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November 06, 2012 - Vol. 5 No. 45 - Price $80
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Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly
ASP Todd was a trigger happy “John Rambo”-GYSM
Linden shooting deaths…
What an embarrassment!
This vehicle operated by the New Amsterdam Prison broke down in the middle of the town. At the time it was transporting prisoners who then had to come out and push the vehicle. In picture prisoners, prison warders and some residents join in pushing the vehicle, between the busy traffic.
Granger challenges AG Husband motion against Rohee chops wife, ‘no confidence’ vote daughter
NDIA CEO’s response to fraud allegations shows procedural breaches- Board Chairman
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Kaieteur News
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Corentyne Youth, 17, on trial for murder T
he murder trial of 17-year-old Rayan Alli “Karran” of No. 54 Village, Corentyne, and formerly of Black Bush Polder began on Monday in the Berbice High Court before Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire and a mixed jury. Alli is on trial for the murder of Premchand Sugrim called “Copper” and “Pluck” of No. 54 Village, Corentyne on July 20, last year. The state’s case as presented by attorney- atlaw Priteema Kissoon-Ally is that on July 10, 2011 following a dispute between the two men, Alli who was 15 at the time used an iron pipe to lash Sugrim who was his relative, in the head. Sugrim collapsed and was picked up and rushed to the Skeldon hospital, before being transferred to the New Amsterdam hospital. He was then transferred to the Georgetown Hospital where he died 10 days later. The state is expected to call 12 witnesses. During the opening day the state called six of those witnesses. The first to take the stand was Krishna Sugrim, the dead man’s son. He testified to accompanying his father to
the hospital and witnessing the Post Mortem examination which was conducted by Dr Nehaul Singh. Bibi Baksh testified to going on the dam at Number 54 Village on the day in question where the incident occurred and seeing Sugrim lying on the ground. He was bleeding from a wound to his head. She said that she placed his head on her lap. She said that a piece of pipe about four feet in length was on the ground not too far away and a cutlass was also somewhere around. Taxi driver, Lilla Singh, testified to being contacted on the day in question to transport the injured to the Skeldon Hospital. Detective Corporal Hazrat Mohammed was next on the witness stand. He testified to the role he played in the investigation. After receiving certain information on July 10, he visited the scene and saw the deceased lying on the ground. He stated that later that day he was at the No. 51 police station when the accused was brought to the station by his mother. The accused later gave a confession statement, in
which he admitted to hitting the deceased on his head with a pipe following a dispute. The statement was given in the presence of his mother and another policeman. The caution statement was subsequently admitted into evidence and was read to the court. Mohamed is expected to return to court today when he is expected to tender the alleged murder weapon, the iron pipe to the court. Police detective constable Eustace Lynch testified to witnessing the post mortem which gave the cause of death as trauma and a fracture to the right side, and trauma to the left. Naline Ragnauth in her evidence said that she shared a house with the accused at the time of the incident. Under cross-examination she spoke of a dispute between the two men and warning them to desist from their behaviour. She went to inform other relatives about the dispute and did not see when the fatal blow was struck. Alli is being represented by Attorney at Law Kumar Doorasammy. The matter continues today.
Accused in Bel Air heist remanded on witness tampering allegation
H
ardat Kumar who is charged along with four other persons for the July 2011 robbery which took place at the Bel Air Gardens residence of businessman Malcolm Panday was yesterday refused bail by Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine –Beharry. This time, Kumar is being accused of attempting to obstruct the course of justice in that he threatened to harm the relatives of his former accomplice turned prosecution star witness, Rabindranauth Seemangal. Prosecutor Glenn Hanoman submitted to the court that the issue is a serious one given that Kumar
had threatened to kill the sister and family of the prosecution’s chief witness. According to Hanoman the file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who found that there was enough evidence against Kumar to have him charged and brought before the court. As such Hanoman said that due to the nature of the offence of which Kumar is accused the court should consider refusing bail or withdrawing the bail on which Kumar was placed for the robbery case. H o w e v e r, d e f e n c e counsel Omeyana Hamilton told the court that her client denies the allegations which
are mere assertions at this time. The lawyer said that her client has been attending his trial and has no reason to become a flight risk or sabotage his case at this point. But Hanoman insisted that “there is evidence” that Kumar has been involved in activities to thwart the prosecution’s witness from testifying. He also noted that representatives from both telephone companies are prepared to give evidence when the trial continues on November 15. Kumar will remain in police custody overnight. His case is expected to be recalled today for further decisions to be made.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Fire destroys chowmein factory A
Triumph, East Coast Demerara businessman, was last night counting his losses after a fire destroyed the small chowmein manufacturing establishment he started just over a year ago. The fire started around 20:00 hrs in the Vishal Chowmein Factory, located in a wooden bond at the back of businessman Girdharry P ers aud’s Lot 54, Agricultural Road home. Workers were drying stacks of chowmein in the bond when the blaze started. The bond and all the stock were completely destroyed and Mr. Persaud estimated his losses in the millions of dollars. He said that his business was uninsured. Residents, armed with buckets prevented the blaze spreading to the family home, where a large propane tank is located, until firefighters eventually arrived. Mr. Persaud said that he is at a loss to understand how the fire started, but disclosed that workers were drying stacks of chowmein on coal pots covered with zinc sheets. No one was in the
small factory when the fire broke out. Mr. Persaud said that the family first realised that something was amiss when his son went to monitor the drying process and noticed the structure was on fire. The son immediately
raised an alarm which brought many residents rushing to the scene. Using water from five tanks in Mr. P e r s a u d ’s y a r d , t h e y immediately formed a bucket brigade and attempted to douse the flames. Kaieteur News was
told that a small Guysuco fire tender arrived on the scene some ten minutes later but the crew had no water. Two other fire tenders, including one from Campbellville, arrived soon after and the firefighters eventually put the blaze out
after accessing water from a nearby canal. M r. P e r s a u d , w h o sustained minor burns, was loud in praise of residents who prevented the fire from spreading to his house. He said that a major conflagration would have
occurred had the blaze reached the propane tank in his bottom house. The businessman said that he established the Vishal Chowmein Factory in February 2011. He said that he put ‘every cent’ into the business, which had six employees.
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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
Protests and Inquiries The hearings of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the three deaths during the Linden protests are not officially concluded. Written arguments can still be submitted within the next three weeks and the final report on culpability and compensation is to be issued in January. But we as a society will have to go on regardless. What have we learnt from the experience, up to now? For one we have a police force that is in urgent need for reform to raise its level of professionalism. Rather than arguing about arcane theoretical matters of governance, the government and Opposition ought to buckle down to accomplish this task. We suggest that the Opposition extract the recommendations from the Symonds and Disciplined Forces Report (among others) and lay it before parliament for action. Second, we have hopefully learnt something more about protests in our present milieu. Back in August, we offered the following perspective on protests from Juan E. Mendez, a law professor, an adviser on crime prevention to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, and former president of the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and special adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to Kofi Annan. We repeat it for the benefit of our political elite. “For the billions of powerless in today's world, protest is the only way to have their voices heard. That is why international human rights law places a very high premium on freedom of speech, association, and assembly, all of them broadly understood. Vibrant, live democracies are those where all citizens believe they have a stake in the outcomes and consequently feel compelled to voice their opinions through the vehicles available to them. It is no wonder that the politics of protest is livelier in countries that are emerging from tyranny. “What does protest achieve? The agenda of protesters must be such that can be achieved through genuine debate in a democratic society. At the same time, rarely if ever is that agenda adopted in full, the way protesters envision it; and rightly so, because policy is formulated through the interaction of many opinions and not as a result of pressure. “Often, protest is a way of preventing some policy option that is considered unfair, and frequently the option is at least modified in view of the protest. So demonstrations may never completely succeed in achieving the goals of the demonstrators; they succeed in allowing them to participate in the process of policy formulation and decision-making, and participation is the democratic ideal. “Undoubtedly, protest must abide by rules of peaceful coexistence and reasonable regulation. Farmers in Argentina had every right to protest against export taxes (whether the taxes were fair or unfair in the overall context is another matter); but they had no right to block highways and impede the access of food products to the markets. “Protests should indeed grow in frequency and intensity as necessary, even to the point of bringing down a repressive or unrepresentative government; but they must stop short of forcing a duly elected leader from office. Just as there is a threshold of “legitimacy of exercise” that should be demanded of elected leaders, so also demonstrators must exercise their freedoms of speech and assembly within the constraints of legitimacy of both means and ends. “Ultimately, protest works if it intelligently combines speech with action and a genuine attempt to persuade rather than simply antagonize. Under such premises, protest will continue to be a viable, indispensable ingredient of democracy for generations to come.” We believe that the above is very sage advice especially for the leaders of political parties. First and foremost they must allow our democratic institutions to function. Only and only if individuals or groups are being stymied by other groups with inordinate power, should they take to the streets. Unless elections are rigged, why should political parties protest? The last elections demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that while our democracy may not be perfect (which one is?) political parties can achieve their ends through the ballot box.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news
Excusing illegality in one sphere while condemning it in another is folly DEAR EDITOR, I write in response to two letters you published (by Satesh Mohabir on 10/31/12 and Vishnu Bisram on 11/1/12) in response to my letter (KN 10/30/12) on EZjet and its former CEO Sonny Ramdeo. Because I was affected by the electricity outage caused by Hurricane Sandy here in the U.S., I was unable to respond earlier. I start by responding to Satesh Mohabir’s claim that I am Nohar Singh, formerly known as Nohar Ramkishun. I categorically state that I am not Nohar Singh or Nohar Ramkishun. In fact, I never knew of Nohar Singh or Nohar Ramkishun until Mr. Mohabir made his demonstrably false claim. So, Mr. Mohabir, except for categorically denying that I am Nohar Singh or Nohar Ramkishun, I am unable to dispute any of the other allegations or the vitriol in your letter. I now turn to Vishnu Bisram, who seems obliged to respond to my letters. It is fortuitous that each response reveals him to be an enabler whose core principle is that he is prepared to embrace whatever position he finds emotionally salving or selfserving to himself and those of his ilk at a particular moment in time. So whether it is as a well-
known enabler of the PPP’s dictatorial governance or now as an enabler of Sonny Ramdeo’s alleged fraudulent acts, Mr. Bisram continues to expose himself as a man who is eminently qualified to be greeted with opprobrium and suspicion, and have his views on Sonny Ramdeo’s alleged fraudulent acts examined in light of his oftrepeated condemnation of the PNC for rigging elections in Guyana. When I initially read Mr. B i s r a m ’s r e m a r k t h a t “Guyanese were (and are) not interested in knowing whose money was funding the carrier [Ezjet]. They are more interested in the service and the availability of flights...,” I was offended and dumbstruck on three levels. First, I could not believe that Mr. Bisram had decided that the Guyanese who are questioning the source of EZjet’s funding are not to be considered as Guyanese. Second, I was aghast that Mr. Bisram, based on conversations with those of his ilk, had taken it upon himself to pronounce that all Guyanese see the EZjet issue as he does. And, third, I could not believe that Mr. Bisram actually wrote those words, particularly because he knew that he was commenting on allegations that EZjet has been funded
by stolen money. As I thought about the implications of Mr. Bisram’s transparent belief that it is okay to source money through fraud to fund a lowfare airline to relieve Guyanese from the burden of relatively high airfares, I could not help but think about Mr. Bisram’s penchant for condemning the PNC for committing election fraud to relieve those Guyanese who felt they needed relief from the burden of PPP rule. Mr. Bisram may raise the issue of false moral equivalence, but I believe that there are clear parallels between Sonny Ramdeo’s salient actions that have been defended by Mr. Bisram and the PNC’s salient actions that have been condemned by him. Mr. Bisram offers a scrap-paper analysis of the positive contribution that the allegedly fraud-funded EZjet makes or will make to our economy, but he refuses to acknowledge the positive contribution of the PNC to our nation’s development because the PNC obtained power through fraud. I can go on and on, but will not do so, because I think that I have made the point of the folly of anyone excusing or turning a blind eye to illegality committed in one sphere while unreservedly condemning
illegality in another sphere. I also believe that Mr. Bisram’s clear adherence to the principle of the end justifying the means must have come as music to the ears of the PNC, which with others will ask him to re-read his letter every time he in the future accuses the PNC of rigging elections or howls at anyone about illegalities. In closing, I would like to point out that high airfares are the function of the marketplace, and are not underpinned by any enabling laws or regulations passed by Sonny Ramdeo’s former employer or anyone else. So, while Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela were justified in engaging in and encouraging illegal acts (ignoring laws that supported their oppression), Sonny Ramdeo’s alleged fraudulent actions against his employer cannot be glorified, excused, or ignored because Bisram and others of his ilk believe that airfares to Guyana are too high. As a patriot who regularly makes remittances to Guyana, I wholeheartedly support the goal of cheaper airfares to Guyana, but I reject the commission of illegalities in pursuit of that goal. Lionel Lowe
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Guyanese Americans urged to vote today DEAR EDITOR, I urge Guyanese Americans to vote today in the US general elections. This is a very important election. The opinion polls are showing a very tight Presidential election in which either Obama or Romney can win, although Obama has the advantage. Still, the polls say it is too tight to call. Obama has seen over 4% of his support evaporated from 2008 down to 48% from over 52%. Romney, who was struggling at around 42% a month ago, has overtaken Obama at 50% and has a good shot at unseating the incumbent. This is my take based on polls conducted by various Pollsters. For Obama: ME, VT, RI, MA, CT, NJ, NY, DE, DC, MD, PA, IL, MI, MN, CA, OR, WA, HI == Total 232 EVs. Although Romney has decided to reenter the race in PA, it will go to Obama. Leaning Obama and likely to win: NM 5 for an overall total of 237 EVs For Romney: WV, SC, GA, AL, TN, KY, IN, MS, MO, LA, AK, TX, MT, OK, KN,NB, SD, ND, WY, AZ, ID, AK = Total 191. Leaning Romney and
likely to win: VA (Obama ahead but given to Romney, because of the White vote) and NC for a total of 219. Too Close to call: NV (6), IA (6), WI (10), OH (18), FL (29), CO (9), NH (4), Undecided: 82. Likely Leaning Outcome for Romney: Co (tied) is next to a Mormon state (UT) and likely to go to Romney who is a Mormon; Jews are voting Republican in FL (as opposed to last election) and are likely to go Romney; Obama is leading in IA (3%) but I think Romney could wrest it because of the strong White male factor. So Romney could add 44 EVs for a total of 263 EVs. Likely Leaning Outcome for Obama: NH was solid Obama last time (by 10%) but now he holds a 2% lead and is likely to retain it by the narrowest of margins; Obama has a lead in NV that has shrunk from 9% in 2008 to 3% now but he could hold it – keep in mind it has a large number of Mormons who could swing to Romney. It looks from latest polling that Obama will hold WI where he leads by 4% down from 14% in 2008. So Obama adds 20 EVs.
Uproar in Agricola Let’s place the blame where it belongs DEAR EDITOR, True to the saying “bad things got no owner”, everyone now has an alibi and seeks to distance themselves from the recent uproar in Agricola. All I wish to say as a resident of Agricola is, time is always the deciding and exposing factor, and that in time we will know for sure who organized and incited some of the young residents and a majority of hoodlums from outside to create havoc in this peaceful community. The different stories and accounts that I read in your columns, of persons writing in defence of their party and themselves, causes me to drift to my early teen years when Guyana (British Guiana) was gripped by a national crisis and Agricola remained one of the few peaceful communities. In those days we worked together to ensure that our village was not consumed by the riots that created mayhem and slaughter. Bloodshed was widespread, but not one individual from Agricola became a victim in that crisis. People from all races, religious beliefs, political affiliation and cultural connection lived in unity. I
do not recall one racial conflict. We lived together in peace and unity. We looked out for one another. We shared what we had that was in short supply. We ate from one plate and at times slept in one bed. Nothing could provoke racial anger and hate. That is the Agricola I know. So, I am bothered by these denials of involvement in stirring up the people to disturb the peace. If nobody organized, orchestrated or planned this day, then it would be safe to say we do have a lot of mad people about, just began beating and robbing people impulsively. If I understand human nature then this could not be impulsive actions, and if footage of that day is listened to, familiar voices can be heard shouting one thing or the other. Let’s place the blame where it belongs. I call on the people of my community to speak out against and resist every effort to change what we are accustomed to - peace, love and harmony. Long live the people of Agricola. And we shall and will overcome. Bishop Ivan John
The above puts the race at 257 for Obama and 263 for Romney. 270 needed to win. That leaves WI and OH. Obama needs to win both and he is leading in both. Romney needs to win just one. In 2008, Obama won WI by 14%. Now, he is leading by only 4%. In 2008, Obama won OH by 4%. Now he is leading by only 3%. It is a tough race to call. No wonder the analysts are saying too close to make a call. The odds are in favor of Obama. But I will not be surprised if Romney pulls off
an upset. Off course the race in the battleground states is so close according to the polls that all the above projections could go either way. In addition to the Presidency, people will also have to make a choice among candidates seeking Senate, Congressional, and local State contests (Senate and Assembly). Guyanese and other Caribbean Americans are urged to perform their civic duty by voting. In several states (like NY, NJ, CT, GA) where Guyanese are settled,
the outcome is a foregone conclusion. But in Florida and Pennsylvania, where large concentrations of Guyanese are also found, the election is close and their vote can make a difference. Romney is likely to win in FL, while Obama is likely to win in PA. But the local contests are very important to the lives of Guyanese. In N.Y, for example, there is an important race in Richmond Hill area (which has the only close contest in the city) between Democrat incumbent Joe Addabbo and
Republican challenger Erich Ulrich. Most Guyanese I interviewed are backing Ulrich and they hope he wins because they want to send a message to politicians who ignore them. For too long, Guyanese Americans, New Yorkers, in particular, have been ignored by their elected reps. Addabbo has not done much for them. Ulrich is more grounded with the community. I made a lot of phone calls through my union to voters Continued on page 7
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Kaieteur News
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Saying there’s nothing great about the PNC’s role in Guyana’s history is ignorance or orchestrated dishonesty DEAR EDITOR, I have followed the debate between my friend Freddie Kissoon and M. Maxwell [or should I say the M. Maxwell group?] in the Kaieteur News of Sunday, October 28 and Monday October 29. I have had a young citizen question me about the pre- and postIndependence leaders; the Burnham and Jagans. His simple question: How are they to be remembered? Letter writers cannot be merely content with the ageold propaganda definitions and personal political dislikes; we are dealing with Guyanese History and some level of research and corresponding fact-finding must be involved in their letters. Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan are not political twins. They evolved from diverse origins, their objectives and motivations were culturally and politically different. The post-WW2 world shaped their perceptions. Nazism failed to create the thousand-year Third Reich, but it had created the Third World with
its justified anti-colonial banners, and many of the new leaders had served in that conflict. Contrary to the nostalgic illusion, British Guiana was a colony, yes; a functional colony, but not a prosperous, industrialized nation. Unemployment, low wages, lack of proper and healthy housing, a virtual caste system with the subtle mental fetters that sustain the proverbial ‘Colonial’ were the characteristics of preIndependence Guyana. Jagan was the product of the Indentured, mainly Hindu-populated Sugar estate environment; he never found favour with the business/professional Indian classes that occupied the East Indian Association. On the other hand, Burnham was a Guyana Scholar, a product of the ongoing conflict between Plantocracy and emancipated slave and emerging Afro middle class who was also at war with itself. To cut it within the confines of this letter, these men were complicated; products of their time, each
with his own sense of purpose and conflicting ideals of liberation. Burnham’s war was primarily with a pretentious black middle class whose confusion with self led a member of a prominent family to accuse Burnham on the implementation of the Common-Entrance scheme that “You want to have the children of my servant sit in the same seat as my children.” Burnham replied that “we all came off the Plantation some 130 years before.” This is not to say that the animal farm syndrome did not take effect, as it has gone full blown under the PPP today. I am a product of policies the PNC initiated, Tom Feelings, the noted American illustrator, was brought to this country in 1974 to conduct workshops. He inspired a generation of local artists, and Burnham’s ban on foreign comic strips that had colonizing messages opened doors for local story tellers and artists. The then PNC Government launched professional dance in this
country when Madam Lavinia Williams was brought to work with the infant National Dance Company. Thousands of Guyanese youth received skill training in the Youth Corps and the National Service. The PNC should publish a list of those who they had sent to western Universities on tax payers’ dollars who never returned to serve, to the point that when I was to go to Scotland to be qualified in animation production and film making, I sat outside and overheard the heart-rending and depressing phone conversation that concluded that if I was sent I wouldn’t come back. To say that “There’s nothing great about the PNC’s role in Guyana’s history” (M. Maxwell, Sunday Oct. 28 2012) is either a result of ignorance, orchestrated dishonesty, or a mind twisted by hate. I am sure that M. Maxwell is a PPP construct or the residue of one of the many enemies that had to be made in the process of decolonizing Guyana. M. Maxwell claims: “The PNC was formed out of one
man’s sick quest for power at all costs, built entirely on racial antagonism and political strife and played willing lackey to a foreign ideology and outside puppeteers. The PNC is the only main Party in Guyana’s history formed entirely and completely as a race party.” Jai Narine Singh Sr. states that the PPP blamed the power moves of the Jagans after the 1953 win for the following suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of the legislature. He outlined a secret meeting in late 1954 with both Burnham and Jagan present [it was decided by many that Burnham would have handled thingsdifferently] “and it was decided that it would be strategically astute for Jagan to give way to Burnham as the leader of the party. Jagan actually agreed with this, but it must be noted that, his wife Janet was absent from the meeting.”The concerns of the colonial administration were the question of ‘Communism’. J. N. Singh Sr. continues “A few weeks later [in
November (1954) the executive met again and this time Janet was present and Jagan announced that he would not be accepting the earlier decision. At that stage, we all realized that there was no way we could prevent the impasse from getting out into the open.” The dictatorial mandate of the Jagans divided the PPP. The PPP was at that time funded by the KGB. The penniless PNC turned to the west as an alternative to the Stalinist Jagans in a paranoid anti-Communist world and received Western funding. Recognizing the majority Indian vote, the PPP activated in 1961 the ethnic civil war, not the PNC. The fact is, that from emancipation to Indenturship, to Independence, there were always ethnic news papers, pressure groups, ethnic religious centres etc. The Colonial ethnic divide-andrule economic constraints of British Guiana, its caste system, imposed a predisposal to outer Continued on page 7
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news Letters... Where your views make the news
Upper Corentyne residents still can’t enjoy a reliable supply of electricity DEAR EDITOR, Last week, we suffered over 10 hours of blackout on Monday, two-and-a-half hours of blackout on Tuesday, and over ten 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 GPL’s hotline at 333-2186 to find out when power would be restored. I tried for several hours to get through to this number, to no avail. Either the workers there are using this line for personal use, 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, as well as 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 Dindiyal 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 they
Saying there’s nothing... From page 6 pressures from influential social groups on the political parties of the day. We are still fighting those battles today; we’re much more informed and are resisting the efforts to impose ethnic strife. We also understand that all the above stemmed from inadequate economic prosperity, and opportunities. Like Freddie, I do not think M. Maxwell is a person but rather an interest group, the
mystery is, in whose interest? APNU and the AFC are monitored by we who recognize that change must be made away from the old social and political c u s t o m o f practices; an understanding of the past is necessary and if the Maxwell group wants to make an enlightened contribution, write based on thorough research. Let’s help the next generation understand. Barrington Braithwaite
From page 5 from the district and it seems to me that Ulrich has the momentum and can pull it off. My informal polling reveals a lot of voters have switched from Addabbo to Ulrich. But many people may not be able to vote because they have been uprooted by Hurricane Sandy. By coming out to vote, Guyanese will send a clear message that their vote matters. The higher the turnout, the greater attention
they will have in their community and the more resources they will receive. I urge my fellow Guyanese Americans to go out and vote. I also encourage them to volunteer for the campaign of one of the candidates. For the last thirty years, I have been volunteering for candidates and assisting the Democrats. I will be aiding Republican Ulrich and other candidates who I think earned our vote. Vishnu Bisram
Guyanese Americans...
have never kept them. Around July this year, Mr. 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’s management, as well as the 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. What do we have to do for GPL to get its act together and stop making lame excuses, and provide us with dependable supply of electricity? Talk to anyone in this area and they will tell you they are fed-up. 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 are the horrible destruction of 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 communications 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 fixes our electricity supply on the Upper Corentyne. Don’t take us for granted. Pradeep Singh
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Kaieteur News
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Linden shooting deaths…
ASP Todd was a trigger happy “John Rambo”-GYSM T
he Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM) says that it is the view of many Guyanese that Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Patrick Todd on the fateful day in Linden, was a trigger happy “John Rambo.” They believe that the three deaths and scores of injuries are the direct result of his actions, which the acting Commissioner of Police, Leroy Brumell, on the first day of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) testimony, emphatically stated was unjustified. These sentiments were expressed yesterday when GYSM held a press briefing at Congress Place, Sophia headquarters. The Linden Commission of Inquiry began on Monday September 24, 2012 and concluded on Friday November 2. Scores of witnesses gave evidence before and numerous exhibits were tendered to the five- member Commission which included Jamaicans Justice Lensley Wolfe and K.D. Knight S.C; Trinidadian Dana Seetahal S.C. and former Guyanese Chancellor Cecil Kennard and Justice Claudette Singh CCH. The report from the Commission will be released on January 13, 2013. A c c o r d i n g t o Parliamentarian and representative of GYSM, James Bond, the Commission was established to inquire and report on the circumstances surrounding the shooting to death of Ron Somerset, Shemroy Boyea and Ivan Lewis, and the
injury of several other persons on July 18, 2012 at the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge. Bond said that the COI had to determine if the Police Unit deployed at the scene of the bridge was given any training and preparation for the crowd control. “From testimony given, it was the Commissioner of Police who was the person that decided that a Half Riot Unit would be sent to Linden.” Underscoring that the unit was headed by ASP Todd and included 18 other ranks, Bond said that ASP Todd testified that he was the person who selected the members of the Unit and it was he who selected what weapons and ammunition they should carry. “ASP Todd further testified that the majority of the weapons he chose, were weapons of deadly force. He also testified that most of his officers were inexperienced ranks. He testified that it was the inexperience of his ranks he chose which caused him to fire at the WismarMackenzie Bridge,” Bond said. “What must be mentioned is that ASP Todd completely breached the SOP weapons and ammunitions given to the ranks as they should have been armed with more non lethal weapons.” Noting an example, Bond said each rank should have had two tear smoke canisters, the ranks Todd chose, according to him, were inexperienced, “yet he chose them and finally his greatest and most fatal error occurred when he refused to first use sufficient tear smoke and opted to use 12
No bail for chopping accused
A
nthony Shivlall, the 17-year-old who intended to maim, disfigure, inflict grievous bodily harm to 17year-old Terrence Sandy, appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce, at the Charity Magistrates’ Court Monday and was refused bail. The charge was indictable. Prosecutor Ramana reminded Magistrate Scarce of the seriousness of the offense, emphasizing that Sandy has been transferred
to the Georgetown Public Hospital and was scheduled to undergo surgery to save his arm. Shivlall was represented by Attorney-atlaw Hemraji Rajkumar. Shivlall and Sandy were drinking on Friday at a rum shop at Lima Sands when an argument ensued. Shivlall, who was allegedly armed with a cutlass, chopped Sandy to his head and right arm, almost severing the arm. Shivlall’s next court date is November 20.
gauge shotguns to disperse the crowd.” Nevertheless, Bond said nothing in the Police SOPs permitted this gruesome usurpation of power. Under the Riot Manual and Order 18 of the Standing Orders of the Guyana Police Force, it specifically states that the rank issued with the firearm may fire and though there may be exceptions; for example if the rank has died
during hostile fire or is unable to use his firearm when his unit is under hostile fire, none of these exceptions arose, “therefore the ASP had no basis for his actions. Standing Order 18 Rule 31 also states when a rank may fire and for example when he/she is under attack, or you apprehend serious danger to your person and unable to defend yourself by any other means.
“Again none of these circumstances were present on July 18, at the Wismar Mackenzie bridge yet ASP Todd made the shotgun, a weapon of lethal force, his weapon of choice. His evidence that his Half Unit came under attack with bottles and bricks was debunked as no other rank gave corroborating evidence. Neither did video footage or the police
GYSM representative James Bond photographer support his ludicrous claims of bottles coming at him at a rate of 50 bottles per second.”
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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OF MERE SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE T
here is no need for anyone to read the legislation t h a t t h e opposition is proposing to cap the benefits that are being paid, under law, to former Presidents. It is a disgrace that this is what our parliament is being reduced to. Instead of making use of the limited legislative time available to discuss more i m p o r t a n t matters, the parliamentary opposition seems obsessed with keeping campaign promises that cannot really be kept. They are spending an inordinate time in futile exercises, instead of using that time more valuably to discuss more serious concerns, such as the airport project and the proposed Marriot Hotel. The Former Presidents’ Benefits cannot be cut. These benefits as detailed in our laws have created certain legitimate expectations and as a result of action which has already been taken to satisfy those expectations, moment, certain rights to “property” have accrued. These “rights” are protected under our constitution and cannot be abrogated by any law. The opposition ought to know this. They ought to know that their decision to
go ahead with this law to cap the benefits of former presidents is only of symbolic importance. Its only effect will be to demonstrate that the opposition tried to do something about a campaign promise. The government will not agree to this legislation and since it is not a moral or politically non-contentious issue amongst the political parties, it should by convention not be qualified as a Members’ Bill. But it will most likely be entertained and passed. But it will not come into law because for that to happen there has to be presidential assent and this will almost certainly be denied on the grounds that the proposed legislation is repugnant of the constitution. The proposed legislation also cannot cap benefits which have already been approved and for which the beneficiary has a legitimate expectation. As such, the proposed legislation will never be passed into law and is, as mentioned before, of mere symbolic importance, showing that the opposition did something. They did not need to do anything. A president is entitled to a pension and
Dem boys seh...
Ah same ting we seh Dem boys hear Rotee seh dat he not ah visionary and that dem boys must be de visionary since dem know everything wha gon happen. Everything dem boys seh does come through. Dem talk bout Fip and de money. Brazzy and all of dem who award de contract get vex till Fip flip de money. Dem boys talk bout the barbershop computer supplier. Again some government people get vex vex till the barbershop tun big shop. De latest things dem boys talk about was Measlyjet. That mek all dem Bees mad. Dem boys know that mad Bees does protect de Queen B. If Sunny is de Queen Bee then he got a lot of Bees protecting he. He got Fat Bee, Fine Bee, Dacta Bee and all kinda bees. He even got Kwame who is a Bee Bee. De Bees use de media from Hen See Hen to Hextyfive, from Veecity to Chronic-kill. Is who get hurt? Dem threaten fuh sue and a Dacta Bee actually sue. Dem boys bin seh dat dem tek odda people money fuh mek de airline. Sunny seh he tek he personal money. Then dem boys hear how some old people hospital seh Sunny tek dem money fuh de airline. Dem boys seh dem gon cancel 26 flights, dem vex bad bad. Den bradaaps, dem cancel flights aready. De CEO had to come home pun Delta de other day. De bees know that one day de bottom gun drop out and so one-or-two of dem want foh stay good with dem boys, so dem does talk and dem boys does hear. Dats how dem boys know bout de hospital money and de Measlyjet; that is how dem boys know bout de cancellation of flight and the crumbling of many of de schemes - but wait! Dem boy now seh, dis is just de smoke. Talk half and spray dem Bees.
former presidents are entitled by law to a pension. In the case of recognized law in Guyana, former presidents are paid a pension that is a designated fraction of their salaries. They are not paid three million dollars per month and those who throw this number out have never explained how they arrived at this as the sum total of the benefits paid to former presidents. There are apparently clauses that allow for the salaries of former presidents to be a percentage of sitting presidents. This has been criticized as allowing a former president to, in the future, earn as a pension more than what he or she would have earned while in office. There is however nothing improper or irregular about this because as is the case with all public pensioners, whenever increases are granted to public servants, the pensioners also benefit by an increase in their pension. There are also persons who would, today, have been receiving a pittance as NIS pension had there not been a minimum pension. If pensions were solely tied to what one earned while in office, some social security pensioners in this country, would receive a sum that would not be worth the bus fare to go and collect it. A pension is not a gratuity. It is an earned right and should not be subject to
arbitrary adjustment. It does not matter that a former president is of working age. To earn a pension does not mean that one has to be of retirement age. A person may qualify in a company for receipt of pension benefits after working for say ten years. If they retire, after then, whether it is before the normal age of retirement or not, they are entitled to some benefits because they would have earned pension benefits. The idea therefore that a former president should not be entitled to certain benefits if he finds other work is a laughable proposition. If we were to adopt this proposition, we would have a situation where a president who decides to go and work would not receive certain benefits but another former president who can work but decides that he or she does not want to work would receive the benefits. Pension benefits cannot be based on what someone does after he or she leaves the job. That decision is the person’s personal choice and should not affect earned rights. But if those who will support the legislation feel that someone who is capable of still working should not receive pension benefits, then by all means amend the constitution to abolish term limits so that the former presidents can return to work. If the argument is that pensions should not be paid to those who can still work and have not reached the
normal age of retirement as other public officials, then by all means allow those former presidents who are constrained by term limits to return to work as presidents. Perhaps instead of bothering about the equitableness of former president’s pension and benefits, greater attention should be paid to pensions and benefits of parliamentarians. There is also what is known as a pension for members of parliament and it needs to be asked how does a member of the House qualify for such a pension. Is the member required to reach retirement age to qualify or can someone qualify after serving a few years? And what if the
parliamentarian is involved in other work, should that parliamentarian still receive his or her pension? It would be interesting if it is revealed just how a parliamentarian qualifies for a pension, the value of that pension and whether there is a designated age of retirement. Then the public will better decide which should be capped, pensions to parliamentarians or pension benefits to former presidents.
Survivor of Suriname death crash back home The lone survivor in the Suriname crash, Velma Lynch, returned home yesterday after relatives went to the Dutchspeaking nation over the weekend. Lynch was involved in an accident which claimed the lives of three others. The dead were identified as 42-year-old Police Sergeant, Andrea Isaacs; GTM employee, 41-year-old Monique Charlene Lynch and her fiancé 32-year-old Asa Sauers. Kaieteur News was told that Lynch was discharged from the hospital on Sunday, but remained hospitalized since no relative was there. Relatives eventually managed to bring the woman home yesterday. Kaieteur News was told that although the woman doesn’t have any life threatening injury, she cannot remember anything about the accident. Reports out of Suriname are that the blue SUV in which the persons were traveling careened out of control. An eyewitness recounted seeing it swerving from one side of the road to the other. It is still unknown whether one of its wheels blew out.
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Kaieteur News
Tuesday November 06, 2012
=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===
Has the Guyana Police Force been reduced to a joke?
I
n the modern world the people who run the Guyana Police Force have no modern thinking. I taught philosophy at UG to many of the senior ranks of the police force, including former Commissioner Henry Greene, and Clifton Hicken. After his testimony last Thursday at the Commission of Inquiry into the Linden crisis, as he was leaving, Mr. Hicken glanced at me where I was sitting next to the WPA duo, Tacuma Ogunseye and Desmond Trotman. He asked to see me outside. I came out and he told me
that he would like to have a copy of my research essay which forms my defence of the Jagdeo libel against me. I agree. Hicken will have to contact me to secure a copy. I hope he reads it. The first section deals specifically with philosophical concepts like ideology, race, power etc. What these senior police officers do with the university education they received is a fascinating curiosity. Why do they turn their backs on what they have learned? I saw a letter from the Commissioner of Police to
the Speaker of the National A s s e m b l y. I n i t t h e Commissioner explained that he would allow light vehicular traffic through the barricades around Parliament. When the barricades went up, no genius in this entire universe could have known that he/she could drive the mobile metal fences. Common sense would have told that driver you couldn’t go through because all the streets were cordoned off. There was no indication or sign to let drivers of light vehicles know they can pass through. I was at the People’s Parliament when the barriers went up. I showed the Commissioner’s letter to all the senior ranks outside Parliament. All of them said they have no instructions and they cannot accept what is in the letter. Three times I called M. Brumell who knows me. The response was that he is at a meeting. I have the right to my belief and my belief is that I
feel he did not want to speak to me. I am saying that it is a policy that lacks common sense if you barricade the streets around Parliament but you still will allow light traffic, you left no sign to that effect. How are drivers to know they can pass through? Here is another example of lack of commonsense in the police force. I went up to the Parika market last Sunday with a team from the People’s Parliament and Lincoln Lewis of the TUC. Trouble was brewing over vending on the back street outside the market from where vendors have refused to move. When we got there, a bus load of policemen, some armed, were on the scene. They were taking instructions from a RDC official, Mr. Fowler. In my presence Fowler ordered the police to remove the stalls and make the necessary arrests. There and then I intervened. My point to the police was to ascertain the locus
standi of Mr. Fowler. Was he the head of the RDC for Region Three. Was he in charge of market operations? The answer to both questions the police were able to ascertain. There answer was no. By what logic then were the Leonora police taking instructions from this gentleman? I insisted that the police hear from the Chairman of Region Three and the head of the market committee. When contact was made with the RDC, the decision was at variance with what Mr. Fowler had issued to the police. If we were not there, based on Fowler’s edicts, there would have been an unpleasant situation. But after Linden and Agricola what were the police doing with those guns at the Parka Market last Sunday morning when none of the vendors were in any threatening mood? After Linden and Agricola, the nation will hear about so-called changes and reform but we will see
Frederick Kissoon no implementation. The police will remain the same backward school that it is at the moment. Just wait and you will see in the coming days; it is back to bully tactics, stupid thinking and unprofessional conduct. But maybe we are witnessing the final insult. Gunmen are killing suspected drug men in Georgetown and are doing so as if they are ghosts. One theory is that the police don’t care when drug wars break out. But the hit men are not only drug men. Most of the time they are hired gunmen who will also take a job to target someone even if that person is a nun or a monk or child. That is their profession. Will there be an arrest. Yes! Another 100 years from now.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Berbice CPG groups honour Rohee stated, too, that the fight against crime is not only for the police and CPG but for all concerned citizens. Hicken praised Rohee “for guiding us through good and bad times…and the door is always open for members of the public to come on board, guide the CPG so we all could fight this crime in our peaceful country”. Member of Parliament, Faizal M. Jaffarally, credited Rohee with numerous
Minister Rohee receives an award plaque from the Berbice CPG By Leon Suseran The ‘B’ Division Community Policing Group over the weekend honoured Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, for his six years in that office. The anniversary celebration was held on the lawns of State House in New Amsterdam. Rohee received applauses and chants of approval for him to stay on as Minister in that capacity. Region Six Chairman David Armogan told the gathering of law enforcement officials, “that the amount of support that this Minister is getting from the majority of people in Guyana, there is no way that those elements bent on removing him will succeed”. He was referring to the no-confidence motion passed in the National Assembly against Minister Rohee, and the calls by the Parliamentary Opposition for him to be removed as Home Affairs Minister. “The majority of rightthinking Guyanese and decent Guyanese want to see this Minister continue in office and perform in the same way that he has been performing over the last six years”, Armogan stated. The job of Rohee, he said, is not an easy one “because crime all over the world has been on the increase and G u y a n a cannot divorce itself from the rest of the world. But because of the number of things that he [Rohee] has put in place, our country can be still considered to be a safe place”. “I believe they are
picking on the wrong Minister—on a Minister who is a political thoroughbred—he is no ‘kangalang’…He has been in the fight …and has fought in the trenches and has been on almost all political battles in Guyana…postIndependence Guyana”. Armogan said it would not be easy for Rohee to give in…”thoroughbreds run and die—they do not give up!” Rohee was lauded for “bridging the gap between the people and police force…and being able to interface more with the [public and people are getting the confidence more and more over the last couple of years”. Minister Rohee has been in the centre of numerous calls from the Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) to resign from office as his performance during the Linden protests came under heavy scrutiny. Also speaking was Deputy Commander of Berbice, Clifton Hicken. “Minister has done well over the years…has helped the force to meet professional standards; has introduced community policing which is now growing from strength to strength in excess of 950”. Hicken said that this is unique to the decentralized system of management in the Guyana Police Force which “gives us hands-on approach to develop efficiencies through our community policing group”. Commander Hicken
initiatives accomplished under his tenure. These included a number of vehicles for the force and training programmes. “As an MP of Region Six, the greatest achievement for Rohee as Minister was under the Citizens’ Security Programme” (CSP)…where hundreds, perhaps thousands of young men and women were given a second chance in life, in communities such
as Edinburgh, Angoy’s Avenue, Fyrish, Chesney, T a i n / P o r t Mourant—thousands of young people who thought that their lives had no future were given an opportunity to become creative, to become entrepreneurs, to become tradesmen and women”. Jaffarally applauded Rohee “because he took a personal initiative in ensuring that this programme was successful”.
He stated that President Ramotar has full confidence in Rohee “and he will remain the Minister as long as the people of Guyana want him to be”. Rohee was presented a plaque by the CPG in Berbice at the end of the programme. The GPF band played several renditions and prisoners from the N/A Prisons performed beautiful poems and dramatic plays.
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Kaieteur News
Tuesday November 06, 2012
DUMPING ACCUSATIONS…
Sewage disposal companies ordered to apply for environmental permits
Two sewage disposal companies have been ordered to apply for environmental permits in face of illegal dumping accusations. Following complaints to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been directed to undertake investigations into the alleged dumping of sewage in the Princes Street Canal in Georgetown and in Bartica by Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. and Country Wide Disposal Services respectively. According to the Ministry yesterday, resulting from the investigation, both companies were requested to obtain environmental authorisation for their operations. This request came as a consequence of reports reaching the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the statement said. The EPA investigation revealed that the complaint related to dumping at the Princess Street canal was unsubstantiated. “However, the incident of sewage dumping at Bartica was substantiated although it was reportedly as a result of the sewage truck being stuck on the road. The EPA conducted an investigation this week regarding the complaint of dumping of sewage at the Princes Street Canal but observed that no dumping/ disposal of sewage was being carried out in the area.” According to the Ministry, this observation was confirmed by the pump attendant who resides in close proximity to the canal. The attendant told Environmental Officers that
the closest canal to the Princes Street area that leads into the Demerara River was at Sussex Street. As such, the Environmental Officers inspected the Sussex Street Canal and at the time of the inspection, there was a bad smell coming from the Canal. “Further investigations revealed that persons would usually dump garbage and animal parts such as offal into the canal was causing odour nuisance. Speaking with a security guard in the area, the officers were told that no dumping of sewage had occurred at the canal.” According to the statement, to conclude the investigation of the complaint of sewage dumping at Princes Street canal, Officers visited the Kingston outfall. “However, at no time during the inspection was any truck from Cevon’s Waste Management observed in the area. Further, the EPA made contact via telephone contact with Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. and the Manager indicated that all sewage is dumped at the Kingston outfall and nowhere else within Georgetown.” EPA also conducted a joint investigation with the Overseer of the Bartica Neighbourhood Democratic Council regarding the dumping of sewage by Countrywide Disposal Services along the Bartica/ Potaro Road, Region Seven. “Findings of the investigation revealed that the area where the sewage was dumped was densely vegetated and a small road
running west of the Bartica/ Potaro Road was cut through the area. The sewage had been dumped about six meters inwards, west of the Bartica/ Potaro Road and south of the small road and a slight malodour was emanating from the area and some amount of sewage was visible.” According to the Overseer, on the said day of the incident, sewage was seen overflowing on to the Bartica/Potaro Road, and that Countrywide Disposal Services informed the NDC and other officials who were present at the scene, that the truck got stuck along the road on the way back to Georgetown and that some of the sewage had to be discharged in order to move the truck. “These two complaints on sewage dumping have prompted the agency to request both Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. and Country Wide Disposal Services to ensure that they obtain Environmental Authorization for their operations.” The Ministry noted that Countrywide Disposal Services has submitted an application for Environmental Authorisation for their operation located at Aubrey Barker Street, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown. According to the Ministry, the company is still to submit outstanding documents. “In May this year, EPA conducted a site visit but cannot further process the application until the company submits outstanding documents.”
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Deeds Registry Authority Strategic plan for Parliament this week needed to retain -Bill Aimed at making the agency “semi autonomous” teachers - GYSM
T
he need for a strategic plan to retain trained teachers was amplified yesterday when the youth arm of the People’s National Congress Reform, the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM), held a press conference at its party’s Sophia, Georgetown, headquarters. GYSM Secretary, Adel Lily, said that there is a glaring, as well as crucial need to not only increase the proportion of experienced teachers in vital areas, but to ensure that they remain faithful educators to Guyana. According to him, efforts to merely “increase the numbers being trained will only increase the supply to the Bahamas and further afield. Without an education system capable of generating the quality and quantity of skilled persons which Guyana needs we will be less and less competitive in the regional and world economies.” It was against this background, he said, that the GYSM was forced to place its concerns on the record about an apparent lack of direction and focus of the government on the issues facing the education sector. Lily pointed to the fact that the sector is not merely a social sector which exists to foster educational upliftment but rather is also intended to serve as a crucial avenue to help with Guyana’s economic recovery. “We must reiterate the party’s view that without a credible and quality education system, the incentive will increase for more and more of our skilled professionals to leave in an effort to safeguard the future of their children,” Lily observed yesterday. He added that Central Government is yet to formulate a plan to retain trained teachers even as he stressed that “it is unacceptable that the government should allow the system to continue to decay without any response.” According to the GYSM member it is important that the welfare of teachers and the interests of students be a high priority for any administration and an essential foundation for national development and progress. Moreover, he added that the absence of such measures has resulted in the
GYSM’s Adel Lily growing scourge of illiteracy. Even with focus on the theme under which the Ministry celebrated Education Month last year “Child Friendly Home, Child Friendly Classroom and Quality Education”, Lily said that there is a shortage of trained and experienced teachers in vital subject areas. He also made reference to the fact that there remains an absence of any clear and viable plan to cope with the situation. This year the Ministry observed education month using another slogan that speaks to the need for skilled teachers. Pointing to the infrastructural state of some public education institutions, Lily vocalised the urgency for the Minister of Education herself (Priya Manickchand) to pay attention to ongoing works across the country. According to him, the GYSM is optimistic that the Donald Ramotar Administration will seek to examine the ways and means by which the conditions of “our teachers can be improved and the education system bettered throughout the entire country in physical and human terms.” A change in the system can only be realised, Lily said, if serious attention is directed to the deficiencies of the system and immediate measures taken to correct them.
By Latoya Giles The Deeds Registry Authority Bill is expected to be laid over in the National Assembly on Thursday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall disclosed yesterday. The Legal Affairs Minister said that the Bill intends to establish the Deeds Registry as a semi autonomous agency disengaging itself from Central Government and the Public Service. Nandlall told Kaieteur News that the registry will enjoy financial and functional autonomy. He said that the registry will be able to hire and dismiss its own staffers and become its own budget agency. According to the Attorney General, a board will be set up and would comprise government, private sector and the bar association personnel. The AG further told Kaieteur News that the Bill will create a new department which will deal exclusively with the commercial and company matters. The attorney general said that the initiative is intended to bring greater efficiency to the system and improve the quality of services currently being offered at the Deeds Registry. Further, the AG said that when the exercise is completed, a similar initiative will be undertaken in respect of the land court registry. He said that it is intended that both agencies will be completely modernized and be computerized. Moreover the Minister also stated that the Guyana Law Reports dating back from 1932
Attorney General Anil Nandlall to 2007 will be launched very shortly. There is an online version which is already completed. The AG said that the books have already left Canada where they were published and are being shipped to Guyana. Nandlall said that the reports will provide an invaluable addition to the country’s jurisprudence and legal literature. He said that both judges and lawyers will find the online version and hardcopies. Nandlall noted that the books will be sold at a reasonable price which would be determined at a later date.
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Tuesday November 06, 2012
GRANGER CHALLENGES AG MOTION AGAINST ROHEE ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ VOTE Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, by way of a summons filed in the High Court last Tuesday has refuted a motion filed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall against the Parliamentary vote of “no confidence” against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. Lawyers for the opposition leader, Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Attorney-at-law Basil Williams, presented the document to Chief Justice Ian Chang.
On September 13, last, the AG charged in the Supreme Court motion that the July 25 declaration and July 30, passed motion of “no confidence” against Minister Rohee was “unlawful, violative of the policy of separation of power, unconstitutional, null, void and without binding force or effect.” The opposition leader is contending in his summons that the claims of the Attorney General are without merit and
are misconceived. The opposition leader also charged that according to Standing Order 25, Rule 1 of the National Assembly Standing Orders, any Member of Parliament may introduce a Bill or propose any motion for debate and it shall be dealt with in accordance to the Standing Orders. The Summons argued that the National Assembly may regulate its own process and make rules for that purpose. In that light, the opposition leader claimed that
Rohee’s “no confidence” motion is not unlawful. The document states that irregularities in the conduct of Parliamentary business are matters for Parliament and not the Courts since rules and Parliamentary procedure are not intended to deprive the National Assembly of the Power given by Article 165(1) of the Constitution. The Summons continued, “Except for a constitutional or statutory breach, the Courts have no jurisdiction to
interfere in the internal affairs of the National Assembly.” The AG has failed to show any Constitutional or statutory breach by the Assembly.” It was further noted within the Summons that Article 106(6) provides that the Cabinet, including the President, shall resign if the Government is defeated by a vote of “no confidence” by a majority of all elected National Assembly members. It is with that notion, the opposition argued “that an individual Minister (a component of the
Government) must likewise resign on a vote of “no confidence” in him or her.” According to the High Court document, “It is a rule of the House of Commons (Great Britain) that a vote of ‘no confidence” in a Minister, requires him or her to do the decent thing and resign as Minister.” The matter was called before the Chief Justice last Friday and the Attorney General is expected to reply to the Summons within seven days. The matter will be heard again on November 28.
Trinidad, Guyana to collaborate in food security plan By Abena Rockcliffe Come next week, Trinidad and Tobago’s Food Production Minister, Devant Maharaj, is expected to lead a delegation to Guyana to engage in talks of Trinidad setting up a “food security facility” in Guyana. According to the Trinidad Guardian the trip is pending the “approval of a Cabinet note.” This newspaper understands that the delegation includes Maharaj, his permanent secretary and other technocrats from the Food and Production Ministry. Kaieteur News learnt that the deal, if sealed, would allow Trinidad access to land in Guyana for food production purposes. Though much detail wasn’t available, this newspaper understands that meat, primarily beef, is one of the products that Trinidad is considering for the facility which Minister of Agriculture, Leslie Ramsammy yesterday referred to as a “mega farm.” Reports are that earlier this year, the Trinidadian Government had set a target year of 2015 for the food import bill to be cut by 50 per cent. Last year, the country’s food import bill was TT$4 billion said Maharaj. Ramsammy, gave November 14 and November 15 as the date of the visit by the Trinidadian delegation. He noted that since the agreement “years ago” that Caricom states could utilize lands in Guyana to reduce the regional food security bill; Trinidad’s interest seems to be the first “serious effort.” He said that the agreement was met as Caricom heads saw the urgent need to reduce the regional food importation bill and acknowledged Guyana as the country with the most land availability. He disclosed
Guyana’s annual food importation bill is US$200M. On the beneficial side for Guyana, Dr Ramsammy said that the venture will increase foreign investments, create job opportunities and hopefully address some of Guyana’s food needs. Acknowledging that Trinidad’s primary investment might come through the investment in meat, Ramsammy said that this will be beneficial to Guyana as “we don’t import beef but we import milk…We want to develop a cattle industry that will produce meat and milk enough to supply the local market.” He said that more cows will help Guyana either reduce the amount of imported milk or stop its importation completely. The Agriculture Minister said that potentially, “this will be a large export investment.” The Minister noted that “we will like to be able to supply meat to our country, Trinidad and the wider Caribbean. However, Ramsammy said that the Government is committed to ensuring that lands remain available for Guyanese who want to farm. Asked if land has been yet identified, the Minister replied in the negative. According to the Trinidad Guardian, intention to seal the deal was announced by Trinidad’s Finance Minister, Larry Howai, during the reading of the budget in October. The newspaper quoted the Minister during his reading of the budget indicating “The facility would commit both Governments to expanding agricultural production in Guyana through the establishment of commercial relationships for funding the establishment of several large agricultural estates in Guyana.”
Tuesday November 06, 2012
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Lawyer and prosecution divided over PI or paper committal Robb Street murder...
More than a year after the death of 72-year-old Clementine Parris of 42 Robb Street, Bourda, those accused of the woman’s death are still awaiting the commencement of the pre-trial hearing that will determine whether enough evidence exists for them to stand trial in the Supreme Court. In fact, the prosecution and the defence lawyer in this matter are at loggerhead over the type of pre-trial hearing the men should receive. While the prosecution is arguing for a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into Parris’s death, the defence lawyer for the accused is seeking a paper committal. The paper committal may bring a speedy conclusion to the matter since witness statements would be considered and a ruling could be made based on the evidence. The PI may however, be a longer process as witnesses and experts would have to testify before the Magistrate and give evidence according to statements they gave the police. Magistrate Sueanna Lovell, who is presiding over the matter, had last May, ordered that the accused,
Orin Hinds, 35, of Burnham Boulevard, Mocha, East Bank Demerara; Cleon Hinds, 34, of 23 Middle Road, Albouystown; Kevin October, 29, of Second Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara; and Roy Jacobs, 34, of Evan Street, Charlestown face a paper committal. Magistrate Lovell however went on leave and was replaced by Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty. The prosecution again sought to have a PI conducted but was met with strong objections by Defence Attorney Basil Williams who is representing the accused. Williams had argued that the ruling of the presiding Magistrate could not be overruled by a substitute. The matter was adjourned until the return of Magistrate Lovell. Yesterday brought more controversy as the prosecution and the defence continued to pursue their original stand points. Prosecutor Neville Jeffers told the court that unlike the Sexual Offences Act which stipulates the procedure for a paper committal in that particular offence, there is no procedure for a paper
Clementine Fiedtkou-Parris committal for the offence of murder. He thus informed the court that a paper committal may not be useful and asked that the court review its ruling of the paper committal. Williams, on the other hand, argued that the paper committal was adequate as it is. He said that the procedure of paper committal in sexual offences matters was already cut down by the Chief Justice since it did not adequately serve the victims. The paper committal serves swift justice, Williams added. The lawyer argued that since January of this year
statements are still to be served on the accused, despite the court ordering that same be done. He continued that it is for the purpose of persons not languishing in the lock ups and for swift administration of justice that the paper committal exists. He again called for his clients to be discharged of the murder charge since it is his belief that the prosecution has no evidence against the accused. Williams also charged that the prosecution lay over the statements and serve them on his clients. When asked by the court, the prosecution said they were not in possession of statements to serve. The magistrate concluded that she would review the legislation pertaining to the use of a paper committal and will make a ruling on the way forward for pre-trial hearing on November 19. Clementine FiedtkouParris was shot dead on June 30, last year. Reports said that two men entered her home and opened fire on the woman as she approached her front door to meet persons who had requested an audience with her.
The men escaped in a waiting motorcar, while Parris succumbed to her wounds at the city’s hospital. Further reports said that Parris was reportedly murdered for her property since she was in a heated court battle for her residence.
The accused according to the police were reportedly paid to execute the senior. It is alleged that the men were paid $400,000 to kill Parris. Other charges were also expected in this matter since the police said that the search was on for the mastermind(s).
Man shoots neighbour’s dog, police seize gun The police have confiscated the firearm of taxi driver, Godfrey Fraser, after he shot and killed his neighbour’s dog. Fraser said that on Friday, at his Reliance residence, he awoke sometime in the pre-dawn hours and noticed his neighbour’s dog in his fowl pen. He said that he went for his firearm and shot the dog, which he said was vicious and frequented his pen, killing over 50 fowls and ducks. He said the dog managed to walk further into his yard before it died. But Fraser explained that he did not move the dog right away and as such his neighbour, who must have
heard the gunshot, came over to inquire whether Fraser had killed her dog. Fraser said later that day, a policeman came to his home and inquired about the shot dog. Fraser said the officer also asked him to show him his gun, which was then confiscated. But the police say that the firearm was taken into their possession for ballistic testing to confirm that Fraser did fire a shot. The police insist that an investigation is ongoing. Fraser, who was asked to submit a statement, is contending he has been a licenced firearm holder since 1977 and that he is seeking compensation for his losses.
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HEALTH MINISTER SEEKS TO ‘SHORE UP’ PLANS TO TWIN HOSPITALS Holding steadfast to plans to improve the operations of the West Demerara Regional Hospital while at the same time removing pressure from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, has been spearheading moves to twin the two facilities. The initiative was in fact a brainchild of the Minister and was amplified during a GPHC board meeting where the issue of efficiency and
efficacy at both facilities were highlighted. The Minister accompanied by Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, recently paid a visit to the West Demerara facility as the first step in realising the twinning move. However, Minister Ramsaran said that the plan was not readily welcomed. “There was some degree of resistance but we are overcoming it...so we will be able to have the capacity of the West Demerara Hospital linked with that of the Central
Hospital.” Having embraced the idea, the Minister said that even the Board members of the GPHC had come to an agreement that a visit to the West Demerara facility was necessary. “It has now been accepted that we can share. For example, why should two women be on a single bed at the GPHC when we have underutilised facilities in a hospital just over the river where in the past three or four years we spent about $200 million to upgrade it? We have
done work on the wards, the theatre and we were even able to get designated transformers from GPL for this hospital,” informed the Minister. Additionally, he disclosed that there are currently two staff members at the West Demerara Hospital who are capable of performing anaesthetic duties. This, according to him, will aid the moves to decant services even as he alluded to a decision he made last year to commence a
Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran programme called ‘Fight Against Fibroids’. The programme, he said, was designed to track women with fibroids by obtaining their records from the GPHC. These women, he disclosed, have been patients at the city hospital for several years and through the programme, have since been taken over to the West Demerara Hospital for surgeries which were never attempted there before. Other surgical operations such as the removal of hernias and hysterectomy, which is undertaken mainly for removal of a diseased womb, are also done at the Region Three health facility.
The twinning plans, according to Minister Ramsaran, will also cater to increased surgery time since “if you don’t have theatre time at the GPHC you can simply move your surgeons and their support staff over to our other hospital. “So our visit to the West Demerara Hospital was to shore-up or strengthen this twinning initiative and share on our assets across the country and not be cocooned.” The Health Minister, in an earlier interview, had assured that criticisms will not halt plans to improve the operation of the West Demerara Hospital. He, at the (Continued on page 19 )
Public Works examines alternative East Bank Demerara route Construction of the southern approach road as an alternative roadway to the East Bank Demerara Public Road is in the pipeline. Officials of the Public Works Ministry several weeks ago made an aerial survey of the stretch to ascertain a viable route. This was confirmed by Transport Minister, Robeson Benn during an interview with this publication. He noted that this new carriageway could either begin from the junction of Aubrey Barker Road or at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. Benn stated that if the road will be constructed from the junction at Aubrey Barker Road, squatters along Mandela Avenue will have to remove. He said that whichever option is utilized the roadway will stretch behind the Diamond/ Grove Housing Schemes. Extension of the roadway to Timehri will be done gradually depending on increasing traffic flow. Travel time on the existing thoroughfare is approximately one hour during peak hours. This is usually met with heavy traffic congestions at Diamond Housing Scheme, the junction at the Demerara Harbour Bridge, and
Ruimveldt. Construction works are ongoing to widen the East Bank Demerara Public Road into a four-lane carriageway from Providence to Diamond. According to some engineers, this extension will not reduce the traffic congestion but will help to decrease travel time. As such, the new southern approach is much needed. However, some observers stressed that the Ministry should not have widened the existing roadway but utilize the money to erect the new southern approach. Meanwhile, others believe that the road widening project is needed to facilitate the growing traffic flow. The flow of traffic is expected to increase tremendously within the next five years with the establishment of more housing schemes on the East Bank, West Bank and West Coast of Demerara. According to Benn, the construction of the southern approach is in the pipeline and will not be undertaken soon. He said that it is customary of the Ministry to review its major projects in the making.
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Baroombar dancers charged for violating immigration laws Eleven Hispanic exotic dancers from a location at 23 North Road, Bourda, were brought before the court on allegations of illegal entry and breaching the conditions of their stay in Guyana. Evelyn Ramirez, Josephina Pereira, Lydia Viragos, Cedilla Asana, Marcella Arenas, Patricia Ortega, Chivalries Rameez, Llaylene Curerttes, Bithynia Asana Beltane, Leila Ortiz Hernandez and Llana Eman Genome, faced Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine Beharry yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. While Ramirez, Perriera, and Viragos were
charged for entering the country illegally, in that they entered Guyana by sea and disembarked without the consent of immigration authorities, the other accused were arraigned for failing to comply with the conditions of their travel permit given that they overstayed the time granted by the authorities. Most of the women said that they were guilty of the allegations but at least three women entered a plea of not guilty. One woman vehemently denied that she was guilty of the crime as she was unaware that she had (Continued on page 19)
Husband chops wife, daughter
Sursatie Abdool A 35-year-old woman and her daughter are now patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), after they were chopped several times by the woman’s reputed husband. Injured are Sursatie Abdool and her 18-year-old daughter, Christine Hansraj of Newtown, East Coast Demerara (ECD). The mother of four sustained five chops about her body, including one to her head, while her daughter is nursing three cutlass wounds to her head and abrasions about her body. At the GPHC yesterday, Abdool recalled spending the past 13 years of her life in torment and torture. She said that it was around 7:30 hrs on Monday that her husband went to their room, after taking a shower.
“He come up and I ask he if he done bathe so fast and he say that he does always done bathe fast and then he start arguing about all kind of things. I was about to come out the netting when he grab me and start cuff me,” the woman recalled. She added that he picked up the cutlass, which was lying not far from him and started inflicting the wounds. “I start screaming and then my daughter come in and she tell he that we had enough and he should just leave and then he start chopping her too.” The mother of four said that her reputed husband of 13 years ran away after chopping her daughter. Up to press time yesterday there was no information about the man’s whereabouts.
Some of women who were charged.
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Youth group targets Festival City The Festival City Youth and Parent Organisation (FCYPO) organized a community clean-up day over the weekend to clean Festival City. The exercise was to honour the historic neighbourhood and restore it to its former glory. This clean-up was the largest and most successful to date with over 50 participants from seven civic groups. U.S. Ambassador D. Brent Hardt and members of the Embassy community joined in the clean-up and donated tools, including a rake, hoe, wheelbarrow, broom and gloves, to support the effort. Habitat for Humanity, the University of Guyana’s EcoTrust Society and students from its School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Scotia Bank, Yo u th M e d i a G u y a n a , Marian Academy, and the Rotaract Club of Georgetown Central all participated in the clean-up. Although the FCYPO works to maintain the cleanliness of Festival City on a regular basis, almost every Sunday, this event was a special clean-up as part of the Guyana Shines initiative. Guyana Shines
was launched in April 2012 to bring together diplomatic and Guyanese civic partners to promote anti-littering education and encourage and mobilize Guyanese communities to address the
serious littering problem in Guyana. Guyana Shines reaches out to schools to deliver presentations to build awareness among young Guyanese of the harmful
effects of littering and pollution and to encourage students to make environmentally friendly decisions. It has also supported hands-on, cleanup projects within
Georgetown neighborhoods to bring communities together in common action. Ambassador Hardt expressed his thanks for the high turn-out and hard work, adding that “the momentum
is clearly building within more and more communities and civic groups in Guyana to change attitudes and take action to make Guyana a more beautiful place to live for all citizens.”
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NDIA CEO’s response to fraud allegations - Board shows procedural breaches Chairman The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA)’s Field Auditor, who exposed alleged corrupt practices by senior officials of the government entity, was probably on the ball, Chairman of the NDIA Board Dharamkumar Seeraj said yesterday. He confirmed that there have been procedural breaches at the entity. However, the Auditor General’s Office would have to determine if those breaches and other malpractices could be classified as corruption, he added. In a report compiled by the Field Auditor and leaked to the media, NDIA’s Chief Executive Officer, Lionel Wordsworth and the Senior Section Engineer, Aneel Chowbay, were accused of being involved in corrupt practices. The Field Auditor recommended the duo’s
dismissal. The report was addressed to Seeraj in his capacity as Chairman of the Board and carbon copied to President Donald Ramotar, a move that angered Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, under whose portfolio the NDIA falls. The report speaks of conflict of interest and sole sourcing of services such as the supply of fuel and the awarding of contracts to relatives of senior NDIA operatives, in breach of national procurement procedures. NDIA deemed the report as mischievous, misleading and aimed at damaging the image of the Authority for personal gains and aspirations. Because the auditor skipped protocol by sending the damning report to Ramotar he was subsequently
Baroombar dancers charged for violating... From page 17 overstayed her permitted time. She explained that a guy named “Jason” from the club, in which they were all employed as dancers, took US$150 from them as reassurance that he would get them a three-month extension of stay. The woman claimed that the guy collected their passports and promised to return it with the granted extension. Some time later, AttorneyAt- Law Latchmie Rahamat entered an appearance on behalf of the women. Rahamat said that although her clients who hail from the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela and
Colombia were unaware that the immigration stamps in their passports had expired, they have accepted the facts and have shown remorse. The lawyer asked leniency as she stated that her clients had thrown themselves at the mercy of the court saving it valuable time. The three women who initially pleaded not guilty then decided to change their pleas then, as the lawyer claimed that they did not quite understand the nature of the offence. The Chief Magistrate ordered the women to pay a fine of $30,000, each, with an alternative of three months imprisonment.
HEALTH MINISTER SEEKS TO ‘SHORE UP’ PLANS... From page 16 time, had expressed conviction that the hospital is poised for improvement in the face of recent heavy condemnations, particularly from the media. “I think the hospital is doing better but it still faces some criticism...I say it is doing better because the theatre services are working better and the wards are being redone; we are even planning on taking patients from the Georgetown Public Hospital there.” This move, the Minister said, would be characterised by some patients on the public hospital’s waiting list being transferred to the West Demerara Hospital. This is especially true for patients
suffering from fibroids and hernias, Minister Ramsaran added. He said, too, that many of the fistulae that are done to facilitate dialysis are also done at the West Demerara Hospital and not only at the GPHC as many believe. This, he disclosed, is strategically done to take pressure off the GPHC. The decision to twin the two hospitals is a representation of Government’s plans to utilise its resources more rationally, Minister Ramsaran said, adding that “we are looking to see how they can synergise...we have constantly been looking at decanting patients after surgery and such things will be done to better utilise the hospitals’ capacities.”
sent on leave. According to Seeraj, he is currently reviewing Wordsworth’s response to the allegations in the report. He noted that from what he has reviewed thus far it shows that there were procedural breaches at NDIA. The Chairman said that since he is not an auditor his likely course of action would be to send the document to the Auditor General’s Office to determine if fraud did occur. He emphasized that it is unfortunate that this
investigation did not follow the normal procedure from the inception. Seeraj noted that the auditor should have sent the document to the department head to respond to the issues. Region Four Chairman and member of NDIA Board, Clement Corlette, also criticized the move by the auditor to send the initial report to Ramotar, bypassing the Minister of Agriculture and other Directors of the NDIA Board. Corlette said that he was
NDIA CEO’s, Lionel Wordsworth satisfied that the remit of the auditor to investigate areas of activity assigned is legal, but
Chairman of NDIA Board, Dharamkumar Seeraj he is not satisfied that the officer can properly send his report and findings straight to the President.
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Suicide bomber kills 50 Syrian security men: opposition (Reuters) - An Islamist suicide car bomber killed at least 50 Syrian security men in Hama province yesterday, an opposition group said, in what would be one of the bloodiest single attacks on President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the 20-month-old uprising. Another day of relentless violence in Syria coincided with more unity talks in Qatar among opposition factions. Syrian state media reported that a “terrorist” suicide bomber had targeted a rural development centre in Sahl al-Ghab in Hama province, putting the death toll at two. Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the centre was used by security forces and pro-Assad militia as one of their biggest bases in the area. “A fighter from the Nusra Front drove his car to the centre and then blew himself
A crowd gathers in front of a building and car damaged after a bomb explosion in the Mezzeh 86 area in Damascus, in this handout photograph released by Syria’s national news agency SANA, November 5, 2012. (REUTERS/Sana) up,” he said. “A series of explosions followed. At least 50 were killed.”
The Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-inspired group of ultra-orthodox Salafi
Muslims, has claimed responsibility for several suicide bombings in
Damascus and elsewhere in the past. It operates mostly independently of other rebel factions, some of which have criticized it for indiscriminate tactics. Syrian officials often blame foreign-backed Islamist militants for the anti-Assad revolt, in which about 32,000 people have been killed since it began in March 2011. In Damascus, a car bomb exploded in the mostly Alawite western district of Mezzeh 86, killing 11 people and wounding dozens more, including children, state media and the Syrian Observatory reported. An Islamist group calling itself Seif al-Sham claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said targeted a meeting point for the army, police and pro-Assad militia. Warplanes, tanks and artillery battered rebel-held parts of southern Damascus in what one Western diplomat said was an escalation in the
government campaign to crush the insurgency. Opposition activists said at least 10 people were killed there. OPPOSITION TALKS An air strike on Haram, a town in the northwestern province of Idlib near the Turkish border, killed at least 20 rebels of the Idlib Martyrs’ Brigade, probably including their commander, Basil Eissa, the Syrian Observatory said. Much of Idlib province is in the hands of insurgents, but remains vulnerable to air power, used increasingly by Assad’s forces to contain his mostly Sunni Muslim opponents. In Qatar, divided Syrian opposition groups were meeting to try to forge a cohesive leadership that would then make common cause with rebel factions fighting on the ground, in an effort to gain wider international recognition and arms supplies.
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Sandy still causing nightmare commute, housing crisis ELECTION DAY CONCERNS An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people in New York City were in need of shelter, including 20,000 in public housing, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday. Some 750 construction workers resumed rebuilding at the World Trade Center site known as “Ground Zero” since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Sandy’s record storm surge caused
A view of the remains of a beach front home, torn in half by the force of the water in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, at Bay Head, New Jersey November 4, 2012. REUTERS/Tom Mihalek (Reuters) - Most New York City schools reopened and millions of commuters fought huge crowds on public transportation yesterday, a week after superstorm Sandy devastated the U.S. Northeast and created lingering hardship for disaster victims as winter sets in. Living conditions remained severe for tens of thousands of people unable to return to their homes, and some 1.4 million homes and businesses were due to endure another night of nearfreezing temperatures without power or heat. The devastation could also send ripples through today’s presidential election, with President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney locked in a close race. An exhausted region now faces the prospect of a new storm. A strong “Nor’easter” was forecast to bring freezing temperatures and more rain and wind by the middle of the week, possibly flooding coastal areas that have yet to recover from Sandy. The U.S. death toll rose to
at least 113 and thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged by the gigantic storm, which slammed into the U.S. East Coast a week ago, bringing a record surge that flooded low-lying areas with seawater. Hurricane Sandy killed 69 people in the Caribbean before turning its 80 mph winds on the United States. Most of New York City’s 15,070 schools reopened but 57 suffered structural damage and needed to be relocated, 20 lacked power and another 16 were closed because they were being used as shelters, the Department of Education said. With sizeable legs of the region’s public transportation network still hobbled by storm damage, people stood for an hour or more on train platforms or street corners in New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut waiting for trains and buses, only to find many of them too crowded to board. Service on many rail and bus lines was reduced and the New York City subway was running at about 80 percent of its normal service. The commute from New Jersey was particularly trying.
As a Northeast Corridor Line train on the New Jersey Transit network pulled into Newark, passengers wondered aloud how the hundreds of people who crowded the platform would squeeze into the alreadypacked train. A conductor banged on the window, signaling passengers to squeeze together more than they already were. “Move in! It’s gonna be a tight fit,” another conductor yelled. Still, there was no room for about half of the passengers. “I’m taking Amtrak back this afternoon, so I don’t have to deal with this,” said Gabrielle Nader, 27, a human resources professional who boarded in Trenton. “It’s worse than a subway.” Hundreds of commuters tried to get ahead of potential logjam on NJ Transit’s commuter rail by flocking to national carrier Amtrak, which sold out rush-hour trains through Friday along the corridor. Amtrak prices can run more than twice those of commuter rails, adding to the economic hardship of those affected by the storm.
- U.S. death toll at 113 the Hudson River to pour into the September 11 memorial and museum and temporarily stopped construction on two skyscrapers that have nearly topped out. Concerns were also growing that Sandy would prevent displaced voters from reaching polling stations today. Scores of voting centers were rendered useless by the record surge of seawater in New York and New Jersey.
New Jersey has said it will allow people displaced by the storm to vote by email. In New York City, some 143,000 voters will be reassigned to different polling sites. Both states are normally easy wins for Democrats. PSE&G, the largest electric utility in New Jersey, said early Monday it had restored power to 78 percent of the 1.7 million customers blacked out by the storm.
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G20 seeks more wiggle room on austerity pledges (Reuters) - The world’s leading economies will give themselves a bit more wiggle room to meet targets for cutting budget deficits rather than risk aggravating a slowdown in many countries, chief among them the United States. Meeting a day before the U.S. presidential election, the Group of 20 countries worried that their target to cut in half the budget shortfalls of advanced economies by the end of next year might hurt
the struggling global economy. “We will ensure the pace of fiscal consolidation is appropriate to support growth,” G20 policymakers said in a communiqué after a twoday meeting in Mexico. The target for cutting deficits was agreed at a summit in Toronto in 2010, when the global economy seemed to be over the devastating financial crisis in the previous two years. It now looks out of reach for some economies,
including the United States, as growth has slowed. The U.S. budget gap surpassed $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row in the fiscal year 2012. The deficit was equivalent to 7.0 percent of the country’s economic output. While the United States needs to bring its deficits under control, G20 countries also want it to avert a barrage of tax hikes and spending cuts from January 1. They were penciled in last year to show Washington could
tackle its fiscal problems. Those measures, dubbed a “fiscal cliff”, could tip the U.S. economy back into recession unless Congress cuts a deal quickly after the presidential and congressional elections on Tuesday. “There may have to be some modification with respect to the deficit targets,” said Canada’s finance minister, Jim Flaherty. “That may not be compatible for the Americans with their fiscal cliff solution,
whatever it is, so there may have to be more time there,” he told reporters, stressing countries need to show they can eventually fix their fiscal problems over time. A European official said the flexibility could alternatively come in the form of less rigid definitions of what constitutes a public deficit, such as allowing some countries to exclude the costs of recession - higher unemployment and welfare costs and lower tax revenues - on their public accounts. Other top policymakers said the emphasis in the talks in Mexico City was on ways to boost demand in their economies. “The dominant focus in the discussion among the ministers and governors was the imperative of supporting demand. There was broad agreement that this requires different things from different members of the G20,” one of the policymakers said. The communiqué said G20 members would ensure that public finances are on “a sustainable path” and in line with the medium-term commitments made in 2010. At the Toronto summit, G20 leaders pledged to stabilize public debt by 2016 in most advanced economies as well as cut budget deficits. Countries like the United States, Britain and Japan are struggling to meet those deficit targets. As economies remain weak, there is little appetite for heavy spending cuts. Big European countries, which have done better at tightening their belts, are now leading the way in pressing the United States to steer away from the fiscal cliff, which many see as the biggest short-term threat to global growth. ATICKINGCLOCK “The clock is ticking, the cliff is getting closer and closer. It is a question of less than two months and accidents can happen,” a senior G20 official said before adding the group is confident the U.S. Congress will find a bi-partisan solution. Chile’s finance minister, Felipe Larrain, also said there was an assumption that a deal would be found. “If we’re not able to resolve the cliff, that could be the tipping point for a much more complicated scenario in the world economy,” he told Reuters. The G20 communiqué said the United States “will carefully calibrate the pace of fiscal tightening to ensure that public finances are placed on a sustainable long-run path while avoiding a sharp fiscal contraction in 2013.” In a bid to show their commitment to keeping their
finances in order over the long term, advanced G20 countries also said they would come up with “credible and ambitious” debt targets beyond 2016 in time for a summit of leaders of the group next year. Alan Ruskin, global head of G10 FX strategy at Deutsche Bank in New York, said the message from the meetings seemed to be that policymakers wanted to show they were serious about long-term credibility while pulling back a bit on austerity now. “That would be something that reinforces credibility in the medium term, so that markets don’t push up bond yields and undermine growth in the short term,” he said. “The U.S. is putting out a message that it wants to be credible in the long term but in the short term it believes growth will do more good.” The G20’s consensus of four years ago, which helped stave off the risk of a new depression, has given way to persistent differences over issues such as spending to boost growth and the right pace of belt-tightening to tackle high debt levels. The global economy faces “elevated” risks, including Europe’s debt crisis - centered on Spain and Greece - and potential problems in Japan, the communique said. “Global growth remains modest and downside risks are still elevated, including due to possible delays in the complex implementation of recent policy announcements in Europe, a potential sharp fiscal tightening in the United States, securing funding for this year’s budget in Japan, weaker growth in some emerging markets,” the communique said. The wording on Europe referred to differences within the euro zone over how to build a banking union, considered an important way to bolster the bloc’s shaky financial system, during 2013. The group will also recommit to implementing tough new bank capital rules on time. The rules, known as Basel III, are the world’s response to the financial crisis and are set to be phased in starting in January. U.S. and European regulators have not yet finalized their versions of the rules, which had prompted speculation that the timetable could be pushed forward. Few expected major agreements in Mexico, with heavyweights such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and top Chinese officials, all skipping the meeting. Geithner is expected to stand down after the U.S. election, even if President Barack Obama is re-elected.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
Cayman Islands Premier defies Britain GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush released a copy of a letter on Friday addressed to newlyappointed British Overseas Territories Minister Mark Simmonds rejecting a number of UK demands and raising fears locally that Britain may thereby be forced to impose direct rule as was done in relation to the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2009. The letter – purportedly dated October 30 – told Simmonds that “…you will find the government of the Cayman Islands may be led, but are much more difficult to push.” “I think you will find that we stand by our convictions, unless and until proven wrong (even if that must be in a court of law which I will not hesitate to undertake)…” Bush added. However, in another letter released on Friday, this time from Simmonds to Bush, the British minister said he had received no such earlier communication from the Cayman Islands regarding the various outstanding issues. The issues in question relate to a financial management agreement known as the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR); whether the Cayman Islands should proceed with a port redevelopment project, and the respective roles of the governor and an appointed budget committee. Simmonds told Bush on Friday not to proceed with a plan to bring a revised version of the FFR to the Legislative Assembly this week. Bush said recently that he wanted Britain to take responsibility for any reputational or financial damage that adhering to the framework might cause Cayman and he has inserted a clause doing just that. He has also increased the value of projects that require UK approval from $10 million in the agreement itself to $25 million in the bill, without the consent of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In his letter to the premier, Simmonds stated that he understands that Bush plans to proceed to the Legislative Assembly on Monday “to transpose a version of the FFR which does not accord with that which you have signed”. “This is not acceptable,” Simmonds added. He continued: “Should you go through with this course of action, I will have no choice but to conclude that you are disregarding
Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush good governance and continue to be in breach of a series of commitments you have made. This is disappointing for the Cayman people.” The minister said he told Bush in an earlier correspondence on 1 October that the “continued breach” of commitment left him (Simmonds) with “no alternative but to give detailed consideration to alternatives”. He did not state what those alternatives would be. However, Bush, in his purported letter dated 30 October, said that the FFR – which he agreed and signed with the UK last year – would be passed into law at the next meeting of the Legislative Assembly. The Premier said the bill that transposes the FFR into law will meet “the necessary requirements to which we are committed”. However, Bush said that the two documents – the signed agreement and the law – cannot be identical. “In the transposition, essential commercial tests must be passed for the mandatory performance that the legislation, as a law, would require,” Bush wrote. “We cannot afford the collapse of our entire structure of budgetary obligations under the weight of unwieldy processes.” In his letter on Friday, Simmonds also said he would not allow Bush to proceed with the procurement of a new cruise ship terminal “unless the proper procedures have been followed”. “Should y ou push ahead regardless, I will have no choice but to ask the secretary of state to instruct the governor to r e j e c t the proposals,” Simmonds said in the letter. The Cayman Islands government is in talks with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to expand cruise ship facilities in Grand
Cayman. According to a statement from the governor’s office, both Simmonds and his predecessor, Henry Bellingham, raised the concerns over the cruise ship project procurement a number of times in meetings and in correspondence with Bush over the past year. “Mr Simmonds has now found it necessary to write to the premier again about this and the outstanding issue of the transposition into law of the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility,” the statement from Governor Duncan Taylor’s office read. The statement said Simmonds had asked that his letter be made available to the people of the Cayman Islands so that there is “no misunderstanding of the UK government’s position on both issues”. “The UK government supports the aim of enhanced cruise ship facilities and fully understands the potential economic benefit to the Cayman Islands. The nationalities of the parties involved have no bearing on this case. We encourage investment in the Cayman Islands by China and other countries. It is of critical longterm importance to all parties that proper procurement processes are followed in line with international best practice,” the statement said. Bush addressed this issue in his letter of 30 October, assuring the UK that “value for money” on the cruise project would be achieved, and that an outside review, undertaken by the KPMG accounting firm, would assist in providing support for those claims. “I disagree that the auditor general or chairman of the Central Tenders Committee (useful though their input will be) can be the final arbiters of how we should achieve such fundamental objectives,” Bush wrote. “I believe KPMG, who is doing our ‘value for money’ test, to be much more competent in these matters.” Bush said “micromanagement” of a project like the port proposal by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office “is no more necessary, nor desirable at this time”. “Your concerns over contingent liability are duly noted, but with all due respect, Cayman has not got this far through the micromanagement of the FCO, nor its successive c o m m i s s i o n e r s , administrators or governors from the 1930s until today,” Bush said.
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Union opposes idea of taxing more Grenadian workers ST GEORGE’S, Grenada — One of Grenada’s leading trade unions has said that it will resist any attempt to lower the country’s personal income tax (PIT) threshold. The Technical and Allied Workers’ Union (TAWU) said it is “absolutely opposed” to lowering the PIT ceiling that is being advocated by Aaron Moses, manager of Grenada’s World Bank-sponsored Public Sector Reform Project. He has also served as policy
advisor to Prime Minister Tillman Thomas. For several years, PIT has been deducted from the salaries of Grenadians earning EC$60,000 or more per year. Government’s revenues are collected primarily through the customs and from the value added tax that was introduced a couple years ago by the Thomas administration. However, government has been experiencing shortfalls
in revenues, resulting in recent late payment of monthly salaries to public officers. TAWU said that based on statements from Moses, it appears government is considering lowering the PIT threshold. The union, which is headed by Senator Chester Humphrey, said such a move will be equivalent to the imposition of a tax on workers and would be “exceedingly regressive”.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
CARICOM trade officials discuss regional aid for trade strategy BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states gathered to validate the draft of the Caribbean Community Regional Aid for Trade (AfT) Strategy ahead of the upcoming Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) meeting. The Aid for Trade Initiative helps support developing countries, in
particular the least developed, to build the trade capacity and infrastructure they need to benefit from trade opening. The World Trade Organization has taken the lead in the monitoring and evaluation of Aid for Trade and has partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other development institutions to spearhead the initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean. Fourteen Caribbean countries along with regional organizations participated in the Trade and Integration meeting of the Regional Policy Dialogue in Bridgetown, Barbados, on November 1-2,2012.The meeting was organized in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat. During the opening of the meeting, Permanent Secretary Bentley Gibbs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados stressed that the purpose of the dialogue is to “determine how to mobilize and access resources under the Aid for Trade platform. We have a credible Strategy which should provide the framework for identifying the grant and lending resources needed to support interventions.” Overcoming the constraints of inadequate infrastructure, limited institutional capacity, concentrated export-oriented productive capacity and weak participation in regional and
global value chains, are among the main issues highlighted by the AfT Strategy. In order to address these constraints, the AfT Strategy proposes three main goals: upgrading key economic infrastructure; facilitating trade expansion and private sector development; and strengthening CARICOM and Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) integration. For each goal, a selected number of regional and national programs are identified with the aim of better matching development partners’ Aid for Trade with the priorities of the region. The AfT Strategy, the result of extensive stakeholder consultations, identifies priorities for trade-related technical and financial support, proposes remedial programs and projects, and details a regional and national monitoring and evaluation framework. The Trade and Integration Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue provides a forum for discussion and knowledge sharing between the policymakers of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Bank in key topics related to regional and global trade and integration. It is coordinated by the Integration and Trade Sector of the Vice Presidency for Sectors and Knowledge of the IDB.
NEW YORK, USA — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has underscored the need for greater effort from the Government to change Jamaica’s debt dynamics as the two parties continue discussions geared at arriving at a new support agreement. The Fund made the statement in response to queries from the Jamaica Observer as to the status of the talks, which have been ongoing for several months. “...The authorities and the staff are still working on the technical elements... and are doing their utmost best to reach an agreement as expeditiously as possible,” the Fund said. It, however said that the key challenge facing the Jamaican authorities “is the need to make a strong push to turn the debt dynamics around.” It noted also that the authorities have to concur with the need to take early action to address vulnerabilities and risks, while at the same time creating conditions for sustainable higher growth, achieving
fiscal and debt sustainability and preserving financial sector stability. Meanwhile, no clear indication has been given as to when a deal will be reached. The IMF also did not address a question as to whether the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy would have any effect on the outcome of the negotiations. The category one storm caused nearly $5 billion in damage when it battered sections of the island on October 24. The parishes of St Thomas, Portland and St Mary were the worst affected. Some business leaders here, while acknowledging the complexity of the talks, are anxious for a deal to be reached soon. Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips has repeatedly expressed confidence that a deal can be reached before year end. However, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has said that the decision of when an agreement will be reached is not Jamaica’s alone. (Jamaica Observer)
IMF: Stronger push needed to change Jamaica’s debt dynamics
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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BAKER’S SECRET SURGERY - Tobago Development Minister mum on medical procedure at Mt Hope hospital
(Trinidad Express) A medical condition of Tobago Development Minister Dr Delmon Baker is being kept top secret. The Express was told by a source that Baker underwent gastric bypass surgery recently at Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), Mount Hope, but when contacted to find out if this was true, the Minister was non-committal. In a brief interview by cell phone last Friday, the Express asked Baker whether he did in fact undergo surgery, to
which he responded: “What concern is that to the Express?” Told that he was a Government Minister and his health would be of public concern, he said: “I don’t understand how that concerns the Express.” Pressed further, he said: “I am not confirming or denying anything.” Asked who acted for him when he was hospitalised, Baker said: “The Prime Minister is responsible for that, you should ask her.” Questioned on whether he was fully recovered and in good health now, he said: “I am fine now.” Asked if he was back out to work, he said: “I am working now.” In response to text messages from the Express, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan also refused to comment on the issue.
Questioned on whether Baker underwent gastric bypass surgery at EWMSC, Khan replied: “No comment.” Asked why there was secrecy with respect to Baker’s hospitalisation, when in the past there were constant updates and information on other Government Ministers, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar herself when she was hospitalised, Khan repeated: “No comment.” He suggested that the Express seek answers from Baker himself. Sources have told the Express that Baker did indeed undergo a surgical procedure at the public hospital. The Express understands that Baker attended last Thursday’s Cabinet meeting but even some of his ministerial colleagues were in the dark, telling the Express
(Jamaica Gleaner) A trial date of January 21 has been set for controversial dancehall entertainer Vybz Kartel and his co-accused in relation to the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. The case was called up in the Home Circuit Court yesterday morning. Prosecutor Joan Barnett said she was ready to proceed. However, Kartel’s attorney Valerie Neita Roberston is appearing in another matter and would not be available. Kartel has been remanded. Also on trial are fellow
entertainer Shawn Campbell, more popularly known as Shawn Storm, fashion designer Calvin Haye, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones. Williams was reportedly killed at Kartel’s home in Havendale, St. Andrew, on August 16 last year. It’s reported that Williams and another man were taken to the entertainer’s house to give an account for a lost firearm. Both men were reportedly attacked, with Williams being beaten and stabbed to death while the other man escaped. Williams’ body has not been found.
The other man is expected to be the prosecution’s main witness. The police had reported that they have video and audio recordings linking Vybz Kartel and his co-defendants to the killing. The police also said they have eyewitness statements connecting the men to the murder. Meanwhile, later this month Kartel whose real name is Adidja Palmer and two other persons are to go before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on trial for conspiracy in relation to Williams’ murder.
TIGHT-LIPPED: Dr Delmon Baker
Vybz Kartel given January trial date In ‘Lizard’ murder case
confidentially that all they knew was that he had “medical issues”. Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed, when contacted yesterday by phone, confirmed that Baker had surgery, but “I can’t say exactly what it was.” Asked who was acting for Baker and for how long he was out of office, Mohammed said he could not recall who was the a c t i n g M i n i s t e r, b u t indicated that Baker was on “just a little over a week” of sick leave.
“I don’t think it was anything major...yes, he’s cool,” said Mohammed when asked if he saw Baker last week and if he was in good health. This is the first time that the medical condition of a Minister is shrouded in secrecy. In June 2010, former justice minister Herbert Volney underwent cardiac surgery at EWMSC and day to day updates were given by Government Ministers, including Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar and former health minister Therese
Baptiste-Cornelis. Even when PersadBissessar herself fell ill, there was full public information on her ailment, treatment and state of health. In May this year the Prime Minister fell ill in Barbados and was hospitalised at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Then acting PM Jack Warner called a news conference to provide the nation, through the media, with full information, saying the Prime Minister was resting and undergoing a battery of tests.
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Tuesday November 06, 2012 ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) Deception is apparent. Uncertainties about your home may cause tension. Don't gamble unless you can afford to lose.
LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) Organize your house and be sure to include the whole family in the projects you have set out to do. Try to be fair in your dealings with acquaintances.
TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21) Be aggressive and colorful, and you will get your way. Your talents are likely to be discovered. You may need a physical outlet that will help you relieve your tension.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) You can enhance your cash flow if you pick up additional skills. You need to look into new philosophies.
GEMINI (May 22-June 21) You will feel compelled to do some traveling. Reciprocate by offering helpful hints. Throw yourself into your profession.
SAGIT (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) You will be able to pick up on future trends if you keep your eyes peeled for unique ideas. Don't let your personal dilemmas interfere with your goals.
CANCER (June 22-July 22) You may have difficulties with in-laws or family members. Avoid any petty ego confrontations; they could lead to estrangement if you aren't careful.
CAPRI (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Don't try to twist things around so that they sound more enticing. Look into ways to make your home more comfortable.
LEO (July 23-Aug 22) You will enjoy travel and getting together with peers. Rethink your motives and make the necessary changes to yourself. Broaden your horizons and look into programs that will teach you awareness and relaxation.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) Be professional, and you will advance much more quickly. You can make headway if you share your intentions with someone you care about.
VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Take your time. Try to communicate if you wish to help. Talk about your intentions and confirm that you both feel the same way.
PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) Don't get depressed, get busy. You can accomplish a lot if you're willing to put in a little extra time. Travel is evident, but be cautious while in transit.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Big guns fall in week... From page 32 a punching header from Anthony Abrams rocked the back of the nets as veteran goalkeeper Sherwin Lanferman who was having a good game up until then, could not have stopped the goal. The score-line was even at the break. With the wind in their backs in the final 45 minutes, Alpha came out swinging but the Warriors stood their grounds like they did in the opening stanza. The exchanges went to and fro as both teams sought to wrest the initiative from each other. In the end though, it was the home team that made their opportunities count when young forward Delon Lanferman, brother of goalkeeper Sherwin, pounced on a squared ball across goal to sink the shot in the 79th which saw the crowd erupting in celebrations as they sensed a major upset was in the horizon and so it was when the final whistle was sounded. Western Tigers, fielding a depleted team had to dig deep to end with an equal share of the points but can count themselves luck as Den Amstel failed to deliver the knock-out punch after being in a solid position of 2-0 by the end of the first half. Gideon Payne sent Dem Amstel into the lead in the 28th minute and that advantage was doubled in the 41st minute through an Andre Hector strike. Den Amstel could have been much more secured had they not miss about four other opportunities. Western, the runner-up team to Alpha in last year's edition of the League had to come up with quick answers to quell the dominant Den Amstel side's push to sink them even further. It was left to the experienced duo of Gavin Wilson and Leon Yaw, both second half substitutes, to bail them out of what would have been an embarrassing loss. Wilson was introduced in to the game in the 46th minute for Orvin Milton and seven (7) minutes
later he was on the score sheets to reduce the deficit for his side. Den Amstel still held the advantage for quite some time even as the Tigers tried everything in the books to draw level. The {Western}Technical staff finally came up with what the doctor ordered when they introduced veteran Leon Yaw in the 73rd minute for Paul Giles. Yaw took a few short minutes to get his balance and when it seemed that Den Amstel were on their way to a memorable win, Yaw sunk the equalizer with two minutes to lemon time; that is how it ended much to the delight of a relived Western Tigers outfit. Buxton United, featuring the likes of Clive Andries, Dwayne Jacobs and National Under-17 Custodian Jason Cromwell who had a brilliant game ran out 1-0 winners against Pele compliments of a Colwin Barnwell 84th minute goal; the player was backing goal when he took the ball, turned and shot home clinically. It was a bruising encounter between two determined sides. Buxton's win capped a wonderful day in the recent history of East Coast football; the tone for their win was set by the earlier triumph of BV Triumph United over Milerock, 2-1. Seasoned campaigner Shawn Daniels sent BV into
the lead in the 38th minute and that advantage was doubled in the 74th through a Ron Hopkinson effort. Milerock pulled one back for the records in the 83rd minute though Beneakaman Smartt. In the lone fixture at the GFC Ground in the City, Amelia's Ward held a 1-0 advantage at half time after a Carlos Grant goal 4 minutes before the break. They increased the lead on 58 minutes when Oswald Benjamin found the target. However, like Den Amstel, Amelia's Ward could not make that advantage count with the Berbice side pulling out all the stops to earn an equal share of the takings. They formalized that when goals were scored by the dependable Olvis Mitchell in the 75th and 89th minute, the latter, of dagger like proportions. More scintillating action is anticipated this Sunday when the league will continue with five more matches. Uitvlugt Warriors will be at home again when they entertain Milerock at 13:30hrs. The BV Ground will host a double header; Buxton United will come up against Rosignol United with the main event featuring BV Triumph United against Alpha United. At the GFC Ground later in eth evening from 18:00hrs, Western Tigers will engage Amelia's Ward with Pele facing off with Den Amstel in the night cap.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
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Princess Hotel continues to play integral role in motor racing Recognising the importance of sponsors’ contribution towards the reality and viability of hosting an event the magnitude of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship, Kaieteur Sport recently posed a few questions to the Princess Hotel regarding its support for this Sunday’s final leg of the Series set for the South Dakota Circuit. Assistant General Manager Petal Ridley responded to our questions on behalf of the Hotel where many of the drivers will be hosted during their stay for the Meet. KN-Could you tell us about the genesis of the relationship? PR- When the Princess Hotel acquired its name in 2009, a sound relationship was formed with the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) that blossomed into a successful and rewarding one. KS- Tell us how it has been able to benefit your Organisation. PR-The Hotel has since benefitted in various ways from such fruitful relationship. An increase in the guest list during the international race meets was recorded which evidently resulted from the GMR&SC
promotions of the hotel. The Princess Hotel and Casino is now renowned by the populace including the Caribbean community. KS- I know that the Hotel has been consistently supportive of many sports and other social activities such as the Miss Universe etc. but what has been the feedback from patrons, organizers, promoters in terms of the hospitality and other related services that you offer? PR- Apart from the GMR&SC, there are numerous organizations that are supported by the Princess. There are entertainment companies, sports organizations, religious organizations, etc. who have developed solid relationships with the hotel over time because they would have been offered the very best hospitality that Princess provides to their guests. KS- Could you list some of the services and recreational facilities patrons could enjoy during their stay at the Hotel. PR- All guests staying at the Princess enjoy many side attractions available right at the Hotel. There’s our Casino, known for being the only of its
Moen Gafoor prevails as GASP open championship concludes Devraj Deonarine retains consistency to stay on podium
Moen Gafoor Moen Gafoor retained some form and compiled an impeccable 6 points and a positive spread of 696 to cart off the top prize when the Guyana Association of Scrabble Players (GASP) staged a national open championship at the Malteenoes Sports Club Thomas Lands, Sunday afternoon last. Colin Chichester made a grand return to the podium, sealing off the second place after amassing 5 points and a positive spread of 247. Devraj Deonarine continued to torment the top seed when he
closed off the podium spots after amassing 4 points and a positive spread of 490. He also carted off the prize for the best player outside of the top 10 rankings. Gafoor handed Colin Chichester his only loss by a spread of 218 and also defeated Kamta Ramnarine (157) Michael Benjamin (111), Orlando Michael (165), Wayne Cave and Deonarine Devraj (36). Chichester defied the loss to Gafoor to register wins over Deonarine (86), Michael (51), Grace Hercules (47), Benjamin (155) and Ramnarine (126). Deonarine wins came from Hercules (32), Ramnarine (30), Wayne cave (228) and Chaitu Bhoowal (262). The players received prizes donated by the corporate community. The next tournament is slated for November 13, the Diwali Open, and members of GASP are reminded that practice sessions are held on Thursdays at the Malteenoes sports Club starting at 19:00hrs.
kind in Guyana offering over 250 slot machines from which to choose. Interactive slots, multiline machines, traditional “reel” slot machines and the latest video reel machines on the market. The Princess Casino also offers over 14 casino table games including highlimit tables for premium casino players who enjoy Blackjack,
Roulette, Three-card Poker and Stud Poker. With so many choices of games it is guaranteed to have something special for everyone. Guests spend their leisure time using the swimming pool which is the largest hotel pool in Guyana or if they are more into sports; they take pleasure in a game
of lawn tennis, basketball or miniature golf. Afterwards, they take a walk over to our fully air-conditioned gym, which offers an array of modern equipment, maintaining perfect fitness while enjoying their stay at the Princess. When ready to relax and unwind, trained professionals in the spa and
salon are always prepared to massage away all the tension. KS- Will this commitment to the GMR&SC continue in the future? PR- The GMR&SC has shown commitment to the Princess and the Hotel will continue to support the GMR&SC in all future endeavours.
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Tuesday November 06, 2012
Big guns fall in week 2 of GFF Super League As the action warms up in the 2012/13 edition of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Super League, last weekend's matches saw many of the big guns failing to fire while the not so popular teams are beginning to sound ominous warning signs that it won't be business as usual. Defending champions Alpha 'The Hammer' United suffered a historic loss, their first in Super League history at the hands of home team Uitvlugt
Warriors, when the final whistle was sounded, the score-line read, Uitvlugt Warriors 2 Alpha United 1. The opening game at the Uitvlugt Community Centre Ground, which was attended by a sizable and intimate crowd, saw BK International Western Tigers clawing their way back in the second half to draw with Den Amstel 2-2 which led 2-0 at the half. The excitement was equally riveting at the Buxton
Community Centre Ground, East Coast Demerara, where the home teams formalized a dismal day for the City teams. In the feature game, Buxton United playing as a tight and organized unit needled Pele FC. The curtain raiser at the said venue produced a positive result for BV Triumph United, their second in a row on debut, when they turned back the challenge of Upper Demerara's Milerock, 2-1.
Uitvlugt 2 Alpha 1; BVTU 2 Milerock 1; Buxton Utd 1 Pele 0 The other game played at the GFC Ground, a sea saw affair, ended in a 2-2 stalemate between Berbice' Rosignol United and Upper Demerara's Amelia's Ward United. Constant strong winds at the Uitvlugt Ground along with a colourful band of vociferous spectators who normally would have been going after each other were in sup-
port of each other as they back the West Dem. teams against their Georgetown counterparts. Uitvlugt, led by elder statesman Orville Bobb, brother of 'Golden Jaguar' Trayon Bobb, led the predominantly young side intelligently. A former National defender himself, Bobb worked overtime to quell and eventually conquer the powerful Alpha United side boasting a number of former and current 'Golden Jaguars' the likes of Anthony Abrams, Ronson Williams and Anthony Benfield. So, based on the tale of the tape along with the fact that Alpha would not have lost a game at this level for three years and counting, the odds were certainly against the home team. But as their name suggests, “Warriors” they stood up to the task of playing simple ball as a team not being intimidated by the presence of a star studded line-up. The opening exchanges were equal with each side
striving to gain the upper hand. Home advantage did serve its purpose for this important clash. Things were going quite well for both teams with equal exchanges until national custodian Ronson Williams blundered in the 38th minute letting in an own goal after he failed to gather the ball which was passed back to him. It was a mistake that would come back to haunt the defending champions by the end of regulation time. Williams himself knew that it was a big time mistake as he held his head in dismay. But while he and his teammates were trying to come to grips with the mistake, Uitvlugt were celebrating and rightly so. As the half time approached, Alpha gradually kept the hammer swinging even as their opponents tried to evade being hit conscious that it was going to be a heavy hit once they were caught. Their search for the equalizing goal was successful when Continued on page 30
Sudesh Fitzgerald carts off lion’s share as National Darts Championships end
Sudesh Fitzgerald National men and women singles darts champions, Sudesh Fitzgerald and Hemwattie Amyan, retained their respective titles when the curtains came down on the National Darts Championships at the Clerico Commercial Workers Union Club (CCWU), Quamina Street, Georgetown Sunday evening last. Fitzgerald further distinguished himself after clinching several awards including the Most 180s thrown, the Fastest Game (17 darts), Player of the Tournament, and Player of the Year. Sherwyn Greene copped the trophy for the Highest
Checkout (148 points) in the tournament. Notwithstanding, Fitzgerald survived a grueling contest against first time national competitor, Christopher Fulton, en route to the acquisition of the prestigious accolade. He surrendered the 3rd game in the set of five and the championship was only decided in the final set when Fulton was first on a double but missed; the defending champion capitalized and made no mistake on a similar shot. For his efforts, Fitzgerald also carted off the John Fernandes Ltd trophy. In the playoff for 3rd place, Sherwyn Greene got the better of Lalchand Rambharose, 2-1 in the best of three games set. The women’s final also saw another newcomer, Shondell Hyles, matching the defending champion Amyan dart for dart. Amyan utilized her vast experience and capitalized in the second game after Hyles was first on a double but missed which forced the match into a third game where Amyan prevailed, 2 nil. She also won the Dr. Terrence Joseph Trophy. In the 3rd place playoff, Christina Fulton won 2-1 from Jean De Souza.
Tuesday November 06, 2012
Kaieteur News
Loris Nathoo prevails as final squad for national chess championships decided
Nathoo (centre sitting) poses with Kriskal Persaud (left) and Frankie Farley (right). Standing, from left, Craig Sylvester, Maria Thomas and Shiv Nandalall. Missing is Frankie Farley Loris Nathoo and Glenford Corlette both amassed 5 ½ points but it was the former player that clinched the first prize after the tiebreak system was employed when the UNIPARTS Senior Chess Championship Qualifiers concluded at the KEI-SHAR’S Sports Club, Sunday November 4 last.
Five other players have qualified for the National Championships a n d a c r a c k a t Ta f f i n K h a n ’s n a t i o n a l t i t l e slated to get underway soon. Those players are Kriskal Persaud, Frankie Farley, Maria Thomas, Shiv Nandalall and Craig Sylvester. At the end of the
qualifiers their scores read: Kriskal Persaud and Frankie Farley (5 points apiece), Maria Thomas (4 ½), Shiv Nandalall and Craig Sylvester (4 each). The tournament began in late last month and was conducted under the auspices of the Guyana Chess Federation.
Three-time national men’s table tennis champion and former Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) General Secretary, Godfrey Munroe, who was acting President, following the death of Henry Greene, was on Sunday officially elected to the post. Munroe was elected unopposed at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) Headquarters when the GTTA
held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Elections. University of Guyana Sports Officer, Lavern Fraser-Thomas performed Returning Officer duties. The AGM was imminent before the death of GTTA President, Henry Greene, who was a former Commissioner of Police. Munroe was acting in the post since then. Dr. Pradeep
Balram has been elected senior Vice-President with Patrick Triumph as junior Vice-President. Longstanding Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, Linden Johnson was elected to fill Munroe’s vacant General Secretary Post with Andrew Daly and Lisa Lewis elected to serve as Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer and Dierdre Edghill elected to function as the new Treasurer.
From back page Mr. Major, was on hand to collect $500,000; the prize for the team that finishes fourth in the tournament. Mr. Ceres said that his relationship with the football administrators goes back for a number of decades when he (Ceres) had participated in the Guybau Cadet Scheme Project in the Mining Town and the football administrators were attending the Mackenzie High School. He also said that he has regarded Linden as his second home and feels compelled to contribute to any developmental project involving the community. The businessman also said that his firm has donated one million dollars towards the rebuilding of the One Mile Secondary school. “Our agenda is on par with that of the K&S organization so as-
sisting towards the success of the tournament was an easy decision,” said Mr. Ceres. He then wished the K&S duo well in their endeavours. Mr. Major expressed gratitude to his benefactor and assured him that the Linden community holds a special place in his heart. It was through the benevolence of the K&S organization that beverage giants, Ansa McAl launched the 'Under the Crown' promotion that resulted in the refurbishment of the Mackenzie Sports Club ground, scheduled to be handed over to that community soon. “Our objective will always include the development of the Mining Community,” said Major. The Kashif and Shanghai football extravaganza gets underway from December 16 and ends January 1 next at
venues countrywide and involves 16 of the nation's best teams. The winning team carts off four million dollars, while the team finishing second receives one million dollars. The third and fourth places will cart off $750,000 and $500,000 respectively. Additionally, the Most Valuable Player will win a luxury motor car while coaches will be compensated for their hard work when the best among the lot receives one motorcycle. A lucky patron will also win a 110CC motorcycle, compliments of Cell Shack, after a draw of the ticket stubs. The organizers of K&S have also gone one step further and will also host an U13 tournament adjacent to the above mentioned one. Details pertaining to this tournament are forthcoming.
Munroe officially elected GTTA President
Ground Structures Engineering...
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Tuesday November 6, 2012
New York All Stars beat Trophy Stall by 8 wkts to take open title Guyana Softball Cup 2
Savage XI are Masters champs By Zaheer Mohamed New York All Stars defeated Trophy Stall by 8 wickets to win the final of the Guyana Softball Cup 2, 20over cricket competition Sunday evening at the Everest Cricket Club ground. New York All Stars won the toss and inserted Trophy Stall to bat in front of a large and colourful crowd. They lost the inform Wazim Haslim run out for 07 at 17 and never really recovered and were all out for 86 in 19 overs. Surajpaul Deosarran top scored with 27, while Mark Harold 15 was the only other batsman that reached double figures as extras contributed 21. Bobby Prahalad 2-14, Amit Moonsammy 2-13 and Asif Ally 2-13 were the main wicket takers for the visitors. The All Stars in reply, despite losing the early wicket of Pooran Beria for 9, won the game in 12 overs finishing on 87-2. Vicky Subkaran was their leading run getter with 30, while Ally stroked an unbeaten 29. Ally took the man of the match award, while Haslim with 172 runs and 6 wickets
grabbed the most valuable player prize. Trophy Stall received $200,000 and a trophy, while New York All Stars received a trophy and $800,000. In the Masters final, Savage XI got the better of President XI of New York by 57 runs. Savage XI took first strike and piled up 186-4 off their 20 overs. Ramo Malone hit ten fours in a top score of 82 not out, while Fazleem Mohamed made 35. President XI in response could only manage 129-7 in 20 overs. Mike Balkaran was their main scorer with 33 as Fazal Kayume snared 2-12. Savage took home a trophy and $800,000, while President XI received a trophy and $200,000. Malone was given the awards for the man-of-thematch and the most valuable player. Meanwhile, Savage XI overcame Bedi Masters by 15 runs in the second semifinal which was contested on Saturday evening at Everest. Scores Savage Masters 117-9 in 15 overs. (Ramo Malone 35, J. Persaud 219. Bedi Masters 102-5 in 15 overs. (Ishwar Persaud
The winning New York All Stars celebrate their victory adorned with hardware following the presentation.
37 no, J. Rambarran 3-10). Trophy Stall won the female 10\10 competition after defeating Karibee Rice Strikers by 61 runs yesterday at the same venue. Scores: Trophy Stall 99-4 in 10 overs. (Nalinie Sumintra 42). Karibee Rice Strikers 38-7 in 10 overs. In the semifinals Karibee Rice Strikers beat 4 R Lioness by 7 wickets
and Trophy Stall defeated Wellwoman in the super over after the game was tied. Scores: 4 R Lioness 85-1 in 10 overs. (Ruth George 40). Karibee Rice Strikers 86-3 in 9.2 overs. (Tessa Parks 25). Wellwoman 100-6 in 10 overs, Trophy Stall 100-5 in 10 overs. In the super over Trophy Stall scored 11 and restricted Wellwoman for 2. Trophy Stall received a
trophy and $50,000, while Karibee Rice Strikers collected $25,000 and a trophy. Sumintra took home the prizes for being the player of the final and tournament respectively. Medals were given to the players from each team that participated and the umpires. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Steve Narine, president of
the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association thanked the crowd for their support and Everest Cricket Club. The tournament was s p o n s o r e d b y Tr o p h y Stall, Digicel, Clear Waters, Bel Air Texaco, Survival, Mike's Pharmacy, Top Branz, Steve's Jewellery, Rohan Auto Spares and Nauth Motor Spares.
Tuesday November 6, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 35
Breathtaking action observed at Rising Sun Rodeo In the Bare Back Bronco event Youride De Souza got the better of Keino Hardcourt and Odo Peters. In the Wild Bull Riding segment Yuride De Souza came out winner ahead of Enoch Davis and Nicademus James. The Saddle Bronco event was taken by Carlos Davis with Valdimir Martin second and Odo Peters third. Maxcelso Farias won the competitors parade. The event which was attended by a wide cross section of spectators including many overseas visitors was rated the best so far by many who attended. Seven events were completed. The Calf roping competition saw the Vaquero on horseback being required, to rope a calf around the neck dismount the horse, secure
Some of the outstanding performers display their prizes after the presentation at the conclusion of the rodeo. By Samuel Whyte It was skills, thrills and spills; there was also plenty of fun and frolic at Rising Sun when the Rising Sun Rodeo Committee held a successful one day Rodeo at the Rising Sun Turf Club, Arima Park West Coast Berbice last Sunday. It was a day filled with fun and action as many spectators were left in awe at the displays on offer. The event had its fair share of spills and thrills as the Vaqueros displayed their skills in some daring and breathtaking sequences with some even decide to use the backs of the animals to gyrate in a mini dance off against each other. Some of the riders were thrown off the respective animals in their quest for victory and some patrons escaped narrowly as the wild animals charged into fences, forcing spectators who had perched to get a better view scattering. All of this was done by the animals in an attempt to throw off their riders, who through skills or divine intervention were able to avert serious injuries throughout the day. It was difficult to decide which was the most breathtaking event as there
was equal drama in all. Some Vaqueros as well as their animals ended on their heads, shoulder and backs as some received some awkward tumbles, but it was all in the game. The most daring and breathtaking events however could be the Wild Bull riding. The Bulls, not being accustomed to being cornered or tamed, much less have someone on their backs. The charging, bucking 'Wild animals' with their enormous strength and long horns, kept charging at any one or thing in their path in their quest to free themselves and dislodge their riders. Some of the bulls rammed the horses of the Vaqueros in the pasture, throwing one of the organizers down and setting upon him and his horse.
They both received slight brushes and were back in action soon after. The competition this year was more intense as more cowboys came out to strut their stuff with a much as 14 competitors in some of the events. In the end the various winners were - In the wild cow milking the top pair was Odo Peters and Corvino Peters as they collected the most milk in the time stipulated, in second was the combination of Carlos Davis and Andy Lee, with Corvino Mc Donald and Orin Alsides settling for third. The calf roping event saw Nicademus James winning from Clive Ross and May 'May' Anderson in the third spot. The Wild Steer Roping winner was Frank Andrews from Keino Hardcourt and Clive Ross.
three feet of the calf by tying it, stand and raise their hand in the air to indicate that they are done, the persons with the fastest time won. The Bare Back and Saddle Bronco riding along with the Bull riding are similar in which the participant with one hand raised above the head has to ride the animal for a given time. The vaqueros had to wear a pair of spurs, and stay on the animal for 10 seconds, one hand must be free away from the animal at shoulder level at all time. They are also judged in the same manner. The Vaqueros were from Brazil and the interior regions including Rupununi and Lethem along with the locals from West and East Berbice. The prizes ranging from
$60,000 to $5,000 and trophies were presented to the outstanding performers immediately after the completion of the final events. Organiser Inshanally Habibulla was overwhelmed and pleased with how things went during the day's proceedings. He was happy with the support of the many fans and expressed his gratitude to all for all the support received. He was also loud in praise for the media in helping to publish the event. The other members of the organizing team include, Fazal Habibulla, Johnny and Jules Fredricks, Donald and Zaleena Lawrie, Paul and Grace Atkinson, Dr Dwight Waldron, Richie Hookumchand and Lalta Deokie.
t r o Sp
Breathtaking action observed at Rising Sun Rodeo
Uncooperative bulls and horses and skillful riders were the taking points of the day's activity.
Ground Structures Engineering Consultants rd Inc support 23 K&S football extravaganza
Big guns fall in week 2 of GFF Super League Uitvlugt 2 Alpha 1; BVTU 2 Milerock 1; Buxton Utd 1 Pele 0
Mr. Major (right) gratefully collects the sponsorship cheque from Mr. Ceres (centre) in the presence of an employee, Andre Browne. Twenty three years ago, Aubrey 'Shanghai' Major and Kashif Muhammad teamed up to create one of, if not the best football tournaments locally. They have managed to capture the attention of the football fraternity as well as the wider corporate community.
Such support has enabled them to continue providing a qualitative tournament that continues to receive support from all and sundry. Yesterday afternoon, another businessman, Charles P. Ceres, Managing Director of Ground Structures Engineering
Consultants Inc, 221 D'Andrade Street Newtown, joined several other prominent business entities and pitched in his 'two bit' towards the success of the 23rd edition of the tournament. One of the Directors of K&S, Continued on page 29
Den Amstel on the attack against Western Tigers at the Uitvlugt Ground.
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