The “sleaze ball” and the President

Apr 19, 2009 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

At one of his press conferences, Mr. Jagdeo called me a sleaze ball. I don’t know why and I don’t care to know. The reason why I adopt that stance is because in my analytical mind I can prove that Guyana’s President has a far from impressive record. I honestly feel that of all the Presidents we have had, leaving out the six-month stint of Sam Hinds and Mrs. Jagan’s two-year tenure, Mr. Jagdeo is a less competent administrator than Forbes Burnham, Desmond Hoyte and Cheddi Jagan.

Mr. Burnham’s authoritarian traits were inherent alright but he knew his politics, his administrative goals, and his PR was well oiled. Most of all, he had a deep appreciative instinct for those that could help him run his country. He knew how to separate mediocrity from genius and he was bold enough to want to work with those who had talent, erudition and unique skills.
I have never written anything personal about Mr. Jagdeo. I have never used adjectives and nouns that convey emotional and personalized meaning. My task as a media commentator is to analyse the use of power by Mr. Jagdeo and assess the efficaciousness of his policies.

As we come down to the end of twelve years of the Jagdeo presidency, the scandals and shame are intensifying. What occurred in downtown Georgetown on Thursday was enough to galvanize a population into demanding that there be a change of government. Hundreds of millions are lost to our small investors, particularly the downtown retail trade whenever there is an unusual downpour. We have unpredictable weather patterns around the world (in April, look the rainy tempest we had on Thursday, yes in April), and given its continuation, there will be huge losses to our small investors and thousands of working class people’s homes will be flooded.

These devastations could be lessened if we can find a solution to the tussle for power between the local government in the city and central authority. However strongly we resent the incompetence of the Georgetown City Council, it does not have the money to clean Georgetown and prevent flooding. And one of the reasons for this is that the PPP Government does not want the municipal politicians to have independent power so they can raise their own funds. The Local Government Task Force was designed to bring about this goal. All the evidence points to sabotage by the Government of the Task Force.
This writer has information whereby the Government has consistently refused money from the USAID and CIDA to speed up the work of the Task Force. In another column, I will explain why there will not be open, competitive municipal elections before 2011.

So Mr. Jagdeo referred to me as a sleaze ball but look at Guyana today under Mr. Jagdeo’s presidency. Before we move to the near miss on the life of Maria van Beek, it must be said that the terrible flooding on Thursday was partially the fault of Mr. Jagdeo’s Government. The GPL, according to the Mayor & City Council, could not have delivered electricity to many areas of Georgetown thus causing two strategically placed pumping systems to be non-functional. Come 2011, when he leaves New Garden Street, Mr. Jagdeo would have chalked up a dozen years of governorship yet since 1999 when he took power, Guyana’s electricity supply is as erratic as when Burnham ruled without aid from the West.

Here is an interesting story. Where I lived, the lights went at 06.30 hours. The GPL came at 18.45 hours to fix the fault. It took these people, ten, I repeat in bold terms TEN minutes to correct the breakdown. We had to endure twelve hours of disruption when the problem needed only ten minutes to be removed. The GPL people were courteous and professional but when asked why twelve hours after, they said the areas of priorities were too numerous for them to come earlier. This is Guyana under Mr. Jagdeo since he came to office in 1999.

Finally, Maria van Beek. All over the Caribbean, CLICO has collapsed and untold numbers have seen their monies disappear overnight. In Trinidad, the Duprey empire has vanished and the T&T Government has taken control of Duprey’s Republic Bank. It is only in Guyana that persons have tried to liquidate the official liquidator; an attempt was made to kill Mrs van Beek. This is what Guyana has come to. Who wanted Mrs. van Beek dead? Was it a disgruntled policy-holder? I doubt it. Was it powerfully placed people that can be exposed by Mrs. van Beek based on information she stumbled on? I don’t know. But this I know – Guyana will be a failed state before 2011.

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The “sleaze ball” and the President

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