Kaieteur News

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

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

Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8491, 225-8458, 225-8465 Fax: 225-8473 or 226-8210

Editorial

FOR DIGNITY

There is a hidden force within us so powerful that it can affect the way we feel about ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. Donna Hicks, an expert in conflict resolution advises that that force is our common human yearning to be seen and treated as worthy of dignity. While we all have a deep and abiding desire to be treated well and to be recognized as worthy, our lack of awareness and understanding of the many ways we routinely violate each other’s dignity is wreaking havoc on our lives and our relationships.

Unfortunately, these indignities have become an acceptable way of life in the workplace, marriages, families, and communities. Continued neglect of the damaging impact of everyday indignities keeps us trapped in a survival mode of being together in the world, where we are consciously or unconsciously protecting ourselves from the possibility of being harmed. A little knowledge about dignity could go a long way in helping us live more consciously, more aware of the effect we have on one another.

Dignity plays a significant role in societal conflicts.

When the political issues are stripped away, and the human experience of conflict is laid bare, what remains is a common yearning for dignity--to be treated as if it mattered. Human beings have powerful emotional reactions to having their dignity violated. Our emotional responses to the way people treat us are hardwired within us and define our shared humanity.

When we’re treated badly, we get angry, feel humiliated, want to get even, maybe seek revenge; often without being aware of how much these primal reactions are driving our behaviour.

We also have a knee-jerk reaction to withdraw from those who do us harm, even if we physically remain together.

Fearing another assault is reason enough to shut down healthy lines of communication and trust.

But often people feel that they cannot afford to leave a relationship because they are dependent on it; this happens all the time in the workplace, in marriages and in families.

Even though the relationship doesn’t end, there is a cost: openness is replaced by resentment, and it loses one of the most satisfying aspects of the human experience--the freedom to be together without fear of being harmed or humiliated.

The injuries we endure by being treated badly are psychological, not physical. Unlike a physical assault, where bones are broken or blood appears, there are no visible signs of a wound. It is an internal matter, where the harm is felt on the inside. But what exactly gets injured? It’s our dignity. We feel the injuries at the core of our being. They are a threat to the very essence of who we are. What is worse is that people get away with it. And these injuries usually go unattended.

Recent research in neuroscience has shown that a psychological injury stimulates the same part of the brain as a physical wound. There is nothing imaginary about the painful effects of assaults to our dignity. They linger inside, often stockpiling, one on top of the other, until one day, we can’t take it anymore and we erupt into a rage or a depression, or we quit our job, get a divorce, or foment a revolution.

What is at stake is no small matter; it is our capacity to evolve and flourish together as human beings. If we continue to ignore the truth and consequences of these violations, we will remain in an arrested state of emotional development, enslaved by the most primitive aspect of who we are as human beings.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that we are capable of overcoming this critical human challenge to our development.

Dignity is a human phenomenon. Recent findings in neuroscience tell us that we are biologically predisposed to connect to one another. It is a false state of alienation we are living in. The quality of our lives and relationships could be vastly improved if we learned how to master the art and science of maintaining and honouring dignity.

Sunday May 20, 2012

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

One is forced to juxtapose President Ramotar’s record with the rhetoric DEAR EDITOR, It is the custom in some mature democracies not to criticize the President when he or she is overseas conducting government business. However, because of the gravity of the situation and the hubris or hypocrisy demonstrated by President Ramotar; I am forced to break with tradition. Speaking at a protocolary session of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC, President Ramotar called on governments to do more to “reduce poverty and inequality” because they “pose the greatest threat to democracy and security” He called on leaders to let “poverty eradication be the historic task of our generation…..” In a vacuum this is all noble and commendable stuff, but coming from the President of Guyana who presides over a

nation where the World Bank estimates that 47% of the population are classified as poor (having less than $47,000 GD per month) and 29% are classified as “extremely poor” (most of the poor live in rural areas, with the majority of the extremely poor living in the interior), then one is forced to juxtapose the record with the rhetoric.

Even though Donald Ramotar can still be considered a fairly new President, he is not “new’ to Guyana politics ( having served for over a decade as General Secretary of the PPP) and his party the PPPC has enjoyed political power in Guyana for the last twenty years. The PPPC in opposition, prior to 1992 was relentless in its criticism of the government of that day. One of their claims was that Guyanese were voting with their feet because the political

and economic conditions were unbearable.

Campaigning prior to the 1992 elections the PPP promised to put an end to mass migration, rebuild or education system, modernize our health delivery system, put an end to poverty and run a lean and clean government. Today, twenty years later and the record is still to match the rhetoric.

Over the last 20 years the PPP has shown by its policies and programmes that it does not understand (or it is incapable of doing) what is necessary to eradicate poverty in Guyana. Any student of government would tell you that a solid, well rounded education is the best long term solution for eradicating poverty. Yet the PPP over the last 20 years has failed terribly in this vital sector. It is an undebatable fact that we are still unable to keep and attract well qualified teachers. It is a

fact that in the rural and interior areas of the country over 80 percent of the teachers are classified as “unqualified”. It is a fact that our drop-out rates are unsustainable and the conditions at most of our schools and our UG campus at Turkeyen are deplorable, sub standard and not conducive learning environments. It is apposite to note that after the 2012 budget debate the PPP resorted to street protest over cuts to GINA and NCN, but there was no hue and cry over the paltry sums that were earmarked for the education sector. Over the last 20 years of continuous PPP in government, the gap between the very rich and the very poor has expanded astronomically; the armies of the poor that march the streets of the capital have Continued on page 5

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox Is NICIL guaranteeing G$5,400M to fund construction of the Marriott Hotel a private investment?

DEAR EDITOR, We have only released a small subset of the information at the disposal of the AFC on the Ponzi scheme called NICIL and the taxpayers can immediately get an insight that the figure of G$50 billion is a real number that the NICIL Board is trying its best to evaporate from the minds of the Guyanese people.

NICIL is a government company with an estimated $50 billion in public assets and taxpayers have a right to know what has become of their money. Does NICIL Board really believe that the people are buy their “cock and bull story” that the government is not doing anything illegal by having the $50 billion of taxpayers’ money aimed at underwriting private investment like the Marriott Hotel Project?

The mistrust has reached such a level that until and unless audited accounts with a full listing of all revenue between 2004 to 2011 are released, nothing coming from the Board of NICIL can be treated as credible information. The people want to know where this G$50 billion is invested and if these investments have been sanctioned by the representatives of the people in the Parliament, the real owners of the funds?

We are urging the NICIL Board to come clean and tell the people the truth about the missing $50 billion of taxpayers’ money and work with the majority in Parliament to invest these fund in national assets like a transportation link between Linden and Lethem rather than in a multitude of private investment to benefit key players in the Jagdeo cabal.

Anything else is a recipe for continuous confrontation between the people and the PPP. Dr Asquith Rose and Sasenarine Singh

One is forced to juxtapose...

From page 4 swelled; people are still voting with their feet and their remittance dollars continue to be a lifeline for those left behind.

If Mr. Ramotar, like the Biblical Saul has had his “Road to Damascus moment” then he is to be commended, but until the rhetoric matches the record I will be skeptical. It is an embarrassment that in 2012 Guyana, poverty indicators like; access and quality of a household’s drinking water; the type of toilet facility; the main method of garbage disposal; the number of people in a household divided by the number of bedrooms, remain for far too many Guyanese a way of life. We have become a nation of “black tanks” as we struggle with potable water supply; many rural, semi-urban and most interior household still have latrines; solid waste management is a joke and a public health time bomb waiting to explode and overcrowding is still the norm for far too many household.

Mr. Editor, I supported the APNU in the last elections because I believed that after 20 years, the PPPC had failed to live up to its rhetoric, and it was time for change. The PPP over that period had abandoned its working class constituents and had by its policies and programmes created the conditions for perpetual poverty for some classes of people in Guyana.

With the rich getting richer and no one advocating for the poor, and working poor who deal with the uncertainty of five more months much less five more years, declaring war on poverty in Guyana should be the at the top of our national agenda. So I say to the President talk is cheap; but we will judge you by your actions and the actions of your government.

Mark Archer

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Kaieteur M@ilbox

Ms. Langevine of the ERC is refusing to release a public document

DEAR EDITOR, On Thursday, I telephoned Ms. Langevine, the Administrative Manager of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). I made a request for a study done in 2010. At that time, the UNDP funded a research conducted by consultant Lawrence Latchman on how the Guyanese society conceptualized the nature and work of the ERC. Mr. Latchmansingh interviewed over eighty stakeholder-organizations including all, I repeat all the major and not so major political parties. Coretta Mc Donald of the Teachers Union and I represented the TUC. After completion of his work, a general meeting was called by Mr. Lutchmansingh to present his findings. He indicated that he was not ready with the printed version of the document. At that time the PNC was boycotting the ERC. Ms. Gail Teixeira and Mr. Donald Ramotar represented the PPP. Sheila Holder was the AFC’s delegate. Of the nine ERC Commissioners, only John Willems and Carvil Duncan showed up.

They never spoke. Juan Edghill (I reserve my right not to recognize Mr. Edghill as an ordained Bishop of the Christian denomination) acted in his capacity as Chairman Mr. Latchmansingh’s findings as adumbrated by him at the meeting were that a majority of stakeholders

would like to see the ERC reorganized and that it appeared to be too close to the Government and tended not to be aggressive in pursuing complaints made against the Government.

Since that meeting TUC’s President, Norris Witter and I have constantly requested the completed printed version of Mr. Lutchmansingh’s study. We were refused by Mr. Edghill.

I went to the then Head of the UNDP in Guyana who funded the research but was told the office never received a copy. I requested the assistant of Mr. Trevor Benn of the UNDP who would have been the person to advise the UNDP to release the funds.

Mr. Benn said if it was made available to his employer he would have offered a copy but the ERC never submitted the document I then spoke to Clinton Urling who at the time was Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce. I indicated to him that the business community had an ERC Commissioner in the form of John Willems and

I would be thankful if he can secure the document from Willems. I never heard back from Urling even though I had a very good relation with him and believed he would have helped I am in need on Mr. Lutchmansingh’s findings for my research. On Thursday, I telephoned Ms. Langevine. I did indicate to her that I was taping the conversation because I did not want to hear that I said this and that when I didn’t. She did not object.

First, in relation to the ERC”s meeting with the Opposition Leader last week, she said that visit was unofficial. It was not sanctioned by her office.

Secondly, Lutchmansingh’s study cannot be made public because it is a private paper How can the TUC, the AFC, the office of the Leader of the Opposition be refused a copy of a study that was done for Guyanese stakeholders. It is for us to read it so we can decide on the future of the ERC. By what law or logic is Ms. Langevine refusing to let a major stakeholder see the research?

Ms Langevine suggested that I speak to Carvil Duncan because Mr. Duncan represents labour on the ERC. I corrected her by pointing out that Duncan is the alternative delegate. But in any case the TUC has a legitimate right to see the document By way of the publication of this letter I am calling on the AFC, APNU, the Private Sector Commission, the Speaker of the House, the Leader of the Opposition to request a copy of Mr. Lutchmansingh’s paper. Ms. Langevine has no legal basis for withholding the research.

It is a public paper. I will ask a lawyer to write Ms. Langevine. One final comment.

The ERC’s budget has been shortened by the Opposition which wants to see transparency and accountability. The ERC can persuade the Opposition to change its mind if it starts being accountable to the entity that funds it – the population of Guyana Frederick Kissoon

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Kaieteur News

Kaieteur M@ilbox

Unfair to accuse Chanderpaul of selfishness

DEAR EDITOR, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has, without doubt, earned the right to be rated the number one batsman in the cricketing world by the ICC, and his recent 87 not out against England in the first test at Lords, when his fellow WI players were faltering big time, further underscores his unique batting prowess and entitlement to such rating.

But a recent article by George Dobell, a British sports writer, pointing to “Chanderpaul’s selfish gene,” and suggesting that Bravo’s run out, after a Chanderpaul stroke to backward point, was caused

by Shiv’s merely looking at the ball when he should have heeded Bravo’s move to score a single, leaves much cause for concern and debate.

Dobell also cast aspersions at Shiv’s decision to score a single on the first ball of the last over of the day, exposing Edwards to the bowling of Broad, who was having one of his best days.

To deem a professional of the caliber of Chanderpaul as selfish, looking out only for himself, seems overly bold and extreme. A run out is almost always a subject of second-guessing. And even though, as pointed out in the article, Shiv has, in his test career, been involved in some 23 run outs, with him being the safe one in the majority of cases, to consider this

statistic as emblematic of selfishness seems specious at best. After all, the longer a batsman is at the crease, the greater the likelihood of his being involved in a running error.

Chanderpaul happens to be one of the most patient batsmen in the game, and when the wickets of his team mates are crumbling and he is forced to (unselfishly) concentrate on saving the side, as he has done so often over the years, he no doubt assumes the sheet anchor role and exercises extreme care to avoid a total collapse. So, when he executed that stroke and watched the ball while Bravo was barreling down the pitch for what appeared to be an easy single, it seemed, as would be human for even the most responsible professional, that he suffered a momentary lapse of concentration, with the unfortunate run-out ensuing.

The British have a penchant to critique opposing players, too often as a means of ruffling feathers and causing subsequent lapses of concentration. And, considering the latest scores in the test match, responsibility may very well, yet again, fall on the shoulders of Chanderpaul for the West Indies to muster any hope of saving it. Hopefully, he can ignore the “selfishness” accusation and play his natural game.

The game of cricket at the test match level involves professionals who, over the

years, had to have proved themselves worthy of selection by superior performances in the field. So facing a few deliveries even from a bowler of Broad’s caliber should not have been too much to ask - even of a tail-ender.

Every run scored adds to the tally, which was rather meagre when that single was scored on the first ball of the final over. The professional who hit the ball obviously showed due deference to his fellow professional who, however, blew it.

It may be argued that even the great Brian Lara has joined the debate, alleging that Chanderpaul’s preference to bat at number five as opposed to number three smacks of selfishness.

Whatever a player’s choice, is not the batting order the prerogative of the captain?

Lara’s record as WI captain cannot be hailed as the most exemplary, so he should keep his peace on issues touching on the captaincy.

On another note, perhaps the West Indies’ selectors can do something to avoid situations wherein one player is too often left to play a salvaging role. It may do them well to heed what has been happening in the rest of the cricketing world, such as that match in the IPL, when Gayle continued to exhibit his batting might by blasting 13 sixes and 7 fours in his latest first class century; and, further, right next door, a match in which the much snubbed Ramnaresh Sarwan scored a first innings century and just fell short of another ton in the second innings by two runs – in similar, inningsalvaging situations for his team, Leicestershire.

Abel Peters

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur M@ilbox The public may become complacent if it concludes that crime is under control DEAR EDITOR, I noted with interest the recently released comparative crime statistics by the Guyana Police Force which show a decrease by 18 percent in murders (reported or discovered) for the period January to April 2012 vis-à-vis the same period in 2011. Then I was jolted awake with the news of four suspected homicides occurring within a 24-hour period just two weeks into the fifth month.

We are told that the murders are classified as disorderly; domestic, execution, and unknown where the disorderly type results from arguments between two parties, while the domestic murders stem from intimate-partner relationship issues (what do we call it when the father kills his children or where the intimate partners are of the same sex?); executions are identified with criminal enterprise activities.

The ‘unknown’ category is the one in which most often there are unsolved murders where weapon, circumstances or motives are unclear or unknown. It is possible that within the ‘unknown’ category are victims who in fact were the assailants who were killed while they were in the act of committing a felony.

It is important to note that although an investigation may determine the event a justifiable homicide or selfdefence, searching and inconvenient questions of appropriate use of force may be the deciding factor against making a police report which is the initial step towards solving an apparent murder.

Apart from the exceptions noted above murder is so

serious that it is almost always reported by civilians and virtually always recorded carefully by the police.

What I am unclear about, however, is John Q Public’s purported role in decreasing crime or - more accurately, decreased reports of crime.

That - in my humble opinion is what the GPF could probably expand on to develop a higher level of cooperation in the publicpolice partnership framework.

What I am concerned about is that John Q is likely to become complacent and relax his vigilance if he concludes that “crime is under control” and all is well since the police have demonstrated their capacity to respond to the security needs of the citizenry.

Therefore police responsiveness is dependent on the public passing on accurate information and in that important respect crime data could be regarded as belonging in the public domain quite unlike the archaic belief that they are the sole preserve of the police.

Any other approach renders the police ineffective in determining the reliability and validity of information shared and thereby its effectiveness as a crime control tool. People look to the criminal justice system for personal security.

At the community level in addition to accessing crime prevention advice residents need to know what preventative actions are necessary to manage their personal and family crime risks.

In light of the fact that not all crimes are reported to the police, or may not be recorded by the police it becomes problematic if we are to determine the crime rate if we are ignorant of total number of criminal acts under consideration.

Probably one way of capturing these elusive figures could be through a social survey where respondents are required to provide information on crime that is not reported to police, their perceptions of criminal victimization which also covers fear of crime because people are rightly concerned about crime and they want to be safe.

Among the reasons why members of the public might not report crimes to the police are: they may not realise they’ve been a victim, embarrassment, fear of

implicating themselves in a criminal act, etc.

We are inundated with reports of increasing crime in the daily newspapers and on the nightly newscasts; gangs emerge; the police keep arresting more and more people and the courts keep sending them to prison. We – the uninitiated are understandably more than a little concerned about the accuracy of official reports which infer that crimes are decreasing.

A word of caution; we need to understand that arrest rates do not necessarily indicate higher crime because the police might simply be pursuing an aggressive arrest strategy.

But to its credit the GPF has always been circumspect in its periodic reports by describing their statistics as representative of reported serious crimes.

However, in the interest of clarity couldn’t we be advised on the range of serious or “index crimes” that are known to the police?

Do these include forcible rape, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson? How do we group fraud, embezzlement, motor vehicle theft, and arson all of which have a potentially significant monetary impact?

Editor, it would be remiss of me if I closed without pointing out that it is not unknown for some police administrators with pretensions to political and bureaucratic manipulative skills are sometimes tempted to manipulate statistics to put a positive spin on the law enforcement response to crime.

Myriad cases can be found in the developed and developing countries and these take various forms including: arbitrary reclassification of offences by undervaluing costs of stolen or misappropriated property; exaggerate the number of existing gangs etc. to secure additional resources or to introduce an unpopular intervention.

Some officials in some emergent democracies have even been known to prey on the susceptibilities (some call it paranoia) of policy makers by providing them with “intelligence analysis” conveniently in keeping with some predetermined reality, all with the sole aim of making themselves and their positions indispensable.

Patrick E. Mentore

Exposing corruption puts you in the opposition camp

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

World leaders vow to combat financial turmoil, back Greece CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone yesterday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing their economies, which are increasingly threatened by Europe’s debt crisis.

In a bold statement of support for Europe, the Group of Eight leaders of the world’s major economies meeting at the wooded Camp David in the Cactoctin Mountains of Maryland said the global economic recovery shows promising signs but “significant headwinds persist.”

“Against this backdrop, we commit to take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses, recognizing that the right measures are not the same for each of us,” it said in a communiqué.

The leaders said they welcomed discussions in Europe to balance debt reduction with measures to support growth and added: “We reaffirm our interest in Greece remaining in the euro zone while respecting its commitments.”

It was unusual for the often-bland G8 communiqué to single out a small nation. But fears that a political stalemate in Greece would

lead to the tiny Mediterranean country leaving Europe’s monetary union at unknown costs to the financial system have spooked global markets.

U.S. President Barack Obama and leaders from other major economic powers met to discuss the global economy and seek ways to soothe markets after worries about Spain’s banking problems also played a role in sending world stock prices to their lowest levels this year.

Earlier, a shirt-sleeved Obama opened the morning session, promising to seek ways to restore healthy growth and jobs and address concerns in Europe.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, after an early morning treadmill workout with Obama at the Camp David gym, said he detected a “growing sense of urgency that action needs to be taken” on the euro zone crisis.

London relies heavily on international finance and banking instability would strike a fresh blow to an economy already in recession.

“Contingency plans need to be put in place and the strengthening of banks, governance, firewalls - all of those things need to take place very fast,” he told reporters.

CARICOM leaders to meet Mexican counterpart in Barbados BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - CMC - Trade, investment, tourism and cooperation will feature prominently when Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders meet with their Mexican counterpart in Barbados tomorrow, according to an official statement issued by the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat.

It said that the second CARICOM-Mexico summit is being preceded by a meeting of the CARICOM-Mexico Joint Commission yesterday and a meeting of the Foreign Ministers today.

It said during the Barbados summit, the regional leaders “will also take the opportunity to impress upon the Mexican President Felipe Calderon the importance of Mexico continuing to advocate on the Community’s behalf with respect to reform of the International Financial Institutions (IFI) at a meeting of the G20 which Mexico will be hosting next June”.

Last month, the regional leaders during a brief meeting with President Calderon in Cartagena had expressed concerns that since many CARICOM countries are classified as small highly indebted middle income countries they are prohibited from accessing the concessional facilities and instruments from the IFIs. CARICCOM Chairman Desi Bouterse, who is also the President of Suriname, President Calderon and CARICOM Secretary-General

Irwin LaRocque will address the opening ceremony of the Summit on Monday at 10.30 a.m (local time).

“Relations between CARICOM and Mexico are based on an agreement

signed in Kingston, Jamaica in 1974, whose objective is to identify and promote cooperation initiatives in order to enlarge economic, political and cultural relations.

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Magistrate to rule in Panday’s case next month MAGISTRATE Marcia Murray will rule on June 26, on whether she will stop the trial of former prime minister Basdeo Panday to allow him to challenge her decision that he had a case to answer.

Panday, 78, is charged with failing to declare a London bank account, which was held at the National Westminster Bank at Wimbledon Hill Road, London to the Commission for the years ending 1997, 1998 and 1999 while he was prime minister.

On Thursday the magistrate dismissed a nocase submission made by one of Panday’s attorneys, British Queen’s Counsel David Aaronberg. During Friday’s proceedings, Aaronberg argued that Murray should not turn a blind eye to the political interference that led to his client’s arrest and subsequent trial.

He submitted that it was not that his client will be given an unfair trial but that he should not even be on trial to begin with. Aaronberg resubmitted that the case against his client was tantamount to an abuse of

Basdeo Panday process and the matter should be halted while the defence is allowed to appeal Murray’s decision.

In response to Aaronberg’s submissions, Special State prosecutor Sir Timothy Cassel QC submitted that the case against Panday was not politically motivated.

He said though Panday was the first person to be tried under the Integrity in Public Life Act of 1987, it was not a sign of inequality as “someone has to be the first” adding nothing that the defence has shown would suggest a thing.

Cassel submitted that even if inequality was shown against Panday that in itself was not a basis to stay the proceedings. He added that there was no political interference in the prosecution of Panday as it was civil servants who ordered the charges to be laid and no political figure.

Murray said due to her case load she will need about a month before she can give a decision based on submissions made on both sides. She also set aside the first working week in September for the trial to proceed, in the event she disagrees with Aaronberg’s submissions.

(Trinidad Express)

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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

Colin Jones sets prison cell afire, injured Relatives of Colin Jones who is currently in prison charged with murder, arson, unlawful possession of weapons and narcotics are calling for an investigation into an incident at the Camp Street prison, yesterday.

According to reports, some time early yesterday morning Jones reportedly set fire to his cell where he was being held in solitary confinement.

He reportedly screwed out the solitary electric bulb, attached some wires and caused a spark that ignited his mattress.

Jones’s mother, Allison Simpson, told this publication

that she was at home when she received a call informing her that her son was involved in an incident at the Prison.

She said that she was told that Jones used the electric wires in his cell to start a fire which eventually caught onto his mattress. However after the fire alarm went off swift action prevented the fire from spreading.

The woman said that she was reliably informed that her son was severely beaten by prison officers. “By the time we reach down to the prison we see them hurrying to put him in a vehicle, so we try asking the officer, Mr. Elliot, where they taking him and he

(Jones) shout out and say he going to the hospital.”

“When we see he, he had blood on he face, like he head bust when they de beating he”.

The woman said that when they arrived at the Georgetown Public Hospital they saw prison officers kicking and cuffing her son although his hands were in handcuffs and his feet were shacked.

“One of the officers even start choking Colin while he walking in the hospital.

Meanwhile to add to the family’s concern, once Jones was called in to be seen by a doctor the prison officers

stood over him with a firearm.

The relatives said that the doctors then informed the prison officers that the medical staff cannot attend to a patient with them standing over them with guns.

“The prison officer tell the doctor that it’s a high profile criminal and they have to have the gun at all time, so the doctor said that he can’t look at the patient so the prison officer decide to leave the hospital.”

Ms. Simpson said Jones was taken back to the Camp Street Prison without seeing a doctor for medical attention

at the hospital.

Back at the prison Simpson said the prison officers dragged her shackled son out of the vehicle onto the road before escorting him back into the prison.

This publication was told that Jones has been in solitary confinement for a lengthy period and is not being allowed his one hour per day exercise period. The man has also reported to his relatives that many days he is left without food.

Jones, also known as “Bunny”, is currently serving an eight-year sentence after

Prison inmate Colin Jones pleading guilty to charges ranging from possession of firearm and ammunition and possession of cannabis.

The fire tender after being summoned to the Camp Street prison

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

President Ramotar should match his policies in Guyana with his advocacy abroad We, of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), support the very enlightened arguments presented by President Donald Ramotar, on Tuesday 15th May 2012, to the General Council Meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington DC, that: - “...the region [should] put poverty eradication at the top of its agenda...”

- “...democracy cannot be safeguarded without reducing poverty, neither can poverty be effectively combated without addressing inequality” - “...job creation [should] be an essential aspect of whatever model of social and economic development is pursued.”

- “For Guyana no priority is greater than to combat poverty, extreme poverty, inequality and social exclusion. This can be done through policies that promote economic growth, access to education, health care and housing in order to achieve sustainable development with social justice.”

- “...a critical component of these efforts are initiatives to promote social protection and economic development among vulnerable groups....”

It is unfortunate that the President, as demonstrated by the 2012 National Budget proposals of his PPP/C Government, has not seen it fit to pursue, within Guyana, the policy approaches which he has advocated at the OAS meeting.

The reality is that under the Jagdeo PPP/C Administration, Guyana has earned the reputation of being among the most corrupt countries in this hemisphere, coupled with widespread discrimination, nepotism, cronyism and high levels of unemployment and emigration, particularly among our young people.

However, let us examine a sample of the 2012 record of the Ramotar PPP/C Administration: two per cent Reduction of the VAT from 16% The Opposition proposed that the oppressive 16 per cent VAT should be reduced by two per cent to give relief from the impact of the high cost-of-living which has intensified the ravages of poverty visited on large segments of the Guyanese population.

The Opposition pointed out that since the VAT is a regressive tax, its impact is greatest on the poor.

Therefore, the two per cent reduction would be a beneficial poverty relief measure.

The government

countered this with the strange argument, advocated by the Minister of Finance, that the poor will benefit very little from the reduction of the VAT rate.

Double the Old Age Pension to $15,000/month.

The Opposition pointed out that Pensioners are among the most vulnerable group in Guyana.

The Government, after strong representation by the Opposition, reluctantly agreed to increase the Old Age Pension to $10,000/ month.

Increase Public Assistance to $7,000/month.

The Opposition pointed out that this is a vital safetynet for large segments of the population but the Government remained unmoved.

The drastic reduction, by $210.4Mn, of the 2012 Budget allocation for Social Services within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security.

Given the large and growing army of Guyanese existing in conditions of dire poverty, it is a matter for deep concern that the 2012 Budget allocation for Social Services has been reduced by $210.4Mn, particularly since this is the prime Ministry responsible for administering the vital social safety-nets, including the Old Age Pension and Public Assistance.

Increase Public Sector pay by 10% across-the-board while re-establishing effective Collective Bargaining.

Public Service pay has been woefully depressed by the Government, through the arbitrary annual imposition of increases below the cost-ofliving, while subverting the Collective Bargaining process for Public Servants.

The Government has ignored this call.

Restore the subvention agreed by the National Assembly to the Critchlow Labour College.

As part of its vendetta against the GTUC, the Government continues to deny this Trade Union educational institution the subvention which was agreed to by the National Assembly.

Freeze the proposed electricity tariff increase to the depressed Region 10 communities while introducing measures to create economic growth, employment and incomes.

The Government remains adamant that its proposed electricity tariff increases will be immediately implemented, even though it is evident that the depressed conditions, in this Region, have driven a

large segment of the population into destitution.

Reduce the Berbice River Bridge toll from $2,000 to $1,000.

The high toll has created hardships, particularly for families with school age children needing to cross the bridge daily. In addition, it is inhibiting the movement of produce from Berbice to markets in Georgetown.

Stop the abuse of the mechanism of contract employees to undermine the Public Service Union and to by-pass the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission.

The Government continues to use every possible device to by-pass the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission and to weaken the bargaining strength of the Public Service Union.

Implement the recommendations for the reform and modernisation of the Public Service.

The Government continues to ignore the long o u t s t a n d i n g recommendations, contained in the several studies undertaken, for the reform and modernisation of the Public Service.

Pay over the substantial financial assets, belonging to the people of Guyana, which are being misused by NICIL, into the Consolidated Fund to ensure National Assembly oversight.

The Government, as the sole shareholder, while avoiding oversight by the National Assembly, is misusing the substantial public assets held by NICIL as “slush funds”, through the convoluted self-serving argument that this is a “private company”.

Immediately implement the constitutionally mandated Public Procurement Commission to stem the widespread corruption in the issuing of construction and other publicly funded contracts.

There is the clear indication that the Government intends to continue using every device to stymie the establishment of an independent and autonomous oversight Public Procurement Commission.

Increase the subvention for the University of Guyana.

The Government continues to manipulate and undermine the autonomy of the nation’s highest institution of learning, the University of Guyana, by devices such as ensuring that it remains cash-strapped and its physical plant and equipment remain in a state of decrepitude.

Stop treating constitutional offices - such as the Parliament Office, GECOM and the Service Commissions, etc - as Budget Agencies under the Office of the President and, thereby, undermining their independence and autonomy.

These entities should receive their subvention directly from the Consolidated Fund.

Stop the misuse of the publicly funded GINA and NCN as propaganda mouthpieces of the PPP Administration.

Since the passage of the amended 2012 Budget, the Ramotar PPP/C Administration has mounted an intense propaganda assault, through the continued misuse and abuse of GINA and NCN, against the Opposition because they insist that these two entities should be managed in a nonpartisan and transparent manner in the service of the nation.

President Donald Ramotar must ensure that his words, uttered to impress the international community, mirror his deeds here in Guyana.

Page 9

Dem boys seh

Marriott gun build out of gold Belief kills and belief cures. That is a true to God saying.

Dem boys believe that when Jagdeo tek office he was a decent and honest person. When he lef dem believe that he was de biggest crook de region see and would ever know.

Trinidad people did believe that Panday was a decent and honest man. Now jail facing he fuh hiding some of de money that he thief. Dem boys believe that de same thing that happen to Panday gun happen to Jagdeo. But dem boys believe that Jagdeo gun got to serve he time wid hard labour.

Brazzy ain’t deh far behind. Dem boys believe he is another thief. Nutten he seh can change dem boys mind. Talk fuh rain, talk fuh sun, dem boys believe that he is a thief, a liar and a scamp.

He gun be de biggest liar de country got in size, shape and words. He form a company name Atlantic. De whole country know who give him de name and wheh he get that name from. Dem boys like de word Atlantic. Jagdeo gone and live right near de Atlantic; Santa complex name Atlantic; and Brazzy building Marriott near de Atlantic. All of dem like water.

Atlantic got to mean something special to all of dem. Suh dem building de Marriott. Brazzy lie through all dem hole in he body. He tell de biggest lie through de biggest hole that he got.

He put de cost of de hotel he building at $60 million per room. De Hyatt in Trinidad, Embassy Suite in Miami, and Atlantis in Dubai are bigger and more posh hotels. They cost $15 million per room. How come Brazzy hotel costing so much—four times as much? All people got to find out wha dem boys saying is to Google.

Dem boys want to know if Jagdeo and Brazzy hotel gun have gold toilet, gold bidet, gold bed and diamond-tipped sink.

Dem want think de whole nation is a pack of fools. De Luncheon did de same thing to de nation when he did build de $10 million NIS building in Berbice fuh $69 million.

Talk half and pray fuh jail dem de other half.

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Dumped body of US-based Guyanese...

Two held in murderfor-money scheme Police believe that they have unearthed a murder scheme for money that ended with the death of US-based Guyanese Abdul Majid, whose body was found on the Number 56 Village, Corentyne last month.

Recent investigations have led to the arrest of two of the victim’s distant relatives and the impounding of a damaged and apparently blood-stained car. The suspects are from the Diamond New Scheme.

However, a woman who is believed to have orchestrated the plot reportedly travelled to the US soon after Majid was slain.

She has not returned.

Police believe that he was murdered shortly after returning to Guyana, after winning a large financial settlement in the US for injuries he sustained in an

accident. It is believed that the killers transported the body by car.

Around 07:40 hrs on April 27 last, residents of Number 56 Village, Corentyne, discovered the body of a faircomplexioned man on the foreshore.

The victim was wearing a pair of multi-coloured shorts.

He was also wearing a silver ring.

The corpse remained unidentified for several days, until an overseas-based resident came to Guyana and identified the victim as his brother, 43-year-old Abdul Majid.

According to reports, none of Majid’s relatives in Guyana had reported him missing. In fact, one suspect had reportedly claimed that he was in Suriname.

Kaieteur News understands that Majid had

visited Guyana last month after winning his settlement and was staying at a residence on East Bank Demerara.

According to reports, around that time, close associates of Majid’s travelled to Berbice for a funeral, and reportedly rented a car from a resident.

They reportedly returned the car with minor damage and informed the owner that they would pay for the repairs.

However, the owner reportedly became suspicious after observing sand and what appeared to be bloodstains in his vehicle.

Detectives impounded the car and reportedly retrieved blood samples from the vehicle last Friday. They also detained two of the relatives who had rented the vehicle.

DNA tests are to be conducted on the samples.

Marriott Hotel an inflated...

(From page 3) up, the government also has to find people who would agree to set up other businesses in the hotel, such as a restaurant, nightclub and so on.

At any rate, the cost the government floats for building the hotel is inflated but industry sources say this could be part of the plan being hatched to use taxpayers' money to fund the entire project.

One industry executive estimates the average international cost for building a single hotel room, inclusive of construction and furnishing, around $14M. The proposed hotel at the Kingston mudflats is for 197 rooms. The source suggested that even if the cost is put at $20M per room, the total cost of constructing and furnishing the entire 197-room hotel would be slightly less than

US$20M – the exact amount of taxpayers’money being pushed into the project.

“So, why is the cost of the hotel projected at US$60M?” the source asked.

He suggests that this is where a shady scheme is being created. The government would be putting the entire amount needed to construct and furnish a high-end hotel, but by deliberately inflating the cost, it gives the socalled investors US$38 million that would never have been used.

Further, the high cost would also serve to deter potential investors.

Once the hotel is constructed and starts functioning, it will go bankrupt, the source suggested. The highly inflated construction cost will not support the anticipated rate of return.

Then, he stated, the supposed-investors would look

to recover their money.

In the arrangement that Republic Bank (Trinidad) is facilitating, they would be the first to get their money back.

But with the hotel having no money, the investors could then stake their claim on the property.

So, the source suggested, the investors would simply take over the hotel in lieu of repayment.

“The taxpayers will be ripped off of their investment of US$20M and the favoured ones of the government will get their hotel in a deal that would seem white, shiny, and clean.

Further, those who are laundering money would have a hotel and casino, one of the best ways to clean up money.

“And what the Marriott would really be is a conniving scheme to steal taxpayers' money and the hotel at the same time.”

Sunday May 20, 2012

Bobby Ramroop’s US$40B QAII Company pays $38,000 VAT Having more than doubled in worth in 2010, over the previous year, Queen’s Atlantic Investment Incorporated (QAII) headed by best friend of the former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Dr Ranjisingi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop paid a paltry $38,647 in Value Added Tax (VAT).This is according to the official Financial Statement of Expenditure for the company ending December 2010 and signed by Dr Ramroop. It also reflects that the company paid no VAT in 2009.

QAII is the Company that had received several tax concessions from the Government.

The laws had to be changed to accommodate this company after it leased the Sanata Complex at Industrial Site under an umbrella of controversy. This complex was later sold to QAII for an undisclosed sum. Many believe that it was a sweetheart deal.

In 2009, according to the financial statements signed

by Dr Ramroop, the group’s total assets stood at $3.6B. It skyrocketed to $7.9B in 2010.

In 2009 the company has in its Financial Statement of Expenditure, the sum of some $5.9M to pay rates and taxes.

The director’s fees and allowances however, both increased by almost $0.5M as did the monies allocated for the company’s donations.

In 2009 the company had allocated for donation $10.5M but by the following year the company’s money set

Executive Chairman of QAII, Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop aside for donations had increased to $17.5M. The company’s total administrative expenditure for 2010 is recorded at some $222.9M up from $66.1M the previous year with employment costs and donations accounting for the bulk of the increase.

Dr Ramroop at the time of announcing the lease arrangement with the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had intimated that he envisaged an overall investment of US$30M and the creation of 1200 jobs of which 600 new, permanent jobs would become a reality by the end of 2008.

The employment cost for QAII in 2009 is reflected in the company’s financial statements as $9.5M but by the following year the

company reflected a $96.3M figure for employment costs.

QAII is said to be an investment company consisting of five subsidiary companies, namely: Global Printing and Graphics Inc.; Global Hardware Inc.; Global Textile (Guyana) Inc.; Health International Inc.; Healthcare Life Sciences Inc. Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. was incorporated in Guyana in 1999 and is run by a board of directors.

Following invitations to lease the Complex along with some components of the dye factory it housed, the Government of Guyana in 2008 approved the privatization of the Sanata Textiles Complex (Sanata), Industrial Site, Georgetown to QAII for the purpose of establishing a multi-purpose investment complex.

NICIL’s Executive Director Winston Brassington and the Executive Chairman of QAII, Dr Ramroop, in a joint missive, had stated that the privatization of Sanata had taken the form of the issuance of a 99-year lease at a substantive rental of approximately $50M per year.

Rehabilitation and construction of the facilities which commenced in June 2007 were said to be phased over a three-year period.

Prior to this, $400M was spent on the removal of asbestos from the buildings by the Government before it was leased and subsequently sold to Dr Ramroop.

Family tries to locate missing schoolgirl Relatives are trying to locate 15-year-old Abekie Patterson, who has been missing since Thursday.

The Charlestown Secondary School student, of Lot 27 Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, was last seen by a relative, who had escorted her to the East Bank

Demerara bus park.

At the time, Abekie was wearing a striped blue jersey and a pair of jeans.

Relatives have made a report at the La Grange Police Station.

Anyone with information of Abekie Patterson’s whereabouts can contact her relatives on telephone numbers 650-6188; 22-77007 and 223-3580.

Abekie Patterson

We are life savers, you should be one too!Donate blood today!!!

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 11

IAC calls for investigation into latest maternal death Chitrawattie Ramjiwan with her family.

ImmigrationTALK

Child Status Protection Act Helps Children over age 21

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram There are several issues faced by children who are beneficiaries of a pending family-based immigration petition. One of the major issues is when a child turns age twenty-one before the issuance of the immigrant visa.

F a m i l y - b a s e d sponsorship petitions in the United States can take from one year to ten years depending on the relationship between the petitioner and beneficiary. In these cases, a child that is listed as a beneficiary may be under age twenty-one when the petition was filed but is over age twenty-one (or has aged-out) when the visa is being issued at the Embassy.

Generally, if a child is being sponsored by a lawful permanent resident parent or U.S. citizen parent, when the child turns age twenty-one, the visa preference category is changed from a child under age twenty-one to a child over age twenty-one and the processing can take longer.

However, if the child is a beneficiary listed under a petition filed for their parent by a U.S. citizen brother or sister and the child is over age twenty-one when the visa is ready to be issued at the Embassy, then generally the child will not be eligible for a visa since the child is over age twenty-one (or has aged-out).

The exception to the general rules just stated is that the child may be eligible for the visa even though the child is over age twenty-one if the child meets the requirement of the Child Status Protection Act. Under the Child Status Protection Act, a child

beneficiary of a petition filed by a U.S. citizen parent, who was under age twenty-one when the petition was filed will not “age-out” if over the age of twenty-one when the visa is issued. In this situation, the child’s age freezes at the time of the filing.

Also, a lawful permanent resident parent who filed a petition for a child, who was under age twenty-one, on the date the lawful permanent resident parent became a U.S. citizen will not age-out.

Further, the child beneficiary of a petition filed for their parent by a U.S. citizen brother/sister is eligible to have his/her date of birth recomputed under the following formula: subtract from child age when visa available the number of days it took Form I-130 to be approved after initial filing.

Note, this has been simplified for the reader’s basic understanding of immigration. A more detailed case analysis by an immigration attorney would be required to determine a child’s eligibility for the Child Status Protection Act. Reader Question #1: My sister, who is a U.S. citizen, filed a petition on July 2, 2002 for my wife, three children and me. The petition was approved on August 5, 2003.

My daughter was 15 when the petition was filed but now she is 23. The visa became available in November 2010.

Will my daughter be able to get her visa for the U.S. even though she is over age 21?

Attorney Answer #1: In applying the Child Status Protection Act to your case, your child’s age of 23 would be recomputed to age 22 – making her ineligible for a visa under your sister’s petition as

Gail S. Seeram your daughter is over age 21.

Basically, from her current age at the time the visa is available (23 yrs), you subtract the time between the filing and approval of the petition (1yr) and you get a recomputed age of 22. Upon your entry into the U.S. and receiving your green card, you can then file a petition for your daughter if she remains unmarried. A lawful permanent resident can only file a family-based petition for an unmarried child.

Reader Question #2: I was sponsored by my parents and became a green card holder and entered the U.S. in July 2007 but left my son in Guyana with his mother. My son was age 20 when I became a U.S. citizen.

I would like to file a petition to sponsor my son but he is now age 25 and still unmarried. Can I still sponsor him since he is over age 21?

Attorney Answer #2: Under the Child Status Protection Act, since your son was under age 21 when you became a U.S. citizen he is considered a child under age 21 even though he is 25 at the time of your filing. He will be considered an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen and a visa is available immediately (no backlog) but processing time may be 9-12 months.

The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) yesterday called for an investigation into the maternal death of Chitrawattie Ramjiwan.

Ramjiwan, a 20-year-old mother from Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, died while being transported from one public medical facility to another just after giving birth.

“The IAC believes that too many maternal deaths are occurring in public facilities with a high number of the victims being of East Indian extraction. The IAC calls on the authorities to launch an immediate investigation into the death of Mrs. Ramjiwan and for measures to be implemented for such incidents not to be repeated.”

While the circumstances are still to be determined, the

IAC said that those who are tasked with providing such care to maternal patients should continue to strive to be more tolerant and sensitive to their patients’ needs.

“The IAC believes that the need for a high level of care in these situations cannot be overstated.”

Ramjiwan was pronounced dead on arrival at the New Amsterdam Hospital. She was transferred there from the Fort Wellington Hospital after she encountered difficulties while giving birth to her second child.

According to the woman’s husband, Lall Ramjiwan, 28, a factory worker at the Blairmont Estate, his wife took in with labour pains and was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital where she went into

labour.

He stated that his wife encountered a lot of difficulties while delivering the baby.

Despite her efforts the baby was not coming out.

“She actually gave up, then the baby finally born.”

He stated that he was present and was told by the medical staff that the baby had a 50/ 50 chance of surviving and in the meantime his wife was bleeding.

After a while he was told that mother and child will have to be transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital for further medical attention.

The man, whose other child, Amrita, is one year old, added that he was told that his wife was pronounced dead on arrival at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

Politics and the Guyana Police Force …

Are police officers afraid to act professionally?

By Dale Andrews The subject of political interference in the workings of the Guyana Police Force has always been hot, with arguments escalating within the past few months.

While the politicians will deny that their influence is adversely affecting the integrity of the organization, officers of the Guyana Police Force have within recent times publicly highlighted this status quo, which dates back decades.

More recently, one outspoken police officer took on the administration and in a public pronouncement, which certainly caused some embarrassment, subtly accused Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee of directly interfering with the inner workings of the Force and by extension, undermining the professionalism of officers.

For his outspokenness, the officer, Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine, has been summarily disciplinedbanished to the Department of Development.

To say that the decision was not politically motivated

would be denying one’s conscience, especially since the Home Affairs Minister had publicly declared that he had lost confidence in the officer and had requested the acting Police Commissioner, Leroy Brumell, to discipline Ramnarine.

To date, there has been no official hearing on the matter by either the Police Service Commission or the force administration, but Ramnarine is now experiencing the consequences of his public confrontation with the political oversight figure of the Guyana Police Force.

Political interference in the Guyana Police Force did not start with the present Minister nor is it confined to the Minister of Home Affairs.

Others in the political directorate outside of the Ministry have, in many instances, tried to influence the work of the police to their benefit or to the benefit of friends and family.

Ramnarine’s present dilemma is enough reason for other officers to throw away their professionalism and pander to the dictates of

Political powers, knowing that to do otherwise will condemn them to a similar fate.

Remember what happened to Assistant Commissioners Paul Slowe and Steve Merai?

There are many instances that one can cite where police officers believe that they have to obey the dictates of the political directorate, even if it means foregoing their professionalism.

One that readily comes to mind occurred with the crime wave during the tenure of Minister Ronald Gajraj and Commissioner of Police (Ag) Floyd McDonald.

A group of reporters from this newspaper were in a white car that had passed the Carmichael Street entrance twice in less than an hour on their way to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital to check on a reported shooting incident.

Those were the days of wanton murders, and four men of a certain ethnicity in one white car sent shivers down the spines of many city residents and the operatives of State House who were on

David Ramnarine edge were no different.

They contacted the police at Brickdam informing them of their suspicions.

Before long, the car and the driver were pulled in. When another Kaieteur News staff member went to the station to find out what had happened, he too was promptly detained.

Calls to the senior staff in the division went unanswered, prompting Senior officials from the newspaper to personally go to Brickdam to secure the release of the staff.

Although it was explained to

Paul Slowe

Steve Merai

the most senior police officer there that the car was the property of Kaieteur News and the detained men were indeed staff members, there was a definite reluctance to release them.

The operatives who were in the car explained to the police why they were in the vicinity of State House, but still the police did not budge.

Instead they gave one of the most absurd excuses and kept the staff in custody overnight. The conversation went something like this.

“Boy we get a call from State House and we can’t loose these men until we get instructions,” one officer said. “But officer you are a professional officer and you have ascertained that the men in your custody are media operatives and are not criminals.

Why can’t you make a decision to release them?”

“My hands are tied. Once State House call, we have to get instructions from them to release the men,” the officer repeated. Another incident which occurred a few months back was captured by a Kaieteur News Senior Reporter. The reporter had stopped at a road block at Vigilance, East Coast, where the police had stopped a sports utility vehicle with three occupants inside.

One of the occupants proceeded to hurl abuses at the police, while telling them that he is a friend of the Home Affairs Minister.

The reporter upon hearing this intervened and dared the man to call the Minister, giving him the Minister’s cell phone number in the process.

The man did make the call and was clearly heard calling the Minister by his first name.

But when the reporter (continued on page 13)

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 13

Statistics Bureau begins GPL begins construction Population and Housing Census on six sub-stations The Bureau of Statistics (BOS) began its 2012 Population and Housing Census on Friday.

The exercise will conclude this weekend.

According to the Bureau, the Census is conducted every ten years. Enumerators (census-takers) visit every household in every part of the country to administer questionnaires that collect social and economic information and data on the population.

“It is an extremely important national exercise and it is every citizen’s duty to cooperate according to the laws of Guyana, as the Census produces a huge body of information that is used in planning and development,” Chief Statistician/Census Officer Lennox Benjamin noted.

He said the Pilot Census is a smaller exercise, which can be called a mini-Census. This

will put to the test all the plans the BOS has made over the past four years.

“It will test our methods, questionnaires, planning, training and procedures and will give us a feel for the environment we will be working in. Enumerators will visit a few selected households in all regions except Regions Seven, Eight and Nine and administer the questionnaires.

Their experiences will be relayed to the Census Office for use in fine-tuning the actual Census itself,” Benjamin explained The Chief Statistician noted that the agency is asking for the cooperation of every citizen approached by its Enumerators during the Pilot Census, May 18

– 24. However, the agency noted that the citizens’ confidentiality is protected by law, the same law which gives the Bureau the right and responsibility to take a Census.

No-one is exempted for any reason from participating in the Pilot Census or the Census.

“The Bureau would like to remind citizens to secure any ferocious dogs on their premises and to advise their security personnel that an Enumerator may visit them during May 18 to May 24.

“Please ensure to view the Enumerator’s identification card. It is an offence under the laws of Guyana to refuse to cooperate. The Bureau thanks all citizens in advance for their cooperation.”

While police had reassured farmer, Ramjattan Lall, that the Venezuelans involved in the boat collision at Charity, would have returned in a week’s time, Ramjattan said that the Venezuelans have not returned and he is still at a loss over who is going to compensate him for his loss.

Lall lost 20,000 coconuts and other farming produce and equipment he was transporting.

From all reports, police are maintaining that investigations are ongoing and that the information is being processed to be forwarded for advice.

Lall, who met with the maritime officials in Georgetown recently, said that officials are indicating that they have not been supplied with any information that suggests the trawler was involved in the boat collision.

On Sunday last, two days

after the incident, the Venezuelan natives and trawler were released from police custody.

Lall is contending that the Venezuelans were released before the stipulated 72 hours and he was assured by the police that the men would have returned to Guyana last Friday.

Lall added the men were released so that they could discharge the quantity of fish that they were transporting to Venezuela, when the collision occurred.

Accompanied by three of his workers, Lall was proceeding towards the farmers wharf at Charity when the unlit trawler bearing the inscription “Miliannys” hit his boat on its starboard side, sinking the vessel, within minutes of the impact.

While Lall’s boat sustained extensive damage, he and his

workers were left stranded in the water until they were rescued by the Mackbool family at Charity and transported them to lodge a report about the incident at the Charity police station.

Lall said that the police told him they did not have a vessel to trail the Venezuelan vessel, so he was forced to hire two boats which transported the police, who apprehended the vessel and men on board some ten miles from Charity.

Police detained the crew and the vessel was docked at a businessman’s wharf at Charity, until Sunday around 5pm, when it was released.

- reminds citizens to secure any ferocious dogs on their premises

Venezuelans fail to keep appointment with police

Are police officers afraid ...

From page 12 shouted that he was at the scene, the man’s phone abruptly went dead. Whoever he was talking to apparently terminated the call upon hearing the reporter’s voice.

It could be safely assumed that had the reporter not been there, the police would have been given instructions to take a certain course of action. As it turned out, the man was arrested and made to face the court the following day.

Then there was the case of a Government Minister who intervened when the police arrested his son.

Former Police Commissioner Winston Felix threw in his lot when during the debate on this year’s budget; he accused the present Minister of Home Affairs

of directly influencing the action of the police on Elections Day last November. But it is not only the politicians who try to exert influence of the Force.

A member of the judiciary had also used his office to belittle a police rank who had detained a relative of his.

This was done with the support of former Commissioner of Police Henry Greene, who had the rank presented before the judicial officer where she was forced to apologise although she acted professionally.

With recent threats by the Minister of Home Affairs to get tough in his new five-year tenure, it will be no surprise if the move against Ramnarine will force other officers in the Guyana Police Force to cower in the face of improper political directives.

Vreed-en-Hoop Substation Construction has begun on six of Guyana Power and Light (GPL) new sub-stations countrywide. The company is undertaking a massive US$42M infrastructural project, funded by the China Exim Bank.

The Contractor is China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation.

There is a clause instilled in the contract for liquidated damages penalty in place should the contractor default on the deadline set for September 2013.

A US$5M submarine cable is also part of the project; this is being laid from West

Demerara to the Kingston Power plant and has the capacity to deliver over 150 megawatts of power to West Demerara.

The Kingston substation will be expanded to receive the US$5M cable which will be spliced and attached upon landing at Kingston. It will then be connected to the data management hub at Sophia.

The plan to install substations is aimed at improving supply quality and available distribution network capacity and also to reduce technical losses.

The GPL substations under construction are

Good-Hope Substation

located at: Edinburgh, West Coast Demerara (WCD), Vreed-en-Hoop WCD, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, Golden Grove East Coast Demerara (ECD), and Good Hope ECD. GPL has assumed responsibility for the preparatory works associated with the substations (access roads, revetments and backfilling) and clearing of the transmission line routes.

The project is part of GPL’s programme to improve the network across the country and make it ready for a planned 165-megawatt hydro electric facility at Amaila Falls, Region Eight.

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

A SYSTEM IN CRISIS There was a time when you saw school children misbehaving in public, you could have scolded them.

There was a time when upon being reprimanded by an adult, the kids would have downed their heads in shame and apologized for their actions.

There used to be an earlier time when you could have taken off your belt and given a sound whipping to any child that was misbehaving.

And when they went home to complain about what had happened and related what they had done, they would get another round of licks from their parents.

Try intervening in a dispute amongst school children and you will be greeted by a downpour of the vilest abuse, if not a few bricks to your back or head.

You will be told to mind your own business and get on your own way…or else.

If you believe that you are living in the 1950s and 1960s and want to take off your belt, then heaven help you. You may end up getting a good licking and when the children go home and complain to their parents, you are going to be hauled in front of the police for physical abuse. And then be charged for battery.

There was a time when if you saw two school children fighting after school, you felt it was your duty to part the fight. Today there are big men who when they see school children fighting actually egg them on. This is most disgraceful and shows that the real problem, the breakdown in the system, begins with the erosion of social and family values.

Elders are no longer respected. This respect went into remission during the days when there were severe shortages in the economy.

Seniors began to lose respect because they could no longer provide for their families.

You had teachers in school being looked down upon because they had to take sugar cake and fudge to sell to supplement their income.

You had some rich kids whose pocket money was more than what the teachers took home. Life became a hustle, and the better the hustle the more money you had. The youths saw how easy it was to make money in certain ways that were spurned in the past. This turned the entire value system in our country upside down.

The problem is also in the family. Too many of our children are being allowed to become materialistic.

There was a time when a

clean pair of shoes and well ironed trousers, skirts and shirts were far more important that the brand name outfits that the kids are wearing today.

One time, a young girl committed suicide two days before school reopened, simply because she did not get a brand name footwear.

There used to be a time when the dress code for school uniforms rejected the use of brand name clothing and footwear. There were certain things you could not wear to school and these things were vigorously enforced. No school child could be seen with eye shadow or lipstick or jewellery.

Today, children are wearing brand name socks and knapsacks to school.

Yes, there are even brand name book bags.

Lipsticks are supposed to be outlawed but some girls wear lipstick so modestly that it could hardly be seen. Eye liners and eye shadow are applied so skillfully that they can be detected only through close observation.

The teachers are not doing a good job at enforcing the rules, because they themselves are often in dereliction of proper dress codes. Many of them have plunging necklines and skirts that show more than its fair bit of leg.

So there is a moral crisis, because the enforcers of the rules are also in breach of their own rules. Order and discipline break down.

It gets worse because of the actions of some parents.

They have no regard for teachers, and in many instances, are not paying enough attention to their children. Some of them do not even bother to send an excuse if their child is absent from school. Others, when summoned by the teacher, indicate that they do not have time.

When teachers try to impose discipline, they face other obstacles. Some of the very negligent parents suddenly become militant and mobilize to take action against the teachers who are trying to impose order and discipline Some parents neglect to teach their children good toilet manners. This is why a visit to most schools would find the toilets in a most deplorable condition. It is not the neglect by the schools or the educational authorities that are responsible. It is the poor toilet habits of the children who, when they are finished using the

washrooms, leave it in such a state that the cleaners fear being infected.

And then some parent goes into the toilet, sees the state is in, and raises an alarm.

Immediately, other parents respond like a cavalry going into action. The school is shut down. The gates padlocked. The television crews arrive. The parents protest. They say they will not reopen the school until the toilets are cleaned. Nothing is mentioned about teaching good toilet etiquette.

How is the school system going to improve when there is a breakdown of values at the level of the home and in the wider society? No wonder we can read about gangs invading schools, no wonder we read about children going to school with weapons. The system is in crisis, not just the school system, but the entire social system. The problems in the school are but a mere symptom of a breakdown in societal and family values, especially the latter.

Fixing schools requires fixing social and family values.

And this will take some doing in a materialistic world, because materialism promotes individual choice, while promoting social and family values involves subordinating the individual to the greater interest of society. Materialism and social values are therefore in conflict. Resolving this conflict will involve the setting of rules from above.

But is this not a restriction on personal liberty?

This is the difficulty that presents itself in reversing the decline in social and family values. Any attempt to do so will be rejected. In the meantime, everyone complains about the crisis in the system.

Page 19

Page 20

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

Dead: Rudolph Narine

Narine’s body with feet bound lies in a pool of blood at the entrance to the grocery store.

Sunday Special NICIL MONEY INVESTED IN UNDISCLOSED PROJECTS Head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, has revealed that the company’s accounts hold some $700M and not $50B as touted in some quarters. The $700M however, represents only that which is in NICIL accounts as a singular entity and would only include proceeds from the Privatization Unit.

The Privatization Unit, according to Brassington, falls under NICIL accounts, given that it is not an independent legal entity but rather, an arm or agent of NICIL. He said that the $700M referred to as reflected in NICIL accounts, does not reflect the accounts of any of the subsidiaries of NICIL. The Subsidiary Companies that NICIL controls include The Guyana National Newspapers Limited, publishers of the Chronicle, NCN, Guyoil, National Edible Oil Company, Guyana National Printers Limited, Linden Electricity Company, and Guyana National Shipping Corporation.

It has shares in several other companies including Guyana Stockfeeds Limited and more recently, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Pegasus.

The accumulated monies in these accounts are still unknown publicly.

Brassington explains that for a complete NICIL report, inclusive of the subsidiaries to be tabled, then each of the subsidiaries accounts will have to be audited.

This, he explained, is a function that can only be undertaken by the Audit Office. It has not been completed. According to Brassington, all of the books for the subsidiaries for up to December 31, 2010, are with the Auditor General and this is where the process is stalled.

THIEVES SLIT WATCHMAN’S THROAT The once peaceful and secure community of Enmore, East Coast Demerara is once again grappling with another savage murder, the second in less than two weeks.

This time it is 60-year old watchman, Rudolph Narine, called ‘Uncle Boy’, whose body was discovered about 06:30 hours at his place of

employment, R. Ramlagan Grocery at 34 Logwood, Enmore. His throat was slit and his head showed signs of being battered. His mouth was gagged and his feet tied with a piece of white rope. The killers then proceeded to ransack the business place, before carting off an undisclosed quantity of goods.

Villagers are convinced that the perpetrators are elements from within the community, who timed the movements of the village community policing group to perfection.

Narine had been working at the establishment, one of the most popular weekend shopping spots on the East Coast of Demerara, for the past two weeks.

Police in a statement last week Saturday said that the victim’s body was found at the entrance to a grocery store at Logwood where he worked as a watchman. “The body was found with injuries to the head and throat, mouth gagged and feet tied. The store was broken into and articles stolen.

Monday Edition NICIL MUST PROVIDE DETAILS OF INVESTMENTS - AFC

Bert Whyte’s stolen car

Bert Whyte

Recent statements by Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington on the state of affairs of the finances for the Government’s Holding Company are akin to those of a criminal about to be incarcerated.

This is according to Alliance for Change (AFC) Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan, who says that the NICIL’s Executive Director’s statement now claiming that NICIL’s coffers only contain $700M as against the billions touted is very “circumspect.”

“I don’t believe him,” said Ramjattan. The AFC Chairman says that Brassington is now “behaving like a criminal who has been caught and now is about to give a statement.”

“Where are the billions invested?” asked Ramjattan.

He called on the NICIL Director to not only make verbal pronouncements but also to produce tangible documentation.

He said that the NICIL Executive Director must not only make oral statements broadly saying that NICIL only has $700M and the rest has been invested. Ramjattan said that Brassington must immediately provide documents detailing all of NICIL investments so that there can be a determination of where the money is.

While Ramjattan is in full support of his colleague Parliamentarian Carl Greenidge’s call for taxpayers to take private action against NICIL, he is opposed to the proposed method. The veteran parliamentarian says that should a private lawsuit be filed against NICIL, then the ‘sub judice’ regulations would apply and the matter cannot be deliberated in the House until its determination in the Courts.

Tuesday Edition MAN KILLED, CAR STOLEN Grief smothered a Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara family following the shocking news that 44-yearold, Bert Whyte was killed in

the city Monday evening.

Whyte was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was rushed minutes after collapsing in front of the Palm Court Restaurant and Bar on Main Street. He was believed to have been stabbed in the region of his heart by a man who eventually made off with his Toyota Sprinter PKK 8566.

The incident occurred shortly after 19:00 hours.

Police Public Relations Officer, John Sauers, speaking outside the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit Monday night said that Whyte sustained two stab wounds to his left-side chest in a suspected robbery.

It is alleged that Whyte was attacked in the vicinity of Bentinck Street, Tiger Bay and ran to Palm Court in search of help after he was stabbed. An eyewitness said that he saw Whyte, a former Personnel Manager at the GPHC, who now works in the insurance industry, scuffling with a man before breaking away and running towards Main Street.

Before collapsing in front of the popular Main Street nightspot, Whyte gave his cellular phone to the security personnel at the establishment who subsequently contacted relatives.

Investigators suspect that the motive of the attack on Whyte was to rob him and steal his car. However, from all indications, Whyte managed to prevent the robbery on his person, since he was still in possession of his wallet with cash, his cellular phone and a gold ring on his finger. As news of Whyte’s death spread, tearful relatives converged at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

ONE DEAD, FIVE CRITICAL Mother’s Day ended horribly for one young man who died in a twocar collision on the Number Two Village, West Coast Berbice Public Road. Six others were badly injured.

Ramal ‘Rayman’ Madray, 22, of Bennett Dam, Rosignol Village, West Bank Berbice was driving his car, PFF 9723, around 23:00 hrs on Sunday when he lost control and slammed head on into a car heading in the opposite direction. Travelling eastward in Madray’s car at the time were his brother, Premal ‘Boy’ Madray, 29, of Lot 203 Bath Settlement, WCB, whose birthday was last Sunday; Satyan ‘Kevin’ Persaud of Adventure, Essequibo Coast and his fiancee Kimberly. The trio survived the crash.

The car heading in the opposite direction was being driven by 39- year- old Geeta Persaud, of Bush Lot, WCB. The other occupants were Babita and Kevin (only names given), both of whom are in their 30’s of Golden Grove, WCB. They are friends of Persaud.

Babita was discharged late Monday, while the other two remained in hospital.

Wednesday Edition ADEQUATE EVIDENCE EXISTS FOR COURT ACTION OVER NICIL There is enough for a case to be made against Winston Brassington, the Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) as well as subject Minister Dr Ashni Singh, says Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

Carl Greenidge, also challenges interpretations by Brassington of NICIL’s actions and mandate. He says that there is always the option to completely liquidate the holding company, failing alternatives available to remedy the situation.

Greenidge insists that for NICIL and Brassington to claim that it is a private company and as such cannot receive directives from the Government “is rubbish, completely inaccurate.”

In conceding that there is clearly something amiss, Greenidge says that the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA) (Continued on page 37)

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 21

Ravi Dev Column

Last week I wrote about the insistence of some political activists to articulate their politics in such a manner as to incite hatred for their opponents. I named Messrs Lincoln Lewis and Freddie Kissoon as exemplars of this ‘Politics of Hate”.

This practice, I proposed, is not conducive for healthy politics in Guyana. It’s not that I do not accept politics is by definition adversarial: in fact I’m a supporter of agonistic democracy.

As I mentioned, I spent six years in the Opposition benches and I received my share of venom – from both the PPP and PNC. But even though we had some heated arguments within ROAR, I never felt that we gained anything by responding in kind. My premise was that in such a small country if we are to move forward, we will have to work together and this would be hampered by engendered feelings of hatred. I’ve proposed that we

The pace at which some things move often leaves many people in shock. Take the pace at which some bandits will strike in the eastern part of the country. Within minutes, three homes are going to be the target of bandits because these are desperate people who always want money for their extravagant lifestyles.

It is not that the victims would be rich, but they would have some money that would enable the invaders to buy nonessential things like cocaine and alcohol.

And because the police have been known to collect

treat each other as ‘opponents’ but not ‘enemies’.

LEWIS Mr Lewis did not respond to my article, but in a riposte to PM Sam Hinds on the Linden electricity subsidy issue he did confirm the premise of my argument.

Mr Hinds had responded to some claims made earlier by Mr Lewis. But in addition to offering his rebuttal of Mr Hinds’ points, Mr Lewis took pains to repeat his oft repeated charge that the PPP was engaged in ‘economic genocide’ against the African Guyanese community.

“Genocide”, I have cautioned, is a raw emotive word: with the power of modern communications, all of us saw the reality of Rwanda’s genocide.

In addition to caricaturing the claims of ‘marginalisation’ of African Guyanese by other activists, Lewis demeans the horrors of real victims of genocide.

As a trade union leader in Guyana with international connections, I wonder if Mr Lewis considers the damage he’s doing to our image with his drumbeats of ‘genocide”?

And how he might have scared away investors who could have assisted in alleviating the poverty that is the basis of our zero-sum polarised politics?

Also most insidiously, how he’s engendering hatred in the breast of AfricanGuyanese youths who are feeling the real pangs of poverty.

Mr Lewis knows that all studies have shown that Africans and Indians are in the same boat as far as poverty is concerned.

KISSOON Mr Kissoon, complained I was not specific enough about his incendiary language. One example is his insistence on using the term ‘evil’ to describe the actions of the PPP: “The PPP anger at the budget cuts showed the

to be a hotbed of tension.

Some prisoners are going to protest hostile treatment by starting a fire within the walls. There will be the initial panic. Some people will get hurt, but in the end, one will ask whether the hostility was worth it. the spoils, this particular group would seek to make demands on the bandits.

Indeed they know who they are. The harsh reality is that the spoils were so small that angry policemen are going to make arrests. **** The main prison is going

**** A young man is going to break all the rules of decency. The country will hear about a child molestation issue and react violently. This is going to start a family war that will last for some time.

Vengeance is always at the root of some of the killings that occur.

most dangerous psychology at work, a psychology that is scientifically incapable of distinguishing between virtue and evil... how can commonsense and decency prevail when evil is a stronger force? Evil has its own epistemology, logic, philosophy and cultural underpinnings.”

As explained ad nauseum, in the Guyanese context, this word has been used for five hundred years to justify all manner of barbarisms and horror – beginning with slavery. Kissoon is obviously familiar with the prescribed wages of ‘sin’ for the PPP: for years he has obsessively insisted the Opposition return to the “slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah’ of post-2001 Desmond Hoyte. In a word, “burn them” – i.e. the PPP. Have Guyanese forgotten ‘slow fyaah; mo fyaah”? It started after the March 2001 elections– scheduled after the PPP was bludgeoned to relinquish two years. The campaign slogan for the PNC was “Slow Fire”.

The PPP/C won for the third consecutive time. The PNC disputed the elections results and street violence begins as “mo fyaah” is

unleashed. Violence against Indian commuters passing through Buxton becomes routine as roads are dug up to slow/stop traffic; an opportunity to rob and assault.

The fires begin in Annandale, Stabroek News editorialises about “The Preachers of hate” on the TV. “Dialogue” is imposed and Hoyte presents 17 demands for “his constituency”.

Mervin and Bemchand Barran, Dhanpal Jagdeo and Sgt Kooseram are killed.

Commissioner of Police Laurie Lewis declares that “a clear pattern of criminal activities designed to create a climate of instability in the country” was underway. And we segue into the Feb 23, 2002 jailbreak as ‘mo fyaah’ intensifies.

Kissoon himself described those atrocities in his “Ocean Eleven” pieces: “the glaring fact, the incontrovertible fact, remains that a group of seasoned criminals with no scruples or remorse in raping innocent women, robbed and killed people savagely because of their ethnicity.”

Kissoon was castigated furiously by Tacuma

Ravi Dev

Ogunseye, who defended the gunmen as “Resistance Fighters”.

Kisssoon denounced the “Wild Man” as he described Benschop, who taught the gunmen in Buxton, “voodoo political theory”. And yet this ‘slow fyaah; mo’ fyaah” is what Kissoon is exhorting the Opposition to unleash against the “evil” PPP. Last week, Kissoon wrote “Once during the crime spree in Buxton, (Philip Moore) advised me not to worry about the criticism I was receiving because of my denunciation of the misdirected violence.”

Kissoon neglected to mention that the recently departed Mr Moore, a true Guyanese patriot, was thereby castigating those who encouraged Africans to resort to such mindless violence.

Like the present Kissoon.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

The lumber exporter’s strange abduction - What kind of kidnappers would turn down a $30M ransom?

By Michael Jordan Maybe it was because he wasn’t well known. Maybe it was because it happened on the same day that the cambio dealer with the glamourous wife wound up dead in his Bel Air home. Maybe it was because of his family’s silence at the time about the whole affair. Whatever the reason, we didn’t take the disappearance of Khemdat Michael Sukhul seriously until the day that…

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Like I said, Sukhul’s family kept us pressmen at a distance, and it took four years after it all happened for a family member to fill in the blanks about the whole strange affair.

Khemdat Sukhul was a 50year-old resident of Leonora, West Coast Demerara, who owned a very profitable logging concession in Essequibo. According to the relative, he exported mainly greenheart lumber and also sold logs to another concession.

Sukhul had a sister who lived overseas and owned a property at New Providence, East Bank Demerara. The businessman used the location as an office.

And now for the family’s version of what happened to Khemdat Michael Sukhul.

On the evening of Monday, May 7, 2007, Sukhul, his secretary, and two male employees were at the office when three masked men barged into the building. The victims were unable to tell the men’s ancestry. All they knew was that one was dark in complexion, another brownskinned, and the third was light-complexioned.

The gunmen reportedly went straight to the businessman and asked whether he was Michael Sukhul. The businessman insisted that he wasn’t Sukhul.

The intruders responded that they knew that he was Sukhul, since they had seen

him several times. In fact, they had come looking for him the previous day, but he had already left for home.

The gunmen then proceeded to bind and gag the businessman’s employees. However, they left a knife within the secretary’s reach, and instructed her not to cut her bonds until half an hour had passed.

The gunmen then forced Sukhul into a waiting vehicle and left.

After the 30 minutes had elapsed, Sukhul’s secretary freed herself and the two workers. She then contacted a male relative and informed him about the abduction. He contacted the police, who arrived and took the victims to the Providence Station.

From the station, the secretary contacted Sukhul’s mother.

That very night, the phone at Sukhul’s home rang and his mother, Ruby Sukhul, answered.

The caller identified himself as one of the kidnappers and said that he wanted $30M in exchange for her son’s release. He gave the family a one-week deadline to hand over the cash. Sukhul’s relatives were warned not to contact the police.

However, the relatives informed the police about the call. The Anti-Kidnapping ranks visited the New Providence premises from which Sukhul had been snatched.

They also searched a few homes, but failed to find any trace of the missing man.

On Tuesday, May 8, 2007, the persons claiming to be the kidnappers contacted the family again. Between then and Wednesday, May 9, 2007, the kidnappers contacted the family about eight more times.

On some occasions, they phoned Sukhul’s relatives who lived overseas. When the relatives pleaded for time to withdraw the cash from a bank, the kidnappers, apparently believing that the family was stalling, began telling them that Sukhul had the cash stashed in a safe in

Dead: Khemdat Michael Sukhul his house.

And indeed, there was a safe in one of the bedrooms, but that safe, when opened, only contained documents.

When the kidnappers called on Thursday, May 10, 2007, the family members disclosed that they only had a part of the ransom, and pleaded for one more day to raise the rest. The kidnappers agreed, and informed the relatives that they would call at 09:00 hrs the following day.

They even allowed Sukhul to speak to his family. Sukhul reportedly informed them that he was alright and was being taken care of.

That Friday, as promised, the kidnappers called again.

This time, they allowed Khemdat Sukhul to speak to his mother. She was celebrating her birthday that very day and Khemdat wished her well. He informed her that he had been blindfolded by his abductors and taken to a house, but had no idea where the building was located. Sukhul also reassured his mother that he would be home soon.

The family then informed the callers that they finally had the complete ransom.

They asked for instructions about dropping the money off. The answer shocked them.

The caller informed the family that they no longer wanted the ransom. Money or no money, Khemdat Sukhul had to die. He had seen too

much. The family received no more calls.

At around 01:30 hrs on Saturday, May 12, 2007, some residents of Unity, Mahaica, saw a green-coloured minibus turn into Cremation Road. After a few minutes, the occupants in the vehicle switched off the lights and drove away.

Shortly after, residents living nearby heard cries of “help…help…”

Those who dared to venture to the scene were shocked to see a man lying in a clump of bushes on the roadside. The victim was barefoot. He had a gaping wound behind the head, another to one of his shoulders, and the tendons at the back of one of his ankles had been severed.

The badly injured man managed to tell the villagers his name. He was Khemdat Michael Sukhul.

He told the villagers that he was being killed for his land and money.

The residents contacted the police, who transported him to the Georgetown Public Hospital. At around 05:00 hrs, Khemdat Sukhul passed away.

The police would later reveal that although Sukhul was “fully conscious” when rescued, the ranks were unable to get any useful information from him about the identity of his kidnappers.

At the time Sukhul had been found, he was wearing two shirts and a jersey along with dark pants. He had not been wearing the two shirts at the time of his abduction.

The police said that five persons had been arrested after investigators had traced one of the calls the kidnappers had made.

A hire-car driver suspected of transporting the kidnappers was among those detained. They got nowhere with that lead and the driver was eventually released.

The person to whom the phone was registered was also detained. During interrogation, the individual

claimed that he had bought the phone for someone else.

When contacted, the owner of the phone claimed that he had misplaced the device.

Investigators were convinced that he had nothing to do with the kidnapping. Eventually, all the suspects were released.

So, who kidnapped Khemdat Sukhul? Why did the abductors refuse to collect the ransom? Why did they release the badlywounded businessman, instead of killing him?

The relative who spoke with me suspects that a woman who was a close friend of Sukhul’s played a key role in his abduction. One of the things that puzzles the relative is that the callers could describe the inside of the family’s house, which the woman often visited.

And why was Sukhul targeted?

The relative suggested that perhaps someone wanted to get their hands on the businessman’s logging concession, which the family lost after he died. A pontoon

of logs that Sukhul had planned to sell mysteriously vanished after he was murdered.

But investigators may still have one vital clue.

An overseas relative that the killers contacted is said to have recorded the voice of one of the kidnappers. A copy of the recording was reportedly given to local investigators.

“I am still hoping for justice,” the relative who spoke to me said.

“He (Sukhul) never interfered with anyone. He was a religious person.”

If you have any information about this or any other unusual case, please contact Kaieteur News by letter or telephone at our Lot 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown offices. Our numbers are 22-58452, 2258458 and 22-58465. You need not disclose your identity.

You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email a d d r e s s mjdragon@hotmail.com.

SEEKING HELP TO LOCATE RELATIVES OF EIGHT CHILDREN KILLED BETWEEN 1969-1970 Michael Jordan is trying to contact relatives of eight children who were murdered between March 20, 1969 and June 1970, by Harrynauth Beharry, also known as Harry Rambarran, Charles Bissoon, Charles Pereira, Anant Persaud and Maka Anan.

Some of the victims are Basmattie, an eight-year-old schoolgirl from Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara. David Bacchus, 15, of Tucville, 11-year-old Mohamed Fazil Nasir, of Number 78 Village, Corentyne, Mohamed Faizal, of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Jagdeo Jagroop, Mohamed Nizam Ali; Paulton of Hogg Island, Essequibo; Orlando Guthrie, of Grove Village, East Bank Demerara.

Please contact him via his email address mjdragon@hotmail.com., or on telephone numbers 22-58458, 22-58465, or 22-58491. HeI can also be contacted on 6452447.

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 23

== THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN ==

Sprouting a lot of rubbish I suggest that the Guyanese people, especially our young folks, read the opening lines of last Friday’s editorial of the Stabroek News. Those words have tremendous analytical importance in understanding the sadness, tragedy and mystery that is the nation of Guyana. I will reprint here and now those opening sentences.

“For all his titles and letters after his name, Professor, Sir Hilary Beckles, K.A., PhD, etc, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, really does spout a lot of rubbish sometimes.”

So the Stabroek News takes a swipe at one of the Caribbean’s most learned gentlemen and one of Barbados’s most eminent and respected citizens. And why not? His eminence should not deter us from criticizing him when he talks nonsense.

And this is what the Stabroek News has rightfully done.

The newspaper may not be right in its condemnation, but it was not fearful of using strong language because he is Sir Hilary Beckles.

But surely Sir Hilary Beckles is not the only prestigious Caribbean personality that spouts rubbish sometimes. In this group of rubbish-deliverers there has to be Guyanese who have the same status as Sir Hilary. Yet we don’t see the Guyanese newspapers, civil society leaders and commentators talking about Guyanese of top reputation spouting rubbish sometimes.

One man that I saw spouting rubbish is the holder of Guyana’s highest national award, The Order of Excellence. His name is Compton Bourne, who occupies at UG, a similar position as Sir Hilary at UWI. I had a terrifying introduction to this high Guyanese personality and after that I thought he should never have been made the Chancellor of UG. In front of the Council of which Bourne is the chairman, was the selection of three Guyanese citizens the ProChancellor of UG, Dr. Prem Misir selected to investigate gross misconduct involving sexual vocabulary allegedly committed by lecturer Evan Persaud.

When the names were revealed, attorney Gino Persaud told Dr. Bourne that he knows one of the three is a card-carrying member of the PPP. I told Dr. Bourne the two others are staunch members of the PPP. I went on to describe which party group they belonged to. Evan Persaud, in fact, belonged to the same party district committee of the PPP as one of the investigators.

I turned to Bourne and asked that the names be cancelled because it was a conflict of interest. PPP members were investigating one of their colleagues.

Bourne turned to me with unapologetic nonchalance and said; “Are you questioning the integrity of these persons?” Bourne was spouting rubbish when he asked me that question.

In order to protect your integrity you should avoid conflicts of interest. President Jagdeo said that when Bobby Ramroop’s concession request came before Cabinet, he left because Ramroop was his friend. Only a fool does not understand the priceless value of the conflict of interest tradition.

Shortly after that incident, Dr. Compton Bourne’s contract as Head of the Caribbean Development Bank was not renewed.

The same Stabroek News in one of its editorials, referred to Rickey Singh as the doyen of Caribbean journalists and commentators. Now, unlike Sir Beckles, Singh does not spout the occasional rubbish, but does it all the time. His latest rubbish delivery was when he wrote in that gutter newspaper, the Chronicle, that the PPP deserved to have been awarded the Speakership of the National Assembly after the general election results.

If that isn’t rubbish, then science has gone crazy.

Didn’t Ian Mc Donald spout rubbish when, just before the national elections last year, he wrote a column in which he referred to Cheddi Jagan as a genius? Not one shred of evidence was cited

showing the genius of a man who together with Forbes Burnham permanently destroyed Guyana. But here is the rubbish part. Mc Donald said he was moved when he was present at a ceremony when Dr. Jagan handed over house lots to sugar workers in Berbice. He spoke to them like a father and they listened to him like a father.

That incident in the eyes of Mc Donald made Jagan a genius. If that isn’t rubbish then Georgetown is a perfectly clean city.

I could go on, but the point is that the Stabroek News’s editorial is instructive and symbolic. I am glad it was written. It informs us that lots of esteemed citizens with immense titles behind their names and who occupy honoured positions in Caribbean/Guyanese society are stupid and unprincipled people when you get to know them.

Frederick Kissoon Remember the eulogies of some “respected” ones at Bharrat Jagdeo’s Day of Appreciation.

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

Amaila Falls, Tax reform, LCDS among topics for UG essay competition The Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project, Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), Industrial Policy and Structural Transformation and Tax Reform, are some of the items that will be topics of the University of Guyana Economics Society (UGES)’s inaugural essay competition.

The deadline for submission is May 26th, 2012.

The competition had its genesis in the discussions following the Society’s Symposium on the National Budget 2012, which concluded on April 11, 2012.

Second-year student of

the Department of Economics, Saieed Khalil, noted that in the postsymposium discussions, there was an emerging consensus that the scope for UGES’s engagement on national issues be broadened.

As such, it was conceptualized that an essay competition targeting the five-thousand plus students of the University, would serve as an effective tool of engagement.

The competition, which is open to all students of the University of Guyana at both campuses, has as its categories: Amaila Falls

Hydroelectric Project; Low Carbon Development Strategy; Industrial Policy and Structural Transformation; Tax Reform; International Trade (with focus on UNASUR, CARICOM, EU and other trade treaties to which Guyana is party); Guyana’s Political Economy; Technology and development; Public health and development; and Education’s role in national development.

In addition to the aforementioned, any thesis outside of aforementioned categories should be referred

to the coordinator, Khalil, prior to submission.

According to UGES, the dominant themes of the event, chaired by UGES Secretary (ag) Richard N. Rambarran, included a need for a fundamental reorganization of the Guyana economy, and more human development-oriented spending, particularly on education.

Prominent political scientist, Dr. Henry Jeffrey, a former long-time Cabinet member, said there is need for higher spending on tertiary education and drew comparisons to percentage of

GDP per capita spent per tertiary student in other developing nations. Current President of the University of Guyana Students’ Society and student of the Department of Sociology, Duane Edwards, also stressed on the need for the development of human capital.

It was further noted that former President of the University of Guyana Students’ Society and thirdyear student of the Department of Economics, Collin Constantine, emphasized that, without a fundamental restructuring of the Guyana economy, the country would not timely develop an absorptive capacity to retain university graduates and hence, the Brain Drain phenomenon, whereby 86% of UG graduates end up abroad, will perpetuate.

Khalil and Sukrishnalall Pasha, Coordinator of the Diploma in Accountancy, added that there is need to examine the current Budget Speech 2012 to derive an indication of steps the administration are taking towards this end of attaining structural transformation.

To participate in the competition, entrants are expected to conform to all rules and regulations of the event.

Under the rules framework, entrants are permitted to submit co-

authored pieces, and encouraged to participate in multiple categories. However, participants are barred from re-submitting one particular piece under multiple categories.

In addition, entrants are asked to limit their submissions to between one thousand, five hundred (1,500) and two thousand (2,000) words. Also, entrants are asked to ensure that submitted pieces adhere to the recommended format; pieces should have a cover page (with information relating to the title of the piece; category; name and registration number(s) of author(s); and date submitted), followed by the essay and an accompanying bibliography. Crucially, entrants must note that all University rules against plagiarism will be stringently applied.

Once the aforementioned requirements would have been met, entrants should submit their pieces in electronic format to econs.society@gmail.com with the subject line, “RE: Essay Submission.”

Prizes for the first, second and third place finishers will be awarded, in addition to consolation prizes for best performers in each category.

For more information, the coordinator can be contacted at (saieedkhalil94@yahoo.com) or interested individuals can visit the UGES’s Facebook page.

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

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My column

The government, NICIL and other controversies This past week the media reported on a series of events.

There was the report on the construction of a new airport replacing the current facility that operates as the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. I have been using that airport for some time and I have seen the changes.

I travelled through that airport for the first time in 1988 en route to Jamaica. It was not much to shout about, but it was what this country had to offer. People who have been coming to the country had a most difficult time in terms of physical comfort when they entered the immigration section.

Over time there were improvements. Millions of dollars were spent to improve just about every section.

State-of-the-art booths were installed at the immigration section. Air conditioning and just about everything to ensure creature comforts were installed.

Then there was work on the departure lounge. The airport had come from the days when two flights landed and sometimes one. Flights were a constant feature to the extent that at times there were as many as three international flights boarding for departure. This was a most confusing time and people are now saying that flights were delayed, because the departure lounge simply

could not process the volume of passengers.

Now there is a plan to bulldoze the entire operation.

There is also a plan to extend the runway so that larger aircraft can land. This is indeed something good for Guyana, except I do not see the massive influx of people that the government anticipates. These people are supposed to come from Africa and Asia. There was never an inclination on the part of these people to come, so I do not see them coming now.

Of course, if oil comes then there is no telling how many people would be using the airport and the feeling is that there will be oil, but not in a hurry.

The media began to focus on this airport on which the government had spent US$30 million not so long ago. At the same time there was the revelation that a study had been done for a rehabilitated airport. The study indicated that it had been done for the government, but the government said that it never commissioned any study and surely, it never paid for any.

This then became a talking point.

The government was angry at the suggestion that it had commissioned an airport study and it was denying this suggestion. The Canadian High Commission has since

responded that the company was certainly not Canadian.

“On the front page of your newspaper today there was an article about a supposedly “Canadian” company called Unimac. We have never dealt with them at the High Commission and are trying to confirm its origin as it is not in our corporate databases at the High Commission or in those in our Toronto Regional office. Any background you could help us identify the principles would be helpful.”

This was most revealing.

Surely there were people who thought that they could pull a fast one over the Guyana Government. I am not surprised at the turn of events. It would be interesting to know who funded the study. If the government did not, then the people who presented themselves as Unimac must have some resources.

In the end, the media found out that the two men registered their company locally. They also found out that the company no longer exists. Had there been no publication of the study, the nation would never have understood why the new airport deal is of such concern.

The next thing that caught the eye was the NICIL funds. There have been charges and countercharges to the extent that I am

hopelessly confused. NICIL says that it has a right to hold on to its money; the parliamentarians say that the money should be deposited into the Consolidated Fund.

I cannot understand how an entity that collects funds from the disposal of Government assets would believe that it could hold on to those funds and behave as though the money is a slush fund. The government has been using every communication facility at its disposal to justify the decision to hold on to the money.

Of course, such funds can help a government pick up any shortfall without parliamentary approval. I now hear that the government is using that money to part fund the construction of the Marriott. This too is a controversial project.

People simply do not see the need for a hotel at a time when other hotels are struggling to fill their rooms.

There is also another hotel that the government is trying to sell. Would it not have made sense to put in some money and bring that hotel up to the standard that it is seeking?

These controversies have

been fuelling the media, and the government is busy chasing just about every charge leveled against it.

There was a time when the government could not care less. It had parliamentary majority. Today, the political dispensation is that the government must really explain every action.

There are those who are so accustomed to the dictatorship of government that they want to see a return to the status ante. The society is saying that what is operating now is the best thing in the interest of the country. And the media are simply executing their role as the nation’s watchdog.

Now there is another issue—one of conflict of interest. Again the main character is the person who is at the centre of the NICIL i s s u e — Wi n s t o n Brassington. He is said to have sold some assets once under his control but with which he has been integrally involved, to another company. Then his brother enters and buys some of those assets. Was the company asked to keep these assets in some form of escrow until the dust settled?

Adam Harris Of interest too, is that the company that bought the assets is headed by Brassington’s very good friend.

Brassington says that he sought legal advice about any possible conflict of interest. I am not clear whether he got any response, but in his book he has done nothing wrong. I beg to disagree; especially since he once had total control of the assets.

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Sunday May 20, 2012

Sunday May 20, 2012

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NICIL money should have been spent on hinterland development

Can the Minister of Amerindian Affairs explain why our government believes that the development of the Amerindian people must depend on the goodwill of a foreign government? Are we not Guyanese and entitled to a fair share of the money earned by our country?

During the debate of the 2012 National Budget, the AFC MP from Region Eight, the Honourable Eula Marcello stated quite clearly that as Amerindians we will rue the day when Amerindian development rests on the whims and fancy of a foreign country and government.

Amerindians are Guyana’s first people, a significant percentage of foreign exchange earned by this country comes from gold, diamond and forestry, this is the wealth of Amerindian lands and our heritage, yet we are being told our development must come from handouts from foreign governments.

When we listen to the minister and her colleagues in government, we get the distinct impression that the

money earned through the export of gold, diamond, timber and other forest products and money earned in the form of taxes is not meant to be shared with the Amerindian people of this country. The things they are saying make us believe that Amerindians have no right in Guyana.

After the opposition voted to remove $18.4 billion from the 2012 budget, a number of ministers in the government started to lament that Amerindian development was being sacrificed and Amerindians would suffer because of the budget cuts.

This $18.4 billion is money from the Government of Norway, and while Norway has lodged the money with the World Bank, we do not know when the government will meet the criteria to access this money, but we hope that they do so soon.

For now, let us look at the $30 billion NICIL reported that it had in 2003. As we would say, that is $30 billion in the

bank!

What prevented the Government from taking $18.4 billion out of the $30 billion to do the things listed for Amerindian development?

The CEO says the company does not need approval from the Parliament on when to take out money from the NICIL fund and how to spend it, it has been doing so for years.

Actually, the government can take $18.4 billion for Amerindian development and still have a balance of $11.6 billion for development of other groups, including 70 per cent of the population at Linden, Region Ten, who are out of jobs, and the thousands more all across Guyana who desperately need jobs.

If they were indeed the caring government they profess themselves to be and so concerned about the Amerindian people, they would have taken the money from the NICIL account to do the things they claim they

wanted to do to improve the lives of the Amerindian people since back in 2003. The truth of the matter is that out of the $30 billion they had back in 2003, NICIL says it now has only $700 million.

Where did $29.3 billion go?

How was it spent? No one seems to want to tell the people of Guyana what happened to their monies.

Right now the Amerindians are being told that the opposition cut the budget for the LCDS so they will suffer. They cannot get titles to their land; their lands can no longer be demarcated; they cannot get solar panels or laptops.

The Amerindians are quite fed up of hearing the ministers and other members of the PPP telling them such things. They want to hear about opportunities for earning money so that they can provide adequately for their families; they want to hear about opportunities that will allow their children to become doctors, lawyers,

writers, geologists, architects, and the list goes on; they want sustainable development for their villages.

Students are graduating from the Hinterland high schools with excellent grades in CXC and should be given scholarships to be trained as doctors, especially, and be further supported to specialise, since we are very short of specialist health personnel in the hinterland.

First-time moms residing in the Moruca Sub-region, for instance, have to travel as far

as Suddie Hospital in Region 2 to deliver their first born, because there is no gynaecologist in that subregion.

So much can be done to utilise our young hinterland human resources, but, instead, they have to return home to their villages and do very little but help their parents in the farm if there are no vacancies for teachers.

Nothing is wrong with helping their parents in the farm, but there is no market for their produce either.

Mind you, the opposition did not cut a single cent from the budget of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

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Sunday May 20, 2012

Sunday May 20, 2012

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Offshore medical university targets Education tourism??? 3,000 foreign students in next five years

By Leonard Gildarie An offshore medical school which started operations in Guyana two years ago has announced plans to bring over 3,000 students in the next five years.

Speaking with Kaieteur News earlier this week, Saju Bhaskar, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of Texila American University (TAU) also announced plans for a major expansion of the facility in Guyana, amidst high interest.

“Education Tourism”, as Bhaskar coined the term, is a major contributor to the economy of a number of Caribbean territories, with St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Grenada and St. Kitts among the places which have established offshore universities, which mainly focus on foreign students.

It is estimated that each student spends a whopping US$10,000 annually for food, transportation, rent and other activities.

“These are monies that countries are desperate to attract and it is a good thing for Guyana.”

Guyana is also a good thing for the university. Not only was the setting-up process way below other places in terms of cost, but Guyana’s location in South America and the fact it is the only English-speaking country in that continent, is also a big plus.”

Since its establishment in 2010, the university has signed an agreement with the Critchlow Labour College, Woolford Avenue, and has been utilizing the premises for classes.

It started with 75 students last year, with 25 of them locals, all doing medicine and

The offshore medical university at Critchlow Labour College.

dentistry. There are eight nationalities attending classes at the university, Bhaskar revealed.

Already, the facility has shipped in a large quantity of equipment and other material, and has established a number of modern labs.

“We are being marketed in 10-12 countries now, including the US. We are targeting especially North America. Currently, we have students from US, India, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and the UK, with both local and foreign lecturers being utilized.”

Texila has quietly been going about its business, but is making its mark on the tourism economy, with students visiting Splashmin’s and embarking on planned trips for the interior.

“We have also signed an agreement with the

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where students can do clinical training.

Agreements have also been reached with the US, Canada and Philippines to do clinical training, if the students want to.”

Locally, the university has established relations with the Cheddi Jagan Dental School, but is still awaiting word of a possible collaboration with the University of Guyana.

“This September, we are also starting our nursing programme. There is huge interest in this. We had people coming from the University of West England, Bristol. The idea is for the students to spend two years here and two in the UK for training.

“These are licences that can be used to practice in the UK and US as nurses. They can also transfer to US

universities. We are now looking for land and building to expand, as our facilities will become too small.

TAU is registered with the National Accredition Council and World Health Organization, and its certificates are recognized in the US, UK, India, New Zealand and Canada, among other places. According to Bhaskar, the school is currently working on an agreement that will see graduating students being able to practice in all CARICOM countries.

“For this September, we have 400-500 applications already in. Guyanese students are currently being subsidized, paying around US$3,500 yearly. The foreign students are US$6,000.”

The Indian national, in explaining Guyana as a choice, noted that India simply does

A class in progress at the Texila American University.

not have enough schools.

With its huge population, there are 300 schools of medicine there and with 415,000 applications, only

40,000 students are being accepted.

“In the US, half of the 50,000 applicants are accepted. So it is a huge potential and market for Guyana.”

But the school is also eyeing Nigeria and Ghana in Africa, to attract students.

“Nigeria has four or five schools but with a population of 150 million, there are not enough seats available. This is also an attractive market.”

A number of students from Nigeria and Ghana are currently attending classes in Guyana.

TAU is also cognizant of the fact that quite a number of Guyanese are studying in the region, paying far more for the same course.

“So we have our market.”

The university says it is using a mixture of lab-based education and technology to conduct classes, in keeping with new teaching standards.

The lecturers and students are now preparing for a community outreach to conduct eye and dentistry clinics.

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Sunday May 20, 2012

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

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Needed: a collective voice in the G20 for developing countries

By Sir Ronald Sanders Between 10 and 14 May, two meetings took place that were of significance to the people of developing countries, particularly small states. The outcomes of the meetings will depend on the unity of developing states in advancing their common causes, and the readiness of leaders to champion them.

At the first meeting in Brussels, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the 79-nation African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) agreed to join forces in fostering south-south cooperation, promoting inclusive economic growth as a vehicle for sustainable development in developing countries, and providing support for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Regrettably, while they signed a Memorandum of Understanding, they limited the action they would take to “the exchange of information and views”.

Still, even this small step with the UNDP is better than nothing. In recent years, the ACP has weakened itself by abandoning the strong unity that resulted from an accord in 1975 in Guyana in which the group pledged unity and solidarity among its members and agreed to promote sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP states into the global economy.

The 79 ACP members include 40 Least Developed Countries and 36 Small Island Developing States.

Individually, the majority of them are among the weakest nations in the world, but in the two and a half decades from 1975 to 2000, they found enough strength in their unity to secure advantageous aid, trade and investment treaties with the European Union (EU).

However, in the first decade of this century, they allowed the EU to fragment them in the negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The consequence has been a skewered and unfair arrangement.

Fault for the disappointing EPAs does not rest with the EU alone. The ACP group has also failed to collaborate effectively in analysing the weaknesses and strengths of their member states and regions, and to provide collectively

their own pool of experts to overcome hurdles and take advantage of such opportunities and funding as the EPAs provide.

If the ACP Secretariat in Brussels were properly resourced by its member governments, it could strengthen bargaining for countries and regions and help unlock barriers to EU markets and funding.

At the ceremony between the UNDP and the ACP, the ACP secretary-general, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas said: “The ACP Group embodies a coalition of most of the poorest countries on earth, striving for a collective voice in the global arena, while sharing and drawing from each other’s experiences in the spirit of south-south solidarity and cooperation”.

He voiced the aspiration in which he is a firm believer, but unfortunately, there has been little sign of a “collective voice” for the ACP and not enough support for a strong Secretariat manned by wellqualified and experienced persons drawn from the entire grouping.

Still, the secretary-general must continue to summon the ACP Group to uphold and promote the objectives they set-out in the 1975 Georgetown Agreement. It would re-assert the strength of a core group of developing countries that is sorely needed.

The second meeting was one between the Commonwealth secretary-

general, Kamalesh Sharma, and the president of Mexico Felipe Calderón on 14 May. President Calderón will host a Summit meeting of the G20, the world’s richest economies, on 18 and 19 June.

Sharma was accompanied to the meeting by a representative of La Francophonie.

The Commonwealth comprises 54 member countries while La Francophonie comprises 56 countries, 10 of which are also members of the Commonwealth.

For the most part, the 100member countries of the two organisations are developing countries, many of them small states.

The meeting with President Calderón was important because, as Sharma put it, “Ninety per cent of global GDP may be represented at the G20 table, but ninety per cent of the world’s countries are not represented around that table.

The G20’s solutions to today’s global crises and economic challenges can only be truly global solutions if they take into account the priorities and concerns of poor and vulnerable states who are the majority. This is a question of strengthening the legitimacy and relevance of the G20’s work to the wider world.”

Sharma identified to the Mexican president, four priority areas for developing states. These are: financing for development, tackling debt, promoting green growth

and food security.

Additionally, a technical team from the Commonwealth Secretariat is “making practical policy contributions to the G20’s Development Working Group at the technical level, to ensure that the needs of non-G20 countries are factored into the policy options and solutions that are being developed”.

This latter work is important and it is to be hoped that the two big Commonwealth developing countries – India and South Africa – that are members of the G20, are giving strong support to the Commonwealth contributions.

Caribbean leaders will have a rare opportunity to bolster Sharma’s message when they meet President Calderon in Barbados on May 21 for a MexicoCaribbean Summit.

The Commonwealth is to

be congratulated for taking the initiative to brief the Chair of the G20 meetings, and for delivering technical material to the Working Group, but it is really relying on the goodwill of others. That goodwill is not enough to advance the interests of countries not represented in the meetings.

The great contradiction of the G20 – and its unfairness — is that while the 27-nation EU, as a group, is a member of the G20, even though four of its member-states – Britain, France, Germany and Italy – are members in their own right, the 79-nation ACP is not.

Only one ACP country – South Africa – is represented.

Hence, the EU and its member states get several bites at the cherry to push their national and European causes; the ACP does not.

It cannot be right that a grouping as large as the ACP

Sir Ronald Sanders is omitted from the G20.

But, if ACP governments do not insist upon representation with a collective voice, the causes of their people will remain cries in the wilderness of the global arena. The Caribbean initiated the ACP. Its leaders should be active in securing a role for it in global decision-making.

(The writer is a Consultant and former Caribbean diplomat) Responses and previous commentaries at: www.sirronaldsanders.com

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Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

INTERESTING CREATURES…

The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia which also includes the dugong and the extinct Steller’s sea cow.

The West Indian manatee is a species distinct from the Amazonian manatee (T. inunguis), and the African manatee (T. senegalensis).

Based on genetic and morphological studies, the West Indian manatee is divided into two subspecies, the Florida manatee (T. m. latirostris) and the Antillean or Caribbean manatee (T. m. manatus).

However, recent genetic (mtDNA) research suggests that the West Indian manatee actually falls out into three groups, which are more or less geographically distributed as: (1) Florida and the Greater Antilles; (2) Central and Northern South America; and (3) North eastern South America.

Like other manatees, the West Indian manatee has adapted fully to an aquatic life style, having no hind limbs.

Pelage cover is sparsely distributed across the body,

which may play a role in reducing the build-up of algae on their thick skin.

The average West Indian manatee is approximately 2.7– 3.5 m (8.9–11 ft) long and weighs 200–600 kg (440–1,300 lb), with females generally larger than males. The largest individual on record weighed 1,655 kg (3,650 lb) and measured 4.6 m (15 ft) long.

This manatee’s colour is grey or brown. Its flippers also have either three or four nails so it can hold its food as it is eating.

As its name implies, the West Indian manatee lives in the West Indies, or Caribbean, generally in shallow coastal areas.

However, it is known to withstand large changes in water salinity, and so has also been found in shallow rivers and estuaries. It can live in fresh water, saline water, and even brackish water.

It is limited to the tropics and subtropics due to an extremely low metabolic rate and lack of a thick layer of insulating body fat. While this is a regularly occurring species along coastal, southern Florida, during summer this large mammal has

A West Indian manatee nursing her calf even been found as far north as New York City, New York and as far west as Texas.

They are found in fresh water rivers, in estuaries, and in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Females usually have their first calf when they are about seven or eight years old. Normally they only have one calf every three years because manatees nurse their

calf for one or two years, but there are rare occurrences of twins. When a calf is born, they usually weigh between 60 and 70 pounds and are between four and 4.5 feet.

The family unit consists of mother and calf, which remain together for up to two years.

Males aggregate in mating herds around a female when she is ready to conceive, but contribute no parental care to the calf.

The other subspecies of the West Indian manatee is sometimes referred to as the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus). Antillean manatees are sparsely distributed throughout the Caribbean and the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, from Mexico, east to the Greater Antilles, and south to Brazil.

They are found in French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad (however there has been a lack of recent sightings), Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico,

Trinidad, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

Historically, Antillean manatees were hunted by local natives and sold to European explorers for food.

Today, they are threatened by loss of habitat, poaching, entanglement with fishing gear, and increased boating activity.

The West Indian manatee is surprisingly agile in water, and individuals have been seen doing rolls, somersaults, and even swimming upsidedown. Manatees are not territorial and do not have complex predator avoidance behaviour, as they have evolved in areas without natural predators.

The common predators of marine mammals, such as orcas and large sharks, are rarely (if ever) found in habitats inhabited by this species.

The West Indian manatee is an opportunistic feeder, with large adults consuming 10 to 15 per cent of their body weight in food daily.

Manatees feed on about 60 plant species which includes sea grasses as their major food source. They also consume some fish and small invertebrates.

Because manatees feed on abrasive plants, their molars are often worn down and are continually replaced throughout life, called “marching molars”.

The West Indian manatee has a high casualty rate due to thermal shock from cold temperatures.

During cold weather many die due to their digestive tract shutting down at water temperatures below 68 °F (20 °C). Many manatee deaths are caused by large commercial vessels but are attributed to “recreational watercraft” due to the elimination of that classification.

Although female West Indian manatees are mostly solitary creatures, they form mating herds while in estrus.

Most females breed successfully between ages of seven and nine; they are, however, capable of reproduction as early as four years of age.

The gestation period (pregnancy) lasts from 12 to 14 months. Normally, one calf is born, although on rare occasions two have been recorded.

The young are born with molars, allowing them to consume sea grass within the first three weeks of birth. On average, manatees that survive to adulthood will have between five and seven offspring between the ages of 20 and 26.

The West Indian manatee has been hunted for hundreds of years for meat and hide, and continues to be hunted to this day in Central and South America. Illegal poaching, as well as collisions with speeding motorboats, are a constant source of manatee fatalities.

Due to their low reproductive rates, a decline in manatee population may be hard to overcome. They enjoy protection from the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

The West Indian Manatee is also protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, the Manatee Recovery Plan, and the Save the Manatee Club.

However, in April 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the West Indian manatee population of Florida had rebounded. It advised that the species be reclassified as threatened rather than endangered.

(Source: Wikipedia – the Free Online Encyclopedia)

Sunday May 20, 2012

From page 20 provides remedies.

He added that one option in light of the significant backlog of audited reports is to have all of the monies in the various entities such as NICIL immediately turned over to the Consolidated Fund.

QAII ASSETS SKYROCKETAFTER SANATAACQUISITION Having negotiated to lease the Sanata Complex at Industrial Site in Ruimveldt, Queens Atlantic Investment Incorporated (QAII) also negotiated the purchase of the land and property two years later for a still undisclosed sum from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

Following the acquisition of this property, QAII reported that its assets more than doubled. The company’s 2010 Financial Statements, which were inked by the Group’s head and best friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, verified that the group’s total assets for 2009 were $3.6B. It skyrocketed to $7.9B in 2010.

In that 2010 Financial Statement, it is illustrated that appreciation of assets came from the realization of ‘tangible fixed assets.”

According to the report, QAII’s ‘tangible fixed assets’ for 2009 was worth some $1.2B and by the subsequent year that figure appreciated to $5.2B. The company’s 2010 report on its financial expenditure also shows an increase for Director Fees and Allowances. While net expenditure for the year increased for the company over the previous year, its rates and taxes paid remained stagnant at $6M. QAII is said to be an investment company consisting of five subsidiary companies, namely: Global Printing and Graphics Inc.; Global Hardware Inc.; Global Textile (Guyana) Inc.; Health International Inc.; Healthcare Life Sciences Inc. Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. was incorporated in Guyana in 1999 and is run by a board of directors.

Thursday Edition LUNCHEON ‘COMPLETELY UNAWARE’OF STUDY FOR NATIONALAIRLINE Government’s chief spokesperson, Dr Roger Luncheon, on Wednesday said that he was “totally unaware” that the government had commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of setting up a national airline.

Kaieteur News

A series of paid advertisements in the Kaieteur News last week claimed that the government had paid for a study that was conducted by UNIMAC out of Canada. Dr Luncheon said that the advertisements were brought to his attention and as far as the Office of the President was concerned, there was no study.

“I could without any hesitation say I am totally unaware.” Dr. Luncheon said that the Office of the President is not responsible for civil aviation. “Indeed a study could have been done by the civil aviation Ministry.”

Dr Luncheon said that he would have to await the results of his “investigation.”

In the Kaieteur News advertisements, it was claimed that the government ordered that a company called Air Guyana be incorporated, but that was subjected to a legal challenge by an aviation company that uses the said name.

Further, it was claimed that under the Bharrat Jagdeo government, UNIMAC out of Canada – under the names Leon Hui and Francis Chung Ko – was paid a hefty sum to conduct the feasibility study.

The study, the advertisement stated, spoke about an airline that would be the sole designated national carrier of Guyana.

It was further claimed that the study stated that for a national airline to be set up there would be the need for a Category 1 Airport and that shortly before President Jagdeo left office it was revealed that the government had signed a US$138 million secret deal to build a new airport at Timehri.

JAGDEO DECIDED ON SALE OFALL ‘STATE ASSETS’ IN LAST DECADE Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, appeared on State Television last Sunday to clear the air on the government holding company. He said that it was Cabinet, headed by the President, which ultimately has the final say in the disposal of state assets.

He said that the Board of Directors on the Privatization Unit, which is the body that falls under NICIL, evaluates proposals and makes recommendations to the Cabinet which has the final say.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, would have been the Head of Cabinet from 2001 to 2011 when he demitted office and de facto, would have had the final say on each of the sale of state assets, according

to Brassington.

Shadow Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge, has already signaled that A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will be paying special attention to all NICIL transactions. Greenidge told Kaieteur News, recently, that while it is ultimately for the Government to decide where the money is invested; it is also for “the Legislature to know and to give its view on the matter.”

He was speaking to the fact that monies garnered from the sale of state assets

by NICIL are utilized to the exclusion of the Parliament.

Greenidge said that ultimately, “it is for the government to decide on how state assets are used, but it does not exercise that power in a vacuum.”

He also argues that it is illegal for the government to make transfers of state lands to NICIL “free of cost,” which in turn sells it at the behest of Cabinet and the entire sum not turned over to the Consolidated Fund.

“If NICIL is a private company over which the Government has no control, then what is it doing receiving free land from the Government,” asks Greenidge.

Friday Edition GOVT. DISTANCES SELF FROMAIRLINE FEASIBILITY STUDY Government has distanced itself from a feasibility study for a new national airline.

The Office of the President (OP) in a statement yesterday also denied that the study, conducted by an entity named Unimac International, was paid for by government.

“The administration rejects the claims absolutely and in its entirety stating the following - at no time has the PPP/C administration used public funds to commission a feasibility study in establishing a national airline in Guyana.”

Two weeks ago, a series of full-page advertisements in Kaieteur News said that government paid a hefty sum for a feasibility study on an airline business. That study

Page 37

recommended the construction of a new, upgraded airport so that the Guyana flag carrier could fly directly to any United States port.

The advertisement also said that government recently announced a US$150M project to build a brand new Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and expand the runway.

Saturday Edition BRASSINGTON BUYS 2.25 MILLION TRUST CO. SHARES IN BROTHER’S NAME Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, just one day after challenging the opposition members to prove the allegations of corruption against him, is again the centre of another scandal.

This time, Brassington is coming under fire for a transaction that he might have initiated in the name of his brother, Jonathan Brassington, for 2.25 million shares in Hand in Hand Trust Corporation.

Brassington was the head of NICIL when it acquired the Guyana National Cooperative Bank (GNCB) Trust. NICIL then sold the GNCB Trust to Hand in Hand Insurance Company.

On October 13, 2003, the insurance company passed a special resolution to change the name of the new asset to Hand in Hand Trust Corporation.

NICIL, still headed by Brassington, became a major shareholder in the company.

NICIL held 250,000 shares in the Trust; the majority of shares was held by Hand in Hand Fire Insurance Company.

In 2009, by order of a resolution passed by the Board of Directors at Hand in Hand Trust Corporation, “the Board authorized an increase in the Trust Corporation Share Capital from $250M to $750M and further authorized the issuance of Preferred/ Ordinary Shares to cover the increased Share Capital.”

This meant that the Trust increased the volume of shares from 2.5 million to 7.5 million at $100 per share.

Immediately, Jonathan Brassington bought 2.25

million shares for $225 million.

This purchase gave him a onethird ownership in Hand in Hand Trust Company.

By September 2009, Winston Brassington who still represented NICIL as a major shareholder in the Trust company, signed for these shares on behalf of his brother who was at the time and still remains overseas.

Jonathan Brassington became the second largest

shareholder in the Trust company after Hand in Hand Fire Insurance Company which held just over three million shares.

At the same time Brassington, acting on behalf of NICIL, increased its share holdings to 300,000.

Alliance For Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan has labeled this transaction as another in a string of incestuous dealings.

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C’bean, Latin America face large and growing housing deficit: IDB study Latin America and the Caribbean face a large and growing housing deficit, which can only be addressed if governments in the region foster greater private sector investment to increase the supply of adequate and affordable housing, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Currently, one in three families in Latin America and the Caribbean, or 59 million people, live in dwellings that are either unsuitable for habitation or are built with poor materials and lack basic infrastructure services.

The book, the latest edition of the IDB’s flagship publication Development in the Americas, takes an indepth look into the housing markets of more than 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and analyzes the region’s regulations and policies.

The study shows that Latin America and the Caribbean have a higher incidence of slums than other countries with similar income levels - a sign that the region’s housing markets are failing to

meet demand for formal dwellings, particularly for the low-income population.

“Our region needs to address the root cause and not only the symptoms of the housing problem. It needs to promote a well-functioning housing market and provide adequate and affordable housing with legal property titles and access to basic services so that people do not need to resort to living in slums or other informal types of dwellings,’’ said César Bouillon, the coordinator of the IDB study.

“A sustainable and longterm solution requires the mobilization of private resources to increase the housing supply.

Governments simply cannot afford to do it alone.’’

The study estimates that if the region aims to close the existing housing deficit using government housing and urban development programs alone, it would need to boost investment in public housing programs by more than sevenfold to $310 billion annually, or 7.8 percent of regional gross domestic product.

Clearly, public resources

are insufficient and private investment is crucial in order to close the region’s housing gaps, according to the study.

In order to attract private sector investments and expand the stock of affordable housing and improve existing ones, governments must facilitate and implement incentives for mixed land development, improve regulations on land titling and mortgage financing, and explore options that go beyond home ownership to include renting and more efficient building techniques.

The region suffers from both an insufficient number of houses and qualitative shortages, including dwellings with no legal titles, walls made from discarded materials such as cardboard, dirt floors and lack of access to potable water and sewage systems.

Data from 18 countries show that over two-thirds of households in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru and Guatemala have sub-standard housing.

In absolute numbers, Brazil and Mexico are the countries with the biggest housing deficits.

Sunday May 20, 2012

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

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Sunday May 20, 2012

WHO warns of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity LONDON (Reuters) Health data released on Wednesday provided the clearest evidence to date of the spread of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease from developed nations to poorer regions such as Africa, as lifestyles and diets there change.

The United Nations data showed one in three adults worldwide has raised blood pressure - the cause of around half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease - and the condition affects almost half the adult population in some countries in Africa.

In its annual report on global health, the Genevabased World Health Organization (WHO) also said one in 10 adults worldwide has diabetes, an illness that costs billions of dollars to treat and puts sufferers at risk of heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.

While the average global

prevalence of diabetes is around 10 percent, the report said, up to a third of the population in some Pacific Island countries have the condition.

Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer are often thought of as illnesses which primarily affect people in wealthy nations, where h i g h f a t diets, alcohol consumption and smoking are major health risks.

But the WHO says almost 80 percent of deaths from such diseases now occur in low- and middle-income countries.

In Africa, rising smoking rates, a shift towards Westernstyle diets and less exercise mean chronic or so-called noncommunicable diseases are rising rapidly and are expected to surpass other diseases as the most common killers by 2020.

“This report is further evidence of the dramatic increase in the conditions that

trigger heart disease and other chronic illnesses, particularly in low- and middle-income countries,” the WHO’s director general Margaret Chan said in a statement with the report.

“In some African countries, as much as half the adult population has high blood pressure.”

This year’s WHO statistical report was the first to include data from all 194 member countries on the percentage of men and women with high blood pressure, or hypertension, and with raised blood sugar levels, a symptom of diabetes.

This report does not examine the causes behind the rising or falling numbers, but seeks to give a snapshot of major diseases and health risks affecting the global population.

In wealthy countries, widespread diagnosis and treatment with low-cost drugs have significantly reduced average blood pressure

readings across populations - and this has contributed to a reduction in deaths from heart disease, the WHO said.

But in Africa, more than 40 percent — and in some places up to 50 percent - of adults in many countries are estimated to have high blood pressure.

Most of these people remain undiagnosed, the report said, and yet many could be treated with inexpensive medicines - an intervention that would cut the risk of death and disability from heart disease and stroke.

Obesity is another major issue, the WHO said, with data showing rates of obesity doubling in every region of the world between 1980 and 2008.

“Today, half a billion people - or 12 percent of the world’s population - are considered obese,” said Ties Boerma, the WHO’s director of health Statistics and information systems.

The highest obesity levels are in the Americas, where 26 percent of adults are obese,

and the lowest are in south east Asia, at 3 percent of adults.

The report found that women in all parts of the world are more likely to be obese than men, and are therefore at greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

The WHO’s World Health Statistics report is published annually and contains data from 194 countries on a range of health indicators including life expectancy, illnesses and deaths from various diseases, health services, treatments, and risk factors or behaviors that affect health.

World Health Statistics 2012 is available at: http:// who.int/entity/gho/ p u b l i c a t i o n s / world_health_statistics/2012/ en/index.html .

Other key trends identified in the report include: * MATERNALDEATHS: - In 20 years, the number of maternal deaths has dropped from more than

540,000 in 1990 to less than 290,000 in 2010 - a decline of 47 percent. A third of these deaths were in just two countries - India with 20 percent of the global total, and Nigeria with 14 percent. * CHILD DEATHS: - Data from 2000 to 2010 show the world has made significant progress in reducing child deaths, cutting them from almost 10 million under-fives in 2000 to 7.6 million in 2010. Falls in numbers of deaths from diarrheal disease and measles have been particularly striking, the WHO said. * DEATH REGISTRATION: - Only 34 countries representing 15 percent of the world’s population - produce high-quality cause-of-death data. In low and middleincome countries, fewer than 10 percent of deaths are registered.

Advanced Prostate Cancer Common antibiotic Drug May Help at Earlier Stage boosts death risk: study

(HealthDay News) — A drug approved to treat advanced prostate cancer appears to help men who have localized high-risk prostate cancer if given before surgery.

Adding Zytiga (abiraterone) to conventional hormonal treatments eliminated or nearly eliminated the prostate cancer in one-third of men with this often-lethal form, according to new research to be presented at next month’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.

“This is one of the first — if not the first — study to show that you can make prostate cancer in the prostate gland itself disappear in a reproducible number of patients,” ASCO official Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang said at a Wednesday press conference.

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/ oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, said, “This is exciting. It’s a novel way to eliminate cancer before surgery.”

However, Brooks, who was not involved in the study, cautioned that the findings were still preliminary and need further investigation.

Trying to shrink a tumor with chemotherapy and/or radiation before surgery is standard for other types of cancer, such as breast or colon, but hasn’t to date shown a benefit in prostate cancer, study author Dr. MaryEllen Taplin, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, explained at the news conference.

Localized high-risk prostate cancer, which is defined as prostate cancer in men with a prostate-specific antigen level above 20, highgrade disease (a Gleason

score of 8 or more), and stage T3 disease (indicating the tumor has spread through the prostate), carries with it a poor prognosis.

Standard hormonal therapy, which stops the production of male hormones (androgens), has not been shown to be effective in this type of cancer when given before surgery. Nor has the surgery, which removes the entire prostate.

Zytiga blocks production of testosterone, which can promote the growth of prostate cancer cells, but in a different way than established hormonal treatments.

(AFP) A popular antibiotic used for treating bronchitis, p n e u m o n i a , e a r infections and sexually transmitted diseases may boost the risk of death, a US study said Wednesday.

Azithromycin has been on the worldwide market since the 1980s, but the study in the New England Journal of Medicine is the first to document serious heart risks — up to a 2.5-fold higher chance of cardiovascular fatalities — in the first five days of treatment compared to another or no antibiotic.

The comparison was based on an examination of patient records in the southern US state of Tennessee from 1992 to 2006.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University compared about 348,000 prescriptions of azithromycin to millions of records from people who were not treated with any antibiotics or who receivedamoxicillin, a similar medication that is considered heart safe.

The analysis found there were 47 more deaths per million in those taking azithromycin compared to those on amoxicillin.

When researchers examined patients already at

high risk for heart problems, the chance increased to 245 additional cardiovascular deaths per million in the azithromycin group compared to the amoxicillin takers.

While the relative number of fatalities was low, researchers said the findings offer new information about possible dangers that doctors and patients should consider.

“We believe this study adds important information on the risk profile for azithromycin,” said lead author Wayne Ray, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University.

“For patients with elevated cardiovascular risk and infections for which there are alternative antibiotics, the cardiovascular effects of

azithromycin may be an important clinical consideration.”

The Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva first patented azithromycin in 1981, and later struck a worldwide deal with Pfizer to sell the antibiotic worldwide. Pfizer branded the treatment Zithromax and Zmax.

Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that works by stopping the growth of bacteria.

Side effects may include skin rashes, itching, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing and rapid, pounding or irregular heartbeats, according to the American Hospital Formulary Service.

Sunday May 20, 2012

Wedding Eye Makeup Tips The eyes are actually the windows to the soul. A lot can be said about a person from his/her eyes. Your wedding is that one special day when you want your peepers to look their magnificent best. Before you go in for scintillating eye makeup, make sure you hire a sophisticated and talented makeup artist to do the needful. The right eye makeup can make you look breathtakingly beautiful. Here are some professional eye makeup tips for your wedding day.

WEDDING EYE MAKEUP TIPS Always Wear A Base Your eye makeup cannot survive without a base and a primer. The kind of base you choose for your eyes will depend a lot on the weather as well as the condition of your skin. You do not want your make up to run so always use oil free, powder based foundation and primer that will help the makeup to stay on. Layering your eyes with a base helps the make up to last for hours, which is imperative.

Prepping Your Eyes For The Big Day No amount of makeup will hide baggy, puffy and sagging eyes. In order to prevent this, make sure you get your full quota of 8 hours of sleep. Eat healthy for bright and beautiful eyes. Do not forget to apply a good under eye cream to nip those fine lines. You can also use a hydrating mask just for your eyes. Clear eyes will help to enhance the beauty of your eye makeup.

The Colour Of The Eye Makeup A lot goes into deciding the colour of your eye makeup.

In most cases, you will be choosing eye shadow shades that go well with your wedding dress, your mood, persona and the overall theme of the wedding. If you want to go natural, choose neutral shades in shimmery beiges, golden and emerald green. For a more exotic look, dabble in blues, purples and deep pinks. Always try out the makeup first and ask a trusted person for his/her inputs.

Use A Combination Of Matte And Shimmer When you are applying the eye shadow, apply a good matte eye shadow to your eyelid crease. Highlight the remainder of your eyes with a good shimmer eye shadow especially in the brow bone area. This will make your eyes pop in all their glory.

Lining The Eyes Always line your eyes well on your wedding day. Liners add depth and dimension to your eye shadow and the overall effect your eyes exude. Go in for long lasting, waterproof eyeliners for both your upper and lower eyelids.

Use Tear Proof Mascara Since you are going to weep buckets on your wedding day, suffice to say, waterproof and tear proof mascara will be your best friend. Normal mascara will run and ruin your eye makeup. Apply thick coats of it. Do not hesitate in going for artificial eyelashes to make your peepers stand out.

Get Your Brows Organized Just highlighting your eyes is not enough. Add character to your eyes by shaping and highlighting your eyebrows.

Have unwanted hair removed and use a good eyebrow pencil to define and line your brows. Enhance them with a shimmery highlighter.

SOLUTION FOR LAST WEEK’S SEARCH & FIND

Kaieteur News

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Sunday May 20, 2012

Born Loser

WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM BEFORE? Taxiing down the tarmac, the jetliner abruptly stopped, turned around and returned to the gate.

After an hour-long wait, it finally took off.

A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, “What was the problem?”

“The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine,” explained the Flight Attendant, “and it took us a while to find a new pilot.” *************** TROUBLE WITH PLANE ENGINES While cruising at 36,000 feet, the airplane shuddered, and a passenger looked out the window.

“Oh no!” he screamed, “One of the engines just blew up!”

Other passengers left their seats and came running over; suddenly the aircraft was rocked by a second blast as yet another engine exploded on the other side.

The passengers were in a panic now, and even the stewardesses couldn’t maintain order. Just then, standing tall and smiling confidently, the pilot strode from the cockpit and assured everyone that there was nothing to worry about.

His words and his demeanor seemed made most of the passengers feel better, and they sat down as the pilot calmly walked to the door of the aircraft. There, he grabbed several packages from under the seats and began handing them to the flight attendants.

Each crew member attached the package to their backs.

“Say,” spoke up an alert passenger, “Aren’t those parachutes?”

The pilot confirmed that they were.

The passenger went on, “But I thought you said there was nothing to worry about?”

“There isn’t,” replied the pilot as a third engine exploded. “We’re going to get help.” *************** THEREARE LAWYERS ON THE FLIGHT An airliner was having engine trouble, and the pilot instructed the cabin crew to have the passengers take their seats and get prepared for an emergency landing.

A few minutes later, the pilot asked the flight attendants if everyone was buckled in and ready.

“All set back here, Captain,” came the reply, “except the lawyers are still going around passing out business cards.” *************** FLYING WITHOUTAPARACHUTE A man jumps out of an airplane with a parachute on his back. As he’s falling, he realizes hiss chute is broken. He doesn’t know anything about parachutes, but as the earth rapidly approaches, he realizes his options are limited; he takes off the parachute and tries to fix it himself on the way down.

The wind is ripping past his face, he’s dropping like a rock, and at 5000 feet, another man goes shooting up past him. In desperation, the man with the chute looks up and yells, “Hey do you know anything about parachutes?!”

The guy flying up looks down and yells, “No, do you know anything about gas stoves?!” *************** WHAT JUST HAPPENED HERE? A military cargo plane, flying over a populated area, suddenly loses power and starts to nose down. The pilot tries to pull up, but with all their cargo, the plane is too heavy.

So he yells to the soldiers in back to throw things out to make the plane lighter. They throw out a pistol. “Throw out more!” shouts the pilot. So they throw out a rifle.

“More!” he cries again. They heave out a missile, and the pilot regains control.

He pulls out of the dive and lands safely at an airport. They get into a jeep and drive off. Pretty soon they meet a boy on the side of the road who’s crying.

They ask him why he’s crying and he says “A pistol hit me on the head!”

They drive more and meet another boy who’s crying even harder. Again they ask why and the boy says, “A rifle hit me on the head!”

They apologize and keep driving. They meet a boy on the sidewalk who’s laughing hysterically. They ask him, “Kid, what’s so funny?” The boy replies, “I sneezed and a house blew up!”

Garfield

Non Sequitur

Peanuts

Shoe

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Country profile:

Kaieteur News

SWAZILAND OVERVIEW

King Mswati has resisted calls for democracy

Sunday May 20, 2012

The kingdom of Swaziland is one of the world’s last remaining absolute monarchies.

Its king rules by decree over his million subjects, most of whom live in the countryside and follow traditional ways of life.

The power of the throne, however, has not gone unchallenged.

King Mswati III, on the throne since 1986, is upholding the tradition of his father, King Sobhuza II, who reigned for almost 61 years and had scores of wives.

King Sobhuza scrapped the constitution in 1973 and banned political parties.

King Mswati has shown no enthusiasm for sharing power, but banned opposition parties and trade unions have been vocal in their demands for greater democracy and limits on the king’s power.

With peaceful change in neighbouring South Africa and Mozambique, Swaziland has been described as an island of dictatorship in a sea of democracy.

Royalists have argued that democracy creates division, and that a monarch is a strong unifying force.

A long-awaited constitution, signed by the king in 2005 and introduced in 2006, cemented his rule.

Swaziland is virtually homogenous, most of the

population being of the same tribe. Economically, it relies on South Africa, which receives almost half of Swazi exports and supplies most of its imports.

Many Swazis live in chronic poverty and food shortages are widespread.

Aids is taking a heavy toll.

With an adult HIV prevalence of 26 percent in 2007, Swaziland has the most severe level of infection in the world. The virus has killed many workers and farmers and has created thousands of orphans. Life expectancy has plummeted.

FACTS Full name: The Kingdom

of Swaziland Population: 1.2 million (UN, 2010) Capital: Mbabane Area: 17,364 sq km (6,704 sq miles) Major languages: Swazi, English (both official) Major religions:

Christianity, indigenous beliefs Life expectancy: 50 years (men), 49 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 Lilangeni = 100 cents Main exports: Sugar, wood pulp, minerals GNI per capita: US $2,630 (World Bank, 2010) Internet domain: .sz International dialling code: +268 LEADERS King: Mswati III King Mswati III was crowned in 1986 at the age of 18, succeeding his longserving father King Sobhuza II, who died at the age of 82.

The king, who is known as Ngweyama - “the lion” often appears in public in traditional dress and has many wives.

He rules by decree and has been criticised for the heavy-handed treatment of opponents. The king has also been criticised for requesting public money to pay for new palaces, a personal jet and luxury cars. Street protests led him to abandon the aircraft purchase.

Protesters angered by economic decline have become increasingly vocal in demanding political reform.

MEDIA State control of the media is strong. The government controls all radio and TV stations with the exception of a Christian radio station.

Freedom of expression in the press is seriously restricted. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders says the sole private daily is largely given over to “news trivia, entertainment and sports”. “Criticising the king is inconceivable,” it adds.

There were more than 95,000 internet users by December 2011 (Internetworldstats.com).

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Sunday May 20, 2012

From the Diaspora ...

THE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA

By Ralph Seeram This article is prompted by a recent occurrence in the field of education in the state of Florida this week. Some 70 odd percent of students between grades three and eight failed the state’s Florida Comprehensive Assessment test (FCAP) in English.

This is a statewide test given to students in certain grades in primary and secondary schools. Yes, nearly 80 per cent of the Florida students failed the standard English test, and the word is when the Mathematics test results come out in a few weeks the results could be even more disastrous.

The test itself has been a

controversial issue, with some arguing that it was not the best gauge of a child’s progress. If students in certain grades do not pass the exam they will be given an opportunity to repeat the tests and failure means that they will have to repeat their grade or to use the Guyanese term they “will be left back” That was the problem facing the Florida Department of Education. We are talking about students in the hundreds of thousands. The students were required to achieve a level four score to pass.

So, how did the State’s Educators resolve the problem? Among the States, Florida has consistently ranked nearly to the bottom of the rankings. Schools

budgets are often subject to cuts and dependent largely on property taxes. Nearly half of my property taxes are school taxes.

With the ongoing mortgage crisis and foreclosure of homes, property values in Florida plunged nearly 50 per cent in value, resulting in drastic reduction in revenues. But returning to the FCAP results; how did the State resolve the problem? Simple they just REDUCED THE PASSING SCORE FROM LEVEL 4 TO LEVEL THREE, brilliant, now the situation has been reversed, nearly 80 per cent has now passed the test.

While this was happening two American Senators introduced legislation aimed at giving working visas to

foreign students who graduated with advanced degrees in American Universities. Senators Lamar, a Republican and Chris Coons, a Democrat, introduced the SMART Act an acronym for Sustaining our most Advanced Researchers and Technology.

The legislation wants to create an F4 visa for students working in the STEM fields…students working on advanced degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Generally, students who complete their studies have to return to their countries, a kind of a reverse brain drain; they are being educated in American Universities and returning to countries that are the USA main competitors — China

Private entity offers hope to cancer patients A total of 1,137 patients have received treatments so far, for various types of cancer from the Cancer Institute of Guyana (CIG), located in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) compound.

Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by outof-control cell growth. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected.

Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissues called tumors (except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream.)

In Guyana, the most common types of cancer are cervical, breast, leukemia, prostate and colorectal cancer.

This is according to the radiation

oncologist, Dr. Narendra Bhalla.

Dr. Bhalla was brought to Guyana from Chicago under the sponsorship of Global Imaging Service, a sister company of CIG, to start the clinic, to evaluate and to select patients for radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.

Global Imaging Service/ CIG is a private institute and a project of the Ministry of Health/GPHC. It was inaugurated in June 2006.

Global Imaging Service, which is located in St Joseph Mercy Hospital, Kingston offers MRI, CT Scans and Ultrasounds while CIG offers Oncology Consultations, mammography, Pap Smears, Chest X-Rays, Chemotherapy, External Beam Radiation Therapy, Intra Cavity Radiation Therapy, CT Scans and Bone Density Scans.

At CIG, a Linear Accelerator machine is

available to provide radiation therapy for patients who are diagnosed with cancer.

According to Dr. Bhalla, cancer is a growing medical problem in Guyana and the number of persons who seek treatment continues to grow each month. The most common types of cancers being treated at CIG are cervical, prostate and breast cancer.

The Radiation Oncologist stated that brain tumor and lung cancer are the most serious types of cancer while breast and prostate cancer are actually the “good type if they are caught at an early stage.”

He said that patients visit the institute when the cancer is at various stages. “Some come at stage four and when it is at that stage, the survival level is less and the treatment is also less. Those patients suffer the most while the patients who come at an early stage are doing well.”

Dr. Bhalla said that once a patient has been diagnosed

with cancer and undergoes surgery, he or she is supposed to have regular check-ups up to five years.

“Cancer can come back so we have to keep regular checkups. After five years we can say it is cured,” Dr. Bhalla noted.

When asked about some of the challenges he encountered with patients coming from GPHC, he said the hospital process is too slow. “If I need blood transfusion the process can take two weeks when it should take only one day privately. The doctors’ report takes three to four weeks when it is supposed to take only one week.”

Other than that, he said the institute is doing good and giving its “all” to patients. It is advised that women who are sexually active or are 18 years and older should have annual pap smears and pelvic examinations.

All females over 40 years of age should have an annual mammography for breast cancer. (Romila Boodram)

and India —where most of these students come from.

The law, if passed, would allow the student in the STEM fields to stay for a year searching for a job, and then on obtaining a job in a related field, he will be given a Green Card to stay in the United States. The idea is to retain the brightest brains from around the world to meet the demands of American Hi Tech industries. The legislators pointed out that about half the students in the masters and Doctorial programmes in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics field are foreign students.

The reality is America is not producing enough of its own graduates in the field of science and technology. I observed this trend quite a few years ago when my son was in University pursuing an Electrical Engineering degree.

Coming to the finals years he pointed out to me that the engineering classes were

drastically reduced to a few students, most of whom were foreign born.

On checking the list on his graduation most of the engineering graduates were foreign names. Since then whenever I attend a University graduation I make it a point to look up the names of students graduating in science and engineering, and it’s always the same story, foreign names dominate the graduating list.

Given this is a presidential election year; this legislation may have some difficulty passing in congress. It also demonstrates the crisis in the American education system.

Imagine the State of Florida had to lower its passing grades standards to make it appear that nearly 80 per cent passed. No wonder half the Masters and Doctorial students in the science and technology fields are foreigners.

Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: rap365@hotmail.com

South American development bank to be operational this year Argentina (Dow Jones)— South American development bank, Banco del Sur, should be operational during the second half of this year, a top Argentine government official said Friday.

Adrian Cosentino, finance secretary at Argentina’s Economy Ministry, said the bank will formally open its doors after a meeting of the finance ministers of the Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR, to be held next month or July in Venezuela.

However, it won’t immediately be in a position to start lending, he added.

“This project aspires to become the financing arm of UNASUR. Even though there are seven founding countries our expectation ... is to include other UNASUR countries,” Cosentino told reporters.

UNASUR comprises

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Banco del Sur is intended to complement existing regional development banks like the Andean Development Corporation and the InterAmerican Development Bank.

Though the bank’s articles of agreement were signed in September 2009, the legislatures of Brazil and Paraguay still have to approve the participation of their respective countries in the project.

The bank’s authorized capital is US$20 billion, and the founding nations— Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela—have agreed to provide seed capital of $7 billion. Cosentino said Argentina will contribute US$80 million this year.

Sunday May 20, 2012

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Family waits as Guyanese man sits in limbo at U.S. border Canada (thespec.com)Richard Austin sits in a Buffalo detention facility with no idea when he will get out.

Officially, the Hamilton resident is neither a citizen of Canada nor of the United States and that is partly why he finds himself behind bars.

Austin travelled to the border in Niagara Falls Monday after being ordered out of Canada. Once there he said he was strip-searched, forced into an orange jumpsuit and put in a cell.

“I had no idea what was going on,” he said on the phone from the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility.

Austin, 32, was born in Guyana, but was raised by his grandparents after his father died when he was six. He moved to the U.S. when he was 12 and became a permanent resident there.

In October 2009, he came to Canada to reconnect with

his mother and brothers and settled in the Hamilton area.

He’s a poet and public speaker, a volunteer with a youth mentorship organization and most recently, a husband and father.

The problem is he never applied to come here. Austin said his mother was not able to sponsor him but he’d hoped his wife would be able to sponsor him after they married.

He tried to take steps — including unsuccessfully claiming refugee status — when Canadian immigration told him he had to leave.

Austin got a letter ordering him to report to the U.S. border by May 14. He was told he had to live outside Canada for a year and could then apply for residency.

When he arrived at the border crossing, he got a

shock. He was told his U.S. permanent residency was no longer valid because he’d lived abroad for more than a year.

He also had a previous misdemeanour drug conviction after police found 0.7 grams of marijuana on the floor of his car in 2003. He didn’t realize he needed to apply for a waiver if he didn’t want the conviction flagged at the border.

Tom Rusert, chief U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, said a person could be arrested and detained at the border for many reasons, such as outstanding criminal charges and administrative charges that include immigration issues.

Rusert declined to comment on the case, citing privacy laws.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the

Canada Border Services Agency were also unable to comment.

“I feel like they led him into a trap,” said his wife, Kenesh Austin.

“How many people get these letters and don’t go, they run ... but (Austin) did the right thing and now he’s

Peru (insightcrime.org) Profits from illegal mining in Peru are higher than those of cocaine trafficking, according to a consulting firm. In some ways, however, this is a sensationalist comparison, intended more to attract attention than to accurately describe the problem.

Peru’s illegal mining exports were worth an estimated $1.79 billion in 2011, compared to the $1.2 billionworth of cocaine trafficked through the country that year, according to analyst Elmer Cuba of Peru-based consultancy firm Macroconsult.

This means illicit gold exports accounted for 22 percent of Peru’s total exports of the metal in 2011.

The estimate for the total worth of Peru’s exported cocaine is Macroconsult’s calculation, appearing in a book on the country’s drug trade published last year.

According to the US government, Peru has now surpassed Colombia as the world’s largest producer of pure cocaine. The growing drug trade has helped fuel the resurgence of the rebel group the Shining Path in remote parts of the country.

And like its Andean neighbours, Colombia and Ecuador, Peru is facing another huge problem in its growing illegal mining sector.

There have been attempts in Peru to link the informal mining trade to organized crime, but evidence for this is sketchy.

Estimates on the size of any illegal economy are inherently unreliable.

Macroconsult’s numbers

provide a useful idea of how big Peru’s informal mining trade and drug trade have become, but these cannot necessarily be used to guide policy decisions.

The figures imply that informal mining has become just as serious a problem for Peru as drug trafficking, but in security terms this is not the case. Informal mining does share several similarities with the drug economy; both need a base of impoverished producers — coca growers or artisanal miners — in order to flourish. However, this

doesn’t mean informal mining should be treated as a security issue.

In Peru, informal mining is still more of an environmental, economic, and social problem than an issue of organized crime. So far, there is more evidence of criminal groups’ involvement in illegal timber exports than gold.

Macroconsult analyst, Cuba, also pointed out that the Madre de Dios region, Peru’s gold mining heartland, sees the largest illegal gold exports, but was not counted in the study. It was once a major

coca-producing area, but due to pressure from the government many coca growers had to find alternative livelihoods, such as cacao farming.

The decline of the coca economy could also explain why informal mining has grown so dramatically in Madre de Dios in recent years, as communities looked for other ways to sustain themselves economically. A similar phenomenon has taken place in some parts of Colombia, and helped fuel the growth of informal mining there.

Kenesh Austin, with daughter Nyoke Austin, talks with husband Richard, who is in a United States detention centre.

‘Illegal mining bigger than drug trade in Peru

being punished.”

The pair met about two years ago when she was a waitress at a local restaurant.

They were married last October.

Sitting in their small living room, Kenesh bounces the couple’s 10-month-old daughter, Nyoke, on her lap.

The father and daughter are very close; Nyoke wouldn’t eat for two days after he left.

Kenesh had resigned herself to the fact her husband would be living in another country for a year before she could sponsor him and restart his immigration process. But nothing prepared her for his panicked phone call on Monday.

“I’ve cried and cried,” she said.

Artword Artbar’s Ronald Weihs and Judith Sandiford met Austin through the monthly spoken word events.

Weihs said they were upset to learn what happened and have been trying to help.

“There is no doubt that

from a technical point of view the fault is his, he should have known, should have (taken proper steps),” Weihs said.

“But he came to live with his mother and they were citizens. He basically thought that living with them, he was fine.”

They contacted U.S. immigration lawyer Michael Marszalkowski, who agreed to take on the case.

Marszalkowski said he has applied to have Austin paroled, which means he could be released while awaiting an immigration hearing. “He’s a good person, clearly not a risk to the public,” he said.

Marszalkowski said immigration laws are complicated and believes with the help of a good Canadian immigration lawyer, Austin should have been able to stay in Canada.

Weihs and Sandiford are working to hire a Canadian immigration lawyer.

Page 54

Kaieteur News

EDUCATIONAL Princeton College Forms 15, CXC adults’ classes’; $1500 a subject S.A.T/Phonics etc.

Call: 690-5008, 611-3793 WANTED One cook, must know to cook Roti & Puri. Call 6477432 Tailors. Contact Paul’s Tailoring, 14 Lombard St. G/ Town. Tel# 223-8266/6808046 Counter servers, roti/curry cooks, pastry makers & handy boys. Apply Hack’s Halaal, 5 Commerce St. Live-in domestic must know to cook and 1 waitress, salary 50,000 monthly.

Call:610-5043 Persons/family to live & take care of farm @ E.C.D, attractive salary offered.

Contact: 690-1943, 691-8021

WANTED East Coast Guyoil pump attendants wanted (day and night), wash man, office assistant & sales girls. 6842838, 602-5031 Contract cars. Must be in Hire & Yellow. Base free. $3500 weekly. Call 660-9977 Taboo Employment Agency.

Jobs available. Tele Communications Field. Call: 233-6517, 233-6523, 622-1957 Waitresses @ Diamond Gate Liquor Restaurant and Bar, Lot 18 Belmont Mahaica.

Tel# 228-5013, 622-5599 Carpenter with own tools.

Apply at Guyana Variety Store, 68 Robb Street. Tel no.

225-4631

Two male shop assistants to work in Georgetown & the interior, serious enquiries only. Call: 225-2940, 225-0305

One live-in or out maid & experienced sales girl. Call: 264-3356, 253-3149, 668-3985

Urgently: chainsaw operator to work in the interior. Call: 626-0006, 231-3159

1 General Domestic. Must know to cook, from East Bank Dem. Area. Tel# 614-4358

1 male or female to look after layer birds in the interior.

Tele# 688-4905

Sales boy and girl. 615-3090

1 driver to drive in the interior. Must have bus and canter license. Tel# 688-0197 Manager’s Assistant general duties including Custom and Bond, Security Guards, accommodation available. Call: 676-6700 1 Diesel Mechanic, to work in the interior. Tel# 688-4905 Honest/Experienced sales clerk. Apply with written application Nanda’s Boutique, 223 Camp St. Tel 226-1621 Taxi Drivers at Princess Hotel. Contact 616-5419, 2657075 Sales Girls & Porters. Apply with written application at Best Buys Food Supplies, 1E Dennis & Middleton Streets, Campbellville.

Experienced sewing machine operators. Tele no.: 220-4337 Taxi Drivers and Carpenter.

Call: 225-3234 Experienced House Keeper.

To work on the E.C.D (parttime). Tel: 648-3151 Labourers to work at Jettoo’s lumberyard & Sawmill @ Coverden Public Road, East Bank Demerara. Call: 2615041, 261-5042, 226-2756 1 experienced welder to fabricate grill and other welding work. Apply to Alabama Trading, Georgetown.

Girls to work as waitress , age 18 to25 in Bar. Call: 256-4096 Bulldozer operators, Excavator operators, Service men. To work in interior.

Previous experience an asset.

Contact: 226-9768, 629-0037 Assistant Manager. To work at an out of town hotel.

Contact 226-9768, 682-4387 1 experienced hauler/truck driver. 1 able bodied male cleaner/gardener. Apply to Alabama Trading.

Experienced Graphic Artist.

Tel# 233-2725, 233-2439 Sales girls: please send written application to: Naudia’s City Mall, Ground Floor, 111-112, Camp Street, Georgetown.

Factory worker. Apply in person with written application @ Comfortsleep, 49 Eccles Industrial Estate, E.B.D. Skilled carpenters to work out of town. Must be able to work with limited supervision. #615-7526 Driver for canter truck. $20,000. Full-time Porter & Mechanic to work part-time on W.C.D. Call: 684-8231 Buying non working appliances such as fridge, washing machine, freezer, etc. 669-9427 To buy 1-22 RB Dragline. Call: 616-0617, 663-3285 Scrap metal. Call 616-0617, 663-3285.

Imperial College – CXC Jan/ June 2013 exam. Day/ Evening classes, flexible hours. Contact 227-7627, 683-5742 Private tutor – homeschooling CXC/GCE English A&B. Call: 649-4247 Advanced Diploma in Computer Studies for CSEC students 2012. $15,000 discount. MicroGraphics Technology. Vreed-En-Hoop 264-3057 Special Computer Classes for 2012 CSEC students.

MicroGraphics Technology, Parika (Bollywood building) Tel: 670-5734 TOUR Independence Day 26th, 27th. Capoey Lake, Marshall Rapids, Santa Mission. Joy 218-1285, 649-9059.

PEN PAL Female, age 24, seeking both female & male friendship.

Tele: 614-6813 Female seeking single male companion , age 35-45 yrs all: 643-4854 FOR SALE Generac Generator/Americn made, 7000w, fully enclosed; low noise. Propane/gas cylinder, ATS available. Call: 612-1486, 646-8326 Cheap earth delivery to spot, E.C.Dem, E.B.Dem. Tel# 6279977, 698-0182 Gold detector waterproof, headset, battery charger, Walki-talkis Call: 609-7625 Clean garden earth and builders’ waste, also Bobcat Rental Excavating clearing and Leveling. Call: 616-0617, 663-3285 WANTED Sawmill workers. Tel: 2616412/653-9752 Salesboys and Salesgirls at D. Singh & Sons. 226-1316, 226-0881 One female bartender to live and work in Mahdia.

Attractive salary. Contact # 680-9473/616-7241 Skilled Arc/Acetylene Welder. Very good rates offered. Tel – 22-71830.

Female workers needed; 3 subjects or sound secondary education. Call: 225-7307.

One (1) General Worker to work shift system in G/Town.

Tel# 225-6337.

One Bond Clerk. Apply in person Alabama Trading, Georgetown Ferry Stelling, Stabroek.

Sunday May 20, 2012

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

One Hilux Vigo (new) GNN series 231-5171, 619-7134

One Massey Ferguson 399 Tractor. Call: 619-6093

Toyota Starlet 2 E Turbo engine with gearbox and ECU: Call: 624-7155.

1 four wheel Utility Trailer, 1 16" Bore irrigator pump on trailer. Tel: 227-1830

NARS lipgloss, eyeshadow & Clinique Chubby Stick. Tel: 669-8374.

Yamaha outboard engine parts for 115HP-200HP, crankshaft fat & fine top, pistons, bearings. Call: Terry665-9405

15-15-15 fertilizer. Call: 2662711, 609-4594 2x2x1.5MM, Hollow section $4500 VAT inclusive. Call: 220-6100, 680-5900 Peking ducks, call: 266-2711 / 609-4594 Roofing shingles. Call: Mr. Skepmire . 227-5195 (8am to 5pm) Going cheap, foreign used Perkins Engines. 661-3043 15ft Fiber glass boat $170,000 call: 260-0301, 685-1233 Spares for washer, microwaves, fridges, stovetimers, gear boxes, pumps, etc. Contact 225-9032, 6472943 Brand new Blackberry Torch 9800, under $100,000. Call: 676-7443 1 dragline 10RB. 687-6174 1 240 Massey Ferguson Tractor. 687-6174 Original slimming green coffee 800 $1300 W/sale and original slimming green coffee 1000 $2300 w/sale Call:681-2111 Games for PS2 $900, XBox 360 $2600, PS3 $2600. Call Junior 672-2566, 265-3232 Exercise Bike new Schwinn 131 Digital info screen with Heart Rate Monitor, $79,000.

665-9405 Two 8ft Slate American pool tables, one Nissan Titan & variety of restaurant equipment. Call: 622-1957 1 Tundra, 1 Perkins engine & Welder 400 amps. Call: 6605462, 611-5114 Used Fridge $45,000 . Used cooler Lg $85,000. Used freezer small $27,000, Lg $65,000. Excellent condition.

612-1486.

Stainless steel sheet.

Excellent for table top, etc.

Call: 612-1486 Dell computers with LCD & free memory upgrade $59,000 Call: 225-3709,641-0537,6912077 1 G-force freezer $45,000,2 AT192 yellow $825,000, white $790,000,1 desktop computer and accessories Call: 6288354, 231-3417 Complete bakery equipment for sale Call: 659-7484 for further information.

Slate pool table, 6 base music set, merry go round Call:2282098

Massage Leather table, brand new, heavy duty & hot stone kit with electric warmer. Call: 665-9405. $99,000

VEHICLES FOR SALE Just arrived: Allion and Premio, tel: 624-2000, 6221610 Leading Auto. Unregistered Allion, Premio, Allex, Runx, Verossa, Avensis, 2 ton Canter, 212. Tel: 677-7666, 610-7666 2005 H2 Hummer, 38,500 mileage fully loaded, chrome kit etc. Call: 639-3100, 6195400 Hilux 4x4 solid def pick-up, diesel, long base, excellent condition Call: 623-0243

20 flat screen TVs, cheap 19"-50" : Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Samsung; LG. Need repairs. Call: 665-9405

1 special edition Toyota Runx PNN. 2 Nissan Wingroad Wagon. Tel: 6122522

10 KVA voltage stabilizer single phase 200 amp fuse switch, 300 amp bust bar. #627-7835, 600-5130.

Corolla Fielder just registered, AT 170 Carina.

Price negotiable. Call 6149623

CRV PMM, DVD, TV, CD. Good condition. 226-7915, 668-6586

One Toyota RZ Longbase EFI, hardly used BKK series $1.6M. Call: Rocky 621-5902

Lyvan Motor Cycle. Good condition. 226-7915, 6686586, 600-5130

2004 Mazda RX8, body kit, black, unregistered, $3M. 617-2891

Lenovo laptops brandnew $60,000 Call: 681-2111

One EP71 and 82 Starlet, 1Toyota Ceres and RZ Minibus,1Nissan Pathfinder, PMM Call: 6445096,697-1453

Brand new American made Crosely 10.5 cu ft Refrigerator for sale $75,000. 626-4452/ 697-5677 Blu Ray DVDs. Perfume Dazzle 231-9485 Bag Neck Seal Tape. 231-8819 One Caterpillar D6 Bulldozer.

Call: 622-1957 Honda Pressure washers, 2700 PSI, 614-8564 AT 170 Carina PFF Series. In perfect working condition, going cheap. Call: 676-3283 One Blackberry Curve 9300, 60K. Call: 609-2466 Sale Sale. Big Blow Out Sale.

Lot 29 Croal Street, Enterprise E.C.D. Cell no. 6642209. Items as low as $100 Dell Laptops & Desktops.

Complete with 19" LCD. From $70,000. Future Tech – 231-2206 Two Detroit Diesel series 50 engines, 300 HP. Call Troy 601-9004.

Household items for sale.

Call: 225-3079, 656-7864 Fuffy pup: 642-6664 Complete butchery including three beef stalls on ECDem, butcher equipment included Call: 220-7070 or 674-9930 15ft Fiber glass boat $170,000 call: 260-0301,685-1233 American Ladders/Scaffold, 30ft/10ft, adjustable/ platforms. 20 ft heavy duty scaffold, platform/locking wheels. Call: 612-1486, 6468326

Unregistered Allion and Spacio. Tel# 697-0294 1 Premio PNN series, TV, camera. # 616-6000 International Tow Truck with flat aluminum bed; takes two vehicles. Call: 639-3900, 619-5400 Lexus LS400/Luxury, BMW 740IL/Luxury, BMW 635CSI/Sports. Bring mechanic, make offer. Call: 612-1486, 646-8326 Toyota Prado, 2004 Prado, 2005 Mark II, GX110, 2005 Tundra. All fully loaded, excellent condition. Call: 600-5759 One 2 ton, enclosed Canter, price $1.2M neg. One Tapir, price $160,000 neg.

Contact# 253-3349, 693-8830 2005 BMW 320i (new shape), just arrived. Tel: 6154114. www.facebook.com/ rashanautosales Jag’s Auto. Spacio, Premio, Wagon. Cheapest. Call 6167635 One unregistered new model Noah. Financing available. Price $3.6M. Tel: 629-2314 AE81, driving condition, for parts, neg. Tel: 676-2719 Clearance sale!!

Unregistered Toyota (Scion) BB &Sienta . Come and make your offer!!! Call: 643-6565, 226-9931 (Continued on page 56)

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 55

The Abigail Column Scared and sometimes guilty DEARABIGAIL, I am an 18-year-old girl and it is my first year in university. I am also involved in my first physically intimate relationship.

At the beginning of the relationship, I was having a lot of problems with feeling sexually aroused and being physical with my boyfriend.

It made me cry almost every time. Then, I remembered some experiences involving adult sexual behaviour (both physical and conversations

over the phone) with my best friend. I had not thought of these experiences in years, and the memories, even now, make me feel sad, scared, and sometimes guilty. I remember being afraid to see her and being very upset.

Woes Dear Woes, It is brave of you to seek out information about these experiences and try to uncover how they may be affecting your sexuality currently. It seems like in your situation, this may have not been something you wanted

to do with your friend. It clearly has affected you and you are right to seek out help in working through it.

There may be related explanations for your intimacy woes.

Has your boyfriend been understanding about your tears? Does he respect your boundaries and provide support?

Remember you have a right to move as slowly into sexual intimacy as feels right for you. Avoid putting pressure on yourself to go further than feels right in the moment.

Sunday May 20, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Your gut instincts might be great for figuring out what to wear on a Friday night, but they are not enough when it comes to getting a handle on your finances. ****************** TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Get as involved as you can in upcoming social activities -- as much as your schedule allows. Your charming personality plays a very valued role in your circle of friends, and things are just not the same when you are not around. ******************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Are you feeling intimidated by someone whose intellectual prowess is getting a lot of attention? That's nonsense! You are just as smart as they are, albeit in different ways. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Your brain is on a definite intellectual upswing today -so goofy sitcoms, gossipy magazines and silly websites are just not going to cut it for your hungry brain. ******************** LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Today you just might discover that you and one of the big time power players in your social group have a common goal!

This is great news, because having them on your side will just about guarantee your success. ********************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): Your strong desire to get closer to a new person on the scene might be misguided -are they really deserving of your admiration? Some soul searching could be required on this matter today. ********************** LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22):

Everything in your life today is connected in some way -the world is getting smaller!

This beautiful harmony will create a warm feeling inside of you all day long, and you will love feeling so in synch with the rest of the world. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): Confidence is invaluable -- but if you are outmatched in a competition today, it's important for you to realize that your opponent just might be a stronger force than you. ********************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Try to stop thinking so much with your heart! Sure, it's an important muscle -- but in regards to the matters you'll be dealing with today, you need to take an analytical perspective, not an emotional one. ********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Your creativity is quite vibrant right now -- it's going to hum in your brain all day long, driving you nuts, until you utilize it!

Seek out new ways to add more color, rhyme and dance to your life -- if you do, you will make this day a very happy one. *********************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): You have been feeling a stronger connection growing with one of your older relatives lately, and this is something you should explore today. ********************** PISCES (Feb. 19 - March 20): Some strange and confusing communication has been going on between you and a few coworkers, and today you need to get to the bottom of it.

DTV CHANNEL 8 09:25hrs. Sign On 09:30hrs. Turning Point 10:00hrs. Kickin’ It 10:30hrs. Lab Rats 12:00hrs. Movie: Dead Silent 14:15hrs. Movie: Are We There Yet? 15:50hrs. Movie: Tron: Legacy 18:00hrs. Faith in Action 18:30hrs. Know Your Bible 19:00hrs. Greetings and Announcements 20:00hrs. Billboard Music Awards 23:00hrs. Sign Off NCN CHANNEL 11 04:00hrs – Inspiration 04:30hrs – Newtown Gospel 05:00hrs – NCN 6 ‘O’ Clock News(R/B) 05:30hrs – Tomorrow’s World 06:00hrs – 1st Test West Indies VS England –DAY 4 08:00hrs – Voice of Victory 08:40hrs – Cricket Resumes 10:40hrs – Cricket Info & Quiz 11:00hrs – Cricket Resumes 13:30hrs – Dharma Vani 14:30hrs – Catholic Magazine 15:00hrs – The Naked Truth 15:30hrs – GRA in Focus 16:00hrs – Family Forum 16:30hrs – Shape 17:00hrs – Guysuco Roundup 17:30hrs – Homestretch Magazine 18:00hrs – NCN Week in Review 18:30hrs – Inside the Government (Rebroadcast on Wednesday @19:3020:00hrs) 19:00hrs – Round Table (Rebroadcast on Wednesday @16:00-17:00hrs) 20:00hrs – Kala Milan 20:30hrs – Bollywood 60 Mins

21:30hrs – Feel the Beat 22:30hrs – IPL #70 Deccan Chargers VS Rajasthan Royals (Delayed) IPL #71 Rajasthan Royals VS Mumbai Indians (Delayed) MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 06:30hrs Prayag Vanie 07:00hrs BBC World News 07:30hrs GINA programme 08:00hrs Christ for the Nation 08:30hrs Puran Brothers: Shiva Bhajans 09:00hrs Muslim Melodies with Al Madina Exclusive 09:30hrs Teleview Kutbah 10:00hrs DJ Stress Indian Movie: 13:00hrs Garam Geet

14:00hrs Wendy Khan and Dheeraj Show 15:00hrs The Variety Show with WR Reaz 16:00hrs Bollywood Sensation with Kavita 17:00hrs Birthdays & Other greetings 17:15hrs Death Announcements/ In memoriam 17:30hrs AL Ja Zeera News 18:00hrs Entertainment Buzz with Shivanie 18:30hrs Village talk: Crash water: Region 9 19:30hrs Focus on GRA 20:00hrs Sangeet Mehfil 21:00hrs Billboard Music awards Sign Off

Guides are subjected to change without notice

Page 56

Kaieteur News

(From page 54)

TO LET Harmony inn fully furnished self contained a/c apartments, Short term& long term Parfaite Harmony WBD Tel:694-7817 Four (4) bedroom apartment.

Contact: 682-8875 1 2 bedroom house, 1 1 bedroom house, Good Hope, Essequibo. Call: 6804990, 277-3033 Short term apartments. Tel: 667-1549 (2) bedroom furnished house @ 31 Second Street, Liliandall Pump Road. Tel: 222-3838, 617-9004 Business place to rent, very spacious. Call: 226-2674/6846360,223-1301,682-6822 Short term apartments, Eccles. Call: 679-7139 West Coast $35,000. South $100,000. Nandy Park US$2000, Accommodation, Hotel. Diana 227-2256, 6269382 2 bedroom apartment. Self contained, for visitors @ Santa Cruise, Trinidad. Call: 0011-868483-2495,672-8771 Work Shop to do Mechanic Work on the West Coast Dem. Call: 684-8231 One bottom flat, 2 bedroom.

Toilet & bath also bath tub, kitchen cupboards. Tel no – 629-4997 or 664-4998 Executive type furnished one & two bedroom suites in Section A, Diamond for rental. Call 609-2466.

1-3 Bedroom house at Diamond, EBDTel: 669-9286 House @ Kingston concrete (2) storey 3 bedrooms $100,000. Nandy Park 4 bedroom, self conditioned US$1500 Contact GME Realty 231-2199,618-7483 Nandy Park 3 bedroom furnished US$600 mth, Fully furnished 3 bedroom top flat US$950, Kitty 2 flat residence/business US$1,200, 609 2302/645 2580/ 233 5711

LEARN TO DRIVE Soman & Sons Driving School; First Federation Building. Call: 225-4858, 644-5166, 622-2872, 615-0964

VACANCY Kitchen assistant @ Charlestown- ages 18-35.

Call: 614-1020 Salesgirls & Salesboys.

Apply: Avinash Complex, Water St. Georgetown. 2263361/227-7828 Experienced Hair Dresser at Nalline Beauty Salon, Vreeden-Hoop Junction (Raymond Building).

Attractive salary. Contact: 687-3341, 639-9884 Be part of our world class customer care team. Join us now! Phone: 220-0401-3 Hire car drivers & dispatchers wanted from East Coast. Contact 2201000 Male Sales Clerk. Hand written application. Perfume Dazzle, 137 Regent St., Lacytown, G/Town.

VEHICLES FOR SALE Toyota Raum, black, bodykit, mags, year 2000, roof rack. 2690432, 686-0323 2007 Toyota Axio & 2003 Toyota Premio & 2005 Toyota Belta W/TV/CD. Tel: 6 1 5 - 4 1 1 4 . w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / rashanautosales 2004 Toyota Avensis’s with TV/CD, Oz racing Rims, silver & green. Tel: 615-4114. w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / rashanautosales 2005-2007 Toyota Allions, with TV/DVD, back-up camera. Tel: 615-4114. w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / rashanautosales One 19 seater Pitbul in excellent condition, original seats, A.C., TV, mag rims, BPP series. Tel: 621-8957

Fish cleaners. Eccles. 2332546, 675-5467

Toyota Carina “My Road” Stick Gear Car. Tel 226-1757, 225-6446

Vacancy exists for one (1) Domestic. Please call: 6777123

2 & 3 ton enclosed canter, unregistered. 617-2891

Garden Maintenance C r e w. N o e d u c a t i o n needed. Must be neat and hardworking: 18 yrs30yrs. Tel: 648-1821 LAND FOR SALE Land V/Hoop 2 acre: school, housing, factory, etc. call: 658-0115 Bazaar St., Parika. No agents. 661-3043 West Coast $3.5M. North Road $45M. Continental Park $10M. Diana 227-2256, 6269382.

Cummings Lodge, 110x127 ft. $25M. Tel# 615-8690 Situated at Da Siva St. Newtown Kitty, Call: 6433335 between 9AM to 6PM 32 Acres for sale, Lot 5 Content, E.C.D, $256,000.00(USD) Call: 813319-4219 or rpooran@tampabay.rr.com Grove H/S 86’ X 50’ G$4.5m, Adventure Linden Highway 150 acres G$40m 609 2302/ 645 2580/233 5711 Brickdam 96’X 63’ G$82m, Eping Ave B.A.P 150’ X 100" US$500,000, Carmichael Street 100" X 62" US$500,000 609 2302/645 2580/233 5711 Ogle Public Rd 140’ X 100’ G$45m, Sophia Seawall Road 130" X 86’ US$550,000, Ogle Corner 200’ X 78’ US$750,000, 609 2302/645 2580/233 5711 Land of Canaan Wharf 140’ X 50’ on lot 11.88 acres, US$2.5m Forshaw Street 118’ X 62’ G$72m 609 2302/ 645 2580/233 5711

One Allion, fully powered, A/C, music, mag. Tel: 2590836, cell: 621-7838 Well kept, owner driven, Toyota CorollaAE100. Price $1.1 million.

Telephone: 661-5897. Serious enquires only.

Top Notch Auto Sales. 2004 Mazda RX8, $3M. Free reg.

Tel: 674-2844.

One Jeep, with Toyota 3A engine, going cheap. Manual.

269-0432, 686-0323 Unregistered 2 ton enclosed Mitsubishi Canter Call: 6229123, 679-8056 Just arrived! Hilux solid axle pick up Tel: 222-2662,6912077 2002 RAV4L Tel: 641-0909, 276-0229 Quantum Auto. Allion – Silver & White with TV/ NAV/RCam. Grey Premio, Spacio, Fielders. 624-7684 Corolla Fielder just registered, AT 170 Carina.

Price negotiable. Call 6149623 Lexus LS400/Luxury, BMW 740IL/Luxury, BMW 635CSI/ Sports. Bring mechanic, make offer. Call: 612-1486, 646-8326 Jag’s Auto. Spacio, Premio, Wagon. Cheapest. Call 6167635 DATING SERVICE Immediate link-Singles 1880yrs. Confidential: Tel: 2238237,648-6098. (No -text) 8:30am-5:00pm Mon-Sun (Both phones same hours).

LIBRARY Closing down sale; text, university, novels & others from-$100 up. Call: 223-8237

Sunday May 20, 2012

SERVICES Permanent &Visitors Visa Applications Professional Immigration Consultant Room E-4 Maraj Building 225-6496/223-8115/ 662-6045.

US & Canada VISA application services. Call 643-6630. Family discounts available.

We refill HP cartridges for $1,800. Call:650-7699 Visa and Immigration forms prepared for Canada, USA and UK. Also Passport forms. Call 626-9857 Repairs, sales & spares, air conditioning, microwaves, washer, fridges & Stoves.

Ultra Cool: 225-9032, 6472943 We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer. Call: 231-0655, 683-8734 Omar.

House plan drafting for only $10,000. Building estimate for only $10,000. Call: 6949843.

ONLINE SHOPPING NO COMMISSION, WEEKLY SHIPMENTS,AFFORDABLE RATES, FREE PRIVATE MAILBOX. TEL: 231-5789.

FREIGHTLINKEXPRESS@ GMAIL.COM WE FILL OUT PASSPORT & VISA FORMS: USA, UK & CANADA. TEL: 2315789 Repairs in all types of JetSki, stern-drive, inboard and outboard engine (2 & 4 stroke). Contact: 694-7949 Are you planning to do gold mining? Call:670-4302 Laptop & desktop repairs in homes &offices Call:670-4302 Blackberry Unlock $2,000.

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Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 57

“England v West Indies Test No. 1 - West Indies need some bounce in thoughts and deeds!”

By Colin E. H. Croft Fact! I really expected West Indies to select Darren Sammy; captain; and three other faster bowlers – this time Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards – even though sensibility and conditions on Day 1 at Lords did not warrant such. West Indies really needed a spinner, any real spinner, here!

When, not surprisingly, Ravi Rampaul failed a fitness test for Test No. 1, few thought that West Indies could overlook Shane Shillingford, who had gotten ten wickets in his last Test, at home in Dominica. Yet, that is exactly what happened.

Who assesses our cricket anyway?

Does no-one think things out?

When West Indies batted first, I was again, with great chagrin, justified in assessments that our batsmen need psychological help. West Indies 1st innings effort was very poor indeed; 243 all out. Possibly four, certainly three wickets were gifted to the English. That should never happen at the pinnacle of cricket!

With the pitch as white as snow, and shorn so close that roots struggled to see clouded sun, the placid appearance should have given those wise-men, West Indies selectors on tour, serious cause to stop, think, and to act even, expecting little, if any, help for faster bowlers who do not get the ball to swing!

Let us start with the truth, though. I doubt much that Darren Bravo has ever read anything that I had written,

much less to have noted my preview to this Test. Who knows? But, he looked fully focused for this fray. He was ready.

Then, quite ignominiously, he was run out

by Shivnarine Chanderpaul!

Tiger’s culpability was almost total; 95%. The runout batsman must also take some; very slight; responsibility, for carelessness. If teambonding practices are to be believed in professional spheres, knowing what is happening around you is the foremost requirement for symmetry and synergy too!

Chanders, for all of his batting experiences, has always been a bad runner, having been involved in many poor run-outs in his career, but perhaps none worse than on Day 1. He was actually ball-watching, not concentrating on the obvious call, then belatedly, responded, psyching out Darren Bravo to run! Poor!

That Darren Bravo run-out should not have happened on the beach, much less in a 1st Test being played by a supposedly finely honed cricket team at the headquarters of world cricket.

Yet, that was not Chanderpaul’s worse sin here. Shiv shirked some of his responsibilities when West Indies batted first.

How can the world’s best batsman, well set on more than a half-century, allow rank tail-enders like Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards to face that many deliveries, then get out, while he stood and watched from the non-striker’s end?

Can it be that he only thought of getting another century;

his 2nd; at Lords?

There were crowd suggestions on Day 2 that Chanders was being selfish.

I would accept that for some reason he lost his, and his team’s plot. West Indies should only have lost six wickets on Day 1, which, in turn, might have helped Shiv himself, with proper partners, Day 2, to get to that 2nd hundred at Lords.

Shiv was responsible for the loss of three wickets on his own while at the crease!

The fourth “gift’ to England was Adrian Barath’s wicket.

Just when one thought that Barath had heeded Sir Everton Weekes’ warning, he plays wide and airily to gully, to be brilliantly caught by Jimmy Anderson.

Sir Vivian Richards, Corey Collymore, Michael Holding, Brian Lara and yours truly, former West Indian players who were present on Day 1, were all terribly disappointed at West Indies’s showing with the bat.

Everyone hoped, more than expected, West Indies to come out with steeled attitudes! Not this time!

But it was West Indies cricketing visage that was so disappointing. Except for Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and Fidel Edwards, the rest of West Indies team are under 30. Most of them moved around like they were just under 300, years or perhaps kilograms. They were so lethargic! Where is that bounce?

To listen to Sir Viv suggest that he has never seen a West Indies cricket team look so bedraggled and disinterested on only a 2nd day of a Test match, when England took hold of the game with classic batsmanship, was especially disheartening.

Remember, this was only Test No. 1, with two still to go!

To hear Jonathan Agnew, BBC Test Match Special front-man, ask pertinent, searching questions about Ottis Gibson’s almost invisible influence on the non-improvement of the thinking processes of the captain and bowlers, point exactly to the problem. The mind-set of this team has gone nowhere up!

England bowling attack is potent, competent and professional, supposedly the finished product started by Gibson. Is it that he has taken on so much of the over-seeing West Indies that he may have neglected his basic duties as a former Test bowler too?

West Indies bowlers looked terribly under done!

Meanwhile, Jimmy Anderson, now that problems with injuries have been conquered, is the best of England’s bowlers, deserving all accolades recently received. He has always known how to swing the ball normally, with the added ability now to effect “reverse swing” when the ball becomes 30 or so overs old.

He augments those with patience, what the Americans

call “attitude”, and massive maturity!

I admire Stuart Broad immensely for his “chutzpah”. He is as arrogant as a bull dog, with good reason! As Mohammed Ali used to say, “It is not arrogance if it is true!” Broad gives no quarter, expects none.

That, incidentally, for those who do not remember, so long ago has it been, is what West Indian fast bowlers used to be like in the way distant past! Remember, we were even called terrorists!

Broad, a throw-back of Dennis Lillee and Andy Roberts, is an outstandingly thoughtful fast bowler. Both he and Anderson assessed Lords immediately to be slower than it should have been, and adjusted their bowling speed to be most effective; to get the right swing. They got it from that decrease in speed!

Andrew Strauss’ 6th century at Lords on Friday afternoon was a joy to behold. This was a guy under real pressure, from his own press, to perform. He was playing at home, not only in England, but at the home of his county, Middlesex. The atmosphere was electric, yet reserved. No-one knew what to expect.

Colin E. H. Croft Strauss delivered! The deft touch of a left-hander, placement of a surveyor, acute marksmanship of a sharpshooter, all were present, coupled with a determination that would have made Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing Norgay, Mount Everest’s first conquerors, extremely proud. Strauss was solid!

England’s body language at the start of this important series for both teams suggests that they are confident but wary.

Getting to Number 1 is the easy part. Staying there takes much more effort!

West Indies cannot complain about conditions.

This is part of the process of becoming wizened souls.

They must exist then exude in every part of world cricket if they are to have some resurgence of the excellence that abided in the past. For that to happen, they must endure, be alive, and bounce!

Enjoy!

Page 58

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

Lakers avoid 0-3 hole while Sixers England v West Indies: Hosts tie series close in on victory at Lord’s

(Reuters) - Kobe Bryant refused to let a second successive game slip through his fingers as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-96 in a cliffhanger on Friday to avoid going down 3-0 in their NBA playoff series.

Bryant endured a 9-for-25 shooting night to score 36 points, including eight of his team’s final 10 points, helping the Lakers get the home win needed in the second-round West matchup.

Kevin Durant tallied 31 points, but missed a long, potential game-tying threepointer in the final seconds, while Russell Westbrook and James Harden each had 21 in the loss.

The Lakers have less than 24 hours before they will be tested in Game Four back in Los Angeles Saturday. Bryant was asked how much energy he and the Lakers have left for Game Four. “Plenty,” he said with a grin.

While neither team shot well from the field, the Lakers converted a remarkable 41 of 42 free throws, the second highest percentage in playoff history (minimum of 30 attempts) to pull through.

Bryant led the way with a perfect 18-for-18 from the

Kobe Bryant #24 goes up for a shot against Nazr Mohammed #8 stripe in a clutch victory.

“For us to step up to the free throw line and have the concentration and focus we had there to knock them down is huge,” said Lakers coach Mike Brown. LA squandered a sevenpoint lead in the final two minutes to lose a heart-breaker in Game Two, but this time they clawed back from a five-point deficit in the final three minutes.

A quick 6-0 run gave Los Angeles a 93-92 lead with about a minute to go and they held off Oklahoma City at the free throw line.

Six Lakers players scored in double-figures, including reserve Steve Blake who had 12 and eight rebounds, while

big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol each recorded double-doubles.

“We knew they were going to approach this game with a lot of intensity being down 0-2,” Durant said. “We put ourselves in position to win, we’ll just keep fighting, man. That’s all we can do.”

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers roared back from an early 14-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics 92-83 and tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

Andre Iguodala scored five consecutive points to break a 8383 tie and Jodie Meeks finished off the visiting Celtics with four free throws in succession as Boston failed to score in the final 98 seconds.

Iguodala and Evan Turner each had 16 points for Philadelphia, who travel to Boston for Game Five on Monday.

Paul Pierce topped the Celtics with 24 points but Kevin Garnett scored only nine.

BBC Sport - England are closing in on victory in the first Test at Lord’s after reducing West Indies to 1204 - still 35 in arrears - with two days to go.

Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with a typically dogged unbeaten 34 from 95 balls, and Marlon Samuels (26 not out) offered sustained resistance on a pitch that has flattened out the longer the game has gone on.

The obstinate Chanderpaul survived a brace of early edges and a late referral for lbw to frustrate England but, with time on their side and the West Indies tail weak, a home win remains the most likely outcome. Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann took a wicket apiece on a day that began with a flurry of wickets and runs before fizzling out into a battle of attrition.

England added a further 139 to their overnight 259 to open up a first-innings lead of 155, thanks in part to Ian Bell’s patient 60.

After a steady start from openers Adrian Barath and Kieran Powell, the wheels came off the West Indies reply in dramatic fashion just before tea. First Barath fell, tempted into a little poke outside off stump to a Bresnan delivery that did just enough off the seam to take the edge.

Powell followed in the next over, top-edging a hook off Broad to Ian Bell at deep square-leg, and then Kirk Edwards found himself stranded mid-pitch after a mix-

up with Darren Bravo as Jonny Bairstow threw down the stumps brilliantly from cover.

Three wickets had gone down in nine balls without addition to the score and, with England’s lead still 119, the die was cast.

Chanderpaul and Bravo dropped anchor, adding only 20 runs in the first hour after tea, but another misjudgement cost them dear as the younger man shouldered arms to Swann’s arm ball and was bowled for 21. As on so many occasions in his 18-year Test career, Chanderpaul continued with remorseless concentration, Samuels happy to copy his example as the pair fought to survive to the close.

The West Indies attack, benign on the first two days, had earlier found its bite on an overcast morning and made immediate inroads into the England top order.

Andrew Strauss added just one to his overnight 121 before he was caught behind off Kemar Roach, ‘HotSpot’ indicating on the referral that the ball had found the inside edge on its way through to Denesh Ramdin.

Strauss has now resumed overnight on 100 six times in Test cricket and never added more than six runs the following day. If there was regret in the full house at Lord’s that the skipper could not go on to make a maiden Test double-hundred, there was further disappointment when Jonny Bairstow’s debut ended on 16 when he was

trapped lbw by Roach.

The Yorkshire tyro had settled quickly, timing away a sweet four off his pads and then square-driving for four more. But he was beaten by one that was angled in and beat his firm push, and, when Matt Prior and Tim Bresnan went in quick succession, England had lost four wickets for 64 runs.

Prior aimed an airy drive at a straight, full ball to give Shannon Gabriel his first Test wicket, while Bresnan was tempted by one from Darren Sammy that moved off the pitch to find the edge. Broad went with England’s lead still to reach 100, sparking unexpected optimism in the tourists’ ranks.

Swann had other ideas.

Fed a succession of full deliveries after fending off a beamer from Edwards first ball, he battered a rapid 30 off 25 balls, including six fours, in a 55-run partnership with Bell for the eighth wicket.

Bell breezed to his halfcentury from 94 balls before Swann was bowled by Gabriel, and Bell followed in the burly bowler’s next over when he looped a mishit pull to the diving Powell sprinting in from deep square leg.

With the lead extended past 150, England were back in total control - a position they did not look like relinquishing for the rest of the day.

Scores: West Indies 243 and 120 for 4 (Chanderpaul 34*) trail England 398 (Strauss 122, Bell 61, Trott 58) by 35 runs.

Play for Jesus Independence Schools Cup set for May 26 MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa on pole for French race The National Secondary be awarded with special School Futsal Committee in prizes, this segment will also in Le Mans association with the Holy be complemented with the Family Sports Inc. has organized a big Independence Cup Inter Secondary School 4-a-side small goal football competition under the theme ‘Play for Jesus’ on Saturday May 26th on Charlestown Secondary School hard court from 8:30am. The competition which is been sponsored by Digicel, G&R Construction, Colours Boutique, Excel Mineral and Giftland Office Max, will see the winning school team receiving the Cup and $50,000, while the other runner up teams will be rewarded with trophy and medals as the MVP gets a mountain bike compliments of Giftland Office Max. Outstanding academic players from the competition that gain 65% and over for this Easter Term examination will

student’s attendance level.

This was included to encourage to students to balance both academics and extra curriculum.

The Bible Club will also be promoting a ‘Keep Our City Very Clean and Stop the Violence in Our Country Now and Forever’ campaign talk during the tournament.

The Bible Club group, which comprises of teenagers from different churches, would usually visit other schools and conduct Bible Club discussion every Wednesday during lunch.

The club also uses activities such as this sporting event to bring youths together.

The coordinator of the tournament is also asking other business entities to come on board to assist in making the venture a success.

Dani Pedrosa secured pole position after topping the qualifying session for today’s French MotoGP. The Spaniard clocked one minute, 33.638 seconds to finish above frustrated Australian Casey Stoner. Andrea Dovizioso looked comfortable on the circuit but finished third with Jorge Lorenzo and Cal Crutchlow behind.

“I’m not usually a pole guy but we must work hard on the bike. I hope for some good settings for dry and wet,” Barcelona’s Pedrosa said. Stoner said: “We had the pace to take pole - but I don’t think I got one clean lap.”

Honda rider Pedrosa edged out team-mate Stoner by 0.303 seconds as he performed well when conditions dried out in the latter stages of the qualifying session. Briton Crutchlow had started the session well, being an early pace-setter, but he could not sustain that form.

The Coventry rider said: “I can’t be disappointed to have qualified in fifth position but I think I could have challenged for pole position had things gone my way. “I made a couple of small mistakes on my fast laps right at the end and that cost me a little bit of time. And we didn’t have the best set-up with the bike.

“We made some modifications for qualifying but, with the conditions wet and damp at the start, we couldn’t tell if it was an improvement and in hindsight it would have been better to stay with the setting I ran this morning.”

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 59

Drogba fires Chelsea to Champions League glory (Reuters) - Chelsea stunned Bayern Munich to win the Champions League for the first time as Didier Drogba struck the decisive blow in a penalty shootout at the Allianz Arena following a tension-soaked final which ended 1-1 after extra time on Saturday.

Drogba, who had equalized for Chelsea two minutes from the end of normal time, rolled the winning kick past Manuel Neuer as the visitors edged the shootout 4-3 after Bastian Schweinsteiger’s last kick for Bayern had hit the post.

Bayern, playing in their home stadium, laid siege to Chelsea’s goal for most of the game and appeared to have won it when Thomas Mueller made the breakthrough with an 83rd minute header past Petr Cech.

Within touching distance of lifting the famous trophy

Frank Lampard of Chelsea lifts the trophy after their victory in the UEFA Champions League Final for the first time since 2001, Bayern conceded with two minutes remaining when Drogba met a corner with a

thumping header to give Neuer no chance. Bayern, four-times winners, were stunned and extra time could

not separate the sides despite Bayern earning a penalty which Arjen Robben had saved by Cech.

Delhi show Punjab the door

David Warner Yahoo!

Cricket – DHARAMSALA: Delhi Daredevils solidified their position at the top of the points table and sent Kings

XI Punjab packing from IPLV as they defeated the latter by six wickets on Saturday.

Punjab needed to win to remain in contention for the play-offs, but they were blown away first by sharp bowling

by Delhi’s quicks Umesh Yadav (three for 19) and Morne Morkel (four for 20) and then by a whirlwind 79

by David Warner.

Delhi’s victory means that they will finish the league as table toppers and play in the ‘Qualifier 1’. The result also helps Mumbai confirm a place in the play-offs, leaving Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings to fight for the last remaining slot.

Scores: Delhi Daredevils 145 for 4 (Warner 79) beat Kings XI Punjab 141 for 8 (Chitnis 38, Mahmood 36, Morkel 4-20, Yadav 3-19) by six wickets.

PUNE: There wasn’t much to play for, but whatever was

at stake turned out to be motivation enough for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Shahrukh Khan’s franchise rode on Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round show to carve out a 34-run victory over the hopeless Pune Warriors, ensuring that they would finish the league stage in the top two. KKR thus avoided playing in the ‘eliminator’ – the fixture of their unceremonious exit last season – and will face off against Delhi in the ‘Qualifier 1’.

On a sluggish pitch at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Saturday night, Kolkata batted first and reached 1364, thanks to Brendon McCullum (41) and Shakib Al Hasan (42). The visiting team then arrested Pune’s chase on 102-8, as their three-pronged spin attack – primarily Shakib with 4-0-18-2 and Sunil Narine with 4-0-15-1 - came to the fore.

Burnett to headline President’s/Jefford...

From back page Ageday, Stephan James, Patrick King, Akeem Stuart, Jermaine Newton, Tevin Garraway and Linden’s Bevon Noble.

The Men’s 100m will be no different with the likes of most of the athletes from the 200m with the addition of Winston Caesar and Marlon Moshette, forming the core of those heading to the starting line. The Women’s 100m and 200m is likely to be a thriller as well with the line up of Guyana’s sprint queen, Alicia Fortune, Nesia Allen, Alita Moore, Leota Bobb, Tiffany Carto, Tiffany Smith and

Classic’s record holder Letitia Myles confirmed to participate. No to be outdone, the field events are also set to produce some fierce rivalry among Natasha Alder, Stacey Wilson, Latoya Rodney, Phillycia Burke, Lawanda Whaul, Natrena Hooper, Juanita Hooper, Alita Moore, Tracy Moses and Marica Isaacs in the female Javelin, Shot Putt, Discus, Long and Triple Jump categories.

The men will see Leon Bishop, Winston Caesar, Parrish Cadogan, Marlon Moshette, Bevon Noble, Quacy Payne, Troy Williams and Ryan Scott all expected

to produce good showings in both Long and Triple Jumps.

Leslain Baird, Michael Pollydore, Ronald Payne, Clarence Greene, Troy Lewis and Michael Bowman expected to be the main contenders for the throws.

Meanwhile, fans can also participate in the Usain Bolt pose off competition where the winner get a prize compliments of Guyana’s Bigger, Better Network, Digicel, while there will also be a model aircraft show with gifts being dropped from the sky.

There will also be a mini-kids zone with trampoline etc.

Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 136 for 4 (Shakib 42, McCullum 41, Parnell 2-18) beat Pune Warriors 102 for 8 (Yusuf 2-12, Shakib 2-18) by 34 runs.

Chelsea lost to Manchester United in the 2008 final on penalties but erased that painful memory as they held their nerve to become London’s first European champions.

“I believe a lot in destiny.

It was written a long time ago.

This team is amazing and I dedicate this cup to all the managers and players we had before,” Drogba said. “(My equalizer) changed the game. Life is fantastic.”

Bayern were left to rue a third near miss this season after finishing runners-up in the Bundesliga and the German Cup but this was the harshest of blows.

For much of a compelling, if not free-flowing final, the match resembled a defense versus attack exercise as Bayern poured forward, only to be denied by a wall of blue or their own wastefulness in front of goal.

Both Thomas Muller and Mario Gomez snatched at clear chances as Chelsea rode their luck and manned the barricades as they did in the Nou Camp during their semifinal against Barcelona.

Chelsea’s dogged resistance was finally broken in 83rd minute when Muller arrived at the back post to

bounce a header into the net from Toni Kroos’s deep cross.

With two minutes remaining, Chelsea earned their first corner and when the ball was swung in Drogba climbed high to crash a header past Neuer.

It was a crushing blow for Bayern and Chelsea sensed their moment, pushing for an unlikely winner in the closing moments as the momentum swung in their favor.

Five minutes into extra time Drogba gave Bayern the perfect chance to go back in front when he clipped the heels of Ribery in the area to concede a penalty but Petr Cech came to his side’s rescue with a superb stop to keep out Robben’s penalty.

Substitute Ivica Olic had his head in his hands in the second period of extra time as he prodded a volley agonizingly wide of the post with Cech helpless.

The night still seemed to be heading Bayern’s way when they moved 3-1 ahead in the penalty shootout after Juan Mata missed Chelsea’s first spot kick but Olic missed for Bayern and when Schweinsteiger struck the post the stage was left for Ivorian Drogba to write his name into Chelsea folklore.

Win to be a sweet victory for PPYC athletes President’s/Jefford Classic III...

By Juanita Hooper Lyndon Wilson, Coach of the Defending Champion of the President’s/Jefford Classic, Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC), told Kaieteur Sport that the club will be aiming to defend their Championship successfully today at the McKenzie Sports Club ground, Linden.

Wilson who revealed that a win will be a sweet victory for the athletes of PPYC which dethroned National Park United to be the present Champions, last year. “It would be a sweet victory for the athletes than last year if they retain the Championship since the rivalry is much more intense.”

The Coach who stated that their rivals will be in for a lot of surprises noted that the club will not be taking the other clubs for granted when they enter the competition today on a positive side, “Our expectation for the Classic will be to defend our Championship and defend it successfully. We will not be taking the other clubs light as we go out on a positive side.”

Despite the inclement weather over the past days affected the preparations for the Games, the Coach indicated that the athletes are

Lyndon Wilson in shape as most of them selected to represent the club are from the Digicel National U23 Games which they won was kept weeks ago. “The rain stalled the preparation for the Games but the athletes who will be competing at the Classic are in shape as the bulk is from the National U23 Games.”

Wilson also believes that the athletes are at the level that they should be to contend with the athletes from other clubs despite the absence of Winston George who qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games which is slated for August.

“We did not get the opportunity to push in the

work which was intended but my athletes are at that level of which they should be capable of competing with the other club athletes in both track and field events.”

Asking the Coach on how he manages his athletes peak performances, he disclosed that he takes advantage of Developmental Meets to gauge the athletes’ performance to unearth where they are and where they should be at the major meets in Guyana, such as this one.

Wilson disclosed that he will be expecting Natasha Alder, Alita Moore, Tiffany Carto, Janelle Jonas, Juanita Hooper, Tracey Moses, Keith Roberts, Trevor Scotland, Shawn Semple, Kevin Bayley and the quickly raising according to him, Tevin Garraway, to create storms in their events.

Commenting on the present National U-23 Games 100m champion athlete, Alita ‘Loga Loga’ Moore, Wilson stated that she has always possessed talent on the track and in the field.

Questioning how the upcoming champion is able to balance both track and field, her Coach highlighted that she trains hard and is always willing to work.

Page 60

Kaieteur News

Simeon Hardy signs to fight Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman in sternest career test Guyana’s perspective representative at the World Boxing Council (WBC) 50th Anniversary celebrations tournament, Simeon ‘Candyman’ Hardy, will take on the biggest challenge of his life after he agreed to fight former European middleweight champion and world rater, Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman in a 10 rounds non title scrap scheduled for June 1 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).

The deal was brokered late Friday afternoon after former Trinidad based Guyanese pugilist, Shawn Corbin, failed to iron out some legal prerequisites with his management team and was forced out of the fight with local light/heavyweight champion, Kwesi ‘Lightening Struck Assassin’ Jones for the former pugilist’s title.

Hardy was called to duty after former Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) light/ heavyweight champion, Shawn Corbin, originally matched against Kwesi ‘Lightening Struck Assassin’ Jones, informed the organizers that because of

Howard Eastman

Simeon Hardy

new developments beyond his control, he was unable to keep his ring date.

Former secretary of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), Trevor Arno said that the organizers were briefed of Corbin’s plight and immediately got down to repair the situation.

He said that he regrets that Jones, who has been inactive ever since his devastating knockout over Cleveland Fraser, will be disappointed by the turn of events. Nevertheless, Arno envisages a keen contest where it will be difficult to choose a winner just yet.

Indeed Eastman, who has

had quite a few epic encounters in the international arena, may feel he holds the edge against a fighter who, even though he is unbeaten, is yet to be truly tested. While ‘The Battersea Bomber’ has ruled the roost in Europe and has had epic battles against former world champions Bernard ‘Executioner’ Hopkins and William Joppy, he has slid somewhat and has surrendered victories to Edmond DeClou and Kwesi Jones among others. Maybe these loses have convinced Hardy that he could defeat him.

Hardy’s claim to fame started with a record breaking

Bush Lot United Turf Club on the move The newly reorganized Bush Lot United Turf Club is definitely on the move and aims to reclaim past glory, reaching and even surpassing the heights that it had before and that of other clubs. In fact the principals of the club are aiming to make it one of the best if not the best club in the country. As such the authorities have taken a number of initiatives to achieve their goal.

One such move was the installation of the newly elected executive committee which will oversee the affairs of the club for the next few years. A number of persons were elected or appointed to serve in more than one position.

The executive committee is comprised of B. Sewsankar as the Executive president, R. Jagit President, Lalta Deokey Vice President, A. Singh Secretary, Lakeram Sukdeo the assistant Secretary/Treasurer. The scale room officials are Lionel Moonsammy, R. Giri and A. Singh. The elected judges are L. Singh, R. Giri, A. Singh and L. Robertson. The medical services will be conducted by Dr Alexander Sinclair, while veterinary service will be conducted by R. Jagit. The two starters are L. Wallerson and C. Evans with R. Giri the clerk of Paddock. Compton Sancho and Lalta Deokey are the club’s commentators.

The club stewards are Lalta Deokey, H. Roopnarine and L. Ramnauth.

The club has also elected a number of persons as committee members, who are as follows D. Ramkissoon, L. Walleson, C. Evans, R. Carmichael, P. Carmichael, N. Sharp, C. Gibson, J. Edwards, J. Motilall, L. Singh, N. Ramkissoon, R. Ramkissoon, M. Khan, N. Gibson.

The club will also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the following persons who

20secs knockout victory over Patrick Boston and since then has put away most of his opponents with veteran boxer, Troy Lewis, the only man to last the distance.

In his last fight, Hardy won from Mark Austin but even then, Austin’s style had posed a few problems and Hardy was unable to put him away in the early rounds as he had promised. The ‘Candyman’ was, however, able to eventually remove Austin in the later rounds to preserve his reputation as a knockout artist.

However, the man of the ‘Chin checker’ fame will discover that Eastman is made of sterner stuff and he (Hardy) will have to dig very deep to come up with a victory. Whichever way the fight goes, fight fans could be assured of a memorable, no retreat, no surrender duel that will leave unforgettable memories.

Otherwise, three other professional bouts should excite boxing buffs starting with the jnr/welterweight, 4 rounds scrap between Rudolph Fraser and Cassius Matthews.

Berbician light/ heavyweight contender, Kelsie George will be up against James Walcott, also over 4 rounds, while Trinidad based Guyanese pugilist, Iwan Azore, will match gloves with World Boxing Council CABOFE bantamweight titlist, Barbadian, Miguel Antoine over 6 rounds.

Activities get underway at 20:00hrs sharp and admission price remains at $1000 for adults and $500 for children.

Friday Night Fights is an initiative of the GBBC in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, the Guyana Amateur BoxingAssociation (GABA) and National Communications Network (NCN).

Sunday May 20, 2012

Shomari Wiltshire on verge of claiming national title Eight-year-old Shomari Wiltshire, who remained undefeated after four days of competition, is poised to capture his first ever national title today during the Woodpecker National Junior Squash Championships at the Georgetown Club.

Today’s finals commence at 11:30hrs, but since the tournament was played using the round robin format, Shomari’s undefeated streak makes him one of the frontrunners for the under 13 title. The son of three-time Southern Caribbean champion Garfield Wiltshire has so far dominated his opponents to the extent that the aggregate of the points sccored against him less than to one game’s score (11 points).

Shomari, who was adjudged most improved player in the Kool Aid Junior Easter Tournament, defeated John Phang, Zachary Persaud (11/1, 11/1, 11/1) and Lucas Jonas (11/0, 11/1, 11/0) respectively on Friday and Saturday morning.

Shomari won all three of those in straight games (3-0) and conceded a total of six points from those three opponents.

Even Phang who had dominated category F during the Kool Aid Junior Easter Tournament, was brushed aside by Shomari 11/1, 11/1, 11/0. His first match of the tournament had set the tone for what to expect after he held newcomer Dominic Collins scoreless, and nearly duplicated that result against Anthony Islam who only won two points against him on Thursday. Close to press time last night, Shomari dispatched Daniel Islam and Gianni Carpenter and in his final match today, he is expected to compete against Travis Whitehead.

Steven Xavier, defied the odds and stole a game for reigning Caribbean under 17 champion Jason Ray Khalil, in their encounter on Friday night. Despite losing 12/14,

Vaz Te scores to take West Ham into Premier League Picture of the recently renovated ticket booth of the Bush Lot United Turf Club. assisted them in their latest horserace meet to make it a success. Banks DIH Limited, GT&T, Shariff Business Enterprise and racing stables, Buddy Shivraj Business Enterprise, Romel Jagmohan Construction, Jumbo Jet Auto Sales and Stable, Chatterpaul Deo/ Chen Singh, Phagoo Business Enterprise and General Store, Inshan Bacchus, Hand in Hand Insurance Company, Ramesh Sunich of Trophy Stall Bourda Market, J. Motilall, Mohamed Khan, Lenny Singh, Shano and the executives and members of the Bush Lot United Turf among others. (Samuel Whyte)

LONDON (AP) West Ham striker Ricardo Vaz Te scored with three minutes remaining Saturday to take his team into the English Premier League with a 2-1 win over Blackpool in the promotion playoff final.

Vaz Te lifted the ball into the roof of the net from close range after a goalmouth scramble to end the Hammers’ yearlong absence from the Premier League.

The victory guarantees millions in revenue for West Ham and should help it keep hold of its best players, including England goalkeeper Rob Green and Vaz Te, who scored 24 goals this season.

Vaz Te says ‘’it wasn’t about my goal, it was about our togetherness.’’

Striker Carlton Cole put West Ham ahead in the 35th minute, but Blackpool’s Tom Ince equalized three minutes into the second half.

Khalil settled and got down to business to overpower Xavier in the next three games 11/5, 11/5, 11/0. Khalil also crushed Avinash Odit yesterday in three games and is expected to play Nyron Joseph in the final match of the tournament today. Up to press time last night, Joseph was undefeated but was scheduled to take on Xavier.

Joseph had also defeated Benjamin Mekdeci 12/10, 11/ 7, 11/9 in their under 17 encounter, but Mekdeci remained undefeated in the under 15 category. Joseph and Khalil were to clash in the final of the previous tournament but an injury to Joseph’s arm prevented it from materializing.

Akeila Wiltshire is also on pace to wining the girls under 17 title after surviving a testing battle with the Taylor Fernandes. Fernandes is also one of the frontrunners to win the under 15 category but will have to contend with Larissa Wiltshire. Rebecca Low defeated Sarah Collins with a consistent and effective serve which also helped her to defeat Savannah Mendes. In her encounter against Mendes yesterday morning, Low overcame an injury in the first game (which Savannah won), and fiercely return to win the next three.

The tournament, which has been organized in collaboration with their number one corporate sponsor Digicel Guyana, will be used to help selectors decide on the players who will represent Guyana at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Squash Championships in Jamaica in July.

Messi, Aguero, Zabaleta on Argentina roster for US BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta were picked for Argentina’s roster for a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador on June 2 and an exhibition against Brazil on June 9 at East Rutherford, N.J. The only surprise was a first-time selection for Universidad de Chile defender Matias Rodriguez.

Coach Alejandro Sabella is expected to add to the list with players from the Argentine first division.

Uruguay leads South American World Cup qualifying with seven points from three matches. Argentina and Venezuela have seven from four matches.

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 61

Digicel providing opportunity to showcase young talent

By Rawle Welch Last year witnessed what was undoubtedly the most exciting programme to have emerged in junior football for over two decades, the staging of the inaugural Digicel Nationwide Schools Tournament which was played over the length and breadth of Guyana.

Digicel, a cellular phone company that first surfaced in Guyana over 5 years ago, has been one of the leading corporate institutions in the support for athletes and the development of sports locally and many within the communities that the tournament was played showered understandable praise on the Company for its foresight in presenting the opportunity for aspiring players to showcase their talent to a wider audience.

The tournament despite its infancy has already been responsible for providing local coaches and scouts with the chance to spot raw and natural talent which previously was predominantly restricted to Region 4 and 10, but thanks to Digicel, they now have the luxury to identify and select players from as far as Lethem, Waramadong, Mahdia, Berbice, Essequibo Coast and other far flung areas that

- 2nd Annual Nationwide Tournament weeks away from kickoff

Digicel’s CEO Gregory Dean (second right sitting) and Marketing Executive Jacqueline James (right sitting) pose with other officials and team representatives at last year’s Launch at the GCC ground. usually suffers neglect and starved of publicity.

Digicel, known as the bigger, better network, was able during that competition to create the avenue that provided adequate publicity for the country’s young, promising ball weavers and speaking with many of them, they generally agreed that the event was a welcomed one and deserved commendation.

Now, this year’s tournament is just a few weeks before kickoff and already the buzz about the event has been reverberating throughout the

country with teams readying themselves to take advantage of the glorious opportunity that it presents for young players to be highlighted over the month long duration of the competition.

The advantages are comprehensive because apart from player exposure, teams get to zigzag across the country and all this leads to the exchange of information of the various traditions within our nation, while participants also have the chance to improve their geographical familiarity.

All this is done in one package and kudos must be given to Digicel for its wisdom in creating such a tournament which has also been able to validate their continuous support for the development of sport.

One of the exciting features of this year’s competition is the fact that unlike last year when there was no age barrier pertaining to the eligibility of players, this one stipulates that players must be under the age of 18 years.

This new change was implemented after it was felt

Berbice sports officials grateful following Home Affairs Ministry sports gear donation Sports officials in the Corentyne area are once again expressing deep gratitude to officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs after the latter group presented a set of sports gears to 6 clubs in that area.

The donation formed a part of the activities of the aforementioned Ministry, in collaboration with the St Francis Community Developers (SFCD), through its Citizen Security Programme, as part of its Rapid Impact Projects and Handing over of Sports Gear.

Those that received gears included the RHTY&SC, Fyrish Fire Hawks Basketball Club, Rose Hall Town Basketball Club, Rose Hall Town Football Club, Rose Hall Town Jammers Boxing Gym, and the United Nations Volunteers Educational and Learning Materials.

The gears included footballs, boxing gloves and basketballs. Some clubs also received cones and whistles to enhance their training programmes.

The items were handed over to representatives of the various entities on the tarmac

Minister Clement Rohee presenting some of the gear to a representative of one of the clubs.

of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC), Area H Rose Hall Town Berbice, and was witnessed by several groups and individuals including subject Minister Clement Rohee, his Permanent Secretary, Angela Johnson, President of the St Francis Community Developers (SFCD), Alex Foster, President St Francis Youth and Sports Club, Hilbert Foster, who chaired and coordinated the function, Commander of Police B Division, Dereck Josiah,

Superintendent of Police, Ian Amsterdam, Education Officer Shafiran Bajan, Community Action Specialist, Rosanne Purnwasie, Advisor to the , Regional Chairman, Ovid Glasgow and Member of Parliament (PPP) Jafarally.

Meanwhile, Mr. Foster welcomed those in attendance and dubbed the event as historic. He pointed out that the RHTY&SC is well known for hosting sports and community activities and was loud in praise for the Home

Affair Minister and his team for assisting the proletariat.

In response, Minister Rohee said that he is pleased to know that the efforts of his staff are touching the lives of members of the Ancient County at every stratum.

He encouraged those receiving the items to care and utilize them to the fullest.

The Minister further urged the players to aim beyond the local arena while setting their sights on i n t e r n a t i o n a l accomplishments.

that some institutions (especially the Technical and Vocational ones) had a decisive advantage since a lot of their players were over the

age of 18 years and had already begun playing in senior competitions locally thereby making it difficult for schools (i.e Secondary) to progress far into the tournament.

After studying complaints made from various schools about the disadvantages they faced, the Organisers in their own review made a decision to exclude players 18 years and above so that all participating schools would start on level ground to a great extent.

Over one hundred schools are expected to participate in the competition and if one should go by the standard exhibited last year, then current Technical Director of the ‘Golden Jaguars’ Jamal Shabazz and all the other coaches have an excellent opportunity to get an early glimpse of the future stars in the sport, thanks to Digicel.

Joao Havelange set to leave hospital next week SAO PAULO (AP) Doctors says former FIFA President Joao Havelange is expected to leave the hospital next week, more than two months after being admitted with a serious infection on his right ankle. The Hospital Samaritano said Friday the 96-yearold Havelange improved significantly after leaving semiintensive care last week and will be allowed to return home in a few days if his health doesn’t deteriorate.

Havelange was admitted on March 18 with septic arthritis, an infection that affects joints, and several times was listed in serious condition because of heart and breathing problems.

Havelange led FIFA from 1974-98 and remains an honorary president. He resigned from the International Olympic Committee late last year citing undisclosed health reasons, avoiding a possible suspension for allegedly taking kickbacks from former FIFA marketing partner ISL.

Page 62

Kaieteur News

Sunday May 20, 2012

Sunday May 20, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 63

t r o Sp

Shivnarine Chanderpaul works through the leg side.

England v West Indies:

Hosts close in on victory Jaguars lose 1-0 at Lord’s to Reggae Boyz

Tim Bresnan provided England with their first wicket.

Pg. 58

Jeremie Lynch

Montego Bay, Jamaica - Guyana’s Golden Jaguars went down 1-nil to Jamaica when the two teams met on Friday evening at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay Jamaica, in their FIFA International Friendly.

In front of a lively crowd in the St. James parish capital which is known to be a lucrative tourist destination, the first half ended scoreless as the Jaguars defended valiantly under the assault of the “Reggae Boyz” attack, led by captain and striker Luton Shelton.

Although the initial stages of the second half was almost carbon body to the first half, Guyana begun to step up the gas with forward Carl Cort and wingers Dwain “Dugin”

Jacobs and Dwight Peters leading the charge.

However in the 61st minute, the Jamaicans would find the back of the net.

21year old forward Jeremie Lynch of Jamaican Premier League side, Harbour View FC, scored on his debut to hand the Reggae Boys the victory.

Lynch was a late replacement into the Jamaica squad after star striker Ricardo Fuller had pulled out.

Guyana almost pulled a goal-back in the dying minutes of the game when right back Kester David headed a corner from Peters into the cross-bar.

With both teams preparing for the third round of the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 Qualifiers, the Jaguars will now travel to play Panama on May 20th.They then wrap up their preparation with a camp at a undisclosed South American location, before heading to Mexico where they would face the home side on June 8 in the first game of the qualifiers at the world famous Estadio Azetca, in which the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals were held.

Guyana is drawn alongside Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica, while Jamaica will face the likes of Guatemala, USA and Antigua and Barbuda.

Burnett to headline President’s/ Jefford Track & Field Classic today

(FLASHBACK) The large crowd that descended at the President’s/Jefford II Track and Field Classic at the MSC ground.

T

oday, the Mining Community of Linden is expected to be a hive of activity with the staging of what is reasonably labelled as one the leading track & field events to have emerged in three years.

The Third Edition of the President’s / Jefford Track & Filed Classic will be held today, at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground, starting from 10:00 hrs.

According to a member of the Organising Committee, athletes from Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada have arrived to compete against the locals and the competition is anticipated to be fiercely contested, especially in the women International 1500 meters which will see Guyana’s Marian Burnett coming up against Trinidad and Tobago’s Tonya Nero and Grenada’s Kenisha Pascal. The race will be even more contested with the addition of locally based Alika Morgan, Jevina Straker, Janella Jonas, Ashantie Scott and Adama Roberts in the line

up. The Men’s 800m is also expected to be a hotly contested event on the agenda with the likes of Distance star, Cleveland Forde who is slated to compete along with Cleveland Thomas, Kevin Bayley who is undefeated in the event for this season, Trevor Scotland, Tyshon Bentick, Linden’s Nathaniel Giddings, Samuel Kaitan, Grenada’s Kimon Henry and T&T’s Mark London scheduled to face the starter’s order around the 300m perimeter track. These athletes will no doubt be looking to erase the last year’s existing record of 1:55.90 seconds which was set by Police Progressive Youth Club athlete, Dennis Horatio, who will not be present at the Classic to defend his title.

The Men’s 200m is also anticipated to be one of the marquee events of the day with upset minded Elton Bollers of the University of Guyana set to throw down the gauntlet against established athletes, such as, Chavez (Continued on page 59)

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