IS JAGDEO PLAYING HIDE-AND-SEEK?

Aug 25, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Is our caring President playing hide-and-seek with the media? Ever since he returned from Emancipation celebrations in Jamaica, President Jagdeo has not yet called a press conference to brief the nation on his visit to that country and also his attendance at the UNASUR meeting held in South America, which he also attended.
Ever since his last press conference, there have been other developments which have arisen in the Simels case for which the media may wish to grill the President. At the same time, this newspaper has been exposing a great many worrying things in relation to contracts in the Drainage and Irrigation department, and thus the media is anxious to know whether the polygraph machine will be deployed to this sector or whether the Auditor General will be summoned to investigate some of these contracts to see whether there has been value for money.
Of course, the Auditor General does not need to be summoned to perform value-for-money audits. In fact, he has an obligation to investigate what is taking place with some of these contracts and to see, as was once noted in a previous matter, whether public funds are in any public official’s bank book or sunk into any property deal. Surely, it would enhance public transparency if the Auditor General peruses some other contracts for public works which have appeared under the microscope by this newspaper.
There are persons who tend to shield the President whenever major controversies arise. And one of the tactics which is used is to have the President interviewed by chosen interviewers from the media. So that instead of having to face the full media corps, the President only has to do either a one-on-one with a State media reporter or at times with Uncle Adam stuck in for additional public relations value.
Now that the President, at the opening of the Skeldon Factory, has taken a dig at his detractors, it is time that he allow his detractors the opportunity to have their say. It is also time for him to host one of his press conferences so that he can be questioned about the new revelations in the Robert Simels trial and the demand by the opposition parties for an international investigation into the matter.
The President does not have to worry about the scope of such a proposal. The opposition has said that it is open to an investigation into what took place during the crime wave and the violence that emanated from Buxton. The President therefore now has an opportunity to present the evidence which the government says it has linking the gunmen in Buxton to political operatives.
The media in Guyana also wants to quiz the President about the propriety of that statement which emanated from the Ministry of Finance and which encourages this newspaper to become involved in the tendering for government contracts. Is the President pleased with this response? Does it represent the position of the Guyana government and if so, can we now assume that no matter how high a person tenders for a project, once that person is the sole bidder then that person will be awarded the contract?
The media also wants to know more about the government’s plan to sell those shares in GT&T. Now, the President is reported as saying that he wants to take the money and buy computers for those Guyanese who do not have computers? Is the President also prepared for the internet charges for those receiving these computers? After all, if these persons cannot afford to buy a computer – which today can be had on hire purchase – it is most likely also that they would not be able to afford to pay for use of the internet which is necessary for them to do to make the greatest use of information technology.
Since the President is so keen on selling these shares to buy computers and since the opposition is calling for the workers to be given the option to purchase the shares if it ever has to be sold, then the President should consider selling the shares to the workers and then use the money to buy the computers for the poor people, some of whose houses do not have electricity.
In this case, he may have to provide with each computer, a generator to provide electricity, plus a line conditioner to prevent damage by high voltage, plus a back-up UPS in case the power goes. Since also grocery lists will have to be prepared, the President should throw in a printer plus a year’s supply of paper and ink.
We however do not wish these computers to be damaged by water and thus each home receiving a computer will be required to have an elevated desk to mount the instrument on it. Then, some of the poor people may not know how to use the computer, so the President may need to arrange for lessons for some of them on how to use the computer.
Would it not be better instead of throwing US$20M down the drain on some hair-brained scheme, if instead the government simply takes the money and doubles the salaries of public servants, teachers and the police? If twenty million can be wasted on a plan to provide the poor with computers, then why not pay a proper salary to teachers, and policemen and policewomen?

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