By Gary EleazarThe People’s National Congress Reform yesterday opened its 17th Biennial Congress at its Headquarters Congress Place. The highlight of this year’s Congress is expected to be the race for party leadership.Brigadier (rtd) David Granger’s challenge for the post of leader of the party is not a foregone conclusion.Chairman of the party,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, Bishwaishwar ‘Cammie’ Ramsaroop whose post is also being contested was greeted with a resounding applause as he welcomed the delegates, Members of Parliament and special invitees to the opening and delivered the charge.He immediately reminded those gathered of the events in Linden on July 18 and said that it is a sad irony that the event took place on the birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela.A large portrait of Party Leader, Robert Corbin is unveiled for the Congress Place Hall of HeroesThe Chairman used the opportunity to thank and single out Robert Corbin who closes his reign as leader of the party.He was adamant that the party is at a historical crossroad and urged that the PNCR is the only hope for Guyana seeing a Government of National Unity. “The “People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPP/C) days are numbered…We cannot relent now.”The Party Chairman impressed on delegates that following the November 2011 elections the PPP has become even more “intransigent.”“The PPP/C is now like a wounded animal; a wounded animal is most dangerous because it is staring death in the face.”The Party Chairman made special mention of what he called skullduggery at the Guyana Elections Commission and reminded that the commission was prepared to make the final announcement minus 10,000 votes counted for APNU.He said that there is none that can “deny we witnessed a new incarnation of the PNCR at the last election…we were deceived by machinations and skullduggery of the Commission.”Ramsaroop was adamant that the Commission as constituted, has got to go.”He did take a swipe at the membership of the party reminding that at the last election thousands of PNCR members didn’t register to vote and on Election Day sections of the support base “didn’t turn out to the polls.”“We can’t win like that,” slammed Ramsaroop. He reminded that the ground work in preparation for the elections has to be completed and, “We have to show the PPP/C that change has come.”Kabaka’s LieutenantThis is Robert Corbin’s final PNCR’s Congress as Leader of the Party and following the pleasantries, gifts and words of praise, he said farewell as leader. He will tomorrow contest a post on the Party’s Central Executive Committee.Introduced as one of the Kabaka’s (Linden Forbes Sampson) most trusted Lieutenants, Corbin delivered his final address to the PNCR as Leader in what was clearly an emotional goodbye.He warned the congress to be aware of the “wild men in our midst.”The PNCR’s oldest serving member, 98 year-old Cecil Cunha receives a token of appreciation from the party’s General Secretary, Oscar ClarkeCorbin expressed appreciation for all who attended the congress. He said that they were truly representative of the 10 regions of the country.He was in particularly high in praise for those delegates who had travelled from the now troubled mining town“We are validating the struggle of our forebears,” said Corbin even as he asked that the Congress “pay homage to those whose shoulders we stand upon.”Corbin used the opportunity to single out for special mention slain persons such as “Donna Mc Kinnon, Donna Herod,Cheap Jerseys, Ronald Waddell and more recently,China Jerseys, the Linden Martyrs.”“Let us redouble our efforts so that their sacrifice will not be in vain.”Corbin said that the timing of the 17th Biennial Congress is historic in that for the first time it is being held in an atmosphere where the National Assembly cannot be controlled by Freedom House or Office of the President.He impressed on the Congress that despite the fact that the partnership did not secure the Executive the objectives of the APNU remain within grasp and urged that the delegates seriously address this issue.Oscar Clarke, the Party’s General Secretary in his message to the delegates at yesterday’s opening ceremony said that “by any objective account this was a period of great challenges for our party.”He pointed to the litany of consecutive defeats at the hands of the People’s Progressive Party Civic from 1992 to 2006.The PNCR did not contest the 2011 Regional and General Election as a singular entity given that it opted to partner under A Partnership for National Unity.Clarke also lamented the political infighting which began after the 1992 election, which according to the General Secretary “only intensified” after the death of Hugh Desmond Hoyte.He credits Robert Corbin as the person who saved the party from complete destruction.“A United?? P

Three of the bandits who were recently captured following the robbery that was committed at the M. Ali and Son Supermarket at Main and Pope Streets, New Amsterdam, on Thursday last were charged with the offence, yesterday.The men Jason Aubrey,NFL Jerseys Supply, 26, of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara; Lennox Patterson, 23, of Wales, West Bank Demerara, and Leroy Hopkinson, 29, of 37 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, Berbice appeared before Magistrate Mauricia Mittelholzer,China NFL Jerseys, in the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s court.They are charged with robbing Nazmoon Ali called “Data” of $380,000 cash; $150,000 worth of cell phone cards; and one gold chain valued at $100,000. On Thursday July 16 last, they were armed with guns when they committed the act.They are also charged with robbing Feroze Sammy Ali of one 9 mm. semi-automatic pistols valued at $200,000; and 17 live rounds.Patterson is also charged with having one .38 revolver while he was not the holder of a firearm licence. Another charge states, that on the same day and place he had in his possession ten live .38 rounds of ammunition while he was not the holder of a firearm license.He is alleged to have had four rounds in the barrel of the gun which was in his left pocket, while he had six live rounds in his right pocket.Police Prosecutor,?Corporal?Desiree?Pilgrim objected to bail being granted to all the men on the basis of the nature and gravity of the offences, and that firearm offences are prevalent. She also stated that both Aubrey and Patterson live out of the jurisdiction and if granted bail they would not return for trial.While Magistrate Mittelholzer refused bail for Aubrey and Patterson,Cheap Jerseys From China, bail was granted to Hopkinson in the sum of $100,000After the robbery the men split up and using bicycles and other means, headed to a house at Stanleytown, Berbice, where they quickly changed, boarded a taxi and headed to the New Amsterdam car park.The cops also got word that the men had headed to Stanleytown and immediately raced to the dilapidated house where they encountered a man and a woman who both denied that anybody was there.The police were subsequently informed that four men were seeking transportation at the car park near the New Amsterdam Stelling. On arriving there, police saw a man with a gun emerge from a vehicle.A police rank opened fire causing the men to flee.The driver of the car was subsequently arrested.? .The police continued their manhunt and around 01:30 hrs on the following day they encountered two men near Republic Road and Philadelphia.There was an exchange of gunfire before the men escaped. One was said to be the injured man, Stayfree Alexander,Cheap NFL Jerseys, known as ‘Gun Youth’ of 37 Stanleytown, who is alleged to have shot at the police with the stolen 9mm. pistol which belonged to Feroze Ally. The other is said to be career criminal, Anthony Primo,Wholesale Jerseys Outlet, called ‘Dangerous’.Primo is said to be the ring leader while Alexander was the contact man from Berbice.Around 03.00 hrs the police arrested Patterson. He was found with a .38 snub nose revolver. It had six rounds in the magazine while he had four rounds in his pocket.They are to return to court on August 4.

Several persons were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital as a result of a crash on upper Norton Street yesterday afternoon.The accident involved a speeding minibus, which turned turtle several times before landing on its side, and two parked vehicles.According to reports,Cheap Jerseys From China, minibus BJJ 8503 with the marking ‘Buckingham Palace’ which was loaded with passengers including schoolchildren was proceeding west at a fast rate when the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle.However, upon seeing a car approaching from the opposite direction,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, the driver of the minibus swerved to avoid a head-on collision.This led to the bus coming into contact with the rear wheel of a parked jeep before it slammed into another minibus which was parked on the southern side of the road.The parked bus ended up in a nearby drain.The driver of the parked bus told this newspaper that he was at home when someone called him and told him that his “bus get knock and push overboard.”At least three persons suffered injuries.One man had a huge gash to his forehead,Wholesale China Jerseys, while another woman suffered a broken leg.The accident sparked outrage from Norton Street residents who lamented the wanton disregard for the road, especially by minibus drivers.“They always in a hurry. They does overdo it pon dis road,” one irate woman said.“eople does got fuh run off de road. Dis Norton Street is a death zone,” another woman remarked.“Dey got a policeman driving bus,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, when he coming through and blow you got to move out or he will pass through you. When this place was share pothole,Wholesale NFL Store, nobody used to drive hey… now is a race track,” a male resident told this newspaper.Police arrived on the scene several minutes later and only then was the road cleared for vehicular traffic.The offending driver was reportedly taken into custody.

The United States of America, by and through Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Alexander A. Solomon and Claire S. Kedeshian,Authentic Jerseys For Sale, Assistant United States Attorneys, on October 31, last,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, signalled its intention to seize properties belonging to Edul Ahmad.Ahmad is Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo’s close and personal friend who has been indicted in the United States for conspiracy to commit mail fraud as well as bank fraud.The US prosecutors through official court documents filed on October 31, gave notice that it is seeking forfeiture of: a Money Judgment: a sum of money in United States currency in an amount to be determined at his sentencing.Edul AhmadThey are also looking to have forfeited specific properties namely: “Real Property and Premises known as,NFL Jerseys Supply, 110-19 Atlantic Avenue, Jamaica, New York, identified on the Queens County Tax Map as Block: 9317; Lot 21,Wholesale China Jerseys, and title to which was held in the name of defendant Edul N. Ahmad, on or before May 1, 2011.”Ahmad was a frequent visitor to Guyana and is known in the country as a friend of President Jagdeo, who has been in office since 1999.In 2009, the Ahmad Group sent 29 tons of building supplies – including roof tiles and kitchen sinks – to Jagdeo at State House in Georgetown, according to shipping records.Allegations of predatory lending, forged documentation, falsified mortgage information and missing records have dogged Ahmad for years.US State officials have investigated the real estate broker five times since 2006, referring two of those probes to the Queens District Attorney’s Office for review,wholesale jerseys china, according to state Department of State records.Another probe by the state Banking Department and Department of State in 2007 turned up home buyers who said they were given mortgages for more than they could afford and allegations that their names were forged on documents.Last July Ahmad was arrested by FBI agents on mortgage fraud charges for allegedly bilking a lender, Countrywide Home Loans, in connection with the purchase of properties in Queens in 2007. At the time of his arrest, Ahmad was heading to Guyana.Ahmad immigrated to the U.S. in 1983 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College in 1988.He started his company, the Ahmad Group,Cheap Jerseys China, in 1993, according to the company’s web site.Among his diverse business interests are Century 21 Ahmad Realty, a mortgage brokerage and the Chateau Royale catering hall in Richmond Hill.Ahmad’s real-estate licence was suspended for two months in 2008 after New York’s Department of State accused him of improperly sending a solicitation to a Queens couple on a cease-and-desist list that forbids real-estate agencies from asking for their business.Ahmad following his arrest was adamant that he was never “dragged or taken” off any aircraft as was carried in the press but did admit to being met at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York by law enforcement officials and arrested.He believes that he will be fully vindicated at the end of these proceedings despite the charges he faces.Ahmad is presently on US$2.5M bail and was also subjected to electronic monitoring.

-say some fishermen involved in attacksThe Guyana Police Force yesterday refuted suggestions by a Corentyne official that the Force has been tardy in investigating acts of piracy.Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Co-operative Society and Berbice Anti-Piracy Squad, Mr. Pravinchandra Deodat, had made the allegation in last Monday’s Kaieteur News. He had also claimed that the Force and the Judiciary have failed to enforce the Piracy Act.Deodat had also accused the police of not sharing information with the Society.But a release from the Police Public Relations Department stated,Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale, that police have made numerous arrests of suspected pirates and that a sibling of a Corentyne co-op society official was among those implicated.“The Guyana Police Force wishes to state that we have been dealing aggressively with acts of piracy,” the release stated.“Over the past five years the Police have conducted investigations into 30 reports of piracy in Berbice,Cheap NFL Jerseys, that occurred within the territory of Guyana, and which resulted in 23 cases being placed before the courts.“In many instances fishermen living in and operating from Berbice have been implicated and charged, including a sibling of the Chairman of the No. 66 Fishermen’s Co-op Society. Given the fact that fisherfolk from Berbice are involved in these acts of piracy, the Police have some reservations concerning the sharing of information on their operations/strategies,” it added.Deodat had also stated that the Force is not adhering to the Piracy Act,Nike NFL Jerseys China, which he said gives power to the law enforcement officials to deal with perpetrators of piracy, even in cases where the crime is committed out of Guyana’s territorial waters.Responding to this charge,NFL Jerseys Cheap, the release stated that “it also appears that the Chairman’s understanding of the law in relation to the Piracy Act is not adequate. With the exception of incidents occurring on the high seas under certain circumstances,Cheap Basketball Jerseys, the Police can only prosecute offenders for offences committed within the territory of Guyana.The Guyana Police Force has a very productive working relationship with our counterparts in Suriname on reports of piracy, in addition to other law enforcement issues.President of the Upper Corentyne Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UCCCI), Mr. Krishnand Jaichand, had also acknowledged to Kaieteur News that some fishermen are believed to be involved in acts of piracy.