Kaieteur News

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

Where your views make the news

Letters... Where your views make the news

Why does it have to be from an ethnic standpoint, Dr. Hinds? DEAR EDITOR, Dr. David Hinds has been reported as saying that “after 23 years of an Indian Guyanese presidency, African Guyanese are being asked to vote for another”. I know Dr. Hinds is a skillful writer, but at first I was wondering did he really think this through to the end before making this statement. Did he factor into this school of thought that the PNC in whatever shape or form it took (APNU, PNCR, etc.) never won a free and fair elections in Guyana, not even a plurality? What is more ethnically dishonourable to say, is that we had AfroGuyanese rulers since 1968 who were elevated to office by fraud. The vision is to see people like Nigel Hughes and Sharma Solomon winning elections fair and square on merit. It can be done and it will be done. Guyana remains a poor and racially polarized country, exactly because the majority of the key national decisions over the last 50 years were made from an ethnic standpoint. If we continue within this ethnic paradigm, we will end up with a Government that is no better than either the PPP of present or PNC of the past. I want to go on record to acknowledge that other than the decade of progress from 1989-1999, both of these Governments have failed us miserably. Thus it is unreasonable to ask the majority of the people to swallow more of the PPP or the PNC (in the form of the APNU). What are the rational options? 1. A 3-way race - all available electoral indicators are illustrating that the PPP shall win a smaller plurality

(PPP wins, Guyana loses); 2. A combined anti-PPP alliance led by APNU - this will end up as a dead heat racial war between the PPP and APNU. Fear politics will take centre stage, further turning off the youths who are the soldiers that can make a difference and break this PPP/PNC-configured model of ethnic politics. In such conditions the most likely outcome is a slim PPP majority victory, since the AFC will be obliterated (“dead meat”). Pound for pound the PPP’s elections machinery is much superior to APNU’s. That machinery can bring out the hardcore base from the villages, something that APNU/PNC has never equalled, even when the PNC was in Government. (PPP wins again); 3. A combined anti-PPP alliance led by the AFC, with APNU being offered the majority of the cabinet - This is the PPP’s greatest fear, since they recognize that they do not have the political ammunition to peddle racism in the East Indian communities against a political giant like Moses Nagamootoo who has roots in the rural communities several layers deep. When the Moses factor is added to the APNU base, the PPP shall be beaten fair and square, since their racist messages will fall flat on deaf ears. Why? Many persons who voted for the PPP in the past are ready to peel away from the PPP, but they need a leader who they can align with. Try telling them that they must vote for the Palm Tree. That is like telling a former PNC supporter to vote for the Cup. This option will also give the AFC, as the balance of power party, that mandate to lead the process of writing a

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new Constitution. (Guyana wins). APNU has a clear choice – more of the PPP in Government or the majority of the seats in the next Cabinet of the Government of Guyana. If APNU allows egos which drives this loose concept of ethnic honour to dictate its political actions in these negotiations, especially in an environment where the nontribal population is at its highest levels, it will have no one to blame for the fossilization of its coailition. In the last census some 35 percent of Guyanese did not consider themselves as East Indian or Africans. This is a key factor in letting the process move away from the politics of the past. I however agree with Dr. Hinds that at this juncture, “African Guyanese are being asked to make a tremendous sacrifice”. But this is the sacrifice required to see the back of the PPP. This is not an easy decision for APNU, but history and the coalition’s own supporters will judge them harshly if we end up with five more years of the PPP dominating the Government of Guyana and further marginalizing the working class. I would like to take this opportunity to remind Dr. Hinds of the words of Martin Luther King Jr. who once said “human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle”. Just as the struggles of Dr. King’s crystallized into a President Obama; who knows this 2015 sacrifice being asked of APNU may crystallize into a President Sharma Solomon one day soon. Sase Singh

Please fix the tractor at Enmore, Guysuco DEAR EDITOR, The rainy season is about over. The Enmore Community Centre ground is dry and, under normal circumstances, would have been slashed by the Enmore Estate’s equipment. However, things are no longer normal. The tractor used for slashing has been down for over four months and the Estate has no funds to purchase parts for its repair. This means that no sporting event: cricket, athletics, etc. can take place

on the ground until Guysuco can garner funds to repair the tractor. A large number of youths who would ordinarily be occupied in sports must now lime by the street corners and get into trouble - thanks to Guysuco. As a cricket enthusiast and an ex-sugar worker, I ask these questions: Is this the industry to which I gave 25 years of my life and which cannot repair a tractor to pull a slasher to allow for my grandson to play cricket? Can this industry survive two

years more? Can any industry survive when its management refuses to audit itself critically and send some people packing who run the field from cell phones while being at home? I hang my head in shame for an industry which was once the highest foreign exchange earner in this country. Please, Guysuco, fix the tractor at Enmore for the benefit of the youths in the area - expensive though the task might be. Steve Ramotar

DEAR EDITOR, As a former President of NAACIE who has 45 years’ experience in factory operation, I fully endorse the Union’s call for a Commission of Inquiry on the sugar industry’s performance in Guyana. Mr. Joseph is right, the problem is in the fields and not so much in the factory, as sugar is made in the cane fields - the factory merely extracts the sugar from the cane by mechanical means. What is noticeable is that the new board members do not know one iota about the

manufacturing of sugar. If they do not know what the problem is, how can they give direction and advice? I would suggest to bring back some of the retirees who

have an outstanding record and experience in sugar cane cultivation. Their expertise is vitally needed at this time in an effort to save the industry. Albert Persaud

Bring back experienced retirees to save the sugar industry

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Kaieteur News

Yassin tells court of other investments overseas GSL vs. NICIL court case

Guyana Stores Limited (GSL) Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) Tony Yassin, was on Thursday further questioned about the purchase of a property he acquired under a sale agreement between the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and Royal Investments Incorporated (RII). The court battle between NICIL and RII (Yassin’s company) is ongoing at the High Court before Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire. NICIL claims that the company owes the State over US$2 million for the acquisition of GSL. On Thursday, NICIL lawyer, Rafiq Khan, asked Yassin whether he was certain that the Transport (title) for the Agencies Building was part of the original sales agreement between NICIL and RII. The attorney then referred a document relative to the Transport for the Agencies Building and showed the witness that the property is described in the Transport as the Agencies Building, which Yassin agreed. The Attorney requested that the witness be shown a document titled NICIL #2, which spoke of properties at time of completion of the sale of shares. “Properties that are

Guyana Stores Limited, Tony Yassin surplus to the current operating requirements of GSL shall not form part of the assets of GSL at the time of completion of the proposed share sale. The only land and buildings that shall be part of the assets of GSL at the time of the share sale completion are Lot 22-23 Church Street (Universal Building) and Lot 19 Water Street, Georgetown…” the witness read aloud. Khan questioned the witness as to whether he knew that the property was not part of a sale of agreement. Mr. Yassin said that he did not know at the time that the building was withdrawn from the memorandum of understanding for the share sale and purchase agreement. The Attorney then requested that the witness be shown a letter dated September 25, 2000, and asked that he read a paragraph aloud. The letter stated that

GSL will have the option to purchase any of the properties owned by Property Holdings Inc. and utilized by GSL. According to Khan, that document is showing that GSL had the option to purchase the Agencies Building to which the witness, agreed. The witness told the court that he briefly occupied the building before he was pressured to remove from the Agencies building but he stayed. “After you were pressured to remove from that building, did you initiate any legal proceedings against the Privatisation Unit in respect of that removal?” Mr. Khan asked. Yassin replied, “No,” but noted that Reaz Khan his business partner, who was also a part of the transaction, wrote to Mr. Brassington objecting to the removal of the Agencies Building from the GSL Assets. The lawyer further questioned the witness about the time he had filed at the registry for an official change of directors for RII. According to suggestions made by the Attorney, Yassin agreed that he filed at the Registry for a change of directors on September, 12, 2009 As such a certified copy of the change of directors was tendered into evidence which Yassin agreed that he caused to be filed. Yassin also agreed that the document accordingly notifies the Registrar that from the 7th July, 2000, Brian Tiwarie, Reaz Khan and Yasmin Shalilza Khan, ceased to be directors of Royal Investments Inc. and from 8th July, 2000, Mohamed Yassin and Khemraj Narine were appointed directors. On the same date, the CEO confirmed that he had entered an agreement with Reaz Khan to purchase the shares in Royal Investments Inc. for US$600,000; he later paid the Continued on page 24

Saturday January 31, 2015

GGMC’s $3B loan to Housing Authority is illegal - Granger - “State funds which do not go into the Consolidated Funds could be used improperly for such a speculative matter in the housing sector.” The recent approval of $3B by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&AP) is already sparking a bit of controversy as political parties step up the pace for their election campaigns. Opposition Leader, David Granger, was very frank on the matter, yesterday, at his press conference. The politician said that he felt this approval was not only out of order but outside of the law. He told members of the media that his understanding is that the rules governing the expenditure of GGMC’s funds are clearly defined. They are only supposed to be used for activities which can advance the work of the Commission. Granger said too that it is outrageous that state funds which do not go into the Consolidated Funds could be used improperly for such a speculative matter in the housing sector. He said that it is of course part of the lawlessness that usually takes place under the current administration. He hopes that the electorate will correct this on May 11 when they get the opportunity to

Opposition Leader, David Granger do so. On Thursday, GGMC, via a joint statement with the Housing Authority, indicated that a Loan Agreement on the $3B was signed. GGMC said that the submission of an investment proposal by the CH&PA this month stated that the monies will be loaned for a period of one year and to be used for the development of the housing sector. The Board of Directors of the Commission, it said, met and deliberated on the proposal submitted. It was noted that the interest rate

being offered by CH&PA was five percent which was 3.2 percent more than what was currently being earned via the commercial banks and other investment options open to the Commission. The parties involved articulated that the loan is for a period of one year with interest calculated using the reducing balance. In the event CH&PA fails to repay the entire amount by the deadline, the Commission has the right to increase the interest rate by seven percent. GGMC said that at the level of the Board of Directors, it was agreed that the investment proposal was financially prudent and sound. And as such it was agreed to grant the loan subject to the terms and conditions enshrined in the Loan Agreement and any additional guarantees required by the Commission. It claimed, also, that the CHPA project is pivotal to the realization of the Government of Guyana strategic target of allocating 30,000 lots under the Adequate and Affordable Housing Programme in order to maintain momentum in the provision of service land in several areas on the East and West Demerara.

GFC defends 21 percent increase in log exports

Only one-third of the total logs cut last year was exported, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has insisted. The Commission made the statement yesterday over recent media reports which suggested that a “national tragedy” is taking place after revelations that there is a 21 percent increase in total production. With increased scrutiny over logging in Guyana’s

- says Wamara, less used species account for rise forests especially with a US$250M agreement with Norway which mandates this country to control its deforestation rates, GFC has been under pressure to defend its monitoring as the government’s regulator. The Commission noted yesterday that while there was a 21 percent in total production, there was also a 38 percent increase in the export value. As a matter of fact, there were increases recorded in the export value for all forest product categories.

Last year, GFC said, production of logs was 406,433 cubic meters (m3). Of this, only 138,502 m3 was exported. This meant that 66 percent remained in the country to be processed or used locally. “This can in no way be translated to a national tragedy since 267,931 m3 or a 66 per cent of total log production volume remains in country, for local manufacturing or utilization.” Of 24,667 m3 roundwood, some 6,871 was exported or Continued on page 7

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

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GFC defends 21 percent increase in log exports From page 6 28 percent. Similarly plywood production saw 28 percent exported or 18,798 m3 produced. “Additionally, an impartial analysis would have shown that although log exports increased over the 2013 value, there still has been a maintained high level of export value from processed wood products in 2014, compared to 2013.” GFC made it clear, yesterday, that there was no decrease or trade-off in sawn timber value owing to increasing log exports in 2014. Last year, exported logs earned $24.4M compared to US$12.5M; sawn lumber US$20.3M compared to US$19.6 in 2013 and roundwood US$4.1 as against US$2.7M in 2013. Plywood earned US$2.6M to the US$2.3M in 2013 while splitwood saw earnings of US$2.1M to the US$1.7M. GFC said that there cannot be a generalized comparison of unit value for logs, lumber and other value added products since these products do not have a standard unit cost of production. “It takes approximately twice the volume of logs, or more, to generate one cubic meter of lumber, given the current level of recovery of the forest industry. There is a significant additional investment that is required to be in place, for certain types of added value operations.” GFC also claimed that the large majority of logs exported are not of the prime species, but rather from the lesser used and lesser known species. These included the famous Wamara wood which is in high demand in China. According to 2014 log production, values show an increase of 42 percent over the 2013 total for categories which include Wamara and the other lesser utilized species and a mere 11% increase for those species in the prime category -also called Special Category. ”Further, the forest sector continues to grapple with inherent challenges such as the high cost of energy, challenging physical environments, forest areas with limited accessibility, and fluctuations in local and

The Guyana Forestry Commission said that the 21 % increase in log exports last year was due mainly to the Wamara and other lesser used species of wood.

GFC’s Commissioner, James Singh overseas markets where emphasis is shifting from tropical timber to less expensive competing products.” GFC said that despite these uncertainties, in 2014, the forest sector in Guyana saw significant improvement compared to 2013 —-21% increase in total production; 38 % in export value. “Meanwhile, the forest sector has a bright future, especially in increasing productivity, promoting the use of a wider range of species, and manufacturing of much more quality added value forest products. This is based on factual evidence and stakeholders can rest assured that there is no “national tragedy”.” Last year, based on complaints of heightened activities in the forestry sector, by especially the Chinese, Kaieteur News found that Bai Shan Lin, a major player in the local scene, was controlling a significant amount in the trade of Wamara. GFC said that the Chinese company was toeing the line and not in contravention of any regulations. Recently the Ministry of Natural Resources, during a meeting with loggers to encourage them to enter into more value-added activities, said that main product categories last year was 530,000 m3, an increase of 21 per cent over 2013 figures of 437,000 m3. The Ministry said that exports of forest produce in 2014 were US$54M, an increase of 38 percent over the 2013 value of US$38M.

CORRECTION In our yesterday’s edition, we carried a story titled ‘Supermarket burglary suspect remanded’. In it the accused was identified as ‘Milton Freeman,’ aged 28. In fact, his name is Milton Eastman and he is 58-years-old. Kaieteur News regrets the error.

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Saturday January 31, 2015

Ukraine peace talks aborted AS CIVILIANS DIE IN EAST (Reuters) - Civilians were killed on both sides in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine on Friday, while an attempt to reopen peace talks in neighboring Belarus was aborted before it began. Rebel delegates flew to the Belarus capital Minsk, only to announce that no talks would take place on Friday and they were flying straight back to Moscow. Any talks would be the first since a fivemonth-old ceasefire collapsed with a new rebel advance last week. The main rebel stronghold Donetsk echoed to the sound of heavy artillery fire, including salvoes from multiple rocket launchers and heavier thuds from artillery

coming from the direction of the airport, a constant battlefield. A Reuters cameraman in Donetsk saw four covered bodies near a cultural center that had been hit by artillery while residents were queuing outside for humanitarian aid. A fifth body lay in a badlydamaged car nearby. A woman was weeping by one of the bodies. A kilometer (half mile) away, a sixth dead person lay where a trolleybus had been hit. The separatists said the total death toll in those two strikes was seven, blaming government forces. Kiev said the shelling was carried out by the rebels to ruin the chance of peace talks. Both

Oil jumps on drop in U.S. rig count; dollar up 5 percent for month (Reuters) - Oil prices surged on Friday following the sharpest weekly drop in U.S. oil rig count in nearly 30 years, while the dollar index was on track to end January with gains of about 5 percent. U.S. stocks cut losses as energy shares followed oil prices higher. U.S. crude rose 8.3 percent to settle at $48.24 a barrel, while Brent crude jumped 7.9 percent to settle at $52.99. The S&P 500 energy was up 0.8 percent. European stocks ended lower, but registered their biggest monthly gain in three years, while major U.S. stock indexes were on track for a second straight monthly decline. The dollar index, bolstered by expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will be the first major central bank to raise interest rates, also was poised to end January with its longest run of gains since the

greenback was floated in 1971. It was up 0.02 percent on Friday. Weighing on stocks, U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.6 percent annual pace after the third quarter ’s spectacular 5 percent rate, the Commerce Department said in its first snapshot of fourth-quarter GDP. The headline number was “well below consensus expectations and that is definitely one of the data points that many bulls were looking for to justify staying bullish,” said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group in New York. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 111.68 points, or 0.64 percent, to 17,305.17, the S&P 500 lost 11.44 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,009.81 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 14.64 points, or 0.31 percent, to 4,668.77.

sides have made similar allegations throughout the conflict, which are impossible to verify. “We are already used to this artillery and there’s nothing we can do about it. Our boys are defending us,” said Alla, a shopkeeper in downtown Donetsk. In Debaltseve, east of Donetsk, seven civilians were killed on Friday by separatist shelling of their homes, regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said in a Facebook post. Earlier he reported another seven civilians killed in and around the town in the previous 24 hours. The government-held town is a key rail and road junction in the east. It and nearby Vuhlehirsk have come under fierce attack from rebels encircling government garrisons there, with water and electricity supplies cut off. In the nearby rebel-held frontline town of Horlivka, eight civilians were killed in rocket attacks the previous day, the mayor’s office said. Ukraine authorities did not comment. Kiev’s military said five of its servicemen had also been killed and 23 wounded in fighting in the past 24 hours, describing the situation in the conflict zone as “hard”. “They are repeatedly using Grad (missiles), artillery, mortars, tanks and rocket launchers,” spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing. The past week has seen by far the worst fighting since the ceasefire was signed five months ago, with rebels announcing an offensive that Kiev says amounts to a repudiation of the truce. NATO and Kiev accuse Russia of sending thousands of troops to support the rebel advance with heavy weapons and tanks. Moscow denies it is directly involved in fighting over territory that the Kremlin refers to as “New Russia”.

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

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WHY NOT A YOUNG PRESIDENT? A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has indicated that a youth candidate for the position of Prime Minister is under consideration. This may seem as a politically correct and astute announcement but it is one that is worth giving a second and deeper thought to. This announcement has come at a time when the Alliance for Change (AFC) is engaged in talks with APNU over a possible grand opposition and civil society coalition. The AFC is proposing that it leads this coalition and it has asked for the discussions with APNU to be guarded by a nondisclosure agreement. In the context of these ongoing talks, the AFC may find APNU’s announcement as prejudicial to its ongoing negotiations with the partnership. It is not likely that the AFC will however extricate itself from the talks or issue any public denouncement of

APNU’s announcement. The comment by APNU that identifying a young person for the position of Prime Minister for the partnership is under consideration is a strange announcement. It is strange because there is no requirement to name a Prime Ministerial candidate. All that is required is for the naming of a Presidential candidate. At one previous election, the PNC did not name a Prime Ministerial candidate. But on the campaign trail, the name Winston Murray was smartly thrown into the fray by Desmond Hoyte. But there was no formal naming of a Prime Ministerial candidate since Hoyte was attempting to gobble up all the attention as part of a campaign strategy to project himself as the object of popular support. He knew that his party’s record was sordid and therefore the strategy was to project him as representing change and the new PNC. His supporters

were screaming, “Desmond!” No one was however screaming, “Winston!” Offering the position of Prime Minister to a young person is only of symbolic importance. The Prime Minister holds no executive authority. All executive authority is vested in one person and one person alone, the President. The Prime Minister is only his principal assistant. The promotion of a young person as the Prime Ministerial candidate therefore is not a move of any political significance. It would be groundbreaking if the old geezers who have dominated the political leadership of this country stand aside and allow the young people a chance. It would be a meteoric move if APNU were to take the sort of gamble that the PPP did in 2001 and name a young person as its presidential candidate. Now that would show that APNU means business. Such

Dem boys seh...

Even big belly woman trying wid cocaine People fast but some more fast than others. People busy finding out how some people getting rich. Dem find out yesterday when de police arrest a woman and she husband wid nuff cocaine. De thing is that dem coulda get through. Is only that dem got things fuh peep in people suitcase mek dem get ketch. A man who use to wuk wid a Minister know de ropes. He use to wuk at de airport before suh he use he contact and get a letter which mek de people use de VIP lounge at de airport. He collect a small piece and he go he way. But people shoulda suspect because de man was in a hurry fuh separate heself from de big belly woman and she husband. Dem boys seh that you should see this woman. She belly big up to she throat and she husband deh foot to foot wid she. When de police come in de VIP lounge de man pants front get wet and de woman belly start fuh rumble. People thought that she was ready fuh get baby. Dem boys seh that all good things must come to an end. If she did land in Canada

wid de cocaine she woulda been rich. At first dem boys thought that de Minister had something to do wid it but de man tell people that he nah even know de two. Some people does lef de country fuh mek dem children born overseas just to get citizenship. If you born in America you is American; if you born in Canada you is Canadian. Now de question is if you born in jail, what is you? Jailian? And what about de person who been shipping de cocaine? He got to cut he losses. But dem boys want to know why people still trying to move cocaine through de airport. One woman lef wheh she come from and swallow cocaine fuh walk through de airport. She get ketch. Fuh de first time in she life since she tun big woman she got to do she business before people. She nearly pass out wha she didn’t swallow. She in jail. She gun get company. Talk half and wait fuh hear who de cocaine concern.

a decision would be far from symbolic. That would be placing real power in the hands of young people. That would be an exciting political development. But one has to be circumspect about APNU hinting about the possibility of a Prime Ministerial candidate being given to a young person. One has to ask why is APNU even considering anything of the sort seeing that it is engaged in negotiations with the AFC on a coalition to contest the May 11, 2015 general and regional elections. After all, the AFC has laid its cards on the table. It has said that it wants to lead the coalition. And the negotiations taking place would have to consider this issue. It therefore seems premature and prejudicial for APNU to be even mentioning that it may consider a young person for the position of Prime Minister. This may seem an overture to the youth vote

which comprises the largest bloc of voters. But it is not. There is an internal dynamic involved. The PNCR is attempting to mend divisions in its camp. There is fallout in Linden and recently there was fencemending exercise. This announcement of the consideration of a young person to be the party’s prime ministerial candidate is political overture to the disgruntled in Linden. It is an attempt to offer something to these persons so that they can return to the fold and not widen the division in the

PNCR camp. In this regard it is a skillful political move but one that has serious implications for the ongoing negotiations with the AFC. The AFC cannot however say anything. It has signed on the dotted line and committed to silence during the negotiations.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday January 31, 2015

=== The Freddie Kissoon column ===

Can Sri Lanka and Greece be repeated in Guyana? The diplomats from the ABC countries in Guyana (for God’s sake, not as Argentina, Chile and Brazil that Neil Kumar named them but America, Britain and Canada) have urged Guyanese to vote on issues. Why should anyone tell the population of a country to do the commonsensical thing? Well that may be so, but this is Guyana and those diplomats and the hundreds of their predecessors who once lived here know that this is a psychically damaged nation. Guyana is just not your normal run-of-the-mill state. Guyana is not a mainstream polity. When you look at the electoral history of Guyana it is frightening. In over sixty-one years since elections were held in 1953, state power among political parties only changed hands twice. In 1964, the PPP lost. In 1992, the PNC lost. Power changed hands twice in sixty-one years and there

is a reason for that – people do not vote on issues and that eccentricity has pushed this nation into maddening tragedy. While the analyst will tell you that it is unacceptable but psychologically understandable for people to just blindly vote for race and not issues, what needs to be said is the consequences will inevitably be devastating. Among the consequences is the stagnation of ideas, the illusion of invincibility, the absence of punishment for wrong-doing and the encouragement to treat people badly who disagree because such people are a threat to the invincibility. Two fantastic cases of power cleansing based on issue-voting rather than ethnic loyalty are Sri Lanka and Greece. One of President Rajapaksa’s Ministers left his Cabinet last year and challenged him at the poll two weeks ago. Rajapaksa literally

ignored his rival, Mr. Sirisena. For Rajapaksa, he was just a nuisance factor. When Rajapaksa heard how the counting was going, it is alleged that he called in the army to stop his electoral loss. The dimension of his loss that Rajapaksa finds unbelievable is that large sections of the rural community where he was virtually a king voted against him. In other words, rural Sri Lankans looked at general issues. It was not town versus country factor when they went to cast their ballot. Rajapaksa is in serious trouble because the new President, Sirisena is likely to charge him with abuse of power. The evidence against him is mounting. In Greece the situation was far worse. Accepting an austerity package last year from the EU, Greece was reduced to a second rate Third World country. The austerity measures were too incredible to believe or imagine – pensions were

reduced. Imagine you work all your life and when it was time for you to relax and enjoy your life, your pension is cut in half. A new party, Syriza challenged the traditional parties last Sunday and won the elections. If asinine was an appropriate word to use in political analysis, then it applies most aptly to the ruling politicians that lost the Greek election. Why would voters choose to keep in power a group that takes away the pension of old people who worked all their lives only to find they may go to their graves in poverty? The Greek electorate voted on issues. In both Sri Lanka and Greece, the voters wanted change and if they were to get change then they had to throw out people whose policies they rejected but most of all, people who they felt

were no longer interested in the population at large. Voters bring in new minds and reject the outof-touch politicians because it’s the commonsensical to do so. It is not commonsensical to retain a ruling party because the leaders’ religion is the same as yours, so you vote for religious reason and not for the urgent issues facing your country. In one of the most historic examples where people turned their backs on ethnic loyalty and chose issues in a general election, was the defeat of John McCain by Barack Obama. White Americans chose a black man as President because they felt the discontinuation of war would not have been on the front burner of Mr. Mc Cain and the American people wanted an end to American wars in the Middle East. The tragedy of Guyana is more than sixty years old and

Frederick Kissoon every student with some training in political sociology will know that the source of that tragedy is the lack of commonsense in the way Guyanese vote. Choosing to cast a ballot for politicians because they belong to the same race as you cannot create a generous, humane mind out of those politicians. What it creates are politicians who believe they will forever be elected to rule.

No bail for welder accused of mugging A 34-year-old welder accused of violently mugging a man as he was on his way home and making off with his bicycle was remanded to jail by city Magistrate Fabayo Azore on Thursday. Joseph Barker, of Lot 54 Fifth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to a robbery with violence charge. It is alleged that on January 17, last at Fifth Street,Alberttown, he robbed Ravi Rajkumar of his bicycle valued at $10,000 and $2,000 cash, through the use of personal violence. Police Prosecutor, Inspector Michael Grant, explained that about 01:00 hour that day,

Rajkumar was on his way home when Barker cornered him. Grant said that Barker cuffed and kicked the man about his body before taking away the cash and the bicycle. During the robbery, Rajkumar reportedly brandished a knife and stabbed Barker, causing him to receive injuries. The court heard that Barker fled the scene on the man’s bicycle but later sought medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Grant said that while Barker was at the institution, the police were alerted and he was placed under guard as he received treatment. Barker

was later discharged from the hospital and charged with the offence. The Prosecutor told the court that investigations are ongoing in several matters of a similar nature in which Barker is the prime suspect. He said that charges are likely to be instituted against him. Grant asked the court to consider the nature and gravity of the offence as well as the penalty it attracts, and deny Barker his pre-trial liberty. The Magistrate granted the Prosecution’s request and bail was refused. Barker is slated to appear before Chief Magistrate Priya SewnarineBeharry on Monday.

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Berbicians upset over substandard road work

Berbice residents upset over substandard work being done Notwithstanding the volume of road works being done in the county, residents in Berbice are upset because of the volume of substandard work being done. Work was done on the bridge that runs over the Republic Road trench which takes residents to the National Insurance Scheme, the St Therese Primary School, the National Library, the Basketball Court and the Angoy’s Avenue areas. The works were only

completed a few months ago and holes have started to appear. The construction should have been overlaid with about two inches of asphalt. But that was not the case. Residents are blaming the contractors for doing shoddy and substandard works. However, contractors are not taking the blame. One contractor put the blame on the suppliers of the asphalt. One supplier was very upset over the situation and

blames the Regional Authorities and the Regional Engineer Department for allowing the situation to escalate. The asphalt mixture is very weak and after a few days the materials start to fall apart, they said. The supplier wants the relevant agencies to sanction those who are not living up to standard. Taxpayers’ money is being wasted and residents want the works to be halted.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) recorded 2000 fire calls in 2014, a 13 per cent increase on 2013, and according to Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle, this resulted in fewer buildings being destroyed (six per cent decrease). Gentle said that there was a significant increase in buildings that were slightly damaged, but this was because of the quick response by the fire service in saving those buildings. Gentle further noted that there was also a decrease in fire started by children and electrical fires. There was also a 10 per cent reduction in lives lost as a result of fires. Maliciousness, carelessness and the use of electrical appliances were the three major causes of fires during that period. However, during last year, more calls were made to the fire service, for accidents and rescues. Gentle said that the fire service responded to 27 road traffic accidents last year, and had to rescue persons trapped in vehicles. Ambulance work was done in some outlying areas. The fire prevention activities were a success in 2014. In terms of public education, which was done in the form of lectures, seminars, demonstrations and displays, in excess of 160 were executed, benefiting over 31,000 people. “We were also able to reach some other traditional areas in Guyana that we do

not go to, especially in the hinterland communities, such as Lethem, and the North West. As we go forward, we will be looking at more public awareness programmes, because we still believe that many of these fires can be prevented if certain safety measures are performed by the individuals, because one has to bear in mind, that the fire service will respond after the fact, after the fires have been started, and therefore there will be damage,” Gentle explained. He explained that the minute there is an outbreak of fire and the fire service is summoned, by the time the fire fighters get there, most times the fire has moved from that small stage to something larger, and therefore the service’s tactics and strategies would then be to avoid that fire getting larger. “There are some factors

that have challenged us as we are getting there, one being that a fire tender is about 10 tons … loaded with equipment and men traversing to a scene, we still have to contend with traffic and the distance to get there, so when we get there, there will be some damage. “So the issue of coming without water doesn’t say much. If a fire is started 15 minutes before the fire service gets there. The issue of fire starts with a call, the distance and then there are some persons not heeding to the sounds of fire tenders, and all of these things slow down the time,” the Fire Chief noted. He also emphasised that there is also the challenge of a large number of derelict buildings in Georgetown and the service has been engaging the relevant authorities to have these structures removed. (GINA)

GFS receives 2000 fire calls in 2014

Page 12

Kaieteur News

Saturday January 31, 2015

PPP/C sowed the seeds of disdain for young people’s concerns “It will reap a bitter harvest at the next elections,”

(From left) Opposition Leader David Granger, GYSM Chairman, Ryan Belgrave, GYSM Executive Member, Nia Phill-Gonsalves By Kiana Wilburg Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, placed in the spotlight yesterday, the importance of youth participation during the upcoming May 11 election, as well as the fact that the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has failed miserably in addressing those challenges facing the younger generation. As a consequence, he said “The PPP/C has sowed the seeds of disdain for young people’s concerns and will reap a bitter harvest at the next elections.” As he made this statement among others at his press conference which was held at his Hadfield Street Office, Granger also had the support of two youths from the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYMS); Executive Member Nia PhillGonsalves and Chairman Ryan Belgrave. The Leader of A Partnership for National Unity

(APNU) said that the outcome of the forthcoming General and Regional elections will be determined largely by the way that young people vote. He premised this declaration on the fact that youths and dependent children constitute 69 percent of the national population. The politician said that the current administration has treated this large section of the population with disdain and that it has completely ignored young people’s legitimate aspirations for a coherent national youth policy which would give them hope for the future. He said too, that the government “cynically dawdled” while the rest of the world celebrated the International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding (IYY) during August 2010 and August 2011. Granger emphasized that young people are inevitably,

the nation’s future but they face challenges. Some of these he highlighted to be the large number of school dropouts, the unavailability of new job opportunities, the huge prison population (of which young people are said to comprise 75 percent), the spate of suicides among adolescents and the rising number of teenage pregnancies. These he said are all signs of a desperate social predicament. The Opposition Leader however, focused on two major areas where he felt that the government failed the young generation, the first being on the educational front. In this regard, Granger told the media that the public schools are producing an increasing number of illiterate and innumerate young people. He said that failure rates at the annual National Grade Six Assessment examinations

are “astronomically” high. The APNU leader then referred to reports from the Ministry of Education which said that about 6,000 children drop out of the primary and secondary s c h o o l s a n n u a l l y. The chronic crises and the current controversy at the University of Guyana he posited are examples of the administration’s lack of concern for students and their education. The second area of failure he raised was the issue of unemployment. He reminded that this central issue is one that the current administration has neglected as to date there are no measures to deal with the massive job crisis and its dangerous consequences. “Children who do not complete their elementary education satisfactorily will find it difficult to get jobs as adults. The majority of young graduates unable to find employment, remain under or

unemployed, or join the throng of thousands who emigrate every year. Young people suffer most, owing to the fact that the school leavers are inexperienced and have a long wait before they find their first job,” he added. On the matter of suicide, Granger posited that normally, happy people do not kill themselves. He mentioned that official data would indicate that suicide became a serious public health issue in Guyana only within the last decade. The Parliamentarian reminded that it is ranked seventh of the ten major causes of death. Also alarming he said is that research also shows that suicide became the leading cause of death among young people between ages 15 to 24 and the third leading cause of death among those within the age range of 25 to 44. The Opposition Leader believes that young people will not vote for the PPP because the party in government has failed them. He confidently foretold that Guyana’s youths will vote for the APNU. He said that this will occur because the partnership will improve the standard of education, ensure their personal safety and introduce a genuine national youth policy that will guarantee a good life for all. Chairman of the GYSM, Ryan Belgrave, after endorsing the leader’s statements, added that young people wake up every morning to a society of

hopelessness created by the government. “This government is one that lacks vision, oversight and leadership capacity to deal with our concerns. Young people, the forgotten majority, are crying out for a new breath of life... We seek leadership inspired by the ideals for building a democratic nation where fear is banished; a government that practices inclusivity and promotes national unity and at this time we are encouraging the youth to respect their vote. APNU assures the youth of Guyana of a good life, a society that holds youth development as the highest priority,” he expressed. His GYSM colleague, Nia Phill-Gonsalves stated that young people across the world have made significant changes in their countries, and in Guyana, the scenario is no different. “Yesterday (Thursday) at UG the young people were tired of the mediocre level of education they have been receiving and they are tired of the lack of technology and the lack of books in their library and tired of the 20th century library and because of their tiredness, they decided to embark on a revolution…I want to warn the PPP/C… don’t go to young people with what happened during the PNC time, don’t go to them with what the PPP/C has done because we don’t see anything… all you have is a track record of broken promises …”

Saturday January 31, 2015

Colin Mack rape trial Lawyers involved in the Colin Mack rape trial made their closing arguments yesterday. Mack, who is on trial before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed 12-member Jury at the High Court in Georgetown, will know his fate on Monday. Mack is charged with the rape, assault and forcible abduction of a female. According to the indictment, Mack had sexual intercourse with a 19-year-old without her consent on April 12, 2009. The matter is being prosecuted by State Attorneys Stacy Gooding, Mercedes Thompson and Diana Kaulesar. The state is contending that the victim was abducted and taken to a house in Festival City where she was held against her will. The teen claimed that she was held for several hours in the house where the accused allegedly raped and assaulted her. The teen said that she shouted for help, but no one came to her rescue even though the houses were within close proximity. She says that she managed to escape after a taxi driver came to her rescue. On Tuesday, the victim

Kaieteur News

Accused to know fate on Monday (now 25 years old), gave the court a detailed account of the alleged rape. The woman had related that she met the accused on the road two days before the incident and they had exchanged phone numbers. She recalled that on April 11, 2009 Mack called and invited her to a reggae show. She accepted. She said that the accused picked her up and took her to show later that evening. The woman told the court that she subsequently agreed to go with the accused to the Latino Bar and Blue Iguana, but after a while she requested to go home and the two left the club. The woman testified that Mack took her to his Festival City residence instead, where he dragged her by her hair out of the car, carried her up a stairs and raped her even though she resisted. The complainant said that Mack forced her into a front bedroom of the house. She further related that she continued to fight the accused off who began to “forcefully” remove her clothes. She told the court that Mack slammed her onto the bed and tried to pry her legs open to have sex with her.

Fly Jamaica presents ticket... From page 16 years old and Michelle was five. The younger Robinson's struggle started two years ago when a gunman invaded his house and shot him five times. Luckily, after eight surgeries and several months in the hospital, the father of one walked out the health institution. But he needed another operation to fix an hernia he had developed. It was then, last August,

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while doctors were preparing him for the surgery, they informed him about a growth on his kidney. A few days later, they diagnosed him with a rare and deadly form of renal cancer which had already spread to his lungs. Renal cancer is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, a part of the very small tubes in the kidney that transport waste molecules from the blood to the urine.

The witness said that after a few minutes of being unsuccessful Mack left the room. She said he returned some time later with another female. She said that after “taking me to the back bedroom”, Mack told the other woman to perform oral sex on her. The victim said that the female did as she was instructed. She said that she was crying at the time and the accused threatened to kill her if she didn’t stop crying. According to the woman, before the accused could have penetrated her, she asked him to use a condom and he did. When asked to state her reason for doing so she told the court that she just wanted to be safe since she was in a helpless situation. The witness said that she felt “helpless” as the accused proceeded to have “sexual intercourse with me without my consent.” Sometime after the incident, the victim said that she attempted to escape through a window since the house was locked. A medical report which tendered as evidence before the court detailed that the victim had lacerations to her vagina, swelling to the right eye and abrasions to her left elbow— injuries consistent with assault. However on Thursday, while leading his defence Mack told the court that he was innocent of the charge. He claims that he had consensual and “legal sex,” with the woman. Yesterday, lawyers representing both victim and the accused pointed to inconsistencies contained in the evidence, which was provided to the court. Defence Attorney Peter Hugh pointed out inconsistencies in the evidence provided to the

court by the victim. He pointed out that there were a number of inconsistencies in the statements which the victim provided to the High Court and the initial statements she gave to the police. Hugh reminded the jury that the victim said that she could not find her underwear after the incident, that the young lady who was in the house had handed it to her, but that later under cross examination she admitted that she told the Magistrate a different story- that she did indeed find her underwear before leaving Mack’s house. The lawyer also pointed out that the victim said that she never tried to call anyone as she was being transported to the home of the accused even though no one had restricted her from using her cell phone at that time. State Attorney, Mercedes Thompson, urged the jury to use their common sense and good judgment when considering the evidence. She noted that if the accused is to be found guilty of the allegation, the State must prove by the evidence provided that Mack had sex with the complainant without her consent. The Attorney noted that Mack in his defence painted a picture of two lovers having consensual sex but noted that the victim bore injuries about her body. “Where did these injuries come from?” the Prosecutor asked, pointing out that the victim had bruises on her body and the swelling to her right eye, bruises and lacerations to her vaginal area. Thompson said that Mack had said that when he and the victim left the club at around 4:00 am the place was already bright thus, the victim requested to go to his house since she didn’t want to be

Rape Accused: Colin Mack seen coming out of a hotel at that hour. “I don’t know which part of the world Colin Mack is from but 4:00 am …you and I both know what the place looks like.” The Prosecutor added that Mack had told the court that after leaving the club the victim asked him whether he had condoms and he stopped at a cheese shop to buy a pack. “What type of cheese shop would be selling condoms at that hour of the morning?” she asked. Thompson further noted that in his testimony the accused said he and the victim were wining and kissing on each other at the club; he said that they were “hot and bothered,” still when they got to his house they took time to shower before sex. At one point of the address, Mack asked to be excused; he left the courtroom and was followed by his Attorney. The State Prosecutor

continued to point out that Mack had explained that he was awakened by another young woman who told him that his girlfriend (the victim) let her in the house, but said not long after that, the complainant tried to jump through the window because she could not find the keys. “Where did the keys vanish all of a sudden?” Thompson asked as she noted that the complainant had attempted to jump through a window in a bid to escape from “the man who claimed she had consensual sex with him.” This, the Prosecutor said, was yet another desperate attempt by the accused to provide a logical explanation to place the other young lady at the house. “Why did she attempt to jump through a window when she could have gone to the man whom she just had loving sex with to let her out?” The case is set for deliberations by the Jury on Monday.

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Kaieteur News

SALON Make Up Courses with Mac, Bare Minerals, Black Opal and Sacha cosmetics. Call: 647-1773/660-5257

VACANCY

CAR RENTAL

Admin Assistant, within the vicinity of E.B.D & W.B.D. Must be well spoken & have 5 CXC subjects including: Maths & English. Email: snow198390@hotmail.com

PROGRESSIVE AUTO RENTAL: CARS & SUV FOR RENTAL-$4,000&UPPERDAYCALL: 643-5122, 219-3900, EMAIL: PRO_AUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM

International Cruiseline Purser officers, waitresses, waiters, cooks, receptionists, storekeepers, cleaners, electricians, carpenters, printers, cosmetologists etc Tel: 231-6296, 650-9880 24 Hour East Coast Guyoil needs night pump attendants, salesgirl, office assistant & handyman- Call: 695-9880; 669-4755 Accounts Clerk: Qualifications, 5 CXC subjects, DacEasy & QuickBooks @ August Beverages Ent, 27 Norton & Creen Sts. N/Burg One manager @ Hotel /Club @ Essequibo Coast, knowledge in hotel field & promotional skills, accommodation provided Contact: 226-9768 Work from home: Earn $5,000 to $20,000 daily, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday - Call: 233-6517/ 638-0595 or www.jobfairworldwide.com One Diesel Mechanic to work in the interior, must have experienced - Contact: 226-9768

SERVICES PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY,ETC.–CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 2161043; 677-6620 Guyana Passport & Visa Forms Application, USA, Canada and England. Tel: 626-7040; 265-4535. Repairs & spare, fridge, freezer, A/C, washers, stoves. Contact Nick: 683-1312, 627-3206 Repairs to refrigerators, gas stoves, washing machines, AC Units- Call Lindon on 641-1086; 694-2202 REPAIRS AT LOW COST: FRIDGES, AIRCONDITIONERS, WASHING MACHINES, TVS, MICROWAVES, FREEZERS- CALL:6294946 OR 225-4822

Experienced hairdresser & sales clerk @ West Shore Plaza, 15 Public Road, Ruimzeight W.C.D - Call: 2691524 or 656-3561

Repairs to plasma, Led television etc – Call: Abdul Electronics: 225-0391

Watchman wanted! $15,000 per week, Call: 640-6000 between 9:30am to 4:00pm

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

1 experienced driver/ salesman, apply at Humphrey’s Bakery & Farm Products LTD, 38 Ketley & Sussex Street Charlestown – Tel: 225-7864; 227-8607

HOUSE PLAN DRAFTING AND ESTIMATES FOR ONLY $15,000- CALL:6949843/227-2766

Salesman to sell interior mining lands – Contact Mr.Waaldijk -618-7483; 2317805

Permanent & Visitors Visa Applications, Professional Immigration Consultant Room D5 Maria Building Call Sabita: 225-6496, 662-6045

Factory staff, GTI / GITC Male/ Female graduates preferred. Canter drivers, marketing assistant, Drivers Licence required. Tel. 266 5569

Certificate in: Cosmetology, nails, wig designs, early child care/ care for elderly classes commence February Call: 666-5241/ 619-7603 Bleach-Blue for body, face & hair, available in 1 lb bags for $4,000, discount for larger volumes - Phone 264-3310; 600-3927

FOR RENT

One Skillful joiner to work in workshop – Contact: 2191342 or 610-7005

One TM 6X6 Driver with mechanical experienced, one burner/cutter – Call: 6165510; 683-3480

Administrative Assistant 5 Subjects CXC, hotel knowledge/experienced will be an asset – Tel: 218-0221

VACANCY

FOR SALE

LAND FOR SALE

LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754. Lincoln 500 AMP diesel welders with Perkins 4 cylinder engine - Tel#650-0402

House Lots in 1 of Guyana’s top luxury gated communities @ Eccles, 60X100 - $7.5M. (Special prices) - Call: 2272913; 683-3033

Mill Cut Lumber Kabukalli, Silverballi, Etc – Call: 6539752; 688-6579 PANEL/FANCY GLASS DOORS @ HADCO IN BAGOTSTOWN PUBLIC ROAD, NEXT TO HARBOUR BRIDGE MALL CALL: 233-6743 Cat 320 CL 2005 only 3800HRs sold as is, cash offer only, must go – Contact Azim: 660-3235

PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, GRADUATION,WEDDINGS, ANNIVERSARY, ETC. CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620

Five gallon water bottle caps $25 per piece Call: 614-8957

5 Acre fruit bearing farm with small cottage sale of least option on Demerara River Tel: 261-2988

18 New Home lite Chain Saw, leather sofa, others too many to list – Tel: 261-2988

Properties for rent for business purposes only @ 23 Saffon Street Charlestown & 164 Alexander Street Kitty - Call Devon: 663-1876 & 678-5721 Five bedrooms house, 107 Lamaha Gardens & Large Parking; AC Rooms Hot & Cold, Purified Water System Call: 661-8908, 335-3590 GT TOOL RENTALS: COMPACTOR; CHIPPING HAMMER RANSOM & FLOOR SANDER, , JACK HAMMER, CONCRETE SAW & MORE - CALL: 675-0767, 639-8101 3 Bedrooms house at 19 Goedverwagting. E.C.D opposite Pradoville, 2 months deposit upfront. Call: 2229098 or 614-9516 for details Prime Banquet Hall & Catering Service for weddings/parties/ graduation etc @ Cotton Club, 44 Public Road Kitty – Tel: 231-1908/12; 693-3946 1 Huge building in Lethem Commercial Zone, ideal for stores - Call: 664-5401; 615-5343 Prime business place to rent on Sheriff Street, only for offices – Contact: 627-6740

Salesclerk from ages 25-45 with experienced, appear with application @ Christine’s Variety Store @ Lombard St – Contact: 6268003/ 227-8529

Saturday January 31, 2015

One business place to rent opposite Stewartville Primary and Secondary School, W.C.D - Tel: 613-5261 2 Bedrooms upper flat $45,000 per month at Grove New Scheme, E.B.D - Call: 642-1956 One bottom flat 2 bedroom apartment at Eccles – Call: 626-6480

6500 Watts Construction Grade on wheel Honda Generator - $390,000 – Tel: 261-2988

1-250 KVA Generator $3.6M, 1-110 KVA Generator - $1.8M, 1-9 KVA Generator $700,000 – Call: 223-8161

Eccles: Commercial lots for sale at Eccles – Tel:227-2913. Cell: 683-3033 1. Parika, Peter Street; 2. Blankenburg, behind gas station lot size: 75’X76' (3 parcels)= Contact 650-0402 Located in Republic Gardens, Peters Hall, E.B.D. Interest person – Contact: 231-5359 or 672-7189 Grove E.B.D Caneville 4th Field, 1St Street, Concrete $3M 20X40 land 40X100, Parfaite W.B.D Land 45X80 -$1.1M-Call:231-2199;618-7483 Parfaiete Harmonie - $1.5M & $4M (high income 110ftX50ft), Eccles - $3.5M, Providence -$4M, Tuschen $2.2M - Call: 675-7292; 652-2018 Guyana first 5 Star gated community, now opens, reserve your lot(s) & house . Call:609-0783 or seroj_26 @yahoo.com 2369.664 Sq/ft of land @ Victoria village, E.C.D- Call: 255-3437; 698-3678

Complete Snapper Boats for sale – Excellent Condition – Contact: 6486815; 670-4459 Game Shop Equipment for sale - Call: 610-0808

ACCOMMODATION

Woodmizer industrial Resaw 75 KW generator and edger, perfect condition – Call: 6832575 Beautiful Tibetan Terrier pups for sale – Call: 696-7467

Inner Retreat Hotel Restaurant & Bar, Retreat Road Parika. Indoor / Outdoor bar in Picturesque setting – Phone: 260-4504; 685-6934

Used 10 sheet gas oven for bakery - Tel:611-4536; 677-5172 Original pools table cloth, balls, pocket cuestick, rubber, coinshute, chalk spring, chalk holder, coins– Call: 669-9927

Aracari Hotel 24 HRs: AC, Cable, Wi-Fi, Restaurant & Bar, Pool & Gym, Salon & Spa & more. Rates from $45 Call: 264-2946-8

Yamaha outboard engines, various sizes, tundra wheels, boat trailer – Tel: 220-1981, 698-7047 XBOX 360 with 3 games & controller, Nintendo 3DS with Pokémon Y & Black – Call: 683-8386 One complete purified drinking water shop, 3 white tanks, ultraviolet, 1 amp, 1 pressure pump, wooden building 10X10 -Tel: 622-5986 Games for PS2, PS3, XBOX360, WII, consoles also available – Call: 6722566, 265-3232 Two barber/salon chairs – Call: 264-3070, 680-2191 Tacoma Tundra Parts, BMW, Audi lights & visors, mud flap, Toyota Cami Engine Tel: 680-6374

FOR SALE Doberman pinscher puppies Call: 687-7177 or 624-7683 2 Imported male German shepherd, 4 months old and 1 white female husky - Call: 664-5401 New/used salon equipment and security cameras and monitors, lorex brand - Call: 664-5401 Used furniture, two sewing machines, massage table, cake pans & utensils, craft materials & books, etc – Call: 664-3454 1 Insemination Brahman zebu bull cow – Call: 231-1256

VEHICLE FOR SALE Toyota Prado, Price$5.5M Neg. Call: 643-2403 Toyota Voxy to register in ‘B’ fully loaded never registered - $2.1M - Call: 6172891 Nissan Titan for sale; immaculate condition, owner leaving country - Call: 641-4556 One Nissan Wingroad car, year 2005, price -$1.8M neg. Call: 669-3467 1 Pitbull minibus, stick gear, BPP series, mag rims- $2.2M neg. Call: 673-7652 1 Honda, Fit, rims, spoiler & dark interior, CD/DVD, navigation, PPP Series, one owner - Contact Chris: 6807070 AT 170 Toyota Carina – EFI, AC, Alarm, Mags - $650,000 Neg. – Call: 673-7652 Nissan Titan 4X4; fully loaded; good condition; price $2.5M neg. – Call: 6201026 Trade in: T/Alteeza Benz C200, Sale! Spacio, Used T212 – Tel:679-3140 1 Toyota Landcruiser Prado PMM Series Call: 219-5354 Monday- Friday 8:154:15Pm & Saturday 8:151:15PM 1 Massey Ferguson, 135 in excellent condition – Tel:616-9505; 228-5220 New Arrivals @ OJ’s Auto Imports: Allion 2008, IST, Fielder, Allion 2003, Premio. Tel:609-2815 Toyota IST PMM 755, 65 CF GSS 6715, 75 DAF GNN 5366, price negotiable – Contact Johnson: 613-5212 or 664-1030 1-10 Ton Ford Cargo, dump truck GEE 9144, 1 Spare Cab & Gear box, working condition - Price $1.4M - Tel: 663-0567; 684-8654 1 Honda 600 CCRR, Toyota AT 212, AT 192, Allion, Raum, EP71 Starlet, Alteeza, 1 Nissan Titan – Tel: 6445096; 697-1453 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 Tacoma- Call: 680-3154 AT192, 212, Allion, unregistered Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN, RZ & Pit-bull, 7 seater super custom. Cash / terms- Call:680-3154 DRESSMAKING Jean offers courses in dressmaking, curtains, floral, cake decoration @ Barr Street Kitty - Call: 670-2653; 618-1706 (Continued on page 23)

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 23

Man remanded to jail for breaking up mother’s house A man who is in the habit of harassing his mother and breaking up things in her house has been remanded to jail. Krisendat Ramlakhan, called “Devin”, 28, of Glasgow, East Bank Berbice, appeared on Friday before Magistrate Sherdel IsaacsMarcus in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court, charged with malicious damage to property. He is accused of unlawfully and maliciously damaging a number of items in the home of his mother, Dilragie Rohoman. According to prosecutor, Sergeant Phillip Sheriff, on Sunday January 25, the woman was at home when Ramlakhan went to her home under the influence of

alcohol. The man demanded money from his mother, after he was told that there was none; he proceeded to behave in a disorderly manner. The man broke one vase, one woodwork set, one glass ornament, one bulb socket, one energy saver bulb, one wall clock, two car rear lights, and one motor cycle number plate. The matter was reported to the police and Ramlakhan was arrested and charged. In objecting to bail Prosecutor Sheriff cited the serious nature of the offence. He stated that it was not the first time that the man has been charged with an offence of such nature. He is expected to return to court on February 16.

Two institutions that have become pivotal to our development DEAR EDITOR, Bank of Guyana celebrated its 50th anniversary this month. This is quite an important milestone and should be celebrated by all Guyanese. Only last year the University of Guyana also celebrated its 50th anniversary. Both of these can be considered transformative projects and have today become national institutions. These projects were the id e a s of the PPP government under the leadership of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan who was very passionate about Guyana having its own national institutions to drive the development process. The country had just emerged from colonial rule and there were strong nationalist feelings by the leadership of the PPP to carve our own path to

development. There were challenges in terms of resources, both human and financial, but the PPP government persevered and today both of these have become pivotal to our development. There were the usual critics who were opposed to the establishment of national institutions, more particularly the establishment of the University of Guyana, but time has proven them wrong. Thanks to the tenacity, perspicacity and vision of Dr. Jagan and the PPP leadership, Guyana is today a much better place and in some respects ahead of other countries in the region in terms of accessibility to university education. Hydar Ally PROPERTY FOR SALE Paradise, E.C.D: Concrete modern 2 storeys, 4 bedrooms- 2 masters. Concrete fenced large lotCall: 255-3437; 698-3678 FOR SALE/FOR RENT American Pool Table – Tel: 277-0578 CAKES & PASTRIES Enroll Now: cake decoration, cakes & pastry, floral arrangement, classes start February 9th – Contact Sharon:223-3303,672-8768; 612-4193

CAR RENTAL Aidan’s Car & Pickup rental, cheap rate, low security – Tel: 698-7807; 690-6494 DOLLY’S CAR RENTAL CALL: 225-7126/ 2263693 DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL@YAHOO.COM/ WWW.DOLLYSAUTO RENTAL.COM

LEARN TO DRIVE Soman Son & Outar Driving School at Maraj BuildingTel: 644-5166; 622-2872; 6150964; 689-5997

WANTED One mechanic to work in the interior, must have experienced with Perkins & Cummins Engine – Call: 6916260 Counter Staff; apply @ Shanta’s, 225 Camp & New Market Streets. Experienced dispatcher and taxi drivers at Princess Hotel @ Providence – Tel: 2657076; 616-5419 Presser / Clipper, straight stitch/over edge machine operators, cleaner – Call: 2222541 (8:00am-4:00pm) (Mon-Fri). Attractive live in waitressCall: 327-0252/674-4665 Waiters/ Waitresses, apply in person to Aracari Resort, West Bank Demerara.

MASSAGE Relax your mind and body with a soothing massage Tel: 674-8147 For a relaxing massage therapy experiences – Call Kneading Solace on 6284422, hot stone and sauna packages available.

WANTED 2 wash bay attendants Tel:660-4405 (serious enquiries only) Live in domestic must know to cook - $60,000, boarding & lodging free, age 30-50yrs Call: 610-5043 One DJ/Selection to work at Club in Essequibo, salary range - $48,000 per month Contact: 226-9768

TO LET House for rent @ Grove Housing Scheme with 3 bedrooms -$70,000 – Tel:6424429; 639-8056 Fully Furnished vacation home with all amenities- Call during working hours – Call: 227-1218 Furnished 1 & 2 bedrooms apartments: AC, grilled, parking (walking distance to Caricom & UG) – Call: 6233404 or 222-6708 Furnished executive one or two bedroom suites in Diamond. Ideal for foreigners. Call 609 2466. One bedroom apartment fully grilled, self contained @ Land of Canaan E.B.D – Call Navo: 644-6479; Bob: 6420867 Three bedrooms concrete top flat in Cane View Ave, South Ruimveldt Gardens $90,000 - Call: 218-1949

CATERING Catering for conference, retreats, weddings, re-union, family fun day and special events. Phone: 264-2946-8

9 Courses Diploma In computers: offices 2013, IT $30,000 @ Micrographics , Vreed-En-Hoop: 264-3057 Computerized Accounting Quick Books; Peach Tree; Excel 2013 @ Micrographics, Vreed-En-Hoop: 264-3057

PEN PAL Companion for retired gentleman 38yrs+. Reply with photo to bobbyother@yahoo.com

(From page 22)

EDUCATIONAL Learn a skill & supplement your income; course offered: Sewing, Floral, Curtain Design, Fabric paint & tie dye. Call: 661-7502

Rooms & Apartment in Alberttown & Eccles – Call: 225-3234 Two bedroom house - Contact Joy: 218-1285; 627-8562

One Store attendant, age range 19-27yrs @ Reliance Imports - Tel: 231-6854/ 6224773 One female to work in sackette & bar, must know to cook, age 20-35yrs - Call: 6477432, 223-5798 Live in driver/mechanic 3545 years for live in domestic Tel: 227-1813 (8-5pm) Persons to ironing & cleaner for office in Eccles – Call: 614-4358 Accounts Clerk, must be capable of preparing payroll and monthly vat - Call: 614-4358 Wash bay attendants, drivers license will be an asset - Tel: 629-5913 One domestic cleaner E.C.D Tel: 644-9802; 603-5416 1 Live in maid to work in Georgetown - Tel:691-6260 1 Cook to work in the interior Tel: 691-6260 One (1) porter, kindly apply with application to K&B Mining & Hardware Supplies, Lot 152 Church St, Alberttown - Tel: 225-0349; 222-2475

To live in with a single female 35-55yrs @ Lillandale Betterhope – Call: 687-6636; Beeson Window & Doors #622-4197 Urgently needed; attractive waitresses - Tel: 686-3116 Porters wanted to work at grocery stalls @ Stabroek Market – Tel:226-9800 Salesgirls & porters; apply with written application at Best Buy Food Supplies @ Lot 1E Dennis & Middleton Street Campbellville. Farm workers – Call: 265-3586 Hairstylists and Braidists needed at salon in Tortola. 5+ years working experience. Emailbvisalonowner @gmail. com or call 1-284-543-6822 Sales clerk to work @ Nanda’s Boutique 223 Camp St. Next to Shell Gas Station, apply with application Live in caretaker for sawmill at Linden Highway – Tel: 2612553 One welder, must know grill work Call: 625-5763 Switch to Gulf Motor Oil, Dealer & Distributors wanted nationwide – Call: 260-2037 or email sales@two2brotherscorp.com One male shop attendant, age 18-25 yrs and one grocery stall for sale - Call: 679-1151 We buy all low income land; pay all legal fees – Tel:6757292; 652-2018 Urgently! One security (preferably male) to live and work at Sawmill in Parika – Contact Suresh: 600-1212 Experienced dispatcher @ West Side Taxi – Call: 6000688; 600-0699

PROPERTY FOR SALE Land with small concrete house; for sale in Grove over 8,000 Sq. Ft. Call: 612-4030; 216-2759 Transported Property @ Grove/Diamond, 3 bedrooms, 1 self-contained, concrete fence, grilled store room & Shed, (45X26) – Call: 660-1353, 216-4338 Corner Property, Grove Public Road - $29M Neg. Call: 613-5645 Houses & house lots for sale in 1 of Guyana’s top luxury gated communities, located @ Eccles E.B.D Tel: 227-2913; 683-3033 3 Bedroom house & master bedroom, alarm, remote controlled garage door, approximately 8000 Sq.Ft land @ GuySuco Gardens $48M. Phone: 617-4261 2 Storied concrete house with 3 bedrooms at 8th Street Foulis Housing Scheme - Call: 256-3360; 685-8485 Two flat concrete and wooden building on land 76’X65’, East Street, Georgetown – Call: 225-6330 Property @ Water Pum Street Leonora (24X58) - Tel: 642-5799 One two storey, 3 bedroom wooden concrete house, fully grilled, ideal for business, spacious land at Enterprise – Call: 667-9781 Two storey building located at Lot 35 Ketley and Howes Street, Charlestown, prime location for business - Tel: 623-9679 Two storey wooden & concrete, three bedrooms, self contained with A/C @ Parika - Tel: 660-3118 House + land, E.C.D Covet John, Oil Mill Rd, need quick sale, no time wasters - $4M negotiable – Call Angie : 603-2405 Large house lot @ Zeeburg; fenced; bearing fruit trees; front & rear access – Call: 277-0024; 684-6106 Spacious 4 bedrooms two storied house, two large lots @ Zeeburg area, all amenities, move-in condition - Call: 277-0024; 684-6106 Haslington, E.C.D: Building ‘A’, concrete/ timber modern 2 storeys, 7 bedrooms, grilled & fenced. Building ‘B’, 3 apartments, fencedCall:255-3437; 698-3678

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Students encouraged to work towards realising change at UG

Some of the students at the UGSS-spearheaded rally on Thursday “Ask not what the political parties can do for you but what you can do for yourselves,” was the assertion of A Partnership for National Unity Member of Parliament, Christopher Jones. At the time he was meeting with the University of Guyana Students Society (UGSS) at a rally on Thursday.

Although Jones was reluctant at first to address the rally, he said that the APNU is committed to fully supporting the University students. He said that APNU has been quietly following the recent developments at UG, but has been careful not to become directly involved. He said that his party

wanted to avoid having the issue become politicised in the media. He however, noted that the APNU is ready and willing to lend any and all support to the institution of higher learning. This is in light of the fact, he noted, that the APNU sees education as an important factor to any nation.

Two men arrested last week by a party of police ranks for allegedly planning to invade the home of an Indian national have been remanded to prison. Junior Solomon, 24, a labourer of Second Street, Agricola, East Bank Demerara and Kelvin Niles, a carwash attendant of Second Street, Agricola, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on charges of conspiracy to commit a felony. The charge jointly read to them by Magistrate Fabayo Azore allege that between January 24 and January 25, last, at Georgetown they conspired with each other and another person unknown to commit a felony. The men pleaded not guilty and sought bail through their lawyers. Police Prosecutor, Inspector Michael Grant explained that about 21:00 hours on January 24, last the police received information that a robbery was about to happen. Grant said, as a result, a

party of police ranks went to Sheriff Street where they spotted the two defendants sitting on a culvert. Grant said when questioned by the ranks, the duo claimed that they were waiting on someone. They were arrested and Solomon’s phone was reportedly taken away. The court heard that when the ranks checked the messages in Solomon’s phone, they saw one from “Tall Boy” which revealed that they were planning to rob an Indian national who lives in the vicinity. The robbery, he said, was slated to occur around 02:00 hours the next morning. Grant said the duo orally confessed to the plot and led the police to the man’s house in Bel Air, saying that that was their target. They were later charged. Solomon and Niles were represented by Attorneys-atLaw Patrice Henry and Paul Fung-a-Fat respectively. Both lawyers said that their clients have no priors.

Focusing on the alleged confession, Henry claimed that the police threatened to burn his client’s genitals and hands to do so. Fung-a-Fat said that while in custody, his client (Niles) was denied the right to a lawyer, even though he asked. Fung-a-Fat told the court that the duo has been in custody since Sunday, well in excess of the allowed 72 hours. He said the detention was unlawful and that “anything flowing from that illegality is also illegal.” On those grounds, the lawyers requested reasonable bail. Their application met with objections from Inspector Grant. The Prosecutor asked the court to consider the penalty the offence attracts and that the men provided the police with several different addresses. The Magistrate denied bail and the case will be called again on Monday (February 2) before the Chief Magistrate.

“Robbery planners” remanded

Although representatives from all of the major political parties were invited by the UGSS to hear the concerns of the students; there was no representations from the ruling People’s Progress Party or the Alliance for Change at the rally. The rally convened in the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) of the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen campus was one intended to solicit the support of students in order to bring about needful changes at the institution. Students of the University were in protest mode over a number of issues ranging from the suitable facilities to the lack of classes since Monday. The reason was the commencement of industrial action by staffers because of fallout over negotiations for salaries and other benefits. The industrial action had initially taken on the form of a sit-in but eventually morphed into a full-fledged picketing action at the Turkeyen campus. Students continued their activities on Thursday with the rally and a candlelight vigil yesterday. Other activities are being proposed if a resolution is not realised. At the rally UGSS President, Joshua Griffith, said that there are only a few things

requested by staffers of the university in order for classes to resume as soon as possible. These include the withdrawal of a new work load policy being imposed by the University’s administration and a 60 per cent salary hike across the board. In order to encourage the return to normalcy at the university, students, led by the UGSS executive, decided to ink a letter to the university council and the Vice Chancellor, asking for an extraordinary meeting to be held to resolve the “unfortunate situation” including the absence of classes and the general substandard conditions at the University. That meeting was slated for yesterday and it is hoped that classes could commence on Monday as efforts will be made to improve the general conditions of the facility soon after. And this is particularly imperative, Griffith noted since the existing concerns at the university currently are similar to what was obtained in the past. “Deteriorating conditions, grades not on time...and the question we should ask ourselves ‘how long will we allow this to go on?’ and the other question we should ask ourselves is ‘are we ready to do what it

takes to address this?’” said Griffith. He added that a University that has evidently evolved over time in terms of its academic resources but “can’t keep its washroom clean, or cut the grass on time, or provide proper food services for the students, is really not a University at all.” According to him, the situation at UG is dire. Even stray dogs feel comfortable enough to share the classroom spaces with students. “Nobody can address these issues but ourselves,” said Griffith. He emphasised the need for more students to raise their voices in order to help effect change. “Unless we can motivate ourselves and each other to work towards addressing these (issues), things will remain the same and it is unfair to us; it is unjust,” added a very vocal Griffith who noted that students have the undeniable potential to do “big things.” He urged the students to take note of what the staffers have done in order to realise their few demands. “We as students who have a longer list of issues (often) find it difficult to come together to stand up for what we deserve. How long more? I think it’s time we bring an end to that...” asserted Griffith.

Farmland distribution disturb No. 40... From page 20 repossessed and re-assigned to other residents in the area. This, according to the former land holders, was done without reasonable explanation by the MMA/ADA. In a letter addressed to sections of the media, the residents stated that they were informed by Chairman of the MMA/ADA, Rudolph Gajraj that the repossession of land would be a last resort unless outstanding depts were paid off. The letter continued to detail a June 2008 meeting with the then Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud. It informed farmers that they were allowed to pay at least 30 percent of debts owed to avoid repossession. Patrick Hamilton, Chairman of the No. 40 Village Committee, explained that such payments were made by September last year, with farmers paying off up to 80 per cent of the debts owed. As of the end of last June, the outstanding debts of No. 40 Co-op stood at $4,241,458 with the overall community paying $3,353,000 by last September. However, despite this, residents of the area still had farmlands repossessed and reallocated. Even members of No. 40 Co-op like Randolph and Wil-

liam Hemerding, who paid their debt in full, lost lands which were granted to them by the government. According to Hamilton, up to 50 percent of the No. 40 Village Co-op members followed the protocol outlined by officials, but those same members suffered the dispossession of lands, in October, despite occupying the area since 1972. The villagers said that the reason for the dispossession was that members of the No. 40 Co-op had rented sections of the land to other villagers, which marked a breach in the state's agreement. Although this newspaper was made to understand that members who did not illegally lease lands and had paid off the balance owed, still had sections of their lands repossessed. Moreover, the members related that persons who

did receive the newly re-distributed farmlands were also illegally renting portions of No. 40 Co-op. Since occupying the area, the former landowners were adamant that they have never been accused of impropriety by any individual or institution. In the case of Alison Moore, she owned approximately 30 acres of farmland before the re-distribution process, but ended up with 15 acres despite being guaranteed the full return of the acreage. The MMA/ADA Chairman said that the reason for the repossession and reallocation of land, was due to the resident's breach of the MMA/ ADA agreement. He further clarified that the lands were not unfairly redistributed as they were given to other residents of No. 40 Village.

Yassin tells court of other... From page 6 balance of US$300,000. The receipt was also tendered as part of the evidence. The witness was also questioned about his investment of the United States business, Salmo Corporation in Royal Investments Inc. He responded that he and three other business partners split the cost equally to purchase the company for US$6 million. Mr. Yassin explained that Salmo held agencies for some companies, including Lalah Curry Powder from India, Globe Corn Mutton, and Corn Beef from Australia. The next hearing will continue February 5, 2015.

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Hezbollah: we don’t want war C’bean regaining status as with Israel but do not fear it ‘preferred trafficking route’ BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Friday his group did not want war with Israel but was ready for one, and reserved the right to respond to Israeli attacks any time, anywhere. “We do not want a war but we are not afraid of it and we must distinguish between the two, and the Israelis must also

understand this very well,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said. Nasrallah was speaking at an event to commemorate the deaths of six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general killed by an Israeli air strike in Syria on Jan. 18. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah hit back on Wednesday with a rocket attack that killed two Israeli soldiers on the frontier

with Lebanon. The violence has raised tensions between Israel and Hezbollah to their highest point since they fought a 34-day war in 2006, but both sides have appeared to back away from further escalation. Branded a terrorist organization by Washington, the Shi’ite Hezbollah movement has both a military wing and a political party that is part of the Lebanese government. Addressing a hall full of supporters via video link, Nasrallah said it would hold Israel responsible for the assassination of any of its leaders or fighters. “We have the right to respond in any place and at any time and in the way we see as appropriate,” Nasrallah said. The speech was broadcast live on Arabic news channels and greeted by heavy celebratory gunfire in Beirut. Israel had no immediate comment after Nasrallah’s speech, but shortly beforehand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the upsurge in violence on Hezbollah’s Iranian sponsors.

WASHINGTON, DC, USA — Cocaine moving through the Caribbean to the United States increased by 400 per cent between 2011 and 2014, raising concerns that the region is regaining its status as a preferred trafficking route as obtained in the 1970s and 1980s. William Brownfield, assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, on Tuesday disclosed that cocaine flowing through the region moved from four per cent of what was consumed in the US in 2011 to 17 per cent last year. “... And while 17 per cent is obviously a tiny, tiny percentage of the more than 80 per cent that we believe passes through Mexico and Central America, nevertheless, it is an increase of more than 400 per cent in a period of only three years,” Brownfield told journalists at a meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC. “I suggest to you all... that this is a problem that will get worse before it gets better. It is a problem that cries out for greater co-ordination between the Governments and Atates of the Caribbean region and others of the international community. And it is a problem that calls for an integrated and comprehensive solution that addresses not just efforts against the traffickers themselves, but also stronger institutions, stronger economies that will attack the root causes that make communities and vulnerable people willing to co-operate with organised crime, or willing to purchase their product. And finally, it reminds us all that this is not a Caribbean issue, or a

William Brownfield Caribbean problem, it is an issue and a problem that affect the entire world,” said Brownfield, whose INL has about 5,000 employees spread across 70 countries. Only last year the State Department, in its 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, said the Caribbean was of deep concern as a transit zone for the trafficking of narcotics. At the time, the report stated that US-bound trafficking of cocaine through the region had increased from five per cent in 2011 to nine per cent in 2012. Jamaica, the 2014 report said, is a transit point for cocaine trafficked from “South America to North America and other international markets”. “Factors that contribute to drug trafficking include the country’s convenient geographic position as a waypoint for narcotics trafficked from Latin America; its lengthy, rugged and difficult-to-patrol coastline; a high volume of tourist travel and airline traffic; its status as a major transshipment hub for maritime containerised cargo; inadequate educational and employment opportunities for at-risk youth who engage in crime; and a struggling economy...,” the

report stated. On Tuesday, Brownfield suggested that the Caribbean is again beginning to look attractive to drug traffickers as transit through Mexico and Central America becomes more expensive. “As they look for alternatives [to the expensive routes] the old networks and the old routes through the Caribbean that were their preferred routes in the 1970s to the 1980s will look more attractive in the years ahead,” Brownfield said. However, he said that despite the fact that the transit trend is moving in the wrong direction, the cooperation that exists among the US, Jamaica and other Caribbean nations today is moving in the right direction, when compared to the 1980s and 1990s. “...There are many challenges... [and] I am signalling to everyone here that the trend line is moving in the wrong direction for the Caribbean with the amount of product imported in the United States through the Caribbean,” he said. “But I would suggest to you that, even under these circumstances, the challenges and the problems that Jamaica and the US have to deal with today in 2015 are far more positive than they were 30 years ago. The dominant crisis of the 1980s in the relationship between the Caribbean and the US is today one of many issues that we are trying to work on together,” Brownfield added, citing programmes like the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative through which the US, Jamaica and other Caribbean nations work together to combat transnational crimes and the narcotics trade.

J’ca Health Ministry heightens measles vigilance after US outbreak (Jamaica Observer) The Ministry of Health says it is closely monitoring the measles outbreak which has affected several states in the United States and Mexico. This follows a measles alert issued by the Caribbean Public Health Agency on Wednesday. Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Marion Bullock DuCasse notes that Jamaica has been free of local transmission of measles since 1991 because of the success of its Expanded Programme on Immunization.

However, she says the country still has to be vigilant as diseases can cross borders. DuCasse is urging all Jamaicans to ensure that they and their children are protected. She says parents who have not immunised their children against measles and other vaccine preventable diseases for their age should do so immediately. The health ministry has advised that the most common and first symptoms of measles include a fever, conjunctivitis or sore eyes and a runny nose.

It says small white spots usually develop inside the mouth a day or so later and that a harsh dry cough, reduction in appetite, tiredness, aches and pains are also usual symptoms. After several days, a rash erupts on the face and upper neck, which spreads downwards, reaching the hands and feet. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that is spread through direct contact and through the air. Complications include pneumonia and it can lead to death.

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ACP Reyes pleads not guilty to three criminal charges - granted $30,000 bail (Trinidad Express) With head held high, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Reyes pleaded “not guilty” yesterday when he appeared before an Arima Magistrate, on three charges related to his alleged conduct on a Caribbean Airlines Flight to Tobago last month. Dressed in shirt and jeans, Reyes stood in the prisoner’s dock of the Arima Magistrates’ Second Court before Magistrate Debbie Ann Bassaw. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Glenn Hackett was in court for the hearing. Reyes was charged under section 60(1) of the Civil Aviation Act with threatening the safety of the aircraft and passengers on board, using abusive and insulting language towards a crew member, and for intentionally interfering with crew members in the execution of their duties. The charges carry a maximum fine of $25,000 and up to a year in prison. After Bassaw read the charges to the ACP, he was asked to enter a plea. Reyes in a loud and emphatic voice, pleaded not guilty. Reyes was represented by attorney Lyndon Leu. Leu, in his application to the court for bail, noted that his client was 57 years old and lived with his wife and family in Mausica Lands, Arima. The attorney asked the magistrate consider that, before this incident, his client had a sterling service, having reached one of the highest

ranks in the service. Leu also made a formal application for disclosure in the matter, asking the police prosecution for relevant notes on the identification process; on witness statements, and other relevant documents which were pertinent to the case. Bassaw granted Reyes bail at $30,000 to be approved by the clerk of the peace or a cash alternative of $7,000. The matter was then adjourned to February 27. According to reports, at about 5 p.m. on December 18, Reyes, who at the time had recently been assigned as ACP for Tobago boarded a CAL flight at the Piarco International Airport. The ACP was heading to Tobago to assume his duties. However, while the plane was on the runway, Reyes reportedly got into an argument with flight attendants over a request that he switch off his cellular phone. This argument eventually led to the pilot having cause to return the plane to the terminal and Reyes was escorted off the plane to speak to security personnel of the Airports Authority of T&T (AATT). He was then allowed to leave and completed his journey to Tobago on a flight the following day. After they completed their shift that night, CAL crew members reported the incident to the Piarco Police Station, and in the coming weeks, the flight crew also

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Peter Reyes pointed Reyes out in an identification parade at a police station in Port of Spain. In an interview which followed, Reyes claimed that he had difficulties switching off the cellular phone which was issued to him by the TTPS. After the incident was made public, Reyes was transferred to the Community Relations Unit. The charges Reyes faced: 60 (1) (b) do any act that threatens the safety of the aircraft or of persons on board the aircraft. 60 (1) (c) use abusive language or insulting words towards a crew member or passenger. 60 (1) (d) intentionally interfere with the performance of duty by a crew member. Under Section 60 (5) any person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of twentyfive thousand dollars and imprisonment for one year.

T&T Speaker apologises: I never meant to mislead the House House Speaker Wade Mark yesterday afternoon apologised for his statement last week Friday during a motion of censure against Finance Minister Larry Howai, filed by political leader of the Independent Liberal Party, Jack Warner. Wade said he never meant to mislead the House, and had sent an apology letter to Chief Justice Ivor Archie. The censure motion failed last Friday and Warner packed up and walked out of the Parliament chamber, after Mark told the Parliament “I received only a few hours ago, a notice from the High Court of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, dated January 16, 2015, a matter involving Larry Howai and Azad Ali of the Sunshine Publishing Company Limited”. After it became known that it was Howai and not the High Court who had handed him the High Court document, there was widespread criticism and calls for Mark to step down.

However, when Parliament convened yesterday, Mark sought to bring an end to the matter. He said “Honourable Members, I sincerely regret the embarrassment to the Judiciary as my statement would have incorrectly conveyed the impression that the Judiciary had on its own volition notified me of a matter before it. On the 26th of January 2015, I wrote to the Honourable the Chief Justice expressing my regret and assuring him of the mutual respect and comity which exists between the Parliament and the Judiciary and to which this House is resolutely committed. The Honourable the Chief Justice on 27th January, 2015 acknowledged receipt of my letter” Wade added: “I also sincerely regret that through my error, it may have appeared that I wilfully misled this honourable House and for that I am most respectfully apologise. I wish to assure all honourable members that I never intended to misled this honourable house.

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England through to final... (From page 34) dismissal off the bowling of Axar Patel. Joe Root drove hard to give Stuart Binny a tough return catch. Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara came out looking suspiciously at the pitch, and got out softly to Binny. At 5 for 66, India looked like they could just come out with something to show for the tour, but Taylor and Buttler had other ideas. Until now it had seemed that Taylor had got stuck at one end, but in the company of Buttler he batted industriously. Around this time Ravindra Jadeja was introduced too, in the 21st over. Coming back from a shoulder injury, Jadeja didn’t have quite the zing his bowling earlier had. Easy

singles flowed, and with the asking rate in control the two batsmen had no problem accepting those singles. Buttler was three when he pushed Taylor for a non-existent single. Rahane swooped in fast from cover, and threw while diving but missed the stumps. Buttler was so far that had Rahane run in with the ball it would have still been close. On such moments are games turned. Buttler kept hitting the odd boundary off remotely loose balls without taking any risk, which gave Taylor the time to accumulate peacefully. For a situation as precarious as this, the two knocked off the remaining runs with relative ease. They hardly played an ill-

advised shot, and when they did - like Taylor did against Axar in the 39th over, jumping put of the crease and then sweeping because he had been beaten in the flight - they had the rub of the green going their way. This one went for four off the bottom edge. The boundary brought the target to under 50. England still didn’t stroll through with Taylor and Buttler falling just short of the target, but that was more reminder that they are England. They eventually won with 3.1 overs to spare. Scores: England 7 for 201 (Taylor 82, Buttler 67, Binny 3-33) beat India 200 (Rahane 73, Finn 3-36, Moeen 2-35) by 3 wickets.

Miller delighted with... (From page 35) their World Cup campaign on February 16 against Ireland, two days after the tournament bowls off. The West Indies World

Cup squad: Jason Holder (captain), Marlon Samuels (vice-captain), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan C a r t e r, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris

G a y l e , N i k i t a M i l l e r, D e n e s h Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, D a r r e n S a m m y, L e n d l Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor.

Saturday January 31, 2015 ARIES (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) A rush of intense love and romantic passion for a special someone might turn your mind toward marriage, Aries. TAURUS (Apr. 20–May 20) Today you could experience a strong desire to clear your psyche of past traumas that limit you, Taurus. GEMINI (May 21–June 20) Love, passion, romance, and marriage - your mind will focus on these matters all day even if there's no special person in your life right now, Gemini.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Today you may decide to study healing, Libra. You could read about alternative methods regarding diet, herbs, or massages. SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) Today you might decide to sign up for an advanced course of some kind, Scorpio. SAGIT(Nov.22–Dec.21) You will be too preoccupied with your thoughts. Write them down. You will want to remember them later.

CANCER (June 21–July 22) The approach of a very special visitor might cause you to thoroughly clean your house, Cancer.

CAPRI(Dec.22–Jan.19) If you've considered a career in healing, psychic, or spiritual studies or the creative arts, today the opportunity.

LEO (July 23–Aug. 22) Romantic novels and movies could be more appealing than usual today, Leo. You're in an especially intense mindset.

AQUARIUS(Jan.20–Feb.18) Romance could be on your mind today, Aquarius. This could be due to a recent wonderful encounter with a love partner.

VIRGO (Aug. 23–Sept. 22) The creative arts could be involved, as well as technology. Be prepared for a busy month, but it will be a great one. Go for the gold!

PISCES (Feb. 19–Mar. 20) You will want to show your work to others and seek their opinions and approval. Your business acumen could be as active as your artistic side.

West Demerara Guinness ‘Greatest of de Streets’ Futsal Competition

Den Amstel, Showstoppers, Raiders lead charge into quarter-finals - KO phase starts tonight Despite going down by a 1-0 margin to Uitvlugt, tournament favourite Den Amstel earned enough points in the preceding rounds to make it to the quarter-finals of the West Demerara Guinness ‘Greatest of de Streets’ Futsal Competition which continued on Thursday night at Vergenoegen Rice Mill Tarmac. Playing before a fair-sized crowd in overcast conditions, Uitvlugt came into the contest needing a victory to clinch a spot in the last eight gave early notice of their intentions, missing the mark close on two occasions, before Colin Benjamin reached on to an exquisite pass from the veteran Owen McGarrell and lashed home his effort. Den Amstel looking to keep their unblemished record intact, tried vigorously to get the equaliser, but robust defending and some threatening counter-attacks kept them apprehensive for the most part and that posture lasted until the final whistle sounded to hand Uitvlugt a well deserved win and a place in the quarter-finals. P o u d e r o y e n Showstoppers, one of the teams that opened the night with an unbeaten record, kept a clean slate when they beat Samaroo Dam 2-0 with Marvin Josiah firing them into the lead with a fierce right-footer, before he returned to nail the coffin four minutes later. Raiders then cemented their spot in the quarters after cruising past a game, but clearly overpowered Demerara Speedboat unit by a 3-0 margin. On target for the winners was Kevin Marshall, who netted in the 6 th minute, Alanzo Bowman in the 18th and Ronsdale Knight, who entered the scoresheet six minutes later. West Side Ballers through an 18th minute effort from Dwayne St. Kitts was all that was needed to eliminate Jetty, while Brothers United made it to the knockout stage after registering an impressive 3-0 triumph over host Vergenoegen All Stars. Adami Hoyte hammered in the 13th and 22nd minutes, while Gadi Hoyte had given them the ascendancy as early as the 4th minute of play. Also, booking their place in the next round was Patentia Street Ballers who survived a

keen tussle against Majee Street, before coming away with a tense 3-2 win in sudden death kicks. The two teams failed to break a 0-0 deadlock at the end of regulation time. Admiral United squeezed past Showtime 2-1 on penalty kicks after regulation time ended 1-1. Kevon McPherson put Admiral United ahead after 22 minutes, Toine Lopes’s penalty two minutes later levelled the proceedings. Earlier, Golden Stars set the tone for the evening when they edged DeKinderen 1-0 even though it did not save them from being eliminated. Sebastian Edwards’ goal in the 20 th minute merely ensured that they finished the tournament on a high. Jetty Gunners returned to play against Samaroo Dam in what was both teams second fixture of the night and the former prevailed 3-2 in

sudden death penalties after regulation time ended 0-0. Action in the competition resumes tonight at the same venue commencing from 20:00 hrs. In the first game, DeKinderen United tackle West Side Ballers and that will be followed by the clash between Showstoppers and Brothers United from 20:30hrs. Patentia Street Ballers then square off against Uitvlugt, before Den Amstel engage Raiders. The winning team will receive $300,000 and the championship trophy, runnerup $150,000, 3 rd place$100,000 and 4 th place$75,000. There will be a Fair Play prize which is worth $50,000, while the top two finishers will advance to the national playoffs.

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Saturday January 31, 2015

Government should do more for cricket Mayor’s Cup says ex Port Mourant test cricketer football continues tonight in Berbice By Sean Devers

At age 65, former Guyana and West Indies left-handed batsman Alvin Isaac Kallicharran wants to return home to work with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to help improve Guyana’s cricket by focusing his attention on the grassroots programmes, especially at school and club levels. The former Berbice batsman feels it’s a serious challenge to improve Guyana’s cricket if the school system is not working since that is the nursery of cricket in any nation. Kallicharran, who scored 12 centuries in 66 Tests and played 31 ODIs in a career which spanned from 1972 when he scored a debut ton against New Zealand at Bourda, and 1981 when he played his last Test and ODI, wondered why there is little space for former players to contribute to West Indies cricket and says he wants to work with youths. It is with this background that Kallicharran, regarded as this country’s most complete batsman to both pace and spin, sat down yesterday with executives of the GCB to discuss his possible involvement with that entity. One of 17 Berbicians to wear the maroon West Indies Cap in Test Cricket and one of seven from the famous Port Mourant club, Kallicharran proves that good things, in fact great things, come in small packages. Standing just 5ft 4ins, Kallicharran’s strength, despite a diminutive size, was his magnificent timing and exemplary footwork as he gloriously demonstrated by dish-

ing out a sound beating on hostile Australian fast bowlers Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thompson in the 1975 World Cup. He plundered a merciless 78 with 14 fours and one six from only 83 deliveries and took on Lillie with several audacious hooks and pulls. It was one of the most spectacular innings in World Cup history. But to many, Kallicharran’s best Test innings was his elegant 158 against England in Trinidad in 1973-4. This fantastic exhibition of batting was controversially halted at 142 when he was run out by Tony Greig who threw down the stumps at the bowler ’s end. Kallicharran was given out by Umpire Douglas Sang Hue only to be reinstated next morning. Now that his cricketing days are long over he now wants to give back but apparently the Government is not as interested as it claims in youth development through sports. “Three years ago I sent my CV to the Government and they sent a reply to say they received my CV and that they would make contact me. I am still waiting for a reply today,” Kallicharran, who grew up in the same village that produced former Guyana President Dr Cheddi Jagan, lamented. “Cricket remains the same today as it was when I played. Cricket has not changed but a lot of other things have, including the way the young players think and what influences them to perform. When I played it was not all about money but the willingness to

do the basics right, put in the hard work and the pride you felt when the West Indies won,” Kallicharran recounted. He noted that there are not enough cricket facilities as there were in the 1960s, 70s & 80s. This might sound strange at a time when Government boast of investing millions to sporting grounds but Kallicharran explains. “When I played and even after my time, the Sugar Estates made sure that Berbice alone had four First-Class grounds, all controlled by Guyana Sugar Corporation. We had Skeldon, Albion, Rose Hall Canje and Blairmount, where Roy Fredericks came from. Plus there were other grounds on the East Coast and in West Demerara, like Uitvlugt, Leonora, Versailles and Wales which were all controlled by the Sugar Industry,” Kallicharran remembered. “When Guyana’s Cricket was strong there were several good facilities but when the Sugar Industry pulled out and could no longer sustain their grounds, the Government did not do their part and Guyana’s cricket lost out,” said Kallicharran, one of several gifted Guyanese stroke-players who followed in the footsteps of fellow Berbice greats Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon and Fredericks. When asked why he did not go to the Kerry Packer series in 1978 when West Indies Captain Clive Lloyd and most of the players in the West Indies team accepted contracts which paid them far more than the WICB, Kallicharran explained. “In the 1975 World Cup we were paid 1000 pounds and

of course we thought we deserved more but when the Packer series came up I did not know what to expect there, so I did not take the chance to go. In addition Warwickshire would not have renewed my contract if I went to play for Kerry Packer,” Kallicharran disclosed. Kallicharran, who scored 87 centuries from 505 FirstClass games, said if his discussions with the GCB prove fruitful he would relocate from England where he resides, adding that he is passionate about working with youths. Kallicharran is just one of the former greats to be shunned by this Government when they wanted to give back to the sport that made them famous. Just ask Colin Croft for his story. Kallicharran said he did not know all the facts and would refrain from commenting on the non-selection of Keiron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo but would hope that whoever goes to the World Cup understand how important they are as West Indian cricketers and give of their best at all times. It seems as if the battle with the Guyana Government and GBC, who both head towards their respective Elections, is far from being resolved. It also seems that Dr Winston McGowan, the Ombudsman appointed by the Sports Minister, was out of Town this week attending a Church conference and could not be reached because he does not own a mobile phone. It is however good news that a cricketing icon like Alvin Kallicharran wants to get involved and only time will tell if he can make a difference.

Belichick sees ‘relentless’ Seattle as model for others PHOENIX (Reuters) - New England head coach Bill Belichick is not known for heaping compliments on his own team, but when it comes to Sunday’s Super Bowl opponents the Seattle Seahawks, the Patriots coach has not been shy in expressing his admiration. A joint news conference with his opposite number Pete Carroll by its nature encouraged polite words, but Belichick was unusually fullsome in his praise. “They compete relentlessly as well as any team or any organization I’ve ever observed,” said

Belichick. “The thing that impresses me the most and the thing that I guess I would like to do a better job of is just the way that his teams play for 60 minutes. They play from the opening kickoff to the final whistle or the final gun. “They play extremely hard down after down after down, week after week, year after year,” he said. The Seahawks illustrated that point perfectly in their remarkable comeback win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game, which they won in overtime after trailing 16-0 at

Bill Belichick (Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports) the half. “They’re just never going to let up in any phase of the game: offense, defense, special teams, the receivers, the defensive backs, the linemen, the quarterback,” Belichick said. “Everybody just

competes at such a high level for every single second that they’re out there, and I think that’s a great credit and attribute to Pete and his staff. The players they brought in there, they’re just relentless in the way that they play.

Play in the Mayor’s Cup football tournament continues tonight at the Number 5 Ground in West Berbice with a double header starting at 7:00pm. Following opening action last evening at Victoria on the East Coast, the train moves to West Berbice and two exciting games are anticipated. The opening fixture will see Rosignol United of the West Berbice battling rivals Cougars of New Amsterdam, while in the nightcap at 9:00pm Monedderlust also of the West Berbice tangle with New Amsterdam United. More play is scheduled for tomorrow this time in Georgetown at the GFC ground. Santos face Mahaica, while Camptown challenge Ann’s Grove in two East Coast versus Georgetown teams encounters.

Burrell warns Reggae Boyz of wider Caribbean threat BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Jamaica Football Federation president, Captain Horace Burrell, has warned of the threat coming from smaller Caribbean nations in the upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and says the Reggae Boyz will have to be well prepared in order to prevail. Speaking to CMC Sports in Miami, Florida recently, the veteran football administrator praised the development taking place in CONCACAF, and forecast this would result in an unpredictable but enthralling qualifying campaign. “I think we’re going to have a couple of surprises because football is sometimes tricky, and I say this because it is very difficult to predict,” Burrell pointed out. “What I find is that over the years I have grown to see some of the small nations play their best games against the more established nations within the Caribbean region. So I am not expecting a walkover nor am I expecting it to be predictable, it’s going to have a lot of twists and turns.” Burrell was one of several association heads in Miami recently to witness the draw for the first two rounds of qualifying. Round one, which kicks off March 23rd, will see the 14 lowest-ranked teams in the region compete in homeand-away ties, with the seven winners advancing to the second round to take on 13 teams. Round two, starting June 8th, involves St Vincent & the Grenadines, Guyana, Antigua & Barbuda, St Lucia, Puerto Rico, Grenada, Canada, Guatemala, Aruba, El Salvador, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Suriname. Jamaica’s Reggae

Boyz will begin their involvement from round three, facing the ten winners from round two, along with Haiti, starting September 8th. Burrell said, though he was expecting an improved challenge from their traditional Caribbean rivals, he believed Jamaica had the talent and would be well prepared enough to reach the World Cup finals for the second time in their history. “They (Jamaica) are the team that every country in the Caribbean wants to beat, and I understand that. That is how the sport of football goes,” he stressed. “We are wary of the Caribbean teams, we know what they are capable of. Even in the recent Caribbean Cup, you would have realised that all of the teams play their best game against Jamaica, so we’re not expecting anything different when it comes to the World Cup qualifying. “We expect that [opposition] to be even more pronounced, so we look forward to a great series.” He continued: “The standard of football in Jamaica has improved significantly over the years, and you just have to look at the number of players we now have in the leagues across the world. We have in excess of 40 professional players who have emerged since the last decade and a half so it tells you we are improving and doing well.” Burrell, also a powerful CONCACAF vice-president, said the overall standard in the confederation had risen appreciably, and said the Reggae Boyz would no longer easily dominate as they used to in the past.

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

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Cooper wants spot in Djokovic beats Wawrinka, into T&T PCL 4-Day team fifth Australian Open final

Kevon Cooper Trinidad Express - Port of Spain, Trinidad - Despite being released from his Indian Premier League Twenty20 franchise Rajasthan R o y a l s l a t e l a s t y e a r, Trinidad and Tobago allrounder Kevon Cooper is still optimistic that 2015 will be a good year for him. The 25-year-old Cooper played a key role in T&T’s successful Nagico Super50 campaign and said he has been working extra hard to try and regain his place in the T&T four-day team. In addition to helping T&T clinch the Super50 title, Cooper is also one of four players retained by Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 franchise the T&T Red Steel ahead of the 2015

tournament “I am retained with the Red Steel, so that is good news and I hope there will be some more good things to come for me in 2015,” Cooper told the Express following the Red Force Super50 win last Sunday. The other players that will most likely be retained by the Red Steel include Samuel Badree and Dwayne and Darren Bravo. “I must say thanks to the Almighty because without him nothing is possible. I worked really hard to try and get back into the Trinidad team after losing my IPL contract and then being left out of the Trinidad four-day team,” said Cooper. “It was up to me to really

LABA holds meeting today With plans to hold its Annual General Meeting and Elections in two weeks time, the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) will today hold a special meeting for its affiliated clubs at 3.30pm at the Mackenzie Sports Club Lounge. Those clubs invited to send two representatives are Kings, Amelia’s Ward Jets, Retrieve Raiders, Half Mile Bulls, Victory Valley Royals, Block 22 Flames, Blueberry Hill, Bankers Trust Falcons and Wismar Pistons. Tentatively set for this meeting, are plans for the staging of the Annual General

Meeting of the Association, which is tentatively set for Sunday 15th February, at 3.30pm at the Linden Enterprise Network, Macaw Boardroom. Also to be looked at are the staging of Referees and a Table Officials’ Clinic, National Club Championship 2015 Road to Mecca, Linden club competition (s) among others will be discussed. Each club is asked to attend by sending two representatives who will register their players on the official LABA Players Form and Club Affiliate Form to be returned before the AGM.

train hard with my club Queen’s Park during the off days when I was not training with the national team. I have been doing a lot of work with my batting and I must say thanks to Kelvin Williams for really helping me with my bowling and David Furlonge who was always willing to work with me,” Cooper explained. “Last year I played with T&T in the Super50 and we lost in the final, so this is my first 50 over title with T&T and I am grateful. I think I have improved in all areas of my game and it goes to show that if you work hard, you will reap the rewards.” Cooper added that, “I hope this is not the end for me. I will continue to work hard. If I am not in the fourday set-up, I will continue training with Queen’s Park and hopefully I can take my game to next level,” he added. In the Super50, Cooper earned the Man-of-theMatch award for his unbeaten 62, which was his maiden regional 50-over half century, against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in a lowscoring match. He also bowled well, grabbing two for 13 off against the Combined Campuses and Colleges and three for 34 against Jamaica. “We have world-class players on this team. Every game somebody put up their hand. If it was not me it was Ravi Rampaul, it was Rayad Emrit, Jason Mohammed, Dwayne, Darren (Bravo), Sunil (Narine). That is what this team is about. It is not a one-man show,” said Cooper.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic once again stood tall at the Australian Open as he reached his fourth final in the past five years with another five-set victory over Stan Wawrinka, the man who dumped him out of Melbourne Park last year. Djokovic, bidding to become the first man to win five Australian Open titles since the game went professional in 1968, ran hot and cold but seized the points that mattered on Friday to beat the defending champion 7-6(1) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0. “As it was the case in the last two years we played five sets and I was ready for the battle,” Djokovic said in a courtside interview. “We pushed each other to the limit. “Stan is a quality player. I made my life very complicated on the court.” The Serb world number one’s life will not get any easier on Sunday when he faces old friend Andy Murray, with the Briton looking to win his first Melbourne Park title in his fourth final. “Andy and I go back to when we were 12 years old, that’s when we first played each other,” Djokovic added. “We’ve known each other a long time, it’s nice to play another grand slam final against him.” NO TOMORROW Wawrinka had steadfastly refused to be drawn into comparisons to his grand slam tilt last year by sticking to a mantra, ‘this is a new year, nothing in the past counts for today or tomorrow’. Aware the result of Friday’s match could mean there was no tomorrow this year at Melbourne Park, on his march to Rod Laver Arena his eyes searched for the large picture of himself that is the most recent in the ‘Walk of Champions’. Symbolism, and history, were not on Wawrinka’s side. Djokovic’s picture occupies all three of the spots before his and the Swiss had won just

three of their 19 previous encounters. The past two at Melbourne Park, however, had been modern day epics. Both went to five sets with the winner then going on to clinch the title and anticipation had been high for ‘The Djoker v the Man 3.0’. On Friday, the standard of play was not as high as in the past, indeed Djokovic was atypically enigmatic and lacking in vigour, though there were flashes of genius, with both applauding shots that were simply too good for their opponent. Statistically little separated the pair, but the points Djokovic won were more crucial, especially early in the fifth set that allowed him to break twice and race through the decider. FIRST-TIME PAIRING Earlier, American Bethanie Mattek-Sands won her second Australian Open doubles title after she and Lucie Safarova combined to beat China’s Zheng Jie and her Taiwanese partner Chan Yung-jan. Mattek-Sands won the mixed doubles title at Melbourne Park with Romania’s Horia Tecau in 2012, but it was her first grand slam women’s doubles title. They beat four seeded pairs on their way to the final, before they secured the title with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over the 14th seeds. The unseeded duo were playing their first tournament together and are the first new pairing to win the women’s doubles title at Melbourne Park since 2005, having got together the day before they played singles. “I know some teams kind of plan for the year a little bit,” the American said. “During the off-season it was literally, ‘let’s play Australian Open’. “We practiced the day before we played singles here. “No doubles practice. Actually, we didn’t even really know which side we were going to play.

Ginola withdraws FIFA presidency bid

LONDON (Reuters) Former France winger David Ginola has abandoned his bid to stand in the FIFA presidential elections after failing to secure the five FA nominations needed, he said on Friday. The 48-year-old launched his surprise attempt to oust Sepp Blatter as head of world football’s ruling body under the slogan “Rebooting Football” two weeks ago. Ginola’s campaign was exposed as little more than a publicity stunt, however, when a bookmaking firm said they paid him 250,000 pounds to stand. “I have to conclude that having not obtained confirmation of the required five nominations by the (Thursday) deadline that unfortunately I will not be able to continue with my FIFA presidential candidacy,” Ginola said in a statement. “Contrary to some reports I did not withdraw. Just as I did as a player, I gave everything until the final

Former footballer David Ginola from France speaks at a press conference where he announced his campaign to stand for the FIFA presidency in London, January 16, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall whistle. “Today I have mixed emotions. There is disappointment, anger, but there is also hope. I’m very proud of my campaign and the policies I proposed to reform football,” added Ginola. “I want to thank all those who supported me, football fans, member associations, players and journalists. I am a stronger person for this experience. “I have no regrets. And the fight to put transparency, democracy and

equality at the heart of the game we love goes on,” added Ginola. FIFA will announce the list of election candidates on Feb. 8. Blatter, bidding for his fifth term in office, and former Portugal playmaker Luis Figo have confirmed they are standing. Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, Michael van Praag of the Netherlands and former FIFA official Jerome Champagne are also expected to submit their nominations.

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Kaieteur News

Saturday January 31, 2015

LENNOX ALLEN Making the third returns to the ring coming of Shabazz count Proves ‘Too Sharp’ for Ghanian opponent Letter to the Sports Editor

Lennox ‘Too Sharp’ Allen defied a prolonged hiatus from the ring, and returned with a bang when he unleashed a two fisted attack on Kojo Issah of Ghana and won in just 51 seconds of their scheduled 6 rounds middleweight bout at the BB King Blues Club & Grill, New York, Thursday evening last. Ironically, Allen’s last bout before his hiatus, in August 2013, was also against a boxer out of Ghana, Michael Gbenga, whom he defeated on points in a 6 rounds middleweight affair. Kaieteur Sport engaged Allen moments after his lopsided victory and he was especially elated with his accomplishment. He said that it felt good to be trading punches once again. He further explained that he had experienced issues with his managerial group, Boxing 380, and had sought the intervention of

the courts. During that time he was relegated to just gym work while awaiting the verdict. Allen told Kaieteur Sport that those matters have since been resolved in his favour and he is now resuming his career under a new promotional group, Debella Promotions, with manager, Stephen Hyde. “I am now comfortable and will resort to my winning ways,” Allen promised. The lanky pugilist was well on his way to world acclaim before experiencing managerial problems and before last night’s fight had amassed a commendable record of 17 wins of his 18 fights with just one blemish, a drawn decision against Darnell Boone in August 2010. Allen also fought in several countries including Australia in March 2005, when he defeated Joe Lopez, Indone-

sia, one year later, where he won from Ade Alfons and then St Lucia in November 2007 where he defeated Jonathon Nelson. Thursday’s victory has pushed Allen’s record to 180-1 with 11 knockouts. His knockout ratio has also improved to a commendable 57.89. Before migrating to the USA, Allen had defeated his compatriot, Kwesi Jones, in May 2011, to clinch the World Boxing Council Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBC CABOFE) middleweight title. He had also KOed Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes in the 2nd round in June 2009 to take the local super/ middleweight title. Allen is not certain when he will next enter the ring but exuded confidence that whoever he faces will be on the losing end. “My career is back on track,” he confidently exhorted. (Michael Benjamin)

DEAR SPORTS EDITOR, Mission Impossible, Lethal Weapon, Rush Hour and Bad Boys - what does my movie interests have to do with the strange world of Guyana Football? All those movies have various sequels and as I observed the local media headline about the “third coming of Shabazz” ahead of the team’s upcoming friendly with Barbados, like the aforementioned films one can only hope this time that the Guyana football fraternity doesn’t mess this up. Trinidad Media folks at times find amusement that he has returned, but Guyana is fortunate that his “obsession” with the nation (as he said) is still strong. I was lucky to be the media officer for the Golden Jaguars during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and after building a relationship with many of the players, I was disappointed like many from that campaign to see the team not kick a ball in two years. However some of the criticism that former president Christopher Matthias tended to receive was very hard to understand. If people felt the Guyana Cricket issues that the WICB has done an excellent job of making worse every year is bad, then noise coming out of the Guyana’s football echo chamber made deciphering the truth a needle in a haystack job. One has to wonder how one of the worst run football administrations among the 209 FIFA affiliates, that

has never had a serious professional league or clubs, a national stadium comparable to Ato Bolton Stadium in Trinidad or the Andre Kamperveen Stadium in Suriname or produced a player to play in the major European leagues - can have so much fighting. FIFA installing a normalization committee with individuals who have no background in football to halt this drama is a clear indictment on all those who claim to be football administrators in Guyana. FIFA must take blame though, since such a committee is probably 10 years too late. When Jack Warner was around he intercepted all complaints about Colin Klass and allowed the seeds of administrative folly to grow. In my own research and conversations with former President Christopher Matthias I saw a lot of disconcerting documents regarding the financial state of the GFF. It was bad enough that if Guyana stopped playing football at all levels to just pay off all debts, I could understand. Of course things were not perfect under him, but nothing was crazier that the criticism that Matthias did not want “foreign players” in the team. It has to go down as one of the most misconstrued sporting interviews I’ve ever seen. What he said doesn’t need repeating, but established CFU giant Jamaica had the same issue with foreign players during the hexagonal stage of the 2014 world cup

qualifiers. JFF president Horace Burrell went on a European hunt (even trying to get Raheem Sterling to play for Jamaica) seeking every player with Jamaican heritage to play for the national team. As the Reggae Boyz struggled versus the CONCACAF giants, Burrell was criticized for not putting things in place to develop local players properly since their only world cup appearance in 1998. Sound familiar? If Guyana had managed to miraculously get past their group with Mexico and Costa Rica, they were set to do the same because I know many foreign players were contacted with some rejecting or putting the Jaguars on hold most notably Aston Villa’s Fabian Delph and Denmark’s Martin Braithwaite. CFU teams clearly need foreign talent if they want to challenge CONCACAF’s elite, but other than Trinidad & Tobago to some extent most nations have not got the balance between that and local player development correct. Shabazz will do well - we have seen this movie before. The presence of a qualified technical director will certainly make his job easier than the first two times. But we have also seen the ending when he leaves and despite the current optimism in the air an equal sense of trepidation is also merited until the day Guyanese prove they know how to manage football unless Jamaal Shabazz is around. Colin Benjamin.

PLANET PAINTBALL SEASON RE-OPENS

The Planet Paintball Guyana (PPG) 2015 Season continues this weekend at its Woolford Avenue Paintball Park, after re-opening last weekend with what was described as a great and enthusiastic turnout to fire off the continued growth of the sport. Reona Cathro, PPG Chief Executive Officer, told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that the reopening of the Woolford Avenue Park marks the commencement of what promises to be an exciting year for the sport in Guyana with many improvements on the field design. “The style of field in term of layouts, the introduction of mid-week games played under lights and a few more surprises for both the recreational and more serious players are all in store this year,” Cathro said. The PPG Chief Executive went on to state that the 2015 Season will also see games reopening on PPG’s Dakota Park (Soesdyke/ Linden Highway) on February 21, and thereafter, the last Sunday of every month.

“The major new game format on the Dakota Park is the introduction of the Ultimate Woodsball League (UWL) rules matches,” she highlighted, stating that that format follows the recognition of the prestigious USbased UWL of PPG efforts in Guyana. PPG are the official representatives of the League in Guyana and “we can now move to a level in the sport where Guyanese players can be ranked against players from all around the world. This is something we at PPG are very proud of and know will only serve to further develop the sport of paintball in the country,” Cathro continued. Those wishing to become part of the sport can contact Cathro on 668-2344, visit their facebook page at Planet Paintball Guyana or turn up at any of the PPG Paintball Parks and join in the fun. Cathro indicated that PPG is proud to be the leading Paintball Park in Guyana.

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

Guyanese Martial Artists turn in good performances in US tourney

A

tlantic City is a resort city in New Jersey in the USA and is famously known for its casinos, boardwalk and beach, but from January 23-25 the main focus at the Tropicana Casino & Resort was the Martial Arts Championship held there and included a contingent from Guyana. The Guyanese turned in good performances in the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honor and Martial Arts Championship and according to Roland Eudoxie, Director/Sensei of Tang Soo Do International Guyana he returned home on Wednesday after taking a team to the USA for the Martial arts championship and very pleased with the performances of his charges. Sensei Eudoxe, a 2nd Dan Black Belt informed that he finished 1st in Stick

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Tiger Woods hits worst round of his pro career at Phoenix Open Woods rues a missed putt on the 10th green at Scottsdale. (Getty Images)

From left - Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Hon. Frank Anthony, Sensei Roland Eudoxe, Shidanshi Nicholas Braithwaite, Floyd Morris & Permanent Secretary Alfred King. Fighting, 3rd in Board Breaking & also received an award for his Outstanding Dedication in the Martial

Arts. In the18-34 age group Black Belt category Shidanshi Nicholas Braithwaite copped the 2nd

Johnson returns to lead Guyana Jaguars West Indies batsman Leon Johnson has returned from South Africa to Captain the Guyana Jaguars for their next three games in Jamaica, St Kitts and Barbados, while Vishaul Singh who scored a century and did a wonderful job as leader in Johnson’s absence is the Vice-Captain. The Jaguars will be strengthened by the return of Narsingh Deonarine from South Africa, while Shemron Hetmyer has regained his spot in the team at the expense of out of form Trevon Griffith on the bank of a productive NAGICO Super50 playing for the West Indies under-19 team. The lively Keon Joseph is back for the Four-Day format in which the Jaguars lead the points table on 57 points. The team is scheduled to depart Guyana on Wednesday for Jamaica where they face second place Jamaica in their own back yard. Assad Fudadin is not available due to his finger injury. Guyana Jaguars: Leon Johnson (Captain), Vishaul Singh(ViceCaptain),Rajendra Chandrika, Shemron Hetmyer, Narsingh Deonarine, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble(W/Keeper), Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo,

Leon Johnson

Keon Joseph, Ronsford Beaton, Rayon Griffith (Manager/Assistant Coach, Esuan Crandon (Coach),Paul Gomes (Physio)

spot in Stick Fighting, while Floyd Morris took the 1st place in Sparing in the 7-9 age-group. Eudoxe thanked the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, Office of the Prime Minister, Demerara Harbour Bridge, Farfan & Mendes, U-Mobile Cellular Inn and family & friends for their support in making the journey possible.

BBC Sport - Tiger Woods recorded the worst round of his professional career with an 11-over-par 82 in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The 39-year-old former world number one was playing in his first PGA Tour event of the season. After also struggling on day one in Arizona, carding a 73, he was left in 132nd place in a field of 132 and certain to miss the cut. “I’ve got to keep this in perspective. Sometimes that’s hard to do,” he said. The 14-time major champion made six bogeys, two double bogeys, a triple bogey and two birdies in his round at TPC Scottsdale. It was his worst performance as a professional golfer since he shot an 81 at Muirfield in the 2002 Open - a round that was completed in a storm that made good scoring impossible. Woods missed much of last season - including the Ryder Cup - after undergoing back surgery in March. He said that had not played a part in his poor round, adding: “We all have days like this. Unfortunately mine was in a public forum and a public setting but we all have days like this and we take the good with the bad.”

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Kaieteur News

Saturday January 31, 2015

England through to final, India winless on tour

ESPNcricinfo - England made heavy weather of a small target on a WACA pitch of yore, making their way to the final against Australia on Sunday and keeping India winless on their tour of Australia. Once again their bowlers pulled India back after a decent start, keeping them down to 200 after they had been 0 for 83, but their batsmen let the up-and-down pitch play on their minds to be 5 for 66 at one point. The nuggety James Taylor and the authoritative Jos Buttler, though, rescued them with a 125-run partnership that took just 23.2 overs. India have been no stranger to collapses on this tour, but it will hurt them that today’s came after Shikhar Dhawan had finally fought through a tough period and with Ajinkya Rahane looking on course to become only the second nonAustralian opener to score a century at the WACA Ground. While the two batted, the pitch looked like the normal WACA one, but once the wickets began to fall, the real monsters showed up. In one over MS

Dhoni was hit on the helmet and below the knee roll from similar length. Early in the chase Ian Bell fell lbw to a similar delivery, and the other England batsmen came in with an inherent mistrust of the pitch after that. India’s bowlers made it tough for England by staying accurate, but arguably England had caused the damage in the first half. Put in, India began the day all right but, after fighting it out through the tough period, Dhawan cut at Chris Woakes with no feet, and toe-ended him through to Buttler. At 1 for 83 in the 21st over, it was a decent platform for Virat Kohli to bat at No. 3 - India have been saving him should a wicket fall early - but India’s middle order fell to a familiar and unusual foe. Almost all through the Test series in the English summer, India didn’t quite figure out how to play Moeen Ali. They were caught between disdain and extreme caution, and on evidence of Friday, Moeen has the wood on them. Neither of his two next wickets - in the space of eight balls - had anything to do

Ajinkya Rahane’s half-century kept India steady. (Getty Images)

James Taylor and Jos Buttler shared in a 125-run stand. (Getty Images)

with the pitch. A moment after Buttler had asked the long-off to move a touch wider, Kohli looked to either clear him or beat him to his right, but couldn’t do either. This time India had Raina coming in at No. 4, and he left even before his eyes would have adjusted to the bright light in Perth. He repeated his Brisbane dismissal with a premeditated charge at Moeen, and this time he managed a thick edge as

opposed to the stumping at the Gabba. It can’t be easy for Ambati Rayudu, entering in the middle of another crisis. He is asked to bat at No. 3 when India start poorly, and here he would have been relegated had India lost their third wicket after the 35th over. Rayudu couldn’t handle the heat that was on, handing Stuart Broad his first wicket of the series after the bowler made a good comeback from his ordinary

first spell. Rahane meanwhile had got into a flow after the edgy start. The innings depended on him and Dhoni with England giving nothing away. You could sense a wicket around the corner, and to expedite it came the batting Powerplay. On cue Rahane opened the face when Steven Finn got the ball to hold its line. Once again Dhoni was caught at the death with no recognised batsman around him. Once

the pitch got Dhoni out, the rest imploded, except for some merry hitting from Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma, who was playing despite not being in the World Cup squad. The 35 the two added gave them something to bowl at, and they began well. From the time Bell fell to the shooter, there was unease among England batsmen. Pressure built, and Moeen pulled out a Kohli-like (Continued on page 25)

GSCL Inc postponed Hotel Riverton Suites supports Upper commencement of Corentyne U-19 50 overs cricket Republic Cup Due to the inclement weather which left the Demerara Cricket Club and Everest grounds in a soggy state, the Georgetown Softball Cricket League Inc (GSCL Inc) was forced to postpone the starting of the Republic Cup. The tournament was scheduled to commence today but will now get under way on February 7. Preliminary matches will continue on February 8 while the semi finals of the over-40 category will be played at Everest the same day. Everest will also host the finals on February 15. Admission to the venues is free. The winner of the over40 division will take home a trophy and $200,000 while the runner up will receive trophy and $100,000. Four teams will play each other in the open segment with the top two

Proprietor of Hotel Riverton Suites Dr. Pooran Seepersaud hands over the sponsorship cheque to UCCA President Mr. Dennis De Andrade. Also in photo are other executives of the UCCA.

Mahendra Hardyal teams going through to the final. The winner will grab a trophy and $150,000 and the runner up a trophy and $60,000. Mahendra Hardyal of GSCL Inc told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that the tournament is expected to be keenly contested since a number of the top teams will be participating.

Hotel Riverton Suites, located along the Public Road of Corriverton, has come on board for a second time to sponsor the Upper Corentyne Under-19 50 overs cricket competition in the Upper Corentyne. Proprietor of the hotel, Dr. Pooran Seepersaud, at a simple handing over ceremony done at the hotel

recently, mentioned that he is pleased with the work of the UCCA and committed himself to continue sponsoring the Under-19 competition in the area. At the presentation also, the UCCA President Mr. Dennis De Andrade thanked Dr. Seepersaud and his family for investing in the youths and their commitment to

cricket development in the Upper Corentyne area. The competition will feature five teams and will be played on a round robin basis with the top two teams playing in a grand final for the Hotel Riverton Suites Trophy. The teams are: Skeldon Community Centre, Crabwood Creek, No. 72 Cut and Load, Yakusari Cricket

Club and No. 48 Cricket Club. The competition will start on Saturday February 7, 2015 with first round matches as follows: Skeldon Community Centre VS. No. 72 Cut and Load at Skeldon, while No. 48 Cricket Club will host Yakusari Cricket Club. Crabwood Creek drew first round bye.

Saturday January 31, 2015

Kaieteur News

Page 35

Leacock/Fenty cop Men’s Open Tennis Title in Trophy Stall Doubles Tourney Last Sunday evening, the Leyland Leacock/Trevor Fenty duo brought down the curtains on the 2014 Trophy S t a l l D o u b l e s Te n n i s Tournament to cop the Men’s Open Doubles title after defeating the Khalif Gobin/William Spangler pair 6-4, 6-2. The match was played in the evening under flood lights at the Le Ressouvenir tennis courts. The expression in tennis which says that the score does not reflect the match was applicable to this encounter since spectators witnessed team momentum shifts, punctuated with the ability of all of the players to drop big serves. Spangler served first and was broken but managed to return the favour to Leacock’s service game, leveling the tie at 1-1. Junior National Squad player Gobin held service for his team with his flavor of powerful serves, which were later answered by Fenty’s

Leyland Leacock and Nicholas Fenty signature kick serves. The game continued to progress at a balance 4 for 4 until Fenty and Leacock broke and sped away to win the first set 6-4. They seemed more determined in the final

set and took an early break towards finally securing the second set at 6-2. On Friday, the Over 35 Men’s Doubles category concluded with fierce competitiveness in their

Godfrey Lowden and Omar Persaud encounters much to the delight of the few spectators who felt that this was a breath of fresh air to rejuvenate veteran tennis in Guyana. The oldest partnership of four years in

the category, the dominant team of Godfrey Lowden/Omar Persaud was the main attraction on court as they played a more aggressive game and made significantly less unforced

errors as they battled in their last match to eventually score the most wins in their round robin group. They defeated Sam Barakat/Lineu De Paula 63,6-4 and Albert Razick/Bo Arbogast 7-6(8/6), 6-4. Albert Razick/Bo Arbogast defeated Sam Barakat/Lineu De Paula 6-1, 6-1. In the Mixed Open Doubles Category the Leyland Leacock/Afruica Gentle pair defeated Orande Dainty/Aretta Dey 6-4, 6-2 to grab the title. This highly anticipated doubles tournament completed the GTA activities for 2014 having been extended to January for completion after being plagued by bad weather during Mid-December. The closing ceremony for the Tournament will be held today Saturday January 31 at 4:00pm at the National Racquet Centre Tennis Courts. All players are asked to attend.

Four matches on today Miller delighted with in Milo U-20 Football WORLD CUP CALL-UP

N

ow in its third year, play in the Annual Milo Under-20 Schools Football Competition is set to commence today with four matches at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue. Another four matches are scheduled for tomorrow at the same venue and among the teams listed to play is defending champion Lodge Secondary. The winners will receive $500,000, runner-up $300,000, 3rd place $200,000 and 4th place $100,000, all of which will go towards a project of the school’s choice. Outstanding individual players will also receive prizes. Below are the fixtures for the today and tomorrow. 11:00 hrs Freeburg Secondary v/s Charlestown Secondary 12:30 hrs North Georgetown Secondary v/s Mae’s Secondary 14:00 hrs Queens’ College v/s School of the Nation Secondary 15:30 hrs Kingston Secondary v/s Tucville

(Flashback) - Part of the action in the Milo Under-20 Schools Football Competition.

secondary 2/1/2015Round 1 Day 2 11:00 hrs North Ruimveldt Secondary v/s Richard Ishmael Secondary 12:30 hrs Christ Church Secondary v/s Houston

Secondary 14:00 hrs Dolphin Secondary v/s Morgan Learning Center 15:30 hrs Lodge Secondary School v/s Queenstown Secondary

Jamaica Gleaner Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica’s left-arm spinner, Nikita Miller, has expressed delight at his inclusion in the West Indies squad for next month’s ICC World Cup, and has vowed to put his best foot f o r w a r d f o r c r i c k e t ’s showpiece event. Miller, consistently one of the best performers in regional cricket in recent years, was named yesterday to replace Trinidadian offspinner Sunil Narine, who withdrew from the 15-man squad earlier this week. Narine, who led Trinidad and Tobago to the WICB NAGICO Insurance Super50 title last weekend, withdrew after saying he needed more time for work on his remedial bowling action. Unfortunate “I’m really happy for the call-up,” said Miller, who left the country Thursday for New Zealand and Australia, where the World Cup will be held. “It’s unfortunate that Narine, world-class bowler, had to pull out. “But I have been called on to do a job, and hopefully, I can go there and do the job for the region.”

Nikita Miller

Miller, who has played 45 one-day internationals for the West Indies, and has taken 40 wickets at 36.52 apiece, and an economy rate of 4.59, last represented the West Indies in March last year during England’s threematch one-day tour of the Caribbean. The 32-year-old, who was a part of the West Indies unit during their quarter-final showing at the 2011 World Cup in India, joins fellow left-arm spinner, Sulieman Benn, as the specialist slow bowlers in the West Indies’ squad. “It (selection) came as a surprise, but I am always ready, and, quickly can

switch on get myself sorted for a challenge,” commented Miller. Ninth Overall Miller, currently sixth in the WICB Four-day Professional League standings with 17 wickets at 14.05 apiece, was ninth in the overall Super50 bowling standings with six wickets at 15.50. The Super50 standing was topped by Narine, who took 12 wickets at 7.25, with left-arm spinner, Guyana’s Veerasammy Permaul, who currently leads the four-day standings with 32 wickets at 10.09, finishing second on 11 scalps at 13.36. West Indies will open (Continued on page 25)

t r o Sp

Lennox Allen Den Amstel, Showstoppers, -KO phase returns to the ring Raiders lead chargestarts tonight West Demerara Guinness ‘Greatest of de Streets’ Futsal Competition

into quarter-finals

P. 32

Proves ‘Too Sharp’ for Ghanian opponent

P. 29

Part of the action in the final night of the preliminary round which was played on Thursday at the Vergenoegen Rice Mill Tarmac.

Djokovic beats Wawrinka, into fifth Australian Open final P. 31

Lennox Allen (2nd left and his cornermen after the fight

Govt should do more for cricket says ex Port Mourant test cricketer P. 30

Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament . Reuters/Issei Kato

(From left) Raj Singh, Dru Bahadur, Alvin Kallicharran and Anand Sanasie just before they met yesterday.

LEACOCK/FENTY COP MEN’S OPEN TENNIS TITLE IN TROPHY STALL DOUBLES TOURNEY P. 35

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