It’s The Money Stupid

Apr 21, 2010 Letters

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Dear Sir,
During the U.S. presidential election between Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr.; the democrat, Bill Clinton, coined the phrase “It’s The Economy, stupid” to highlight the disconnect between then president Bush and his understanding of the electorate that was disenchanted with him and republican fiscal policies.
Politicians in the opposition and those who are concerned with or study Guyana’s travails would do well to follow the money trail of this PPP government.  There is an overwhelming fact based pattern of events and people who are friends of (person named) who have profited from the exploitation of the national treasury that leads me to the conclusion that this group of PPP members has abandoned any pretense of caring for the electorate or of governing for the benefit of all Guyanese.
They are only interested in remaining there until they are no longer viewed as “recently wealthy” but as permanent oligarchs.  It’s the money, stupid.
There seems to be a stunning lack of curiosity and outrage by Guyanese, in general, but specifically by the independent media and opposition politicians about the puerile answers proffered by President Jagdeo and various Cabinet members when they are challenged about the legality or propriety of the disappearance of funds, questionable contracts and other financial irregularities committed by this PPP government.
Guyanese must disabuse themselves of the notion that the Jagdeo-led PPP government is nationalist or even patriotic, given the manner in which state assets are “given” to bidders with questionable ties or countries; people who have rightly placed their interest above Guyana’s.
Recently, Goldman Sachs, the giant American investment banking firm based in New York and is believed by some to symbolize the global financial collapse, had fraud charges brought against it by the United States government.
Goldman Sachs made “bad investments” and its behaviour wasn’t dismissed by regular Americans or the American government; they demanded accountability.  CLICO Guyana made “illegal investments” according to the Insurance Act but President Jagdeo, by fiat, dismissed it as “bad investments” and that Guyanese should delve no further and move on.
Land deals by members of this administration or FOBs that required parliament to act after the fact to make it legal, dolphin scandal, re-immigrant duty free scandal; sole source contracts, loans to build hotels or roads builders etc… come at what many believe are inflated prices so that kickbacks are made to those in authority.
I haven’t even touched on money laundering, structuring, police corruption, daily bribery of low level functionaries and a barely functional judicial system that is stacked in the government’s favor.
And then there is the AFC, a party that I admire and support, but which has strategically made a misguided decision to unilaterally and categorically not support any form of street protest. That option should never be taken off the table as it relates to dealing with this government.
Isn’t freedom of assembly and peaceful protest a constitutionally guaranteed right of the people? Barticians got the government’s attention when they peacefully protested measures that the PPP tried to ram down their throats without genuine consultation. Power concedes nothing without a struggle and with the manner in which this kleptocratic government has wielded power it is unlikely that it will willingly accede to a more democratic form of government.
The tyranny that masquerades as a duly elected government will not cease unless and until there is a change in system of governance such as federalism that exists in the United States, is implemented so that the electorate can have a direct say in who their elected representatives are and that there are credible checks and balances between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
While the idea of federalism has gained a lot of interest in the Diaspora, it was given some treatment locally in multiple articles by Kaieteur News columnist Ravi Dev.
Unfortunately, the idea of federalism will remain a foreign concept to Guyanese as they remain vicariously wedded to the notion of socialism and communism as espoused by leaders who care only about retaining their ill gotten largess.
It occurs to me that pride, a key ingredient in nationhood and patriotic fervor among any nation, is as extinct as dinosaurs in Guyanese.  I suppose having a constitution (as amended 2003) that is over 200 pages long will do that to you.
What child has the time to read and comprehend the document that is the highest law of the land; to dream and aspire to become president unless he or she either through legacy or membership belongs to the evil twins, PPP and PNC? This is the same document the PPP disingenuously decried and called the Burnham Constitution when that party was in the opposition but tinkered with to maintain their stranglehold on naked power.
Nigel Jason

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