Jilted man charged with arson murders
THE former husband of a close relative of the two young children and bed-ridden grandmother burnt alive in their humble home this week, has been charged with murdering them.

Police charged Arsha Ally, 29, of Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo, with three counts of murder following investigations into the gruesome torching deaths.

Ally appeared yesterday before Magistrate Mr. Fazil Azeez at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court, West Coast Demerara and was remanded to prison until June 20, Police said.

Anida Bowling, aged just one year and seven months, her four-year-old sister, Devika Bowling, and their 66-year-old grandmother, Victoria Benjamin, all perished when fire broke out in their Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo home before dawn Tuesday.

The badly-burnt Glarey Bowling was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Survivors said a channa bomb (crude Molotov cocktail) hurled into the small wooden house where the family was asleep, started the blaze that left the three dead and one badly burnt.

She said she had been asleep in the upper section of the tiny two storey house – really a ten by sixteen foot hut raised on stilts with the bottom enclosed – which she shared with her mother and seven of her ten children. Her father and two other relatives slept downstairs.
Bowling told the Guyana Chronicle that by the time she had a chance to get up and investigate the noises, what was later revealed to be a channa bomb was hurled onto her bed.

It caught fire immediately, she said, recalling how she grabbed her two youngest children who were on fire since the incendiary device was hurled directly on them. As a result her hands were badly burnt and she could no longer endure the heat and flames that engulfed her.

The two children, Anida and Devika, were burnt alive. So was her elderly, bed-ridden mother, Victoria Benjamin.
Glarey Bowling recalled that after she landed on the ground outside, she was severely injured and could not move from the spot so she cried out for help. She was later taken to the GPHC by an ambulance.

Fourteen-year-old survivor Onissa Bowling told this newspaper that she was awakened by her mother ordering them to “throw water, throw water.”

She got up to find her younger brother trying to break open a window, while a fire blazed “all around”. She said by the time they had opened the door and escaped, her two siblings and her grandmother had already been burnt to death.

During her initial attempts to escape, she said she looked through a window and saw two men walking away from the house.

Summit success
-- but President disappointed
From Mark Ramotar in Vienna, Austria
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo has hailed the high profile European Union-Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) business summit which ended here yesterday as a success.

He, however, expressed disappointment at the EU’s reluctance to budge on the crucial issue of sugar price cuts which will have a devastating impact on Guyana and other sugar producing countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc.

The Guyanese President was among some 60 Heads of State and Government from EU/LAC countries attending the summit.

“The summit was a success. I was pleased with the format since it allowed for more interactions and less prepared speeches and I think we had a chance to represent our views fully at various working sessions,” Mr Jagdeo told the Guyana Chronicle last night at the end of the summit.

“The themes were many but we focused on some that are most critical to the region, including the issue of trade and its impact on development; employment, and particularly the issue of sugar and bananas and the evolving WTO (World Trade Organisation) negotiations and the reluctance of the developed world to make it truly a development round.”

He said he and other leaders from the Caribbean at the summit urged the EU to reflect that principle not just at the level of the WTO but within the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations between the EU and the Caribbean region.

“We are very disappointed with their position on sugar and we spoke about the unilateral nature of the decision and the devastating impact it will have on our people”, he said.

“We urged Europe to be a bit more consistent with its policies that on one hand, you cannot claim that you want countries to achieve the (UN) Millennium Development Goals and then on the other hand take away the resources with which they can do this,” the President told this newspaper.

He said the other areas Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean region as a whole were able to discuss related to future cooperation with the EU in areas such as crime and drug trafficking.

Asked to comment on EU Trade Commissioner Mr. Peter Mandelson’s recent announcement that there will be an increase in the sugar assistance package for Guyana and other ACP sugar producing countries, President Jagdeo said past experiences with the EC will require exercising some measure of caution.

Mandelson told reporters at a news conference in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday that the EU has argued for and finally won a greater allocation for a package to help cushion the anticipated crippling effects its sugar price regime will have on the economies of Guyana and the other ACP producers.

While he did not disclose the size of the ‘victory’ package or how much it has been increased by, the announcement stirred fresh hopes for the economies of these affected countries.

“I am not sure what this package is, but at one time they were saying 190 million Euros,” President Jagdeo told the Guyana Chronicle.

He recalled that following a meeting in Malta, British Prime Minister Tony Blair had written him and other Caribbean leaders indicating that he was pushing for a package of somewhere around 250 million Euros per annum -- that is after the 40 million Euros already allocated for this year.

“From my understanding, this (increased package) would be somewhere around 160-odd million Euros”, President Jagdeo said, adding that this cannot even achieve the indicative sum that the Caribbean leaders were given all along, much less the sum that Mr Blair had earlier indicated they were trying to achieve.

“My understanding is that it is in the range of below 190 million Euros which was the figure that we were working with as an indicative figure that was leaked at one time from the European Commission,” the President disclosed.

CAUTIOUS APPROACH
“So, anything below that will be a disappointment and in fact it would be very far away from what Tony Blair said he would fight for; so at this point in time I would urge caution.”

According to him, this cautious approach has to do with previous dealings with the EC in terms of inconsistency.

“The (EC) in the past has (been), I don’t want to use the word deceitful, so I would urge caution until we know the exact figure they are talking about,” Mr Jagdeo said.

“Given our experiences with the commission and their changing positions, we will just have to wait until the final figure is announced to say whether it meets our expectations or whether it is a disappointing figure,” the President added.

The President of the European Council and Federal Chancellor of Austria, Wolfgang Schussel; UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President of Mexico, Vicente Fox all alluded to the importance and success of the summit in trying to bridge and forge stronger ties between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.

“The economic data show how important the economic cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean has become. Our volume of trade currently stands at 110 billion euros. The European Union is the world’s biggest provider of development assistance in this region”, Chancellor Schüssel said.

"The focus is not exclusively on the economy at this conference. We must also listen to the practical concerns of ordinary people. We should therefore also tackle controversial issues. The more we listen to one another, the greater will be the understanding that develops between us and the fewer differences will have to be settled”, Schüssel added.

According to the Chancellor, Latin America and Europe have a great deal in common. “The diversity of our states, regions and peoples can be enriching to all of us. We are already in a relationship of positive dependence as, in the 21st century, hegemonic policies are a thing of the past. Our objective is to develop our cooperation and to learn from one another.”

Following a stirring appeal at the opening ceremony for committed efforts and programmes aimed at job creation and the provision of employment opportunities for unemployed youths in Latin America and the Caribbean, Annan expressed his satisfaction with the summit at a news briefing held later in the day.

"We are discussing common concerns at this conference. One of the greatest challenges in the 21st century is to narrow the gap between rich and poor. Specifically in the coming years, many young people will be coming on to the labour market and we need to find jobs for them,” Annan said at the opening ceremony.

He noted that small and medium-sized businesses in particular made a very valuable contribution to reducing youth unemployment, as a study by the UN had shown.

“We cannot accept that young people have no work and are thus marginalised”, he said.

According to Fox, “Latin America and the Caribbean countries have a competent partner with clear ideas on economic, political and social issues (and) that partner is the European Union.”

“This strategic partnership must grow and can enrich both sides and we must intensify our efforts in this direction in order to move forward with integration,” he posited.

“This meeting enables the two sides to deepen the strategic partnership", Fox concluded.

The summit also unanimously adopted the Vienna Declaration which entails a lot of cross cutting benefits for countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Contracts signed for $210M poverty alleviation projects
By Chamanlall Naipaul
AGRICULTURAL production and productivity in Regions Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) are to be boosted significantly when several projects are completed this year, under the Poor Rural Communities Support Services Programme (PRCSSP).

The aim is to improve drainage and irrigation (D&I) and bolster related infrastructure, acting Agriculture Minister, Mr. Harripersaud Nokta said at a press briefing at the ministry yesterday.

He spoke before putting his signature on several contracts valued a total of $210M and said they are designed to help alleviate poverty in the two Administrative Regions by enhancing the capacity of farmers and rural entrepreneurs, particularly households headed by women and in Amerindian communities.

One contract awarded in Region Two is to refurbish 18 miles of canals, improve four miles of farm to market roads and construct six new concrete water control systems, all at a cost of $125M.

Nokta told reporters 2,200 people living at Johanna Cecelia/Zorg, Fear Not, and Zorg/Golden Fleece on Essequibo Coast are the beneficiaries.

He said about 1,600 acres of cultivable land will get better water control systems and the end result would be higher rice yields and better rates of return on their investments.

Nokta said that, at least three miles of canals will be excavated, two concrete water control systems installed and three heavy duty bridges built with $55M, all for the benefit of the 1,540 people in the Amerindian community at Bethany along Supenaam River, also in Region Two.

He said the main focus of those works is to allow greater production of pineapples, ground provisions and leguminous crops, on an additional 238 acres of land, resulting in the enhancement of the living standard mainly among Amerindian farmers and their families.

In Region Three, the group benefiting will be primarily 425 small farmers of Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara, who would secure better access to 127 acres of arable land for sugar cane cultivation.

Nokta said the scope of the undertakings there, includes refurbishing 2.4 miles of the drainage and irrigation network, building two new concrete water control systems and supplying a special 34 feet by 12 feet steel bridge punt.

All the contracted works are scheduled to be completed before this year end and Minister Nokta called on the contractors “to provide value for money to the people of Guyana” through execution of the highest quality in a timely manner.

“The people of Guyana have put at your disposal significant sums of money to improve their lives and the onus is on you to ensure that the work is done efficiently and effectively to provide sustainable deliverables to each of the communities,” he charged the awardees.

Nokta also dedicated the projects to the late Minister of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock and Acting Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Satyadeow Sawh, whom he acknowledged as being instrumental in securing the relevant funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Project Manager, Mr. Sasenarine Singh said the projects will be overseen by the PRCSSP Project Implementation Unit, the relevant Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and the beneficiaries themselves.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Dindyal Permaul said the beneficiaries have been integrally involved with the actual designs from the inception and their representatives will definitely form part of the monitoring process.

“It has been a bottom-up process,” he explained.

Permaul said, under the law pertaining to the newly formed National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Water Users Associations (WUAs) will play a significant monitoring role.

In addition, there is an independent engineering consultant with specific responsibility for overseeing the implementation along with the Audit Office of Guyana which now has the technical personnel for projects oversight, he said.

The PRCSSP is jointly funded, with US$16.5M, by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the CDB.

Roger Khan wanted in U.S.
-- official confirms
THE U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed media reports here that there is an indictment and that an arrest warrant has been issued for Guyanese businessman Shaheed `Roger’ Khan.

DOJ spokesman Robert Nardoza yesterday told the Guyana Chronicle that Khan is wanted for allegedly trafficking cocaine into the United States.

Local media reports have stated that the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York unsealed a grand jury indictment on May 3 which charges that Khan conspired to import drugs between January 2001 and March 2006.

The Guyana Police on March 29 last put out a wanted bulletin for Khan, shortly after his business places, in and around Georgetown, were raided in joint operations by the Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

Police in a press release said Khan, of 133 Rotunda Place, D’Aguiar’s Park, Houston, is wanted in connection with investigations into the discovery of firearms, ammunition, drugs and other illegal items found during the Joint Services operation.

During their operation, GDF troops and police ranks targeted all of Khan’s known businesses in Georgetown – Dreamworks Housing Development in Garnette Street; the Reef Club at 60, Station Street, Kitty, and the Master’s Touch Carpet Cleaners at 2nd Street, Bel Air Village. They also searched his D’Aguiar’s Park home and deployed a team to Kaow Island in the Essequibo River, where he also owns a sawmilling operation.   The 2006 annual report on drug trafficking by the U.S. Department of State had named him as a known trafficker.

Khan, in a statement issued here, claimed that the grand jury indictment and anything flowing from it have been motivated by political considerations.

He said he is perceived by persons in the U.S., the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force and the People’s National Congress Reform as someone “who has the will and a capacity to fight crime and to protect the people of Guyana.”

Gunmen in failed Agricola robbery
THREE gun-toting bandits fled after a failed robbery attempt in Water Street, Agricola, Greater Georgetown, yesterday.

Police said it was about 12:15 h when the trio fired several shots at two passengers who had just disembarked a taxi.

The bullets did not hit any of the intended victims but struck the front fender of the reversing vehicle, causing the driver to lose control and drive it into a nearby trench.

However, the gunfire alerted other people in the vicinity and the gunmen ran way.  

Carrington not upbeat on Mandelson promise
From Mark Ramotar in Vienna, Austria
THE announcement that there will be an increase in the sugar assistance package for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) sugar producing countries by EU Trade Commissioner, Mr. Peter Mandelson was yesterday greeted with some degree of cynicism and distrust by Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Dr. Edwin Carrington.

Mandelson told reporters at a news conference in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) has argued for and finally won a greater allocation for a package to help cushion the anticipated crippling effects its sugar price regime will have on the economies of Guyana and other ACP sugar producing countries.

While he did not disclose the size of the ‘victory’ package or how much it has been increased by, the announcement stirred fresh hopes for the economies of these affected countries.

But Carrington, in an invited comment to this newspaper shortly after the conclusion of a working session during the IV EU- Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) summit here was not too optimistic about Mandelson´s announcement.

“They (the EU) have been telling us that for the longest while, that they have been fighting for a bigger package but the package seems to be getting smaller,” Carrington declared.

He said the working group session he had just came out of at the Vienna summit dealt with sugar but he was again pessimistic that anything concrete will emerge in terms of any shift in the EU´s current `stranglehold´ position on sugar for ACP countries.

“We just came out of a working group meeting and the issue of sugar was raised very strongly at that session by the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Denzil Douglas”, Carrington said.

He noted that the sugar industry in St Kitts and Nevis has been “virtually obliterated” by the decisions taken by the EU with respect to the sugar pricing.

Carrington said although the Caribbean raised the issue very strongly in that working group session, up to that point there had been no commitment.

No commitments were likely to be made in Vienna in relation to the EU sugar regime on ACP countries, he felt.

“I think really what you are going to get here is a widening of the conundrum and the difficulty into which we have been placed that, may we hope, influence policy later on elsewhere. But I don’t think at this stage the EU or any of its member states will say `we changed our mind’ or `we will adjust this here or there’. This is something which will happen at another venue and not here, if it happens at all,” Carrington told the Guyana Chronicle.

He noted that the Caribbean delegation was, nevertheless, vigorously pushing ahead with the sugar issue as well as the issues of human rights, democracy and multilateral cooperation. He said the issues of special and differential treatments for small countries and small vulnerable economies will also be pursued since these are some of the things that “directly affect the quality of life of our people.”

Mandelson on Wednesday made it clear that the EU stands ready to support the ACP countries make a smooth transition in the sugar reformation process.

“There will be help to the region to manage this economic change. We have given that undertaking and we are not going to retreat from it”, he assured.

“We will be there – practically, politically and financially - to give the assistance the Caribbean countries merit and deserve,” Mandelson told a select group of journalists at a news conference he hosted at the European Commission (EC) headquarters.

He said the EU is highly sensitive to the challenges of development in the Caribbean, noting that he has even travelled twice to the region in the last year and is familiar with those challenges and some of the difficult issues surrounding the restructuring of the sugar industries.

Mandelson said the aid given to Guyana and other ACP countries is an ongoing process and not one that turns on or off like a tap. He also pointed out that there are still important decisions to be taken for the future and those decisions are being made.

In response to a question from this reporter and noting that there has been some dispute about the level of financial assistance in the sugar action plan, Mandelson reassured that there is a very strong commitment by the EU in principle as well as a very strong financial commitment in place.

In the EU budget negotiations over the turn of the year – 2005/2006 – the Trade Commissioner disclosed that although “we have seen our proposals in the commission cut back by constraints imposed by our member states, we have had some very difficult decisions to make”.

“…but I am glad to say that in the recent fortnight we have successfully argued for and won a greater allocation to the sugar action plan and we will stand by that,” Mandelson announced.

Guyana has already formalised and presented its sugar action plan to the EC which targets EU assistance to help cushion the impact of the severe price cuts on sugar the group buys from this country.

The EU is cutting its preferential price for sugar from Guyana and other producers in the ACP bloc by 36 per cent. This move was described by most stakeholders both inside and outside the sector as “draconian”, which will have a ‘crippling effect’ on the industry.

Suriname flooding:
Guyana offers help
THE Government of Guyana has offered help to neighbouring Suriname which is experiencing severe flooding.

“The Government of Guyana stands ready to assist the Government and people of Suriname in any way necessary at this difficult time with a view to alleviating some of the tremendous suffering occasioned by this tragedy,” acting President Samuel Hinds said in a message to Surinamese President Ronald Venetian.

Mr. Hinds expressed “deep concern” over the flooding and extended sympathies to the families affected by the flooding.

“It is our hope that those affected would before too long be able to return to a life of normalcy,” Mr. Hinds added.

Flooding in Suriname has covered at least 15 per cent of the nation's territory since torrential rains began May 1, displacing more than 22,000 people, the United Nations reported.

``Authorities expect the situation to worsen until the end of the week, with heavy rains forecast for the remaining 72 hours,'' the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said yesterday.

``The entire South and parts of the Central Amazonian Lowlands of Suriname' have been inundated,” OCHA stated.

REO reports progress with Bartica, Region Seven projects
REGIONAL Executive Officer (REO) in Region Seven (Cuynuni/Mazaruni), Mr Gansham Misir, has reported progress on several projects being implemented at Bartica and the hinterland communities.

He told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that, on completion, they would help better the lives of residents.

Misir said a new $650,000 bridge has been constructed at Bartica Hospital compound and approval has been given for more bridges to be built in First Street and other parts of Bartica. 

He said the old Bartica Market has been dismantled and a new one is being constructed, as the government continues the development towards township status.

Misir said seven avenues,  six streets and a number of drains are to be upgraded with asphalt and concrete by previously awarded contractors who have mobilised materials and are awaiting better weather to start working.               The REO said $22M was allocated to the Regional Administration this year to construct an $8.4M Education Office at Kamarang, Upper Mazaruni; quarters for teachers at Falls Top, Middle Mazaruni, with $7.6M and extend the the mess hall and kitchen at Waramadong Secondary School Complex with $5.4M, also in Upper Mazaruni. Work on all three has commenced.

Misir said building the second phase of a health post at Isseneru is under way and a health centre, costing $4.7M, is being built to accommodate mothers and children visiting Bartica Hospital.

According to him, repairs would be done to the Chinoweing health post in Upper Mazaruni and, because of its remoteness, consideration is being given to employing Kako Village Council for the job.

He said a $$9.73M allocation is to finish the last phase of the Agatash main road and a section of the Kamarang/Waramadong farm-to-market route while $7M is for constructing a sandcrete revetment on a section of Byderabo waterfront.

Misir said, too, that three boats are to be purchased for use in Upper Mazaruni and the Health Department in Middle Mazaruni, in addition to a river ambulance for emergencies.

He explained that, because electricity has become another major focus, the region plans to spend $2.4M on repairing the Kamarang power supply system and extending the systems at Kurupung and 72 Miles.

Waramadong will benefit from improved water supply as Central Government has provided financing for it, Misir stated.

Guyanese for HIV/AIDS youth leaders meeting
EIGHT HIV/AIDS youth leaders representing various Guyanese youth-led organisations have received endorsement from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to represent Guyana at the Caribbean Youth Dialogue on HIV/AIDS.

The Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA)-Caribbean and the Guyanese Youth Network were invited by the National Youth Council of Trinidad & Tobago to mobilise a Guyanese delegation of HIV/AIDS youth leaders to attend and participate in Caribbean Youth Dialogue on HIV/AIDS under the theme HIV/AIDS - Feel, Know, Love, Fight – The Youth Response.

The event is slated for Port-of-Spain, from May 14-19, a press release from the group said.

The Guyana delegation will join with more than 100 young people from the English, French and Spanish speaking Caribbean to share information, skills and best practice with fellow youth leaders from Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana, and to gain insights into the global realities of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in order develop strategies to strengthen the formal youth structures required to support an effective Caribbean youth response to HIV/AIDS.

Progress on proposed Guyana-Venezuela road link
THE fifth Guyana/Venezuela Technical Committee on the proposed road link has resulted in an agreement on the Terms of Reference for the execution of the feasibility studies and environment impact assessment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, reporting on the two-day meeting which began Thursday, stated that discussions under the committee are aimed at examining the feasibility of establishing a road link between Guyana and Venezuela under the aegis of the Integration of Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA) process.

Financing for the studies agreed to, the ministry stated, has been provided by the Andean Development Corporation, one of the financial institutions which supports projects under the IIRSA process.

It was agreed that the Caribbean Development Bank would be involved in the disbursement of funds and procurement procedures.

In this regard, representatives of both countries proposed to meet jointly at the technical level with the Caribbean Development Bank in the first week of next month to discuss the Terms of Reference for the execution of the feasibility studies and the financial issues with regard to these studies, the ministry said.

The feasibility studies are expected to address the economic, environmental and social impact of the proposed road link with Venezuela, it added.

Gender equity, governance training for Region Three women
A FOUR weeks long training programme for resource persons in Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) was declared open yesterday by Minister within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Ms Bibi Shadick, at the Education Resource Centre, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara.

Under the theme ‘Building Capacity for Gender Equity in Governance’ the participants are being trained through a collaborative effort between Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the process started yesterday is a continuation of the workshop on Gender Equity and Local Governance which was conducted by the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) last year.

The objective is to enable the government to fulfill the mandate of the Convention on the Elimination on all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), GINA said.  

In her speech yesterday, Shadick said, although women need to empower themselves, the government is trying its best to create the necessary enabling environment and making resources available.

“Women need to use every opportunity available to them to empower themselves and let their voices be heard in society. You have the capacity to do that,” she told the participants.

GINA said Shadick called on those in the Regional Administration to support the cause and represent women every step of the way.

“You should become an army to fight for the rights of women in society…that is why you were put there… to represent them,” she emphasised.

In his address, UNDP Representative, Mr Roger Rogers said his agency is a partner with the Human Services Ministry on the venture.

He added: “UNDP is committed to partnership with the Government of Guyana to create an environment for women to be empowered and achieve the goal of gender equality.”

Rogers said it is evident in this country that, over the last decade, the approach to gender equality and related issues has changed to one of a human rights issue.

Administrator of the Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB), Ms Hymawattie Lagan outlined the rules and regulations for the project and said those taking part should also be committed and willing to share the information and knowledge they receive with other members of their respective communities.

GINA said a similar exercise is scheduled for Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) from Monday.

Health centres being transformed for more, friendlier services
A NUMBER of health centres in the country are being transformed to create a friendlier environment for youths seeking testing and counselling on HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The targeted clincs are in Regions 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), Four (Demerara/Mahaica) and Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.

A GINA bulletin said the Ministry of Health has, so far, remodelled 12 and the minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said it is hoped to complete the process in all those identified by 2010.

He said the present challenge is to attract young people to the facilities because many do not see the need to visit them.

Ramsammy attributed this mainly to the lack of trained staff, friendly enough to counsel the target group but said training will be done, including on reproductive health and abortion.

He said doctors will be at the centres to assist with capacity building.

Minister Ramsammy said, in the past, there were not an adequate number of doctors and the clinics were run by medexes, community health workers and public health nurses.

But now the number of doctors in the public sector has increased, they will also visit health centres and, depending on their availability, a few would be permanently posted there while others would visit certain areas weekly.

Ramsammy said, health centres like at Lusignan, Enterprise, Cane Grove and Nabaclis, on East Coast Demerara, are going to have doctors permanently stationed while those, for example, in Region Six, will be serviced on a visiting system.

He explained that, instead of referring patients to public hospitals for testing, the centres would be able to do the tests and fewer people would have to travel long distances for the purpose.

Ramsammy said the centres will also be facilitating treatment for elderly sufferers from diabetes and hypertension.

Preliminary voters list on GECOM website
THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has posted the 2006 Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) on its website in a move to provide an additional facility which would allow eligible persons to ascertain whether their names are included.

The 2006 PLE is accessible on the “Reports and Manuals” page of the GECOM website at www.gecom.org.gy.

GECOM commenced the Claims and Objections on May 2 regarding entries on the PLE for the upcoming general and regional elections. Copies of the PLE are on display at GECOM offices and sub-offices in the ten administrative regions.

Persons who would be eligible to vote at the upcoming elections are required to check the list to: make a claim if their name is not on the list; to apply for a transfer if they have changed their address; to apply for a correction if they have changed their names or if there is incorrect information on their national ID card; or object to the inclusion of the name of any person who is suspected not to have met the eligibility requirements for such inclusion providing that the objector and objectee are registered in the same registration division.

July 15, 2006 is the qualifying date for determining persons who would be 18 years and over, and could become registered during this Claims and Objections period. Such persons must be Guyanese citizens by birth, descent, naturalisation, or are citizens from a Commonwealth country living in Guyana for one year or more.

According to GECOM, its offices would be open on Monday-Fridays from 10:00h to 19:00h, while the sub-offices would be open from 15:00h to 19:00h.

The period of Claims and Objections end on June 5.

Meanwhile, GECOM announced that it processed 72,050 applications for new registration as a result of the recently concluded first cycle of continuous registration.

These consisted of applications for transfers, applications for change/correction and applications for replacement of ID cards.

NCN extends condolences on death of ‘Bracey’ McKenzie
CHAIRMAN of the Board of Directors of National Communications Network (NCN), Mr. Robert Persaud has joined in extending condolences to the family and relatives of dead veteran journalist, Mr. Charles ‘Bracey’ McKenzie.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said Persaud, also Information Liaison to the President, acknowledged the sterling contributions made by the 72-year-old deceased.

McKenzie also called ‘Mack’ collapsed while on assignment at the High Court on May 9.

Persaud said he had known him for many years as “a very dedicated, astute journalist, one who never failed to imbue moral values in his younger colleagues.”

With more than 50 years service in the field of journalism, McKenzie spent about 40 of them reporting for Radio Demerara before ownership change renamed it Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and now NCN.

His early years in the profession were spent at the Guyana Chronicle and he was among the journalists honoured by the Guyana Press Association (GPA) last year, for decades of journalistic contributions and devotion.

Expressing regret over McKenzie’s passing, Persaud said: “Not only did he keep the nation informed of what took place daily in the courts, but he will also be missed for his pertinent advice which he readily gave to all and which stemmed from his many years of experience.”

The NCN Chairman conveyed his sympathy to McKenzie’s widow, Patricia, his children and other relatives.

BEAMS gives progress report on schools projects
A NEW secondary school is to be constructed at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, this year, the Government Information Agency (GINA) has reported.

It said the evaluation of priced bids has been completed and the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), which will be jointly funding the construction with the Government of Guyana, has given its no objection.

But the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board has not yet granted its approval of the award, GINA said.

GINA said, as the Ministry of Education strives to provide universal secondary and equal education opportunities for all, it has embarked on several projects, among them the building of new schools and the renovation and extension of others.

The one at Diamond is in a batch to be financed by the BEAMS (Basic Education Access Management Support) programme civil works component.

Another on the list is Bladen Hall Secondary that is undergoing nearly complete repairs and is in the defects liability period when remedial works are done.

The $134M North Ruimveldt Secondary is 93 per cent finished and the extension and renovation of Tutorial Secondary, also in Georgetown, is 88 per cent done, at a cost of $138M.

At Bartica, work on a state-of-the-art $395M edifice has begun but is behind schedule with only 11 per cent done.

A BEAMS progress report said most of the projects “have slipped into lag time because of a shortage of cement, stone, plywood and skilled labour.”

However, the $238M building at Aurora, on Essequibo Coast, is ready for the official handing over by next week.

GINA said the school buildings at Bartica, Diamond and Aurora are the result of new government initiatives in the continuing drive to offer secondary education to a larger section of the population as it, like at nursery, primary and tertiary levels, has become more accessible in Guyana today.

In Region Five…
Nokta sees new excavators working on D&I system
THE excavators the government purchased earlier this year to boost drainage and irrigation (D&I) countrywide are clearing several main canals and helping to construct flood embankments at DeHoop, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said Minister Harripersaud Nokta, who is now holding the Agriculture, Fisheries, Crops and Livestock portfolios, as well, saw the machines in operation Thursday during a visit to Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and expressed satisfaction with the current state of preparedness there to deal with heavy rainfall.

GINA said the Regional Chairman, Mr Harrinarine Baldeo and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Mr Ravi Naraine accompanied Nokta and, at Mahaica, they witnessed the desilting of ‘Yankee’ canal that leads to the Industry outlet and benefits the entire Number 10 area.

That work started Thursday and is expected to be finished within two weeks, GINA said.

According to the agency, Baldeo explained that other similar projects are part of a programme for which the excavators are being used and includes clearing and digging several more canals on the recommendation of farmers and residents within areas, among them Handsome Tree, Pandit, Poor Fellow and Biaboo.

GINA said Nokta and party went to Mahaica Creek and met farmers and other residents to discuss the building of a sluice but the latter group opposed the identified Perth/Biaboo site and made an alternative suggestion.

However, Nokta said their proposal would have to be reviewed and discussed with an engineering input before any decision is taken to seek funding for another structure in a phased process.

These things can’t be done overnight…we have to grow it and that’s why I am saying that we have a phase one and a phase two to carry out all the work,” the minister is reported to have said.

GINA said, following that meeting, the ministerial team proceeded to Mahaicony Branch road and creek, where rice planters complained of difficulties they are facing to replant after being affected by flooding.

The complainants requested assistance in the form of seed paddy, fertiliser and fuel to help them resume farming and Nokta advised them to prepare a list of those in need and for what acreage of land for submission to Cabinet, GINA stated.

The 15 excavators were acquired by the government at a cost of about $500M, especially for the effort to improve the D&I network so it can cope with excess rainfall water, GINA recalled.

PM urges full participation in claims, objections period
PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds, performing the duties of the Office of President, stressed Thursday that, if everyone participates fully in the claims and objections process, an acceptable voters list will be assured.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said his exhortation was made in a National Communications Network (NCN) television interview at Linden, where he said “everyone has the right to vote and must vote.”

GINA said he encouraged all potential voters to ensure that their names are on the 2006 Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) and their particulars are correct.

Mr Hinds visited the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) registration offices at Mackenzie and Wismar and was told by Assistant Registration Officer, Ms Lynette Franklin that “work is picking up in the area after a late start.”

Franklin said there is also a sub-office at Amelia’s Ward and, within a week, three other mobile offices will be established at Kimbia, Ituni and Kwakwani, in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), GINA reported.

She said that 29 applications for new registration had been processed, so far, in the claims and objections procedure and three more persons have requested transfers in the Mackenzie District.

The agency said Franklin also reported that the other main office at Wismar has, to date, received about 50 claims and the work there will be boosted soon when two more mobile units start operations.

Meanwhile, a sub-office is currently at Christianburg.

GINA said Mr Hinds also visited Sunflower Town and Burnham Drive, also in Linden, where he urged residents there, too, to take part in the process, during which persons who have not registered and are eligible to vote can do so.

GINA explained that people can also apply for transfers, change of particulars and object to names on the 2006 PLE by the June 5 deadline.

A bulletin said GECOM is now training staff to be deployed at various electoral administrative offices countrywide in the run-up to and during the general elections.

GECOM has received the official manual for Returning Officers and other district staffers, the document designed by its secretariat with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), GINA noted.

Zeeburg defeats Christ Church at ERC schools debate
ZEEBURG Secondary School in Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands) defeated Christ Church Secondary School of Georgetown to emerge winner of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) sponsored Inter-Secondary Schools Debating Competition.

The debate was staged at the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) in Kingston, Georgetown on Wednesday when the winning team proposed that ‘The nation’s motto (One People, One Nation, One Destiny) is an unattainable ideal’.

A press release said Zeeburg Secondary student Shansa Rutherford copped the ‘Best Speaker’ prize for the third time.

She was supported by team mates Carlisia Abrams and Kenrick John while the Christ Church contestants were Krysten Sewett, Eshranie Narine and Towana Moe.

The objectives of the contest are:

** to provide a peaceful environment for intellectual debate among the schoolchildren on issues pertaining to race relations and

** to ascertain the participation of young people in issues of racial animosity and race reconciliation.

The release said the Chief Judge, Mr. Geoffrey Smith, of the Ministry of Education, commented that both teams should have done more research.

However, he congratulated them for maintaining a very high standard.

On the judging panel with Smith were former headmaster, Mr. Aggrey Azore and Education Ministry Test Assessment Officer, Ms Bibi Ali while the moderator was newspaper columnist, Mr. Allan Fenty.

The release also said that Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School contestants were scheduled to match skills yesterday with those from New Amsterdam Multilateral at Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School, also in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne).

The moot for that occasion was ‘The youths of Guyana present the only hope for racial reconciliation since they are, perceivably, not tainted by the racial conflicts of the past.’

Elections completed in several Amerindian villages
ELECTIONS for captains have been completed in several Amerindian communities of several Administrative Regions, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported yesterday.

A GINA bulletin said, however, that the process is ongoing at Moraikobai in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and Orealla/Siparuta in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne).

GINA said, in Region One (Barima/Waini), Bertie Benjamin, Aloysius Daniels, Rymple Williams, Paul Pierre, Hilary Henry, Errol Charles, Imelda Fernandes, John Campbell and David Newsum were elected captains for Manawarin, Santa Rosa, Waicarabi, Kwebanna, Warapoka, Assakata, Chinese Landing, Santa Cruz and Waramuri, in that order.

Pierre, of Kwebanna, was re-elected while Daniels is a new captain for Santa Rosa.

In Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), the elected captains are Wendell Thomas, Sylvin Raphael, Eulic Henry, Yvonne Pearson, Jerod Wong, Raymond Miguel, Lorna Williams, Oswald Cornelius and David Wilson, for Bethany, Mashabo, Capoey, Mainstay, St Deny’s, St Monica’s, Kabakaburi, Wakapao and Akawini, respectively. The newly elected among them are Wong, Raphael, Miguel and Williams.

The successful candidates in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) are Devroy Thomas (Arau); Claude Anselmo (Kaikan); John Andries (Paruima); Charles Jerry (Waramadong); Anderson Hastings (Kako); Karina Abrams (Warawatta); Nobrega Williams (Jawalla); Van Mendason (Phillipai) and Roger Roland (Chinoweing).

Pierre Andrews was elected Captain for St Cuthbert’s, the lone Amerindian village in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), with the majority 290 out of the total 405 votes cast, GINA said.

Bridge in Iwokrama forest collapses
A COLLAPSED bridge across a creek in the Iwokrama forest area has severed road links between Kurupukari and Lethem, the Ministry of Public Works and Communication advised yesterday.

In addition, the ministry said the removal of a truck from the creek caused additional damage to the bridge. As a result, permanent repair works to the bridge will have to await the end of the rainy season and until the water from the creek recedes.

Temporary repair works are being done by Mekdeci Machinery and Construction Incorporation and are expected to last 10 days, the ministry said.

Upon completion of repairs, only one vehicle should use the bridge at a time, it said.

Maximum gross laden weight of any vehicle using the bridge should not exceed eight tons, the ministry advised.

Manning promises fair dealing with Chief Justice
From Linda Hutchinson-Jafar
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning, denying attempts "to bully and hound" the country's Chief Justice out of office, yesterday said he intends to act "fairly but decisively" after seeking advice from three local and foreign lawyers on whether impeachment proceedings should be taken against him.

"I will not recommend to the President that the question of removing the Chief Justice ought to be investigated unless I am fully satisfied that there is prima facie, sufficient basis in fact, to warrant such an investigation," Manning told the Parliament.

The Prime Minister was bringing the Parliament up to date on a series of unfolding events this week in which Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicholls in a letter to Manning, reported that Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma attempted to influence the outcome of the recently-concluded corruption trial involving former Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday.

Last month Mc Nicholls sentenced the 72-year-old Panday to two years in jail after he was found guilty of concealing a London bank account from the Integrity Commission. Panday is currently on bail.

Sharma is already facing impeachment proceedings after the government accused him of exerting pressure on Attorney General John Jeremie and DPP Geoffrey Henderson to induce them to drop a murder charge against prominent surgeon Dr Vijay Narayansingh.

Narayansingh was subsequently cleared of murdering his wife by a court last year.

On Thursday, Attorney General Jeremie referred two documents to the police and the DPP "for such action as they might consider appropriate" against the Chief Justice.

The first is the letter of complaint from McNicholls and the second, a statement giving a "corroborating account" from Sir Timothy Cassel QC, the British attorney who was hired by the state to lead the prosecution against Panday, according to a statement from the Attorney General's office.

Manning told the Parliament he has already asked his legal advisers to write the Chief Magistrate for further information of his statement and "otherwise to collect as much other information as may be relevant to the task I'm called about to undertake."

When the process is complete, Manning said he will forward all the information to the Chief Justice for his comments.

"It is extremely sad but a concomitant of democracy that the country must go through this turmoil on yet another occasion. I'm optimistic nonetheless that at the end of it, we shall all benefit from all of these actions," he told the Parliament.

Manning, who cancelled two high level European meetings this week to deal with the unfolding events, said after he received the letter from McNicholls he called for a meeting with the Chief Justice.

"Having read the Chief Magistrate's statement, the Honourable Chief Justice seemed incoherent and appeared to be emotionally distraught during the conversation which ensued. This gave me no pleasure and was painful to experience. The allegations made by the Chief Magistrate appeared to have rattled him."

Denying any attempts to bully and hound the Chief Justice to resign, as he claimed, Manning said he explained to Sharma that he was already facing impeachment proceedings and although yet unresolved, another accusation against him had surfaced.

"It is I who suggested that if he so chooses, he could exercise the option to demit office voluntarily rather than be subject to any administrative or criminal proceedings which may possibly be proffered against him.

"The Chief Justice, who was by that time in a state of deep emotion, agreed that some time would be required for him to decide, not what he would do, but specifically whether or not he would tender his resignation," Manning said, adding that Sharma agreed to give his decision upon returning to the country from an overseas trip.

The Prime Minister said given the serious nature of the allegations made against the Chief Justice by another judicial officer, it is once again incumbent on him to proceed with impeachment proceedings.

"I have not made any decision and my mind is and remains open," he added.

Manning also assured the Parliament that his government does not intend to interfere with the independence of the judiciary.

"But allegations have been raised with respect to the Chief Justice and it is incumbent upon me, in fulfillment of my constitutional responsibilities and indeed in order to protect the independence of the judiciary, to take the action that has been taken thus far."

NDC accused of flouting court order
ATTORNEY-at-law Miss Priya Manickchand yesterday said she will bring contempt proceedings against the Best, Klien, Pouderoyen Neighbourhood Democratic Council, West Coast Demerara, for allegedly flouting a court order and throwing away the document.

Justice Jainarayan Singh, acting on an application from businessman Karran Ganpat, yesterday granted an injunctive order restraining the council from breaking down a structure in accordance with a magistrate’s order, on the ground that the applicant had appealed the ruling.

It is alleged that instead of receiving the writ from the marshal, the council officials cursed the marshal, and continued breaking down the structure in his presence.

The application was argued inter partes by Manickchand who represents Ganpat.

In his application, Ganpat stated that on January 30, 2006, the magistrate at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court made an order against him to remove sections of his building.

Ganpat further stated that on February 3, 2006, he appealed the order and that his appeal having not been determined, operates as a stay of execution of the order.

The order was served on the officers of the NDC while they were at the premises to which it relates. The officers of the NDC, however, refused to comply with the order and continued to destroy and remove parts of Ganpat’s building, he said.

Manickchand said contempt proceedings will be filed on Monday against the NDC.

Gearing up
WE’RE just about midway in May, and while the rainy season has not as yet come on us in earnest, heavy precipitation yesterday seemed to indicate that it could be just around the corner.

But it certainly has come to our eastern neighbour.

Reports say flooding in Suriname has affected an estimated 25,000 people, with 25,000 to 30,000 square kilometres of land under water. One hundred and fifty seven villages have been flooded in the country’s lowlands.

Back to our neck of the woods, and we are doing what we could to avoid the mistakes we made in 2005, and to a lesser extent, earlier this year.

And we are not only looking at getting our drainage systems in order to contain heavy rainfall. We are also looking at disaster preparedness, how to deal with serious flooding, just in case.

The British-based charity OXFAM recently concluded disaster-preparedness workshops in 21 flood-prone communities along the coast.

The programme is part of the ‘Support for Food Security, Livelihoods Recovery and Disaster Preparedness Project’ funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department. Volunteers identified in the programmes will also be trained in First Aid.

With the focus on flood-prone coastal areas, assessments are ongoing to ensure necessary measures are in place to deal with flooding.

Regional operatives report that sluices, kokers, outfalls and canals are all functional, with maintenance work ongoing.

With earth-moving machines and other equipment purchased with a soft loan from the Italian Government, the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) is bolstering the drainage and irrigation system in West Berbice and the Mahaicony, Abary Rice Development Scheme (MARDS).

This enhancement includes constructing a 25-mile flood embankment along the Abary River, empoldering an additional 15,000 acres south of MARDS, and extending a main drain in the area by 10 miles.

In Georgetown, the Mayor and City Council is moving ahead with its clearing and maintenance works.

It’s an uphill task to keep canals clear of water weeds. We notice that canals cleared by the council some two to three months are clogged once again.

But the council seems to be on the winning side.

There was much rain yesterday, but areas which would be flooded after lighter showers were not flooded.

Of course the City Council has to keep at it.

And what about the unsightly clogged drains in the Camp Street shopping area for instance, gooey with food boxes and other detritus accumulated over a period that looks like years?

Showing fairness against corrupt practices
(This article is reprinted courtesy yesterday's Barbados Weekend Nation as appeared in the writer's "Our Caribbean" column)
By Rickey Singh                               
LAST month’s conviction and sentencing to two years imprisonment of former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday for failing to disclose to the country's Integrity Commission details of his London bank account, is evidently stirring debates and actions in various Caribbean Community states on the need for legal mechanisms to ensure proper conduct by public officials.

Suddenly, local media, politicians and social commentators were moved to recall the double-speak on Barbados' own failure to have in place an Integrity Commission.

Across in Jamaica, where governing and opposition parties have been engaged in politicking about corruption, new Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller earlier this week announced that the country's Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC) is to function as an instrument of parliament effective from month end.

That would mean having the CPC answerable to parliament as is required for the Integrity Commission and the Ombudsman -- a trio of mechanisms to help curb improper practices.

The reality in CARICOM is that, for all the passionate rhetoric against corruption and necessity for transparency and accountability in public affairs, few are the countries that have enacted laws for an Integrity Commission.

An evident weakness in the welcome clamour for mechanisms to address corruption and encourage ethical behaviour in the public sector is that across our community, it fails to extend this approach to the private sector.

As if private sector owners and managers are a special breed to be exempt from anti-corruption practices and the accountability criteria required of decision makers and others in the public sector. This dichotomy in democratic governance should be critically reviewed.

It was encouraging to learn from inquiries made that, like in a few other CARICOM states, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) for example, is in the process of considering a code of ethics for its membership -- an initiative already taken by its Jamaican counterpart. 

Claims of abuse in the duty-free sector, or alleged failures to make appropriate income tax and national insurance payments are some of the issues that often spark discussions, across our region, about the private sector. As well as exploitative practices against consumers of course, neither chambers of commerce nor manufacturing associations are amused by such allegations.

The Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), the regional body for national chambers of commerce and manufacturers organisations, is reported to be working on a recommended code of practice for its general membership.

Hopefully, something good may eventually emerge from even minimal soul-searching by both governments and the region's private sector in new approaches for legal and other mechanisms to address corruption and general unethical practices.

The region's media, often the favourite whipping horse for decision-makers in the public and private sectors, should also focus their lenses on what transpires in corporate boardrooms with some of the  same passion  they often pursue cabinet decisions and lack of accountability by governments.

Phoenix Mars Lander:
Getting down and dirty on the Red Planet
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
DENVER, Colorado – The next Mars lander is undergoing assembly and testing, being readied for departure next year to explore the Martian arctic. This probe is equipped to dig deep, quite literally, into an ongoing mystery — the history of water on Mars and the planet’s potential as an extraterrestrial address for life.

NASA’s Phoenix Mars mission is the first in the space agency’s Scout series, a class of spacecraft designed to be inventive but relatively low-cost in furthering Mars exploration.

Phoenix is headed for liftoff in August 2007, cruise across the vacuum void for 10 months and set itself down on the red planet in late May 2008. This time there’s no bouncing to full-stop on air bags. It will come to a soft touchdown using controlled thrusters.

The Mars-bound spacecraft and related parts — a heatshield and protective backshell — sit within a cleanroom here at Lockheed Martin Space Systems — the firm that has designed, built, integrated, and is testing the Phoenix for its journey.

Gigantic, below-the-floor filters keep the airflow around Phoenix in clean and dust-free condition.

"We do have planetary protection requirements for the mission. We don’t want to contaminate Mars," said Peter Doukas, engineering manager for the Phoenix Mars Scout program at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "So every step of the way we’re performing what we call bio-assays…to literally take spore counts of things so we’re not contaminating Mars when we get there," he told SPACE.com.

Doukas reiterated a phrase that has been attached to Phoenix.

"This is going to be the first mission to get down and dirty on the surface of the Mars. With all due respect to the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers…we’re going to get muddy. They got dusty," Doukas noted.

Still to arrive are the various instruments that are to be mounted on the "deck" of the three-legged Phoenix. They will fit alongside the craft’s robotic arm. Icy, muddy samples of the Martian soil are to be scooped up via the mechanical appendage, with those specimens deposited into instruments for detailed chemical and geological analysis.

"It’s not like we’re going to incubate bacteria on Mars. But we are going to study the soil for its ability to harbour life," Doukas explained.

The Phoenix mission has lived up to its namesake as it "raises from the ashes" a spacecraft and science gear from two previous unsuccessful attempts to explore Mars: the Mars Polar Lander failure of 1999, as well as a Mars Surveyor 2001 lander that was well along in development, but mothballed in the wake of back-to-back failures at Mars.

That 2001 lander was overhauled to improve the spacecraft’s robustness. Also, the revamped probe includes "here’s what I’m doing" ways to advise Earth controllers of critical events as Phoenix plunges toward Mars for a landing.

"It has been a tough job to put a new mission into an existing box," Doukas noted.

Throttle up to get down
To get down and dirty on Mars, Phoenix must first ease itself down on the planet. For the first time since NASA’s Viking missions of the 1970s, the intent is for the spacecraft to achieve a successful and safe self-powered landing onto Mars utilising onboard engines.

Punching through the Martian atmosphere, Phoenix will slow down to Mach 1.7 (that’s 1.7 times the speed of sound). At that moment a parachute is deployed. Shortly after the parachute blossoms, the vehicle’s protective heat shield is jettisoned. Then the probe’s landing radar is turned on and its legs extended.

Even under parachute, Phoenix speeds through the Martian atmosphere until it comes within .6 miles (1 kilometer) of Mars’ landscape.

At this point, the lander frees itself from the parachute. It then throttles up a set of landing thrusters fed by ultra-pure hydrazine and decelerates.

When Phoenix is either at an altitude of 39 feet (12 metres) or traveling at 7.9 feet per second (2.4 metres per second) the spacecraft starts travelling at a constant velocity. On touchdown, the landing engines are turned off, controlled by footpad-mounted sensors that detect contact with the surface.

Fixed lander
Once down, Phoenix is a fixed lander — a firm-footed, stay-put probe ready for research in the northern polar plains of Mars.

At a special hot fire test facility here, the Phoenix propulsion system design has undergone extensive shakeouts. These were very successful, Doukas said, with thruster firing tests wrapped up first of the year.

Between early this month and mid-May of next year, Doukas said, Phoenix goes through Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations, or ATLO for short. Completing ATLO, the Mars lander will be transported to Florida for launch atop a Boeing Delta 2 booster. The sojourn to Mars will start sometime within a 22-day launch window in August 2007.

While engineers are busy prepping Phoenix for its sendoff, scientists are on track in plotting out their own high-expectations for mission success.

On-the-spot examination
At the 37th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), held March 13-17 in Houston, Texas, Phoenix team members presented both excitement and nervousness about the Phoenix Mars endeavour — specifically, addressing the dangers lurking at the spacecraft’s landing zone.

During the summer season, the Phoenix robotic arm will dig a trench and provide samples to instruments on the deck of the spacecraft, reported Peter Smith of the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson. He heads the Phoenix Mission.

A set of experiments is planned to help researchers understand the chemistry and mineralogy of the surface materials down to a layer where ice is stable, Smith said. Because the landing site is selected with the expectation of finding water ice near the surface, the Phoenix mission may provide the first on-the-spot examination of water on Mars, he explained.

The search for evidence of a habitable zone and to assess the biologic potential of the ice-soil boundary is high on the scientific agenda for Phoenix.

Biological communities
Microbial colonies can survive in a dormant state for extremely long periods of time, Smith reported at LPSC. He highlighted recent work showing that as water ice melts onto soil crystals at temperatures as cold as - 20 C, microbes are activated and are able to search for food. As temperatures increase, growth and reproduction begin.

The question is, Smith asked: Can this cycle take place on Mars?

"It is unlikely that a single trench in the vast northern plains will find evidence for biological communities even if they exist there," Smith noted in a research paper issued at LPSC. "Our goal is to determine whether conditions favour their preservation."

Phoenix is to drop itself down on the high northern latitudes of Mars. But what awaits the lander in terms of dangerous geography is still being thrashed out.

Mars scientist, Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said the region under review where Phoenix is to touch down does not have "egregious landforms" in terms of safety.

That belief, Arvidson added, will be strengthened by imagery from the just arrived Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), as well as Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express — orbiters all.

Still, there’s a host of engineering issues that must be addressed to get Phoenix safely down on Mars, said Joe Guinn, mission system manager for Phoenix at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Guinn said the spacecraft is quite robust as it enters the Martian atmosphere and descends to Mars. "But it is pretty risky," he added. "If we lose an engine, the other engines are guaranteed to get us to the scene."

Additional uncertainties include air density, winds, lander attitude control…and just how well Phoenix will deal with slopes and rocks, Guinn explained.

Fortunately, the northern plains of Mars are very flat and low.

"As far as we can tell from all available data…slopes look relatively benign," added Matt Golombek, a JPL planetary geologist and Mars landing site specialist.

However, rock distribution remains the least understood safety hazard for Phoenix.

Golombek pointed out at the LPSC that the Phoenix lander has about 14 inches (35 centimetres) of clearance above the surface, depending on the force taken by the lander’s legs.

"If there is a pointy rock that you come down on, the belly pan [of the lander] could hit that rock…and that would be of serious concern," Golombek said. "So there is concern here. We will be looking at the MRO data with great interest," he concluded. (FROM SPACE.COM)

Man charged with murder of Indian national
POLICE yesterday reported that following diligent investigations, Tazim Gafoor, 30, of Bel Air, Georgetown, was charged with the brutal murder of Indian national Saji Abrahim.

The man appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan and was remanded until June 9 next, Police said.

Abrahim was found dead in his apartment at 14 Delhi Street, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown, on March 10 last.

A post mortem examination on the body revealed that he was strangled and beaten in the head, Police said.

Police also said the autopsy showed that Abrahim died from manual strangulation and blunt trauma to the head.

His partly decomposed body was discovered by a neighbour who lived in the apartment next to his.

Abrahim was a diamond trader and his home was ransacked when his body was found inside.

Police said he was remanded to prison until May 15.

Attempted murder accused freed after paying compensation
THE victim of an attempted murder yesterday accepted $60,000 as part of the compensation from two brothers charged with the offence.

As a result, the case against Ameer and Shameer Khan was dismissed by Magistrate Chandra Sohan at New Amsterdam Court in Berbice.

The siblings, of Angoy’s Avenue on the outskirts of New Amsterdam, had been accused of wounding Dexter Torres with intent to kill him after a misunderstanding last April 23.

The virtual complainant, who suffered an injury to his neck, is to get $40,000 more from the Khans, it was stated in court.

Hair dye, lotion thief imprisoned
MAGISTRATE Chandra Shan yesterday sentenced larceny convict Ganeshwar Harry to four months’ imprisonment.

The prisoner, who had been on remand, changed his plea to guilty at New Amsterdam Court.

He admitted stealing a quantity of hair dye and 30 bottles of a lotion valued a total of $7,320, from Greta Judo, of Number 79 Village, Corentyne, also in Berbice.

Woman murder accused committed for jury trial
MURDER accused Meena Gilmore has been committed to stand jury trial at the next criminal sessions of the Berbice Assizes.

Magistrate Geeta Chandan signed the committal order at New Amsterdam Court on Thursday, after ruling that a prima facie case had been made out against the woman accused of the capital offence.

Gilmore, of Angoy’s Avenue on the outskirts of New Amsterdam, is accused of unlawfully killing her neighbour, Nadine Issaas, on September 23, 2005.

Seven witnesses testified for the Prosecution at the preliminary inquiry (PI) about the fatal stabbing that resulted from a feud.

Magistrate changes guilty plea, defendant to get trial
ZAKIR Kubeer, 35, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession yesterday but, after he explained the circumstances leading to the charge, Magistrate Geeta Chandan ruled he would get a trial.

Consequently, the defendant was put on $20,000 bail until May 16 when he has to be back at New Amsterdam Court in Berbice.

Particulars of the offence said Kubeer (no address given) had a bicycle, a hacksaw blade and two screw drivers, reasonably suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.

But he claimed the bike and the other things, with which he was found, belong to him and it is usual for him to have them on his person as he repairs bicycles.

‘Iceman’ acquitted of murder
HARRY Persaud, called ‘Iceman’, was acquitted of murder yesterday following a successful no-case submission by Attorney-at-Law Mrs. Marcella Thompson.

Persaud was on trial for the murder of his reputed wife Shamdai Sookram on December 31, 1999.

During the trial, Persaud’s stepson Deokinand Janak testified that he saw Persaud cuff and grab Sookram, and beat her with a paling stave. Janak said he then called neighbours who assisted in taking Sookram to the hospital.

Justice Dawn Gregory-Barnes upheld the no-case submission because two witnesses testified that they witnessed the post mortem examination performed on Sookram on January 5, 2000, and that she was buried the next day.

However, the post mortem report indicated that the examination was performed on January 12, 2000.

In her ruling, Justice Gregory-Barnes held that the prosecution did not produce evidence about what caused Sookram’s death.

The evidence presented by the prosecution was too tenuous to be left to the jury, Justice Gregory-Barnes contended.

Accordingly, she directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty.

Prosecutor Ms. Nyasha Williams appeared for the State.

Lessons from the 1992 elections
THE introduction of former Bill Clinton adviser Dick Morris to Guyanese politics has generated a lot of interest.

Morris has already put a significant proposal on the table. He has suggested that exit polls should be employed as a means of detecting fraud.

Exit polls, however, are quite controversial. This author consulted with Dr. Robert Pastor who is one of the most experienced professionals in election monitoring on the subject. Dr. Pastor told me exit polls are, without doubt, a bad idea for Guyana.

Dr. Pastor, who has years of experience in these matters through the Carter Center, and who is now Vice-President of International Relations at American University in Washington D.C., makes an analytical distinction between ‘quick counts’ and exit polls. The former is based on random samples of results; the latter are measures of attitudes.

According to Pastor, exit polls are unreliable even in advanced democracies, as was the case in the U.S. in 2004. In new democracies, he says, they are absolutely unreliable.

Instead of exit polls, Pastor and his colleague David Carroll suggest five major lessons learned from the 1992 elections in Guyana. They are as follows:

1. International observers should have all sides agree to their presence. Doing this at an early stage of the electoral process