Dr. Henry Jeffrey is no born-again democrat

Sep 05, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I would strongly suggest to Dr. Henry Jeffrey that he slows down his letters to the newspapers because as his outpourings increase, he is going to face further scrutiny from a public that is fully aware that Mr. Jeffrey spent 18 years as a Minister of Government since 1992 and left the Cabinet after a dispute with the President over the signing of the EPA with the European Union.
We still don’t know if Dr. Jeffrey left on his own or was asked to leave. In an SN report of November 22, 2008, Dr. Jeffrey is quoted as saying there was no dispute with the President and after a long sojourn as Minister, he has agreed to a posting in our Embassy in Suriname.
It would help the historical record down the road if Jeffrey can tell us why he left or was asked to leave. Many feel that the profusion of letters in the press from Dr. Jeffrey is an indication that he trying to position himself with the opposition. I cannot see how any Guyanese can see sincerity in Dr. Jeffrey’s constant criticism of the Jagdeo Government when for 18 years there has not been one single line in the newspapers (or maybe a television interview) by Dr. Jeffrey that testified to his open, critically independent mind. Why should any Guyanese trust a PPP Minister who spent 18 years in the Cabinet and only when he is outside, you are hearing all types of castigations from him?
Perhaps there is an answer. While you are a Cabinet Minister, you cannot openly disagree with your government. But what about now, what have we learnt from Dr. Jeffrey in all those letters he writes in the Kaieteur News and SN? Dr. Jeffrey cannot tell us about the deplorable abominations he saw for 18 years because he will face the inevitable inquiry – yet you stayed on and when you had enough of the Cabinet you still wanted to serve that Government as an Ambassador. He explained recently that he thought that the PPP Government should have done more on the front of ethnic integration. What has he achieved as a Minister on this level? Can he tell us if he spoke up or if he requested a Ministry that could have allowed him to explore avenues of ethnic reconciliation?
I would like to offer readers a sample of Dr. Jeffrey’s exercise of power which hardly differentiates
him from former PPP colleagues. When Dr. Jeffrey was Minister of Housing, Mr. Natram was given contracts to develop lands for housing. Presidential Assistant, William Cox and I went to Minister Jeffrey to complain that months had passed and Mr. Cox’s house was yet to start.
Minister Jeffrey told us he had no jurisdiction over Natram. Our lawyers told us that the Minister could have sanctioned Natram, because he was contracted to the Government. Natram never built the house for Cox.
Dr. Daniel Kumar and I reported Dr. Jeffrey to the Ombudsman when Dr. Jeffrey was Minister of Education. The Minister refused to permit the child of a poor mother to attend West Ruimveldt Primary even though she lived yards away from the school. The child was placed miles away to another school The Minister replied to us in the newspaper with the defiance that school placement is a random process. I will never forget this aspect of Dr. Jeffrey’s insensitivity. We never heard from the Ombudsman. Jeffrey was spared the investigation because democracy doesn’t exist under the PPP Government
Thirdly, during my short stint as a media consultant to Information Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, Dr. Jeffrey in his capacity as Minister of Health wrote a letter to Donald Ramotar asking that my services be terminated because I had called for a Cabinet reshuffle and suggested that Dr. Ramsammy be made the Minister of Health. There was not even a hint that Dr. Jeffrey was incompetent.
The remark was based on the fact that Ramsammy is a medical expert. Ramotar tabled Jeffrey’s letter to the PPP’s hierarchy. Nagamootoo was ordered to terminate the consultancy. One year after, Ramotar spoke to me and offered his regrets at what he had done. I wrote about this in my Kaieteur News column before so Ramotar cannot deny this fact. My suggestion to Ramotar was that he should have made his regrets public.
Fourthly, Dr. Jeffrey has to shoulder blame as much as the President for the collapse of UG. Despite efforts by people very close to the PPp and Government to bring in competent people to head the University, Dr. Jeffrey along with the President persisted in preserving mediocrity to serve their own narrow political agenda. Dr. Jeffrey played no small part in the cancellation of the Acting Vice-Chancellor appointment of Dr. Mark Kirton and the reinstatement of Dr. James Rose   In conclusion, Dr. Jeffrey in my humble opinion is no born again democrat. Dr. Jeffrey is simply strategizing on the possibility of a PPP defeat and seeks a place for him in the new scheme of things. I say in all honesty, I cannot see what value Dr. Jeffrey can bring to any of the opposition parties.
He has no constituency and would not be a vote-catcher. Dr. Jeffrey had his time. He is now back at UG and he should spend his energy analysing the reason why the PPP became an elected dictatorship. He owes the Guyanese people that obligation. More importantly he owes his country’s history that dedication.
Frederick Kissoon

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