Guyana Times Daily

thursday, july 11, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com

Chief justice issues new ruling on Boodhoo appointment

Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang Wednesday dismissed an earlier order he gave to block the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from deciding not to renew Gocool Boodhoo’s contract as chief elections officer.

Chang told the High Court sitting that Boodhoo’s court action against each of the six commissioners and the chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally could not be entertained because the commission is a collective body.

He arrived at the final decision after taking a second look at the court doc-

uments after the order he granted on July 2.

Chang explained that the motion was struck out, since it failed to take the commission in its entire quorum to task.

He noted that the lawsuit should have been mounted against the commission as a collective body, instead of against the chairman and the individual commissioners.

Chang made the ruling after detecting the flaw following careful perusal of the court documents. The ruling means that Boodhoo, through his lawyers Mursalene Bacchus

and Sase Gunraj, can correct the flaw and mount another legal challenge. Boodhoo’s lawyers indi-

cated that the possibility exists that further action may be taken.

Speaking subsequent to the ruling, a GECOM official told Guyana Times that the commission was most likely to wait until it is clear whether further legal challenge will be forthcoming before proceeding with deliberations on Boodhoo’s case.

Dr Surujbally had earlier sought advice from a team of lawyers on how to treat with the request by Boodhoo for a renewal of his contract.

The lawyers also suggested that Boodhoo’s post

be advertised. However, it is not clear whether the matter will come up for discussion when the commission holds its statutory meeting next Tuesday.

Dr Surujbally had postponed two previous meeting with the commissioners: once, to seek legal advice, and a second time, when two commissioners were absent.

He was forced to seek legal advice after receiving a letter from Boodhoo’s attorney that no decision should be made on the resumption of his services until an appraisal of his performance was forthcoming.

However, sources within GECOM confirmed that an appraisal of Boodhoo’s performance is subject to waiver and is based on the decision of commissioners.

A GECOM official said

a performance appraisal is not mandatory, and the commission has the power to waive any such appraisal on the part of employees.

A decision on whether Boodhoo’s contract is renewed is subject to a majority vote, but opposition commissioners are not in favour of the proposed extension to Boodhoo’s contract, which expired at the end of April.

Boodhoo’s fate is expected to be decided by the majority vote of the complete quorum of commissioners. The commissioners are legally mandated, based on a unanimous decision, to deal with all issues relating to employment of senior functionaries of the commission.

Boodhoo has been with the commission for more than 10 years.

Trio in custody for Water Street ambush

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud on Wednesday confirmed that three persons are in custody and assisting with investigations into the Water Street ambush that left one person dead, another hospitalised, and $8 million in cash stolen.

Foulis, East Coast Demerara businessman Cecil Albert Gajadhar was shot to the face, while his handyman, Victor Da Silva, 72, of Lot 10 Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara was killed after the vehicle in which they were travelling came under fire at Cowan and Water streets.

Persaud added that the police are continuing their investigation and have several leads. A police source told Guyana Times that all the information received support Gajadhar’s claim that the attack was a setup. The businessman said he recognised the car whose occupants fired upon him, since it was travelling in front of him as he made his way into the city, but he did not suspect anything.

The businessman’s wife, when contacted on Wednesday, stated that her husband is recovering, but the doctors are still to remove the two bullets lodged in his head. She explained that one of the bullets is lodged in his right temple and the other is lodged between his lip and nostril.

Clear setup

She also believes that the attack was a clear setup but asked the question, “By whom?” She said she is happy that her husband is alive, and expressed condolences to the family of Da Silva.

Mrs Gajadhar expressed hope that her husband will make it. Despite having suffered a number of robberies over the past few years, her husband will continue to operate his service station, she said.

On Monday, the businessman left home about 07:49h for the city, but while in the vicinity of Water and Cowan streets, Kingston, Georgetown, his vehicle came under fire during which Da Silva, who was sitting in the front passenger’s

seat, met his demise. He sustained at least four gunshot wounds to his stomach and died on the spot. Gajadhar managed to drive his vehicle into an alleyway between the Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Companies (GTM) and Republic Bank, along Hincks and Robb streets, Georgetown. After the car came to a halt in the alleyway, Gajadhar reportedly got out and threw another bag containing an undisclosed sum of money over the bank’s fence. He subsequently collapsed due to his injuries.

Security personnel at the bank reportedly took him to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. Hospital officials confirmed his condition as stable.

A post-mortem examination performed on the body of Da Silva confirmed that he died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.

Based on reports, the two gunmen in the car patiently waited for the businessman’s vehicle and as it came into view, they opened fire.

In 2011, the businessman, his wife and the now dead man were attacked and robbed at gunpoint by three armed men. Da Silva was beaten and the gunmen managed to escape with more than $5.5 million in cash. The businessman was again robbed at his place of business by three men who escaped with more than $2 million in cash. Another robbery was committed on the family in March last year on Camp Street, but quick response by a police rank who was passing at the time ensured that the robber was caught and the $4.5 million stolen, retrieved.

Govt rejects U.S. TIP report

– says it has little merit

The local ministerial task force on human trafficking said it is deeply concerned that the U.S. State Department report on the global scourge has not reviewed Guyana fairly and therefore attracts little merit on the part of the government of Guyana.

Government, in rejecting the report, said it is riddled with inaccuracies aimed at “sexing it” up. In a response to the U.S. report which was issued last month, the task force which is chaired by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said the report contains several inaccuracies and misrepresentations with regard to the scope of trafficking in persons in Guyana. It said too that the report ignores the efforts of the government of Guyana in combating trafficking in persons.

Task force

The task force said according to the media in November 2012, a child was murdered while working in the mines, and reports linked his death to his attempt to collect wages due to him. “While the government of Guyana has established that the child was indeed sadly murdered, it is of the view that the U.S. report has not provided a shred of evidence to link the child’s death to the offence of trafficking in persons. We repudiate most emphatically the inclusion of this homicide case in the U.S. trafficking in persons report in order to “sex up” the report,” the task force declared.

The U.S. report further states that: “Indonesian workers were subjected to forced labour on several Guyaneseflagged fishing boats off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago during the reporting period.”

The government of Guyana said it considers this claim as spurious since it falls completely outside the jurisdiction of Guyana. “The government of Guyana has no knowledge of this matter whatsoever and considers it a brazen attempt on the part of the U.S. State Department to resort to an extraterritorial issue in an effort

to bring some degree of credence to a report that is riddled with fabrications.”

Further, by including this matter without providing information on it to the government of Guyana, the U.S. State Department has contravened an agreement between U.S. embassy officials and ministers of the task force to share information on trafficking in persons, the government said.

The U.S. report had also noted that “The government of Guyana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”

Adherence to UN protocol

In response, the Guyana government said it strictly adheres to and upholds the minimum standards of the United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children through its own “Combating Trafficking in Persons Act, Number Two of 2005”. Guyana, as a sovereign nation, is not a signatory of the United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act; consequently, is not required to follow that act.

Additionally, on the issue of government's failure to demonstrate evidence of increasing efforts to hold trafficking offenders accountable with jail time over the previous reporting period, the task force reiterated that it has told the U.S. govern-

ment on numerous occasions that it has no control over the judiciary and the magistracy. Further, the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) Chambers is a public office whose independence is preserved in the Constitution.

“The long established practice has been that the Guyana Police Force investigates and submits the case files to the DPP and the DPP in turn would advise on whether charges are to be laid or not or if the matter should be tried summarily.

Matter for the courts

The decision to convict or not is one exclusively for the courts. The government of Guyana does not hold persons accountable with jail time, the court does. The tangible role for government is to ensure that the relevant legislation is in place and in this regard, it has passed a very comprehensive Trafficking in Persons Act.”

In response to another point in the U.S. report that “The government… reported the initiation of seven sex trafficking prosecutions. It was unclear if the one prosecution documented in the previous reporting period was included in this figure.” The task force said as far as the government of Guyana is concerned each of the seven sex trafficking prosecutions that took place during the reporting period are reflected in the report. The one prosecution documented in the previous re-

porting period was not included.

Again, the U.S. report states: “The great majority of prosecutions initiated in other reporting periods were dismissed when the prosecutors were unable to proceed, usually because witnesses declined to testify.”

“The government of Guyana is aware that it is not uncommon throughout the world for witnesses to decline to testify. Prospective witnesses cannot be forced to testify. Guyana is not unique in this respect. It is an individual’s right to be able to decide whether or not he/she wants to testify in a court case. Essentially, what matters is the expeditious dispensing of trials so as to facilitate the ready availability of witnesses to testify.”

With regard to the observation that government reported no convictions of sex or labour trafficking offenders during the reporting report, government said this is a matter that falls squarely within the purview of the courts. “The government of Guyana cannot report convictions if there were none made by the courts. At the same time, the government cannot dictate to the courts whether to convict or not. On the issue of government did not report any investigations or prosecutions of government employees for complicity in trafficking-related offences during the reporting period, the Guyana government said in 2012, there was no such cases.

Editor: Nigel Williams

Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Beyond the millennium goals

With less than two years ago to go before the deadline for the achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations (UN) is working assiduously to retain the momentum developed through that initiative. Mandated by the 2010 MDG Summit, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in July 2012 announced 27 members of a High-level Panel (HLP) to advise on the global development framework beyond 2015.

Since the work of the panel drew upon the experiences of the MDGs, in terms of achievement and areas of improvement, and also the Sustainable Development Goals as agreed at the Rio+20 Conference, their report (delivered on May 30) should be of great interest to countries such as ours. Just as the MDGs gave a focus to our thrust for development in the last decade, the proposals by the HLP could do the same to 2030.

The HLP’s report adopts a wider framework, compared to the current MDGs and encompasses development for all countries, not just low income countries. And that all encompassing focus means that all countries should see they “are in the same boat”. Their recommendations address development and not just development aid, which is unfortunately where much too much of the MDGs debate has been stuck.

To drive the new agenda forward, the HLP features five “transformative shifts”. The first one, to “Leave no one behind”, is designed to move from the MDG’s goal to reduce poverty to ending extreme poverty “in all its forms” by 2030. More specifically to ensure that no person – regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status – is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities.

The second shift is to “put sustainable development at the core” – “halt the alarming pace of climate change and environmental degradation” and achieve “more social inclusion”. While there has been overwhelming evidence produced to show the devastating effects on the entire planet that would ensue unless all countries put their shoulders to the wheel of reversing environmental degradation, the developed countries have abandoned the early pioneering efforts at climate change mitigation. To its credit, Guyana has taken a pioneering effort in this regard with its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

Thirdly, the panel recommends that we must all “transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth” producing “a quantum leap forward in economic opportunities”. In practice, this will mean a rapid shift to sustainable patterns of consumption and production – harnessing innovation, technology, and the potential of private business to create more value and drive sustainable and inclusive growth. What this entails is a new model of development that always keep in focus the goal of balancing our “wants” with what is sustainable with limited resources.

Then in a shift from the first, quite concrete and measurable MDGs, the fourth recommendation exhorts us to “build peace and effective, open and accountable institutions for all”, “freedom from fear, conflict and violence” with governments that are “honest, accountable, and responsive” and “to recognise peace as and good governance as core elements of well-being, not an optional extra”. The fundamental point being made is that “man does not live by bread alone”.

Finally, making a stab at the least successful of the original MDGs, the last transformative recommendation urges that all countries “forge a new global partnership” in “a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and mutual accountability”. With first MDGs, the developed countries had promised concrete contributions towards their attainment but these were honoured more in the breach than anything else.

Fortunately, since then, some developing countries, led by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) have seized the lead in fostering growth and providing funding for development in the lesser developed countries. The prospects are better that the new goals should be achieved by 2030. However each country will have to remain focused and disciplined.

The harmful effects of waste oil

Dear Editor,

This waste oil situation in Berbice is really worth some serious checking out. There is waste oil in the Berbice River and it is killing mangroves, their seedlings and fishes. One apiculturist also wants the relevant authorities to investigate the matter quickly, as there is a noticeable repulsion and even killing of the bees in the area. We really have to see this as something threatening. Waste oil is not to be taken lightly.

Science has revealed

that waste oils, of any type too, are among the most serious pollutants in the world. In layman’s term, it means that a few drops of waste oil can be very destructive. When waste oil is poured into the ground, they cause destruction by reducing plants’ photosynthetic ability and harm the land’s productivity.

A little reminder to those who like to collect waste oil and pour it around their yards: they say it helps to keep off wood ants. This may be

so, but the damage to the soil is almost irreparable. Wood ants can be taken care of in many safer ways.

Guyana is big on this Mangrove Restoration Project. It is being touted as the sustainer of mangroves along Guyana’s vulnerable coastline and, recently, a lot of money was pumped into it. We cannot allow anything to go wrong now. Already we are reaping some great benefits, and if we put off those who are now dependent on mangroves for

their living, we would be doing a great disservice to them and the country as a whole.

I call on the relevant authorities to do some information and education work. Maybe the bad practices with waste oil are being done without any thought whatsoever. I feel that if perpetrators really understand what they are doing and what they should do, they will change ways.

Name withheld by request

Sending the right message to contractors

Dear Editor,

The recent sacking of a contractor is a good example of meaning business when it comes to works on government buildings. In this case, it was that the Region Five administration recently terminated the job of a contractor who was assigned to construct an annex for the Fort Wellington Secondary School. He failed to deliver and thus the termination.

If a contractor takes on a job, he must be aware of possible hurdles when he is signing. A good contrac-

tor is not only a person with the requisite ability, but one who must be able to overcome possible setbacks. After all, a school cannot be held up all because of some avoidable human folly. Now that a new contractor is already on stream, I am hoping for some closer monitoring. So far all seems well and the work is moving apace. The school is expected to be completed within a month’s time at no extra cost. The commitment from the regional authority is that the building will

be completed and totally ready to accommodate the students for the new school year.

I really do think that many contractors have been abusing their positions and taking the people for granted. It is not only where buildings are concerned, but also the road works.

I am attending a yagna nightly for this week, and it so embarrassing for me to see the two Hindu priests struggling to drive and walk through the streets to the place where the function is be-

ing held. What makes it worse is that one of them left Canada to be here for the occasion.

I wish I can find that contractor who laid the roads in this village. They are filled with gaping pot holes, and when it rains, the water lodges for days. Maybe, it is time to go after some of these shabby contractors and make them answer for the kind of work they did. This will send a good warning message to all of them.

Yours sincerely, Pamela Compton

You can send your letters with pictures to:

Oh dear! Oh dear!

Dear Editor, Ruel Johnson seems to have lost the moral low ground he occupies on the Caribbean Press question. It turns out those thousands of words to Guyanese readers in protest were in essence a job application at truly a super salary (more than expresidents.

Ruel demanded over three million dollars to be executive editor in a publishing house for which he has no respect. Whilst cavilling in public, he was trying to conspire in private. Hmmm...! I do feel Ruel firmly now needs to come off his low horse and build Janus into more than a one-

headed, one-man publication house.

It could, with his oftexpressed talents, soon rival the Caribbean Press, and maybe too, the Harvard University Press!

Yours, John ‘Bill Cotton/ Reform’ (Proudly) Mair

Dangerous driving is too common

Dear Editor, Dangerous driving seems to be all too common in Guyana. It is one thing to speed, but when this is in combination with drunkenness, then it becomes all hell breaks loose.

The spreading of drunken driving is really catching on. I have written repeatedly about how the traffic de-

partment should move to curb this practice. So far I have seen nothing of significance.

We all know the drinking spots and we see the number of vehicles parked. Who are drinking? Who will drive when they are intoxicated?

Yours truly, Camille Drifield

Guyana needs more counterpiracy initiatives

Dear Editor,

The United States of America has just sent its acting assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs to The Bahamas so as to strengthen cooperation on counter-piracy in the country. I suggest that Guyana and its neighbours quickly get together and do something along these lines.

One factor is that Guyana has been experiencing quite a lot of attacks at sea, and this is a serious situation.

Attacks at sea affect a major industry in Guyana; that is, fishing. I know of three families right now who have not only moored their vessel, but are looking to sell out and switch to something else. Should this really happen, at least 20 people would be put out where employment is concerned.

Fisher folk need an atmosphere of safety to really work well. Already they have to battle the ravages of nature as part of their work.

On the part of the fishermen, they have been calling for as much help as possible, so I think that they would be glad to have some outsiders pitch in. It will be a good idea for Guyana to move in the direction of having a second floating base. The one in Essequibo has made a significant change in that part of the country. Berbice can do with one now.

Sincerely, Hemant

Ghansham

or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Caribbean Press and Rasta lyrics

Dear Editor,

Greetings in the name of Haile Selassie I.

I am an impoverished Rastaman, a songwriter and musician barely making ends meet to survive. I have been working for more than three years on a book of song lyrics, under the constant guidance of Professor David Dabydeen. I could have been involved in nefarious activities, but I chose to write. I am delighted that the Caribbean Press has nurtured my work over three years and has just now published my book. Hundreds of

copies will be given free of charge to schools and libraries. Though the Caribbean Press will pay me a royalty, I have not asked for a cent: the joy of seeing my work in print, and knowing that our Guyanese youth will have books, is sufficient.

Imagine my shock when I learnt that Ruel Johnson, the local writer/critic, was demanding from the Caribbean Press the title of executive director and a salary in excess of $3 million! In all my years of work, Ruel has never offered to print a single line which I,

and many others, have written though he runs a press called Janus. Janus, in classical mythology, is a twofaced god so maybe Ruel chose an appropriate name! I am happy to offer whatever service I can for free, penniless as I am. It is only fair that I do so, since Brother David Dabydeen, Brother Ian McDonald and Sister Lynn Macedo work as editors of the Caribbean Press without payment.

Ras Cedric Castello Norton Street, Lodge Georgetown

Hygiene violations must be stamped out

Dear Editor, Guyanese sometimes treat their own fellow Guyanese like dirt on just about too many occasions. I am thinking here of what normally obtains in many eating spots. Now that the Meat and Food Hygiene Section of the Mayor and City Council has gone on a campaign, I am not one bit surprised that the officers found several contraventions during a recent inspection exercise of restaurants and food shops. The call now is to get consumers to be vigilant when purchasing meat and food, and I also say that they should report all shortcomings.

Also, over the last two to three weeks, I have noticed that there are more traffic cops on the road, and already I am hearing less noise from the minibuses. So the trick for these meat and food hygiene officers is that they keep swooping down.

Then as regards the types of violations, I find

them to be very sickening. The officers pin-pointed a number of terrible misdemeanours – absence of refuse receptacles, dirty premises, defective urinals and water faucets, and poor ambience in general.

What about some of these said infringements that prevail sometimes in areas outside the city and its immedi-

ate environs? I come from a village that is about 16 miles east of Georgetown. There is one restaurant that has an improvised urinal that only allows for males to use. Places like this one must be shut down and be mandated to shape up.

Yours truly, Oma Devi Singh

Page Foundation

Childcare – why don’t men pull their weight?

Men merely pay lip service to the idea that they should be equally sharing childcare with their partners, says Gideon Burrows

BY GIDEON BURROWS

It’s five years since my daughter Erin came along, and just about that long since my wife and I started sharing the childcare equally, inside and outside of working hours. Back then I didn’t realise that other men didn’t do their fair share. Then, as now, the newspapers, breakfast television shows and glossy magazines were full of a “growing trend” of involved fathers, dutifully “swapping the pinstripe for the pinny”, freeing up mothers to go back to work.

According to an October 2011 survey by the insurer Aviva, one in seven fathers are now the primary child caregiver. According to a June 2012 survey by BT, half of all fathers do an equal or majority of the childcare.

As far as my wife, Sarah, and I knew, even in 2008 when Erin was born, men were out there happily putting in the baby hours, wiping gooey noses, taking children to playgroups, winding the bobbin up the length and breadth of the UK.

But when I ventured out with my babies during the working week, I ended up asking myself – and still do today – where... are these guys?

Over the past five years, as I’ve taken Erin and her brother Reid to baby groups, and library sing-alongs, as we’ve sat in cafes and visited soft-play areas, I saw women. Lots of women. Groups of women with pushchairs in coffee shops. Women bouncing babies on

their knees, gaily singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm at the village hall. Women with their babies at the supermarket, buying Calpol and babywipes. But men?

"Men haven’t taken on childcare in anything like the numbers we’ve been led to believe"

A little research into equal parenting reveals that the satisfying picture of men routinely sharing childcare is sim ply a myth. Those surveys are misleading at best. Men haven’t taken on childcare in anything like the numbers we’ve been led to believe.

Figures from the National Office for Statistics reveal that at the end of 2012 there were just over 6000 more fulltime, stay-at-home dads look ing after babies and toddlers than there were 10 years ago. Yet in the same period, around 44,000 women have stopped being stay-at-home mothers.

The massive gap has been filled by childcare and grand parents, not fathers. Even on Aviva’s figures, our children’s grandmothers are twice as likely to look after them during the day than their own dads.

time with their children, and to do more of a share of the childcare.

So why aren’t they doing it? Traditional views about men and women’s roles play a huge part. And those pressures are only cemented when maternity services pretty much ignore fathers, the baby change is always in the women’s loos and baby groups are routinely advertised for mums and toddlers.

rience too. They get on with it, while men get away with it.

I own a small business. For five years I’ve been told by friends and others that they’d love to do what I do: work parttime to look after the children. But their work, their situation, their location, their boss, their commute, their pay packet, means they just can’t.

All of this is to get my working life the wrong way up. I shaped it this way because I was committed to sharing

Men pretty much run the government, most private companies, the public sector and the media. If we really wanted a fairer deal, we could make it happen very quickly. We don’t, because it’s not in our interests.

Baby and toddler care can be rewarding, fun, moving, stimulating and lovely. But it can also be grubby, frustrating, repetitive, thankless and downright boring. The truth is that men don’t really want to do childcare, and are successfully using convenient excuses to avoid it.

The proportion of fulltime working women hasn’t changed in a decade, while there’s been only a minuscule increase in part-time men.

Yet ask any father what he wants out of life and the new fatherhood myth prevails: men say they want to work less and more flexibly, to spend more

groups, I’ve had women sit at the opposite end of the room to avoid me. Outside the pre-school, some women do little to make men part of their world. Out in town with my children I’m still asked: are you babysitting today?

Yet, since when has a little social embarrassment stopped men from doing exactly what we want?

The cliques outside the playgroups, the painful small talk, the misdirected comments from strangers in the street, are what women expe-

care equally. It wasn’t easy, and I frequently lament going part-time. But don’t many women with once successful and fulfilling careers feel the same? The huge pay gap between professional working men and women widens significantly when we reach baby-rearing age. Women hit a glass ceiling because they leave the workforce to bring up children. And that glass is yet tougher to break through because men refuse to do the same.

The biggest bogeyman, particularly according to fatherhood and family charities, is the legal framework. Men don’t get enough paternity leave and are not paid enough when they take it; employers should be compelled to give us more time off to be with our children. Men generally don’t get to work flexibly or part-time, while women do.

Yet, men are failing to use the wiggle room the legislation already allows. A full third of men don’t take the fortnight’s paid paternity we are entitled to.

"Almost nine in 10 men say they wouldn’t take more paternity leave if it was offered to them"

Since April 2011, fathers have had a right to a share of 26 weeks of paid parental leave. Yet, even before it was introduced, 40 per cent of fathers said they wouldn’t take it. Almost nine in 10 men say

they wouldn’t take more paternity leave if it was offered to them. We already do have exactly the same rights as women to ask for flexible and part-time working. Women are asking, men are not. (Though we are more likely than women to ask for a pay rise or promotion.) Men already have the same right as women to time off to take their children to the doctors or if the school is closed by snow. Yet it is consistently women who do it. There is no trade union campaign about men’s right to parental leave. There are no waves of sexism tribunals brought by dads whose employers are preventing them –but not their female colleagues – from balancing work with childcare.

And men are not doing close to an equal share of the baby and toddler-related work even on evenings and weekends. Only a third of couples report taking it in turns to get up for a new baby during the night. One in three dads don’t regularly change nappies, and a third don’t bath their babies.

For those on the lowest incomes, it is probably fair to argue that men cannot afford to take the parental leave that they are entitled to. But working parents on a low income are already more likely to juggle childcare and their lowpaid, part-time work between them. For the rest of us, the middle-class couples filling up the newly painted nursery with new carrycots and cute Babygros, deliberating whether to spend the extra £80 on a limited-edition, purple musthave buggy, claims of being unable to afford it don’t ring true.

In most middle-class, straight couples, both father and mother tend to work full time before baby comes along, and on pretty similar salaries. Yet most often it’s the man who continues to work, while the woman goes part-time or drops out of work. Babycare is affordable for women, it seems, but not for men.

When my wife and I decided to share childcare equally, we knew we would take a hit financially. We knew our careers would take a nosedive. For us, equality and the proven benefits to our children of having an actively involved father from day one were more important than earning the most money possible. Some women choose to stay at home, but isn’t it a little strange how few men choose to do the same? Today, to be a good dad should mean doing a fairer share of the baby work. Not just the highprofile nappy changes and the bedtime story reading, but an equal share of the slog and the career sacrifice mothers put up with.

If the new fatherhood myth is ever to become reality, all those men who claim they would love to work less and spend more time with their children have to stop making excuses. They have to do something about it. (The Guardian)

Production of aromatic rice exceeds demand – Dr Ramsammy

Late last year, the Agriculture Ministry introduced aromatic rice to the Guyanese market, and today, the quantity of this type of rice being produced exceeds the demand, according to Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy.

The cost for aromatic rice is cheaper than that of Basmati rice which is being imported from India. “I am hoping that more of our people would begin to eat aromatic rice, but we are also targeting Trinidad and Tobago and other countries for the export of our aromatic rice,” Minister Ramsammy stated.

commercial production of this rice type. This success can be credited to the dedication of the Agriculture Ministry and the Guyana Rice Development Board’s (GRDB) research programme.

Region Six to adopt no-nonsense approach to errant contractors

The Region Six administration is to adopt a no-nonsense approach to contractors who do not fulfil their obligations, Regional Chairman David Armogan said.

Addressing regional councillors at a recent meeting, the chairman noted that some contractors have contracts since last December and have not completed those projects.

chairman, while the administration is waiting on these contractors, residents are suffering. “The people are putting licks on us while we wait on them.” Armogan named some of the contractors who operate in the region and referred to them as hopeless.

tracts through the Ministry of Public Works and are operation in the region,” he told the councillors.

Meanwhile, all of the capital works listed in the 2013 Budget for that region have been tendered and 50 per cent of the current works have already been awarded to contractors, Regional Works Committee Chairman Bhupaul Jagroo said.

That represented a move from experimental to actual field conditions.

The aromatic rice is being tested across the country, and it is expected that between 20 to 25 farmers will undertake the first

The introduction of the rice was one of the major achievements for the Agriculture Ministry in 2012, evident in the line of rice being successfully cultivated on 60 acres of land.

The production of an aromatic line allows the rice industry an opportunity to compete in niche markets, locally and internationally especially since such brands as Basmati are premium products with high prices. The introduction of the locally produced aromatic rice will help to considerably reduce Guyana’s import of other brands of rice, like the aromatic, and will also give local farmers an opening to compete with international rice producers, a Government Information Agency (GINA) release said.

ACDA launches Emancipation programme

The African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) will be celebrating the 175th emancipation anniversary with a series of activities to commemorate the historic occasion.

ACDA rolled out activities planned for Emancipation Day 2013 under the theme “Honouring our heroes of 1823”, at the newly-opened Akwaaba Centre on Wednesday. The word Akwaaba means welcome.

Speaking at the launch, ACDA executive member Eric Phillips said this year the association is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and will be hosting its 19th Emancipation Day festival at the National Park on Freedom Day.

He said the national holiday is a very special event and is being celebrated in a significant year, which is

country, and this year, the country to be honoured is Mali in West Africa.

“Mali, West Africa is the home of the famous Timbuktu libraries and Africa’s most mystical tribe. ACDA traditionally chooses one of the countries in

also the 175th anniversary of emancipation, and the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Slave Rebellion.

This year, Freedom Day also falls on the 190th anniversary of the Demerara Rebellion, which occurred in 1823.

As tradition, ACDA will be honouring an African

Africa and honour it,” he said.

ACDA celebrates an African country annually because most of the Guyanese who are of African descent cannot link their ancestral roots to a particular nation. Hence, he said the aim is to educate both the young and old about African his-

tory and traditions and to remind people that Africa has 54 countries and is not a single nation like the others.

This year, ACDA will also be celebrating Farm, on East Bank Essequibo, a village won by Africans in 1877.

ACDA believes that one of the greatest entrepreneurial acts by freed Africans in world history was the village movement which started in 1839.

The movement saw liberated Africans combining their resources to buy villages so that they do not have to return to plantation life and cheap labour.

“In November 1839, 83 ex-slaves from five nearby estates pooled their resources and bought plantation Northbrook for 30,000 guilders or $10,286.63. Each of the 83 owned one lot of land,” ACDA recalled.

After it was purchased, it was renamed Victoria, presumably in honour of the queen of England Victoria, some also suggests that it may have been named in honour of the free slaves’ victory.

“We will have to part company with those contractors and seize their bonds and whatever work they have done will be lost and they will not be paid for it.”

According to the regional

Citing reasons for the lapses of some contractors, the regional chairman said some of them tender too low for projects and cannot complete the work they tendered for.

“We now have files on those contractors but we are suffering from those contractors who were awarded con-

“Some of the contractors have been doing sluggish work on the roads and blaming it on a shortage of material. However, there is road building material available now,” Jagroo noted.

First rice crop records over 263,500 tonnes

The first rice crop for 2013 has officially ended with a record yield of 263,528 metric tonnes of rice from a total of 405,428 metric tonnes of paddy, significantly surpassing the target of 206,000 tonnes. If this trend continues, Guyana is headed for a 500,000-tonne output for this year, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said at a press conference on Monday. Over the past few years, rice production has been significantly increasing with production recorded at 365,469 metric tonnes in 1999, the highest record then, followed by the 2010 production of 361,527 metric tonnes; 402,000 tonnes in 2011; and

422,000 tonnes for 2012.

Over 81,628 hectares, which has a yield of about 201,000 tonnes of paddy were sown for the 2013 first crop as compared to 78,000 tonnes for the first crop of last year. The yield per hectare for this crop was five tonnes. Region Five continues to be the leading region, as it produced 101,262 tonnes followed by Region Six with 67,508 tonnes, Region Two with 52,391 tonnes, Region Three with 29,137 tonnes, and Region Four with 13,231 tonnes. Region Two’s production could have been higher had it not been for the paddy bug infestation. Region Four was the highest yielding region (Cane Grove-Mahaica)

with 6.4 tonnes per hectare, followed by Regions Two and Three with an average of 5.4 tonnes per hectare, Region Five with 4.9 tonnes and Region Six with 4.5 tonnes. Minister Ramsammy reported that the second crop is on the way and thus far 76,119 hectares have been sown. “The target for this crop is 81,000 tonnes so we are at about 92–93 per cent completion of the planting of the phase. So far, Region Four has completed their planting… Region Six is also close to completion with 98 per cent, Region Three is 97 per cent, Region Two, 93 per cent and Region Five which lags a bit behind every crop is about 88 per cent completed.”

17-year-old charged with unlawful wounding

A17-year-old appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday, charged with unlawful and malicious wounding.

It was alleged that on June 19, Omarie Saint Claire unlawfully and maliciously wounded Denzel Lawrence. The defendant pleaded guilty with explanation.

According to the defendant, the virtual complaint’s niece and he are friends. He said she has told him many times that her uncle is constantly talking about what he will and will not do to him. He continued that on the day in question, she came to him crying that her uncle had told her family that he and the defendant had a conversation and the defendant said he “put her to

do nasty things”.

Saint Claire said he went outside and saw Lawrence, so he asked him why he had told his niece’s family such things. He also asked Lawrence if they were friends or if they had any conversations. The defendant said as he approached Lawrence, he appeared to be pulling something from his pants waist; Lawrence then ran towards him, but he chucked

him away. The defendant said the virtual complainant then came charging towards him with a scissors in his hand but he had managed to knock the scissors away, and struck him with a piece of wood in selfdefence.

A not-guilty plea was entered on the defendant’s behalf and bail was granted in the sum of $50,000. Saint Claire is to return to court on July 17.

Man slapped with $80,000 fine after assaulting three-year-old

A52-year-old man on Wednesday was fined $80,000 on a charge of committing unlawful assault on a threeyear-old boy.

Andre Williams, of 117 Caesar Street, Agricola, appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

On July 3 at Agricola, Williams unlawfully assaulted Akeem Turnton, causing him actual bodily harm. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge read against him.

According to the prosecutor, the victim’s mother, the virtual complainant, left him at her house with his father playing

with a balloon. She was two doors away talking with a neighbour when she heard one of her relatives calling for her, and went running back into the yard, where she saw the defendant standing and her son bleeding from his nose.

The victim was questioned and he said he

went outside to retrieve his balloon when Williams bumped into him and slapped him. A report was made and the defendant was charged.

When asked if he had anything to say, the defendant said he did not bump into the little boy, but slapped him after he spat on him. Williams said he apologised to the victim’s father that same afternoon, and the act was not premeditated, as he had “just fired” his hand.

The magistrate fined the man with an alternative sentence of three months in prison.

Assault accused, VC placed on peace bond

Aman and the woman who brought a charge of unlawful assault against him were on Wednesday placed on a bond to keep the peace after he appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore.

It is alleged that on July 5, Mark Persaud unlawfully assaulted Neefa Gopaul. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge read against him.

According to Persaud’s lawyer, the virtual complainant and the accused live in the same house, along with his parents, and his client had an emotional outburst. He requested that the parties be placed on a bond to keep the peace.

The virtual complainant did not wish to give evidence against the defendant and the case was dismissed. However, both parties were placed on a bond to keep the peace.

Eyew tness

Blind spot...

...on Guyana’s image

Almost on a daily basis in the press, there are letters and articles about Guyana’s negative image. You can’t escape it...and of course the individuals have a point. But what’s striking is that none of the locals ever seem to take any responsibility for creating that image – or improving the reality. It’s as if people from Mars drop in at night and do all the miserable things complained about.

Take the latest MuckrakerKN column of the out-of-work University of Guyana (UG) lecturer yesterday. He goes on about Curtly Ambrose, the assistant coach of the Limacol Guyana Amazon Warriors being somewhat equivocal about coming to Guyana. Ambrose was stoic. But more than any institution in the history of Guyana, the MuckrakerKN is responsible for the dismal image of Guyana.

Every official report on the Caribbean discusses the rising crime rates in the Caribbean, availability of small arms in the populace, fall in educational standards – especially among male youths – among others. But none of the other territories have Guyana’s image problem. And that’s because none of their local newspapers sensationalise crime and negativities like the MuckrakerKN.

Take Ambrose’s native Antigua. On crime, the U.S. official advisory for their nationals have this to say: “Violent crimes, including rape and murder, do occur and reported cases appear to be rising in Antigua. Robberies and assaults have affected visitors as well as students studying in Antigua.” Trinidad and Jamaica have a higher rate of violent murders than Guyana.... But yet the local Jeremiahs keep painting Guyana as “murder capital of the world”.

Now we’re not saying that Guyana doesn’t have high rates of crimes – but it must be placed in perspective. Then there’s the problem of littering and garbage. There was a letter just yesterday about the flotsam and jetsam after the International Building Expo at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Now there were enough garbage receptacles around... but people just dropped their junk onto the ground and blithely wandered off. Littering is the work of an irresponsible citizenry – and only those who don’t litter should point fingers.

The other constant is that all the sources of the image problem are laid at the feet of the central government. Yet when that same government intervenes when the problem gets out of hand – like the garbage mess in Georgetown –the usual suspects rise up in righteous (?) indignation.

When it comes to image, we wish that we’d remove our blind spot and clean up our act.

...AIDS

Guyana has a pretty good record in dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has paralysed many other health systems, especially in the third world. As the Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud said the other day, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) played a significant role in that success story. With their funding we were able to institute an organised response to the scourge.

The HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP) project which kicked off in 2003 was “strategically designed to reduce the spread of the HIV/AIDS through comprehensive prevention and care programmes, and simultaneously equip health professionals with the requisite skills and tools needed to combat the disease.” We then moved on to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT).

But the role of the NEWGPC INC in providing the initial line of attack against HIV/AIDs is overlooked. That corporation plunged into the manufacture of antiretrovirals in 2001. And provided them to the government at a cost hundreds of times less than the then prevailing prices. Now that PEPFAR, which specified only U.S. sourced anti-retrovirals, is going to be phased out, we wonder if the NEW GPC will be as generous after the hiatus – and neglect.

...on Dr Rodney

David Hinds wonders why people still talk about the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), yet call it a “spent force”. He figures it’s because “the country still finds us useful.” He flatters his bunch of irrelevants. It’s because of the late, great Dr Walter Rodney.

PSC chairman says investment opportunities aplenty in Guyana

Private Sector Commission (PSC)

Chairman Ronald Webster said Guyana is blooming with investment opportunities and must immediately begin finding creative ways to market itself.

Webster, who was addressing the gathering at the recently-held investment seminar here, listed some of the strategies to strengthen Guyana’s investment potential, including the development of the Guyana-Brazil road and trade links with South America. He noted that Guyana must build a strong trading relationship with adjacent markets, tap its hydropower potential and export energy, as well as develop a strong nature tourism industry, with supporting infrastructure.

Tax reform

Guyanese must embrace the development of the country as an air services hub and a base for oil and gas and shipping support services, Webster said. He pointed to the crucial need for tax reform and simplification and the promotion of a quality tertiary education system as part of a tourism drive.

The PCS chairman hint-

ed that encouraging local and foreign companies to become listed on the local stock exchange, and encouraging family-owned businesses to go public through the employment of professional management are positive steps.

Economic strength

Webster said in order to attract investment, Guyana must promote and encourage value-added industries and broaden the economic base. Pointing out Guyana’s strengths, Webster said the country has recorded seven years of consecutive growth and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted similar growth rates for 2013 and 2014.

Guyana has also managed to sustain its exchange, inflation, and interest rates which have has resulted in an exponential increase in commercial lending, a manageable debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, and healthy international reserves.

Webster said continued focus must be placed on prudent fiscal management in order to promote a rich nature tourism product, agricultural opportunities, and exploration of untapped min-

eral resources and renewable energy sources, such as hydro, solar and biomass.

According to Webster, the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and joint government and private sector focus on improving national competitiveness have seen success on several fronts as Guyana utilises its forest potential.

Preferential access

He underscored that Guyana stands to benefit from its favourable access to export markets owing to the number of preferential agreements with neighbouring countries. “Two key considerations of any serious investor, or any CEO for that matter, are having the right number of people in the right place at the right time and ensuring that the quality of those people is suited to their roles and responsibilities,” Webster said.

He stated that Guyana’s demographics are crucial considerations for both domestic and foreign investors. Webster stressed on the youthfulness of the population with a median age of 24.2, which is 26 per cent lower than its neighbours’, and a literacy rate of 92 per cent,

which is still better than adjacent countries.

“Regrettably, the population growth rate until recently has been negative, not due to low birth rates which are slightly above the regional average, or abnormal mortality rates, but due to migration, which is much higher than the rest of the region,” the PSC executive remarked. He added that due to a strong, cultivated work ethic, Guyanese have little difficulty finding employment anywhere in the world. However, the rate of migration, although still high, has begun to slow due to increased domestic economic activity.

“But probably the greatest impact has come from the new housing programmes supported by home purchase mortgages from the commercial banks that have enabled young married couples to acquire their own assets and establish an independent base – an important facet of the new Guyana psyche,” Webster said.

Constraints

He disclosed that certain constraints must be addressed in order to attract the best tourism and investment prospects, including the lack of a deepwater port, as well as the need for dredging of the Georgetown harbour and the development of an industrial development bank for small and micro enterprises.

Webster stressed the need for a permanent strategy to fix the current state of the electricity sector in order to provide affordable, quality electrical energy. He lamented too the lack of adequate investment in tertiary education, and stated that the university must be operated as a business with a focus on excellence.

Webster pointed out that government can fund a schol-

EU commits to addressing migration challenges

European Union Delegation head, Ambassador Robert Kopecký has called on migration policymakers to take full account of development concerns in migration policy and to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of all migrants through all dimensions of migration governance.

The ambassador said the Caribbean stands to benefit from 25 million euros in assistance to address population, migration, and developmentrelated challenges facing the region.

Kopecký was speaking at the Caribbean Forum on Population, Migration and Development, held in Georgetown, July 9-10.

He said the intention is to highlight the link between migration and development by encouraging African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) governments and regional organisations to integrate mi-

gration management into national policies in areas, such as health, education, employment, trade, and environment.

Kopecký noted that the ACP migration pilot policy aims to make a positive contribution to sustainable development in member states and improve the quality of life and the rights of their populations. Two of the pilot countries are Trinidad and Tobago

and Haiti. The EU assistance to the Caribbean is based on the Intra-ACP Migration Facility – a financial agreement signed in 2008 by the European Commission and the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States.

It is funded by resources from the ninth European Development Fund (EDF) within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and the objective is to assist ACP states to better understand intra-ACP migratory flows and maximise their impact.

Developmental tool

Among the direct beneficiaries are national institutions, regional and civil society organisations. The indirect beneficiaries include migrants as well as various entities participating in the process of consultation on the theme of migration and development.

“Migration is increasingly coming into sharp focus on

the global agenda and is recognised as a powerful vehicle for boosting development in both countries of origin and destination.

The increased regional and global mobility of persons, the structural changes in the global economy, and the current economic crisis generate new opportunities and challenges for countries of origin, transit, and destination,” Kopecký pointed out.

He stressed that respect for the rights of migrants and refugees is a key component of EU policies and the EU has advanced strategies on protecting those rights.

“In the last decade, the EU has adopted a series of directives aimed at ensuring equal treatment in areas such as employment, education and training. Equality is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

EU, which apply both to EU citizens and to non-EU nationals,” he explained.

Kopecký related that the EU migration rules have imposed unparalleled standards on social security rights for migrants, such as legal residence after five years, provided they meet certain conditions.

He stressed that the EU is employing necessary measures to fight racism, xenophobia, and discrimination of migrants and people with migrant background such as second and third generation migrants.

arship programme to address the inadequate availability of skills, particularly nontraditional skills, and expose citizens to new methods and technology.

He also highlighted the need for a more efficient legal system and called for the restructuring and strengthening of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest)

Investment opportunities

Webster said Guyana must eliminate all bureaucratic hurdles and delays, and place emphasis on the maintenance of interior roads and airstrips.

“Guyana is the place of investment opportunities. The risks are manageable and the weaknesses are being corrected. In many instances, Foreign Direct Investment is needed to turn the opportunities into reality. The Private Sector Commission strongly supports and encourages Domestic and Foreign Investment that will result in job creation and positive long-term economic growth and development,” he said.

Burglars continue raids in Berbice

– two more houses broken into

One man is in custody as police continue their investigation into yet another robbery committed on a Berbice family between Monday and Tuesday which resulted in bandits stealing close to one million in cash and other items.

According to information received, the alleged burglary was committed on the dwelling house of Chatrawattie Khalika of Lot 4, A Grant 1804 Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice, which occurred between 21:00h on Monday and 04:00h on Tuesday.

Reports stated that the bandits carted off one pair of gold bangles valued $80,000; one gold ring valued $20,000; one gold chain valued $40,000; one pair of gold earrings costing $30,000 and

$500,000 in cash belonging to the pensioner.

In addition, the bandits also took one Nikon Digital Camera value $96,000; one Nintendo game estimated to be worth $47,000; a quantity of led lights valued $70,000 and one Avon wristwatch value $10,000, all belonging to Akhar Moonsammy, a visiting overseas-base Guyanese. Police investigations revealed that Khalika resides in a two-storey building and on Monday evening about 21:00h, she secured her home and retired to bed with the articles mentioned intact in the lower flat.

At about 02:30h, the elderly woman heard a noise coming from the lower flat of the house, but did not check but about 04:00h; a relative discovered the two northern doors opened.

He then went outside and checked on his Toyota Fielder Wagon and found the left side back door glass smashed with $8000 missing. An alarm was raised and upon checking the house, it was discovered that the articles mentioned were missing.

The police were summoned and investigations led to the arrest of a labourer of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice. Police are expected to lay charges shortly.

Meanwhile, the police are also investigating a break and enter and larceny committed on the dwelling house of Parand Sukhram of Lot 4 Blairmont, West Bank Berbice. The robbery occurred between June 9 and July 9. The burglars removed one Sharp television set; two DVD players and one CD

player. Information reaching Guyana Times revealed that Sukhram resides overseas and her daughter Chandra Sukhram is the caretaker of her two storey wooden and concrete building.

On Tuesday, upon returning to Guyana, the woman discovered that five louver panes and four iron bars from a window of the lower flat were removed. Upon entering, she also discovered a door was opened. Upon checking, she recognised the items which were on a table in the lower flat of the house were missing. The police were summoned and upon their arrival on the scene, they dusted for finger prints. No arrest was made. The police are continuing their investigations.

Guyana’s food safety bill completed

The long-awaited National Food Safety Bill has been completed and is now under review.

This is according to Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy who said he is currently reviewing the final draft of the bill, which he hopes to present to Cabinet soon. Guyana is a net exporter of food and in July 2011, launched the Food and Nutrition Security Strategy.

Dr Ramsammy said the strategy will see Guyana producing high quality, healthy food for Guyanese. In addition, it will enhance the country’s reputation as a net exporter of food.

Dr Ramsammy explained that the bill is important, since it seeks to establish a food safety agency that will ensure harmonised regulation of the food industry, from

the farm to the consumer. This bill, he added, is in keeping with the National Food Security Strategy, which has several components.

Minister Ramsammy added that success has been recorded in all of the three areas. These include: facilitating sustainable and stable employment and promoting systems for consumption of healthy foods for increased nutrition of all Guyanese. The third aspect is promoting increased institutional coordination and functioning for improved food and nutrition security.

Dr Ramsammy said Guyana has had great success in providing enough food for its people. He noted that government is now working to address the nutritional aspect of the strategy. According to him, Guyana has been making efforts to

grow certain vegetables, including broccoli and potatoes, which were not previously cultivated here, to reduce imports – another aspect of the food strategy.

Increased exports

Guyana has also been able to significantly increase its exports of various agricultural products. He related that another example of the food strategy implementation is the hinterland rice and beans project in Region Nine. All the rice and beans produced are utilised in the district and the surplus is sold to other markets. This programme was extended to include several other hinterland areas. The cultivation of other non-traditional crops is being explored in those areas, as well.

The Food Safety Bill

EU commits to addressing...

The EU is also committed to the promotion of an integration policy that grants rights and obligations comparable to those of EU citizens, and has developed several instruments to support the integration of legally-residing migrants.

Kopecký said the EU is also intent on promoting the same high standards in its external migration policy.

“Strengthening the protection of the human rights of migrants is a cross-cutting priority in its cooperation with non-EU countries. This includes strengthening access to fundamental rights, such as access to education and healthcare, the right to work, and the right of free movement, the eradication of statelessness, the

elimination of arbitrary detention of migrants, and access to justice and equal treatment with nationals on employment issues,” the EU ambassador stated.

Immigration procedures

He added that the launch of the EU Immigration Portal in 2011 to inform migrants about their rights and about immigration procedures provides information for non-EU nationals interested in moving to the EU.

He pointed out that irregular migrants are often more vulnerable to exploitation, limiting their potential to support their countries of origin and increasing the likelihood of negative development in destination coun-

tries.

The EU is strongly committed to enforcing legislation and policies intended to reduce and prevent irregular immigration through border management, and return and readmission policies and fosters routes for legal migration, Kopecký said.

The Employer Sanctions Directive of 2009 is a key instrument, which allows sanctioning of employers who abuse migrants in vulnerable situations.

“The EU also supports the decent work agenda and social protection, and encourages policies to facilitate regional labour mobility. It also promotes Integrated Border Management as a means of establishing open and secure borders and pro-

has been discussed widely by stakeholders and the Agriculture Ministry has ensured that it was subjected to the relevant scrutiny. The bill was drafted after considerable consultation back in 2001. At that time, approval was not granted by the Commerce, Industry and Tourism Ministry. Since then, discussions between the health and agriculture ministries have continued, and over the last several months, some fine-tuning was being done.

The draft was also presented to senior staff of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) for input.

Once approved by Cabinet, the bill could be taken to Parliament in a matter of weeks.

moting the respect of rights at the border, including the right to seek asylum.”

The 2011 adoption of the directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims constituted a major step forward.

The directive not only focuses on law enforcement, but also aims to prevent crime and ensure that victims of trafficking are protected and given an opportunity to recover and reintegrate into society.

The EU said it stands ready to share its experience with interested countries and organisations, and called for the pursuit of a more coherent, comprehensive, and better coordinated approach at the global level.

De traffic and de traffickin problems

De buzz words all over de country is bout traffic and traffickin. De traffic chief talkin bout how de traffic police controllin de traffic. But de taxi and minibus drivers still findin a way to beat de traffic. And when de road busy, is sheer traffic pun de pavements and pun de walkways.

De other day, one driver pun de West Coast Berbice speedin through de traffic and he end up traffickin straight into a GPL pole. Then a taxi driver in GT hurryin through de traffic fuh pick up some body, and he end up in a trench – like de taxi man thought he was goin through traffic to pick up a fish.

Then some people went to de buildin expo, but dem spend two hours in de traffic to go and another two hours fuh come back. A woman rentin a house in Eccles end up walkin and reachin de expo faster than a man who leff from East Coast – and he was drivin. Plenty people end up sayin dem don’t want any house lot pun de East Bank because dem friken de traffic.

De Stabber newspaper even try to stab a contractor and blame he fuh de traffic problems pun de East Bank. But de contractor put de Stabber in dem place and explain why he is not de problem fuh de traffic. It turn out that GWI, GT&T and GPL is de ones causin all de problems wid de traffic. De public works minister had to tell dem to move out every ting, because dem ain’t wukkin anyway.

De guvament talkin to Fly Guyana and Fly Jamaica, so it look like is more air traffic fuh get people in and out of Guyana. Now tropical storm Chantal traffickin through de Caribbean and holdin up all de air traffic in de islands.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! Wid all this traffic, look out fuh de police dem who only want to do traffic wuk in de interior. But that is a different kinda traffickin which gon soon land dem in jail.

Prisoner fractures arm during ganja fight

Pandemonium broke out at the New Amsterdam penitentiary on Tuesday as a brawl between two inmates over a “joint” of marijuana has left one suffering a fractured left arm.

The injured prisoner was identified as Nevendra Persaud also called “Monkey man”, 35, a convicted prisoner serving an eight month sentence for robbery under arms.

His attacker, who is expected to be charged for causing grievous bodily harm has been identified as Lionel Larson also called “Kish”, 36, also a convicted prisoner serving a two-year sentence for break and enter and larceny.

Police investigations revealed that Persaud and Larson are occupants of a dormitory located in the compound of

the correctional institute. According to information, on the day in question, the duo was in the said dormitory when a heated argument ensued between them over a joint of cannabis.

During the argument, the suspect reportedly became annoyed and dealt Persaud several lashes to his left hand with a mop stick, causing him to receive injuries on the left hand.

An alarm was raised and the two men were parted. Persaud was subsequently escorted to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where he was seen and examined by a doctor. Larson has since admitted to injuring Persaud. He was arrested but refused to give a written statement. Investigations are continuing.

RK's Security threatens to lay off staff if contracts not revised

– says new minimum wage puts financial strain on firm

By Umadevi BUx

Roshan Khan’s security firm has threatened to lay off approximately 80 to 100 personnel if government does not revise the security contracts it awarded earlier in the year. This announcement comes in wake of the recent implementation of the new labour law, which mandates a five-day, 40-hour working week and a minimum wage increase. The law took effect on July 1 this year.

According to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Roshan Khan, enough time was not allocated to the security companies to deal with the new rule and its repercussions on the business operations. The CEO called for a renegotiation of the contracts or for government to pay the company the difference. Khan emphasised that his company supports the new minimum wage increase, but pointed out that it could lead to bankruptcy if caution is not taken in its implementation.

Support for wage increase

“I have sent letters to the government entities on the matter … we support the wage increase, but we do not have enough time to notify our clients on the matter,” said Khan. He continued that there was a need for an increase in the amount allocated in the contracts.

“The government has not agreed to address the situation and I am not antigovernment; I am just raising a concern about a situation. . . . the government did not think about how this will affect us. . .,” he said.

According to the CEO, he has sent letters expressing his concerns and outlining recommendations to several government agencies and ministries on the issue. He noted that if the contracts are not revised to increase the payment per hour, then he will be forced to terminate contracts which were awarded by more than some 15 government entities.

“We cannot operate at a loss, as a businessman, I cannot substantiate the payments... so I will be forced to terminate the contracts and lay off between 80 to 100 personnel,” said Khan.

He stated that for the security business to operate at a minimum profit margin, the contracts need to be revised to at least $300 per hour and possibly $500 to ensure a positive business envi-

ronment for both the employers and employees. Further, the CEO mentioned that his company will terminate the government contracts on the morning of July 15 if the matter is not addressed.

Recently, Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle mentioned that the law is not a new initiative. In 1986, Guyana had moved to have a five-day workweek. However, at that time, the regulation applied only to public/government entities.

Rest is important

Ogle explained that the regulation is a universal law of Guyana and applies to all workers in each of the 10 administrative regions. According to Ogle, rest is important to the human body and has a lot to do with healthy living; as such, every worker should be required to work 40 hours over a five-day period each week.

The chief labour officer pointed out that while the minimum wage was increased only slightly, it is a vast improvement from what it was a few years ago. The minimum wage had not increased for four years, according to the chief labour officer.

He stated that it is government’s responsibility to ensure that all workers, even workers in the private sector, earn a respectable wage. In explaining the 40hour, five-day workweek, he said this does not necessarily mean Monday to Friday, as workers could be asked to work from Tuesday to Saturday or Wednesday to Sunday. Any day could be chosen, he said. “We’re saying 40 hours or five days, anything after that is overtime,” he maintained. (umadevib@guyanatimesgy.com)

Guyana will not cooperate with U.S. on TIP questionnaire

Saying that its responses to questionnaires by the U.S. embassy on the human trafficking scourge were not included in its State Department report, the Guyana government on Wednesday said it will no longer cooperate with Washington on this activity.

The comments come in an official reaction to last month’s U.S. State Department report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) in Guyana. The Ministerial Task Force on human trafficking in its response said it was of the firm view that there is no excuse for the report to ignore the gains made by Guyana in addressing TIP.

“The task force views the report as lacking credibility and, therefore, rejects the report. The government of Guyana regrets that the U.S. embassy, though it requests every year responses of the government of Guyana to a questionnaire on TIPs, does not accurately reflect these responses in its annual report. Consequently, the government of Guyana wishes to make it clear that in future such questionnaires will not be completed and returned to the U.S. authorities.”

Fight against TIP

Government said it stands committed to the fight against TIP in Guyana and calls upon all stakeholders, in particular, and Guyanese as a whole to join in the fight against TIP.

Addressing point by point some of the issues raised in the U.S. report, government said it viewed claims that stakeholders reported that the lack of transparent public standard operating procedures for handling trafficking cases was an obstacle to progress as an unadulterated falsehood. “There exists standard operating procedures (SOPs) and these are being applied nationally. The SOPs are currently being updated.”

Government noted that in an effort to appear magnanimous, the U.S. report states: “The government made efforts to protect victims of trafficking

during the reporting period by identifying and assisting trafficking victims, but these efforts were hindered by the lack of accountability for perpetrators of human trafficking.”

However, government considers this another blatant falsehood. All reports of TIP are investigated, charges are instituted based on the evidence and the courts decide on the culpability of the alleged perpetrator, it said. “The government of Guyana has passed stringent legislation on Trafficking in Persons and has put in place the institutional arrangements to ensure that perpetrators are answerable for their crimes.”

The administration also objected to the claim that it did not provide specialised care for adult male victims, but reported that men received similar access to care services offered to female victims. The report also stated that “longer term shelter and protection was not available in Guyana, putting victims at risk of traffickers’ reprisals, since the government also failed to punish most trafficking offenders with incarceration”.

Govt does not condone TIP

The government of Guyana “wishes to make it known that Guyana has never had an experience where a person who was allegedly trafficked suffered reprisal. However, there is provision for long-term shelter and protection for alleged victims of Trafficking in Persons, if they so request. Long-term shelter is provided by Help and Shelter.”

The administration added that in accordance with its policy, it will continue to encourage victims to participate in the prosecution of trafficking offenders; “however, we repeat the fact that the government of Guyana has no control over backlogs and delays within the court system”.

As regards to the recommendations in the U.S. State Department Report, government said it was being as vigorous as it can be in investigating allegations of Trafficking

in Persons. “The government, as a matter of policy and law, does not encourage or condone Trafficking in Persons. Moreover, the government of Guyana possesses the appropriate mechanisms to respond to Trafficking in Persons and will continue to robustly make efforts to hold trafficking offenders accountable.”

It also stated that it was open to partnering with nongovernmental authorities (NGOs), noting that this policy has been publicly made clear on numerous occasions. “The U.S. Embassy should provide the evidence where the government of Guyana is unwilling to engage in partnership with NGOs in combating Trafficking in Persons.”

Open dialogue

Finally, concerning the recommendation that government should: investigate and hold accountable the perpetrators of forced labour on Guyaneseflagged vessels; and foster a climate of open dialogue on trafficking and encourage people to come forward to authorities on potential cases, government reaffirmed that Trafficking in Persons is discussed publicly in Guyana and no attempt is made to prohibit this. It said too that there is a Trafficking in Persons hotline number (592-227-4083) that has been publicly advertised and persons are encouraged to call. It is not mandatory for the caller to give their personal information.

Moreover, there are debates in the National Assembly, live television and radio call-in programmes, as well as newspaper reports which feature aspects of Trafficking in Persons, the basic objective being to sensitise the populace. “As far as the government is concerned, there is nothing to hide. Guyana is not a closed society where these matters are kept secret. An analysis may well show that the amount of resources expended on this issue is disproportionate to the scale of the problem,” the government said.

thursday, July 11, 2013 |

Three arrested for Mahaica killing

Three persons have been arrested for the murder of 27-yearold Omadatt Persaud called “Vicky” of Lot 70 Fourth Street, Supply, Mahaica, who was killed during a robbery at his home on Monday morning, according to a top police official.

The official stated that the men are being grilled about the incident as they continue to following the leads at their disposal. He said that once enough evidence is gathered, the suspects will be placed before the court. As of present, he noted investigations are continuing.

Guyana Times understands that the men's hands were examined for gun powder residue and the tests are expected to be back shortly.

On the other hand, Gopaul Sukhnandan told Guyana Times that his family is still baffled at the entire episode, noting that his nephew had no enemies. He also disclosed that his nephew was due to join his family overseas, shortly.

Dead: Omadatt “Vicky” Persaud

The aggrieved man stated that Persaud was a quite individual, well supported by his overseas family.

“He doesn’t work but he is at home all the time… The persons who committed the act had to be keeping an eye on the house and more particularly, my nephew,” he added.

Sukhnandan related that

this is the first time that something “like this” has happened in their neigbourhood, noting that in the past, there were petty robberies. He praised the police for their swift work which led to the arrest of a few people.

He added that the post-mortem was done on Wednesday morning which gave the cause of death as shock and hemorrhaging due to a single gunshot wound. His nephew’s body, he noted has been handed over to the family who are making funeral arrangements. He is likely to be cremated on Friday.

Persaud died instantly after being shot to his head. At the time of the shooting/ robbery, six persons were at home, including Persaud’s overseas relatives. It was reported that three masked men entered the yard from the back entrance.

Two of the men were reportedly armed with handguns. They ordered the oversea-based Guyanese into the house to join Persaud. They

demanded money and jewellery but Persaud reportedly put up a fight which resulted in one of the men discharging a firearm, hitting Persaud to his forehead.

The men reportedly panicked and ordered the occupants to hand over their jewellery and out of fear, they complied. The men then made good their escape on foot.

Moments after the incident, the dead man’s relatives attempted to summon the police via telephone which proved futile. This left a relative no alternative but to visit the station only to be told that there were no officers around.

The relatives reportedly left the police station and decided to take Persaud’s motionless body to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Persaud, who is separated from his wife, leaves to mourn his son, mother, three sisters and other relatives and friends.

Accused says he killed father-in-law in self-defence

Murder accused Marlon Ganesh told the court on Wednesday that he had stabbed his father-in-law in self-defence after the man chopped him from behind.

Ganesh, 32, of Lot 23 A Field, Sophia, is indicted with the murder of his father-inlaw Roopnarine Singh called “Kumar” on January 16, 2009. The trial began on Thursday last after a 12-member mixed jury panel was selected the day before.

State Counsel Renita Singh presented seven witnesses, including the wife of the accused and daughter of the deceased, Babloo Singh. The woman had testified about seeing her former husband stabbing her father.

Following Singh’s testimo-

ny on Tuesday, the prosecutor closed her case. Attorney Hukumchand Parag, who is representing Ganesh, then made a no-case submission in the absence of the jury.

Presiding judge, Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes overruled the no-case submission on Wednesday after which the accused was called upon to lead his defence.

Ganesh elected to lead his defence by giving an unsworn statement in which he said he acted in self-defence. The accused said on the day, he and his father-in-law were drinking when he and his wife had a misunderstanding and her father put him out. The man continued that while he was in the room packing his bag, someone attacked him from behind and chopped him on his left shoulder.

Ganesh went on to say that he jumped when he felt the chop and then he was stabbed on his lower right side back. “When I turn around, I see my father-in-law and I took the knife I had in my hand and cut he, then I drop the knife and walk away,” the man stated. The accused further stated that his wife told a lot of lies during her testimony in court.

After the accused gave his statement, his attorney informed the court that the defence had no witnesses to present; hence, he closed his case. Attorney Hukumchand then proceeded to make his closing arguments to the jury, which lasted just over 30 minutes. The state prosecutor is expected to address the court this morning.

The prosecution’s case is

that the accused was married to the daughter of the deceased and was living at his in-laws house. In December 2008, the two men were consuming alcohol when an argument began between the accused and his wife. The deceased reportedly intervened and asked the accused to move out. While packing his belongings, Singh asked Ganesh to hurry up and leave because he wants to go sleep. This caused the accused to become annoyed and chucked his father-in-law. Ganesh then picked up a knife from nearby and stabbed the man to the left side of his chest.

The injured man was rushed to a medical institution where he was admitted and treated; however, the man succumbed to his injuries about two weeks later.

Representatives elected to serve on Caricom ballistic information board

Caricom member states have taken the next step in enabling the newly-created Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network (RIBIN) board to begin its work by electing representatives to serve on the RIBIN board pursuant to a decision of the fifth meeting of the Council of Ministers Responsible for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE). Forensic Science Laboratory Jamaica Director Dr Judith Mowatt was nominated to serve as the chair. The vice chair is the director of the Forensic Science Centre of Trinidad and Tobago, Arlette Lewis. The chair and vice chair are appointed for a two-year term. Other board members selected at the inaugu-

ral meeting are the commissioner of police designated to represent the Standing Committee for Commissioners of Police, president of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP), head of the Integrated Ballistic Information System (IBIS) Unit in Barbados, executive director of Caricom IMPACS, legal advisor of Caricom IMPACS, Regional Crime and Security Strategy (RCSS) co-coordinator and IT manager of the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC).

The rising level of firearm incidents, combined with an ongoing reliance on manual traditional methods of firearms identification, has contributed significantly to a backlog of criminal cases across the region. With the common agreement and

signing of the RIBIN charter and participation agreement, Caricom countries will for the first time begin sharing ballistic information across multiple jurisdictions. Through RIBIN, the region will be better equipped to prevent and solve gun crimes.

In carrying out its functions, the new board will oversee the overall governing structure for RIBIN. The RIBIN mechanism will provide Caricom states with the capacity to track guns and ammunition used in crimes. This will increase member states’ capacity to link firearms used by specific gangs and also allow them the capability to trace the connections in the organised trade in illicit guns and ammunition.

The board will assist in the formulation of train-

ing and certification programmes in the area of ballistic examinations throughout the region to improve human resource capacity; strengthen presentation of evidence in court and also present recommendations to the CONSLE on issues relating to ballistic information and firearms.

The meeting also reviewed the RIBIN charter and participation agreement which will be presented for approval at the ministerial level. The RIBIN charter is intended to provide standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the processing of ballistic data and generating intelligence to assist Caricom states to solve gun-related crimes within national jurisdictions and across borders. Caricom IMPACS will serve as the secretariat of the board.

Institutional collaboration way forward for EPA implementation

The out-going director general of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) Directorate in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat, Ivan Ogando Lora, has lauded the “spirit of cooperation” underpinning the development of National Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) implementation plans in the eight regional states that elected to pursue these plans.

Ogando expressed this view following the successful convening of Saint Lucia’s validation meeting in Castries, on July 5. The meeting marked a crucial step in the finalisation of that country’s draft EPA implementation plan, a step that most of the other CARIFORUM states participating in the initiative have also taken.

Saint Lucia is the latest CARIFORUM state to mount a validation meeting. The intention of the forum is to provide representatives of government and national non-governmental organisations with the opportunity to be briefed on the draft national EPA implementation plan, while allowing for them to provide further input.

Consultative process

This approach builds on the consultative process that has informed the development of the plan in all participating states, ahead of the finalisation of the document. The expectation is that thereafter the plan will be approved by government, and then given effect.

Saint Lucia’s validation meeting was characterised as a “highly interactive” engagement. It attracted a wide cross-section of stakeholders. This has been the experience, too, in the other states where the implementation plan development initiative has been rolled out.

National authorities would have worked with a consultant to develop respective Implementation plans, leveraging Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund) resources. National authorities have also worked closely with the Caricom Secretariat-based EPA Implementation Unit, which has been involved in the initiative since its inception. The initiative has received the backing of a key partner institution, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

It is this collaborative approach that has received high praise from the CARIFORUM director general. He noted that, given the array of policy areas that the EPA has a bearing on, collab-

oration between different actors and stakeholders in the implementation of the accord is “paramount”.

“Of necessity, there must be a multi-level approach to EPA implementation in the region, one that provides for interaction amongst stakeholders interspersed sub-nationally and regionally. At the regional level, intergovernmental institutions play a key role, as do international development partners that are active in the region and supporting the implementation of this landmark trade and development accord,” Ogando said.

He underscored that the CARIFORUM Directorate looks forward to continuing to work “closely and productively” with the CDB, which remains integrally involved in EPA implementation, having first served as fund administrator for a series of CARTFund projects and now as fund administrator for the EU-financed €3.5 million EPA Standby Facility for Capacity Building. The standby facility is intended to assist CARIFORUM states by underpinning national institutional capacities.

Fiscal reform

Ogando expressed similar sentiments in relation to the directorate’s collaboration with a host of other institutions involved in the implementation of a suite of EPArelated initiatives financed under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), the aim of which is to lend support to CARIFORUM in the implementation of commitments under the EPA in several areas. These include: fiscal reform and adjustment; statistics in The Dominican Republic; sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) programme; technical barriers to trade; services sector; rum sector; and institutional and implementation capacity.

Ogando noted that with respect to his tenure as director general and EPA regional coordinator, a key priority has been to ensure that relevant cooperation frameworks between the CARIFORUM Directorate and respective partner institutions be established and consolidated, in light of the “shared responsibility” in advancing facets of EPA implementation. The CARIFORUM Directorate comprises two units, the EPA Implementation Unit and the Development Cooperation and Programming Unit. The 15 signatory CARIFORUM states to the EPA are the independent Caricom member states and The Dominican Republic.

EBD road works to be expedited

– WSG finalising utilities relocation

The pace of the construction of the East Bank Demerara fourlane road is expected to be hastened as the Work Services Group (WSG) is moving ahead with support from the power and telephone companies in addressing the challenge of utilities hindering the project’s execution.

There has been sloth in the multimillion dollar project stemming from the need for the removal and relocation of public utilities, such as power poles, gas lines, telephone lines and utility poles, from within the project area.

According to WSG General Manager Geoffrey Vaughn, the unit is in the final stages of wrapping-up discussions with the utility companies with regards to resolving these issues.

“We had a meeting with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) company last Friday (July 5) and coming out of that meeting we are hoping to come to a consensus in terms of the removal of the utilities, especially the GT&T cables,” he said

Moving smoothly

And with regard to the issue of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) poles, Vaughn said this process of removal and relocation is moving smoothly. He said the power company has already moved approximately 90 per cent of its poles from the project area.

In terms of the actual project itself and the progress that is being made, Vaughn said that it is now seeing some progress in terms of execution. “There is still some slothfulness in terms of execution, but we are pushing along with the consultants to ensure this project moves a little faster, at a pace where we can see some resolution of the problems and the difficulties, in some instances that the commuters face on a daily basis,” he said.

On the issue of the traffic congestion as a result of the project, he said, “most of the time you must realise that some of the issues stem from the amount of vehicles trafficking the area at that

time as well. We know for a fact that they are doing the drains, and there are times when they have materials being transported that slow up traffic, but we are trying our best at the ministry to ensure those hiccups and those problems are resolved.”

The East Bank Demerara Four-Lane Road Expansion Project spans about 5.2 kilometres, starting from the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, going up to the Diamond intersection. It is being executed in three lots. Lot One from Providence to the Covent Garden Water Treatment Plant is being done by Dipcon Engineering, Lot Two from the Water Treatment Plant to Little Diamond by Gaico Construction and from Little Diamond to Diamond Intersection by BK International.

Excavation

According to Public Works Roads and Bridges Department Manager Ron Rahaman, Lot One is 30 per cent completed. “The contractor has almost completed the excavation of the drains on the eastern-side of the carriage way; it is already placed with white sand fill. It is about 90 per cent completed with installation of width drains and it is about 85 per cent completed with the sand-fill soil charged.”

Rahaman said that in certain sections, Dipcon has already started removing the soil charges following the required waiting period. “The six months have elapsed, the contractor is now removing the soil charge and he has commenced the placing of the sub-base material. Once that is successfully completed, he would then go on to the base material which is a cement stabiliser material and then the road will be asphalted.” Rahaman said that other than this, Dipcon has commenced and completed two reinforced concrete culverts and has also started the construction of one reinforced concrete bridge. The concrete drains predominantly on the eastern side of the Bougainville Housing Scheme are under construc-

tion and of recent, he has started some concrete-way in the Farm area.

In terms of scheduled completion of this lot of the project, Rahaman said that this aspect is expected to be completed in the first half of 2014. “There were significant delays in terms of the relocation of utilities… in another month or so, we expect to see progress of work pick-up and we are hoping to complete in the first half of 2014,” he said.

In terms of Lot 2, the progress is about 38 per cent completed. This aspect of the road expansion is where Gaico is constructing a new carriageway in the cane fields on the eastern side of the East Bank Road. Rahaman said that carriage is about 70 per cent completed. “The contractor has finished placing the sub-base material. He is currently putting preparation in place to come up with base material which is the cement stabilise base. He has also started the construction of two reinforced concrete bridges, and once those bridges are completed we expect to see the eastern carriage way asphalted before the end of this year.”

Significant delay

Meanwhile, he admitted that BK International’s work in Lot 3 has been significantly delayed by the utilities issue and that the progress of work is just about 15 per cent completed. Rahaman said, however, that “the contractor has completed all of the excavation, completed putting white sand filling in about 80 per cent of the excavation area, and has now started the placement of the sub-base material.”

He identified one of the challenges to this lot as being the construction of the new bridge by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL). He said the construction of this new structure will be one of the challenges that BK International will be faced with in terms of traffic management.

Rahaman, according to a Government Information Agency (GINA) release, also commented on the issue of traffic congestion, noting that at this point of the project, the contractors are not doing road works.

“We have done some analysis and what it has shown is that while at this point in time there are minimum delays because of the contractors, what we found is that the hire cars and the minibuses when they are stopping, they are not stopping off the lane, they are stopping in the lane and it causes everybody to back-up.” He also said the trucks using the roadway, which are slow moving vehicles, are causing greater the congestion.

File on Issano TIP case sent to DPP

The Issano Trafficking in Persons (TIP) case was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice, one day after the victims of the horrific sex trade implicated two policemen as some of their assailants and a woman as their jailer.

Crime Chief Seelall Persaud on Wednesday told Guyana Times that the matter has been sent to the DPP for advice. The identified ranks who are under close arrest are accused of raping two of the five victims before they were trafficked into 14 Miles Issano, Region Seven.

The five victims were rescued last weekend by the Guyana Women Miners’ Organisation (GWMO) during a visit to the area. According to GWMO President Simona Broomes, the first two victims aged 18 and 20 were promised jobs at a bar; however, upon arrival they worked as sex slaves.

The 16- and 26-yearolds, who were trafficked by another businesswoman, related a similar story, and were the ones who were reportedly raped by the two ranks at the Sherima Police Station. The last, a 14-yearold was forced by her mother to work a prostitute.

In addition to rescuing the five victims, the GWMO president, with assistance from a Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) officer, arrested the businesswoman who alleged-

ly trafficked the 16- and 26-year-olds. She was handed over to the police on arrival at the Bartica Police Station on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the 26-year-old positively identified the policeman that allegedly raped her during an Identification Parade (ID) at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Georgetown. While the 16-year-old was unable to pinpoint her alleged rapist, both of the victims identified the businesswoman as their trafficker.

Recommendations

The recommendations from the DPP will determine whether rape charges will be laid against the two ranks or whether the businesswoman will be placed before the court for TIP.

Approximately two weeks ago, another alleged trafficker was charged and placed before the court.

The popular businesswoman from Bartica is currently behind bars pending the ruling of the magistrate’s court.

The Bartician was accused of trafficking four girls aged 14, 15, 17 and 18 into the Puruni Backdam, Region Seven. In April, the teenagers were rescued by the GWMO president and her team. The discovery of the girls also led to the arrest of a policeman who was accused of handing over one of the girls to the businesswoman. He too is on remand.

The work of Broomes and her team has not gone unnoticed. Late last month, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry honoured Broomes as one of the nine 2013 TIP Report Heroes.

“At the June 19 TIP Report rollout event, Secretary Kerry paid special tribute to the 2013 TIP Report Heroes in the global fight against modern slavery... In 2013, nine people were chosen as TIP Report Heroes in the fight against modern-day slavery. Guyana’s Simona Broomes was selected from among the many impressive nominees from around the world,” the U.S. embassy stated in a release as it broke the news.

In addition to the award, the discovery of the four girls at Puruni had sparked a national debate on TIP. In May, the motion for the establishment of a commission of inquiry into human trafficking tabled by Opposition Leader David Granger was passed in the National Assembly.

“It is also a crime against our children; it is a crime against the most important section of our society that is our women, the persons who become our mothers and it is a crime which will shake the structure of our family if left unchecked,” the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) chairman said as he made his case in the National Assembly.

Lindener jailed for ganja trafficking

ALinden man, who appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Christianburg Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday, was sentenced to three years in prison while also being fined for two drug-related charges.

The defendant in the case, Troy Cobena of lot 24 Danjou Hill, Wismar was found guilty of possession of cocaine and cannabis sativa for the purpose of trafficking. He was sentenced to three years in prison for both offences, together with a fine of $5000 or two weeks in prison and $10,000 or

three months in prison respectively.

The court heard that on Wednesday, July 10, the defendant was caught by police ranks with one and a half grammes of cocaine in his possession, together with five grammes of cannabis sativa intended for trafficking purposes.

According to the prosecution’s facts on the case, on the day in question, ranks of the Wismar Police Station were on mobile patrol in the vicinity of Poker Street, Wismar, when they observed the defendant sitting on a table alongside the road.

They requested a search of his person during which the leaves, stems and seeds of the cannabis sativa were found in a black plastic bag, as well as a brown container containing two packs of cocaine were discovered in the side of his pants pocket. He was then shown the narcotics and told of the offence committed.

The defendant refused to say anything much in court when asked by the presiding magistrate, noting that he feared getting into further trouble. He also agreed with the facts stated by the prosecution.

The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has extended Ramadan greetings to all Guyanese, particularly the Muslim community.

In a message, the party said Ramadan is a time where an individual makes great sacrifice and is the most important month of the Muslim calendar.

“This month helps to determine one’s value as a human being in depriving the body of basic necessities to achieve spiritual purification and illustrates the virtues of self-discipline, fairness and care for the less privileged.”

The party said it is a time for deep introspection and self-examination;

universal values which all Guyanese can identify with.

“During this period, we encourage the Muslim community to offer special prayers for greater peace, security, unity and continued socio-economic development in our country for the benefit of all our people,” the ruling party concluded.

Chantal mauls southern Dominica, takes aim at Hispaniola, Jamaica

Tropical Storm Chantal left Dominica with a trail of destruction in the southern part of this Windward island on Tuesday before churn-

ing out into the Caribbean Sea and setting its sights on Haiti and The Dominican Republic. By 17:00h (21:00h GMT), a tropical storm warning

was discontinued after a day of strong gusts left some homes without roofs, forcing occupants to seek shelter from relatives.

After veering 45 miles north of Barbados early Tuesday, Chantal spun through the channel separating Martinique and its southern neighbour St Lucia, with Dominica further north beginning to feel the effects of the minor storm’s rainy and wind-laden cloud bands.

The worst affected was the tiny southern community of Gallion, where fewer than a hundred people live.

Villagers in this part of an island heavily dependent on agriculture were still counting their losses late

Persad-Bissessar warns UNC supporters: Don’t be fooled by Warner’s ‘twisted logic’

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar came out fighting on Monday night, sounding a stern warning to former national security minister and Chaguanas West Member of parliament (MP) Jack Warner that she is ready to do battle in defence of the United National Congress (UNC). PersadBissessar, addressing the party’s Monday Night Forum in Warrenville said: “Losing is not an option”. The prime minister told constituents they have to keep their party in government.

Tuesday as many crops, particularly bananas, were seriously affected, and it appeared that it would take farmers some time to recover.

There were several reports of landslides and rockfalls but disaster officials confirmed that the south of the island was the worst affected.

The officials were late Tuesday reporting of mopping up operations as roads were being cleared of downed trees. No estimates of the cost of the damage were as yet available.

The island’s main airport, Melville Hall, on the island’s northeastern coast, remain closed. (Excerpt from

St Kitts-Nevis opposition walks out of parliament

The members of parliament opposed to the Denzil Douglas administration made no headway in parliament on Monday, and decided to walk out of the House. No surprise there, according to those following the events related to the motion of no-confidence – today will be exactly seven months since it was filed, and it is still yet to be heard.

The parliamentary opposition last week withdrew their court action on the motion, cognisant of Prime Minister Douglas’s repeated assertions that the motion could not be debated while the court matter was pending.

However, when Speaker Curtis Martin

addressed parliament on Monday morning, he in essence said he wanted the court to address the concerns raised in relation to his role as Speaker, even though the claimants had withdrawn the case.

Responding to that matter after having left the parliament, People’s Labour Party Deputy Leader Sam Condor charged that the Speaker does not understand the rules of the House.

Back in parliament before the opposition walkout, Douglas addressed, under the matter of ministers’ statements, Friday’s protest action and subsequent arrest of People’s Action Movement’s (PAM) Lindsay Grant. (Excerpt from Caribbean News Now)

Chile’s Pinera stokes abortion row over rape victim

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has praised as “brave and mature” a pregnant 11-yearold rape victim who said she was happy to have the child.

The girl said during a TV interview the child would be “like having a doll”.

Experts criticised Pinera’s comments as having no scientific foundation.

“Because this is not about an election in Chaguanas West alone. This is about the future of your government. This is about your future and your children’s future,” she said. She told supporters they have an important decision to make and must use careful consideration when choosing their MP. Without mincing words, Persad-Bissessar urged supporters not to be “fooled” by the “twisted logic” being used by Warner.

She said: “He is telling you to support his new party.

Former U.S. embassy security officer jailed over Jamaica visa scam

AVirginia court has sentenced David J Rainsberger, the former security chief at the United States embassy in Jamaica to a year in jail after he accepted gifts in exchange for helping a Jamaican deejay gain a United States visa.

Rainsberger 33, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to accepting two luxury watches worth approximately US$2500 from the Jamaican entertainer, identified only in court documents as “DB”, in addition to free admission to nightclubs, backstage access to concerts, and a birthday party hosted by the musician.

The musician had previously been unable to obtain a visa because of accusations of criminal activity.

The incident occurred while Rainsberger, then a member of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, was stationed at the U.S. embassy in Kingston from 2009 to 2011.

According to a release posted on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in February, while in Jamaica, Rainsberger “befriended” the well-known musician whose entry to the U.S. had been barred because of allegations of criminal conduct.

(Excerpt from Caribbean360)

He is saying his vision has not changed, but he wants to fight against the UNC. I will not ask you to support your party blindly. What I will ask you is to consider who we are and why you have supported us over the years.” (Excerpt from Trinidad Guardian)

Pinera supports Chile’s abortion laws, which outlaw the practice in all circumstances. His critics want it legalised in cases of rape, and want the girl to be allowed an abortion.

The 11-year-old girl appeared in a TV interview on Monday, saying: “I’m going to love the baby very much, even though it comes from that man who hurt me.

“It will be like having a doll in my arms.”

TT: Obeah ritual for better grades lands boy in hospital

A12-year-old schoolboy is warded at San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) nursing serious burns after he caught fire when an obeah ritual to get him good results in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam went awry last Wednesday.

Police are investigating the case to bring charges of practising obeah and grievous bodily harm against two men, one a relative of the boy.

Investigators report the boy, of Morvant, was taken by his relative to the home of a “spiritualist” in San Juan about 23:00h, last Wednesday, the day before the release of the SEA results. The relative told the boy to remove his clothing and special oils were pasted about his

body for a “spiritual bath” to influence the outcome of what school he passed for.

The boy was ordered to stand over lit camphor as chants were recited by the spiritualist. He became frightened and attempted to run away but was cornered by his relative who took him back to the room where the ritual continued. As the boy followed the instructions of the spiritualist and stood over the burning camphor his body became enveloped in flames causing him to scream out. As the boy became a human torch, his relative doused him with water while the spiritualist prepared a home remedy to treat the child for burns about his face, chest, arms and legs. (Excerpt from

The girl was raped repeatedly over a two-year period by her mother’s boyfriend, who has since been arrested.

Pinera said he had asked the health minister to personally look after the girl’s health. “She surprised us all with words showing depth and maturity when she said

Mexican vet forced dogs to swallow drug packages

An Italian judge has ordered 49 suspected Latin American gang members to stand trial for allegedly using dogs to smuggle cocaine into the country.

A vet in Mexico forced large dogs to swallow drug packages before they were

flown into Milan, police say.

On arrival, they were killed and dismembered to retrieve the cocaine in a case which has outraged animal rights activists. The Ecuadorean, Peruvian and Salvadoran nationals will face trial in Italy.

The suspected gang members, between 19 and 37 years old, are thought to be part of youth drug gangs known as “pandillas”. The gangs go under the names Trebol, Neta, Latin King Luzbel and Latin King Chicago, according to the investigative judge Fabrizio D’Arcangelo.

D’Arcangelo told reporters the armed gangs were involved in several crimes in and around Milan. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Around the World

Egypt Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie arrest ordered

Egypt’s state prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and at least nine other senior figures.

Badie is accused of inciting the violence in Cairo on Monday in which more than 50 people were killed.

Many Brotherhood members are already in detention and warrants are said to have been issued for hundreds more.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry spokesman has said ousted President Mohammed Morsi is being held in a “safe place”.

Badr Abdul Atti told reporters he did not know

where the 61-year-old was, but that he was being treated in a “very dignified manner”.

“For his own safety and for the safety of the country,

Aleppo residents call for lifting of Syrian rebel siege

Dozens of Syrians in Aleppo have staged protests against a rebel siege of government-held areas in the city, residents have said. Rebels stopped supplies from entering western parts of the city in a bid to weaken the supply routes for President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, they add.

They say the blockade has

led to severe food and medicine shortages.

The World Health Organisation has urged Syrians to protect a convoy carrying medical supplies to the city. One protester was reportedly shot dead at a demonstration on Tuesday, according to the UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human

Rights. The group says it was not clear whether the man was shot by rebels trying to disperse the protest or killed by army sniper fire, as some civilians claimed.

Amateur footage uploaded onto YouTube shows dozens of men in civilian dress purportedly protesting at a checkpoint in the rebel-held district of Bustan al-Qasr, chanting: “The people want an end to the blockade.”

The protest is disrupted by several men in black, one carrying a gun, followed by the sound of gunfire.

Many Aleppo residents are angered by the rebel blockade, which has created shortages of basics such as bread and flour, and hiked up food prices in several neighbourhoods at the start of the fasting month of Ramadan.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

it is better to keep him in a safe place. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire,” he added.

Abdul Atti is reported to have denied that Morsi was being detained at the Presidential Guard barracks in Cairo, as many believe.

The Brotherhood, to which he belongs, says his ousting by the military a week ago amounted to a coup.

Its supporters have since been staging protests outside the capital’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, not far from the barracks, demanding his release and reinstatement. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Washington vilified on both sides of Egypt’s divide

Pictures of Barack Obama have popped up all over Cairo. Some have his faced crossed out in paint. Heavy black beards are daubed onto others. No matter which side you talk to in Egypt, where people have been polarised by a violent political crisis, the U.S. president is cast as the villain.

Islamists who support Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, who was overthrown by the military a week ago, are angry at the United States because they believe it allowed, and even plotted, what they call a military coup.

The fact that Washington declines to call it that has merely reinforced suspicion among Morsi’s Muslim

Brotherhood.

Many non-Islamists glad to see the back of Morsi are also upset. They believe the United States has cozied up to the Brotherhood since it was elected into office, turning U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson into a hate figure for many.

Egyptians have long been hostile to U.S. foreign policy, seeing it as pro-Israeli, hypocritical and self-serving despite billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Cairo since Egypt signed a U.S.-brokered peace treaty with Israel in 1979. But antipathy has grown stronger in the last twoand-a-half years of turmoil since autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, a longtime ally of Washington, was toppled in a 2011 uprising. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Nelson Mandela responding to treatment – Jacob Zuma

Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment but remains in a critical condition, South African President Jacob Zuma said after visiting him.

The former president and global statesman, 94, has been in hospital battling a recurring lung infection since June 8.

President Zuma’s statement urged the public to continue “providing support and showering him with love”.

People who have seen him say he remains responsive.

“We are encouraged that Madiba is responding to treatment,” said President Zuma, referring to Mandela by his clan name.

The head of Mandela’s Thembu tribe, King

Saudi Arabia to expel foreigners flouting Ramadan

Foreigners living in Saudi Arabia caught eating or drinking in public during Ramadan will be fired from their jobs and expelled from the country, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, one day before the Muslim holy month of fasting began.

“Non-Muslim residents in the kingdom must not eat or drink in public during Ramadan, in respect to the holiness of Ramadan and the feelings of Muslims,” said a statement by the Interior Ministry published by the state-run SPA news agency. The statement said those who chose to flaunt the tradition “will be sub -

ject to deterrent measures that include terminating their employment contracts and expelling them from the kingdom.”

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which applies a strict version of Islamic sharia law, is home to eight million foreigners, mostly Asians.

Ronald Garcia Domingo, a Philippine national who has lived in Saudi Arabia for the past nine years, said foreign residents like himself were well aware of the rules – and consequences of breaking them – in their adopted country. Domingo, who works in the cost control department of a Saudi construction company, said he and other non-Muslims ate their lunch in a special, closed room. According to him, it is not difficult to follow the regulations, with the government even changing work schedules during Ramadan to help Muslims and non-Muslims abide by traditions. (Excerpt from France24)

Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday that he was “conscious” when he visited his hospital in Pretoria.

“He could not talk, but he recognised me and made a few gestures of acknowledgement, like moving his eyes,” he said.

Last week, President Zuma denied reports that Mandela was in a vegetative state.

Mandela is revered across the world for his role in the fight against white minority rule in South Africa. He was jailed for 27 years, before being freed in 1990 and elected president in 1994. (Excerpt from BBC News)

Landslide topples buildings,

buries

dozens of residents in southwest China

Arain-triggered landslide buried between 30 and 40 residents and toppled 11 buildings Wednesday in southwest China, state-run media said.

The disaster occurred in Sichuan province’s Dujiangyan city, fire officials said, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Authorities are trying to confirm the exact number

of casualties while continuing evacuation and rescue efforts.

About 370,000 people and more than 81,000 acres of crops have been affected by the flooding, which has plagued the mountainous region since Monday. It has resulted in more than US$40 million in direct economic losses, provincial officials said. (CNN)

TT, U.S. team up to protect energy sector

The United States has partnered with the TT government to share information on protecting the country’s biggest economic contributor, the energy sector. Tuesday marked the opening of the Energy Sector Security Initiative, (ESSI) a partnership between security forces in TT and the U.S. to share information on protecting critical energy infrastructure from foreign or local threats.

Experts from the U.S. Homeland Security,

Department of Energy and critical infrastructure assessment teams spent Tuesday and Wednesday engaged in dialogue with their local counterparts. In an interview following the commencement of the initiative Tuesday, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Klabunde, Director of State Partnership at the Delaware National Guard said the purpose was to see how the TT defence could benefit from information shared between the two countries. Charge’ D’Affaires of

the U.S. Embassy Thomas Smitham said that the U.S. was investing its time and resources – through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative – to assist the government and people of Trinidad and Tobago in developing solutions to tough security problems. “We all know that the energy sector drives the economy of Trinidad and Tobago. “The programme we are launching today reflects our commitment to helping to secure your energy sector.” (Trinidad Guardian)

Apple conspired to fix e-book prices, judge rules

Apple conspired with publishers to fix the price of electronic books, a U.S. judge has ruled. Manhattan Judge Denise Cote said the iPad maker “conspired to restrain trade”.

But the firm’s spokesman, Tom Neumayr, said Apple would appeal against the ruling and fight “false allegations”. Five publishers that were originally named as defendants alongside Apple have already reached settle-

ments, including Penguin.

The judge ordered a new hearing to determine damages to be imposed on Apple.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the conspiracy was designed to challenge online retailer Amazon’s dominance of the fast-growing ebooks market.

Penguin settled its case for US$75 million (£49 million).

Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon and Schuster created a US$69 million fund for refunds to consumers, while

Macmillan settled for US$26 million.

Judge Cote said: “The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy.

“Without Apple’s orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the spring of 2010,” she said. (BBC News)

Moody’s upgrades outlook on UK banking sector from negative to stable

For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, the ratings agency Moody’s has upgraded the outlook for the British banking sector. The agency has had a negative outlook on UK banks since May 2008 but on Wednesday moved it to stable, based on the economic outlook and improving capital position of banks.

While the sector as a whole is on a stable outlook, the long-term debt and depos-

it ratings of the large banks remain on a negative outlook because Moody’s believes that the UK authorities want to avoid using taxpayer support in future collapses.

The announcement came as the European Union set out rules that would put the onus on shareholders and bondholders to incur losses when banks are close to collapse, rather than the institutions turning to taxpayers. Although economic growth

in the UK is expected to remain low, Moody’s does not expect this to have an adverse effect on the operating environment for banks.

The Bank of England has indicated that it expects interest rates to remain low, which will help households and companies maintain their debt payments. “Moreover, unemployment has not increased as much as in previous recessions, supporting banks’ asset quality,” Moody’s said. (The Guardian)

After boom years, some Chinese firms run into trouble in crisis-hit Sudan

When Chinese clothing wholesaler Chan Cui Xiao signed a deal with a Sudanese businessman to export colourful bed sheets to the African country he was confident of making good money.

A few months later he is in serious financial trouble –he shipped his goods to Sudan but did got paid and has rushed to the country to try to track down his local business partner.

The Sudanese had sent him credit and bank financing letters, and as Chan had done business that way in Egypt and other Arab countries he thought it was safe to export his goods.

“I made a loss of US$200,000 but have been unable to find the Sudanese guy. The phone number and address he gave me seem wrong,” said Chan, sitting in a stuffy clothing store run by a fellow Chinese in the

Etihad Airways’ protracted acquisition of a 24 per cent stake in India’s Jet Airways for US$370 million has hit a further snag, following allegations surrounding a bilateral traffic rights deal and 11th hour government interference.

The deal between Jet and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, announced in April, was the first example of foreign direct investment in India’s cashstrapped aviation sector by an overseas carrier following a change in the law this year.

The acquisition came

hours after a new bilateral deal was announced that would increase by three-fold weekly passenger capacity between the UAE capital and India. In a letter to the Indian Prime Minister and Central Vigilance Commission, MP Nishikant Dubey claimed that four government ministers colluded to clear “in haste” the bilateral traffic agreement in order to speed up the JetEtihad deal. Jet, owned by tycoon Nayesh Goyal, was about US$1.5 billion in debt prior to the acquisition and in desperate need of new funding.

town of Omdurman, north of Khartoum.

Chan is not alone in losing money. There are at least 10 Chinese clothing wholesalers in Omdurman’s dusty fashion market who say they have not been paid by Sudanese partners. Some of them have come over from China to sell off their merchandise from stalls set up in front of the singlestorey white brick buildings that line the unpaved market street. (Reuters)

Etihad-Jet deal dogged by more controversy Asia

Dubay also alleged the Director General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) discretely made a number of key changes to codes governing Indian aviation, that in turn paved the way for the sale of Jet. Clauses modified or removed from the DGCA’s 2008 guidelines included one that prevented a domestic airline from passing on control of management to a foreign carrier and another that prevented financial arrangements such as lease-hire and hirepurchase with an overseas airline. (Arabianbusiness)

New Zealand agri push at big expo in Colombia

Seven New Zealand businesses will sell products in Colombia’s biggest agricultural fair next week, in a first for this country. AgroExpo starts today and runs to July 21 and is an opportunity for firms around the world to showcase their technology to Colombian farmers, many of whom struggle for efficiency.

Despite being South

America’s third-largest milk producer, about half of that milk never makes it to a dairy factory. According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, a major part of that problem is a poor infrastructure with inferior equipment, and Livestock Improvement NZ (LICNZ) general manager Jock Richardson says that is where New Zealand producers can help.

LICNZ works with cattle genetics, to ensure a farmer’s herd is as productive as possible, and is using the fair in a bid to expand into Colombia. “The genetics of breeding a cow are incredibly important and in Colombia they’ve been using a US model,” he says. “We’re really certain that there is no more efficient cow in the world than what we’ve got in New Zealand.” (nzherald.co.nz)

Surety bonds – a crucial, often forgotten tool for entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs have a lot on their plate as they prepare to start up a new enterprise. To help stay organised, it can be helpful to run through a checklist of essential tasks that must be completed before a business can open. Considerations vary widely, from where exactly to set up shop to which bank to trust with the company’s finances.

All too often there’s one important consideration that gets overlooked – the need for surety bonds. These risk mitigation tools are usually required by government agencies looking to protect the best interests of consumers. Some bonds, however, work to protect business owners, which can be especially beneficial for small business owners.

So what is a surety bond, anyway?

At its core, a surety bond is a legally binding contract that financially guarantees the performance of an individual or a business. Each surety bond that’s executed binds three entities together.

* The principal is the professional or business that purchases the bond to guarantee the quality of work to be done in the future.

* The oblige is the entity that requires certain professionals and businesses to get bonded. Obligees are usually government agencies working to regulate an industry.

* The surety is the company that sells the bond to the principal, thus providing a financial guarantee that the

professional or business will follow all necessary rules outlined in the bond’s language. What kind of protection do surety bonds provide? There are thousands of surety bond types out there, and each one offers a unique kind of protection. Generally, though, surety bonds provide financial and legal insulation to protect consumers from unreliable professionals and businesses. Surety bonds provide a guarantee that an individual or an entity will fulfill its contractual obligations or other professional duties according to laws and regulations. In this way they provide the public with financial protection against poorly run businesses. (Business Dictionary)

Teenage pregnancies down, says Dr Anthony

Guyana has recorded a reduction in teenage pregnancy despite a barrier to access information on sexual reproductive health for teenagers in Guyana, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony said Dr Anthony was one of Guyana’s representatives at a two-day international conference on population and development which seeks to review progress countries in the region have made since the signing of the Cairo Declaration some 20 years ago.

The conference was held at the International Conference Centre, Liliendaal. Briefing the media on the outcome of the conference, Dr Anthony said from all reports, Guyana has made significant progress on issues relating to migration, sexual reproductive health, the vulnerable population and the elderly.

Decrease

The minister who took matters regarding education, youth and employment to the fore, pointing out that Guyana has seen a decrease in the amount of teenage pregnancies being recorded which he believes is as a result of educational programmes implemented here.

“We’ve been able to put a number of programmes in place, in terms of education, which I think contributed to the decrease. We’re also advocating at the international level that we need to put

more programmes in place, especially at health centres, to offer sexual reproductive health as an essential part of the package of service that we offer,” he noted.

Across the region, the average age for girls to begin engaging in sexual activity is 14 years old, which leads to some 14 million births for adolescents each year. However, over 70,000 of that amount die during child birth.

According to Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud, “In the under 15 age groups, we have had close to four per cent of all pregnancies in 2003 in this age group. In 2011, we’ve reduced this to just about one per cent and that means less than 100.”

Teenage pregnancy

While Guyana has managed to reduce the prevalence of teenage pregnancy, its main challenge remains the lack of access to information on adolescents, without parental consent. “One of the things we’re advocating for is how can we change this and if there is legislative barriers that are in place then we can remove those barriers to allow teens to have access to it, because its more detrimental when they don’t get the service.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran said stemming from the conference is the adoption of best practices from countries in the region. He noted that

Guyana will be seeking to implement an initiative from Barbados that has proved effective in reintegrating teenage mothers into the school system.

“In Barbados, they have a very robust programme to return young ladies to school after they would have had the baby. And these are some of the best practices that Guyana needs to look at.”

The health minister added that Guyana has also set the pace for other countries to follow with regards to some of its programmes.

Concrete measures

He believes that more emphasis needs to be placed on the male adolescent population in Guyana. “Too often discussions about, for example, teenage pregnancy centres around the young women, but we do not involve the male as a participant, only as a by-stander. So I think one of the concrete measures we’ll see coming out of this activity will be how to involve the male,” Dr Ramsaran stated.

The issue of non-communicable diseases was also raised, with a healthy diet and exercise highlighted as effective ways to address it.

The need to source alternative funding for HIV/ AIDS programmes was also cited as vital in ensuring there is not a resurgence of the epidemic in Guyana, given the pulling of funding from a number of international agencies.

Armed robbery suspect remanded

A19-year-old was remanded when he appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday on a charge of robbery under arms. It is alleged that on July 3, on Water Street, in the company of others and armed with a dangerous weapon, Joshua Meredith robbed Elson Ned of one gold chain and one gold ring, valued a total of $135,000. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge read against him.

According to the prosecu-

tion, around 12:50h on the day in question, the virtual complainant was standing along Water Street when he was robbed by three identifiable males, one of whom had a gun. A report was made and the accused was arrested. While in the custody of the police, he was placed in an Identification Parade. Ned then pointed out the accused as the one who was holding the gun. The accused was cautioned and admitted orally to the offence. He was charged, and the articles were not recovered.

Attorney Paul Fung-A-

Republic Bank sponsors steelpan workshop

Republic Bank Limited’s commitment to support and develop art, culture and music is once again evident with their sponsorship of a steelpan workshop in collaboration with the Tina Insanally Foundation. The workshop will be attended by 14 participants drawn from the foundation’s locations coun-

trywide, namely Lovely Lass, West Coast Berbice; St John Bosco, Plaisance, East Coast Demerara; the Ruimveldt Children Centre, the St Ann’s Orphanage and its main branch at Guyenterprise, Georgetown. The facilitators are London-based panologist Aubrey Bryan and Ivan Chapman from the North Ruimveldt Multilateral

School. They will host five daily sessions from July 15 to 19 at the Ivan Chapman’s North Ruimveldt pan workshop on Mandela Avenue. The workshop will teach the participants the history of pan, how to select suitable pans, to sink drums, the smoothing and marking out of drums – the grooving, cutting, heating and tuning of drums.

Miner accused of unlawful wounding

Aminer appeared before Magistrate Fabian Azore on Wednesday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, charged with unlawful and malicious wounding.

It is alleged that on July 7, at 14 Miles Aracabra, North West District, Mervin George unlawfully and maliciously wounded fellow miner Troy Daniels with intent to disfigure. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the

charge read against him.

According to the prosecutor, around 15:30h on the day in question, both the virtual complainant and the accused were at a shop drinking high wine separately, when the accused and another person got into an argument. The accused then left the shop and returned with a cutlass. He then dealt Daniels one chop to his left abdomen, thinking he was the person with whom he ar-

Bartender accused

Abartender appeared before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, charged with abusive language and threatening behaviour.

Fat, who represented the defendant, stated that the accused is a stevedore and has been locked up for three days. The lawyer said his client has no prior convictions and requested reasonable bail.

The prosecution objected to bail on the grounds of the nature of the offence, the fact that a gun was used, and the likelihood that if granted his pre-trial liberty, Meredith will not return to court for trial.

Bail was refused, and the defendant was remanded. He is set to return to court on July 24.

gued. George ran away after he committed the act. A report was made, and the defendant was identified by a relative of the virtual complainant. He was subsequently arrested and charged.

The prosecution objected to bail based on the seriousness of the offence. The defendant was remanded and is to return to Matthews Ridge Magistrate’s Court on August 6.

of abuse granted bail

Peter Gorsahi, 44, of Lot 2 Station Street, Kitty, Georgetown, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to two counts of abusive language against Gopaul Persaud and Beena Narine on July 7.

Gorashi was further charged with threatening behaviour against Sunil Persaud on July 7, but pleaded not guilty to the charge. The defendant, who works at Seeta’s Bar, was granted bail in the sum of $30,000 and placed on a bond pending the outcome of the matter.

He will be returning to court on July 18.

GDF concerned that piracy suspects handed over to Suriname

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) said it is concerned about reports alleging the inaction by the Coast Guard, which led to four persons held by some fishermen being handed over to Surinamese authorities for a robbery at sea on Tuesday.

The army in a release said consequent to a report by an official of the Number 66 Fisheries Co-operative around noon on Tuesday about a robbery at sea, the Coast Guard deployed from New Amsterdam to respond.

A subsequent call was

received from the fisheries co-operative official around 15:00h where he indicated they had located the vessel in the Eversham Village area and there was an exchange of gunfire. He was advised that the Coast Guard had already deployed and was heading to the area.

At around 15:45h, a call was received from an Agriculture Ministry Fisheries Department official who requested the Coast Guard and police presence at the Number 66 Village Fisheries Cooperative location so that the arrested persons could be tak-

en in to custody. Another Coast Guard team was deployed, this time to the Number 66 Village Fisheries Co-operative location.

While at that location, the commander was informed that the vessel and crew were already handed over to the Surinamese authorities.

The GDF is concerned that alleged perpetrators of act of piracy in Guyana’s waters were handed over to Surinamese authorities instead of their Guyanese counterparts for investigation and prosecution.

SUDOKU

It’s time to view an important arrangement from a different angle. A fresh perspective is likely to reveal a number of benefits that you’ve been overlooking.

By Bernice Bede Osol

(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

Some important changes are transpiring that are likely to be very advantageous for your career. Be on your toes and dress for success.

The time is now ripe to tackle something that you’ve been reluctant to attempt. Don’t be – you’ll be lucky when there’s a lot on the line.

If you’re involved in something that is moving along well, don’t upset the applecart. Leaving it undisturbed only enhances its probabilities for further improvement.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

(July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20-March 20)

You could be unusually lucky when it comes to partnerships. Several alliances will prove beneficial and educational.

(March 21-April 19)

Though you may have been experiencing trouble in your social life lately, your material affairs will continue to go well. Each is operating under different aspects.

(April 20-May 20)

Important personal matters can be advanced if you are bold and assertive rather than laid-back. You’ll function best when you’re up-front about everything.

(May 21June 20)

When it comes to a commercial negotiation, don’t be reluctant to ask for the moon. Even if you have to settle for less, you should come out rather well.

Ventures that you personally create, develop or control have excellent chances for success. This is the day to back your own horse instead of betting on someone else’s.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

You’re more fortunate than usual, in that you have several people pulling for you whom you may not even be aware of. They’ll provide something you couldn’t have gotten on your own.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

You’ve just entered a cycle where, with a little extra effort, you can make your hopes a reality. Stop sitting on your expectations and start doing something to realise them.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Your material prospects look to be very encouraging, especially in arrangements you share with one or more people. Don’t be selfish and try to keep things for yourself.

AccOMMODATiON

Furnished rooms and apartments; 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments- long & short term rental. Affordable rates Call: 227-2199, 227-2186, 227-2189

cAR RENTAL

Journey Inn Apartments & car rental. Rooms & car to rent from $3000 Premio, Vitz. Phone: 689-6668, 6394452.

Dentures provided in 72 hours from as low as $4500. Contact Dr B Stuart, 209B Charlotte Street, Lacytown. Tel: 225-5034

YELLOW PAGES

thursday, july 11, 2013

Get your Visa approved. High Success Rate. Balwant Persaud & Associates. Certified Immigration Consultants 68 Sixth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown (Between Cummings & Lights Sts.) Tel: 225-1540, 622-8308, 655-3105. Email: balwantpersaud@yahoo.ca

Professional Key Shop, 125 Carmichael Street, Georgetown. Phone: 225-3923, mobile: 6213249. We cut any type of key, service and repair all types of locks. Get your extra key today.

Da Silva’s Optical. For Your Eyes Only, Look Better See Better. Phillip A Da Silva OD, Shannon L Da Silva OD, Natalie Da Silva OD. 248 South Road, Bourda. Phone: 227-3529, Linden: 444-6376, Corriverton: 339-3536, Meten-Meer-Zorg: 275-0322, Grand Cayman Islands: (345) 943-1515 for the perfect trendy touch.

INDIAN GUY NEEDS FEMALE COMPANION PHONE: 644-2306

VEHicLEs FOR sALE

AA 60 CARINA CAR AUTOMATIC $360,000 PHONE: 644-2306

JUST ARRIVED: TOP QUALITY RECONDITIONED VEHICLES; TOYOTA PREMIO; TOYOTA SPACIO; TOYOTA VITZ (NEW SHAPE); TOYOTA NOAH; SUZUKI SWIFT; MERCEDES BENZ C200 COMPRESSOR; BMW 318 I; COROLLA AE100 WAGON; LAND CRUISER (FULLY LOADED); MAZDA PROCEED 4WD EXTRACAB PICKUP; TOYOTA HILUX; 3RZ AND 5L; 4WD EXTRACAB PICKUPS; HIACE PITBULL 19 SEATER; MITSUBISHI CANTER TRUCKS 3; 3.5; TONS OPEN TRAY; 3 TONS WITH TAILGATE HOIST; 2 TONS 4WD; 3 TONS DUMP TRUCK. PREORDER YOUR UNITS EARLY AND GET THE BEST PRICES. FULL AFTER SALES SERVICE AND FINANCING AVAILABLE. DEO MARAJ AUTO SALES, 2 CHIMNEY ROAD, CHATEAU MARGOT, ECD. 624-0762 , 220-5177. A NAME AND A SERVICE YOU CAN TRUST.

NEW ATVs INTRODUCTORY PRICE $1,450,000 (DUTY FREE). PHONE: 691-0234.

NEW 2013 ISUZU DMAX, SINGLE & DOUBLE CABS. PHONE: 691-0234

Honda CRV, lady-driven. Phone 657-0482 SOLD AS IS.

Youth Ministry offering several summer camp packages

– More than 10,000 children targeted

Available: Fresh long-stemmed ros-

es, fresh dried and silk floral arrangements, gift items, bridal boutiques and wreaths. Nesha’s Flowerland. 78 Church Street (opposite St George’s Cathedral). Tel: 227-3553/225-3315

FOR SALE

All models of engines (Perkins, cummins, lister, deuez, john dere etc) enclosed and open air any size of KVA. Call Ram on 619-4483 or 226-6325

One two flat home: 3 bedrooms upper flat, with bath and kitchen, lower flat: bath & kitchen.

Located in Atlantic Gardens, call 6194483 or 656-7471 for more information.

German Shepherd pups for sale. Phone: 619-6086, 699-7077.

One 4108 Perkins Engine. Call: 6805346

Husehold furniture. Phone: 687-5653

1 CHICKEN FARM (8 ACRES) 5 PENS, CAPACITY - 30,000 BIRDS WITH OWN WATER SOURCE AND OTHER AMENITIES AT LALUNI, PRICE NEG PHONE: 611-8049

Learn transcendental meditation and reduce stress, be happy increase intelligence, develop your full brain potential, improve relationships, be successful, be peaceful, develop higher states of consciousness , a technique that works for everyone, enroll now for next class. Contact Askoke (certified teacher) email kashokejp_68 @yahoo. com. Phone: 233-693

Healthworld Holistic Centre: Psychotherapy available for all types of abnormal behaviors – addictions, emotional, suicidal, anger, relationship and sexual problems. Treatment of stress disorders, depression, fear, low self-esteem, insomnia, trauma, psychosomatic sicknesses, and children's disorders. We also conduct IQ evaluations and behavioral assessments. By appointments only. Clinic hours: 11:00 – 17:00h. Tel: 592-621-0552. Email:healthworldhc@gmail.com

Are you pouring on pounds? Then call Raul /Carol Wilson: 660-6818, 6415923, 216-3016, 216-3601 for your healthy eating package.

Immigration & Visa Services We han-

2-stoery concrete house, 32’x55’, 3 bedrooms, Block 8, Mon Repos, ECD. $36M. Phone: 642-2116

J. Eastman and Associates Chartered Accountants, services, taxation, financial services, VAT preparation, auditing, income tax, vehicle and building compliances. Phone: 223-2105, 662-7467, located 190 Church Street, Georgetown (opp Pet Shop).

sPiRiTUALiTy

Learn transcendental meditation and gain deep relaxation, eliminate stress, increase creativity and intelligence, promote health, attain inner happiness and fulfillment and contribute to peace for the world. Contact certified teacher Ashoka: 233-6921, email kashokejp_68@yahoo.com

Suriname astrology palmist and Djuka healer, the most powerful spiritualist in the world, are you suffering from the following problems - (any religions) love, marriage, family, health, business, husband and wife relationships, property, court, children, promotion, visa, pregnancy, education, depression, job, sexual, jealousy, enemy, money, drinking, also you can have all evil forces destroyed such as black magic, witchcraft, voodoo, obeyah, etc, and gives powerful protection. Private and confidential. Phone: 601-5947.

Dutch Spiritual work. Unite lovers, get rid of evil, enhance prosperity, good luck baths and charm bowu guards, etc. Phone: 220-0708, 6126417, 687-5653

Divinations and cleansing of spiritual problems of all kinds. Powerful Ifá and Khemetian spiritual guards, pendants, crystals, and rune stones to help you overcome problems with love, relationships, legal, sexual, pregnancy, business, sickness, jobs, enemies, work, money and many more. Call 10:00-16:00h on: +592690-1824. Email: anew-life@live.com

SUMMERTIME TRAVEL DAILY FLIGHTS. LETHEM, PORT KAITUMA, MAHDIA, KAIETEUR FALLS, PARAMAKATOI. JUNE 29 - JULY 1. PARIMARIBO-SURINAME, BOA VISTA-BRAZIL, KAIETEUR FALLS DAY, ESSEQUIBO & MAZARUNI RIVER. TEL: 264-2851, CELL: 668-6501

Business property; ideal for doctors’ clinic, pharmacy, western union or boutique. One upper flat 3 bedrooms , 2 bathrooms$150,000 monthly. 1 Barber shop or 1 internet café. Call: 223-9727, 673-0373, 666-7001 Office space 349 East Street , North Cummingsburg. No agents please. Phone: 226-6551, 225-0391 Furnished rooms for rent. All facilities included. Call BG Real Estate Agency, 27 Dasrate Street, Triumph. Call Isha on 220-2130, 622-7097

One cook interior phone:680-5346. Clerical staff. Must be computer literate, knowledge of CorelDraw will be an asset. Send applications to Jarrods, 51 Main Street, Georgetown.

The Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry will offer more than 10,000 children, home on the twomonth August vacation, the opportunity to participate in different activities that will teach them new things in a fun way.

These camps will be held in all 10 administrative regions and will target 7000 children, touching areas such as civic education, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

There are also special sports camps which will be targeting more than 3000 other children. These camps

will focus solely on physical education and sporting activities, such as cricket, football, volleyball, swimming, and lawn tennis.

They provide a fun yet educational opportunity for children to get involved in sports, and also for those who may already be involved to better their skills.

The museums also will be hosting campaigns and workshops for children to educate them about their history, ancestry and roots, and to allow them to explore and experience new cultures and traditions.

The Walter Roth Museum

of Anthropology’s summer camp package includes the teaching of indigenous languages. There is also the Pan Minors Music Literacy programme, which is another summer programme that teaches students about pan music. A total of 175 children will benefit from this venture. These camps promise to be exciting, educational and recreational, and are an ideal way for children to spend their vacation and to have the opportunity of experiencing something new while making new friends and having fun.

Courts sponsoring Finger Spelling Bee Competition

The 2013 Finger Spelling Bee Competition, which is hosted and coordinated by the Deaf Association of Guyana in collaboration with the Education Ministry, will soon be underway.

The competition, exclusively sponsored by Courts, will comprise students from two schools competing in finger spelling, and the signing of words presented as

pictures. The programme will be broadcasted on the National Communications Network (Channel 11) and moderated by Dr Rovin Deodat.

The presentation ceremony will be hosted on today at 11:00h on the ground floor of Courts’ Main Street branch.

The company said in a release it recognises the effort and resources required to successfully execute such an initiative; and with the growing interest in the deaf community and their visual language, it is elated to be the sole sponsor of this year’s Finger Spelling Bee Competition.

“Courts is always pleased and honoured to play an active role in development of our Guyanese people, as we fulfil our corporate responsibility thus standing true to our mission of “Bringing Value Home”.”

Stray catching units impounded over 400 animals in June

The Home Affairs Ministry for its monthly report on the operations of the stray catching units, wishes to advise that during the month of June, 2013, the stray catching units of Georgetown and Berbice conducted operations in A, B, C and D Police Divisions. A total of 408 animals were impounded.

The Georgetown Unit impounded 182 animals –

67 cows, 53 goats and 62 sheep, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

The Berbice Unit impounded a total of 226 animals – 23 horses, 154 cows, 34 goats, and 15 sheep.

For the first half of this year, 2012 animals were impounded – 1070 cows, 547 goats, 284 sheep, and 111 horses.

The ministry once more

appeals to cattle owners to exercise proper supervision of their animals during their grazing period. Also, the general public is advised that everyone who releases or attempts to release any stray taken for the purpose of being impounded under the authority of the Pounds Act Chapter 71:04 shall be liable to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $20,000.

England hit back as 14 wickets crash

England fought back brilliantly with the ball after disappointing with the bat on an astonishing opening day of the Ashes series at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.

In a riotous final session, the hosts lost their last four wickets for two runs in crumbling to 215 all out before tearing through Australia’s top order with the new ball to reduce them to 75-4.

Peter Siddle was Australia’s outstanding performer on an overcast day which offered plenty of assistance to swing bowlers,

to leave the match beautifully poised, with Steve Smith on 38 not out.

If England can dismantle the remainder of the Australian batting order on Thursday, they could yet escape with the first innings lead they were targeting when captain Alastair Cook won the toss and chose to bat on a dry pitch hardened by several days of sunshine.

It was a decision that appeared justified as the hosts found the boundary 19 times in the first session and advanced to a promising 178-4 in the afternoon.

removing five of England’s top seven to finish with figures of 5-50.

But Steven Finn dismissed Shane Watson and Ed Cowan in successive balls and James Anderson took two wickets of his own

But a combination of poor shot selection and fine swing bowling saw them lose their last six wickets for 37 runs to round off an innings that had lasted just 59 overs.

With Stuart Broad off the field receiving treatment to

a shoulder injury he suffered while batting, Australia began their innings positively. Shane Watson struck successive fours off Finn as they took the total to 19 off as many balls.

But the Middlesex fast bowler gained his revenge with a double strike as first Watson, then Cowan were drawn into chasing balls outside off stump, sending thick edges through to a gleeful England slip cordon.

If Finn’s intervention had altered the course of the match, Anderson was about to turn things full circle with the wicket of Michael Clarke for a six-ball duck.

The Australia captain, averaging 66 in his 24 previous Tests as skipper, was beaten by a ball that moved away at the last moment and kissed the top of his off stump.

Anderson’s 308th Test wicket took him past Fred Trueman into third on England’s all-time list, and his 309th followed soon afterwards as Chris Rogers was trapped lbw to a ball which replays revealed would have brushed the outside of leg stump.

It was a breathtaking finale to a day that began with fireworks and a flyby from the Red Arrows to mark the renewal of hostilities in one of sport’s oldest rivalries.

Australia sprung a huge surprise before the start of play by handing 19-yearold spinner Ashton Agar his Test debut at the expense of Nathan Lyon.

The tall left-armer, of Sri Lankan background, had only played 10 previous first-class matches and was lining up in the Home Counties Premier League for Henley earlier this season.

James Pattinson, one of five Australians playing in

Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie to run for parliament

Ethiopian athletics star

Haile Gebrselassie says he is entering politics with the aim of winning a parliamentary seat in the 2015 election.

The 40-year-old’s announcement follows longstanding rumours that his athletics career is drawing to a close.

Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic 10,000m champion, is regarded as a national icon by most Ethiopians.

He has not said under which party’s banner he will contest the election.

Ethiopia’s parliament is dominated by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). It has only one opposition MP.

Help my country

“A lot of messages in the news about me going into politics,” Gebrselassie said on Twitter.

“Yes, I want to be in the parliament in 2015 to help my country to move forward.”

Gebrselassie is a fourtime world 10,000m champion and won gold at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.

He officially announced his retirement in 2010 but then went on to compete in races after recovering from a knee injury.

In April, he won his third

their first Ashes Test, was given the responsibility of delivering the first ball of the series. But as a hush descended over the 17,000 fans inside a sold-out Trent Bridge, the 23-year-old sent down a high and wayward bouncer that was rightly called a wide.

Left-armer Mitchell Starc delivered a similarly inauspicious first over, but once their nerves settled Australia’s new ball pair found plenty of swing and beat the bat with regularity.

Pattinson claimed the wicket of the England captain in the ninth over as Cook aimed a forceful shot at a ball outside off stump and got a healthy nick through to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Jonathan Trott quickly wrested the initiative back England’s way, striking consecutive boundaries in Siddle’s first over and cracking Agar’s first delivery - a full toss - to the cover fence.

Joe Root had appeared equally assured in a partnership of 51 before he was clean bowled by a superb away-swinging yorker from Siddle.

Kevin Pietersen and

Trott followed soon after lunch, the former edging an expansive shot to second slip for 14 and the latter deflecting an equally reckless drive on to his stumps.

Ian Bell and Jonny Bairstow revived England with a counter-attacking partnership of 54, but the wicket of Bell - caught at first slip off another fine delivery from Siddle - proved pivotal as England’s lower order folded miserably.

Matt Prior lazily slapped

Siddle to point for one and Broad top-edged a pull shot to gift Pattinson the simplest of caught and bowled dismissals.

Bairstow was bowled after playing around a full ball from Starc, with Finn caught behind off the following delivery.

Anderson survived Starc’s hat-trick ball but in the following over Graeme Swann prodded tamely to cover to complete the rout. (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD

consecutive Vienna half marathon and also took part in the Boston marathon, which was hit by a double bomb attack that killed three people.

The EPRDF is accused by rights groups of leading a highly repressive regime, using anti-terrorism law as a pretext to imprison opposition activists and journalists.

(BBC Sport)

Warner set for southern Africa match practice

Australia batsman David Warner will travel to southern Africa to gain match practice with his country’s A side.

Warner was suspended and fined after he punched England’s Joe Root at a bar in Birmingham in early June.

The 26-year-old was banned until the start of the first Ashes Test match, which began on Wednesday.

He will join the Australia A side for a tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa, but remains a part of the Ashes squad, selector John Inverarity said.

“David has trained hard and been very supportive of the team and his team-mates during the past few weeks, but his preparation for the first Test was not ideal,” said Inverarity.

“He is in need of match practice and runs in the longer format, and the Australia A games in Zimbabwe and South Africa will provide him with the best possible opportunity.”

Warner has made three centuries and seven fifties in 19 Tests, averaging 39.46, but has yet face England in the five-day game.

Cricket Australia said that Warner will play in a three-day match against a Zimbabwe XI in Harare. That match begins on 18 July, the same day that the second Ashes Test starts at Lord’s.

He will also play in Australia A’s next match, an unofficial Test against South Africa A in Pretoria, which is due to end on July 27. The third Ashes Test, at Old Trafford, begins on August 1.

“David remains a member of the Ashes squad and will return to England at an appropriate time, once we’re happy he has had adequate preparation in match conditions,” added Inverarity.

(BBC Sport)

Chris Froome extends overall lead on Tour

Britain’s Chris Froome extended his Tour de France lead with a stunning performance in the individual time trial on stage 11 to Mont St Michel on Wednesday.

Froome was second, 12 seconds behind German Tony Martin in the 33km stage.

The Team Sky rider gained two minutes on his nearest rival Alejandro Valverde and leads the Spaniard by three minutes, 25s in the general classification.

Mark Cavendish had urine thrown at him during the stage, though it is unclear whether he was deliberately targeted.

The incident happened a day after the Manxman collided with Tom Veelers in the sprint that decided stage 10.

Cavendish was one of the first riders to leave Avranches on Wednesday, with world time trial champion Tony Martin also an early starter.

Martin held the best time at the two time-check points all day until Froome, who as race leader was the last man out, rolled off the ramp.

Froome was one second ahead at the 9.5km mark and two seconds ahead at the 22.5km point, but faded as he rode into a headwind in the final 11km and could not beat Martin’s time of 36 minutes and 29 seconds. Belgian Thomas De Gendt finished third.

“I had a terrible last 30 minutes,” said Martin, who grimaced as he watched Froome’s progress on a TV near the finish line at the

Chris Froome

picturesque island on the Normandy coast.

“At the start I was quite sure I would hold on because I had a good lead on Thomas De Gendt. I didn’t expect Froome to come so close and I am really happy he lost some seconds in the final section.”

The stage win would have been merely a bonus for Froome, however, because his main objective was to gain time on the riders closest to him in the general classification, where Martin is not a threat.

This relatively short stage was expected to limit his rivals’ losses but instead he took more than two minutes out of Valverde, fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador and Dutch rider Bauke Mollema.

“I’m really happy with the result and having extended my advantage on my GC rivals,” Froome said afterwards. “The objective today was to try and take the maximum time possible from them.

“It gives me a good buffer going into the next few days but I think I am going to need every second I can get, with the way these guys are riding.”

Contador, who is now three minutes and 54 seconds behind Froome, refused to admit defeat.

“No-one has won the Tour de France yet and noone has lost it, We have to get to Paris yet,’’ he said.

“It’s true that Chris is in impressive form and is a great climber, but there are still many stages left.’’

Froome will not face any challenges to the yellow jersey over the next two flat stages, which offer Cavendish an opportunity to return to winning ways on what has been a turbulent Tour for the Manxman.

So far this year, Cavendish has only one victory - which came in stage five - and he will face stern competition for more from fellow sprinters Andre Greipel and Marcel Kittel. (BBC Sport)

Mark Cavendish has urine thrown at him

Aspectator threw urine at Mark Cavendish while he was competing in the Tour de France.

It happened on stage 11 during the 33km time trial from Avranches to Mont Saint Michel on Wednesday.

The liquid was thrown from a bottle with the 28-year-old Cavendish initially thinking it was water before realising what it was from the taste.

Cavendish is said to be “saddened” by the incident, but he has yet to discuss it in public.

It is not known whether the Manxman, who also heard boos and jeers during his ride, was targeted deliberately.

But Wednesday’s incident comes just a day after he was caught up in a controversial moment towards the end of stage 10.

As the Omega PharmaQuickStep rider tried to contest the sprint finish, he collided with Dutchman Tom Veelers who was sent crashing to the ground by the impact.

Cavendish was cleared of any blame by race organisers and called Veelers to say he would never knock him off on purpose.

But Veelers, who rides for the Argos Shimano team, is understood to have rebuffed this approach and requested an apology in person.

Team-mate Jerome Pineau said Cavendish was whistled by spectators on the morning of Wednesday’s stage.

“Yesterday I was so proud about the support but today I am ashamed,” wrote Frenchman Pineau on Twitter.

“Ashamed when my friend Mark Cavendish tells me he has been whistled and even sprayed with urine on the course. It’s scandalous.”

Omega PharmaQuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere said that other riders had told him that “some spectators were not very pleased with what happened yesterday” and had “yelled” at Cavendish.

“I regret this, I always felt that cycling fans were gentlemen, enthusiastic people,” said Belgian Lefevere.

“Mark is sad, he’s not upset, just sad. I cannot blame anyone. There are 100,000 or 200,000 people on the road, and one person decided to do this.

“He can maybe have a handshake tomorrow (Thursday) morning with Tom Veelers if he agrees with this. This case has to be closed.”

Cavendish was among the early runners in the time trial and set a time of exactly 42 minutes.

However, his team-mate

Tony Martin, the world time trial champion, won after completing the course in 36 minutes 29 seconds.

Britain’s Chris Froome retains the yellow jersey and has extended his overall lead to three minutes 25 seconds over Spain’s Alejandro Valverde.

Froome was disappointed to learn about the incident involving Cavendish, and felt the spectator responsible let the sport down.

“It’s one of the beauties of our sport that anyone can come and watch and anyone can get into it and enjoy the excitement, and really get up close to the top riders in the world,” said Froome.

“Mark’s one of the big characters in the sport, some people love him, some hate him, but to do something disrespectful like that is really sad.

“It ruins the whole atmosphere for the spectators coming to the sport. One individual doing that just leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth. And a bad taste in Mark’s mouth.” (BBC Sport)

Silverware within young captains’ grasp

Much of the cricketing world’s attention might be drawn towards the blue-riband Test series which kicked off in England on Wednesday, but a soon-to-be-forgotten tri-series in the Caribbean is not done with yet. India and Sri Lanka have played each other so often in recent years that even jokes about how often they play each other have become stale. Still, when the two sides face off for the 42nd ODI in five years, there’s a series trophy on the line. Also, firing up the two teams will be the chance for two young captains to get their hands on some silverware.

If it wasn’t enough that India’s one-day side was shorn of many of its most experienced players in recent months, they also lost the services of MS Dhoni midway through the tournament. That meant that

two years on from their World Cup triumph, India’s ODI side had only two players that featured in that famous Mumbai final. Fast on the heels of that Dhoni injury, India were humiliated by Sri Lanka by 161 runs, and were staring at an early exit. Instead, stand-in captain Virat Kohli added to his ever-expanding tally of ODI centuries to resuscitate the campaign, before Bhuvneshwar Kumar added to his burgeoning reputation as a new-ball expert by ripping through Sri Lanka’s batting. The two victories meant India ended up top of the table, and will go into the final with more of the swagger that carried them to the Champions Trophy title.

Sri Lanka have more experience in their line-up, particularly in the batting, but have lost some high-profile crunch ODIs to India in recent years. Their bowl-

ing attack isn’t as seasoned though, and plenty will depend on how Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath fare.

Sri Lanka will play their fourth day of cricket in five when they play the final, and thankfully the weather forecast is better than it has been over the past week. There is still a chance of some light showers but it is likely that today will prove the last of India-Sri Lanka cricket for the year.

Today, Mahela Jayawardene will become only the third cricketer to play 400 ODIs, behind legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. He has a penchant for turning up on the big occasion, as India well know, and will be desperate to mark the landmark game with a performance that will lift Sri Lanka to only their third ODI series win in previous 12 campaigns. (Cricnfo)

National Lotteries Control Board sponsors Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel for Limacol CPL

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – The National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) has signed on as the sponsor of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel team for the upcoming Limacol Caribbean Premier League (LCPL) T20 tournament.

The official announcement was made by Brian Sawh, director of the NLCB, at a press conference in Port of Spain on Wednesday. Also in attendance was the Honourable Anil Roberts, Trinidad and Tobago sport minister, Colin Borde, Manager of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel team, Red Steel Captain Dwayne Bravo and team members Darren Bravo and Justin Guillen.

“The National Lotteries Control Board is proud to be a part of this new and exciting journey in our country’s and region’s sporting history,” said Sawh.

“July 30, 2013 marks the dawn of a new era. The Limacol Caribbean Premier League brings a brand new

platform for our young cricketers to aspire to be great, and another platform for our household stars to bring pride to their adoring fans. For this reason, the NLCB takes great pride in doing our part as the title sponsor of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.”

“We are delighted to have NLCB come on board as the founding sponsor of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel,” said Jamie Stewart, Commercial Director and Consultant to the Limacol CPLT20. “The theme of the Limacol CPL is ‘We’ve Come to Play” and NLCB and its products fit in well with that. NLCB is a proud Trinidad organisation and we thank them for taking the step of giving full support to the Team in this inaugural season.”

Commenting on the announcement, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel Captain Dwayne Bravo said, “The NLCB is well known here for its support of local cricket, and as a Trini, it makes me happy to know that a local company has seen the

value of investing in Red Steel.”

Red Steel Team Manager Colin Borde agreed.

“Having NLCB partner with Red Steel strengthens both brands as we are equally committed to the support and development of cricket,” said Borde.

“Red Steel’s goal is to not only play great, entertaining cricket but to work alongside corporate Trinidad and Tobago to enhance the game. NLCB’s support for cricket here is a natural result of this vision.”

The inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premiere League begins on July 30 with 24 matches to be played across six Caribbean countries: Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel’s first match takes place on July 31 in Guyana against the Guyana Amazon Warriors.

The first match at Queen’s Park Oval will take place on August 7 when the Red Steel take on the Jamaica Tallawahs.

Stadium ready to host ODIs, says Xavier

–

curator promises pitch with bounce and carry

By Rajiv Bisnauth

General Manager of the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, Anthony Xavier says the venue is approximately 95 per cent ready.

The venue will host the first two One-Day International matches between hosts West Indies and Pakistan on Sunday and Tuesday.

Xavier said everything will be in place, emphasising that finishing touches are being undertaken at the stadium. However, he revealed that the parking remains a challenge since there are still encumbrances left in the area following Building Expo 4, which concluded on Sunday.

The area is expected to be cleared by Friday, according to Xavier, based on a promise made by the Housing and Water Ministry, organisers of the building exposition.

“Everything will be in place for cricket on Sunday, we are putting all systems in place for the matches and we are in the process of putting in the finishing touches at the stadium, the only challenge at the moment is getting the parking area which was used for the

building expo clear; however, the Ministry of Hosing and Water has promised to have that area cleared by Friday,” Xavier said.

Xavier, former minister of public works, said the outfield of Guyana’s most modern cricket facility and the Region’s 10th test venue is in pristine condition despite the recent rains. Head Curator Hardat Thomas promises a pitch with plenty of runs and “bounce and carry” for the bowlers.

When Guyana Times Sport visited the venue on Wednesday the place was a hive of activity with workers sprucing up various areas at the stadium.

The Media Centre has been repainted while several areas inside the facility have been given a face-lift.

Equipped with the best drainage system among the international venues in the West Indies, Providence is among the fastest drying Test grounds in the world and Xavier is confident that if there is no continuous rain on match days, the games will not be affected.

The outfield looked lush green and billiard table smooth and Thomas, who came to prominence as a groundsman working on the Uitvlugt pitch,

feels a lot more runs will be scored than usual. “Because of the soil, the pitches here (Providence) has been slow and helped the spinners a lot but the pitches for these games will be a lot harder with more pace and bounce and batsmen should be able to play more shots although the faster bowlers will get some help,” the head curator opined.

It was explained by Thomas that the rain has helped in getting especially the Mound area, which will be divided into the Party Stand and grass mound, ready for the games.

The second ODI is scheduled for July 16. Guyana has not hosted international matches in close to two years as a result of the dispute between GCB and Government of Guyana following the body’s controversial elections in 2011. The last international game played here was between the same opponents on May 5, 2011. The WI/Pakistan series includes five ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals.

The remaining ODIs will be played in St Lucia on July 19, 21 and 24. The two T20Is will be played at the Arnos Vale cricket ground in St Vincent on July 27 and 28.

Orealla upset BEI in latest Digicel football action in Berbice

Orella continue to produce promising results, surpassing expectations in this year’s Digicel Schools Football tournament.

Their most recent conquest came on Tuesday at the Skeldon Community Centre ground when they upset Berbice Educational Institute (BEI) 4-2. Orealla had put aside Region Six defending champions Tutorial Academy 4-0 on Friday.

Meanwhile, when action continued in the competition on Tuesday, New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary School (NAMSS)

made easy work of School of the Nations (SON), beating them 12-0. NAMSS were off to an early start when Shakeel Grant scored in the 11th minute.

Shaquan Spencer then scored in the 17th minute.

Jamal Butts registered two quick goals, scoring in the 20th and 33rd minutes of play. Butts second goal was one minute after Godfrey Coward had scored.

Akeem Bollers also got into the action and registered his name on the scoring chart in the 35th minute. SON then scored three own goals in the 37th,43rd and

44th minutes to be 9-0 when the half time whistle came. After the resumption SON feared better but their goal keeper Jeremy Chow was under constant pressure to prevent goals from scoring in the one-sided affair. SON’s defence was almost equal to the task but the goalkeeper offered little help to the school’s cause. Two goals in the second half by Grant in the 68th and 86th minutes along with a penalty by NAMSS goalkeeper Leon Loo in the 48th minute saw NAMSS through to the third round.

(Andrew Carmichael)

Limacol CPL timing great for Raymon Reifer’s ambitions

The Limacol Caribbean Premier League could not have come around at a better time for Barbadian all-rounder Raymon Reifer, one of several Under-23 players picked up in the draft for the professional Twenty20 tournament which bowls off this month.

Reifer is coming off his strongest first class season yet and though his performances were not blow-outs, the confidence and experience gained has put him in the right frame of mind for the exciting July 30 to August 24 campaign.

He will be turning out for the Barbados Tridents and he is banking on his steady left-arm seam and powerful left-handed batting to make a difference in the side.

“It was pretty good to get in some solid performances this season. It came on the back end of a lot of hard work that I put in throughout last year. Obviously not having the best season last year, it forced me to work a lot harder on my game and I got some results this year,” said the soft-spoken Reifer.

“I kind of under-achieved this year with the bat but

the bowling came on a lot. Going to England last year helped me a lot in terms of being the ‘pro’ and knowing your performances have to be up, and being able to do that consistently over there. I just brought that confidence back into my game over here and used it in the first class season.”

In the four-day competition, Reifer was the sec-

batting but said it was the stint at Frinton Cricket Club in England last year that turned things around for him.

“It was pretty challenging having to adjust to the conditions. The ball swings a lot later so you have to play the ball a lot later and that helped me throughout my England stint,” said Reifer.

It is unlikely Reifer will lose this momentum ahead of the Limacol CPL as he was recently drafted into the West Indies High Performance Centre.

He admitted he had doubts about getting picked up in last month’s draft but said he was thrilled with the news that he had made the cut.

ond highest run-getter for Combined Campuses and Colleges with 205 runs at an average of 25, and a highest score of 85.

And while his bowling was by no means explosive, his nine wickets at 20 runs apiece proved valuable. He credits Barbados and West Indies batsman, and fellow Tridents teammate Kirk Edwards, for his improved

“It (hopes for the draft) was kind of iffy. I was not sure if I was going to be selected or not but when I was selected I just thanked the Father for that opportunity,” he related.

“I was training [when I got the news of my draft selection] and I got an email on my phone saying congratulations.”

Reifer says he’s definitely looking forward to the Limacol CPL, and thinks it

is a great prospect for any young person or any player in the Caribbean for that matter to get himself out there.

“It is definitely an advantage to be working with someone like Desmond Haynes (Tridents head coach) because he is someone that has a lot of experience in the game and did it very successfully over a [long] period of time. It will be good to rub shoulders with him.

“With so many international players in the dressing room the only thing you can do is learn so I am really looking forward to that opportunity.”

The Tridents will boast a strong team with the likes of international Twenty20 stars Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith, international players like Pakistani batsmen Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal and highly-rated Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib al Hasan.

They will be joined by an array of local stars including Barbadian all-rounders Jonathan Carter and Kyle Mayers, off-spinner Ashley Nurse and fast bowler Carlos Brathwaite.

Reifer says he believes the Tridents possess the ability to go all the way in the tournament.

“I think we have a very good chance of winning the Limacol CPL. We have a balanced side and I am just looking forward to really interacting with the other international guys and enjoying the cricket,” said Reifer.

Cricket has always run through Reifer’s veins. His father Elvis, uncles Leslie and George and cousin Floyd, have all played first class cricket for Barbados. Floyd has also played for West Indies. It is no wonder that from childhood, Reifer always aspired to be a professional cricketer and the Limacol CPL has brought him another step closer to fulfilling his lifelong dream.

“From the time I knew myself I always wanted to play cricket. I want to play international cricket for the West Indies and become a very successful international cricketer,” he said. “It depends on how destiny goes. Sometimes you just don’t know. I will just continue to work hard, enjoy my cricket and take it step by step.” (CPL)

Pakistan prepared for today’s clash with Guyana at Bourda

By Rajiv Bisnauth

The Pakistan cricket team got down to serious business with their first net session at the Guyana National Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

The team, under captain Misbah-ul-Haq quietly arrived in Guyana on Monday evening for the first leg of their Caribbean tour, will play a strong Guyana team in a limited overs affair today at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda.

Pakistan will battle the West Indies in five ODIs and two T20 matches with the first and second ODIs scheduled here for July 14 and 16.

The new-look Pakistan team, comprising mostly of

a number of young, inexperienced players at the international level, were beaten by the West Indies by 10 wickets the last time the teams played here. Pakistan selectors have dropped the senior trio of Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat but at the same time recalled veterans Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan for the tour.

The new players in the list include openers Ahmed Shahzad and Khurrum Manzoor, middle order batsmen Sohaib Maqsood and Haris Sohail, allrounders Hammad Azam and Muhammad Nawaz.

For today’s warm-up game, admission is free and patrons will use the Rohan Kanhai stand.

West Indies left-arm spinner, Veerasammy Permaul will captain the Guyana team and in an in-

vited comment at the conclusion of the final net session on Wednesday, Permaul said the team is fully prepared and eagerly looking forward to the game.

Meanwhile, tickets for the two ODIs are on sale at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) office on Regent Street, Georgetown.

For the Sunday game tickets for the Green Stand cost $3500, Red Stand, $3000, Orange Stand, $2000, Grass Mound, $2000

and the popular Party Stand, 3500. Spectators who buy tickets will get two free bottles of beer on entry.

Tickets for Tuesday’s game will cost $500 less for each stand.

Pakistan ODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar

Amin, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdur Rehman, Haris Sohail.

Guyana squad: Veerasammy Permaul (captain), Christopher Barnwell (vice-captain), Trevon Griffith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Devendra Bishoo, Rajiv Ivan, Zaheer Mohamed, Paul Wintz, and Keon Joseph.