Makeshwar Fip Motilall

The Government of Guyana has cancelled the US$15.4 Amaila Falls road project which was handed to Makeshwar Fip Motilall in March 2010.

The then Bharrat Jagdeo government had vociferously defended the contract given to Motilall and his company, Synergy Holdings, and refused to terminate the contract despite mounting controversy over his suitability and ability to complete the contract.

Minister of Transport Robesonn Benn announced the termination of the contract. He said the decision is in accordance with Article 9 of the original Contract and is also consistent with the terms of the Agreement for Completion executed on December 21, 2011 between the Ministry of Public Works and Synergy Holdings Inc.

This agreement included, among other things, the provision of a valid Performance Bond to the Government of Guyana from an acceptable institution to the value of 10% of the contract price on or before January 10, 2012 for the period of the execution of the remaining works and for the Defects Liability Period.

As of December, 2011, Synergy Holdings Inc had completed only 40% of the Works despite repeated urgings and interventions from the Project Engineer and the Consulting Firm to have the project completed.

The termination of the contract will result in the government applying liquidated damages at the rate of US$10,000 per day from January 1, 2012 to the date of termination; seizure of contractor’s retention sum;  seizing and taking ownership of all pieces of equipment and all other property used by the contractor on the Amaila Falls Access Road Project.

The Ministry of Public Works will be taking steps for the continuation and completion of the remaining works.

(More details in Friday’s issue)

By ADAM B. ELLICK
(New York Times) For years, a self-made real estate magnate named Edul Ahmad personified the collective dreams of Richmond Hill, Queens, which is populated by many immigrants from Guyana, in South America. Mr. Ahmad drove a yellow Lamborghini, sponsored a cricket team and held white-glove parties at a lavish banquet hall that he owned.
At a prominent intersection near the border of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park, his smiling face looked down from a large billboard that promoted his real estate services. Many residents responded, taking out high-risk mortgages that they were told they could readily afford.
In July, it all came crashing down. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Mr. Ahmad, charging him with masterminding a $50 million mortgage fraud that seemed to exemplify a nationwide phenomenon of celebrated immigrant brokers who were accused of preying on their own.

Edul Ahmad, left, in 2006, is accused of masterminding a $50 million mortgage fraud (NY Times photo/Nala Singham)

Now, scores, if not hundreds, of Guyanese immigrants are facing financial ruin because of loans said to have been arranged by Mr. Ahmad, and the repercussions from the case have extended from Queens to Washington to Guyana.
Mr. Ahmad is currently engaged in intensive plea-bargain negotiations with federal prosecutors, according to court documents, but it appears that the impact of the loans will endure for years. Richmond Hill has been hit harder by the foreclosure crisis than most other neighborhoods in the city, officials and analysts said.
Mr. Ahmad’s case has also ensnared two politicians whom he considered friends: United States Representative Gregory W. Meeks, a Queens Democrat, and John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, the Democratic leader of the State Senate.
A House ethics panel is investigating Mr. Meeks for failing to disclose that he received $40,000 from Mr. Ahmad. Mr. Sampson worked as Mr. Ahmad’s lawyer and was disciplined by the New York secretary of state for notarizing a document for Mr. Ahmad without a license.
Guyana is a small nation bordering Venezuela where the largest ethnic group is of Indian descent. After Mr. Ahmad’s arrest, the ruling party in Guyana had to explain why his contact information appeared on a flier promoting a fund-raising dinner with the president at the time, Bharrat Jagdeo; the party said Mr. Ahmad was a friend of Mr. Jagdeo’s, but not a campaign donor.
Mr. Ahmad, 44, is charged with luring buyers into subprime mortgages, inflating the values of their properties and concealing his involvement by using straw buyers, like his wife and the Guyanese-born captain of the United States cricket team, Steve Massiah.
Mr. Ahmad pleaded not guilty and posted $2.5 million in bail in July. Reached by telephone recently, he would not comment.
Since 2009, more foreclosures have been filed in Queens than in any other borough, according to the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project. Five of the hardest hit ZIP codes in Queens are within a 15-minute drive of the office of Mr. Ahmad, who community leaders say once held about 75 percent of local real estate listings.
Paban Saha and Syed Husain, friends and former business partners, said they contacted him in 2006 after seeing his newspaper advertisements. They said he earned their confidence at their first meeting, when they watched him write a check to a charity.
“He set up an atmosphere where you forgot about everything,” Mr. Husain, 56, said.
Mr. Ahmad and one of his brokers offered Mr. Husain and Mr. Saha a three-family house for $880,000 but warned of another bid, Mr. Husain said. Mr. Ahmad demanded that they close within a week, insisting they use his lawyer, his appraiser and his mortgage officer, who pushed to finance 95 percent of their home at a 12.5 percent rate, Mr. Saha and Mr. Husain said.
Within two years, their finances were devastated, they said. The property was on the brink of foreclosure, the souvenir store that their families owned together went bankrupt, and they depleted savings they had accumulated since emigrating from Bangladesh in the 1990s.
“You can only imagine two households trying to keep one property afloat,” said Mr. Husain, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Ahmad. “It sucked everything dry.”
Some Guyanese people, describing their foreclosures linked to Mr. Ahmad’s services, said they were so terrified by his powerful ties that they did not want their names publicized. One man said that at times he felt suicidal.
“I don’t even trust myself to make decisions anymore,” he said. “I’ve lost everything.”
Housing experts say these cases have cropped up in immigrant enclaves across the United States, often because immigrants can be too trusting of business leaders from their own communities who hold themselves up as examples of classic American success stories.
In September, a Bolivian-born woman became the third member of her family in San Francisco to be charged with defrauding Latino immigrants in a multimillion-dollar mortgage scheme.
Los Angeles’s Thai community was victimized, community leaders said, by a prominent loan officer who cheated so many immigrants that after he came under scrutiny, he fled to Thailand.
Mr. Ahmad worked as a police detective in Guyana before joining a Guyanese immigration wave to New York City in the early 1980s. A private portion of his Facebook profile, accessible by more than 250 of his friends on the Web site, states that he earned degrees from Baruch College in Manhattan. However, the college has no record of him.
Even today, after the arrest of Mr. Ahmad and at least 12 Guyanese real estate workers, most of whom were accused of running similar but smaller-scale schemes, there are more than 30 real estate businesses on the main thoroughfare, Liberty Avenue.
Mr. Ahmad created a public brand, plastering his photo in advertisements in ethnic newspapers and buying television infomercials. Residents flocked to him.
“It’s personal,” said Paul Sanders, a Guyanese journalist who covers the community. “Ed was one of us.”
When Mr. Ahmad opened a new office, the police blocked traffic as about 300 people, including Representative Meeks and Senator Sampson, attended a ceremony and listened to a calypso singer offer a tribute: “Ed Ahmad! Ed Ahmad! That dynamite businessman. Ed Ahmad! Ed Ahmad! A sexy, handsome young man.”
As he accumulated wealth — one former friend said he was worth at least $20 million in liquid assets — he poured money into charitable and other causes, including the mosque where he prays. He also raised money for politicians like Mr. Meeks and Mr. Sampson.
“Ed used to go around saying he’s befriended politicians, and if he’s ever caught, they’ll help him get off,” said Chuck Mohan, who is the president of a Guyanese civic group in Queens and a friend of Mr. Sampson’s.
Mr. Meeks has said the $40,000 that he received from Mr. Ahmad was a loan, which he paid back, he said, three years after he received it, after the F.B.I. began questioning Mr. Ahmad. Mr. Meeks’s office did not respond to a phone message.
At one point, Mr. Sampson used a staff member to aid in his legal representation of Mr. Ahmad, potentially violating ethics laws, according to state records. Asked for comment, Mr. Sampson’s office would say only that he and Mr. Ahmad remained friends.
In Queens, many people who once jockeyed for Mr. Ahmad’s attention, like radio and television talk show hosts, are keeping their distance. But his defenders questioned why the government was prosecuting immigrant brokers even as it bailed out banks.
“We are innocent victims of the economic frenzy and implosion that America is going through,” said Kawal Totaram, a real estate lawyer and friend of Mr. Ahmad’s.
Some housing advocates disagreed that Mr. Ahmad was in trouble because of forces outside his control. Mamta Gurung, a manager at Chhaya, a Queens-based housing organization that caters to South Asians, said half of her foreclosure clients were Guyanese, including some who had loans from Mr. Ahmad.
She said most of her clients could not identify their mortgage documents. Some could not spell their names. “It’s quite scary,” she said.
Mr. Saha and Mr. Husain, who took the 12.5 percent loan arranged by Mr. Ahmad, said their lives remained in turmoil. They have been unable to start a new business because of a lack of capital, Mr. Husain said, and Mr. Husain’s three children are supporting him financially.
That, Mr. Husain said, is not how life should turn out.
“When you purchase a property, you think, ‘This is it!’ “ he said. Instead, he said, he felt overwhelmed by “depression and anger issues, and hopelessness.”

President Donald Ramotar has announced that Assistant Commissioner of Police Leroy Brummel will head the force in the absence of embattled Commissioner Henry Greene, who is to proceed on leave to facilitate an investigation into a rape allegation that was made against him.
Reports reaching Kaieteur News stated that following the allegations Greene wrote to the President requesting to proceed on leave while the investigations are taking place.

Embattled Commissioner Henry Greene

“I have agreed that he should go on leave while the investigation is going on,” the President said in a recent interview with the state owned National Communications Network (NCN).
“I’ve also raised with the Minister of Home Affairs that they should seek other assistance, external assistance in this investigation…so that it can be done very quickly and that justice can be done, that it can be investigated as fast as possible so that we can put this behind us,” President Ramotar said.
The President’s announcement comes a few days after several calls were made for Greene to step down as Commissioner in light of the damning allegations.
On Monday last a 34-year-old woman shocked the nation when she gave a tell it all interview to several media houses, detailing a sordid encounter with the Top Cop on November 22, six days before the last general elections.
The woman spoke about receiving threats to her life if she ever went public with the allegations.
This, she said, resulted in her only making the public disclosure more than two weeks after the alleged incident.
She said that she was so overwhelmed and could no longer live with her conscience that she decided to reveal details of the alleged ordeal.
The Alliance for Change had first made the call with its Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan demanding that Greene be immediately interdicted from the Guyana Police Force.
“As a matter of fact, based on what we have heard, we feel that he ought to tender his resignation or the President ought to dismiss him….but at the very least at this stage… an interdiction,” Ramjattan said at a recent press conference that his party hosted.
According to Ramjattan, a citizen seeking the assistance of the Commissioner of Police and having to wait late at nights and the talk of money involved would constitute an abuse of the Commissioner’s office even if there was some level of consent… it would require an immediate resignation or dismissal on the part of Greene.
The AFC Chairman opined that if it were any other ordinary citizen that was being accused of such a heinous act, “you would have already been locked up, probably with no bail for several weeks.”
Ramjattan, a lawyer by profession, was of the opinion that the case will represent a big test for the Guyana Police Force and its commitment to the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act.
It is very unfortunate that it is our Commissioner who will be bearing the brunt…I hope that it is dealt with and it is not that we pass laws and there is no enforcement.”
The AFC Prime Ministerial Candidate for the recently held General Elections, Raphael Trotman, adding his sentiments to the now topical issue, said that the matter was the first real test for Head-of- State Donald Ramotar.
Speaking to the call for an interdiction of the Commissioner, who is already past retirement age and is current on an extension contract, Trotman was worried that Greene remaining there could impact on the investigation.
Greene’s predecessor, Former Commissioner Winston Felix had also called on Greene  “do the honourable thing” and step down from his post.
“Since he has been interdicting ranks who have committed similar and lesser breaches of  the law, I think he has one honourable course of action to take and to do anything otherwise, would be to force the hands of his superiors,” said Felix.
When contacted, Greene had told this publication that Felix, first, has no credibility to be calling for his resignation.
He continued to play down the allegations.
“Let God be the judge. It’s not prudent for me to make any comments right now. I’ve sought legal advice on that matter and it is engaging the attention of my lawyers,” Greene said.
A Partnership for National Unity’s youth arm ‘Youth for Transformational Change’ last week picketed Greene’s home in Lamaha Springs, calling for his resignation.
Similar calls for Greene to step aside were also made by the women’s advocate body Red Thread and the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers.
The association said that the allegation is a very serious one and requires an immediate and thorough investigation by the Guyana Police Force.
They stressed that Greene, who is an Attorney-at-law, ought to know that he should not be performing the duties of Head of the Guyana Police Force while the said Police Force is investigating an allegation made against him. But there are some concerns by several members of the force who believe that the commissioner should step down once and for all.
“There is a possibility that he could still return to the job and those who are carrying out the investigation will know that they will still have to face him if he should return as the Top Cop.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud dismissed any suggestion that the Top Cop had in any way influenced the investigations.
He said that the Commissioner has not given any instructions regarding the investigation.
“Standard operational procedures are being followed. No, we haven’t approached the Commissioner for a statement as yet. We have to do a number of things in relation to the statement that the woman gave,” the Crime Chief told Kaieteur News.

Kwame Mc Coy

Avoiding eye contact with journalists outside the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Information and Press Liaison to former President Bharrat Jagdeo Kwame Mc Coy headed straight to his waiting vehicle yesterday after appearing before Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine- Beharry on charges of assault and threatening language.

Mc Coy who was represented by Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos, was twice charged for assault causing actual bodily harm to which he maliciously and unlawfully wounded Clifton Stewart and Natalie Ross. He was also charged for the use of threatening language towards Stewart.

He was released on his own recognizance and is to return to court on February 21.

President Donald Ramotar and his Cabinet of Ministers at State House shortly after the swearing-in ceremony.

Following the recent General and Regional Elections on November 28th, Guyana’s seventh Executive President, Donald Ramotar, yesterday announced a 20-Minister Cabinet with five new faces over the previous one.
There were several exchanging of portfolios with the most significant one being former Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, who has now taken over as the new Minister of Agriculture while former Agri Minister, Robert Persaud, is to head the new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. (See additional details in tomorrow’s Tuesday, December 6th edition).

A Partnership for National Unity secured 139,678 votes or 40.8 per cent of the votes cast.

It secured 26 seats in the National Assembly.

The Alliance for Change secured 35,333 votes of 10.3 per cent of the total votes cast. It will now have seven seats in the National Assembly.

The total registered voters were 475,496. Total votes cast were 346,717. There were 4,481 rejected votes. The total valid votes cast were 342,236.

Voter turnout was 72.9 per cent

A breakdown of the geographical constituency votes and allocation of seats

Region #1 (Barima- Waini)  - 2 Seats

No of Registered Electors:  9,738

Total Number of Votes Cast:  5,351

Rejected Votes: 151

Valid Votes Cast:  5200

APNU – 887

AFC – 786

PPP/C – 3,472

TUF – 55

APNU – 1 seat    PPP/C – 1 seat

*************

Region #2 (Pomeroon -Supenaam) – 2 Seats

No of Registered Electors: 27,178

Total Number of Votes Cast:  18,209

Rejected Votes: 275

Valid Votes Cast:  17, 934

APNU – 3,254

AFC – 2,159

PPP/C -12,450

TUF – 69

PPP/C – 2 seats

**************

Region #3 (Essequibo Islands) – 3 Seats

No of Registered Electors: 69,363

Total Number of Votes Cast:  51,469

Rejected Votes:  604

Valid Votes Cast:  50,865

APNU – 14,028

AFC – 3,343

PPP/C- 33,424

TUF – 70

PPP/C -2 Seats   APNU – 1 Seat 

*************

Region #4 (Demerara-Mahaica) – 7 Seats

No of Registered Electors: 213,147

Total Number of Votes Cast:  158,097

Rejected Votes:  1,582

Valid Votes Cast:  156,515

APNU – 84,828

AFC – 10,635

PPP/C – 60,851

TUF – 201

APNU – 4 Seats  PPP/C – 3 Seats

*************

Region #5 (Mahaica-Berbice) – 2 Seats

No of Registered Electors:  32,807

Total Number of Votes Cast:  25,910

Rejected Votes:  338

Valid Votes Cast:  25,572

APNU – 8,906

AFC – 3,079

PPP/C -13,558

TUF- 29

APNU – 1 seat   PPP/C 1 seat

*************

Region #6 (East Berbice-Corentyne) – 3 Seats

No of Registered Electors:  75,199

Total Number of Votes Cast: 55,851

Rejected Votes: 976

Valid Votes Cast:  54,875

APNU – 10,798

AFC -11,634

PPP/C – 32,360

TUF – 83

AFC- 1 seat   PPP/C- 2 seats

*************

Region #7 (Cuyuni- Mazaruni) – 2 Seats

No of registered electors: 9,598

Total Number of Votes Cast:  5,930

Rejected Votes:  122

Valid Votes Cast:  5,808

APNU – 2,843

AFC – 505

PPP/C – 2,376

TUF – 84

APNU – 1 seat   PPP/C 1 seat

*************

Region #8 (Potaro-Siparuni) – 1 Seat

No of registered electors:  4,197

Total Number of Votes Cast:  2,634

Rejected Votes:  64

Valid Votes Cast:  2,570

APNU – 739

AFC – 995

PPP/C – 741

TUF – 95

AFC – 1 seat

*************

Region #9 (Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo) – 1 Seat

No of registered electors:  10,204

Total Number of Votes Cast:  7,450

Rejected Votes:  182

Valid Votes Cast:  7,268

APNU – 2,004

AFC- 946

PPP/C – 4,135

TUF – 183

PPP/C – 1 seat

*************

Region #10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice)  – 2 Seats

No of registered electors:  24,065

Total Number of Votes Cast:  15,816

Rejected Votes:  232

Valid Votes Cast:  15,584

APNU – 11,358

AFC – 1,324

PPP/C – 2,868

TUF – 34

APNU – 2 seats

*************

APNU – 10 seats   AFC- 2 seats   PPP/C – 13 seats

National Top-Up  – 40 Seats

No of registered electors:  475,496

Total Number of Votes Cast:  346,717 (72.9% turnout)

Rejected Votes:  4,481

Valid Votes Cast:  342,236

APNU – 139,678 (40.8%)

AFC – 35,333 (10.3%)

PPP/C – 166,340 (48.6%)

TUF – 885 (0.2%)

APNU – 16 Seats   AFC – 5 Seats   PPP/C -19 Seats

*************

Parliamentary Seating Allocation (65 Seats)

APNU – 26  AFC – 7  PPP/C – 32

Patrick Koo, the General Manager of Auto Supplies, represented the Haier company at the opening of bids, but now denies being connected with the company that won the US$7.5 million contract to supply the government 27,000 netbooks.
Given Koo’s presence at the bid opening, questions have been raised about the association of Auto Supplies owner Brian James with Haier.
Two weeks ago, James, no stranger to controversy, cancelled his invitations to a ceremony to mark the start of construction of a cinema complex on land which is the centre of a bitter legal dispute between the government and hardware giant Toolsie Persaud Limited. Toolsie Persaud claims it is the rightful owner of the land which was sold off by the government.

Brian James

James could not be reached for comment yesterday regarding his possible involvement with Haier.
According to the minutes of the August 9th meeting of the National Procurement and Tender Administration, during which tenders were opened for the laptop supply contract, Patrick Koo, signed as representing Haier. Another person, who gave their telephone contact as the same as that of Auto Supplies, signed on behalf of the other Chinese company that put in a bid for the contract.
However, when contacted by Kaieteur News Friday, Koo said that he was “assisting in putting things” together for Haier. However, Koo said he was not the representative of Haier. He said he was asked by an “associate” to help out. When asked who was his “associate” Koo said he could not provide that information. He undertook to return a call but this has not been done. Attempts to reach Koo yesterday proved futile.
When the award of the contract was made last Wednesday, the Senior Project Manager, Sesh Sukhdeo said that the company has a time within which to name its representative and when that happens, the information will be provided.
As per the bid documents, the company has 21 days following the award of the contract to do so.
The company that won the contract is Haier Electrical Appliances Limited of China. Upon enquiry, Kaieteur News was told that the winning company is a subsidiary of the Hiaer Group.
This newspaper requested contact information for the winning company and was provided with a website for Haier Global. That website lists Haier China as one of its Asia locations, and there was no specific mention of Haier Electrical Appliances Limited.
According to the company’s website, Haier’s four leading product categories – refrigerators, refrigerating cabinets, air conditioners and washing machines – have over 30% market share.
Haier was one of two companies that President Bharrat Jagdeo, six months ago, said could be favoured to supply laptops, utilizing the Chinese grant funding for the project.
According to bid documents, the government has to publish on the national website (www.gina.gov.gy) the results identifying the winning bidder, the price it was offered and the duration and summary scope of the contract awarded.
The government, as the purchaser, is also obligated to give the reasons why the other bids were rejected.
After publication of the award, unsuccessful bidders may request in writing to the Purchaser for a debriefing, seeking explanations on the grounds on which their bids were not selected.
Kaieteur News understands that at least one bidder has requested this information. Once this is done, the bid documents specify that the purchaser “shall promptly respond in writing to any unsuccessful Bidder who, after Publication of contract award, requests a debriefing.”
According to bid documents, the winning contractor will have two months after it signs the contract to provide half the amount of netbooks and within another month to supply the remainder.
The government has said that it aims to start handing out the laptops in October.
Haier Electrical Appliances won the bid in the re-tender for the supply of the laptops. In the first process, three local companies submitted bids, but they were all rejected by the government, which launched another process.
The bids in the fresh round of tendering were opened on August 9 and it was revealed that eight foreign companies and three local companies put in bids. The bidding entities were Fatz Express Packaging Services (T&T); InfoStock of Spain/Global Services Limited; McEarney Business Machine (MBM) of Trinidad; Abboud Trading Corporation of Florida, USA; Josh Gram-Hanssen of Denmark; N.J. Computers of Trinidad; GOHIGH of China; Haier Electrical Appliances Limited of China; Deo Narine Singh/Nova Scotia Manufacturing Company (Guyana); Giftland Office Max (Guyana) and RRT Enterprise and Auto Sales of Guyana.
In re-tendering, the government moved to adjust the technical specifications for the laptops it wants. The Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh said this was done after two meetings with stakeholders.
Singh said that the submission of 11 bids served as justification for the government’s decision to re-tender for the supply of the laptops. He said the intention was to increase the competition in the bidding process.
Once three bidders were shortlisted, Dr Singh said, the bids were evaluated by a technical team to ascertain whether each bid was substantially responsive.
Once the three companies were favoured, they were subjected to detailed valuation against a comprehensive set of financial and technical criteria, Dr Singh explained.
The evaluation committee ranked Haier as the highest and made its recommendation to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, which endorsed the recommendation and sent it off to Cabinet.
The bidding, conducted through the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) procedures, required bidders to show evidence of technical experience and financial capacity; manufacturer’s authorization and warranty; audited financial statements for the past three years from a recognized/authorized agency; and submission of the bid security. A margin of preference for eligible domestic bids was not applied.
Regarding the specifications of the Netbook/Laptop, the bid documents made it clear what the requirements would be.
It is expected that the memory will be at least 2.0GB; a display screen of 10.1 inches; camera of 0.3 megapixels; two USB 2.0 ports; 1 RJ-45; headphones; microphones, card reader: MMC/SD Video Adaptor; Integrated Video with an operating system of a minimum Genuine Windows 7 Starter English (OEM).
It will also include a minimum two hours battery operational life and has the capacity to handle wireless data. In addition to anti-virus protection, the laptop or netbook should also give a one-year manufacturer’s warranty on parts and labour.

The role of a senior official of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) in registering a movie theater company earlier this year has been described as a blatant conflict of interest.
The movie theater company, Multicinemas Guyana Inc. and the government are currently embroiled in a court action over a piece of prime land at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara with hardware giant, Toolsie Persaud Limited.
Toolsie Persaud had also named the Attorney General and NICIL in that court action.

Christopher Ram

Khemraj Ramjattan

According to Multicinemas’ Articles of Incorporation, NICIL’s second in command, Marcia Nadir-Sharma, is listed and has signed as the Incorporator.
This is clearly a conflict of interest for Nadir-Sharma to be acting as an attorney-at-law while she is holding the substantive post of being the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary of NICIL, say attorneys-at-law Christopher Ram and Khemraj Ramjattan.
NICIL is a government-owned agency responsible for subscribing for, taking or otherwise acquiring and holding the Government shares, stocks, debentures or other securities of any company, co-operatives societies or body corporate. It has been facilitating the sale and lease of state lands and assets within recent years.
Arms’ length
Like Ram, Ramjattan who is the AFC’s Presidential Candidate for the upcoming national elections, is of the view that an attorney other than Nadir should have incorporated the private company.
“State lawyers do not indulge in this kind of private practice. Moreover, being the lawyer who is NICIL’s second in charge, with NICIL selling to Multicinemas, mean that the transaction could not be at arms’ length at all.”
Ramjattan explained that the private company and NICIL had one common factor- Nadir- Sharma.
“This whole transaction is tainted as a result. Clearly unethical, it may include some illegality.”
The land case has taken heightened significance with government admitting over the past week that it has already sold off over 10 acres of land at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara – which has been the source of litigation – to a Trinidad-based company that wants to build a movie and entertainment complex.
The sod-turning of MovieTowne was scheduled for two Thursdays ago, but was cancelled the same day. One day before, a judge had granted an injunction ordering equipment, workers and others off the land until a determination could be made on an application filed by Toolsie Persaud Limited.
Last Sunday, Kaieteur News broke the story on the legal battle over a tract of land at Turkeyen, part of which included the piece which MovieTowne was set to build on.
On Monday night, the government accused Kaieteur News of publishing yet another ‘biased’ and ‘irresponsible’ report.
The newspaper had reported on the court documents and what it knew of the sod-turning ceremony.
Unclear anyone?
“The article appears to be totally a publication of what Mr. Toolsie Persaud has stated in court papers. The article makes no attempt to ascertain the facts or to present a balanced view,” the statement from government said.
It was unclear what government meant by “ascertain the facts” since newspapers and the media are barred from commenting or seeking comments on matters before the court…at least until they have concluded.
Kaieteur News had mentioned that the invitation for the sod-turning event at Turkeyen had the printed name of businessman, Brian James, an official of Auto Supplies Limited.

NICIL’s Marcia Nadir-Sharma

Addressing this, the statement said that by referencing associates of the Government, the Kaieteur News “again seeks to distort the true facts of the matter.”
While not naming Brian James, government insisted that he is neither an officer or shareholder of Multi-Cinemas (Guyana) Inc or its sister company.
The statement did not mention the fact that Brian James’ Auto Supplies offices at 306 Peter Rose Streets, Queenstown, is the same registered address of Multicinemas Guyana Inc.
“Government considers KN article to be a total misrepresentation. Contrary to the report in KN, the CCJ never ordered Government to transfer title to TPL.”
Kaieteur News was only reporting on what the court documents said.

Nothing improper
“Government asserts that the sale of land owned by Government, with such ownership rights being reaffirmed by the CCJ, is proper. Given that this matter is currently before the courts, Government will address the details of this matter at an appropriate time in the future.”
It is unclear again what the government meant since by issuing the statement, it is already providing the details of the matter.
The government said that the article erroneously states that the land is owned by Toolsie Persaud Limited. “The land is owned by the Government as reaffirmed by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in July 2008.  Despite judgment in favour of the Government, by the highest court subscribed to by Guyana, the CCJ, Mr. Toolsie Persaud continues to seek to frustrate Government’s attempt to develop the area, via their legal action in the local courts.”
The government insisted that it has pursued the development of these lands in an open and transparent manner.
“Government’s plans to unveil the creation of a Movietowne and Entertainment Complex in Guyana, at the said location at Liliendaal, is thwarted by Mr. Toolsie Persaud’s abuse of the legal system.”
The government went further and admitted that earlier this year, via National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), it sold 10.002 acres of land to Multi Cinemas (Guyana) Inc, the sister company of the Trinidadian company Multi Cinemas Inc, that owns Movietowne in Trinidad, to develop a similar project in Guyana.
“This sale and passage of title was completed in early August.”
The land is immediately west of the UG Access Road and facing the East Coast Demerara Public Road.
Toolsie Persaud Limited has taken the Attorney General, NICIL and the movie theatre company to court to halt the construction of the project.
Toolsie Persaud Limited is contending that it will not accept compensation since it is the rightful owner of the land, having purchased it in 1987 via an agreement of sale with government.

“Working here (Psychiatric Hospital), I find, makes you a rounded person, because it’s not just dealing with individuals with health issues, but with an additional mental health issue. And I have recognised over the years that I have a flair for mental health… a soft-spot for these patients, because of the type of illness they suffer.”
By Leon Suseran
Being a healthcare provider calls for a lot of patience, hard work and determination, and this week’s ‘Special Person’, Leila Clarke-Daniels, has performed dutifully in that area for over 40 years. And even though she spent much of her years witnessing firsthand how the system is managed and administered properly, she did, from time to time, perform tasks and jobs that a healthcare practitioner so skillfully does on a daily basis, such as cooking and caring for patients.
She has a pure love for the system and has been passionate about it from the very start, upon entering the New Amsterdam Hospital as an ordinary clerk. Little did she know that it was the beginning of a fruitful and rewarding career in the field of health, moving up the ranks to Hospital Administrator and then being recalled to Head the National Psychiatric Hospital after retiring a few years ago.
Leila has a wealth of experience that she garnered from decades of practice and shares some of this with us today on this journey of reminiscing.

Leila Clarke-Daniels

Born Leila Clarke, at Trinity Street, New Amsterdam, on January 12, 1952, to Elvira and Harold Clarke, her parents had acquired a house at Savannah Park Housing Scheme on the outskirts of the town. She attended the All Saints’ Anglican School.
“When I entered Fourth Standard, the schools were taken over by the government and we were all transferred to the Vryman’s Erven Primary School, then I moved up and wrote the College of Preceptors Exam at that school where I acquired 5 subjects, including English and Maths, “she said.
She then moved on to Victoria High where she completed the General Certificate of Education. While awaiting the results for that exam, Leila entered the Victoria Commercial School “where I started doing the related subjects…Shorthand was my favourite, and at that time the principal was Ms Eileen Benons- King”.
Being a focused student, young Leila quickly wrote and was successful in one exam after another and, of course, even started working at the school where she taught shorthand.
A few months after, in 1974, at the age of 22, she entered the public healthcare system, where she would grow and nurture her professional career. She entered as an accounts clerk at the New Amsterdam (N/A) Hospital (then located at Charles Place). She later moved on to further her education by doing a Management Programme at the Kuru Kuru Co-op College and another Management course at the University of Guyana.
Leila was appointed Assistant Hospital Administrator in 1985 and later transferred to the National Psychiatric Hospital, after which she became Hospital Administrator at N/A Hospital in 1989. She retired in 2007 in that position…for three years. She was recalled and is currently serving as Administrator at the National Psychiatric Hospital.
“Those years were really, really challenging years. I could recall persons coming to the door and asking ‘Can I talk to the Administrator?’ and when they saw the face of a woman, they were taken aback. They were shocked to know the Administrator was female. But, I would tell them that there are no differences.
Women can do the functions just as good as a man… and even better than a man! I found that the staff that I managed felt at ease to come to me at any time. Usually I would tell them that my doors are always open, that they should free and at ease to come to me at any time and talk. I essentially try to befriend them, though I am not being very soft with them; I am firm, but you know, in a friendly way,” she asserted.
Leila remembered some of the challenges being Hospital Administrator- particularly a big general strike in 1992, where she had to manage some of the hospital wards herself, around the clock.
“At that time, most of the staff was out. We had to manage some of the wards ourselves. I remember actually working for 24 hours and just going home, freshen up and come back, so that we could make sure that the hospital had coverage,” she recalled.
She vividly remembers “cooking for 3 days”.
“Once at the Psychiatric Hospital, we had to prepare meals for three days for 220 patients because all the staff was out. I had to manage the kitchen. I had to bring the patients out, manage the laundry, get their clothes washed and clean and so on, and after those three days, I begged the staff, I said ‘Please do come back, I cannot do it any longer, it’s too much.”
“I loved working in the health services. As a young clerk, I can recall that we were advised that we were into health and we were dealing with people’s lives and as such, we had to be very efficient in whatever we were doing,” she asserted.
This affable healthcare provider is a member of Damon, in the USA, a global network that deals with mental health. She also became a member of the Lioness Club, in 1991, in New Amsterdam, and served in that noble institution for 20 years.

With the family in the early ‘90s

At that time, in the early ‘90s, it was the Lioness Club “because we were females… and a little after, the female arm answered the conversion call, that there should not be any segregation, and that we should all be classified as Lions, so I was transferred to the Lions arm of the organization”. She then later served, in 1995, as president of the organization where she held the prominent designation of Zone Chairperson of the Berbice area.
A staunch Anglican, Ms Clarke- Daniels has served for the People’s Warden for 6 years at the All Saints’ Anglican Church. Today, she dishes out a lot of advice to persons in need.
“Some come for advice, for help, they bring their children, they ask me to talk to youths, to do counselling. You name it, I am there always reaching out to whoever needs my help and assistance.”
Leila found her soul mate, Vincent Daniels, at age 24, and they have been happily married for 35 years. Their union resulted in three offspring, Marlon, a teacher; Rhonda, a Medical Technologist at the Davis Memorial Hospital in Georgetown; and the youngest, Andrew, is a Seaman.
“We’re still together. We look back on our marriage on a daily basis and as it gets older, it is more enjoyable,” she noted.
She advises young married couples to “trust and communicate with each other”.
“I never listened to people telling me things about my husband. I never paid them any heed; I am a person who likes to find out for myself,” she reflected. “We talk a lot to each other, and most of all, we have God in our lives”.
They got married on July 1, 1976. “At that time I was a good looking young girl and I went to a dance at the Christian Men’s Club (CMC) at the BERMINE Management Centre, and every month end they used to have a dance, so a bunch of us girls used to get together, and I met this young Prison Officer,” she reminisced fondly.
Her husband was transferred to Mazaruni and this affected her family, but not until after she did she step in and ask him to look for another job “because these children needed a father in the home, particularly my daughter, she was very close to her father and she used to be asking for him every day”. He did leave and became a hire car driver.
Mrs Clarke- Daniels thoroughly enjoys giving her service currently at the country’s lone Psychiatric facility. She thoughtfully and interestingly opines that working in health, “one’s job is never completed unless one works at the Psychiatric Hospital”.
“Working here, I find, makes you a rounded person, because it’s not just dealing with individuals with health issues, but with an additional mental health issue. And I have recognised over the years that I have a flair for mental health… a soft-spot for these patients, because of the type of illness they suffer.”
Clarke-Daniels stated that she enjoys seeing patients rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society and it is something she works tirelessly to see happen.
“We have a therapy programme. We try to identify patients’ strengths and weaknesses,” she said, adding that, “They build on their strengths and are encouraged to see what the hospital can get them to work on. There are number of skillful and educated patients here. These patients, we bring them out on a daily basis, we have them do a lot of art and craft, carpentry skills, leather craft, sewing, knitting, some even go to the laundry and assist with washing their clothing. This we feel will keep them occupied and let them know that when they leave here, they can go back into society and once again become useful individuals.
The Hospital Administrator noted that it is quite sad that some families do not lend the quality of support they should give to their mentally-ill relatives.

At her daughter’s UG Graduation in 2006

“…Particularly the families…I would like to let them know that these patients are human beings and all human beings need love, support… they need to know that someone cares for them. Can you imagine how happy and responsive it would make a patient feel when a relative visits? They (family members) should not leave the patients… abandon them. Relatives need to know that the patients should be kept on their medications. We discharge and send them home and give them a parole, and then within 2-3 weeks, they are back. When you find out, unfortunately, the relatives did not keep up and maintain the medication.”
As for words of encouragement to young healthcare workers in the system today, Clarke- Daniels emphasised that they do not only have to take up the job for financial reasons, “they have to be caring, loving individuals. They have got to love the job and it would cause them to have the dedication. Obviously we know money is important, but you’ve got to love the job also and the people who you serve.”
Looking forward to fully retiring, eventually, and leaving the system that has been so good to her over so many years, Leila is determined to leave some footprints in all her areas of endeavour – a positive impression for those behind to emulate.
“I enjoy working with the Lions Club. It is like if my life blood is in it. I enjoy reaching out to suffering humanity. I like to see a smile on people’s face, particularly children, and I find that whenever you do a service, you see that smile.”
As she looked back over the years, you could have heard a distinct pause in her voice as she recalled the saddest day of her life – the day she lost her best friend, her mother, Elvira.
“It was on the 1st of July, 1995, I remembered the loss of my best friend… yes, she was my best friend, my hero, the one who encouraged me a lot. I remembered her at nights. In those days, we suffered a lot of blackouts (power outages); and like I remembered her with that lamp in the dark, encouraging us to study. If only she were alive…if only…she was my best friend.”
On the brighter side her father, a former boat-builder, is 90 years old and still alive and kicking today.
Leila Clarke-Daniels’ concerns for young people are about many of them using and abusing drugs. “I urge them to live life one day at a time. Stay away from drugs; I am at an institution where I see them coming on a daily basis. I see how destructive drugs can be to their lives, and I am advising them to leave those potent substances alone.
Pray daily to your Creator and ask for his directions; ask that he give you the wisdom, understanding and patience, because some of the young ones are into this thing [drug abuse] because they want quick money. Things will come their way, but they’ve got to talk to God. He doesn’t want big, fancy words, but always keep talking to him. Keep God in your life and things will work out.”

Dr. Yesu Persaud

Today we share with you a retelling of some of the events surrounding those elections from one man’s vantage point. The story was so important that its bearer has dedicated an entire chapter to it in the memoirs of his long and colourful life.
As we approach yet another set of elections, the author has shared with us this chapter of his work. It tells a tale of the patriotism, dedication and faith of an entire nation and it would do all Guyanese well to remember that things were not always so simple. That many of the freedoms we enjoy today were dearly bought. And that we must ensure that we do not take these freedoms for granted.
The chapter begins with a little taste of what the parties were offering the people, it tells of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and People’s National Congress (PNC) rallies that attracted in excess of 15,000 people. It tells of the fever that gripped the nation, in fact, that is the chapter’s title: Election Fever 1992. And its author is Dr. Yesu Persaud.
He tells of the call by Rudy Collins, then-Chairman of the Elections Commission, for Electoral Officers from the Private Sector. It was a call that was readily answered with 33 percent of the Electoral Officers coming from the Private Sector after final selections were made.
Being at the helm of Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), Dr. Persaud knew for a fact that all of DDL’s Senior Supervisors and Managers had volunteered to serve and most of them were selected as Polling Officers. He himself had been appointed as a Presiding Officer for one of the polling stations adjoining the Peter’s Hall School Polling Office. He would never get the opportunity to fill that post however.
He writes that two days before Polling Day, on October 3, 1992 he was sent for by Collins, who asked him to help out with the Visitors/Observers from overseas at the Command Centre. To honour the request, he had to help find a replacement for his post as Presiding Officer and see that he was trained.

Crisis looms
That taken care of, Dr. Persaud found himself at a State House reception held for the overseas observers on that same evening – a Saturday. The invitees, he recalled, were local VIPs, Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Senior Officials of the Command Centre and, of course, the overseas observers. During the reception the first set of bad news came.
Dr Persaud writes, “I recall vividly the Elections Commission Chairman’s anxiety and his response when he was informed around 8:30pm that 400 to 500 Electoral Officers would not turn out on Election morning.”
Clairmont Lye of the Electoral Assistance Bureau (EAB) told Collins that the EAB, the Private Sector and other Civic Groups would immediately put steps in place to recruit and train 500 persons as Electoral officers on Sunday, October 4 – the following day. He left immediately after. Lye called EAB members and supporters and told them to start recruiting from their friends and families and he telephoned all of the private television stations as well as the radio station launching immediate advertisements calling persons to come forward as Civic Citizens to be trained as Electoral Officers.
After Lye’s departure Mr. David Peterson, former Premier of Ontario, Canada, and head of the Commonwealth Observer team said to Dr. Persaud that “… forces are at work either to derail or prevent the Elections taking place …” and then he asked what they should do to fill the quota of Electoral Officers. Dr. Persaud’s answer was simple. “We could start recruiting right here …” and so the American, Brazilian, Venezuelan, Colombian and Russian Ambassadors, the British, Canadian and Indian High Commissioners and the EU delegate were all approached and they all agreed to ask their staffers to turn  up for training at the Command Centre the following day. Not stopping there, Dr. Persaud recruited thirty more attendees of the reception that he knew personally.
Before he left the reception, another challenge arose. Chairman Collins told him that there needed to be 40 vehicles and drivers on standby at 2am on the coming Monday, Election Day.
The next morning, Sunday, October 4, 1992, Dr. Persaud was in office at 07:00hrs calling for those vehicles. From Beni Sankar, DDL, Vinelli Industries, AINLIM, Laparkan, Beepat and Beesons, Gafoor’s and from the Insurance Industry, as well as the Accounting and Management Staff of these companies, 40 vehicles and drivers had been volunteered by 10:00hrs. They would all be lined up for dispatch with Officials, Ballot Boxes, materials and equipment to the polling stations.
By 10:30am the Chairman called, this time he needed persons to assist with photocopying and collating documents at the Command Centre. Dr. Persaud recalled that his secretary Savitri, who had been at his office all morning helping him locate the vehicles, immediately volunteered and rang a few friends all of whom, without hesitation volunteered to be at the Command Centre at noon.

GECOM training session for Electoral Officers

At around 4pm (16:00hrs) that day another challenge arose. The UNDP Consultant informed the Chairman that only one copy of the list would be available for a number of major districts. This was a serious shortfall since several copies were needed for each polling station. Again the Private Sector would come to the rescue. While explaining his predicament to Mr. Bisheswar, Financial Controller of Laparkan who had been training a batch of Officers, Doreen de Caires walked by and heard the conversation. She said “Give me the lists of a few districts and I will get the Insurance Companies and others to photocopy them. We still have time; even if it means working after midnight.” Maurice Solomon of AINLIM answered the request with one word, “Done.”
Dr. Persaud’s secretary, Savitri opened DDL’s office in High Street to start churning out more copies. The EAB office was also assisting as were Kayman Sankar, the insurance companies and many small offices. Mrs. De Caires who took on the responsibility of Coordinator was true to her word and by midnight the lists were completed to the Chairman’s satisfaction.
But even as they surmounted this challenge, another arose. The supplies for each polling station needed to be prepared, an exercise which required the services of about 30 persons. Again, civic-minded citizens came to the rescue. This time it was Fazil Feroze, then-Chairman of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) and Sultan Rahaman, Vice President of the CIOG who were both at the training centre. Upon hearing of the predicament the two men brushed aside Dr. Persaud’s fears that the job wouldn’t get done and promised to return in under an hour. True to their word they returned in 35 minutes with a bus load of 35 young men.

The day
At 2:30am on Election Day all was in readiness and by 4:30am all the boxes and materials had been cleared from the Command Centre and had been dispatched to their respective polling stations. The greatest success however was the training of over 500 persons as Electoral Officers on Sunday, October 4, 1992. They were not all needed and so over 100 of them were put on standby to fill gaps as they occurred. The trucks, buses and cars left with the Elections Officers and materials at 3am, by 5:30am all stations were fully manned and voting in most stations started at 6:00am sharp.
Dr. Persaud made his way to the Command Centre where he met Chairman Collins and the two prepared for what they hoped would be a good day – they would later realise that hope was in vain. The first visitor to the centre was President Jimmy Carter. The former President told Dr. Persaud that he was “very heartened with the long orderly lines of persons waiting to vote at all the stations that he had visited from 6:00am to 8:30am.” President Carter and the American Ambassador at the time, George Fleming Jones, then left to inspect the polling stations in the Interior.

Citizens waiting to cast their votes

But at 11:45am “all hell broke loose in front of the Command Centre of the Elections Commission at Croal and Sendall Place”. A huge crowd had gathered in front of the centre. The crowd was shouting “We want to vote, we want to vote, we want to vote. The Polling stations are refusing to grant us our rights to vote.” It was later found out that most of the protesters had either not registered or could not produce any acceptable form of identification at the place of poll which was the voting requirement at the time. As the crowd grew larger a few vehicles arrived quietly with stones.
The protestors began to rain bricks on the Command Centre shattering all the glass windows and all the while they were threatening to burn the building to the ground forcing the personnel to be evacuated through the rear of the building. The Chairman refused to leave his post, however, and even went so far as to confront the riotous crowd. He told them that if they wanted to vote they needed to stand in an orderly line and with their identity cards and passports. Ballot papers were handed out and a Special Ballot box was prepared.
At this point in time, Dr. Persuad writes, a senior political functionary arrived and told the crowd that they were being tricked into thinking that their votes would be counted. At this announcement a large section of the crowd went off to Regent Street and began looting the stores. The Police were nowhere to be seen on Camp or Regent Streets.
Meanwhile President Carter and his entourage as well as the American Ambassador had returned. They braved the crowds to make their way to the Command Centre to receive the welcoming news that attempts to destroy the building and stop the Electoral Process had not succeeded. President Carter spoke to President Hoyte and the Army was called out to restore order.

The results
After the polls closed, Officers counted the votes at the place of poll in the presence of Political Party Representatives, scrutineers and observers. Results started coming into the Command Centre at 9:30pm and by midday the next day the results were announced. The PPP has won the elections by a margin of 9 percent.
Dr. Persaud wrote in this chapter of his book, “What seemed an impossible task had been accomplished very smoothly and all those who participated felt an immense sense of relief and congratulated one another on a job well done. There was no doubt that dark forces were at work to derail the Elections. But this was not to be. They had ignored the fact that these were the first free elections in 28 years and civil society was prepared to help, irrespective of time. The Chairman had called on civil society to render assistance and civil society took this responsibility with great honour and pride and delivered the goods to his total satisfaction.”

Tishana Arthur with 13 grade ones at this year's CSEC examinations receives the Annie Daniels Award.

The pride of the village was manifested when former son of the soil Distinguished Professor Kerwin Charles, of the University of Chicago, USA continued to reward excellence with a monetary donation to the top CSEC students.
The presentation was made at a simple but significant ceremony by the professor’s mother Mrs. Paulette Charles, a former Head Teacher in the village of Buxton.
Beaton and Arthur each received $100,000 which is expected to go a far way in preparing them for the new phase of their education.
Beaton has already decided on a career in medicine and is presently attending the University of Guyana, while Arthur is taking some time out before making that all important career decision.
The presenter of the award, Distinguished Professor Charles, strongly believes that he owes it to the village to give back something to those who have excelled academically, in memory of his grandmother, Mrs. Annie Daniels.
The Professor’s mother Mrs. Paulette Charles, explained that the woman in whose honour the award is given has been close to children throughout her life in the village and it is only fitting that she is remembered with something like this.
“He thinks that, considering  what god has done for his family, meaning his mom, dad and the rest of the line, he owes it to the village, which more or less made his mom and other relatives what they are, to give back, and he has been giving back in several ways.”
But according to Mrs. Charles, of all the projects that her son is involved in, the Annie Daniels award is the one that he cherishes the most.
“He wants to identify with and encourage those young people of the village who would have performed creditably at examinations, irrespective of the level.”
Beaton and Arthur, join several others who have received the award, including Amike Amsterdam who was awarded in 2007 after finishing in ninth position at the National Grade Six Assessment examination.
Since 2007, the award has been shared annually among several Grade Six students, who attended school in the village.
“He wants to promote excellence and he will support that, therefore, in keeping with his desire, we have to look at those students who excel in performance, and this year we were very proud to inform him that there are two outstanding girls from the village who performed, excellently at CSEC,” Mrs. Charles told this newspaper.

Shebiki Beaton receives her award from Mrs. Paulette Charles.

Ironically, this year’s recipients are childhood friends all the way back from nursery school in the village of Buxton.
Tishana, a business student told this newspaper that while she is obviously very proud of her achievement, she feels it is her duty to encourage other Buxtonians to even exceed her achievement.
She does not feel that coming from the village of Buxton was an extra pressure for her to perform, although she did have a point to prove.
“You always want to make the people around you feel proud about your achievement so you work a bit harder,” Arthur said.
Beaton, an aspiring cardiologist, informed that being from the village of Buxton served as a motivation.
“You want to make everyone proud and you know that everyone is counting on you to do well, and you just don’t want to let them down, so, it’s not pressure but motivation,” she said.
To put their achievements in perspective, the two young ladies would have started their secondary school careers during the height of a crime wave during which their village was the epicenter.
“I don’t think about the crime, I think that Buxton has the friendliest people, the most caring people, they would support you, and they would be so proud of you, especially when you excel. When you are from Buxton there is this support group that is always behind you,” Beaton said.

Mayor Claude Henry, Town Councillors and Heads of Departments

New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam as it is known in Dutch) is located in East Berbice-Corentyne Region 6, 62 miles from the capital city, Georgetown. It is one of the largest towns in Guyana and is located on the eastern bank of the Berbice River, immediately south of the Canje River.
New Amsterdam has its origins in a village which grew up alongside Fort Nassau in the 1730s and 1740s. The first New Amsterdam, as it was called then, was situated about 56 miles up the Berbice River on the right bank.
Before the 1763 uprising it comprised a Court of Policy building, a warehouse, an inn, a bakery, a Lutheran church and a number of houses, among other buildings. Built in 1740 by the Dutch, New Amsterdam was first named Fort Saint Andries, before being taken over by the British in 1803.
In March 1763, Cuffy had made the Court of Policy building his headquarters. When the revolutionaries were forced to retreat upriver in 1764, New Amsterdam was torched under the supervision of Prins, and only the brick Lutheran church survived.
Around 1784, as a result of the fluctuating fortunes of Fort Nassau, the Dutch relocated the town to its present site at the confluence of the Berbice and Canje Rivers.
The name New Amsterdam was chosen because most of the colonists originated from the province of Amsterdam in Holland. New Amsterdam was established as the seat of Government for Berbice between 1785 to 1790.
In May 1825 an Ordinance to establish a Board of Management for the town was passed.  In 1844 a Board of Superintendents was established and Mr. Neil Ross McKinnon who was president of that Board was appointed as the Town’s first Mayor .
The town consists of three main roads with many cross streets. From New Amsterdam you can get to Crabwood Creek (about 45 miles away) via the Corentyne or to the East Canje area of Berbice. A road also leads up the Berbice River bank to the town of Mara about 25 miles south.
The New Amsterdam Town Hall was erected in 1868 after the establishment of the Board of Superintendents in 1844. The tower encircled by a ‘widow’s walk is one of the main architectural features of this edifice.
The main schools in New Amsterdam are Berbice High School, Berbice Educational Institute, Vryman’s Erven Secondary, Tutorial Academy and New Amsterdam Multilateral High School.
Other important landmarks are All Saints Scots Church, Mission Chapel Congregational Church, The All Saint Anglican Church, The New Amsterdam Public Hospital and the Ituni Temple: The population of New Amsterdam’s is approximately 50,000.

Eight US aviation experts along with makers of top aircraft manufacturers Boeing are expected arrive in Guyana today to help local authorities probe the crash of a Caribbean Airlines aircraft which split into two but miraculously saw the survival of all passengers and the crew.
“It’s an absolute miracle what happened here in Georgetown,” said Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) Chairman George Nicholas, who flew into Guyana with top executives of the Trinidad government-owned airline.

T&T Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, tours the crash site

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, ran off the runway and broke into two at around 01:32 Saturday morning.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago arrived in the country last evening and was taken on a tour of the wreck site. A teary-eyed Persad-Bissessar told local journalists at the airport that the Trinidad government was saddened at what happened and called the survival of all the passengers and crew nothing short of a miracle.
On board the flight were 96 American passport holders (most of whom are believed to be Guyanese), 44 Guyanese passport holders and 12 Canadian passport holders.
Neither the government nor the airline is giving any preliminary thoughts on how the crash happened, but Persad-Bissessar called for a speedy investigation, and said her government was willing to help.
“Obviously something did go wrong,” she said. Earlier in the day, Minister Benn suggested the investigation could go on for months.
He could not say unequivocally if all airport systems were in place at the time of the accident.
Caribbean Airlines disclosed that the pilot who was commanding the aircraft at the time has been flying to Guyana for the past 25 years.
Benn said that at the time of the accident there was a light shower with visibility of eight kilometers, which is good visibility to allow for a safe landing.
Local Army and Police have secured the scene of the crash to allow for the investigations. Transport Minister Robeson Benn said that the black box and voice data recorder have been retrieved.
The aircraft was acquired by Caribbean Airlines at a cost of US$38 million. Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said that the aircraft was insured.
Officials of the US’ National Transportation and Safety Board will arrive in Guyana this evening to assist local authorities as they try to determine what happened. They will be assisted by aviation experts from Trinidad, and Guyana is also looking for help from Barbados and Jamaica. Suriname aviation officials were already in the country yesterday.
The accident affected all flights coming into Guyana for a few hours, but the airport began operating as per normal from 11:30 hrs yesterday.
The Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, is the country’s only international airport.
The flight was BW523, en route from Port of Spain, Trinidad to Georgetown. It had originally left JFK, New York. The crew was switched in Trinidad for the journey onward to Guyana, Caribbean Airlines said.
Betsy Myndyllo recounted that just before touchdown, she was joking with the girl next to her about the fact that whenever you come to Guyana you should walk with an umbrella because it always rains in Guyana.
Suddenly, she said she heard this sound and when she realised there was going to be a crash her mind immediately swung to the Hudson River crash landing of January 2009.
“Everything starting caving in, and the girl next to me just sat there motionless in shock, said Myndyllo. She braved the light shower to make the 20-minutes trek from the crash site to the airport terminal with the aid of her two nephews.
“It was pitch-black,” she recalled.
The three of them, along with other relatives are in Guyana for a family reunion.
“I saw death flash before me,” said Maxine Eversley, another survivor. A US-based Guyanese who was returning home for two weddings. She suffered a fractured neck.
“All I was seeing was my five children,” she said. She was assisted by airline officials to get off the craft, but her husband, Samuel Eversley, and her niece, Odessa Forde, jumped out of the aircraft, sustaining injuries to themselves. Forde suffered trauma to the head, while Eversley suffered a broken leg.
“Caribbean Airlines immediately activated its emergency response programme and is in direct contact with the relevant authorities. The airline’s primary concern at this time is for those on board the aircraft and their families,” CAL said in a statement.
Nicholas said Caribbean Airlines is putting together a team of psychologists and other health personnel to counsel passengers and crew members.
Most of the injured were treated at the Diamond Diagnostic Hospital before being taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. The Georgetown Hospital has so far treated 35 persons.
Immediately the authorities summoned ambulances from the various health institutions in and around Georgetown, some coming from as far as West Demerara.
Initial reports suggest that the pilot landed far down the runway and could not stop in time.
Trinidad immediately flew in another craft which landed and was ready to fly out the more seriously injured.
One female passenger said that she heard a loud sound when the plane landed. She said that everyone, including herself began screaming. “It was terror,” she said. “I was praying to Jesus.”
She said that she was sitting near the emergency exit with her husband, who opened the emergency door and passengers began exiting the plane. She was complaining of pains to the stomach, which were inflicted by her seatbelt when she was flung forward.
Kaieteur News also spoke to an overseas-based Guyanese, whose wife suffered neck and back injuries. The couple is here on a two-week vacation.
At the end of yesterday, several of the passengers had received all their luggage, minus a few personal effects. The airline said it was trying its best to ensure that all passengers received their personal belongings and would compensate passengers for missing items.

Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP
Attorney-at-Law for His Excellency,
President Bharrat Jagdeo

Escalating efforts to silence the voices of reason as seen with the dictatorial Broadcasting and Access to Information Bills, the “relevant authorities” harassing C.N Sharma and causing him to pull the Gaskin/Ram “Keeping them Honest” program, withdrawal/reduction of state advertisements to private media, threatening the private sector  to withhold/release advertising dollars or donations, denial of subventions, starving communities of state resources and denying the citizenry their right to association, though intended to suppress us, must see us not being deterred but energised to applying innovative means to get our messages out and taking a united stand against the wrongs.
Ours is a moral and civic responsibility to bring an end to the degradation by vociferously condemning these abnormalities/defects and assiduously work to change them.
As a people, we can no longer only possess/apply the will to survive or flee, but must also be imbued with the will to stand up and fight for what is just and right, for these are the necessary ingredients in the making of a good society.
The time is nigh to take our country back from these brigands; to take charge of our destiny and mould one that would ensure equality, opportunities, law and order for all; and will earn us the respect of self and for country.
Lincoln Lewis