Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Glen Lall has an unusual obsession with Fip Motilall



GT Bluetooth: Bluetoothers now convinced that Glenn obsess with Fip. Ever since Fip get a contract in relation to de project that gon mek electricity real cheap and light bill really “light”, Glenn hold on pun he. Never a day pass since and Glenn ain’t loosing Fip.
Never see a man “hold” on pun another man suh! People want fuh know what Fip do mek Glenn ain’t want fuh loose he!

Long ago, is woman does hold on pun man, but now since de place get liberal, man holding on pun man. Remember de big “man to man” wedding a few years back that mek de front pages? Well de way Glenn holding pun Fip, some want fuh know if dem did get married and Glenn frighten divorce! Glenn in he last Sunday paper, holding binoculars looking fuh Fip and he tool. Some seh Glenn sad that Fip desert he and keeping he tool away.

Dem boys seh when Fip come Glenn gon be happy to see de tool. Dem seh Glenn planning a big welcome. Now, with de Blue Power people fast internet, everybody can e-magine. E-magine de scene when Glenn see Fip! De tight hug-up ain’t gon done! E-magine what de people around gon seh! Dem boys seh Glenn done order de song, “Hold me in your Arms”, fuh play when he see Fip.

It look like holding Fip is sweet fuh Glenn. That mek Fip a “sweet man”. A Bluetoother want fuh know if is Fip “sweet man” tendency mek Glenn suh obsessed with he. “Sweet man” does mek other man get vex. It clear that Glenn vex. Suh if yuh see Glenn with plenty “krazy-glue” know that is not de Waterfalls paper tattered reputation he trying to fix. He meking sure that he stay glue to Fip. He gon be singing, “Baby don’t go”! Hmmm!

Badal puts his foot in his mouth.



Robert Badal: Government building hotels with tax payers’ money for leasing to foreign Hotel Chains…while the President misuses our tax dollars for the benefit of his friends


The question in my mind is if Mr. Robert Badal knew all these things were “wrong” with Guyana and “they” needed fixing to have a successful Hotel Investment, why did he invest to the point of borrowing money to purchase the Pegasus?

I would want to think he did conduct a feasibility study on the returns on his investment. What is he trying to say here?

Could it be that he bought the Pegasus with the intention of doing the “bad” streets of Georgetown, or building schools with a computer for every child, or giving us constant electricity, etc. (including everything else he noted, highways, drains, water…) with the profits from his hotel that the govt. couldn’t do?

Or, that even if these “issues” did exist, Guyana wasn’t good enough for investing in a hotel?

During the Burnham years and his PNC ERRORS, the Pegasus thrived, and that was the time Guyana DID suffer chronically with the issues he mentioned, no water, no electricity, no nothing and still Pegasus was there operating. How controversial.

The last time I checked while travelling thru various Caribbean countries; Barbados nor Antigua nor Grenada nor St. Lucia nor Jamaica nor St. Maarten, all major tourist countries, just to name a few, none had better roads, etc. than Georgetown, Guyana, nor did any of them have a school that provided a computer for every child, and they have huge hotels and massive Hotel Chains, to the point where these hotels are “the backbone of their host countries’ economy”.

Sometimes, some people just need to understand that competition is inevitable. With competition, prices are made cheaper for consumers. As far as I can see, Mr. Robert Badal believes in Monopolising the hotel industry in Guyana so he can charge exorbitant rates to make back the money he “borrowed”. That’s not a bad idea, but Guyana does not need a monopoly in any industry, just look at the telecommunication industry in Guyana, GT&T is not alone.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Gary Eleazer was turned away because he failed to meet the security requirement

-State media employees were also denied access because they did not have their GINA press passes.



Kwame Mc Coy: LAST Saturday’s Kaieteur News report titled, `KN reporter refused entry to President’s press conference’ is demonstrative of that newspaper’s unwillingness to subscribe to the rules and regulations governing the media profession in Guyana. It has been a long-established rule that media practitioners, including reporters and cameramen, visiting the Office of the President and State House for assignments, are required to present their Government Information Agency (GINA) press passes to security officials for entry into any of these premises.

GINA is the officially designated agency for accrediting media personnel on application from their media houses and the media passes are countersigned by the Police Commissioner.

Kaieteur News, like all other media houses, is fully aware of this rule. The other 21 media practitioners who attended last Friday’s press conference at the Office of the President had access because they presented their GINA press passes.

It might be instructive to note that Mr. Yohann Earle, reporter of GNNL and Mr. Vishal Seokumar, Studio Supervisor of NCN, were also denied access because they did not have their GINA press pass.

The Kaieteur News reporter, Mr. Gary Eleazer, was turned away because he failed to meet the security requirement.

The Kaieteur News’ declaration that it is not recognising GINA press passes shows that Mr. Eleazer was fully aware that his objective was to challenge the system.

The media is no law unto itself. If we are to set standards then Kaieteur News must follow the rules of the game.

Shit-soon an academic failure-Errol Arthur

Errol Arthur: IN one of his recent columns Freddie Kissoon asks, “Where does the PPP get these people from?”
In the case of Dr. Randy Persaud the short answer is – from the American University in Washington, DC where he is a tenured Professor. He took a year’s sabbatical which he could have used to accept offers to serve in Korea or Japan. He chose, rather, to serve his country. At the end of his assignment he left the country as he entered it – without the fanfare of the less than self assured.

This evidently does not meet the approval of Mr. Kissoon who claims that he was not informed of Dr. Persaud’s duties, but just knows that Dr. Persaud left under questionable circumstances. He claims that he will inform us of the true reasons at some time in the future when he can muster the “delicacy and sensitivity” to do so. One can only hope that he will muster the professional integrity to tell the truth based on facts.
The article raises some disturbing questions about the role of a free press as well as of the premier institution of higher learning in the development and growth of the emergent democracy that is Guyana.
As regards the former, critical scrutiny of the government of the day must be protected at all cost if the transition to transparent and ethical governance, political pluralism and free markets are to be effected.
While it is true that reporters should have the freedom to practice their trade, when they publish lies, half truths, innuendoes, scurrilous and undocumented information they lose some very precious assets – credibility and trust. This result in the negation of precisely what they are trying to achieve. The government then gets away with things it should not get away with because of the shepherd boy and the wolf syndrome. Kissoon’s writings epitomize this state of affairs.
He attempted to disparage the integrity of three men two of whom are long dead and not here to defend themselves. In the case of Mr. Denny he provided no information that is useful to the public so long after the man’s death. It was all malicious gossip that even our rum shop denizens would be embarrassed to be associated with. If Kissoon was trying to show that the man was a failure as Minister of Labour, then he failed miserably to do so.
Titillating tidbits about his personal life serve no useful purpose but to disparage and demean. But then, that was his intent to begin with.
The nation’s university is the training ground for the leaders of the transformation as well as the maintenance of the collective historical gains of the society. A small part of its mission should be to ensure the highest levels of quality, integrity and ethics in all its educational and research functions and to create a climate that is forward looking and conducive to the development and growth of scholarship and research.
The role of a head of a department, which Kissoon is, should be to epitomise the ideals of the university and to create and exploit new opportunities for knowledge transfer. His daily musings show no evidence that he is even vaguely conversant with the basics of scholarship and research. He meanders mindlessly and turns research on its head by starting with a conclusion and then looks for “facts” to support his conclusion. He is never inconvenienced when “facts” do not exist, he simply makes them up.
He is yet to disclose what peer reviewed works of scholarship and research he has published. He chooses to fume childishly that Dr. Persaud has a curriculum vitae that is as long as the Essequibo River. He did not say that there was anything dishonest in any of Dr. Persaud’s work, as indeed he cannot for good reason.
Much of Dr. Persaud’s work was peer reviewed and published in reputable industry journals.
The point is certainly lost on Kissoon but that is a necessary condition for employment in academia.
Those who are charged with the responsibility to educate and train the next generation of leaders must demonstrate the capacity and the temperament to do so.
I would not expect Kissoon to disclose a CV that is as long as the much shorter Abary Creek – one as short as a “four foot” in Hague back dam would suffice, just so long as he discloses it.
His latest foray into this arena was a one page “paper” at the recently concluded historical conference at the Carnegie Library, at which he thoroughly embarrassed himself.

Audit: US can't account for $8.7B in Iraqi funds

BAGHDAD – The U.S. Defense Department is unable to properly account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil money tapped by the U.S. for rebuilding the war ravaged nation, according to an audit released Tuesday.

The report by the U.S. Special Investigator for Iraq Reconstruction offers a compelling look at continued laxness in how such funds are being spent in a country where people complain basic services like electricity and clean water are sharply lacking seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The audit found that shoddy record keeping by the Defense Department left the Pentagon unable to fully account for $8.7 billion it withdrew between 2004 and 2007 from a special fund set up by the U.N. Security Council. Of that amount, Pentagon "could not provide documentation to substantiate how it spent $2.6 billion."

The funds are separate from the $53 billion allocated by Congress for rebuilding Iraq.

The report comes at a critical time for Iraq.

Despite security gains made since 2008, bombings remain near a daily occurrence that compound the frustrations and fears of Iraqis increasingly weary of the current political crisis — one many say reflects how the country's politicians are more interested in their own interests than those of the nation.

Politicians have hit an impasse since inconclusive parliamentary elections were held March 7, unable to form a new government as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, appears determined to stay in office when influential Shiite parties want to see him go.



AFP

The audit cited a number of factors that contributed to the inability to account for most of the money withdrawn by the Pentagon from the Development Fund for Iraq. It said most of the Defense Department organizations that received DFI money failed to set up Treasury Department accounts, as required.

In addition, it said no Defense Department organization was designated as the main body to oversee how the funds were accounted for or spent.

"The breakdown in controls left the funds vulnerable to inappropriate uses and undetected loss," the report said.

The audit found that the U.S. continues to hold about $34.3 million of the money even though it was required to return it to the Iraqi government.

The audit did not indicate that investigators believed there were any instances of fraud involved in the spending of these funds.

The DFI includes revenues from Iraq's oil and gas exports, as well as frozen Iraqi assets and surplus funds from the now-defunct, Saddam Hussein-era oil-for-food program. With the establishment of the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq shortly after the start of the U.S. invasion in 2003 until mid-2004, about $20 billion was placed into the account.

The Iraqi government had agreed to allow the U.S. continued access to the funds after the CPA was dissolved in 2004, but it revoked that authority in December 2007.

Burke tears into the AFC

Rickford Burke: In essence, it is apparent that the AFC intends to go it alone at the polls, as the existence of the lesser parties with whom it seems disposed to negotiate is purely theoretical. They are absent from reality and have no tangible impact on, or relevance to, national life. Further, some of the political, civil society, community, trade union, business and religious leaders with whom it proposes to forge its so-called alliance on an individual basis, have in the past either demonstrated no serious political will or subjected themselves to the influence and manipulation of one political ideology or another. So why must we take them seriously this time? This is the reality, and the people should not be deceived by fanciful diatribe and demagoguery.

Khemraj Ramjattan is a friend whom I respect. But I see no raison d’ĂȘtre in his “no coalition” position and am perplexed that that thinking contends. This is especially so because an analysis of the 2006 general election results will establish that Khemraj Ramjattan as a founding AFC principal had no “real” impact on the AFC vote. Based on traditional voting patterns, the AFC had no meaningful impact in the areas of the country that he perceivably could have influenced because of his personal qualities, orientation and prior political affiliation. The 2006 votes came from traditional PNC strongholds.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Afghan War Leaks Expose Costly Folly

By Ray McGovern



The brutality and fecklessness of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan have been laid bare in an undisputable way just days before the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on whether to throw $33.5 billion more into the Afghan quagmire, when that money is badly needed at home.

On Sunday, the Web site Wikileaks posted 75,000 reports written mostly by U.S. forces in Afghanistan during a six-year period from January 2004 to December 2009. The authenticity of the material – published under the title “Afghan War Diaries” – is not in doubt.

The New York Times, which received an embargoed version of the documents from Wikileaks, devoted six pages of its Monday editions to several articles on the disclosures, which reveal how the Afghan War slid into its current morass while the Bush administration concentrated U.S. military efforts on Iraq.

Wikileaks also gave advanced copies to the British newspaper, The Guardian, and the German newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, thus guaranteeing that the U.S. Fawning Corporate Media could not ignore these classified cables the way it did five years ago with the “Downing Street Memo,” a leaked British document which described how intelligence was "fixed" around President George W. Bush’s determination to invade Iraq.

The Washington Post also led its Monday editions with a lengthy article about the Wikileaks’ disclosure of the Afghan War reports.

Still, it remains to be seen whether the new evidence of a foundering war in Afghanistan will lead to a public groundswell of opposition to expending more billions of dollars there when the money is so critically needed to help people to keep their jobs, their homes and their personal dignity in the United States.

But there may be new hope that the House of Representatives will find the collective courage to deny further funding for feckless bloodshed in Afghanistan that seems more designed to protect political flanks in Washington than the military perimeters of U.S. bases over there.Read more........

AFC a self serving group of people, devoid of principles-Vincent Ellis



Vincent Ellis: Readers are reminded that the formation of the AFC was also seen in similar inconsistent fashion and disregard for decent politics. It was Raphael Trotman, Khemraj Ramjattan and Sheila Holder who squatted on the PNC, PPP and WPA seats, formed the AFC and campaigned as AFC members even as they earned taxpayers income as PPP, PNC and WPA parliamentarians. People need to pay closer attention to the modus operandi of the AFC and voters need to see the AFC for what it is – a self serving group of people, devoid of principles and not to be trusted. This is not the new politics Guyana should crave.

Ramjattan/Trotman indifferences result in AFC/PNC merger collapse





Just like the AFC platform did in 2006, AFC/PNC coalition talks collapsed after leaders of both parties were unable to settle their differences over various aspects of the intended merger.
We understand that as a pre-condition to any agreement the PNC leadership insisted that it maintains the supreme role in any partnership between itself and the AFC owing to the fact that it is the largest opposition party. Though this position found favour with Raphael Trotman, rival AFC leader, Khemraj Ramjattan disapproved and urged also that any agreement with the PNC be put in 'ink and paper' as according to him 'the PNC has a history of not keeping promises'.

Up to this point the two were unable to find agreement and in an effort to downplay the existing tensions within its leadership the AFC subsequently released a statement in which says that it "will not form alliances or partnerships with either the governing PPP/C or the main opposition PNCR for the 2011 general elections"

Marriott-branded hotel good for Guyana-Cara Hotel C.E.O



The Chief Executive Officer of Cara Hotels, Paul Stephenson has described as "unfortunate" a reaction by the owner of the Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal, to the planned construction of a Marriott-branded hotel in Guyana.

While Mr. Stephenson said he was unaware of the deal with Marriott, he said that the presence of any internationally-flagged hotel would be good for the country.

"If they've done their due-diligence and they feel that Guyana is a destination that they would like to open an international flag and have a presence here, overall that would give the international traveller, be it business or tourist persons, a positive image of Guyana that we have international endorsement by a major company," he said.

Operating hotels in Guyana and in Trinidad and Tobago altogether for more than 20 years, the Cara CEO urged Guyanese hoteliers to aggressively market their properties to confront competition from bigger international hotels.

"They need to get more proactive in their marketing, they need to get more proactive in increasing their standards of operation to compete," said Stephenson.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

How Stabroek News came about the 'third term' meeting story.



One Saturday during last month the President along with the Prime Minister, a few government ministers and some senior members of the ruling party decided to meet for a gaffe at Freedom House. One member of the group sent a member of the Freedom House security staff to purchase some egg balls across the road. However, Dennis Chabrol of Demerara Waves noticed the vehicles outside Freedom House and began pestering the guard for information on what was taking place.

In an effort to stave off Chabrol's incessant pestering the guard sarcastically related that a third term meeting was taking place.
Chabrol relayed this info to Stabroek News who then injected their own opinion and continues to stand by this comical falsity.

Break-away PNC group seeks partnership for 2011 elections

-Winston Murray at the helm

The break-away faction from the PNC that includes Winston Murray, Van West Charles, Aubrey Norton and Aubrey Armstrong has initiated a process aimed at creating a broad Partnership to contest next year’s general elections.

It released to selective media houses a document containing the draft of a protocol and six principles which are intended to stimulate vigorous discussions prior to formalizing a Partnership for the 2011 polls.

Winston Murray said that an announcement would be made shortly of how interested members of the public and the diaspora can share their opinions on this initiative.

One of the proposed principles would see a list of presidential candidates being drawn up and the Preparatory Committee considering the conduct of a professional opinion poll as one way of obtaining views on who is best suited to be Head of State.

The group, describing themselves as ordinary citizens who wish to help in making Guyana a better place for all, said the document proposes the setting up of a Preparatory Committee. “Membership of this Committee should reflect differences of race, ethnicity and gender” and include not more than 30 persons with no more than three persons representing each political party. Taking account of religious, cultural and skills-based concerns it is proposed that the Committee should contain no more than three persons representing each of the following interests: youth, business, advocacy, trade unions and civil society.

It is further proposed that at its inaugural meeting the Committee should examine and approve an agenda, elect a chairperson from its membership, create mechanisms and procedures for its work and consider adoption of the protocol.

Even cutting grass is a problem for Hammie



CLEARLY exasperated with the latest garbage disposal crisis swamping City Hall, President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday signalled that the government has no alternative but to help out a “visionless City Council.”
“We will have to continue to help,” he told reporters, adding that the relevant Cabinet ministers have been told to be as helpful as possible.“…but we are just tired of this sort of nitpicking and lack of focus” in City Hall, he said at a press conference at the Office of the President complex.

Garbage has been piling up in some sections of the city because contracted collection companies owed monies have stopped services.
President Jagdeo pointed out that the government has spent billions of dollars in maintaining the city -- fixing roads, cleaning parapets, paying to collect garbage, cleaning canals, putting in new drainage pumps, digging outfalls and other projects.
The city cannot be neglected, and an important section of the population lives in the capital, he stated, adding that “often what happens in the city is a reflection of what’s taking place in the country.”
Mr. Jagdeo pointed to the construction boom in the city, and said there has been an “explosion in requests for permits for new buildings.”
It is a growing city, with the private sector putting up better, nicer buildings and more modern facilities, but unfortunately, this is not matched by the vision within City Hall to meet this growth, he said.
He deplored the constant squabbling at City Hall, where he said council meetings are dominated by quarrels over matters like overseas trips and who allowed stalls to be built on roadsides. It’s never “about this new modern city that we need to all work towards,” the President charged.
He said “little things” can be done to improve the city. “If we cut the grass and remove some of the garbage, the city will look different; but a simple thing as just cutting the grass becomes a major rocket science task for the City Council,” he said.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Guyana & Venezuela sign five bilateral agreements.

-Jagdeo given key to capital city


Palacio de Miraflores, Caracas .- The governments of Venezuela and Guyana yesterday signed five important agreements on bilateral cooperation in the framework of the official visit to Caracas President Bharrat Jagdeo.

The first agreement initialed a record of commitment to increase 50 thousand tons of paddy rice by 20 000 tonnes of milled rice.



A memorandum of understanding was signed for the supply of 4000 metric tons of urea beaded by Venezuela to Guyana.

Also signed a memorandum of understanding which will see Venezuela supplying jet fuel A-1 to Guyana and a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a committee on prevention, investigation and settlement of fishing incidents.
President Jagdeo was given a warm welcome and the keys to Caracas during a function at Plaza Bolivar, following his arrival in the Venezuelan capital.

Former PNC Parliamentarian spied for Iran.

Abdul Kadir
New York- The trial of two men accused of plotting to attack Kennedy International Airport took an unexpected twist on Wednesday when prosecutors suggested that one of the men, a former government official in Guyana, spent decades secretly working as an Iranian spy — passing along information about the country’s economy, foreign policy and military to Iranian officials.
The former government official, Abdul Kadir, admitted under cross-examination that he drafted regular reports for the Iranian ambassador to Venezuela, which included details like the low morale in the Guyanese army.
The documents he drafted included a five-year development plan to promote Islam in Guyana, which included references to infiltrating the military, police and other government agencies.
Mr. Kadir appeared surprised by the direction of the questioning, and after initially denying that he was in contact with Iranian officials, admitted to it after being confronted with the material he had written. Nevertheless, he said he was not a spy, saying he was focused instead on promoting Islam. “Is it fair to say you’re a spy for the Iranian government?” asked Marshall L. Miller, the lead federal prosecutor on the case.
“No sir,” replied Mr. Kadir.
Mr. Kadir was arrested three years ago while traveling to Iran, where he had traveled several times before and where his children had been educated.
A flash drive he was carrying included photos of him and his children posing with guns, which prosecutors suggested he would use to suggest his willingness to stage an attack but which he said were just toys.
The revelations caught trial observers off guard and prompted questions about the decision by his lawyers to put Mr. Kadir, a Muslim convert who was mayor of Linden, the second largest city in Guyana, before serving in Parliament, on the stand.
Until Wednesday he had appeared to be a secondary figure in the trial, with most of the focus on his co-defendant Russell De Freitas, who was captured on audio recordings talking extensively about his plans to blow up the fuel tanks at Kennedy Airport, where he used to work as a cargo handler.


Wednesday, July 21, 2010

What Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, Christopher Ram and Clive Thomas won't want you to know.



Of course the pessimists, economic experts and doomsday news bearers will not want you to know, that despite the picture of negativity which they continue to paint, Guyana continues to fear well in the latest assessment by the Millennium Challenge Corporation(M.C.C).
The Millennium Challenge Corporation or M.C.C as it is called, is an innovative and independent US foreign aid agency created by the US Congress in 2004 that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.

The selection of countries as eligible for MCC assistance is determined by MCC's Board of Directors . Transparency regarding the process and criteria that govern selection of country partners and that inform the Board’s eventual decisions is a hallmark of the MCC model. For a country to be selected as eligible for an MCC assistance program, it must demonstrate a commitment to policies that promote political and economic freedom, investments in education and health, the sustainable use of natural resources, control of corruption, and respect for civil liberties and the rule of law, as measured by 17 different policy indicators.

In its latest assessment under the policy category of 'Ruling Justly' Guyana received scores of:

92%-Political Rights

89%-Civil Liberties


76%-Control of Corruption


95%-Government Effectiveness


61%-Rule of Law

89%-Voice and Accountability

See Guyana's score sheet here

AFC sends errand boy to meet 7 supporters in Moruca.


Dominic Gaskin talking to AFC supporters in Moruca

The AFC, by their own admission, was last Wednesday forced to send errand boy, Dominic Gaskin, to meet their 7 supporters in Moruca in light of repeated exposure of infighting and other internal ramblings by the state media.

At the meeting Gaskin handed out 5 AFC leaflets, 3 bottles of Ivanoff Vodka and $10,000 to each person present. The meeting lasted for 3 hours during which Trotman's reasons for wanting to remain leader and presidential candidate of the party was also explained at length by Gaskin.

Where was the U.S when innocent citizens were under siege from criminals?



Where was outgoing US Charge D’Affaires, Karen Williams when gunmen out of the Buxton/Agricola areas marauding under the label of 'African Resistance/Freedom Fighters' given to them by their political masters went on a rampage across several East Coast Villages, Bartica, Lusignan, Agricola and Lindo Creek killing hundreds of innocent citizens that included women and children?



Where was Karen Williams when policemen were the targets of these criminals and their political masters.


Where was she when a sense of fear permeated some sections of society while others were rendered hapless victims as those tasked with 'serving and protecting', as part of a wider political agenda, became complicit? Where was the US when innocent citizens were under siege?

Hammie's inept leadership, corruption & over staffing are the reasons for City Hall's current state.



City Mayor, Hamilton Green's attempts to convey the impression that the current crisis the Georgetown City Council finds itself in is as a result of the Government's deliberate withholding of funds and strangulation of every attempt to widen the city's revenue base is far from the truth.
Rather, it is Hammie's inept leadership combined with the fact that City Hall is overstaffed, plagued by corruption that runs from top to bottom and has a revenue collection process that is archaic at best and encourages theft, that has contributed to what has now become an endemic plaguing the city .
Just imagine City Hall has a wage bill of $75 million a month coupled with 900 employees! This makes the City Council the largest corporation in the city and more so-the largest corporation doing what?
We hardly see people in the streets cleaning and even those in the streets, they don’t have rakes, they don’t have shovels, they don’t have long boots, they don’t have protective clothing, nothing.

As for the Mayor's complaint that the government owes the Council money, which we learnt amounts to some $100 million; given that City Hall has a monthly wage bill of $75 million, this figure accounts for the City Council paying just one month’s wage.
Further, the money that the government owes is for an entire year and two payments have already been made.
The government also takes care of major services in the city such as sewerage, water, health, electricity and repairs to roads, while all the City Council has to do is clean the drains, pick up the garbage, look after the markets. So how is Hammie managing the city?
It seems that most of the money that is being collected from the people of Georgetown is being used to pay salaries and run the offices; nothing else. Instead of traveling the World Hamilton Green should settle down to manage the affairs of the City.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Scenes from the Kuwaiti PM's visit to Guyana









SKUNT of the day: Sasenarine Singh


Top 10 Reasons why I'm a Skunt!

  1. I beat up my wife.
  2. I put her and our children out of the house.
  3. Took her back when I find out she get government scholarship.
  4. Got fired from all 27 jobs they gave me.
  5. Got her pregnant when there was a chance, that she may not take me to Manchester.
  6. I applied for the Minister of Finance job.
  7. I suffer from delusions of grandeur.
  8. Turned against government when they refused to pay for my Phd.
  9. I'll do anything to get power even join the evil PNC and opportunistic AFC.
  10. I'm consumed by bitterness and can't control myself - "Corbin please take me"

Kaieteur News an annoyance to decency.

Roshan Khan: I WISH to state that as one trying hard to live a life always within the law, and all aspects of the law, inclusive of GRA and NIS expectations, I always find it distasteful how the Kaieteur News carries one-sided articles against people, merely as allegations, without a proper investigation or seeking the opinion of the other side. Then, when talking of the President, while one has a right to disagree, to use nasty and distasteful language to describe the President of a nation, makes that publication bereft of protocol, and becomes an annoyance to decency.

This writer also had to file a lawsuit against the Editor and Publisher of this Vindictive Broadsheet, which is more like an anti-governmental publication based on allegations and innuendo. While I cannot discuss the matter at this forum due to the “archaic sub-judice’ provision of law (which I think needs to be eliminated in modern civilization), the fact remains that, despite this writer asked the editor for an opportunity to rebut the article of nonsensical and baseless allegation, which included character assassination - even the publisher was written to by someone known to him for years, and he refused because of some historical unintelligible reason, according to the editor, who spoke for him.

When one publishes a national newspaper, or owns an electronic media, one has responsibilities to the nation for not merely being an attacker and anti-government protagonist, and this alludes to any government, but to be precise, professional, fair, and to listen to the other side. Failing which it becomes allegations and tantamount to character assassination.

For too long Freddie, using this last media house, and is probably tolerated because of his mental shenanigans, and hate of the Government - and if it is not by rational citizens, he has been ‘anti-any government because, even though he says he loved the WPA, he is anti-WPA it appears, and like the Government, any Government, to make him their President’s President, as he tries to dictate the system of Governance for the Government in power, the system of the United nations, the system of God; and the Police Commissioner must make him his Commissioner as he also wishes to dictate to the Commissioner how he should work.

The only person he is wary of offending is Glen Lall, and he is condemned to toe the line there, because if he causes offence to the man who pays his way he will have to WALK. And seeing the way he has become persona non-grata for almost all of the print and electronic media, he would have no other means of bashing all and sundry. He wants to dictate to the Government of the USA HOW THEY MUST BRING DOWN THE Guyana Government.

Mr. President, sue!!!!, and sue again, and again, and again and again, over and over. This is probably the right medicine. Lawsuits, over and over!!!

While I have no political alliance, I have friends almost everywhere, but whichever the political camp, I always prefer excellent decorum and respect, with political campaigns being orderly, and respectful of the opposing teams, those in and out of power. This is why I never took an open political choice

Monday, July 19, 2010

Paper claims to have won US ambassador's $5,000 wager

After the US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones claimed that no journalist has ever been jailed in US history for expressing political views, putting forward a $5,000 bet to anyone who could prove that any US administration had jailed a journalist for expressing political opinions, local newspaper Al-Rai has taken up the challenge.

When Al-Rai suggested to Ambassador Jones that the recent dismissal of longtime CNN reporter Octavia Nasr over her expression of condolences on the death of Shiite scholar Mohammad Fadlallah disproved this claim, Ambassador Jones insisted that this was a separate issue and that any private institution in the US has the right to take whatever action it deems fit against an employee who has violated company policy.

Ambassador Jones made the wager after condemning the recent imprisonment of Kuwaiti columnist Mohammad Al-Jassem by a local court. In a bid to win the bet, Al-Rai cited several cases in which journalists were jailed in the US, not necessarily for statements of opinion but for refusing to disclose certain information, which the paper would qualify as their being imprisoned for political viewpoints.

In 2005, the paper pointed out, New York Times journalist Judith Miller was jailed after refusing to reveal her sources in a case that led to the exposure of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Preliminary investigations in this case revealed that officials of [former US President] George W. Bush's administration had intentionally leaked Plame's identity as retaliation for the stance taken by her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, when he criticized the exaggeration of intelligence information on Iraq's weapons of
mass destruction, which was used to justify the 2003 invasion. Miller was released after three months of imprisonment when it was revealed that the source who leaked the information was Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, the Chief of Staff for former US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Meanwhile, Al-Rai continued, a simple online search revealed a notorious case in US history, back in 1734, when American journalist John Peter Zenger was imprisoned after writing articles in the New York Weekly Journal in which he attacked the "corruption" of the then-New York governor who allied himself with the British colonists. This case is, however, not considered by most to be a violation of the laws of journalistic freedom in the US since it took place prior to the nation's declaration of independen
ce in 1776.

Another case, however, this time in 1847, saw New York Herald journalist John Nugent imprisoned, initially in the Capitol Building by Senate members, after he refused to reveal his sources in leaking confidential details of the Guadalupe-Hidalgo agreement that ended the US-Mexican war, which was still classified as a top secret document at the time. Nugent was subsequently jailed for a month without trial, although he was later released over concerns about his health.

Three years before this, in 1844, another American journalist, Richard Hargreaves, was accused of defamation against the chairman of the board of trustees of St. Clair County, Illinois, based on a report published in the Belleville News Democrat, in which Hargreaves accused the chairman of fraud and of lying to voters.

In 1991, meanwhile, four journalists were jailed for a number of hours after they failed to testify in the trial of former South Carolina Senator J.M. 'Bud' Long, who was charged with corruption. In a similar incident in 1949, journalist Liza Abraham was jailed for 22 days for abstaining from supplying her testimony concerning an interview she previously conducted with a US official facing corruption charges.

Most recently, meanwhile, freelance journalist Joshua Wolfe was jailed in 2006 after refusing to hand over a collection of videotapes he recorded in July 2005 which reportedly showed a suspect setting a police car on fire. In this case, Wolf spent 226 days in jail after opting to exercise his constitutional right under the first amendment to freedom of speech.

Al-Rai argued that the above cases all offer proof that American journalists have indeed previously been jailed for reasons connected to their political stance and is claiming to have won the bet put forward by Ambassador Jones, who has so far failed to respond to the newspaper's claim.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Youth-oriented training programme boosts labour market by 200

TWO HUNDRED youths are now empowered to join the workforce, having completed training under the residential Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) programme conducted at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports’ Kuru Kuru Training Centre.
The 2009-2010 batch of students graduated at a ceremony Friday at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway after having successfully completed the ten-month residential course.

The programme seeks to provide opportunities for youths to develop their talents in cultural activities, sports and confidence building, and entrepreneurial skills through practice, in order that they become well-rounded individuals.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport, Alfred King presents a gift to one of the graduates of the YEST programme


The students graduated in nine subject areas including business studies, carpentry, electrical installation, joinery, masonry, motor mechanics, plumbing and sheet metal, welding and fabrication and garment construction.
Delivering the feature address, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony stated that the programme offers youths a chance to become employable and ensure that they are equipped for the work environment.
He urged that they make every effort to ensure that they use the skills and knowledge that they have garnered to effect positive changes in their lives.
The Minister commended the teachers and other staff of the YEST programme for their hard work and tireless efforts to overcome the challenges that they have encountered in executing their duties to ensure that the students were successful.
Minister Anthony told them of how proud he was to receive reports of past students of the centre making tremendous contributions to their communities.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, Permanent Secretary, Alfred King, Project Manager of the United Nations Development Programme, Trevor Clark and other executives of the Youth Ministry pose with the graduates of the Kuru Kuru Training Centre, Soesdyke/Linden Highway



Eleven trainees from the motor-mechanics course wrote and passed the driving exam, which was a pilot test by the Ministry.
Minister Anthony stated that this is another opportunity for them to be marketable for jobs that require a driver’s licence.
The objectives of the programme are to provide education and training to youths from all the regions of Guyana, and encourage interaction among youths from various environments.

Progress Vs hate propaganda

TWO SIGNIFICANT events pertaining to Guyana's future economic development took place last week -- one in New York, the other in Shanghai, Republic of China.
They both should have the effect, hopefully, of checking the flow of emotional criticisms, malicious misinformation, and worse, by a combination of frustrated politicians and parties, as well as those propagandists of 'gutter journalism' obsessed with 'bad-mouthing' the government of this nation.
First, there was the joint official announcement in New York by President Jagdeo and Norway's Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, on the latest progress in the establishment of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund, popularly referred to as 'GRIF'.
Under this Fund, Norway intends to contribute up to US$250 million to help in the protection of Guyana's vast forest resources, consistent with the government's visionary climate change programme that has attracted much positive international interest.
With the creation of GRIF, Norway will deliver, by month-end, an initial payment of US$30 million of its originally disclosed US$250 million commitment over a five-year period (2010-2015).
The Norwegian Prime Minister and President Jagdeo were at the time in New York for the second meeting of the United Nations Secretary-General's high-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing.
This financing initiative by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is designed to raise a US$100 billion target to assist developing countries to confront the challenges of climate change.
Secondly, while in Shanghai, as head of CARICOM's delegation to China's massive 'Expo 2010', President Jagdeo signed a ‘framework agreement’ for another major government programme geared to boost Guyana's economic development -- the Amaila Falls hydropower project.
As announced by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh in Parliament on Tuesday while President Jagdeo was still in Shangai, the arrangements for funding this project (which had also been misrepresented by critics, and scoffed at by political opponents) should be concluded within a year, if not earlier.
Involved in financing the Amaila Falls project are the China Development Bank and China Railway First Group Company Limited; Guyana Power and Light Incorporated; and Sithe Global Amaila Holdings Limited.
The intellectually bankrupt, and those whose hatred against the government drive them to misrepresent or emotionally oppose every major effort by the government to help advance the social and economic progress of the nation may be incapable to at least recognise the value of two very significant developments that occurred in the past week in New York and Shangai.
Nevertheless, thanks to international commitment, as primarily demonstrated to date by the governments of Norway and China, solid arrangements have been laid to push ahead with plans for the realisation of Guyana's visionary climate change programme and the Amaila hydro-power project.
Irrespective of prevailing unfortunate political misunderstandings and divisions, Guyana, as a whole, stands to benefit from the arrangements in place for realisation of the major GRIF and Amaila Falls projects.

Kuwait Prime Minister on official visit to Guyana



Guyana and Kuwait are to sign five bilateral agreements when the prime minister of that country, Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al Ahmed Al-Jaber Al Sabah, visits this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed.

The Kuwaiti PM is expected here tomorrow for a brief visit.

In a statement issued yesterday the ministry said the prime minister will be accompanied by high ranking officials of his government including a senior minister in the office of the Emir, the Deputy Prime Minister, ministers of Finance and Commerce, and private sector members.

“While in Guyana, the Prime Minister and delegation will conduct discussions with President Bharrat Jagdeo and senior government officials,” the release said.

Nasser is currently on an official tour of the Caribbean and Latin America and his visit to Guyana follows Jagdeo’s to Kuwait in January when the parties signed two cooperation agreements and a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of official talks.

Kuwait News Agency had reported that Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah signed an agreement to bolster cultural ties between the two countries with Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, while Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shimali and Rodrigues-Birkett signed an agreement on encouraging bilateral investments.

The MoU, on political consultations, was signed by the Guyanese foreign minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.

Upon his return to Guyana President Jagdeo had disclosed that following a meeting with the Kuwait Fund, Guyana had agreed to do a feasibility study and submit a project proposal for an infrastructure project up to US$10 million. He had said infrastructure in the housing sector was likely one of the areas where the funds would be directed.
In February the two countries held a second round of negotiations to finalise an agreement regarding the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion.

The double taxation agreement will ensure that no resident of Guyana or Kuwait pays the same taxes twice on remuneration or money which attracts taxation in either country.

Talks on the agreement started in October 2005.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Here's an example of libel and slander that escaped the 'opportunistic' eyes of Kevin Etwaroo and Nigel Westmaas.



Under the caption "Is the DPP defending Phantom killers/drug lords and terrorists?" the following,, along with a picture of the Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs Shalimar Ali-Hack is currently posted on the guyanaobservernews.org, a website run and owned by Presidential hopeful, Mark Benschop:

"It's time that the US State Department investigate the fundings of the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG), this group is said to have protected terrorists, drug lords and other known criminals in Guyana. They are one of the most racist groups in Guyana that is being protected by King Kong Jagdeo and senior criminals within the Guyana Police Force. Is it therefore safe for people to conclude that the DPP is now acting as a proxy for the CIOG? After all, her husband is second in command."

See for yourselves here: http://www.guyanaobservernews.org/content/view/3397/1/

Propaganda Press and Benschop's website should also be censored.



Brian Azore: PLEASE allow me the space and time to respond to Kevin Etwaroo’s missive captioned “Web site malicious and libelous” published in the Kaieteur News on July 16, 2010.
Mr. Etwaroo’s call for the blogsite liveinguyana.blogspot.com to be deleted and removed from the webpage run by Google is understandable, given that his justification for such an action is its alleged publication of libelous and slanderous material.
But such a call should also be extended to the other blogsites which carry out similar actions.
Notable among these is the Guyanaobservernews.com, a site run by Presidential hopeful Mark Benschop. On a daily basis anti-government propaganda, slander and libelous material targeting the Commissioner of Police, President, various government ministers as well as persons connected to the ruling PPP/C, is dished out in this site. In one instance the response of officials to the death of T.S.U rank Vickram Singh was used to incite racial hostility. Another one that comes to mind is propagandapress.wordpress.com, the content of which I will not reprint in this letter.
Where was Kevin Etwaroo when internet users had to endure the putrid and often scandalous outpourings on livinguyana.blogspot, another ‘malicious and libelous’ blogsite allegedly run by persons connected to the opposition media as well as the proprietor of a well known cafĂ©?

Speaker reprimands PNC/R M.P for inaccurate statement on Treasury Memorandum


PNC/R MP Volda Lawrence

Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran has advised Members of Parliament (MPs) to consult with the Clerk, Sherlock Isaacs, or the Parliament Office before making public assertions or accusations.
This statement came subsequent to the publication of an article in the Kaieteur News in which People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) MP and Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Volda Lawrence, purported that the delay in issuing of the most recent Treasury Memorandum is an indication of the contemptuous nature of the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. The Speaker said that Lawrence is not accurate and that the Treasury Memorandum was lodged with the Clerk of the National Assembly on June 14. However, due to the fact that yesterday’s sitting was the first since that date, it could not have been laid at an earlier date.
A report on the Public Accounts Committee for the period 2004-2005 was adopted in Parliament in March.
The Committee comprises members of both sides of the House working together with one objective, which is to ensure that the funds and properties of the State are properly accounted for.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Framework agreement for the Amaila Falls hydropower project was signed in Shanghai, China



A framework agreement for the Amaila Falls hydropower project was signed in Shanghai, China yesterday, with President Bharrat Jagdeo in attendance.

The agreement formalizes the cooperation between the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated, Sithe Global Amaila Holdings Limited, the China Development Bank, and the China Railway First Group Company Limited. “It sets out the parties’ intention to reach financial closure on the Amaila Falls project within 12 months or ideally sooner”, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh told the National Assembly yesterday, saying also that it was a “historic moment.” President Jagdeo is in China as part of a Caricom delegation.

“The Amaila Falls project is the biggest infrastructure investment in our country’s history. From the start of it operations, it will provide value to Guyanese citizens and the wider economy through cheaper electricity, while simultaneously enabling Guyana to switch from nearly 100% dependence on fossil fuel sources for electricity generation to nearly 100% clean, renewable energy sources”, the Minister said.

He pointed out that 20 years after it begins operation, the hydro-plant will be transferred to the people of Guyana at zero additional cost, thereby “bequeathing long-term independence, national competitiveness and environmental sustainability to our children and future generations”. Singh said that the project will involve utilizing less than 0.001% of the State Forest area. “The government is firmly committed to ensuring that the project complies with both national and international social and environmental safeguards”, said the Minister.

Singh was, at the time updating the National Assembly on the establishment of the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) and the progress on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and he said that in 2010 and 2011, between US$40M and US$60M will be invested as equity in the Amaila Falls hydropower project.

He recalled that on Tuesday, Jagdeo and Norway’s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg announced that the GRIF will be operational within the coming month. He said that Guyana wants to see a legally binding treaty agreed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as soon as possible but pending the agreement of such a treaty, the government supports a number of interim measures. The minister pointed out that Guyana has endorsed the Copenhagen Accord, supports the Interim REDD+ Partnership and there is the Norway agreement.

Norway intends to pay US$250M by 2015 for Guyana’s forest climate services. Brazil’s Amazon Fund –atUS$1B by 2015 – is larger, Singh said. “However, relative to the size of the forest covered by the agreement, the Guyana-Norway agreement is by far the world’s most valuable agreement of its kind”.

Singh said that the GRIF will support the implementation of priority LCDS investments from 2010 to 2015, unless it is superseded by an agreed UNFCCC or other international mechanism. The GRIF will be established to meet two objectives.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

City's current financial situation a result of Hamilton Green's reluctance to slash city's workforce.

-City council has 900 employees who mostly do nothing and are not properly equipped



Local Government Minister, Kellawan Lall, yesterday said that a health crisis in the city would be as a result of Mayor Hamilton Green's reluctance to slash jobs in an effort to meet City Council expenses, including paying garbage contractors.
Waste Disposal contractors, Puran Brothers, Waste Disposal Service Cevons Waste Management Incorporated, and Crawler and Wheeler Waste Disposal Service, on June 21, made good on their threat to withdraw their services from the Georgetown municipality. The contractors are owed $75 million.
Yesterday, Lall turned the heat on the Mayor, saying that instead of traveling he should settle down to manage the affairs of the City.
Lall said that he is not willing to listen to anything the Council has to say unless the Council talks about cutting staff.
“The Mayor is not talking about how he is going to cut a wage bill of $75 million a month. He has to deal with that problem…Going here and there and getting a few more dollars will not help,” Lall lashed out yesterday.
The Mayor has complained that the government owes the Coucnil money, but Lall said that even if the government owes the council $100 million, that accounts for the City Council paying just one month’s wage. The money that the government owes is for an entire year, and Lall said two payments have already been made.
“Whenever the money is due to the City Council from Central government in rates and taxes we pay,” Lall stated, even suggesting that there is no formal agreement when the money is to be paid, but that this is worked out with the Ministry of Finance.
“I have been urging the Mayor to cut the staff,” Lall stated. With 900 employees, he said, this makes the City Council the largest corporation in the city, “doing what?”
“…We can hardly see people in the streets cleaning and even those in the streets, they don’t have rakes, they don’t have shovels, they don’t have long boots, they don’t have protective clothing, nothing. How is he managing the city? I don’t think it is fair to ask central government to do these things. I think they have to seriously look at the staff and the peripheral services they are subsidizing,” Lall declared.
Lall said that the Mayor has been trying to get more money by asking the minister to stop the waiver on taxes to religious and educational institutions, but Lall has refused, saying he would never do that.
“That is just scraping the barrel,” Lall countered. He said the government takes care of major services in the city such as sewerage, water, health, electricity and repairs to roads, while all the City Council has to do is: “clean the drains, pick up the garbage, look after the markets.”
“Most of the money that is being collected from the people of Georgetown is being used to pay salaries and run the offices; nothing else.

Almost daily government agencies & officials are forced to respond to miasmic mess from the Kaieteur News New Nation



For this week alone i've counted at least 8 times state agencies have been forced to take time off from serious business to respond to SKUNT carried by Kaieteur News New Nation.

And for those who don't know or can't remember what the PNC news paper looks like..........read Kaieteur News!

Freddie Shit-soon's articles are the outpourings of a bitter, sour puss.

Anna Goodridge: THE libel case that the President has brought against Kaieteur News, its Chief Editor and Columnist, Freddie Kissoon, has been long in coming and no one I’m sure is surprised by this.
Mr. Kissoon has been allowed to go on long rants and rampages about the President, the government and other individuals at will, and with the consent and approval of his co-defendants in this matter, for way too long.

Not only has he spewed filth at every possible investment initiative that has been put forth, but he has ferociously and repeatedly personally attacked the character of the Head of State on numerous occasions and should be made to pay for this. He is bitter and his every written word in the daily Kaieteur Newspaper is indicative of this and shows a complete and total lack of proper journalistic ethics.
Not to mention he is allowed to go on these rampages of personal attacks on a daily basis by the publisher and editor of the newspaper, who ultimately have the final say as to what is printed within the pages of this publication.
I support this move by the President, if it’s only to teach these three individuals a much needed lesson on professional ethics and responsible journalism.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010



Hamilton Green: No names were put up for a Presidential candidate at PNCR general council meeting.


You have no shame to use such words: “in order to rid ourselves of a creeping dictatorship”.

I understand that you have turned to religion, that might be a good thing.

But do tell us what you have done to rid us of your party's 28 years of repressive rule.
And while you're at it you should first step down from the position you you continue to occupy for years despite the absence of elections.
You see dear Hammie, your words are hallow.
And, since you had an epiphany and developed a particular likeness for quotes, here is one from Mahatma Gandhi; “No doubt religion has to answer for some of the most terrible crimes in history. But that is the fault not of religion but of the ungovernable brute in man”.

SKUNT OF THE DAY: Dennis Denise Chabrol



This SKUNT is a self-explanatory one!

13 single mothers receive WOW cheques

As efforts intensify to assist and improve the living conditions of the vulnerable sections in society, 13 single parents drawn from different parts of the country yesterday received individual cheques of varying sums, signalling hope and confidence for a brighter future. The ceremony at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), Water Street Branch, at which the Human Services Minister, Priya Manickchand presented the cheques, highlighted the PPP/C government’s commitment towards bringing relief and support to single parents, particularly women, allowing them an opportunity to make a significant contribution to economic development.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand (fourth from left) flanked by representatives of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and first group of beneficiaries of the WOW programme.


Speaking at the presentation, Minister Manickchand emphasised that this facility will enable women to access financial assistance in a manner which they formerly would have not been able to do.
She stressed that because of this easier way of financing, women will now be able to contribute to the development of the country, pointing out that they are the more vulnerable sections of society.
“We can do so at a more rapid pace if we make sure that all of our people are able to access all of Guyana’s resources; we know that women generally are more vulnerable to harsh circumstances and so it makes you less likely to be able to proceed at the same pace like our male counterparts,” she said.
“The Ministry and the GBTI stand ready and are willing to assist you with any problems that you might have,” Minister Manickchand said.
Staff of the Human Services Ministry and the Bank will be in Berbice on Saturday and Essequibo next Wednesday to make the facility accessible to women there.
The first beneficiaries are Simone Primo, Roxanne Williamson, Teresa Yong, Shivauna Marciano, Oney Forde, Mary Merciano, Vanessa Estwick, Mariska Trotman, Denise Warrick, Lauretta Applesammy, Shondell Adams, Nicola John and Donna Breedy.
The loans, which range from $100,000 to $250,000 will be used to establish businesses in the areas of rearing broiler chicks, groceries, hair and nail supplies, clothing and a salon.
The Ministry also approved 92 other applicants who will receive their cheques shortly.
The Women of Worth (WOW) project is a single parent financial facility launched by President Bharrat Jagdeo on June 4 at the Guyana International Conference Centre.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Freddie Shit-soon, Adumbrated Jackass & KN prevented from spewing shit /miasmic mess by High Court



The Acting Chief Justice yesterday granted an interim injunction in favour of President Bharrat Jagdeo against KN columnist, Freddie Kissoon, its Editor-in-chief Adam Harris and the National Media and Publishing Company preventing them from publishing statements in an article written by Kissoon and published on June 28th 2010 under the caption “King Kong sent his goons to disrupt the conference" in which Kissoon falsely and maliciously wrote :

“…One of the greatest ironies in Guyanese history occurred in that room last Saturday. My paper was a comparative examination of the factor of race in the presidencies of Forbes Burnham, Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Desmond Hoyte and Bharrat Jagdeo. My conclusion is that the previous presidents except Hoyte played up to their ethnic constituencies but missing from their policies was any ingrained instinct of ideological racism. I posited that the difference with the Jagdeo presidency is that his exercise of power is driven by the practice of ideological racism.
How ironic was the moment in that room. My paper was on the anti-African racism of the ruling elites but those very elites sent six African Guyanese to disrupt a presentation based on an elaboration on how African Guyanese are being discriminated in their own country. The contempt for African Guyanese by an Indian racist regime has reached horrible levels. This cabal runs Guyana in favour of the East Indian population but uses their very victims to bolster their diminishing power base. Where else in the world would you find another manifestation of this particular political pathology?
The man who threw the filthy substance on me, which we have later found out led right back to King Kong was African. The men waiting in the car for him were African-Guyanese. The six persons who came to destroy the conference were African-Guyanese. The daily picketers outside Khemraj Ramjattan’s office no doubt sent by the ruling cabal were all African-Guyanese. No East Indian is seen doing dirty street work for the governing clique. All of the dirty foot soldiers are African-Guyanese. Is there an explanation? A racist, Indian oligarchy bent on pulverizing the African race in Guyana cannot find one, single Indian to recruit for goon service.
The answer is that the PPP doesn’t want to conscript Indians for terror duties. It is ideological racism at work. It is part of the Freudian desire to degrade African people.
Do you mean to tell me that Freedom House and the Office of the President could not have found at least one Indian to put them in that mob that was picketing Ramjattan’s office. Are Indians so angelic that you cannot locate at least one of them to go and break up a meeting? Do the Guyanese people here and abroad and those who are looking on as fascism in Guyana takes on macabre shapes not see we are witnessing the dehumanization of an entire race in Guyana? Isn’t it time African rights organizations confront this fascist version of a deadly racism never before seen in these parts of the world?


Which in their natural and ordinary meaning meant and were understood to mean:

  1. The President is racist, and by extension the State and Government of Guyana, practices racism as an ideology, dogma, philosophy and policy.
  2. That the President and, by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, discriminates against Afro-Guyanese on the basis of their race and ethnicity.
  3. That the President and, by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, have an institutionalized policy to degrade, de-humanize and pulverize Guyanese of African descent.
  4. That the President and by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, routinely act in contravention of Article 149 of the Constitution which guarantees to all citizens of this country protection from racial discrimination as a fundamental right and freedom.
  5. That the President and by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, use unconstitutional and unlawful methods including, thuggery, force and intimidation, to silence critics and that we contravene the fundamental right and freedom of citizens of Guyana to express, communicate and disseminate their views and opinions as guaranteed by Article 146 of the Constitution of Guyana and are guilty of a criminal offence.
  6. That the President is guilty of violating the Constitution of Guyana and therefore liable to be removed from office under Article 180 of the Constitution.
  7. That the President is unfit to hold the high Constitutional offices of the Executive President, the Constitutional Head of State, Head of Government, the Supreme Executive Authority and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

The President is also claiming exemplary damages as well as damages in excess of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) for libel

JOKE OF THE DAY: PNCR's 'unconstitutional' leadership calls the E.R.C an 'unconstitutional' body.



It's a shame that the PNC/R's 'unconstitutional' leadership criticized the government's reference to the Ethnic Relations Commission, of a spate of letters and commentaries carried in both the Stabroek and Kaieteur News which sought to foment racial hostility.
In a press release issued by the party the E.R.C was described an 'unconstitutional body' and its chairman accused of doing the government's bidding.

What makes it even more comical is the fact that this very PNC/R leadership which now labels the E.R.C an unconstitutional body was elected during a process described by Dr Richard Van West Charles as being "the worst electoral fraud in the party's history". Perhaps even more worse than what was perpetrated at the national level.

Dr Van West Charles described it as follows:

“At the Congress, we objected to the distribution of wads of delegate cards by supporters of Mr. Corbin, who, in turn, were giving the cards to ineligible persons. Our strenuous objections did not deter these persons, who were operating with impunity. In one instance, a newly elected CEC member from Canada was caught red-handed with a bag full of delegate cards. Accreditation officials refused to confiscate the cards. “We wish to place on the public record that there was a breakdown of the voting process.

The Returning Officer lost control of the process, and did not even establish the number of delegates present and entitled to vote.

There was no effort by the Returning Officer to ensure a meticulous check of delegates entering the Hall.

The roll call of delegates was so fast, that it resulted in mass entrance into the Hall. A number of persons not entitled to vote used this confusion to enter the Hall.


“Our accredited scrutineers were prevented from monitoring the roll call and entrance of delegates into the voting arena by Mr. Corbin aides.


“We are aware that scores of persons from Sophia, in Region No. Four, were bussed in to vote as delegates for another region. We also noted that the physical arrangements established for voting was not designed to prevent multiple voting. Hence, we affirm that there was massive multiple voting.
A number of prominent members of the newly-elected executive were integrally involved in multiple voting.”

Van West-Charles said that the entire process was fraudulent, from membership registration to voting