Freddie Kissoon – President Jagdeo’s turf

Jun 08, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Some leaders get their power from sheer grit. The name Obama comes to mind. Some leaders arrive at their authority through some strange routes; maybe luck, maybe the uninspiring nature of the country’s demography.
There are two and a half more years left of Mr. Jagdeo’s tenure and it doesn’t appear that in his career Mr. Jagdeo would ever have entered into a debate where you could have judged his mental capacity and intellectual strength to defend his presidential record against his opponents who feel his balance sheet is unimpressive.
Mr. Jagdeo does not participate in any form of live political debate. This is definitely a rejection of the trend in modern politics. Prime Ministers and Presidents must take on their critics and the press in frank exchange together in the same physical space.

In fact, they do just that, with the exception being Mr. Jagdeo.
Mr. Jagdeo’s turf remains his press conference and the feature address (which as President he gives quite often; one on Thursday night at the launching of the Guyana Times, then the next morning on the Regional Agriculture Investment Programme).
He uses both of these avenues to castigate his detractors and the press, and to mislead the nation on the political reality of abused power.
There are no opportunities available to counter him. Let us analyse his presentation at the official ceremony to mark the birth of the Guyana Times. Mr. Jagdeo proved me right.

I wrote in my column the day before (last Wednesday) that he would come out swinging against his critics and the press and heap praise on his record. I was vividly accurate.
First, Mr. Jagdeo rebuked Mr. Yesu Persaud when the latter called for concessions similar to what the Queens Atlantic Investment Inc of Dr. Ramroop got. The President told Mr. Persaud that the tax laws provide for those concessions and he, Mr. Persaud, must be familiar with them. This is a misleading assertion and Mr. Persaud should have got up and left the room.
The KN columnist, Peeping Tom, is arguing that Dr. Ramroop got extravagant state generosities from the divestment of Sanata Textiles. The tax laws here are irrelevant. In a strange twist, Mr. Jagdeo told the audience that all the negative comments about the Queens Atlantic deal are wrong but that the government chose not to reply.
Can you believe that Mr. Jagdeo who is always replying to the most inconsequential reprimand chose not to rebut serious allegations that have been made against both him and the government in the Ramroop purchase of Sanata?
Is it possible that the President’s silence is because the critics’ case is too strong?
Secondly, what the laws and the Constitution give citizens is one thing; the recognition of the laws and the constitution by the government is another.

In the final analysis, the laws can give citizens the entire country but the government can prevent them from collecting. The very legislation Mr. Jagdeo mentioned, the Fiscal Amendment Act (FAA), has been treated contemptuously by the state.
That Bill does away with engine size in duty free concession for cars. The Bill is clear on that – there are no restrictions on the CC of the car. Yet the GRA refuses to abide by the law. Twice I intervened with GRA’s boss, Khurshid Sattaur on behalf of UG lecturers. His position is that the duty free letter will apply to under 1500 CC.
There is no guarantee that what companies are entitled to under the FAA, Mr. Jagdeo’s Government will gladly concede. Mr. Persaud’s reflection was both relevant and appropriate and he should have walked out when the President chastised him. In the end, I did the right thing. I chose to attend the launching after the official propaganda blitz was over.
Thirdly, Mr. Jagdeo chose a weird adverb to describe the Jamaican Gleaner’s approach to journalism. He claimed that the Gleaner does report on crime but does it “tastefully.”
The Gleaner’s reporting on crime is not dissimilar from any of the two independent dailies in Guyana. What Guyana has and Jamaica doesn’t is the gruesome dimensions like beheading and shooting children to death while they are asleep.
I don’t know how much the President knows about the Gleaner but that paper certainly is more vociferous in its condemnation of government policies it doesn’t like than any newspaper in Guyana. Is Mr. Jagdeo familiar with the confrontations between Prime Minster Michael Manley and the Gleaner?
The Gleaner did a hatchet job on Prime Minister P.J. Patterson’s endeavour to make the CCJ an appeal court. I wonder if the Gleaner would tolerate one radio station in Jamaica.
Finally, Mr. Jagdeo resented the publication of rumours in the Guyanese newspapers. He failed to mention that rumours of the proposed Kingston hotel are circulating because he refuses to name the investor(s). But wait till you hear who the investors are. I wonder if I should break that story first to the Guyana Times.

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