Guyana not ‘hogtied’ into contracts

Jan 29, 2012 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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The Alliance For Change is calling on Dr. Roger Luncheon to resign his post as Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Presidential Secretariat. This is in light of his recent attempts to mislead this nation and his dereliction of duty.
As Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Luncheon was fully aware of the ‘underhand’ deals former President Jagdeo was entering into. Dr Luncheon had a duty to this nation to oppose such contracts and make known his opposition then. He must remember that first and foremost he is a public servant and answerable to the people.
Now that Mr Jagdeo is no longer in charge, Dr Luncheon is seeking to remove himself from blame. Instead of demanding a review of these contracts he now wants the poor overtaxed Guyanese people to bear the financial burden so that the few associated with those contracts can realise the kickbacks those projects were intended to provide. Instead of demanding an investigation to see whether there were fraudulent intents in the haste in signing these contracts and bringing those responsible to bear, Luncheon now seeks to mislead this nation into believing that these contracts must be honoured at all cost to the taxpayers.He went at length to state erroneously that the Trinidad Government had to pay tremendous penalties when they cancelled contracts entered into by the previous administration but omitted the fact that all such contracts found to be against the interest of the Trinidadian people were cancelled without penalty. He even omitted to state that the Contractor General in Jamaica recently demanded of the new Government in that country that a Highway contract with a Chinese Construction Company, the very one with which this government signed our airport expansion project, be cancelled and international bidding invited.
Dr Luncheon’s recent comments on questionable contracts illustrate the extent to which he has migrated away from the best interest of the people of this country.
Those contracts were not subject to any feasibility study, no competitive tendering, were not disclosed to Parliament, they merely reflect the former administration’s recklessness with taxpayers moneys for the benefit of themselves and their friends. This conflict of interest and corruption must come to an end and those responsible must be subjected to an integrity investigation and brought to justice.
President Ramotar must disassociate himself from the party’s ‘diehard’ and deal with corruption frontally, as his first duty is to the people of this country. He would be advised as a start, to have new integrity legislation, an independent integrity commission, cancelling all such secret contracts, and very important, the replacement of Ministers of Government accused of corruption pending an integrity investigation.
In addition he should ask Dr.Luncheon to resign.
In light of the situation and in the interest of taxpayers’ right to know how their money will be spent, the Alliance For Change is considering amendments to strengthen the Access to Information Act. You will recall that  the AFC had tabled a FoI Bill that was rejected by the PPP/C at the last Parliament. They then used their majority to pass their own ‘watered down’ Access to Information Bill. These are issues that the AFC hopes this new Parliament will address.

Tripartite Arrangement
The Alliance For Change urges President Ramotar and his designates to summon the meeting under the Tripartite Arrangement to examine the 2012 Budget. The AFC has informed the Office of the President of its principals. The AFC now awaits the call from the Office of the President to get down to the business at hand. The Budget is of critical importance and we urge the Government to treat this matter as ‘top-most’ priority. If we start immediately to examine the budget, the AFC is confident that the parties involved will arrive at a consensual position on the Budget that will serve in the best interest of Guyana’s development.

Dismissal of Mr. Kissoon
The Alliance For Change condemns the dismissal of Mr. Frederick Kissoon by the University of Guyana and intends to raise this matter with President Donald Ramotar at the bilateral level and in the tripartite arrangement with the Leader of the Opposition. We will also address it in the National Assembly.
Kissoon’s dismissal reeks of the ‘cut-throat’ culture of the PPP/C. It is an appallingly blatant demonstration of their abuse of power and the control they wield over lackeys who are prepared to carry out every instruction of the PPP/C
The dismissal of Kissoon speaks to the broader national problem; that of Central Government stranglehold over institutions and agencies of the State such as the University of Guyana, the State owned media entities, the National Frequency Management Unit, the Guyana Post Office Corporation and others. In this context, the Alliance For Change will be reviewing legislation governing all State Boards with a view to making these Boards more reflective of the wishes of the people of Guyana. These wishes were expressed at the November 2011 polls when the electorate showed us that they have lost confidence in the PPP/C and desired a more effective National Assembly. The Alliance For Change will work in the Assembly to translate those wishes to every aspect of national life so that no Guyanese will be victimized or denied a livelihood in their homeland.

Radio Licences
The Alliance For Change is calling on the Minister of Information President Donald Ramotar to divulge the names of all those persons who were gifted radio broadcast licenses. It is known that former President Bharrat Jagdeo approved an undisclosed number of applicants just prior to him giving up office. The broadcast spectrum is the property of the people of Guyana and they have a right to know who will be using it. The AFC is also calling on President Ramotar to disclose the processes used to sift applications and the criteria used to identify the best qualified.

Sympathy to the Leader of the Opposition and his family.
The Alliance For Change wishes to extend condolence to Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger and his family on the recent passing of his sister Mrs. Yvonne Mbozi. Having lost its Co-founder Mrs. Sheila Holder only recently, the party can empathize with the Granger family at this time. Mrs. Mbozi served Guyana with distinction at home and abroad, as Consul General in New York and as Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She will be remembered for her strength of character.

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