2016 Auditor General ReportWith several accounting officers admitting before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) when it recently met to various financial infractions, concerns are being raised that this points to a systemic lack of standards.In an interview with Guyana Times, financial consultant John Seeram noted that capacity building among the various regional administrations would go a far way to minimising the flagrant abuses identified in the Auditor General’s 2016 report.Seeram, who is also the Chairman of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Guyana chapter, acknowledged that the administrations of the 10 Regions have internal auditors. At the same time, he questioned their efficiency.Institute of Internal Auditors Chairman John Seeram“They need more training. And in so doing, they must be able to know that they must work along with management in order to meet the financial goals of the Region. And that is where the Institute of Internal Auditors come in, because we normally mount at least three to four seminars a year on pertinent topics relating to the practice of accounting and auditing in the public service.“And I believe that once they attend those seminars, that could be a way of professional development for our internal auditors. As it stands right now, I would venture to say that there is need for more training for the internal auditors so as to minimise the comments made by the Auditor General in his report,” Seeram stated.Fiscal abuseRecently, a showdown had ensued at the PAC between Committee Chairman Irfaan Ali and Regional Executive Officer (REO) Rupert Hopkinson over the Region Two administration’s financial indiscretions.Prior to the meeting, Hopkinson had made an official response to the 2016 Audit Report’s findings. Ali had pointed to a number of disturbing trends from the explanations. He cited a section of the foreword of Hopkinson’s response, where he noted the administration was not disputing it used current allocations to fund capital projects.Under fire from Ali, the REO had claimed that these were all projects of an emergency nature. At this point, Ali had slammed Hopkinson for being aware of breaches to the law yet going ahead with the projects out of the belief that they were in the best interest of the Region.The projects included the construction of a bus shed at Dartmouth, construction of the Anna Regina Health Centre, construction of a fence at Unity Park Phase One, construction of a fence at Unity Park Phase Two, and construction of a sitting area at Cotton Field and landing at Liberty, Pomeroon.Hopkinson’s contention is that the works were of an emergency nature, requested from the heads of programmes within the regional administration. In his official response, he has also stressed that the projects would have benefited residents.Notably, Hopkinson, in his explanation, had stated: “We seek pardon for any contravention of policy, on the grounds that the Region saved $500 million from 2016 to date… on this score, the administration of Pomeroon-Supenaam Region is of the opinion that the Region should be commended for its judicious spending of Government budgetary allocations…in the face of a culture of dishonesty.”City Hall was also placed in the limelight earlier this year after complaints from Auditor General Deodat Sharma over his inability to access certain documents during a previous audit. Following threats to seek criminal charges, the Council provided these documents at a subsequent PAC meeting.Under a barrage of questions, City Treasurer Ron McAlmont had resolutely refused to provide an explanation for the delay in the handing over of information auditors have been after since the initial audit in 2017.The Audit Office of Guyana had found that as at December 31, 2016, $396.5 million was expended. From the start, City Hall’s financial status, how it spent almost $175 million and its failure to submit documentation dating from 2005 posed a challenge to the PAC.Then, the PAC had clashed with the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) last month over the fact that a programme that was approved by the National Assembly was revised despite works already commencing.GWI Executive Director for Project Implementation, Ramchand Jailal had faced the brunt of questioning from the PAC. He related that during 2016, the original programme was revised.While GWI and the Communities Ministry had held out that no wrongdoing was done when it revised the terms of the Hinterland Water Supply programme, the Auditor General had informed them of their liability in the matter.“Mr Chair, that’s a breach of the Fiscal Act. The FMA [Fiscal Management and Accountability] Act says unspent balances must be refunded to the Consolidated Fund. But you only got the approval on 29 of December. So you are covering yourself afterwards. So that’s a breach,” Sharma had explained.PAC Chairman Ali has already made calls for harsher penalties for those who commit financial crimes, besides what the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act already provides for.
QPR are 4/5 to finish bottom of the Premier League table (Reading 5/2 and 6s bar) after their defeat against Manchester United.Rangers are now 1/7 to be relegated with Reading 2/9, Villa 4/5 and Wigan 11/10.They travel to St Mary’s and are 10/3 for the win against a Southampton side who beat Manchester City in their last home game, although they did go down 4-2 to Newcastle at St James’ Park last weekend.The Saints are 20/23 for the win, with the draw at 27/10.Loic Remy at least made it back onto the pitch against United and we bet 2/5 he scores four or fewer Premier League goals this season and 7/4 five or moreRemy is 8/1 to score the opener at the weekend and 5/2 to score at any time with Bobby Zamora 9s.There are still 33 points to play for and although an escape looks unlikely, while it is still mathematically possible Rangers must keep going – although a draw wouldn’t be enough.After Rafa Benitez’s rant this week, Jose Mourinho – fresh from a magnificent win in the Nou Camp for Real Madrid on Tuesday – is now 8/11 favourite to take over at the Stamford Bridge for a second time.It is hard to look beyond Mourinho with David Moyes and Gus Poyet (8s), Avram Grant 14s and Manuel Pellegrini 14s.There have been nibbles for both Gianfranco Zola (25s) and Jurgen Klopp 20s, but Chelsea fans want to see Jose return.Chelsea are 11/2 at betvictor.com for the FA Cup and 7/2 for the Europa League and it is possible that Benitez will win a trophy (if he doesn’t go before).But it has been hard for both players and fans to warm to him and he was a very poor appointment.The Blues are 2/5 to beat West Brom this weekend and with Romelu Lukaku unable to play against his parent club, they really must get back to winning ways.They remain 1/4 to finish in the top four this season (11/4 not to).Fulham travel to the Stadium of Light looking for revenge, given Sunderland won the reverse fixture at the Cottage earlier in the season.As in that previous fixture the Whites meet a Black Cats side out of sorts of late but the hosts are 7/5 favourites with the visitors 9/4 and the draw 23/10.Fulham are 5/2 for a top-10 finish (Sunderland 10/3) and with Swansea guaranteed a Europa League spot, it is possible that the Welsh side, currently 9th, will take their eye off the ball.With 10th-placed Stoke only a point ahead of Martin Jol’s men and having to do without Robert Huth for three matches, I think there have been worse 5/2 shots – but they need a result on Saturday.For all your weekend odds check out betvictor.comBe luckyCharlie
Click here if you’re unable to view the photo gallery on your mobile device. The Warriors were still waiting Monday night to find out whether or not Klay Thompson’s left hamstring injury will allow him to play in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.ESPN reported Thompson hadn’t yet undergone an MRI as of early Monday evening as the test was delayed because the team’s flight didn’t arrive until the early morning hours.Test results on Thompson’s hamstring should be available later Monday …
About the authorCarlos VolcanoShare the loveHave your say Fiorentina boss Montella insists no regrets over his time with AC Milanby Carlos Volcanoa month agoSend to a friendShare the loveFiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella has no regrets over his time with AC Milan.The Viola meet Milan later tonight.“It was a fantastic experience, we won a trophy, which some people conveniently forget,” said Montella, referring to the Italian Super Cup against Juventus.“We didn’t purchase practically any players and still qualified for Europe, which hadn’t happened for a few years. I don’t consider that a negative time at all.“When I was at Milan, Suso, Patrick Cutrone and Davide Calabria were set to be sold. I think we did good work with homegrown talents like Manuel Locatelli and Gianluigi Donnarumma.” 
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 17: Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on against the Rhode Island Rams during the second half in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)Duke and Louisville are locked into a tight battle at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils led by as many as 14 but now trail late in the contest.During the second half, Duke’s Grayson Allen drove to the basket and was knocked down. While he was on the ground, he appeared to intentionally trip Louisville’s Raymond Spalding, who had corralled the ball and was dribbling up court.yep, that’s a trip by Grayson Allen … https://t.co/hAfZbZaFGb— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) February 9, 2016Definitely looks like he meant to do that.
Manchester United’s current goalkeeper David De Gea has been looking at opportunities from all around Europe lately. However, he could sign a team no one has ever thought he would.The Spaniard seems sceptical about winning much silverware under the rule of Jose Mourinho while still playing for the Red Devils. Since Real Madrid stopped showing interest in him, he has been searching everywhere and he might eventually end up in – surpise! – Paris.He has been with United since 2011 and is currently considered one the world’s best goalkeepers. De Gea was rumoured to be joining Real back in 2015 but to no success. Despite not coming to an eventual agreement, Madrid’s door was still open for him until recently, when Perez set his sight on Roma goalkeeper Alisson.
Maguire says United need to build on today’s win George Patchias – September 14, 2019 Harry Maguire wants his United teammates to build on the victory over Leicester City.During the summer, Harry Maguire was referred to as the ultimate…Paris Saint-Germain have been chasing the Spaniard for his signature. Despite not being really into it, De Gea might sign as his only desire right now is to leave Mourinho, according to Caught Offside.Jose Mourinho has been underachieving overall since he took over Manchester United in the last season – so far he has been able to win only the League Cup and Europe League, which is certainly not enough for the 27-years-old De Gea.
Stefano Pioli has praised his players and expressed his happiness after Fiorentina demolished Chievo 6-1.Fiorentina thrashed Chievo Verona 6-1 at the Stadio Franchi. Marco Benassi scored a brace and there was late Giovanni Simone nutmeg. Pioli was delighted with the performance of his team. Football Italia reports.“I am happy, but there was more to it than the result. Chievo still caused us a lot of problems and at least it means we are capable of suffering under pressure in difficult moments,” Pioli said.“We started the season earlier than usual actually, as we hoped to play the Europa League preliminary rounds, but then Milan won their appeal and were reinstated.
Karsdorp reveals he had too much stress at Roma Manuel R. Medina – September 14, 2019 The Dutch defender has been with the Gialorrossi since 2017, but he has not enjoyed his time in the Italian Lega Serie A.“We had a lot of friendlies and trained well, but there’s always the doubt in your mind on how it’ll work in a competitive match. This was the big test and Chievo did cause us problems, but we remained a unit and that’s what I wanted to see.“The midfield is where we made the most changes, but we had eight of the old guard starting, so I was confident. Edimilson has been training with us for two weeks and there’s a lot of potential in the team.“What we’re trying to do is provide entertainment for the fans and some beautiful football, because those are the characteristics we have.”
WILMINGTON, MA — Below is an op-ed submitted by State Rep. Candidate Dave Robertson (D-Tewksbury):Over the last few days there has been great media coverage of a long-time issue here in Massachusetts; the release of repeatedly violent criminals who have continued to live a life of crime. Most recently, Judge Tim Feeley released Manuel Soto-Vittini, a longtime heroin dealer, by claiming his crimes were financially based, as if it was similar to providing bread to his family. This, of course, ignores all those who potentially overdosed or had their lives destroyed by Soto-Vittini’s poison. Only a few weeks before Massachusetts lost one of its finest, Officer Sean Gannon. This was by a criminal who started dealing drugs and robbing individuals as a teenager, and deserves no mention by name. I could continue listing heartbreaking issues such as these, but it would take up far too much space. What is apparent is the system needs to be examined.Over the next few weeks you’ll likely hear a pitch that sounds good, and appears to be a silver bullet when it comes to oversight on judges ruling. This, of course, is directly elected judges. There are many aspects of this touted to be better, such as accountability to the general public, which Massachusetts currently lacks. However, when one looks closer at this issue, many issues and flaws with this suggestion also come to late. In fact, elected judges were first brought to the ballot early last century to increased judicial independence, striking down more laws than many who preceded them and upholding criminal accountability by following the rule of law, rather than letting certain folks off due to political patronage. Over the past century, this system has completely reversed itself and when measured, has become more corrupt than appointed judges.Professor Jed Shugerman, a graduate of the top-ranked Yale Law School and now a professor at Fordham, did a terrific in-depth study of elected judges that eventually he published into a book. Through his research he found out that since elected judges must appeal to contributors, judicial rulings become compromised when certain favorable parties appear before the bench. In addition, elected judges have a much higher percentage of their rulings overturned by superior courts, showing that elected judicial authorities choose the correct ruling at rates below those of an appointed counterpart. This research has been since confirmed by Emory University, NYU, and the non-partisan Constitution Center. In Michigan, a battleground state with an even split among Democrats and Republicans, over 13 million dollars was contributed to judge campaigns. With that sort of money floating around, how can justice be fair from either side?So what can we do to clean up our act here in Massachusetts? Long-time, Reagan-appointed Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day-O’Connor actually has a brilliant, common-sense solution. First appoint, like Massachusetts does, then wait and let the judge work. After a certain term, Justice Day-O’Connor suggests, have voters elect these judges back to power if they are doing a good job in the eyes of the public. This hybrid plan is ingenious for several reasons. Political appointments are often more-vetted and experienced, guaranteeing a higher quality of judgeship that elected states fail to maintain. In addition, the removal of any ballot races aside from accountability removes the potential corruption that money donated to judges would otherwise risk. When a judges term is up, say every 7 years as suggest by Justice Day-O’Connor, voters face a simple choice based on the judge’s track record and no more. There are no competitors and no need to raise money, it’s time to send them back to the bench or for the Governor and their council to pick a new appointee.This balanced, while sensible, approach would bring to Massachusetts what we in the state need; accountability. In addition to allowing us regular folks to hold those in government accountable, it preserves the higher quality of rulings that the majority of judges, who tend to do a good job overall, bring to the courts. In addition, it insulates us from potential corruption that many elected judges show, and ensures that in several years we won’t be reading about an elected judge because they let off the relative of their largest donor, who actually was “only selling heroin to get by.”Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading… RelatedSTATE REP RACE: Tewksbury Republican Committee Attack Robertson Over Wilmington Democratic Committee Chair’s StatementIn “Government”ALL POLITICS ARE LOCAL: Robertson & Gordon Endorse Ed Markey With Possible Kennedy Showdown LoomingIn “Government”STATE REP RACE: Prinzivalli Campaign Declares Debate Victory; Knocks Robertson On Dandi-Lyons & Sanctuary StateIn “Government”
Raghava Lawrence’s Kanchana 3 review.PR HandoutRaghava Lawrence’s horror-comedy Kanchana 3 aka Muni 4 has registered a fantastic opening at the Tamil Nadu box office on the first day. The multilingual film has, indeed, become the third biggest opener of the year in the state after Rajinikanth’s Petta and Ajith Kumar’s Viswasam.Released in about 500 screens in Tamil Nadu, the audience had given an impressive response to the advance booking of tickets for Kanchana 3 which was a clear indication of the film getting a good start in the state.The early trends indicate that Kanchana 3, which had over 330+ shows in Chennai, touched about 80 per cent occupancy rates with many shows running into a packed house. The movie is estimated to have grossed over Rs 75 lakhin the capital city alone.In Tamil Nadu, Kanchana 3 is estimated to have earned around Rs 10.5 crore on the first day which makes it the third biggest opener of 2019. Earlier, Ajith Kumar’s Viswasam and Rajinikanth’s Petta had grossed about Rs 15 crore and around Rs 13 crore, respectively on the first day of its release.As per the trade trackers, the Good Friday holiday was one of the major reasons why the movie attracted good footfalls in theatres. Further, the success of the past movies in the Muni franchise helped the film to pull the audience to cinema halls, say trade trackers.Outside Tamil Nadu Kanchana 3 has been simultaneously released in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. The total screen count of the film in rest of South India (Andhra, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka), is about 800 to take its total tally to 1300 screens in South India alone.The Raghava Lawrence-starrer, which has Bigg Boss Tamil fame Oviya, Vedhika and Nikki Tamboli in the female lead, has got a good start in Karnataka and Kerala, while a decent opening in the Telugu speaking states due to other Telugu release Jersey starring Nani.
May 24, 2011 This story appears in the June 2011 issue of . Subscribe » Attend this free webinar and learn how you can maximize efficiency while getting the most critical things done right. 4 min read More Mobile BrillianceCiviGuard In case of emergency: Government agencies, universities and businesses can use this app to quickly send out alerts and recommendations to the affected public.FaceCash Credit cards are so last year. This payment app verifies purchases by matching a customer’s face with a digital image linked to their account.GadgetTrak Using GPS, Wi-Fi positioning and cell tower triangulation, this app helps recover stolen laptops and smartphones. It even snaps a photo of the thief.GameSalad Mobile gaming made easy: A platform for creating sophisticated games without the need for code or special skills. These gamers raked in a cool $6.1 million in funding this year.Location Labs Helicopter parents unite: This mobile tech company hosts a suite of family safety apps that allow parents to monitor and track the location of their children in real time.Mogwee This social app allows groups of people to chat live, share photos and videos and even play mini games. Who’s up for some Sheep Tennis?SPOT Connect This compact satellite GPS messenger can get even the most adventurous outdoorsmen out of trouble. One click alerts emergency personnel to a person’s location.TransFire Hablas Español? No need. This real-time translation app from TNT Creations allows users to instantly send messages in more than 50 languages.Vers Offers hip, environmentally friendly mobile device cases made from sustainable materials like bamboo, cherry and walnut wood–and a chance to donate $1 to plant a tree.100 Brilliant Companies Home »
Free Webinar | Sept 5: Tips and Tools for Making Progress Toward Important Goals Register Now » For many businesses, creating a mobile app is akin to what creating a website was 15 years ago–it’s expensive and time consuming, and you can probably get along without one for a while. But then again, if you don’t invest now, you’ll regret it when you’re playing digital catch-up in a year.Enter Mobile Roadie, which, when it launched in 2009, was the first self-service app creator on the market, allowing businesses to customize and publish apps on all formats for a tenth of what it would cost to develop an app from scratch. Though many more app-creation services have jumped into the game lately, Mobile Roadie still has the advantage by being first to market.”Being first had even more advantages than it normally does. We’re six months ahead of the competition, and six months in the mobile world is like five years in any other industry,” says Michael Schneider, the former web design agency owner who co-founded Mobile Roadie with Brock Batten. “Our other advantage is that we’re the only service that supports our apps on Android, BlackBerry and iPhone. And BlackBerry is not the easiest thing to develop.”But just because Mobile Roadie is relatively cheap–about $500 to develop the app plus $30 dollars a month to manage it, versus tens of thousands for a custom app–doesn’t mean it produces a cheap product. In fact, Madonna, Taylor Swift, the Dallas Mavericks and the Wynn Las Vegas have all used Mobile Roadie to build their apps.”Just because a big brand can afford to build an app from the ground up doesn’t mean it should,” Schneider says. “We update our software every two to three months. Big brands realize that chasing all the changes in mobile technology is a pain in the butt. It’s easier to hire a third party to do it.”So far Mobile Roadie, which employs 32 people and has offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo and London, has kept on top of the trends. But if the mobile world evolves even further, Mobile Roadie is primed to keep its clients on the cutting edge.”There’s been a lot of chatter about HTML5 and the mobile web. I think users will go wherever the best experience is, and right now the best is an app,” Schneider says. “That being said, we’re going to be wherever the best mobile experience is. We’re about mobile engagement, even in a world beyond apps.
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