My future lies with the Divine and not His Excellency

Mar 12, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The President’s attack on my professional character as reported in the Guyana Chronicle has been drawn to my attention. Such an attack is but an exhibition by Your Excellency’s severe attitudinal deficiencies and mental delusions.
I challenge the President to prove that I messed up the IFAD project. To the contrary, I, with a number of talented young people (most of whom I recruited), turned around within two years, this deeply mal-functional project to achieve a delivery ratio of over 89%, by the time I resigned to leave Guyana.
The Poor Rural Communities Support Services Project (PRCSSP) that he alludes to was a five-year project that was in its seventh year when I arrived at its doors but with an implementation ratio that was way below the expected benchmarks. When I exited the project two years later to move overseas, all major components were well advanced with respect to their execution.
For the President’s information, it was my performance on this project that allowed Guyana to receive a better rating that paved the way for the READ project. The critical reports of the Donor Agencies as regards the execution of the project prior to my presence there make my claim self evident.
At the end, the PRCSSP was a well rated project. It is clear that the President did not read the IFAD Project exit document and was not privy to the sentiments of the beneficiaries with regards to my stewardship.
My performance was good enough that I was immediately offered another role in the Caribbean by another international Agency. For the President’s information, international agencies do not offer people who “messed up or were fired or rejected”.
Since the President found the time to mind my business rather than do the people’s work, he should review his performance as head of the Government of Guyana.
He was not honest enough to tell the nation that I refused an offer from him at the highest level of Government. My refusal was because by that time I was convinced he was not someone to be trusted, and serving under him would have compromised my professional integrity.
As to the supposed application for the Finance Minister position, I was never a friend of the President when he was Finance Minister, or thereafter, so I could not have done this over coffee at Camp Site or any other of his social events or at his elite hangouts. And I never did so in writing. So again, I would challenge the President to supply the evidence to back up this claim. You are getting desperate, Mr. President! Maybe the $700 million spy agency can be used to forge one. I was told in January 2011 this was the plan.
Permit me to assure the His Excellency that at this point in time, there is no rank or position that he or any of his loyal servants hold or may be seeking to return to, that I, Sasenarine Singh has any aspiration for, in my career. My future is my future and that is in the hand of the divine, fortunately not the Hand of His Excellency.
The only truth in the President’s statements is that I was once a member of the PPP. I campaigned for the PPP in every election since 1992.
I was motivated by the lean, clean and mean attitudes of Dr Cheddi Jagan and his commitment to sharing the nation’s wealth to all of the people.
I knew, however, since the Port Mourant Congress in 2002, when the progressive minds such as myself, who stood with Khemraj Ramjattan on changing the PPP’s constitution and called for a greater internal democracy, that my time with the PPP was over.
However, being a loyal soldier, to the very end I tried in my little way to influence the change from within in the dying years. But when you have an establishment that does not believe in principles and is only concerned with preservation of power at all cost, one has to take a principled stance. The people were more important than power. To further solidify my haste to leave the PPP is the fact that the party turned a blind eye on corruption and self accumulation of wealth at the expense of the taxpayers. I drew the line. I will have none of it.
The President is very good at being nasty and childish. I dare him to put his record of success against mine and let us debate. He was a compliant beneficiary of the economic foundation left by Carl Greenidge and Asgar Ally and thus just existed on remote control most of his public life. Name me one national initiative that Your Excellency has conceived and driven that created jobs, created and distributed more wealth to the working people, cause greater racial healing in the nation and arrested our crime wave? None can be named! That is his legacy. He is a good gaff-man and nothing else.
My professional record speaks for itself. I will not engage at the President’s level but chose to deal with issues. I challenge the President to rise to the occasion. I will take a leaf out of his book and challenge him to an open debate on his track record. But as Freddie Kissoon found out, the President is a wimp when it comes to debates.
For me, I thank the President for energizing me as I recommit myself to the struggle of removing the barriers to Guyana’s development. My vision is that Guyana will one day be the Singapore of the Americas. I am convinced that the likes of Bharrat Jagdeo cannot accomplish this. His accomplishment will see Guyana being another Haiti of the Americas.
I wish you well in your last days as President. I rest my case.
Sasenarine Singh

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