Jamaican PM targets President Jagdeo

Oct 07, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

In what must be considered one of the most vicious attacks on another Caricom leader since the birth of Carifta, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding made a devastating critique on one of his Caricom colleagues, using the plural to avoid specificities.

It is clear to a majority of political observers and commentators that Mr. Golding had Guyana’s President in mind when he lashed out at “some” Caricom leaders who go begging the international community all the time.

Perhaps only the “yard fowl” remark of late Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, directed against Barbadian PM Tom Adams in 1983, could be seen as a more acerbic remark within the Caricom family since the integration movement was born.

How unfortunate that this could come from Jamaica, when that island’s people tend to treat Guyanese with immense friendliness.

Let’s quote the outspoken Jamaican leader: “They go around, hat in hand, to every capital of the world like panhandlers on the street, telling people how we are like the wretched of the earth; we are poor and that we need all sorts of charity.

Not only am I tired of it, but I believe that we have allowed it (the constant begging for aid) to cause us to put off indefinitely the need to confront some of our own weaknesses and deficiencies and to deal with them.”

Mr. Golding did not mention the Guyanese President, but any analyst should use logical deduction to arrive at whom he had in mind. Surely, he could not be speaking about Barbados and Trinidad.

Maybe the OECS leaders; but how many of them travel the globe to ask for loans and grants? My opinion is that he was referring to Guyana.

My honest and deeply held belief is that Mr. Golding is right in the context of the philosophical damage international aid does to poor countries.

I have been a columnist for twenty years, and I have done several essays that argue that international aid has destroyed political vision in Guyana.

I believe I have done a yearly reflection on that issue. I recall one of my pieces was titled, “They vomit on our shoes.” That was a quote from the British High Commissioner in Kenya referring to the attitude of Third World leaders in begging for aid all the time.

The story of mendicancy on the part of our present leaders is a horrible one. Every Guyanese should be ashamed at the way our Government begs for aid.

Ask any schoolboy if the Government of Guyana earns money and he/she will tell you that we are a nation whose income comes from the IDB, CDB, World Bank, India, China and the ABC countries.

Just last month, Minister Rohee was in a quarrel with the IDB over US$3M. His ministry requested that for an urban project among youths.

The IDB disagreed with the format and Minister Rohee lashed out at the withholding of the funds. We had to beg the IDB for US$3M. For God’s sake! Don’t we have that sum coming from our own treasury?

Mr. Golding knows what goes on in Guyana. As a top Caribbean politician, obviously he follows the news. Japan helped us build the Caricom Head Office. We built a small one, so we are renting space at the cost of US$ 40,000 monthly.

The Chinese erected the Convention Centre. The British modernized our water supply; India financed the Providence Stadium; we asked the IDB for $600M (Guyana) to rehabilitate UG’s labs, it refused; we have asked UWI to resuscitate UG.

While the ACP meeting was on, Mr. Jagdeo should have been there to press his case against the signing of the EPA. Instead, he was in China negotiating loans. No doubt, this got Mr. Golding mad. Our President is against signing the EPA.

He tells the nation the EPA spells disaster for Caricom, but he postponed his campaign against the EPA while he brought Carifesta to Guyana. Mr. Golding must have wondered at Mr. Jagdeo’s priorities. The people of Guyana live in constant shame.

Every time a minister gives a public speech about one of Guyana’s needs that will be plugged, he/she brazenly tells the audience that IDB will fix it. I have about four past columns in which I asked the question if the IDB is not the institution that feeds Guyana.

Now that Mr. Golding has made his remarks, I implore every Guyanese to check on what the state has built the past ten years and research who has financed the projects.

We could have had a Berbice bridge since 2001, but the IDB refused to donate the money. Mr. Bruce Golding socked it to the Guyana Government. Someone had to do it. It was long overdue.

Latest News

Jamaican PM targets President Jagdeo

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

St. Lucia’s Elite Blazers takes aim at FIBA 3×3 World Tour in...

Petra/Milo U18 Football kicks off Round II action...

Track and Field clubs demand nullification of AAG...

Joint Statement from WIPA and CWI on Athlete...

RCNA launches Childhood Obesity Prevention...

FL Sport donates stumps to Meten-Meer-Zorg...

Features/Columnists

Following one’s conscience rather than the crowd

If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?

New beginning, or beginning of a nightmare?

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Jamaican PM targets President Jagdeo

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]