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Criminal gangs politically motivated
- Minister Rohee tells National Assembly during budget debate
MINISTER of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, is of the view that criminal gangs that have been carrying out ruthless killings and robberies over the last few months were politically motivated.

In rebutting claims by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) during the 2008 National Budget debate that criminals are often bred from a society that is poverty stricken, Minister Rohee acknowledged that while there is some correlation between crime and poverty, in Guyana’s context, one must make the distinction between crimes of necessity and psychopathic criminality with an implicit political agenda.

He said the latter type of crimes has nothing to do with poverty and these are certainly no ordinary criminals who, as some claim, have ‘just a cause’.

“It would be incorrect and absurd to claim that criminal gangs influenced and indoctrinated with certain political motives have a cause that grew out of poverty. Actually, it grew out of a peculiar political culture that has been with us for sometime.”

He added, “After all, how can we explain their activities in the context of the criminal enterprise with heavily armed AK-47s and other automatic and semi automatic weapons, the hiring and paying of look outs and informants, as well as financing persons to provide transportation to move stolen weapons? Certainly these are no ordinary criminals who, as some claim, have a just cause.”

The Home Affairs Minister pointed out that the men are para-military operatives who have their dubious political/ideological masters to guide them in their killer operations, whether it be at Lusignan, Bartica or any part of the country.

The Minister noted that the administration is cognizant that there is some connection between crime and poverty but in Guyana’s context a difference must be made between crimes of necessity and crimes with political motivation.

“We must make the distinction between crimes of necessity where persons with limited options to eke out a living, commit a crime out of necessity such as larceny from the person, shoplifting, praedial larceny and other petty crimes and psychopathic criminality with an implicit political agenda. The latter type of crimes has nothing to do with poverty,” the Home Affairs Minister emphasised.

Against this backdrop, Minister Rohee said there must be full support given to the Joint Services in pursuit of these men.

He noted that there must be a holistic approach to fighting crime, a call the administration has been echoing for some time now and has been pursuing.

Minister Rohee, in his presentation, further stated that it is unfortunate that the opposition has refused to lend a helping hand in the crime fight and rather has chosen to stand on the outside and criticise.

“This is not good enough because if the government and its Ministers were to be in a position to be guided by anything we have none. We came prepared, as we always do, to listen to alternatives, to constructive proposals, the various options and recommendations, but regrettably we heard none.”

“So Mr. Speaker, we have to stay the course and to indeed continue advancing the transformation agenda,” Minister Rohee asserted.

This year, the security and defence sectors have been allocated $13.7B to improve their capabilities which will enable a safer environment for all Guyanese. $900M of this will be used for the purchase of two helicopters and other equipment and gear for the Joint Services.

Among other actions that will be taken with collaborative work with the multilateral and bilateral agencies are:

•improving the capability of rapid response systems to serious crimes;

•upgrading communication systems and expanding access to police and other databases;

•improving intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities;

•intensifying training in special operations for selected Joint Services members;

•equipping crime fighting forces with appropriate transportation and technologically appropriate equipment to enhance their capacity on the ground;

•improving the oversight of the sector by strengthening the Office of Professional Responsibility, Police Complaints Authority and Police Service Commission.

Additionally, $65 million will be expended to expand and equip community policing groups in order to support the national crime fighting efforts.

Meanwhile, Rohee also pointed out that his ministry has done a comparative analysis of, among other documents, the citizens’ security programme, the security sector reform action plan, the Symmonds report, the disciplined forces commission report and the Scottish police and Centrex report.

He refuted claims that these studies and reports were not taken into account when the Security Sector Reform Action Plan (SSRAP), for instance, were formulated.

Rohee pointed out that last November, the government tabled the SSRAP in the National Assembly, which refers to a holistic approach based on a comprehensive threat assessment’.

Alluding to the crime situation, the minister pointed out that every nation at some point in their history has faced one challenge after another.

He declared that we must not run away from the challenges faced but we must confront them as a nation and above all, as one.

Rohee also noted that transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, the illicit weapon trade and trafficking in persons continue to pose a serious threat to security and sovereignty of nations around the world, including Guyana.

Guyana has responded to this threat by deepening its cooperation with the international community particularly the United States, CARICOM and other neighbouring countries as well as Latin America, he said.

Also, the administration is constantly working to deepen security and intelligence cooperation with CARICOM and South American neighbours, he added.

More assistance for vulnerable groups this year
- Child Protection Unit on card - Minister Manickchand
GOVERNMENT will continue to extend care to those in need especially the elderly and vulnerable in society and during this year, more money has been allocated for the provision of services to make their lives more comfortable.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand, speaking during the budget debate on Monday evening, reported to the National Assembly that her Ministry performed well last year and there were remarkable improvements in several areas.

She outlined the plans for her Ministry during this year among which are: the establishment of a single parent fund, the setting up of a comprehensive child protection strategy to implement a foster care programme to address the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, and a national campaign to advance the fight against domestic violence.

The 2008 budget presented on February 22 by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh allocated the following:

** $2.5B for old age pension that will benefit 35,000 persons over the age of 65 years

** $810M for the public assistance targeting 15,000 beneficiaries

** $120M to offset the cost of water charges on behalf of the elderly

** $100M for setting up of a fund to provide support to vulnerable single parent

** $50 M for the provision of spectacles to persons in need

** $110M will be used to upgrade the Palms and meet operational costs

Minister Manickchand told the House that the Old Age Pension Programme has notably benefitted a substantial number of persons over the age of 65 and the $2.5B that government will spend in this respect will be an increase of over $1.3B from last year.

This will allow about 35,000 senior citizens to receive a total of $6,000 monthly as opposed to the previous amount of $3,675, while public assistance recipients will receive $4,500 instead of $2,470.

Minister Manickchand also noted that the pension system has improved tremendously.

“We recognise that there were some issues with regard to pensioners receiving their pensions on time, however, those have been corrected and now pensioners receive their pension books the previous year, in advance,” Minister Manickchand said.

Pension books for 2008 were distributed since late last year, and the exercise was conducted at locations close to the pensioners’ homes in order to prevent them having to travel long distances and enduring long waiting hours.

Minister Manickchand explained that Government also foots the bill for pensioners’ water rates with a total of $120M slated to offset the cost of water tariffs for this group.

The Ministry also assisted significantly with public assistance last year. In excess of 15,000 persons benefitted – of which two-thirds were children.

This year, public assistance which has been increased by 83 percent will see another 15, 000 people benefitting from the $810M that has been allocated.

CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAMME:
In the area of child protection, the Government has seen and recorded many successes as orphans and vulnerable children have been accessing help.

In March 2007, Mission Child Protection which was aimed at addressing comprehensively the needs of children who found themselves on the streets was able to pick up 120 children, 42 of whom are still in the Ministry’s care.

The Ministry intends to expand this programme to deal with more children since street children is not a new phenomenon, Minister Manickchand said.

“This year, we will craft a Child Protection Services Unit that will be an umbrella body to deal with all issues relating to child protection and with support of the 2008 Budget, the Ministry intends to start a foster care programme and to finalise the regulations and minimum standards for orphanages so as to ensure that the children who are in the programme are in a child friendly environment,” the minister declared.

Illegal airstrip probe still ongoing
By Wendella Davidson
THE probe into the discovery of an illegal airstrip at Wanatoba, Corentyne River, some 80 miles upriver from the Orealla Village, is ongoing with investigators seeking to determine whether the tract of land on which the illegal project was built was leased or owned, sources have said.

A 35-year-old Corentyne, Berbice businessman, Mool Persaud Maniram for whom the Police had issued a wanted bulletin in late December, have since been arrested, interrogated, placed on station bail and has to keep reporting to the Police.

Maniram, also called ‘Francis’ is said to be the owner of a logging concession in the Crabwood Creek, Corentyne area.

The airstrip was sighted in early December by a GDF pilot who was on a routine over-flight in the New River area.

The pilot reported to his superiors that he had observed an aircraft parked halfway up the airstrip and several persons clad in dark clothes emerging from the jungle.

However, by the time the GDF had sent troops to the area they found the illegal airstrip with the burnt-out Let 410 turboprop aircraft manufactured by the Czech Republic, a still smoldering all terrain vehicle (ATV) and a bulldozer in the middle of the airstrip.

The aircraft, which carried a Venezuelan flag, appeared to be severely damaged after attempting to take off and had skidded off to the right, a GDF statement said.

Extensive construction works seemed to have been undertaken at the approximately 3,600 feet long and 375 feet wide illegal airstrip, which is longer than the Ogle aerodrome, and even wider than the runway at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, the GDF statement added.

It said too, only about 1,800 feet of the airstrip was usable and the construction seemed geared to upgrading the remainder of the airstrip.

And, as troops continued to check the area they also found an abandoned camp with food and a burnt generator, about a mile from the illegal airstrip, along with a trail about 25 feet long that led for some two miles to the Corentyne River, which suggested that the bulldozer and other equipment may have been transported via the river.

The view is that the Czech-made aircraft was deliberately burnt sometime between Sunday and Monday morning, as persons had reported seeing an aircraft over-flying the airstrip Sunday.

And according to the GDF statement, the theory was supported by the still smoldering all terrain vehicle and the removal of the bulldozer’s starter, when the troops got there.

It is also believed that this airstrip was constructed to facilitate trans-shipment of narcotics and the conduct of other illegal activities.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority had also conducted a probe on the torched aircraft found on the illegal airstrip and on December 28 last year, presented a copy of its report to Transport Minister, Robeson Benn.

The report, however, did not have clues as to where the place came from and who owned it.

The discovery of the airstrip comes in the wake of the discovery and destruction of another illegal airstrip in the Orealla area earlier last year and reports of several aircraft sightings and landings at remote airstrips in the interior.

Last Saturday robberies…
Alleged accomplice of man shot dead also remanded
By Telesha Persaud
PAUL Waterman, the alleged accomplice of the man who was shot dead by Police last Saturday after a robbery at Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL), appeared in Court yesterday.

The survivor and two other men accused of robbing Western Union the same day faced charges for a number of gun-related offences.

Waterman, 36, of Lot 20 ‘B’ North Sophia, appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octave-Hamilton and pleaded not guilty to illegal possession of a gun and ammunition but was not required to plead to the robbery charge.

In the latter case, it is alleged that, on March 1 at Lombard and Sussex Streets, he robbed an employee of TPL, at gunpoint, of $1,551,940 and 18 cheque leaves valued $1,800, belonging to the company.

Two more allegations against Waterman are that, at the same time, he had a .38 revolver and six live rounds of 9 mm ammunition, without lawful authority.

Police Inspector Desiree Fowler, prosecuting, said Waterman surrendered to Police that day after he saw the demise of his accomplice, Kevin Dillon.

Waterman was remanded to prison until March 31.

The other accused, Damion David and Brian Ford were charged with the heist at Western Union on Lamaha Street, on Saturday, too.

David, 24, of Lot 78 West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, also in the city, together with Ford, 33, of Lot 71 Coghlan Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, faced joint indictable charges.

Particulars of one offence said they used guns to rob Hyacinth Alleyne of $5,000 and a cellular phone valued $40,000.

The other accusation is that they also took $409,452, belonging to Western Union, from Alleyne at gunpoint.

Fowler, in her successful objection to bail for the duo, said a witness will say they went to the cashier’s cage and ordered her to open the register and give them the money.

The Prosecutor said one of them ventured into the cage while holding Alleyne at gunpoint and took her cellular phone from her bag before they escaped in a car Ford was driving.

Fowler said there was no need for an identification parade because the accused were positively identified.

David and Ford were also remanded to prison until March 25, despite representation by attorney-at-law Mr. Glen Hanoman and Mr. Adrian Thompson, respectively.

Thompson said Ford is a driver with Classic Ride Taxi Service and he is charged only because his car was photographed by the security camera at the business place.

Defence Counsel declared it did not make sense for someone to go on a robbery spree with a vehicle bearing the logo of the service for which the person works.

Hanoman claimed that, while it is alleged that the two prisoners conspired with each other to commit the crime, they did not know one another before they appeared in Court.

Scottish teacher
A post mortem examination is expected today on the body of Scottish teacher, Pamela McCarroll.

The young lady, a volunteer attached to Project Trust died tragically when she fell on Monday while rock climbing at Tutuwau Falls, South Central Rupununi.

The 18-year-old had a stint of one year in Guyana as a teacher attached to St. Ignatius Secondary School, Lethem.

She was expected home in August this year.

Her broken body was flown to the city in a body bag to the Lyken Funeral Parlour about 16:00 h on Monday.

Police said the teacher and a friend went rock-climbing about 14:00 h Monday when she fell and sustained injuries but was later pronounced dead on arrival at the Lethem Regional Hospital.

McCarroll was one of 5,500 volunteers to twenty-five countries annually and is widely respected as one of the most experienced and professional gap year organisations in Britain.

Murder of Guyanese woman in Trinidad
- suspect on the run
THE alleged suspect in the murder of a Guyanese woman in Trinidad continues to elude the Police on the West Coast of Demerara, where he was sighted by a relative of the deceased.

Reached for an update, a Police source said the man seems to be on the run as there has been no other sighting of him. Reports are that he has failed to return to the home where he once lived.

Anela Persad, 24, who hailed from Essequibo Coast, was found strangled on October 18, 2007, in the apartment where she lived on Frederick Street, Chaguanas, not far from Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

The suspect, said to be a close acquaintance was also responsible for the dead woman to migrate to the twin-island republic, where the suspect had been living for sometime.

The relative, who had sighted the man at a West Demerara village market-day and subsequently contacted the Police, had said that when her relative met her death in Trinidad the relationship between her and the suspect was strained.

Police, on conducting investigations were led to a house where the suspect was said to be staying and the occupants confirmed that he was indeed a resident, and was also living in Trinidad for sometime before returning.

A search of the room which the suspect had occupied and belongings unearthed Trinidad and Guyana identification cards, but bearing different names. Those and other documents were taken away by the Police. (Wendella Davidson)

Prayers begin to rid NSCSS of unknown forces
A SERIES of prayer sessions, to get rid of unknown forces believed to have stricken students of New Silver City Secondary School (NSCSS) in Linden, continued yesterday.

The children, their parents, teachers and pastors, as well as officials, including Regional Chairman of Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice), Mr. Mortimer Mingo, and Chair of the Women’s Affairs Committee of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Ms Valerie Adams-Sharpe, attended the night before, too.

The activities were arranged after some schoolchildren mysteriously took sick, vomiting and becoming unconscious, since last week.

The programme was agreed by parents of the children on roll at the NSCSS at a meeting Monday and another is planned for Friday at Fruits of Calvary Assembly of God Church, on Burnham Drive, Wismar.

The move to pray was sanctioned after medical checks revealed that nothing was medically wrong with the children who fell ill and their parents concluded that the intervention of pastors may be the remedy for the ‘demonic forces’ blamed in the situation.

Meanwhile, Regional Education Officer (REDO), Mr. Marcel Hutson, has taken umbrage with a Tuesday Guyana Chronicle report on the occurrences at the NSCSS.

The story, by Linden Correspondent Joe Chapman, stated that Hutson “declared a spiritual issue is facing the school.”

In fact, he said the spiritual thought of what was happening over the past week at the school came from the parents of the students and it was irresponsible to say he had said it was a spiritual issue affecting the secondary institution.

He has asked for a retraction of the statement and, in the wake of the request, we wish to apologise for any inconvenience caused by it and hasten to add that no offence was intended by the reporter.

However, we wish to quote exactly what Hutson did say in relation to that particular matter which he felt was misleading of his office.

When he addressed the teachers, parents and students, he made the following statements which were recorded by Chapman: “We spent about one hour at the school, interacting with the teachers in relation to this issue. And we had about 30 teachers present there and, of the 30 teachers, about 20 of them, it could have been more, because some persons said that they were on the fence, 20 of them admitted that whatever was transpiring there, was that of a spiritual nature.

“That is what the 20 teachers admitted. Just to let you know that. Let me tell something about how the devil operates for those of you who are Christian minded. Chaos and confusion and that is what some of you are feeding.”

“You are giving him exactly what he wants. And, therefore, if we are going to move to deal with this problem, well, then, we got to be strategic in what we are going to do. Now there are some persons, presently I can tell you that Dr. Armstrong and a team of persons, I think from the Ministry of Agriculture, they have gone up to the school and they are testing the area, the environmental people, to ensure that it is not any gas or anything like that.”

“I spoke to some teachers this morning and one of the teachers, in particular, who is a science teacher and the teacher explained to me that it could not have been so and I think that was the consensus, that it was not an issue...we don’t have a report yet coming from them, but the feeling is, the consensus is, that what has transpired at the school was a spiritual issue.”

“I was made to understand that also…well this information wasn’t brought to me until this morning, that it is not the first time that we have had such kind of activity like that, in that particular building.”

“Now for the request that I heard coming forth from the church. We share your concern that the matter is a spiritual matter and I can tell you that the Regional Chairman would have just contacted some major pastors in Linden and he is going to meet with them and we are going to decide shortly when we are going to go into the school and do the prayers as you want. Because it is the consensus of members of the PTA that you need the building to be sprayed. I can tell you that the majority of the teachers felt so this morning and this is the direction in which we are going to go.”

“Because we are living in a democracy and if the people say that they want prayers in the school and they want prayers today and it comes from the parents, we have no other choice but to give you exactly what you want. Because we talk about partnership in education and we want people to come on board and so on, if this is what you want, we cannot stop you and this is what you will get. And I want to assure you that I am behind you 100 per cent in what you are going to do.”

U.G. likely to introduce C’wealth Masters Degree Programme this year
By Tajeram Mohabir
DEAN of the Social Sciences Faculty at the University of Guyana (UG), Dr. Michael Scott, said the school is likely to introduce the Commonwealth Masters Degree programmes in Executive Public and Business Administration before September this year.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Dr. Scott disclosed that the university has completed the licensing procedures with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) to commence the initiatives.

He noted that UG is currently finalising the advertising aspects of the programmes which will initially run for five years.

The Dean explained that after the advertisements, interested participants will undergo a screening process for the selection of not more than 50 entrants.

Dr. Scott said the university intends to develop the courses into on-line programmes.

Eight other universities namely Allama Iqbal Open University, Pakistan; Bangladesh Open University, Bangladesh; Indira Gandhi National Open University, India; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; National Open University of Nigeria; Open University of Sri Lanka; University College of the Caribbean, Jamaica; and Wawasan Open University, Malaysia have been licensed to offer the programmes.

The programmes will be overseen by COL Executive Governing Board and Academic Board which comprise senior members of nine-partner institutions.

At a recent forum, UG Vice Chancellor, Dr. James Rose, had announced that the premier academic institution is expected to initiate a Post Graduate Degree in Anesthesia and a Bachelor of Art Degree in Rehabilitation next year.

In January this year, UG in collaboration with the Nova Southeastern University in Florida, United States of America (USA) inaugurated a Masters Degree programme in Education Management, Supervision and Planning.

The $1.5M programme is supervised by the Ministry of Education and currently has about 40 students. The 18-month course is tailored to meet the needs of the education sector and is imparted both on-line and in the class room.

The following month, the university in partnership with St. Joseph’s College in Connecticut, USA, launched a Masters in Nursing programme.

That programme is in keeping with the Ministry of Health’s trust to improve the quality of administrators in the sector and currently has four scholars.

The university also offers master degree programmes in Art (History), Forest Biology and Social Sciences and post graduate courses in Development Studies and International Relations.

North American to provide Travelspan Summer service
NORTH American Airlines has announced that it signed an agreement with Travelspan to fly passengers of the latter travelling during the Summer season.

The announcement said North American has extended its service to provide air transport to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and Georgetown, Guyana, beginning June 24 and continuing through September 6.

The release quoted North American’s Chief Commercial and Planning Officer, Mr. Rob Binns, as saying it is looking forward to serving Travelspan, again, with its popular Boeing 757 aircraft.

According to the release, President of Travelspan Inc, Mr. Nohar Singh, welcomed the opportunity for North American to be a partner in providing quality service.

The release stated that Travelspan, which was established in 2006, is a tour operator with several years of experience, specialising in vacation packages to the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean destinations.

Hindu Dharmic Sabha observes Maha Shiva Ratri tomorrow
THE Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha will observe Maha Shiva Ratri tomorrow, as a profound spiritual event on the day consecrated for the worship of Bhagwan Shiva.

A release said a special satsang will be held at two Georgetown venues, Rama Krishna Mandir, in Barr Street, Kitty, from 5:30 pm and Shri Krishna Mandir, in Campbellville, from 7:30 p.m.President of the Sabha, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud has called on all devotees to attend mandirs in their respective districts and chant ‘Om Namah Shivya’.Maha Shiva Ratri literally means ‘the night (ratri) of the Supreme God principle (Shiva)’. Accordingly, the various religious rituals and observances on this festival take place chiefly at night, the release explained.

Booklet on new Amerindian Act to be more user-friendly
THE Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is currently working on producing booklets on the new Amerindian Act in languages that will be understood by the Amerindians.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues, said the legal language is posing some difficulties and the Ministry wants to make the document more user-friendly in order that its contents are easily understood

It was noted that there are booklets on the Amerindian Act already which are available to the public; however, Amerindian communities specifically will be targeted for the distribution of these new booklets.

Minister Rodrigues said that the project which started last year is almost complete.

Additionally, templates of the forestry and mining sectors are in the printing process which will serve as a guide for communities that are involved in the two sectors.

The Minister said the project will be pursued because of several complaints received by the Ministry, many of which relate to agreements not properly formulated, resulting in communities losing out.

She said a workshop was completed with the communities’ Toshaos in order that they understand and are knowledgeable of the contents of the Act.

This will guide the people to read and understand the rules better.

In the long-term not only this, but future generations as well will benefit, Minister Rodrigues said.

The Amerindian Act of 1951 was outdated and not reflective of today’s situation and many communities had asked for it to be revised.

In early August 2005, the Amerindian Bill was presented to Parliament and was subsequently debated on October 20, 2005.

The new Amerindian Act was passed on February 16, 2006 paving the way for Amerindians to empower themselves socially, economically and politically. (GINA)

Seaman wanted
POLICE yesterday issued a wanted bulletin for Tribhowan Persaud for questioning in connection with the larceny of a boat and engine.

His particulars as listed by the Police are as follows:-

Profession: Seaman

Date of Birth: 3rd July, 1963

Nationality: Guyanese

Country of Residence: Suriname

Height: 180cm.

Colour of Hair: Black

Colour of Eyes: Brown

The Police said anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Tribhowan Persaud is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers:-

Force Control,
Police Headquarters
25-6411

225-2700

226-2917

226-4585

Impact Base
Brickdam
225-2317

227-4065

C.I.D Headquarters
226-6978

225-3650

225-8196

A’ Division
(Georgetown/EBD)
227-1270

227-1611

227-1149

225-6941-3

225-6945

225-6946

B’ Division
(Berbice)
333-2151-4

‘C’ Division
(East Coast of Demerara)
229-2019
229-2700-5

‘D’ Division
( West Demerara and EBE)
268-2222
268-2329
268-2328

‘E&F’ Division
( Linden and the Interior)
444-3512
444-3351

‘G’ Division
( Essequibo )

771-5004

They can also call 911 or the nearest Police Station.
All information will be treated with strict confidence.

Free molasses for cattle farmers
AGRICULTURE Minister, Robert Persaud, has directed the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) to make molasses available to cattle farmers through the National Dairy Development Programme free of cost.

According to a release issued yesterday by the Ministry of Agriculture, the decision was taken following Guysuco’s limited storage facilities for the by-product. It added that a system has been implemented whereby the corporation will inform