Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

After one year in jail…

Guyanese businessman finally charged After more than a year languishing in an Arab jail, a Guyanese businessman said to be residing in Brazil, has finally appeared in court to face charges.

Abdul Kalam Sattaur appeared before the State Security Court in Abu Dhabi on Monday accused of being in possession of a counterfeit US$100 banknote. Sattaur was arrested in Dubai in August last year during a police raid on another businessman’s hotel room in which officers recovered Dh40,000 in fake notes. He denied the charge.

The trader, according to the www.thenational.ae news website, said he had arrived in Dubai from Bangkok and had intended to stay for only one night before continuing on to Brazil, where he lives with his wife and children.

He had told a diplomatic representative in Kuwait Guyana has no diplomats in the UAE - that he visited the other businessman’s hotel room to arrange a diamond transaction and was caught in the raid.

The matter had been raised extensively in the press because of the length of time Sattaur had spent behind bars without appearing in court.

His lawyer, Dr Iman Al Jabri, who was appointed by the court at a hearing two weeks ago, said: “The case file is large - approximately 400 pages long - and he is charged with the possession of a counterfeit bill alongside a second person who is accused of forging the money.”

Dr. Al Jabri said cases involving allegedly forged currency were always handled by the State Security Court in Abu Dhabi.

“These cases take a long time to investigate. However, the case is due for judgment on October 8,” she said. “I presented our defence and I have faith the court finding will be the right decision.”

Odeen Ishmael, Guyana’s non-resident ambassador to the UAE, who is based in Kuwait, said several requests had been made to the

Facing charges: Abdul Sattaur

Guyana’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Odeen Ishmael

Ministry of Foreign Affairs for information on the trader since his arrest.

“We contacted the ministry through various diplomatic channels and received no information,” he said. “Mr Sattaur’s wife is in contact with our embassy in Brazil and with us in Kuwait.”

Ishmael said Guyana’s Middle East envoy, George Hallaq, who is based in Greece, would travel to Dubai next week for a second time to meet ministry officials about the case.

Ambassador Ishmael, in an email response to Kaieteur News last week on the case, said that he had been working on all avenues to obtain information as to why the authorities in the United Arab Emirates continue to detain Sattaur for such a long time without laying charges.

“So far, we have heard only Mr. Sattaur’s side of this affair, but there are certainly legal time frames under which a person cannot be held for such a long time without criminal charges being laid against him,” the Guyanese diplomat had said.

Press reports had said that Sattaur was born in Skeldon, Guyana, and travels on a Guyana passport. He is the owner of a diamond firm in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he is

married to a Brazilian national and has children, all of whom live in Sao Paulo.

On a regular basis, he travelled to the Far and Middle East before his arrest in Dubai, he revealed to Guyana’s ambassador to Kuwait during several phone conversations. Sattaur is allowed to make phone calls from jail.

Last March, Sattaur contacted the Guyana Embassy in Kuwait, and that same month Ishmael made official contact with the UAE through their embassy in Kuwait City, seeking information about Sattaur, as to why he was arrested and why he has not been charged after being held in detention for such a long time.

“Despite reminders, we have not obtained any response as yet,” the Guyana ambassador said.

This was followed by a visit to the UAE by Guyana’s Middle East envoy, George Hallaq, where the issue was again discussed with authorities there. Hallaq was told that charges would be instituted and that Sattaur would appear before a court.

Sattaur ’s wife has signaled intentions to approach the powerful Brazilian government to intervene.

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Police footage of Linden protests viewed by Commission

Constable Maxwell Grant during the inquiry yesterday.

As the Commission of Inquiry (COI) continued its probe into the Linden events that left three persons dead on July 18th, video footage were yesterday shown.

Constable Maxwell Grant, a police videographer, led the Commission through footage that he had recorded. There were difficulties however with the video as there was no audio.

Grant said that he arrived in Linden subsequent to the shooting and his footage followed that event.

The Commission, at the inquiry at the High Court, was first shown a fire which Grant said started at the LINMINE building. The video also showed footage of policemen removing tyres, bricks, logs, old vehicles and other forms of debris.

It further showed persons reacting to policemen at the scene and when asked, Grant explained that they were of persons heckling and chanting against the police ranks.

The witness noted that the videos were taken from various points not far from the McKenzie-Wismar Bridge.

At one point, the Commission had the videographer return to a certain part of the recording to view what appeared to be someone pulling something from his waist.

The video indicated Lindeners grouped in the streets and on roof tops and sidewalks. Still, a number of protestors were seen milling on the streets.

Grant was unable to give dates or identify some of the locations. He told the Commission that he was posted in Linden to record the scene for a week and a half but returned to the city before travelling to Linden once more.

The Constable repeatedly answered, “I am unable to say where this location is,” or “I cannot recall the date this was taken.”

Attorney-at-law Basil Williams, in his cross examination of the witness, noted the “inadequacies of the video.”

Williams also asked Grant if he had put together the video footage presented to the Commission and whether the images were taken from other recordings. And after getting confirmation from Grant about his week and a half stay in Linden, Williams received a positive answer when he asked Grant whether he selected particular images to shoot in the video.

Questioned why police ranks who were being heckled were not in the video, Grant said he was facing the protestors.

Williams insisted that the police video was inadequate

since it only showed the protestors and their behaviour. The video shown in the morning session of the hearing had no particular images of police ranks compared to the close up shots taken of the protestors.

The video had nothing relating to an actual confrontation between the police and protestors. In an earlier line of questioning, this observation prompted Williams to inquiry whether the video was edited. Grant replied, “As a cassette finished it was replaced with another.”

Chairman of the Commission, Justice Lensley Wolfe O.J. yesterday said that the body will consider allowing the events of August 10 and 12 to be included during the proceedings.

Three protestors were shot dead and several injured in the month-long Linden protests over a hike in electricity tariffs, triggering the formation of the Commission of Inquiry which includes international legal experts.

The inquiry continues today.

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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

Agricultural doldrums If it is October it must be “Agriculture Month” and we can expect a raft of announcements on how we will be increasing our agricultural output.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, announcing the theme for the month - “Better Technology, Better Farming – Ensuring Food Security” - declared that this time there will be “more show than tell” especially in promoting technology.

Unfortunately, he began by trumpeting the technology of the new sugar packaging plant at Enmore, which was provided by the EU in an effort for our sugar prices to become more competitive under the new sugar regime in their markets.

As has been reported by this newspaper, while there is no problem with the technology (not exactly cutting edge) of getting sugar into packets, there have been massive problems in getting the sugar from the fields and factory to the packaging plant. We just do not appear capable of replacing the human labour on the East Coast cultivation – even with mechanised loading technology.

But that brings us to the larger challenges confronting the sugar industry, which still occupies the largest chunk of prime agricultural lands on the coastland. It is now fourteen years since the strategy for the sugar industry was unveiled – and its linchpin was ‘better technology’. According to one summary of the plan, the goal was to reduce unit cost from the then current US$0 .20 U.S. to $0.1261 per pound, including depreciation. The strategy was to concentrate investment on increasing production in the lower cost areas of Berbice, thus maximizing the use of the best class of lands, and to develop larger processing facilities that benefit from economies of scale and more modern technology.

The target for the industry was to achieve production levels up to 457,000 tonnes per annum from the then 350,000 tonnes average by the construction of a new factory at Skeldon, expansion of the one in Albion and the closure of the Rose Hall mill. On paper, all of this was quite sound but the problem has been our inability to absorb the new technology.

Thus after making the largest investment in our history, the new Skeldon factory has still not achieved the production levels of the antiquated abandoned factory. It is only a third of its promised 100,000 tonnes per annum and our total production is a painful 230,000 tonnes – just half of what should be at four years ago.

We would advise that the government proceed very cautiously with these ‘new technologies’ and during the ‘show’ demonstrations in the coming months, ensure that the farmers can absorb them.

With the subject of ‘copyright’ in the air, it might not be inappropriate at this time to remind the Minister that in the original sugar expansion strategy it was declared that, “The use of the term “Demerara” as a geographic indication for both sugar and rum are being pursued.” This newspaper has been calling for a report on this ‘pursuit’ for almost a decade, without any success.

“Geographical Indication” (GI), of course, was the mechanism the developed countries introduced to protect their agricultural products, identified with particular areas (eg Chardonnay), from being copied by producers in other countries.

Today, ‘Demerara’ brown sugar is fetching premium prices across the world – excepting that they do not originate in Demerara, Guyana. For some inexplicable reason the government insisted on pursuing remedies through ‘copyright’ violation, when we never had a ‘copyright’ on the name.

One area of agricultural development that the Minister did not mention was the large-scale farming long promised in the intermediate and interior savannahs. We had heard years ago about several companies that were interested in developing hundreds of thousands of acres of savannah land to produce soya, maize and sugar cane for ethanol.

During the last elections campaign, there was a great outcry when it was revealed that a huge acreage was awarded to Ansa MacAl for ethanol production. Shouldn’t the Guyanese people be brought up to date on these potential game changers in the agricultural sector?

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Letters... Where your views make the news

Ramotar’s presidency is not cleansing the Augean stables DEAR EDITOR, I assume my friends who hold high positions in our society will hang their heads in shame.

They tried to persuade myself, themselves and others that a Ramotar Presidency will cleanse the Augean stables of corruption, ineptness and discrimination.

This is not happening – I give only two unrelated issues.

On Friday, September 28, at around 6:45pm, I had to give the mother of a four-yearold boy a damp rag to cover his face. Both adult and child were suffering much discomfort in the Meadow Brook area as a result of the aggressive fumes coming from a governmentsponsored project to spray the area, we are told, to rid the community of mosquitoes.

I felt a slight nausea, much more the child who just

left a doctor after being treated for a respiratory condition.

I propose to ask the Opposition to ask as follows: 1. Why is spraying in residential areas necessary. I have pleaded with Government to use the money to help the Municipality clear and de-silt our waterways in the city, so that there is a free flow of water. This will guarantee a mosquito and flyfree environment.

2. What is the substance being used and is it approved for such use by PAHO/ WHO? Is it safe?

3. From whom, or how was this chemical obtained?

4. What is the cost of it?

5. Why are citizens not given adequate notice?

6. Are the importers or contractors on the approved list of registered businesses?

7. Did the Ministry of Health import the substance

directly?

8. What is the total cost per day of the spraying exercise?

My other concern was the news item where the Government is replacing Kellawan Lall with Ms. Merlin Udho.

One would have thought that after the embarrassing revelations coming out of the Jagdeo /Freddie Kissoon, Kaieteur News court case where it was revealed that ALL of our Ambassadors were of one ethnic political group, the Ramotar administration would seek change.

Is the Ramotar Cabinet so obtuse as to fail to respond to a public concern or seek plain decency?

If my memory serves me correct, Ms. Udho is a diehard PPP, as was her late husband, former Minister Shree Chand. The PPP seem

incapable of looking outside of their camp of faithful, or sycophants to fill important national and local positions.

What a pity – So now Shaik Baksh to head GWI. Why is the PPP driving us to the edge? Why did Ramotar take months to move Kellawan Lall who, even among PPP supporters, it was recognized, is certainly not diplomatic material?

For God’s sake and that of Guyana’s children, let us appoint at least one person based on experience, character and who will be willing to serve this nation with professional competence, so we can lift the level of political and administrative competence in our local and foreign service, and not Party affiliation.

November elections asked that we do that, but the government is not listening.

Hamilton Green, J.P.

The Parole Act should be reviewed DEAR EDITOR, Based on reports I received from relatives of prison inmates and former inmates, there is every reason to suggest that the parole board is not functioning as mandated and as a result, applicants for parole are made to suffer psychologically by the board on every meeting giving applicants the feeling they will be favorably considered only to be given further dates, and at the end of the day, only about 23% are released with three months remaining in their sentences.

The only three persons, from information I received, that were released with over 12 months remaining in their sentence are former employees of a popular entertainment establishment, and many former inmates strongly believe this was made possible thru political intervention. I make these statements against the background that.

The parole board was established on 12th September, 1991, under the Parole Act chapter 11:08 of the laws of Guyana. Which clearly spelt out the calibre and status of persons to be appointed to run the affairs of the parole board which includes the chairman, who shall be a person who has been or who is qualified to be a puisne judge of the High Court to be appointed by the Minister ( Section 3 (1) a ).

Also, a medical practitioner having special qualification or experience in psychiatry. Others include the Director of Prisons and a police rank no less than an

assistant commissioner.

According to a GINA statement of Nov 6th , 2003, the parole board is an advisory body to the Minister of Home Affairs to help determine whether a prisoner is eligible to be released on license ( parole ) and what conditions should be attached to such a release.

According to the Parole Act, a prisoner serving a determinate sentence may apply for a parole once he/ she has served one-third or 12 months of the sentence, whichever is longer; for an inmate serving an indeterminate sentence (life) he/ she may apply for parole after serving 10 years.

Upon receiving an application for parole, a detailed investigation is undertaken and a report compiled for parole board members, they would then study the case; if any clarification is required, they call the prisoner for an interview, and would then discuss and deliberate on the matter before arriving at a decision, which is then communicated to the prisoner thru the prison authority.

I have observed, having perused the Parole Act chap 11:08 with special reference to sections 5(1) 6(2) 6(5) 6(1) and other sections, the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs has tremendous influence in determining the fate of an inmate.

Based also on my investigative experience and the Parole Act section 14, the board should be in a position to consider an application based on available resources within 90 days.

1.) It is my humble opinion that the Parole Act of 1991, which was crafted by the former PNC government, gives too much power to the Minister of Home Affairs.

2.) There is enough evidence to suggest that in at least two cases there was some amount of political influence.

3.) Some persons selected to serve on the board are totally against persons being released on parole, in my view their decisions are not fair and impartial 4.) In arriving at decisions, the board places too much emphasis on the nature of crime, public perception, the inmates’ past, and their own private views.

There are factors too numerous to mention.

Whether society likes it or not, parole or no parole, inmates will one day be released back into society and

the anger and frustration caused by the current parole system will no doubt be directed against society. As long as the resources are available, every inmate who completes 1/3 of his/her sentence should be released on parole, which would lawfully give the authorities power to monitor their activities and ease overcrowding and tax payers’ money to feed and clothe them.

By an act of parliament, the Parole Act should be reviewed, with emphasis of removing the powers vested in the Minister under the Act and transferring that authority to the chairman of parole board, who should be fair and impartial, and make all decisions without fear of favor malice or ill-will. And the chairman should be appointed by parliament.

Robert Gates

Lamaha Park urgently needs security measures DEAR EDITOR, There have been several burglaries and robberies in the Lamaha Park area, persons have been injured and have encountered great losses. This situation seems to be on the rise as there are an increased number of victims from across the area.

This community is in dire need for some assistance from the relevant authorities for a secure neighbourhood. Road lights are needed and the open spaces (fields, alleys) need proper clearance. There should be police patrols in the area regularly, especially since there are a lot of “limers” in the streets at nights - attacking and robbing residents.

This criminal behaviour needs to be addressed immediately and offenders need to be brought to justice when caught.

Only recently another house was broken into. Fortunately, the police turned up and caught them in the act. Sadly, though, the burglars managed to escape, except for one of them who was driving a taxi attached to a popular service.

Residents (names provided)

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 5

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

The upward spiral of land prices in Guyana

DEAR EDITOR, Constitutionally every Guyanese is entitled to a piece of land. For the past twenty years, Guyana has increased its land distribution to the populace and has been rewarded handsomely for that. The ministry boasted of the profits it has returned to the Consolidated Fund.

That’s great news. It’s worth pointing out that there are still many Guyanese without land and that is not for the want of applying to the ministry to acquire a piece.

The land distribution method seems to be skewed as was highlighted in a report commissioned by the ERC on land distribution along ethnic lines. Now the one-stop-shop method of selling is a good avenue for skewing the distribution even further, not only along ethnic lines, but along economic lines.

For the most part, the government would develop the land and parcel out selling to the populace. The price that prospective land owners faced was the cost the government paid to develop the land and the premium that the government attached for their efforts. Now that price structure has changed with the introduction of the third party system know as

developers.

These developers have their own lands and plenty of it.

The government has always been able to finance these projects and has delivered on them, so why now this developers’ syndrome which has impacted negatively on the cost of homeownership to the populace?

I don’t know since when Guyanese were unable to build their own homes? There is always an uncle or brother who has the skills to assist in home-building, reducing the cost for home ownership.

Guyanese always built their homes at their own pace and owed the bank less than they otherwise would have. Now there is a housing bubble in Guyana fuelled by low interest rates and an increased availability of land. This bubble must be managed, and not be abused by government officials and these so-called developers who are bidding up the price of land in Guyana, making it even harder for those who can’t afford to over-leverage with banks. There are already signs of over-leveraging in homeownership by the now increased rate of banks selling properties repossessed in the

newspapers.

Guyanese need to take a stand against unjust and crony decision-making by our appointees to manage our resources.

Let the administration know that we are not standing for these artificial bidding up of prices and the continued skewed distribution of land, whether it’s along ethnic or financial lines.

Away with the developers and let the price of land and home ownership remain stable. The criteria for land and home ownership should be adhered to strictly, and not be abused by a phony onestop-shop gig where the Minister’s decision is final.

This arrangement – the one-stop-shop - is a good source for abuse and corruption. Those who apply first should get without prejudice. There should be a land audit to weed out those who have two and three plots up and down Guyana.

Those lands should be repossessed and redistributed to those who have not yet received. Land distribution is an economic and social project that should be beneficial to all Guyanese, as is etched in our constitution.

Malachi James

DEAR EDITOR, The race for the White House is heating up. From all indications, this is likely to be a tight race, even though opinion polls at this point in time seem to give an edge to incumbent President Barack Obama. The Republicans have given the nod to Mitt Romney as their presidential nominee who successfully defeated his rivals for the nomination, who included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

As to how Mitt Romney will fare in the presidential contest due in about two months’ time remains to be seen. The two contestants are campaigning on two contrasting platforms with the Republicans favouring no tax increases for the rich as opposed to the Democrats who are more disposed to raise tax on those who could afford to pay, in particular the rich and the super-rich. The

thinking behind this approach by the Republicans is that taxing the rich would serve as a disincentive to the rich to invest which could adversely affect job creation and thereby result in high unemployment rates.

Democrats on the other hand argue that it is morally wrong to impose tax increases on middle and lower income groups who can least afford to pay. This is tantamount to shifting the tax burden from the poor to the rich when the reverse is considered morally and justly correct.

The fact of the matter is that there is a dire social crisis engulfing the American society which is today experiencing high levels of unemployment which has now become a big electoral issue. Never before has so many Americans been forced into the breadline, a worrying factor for the Obama administration which has

been putting significant sums of money to stimulate the economy, but without any perceptible improvements in terms of employment generation. Much of the money was spent to bail out the banking system and the automobile industry, but not much has changed on the ground in terms of employment opportunities which has reached almost ten percent.

It is true that much of the Continued on page 23

The race for the White House is heating up

Preparing for the dreaded ‘five-year- experience’

DEAR EDITOR, The Central Immigration and Passport Office is the country’s lone location for immigration issues, passportapplication and related matters. It serves the entire population of Guyana and hundreds flock the office on a daily basis, ever since the decentralised service was stopped several years ago after the introduction of the Machine Readable Passports (MRPs).

You turn up at 7:00 in the morning and find out that 76 persons are there before you.

You wonder what time these people left their homes! You remember your ordeal five years ago, leaving Berbice at 2:00 in the morning, with the ‘first boat’ (ferry) and arriving in Georgetown at 4:30am, standing in the rain just to ‘beat the line’ that would accumulate hours later.

Five years later, that situation has not changed much, since dozens still see it necessary to secure an early space at this office.

So you arrive and just after 7:00, an immigration officer takes the line to the [animal] pen— shed— located a few metres from the passport office main building.

The main building is filled so the extras are escorted to this waiting shed.

The shed is made of wood, so shabbily done, hot…sun beating in, really not impressive to any tourist doing business at the passport office. You are given a ‘return slip’ with a number that you would need to bring back to uplift your new passport.

They do not renew passports any longer. You have to find $4,000 every five years to get a new Guyana Passport. And the experience at this office is one not to miss, too, every five years. I was having my second ‘fiveyear- experience’.

An immigration officer came to escort us back to the

main building, which seemed to have some space. The line moved under his charge. You are told no eating and no cell phone use in the main building. You arrive in the main building, boiling hot; four air conditioners on the walls, not one working. The windows are opened; persons fanning. You start playing musical chairs. An immigration officer studiously ensures that persons sit according to their numbers and change seats accordingly and move up closer so that they can pay the cashier, of which there were three windows. The heat was unbearable. There were no fans; persons sneezing...some windows sealed off; it was a nightmare.

I was afraid of getting sick in there.

You admire the hardworking immigration officer who seemed very upbeat and serious about his job to ensure that persons sit according to their numbers and move to the next chair in orderly fashion and in sync with their numbers.

You then see persons coming inside and just sitting ahead of you. You wonder what is happening. You see a female rank bringing a woman— her friend presumably—and heading straight up to the cashier. You do not remembering seeing that woman playing the game of musical chairs with the rest of the applicants.

The woman pays and goes right into the application area. You wonder what just happened there; you know what happened there but say to yourself, “oh this is Guyana”.

One of the air conditioners comes on after 2 hours; it makes no difference during the heat of 10 o’clock in the morning. The empty water dispenser is finally paid some attention to. The same hardworking immigration officer brings us a half-filled

bottle of water and puts it over the dispenser. Part of the concrete floor in the main building is cracked. The television on the wall is receiving poor signals and ‘comes and goes’.

The washroom is located right next to where persons sit in the main building. You MUST close the door after you enter or exit or you know what emanates....

You finally see an immigration officer ready to accept your application. You have a gift bag with you and she immediately asks, “Did you bring your lunch?” You take your seat and tell her, “no”. You fall short of telling her you wanted to bring dinner too, for all the long hours spent there.

You have sympathy with the employees at this office.

Surely, it is not their fault for the service and the way things are there. Surely it is not their fault that the government finds it challenging or difficult to decentralise this very important service to the various regions and make MRP applications available in Berbice, etc.

You think of the huge sums of money garnered from the sale of passports, etc., and how much the government invests, especially on the Home Affairs Ministry, yet this does not match the experience, physical appearance and service standard at the Central Immigration and Passport Office. My sister in New York had her Guyana Machine Readable Passport mailed directly to her- you wish you had this kind of treatment.

Everyone has a ‘passport office’ story. I return on Friday to uplift my MRP. And then I will say, “good riddance”— at least until the next 5 years. I hope things get better then—I hope. It’s just a hope.

Leon Suseran

Page 6

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Guyana, Trinidad to partner on several large agriculture estates

By Romila Boodram

Trinidad (CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government says it ‘is moving to establish” a food security facility with Guyana.

Finance Minister Larry Howai, delivering the TT$58.4 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) budget on Monday, said that with agricultural land becoming less and less available in Trinidad and Tobago, the Kamla Persad Bissessar administration is now looking to its fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to deal with the situation.

Howai said that 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”.

In 2005, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders agreed on the socalled Jagdeo Initiative, which was designed to advance the regional transformation of agriculture, ensure the region is foodsecure and make the sector competitive.

But Caribbean officials have said that regional harmonisation of policies is one of the key issues hampering the progress of the Initiative.

At their 2009 summit in Guyana, regional leaders reaffirmed their commitment to providing financial and other support measures for agriculture and underscored the importance of agriculture

for food and nutrition security and for the development of Caribbean economies. They also issued a Declaration promising to improve the region’s agricultural sector.

While Howai during his presentation made no reference to the CARICOM initiatives, he said the government here proposes to reduce its food import bill by 50 per cent or just over two billion TT dollars per year by 2015.

“Achieving food security is our top priority. We all recall the global food price shocks in the period 2006 – 2010 when domestic inflation reached an annual average level of 9.1 per cent compared with an annual average of 4.8 per cent in the period 2001-2005.

“The increased levels of inflation stemming from our increasingly imported food requirements have had a harmful impact on our citizens, particularly our most vulnerable, as they sought to manage the business of their everyday lives.

Consequently it is proposed on a temporary basis that Value Added Tax would be removed from all food items except luxury items and alcoholic beverages.”

Howai warned also that another global price shock is on the horizon as drought conditions are devastating commodity crops, in particular corn and maize, in the United States.

“These higher global prices are already generating price increases in Trinidad and Tobago in particular in the poultry industry,” he said, noting that the government would embark on a series of measures to address the situation including the establishment of the facility with Guyana.

Police have detained a Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) woman, whose husband was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) early yesterday morning.

Twenty-three-year-old Sam Lall of Lot 631 Block 8, Mon Repos, reportedly had a stab wound to his chest.

There are conflicting reports from neighbours as well as the dead man’s wife of how Lall received the wound but police are treating the incident as a murder.

The fisherman’s wife is claiming that she and her husband had a confrontation during which he picked up a knife and stabbed himself.

But neighbours and the dead man’s relatives are adamant that his wife stabbed him.

Yesterday, when Kaieteur News arrived at the Mon Repos home Lall had shared with his wife and three children, police were combing the yard for possible clues.

They eventually found a bloody knife at the side of the house, which they suspect was used to inflict the fatal wound. The dead man’s wife was in tears as police questioned her.

Two of her three children were standing outside with relatives and shocked neighbours.

According to Lall’s mother-in-law, Rita, she was at home preparing to go to work when her daughter called and informed her that the fisherman was bleeding.

“When I hear, I run to the house and I see he lay down at the front door and the

whole place was in blood, so I call a taxi and send she with him at the hospital,” Rita claimed.

When asked whether her daughter told her what had happened, she replied in the negative. “No, she didn’t tell me anything and I didn’t ask.”

A neighbour, who gave his name only as Ivan, said that he lifted the badly wounded fisherman into the taxi.

“I was sleeping and I hear she (victim’s wife) calling me and when I go I see he (Lall) deh lay down i n h e underwear alone on the verandah and he bleeding bad, bad. So I hurry and I help put he in the car to go to the hospital but he bin look like he done dead.”

“If you see blood, too much blood…he was bleeding too much man, too much, the whole place was in blood.”

Meanwhile, as the police were taking the woman to the nearby Beterverwagting Police Station, she told this publication that “me and he bin a quarrel and he pick up two knives and he stabbed

Dead: Sam Lall himself.”

The police stopped her from revealing anymore information and took her away.

Dindial Lall, the dead man’s brother, said that the couple usually quarreled a lot and sometimes it led to bitter fights.

“She said that they were fighting, and she don’t have any marks. My brother…he wouldn’t allow her to stab him without fighting back and he wouldn’t stab himself.”

Two of the fisherman’s children.

The house where Lall was fatally stabbed

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Linden inquiry…

A senior officer attached to the Mackenzie Police Station yesterday testified that he and other ranks were ‘circled’ by a crowd of angry protesters who threw missiles at them shortly after three explosions occurred near the Mackenzie Bridge.

Subordinate Officer at the Mackenzie Station, Sergeant Roderick English, told the Commission that he heard the explosions some ten minutes after Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken read a ‘proclamation’ ordering the crowd to disperse.

At the time, Sergeant English was giving the Linden Commission of Inquiry his account of events that occurred on July 18th, when three Lindeners were shot dead and several others wounded by gunfire.

The sergeant also testified that a number of his ranks later returned to the Mackenzie Police Station with less ammunition than they were given.

Included in the unaccounted ammunition were eleven cartridges that were in the possession of one Constable Dhanraj, who had left the station with 20 tear smoke cartridges.

According to the sergeant, Dhanraj informed him that the cartridges were used at the Wismar/ Mackenzie bridge by ASP Todd, who was in charge of the TSU ranks on the day of the shooting.

Asked who instructed Constable Dhanraj to hand over the cartridges, English told the Commission that Todd had given the instruction.

But English said that he was unaware that day that anyone had been killed or injured, although he was told that two ranks had been hurt.

He later recounted that he and other ranks had to guard firefighters from hostile crowds who were preventing the firefighters from putting out fire at buildings that were set alight that day.

English was being guided

Kaieteur News

Page 7

Rank said protesters became incensed after ‘explosions’ near bridge through his testimony by Attorney-at-Law Ganesh Hira, one of the attorneys appointed to assist with gathering witnesses and evidence for the hearing.

Recounting events of Wednesday, July 18, 2012, English said that he was stationed at the Mackenzie Police Station.

He said that at around 08:30 hrs, he and four other ranks were detailed by ASP Stanton to perform duties at the Kara Kara Call Centre. He said he was unable to recall the names of all the ranks.

They were all dressed in blue and black uniforms.

MONITORING According to Sergeant English, on arrival, they stood some 50 meters west of the Call Centre, where he observed a white Canter truck, equipped with a music system. He said that about 100 people were present. Asked whether he knew who the people might have been and their purpose there, the sergeant said that he ‘supposed’ that they were part of the group that had gathered there to protest against the raising of electricity.

“We were expecting a protest,” English said.

The sergeant said that a green bus also stopped nearby and three people exited. He identified them as trade unionist Lincoln Lewis, Gordon Callender, known as ‘Bad Heart’ and PNCR member Aubrey Norton. He said that the crowd gathered around the trio, had a discussion, and then left in a minibus.

He said that the bus took the passengers in a western direction, and he suspected they were heading to the Mackenzie bridge. That was around 08:45 hrs.

“I contacted Assistant Superintendent of Police Stanton by cell phone and he told me to stay and monitor the situation.”

He said that ASP Stanton later instructed him to return to base. At the station, he was

further instructed to join the Anti-Crime Patrol, which was headed by Lance Corporal Bruce, but he (English) was placed in charge on joining the group.

At around 16:00 hrs, he and other ranks, English said, were called to a class in the police station canteen. There, Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken, the area commander, briefed the ranks and instructed them to uplift ‘riot store’ at the station and to be on standby to fall in with Tactical Services Unit (TSU) ranks from Georgetown.

According to the sergeant, one rank was issued with a CP gun and 20 cartridges; a Constable Dhanraj with a CP gun and 20 cartridges; Lance Corporal Bruce with two Tear Smoke hand grenades, while Sergeant English uplifted a 7.62 FN rifle and a Tear Smoke grenade.

He said that Hicken then briefed the ranks about the blocking of the Wismar Mackenzie bridge, “and we would be called upon if needs be.”

English said that his unit and the TSU ranks subsequently headed to the bridge. He said that on arrival, the TSU ranks fell into ‘riot unit formation’ near the bridge where several people were shouting expletives.

WARNING! He recalled that two ranks were holding up a banner at the front of the unit. ASP Todd, who had a loud hailer, sounded a siren, and then read a ‘proclamation’, which stated that the President of Guyana charged that the assembly was unlawful and that the persons should “go to their private place of habitat.” The ‘proclamation’ was reportedly read about five times.

According to English, some ten minutes after Todd had read the ‘proclamation, he heard explosions from the eastern end of the bridge.

“I then heard about three explosions…they came from the eastern direction of the

- prevented firefighters from reaching burning buildings Mackenzie bridge.

“After the explosions, this appeared to incense the crowd, and they began hurling bottles, stones and everything in reach…”English said.

According to English there were three separate crowds present; those at the bridge which numbered about 300; at the northern side about 150 or more; and about 70 to 80 behind the unit.

“The unit was circled; we were surrounded,” he said.

He said that ASP Todd then discharged a canister from a CP gun. But the sergeant said that the canister appeared to be ‘cold’ since it did not explode.

According to Sergeant English, ASP Todd then directed him to throw one of the tear smoke grenades, which he did and the crowd then stepped back.

English later said that he was unaware that civilians had been killed or injured, though he was told that ASP Stanton and ASP Todd had been injured.

He said that at around 17: 50 hrs he received a call from Hicken that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) building was on fire.

The sergeant said that he left three ranks behind with the vehicle, since he had seen a truck on fire near the bridge and he feared that the police vehicle would also be destroyed.

He said that he and three other ranks then headed for the building.

On reaching the area, Sergeant English said that he saw about 80 people on the roadway and that the crowd began to verbally abuse and throw missiles at them.

PREVENTED According to him, he observed that the GRA hut

was on fire and the ranks attempted to extinguish the blaze. English said that he contacted Commander Hicken and informed him that the crowd was preventing them from putting out the fire, and Hicken instructed him to Continued on page 23

Duo denies robbing GuyExpo patrons Two persons were yesterday indicted for crimes committed at the Sophia exhibition site during the recent GuyExpo event.

Esan Lawrence is accused of stealing a gold band valued at $90,000 which belonged to Rakesh Ramnarine. Lawrence denied the allegation when he appeared before Magistrate (ag) Priya Sewnarine-Beharry.

However, the court was told that while Ramnarine was at GuyExpo last Sunday, Lawrence went up to him and “snatched” his gold band which he quickly handed over to an accomplice. The

complainant wasted no time and pointed out the suspect to police ranks on duty at the site. The defendant was apprehended and charged. He was permitted bail in the sum of $150,000.

The other defendant, Daniel Burban, allegedly robbed Jamaica Jacobs of a Blackberry Curve cellular phone valued at $64,000.

Burban pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on $100,000 bail.

Both defendants are scheduled to make their next court appearance on October 12.

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Kaieteur News

‘GPL’ bandits nabbed with gun after botched Eccles robbery Two bandits who posed as employees of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. were arrested by police with a .32 snub-nose revolver with three rounds following a botched robbery at Eccles on the East Bank of Demerara yesterday.

The men were forced to abandon their intended robbery on businessman Ravi Singh after his wife managed to elude them and raise an alarm, which alerted a passing police mobile patrol unit. Police in a press release said that at about 09:50 hours yesterday, two men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, held up the 33-year- old Singh as he entered his yard at Eccles.

According to the police, public-spirited persons who observed the incident informed the police and a mobile patrol that was in the area promptly responded.

“The two perpetrators who had posed as GPL meter readers were arrested and a .32 snub nose revolver with three rounds recovered.”

The businessman’s wife told this newspaper that the same men had tried to gain entry to her yard last Friday pretending to be GPL workers, carrying out inspection of meters. At the time her husband was not at home and the woman followed her instinct and refused to let them in.

“I had the gut instinct that something was wrong and I called my husband and told him that I didn’t feel like opening up for them to come in. They went away and came back two times on Friday,” the woman told this newspaper.

Recounting yesterday’s ordeal, Mrs. Singh said that her husband had just left the home when the men came to her gate and asked to speak with her. She said that since

the men were neatly dressed with shirt bearing the GPL logo on the pocket and collar, she felt it was possible that they were from the power company and she did not want to be accused of not facilitating their work. She contacted her husband on his cellular phone and told him of her plans, resulting in him returning home.

He arrived just as she was about to open the gate for the men to come in the yard.

The woman said that while her husband went with the two men to the side of the house where the meter was, she went into her house and shut the grill door, since she still harboured suspicions.

“They were telling my husband that they could ‘fix’ the meter but he told them that it was okay. Then they asked for ice water. I had to open to give them the water and one of them put a gun to my husband’s chest and forced him into the house.”

The woman said that the other bandit grabbed her clothes but she managed to hold on to the gate and scream. Eventually she freed herself and “ran up the road”, alerting neighbours, who in turn alerted the police.

The woman told Kaieteur News that this must have thrown the bandits into confusion as the one who was holding her shouted to his accomplice for them to abandon the robbery and flee.

“While they were running away, my husband followed them and the police came up and caught them. I heard about three gunshots,” Mrs. Singh told this newspaper.

“These men were well dressed. I see thief man before but these didn’t look like that,” she added. Police say that the men will be charged and placed before the court soon.

Wednesday October 03, 2012

OAS chief calls for more public/ private partnerships in region KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Assistant Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin, yesterday called for a new, more inclusive kind of governance in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ramdin’s position hinges on “better relationships between those who make policies and the private sector” to overcome challenges that, he said, could impede continued economic growth and a growing influence in the global economy.

Speaking to business executives from throughout the Americas at the annual

meeting of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean (AACCLA), Ramdin highlighted that “low investment in human capital and infrastructure, and inequalities” continue to be key challenges to accelerating inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We urgently need to create a culture of healthy public-private collaboration, where public and private sector leaders work together to tackle these impediments to growth and poverty reduction,” he said.

Ambassador Ramdin highlighted that the region

has a serious deficit in the area of innovation and education, and added that with prospects of slower growth rates, the region needs to improve productivity, infrastructure, and transport.

In addition, he said, logistics accounts for an additional 18% to 35% of product value compared to just 8% in the OECD countries.

“When you also add the costs associated with the current insecurity trend, businesses from the region are disadvantaged and less competitive compared to those in other parts of the world,” said Ramdin.

(Jamaica Observer)

Albert Ramdin

T&T: Govt. to solve CLICO debacle this year PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - CMC - The Trinidad and Tobago government Monday said “substantial progress” had been made in resolving the financial “debacle” that plagued the Port of Spainbased regional insurance giant Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) and involving a multi-billion dollar rescue plan.

Finance Minister Larry Howai, delivering the TT$58.4 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) budget to parliament, said that the CLICO issue had dragged on ‘for far too long” and that he intends to bring it to a close this year.

He said that the cost to the government so far in dealing with the CLICO matter as well as that of the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) “has been substantial - an amount of TT$19.7 billion or

13 per cent of our current GDP”. But Howai defended the expenditure, saying it “was necessary and decisive for containing an economic and financial crisis.

“However, we took steps to ensure that the CLICO impact on growth and employment was not as severe as has occurred in other countries affected by their own financial crises.

“As part of the overall solution we shall incorporate a new insurance company into which those traditional policies and other assets will be transferred from CLICO. That new company will continue to manage the traditional policies.”

The Kamla PersadBissessar government last year said it would make an initial partial payment of a maximum of TT$75,000 to depositors in the short-term investment and mutual funds

Larry Howai and those whose principal balances exceed TT$75,000 will be paid through a government IOU amortised over 20 years at zero interest.

Howai told legislators “we are discharging the liabilities held by individual and

corporate investors in ShortTerm Investment Products (STIPs) in two components.

“We shall launch the CLICO Investment Fund on November 1st, 2012 and on January 2nd, 2013 trading will begin on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange for the units of those persons who exchanged their 11-20 year bonds for units in the CLICO Investment Fund.”

In 2009, the then Patrick Manning government signed a shareholders’ agreement CLICO following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between government and CL Financial on January 30, 2009.

The MOU gave government control of 49 per cent of CLICO’s shares. The Manning government injected seven billion dollars into CLICO in 2009 to keep the collapsed insurance firm running and protect policyholders.

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

THE NIS NEEDS HELP

The loss of its investment in CLICO was bound to hurt the viability of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). But even long before that debacle, the NIS was facing problems or to use the more convenient euphemism, challenges.

The number of businesses that are submitting contributions is only a small fraction of those registered for such purposes; the same goes for self-employed persons. In short, many of those who are supposed to be paying or remitting the NIS contributions are not doing so, that is perhaps the greatest problem that the scheme faces.

To add to this problem, is the high level of informality of the Guyanese economy. We have thousands of persons working in this country but their contributions to the NIS are non-existent. They are working; they are employing persons; but they are not paying in or remitting contributions to the scheme.

High amongst the defaulters are vendors and others who are part of the informal economy. High also are many who work in the goldfields away from the reach of the NIS. High too are thousands who work in the construction sector and who do not pay either taxes or NIS. Many of these persons when their limbs can no longer support the hard work that they are now undertaking, will seek pension benefits from the state.

And they will complain that the old age pension offered by the government is too small. That old age pension was, however, never intended to be available to everyone who has reached the age of sixty-five. It was supposed to be paid to persons based on a means test, something that was abolished by the PPP regime and which has unfortunately led to a situation

where persons actually feel that the government is legally obligated to provide for them in their old age.

If those persons who will cry foul when they reach pensionable age had however been contributing to the NIS, they would receive a healthy social security pension at age 60, rather than having to wait until 65 for the government old age pension.

The third problem faced by the NIS and which is likely to also impact on its viability, is high administration costs.

The NIS is a large employer with hundreds of workers.

The process of filing, processing and paying claims is a costly exercise requiring a great deal of paperwork. The cost to companies of transmitting contributions to the NIS is also costly.

It would be to everyone’s interest if the entire system was computerized and the NIS was integrated electronically with employers and selfemployed contributors. In this way, all the contributions and records about contributions can be sent electronically to the NIS by employers.

In this way, all the paper work would be avoided and there would be a trace of the transactions between employers and the NIS and between self-employed contributors and the scheme.

This would result in substantial savings to the scheme which can then be ploughed back into benefits.

But some of the benefits offered by the NIS are also part of the problem. The NIS benefits particularly for dental work and eyeglasses serves the interest of the professional classes that provide these services.

These benefits have healthy

reimbursements.

The NIS should give serious consideration towards ensuring that the cost of these services is reduced nationwide. In this way, the overall cost of benefits will be reduced. The government should ask the Chinese and the Cubans to establish a facility that provide cheap spectacles and free dental work, and the NIS should pay for these services, thereby removing the need to have to reimburse private sector service providers in these fields. This will ensure that both eye care and dental service are more competitive and therefore reduce the cost of the service and by extension the reimbursements provided to contributors by the NIS. The NIS also faces a problem because of the early age of retirement in the government service, the largest employer in the country. If the age of retirement is extended to sixty and later sixty five, it will make a big difference to the fortunes of the scheme.

But no matter what the NIS does, the fundamental problem is the need to ensure that all workers pay NIS. There are many persons who are working with employers who do not pay NIS. These workers are the ones who will lose in the long run. But many of them are afraid that if they press their employers to pay NIS on their behalf, the employers would dismiss them.

The NIS has to adopt a different strategy to get to these persons. It is no use trying to wield the big stick.

That has not worked. What the NIS should be doing is trying suasion.

They should launch a

Dem boys seh

Shake really like water Dem boys always seh is only forty people running tings in this country…Well is really forty-one when yuh add in Ali Baba De Rat. He does control the whole show from behind the scene. When he seh jump, even Uncle Donald got to ask how high.

Nothing ever change.

Well dem boys hear that Ali Baba and he chores had a big meeting when dey suddenly realize de other day that one chore missing, and is a short, smart man just like Shaatie.

Irfaat stand up at de meeting and tell De Rat that he can’t handle dis water ting alone, it too much fuh he, so he ask fuh dem bring back a old man wha really like water.

He name Shake.

Irfaat tell dem is no problem dat Shake was a top

man and he gun be in a lower position now, all he gat fuh do dis time is mek he heights like Ali Baba, so he ain’t gun end up wid rags when he stop wuk.

All dem chore agree and happy. But is not only dem happy. Dem water kantractor throw a big sport right away.

One ah dem seh dat Irfaat and Shake together is like if Christmas come in October.

Money gun flow like water in de Blacka. Is sheer runnins gun tek place. But dem boys watchin’ strong fuh dem funny move.

Talking ‘bout funny move…Some tief man tun up too late fuh cut open de safe at the Mahaicony Post Office.

One man seh leh dey meet fuh midnight, and another one seh half-past twelve. Well dey reach li’l after one o’clock and

dey couldn’t finish de wuk.

Dey miss out pun a five million.

And is not dem alone stupid. Two like dem dress up wid fancy clothes and put on cologne, and then dey go in Eccles with bogus GPL badge fuh play like if dem reading meter. Well de lady at de house wha’ dem go to got a good nose and eye fuh tief man. Fuss she smell de cologne from a distance and look outside. When she see two man in suit and tie come fuh read meter, right away she know something wrong. She call she husband home. Well, long story short, dey grab de woman and she holler out and police hear. Dem two gun be wearing different colour suit very soon.

Talk half and watch out fuh dem dress-up man!

special public relations programme aimed to educating informal workers and those not registered about the benefits of being an NIS contributor. When workers appreciate that it

pays to be part of the scheme, then three quarters of the work of the NIS would be undertaken by these workers who will stand up to their employers and demand to be registered for NIS purposes.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

Lee and Taylor: Footnotes in the Shakespearian wind One of the most quoted reflections of Shakespeare comes from the mouth of Macbeth; “Life’s but a walking shadow A poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more.”

I was in Austin’s Book Store on Monday and at the cashier’s wicket, there’s the magazine rack, and my eyes glanced on a magazine cover that features the faces of prominent Guyanese Portuguese in Guyana’s history. Among them is Peter D’Aguiar. With over seventy percent of Guyanese being under thirty-five years, and even those over forty-five, few Guyanese would know about the influence Peter D’Aguiar wielded in their country in the sixties The reason for this

erasure is because no one and no organization keeps his memory alive. This is in stark contrast with Cuffy, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan.

Every year there are events, given wide coverage in the media, highlighting the lives and times of these famous Guyanese. But there is nothing on D’Aguiar. The business firm of D’Aguiar would not dare have a yearly celebration of his historic place because of fear of Government’s retaliation. But the life of this politician needs to be kept alive.

When you think of how the PPP under Mrs. Jagan evolved in the nineties and onwards, it becomes easy to contextualize the historic presence of Peter D’Aguiar.

If it wasn’t for D’Aguiar, think of what Guyana would have become under the PPP

leadership. People like Forbes Burnham and Peter D’Aguiar understood the dark mind of the PPP in the sixties and their intervention to remove the PPP have its historical place.

My opinion is that it is unfair that people like D”Aguiar are just gone from the nation’s memory. It is like what Shakespeare said. We just appear, do our thing, and we fade forever, never to be heard again. When you think of how colossal was the presence of some Guyanese personalities in the epoch to which they belong then they vanish into thin air, it causes you to reflect on the human condition and what value it has in the lives of human beings. Take Peter Taylor.

Two years ago ( I wrote about this before), I was driving south on Carmichael Street and at Christ Church, I

saw this small group leaving the church. Among them was a well known city manager of a very popular Georgetown restaurant whom I recognized.

A few days after, while eating at his outfit, I made reference to the church gathering and he told me it was the funeral service of Peter Taylor. I could not believe it. Just a handful of persons were in attendance.

In the sixties, Peter Taylor was a household name, equal to that of Premier Cheddi Jagan and opposition leader, Forbes Burnham. Think of any Guyanese that is extremely known among the population today and Peter Taylor would have fitted that description. As the editor of the vastly influential Evening Post, he became more popular when the Government tried to murder him. No one remembers Taylor today. Few attended his funeral service.

He became a cripple a few

years back and twice refused my interview. So did his extramarital partner who currently lives in a private nursing home. There needs to be some publication on Taylor and D’Aguiar.

In the fifties and early sixties, a household name in Guyana was a tall, handsome Chinese man, Vivian Lee. He owned perhaps the tallest business place at that time named ACE, at the corner of Robb and King Streets. Lee was one of the most popular citizens in his time. He made a number of successful local movies with local actors and recorded local singers, making some of them hugely successful in the Caribbean, notably Johnny Braff.

In the late seventies, Lee migrated to Canada, married an Italian woman and reached his nineties before he died last month. His death passed unnoticed in this country. I doubt, given who Lee was,

Frederick Kissoon that would happen in any other country, and yes, I mean any other nation. It is expected that the Government would not dare sponsor any event to inform the Guyanese people who D’Aguiar or Taylor were. But Lee never dabbled in politics and was a giant in the arts field in Guyana.

The Ministry of Culture needs to compile a documentary on Lee so the younger generation can know about his contribution. My deep conviction is that given the philistine mentality that dominates the corridors of power, it would be unthinkable to see them spend money on such a project. Rum shop mentality and culture are enemies.

Man charged with $6M city burglary Oswald Layne yesterday denied allegations that he broke into a house belonging to Compton Seepersaud and stole more than $6M worth of cash and jewelry.

Layne was placed before the court on a charge of breaking and entering.

According to reports, both Layne and Seepersaud are known to each other and on September 24 the latter

secured his home and went jogging.

Seepersaud claimed that he left everything intact but returned home sometime later and discovered that his home had been broken into.

This was evident, as three boards from the southern side of the home had been removed. The complainant claimed that $5M dollars and jewelry valued

above $1,000,000 that were in a wardrobe had all disappeared.

A report was made to the Kitty Police Station and an investigation was launched, during which Layne was arrested and charged. He was released on $150,000 bail and will make his next court appearance before Chief Magistrate (ag) Priya Beharry -Sewnarine on October 12th.

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Gandhi’s peace work recognized at anniversary ceremony Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green amongst special invitees offering floral tributes to Gandhi’s statue on his 143th birth anniversary.

Page 11

$315M bid submitted for Mon Repos vet lab Bids were opened yesterday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), under the Ministry of Agriculture for the rehabilitation of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

With an Engineer’s Estimate of $288, 097, 865 the bids opened were:

Meanwhile, bids were tendered for the Guyana Defence Force for the construction of a parking lot, Base Camp Ayanganna. The Engineer’s Estimate is $6,485,525 with the bids opened:

Under the Supreme Court of Judicature, bids were opened for the rehabilitation of Blairmont Magistrate’s Court in West Berbice, Region Five. The Engineers Estimate is $9,537,990 and the bids were: The High Commission of India celebrated the 143th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi yesterday at the Promenade Gardens, Middle Street, Georgetown, where floral tributes were offered.

Attending the event were Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds; City Mayor, Hamilton Green; Member of Parliament, Ronald Bulkan and President of the Indian Commemoration Trust, Dr. Yesu Persaud, among others.

Gandhi (1869-1948), known more popularly as “Mahatma”, according to India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Puran Mal Meena, was an apostle of nonviolence, and an architect and father of the nation of India.

He said Gandhi was subjected to all forms of violence and racism in his lifetime. His spirit to fight injustice through non-violent means was also inculcated by peace activists, Nelson Mandela and Dr Martin Luther King Jr. which offered a new perspective on peaceful protest.

Mayor Green noted that the teachings of Gandhi must not only be regurgitated on the anniversary, but the true teachings must be adopted to enhance the lives of citizens.

“Gandhi left behind a legacy of non-violence…are we heeding his call? These

ceremonies will be sterile and in fact useless, unless when we leave here after paying respects, convert our philosophy from violence to non-violence.”

According to Green, the newspapers show that violence is even being perpetuated by the state apparatus and that it has reached a level that even those who are suppose to protect are violating that trust.

“I recommend that the High Commission collaborate with the University of Peace Studies, Universal Peace Federation so that we can inculcate into the minds of our young people, the value of non-violence…so that we bequeath our succeeding generations a life and world that is kinder and more loving following the path of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.”

Representing the People’s National Congress/ Reform (PNC/R) and Leader of the Party, MP Ronald Bulkan said Gandhi was a great person that played an important role in the Indian independence movement.

The MP noted that Gandhi developed the talent of nonviolent agitation which he called Satyagraha, and his efforts were instrumental in India gaining its independence.

Meanwhile, according to the Prime Minister, Gandhi has also inspired Guyanese in his efforts to protect without distinction of as to race, colour or creed which are the fundamental basic rights of every woman, man and child.

“Lessons leant from Mahatma Gandhi’s approach to social changes are no less relevant in today’s world where the absence of peace in many troubled parts of the world creates immense suffering to human kind.

Today more than ever there is a great call for non-violence and continued dialogue to sustain peace, unity and brotherhood… key elements for sustainable development.”

The ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in its message said that Gandhi’s entire life was dedicated towards the struggle to liberate people from physical and mental oppression.

“The People’s Progressive Party remains committed towards further building Guyana by continuing to embrace the policies of Mahatma Gandhi that will benefit all Guyanese, regardless of race, colour or creed.”

Thieves fail to cut through safe with $5M at Mahaicony Post Office Thieves, using a welding torch, failed in their bid to cut into a solid steel safe containing over $5M at the Mahaicony Post Office yesterday morning.

They had already cut a hole into the steel but apparently ran out of time, which led to an abandonment of their mission.

The target was the cash that was earmarked to make pension payments, and investigators believe that the thieves are fully acquainted with the movement of cash by the Guyana Post Office Corporation.

Reports reaching this newspaper stated that the money was secured in the vault on Monday afternoon.

Yesterday when the Post Mistress turned up for work she found that the place was

not how she had left it.

Upon closer examination, she discovered that someone had attempted to torch their way into the safe that held millions of dollars in cash. The matter was immediately reported to the police.

Police believe that the thieves operated between 01:00 and 04:30 hours yesterday.

Residents living in close proximity to the Post Office reported hearing dogs barking incessantly around that time.

The thieves gained entry by breaking open the back door of the partially dilapidated building.

They left behind a piece of tarpaulin, which investigators believe was used to block out the light from the welding torch.

“This place old, if you see

how the flooring rotten,” one Mahaicony resident told Kaieteur News.

This newspaper was told that the facility has no security guard.

Only recently in the wake of a rash of high-profile burglaries, the Guyana Post Office Corporation had indicated that they had started the implementation of new security measures to deter bandits at its district offices.

The GPOC has been hit by a number of burglaries, one of which was committed at the Beterverwagting Post Office, from where bandits carted off $5.7 million after torching two safes.

Gunmen had also ambushed a car transporting cash for the corporation and had escaped with millions of dollars.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

M&CC targets deplorable state of Le Repentir Cemetery In recognition of the fact that the Le Repentir Cemetery not only poses a health threat during flooding situations but has the potential to serve as a haven for criminal elements, the Mayor and City Council has placed its transformation on a priority list of concerns.

In fact Public Relations Officer (PRO) attached to the municipality, Mr Royston King, said yesterday that the condition of the cemetery has been raised at a number of statutory meetings as a matter of serious concern.

So disturbing has been the state of the cemetery that City Mayor Hamilton Green had on numerous occasions proposed that Council acquire lands outside of the city to cater to the evergrowing burial needs of residents.

The Mayor, according to King, had also alluded to the possibility of developing a crematorium and had even engaged several persons in this regard. The municipality has over the years embraced several other measures to improve the cemetery which even saw the establishment of a Cemetery Restoration Committee. The Committee had seen the involvement of

a number of overseas-based residents who were expected to help chart the way forward.

Though some works were done, which included the clearing of a section of the cemetery by prison inmates, to date not much has been done to transform the burial facility to an acceptable state.

However, King insisted yesterday that the municipality is certainly not deliberately neglecting the facility. He made reference to the cash-strapped state of the municipality, adding that “given our present situation we are doing the best that we can...at the moment we are facilitating limited maintenance and we recognise that there is a drainage problem when it rains and that is certainly gaining our attention.”

According to King, the Council is currently seeking the assistance of Chairman of the Municipality’s Implementation Committee, Keith Burrowes, to address the existing state of affairs.

“We are not ignoring the situation...our limited resources compounded by the burden we have in terms of the number of services we offer has been preventing us from doing more but we are

A section of the Le Repentir Cemetery doing our best at the moment.”

Burrowes, according to the PRO, has been giving immense assistance to the municipality in a number of crucial areas aimed at helping to improve its operation.

However, he noted that “at the end of the day we are still the agency that must provide services to the city and we don’t feel very proud about our limitations.”

King disclosed that some of the challenges of the city entity extend beyond its

control such as the inability to implement avenues to earn additional revenue. These avenues such as paid parking and a portion of the environmental tax, he related, require Government’s approval before they can be realised, a courtesy that has not been extended to the municipality.

The municipal financial state has seen it month after month being unable to pay wages and salaries in a timely manner, the past month being no exception.

However, while City Hall continues to grapple with its financial predicament, Burrowes has revealed plans that will help to address the

state of the cemetery. He revealed during a forum last month that “I am getting businessmen to help us clean out that cemetery. I have always argued that the state it is in, is disrespectful to the dead, and I have held that position for a long time.”

Alluding to excessive overgrowth, Burrowes likened the cemetery to a forest even as he pondered over who or what could be living within its confines. The existing condition, he said, has also served to prevent family members from visiting the tombs of relatives who have passed in order to pay annual respects. “If you want to go and put some flowers

on a tomb some particular day you can’t get in there,” Burrowes lamented.

In order to clear the “forest” – an area stretching from the old Princess Street Mortuary to the western border of the now decommissioned dump site – Burrowes said that in excess of $40 million will have to be raised. Once cleared the cemetery could remain in a kempt state by recruiting the services of inmates of the Prison Services, Burrowes suggested.

However, the problem does not end with the clearing of the overgrowth, as according to him the Princess Street canal is relatively higher than the cemetery thus a situation of flooding is inevitable when it rains. “The problem is that the water is running on and not off so that is definitely something we need to look at and it is a health hazard...I can tell you that.”

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 13

GRA denies ATVs’ report…

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has refuted reports carried last Sunday in Kaieteur News which raised questions about duty free concessions being granted on hundreds of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).

The newspaper had quoted well placed officials who said that over 500 ATVs were processed for the year

by GRA but several were granted under questionable circumstances and that an investigation has been launched.

ATVs are being imported by mainly miners at the moment and under regulations can be subjected to duty free concessions once it can be proven that it will be used for mining purposes.

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), in this case, is the regulatory body that has to verify that the applicant is indeed a miner. Farmers are also allowed duty free concessions on the ATVs, Kaieteur News understands.

Describing the newspaper report as a fabrication, GRA yesterday said it “wishes to state emphatically that the Kaieteur News is extremely irresponsible in publishing an article that is totally inaccurate and devoid of any credibility to its claims that the GRA processed 425 illegal transactions.”

GRA’s Commissioner

General, however, admitted that over 500 of the four wheel bikes may have been imported.

“The GRA further states that this information is misleading and wishes to clarify that, while 500 ATVs may have been imported, the overwhelming majority were fully exempt (not required to pay any duties and taxes) since they were imported for large scale mining operations under various Investment Development Agreements (IDAs).”

He explained that there are three categories of minerslarge, medium and small scale.

Persons carrying on any form of large scale mining -gold, diamond, bauxite etc.- under an IDA can import any number of ATVs for use in their operation, once they are stated in the agreement and approved by the Government of Guyana. There is no need to obtain recommendation from the GGMC, in this case.

“On the other hand, ATVs imported by medium and small scale miners are partially exempt and the miners are required to pay only thirty percent (30%) Excise Tax. In these cases, the GRA rely on letters of recommendation which must be issued by the GGMC.” According to Sattaur, these letters must pass through the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment for their stamp

of approval. These letters are then used by the GRA to process the tax exemptions for eligible persons.

Recently, the Commissioner General disclosed that three staffers were sent on leave for demanding bribes from a businesswoman who imported ATVs for resale. The woman claimed that she paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to GRA officers for duty free letters that were later seized.

She had reportedly identified a staffer whom she paid. She was later issued demand notices to pay over $8M in fines and duties.

Earlier this year, GRA also said that it had launched an investigation into incidences where duty free letters appeared to have been forged. Two staffers have reportedly been fired for that, including a relative of a senior official.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has reportedly ordered an investigation into the issue of duty free letters being issued.

According to GRA yesterday, it wants evidence.

“The GRA challenges the misguided and grossly misinformed individual (s) to come forward with supportive facts and figures in the absence of which they should desist from making such nefarious claims.”

According to Sattaur, not

only does the article attempt to sully the image of the GRA but it also impacts on the Private Sector Commission (PSC) which is affected by unnecessary delays and bottle necks which are created and sometimes affect the smooth flow of “GRA’s operations as the agency seeks to implement measures to ensure that such reports in the Kaieteur News remain unsubstantiated.”

GRA said it recently had a meeting with PSC’s Chairman, Ron Webster, Ramesh Dookoo and President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry Clinton Urling where Sattaur urged the two bodies to strongly condemn those members of the private sector who habitually induce GRA staff to engage in corrupt practices, since both agencies share equal blame when such incidents occur.

“PSC Chairman Ron Webster also echoed the call by the GRA for Kaieteur News to desist from publishing such negative articles that have been appearing with increasing regularity. He further called for urgent steps to be taken to address the cause of delays that are currently being experienced in the clearance of goods due to the higher degree of scrutiny that has to be exercised over the processing of transactions,” the GRA statement said.

“The GRA also calls on the Kaieteur News to stop publishing patchwork articles that seek to twist press statements issued by the GRA in favour of corrupt individuals who help to serve their mischievous agenda. “ The CommissionerGeneral of the GRA, Mr. Khurshid Sattaur said the public should take a stand

GRA’s Commissioner General, Khurshid Sattaur against all that flies in the face of ethics and professionalism.

He said that the Kaieteur News should not allow economic pressures to blur ethical lines.

Page 14

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Agricola shooting…

Cop remanded, arrest warrants issued for colleagues Three police officers have been charged with the murder of 17-year-old Shaquille Grant who was killed on September 11th at Agricola, East Bank Demerara.

Special Constables Terrence Wallace and Jamal Lewis and Corporal Warren Blue are all implicated in the shooting that claimed the life of Grant and left one other person wounded.

However, only Wallace was present in court yesterday to face the charge which was read by Chief Magistrate (ag) Priya Sewnarine–Beharry. Arrest warrants were issued for the absent duo.

The charge is indictable and Wallace, who is being represented by attorney-atlaw Sonia Parag, was not required to enter a plea.

According Police Prosecutor, Kerry Bostwick, at around 12:10pm on September 11th, police ranks entered Agricola and approached a group of boys who were under a shed in a yard. Shots were fired which resulted in Grant’s death.

Wallace, said to be from the police’s TSU anti-crime squad, was refused bail and will have to return to court on October 12th.

Residents of the Agricola community had joined family and friends in public

Terrence Wallace leaving the court yesterday demonstrations held in front of several Government offices which included the Police Headquarters Eve Leary, State House and the Prime Minister’s residence, calling upon the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is served.

Residents had also burnt tyres on the four-lane East Bank Demerara public road for two consecutive nights following the incident.

Police ranks had said they raided the area after being “tipped” off about a robbery.

Lewis and Blue had reportedly disappeared after the investigations started.

Dead: Shaquille Grant

Interest high as lottery for special mining permit gets underway

One of the sensitization exercises held in Linden as GGMC’s staff provide support to persons interested in participating in the upcoming lottery for Special Mining Permits to be held today.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment through the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) recently concluded a programme to sensitize persons interested to participate in a lottery for Special Mining Permits to be held today.

According to the Ministry, the programme was

led by Field Staff of the GGMC to provide technical support and guidance to potential applicants within the various mining districts including Linden, Kwakwani, Port Kaituma and Bartica.

The lottery will be held simultaneously in the various mining districts commencing at 09:00 hrs at Linden Enterprise Network (in front);

GFC Building at Kwakwani; Port Kaituma Community Centre and Bartica Market Square.

According to the Ministry, through the GGMC, it will continue to make more mining properties available as part of the government’s drive to provide mining properties to small and medium scale Guyanese miners.

Page 20

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Page 20

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Lethem arms cache…

Suspects flown to the city

The weapons and ammunition which were transported to the city yesterday.

Police at Lethem continue their hunt for a businessman who they believe could provide much needed information about the cache of arms recovered from a Tabatinga residence on Monday afternoon.

The businessman, whose wife is presently in custody, is believed to have fled to neighbouring Brazil after he was alerted about the police raid on his premises.

Police had detained his wife and another man who were at the residence when the weapons were found.

They were brought to the city in a Guyana Defence Force aircraft under tight security yesterday.

The cache of weapons

and ammunition comprise four M-70 automatic rifles along with four magazines and 389 rounds 7.62x39 calibre ammunition; six M-16 rifles along with two magazines and 74 matching rounds; two shrapnel hand grenades; one Icon VHF radio set; one Icon hand-held radio set and one roll of camouflage material.

Sources in Lethem have informed this newspaper that the weapons which were dug up from a spot in the yard were tightly wrapped in plastic.

One source said that the man in custody has told investigators that the items belonged to another man whose call name was given as

‘Bora’.

He also claimed that the weapons were buried at the location three days ago.

Attorney-at-law Glen Hanoman, who is representing the man in custody, told this newspaper that his client was badly beaten by investigating ranks who forced him to sign a statement.

“I saw marks of violence (on him) and I asked (him) what happened. He told me that the police beat him. I asked him which police and he pointed to a Corporal who was nearby.”

Hanoman said that he reported his client’s allegations to another police officer who appeared to be in charge of the investigation, requesting that the man be taken for medical attention.

“The officer just stood there watching me as if he didn’t care. He wrote nothing down. Then he said that he would take appropriate action,” the attorney explained.

He noted that in this climate where the police are being seen in a bad light with regards to human rights, such as police brutality and unlawful killings, it is extremely surprising that they would allow another man to make such serious allegations against them.

“My client has told them that he knows nothing about the weapons since he is just a worker,” Hanoman stated.

Investigators will continue to interrogate the suspects with a view to ascertaining the real owner of the weapons, ammunition and other equipment.

Brazil has been a known source for illegal guns coming to Guyana.

Space - a crucial need at the...

(From page 19) now dead, who were able to have artistic careers their entire lives.

“That is what an artist is, one whose work constantly evolves and we try to promote their work and their ideas all the time.”

However, on the flip side there are some artists, she noted, who simply just

“spring-up like magic...and their work amaze me because they are some of the best pieces you’ll ever see.”

She alluded to some Amerindian artists who according to her came into their own around the late 1980s.

With the evolution of art and the inclusion of new faces over the years, Castellani

House, which served as the official residence of Prime Minister Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham back in t h e d a y, w a s in 1993 refurbished to accommodate the National Art Gallery.

The mandate of the facility is to house national pieces and from time to time showcase them.

Page 21

Page 22

Kaieteur News

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Wednesday October 03, 2012

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Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Letters... Where your views make the news

The race for the White House is...

From page 5 problems faced by the Obama administration was inherited by the former George Bush administration which diverted much resources to the military in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and which led to the so-called ‘’war on terrorism’ which saw the overthrow of two regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which were implicated by the United States as harbouring and facilitating terrorist attacks on the United States.

It took a full decade before the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attacks on the United States, Osama bin Laden was eventually captured and killed, but there has been little improvement in terms of peace and security, with the most recent being the killing of the United States Ambassador in Libya.

In fact, there are today much higher levels of instability in the Middle East

following the Arab Spring which saw a number of Arab leaders being forced out of power with the backing of the United States and other western powers. The situation in Syria is today cause for much concern as the country is torn apart due to clashes between government and antigovernment forces. Tens of thousands of innocent lives have already been lost in the crossfire and there seems to be no letting up despite efforts by the United Nations and the Arab League.

The economic and social crises faced by the United States, as indeed other western countries, are structural in nature and are derivatives of the neo-liberal model of development based on unbridled capitalism and free market enterprise. And even though both the Republicans and the Democrats are essentially pro-business, there are some fundamental diversions of

views between the two regarding the role of government in the economy.

Republicans are in favour of less governmental involvement in the economy as opposed to Democrats who are supportive of a bigger role for government, including greater regulatory mechanisms and financial and fiscal oversights.

In fact, it is precisely this failure on the part of the state to put in place the requisite oversight and regulatory mechanisms that led in the first place to the financial and banking crisis in the United States and which has had a contagious effect on the rest of the world, more particularly Western Europe. A recent survey found that 54% of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 are unable to find work in Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the Eurozone crisis. This is a serious indictment against capitalism and the neo-liberal model of development which

is the root cause of unemployment and poverty.

The truth of the matter is that there is no quick fix to the problems confronting the US economy, which is today faced with one of the highest fiscal deficits in history. The United States is forced to borrow in order to survive, a most untenable and unsustainable situation for any country to be in, especially a global superpower.

The way out of the crisis is not to reduce social spending, but to redirect expenditures away from the military and increase taxes on the rich and those who could afford to pay. The trickledown effect has not proven effective in terms of addressing the issue of poverty and unemployment not only in the United States, but the whole of Europe, which is facing one of its worst economic and financial crises.

Hydar Ally

Man turns over son, 14, to police in Belle West stabbing death One of the teens allegedly involved in Monday night’s murder at Belle West, West Bank Demerara, is currently in police custody assisting with investigations.

This publication was told that around midmorning yesterday, a 14-year-old boy who was in the company of his father and a lawyer made their way into the La Grange Police Station.

The police were allegedly informed that the teen was involved in the fracas on Monday night which resulted in the death of 17-yearold Imran Mohamed.

Up to press time yesterday, the teen was still in custody being questioned.

However, the prime suspect and one other teen who were involved in the incident remained at large. Reports are that Mohamed,

who practices carpentry for a living, was confronted on Belle West Road by three neighbourhood youths on bicycles.

A friend of the deceased, Harish Persaud, who was with the teen before he died, had told this publication that they were confronted by the suspects just outside a shop around 18:25hrs. They were on their way home when they were attacked.

Both Mohamed and his friend were involved in a brawl with their three attackers, during which he was fatally stabbed.

The teen was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The incident is said to have stemmed from an old grievance over a gold chain.

burning building.

He said that the ranks attempted to move some vehicles away from the inferno, and again, Lance Corporal Bruce discharged tear smoke while Constable Rodney discharged a shotgun in the air to disperse the crowd. He said that debris on the roadways prevented the firefighters from reaching the scene, and the building was destroyed.

“After failing to save Linmine Secretariat, Hicken called to say that the ‘PPP office’ was in flames.” The sergeant said that the ranks were forced to traverse on foot because of lumber and other debris blocking the roadways.

He said that several people were in the area including

A mini health check is the first step to donating blood.

about 50 people in the compound.

Again, Constable Rodney was instructed to fire in the air to disperse the crowd and the fire was eventually put out.

He recounted that the ranks were forced to remain on the scene for some 45 minutes since the firefighters feared that they would come under attack once the ranks left.

English said that they eventually returned to the Mackenzie Police Station at around 21:30 hrs. He said that he then made a physical check of the ‘stores’ (ammunition) that the ranks had been given “and all were not accounted for.”

Included in the unaccounted ammunition were eleven cartridges that were in the possession of Constable Dhanraj, who had left with 20 cartridges.

According to the sergeant, Dhanraj informed

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DEAD: Imran Mohamed

him that the cartridges were used at the Wismar/ Mackenzie bridge by ASP Todd.

Asked who instructed Constable Dhanraj to hand over the cartridges, English told the Commission that Todd had given the instruction. English is likely to continue his testimony tomorrow.

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Rank said protesters became incensed...

From page 7 “use tear smoke.”

Sergeant English said that he then instructed Lance Corporal Bruce to “release tear smoke.” English stated that he then instructed one Constable Rodney to discharge a shotgun in the air.

He said that the crowd then dispersed and they were able to extinguish the fire at the hut. However, the GRA building, which was also set alight, was gutted.

English said that about five minutes later he heard a loud explosion and was told that the Linmine Secretariat was on fire.

English testified that on reaching the Linmine Secretariat, he saw about 60 people heading for the

(From page 22)

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GYSM rejects President’s call to UN for...

(From centre) copyright laws. He said that the problem is known to the Heads of State, but the political will to fix the problem is lacking.

“There must be a revisiting of the copyright law in Guyana along with adequate funding designated for the development of talented citizens as to produce our own works.”

Events such as the “Drama Festival” are commendable but inadequate since there is nothing left to look forward to. The APNU member said that the way must be paved for upcoming talents and investments must be

made.

Earlier this week, President Ramotar while in the United States addressed members of the UN, and asked the organization to review international copyright laws to encompass developing nations such as Guyana, saying that Third World countries cannot afford the original texts.

The President’s plea came shortly after a UK based body representing publishers and writers filed an injunction in the Supreme Court ceasing the publication of “pirated” school books in Guyana.

Page 24

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Kaieteur News

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Wednesday October 03, 2012

Wednesday October 03, 2012 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Putting restrictions on yourself isn't fun, but it is a heck of a great way to strengthen your values. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): You can't always choose the most entertaining option, but you can always try to make something boring into something a lot more interesting. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): You'll be working with a lot more energy than the people around you will have today, so you need to be prepared to wait for them -- a lot. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Today, when you're in a group situation, everyone will be looking to you to get things started. You might not be used to being the person who initiates the big plan, but you'll have to step up to it this time. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Good manners have always helped you get along with people who other people find to be rude or otherwise annoying. This has been a bit of a curse from time to time, like when you get stuck talking to them at a party when you'd rather be chatting up that cutie across the room. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept.

22): It's a great day for finalizing plans, especially if they are related to travel in any way. So go ahead and finalize your itinerary or sign any paperwork that needs to be signed. ********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct.

22): How would you describe your relationship with food?

Are you a junk food junkie?

Someone who claims to be allergic to vegetables? No wonder you feel tired all the time! ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21): If you are involved in any kind of competition today, be advised that your opponent may be a stronger force than you. This isn't a fun fact to contemplate, but it's one you must consider as you map out your day. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Sometimes it's easier to forget than to forgive, so if you are struggling with someone who wronged you, it might be time for you to move on without them in your life. **************** CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): The more time you can spend with children or teenagers today, the better.

Younger people understand that anything is possible, and that is an attitude that you need to have right now. When did you get so jaded, by the way? ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18): Your mind is going to be sharper than ever today, which means that you'll be able to pick up anything, quickly. All you have to do is take one glance at the instructions, and you'll be good to go! ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20):You need to give some very important and tricky advice to a friend today -- but you know just how to give it to them in a very sweet, soft, and supportive way, so don't worry.

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Sustaining Jamaica’s track and field legacy

BY ANTHONY DAVIS Jamaica Observer - THE success of Jamaica’s track and field team to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, and more recently London 2012 Olympic Games, has captured the imagination of not just sporting enthusiasts, but also many persons who had only a passing interest in sports.

London 2012 may eventually go down in history as the event that has set new standards in the organisation of mega sporting events, as well as the planning and implementation of a legacy programme. While Jamaica’s successes have been nothing short of phenomenal and we celebrate the fantastic performances of our athletes, I am sure there are many who are actively asking the question, how all this will be sustained?

One government official suggested the need to diversify our approach and work towards participating in areas other than track and field athletics. In a country where GDP is approximately U$9,000 and our unemployment figures are trending upwards, our best bet may be to spend our scarce resources on strengthening the area in which we are currently most successful and have a competitive advantage.

Once our economy picks up we will undoubtedly be better equipped to afford the cost associated with expansion so as to enter more sports in the Olympic Games.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that our rich medal haul is limited to only a few events in track and field and, therefore, we may well be advised to first expand our efforts in track and field where we have a decided advantage.

Initially, we should confine our expansion for the immediate future to track and field discipline simply because our track and field facilities are generally underdeveloped. Speed is an essential component in virtually all track and field disciplines and we are blessed in that area. The harsh reality is that we have many average sprinters who may very well be advised to seek glory in other events where the transition can be seamless, such as long and triple jumps.

Over the years our successes bear absolutely no relationship to the poor facilities available islandwide.

We may well have worldclass candidates for the pole vault, but may never realize any success, as the facilities for pole vault is virtually non-

(PART ONE)

Jamaican sprint stars Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who won their 100m events in Beijing, Berlin and London. (Photo: Bryan Cummings) existent, and facilities for high jump are very modest.

After our Beijing success there was a loud outcry for establishing a Centre of Excellence. In this case, I’m happy it was only talk as too often we overlook what exists and rush to create new structure in the hope of getting improved results.

I am deadly scared of any suggestion to build new facilities as we all know of our exceptionally poor track record in maintenance of public facilities.

Many Jamaicans have some desire to see us maintain

and expand our dominance at the international level in athletics. In order to sustain the current standard we should develop a plan for upgrading our facilities across the island. Our high schools and colleges already have the space, security and some level of maintenance which can provide a solid basis for improved facilities.

An additional benefit is that our educational institutions also serves the needs of adjoining communities.

There are international companies that may be approached to prepare

Women’s boxing to debut at Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Reuters) - Following a hugely popular debut at the London Olympics in August, women’s boxing has been included in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the sports organizers said.

The Commonwealth Games Federation had made the decision at their general assembly meeting in Uganda shortly after the London Games, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said.

“This inclusion demonstrates the continued growth in popularity of women’s boxing that I wish to continue promoting even further,” AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said in a statement. “Women boxers have reached world-class levels over the last couple of years and the Commonwealth Games will be another opportunity for these athletes to showcase their talents.”

The women competing in Scotland will fight for three gold medals in flyweight (50 kilogram’s), lightweight (60 kg) and middleweight (75 kg).

Weight categories for the

men’s tournament have yet to be fixed, but 10 gold medals were on offer at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

It will be the first time women’s boxing has been included in the Games, held every four years for more than 70 countries, mostly of the former British Empire.

Prior to London, women’s boxing had been criticized by many in the sport, including the hugely successful amateur boxing nation of Cuba, who said it was not appropriate for women. But the all-out attacking displays at the Games drew huge acclaim and won over many critics as Britain’s Nicola Adams, Ireland’s Katie Taylor and American Claressa Shields took the first Olympic gold medals in front of sell-out crowds.

Wu said he would push the International Olympic Committee for at least six weight categories for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The men’s boxing tournament featured 10 gold medals at London, down from 11 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“special affordable packages” designed for Jamaica which can be negotiated as part of an islandwide development plan for upgrading large numbers of our facilities. The packages would provide for upgrading long jump pits and, where practical, high jump arch, pole vault facilities and throwing circles with appropriate safety cages.

We should strive to ensure all high schools and colleges that have organised programmes have at least their long jump and throwing facilities upgraded. Pole vault and high jump may be more challenging. However, we could select schools with the appropriate space to install these and have them serve as focal points for a cluster of adjoining schools to facilitate training and competition until the required funds are available for further expansion.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Anthony Davis is a PhD scholar at the University of Glasgow and president of Jamaica Intercollegiate Sports Association (Intercol).

Page 25

Referees treat foreign...

From page 26 injury-time winner against Queens Park Rangers in the final match of last season clinched the title for Roberto Mancini’s men. And Aguero’s views on Saturday’s events, echoed those of Mancini, who was unhappy Fulham were awarded a penalty in the 10th minute when Zabaleta was harshly adjudged to have tripped Fulham’s John Arne Riise.

Mladen Petric converted the resulting penalty to put Fulham ahead before Aguero struck back for the champions and Edin Dzeko scored the winner three minutes from time.

Mancini claimed the penalty decision by referee Mark Halsey was the latest bad one given against them this season.

“The penalty was not a penalty, I don’t know why it was given,” Mancini said. “We have been unlucky for three or four weeks when we have deserved to win.”

Other incidents involving overseas players caused concern on Saturday. Chelsea’s Brazilian defender David Luiz was booked for diving during his side’s 2-1 win at Arsenal, but the Gunners’ English defender Carl Jenkinson, who committed an even more blatant dive than Luiz, escaped a booking.

Former Premier League referee Graham Poll, writing in his column in the Daily Mail, also highlighted the problems now facing Uruguayan Luis Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in Liverpool’s 5-2 win at Norwich. Suarez has a reputation for diving after being booked twice for “simulation” last season and once this campaign, but Poll believes he was now paying the price for that and was not being properly protected by referees.

“After all the mischief (he) has created on the football pitch, it is difficult to see him in the role of victim,” Poll wrote. “But that’s exactly what has happened. Since his arrival in the Premier League, the Uruguay striker has earned a reputation for diving which is now resulting in him - and his club - being deprived of spot kicks.

“Suarez was brought down by Norwich’s Leon Barnett as he bore down on goal. It was one of the easiest decisions of the season and yet (the referee) waived appeals away. “The fact it was Suarez again can only leave the impression that it is his reputation as a player who goes down too easily that is affecting referee’s decision making.”

Page 26

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Australian Open organizers Referees treat foreign players differently, says Aguero splash cash at players (Reuters) - The Australian Open has hiked total prizemoney by 15 percent to a record A$30 million ($31.15 million) with an eye on satisfying player demands for a better share of grand slam revenues, Tennis Australia CEO Steve Wood told Reuters yesterday.

Players from the men’s draw said they were on the verge of boycotting last year’s tournament after a heated meeting before the tournament, citing frustration over the share and distribution of prize money at grand slams and other major ATP events.

Organizers had yet to decide how the prize pool was to be disbursed, but would consult with players in Shanghai next week, Wood told Reuters by telephone.

“We’ll make the decision (on distribution) later in the year,” Wood said. “It was really just time to listen to what the players are telling us in terms of the rewards for the massive growth we’ve had at the Australian Open and

compensating them accordingly. “And that’s what we’ve down and we’re very pleased with that.”

The year’s first grand slam is the richest event in Australia’s sporting calendar, with revenues used to subsidize the game’s development across the country.

But critics say the tournament’s riches have failed to produce enough world class players Down Under, particularly in the men’s game, with 31-year-old double grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt the last Australian male to win a major at Wimbledon in 2002.

Wood said officials had already budgeted for a significant increase, but would have to do a “little bit of juggling” to allow for it.

“That shouldn’t be a huge problem for us ... We’ve got some surplus that we would use to fund the increase.

“The early signs, which gives us great confidence, is that we’re ahead of where we were in some of those (revenuegenerating) areas over last

year. “So we’re feeling like as a risk to our business, it can be manageable.”

One area that might help finance it is a A$5 hike in general admission ground passes to A$34, which thousands of tournamentgoers buy to pack out Melbourne Park’s minor courts and outdoor areas in the first week.

The prize money announcement is likely to place pressure on the year’s other grand slams, the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, to raise their pools accordingly.

The elite of the men’s game have long agitated for a better deal from tournament Organizers and a less arduous tour calendar, but have achieved only limited concessions in recent years.

Analysts have blamed a lack of unity among players, with the top earners having less incentive to challenge the status quo compared to the lower-ranked players, who grind their way around the tour.

(Reuters) - Manchester City’s Argentine striker Sergio Aguero has accused English referees of bias against foreign players in Premier League matches.

Aguero, who scored his first goal of the season to equalise against Fulham in City’s 2-1 victory over the London side on Saturday, said home referees treated foreign players differently and were more likely to ignore

From back page in the kinds of knots previously unseen at this tournament.

Australia’s first loss of the tournament reopened their former doubts when confronted by quality spin on a slow, turning pitch, and also demonstrated the chaos that can ensue if Shane Watson and David Warner do not give the innings a rapid start.

Pakistan did not use a paceman until the 18th over of the innings, and other nations can be expected to use similar tactics against Australia for the remainder of the event. In the end it took a half century of considerable composure from Michael Hussey to ensure Australia’s qualification.

Their inability to seriously challenge a middling tally will sound a note of warning for Australia’s coaches, who also had the odd lapse in the field to ruminate on. Mitchell Starc had pinned Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Hafeez lbw with his first ball to push the batsmen onto the defensive, and should also have dismissed Nasir Jamshed for a duck. But Glenn Maxwell dropped the catch at slip, allowing Jamshed to go on to an important 55.

Pakistan’s innings went on in fits and starts, pinned down by Starc, Watson and Xavier Doherty, but scoring freely from Pat Cummins and

Brad Hogg.

Australia’s in-form openers Watson and Warner walked out to face the sort of target they had devoured in previous matches, also aware that reaching 112 would guarantee a higher run-rate than Pakistan and thus a place in the semi-finals. Warner swung Hafeez wide of midwicket for a boundary in the first over and the match seemed likely to follow a familiar path. But Hasan’s leftarm spin proved difficult to bully, and Hafeez improved on his start.

Warner might easily have been lbw in the third over to Hafeez, but Pakistan were compensated in the fourth when Hasan pinned Watson in front of leg stump, sweeping. Watson’s demise for his lowest score of the tournament by a distance changed the complexion of the chase.

Hafeez soon had his revenge on Warner, winning an lbw appeal when the batsman attempted a slog sweep, leaving Hussey and George Bailey to negotiate an increasingly confident Pakistani spin ensemble.

They survived for a time, but Bailey followed one six with two attempts to pull Ajmal the first nearly lbw, the second clearly so.

Cameron White and Maxwell both perished trying to swing for the fences, and

at 65 for 5 Australia were not only facing defeat but also a thrashing by such a margin that their place in the tournament would be in doubt.

Hussey and Matthew Wade combined for a partnership that accepted the humbler goal of passing 112, a tally they were within two runs of when Wade was confounded and bowled by Ajmal.

Next ball Cummins completed an ordinary match by misreading the doosra, but Hussey cut the first ball of the final over to the boundary to ensure qualification. He pumped his fist in recognition of the moment, but Australia go into the knockout round with an aura somewhat diminished.

Bailey had sent Pakistan in to bat and, as he had done against South Africa, Doherty took the new ball with his leftarm spin, though this time there were no immediate wickets. Instead it was Starc who struck early, curling his first delivery unerringly into the front pad of Hafeez for the most palpable decision Richard Kettleborough will give at this tournament.

Starc should have had another wicket two balls later when Jamshed squeezed a full delivery straight to first slip.

Maxwell seemed a little surprised to see the chance come his way, and dropped

it. This would prove a costly lapse by an Australian side that has made remarkably few across the tournament.

Initially, though, Pakistan were kept quiet by Bailey’s bowling changes and fields.

Imran Nazir made a fairly subdued 14 before miscuing a Watson full toss to mid-off, and Jamshed took his time getting comfortable, surviving one concerted caught behind appeal from the bowling of Hogg.

Jamshed gradually found his rhythm, and a pair of sixes from Cummins and Doherty helped form the foundations of a threatening stand with Kamran Akmal. At 103 for 2 after 14 overs, Pakistan were well placed, but the innings then veered sharply off course.

Jamshed heaved at Doherty but failed to clear long-on, and next over Kamran drove Starc straight to cover, reacting with disbelief having done so. The recalled Abdul Razzaq was preferred to Shahid Afridi at No. 6 in a curious batting order choice, and the final total looked mediocre. That it ultimately proved to be more than enough was testament to the quality of spin delivered

by Hasan and Ajmal.

Scores: Pakistan 149 for 6 (Jamshed 55, Starc 3-20) beat Australia 117 for 7 (Hussey 54*, Ajmal 3-17) by 32 runs.

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (right) celebrates after scoring a goal against Fulham.

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Australia qualify despite big defeat

them on penalty appeals. He also said foreign players were more likely to be punished for penalties that should not be given against them.

His compatriots Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez both had penalty appeals turned down at Craven Cottage and asked by reporters after the match if foreign players had it tougher than English players, he said: “Yes, always. It happens everywhere.

“Here in England, there are almost as many foreign players as English players and it’s not right that some have a privilege that others don’t.

“There is a little bit of privilege with players who come from that country, but that is normal. “We just play our game, and the referee’s job is to know who is tricking him and who is not.”

Saturday’s goal was the first for Aguero since his Continued on page 25

Courts (Guyana) Inc. Pee...

From back page Director Troy Mendonca, who along with Marlon Cole are the two principals that have organized the event gave a brief outline of the tournament and its format, while thanking all the sponsors and stakeholders for their continued support throughout the years, despite the initial hiccups that forced the tournament to be shelved for a period of time.

He commended Courts (Guyana) Inc. for remaining steadfast in its commitment to the tournament, informing that the Company’s action clearly shows how important it views the development of sport in this country.

Mendonca, like Cole, both former administrators of football locally, pointed to the inability of locally-based players to break into the national team and cement a permanent place and reasoned that it might be because of a lack of a solid and consistent structure which has been missing from Guyana’s football for many years.

He mentioned that it is purely on that basis that he and Cole decided that it was time for them to re-enter the fray and start the process of re-developing the sport from the Pee Wee level so that players would have a good foundation as they make the transition from the junior level to the senior one without any difficulty.

Mendonca said that the sixteen teams will be divided into four groups of four teams each with the top two from each group moving into the quarter-finals, while the remaining eight will also have the opportunity to play every

week since all the schools will be positioned in order of performance.

According to him, the aim is for every school to have the chance to play right through the tournament which starts on October 20 and run until December 1 with matches scheduled once weekly.

Allison Collins, who is the Senior Physical Education Officer of the Ministry of Education in her remarks, said there was no hesitation in endorsing the tournament, adding that providing the event is properly organized and it is geared at giving the students the best opportunity to showcase their talent more than likely it will meet their approval.

Marketing, Public Relations & Promotions Officer of Courts (Guyana) Inc. Kester Abrams chaired the proceedings and he revealed that the Company will be investing in excess of $2million in the venture, informing that they’ve always been supportive of youths and their development whether it be in sports or any other constructive endeavour.

All the schools received balls, goalkeeper gloves and goals, all meant to enhance their respective preparations.

The schools to have confirmed participation are: : Marian Academy, Green Acres, West Ruimveldt, St. Margaret’s, St. Sidwell’s, Tucville, South Ruimveldt, North Georgetown, Ketley, St. Gabriel’s, F.E Pollard, Enterprise, St. Pius, Sophia, Success and Redeemer.

Banks DIH is also part of the tournament through the supply of its Malta brand and distilled water.

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

Schumacher still motivated despite losing seat

Mercedes Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany walks through the paddock in Singapore September 21, 2012.

(REUTERS/Tim Chong) (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher looked forward to one of his favorite race weekends on Tuesday despite knowing it could be the last Japanese Grand Prix of his Formula One career.

Mercedes announced last week that the seven times world champion, now 43, will be replaced in 2013 by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

The German also arrives at Suzuka with a 10-place

McLaren say Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Mercedes will not affect attempts to win both world titles.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh says they will continue with their policy of equality of opportunity for both drivers. “We have six grand prixs ahead of us that we can win,” Whitmarsh said.

“It’s acknowledged we have the quickest car, so we’re going to try to win two world championships, with Lewis very much part of the team.”

Hamilton’s move to Mercedes for 2013 was announced on Friday, but he has emphasised that he is still determined to try to win his second world title this year.

After retiring from the lead in the last race in Singapore, Hamilton is 52 points behind the championship leader, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, with a maximum of 150 points still available.

“In terms of the championship,” he said, “there’s nothing to be gained by analysing the points tables, from now on, it’s simply gloves-off. As in Singapore, I’ll come out fighting, I’ll just be hoping for a better result next weekend.”

Whitmarsh added: “It is well known that McLaren goes racing giving both drivers an equal opportunity.

We’ll be working together.

“Lewis has assured me that at the moment he is a McLaren driver and he’s focused on winning.

“He will be professional,

the team will be professional around him and we will be seeing if we can do the best job we can.”

Hamilton is fourth in the championship ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Alonso is 29 points ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, with Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen third, five points ahead of Hamilton.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber in fifth and McLaren’s Jenson Button still have outside chances of the title. The Australian is 62 points behind Alonso, and Button a further 13 behind Webber.

Meanwhile, Whitmarsh believes McLaren can turn Hamilton’s replacement, the

penalty on the starting grid hanging over him for a careless collision with the Toro Rosso of Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne at the previous Singapore Grand Prix.

“My motivation is completely intact after the news last week, especially because Suzuka is one of the season’s highlights for me,” Schumacher said in a team preview.

“I enjoy the circuit, it has sections that challenge you as a driver like almost nowhere else. Then there are the fans: They love motor racing and it is fun to feel their passion.”

Schumacher clinched two of his titles at Suzuka, in 2000 and 2003, while another with Benetton in 1995 was secured at Japan’s Aida track.

The German has also won six times at Suzuka.

Although he has no seat at Mercedes next year, after making his comeback with

them in 2010 following his retirement from Ferrari in 2006, Schumacher has yet to declare time on his Formula One career.

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn told Reuters Television last week that he expected his friend to take time considering his options.

The team have offered him an unspecified role next season while Ferraripowered Sauber, with whom he raced in sportscars before entering Formula One, could be interested in putting him in one of their cars according to some reports.

Sauber’s Mexican driver Sergio Perez is joining McLaren next year as Hamilton’s replacement.

Schumacher is mathematically out of the title chase, 12th overall and 151 points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso with six races and a maximum of 150 points remaining.

Lewis Hamilton ‘exit will not affect McLaren’s bids for titles’

Lewis Hamilton Mexican Sauber driver Sergio Perez, into a world champion.

“We have the opportunity

to mould and form the rising star of Formula 1,” Whitmarsh said.

“We have the opportunity to turn him into an international brand, and international star and a world champion, and that’s exciting.

“Jenson has enjoyed the challenge of racing Lewis; he’s excited about working with Sergio. He’s involved in a bit of driver management himself. “He was generous enough to tell me he thinks we’ve made absolutely the right call. “He’s a generous spirit and I’m sure he’ll be supportive of Sergio but they’ll be trying to beat each other and try to win and that’s how we like going motor racing.”

India’s one-run win not big enough...

From page 31 overs. Given the way the Indian spinners have performed in the tournament, and also the momentum, India would have entertained the improbable, but they bowled six overs of seam at the top of the innings.

They took two early wickets when South Africa were tentative, but once the industrious du Plessis began charging to Zaheer and Irfan, the zing was lost. Yuvraj revived India’s hopes with a wicket first ball, but du Plessis was batting on a different plane. Every shot he played seemed to yield results, and the odd mis-hit would find a way to go for couples. India’s fielding didn’t help.

Once he fell with the score at 95 for 4 in the 13th over, though, India were hoping again for one of those infamous South African collapses. And they were just hoping, which showed in the defensive fields and Ashwin retaining three overs out of the last seven, when there was practically nothing left to play for.

The inexplicable collapse arrived, but it arrived late. In the 17th over, with wickets falling but slowly, South Africa reached 122, much to the joy of the thousands of Pakistan supporters in the ground.

The game took a surreal turn after that. So close run it was, yet so devoid of edge. It

came down to 14 required off the last over. Balaji bowled length, Albie Morkel smacked him for six. Bowled next ball, Albie brought out younger brother, the last man.

Morne got a long hop from Balaji, and deposited it in the stands. India were about to lose this one, this was to be a dreadful evening for them. However, the final mistake belonged to South Africa, as it so often and heartbreakingly does in world events, and Morne Morkel missed a straight length ball to be bowled.

Scores: India 152 for 6 (Raina 45, Peterson 2-25, M Morkel 2-28) beat South Africa 151 (Du Plessis 65, Zaheer 3-22, Yuvraj 2-23).

Page 27

Page 28

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Charitable organizations to benefit as B’ce Ring legend Ken Norton businesses launch softball cricket tourney suffers heart attack in Vegas Several softball cricket Companies, Demerara public. Patrons will be able to Daily Mail - Former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton is in a ‘delicate condition’ in hospital after suffering a heart attack in Las Vegas.

The 69-year-old memorably inflicted the second defeat in Muhammad Ali’s career in 1973 earning a 12th round split decision victory after breaking Ali’s jaw.

He completed a tough trilogy against ‘The Greatest’ by going the distance but losing twice - the last of which in 1976 at the Yankee Stadium in New York.

He was taken ill, however, at the weekend and was unable to attend a WBC ‘Legendary Night’ in Nevada.

WBC president Jose Sulaiman visited Norton and said: ‘I went to visit him at the hospital and he’s not good, though the doctor said to me that he will be OK.’ Norton, who was handed the WBC title in 1978 but lost after 15 brutal rounds on his first defence against Larry Holmes, eventually retired from the ring in 1981 after his first round stoppage to Gerry Cooney at Madison Square Garden.

The defeat saw his illustrious career end with a record of 42 wins (33 by way of knockout), 7 losses and a draw.

teams will congregate at the Tennis Court, Main and New Street, New Amsterdam at 16:30hrs today when the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) launches the third edition of the Corporate Business in Sports (CBIS) Inter-Agency Softball cricket tournament scheduled to get underway on October 27 next at the Albion Sports Complex.

Participating teams are Banks DIH Limited, Oldendorff Carriers, Republic Bank Limited, Guysuco, New Building Society, Metro Office and Computer Supplies, Nand Persaud Group of Companies, Demerara Bank, Guyana Telephone Company Limited, Neal and Massey Group of

Legendary boxer Ken Norton suffered a heart attack. (Getty Images)

Spain pledges to block Gibraltar’s UEFA membership (Reuters) - Spain will “exhaust all legal means” to prevent the tiny British territory of Gibraltar gaining full membership of UEFA, Sports Minister Jose Ignacio Wert said on Tuesday.

Gibraltar was admitted as a provisional member of European soccer’s governing body on Monday and a decision on whether to grant full membership will be taken at a UEFA Congress in London next May. Wert, whose portfolio also includes education and culture, said Gibraltar’s provisional membership meant it could not yet take part in UEFA competition and said his ministry and the

foreign ministry would work to block full membership.

“We have already said we will exhaust all legal means,” he told Spanish TV broadcaster Telemadrid.

“I can say that we are reasonably optimistic that this provisionality will not become a definitive acceptance.”

Spain claims sovereignty over Gibraltar, which sits at the southern end of the Iberian peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean.

The territory - which has an area of about seven square kilometres (2.7 square miles) and a population of 28,000 was ceded to Britain under

the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Gibraltar’s case for UEFA membership has been strengthened by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that the governing body must consider its membership.

The territory’s government criticised Spain’s opposition to it joining UEFA on Monday, saying in a statement that “football and all sport should never be allowed to mix with politics”.

“Gibraltar’s footballers are ready to excel in international competition and to become the 54th member of UEFA and it is hoped that no further obstacles will be put in their way,” the statement added.

Andy Murray wins his first match back since US Open triumph Andy Murray maintained his unbeaten run as he defeated Ivo Karlovic at the Japan Open in his first match back after winning the US Open.

The 25-year-old Briton got a workout in the first set against the towering Croat but edged a tie-break 9-7 with a running forehand down the line. Murray went 0-40 up in the 10th game of the second set and converted his third match point to wrap up a 7-6 6-4 win.

Next up for the defending champion is Slovakian Lukas Lacko. The world number 65 beat Spain’s Albert Ramos 60 6-2 in round one.

The Tokyo tournament is

Andy Murray another key event for Murray, who is eager to round off his career-best season on a high.

The world number three

beat Rafael Nadal from a set down in last year’s final and is now building towards the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals in London starting on 3 November.

It was a straightforward first-round win for Murray against Karlovic, who had only entered the Japan tournament as a lucky loser after Gael Monfils withdrew because of an injury.

The match was dominated by serves with Karlovic thundering over 16 aces, while Murray did not face a single break point.

Murray is also aiming to defend the doubles crown he won in Japan with his elder brother Jamie.

Distilleries Limited, Beharry Group of Companies and the Guyana Power and Light.

Another team, the Regional Chairman XI, will also vie for honours.

The competition will comprise matches in the 10/ 10 and 20/20 format with managers drawn from the participating entities competing in the former format while several 20/20 matches as well as an exhibition match in this format involving the cream of the crop out of the Ancient County will also be contested.

The organizers further intimated that the event is aimed at promoting unity while fostering better working relationships between the business entities and the

merge with professionals the likes of bankers, managers, lawyers, cashiers and clerks among others as the general consensus seems to suggest improved relationships among all stakeholders ever since the introduction of the initiative.

Captains of participating teams are asked to grace the opening ceremony dressed in T-shirts with their company logos to meet with sponsors of the event even as they are briefed of the modalities of the tournament by the organizers.

Te a m s d e s i r o u s o f acquiring additional details are asked to contact officials at the Chamber (333-3324). Proceeds from the event will be donated to several charitable organizations.

Part-time model takes charge of Croatian men’s league side Daily Mail - Tihana Nemcic wants to be treated just like any other head coach.

The 24-year-old Nemcic, a former Croatia women’s international and part-time model, just happens to be getting more attention than usual.

That’s because she has taken over as coach of a Croatian men’s football team - fifth division side NK Viktorija Vojakovac.

Nemcic, a former club player in Croatia, graduated in July from the country’s Sporting University. Since taking over at NK Viktorija Vojakovac, she has asserted herself as the one in charge not the center of a media stunt.

‘I am the head coach and I have full liberty to create and plan the team’s tactics,’ Nemcic said. ‘If a woman and

a man have the same professional qualifications for a coaching job, I see no reason why I should not get into male football.’

The team is currently eighth in the 16-team league standings with four points after one win, one loss and one draw.

Tihomir Jagusic, one of the club’s players, described Nemcic as ‘very good, focused and serious during training’. ‘We listen to her,’ Jagusic said. ‘She is very strict at training.’

Nemcic got interested in the sport when she used to follow her boyfriend to training. ‘I was watching him play, how he played... and then I started to play myself and it has become part of me to this very day,’ she said. ‘This is a big challenge for me. I have

had some experience with kids, but with men’s teams - no.’

Nemcic is finding life as a coach very different from her days as a player. ‘When you are a player, you worry only about yourself and your personal performance,’ she said. ‘Now, when I am a coach, I have to think about more players. But both jobs are equally nice. Both have ups and downs.’

Nemcic, who was among 15 finalists for the beauty title of Croatia Miss Sport in 2008, does face a particular challenge in coaching the men.

‘We have a rule,’ she said.

‘Boys go in to change. When they are finished, one of them comes out and calls me in. I would never put myself in the situation to walk in on them inside the dressing room.’

Tihana Nemcic has taken over as coach of NK Vuktorija Vojakovac in Croatia

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Kaieteur News

BCB/Neal and Massy 2012 intermediate 50-over round robin cricket

Anthony D’Andrade, Romario ShepherdDeJonge see Bermine to victory The 2012 Neal and Massy Intermediate 50 – Over Cricket Competition in Berbice continued recently with former Guyana under-19 batsm a n Anthony D’Andrade of Bermine slamming the first century of the competition. After Police, led by 60 from Albert Sinclair posted a challenging 213 in 49 overs with Romario ShepherdDeJonge taking 3 for 52, Bermine in reply slipped to 49 for 3. It was at that point that D ’Andrade and Shepherd-DeJonge joined forces and proceeded to keep the Police bowlers at bay.

They added 169 unbroken runs for the fourth wicket partnership that took Bermine to victory. D’Andrade ended on 106 not out with 11 fours and 2 sixes and ShepherdDeJonge 66 not out with 7 fours.

Derrick Lalsa’s 66 (4 fours and 1 six) helped Blairmont Community Center post a daunting 278 against Bush Lot United New Generation whose former Guyana under19 pacer, Keyron Fraser took 4 for 13 from 5 overs. Bush Lot could only reply with 169 despite a fighting 64 (2 fours) from Asif Khan.

Denny David’s 64 (5 fours and 2 sixes) for Edinburgh could not stop his team from

going down to the Young Warriors Cricket Club by 8 wickets.

Scores from the matches played: At Cumberland, Bermine beat Police by 7 wickets.

Police won the toss and batted first and scored 213 all out in 49 overs with Albert Sinclair 60, Charles Grimmond 25 and Rocky Hutson 24.

Romario Shepherd-DeJonge 3 for 52, Julian Moore 2 for 21 and Nial Smith 2 for 25 were the leading wicket takers.

Bermine replied with 218 for 3 wickets with Anthony D’Andrade 106 n.o and Shepherd DeJonge 66 n.o.

At Blairmont, Blairmont Community Centre beat Bush Lot United New Generation by 109 runs. Blairmont Community Centre won the toss and chooses to bat and made a formidable 278 for 8 in 46 overs. Derrick Lalsa top scored with 66 and he was supported by Altaf Khan 43, Deveshwari Prashad 43 and Avishkar Sewkarran 23.

Keyron Fraser took 4 for 13 and Brentnol Woolford 2 for 38. Bush Lot United New Generation in reply made 169 all out in 45.4 overs with Asif Khan making 64 and was Woolford 36. Kevon Jawahir took 3 for 29 and Prashad 2 for 28.

At Edinburgh, Young

Anthony D’Andrade Warriors beat Edinburgh by 8 wickets. Edinburgh choose to bat after winning the toss and made a paltry 108 all out in 33.2 overs with Denny David offering the only resistance making 64. For the Young Warriors, Kawal Mangal took 3 for 11, Balram Samaroo 3 for 31 and pacer Jermin Henry 2 for 31. In reply, Young Warriors raced to 109 for 2 in 14.4 overs with National under 19 opener making 40 and Mortimer Fraser 37.

At No 70 Ground, Kim Il Sung beat No. 70 Young Strikers by 4 wickets. No 70 won the toss, batted up and scored 150 in 37.1 overs.

Chatterpaul Lionel led the way with 33 and he was supported by Naeem Yacoob 29, Alvin Haniff 25 and Thameshwar Ramoutar 21.

Jermin Reid took 3 for 24 and Tulsiram Munessar 2 for 19.

Kim Il sung replied with 153 for 6 in 31.1 overs with Eric Phillips making 45 N.O, Rabindra Singh 29 and Clavern Beresford 22. Omesh Kumar took 3 for 22.

Meanwhile, the competition continues on Sunday with six third round matches in the four zones: Zone A (West Berbice) D’Edward vs Blairmont Community Center @ D’Edward Zone B (East Bank/New Amsterdam/Canje) Young Warriors vs Police @ Cumberland Zone C (Lower Corentyne) Port Mourant vs Rose Hall Town Bakewell @ Port Mourant Albion Community Centre vs Courtland All Stars @ Albion Zone D (Upper Corentyne) No. 70 Young Stars vs Skeldon Community Centre @ No. 70 No. 71 vs Kim Il Sung @ No 71 All of the matches are scheduled to start at 9.30am.

Return of Eto’o confirmed with place in squad (Reuters) - Samuel Eto’o’s return to the Cameroon national soccer team was confirmed on Tuesday when the midfielder was named in a revamped squad for the decisive African Nations Cup qualifier against the Cape Verde Islands.

Eto’o had refused to play in the first leg of the tie after labelling the set-up around the team amateurish and last year led a boycott of a friendly in Algeria in a row over unpaid bonuses.

The four-times African Footballer of the Year said last week he had decided to make himself available for the national side again following a meeting with Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

Eto’o appeared on a list of 26 players for the October 14 match in Yaounde, the first game in charge for coach Jean Paul Akono, who replaced Frenchman Denis Lavagne after his removal following the 2-0 first-leg defeat in Praia last month.

The aggregate winners of the tie will qualify for the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa.

Also included are

Samuel Eto’o

veteran fullback Pierre Wo m e , m i d f i e l d e r J e a n Makoun, who had boycotted the team alongside Eto’o, and former French junior international Jean Armel Kana Biyi k o f S t a d e R e n n e s , whose father Andre was an influential member of the Cameroon team that reached the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals.

“My first major challenge was to bring back some very key players who suspended their participation in the national team and reconcile

them to restore calm and serenity ahead of this major encounter,” Akono told Reuters.

“The second major challenge will be to win the crucial game by scoring at least three goals and conceding nothing. I know it shall be a very difficult task because Cape Verde is no more the lowly-rated squad we used to know. They now also have many key professional players in Europe. But, all things put together, I am sure we can still

make it.”

Squad: Goalkeepers: Idriss Carlos Kameni (Malaga), Joslain Mayebi (Wrexham), Guy Roland Assembe Ndy (Nancy) Defenders: Benoit Angbwa (Rostov), Henri Bedimo (Montpellier), Gaetang Bong (Valenciennes), Aurelien Chedjou (Lille), Jean-Armel Kana Biyik (Stade Rennes), Nicolas Nkoulou (Olympique Marseille), Dany Nounkeu (Galatasaray), Allan Nyom (Granada), Pierre Wome (Canon Yaounde) Midfielders: Jean Makoun (Stade Rennes), Joel Matip (Schalke 04), Modeste Mbami (Al Ittihad Jeddah), Patrick Mekoulou (Admira Wacker), Alain Olle Olle (Varbergs), Willie Overtoom (Heracles Almelo), Alexandre Song (Barcelona, Spain) Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Valenciennes), Joel Babanda (Union Douala), Achille Emana (Fenerbahce), Fabrice Essono Olinga (Malaga), Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala), Mohamadou Idrissou (Kaiserslautern), Pierre Webo (Buyuksehir).

Page 29

GCC Women enjoys success at the Malvern 70th Anniversary 7-a-side The Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) women’s hockey team produced several major upsets on their way to silver medals in the Malvern 70th Anniversary 7-a-side hockey festival in Trinidad over the past weekend.

GCC featuring several players in the current Guyana national squad arrived on the island Friday evening and managed to stitch in a late night training session to re-familiarize themselves with the artificial pitch at Tacarigua on which hockey is played in Trinidad. Coach of the side, Philip Fernandes, who is also the Guyana national coach, indicated that he was confident of a good showing as the ladies have been training for the past few months with the national team, but was a bit apprehensive of their response to the unfamiliar surface.

Fernandes’ primary concern was whether the team could adjust adequately to the surface by the time the tournament began the very next morning, Saturday, September 29.

The first 10 minutes of their opening match saw a nervous bunch of GCC ladies making several unforced errors and needing to rely on outstanding play by sweeper Ulrica Sutherland and goalkeeper Alysa Xavier to keep the game scoreless.

The GCC ladies, however, grew in confidence with every passing minute and managed to overturn the momentum of the game to pull off a 2-0 victory. With hardly enough time to savour their opening victory, the GCC ladies ran into top seed Notre Dame and suffered their only defeat of the pool round by 1-4. They would, however, secure a second chance at Notre Dame in the finals the following evening.

After brushing aside Ventures and Malvern by 2-1 and 60 respectively, the GCC ladies suffered their second defeat to Paragon by 3-1 to complete the day’s matches. Their final pool match early on Sunday morning, however, a 3-2 victory over Magnolias, secured the GCC ladies a semi-final spot against Paragon.

In their semi-final clash which was their second encounter with Paragon for the tournament saw a much improved GCC side see the game through to a 0-0 finish. Goalkeeper Alysa Xavier was the star of the ensuing penalty shootout which saw her save all three Paragon penalties, while her sister Gabriella Xavier made good on hers to give them the 1-0 win.

After a 1-4 defeat against finalists Notre Dame in the pool round, the experience of the two days showed a different GCC side who kept the game even for the entire first half. Notre Dame would eventual penetrate the GCC defence with a penalty corner strike from Trinidad International, Blair Wynn, to secure the gold through a 1-0 victory.

GCC also entered two teams in the male competition, but the need to expose more players to the competition would work against their chances of success. While the men’s teams managed to keep their matches close, a lack of depth on the bench saw them fading at the end to the stronger Trinidadian sides. The GCC men placed 6th and 9th in the 10-team competition.

Hand-in-Hand 11-race cycle programme on this weekend Action in the eighth annual Hand-in-Hand Insurance Company 11race cycling programme is billed for Saturday at the inner circuit of the National Park.

According to national coach and organiser of the event, Hassan Mohamed, the event will pedal off at 09:00 hours and will provide local riders with another opportunity to monitor their readiness ahead of the sixth annual Five-Stage race from October 11-14.

A new champion will be crowned in the feature 35lap School Boys and Invitational race, since last year ’s winner Godfrey Pollydore is campaigning in Anguilla and will not be here for the race.

He won the event in a time of one hour, 15 minutes, 06 seconds (01h: 15m: 06s) in 2011.

Other winners last year included Neil Reece in the Juveniles, Phillip Piggot in the Veterans Under-50 and Mario King in the Upright category. Apart from those events, there will be races for BMX riders.

Hand-in-Hand will once again give away BMX cycles to three promising riders as its contribution to the annual ‘Teach Them Young’ programme, a gesture done over the past seven years.

Officials of Hand-inHand Insurance Company are expected to witness the races and later assist in the presentation of prizes.

Page 30

Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 03, 2012

Linden Zone finals on at MSC tonight Heavy defeat for Sagicor HPC Royals and Jets # 1 are undoubtedly the teams to beat in the Linden Zone Finals of the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 Basketball Championships tonight when five teams compete for two spots in the National Roundof-16 at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Court.

Royals ensured that they were back in contention for the $1M winner-take-all first place prize in Linden last Wednesday night when they topped the toughest group of the Mining Town to come away with the ‘team to beat’ tag in the community’s deciding round.

Royals, who was a quarter-finalist last year, is a combination of both youth and skill in likes of Marlon Pollydore, Chris Williams, Harold Adams and Alwyn Rodney. The quartet seemed to be clinical against a host of seasoned players and teams in Linden.

That will extend that form and though they appeared to be short on energy down to crunch time, Royals will remain in contention for one of the two spots up for grabs.

The composition of what can be called mostly guards will bring their ‘A’ game tonight.

Chris Williams

Marlon Pollydore

Kevin ‘Two Feet’ Joseph and his Jets # 1, who finished second in the same group as Royals will also be a force to reckon with in the Linden Zone Finals. One of their main keys to victory has to be the gigantic Shane Webster’s dominance of the paint.

Royals and Jets # 1 battled in a clash of the titans in the group last week with Adams, a forward, doing an excellent job on Webster of the Jets # 1. Royals will be keen to contain a tiring Webster based on when their game will

be played in the group of top contenders.

From the preliminary group that included Royals and Jets # 1, the big surprise was Backcourt in the Linden Zone Final. Backcourt were seemingly out of the competition last week, but squeezed through to the Finals after a shootout against Assassins. The other two teams in the Linden Zone Finals are Ghetto and Jets from the first round in Linden two weeks ago.

(Edison Jefford)

(Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) is likely to look into Sri Lanka’s captaincy switch in Monday’s World Twenty20 Super Eight match against England. Regular captain Mahela Jayawardene handed over to former skipper Kumar Sangakkara to avoid the threat of a ban because of slow over rates.

The hosts were fined for a slow over rate during their match against West Indies and under ICC rules Jayawardene will face a one-match suspension if Sri Lanka infringe again in the next 12 months under his captaincy.

Jayawardene continued to take the decisions on the field on Monday, although Sangakkara went in for the toss with England captain Stuart Broad, starting a debate whether or not the move was against the spirit of the game.

On Tuesday the ICC said all playing conditions and conduct would be reviewed after the tournament.

“As is always the case, the ICC will be reviewing the playing conditions and the code of conduct at the conclusion of the event,” an ICC spokesman said in an

email to Reuters.

Jayawardene, who topscored with 42 during the 19run win to knock out defending champions England, said he was sure the world governing body would change the rules after the incident. “I’m sure they’ll change the rules after this, but hopefully not in this tournament,” he told reporters after the match.

Jayawardene said his intentions were not wrong as he wanted to ensure that he did not miss the semi-final.

“I had a warning for an over rates issue, and if it happens again I miss the match so what we did was have Kumar as the official captain,” the stylish righthanded batsman said.

“I don’t think that the intentions were wrong. It’s a tough system and it’s tough to bowl 20 overs in one hour and 20 minutes in a tournament like this. “We try our best, but the penalties are harsh. We don’t want to miss the big games, so we did it with the right intentions.”

Jayawardene added that regular vice-captain Angelo Mathews was also under an warning for the same offence in a m a t c h a g a i n s t Pakistan, so they had to revert to Sangakkara who “fitted the bill”.

- Royals, Jets # 1 teams to beat

ICC likely to examine Sri Lanka captaincy switch

Sanasie 40-over cricket in Leguan

Ali shines as Rebels make winning start A fine allround performance by Wazir Ali guided Rebels to a comfortable 74 run victory over Undertakers as the Anand Sanasie 40 over cricket competition commenced last Sunday with one match in the Essequibo River island of Leguan.

Ali top scored with 53 and got valuable support from Imtiaz Khan 25 as Rebels mustered 185 all out in 24.3 overs at Enterprise ground. S. Wahid claimed 3-36 and T. Balkissoon 2-24. Undertakers were then restricted to 111 all out in 20.3 overs with Iqbal Mohamed 33 and Wahid 27 being their principal batters. Ali returned to bag 3-26 for the winners.

The game was reduced to 25 overs due to rain. Speaking before the game, Jainarine Nandram, the vice president of the Leguan Cricket Committee thanked Sanasie for his support, while Sanasie urged the clubs to focus more on the longer version of the game. The competition continues on Saturday.

DHAKA, Bangladesh – The Sagicor High Performance Centre team failed in their bid for a clean sweep, when Bangladesh-A crushed them by nine wickets in a low-scoring, final match of their One-day series on Tuesday.

The Sagicor HPC team were bowled out for 54 in 18 overs, after they decided to bat in the third match at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. No Sagicor HPC batsman reached 20 with Keddy Lesporis finishing with the top score of 15 and Yannic Cariah not out 11.

Every other batsman was dismissed for a singlefigure score, as spinners Naeem Islam, the Man-ofthe-Match, and Enamul H a q u e J r, a l o n g w i t h medium-fast bowlers Abul Hasan and Soumya Sarkar all ending with two wickets

apiece.

To add insult to injury, the Sagicor HPC then saw the home team race to their modest target even before the 10th over with Mominul Haque, not out on 25, and Anamul Haque, not out on 23, taking the A-Team over the threshold.

The Sagicor HPC however, won the threematch series 2-1, following an 11-run win in the first match last Friday at the same venue, where they also clinched a 53run victory in the second match two days ago.

The two sides will now contest a two-match Twenty20 series on Thursday and Friday before the Sagicor HPC leave for home on Saturday.

The Sagicor HPC never recovered after Andre Fletcher was run out for a duck from the first ball of the

match and fellow opener Trevon Griffith was lbw to Abul also for a duck two deliveries later, leaving the visitors two for two.

Lesporis got the innings moving, but Abul removed him in the fifth over, and the Sagicor HPC dressing room continued to have a revolving door.

Sagicor HPC made four changes, bringing Fletcher, Griffith, Kjorn Ottley and Jason Dawes in to replace Jermaine Blackwood, Marlon Barclay, Kyle Hope and Sheldon Cotterrell.

Scores: SAGICOR HIGH PERFORMANCE CENTRE 54 all out off 18 overs (Naeem Islam 2-5, Enamul Haque Jr 2-9, Abul Hasan 217, Soumya Sarkar 2-22) BANGLADESH-A 56 for one off 8.4 overs (Mominul Haque 25 not out, Anamul Haque 23 not out).

Rehman tests positive, faces ban ESPNcricinfo - Abdur Rehman, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, is facing a ban after failing a drugs test during his stint with Somerset in the English domestic season. It is believed the drugs were recreational and not performance enhancing.

Reports first emerged in the Pakistan media and ESPNcricinfo understands that a formal announcement is due to be made within the next day.

Rehman, 32, played four Championship matches for Somerset and took 27 wickets, which included 9 for 65 against Worcestershire, and flew straight back from Pakistan’s one-day series against Australia in the UAE

to play the match against Sussex.

He was expected to join a Sialkot Stallion conditioning camp this week at the National Cricket Academy ahead of the Champions League Twenty20 but did not turn up to join the squad. Sialkot are set to fly to South Africa on October 7 to play a qualifying round of the tournament starting on October 9 in Johannesburg.

Rehman has established himself as key player over the past year and caused England plenty of problems during the Test series in UAE, where he claimed 19 wickets in three matches. Overall he has 81 wickets in 17 Tests at 28.40 apiece.

Abdur Rehman could be facing a ban after testing positive.

(Getty Images)

Keen battles anticipated as 2nd edition of the Karibee Rice Football competition commences Eight teams, comprising footballers from Georgetown and Berbice will vie for honours when the 2nd edition of the Karibee Rice Football competition, gets underway this Saturday October 6 at the Scott Church Ground, New Amsterdam starting at 18:00hrs sharp.

The tournament, organized by the Berbice based Piston Football Club, was initially slated to get underway in August last but a dispute between the organizers and the executives of the Berbice Football Association (BFA) forced a postponement while officials of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) mediated.

The two entities have subsequently ironed out their differences and players out of the Ancient County will now join their Georgetown counterparts battling for the top prize in a knockout format. The Berbice teams are placed in Group A while the Demerara Teams will be in Group B with the various teams battling for the $200,000 first place prize; the runners-up receive half that amount. The will also be lucrative incentives for other participating teams and outstanding individual performances.

Berbice will field four teams including

Cougars, Rosignol, Monedderlust and Pistons while the teams representing Demerara will be drawn from Western Tigers and Pele. Two other teams, Den Amstel of West Demerara and Victoria Kings of the East Coast, will complete the lineup. Matches would be played in Berbice as well as the capital City.

Activities get underway on Saturday with the Cougars FC against Rosignol United at the Scott Church Ground and will continue the following day when Pistons United play Monedderlust at the same venue.

The Georgetown teams get into action on Sunday 7th when Western Tigers tackle Dem Amstel at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground shortly before Pele and Victoria Kings square off in the feature attraction. Matches commence at 18:00hrs.

The semifinals are slated for Sunday October 14 at venues in Georgetown and Berbice while the finals will be played at the GFC Ground Bourda on October 21. Executive members of the sponsoring entity will be in attendance at the opening game and Chief Executive Officer; Mohin Persaud will kick off the ball to start the proceedings.