US based couple brings tangible assistance to victims of misfortune

“ This morning we hardly had anything and now we are leaving here with money and a lot of other things. I believe these people are angels in disguise, God bless them ” – Nikita Samaroo

An US-based couple has brought tangible and substantial assistance to two families who suffered extreme misfortune in recent months.

Yesterday, Richie and Chile Anderson presented Agnes Henry of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, and her four children, and Jairani Samaroo, of Mon Repos and her five offspring, with two suitcases of clothing, confectionary, toys and other amenities.

The families also received cash donations to the tune of $US200.

The New York-based couple was moved to assist after reading the families' stories in the Kaieteur News recently.

“The misfortune that befell the two families is really sad and we were moved to action, especially because there were so many children involved. We had to do something to help,” Mrs. Anderson said.

However, the Andersons are no strangers to benevolent gestures since they are a part of the medical relief team, Guyana Watch, from which thousands of Guyanese have benefited.

Apart from this initial donation, the Andersons have committed to providing consistent help in cash and kind to both families each month.

Henry narrowly escaped death at the hands of her cane cutter husband, Abdool Khan, last January. The man dealt her severe chops about the body before hanging himself. She spent a number of days in the Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

As a result of the incident, the 27-year-old woman has lot the use of both hands.

She and her children only escaped certain death by hiding from Khan under a bed.

Meanwhile, last October, Jairani's husband, Yogeshwar Parboodyal, called ‘Bharrat', set sail with four others on an expedition and never returned.

The police have failed to make a significant breakthrough in the case. Some believe that he was murdered, but supporting evidence is lacking and as such no one has been charged.

Both families expressed extreme gratitude for the donations, noting that it could not come at a more opportune time since things are at their worst with them.

Unable to work because of her deformity, Henry, who lives with her mother-in-law Bibi Khan, has been unable to properly provide for her children aged between 10 years and 18 months.

They are forced to depend on the meager earnings that Bibi would get from occasionally cleaning the masjid in the area to survive.

Henry related that she has been praying for help for her children, and described the Andersons as godsends.

Meanwhile, the situation with the Samaroo's was even more dire.

With tears streaming her cheeks, the eldest daughter, 18-year-old Nikita, related that since the disappearance of her father who was the sole breadwinner of the family, they have been forced many days to go hungry since her mother has been unsuccessful in finding work as a domestic.

“One day we didn't have anything to eat and we asked a relative for a pint of rice and she refused to give us…We really appreciate this help. This morning we hardly had anything and now we are leaving here with money and a lot of clothes and other things.

“I believe these people are angels in disguise,” Nikita said, her voice breaking.

Both families say for the first time since their misfortune they are hopeful that things will turn out alright after all.

The Agricola Massacre: One year later

“If I had a place to go I would move from here, if only for a while. A day does not pass when I could put the incident out of my mind. It's with me all the time. It's hard, very hard...” – Victims' relative.

By Melanie Allicock

It would be difficult for anyone passing through the quaint village of Agricola on the East Bank of Demerara to imagine that one of the country's most horrific massacres occurred there only a year ago – February 26, 2006.

There is almost no remaining physical evidence of the horrific tragedy that left in its wake eight persons dead and six injured when a brazen group of heavily armed gunmen descended on the community during a spate of serious crimes that had permeated its environs.

The house at lot 40 Brutus Street in which an elderly couple David Brummel, 74, and Hannah Cameron, 73 were burnt in their beds has been repaired and repainted.

So too has the adjoining internet café from which its proprietor, 26-year-old Fenton Rudder, Cameron's grandson died.

Efforts at reconstruction are also visible at the Third Street home of former Assistant Town Clerk Lavern-Garraway who was gunned down and set alight in it.

However, for the relatives of the eight who lost their lives, each day is a painful, nostalgic journey, made even more so by the fact that even after one year - though it remains one of the largest mass murders this country has witnessed - no related arrests have been made by the police.

Similarly, the events of that terrible night will remain etched in the minds of the residents of Agricola, forever, and although the village is somewhat calmer as a result of the removal of a number of notorious criminals, there is an underlying fear of a recurrence.

Police reported that the assault began at around 22:00 hrs at the Eccles gas station on that fateful Sunday.

Three MMC guards - Loris Semple, Sheldon Smartt, and Cedric Dummett - were at the Eccles filling station putting air into their vehicle's tyres when several armed men, who were on foot, came from a northern direction and entered the compound.

The bandits opened fire killing the men, instantly. They then proceeded to rob the female pump attendants, reportedly carting off about $60,000.

The gunmen then headed into Brutus Street, Agricola, to the house which was occupied by pensioners Hannah Cameron and David Brummel, as well as 43-year-old Maxine Cameron.

At the time Cameron's grandson, 26-year-old Fenton Rudder was in the ‘Telegenic' Internet Café, which he operated in another section of the same building.

Police believe that Rudder was one of the gunmen's main targets.

The men then entered the bedroom nearest to the hallway, which the two pensioners occupied. They then shot them and set their bodies alight in the bed.

During the attack, Maxine Cameron escaped the gunmen's wrath by concealing herself under her bed.

According to the police, Rudder attempted to escape through the back door of the internet café, but the men spotted him, gave chase and shot him.

He ran but eventually collapsed in the Agricola Primary School compound some 200 yards away.

It is believed that after killing Rudder and the two pensioners, the gunmen headed for the Third Street, Agricola home of City Hall's Assistant Town Clerk Laverne Garraway-Scott where, after demanding money, they shot Scott then torched the house with her inside. She was burnt beyond recognition.

A number of innocent passersby were also victims of the gruesome attack

These included Internet café operator Cecil Duncan, 26, who was also killed by a stray bullet while driving his mother's car, and Basdeo Sattaur, Chetmattie Sattaur, Simone Savory, Stacy Chinapen and Jason Thomas, who were injured.

The relatives of the six men and two women who were brutally murdered on February 26, 2006 related to this newspaper that the process of healing and moving on with their lives has been extremely difficult

STRUGGLING TO MOVE ON

Despite receiving counseling, Scott's daughter, seven-year-old Damali is finding it hard to cope with her mother's death. She was alone with her mother at the time of the tragedy and was reportedly sent to a neighbour's house by the gunmen while they carried out the heinous act on her mother.

The child's maternal grandmother, Marcia Garraway, with whom she resides, related that since the death the child is prone to suddenly bursting into tears for no apparent reason. She also still asks for her mother and experiences constant nightmares.

“The other night I heard her crying in her room and when I asked her what was wrong she said ‘if only I could see my mother one more time and tell her how much I love her'” Garraway said.

Meanwhile Garrway's mother related that she herself has not been doing too well.

As she describes it, her daughter's death has caused her to lose her interest in things that she used to do since a part of her has died with her child.

“I hardly leave the house anymore, I just don't find the motivation to do anything anymore because me and my daughter used to do a lot together. I cry every day for my daughter and even though I believe that God knows best, I question him why he allowed something like that to happen to my Lavern.”

A hypertensive patient, (Marcia) Garraway said in the last year, her blood pressure has not been stable and at times has fluctuated out of control.

Her voice breaking, she related that the gruesome manner in which her daughter died, and the fact that no arrests have been made worries her the most, and is prohibiting her from gaining emotional closure.

“If I had a proper body of my daughter to bury I think it would have been easier. But the charred remains that I saw is not my Lavern, and at times I still believe that she will come back.”

She has not been able to visit the site where the incident occurred, since, and believes that she never will.

Things have not been much easier for Lavern's husband, David Scott, either.

An operator of a resort on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, he was not at home at the time of the incident, and came home a few hours later to discover his house completely destroyed and the burnt body of his wife at the front door.

He has been unable to enjoy a good night's rest since then.

“I think about the incident every single day, it's been very hard for me. The fact that they have not arrested anyone for these murders makes me feel the police is incompetent.”

He believes that had he been at home at the time, things would have turned out differently.

He related that although he knows that he will eventually have to find another partner he is finding it hard to even look at another woman.

“We were together for eleven years. She was everything to me, my soul mate,” Scott reflected.

Through the donation of blocks from friends, Scott began reconstructing his razed apartment, but said that he is just not focused enough to complete the process.

“I just can't focus on anything right now. I just live from day to day, but to actually get down to any major plans is hard. My wife has died and it's really difficult to me to carry on in a normal way.”

ALWAYS WITH ME

Loris Semple's ability to make her laugh is what his mother, Fredericka, misses most about him. Loris was one of the security guards who were gunned down at the service station after they stumbled on the bandits.

From her No. 28 Village, West Coast Berbice home, Fredericka recalled that Loris, the fourth of ten children could always bring a smile to her face even in her most depressing moments.

Although he was no longer at home, he paid consistent attention to his mother by visiting often.

“If Loris walked into this home and see me sitting down quiet, he would start teasing me to try to cheer me up and he would continue until I burst out laughing. He told me once that it hurts him when I am sad.”

It is for this reason that Fredericka is desperately trying to cope with her irreplaceable loss. This process is made easier by the fact that Loris still visits the family, and is always with them.

“He is always with me. He still visits us and as usual he is always smiling… just yesterday he was here, we saw him sitting in a chair in the living room ...it's like he just comes around for a while to let me know that he is ok and then leaves… but it does a lot for me, because I don't think that I could have held it up without his occasional visits.”

A staunch Christian, she is adamant that those responsible for ruthlessly cutting her son down in his prime, will not escape the wrath of God, even if they are never brought to justice.

Across in Annandale, Loris' reputed wife Kean Joseph is just taking life one day at a time. Left to cope with the couple's three-year-old son, she understands the added responsibility thrust upon her - of being both mother and father to her child.

However it's a daily uphill task made worse by the fact that her son asks for his father on a daily basis.

Explaining the concept of death, and that Loris is gone for good to her infant is harder since she herself is finding it hard to accept.

However Kean knows that despite the constant pain and sense of loss, she must go on; if only for the sake of her child.

“WOULD MOVE IF I COULD”

During the murders of her mother Hannah Cameron and stepfather David Brummel, 43- year-old Maxine Cameron escaped the gunmen's wrath by concealing herself under her bed.

She heard as the gunmen shot the couple and then set the bed on which they were on alight.

The screams and whimpering of the elderly couple as the gunmen unleashed terror will forever live with her, as will the sounds of the gunshots being fired.

One year later, Maxine lives alone in that very house where the gruesome acts were committed and each day she relives the experience all over again.

This makes the possibility of forgetting the incident and moving on almost impossible, try as she might

“If I had a place to go I would move from here, if only for a while. A day does not pass when I could put the incident out of my mind. It's with me all the time. It's hard, very hard...”

She admits that she harbours some amount of fear too.

“If I hear a noise sometimes, I get a bit afraid, and am on the alert… I am much more vigilant now than before.”

Although the house has been repainted and the room in which the couple was burnt rehabilitated, it only offers a cosmetic solution to the underlying turmoil which lingers within.

She explained that the internet café which adjoins the house and which was operated by Fenton Rudder will be re-opened soon.

Rudder was Brummel's grandson who it is believed they were looking for when they murdered the elderly couple. Rudder was married with two children.

His wife Rushell Greaves had originally operated the café with her husband but has since moved out of the area with her children.

LOSS OF A BREADWINNER

In losing her son, Rebecca Duncan lost the main breadwinner of the home and a loving caring son.

Twenty-six-year-old Cecil Duncan was shot as he was heading home via the East Bank Demerara public road in his mother's car, while the shooting was in progress.

According to reports, residents had warned the youth not to venture further but he ignored their advice and was hit in the lower abdomen by a stray bullet.

He lay groaning on the roadway for several minutes before persons took him to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed next day.

Mrs. Duncan says she refuses to believe that the police could be so inept as to not have made any arrests, even though murders that have involved less people and occurred after have been solved.

“About 15-20 gunmen invaded that village on that night and it's impossible that the police would not be able to recognise at least one of them”

Although Cecil was the last of six children, he was the most financially stable and as such provided tangible help to them, especially his mother.

“He was generous to his entire family. He had stopped me from working and took care of me … he was a very good child, a mother could not ask for a better son.”

His two internet café are now being operated by his mother and although the family is struggling to move forward, they relate that the process is slow and painful.

A believer in God, Rebecca said although she was angry at first, she has forgiven her son's murderers, but would like to get a chance to see who they are.

That anger has now been replaced by a desire for closure, which she feels she could never have until the perpetrators are brought to justice.

“I would like to look them in the eye, I want to see the persons who took my son away from me,” she said with tears in her eyes.

A VILLAGE ON THE MOVE

Although the horrible events of the night of February 26, 2006, remain as clear as day in the minds of Agricola residents, they relate that the village now enjoys a new sense of calm and peace.

They attribute this to the numerous arrests which have been made over the last year which has cleaned many of the notorious elements out.

“Them bad boys that was in the village actually had it under siege for a while but the police flush them out. Who they didn't arrest, they kill, and now the village gone back to peace an quiet… that was a terrible time for we but I believe that period in the village is over,” one resident said .

Another, an elderly woman posited that for the first time in years, she feels safe to walk the road at nights.

“I had stopped going to church or anywhere at night, I was afraid. Now I feel more relaxed and at ease.”

Describing it as the worse night ever in the history of Agricola, residents related that immediately after many persons relocated.

This was even the case with the tenants behind the house where Lavern Garraway-Scott was killed.

Residents relate those that were living there removed immediately following the tragedy and since then a number of others have come and gone.

Commenting on the movement in the village one candid resident said, “Some people move out, others move in and then when dey realise is whey dey living they move out with speed!”

Generally, the residents of Agricola are confident that the crime which kept the village under siege, resulting in dark, frightening days and nights are over and the village is on the move towards more positive times.

Gunmen rob bus with Surinamese visitors

Two gunmen held up a busload of passengers heading for neighbouring Suriname , robbing them of close to one million dollars in cash and jewellery early yesterday morning.

The attack occurred at around 05:00 hours at Stanley Place , Kitty where the bus had gone to pick up one of the passengers.

According to reports, the minibus is owned by a Pike Street , Kitty Taxi Service and it is normally contracted to transport passengers to Suriname .

Police believe that the bandits who were in a motor car followed the bus and seized the opportunity to pounce on the passengers when it stopped.

A source told this newspaper that the two bandits, with guns drawn, ordered the passengers to remain quiet and demanded all their cash and jewellery.

Among those robbed was Gandai Dugarain, 54, of Paramaribo , Suriname ; who was relieved of US$500; 25 Euros; $12,000 in local currency and jewellery valued at $100,000.

Itwaru Kasodo, 53, also of Paramaribo , Suriname , was robbed of G$200,000 and $24,500 in jewellery, while Brazilian Neurica DaSilva was relieved of cash and other personal valuables. After grabbing the loot the bandits re-entered the waiting car and sped away.

The matter was reported to the Kitty Police Station.

Mash Day murder

Fisherman beaten to death

…17-year-old, three others in custody

A 17-year-old lad and three men are in Police custody following the beating to death of a 30-year-old fisherman on Friday afternoon.

According to reports, the men beat Deonarine Bangat, called “Nan,” or “Mongul,” of Cornelia Ida Squatting Area, West Coast Demerara, with a cutlass, a piece of wood, and a length of bamboo, at about 18:00 hours, a mere three metres from his house.

This newspaper understands that Bangat died almost instantly after he sustained a broken neck.

According to Bangat's relatives, he was asleep in a hammock under his house when four boys awoke him while chasing a dog in front of his home.

Bangat's mother, Rita, said that her son told the boys to be quiet and they became annoyed.

Soon after, they began to verbally abuse the now dead Bangat, and he threw a bottle in their direction causing one of his attackers to run off.

The three men who remained behind then entered the yard. Bangat ordered them to leave, but they failed to comply, choosing, instead, to drag Bangat out of his yard.

Kaieteur News understands that Bangat struggled until his sandals came off, but he could not free himself from the three.

By then, the fourth member had returned with a cutlass, and the others had armed themselves with the piece of wood and the length of bamboo.

Bangat managed to free himself and run away, but the men pursued him and hit him from behind, causing him to fall to the ground.

They then proceeded to inflict a savage beating on him, before leaving him lying in the grass while they took off running.

His sister-in-law and his brother picked him up, and rushed him to the West Demerara Regional Hospital , where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Subsequently, Bangat's mother and older brother made a report at the Leonora Police Station.

According to reports reaching this newspaper, the four men were arrested when they, too, went to the Police station to report what had occurred.

This newspaper understands that the men did not know that Bangat had died.

Bangat's mother said that he was her youngest son, and that she saw when the men were chasing him, but she could not save him.

“He was me favourite pickney; I love me baby…He can't hug and kiss me and shake me in de hammock; dem murder he…He nah even get to eat he food…Oh me pickney dead,” Bangat's mother wailed.

She added that he was scheduled to leave for sea yesterday.

“Me baby, no pickney nah lovin so to me…Wha me gon do? How me gon get he back?”

There was an eyewitness to the killing.

Bangat's cousin, Suraj, was not a witness, but he described what happened as a movie-style killing.

The cousin also said that the boys who killed Bangat are very young. One of them is 17 years old, and the others are in their early twenties.

The family said that the Police went to the scene yesterday morning and recovered all the weapons used against Bangat.

The post mortem will be conducted tomorrow.

This newspaper understands that the four persons arrested are all from Cornelia Ida.

‘Slingshot' seriously hurt during Mash parade

Sustaining three broken bones in the lower back after a dray cart fall, overseas-based Guyanese artiste John ‘Slingshot' Drepaul still managed to prop himself up and wave to his many fans at Friday's massive Mash Day celebrations.

The singer\entertainer fell from his gaily decorated dray cart as he attempted to wave to GINA's Niaz Subhan in front of Guyenterprise, at Irving Street , and broke the bones in his lower back.

In a bedside interview at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, Drepaul, amid painful gasps, gave a blow by blow account of the Mash Day mishap.

As crowds cheered wildly, the native of Corentyne, East Berbice , stood up on the horse drawn cart adorned in a purple king's robe and matching headwear. Shouts of “Slingshot, we love you” rang out as Drepaul flung decorated beads along the route, much to the delight of those watching.

At around 15:00 hrs, after the dray cart had halted amidst cheering crowds, he stepped to the rear to acknowledge waving fans when the horse, startled by the raucous noises, reared into the air, throwing the singer flat on his rump.

Yesterday, he related that he lost his speech for over five minutes as searing pain ripped through his entire body. Fearing he had broken his spine, he said, he wriggled his toes and was elated when they moved a little.

As the fans flocked the fallen hero, his bodyguards, Laurex John of the Federal Management System and ‘Terry' of the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, flew to his aid and assisted him onto the cart.

Though it may have appeared to onlookers that he was maybe limping, he was actually being hoisted by the guards, since his feet could not give him justice.

As his lyricist, ‘Ingrid,' and Stanford, from his Mash camp, placed ice on and supported his lower back, the pain stricken entertainer, determined to please his fans, moved on down the line to loud screams from his supporters.

A cameraman, Noel Harlequin, alerted the Police to his predicament, and they created an avenue through the crowds so that Drepaul could get free access to the National Park.

“I was experiencing intolerable, excruciating pain. At times I felt as if I was going to faint, but my fans mean more than life to me; so, as my dear friends supported my back and sides, I hoisted myself with both hands to avoid laying any weight on the injury.

“It was terrible, especially when I removed a hand to wave to the fans, but I endured it all; I wanted my fans to be happy”.

Right through the interview, his bedside telephone rang off the hook with fans, other supporters, and the hotel's management, wanting to make sure he was alive and well.

On Mash Day, Drepaul still paused to give his customary salute to the folks at the GDF Camp Ayanganna, and he even squeezed a smile through his apparent pain.

After the wild cheering from those in the National Park, the Police stopped all traffic as he was whisked from the cart and escorted by Pegasus's manager, Bert Plas, to Dr. Balwant Singh's Hospital.

He has been ordered to keep off his feet for six weeks. Drepaul says that he could be using the time to get work going on his 2008 ‘Mash Fever' costume and float launch.

Islamic School student to represent Guyana at Global Young Leaders Conference

A former student of the ISA Islamic School, East Coast Demerara, has been nominated to serve as a global scholar representing Guyana at the 2007 Global Young Leaders Conference.

Hana Mohamed, the daughter of popular businessman Nazar Mohamed, of Mohamed's Enterprises on Lombard Street , was rewarded for her outstanding academic achievements by the nearly 400 members of the United States Congress who serve on the Honorary Congressional Board of Advisors.

The Global Young Leaders Conference will provide Miss Mohamed with an opportunity as a high-achieving scholar, to learn the diplomatic, social and economic lessons of the past, debate the policies of the present, and prepare for a position of national and global leadership in the future.

She will have a choice of either the United States of America or Europe to pursue the programme, throughout which she will expand her cultural awareness and cultivate her inherent leadership skills as she interacts with students from more than 100 countries.

During the programme, Miss Mohamed is expected to form new ways of thinking by participating in simulations that will challenge her to look at ongoing world issues from various points of view.

Speaking to this newspaper from New York where she is attending college on a pre-med course, Hana said that she is ecstatic to be chosen as Guyana 's representative.

“I am lost for words. It is a leadership award and it will certainly look good on my resume. I want to go to medical school and it can get me into one of the top universities, an Ivy League school,” Hana told Kaieteur News.

She said she first learnt about the prestigious fellowship award from her father in Guyana .

“I did not think it was big deal at first. Then a few days later my father called me again and I was like, ‘Is this for real?'” an obviously excited Hana said.

However, while pleasantly surprised, she was not shocked since she claims that she was always a hard working person at school.

“My parents always pushed me and I am definitely grateful,” she said.

If Hana chooses the European aspect of the fellowship, she will visit Vienna , Budapest and Prague .

During the 13-day journey she will examine issues of importance to herself, her peers and to the young men and women of her generation all around the globe--issues such as the expansion of the European Union and the evolving role of the United Nations and other international organisations.

She will also visit foreign embassies, meet with high-ranking diplomatic officials, participate in cultural exchanges, and retrace the footsteps of former rulers during visits to historic seats of power.

Should she choose the United States , Hana will first visit the political power centre in Washington DC . There she will be presented with the extraordinary opportunity to meet and interact with senior members of President George Bush's administration and other keynote speakers who should motivate and challenge her to become a future global leader.

She is also expected to personally explore the awe-inspiring monuments of the United States , such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In the US , Hana will also travel to the country's economic power centre of New York City , where she will be exposed to exciting sights and sounds of this amazing city; learn about the business of international finance and participate in the unique global summit simulation at the United Nations.

“Definitely Europe ,” she said. “I've never been to Europe before and it will be exciting.”

She said that she will be returning to Guyana during her summer break before participating in the fellowship conference.

Hana Mohamed expressed thanks to God, her parents, and her school, the ISA Islamic school.

Upon completion of the programme, Hana will be recognised for her participation with a Global Young Leaders Conference Youth Leadership Award, an award that distinguishes her as a high achiever.

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Kwakwani residents still await report on women's electrocution

Residents of Kwakwani are still awaiting a formal report on the origin of the electrical source which earlier this month caused the death of two female residents.

Following the women's death, several residents started directing culpability to the Kwakwani Utility Incorporated (KUI) since, according to them, the company had neglected dealing with reports of an electrical problem in the area.

The company had done some remedial wiring work in the area a week prior to the fatal incident and, according to the residents, it is believed that the earthing of the wires was not done properly, if at all.

Subsequent to this undertaking, several residents said that they began experiencing surges in their electrical supply, which even damaged some of their appliances. Some residents even revealed that their electrical appliances retained electrical power even after they turned off their main switches.

Several reports were made to the utility managers, but no action was taken, the residents had said.

As such, residents said they were contemplating legal action against the company pending an investigation which was launched by a neutral electrician.

Kaieteur News had since learnt that the preliminary findings of the electrician suggested that the electrical company was attempting to rectify problems and this could have led to the women being exposed to the electrical force.

However, residents yesterday informed this newspaper that they are still awaiting a formal report of the circumstances surrounding the women's death in order to determine to whom blame must be directed.

According to one resident, the lack of an explanation of the situation has led to a surge of rumours erupting throughout Kwakwani of what could have led to the women's death.

Another resident said that “it would be very difficult for the bereaved families to find closure if someone does not take responsibility for these deaths. They did not commit suicide; this cannot go down as an accident. It was murder, maybe not intentional, but murder nonetheless,” the resident angrily asserted.

Some residents are of the belief that there has been some level of procrastination in the compilation of a report on the matter.

Meanwhile, officials at the company have refuted claims that KUI is responsible for the women's death since the electrical force originated from an exposed wire in one of the dead women's yard.

The two women, Oslyn Vandenburg, 32, and Dolly Letlow, 77, were both instantly killed after they were exposed to at least 24,000 volts of electricity.

On the fateful day there was a light shower after which residents reported that they saw the ground smoking. And while some were able to take off their main switches and save their appliances, others were not so fortunate.

And even more unfortunate was the situation when the aged Letlow attempted to pick up some clothes she had washed earlier.

It was while attempting this chore that she came in contact with the electrical force which prompted her to scream out for a cook at the Kwakwani Children's Hostel, next door.

Vandenburg, the cook, on hearing Letlow's screams, ventured out to enquire if there was a problem.

And in a bid to rescue Letlow, Vandenburg also came into contact with the source of electricity, which transfixed her to the fence that separated Letlow's yard from the hostel.

The screams of the two caused another employee of the hostel to venture out, only to see the smoking bodies of the two women clinging to the fence.

Reports were that soon after the women's deaths, officials from the utility company arrived in the area and were observed doing some re-wiring.

New era in construction…

Local tile adhesive to be exported across the region

Entrepreneurial giant, Eddie Boyer, of National Hardware recently collaborated with Pablo Boncompagni, President of Productos, of Costa Rica to embark on the production line of tile adhesives which have proven to be very successful in the country.

Premium Plus thin set adhesive hastily became the premier choice of local tillers. and the factory can now efficiently meet the local demand which is now in the exportation phase.

The product has been successful on the local market and is currently in high demand on the regional market.

Superior to the traditional cement, Premium Plus thin set adhesive is manufactured locally at the facility in Coverden, East Bank Demerara.

With 90 per cent of the raw materials available locally, the price of the adhesive is beyond compare on the local market and is competitive on the international market.

The evolving collaboration with Productos has also introduced more items to the line of export products, among them Premium Plus thin set tile adhesive, grout, Multi Purpose Mix, regular and coloured Render. Soon to be introduced are concrete additives.

Mr. Boncompagni explained that the raw material available in Guyana is superior to any other supply of raw material made available to him from other countries.

He explained that the choice to establish a factory in Guyana in partnership with Eddie Boyer is grounded in the demographics of Guyana . He noted that to ship to this region from his factories in other countries, including Costa Rica , would not be economically viable.

The businessmen posited that the products coming out of the factory will revolutionise the way construction is carried on in the region.

The men emphasised that the traditional method of constructing facilities would require cement mixed with sand, stone and water to a specific formulae to achieve maximum results which is rarely accomplished.

The time of conventional stockpiling of cement and sand with mass wastage has become extinct.

The entrepreneurs posited that all that is needed now is to purchase the premixed product by the sack, add a specified amount of water and apply.

Because the demand for the product has risen so dramatically, the partnership will see the construction of a new factory in the immediate future which will add to the production level and will see the addition of brand new items.

He noted that he was a trained engineer who is constantly developing new products and with the main resources readily available in Guyana , Premium Plus products will soon become a name synonymous with construction.

Boyer of National Hardware recently opened the doors to a brand new facility at the former license building at Rahaman's turn on the East Bank of Demerara.

Dr Prem Misir's newest
book hits the stores

Prem Misir's book Ethnic Cleavage and Closure in the Caribbean Diaspora: Essays on Race, Ethnicity and Class has now been published by The Edwin Mellen Press of New York, Wales (UK), and Canada .

This collection of essays addresses racism as one of the major themes in political commentaries in the multiethnic Caribbean and its Diaspora. In this context, several ethnic groups ply for scarce resources, so the principles of fairness and equality in resource distribution becomes critical to societal stability.

The book advocates an understanding of inter and intra-ethnic class structure as a useful conceptual tool to address the issues of ethnic cleavage, racism, and discrimination, using a power-conflict framework that illustrates that inter and intra-ethnic class structure emphasizes economic stratification, caste, internal colonialism, and a diversity of class-based and Marxist theories.

The subject areas are: Ethnic and Immigrant Studies, Latin America, Iberia , Caribbean - History, Sociology, Development Studies.

The book is available through mellenpress.com and regular bookstores, both locally and internationally.

“Dr. Misir has made a most welcome addition to the literature of Caribbean social science with his compilation of this book. It deals with enduring and tense issues in Caribbean societies, both in the region itself and beyond, for the Diasporas are both within and without.

Republic Bank employees sent

on indefinite leave

Republic Bank has suspended the six people detained in connection with the disappearance of some $8 million from the automated teller machine (ATM) at the Kitty Guyoil gas station on February 17, last.

The six, five females and one male, were called out of their homes that Saturday morning after a staff member discovered that someone had used a code to enter the ATM and remove the cash.

According to reports, when the six reported to the Republic Bank head office on Water Street , they were interrogated.

Later that evening, a source said, at about 11:00pm, the bank authorities handed over the detainees to the Police.

The six remained in custody over the weekend, and were released on $20,000 station bail on Tuesday.

Since then, they have been reporting to the Alberttown Police Station daily.

The bank said that the closed circuit camera at the ATM recorded an image but this image was unidentifiable.

A source close to the bank suggested that the person knew the location of the camera and did everything to avoid detection.

Pressed on the details of the ATM, the bank source said that at least two persons must access the ATM, because each must put in his code.

The source said that an individual could have shared one of the codes with an accomplice, thus allowing one person to execute the theft.

Relatives of those detained said that during meetings with the Republic Bank officials, they learnt that the image bore no resemblance to any of those detained.

In the wake of their detention, the detainees sought and secured leave on medical grounds.

The period of leave was scheduled to end on Monday, but they will not be allowed to return to work in view of the suspension.

The bank has been prone to theft within recent months. A source said that late last year, between US$60,000 and US$90,000 disappeared.

The bank kept that loss quiet, but staff were transferred while others resigned.

Another source said that a staff member, who has since resigned, tested the system and actually removed $72 million from the accounts and stored it elsewhere.

From that sum, he would advance currency to foreign currency changers. In the end, he directed the bank to the missing money after informing them that the system was lax.

He then resigned to seek employment elsewhere.

The Police were never called in, and the matter was not publicised.

AFC sees plot to stifle its

participation in Parliamentary affairs

•  cites exclusion from Nebraska visit

The Alliance For Change (AFC) is alleging that there are deliberate moves afoot to stifle its participation in Parliamentary affairs.

In a letter to the Acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Clarissa Riehl, the AFC expressed its displeasure with the way in which deliberate efforts to stifle its involvement and participation in the affairs of the Assembly are being encouraged and supported.

The AFC said that it is firmly of the view that there is a collaborative PPP/C and PNCR1-G effort to deny it an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the business of Parliament.

According to the AFC, recently there was the deliberate exclusion of any AFC member to comprise a delegation to conduct a study mission at the Nebraska Legislature in the United States of America next month.

AFC's Chief Whip, Sheila Holder, in the letter to the Acting Speaker, pointed out that Opposition Leader Robert Corbin has submitted the names of four PNCR-1G MPs to attend and observe the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature Committee system at work.

The team to Nebraska is supposed to comprise eight members.

The visit is intended to expose and sensitise Parliamentarians who are members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Economic Services Committee (ESC) in order to enhance the functioning of those committees.

“The AFC, which has two Parliamentarians on those committees, was not consulted prior to the selection and submission of the four names, thereby excluding AFC Parliamentarians from gaining relevant exposure and experience on offer,” Holder stated in her letter.

However, yesterday, Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin said that the AFC, instead of blowing up the issue in the media, should have sought to consult with the PNCR-1G.

He also dismissed claims that the party was working with the PPP/C to prevent the AFC's participation in parliamentary affairs.

“We are open for discussion and the AFC needed to consult before going public. We have not had discussions on this matter,” Corbin stated.

Corbin stated that the only discussion his party had with the AFC was through the PNCR-1G Acting Chief Whip, Deborah Backer, on working together in a number of other areas.

Citing previous experiences, the AFC said that it has complained in the past about the exclusion of its members from committees as alternates, and the removal of AFC and GAP-ROAR representatives from the programme of the recently concluded Parliamentary Symposium involving MPs from the United Kingdom Parliament.

The AFC noted that at the commencement of the Ninth Parliament, MPs were informed that political party representation on committees, delegations and the like would be accorded on a proportionate basis.

“Unfortunately, this rule is being observed in the disobedience. It is mind-boggling how a delegation of this size and importance could include only the PPP/C and the PNCR1-G and not all of the political parties represented in Parliament. The AFC is demanding an explanation,” Holder noted in her letter.

The party noted, regrettably, that the statements made and often repeated about inclusivity and cooperation are nothing but idle boasts.

TOP  

Protesting detention of the innocent

Dear Editor,

We are upset and angry at the officials from Republic Bank for the shockingly callous treatment of our relatives following the disappearance of G$8 million from the Kitty ATM last weekend.

The uncaring and heartless treatment of these staff members is in conflict with the stated vision and mission of Republic Bank which purports: “The financial institution of choice in the Caribbean for customers, staff, and shareholders. We set the standard of excellence in customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and shareholder value.”

Mission : “Our mission is to provide personalised, efficient, and competitively priced financial services, and to implement sound policies which will redound to the benefit of our customers, staff, and shareholders.”

Following the disappearance of the money from the ATM machine, these staff members were interrogated by the bank officials from morning until around 11:00pm

The bank officials-turned-criminal-investigators did not contact the police until after 11:00pm, even though the image recorded reportedly bore no resemblance to any of the staff members-turned-theft-suspects.

The Police promptly locked them up with murder accused and other nefarious criminals that entire weekend.

Law abiding, loyal, honest employees, who would have sacrificed for the institution, some with almost a decade of dedicated and excellent service, were forced to sleep in cramped, stinking conditions, forced to traverse the limited space bare footed, and mothers denied the opportunity that weekend of being with their babies.

Why were these “ordinary” staff members allowed to be deliberately criminalised, and dehumanised in this way?

Why the emotional and subjective decision by the officials to have them locked up over the weekend, fully aware that legal representation was well nigh impossible?

I say emotional and subjective because it is highly irrational that these staff members would want to tarnish their record after being coerced into this department a few months earlier, following an earlier disappearance of an even greater magnitude.

Why wasn't a more comprehensive investigation done by trained specialists in light of the previous theft, before these ‘new' staff members were handed over to the police?

We protest this injustice!

Power requires responsibilities and should never be used arbitrarily. Innocent staff cannot be made examples or scapegoats. It doesn't work that way in modern, democratic societies.

You cannot have a situation of “Peter pay for Paul & Paul pay for all” when it comes to people's characters and reputations.

Justice, according to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity.

Those who clearly recognise the voice of their own conscience usually recognise, also, the voice of justice.

Where were the consciences of the bank officials to recognise that staff members who have given close to ten years service to your institution should not be thrown among hardened criminals without any evidence of their involvement?

The action by the executive betrays the vision and mission of the institution.

How do you see yourself becoming an institution of choice for staff, standard of excellence for employee satisfaction and a mission to implement policies for the benefit of staff when you treat your own in this way?

In view of the above, we believe that the management should apologise to these staff members for the indignity suffered and the trauma experienced on the weekend of 17th February 2007.

As a suggestion, we believe that the bank should invest some of its profits in more modern sophisticated controls (maybe look at what the competitors have in place) thus protecting hapless staff in the future from the trauma and needless embarrassment that relatives experienced the last infamous weekend.

To those affected, please remember the battle is the Lord's (2 Chronicles 20:15).God is in charge and all is well.

We call on all Christians to pray (for this is a spiritual attack against a few Christians) that the true culprits will be exposed!

Hekima Paul

Carol Marks

Claudette Hollingsworth

Andrea Rodney

Vaulda Roberts

Dawn Cave

Freddie, keep it real

Dear Editor,

I write regarding Mr. Kissoon's daily column. I once was an avid reader, almost a fan, of Mr. Kissoon's; but with his gradual descent into sensationalism with disregard to the real truth, I now use his column as kindling. It's not even worth being toilet paper.

I am sure I am not the only Guyanese who is tired of hearing Mr. Kissoon bash the elected PPP/C Government, bash Mr. Jagdeo, and write literary poison about anyone who has ever crossed him. Mr. Kissoon, I used to enjoy your wit, especially when you wrote about topics affecting the everyday life of Guyanese. It seems now that your “unofficial” position has changed from one of the “sword of the weak”, to that of a more politically ambitious nature.

Mr. Kissoon, I wonder who is perfect in your eyes? No one is perfect. Is there anyone in this country who can do a better job at running this country besides you? You are not fooling anyone. You envy Mr. Jagdeo and his legacy. I believe when you and I die, our names will be forgotten, but the name of our good President, Bharrat Jagdeo, will live on forever.

Yes, I am a supporter of the Mr. Jagdeo. How can you deny this man his due credit for all the good he has done for our country? You can vote for whomever you wish. It is your right to criticise whatever or whomever. It is your right to do as you wish, as long as it is within the borders of the law. You can thank the PPP/C for all these rights you enjoy in this country. Show a little gratitude.

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, so being the hateful geek that you are, you might pen some venomous attacks to myself. I am not a philosopher or a scholar. I am just an average Guyanese who wish all the best for my beloved homeland. There is no other political party at this present time that can move this country forward.

The PPP/C is not a perfect party, but we must criticise them when they do bad, but applaud them when they do well.

The PNC is an organisation whose hands are stained with innocent blood. Any organisation that is built on the suffering of the innocent will surely fall. In their case, the next level of descent is political extinction.

The AFC are a hypocritical bunch of political rejects with no real political experience. They know how to run their mouths, but not a country. They claim change, vote without regard to race. How is it that their slogan for the past election was “Don't vote race, vote change”? They tried to milk the race card, but the people could not be fooled with their empty promises.

It does not feel good, Mr. Kissoon, to be at the end of criticism.

It is human nature. Good humans use criticism in a constructive manner. I have always respected Kaieteur News for their news coverage, and I always will.

Guyana Son

Ravi Dev column

MENTAL SLAVERY

In this ongoing dialogue with Mr. Clarence Ellis, I would like to address another of the claims he made: “Dr. Kimani Nehusi and many others have inscribed in our lexicon the concept of mental enslavement which Indians and Chinese escaped.” I disagree with the last part of the statement: all the peoples dumped into Guyana were subjected to mental enslavement by the colonial power.

Utilising the problematic of “hegemony” from Antonio Gramsci, I published in SN a series of articles not long after the 1992 elections to highlight the issue and to offer some proposals for addressing the debilitations produced, which hindered our development. I summarise my argument below in referring to Hindus.

SLAVERY

One method of maintaining dominance over a conquered people is to utilise the same type of force and violence by which they were conquered – garrisons, executions, torture, prisons etc. to keep them in line. This has been the tried and true method used by all conquerors of the past- and quite a few of the present. African Slavery in the New World was undoubtedly the nadir of this methodology. This method has proven to be quite costly however, especially in terms of manpower and material, since the oppressed has a visible reminder – even a red flag - of his oppression, against which he can be aroused to rebel. This was the European experience during African slavery: remember Cuffy?

I pointed out that the abolition of slavery was primarily an acknowledgement that the economics did not make sense anymore for the Europeans: I had never been convinced by the moral argument.

The brutalities and barbarities of slavery may have clashed with the British's public desire to posture as “civilised” but it certainly was never the major cause for abolition.

But Capital still needed cheap labour both at “home” and in the colonies. They devised a new methodology for securing that labour – through the imposition of a mental slavery - a hegemony - over the minds of the subaltern classes.

The British were going to put into effect Rousseau's aphorism of a few decades earlier, “The strongest man is never so strong enough to be master all the time, unless he transforms force into right and obedience into duty.”

INDIA

Interestingly the new technology for domination was worked out and codified by the British in India just before the abolition of slavery. It started out in the field of “education”. The British invited Indian comment in a public debate between 1823 and 1835 centered on what was to be the language and curriculum of schools, which were to be funded by the government.

The parties to the debate were the ‘Orientalists' and ‘Anglicans'. The former group, led by Governor Warren Hasting, proposed that the native forms and content of education such as Sanskrit Schools and Madrassas, be retained. The “Anglicans”, who were ultimately successful, contemptuously dismissed such suggestions and proposed an “Education” such that the Hindus would “become more English than Hindus, just as the Roman Provincials became more Roman than Greeks or Italians'. [Trevelyan]

One of the most incredible aspects of the imposition of the Hegemony in India was that the British stated their objectives very clearly from the inception of their programme.

In a Minute delivered by their leader Thomas Babbington Macaulay (later Lord Macaulay), in 1835, he declared that the model Indian was, “the effete, effeminate vaporous, swooning Bengali” - the ‘Bengali Babu', which had been a work in progress since 1757.

The graduates of the new schools, Macaulay insisted, would be “Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.” He neglected to mention that the “Indian blood and colour” would ensure that the Indians could never be “real” British, but a dark imitation.

The selected medium of instruction was English, the language of the conquerors, since, as one of the Anglican supporter Grant said, “its acquisition was expected to undermine and subvert the fabric of error that was Hinduism.”

After the success of the Anglicans, there was a rush to establish English schools in India , The Christian Missionaries took the lead but there were quite a few other Europeans and some Indians who went into business of producing “Brown Englishmen”.

The Government established Colleges in the three major urban centres of Calcutta , Bombay and Madras . These institutions increased exponentially as, especially the upper class Hindus rushed to be civilized. These schools were established all over the empire: our own Queen's College was founded in 1847 and Guyanese ever since have been its “beneficiaries”. Africans were to receive the hegemonising treatment on top of the stripping of their culture during slavery.

HEGEMONY

As I pointed out in 1993, we can use Gramsci's problematic to better understand why the technique was so successful.

Hegemony, he proposed, was the seizure of the moral and philosophical leadership by one group in society, through their creation and imposition of a new and complete world view or paradigm in such a thorough fashion, that the remainder of society (or at least, the overwhelming majority) accepts as “common sense” or givens, the ideas, social structures and systems that just happen to privilege the hegemony.

These ideas form a coherent, internalised word view which creates in the mind of the hegemonised group, the feeling that their oppression and inferiority to the hegemon as “just the way things are” or “that's life”. There appears to be an inevitability and eternality to their subjugation: the latter becomes a plight – part of the unchangeable, universal order, and not a problem – part of the man-made order, which can be changed by man.

One of the most effective tools in the creation of the hegemony was the school system, which transmits knowledge” and education – universalised from the British particular. It was now “Education” and Knowledge”, all else were “superstitions”.

Returning to the effect on Hindus, I pointed out that the process thus started even while they were still in India : Hinduism, in contrast to Christianity, was a mass of depravity, idolatry and superstitions such as suttee or wife-burning and “cow worship”.

Its underlying philosophy was “other-worldly” and unscientific. The Hindu was labelled “spiritual” and this essentialist tag has remained the most enduring purported Hindu characteristic. Even revolutionary thinkers like Swami Vivekanand accepted this tag.

The British thus defined “spiritual” as specifically apposed to “physical”. “Spiritual” connoted ethereal, wispy and feminine qualities. Mr. Ellis betrays this bias when he ends his letter and refers to the Hindu posture as, “ethereal states of being”.

The irony was that in the Hindu definition of “spirituality”…Yoga, there was never any dichotomy between bodily and mental techniques in one's Sadhana or spiritual path. Hatha Yoga, which focuses on physical conditioning, is a perquisite for Raj yoga, which delves into meditative techniques.

In the spread of Hinduism across Bharat it was more often the spiritual Rishis rather than the warrior Kshatriyas who led the way into the virgin jungles.

GUYANA

In Guyana , having been gradually stripped of their language, most Hindus are forced to use English to both study and preach their faith. The hegemonisation of Hindu beliefs begun with the words they now had to use to conceptualise their beliefs and practices. Two problems arise out of this.

Firstly, and sadly, most of the translations of Hindu sacred texts [Shastras not “scriptures”], and compilations of dictionaries were done by Christian missionaries, or those imbued by the ethos of Christianity. Consciously or unconsciously, their biases infuse their works. Secondly, as we have mentioned before, all languages, including English, have their own history and their words reflect and project that history.

We have already spoken of the problem of equating “religion” with “dharma” and caste with “ varna ”. Similarly, “Rakshas” are not “demons”. "Idol" rather than the Hindu word "murti" is another problem word.

Christians and Jews use it in the sense of a "false god" because in their history, their people actually worshipped specific images as Gods. Their conception of a "one God", came out of a long and tortuous road as among other things, one tribe arose victorious over the other tribes and their god was made supreme. Hinduism never had this problem since in its earliest conceptions of God, images were never used.

In their earliest text, Rig Veda, there is no mention of images used in worship. It is only used much later, when in an effort to explain the lofty Vedic conception, that stylised images were utilised for the masses. These images were always seen as representations of a deeper reality, never as the reality. The map was never confused with the territory.

For example, to convey the concept that God was infinite, Vishnu, whose name means "pervader of the universe" is always painted blue to symbolise infinity because the common man could analogise the blue sky which he saw every day and knew was infinite. In their minds many Hindus, accepting the word "idols" are a bit sheepish about their faith's "strange murtis".

I am writing this on Republic Day. I know that I have spent some time on this point but I do believe that it is important for all of us in Guyana to understand that we all have some mental baggage to jettison if we are ever to become really independent.

The Alliance for Change Column

Bad governance and corruption –

the scourge of our society's success

[An abridged version, with minor modifications, of speech delivered on the Budget Debate in the National Assembly on Friday 9th February, 2007 by Khemraj Ramjattan, AFC Leader.]

Madam Speaker, some three decades ago and whilst a very active PYO member, I recall being led by Comrades Cheddi and Janet Jagan in protests all over Berbice, condemning the outrageous denial of newsprint to break the viability of the Mirror Newspaper by the then Burnhamite dictatorship.

I use to follow those famous two and their lieutenants, some of whom I see across the floor here today. They use to preach the virtue of freedom of expression and denounce all the devices used to erode this right which right they regarded as the foundation of a democratic order.

Today, sadly, I have to denounce this PPP/C's shameless use of the device of denial of Government's advertisements to break the financial viability of the Stabroek News. This inconsistency reveals a tendency towards an inevitably creeping Burnhamism which I honestly felt was forever banished from this land. But how wrong I was!

That is why, Madam Speaker, I want to preamble my Budget address with the Stabroek's

headline: “This government is misusing taxpayers' funds in an effort to suppress this newspaper.”

Budgeting in the context of a Guyanese scenario is never easy, Madam Speaker. There will be criticisms coming, notwithstanding how good a Finance Minister marshals all those facts and statistics. Especially when it is being advocated to and addressed at those who largely are in one or all of these categories - cynics, skeptics and the indifferent

Madam Speaker, I want to begin by stating that a Budget must have at its core those appropriate principles and policies designed to effect further economic, institutional, and social transformation of our country and the masses of its people.

These are to be effected within the next twelve months or such longer period, to ameliorate the condition of the poor, and further facilitate the efficiencies of the not-so-poor, and the rich. All of this being done with the intention to incrementally upgrade the condition and improve the lives of Guyanese.

The Honourable Finance Minister went at great lengths to advocate that all of these were contained in his Budget. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

To do something major, to do a great piece in a first endeavour would require a certain individuality. I do not see that well-known brilliance of Dr. Ashni Singh here in this his first Budget presentation.

Rather, I see the mediocrity of a former Minister of Finance, since elevated; and the using of a brilliant messenger to make it saleable. This kind of artificial arrangement must not be the basis for the designing of our economic and developmental architecture, nor our yearly expenditure spread-sheet.

Like any good builder, our economic czars must test the foundation first before commencing constructing a structure. And they must inform all and sundry of the state of the foundation, so as to rationalise what it is they are building.

This Budget fails miserably in informing us about our foundations, the existing reality of our state of affairs! It is a Budget which seeks to play politics with our economics. This is its biggest weakness. When it comes to important matters such as the financing of our country for the year, the allocating of its resources, the remedying of earlier defects, we must transcend political gravitations! The truth of the state of our economy must be laid bare!

Now if we had transcended political gravitations what would we have realized? We would have realized that Guyana is an extremely difficult place to create wealth, notwithstanding our huge resources in almost everything including now, it appears, uranium.

Let me quote from a survey done by the World Bank - “ Guyana 's Investment Climate at a Glance” - to point out how appalling we are doing, especially in the areas of governance and corruption.

Percentage of firms that do not trust the Judicial system = 15 %

Percentage of firms that do not trust the Government = 20 %

Bribes on Government contracts ( % of contract value) = 15.3 %

Payments “to get things done” ( % of annual sales) = 3.5 %

Percentage of firms experiencing a crime = 39 %

Days to clear customs for imports = 20 days

Days to clear customs for exports = 14 days

Is it any wonder why doing business in Guyana or wanting to invest here require a Herculean effort. But I am not done yet, notwithstanding their heckling and mutterings over there! Look at our Report card as to how well we are faring in these areas when compared to other countries which were surveyed.

Brain drain: rank 117 out of 117 countries

Pervasiveness of money laundering through banks: rank 117 out of 117 countries

Reliability of police services: rank 116 out of 117 countries

Centralization of economic policymaking: rank 115 out of 117 countries

Growth Competitiveness Index: rank 115 out of 117 countries

Irregular payments in public contracts: rank 114 out of 117 countries

Macroeconomic Environment Index: rank 113 out of 117 countries

So if it is not last space we running, it is second, third or fourth to last! That is why Transparency International in its Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Guyana so low, somewhere at 121 out of 159 countries.

These statistics, vital in any honest attempt to put our economy on an even keel, are omitted from the substantive Budget or the additional documentations presented to us in this Parliament.

To the extent then that we want to build on false assumptions and information, which have no bearing on the reality of our existing economy, we will further fall deeper into crisis.

Honesty in assessing our state of affairs is paramount! The Government must not fabricate a reality to make it look good. That will only fool the people, just like what happened with VAT when we were all told that cost of living will go down after it comes into effect. What has happened since? Contrary to all Government's predictions, there has been an upward movement in the cost of living.

But even if one does not believe the World Bank's survey and its findings I just adumbrated, the best evidence of determining that we have not been making forward movement is that tangible, physical evidence of a standard of living for the large masses of Guyanese which remains unchanged and which is deteriorating.

The big boast of growth at 4.7% last year, which came from World Cup Cricket Stadium expenditures and the ongoing construction of the Skeldon factory, does not mean that the poor masses are better off than before.

Donald Ramotar and Robert Persaud do not seem to believe this. Hear how they say I am cockeyed, Madam Speaker. But can they deny that there are more beggars on the roads, more criminals on the ambush, more white-collar crimes in both private and public places, and yes, Madam Speaker, the propagation by their Cabinet of a casino-gambling culture to generate revenues? Could they tell me why so many want to leave these shores, and want to qualify as refugees to Canada ? Why backtracking is so rampant?

It could not be the PNC dictatorship they are getting away from. No! It is the disgusting and frustrating bad governance and corruption of the PPP/C Government, especially so since the death of Dr. Jagan.

Bad governance and corruption are the scourge of Guyana ; the diseases which are stultifying growth and development, and the resulting happiness, of all Guyanese.

I want to cite certain examples and instances of this bad governance and corruption. And I will be doing so from some letters which came into my possession recently.

The most recent one is from a consultant named Peter Ming, who has a lot to say about contract-splitting within the Procurement Section of the Ministry of Finance. This piece of skulduggery forced him to resign.

I will read the whole of it for this Chamber's cogitation. The other has to do with letters I have from former Auditor General, the incorruptible Mr. Anand Goolsarran, as to the treatment meted out to him when reviewing investigations into the Dolphin scam.

And time permitting, I will cover scandals at the Customs Department which resulted in Commissioner Mr. Lambert Marks at a press conference some time ago attesting to ‘corruption in high places'.

.

Freddie Kissoon column 

Good things and bad things

To attempt to get people to understand why criticism is important in a society should be one of the easiest tasks in life. How much brain power does it take to learn the value of criticism? If those who make policies do not face a fault-finding review from the citizenry, then changes become impossible.

I believe a majority of people in the world accept that leaders must be told when they are wrong not just for the sake of picking on them but for the preservation of life itself.

I believe almost 99 percent of the citizens of this world understand the golden role a free, independent press plays in any country in which it operates.

Against this background, one should examine President Jagdeo's comments at the official opening of the Buddy's International Hotel. Mr. Jagdeo was right in some of his perceptions. But he was wrong in others. Let's deal with his strong points first. He took offence at those critics who constantly berate the character of the country. According to Mr. Jagdeo, they love to bemoan the underdeveloped state of Guyana.

He offered the example of the preference of foreign items over local ones. It was clear from listening to him that he was frustrated with the preachers of gloom in Guyana. Any analyst of the media would understand what the President has to endure.

There are people who just cannot accept that modern things are happening to Guyana. For example, the VCT Evening News chose as one of its lead stories, the President asserting himself over the loan to the hotel. The newscast quoted the President as saying he had no apologies to make for Government's financial assistance to the hotel.

I couldn't see why that was a lead item. As I argued in my column yesterday, state assistance to private investors is perfectly normal within the context of developmental needs.

A story has two sides however, and there are justified criticisms of this country and the way it has been administered since it became an independent country in 1966. There was a section of the President's delivery in which he felt that the perennial, pessimistic evaluators were responsible for how Guyanese are treated abroad and also the negative assessment Guyanese have of their own country.

There is so much one says in arguing back. Two formidable points come to mind instantly. One is that these critics have to be enormously influential and their ideas powerfully penetrating to cause Guyanese to feel this way and to influence how outsiders treat us.

In such a situation then, it may be necessary, then, for a compromise to be reached between the government and its critics seeing that the President finds that their power has a far reach.

The second relates to the past. In 1982, there was a Guyana bench at the Grantley Adams Airport. If I can count, that is more than two decades ago. In 2007, there is still a Guyana bench there. In 1982, all types of nasty things were said about and done to Guyanese in the region. How much has that changed in 2007?

Surely, it strains the imagination to put the cause of this continuation on the door steps of those that review the performances of the government of the day. Yes, there are unjustified criticisms against the government but there are also compelling reasons why commentators and editors castigate policy-makers in this land.

I can start with the very presentation of the President at the opening of Buddy's International Hotel. I got an invitation but by nature do not go to these things. I sat down with my wife to look at it on television then left to go on my computer because NCN couldn't get it right. The next day, I did something I don't normally do - look at the NCN 6 O' clock News. It couldn't get stared.

How often does the news a NCN begin at 6 0'clock? Yet look at the money and staff that that media house has. Why isn't condemnation of the incompetence of this place in order? Is it possible that NCN cannot get it right because politics has replaced professionalism?

This brings us right back to the compelling reasons we cited above. In some societies, impatience and vexation have replaced condemnation but in Guyana, its citizens endure all types of incivilities and indignities that come from the state sectors and the government.

We just “suck” our teeth and get on with our lives. Guyanese are patient people. How many societies would tolerate a modern country without traffic lights? We are getting them now but have you heard a single word of praise for the calmness and tolerance the Guyanese people displayed in that protracted period when there were no traffic lights?

The owner of a leading mechanic shop told me that his type of business will suffer a slump with the rebirth of traffic lights. He remarked that there wasn't a day that passed that an accident didn't occur at all the junctions that didn't have working lights. Sometimes our leaders expect not only reticence from us but they propose that we should be oblivious to the infrastructural necessities of what we should have as a modern country. Or are we not supposed to be a modern nation?

Look at the Railway Embankment. It is now lined with street lights from Sheriff Street to Industry. I ask readers to tell me if they see a coincidence in that the lights went up just one week before the Rio Summit is about to take place in a building on that very highway; the Convention Centre to be precise. The answer is no. There is absolutely no coincidence.

That important roadway was supplied with lights because of the Rio Summit. Why is a reprimand of the government for not having these lights before tantamount to preaching gloom and doom? People pay their taxes. They are entitled to modern facilities in a country in the 21 st century.

The private sector does not look after the installation of street lights, the state does.

I end with what I began - do people have to be told about the meaning of criticism in a society? They don't. The citizens of the world from the school child to the coffee lady to the white collar worker, all know that without eyes watching the governments and mouths that are not afraid to speak, the freedoms that we fought for over the centuries can go out the window in one single moment.

If any nation should understand that, it is Guyana. It happened here before. It should never happen again. It will not, if we continue to open our eyes and mouths.

My column – by Adam Harris

Spare a thought for Oscar Parvatan

Death is perhaps the most common phenomenon among us. No day goes by without someone in this tiny country dying and on some days as many as eight would die. This is the grim reality of life.

Someone once told me that we all begin to die from the moment we are born. The difference is that the end comes much quicker for some. Some, rather than wait on the call up from the Man above (or as some say, the Supreme Being) they hasten the end by ingesting some toxic substance, or by hanging themselves or at times, by placing a gun to some part of their person so that the ensuing wound would be fatal.

Yet for all its commonness whenever death strikes close to us we are stunned and we often hear people ask, “Why?” We shun all that we have come to expect. For us, death is something that happens toe very other person but us.

But there are those of us who accept the grim reality and while we may shed tears we eventually settle down and come to grips with our grief. And as fate would have it, during times of death we remember many things about the person who has died, most of them good. Even the bad is watered down and sometimes recalled as jocular episodes.

Death and I have a passing acquaintance. As a child I fell into a pond with no adult around. I recalled snatching a clump of grass at the edge of the pond and hauling myself out. As I write this I shudder to think how close to the Grime Reaper I had walked.

Later in life I buried my stepfather, two grandmothers a father-in-law, a great aunt and numerous cousins and friends. I have come to appreciate the pain that one feels and at this stage of my life I enjoy every day that I awake to the dawn of a new day.

I travelled to the United States for my mother's 80 th birthday a few years ago—three years ago-to be exact—and with my sisters, I hosted a party for her. We invited her sisters and brothers, most of whom live in the United States as is the case of most Guyanese families.

During the tributes one of my younger sisters who now resides in Canada, made the point that at 80 we were all glad that she happened to be around to see all her children grow up to the point where some have children and even grandchildren.

Then she said, “We thank God for every extra day that he gives her. Be it one year, two years or even ten, we are extremely grateful.”

My mother is still alive and as my sister said back then, I am extremely thankful. I however know that the Grim Reaper could call at any time and while I think I am prepared I may still not accept the end as coolly as I address the issue at this time. I arrive at this conclusion the other day when the news reached me that my close friend, Oscar Parvatan had died.

I was sitting at my desk when someone called me with the news that Vibert Parvatan had been found dead in his house and that violence had been suspected. Immediately I called Julia (Johnson) who was later to tell me that it was Oscar and that Vibert was very much alive.

While there was relief on the one hand there was sadness on the other because while I knew Vibert long before I knew Oscar, I happened to do more fun things with Oscar. He was not averse to visiting some of the watering holes that I frequented and there was not one occasion that we happened to meet that he did not leave me with a joke that I often remembered.

On one occasion he told me about a woman who torched her matrimonial home because she happened to see her husband and another woman in the matrimonial bed. Needless to say, according to Oscar, the husband and his paramour sprinted naked as they were born from the blazing home.

I cannot recall if Oscar said that he witnesses the hasty exit but he did say that when the woman appeared in court the magistrate said that he believed the story as told by the woman because he saw the naked truth.

On another occasion Oscar recalled a case of bestiality. At the time he was serving on West Demerara . The young man appeared before him and according to Oscar, again, when he asked the man to explain his strange habit the man said that he had a wife who was unfaithful.

The man continued that he also had a few women who were unfaithful so he decided on the goat which he was sure, would “not give him blow.”

Then there was the case of the cattle farmer who turned up in court and insisted that the man whom he caught with his pants down and a drink carton behind his cow, marry the animal.

My dearly departed friend was more than a humorist. He would often analyse cases before the court. His was the task of conducting the preliminary inquiry into the case of the young woman who poisoned her children because she could not afford to support them.

Society was divided on this issue. There were those who described the woman as a monster for killing her children. The very voices, Oscar said, never considered how the woman and the children lived.

He also said that every individual has the right to life and it was this that gave him the strength to commit the woman to the High Court where she was found guilty. And on the passage of the sentence, the then President Cheddi Jagan publicly announced that the woman would not go to the gallows.

Oscar was full of experiences during his stint in the United Kingdom . He spoke of his days as a student when Guyanese were forced to do things that students these days would simply quit the programme.

Those were the days when people of colour were viewed with open suspicion. One day, he said, he responded to an advertisement that there was a place to let. He had a friend telephone the landlord who assured him that indeed the place was available.

One hour later Oscar found that the place had already been rented but only when the landlord looked out and saw his dark skin.

He survived to live to age 75, five more than the prescribed three scores and ten, but far less that the average person these days is supposed to live. A 75-year-old is still young and many perform at the highest levels of their society.

Cheddi Jagan was 75 when he was the President. His wife, Janet, was even older. Oscar was beyond the three score and 10 while he served on the bench.

He has been called to higher service and I am sure that if there is a magistracy where he is, he would be among those being asked to dispense justice.

But for all this, Oscar was not keen on the belief that the was life after death. He was cynical. I remember him asking me one day if anyone had ever come back to talk about this life after death and his legal mind simply led him to the conclusion that in the absence of evidence there could be no conviction.

I will be at his funeral tomorrow and I will say a prayer for him. After all, he was my friend.

Stella Ramsaroop Column

Stella Says...

Here are some thoughts I had during my sabbatical

While on my little sabbatical, a well-needed time of reflection and regrouping, I found it difficult to pull myself away from the goings-on in Guyana. This country is never short on drama - that is for sure.

For example, just during my short vacation alone, the President was caught dressed like he was going to a cricket game as he disembarked from a plane for an international event. It seems a refresher course in protocol is in order for this administration.

Also during my sabbatical, GINA pulled all its advertisements from Stabroek News, VAT was instituted (and boy was that drama) and of course I cannot even count the number of women who were killed during that short few weeks. This has also been a time of great preparation for Guyana as it prepares for the Cricket World Cup.

Just this past week we saw more preparations underway as Stabroek Market was cleared of vendors, some of whom had been operating in that location for years and years. On the one hand, I do understand the government's desire to spruce up the city a bit. It is their job to make potential tourists feel welcomed in the country.

On the other hand, speaking as a person who goes out of my way to shop at such places as Stabroek Market in almost every country I have visited, it is sad to see these vendors go. Markets such as these are the life of the country for tourists in Mexico.

In fact, I go to Tijuana for the sole purpose of shopping at its makeshift stands and haggling in Spanish with vendors who always have a "special price" for the gringa with blonde hair.

Even while living in Guatemala and Costa Rica, I would intentionally forego the walled-in supermarkets for the outdoor markets. It was not only the fresh veggies or the hustle and bustle that drew me to these markets - it was the overall experience.

In Panama, I would stop at roadside stands to buy a coconut to drink, a hammock made by the locals or some tiny sweet bananas that cannot be found in America. Which brings me to the point I am attempting to make, the tourists that will soon be flooding into Guyana will also want to buy stuff that they cannot find in their own countries.

They will want to sample the local cuisine. They will want the experience of the open market stands. They will want to haggle with the vendors and feel like they have got a good deal. On my last trip to Guyana, I haggled with a Rastaman peddling gorgeous woodcarvings on Main Street.

I talked him down despite my blonde hair and the fact that my husband was dressed in a ridiculous purple dress shirt and tie. However, at the end of the transaction I gave him more than what we had settled on just because he was willing to play along with my game and have some fun with me.

That beautiful carving sits in an honoured place in my home and I still love it as much as I did on the day I bought it. Moreover, every time I look at it, I think about that Rastaman and the fun we had. Just like I think about the street peddler in Barbados who sold me some beautiful jewellery after Paul haggled with him.

The experiences of these transactions are part of what makes the items bought a treasure.

Which is why it is so sad to think of all of the experiences the tourists will miss with the disappearance of so many vendors in Stabroek Market. I am all for progress, but not at the sacrifice of culture – and Stabroek Market is part of Guyana's cultural experience.

Moreover, it has been mentioned that these vendors had spent thousands of dollars sprucing up their stands. No doubt they have already bought merchandise for the World Cup visitors as well. This is where I would go to shop if I were coming for the CWC.

During my sabbatical, I have closely followed all of the arrangements being made for the World Cup, such as the preparations to get the stadium ready, the construction of new hospitality facilities and the street cleaning. Even escalators are up and running in the country now.

It dawned on me somewhere at the beginning of January that it took the rest of the world coming to Guyana before any of these improvements took place. I cannot help but wonder why none of this was done just for the people of Guyana? Why not clean up the streets for Guyanese?

Why not make Stabroek Market more appealing for the people of Guyana? Why not make all of these improvements as part of the day-to-day activities of running a nation and then the rest of the world can enjoy it too when they visit?

Moreover, what will become of all of this beautification of the nation when the World Cup is over and the only people left to impress are the Guyanese again? Will the government continue to keep everything nice and pretty?

Will the people demand a better way of life – the type of life the government is gladly providing for the visitors to Guyana, but has never given to those who actually live here?

It is great that Guyana is working its way into being a potential tourism nation, especially since it has taken decades for the leaders of Guyana to finally do what the rest of the Caribbean has been doing for a long time.

I just think the people of the nation deserved clean streets all along. They had a right to be able to live here without being incessantly terrorised by criminals. They should have been able to expect their government to take care of them the way it is taking care of the complete strangers who will soon be visiting.

Guyana has the capacity of balancing the culture offered by Stabroek Market and the pride of walking down a beautiful clean street – like what I understand Main Street looked like in the old days.

The question is whether all of the money spent on beautifying the nation will mysteriously disappear again after the World Cup is gone.

Email: StellaSays@gmail.com

Peeping Tom

The Government must work with tourism investors

The slight decline in overall tourist arrivals for 2006 while being officially attributed to anxieties over the elections period should nonetheless be a source of great concern to the new Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, the Hon. Manniram Prashad.

Mannie, as he is popularly known is yet to really make a big impact on his ministry, and we are yet to see any major policy initiatives coming out of his ministry that would boost tourism in the country. There are the usual plans about building capacity with the tourism ministry but whether these arrangements will mean an increase in tourist arrivals is yet to be determined.

What the new minister must understand is that the success of his ministry is not going to be about Guyana simply hosting events; rather he must find an objective measure as to how well his ministry is doing.

That objective measure has to be tourist arrival numbers. And the principal task of the ministry should be to determine how best it can boost those numbers.

The Peeper was extremely disappointed to learn that last year, tourist arrivals actually declined. It was to be expected that there would have been a significant falloff during the peak summer period since Guyana's elections were slated for this period and since there were concerns about the possibility of violence again, it was to be expected that there would have been a decline in tourist arrivals in the month preceding and the month following the elections.

The elections however were trouble-free and since then there has been an appreciable improvement in the crime situation countrywide. One therefore expected that Christmas 2006 would have brought a bonanza of tourist arrivals. The information so far however does not indicate whether tourist arrivals for 2006 compared with 2005 and therefore one can only speculate that Christmas 2006 tourist arrivals were either on the same level as the previous year or they were marginally less.

This may have been anticipated, since this year Cricket World Cup will be hosted in the region, and some of those who may have been inclined to come home for the holidays would wish to be home for cricket, and therefore would have put off their plans to be home for Christmas.

Nonetheless, the Peeper is of the opinion, and this has been virtually confirmed from the limited information available, that Christmas has its own target market, a market that is not likely to expand significantly in the years ahead. It would therefore seem as if Guyana has to aim for a growth in tourist arrivals of about 5% each year, peaking at about 150,000; it is not likely even with events such as Cricket World Cup 2007 that our numbers will grow beyond that limit, at least not within the next four years.

What this means is that the minister now has to pay close attention to the numbers. I was hoping that at the opening of the Buddy's International Hotel, he would have done; instead he came off as being a faint echo of the President.

What the numbers would tell him is that we really do not need to be investing heavily in the Guyana Tourism Authority or in building capacity with his ministry because it is most likely that average arrivals will be capped at 150,000 tourists per year. We should also be careful about the number of new hotels that are being encouraged since growth in excess of 5% per annum is not likely over the next five years in the tourism sector and there is already excess spare capacity.

What the numbers also reveal, quite interestingly, is that 25% of total tourist arrivals come from within the region. This is quite a revelation and perhaps it is to this Caribbean market that we need to be looking more closely especially in terms of encouraging airfares that are affordable.

One of the disincentives of traveling to Guyana is the limited amount of package tours that are available. This in part can be explained by the preponderance of family-type tourism from the Diaspora. However, given the competition of the many tourist destinations and the deals that tourists are obtaining in places such as Santo Domingo and Cuba , Guyana needs to seriously ensure that the carriers that run our leg offer competitive fares. The fares offered for travel to Guyana from North America is to put it mildly too prohibitive.

What keeps our numbers up is the connection that people in the Diaspora have to this country. Airfares are so high that foreigners with no ties will simply not want to pay those fares when for less they can travel to Europe .

The minister must understand also that it is because of the government telling local investors that tourism is an emerging sector that a great deal of capital is being invested in the local hospitality sector. These investments will not materialise unless we can sustain at the minimum a 5% increase in tourist arrivals over the next five years.

Cricket World Cup 2007 may do something for that cause but it is now becoming clear that if tourism is going to be a major player in the country's economy, the government will have to work with airlines, tour operators and hoteliers in sustaining the level of arrivals from North America and the Caribbean .

Eco-tourism is predominantly low-volume, high-cost and is therefore not likely to pull large numbers of tourists.

This means that increased attention will now have to be paid to cruise ship and overland tourism and this means more attention to Brazil and Venezuela as well as to weekend tourist arrivals from the Caribbean .

More importantly, it means that the tourism ministry has to readjust its plans and seek to encourage the type of tourism that utilises the services in which so much has been invested over the past year.

Features

THE MAKING OF A SERIAL KILLER

•  Did one man murder these two women, in the same way, in the same area, seven years apart?

By Michael Jordan

Even before police had identified a suspect, Tracy Clarke, felt she knew who had killed 21-year-old Nazaline Mohamed and left her body to rot in a coal pit.

Tracy felt that she knew this because her sister, Sandra Harvey, had been murdered in the same way, seven years ago.

On December 9, 1999, Sandra Harvey, a 38-year-old mother of two, was found bound to a tree with shoe-laces in a remote area of Wisroc. She had been strangled with her own belt.

On February 12, 2007, Nazaline Mohamed's body was found in a remote area of Wisroc.

Like Sandra Harvey, Nazaline had been bound with shoe-laces and strangled with a belt.

Both women had left home wearing gold jewellery, which was missing when their bodies were found.

But the similarities don't end there. Both women, described as fun-loving by some, had developed relationships with a seemingly quiet young man who lived in Berbice, Wismar , and Georgetown , and who also occasionally lived in Cayenne , French Guiana .

Detectives believe that this man lured Sandra Harvey and Nazaline Mohamed to Wisroc and then killed them.

Detectives believe that they are dealing with a borderline serial killer.

It was on December 9, 1999, that Sandra Harvey left a Vryman's Erven, New Amsterdam , Berbice, location, reportedly to meet her husband at Aroaima.

Somehow, she ended up in the company of a 23-year-old male friend known as ‘Dingo', and the two traveled by hire-car to Wisroc.

According to reports, Harvey and ‘Dingo' disembarked, leaving the driver in the car.

It is alleged that some time later, ‘Dingo' alone returned, and informed the driver that Sandra had traveled back to Georgetown .

But the driver was worried. He had observed that ‘Dingo' was wearing Sandra's jewellery.