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People like Christopher Ram and Yesu Persaud are brave Guyanese

Sep 18, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

When the owners of Guyana Times launched the newspapers, I got an invitation. I thought out of respect for the courtesy shown me by the company, I should have attended. But I wasn’t going to listen to any hypocritical speeches about democracy when Guyana is still yearning for democracy 25 years after the death of former President, Forbes Burnham.
I went to the launching of Guyana Times very late so I missed the presentation of Mr. Yesu Persaud. He is indeed a courageous man.
He spoke of the fairness that should have been displayed towards other Guyanese entrepreneurs after citing the favourable concessions given to the Ramroop Group of Companies. President Jagdeo was at the table, heard what Mr. Persaud said and in his delivery chastised Mr. Persaud and remarked that people are ignorant of the tax laws. Any schoolboy knew he was referring to Mr. Persaud.
I was extremely upset when I was told this by friends. There are persons who are critical of Mr. Persaud that in their lifetime will never match even by five percent Persaud’s contribution to this country. Yesu Persaud was a brave man to have spoken how he felt at that ceremony.
In the same context, we should praise Christopher Ram for his courage on Thursday when he attended the President’s meeting with some of the CLICO policyholders. Mr. Ram showed leadership qualities when he got up to question President Jagdeo.
He was not deterred by the circumstances or the power of the office holders. Ram knew what he wanted to adumbrate and therefore fear was not a deterring factor. Mr. Jagdeo chose not to engage Mr. Ram.
Readers of this column would know that for as long as seven year going, I have opined occasionally on this page that Mr. Jagdeo will not enter a debate with high profile critics of his government. In one of those articles, I mentioned Ram as being in that group. I was right.
I stay in my corner and make my criticisms about the PPP Government and I ignore the nasty things written about me in the state media and spoken by failed politicians.
In the end, I am always right.  Mr. Jagdeo missed one of the glorious moments in his presidency to display on the face of Guyana his leadership qualities when he chose to deny Mr. Ram his space to ask questions.
All Guyanese in and out of Guyana who digest the independent press in this country and read what Mr. Jagdeo says in the state media would know that Mr. Jagdeo tirelessly carps on columnists like me and Mr. Ram who only pen negative things and propagandize and sensationalize what we write.
Countless, literally countless times, in his twelve-year-old governorship, Mr. Jagdeo has chastised the private media for not painting the correct picture of this land. In front of the media and about seven hundred CLICO policy-makers, Mr. Jagdeo had the valued opportunity to devastate one of his leading detractors, Mr. Christopher Ram.
It would have brought immense political capital to Mr. Jagdeo had he proven Mr. Ram wrong. Looked at from all angles, Mr. Jagdeo would have had in his possession more documents on the CLICO fiasco than Ram. Yet Ram was prepared to argue his case.
It simply boggles the mind to understand how the President could have walked away from the encounter when Ram’s credibility was at stake.
Who would have continued to see Ram as the embodiment of financial and economic analysis when he would have been proven as incompetent by the President?
The credibility loss for Mr. Ram would have been enormous especially in the light of his high profile as the head of one of Guyana’s leading financial houses.
It was not to be. The President rejected the moment. Commentators and analysts will ask why. I have not spoken to Ram before I composed this column but I have at least three explanations. I believe Ram would have either produced documents or openly state that he knew persons who collected money from CLICO before it crashed, meaning that corporate skullduggery was openly practiced by the local boss of CLICO.
Secondly, Mr. Ram would have pointedly asked Mr. Jagdeo where did the money go when NBS came to CLICO’s rescue and bought out CLICO’s share in the Berbice Bridge?
Thirdly, the President would have had to respond to the inquiry as to how a CEO could have committed such an egregious corporate lapse yet find herself on the board of GuySuCo. No wonder GuySuCo is dying.

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