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Jagdeo believes COI into plot to kill President Granger is a waste of money
Leader of the Opposition and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic, Bharrat Jagdeo, believes that the on-going Commission of Inquiry into an assassination plot against President David Granger is a waste
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo
of money.
Jagdeo, during a press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition on Church Street, yesterday, said that the COI is unnecessary and uncalled for due to the position Guyana is currently in as it regards to security.
He said that numerous COIs that have been established by the government since getting into office are aimed at distracting Guyanese from the real problems.
Also, he said that the COIs are vehicles for corruption. People that are often sympathetic to the APNU+AFC government are given huge sums of money to do work that may seem important but in the public scheme of things and aspirations of the people are not topical today.
“They are just given large sums to really waste time.” He said that over the last couple of weeks, Guyana has seen what his party expected.
“We expected, given the inept manner, the usual incompetent manner that the government addressed the first prison fire where 17 lives were lost, we were going to have a repeat of this incident, because they made fire a tool that could be used by the prisoners for engagement with the political authority.”
Jagdeo said that the second fire was far more disastrous in terms of damage to property but on a lesser extent on the loss of lives. Further, he said that during the parliamentary sitting on Thursday, Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan did not make a statement to the National Assembly regarding the security situation in the country.
He said that the opposition is hoping that on August 3, 2017 which will be the next parliamentary sitting, a debate on the matter can be held. Jagdeo said that with all the prevailing security issues, the government sees it fit to conduct the COI.
“Now this is a feature that you often find in countries that are run by tin pot dictators, who are so concerned about their safety all the time that they have to create this aura and this suspicion that their lives are so valuable that they need to launch these major COIs.”
He said that the individual that is heading the COI has been an activist in the coalition during the 2015 campaign. Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe, was sworn in to head the COI.
Jagdeo suggested that if there was concern that the initial investigation regarding the allegations of there being a plot to kill President Granger, then the President should have asked the Head of the Presidential Secretariat to gather those in charge of the investigation and express the dissatisfaction.
According to the former President, a comprehensive report could have been compiled concerning the investigation. That would have had the matter addressed comprehensively and seriously.
He said that this method would have saved the state millions of dollars.
“But they opted for a public inquiry into an assignation plot on the president at the time when we are facing the most serious threat to law and order in our country ever.”
Jagdeo said that the COI will also have the effect of destroying the morale of the Guyana Police Force over a matter that he considers trivial and one that could have been treated differently.
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