Moontown

SPLIT PEAS AND RICE; GREEN BANANA COU COU

GROUND PROVISION; MACARONI PIE

FRIED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

BBQ PIG TAILS; FRIED POT FISH

GRILLED KING FISH; GRILLED BONITA

TOSSED SALAD

STEAMED VEGETABLES

TURKEY STEW; PLAIN GRAVY

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) yesterday said that it hoped that the PPP/Civic would not engage in any “adventurist” steps to subvert term limits.

In a statement yesterday, it noted that the elections due in 2011 will bring to an end President Bharrat Jagdeo’s two full terms in office.

“The WPA hopes and expects that the PPP/Civic would not engage in any adventurist process aimed at subverting the Constitution and its term limits. The WPA advises, well in advance, schemes to subvert and/or undermine the Constitution would be most unwise”, the party said without further elaboration on what prompted its warning.

Much of the public discourse on this matter has been fuelled by contentions that President Jagdeo is interested in a third term. However, as recently as last week, President Jagdeo said at a private sector dinner he felt the need to address the issue of the constitution possibly being amended to extend presidential term limits following several comments about him winning again if he runs in 2011.

“I have no interest in another term… all that speculation out there is just that, speculation. The media has been in a frenzy,” Jagdeo said.

He opined that the speculation might be triggered      by persons who fear that he may endorse a particular   individual.

Nevertheless, some commentators say that Jagdeo’s statements do not categorically rule out a third term. There are suggestions that he could also opt for a Putin-type for

A “weak” El Nino was present in July and is expected to strengthen in the coming months with present arid conditions forecast to prevail until the first quarter of next year.

The Ministry of Agriculture in a press statement said that it continues to support farming communities and a Task Force was recently formed to deal with irrigation issues to ensure adequate irrigation water is available. Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud and other senior officials of the Ministry have commenced a series of outreach visits to Region Two, Three, Five and Six as part of a countrywide assessment to determine government’s intervention, it stated.

The Ministry said that the Hydromet Department has indicated that a weak El Nino was present during July 2009, but is expected to strengthen since for the coming September-October season the probability for El Nino is estimated at 80%.  “Hence, given this outlook it is expected El Nino like effects will affect most of Guyana during August –October 2009 and may include generally below average rainfall over most of Guyana”, it said.

The statement pointed out, however, at on August 31st, it was reported that the present conditions could prevail until the first quarter of 2010. It said that the Task Force has already identified support and will examine additional interventions for farmers’ activities, particularly in rice growing regions that are being affected by El Nino conditions.

Farmers are urged to capitalize on the current weather conditions to reap and maximize land preparation activities.

The task force held several meeting and noted that water used for agricultural purposes is often high and with the present conditions, there is increased evaporation rates and diminishing soil moisture. It noted that there are implications for the availability of water in the city and therefore there is the need to conserve and use water efficiently.

The Ministry outlined a number of interventions it had undertaken and while stating that in several areas there were no major threats at this point in time, in Region Six it is estimated that 2000 acres of rice cultivation is under threat if adequate irrigation water is not available. The Regional Democratic Council is continuing its efforts, it said.

This newspaper had reported that residents in the Deep South Rupununi were feeling the effects of the weather phenomenon and the ministry said that a technical team will be dispatched to Region Nine to conduct further impact assessments as well as creating awareness among residents of the realities and their role in mounting an appropriate response. The provision of relief food supplies and sourcing of cassava sticks of a strain that can flourish under the prevailing conditions are some of the measures that will be taken, it stated.

It noted that cassava cultivation is a staple diet in hinterland communities and this is severely affected in Region Nine, and by extension, the livelihood of residents/farmers, are also at risk. The ministry said that cassava cultivation is becoming a lucrative trade, and the indigenous peoples can capitalise on this reality.

It added that the situation is one of great urgency to ensure food security in hinterland communities which are already dependent on food supplies from the coastland.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – West Indies Players Association president, Dinanath Ramnarine said Thursday his organisation would welcome the intervention of CARICOM governments in a bid to end the long simmering dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board.

“The answer is yes,” Ramnarine said in a radio interview here Thursday.

The two bodies have been at odds over issues relating to players’ contracts and the latest row resulted in many of the top West Indies players, including former captain Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo boycotting the Bangladesh series and missing out on the Champions Trophy scheduled for later this month.

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Sir Shridath Ramphal, who was appointed mediator, said earlier this week that he had failed and urged cricket followers in the Caribbean not to despair because “cricket is in our regional genes; it cannot be lost”.

Ramnarine said that the WIPA executive and the players would be meeting in Guyana over the weekend to discuss the way forward.

“After our meeting over the weekend we are going to be very clear as to how we proceed going forward given the action taken by the board.

“You had a situation where even in the mediation they were talking about let us settle A, B, C, and D and we will consider the players for the championship (in South Africa).

“To me they had absolutely no intention whatsoever of reaching an agreement,” Ramnarine said.

Guyana’s President and CARICOM Chairman Bharrat Jagdeo in a statement expressing his disappointment at the failure of the talks between the two parties, believes the West Indies Cricket Board prejudiced the effort from the start by not disclosing they had already selected a Champions Trophy squad without the top flight players.

“When the mediation under Sir Shridath Ramphal was agreed upon with me on 21 July 2009, it was in context in which WIPA made all their players available and I understand this is to be basis of a return to normalcy in team selection,” Jagdeo said.

“The members of the board did not disclose to me or to WIPA that the board had already selected a ‘B” team for the Champions Trophy in South Africa,” he said, adding that WICB President Julian Hunte acknowledged the board’s selection position some time after when the process was too far gone.

“The president later apologised for the omission; but the damage had been done; the mediation was weakened from the start,” Jagdeo said.

Ramnarine said that WIPA had agreed to have Sir Shridath, who was nominated by the West Indies Cricket Board, mediate the discussions.

“It was the board that proposed Sir Shridath Ramphal to be the mediator.

“We could have said we don’t want Sir Shridath Ramphal … but we accepted at President Jagdeo’s office in Guyana to accept Sir Shridath and proceed on the basis that we would make our players available without any conditions whatsoever.

“We were hoping that this process would have been dealt with in a responsible manner and there will be agreement and even if there was no agreement, (there would be) agreement of a process going forward.”

Ramnarine said he had been told numerous things when Sir Shridath had been named.

“I did not know the man personally so it was difficult for me to really assess and I had to go by what people were saying. I have to admit we were a little bit sceptical at first but we said given the status and given what the guy has accomplished, we needed to trust somebody,” the former West Indies leg-spinner said.

“Sir Shridath Ramphal has been exceptional by listening to both parties, the manner in which he conducted the mediation has been extremely professional.

“It has been a learning experience for me and I have the greatest amount of admiration for the man.

He is between 70 and 80 years, and we were having meetings from nine o clock in the morning to seven or eight o clock in the night and by 9:30 we will get a document summarising the issues and a document that could take us closer.”

Ramnarine said that it was sad when both parties appeared to be close to a resolution for the WICB to introduce this new document and inform the mediator “this is not negotiable … and the document has to be accepted by both the mediator and WIPA.

“And then the third thing is that the document must be kept confidential.

“In other words the mediator and the West Indies Players Association must never share this document with anybody,” he added.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Regional cricket chief Julian Hunte has hit out at West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president Dinanath Ramnarine for having not taken the mediation process seriously.

In a strongly worded letter to CARICOM chairman, Guyana’s president Bharrat Jagdeo, Hunte pointed out that Ramnarine had left for a family holiday while the process was ongoing, a breach of the terms the West Indies Cricket Board had agreed to at the start.

Talks between the two feuding parties collapsed last week after mediator Sir Shridath Ramphal failed to broker a solution.

“It is also worthwhile noting that at the meeting on August 31, 2009 from which the WIPA Facilitator (Ramnarine) had absented himself to proceed on vacation with his family in Tobago, with the agreement of Sir Shridath (contrary to the prior stipulation by Sir Shridath that the proceedings could not and would not be held in the absence of either of the Facilitators) the WICB team informed the mediator of its strong disapproval of the WIPA Facilitator’s absence and its concern that WIPA was not taking the proceedings seriously enough,” the WICB president wrote.

“It is worthwhile noting that both parties had agreed that the proceedings would continue until 4 Sept., 2009, if necessary and were requested to make themselves available for the entire period 27 Aug., 2009, to 4 Sept., 2009, for meetings in Barbados.

“Despite this agreement, two of the WIPA representatives, including its Facilitator, left the island on 30 Aug. and did not attend the meeting on 31 Aug.”

Against this backdrop, Hunte said he found it “disturbing” that the WICB had been accused of derailing the process, pointing to comments made by Sir Shridath and Jagdeo.

“The WICB Team, on the other hand, was fully represented at each and every meeting of the mediation proceedings,” he pointed out.

“In this regard, it is more than a little disturbing to read the comments attributed not only to Sir Shridath but also to you and others that seek to give the impression that the WICB was the party responsible for the unsatisfactory and premature end to the WICB/WIPA Mediation proceedings.”

Following the failed talks, Sir Shridath said that he believed an agreement had been possible 24 hours before the mediation ended, but said “all that changed dramatically when one party introduced an entirely new document and refused to negotiate on any other.”

Last Wednesday, Jagdeo joined the fray, blaming the Board for the collapsed mediation process.

“It seems that the mediation has been the victim of the same spirit of Board insistence on getting its own way whatever the consequences for our cricket,” the Guyana leader said.

Hunte contended, however, that the information conveyed to Jagdeo had been incorrect.

“I am advised that the articulation of the WICB’s position by Sir Shridath in his press statements and in his final report to you are factually incorrect and that there was never any adoption by the WICB during the mediation proceedings of an unwillingness to negotiate on the proposed Mediation Agreement which it submitted on the night of 31 Aug., 2009,” he said.

The WICB announced last Tuesday that mediation talks, aimed at solving the contracts dispute with WIPA, had failed and that the matter would now head to arbitration.

Following complaints by the Guyana government that the immigration authorities here are holding on to children’s passports, the Ministry of National Security now requires that some applicants for entry into the country provide a bond as a surety from the resident host.

Minister of National Security Dr. Errol Cort said that given the capacity challenges in the school system and in an effort to avoid further overcrowding of schools, the Immigration Department implemented a policy of holding the passports of visiting minors as a guarantee of their departure within the specified time of their visit.

In a press release to the media, Dr. Cort explained that there has been a growing trend during the summer months that a significant number of minors from certain Caribbean countries travel to Antigua on the pretext of a vacation, but would ultimately remain in the country and seek to gain entry into the school system.

“This policy was, however, recently reviewed by the Ministry of National Security (with responsibility for Immigration) and the Office of the Attorney-General and having regards to certain provisions of the Immigration and Passport Act, the Immigration Department has now discontinued the said policy,” Dr. Cort stated.

“The Department will seek to fully enforce the provisions of section 21 (2) (a) – (h) of the Act. Thus, pursuant to sub-section (e), some applicants for entry into the country may now be required to provide a bond and such sureties from the resident host as may be deemed appropriate.”

Statistics from the Immigration Department of Antigua and Barbuda reveal that within the last nine months, over 14,000 applications were made and approvals granted for extensions of time to remain in the country.

Nationals of the Republic of Guyana were the largest group of applicants seeking an extension of time to remain in the country.

Dr. Cort further stated that the continuous flow of immigrants into Antigua has had an overwhelming impact on the country’s social infrastructure, especially as it relates to health care and education.

In particular, data from the Ministry of Education reveal that approximately 13 per cent of all government primary school students are non-nationals. Further, almost 30 per cent of students attending government secondary schools are non-nationals.

This figure increases to 37 per cent in respect of private secondary schools in Antigua

Record low natural gas prices will be a key factor in the size of the 2009/2010 Budget. While the price of oil on which the Budget is partly-based has rebounded to around US$70 per barrel from a four-year record low of just below US$40 per barrel last December, natural gas prices have plunged from last year’s Henry hub average price of US$6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) to just below US$3 per mmtbu last week. A lower revenue profile is anticipated for the upcoming fiscal year, especially due to the lower price of gas, which is the product from which this country earns most of its revenue. “We will use the current environment and price of oil and gas in determining our revenue and expenditure,” Finance Minister Nunez-Tesheira said in a telephone interview yesterday. Energy Minister Conrad Enill told the Express on Friday: “The price is an important factor in determining what your revenue position is going to be … I am not sure what the (exploration) companies have agreed on as it relates to the planning price, but whatever the planning price is, that is the price the Government will use. What price are you using to calculate my taxes? It is on the basis of that price that you have your revenues.” It was just two days earlier, during a news conference for the last Ryder Scott report of the nation’s gas reserves, that Enill said he “did not expect that the kind of revenues” from the commodity this year that were earned last year. He added that what Nunez-Tesheira will announce during her presentation of today’s 2009/2010 is “a strategy for dealing with that, and whatever the gaps are in the immediate term and in the longer term”. Enill said the Ryder Scott report, which said that in 2008 proved reserves stood at 15.37 trillion cubic feet (tcf)., a decline of about 1.6 tcf from the 16.99 tcf recorded in 2007, had no direct impact on the 2009/2010 Budget, since that is a matter of getting exploration companies to carry out more exploration activity and this is being done. In an interview with the Express on Saturday, however, economist and Congress of the People deputy political leader, Robert Mayers, said the Ryder Scott report cannot be divorced from this Budget or the others to come within the next two decades. “If you look at Ryder Scott, even if you take proven and possible (gas reserves) at boom time productions rates, that only leaves with about 20 years (worth of supplies). Twenty years is probably about the minimum time you need to transform the economy and get the diversification we’ve been talking about,” Mayers said

Juhel Browne jbrowne@trinidadexpress.com

Delivers budget today: Karen Nunez-Tesheira Ensuring high levels of employment at a time when this country continues to feel the effects of the global economic downturn is a top priority of the 2009/2010 Budget, which will be presented by Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira in the Parliament today. In addition, the Budget for the upcoming fiscal year will seek to ensure there is economic growth and focus on capital expenditure, as the Government prepares to receive less revenue due to record low natural gas prices. Nunez-Tesheira made the disclosure yesterday in a telephone interview with the Express, while she and a team of ministry officials were in the midst of final preparations for the Budget presentation at her Finance Ministry office in Port of Spain. “Maintaining employment levels and facilitating growth in the economy, that clearly has to be the priority,” Nunez-Tesheira said. The Central Bank’s Summary Economic Indicators Bulletin up to June showed that in the first quarter of this year, unemployment in this country rose to five per cent from a record low of 3.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2008, due to continued job losses across the local labour market as a result of the impact of the global economic downturn. The Government twice adjusted its expenditure profile downwards from its original $50 billion projection during this fiscal year, in response to an anticipated $5 billion revenue shortfall that resulted from the global economic downturn. As such, Cabinet twice lowered its oil and gas prices for the Budget and approved close to $5 billion in Budgetary cutbacks. Prime Minister Patrick Manning had told the Parliament on January 14 that the Government intended to make further budgetary cut backs and issue Government bonds as a form of temporary deficit financing to make up for the anticipated $1.7 billion deficit. Nunez-Tesheira said yesterday that the 2009/2010 Budget will be a continuation of Government’s “prudent” management of the economy during this fiscal year, hinting at further cut backs in expenditure. “What this budget will be doing will be consistent with what we have done,” Nunez-Tesheira said. As for calls from the COP and others for the Government to reduce its capital expenditure on infrastructural projects such as the high rise buildings now under construction in downtown Port of Spain, Nunez-Tesheira said: “It is not anything different from what we have indicated. They are free to express their opinions and I am glad to see that they are agreeing with the Government … At the end of the day, I expect when the Budget is read they will be in high praise.”

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President Julian Hunte has written CARICOM Chairman Bharrat Jagdeo requesting a meeting to rectify what he terms as ‘misinformation’ regarding the failed mediation talks with the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA).

In a strongly worded letter to the Guyana president, Hunte expressed his frustration that the WICB had been blamed for the collapse in talks and said ‘urgent damage control’ was needed to correct this perception.

“It is my sincere hope that you will agree that an early meeting between us may assist in correcting the erroneous impressions that have been conveyed in order to forestall any further adverse effect on the reputation of West Indies Cricket,” Hunte wrote.

“At the same time, I trust that you will appreciate the urgent need for us to set about some urgent damage control measures having regard to the misinformation that is already in the public domain.”

Jagdeo delivered a stinging attack on the WICB last week, placing heavy blame on the regional governing body for the failed mediation talks which were headed by former Commonwealth secretary general Sir Shridath Ramphal.

Mediation deal

Jagdeo, who brokered the mediation deal in Guyana in July, said it had been his understanding that when the WIPA agreed during their July 21 meeting to make all their players available for selection, the move would allow ‘normalcy’ to return to team selection.

Instead, Jagdeo said the WICB prejudiced the mediation effort from the start by not disclosing they had already selected a Champions Trophy squad without the top-flight players.

While not calling the WICB by name, Sir Shridath Ramphal had also said that one ‘party’ had introduced a document late in the mediation process which had led to the stalling of talks.

But Hunte hit back at these comments, saying that Jagdeo had agreed during the July 21 meeting that while the striking players had made themselves available, “actual team selection was a matter for the board’s Selection Committee”.

‘Factually incorrect’

Hunte also called Sir Shridath’s public comments and his final report to Jagdeo “factually incorrect”.

“I am advised that the articulation of the WICB’s position by Sir Shridath in his press statements and in his final report to you are factually incorrect and that there was never any adoption by the WICB during the mediation proceedings of an unwillingness to negotiate on the proposed Mediation Agreement which it submitted on the night of August 31, 2009,” Hunte said.

The impasse, which developed ahead of the recent Bangladesh series and led to region’s leading players making themselves unavailable, is now expected to head to arbitration.