidence that government even has such a report as yet.

APNU said it is convinced that government is attempting to create a situation where it could tell the Nicaragua meeting that the Opposition is to be blamed for Guyana not being ready.

Harmon opined that government is not serious about any new laws to counter money laundering or it would have presented the legislation sooner.

APNU refused to be

- ‘Failure lies squarely on the shoulders of the PPP/C Administration’

DON’T BLAME US! From left, APNU official Lance Carberry, and Parliamentarians Joseph Harmon and Winston Felix drawn into admitting that it is laying any conditions for allowing the Bill through.

Rather, Harmon pointed out that the lack of money to properly run the Office of Leader of the Opposition is not”unnoticed”.

SANCTIONS UNCLEAR Asked about the possible sanctions Guyana could face for not being ready, Harmon said that APNU is not clear what these were as the government has not properly explained.

“We are taking steps as a responsible opposition to scrutinize the legislation that is before us. We are working diligently in the Select Committee to ensure that the piece of legislation is properly done.

If it is not done for May 22nd, that is not our primary concern. Our primary concern is to ensure we have a piece of legislation that is in the interest of the nation.”

He pointed out that considerations of the amendments are not easy, as it included 15 sections.

Meanwhile, APNU Parliamentarian Winston Felix, a former Commissioner of Police, noted that the amendments would have given government “the teeth to tackle money laundering” as it would raise red flags. It

is a fact that no significant dent has been made to the drug trafficking situation or any significant seizures.

The AML&CFT law had also mandated the establishment of a Financial Investigative Unit (FIU).

There is no indication whether this unit is functioning, all pointing back

to the question of how serious Government is with the passage of the Bill.

CFATF is an organisation of 29 states of the Caribbean Basin, which have agreed to implement common counter measures to address the problem of criminal money laundering.

It was established as the

result of meetings convened in Aruba in May 1990 and Jamaica in November 1992.

Government, for the first time in 20 years, lost the majority in the National Assembly, with the Opposition wasting no time in slicing $20B from the National Budget last year.

This year, just over $31B was reduced from budget, prompting government to refuse to pass two key laws tabled by the Opposition and passed in the National Assembly.

This particular Bill has been a troublesome one for the government as it involves a deadline and more so, conditions set by the other opposition party, the Alliance For Change (AFC).

The AFC has made it clear that it will not lend support to the financial Bill unless government assents to two bills piloted by the opposition-controlled House.

The party also wants the government to set a deadline for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) which will help halt corruption in the awarding of contracts funded by the public purse.

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Vital bridge collapses in Rupununi - Under weight of truck carrying excavator

T

he Moco-Moco Bridge, a key structure in Region Nine linking Lethem to St. Ignatius, collapsed under the weight of a truck transporting an excavator.

The rear of the vehicle, with the excavator in its tray, was lodged in the creek below.

F o r t u n a t e l y, t h e f o u r occupants of the vehicle managed to escape unhurt.

According to reports, constant rains may have caused the foundation of the bridge to deteriorate to the extent where the structure became unstable.

Kaieteur News learnt that the weakening of the 21metre (70ft.)- long structure was reported to the Regional Chairman on Wednesday, but

despite this, nothing was done to warn users of the bridge.

This newspaper understands that the bridge, which is mainly used when heavy machinery is being transported, was built to withstand just about five tons. The weight of the truck, minus the excavator which was being transported in the tray, was approximately five tons.

The bridge was reportedly rehabilitated sometime last year. Over the years, residents of Region Nine have been concerned about the moving of heavy duty machinery to and from the South Rupununi area, as it would usually result in damage to their bridges.

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Family Commission launches parenting initiative “We cannot legislate for all the changes we want,” was the assertion of Chairman of the National Commission for the Family, Dr Kwame Gilbert, as he delivered remarks at the launch of a parenting workshop initiative on Wednesday.

According to Dr Gilbert, over the years several pieces of legislation were in fact taken to the Parliament in an attempt to address issues of removing vulnerable groups - women and children - from situations of violence and mitigating that vulnerability.

However, although it is the view of the Family Commission Chairman that legislation cannot cater to all the required changes such as the need for behavioural changes, he did note that “you can regulate behaviour.”

He added that it is this regulatory element that the Commission is hoping to realise through its parenting initiative.

Dr Gilbert is confident that through education, persons will be encouraged to behave differently, even as he stated that “if you know better, you will do better and that is where education comes in.”

Already the Commission has spearheaded one such workshop at Number 48 Village, Berbice, which,

- anticipates sustained behavioural change

Chairman Dr. Kwame Gilbert (standing at extreme right) along with other members of the Family Commission, the facilitators of the workshops. according to the Chairman, will see a number of parents, having been educated on their parenting roles, graduating with additional skills in a matter of days.

Moreover, Wednesday’s parenting workshop launch, at the Human Services Ministry’s Cornhill Street, Georgetown location, was intended to initiate additional workshops which will be held at locations ranging from Ithaca, Berbice to Mainstay, Essequibo Coast, Grove,

East Bank Demerara and Georgetown.

Although the workshops will be facilitated by aptly qualified individuals attached to the Mothers’ Union Worldwide Parenting programme, Dr Gilbert disclosed that it is expected that there will be collaboration with the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force. “They have a role to play in producing that kind of behavioural change that we are anticipating with respect

Executed couple…

Bodyguard, handyman among three detained Police have detained three people, including a bodyguard and a handyman, in connection with the double-murder of businessman Totaram Mootoo and his wife Bhagmattie.

The bodyguard is said to be a close associate of Mr. Mootoo, while the handyman did odd-jobs for the family.

Kaieteur News understands that the three have been in custody since Wednesday at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary.

Indications are that detectives do not consider the men to be prime suspects, but have been grilling them in the hope of getting vital information.

Detectives believe that the Mootoos knew and apparently trusted the perpetrators and let them into their home two Thursday nights ago. The Mootoos were reportedly then subjected to a brutal beating.

Mr. Mootoo, 54, was later forced to lie near his 48-yearold wife, Bhagmattie, with his hands duct-taped behind his back. The killers then caused a gas cylinder to ignite and

Totaram and Bhagmattie Mootoo explode in the bedroom while their victims were still alive.

According to police sources, cause of death was from extensive burns and smoke inhalation. Both victims also sustained blunt trauma.

Police have received reports from residents who claimed that they saw a car with heavily-tinted windows

driving away from the area shortly after hearing the explosion.

However, they have been unable to glean any evidence from surveillance cameras in the area.

A source confirmed that the Mootoos were cremated on Wednesday. Two of the couple’s sons have flown in from overseas.

to the functioning of males in the role of parenting. We believe those entities will be key and will be involved in the Georgetown parenting workshops.” It is the vision of the Commission, Dr Gilbert said, that as moves are made to educate members of the family, starting with the parenting aspect, that the

outcome will be the realisation of sustainable behavioural changes. He pointed to the fact that the foundation of any stable society starts with the family, since it is the family that provides the resources for all other social institutions.

“If the family is dysfunctional we are going to have dysfunctional behaviour in other social institutions but if the family is strengthened and healed, we can see a lot of the deviant behaviour we see in other institutions corrected.”

The National Commission of the Family was relaunched in December of last year following its appointment by Cabinet on July 1, 2012. But although the life of the Commission is slated to span one year, Dr Gilbert is confident that the programmes engaged will set a platform for its continuance.

According to him, the initiatives that have been introduced had emanated from a national work programme that was crafted by the Commission, premised on a need to address issues specific to the family and family health in Guyana.

“We all are aware of the challenges that families encounter and also the recent continuing and escalating incidences of violence in our nation which have been affecting families. I would say also it has been affecting vulnerable members of the family, because as you know, women and children are considered to be in the vulnerable groups in society,” Dr Gilbert said.

As such, he noted that the Commission has sought to embrace education as a very vital part of producing and sustaining behavioural changes.

Wednesday’s launch also saw Commissioners Ms. Sheran Harper and Ms. Yvonne Stephenson offering an overview of the workshop initiative and the presentation of facilitation material.

The launch coincided with International Day of the Family, which was observed worldwide under the theme, “advancing social integration and intergenerational solidarity’. International Day of the Family was introduced in 1993 through a United Nations resolution.

Project for upgrades of community grounds taking shape Depressed community, Angoy’s Avenue, last week benefitted from a cash donation that was made by the New Building Society Ltd of New Amsterdam to assist in completing their playfield.

Senior Manager of the Society, Anil Beharry, had urged the members of that playfield’s management committee to focus on youth involvement in sports, so as to help keep them off the streets and at the same time produce better individuals in the community.

Residents of Plaisance on the East Coast of Demerara also demonstrated that they valued their community ground when they fought against great odds to swerve the Government’s endeavours to construct a transmission tower on the facility. The transmission tower was part of the egovernance programme to facilitate the linking of government’s fibre-optic cable to enable internet access.

Project Manager of the programme, Alexei Ramotar, had indicated that the tower would have supplied the community with wireless service, since Plaisance would have been one of the hotspots for the programme.

However, the Plaisance society was not swayed from their protest to have the tower erected elsewhere. The residents vowed to ensure

that their only place of recreation was not taken away.

Despite the royal runaround by the Government at the expense of the residents, their protest bore fruit when a decision was made to take the construction of the tower to an alternative site. Like many other community grounds, the one in Plaisance is famous for school sports, cricket and football competitions, and community fairs among other activities.

Currently, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) is extending to communities the opportunity to enhance their facilities under the community ground enhancement 2013 project.

Under this venture, the respective management committees are invited to submit applications for their

ground to be repaired and upgraded.

In order for the application to be valid, the committee must endorse the application. In addition, the request for repairs must be approved by the respective Neighbourhood Democratic Councils as well as the Regional Democratic Councils. Further, a recognized contractor must be identified. This contractor will take charge of the operations, once recommended by the Management Committee.

Lastly, an estimate to cover the repairs and upgrades must be submitted along with the request. The work estimated should not exceed $1Million. All requests must be submitted in a sealed envelope and addressed to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport on or before June

Three more...

From page 16 was reportedly given $5.7M in cash to hold.

According to reports, another portion of the money was recovered by the police during a roadblock exercise. The three men were committed to stand trial in the High Court in 2011, by Magistrate Nyasha Williams-Hatmin following an 18-month Preliminary Inquiry at the Vreed en Hoop Magistrate’s Court. Attorney at law Khemraj Ramjattan, who was assigned to the matter as special prosecutor, had led a total of 14 witnesses to give evidence.

The witnesses included persons who saw when the accused took Ramdass out of the boat, and when they returned to the boat without him, but with a canister that he was carrying.

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Friday May 17, 2013

WANTED Factory workers to work at Buckhall- call:266-5583/6673341 Two Wash Bay attendants to work Monday-Saturday 7:30-5:30- contact:227-5169 Experienced Armed Security Guard only with valid police clearance - Call: 231-8344 One night guard, preferably from the Kitty area. Wage $18,000 per week. Call 691-8960

Kaieteur News

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All-rounder male/female: No education needed: Around Georgetown 18-30 yearsCall:621-2453

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Need 2 Barbers- Contact:6831534

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Experienced Roti/ Puri cooks, Pastry makers & Handy Boy: Apply @ Hack’s Halaal 5 Commerce St. Between 9-11

1 General Domestic within the ages of 30-45- Call:6777123 One Handy Man to work in Interior: 18-35- call:6645199/686-2201 Between 9am6pm Cook, waitress & Bar man: Singh’s Restaurant & Bar 5th St Cummings LodgeCall:600-6053/614-6053 1 Handy-boy to work: Living accommodation freecall:228-5655/628-1756 El Club Latino: Female Bartenders, Cook, Bouncer, Accountant & (A-B) Male Worker- Tele:650-4155 One female clerk- call:2315171 Responsible hire car drivers call:231-7475 1 Attractive waitresscall:678-1481 FUNITURE UPHOLSTERERS TO WORK IN TRINIDAD: MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE- CALLRAVI AT: 0011-868-356-2015/ 0011-868-753-3582

Live- in attractive waitress, must be honest & courteous: Salary $50,000: Boarding & lodging free- call:698-7172 Labourers: Friendship Shipway & Co Ltd: 7 Friendship, E.B.D- Tele:2662217/266-0311 Mon to Sat 7:30am-4:30pm One live-in domestic to work in a bar in Mahaicony River, 18 years-40 years $50,000 monthly- call:225-6571 General domestic maid on E.B.D; 1 Handy Man, 1 Small Engine Mechanic 3 yrs experience- call:233-2408 Experienced driver & dispatchers to work in Gem’s Taxi- call:627-9424/227-0638 1 Cosmetologist- call:6025469 Urgently wanted 1 house lot to buy: No Residential areacall:617-6015 General worker to work in Parfaite Harmonie- Call: 6680306

One experienced male cook to work in the Interior - call: 686-8996 One girl to work in Gen store, age 17-24: Text 6946004 with your details 2 General workers: Shift system- Call:225-6337

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1,000 LBS Scale $200,000/ obo- call:611-5929 125 HP Yahama Outboard engine –Call:611-5292 1 complete Kubota 4 Cyl engine- Call:666-4000/2570193 or 666-9455 Games for PS 2, $900,PSP $900, Xbox360 $2600, PS 3 $2600, call:672-2566

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Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call:225-9032,647-2943 Rock star hollow blocks available in large quantity in 3",4" & 6" call: 269-1406, 617-9230 Lumber Sales, dressed (B) grade quality at Lumber Master Sawmill - Tele: 6845868 Solar and Hand Crank water proof LED flash lights $4000 each- call:697-3430

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One Toyota 212 in excellent condition: Price $1.2M negotiable- Tele:661-3525 Toyota Spacio $2.350M, 4WD Fielder $2.250M, 2001212 $1.950M- Tele: 617-2891 1- F150 XLT in excellent condition, 22" Mag fully loaded- call:690-6520/6420110 Smart Choice Auto: Unregistered Runx, Allion call:652-3820,665-4529 1 Toyota Land-cruiser Prado PMM series- call:225-0188/ 225-6070 93 L.H.D Honda Accord: Excellent conditionCall:623-8909 1 Toyota Verossa: Excellent condition, PPP seriesCall:678-0456 First Class Auto (03 & 06) Allion, (03 & 04) Spacio, (01) Carina, (07) Axio, VerossaCall:609-8188/226-2689 Axio, Blue Bird, Pitbull: Going cheap- Call:697-0294 1-F150 Ford 3 doors: fully loaded, burgundy: working condition: Price $1Mcontact: 641-6516 or 264-2644

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Leading Auto- Unregistered: Allex, Runx, Spacio, IST, Allion, Premio, Tacoma (06), F150 (06)- Tele: 677-7666/ 610-7666 Bush Truck model M, GNN series, have winch and needs repairs $1.7 millionCall:674-3735/652-8970 Black CRV: PMM seriescontact:692-5460 HILUX SOLID DIFF Pickups 2L &3L, AC, excellent condition- call:6912077 Unregistered: Raum with reverse camera $2.150M; Solid DEF 4×4 Pick-up; 2 Ton Dump canter $2.3Mcall:227-1737 (2) F-150 Trucks, blue$1.8 million, white-$2.5 million: Both in very good working conditionCall:674-3735/652-8970 Just Arrived: 2006 Ford F150-Harley Davidson Edition: Black, 80,000 miles in Mint condition $6MCall:658-2686/643-6386 RZ mini-buses, AT192, 212, Raum, unregistered Spacio, Canters, 100 Corolla, NZE, cheap cars- call:680-3154 LEYLAND DAF single axle, new gear box and new engine- call:613-6615/2161315 (Continued on page 42)

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Regional countries adopt new strategies to deal with changing global environment PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Foreign Ministers ended a two-day meeting here Wednesday night agreeing on a number of new initiatives to give the Caribbean a greater role in global economic and political situations.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran, who chaired the 16th meeting of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Affairs (COFCOR) told a news conference that the meeting felt “there is need to have more diplomatic dialogue with international financial institutions” su7ch as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in keeping with efforts by regional governments for a change in their lending policies. “We will continue with that challenge ahead of us,” said Dookeran, flanked

by CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Rocque.

He said the region is also looking towards embracing other small island developing states (SIDS) “with some new strategic partnerships so that we can improve the strength of the voice of the small economies of the world.

“We deliberated on the diplomatic requirements to do so over the next few years or months as the case may be,” Dookeran said.

“We are saying shocks in the Caribbean and in small economies…are something we have addressed over our entire economic history and therefore it must not be viewed as a short term phenomenon. How you mitigate against these shocks and how you balance your policies to deal with it requires a different view as to the policy instruments that they have been putting forward.”

He said an example of the new policies by these financial institutions and other developed countries is what is termed “graduation” that the European Union has

Winston Dookeran been “suggesting they would now like introduce in the name of differentiation.

“We are saying that the definition of development makes it difficult to accept that we must now move into differentiation and reduced flows to the region and we are in dialogue with them and in two weeks time there will be a meeting in the Dominican Republic on this issue with

the European Union and the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) grouping.

“So at these groupings we are making our voices clear.

They have shown some area of response but it is a changing world and we recognise it and we must come specific proposals which we have done,” he added. Dookeran said that the Caribbean would also seek to have changes made to the United Nations Security Council to take into consideration the views and positions of developing countries.

“Clearly that’s an issue that is very troubling. It has been on the agenda for far too long and no political impetus is being taken to change it.

“We have made recently, and before, strong support for the change of the Security Council operations both in terms of its membership and in terms of its effectiveness.”

Dookeran said with regards to its membership, the Caribbean has made it clear

Duprey: I’ve not seen T&T in 3 years

Trinidad Guardian - Former CL Financial chairman Lawrence Duprey maintains he hasn’t been to T&T since June 2009. Duprey is also demanding an apology from Attorney General Anand Ramlogan for what he says is the misinformation Ramlogan is disseminating about his whereabouts. “I left T&T in June 2009 and I have never returned…June 2009, that’s when I left,” he said.

Duprey, 79, was speaking exclusively with the T&T Guardian in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. He reiterated the call he made through his attorney

recently for an apology from Ramlogan over the suggestion he had been back in T&T during the period of the commission of enquiry into the collapse of Clico and its subsidiaries. Duprey said he is now involved in consultancy, which sees him working in different countries worldwide. His consultancy involves restructuring societies.

He said: “There’s a lot of work outside here, I don’t have to come back home, or what used to be home, and I don’t live in Trinidad…Don’t let anyone fool you. I have never lived in Trinidad.” He explained that life

as an international consultant does not confine him to one location and he has always lived overseas.

Duprey was responding to questions posed by the T&T Guardian after statements by Ramlogan that Duprey was a “wanted man,” but had entered the country and slipped back out without being detected.

Ramlogan’s statements came during a post-Cabinet press briefing on May 2. He told the media that Duprey had entered T&T and left without a summons being served on him to appear before the recently-concluded

commission of enquiry into the collapse of Clico.

Duprey, through his attorneys Andrew Mitchell, QC, and Lionel Luckhoo, has also denied being on board a yacht in Tobago, or Trinidad, or in T&T waters. His lawyers say the rumours being perpetuated by Ramlogan detract from “the constitutional rights, justice, fairness and equality to all to which my client, in common with all persons, is entitled.” In an immediate response to Ramlogan’s claims, through Luckhoo, Duprey had denied being in T&T.

the issue should be “placed on the agenda squarely and frontally at the next Assembly, (and) we have in fact begun to talk with some major countries in the world in order to make sure we have the necessary political clout to make a start.

“In that change process we have argued that small states should have a political presence in the Security Council. We are not saying in what ways it should be done at this stage and we are saying that the continent of Africa should definitely be part of that process. “There are other proposals that have been put forward and we would assess the effectiveness of those proposals as they emerge.

But we have made our position very clear and we will continue to do so and we are now mobilising some large countries to work with us to

make sure the process get started,” Dookeran said.

He told reporters that regarding effectiveness, Caribbean is of the view that the change in the composition of the Security Council will be reflection “of the return to political and moral legitimacy of the body and therefore there is need to establish that so that its views cannot be ignored.

“Within recent times many emissaries of the United Nations secretary general have not been able to achieve the results that they would expect. So we recognise that it is global politics at stake (and) what we can do as a small part of the world is to support those who call for genuine change in the composition of the Security Council…so that its effectiveness can be returned.”

Govt. to send home retired teachers KINGSTON, Jamaica - Government will save $223 million over the next two years by sending home teachers who have reached retirement age and replacing them with underemployed graduates, as outlined in the International Monetary Fund’s Letter of Intent, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites said.

Annually, almost 2,000 qualified teachers have graduated from 10 teacher training institutions and universities and cannot find work in the public education system, Thwaites said during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate Wednesday.

“This year, a careful assessment of the functioning of the teachers colleges will be undertaken to encourage closer articulation with local universities and to better align offerings to national need,” the education minister said.

He added that 400 teachers will be trained in special education. Two hundred already trained teachers will be reassigned, Thwaites said, and another 200 trained. Three more diagnostic centres will also be established. “Plenty more traction is needed but for the first time in special education, we are moving in the right direction.”

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Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad warned about copyright infringement NEW YORK - CMC - The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), has placed Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago on a watch list of countries that have failed to make the adequate copyright payments for US musical compositions aired in the broadcast media.

The USTR also decided to retain Jamaica although the country has taken steps to enforce regulations related to copyright payments.

In its annual report released Wednesday, the USTR called on foreign Governments to ensure that adequate copyright payments are made when US musical compositions are performed in TV and radio broadcasts, over cable systems and in other kinds of public performances.

As it relates to Barbados, the USTR says it is concerned that local TV and radio broadcasters’ refusal to pay for public performances

of music.

“United States rights holders complain that both private and governmentowned broadcasters in Barbados either fail to obtain licenses from the Copyright Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers Inc. (COSCAP) or fail to pay for all of the applicable rights even if they are licensed by COSCAP.” The report went on to state that although the Barbados Copyright Tribunal was finally convened in 2012, it has not yet acted to determine the amount due to COSCAP pursuant to a 2007 judgment of the Barbados Supreme Court that found copyright infringement violations.

“The United States urges the Government of Barbados to take all administrative action necessary to ensure that United States composers and songwriters receive compensation owed, without undue delay, for the public

performance of their musical works.”

The US also expressed concern that section 82 of the Copyright Act of 1988 creates a compulsory licensing scheme allowing for the interception and retransmission of United States cable programming by local cable operators without the consent of, and without adequately compensating, United States rights holders.

While the USTR commended Jamaica for the steps taken to enforce Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Jamaica remains on the 2013 Watch List.

“Jamaica also continued its efforts to educate the public about IPR protection and enforcement, and launched a voluntary copyright registration system. However, the United States remains seriously concerned about the need to enact the draft Patents and Designs Act.” The report added that

Jamaica’s largest cable operator has not yet compensated performing rights organisations for the public performances of music and urged Jamaica to resolve that problem.

In placing Trinidad and Tobago on the Watch list, the US also expressed concern that a local cable operator has refused to negotiate with the Copyright Music Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (“COTT”) - the local performing rights organisation, for compensation for public performance of music, including for music written by American composers.

“Particularly troubling in this case is the fact that a court in 2011 found that the local cable operator was required to obtain a public performance license and nearly two years later judicial authorities have not

completed the appeal hearing nor assessed royalties owed to COTT,” the report said “The United States is also concerned by on-going delays in the resolution of the long-standing litigation over the collection of unpaid performance royalties from the same cable operator. The United States urges the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to take all necessary actions to ensure that cable operators in Trinidad and Tobago operate in compliance with the provisions of their cable license agreements related to IPR and that, more generally, IPR is protected in its territory.”

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in welcoming the report, praised the USTR for the stance taken in the Caribbean.

“While royalities lost to rogue cable operators in the

Caribbean may seem small, they are meaningful to American songwriters and composers who may use them to put a child through school or pay their rent. ASCAP takes seriously our mission to help our members receive payment when their works are being exploited for profit by foreign businesses,” said ASCAP President and Chairman, Paul Williams.

Other countries included on the list are Bulgaria, India and China.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua CMC – Canada has agreed to help Caribbean students gain greater access to postsecondary education through a distance learning partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy, who is on a sevenday, seven-country tour in the Eastern Caribbean, made the announcement on Wednesday, on behalf of Minister of International Cooperation, Julian Fantino.

Ablonczy said the Canadian government plans to contribute C$19.6 million over a five year period.

“Helping the region’s young people develop the high-level skills needed to contribute to the work force is a key step,” she said.

Fantino said in a statement that by integrating higher education into the Caribbean, Canada is “enhancing the ability of Caribbean countries to address the economic and labour market challenges they face, ultimately helping to lift

millions of people out of poverty.”

Through the new partnership with UWI, Fatino said remote and under-served communities will now have access to up to 42 learning sites across the Caribbean.

He said the project will provide technical assistance for new program development and to help build the capacity of the UWI Open Campus, which was started in 2008 in Barbados.UWI serves 16 Caribbean countries and territories.

Paul Williams

Canada to aid Caribbean youths with tertiary education

Suriname looks into solar energy for its remote communities PA R A M A R I B O , Suriname - CMC Suriname’s Government has announced that it will be investing in solar energy to bring electricity to remote communities across the country.

Gunzi, a Maroon village in the upper Suriname River region will serve as test subject for the project that was announced last

Tuesday at the Cabinet of the President. Alternative energy company WTEC from the United States was contracted to execute the project, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, national electricity company EBS and the Anton de Kom University of Suriname.

More than three

q u a r t e r s o f S u r i n a m e ’s landmass are blanketed by thick rainforest; most of the country’s inhabitants live in the capital Paramaribo as a result, several villages in the sparsely populated hinterland have not been hooked up to the EBS grid and make do with noisy diesel powered generators that are only switched on at night.

Barbados Nation Telecommunications giant LIME has invested a whopping $100 million in the expansion and development of its fibre optic network across the island.

Over the next 18 months the company is expected to install an estimated 1 000 kilometres of fibre optics in

over 70 per cent of households and businesses, stretching from the north-west of the island to the southeast.

Managing director Alex McDonald made the announcement Wednesday during a Press conference at the company’s BET office complex in Wildey.

Noting that the fibre optic network installation started since 2007, but on a small scale, McDonald said the investment in the technology and renewed interest suggested the company was confident in the local economy.

“This step is the natural next step,” he said.

LIME investing $100m in fibre optic network

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 37

Brazil Indians occupy cattle CAL to discuss route ranch in widening land dispute cut with Jamaica

SAO PAULO (Reuters) Federal police ordered some 200 Terena Indians to leave a former congressman’s ranch in south-central Brazil yesterday in the latest flashpoint of a widening conflict over land ownership in South America’s farm belt.

The ranch’s owner, Ricardo Bacha, skipped a meeting in Brasilia with the country’s vice president over the land conflicts to return to the disputed area, claiming his wife and son were being held hostage by the Indians.

Brazil’s indigenous policy, which includes returning land to natives based on anthropological studies, is considered one of the world’s most progressive. But it has sparked violence since the country became an agricultural superpower and Indian policy clashed with farming interests.

Federal police planned to give the Terena Indians a day to respond to the evacuation order, said Francisco das Chagas, a police spokesman in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the ranch.

“The Indians may or may not leave; if they don’t obey, the police will draw up a plan for their removal,” he told Reuters.

Funai, the federal government’s Indian affairs agency in Brasilia, said in a written statement that the Terena had not taken anyone hostage and had not used

violence, although they had ignited fireworks outside the ranch.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that President Dilma Rousseff has ordered her government to stop turning over farmland to Indians in what the powerful farm lobby says is a hugely misguided effort to right historical injustices.

But conflicts, like the one in the Buriti cattle ranch near Brazil’s border with Paraguay, are still common and are growing increasingly tense.

Thirteen percent of Brazil’s territory has been set aside for Indians and more is under study.

“The agricultural community’s tolerance for these kinds of invasions has reached its limit,” said Rosane Amadori, of local farm lobby

Famasul in Campo Grande.

Bacha, the ranch owner, was not answering phone calls.

The group says various Indian groups have occupied 56 farms and ranches in Mato Grosso do Sul, which produces export crops like soybeans and corn. It said 80 Indians occupied the Cambará ranch next to Buriti yesterday.

The Buriti ranch is inside a 17.2-hectare area Funai says the federal justice ministry approved as a reserve for the Terena in 2010. Ranchers say they have lived there for decades.

A similar dispute, Marãiwatsédé in nearby Mato Grosso state, went all the way to Brazil’s Supreme Court. In October, the court ruled the land had been set aside for Xavante Indians and 7,000 farmers were evicted and a town was bulldozed as a result.

Farmers praised a government announcement last week that other federal agencies will be involved in land decisions, effectively reducing the jurisdiction of Indian affairs office Funai.

The farm lobby ultimately wants politicians in Congress to have the last word.

“This will just fuel more conflicts,” said Funai director of Indian land protection, Aluísio Azanha. “Instead of gutting Funai, the government should strengthen its role as mediator.”

Ramos. “I was told that they had some here and now I’m in line.”

Economists say Venezuela’s shortages stem from price controls meant to make basic goods available to the poorest parts of society and the government’s controls on foreign currency.

“State-controlled prices — prices that are set below market-clearing price — always result in shortages.

The shortage problem will only get worse, as it did over the years in the Soviet Union,” said Steve Hanke, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University.

President Nicolas Maduro, who was selected by the dying Hugo Chavez to carry on his “Bolivarian revolution,” claims that anti-

government forces, including the private sector, are causing the shortages in an effort to destabilize the country.

The government this week announced it would import 760,000 tons of food and 50 million rolls of toilet paper.

Commerce Minister Alejandro Fleming blamed the shortage of toilet tissue on “excessive demand” built up as a result of “a media campaign that has been generated to disrupt the country.”

“The revolution will bring the country the equivalent of 50 million rolls of toilet paper,” he was quoted as saying Tuesday by state news agency AVN. “We are going to saturate the market so that our people calm down.”

Dilma Rousseff

Now Venezuela is running out of toilet paper

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — First milk, butter, coffee and cornmeal ran short.

Now Venezuela is running out of the most basic of necessities — toilet paper.

Blaming political opponents for the shortfall, as it does for other shortages, the embattled socialist government says it will import 50 million rolls to boost supplies.

That was little comfort to consumers struggling to find toilet paper on Wednesday.

“This is the last straw,” said Manuel Fagundes, a shopper hunting for tissue in downtown Caracas. “I’m 71 years old and this is the first time I’ve seen this.”

One supermarket visited

by The Associated Press in the capital on Wednesday was out of toilet paper.

Another had just received a fresh batch, and it quickly filled up with shoppers as the word spread.

“I’ve been looking for it for two weeks,” said Cristina

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. - Stephen Covey

The state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) recorded losses estimated at US$70 million last year, Finance Minister Larry Howai has said.

He told the Senate on Tuesday that the figure does not include the US$40 million in fuel subsidy to the airline, even though he insists that the airline remains solvent.

But Opposition legislator Dr Lester Henry said he was “astounded that the minister could describe as solvent a company which cannot cover its costs and (has) no money in the bank”.

But Howai insisted that while the company may be cash-strapped it has assets.

Howai said the preliminary unaudited figures showed US$32 million of the US$70 million loss was incurred by the Air Jamaica route, with the London route also accounting for a major part of the losses.

Caribbean Airlines, which began operations in 2007, acquired Air Jamaica in 2011.

The Jamaican Government has a 16 per cent stake in the Trinidadian air carrier.

Larry Howai “On the Jamaica route, it has cut flights to Jamaica and on the London route it has terminated the wet-leasing arrangement,” Howai said, adding he expects to “significantly reduce the losses of the airline during this year”.

The finance minister said the airline used a lot of its cash in the acquisition of planes, and that he had instructed that a new restructuring of the balance sheet be done where the airline would have to borrow

and replace the cash which had previously been used.

“It is better to leverage the asset rather than leave it unencumbered while having the company incurring significant debt obligations.”

Howai said the US$40 million fuel subsidy applies to Air Jamaica and CAL. He said it was the same as last year and would end in 2015.

He said government had received from CAL a restructuring outline to deal with the losses, adding that “we also intend to introduce significant restructuring of a lot of the routes and we have started that process with Air Jamaica and the Jamaican route. We incurred a loss of $32 million on those routes.

“The Jamaican Government has indicated concern with that and we have undertaken to send a highlevel team to Jamaica to discuss it with them (early June). We’ll discuss it with them, but as of now we are rationalising those routes to bring down costs,” Howai said. In 2011, CAL had recorded losses of US$43.7 million. (CMC)

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Friday May 17, 2013

Residents shout ‘Protest!’ over refinery in China KUNMING, China (AP) — More than 2,000 people in southern China unfurled banners and shouted “Protest! Protest!” yesterday to oppose plans for a petroleum refinery, in a large environmental rally that local authorities allowed to go forward in order to let the public vent frustration.

The gathering in downtown Kunming — the second one in the city this month — was largely peaceful, though there were minor scuffles with police.

Witnesses said at least two people were briefly detained, though it was noteworthy that authorities — apparently eager to appear open and inclusive — made no effort to shut down the rally.

A city vice mayor, He Bo, even tried to meet with the demonstrators, but his attempts to explain the refinery project to the crowd were cut short by the cries of a protester.

Kunming officials said this week that the refinery planned by powerful state

company PetroChina Co. will meet environment standards and is crucial for the local economy, but residents are worried about the air and water pollution that will result.

“We don’t need speedy development. What we need is a healthy and peaceful country,” Kunming resident Liu Yuncheng said. “I still haven’t given birth to a baby.

I want to be pregnant and I want a healthy baby.”

But while police allowed the protest to proceed, censors scrubbed posts in China’s social media that were critical of the project planned by the powerful state Petro China Co., and employees of state companies were asked to promise not to participate in any rally or talk about the project in public venues or online.

The scene in Kunming was in contrast to a planned protest against a petrochemical plant earlier this month in the city of Chengdu , where authorities thwarted the gathering by flooding the streets with

police in a supposed earthquake drill, reflecting the balancing act of Chinese officials as they seek to promote economic growth while maintaining social stability.

Members of China’s public, especially among the rising middle class, have become increasingly outspoken against environmentally risky factories, in reaction to a decade of development-atall-costs policies that have polluted the country’s air and waterways.

However, they have virtually no say on industrial projects, and have instead turned to organizing protests.

Several of those turned violent last year, in some cases prompting local governments to scrap plans for factories.

In response to a May 4 protest by Kunming residents, local government officials and PetroChina held a series of public meetings and promised that operations at the 20 billion yuan ($3

Chinese demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against a planned refinery project in downtown Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province, yesterday. (AP Photo/Aritz Parra) billion) refinery would be environmentally clean. The facility is expected to produce up to 10 million tons of refined oil annually.

But officials also said the project’s environmental evaluation report remains confidential, aggravating a public already upset with a lack of information about the project. Residents remain skeptical about any government claim that the project will be safe.

“We cherish blue skies and white clouds, as well as good air. If you want to build a refinery with 10 million tons of capacity here in the place

where we live, we resolutely oppose it,” said a Kunming resident who identified herself only by her surname, Liu. “We want a good life. We women want to be beautiful.”

Kunming Mayor Li Wenrong was quoted in state media last week as saying the public’s opinion would be taken into account in a democratic way in the approval process for another upcoming project — plans to build factory that would produce p-xylene, a toxic chemical used in the production of polyester and other materials.

The refinery is connected

to operations of the upcoming Myanmar-China pipeline, which originally was due to start pumping oil and gas at the end of this month after eight years of planning and construction.

China has invested heavily for access to resources from neighboring Myanmar and to establish a new, shorter route for the procurement of oil and gas, as an alternative to shipping routes.

Opposition to the pipeline has been strong on both sides of the border. Myanmar officials recently said its operations would be delayed.

Britain’s Cameron tells EU rebels to back referendum law LONDON (Reuters) Prime Minister David Cameron ordered rebellious lawmakers yesterday to back his plan for a law guaranteeing a vote on Britain’s European Union membership as he sought shore up his party, his leadership and the coalition.

Conservative rebels have been pushing him to take a hard line on Europe, resurrecting party splits that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major in the 1990s. An election is due in 2015.

Cameron’s promise in January to claw back powers from the EU and then put Britain’s membership of the bloc to a vote by 2017 failed to silence eurosceptics and halt the rise of the anti-EU UK Independence Party.

He bowed to pressure this week when he agreed to guarantee his pledge in law, despite opposition from proEU Liberal Democrats coalition partners whose leader warned it would be a “calamitous mistake” to leave

David Cameron Britain’s biggest trading partner.

Liberal Democrat and Labour opposition and a lack of parliamentary debating time mean it may never become law, and any new law could be repealed by the next government.

Conservatives remain keen to debate the bill in parliament to show voters that they are serious about holding a referendum.

That has strained relations within the coalition and within the party. More than 100

Conservatives, a third of the total, criticized him in parliament on Wednesday over his stance.

Seeking to draw a line, Cameron said all Conservatives must support the referendum law in parliament. Party enforcers will impose a “three-line whip”, their strictest order for lawmakers to back a vote or face disciplinary action.

The opposition Labour Party, which has a 10-point poll lead, said the Conservative party was in chaos, led by eurosceptic members who see the EU as a wasteful “superstate” that threatens Britain’s sovereignty.

“This is a prime minister who has lost control of the agenda and lost control of his party,” said Labour foreign affairs spokesman Douglas Alexander.

The referendum bill is not a government proposal because it is opposed by the Liberal Democrats. Instead, Conservative James Wharton will propose the bill in a personal capacity.

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

Video shows Islamist rebels executing 11 Syrian soldiers

Three rebels, two of them carrying Jabhat al-Nussra flags, stand behind a row of 11 kneeling men prior to executing them in what is said to be Deir al-Zor, in this still frame from video obtained from a social media website yesterday. Social Media Website/Handout via Reuters TV BEIRUT (Reuters) - A video published yesterday showed fighters of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Syria executing 11 men they accused of taking part in massacres by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

The film is believed to be from eastern Deir al-Zor province and dates from some time in 2012, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group.

The Observatory’s head, Rami Abdelrahman, said the Nusra Front has recently been releasing several videos of their past operations. He said the man seen executing the prisoners in the video - a Nusra commander - had been killed in March 2013 in battles with local tribes in the province.

The footage shows the commander, his face covered in a black balaclava, shooting

each prisoner in the back of the head as they kneeled, blindfolded and lined up in a row in the sand.

“The sharia court for the eastern region in Deir al-Zor has sentenced to death these apostate soldiers that committed massacres against our brothers and families in Syria,” the executioner said on the video.Islamist militants with black flags shouted “God is great” as each man was shot. The executioner returned to some victims, firing more bullets into them to make sure they were dead.

Videos of executions and torture have become increasingly common in Syria, where more than 94,000 people have been killed in a conflict now in its third year, according to the Britishbased Observatory, which has a network of activists in Syria.

Such videos posted

online are hard to verify due to government restrictions on access for independent media.

The Nusra video is the second video to be published in the past two days showing executions by fighters who say they are from al Qaedalinked groups.

A video issued on Wednesday from the northern province of Raqqa, which is controlled by Islamist rebels, showed three blindfolded men sitting on the curb of a central roundabout before being shot in the head with a pistol.

A man speaking in the video said the executions were revenge for killings in the coastal town of Banias two weeks ago. Photos and videos of the alleged Banias massacre showed dozens of mutilated bodies, many of them children, lying in the streets.

Russia: Iran must participate in proposed Syria conference MOSCOW (Reuters) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Iran must take part in a proposed international conference to end Syria’s civil war, but that Western states wanted to limit the participants and possibly predetermine the outcome of the talks.

“Among some of our Western colleagues, there is a desire to narrow the circle of external participants and begin the process from a very small group of countries in a framework which, in essence, would predetermine the negotiating teams, agenda, and maybe even the outcome of talks,” Lavrov said in an interview posted on the Foreign Ministry website yesterday.

Sergei Lavrov Russia has been Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful ally during the conflict. Moscow agreed last week with the United States to try to organize an international conference

similar to one that was held last year, but this time with representatives of the government and opposition attending.

Iran has welcomed the proposal and has voiced hope to be part of the process.

Its wish to participate in a June 2012 meeting on Syria hosted by the United Nations in Geneva was a bone of contention between Washington and Moscow.

“One must not exclude a country like Iran from this process because of geopolitical preferences. It is a very important external player. But there is no agreement on this yet,” Lavrov said in the interview given to a Lebanese television station.

Page 39

MPs challenge Google’s “smoke and mirrors” on tax (Reuters) - Google Inc faced angry questions yesterday from MPs investigating its tax affairs and whether it had misled parliament in testimony last year, adding fuel to a debate on taxation that has risen to the top of the UK political agenda.

Google’s Northern Europe boss, Matt Brittin, was called back to testify to parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after a Reuters investigation showed the company employed staff in sales roles in London, even though he had told the committee in November its British staff were not “selling” to UK clients.

Brittin said the company was already being investigated by the UK tax authority in relation to transfer pricing of services traded between Google UK Ltd and other Google companies, but added that he believed Google fully complied with UK tax law.

He also denied misleading parliament in November.

But MPs challenged the veracity of his November testimony and comments made yesterday.

Matt Brittin “It really doesn’t wash,” said Stephen Barclay, a PAC member with the ruling Conservative Party.

Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said Google was not living up to its original motto of “don’t be evil”.

“You are a company that says you do no evil, and I think that you do do evil in that you use smoke and mirrors to avoid paying tax,” she said, adding that the company engaged in “devious, calculated and, in my view, unethical behaviour”.

In November, Brittin told the PAC “Nobody (in the UK) is selling”. He said all UK

sales were conducted by Google Ireland and UK staff were only involved in promotional activity.

That arrangement allows Google to shelter most of its income on UK sales from taxation, since Google Ireland sends most of its turnover to an affiliate in Bermuda.

But the Reuters report revealed that Google advertised for staff in London to “negotiate” and “close” deals and that LinkedIn profiles of dozens of staff claimed they engaged in such work.

Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said the PAC had also been approached by whistleblowers who had said they had worked for Google in London, selling advertising.

On Thursday, Brittin said UK staff did offer discounts to customers to encourage them to buy and that the staff were remunerated partly by commission on sales, but he said the fact Google Ireland was the legal counterparty on trades meant his November comments were not inaccurate.

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Friday May 17, 2013

Obama promises action on a trio of controversies WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama tried to defuse a trio of controversies yesterday, pledging to work with Congress to ensure the IRS doesn’t abuse its power, urging legislators to provide more money to strengthen security at U.S. diplomatic outposts and promising to seek “a balance” between national security and a need to protect freedom of the press.

“I think we’re going to be able to fix it,” Obama said, speaking in particular of the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.

He vowed to make sure the agency is “doing its job scrupulously and without even a hint of bias.”

Trying to steer clear of Republican criticism of the administration’s response to the terror attacks that killed four Americans last year in Benghazi, Libya, the president called on Congress to work with the White House to provide more money to strengthen U.S. diplomatic missions’ security.

“We need to come together and truly honor the sacrifice of those four courageous Americans and better secure our diplomatic posts around the world,” Obama said. “That’s how we learn the lessons of Benghazi.

That’s how we keep faith with the men and women who we send overseas to represent America.”

Obama also was asked about the government’s seizure of telephone records of reporters and editors of The Associated Press in an investigation of news leaks.

Marines hold umbrellas as President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participate in a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, yesterday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) The president said he would not comment on that specific case but said that “leaks related to national security can put people at risk.” At the same time, he said, the government has an obligation to be open. He said the challenge was to find an appropriate balance between secrecy and the right to know.

Obama said he makes no apologies for trying to protect classified information, but he also said the AP case shows the importance of striking a proper balance between safeguarding classified information and ensuring freedom of the press.

“That’s a worthy conversation to have,” Obama said in his first public

comments on the AP matter.

Obama said it was a good time to take another look at

proposed legislation to protect journalists from having to reveal information,

including the identity of sources who have been promised confidentiality. The bill contains exceptions in instances of national security. Noting the presence of U.S. troops and intelligence officers in risky situations around the world, Obama said, “Part of my job is to make sure that we’re protecting what they do while still accommodating for the need for the public to be informed and to be able to hold my office accountable.”

The president is trying to shake off a growing perception that he has been passive in responding to a series of developments that threaten to derail his secondterm agenda and ensnarl his White House in GOP-led c o n g r e s s i o n a l investigations.

Hoping to regain momentum, already this week Obama has released a trove of documents related to the Benghazi terror attacks amid pressure from Republicans,

asked Congress to revive action on the shield law, and forced the resignation of the top IRS official. The president is expected to nominate a new acting IRS commissioner this week to replace Steven Miller, who resigned Wednesday.

Obama’s initial response to the three controversies was cautious. That, combined with his earlier lack of awareness about controversies brewing within his administration, opened him to criticism from his Republican foes.

“If Obama really learned about the latest IRS and AP secret subpoena scandals in the news, who exactly is running the ship at the White House?” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said.

And, in a worrisome sign for the White House, some Democrats also criticized the president for not being more aggressive in responding to trouble within the government.

Senators hit snag on tech provisions in U.S. immigration bill (Reuters) - Amid fierce lobbying from the tech industry and organized labor, senators yesterday hit a snag over a visa program for highskilled foreign workers in the U.S. immigration bill and decided to delay action on the issue until next week.

The bill was carefully crafted by a bipartisan group of Senators to address a slew of concerns from interest groups. But the provision has

emerged as a sticking point for the business community and could cost the support of a key Republican Senator Orrin Hatch.

Democrat Charles Schumer, one of the gang of eight Senators that hashed out the original bill, has been trying to broker a compromise with Hatch on the H-1B visa program for high skilled workers.

“We are working very

hard to negotiate an agreement,” Schumer said at the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held its third session yesterday to examine the immigration bill.

On behalf of tech firms and businesses, Hatch has introduced amendments to make it easier for companies to hire foreigners. Schumer said he had asked Hatch to defer his amendments “in hopes that we can get an agreement for early next week.”

Under the bill, companies would have to vouch that they were not replacing American workers with foreigners for 90 days before and after the company applied for the work visa.

H a t c h ’s amendment would only require that the employer did not intend to displace a U.S. worker.

Hatch is also seeking to soften requirements designed to ensure that Americans get the first crack at a high-skilled job.

Under the bill, employers would first have to advertise the job and offer the position to any qualified American.

H a t c h ’s a m e n d m e n t would only require employers to take good faith steps to recruit Americans.

That requirement would only apply to companies that

had more than 15 percent of their workforce on H-1B work visas.

Republican Lindsey Graham, who is part of the gang of eight, said Hatch had some good points. “I know he has been a real leader on this and I hope we can find some common ground,” he told reporters.

Schumer, Graham and other lawmakers are trying to accommodate Hatch in part because they want more Republican senators to support the bill, which would put pressure on the Republican-led House of Representatives to act on immigration reform.

That has angered the AFL-CIO union organization. “It’s not OK to trade workers to get a s e n a t o r, ” s a i d A n d r e a Zuniga DiBitetto, legislative representative with the labor federation.

DiBitetto did not say whether the AFL would pull its support for the entire bill if Hatch’s amendments were approved.

Influential business groups, which fear the legislation would increase their liability, have held back from endorsing the legislation until their problems with the H-1B program are resolved.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is aiming to complete work on the bill before June.

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 41

David Beckham to retire Grizzlies advance as Kevin... from football at end of season BBC Sport - Former England captain David Beckham is to retire at the end of the season.

The 38-year-old signed a five-month deal at Paris StGermain in January and donated all of his salary to charity. Beckham made 115 appearances for England and 394 for Manchester United, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

“I’m thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level,” he said. Including PSG’s recent Ligue 1 title win, Beckham has won 19 trophies - 10 of them league titles - in a playing career spanning 20 years, and is the only English

player to win championships in four countries.

“If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over 100 times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy,” he said.

“I’m fortunate to have realised those dreams.”

Beckham moved to Real Madrid in 2003, winning La Liga with them in 2007 before a switch to the United States with LA Galaxy.

The midfielder made his England debut against Moldova in 1996 and captained the side from 2000 to 2006, making his 115th and

final England appearance in a 3-0 win over Belarus in 2009.

Beckham was the first English player to score in three consecutive World Cup Finals and has the jointsecond most goal assists in European Championship finals history.

He added: “Nothing will ever completely replace playing the game I love.

However, I feel like I’m starting a new adventure and I’m genuinely excited about what lies ahead.

“I’m fortunate to have been given many opportunities throughout my career and now I feel it’s my time to give back.”

He has two more games to go before the end of the season, concluding on 26 May at Lorient.

Friday May 17, 2013 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): Although your life appears to be moving forward at first today, your progress becomes less certain as the day wears on. You are ready for action, even if you don’t know where you are going now.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): It’s challenging to settle your nerves today because your current anxiety stems from several different sources.

Unfortunately, isolating individual problems and solving them won’t address the overall big picture.

TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20): You might lose patience with someone who turns a small problem into a major crisis. But even if you understand that some damage control is necessary today, you may not be in a position to do what’s required.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): It may seem as if someone is dragging you into an unwanted leadership role today, but you don’t want to take charge now because you’re not really sure about the future.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): You think that you are clever enough to manage others successfully. You’re so good at spinning stories now that you could even convince yourself that whatever you say is true.

SAGIT (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): Your concern over someone’s behavior may present a problem today.

You’re tempted to share your passionate opinion, especially if you think that your ideas will help others see the truth.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): You might believe that clarity is returning because you’re ready to take initiative today, especially if you have been waiting for the right time.

CAPRICORN(Dec.22–Jan.19): You may be annoyed about having to deal with associates who won’t acknowledge their real motives today.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22): You may be a bit befuddled today because you want to push forward, yet the flow of energy is predominately inward.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): If someone shares a personal dilemma with you today, don’t make snap judgments based upon how you might react in a similar situation.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): Others frequently come to you for advice when they need your sharp analytical mind to assess their predicaments.

However, you’re the one that’s now seeking a reality check.

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20): You may believe that you’re being extremely productive today and want others to notice your contribution.

From page 47 winning four consecutive. A team brimming with confidence moves on to face either the San Antonio Spurs or Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals. It’s the deepest in the playoffs ever for the Grizzlies franchise, and don’t be surprised, given their ability to ugly up a game and grind to wins, if they find a way to go deeper.

“We moved to the next round,” Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. “We’re trying to do something very special, to go as far as we can go. It’s a nice accomplishment. We’ll celebrate and get back to work Friday.”

Meanwhile, the worn-out Thunder is left to wonder what might have been.

Durant’s final miss wasn’t the money shot.

Nor was his obvious fatigue down the stretch. Instead, it was when TV cameras occasionally caught Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, fresh off surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus, watching from a luxury suite. Westbrook’s injury April 24 changed everything for a team that had hoped and expected to return to the NBA Finals.

Durant had clearly worn down by the end of the series, and the Thunder, too. he didn’t get much help Wednesday from teammates — the Thunder shot just 37% — but he was finally unable to carry them. Memphis’ grinding style on both ends had plenty to do with it, of course. Although the Thunder survived the first-round series with the Houston Rockets, and each game against Memphis was

competitive late, it was clear throughout Game 5 that the Grizzlies would win the series, whether Wednesday or Friday. But down 10 late, the Thunder pulled within 86-84 in the final seconds.

Zach Randolph led Memphis with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Most of the scoring came from deep inside with old-school, back-to-the-basket stuff, though he mixed in a few rainbow, uh, jump shots.

National cricketers...

From page 43 over) in his first season at this level but he did well”, added Crandon.

He also feels that the players should place more emphasis on fitness.

Meanwhile Chairman of selectors Rayon Griffith stated that Guyana does have talent but the players should not wait for the board to prepare them. “The players ought to get themselves prepared in advance so when they join camp they should be match ready. The other territories are ahead of Guyana, our players are trying but they can do better,” he informed.

Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board Anand Sanasie

informed that the administrative issues at the board did not contribute to the team’s performance. He stated that the same executive was there when the team reached the final of the Caribbean Twenty\20 and the members of the executive are doing their best in the circumstances to make sure the team is well prepared. He spoke of the 2012 U-19 competition where Guyana played unbeaten but lost the title due to fast bowling bonus points.

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Friday May 17, 2013

(From page 29)

Indian players arrested over spot-fixing allegations

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BBC Sport - Three Indian cricketers have been arrested over allegations of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League.

The players - S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila - are all from the Rajasthan Royals team.

The team said it had “a zero-tolerance approach to anything that is against the spirit of the game”, and India’s cricket board suspended the players.

There has been no word from the cricketers themselves, but Sreesanth’s family said he was innocent.

Spot-fixing involves illegally rigging parts of a match, for example by timing the delivery of a deliberate wide or no-ball, to benefit bookmakers or those betting on matches.

Police said they had also arrested 11 bookmakers.

Rajasthan Royals are captained by legendary Indian batsman Rahul Dravid and owned by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra.

Fast bowler Sreesanth has represented India in many international games. He has played 27 Tests and 53 oneday internationals.

“I have full faith in him, he would never do anything like this,” his mother Savitri Devi told the BBC Hindi service.

‘ROTATING WATCHES’ The players were arrested in Mumbai late on Wednesday and they are expected to appear in court in Delhi yesterday.

At a press conference yesterday afternoon, the city’s police chief Neeraj Kumar gave out the details of what he called the “spot-fixing scam”. He said: “There was an agreement between bookies [bookmakers] and players that in a certain over they would give away minimum amount of runs. The bookies also gave them directions that they have to indicate that they are ready to give away those many runs.

“The indications that players had to give bookies included rotating their watches, putting towels in their pants, taking out locket from shirt, taking out shirt and vest that you’re wearing, make signs with jersey.”

Mr Kumar said the team matches on 5 May with Pune, 9 May with Punjab and 15 May with Mumbai were fixed.

Earlier in the day, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the three players.

“The IPL governing council has met and decided that the cricketers found involved will be dealt with severely,” the board said in a statement.

“As of now, the three players - Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila and S Sreesanth stand suspended pending enquiry. All information required to bring the persons involved to book will be collected and strictest action will be taken, if found guilty,” it added.

BCCI president N Srinivasan told reporters that

he was “shocked” by the developments.

“I don’t know about others but I am shocked, the BCCI never expected it. It was a bolt from the blue. We will see whatever is there to be done is done,” he said.

‘TAKEN BY SURPRISE’ The team owners Rajasthan Royals also issued a statement saying they had “been informed that three of our players have been called in for investigation on spotfixing in matches. We are completely taken by surprise.

“We do not have the full facts at this point and are unable to confirm anything.

We are in touch with the BCCI on this matter. We will fully co-operate with the authorities to ensure a thorough investigation.”

The sixth season of the IPL, which is considered to be the world’s showcase for Twenty20 cricket, is currently under way in India.

Top Indian and international players take part, contributing to what is the world’s richest cricket tournament. The scandal is the latest to affect cricket.

Last year, Indian cricket officials suspended five players after a sting by undercover TV reporters purported to show cricketers agreeing to bowl no-balls and spot-fix matches.

And in 2011, three top Pakistani players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - were banned after they were found guilty of involvement in a betting scam.

Final 22 names released for...

From page 49 Carter, Stephen Atwell, Nicholas Jackman, Sean Ward, Ramoun Downes, KevinChobam, Anthony Bynoe, Dario Stoute.

Coach: Stuart Copland and Manager Romeo Mayers.

Meanwhile, the following appointments have been made by NACRA (North America Caribbean Rugby Association) for the South

Zone Round 2 Guyana versus Barbados match. · Jason Brewer (Barbados) Match Commissioner · David Ardrey (USA) - Referee · Anthony Pontifleete (Trinidad and Tobago) - Assistant Referee 1/Replacement Referee · Carlton Heywood (Guyana) - Assistant Referee 2 · Ms. Shebana Daniels (Guyana) - Fourth Official · Ms. Sabola Gray (Guyana) - Fifth Official · Terrence Grant (Guyana) -

Coach of Match Officials.

The NACRA Senior Men’s 15s Caribbean Championships has been sponsored by Banks D.I.H. Limited under the brand Malta Supreme.

The players are adequately prepared through the rigorous Rugby Skills Fitness Training Programme and the GRFU is confident that our National Squad will dominate.

Be prepared for an exhilarating match! Entrance to the event is free and all are urged to wear GREEN to support Guyana.

GDA trials set for Sunday The Guyana Darts Association (GDA) will be holding their trial matches on Sunday at the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) to select their team for possible participation in

the World Darts Federation tournament in October in St. John’s Newfoundland Canada. Kaieteur Sport was told that the GDA has applied to take part in the competition but is awaiting a response.

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 43

Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis returns with a vengeance

By Michael Benjamin Approximately five years ago, on October 25, 2008, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis squared off against Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman for the vacant middleweight title and after 12 rounds of hectic combat, Eastman prevailed when judges Carlton Hopkinson and Clairmont DeSouza scored 112-113 and 114-111 respectively in his favour.

Bernard DeSantos gave the fight to Lewis, 110-115.

It was a close fight and many clamored for a return since even ‘Sixhead’ felt that he had been ‘done in.’ The anticipation of a second encounter was at fever pitch when Lewis unceremoniously retracted into what many thought was retirement and the hopes of a second thriller evaporated into nothing.

Now, five years after that historic bout, Lewis has resurrected with new resolve and is scheduled to match gloves with Jamaican, Sakima Mullings on a date soon to

- Plans to defy his critics be announced.

Mullings is no slouch and he first tasted Guyanese blood when he stopped Winston Pompey a few years ago in Jamaica. He next took care of Eastman in a card promoted by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) last month.

Afterwards, he boldly called out Lewis. Consequently, Lewis has called his bluff and the two are scheduled to sign a contract in Jamaica shortly, on a card promoted in the Spice Island which will feature several other Guyanese fighters.

Lewis feels slighted by Mullings’ vile remarks after the Eastman encounter and says he is extremely serious about teaching Mullings a thing or two in the fistic sport.

On Monday afternoon last, he opened camp at the gym named in his honour in Albouystown and Kaieteur

Sport was present as he went through his paces on Wednesday under the tutelage of coach Lennox ‘Cappel’ Daniels.

Lewis did several hectic rounds of shadow boxing before he was instructed to jog up a flight of stairs.

Daniels explained that this type of work was similar to running on hilly terrain and put the leg muscles under tremendous pressure. He said that the exercise was good for the former world champion in his return to the grueling requirements of the sport.

Lewis also engaged in a lengthy session bouncing on a truck tire which was also meant to strengthen his leg muscles. He rounded off sessions with a session of brisk skipping and ended with calisthenics.

“After the loss to Eastman I was scheduled to fight Hector Camacho (jnr) but

those negotiations fell through and I decided to take a rest from the sport and work out my issues,” confided Lewis when asked of the reason for his prolonged absence from the ring. He said that during that period of introspection he was ‘trying out his hand’ in a bit of farming on a plot of land he owns in Hutsonville, ECD. Consequently, heavy rains disrupted those activities and when the rainy season had subsided, the ill effects to the land precluded the former world champion’s continuation and he temporarily shelved those activities.

Lewis said that boxing never left his veins but he needed time out to decide on his future. He said that even then he still visited the gyms and the fight cards and it was during his last visit to the Eastman/ Mullings bout that he heard Mullings mouthing off and decided to call his bluff.

“He has no respect, how dare he come into my territory

National cricketers must be – Manager fit before joining camp Johnson

By Zaheer Mohamed Once regarded a power house in West Indies cricket, Guyana below par performances in senior regional tournaments for a number of years left much to be desired with the exception of 2012 when the team made to the semifinals in the 4-day competition and the final in the 2013 Caribbean Twenty\20. Guyana’s last success at the higher level came in 2005 when they won the 50-over competition. This year the country finished 5th in the 4-day with 18 points and 6th in the Super 50 with 8 points; this is highly unacceptable for a country which has produced many international stars.

Guyana’s batting was inconsistent throughout the season. The fact that they only managed to pass the three hundred mark once during the tournament bears witness; only Leon Johnson and Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored centuries. Manager of the Guyana team, Alvin Johnson, recently told Kaieteur Sport that the lack of application from the batsmen was a major factor for the team’s poor showing.

He said that there are number of talented players in the team and they could have given a better account of themselves. Johnson stated

Alvin Johnson

Leon Johnson

Assad Fudadin

that Leon Johnson did well but could have done better and Assad Fudadin was a little tentative earlier in the tournament but showed improvement later.

He said the preparation was good despite the team did not get the use of the national stadium. “The fact that we did not get to practice at the stadium was a setback, but I cannot lay the blame on that. The players could have done better. The batsmen lacked confidence, mental toughness and they did not apply themselves. I think our batsmen have a problem against spin bowling and that was evident throughout the competition and I would not blame the pitches,” added Johnson.

He said that some of the players were not fully fit.

“Players should be fit

before they join the camp. We have to ensure that the players are fit enough and when they are not we have to make certain they reached a level that is acceptable and by the time they are ready for the competition they are either burned out or injured, that is why it is important for them to always maintain a certain level of fitness and not wait for camps, a physiotherapist should work along with team as well,” he stated.

Johnson said the Guyana Cricket Board should meet with the players and let them know that they are not only representing themselves but the entire country. “It’s time the board let the players know that enough training is being done to get them match ready and their performance is unacceptable,” Johnson said.

Coach of the team, Esau

Crandon, in an invited comment said that the Batsmen must put a price on their wicket. “They were not concentrating hard enough and gave their wickets away.

Some of them failed to carry on after getting starts,” he said.

Crandon also stated that the bowling was inconsistent at times. “We managed to restrict teams below 250 on many occasions but the bowlers were unable to maintain a consistent line and length throughout the matches, they did well for the first and second sessions but fell away after,” he informed.

He was impressed with Ronsford beaton. “Beaton is one for the future, he has pace, variation and control. It was hard for him to play in both version (4 day and 50 (Continued on page 41)

Lewis shadow boxes as he attempts to regain the feel of the fistic sport

and disrespect me like that?”

Lewis exclaimed. “I saw the Eastman fight and I am not impressed so I immediately accepted the offer when it came,” continued Lewis. He admitted that Mullings is a skilled fighter but said that it will take much more for the Jamaican to defeat him. “He reminds me of Roy Jones, you know; similar style and determination, but he is still to mature and is definitely not in my category,” said the former world champion.

This writer suggested that Lewis had found himself in dire financial straits and was merely trying to clinch another big payday. Lewis scoffed at the view and retorted, “While the money is important I am focused and regard a victory with just as much importance; I know that a win will push me back up the rankings and money will come,” said Lewis. He further said that he plans boxing for the next four years during

which time he will attempt to win a Commonwealth title.

Should he attain this feat, Lewis will automatically earn a number 10 ranking in the world. He said that he would then aspire for another world title for Guyana. “I have already etched my name in world boxing and I could always rely on my reputation to get back to the top,” he asserts.

Meanwhile, Lewis engages in several miles of roadwork on the hilly terrain of the Linden/Soesdyke highway from as early as 04:00hrs every morning. He said that he is determined to attain an optimum level of fitness since he wants to teach Mullings a thing or two in the fistic sport. Reminded that Mullings has promised to force him to retire gracefully and ‘put him in a rocking chair,’ Lewis retorted, “Mullings is merely conforming to the old adage that ‘empty barrels make the most noise’ and I plan to silence him!”

Matthias’ election...

From page 45 to the Region with the mandate to duly reconstitute the EFA along with chartering a way forward so that football can once again prosper in Essequibo. In fact I would also suggest that the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport through the Honorable Minster Dr. Frank Anthony recreate the Department of

Sports in Region Two, because since the departure about six years ago of Mr. Carl Brandon, who was a dedicated and proactive officer, sports has virtually lost its enthusiasm, awareness and productivity between the office and the sport loving populace.

Elroy Stephney

Page 44

Kaieteur News

Friday May 17, 2013

Rafael Nadal & Maria Sharapova US-based coach part-sponsors through at Italian Open George -CWSS to compete at Hampton Games Randolph Adonis (left), on behalf of Andy Medas King, hands over the sponsorship package to CWSS Track Club Coach, Moses Pantlitz, yesterday .

Rafael Nadal

BBC Sport - Six-time champion Rafael Nadal and two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova eased through their opening matches at the Italian Open in Rome.

Nadal cruised past local hope Fabio Fognini 6-1 6-3 in just 61 minutes, on a day that saw Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka pull out with injuries.

Murray admitted a lowerback problem means he could miss the French Open, while Wawrinka has a thigh injury.

In the women’s draw, Sharapova beat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza 6-2 6-2.

The Russian will next meet American 16th seed Sloane Stephens, who saw off Kiki Bertens of the

Netherlands 4-6 6-3 6-2.

“This is a meaningful tournament for me,” said Sharapova. “This is one of the tournaments I’ve won a couple of times, and I’ve also been playing here since I was really young.

“The crowds here are so enthusiastic and give me so much support, so it just feels great to be out on the court here.”

Last year’s Rome runnerup Li Na beat fellow Chinese player Zheng Jie 6-3 6-1, and Italian seventh seed Sara Errani battled past Christina McHale of the United States 7-5 5-7 6-2. Nadal, who has won six titles since making his return after seven months out with a knee injury, took his record for the year to 32 wins

LeBron James, Heat top...

From page 47 Jimmy Butler had 19 points in 48 minutes, the fourth time in the past six games he has played the entire game.

Chicago had a chance to tie the score on the game’s final possession. The Bulls scrambled to get a shot off, and guard Nate Robinson and Butler both missed three pointers.

Boozer had 19, guard Nate Robinson had 14 and Butler

had 12 points.

Seldom-used veteran guard Richard Hamilton gave the Bulls a lift with six points in 19 minutes, and Thibodeau had to explain why why he didn’t play Hamilton in the first three games of the series.

“He played well today, and you’ve got to make decisions that are best for the team, and that’s what I did,” Thibodeau said.

and just two losses with victory over Fognini.

The Spaniard takes on Ernests Gulbis in round three after the Latvian beat Serb Viktor Troicki 6-1 6-1.

“Tomorrow (today) I play against an opponent who is very dangerous,” said Nadal. “He’s playing well and he’s having a great season. I had a tough match against him in Indian Wells this year. He’s an aggressive player, big serve, big shots from the baseline, and I have to be playing great if I want to have any chance.”

Fourth seed David Ferrer won an all-Spanish match against Fernando Verdasco 5-7 7-5 6-3 in two hours and 27 minutes.

World number 24 Jerzy Janowicz ripped off his shirt after a stunning 6-4 7-6 (7-5) win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 22-year-old Pole saying afterwards: “I was really happy especially because I didn’t get off to a good start to the season and I was sick.

“So this was really important for me.”

In the women’s doubles, Briton Laura Robson teamed up with Lisa Raymond of the United States to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Flavia Pennetta 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 10-7.

West Indies Fullbore Shooting Championships

Strong WI Team for Australia clash The West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council, yesterday afternoon following the completion of this year’s Fullbore Championships at the Paragon Ranges in Barbados, shortlisted a 16member team that will participate in the Australia match tomorrow at the same venue.

Team Captain and Wind Coach Paul Slowe announced the team at a meeting where

all the countries were present; the other Wind Coach is Jamaican, John Nelson.

The 16-member team which will be trimmed to 10 following today’s practice shoot from 09:00hrs at the 300, 600, 900 and 1000 Yards Ranges are: Lennox Braithwaite, Ransford Goodluck, Mahendra Persaud and Leo Ramalho (Guyana). Norris Gomez, Sean Elliott, David Rajnauth (Trinidad & Tobago)

David Rickman, Jose Nunez, Canute Coley, Wayne McNair, Valarie Newman (Jamaica) Marlon King (Barbados) Anderson Perry, Ezekiel Joseph, Tommy Greenaway (Antigua & Barbuda).

The Australia Match set for tomorrow will see Great Britain, Canada, Channel Islands and the West Indies battling at the 300, 600, 900 and 1000 Yards Ranges.

United States of America-based Coach, Andy Medas-King has partly sponsored the phenomenal, Cassey George for next weekend’s Hampton International Games in Trinidad and Tobago where she will compete in the 800m and 1500m at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. George sprung to regional stardom after her double CARIFTA Games medal haul, which include gold in the 1500m and silver in the 800m, in the Bahamas. She is also a multiple National School Champion and current National Junior Champion over the distances.

George will be making her debut at the Hampton Games after a much-needed rest. She will have Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School (CWSS) teammates, Onasha Rogers

(100m, 200m) and Cassie Kirton (1500m, 3000m), also on their debut tour to the Games.

“Since Cassey got back from the Bahamas she was on some rest with some light work. I believe it will do her a lot of good. The other two athletes are up to the task, and I am hoping that they will do will,” CWSS Track Club Coach, Moses Pantlitz said yesterday.

The Linden-based CWSS team is expected to depart Guyana on May 23 for the Games.

George’s Coach and the stakeholders remain optimistic that her ascendancy in the Caribbean will continue at the Hampton International Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

Medas-King’s brother, Randolph Adonis handed over the contribution to Pantlitz.

Pepsi Sonics launch Mustard Seed Contribution and Sports Centre

Pepsi Sonics President, Merle Casey (second, left) joins the head table with other club executives from left Secretary, Bruce Haynes, VP, Linda Whyte and PRO, Rawle White at the launch of the Mustard Seed Contribution and Sports Centre.

One of the most vibrant clubs in Georgetown, Pepsi Sonics yesterday launched Mustard Seed Contribution and Sports Centre (MSCSC) with the fundamental goal of strengthening the social aspects of basketball and its players.

President of MSCSC, Merle Casey told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that the Centre was launched after the club hosted their annual Hoops Fest a few weeks back and realised that most of the kids are from troubled social backgrounds, which affect their game.

“I was chatting with some parents and I realised that lots of the participants had issues,” Casey said, adding that it motivated the club to fully promote the Centre that has been in existence since 2003 and registered with the Friendly Societies Act. The Centre as a non-governmental, non-profit organisation

has as its members Merle Casey (President), Linda Whyte (Vice-President), Bruce Haynes (Secretary) and Tracey Massay (Assistant Secretary/Treasurer); Rawle White (PRO) along with three Committee Members are also part of the organisation. The Centre’s main objectives include, promoting good and sound moral values in its members and the wider society through sports; to promote and develop healthy and responsible lifestyles for members and impart life skills in members.

The Centre hopes to achieve such objectives through raising funds and creating an environment for the transformation of the lives of young people for more positive outputs. As a result, it will host seminars and programmes and will partner with other organisations to achieve its objectives with the relevant resources.

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

Trophy Stall onboard for Guyana Independence T20 Sponsorship has picked up as the date approaches for the much anticipated Guyana Independence T20 Cup. Berbicians have already begun to reserve the day to be at the Albion Sports Complex on May 26, 2013 to witness the most exciting and largest 20/20 tournament to ever hit the County.

The Tournament, which is slated as part of celebrations to mark Guyana’s 47th Anniversary, will see several exciting teams including Universal DVD Berbice Titans, Karibee Rice Tigers, East Coast Demerara Jaguars and Georgetown Lions battling for supremacy and over one million dollars in cash and prizes.

On Saturday last Mr. Ramesh Sunich of the Trophy Stall at Bourda Market donated all the trophies and Medals for the Tournament to the value of over $100,000.

Mr Sunich expressed his delight under the “Trophy Stall Brand” to be associated with the tournament and see this game as an event that will help to promote the sports of cricket in Berbice. Trophy Stall has been actively involved in community development through sports and the Coordinator of the

Trophy Stall’s Ramesh Sunich (right) presents one of the trophies to BCCDA Member Imran Saccoor.

Tournament Mr. Anil Beharry thanked the sponsor and pledged that the tournament will be managed with proper accountability and transparency.

Patrons will have an opportunity to win fabulous gate prizes including cell phones, mp3 players, hampers among other token from various companies which will be distributed free of cost. The games will commence at 10:30 hrs with two games being played during the day followed by a cultural ceremony. The final will be played under lights.

Many top Guyanese cricketers will be on show.

Admission to the venue is $500 for Adults, with gates open from 9:00hrs. Tickets will be sold only at selected venues to be named. Other sponsors on board includes, Universal DVD, Karibee Rice, Sentinel Security, Metro Office and Computer Supplies, Ishmail Poultry Farm, Banks DIH, Asheik and Son Motor Supplies, Demerara Bank Ltd, New Building Society Ltd, Fazil Yunas Contracting, Ian Andrew Budhan of Universal Sports Services, Bhaggu Lighting, Balram Shane, Poonai’s Pharmacy and Ram’s Office Supplies among others.

Guyana Police Force/Sterling Products Ltd respond to corporate call - Offset several boxers’ expenses to Cuba After an absence of over 15 years, local boxers will be fully tested when they engage a strong team of their Cuban counterparts at the Roberto Balado and the Cardova Cardin boxing tournaments scheduled for Cuba starting June 2 next.

However, the expected challenge of stiff competition among the best world beaters pale in comparison to the battle to attain the requisite funds to travel to the venue coupled with other necessary financial demands.

This is the stark reality that stares administrators of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) smack in the face as they prepare to field a team of competent boxers to those championships. Efforts to offset the huge demand have seen them appealing to corporate Guyana and this method has provided a positive response.

Yesterday afternoon, the hierarchy of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) responded

affirmatively and two boxers fighting under their banner, middleweight, Dennis Thomas and bantamweight, Imran Khan are assured of participation following confirmation of that organization picking up the tab for their airfares. Another boxer, still to be named, will also join the two mentioned pugilists after the Chief Executive Officer of the Sterling Products Ltd, Ramsay Ali, has acquiesced to a similar package.

President of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle said that while he is heartened by such show of chivalry, his executives are still working assiduously to procure enough funding to ensure the attendance of all of the boxers identified for the championships. He urged other corporate citizens to emulate those that have contributed, while pointing out that the entire country stands to benefit when the boxers do well.

Mr. Ninvalle further

explained that the Cuba sojourn is an attempt by his executives to resuscitate the exchange programmes between Guyana and the Spanish speaking country, extinct since the early eighties. He also noted that it was around that time that local pugilists were most productive. The other boxers that have earned the nod are, GDF representatives, welterweights Eon Bancroft and Ron Smith, light/ middleweight Bert Braithwaite and light/welterweight, Clairmont Gibson.

Featherweight, Delon Charles (FYF) and Lightweight, Stephon Gouviea (HE) complete the team which will be managed and coached by Terrence Poole with assistance from Cuban coach, Francisco Hernandez Roldon.

The team engages in roadwork exercises at the National Park from 05:00hrs and returns at 16:00hrs for gym work at the Andrew Lewis Boxing Gym.

Page 45

::: Letter to the Sports Editor :::

Matthias’ election provides renewed hope to rescue football in Essequibo DEAR EDITOR, It is the moral and constitutional obligation of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) to facilitate and promote the development of football in every community where practicable, especially for those Associations that have an affiliation to the national body.

Unfortunately for over a decade, the GFF under the previously led Colin Klass regime posited a blind eye and was ultimately responsible for the rapid decline and destruction of football and its structures in Essequibo.

Today the game is a mere smokescreen in the Region without a properly constituted body and meaningfully accessible gains from the GFF, quite devastating indications that must be of concern to the new administration once they are interested in the game’s national development. It is with a breath of fresh air and optimism therefore that I wish to expressly congratulate Mr. Christopher Matthias following his election as the new president of the Guyana Football Federation and his post pledge for inclusivity, transparency and good governance.

This new dispensation must provide an open and candid discourse with the grass-root constituents such as the Essequibo Football Association; in fact the Association has been defunct for a number of years resulting in the body being replaced by an IMC which is

also quite dormant.

The current state of affairs has led to the Association being stripped of its voting rights at the recently held GFF elections, a right that has also resulted in the complete neglect by the previous Administration to intervene and structurally support the keen footballers who remains in a state of hopelessness. As a sport enthusiast and once aspirant of the game that I would have played seriously at the youth level, I am deeply concerned and disheartened by the daily sight of a vast number of young and talented footballers who would display their skill at the ARCCG and at other communities along the Essequibo Coast, yet they are unsure when their prowess will be transformed unto the field in organized tournaments or being given the opportunity to gain further knowledge of the sport through coaching programmes or courses held by the GFF. It was simply an unacceptable and unconscionable position which existed and must be swiftly reversed by the newly elected President, Mr. Christopher Matthias who seems to have football at heart and who would have publicly expressed his willingness to engage with other stakeholders to take the game both locally and nationally to another level.

The annual Kashif and Shanghai football tournament has been held for over eighteen years and never once did the organizers

hosted a game in Essequibo or for that matter invited an Essequibo team to participate; it could have only been for one reason and that is the GFF’s neglectful and grossly irresponsible attitude towards the Essequibo Football Association that saw its crippling death and that of the fortunes and hope of those footballers that still aspire to represent their country one day.

Can Mr. Matthias rescue football in Essequibo? I am optimistic and so are many Essequibians who are willing to volunteer in an effort to recapture the glory days that former national captain Earl O’Neil saw when he came to Essequibo as a Coach in the 1990s. He rated me very highly during that time and indeed football in Essequibo has always been passionate among the players and fans.

In fact the new administration provides such hope and activism as Essequibians will no longer endure the wrath of the Colin Klass led administration that denied Essequibo financial support, sponsorship, hosting of organized matches, selection of players and even timely visits by the Executives who seemed out of touch with the common problems that existed within the local Associations such as the EFA or had deliberately misrepresented their functions as elected members of the GFA. Mr. Mathias’ election provides renewed hope to rescue football in Essequibo as I anticipate an early visit (Continued on page 43)

Sealey’s pen ink hasn’t dried up!

DEAR EDITOR, In relation to the above caption, I, the undersigned is hereby pleased to inform all and sundry that following the conclusion of the Ordinary Congress of the Guyana Football Federation, held on April 12, 2013 at the Le Meridian Pegasus, I have decided to be less informative of the continued ills that plague local football. And this is despite the fact that on two separate occasions, in less than 24 hours, two different members of the Georgetown Football Association, enquired publicly if my pen ink has dried up, since nothing by way of letters has been penned consistently by me. However, what my adversaries and detractors

can be assured of is that my pen is not a hired one.

Meanwhile, what these two GFA executive members should be telling the public at large, is when the season for 2013, will commence, since from all indications the traditional May-June rains have stepped in early, which definitely would affect the preparation of teams, and by extension venues that normally facilitates matches in various competitions.

With my penmanship being exclusively reserved to highlight the major inefficiencies affecting the sport, as was in the past, it would continue to be the same in the present and the future.

Needless to say absolutely no one under this new

dispensation of football, should consider approaching me for any assistance whatsoever, in relation to the sport’s perceived upliftment.

Finally, with “the ill effects of democracy that allows any misfit to be elected by the will of the majority” The administration of football in Georgetown will continue to be undeveloped, since a particular executive member can’t even compile a proper fixture or a competition’s report, but yet still had a nomination and seconding submitted for a position as a Committee Member, in the recently concluded GFF, Ordinary Congress. In this one instance however good sense had prevailed.

Lester Sealey.

Page 46

Kaieteur News

Friday May 17, 2013

West Indies Fullbore Shooting C/ships Short Range Match

JAMAICA DETHRONES GUYANA

Jamaica is the new Short Range Fullbore Kings of the Caribbean having dethroned Guyana at the Paragon Ranges when the West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council 2013 Championships ended yesterday with the Short Range Match.

Guyana, winners of the Long Range Match on Wednesday and the Individual Competition (Lennox Braithwaite) went into the Short Range match confident of retaining the trophy but it was the team from Reggae Island that prevailed at the end of the day. Guyana, in the past 10 years or so has been the team to beat and this year was no different, as it turned out, like in Antigua and Barbuda in 2011, the Guyana team eased away from victory to defeat owing to some inconsistent shooting. The team from the Land of Many Waters lost the trophy by a mere 13 points to Jamaica, 1103 (68Vs) to 1116 (58Vs) with Trinidad and Tobago taking the third place having accumulated 1090 points (68Vs), followed by Antigua and Barbuda 1036 Points (34Vs) and host nation Barbados bringing up the rear with 1013 Points (33Vs).

While Guyana lost the Short Range trophy, Captain Mahendra Persaud who shot the only possible on the day at the 500 Yards Range (50.004) won the Wogart Trophy, the most coveted Individual prize of the Short Range match by accumulating the most points, 145 and 10Vs. Unlike the Long Range match, it was decided and agreed that all the countries (Caribbean & visitors) would shoot at the same time, two persons at a time which meant that everyone would have shot in the same conditions.

The Guyanese, came into yesterday’s match confident but not complacent after their hard fought win the previous day in the Long Range match to retain the Milex Cup. While Guyana had a standby shooter, the Jamaicans did not have that option according to their Captain, the veteran John Nelson, they only had the required 8-members to shoot so they were hoping and praying that every member would have been healthy to hit the target coming up against old rivals Guyana, which they knew, was the team to beat.

After the first range - 300 Yards – Jamaica held a slight one point advantage, 371 to 370, with both nations having

the same amount of Vs, 23. At the 500 Yards Range it was still close to call with Guyana nosing ahead 376 points to Jamaica’s 374 to lead by a nerve racking one point, 746 to 745. So it was now down to the final range with a straight fight between the two arch rivals as the other countries were some way back.

At the 600 Yards Range, inconsistent shooting by the Guyanese put paid to their chances of retaining the trophy as they only managed 357 points, while Jamaica, maintaining their consistency, shot their way to 371 points to with overall, 1116 to 1103, a difference of 13 points.

Captain Persaud noted that his charges tried their best but Jamaica was the

Kaieteur Sport summed up his team’s performance as, “Absolutely Ecstatic”, especially from the standpoint of just having 8members available.

“We have trained quite hard for it, since January in fact and we are very pleased that we were able to pull it off today. We last won it in Antigua in 2007 I think it was.”

The Jamaicans, he said studied the Guyanese team and were able to exploit their weak areas.

“We know that Guyana has for sure, four of the best rifle shooters in the Caribbean, but we are also satisfied that their team falls away quite dramatically towards the last two or three shooters and we’ve always felt that our team has more balance.

So if we were able to maintain a balance today which we did at all ranges; we did not have a bad range even though they were not great ranges, but we prevailed.”

better and more focused team on the day and congratulations are in order for the boys from Reggae land. “Obviously I am disappointed that we had to give up the Short Range title but that’s how it goes sometimes. We tried our best but came up short. The conditions were not helpful and I can say that it remained a challenge through the days that we have been here, the low scores can attest to that.

That said however, we cannot take anything away from the Jamaican’s, they did the job so we now have to focus on next year’s competition which would be held in Jamaica, we will be back, rest assured.”

Jamaica’s Captain, John Nelson, speaking with

Final Short Range Team scores for Guyana and Jamaica: Guyana 300 500 600 Mahendra Persaud 48.001 50.004 47.005 Dylan Fields 47.004 47.002 44.000 Ransford Goodluck 48.004 47.004 49.004 ACP Paul Slowe 43.003 45.001 46.004 Sigmund Douglas 46.002 46.003 37.000 Lennox Braithwaite 48.004 47.004 47.005 Leo Ramalho 42.000 46.002 46.001 Dane Blair 48.005 48.004 41.002 370.023 376.024 357.021 Jamaica Denis Lee Jose Nunez Wayne McNair Canute C. C. Coley John Nelson David Rickman Basillos Hado Valrie Newman

Jamaica Guyana Trinidad Antigua Barbados

46.002 46.002 47.002 47.003 46.003 44.004 49.003 46.004 371.023

300 Total 371.023 370.023 353.017 333.009 341.013

44.001 49.004 47.002 49.001 49.002 47.003 45.002 44.002 374.017

45.001 49.000 49.004 46.003 44.001 48.005 48.003 42.001 371.018

Overall Country Scores 500 Total 600 Total 374.017 371.018 376.024 357.021 374.026 363.025 361.009 342.016 342.013 330.007

Aggregate 145.010 138.006 144.012 134.008 129.005 142.013 134.003 137.011 1103.068 135.004 144.006 143.008 142.007 139.006 139.012 142.008 132.007 1116.058

Aggregate 1116.058 1103.068 1090.068 1036.034 1013.033

Beaton, Hemraj delighted with HPC...

From page 49 tournament but fell short of his goals in the 4 day. “I took 9 wickets in the one day competition which was fine but I could have done a little better in the 4 day, nevertheless I am satisfied”, he said. Essequibo has over the years produced a number of exciting fast bowlers;Beaton, Hemraj delighted with HPC call up Royce Evans, Reon Thomas, Ucil Armstrong and Fidel Cameron are names that readily come to mind. Most of these players had the ability to play the game at the highest level but for some reason or the other did not fulfill their potential. Beaton is one of the most exciting young fast bowlers in the region and no doubt has the ability to play at the highest level.

Hemraj, who like Beaton represented the West Indies at the U-19 level, currently plays for the Everest Cricket Club. The left handed middle order batsman said he is looking to the opportunity. “I am willing to work hard to improve my strengths and weaknesses. The facilities there are good and will serve my game well. This is a chance to gain wealthy experience I know it will improve my mental toughness,” he stated. The 19 year old Hemraj does gym training in the morning and practise at home in the afternoon using his bowling machine.

Independence Day of sprints and 5 KM road race fixed for Berbice The newly formed Rose Hall Town Athletic Club is continuing with its quest to organise athletics activities in Berbice in its effort to revitalize the sport in the ancient county.

The club which has been running off monthly road races since its formation will be taking it one step further by organizing its monthly road race and a ‘Day of Sprints’.

The event, which was schedule for Wednesday 1st May and was postponed due to the inclement weather, will now be held on Monday 27th May 2013 to commemorate the 47th Independence anniversary of Guyana.

The 5km event will start outside Sparkle Disco at Ulverston beginning at 07:30am and end with a lap around the Area H Ground in Rose Hall Town.

The day of sprints where all sprinters will battle for over $150,000 in cash and prizes is expected to get underway at 09:00hrs.

The athletes will battle for supremacy over 100M, 200M, 400M and 4x100M relay events in the U14,16,18,20,25 and Over-25 categories and will feature both male and female athletes. There will also be invitational races and athletes from throughout Guyana are expected to be a part of the day’s action.

Among some of the sponsors are -Imran and Sons and Daughters, Fiesta Guinness Bar, Rajendra Jagdeo, Bobby’s and Son, Banks DIH limited and the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club. Meanwhile, the organiser is still welcoming persons or co-operate entities to come on board and support the event to make it a success.

Interested persons can contact Godwyn Allicock on 660-9048 or 337-4774 or Colin Bynoe jr at Central Corentyne Secondary, Mr Mokhan at Berbice High School or Carl Vanier at Corentyne Comprehensive High.

(Samuel Whyte)

GSL tourney continues on Sunday The Georgetown Softball Cricket League(GSCL)\ Regal Stationery and Computer Centre\ Star Party Rentals\ Trophy Stall\Mike’s copy Centre and Salod Marketing Agency softball tournament is set to continue on Sunday at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) ground.

The action gets underway at 09:00 hrs with Regal XI facing MK Ogle in the semifinal with the winner clashing with Park Rangers in the Over-35 final.

In the male Open, Regal XI will play Speed Boat in the second semifinal at 12:00 hrs; the champion will meet Wolf’s Warriors in the final on a date to be announced.

Meanwhile, Regal Champs, who are scheduled to take on Aroaima Rusal Warriors in the female final on a date to be decided, will take on Lady Jags in an exhibition game.

The above matches were fixed for the Christianburg ground in Linden but were postponed due to the inclement weather.

The GSCL nationwide Open 12\12, female and Over35 competitions are expected to start on the 27th of May at

various venues. Teams are required to pay an entrance fee of $7,000 (male Open) and $5,000 (Over-35); female teams will participate free of cost.

The winner in the ladies category will take home a trophy and $100,000 while the runner up will receive $50,000 and a trophy.

The first place team in the Over-35 will collect $100,000 and a trophy with the second place grabbing $50,000 and a trophy. The male Open champion will be given $200,000 and a trophy, while the runner up will receive $100,000 a trophy.

Interested teams can contact Samuel Kingston on 614-9536 or Rafman Khan on 654-2233.

The GSCL 12\12 male softball countrywide tournament will commence on June 15th and will conclude on June 23rd. Entrance fee is $50,000. The winning team will cart off $600,000 and a trophy, while the runner up will collect $200,000.

Man-of-the-match in the final will receive $10,000 while the most outstanding batsman and bowler will be rewarded with $5,000 each.

Teams can contact Kingston for more information.

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 47

LeBron James, Heat top Bulls, reach conference finals 94-91 victory in Game 5.

Miami advances to the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season and will play the winner of the Indiana Pacers-New York Knicks series. If the Pacers beat the Knicks in Game 5 Thursday, they will play the Heat in Game 1 on Monday in Miami. If the Knicks win Game 5, the East finals will start Wednesday in Miami.

Heat’s forward LeBron James dunks in front of Bulls guard Richard Hamilton during Wednesday’s Game 5. (Photo: Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports) USA Today - MIAMI Something about playing the Miami Heat brings out the best in the Chicago Bulls.

Since March 1, the Heat have lost three times, twice

to the Bulls.

The Bulls nearly made it three on Wednesday.

The Heat avoided a disastrous loss, and eliminated Chicago with a

Grizzlies advance as Kevin Durant, Thunder sulk off Kevin Durant (35) shoots over Tayshaun Prince (21). Jerome Miron, (USA TODAY Sports)

U S A To d a y OKLAHOMA CITY - During the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant could often be found leaning over, grabbing his shorts. Yeah, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s superstar was gassed - but the universally recognizable sign was unnecessary. Going into the final seconds, the stat sheet told the story: 5-for-20.

Even so, down two points in the final seconds

Wednesday, there was never a question, who would take the last shot for Oklahoma City. On this night, given Durant’s evident fatigue, maybe the outcome wasn’t surprising, either.

Clang.

When Durant’s 16-footer with 4.9 seconds left missed, the Memphis Grizzlies went on to win 88-84, closing out the Thunder in five games by (Continued on page 41 )

Miami is now 9-2 in closeout games since forwards LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined guard D w y a n e Wa d e i n t h e summer of 2010, and as the playoff cliché goes, closeout games are indeed among the most difficult to win.

The Heat almost didn’t.

They squandered an 18point lead, overcame an 11point deficit and finished off Chicago with a 25-14 fourth

quarter.

Miami backup Norris Cole scored five points in a stretch of two minutes, 27 seconds, and Wade, playing with a bruised and sometimes painful right knee, had two big floaters in the lane and a putback dunk, helping Miami re-take and hold onto the lead in the fourth quarter.

James had 23 points, eight assists and seven

rebounds. James made just 5-for-14 shots, but was 12for-15 from the foul line.

Wade had 18 points on 7-for13 shooting, six assists and five rebounds, proving Spoelstra right. Even with an injury, Wade finds a way to help Miami win.

Bulls forward Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and guardforward indefatigable (Continued on page 44)

Page 48

Kaieteur News

Friday May 17, 2013

Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ national playoffs launched Those in attendance at the occasion were Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, Outdoor and Events Manager Mortimer Stewart, Co-ordinator Troy Mendonca and Sales Department representatives Clive Allen and Shaneeze Fredericks.

The national playoffs, according to Baptiste, will see representative teams from the four communities that the competition was played battle for the right to compete in the Caribbean segment slated to be played from June 21-23 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Eight teams, two each from Bartica, Linden, Georgetown and East Coast Demerara will square off over three days (May 24, 25 and 27) for prize monies in excess of $900,000 in addition to the right to represent Guyana, at the Caribbean tournament.

The winning team will receive $400,000, runner-up-$250,000, 3 place-$150,000 and 4 place-$75,000 along with trophies.

The teams listed to participate are Silver Bullets and Silent Assassins (Linden), Back Circle and Leopold Street (Georgetown), Victoria Church Yard and Plaisance (East Coast) and Millennium and Hard Core (Bartica).

Mendonca in his remarks reminded all that the team to emerge champion is not a truly representative national team, but rather, in keeping with the concept of the tournament, which is to play the tournament among communities, the eventual winner will be one that has been borne out of a particular community. rd

th

Banks DIH Sales Department representative Shaneeze Fredericks hands over the winning trophy to Tournament Co-Ordinator Troy Mendonca in the presence of Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste (2nd right), Outdoor Events Manager Mortimer Stewart (left) and Sales Department representative Clive Allen yesterday.

The national playoffs in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition is set to begin on May 24 with eight matches scheduled to be played on opening night, at the Banks DIH Parking Lot, Ruimveldt.

This was revealed to the media during a simple launching ceremony that was conducted, at Thirst Park yesterday.

Friday May 17, 2013

Kaieteur News

NACRA Senior Men’s 15s Championship

Final 22 names released for Barbados game

T

he Guyana Rugby Football Union ( G R F U ) announced the names of a 22-man National Squad that will battle Barbados in the North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) senior men’s 15s Caribbean Championship tomorrow, at the National Stadium commencing from 16:00 hours sharp.

A release from the Union stated that those called are: Rondell McArthur, Rickford Cummings, Jason Tyrell, Avery Corbin, Dwayne Schroeder, Dillion Downer, Richard Staglon, Cloyd Prowell, Ryan Gonsalves, Peabo Hamilton, Breon Walks,

Elwin Chase, Claudius Butts, Ronald Mayers, Lancelot Adonis, Delroy Gordon, Jacques Archibald, Kevon David, Grantley Williams, Carl Lewis, Christopher Singh and Akeem Fraser.

The names of the Barbados team have also been released and they are: Fowards Neil Forde, Jeren Clarke, Caston Howard,Christian Preece,Antonio Gibbons, Raj Edwards, Stephen Millar,Kevin Murrell,Adon Rogers, Shaun English, Dwight Forde (Captain), Irfan Khan, Marcus Harewood Backs Nico Blunt, Kevin (Continued on page 42 )

Beaton, Hemraj delighted with HPC call up

Chanderpaul Hemraj

By Zaheer Mohamed Impressive fast bowler Ronsford Beaton and middle order batsman Chanderpaul Hemraj are the Guyanese players that recently gained selection for the Sagicor High Performance Centre (HPC) 2013-2014 programme.

Twenty year old Beaton, who hails from Reliance on the Essequibo Coast, told Kaieteur Sport that he is delighted with the selection and it is a good opportunity for him. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me knowing that the HPC has good facilities and coaches. Going there is a boost for me and I am looking forward to make the most of the opportunity

Ronsford Beaton and improve my game,” he stated.

Beaton started to play the game as a fifteen year old at the club level in Essequibo and hopes to represent the West Indies at the highest level. “I must give credit to coach Alfred Maycock for helping me early in my career. I am prepared to work hard to achieve my goals and to represent the region. At the moment most grounds are not in good condition but I do a lot of training in the gym,” he informed.

Beaton stated that he was satisfied with his performance in the recently concluded West Indies Cricket Board Super 50 (Continued on page 46 )

Assistant coach Shane Grant Stuart (with ball on ground) demonstrates a technique to the players during a practice session.

Page 49

t r o Sp WEST INDIES FULLBORE SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Strong WI Team for Australia clash

The victorious Jamaica Fullbore Rifle Shooting Team in a happy mood after winning the Fullbore Council Short Range Championship.

Jamaica dethrones Guyana for short range title

Indian players arrested over spot-fixing allegations S Sreesanth

Ajit Chandila

Ankeet Chavan

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