…govt. mulls providing transportation for studentsGovernment has refuted reports that the country is faced with a major child labour problem.Rather, according to Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, there is worry and more concern over the problem of school dropouts.This year, authorities are hoping to drastically reduce this by fifty percent, the Minister said.It is estimated that almost 30 per cent of students do not complete school,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the official said yesterday at a press conference in his office.The conference was to clear up recent reports that suggested that the Ministry was concerned about a serious child labour situation. At the press briefing with the Minister were other labour officials.The problem is that many mistakenly conclude that child labour and truancy as being the same thing.The Minister said that Guyana does not have a “problem with the worst form of child labour.”Quoting a recent GINA report, Nadir said that it was clear that the reporter did not do the necessary background checks and as such made some inaccurate statements.Government is serious about the protection of children and recently,Cheap Jerseys Supply, legislation was passed to further promote this protection.In 1994, it upped the working age from 14 years and six months to 15 years. Anyone found hiring persons under that age would be breaching the laws.Reports on the child labour issue found that there was actually a low level of child labour in Guyana.Stressing that child work and child labour are two different things, Nadir argued that figures and reports of the Ministry show clearly that it is not a big problem.According to the International Labour Organization Convention, child labour is described as slavery, procurement of minors for prostitution and pornography and couriers of drugs.In Guyana, while there are instances of children working for family-related businesses, the reality is that it is highly illegal to take children out of school and put them to work.Nadir said that he is contemplating legislation that will allow teenagers to earn extra money, under certain conditions.These would include no work during school hours and harsh, manual labour would not be allowed.Shortly, the Child Protection Agency of the government will be moving out to its own offices with full staffers and resources to tackle some of the problems.Very shortly also, the Ministry says that a Rapid Assessment Program will be conducted to determine, among other things,China Cheap Jerseys, the child labour situation in Guyana.Regarding the number of serious complaints that are engaging the Ministry’s attention, Nadir said that there are three.In Demerara, a 15-year-old teenager was working when three of his fingers were severed in an industrial accident. The matter is in court.In Essequibo,Supply Authentic NFL Jerseys, two grandchildren were said to be working on a family truck when they were supposed to be in school.However, visits by the authorities found the children in school.In Berbice, there are reports of children working in restaurants and sawmills, but recent surprise inspections found no breaches. There were even inspections by Ministry officials in a number of Berbice stores in the Rose Hall area.The Minister admitted that inspections in the interior locations are a little more difficult since some families are always on the move.In the Mahdia area, there is high abseentism by students and the Ministry will be working along with agencies like the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the Guyana Forestry Commission and NIS to tackle the situation.This year, workplace inspections are projected to 4,500, as compared to last year’s 4,000.To address the truancy issues, government has taken a number of measures. This includes providing uniform,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, meals and there is now the possibility of transportation being provided.

– on US$2.5M bail for fraudThe Federal Bureau of Information yesterday dragged scandal-scarred Queens and Guyanese businessman,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Edul Ahmad, off a Georgetown-bound Delta airlines flight, as US authorities investigate him for extensive scheme to extract money from unsuspecting home buyers.Ahmad had already boarded Delta 383 at JFK International to head to Guyana when Federal agents boarded the aircraft, handcuffed him and removed him from the aircraft.The New York Daily News reported that Ahmad, called a “loan wolf” because of mortgage fraud investigations,Cheap Jerseys, posted the US$2.5 million bail, and declined comment.He was hit with a criminal complaint alleging that he conducted an extensive scheme to commit mortgage fraud, regularly lying about applicants’ income and using straw buyers to hide his involvement.His lawyer, Steven Kartagner, declined to discuss whether Ahmad was in discussions with the FBI and the Brooklyn U.S attorney before his arrest, the New York Daily news reported.Ahmad, best known as a Queens, New York real estate agent, raised eyebrows when he made a questionable $40,000 “loan” to Representative Greg Meeks. Ahmad is a key figure in ongoing probes of the “loan” Meeks forgot to repay for 3 1/2 years until the Daily News exposed it.In January 2007, Ahmad gave Meeks $40,000 to finish paying off the congressman’s new $830,000 home.? There was no discussion of interest rates, collateral, due dates and no documents were generated at the time, sources familiar with the transaction have told The News.Meeks did not list the transaction on 2007 or 2008 financial disclosure forms he filed with the House, revealing it for the first time in a 2009 form that was filed in mid-2010.In July 2010, shortly after The News revealed details of this transaction and the FBI paid Ahmad a visit, Meeks suddenly paid back the money and called it a loan.Meeks is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation, as well as a probe by the Office of Congressional Ethics.He faced lawsuits in July last year alleging predatory lending and real-estate fraud and faced foreclosure action on a Jamaica home in 2009.Ahmad recently opened a place called Building Materials and Appliances Depot located at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, just in front of the publishing house of the ruling party’s newspaper, the Mirror.One year ago, Ahmad faced a suit by two Queens brothers,Cheap Jerseys Online, immigrants from Bangladesh, who accused him of predatory lending and fraud.The men say they contacted Ahmad in 2006 about two neighboring homes for sale in Queens but claim he falsely told them that only one was available and that another buyer was ready to snatch it up, according to court papers.Businessman Edul AhmadIt is reported that Ahmad “demanded” a US$20,000 deposit and told the men they had to close on the three-family property, built by Ahmad’s brother, within a week.According to news reports court papers quote the men as saying they were also told that they had to use Ahmad’s in-house mortgage broker and were advised against using their own lawyer, court papers say.The men claim they realized too late that “they had been induced into an excessively priced mortgage.”The suit alleges that the buyers’ incomes were falsified to make it appear as if they could afford the loan and that they were required to take out a mortgage for the entire $880,000 purchase price.The suit charges that Ahmad, his companies and his brother “specifically prey on immigrants from the South Asian community.”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, 43, immigrated to the United States from Guyana in 1983 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College in 1988.He started his company,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the Ahmad Group, in 1993, according to the company’s Web site.His diverse business interests include Century 21 Ahmad Realty,Wholesale Jerseys China, a mortgage brokerage and a catering hall in Richmond Hill. He also sells tubs and lighting fixtures through a firm called Wholesale Building Supplies, and was also said to have a company called Pure Rice Manufacture.He also has a cricket company named after him, and sponsors cricket events here in Guyana.According to the New York Post, Ahmad lives the high life in a mansion in South Ozone Park. The newspaper said his fleet of cars over the last few years has included a 2004 Lam

When it comes to her health there is no doubt that 12-year-old Tionne Jones has been dealt a bad hand, a dilemma her family hopes could be reversed with financial assistance from caring members of the public.It was just last year,Cheap Jerseys Outlet, according to Tionne’s aunt Karen Trapp that the child’s health had diminished severely due to a cancerous tumour in her right eye.Trapp related that the tumour was evidently growing and it was medically recommended that it be removed with much urgency.And it was with the assistance of the public that the tumour was removed at the Westshore Medical Centre in Trinidad last year.According to Trapp,Cheap Jerseys Free, it was the belief of the family that all was well with the child until it was discovered that the tumour had regenerated and has since been increasing in size at a notable rate. According to a letter from the medical facility in Trinidad, Tionne had undergone excision of a right retro-orbital tumour on September 29,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, 2007 and had recovered excellently from that procedure.It was noted, too,Authentic Adidas Hockey Jerseys China, that the tumour was confirmed to be a cavernous haemangioma related to abnormal blood vessel formation.However,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, on review it was detected via Magnetic Resonance Imaging that there had been a small recurrence.As such it was noted that the best treatment would be for a repeat surgical removal.The estimated cost of the follow-up operation according to the letter will amount to TT$106,000. It was however noted in the letter that the estimate represents realistic and independent costs and does not include unanticipated complications,Cheap NFL Jerseys, pointing out that the final cost may vary.Currently Tionne’s family is unable to acquire the requisite finance to undertake the urgent operation, thus they are desperately seeking the assistance of the public.Trapp during a visit to this newspaper recently said that every effort is being made by the family to solicit funds from business organisations and individuals in a bid to ensure that the procedure can be undertaken as soon as possible.In the meantime Tionne’s predicament causes her to cringe in pain when her eye is exposed to light.