Those who speak from both sides of their mouths should not be trusted

Apr 04, 2011 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
It is unfortunate that in Guyana we have a President who speaks from both sides of his mouth. And Guyanese should not trust anyone who speaks from both sides of his/her mouth, because there is a very strong tendency for lying.
A few months ago, President Jagdeo told Buxtonians that they should forget about the past and focus on the future. Guyanese were ecstatic to hear such a positive pronouncement from him. After all, it was a welcome relief for many who were delighted to hear that President Jagdeo had finally decided to encourage Guyanese to focus on the future and not the past.
It was a good feeling. But it did not last long as he quickly reverted to his “cuss down” episode which has become his trade mark at press conferences as well as his responses to critics.
Guyanese are aware that the proverbs: “old habits die hard” and “you cannot teach old dogs new tricks” are alive and well in President Jagdeo’s mind whenever and wherever he speaks. Guyanese should always be aware and be ready for more “cuss down” spells from the President. He cannot refrain from his ghetto type demeanor because he does not know better and because it is inherent in his Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid commonly known as DNA. At Buxton, he spoke from the left side of his mouth.
At Babu John, Mr. Jagdeo spoke from the right side of his mouth, when he told PPP supporters that they must not forget what Burnham and the PNC did to them more than 25 years ago and that the older ones must educate the youths of what took place in Guyana during the 1970s and 1980s under PNC rule.
Instead of acting like a real statesman on such a solemn occasion, President Jagdeo was brazenly dishonest when he told his predominantly PPP supporters that Brigadier (Rtd.), David Granger has blood on his hands because he was responsible for the murder of three PPP supporters and for the rigging of the 1973 elections.
President Jagdeo’s delusional behaviour at Babu John will forever blight his already dismal and tattered legacy. If what he said at Buxton and at Babu John is not speaking from both sides of his mouth then what is?
From such menacing behaviour, one cannot help but to conclude that the President has a split personality. His venom at Babu John is very dangerous, to say the least. I know of no other head of state that would seek out individuals from their respective countries and “cuss them down” to use his terminology. President Jagdeo has on numerous occasion “cuss down” Kaieteur News columnist, Freddie Kissoon, its editor, Adam Harris, and its owner, Glenn Lall, AFC leaders Raphael Trotman and Khemraj Ramjattan, Carl Greenidge, Christopher Ram, PNCR presidential candidate, Brigadier (Rtd.) David Granger, his own PPP colleague and former PPP Minister and adviser, Navin Chandarpal, PPP executive member, Moses Nagamootoo and many others. The President has not only “cuss down” Guyanese at home, but he took his “cuss down” career overseas to Cancun, Mexico, where he “cuss down” the Prime Minister of Norway and one of the most powerful global institutions, the World Bank for delaying the release of the US$30 million LCDS funds. It was madness.
My questions to all Guyanese are these: What kind of President would stoop so low and call Kaieteur News columnist Freddie Kissoon a man-kisser, thief, ignorant, foolish, old, ugly, and a jackass, his own PPP colleague Navin Chandarpal incompetent and a rum shop drunk, and Moses Nagamootoo old and futureless? What kind of President spends hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase spy equipment to spy on the lives of private citizens, opposition parties, embassy officials, senior GPF and GDF officers and his own ministers instead of using the money to fix the dilapidated structures at the hospitals, UG, public schools, pot-holes in the roads and cleanse the stench that hovers over and around Georgetown?
What kind of President pays American Steve Grin US$175,000 per year tax free; a salary equivalent to that of the Governor of New York, and more than 39 of the 50 Governors, all the senators and all the Mayors in the U.S. to purchase note-book computers. Finally, why would President Jagdeo take a pension of over $1 million per month, exempted from paying all taxes, have the taxpayers pay for his bodyguards, maids, gardeners, chauffeur, vacations and trips around the world, but says that a meager pension of $7,500 per month is enough for senior citizens?
The President should know that his inappropriate and elementary/childlike behaviour, his “cuss down” madness, his extravagant pension, and his refusal to pay livable salaries to teachers, nurses, security forces, civil servants, lecturers/staff at UG and members of the judiciary are under public microscope.
It is very unfortunate that the PPP regime after 19 years in power continues to squeeze the poor for every single dime and forcing them into sub-standard living conditions, while Pradovilles are popping up everywhere and PPP untouchables are becoming wealthier and wealthier by the hour.
Guyanese, keep hope alive, the struggle for survival will only end and a decent standard of living become reality if you vote for change.
Asquith Rose

---

---