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Kaieteur News
KAIETEUR NEWS Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: ADAM HARRIS Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491 Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
Editorial
Expanding the Road Network Last month, in our editorial, “Deadly road use”, we observed that while over 10,000 vehicles enter our country every month, this presented a downside risk. “Lack of a holistic approach to traffic challenges has seen a spectacular increase in the housing and commercial buildings on the East Bank and East Coast, without any thought as to how the increased traffic will be channelled.The authorities will have to create new roads around these new settlements.” According to a report in our newspaper yesterday, it appears that the authorities have been mulling this possibility over the last few weeks. Transport Minister Robeson Benn revealed that in seeking an alternative roadway to the East Bank Demerara Public Road, officials of the Public Works Ministry made an aerial survey some weeks ago to ascertain a viable route. This news is more than a bit incredulous, since this country has spent over US$105 million - loaned by the IDB in just the last five years (plus its own matching funds) - to rehabilitate our 240 miles of surfaced roads. Rehabilitation, improvement and extension of the road network are financed by external resources such as the IDB while routine maintenance of the rehabilitated network is financed by our own recurrent resources. We are ignoring, for now, the question as to whether we have been receiving ‘value for money’ on all this massive spending. Each of the several loans spent at least 10% on studies, all of which indicated the need for alternative roadways to relieve congestion and safety in the 10-mile radius around Georgetown. Just two years ago, we received US$20 million to upgrade the East Bank Highway and expand it from two to four lanes between Providence and Diamond, while “providing parking lanes, bus stops, crossings for pedestrians, and bicycle lanes that will increase safety and reduce disruption to traffic flow.” That project is still a work in progress, so we do not know if it will deliver the promised 15% reduction in travel time plus increased safety. By the middle of this year, we had signed an additional IDB loan for US$ 66 million – plus US$ 3million matching funds from the government - US$58 million of which are for civil works. The remaining US$10 million are for various studies and ‘institutional strengthening”. What is interesting is that US$24 million is for works on the Sheriff St-Mandela Ave thoroughfare: “ including expansion, rehabilitation, improvement and construction of roads, construction of sidewalks, bikeways and streets, shoulder widening, construction and rehabilitation of bridges and culverts, incorporation of bus stops, parking lanes, passing lanes and other features to reduce congestion and improve safety, as well as medians, traffic lights, signage and other safety related works along the corridor, as well as any required environmental and social mitigation measures.” In light of the above, we are therefore puzzled by Minister Benn’s statement on the alternative route to the East Bank Highway, according to our report, “if the road will be constructed from the junction at Aubrey Barker Road, squatters along Mandela Avenue will have to remove.” Would not the present $24 million Sheriff St-Mandela Ave project take care of that contingency? But the larger question is why the need for an alternative road east of, and parallel to, the East Bank Highway was not addressed within the ambit of the present $66 million IDB loan? US$34 million has already been budgeted for East Coast, West Coast and West Bank Demerara road improvement along the lines of the Sheriff St- Mandela Ave project detailed above. Would it not have been prudent for the “East Coast” portion of the funds to be allocated for the alternate route, starting from Ogle? An even more feasible approach would be to construct the alternative route along the “Agriculture Road” between Mon Repos and Triumph, which already extends undisturbed, several miles into the backlands parallel to the East Bank Highway. This latter option would serve to simultaneously open up to housing and industry almost all of the land that has become redundant because of the closure of LBI and Diamond Estates.
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news
We must prevent this atrocity
DEAR EDITOR, As soon as you turn on the TV to current issues you see accusations flying wildly, someone lambasting another, saying that he or she is the cause of the killings and robberies that recently took place in our country. No proof is presented. No one is arrested, just withering allegations all the time. This obvious attempted brainwashing of the populace and abnegation of responsibility goes on and on. It has become totally disgusting. If the same enthusiasm for badmouthing others is focused on finding solutions the country will be better served. Why is a solution to this disgraceful violence during Protest Action not being deliberated upon? The holiday season is here again. Citizens do not want to be robbed and beaten under the guise of Protest
Action. We do not want citizens, especially our young people to be shot and killed. Protestors and other citizens must be protected from infiltrating criminals. This appalling situation during Protest Action has been going on for many years and often peaks during the holiday season. Who benefits from this outrage? The country suffers from a tarnished image. Those persons who suffer at the hands of the criminals continue to live with the fear of being robbed and beaten again and again. Businesses have to close their doors. Many business men and women are robbed, beaten and even killed during this bedlam. Afterwards, Guyanese live with hurt and resentment. There is no room for forgiveness since no solution and reconciliation is offered. We are breeding a society of
hurt and traumatized persons .It seems that many people are being used as scapegoats in our country. No one cares if we are robbed and beaten again and again. Progress in a country in closely tied with the comfort and security of its citizens. Doubtless there are persons who think that creating a division among people will benefit them. These are wicked, selfish persons who care only for their own individual prosperity. They do not care about whom is robbed and killed .They often use the young and impressionable to do their dirty work. Promoting enmity among people is deplorable and we must learn to identify the sly things that people do to create division in our society. As Guyanese we have a right to be safe and a happy people. Finding a solution to
protect our people will prevent them from being violated. What more cause can Parliament want to rate a solution to this outrage as a priority? We need a solution now. Are we going to call people from “all about” all the time as one wise old woman said, to enquire into murders, robberies and destruction when we ourselves should be saving lives by preventing this atrocity from happening? We are calling on the Parliament, which represents all Guyanese to look at a solution to this matter as a priority. When we switch on the TV to current issues we want to hear discussion on what is being done to prevent this shameful, degradation to our people and country, not calculated accusations that cannot be validated. Baliram Shivdas
That investigation into fraud DEAR EDITOR, I read some letters in the various letter columns in the Chronicle, Stabroek News and your newspaper in connection with the recently held Essequibo Night which was held on the 5th and 6th of October, 2012. The contents of the letters clearly indicated that there was some level of fraud pertaining to lost tickets and the sales of bogus tickets. At the October month R.D.C,meeting, Regional Opposition Councillor
questioned whether any investigation or Police action is taking place and as was disclosed by the Chairman of the Council, some investigation was taking place. I took it my duty to find out from a PPP Colleague whether that is so and I was told yes, and that the PPP is doing an investigation instead of the Regional Authorities or state, even though the event was a Regional one and not a Party event. To my mind and thinking if there are frauds, and I
have no doubt about that (knowing the individual who is involved) then the government should do the investigation, if not the Police. My friend in the PPP further hinted to me that Zulfikar Mustapha, who is t h e P a r t y ’s E x e c u t i v e Secretary, was to head an investigation team, but since the matter is involving a central committee member, the Party decided to send a Minister who is a close friend and always defends the Regional official.
The person who heads the team is from the Local Government Ministry and a very close associate of the Regional Official. Party members are saying that they have no confidence in that investigation since the Local Government official will try his best to turn things away from the Regional official and defend him to the last. Hope that this letter can help to bring about an honest investigation and sooner the better. Dinesh Persaud
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news
What was said in the National Assembly
Dear Editor, On Sunday 28 October, 2012, Mr. Freddie Kissoon dedicated an entire article to certain remarks that I was alleged to have made in the last sitting of the National Assembly. Significantly, he was not present in the National Assembly. More importantly, he did not say in that article what I was supposed to have said. Yet, he outrageously lambasted me for saying it. I am convinced, like most Guyanese, that all is not well, upstairs with Freddie Kissoon. I recalled once that he wrote that he saw a movie on New Year’s Day of a particular year at Astor Cinema and it turned out that the movie was made two years after he said he saw it. For the record, what I said in Parliament was that the AFC should accept responsibility for the atrocities that took place at Agricola and that young girls were sexually molested by the goons on the road that night. I cannot fathom why Freddie Kissoon has a problem with what I said. I spoke from my personal knowledge. I was present. I saw it. My outrage stems from
the fact that I am a proud father of four. I honestly respect the children of the world. Further, I respect the role of the family in society. During the disturbance in the 1960s, I was told by “Aunty” Christina, Uncle Peter who now lives in Canada, Mr. Lackhoo and several others about their eyewitness, heart rending and unforgettable experience of how Indians were beaten, raped and terrorized at Mackenzie and Wismar. When Granny Pamela engaged me into conversation about how those people were trembling and lying, some in the hospitals while others were at industrial sites screaming out of the terror and horrible attack, I promised Comrade Cheddi Jagan that I would work in Linden, Region Ten. I was in Enterprise on Sunday, and an old woman, Dularie. told me “Beta you live at Eccles, Move out from that place – Agricola road top go kill Indian! As some people were complaining about what they heard happened at Agricola, Sister Shelly came over and suddenly she started to sob, “My husband with a friend
and eight years old pickney, dem murder dem early morning when dem went to ketch fish.” Sugar workers were killed in the backdam and the koker operators were murdered. Today those children are growing up without three proper meals each day. One child, Ajay, told me Uncle, thank you but ‘when me does peep my mother crying, I does want to kill myself because me na get ‘daddy.’
Former Chairman of Region Five, Mr. Baldeo’s brother-in-law, a policeman and a friend were murdered on the Buxton Railway embankment. Readers, the murderers took the two men out of the car, tortured them, then put them in the car trunk, then got wood, bought gas and burned their bodies in the car on the road in bright day light. Hundreds of Buxtonians
saw what took place but nobody was ever charged. Former PNC Member of Parliament and now reputable criminal lawyer Huckumchand’s brother was murdered on the road at Buxton while he was in a car on his way from Berbice. When the lawyer told us about the murder we wept with him. Agricola: On the 11th of October, I was travelling with my two daughters
home on the East Bank. At approximately 3:30 p.m the traffic was held up on the public road as some people were stopping the traffic and burning stuff on the road. I came out of my vehicle and after realizing what was happening I walked back to Houston with my two daughters. The CIOG bus turned back and stopped at Houston. Those school (Continued on page 7 )
No evidence that GPL has the desire or management to fix this situation Dear Editor, After twenty years of PPP/C rule, the residents of the Upper Corentyne, Berbice, still cannot enjoy a reliable supply of electricity from GPL. This past week, we suffered over 10 hours of blackout on Monday, two and a half hours of blackout on Tuesday, and over 10 hours of blackout on Friday, for a total of more than 20 hours of blackout in a week! It was also impossible to get through to the GPL hotline at 333-2186 to find out
when power would be restored. I tried for several hours to get through to this number but to no avail. Either the workers there are using this line for personal purposes, or they are not hanging up the phone, because they do not want to answer phone calls. This situation is unacceptable, and is insulting to hardworking residents and businessmen who suffer significant financial losses. They also suffer emotional distress at the total disrespect and the uncaring attitude
demonstrated to us by GPL and its staff. To add insult to injury, Kaieteur News reported that it would take at least four weeks for the power supply to improve, but that is of little hope to us because GPL has never offered a reliable supply of power to the Upper Corentyne area. I challenge Mr. Bharat Dindyal and Mr. Ayube Bacchus to state whether, in the last year, there was ever a one-month period where a reliable supply of power was provided to the Upper Corentyne.
GPL has constantly been making promises but it has never kept them. Around July this year, Mr. Ayube Bacchus promised that our electricity supply would improve, and guess what, it has, on the contrary, significantly deteriorated. There is no evidence that GPL has the desire, the skills, or the management team needed to urgently fix this situation. While this should be a troubling situation that draws the attention of GPL management, as well as the (Continued on page 6)
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news Raised eyebrows about Guyana is not yet ready for tourism
the US$3M equipment
Dear Editor, I read with grave dismay an article bearing the caption “ B K International spends US $3M on Equipment — Walter Willis “ carried in the Kaieteur News on October 23`6, 2012. The article focused on the involvement of BK International in the management of the Haags Bosch landfill site and reported the critical observation of BK. International that though the Haags Bosch landfill site was originally intended to receive hazardous waste for disposal, the Project Manager Mr. Walter Willis, is yet to approve a design for the construction of a hazardous waste cell. I f B K ’s c r i t i c i s m o f Walter Willis alleged sloth is accurate, then that would amount to a serious indictment of Willis’s sense of professional responsibility and of his concern for our environmental safety and t h e h a r m f u l , polluting consequences of improper disposal of hazardous waste with ultimately negative
effects on the health of our people. It falls, therefore, for Willis to say to the people of Guyana that he has indeed approved the design for a hazardous waste cell at the landfill site and that therefore BK’s criticism of him is unjustified. Strangely however, Kaieteur News does not carry a response from Willis on this very important and crucial issue and one is therefore left to assume that Willis made no response. What the Kaieteur News article did however report was that Willis released photographs of what was described by the newspaper as old and broken down machinery which, according to the report, Willis said “were the US$3 million worth of equipment that B K International procured for work on the landfill site.” It is true that B K International did publicly declare that it invested approximately US$3 million in equipment for the landfill site. Every school child in Guyana knows that BK International has new and powerful heavy duty equipment being frequently
hauled across the roads of Guyana. Both Willis and Kaieteur News are treading on dangerous ground with the article in issue. B K International has never represented or held out to the public that the seemingly inoperable equipment exhibited in the Kaieteur News article represented its investment of US$3 Million in equipment for the landfill site. I recall that BK International has sued Walter Willis in the courts alleging false and misleading statements made by him. Unless BK International accepts that the equipment displayed in the photographs in the Kaieteur News report represents its US$3 million equipment investment for the landfill site, Willis’s statements and his release of those photographs may b e c o n s t r u e d as being calculated to hurt the image and reputation of BK International and it may be said that it was done with what lawyers describe as “malice and ill will. Sincerely, Michael. Sookra.
Dear Editor, I have read with interest the various opinions on the proposed visit of entertainer Chris Brown. I am among those who feel that he has paid, in part, for his terrible lapse. This, however, does not necessarily qualify him for an invitation to Guyana. I hope that he has really reformed but am however of the opinion that once a “beat man” always a “beat man”. I hope he proves me wrong.
My problem with this venture is twofold. First of all, wouldn’t it be better to spend the millions Mr. Ali is proposing to spend, or clearing up our garbage city and make it once more a garden city – clearly more welcoming to tourists? Georgetown has many historic buildings and places, though we are seeing some of them replaced by unsightly concrete boxes. Mr. Minister, it seems as if your priorities
are upside down or are you waiting for an IMC in Georgetown, then you will clean up? I also have a problem with the idea of the never ending stream of foreign entertainers. Isn’t this reminiscent of the Roman “bread and games” practice – distracting the masses from their poverty and need? Yours Truly, Sandra Garnett
No evidence that GPL... From Page 5 PPP/C leaders, no one is paying attention to the plight of our area because, apparently, they are all rich enough to have their own power generators and backup supply, so they are not affected by blackouts like the ordinary citizens of this area do. What do we have to do for GPL to get its act together and stop making lame excuse, and provide us with dependable supply of electricity? Do we have to block roads, and burn bridges and protest like other areas? Talk to anyone in this area and they will tell you they are fed-up and that if things don’t change, it will reach a breaking point soon. Our children’s studies are being
affected, our food is spoiling, our businesses cannot perform. Life cannot continue like this for four more weeks, or God knows how long it will take for GPL to fix the power supply. To put things into context, GPL should look to New York and New Jersey, where reliable power is already being restored to large sections of the population, mere days after the horrible destruction by Hurricane Sandy. Or it can look right here at home at GT&T, which inherited an absolute mess in the early 1990s and completely transformed and revolutionized the telecommunications sector in Guyana. So don’t tell us about how we have to wait for four weeks
for a promised improvement when the problems we face aren’t caused by devastating natural disasters, or financial bankruptcy, but by a devastatingly incompetent management team at GPL, that is bankrupt of ideas to fix our electricity sector. After twenty years of PPP/C rule, it is time that this party takes action and immediately fix our electricity supply on the Upper Corentyne. Don’t take us for granted because people are sick and tired of the GPL nonsense. If the PPP/C Government doesn’t act immediately to fix this situation, people will take action at the next election, whenever it is, and either vote for APNU or AFC, or stay home and not vote. Pradeep Singh
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters... Where your views make the news Bibi Safora Shadick with the principal determinant in professionals like Ron history; we are all in this zero background in the appointing people to higher Robinson and Paloma together; not only the Bibi The nation is doomed almost Broadcasting Industry is the office, then there is no Mohamed to serve at a higher Shadicks and others of her Dear Editor, On Friday September 21, President Ramotar hosted a press conference that allowed us to hear a lot of what is on his mind. We heard his narrative about how an ineffective Minister was given a paint job and redecorated
as the “best candidate” to Chair the Broadcasting Authority. Is this the legacy that President Ramotar is offering the nation? Leadership is about setting a course and describing a vision for people. Are we to understand that
What was said in the ... From page 5 children were terrified and showed signs of real horror at what was happening. I saw commuters in the hundreds walking from Agricola to the ferry stelling to catch boats and cross the Demerara River. I received a call that the bandits were beating and robbing people at the Ferry Stelling while other bandits were robbing people on the public road. I stopped my vehicle and threatened two bandits who were busy slapping people and pushing their hands in their victims’ pockets and running through the females’ bags. I went back to Agricola at approximately 6:00 pm and walked through the crowd. I saw school children screaming and shouting as these bandits were ‘feeling-up’ school girls’ breasts and fondling them. Mr. Munir Khan swore at a woman who was sitting in her car and said “Boys enjoy it how you get it!” This notorious woman, who I have her vehicle Number is living on the East Bank, I said shame on her! Now Mr. Kissoon, I wonder how you would have felt to see some hooligans, stinks without shirt, feeling up your daughter if you have one? M r. A a f e e z M o h a m e d called me and complained bitterly how his grandchildren were robbed and beaten on the road. M r. K r i s h n a B r a s s y complained to me bitterly that some women went to him on their way home crying with their tops torn and their head bleeding and with blood all over their face and neck. Kassim called me and complained about his
daughters been robbed and molested. Grandmother, Sukhia cried when she told me “Son if you see how dem ‘bai’ a molest dem small school girls.” Friends, I just could not sit and listen to Moses N a g a m o o t o o ’s b r a z e n denial and blatant lies in the National Assembly as he was trying to disassociate himself and the AFC from what took place on the 11th October at Agricola Public Road. In those circumstances I said what I said. And I have repeated it above. I will repeat it again whenever I get the opportunity to do so. T h e p e o p l e o n We s t Demerara, East Bank Essequibo and Linden must speak in one voice against this most obnoxious behaviour. Neend Kumar Editor’s note: Beatings and murders visited people of every ethnicity during the disturbances and again during the crime wave of 2002-2006. On October 11, the people who were beaten and robbed and otherwise molested at Agricola spanned the ethnic divide. The disturbances of the 1960s recorded in the letter do not speak about Black people being killed by Indians. The records would show that more people of African ancestry died during the disturbances of the 1960s. However, recapping the violence of the past does nothing but to open wounds and cause racism to be entrenched in this already fragmented society.
visionary for the Broadcasting Industry? These conditions in Guyana make it almost impossible to conduct a professional life since hard work and much talent do0 not factor into appointment these days. What happened to seasoned and experienced broadcasters like Ron Robinson or Paloma Mohamed? Goat “bite” them? This is exactly what is wrong with Guyana, too many goats and ducks are in command! When a State through its leader seeks to reward its political “flunkies” rather than the best and most competent, then there is no incentive to foster dignity and respect anymore since the road to the front of the line is the classic “suck-up”. When loyalty to the party is
incentive to work hard, to be trustworthy and to be responsible. As this Jagdeo philosophy and ideology gets institutionalized in the State under President Ramotar, it reduces all the people the lowest possible level, be they workers, housewives or professionals. When a Government fails to truly understand history and how the country can best develop by creating more opportunities for the best, brightest and most competent in the middle and professional class and provide opportunities for the poor to elevate themselves to a better socio-economic position; then we are doomed. When a visionless Government overlooks talented and passionate
level after they have walked the tried and tested path of hard work and gained valued experience and talent; then we are doomed. We are doomed since the administration of institutions like the Broadcasting Authority are being surrendered to people with a vindictive, pitiless and partisan past in service to their political sponsors. Ms. Shadick has played a brutal role on the University Council, in service to her political masters, in their attempts to break the back of the intellectual class. For such a service, she has been given a new mission obliterate what is left of the independent media that allows self-expression from the real people. There is a lesson to be learnt from this episode of
“kith and kin” with their political connections to Freedom House. This nation has clearly demonstrated that it is broken when in its quest to control the independent media houses; it has to appoint such prejudiced minds to what was supposed to be an independent institution. Shame on President Ramotar! If one were to truly understand history, a handful of robber barons have never kept back a people. These mobsters will attack the message, the messenger and feed the people crow, as one of them threatened in Parliament the other day, in their greedy quest to hold the nation at ransom. Regards Dr Asquith Rose and Harish S Singh
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 07, 2012
‘Congo Nya’ founder releases book of poems By Samuel Whyte Founder and director of the internationally acclaimed ‘Congo Nya’ folk group, Ivelaw Eon Alexander James, aka ‘Brooks’ has released his first book of poems called ‘Talking Blues’. The launching took place at a simple ceremony held recently at James’s residence at Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice. Present at the launching were President of the Guyana Rastafarian Council, playwright and a long time friend of James, Ras Leon Saul; Simon Hazelwood and James’s son, Ras James, the present leader of the ‘Congo Naya’ group. James who hails from New Amsterdam spent most of his life in the world of culture. Speaking at the book launch he stated that he wanted to become a doctor. “I was ‘bright’ and had the aspiration of accomplishing my ambition, but due to some indiscretion on my part I never had the opportunity to fulfill my dreams.” He said that he was thrown out of school because he was a ring leader and had half of the boys following him to skulk and go swimming. He
also stated that he wanted to become a teacher, but had some difficulties with what was being taught. He did not want to teach what the British taught him. “I wanted to teach African tradition, African History, Culture and things like that. I wanted to know more about myself and my culture. I wanted to teach culture, but things did not work out.” During the ceremony which was also attended by well wishers and friends, James, who suffered a stroke, was referred to as a teacher and an inspiration for young minds in the community. Ras Leon Saul, himself a New Amsterdamer, described James as an inspiration. “In my young days Ivelaw was a great sportsman. I have seen him develop into an opinion leader who has worked to develop New Amsterdam, which he did through his cultural exploits and sports and working with the youths.” Saul who also referred to James as his mentor, said that as the leader of the ‘Conga Nya’ group, James has invited him to play an active role in its upcoming programmes.
Ras Leon Saul (left) and Ivelaw James display the book Among them is the 250th anniversary on the Berbice Slave Uprising in 2013 and the launching of Conga Nya Internationally slated
for February2013. The ‘About the author’ page was written by
another longtime friend and pal of James, Simon Hazelwood, aka “Ropes’,
Hazelwood saw James as a leader, mentor and an inspiration to many. In an emotional little address, he castigated those who honoured “Black People” in Berbice for forgetting James. “Recently they honoured persons in New Amsterdam and no one remembered old boy Ivelaw.” He opined that for the number of good things James has done for this country; the amount of fame he has bestowed to this land, he has not been recognised. He called on the government and other civic-minded persons and organisations to play their part. “Talking Blues” contains 28 poems of different spectrums including youth, culture, religion, sports and Guyana and its independence. The ‘Congo Naya’ group is an NGO which was registered in 1988. It first came to prominence in 1984 at the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation Folk Festival. The goal of the organization is to contribute meaningfully to the economic, cultural and social development of its members and to Guyana as a whole.
Sugar workers receive pay increase - NAACIE not satisfied with one percent
The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has approved a five percent wage increase for piece-rated sugar workers, and a one percent wage increase for time-rated staffers. The increase follows the conclusion of negotiations between the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) and the sugar company retroactive of January 1, 2012. GAWU President Komal Chand said that a job evaluation was firstly conducted between the two parties prior to the wage increase. The evaluation, he said, was considered in comparison to other work places and a resolution was met. Chand noted that the increase came with the consideration of GuySuCo’s production target and the circumstances surrounding the organization’s position. The Union President said that the five percent increase which was designated to the piece-rate workers, made up of primarily field workers was larger than the time-rated workers - factory employees - based on the backdrop of an already existing 34% increase in wages. The union president stated that in July this year, negotiations commenced and
GAWU President Komal Chand the union was originally seeking a 10 percent increase. He however noted that after review of a document submitted by GuySuCo, it was noted that even with a revised production amount, the sugar company will still be at a loss. Twice he noted the production amount had been reduced. Sugar workers can also look forward to upgraded benefits. Chand said that in addition to the wage adjustments, workers can depend on concessions for the access of work equipment and other incentives. Field workers can also look forward to varying wage increase due to performance and production levels.
Workers from National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) have however expressed dissatisfaction over the one percent wage increase. It was reported that the union for primarily factory workers was in talks with GuySuCo, but those talks had halted and the sugar company introduced the one percent increase across the board. In a press release yesterday, GuySuCo, “Implored the Union and those employees who are currently on strike to allow better sense and judgment to prevail and to cause normalcy to be restored.” The sugar workers, GuySuCo said, are demanding an increase of 22% in the existing salary scales and a further 10% increase acrossthe-board. The sugar company however says that the increase would be at an estimated cost to the Corporation of $204M per year. GuySuCo said that, “The current demand for these exorbitant increases and strike action in support thereof could best be described as irrational and irresponsible, and a deliberate attempt to undermine the Corporation’s efforts to reach its sugar production target for the 2nd crop this year.”
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
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A more considerate attitude TO ILLEGAL ALIENS IS NEEDED
This past week, the authorities filed charges against a number of Brazilian women for overstaying in Guyana. In light of this development, we republish today, verbatim, a column of the subject of the charging of illegal aliens for overstaying their time in the country. A few months ago, a Venezuelan woman who said that she came to Guyana looking for her man was deported for overstaying in the country. Recently, another foreign national who was here, reportedly for studies, told the media that he was being ordered to return to his home country. Other nationals, including Brazilians, have in the past been charged and placed before the Courts, fined and ordered deported. The Courts have to dispense justice in accordance with the law and if persons are brought before the Courts, then those persons would have to face the consequences of any action of theirs that was unlawful. The problem is not with the Courts, but with the decision of the authorities to charge persons with not being legal in the country. Guyana should not be hauling persons before the courts for being illegal aliens without first asking those persons to voluntarily leave the country. A better way has to be found to deal with the problem of illegal aliens in Guyana without hauling them before the courts. This should not be happening, at least not in Guyana, whose nationals are known to be illegal all over the world. There are thousands of Guyanese who are illegal
aliens in Venezuela. The same situation exists in Brazil. Guyanese could have for many years actually taken a speedboat and travel to Suriname via a route which is known as the “backtrack route” without any documentation. There are tens of thousands of Guyanese living in Suriname, and there is no mass deportation. However, if those persons misbehave and run afoul of the laws of their host countries, they can be charged for whatever criminal activity they are engaged in and deported. The Guyana Government has been highly critical of the way Guyanese are treated at some regional airports. For years, there were criticisms over the manner in which immigration authorities in Barbados treated Guyanese. Recently, there was criticism of the treatment of Guyanese by the authorities in Trinidad. And whenever Guyanese have been rounded up and deported, there have been vociferous concerns expressed locally. Given the experience that Guyanese have had in other countries, the humiliation that they face and the fact that in almost every country in the region there may be illegal Guyanese, it is disconcerting to read that the authorities in Guyana are hauling persons before the courts for being in the country illegally, including for overstaying their time. Yes, Guyana, where each year thousands of persons apply for visas to go to countries for a “holistay”. They leave on a holiday but they stay, and do not return
Dem Boys Seh
Dem government people playing de con game Dem con people does play a game wheh dem does holler, “This I win, this you lose.” People does hear de chant and nuff of dem don’t understand wha de man saying. When de con man done wid he ‘This you win, this you lose” people does still put dem money. Brazzy and he kavakamites playing de same game but he change de tune. He does chant “This dem win and that de nation lose all de tax dollars.” He tell everybody a fancy story bout Fip, a man who had office in a garage. Fip collect he money and he gone. Now is de Marriott. Brazzy tell people how de government gun own de hotel de gamble place, de food house and de dancehall. Then he play de kak game. He put one advertisement in de Chronicle wha he know nobody does read. De ad seh how he giving away dem three things. He ask fuh expression of interest. In de same statement he seh he want operators. Dem boys want fuh know wha that mean. He got to explain if he want operator or he want investor. Dem boys know is two different thing but Brazzy telling de nation that dem is one and de same. Dem boys seh that de nation got to watch people like Brazzy and de Bees in dem mouth, dem nose and any place wha dem got that does mek noise like de thing under de cow tail. Dem scampish, kakish and is de wuss people in this country and deserve fuh deh in jail. Talk half and skin you eye pun dem kavakamites.
to Guyana. The immigration laws of any country must be complied with. But it is also the duty of the authorities to ensure that there is even compliance with the laws. Certain persons cannot be allowed to be illegal in Guyana while the unfortunate are picked up, thrown in dirty lock-ups, and later hauled before the courts where they are fined and ordered deported. When foreign nationals suffer these humiliations, they would not have pleasant memories of Guyana. They may probably never want to see these shores again, especially if they feel that
there are other aliens in Guyana who are not being picked up. And they will discourage their friends from coming here. This represents a negative image for the country. Instead of hauling undocumented and illegal aliens before our courts, they should be asked to leave voluntarily. If Guyana adopts a more humanistic approach to illegal aliens, then we will not have a bad name. In fact, the many persons who come here will want to ensure that their documentation is in order and will try to ensure this because they were shown understanding. If Guyana continues,
however, to pick up illegal aliens, throw them in the lockups and then haul them before the courts, then other countries may wish to do the same with our nationals. The result will be mass deportations of Guyanese. This will present a major social problem in Guyana, because the social services will not be able to cope with the influx; there will be no jobs for the tens of thousands who will be sent back - many of them will have no place to go, since they may have been overseas for a long time and have no ties here. It is therefore not in Guyana’s interest to be hauling persons before the
courts for being illegal in Guyana. It is also not good for the image of the country. A more considerate attitude should be shown, whereby persons who are illegal can be asked to apply for the necessary documentation, including permits to extend their stay, or be given a period of two weeks to leave voluntarily.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 07, 2012
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
The dialectic of looking up and down at the same time A visitor, Rahul Bhattacharya, came here and wrote a book titled “The Sly Company of People Who Care,” about what he observed in Guyana. Missing from Bhattacharya’s panorama (he is not an investigating scholar but a travel writer) is the paradox of resplendence sitting alongside squalor. It would have been interesting to read his description of this peculiar Guyanese dialectic.
Travel around this country and what you see will strain your neck. You have to keep looking towards the skies if you want to see the sudden emergence of resplendent construction. All over Guyana, expensive seven-storey buildings are going up. The manifestation is greater in Georgetown. The reality covers both private sector and private investment. The total cost is probably
unimaginable. This volume of money will need a super computer to calculate. One businessman bought a church and its land in downtown Georgetown for half a billion dollars and demolished the church. If someone gives you a guided tour of these structures, you probably will conclude that Guyana is a developed country. Of course private money that finances opulent buildings is
not as lamentable as public money that goes into ostentatious projects. We have an Olympic-size swimming pool (will tell you about the mashed-up donkey outside the pool last week and minutes after it was removed; I live a five-minute walk from this facility). We will be having a Marriott Hotel. There is going to be a spanking addition to the Timehri Airport. In Leonora (why here of all
places), there is going to be a modern athletic track and the list goes on. Your neck strain immediately vanishes to be replaced by angst when you look down. What you see is nihilism. This is a land of bestial, inhuman contrasts. If someone should come from another planet and visit Guyana, and you show them all these expensive “skyscrapers” going up, you tell them about Marriott, show them the new Ogle airport, go swimming with them in a certain ministerial pool in the Montrose area, take them shopping at the Regent/Camp Streets junction, then they are bound to see Guyana as the Paris of the CARICOM family. It is when you let them open their eyes on the ground, then Guyana becomes a best-selling horror novel. This contrast has no parallel in modern history. How can a country have the types of commercial banks we see in Georgetown, an Olympic-size swimming pool, ultra-modern shopping malls, but children are being educated in squalor at most public schools? Very few public schools throughout the territory of Guyana have functioning toilet facilities. I travelled to Berbice and Essequibo last week and I thought it was only Georgetown that was stink. Georgetown is indeed the dirtiest capital city in the world, but the mess dots the landscape of the other two counties. I saw filthy areas, districts and surroundings in both Berbice and Essequibo. I didn’t see any clean cemetery in those two counties. The rut, miasma, the stench of rotting civilization is not confined to Georgetown. It pervades the
Frederick Kissoon entire land of Guyana. Rats eat a corpse and the Stabroek News did a cartoon on it. I thought it was indeed an effective caricature of disappearing civilization in this country. But the cartoonist could have done a more devastating job if he had shown the art of looking up and down at the same time. While he painted the oversized rat eating the corpse, he could have shown some youths having fun in the elevator at Guyana’s latest shopping complex at Regent and Camp Streets. Children have no way of answering a call of nature at public schools; the country’s only university has been hit by Sandy long before Sandy touched down in New York last week; half of the row of lights on the East Coast Highway from Clive Lloyd Drive to the Russian Embassy went out of existence two years ago; most of the traffic signals died a year ago and plantains are going at $160 a pound. Against this misery of civilization in this territory, singer Chris Brown will collect over sixty million dollars of public money for performing for one hour. Do you know Colonel Gaddafi’s son did the same thing? One year he paid Lionel Richie a million American dollars for three songs. The next year, he gave Beyonce two million American for five songs. Do you know where this fool is at the moment? He is in jail, overthrown by the Arab Spring. It is doubtful he will see Richie or Beyonce in person again.
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Providence well construction attracts $174 million bid
Youth movement blasts tax breaks for Chris Brown show
Under the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) a single bid was opened yesterday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) for the supply and construction of potable water well at Providence, East Bank Demerara. With an engineers estimate of $107,443,715 the bid:
- Calls for better promotion of local artistes
The health sector also attracted a solitary bid for the supply of lab reagents.
In the agriculture sector, under the Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU) five bids were opened for the rehabilitation of drainage and irrigation systems in Canals Polder. And control structures and access roads -Phase 2. The engineer’s estimate is $90,268,057 and the bids were:
The Public Service Appellate Tribunal received bids for the procurement of works for revetment and fence works at its Brickdam location.
Bids were also submitted for the procurement of inventory commodities for the National Communications Network (NCN). The bids were divided into three lots.
The Guyana Power Light (GPL) received bids for the procurement of works for the reconfiguration of Cummings Park. With an estimate of $9,645,130 the bids were:
The Ministry of Home Affairs under the Citizens Security Programme received bids for the supply and delivery of IT equipment and accessories, IT management software and Anti Virus and electronic document management software for the Guyana Police Force. The bids were divided into four lots.
The Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM) has lashed out against the government for its readiness to use state resources and taxpayers’ money, in terms of providing tax breaks for the hosting of the planned Chris Brown mega concert in December. According to GYSM member, Malika Ramsey, the organisation would support and enjoy activities that can create a light atmosphere, but “one where the youth can focus on enjoyment and have safe fun for a chosen period; however this should not be done at Government’s own whims and fancies.” “Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony and his Government use the local youth artistes when it best suits their purpose. One must recall several of the PPP/ C campaign platforms. Why can’t these artistes be
promoted all year round? “Why must they constantly be shoved aside for already established, developed and thriving international artistes who are brought here annually?” The GYSM noted that tax breaks are often given for these international artistes to visit Guyana. “During the 29th Sitting of the 10th Parliament on October 22, APNU Shadow Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament, Carl Greenidge, asked for a report on government’s financial involvement with the upcoming December 2012 International Concert to be hosted here on December 26. “It is clear from Minister Irfaan Ali’s response that his only focus is bringing and promoting international artistes here. In fact, the GYSM is extremely alarmed that the acting Tourism
Minister has convinced himself and is trying to convince the nation that such an international concert will aid in the development of the local tourism product. “The GYSM strongly believes that charity begins at home and we must promote home growth and development before Guyana can be even considered a major tourist destination.” The youth movement recommended that there should be a mega concert in Guyana with only young local artistes on stage, and a studio set up and funded by Government that would aid the growth and development of local artistes. “The copyright laws must be enforced to protect local artistes from having to take up residence in countries like Jamaica or Barbados to develop their skills,” the GYSM concluded.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Former Post Office employee admitted to local Bar Second Round commences today GBTI Impromptu Speech Competition
Six schools have progressed into the second round of the GBTI Impromptu Speech r i v a l r y, which commences today. Round two rivalries will involve Queen’s College, M a e ’s S e c o n d a r y, St . Stanislaus College, St. Rose’s High, St. Joseph High and Annandale Secondary. The competition began on October 23 with 22 schools. On October 30, Covent Garden Secondary won against Christ Church Secondary School with 419 points. The Best Speaker was Saleema Hakh, who presented on the topic “How I would promote
Saif Panday, of St. Rose’s High School, was the Best Speaker in the clash against Diamond Secondary.
tourism in Guyana”. The following day, St. Stanislaus College won with 642 points against Cummings Lodge Secondary who gained 515 points. The best speaker was Daryll Goodchild who presented on the topic “Tattoos and body piercing should be prohibited”. On November 1, St. Rose’s High won with 641 points against Diamond S e c o n d a r y. T h e b e s t speaker was Saif Panday who presented on the topic “If I want to impress someone I would tell them about my…” The competition originated from the GBTI Region Three branch in 2007. It has now grown into a national contest.
Canadian died of wound... (From page 2) be well on the road to recovery. Further, many had expressed the view that the Guyana Police Force should have paid a little more attention to the man. This publication was told that while a police rank was assigned to guard the
Canadian, security was described as lax. In an interview, Le Blanc had said he was holidaying in Guyana and “was in the wrong place at the wrong time”. He had told this publication that he arrived in Guyana on October 13 and was expected to leave three
days later. On October 15, last, Ricardo Rodrigues was killed when gunmen open fired on him while he was sitting at the Pit Stop Bar which is located at the GMR&SC compound, Albert Street. Three other people, including Le Blanc, were shot.
Paula Jones-Nicholson, flanked by Justice William Ramlal (left) and Senior Counsel Richard Fields Paula Jones-Nicholson was recently admitted to the local bar after her petition was presented by Senior Counsel Richard Fields, before Justice William Ramlal in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Demerara. Ms. Jones-Nicholson hails from the ancient county of Berbice where she earned her primary and secondary education in New Amsterdam, and earned several passes at CXC and GCE. She commenced her work career with Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) in the Mail Operations Department and continued in the Finance Department as an Accounts Clerk. Jones-Nicholson earned rapid promotions which culminated with her attaining the position of Finance
Manager. During this time, she pursued studies at various academic institutions where she earned the Foundation Certificate in Accountancy from the Government Technical Institute and subsequently graduated with honours, having earned a Bachelor of Social Science Degree and a Diploma from University of Guyana. Miss Jones-Nicholson also functioned at higher levels in the Corporation including positions as Director of Finance, Deputy Postmaster-General and Postmaster-General. She was described as someone who over the years developed a disgust for injustice, and one who has always felt that the inalienable rights of all
individuals must always be preserved. Thus this passion for justice was seen as the catalyst for her pursuing a career in law. She commenced her legal studies in 2007 and obtained a Bachelor of Laws Degree in 2010 where she graduated with honours. Her tenure at the Post Office ended in 2010 as she pursued studies at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago, where she obtained the Legal Education Certificate. She made a commitment to the Court at her admission that she would serve the people of Guyana with dignity and pride as she upholds the high standards of the profession, and promised that her practice would be characterized by honesty and integrity.
FITUG to elect new executive today The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) is set to elect a new executive today during its biennial 4th Delegates’ Conference. The event, which will be addressed by President Donald Ramotar, will also see a review of the work of the Federation since its last Conference in 2010. According to FITUG, delegates are to be charged with setting goals and objectives for the organization until its next conference in 2014, elect members of the General Council, as well as an Executive Committee. Ashton Chase, Attorney-at-Law and Senior Counsel, will deliver the charge to delegates to conclude the d a y ’s conference. The forum, under the theme “Workers Right to Secure Food and a Clean Environment”, will be held at the Regency Suites,
Georgetown. The conference is the highest decision-making forum of the Federation. Some 80 delegates have been registered to attend the important conference from FITUG’s affiliates - the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union
(GAWU), the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), the Guyana Labour Union (GLU), and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU). Holding the Presidency of FITUG is GLU’s Carvil Duncan.
Accused chainsnatcher refused bail Kevin Baird also known as Sherwin Baird of Linden was yesterday remanded to prison on a robbery charge. Baird faced Magistrate Leron Daley and denied the allegation that on November 5 at Georgetown, he robbed Shukmandi Shursingh of a gold band valued at $56,000. Reports are that the victim was shopping in the city when the defendant came up to her, snatched her band and sped off with it. Prosecutor Denise Booker asked that the court refuse bail based on the prevalence and nature of the offence. She also emphasised that persons should be able to walk on the streets of the city with their belongings. Baird was refused bail and will return to court on Friday, November 9.
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
Kellawan Lall tipped as government’s information chief Former Local G o v e r n m e n t M i n i s t e r, Kellawan Lall, is tipped to coordinate the state media, and as a consequence will oversee the National Communications Network (NCN) and Government Information Agency (GINA), officials have said. Lall, who was until recently G u y a n a ’s Ambassador to Brazil, is a seasoned campaigner for t h e r u l i n g P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/Civic. He was cleared to be this c o u n t r y ’s e n v o y t o t h e neighbouring country after months of delay in 2 0 11 . According to officials, Lall will head up a special unit that has been created at the Office
Kellawan Lall of the President to manage g o v e r n m e n t ’s public relations. In addition to GINA and NCN, it is likely Lall to oversee the Guyana Chronicle and the
reformation of the image of the ruling party. There have been increasing tensions between government and the private media amidst allegations of corruption. L a s t N o v e m b e r, t h e ruling party performed its worst in the General and Regional Elections, after nearly two decades at the helm of the country. Lall once served as Political Advisor to the President and was asked to join the Cabinet as Local Government Minister after the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) won the elections again in 2006. M e r l i n U d h o ’s , t h e former Ambassador to Suriname, has already been named to replace Lall in Brazil.
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East Bank Rice Depot targeted again by gunmen For the second time in two weeks gunmen have targeted the East Bank Rice Depot making good their escape with cash. According to reports, at around 14:20 hours, two gunmen entered the Soesdyke business place, held an employee at gunpoint, and forced her to hand over cash. This publication was told that the two men pretended to be customers. “I was sitting chatting with one of the porters and he get up and went to the back and me alone left at the desk and then two boys come in and ask for broiler starter and I didn’t pay them no mind because I recognize them,” an
employee told this publication. The female employee, who asked not to be identified, said one of the men then pulled out a gun and ordered that she hand over all the money. “I tell them we ain’t got no money and then one turn and tell the other one leh we shoot she and I go to run, but he scramble me back by my hair and I open the drawer and give them all the money.” The employee said that the men then heard a noise from the back of the building and decided to flee. “Like somebody de coming to the front and after they hear the noise they start leaving, but one
go to pull me, and he say come gimme a kiss and I pull away and they run away.” This publication was told that the men only made off with about $20,000. On October 24, last, the very business place was attacked and a labrourer beaten severely by two gunmen. Mark Butler, 44, of Swan Turn, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, suffered injuries to his head and other parts of his body. Reports are that during that attack, the two gunmen stormed the premises held the cashier at gunpoint and physically assaulted the worker before escaping with more than half a million dollars.
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Wednesday November 07, 2012
Wednesday November 07, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): When a friend or loved one gets in a bind, it is only natural that your will feel protective of them and want to defend them. But before you leap in front of them and do your best impression of a mother bear protecting her cubs, stop and wait for them to ask you to help them. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Try to avoid having any virtual or pseudo experiences today -- you need to live in the here and now, rooted in reality. This means that if you are going shopping, stop at the bank first. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Family ties can be comforting, but sometimes (like right now), they can be a bit uncomfortable. If you are having any difficulties with family members, separate yourself from the rest of the clan right now. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Someone else's lack of good judgment could turn your perfectly good day into a pretty craptastic one. But luckily, you have some amazing friends in your corner, and they can lift you out of any blue mood quickly (and cutely). ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Take a look at the money you're taking in -- and of course, the money you are putting out. When you take the time you need to review your budget today, you will save yourself quite a few headaches down the line. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): If you have any spare time today (and the stars say you should), fill it with activities that will make your environment a better place to be. Tidy up around the house, clean out your cubicle, or give your car a good washing.
********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): If you want to be more self-sufficient right now, you just need to be braver -- especially socially-speaking. Instead of waiting for friends to introduce you to new people, why not just walk up to the interesting-looking stranger and start making small talk? ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): Unbeknownst to you (until now, of course), you are in possession of some information that should be shared with someone else. They think you are keeping this secret -- and keeping them out of the loop -- on purpose, which is definitely not the case. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): It might feel like one of the people who has authority over you is trying to make your life difficult right now, but they aren't. In reality, this person is merely trying to get you to understand the power and abilities you have. **************** CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): Someone's walls will start coming down today -and you are a big part of the reason. Your open mind and giving nature has encouraged this shy child to be more vulnerable, and they are going to share some wonderful news with you. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): Are you being careful enough about where you put your money -- and your trust? Now is not the time to go off into paranoiaville, but you should be very careful in any business deals you are working on right now. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20):Today, the act of helping others selflessly will help you get rid of a lot of guilty feelings that your recent prosperity has given you.
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
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T&T economy declines due to major contraction in energy sector P O RT- O F - S PA I N , Trinidad - CMC - The Trinidad and Tobago economy declined “sharper than anticipated” during the second quarter of 2012, but newly appointed Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran said there were “some underlying signs of incipient recovery” during the second half of the year. Rambarran told reporters that the energy sector experienced a “substantial contraction” of 7.3 per cent and the non-energy sector contracted by 0.7 per cent during the first quarter of the year. The recently appointed Central Bank governor said that in order for the economy to grow by one per cent in 2012, there would need to be growth of just under two per cent in the non-energy sector in the second half of the year and a contraction of one per cent in the energy sector. “That combination will lead to overall growth on one per cent for 2012,” he told reporters, noting “available data that we have for the actually suggest that there is likely to be a return to growth in the third quarter”. According to the Central
Jwala Rambarran Bank’s October Monetary Policy Report the economy contracted by 3.6 percent as at June, 2012, on a year-toyear basis. The figures show that the local economy has declined in the last five quarters out of six, with the energy sector declining by 7.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2012, 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year and 7.6 per cent in the last quarter of 2011. But Rambaran said that based on the government’s fiscal stance of stimulating the economy, the Central Bank was projecting a one per cent rate of growth in calendar 2012, “possibly rising to 2.5 per cent next year”.
But he acknowledged that the short-term forecasts of growth in the second half of 2012 and into 2013 were based on three fundamental assumptions: That the energy companies would fully complete their maintenance programmes; that the industrial relations climate would return to some semblance of stability and that the Government must implement its public sector investment programme in a timely and efficient manner. Rambarran agreed with figures released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) figures that unemployment stood at 4.2 percent in the last quarter of 2011. But he said that while many people were looking for employment, they did not want tow ork and called for a fundamental attitude shift on the question of temporary state work programmes. “We want work, but we don’t want to work, and I think there is fundamentally an attitudinal shift that is required in this country at all levels. “We have an unemployment rate that has not moved significantly
upward in the last three years. It is a contradiction. But when you start to go behind the numbers, much of that story could actually He cited as an example the “Colour Me Orange’ programme of the coalition People’s Partnership government and several programmes in the agriculture sector which provide a level of stability within the labour market.
“The key issue is really, as we move forward, whether we can continue to make use of these short-term work programmes to keep the unemployment rate at a fairly steady level. We could all understand the purpose of the programmes in terms of the social side, but at some point in time we are going to have to come to terms with the balance that is required
as an economy.” “You also have issues where employers are saying that they cannot find workers. So you have vacancies existing while certain nonenergy sectors are contracting, or showing low growth.” The data shows that inflation has slowed, even though headline inflation increased last month.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC - Trinidad and Tobago has recorded an increase in the number of people unemployed during the first three months of the year, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). It said that the total number of people unemployed during the first quarter of this year was 33,800, “a significant increase of 30.5 per cent over the previous quarter when the total number of persons unemployed was 25,900”. CSO said that even though the total labour force increased 0.3 per cent over the period, the significant
increase in the numbers unemployed resulted in an increase in the unemployment rate in the 1first quarter of 2012 of 5.4 per cent. “In comparison, the unemployment rate for the previous quarter was 4.2 per cent,” it said, adding that an analysis of the labour force indicators by industry reveal that the total numbers unemployed in the construction industry increased from 8,200 for the fourth quarter, 2011 to 12,200 for the first quarter, 2012 with the associated unemployment rate increasing from eight to 11.8 per cent over this
same period. CSO said that another industrial group which incurred a significant increase in the total number of unemployed, was the Community, Social and Personal Services industry where the the figure rose from 6,700 to 9,400. CSO said that the total labour force for the first quarter of this year stood at 623,500, as compared with 621,900 for the fourth quarter of 2011. It said that the number of women employed during the period increased by 2.5 per cent totalling 260, 900, while the number of males employed fell by 1.3 per cent to 362,600.
Unemployed figures increase in Trinidad and Tobago
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Regional rum producers may look Spain seeking Caribbean support for seat on UN Security Council to WTO to solve dispute with US BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – CMC Caribbean rum producing countries may have to approach the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in its ongoing dispute with the United State over the provision of subsidies to rum producers in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (USVI). “We find that extremely difficult to compete (with) and it is a challenge at this point in time and we are appealing, not just the Barbados rum industry, but the CARIFORUM (Caribbean Forum) rum industry in general, to our governments to take this issue very seriously,” said Chairman of the Barbados Rum Committee, Frank Ward. He said the discussions with Washington should be with a “view to resolving what we feel is an iniquitous and pernicious use of subsidies for multinational spirit companies and their rum production”. The West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) says that while it
has no dispute with rum producers in the US it is nonetheless warning that subsidies given to US-based producers could damage Caribbean economies. WIRSPA said that it has been brought to its attention of a possible trade dispute at WTO between CARIFORUM countries and the US over the compatibility of subsidies given to multinational spirits companies producing rum in the USVI and Puerto Rico under the US cover-over programme. But WIRSPA, which describes itself as “the regional trade association for rum producers in the CARIFORUM group” said
that the dispute is between the governments of these independent Caribbean countries and the US and not between rum producers. Ward told reporters that the subsidies for rum industries in the US territories were severely impacting Barbados’ own industry’s ability to thrive and survive. He warned that if the situation is not dealt with immediately it could result in the demise of the rum industry not just in Barbados, but throughout the Caribbean. “We have had so far three legal opinions of the legality at the WTO of these subsidies which are being given by US territories and all of them stated that there is a case to be made against the subsidies, and one of the opinions came from the advisory centre on WTO law which is a body set up to advise individual countries on issues related to WTO laws. “So we have a clear case there. We now need the political will to take it forward and time is not on the side of the industry,” Ward said.
ROSEAU, Dominica – CMC - Spain is seeking Caribbean support for its bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The election for the UN Security Council takes place in 2015 and Spain’s Ambassador to Dominica, Celsa Nuno, said Madrid would use the position to take up some of the issues of the Caribbean. “Spain has a very strong wish to serve as a non permanent member in the United Nations Security Council in the elections for the period 2015 to 2016. “We believe that we can be good advocates for issues that are of interest to Spain, the European Union and to the Caribbean. I am not talking about bilateral issues, I am talking about global issues where we see things in very familiar ways. She told the state-owned DBS radio that these would include peace and security, sustainable development and disarmament. “All those issues including climate change, the vulnerability of all our
countries…I believe that if Spain can be a very good strong person, if you could call it like that for many concerns that are our interest and your interest as well, the Caribbean. “So to have the votes of the CARICOM countries for that election will be something that Spain would be appreciated,” the diplomat said. Earlier this month, India said the UN Security Council in its present structure is “completely out of tune” with global realities and serves
“no one’s purpose”, asserting that an expansion in the 15-member body should have permanent representation from Asia, Africa and Latin America. India, which assumed this month’s presidency of the Security Council ahead of the expiry of its two-year term as a non-permanent member on December 31, said the UN body has remained “polarised and politically divided” on key issues and this strengthens the need for its reform.
Slight economic growth for St. Vincent and the Grenadines WASHINGTON – CMC The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says economic activity suggests that slow recovery may be underway in St. Vincent and the Grenadines which reported a less than one per cent increase in economic growth last year. An IMF delegation recently ended a visit to Kingstown, and according to the delegation’s leader, Nita Thacker, the local economy
is expected to grow at a rate below one per cent this year. “Growth is expected to downside, especially if the recovery in advanced economies stalls. On a positive note, the decline in commodity prices, particularly fuel, has reduced pressure on inflation and on the balance of payments,” she said. The IMF said that the government’s fiscal position is expected to improve in 2012.
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Jamaica wants new ideas to deal Minister slams T&T Hindus with climate change challenges for ‘rum and chutney’ culture JIS J a m a i c a ’s Agriculture and Fisheries M i n i s t e r, H o n . R o g e r Clarke, says that substantial new resources, new ideas and new ways of doing business are needed to address the challenges of climate change. The Minister told delegates at the opening session of a two-day Caribbean AgroMeteorological Initiative (CAMI) conference, at the Knutsford Hotel in Kingston Monday, which his Ministry promotes and supports “climate-smart agriculture,” as one way of addressing the challenge. M r. C l a r k e d e f i n e d c l i m a t e - s m a r t agriculture as “agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience, reduces/removes greenhouse gases, while enhancing the achievement of national food security and development goals.” “ We h a v e c r e a t e d a country concept document for the Climate Change Adaptation Fund, to
Roger Clarke achieve the goal of climate-smart agriculture by enhancing the resilience of the agricultural sector by improving water and land management in select communities,” the Minister said. He outlined several initiatives that the Ministry will be pursuing under the project, one of which is to establish a micro-dam in northern Manchester. The Minister also stated that the project will establish 50 rainwater harvesting and 60 small scale gravity
irrigation systems in selected communities in the parishes of Tr e l a w n y, St. Mary, St. Ann, St. Catherine, St. Thomas and Clarendon. Other initiatives include the establishment and rehabilitation of the soil conservation and land husbandry infrastructures in northern Clarendon; building the capacity of vulnerable farming communities for better land and water management by establishing climate-smart farmer field school lots in selected communities; training extension staff and farmers in climatesmart agricultural techniques and proper soil and water conservation methods; and conducting workshops and field days for farmer training in water and land management. Mr. Clarke congratulated organisers of the conference, which will be held under the theme: ‘Breaking New Ground in the Caribbean: Weather and Climate Serving Agriculture’.
Trinidad Guardian Local Government Minister Dr Suruj Rambachan says he is worried about the i n d i ff e r e n c e o f T & T ’s Hindu population when it comes to national events and the role they play in shaping the direction of the c o u n t r y. He was addressing the opening of Divali Nagar 2012 celebrations in Chaguanas on Sunday night. “I am worried about the chutney culture and the rum culture which has seeped into the psyche of our peoples, to a point where I feel that it will be irreversible in the future,” Rambachan said. The MP for Tabaquite said he was also concerned about the state of parenting and the moral decline in society. Rambachan also called on the Hindu community to emulate the example of hard work set by the National Council of Indian Culture, which oversees the annual Divali Nagar.”There are too many Hindus in our country who are very good at complaining, criticising and pulling down but very rarely is there that humble soul who comes along and quietly but surely makes the vision a
Dr Suruj Rambachan reality,” Rambachan said. Dr Deokienanan Sharma, president of the NCIC, said Divali Nagar had been emulated at the global level where similar celebrations hade taken place in the region and North America. Sharma warned Divali Nagar visitors about dealing with stress, which he said “can bring out the devil” at times. “Every time we breathe life into the evil one by getting angry or jealous, by giving the other a piece of our mind, by refusing to lend a helping hand to someone in distress, by giving bad advice, by leading some innocent one down the wrong path we contribute to the darkness of mankind,” he said.
Sharma said one of the worst behaviours that had overtaken the nation was road rage, which had led to numerous accidents and deaths. Delivering the feature address on Sunday, Swami Prakashananda said every nation, in its infancy, must reflect on its resources and draw out its spirituality in the building of its cultural, social and political machinery. He said Hinduism, practised in its proper form, had lent to the spiritual development of T&T and promoted a world view that it was the only existing religion that was allembracing and all-inclusive. Opposition PNM officials came out in force to attend the opening of Divali Nagar on Sunday. Clad in traditional East Indian wear, the entourage was led by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and included Paula Gopee-Scoon, Penelope Beckles, Faris Al-Rawi, Franklin Khan and Terrence Deyalsingh. In a brief interview Rowley told the T&T Guardian: “I have been here before. It’s a nice programme.” Rowley, however, was not listed on the programme to address the gathering.
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Intrigue swirls around Russia defense chief’s fall MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin fired his powerful defense chief over a corruption scandal yesterday, but a heady mix of sex, power struggles and military vendettas dominated talk in Russia about what was really behind the downfall of the man who has overseen the nation’s most radical defense reform in decades. The dismissal of Anatoly Serdyukov was a surprise because the burly politician was widely regarded as having the president’s blessing for a military modernization that has won the enmity of generals and arms makers with connections to members of Putin’s inner circle. Adding intrigue was the fact that Serdyukov is married to the daughter one of Putin’s close allies, a former prime minister who wields enormous influence as chairman of state-run natural gas giant Gazprom. Media reports suggest that Serdyukov’s alleged philandering angered Viktor Zubkov and may have been a factor in the sacking.
But most experts see a behind-the-scenes power struggle at the root of Putin’s decision. Serdyukov has masterminded a campaign to drastically cut the ranks of officers and overhaul an antiquated military structure to create a leaner, meaner force that might restore Russia’s faded military glory. In particular, he has aggressively demanded higher quality and cheaper prices from the military industry — ruffling powerful business interests. That is seen as having set off an internal struggle in which Kremlin allies of leading arms makers have conspired to bring Serdyukov down. “He angered the leaders of defense industries, refusing to sign new contracts until they make their prices fully transparent,” said Alexander Golts, an independent Moscow-based military expert. “And he told them that the military will buy the weapons it needs, not the weapons they want to sell.” Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center,
told The Associated Press that Serdyukov’s moves to “replace the very foundation of the Russian military system” won him powerful enemies. “A lot of entrenched interests benefited from that system,” Trenin said. Putin made the announcement in a meeting with Moscow regional governor Sergei Shoigu, whom he appointed as the new minister. Some observers predict that Shoigu may take a less radical approach to military reform. While giving few details, the president linked the move to a probe announced by the country’s top investigative agency last month into the sale of military assets, including real estate. The Investigative Committee says the state suffered damages of 3 billion rubles ($95 million) in just a few cases reviewed. The corruption case first surfaced last month and involves Oboronservice, a state-controlled company whose activities include servicing military aircraft and arms and building military
facilities. In the course of the probe, investigators carried out an early morning search of the apartment of Yevgeniya Vasilyeva, a senior Oboronservice official who was once a close aide of Serdyukov in the Defense Ministry. Serdyukov reportedly was alone at the apartment with Vasilyeva when police turned up — fueling rumors of an affair. “The scandal behind the scandal is a personal scandal that has been rumored in Mr. Serdyukov’s family,” Trenin said. Serdyukov, a former furniture salesman, entered public service as a tax official and quickly rose through the ranks to become head of the Russian tax service before being appointed defense minister in 2007. Russian media have speculated that he owed his meteoric rise to marrying Zubkov’s daughter. Whatever the origins of Serdyukov’s success, it’s clear that he made a profound impact on Russia as its military chief.
Serdyukov’s reform led to the dismissal of 200,000 officers, disbanded nine out of 10 military units and turned over once untouchable military assets to civilian hands. “Serdyukov’s reform marked a break with the Russian military culture,” said Golts. “Russian military officers simply can’t imagine a different military model.” Under Serdyukov, the military purchased amphibious assault vessels from France, bought Israeli drones, Italian armored vehicles and other foreign weapons in an unprecedented slap in the face of the Russian military industrial complex. “He has made powerful foes by ending purchases of obsolete weapons,” said Igor Korotchenko, a retired colonel of Russia’s military general staff who is now editor of National Defense magazine. He said that a battle for the distribution of 20 trillion rubles ($635 billion) that the Kremlin plans to spend on buying new weapons through 2020 was likely a key reason behind Serdyukov’s firing.
Speculation about Serdyukov’s possible downfall has floated around for years, but he had received Putin’s staunch backing until now. Putin authorized and publicly praised Serdyukov’s reforms, and some observers expect that they will continue, although perhaps at a slower pace, under his successor. “The continuation of the military reform is inevitable,” Korotchenko said. “Radical changes that have been made in the command system and the structure of the military can’t be reversed.” But others warned that Shoigu, who had served as the nation’s Emergency Situations minister for two decades before being appointed regional governor half a year ago, would likely face strong pressure from the top brass to take a less radical approach to military reform. “The new boss will have to take a new approach differing from that of his predecessor,” said Golts, “and that would create a good opportunity for those who want to stop this reform.”
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Evidence points to police London finance firms to axe manipulation in South Africa 13,000 jobs in 2013 - study JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police may have altered evidence and planted weapons after they shot dead 34 striking miners near Lonmin’s Marikana mines in August, according to photographic evidence presented at a commission of inquiry into the killings. Photographs taken by police the night after the shootings show more weapons by the dead bodies than there were in photographs taken immediately after the violence on August 16. Thousands of miners had gathered at hills in Marikana about 94 kilometers (58 miles) northwest of Johannesburg where 34 miners were shot dead by police and 78 wounded in the worst state violence since the end of apartheid in 1994. South Africa is conducting a commission of inquiry to look into the parties responsible for 46 deaths, including two policemen and two security guards, during nearly six weeks of strikes at the Lonmin Marikana mines. Video evidence shown Monday also indicated that some of the slain miners may have been handcuffed. National police commissioner Riah Phiyega said that the commission has launched an investigation into the discrepancies. She said she was presented with evidence that may have suggested one of the crime scenes had been tampered with nearly two weeks ago. Human rights lawyer George Bizos said the evidence presented at the inquiry clearly indicates an attempt was made to alter the scene. “The evidence clearly showed there is at least a strong prima facie case that there has been an attempt to
defeat the ends of justice,” he said. Bizos, who is representing the Legal Resources Centre and Bench Marks Foundation during the inquiry, called on senior police officers in charge of the scene to present evidence. Crime scene expert Capt. Apollo Mohlaki, who took the night photographs, was questioned during the inquiry Monday. He admitted his photographs showed more weapons around the bodies than those taken earlier, according to the South Africa Press Association. In one set of photos, a man’s mangled dead body lies alone in the daylight, and in a picture taken by electric light after dark, there is a panga (machete) under the man’s hand. Mohlaki said he saw the weapon under the man’s arm in the photograph he took, but when looking at the day photograph of the same body he said of the weapon: “It is not appearing, I don’t see it.” Dali Mpofu, the attorney for the Lonmin miners, entered a video as evidence that showed miners that seemed to be handcuffed. When asked if he saw if any of the dead miners’ hands had been bound, Mohlaki said he had not. “If I am looking at the video there is a person, handcuffed possibly, but on the day I did not observe that,” Mohlaki said. The representative for the police, Ishmael Semenya, had suggested the week before that the integrity of the crime scene could have been compromised by the presence of paramedics, according to SAPA. “We will hear evidence that paramedics asked that weapons be removed so they could do their work,” said Semenya.
On Tuesday, the commission saw photographs of the security guards’ bodies, who were among those killed before the Aug. 16 shootings. The photographs showed one of the guards with his tongue cut out while the legs of the other security official were visible in the charred remains of a security vehicle torched by the protesters, according to SAPA. Another photograph showed a group of marchers fleeing with a shotgun stolen from the security guards, it said. The inquiry began last month and is expected to continue for four months, investigating the roles played by police, miners, unions and Lonmin in the August deaths. Strikes at Lonmin spread to other mining sectors last month, and a deal reached with Lonmin miners that saw workers getting a pay increase of up to 22 percent, has workers at other mines demanding similar deals. Gold Fields said yesterday that thousands of employees returned to work at the company’s South Africa KDC East mine ending a 23-day strike. All three of its mines in South Africa are now back in production, it said. Gold Fields, which is one of the world’s top producers of gold, had dismissed 8,100 employees in October for participating in illegal strikes, however it says a deal reached with the National Union of Mineworkers saw a vast majority of those workers reinstated. The NUM said yesterday that the 12,000 miners fired from platinum mining company Anglo American Platinum in Rustenburg for staging illegal strikes since September had still not returned to work, and negotiations were underway.
LONDON (Reuters) London’s financial sector will lay off 13,000 staff in 2013, cutting employment in a key UK economic sector to a 20year low, as job vacancies also drop in Europe and even Asia, studies showed. Financial firms in Europe’s biggest financial centre have laid off more than 100,000 employees since a market peak in 2007, driven by four years of crisis that have brought a wholesale reassessment of banks’ role and business models. Weak deal-making will drag London job levels in 2014 to their lowest since the early 1990s, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicted yesterday The Centre previously saw banks and other financial firms adding around 6,000 jobs next year but now expected a collapse in many business areas during 2012 and little chance of a big rise in activity next year.
“The models indicate at best stabilisation during 2013/ 14 and a gentle rise thereafter,” CEBR said in its statement. The financial sector accounts for just over 10 percent of the UK economy, more than construction or manufacturing, and is seen by most analysts as a key driver of the long-running economic boom that ended with the 2008 crisis. Worries about the health of the euro zone kept equities trading volumes weak in 2012, hurting many London stockbrokers, while mergers and acquisitions in the UK have also slowed. This has hit smaller firms as well as international banks with big bases in London, with Germany’s Deutsche Bank among those cutting jobs in 2012. Switzerland’s UBS is set to shed a further 10,000 staff in the next few years, with London to be hit hard. Tougher regulations on capital are also forcing more
investment banks to shrink and focus on different businesses. UBS is exiting large parts of its fixed income unit, which uses up more capital than areas such as equities. Vacancies at financial firms are also dropping fast in other parts of Europe and even Asia, where hiring was holding up better a few years ago, another survey showed. In the UK, job opportunities in finance were down 24 percent in the third quarter of 2012 compared with a year ago, a report from recruitment website eFinancialCareers said, while in the rest of Europe they fell 28 percent. Australia posted the steepest decline in that period, with vacancies falling 34 percent. In the UK, the only bright spot in finance sector employment was in IT, where vacancies rose slightly even as banks cut back on some areas if technology, eFinancialCareers said.
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Britain floats safe exit for Syria’s Assad JEDDAH/AMMAN (Reuters) - Britain floated the notion yesterday of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad leaving power with immunity from prosecution while the opposition said at least 100 more people were killed in the country’s 19-month revolt. “Anything, anything, to get that man out of the country and to have a safe transition in Syria,” British Prime Minister David Cameron told Al Arabiya news network in Abu Dhabi before flying to Saudi Arabia. Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned that Syria, where some 32,000 people have died in the revolt against Assad, could end up a collapsed state like Somalia, prey to warlords and militias. More than 100 people were killed across the country on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Among them was the brother of Syria’s parliament speaker, assassinated by gunmen in Damascus, state television said. He was the latest victim in a deadly campaign against perceived
Assad supporters and their families. Air strikes killed 17 people, including women and children, in the Damascus suburb of Kfar Batna, according to the Syrian Observatory, an opposition watchdog based in Britain. Video footage of the raid’s aftermath, which could not be verified, showed a toddler with a severed head and the torso of a young man, his head and limbs gathered near him by rescuers. Insurgents killed 12 soldiers and wounded 20 in an attack on a convoy of offroad vehicles in the northern province of Idlib. Air strikes and artillery barrages unleashed by the Syrian military in the last few weeks have devastated whole districts of the capital, as well as parts of towns and cities elsewhere. Yet, for all their firepower, Assad’s forces seem no closer to crushing their lightly armed opponents, who in turn have so far proved unable to topple the Syrian leader. “Of course I would favor
him facing the full force of international law and justice for what he’s done,” Cameron said of Assad. “I am certainly not offering him an exit plan to Britain but if he wants to leave he could leave, that could be arranged.” It was unclear if Cameron had spoken to other U.N. Security Council members about the idea - which could involve offering Assad immunity from prosecution if he accepted asylum in a third country. Nor was it clear what nation would take him. The U.N. human rights office has said Syrian officials suspected of committing or ordering crimes against humanity should face prosecution at the International Criminal Court. U.N. investigators have been gathering evidence of atrocities committed by rebels as well as by Assad loyalists. Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, told the London-based al-Hayat newspaper he did not expect ethnic or sectarian partition there. “What I am afraid of is worse ... the collapse of the state and that Syria turns into
a new Somalia.” At the United Nations, diplomats cited a senior U.N. official as telling the Security Council that Brahimi had urged Russia to be “more proactive” in resolving the Syrian crisis. In a closed-door session of the 15-nation council, U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman also said he had received credible reports of the use of cluster bombs by Syrian government forces, the envoys reported. Big powers and regional nations are split over Syria. Russia and China have
blocked three Westernbacked U.N. Security Council draft resolutions aimed at exerting pressure on Assad. Brahimi, speaking in Cairo on Sunday, called on the council to adopt a resolution based on an understanding brokered by his predecessor Kofi Annan in Geneva in June which called for the establishment of a transitional government in Syria. The Geneva Declaration did not specify what role, if any, Assad would play in a future Syria. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov urged the Syrian opposition to enter talks with the authorities to end the crisis and abandon a precondition that Assad step down. “The most important thing is stopping the violence immediately. If it is more important to the other side to change the Assad regime, then they want to continue the bloodbath in Syria,” Lavrov said in Amman after meeting former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab, who defected to Jordan in August.
Canada to allow civil nuclear trade with India NEW DELHI (Reuters) Canadian firms will be able to export uranium and nuclear reactors to India for the first time in almost four decades under an agreement between the two nations, their prime ministers said, but more work is needed to implement the deal. Once implemented, the agreement will end a ban on nuclear cooperation Canada imposed in 1976 after India secretly exploded its first nuclear bomb in 1974, commonly called the “Smiling Buddha”, using material from a Canadian-built reactor in India. “Being able to resolve these issues and move forward is, we believe, a really important economic opportunity for an important Canadian industry, part of the energy industry, that should pay dividends in terms of jobs and growth for Canadians down the road,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday on a visit to New Delhi. It was not clear how quickly the deal will take effect. The two countries signed a nuclear cooperation pact two years ago and on Tuesday said they had concluded negotiations on the “administrative arrangements”. However, a joint committee also announced yesterday that it would still have to iron out some issues before trade begins, and an official with the Indian delegation said the announcement about concluding negotiations was “kind of face-saving”. India aims to lift its nuclear capacity to 63,000 MW in the next 20 years by adding nearly 30 reactors. The country currently operates 20
India’s President Pranab Mukherjee (R) speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during their meeting at India’s presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi yesterday. REUTERS/India’s Presidential Palace/Handout mostly small reactors at six sites with a capacity of 4,780 MW, or 2 percent of its total power capacity, according to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. Canada’s ambassador to India, Stewart Beck, said on Monday his country wanted to be able to track all nuclear material, but that India felt it only needed to report to the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was not immediately clear what safeguards there would be to ensure that Canadian material did not get used again for making nuclear weapons, an issue that had been a key obstacle to the agreement. Harper said the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission had worked to “achieve all of our objectives in terms of non-proliferation”. Canada is in a race against Australia, its strategic ally but a commercial rival in the uranium business. Australia is also trying to nail down safeguards under which it too could sell uranium to India. Opening up the huge
Indian market would be a major benefit to Canada’s Cameco Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded uranium producer. Another potential beneficiary is Canadian engineering firm SNC Lavalin, which bought the government’s commercial nuclear division, which designed the Candu reactor that is in use in numerous countries. Harper also said Canada welcomed foreign investment, after the country temporarily blocked Malaysian state oil firm Petronas’ C$5.17 billion ($5.19 billion) bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources on October 20. Late on Friday, Canada extended to December 10 its review of a $15.1 billion bid made in July by China’s CNOOC Ltd for Canadian energy producer Nexen Inc. Reuters had reported on Wednesday that an extension was likely. “Those decisions have to be taken looking at the global evolving economy in which we operate,” Harper said.
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Letters to the Sports Editor .... Letters to the Sports Editor .... Letters to the Sports Editor ....
DCC ask questions of the GCA
Dear Editor, As you are aware, on the 28th October, 2012 the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) and Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) were engaged in the finals of the GCA/Queensway 50 Over match. The game was considered to be a competitive one to determine who will attain supremacy of the Georgetown clubs. GCC batted first and scored 345 for 8 from their 50 overs. DCC replied with 323 for 9 after 48 overs, at which point the two umpires stopped the game and declared the defending champions winners, giving them the second GCA Open Cup title. With that background then, Mr Editor, please permit me some space to raise a few issues that are of grave concern to the Demerara Cricket Club. First of all, the match started around 9:30am, but it is widely known in Guyana that the light begins to fade much earlier after September 30 in any given year and this fact should have been taken into consideration and allowed for the important finals to begin earlier. The ground was in good shape and the weather was forecasted to be good. There was a briefing the previous day by the GCA on what is expected of the teams and how they should conduct themselves during the game. In short, all was set for an enthralling encounter.
I am happy to note that both teams observed the rules and the match was played in spirit expected by its administrators. However, while most organisational aspects of the game were addressed, there was a key shortcoming that brought a cloud of uncertainty to a great match amongst rival teams. Everyone would agree that a match of this nature, played under the rules established by the International Cricket Council (ICC) would ensure a great game. However, in the end, I was shocked by the revelation that a system other than the wellestablished Duckworth Lewis Method was employed to declare the winners of the match. Mr Editor, you would be aware that in the modern game of cricket, it is the Duckworth/ Lewis method that is used to determine the winners of matches that are truncated for one reason or another. It is my considered view that, irrespective of the system used to determine the winner of a game which was not completed in accordance with the predetermined regulation, in this case each team batting a maximum of 50 overs, each team should have been provided with clear guidelines that would be applied in the event that changes had to be made because of weather, lighting or any other unforeseen circumstances. Such information would not only
Dear Editor, The November 4th 2012 issue of Kaieteur News page 11 article captioned Government Seeks to install Sports Minister as head of Cricket Administration states among other things that the East Coast Cricket Board did not attend the discussion. Mr. Editor please be advised that the meeting referred to was attended by the following: 1. Berbice Cricket Board 2. Georgetown Cricket Association 3. East Coast Cricket Board 4. Upper Demerara Cricket Association (Linden) 5. West Demerara Cricket League 6. Bissoondyal Singh’s faction of the Demerara Board and 7. The IMC reps – constituting approximately 75 % of the Cricket playing areas
in Guyana: It is therefore erroneous, malicious, and dishonest. We believe that this was done deliberately to mislead the general public especially the parliamentarians. The areas absent were: 1. Essequibo Cricket Board 2. The Injuncted GCB 3. Raj Singh’s (DCB) Their absence was not surprising since it reflected the under pinning attitude of this particular group to systematically derail any attempt to resolve the ongoing cricket impasse. Their intention is to play out time thereby forcing the Minister to take action in their favour; and not in the best interest of our cricket. We applaud the Minister for trying his best to bring these matters to a close in a fair and acceptable manner. The
be indicative of proper planning and ensuring fairness of opportunity, but also would have ensured that each team were aware of the required adjustments to be made to their game plan in the event of any of the circumstances arising. Providing this kind of information before hand is the usual and standard practice in all limited over matches and is a constant feature aimed at raising the b a r f o r c r i c k e t l o c a l l y, regionally and internationally. With the GCA executive boasting former national and test cricketers as well as some who have managed national teams, all of whom one would reasonably expect to be fully aware of these situations in their playing days, I am left to wonder how, collectively, they could miss this critical area which in effect allowed for one team to have an advantage over the other in the end. This oversight is highly unusual, questionable and totally unacceptable. If such an oversight had occurred in a competitive finals organised by another Association, Board or other level, I am sure the members of the GCA would have lamented and rightfully berated the organisers, especially if their charges were at the receiving end of such an unfortunate outcome of a game. Let me hasten to add that the DCC is fully aware that the on field concussion and subsequent injury suffered by Christopher Barnwell did
East Coast Cricket Board rejects Kaieteur News article
cricketing public in Guyana needs to have the matter concluded legally given the Chief Justice Ian C h a n g ’s r u l i n g a n d t h e desire for our cricketers to be given every opportunity to participate in tournaments. The attitude of a chosen few who continue to destabilise our cricket by embracing and encouraging elements on the WICB to victimize our cricketers, cricketing public and governme n t is tantamount to treason and must not be entertained any further. It is time to move on with or without their involvement. The East Coast Cricket Board stands fully committed to the process and therefore supports the Government of Guyana to legalize and professionalise the sport. East Coast Cricket Board
result in some valuable playing time being lost in the game. That fact notwithstanding, I expected the GCA and their appointed officials would have acted decisively at the time of the delay and made whatever adjustments were deemed necessary with the full knowledge and input of the competing teams. Sadly, Mr Editor, as the records now show, no such decisive action was taken. Additionally, we feel that a serious blunder has been made by the GCA regarding absence of a medical team or physiotherapist at the venue for this all important fixture. As the custodian of the game in the City, the GCA is obligated to ensure that these necessary corollaries are in place whenever there is cricket organised under its auspices, even more at a grand event like the one under discussion. My point is, more care for the safety and health should have been taken in the interest and welfare of the contesting players, who included some who have represented both
Guyana and the West Indies, especially given the fact that some GCA administrators are seeking higher office. Finally, Mr Editor, the Demerara Cricket Club is strongly of the view and wishes to underscore for future reference its belief, that the official decision to bring the match to a halt without first having established what rules would apply in such a case is most unfortunate and, to my mind, an affront to natural justice. As was already alluded the umpires should have consulted both captains on this situational delay to have a consensus on a timeline for completing the game. An agreement could have been reach as to the cut off time or an agreed reduced number of overs. As a club, we are extremely hurt and aggrieved at this and other recent situations, and while we unequivocally condemn the GCA/NBS fiasco, we also would like answers provided for the
following: a) DeSinco Under 13 Competition 2011 – the DCC won this tournament and to date have not received our prize money and medals as promised and promoted by the GCA. b) GCA/NBS Second Division 40 Over 2012 – the DCC are the runners-up in this competition, but our prize money and other individual incentives are be i n g withheld by the GCA. c) GCA/Queensway Competition 2012 – the DCC are runners- but the GCA unilaterally withdrawing and setting off the $15,000 fine in a matter that is still unsettled. Mr Editor, I thank you for this space and I leave it up to the Guyanese public to make their assessment of whether or not there seems to be a genuine attempt by the GCA to wilfully hurt the DCC and stymie the unwavering effort as we continue to develop our youths in the club and the country as a whole. Alfred Mentore President (DCC)
Oblivious athletics coach grossly out of sync and inaccurate Dear Editor, Professional journalism seems not to be the order of the day for some media houses as verification of letters before publication could serve to (either) strengthen and/(or) ruin support for that media house. I shudder to think that a coach could attempt to besmirch my character through a media house. I refer to an article captioned “No confidence motion should be filed against Boyce and AAG” in the Stabroek News publication of Monday, November 5, 2012. It is anyone’s constitutional right to freedom of speech, but (that freedom) should endeavour to be accurate. Just to set the records straight: (1) Mr. Daw, who is the coach for the Ruralites Athletics Club, should be ashamed to be saying that his athletes train on the road despite being accosted and advised to use the Enmore (Community Centre) Ground or endeavour to have the Bygeval Ground repaired through the NDC (Neighbourhood Democratic Council). (2) He should be able to boast that Chavez Ageday was given the most overseas exposure (as a junior athlete) despite criticisms, before winning his first individual medal at the recently held
South American U-23 Games (2012); and those were namely the Junior CARIFTA Games 2009, South American U-23 Games 2010, Junior CARIFTA 2010, World Juniors 2010, World Youth Olympics 2010, Junior CARIFTA 2011, Alba Games 2011, Junior CARIFTA Games 2012 as well as IGG (Inter-Guiana Games). (3) Yes, Tevin Garraway may have won a medal at South American Youth, but what Mr. Daw did not realize is that, apart from inadequate funding, Garraway was writing his mock examination in preparation for CXC next year, which is a priority if our young athletes are to be eligible for scholarships. (4) Mr. Daw stated in his missive that there are no available grounds for his athletes to train, but what about the Enmore Ground and the availability of transportation to get to a proper Ground. I wish to remind Mr. Daw that when he was an athlete he trained at the Queen’s College Ground while residing at the same address (in Mahaica). On the issue of recruiting, let me say that Chavez Ageday was offered a job on the completion of his CXC in the (Guyana Police) Force, where he received support from in the past. Being a member of the Force would have obviously allowed Mr. Ageday to further
develop academically and athletically while earning a salary, and not just ‘strengthen the Police Team for the Inter Services Championship’, which is the least. It is gross for Mr. Daw to say “they turn athletics in Guyana to Joint Services Sports so it’s either you’re in part of the army or part of the Police Force because at the end of the day they are focused on competing at Joint Services for bragging rights”. What I find very disturbing, libellous and an assassination of my character as a Police Officer is Mr. Daw stating that “A lot of people aint saying anything because they scared of getting cuff to face or gun-butt”. I am wondering if Mr. Daw is insinuating that the President of the AAG is using violence to silence his affiliates or the general public. It would be very interesting for Mr. Daw to compare generally Track and Field under my tenure as President to my predecessor and make public his findings. Lastly, I hate to believe that Mr. Daw, in his wisdom, would allow himself to be misled into such a mischievous and derogatory article that could very well see him facing the court. Yours Respectfully, Colin Boyce AAG President
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Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
Guyana women's hockey team in final preparation for World League Head Coach of the Guyana National Women's Hockey Team speaking with Kaieteur Sport about the preparations of the squad ahead of departure for the World League informed that they have now entered the final stages of preparation for the upcoming tournament. According to Phillip Fernandes, the World League is a new global competition that introduces the new format for teams to qualify for the hockey World Cup beginning with the World Cup to be held in June 2014 in The Hague, Netherlands. He added that the League comprises of four rounds of competition culminating in the final 8 team event. The inaugural competition started earlier this year and received entrants from over 60 nations which will make it the biggest event in the history of the sport. Trinidad will be staging the Round 1 qualification for this part of
the world for both men and women although Guyana will only be competing in the women's competition. The team has been in training since April of this year in preparation for this competition, the first world level event in which Guyana will participate. According to Fernandes, the team is now in their final phase of preparation with great emphasis on set pieces and fine-tuning a few areas that need attention. Over the past 6 weeks, they have been engaging in training matches every weekend and have been training twice per day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays with physical training on Wednesdays. Fernandes indicated that the most difficult aspect of the preparation has been coaching artificial turf skills in small hard court spaces, like the National Gymnasium, while playing training matches on grass fields where they cannot be
Head Coach of the National Women's Hockey team Philip Fernandes seen conducting a theoretical session with the squad recently.
applied. Guyana and Samoa are the only two nations in the World League which do not have artificial pitches for hockey. “We are in some ways like the Jamaican bobsled team” Fernandes said, “We are improvising all
the time, but will be competing against teams who have the luxury of practicing on the real surface. This means that we need to try to make ourselves 15% better than the opposition tactically to make
The Bangkok Futsal Arena
Futsal World Cup in chaos as showpiece venue misses out ZURICH (Reuters) - The F u t s a l Wo r l d C u p i n Thailand descended into chaos on Tuesday as FIFA said the tournament's showpiece arena, due to host the final among other games, would not be ready in time to stage any matches. The announcement came with the indoor tournament's group stage already under way and only eight days before the Bangkok Futsal Arena, which has been dogged by delays during
construction, was due to host its first games - two quarterfinal ties. The ties will be played at alternative venues in Bangkok, FIFA said as soccer's world governing body was left to deal with another crisis in the game. "Although further significant progress has been made, including the installation of a pitch, the key criteria laid out on October 31...have not been sufficiently met," FIFA said
in a statement. “The safety of spectators, teams and all other visitors to the stadium are of paramount importance. "FIFA and the Local Organising Committee therefore concluded that such a fundamental issue, as well as the functionality of core services and facilities, cannot be compromised." FIFA said the quarterfinal matches scheduled to be played on November 14 would now be played at
Bangkok's Nimibutr Stadium, while the semifinals and final would be hosted at Bangkok's Indoor Stadium Huamark. Both stadiums have already successfully hosted group stage matches. The Bangkok Futsal Arena has also been criticised for being badly located and difficult to get to. Twenty-four teams are taking part in the four-yearly event of the smaller indoor version of soccer.
up for the likely technical shortcomings. The girls are very dedicated and determined, but this is a difficult challenge.” This year the team will benefit once again from the services of three overseas based players. Captain Chantelle Fernandes, who is currently completing her studies in the United Kingdom, Leigh Sandison who lives in Canada and Marzana Fiedtkou, who relocated this year to the USA on a hockey scholarship to pursue a University education. All three players according to Fernandes were vital components of last year's team which qualified for the PAHF Cup in 2013 being staged in Mendoza, Argentina. Fernandes highlighted the fact that although they did lose a few strong players, the team is likely to be stronger this year especially as many of the juniors from last year have s h o w n m a r k e d improvement. He also expects that Fiedtkou's exposure to the game in the USA where she would have benefitted from regular exposure to the game on an artificial surface would be a great benefit. Fernandes was quick to point out however that, in addition to the strength of the foreign-based players, the local players had proven their worth in recent competitions, matching teams that are ranked much higher by the FIH (Federacion Internacional de Hockey). The team has engaged
t h e s e r v i c e s o f M r. Kezqwehah Yisrael of To p e n d P e r f o r m a n c e Training to assist with its physical preparation which will also be vital for success. Manager of the team, Rawl Davson, indicated that the team is in better condition than it has been in the recent past. They have been using the Sports Hall, National Gymnasium and Bourda in a diverse training program with fitness tests every 6 weeks to monitor their progress. All of Guyana's matches will be contested in the middle of the day, between 11:00 hrs and 16:00 hrs and so conditions are likely to be very hot and physically taxing. T h e w o m e n ' s competition will feature top seeded Canada, ranked 23 in the world, Trinidad and Tobago 27, Barbados 41, Uruguay 50, Guyana 58 and Venezuela also ranked 58. Guyana's opening match will see them face off against CAC Champions and hosts, Trinidad on November 11th followed by a game against top seeded Canada the following day. After a oneday rest, Guyana then faces Uruguay on November 14 and Barbados on 15th. Guyana has not defeated any of these teams since the revival of women's hockey in the 1990's. After a rest day on the 16th, Guyana's final match will be against equally ranked Venezuela on November 17th. The team continues to train at the National Gymnasium and Bourda until they depart on November 9th for Trinidad.
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
Bago Sports Beach Soccer C’ships ...
Guyana’s ‘Red Jaguars’ place 3rd Guyana’s Red Jaguars placed third 3rd in the just concluded Bagosports Beach Soccer Championships contested at the Turtle Beach Heritage Park, Black Rock, Tobago, from November 2 - 4. The Guyanese topped Group ‘B’ (after the preliminary round) which was dubbed the group of death as it included the USA, Switzerland and Bago Sports; Guyana began the campaign on a bad note going down to nemesis Bago Sports 0-4 in the opening fixture on November 2, but rebounded like true Jaguars in the next match against Switzerland whipping them 6-4. Captain Jermaine Grandison leading the way with a brace of goals, Deshawn Joseph, Michael Wilson, Ralph Alexander and Marmarlaque Davidson scored one each. On November 3, the ‘Red
Jaguars’ came out roaring to whip the much experienced and the defending champions USA 10-2; Ron ‘Neymar’ Fiedtkou blasted the nets on four occasions with a double each from Deshawn Joseph, Jermaine Grandison and Michael Wilson. Guyana were then awarded a walk over from Lambeau FC and that secured a place for the Red Jaguars at the top of the group and a place in the semi finals as the top two from each group advanced. The Guyanese were drawn against Jamaica which used the tournament as preparations for the upcoming CONCACAF Beach World Cup Qualifiers set for January. During the game, Guyana matched the Reggae Boyz in every department but owing to some poor officiating by the American Referees, and
RHTYSC Busta Champion of Champions ...
Albion edges Young Warriors in replayed semifinals to reach final The Albion Young Warriors failed Community Centre C r i c k e t Te a m d e f e a t e d Young Warriors by three wickets in their replayed Busta Champion of Champions 50-Overs Tournament semifinals at the Cumberland Ground. The organisers, Rose H a l l To w n Yo u t h & Sports Club, had ordered a replay of the match after the teams had played to a thrilling tie at the Albion Community Centre Ground on Wednesday last. Albion will face arch r i v a l s R o s e H a l l To w n Gizmos & Gadgets in the final on Sunday at the Area “H” ground. The match was reduced to 45 overs per side due to preparation m o i s t u r e a n d Yo u n g Wa r r i o r s s u r p r i s i n g l y decided to bat first after winning the toss. They lost national opener Richard Ramdeen to the second ball o f t h e match when he was bowled by medium pacer Sudesh Dwarka for nought and then promising national Under-19 opener Shimron Hetmyer was caught off the bowling o f o ff s p i n n e r Ve e r a p e n P e r maul for 01 and 4 for 2 in the fourth over.
to stage a recovery and closed their innings at 88 for 8 off 38 overs with national player Gajanand Singh and his brother Ishwar Singh arriving too late to bat due to an accident. Only Maxie DeJonge 25, Seon Hetmyer 29 and Kevin Ramdeen 19 not out reaching double figures as Sewnarine Chattergoon 72-13-3 bowled well for Albion with support from Devendra Bishoo, Ghani, Gudakesh Motie-Kanhai, Veerapen Permaul who all claimed a wicket. I n response Albion struggled and it took the experience of former West Indies opener Sewnarine Chattergoon to take them home. Chattergoon played w e l l t o bat through the innings for his 47 not out (5x4, 2x6) as Albion ended on 90 for 7 in 25.1 overs and only received support from Sudesh Dawarka 14 not out as they added 22 crucial runs for the 8th wicket as Albion after had slipped to 68 for 7. B o w l i n g f o r Yo u n g Wa r r i o r s Kevin Ramdeen claimed 4 wickets for 32 runs from 7.1 overs while Balram Samaroo took 2 for 24 from eight overs.
lack of concentration by the Red Jaguars, they ended on the receiving end as the final score line read, Guyana 3 Jamaica 6. Later that same day in the third place, the Red Jaguars battled to an exciting 4-4 draw against Bago Sports FC to claim third on goal difference. The skillful Brazilian team won the championship and the first prize of US$15,000. The G u y a n a t e a m returned yesterday.
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Ramdin urges positive approach ... From back page in this series. He added: “I believe we will have similar conditions to the Caribbean. The pitches are quite slow, and we have variety in our bowling. “We have [off-spinner] Sunil Narine on his first trip here and [left-arm spinner] Veerasammy Permaul is on his debut tour with the senior squad.” Ramdin said the players would have to overcome the diet of limited-overs cricket which they have been playing in the last few months, leading to West Indies win-
ning the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament last month. “Whatever the case, we will all have to adapt to the conditions,” he said. “I believe we have the capability of playing longer innings, and all of us want to get out onto the field and be successful. “We would like to win this series, but it will depend on the weather. Hopefully, we can all prepare well and adapt quickly to the conditions. “It is very important that we keep the momentum from winning the World T20 going...so we are looking forward to giving a good show
against the Bangladeshis.” Ramdin said he was relaxed about being chosen vice captain, a role which he has performed on several occasions in the past. “There is not much pressure on me,” he said. “It is important for me to continue to play and enjoy the game. “Whatever I have to do for the team, I will give it 100 per cent. At the end of the day, it is a team sport and we want to win. I want to contribute with the bat and the gloves, so that we can have a successful series over here.”
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Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
Giftland Office Max donates Strong support from Business a sign of endorsement towards T20 Cricket match Community - Watercris Hotel & Restaurant latest on board
Watercris Hotel & Restaurant Managing Director Gregory Lewis hands over the cheque to Sunburst Camptown Manager Afrya Denny in the presence of GFA's Charmine Wade recently.
Receiving the donation is Christopher Barnwell, a member from DCC (left) from Compton Babb. In an effort to remove the youths from the streets and get them involved in gainful activities, the Demerara Cricket Club has organized “A Day of Sports and after party” this coming Tuesday at the DCC ground. The activity is sponsored by Giftland Office Max, Carib Beer and Nigel's Supermarket. Yesterday, the Public Relation Officer of Giftland Office Max, Compton Babb
handed over a cheque to the assistant secretary of Demerara Cricket Club, Kashif Amsterdam at the company's head office in Water Street, Georgetown. According to Babb, giving back to such a worthy cost is what Giftland fully endorse. He said that yesterday's event was not the first time the company supported cricket. “Giftland Office Max is always there to lend a
helping hand towards developing local talent in our Country.” The initiative of the event is to develop and encourage youths to participate in sports. The event will feature Village Tag-of-War, Bowl to the stump, Fielding Drill, Lime and Spoon races and T20 Cricket. Amsterdam thanked the company for supporting such event and said that the DCC is trying to have this event annually.
The expression of interest currently being displayed by large sections of the business community is a show of confidence and endorsement for the 2nd Edition of the highly anticipated Banks Beer Knockout Cup organised by the Georgetown Football Association (GFA). Recently Watercris Hotel & Restaurant joined the register of names of corporate entities who've pledged their support through the donation of an undisclosed sum of money to assist in the staging of the yearend tournament which kicks off on December 16
and concludes on January 1, at the GFC ground. Managing Director of Wa t e r c r i s H o t e l & Restaurant Gregory Lewis recently handed over a his entity's support to Manager of Sunburst Camptown Afrya Denny in the presence of GFA's Assistant Secretary Treasurer Charmine Wade, at the business location on Waterloo Street. Denny thanked Lewis on behalf of the GFA for the entity's support and promised a tournament of high quality and discipline. The tournament carries prize monies in excess of
$9million and is expected to last for eight playing days. The winning team will receive $4Million, runnerup- $2.5M, 3rd place-$1.5M and 4th place-$1M with outstanding individual performances to benefit from additional incentives. The clubs confirmed for participation are Houston Stars, GFC, Riddim Squad, G D F, G P F, F r u t a Conquerors, Camptown, Banks All Stars, Georgetown Masters, Nothern Rangers, Black Pearl, Flamingo, Beacon, Santos, University of Guyana and Charlestown United.
Expo Attendants being groomed for Flex Night
L
ast Saturday a s p e c i a l orientation session was held for the eight (8) young ladies who will be discharging duties of Expo Attendants at the Health and Fitness Expo on December 8 at the National Cultural Centre. The Health & Fitness Expo is an integral part of the Flex Night International event which will see participants from Brazil, Guyana and Suriname. The orientation session took place in the east wing of the Brandsville Hotel. The Expo Attendants will have very specific responsibilities during the Flex Night event. They will be liaising between the event organizers and the exhibitors in order to address the logistics needs of the latter and to give feedback to the former.
They will also be engaging and interacting with the streams of visitors attending the Health and Fitness Expo, providing them with relevant directions and information about the Health and Fitness Expo and more generally about the exhibitors and their products. The group at Brandsville Hotel also included the persons who will be serving as Liaison Officers for the Brazil and Suriname delegations. Their job will be to ensure that the event needs of those delegations are met with maximum efficiency. On Wednesday November 14, the Expo Attendants will have the first opportunity to interact with the Exhibitors when the latter meet at the National Cultural Centre for their final pre-event briefing.
The Expo Attendants and Liaison Officers after training from left, Ravelle Harry, Odessa Grogan, Natasha Richards, Celestine Bentham, Marcia Legall, Carolann Marcus-Jones, Naomi Adams, Tristan Dow, Angenie Abel and Tosheika Logan.
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Tenelec Inc 1st div. 50 over cricket ...
Khan’s 80*, Thakurdeen’s 69 lead PM Karibee Rice to victory
Zamal Khan
Anthony D'Andrade
Anthony Bramble
Devindranauth Thakoordeen F o r m e r We s t I n d i e s Under-19 and Berbice allrounder Zamal Khan slammed an unbeaten 80 to guide Port Mourant Karibee Rice to a comfortable victory over Blairmont Community Centre as the 2012 Tenelec
Inc. First Division 50-over cricket competition in Berbice continued with Round four matches, recently. After taking 2 for 35 from 6 overs to help restrict Blairmont to 201 for 9 in their 45 overs and came to the rescue of his side which was struggling at 55 for 3. Khan joined opening batsman Devendra Thakurdeen and together they put on a 100 run partnership before Thakurdeen fell for 69 (10x4). Khan carried on and along with Chandrasekhar Arjune (17*) saw Port Mourant to 203 for 4 and victory. Khan’s knock was his second consecutive half century and it included 7x4 and 1x6. Gajanand Singh slammed 60, (7x4 2x6) to assist Young Warriors to 202 against Bermine who in reply suffered an early batting collapse to be 41 for 4. Anthony D’Andrade took charge and together with Jamally Odle, they added 100 runs for the 5th wicket. F o l l o w i n g O d l e ’s demise for 45 and D’Andrade later for 84 (5x4 1x6), Bermine fell short by 3 runs. Anthony Bramble registered his second half century of the competition for Skeldon Community Centre hitting 60 (6x4) in a winning effort against Bush Lot United Rising Star. Scores from the matches played: At Albion - Port Mourant Karibee Rice beat Blairmont Community Centre by 6 wickets. The match was reduced to 45 overs-a-side due to a late start as a result of a change of venue from Port Mourant to Albion. Blairmont Community Centre won the toss and choose to bat, they made 201 for 9 in 45 overs; Shabeer Baksh 34, Kevon Jawahir 33, Deveshwari Prashad 26, Bougnarine Persaud 3 for 35 from 9 overs, Harrinarine Chattergoon 2 for 19 from 7 overs, Zamal Khan 2 for 35. Port Mourant Karibee Rice 203 for 4 in 33 overs; Zamal Khan 80*, Devendra Thakurdeen 69, Deveshwari Prashad 3 for 26 from 7.3 overs. At Cumberland - Young Warriors defeated Bermine by 3 runs. Young Warriors batting first, 202 in 45 overs; Gajanand Singh 60,
Kevin Ramdeen 26*, Joemal La Fleur 3 for 28 from 9 overs, Devon Clements 3 for 35 from 9 overs. Bermine 199 in 45 overs; Anthony D’Andrade 84, Jamally Odle 45, Amir Rahaman 3 for 31 from 9 overs, Balram Samaroo 2 for 27 from 9 overs, Kevin Ramdeen 2 for 37 from 7 overs and Gajanand Singh 2 for 43 from 9 overs. At Skeldon - Skeldon Community Centre got
past Bush Lot United Rising Star by 56 runs. Skeldon Community Centre invited to take first strike in the match which was reduced to 43 overs-a-side because of late preparation made 232 for 9 in43 overs; Anthony Bramble 60, Gary Phillips 42, Nigel Trotz 26, Ravi Gossai 3 for 16 from 9 overs. Bush Lot United Rising Star 176 in 28.4 overs; Totaram Sooknanan 35, Keyron Fraser 33, Asif Khan 23, Jamal Jackman 3 for
33 from 7 overs, Parmanand Narine 2 for 38 from 7 overs,
Nigel Trotz 2 for 39 from 5 overs.
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Kaieteur News
Busta ECB 50 over Festival ...
South, North, EBE and Bartica register wins - Surujpaul hits ton, Federicks takes 5-wkt haul South, North, East Bank Essequibo and Bartica began their campaign on the positive side when the Essequibo Cricket Board\ Busta 50 over Festival commenced last Sunday with matches in zone A and B. In Zone A, at the New Opportunity Corps ground, South defeated Central Essequibo by 62 runs. Vijay Surujpaul led South who batted first to 242-6 after the game was reduced to 42 overs, with an attractive unbeaten 102 which contained seven fours and four sixes. Anthony Adams supported well with 78 (3x4, 3x6) as left arm spinner Herry Green claimed 2-38 in 9 overs. Central in reply folded for 180 in 38 overs with Herell Green top scoring with 49 (5x4), while Ronsford Beaton made 3 8 ( 4 x 6 ) a n d P a r m esh Parasotam 36. Royan Federicks bagged 5-37 with his off spin, while Surajpaul took 2-30. At Walton Hall, North overcame Pomeroon by 50 runs. North took first strike
and posted 287 before being bowled out in 39.1 overs. Vishwanauth Lall top scored with 63 and got support from Fenton Jacobs 50, Keron Sewnarine 42 and Grayson Paul 40. Royan Kanhai and Royston Kanhai captured 3 and 2 wickets respectively. Pomeroon in response showed some fight, scoring 247-9 off their a l l o t t e d overs. Royston Kanhai made 58, while Carlos William assisted with 41 and Royan Kanhai 26. Uvindra Balgobin claimed 3 wickets, while there were two each for Hemant Beharry and Sewnarine. The game was reduced to 40 overs due to rain. In zone B, at the Wa k e n a a m C o m m u n i t y Center ground, East Bank Essequibo got the better of the host by 9 wickets. Wakenaam batted first on a moist pitch and were bundled out for 63 in 19.2 overs. Ricardo Adams was their leading run getter with 26 and Imran Khan made 13 as Javed Shafeek snared 48, Trevor Benn 3-8 and Jason Heyliger 2-24.
The visitors then knocked off the target in 8.2 overs finishing on 64-1. Kemol Savory led with 32, while Kevon Boodie hit 28. The match was reduced to 35 overs. At the Bartica Community Center ground, the home team beat Leguan by 4 wickets. Leguan took first turn at the crease and folded for 126 in 17.5 overs with Tatteshwar Chetram scoring 30, Tulsieram Premnauth contributed 19 and Sahaad Razack 14. Roopesh Motilall grabbed 3-37, Sean Garraway 3-29, while Federicks and Festus Benn had 2 each. Opener Robin Narine then slammed 43 and Sastri Persaud stroked 31 as Bartica won the game for the loss of 6 wickets as they ended on 127 in 23.3 overs. In the semifinals, Bartica will host East Bank Essequibo on Saturday, and South will come up against North at Affiance on Sunday. The final will be played in Bartica the following Sunday under lights. (Zaheer Mohamed)
Wednesday November 07, 2012
Pride and respect at stake for Guyanese drivers With the notable absence of Barbados’ Roger ‘His Hotness’ Mayers from this Sunday’s Caribbean ‘Race of Champions’ Meet, Guyanese drivers now have an even better chance to defend home turf according to many knowledgeables of the sport when questioned about the locals chances of doing well in front of the anticipated massive crowd. Many are of the opinion that Mayers’ Ford Focus that dominated Bushy Park, racing unbeaten in the process would have been a handful for the likes of Andrew King, Mark Vieira, Kevin Jeffrey and others and even though the three outstanding Guyanese drivers are among the best in the Caribbean, Mayers’ straightway speed and consistency might have made it difficult for the trio to dominate. That now leaves Jamaicans David Summerbell Jnr and Peter Rae, Cayman Islands Andy Bodden and Junior Hydes and Bajans Mark and Doug Maloney as
the only obstacles to the trend of home court being advantageous. In the two previous Meets in Jamaica and Barbados, Summerbell Jnr and Mayers drove unchallenged respectively and the local drivers have been plotting meticulously to maintain that tendency. The battle for the championship is truly on and even though it would be difficult for the Guyanese to displace Summerbell Jnr at the top of the points standing in the race for the Individual crown, the fact that statements were made by the home drivers in the respective territories that preceded this one, pride and respect will definitely be key factors for inspired performance by the homesters. Mark Vieira in his Mazda RX 8 20B, Kevin Jeffrey in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII t u r b o c h a rg e d , A n d r e w King’s - Mazda RX-7 Tube Frame 13B and Paul Vieira Mazda RX-7 2nd Gen 13B will have to be in super shape to repel the
challenges of Peter Rae Mazda RX-7 Tube Frame 12A Turbo Charged (Jamaica) David Summerbell Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII Turbo Charged (Jamaica)Douglas Maloney Audi A4 Turbo Charged (Barbados) Andy Bodden Mitsubishi Evo Turbo Charged (Cayman Islands), Steve King - Nissan Skyline (Barbados) Mark Maloney Mazda RX-3 13B Turbo Charged (Barbados) and Junior Hydes - Mitsubishi Evo Turbo Charged (Cayman Islands). In the race for the country title, Jamaica leads the points standing with 113 points followed by Barbados on 64, Cayman Islands lies third on 26 and Guyana in the cellar on 21. In the battle for individual supremacy, Summerbell, after copping a second and two third place finishes in Barbados, maintains his lead in the drivers’ Championship after six races, with 50 points and he will be supported by Peter Rae and Andre Anderson.
GCA\Noble House 2nd division 2 day tourney ...
Ramrup, Benn hit ton, Azeez, Atwell, Haynes take 5-wkt hauls Centuries by Randy Ramrup and Troy Benn and five wicket hauls by Azim Azeez, Antonell Atwell and Rawle Haynes highlighted the latest round of matches in the Georgetown Cricket Association\ Noble House Sea Foods second division 2 day competition which were contested last weekend. At the Gandhi Youth Organization ground, Transport Sports Club drew with Third Class. Transport won the toss and asked Third Class to take first strike. They made 171 all out in 43.1 overs. Lenny Pancham top scored with 66, while Andre O’Neal and Randy Ramrup made 27 apiece. Off spinner Azim Azeez bagged 5 for 53 while pacer Keon Morris took 4 for 28. Transport responded with 211 all out 51 overs to grab first innings points.
Devaughn Nandan led the way with 65, Sunil Singh made 35 and Charwayne McPherson 24. Randy Ramrup 3 for 22, Trevor Hussein 3 for 34 and Andre O’ Neal 3 for 58 were the pick of the bowlers for Third Class who in their second turn at the crease scored 199-9 in 43 overs before the captains agreed on a draw. Ramrup hit fifteen fours in 102, while O’ Neal made 31 and Ray Bryan 15. Azeez took 4 for 26 to end the match with figures of 9-79, while Shawn Massiah took 3 for 48. At UG, the host earned a draw with Malteenoes in a match which was affected by rain. When play finally got underway just after lunch o n S u n d a y, M a l t e e n o e s were flawless at the toss and inserted U.G. to bat. The home team
managed 121 all out in 29 overs, with Omesh Danram getting 38 and Clevon Hyman and Royston Alkins 17 each. Leg spinner Antonell Atwell took 6 for 34 and Orin Forde 2 for 9. Malteenoes in reply closed on 102 for 8 in 30 overs. Kareem Naughton led with 40, while Kefa Naughton made 22. Alkins took 4 for 39, while his fellow off spinner Dennis Heywood picked up 3 for 29. At GNIC, Police pulled off an innings victory over Ace Warriors. Ace warriors batted first and were bowled out for 137, with Mark Cumberbatch grabbing 4 for 22, while Vishal Jaigobin supported with 3 wickets and Pernell London 2. Troy Benn then led Police to 288 with a fine 101 before they declared
Wednesday November 07, 2012
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Kaieteur News
Lowden dominant on first Martial Artist Schepmyer cops weekend at Pegasus Tennis Open Gold in T&T Carol Humphrey
Godfrey Lowden
Veteran player Godfrey Lowden was in fine form over the weekend as he notched up two wins at the Pegasus Tennis Open. His first win was an entertaining Mixed doubles matchup against juniors Benedict Sukra/Nicola Ramdyhan who more than held their own against the Berbicians Lowden and Carol Humphrey. In the first set the youngsters who have been playing together for some time, showed good teamwork and took the first set 7-5 against the veteran players. Lowden and Humphrey then bounced back to win the second 6-0 before a close third set which they also took 6-4 to advance to the next round. Lowden returned in the Men's 35 Singles to face top player Andre Lopes in a matchup that would have featured prominently 20 years ago when the players were in their prime. Lowden and Lopes battled in the first set before Lowden who was
the aggressor was able to secure the set 6-4. Lopes was not at his fluent best and appeared jaded throughout the match as Lowden forced the issue with some good shots and took the second set 6-2. Another junior team comprising 11 year old Afruica Gentle and 16yr old Gavin Lewis stunned seasoned players Grace Mcalman and Nicholas Glasgow in the Mixed Doubles 6- 2 6-3. Gentle and Lewis who recently represented Guyana in the Inter Guiana Games in Suriname capitalised on match rustiness from their more seasoned opponents who could not find a groove. Saturday Results: Mixed Doubles Godfrey Lowden/Carol Humphrey def. Benedict Sukra/Nicola Ramdyhan 5-7 6-0 6-4 Mixed Doubles- Afro Gentle/Gavin Lewis def. Nicholas Glasgow/Grace McCalman 6-2 6-3 Novice Singles- Stephen Bailey def. Julian Francisco
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Corporation Zone resumes today
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s the F& H P r i n t i n g Countrywide Domino Competition enters its penultimate week, action is set to continue tonight at Banks DIH Sports Club. Lyall Gittens will be in charge of the Corporation Zone when play in these Z o n e s r e s u m e s t o d a y. Approximately 40 teams are expected to turn up for this
segment of the competition. The East Coast Zone finally got off the ground last Sunday and the qualifiers should be known by the end of the week. Zone 7 matches are currently being played in Georgetown. The Playoffs will commence on November 17 and the finals will be played on November 18. Keen competition is anticipated.
W/O Novice Singles- Jesus Lamazon def. Irzad Zamal 6-2 Novice Singles- Leavan Butchey def. Shafeek Rahim W/O Novice Singles- Darren King def. Robert Bostwick 62 Sunday Results: Men's 35 Singles Godfrey Lowden def. Andre Lopes 6-4 6-2 Men's Singles Nicholas Glasgow def. Judah Stephney 6-2 6-2 Novices- Stephen Bailey/Seweon McGarell def. Kwan Rodney/Jesus Lamazon 6-1 Dilip Kumar/Vijay Singh def. Sonia Sawh/T Shamsudeen 6-1
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uyana Mixed Martial Arts K a r a t e Association student Portia Schepmyer returned from Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o yesterday after successfully competing in the Pan Caribbean Martial Arts Association tournament. The twenty three year old who hails from Timehri and attends Karate classes at the Diamond Community Centre gained first place in the female Self Defence event, second in traditional Kata and Sparring and third in Weapon Form. She told Kaieteur Sport that the trip was challenging and fruitful. “I learned a lot from the trip and would like to return next year. I would like to thank Master Lloyd Ramnarine for taking time out in preparing me for this tournament”. Schepmyer, who joined the sport in 2010 and trains three times a week, said that although she represented Guyana, she had to do so at her own expense. “The fact that I wasn't supported financially by anyone in Guyana did not prevent me from representing my country, I did so for the love of the sport and want to help in promoting it locally.” Meanwhile Instructor Lloyd Ramnarine said that he was proud of her achievement and
Schepmyer displaying her prizes alongside Master Ramnarine and another student Zafar Ramnarine yesterday. encouraged her to continue training. He stated that the other students could not make the trip because of financial difficulties. Master Ramnarine, who was ill and could not travel to t h e Tr i n i d a d f o r t h e competition, would like to thank Sensei Garfield Newton for supporting
Schepmyer during her stay in the twin island Republic. Ramnarine is encouraging others to join the sport and is also calling on the Ministry of Sport as well as the business community for support in the future. Interested persons can contact Master Ramnarine on 698-6727.
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Ramdin urges positive approach from teammates DHAKA, Bangladesh – Denesh Ramdin said it was important for West Indies to take a dynamic approach to their upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh. The West Indies vice-captain said winning the first Test will be crucial to easing the pressure on the visitors and curbing the enthusiasm of the home team. “[Bangladesh] are a team that on any given day can come and put up a good fight,” Ramdin told WICB Media. “We are not going to take them lightly. They have good players, but we are going to play hard. They are favourites in their home conditions, but we are confident that all will go well for us on this tour.” Ramdin said West Indies had a number of players that could be trump cards in the series, but the batting will be the key to victory. “It is very important that we start well and not take them lightly,” the West Indies
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Guyana's 'Red Jaguars' place 3rd
Denesh Ramdin wicketkeeper/batsman said. “We have some good players in the fray, like Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and hopefully they can give us the impetus to do well (continued on page 29)
Pride and respect at stake for Guyanese drivers Mark Vieira
David Summerbell
Andrew King
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