Five days after President Donald Ramotar exhorted the Guyana Police Force to find the killers of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing, investigators are still clutching at straws, even as the dead man’s family prepares to bury him.So far the police remain silent on the progress they have made with their investigations,Wholesale Jerseys China, creating further anxiety for a public desperate for answers.Calls to Crime Chief Leslie James and Divisional Commander Clifton Hicken went unanswered all day yesterday. Even the police Public Relations Department could not provide any answers to queries from this newspaper.Apart from reports that the police had detained two young men for questioning,Wholesale NBA Jerseys, nothing new has been forthcoming and from all indications, the investigation appears to be going nowhere.And according to one analyst,China Jerseys Cheap, “it looks like we will have to wait for another 30 years to have a Commission of Inquiry like the one we are having for Walter Rodney to ascertain who killed Courtney Crum-Ewing.”Social Activist Mark Benschop who has been on the demonstration line protesting the killing of Crum-Ewing said that he is not too confident that the police are interested in conducting a proper investigation.“This to me is a double tragedy for Crum-Ewing’s family and it is an insult to every Guyanese,” Benschop said.He argued that for the police to just pick up two youths to show that they are doing something is just offensive.He repeated calls for an independent investigation.“If they know that they cannot get the job done with regards to transparency,Nike Air Max Shoes For Women, I would like to see an independent investigation,Wholesale Jerseys,” Benschop stated.So far it is not clear if the police have questioned the two persons who had reportedly threatened Crum-Ewing.

Almost two days before Christmas, the mighty Pomeroon River has claimed another life. According to reports, 19-year-old, Mark Narine,NFL Jerseys Cheap, of Jacklow,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, Upper Pomeroon River,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, died by drowning after the wooden ballahoo he and two others were travelling in encountered some problems.Reports are that Narine, a gold miner who also performed the duties of captain of the wooden boat and two of his colleagues,China NFL Jerseys, were consuming alcohol at a restaurant at Charity, around 5pm on Friday.Narine and his friends reportedly left the night spot with the intention of dropping home another friend at Abrams Creek, Upper Pomeroon.Reports are that while Narine was returning from his journey at Abrams Creek,Air Max Shoes For Sale, the wooden boat encountered engine problems. Narine reportedly made a? sharp turn to head to shore and the right side of the boat collided into a huge tree.All three of the occupants were thrown out of the boat as of a result of the impact, but while Narine’s friends were able to save themselves by finding support on the boat, Narine went missing.His body was later discovered by his colleagues and was subsequently taken to the Oscar Joseph Hospital at Charity. Dr. Reneka Persaud pronounced him dead.Detectives later visited the scene and investigations are said to be continuing.

Govt. is indeed guaranteeing private investors-Opposition PartiesPull Quote: “Yes, Government is offering a guarantee….We are putting up monies for other people but their money will have priority and that is obnoxious,” RamjattanA senior government official may have been attempting to mislead Guyana over details of theAFC’s Khemraj RamjattanMarriott Hotel deal, with opposition parties now vowing to raise even more questions in Parliament.Both the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), which make up the Opposition in the National Assembly, believe that despite statements by Winston Brassington, head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL), Government is in fact offering guarantees to a number of yet unknown private investors that could see them recovering their investments ahead of the government using taxpayers’ money, should the project fail.The implications of that is despite Guyana’s intention to invest US$27M into the project, its name would not be first on the list to be repaid.The multi-million dollar project has come under fire especially as Guyana continues to struggle with problems to fill the many empty rooms that plague hotels across the country.Over a week ago, Brassington, during an interview with Kaieteur News, said that there is no Government guarantee on the US$27M debt that is being facilitated by Republic Bank (Trinidad) for the Marriott Hotel project.Government has entered into a syndicated loan arrangement where Republic Bank (Trinidad) is managing the process. The particular loan is one that is provided by a group of investors and which through an agreement will allow the investors who are part of the syndicated loan arrangement to get back their monies ahead of any other- in this case, ahead of Guyana which is plugging a massive US$27M into that project.Low occupancyAccording to Carl Greenidge, APNU’s Parliamentarian and former Finance Minister under the People’s National Congress (PNC), it may be a case of the NICIL’s head playing with words.APNU’s Carl Greenidge“You can in some instances decide that you can give a formal guarantee. You write a formal guarantee so that in the event that certain rate of profit is not achieved… you (Guyana) are going to make up the difference- that is a formal guarantee.”In this case, where Government is clearly issuing “preference shares” or “preferred shares” “it seems to me that they (the syndicated loan investors) have first claims on any income or any profits that are associated with the company and in any event of a collapse or it is wound up,NFL Jerseys Supply, they have first claims on the resources.”According to the Parliamentarian, the extent of the risk that Government will bear will depend on the Management Agreement that is signed.“…And we have not seen that; and that is really at heart of the story. The wider question is why would a government in circumstances where you have excess capacity in terms of hotel room occupancy,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, why would it want to provide a de facto guarantee in those circumstances?”The official stressed that incentives are more often than not provided to hotels and others to boost occupancy rates of rooms which in ordinary circumstances are below expectations.“…We have over capacity given the number of tourists we have…given the amount of visitors we have. I once again come back to a fear that the government is using an economic instrument like this… using the state’s resources, to give land to a business, to give a de facto guarantee to a business, monies…taxpayers’ monies to a business (and) is abusing economic policies.”Alluding to perceptions that government may be attempting to compete with the Pegasus,Cheap Stitched Jerseys, Greenidge made it clear that taxpayers’ money was involved.“If you are upset with (Robert) Badal (owner of The Pegasus), because Badal has a hotel that you did not want him to have, the way to deal with that is not through this instrument. These are taxpayers’ resources and in the end NICIL’s resources were never intended to be used in this way.”Our moneyNICIL is the state’s agency for handling investments for Guyana. It is said to have billions of dollars in its purses with increasing pressure for that money to be handed over to the Government’s central account- the Consolidated Fund.NICIL’s head, Winston BrassingtonThe Parliamentarian also said that the recently released documents by Government on the Marriott deal are incomplete. Last week, APNU through Greenidge,Cheap Jerseys, and during the 2012 National Budget debate,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, expressed more concerns over the project. The coalition will continue to raise questions and address t