Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 5

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

Support for a Peter D’Aguiar School of Business DEAR EDITOR, I endorse the view expressed by Mr. Harry Hergash (KN Oct 6) that the contributions made by Mr. Peter D’Aguiar, the deceased founder and leader of the capitalist United Force party, should be recognized with his name emblazoned on a business institute at U.G. He has left lasting impressions on our country.

Mr. D’Aguiar was a controversial personality in our politics but he also made positive contributions. Yes, D’Aguiar was partly responsible for the violence of the 1960s that left untold

death and destruction when he teamed up with Burnham, the CIA, the Christian Churches, British Intelligence, and the labour movement (funded by the AFL-CIO, AIFLD, etc.) to undermine Jagan’s left wing government.

Every political leader of that era was responsible for the dozens killed and the millions of dollars of property that were destroyed. But D’Aguiar recognized his errors of the 1960s and came to terms with them.

He expressed regrets for trusting Burnham who back stabbed him and he was

disappointed in those who betrayed his party by crossing over to Burnham, But D’Aguiar also made many positive contributions to society that we (including the left wingers) benefit from up till this day.

The businesses D’Aguiar started some sixty years ago have kept growing and have created jobs for hundreds. Those businesses have contributed enormously to our GDP. It was a tragic blunder by the government of the day to virtually drive out of Guyana the D’Aguiar family and other wealthy and

When will the M&CC address this drainage problem?

DEAR EDITOR, Reference is hereby made to the above caption as it relates to the Western Drain situated in Henry Street, Werk-en-Rust. The problem has been ongoing for over four months, despite assurances from the Engineer’s Department, of the M&CC that the problem would be rectified. Absolutely nothing has been done!

The reason for me highlighting this issue, publicly, is simply due to me being disillusioned with the exceedingly high level of unprofessionalism existing within the M&CC. This comes against the backdrop of numerous phone calls to

various departments.

In one instance I was given all assurances that a “legal document” would be forwarded shortly to an offending party since the individual had breached the Council’s building code.

Suffice it to say that since then, the home owner at Lot 6 Henry Street had constructed a concrete bridge.

The water that flows from north to south, draining in the Princes Street Canal, has ceased simply because no excavation was done prior to sandfilling, if any, prior to pouring the concrete mixture for solidification of the bridge structure.

With stagnation of the

waste water from fourteen households I shudder to fully comprehend an outbreak of a waterborne disease, as the overflow of liquefied sewerage, would subsequently find its way in the drain.

And not foregoing an increase in mosquito breeding, compounded by a backflow of water into yards, which are exceedingly low!

Finally, legal proceedings should be filed against the M&CC, for failing to discharge its functions effectively in a timely manner, towards ensuring the health and safety concerns of its citizens, who pay their fair share of rates and taxes.

Name withheld

DEAR EDITOR, It is with a heavy heart that I write this in response to Elizabeth Henry’s Dear Editor from September 2. I realize it was over a month ago, but it is little surprise that no other advocate for the villagers of Aishalton has stepped forward.

The village is uneducated and culturally lost at the crossroads of traditional Amerindian lifestyle and the influence of western culture.

Few people have access to newspapers, let alone internet access to send “Letter to the Editor” in their own defense.

Due to poor education they are easily swayed by the words of local and regional politicians. I was a WorldTeach volunteer in Aishalton until July of this year, and experienced first hand the hardships that inundate the community. If I must speak for the village from abroad than so be it.

Let me first be absolutely clear: Clayborn, Mark and Adrian, the boys that

tragically died in December 2011, did not die in a dormitory fire. They were buried in a collapsing river bank. I know this because I put them into their coffins.

Please do not use them as tools in political warfare.

I expect Elizabeth Henry has never been to the Hinterland. She seems to think that all parts of Guyana are equal in the eye of the government and that protesting in Aishalton would have any impact whatsoever.

The truth is the government of Guyana does not care about Aishalton or other similar villages. It can afford not to. They are not a large voter base or a source of economic power.

The power generator in Aishalton broke down in November 2011 and to my knowledge is still nonfunctional. Aishalton is an eight-hour truck ride from Lethem, the nearest gas station, bank, or post office.

While I was teaching at the secondary school we

nearly ran out of chalk. There is not enough furniture for students to sit down in school. A majority of the staff at the secondary school have no qualifications. Want to know why a protest in Aishalton would never work?

My volunteer site mate and I tried to start one! Few people wanted to participate. Why? The Amerindian people are culturally non-confrontational, and unfortunately accustomed to abuse.

The government knows this which is why it is in no rush to improve village life.

H e n r y ’s a s s e r t i o n t h a t “You villagers should be ashamed of yourselves to be living under those conditions in these modern times,” makes it clear, that like the Guyanese government, she too cares little for these people.

If is truly democracy you seek, Elizabeth, maybe you should advocate for the neediest citizens of your country, instead of ridiculing them.

Samuel Lindauer

Misrepresenting the people of Aishalton

professional Portuguese.

Other countries have become the beneficiaries of their largesse and entrepreneurial skills.

They started businesses in Barbados and Canada.

Their Banks beer and soft drinks are selling well in Barbados and neighboring islands as well as in Guyanese clubs in North America and throughout the Caribbean.

The Portuguese supporters of D’Aguiar’s party, virtually all of whom have migrated, can be found all over the Caribbean, Canada, the US, and New Zealand.

In my travel earlier this year I met a few and discussed politics with them while I was visiting Aruba, St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, Tahiti, and New Zealand.

They reminisced about the good life in Guyana before the struggle for power began to take a toll on the nation. And they talked about the progress Guyana would have made under D’Aguiar had he been given an opportunity or had Burnham not pursued power and instead worked with D’Aguiar.

The governments of the 1960s made a terrible mistake in not utilizing the entrepreneurial skills of D’Aguiar to transform

the country. Instead of battling over which ideology was better suited for Guyana and attacking D’Aguiar’s bourgeois positions, they should have engaged D’Aguiar on how to grow the economy – we would have become a Singapore or a Taiwan long before those countries achieved developed status.

Today, both major parties have embraced capitalism which is no longer a dirty word in Guyana.

Everyone, including the communists, are pursuing wealth and one is loved and embraced in Guyana for displaying bourgeois propensities.

Ever since the collapse of the economy during the 1980s, people have been looking at D’Aguiar as a role model and yearn for a leader of his business caliber to rescue the country. Although

Guyana has done well over the last 20 years, the country could have done a lot better had D’Aguiar been around or his ideas used to manage the economy.

D’Aguiar’s businesses stand out in Guyana. His economic philosophy of free enterprise has been taking root after they were condemned just two decades earlier. As a captain of industry, he ought to be recognized.

Banks DIH should act on Hergash’s advice and create an endowment at UG for this outstanding deceased businessman.

A Peter D’Aguiar School of Business & Management will train the future entrepreneurs to transform our economy and perhaps one day turn us into a Singapore.

Vishnu Bisram

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Opposition’s performance in Parliament disappointing - tabled only 1 of 21 bills The performance of the Opposition in the National Assembly is coming under fire, with questions being asked whether it was necessary for a nine-week break.

The recess ends today and the Parliament is set to reconvene later this month.

According to financial commentator, Christopher Ram, the work by the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the 10party coalition A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) during the first session of the 10th Parliament left much to be desired.

“Of 21 bills presented, 20 of them were from the government, while the other was from APNU’s Volda Lawrence…and it had to do mainly with regards to the Speaker - nothing of priority.

“October 10th (today) marks the end of the first recess of the National Assembly, and as we look back at the performance of the legislative agenda, it is very striking… it is disappointing

and almost depressing,” Ram opined.

“Five of the bills were financial papers and nine were amendments with only four substantives. Only eight were made into law. Of four substantive bills, only one made it into law and that contained a mere three sections.

What has made the matter more depressing is that the opposition parties had a splendid opportunity to introduce its own bills as it has the combined majority.

We even have the Speaker of the House coming from the Opposition. When you look at the performance of the two political parties, you have to feel disappointed. I was for one… on the day the elections results came out… I was one that was looking for some tsunamic changes in Guyana.”

Ram, an accountant and lawyer, who has served on a number of bodies and has been critical of a number of government policies and projects, was highly critical of

- Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram

Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan

APNU’s Leader, David Granger

the AFC and APNU. “It is clear that there is a gap between what the people say and what the politicians say and achieve,” Ram asserted.

He pointed out that APNU’s Leader, Brigadier (ret.) David Granger, during an interview on the ‘Plain Talk’ television programme had said that the coalition was working to prepare a

legislative agenda for the National Assembly.

“Now they are saying they need international help in the drafting. I find that quite appalling. I think we have some pretty good people in drafting… people with second degrees in drafting.

The opposition, by saying that, is showing scant respect for the expertise of our local people.”

According to Ram, while the Standing Orders in the National Assembly make it okay for a recess to be taken, it should not be seen as compulsory.

“In light of the many issues, including corruption allegations and manifestos of the two opposition parties, it would have been a good idea to use the time to reduce the recess of nine weeks. Every other word is about corruption.

Why have we not seen the tabling of any anticorruption bills? And a proper Access To Information bill?

These are all important things that the opposition - in light of the fact that they have a combined majority - should have jumped on and capitalized on during this time.”

“Issues like local government elections and even the state of the Auditor General’s office should also be priorities.

We have legislation for local government reforms for

Christopher Ram 15 years now pending. What is happening to the Parliamentarians? Some of them have been there for 10 to 15 to 20 years now…what have they achieved? Why can’t we have local government elections while the legislation is being worked on?

The Linden shootings…three people…should not have died…there is need for the reforms and elections,” Ram stated emphatically.

“The National Assembly should also be examining the establishment of a Law Reform Committee, which should be tasked with liaising with Guyanese to change legislation that needs changing,” Ram said.

The AFC and APNU hold a combined 33 seats, a oneseat advantage in the National Assembly.

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

NATO makes plans to back Turkey over Syria spillover HACIPASA, Turkey (Reuters) - NATO said it had drawn up plans to defend Turkey if necessary should the war in Syria spill over their border again as dozens of people were killed across the Arab nation yesterday.

Fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces could be heard from this Turkish border town following on from several days of clashes in the past week. One Syrian villager said a rebel push on the town of Azmarin was expected soon.

In Damascus, rebel suicide bombers struck at an Air Force Intelligence compound used as an

interrogation centre - the latest attack to bring the conflict close to President Bashar al-Assad’s power base.

“Assad...is only able to stand up with crutches,” Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party.

“He will be finished when the crutches fall away.”

Erdogan, reacting to six consecutive days when shells fired from Syrian soil have landed on Turkish territory, has warned Ankara will not shrink from war if forced to act.

But his government has also stressed it would be

reluctant to mount any big operation on Syrian soil and then only with international support.

It was not clear whether the shells hitting Turkish territory were aimed to strike there or were due to Syrian troops overshooting as they attacked rebels to their north.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Brussels the 28member military alliance hoped a way could be found to stop tensions escalating on the border.

“We have all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary,” he said.

Drop in crime in hotspots achieved without foreigners - Jack Warner Trinidad Express - The drop in crime in all the hotspots has been achieved without the expenditure associated with the $80 million Stephen Mastrofski plan, the $10 million MajorGeneral Cameron Ross plan or two Canadians (a reference to former commissioner of police Dwayne Gibbs and deputy commissioner Jack Ewatski), National Security Minister Jack Warner boasted Monday.

Speaking in the budget debate in the House of Representatives in Tower D, Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre, Warner said he looked forward to the

Jack Warner

day when murders would be a thing of the past.

Citing figures for this month, Warner said in the country there were no murders on October 1, one murder on October 2 (in Tobago), two on October 3 (in Port of Spain), none on October 4, none on October 5, none on October 6, one murder on October 7, one on October 8.

“What PNM was in power this was unheard of,” Warner said. He said the PNM was telling people that crime was out of control, but the facts showed otherwise.

He said while the low figures were music to the Government ears, it was grief to the Opposition.

Partnership for Transformation talks resume today Organisation of Jamaica, Joseph Matalon, said he is encouraged with the progress that has been reported in relation to finalising an agreement with the IMF. However, he said consensus must be arrived at on several core policy issues in an effort to put the country on a path for growth.

In the meantime, President of the PSOJ, Christopher Zacca is also hoping that the talks will

Joseph Matalon Jamaica Gleaner - Several issues regarding Jamaica’s borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are expected to be discussed when the Partnership for Transformation talks resume today. The last meeting was held more than a year ago.

Immediate Past President of the Private Sector

play a significant role in having critical policies implemented.

He says he is also satisfied that a member of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party is down to attend that meeting which will be chaired by the Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Several civil society groups, private sector groups and trade unions will participate in the Partnership for Transformation talks.

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Taliban gunmen shoot 14-year-old girl activist MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) — Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai was admired across a battlescarred region of Pakistan for exposing the Taliban’s atrocities and advocating for girls’ education in the face of religious extremists. Yesterday, the Taliban nearly killed her to quiet her message.

A gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in the volatile northern Swat Valley and shot Malala in the head and neck. Another girl on the bus was also wounded.

The young activist was airlifted by helicopter to a military hospital in the frontier city of Peshawar. A doctor in the city of Mingora, Tariq Mohammad, said her wounds weren’t life-threatening, but a provincial information minister said after a medical board examined the girl that the next few days would be crucial.

Malala began writing a blog when she was just 11 under the pseudonym Gul Makai for the BBC about life under the Taliban, and began

Malala Yousufzai speaking out publicly in 2009 about the need for girls’ education — which the Taliban strongly opposes. The extremist movement was quick to claim responsibility for shooting her.

“This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter,” Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan by telephone. The shooting provoked outrage across the country, angeringPakistanis who have seen a succession of stories about violence against women by the Taliban.

“This attack cannot scare

us nor the courageous Malala. This cowardly act cannot deter Malala to give up her efforts,” said Azizul Hasan, one of the girl’s cousins.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf condemned the attack and called her a daughter of Pakistan. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the shooting “barbaric” and “cowardly.”

The attack displayed the viciousness of Islamic militants in the Swat Valley, where the military conducted a major operation in 2009 to clear out insurgents, and a reminder of the challenges the government faces in keeping the area free of militant influence.

In her BBC blog, Malala wrote about not wearing her uniform to school after officials warned it might attract the Taliban’s attention, and how many other students moved out of the valley after the Taliban issued an edict banning girls from school. She wrote about the Taliban movement had kept her family from going out after sunset.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Perpetual acting appointments dangerous A call was made for improving public accountability under Transparency Institute’s umbrella when former Auditor General, Dr. Anand Goolsarran, yesterday launched his book “Improving Public Accountability - Guyana Experience 1985-2007”.

Dr. Goolsarran, who served 15 years as the Auditor General from 1990, and has been known to be outspoken, yesterday also said that the practice of not confirming, on a timely basis, senior functionaries in constitutional offices is a serious cause for worry.

He cited as examples Chief Justice (ag), Ian Chang and Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Carl Singh.

Chang has been serving in that position since 2007 and Singh shortly after.

During his book launch at Marian Academy, Carifesta Avenue last evening, Goolsarran stressed that “not confirming officials to positions in a timely manner can lead to perception of dependency on executive government…a dangerous practice”.

Arguing that the Guyana government’s accounting systems are too centralized

- former Auditor General says at book launch and bureaucratic, he was optimistic that change is now “threatening”.

“People don’t like change,” he said. “The country needs fresh injection of ideas and persons in the public services.”

He was not immune to the idea of term limits for the Auditor General, an independent constitutional post that over recent years has been under the spotlight because of its very seeming lack of independency. The current Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, has been acting in that position for more than seven years now.

Dr. Goolsarran believes that few persons are willing to speak out about corruption which happens to be pervasive, “…they fear victimization and it may very well be a case of self interest being placed above public interest”.

Regarding the power of the Audit Office, he said it is far-reaching, with the Auditor General even being empowered to break down doors if there are suspicions.

He also emphasised that

the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament which examines the reports of the Audit Office has critical and tremendous responsibilities.

Goolsarran opened the book by noting that Guyana has a sad history of public accountability.

According to Gino Persaud, a lawyer and President of the Transparency Institute of Guyana, the book is pertinent, especially in light of the fact that the annual Corruption Perception Index ranked Guyana at 134 out of 182 countries, last year.

Among other things, Dr. Goolsarran’s book also touched on the Integrity Commission, the creation of the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Public Procurement Commission and the Audit Office as well as the Audit Act. “In Guyana, fragile democratic institutions and institutional weaknesses provide fertile grounds for corruption. Dr. Goolsarran’s book examines these institutional weaknesses,”

Former Auditor General, Dr. Anand Goolsarran, autographs a copy of his book Persaud noted.

The official recommended the book as a “must-read”.

Goolsarran worked with the UN also, between 2005

and January 2012.

He explained that the book chronicles his personal efforts during his stint as Auditor General, to not only

“restore public accountability in Guyana, but also to bring about improvements in accordance with international best practice.”

UNESCO stresses importance of science in schools Food insecurity and a pervasive energy crisis can be effectively evaded with the influences of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This assertion was on Monday accentuated by UNESCO Commission (Guyana) Secretary General Inge Nathoo as she delivered brief remarks to the gathering at a Caribbean Academy of Sciences workshop which is set to come to an end today at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).

According to Nathoo, the avenue of science provides an opportunity to build the capacity of children to think critically about solutions that utilise low cost resources.

She said it was against this background that UNESCO recently supported the initiation of a pilot project aimed at implementing inquiry-based science education in six local primary schools. Thus far, this ambitious initiative has been attracting involvement from both teachers and pupils and is serving to re-ignite an interest in the sciences at the primary school level.

Even as UNESCO awaits the final results of the pilot programme, Nathoo said that the body recognises that science skills, once developed, stay for life, thus it is prepared to direct support to the expansion of the initiative.

She revealed that Youth Challenge Guyana, a nongovernmental organisation, had even sought to embrace the programme with funding from Exxon Mobil, a move which amplifies the importance of partnership.

“UNESCO welcomes partnerships like these with the private sector and we hope that we will be able to expand on this from a personal point of view and generally,” Nathoo added.

The ongoing science workshop has as its theme “Hazard Mitigation: Protecting Caribbean Infrastructure – Securing Caribbean Communities,” and according to Nathoo, it is expected to motivate teachers to design a curriculum that is relevant to problem-solving.

In fact, she noted that “there is need for alignment in our schools’ science and mathematics curricula to

national and regional curricula. It is said that any problem turned outside in or upside down is an opportunity...so the use of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are tools to solve our food and energy crises.”

“This is our opportunity to build the capacity of our children to think critically about solutions that utilise low cost resources. The hands-on approach that the inquiry based science education emphasises will provide the opportunity to build students’ interest in sciences and help them to connect what they do in the classroom with solutions to problems in their world...After all, one definition of science is that it is really the human effort to solve problems.”

Moreover, Nathoo said that UNESCO supports the use of the micro-science kit which promotes hands-on work by students who may not have the adequate laboratory facilities.

“We need our students to do science, not science to be done to them,” Nathoo said, even as she stressed that “allowing students the opportunity to do experiments ensure that they develop the national science process skills such as observation and communication.”

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 9

CIVIL SOCIETY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO LEND A HELPING HAND The industrial dispute at the Psychiatric Hospital was reportedly over a pump. This dispute could have been avoided if those concerned had simply called in the “pump man.�

Last year it was revealed that the government was spending, in some instances, hundreds of millions of dollars on drainage pumps. All the Psychiatric Hospital needed was a bigger pump to propel the water to a higher level. This was something that should have been easily resolved. Yet, workers at the Psychiatric Hospital had to threaten industrial action if the water woes were not solved.

The dispute has reportedly been addressed by procuring a bigger pump.

But it was a sad sight indeed to see patients, and staff alike, having to fetch buckets of water while at the institution. One can well imagine if inmates had to fetch water to bathe, just what the conditions of the toilets at that facility were like.

The government must learn from this issue. When it

comes to important institutions such as hospitals, hospices and old-age homes, priority must be given to sanitation.

Indeed, given the frailty of the health of persons at these institutions, sanitation must assume a higher priority, because unless these places are clean and well ventilated, persons are going to get sick, and this can lead to all manner of problems.

There is no way that an inmate at any of the above places should have to be fetching water in buckets.

Guyana is supposed to move beyond those days and something as simple as a bigger pump should not have led to the inconvenience of persons having to fetch water in buckets in order to bathe or for whatever other purpose it was used.

These things should not be happening and it speaks to the weaknesses within the system of administration that these incidents are occurring. Greater financial autonomy needs to be devolved to some of these institutions, so as to ensure that they do not

have to suffer bureaucratic or other delays in accessing funds that can help them to more quickly address their immediate needs.

The government also needs an inspectorate division for entities such as hospitals, hospices, homes for the elderly and prisons.

This would be a good way for the government to involve civil society in the work of government.

An inspection team should be appointed and given the authority to undertake surprise inspections, so as to ensure that the conditions at the institutions mentioned above are consistent with human standards. The team should also be free to offer recommendations on how to improve things.

There are many minor issues to be resolved in the country and citizens should be co-opted in helping to resolve these issues.

Yesterday, somebody wrote about the need to bring greater order to the traffic situation in the country.

A special committee can be established to hold

consultations and make recommendations.

This would be a good opportunity to involve professionals and civil society in the work of government.

The lockups at the police stations have in the past been the subject of criticism. The criticism has led to some improvements, but it is more than likely that since then there have been slippages in the conditions under which persons are detained. Here

again, an inspection team can confirm what is the existing state of play as regards these lockups and can make recommendations to remedy the situation.

They can even be part of the monitoring and management of the lockups.

The government should not believe that it has the capacity to do everything that needs to be done.

There are many wellintentioned citizens out there who would love to be part of

the solution to the country’s many problems at the Psychiatric Hospital, the prisons, the lockups, clearing up the garbage in communities, keeping our public thoroughfares free of stray animals or simply maintaining our homes for the elderly.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN

The Speaker versus the Police Commissioner This columnist has seen a letter by the Speaker of the National Assembly in which he stated that he has no legal authority to prevent the cordons that the police put up around the perimeters of Parliament (when the Assembly is in session) thus denying the public access to six streets. This is despite an approved parliamentary motion that demands an end to the practice.

This columnist has also seen a reply to the Speaker by the Police Commissioner (ag) in which he has rejected the Speaker’s request to stop the blockade. There are four questions to be asked. Is the Speaker right when he says he has no legal jurisdiction to prevent the blockade? Why should one think that he is wrong when as a lawyer, he must have consulted his legal texts?

Secondly, on whose authority is the Police Commissioner continuing the policy? If he chose to proceed with the blockade on his own, does he have the power to ignore a motion of Parliament? Thirdly, if he is given an order by an agency

of the Executive (in this case the Home Affairs Ministry), can a Minister just dismiss an approved motion of Parliament without consequences?

Now the fourth question.

Does Parliament in the Guyana Constitution have powers that are independent of the Executive?

There is an easy answer to this curiosity in relation to other countries. The answer is yes. We have just seen a miraculous electoral victory of the opposition in Georgia that will create serious problems for the executive president. In the US, a president without congressional majority always faces budget nightmares.

The rejection by the Executive of the parliamentary motion that demands the end of the cordons will be one of the biggest challenges for the opposition in recent times.

What is at stake here is the very viability of both APNU and the AFC. There is this feeling among the population—and it is increasing with each passing

day—- that the electoral victory of the opposition has not changed in even small ways, the way the PPP Government has exercised power. This frustration has to be understood within the context of the great expectation.

After the results of the November 2011 general elections, the nation became burdened with angst to know that unlike the rest of the world, parties could not have formed a coalition. But the great expectation was that Parliament, now in the hands of the AFC and APNU, would use constitutional power to decrease the monopolization of power by the Executive.

This was not to be.

A critic like Christopher Ram has argued in the letter pages of the print media that even Parliament’s reduction of certain expenditures in the budget has been ignored by the Executive. Then there is the declaration by the President that he will not assent to Bills unless the Executive was involved in the shape of final contents.

Now there will be the impasse on the motion. How

can the opposition, which has a majority in the country’s parliament, approve a motion that it is contemptuously ignored by the Government and not lose its credibility in the eyes of the citizenry?

The disadvantage facing APNU and the AFC should they accept the continuation of the cordons is that they have a majority in Parliament therefore they are bound to endure scorn from the population if they appear to be weak in the Parliament that they control. The trouble for APNU and the AFC is that if they allow the cordons to remain then how can they approve of any other motion?

A society will disrespect

any opposition if it takes precious time of the National Assembly to debate motions that ought to be recognized, but are disdainfully tossed aside by the Executive. The moment that the country is waiting for has arrived. What will the opposition do if the police put up the blockades when the 10th Parliament reconvenes? Will it re-enter Parliament as if nothing has happened? Will it decide that enough is enough and boycott Parliament? Will it resort to other avenues of protest and confrontation?

Whatever it does, there can be no doubt that it is facing a credibility test. If it adopts the course of action of going into Parliament with

Frederick Kissoon the blockade still around the streets, then it will give the Executive an enormous victory. And both the AFC and APNU know that the PPP will use that weakness to take more latitude.

Desmond Hoyte is dead and gone, but he did say that there is only one type of language the PPP understands.

Dem boys seh ...

Leslie got to pump fuh Rob Earth Rob Earth is a man who don’t like see money. He sit in Cabinet and hear that dem got money fuh dig drain.

Right away he create a condition. He claim how dem got El Nino and he got to spend $700 million pun drains.

When he done spend de money he tell dem how de weather change and El Nino not coming anymore but dem got to get pumps. He put out a tender fun $800 million in pump because he claim how a lot of pumping got to be done. Dem boys seh that he got experience in pumping because he hand start fuh feel de squeeze.

He get in de order fuh de

pump but Uncle Donald suspect something and move he. Is suh Leslie tek over. And after Rob Earth move de whole pump business nearly fall through because Word Smith didn’t know what to do, only to collect.

Is a big confusion fuh get de pump and now to please de people de Word Smith now talking bout penalty and penalizing. Who dem gun penalize? Certainly not de people who providing de pump because dem seh that after Rob Earth move dem had to change de specification fuh suit and fit Leslie. Is nuff confusion.

And is de same confusion at Hen See Hen. That

company seh that de old Guana who like young leaf not wukking deh. He wukking wid Geenah. Dem boys want to know if Geenah didn’t have enough wuk to keep one old Guana busy. That is why de opposition cut de budget.

Dem boys seh that de opposition couldn’t give Geenah money to let de old Guana trouble young girls.

Anyhow, dem have an investigation and de man still got de nerve to go to wuk like if nutten ain’t happen. De truth is that he wife is a terror and he can’t stay home like Martin who ain’t got nutten nowadays.

Talk half and wait fuh de pumping competition

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 11

Bids submitted over $50M UNESCO stresses importance of Science in schools for special needs building Under a project for the Ministry of Education, two bids were submitted for the construction of a special needs building at Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. The bids were opened by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministry of Finance, Main Street yesterday.

With an engineer’s estimate of $39,973,201 the bids were:

The Ministry of Education also received bids for the supply and delivery of chemicals to National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD). The bids:

Still in the education sector, bids were opened for the supply and delivery of library furniture for the University of Guyana, Turkeyen. The bids submitted:

There was also a retendering in the education sector for the supply and delivery of carpentry and joinery equipment for the Linden Technical Institute.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment received a lone bid under the Environmental Protection Agency for the supply and delivery of garbage receptacles.

In the Natural Resources sector, another solitary bid was submitted for the supply and delivery of one 4x4 and one sedan motor vehicle.

The Ministry of Public Works also received bids for the rehabilitation and maintenance of roads at Wanaina Bridge to Yarakita Landing; and Barabina Swamp Road Region One. With an engineer’s estimate divided into two lots: (1) $20,053,000 and (2) 20,044,800 there was one bidder.

The Supreme Court of Judicature received bids for the supply and delivery of printed material.

The Office of the President also received a lone bid for the supply of two 4x4 motor vehicles for the E-Governance project unit.

Three bids were submitted for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development for the construction of a storage area for recyclable materials at Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill.

With an engineer’s estimate of $9,528,700 the bids were:

Food insecurity and a pervasive energy crisis can be effectively evaded with the influences of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This assertion was on Monday accentuated

by UNESCO Commission (Guyana) Secretary General Inge Nathoo as she delivered brief remarks to the gathering at a Caribbean Academy of Sciences workshop which is set to come to an end today at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).

According to Nathoo, the avenue of science provides an opportunity to build the capacity of children to think critically about solutions that utilise low cost resources.

She said it was against this background that UNESCO recently supported the initiation of a pilot project aimed at implementing inquiry-based science education in six local primary schools. Thus far, this ambitious initiative has been attracting involvement from both teachers and pupils and is serving to re-ignite an interest in the sciences at the primary school level.

Even as UNESCO awaits the final results of the pilot programme, Nathoo said that

the body recognises that science skills, once developed, stay for life, thus it is prepared to direct support to the expansion of the initiative.

She revealed that Youth Challenge Guyana, a nongovernmental organisation, had even sought to embrace the programme with funding from Exxon Mobil, a move which amplifies the importance of partnership.

“UNESCO welcomes partnerships like these with the private sector and we hope that we will be able to expand on this from a personal point of view and generally,” Nathoo added.

The ongoing science workshop has as its theme “Hazard Mitigation: Protecting Caribbean Infrastructure – Securing Caribbean Communities,” and according to Nathoo, it is expected to motivate teachers to design a curriculum that is relevant to problem-solving.

In fact, she noted that “there is need for alignment in our schools’ science and mathematics curricula to national and regional curricula. It is said that any problem turned outside in or upside down is an

opportunity...so the use of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are tools to solve our food and energy crises.”

“This is our opportunity to build the capacity of our children to think critically about solutions that utilise low cost resources. The hands-on approach that the inquiry based science education emphasises will provide the opportunity to build students’ interest in sciences and help them to connect what they do in the classroom with solutions to problems in their world...After all, one definition of science is that it is really the human effort to solve problems.”

Moreover, Nathoo said that UNESCO supports the use of the micro-science kit which promotes hands-on work by students who may not have the adequate laboratory facilities.

“We need our students to do science, not science to be done to them,” Nathoo said, even as she stressed that “allowing students the opportunity to do experiments ensure that they develop the national science process skills such as observation and communication.”

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Wednesday October 10, 2012

Importance of science in hazard mitigation being highlighted at CAS forum A three-day workshop aimed at amplifying the importance of science in the Caribbean society commenced Monday at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).

Some 25 local science teachers have been selected to participate in the workshop, as are three Trinidadian teachers and another two from St Lucia.

This is the second year that Guyana is hosting the annual forum, which is undertaken by the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, having previously hosted in 2009.

The forum is being held under the theme “Hazard Mitigation: Protecting Caribbean Infrastructure – Securing Caribbean Communities,” and is being facilitated by a number of renowned scientists, including the likes of Professor Emeritus Winston Mellowes and Dr. Julianna Alexander of the University of the West Indies, as well as Professor Arnoldo Ventura of Mico University College in Jamaica. The latter professor

has been instrumental in drafting a science policy for Guyana which will serve as the basis for a nationwide consultation in the coming months.

Among the other facilitators are Messrs Phillip DaSilva and Patrick Ketwaru of the University of Guyana; the local Ministry of Education’s Science Coordinator, Ms. Petal Jetoo; Science Educator Mr. Ottis Karuth and Mathematics Educator Ms. Henry both of Trinidad.

The objective of the forum is to raise the level of scientific literacy in the Region and to increase public understanding and appreciation of the importance and potential of Science and Technology in human progress; to provide teachers with knowledge and skills in inquiry teaching and learning; to put experimentation back into schools; to introduce the use of micro-science kits in the teaching of secondary science and to use teaching and learning methodologies that will increase students’ interest in the sciences and

mathematics.

The workshop, which will also direct some focus on the importance of mangroves in Guyana, comes at a time when Guyana is directing much attention to the area of science.

In presenting a feature address in place of Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, Adviser to the Minister, Ms Melcita Bovell, revealed that “here in Guyana we are making more and more efforts to cause more teachers to be qualified in science. At the moment we are making the effort to encourage teachers to go to the University to do the separate Sciences.”

In fact, she disclosed that the Education Ministry has put in place a plan to give priority to teachers who are desirous of pursuing studies in the sciences, even as she alluded to a system to facilitate the release of teachers to attend the University of Guyana.

“We are doing this because as a Ministry we understand that science, mathematics and technology are the foundation on which

A section of the gathering at the Opening Ceremony

the rest of our world will stand,” Bovell passionately asserted.

With this in mind, she commended the CAS workshop, which seeks to bring together the resources from Guyana and around the Caribbean to ensure that teachers are prepared for the task of moulding the Region.

This strategic move, she said, would ensure that science is demystified and that classrooms become a place where students are happy to do science.

Representing CAS was Professor Mellowes, who highlighted that popular notions suggest that science and mathematics are difficult subject areas and are therefore only for gifted students. “These attitudes, fuelled by poor science and mathematics teaching, account in no small measure for the large numbers of persons in the society who are technologically deficient and the small stock of scientists, engineers and

researchers as well as innovators,” said Mellowes, who is the CAS’ Focal Point in Science.

As a result, he intimated that the CAS forum is aimed at helping to build a national community of scientists, engineers and innovators, and to address an urgent need to increase the number of students pursuing science subjects, while at the same time seeking to increase the success rate of students writing the examinations in the Caribbean.

“We think and hope that this will constitute a foundation for the country’s competitiveness and development of knowledgebased economies...We decided that we had to help build a large societal base that is scientifically literate, technologically sound; that are creative and that are innovative, and to build an awareness of the positive impacts of science...”

Mellowes added.

In this regard, he said that

CAS has recognised the importance of focusing on environmental issues such as unplanned settlements, poor farming techniques and methods, waste from manufacturing and the overall impact of climate change and also the mitigation of hazards in the Caribbean region.

In her inaugural presentation as Head of NCERD, Ms. Jennifer Cumberbatch said that the CAS workshop is both a timely and interesting move in the wake of several natural disasters. According to her, it is evident that mitigation is the way forward to provide protection, even as she stressed that action needs to be taken to reduce or prevent future damage, preferably before a disaster strikes.

“I do hope that the workshop does not only promote knowledge acquisition, but emphasises knowledge application,” Cumberbatch asserted.

In the same vein, UNESCO (Continued on page 20)

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Opposition voting strength could lend to Local Govt. Reform

Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition Brigadier (ret.) David Granger is hopeful that a more equitable and democratic local government system will be realised through the combined support of A Partnership of National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).

Speaking at a People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) press conference last week, Granger said that since

the November 28, 2011 elections “we are now capable, more capable than before, of ensuring that the will of the majority is represented and that the voice of the people could be heard.”

In this regard, he said that some of the Bills that were before the Ninth Parliament will in fact be brought back to the 10th Parliament.

Parliament is set to come out of recess today and

...but failure to assent to Bills could cause “collision” – Granger according to Granger “we will use the support of the vote which has been given us, between the AFC and APNU, to ensure that we have a more equitable and more democratic local government system.”

He pointed out that the political opposition will seek

to use its voting strength to make sure that the people of Guyana have Local Government Reform in accordance with their wishes adding that “we will do what we have to do at the level of the National Assembly and I am confident that after 18 years we are going to get

Local Government Reform through the National Assembly...”

According to the Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, he has no fear that this mission will be achieved allowing for Local Government Elections that is done by a fairer system and does not have the intrusive role of the Minister of Local Government. This, by extension, Granger noted, will also guarantee that there will be proper funding for the municipal and local government bodies.

In commenting on the need for the President of the Republic to assent to Bills, Granger asserted that there are intervening mechanisms that can be engaged, even as he highlighted that “the president does not have absolute dictatorial powers, so he is obliged to conform to certain requirements of the National Assembly.”

According to Granger, if the President fails to assent to Bills submitted by the opposition, not only will he have to show cause, but it could in fact lead to a “collision” which could see other government business being affected.

“We have had this problem before during the 2012 budget and we are better prepared to deal with the resistance and opposition by the People’s Progressive Party. The lessons we have learnt from the previous parliament is that the two opposition parties have to

continue their collaboration and this is what we are doing.”

Granger disclosed that APNU is in touch with the AFC, a strategic move that will ensure that the legislative agenda of the two parties could be harmonised so that “when we go to the National Assembly the will of the majority is reflected in the votes that are taken.”

The last nine months of parliament, Granger said, have been very edifying to the parliamentary opposition and “we are confident that we will be able to maintain momentum of the cooperation that was evident during the budget and the other measures we brought before the National Assembly, such as the vote of no-confidence in Mr. (Clement) Rohee.” “These things are possible because of cooperation between the two opposition parties,” Granger added.

Meanwhile, he said that the opposition is currently seeking the support of local lawyers and international bodies to help in its quest of drafting its own Bills.

According to Granger, the opposition has thus far spoken with the United Nations Development Project, which is obliged to collaborate with the Government of Guyana.

However, he noted that this is a work in progress.

“We are aware of the problem of drafting our Bills and we are seeking help, but it is a work in progress.”

Four Guyanese teens...

(From page 13) own nickname of ‘dead man’s curve’ because it comes up so quickly and it’s such a sharp turn,” Senti said.

Beer’s family, immigrants from Guyana, were at WinthropUniversity Hospital in Mineola and not reachable for comment.

Neighbor Shawn Hussani, 25, said Beer’s “parents got him the car” after he enrolled early at St. John’s University.

“He was smart,” said Hussani. “We’d always see him studying.”

Another neighbor, 19-year-old Dylan Harry, said Beer was a braniac who never got in trouble. “He’s always been a straight-A student,” he said.

Beer’s former Spanish teacher had nothing but praise.

“He was a great student,” said Sally Shabana. “He was sweetheart. I hope he pulls through.”

It’s not clear where Beer and his buddies were coming from, but they were heading westbound around 3:40 a.m. on the parkway when the Subaru suddenly roared off the highway and into some trees in Malverne, LI, police said.

“It sounded like an airplane crash,” Michael Campos, who lives nearby, told WPIX television.

Campos said when he went out to investigate, he found a horror show.

“I saw four bodies on the floor and I went by the road, on the highway, and it was slippery,” he said. “It was wet like it was just raining out.”

Investigators later found backpacks, a standardized test prep manual and a video game.

Other witnesses reportedly saw a young man amid the wreckage right after the crash, using a cell phone to light his way in the gloom. It was not clear if this was Beer.

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 15

Pres. Ramotar renews promise to modernize Guyana

By Rehanna Ramsay “Twenty years ago today (yesterday) Comrade Cheddi Jagan was sworn in as G u y a n a ’s first democratically elected President. It was the beginning of the journey that we are still on today.”

This was one of the many reflections of President Donald Ramotar as he addressed a forum yesterday, commemorating the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP\C) Administration’s 20year period in office from 1992 to present day.

“Comrade Cheddi’s struggle was to set the models, rehabilitate and modernise. Look at what was done and even more importantly what currently is being done. Asphaltic concrete surfaces, race the length and breadth of Guyana on our highways and byways.

Four lane highways with traffic lights, roads where there were none.

Infrastructure was transformed. Infrastructure was transformed in all the sectors… remarkable and tremendous strides continue to be made as we speak,” the Head of State asserted.

“The main effect of the

…as PPP/C celebrates 20 years in power

President Donald Ramotar speaking at the 20th anniversary of People’s Progressive Party/Civic(PPPC) administration in Government. (GINA Photo) infrastructure rehabilitation was its contribution to the elevation of standards, increasing productivity and output.

The need for good infrastructure is vital and indispensable to social and economic progress. Guyana has once again proven that economic axiom.”

“We rebuilt infrastructure so that our society Guyana

could benefit from New Beginnings, and our nation has.

Our Party is grounded in the belief that the most important factor for development is our people.

We held this view before we took office and it is this position that guides our daily action in government,” Ramotar stated.

He stressed that the PPP/ C Administration will be looking to further modernize the country in areas of Agriculture, Tourism as well as infrastructure.

During his address, President Ramotar disclosed that Guyana is much closer to securing finances to building the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric facility.

“This will see us generating some 90% of our energy needs from renewable resources; this will have a profound impact on the growth of manufacturing and processing in our country and allow us to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel and save valuable foreign exchange” The Head of State noted that Guyana has a tremendous opportunity of becoming “a hub in the world of air traffic” with the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport This, he said, would foster a boost to the tourism sector.

The promise of modern hotels will also assist in promoting this cause, Ramotar opined.

He noted that the resuscitation of the mining

industry has further strengthened Guyana’s economy.

“New expansion is taking place, we are developing in gold mining in more modern ways. A new manganese mine is expected to begin commercial operation soon” Ramotar made a comparison of the growth of the respective industries prior to the PPP/C G o v ernment which took office in 1992.

“Sugar increased output from a mere 130,000 tons in 1990 to 237,000 tons in 2011; rice was just 90,000 tons in 1990, last year it was 402,000 tons; declaration of gold in 1991 was 59,000 ounces, last year it was 363,000 ounces; bauxite was 1.3 million tons in 1991, last year it was 1.8 million tons.”

Reflecting on the Party’s achievements, Ramotar said that after being elected into governance in October 1992, the PPP/C took office under the Presidency of the late Dr Cheddi Jagan, and “…from that era to now Guyana has seen economic average growth of 5 % per annum.”

He also noted that the private sector has made tremendous strides, and lauded the party’s continued recognition of the country’s indigenous peoples.

“Under the PPP/C the Amerindian Affairs Ministry came into being as well as the creation of the National Toshaos Council under the 2006 Amerindian Act.” Meanwhile, in her address, Executive Party Member Gail Teixiera told the gathering that the current Government had struggled following their appointment to office, to provide Guyanese with a better quality of life.

However she noted that after two decades of political rule, the PPP/C Government has afforded the public with the opportunity of becoming property owners, empowered women, and provided better qualities of education and health care for every level of society.

Teixeira nevertheless said that “the struggle is not over” as she called on all Guyanese to join in the process of developing the nation.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Man slashes pregnant partner’s neck A pregnant woman and mother of four was stabbed to the neck by her reputed husband, on Monday, after she confronted him with her suspicion that he was sleeping with her 16-year-old mentally challenged daughter.

The 32-year-old Albouystown resident received eight stitches at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for the laceration.

The woman, who is seven months pregnant for the same man, claimed that following the argument with her spouse she exited the

house “to go chop chicken” when the assault occurred.

She related that the man approached swiftly, snatched the knife she was using and inflicted the wound to her neck before fleeing.

The woman disclosed that she fainted and was rushed to the hospital by a neighbour and one of her sons.

Yesterday, when Kaieteur News visited the woman at her Albouystown residence, she said that her partner has constantly abused her over the years. She said that she reported him numerous times to the police and they even

…after confronted about possible act of carnal knowledge went to court on one occasion.

The woman revealed that on Monday she and her partner “went up the road nuff time” because of her 16year-old daughter.

“My daughter ain’t too right-minded but she tell me that he does feel she up and when I ask he, he only cussing up,” the pregnant woman alleged.

She claimed that

whenever her partner is under the influence of alcohol he would admit to having sex with the minor.

“When he drunk, he does cuss and tell me that he done (expletive) my daughter and he does cuss up bad, bad. I asked my daughter, but she say he does only feel her up.”

The woman told Kaieteur News that her suspicious of her partner increased earlier this year when she woke up

The woman’s slashed neck one night and didn’t find him next to her.

“Me and he went sleeping in the hall and my daughter was in the kitchen sleeping and when I wake up I didn’t see him and when I get up I see he coming out the kitchen and when I ask he, he tell me that he went for water, but the water went far from he,” the woman recounted.

She said that the following day she questioned

her daughter, but the teen replied in the negative.

“This girl does trouble with high sugar, so the people at the hospital and Welfare tell me that I shouldn’t give her money before she buy sweet and collapse on the road, but like he does give her money and she nah talk,” the highly upset woman claimed.

Up to press time yesterday Police had not located the suspect.

World Mental Health Day 2012: An occasion to reflect and celebrate Today Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing World Mental Health Day under the theme “Depression: a Global Crisis”.

Depression is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease and affects people in all communities across the world, including Guyana. Today, depression is estimated to affect 350 million people.

The World Mental Health Survey conducted in 17 countries found that on average about 1 in 20 people reported having an episode of depression in the previous year. Depressive disorders often start at a young age; they reduce people’s functioning and often are recurring. For these reasons, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability.

The demand for curbing depression and other mental health conditions is on the rise globally. A recent World Health Assembly called on the World Health Organization and its member states to take action in this direction (WHO, 2012).

World Mental Health Day was established in 1992 thanks to the work of Richard (Dick) Hunter, the Deputy Secretary General of the World Federation for Mental Health.

After a period of planning, the Federation proclaimed 10 October as World Mental Health Day and Dick looked for ways to build support for it. The World Health Organization agreed to become a co-sponsor, and the project was also supported by the Carter Center when

former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter agreed to become honorary chair of the event.

The immediate goal of the project was to draw attention to mental health as a cause common to all people across national, cultural, political and socioeconomic boundaries. The longer term goal was to establish parity for mental health with physical health in national health priorities and services.

Looking back over general trends in the field in the past two decades, it is clear that there have been substantial changes in the place of mental health at global, national and local levels. High quality epidemiological research has helped quantify the extent and impact of mental health disorders on individuals, families and societies. They are now ranked at or near the top of public health challenges and priorities by the World Health Organization and an increasing number of its member states. There have been advances in human rights, reduction of stigma, and empowerment of service users. To a growing extent, the large asylums and mental hospitals of past ages are being replaced by community mental health and support services. Increasingly, mental health services are becoming stronger and better integrated into primary health settings.

Treatments are becoming more effective and readily available.

World Mental Health Day remains an important vehicle to advance mental health objectives worldwide.

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 17

APNU stages protest outside OP - insists “Rohee must go” Members of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as well as other concerned citizens yesterday staged a protest outside of the Office of the President on Vlissengen Road, calling for the resignation of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.

The group was also seen carrying a miniature casket bearing the name of the Home Affairs Minister.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader David Granger, who was present at the protest, told the media that the action will not cease until the Minister steps down.

“We are convinced that there will be no reform if Rohee is there. He is not the man to be there and he must go,” Granger said.

He added that they will continue to seek justice for the relatives of those who were allegedly killed by police, and noted that while the Commissioner of Police has visited the family of the recent victim of alleged police killing, much more needs to be done.

“While this is a step in the right direction, the Commissioner of Police alone cannot bring about reform.

Reform has to start with the PPP administration, but once Rohee is there this will never happen, and until we get reform we will continue as an opposition to do what we can to bring about a change,” the Opposition Leader pledged.

Responding to a question about whether their protest action was bearing fruit, Granger opined that it has, reminding the gathering that the opposition has filed a noconfidence motion against the Home Affairs Minister.

In addition, Granger said that in the next sitting of Parliament several papers will be presented on the collapse of public security.

The Opposition has been calling for the removal of the Home Affairs Minister in wake of the killing of three Lindeners – Allan Lewis, Shemroy Bouyea and Ron Somerset; Agricola resident Shaquille Grant and Dameon Belgrave of Lethem.

The group of protestors outside the Office of the President yesterday.

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Kaieteur News

Wednesday October 10, 2012

St. George’s Park centre of excellence officially opened Football Association chairman David Bernstein has described the opening of its new centre of excellence as an “historic” day for the English game. The £105m St George’s Park complex in Staffordshire will house all 24 England teams, from junior to senior levels.

“We have to get more players through who can be full England internationals and this is where it will happen,” Bernstein told BBC Radio 5 live. “So much work has gone into this for so long and to see it now is fantastic.”

The 330-acre site was officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were given a tour of the park. Prince William, who is President of the Football Association, said: “Coming here and seeing these

wonderful facilities gives me the same feeling as when I first went to the Olympic Park.

“It gives me great pride we have created in this country facilities that are beyond compare anywhere else. “St George’s Park is a concept totally new. It will provide more than just worldclass facilities for our national team and more than a university from which hundreds of coaches will graduate.

“It will provide employment and a social hub for local people and will foster community spirit and purpose and hope throughout England.”

England’s players are using the facility for the first time this week as they prepare for their World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland. Aimed at raising

standards of play at all levels, it will provide a centre of excellence for training coaches and for sports medicine, sports science and psychology.

Among the facilities at St George’s Park are: - A senior training pitch, laid out to the exact dimensions of the playing surface at Wembley Stadium and with exactly the same mix of grass and artificial fibres.

- 11 outdoor pitches, five of which are floodlit and have under-soil heating.

- A full-size indoor 3G artificial pitch with a viewing gallery for up to 200 people.

- An altitude chamber to mimic a variety of playing conditions.

- An indoor 60m sprint track with equipment to measure speed and running

Champions League T20

Yorkshire beat Uva Next in Johannesburg; Auckland Aces nail Sialkot Stallions Yorkshire began their Champions League T20 campaign with a five-wicket win over Sri Lankan side Uva Next. David Miller hit 39 not out, Adil Rashid fired an unbeaten 36 and Phil Jaques made a rapid 32 off 21 balls to give Yorkshire victory in Johannesburg.

Uva Next had earlier reached 150-7 as Moin Ashraf (2-29) and Steven Patterson (2-30) claimed two wickets apiece. But Yorkshire successfully chased down their victory target as they made 151-5 with three balls to spare.

Uva Next captain Thilina Kandamby top scored for his side with 29 not out with West Indies veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul adding 27.

David Miller Miller had to leave the field in the 13th over of Yorkshire’s innings when he misjudged an attempted pull-shot and was hit in the face by a

bouncer from Umar Gul. But the batsman returned after the dismissal of Dan Hodgson in the 19th over to hit the winning runs. In Tuesday’s other game, New Zealand side Auckland Aces beat Pakistan’s Sialkot Stallions by six wickets, in the first match of Pool 1 which also includes English Twenty20 champions Hampshire.

Yorkshire will move into the main phase of the Champions League T20 competition if they defeat Trinidad and Tobago in their second qualifying match on Wednesday (today).

The Tykes are competing in the tournament for the first time after reaching the FL T20 final in August.

WATER WORLD: Prince William shares a joke with Jermain Defoe, Ashley Cole and Andy Carroll in the hot tub at St George’s Park. style.

- Walls adorned with sporting slogans, such as American Olympian Jesse Owens: “A lifetime of training for just 10 seconds.”

- A new Hilton hotel featuring suites named after former England players and managers.

Bernstein described the facility as “inspirational” and said it made him feel optimistic about the future of the nation’s football.

He said: “This is the pinnacle clearly - and we hope that this will be an inspiration in a number of ways.

“One of the main objects of this, possibly almost the main object, is to produce thousands of more highlyqualified coaches.

“There’s a lot more happening in English football at the moment in terms of youth development. We’re trying to move young players away from this physical side, of wanting to win too much when they’re too young.

“We want more skillbased football, kids to enjoy their football more. There’s a great deal aimed at that.”

England’s senior men’s team have not won a major international tournament since the 1966 World Cup and have failed to reach a semifinal since the 1996 European Championship.

The women’s side have made three World Cup quarter-finals and twice finished runners-up in the European Championship.

David Sheepshanks, chairman of St George’s Park, said the new complex can help England close the gap on recent World Cup winners such as France and Spain.

“This is a place to inspire young people and young coaches to invest in themselves and go beyond just getting the badge,” he said.

“The teachers of the game have the defining influence.

We are investing in the teachers so that we can get ahead of what they are doing in France and Spain.

“This is a deliberately long-term view. Really it is the investment in coaches that is crucial and from 2020 onwards we will have winning England teams.” (BBC Sport)

Three of the six cricket umpires accused of matchfixing by an Indian TV station have spoken to the BBC to deny the allegations. India TV alleged the umpires - from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh - were willing to fix World Twenty20 games ahead of the tournament, in a programme broadcast on Monday.

“It is absolute rubbish,” Bangladeshi umpire Nadir Shah told the BBC. None of the umpires named were involved in the games of the actual tournament.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is investigating the claims. Cricket’s governing body has called on the broadcaster to hand over evidence that could help its investigation.

Umpire Shah added: “These people are setting up these things. Telling whatever they feel like. Once we knew that these people are crooked we backed out.

“I didn’t know it was a sting operation. Once I found out that these people are trying to fix matches I just backed out and left. “That time I informed my agent. I told him about these things.

He said keep quiet I will handle the matter. I just backed out. It happened four or five months back.

“I didn’t inform [the ICC or the Bangladesh Cricket Board], I informed my close people this is what happened.

I found out later that these guys are bookies. “The ICC hasn’t contacted me yet. I am going to tell the truth. That’s it.”

Two of three Sri Lankan umpires accused, Maurice Zilva and Gamini Dissanayake, also denied allegations of corruption. “All I have to say is that we are innocent of all these charges,” said Zilva.

“We have already informed Sri Lanka Cricket [Board] to hold an impartial inquiry into this. “I’m pretty

sure they don’t have evidence because we didn’t discuss anything to do with match fixing.”

After an emergency meeting, the Umpires’ Committee of Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board concluded that there was wrongdoing.

The Committee Chairman, ARM Aroos, told the BBC the footage appeared genuine. “I think they’ve made mistakes by agreeing to certain things”, he said.

The latest allegations come almost a year after Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were jailed for their roles in a betting scam during a Test series against England in 2010.

Another Pakistani player, Danish Kaneria, was banned for life by the England and Wales Cricket Board in June for corruption in a fixing case in English County cricket that also involved Mervyn Westfield.

Umpires deny cricket match-fixing claims

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Kaieteur News

Page 19

Explosive Softball action set for Sunday at DCC Osborne, Sampson hit centuries for Sans Souci Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) Ground is the venue chosen Feroz Amin T20 cricket - Wakenaam

Wayne Osborne and Oyono Sampson slammed centuries as Sans Souci recorded consecutive victories when play in Feroze Amin Twenty20 cricket competition continued last Sunday in Wakenaam.

At Maria’s Pleasure, Sans Souci defeated the home team by 138 runs. Opener Wayne Osborne led the visitors who batted first to 226-3 in 20 overs with a robust 120 which included 10 fours and 7 sixes.

He dominated a 130 run opening stand with Tulsieram Ramdeen who made 37 as Kennard Lewis picked up 225. In reply, the host lost wickets at regular intervals to be all out for 88 in 12 overs.

Off spinner Keval Persaud bagged 4-12 and Gurnauth Khemraj 3-18.

At Noitgedacht

Wayne Osborne (10:00hrs), the home team upset Good Success by 4 wickets. Wazir Khan 32 and Mustak Mohamed 23 were the only batsmen that showed fight as the visitors were bowled out for 111 in 19.2 overs after batting first.

Pacers Hassan Mohamed and Randolph Harry grabbed 3-25 and 2-28 respectively.

Noitgedacht in reply suffered a few nervous moments before they eventually won the game in 12 overs ending on 112-6. Neil Ramalho led the batting with 52(6x6) as Nazeer Mohamed took 2-10.

At the Wakenaam Community Center ground, Sans Souci hammered Zeelandia by 136 runs.

Oyono Sampson was the star with the bat scoring an even century, decorated with 7 fours and 5 sixes, Wa y n e Osborne continued his fine form with 69 as Sans Souci rattled up 207- 4 off their allocation of overs, batting first. Ryan Adams took 3-25.

Zeelandia in response folded for 71 in 15 overs, Navishaul Pooran scored 28;

Diving becoming a cancer in football - FIFA’s Jim Boyce FIFA Vice President Jim Boyce says he believes diving in football is becoming a “cancer within the game”.

Boyce was reacting after having watched footage of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez going to ground in the second half of Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Anfield.

“I have seen several incidents and the Suarez incident, and to me it is nothing less than cheating,” he said. “It’s becoming a cancer within the game. If it is clear it’s simulation, they should be severely punished.”

I n S e p t e m b e r, St o k e Manager Tony Pulis had called for the Football Association to punish those found guilty of diving with three-match bans and on Sunday Pulis

said striker Suarez should be banned for what he deemed to be diving during Sunday’s match.

Boyce added that he also thought action was necessary even if the initial incident had been missed by the match officials.

“It can be dealt with retrospectively by disciplinary committees, and it is done so in some associations, and I believe that is the correct thing to do,” added the 68-year-old from Northern Ireland.

“It can at times be very, very difficult for Referees to judge whether something is a foul or a fair tackle and if players are diving then it makes their job even harder.”

An FA spokesman said: “Simulation is not

s o m e t h i n g t h a t t h e FA currently take retrospective action over but it is an issue that is often reviewed and discussed by the game’s stakeholders.”

Liverpool Manager Brendan Rodgers defended Suarez following Pulis’s accusations.

“At this moment there seems to be one set of rules for Luis and another set for everyone else,” he said.

“Diving and simulation is obviously a wider issue in football and one that we all agree has to be eradicated from our game but there were other incidents this weekend that didn’t seem to generate the same coverage.”

(BBC Sport)

CARICOM Cabinet Ministers told...

From back page Michael Muirhead on his recent appointment as the new CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board.

Guyana’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony in his remarks to his Colleague Ministers was adamant that despite the obvious value of physical education, the Region has not taken it seriously thus far.

“We need to have greater synergies between the governments of the region and the regional organizations that manage sports within the region,” said Dr Anthony. Minister

Anthony recommended that an “Active People Survey” be done to firstly benchmark the level of physical activity in the Region.

This, he stated, was necessary for any effective evaluation of any sport programmes implemented by CARICOM. Executive Member of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), Keith Joseph, who also addressed yesterday morning’s opening ceremony, lamented that very often “our espoused values were not in sync with what we practiced,” and pointed to the apparent

lack of enthusiasm of educators, for sport and physical activity in developing the ideal Caribbean person.

He urged Ministries of Education across the region to “resist the temptation to characterise student and teacher involvement in physical activity as a loss of instructional time,” and argued that “nothing that engenders character building, improves capacity to produce and stimulate the mental faculties should ever be so erroneously characterised as loss of instructional time…”

Osborne who maintained a steady line and length snared 4-8, and Keval Persaud 2-2.

At Noitgedacht (14:00hrs), Sans Souci Jaguars overcame the home team by 34 runs. Zameer Zaman who top scored with 36 and Tamesh Charrittar 25 added 55 for the 4th wicket as the Jaguars recovered from 25-3 to score 145 before they were bowled out in 18 overs.

Gladwyn Henry chipped in with 15, Hassan Mohamed and Neil Ramalho grabbed 3 wickets apiece.

The host started off their reply positively with Ramalho the top scorer with 32, and Mohamed 20, posting 50 for the opening stand before they were both dismissed in quick succession.

Pacer Siddiq Mohamed, left arm spinners Imran Khan and Moin Khan then combined to destroy the rest of the batting as Noitgedacht fell for 111 in 13 overs.

Mohamed finished with 5-12 while Imran had 3-20 and Khan 2-18. The competition continues on Sunday.

(Zaheer Mohamed)

to host what is anticipated to be a day of explosive action when the Regal Stationery and Computer Centre / Guyana Softball League organized three-tier nationwide Softball Tournaments are staged this Sunday, starting at 09:00hrs.

Over $500,000 in cash and prizes will be up for grabs during the final day of action of the tournament which got underway earlier this year and served as a warm up to the much anticipated Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) nationwide T10 softball tournament.

The day’s action bowls off with the Star Party Rentals sponsored Ladies T10 final, featuring Fazal Kayum’s XI taking on All Star Conquerors of Linden, the winner will receive $50,000 and a trophy and the runner up $25,000.

Another Linden team, namely South Stars XI will battle inaugural GT&T T10 winner Trophy Stall in the Male Open final, which is also sponsored by Star Party Rentals and carries a first place prize of $100,000 and a trophy, with runner- up taking home $40,000.

The third final of the day will be a 20 overs affair, sponsored by Regal Stationery and Computer Centre and involves Better Hope versus Success for the $100,000 first place prize and trophy, leaving the second placed team to take home $40,000.

Apart from the cash prizes, the player-of-the-match in all three finals will be rewarded, while there will be musical accompaniment and dancing girls for the hundreds of spectators who are expected to throng the venue to witness the culmination of this tournament, which took a back seat due to the inclement weather and other competitions that were ran prior to this year’s GT&T tournament, which was won by Regal XI. Apart from Regal Stationery and Computer Centre and Star Party Rentals, other sponsors of the tournament which promises to be an annual affair are Elegance Jewellery and Pawnshop, Mike’s Copy Centre and ‘Click’.