He alleges about $700,000 is missing from a transaction last year between the council and AH&L Kissoon Limited.

"Even if the alleged transaction took place, there is still to be accounted for items to the value of approximately $700,000.00 which represent the difference between items purportedly received and the documents showing items reportedly delivered", Green said in a letter to Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Mr. Clinton Collymore.

He explained that the council had finalised arrangements for credit facilities from the firm, which was part of a financial package agreed after intensive negotiations involving the Town Clerk and the Finance Committee Chairman.

"This arrangement included the payment of $1.5M monthly to us, towards the liquidation of all arrears by the said firm in addition to the credit facilities", he told the minister.

The mayor stated that since the council needed to increase its fleet of tractors and ancillary equipment, it was agreed that the priority should be the acquisition of a tractor or tractors, then those items which are sold by the firm and required by the municipality in accordance with its approved budget. These items included ply board, paint, office furniture and equipment.

Green said the amount was discovered missing at a joint meeting of the council's Legal Affairs and Security and Social Development committees in November last year, when information was requested in relation to this transaction.

He said the council's administration failed to submit the required information within the specified period and subsequently did so on December 5 when the matter was reviewed.

"The administration submitted a report showing the utilisation of $4,560,862.00 in items while the information obtained by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, directly from the firm of AH&L Kissoon, showed a total of $5,255,493.00 collected by the Mayor and City Council."

The mayor said it was further discovered that in some instances, the standard operational procedure was not adhered to.

Cases he cited included:

* All items were not uplifted by the Procurement Office, but some departments or sections uplifted items directly from the firm.

* Some items or documents did not go through the office of the Stores Superintendent in keeping with known and prescribed procedures.

* No inventory has been written up at the relevant offices to which the items were allegedly sent.

"The entire transaction reflects a complete disregard for the Standard Operational Procedures of the Council", he charged.

"While the arrangements were approved, no individual vouchers were submitted for the signatures of the authorised members of the Finance Committee in accordance with Section 149 of the Municipal and District Council's Act", Green said.

The Mayor also called on Collymore for immediate action to have an inquiry by the appropriate authorities into the council's affairs.

At a news conference last week, Green suggested that Town Clerk, Ms. Beulah Williams; Public Relations Officer, Mr. Royston King, City Engineer, Mr. Cephas James and the Personnel Officer, Ms. Paulette Braithwaithe should be disciplined because they were not cooperating with him.

The officers said that the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, does not provide for the mayor to make any decision on his own.

This is generally done by a majority of councillors via statutory meetings, a press release signed by the officers stated.

The statement added that there has always been a strong and demonstrative collective desire on the part of officers to provide a more qualitative and quantitative service to the citizens of Georgetown.

Collymore told the Chronicle he had indicated to the mayor that he cannot deal with the two matters at the same time.

He said he could proceed to conduct an inquiry only after the Auditor General completes his report on the alleged irregularities.

"The mayor has a problem, he wants things done (like) yesterday, and it is an (act of) indiscipline to do that (the other inquiry) while (one is in progress). And I am not going to fall for that."

"I cannot tell the Auditor General to speed up the inquiry", the minister declared.

He said he had indicated to the mayor that the council will have to agree to have the officers disciplined and then he will address the matter but Green had not replied.

Collymore feels the mayor will not get the resolution of such a magnitude passed by the council.

He added that the council must be able to deal with its problems and only when a situation arises with which it cannot deal, would the ministry intervene.

GT&T says its viability under threat
By Abigail Kippins
THE phone company yesterday said its viability is threatened and jobs could be lost if it is not allowed to increase rates to customers.

Deputy General Manager, Public Communications and Employee Relations of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), Mr. Terry Holder yesterday told the Chronicle that GT&T is being threatened by several local and external factors. He said if there is no positive response to the company's application for a tariff establishing new rates to prevent substantial revenue shortfalls, its viability will be threatened.

"Unless the company is viable, it cannot meet the demands of its customers and its commitment to employees. A reduction in staff, could be one consequence...", he stated.

GT&T is concerned about the impact on its revenues by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order that kicked in January 1, bringing the rates that the U.S. carriers pay to Guyana down from US85 cents to US23 cents.

The company had earlier made a rate-filing with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with the expectation that some proper rate structure or variations would have come into effect with the FCC order. It projected earnings at a 1.05% rate of return on its invested capital for wire-line services and said that to achieve the minimum 15% rate of return, it requires additional revenues of $5,556M by way of increased rates and charges.

Consumers groups and several senior private sector officials have come out against the steep increases in rates the company is seeking from the PUC.

The PUC held a hearing Wednesday with GT&T but the application for increased rates the company made in its quest to recoup revenue it says it expects to lose through the reduction of the international settlement rates, was suspended for six months.

The first hearing to fix temporary rates was set for January 15 at Hotel Tower in Georgetown at 16:00 hrs.

A large crowd of mainly GT&T employees turned up at the Supreme Court Library in Georgetown late Wednesday afternoon for the PUC hearing with GT&T.

Commissioner, Mr. John Willems said the large GT&T turnout might have been intended to intimidate the commission by causing an atmosphere of fear.

An employee of GT&T urged the commission to urgently consider temporary rates since there are hundreds of employees at GT&T who are depending on their jobs.

Among the gathering were Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Sonita Jagan, and other GT&T top officials. The room was packed with persons spilling on to the corridor. Even media personnel had to stand.

PUC Chairman, Justice Prem Persaud said the crowd was not expected as he referred to the poor turnout at PUC hearings, most of which are held at the Ocean View International Hotel at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.

GT&T officials did not appreciate Willems' remarks and Holder yesterday referred to an article in the Chronicle in which Ms. Eileen Cox of the Consumer Advisory Bureau and the Guyana Consumers Association had called on members of the public to turn out to the hearing.

Holder argued that a large turnout of members of the public could have been intended to bully the commission in terms of its judgement as he referred to the comments by Willems.

He said the GT&T employees who turned out to the hearing had a vested interest in the proceedings.

He said they have become aware of the implications the hearing could have on their livelihood and though they could have opted to engage in other activities at that time, they chose to attend the hearing hoping that the commission would have come to a positive decision.

The consumer groups are, however, unhappy that the commission will grant GT&T a hearing for a temporary order. Cox said this was "just as bad" as a permanent order.

Cox has told the Chronicle that the $5.5B increase stipulated by GT&T in its proposal to the PUC is in excess of what the phone company stands to lose in the settlement rate change.

GT&T is proposing to increase domestic telephone rental from $250 to $1,500 and the business/commercial from $1,000 to $3,000 monthly.

It proposes to increase calls within exchanges from 20 cents to $4 per minute during the day, and from 10 cents per minute to $2 per minute at nights and is looking to an approximate 75 per cent increase for out-of-exchange-calls.

In terms of international calls, it proposes that for all countries except the U.S. and the United Kingdom rates remain the same but that there be one off peak rate. The rates to these two countries would be reduced with one rate being applied to both locations, $136 during peak hours and $123 during off-peak.

The company also wants Internet users to pay for its line service, which is currently not paid to GT&T and all international rates be rounded to the nearest dollar.

Cox claimed GT&T is taking advantage of the opportunity to squeeze consumers in Guyana more.

Mother claims abandoned children
THE mother of the three children who were found wandering on the West Coast Berbice road Wednesday and taken by residents to the Fort Wellington Police Station, turned up for them later in the night.

The kids are between six and three years old and the mother, a vendor of Number Five Village, West Coast Berbice, reportedly told police she had left the three in the care of a female relative living at Hopetown while she went about her business.

She reportedly denied abandoning them and said she was shocked when she received a message early Wednesday night that they had been found wandering on the Hopetown public road.

It is understood that the female relative who had agreed to keep the children, had put them with their belongings out of her home shortly after the mother left.

Residents observed the three in a dirty and unkempt condition standing by themselves at a street corner in Hopetown with a large travelling bag at around 17:00 hrs (5:00 p.m.) Wednesday.

Villagers said the three were crying and appeared to be hungry. Some public-spirited citizens in the crowd of curious onlookers gave them food and drinks and then handed them over to the police at Fort Wellington where they were accommodated pending investigations.

A reliable source said the mother showed up at the police station at around 20:00 hrs (8:00 p.m.) and took the children with her. (CLIFFORD STANLEY)

Light at the end of the tunnel for filaria victims
`It is a very exciting time for the (control of) the disease because the salt will get into the bloodstreams and kill all the parasites' - Dr. Calum MacPherson, St. George's University, Grenada
By Shirley Thomas
THERE'S a light at the end of the tunnel for the treatment of Lymphatic Filariasis in Guyana, thanks to overseas experts and friendly countries.

It is anticipated that by August, the first batch of DEC fortified salts - used for the control of the disease - will be available for distribution locally, officials reported this week.

The medical experts said that Lymphatic Filariasis is contracted as a result of being bitten by the "Culex" mosquito species.

And as a forerunner, a mission by a joint team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S., St. George's University, Grenada and PAHO/WHO, is in Guyana helping the Health Ministry develop two sentinel sites in Georgetown and New Amsterdam.

Blood testing for the parasite is to begin following consultations with community leaders next week and will be extended over a period.

On the mission are Dr. Patrick Lammy, CDC; Dr. Calum MacPherson, two Faculty members and four students of St. George's University; Dr. Shamdeo Persaud and Ms. Esmay Semple of the Health Ministry; and Dr. Robin Houston and Dr. H. Win of PAHO/WHO (Pan American/World Health Organisations).

Said MacPherson: "It is a very exciting time for the (control of) the disease because the salt will get into the bloodstreams and kill all the parasites."

The setting up of the sites, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said at a news conference Wednesday, "is part of the monitoring of this mass treatment strategy."

Lammy assured that the DEC salt is a superior product that would not change the colour, look or flavour of the food and does not break down when cooked.

"We have salts and tablets that are evidently superior and more effective," he said.

The DEC is quite unlike the 'bitter' medicated salt used in the fight against malaria in Guyana several years ago.

Ramsammy said that the Georgetown and New Amsterdam sites will serve as a window through which the entire elimination process will be observed. The areas were chosen based on the results of mapping surveys done earlier.

It was found that the rates of infection were as high as 40 per cent in the coastal areas, while the overall rate in Guyana was 9.9 per cent of those tested.

Georgetown had a 34 per cent reading; New Amsterdam between 28 to 34 per cent; and Linden 27 per cent.

The incidence of Lymphatic Filariasis was less pronounced in Regions Five (Mahaica/Berbice), Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni); and in regions One (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), the results showed zero. The remaining regions reflected a moderate distribution of the disease.

Ramsammy said that his ministry, after carefully assessing "all the options available for the elimination process", decided to employ a mass treatment process to eliminate the microfilarial worm from the affected population.

The team feels that community participation in this drive will be critical and will determine how successful the sites turn out to be in the whole monitoring effort.

"It is important for the community to feel that they have ownership of the problem," Lammy noted.

The specific objective of the mission will be to conduct a baseline study and create a database, which will be used to analyse the present status of the selected communities. The results will be used to guide the process involved in the sentinel site development.

BLOOD COLLECTION AT NIGHTS
The team has advised that sampling will be done only at nights. According to MacPherson, "it is important to do blood collection at nights because of the circulating stages of the parasite," which comes up in the blood only at that time.

Noting that Lymphatic Filariasis is a global disease, he said that 120 million people, mainly in tropical areas, are affected by the parasite. He added that it is one of the leading causes of disability in the Americas, but with new developments, the possibility of eliminating what is seen as a very debilitating disease, is now very real.

Persaud observed that many persons affected by the disease may be moving around unnoticed since it manifests itself in other ways, such as swellings of the scrotum, than the commonly known swellings of the legs or arms.

The revised September 2000 World Health Organisation report noted: "The worst symptoms of the chronic disease generally appears in adults - more often in men than in women, and in endemic communities, some 10 to 50 per cent of men suffer from genital damage, especially hydrocele (fluid filled balloon-like enlargement of the sacs around the testes) and elephantiasis of the penis and scrotum."

Elephantiasis of the entire leg, the entire arm, the vulva or the breast - swelling up to several times the normal size - can affect up to 10 per cent of men and women in these communities, the report said.

Alluding to implications of the hidden cases of the disease, the report states: "Lymphatic Filariasis exerts a heavy social burden that is especially severe because of the specific attributes of the disease. This is particularly because chronic complications are often hidden and are considered shameful."

"For men," it said, "genital damage is a severe handicap, leading to physical limitations and social stigmatisation."

For women, shame and taboo are also associated with the disease. When affected by elephantiasis, they are considered undesirable, and when their lower limbs and genital parts are enlarged they are severely stigmatised. Marriage, in many situations an essential source of security, is often impossible.

The WHO report noted that indeed many people never acquire outward clinical manifestations of their infections. "Even though there may be no clinical symptoms, studies have now disclosed that such victims, outwardly healthy, actually have hidden lymphatic pathology and kidney damage as well."

It says a symptomatic form of infection is most often characterised by the presence in the blood of thousands of millions of larval parasites (microlariae) and adult worms located in the lymphatic system.

ELIMINATING DISEASE BY 2020
PAHO/WHO officials say that the disease is more prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical areas, adding that the primary cause of the increase is "the rapid and unplanned growth of cities which create numerous breeding sites for mosquitoes that transmit the disease."

Member countries of the WHO, recognising the importance of Lymphatic Filariasis as a public health problem, have committed to eliminating the disease by the year 2020.

In August 2001, the WHO held its second regional meeting of Lymphatic Filariasis programme managers over three days at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown.

Ramsammy is optimistic that Guyana can eliminate the disease before the targeted 2020 - possibly by 2015.

As part of its plan of action aimed at eliminating the disease, the Ministry of Health is working towards:

** The establishment of a task force and programme management unit;

** Rapid mapping of infection in all regions using the WHO approved ICT card method;

** Assessment of the morbidity of the disease nationwide;

** Development of a morbidity management programme in the most affected areas;

** Development of a strategy for the mass treatment of infection in Guyana;

** Development of strategy for social communication and health education.

The infection has been recognised as the second leading cause of permanent long-term disability and puts at risk more than one billion people in more than 80 countries of the world.

While it is spread by the "Culex" mosquito, it is caused by thread-like parasitic filarial worms, Wuchereria bancrofti and brugia malayal that live almost exclusively in humans.

The worms lodge in the lymphatic systems - the network of nodes and vessels that maintain the delicate fluid balance between the tissues and blood and which is an essential component of the body's immune defence system.

Plane crash kills marines, jets pound guerrilla complex
`Let us join together and make a national army' - Hamid Karzai, interim Afghan leader
By David Fox and Christopher Wilson
KABUL/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - Seven U.S. Marines were killed when a military refuelling plane crashed in flames in a remote corner of Pakistan. In neighbouring Afghanistan, American jets repeatedly pounded an al Qaeda guerrilla complex.

U.S. officials described Wednesday's crash as an accident and said it was under investigation.

As Washington pressed on with its campaign to crush Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, Afghanistan's interim leader, Hamid Karzai, urged Afghan factions to work together to restore security to a nation riven by two decades of conflict.

``Let us join together and make a national army,'' he said on Wednesday, speaking in Dari, the Afghan Persian used in the north.

Karzai, looking ahead to meetings this month in Kabul and Tokyo on funding reconstruction, outlined plans to restore order by controlling inflation, promoting industry and creating jobs.

He pledged to foster a market economy and stop the printing of bank bills that were not backed by the government.

In a bid to improve safety in the capital Kabul, the government ordered all armed men, except police and official security forces, to leave the city and return to their bases.

Karzai told the U.S. television network CNN yesterday that apart from some ``lawlessness'' on local highways, there had only been isolated incidents in the last two to three weeks.

The arrival of a British-led international force, mandated by the United Nations, will boost security in Kabul. These troops are now moving into the city and will total up to 5,000.

Washington launched its war in Afghanistan on October 7 to hunt down bin Laden, whom it accuses of masterminding September 11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people in New York and Washington, and punish his Taliban protectors.

U.S. bombing and local Afghan forces toppled the hardline militia in weeks, but Washington's main targets, bin Laden and Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, remain elusive.

CHILLING REMINDER
In a chilling reminder to Americans of the risks of a military campaign that has so far seen few U.S. casualties, the refuelling plane with seven Marines on board hit a mountain near a remote airport in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday.

The aircraft crashed as it was coming into land at a base used by American forces near Shamsi, about 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 km) northeast of Panjur, Pakistan, closer to the frontier with Iran than the border with Afghanistan.

Flames raged at the scene of the crash for several hours.

``Rescue crews are working their way to the aircraft at this time,'' Marine Corps spokesman Major Chris Hughes told a news conference in Kandahar. ``The incident is under investigation.''

In eastern Afghanistan, Washington kept up its relentless bombing of the Zhawar Kili caves, a vast underground complex where fighters from the Taliban and bin Laden's al Qaeda network had tried to regroup.

The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said attacks were focused on Zhawar, 30 km (19 miles) southwest of Khost.

``American jets began bombing the area overnight and continued into yesterday morning. There was no information about casualties,'' said AIP, quoting unnamed sources.

Several helicopters ferried in about 50 U.S. ground troops to eastern Khost, taking the total number of U.S. personnel in the area to about 150, it added.

U.S. forces captured on Monday two senior al Qaeda fighters near the Zhawar Kili caves, along with computers, cell phones and other valuable intelligence material.

The prisoners are being interrogated to see if they can provide any clues on the whereabouts of bin Laden or Mullah Omar.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department made clear that it wanted all senior Taliban officials who surrendered to be detained for questioning and not released under amnesty.

They were responding to reports from the spokesman of the governor of Kandahar that three former Taliban ministers had been freed after surrendering to the southern city's authorities.

The trio were the former minister of defence, Mullah Obaidullah, the former minister of mines, Mullah Saadudin, and the former minister of justice, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi.

``We have said before that we believe that senior Taliban officials should be taken into custody,'' said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

``We would expect that to be the case with these three individuals. I'm sure we'll be looking into this matter further.''

U.S. forces are preparing to transport some 368 al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where secure facilities are being built to hold as many as 2,000 detainees from the war in Afghanistan.

Shot man loses arm
A MAN reportedly shot by police in Berbice yesterday, had his right arm amputated after he was admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Reports said Clifford Deonarine Sookdeo, 37, of Hampshire, Corentyne, was shot in the right arm and buttocks by police at his aunt's home in the same village.

A relative said the man who lived with his aunt, was involved in an argument with her yesterday morning. As the situation got out of hand the police were called in.

Reports said that when the police attempted to arrest Sookdeo, a confrontation began and he was shot.

He was taken to the hospital where his right arm was amputated above his elbow.

His condition was last night reported stable and he was under police guard.

Turks and Caicos company wants to buy Guyana rice
A TURKS and Caicos Islands food processing company has expressed interest in purchasing rice from Guyana.

Managing Director of Columbus Foods of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Mr. Paul Day told the Chronicle that his company, which is involved in processing and exporting rice to European countries including Belgium, the U.K., France and Portugal, is deeply interested in purchasing Guyana's rice.

Columbus Foods also exports to Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico.

Day said his company's access to Europe's preferential markets was blocked for three years, but recently it was allocated a quota of 10,000 tonnes per year for the next 10 years.

He also assured that his firm would offer lucrative and competitive prices for Guyana's rice.

Day said Guyana's rice is in demand because of the size of the grain and its overall quality and his company is getting in contact with local millers and exporters.

Marketing Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall welcomed the expression of interest by Columbus Foods because Guyana is looking forward to exporting as much rice as possible.

"It is certainly good for Guyana," he said.

He said the company did business with Guyana about three years ago and the board did not find any difficulty dealing with them.

"They may have had difficulties with individual millers but we would not be able to comment on that," Dharamlall remarked.

The largest local exporter of Guyana's rice is paying US$220 per tonne cash and if Columbus can surpass or match that then it will be competitive, he explained.

He also agreed that the size and quality of Guyana's grains are responsible for its great demand.

Guyana's rice industry has been experiencing difficulties in recent times due to a decline in world market prices for the commodity. This has resulted in severe hardships on local rice farmers, compounded by difficulties farmers have in repaying bank loans.

Rice farmers took to the streets in Georgetown two months ago protesting the harsh repayment conditions imposed by bankers and the non-payment by some millers to them. (CHAMANLALL NAIPAUL)

Playing loud music can be a criminal offence
`...it's an offence by law, a criminal offence, to play music continuously and loudly into the wee hours of the morning, especially to the annoyance of others' - Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. David Ramnarine
By Mark Ramotar
NOISE nuisance is a criminal offence and persons can be prosecuted under the law for making loud and continuous noise, especially if it is to the annoyance of the public, a Police spokesman has said.

Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. David Ramnarine said Wednesday that persons who have discos, restaurants and bars have to be holders of licences.

But apart from having the licences to run these outlets, they're also required to be licensed under the `Music and Dancing Licensing Act' before they can play loud music over a specified period of time, he explained.

A Bel Air Park, Georgetown resident, in a letter to the Chronicle Wednesday, complained about the extreme nuisance that noise has become in residential areas.

The resident said that for the last few months he has been awakened between 02:30-04:30 hrs almost every day by so-called frolic music emitting from the entertainment centres on Sheriff Street, several blocks northeast of where he lives.

"The sound waves come and go like big ocean waves for hours. At times the noise is faint and a few minutes later it is so loud that you could think a party is in the next door neighbourhood," the resident complained.

He said that once awake, it is difficult for him to fall to sleep again. "I suppose a certain anger that builds up is also responsible for not finding sleep again," the letter-writer said.

The resident also questioned whether those people having a "wonderful time" are working people. "I wonder what the people in the immediate neighbourhoods have to say of the entertainment centres at that time in the morning?"

"Their children must grow up either as top dancers, singers or musicians and receiving brain damage affecting their lives," he asserted.

"This artificial happiness must stop (and) it must stop at least by 01:00 hrs latest," the resident added.

For those who have to work in the morning it is only fair to get some hours of uninterrupted sleep, the angry `Bel Airian' added.

Ramnarine told the Chronicle that the conditions of the licences of these entertainment centres require that loud music can be played only up to midnight from Mondays to Fridays, while on Saturdays it can be played up to 02:00 hrs.

He said too that as far as he is concerned, "these big places (nightclubs)" should not play loud music at all on a Sunday.

"So it's an offence by law, a criminal offence, to play music continuously and loudly into the wee hours of the morning, especially to the annoyance of others..."

According to Ramnarine, Chapter 23:03 of the Laws of Guyana, under the Music and Dancing Licensing Act, requires all entertainment houses to have a Music and Dancing Licence in order to have parties and dancing sessions.

Once the music is played in such a way that it disturbs the public, the law provides for the owner to be charged with the offence of making loud and continuous noise, he said.

He said too that matters of noise nuisances should be reported to the Police and a statement will be taken before there can be any real foundation for charges to be laid.

Ramnarine said the offence carries a monetary fine in the first instance and a jail term in instances after.

He noted too that the law empowers the Police to enter premises and seize noise-making instruments wherever music is played loudly and continuously and disturbs the public.

There have been many other bitter complaints from people in the city and along the coast about the growing noise nuisance from music boxes and discos and liquor restaurants.

Workshop prepares youth groups for CYP 2002 awards
MINISTRY of Culture, Youth and Sport staged a one-day workshop at the former Guyana National Service (GNS) Sports Complex, Carifesta Avenue, Georgetown, last Saturday, to prepare youths from the 10 Administrative Regions of Guyana for competition in the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) 2002 awards.

The exercise, dubbed ‘Training for Trainers’, was sponsored in collaboration with the CYP Youth Service Award Programme, which aims to assist youth groupings in the formulation of policies and decision making, on issues affecting them at regional, national and international levels, when executing projects that could enhance community development.

Participants were exposed to ideas for ventures, criteria for selection and how to develop successful proposals and acquire the relevant information for the execution.

Those participating in the rivalry for the three Regional and Pan-Commonwealth Youth Service awards could win up to 3,000 pounds (Sterling) each, a trophy and medals.

Sapodilla Learning Centre at West Coast Berbice won one of the awards last year.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms Gail Teixiera told the Saturday gathering that the scheme deals with a number of basic things but, because of the lack of information, many young people are being kept away from the various activities.

She said five local proposals must be submitted to the Ministry for presentation to CYP Caribbean Centre for the Regional Award Competition involving 17 other Commonwealth countries.

Minister Teixeira encouraged countrywide participation so that a comprehensive database could be compiled at the Ministry.

She explained that the process would facilitate easy access to groups so they can be informed of plans by the Ministry for the provision of technical and other assistance to every region.

Director of Youth, Ms Jacqueline Mounter said she hopes groups will be motivated to develop themselves as well as individuals for a success in 2002.

She is optimistic that proposals presented at the training session would be worth submitting for CYP award nominations.

“They are saying that our young people are unemployed and are unemployable but, in a youth group, a lot can happen in terms of employment, if groups strive towards making employment part of the activities they are involved in,” Mounter posited.

UNICEF funds another Corriverton project
ABOUT 300 residents of Number 79 Section ‘C’ Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice will get a reliable supply of potable water within the next two weeks.

It will be made possible through a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) $3.5M project to rehabilitate and extend the system.

The work entails laying 1,305 metres of new distribution mains to replace the collapsed network and is being coordinated by Corriverton Town Council, in conjunction with the beneficiaries.

Guyana Water Authority (GUYWA) is providing technical assistance and the job is slated for completion by mid-month.

Corriverton municipal officials said the current irregular flow to the densely populated part of the township has raised much concern among those affected.

UNICEF previously financed the construction of concrete drums and other sanitary facilities at Section ‘E’, another Corriverton ward.

Those remedial works, done at a cost of $2M, were also aimed at improving the quality of life, the officials said.

Brightening those road signs
THE Traffic Department of the Guyana Police Force is engaged in a road-painting exercise throughout the streets of Georgetown.

The main purpose of the exercise is to brighten all road signs so that drivers of motor vehicles and pedestrians could be better informed about the commands and instructions that regulate the smooth flow of traffic.

Here, Inspector Jackson supervises the road-painting exercise in Gordon Street, Kitty, yesterday.

ampellville resident gets Steve’s Jewellery first prize
THE ‘Chance to Win’ competition sponsored by Steve’s Jewellery establishment was drawn on Saturday, January 5, 2002.

The first prize of one pair of diamond earrings valued at $300,000 was won by Troy Phillips of Lot 119 John Smith Street, Campbellville, Georgetown.

The second prize of two Citizen watches worth over $100,000 was won by Natasha Sankar of Lot 16 Austin Street, Campbellville, Georgetown.

Pension Books distribution delayed
THE Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security has apologised to all recipients for the unavoidable delay in the distribution of Old Age Pension Books.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said the schedule for this year will be published in the January 13 Sunday Chronicle.

In Region One…
Dry weather stalls key bridge construction
THE dry weather pattern prevailing throughout the country has stalled the construction of the San Jose bridge which would be a key link for several villages in Region One (Barima/Waini).

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said Tuesday that, to resume work, the contractor needs to transport heavy equipment and machinery into the Region but the water level drop is preventing the move.

GINA said residents in the beneficiary communities have expressed their disappointment at the delay and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr Harripersaud Nokta said he, too, is not sure when the job will recommence.

In late November, along with regional officials, he visited the site where only pedestrian movement is currently facilitated.

Region One has been experiencing the same conditions over the past few months and the anticipated rainfall at Christmas did not materialise.

The overpass being constructed would allow vehicular traffic to cross Moruca River for the first time and Central Government has allocated $10M towards the project.

Rodrigues says…
Acoushi ants programme major 2001 Ministry accomplishment
MINISTER of Amerindian Affairs, Ms Carolyn Rodrigues, said Monday she is pleased with the achievements of her Ministry in 2001 and a major accomplishment was the $10M Acoushi Ants Programme.

That project started in Moruca sub-district of Region One (Barima/Waini) last October and, subsequently, continued in parts of Regions Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), Upper Mazaruni and the North Pakaraimas.

It was coordinated by her Ministry, with technical assistance from the Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, after complaints of rampant infestation of hinterland Amerindian farming communities, she said in an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA).

Minister Rodrigues said the programme “is going well” and her Ministry will continue to pay attention to it.

She added that personnel in the affected places have been trained to carry out the necessary fogging exercise.

“I am hoping that we would not have so many reports of crop destruction because of Acoushi ants. But this would depend largely on the communities themselves,” Rodrigues pointed out.

She said her Ministry has supplied a number of farms in Rupununi and other areas with tools in support of the agricultural drive.

According to her, the establishment of village offices in some locations was another 2001 objective but the Ministry was unable to accomplish it.

However, she assured that they will be built this year at the previously identified sites where Village Captains and Councils would function.

Rodrigues said, other successes include major rehabilitation on the Amerindian Hostel in Georgetown where Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) is now complementing what the Ministry did last year.

She reported that the Amerindian Affairs Ministry assisted monetarily with the resuscitation of North Rupununi Credit Scheme, currently being supervised by Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED).

Rodrigues said persons from North Rupununi are in training to operate the scheme there, offering small loans for agricultural and other business purposes.

She said the venture had a good record of repayment since it started in 1999 but, recently, borrowers have been experiencing difficulties to meet their obligations to the system which falls under North Rupununi District Development Board.

Meanwhile, the Ministry is awaiting the passage of the 2002 National Budget to secure funds for renovating its new offices, in the compound at Avenue of the Republic and Company Path, Georgetown, where Guyana Cooperative Mortgage Finance Bank and Colonial Life Insurance Company were formerly housed.

Arjun points to strides in Guyana, Suriname relations
GUYANA’S Ambassador to Suriname, Mr. Karshanjee Arjun has pointed to strides made in advancing relations between the two countries.

A statement from the Guyana Embassy in Parimaribo said he specially referred to reciprocal visits by Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Rudy Insanally and his Surinamese counterpart, Ms Marie Levens, respectively.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said Arjun placed emphasis on the pending State Visit to Suriname by President Bharrat Jagdeo and expressed thanks to those who have become involved in the ‘Circle of Friends’ for promoting the New Global Human Order, first advocated by late President Cheddi Jagan.

GINA said Arjun traced the birth of the concept and its acceptance by regional, hemispheric and international organisations.

Speaking at the traditional Old Year’s drinks on the lawns of the Chancery in the capital of the neighbouring republic last December 28, the diplomat called on more people to propagate the ideas of poverty alleviation and economic, social and cultural development, as adumbrated by Dr Jagan during his Presidency.

GINA said the December occasion is when the envoy normally expresses gratitude to those who lent support to the Embassy’s efforts during the year.

Teachers exchange conference billed for Georgetown in August
BROOKLYN, New York -- Plans are under way for the first ever three-day technology and teachers exchange conference in Georgetown on August 22-24.

Termed Harbinger2002, the conference is specifically designed to attract companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Canon, Toshiba, AT&T, Sprint and many others in the hardware, software and services sectors to Guyana where they will get an opportunity to display their products and talk about their services.

Harbinger2002 promises to be an exciting event, which will expose and bring the Guyanese/Caribbean community up to speed with many of the technologies that exist today.

One day is to be set aside for the teachers exchange conference where teachers from New York and Columbia universities will be on board to effectively share information with teachers and other professionals in Guyana on topics such as communications, race relations and AIDS.

Some of the companies already backing this conference are Microsoft, JRG Entertainment, a Brooklyn-based entertainment firm which promotes runway and fashion shows etc., and Orion Resources International, an IBM business partner.

Several local businessmen and women are also involved.

For more information on this conference please contact Donnette Dennis, conference organiser at 917-753-5507; e-mail donnette2003@yahoo.com.

Health Minister worried about suicide trend
- draft national plan for discussion
HEALTH Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy is worried about recent cases of reported suicide and says details of a "very structured approach" to addressing the problem will be announced soon.

Counselling for persons who may be undergoing problems would be a critical aspect of the plan, he said, noting that some non-governmental organisations already offer such a service on an ad hoc basis.

There have been four reported suicides and several attempts at suicide since the year began and Ramsammy said Wednesday, "I am very concerned".

He noted that suicide is a serious public health problem.

The minister heads the Committee for the Prevention of Suicidal Behaviour and Suicide and said member, Dr. Bhiro Harry has submitted a draft national plan which the body will soon discuss.

That plan is also to be taken to the community for discussion and Ramsammy said the intention is to formalise a structure for counselling which will also cover alcoholism, family planning and other issues.

The committee includes representatives from the ministries of Health, Education, Youth, Culture and Sport and Human Services and the private sector.

"The committee is evolving and more representatives from the churches will be asked to join", the Health Minister reported.

East Coast phone service disrupted
GUYANA Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) technicians are working to restore service to more than 100 residents on the East Coast Demerara, the firm announced yesterday.

It said service was disrupted to customers in several villages on Wednesday when a contractor working on a water main in Success cut two 3,000-pair telephone cables under the Railway Embankment road.

GT&T is urging contractors to contact the company before excavating.


Union, ministry asked for pay hike arbitration proposals
By Abigail Kippins
THE Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) and the Public Service Ministry (PSM) have been invited to submit proposals for the terms of reference for arbitration on pay hikes for public servants.

Chief Labour Officer, Mr. Mohamed Akeel asked for the proposals following a two-hour meeting between the parties yesterday.

Head of the GPSU, Mr. Patrick Yarde told the Chronicle that his union, which represents at least 6,000 workers, plans to submit its proposal to Akeel by Monday.

He said they want the situation to be resolved quickly, adding that he hopes the Government would be more cooperative in dealing with the matter.

He accused the Government of frustrating the process and said it needs to display more maturity and professionalism.

The Chronicle, however, understands that the PSM would not be presenting any proposal, since it is against arbitration in this case.

The GPSU last month informed the Ministry of Labour that it wanted to go to arbitration in its quest for a pay hike higher than the 5.5 per cent the Government paid out to public servants last year.

The increase was handed down last month when conciliation failed and a deadlock declared following months of negotiations.

The hike saw the minimum public service wage increased from $19,000 (US$98.95) to $20,140 (US$104.89) per month and $798 (US$4.15) to $846 (US$4.40) daily.

The GPSU argued that the current real wage was 22 per cent below its 1970 value, and 34 per cent below the 1980 value.

Yarde had said his union would make a case for a 35 per cent wage increase for 2001 and 26 per cent for this year.

Representing the PSM at the yesterday's meeting were Permanent Secretary, Mr. Nanda K. Gopaul, and Chief Personnel Officer, Mr Jairam Gheer. Yarde and General Secretary, Mr. Randolph Kirton, represented the GPSU.

The Chronicle was told that at the meeting, the union outlined its case and impressed upon the PSM to go ahead and set up the machinery for the arbitration.

The PSM, however, stoutly resisted going to arbitration and indicated that the union was late in making its claim.

As a consequence, the PSM said that it was not prepared to go that route, but appealed to the union to continue discussions for this year in order to have a multi-year package.

According to a PSM official, the union is requesting arbitration 51 days after a deadlock was declared and a decision taken for the payout.

This is not in keeping with industrial relations norms, the source said.

An expert in the field of industrial relations pointed out that for arbitration to take place at the request of either party to the dispute, the terms would have to be mutually agreed upon.

According to him, the only avenue left to conclude this matter is for the Minister of Labour to impose arbitration under the Labour Act, Chapter 98:01.

He stressed that voluntary arbitration cannot take place without the mutual consent of the parties involved.

Yarde said the union is not surprised that the Government would not cooperate, since it has experienced this kind of attitude many times before.

He said such behaviour serves the country no good, can be very costly and keeps strife in union and Government relations.

Yarde said if the PSM fails to submit its proposal, the Ministry of Labour could demand it be submitted or the PSM could be forced to do so by a Court order.

He argued that there is no time limit to request arbitration, adding that the Government is not in a position to talk about time limits since it took nine months to meet the union following its submissions in 2000 for a wage increase.

Yarde added that the two sides had also continued talks so there were always attempts to have a solution.

He said he felt it was in good faith for the two parties to try for a resolution without the matter reaching arbitration.

Hundreds at funeral of shot mini-bus driver
MINI-BUS driver, Brian King, also known as "Tool Box", who was allegedly shot in his mouth by a policeman on December 2, was buried yesterday.

King, 33, of Princess and Smyth streets, Georgetown, died on New Year's Night and hundreds joined the funeral procession to Le Repentir Cemetery, Georgetown.

People in the procession carried placards alleging police brutality. Among those in the crowd was Mark Benschop, former controversial TV `talk show host'.

The body was taken for viewing at the Smyth Street home and the procession then left for the 1763 Monument Square where the mourners assembled before moving off to the cemetery.

Police was present throughout and no incident was reported.

In photo, the funeral procession moving through Georgetown.

Mash parade, Eid clash concerns to be addressed
By Neil Marks
MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms. Gail Teixeira has promised to look into concerns by the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) that the annual grand February 23 parade in the city for the Republic's anniversary may affect Eid-ul-Azha observances at about two worship points.

CIOG President, Mr. Fazeel Ferouz yesterday said Teixeira, who was in Region One, is to meet the Mashramani Committee on Monday to discuss the issue and may also bring up the matter for discussion at Tuesday's statutory meeting of Cabinet.

Mashramani and Eid-ul-Azha are both national holidays and the Muslim festival commemorating the sacrifice of the Prophet Abraham is likely to also be on February 23.

And President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud said the fact that Good Friday and Phagwah, both observed as national holidays, fall on the same day this year, should not be a problem for either faiths.

There have been concerns by Christians that the water dousing revellery popular in the city and other place on Phagwah day, may affect Good Friday worshippers.

Ferouz said the Mashramani float parades, usually a mix of scantily clad women parading in outlandish costumes and dancing to the tunes of high volume soca and other music, detract from the "most auspicious and solemn" occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

While he has no problem with Guyanese celebrating Mashramani in whatever way they choose, the usual routes for the costume and float parade may cause distraction and inconvenience for the Muslims who will use the Queenstown Masjid on Church Street, and the Muslim Youth Organisation on Woolford Avenue, Ferouz said.

He said it would not be possible for those who normally go to both locations to go elsewhere, since about 1,000 people normally observe Eid at the Queenstown Masjid.

The routes for the parades are normally planned months in advance.

Ferouz proposes that either the routes be changed or that Mashramani be celebrated on Sunday February 24.

"This sort of thing only happens about every thirty years," he said.

The day for the observance of Eid would, however, not be known until the new moon is seen earlier in February.

Good Friday and Phagwah are both to be observed on March 29 this year, but Persaud does not foresee the observances affecting each other.

"Guyana is a multi-religious society and as such we must respect each other's belief and faith.

"In a society like ours, the occurrence of two different religious observances (at the same time) can be expected," he said.

"And so, the Christians in keeping with their faith will observe Good Friday, while the Hindus will be attending Mandirs in the morning and assemble for utsav in the afternoon," he said.

Persaud said Phagwah should only be played with those who are inclined to and it is not a day for Hindus to indulge in drinking alcohol.

But recent cases of reported suicide and attempts at suicide have turned attention again to a worrying problem.

Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, to his credit, has not attempted to skirt the issue and last year announced plans to address the situation on a national level.

He has acknowledged that suicide is a serious health problem and has promised that details of a national strategy would be unveiled soon.

Many people here feel that proper counselling could be a major boost in dealing with the issue and Dr. Ramsammy has said that the intention is to formalise a structure for counselling which will also cover alcoholism, family planning and other issues.

Alcoholism is another major social problem which has to be addressed, given the havoc it wreaks in countless homes across the country and it is commendable that it has been brought on the health agenda.

Despite the good intentions of the Health Ministry, it cannot effectively tackle all the maladies vying for special attention. The Government simply does not have the resources to devote to solving all the social and other critical problems countries like Guyana face.

Institutions like the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organisation are making invaluable inputs, as they are in the case of Lymphatic Filariasis, referred to earlier.

Given the prevailing circumstances, organisations like the churches and civic groups can play critical back-up roles to the Health Ministry in coming to grips with suicide and alcoholism.

What is needed is an effective community-based approach where unusual tendencies, particularly among teenagers, can be spotted early and proper counselling services offered.

People with suicidal tendencies require trained counselling and churches can help set these up through regional and international links.

A structured education programme is also essential where the issues can be explored in schools, at the community level and through the media in an informed and enlightened manner.

We understand some church representatives are already involved with the Committee for the Prevention of Suicidal Behaviour and Suicide which Dr. Ramsammy heads.

It is imperative for more religious organisations to go easy on preaching hell and damnation for troubled persons with suicidal tendencies and get on board the campaign to reduce the incidence of suicide in the country.

This is not a problem that is unique to Guyana and an approach has to be devised that would ensure counselling is there when persons in need want it.

The more organisations involved, including churches, the greater would be the chances of the authorities coming to grips with the problem.

We look forward to wider national support for the "very structured approach" Dr. Ramsammy has promised.

The couple has been accused of selling a property, in contravention of a Court order and Persaud is asking that they be jailed as contemnors at the scheduled Monday, January 28 trial.

According to Persaud, the Ceetrams breached an August 17, 2001 edict, which restrained them from also mortgaging, leasing, encumbering or in any way alienating or disposing of the plot of land situated on the northern embankment of what used to be the railway line at Le Resouvenir, also on East Coast Demerara.

In a supporting affidavit, Persaud said the $1,700,000 sale, to Andrew and Fareeda Rollins, took place by agreement of October 24, 2001.

‘Guts’ manslaughter case starts at Demerara Assizes
THE trial of Robert Scotland called ‘Aska’, for the manslaughter of Colin Lawrence alias ‘Guts’, began before Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and a mixed Demerara Assizes jury yesterday.

According to the indictment, the victim was killed on May 19, 1999 and leading State Prosecutor Jolyon Hatmin said, in his opening address, that the unlawful killing followed a longstanding grievance between the two men.

The lawyer said Lawrence was a pedestrian in Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Georgetown, when the accused attacked him with a cutlass.

The case continues on Monday.

Brothers charged with hurting two in gunfire brawl
TWO civilians were injured when a drinking spree in North West District turned violent last week.

However, Angela Canterbury and Khivandeo Basdeo only suffered minor injuries during the January 4 brawl, Acting Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen heard yesterday when two brothers appeared before her in Georgetown.

The siblings, Romeo King, 21 and Elmo King, 32, of Monkey Mountain, faced several charges but were each put on $25,000 bail while the cases have been transferred to North West Magisterial District for January 23.

Elmo King is charged with assaulting Police Constables Tyrone David and Renson Garway, possession of a ‘Special Taurus’ revolver without a licence and inflicting grievous bodily harm on Canterbury.

Romeo King is accused of having assaulted the same policemen, damaging Police property and unlawfully wounding Basdeo.

The Court was told the Kings were imbibing alcohol and at a shop in their neighbourhood when the cops attempted to arrest them because of their conduct.

An altercation arose, during which David’s firearm fell from his waist and Elmo King grabbed it and fired five rounds into the air.

The weapon was retrieved but, while Elmo King was being taken to the Police outpost, Romeo King attacked and struck the peace officers with a piece of wood and Canterbury and Basdeo were hurt when they intervened.

Police also said Romeo King damaged the wooden section of an American-made carbine by hurling it against a wall.

Sex partner accused of money theft
AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD was remanded to prison by Acting Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen yesterday after being accused of stealing money from her sex partner.

Eulid Morlock, of Lot 399 Zeelugt Squatting Area, East Bank Essequibo, is charged with larceny of $65,000 from Alphis Campbell last Tuesday night.

“It was just that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Your Worship,” the defendant declared as she denied taking the cash.

But Inspector Gordon Peters, prosecuting, said Morlock is a known character who went to a Sheriff Street, Georgetown hotel to have sexual intercourse with the 37-year-old Campbell.

The Prosecutor said the virtual complainant fell asleep and, when he awoke, the sum was missing from his pants pocket.

Fined for 1am find
MONTY Adams, 37, of Lot 171 Cutty Lane, Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara, was yesterday fined $10,000, with the alternative of three months imprisonment, for possession of windowpanes suspected to have been stolen.

Acting Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen imposed the monetary penalty on him after he begged not to be imprisoned.

“If you can just give me a second chance, I will try to do good, My Worship,” Adams pleaded.

Police said Mekdeci Mining Company security personnel were on patrol duty when they apprehended Adams at Church and Peter Rose Streets, Georgetown, with a bag in his hand about 01:00 hours (1am).

A search of the bag yielded 13 louvres for which Adams could not give a reasonable explanation.

Violent one-armed man jailed for four years
RUDRA Rajpaul, a convicted felon who had fallen into the habit of terrorising his West Berbice relatives and neighbours while under the influence of alcohol, was on Monday sentenced to a total of four years imprisonment for two charges of wounding and one of malicious damage to property.

Magistrate Kumar Doraisami imposed the sentences at Blairmont Magistrate Court, West Bank Berbice.

Prosecutor Woman Corporal, Hetty Anthony told the Court that Rajpaul, 39, who has only one arm, committed the offences between September and December 2001 soon after being released from prison, where he served a four-year jail sentence for felonious wounding.

The victims included his mother and a prisoner in the Blairmont Police Lockups.

Rajpaul was described as a very violent person especially while under the influence of alcohol.

The Prosecutor said that the one-armed man used a hammer to smash mirrors, ware plates and windowpanes at the home of his mother Rookmin Rajpaul while in a drunken rage on September 30, 2001.

While on trial for his offence, he slashed fellow villager Manmohan Kuleshwar across his chest with a knife during an argument on December 1, 2001.

And while in custody pending charges on this latter offence, Rajpaul slammed Nizam Azeez, a fellow prisoner, against a concrete wall in the Blairmont Police Lockups causing him a cut on his head.

Rajpaul had pleaded guilty to the three charges.

A Probation Officer’s report submitted prior to him being sentenced, said that he was a violent person who had fallen into the habit of terrorising his relatives and neighbours with knives and cutlasses particularly when drunk.

On being asked whether he had anything to say before being sentenced, Rajpaul said that in the wounding cases he had been acting in self-defence.

The Magistrate, who sentenced him to two years for the wounding of Manmohan Kuleshwar and one year each for the damage to his mother’s property and wounding of his fellow prisoner, ruled that the sentences run concurrently. (CLIFFORD STANLEY)

Court hears of failed fraud after perjury
A MAN has been charged with committing perjury in a failed attempt to defraud a commercial bank.

Rudolph Williams, of Old Road, Timehri, East Bank Demerara, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen yesterday but he denied falsely swearing that he was the holder of an account at National Bank of Industry and Commerce Limited (NBIC).

The defendant was granted $10,000 bail pending trial on March 7.

Police said he went to the bank on January 7 and sought to withdraw $12,000 from savings credited to another Rudolph Williams.

When the address and date of birth on his National Identification Card did not correspond with those on the bank’s records, Williams was advised to make an affidavit.

However, when the testament was presented, bank employees detected that the signatures were different, the Court was told.

Ex-policeman now security guard charged with theft
ACTING Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen yesterday ordered ex-policeman Keith Marks to post $75,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty to larceny from Case Timbers Limited.

The defendant, 39, of Lot 22 North Road, Bourda, is alleged to have stolen four truck tyres valued $316,000 from his employer’s premises on Church Street, also in Georgetown, where he was a security guard.

Police said Marks delivered the booty to four accomplices on January 7 but the guard at another location saw the suspicious transaction and reported it.

The case will be called again February 15.

Couple refused bail in jewellery, money larceny cases
A MAN and the mother of his child were refused bail yesterday on joint charges of jewellery and money larceny.

Mark Jordan, of Lot 51 Evans Phillips Park, Agricola, East Bank Demerara and Ashantie Thomas, of Lot 64 Middle Road, Buxton, East Coast Demerara, were remanded to prison until January 15.

They both pleaded not guilty to stealing a quantity of foreign currencies, one gold ring, a pair of gold bangles and a pair of diamond earrings, all worth $633,700, belonging to Frantz Farrier.

Jordan and Thomas also denied they stole two pairs of gold earrings and eight gold rings valued $126,000, property of Shovi Ann Bentham.

Farrier and Bentham are living together but discovered their loss when they returned home after being away between January 1 and 2.

Police said Jordan took them to where Thomas lives and some of the stolen valuables were recovered there.

Calls for new forms of governance, such as, power- sharing for Guyana, generally use ethnic and tribal conflict as the basis for such verbalism. Commentaries in alluding to racism in Guyana, must provide evidence as to how the comparable socioeconomic status (SES) of both major ethnic groups, is affected by racial discrimination. If African Guyanese were profoundly discriminated against, then their comparable SES with East Indian Guyanese would hardly have been a reality, and vice versa.

Let’s address the source of the ethnic conflict, after all it is the ethnic conflict and violence that drive the preponderance of power-sharing proposals. PNC/Reform’s protests during and after the March 19 national elections are not an indicator of race problems in Guyana, but a response to their perceived long-term electoral vulnerability. The source of the perceived ethnic conflict is political, and relentlessly manipulated and pursued by opposition forces. After the elections, this ethnic conflict retires into protracted hibernation. Given a comparable SES for both major groups, political manipulation of the ethnic card, and politically induced ethnic insecurities, why power- sharing? These givens make power- sharing impractical in the context of Guyana because many of the power-sharing messiahs need to review the social and economic conditions of all ethnic groups at each level of the class structure in Guyana. In any case, let’s examine the problematics of power sharing amid claims of an ethnically divided Guyana.

Some parts of the political spectrum already have made a pronouncement that Guyana is ethnically divided, and in a logically sequential way, has engaging proposals to address this ethnic conflict. Seemingly, ethnic separatism or separate ethnic development through a federalist structure is advanced as a mechanism to sustain each ethnic group’s interests. Notwithstanding the subsistence benefits emanating from a federal system, the fact that a particular ethnic group will secure political and economic control over each proposed federal division, violates the principles of multiethnicity and pluralism. This proposal advocates separate ethnic development!! Shades of ethnic separateness and federalism are not new phenomena for Guyana, and quite rightly, were removed from political discourses over the years. Again, the federal structure in the U.S., of which the current proposal on federalism for Guyana is a prototype, has not considerably reduced race and ethnic conflict and violence in that country. It needs to be pointed out, too, that American federalism has not been ethnically determined, inasmuch as the Guyana proposed federal structure is anchored in ethnicity.

One proposal bandied around to apparently smooth out the ethnic conflict is a national front government; this proposal, essentially, is about power sharing. According to Sisk (1996), power sharing refers to practices and institutions that produce broad-based governing coalitions inclusive of all major ethnic groups.

Any power- sharing scheme must be rooted in the assent of the people. A useful starting point, then, may be to seek a referendum from the electorate to ascertain their feelings on this issue. Both major political parties, the PPP/Civic and the PNC/Reform, have rejected power- sharing. They both claim that their party membership is gradually becoming plural which is a healthy development for Guyana’s politics.

The application of Proportional Representation (PR) already affords the smaller parties representation in the National Assembly; without PR, the TUF and AFG, in 1997, and now in 2001, the WPA/GAP, TUF, and ROAR would not have found a seat in the National Assembly. Under PR, seats in the National Assembly are apportioned on the basis of the proportion of votes received. If a party fails to acquire significant votes in the current power-sharing PR electoral system, how then can it request a greater voice in the executive branch of the Government? Keep in mind that parliamentary democracy is based on the assent of the governed.

The type of power- sharing driven solely by the need to include all ethnic groups in the political pie, promotes ethnic separatism (separate development). This will happen because each power-sharing representative, in theory, represents his/her own ethnic group. This perspective will dilute multiculturalism. Also, a center/periphery analysis of power will demonstrate that a power play among the ethnic group representatives will occur.

It’s quite easy for bureaucratic power- sharing to discreetly replace the people’s voice institutionalized through elections. In the final analysis, we have to know, too, whether the politicians relentlessly striving for power- sharing are really the representatives the people want for sharing particular slices of power. In addition, we need to know whether they are genuine representatives of the constituents they claim to represent. If this is the case, then let the people through a referendum determine their support/non-support for power- sharing.

Scientifically administered research on the social and economic conditions of all-Guyanese may uncover the folly of the assumptions of power- sharing. All Guyanese, depending on their location within the class structure, have a mutual experience with social and economic disadvantage. Any Government operating in a multiethnic context can only be considered worthy if its policies are formulated, implemented, and consumed in the national interest. The PPP/C Administration since 1992 has broken the back of the PNC’s nefarious legacy, and catapulted Guyana to a significantly-improved human development index and a sound macroeconomic framework.

The PPP/C’s track record must be measured, using a baseline, and that baseline is the state of affairs of Guyana in 1992. Further, given the current international economic recession and the World Trade Organization’s negative trade conditions inimical to poor developing countries, Guyana has emerged relatively well at the end of 2001. Power-sharing messiahs need to assimilate the point that power- sharing is not a panacea for Guyana’s social ills, especially when those ills are politically induced to gain political advantage. This instrumental approach, albeit superficial, to get political points, indeed, is not in the country’s interest. The bottom line is that some people want to achieve political stardom through the backdoor, thereby ignoring the Constitution’s principles. In power-sharing, the proponents’ vested interests for particular ethnic groups, may very well not turn out to be the country’s vested interests.
Prem Misir

Is it political ambition?
Many people cannot help wondering just what is Tony Vieira’s newly adopted role as he alone perceives it to be.

Is it self-appointed public watchdog, “commentator” or analyst?

Does he regard himself as a successor to Kit Nascimento or does he have a political ambition to satisfy, as so many now seem to have?

Evening News of January 8, states that it has received certain “reports” concerning Minister Bibi Shadick which are unsupported and which have been aired without apparently even trying to get a response from her although she was extensively interviewed on the same newscast about the new Old Age Pension books.

And because of these alleged “reports”, it was announced by the newscaster that Anthony Vieira in light of these “disclosures” is calling for the resignation of Minister Shadick.

How high-handed such an attitude displays. Is Vieira in fact piqued by the seizure of his radio equipment, which he was operating without the relevant licence?

Knowing how unprofessionally some television stations operate, we cannot be at all surprised that they did not seek a response from the minister. It is quite clear that they were in fact not at all interested in getting such a response. It would not suit their purpose.

We can have absolutely no doubt that an adequate and appropriate response will be coming from the Honourable Minister.
PATRICIA CUMMINGS

Efforts to upgrade Police Force
The PNC/Reform as many expected is once again calling for protest action, this time against what they allege are extra-judicial killings by some members of the Police Force.

These allegations are not receiving much support by most members of the public, several of whom, their families, relatives, acquaintances or friends have suffered grievously at the hands of vicious criminals who in all cases have shown absolutely no mercy to the victims or members of their household.

This is not however, to say that unwarranted use of force is condoned. Such allegations must continue to be investigated and reports made to be public, and wherever necessary appropriate action must be taken as has been the case in the past.

It has not escaped attention however, that the PNC/R and others while quick to attack the Police Force on allegations of Police brutality and extra-judicial killings, have in no instance whatsoever expressed sympathy to their victims or their relatives or offered any help to them.

We see that efforts are continuing to upgrade our Police Force increasing their capacity and effectiveness to prevent crime and also to apprehend the perpetrators.
JOHN Da SILVA

Need for counselling
I know a mother who spends over 90% of her waking time minding the business of others. She makes a nuisance of herself uttering nasty verbal interjections while other individuals are engaging in their daily work.

Relatives and concerned persons should seek counselling for malicious human beings like the one mentioned before so that the wrong doers will develop skills to keep themselves and others out of tension and danger.
ERROL R. RAMDHANY

Cartoon unfair
In the Sunday Stabroek of January 6, 2002 the cartoon was unpleasant and unfair. It depicts the PPP as a corrupt, dirty party - portrayed by a `cup’ full of rats. I wonder if that is considered a fair form of criticism.

I would also like the editor to note that the cartoon I refer to is almost a replica of an earlier one by the artist’s father, Mr H. Harris, exhibited recently at Castellani House.
ANDRE THOMAS

Good old faithful Tony…
Most people do not seem to have been impressed by the “commentary” given by Mr Anthony Vieira on his television station.

He came up with the most outrageous and unreasoned points of view on several aspects of our 2001 elections, which cannot be supported by facts although it seems he was bent on manufacturing them in support of his views.

His “commentary” was clearly crafted to support Mr Hoyte and the PNC/Reform and to attack President Jagdeo and the PPP/Civic. His disguise of having it called a `commentary’ was too thin and fooled no one except those who wanted to be fooled.

He said that Mr Hoyte in his speech delivered on March 30, 2001 said among other things that this is not a time for platitudes or empty rhetoric. But this is exactly what Vieira indulged in extensively in his `commentary’, platitudes and rhetoric, but only very few he can bamboozle.

It seems that among other things, Vieira wants to mislead his viewers and to build up racial tensions in the society when he tells us that no Indo-Guyanese can prosper unless he understands he has to take his Afro-Guyanese brother forward with him. Letting them share equally in the national economic pie.

All Guyanese contribute towards the national economic pie in one way or another and we all benefit and it has absolutely nothing to do with race as Vieira is telling us, and we all know this.

Especially since 1992 all Guyanese have equal opportunities of striving to improve their conditions.
S.D

New Year’s wish
We must be more safety conscious when using the roadway. We must remember to drive carefully, park correctly and walk or ride according to specified rules and regulations.

This does not only ensure safety of our own lives, but for the lives of numerous others. My prayer and wish for the New Year is that the Guyanese people will be better road users and better citizens in general.

For the remainder of the year it would be good for us to be cautious and moderate in all that we do, making it much more possible for us to experience a brand new year with lots of possibilities.
PEGGY PHILLIPS

Bring back the police
It was refreshing and reassuring to have the police presence on the roadways during the festive season. It really helped to ease the traffic congestion that has become so frequent on our roads these days.

However, it is disappointing to have these police officers disappear into the woodwork immediately after the hustle and bustle of the end of the year season.

Come on Mr Police Commissioner and Mr Traffic Chief, bring back the police officers. I think that we are entitled to them. After all, our tax paying monies pay their salaries.

The presence of the police officers at certain prominent junctions will definitely ease the reckless driving practices that have contributed to many accidents and loss of lives.

Please reconsider taking them off the roads during the year.
CONCERNED ROAD USER

Surviving in opposition
The Stabroek News editorial of January 8, 2002 discussed the PNC as an opposition party and showed sympathy to opposition parties when out of office, and their problems of being relevant and active.

The People’s Progressive Party is a good example of how a party survives when out of office and how it can do a good job of it without resorting to violence and intimidation, as has the PNC.

The PPP, in the face of one rigged election after another in the wake of severe state harassment, and in a period of oppression, media censorship and infringement of Civil liberties, held its members and supporters together and was successful in its perseverance. As we all know its persistence at all levels, grass roots, trade unions, international, parliamentary, etc, finally won what was considered impossible by many, the restoration of democracy and free and fair elections.

The editor of the Stabroek News gave no sympathy to the PPP in its struggle, why give it now to the PNC with a sick leadership? Better you feel sorry for what the PNC did to this nation and its people. Who wants back the PNC?
SUGRIM SINGH

Really begging the question
The entire first paragraph of the editorial of Stabroek News dated Tuesday, January 8, 2002 reads as though the writer was referring to the 1968/1992 traumatic debilitating era.

Alas, the editorial was making reference to the political New Year’s message from the leader of the major opposition party in Parliament. How utterly disgusting. Someone has already referred to Desmond Hoyte as “lacking in credibility and legitimacy.” These are the most pertinent, damaging and inherent problems which confront the gentleman, which the Stabroek contrives to prop up.

The second paragraph ventures into the ridiculous if not totally absurd and certainly introduces an element of comedy, when the editorial quoted Hoyte as saying “as a political party, People’s National Congress/Reform is committed to the work of healing and reconstruction…”

What a joke! We all know actions speak louder than words, have we not all witnessed the infamous `Blackie’ incidents, and the constant resort to actions not complementary to any fledgling democracy among others.

These are the deficiencies that a responsible and credible editorial should concern itself about, not vainly attempting to prop up a confirmed failure, defeated at three successive national elections. These are not the attributes that should be embraced and or promoted. The Stabroek News is none the better of this kind of behavioural pattern.

The third paragraph is a clear example of unadulterated deceit and an attempt to portray reasonableness, cleverly adopting properly accepted postures.

The fourth paragraph was more of the same as paragraph three and I believe that Stabroek News should seriously review its attitude towards some people.

The remaining four paragraphs genuinely attempted to extend honest appraisal and should give advice to the major opposition party. However, to characterise Hoyte’s New Year’s message as “statesmanlike” is really begging the question.
DAVID DeGroot

Society totally intolerant of sexual violations
Recent news reports have put the spotlight on several reported

incidents of sexual assaults committed on children and I am disgusted

and saddened as I read the growing number of such sordid violations.

We cannot afford to forget the cases of sexual misdemeanors committed on

our children, as reported, particularly during the latter part of

last year: Kurt Brown of Victoria Street, Albouystown, accused of

committing the offence of buggery on a girl below the age of 12

somewhere in Albouystown during November; Leary Fraser, 32,

a Corentyne cattle farmer granted $1M bail accused of four counts of

carnally knowing a female between 12 and 13 years old;

Rupan Ganpat, called Ramesh, 20, of Welgelegen, East Bank Berbice

charged with raping an under-13 girl; Pete Stephens, 22, of 158 Alberttown,

Georgetown, accused of having carnal knowledge of a nine-year-old

primary school student at Strand Cinema, Charlotte Street;

Terrel Lackhan of 99 Samatta Point, Grove, East Bank Demerara, accused

of having carnal knowledge of a 15-year-old girl; Dutch citizen and

Hindi tutor Ramlall Ganesh, 68, of Line Path, Skeldon accused of

sexually assualting a 13-year-old student at his Upper Corentyne

residence.

My feelings of alarm were no different when I read of the sexual assault

allegedly committed earlier last year, on a female student preparing to

write the CXC exams, by the Principal of a well known educational

enterprise on South Road. Whatever happened to that case? The diligent and focused student incidentally became one of the nation's outstanding CXC achievers, but unfortunately legal justice still has not been forthcoming.

Please - stop for a moment to consider the mental and emotional trauma inflicted on the victims of these assaults. How does a nine or

thirteen-year-old with undeveloped social or emotional coping skills

enjoy ordinary childhood pleasures when their innocence and sense of

security are brutally snatched away by a paedophile? It is abhorrent

that, in most cases, the abuser is an adult, known and presumably

trusted by the victim. It is quite possible that we are becoming

desensitized by the increasing reports of sexual violations, but

worse yet, we may be feeling that this is something that happens to

'other' people's children. We are ALL accountable for the well-being of

the children in our society.

What social and counselling resources are available to the victims who

often have to deal with the emotional scars of the assaults for the

rest of their lives? Are children being taught to confide in an adult

if touched in an inappropriate manner, or are their voices stilled by

the fear of being beaten, or rebuked by their parents if they reveal

the facts of the assault? Are they in effect made to feel further a

sense of shame and guilt as though they are responsible for the assault?

And the offenders are allowed to resume their lives after serving a

comparatively brief jail sentence, if they are brought to justice at

all!

The state’s Probation & Family Welfare Department, and NGOs such as Help & Shelter and Lifeline Counselling, as well as the religious

bodies all can play an invaluable role in sensitizing the public on this

issue. Further, teachers can benefit from workshops sponsored by the

social service agencies, in helping them to identify students in their

classes who may be exhibiting signs of physical or sexual abuse. The

teachers can be made aware of what corrective steps they can take to

help the child, and the parents, who in many cases are unaware of the

abuse. The parents in turn must know what aid is available to them,

whether in the form of legal or counselling support. Perhaps the TV

stations can, from time to time, hold programmes to educate their

viewers. On the other hand, are repeat sex offenders counselled while

imprisoned, to ensure that they do not repeat their crimes upon their

release?

Sterner legal measures need to be implemented to send a clear message to potential offenders that our society will be totally intolerant of any sexual violations committed against our children and women.

I hope fervently that these young victims will sooner rather than later

receive the counselling, support and attention necessary to recover

emotionally and spiritually.
Beverly Conway

Let the squad stay
I'm calling on the relevant authorities to have the health authorities regularly check the milk that is being sold to the public in East Canje, Berbice area. Whenever the milk is being boiled, it bubbles for some time before it boils up. I understand that this happens because of the water content present in the milk. So, please investigate this.

Also, I read of the PNC and a lawyer calling for the disbandment of the Special Squad of police officers. I never hear them calling on the thieves not to murder anyone in their robberies or offer the public sympathy to the victims. So, let the squad stay for without them, murderers will take over this country.
J. Marakhan

Under-21s go down to Victoria Kings
… But coach satisfied with progress
THE National Under-21 football squad, preparing for a tour of Barbados, lost their first practice match but the coach was satisfied with the progress of the players.

In the match against Kashif & Shanghai champions, Swiss House Victoria Kings, the national boys went down 0-1 at the National Park, Wednesday afternoon.

Coach Joseph Wilson told Chronicle Sport: “The performance wasn’t bad. The team is now coming together, and after less than a week together, they are responding according to plans. But the public must show some patience.”

Guyana received a return invitation from Barbados to play in the opening of the football season there on Sunday and a squad was selected at short notice from trials last weekend. The touring team will play two other matches during the one-week visit.

The nationals controlled most of the play, but the centre forwards were slow in getting to position to finish the wing attacks. The match was goalless at halftime.

After the resumption, the build-ups were again penetrative, but goals still did not come for the nationals and in the closing minutes of the match, Swiss House Victoria Kings struck.

Joseph Pierre collected a loose ball and raced away from the high defence from just past the halfway line. The defence followed spiritedly but Pierre shot on the run from 15 metres out to beat the advancing goalkeeper.

In the morning session yesterday, the nationals worked on finishing the wing attacks. They also practised some free-kicks from the left edge of the box and penalties.

The players were scheduled to play one more practice match at Uitvlugt ground yesterday, coming up against West Demerara champions Den Amstel.

All 22 players will go on the tour for the exposure because they will form the core of the Olympics team. They depart tomorrow for Barbados. (Isaiah Chappelle).

South African judge heads Denness affair commission
LONDON, England (Reuters) - South African judge Justice A. L. Sachs, former Pakistan captain Majid Khan and ex-Australia batsman Andrew Hilditch have been named as the three members of the International Cricket Council’s Referees Commission to look into the Mike Denness affair.

The panel, to be chaired by Justice Sachs, will review the issues raised in the row between Jagmohan Dalmiya, head of Indian cricket, and the ICC over match referee Denness after the second Test between India and South Africa in November.

The promise to establish the commission was a key factor in defusing the affair, which, at the time, threatened to split world cricket.

“This is a commission of quality and integrity and one which combines outstanding cricket pedigree with a high degree of legal and administrative expertise,” said ICC president Malcolm Gray in a statement yesterday.

“I am entirely confident that it will fulfil its brief to the satisfaction of all parties.”

Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), last month objected to the ICC’s candidates and asked for Imran Khan and Richie Benaud, former captains of Pakistan and Australia, to be appointed.

Gray said: “The ICC consulted (the BCCI) on the composition of the panel. Mr Dalmiya objected to each of the ICC candidates and put forward a number of his own nominees.

“Two of these, Richie Benaud and Imran Khan, were approached with a view to joining the panel but for personal and business reasons were unable to accept the invitation.”

The row between Dalmiya and the ICC began in November when the India board, upset by some of Denness’s decisions, initiated his sacking for the last Test in the series.

ICC RESPONSE
The world governing body, which appointed Denness, responded by stripping the third and final Test of its official status.

The match went ahead in defiance of the ICC, who later agreed to review Denness’s performance, which included the sanctioning of six Indian players -- Sachin Tendulkar among them -- during the second Test at Port Elizabeth.

Justice Sachs is a member of South Africa’s Constitutional Court, the country’s highest legal judiciary and has been a member of the ICC’s Code of Conduct Commission since its formation in 1999.

Majid Khan is a former Pakistan captain and batsman who played in 63 Tests for his country from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He has served as an ICC match referee and is a past chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Hilditch won 18 Test caps as an opening batsman and vice-captain with the Australian team of the late 1970s and mid 1980s. He is an Australian Cricket Board national selector and a practising solicitor in Adelaide.

The panel will meet in February and its findings and recommendations will be considered by the next ICC Executive Board meeting in mid-March, the ICC statement said.

The issues at stake include whether Denness followed the ICC’s code of conduct in Port Elizabeth, whether there should be a right of appeal against a decision of a match referee and whether the ICC should set up a specific code of conduct for match referees.

Pen pictures of National Under-21 football squad
THE National Under-21 football squad will depart tomorrow for a one-week tour of Barbados, playing three matches including one against their Barbadian counterparts for the opening of the football season there. Chronicle Sport introduces the touring party to you.

JEROME RICHARDSON
Date of Birth: 1984-02-08

Position: Midfield.

Club: Georgetown Football Club for five years; division-one player.

National teams: Captained the National Under-17, touring Brazil, but wore first national jersey in the Under-15 team, touring Barbados.

SHEIK ABDOOL KAMAL
Date of Birth: 1982-06-07

Position: Defence.

Club: Pele for seven years; division-one player.

National teams: Under-17, Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21, touring Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago. BWIA schools team, touring Jamaica. Inter-Guiana Games team, touring Suriname and Cayenne.

JERMAINE ROYDEN ALLEYNE
Date of Birth: 1981-01-23

Position: Midfield.

Club: Santos for nine years; division-one player.

National teams: Under-17. BWIA schools team, touring Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica. 1999 Inter-Guiana Games team.

International Goals: three.

MICHAEL IAN OIE
Date of Birth: 1981-09-30

Position: Forward.

Club: Santos for nine years; division-one player.

National teams: Under-19. BWIA schools team, touring Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica. Inter-Guiana Games team, touring Cayenne.

International Goals: four.

GREGORY RICHARDSON
Date of Birth: 1982-06-16

Position: Forward.

Club: Pele for seven years; division-one player.

National teams: Under-17, Under-20, Under-21, touring Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago.

ROMEL ANTHONY FORDE
Date of Birth: 1982-02-01

Position: Midfielder.

Club: Georgetown Football Club for three years; division-one player.

National teams: Under-17, Under-20, touring Trinidad & Tobago three times, and Curacao. BWIA schools team, touring Trinidad & Tobago.

KONATA MANNINGS
Date of Birth: 86-03-20

Position: Forward.

Club: Pele for just under a year; division-one player.

National teams: Under-15, Under-17, touring Barbados and Brazil.

International Goals: two.

RONDEL KENTON WASHINGTON
Date of Birth: 1981-04-03.

Position: Defence.

Club: Beacons of Bartica, for two years.

National teams: Under-20.

RAVIN RAYMOND CHOO
Date of Birth: 1984-10-21

Position: Goalkeeper.

Club: at present Bakewell Topp XX for one year, previously Milerock for seven years.

National teams: Under-15, Under-17, touring Barbados and Brazil.

KELVIN ANTHONY McKENZIE
Date of Birth: 1983-02-02

Position: Midfield.

Club: Georgetown Football Club for five years; division-one player.

SHAD CHRISTOPHER FERNANDES
Date of Birth: 1982-07-08

Position: Defence.

Club: Georgetown Football Club; division-one player.

National teams: Under-20, touring Trinidad & Tobago. BWIA schools team, touring Trinidad & Tobago.

LINDEN OSWALD DENNIS
Date of Birth: 1982-02-12

Position: Goalkeeper.

Club: BV Triumph for six years.

National teams: Under-17, touring Curacao.

LINDEN LIONEL SIMMONS
Date of Birth: 1985-04-15

Position: Forward.

Club: Pele for eleven years.

National teams: Under-15, Under-17, touring Barbados and Brazil.

International Goals: one.

LEON ANDRE BAYLEY
Date of Birth: 1984-08-23

Position: Goalkeeper.

Club: Fruta Conquerors; division-one player.

National teams: Under-17, touring Brazil.

JERMAINE OWEN NURSE
Date of Birth: 1983-01-29

Position: Defence.

Club: Santos for four years; division-one player.

National teams: Under-17, Under-20, touring Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago. BWIA schools team, touring Trinidad & Tobago.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE HARDING
Date of Birth: 1984-01-06

Position: Defence.

Club: Georgetown Football Club.

National teams: Under-15, Under-17, Under-21, touring Barbados and Brazil.

EMERICK WILLIAMS
Date of Birth: 1984-07-31

Position: Forward.

Club: Tabatinga Football Club (Rupununi).

National teams: Under-15, Under-17, touring Barbados and Brazil.

FRANKLYN WILSON
Position: Manager

Posts: Secretary of West Demerara Football Sub-association, Public Relations Officer of the Guyana Football Federation.

JOSEPH WILSON
Position: Head Coach.

Experience: Almost single-handedly coached Olympic team that did not lose a match, coach of BV Triumph.

PETER LASHLEY
Position: Assistant Coach.

Experience: Georgetown Football League coach. Coached Western Tigers to inaugural Carib League title and NBIC knockout title.

Busta Cup rules change reflect Guyana’s position
LETTER TO THE SPORTS EDITOR
THE changes to the rules for the 2002 regional four-day tournament for the Busta Cup demonstrate how reasonable the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), was in its arguments towards the end of last year’s competition.

You might remember that at the end of the league, after the teams had played each other, Guyana and Barbados were tied on 57 points. The GCB reasoned that in the event of a tie, the title should be awarded to the winner of the head-to-head clash - in this case Guyana, who had gained first innings points from the match at Kensington. Barbados were awarded the Cup on the basis of more outright wins.

The rules for 2002 state that in the event of a tie, the championship goes to the winner of the match played between the two tied teams.

At the end of the league stage, the top four teams qualified for the semifinals, with Barbados hosting fourth-placed Jamaica, and Guyana playing at home against third-placed England A. Jamaica defeated Barbados and Guyana got the better of England A.

The GCB argued that Guyana, as the team with the higher points between the two finalists at the league stage should host the final. Others applied rules that should have been applied only if the teams were tied. The West Indies Cricket Board placed the match in Jamaica. We all know how Jamaica benefited from that home advantage.

The rules for 2002 respect the logic of the GCB’s case and state that the team with the higher points at the end of the league will host the final.

It was extremely frustrating for the Board, the manager, captain, coach and players and for the cricketing public not to have reaped the rewards from the quite magnificent performances by the team. We can take comfort, though, that Guyana would have been Caribbean champions, if only the 2001 rules had passed the tests of reason.

Amsterdam memorial Under-17 cricket
Gobin’s century spurs Tucber Park ‘A’ into quarter-finals
SHAN Gobin hit a sparkling century to lead Tucber Park ‘A’ in the quarter-finals of the Leslie Amsterdam Memorial Under-17 cricket competition in Berbice.

Gobin’s 113, which included 12 fours and a six, carried his team to a first innings lead over Achievers in their drawn play-off match which took place at Berbice High School ground.

After winning the toss and batting, Tucber Park ‘A’ were given a start of 64 by Gobin and fellow opening batsman Julian Moore who was run-out for 23. Gobin then added 36 for the second wicket with Maxie De Jonge whose innings of 22 was ended by medium-pacer Permaul Singh.

Any thoughts Achievers harboured of coming back into the game were dashed by the third-wicket partnership, between Gobin and Anthony D’Andrade (38), which realised 93 runs. When D’Andrade departed, Gobin found another useful partner in Jason Sripaul as 47 were added before the former finally went, caught off the bowling of Permaul Singh.

Singh, who ended with four for 110, also dismissed Sripaul for 33 before Tucber Park declared at 270 for six.

Achievers suffered a major setback when they started their reply, the hard-hitting Kenje Sedoc being bowled by Junior Walters for one in the second over. Thereafter, they never looked like challenging Tucber Park’s total and were eventually dismissed for 74.

Sripaul ended with two for 14 while there was a wicket each for Walters, Kellon Henry, Ershad Roberts, D’Andrade, Collis Tappin and Andrew Williams.

BANGLADESH first innings 160 all out (H. Bashar 53; W. Younis 6-55)
Pakistan first innings (o/n 126-3)

T. Umar lbw b M. Sharif 53

S. Kabir b E. Haque 55

Y. Khan c K. Mashud b E. Haque 0

Y. Youhana run-out 72

S. Mushtaq lbw b E. Haque 9

A. Razzaq not out 114

R. Latif c Al-Sahariar b M. Sharif 94

Inzamam-ul-Haq not out 22

Extras: (lb-12, nb-3, w-2) 17

Total: (for six wickets) 436

Fall of wickets: 1-100, 2-100, 3-116, 4-162, 5-221, 6-396.

Bowling (to date): Manjural Islam 26-4-82-0, Mohammad Sharif 28-7-86-2 (nb-3), Fahim Muntasir 32-6-109-0, Enamul Haque 39-9-134-3 (w-2), Mohammad Ashraful 1-0-13-0.

Bangladesh facing defeat after Razzaq century
DHAKA, (Reuters) - Bangladesh were left facing another mauling in the first Test against Pakistan after an unbeaten century by Abdur Razzaq helped the touring side to 436 for six after the second day yesterday.

Razzaq’s sixth-wicket partnership with Rashid Latif (94) contributed 175 runs as Pakistan built up a 276-run first-innings lead.

Before the match, Test newcomers Bangladesh had played nine Tests and lost eight - five by an innings and the other three by eight wickets or more.

All-rounder Razzaq’s 114 not out, his third Test century, included 14 fours and three sixes and spanned just over five hours.

Wicketkeeper Latif, meanwhile, fell six runs short of three figures when he flicked a slow delivery from medium pacer Mohammad Sharif to Al-Sahariar at mid-off on 94.

Pakistan had resumed on 126 for three in reply to Bangladesh’s first-innings 160 and lost nightwatchman Saqlain Mushtaq during the morning session, lbw to left-arm spinner Enamul Haque.

Razzaq and Latif came when Yousuf Youhana was the fifth batsman to fall, run-out for 72 immediately after lunch. He was beaten by a quick throw from Mehrab Hossain from mid-off after a mix-up between the batsmen.

The pair, both promoted above last specialist batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq who was suffering from a sore throat, then went on the attack.

The pair accelerated the score from 221 for five to 396 before Latif’s departure. Inzamam ended the day on 22 not out while Haque was Bangladesh’s most successful bowler with three for 134 off 39 overs.

The teams meet in the second and final Test next week.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, who became a Test nation in June 200, have only met once before at this level, in August last year, when hosts Pakistan won by an innings and 264 runs - the sixth biggest innings victory of all time.

Muralitharan set to break 400-wicket mark
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is set to become the youngest and the quickest bowler to take 400 wickets in the third and final Test against Zimbabwe starting tomorrow.

Muralitharan, who has taken 21 wickets in the two Tests against Zimbabwe for 203 runs at an average of 9.66, will begin the Galle Test with 395 wickets from 71 matches.

While he dislocated a finger attempting to take a diving catch in the second Test at Kandy, Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore said there was no doubt he would play.

“Murali would even bowl on one leg to play in a Test. You can’t keep him out of the action for long,” he said.

Only six bowlers in the 125-year history of Test cricket have achieved 400 wickets, with New Zealand fast bowler Richard Hadlee the first, and quickest, to the mark in 1990.

Hadlee was playing his 80th Test.

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was the last and the youngest, capturing his 400th against England at The Oval in August 2001, at 31 and in his 92nd Test.

Currently, he is the only spinner to achieve this feat.

The rest of the 400-club are all quicks - Kapil Dev, Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram and Curtly Ambrose.

Walsh holds the most record for most Test wickets, 519, a mark that Muralitharan is keen to overtake.

Muralitharan, 29, made his Test debut at the age of 20 against Allan Border’s Australians in 1992.

The unorthodox off-spinner’s career was thrown into doubt when he was called for throwing on two tours to Australia in 1995-96 and in 1999-2000.

His unusual action, however - he has an abnormally flexible wrist and gives the illusion of throwing because he cannot fully straighten his bowling arm -- has since been cleared by the ICC.

In 2001, Muralitharan finished as the top wicket-taker with 80 wickets from 12 Tests, 22 wickets more than Warne who played in 13 Tests.

Muralitharan has taken 51 wickets from seven Tests at an average of 16.49 at Galle.

His best match figures at Galle were 13 for 171 to subject Shaun Pollock’s South Africans to an innings defeat in 2000-01.

My battered, baggy green cap is my business, says Waugh
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Australia captain Steve Waugh laughed off suggestions yesterday his battle-weary Test cap should be replaced before it falls to bits.

Waugh, 36, has played 145 Tests since December 1985 and his baggy green cap has been soaked with sweat, blood, beer and champagne in venues across the cricketing world.

Neil Harvey, a member of Don Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles side, was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun newspaper yesterday: “It looks bloody terrible, it really does. He needs to get another one.”

Waugh pretended to be surprised that Harvey, a constant critic of anyone comparing Waugh’s side to Bradman’s side, had made such a comment.

“I’m terribly surprised that Neil’s had a go at us. I really am shocked,” Waugh told a news conference yesterday.

“I’m flattered that (people) keep talking about my baggy green cap. To me it’s special, and maybe a little bit tattered and worn.

“You’re not going to throw it away just because it doesn’t look good. You’ve got memories there and that’s what is special to me.

“I’ll continue to wear it as long as I think it’s in a reasonable state. I think it is at this stage. To be truthful, it really is no-one else’s business.”

Former captain Allan Border, with 156 Tests from 1978-79 to 1993-94, is the only person to have played more Tests for Australia than Waugh.

Waugh has led Australia in 34 Tests for 24 wins, plus five losses and five draws.

Australia’s world record winning streak of 16 Tests ended in the second Test against India in Calcutta in March last year.

Hingis confident about Australian Open chances
By Julian Linden
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - Martina Hingis cruised into the semifinals of the Sydney International yesterday with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Sandrine Testud to boost her confidence of ending her grand slam drought at next week’s Australian Open.

Competing in her first tournament since an ankle injury cost her the number one ranking last year, Hingis extended her perfect record against Testud with her 16th straight win over the Frenchwoman.

“This was the first real big test for me to see whether I was in good shape and able to compete with those girls and I am really pleased the way it came out,” Hingis said.

“The most difficult thing for me was probably to believe (in myself) again, that you could get up there and just play the way you are supposed to.”

Hingis will play Kim Clijsters today’s semifinals after the world number five defeated her Belgian Fed Cup team-mate Justine Henin 7-6, 6-2.

American Meghann Shaughnessy claimed the last semifinal spot in the women’s draw when she disposed of Alexandra Stevenson 6-4, 6-1 to set up a showdown with Serena Williams, who booked her place with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Amelie Mauresmo the previous night.

ESCUDE WITHDRAWAL
The men’s draw, already weakened by the early exit of six of the eight seeds, lost another contender when unseeded French Davis Cup hero Nicolas Escude pulled out of his quarter-final with Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela because of a groin strain.

“I have had this injury before, I don’t know exactly what it is, but in two or three days it will be okay,” Escude said.

“If I played today I would only have been about 40 or 50 per cent and I’ve got a grand slam next week so I think it was best not to play.”

Chela will play Max Mirnyi in the semifinals after the Belarussian beat Frenchman Julien Boutter 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of an ATP event for only the third time in his career.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer and rising American teenager Andy Roddick were the only two men’s seeds to make it through to the last four at Sydney’s Olympic tennis centre.

Federer came from behind to defeat former world number one Marcelo Rios 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 while Roddick also fought back to beat Korean Lee Hyung-taik 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 in the best match so far of the tournament.

Lee, ranked 115th in the world, almost pulled off a major upset when he led 3-0 in the third set but Roddick, who climbed from 160 to 16 last year with three tournament wins, won the next four games in a row.

The match swung back in Lee’s favour when he broke, then held serve to lead 5-4 before Roddick won the last three games to seal victory.

GREAT ADMIRER
Federer, whose outstanding performance last year was beating Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, said he was a great admirer of Rios’ game and predicted the Chilean would be a danger at the Australian Open.

“Because he is not seeded he is going to be a nasty first round (opponent),” Federer said.

“It was an experience for me to play against him for the first time. He was number one in the world, so he is something special.”

Roddick said: “In the first set I felt like I was hitting the ball okay but he was bullying me around the court.

“It gets you back into tournament feel ... it’s good to get some quality matches this week before the Australian Open.

“I’m sure I’m going to get in another dog fight against Roger.”

Hingis, who will be chasing her first grand slam title since winning the 1999 Australian Open, said she was delighted by her progress and felt she was getting close to her best.

She dropped an early service game in the first set but held each of her remaining games after switching from a high-kicking serve to a slicing serve.

“I played very smart and didn’t make many unforced errors and that was the key to the game,” the 21-year-old Swiss said.

“I am very happy with the way I am playing, where I am at this point. You can always get better at certain parts in the game but I definitely think I am going in the right direction right now.”

England must learn World Cup lesson - Hussain
By Justin Palmer
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Nasser Hussain believes England must learn from their “shambolic” past World Cup failings to be competitive in next year’s tournament in South Africa.

Speaking at a news conference at Heathrow Airport before his 15-man one-day squad departed for India yesterday, the England captain said: “Sides that have done well in World Cups have had a plan.

“They know what each player’s role in that side is and they stick to it. We have not achieved this and, with the World Cup only a year away, we must start putting that right. We must be pro-active rather than re-active.”

He said England had suffered from “shambolic planning” in the last two tournaments.

England play six one-day internationals in India, where they lost 1-0 in the recent three-Test series. They then play one-day and Test series in New Zealand in February and March.

Hussain said England, who lost 11 successive one-day games before destroying hapless Zimbabwe 5-0 last year, needed to show faith in their players over the next 12 months, hence the retention of youngsters like Matthew Hoggard, James Foster and Richard Dawson who all impressed in India last month.

“Duncan (Fletcher) and I are trying to build a youthful, good-fielding, energetic one-day side,” added Hussain.

“This will be the nucleus because we haven’t got enough cricket to start messing around. The best sides going into the World Cup in previous years have had settled sides.

“We must continue the sort of mentality and team spirit and bonding that this group of lads created in Zimbabwe. Everyone who was out there saw the work ethic we put into nets, training and fielding. Everything gels together when you are winning. You can’t experiment that much.”

Looking ahead to India, Hussain said it was important for England to gain a “psychological hold” over a team they will meet in the group stages of the World Cup.

“It will be important not to be overawed by the occasion. There will be big crowds and it’s important that we take early wickets, especially with Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly being even more prolific in the one-day arena. We will be looking to compete and get a psychological hold,” he added.

The series starts on January 19 in Calcutta, followed by games in Cuttack, Madras, Kanpur, New Delhi and Bombay.

Triangular one-day series starts today
New Zealand, Australia clash at The MCG
By Greg Buckle
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - New Zealand’s draw in the recent Test series against Australia was encouraging but will have little bearing on the upcoming triangular limited overs series, skipper Stephen Fleming said yesterday.

“The team feels good. We’ve looked forward to this series for a long time,” the New Zealand captain told a news conference in Melbourne ahead of the tournament, which also features hosts Australia and South Africa.

“We’re obviously happy with the Test series but we realise it has nothing to do with what’s coming up so we start from scratch.”

New Zealand held the world’s number one Test team Australia to a 0-0 draw in a three-match series in November and December.

Australia host New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament in Melbourne today.

Fleming’s decision to field after winning the toss in hot and humid conditions in a warm-up match in Brisbane on Tuesday against Australia A produced mixed results, but he said the overall message was a positive one.

His bowlers conceded 282 runs for five wickets before the Kiwis replied with 222 all out in 45.3 overs to lose by 60 runs.

Shane Bond was taken to hospital with dehydration and fellow pace bowler Dion Nash suffered a thigh injury but both were recovering well and might play today, Fleming said.

It was hot and I think we realise and the bowlers realise how tough its going to be, he added.

So I was disappointed with the result but delighted with the messages we got.

Fleming said the triangular series would allow New Zealand to measure themselves against two of the best teams in the world and help in selecting a squad for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

I think theres still room for us to move and weve got 12 months to do it with the World Cup coming up, Fleming said.

“We just have to be positive, that is the key thing. That is the way well play our one-day cricket.