Daily Archive: Thursday, February 23, 2012

(Jamaica Observer) A forensic audit of the US$ 400-million Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP), which has come under scrutiny over allegations of gross mismanagement, is to begin in April this year.

(Barbados Nation) Britain’s Prince Edward today sang the praises of Barbados as a “model small state” but advised its leaders they would need courage, creativity and common sense to overcome the economic challenges.

(Jamaica Gleaner) India’s Sachin Tendulkar has been awarded top honours in Test batting at the ESPNcricinfo Awards 2011, which celebrate the best individual performances in the past year by batsmen and bowlers in Tests and one-day internationals (ODIs).

(Jamaica Gleaner) Empowered by the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), the Financial Investigations Division (FID) has dealt a significant blow to the coffers of a number of alleged drug smugglers, freezing more than J$700 million in real estate, motor vehicles, bank accounts, furniture and expensive jewellery.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Hugh Anthony Rawlins has resigned.

(Barbados Nation) The depth of the involvement of late Prime Minister David Thompson in CLICO International Life Insurance Limited (CIL) has engaged the attention of the Barbados Investors & Policyholders Alliance Inc.

(Barbados Nation) Charwin Jermaine Estwick,  30, a contractor from Guyana, was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prisons Dodds yesterday after appearing in court charged with stealing Bds$164 819 from two of his clients.

(Trinidad Guardian) A song that was initially a rejected advertisement became a two million dollar earner and Road March 2012 for soca artiste Machel Montano.

(Trinidad Guardian) Unless the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led administration is able to convince Lawrence Duprey otherwise, the shareholders’ agreement between the Government and CL Financial comes to an end in 110 days time.

Guyana-based ANSA McAL Trading Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Guyana government for the establishment of an ethanol production project on September 30 last year, today’s Trinidad Guardian reported.

Several hours of discussion with the University of Guyana Administration over a two-day period appears to have fallen apart and the three unions that formed ‘Operation Rescue UG’ said they may be going into a full-fledged strike as of tomorrow.

The creation of a database on fishermen and their activities is crucial to ensure security at sea, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said yesterday, while noting that two-thirds of the fishing vessels operating in local waters were unlicensed last year.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds has warned that consumers may soon have to pay more for their electricity supply as government, under the strain of rising fuel prices, sees the need to recoup some of the investments made in the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) to reduce technical and commercial losses.

Police are investigating yet another interior murder following the death of Clive Cornelius who was killed following an altercation with another man at Imbaimadai.

By Iva Wharton If the main bout of Saturday’s World Boxing Council’s (WBC) Champions Cup between Guyana’s Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite and Shawn Cox of Barbados is anything like the verbal exchanged witnessed at a press conference hosted by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) yesterday, then patrons will surely get their monies worth.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica Cricket Association has slammed the West Indies Cricket Board over what it terms “unjustified and disrespectful” criticisms levelled at Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller.

The 2010 report of the Auditor General has cited a Ministry of Culture account with $294 million as being in breach of the law.

Carib Soca Monarch Jumo Primo yesterday received his prize of $1.5 million and a bonus of $100,000 for prevailing as the ‘Best Newcomer’ in the competition which was staged on Saturday evening.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Guyana middle order batsman Assad Fudadin says last weekend’s Regional Four-Day match against Combined Campuses and Colleges will hold special memories after he carved out his maiden first class hundred at Warner Park.

Residents of the East Bank Berbice, who had been blocking the road at Glasgow in frustration over its condition, ended their protest action on Tuesday, after assurances that a new road would be constructed.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former Trinidad and Tobago captain Daren Ganga has been called up to a 15-man squad in preparation for their fourth round tussle with Windward Islands in the Regional Four-Day Championship starting here tomorrow.

The man who was hacked to death at Konawaruk Backdam, in Region Eight, on Monday has been positively identified as Troy Anthony Burkett and his relatives yesterday pleaded with the police to ensure that they get justice.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh,  CMC – Veteran West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul stroked a breezy 33 but Dwayne Smith failed to score as Khulna Royal Bengals went down to Barisal Burners by four wickets in the Bangladesh Premier League here yesterday.

Controversial government holding company National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) was issued with disclaimer opinions for the years 2002 and 2003, according to the Report of the Auditor General for 2010.

(Reuters) – South Africa clinched the Twenty20 international series against New Zealand after Marchant de Lange claimed two wickets in an eventful final over to seal a thrilling three-run victory in the third and final match in Auckland yesterday.

(Reuters) – Miami’s reserves starred in a critical late-game stretch to hand the Heat their seventh consecutive victory with a 120-108 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

President Donald Ramotar said that his government has great plans to leapfrog the development of the country to new heights through an inclusive and democratic framework.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Combined Campuses and Colleges have made just one change to their 13-man squad for their fourth round clash in the Regional Four-Day Championship against Barbados starting here tomorrow.

Dear Editor, Up to about two weeks ago a marriage licence from the Register General’s office was $0, now it is $6,000.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni is looking forward to some rare downtime following this weekend’s All-Star game that will give him a chance to fit all the moving pieces of his team together for the second half of the season.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation said yesterday that a strike at its bagging and packaging location at Blairmont has delayed its ability to meet marketing commitments to sister Caricom states.

Dear Editor, Reference is made to a letter published in the February 14 edition of the Stabroek News captioned ‘The Licensing Office needs a system more respectful of people’s time and energy’ by writer Karen De Souza in which she expounded on the waiting time she was exposed to during the process of  renewing her driver’s licence on February 10, 2012.

Roman Catholics receive ash during yesterday’s Ash Wednesday

Dear Editor, Lethem was today transformed by youthful ebullience and colour as the Mashramani Children’s parade went through the community.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon says the opposition should not use its one-seat majority to render counterproductive, interventions government is making for Guyana’s development and called last Thursday’s rejection of financial papers a conspiracy by the two opposition parties.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  CMC – West Indies have continued to languish at number eight in the One-Day Internationals, in the latest International Cricket Council rankings released on Tuesday.

Dear Editor, Rahul Bhattacharya might have written a book about Guyana’s ‘cultivated’ classes – the university professors, law-makers, artists, community leaders, educators, etc, whose absence in his book The Sly Company Of People Who Care Ryhaan Shah notes in her letter of February 21captioned ‘No one is prepared to make the obvious connection…’ – and I personally think Bhattacharya is such a fine writer that in that case he would have created a wonderful book for our pleasure and enlightenment.

The Guyana Water Inc (GWI) has said that residents of the Buxton/Strathspey area are receiving water at an adequate level of service.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – The inaugural edition of India’s Premier League Soccer (PLS), featuring World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro and former France international Robert Pires, has been postponed because of a lack of venues, organisers told Reuters yesterday.

Following are the latest results in the Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association’s (GFSCA) Hadi softball league following last week-end’s matches.

Dear Editor, How many more reports, complaints and appeals, etc, must be made against noise nuisance and vulgar lyrics before tangible and effective measures are implemented to bring sanity to this madness?

ROSEAU, Dominica,  CMC – Captain Merissa Aguilleira produced a responsible knock to guide West Indies to a four-wicket win over India in the third Twenty20 International of the five-match series here yesterday.

A man was yesterday robbed of his jewellery while standing in front of his relative’s De Abreu Street auto sales business and police have linked the suspects to another robbery which occurred in Sophia a few hours earlier.

Dear Editor, The sugar industry continues to produce less sugar and at present we have the lowest sugar production for the past eighteen years.

The US Department of Treasury Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) hosted training sessions on implementing effective anti-money laundering programmes, as part of its Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Programme.

Dear Editor, I write in response to a letter written by Help & Shelter and published in the SN on February 15 (‘The Ministers of Education and Human Services should say what they are doing about the sexual abuse of students by teachers’). 

(Reuters) – US and European officials are downplaying allegations that Iran and al Qaeda have recently stepped up cooperation in preparation for possible attacks on US and other Western targets.

By Carwyn Holland Barbadian Shawn “The Sniper” Cox and Guyanese Wayne “Big Truck” Braithwaite are both promising victory after the two met face-to-face for the first time yesterday in the boardroom of the Abdool and Abdool Incorporated office on Avenue of the Republic.

Dear Editor, I want to commend you and say thank you for your reflective and refreshing editorial on Muhammad Ali, in your January 20 edition, captioned ‘Muhammad Ali’s greatness.’ 

(Trinidad Express) Machel Montano’s “Pump Yuh Flag” was played 233 times to make him a runaway winner of the 2012 Road March, adding to his Digicel International Power Soca Monarch and Play Whe Groovy Soca Monarch triumphs.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin praised Cold War-era scientists today for stealing US nuclear secrets so that United States would not be the world’s sole atomic power, in comments reflecting his vision of Russia as a counterweight to US power.

Magistrate Allan Wilson yesterday remanded to prison two men accused of having 160 grammes of cannabis in their possession when they appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to answer to the charge.

Two weeks ago a delegation from the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) met with representatives of several clubs in West Berbice and committed the Board to host a one- day cricket academy and several coaching sessions for youth cricketers.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s imminent departure for more cancer surgery in Cuba has thrown his re-election campaign into uncertainty and once again shaken the socialist leader’s passionate supporters.

Kiskadee time: Kiskadee Kids Daycare and Playgroup had parts of Kitty awash in bright yellow yesterday when they held their Mashramani parade around the Queen Street area where the daycare is located.

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed for calm yesterday after officials said six people were shot dead and dozens wounded in protests over the burning of copies of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, at NATO’s main base in the country.

Dear Editor, While one admires the boundless energy and optimism of the Minister of National Resources and Environment, one would hope that he reflects on the unfulfilled optimism with which he transitioned from his previous portfolio, and particularly the unachieved targets set for the sugar industry as a whole, and the Skeldon Complex in particular.

Region Two Chairman Parmanand Persaud said government is working with rice farmers to harvest the first crop for the year which it anticipates to be its biggest ever.

General Secretary of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association Kester Gomes is of the opinion that the current GABA league will be great for basketball in Guyana.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shortly before the United States ended a two-month pause in missile strikes on militants in Pakistan last month, senior US officials telephoned their Pakistani counterparts and told them Washington would be resuming its covert drone programme despite mounting objections in Islamabad.

Thursday’s Cartoon

Installment One Hundred Twenty-Eight This edition of Ask the Consul continues from Installment 127 to address additional questions that applicants ask concerning permanent migration to the United States.

Given the hype that usually preceded the former Minister of Health, and followed him as well, the revelation in the 2010 Auditor General’s Report, tabled in Parliament last week, that nearly $40 million in expired drugs had to be destroyed was shocking, even more so when it was made clear that there was still a large quantity of expired stock on hand pending processing and destruction.

Politikles

Private businesses struggle to lead in generating our economy. Despite lots of thriving private businesses, and a new class of nouveau riche with questionable origin of wealth, the national economy struggles firmly in the grips of State bureaucrats.

The 2012 Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) two-day Inter- County Under-15 tournament is set to bowl off in April.

GWI is collaborating with the Central Housing and Planning Authority to create a Mashramani float that promotes affordable housing and water conservation.

(Barbados Nation) Late Prime Minister David Thompson’s law firm received a whopping Bds$3.3 million in legal and retainer fees from Clico International Life Insurance Limited (CIL), but the fees were actually destined for former Clico executive chairman Leroy Parris.