Moontown

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – Twenty political parties have registered to contest the May 25 general elections in Suriname. Over the weekend 18 political organizations submitted documents to the Central Polling Bureau (CHS), while two others registered earlier on Wednesday and Friday. The weeklong registration period closed on Sunday.

Opposition leader Desi Bouterse addressing a crowd Saturday after his Mega Combination registered for the May 25 general elections. (Photo by Ivan Cairo)

Four organizations will contest the polls independently, while the remaining parties formed several pre-electoral factions, including the incumbent New Front Combination of President Ronald Venetiaan.

His main political rival and former military strongman Desi Bouterse established the Mega Combination of his existing National Democratic Party (NDP), New Suriname, Palu and KTPI.

Several hundred singing and dancing supporters in a carnival-like atmosphere accompanied the respective party leaders to the polling bureau for the registration. Bouterse called for tolerance among the rival parties, while noting that his party is willing to share power in the new government.

Recent polls indicated that Bouterse’s Mega Combination is poised to win the vote. Currently Bouterse is being prosecuted by a military court for the December 1982 extra-judicial killing of 15 of his political opponents.

Venetiaan’s New Front Coalition received a stinging blow recently when coalition party Pertjajah Luhur decided not to extend participation in the coalition and formed is own block mainly of existing smaller parties with an ethnic Javanese base.

Over the last five years the Venetiaan administration has been rocked by numerous scandals regarding the issuing of land involving cabinet ministers and officials of the Pertjajah Luhur party.

Former rebel leader and chairman of A-Combination, Ronnie Brunswijk arrives at the Central Polling Bureau to register his party for the upcoming election (Photo by Ivan Cairo)

Chairman of this party and Speaker of the House, Paul Somohardjo, is aiming for the presidency, but since incumbent vice-president Ram Sardjoe is likely to be nominated for the post by New Front, he opted to abandon the coalition ahead of the elections.

According to Somohardjo his party is set to win at least 10 of the 51 seats in parliament. The New Front offered him only ten spots on the joint candidacy list.

President Venetiaan meantime disclosed that he is not seeking a third consecutive term in office.

Late Friday night the New Front parties renewed their agreement for another five years, stating that they are determined to continue a policy which is aiming for peace and security, sustainable development, stability and growth of the Surinamese economy and a strong national currency.

Meanwhile, former rebel leader turned politician Ronnie Brunswijk also voiced his ambition to become the next president. With his A-Combination he won 5 seats in parliament in the May 2005 elections.

He told reporters Saturday that the party is set to win even more seats during the next polls. (Caribnet)

Laura Izibor

Booked to perform on Wednesday, May 5 at the Gaiety indoor venue in Rodney Bay, the Irish soul singer recently delivered a show-stopping performance at New York’s SOB’s entertainment venue last month, after which she expressed her enthusiasm for visiting the Caribbean paradise.

“I am excited, it’s also going to be my vacation,” she disclosed, while meeting fans backstage. “I plan on reaping all the benefits of Saint Lucia! I heard it’s a wonderful gig to do and I am honored to be asked, and really, really look forward to going out there,” she added, explaining that while her music has a lot of ballads, “the show has a lot of energy - it’s soulful and most importantly we’ll have fun!”

Currently touring the US, Laura Izibor is described as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s “Artists to Watch” and her voice has been compared to greats like Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys and her writing to that of Carole King and Joan Armatrading.

This past week, the Dublin soul star met US President Barack Obama at the White House for St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

“We have heard so much about Laura’s amazing career and we’re honored she’ll be here to share her gifts, talents and abilities with Saint Lucians as well as with visitors to the island,” said Senator Allen Chastanet, Saint Lucia’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation. “And in turn, we look forward to delivering the vacation of a lifetime to this incredible musician,” he said. (Caribnet)

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Bloomberg) — Damage from Haiti’s earthquake will cost the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country $7.8 billion, or about 120 percent of its gross domestic product, said Alicia Barcena, head of the United Nations’ Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Haiti needs $11.5 billion in investment over three years to recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake, which killed more than 200,000 people, Barcena said in an interview in Cancun, Mexico. The Inter-American Development Bank is debating a proposal to provide $2 billion in aid to Haiti over 10 years, said Hugo Beteta, the commission’s director for Mexico and the Caribbean.

“There’s a problem of how to spend the money because one of the most affected areas in Haiti was the public sector,” said Barcena, in Cancun for an IDB meeting. “The country’s capacity to absorb money is the first thing we have to restore.”

The US has given around $700 million for quake relief in Haiti and almost half of American households have contributed to private aid efforts, according to US government figures. The Senate approved legislation this month to create a trust fund to reduce poverty in Haiti, and to provide incentives for canceling the island’s $1 billion debt to international organizations.

The IDB is Haiti’s biggest multilateral creditor, with over $400 billion outstanding. Governors from 48 member nations meeting in Cancun are expected to take steps to forgive that debt and increase aid to the country.

The economies of Brazil, Uruguay, Peru and Chile will be the top performers in Latin America this year, Barcena said. Brazil’s economy will expand 5.5 percent this year while Uruguay’s will grow 5 percent, she said.

The UN commission forecasts Mexico’s economy will expand 3.5 percent, less than the government’s forecast of 3.9 percent, Barcena said. (Caribnet)

He made the pledge when he met Haitian President Rene Preval in Port-au-Prince on Saturday after inspecting Japanese troops involved in United Nations peace-keeping operations in the Caribbean island nation, reports said.

“Japan has already announced its assistance worth 70 million dollars but we want to consider additional assistance in close consultation with the Haiti government and the international community,” he told Preval, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Haiti was hit by a 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12, which has left at least 220,000 people dead and affected three million Haitians.

NHK reported on Friday that Japan is expected to raise the total sum to 100 million dollars for long-term reconstruction and other projects.

Okada is scheduled to attend a donors’ conference for Haiti at the UN headquarters in New York on March 31.

He told reporters after meeting Preval that Haiti was in need of housing and measures against infectious diseases ahead of its rainy season, according to NHK.

“I hope that the countries concerned will cooperate under a single assistance programme while not acting independently,” Okada was quoted as saying. “Japan for its part wishes to demonstrate its leadership, taking advantage of its experience as an earthquake-prone country.”

Haiti unveiled the first draft Tuesday of a grand reconstruction plan, saying 11.5 billion dollars would be needed to help the country rebuild after the quake, which left 1.3 million people homeless. (Caribnet)

Jagdeo said the restriction is by law as the parliament passed the Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Act in 2007, three years ago, which placed a restriction on Guyanese gambling after a national outcry by religious leaders and some political parties that this may lead to many homes being broken.

Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo. AFP PHOTO

The present legislation states that the issuance of casino premises licences will be granted only to a new hotel or resort complex which has a mini mum of 150 rooms allocated for accommodation.

Jagdeo said, while he does not endorse gambling, for a country in which the citizens have freedom of choice barring Guyanese from the establishment did not sit well with him as he recalled the outcry when the law was amended.

“For me, this is something that I find distasteful. I believe that Guyanese should enjoy all of the choices in the country… our society is a moderate one…there was opposition, but we will give people choices,” Jagdeo said.

The president explained that his government took the decision to allow gambling in Guyana as a way of allowing investors in the hotel business to accelerate their profitability.

The president further said that the government will limit the number of casinos in the country, and they will be strictly monitored.

The Princess Casino, which employs about 140 Guyanese, began operating last month for the hotel’s guests and is equipped with 300 slot machines and game tables.

The hotel, originally Buddy’s International Hotel, was opened prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup and in 2008 was sold to Irish investor Sudi Ozkan, for US$15 million and renamed the Princess Hotel, which forms part of an international chain of such facilities.

“The house collapsed around midnight and two people were found dead and their bodies were taken to the hospital,” Kelly Bastien, the president of the Haitian Senate, told AFP.

At least seven people were living in the house and three were pulled alive from the rubble and receiving treatment.

Cap-Haitien was spared on January 12 when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake flattened much of the capital Port-au-Prince and other parts of southern Haiti, killing more than 220,000 people.

Cap-Haitien, a northern city with a population of 300,000, lies on a separate fault line prone to significant tremors and residents said they felt several overnight that probably caused the house collapse.

The tremors were thought to be connected to a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that jolted the southeastern Cuban province of Guantanamo on Saturday, sending panicked residents rushing outside.

Dozens of small movements have been felt in recent weeks in eastern Cuba, which lies less than 200 miles across the sea from Cap-Haitien. (Caribnet)