Let’s trade drug info
-- President appeals again to U.S.
`(Let’s)…have a bilateral agreement on sharing information on illegal accounts or accounts held in either of the two countries by anyone – public or private officials’
By Mark Ramotar
THE Guyana Government has appealed to the United States to share information on known drug traffickers but is still awaiting a response after making a formal request more than a year ago, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced yesterday.

He reiterated Guyana’s commitment and willingness to fight narco-trafficking but declared that the U.S. has to help more in the battle against this illicit scourge.

He stressed that Guyana was willing to work closely with the U.S. in the fight but said there should be a commitment from them to reciprocate that willingness to help instead of putting out “one-sided” reports that do not capture all the facts.

This was a clear reference to the damning report the U.S. Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement released last week, confirming that Guyana is a transhipment point for South American cocaine destined for North America, Europe and the Caribbean.

The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report disclosed that joint U.S.-Guyana operations in combating narcotics were “quickly compromised due to corruption”, triggering a growing interest and involvement here by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over the past year.

But addressing the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Annual Officers’ Conference at Base Camp Ayanganna in Georgetown, Mr. Jagdeo reported that he wrote U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, Mr. Roger Noriega, telling him it was time that the U.S. and Guyana have a bilateral agreement through which they can share valuable information on drug-trafficking and money laundering.

&#xIn December 2003, Mr. Noriega wrote me asking for support for the meeting (at that time) in Mexico on strong language for corruption. I wrote him back and said we will support this but I think that it is time that the United States and Guyana have a bilateral agreement on sharing information on illegal accounts or accounts held in either of the two countries by anyone – public or private officials - who have gained these proceeds from illegal means, either by money laundering, drug dealing or tax evasion.”

&#xUntil today, I have not had a response for that bilateral agreement,” he announced.

President Jagdeo noted that a multilateral agreement can even be made at the Organisation of American States (OAS) but pointed out that once these agreements are in place “you never really get anything done”.

&#xWe have requested information in the past but the sloth and the many agencies you have to go through would make it a futile exercise, so I was hoping that (we could) make it a bilateral agreement with a clear mechanism of this transfer of information, but until today I have not received a response (to),” he stated.

The report disclosed that a 2004 DEA effort to work with CANU on a drug interdiction project was compromised before it could be made operational. “It is believed that CANU has been penetrated and could be corrupt at every level,” it added.

But President Jagdeo yesterday indicated that he found the report to be “strange” since he requested the U.S. Government more than a year ago to do a complete polygraph (lie detector) testing of “every single member of CANU -- from the head to the cleaner” but was told by the U.S. authorities that it was “too costly”.

&#xIf it’s costly for them, what do you think it will be for us? They have a nine trillion dollar economy and yet it is too costly -- then what will it be to us as an economy of 700 million dollars?”

He noted, too, that when the issue of extradition of local drug traffickers came about, it was rumoured that the Guyana Government did not want this.

The President said this was never the case since his government found out about the extradition issue from a report in a newspaper in New York. There were reports that the U.S. authorities might ask the Guyana Government to extradite as many as 16 persons but President Jagdeo said only three names (persons) were requested.

&#xThere are three, but I think the Commissioner of Police is looking for those three persons because I think they disappeared,” he said.

He pointed out that many times “we lost cases in the courts because some agency from the U.S. could not send their people here to lead the evidence”.

&#xSo when I see these reports - at the bottom when they talk about corruption (they should write) that the Government of Guyana has requested a bilateral agreement but we (the U.S) have not responded, and when they speak about CANU being compromised they should say also that the Government of Guyana has asked the U.S. to polygraph all the members of CANU but we thought it was too costly,” he declared.

&#xIt would seem that the developed countries in the North are only interested in countries like Guyana based on how much drugs they produced or transhipped into their countries, or how many illegal immigrants we sent; I admit that we have had weak enforcement and corruption in this sector but what I find very disturbing is how these reports are written because it seems as though the reports only represent one side of the story.”

President Jagdeo also assured that the Guyana Government will continue, with the limited resources available, to strengthened the fight against narco-trafficking.

&#xWe will continue to work with the U.S. Government, but if they really need the cooperation from Guyana and many other countries then they will have to start helping us,” he stressed.

The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces also argued out that if the U.S. Government and the U.S. Congress can give Colombia more than US$1B in equipment and financial support, they can surely give Guyana more than US$50,000 to help in the fight against drug-trafficking and other scourges eating away at the fabric of society.

PNCR votes against East Berbice education budget
A CALL for a division by the main Opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), supported by GAP/WPA, on budgetary allocations to improve the quality of education in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), has left the government questioning the motives of the Opposition parties.

The PNCR and GAP/WPA yesterday voted against appropriation of expenditure in that region for education.

However, the government was able to defeat the Opposition’s attempts to shortchange the region’s allocation in the education sector.           

In an invited comment, General Secretary of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and Member of Parliament, Donald Ramotar told GINA the call for division was totally unexpected.

According to Ramotar, he cannot understand why the PNCR would make such a call when the allocation was for educational improvement.

He is contemplating what other allocation would questioned. “Would it be health?” he asked.

Votes on the allocations were 19 to 26 in favour of the allocation.

Meanwhile, Vincent Alexander of the PNCR said the call was to bring members to their seats.

The government’s Members of Parliament were puzzled over the Opposition’s call for division and questioned the Opposition’s commitment for the education development in the region and the sector as a whole. (GOVERNMENT INFORMATION AGENCY) 

Babies accused of looting
FOUR Bangladeshi infants have appeared in court in their parents' arms accused of looting and causing criminal damage.

The four - whose ages range from three months to two years - were released on bail after a brief hearing.

The magistrate in the southern city of Chittagong said the case did not appear to be genuine - but the truth would emerge in a police report.

Anyone can file criminal cases in Bangladesh, and the procedure is frequently used to harass people.

The magistrate, Ali Noor, told reporters that he had been "a bit surprised" to see such young children in his court.

"Everything will come out during the police investigation and the report that will be submitted to the court later," he added.

Bail has been granted at $50 per child.

The children are all members of an extended family.

Relatives said the allegations stemmed from a land dispute with a neighbour. (BBC WORLD)

Phones bug Berbice Chamber
THE Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association (BCCDA) feels there’s something funny going on with phones in the region and says it is raising the bugs with the management of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company (GT&T).

It in a press release yesterday, it said it has been receiving several reports “about what appear to be malpractices relating to both land lines and cellular phone charges”.

It said these charges reflect calls not made by customers and there have been instances where “while calls are being made on land lines which have no extensions, dialling is clearly heard as if someone is attempting to make calls using the same telephone.”

The chamber said it “views with great concern these practices which will obviously result in customers being expected to pay for calls about which they know nothing.”

“These matters are now being brought to the attention of the management of GT&T for the necessary corrective action to be taken without delay”, it said.

No trace of hijacked taxi
UP TO late yesterday, the white AT 192 Carina car, registered HB 2259, which Kameshwar Roopnarine was driving when he was executed in the wee hours of Monday morning, was still missing.

Rajesh Ramsammy, proprietor of Raj Taxi Service of Line Path, Corriverton, said he was still awaiting word from the police on their investigations into the killing of the taxi driver and the hijacked vehicle.

A source said police ranks in the division have intensified their search for the killers.

Ramsammy said that while he was aware that his vehicle had left East Berbice, he had received no other information on leads the cops might be following.

“My resources are limited... the car is suspected to be out of the region...there is nothing I can do. I depend totally on the police”, he said.

Twenty-three-year-old Roopnarine, of Line Path, Corriverton, was found dead at 02:15 h on Monday, almost 40 miles from where he picked up two Surinamese men, who landed illegally at the Number 78 foreshore.

His last contact with his taxi base at 19:30 h on Sunday was when he called to say that he was hired by the two Surinamese who wanted to go to New Amsterdam, police said.

After not hearing from him again, a search party was mounted and the body was found with a bullet wound to his head.

Roopnarine will be buried on Monday and leaves to mourn his parents and six siblings, among other relatives and friends.

GO-INVEST reports good business from St. Lucia show
CHIEF Executive Officer of Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST), Mr. Geoffrey DaSilva announced yesterday that 45 Guyanese companies secured orders and developed business contacts with major firms at the recent trade fair in St. Lucia.

He told a press conference at Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, High Street, Kingston, Georgetown, that, despite a space problem at the venue, the participants from Guyana “did exteremely well” as others showed interest in the local products.

We have done trade shows before and each market is different and we have to take account of that and, in the St. Lucia show, we have learnt some things along the way,” Da Silva said, reporting on the exposition.

He said one of the main factors GO-INVEST is confronting now is a space problem, because the agency does not select the participants at all trade shows.

It is a self-selection process and DaSilva explained that, if a company has a good product and wants to go out, his agency aggressively encourages it to go and take part in such shows.

He said St. Lucia does not have a large convention facility and the situation was similar in Toronto, Canada, last year June.

Announcing that the next trade show will be staged in Suriname, again, he said GO-INVEST is looking at both Nickerie and Paramaribo for the August month end event and studies are being conducted for Jamaica, too.

Da Silva announced that discussions are ongoing with the Guyana Embassy in the neighbouring republic and the Surinamese private sector but, on the basis of the last experience, there is going to be the same problem again, because more companies would want to go.

…so these are challenges…we are going to have to become creative and come up with solutions,” he acknowledged.

DaSilva reported, too, that some markets are not suitable for all Guyanese products and that is why GO-INVEST conducts comprehensive surveys.

He recalled that, in June 2004, handicraft producers were advised that Toronto, Canada was not a major buyer for their products but many of them insisted they wanted to go and were allowed to as they paid their fare.

DaSilva said, on that occasion, a few did well, including from the food processing sector.

He admitted it is a process of learning how to operate in different markets which are key for particluar companies and sectors.

According to him, Guyana trade shows take on the character of a road exhibition, as well, in that sales are not the main aim and the objective is to promote the country, the kinds of things it manufactures and grows and the services being created.

…it is out of the trade shows we are hoping to get orders and build a business relationship in those markets,” DaSilva offered.

He said GO-INVEST has found there are two main players at the shows, companies that are going mainly to get orders and secure some retail sales and others for which the priority is retail sales but it is fine if they get some orders.

DaSilva said such issues have to be addressed and resources and finances are always key questions.

He said, each company, mirco, small, medium or large, pays its way, including air fare, hotel accommodation and meals.

GO-INVEST does the organisation and finances the advertising while the individual companies put in additional resources.

DaSilva said his entity spent US$14,000 in St. Lucia to advertise on radio, television and in newspapers, in addition to working with private sector personnel there and e-mailing their membership.

He said GO-INVEST expended “quite a few million dollars” outside of what the companies that took part put up in advance.

Da Silva said his agency will meet all those who went to St. Lucia and evaluate what was achieved, ahead of the Suriname venture and prior to facing big challenges next in New York and Florida, two places considered the main business hubs of North and South America.

The trade fair in St. Lucia took place from February 25 through 27, at Indies Complex, Rodney Bay, one of the major tourist sites on that Caribbean island which is a big wood customer.

Of the companies which exhibited on the three days, six were wood exporters and others deal in garments and texiles, beverages, rice and jewellery which were showcased.

New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) represented 25 which do business with fresh and processed foods.

Previous trade shows were in Antigua, Suriname, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
(MICHEL OUTRIDGE)

EU stresses environmental concerns in aid programme
ECONOMIC Advisor to the European Commission (EC) here, Ms Ritva Sallmen, has reiterated the EC's commitment to Guyana's economic growth.

Speaking at the opening of a workshop yesterday in Georgetown to develop a Country Environmental Profile (CEP) for Guyana, Ms. Sallmen indicated that the EC had requested the production of a profile which identifies and assesses issues that should be considered during the preparation of a wider EC Country Strategy Paper (CSP).

She said the CSP will directly or indirectly influence EC cooperation activities with the government, as environmental issues feature highly on the European Union's (EU) policy agenda.

As such, studies into the state of the environment in those countries with which the EU cooperates have become a prerequisite to any assistance that would be provided, she explained.

She said that when CSPs are being negotiated with recipient countries to prepare for assistance programmes, the CEP provides relevant information to policy makers in the respective country and in the EU.

This, she said, leads to conditionalities in the assistance programmes and aimed at improving the state of the environment and public awareness of the impact on everyday life.

The major focus of the CEP is to identify key environmental factors influencing the country's economic development and potential responses to them.

It also aims to assess national environmental policy and legislation and involvement of civil society on environmental issues, the official said.

The CEP will summarise past and ongoing international cooperation in the environment sector, particularly with the EU, and recommend guidelines for mainstreaming environmental concerns in priority development areas.

The CEP project is being spearheaded by two consultants from Atkins International, Jonathan McCue and Richard Pagett, who have been here for several months researching and gathering information pertaining to the environment.

Officials said yesterday’s workshop provided an opportunity for stakeholders to air their views and give their inputs through an interactive process.

From conclusions out of the workshop, the consultants are to compile the data obtained, fine-tune their findings and present a report by the end of this month, they said.

West Demerara man wins ‘Free Purchase’ in ‘Courts Surprize’
Courts Guyana Incorporated presented its ‘Courts Surprize’ promotional campaign at Le Meridien Pegasus Poolside on Tuesday afternoon. The campaign affords customers chances of winning up to $20M in cash and prizes for 2005.

Mr. Raymond Edoo of De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara (WCD) won himself a ‘Free Purchase’ ticket from Courts after his wife selected a red box.

Edoo had purchased a television set and a table set from the furniture giant and as a result of the ‘Free Purchase’ ticket, the cash he paid in installments will be refunded.

The ‘Courts Surprize’ promotion allows seven customers, each of whom would have shopped over $5,000-worth of items, coupons to enter the competition.

At Tuesday’s event, the seven selected customers were required to bid on an item sold at Courts. The person who bids closest to the actual cash price of the item is allowed to dip into one of 12 ‘Courts Surprize’ boxes, each of which contains a fabulous prize.

The March customers are: Joan Ann Bluchia, Olive Ramrattan, Naranie Seepersaud, Uma Oudal, Sahadeo Jodhan, Raymond Edoo, and Joan Beresford.
They were also awarded prizes.

CARICOM lauds women achievements, pledges support for more
THE extraordinary economic, social, cultural and political contributions women make to societal development has been recognised and lauded by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), on the occasion of International Women’s Day celebrated worldwide yesterday.

“This is a day that gives voice to the struggle for equality by women everywhere, regardless of nationality, race, colour, religion or other differences,” CARICOM Secretary General, Mr. Edwin Carrington said in a message to mark the occasion.

In the salute, he said: “I express the warmest sentiments of the Caribbean Community to all women in the Region, the Regional Diaspora and, indeed, the world, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2005, in this the year of the CARICOM Single Market.”

He observed that, ten years after the 1985 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the Beijing +10 review and appraisal process is now underway at the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women taking place in New York.

&#This forum provides our Region with an opportunity to identify achievements, challenges and gaps in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, so that we can work towards the promotion of gender equity and social justice in the Community, the wider Caribbean and, indeed, the international arena,” Carrington explained.

According to him, the integration movement in this Region owes much to the persistent struggle by Caribbean women.

&#Through their efforts, women have been able to influence the course of history from the formidable resistance to slavery, through to the fight for universal adult suffrage and, ultimately, to placing the problem of their unequal role and the need for actions and strategies to promote equality on the agenda of the international community,” he asserted.

Carrington went on: “With the pioneering assistance, hard work and dedication of previous generations of women, who have fought for rights, representation, justice and empowerment, Caribbean women today, continue to perform with distinction in various fields of endeavour.”

He alluded to the remarkable success of, for instance, Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell and Tonique William-Darling and Debbie Ferguson of The Bahamas as well as others in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Carrington pointed out that, in the soon to be inaugurated Caribbean Court of Justice, the Honourable Justice Desiree Bernard, O.R., C.C.H., LLB., of the Guyana Judiciary, has been appointed one of the six judge-designates to the Regional Judicial Tribunal. He noted, too, that, in the regional education system, females continue to perform admirably, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels and, in the process, are providing for themselves a secure base for social and economic advancement.

The Secretary General said CARICOM governments, as a deliberate strategy, have promoted gender equality through the removal of discriminatory legislation, policy reforms and the institutionalisation of gender at the national level and the establishment of women’s bureaux and gender focal points.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focusing on issues affecting women have also contributed significantly to providing an enabling environment for the pursuit of those changes through sensitisation and the spreading of greater knowledge, Carrington stated.

He, however, admitted that there are still many hurdles to cross, as persistent stereotyping of women continue to pose a challenge to achieving gender equality.

The stresses and vulnerabilities faced by women as a result of HIV/AIDS, the persistent scourge of violence against women, the risks associated with the pursuit of transactional sex and the plague of gender-related poverty are some of the prevalent social issues that negatively impact on the quality of life for women of the Region, he acknowledged.

Carrington also said insufficient access to, or control of, economic resources and continuous low levels of participation in decision-making processes, including representation in governments, continue to hamper women’s advancement and, in so doing, will have implications for the Community’s development.

&#The Caribbean Community recognises that gender equality must be a cross-cutting element in social and macro-economic planning, programme development and implementation. As such, we will continue to give priority attention to the issue of gender and development in the Region,” he pledged.

Carrington said CARICOM has, since 1984, been engaged in publicly acknowledging the significant contributions of some distinguished women in the Caribbean through the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women.

This award has, to date, been granted to seven outstanding women who have made extraordinary and exceptional contributions to the development of the Caribbean Community.

&#As we continue to honour excellence among the women of the Community and in the broader context of the Region’s quest for full and equal mainstreaming of women and their contributions to all areas of Caribbean life, I am pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the 2005 Triennial Award for Women,” he said.

The message ended: “As we move ever closer to establishing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy to provide greater opportunities for all our people, may the celebration of International Women’s Day 2005 be marked by more significant progress in enabling women to play their rightful role in the development of our Community.”

At the ashram
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo was among the large crowds Tuesday night at the Cove and John Ashram on the East Coast Demerara for the annual holy pilgrimage to Lord Shiva on Maha Shiva Raatri. The Cove and John ashram celebrated its 49th annual pilgrimage to Maha Shiva with numerous activities which included chanting prayers, singing bhajans (holy songs), 24 hours puja and havan and scripture readings. Here, President Jagdeo with devotees at the ashram. (Delano Williams photo)

Increasing human activities threaten Caribbean coral reefs
-- WRI report
WASHINGTON, D.C., -- Nearly two-thirds of coral reefs in the Caribbean are threatened by human activities, according to a report released yesterday by scientists at the World Resources Institute (WRI).

"We estimate that two-thirds of the region's reefs are threatened from direct human pressures. Also, many reefs are subject to threats such as over-fishing, runoff of pollution and sediments from the land, and the ravages of storms and hurricanes," said Lauretta Burke, lead author of "Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean."

"The very important overarching threats of coral bleaching from warming oceans, coral disease from new pathogens, and perhaps increased hurricane frequency are additional threats that put even more reefs at risk."

Burke and her co-author, Jon Maidens, launched the English-language version of their report in September.

"Human activity has undermined the health and vitality of reefs. The coral reefs I observed in the 1940s are totally different today. Sadly, none has changed for the better," wrote noted filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau in the preface to "Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean."

The report utilizes WRI's Reefs at Risk Threat Index, which uses geographic information system (GIS) data to determine reef degradation from four primary sources.

These include coastal developments such as sewage discharge, water-based sediment and pollution coming from fertilisers from farms, marine-based pollution such as those coming from discharges from cruise ships, and over-fishing.

The analysis of coral reefs throughout the entire Caribbean -- an estimated area of more than 10,000 square miles (26,000 sq kilometers) -- used several other factors within its measurement index.

For instance, when hurricanes arrive, Florida and the Caribbean nations are protected by reefs because of their ability to dissipate wave and storm energy.

The authors used their index to calculate that shoreline protection from natural Caribbean reefs saves between US$700 million and US$2.2 billion per year.

In another example, continuing degradation of the region's coral reefs could reduce net annual revenues from dive tourism -- which provided an estimated US$2.1 billion in 2000 -- by as much as US$300 million per year by 2015.

The authors estimate that Caribbean coral reefs provide goods and services with an annual net economic value in 2000 between US$3.1 billion and US$4.6 billion from fisheries, dive tourism, and shoreline-protection services. Additionally, the report focuses on ways all consumers can preserve reefs.

"When tourists are diving and kicking, they're not paying attention to the reefs. It's important for them to voice their concerns when they see something wrong being done by others," Burke said. "Properly managed areas offer some protection for coral reefs, but at present, governments are not investing enough in these areas. Our analysis points to the high value of these resources, and what will be lost if they are not better protected."

Another innovative feature of the report is its inclusion of the first regionally consistent, detailed mapping of these threats. These will help local, national and international organisations in setting financial and societal priorities for conservation and natural-resource management.

WRI first used the Reefs at Risk Threat Index to determine reef degradation throughout the world in 1998. Five years later, it was used to measure the threats to the coral reefs of Southeast Asia, the centre of global marine diversity.

This is the first time it has been applied to the Caribbean or used in a region that is heavily dependent on tourism for its revenue.

"We rated 88 per cent of Southeast Asia's reefs as threatened. We only rate 64 per cent of the Caribbean tropical coral reefs as threatened. However, the threat of disease, which is not included in the model, is greater in the Caribbean," Burke said.

The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.

Plan on the run more
-- Commander-in-Chief urges Army top brass
COMMANDER-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bharrat Jagdeo, has urged Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officers to be frank and objective in their annual conference which got under way yesterday.

In a lengthy presentation at the opening at Army headquarters in Georgetown, he also called on the officers not to be led by emotions but by scholarship.

GDF Chief of Staff Edward Collins, in his address, earlier said that although there have been significant budgetary allocations to the Army, there were still areas that needed to be strengthened within the force and this can only be done with additional resources.

President Jagdeo told the officers that when assessing the resource constraints they face, they should also think about the history of the growth of resources allocated to the military.

“If you judge commitment by the amount of money spent then you will see that this government has the greatest commitment to the military,” he said.

The theme of the conference is ‘Re-focussing our defence and security efforts for continued relevance and readiness’.

Noting that there has been a phenomenal growth of resources to the military in recent years, President Jagdeo expressed optimism that the participants will ensure that during their deliberations and discussions, they will “focus on facts” because leadership requires that.

He argued that leadership is not about spreading emotional issues but by getting to the truth.

He also publicly thanked the GDF for its invaluable role in the recent unprecedented flood disaster.

“I am really proud as to how we responded to that disaster – not as a government alone – but as a people,” the President told the conference.

He also recalled a recent conversation he had with a woman he met at one of the temporary shelters set up along the East Coast for victims during the height of the floods.

He said she told him that she and the others in that particular shelter did not get assistance from the government, but that the help given was from the Army.

“I said to her, the Army is an agency of this government and it was I who directed the military when I was dissatisfied with the number of shelters that were opened…I gave clear, direct instructions to the military that I wanted 15 new shelters opened on the East Coast by a particular time,” the Commander in Chief stated.

Some critics have indirectly accused the President of micro-managing the flood response and relief efforts but he yesterday made it pellucidly clear that he has no apology to make to anyone for his role in the flood crisis.

The Head of State said he will not have his government and ministers sit in their offices while people were suffering in various areas.

He also emphasised the need to “plan on the run”, a concept he said the GDF needs to look at closely.

“I am very dissatisfied with the hours, days and months spent in boardrooms planning; you do not sit and put up flip charts and maps and have 2,000 conversations about approaches when you have a crisis…you have to learn to plan on the run.”

“If you are on the battlefield as soldiers and something goes wrong from what was discussed and strategies arrived at within the boardroom, then you are not going to get back into the boardroom; you will have to make the decisions in the battlefield and I think this military needs to learn to plan more on the run,” Mr Jagdeo suggested. (MARK RAMOTAR)

Listening centres set up in flood-hit communities
SOCIAL workers from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security backed by personnel from the Health and Education ministries moved out into the fields on Tuesday and began crucial counselling sessions with victims of the disastrous January floods.

Dozens of coastal communities were affected by the flooding which forced the government to declare disaster zones in Regions Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands), Four (Demerara/Mahaica) and Five (Mahaica/Berbice).

Last month, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security organised a special training session for 42 social workers to counsel flood victims and they are the core of the teams being sent into the field

At the seminar, facilitator and Chief Probation and Welfare Officer, Mrs Ann Greene had pointed out that although the flood waters had receded in the affected communities, fear, stress and guilt remain with the victims.

"People are feeling stressed, fearful and guilty and we need to help them survive," she said.

Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr Rudolph Cummings, who is coordinating the effort, yesterday told this newspaper that meetings were held with the Social Workers from the ministry to come up with strategies to deal with the psycho-social impact of the flooding at two levels.

He said that for adults, 'listening centres' have been set up in target communities so that they can share issues bothering them.

In this regard, they are soliciting assistance from faith-based organisations, since persons will feel more comfortable sharing their problems with those they know, Cummings pointed out.

Some of the areas identified as centres are Ogle - Alex Shop; Goedverwagting – Ramdin’s Enterprise and Archer's Residence; Cummings Lodge/Industry - Industry Health Centre; Plaisance - Plaisance Health Centre; Vryheid's Lust - Newla Wills Shop; Better Hope - Ocean View Hotel; Better Hope Community Centre (North); Beterverwagting - BV Health Centre and BV Community High School; Buxton - Post Office and Ingrid Nelson's residence; South Strathspey - Nursery School; Melanie (South) Hooper's Residence; Nabaclis - Neighbourhood Democratic Council

According to Cummings, teachers play a crucial role in helping the children, since they would be sensitised to what signs to look for to determine that the children are feeling stressed.

He also pointed out that the programme would be ongoing for the next three to six months, or as long as they are needed and centres are open from 14:00 h to 18:00 h daily.

The initiative was undertaken with help from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

A report released by UNICEF said some 80,000 children were affected by the floods. (SHAWNEL CUDJOE)

Those who cast stones…
THE recent International Narcotics Report for 2004 on Guyana released by the United States of America State Department is cast in the mould of the recent travel advisories issued during our floods. The report on Guyana is given to exaggeration and uncorroborated allegations.

The report itself admits what has been known for some time now -- that Guyana lacks the resources necessary to effectively combat the trafficking of drugs through its porous borders.

Despite this admission, the report goes on to paint a picture of ineffective local interdiction efforts.

Drug trafficking from Guyana to the United States remains a concern, both to the local authorities as well as to the foreign government. And with the closing of supply routes directly from South America, countries such as Guyana were expected to be infiltrated and become transit points for the trafficking of narcotics.

In response to the trend of increased movement of illicit drugs, the Guyana Government, within its limited resources, moved to fortify its anti-drug efforts through the creation of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) in the country.

While the U.S. is making claims about corruption within that unit, it has mounted some successful raids and interceptions over the years. Amongst its successes are the largest drug busts ever in our country’s history.

If the United States security authorities continue to ignore the successes of the local drug efforts - successes that have come at a price, including the gunning down of two senior members of CANU some years ago during the crime wave - then the efforts made over the years in developing capacity and intelligence will go down the drain.

This is not to say that there are no concerns about corruption within law enforcement agencies or that the integrity of some agencies has not been compromised.

The U.S. itself should be well aware of how vulnerable state agencies are to such penetration by drug lords. There are sufficient examples within its own borders that shed light on the vulnerability of agencies involved in counter narcotics activities.

If the United States is serious about working with local authorities to root out drug trafficking, that country will have to come around to recognising also that it is not making an equitable contribution in terms of the resources it is giving.

More money is needed to combat drugs, and the greater burden for providing these resources should emanate from the countries to which the drugs are destined.

Guyana recognises the importance of limiting the drug trade and other related financial activities such as money laundering which can not only destabilise our law enforcement agencies but also distort economic variables.

And the Guyanese authorities will no doubt continue to stake steps to deal with the problem.

But those who are casting stones at the local authorities must examine their own dismal record in controlling narcotics.

The United States of America has failed to reduce the penetration of drugs into its markets. 

While it therefore takes time out to criticise others who are trying to curb external demands for the drugs, it should equally recognise that had it not failed to keep its streets and cities clean of drugs, racketeering, money laundering and all the other ills associated with drug trafficking, it may not have had reason to commission an international narcotics control strategy.

The experiences broadly reflect some of the major trends in Information Society-making in the region, through the interventions of institutions and civil society.

The document does not focus on the downside of ICT in society, but is conscious of a major undertaking necessary to enable the economies to succeed.

The decade of the 1990s saw the Caribbean grasping and playing in the mode of a traditionalist concept of ICT, telecommunication. The challenges were then cast in debates on infrastructure rules and transmission options. The debate has changed very much since then with the technology and business drivers manifesting new wealth and organisation of systems via Applications.

The current decade is very much the era of Applications - the major global dimensions being trade and social inclusion. For developing countries, the compounding principles from seamless (connectivity( to millennium development do not yet include the pursuit of content as wealth creation.

Concentrating on the area of Applications to Business and Governance, the report presents major investments and experiences in: ICT Education in Barbados; Creating appropriate legal and policy framework in Cayman and Bermuda; Infrastructure supports, especially for a customized business platform in Anguilla, and civil society initiatives in communities in Barbados and Suriname, the later being driven by an NGO.

At the country case level, implemented strategy experiences come alive in Jamaica and Grenada. Trinidad and Tobago show how measurements can advance planning in the business culture. Belize and Guyana explore the entrepreneurial ICT systems at work.

The two cases from Guyana - Decipher International, a medical transcription firm operating in Georgetown, and The Berbice Call Centre indicate how ICTs are applied to landscapes, blending market, investment and technology with human capital.

DECIPHER INTERNATIONAL
The acquisition of Decipher International (DII) by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) allowed the firm to gain a foothold in the fast-developing IT sector, increasing the wealth of IT expertise available to the DDL group and provide parallel support for its information technology needs.

This has contributed to the majority shareholding by DDL in Decipher International which, consequently, has allowed it to successfully complete training of the first batch of Medical Transcriptionists (MTs) and commenced production.

The outlook and potential investment as a service provider in this type of activity recently outlined in the Money Magazine pointed out that "As long as patients need doctors, there will be a demand for Medical Transcriptionists. How's that for job security?"

The investment was pursued in recognition of the prospects of developing a pool of skilled labour, of directly contributing to the IT development of Guyana and of generating export earnings. The medical transcription service holds numerous prospects for a developing country like Guyana because of some salient features for sound investment, such as -

$ Low investment requirement

$ labour-intensive, rather than capital-intensive

$ shorter gestation period (compared to the soft-ware sector)

$ low-to-medium technical expertise requirement

$ vast and ever-growing international market

$ high export earning component in total revenues

Based on these prospects, D.I.I. embarked on a rigorous training programme and by July 2003, 45 trained Medical Transcriptionists had graduated and the company started production on August 1, of that year. D.I.I. proceeded to operationalize its objectives and to build its reputation as a reliable service provider and now serves three clients - proof of acceptable service since transcription companies are not privy to the details of each other’s performance.

The training programme was supported by other positive factors such as projections for the 2000-2004 period of 196.37 billion lines to be out-sourced internationally at earnings of US$17.67B and current-year estimates of 200 vacant MT positions and approximately 150 new job opportunities per month. D.I.I. is constantly encouraging their skills to become Certified Medical Transcriptionists (CMTs) through training available via home-study programmes (inter-net-based and otherwise) and at U.S. community colleges and propriety schools.

Against this background of modest success, D.I.I. is actively pursuing objectives to take the company to a higher level of operation by year-end: training a second batch of MTs, upgrading the capabilities of the current Mts and expanding its client base through purposeful marketing.

THE BERBICE CALL CENTRE
The Berbice Call Centre, Nand Persaud International Communications Inc., is located at Tain, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice. It is a subsidiary of Nand Persaud Commodities, the largest commodities producer and distributor of rice in the Caribbean.

NPI Communications, Inc (NPIC) is funded solely by the Nand Persaud family and is the second major employer in Berbice.

The call centre opened in August 2002 at a time when employment opportunities in Berbice were limited, and many Berbicians had to migrate to Georgetown to find jobs, leaving their families behind, some having to turn to farming.

Starting off with a staff of 32 employees consisting of 26 Customer Service Representatives and six Administrative Staff, the company now employs 150 CSRs with the capability to run shifts at a seating capacity of 265 seats per shift.

By 2003 NPIC had significantly reduced the unemployment rate in this area. (Berbice occupies 5.5% of the 12% unemployment rate in Guyana). This was reduced by 0.2% in 2003, and within the last 1-1/2 years of its operation by a further 0.5%.

The company is dedicated to quality and success which underlies all training aspects in staff at all levels.

Training is divided into four separate sections: Speech and Diction, Americanization, Telemarketing 101 (TM 101) and Programme Training, each section designed to develop specific skills and understanding of the industry, e.g. Customer Service Skills, Call Centre Concepts, Communication Skills and Data Entry.

In order to ensure client’s expectations are met NPIC provides a 1-to-5 ratio of management to agent. In addition there is on-going training with current staff to sharpen their skills in all areas.

The network confirmation centres on a predictive dialer which functions as an outbound predictive dialer as well as an ACD, which allows effective and efficient call blending and a ready staff for (spikes without a large dedicated team. The SQL server platform - Cisco Router and Telephony server - stores and retrieves data which provide detailed and accurate reporting on all key performance indicators.

Strategically located in Coral Springs, Florida, the server provides greater access for vendors and on-site upgrades and maintenance by qualified personnel. The unique Voice over IP system design conveys voice and data to and from Guyana and provides an exceptionally clear connection with no delay or latency in delivery.

Since its opening, N.P.I. Communications has had a positive impact on the community of Berbice and the country as a whole. It has helped the economy by providing employment not only for the skilled workers, but opened various other opportunities for everyone such as: transportation, catering and clothing.

N.P.I. Communications supports the call for focussing on Information Technology by introducing the use of the latest technology and software which has generated the interest of the general public by showing them first hand the advantages of being technologically advanced.
(Centre for International Services UWI, Cave Hill Campus, St Michael, Barbados email: cis@uwichill.edu.bb)

At Berbice Assizes…
Accused admits rape victim’s presence at his home
PERTAB Hanomansingh alias ‘Skylab’, who is on trial for carnally knowing his neighbours’ 13-year-old daughter on February 17, 1999, told Police he did not have sexual intercourse with the girl.

In a statement admitted in evidence on Tuesday, the accused said he was proceeding to New Amsterdam in GGG 1214 but turned it around after realising he did not have sufficient money to buy gasolene at Number 48 Village.

Detective Corporal Rupert Singh, who recorded the attestation and read it in Court, said Hanomansingh admitted that the teen was in his mini-bus but said he advised her to seek other transport to continue on to school.

But, when she refused to do so, he drove to his home and, on parking the vehicle, he observed that she was following him.

“I went upstairs for money and, on returning downstairs, the child was in the kitchen when I received a telephone order for cement which I, subsequently, delivered,” the deposition said.

Hanomansingh is recorded as saying he told the virtual complainant to go home but she claimed her mother would beat her.

The policeman said the accused remained in his house until 13:30 hours (1.30 p.m.) when the schoolgirl said she wanted to attend classes half day and he took her to Port Mourant before continuing to New Amsterdam on business and going back home at 17:00 hours (5 p.m.).

Cross-examined by Defence Counsel Khemraj Ramjattan, the witness said, on February 18, 1999, he found nothing of evidential value during a search of Hanomansingh’s home.

Singh said, after he got medical certificates and statements from the teenager and her parents, he received instructions from a senior officer to release the accused, who had been in custody for a few days, at Number 51 Police Station.

The witness told Justice Winston Moore and the mixed jury that, on a visit to where Hanomansingh lives, he saw no garage but a projecting shed.

The cop said the accused cooperated fully during the investigations.

In answer to the jurors, Singh said he could not recall when the victim’s mother assaulted the accused and questioned by the judge, the investigator said he visited the crime scene as an expert.

He said he was aware the victim’s mother claimed she saw the bus moving in and out of her neighbour’s yard but he did not check to see whether the woman could, indeed, have seen and from what vantage point.

The case for the Prosecution, being presented by State Counsel James Bond, is that, instead of taking the girl to school as expected, Hanomansingh took her, at gunpoint, into his house and forced himself on her.

Woman Constable Carolyn Angel, who was attached to Springlands Police Station at the time said, following a report of carnal knowledge, she escorted the victim to Skeldon Hospital and she was examined by Dr Krishendat, who issued the medical certificate exhibited in Court.

The policeman, answering the judge, said the date on the document is either February 16 or 17 but she cannot recall on which day of the week she accompanied the virtual complainant for the examination.

Cross-examined, the victim, now 19 years old, said the firearm the accused brandished was six and a half inches long.

She denied that her older sister was in the man’s house, requesting boxes in which to put books, while she was there.

The witness said, after the sex act, her underwear was bloodstained and it was shown to the medical practitioner who examined her.

She refuted a suggestion that her story is untrue as it was not supported by statements she gave the Police nor her depositions.

She maintained that, during the three minutes ordeal, the accused penetrated her and the forced intercourse produced blood.

She said she was in pain while sitting in the conductor’s seat of the bus after the gunpoint raping.

Earlier, she said the accused was driving slowly on the way to her school and when she spoke to him about it he told her: “Shut up, it is my bus.”

She said she had asked him to stop another bus for her but he insisted on taking her to his home instead of to school.

According to her, the accused had instructed her to bend down in the bus while he drove and, after she disembarked, he pointed the gun at her head, took her upstairs to have the forced sexual intercourse.

She said she also begged him to take her to school after he had raped her but he refused.

“I tried to scream but he covered my mouth with his hands,” she said.

She said, when they left his house at 2.45 p.m., she lifted the blinds from the bus window to see if she could have recognised anyone from her home but the accused threatened to shoot her, if she did not bend down.

The victim said, on reaching Whim, another part of Corentyne, the accused stopped another bus and put her inside but she emerged from it crying when she heard her father’s voice.

She said she told her father: “Uncle Baba did not take me to school” and her father took her to Number 48, on the Corentyne, where she met her mother.

The girl remembered visiting Doctors Krishendat, Bhiro Harry and Sooknanan after being violated.

She said Dr. Harry is a psychiatrist.

The trial continues.

Bank and receiver sued for $100M
By George Barclay
L.O. P. Investments Limited, a rice-milling company, is claiming damages in excess of $100M from Demerara Bank Limited and its receiver Garrett Ward, for allegedly advertising in local newspapers that the company's assets were for sale.

A 10-day writ to the effect, issued yesterday by lawyers Sanjeev Datadin and Navendra Singh in favour of the company, was filed in the Supreme Court Registry against the defendants calling on the Court for a declaration that the appointment of the receiver was unlawful and that the defendants be made to pay damages in excess of $100M.

The company is contending that the said first and second debentures are, and were intended to be, and to provide security over the property mentioned therein for the repayment of the plaintiff's debts and were in the premises a mortgage and or hypothecs over the said property which comprised both movables and im-movables.

The plaintiff is saying that the said first and second debentures being mortgages and/or hypothecs were required to be passed coram lege loci after due advertisement but were not so passed, granted or taken. Also that the said first and second debentures purported to create charges in law and were registered as such under the law relating to companies without having satisfied and without compliance with the provisions of the law which otherwise applied to mortgages and or hypothecs and or charges.

The plaintiff is saying that it had no independent legal advice in respect to the grant of the said first and second debentures to the first defendant.

According to the document, the appointment of the second defendant as receiver by the first defendant is unlawful and the defendants are and have thereby become trespassers against the plaintiff with respect to the ownership, control, management and administration of the plaintiff's moveable and immoveable property.

Further, the appointment has affected the plaintiff's business as a going concern and has severely reduced its profitability and business prospects.

The plaintiff claims punitive and /or aggravated damages in respect of the unlawful appointment of the second defendant as receiver. The defendants have further affected the goodwill and business capacity of the plaintiff by placing an advertisement in the ‘Stabroek News’, ‘Guyana Chronicle’ and ‘Kaieteur News’ newspapers on February 20, 2005, whereby it was alleged that the assets of the plaintiff were for sale.

The plaintiff is also claiming:

1) A declaration that the second defendant as an out-of-Court receiver is not entitled to sell, alienate or dispose of any property of the plaintiff whether moveable or immoveable in pursuance of the said first and second debentures unless ordered or authorised by the Court or unless he has the consent of the plaintiff.

2) A further declaration that any interference by the second defendant in the management or administration of the plaintiff's business in pursuance of the said first and second debentures consequent upon his appointment by the first defendant is and/or will be a trespass against the plaintiff now or in the future.

3) An injunction restraining the Defendants by themselves, their agents from enforcing of purporting to enforce the said first and second debenture or any provisions thereof without an Order of Court or the consent of the Plaintiff.

4) A declaration that there exists a binding and enforceable contract (hereinafter referred to as the repayment contract) made between the plaintiff and the first defendant with respect to the repayment of monies comprising of principal and interest payable by the plaintiff to the first defendant; and that the demand for repayment and the purported appointment of the second defendant as receiver on January 10, 2005 contravened the said repayment contract.

Leopold Street murder accused in Court
THE man who surrendered to Police after the stabbing murder in Leopold Street, last Saturday, faced a charge for the capital offence yesterday.

Marvin Hamilton, of Lot 20 John Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, was charged, before Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan, with the unlawful killing of Lawrence Gonsalves.

Police Inspector Kevin Adonis, prosecuting, said the accused and the 40-year-old victim called ‘Buck Man’ were involved in an argument when the latter was stabbed with a broken bottle.

Hamilton was remanded to prison until April 12.

Man charged with raping ex-paramour
TWENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Brian Williams, of Lot 56 Albouys Street, Albouystown, Georgetown, appeared in Court yesterday, charged indictably with raping his ex-paramour.

He was granted $25,000 bail by Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan and is to make his next appearance on April 28.

The allegation against Williams is that he forced himself on the 33-year-old woman after she refused to have sexual intercourse with him.

Police said the victim and Williams lived together in a common law relationship prior to the March 3 incident.

Passport fraud alleged
POLICE have charged Orin McDougal, of Lot 54 Portuguese Quarters, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice, with a passport fraud.

Particulars of the offence, to which he pleaded not guilty before Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan yesterday, said the defendant, obtained US$5,000 from Jennel Jeffrey in June 2004, with intent to defraud her.

It is alleged that McDougal, 42, falsely pretended to the woman that he was in a position to secure the Canadian travel document for her.

The case will be called again on March 31.

Ghanaians ordered deported serving jail sentences
- Police
THE two Ghanaians who were ordered deported on Monday will be serving the two months imprisonment that was the alternative to the individual $20,000 fines.

The illegal aliens, convicted by Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan, were still in Police custody yesterday and an official said, as no one had paid the monetary penalties, the duo would automatically have to serve the jail sentences ahead of deportation.

The foreigners, Daniel Yeboah and Kwasi Premeh Frimpong, had entered Guyana at Springlands foreshore, Corentyne, Berbice, after requesting to be put off the yacht, in which they sailed from Cape Verde, when it encountered turbulent weather.

Magistrate Sullivan had issued an order for them to be sent out of the country within 24 hours of their conviction, following his rejection of a proposal by Defence Counsel Sonny Sarawan that they be released into the care of their Congolese interpreter.

Yeboah and Frimpong were staying in a Georgetown hotel but were arrested when they went to the Immigration Department in a bid to extend their stay here.

Booty receiver fined…
Robbery defendant remanded, two others granted bail
ONE man charged with armed robbery was remanded to prison while two other defendants were granted bail during the call-over in front of Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan yesterday.

Twenty-three-year-old Mark Griffith was refused pre-trial freedom after he pleaded not guilty to robbing Ganesh (only name given), at gunpoint, of $700,000 last February 12.

Police said Griffith, who will be back in Court on March 18, was fingered by the victim at an identification parade.

One of the two allowed bail, twenty-year-old Carl Bennett was ordered to post $15,000 surety.

He denied that he unlawfully and maliciously damaged a motorcycle belonging to Otis Stewart on February 22.

Police said the virtual complainant saw Bennett kicking the machine on James Street, Albouystown.

That case was put off to April 1.

Cleon Joseph (no address given either) also entered a not guilty plea when the simple larceny charge was read to him.

He is free, until March 29, on a $20,000 recognisance.

Joseph is alleged to have stolen a cellular phone, a gold band and a pair of spectacles, all valued $381,000, from Heerandeo Barclay at the scene of an accident on Homestretch Avenue, in Georgetown, last February 19.

Meanwhile, Joseph Morgan, who admitted receiving part of the booty from Joseph, was fined $10,000 with the alternative of three months imprisonment.

‘Gunman’ accused of armed robbery
FIFTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Alfred Miggins alias ‘Gunman’, of Port Kaituma, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan Tuesday, accused of robbery under arms.

He pleaded not guilty to the February 27 offence, particulars of which said he robbed Ryan Moore of a $45,000 gold chain, at Bamboo Landing, while armed with a gun.

Miggins was granted $15,000 bail and his case has been transferred to Matthews Ridge Court, in North West District, for May 3.

Paint memorials to the floods
I AM so fed-up with this "flood inquiry" thing I have decided to put the whole thing into its proper perspective.

First of all, we must get ourselves acquainted with the [GD] Georgetown Datum benchmark. It is essential to our understanding of any future flood.

At the Lighthouse on Water Street in Kingston, Georgetown, there is a permanent benchmark; a level of 57.11 GD. This means that 0.00 GD is 57.11 feet below this mark.

By now, it is common knowledge that the sea defence (seawall) is 64 GD at its maximum height along the East Coast.

Spring Tide is 56.72 GD and will splash unto the seawall if the winds are blowing briskly, and the waves crest another six feet.

It must be said then that the sea defence is working.

It is also common knowledge that whenever the kokers (sluices) are closed, there are areas in Georgetown that will flood with a good downpour.

I used to stand on the Princess Street Bridge on High Street in the rain, and watch as the waters rushed out to the Demerara River during Spring Tide low water 46.2 GD.

The koker being open at this tide, the lowest land mass 50 GD will be 3.8 feet above Spring Tide.

In recently published letters in the newspapers, it was pointed out that the main road on the East Coast Demerara, from Georgetown to Berbice, is more or less 55 GD.

Given this information, and depending on the exact location that a person is living at the time of the flood, will determine if it is safe or not to be there.

As a national memorial to the flood, all buildings that have the flood stains showing the high water mark should be painted in light blue or light green to act as a reminder of the flood that was.

The conservancies having a height of 59 GD when overtopping occurred did not fail but over topped in some parts because the walls were not of the same height.

A conservancy is likened to a gutter running along a roof -- although the gutter is connected to a vat, water from the roof will still overwhelm the capacity of the gutter and there will be over topping, and that is exactly what happened during and after the January torrential 2005.

The rain that fell in January 2005 was not a localised shower but a regional weather system. What this means is that while it had stopped raining along the coast, in reality it was still raining heavily inland in the New River Triangle-Brazil region.

This further sent tons of rain water rushing down to the coast, and of course the land being already saturated could not absorb any more water.

The kokers had to be closed due to the ocean high tide and this prolonged the floods.

Debris in drains and trenches slowed the outflow during the time that the sluices were open.

It is indeed unfortunate that the people of Guyana cannot grasp the risk of living in the above mentioned conditions, or see the overall picture of what caused the floods.
DAVID JENKINS

Inquiry should not be about blame
THE President has that said there is no need for a commission to investigate the floods, because everyone knows the heavy rainfall and a lot of neglect was responsible.

That I could accept if so many lives were not disrupted.

An inquiry into this flood should not be about blame, as much to prepare the country to properly deal with another disaster in the future.

Most countries have plans and reserves in place for disasters but Guyana has never experienced a natural disaster, if we choose to call it that.

If we are confronted with a situation like this again we need to have plans in place, so for that reason alone we need to establish a commission which might make recommendations.
STONS  

Banditry curse surfacing again
IN LIFE there are many instances in which as we say "the stable is closed when the horse is gone".

The latest is the execution of a young taxi driver in Berbice.

I know the pressure suffered by the government to cope with the floods and without much time to get things together, this banditry curse is surfacing again.

I think on top we have some genuine cops but at the bottom line I have grave doubts about the integrity and commitment of some.

Number 78 village on the Corentyne is an illegal route for people to travel from Guyana to Suriname and vice versa.

This should be stopped immediately. Had the suspected perpetrators travelled through the legal route, the officials may have been able make some trace.

Some cops needs to do more than running behind citizens for petty traffic offences.  
JASWANT T. BEHARI

Big part of the problem
IT HAS become pellucidly clear after the floods and the debates in Parliament on the 2005 Budget, that the administration of Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), which is PNCR dominated, is a big part of the problem, in that the water storage and drainage infrastructure has not been properly managed and maintained.

All necessary funds had been allocated to this and other regions, for their capital and maintenance works to be done each year, but it seems that the regional administration prefers to play politics, instead of adequately and efficiently carrying out its responsibilities.

It has become clear that the administration of this region and some others has to be closely monitored throughout the year to make sure that all the necessary works are carried out.

Regions which are under the supervision of PNCR dominated councils are likely to try to gain political mileage against the government by neglecting essential works, or not having them done properly.
ERROL JOHNSON

Far way to go
THE operations and efficiency of the Guyana Police Force are under scrutiny not only by the population here, but by foreign governments and their law enforcement agencies.

The Police Force itself and its Commissioner, with the facilitation and assistance of the government, have been making many efforts through increased resources and training to improve its image and performance, but all recognise that there is a far way to go yet.

It is clear that there is a determination to improve the force and raise its standards in all areas to give greater service and protection to citizens and to combat the increased technology available to the criminals.
TREVOR RAMBARRAN

Convenient accusation 
THE list of opposition accusations against the government includes corruption, but nowhere have they been able to give any reasonable justification for their charges.

It is a convenient accusation for the PNCR to keep making, as they get some political mileage out of it, and they don’t have to prove anything.

Each year the Auditor General’s reports are laid in Parliament for the scrutiny of all, especially the Public Accounts Committee which is chaired by a member of the main opposition party.

The annual Budget is also submitted to Parliament where wide ranging debates take place with the full participation of the opposition benches.

There is also full and free media coverage. Overseas loans and grants are fully monitored by the donors/lenders, and the funds must be expended under the strictest rules and procedures.

There can be no substantiation of any corruption against members of the government.
FIONA EASTMAN

Pinnacle of all diseases
FRAUD at the Customs and fraud at the Secretary to the Treasury Office (remigration scandal) shows how the trust in people who are deemed educated, experienced and are called professional, is betrayed and bartered for material enhancement.

In spite of all the Heads of Departments with their daily internal checks and balances, the State Auditors’ deeper prying, we still reap daily legitimate public outcry against public officials.

Then they will be interdicted and with the art of declamation and other means, they will win the cases, be reinstalled and paid millions for their absence, and again, compete for promotion.

Corruption of the mind is the pinnacle of all diseases and with greed and selfishness, being daily tempered and festered, the accountability to God fades and what animals do not do, men in shirt- jacs, uniforms and suits will in the name of deception and crookedness execute and get away with, for there is a massive ring of ingrained and embedded obsession for wealth and power across the world.
SHABAZ

Ignore sheepish criticisms
THE President deserves high praise for marshalling the flood relief operations.

The recent floods that inundated many villages along the East Coast Demerara and Greater Georgetown have now gone, leaving almost all residents in these areas to count their losses – some in the thousands, others much more.

But I daresay we were lucky even though many think otherwise.

The Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean is still very vivid in our minds reminding us of the gigantic levels of destruction it caused – physically, emotionally, socially, environmentally, etc.

Such is the power of nature that sometimes, oftentimes, many of us are unprepared.

And such was the rain in Guyana recently that many of us never envisaged our homes and villages would have been flooded.

To have experienced this disaster first-hand was life changing for me. It made me realise that as humans are all equal irrespective of our class, colour or hair texture.

I couldn’t imagine some of the people you would be scared to talk to during normal times, like those in the higher echelons of the economic and social strata were there with us – the working class – unnoticeably, as simple human beings, suffering in the floods.

Such is the power of our God the Creator.

But while all of this was going on there was one chap who was leading the fight to dry the land and restore normalcy to all of us.

I unequivocally state that he did a tremendously good job at coordinating the entire flood relief effort, notwithstanding the magnitude of criticisms he received by some irrational elements unavoidably embedded in our society.

I agree that there will always be criticisms -- no one is perfect, but when such criticism reach a point of palpable absurdity, meaning it smacks of common sense, I respectfully submit that it is untenable.

Why on earth would some people blame the flood on the government I objectively ask myself every day?

I wish to posit a view which, frankly, may not go down well with these people but for all intents and purposes, they are misguided in vigorously and unnecessarily pursuing an agenda to politicise a natural disaster.

Well, I live in a 21st century democracy, have access to information and am smart. I am not going to be fooled by such a ridiculous and devious strategy.

If for example these spinners were actually in the flooded areas they would have realised that a great number of factors contributed significantly to the almost one-month flood.

They would have realised that it rained incessantly from the end of December to early February thereby increasing the average rainfall in January almost seven-fold; that there are many nasty and lazy people amongst us including householders, vendors, business people, public users, etc. who give no regard to their community by dumping garbage all over the place, especially in the waterways thereby blocking these channels; that many of these waterways have been under-maintained because some people still do not see it necessary to pay their rates and taxes; that many homeowners receive tacit support from some prospective leaders to flout the laws and encumber state lands, and so forth.

If I were to be spun out, these misguided elements must first prove to me that the above-mentioned factors did not contribute significantly to the floods.

I agree that the conservancy was over-topping; I went there to see for myself, and indeed it is my assumption that this was a factor in the level of water experienced along the villages of the East Coast.

But not the only factor as some seem to pontificate.

My unapologetic contention is that we ourselves have exacerbated the problem by not being good servants of our environment.

To pin the entire flood and its consequent damage on the government is unjustifiable.

I therefore wish to urge that we make a concerted effort and pool our resources together to put in place the necessary interventions and measures that will mitigate the effects of such a disaster if it were to reoccur.

It is fruitless trying to politicise this unprecedented and historic occurrence.

We were all unprepared because nature is sometimes so unpredictable. Just read the newspapers, listen to the news, go online and you’ll realise that world over, natural phenomena are wreaking havoc daily, even in the more developed and better prepared countries of the First World.

So rather than deepen the political rift amongst our peoples, it is best advised to accept that some things are out of our human control.

Let’s focus on the things we could control to make Guyana a better place for our children. It’s the only path to progress.

To quarrel over discrimination in flood relief, compensation for victims, etc. is for the visionless and lazy-minded.

For chrissakes, Guyana is a small, vulnerable developing Third World country, so where are we going to get resources to compensate people for losses incurred as a result of a natural disaster? This is a most ludicrous, thoughtless and retrogressive approach that has been posited.

I am sure there are more constructive ways of providing relief and support to the victims.

Or maybe the pontificators who are seeking political mileage out of our suffering are hell-bent on casting blame on the government as being responsible for the historic rainfall levels.

Oh come on. Even the blind are seeing that this approach has no future.

A more prudent approach is to give constructive guidance to the rebuilding efforts that have commenced.

The time for hypothesis testing and theorising is over. It is now time to put your shoulders to the wheel and work to develop your country, not cast blame for something you yourselves couldn’t control.

To continuously blame the President for minor obstacles experienced during his management of the flood relief effort is a red herring. It has no basis.

From all the records and data that I have perused, not a single individual, whether child or adult, died of starvation during the floods.

Indeed, 35 persons died but from other flood-related causes. However, this count could have been much higher, maybe in the thousands, if quick and decisive action wasn’t taken.

And for this I congratulate the President and his team on a job well done.

To substantiate my commendation just seek out the international support agencies and they would relate that there is no basis for complaining about the operation. Hiccups in such relief operations occur all the time, even in the better prepared countries and agencies.

I vividly recall that growing up in Berbice during my pre-teen days in the eighties, we had numerous reasons to complain about the then government-led food distribution exercises.

I recalled the days when 9 and 10 year olds like myself then, had to walk miles to line up at certain co-ops with our chits to uplift food because it was prohibitive and illegal to possess certain basic foods necessary for our diet.

There was a lot of confusion then because when you got to the front of the line there was none left for you. But there was no recourse for compensation and cries of discrimination because you’d be beaten up by certain animalistic elements for speaking out against their dastardly acts of humiliation and discrimination.

So we had to leave these co-ops and trudge back empty-handed to our village and wait until the following week to line up again for our food. I am so grateful that this generation would never experience such levels of discrimination and humiliation.

Casting lopsided blame on the President for hiccups during the flood relief operation is baseless, for thousands starved and suffered worse during the eighties even though food distribution was an institutionalized exercise.

I am counting my blessings that my country has a leader who put his country’s interest before his party’s. I am grateful that he is caring enough to risk his own life by going into the flooded areas to ensure that the people’s food and other relief needs were met. For this selflessness the President has my unconditional support and commendation.

My advice to him is to turn a deaf ear to the sheepish criticisms and get on with the reconstruction efforts, for there are people in our midst who are envious that he did a good job when in fact they were hoping for a catastrophic failure, which never occurred.

They harped that the conservancy dam was breached but it never did, they screamed that food distribution was discriminatory but no one suffered from starvation, they cried for diseases but these were controlled.

Keep up the good job Mr. President.

If in any way a compensation package is being considered, it should only be given to those heroic people living in Mahaica and Mahaicony who selflessly accepted that the conservancy water be diverted into their farms and homesteads so as to alleviate the problems along the East Coast.

These caring people, almost all farmers, suffered losses to their entire farms and businesses, lack of income, emotional distress, and so on.

For me these are the people that should be compensated and all of us should contribute to it.
NIGEL DHARAMLALL

Rising to the top
GUYANA on Tuesday observed International Women’s Day, designated worldwide to celebrate the achievements of women in society.

Women, particularly in Guyana, have made significant contributions to the development of the country.

The recent appointment of founder-member of the

Guyana Association of Women Lawyers, Chancellor

Desiree Bernard to the Caribbean Court of Justice is an example of outstanding achievement.

Guyana was one of the few countries in the world to have a female President. Mrs. Janet Jagan became

President of Guyana after Dr. Cheddi Jagan died in 1997.

We also have women in Guyana who are managers of leading enterprises and organisations, politicians, lawyers, administrators and in other respectable positions in society.

There are females who are Cabinet Ministers.

There are several organisations in the country which are striving for women to share the same rights as men in the Guyanese society.
EMILY PATTERSON

Three teams eye berth in Carib Beer Challenge final
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC - Three teams will be realistically eyeing a spot in the Carib Beer Challenge final against runaway champions Jamaica, when the final matches in the 2005 Carib Beer Series bowl off tomorrow.

With Jamaica crowned champions in the last series after defeating former champions Barbados, the Leeward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana will all be going all out to join them in the final, scheduled for March 18-22.

The Leeward Islands are second in the standings on 55 points and will face Guyana, on 47 points, in an encounter at Hampton Court. Trinidad & Tobago, the other team with a realistic chance of reaching the final, have 54 points and will host whipping boys Barbados at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Despite their second position in the standings, the Leewards still have a challenge on their hands in order to reach the final. They face a Guyanese team who have not lost at home this season but more importantly, who have not lost a game in the Carib Series since Jamaica beat them back in January.

To their credit, the Leewards have won two of their last four matches and came close to beating Guyana when the two teams played each other at Grove Park in the second round of the Carib Series.

Then, they forced Guyana to follow on after claiming first innings points but will know that with a batting line-up containing the likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul, the prospect of repeating that scenario will be difficult.

With Trinidad a mere point behind them and up against bottom-placed Barbados, the Leewards will need to push for an outright win in order to avoid being caught by Trinidad or Guyana.

Guyana are eight points adrift of the Leewards and can only reach the final by scoring an outright win against them. Even then, Guyana would have to hope Barbados beat Trinidad outright, in order to advance.

Trinidad, though, will fancy their chances of reaching the final as an outright win against a Barbados side who have lost six matches already this season is a distinct possibility.

In addition, they will also believe that Guyana can frustrate the Leewards into a stalemate.

Leewards captain and players disappointed
By Allan La Rose
SKIPPER Sylvester Joseph and his Leeward Islands team are very disappointed at the non-inclusion of any member of its team to the twenty-two players selected by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) selectors for the upcoming home series against South Africa.

Speaking exclusively to Chronicle Sport after the Leewards team arrived on Tuesday night, Joseph declared, “It’s really disheartening. Whenever you perform in the Regional first class competition you look forward to being rewarded at the end with the ultimate goal to play for the West Indies. And if you perform above or better than the rest and you are not selected in a squad of 22 you have to ask yourself: what next? What to do?”

The Antiguan who has also been overlooked by the selectors indicated that at least three of his players should have been considered. “Ridley Jacobs with three centuries, Wilden Cornwall with the best all-round performance and seamer Curl Simon (31 wickets), who to my mind has been the best seamer in the competition, all deserve a call-up.”

The Leewards who are second in the points standing going into this weekend’s final round of matches will take on Guyana at the Hampton Court ground in Essequibo starting tomorrow.

An outright win will guarantee them a place in the Carib Beer challenge final against Jamaica who have already secured the Carib Beer League.

In describing his team’s performance Joseph said, “It has been a good performance so far by the team. I think we have had some good individual performances, but it has been a total team effort led by some good batting and bowling partnerships and that’s why we are where we are at now.’

Looking ahead to their final fixture against Guyana the captain stated, “Playing against Guyana over the years has always been a challenge to the Leewards. The games have always been keenly contested.

“What we have to do is to continue to do what we have been doing and that is to play good cricket. We will definitely be going out to play hard and positive cricket in order to come out on top.”

Fans banned from Albania and Costa Rica qualifiers
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Albania and Costa Rica have been fined and ordered to play upcoming World Cup qualifiers behind closed doors by soccer's world governing body FIFA, following violent crowd behaviour at two recent matches.

Albania's European Group Two home qualifiers against Georgia on June 4 and Kazakhstan on September 3 will both take place in empty stadiums while Costa Rica's next home CONCACAF qualifier against Panama on March 26 will also take place behind closed doors.

Albania were also fined 40 000 Swiss francs by FIFA's disciplinary body while Costa Rica were hit by a 20 000 Swiss franc fine.

The sanction imposed on Albania followed ugly scenes at their last qualifier against group leaders Ukraine in Tirana on February 9 which ended in a 2-0 win for Ukraine.

According to the reports submitted by the referee and the match commissioner, Albanian fans threw bottles of water, lighters, coins and flagpoles onto the pitch, lit a number of flares and stormed the pitch at the end of the match.

It was the second time in five months Albania have been fined by FIFA following a 14 000 Swiss franc sanction imposed last October for similar incidents.

Costa Rica were also fined and ordered to host their next qualifier behind closed doors after fans rioted following their defeat by Mexico last month.

Costa Rica fans threw objects including coins and batteries onto the pitch after Mexico won 2-1 in the opening game of the final CONCACAF group stage.

A statement from the Costa Rican FA issued on Tuesday said it would appeal as they consider the sanctions harsh.

Castrol Under-15 cricket ...
Demerara dominate to beat Essequibo by 51 runs
By Imran Khan
FOR the second straight game Demerara left Essequibo wallowing in defeat in the Castrol Inter-county Under-15 One-Day competition. Unlike their first victory on Tuesday, yesterday’s 51-run win at the Everest Cricket ground was decisive in a game which they thoroughly dominated.

Opting to bat first Demerara mustered 189 for 8 from 50 overs and Essequibo could only manage 138 all out from 34.1 overs in response.

Ameer Khan stroked a patient 61 from 155 deliveries with two fours for Demerara and opener Jeetendra Sooklall made 41 to follow his 47 the previous day.

After losing their first two wickets for five runs, the pair added 77, before the impressive Sooklall was caught by Fidel Bovell off the bowling of medium pace all-rounder Mahendra Mandholall. Batting at number four, Khan played through the innings, posting 28 runs for the 8th wicket with Dennis Legay (12).

Essequibo shot themselves in the foot, giving away 46 extras, inclusive of 36 wides as they struggled to keep the ball on a proper line. Pacer Bovell took 2 wickets for 25 runs from 6 overs to top the Cinderella County youngsters’ bowling, while Mandholall, who sprayed 11 wides, also took 2 but for 27 runs. Bovell and captain Royston Alkins (10-1-29-1) let loose 9 and 8 wides respectively.

The aggressive Norman Fredericks commenced Essequibo’s chase in a blaze of shots all around the ground but lost Dillon Heyligar (1) and Mandholall (2) early. The left-hander and Michael Goberdhan (3) then moved the score 41 runs along from 14 to 55 for the third wicket.

Goberdhan defended compactly with technical flair but found run-scoring difficult while Fredericks displayed a full armoury of shots, scoring 42 runs from 58 balls, inclusive of three fours. The ebullient left-hander primarily enjoyed driving through covers and pulling the faster bowlers as he reached the ropes on three occasions.

He and Goberdhan both departed by the time the score had reached 77 and Essequibo continued to lose wickets throughout until they finished on 138.

Wicketkeeper Parmeshwar Neel made 23 from 35 balls and Oyona Sampson, batting at number 8, made a brisk 18-ball 21 with three boundaries to give the visitors some hope but they could not sustain their 6th wicket partnership for more than 40 runs.

Khan returned with the ball to bowl Sampson with the score on 125 and captured 3 wickets for 7 runs from three overs to complete an excellent all-round performance. Totaram Bishun also hauled in three wickets for 24 runs from 7 overs. Pacer Leon Scott took 2 wickets for 33 runs.

Today is a rest day while tomorrow, Essequibo face defending champions Berbice.

BABY LEADER: Baby-faced Ameer Khan hit a brave unbeaten 61 then captured three wickets for 7 runs to lead Demerara to victory.

DEMERARA innings

J. Sookdeo c Bovell b Mandholall 41

T. Nurse lbw Bovell 0

R. Karran c wkp. Neel b Smith 1

A. Khan not out 61

R. Ramkhellawan run-out 3

D. Greaves c Heyligar b Mandholall 8

J. Khan b Bovell 6

T. Bishun b Alkins 7

D. Legay run-out 12

L. Scott not out 4

Extras: (w-36, nb-2, b-4, lb-4) 46

Total: (for 8 wickets from 50 overs) 189

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-5, 3-82, 4-92, 5-121, 6-141, 7-158, 8-186.

Bowling: Smith 8-2-15-1 (w-2), Bovell 6-0-26-2 (w-9, nb-2), Fredericks 3-1-4-0, Alkins 10-1-29-1 (w-8), Daniels 6-0-20-0, Mandholall 6-0-27-2 (w-11), Hussain 2-0-8-0 (w-1), Sampson 5-0-27-0 (w-4), Goberdhan 4-1-25-0 (w-1).

ESSEQUIBO innings

N. Fredericks b Bishun 42

D. Heyligar lbw Ramkhellawan 1

M. Mandholall b Scott 2

M. Goberdhan run-out 3

R. Alkins b Bishun 12

P. Neel c wkp. Greaves b A. Khan 23

J. Hussain c Nurse b Bishun 3

O. Sampson b A. Khan 21

S. Daniels b A. Khan 4

F. Bovell lbw Scott 0

K. Smith not out 0

Extras: (w-15, nb-8, b-2, lb-2) 27

Total (all out, 34.1 overs) 138

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-14, 3-55, 4-77, 5-80, 6-85, 7-125, 8-134, 9-137.

Bowling: Scott 8.1-0-33-2 (w-1, nb-6), Ramkhellawan 5-0-19-1 (w-2, nb-1), Legay 5-0-16-0 (w-1, nb-1), Rasheed 2-0-15-0, Bishun 7-1-24-3 (w-4), Karran 4-0-20-0 (w-1), A. Khan 3-0-7-3 (w-5).

Former WICB president Allan Rae laid to rest
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (CMC) - Allan Rae, the former West Indies opener and West Indies Cricket Board president, has been described as one who gave his life to the service of his fellowman.

Rae, who died late last month, had his ashes interred in the St Andrew Parish church cemetery in Half Way Tree yesterday following a service that lasted an hour and a half.

The Reverend Canon Robert Thompson said Rae’s life was one of service to the cricket fraternity and said his greatness had come through extending this greatness to his fellow man.

These sentiments were also echoed by Jackie Hendriks, president of the Jamaica Cricket Association, who said Rae had made a sterling contribution at every level of cricket administration.

Hendriks, himself a former Test player for the West Indies, said Rae was a principled person and administrator, who never compromised his principles throughout his life.

The JCA chief noted this was especially important since Rae, as WICB president, had taken West Indies through some of its most turbulent periods - the defection of West Indian players on the rebel tours to South Africa.

Rae had taken a firm and uncompromising line against the racist apartheid system and supervised lifetime bans - that were eventually lifted - against those West Indian players who went on the rebel tours.

He was also a key figure in the WICB who played an important role in helping to resolve the crisis caused by the defection of players to Australian Kerry Packer’s World Series cricket.

Pointing to the 1950 tour of England by the West Indies team, Hendriks said Rae had made a huge impact on that tour enabling the West Indies to defeat the home team for the first time in that country.

He noted that even though Rae was an aggressive batsman, he changed his natural game to accommodate the team on that tour. This, Hendriks said, epitomised Rae’s life.

A solid, technically sound left-hander, Rae scored 1 016 runs in 15 Tests, at an average of 46.18.

His partnership with Trinidadian opener Jeffrey Stollmeyer remains one of the most successful in Test cricket with the two averaging 71, an all-time best for the West Indies.

Also attending the funeral was E.H.C. Teddy Griffith, the WICB president; Portia Simpson-Miller, the Minister of Sports in Jamaica, along with several ex-Test cricketers including Courtney Walsh and Easton McMorris.

RHTYSC to host gala awards ceremony Sunday
IN a country where facilities and incentives for sports are very limited, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) will shine like a beacon when they deliver over $1M in cash, trophies and prizes this Sunday.

The venue is the area 'H' ground and the special occasion is the 14th Annual Awards ceremony of the club and the third Berbice Cricket Awards Ceremony.

The main recipients would be twenty club members and five Berbice cricketers including a former and a current national cricketer who will together cash in on over half-a-million dollars in cash and prizes.

The Club's cricketer-of-the-year Andre Percival will collect over $300 000 in winnings with an airline ticket to the USA, gold jewellery, a cellular phone, designer clothing and trophies among his rewards for an outstanding year.

The Berbice cricketer-of-the-year award will got to national all-rounder Narsingh Deonarine and will include an airline ticket, a gold chain, a cellular phone and cash to the tune of $200 000.

The Rose Hall Town Courts team will receive the Berbice Team-of-the-Year award while there will be awards for Player-of-the-Year of the division one, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 categories.

A special feature of the programme will be the launching of the Club's Educational Awards Scheme which will be highlighted by the honouring of the top CXC students in the town.

Other awards to be given out in this new initiative will be Teacher-of-the-Year, Best Nursery School, Best Primary School and Student-of-the-Year while the Rose Hall Town Nursery School would receive a set of educational materials.

The RHTYSC will also hand over sports gear to Young Achievers Cricket Club, New Amsterdam United Football Club and the Rose Hall volleyball and basketball clubs.

There will also be individual awards for the Top Performer-of-the-Year for boxing, volleyball and basketball in addition to a Batsman and Bowler-of-the-Year awards as well as the Most Disciplined Cricketer and Worker-of-the-Year.

Meanwhile, the RHTYSC will be expanding its cricket Academy scheduled for July/August this year with support from the West Indies Cricket development department.

At Sunday's awards ceremony over 300 donors/sponsors of the club's activities will be honoured while 26 persons will be inducted as honorary members of the club.

Among the presenters for the proceedings will be patron of the club Peter 'the Roop' Ramsaroop, the president Keith Foster and secretary/CEO Albert Foster, along with the presidents of the Guyana and Berbice Cricket Boards.

Indoor five-a-side football kicks off tonight
THE long-awaited start of the Sterling Cup five-a-side indoor football tournament, organised by the East Bank Football Union (EBFU) gets under way at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall tonight with four matches.

The action kicks off at 19:00 h with Melanie tackling East Ruimveldt, followed by Alexander Village against BV/Triumph at 19:45 h. At 20:30 h Werk-en-Rust meet Berlin and at 21:15 h it will be Lodge Housing Scheme versus Charlestown.

More play in the competition will continue next Tuesday at the said venue. Among the sponsors for the tournament are Banks DIH, Sterling Products, White Castle Fish Shop, Guinness Bar and Cops Security Services.

Over $200 000 in cash incentives, along with trophies and medals, will be at stake in the tournament.

Mohali Test ...
Sehwag leads India’s strong reply with unbeaten 95
|By N.Ananthanarayanan
MOHALI, India, (Reuters) - Opener Virender Sehwag hit a chancy 95 not out to lead India's strong response against Pakistan on a rain-hit second day of the first Test yesterday.

The Delhi opener, dropped on 15 and 82, punished Pakistan's inexperienced pace bowlers to be on the verge of his ninth Test hundred. India were 184 for one wicket in reply to Pakistan's first innings 312 all out when play was called off due to bad light, the final session having been played with the stadium lights on. Rahul Dravid was 39 not out, having added 71 runs for the second wicket with Sehwag.

Play was delayed until one hour before tea due to steady drizzle since morning. Sehwag, 26, played a typically rapid knock to quickly snatch the initiative, guiding India to 67 for no loss in the 11 overs before tea.

He attacked new ball bowlers Mohammad Sami and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to complete a run-a-ball fifty. He has so far hit 12 fours and a six in his 121-ball innings.

Sehwag said he felt no nerves finishing the day five short of his century.

"It is not just getting those five runs. I want to bat the whole day tomorrow.

"We would ideally like to bat for at least five sessions and put enough runs on the board to put pressure on Pakistan."

Sehwag shared in a 113-run opening partnership off 109 balls with Gautam Gambhir, who made 41.

DROPPED CHANCES
Pakistan appear set to rue the big chance that got away.

Sehwag, who began with a flurry of fours against Rana, edged a short ball from Sami to the third slip, where Taufeeq Umar juggled and dropped an easy chance to his team mates' dismay.

He was again dropped on 82, edging a drive against leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to slip fielder Younis Khan, who dropped a head high chance to his left.

Sehwag was unconcerned with the let-offs.

"Even if I bat the whole day I'll continue to keep playing my strokes," he said. "I'll continue to play in the manner I'm most comfortable with and that is to play my shots.

"You keep getting chances in cricket. What you have to make sure is you make the most of them."

Sehwag took those blemishes in his stride to light up the proceedings on a gloomy day.

He went after Sami after the early let off, punching him past cover and flicking him to midwicket for boundaries before slashing Rana over third man for six.

The bowlers quickly lost their rhythm as Gambhir opened up at the other end, steering Sami to third man and then driving third seamer Abdul Razzaq through cover.

Kaneria struck with his first delivery after tea by dismissing Gambhir. He hit seven fours in his 46-ball effort.

Dravid quickly settled down with some fluent drives to raise hopes of a huge Indian total.

PAKISTAN first innings 312 (A.Kamal 91, L.Balaji 5-76)

INDIA first innings

G.Gambhir c Rana Naved b Kaneria 41

V.Sehwag not out 95

R.Dravid not out 39

Extras: (b-1, lb-1, nb-7) 9

Total: (one wicket, 40 overs) 184

Fall of wicket: 1-113

Bowling (to date) - Sami 8-1-55-0 (nb-4), Rana Naved 10-1-49-0 (nb-1), Razzaq 9-0-41-0 (nb-2), Kaneria 13-2-37-1.

Champions League…
Goals galore as Chelsea, Milan and Lyon qualify
By Trevor Huggins
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Chelsea, AC Milan and Olympique Lyon booked their places in the Champions League quarter-finals soccer after a goal bonanza by Europe's elite on Tuesday.

Chelsea qualified after a thriller at Stamford Bridge, taking a 3-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes before Ronaldinho replied twice ahead of the break and captain John Terry then headed home for 4-2 on the night to ensure a 5-4 aggregate win.

Milan repeated their 1-0 win over Manchester United of a fortnight ago as they came through the second leg of their knockout round tie, with Argentine striker Hernan Crespo again scoring the only goal in the return at the San Siro.

Lyon, who had already trounced Werder Bremen 3-0 in Germany, handed out an even bigger 7-2 hiding at the Stade Gerland, courtesy of a hat-trick by striker Sylvain Wiltord.

The place to be for drama though was west London, where Chelsea's task was to overturn their 2-1 defeat in an acrimonious first leg that has left the club and its outspoken coach Jose Mourinho at loggerheads with UEFA.

Goals from Iceland striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, England midfielder Frank Lampard and Ireland winger Damien Duff gave the Premier League leaders a dream start before the tide began to turn.

EXQUISITE STRIKE
A clumsy handball by Portugal defender Paulo Ferreira gave Barcelona a penalty that Ronaldinho converted on 27 minutes.

Brazil's World Cup winner followed up 11 minutes later with an exquisite strike from 20 metres and his side were heading for the last eight until Terry nodded home in the 76th minute.

The match ended on a sour note with an ugly fracas involving players and officials, along with allegations by Barcelona's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o that he had been racially abused by a Chelsea steward as he headed for the tunnel.

Terry's goal decided what was already an embittered contest after the first leg when Mourinho snubbed the news conference following an incident in the tunnel at halftime and his team finished with 10 men after a red card for striker Didier Drogba.

Mourinho, who was critical of referee Anders Frisk at the Nou Camp, has also become embroiled in a spat with UEFA over his accurate prediction more than a week ago that Italy's Pierluigi Collina would referee the return at Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese coach, chasing back-to-back Champions League trophies after his triumph with Porto, said: "I am happy to have beaten what the press called the best team in the world.

"It was a game where you had no time to breathe, no time to enjoy the moment, you just had to work and react the best way you could," he said. "The football was magnificent."

Chelsea's feat, similar to their comeback victory over Liverpool in the League Cup final 10 days ago, could not be matched by Premier League rivals United.

MILAN EDGE
Milan had the edge in a free-flowing game and were rewarded when Crespo, on loan from Chelsea, rose to meet Cafu's cross from the right with a magnificent looping header over American keeper Tim Howard.

Milan had nearly taken a first-half lead when Brazil playmaker Kaka crashed a shot against the crossbar, while United boss Alex Ferguson was left to rue an earlier Ryan Giggs effort that hit the post.

It was third time unlucky for United, who were knocked out of the European Cup semi-finals by Milan in 1958 and as holders in 1969 in their two previous meetings.

It was also revenge for Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, whose Juventus side had famously lost 3-2 to United after leading 2-0 in the 1999 semi-finals in Turin, allowing Ferguson's men to go on and win the trophy.

Ancelotti told reporters: "The way they played put a big strain on our midfield, but I think we deserved the win. We did it in the first leg and now we've done it in the second."

Ferguson said: "I think the difference between us was the greater experience of AC Milan -- particularly in Cafu, who I thought was the man of the tie.

"It was always going to be a difficult game - that goal at Old Trafford was a killer for us."

While the Italians used a rapier to eliminate United, Lyon took a bazooka to Bremen, expertly wielded by Wiltord.

Attacking midfielder Mickael Essien scored twice, while Florent Malouda also got on the scoresheet and Jeremy Berthod converted a penalty as the French club romped home.

The second leg action continued with four more ties yesterday, while Inter Milan's game with Porto will be played on March 15 and the quarter-final draw held three days later at UEFA's Swiss headquarters.

The final will be played on May 25 in Istanbul.

Latcha to lead Berbice in Castrol Under-15 tourney
THE Berbice cricket selectors have named a strong 14-man squad to represent the Ancient County in the 2005 Castrol Under-15 Inter-county cricket tournament.

The squad, which will be led by Albion’s all-rounder Steven Latcha who represented Berbice in last year’s tournament, includes one other player with Under-15 Inter-county experience in Jonathan Foo.

The 14 year-old Foo, a leg-spinning all-rounder was also part of the Guyana Under-15 team last year.

Among the new faces in the squad are talented all-rounder Eugene La Fleur, one of six players from the Tucber Park Cricket Club in New Amsterdam, and opener Harrinarine Chattergoon, brother of national opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon.

The full 14 reads: Steven Latcha (capt.), Harrinarine Chattergoon, Seon Hytmeyer, Keno Gravesande, Leon Williams, Eugene La Fleur (v-capt.), Sylvasen Kalimootoo, Amit Singh, Jonathan Foo, Jeremy Ramsey, Anthony Bramble, Kenley Adams, Michael Felix and Jamal Rose.

Vemen Walter is the manager with Adrian Amsterdam as coach.

Meanwhile, six players have been named as standbys. They are: Adriel Park, Manoj Pooranauth, Sahadeo Somai, Javan Ali, Collin Duke and Terrence Madramootoo.

Berbice with six out of nine Under-15 Inter-county titles will open their campaign in this year’s tournament tomorrow with a match against Essequibo at the DCC Ground in Queenstown.

They again meet Essequibo the following day at Uitvlugt before tackling defending champions Demerara in back-to-back matches next Monday and Tuesday at Everest and Bourda respectively.

The Berbice team leaves for Georgetown today.

Haiti open against Mexico in World Under-17 final round
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, (CMC) - Haiti will open their 2005 CONCACAF Under-17 Group B final round campaign with a clash against hosts Mexico, scheduled to be held in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, from May 17-21st.

The tournament features Canada, Haiti, Honduras and hosts Mexico, with all teams playing their encounters at the Estadio Carlos Gonzalez y Gonzalez in Culiacán.

Group B will kick off on May 17 with Honduras taking on Canada at 6:00 p.m. while Mexico engage the Haitians at 8:30 p.m.

On May 19, Haiti will play their second game against Canada at 6:00 p.m. with Honduras up against Mexico in the nightcap game.

The CONCACAF Group B final round will conclude on May 21 with Haiti facing Honduras in the first match of the evening while Mexico oppose Canada at 8:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the CONCACAF Under-17 Group A final round is scheduled to take place at the Estadio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica, April 12-16 with Cuba, El Salvador, USA and the hosts contesting the honours.

The winner of each CONCACAF final round group will qualify directly for the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Championship to be played in Peru from

September 15 to October 2.

The second-place finishers from each group will meet in a home-and-away playoff series in order to claim the third CONCACAF berth at the World Championship.

The last time Mexico staged a CONCACAF Youth final round was in 1985 when they hosted an Under-16 tournament.

Big Plans for City Football this year
. . . GFL boss optimistic
By Allan La Rose
INCUMBENT head of the Georgetown Football League (GFL), Odinga Lumumba, says his executive has big plans for the spot in the capital city this year and onwards.

Speaking exclusively to Chronicle Sport the GFL'S boss spoke of plans -- "we aim to ensure that every team has a ground or home of their own. It is important for the development of football that every club has a proper facility to play football".

For the greater part of this country's rich football history, Georgetown has always been the live wire sub-association of the sport in the country but in recent years football has "taken a beating" for various and many reasons.

During the temporary dormancy the interest and following had been maintained so that when the Lummba-led executive came to the rescue on September 15, 2004, and within weeks secured one million dollars each from Haynes and Associates and Cari-Air for the biggest ever payday in GFL's history the sport was instantaneously revived.

In describing the six months in office Lumumba recalls "it's been turbulent. It's like the tsunami or like the big flood we had in Guyana. I say that because we have to totally reorganise and restructure football in Georgetown, in fact, the whole country with respect to football needs reorganisation."

"The first thing, we must recognise, the fact that football is not just some people running around and kicking a ball and having fun. It's a business. And because it's a business we require a certain level of discipline, a certain level of skill and a certain level of knowledge" Lumumba stated.

The Member of Parliament who is also the head of Alpha United pointed to the plight of the sport generally: "the problem with football in Georgetown and Guyana at large is that we don't have adequate facilities.

“No game can move to the next level unless it has spectators/fans support. But where would the fans sit? If a mother or a father wants to take their children to watch their brother, cousin or sister play football there is no seating accommodation, so the emphasis has to be on getting the kind of facilities where people can sit comfortably with covers above their heads. Then the other aspect must be lighted fields to allow for night football which would increase the crowd support as people working during the day would be able to attend. This would consequently lift the level of play as players would now have more training time and will come to games better prepared".

Lumumba declared his executive is aware of the tremendous challenge ahead but they are dedicated and determined to bring about a change in football.

We are in a situation where we have to rebuild football from the ground right up. It's a lot of work but we are committed. Our primary task is to work on facilities. We have to get at least two lighted facilities where 3 000 people can sit comfortably. These venues must also include proper dressing rooms and toilet facilities for male and female fans”.

Lumumba hinted of plans to assist two clubs.

“We have also earmarked the Camptown and Conquerors rounds for assistance in developing and upgrading the facilities. We are also thinking of lighting the Police and Parade Ground (Independence Park).

“The GFL is also concerned about the way teams are being run, we at the GFL will certainly be assisting the clubs in getting themselves organised and structured, with administrative and training programmes by a qualified coach. A proper patron and sponsor must be secured.

"Every Club must have a transparent management system that allows for development and growth and provides the necessary equipment for the sport.

"We have already identified two to three sponsors and patrons. We also need technically equipped coaches and this we hope to invest in soon."

On the field of play Lumumba revealed that football will be played no later than next month with a possibility of a tournament later this month.

"Fans will see organised GFL competition by the latest April of this year.

“We are currently assessing the ground situation and if all goes well and the weather holds it is possible we can have a tournament starting this month. We have the necessary funding to run a tournament. Our league competition will definitely start in April while we also plan to run off tournaments for Under-16, Under-13 and Under-11 this year. We are also working on establishing some women teams as well".

Looking ahead at the task of running the most popular sport in Georgetown the new boss for City Football opined, "the challenge to organise and run football in Georgetown is always great, but the greatest challenge for us is to improve our relationship with the GFF and work together as a body in the interest of the development of the sport.

"The relationship between the GFL and the GFF is much better than it used to be. When we first came on board there was basically no relationship with the GFF. We are now on the General Council but still with no voting rights which should soon be granted.

“At the moment the GFL is working with some other associates to erect stands on the eastern section of the GFC ground.”

According to Lumumba "the government has granted duty free-concession to GFC for the importation of the necessary floodlights to be installed at the ground. We anticipate in another month or so GFC should have lights".

In concluding Lumbumba said, "I think football fans can look forward to good things this year from the GFL as we will be emphasising on more organised and competitive football in the city.”

If one is to speculate what to expect and use the acquisition of over $2M in prize money as a measuring stick, fans and players can expect big things this year..

S.Africa women’s team urged to exploit feminine assets
JOHANNESBURG, SA (Reuters) - The South African women's soccer team will be coached in etiquette and given tighter T-shirts in a drive to soften its image and attract sponsorship ahead of a 2007 World Cup bid.

A top official said yesterday female players who dressed and acted like men were giving women's soccer a bad name and needed to nurture their feminine side.

"They need to learn how to be ladies," Ria Ledwaba, head of the women's committee at the South African Football Association (SAFA) told Reuters.

"At the moment you sometimes can't tell if they're men or women."

The national team would be given a more shapely kit to emphasise their femininity on the pitch and would swap dowdy track suits for skirts and jackets when travelling.

"Obviously they can't wear skirts on pitch ... but they will be given outfits made for women, with female shirts that are shaped for breasts," Ledwaba said.

SAFA would also hold etiquette workshops to turn the players -- often plucked from the streets of South Africa's sprawling townships with no schooling -- into national assets.

"We need to teach them etiquette and the importance of being a role model," said Ledwaba. "There are mothers out there who won't let their daughters play football because they think they'll start acting like boys."

The new outlook is part of a drive to attract untapped talent into the squad, which has never competed in a world tournament, and to lure sponsors.

The women's team is currently funded by mobile phone operator Vodacom, which also sponsors the men's team.

But Ledwaba said she was hoping to attract extra sponsorship from companies making products for women, such as toiletries.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter last year courted controversy when he urged women players to wear tighter shorts to distinguish them from men.

Chelsea deny racist taunts
LONDON, England (Reuters) - English Premier League leaders Chelsea denied yesterday that any of their staff had taunted Barcelona players with racist abuse after the London side's Champions League victory.

Barcelona's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o told reporters a Chelsea steward had hurled abuse at him as he left the pitch on Tuesday night. "One of the stewards called me a monkey ... this is the mentality of this club," Eto'o said.

However, Chelsea, who won the tie 5-4 on aggregate, said in a statement: "Chelsea utterly refutes any racist comments were made by any of its permanent or match-day staff. Chelsea has an excellent record of supporting anti-racism campaigns and condemns any form of racism." A scintillating match was marred by angry scenes near the tunnel afterwards with stewards hurrying Barcelona players off the pitch.

A plastic bottle was thrown from the area of the crowd where Barcelona fans sat as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich made his way to the dressing room.