Kaieteur News

Page 2

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 3

Police refuse alibi statements for accused cop killer - suspect allegedly subjected to “electric shock”

By Latoya Giles Relatives of Chaka Chase, who police say shot and killed Corporal Romain Cleto last month, yesterday staged a protest outside the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department, Eve Leary.

The relatives are alleging that Chase was tortured into admitting that he committed the crime. Several Police sources yesterday said that Chase is to be charged today with the cop’s murder.

About nine persons, including a police officer, have come forward and are willing to give statements attesting to the fact that Chase was with them and was nowhere close to the shooting scene on April 27 .

Attorney at law Nigel Hughes, who has been retained by the family, told a press conference in front of the CID yesterday afternoon, that he along with relatives visited Chase at the Diamond Police Station. Hughes said that it became apparent after interviewing him, that Chase had a full proof alibi.

The lawyer said that since his client could not come out of the holding cell he had to go to him. Hughes said that he was told by Chase that had been tortured on Thursday while at CID by several police officers. He said that Chase told him that he was subjected to “electric shock”, then given a liquid substance to drink. The lawyer said that Chase related that soon after that, he became ill, defecated and fell in a semi-conscious state.

Minutes later, Chase was given a statement which he signed. The Attorney said that he could not get to see if

there were any visible marks on Chase’s body since the cell was dark.

Further, Hughes said that while at the Diamond Police Station, he inquired from the Officer in Charge whether any of witnesses could give their statement. Hughes said that he was advised to go to the Eve Leary Headquarters to give the statement. However when the lawyer and the witnesses arrived at Eve Leary yesterday afternoon, ranks there said that no one was there to take the statement and that they should return today.

According to Hughes, he has spoken to one of the witnesses who said that Chase was with her at the time of the shooting. He said that the witness was the person who took him to the East Ruimveldt Outpost after he had received a message from a police officer that his name was being called in connection with the shooting of the policeman.

Hughes said that his particular concern was that someone is going to be charged today with murder, when there are nine persons, including a police officer, who confirmed that he was somewhere else. He said that the owner of the drinking establishment happens to be the brother of a senior police officer, who testified in the Linden Commission of Inquiry. The owner, according to the lawyer, has expressed his displeasure about the matter.

Hughes noted that it would be a grave miscarriage of justice, if Chase was charged for murder Hughes said that the Guyana Police Force seems to be rushing to another form of

Relatives of Chaka Chase protest his incarceration. erroneous judgment, in which they are bringing to court a young man who will be charged with murder without even beginning to conduct even the most rudimentary elements of investigation.

He said that he understands that no attempt was made to speak to any of the eyewitnesses. He further noted that he had read in the press that the person who allegedly committed the act was someone of either Portuguese or East Indian decent. His client, Chaka Chase, is Rastafarian and of African descent. “It seems to be another example where a young urban citizen is charged for an offence where there is an inadequate investigation,” Hughes stated. The lawyer maintained that it was not too late for the police to take the statements from the eyewitnesses.

The lawyer said that he has not ruled out the route in which former Police Commissioner Henry Greene took, but noted that he was only retained on Sunday and did not have the same advantages which Greene’s lawyers had. Hughes said that they will certainly look at this avenue. Greene had

New North West ferry being considered In the near future residents of the North West District, Region One will be benefiting from a new ferry which will accommodate both passengers and cargo.

It is expected that the new vessel will be more comfortable, faster, thereby reducing the hours of traveling, and will accommodate more passengers.

This announcement was made by Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn during community meetings in Region One over the weekend.

The Minister told the residents of this development at White Water where concerns about river transport were raised.

Residents said that they are challenged by the travel schedule which is restricted due to the dry-docking of the vessel, MV Kimbia, which is undergoing repairs to the hull and machinery.

The boat is expected to be back in service in a few weeks.

Before the MV Kimbia started to service the North West District, the Lady Northcote and the MV Barima were traversing the route.

Minister Benn indicated that active discussions are ongoing with regards to obtaining the new boat, and it is anticipated that it will be acquired within 12 to 18 months.

It was observed that much of the agricultural produce in the Region originates from

Georgetown, and Minister Benn is optimistic that that trend would be reversed when the new boat is secured since in the past a lot of agricultural produce originated from the North West.

The decision to procure a new boat for the Region follows similar actions for the Essequibo Coast and surrounding islands which are being serviced by two roll-on/roll-off ferries. These interventions are a part of the government’s thrust towards ensuring that Guyanese have access to reliable and safe water transportation, and that they are also able to access critical products and services. (GINA)

Attorney at Law Nigel Hughes last evening with Chase’s sister and another person outside of the CID. moved to the High Court and blocked rape charges from being instituted.

Police on Friday said that they had positively identified one of the persons responsible for the shooting to death of Police Corporal Romain Cleto. According to investigators, the case against Chase grew intensely stronger over the last days.

Chase, who hails from East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, had gone to the police when he learnt that he was among the suspects.

The police released him soon after because there was no evidence to hold him.

However the suspect was

rearrested on Thursday last.

Investigators have said that an eyewitness had placed the suspect at the scene.

There are reports in other sections of the media of a woman claiming that she was pressured by the police to implicate Chase in the matter.

The woman who hails from the Rosemary Lane area (Tiger Bay) has reportedly gone into hiding.

Cleto was gunned down

by the occupants of a suspicious car at the busy intersection of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, in the full view of persons waiting for transportation.

The cop was approaching the vehicle on foot when one of the occupants opened fire with what is believed to be an AK-47 assault rifle and a ninemillimeter handgun. Corporal Cleto was buried with full military honours.

Page 4

Kaieteur News

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

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

Editorial

Economic Revisionism While all commentators have a world view or even an explicit ideology that influences their pronouncements, when those commentators are in a position to influence the decision making of the government, one has to interrogate their premises since, whether valid or not, they have effects that are real in their consequences for the entire populace.

It is from this standpoint that we examine the premises of the PPP’s Mr. Hydar Ally’s letter on “Guyana’s Economic Recovery” (KN 5-19-13).

Mr. Ally states that, “Guyana’s economy is doing well, especially when seen against the background of other economies in the Region. The country has now graduated out of the IMF structural adjustment programme, which, as the experience of Jamaica and other crisis-stricken economies has demonstrated, is not a panacea for the myriad social and economic woes that have bedeviled those countries.”

While we hold no brief for the IMF, we do not believe that they have ever presented themselves as holding out “panaceas”. However, although we have “graduated out of the IMF structural adjustment programme”, but we are still following their prescriptions rather fastidiously, we wonder to what extent Mr. Ally’s skepticism is shared by his other colleagues in the PPP leadership cadre.

Mr. Ally states rather disparagingly that the IMF prescriptions to Guyana in 1989 were operationalised under the “Economic Recovery Programme, which essentially was premised on market reforms, deregulation and a neo-liberal economic agenda.”

But when we examine the programme’s four interrelated objectives: “to restore economic growth, to incorporate the parallel economy into the official economy, to eliminate external and internal payments imbalances, and to normalise Guyana’s financial relations with its foreign creditors”, we find that the plan was successful in every area.

Take the restoration of “economic growth”. It was the ‘bitter medicine” of the programme in a wide array of economies that forced institutions to adjust to the new regime and then fostered rapid expansion once the discipline was maintained.

The most important requirement was to have the political will and courage, as Hoyte displayed. He imposed, for instance reductions in the public service and massive devaluations (“10 to1”). It is doubtful that these would have been achieved under a PPP regime.

In 1989, the year after the ERP kicked in, the GDP contracted by 3.3% but by 1991 had jumped to 5.9% and in 1992 to 7.7%.

Therefore, Mr. Ally is being very disingenuous when he claims that “Guyana’s economic recovery did not commence in earnest until the new PPP/C administration assumed power in October 1992, which saw a steady growth of the economy and a corresponding decrease in the debt burden which was consuming over 90% of government revenues.” The growth momentum begun under the PNC and continued for the next five years until it was reversed under the PPP. Growth between 1998 to 2006 was not even 1% annually.

The integration of the massive parallel economy was also achieved under the Hoyte administration because of the political will to step on a lot of toes that had grown very big and powerful by then. But it is the “debt burden” that we have to turn because this has been the biggest horn that the PPP toots in its economic credentials.

But here, too, they do not give credit to the Hoyte administration. Because of non-payments on previous loans, the IMF had cut off lending to Guyana in 1983. But as a precursor to the ERP, Hoyte worked out a reform plan with the IMF premised on promise of renewed multilateral financial support. Without the IMF’s support no other foreign loans would have been forthcoming.

Guyana’s debt in 1988 was only US$884 million and it was the accumulated interests that raised it to the US$2.1 billion that is cited. It was under Hoyte that an International Donor Support Group arranged for overdue arrears to be repaid in 1989. It was this act that enabled Guyana to borrow once again, and for the PPP to reschedule the debts and have then eventually written off.

Monday May 20, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

I reiterate my call for concrete bridges to replace the ill-constructed wooden ones DEAR EDITOR, I just read an article which quoted Minister Benn as suggesting that tolls will be charged for the use of roads and or bridges in the Rupununi during the rainy season. Mr. Editor, I am never amused by the stupidity of this particular minister of government. This has got to be the most stupid declaration of the decade. I would like to refer to it as the Moco Moco Declaration.

In 2010 when the road at Hunt Oil Stretch was under siege, Mr. Benn was on site directing the ‘show.’ Having intimate knowledge of the bridge construction issues in the Region, I asked the minister what plans were afoot to ensure that we move from 5 ton bridges to more sturdy bridges.

The minister got on his high horse and berated Stabroek News. Not too long after we had a fatality when a truck literally fell through one of Minister Benn’s fortified

bridges and caused the life of a young man to be snuffed out.

Ever since, we have had so many accidents as a result of faulty bridges. We have also had incidents of bridges being washed away in the rainy seasons. This begs the need to have more sturdy bridges. In 1998, while still an officer of the Regional Democratic Council, Region 9, I suggested that we build at least one concrete bridge a year. This idea was laughed at by the then Regional Executive Officer. His concern at the time was if these bridges were to be built, then over time there would have been no need for the contractors and that the trade would die a natural death. Well we have the results of this lack of vision. This is a yearly ritual: build a bridge and within 18 months remedial works are necessary. This kind of sloppy planning ensures that there is always work for the boys, and the kickbacks keep

flowing.

It is a known fact that the Moco Moco Creek is a fast flowing one in the rainy season, and as such consideration should have been given to the issue of erosion of the creek bed. The foundation should have been constructed deep into the creek bed. Even if there was erosion it would have been more gradual. As it is the foundation was constructed on the surface of the creek bed.

I would like to reiterate my call for concrete bridges to be constructed to replace the dangerous, and most times, ill-constructed wooden ones. . The suggestion that development must be suspended because of inclement weather is most absurd of the minister.

On the issue of tolls, the people of Rupununi are already heavily taxed and it is a serious dereliction of duty that the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has not come out and

condemned this irresponsible and stupid suggestion.

A truck leaving Georgetown is taxed as follows: $3,000 to cross the Wismar/Mac Kenzie Bridge; $5,000 to pass through the Mabura Concession; $15,000 to cross on the Mecdeci pontoon at Kurupukari. What other taxes is the minister talking about? These paid taxes have not improved the condition of the roads, which result in heavy maintenance costs to these vehicles.

The minister should be aware that the imposition of any new taxes will be passed on to the customer, thus making life here more expensive. The answer therefore is not more taxation, but more carefully designed structures and a paved road from Linden to Lethem.

Maybe he can start with a concrete structure across the now damaged bridge.

Carl Parker Regional Councillor

Only two Cuban flights landed in Guyana because Burnham caved in to US and Venezuelan pressure DEAR EDITOR, I doubt Kaieteur News will publish this letter but as the nation’s most valiant freedom of speech and free press defender, I strongly believe it would be subverting its own indomitable code if it refuses to do so.

I wrote a letter to Kaieteur News that was not published (as far as I know). In that letter I highlighted the fact that Burnham only allowed two Cuban flights to land in Guyana before caving in to US and Venezuelan pressure.

The source of that information is none other than award-winning scholar on Cuban foreign policy Piero Gleijesis’ “Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976”. A May 13, 2013 Kaieteur News editorial titled “The Tambo Award Tango” made the case for Burnham’s entitlement to the OR Tambo Award. It also distinguished between causa belli (reason for) and casus belli (occasion for) criticism of Burnham’s entitlement to the Award. It is a valid distinction notably because the terms of entitlement to the OR Tambo Award are very specific.

Notwithstanding this fact, to merely do as the editorial did, in dismissing my argument as petty is missing the wider point.

The Cuban intransit issue is one of the visible acts of support by Burnham for African liberation and for this reason, it is emphasized by his backers. Accordingly, it

must be closely examined.

Any deep scrutiny of the events surrounding Burnham’s assistance to the Cubans to land in Guyana in 1975 unearth the following fact: only two flights landed before Burnham caved to US and Venezuelan pressure.

Obviously the editorial is attempting to illustrate that some limited assistance is better than no assistance at all.

However, it fails to correspondingly illustrate that Angola was at its direst point, meaning it faced potential collapse into the hegemony of pro-South African apartheid elements.

At that critical juncture when push came to shove, Forbes Burnham succumbed to not only pressure from the USA, a tacit supporter of anticommunist apartheid South Africa, but also to Venezuela, from whom Burnham was secretly begging for oil despite Venezuela’s attack on Guyana at Ankoko a mere five years prior and its continued aggressive claim to two-thirds of Guyana.

The instructive point is that at Angola’s direst crossroads, Forbes Burnham surrendered to a superpower that supported apartheid South Africa and to a sworn enemy claiming two-thirds of our nation.

The editorial seemingly attempts to justify Burnham’s capitulation to US pressure when it stated that “During the Cold War, governments were overthrown for less.”

However, the reality is that

with a PPP communist government-in-waiting, Forbes Burnham was more secured of his hold on power and US support than many other regimes.

A more terrifying despot more open to US overthrow shenanigans in Ahmed Seke Toure, leader of Guinea, allowed Cubans to land freely in Guinea. Clearly, Forbes Burnham helped the people of South Africa on other fronts and that entitles him to the OR Tambo Award. But that does not mean that some of the reasons proffered for his entitlement to the award cannot be examined or

challenged.

The causa belli for Burnham’s turnaround on allowing the landing of Cuban flights cannot be buried under the blanket dismissal that it is petty to argue that only two flights landed. Nor can it be rejected without reason as just posturing casus belli.

Not when the causa belli evidence hypocrisy and emboldened Venezuela which sensed our weakness from that act to reopen its territorial ambitions with even greater aggression in the period shortly thereafter.

M. Maxwell

Nothing is being said or done that allows optimism about the future DEAR EDITOR, Mr Kumar Doobay’s letter makes me want to join the forum on making legal bills into Acts of Parliament. As one whose touchstone is the rule of law, I have to agree that, enforcement issues aside, we cannot have a constructive life under a constitution being used as it was designed, to give absolute power to the minority in control of any government.

Today that power equates simply to personal enrichment.

It brings us to the status of a failed state against which the world must use anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations. Maybe our opposition parties see that as the only way to damage the interests of the executive, whatever the consequences for the economy.

Or maybe they see this current issue as an opportunity to bring about quick elections, trusting the electorate to give them the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution. If the latter, I don’t think they’re making quite the right noises. Nothing is being said or done that allows optimism about the future.

Which is why so many who hope for better have already left or are actively seeking to leave Guyana. Those abroad who could comment constructively have mostly shut up, and those left here can only occasionally dare to voice the kind of opinions I share with Mr Doobay.

Gustav Henderson

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 5

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

I wonder whether this practice still goes on?

DEAR EDITOR, Fascinating, the detailed letter about citizens’ “rights at the U.S. Airport & Port of Entry”. I would never have guessed that such in-depth ‘research’ could ever take place - for bona fide visitors or holidaymakers.

I based my assumption on the practice which applies to visitors from the UK. Up until a few years ago, holidaymakers holding an EU/UK passport enjoyed travel without a US visa, under the Visa Waiver Programme.

Then sometime after 9/11, the practice changed and all visitors are now required to get an electronic authorisation, known as ESTA, before travelling. At first, this online service was free but it now carries a fee, paid by officially-sanctioned credit cards. Long distance travel these days causes more stress than is good for anyone.

Which reminds me of an intriguing experience I had in the mid-1980s in the US while changing planes at Atlanta (as I recall) airport, to another, to take me to New Orleans. The check-in clerk started asking weird questions and requested to see my airline ticket. I

presented all my agencybooked travel documents and she dithered over them.

By the time she was through, my connecting plane had left and I was directed by a hovering airline colleague to check in at another desk, which did not belong to the airline I was booked to travel with originally.

I was placed at the bottom of their list and, shortly before take-off, was given the halfway seat on the plane where an air hostess normally sat. Later on I was offered any drink of my choice free.

Just before take-off, a panting chap arrived. He had to attend an urgent meeting in New Orleans and the check-in clerk asked passengers whether anyone could help him.

About three hands shot up. Airline staff and the two passengers then huddled together at the door, whispered among themselves, and the chap came aboard. I missed out on sunlight photo opportunities through this caper.

Back in the UK, I related the incident to the travel agency and they said they could not understand it, as they had not changed my plane travel arrangements.

A few months later I read of something called “plane seat auction” in the US airline industry, where incidents such as mine happened, by collusion among staff.

People already seated agree to sell their seats for a mark-up and the difference is shared among the parties involved.

I concluded that the checking-in clerk’s dawdling plus the other’s direction to a different airline’s desk were probably all part of deliberate delaying tactics, to make extra (weekend) money.

My ‘cut’ was the free onboard whiskey and ginger! It happened on a Saturday, so they made a tidy packet by auctioning two seats, mine and the willing passenger’s on the plane. These women certainly had heads on their shoulders.

One wonders what would have been the position if that plane had crashed and whether the practice still goes on?

Geralda Dennison

Why is the Ministry of Health adamant in not seeking compliance with this request?

DEAR EDITOR, This is a country where rumours spread like wildfire.

One such rumour is that the Medical Council is at loggerheads with the Ministry of Health over the inadequate information provided on the qualification of the Doctors from one of our socialist sister countries. It is also alleged that many of these Doctors working in this country are not registered by the Medical Council.

Although the Medical Council Act does not require that the Certificates of Doctors who are from a non English speaking country be translated into English for

easy verification, it would only be prudent for such to be done.

Why is the Ministry of Health adamant in not seeking compliance with this request?

It is alleged that the other socialist sister countries which assist us with Medical Practitioners do supply the full CV with a translated copy in English.

Is the Ministry of Health willing to bend over backwards and overlook certain requirements which could be to the detriment of the People of Guyana?

News is also around that the Chief Medical Officer knew several years ago that

there was a need for all foreign doctors to submit their qualifications in English.

Yet he has been tardy in demanding the compliance, thereby enabling the Minister of Health to push for the amendment of the Medical Practitioners Act and reflect this new reality.

There are many other examples of shortcomings to be mentioned but no one wants to bell the cat because of a fear of victimization by the Administration. Such is the case of a prominent Lawyer who is being victimized by the Administration.

When will this end?

Concerned Citizen

Page 6

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Letters... Where your views make the news

As an independent country, our message should be loud and clear DEAR EDITOR, On the 30th March this year an explosive story appeared in One India news, a branch of the Indian press.

It concerned Nelson Mandela arguably the greatest human icon and luminary of the last century and a man genuinely revered by many people all over the world.

This is a man who had sacrificed so much to achieve the vision of a free and just South Africa at ease with its diversity.

The story concerned a relationship Nelson Mandela is alleged to have had with an Indian woman Amina Cachalia to whom he had proposed. It was described by the now deceased Amina as being ‘intimate and affectionate’. She spoke of them kissing passionately and of Mandela proposing marriage to her even though he was still married to Graca at the time.

Even though the article threatened to scandalise this great man, to my knowledge no protests were lodged by the South African Government and no retraction, qualification or apology offered by One India news. Certainly no such protest has been reported in

the Indian press.

This brings me to Freddie Kissoon’s recent article on Mahatma Gandhi. Kindly permit me to provide some balance to the brouhaha that erupted in certain quarters of the chattering classes over his article on Gandhi.

Now it is beyond dispute that Gandhi is a major figure of the last century. There is also a prominent statue of him in Georgetown.

Given these facts it is natural that there should be some interest within Guyana about who Gandhi was and what he really represented, even more so given Guyana’s race problems.

This is a legitimate debate we as a people with our own borders can engage in. We are not a province or state of any foreign powers (at least not the last time I checked).

Unlike Freddie I am less interested in Gandhi’s alleged sexual proclivities and much more interested in his attitude towards black people. It is an indisputable fact that while in South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi published a newspaper ‘Indian Opinion’ with racially abhorrent views about black people whom he contemptuously referred to as Kaffirs.

He also joined the British Army and fought against the Southern African independence movement.

This side of the man fascinates me much more.

Returning to the article published in India on Nelson Mandela. The Indian reporter saw it as legitimate journalism as it concerned a global figure; a man who transcends national borders.

Just like Mahatma Gandhi does.

Over and over again we can see the national press of countless other countries carrying comments and opinions on other nations’ activities, politics and personalities with rarely a hint of protest from the ambassadors or consular staff of the nations concerned. Come to think of it if all they ever did was protest, they would have little time to do any real work.

So as an independent country our message should be loud and clear: ”No country has the right to dictate to Guyana what can and cannot be debated or discussed. This action would suppress free speech and legitimate journalism” Colin Bascom

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 7

Monday May 20, 2013

Guyana does not have a culture of conducting opinion polls. As such whenever the results of an opinion poll are published it is often greeted with a fair amount of skepticism and suspicion.

There is justification for this attitude. There have been highly controversial polls conducted in Guyana.

In some cases, there have been accusations that certain polls were doctored to certain desired outcomes. Both of the main opposition parties in Guyana have been associated with polls that have been dubbed as dubious. There have also been polls conducted by individuals whose own political views have cast shadows over their independence and thus the credibility of their polls.

In light of these developments, polls conducted in Guyana are often viewed with suspicion. This is all the more so if the results of those polls predicted a loss of support for some political parties in Guyana.

Questions have been asked as to why would Guyana need opinion polls relating to voter preferences.

The argument goes that the electorate is so polarized in Guyana that it does not matter how good the government performs or how poorly the opposition behaves. The results of any election will by and large reflect the ethnic polarization in the society.

Kaieteur News

We have seen a little bit of this polarization in the just concluded poll by NACTA in which it is stated that while more than one fifth of the supporters of APNU are dissatisfied with the performance of the partnership, this has had little effect on how its supporters are likely to vote should an election be called today.

Notwithstanding this finding, which is consistent with how the preferences that the electorate has made in Guyana since 1992, there is a large cloud of suspicion hanging over the recent poll conducted by NACTA. For one, of all the issues that the poll covered, it was the popularity of the ministers? Who is interested in that? And why was a poll about the popularity of the ministers launched just around the time that the various groups of the Peoples Progressive Party are preparing for this year’s party congress where a new Central Executive is likely to be elected.

The question needs to be asked as to whether this poll conducted by NACTA and given prominence only in the State and pro-government media is intended to galvanize support behind certain ministers. Why now? Is this poll part of a political agenda aimed at enhancing the political fortunes of select ministers so that they can improve their standing at Congress and deflect from anticipated criticisms?

Dem boys seh

Certain people gon beat de lie detector test De whole question of lie detector still deh pun people mind. People still want to know how de biggest crooks calling fuh de ordinary man tek de lie detector test and dem ain’t tekking it. Up to now, as Luncheon tell de reporters, is only one boss man agree fuh tek de test fuh show de staff that he clean. And dem boys hear how de CANU boss man did tek de test. He had to pass because he still deh pun de job.

De test involve some question – three set of question— that gun mek de people who conducting it be in a position to judge what is de truth when dem ask de real question. De problem does come when people ask personal question like if de people thief or if dem rape.

Dem boys seh that if dem got to ask some of dem big one in government if dem ever thief all of dem gun get ketch. But then again some of dem can lie. One man does lie without moving he mouth. Every week when he meet wid dem reporter he does lie but dem boys seh that dem can live wid he.

Is dem who does lie wid dem mouth, dem eye and even dem tail close that dem worry about. De lie detector might miss dem because dem lie suh much that dem can’t tell de truth even if dem want to. That is why dem boys want to prepare de questions. Of course, de answer must always be ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

Dem got to ask Jagdeo if he ever get money from Bobby Ramroop; dem got to ask Rob Earth if he ever apply fuh a radio licence; dem got to ask Bobby if he ever get free money from de government; dem got to ask Dr Leslie if he ever tek money that wasn’t he own and spend it; dem got to ask Donald if he happy wid how Jagdeo perform during de election campaign.

Of course dem can’t get knock off and no jail in Guyana can hold dem. But dem boys planning fuh see if some foreign country can help wid dem jail. Of course, that is why nuff of dem don’t travel overseas anymore.

Talk half and remember that do suh nah like suh.

The ranking of the ministers according to their approval rating is extremely surprising in the results released by NACTA. It is hard to see how any of those who have been rated highly in the recent polls could have a higher approval rating than Dr. Frank Anthony, who many feel has what it takes to assume the leadership of the party and even become its next presidential candidate.

On the other hand, some other ministers who have received high ratings are likely to come under serious scrutiny at the forthcoming

Congress and there may even be a case for some of those who have been highly rated to be replaced.

In terms of the best debater during the recent Budget debate, it is hard to reconcile the findings of the poll with the actual performance during the parliamentary debates. For example, it is hard to see how someone like Moses Nagamootoo was not rated as the best debater on the opposition side.

There is hardly any disputing the performance of Ashni Singh. He is in a class of his own and was heads and

Page 9

shoulders above everyone else during the debates. But on the PPP side there was an excellent presentation by Rev. Kwame Gilbert which should have attracted a higher ranking when it comes to debating skills.

Another disturbing feature of the NACTA poll was about the issues polled.

The poll concentrated on a number of issues such as the Budget cuts and the Oliver Tambo Award to Forbes Burnham. But why did it not cover other issues such as the issuance of radio licences? Why did the poll also not gauge public opinion

on corruption and why did it not ask the public who it thought were the most corrupt ministers.

It is understandable that the pollsters would not have been able to publicise the latter information but it would have not been harmful to at least know how the public felt about certain ministers when it came to corruption. But then again that may have defeated the whole intention of the poll, would it not?

Page 10

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Monday May 20, 2013

When I first moved into the house in the quiet suburb of Cedar Grove in Antigua, the bougainvillea plants that face the road were sedate, waving gently as the wind blew in from the Atlantic and displaying their splendid blooms for all to see. Now, they are like Venus Flytraps.

As soon as I am anywhere in the vicinity, they reach out their thorny limbs to inflict grievous bodily harm on me.

The flowers smell different, giving out a pungent aroma. They form a phalanx bristling with spears like the Ancient Greeks or Spartans.

They leave branches on the ground that penetrate my rubber slippers and bore into my very sole.

It all started when the razor grass from next door infiltrated my yard and moved in with the bougainvillea. They seemed to have grassed on me and maybe got all the dirt about what I did because the next thing that happened is that the dangerous Acacia or “Cassie” plants joined them in what seemed to be fertile but not fruitful discussions.

Now I’m stuck with some smarty plants that are so

Kaieteur News

close together they want to start up a hedge fund.

If you think this is farfetched some recent research and earlier studies support my contention that plants are known by the company they keep and they are smart enough to make an ash out of anyone.

A National Geographic article earlier this month claimed, “Plants might be able to eavesdrop on their neighbors and use the sounds they ‘hear’ to guide their own growth, according to a new study that suggests plants use acoustic signaling to communicate with one another. ‘We have shown that plants can recognize when a good neighbor is growing next to them,’ said study co-author (Dr.) Monica Gagliano, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Western Australia… plants can not only ‘smell’ the chemicals and ‘see’ the reflected light of their neighbors, they may also ‘listen’ to the plants around them.”

The new study showed that chili plants sprouted faster and were healthier, compared with those grown in isolation, when they were

grown next to “good neighbors,” such as basil, that help inhibit weed growth and pests. The results were the same when the plants were separated by black plastic that prevented them from exchanging light or chemical signals. The chili seedlings could tell what kinds of plants their neighbors were and respond accordingly. This study follows an experiment performed last year in which chili plants could similarly sense when they were surrounded by “bad neighbors,” such as fennel, that release chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants.

Another research finding

by Dr. Gagliano supports my suspicions that the delinquency of my bougainvillea is due mainly to bad company. She has found that they can respond with sound and can even ‘talk’ to each other by clicking in their roots. Using powerful loudspeakers, the scientists heard clicking sounds coming from the roots of corn saplings. They were amazed.

They then found that when suspended in water the

Page 15

saplings grew towards the source of a constant clicking noise that was played to them.

Dr. Gagliano said that the research “opens up a new debate on the perception and action of people towards plants” which she suggested could perhaps be treated “as living beings in their own right.” But can they supplant humanity as the dominant species? Is there going to be a new plantocracy?

Who knows? While the language that plants use is a monkey puzzle, the BBC reported that scientists at Exeter University have captured on film the process by which plants alert each other to possible dangers.

When a plant is under attack it releases a gas which warns neighbouring plants to protect themselves.

Safiya Arslan, a research fellow in molecular biology, writing in Fountain Magazine (Can Plants Talk?) says, “There are lots of interesting examples of how plants communicate with insects.

For instance, in self-defense against insects eating its leaves, a plant emits a volatile chemical that signals other insects, who are predators of

Guyana on the right track preparing for oil The Government of Guyana is on the right path as it moves to address, legislative, economic and fiscal issues within the rapidly expanding oil and gas sector.

This is the opinion expressed by a two-man team of Commonwealth advisors, which concluded its second one week consultation visit to Guyana.

Economic Advisor, Dr Epken J. Omonbude and Legal Advisor Dr Ibibia L. Worika, both of the Special Advisory Services Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, said that they were impressed with the measures and policies that have been put in place by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to address the current and future needs of the sector.

Speaking as guests on the National Communications Network’s Round Table Programme, Dr. Omonbude said that they initially visited a year ago to advise Government on several legislative and regulative issues in the oil and gas sector.

He noted that while a National Energy Policy was in place, an “Up Stream” policy was needed. A strategy document to address this shortcoming was crafted and

- Commonwealth Secretariat is now in place.

The Economic Advisor noted, however, that the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment must continue to build on its current policies and the Commonwealth will play a key role in this process.

“The essence of what we do on our assignments is not just to develop these instruments and deliver them and hand them over, we always want there to be the Guyanese ‘Buy In’.

It’s not enough for us to come in as outsiders and provide recommendations for want of a better expression, shove them down your throats. We want it to be something that you appreciate, understand and carry on for yourselves, because at the end of the day it would just be an advisory input from the Commonwealth, but it will be the Government of Guyana that puts it forward.”

Dr. Worika said that a key component is stakeholder involvement.

“This is necessary as it will avoid bottlenecks in the future unless all are on onboard from the beginning,” he said. “This is essential to

help government craft its policies as it seeks to expand a sector that will be of immense importance”.

Pressed about the proposed time frame for their consultation, the legal advisor said that their scope of work will last about two years, given their deliverables. “Amendments of law take time, not so much because of what we do but perhaps internally, with going through Parliament and all of that,” he stated.

The team of advisors recently completed similar programmes in Pakistan and Uganda.

The Economic and Legal Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat provides technical assistance that focuses on reform of regulatory environments in member states to encourage more investment, private sector development and export

growth, with emphasis on trade, and the financial and natural resources sectors such as maritime, mining and petroleum, along with the development of capital markets.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is assisting the Government of Guyana via the NRE on technical, legal, economic and fiscal issues for potential oil and gas sectors.

This support is vital as Guyana moves to strengthen its strategic, legislative, regulatory and institutional arrangements for oil and gas sector development and governance. It will be a long, but thorough and transparent process, which will demonstrate best international practices, a government release said Friday.

Two offshore oil wells have been drilled in Guyana and a number of licences have been issued for exploration companies as the country attempts to find oil.

those insects eating the plant.

A byproduct of such insect communication may allow plants to signal danger to other extremely close, downwind plants. Professor of Entomology, Richard Karban and other researchers from the University of California showed that a cut sagebrush “told” nearby, downwind wild tobacco plants about its injury, and the tobacco plants apparently responded to protect themselves from damage.”

Ms. Arslan claims that plants also talk to mammals.

OK so we know that they talk to other plants which, by the way, is driving Miss Daisy crazy. We also know that some even have human names like the marijuana plant (Herb). They can take a leek but can they communicate with humans? According to Ms. Arslan, in 1848, Dr. Gustav Theodor Fechner, a German professor, suggested

that plants are capable of emotions and that one could promote healthy growth with talk, attention, and affection.

An Indian scientist, Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, conducted experiments on plants in 1900. Bose found that plants grew more quickly amidst pleasant music and more slowly amidst loud noise or harsh sounds even if they come from a Bose system.

Clearly the “gangsta” rap music that emanates from passing cars and village fetes in my area is also partly to blame for my bougainvillea’s badness.

What I plan to do is cut them down with my trusty machete and while doing so put on Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way” at full volume. *Tony Deyal was last seen asking, “What did the ganja plant say to the opium plant when they heard the footsteps of the anti-drug squad?” “Hush Poppy!”

Page 16

Kaieteur News

Builders continue to face losses as stone shortage continues As the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment contemplates the establishment of new quarries, home builders continue to suffer due to the shortage of stone.

Since late last year, there has been a troubling fluctuation of the availability of this key construction material.

It was following these complaints that Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, recently explained that his Ministry is engaging investors regarding the possible opening of new quarries.

This is expected to ease the anxiety, especially for home builders who depend on this vital material.

Kaieteur News understands that the groundwork which is vital to determining whether or not

these new quarries should be established, is currently ongoing by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) This groundwork is expected to determine the level of production and output, so as to determine why it is that these shortages occur in the first place, and what can be done to improve the situation. In the mean time, builders, particularly those constructing their homes via home loans, have been continuously and significantly affected by this repeated shortage of quarry materials on the local market.

This scenario would usually result in the few local suppliers having to ration the stone.

According to a few builders and truck owners, the shortages have become a bit too regular, and something needs to be done urgently.

Kaieteur News understands that while there is a general shortage of these materials, there are especially times when there are absolutely no stones available.

“This affecting us terribly, because we working on a loan from the bank, and my husband quit his job to look over the work, and we are struggling for a daily bread as it is, so when we don’t get the materials, the work does left stalled. The bank does question us, and it causing a real strain on our pockets,” Nalita Singh, one home builder said.

Others affected include truck operators who transport these materials in an effort to provide for their families.

Those affected are calling on the Minister to speed up the process, as they can no longer tolerate operating being at a loss.

Imagine lying on the road drunk one minute and then waking sober a few hours later in the mortuary!

Sounds strange? It’s true

and it happened recently in Guyana.

Several days ago, a man thought to be dead got a rude awakening when he found

himself lying on a cold table in the Mabaruma Hospital mortuary.

He was said to have been picked up late Friday afternoon at the head of the Kumaka Stretch in Region One. Those who picked him up surely thought that he was dead and subsequently took him to the mortuary. It turned out that the suspected dead was in a drunken sleep, and had decided to take a nap at the road corner.

Hospital workers got the shock of their lives when they went to work only to discover that the body that they had placed there the night before had vanished.

They later learnt that when the man awoke on the cold iron table the following day, sober and realizing where he was, the unsuspecting fellow shot out of the mortuary and has not been seen since.

‘Dead’ man awakes in mortuary

Monday May 20, 2013

GGMC to rent Regent Street building

The Regent Street location which will soon house some GGMC staffers More worries seem to be brewing for the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) as the agency is now forced to rent another location to ease staff congestion at its Brickdam Head Office. Kaieteur News was told that agency officials are seeking to pay a $1M rental fee for a new building located at the corner of Light and Regent Streets.

This however, is despite recently constructing a new building in the Brickdam compound which has since been taken over by a handful of staffers from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Management is again furious over another inconvenience and the unnecessary expense that must be incurred.

Sources say that the agency has located the former Co- op Complex on Regent Street, which is now owned by a private concern, to house some of its staff.

Some GGMC staffers will soon be making the move to the new location.

It was explained that most of those who will be housed at the Regent Street building are field workers. Provision had to be made for the influx of field staff, needed for

additional coverage of interior locations.

The Regent Street move may however pose a difficulty for the monitoring and management of staffers who will now be decentralized due to the space constraints.

GGMC already has a $600M tab to deal with for the completion of the High and Princes Street building which they will possibly occupy, by early next year.

Management was livid when Cabinet ordered the agency to spend more than $100M to buy the defective High Street building in February last. That location was originally slated for the Labour and Human Services Ministry, but was left unoccupied for a prolonged period of time.

Prior to the order, GGMC had spent millions of dollars to construct the new three story building at its head office compound on Brickdam. It is now home to the Natural Resources Ministry and some 25 staffers.

But the takeover was deemed unnecessary since according to a GGMC source, the location is more than what the Ministry requires.

Even top officials of the government had the same

opinion when arguments erupted over the takeover of the GGMC building.

Kaieteur News was told that the Natural Resources Ministry is not paying a rental for the GGMC building and it is apparent that the utilities bill will be the responsibility of the Geology and Mines Commission.

This publication was further told that although the move to Regent Street is unwanted, it is necessary since overcrowding and cramped conditions have long been an issue at GGMC which has an operating capacity of 300-plus staffers.

The GGMC will however have to add their rental payments to their list of things to do as their proposed new home at the High and Princes Street building is far from ready.

GGMC continues to feel imposed upon by the Natural Resources Ministry. While the agency should be able to manage its own affairs under the constitution, staffers argued that the Ministry had gradually been forcing itself into GGMC business. “The GGMC is an Agency on its own, while the Ministry is only a policy maker,” they stated.

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 17

Page 18

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Public Procurement Commission…

Lack of political will hinders appointment - former Auditor General of Commissioners Although about 70 percent of the $177.4B 2013 national budget represents the procurement of goods and services and the execution of works, the Public Procurement Commission is still to be established to ensure accountability and transparency.

This is according to Anand Goolsarran, former Auditor General, who said, “After 12 years, the Commissioners are yet to be appointed, leaving observers to the inescapable conclusion that Cabinet does not want to relinquish its role in public procurement.

That apart, there are credible allegations that

contracts are not being awarded in a fair, competitive and transparent manner to ensure the best value for money is achieved.”

There are allegations that contractors are pressured by corrupt officials into giving kickbacks to secure lucrative contracts.

According to Goolsarran, the World Bank has estimated that as much as 20 per cent of financial resources are lost in some developing countries, especially with regard to infrastructure works as a result of inefficiency, substandard work, inflated contracts and kickbacks.

“In the Guyana context, I suspect that the figure of 20 per cent is a fair assessment

of what is taking place here,” he stated.

In fact, only last year a contractor, Falcon Transportation and Construction Services, alleged that his contract for Lot One of the East Coast Demerara four-lane expansion project was terminated because he refused to give kickbacks.

However, the Ministry maintained that the contract was terminated because of poor execution of works along with the suspected forgery of some documents.

Goolsarran blames the lack of political will to have accountability as the primary reason for the non-existence of this vital Commission. He added that accountability has not been one of Guyana’s strengths, dating back to the People’s National Congress leadership.

He said that in 1992 under the leadership of President Cheddi Jagan, Guyana had started the process of accountability but gradually slipped backwards and it is now on the backburner.

The Public Procurement Commission was established by a constitutional amendment of 2001 to remove the involvement of Cabinet in the award of contracts for goods and services and the execution of works.

However, the Commissioners are yet to be appointed. The joint Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), has already submitted the names and resumes of their nominees to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly.

In fact, the AFC has listed Goolsarran as one of their nominees to be appointed to the Commission.

Responding to a query of when Government will submit their nominees to the PAC, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon said that President Donald Ramotar definitely sees the need for the conclusion of this matter.

“And encounters between the President and the Leader of the Opposition David Granger would bring forth enlightenment.”

According to Goolsarran, while Guyana awaits the appointment of the Commissioners, the public procurement system has a significant gap in the sense that there is no oversight of the operations of the National Tender Administration and Procurement Board (NTAPB).

He explained that Cabinet cannot exercise that oversight responsibility since it only

Dr. Roger Luncheon

Auditor General Anand Goolsarran

offers no objection to contracts in excess of $15M and can only return a contract to the NTAPB for further review on procedural grounds.

“That apart, the NTAPB reports to the Minister of Finance, a Cabinet member, who advises the Cabinet on procurement matters. It would therefore not come as a surprise that few, if any, contracts are returned to the NTAPB. In addition, it is not publicly known who are the members of the various tender boards and when last they were rotated or replaced after serving, say, two terms of three years, in keeping with established practices,” he said.

Goolsarran pointed out that there is also provision in the Procurement Act for the appointment of a Bid Protest Committee but there is no evidence that such a Committee has been

established to deal with complaints from contractors in relation to the award of contracts.

Because the awarding of contracts appears to only benefit a few companies and individuals, many contractors prefer not to bid for projects.

He explained that with the activation of the Public Procurement Commission, competitive bidding would be indirectly encouraged.

The AFC in a paid advertisement in the Kaieteur News said that the Public Procurement Commission is the only forum to which complaints about contracts can be made and its absence has led to the award of questionable contracts.

“Its absence will continue to allow the perception of thievery, corruption and favouritism. Only concerted pressure by the people and persuasion will see it coming into being,” the AFC said.

Cabinet approves several contracts Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon recently announced that Cabinet has given its noobjection to several contracts.

Under the Ministry of Agriculture the bids were:

Under the Ministry of Housing and Water the bid was:

Under the Ministry of Health the bid was :

Under the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports the bid was:

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Accreditation Council to get institutional power with Amended Act – Education Minister An amendment to the Accreditation Act and a proposed Education Bill are expected to be prepared and laid in the National Assembly before a mandatory recess of the legislative body in a matter of months. At least this is according to Minister of Education Priya Manickchand who revealed during a recent press conference that the two pieces of legal documents are currently being crafted.

Speaking to the amendment of the Accreditation Act, the Minister said that the intent is to allow the existing Accreditation Council to not only have the authority to accredit individual programmes but also the entire institution as well. At the moment the Accreditation Council is only permitted to deal with programmes.

Minister Manickchand has noted though that the move to amend the local Accreditation Act is supported by the Caribbean, which according to her, has gone the way of accrediting institutions. “This makes sense...If we are to accredit programme by programme then the kind of resources necessary would be very, very burdensome for offshore

type universities,” said the Education Minister.

The amendment, according to the Minister, will be made to Section 4(3) (c) of the National Accreditation Council Act Number 12 whereby it grants the Accreditation Council the power to do institutional accreditation. Moreover, she noted that “we are amending the Act to give additional power to the Accreditation Council to deal with entire institutions rather than programmes alone.”

Already regulations have been drafted under the Accreditation Act, which are being reviewed and will shortly be sent to the National Assembly.

However, before reaching to the National Assembly, the draft regulations will be sent to the Chambers of the Attorney General to be finalised. And according to Minister Manickchand, “we are happy to say that before the recess, we believe we should have both the amendments as well as the regulations enforced.”

Parliament is set to go into a mandatory recess in August.

And even as work is being done to amend the Accreditation Bill, the

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand Minister disclosed that work is being done to introduce an Education Bill. The Bill is also being attended to by the Chambers of the Attorney General. “This is something that we expect before the recess to be able to lay it in the National Assembly and we are also happy to say that we are almost finished with our final review to allow for an almost final draft.”

Also for this Bill, regulations are also drafted and “we are reviewing those, so hopefully this is one of those Bills we will take to the National Assembly with regulations already done so we can have both the Act and the Regulations looked at, reviewed and passed at the same time,” added the Education Minister.

Police hunt “Duck” again after he escapes from police station Known character Bhojnarine Ramkissoon called “Duck” 27 of East Canje Berbice “flew” out of the Reliance Police Station where he was being held for possession of marijuana.

The man, who is no stranger to the authorities, was nabbed by an alert police patrol on Friday in the East Canje area, after he was seen acting in a suspicious manner.

A search of his person revealed that he had over 400g of cannabis sativa in his possession.

He was taken into custody at the Reliance Police Station to be profiled for court.

Kaieteur news understands that Ramkissoon was left at the station, in the

custody of a female rank who was on duty at the time. It is reported that “Duck” used the opportunity to bolt past the female rank, knocking her aside as he made good his escape.

According to information, within recent times the Reliance Police Station lockups is overwhelmed with prisoners since the Central Police station has been torn down and most of the prisoners and suspects in the New Amsterdam/Canje area have to be relocated.

Ramkissoon was incarcerated on a marijuana charge in 2011. He was also a part of the late “Colonel” David McPherson gang.

McPherson was shot dead back in 2010.

Work commences on implementation of...

(From page 10) began in 2012. A special committee of both public and private sector representatives was formed to specifically consult service providers towards establishing standards”.

In addition to this, the Ministry also has plans to implement the “food critic system”. Executive Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Indranauth Singh, had explained that the GTA is hoping to have the various newspapers come on board in making the initiative a success.

This would see qualified

persons visiting restaurants and hotels to assess not only the taste of the food, but also the kind of services being offered- (courtesy of staff, sanitation, pace at which the services are offered, etc), and then give their honest review of it in the newspaper.

Initially, Ali had pointed out that his Ministry was working towards ensuring that the service quality is improved across the board.

“We have 199 operators, guides, and properties registered so far; 87 hotels, 64 tour guides, 30 tour operators and 18 lodges and resorts. Our intentions are to ensure that

these facilities would be held to certain standards and to have some waiting systems implemented sometime this year,” Ali pointed out.

Hence, the training programmes which commenced last year in the field of Tourism and Hospitality will be expanded, while new ones are expected to be implemented.

This also includes tutoring tourism staff, as well as Immigration and Customs Officers to speak Portuguese and Spanish, thus bridging the communication barrier with other countries in South America.

Page 19

Passenger trapped in car after late night smash-up A passenger of a motorcar was left pinned in a car for almost an hour following an accident at the junction of the Rupert Craig Highway and Conversation Tree around 23:00 hrs last night.

The man who was also identified “Court man” was heard pleading for help as fire fighters struggled to manually steady the car which was leaning dangerously a the canal that runs parallel to the southern side of the Rupert Craig highway.

He was eventually pulled from the wreck after several

minutes of trying to pull a section of the car apart.

The badly injured man was in a car that had reportedly turned onto the Rupert craig highway and slammed into another car that was proceeding west.

According to an eyewitness, who was heading to Georgetown, a white motorcar bearing licence plate number, PJJ 2643 sped pass his vehicle, and slammed into another red car which was turning out of Conversation Tree Road heading West onto the Rupert Craig Highway.

The eyewitness added that upon hearing the loud impact, he immediately rushed to the scene only to find a man trapped in the back seat of a red car, as passersby assisted the other passengers of both cars.

Five other persons were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

They were identified as 17year-old Rashana Smith, Junior Horton 22, Teneshia Lewis 20, Andrew Wickham 22, and an unknown female, who was, up to press time, still unconscious.

Page 20

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Hezbollah steps up Syria battle, Israel threatens more strikes AMMAN (Reuters) Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops yesterday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail.

Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria’s two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi’ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping President Bashar al-Assad secure a vital corridor in case Syria fragments.

Speaking from Qusair near the border with Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, activist Hadi Abdallah said Syrian warplanes bombed the town in the morning and shells were hitting the town at a rate of up to 50 a minute. At least 32 people were killed.

“The army is hitting Qusair with tanks and artillery from the north and east while Hezbollah is firing mortar rounds and multiple rocket launchers from the south and west,” he said.

Assad poured scorn on the idea that a U.S.- and Russian-sponsored peace conference planned for Geneva next month would end fighting that is deepening the sectarian fault lines between Sunnis against Shi’ites across the Middle East.

“They think a political conference will halt terrorists in the country. That is unrealistic,” he told the Argentine newspaper Clarin,

in reference to the mainly Sunni groups seeking to unseat him.

Assad declared “No dialogue with terrorists”, but it was not clear from his remarks whether he would agree to send delegates to a conference that may falter before it starts due to disagreements between its two main sponsors and their allies. The opposition will agree its stance on the proposed peace conference in a meeting due to start in Istanbul on Thursday, during which it will also appoint a new leadership.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was “preparing for every scenario” in Syria and held out the prospect of more Israeli strikes inside Syria to stop Hezbollah and other opponents of Israel getting advanced weapons.

“We will act to ensure the security interest of Israel’s citizens in the future as well,” Netanyahu said.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied reports that it attacked Iraniansupplied missiles stored near Damascus this month that it believed were awaiting delivery to Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006 and is allied with Assad.

Attacks by troops and militias loyal to Assad, who inherited power in Syria from his father in 2000, have put rebel brigades under pressure in several of their strongholds across the majority-Sunni country of 21 million people.

In one attempt to strike

back, opposition sources said rebel fighters had abducted the father of Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in the province of Deraa, one of many tit-for-tat kidnappings being carried on by both sides.

“Mekdad’s nephew was taken before, and exchanged for Free Syrian Army (rebel) prisoners. The speculation is that a similar deal will be struck for his father,” said activist Al-Mutassem Billah of the opposition Sham News Network.

In the fighting near Lebanon, rebel fighters clashed with mechanized Syrian army units and Hezbollah guerillas in nine points in and around Qusair, 10 km (six miles) from the border, activists said.

The region is needed by Assad, who is from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, to secure a route from Hezbollah’s strongholds in the Bekaa to areas near Syria’s

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A rising star in Britain’s Labour Party, described by some as the “British Barack Obama,” Chuka Umunna urged the United Kingdom to more aggressively forge ties with West Africa’s fastgrowing economies.

During a trade mission to West Africa last week that included a stop in his father’s home country Nigeria, Umunna, a member of the British Parliament, dismissed the comparison to the United States president.

Umunna, 34, grew up in Streatham and worked as a lawyer before being elected to parliament in 2010. The son of an Irish mother and Nigerian father, he said he made seven or eight trips to Nigeria “for pretty long stays” during his childhood. But prior to last week’s visit, he hadn’t been to the country since his father’s funeral in 1992.

Umunna said that while

West Africa’s high growth rate is well-known, he was struck by just how different Nigeria seemed today compared to his last visit, which occurred during a time of military rule.

He had similar things to say about Ghana, where at a reception Thursday night hosted by the British High Commission in Accra he said Britain was eager to help develop infrastructure and remove other barriers to economic growth.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Umunna acknowledged there was a feeling in its former colonies that Britain has been less engaged than other partners such as China, Brazil and India.

Back home, Umunna said he was focused on helping put the Labour Party back into power in the 2015 elections under party leader Ed Miliband — something he said the party was in a good position to accomplish.

Umunna said he left the law for politics “to achieve massive positive change” and that he was frustrated being in the opposition.

Though widely regarded as an up and coming force in the Labour Party, Umunna has received some recent negative press related to his online footprint. Last month Britain’s Daily Mail reported that on an invitation-only social networking website, Umunna complained in 2006 that clubs in London’s West End “seem to be full of trash and C-list wannabes, while other places that should know better opt for the cheesy vibe.” The paper said the comments undercut the lawmaker’s “man of the people” image.

Umunna has also been criticized in the press for editing his own Wikipedia page to include references to “the U.K.’s Barack Obama,” something his office has said

Benjamin Netanyahu

Mediterranean coast where many Alawites live, they said.

Opposition sources say Syria’s coastal region could serve as an Alawite statelet if Assad should lose control of Damascus, a potential fragmentation of Syria along ethnic and sectarian lines that raises the prospect of many more deaths.

Sources in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley said shells fired by rebels had hit the edges of the town of Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold, but no casualties were reported.

Syrian Television said troops “leading an operation against terrorists in Qusair” had reached the town centre.

“Our heroic forces are advancing toward Qusair and are chasing the remnants of the terrorists and have hoisted the Syrian flag on the municipality building. In the next few hours we will give you joyous news,” the television said.

Abu Imad, another activist in the Qusair region, said the rebel grip was tenuous but the army was far from in control.

“If Qusair falls, it will be a big problem because the regime will be in control of most of the countryside south of the city of Homs and the rebel forces holding Old Homs will be squeezed,” he said.

The United Nations says at least 80,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which started with peaceful protests against four decades of rule by Assad and his late father.

‘Britain’s Obama’ urges ties with West Africa

Chuka Umunna he has no recollection of doing. Prime Minister David Cameron made light of the story on May 8 in the House of Commons, saying, “Now he has been famously comparing himself to Barack Obama. As he would put it, can we change our Wikipedia entry? Yes we can.” In BBC footage of the remarks, Umunna rolls his eyes in response.

Page 21

Nigeria offers amnesty to insurgents who surrender MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria offered an amnesty yesterday to Islamist militants who surrender and said 17 people had been killed on the fifth day of a military operation to try to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s northeast.

In their biggest offensive since the insurgency began in 2009, Nigerian forces are trying to chase well-armed militants out of territory they control in remote semideserts around Lake Chad, along the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

They have also launched a crackdown on them in northeastern cities such as Maiduguri, where the sect has powerful cells.

Nigeria’s defense spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said the operation was continuing on Sunday, with patrols sent out to secure towns and villages, and that special forces had killed 14 insurgents in battles that left three Nigerian soldiers dead and seven wounded.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. The operation has targeted areas of Africa’s top energy producer where Boko Haram, which is fighting to create a breakaway Islamic state in religiously mixed Nigeria, has bases and weapons caches.

Nigerian forces used jets and attack helicopters to bombard militant camps in the northeast on Friday.

Some analysts fear the offensive may have rendered the already slim chance of a political solution to the conflict even slimmer, but the president’s spokesman Reuben Abati denied this.

Jonathan set up a committee to work out the terms of a possible amnesty for Boko Haram members last month.

“Mr president has urged Boko Haram members to surrender their arms and embrace the amnesty option which is still open as the committee is working on the option of dialogue for a peaceful resolution,” Abati said by telephone.

An amnesty for militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta in 2009 helped end a conflict there that cut oil output by nearly half at one stage, but Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau rejected the offer of amnesty last month.

Phones have been largely cut to the entire northeastern region, to prevent the rebels from communicating.

“The insurgents have

Goodluck Jonathan people who look out and tip them off by phone, which opens the military up to ambushes. Without phones, raids will have the element of surprise,” a security source in Maiduguri said, adding a 24-hour curfew in some areas also aimed to limit their movements.

“It will be painful for the public without communications and movement, but it may be a price worth paying,” he said.

The military said on Friday it had destroyed a number of camps in dry forests around Borno state, the epicenter of the insurgency and a region that once hosted one of Africa’s oldest medieval Islamic empires, founded on trade connecting the continent’s interior with its Mediterranean coast.

“Dislodged terrorists (are) in disarray,” Olulokade said. The crackdown is meant to finish off the rebels decisively, but efforts to do so in the past have failed, as they hid under pressure and then popped up again when it eased.

Human rights groups and the United States are also concerned about more possible abuses against civilians by the army.

President Jonathan, a Christian southerner, had been accused of not taking seriously enough the violence in the largely Muslim north where some fear Islamist insurgents allied to al Qaeda could take over large swathes of territory as they did in Mali before French-led troops ejected them this year.

After being pushed out of city centers, the Islamists had been re-arming this year, drawing on weapons still flooding into the West Africa region in the aftermath of Libya’s conflict.

An attack on the town of Bama by 200 Boko Haram militants armed with antiaircraft guns this month killed 55 people, and it may have been what finally prompted Jonathan’s declaration.

Page 22

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Canadian Prime Minister’s top Cameron ‘losing control’ as aide quits over expenses scandal rift with party core widens

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper abruptly resigned yesterday over his role in an mounting expenses scandal which is threatening to undermine the Conservative government.

Nigel Wright, Harper’s chief of staff, quit after secretly giving a C$90,000 (US $87,000) check in February to Mike Duffy, a member of the upper Senate chamber, to help him cover living expenses he had improperly claimed.

News of the gift leaked late last Tuesday.

Opposition legislators said the check broke ethics rules that forbid senators from taking presents and made a mockery of the government’s repeated promises to increase accountability in Ottawa.

Duffy, a former national television journalist, resigned from the Conservative caucus on Thursday.

Wright’s departure reflects the pressure Harper is under. Officials told reporters on Friday that the chief of staff - who says he did not tell Harper about the check - would be staying.

“In light of the controversy surrounding my handling of matters involving Senator Duffy, the prime minister has accepted my resignation,” Wright said in a statement.

“I regret the impact of this matter on the government, our caucus, and all of my colleagues,” added Wright, a businessman who had been on secondment to Harper’s office from private equity firm Onex Corp. He started work on Jan 1, 2011.

The expenses scandal is one of the biggest crises to hit the Conservatives since they took power in early 2006 promising to clean up government after a series of scandals helped bring down the previous Liberal administration.

The Conservatives are in “full-out political panic,” said Charlie Angus, a member of

Nigel Wright parliament and the ethics critic for the official opposition New Democratic Party.

Angus said Wright’s resignation would not halt the NDP’s call for an official probe into the matter.

In a sign of the potential damage the scandal could do to the government, Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber told Global Television that his voters were angry.

“Any suggestion that taxpayers are treated disrespectfully is met with significant concern, I would say even angst,” said Rathgeber, who represents a constituency in the western province of Alberta, a ruling party stronghold.

Pamela Wallin, another Conservative senator whose expenses have been questioned, quit the caucus late on Friday. Wallin is also a former television journalist.

Opinion polls show the Conservatives trailing the Liberals, who have steadily grown more popular since Justin Trudeau - the telegenic son of former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau - was elected leader last month.

Harper said he had accepted Wright’s resignation with great regret.

The next election is not due until October 2015 and the Conservatives have a comfortable majority in the House of Commons.

But Harper could be in for a tough two years in parliament if he doesn’t move quickly to draw a line under the matter. Canada’s federal ethics commissioner, however, is examining whether Wright broke government rules about giving gifts.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel, who holds a junior position as parliamentary secretary to the environment minister, was the only member of the cabinet to respond immediately to the scandal.

She told CTV she was “disappointed in what appears to be some serious problems on behalf of one of our former senators.”

Harper - who leaves for a South American trip on Tuesday - has twice previously shut down Canada’s parliament to sidestep political problems.

Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall dismissed reports saying the prime minister might do the same next month.

Harper named Duffy to the unelected Senate in December 2008 and he was a popular and effective fundraiser for the party.

The Conservatives initially said he had shown leadership by taking the check rather than leaving taxpayers on the hook for the C$90,000. Their support vanished amid reports Duffy had claimed daily living expenses from the Senate while campaigning for the Conservatives ahead of a federal election in May 2011.

“This stinks from beginning to end. The Prime Minister’s willful blindness is a travesty. All threads lead to him and only he can provide full accountability,” Liberal Party Deputy Leader Ralph Goodale said in a statement.

Wright will be replaced

by Ray Novak, currently Harper’s principal secretary, a Conservative official told Reuters.

(Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron is “losing control of his party”, Conservative Party grandee Geoffrey Howe said yesterday, as a row raged over whether a close aide to Cameron had labelled grassroots activists “mad, swivel-eyed loons”.

The furore threatens to further alienate Cameron and his inner circle from the core of his party, with whom ties are already almost at breaking point.

Differences with the grassroots over Britain’s membership of the European Union and Cameron’s support for legalising samesex marriage have raised questions over his leadership and could hurt the party’s chances in the next election, due in 2015.

“Sadly, by making it clear in January that he opposes the current terms of UK membership of the EU, the prime minister has opened a Pandora’s box politically and seems to be losing control of his party in the process,” Howe wrote in an article for the Observer newspaper.

Howe was former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s longest-serving cabinet minister, but fell out with her over relations with Europe and is best remembered for a scathing resignation speech that helped topple her as leader in 1990.

Cameron’s Conservatives have been rattled by the surging popularity of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), whose main aims are to pull Britain out of the EU and curb immigration.

Its rise has fuelled a heated national debate over whether Britain derives sufficient benefits from EU membership to outweigh the financial cost and the ceding of some important powers to Brussels, like the ability to limit immigrants from the other 26 countries in the union.

An opinion poll by pollster ComRes for the Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday newspapers put support for UKIP at 19 percent, which ComRes said was the highest level the party had achieved in any survey yet.

The opposition Labour party led with 35 percent, while the Conservatives were on 29 percent and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners on 8.

“The ratchet-effect of Euroscepticism has now gone so far that the Conservative leadership is in

David Cameron effect running scared of its own backbenchers, let alone UKIP,” Howe said, referring to the hundreds of rank-andfile Conservative members of parliament who occupy the rows of seats behind Cameron and his ministers.

In January, Cameron promised that if the Conservatives won the 2015 election they would call a national referendum in 2017 on whether Britain should stay in or leave the EU. But that did not go far enough for many Conservatives, who last week forced him to back a new bill that would enshrine it in law.

The Conservatives’ restive right wing also last week voted to criticise the government’s legislative agenda for not including such a bill in the first place, an unusual move in British politics that embarrassed Cameron.

Compounding Cameron’s problems are media reports that an un-named close aide, at a private dinner last week, described the Conservative grassroots as “swivel-eyed loons”.

Cameron’s office says the comment did not come from them, and insist the prime minister is still in charge of his party.

The row comes at an especially bad time for Cameron, whose flagship bill to legalise same-sex marriage will be debated in parliament this week. Conservative activists wrote to Cameron on Sunday warning that the move would boost UKIP’s membership.

“The prime minister seems to have gathered around himself a metropolitan elite who seem to inhabit a different planet to most of us ... Droves of previously loyal Conservative Party members are leaving,” Bob Woollard, chairman of the Conservative Grassroots umbrella group, told the BBC. Cameron says he would like to do more to satisfy the Conservative core, but is held back by being in coalition with the left-leaning Lib Dems.

Ties between the two parties have frequently come under strain since they teamed up in 2010, but they have pledged to stay together to help revive Britain’s weak economy.

However, in an article published Sunday, Cameron hinted that he could end the partnership before the 2015 election.

“Can we improve the state of the country? Can we fulfill our manifesto? The best way to do that is to continue with the coalition, but if that wasn’t the case then we’d have to face the new circumstances in whatever way we should,” he told Britain’s Total Politics magazine.

U.N. chief Ban says worried over North Korea missile launch MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Kimoon voiced concern yesterday over North Korea’s launch of short-range missiles, urging Pyonyang to refrain from further launches and return to stalled nuclear talks with world powers.

Ban, who spoke to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Moscow, called North Korea’s launch of three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday a “provocative action”.

“We are very worried over North Korea’s provocative action,” he told RIA in comments translated into Russian.

“I hope North Korea will refrain from further such actions,” Ban said. “They must soon return to talks and lower tensions.”

The U.N. chief also called on Russia to exert its influence to help steer North Korea back to nuclear talks.

Launches by the North of short-range missiles are not uncommon but, after warnings from the communist state of impending nuclear war, such actions raised concerns about regional security and prompted Western powers to urge restraint.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has subsided in the past month, having run high for several weeks after Pyongyang’s third nuclear test in February.

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Chinese PM visits India to boost ties NEW DELHI (AP) — Just weeks after a tense border standoff, China’s new Prime Minister India yesterday on his first foreign trip as the neighboring giants look to speed up efforts to settle a decades-old boundary dispute and boost economic ties.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the two leaders emphasized that efforts should be made to resolve the border dispute between the two countries which led to a bloody war in 1962, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.

The two leaders also underscored the need for maintaining peace and tranquility along the de facto border pending resolution of the boundary issue, Akbaruddin said.

In a written statement on his arrival in the Indian capital, Li said China regarded India as an important partner and friend and expressed the hope that his visit would inject new vigor into their cooperative partnership, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Li said both China and India were speeding up their development and making steady efforts to boost their economy and improve people’s lives.

The statement said the major markets of India and China could complement each other and fulfill the need for common development with win-win results, PTI reported.

China says Li’s choice of India for his first trip abroad since taking office i n M a r ch shows the importance Beijing attaches to improving relations with New Delhi.

“We think very highly of this gesture because it is our view that high-level political exchanges between our two countries are an important aspect and vehicle for our expanded cooperation,” said Akbaruddin.

Jasjit Singh, a defense analyst and director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in New Delhi, said last month’s border standoff was unlikely to overshadow Li’s three-day visit, the first stop of a foreign tour that also includes Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany.

Singh said Indian and Chinese leaders are likely to review border talks that have failed to produce a breakthrough despite 15 rounds of discussions over the past 10 years. The two sides also will probably discuss working together in Afghanistan after next year’s U.S. pullout and cooperation with Southeast Asian countries, he said.

But tensions run high between the two nations.

China already sees itself as Asia’s great power, while India hopes its increasing economic and military might — though still far below its neighbor’s — will eventually put it in the same league.

While China has worked to shore up relationships with Nepal and Sri Lanka in India’s traditional South Asian sphere of influence, India has been venturing into partnerships with Southeast Asian nations.

Other irritants remain in the bilateral relationship.

China is a longtime ally and weapons supplier to Pakistan, India’s bitter rival.

Also, the presence in India of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and the selfdeclared Tibetan

Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang waves as he is received by Indian Junior Minister for External Affairs, E. Ahamed, left, after he arrives in New Delhi, India, yesterday. (AP Photo/ Saurabh Das) government-in-exile are a source of tension. China accuses the Dalai Lama of wanting to split Tibet off from the rest of China, but he says he seeks more autonomy for Tibetans, not independence.

Unresolved border issues between the two nations

have flared as well.

In last month’s incident, India said Chinese troops crossed the countries’ de facto border on April 15 and pitched camp in the Depsang valley in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir. New Delhi responded with

diplomatic protests and then moved its soldiers just 300 meters (yards) from the Chinese position.

The two sides negotiated a peaceful end to the standoff by withdrawing troops to their original positions in the Ladakh area.

Page 24

Kaieteur News

Jamaica concerned about inactive private sector representation at CARICOM KINGSTON, Jamaica The Jamaican government is expressing concern about the inactivity of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), and the vacuum it has created in the representation of the private sector at the regional level.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Analdo Brown, raised the issue in his Sectoral Debate presentation last Wednesday, noting that the process of resolving regional issues, including those arising from the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), require representation at the regional level.

“It is desirable that the private sector actively participates in these processes…However, the

Analdo Brown process recognises regional institutions as opposed to national or industrial ones.

Regrettably, the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce no longer functions and an alternative vehicles has to be found in

this regard,” Brown told the House of Representatives.

The concern was first raised by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator A J Nicholson, who told the Senate recently that “at the regional level, there does not appear to be a regional association which represents the private sector”.

“It is important that the private sector within CARICOM seek to resuscitate this body, or to create a new body, which is able to represent the interest of the business sector in CARICOM, not just within the region but within CARIFORUM and at the international level,” Senator Nicholson told the Senate.

He said that the proper defence of Jamaica’s interest in CARICOM rests, largely, on the input from the private sector.

Monday May 20, 2013

T&T Finance Minister fires new director at CAL Trinidad Express - One day after he was appointed to the Caribbean Airlines (CAL) board on Friday, the appointment of Courtney McNish has been revoked by Finance Minister Larry Howai.

The Express reported Saturday that McNish was previously employed at CAL as vice president of Human Resources in 2008, but was fired from the company in 2009. In a statement Saturday, Howai said he had withdrawn McNish from the interim CAL board chaired by former senator Philip Marshall.

“Immediately as information about Mr McNish’s previous tenure at CAL came to light, I acted to withdraw his name on Friday afternoon as I have every intention of ensuring that the board has the full confidence and faith of all stakeholders and is focused on achieving its very clear mandate,” said Howai.

On Friday, Howai accepted full responsibility for the massive million-dollar losses racked up the national airline.

The Express was told that Howai did not seek Cabinet’s approval to change the board but did so himself.

McNish was one of five members appointed to the CAL board to replace the dismissed board chaired by Rabindra Moonan last Friday.

The Express was informed that McNish’s employment with the airline came to an end following a janitorial contract awarded by CAL to a

company in which he was a major shareholder.

Contacted for comment Saturday, McNish who is also president of the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago, argued that he was never appointed to the CAL board as he never received any instrument of appointment.

But he confirmed that he was present at the meeting in which the Minister asked him and the other members — Marshall, Vishnu Dhanpaul, Indira Ramkissoon, Patricia Kong-Ting and Jamaican businessman Denis Lalor — to be part of the interim board.

On Friday, Howai had officially announced McNish as one of the members of the interim CAL board.

McNish Saturday told the Express that he had made his previous employment history at CAL known to the other incoming members and while he had reservations sitting on a public board he was persuaded to be part of the new composition because of his love for the airline.

He said he spoke with Howai Saturday morning and it was a “mutual agreement” to not go forward with the appointment given his previous tenure at the airline.

“It was a very amicable discussion. It was a good decision,” he said.

Employees at CAL had indicated their concern to the Sunday Express when McNish was selected to the board.

For his part, McNish maintained that he had a one-

Courtney McNish year employment contract at CAL and he left the company after the contract expired in July 2009.

He told the Sunday Express that the then Arthur Lok Jack board had already begun discussions with Air Jamaica (AJ) for the acquisition of its routes and they had already identified a vice president of Human Resources from AJ to take over so he departed the organisation.

“I didn’t necessarily want to continue,” he said.

The Shareholders Agreement with AJ was signed in May 2010 and the deal was finalised in June 2011.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Express understands that employee morale is at a low.

Howai has given the interim board a three-month deadline to diagnose the company’s issues and chart a way forward.

Caribbean will dominate global saving and investment says World Bank WASHINGTON - CMC – A new World Bank report predicts that in less than a generation, the Caribbean will be among developing countries dominating global saving and investment.

The World Bank’s Global Development Horizons (GDH) report says that by 2030, half the global stock of capital, totalling US$158 trillion (in 2010 dollars), will reside in the developing world, compared to less than one-third today, with countries in East Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean accounting for the largest shares.

The report explores patterns of investment, saving and capital flows as they are likely to evolve over the next two decades.

Titled “Capital for the Future: Saving and Investment in an Interdependent World”, GDH projects developing countries’ share in global investment to triple by 2030 to three-fifths, from one-fifth in 2000.

The report says productivity catch-up, increasing integration into global markets, sound macroeconomic policies, and improved education and

health are helping to speed growth “and create massive investment opportunities, which, in turn, are spurring a shift in global economic weight to developing countries.”

It says although demographics will play a “positive role, as dependency ratios are projected to fall through 2025,” financial market development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which reduces precautionary saving, and a moderation in economic growth “will play a counterbalancing role.”

With developing countries on course to add more than 1.4 billion people to their combined population between now and 2030, the report says the full benefit of the demographic dividend has yet to be reaped.

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 25

Close race to form government in Cayman Islands GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – The people of this Caribbean island-nation go to the polls Wednesday to vote for a new government in a general election in which there are no clear-cut favourites.

Two major parties, the People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) – which has branded itself as “The Progressives – under the leadership of attorney Alden McLaughlin and the United Democratic Party (UDP), led by former premier McKeeva Bush, are fielding slates of 15 and 12 candidates each.

The People’s National Alliance (PNA), a breakaway faction of the UDP, which has formed a “lame duck” government since the ouster of Mr. Bush in a lack of confidence vote last December, is running a ticket of five candidates.

Another grouping, Coalition for Cayman (C4C) has endorsed a slate of seven candidates. However, C4C insists it is not a party but a political advocacy group promoting “independent leaders who will always put Country First”.

Add to the mix a plethora of other independent candidates, which brings to total of 56 candidates vying for the 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly, the parliament of this British Overseas Territory where there are 18,492 registered voters. Nowhere is the race more intriguing than in George Town, the capital of this financial services jurisdiction, where there are 21 candidates on the ballot for the six available seats.

There is no history of consistent scientific opinion polls in the lead up to elections in the Cayman Islands, although some of the parties and groups have commissioned their own surveys this time around – the results of which they have kept out of the public domain.

However, unscientific polls by the various media houses indicate there is a chance of no party securing an outright majority, meaning a coalition government could be a distinct possibility.

Efforts to prognosticate the outcome are further muddied because of the system of electing Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Voters in George Town can vote for as many as six candidates, whereas residents of the quaint districts of East End and North Side can only cast one vote each. In West Bay and Bodden Town, voters in those two districts can vote for as many as four

McKeeva Bush candidates in each instance, whereas in the dual riding of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, voters on the outlying islands can only elect two representatives.

With this system, there is the possibility of a single resident to vote for representatives of each party or grouping. In West Bay, where the PPM, UDP, PNA and C4C all have candidates, it means someone in that district could vote for people with four different political affiliations.

Nonetheless, all camps are expressing varying levels of confidence ahead of the vote.

Mr Bush, who has led the UDP since 2001, has signalled to his rivals that he remains a factor on the islands’ political landscape.

The ex-premier, who has had an antagonistic relationship with some British officials both here and in London, has a cult-like following especially in his home district of West Bay, where he polled 71.6 per cent of the votes cast at the last general election in 2009.

However, his popularity as the man to lead the government has been put to the test with his arrest last December and subsequent criminal charges for alleged breaches of the AntiCorruption Law. Members of his own party sided with the parliamentary opposition to remove him from office.

Those who broke ranks have splintered off into the PNA. “[There should be] zero doubt as to whether or not I would return to the UDP or form a government with them, the answer is no, no, no,” said former UDP colleague and present Deputy Premier Rolston Anglin – a PNA candidate.

Meantime, the C4Cendorsed candidates issued a joint statement a week ahead of the poll, which said: “We will not form a Cabinet with the United Democratic Party.”

Mr Bush insists his party is in the lead and labels the C4C candidates as unworthy candidates.

“None of the C4C have led any country and certainly they have not displayed any

goodness of heart to people in this country,” he said.

On the other hand, the PPM, which formed the government from 2005 to 2009 – bookended by Mr Bush’s UDP on either side, is cautiously optimistic that it can retake the reins of power.

The Progressives leader, Alden McLaughlin, a former education minister, has dismissed any talk of the need for a coalition during the campaign. “We have a team of 15, the biggest team in the race,” he told supporters at a recent rally on the outskirts of the capital.

“Any of those others who get elected are going to have to make a deal with somebody if they are going to form a government… don’t know who the C4C people are

talking to. I don’t know who the PNA people are talking to.

I don’t know who the other independents are talking to – but they aren’t talking to us.”

He has also dismissed the notion of working with the UDP. “I have no doubt that the worst period that the Cayman Islands have ever endured has been the past four years under the UDP administration.”

Forming a government is a numbers game and the people of the Cayman Islands are aware that neither the UDP nor the PPM may get 10 candidates elected. That scenario plays into the hands of the C4C, PNA and independent candidates like Ezzard Miller and Arden Mclean – both popular

nationally and likely to be returned in North Side and East End respectively.

With so much riding on this election, an election observer mission from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association headed by veteran Maltese MP Mario Galea is on the ground to monitor the poll. A local observer team has also been appointed.

The UDP won the last general election by a margin of nine seats to five by the PPM, with Mr Miller as the lone independent in the Legislative Assembly. Mr McLean left the PPM last August to sit as an independent member.

With the past two elections being won hands down by either the UDP or the

Alden McLaughlin PPM, people here and abroad are likely watching with bated breath to see if the proverbial winds of change are blowing or what form the government will take after Wednesday’s vote.

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Ex-CAL vice chairman claims victimization Trinidad Express - Former Caribbean Airlines (CAL) vice chairman and WinTV executive producer Mohan Jaikaran says he was a victim of the airline’s management.

He said as head of the audit committee, there were numerous missteps by the company’s management which were uncovered within the last four months and the board had taken a decision to deal with the management as a way to transform the airline.

He believes it was this action, which precipitated news of his requests for complimentary tickets and upgrades for a concert in which he was a promoter.

As a media entrepreneur, he said there were always two sides to a story but that what was put out against him was highly selective and targeted.

He pointed out that CAL

Mohan Jaikaran did not offer tickets for free but it was a business arrangement in which he advertised the product.

Jaikaran, in a telephone interview with the Sunday Express Saturday, said while it was Government’s decision to remove the CAL board, he was disappointed the former board did not get an opportunity to implement its transformation plan for the airline which has been in the works for the past three

months.

“The management approved it. CAL has been sponsoring shows long before I became the vice chairman,” he said.

He observed that the plan was a good one and was hopeful the new board would follow through with it.

In his view, changing the board was not the way to deal with the cultural problems at CAL. “What you have at CAL’s top management is the same people who worked at BWIA and who do not want to change the business model or think differently about dealing with the airline. All you will get is the same result.

That is where the handicap is,” he insisted.

Jaikaran does not regret the two years-plus which he spent on the CAL board under two different chairmen — George Nicholas and Rabindra Moonan.

“I did my best, I worked hard and I am very comfortable with that,” he said.

He declined to answer any questions on whether he would have changed any of the decisions which led to the million-dollar losses the company endured.

Jaikaran said he would continue to support the Government.

Monday May 20, 2013

Former Jamaican PM to be honoured NEW YORK - CMC – Former Jamaican Prime Minister, PJ Patterson will be honoured by the New York based nonprofit Children of Jamaica Outbreach (COJO) its Scholarship Luncheon and Awards this week.

The group says it will also honor corporate giant J. Wray and Nephew Limited at the same event at the Spanish Court Hotel in Jamaica on Wednesday.

COJO said Patterson and Wray and Nephew will be recognized for their “commitment and support of the organization over many years.”

The scholarship luncheon is among many activities organized by the group as part its week-long visit to

Jamaica in observance of Child’s Month.

Three scholarships will be presented to “deserving wards of the state” who are

currently pursuing tertiary level studies, COJO said. It said the scholarships were made possible from proceeds raised from a benefit raffle held here.

In addition to the scholarship luncheon, COJO will present computers, appliances, office equipment and sneakers to New Vision Children’s Home in the central parish of Manchester.

COJO’s mission is to help improve the health, education and general well being of underprivileged children.

Since its inception in 1994, COJO said it has dedicated its resources “to help make a difference in the lives of underserved children in Jamaica, as well as in the United States of America.”

Barbados Nation - The courts of Barbados are “in a crisis”.

And new president of the Bar Association, Barry Gale, QC, who says so, wants to find a short-term resolution designed at finally speeding up the wheels of justice.

He also wants to get rid of the bad apples in the country’s legal fraternity.

Gale, 59, was voted into the top spot Saturrday after the Bar ’s annual general meeting at Amaryllis Beach Resort.

“The courts are really in a crisis, and we need a solution quickly. Things have to change in the short term,” he told the SUNDAY SUN. Gale said his first order of business would be to start dialogue with all the main players involved in the administration of justice in Barbados.

“My main goal to foster good relationships and increase the image of the Bar, and the way lawyers are perceived by the public,” he said.

Barry Gale

PJ Patterson

Courts in crisis!

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

DTV CHANNEL 8 08:25hrs. Sign On 08:30hrs. This Morning 09:00hrs. Live! With Kelly and Michael 10:00hrs. Roseanne 11:00hrs. The View 12:00hrs. World News 12:30hrs. The Young and the Restless 13:30hrs. The Bold and the Beautiful 14:00hrs. The Talk 15:00hrs. Without a Trace 16:00hrs. Criminal Minds 17:00hrs. Charmed 18:00hrs. World News 18:30hrs. Nightly News 19:00hrs. Greetings and

Announcements 20:00hrs. Channel 8 News 20:30hrs.

Rules of Engagement 21:00hrs. 2 Broke Girls 21:30hrs. Mike & Molly 22:00hrs. Hawaii Five-0 (Season Finale) 23:00hrs. Sign Off MTV CHANNEL 14/ CABLE 65 05:30hrs Dharan Kai AwazThe Voice of Dharma 06:00hrs Islamic Perspective 06:30hrs The Diary 07:00hrs DAY BREAK (live) 08:00hrs Dabi’s Musical Hour

08:30hrs Avon Video & DVD music hour 09:00hrs Current affairs 09:15hrs Top Notch Music Break 09:30hrs Caribbean Temptation music break 10:00hrs Amanda’s music break 10:30hrs Comfort Sleep Musical 11:00hrs Salvation Message with Pastor Kelvin 11:15hrs The View 12:00hrs Village Talk 12:30hrs The Young and The Restless 13:30hrs Days of our lives 14:00hrs General Hospital

Monday May 20, 2013 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Get involved today -don't shy away from putting yourself in the spotlight or ruffling a few feathers. If you see someone getting undeserved abuse, defend them! ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): It's sad but true: Romance requires some hard work from time to time. And there is quite a bit of work required for your romantic life right now. If you are in a relationship, you will need to give your partner a little bit more than you have been giving. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): You have got some juicy information to share and you should not be afraid to share it! You will have a fun day full of chatter, laughter and silly conversations. This is a great day to hang out with friends if you can make it happen. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Today is a very good day for you to separate the good people in your life from the bad people in your life. You have the time you need, and recent events have given you the information you need to make that distinction. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): You will have to sacrifice some of your privacy today, but it will be for a very good cause. Your presence is in high demand, and you will need to step out into the social spotlight and do a little networking. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): You might have a lot of false starts today -- your concentration isn't terribly strong. After a few minutes of working on or reading one thing, you could become very distracted and start working on something else. *********************

LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): Listen to that nagging voice in your head today -because it's not so much nagging you as it is giving you important warnings. So it is in your best interest to listen to your intuition whenever it has something to say. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): There is some serious acting going on around you right now. There are one or two people who look bright and cheerful on the outside, but hide some deep, dark secrets inside. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): You don't always have to cover all the details about something or someone before you decide to get involved. It's nice to have a little mystery to solve, and you are in a very inquisitive frame of mind right now. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): You will have all the energy you need to get stuff done today, so don't worry about pooping out. You can get a lot achieved if you organize your time and delegate little tasks to other people. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): Everything must happen in its own time, right now -- you cannot rush things, even if you think it's for the best. Everyone has a different agenda, and you have to respect the fact that they are not on the same time schedule as you. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): Today, dip one of your toes into a potential new experience just to get a feel for what you may be in for. Jumping right into the deep end is not advised! Do your due diligence first -- ask people who have done this before what they think.

Page 27

15:00hrs Katie Couric Show 16:00hrs The Bold and the Beautiful 16:30hrs Cartoons 17:00hrs Birthdays & other Greetings 17:15hrs Death Announcements/ In Memoriam 17:30hrs Sitcom 18:00hrs Aracari Resort Hour 19:00hrs CNN News 19:30hrs News Update 20:30hrs Getting it Right 21:30hrs Sports Watch with Jadon Samuels 22:30hrs Sitcom 23:00hrs News Update 23:30hrs English Movie: Once upon a Time in China Sign Off

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Monday May 20, 2013

Anti- Money Laundering Amendment Bill…

The PPP is solely responsible for the impeding blacklisting of Guyana - AFC (From page 29)

FOR RENT Two bedroom flat house at 11 St. Paradise- Call:614-1723 3 Bedrooms lower flat: Newly paint + tile: Inside toilet & bath: Inside parking $70,000 monthly: Industry Market Square- call:640-6596

CAR RENTAL Progressive Auto Rental cars from $4000 per day. Call 643-5122, 225-8711; email w w w. p r o g r e s s i v e a u t o rental.com Untouchable Car Rental: Low Rate , Low Deposit call:231-8653,621-6827 Adian’s car rental- Tele:6987807 Car Rental- Tele:643-1131 Premio, Vitz call: 689-6668 Adian’s car rental/PickupTele:698-7807

2 Property Atlantic Gardens E.C.D: one fully furnished, one unfurnished, long term Rental onlyTele:614-9060 2 Bedrooms apartment $55,000- Newly renovated Call: 674-3735/652-8970 Newly constructed apartments, with & without A/C: Parking & security available, L.B.I East CoastCall:628-8008/603-0000 Hutsonville, E.B.D: Furnished 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Bungalow with all modern convenience$100,000 Call:697-4131 2 Storey concrete 5 bedrooms with A/C, hot & cold, generator @ Happy Acre E.C.D call:647-1569

CAKES & PASTRIES Courses in cake decoration, pastry making & cookery, Call: 670-0798.

Also Wedding dresses for sale

One (1) three storey commercial building located on South road –Contact:6266909/629-0037/642-7963 Barber Stations: Located in Kitty- Call:646-0268 Rooms - Call: 225-3234

PROPERTY FOR SALE

Farm with house at Yarrowkabra, Linden Highway: Water, light, chicken & pig pens: fully fenced- call: 686-7180 2 Bedrooms apartment: Working couple preferablyCall:656-2460

At Clifton Port Mourant: Prime location on public road- Contact:905-595-1813/ 613-6795 or 322-5270/6248799

Garnett Street, Newtown Kitty: 4,588 sq foot –Call: 647-1569

Versailles 5 Bedroom House with modern facilities and beautiful landscape- Call: 592-684-9203 / 592-624-8704

7 Acres cultivated with house, 2 Acres cultivated, 21 Acres cultivated contact: 226-7968

LAND FOR SALE

Charlestown property with Business potential- Tele:6735882

One 3 storey concrete building @ 26 Sussex street; Two-2 Storey; Two-3 Storey @ NonPriel & Sussex streetcontact Molly 226-3497

New classes Cosmetology , Nails, Wigs, Designs, Make-Up, HairStyling; call Abby 2161950, 666-5241, 619-7603

Anna Catherina $11M, Prospect $13M, Mc Doom $18.5M, Diamond $22M- call Diana:227-2256/626-9382

Harmony Inn Apartments: Fully furnished, air conditioned apartments $5000 per night- Call:668-0306/ 6947817/602-8769

Fully furnished short term apartments, Eccles call: 6896668 SALON

House for sale- Contact: 6090062

TO LET Secret Villa apartment, fully furnished apartments Landof-Canaan E.B.D - Call: 2665243/266-5245

Furnished 2 bedrooms Apt to let- call:665-2548/693-0710

Two business properties @ Whim public road; 1 House & Land 4th street Whim, Corentyne: Price negotiablecontact:231-5171/619-7134

Business Property for sale, lot 32 Timehri public roadTele:667-6554

The opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) believes that a potential crisis over the AntiMoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of TerrorismAmendment Bill can be averted once President Donald Ramotar complies with the constitutional obligations and establish the Public Procurement Commission and assent to the bills presented to him by the National Assembly.

The AFC in statement issued late yesterday evening said that it has noted that the Private Sector Commission [PSC] and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (GCCI) position on the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill.

The two bodies have called for good sense to prevail to prevent Guyana from facing international sanction for failing to implement the legislation.

The AFC said that it is as deeply concerned as the PSC, the GCCI and other organisations about the potential blacklisting of Guyana.

However, the party said that this concern is overshadowed by the Government’s repeated opposition to the establishment of constitutionally mandated organs like the Public

Furnished 2 bedrooms Apt $US 50-60 daily- call:665-2548 Diamond- $75,000; Kitty$75,000; BelAir-US $1800; Brickdam -US$6,000- call Diana:227-2256/626-9382

Make Up Courses, Artist Trained & Certified in Trinidad. Call 660-5257, 6471773

Stations available on Regent street between Camp & Alexander for Barbers, Nail Technicians, Hair & Tattooistcall: 602-2337/ 223-9691

Natural Beauty Salon & Spa: Grove Market Street EBD tele:265-4138,652-5800 specialized in everything for women & children

Furnished two bedrooms apartment in Linden for short term local & overseas guests: Hot & cold- call:614-4415/ 444-4704

Procurement Commission (PPC) coupled with President Ramotar ’s promised and delivered obstruction to the legislative agenda of the majority of its citizens.

“The lack of enthusiasm to repeated calls for good governance, greater transparency and a commitment to greater overview of the use of taxpayers’ money by the Executive, long ago brought this nation to crisis status, and to permit the continued degradation of and crisis in governance of this country is simply unacceptable and irresponsible,” the AFC said.

The AFC repeated its disappointment at the urgency which some sectors of the country have recently found to express their concern about the detrimental effects on the nation state, and notes the absence of similar intensity and concern about the establishment of mandatory constitutional bodies and assumption of judicial office by his Excellency when he pronounced on the legality of the “opposition bills”.

“The PPP failed to establish the Public Procurement Commission in the 9th Parliament and seems unwilling to establish it in the current 10th parliament. This is unacceptable and the AFC demands that the PPP submit the names of their nominees to the Commission, as an act of good faith to energize any alternative AFC position on this Money Laundering Bill.”

The AFC is reminding that the Government was fully aware since May 2011 that the Money Laundering Amendments were required when the Mutual Evaluation Report [MER] on Guyana was adopted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force [CFATF].

Unfortunately, the AFC said,

since then, Guyana was placed on the “expedited follow-up list”, which required that they report on the progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the MER at every plenary session of CFATF. Since May 2011, Guyana was cited on three occasions for minimal progress.

“So why this emergency now when our Ministers of Government spent many hours in the studios of NCN engaging in nasty political propaganda rather than at their desk doing the Government’s work? The facts remain it is the PPP Ministers who are solely responsible for the impeding black-listing of Guyana and not the AFC.” The AFC is of the view that one of the best method of stamping out money laundering is to turn off the taps on the “illicit proceeds”

which come from many sources.

One of these sources, it said, is the illicit funds associated with contracts awarded to friends at amounts several times the real market value.

According to the AFC, if the Public Procurement Commission is established, it will go a far way in weeding out these illegally earned funds thus contributing to less money being laundered.

“The AFC wishes to reiterate its position that it continues to support comprehensive financial reforms in Guyana; as we believe that money laundering is a scourge to be eliminated. We will continue to support any national effort at removing the comingling of the proceeds of crime with the income of hard working citizens of the Republic.”

CAL to put on another flight from May 27 With effect from May 27, for a period of one month, Caribbean Airlines will fly an additional flight, that is expected to bring 900 seats more, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Irfaan Ali told the media on Friday.

Additionally, as the Ministry continues to look at having more airlines ply the Guyana route, from June 27 to the end of September, there will be daily flights in addition to what exists.

“You will have daily flights to the US…in addition to that, once the traffic remains high, the daily flights will continue past September into the Christmas season,” Minister Ali stated. Travel Agents and Minister Ali have been marketing Guyana as a viable tourism destination through its arm, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), and it is expected that tourist arrivals will increase.

“Government is indeed putting a lot of emphasis on tourism now….we have also seen a tremendous increase in traffic to our website,” added the Minister.

CEO of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Ramesh Ghir highlighted that with CAL, there will be two weekly flights to Toronto and steps are also being taken towards contracting routes in every continent. (GINA)

Monday May 20, 2013

WANTED Two Wash Bay attendants to work Monday-Saturday 7:30-5:30- contact:227-5169

Kaieteur News

WANTED 1 Gas asselitine welder: No Equipment needed: Living accommodation free call:628-1756/228-5655

Experienced Armed Security Guard only with valid police clearance - Call: 231-8344

Attractive live in waitresscall:228-5129

One night guard, preferably from the Kitty area. Wage $18,000 per week. Call 691-8960

Live- in Maid to work in Interior: Age 20-40 $70,000call:664-5199/686-2201 Between 9am-6pm

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

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

One cashier - Call 691-8960 One computer literate operator. Call 691-8960 One live-in maid to work in Bel Air area: contact Ms. Bisnauth on #227-5585 Land in La Parfaite Harmonycall: 675-7292 1 General Domestic within the ages of 30-45- Call:6777123 One Handy Man to work in Interior: 18-35- call:6645199/686-2201 Between 9am6pm Cook, waitress & Bar man: Singh’s Restaurant & Bar 5th St Cummings LodgeCall:600-6053/614-6053

Babysitter, domestic, live in/ live out- call:225-6070 Need immediately, Diesel Mechanic familiar with John Deere engines- call:609-8727/ 683-5759 Need 2 Barbers- Contact:6831534 One live in domestic, must know to cook. Salary $50,000 monthly- call:222-4890 Attractive waitress at De Hangout Bar Industry: Age 18-24 yrs- Tele: 611-0979 / 695-6835 Live- in attractive waitress, must be honest & courteous: Salary $50,000: Boarding & lodging free- call:698-7172

1 Handy-boy to work: Living accommodation freecall:228-5655/628-1756

Labourers: Friendship Shipway & Co Ltd: 7 Friendship, E.B.D- Tele:2662217/266-0311 Mon to Sat 7:30am-4:30pm

Sawmill in Coverden, E.B.D: Immediately needs Edger operator - call: 609-8727/ 6835759

One live-in domestic to work in a bar in Mahaicony River, 18 years-40 years $50,000 monthly- call:225-6571

One female clerk- call:2315171

General domestic maid on E.B.D; 1 Handy Man, 1 Small Engine Mechanic 3 yrs experience- call:233-2408

1 Attractive waitresscall:678-1481 FUNITURE UPHOLSTERERS TO WORK IN TRINIDAD: MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE- CALLRAVI AT: 0011-868-356-2015/ 0011-868-753-3582 1 Cosmetologist- call:6025469 Urgently wanted 1 house lot to buy: No Residential areacall:617-6015

Experienced driver & dispatchers to work in Gem’s Taxi- call:627-9424/227-0638 ROCKSTAR TOP SALES PRODUCERS, WE WANT YOU: EARNING POTENTIAL $40,000-$100,000 ADDITIONAL INCOME MONTHLY - CALL: 2257560,cmentore @mstbiz.com

FOR SALE

FOR SALE

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

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

HID lights call: 642-2850 House and Land for sale @ D-Edward W.C.B- call:6892973/675-8518 1,000 LBS Scale $200,000/ obo- call:611-5929

MASSAGE American Style massage services- Call:609-4036

To buy one House Lot in Eccles, Providence, Herstelling area- Call: 6535941

The Gent’s spa: Come be pampered by beautiful sophisticated masseuses four hands special call:657-5979

Dell laptops & desktops complete computers from $55,000 Futuretech, call: 2312206

Games for PS 2, $900,PSP $900, Xbox360 $2600, PS 3 $2600, call:672-2566 Original games for sale call:265-3232

2006 Toyota Allion (white) $2.2M Neg- Call:639-6852

Household articles and construction tools: Owners migrating- contact:697-7894/ 626-3750

Scrap aluminum for saleCall:226-8100/621-4839 Live/pluck chicken call:6504421,220-9203

3 Fridges: 2 Kenmore & 1 GEcontact:616-2338

1 Flock sheep and goats and flock Rams- Call: 696-8103

VACANCY Popular 24 hour East Coast Guyoil needs day & night pump attendants, sales girl, cleaners/maintenance- Tele: 698-5559/ 684-2838 Trainee refrigeration Technician call: 231-0655, 683-8734 1 Experienced excavator operator for 225 Doosan & 320 DL CAT- Call :226-9492 (office hours) Vacancy exists for drivers and porters: Apply to Alabama Trading Georgetown ferry stelling Stabroek Porters, lumber clerk, wood mizer operator, moulder operator, lorry driver @ Eccles Industrial Site: Call Richard 609-7675/ 233-2614 Office Clerk- Tele:233-2725 Sales girl (shift) must be computer literate: Phatz Style Boutique 16E Durban Stcall:227-0501

Rock star hollow blocks available in large quantity in 3",4" & 6" call: 269-1406, 617-9230 Lumber Sales, dressed (B) grade quality at Lumber Master Sawmill - Tele: 6845868 As is where is: 2 scrap Leyland DAFF Trucks: 200 Turbo Charge-T45: 240 Turbo Charge- Contact: 225-2954 GMC Ton Truck, scrapNissan 720 pickup, one Industrial Lathe: Call Richard: 609-7675/233-2614 4 Cylinder Perkins Engine and 45 (gal) Plastic Barrelscontact Nicky @ tele:2267948 or 646-6000 1- Samsung Fridge $147,000; 1- 4 Burner Gas stove $26,000; 1- Gas bottle $12,000; 1- DVD Player $5000; 1- Chop Saw $25,000call:661-0143 Pure Rottweiler pupscall:220-6879 Fluffy Pups - Call: 642-6664

EDUCATIONAL LEARN TO DANCE LATIN STLE:SALSA, MERENGUE, WALTZ, TANGO, ETC. COME & FEEL THE EXCITEMENT CALL: 6126475, 629-8842 Private teacher available to help you read, write, give general English upgrade- call: 649-4247 Prepare your child for Form 1 with computer skills- call Micro Graphics Technology Vreed-en-Hoop: 264-3057

1 Perkings 4 cyclinder engine #248- call:604-1140 or 6919844

Advanced Diploma in Micro-computer studies: Enroll today @ MicroGraphics Technology Vreed-en-Hoop- 264-3057

Swamee & Sons Lumber yard @ 2nd Street Herstelling: Best quality & price for rough & dressed lumber- Call: 6141466/ 686-9485

Imperial College- Register Now: CXC 2014 fulltime/ lessons/adults classes: Excellent results-call: 6835742/227-7627

Cruiser Auto Sales: Unregistered: Toyota Fielder, New Raum, Noah, Mazda, Axela- call:603-9700 Toyota Spacio: PNN series $1.9M negotiable- call: 6008338 Smart Choice Auto: Unregistered Runx, Allion call:652-3820,665-4529 1 Toyota Land-cruiser Prado PMM series- call:225-0188/ 225-6070 93 L.H.D Honda Accord: Excellent conditionCall:623-8909 First Class Auto (03 & 06) Allion, (03 & 04) Spacio, (01) Carina, (07) Axio, VerossaCall:609-8188/226-2689 Axio, Blue Bird, Pitbull: Going cheap- Call:697-0294

SERVICES

Leading Auto- Unregistered: Allex, Runx, Spacio, IST, Allion, Premio, Tacoma (06), F150 (06)- Tele: 677-7666/ 610-7666

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

Bush Truck model M, GNN series, have winch and needs repairs $1.7 millionCall:674-3735/652-8970

We repair fridge, freezer, AC, washer, dryer call:2310655,683-8734 Omar

2 New shape Avensiscall:698-0674

TOURS Specials to Kaieteur Falls: Daily Transportation to Suriname, Lethem etc. Call: CETS 225-2566/645-7333 May 25th -27th: Suriname, Boa Vista-Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, Kaieteur Falls - Call: 264-2851: Email: fallsviewtours@yahoo.com www.fallsviewtoursgy.com

VEHICLE FOR SALE One Toyota 212 in excellent condition: Price $1.2M negotiable- Tele:661-3525

1-F150 Ford 3 doors: fully loaded, burgundy: working condition: Price $1Mcontact: 641-6516 or 264-2644

Spare for washing machine, microwaves, fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call:225-9032,647-2943

Pups for sale- call:680-0192/ 216-3408

Sales girls apply in person with written application @ Best Buy Food Supplies: Middleton & Dennis St. Campbellville

06 Toyota Avensis, European model: New tyres, hands free alarm, TV: Excellent conditionCall:677-1237

Marine parts, engines 120400HP Cummins/ Perkins, GM. Propellers, Transmissions, Shafts, All electronics, GPS, Radios- call:674-3735/652-8970

125 HP Yahama Outboard engine –Call:611-5292

Gold and Diamond Land Berbice mining district (1)call:223-1719/600-0036

Attractive live in waitressCall:327-0252/674-4665

Page 29

Permanent & Visitors Vi s a Applications, Profressional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maraj Building: Call: 225-6496, 662-6045, 223-8115 Repairs to walk in cool room, fridge, washing machines, ice making machines etc: contact:666-2276 Technician specialized in repairs & servicing to washers, dryers, fridges, A/C units & stoves: Home Servicing available - call: 6615099 Repairs to Fridge, Freezer, AC, Washers, Stoves, TV, DVD Call: 683-1312, 6273206 (Nick) Spraying of Vehicles- Call: 681-6603 House plans & estimatescontact T. Boodhoo: 6259883/675-9296 Computers repairs Homes- Call: 675-7292

in

Galaxy Tours: Bus service for tours, Airport, Springlands, Molsen Creek, Weddings, groups etc- call:629-5913/ 675-3093

1-New model 212, excellent condition, alloy rims, CD player- Price $1.650M negcall:601-0706/656-9990 (2) F-150 Trucks, blue$1.8 million, white-$2.5 million: Both in very good working conditionCall:674-3735/652-8970 Toyota Allion 2.6 Million Negotiable- Tele:616-3001 RZ mini-buses, AT192, 212, Raum, unregistered Spacio, Canters, 100 Corolla, NZE, cheap cars- call:680-3154 LEYLAND DAF single axle, new gear box and new engine- call:613-6615/2161315 We buy & sell vehicles for cash; we also do trading-in of vehicles- call:680-3154 1- Unregistered 2003 Toyota Tundra, fully accessorized, crash bar, steps, alloy rimsPrice $3.3M neg- call:6010706/656-9990 Black CRV: PMM seriescontact:692-5460 FOR SALE/RENT American Pool Table - Call: 277-0578 (Continued on page 28)

Page 30

Kaieteur News

GSL cricket: Regal secure final spot in Open and Over-35 divisions Regal have qualified for the final in the Open and Over-35 categories as the Georgetown Softball League\ Regal Stationery and Computer Centre\ Mike’s Copy Centre\ Trophy Stall\Star Party Rentals and Salod Marketing Agency competition continued on Sunday at Everest.

In the Open category, Regal XI defeated Speed Boat XI by 7 wickets. Speed Boat XI batted first and made 96 before they were bowled out in 11 overs. S. Hussain scored 24 and M. Singh 14; Privnauth Motilall, Troy Kippins and Safraz Esau grabbed 3 wickets each.

Regal XI responded with 973 in 7.5 overs. Rickey Sargeant led with 46 (5x6, 2x4)

Rickey Sargeant and Chein Gittens chipped in with 24 (2x6) as Greg Singh took 3-20. Regal XI will play Wolf’s Warriors in the final on a date to be announced.

In the Over-35 category,

Regal XI overcame MK Ogle by 41 runs. Regal took first strike and posted 189-6 off their allotted 20 overs. Eric Thomas led with 60 (1x4, 8x6), Raymond Harper scored 44 (2x4, 3x6), Mahendra Arjune 29 (1x4, 2x6) and Samuel Kingston 23 (1x4). Satesh Persaud claimed 2-27.

MK Ogle in reply were bowled out for 148 in 17.4 overs. K. Gobin made 23 (1x6) and Wallack Joseph 21 not out (1x6). Arjune 3-17, Saheed Mohamed 3-37 and Mahendra Hardyal 2-42 were the pick of the bowlers for the winners. Regal XI will face Park Rangers in the final; the date is yet to be decided.

Meanwhile Aroaima will take on Regal XI in the female final.

Lance Stephenson leads Pacers by Knicks as Heat lurk INDIANAPOLIS — The once energetic Bankers Life Fieldhouse had become way too silent. It was only natural to start thinking that the Indiana Pacers, who had been perfect at home all postseason, would be boarding their charter plane Sunday for a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks.

The Knicks had regained their three-point stroke and they were beating the Pacers at their own game — hustle and rebounding.

Then it happened.

The Pacers became determined not to lose.

But it didn’t come from one of their go-to guys. It came from the player dubbed “Born Ready,” who at times can dominate the game and at other times looks like the Tasmanian devil because of how out of control he can get.

Lance Stephenson, who played miserably in Game 5 in New York, stepped to the forefront and became that cocky player who was a New York City high school legend.

It was because of that attitude that the Pacers are headed back to the Eastern

Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

Stephenson started out strong and came on late to help the Pacers beat the Knicks 106-99 Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Stephenson finished with a career-high 25 points to go with 10 rebounds in 34 minutes.

The Pacers advance to play the Miami Heat in the conference finals. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday in Miami at 8:30 p.m. ET What made this victory even more impressive is that the Pacers took the Knicks’ best punch. Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony had his best game of the series, scoring 39 points. New York made 13 three-pointers.

But the Pacers were still the better team.

Stephenson knew he had to have a bounce-back game. He played so poorly in Game 5 that he was replaced by Gerald Green (yes, Gerald Green) in the second half.

The coaching staff told Stephenson his play was unacceptable. They needed more from him because he was the X-factor, since you know what you will get from the other four starters.

Monday May 20, 2013

Afraz Allie looking to make Guyana proud

Afraz Allie’s Starlet during a victory lap.

Group 2B speedster Afraz Allie speaking with Kaieteur Sport yesterday following the completion of the Guyana Motor Racing Sports Club Endurance Meet said he is fit and ready to represent his country at the May 26 first leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC), at Dover Raceway in Jamaica.

The Group 2B champion, who is the current champion in the Group over the past year and someone who also holds the present lap record, told this newspaper that he is confident of doing well against his Craibbean counterparts.

No stranger to the CMRC, Allie represented Guyana at both of the overseas Meets in Jamaica and Barbados respectively last year and is rearing to go and secure points for Guyana as it seeks to recapture the Caribbean title won in 2010.

Commenting on the preparation of the car, Allie said, “as of recent the car has be performing extremely well so I am very confident in doing good for my country by bringing home some much deserved points.”

He disclosed that they’ve done a lot of upgrades, specifically for the Jamaica leg, adding that many modifications were done since he returned from Jamaica last year due to the knowledge he gained from competing on the track.

Among those expected to be his main rivals are Suriname’s Oliver Tjin-Liep-Shie, Barbados’ Kurt Thompson, Jamaica’s Sabastian Rae and our own Afraz Allie.

The other members of the Guyana team are: Kevin Jeffrey, Andrew King, Harold Hopkinson, John Joseph and Syed Hassan.

Allie, whose main sponsor is Banks DIH extended thanks to the Company in addition to Prem’s Electrical, Mike’s Copy Centre, Martina’s Cambio, ReadyMix, Cellphonix, Tulshi Machine Shop, Annand Ramchand Transportation Service, Seaboard Marine, Clifton Spares and Accessories and Fullworks Spare Parts.

He also extended thanks to his family, who he said have made the biggest contribution to his career.

Betsy Ground cricket club donates gear to Betsy Primary School

Stuart Broad hurries hosts to Lord’s win BBC Sport - Stuart Broad took seven wickets in 11 overs to rip through New Zealand and inspire England to an astonishing 170-run win in the first Test at Lord’s.

Chasing 239 for victory, the Black Caps were bowled out for 68 in 22.3 overs after lunch on the fourth day as Broad finished with Test-best figures of 7-44.

Only two players - Neil Wagner and BJ Watling - made double figures as New Zealand succumbed for the 10th lowest score in a Lord’s Test.

Just two hours earlier, the tourists appeared to have given themselves a good chance of victory when they took England’s last four second-innings wickets in

under an hour to bowl them out for 213. England needed only nine balls to break through as Broad found the edge of Peter Fulton’s bat and Matt Prior claimed his 200th Test dismissal.

Brimming with intent as he charged in from the Nursery End, Broad uprooted Hamish Rutherford’s off stump with a gem of a ball that darted away off the seam, and had Ross Taylor well caught low to his left at first slip by Alastair Cook two balls later.

With five slips in place and Broad threatening with every ball, Kane Williamson - whose 60 off 167 balls had anchored New Zealand’s first innings - had an uncharacteristic rush of

blood and drove loosely to Finn at short extra-cover.

There was no let-up from England’s new-ball pair as James Anderson had Dean Brownlie caught at first slip before Broad trapped Brendon McCullum leg before for eight to reduce New Zealand to 29-6 and complete a breathless morning session in which 10 wickets fell. The final four wickets went in less than an hour after lunch.

Scores: England 232 (Bairstow 41, Southee 4-58) and 213 (Root 71, Trott 56, Southee 6-50) beat New Zealand 207 (Taylor 66, Williamson 60, Anderson 547) and 68 (Broad 7-44) by 170 runs.

President Radish Seepersaud (left) presents of the bats to a teacher of the school as members of the school team displays some of the other gear.

‘Giving brings a release and freely give freely receive’

those are some of the operational guidelines for the

members of the newly formed Sunshine Cricket club of Betsy Ground, East Canje, Berbice.

Members of the club, who were mostly students of the Betsy Ground Primary School, remembered their Alma Mata and recently donated a number of cricket gear including softball bats and balls.

The club, which is presently participating in the second division level in competitions organized by the Berbice Cricket Board, was recently the recipient of a number of sports gear from the BCB and other donors.

According to President Radesh Seepersaud, the club in its generosity decided that it cannot keep everything for itself and took the opportunity to hand over some of the gear to the school which is presently participating in the Al Sports and Tour Promotion overhand Windball competition.

Monday May 20, 2013

Kaieteur News

Page 31

National Sports Commission 3-Stage Cycle Road Race

Robin Persaud takes final stage, Barbadian Eastman claims overall title Robin Persaud rode in first in the final leg, but it was Barbadian cyclist, Jamal Eastman, whose winning feats in the first two stages, earned him the top prize with an overall time of 6:58:13secs when the 31st edition of the National Sports Commission (NSC) organized three stage road race concluded in front of the former Ministry of Housing offices, Homestretch Avenue, yesterday morning.

Geron Williams clinched the second place after clocking an overall timing of 6:58:20secs, while Orville Hinds clocked 6:58:25secs to finish just behind Williams.

Orville Hinds and Alonzo Greaves registered respective timings of 6:58:25secs and 6:58:26secs to round off the top places in the final stage.

Raul Leal was the first junior cyclist to cross the finish line, closely followed

by Hamza Eastman, while Mario King closed off the podium spots in this category.

Horace Burrows rode an appreciable timing of 6:59:00 to take the spoils in the veteran category, while Aubrey Gordon and Junior Niles finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Four females started the journey, but Naiomi Singh was the only one to complete the second leg of the race. She was the lone distaff athlete to complete the journey from Rosignol to Carifesta Avenue on Saturday last and though she was among the starters in the final leg from Linden,

The respective winners display their awards with the organisers. Minister of Sports Dr. Frank Anthony is sitting third from left. failed to replicate the feat of one day earlier after encountering difficulties along the way. The other participating females were Hassena Barrett, Marica Dick and Tashwana Doris.

Andrew Reece copped 3 sprint prizes, while Godfrey Pollydore, Kester Croal and Geron Williams copped two each. Several other riders each won one of the prime prizes.

Meanwhile, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Frank Anthony, joined several other cycling officials

and enthusiasts at the finish line, and later returned to deliver the keynote address at the prize giving ceremony at the National Cultural Centre.

He lauded the efforts of coach, Hassan Mohammed even as he congratulated the winner and those that received special prizes.

Minister Anthony said that he was heartened by the participation of the overseas contingent even as he noted the sacrifices they would have made to be a part of the event. He urged that group

to return to their respective territories and spread the world so as to encourage larger participation of riders of their ilk.

He noted the difficulties encountered by the female riders and suggested that the organizers review the distance allotted to this group. He suggested a reduction in the amount of miles, at least for a period until they would become more proficient in the longer distances.

The event was staged in commemoration of Guyana’s 47th Independence

anniversary and, looking ahead, the Minister suggested that organizers huddle and incorporate additional activities into the 50th so as to add more significance to the occasion.

“It is my humble suggestion that you come up with a concept that will merge cycling activities and Independence celebrations to commemorate that milestone in style,” urged Mr. Anthony.

Director of Youth and Sports, Neil Kumar, was high in praise of the media operatives whom he noted

delivered satisfactorily reports. He also poked a jab at the riders and urged them to improve on their chances of winning by riding as a team. He said that pedal pushers out of Linden were classical examples as they demonstrated the benefits of such strategies.

Hassan Mohammed recapped on activities during the entire race while President of the Guyana Cycling Federation, Cheryl Thompson, congratulated the cyclists while delivering inspiring words.

Sir Alex bows out with astonishing 5-5 draw Sir Alex Ferguson was denied victory in his 1,500th and final game in charge of Manchester United as Romelu Lukaku’s hat-trick

earned West Brom a 5-5 draw.

The champions went 3-0 up through Shinji Kagawa, Jonas Olsson’s own goal and Alexander Buttner’s fine

finish. James Morrison reduced the deficit and Baggies’ substitute Lukaku made it 3-2, before Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez

put United 5-2 ahead. But Lukaku and Youssouf Mulumbu denied Ferguson a winning send-off.

Watching his side

Ferguson was given a guard of honour by both teams prior to the match. (Adam Fradgley AMA)

concede three goals in the space of five minutes late in the game was hardly the finish Ferguson would have wanted to a magnificent managerial career. But the retiring Scot still managed a smile and a wave before disappearing down the tunnel for the last time.

Despite the crazy finish at The Hawthorns, United ended the season 11 points clear of Premier League runners-up Manchester City, the most comfortable winning margin since Chelsea beat Arsenal by 12 points in 2004-05.

If Ferguson’s official retirement party was at Old Trafford seven days ago, this was the final goodbye.

Nearly 10,000 days since his first match in charge of United, an inauspicious 2-0 defeat against Oxford United, Ferguson took his place in the dugout for the final time after players from both sides had formed a guard of honour.

Dressed in club blazer and tie, Ferguson acknowledged all four sides of the ground as a sell-out crowd rose in appreciation of the Scottish mastermind who had accumulated 13 league titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, two European Cups and one Club World Cup during 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.

Ferguson then sat back and watched his muchchanged side dismantle West Brom in the opening 30 minutes before the home side roared back to snatch a thrilling point which sees them finish a creditable eighth in the Premier League table.

The final whistle was greeted with relief on the United bench, Ferguson just about managing a smile as he made his way from the dugout. With one final wave, he disappeared down the tunnel for the last time.

Truly the end of an era.

Page 32

Kaieteur News

Pune consign Delhi to last place ESPNcricinfo - Amid the bad news in the IPL, and with the knowledge that this afternoon’s game was as dead as it could get in this tournament in the battle of the bottom-placed sides, a healthy crowd made its way to the Sahara Stadium in Pune, a considerable distance from the main city.

It was worth it, as they saw their team beat Delhi Daredevils comfortably, consigning the visitors to the last place in the IPL points table and marking an ignominious end to a journey that began with Unmukt Chand’s off stump being knocked out of its place in the tournament opener.

Aaron Finch, Angelo Mathews, and Luke Wright played a critical role with the bat to set a tough target on a slowish pitch, and Ali Murtaza, who had been

scarred by Chris Gayle during his assault of 175, picked up three wickets in the chase to put the task beyond Daredevils. Robin Uthappa and Finch have shared a productive opening stand this IPL, and Uthappa began Warriors’ charge with some lovely drives through the off side before his stay ended with the score on 38. Finch then took over, opening up in the ninth over bowled by Umesh Yadav, who was in for an expensive spell.

Umesh struggled with his length, serving up one in the slot that Finch dispatched over long-on, a short one that was pulled over midwicket, before doling out a full toss that was slammed through extra cover in an over that went for 17. Irfan Pathan was flicked through square leg for 12 runs in an over, but Daredevils found their way back with the wickets of Finch and Yuvraj Singh to leave Warriors at 97 for 4 in 14 overs.

Aaron Finch captain of Pune Warriors bats during his 50. (BCCI)

Wright has had a quiet tournament with the bat, while Mathews has had a consistent run, and both stepped up at the death. Some of their shots were a result of luck - a top-edge for six, an inside edge for four - but both also middled the ball well, tearing in to Yadav in the penultimate over, both smacking him for sixes to snatch 24. Length balls were not spared, and Wright was especially adept at playing the pull and clipping the ball past square leg. The last five overs yielded 65, and it proved decisive.

In the chase David Warner’s poor form continued, but Mahela Jayawardene and Bharat Chipli, who replaced Chand, appeared to be putting Daredevils on track. The pair added 23 in quick time, but Daredevils’ slide began when Murtaza was brought on to bowl in the fifth over.

He was unlucky not to get Jayawardene stumped, but dismissed him next ball as he spooned a catch to point.

Virender Sehwag struck a couple of attractive boundaries, but holed out against Murtaza, who also trapped Chipli in front next ball to leave Delhi at 55 for 4.

Ben Rohrer dragged one back on from Ashok Dinda and Irfan was left with too much to get with the lower order.

Warriors have slipped up badly in the last few overs with the ball, but a halfcentury stand between Irfan and CM Gautam didn’t unsettle them. A doublestrike from Mathews in one over all but sealed the game for Warriors, who may have won today but, bought for US$370 million, have had three forgettable seasons on the trot.

Scores: Pune Warriors 172 for 5 (Finch 52, Wright 44, Kaul 2-27) beat Delhi Daredevils 134 for 9 (Gautam 30, Mathews 3-14, Murtaza 3-15).

Team Seejattan/Ten Pow retain Endurance crown Defending champions Shawn Seejattan and Brian Ten-Pow were declared the overall winners of the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club Endurance Meet which was held yesterday, at the South Dakota Circuit.

Seejattan and Ten-Pow completed 123 laps to relegate the pair of Anand Ramchand and Adrian Fernandes into second place after they could only record 121 laps, while Ernesto Choo and Brian Evelyn occupied the third spot after registering 119 laps.

Local Group 4 champion Mark Vieira

registered the fastest lap time of 1:20.63 in a Toyota Starlet.

Speaking with Organiser Aaron Bethune, he said that the turnout was satisfactory and it shows that the popularity of the sport is growing all the time.

He also pointed to the large field of competitors as testimony to his assessment that this particular segment of the sport is spreading.

The full results of the respective categories will be known in the next issue.

Monday May 20, 2013

Sunrisers hold nerve to make playoffs

Darren Sammy finished the game off with two consecutive sixes, but there was much tension before that. (BCCI) ESPNcricinfo - Sunrisers Hyderabad threatened to blaze into the playoffs. They then opened the back door for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Then Darren Sammy danced down the track and lofted Iqbal Abdulla for successive sixes to send the Uppal Stadium into a frenzy.

Sunrisers had taken the final playoff spot in their debut IPL season, after almost blowing it towards the end.

Having watched their bowlers tie Rajasthan Royals in knots during a similar chase two nights ago, Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan came out determined to be positive.

They continued in the same manner for 89 runs in just over 11 overs, and had it not been for a rather needless reversesweep attempted by Dhawan,

Sunrisers, Royal Challengers and their respective fans would have been spared several tense minutes.

It was Parthiv who all but sealed the chase at the start.

He came out in a volley of cuts, pulls and flicks when offered the slightest width.

By the time Dhawan slogswept Yusuf Pathan for his first boundary, Parthiv was already on 31 off 20. Dhawan now started to toy with the bowling, walking out to hit through extra cover and jumping to slash Jacques Kallis for six over cover.

This was the same slow pitch on which Kolkata Knight Riders had limped to 130. Even after Dhawan went leg-before to Abdulla, Sunrisers needed 31 off 40 at one stage. Then Parthiv

walked out to Abdulla and was given leg-before.

Hanuma Vihari, as he has done often in the season, sucked momentum out of the innings. And then heaved a top-edge to backward point after making 6 off 13. In between, he was involved in a terrible mix-up that led to the run-out of Cameron White.

Shami Ahmed disturbed Thisara Perera’s bails with a yorker, and Sunrisers suddenly needed 19 of 13.

Fortunately, Biplab Samantray got one on the pads to put it away for four.

Sammy, who had been made to look absolutely clueless by Sunil Narine during the 17th over which was a maiden, found enough courage to step out to Abdulla and finish the game with a couple of sixes.

Only Yusuf has been able to hit sixes when Knight Riders batted after winning the toss. Gautam Gambhir had run himself out again, and none of the other batsmen had been able to get the measure of a slow pitch and an attack that had thrived on it through the season.

Yusuf has not done much during three seasons at Knight Riders, but he appeared to find some touch towards the end of this season. He looked determined from the outset and even recovered from a 147 kph Steyn bouncer to pull him for six next ball. He was not able to get too much strike at the death, and though he hit the last ball of the innings for six, 130 did not challenge Sunrisers.

Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 132 for 5 (Parthiv 47, Dhawan 42, Abdulla 329) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 130 for 7 (Yusuf 49*, Steyn 2-24) by five wickets.

Alfred Mentore wins GENEQUIP John Deere Golf tourney The GENEQUIP/John Deere Golf tournament was played in wonderful weather but a wet turf with the balls sticking to the turf wherever they landed, thus throwing some of the players games who depended on the bounce into disarray.

At the end of the day, Alfred Mentore came in the first place, beating the rest of the players for the top spot.

With 76-6-69 (gross, handicap, net) scores, he moved into top rankings at the Club.

In second place was Esau Shamshudin (90, 20, 70) who returned from Toronto to enter into the tournament, much to the chagrin of some of the guys playing for their spots.

The third prize went to B. Harry (86, 14, 71) and in fourth place was Scotiabank’s Brian Hackett (95, 23, 72). Esau Shamshudin also copped the Closest-to-the-pin trophy and Alfred Mentore recorded best gross.

At the presentation ceremony, Ms. Jessica Xavier, Marketing Manager of GENEQUIP lauded the players for their performance.

She also reiterated GENEQUIP/John Deere commitment to the sport and that company’s role in delivering excellent supplies and service to Guyana.

Club Secretary, Yog Mahadeo, commended the groundsman, Mike Guyadin,

for the work done to ensure that play was possible. He also complimented Joaan Deo, the single female player involved for her representation of all Guyanese women into the sport. He also thanked the sponsor and congratulated the winners of the tournament.

Vice-President David Mohammad Nooranie, standing in for President Jerome Khan, who is away on leave, thanked the sponsor GENEQUIP/John Deere for sponsoring the tournament and expressed confidence of the continued relationship between the Lusignan Golf Club and GENEQUIP.