CHRISTMAS REMINDS US IT’S TIME FOR RADICAL CHANGE

Dec 28, 2014 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

By Moses Nagamootoo, AFC Vice-Chairman

As we celebrate Christmas with family and friends the season of peace and goodwill towards men, I can’t help but reflect on the passage of time and 22 unbroken years of the PPP in government.
It was heralded as the “dawn of a new era”. I was a Minister of that first government, and I was to serve in that capacity under four presidents, until 2000. I still feel the excitement and expectations of the early years, when we earnestly worked to re-build our Guyana.
The Cheddi Jagan presidency was the golden gem of “lean and clean” in governance. It was short-lived. Whilst the formal political democracy for which we had fought relentlessly, was to survive, the frugal and honest government of Cheddi Jagan died with him.
More than three years ago, I resigned from the PPP and joined the Alliance for Change. Since then, the PPP has lost significant ground and has been reduced to a minority, now masquerading as government.
The primary cause of its demise has been under-performance, inefficiency and unchecked corruption.
The AFC recognizes that much of what is positive over the years, has been lost in the frenzy over political control and domination. The Jagdeo years would perhaps stand out as Guyana’s disgraced era of political vulgarity, lawlessness and corruption, which is caricatured in the “Pradoville” culture of greed and sleaze. The country had sadly plunged into a “cuss-down mode”, from which it never recovered. Remember when journalists were seen as “vultures and carrion crows”; and those who could not toe the line were deemed “ignoramuses”?
Twenty-two years ago, people voted for change in how government did business. They wanted a government that would make sure that they get benefits for their hard work and from their taxes. They voted for cheaper foodstuff and transportation, decent housing and health care, water they could safely drink from their taps, education that ensures job opportunities. They voted for paying jobs and a living pension. The change they wanted was to show, in the words of the Song of Guyana’s Children: “what Guyana’s sons and daughters can be”.
But the story of development has been lost in the narrative of corruption. There is no parallel in Guyana’s history for the vulgar descent into corrupt practices as that unfolding under the PPP’s watch. The inheritors have put Cheddi Jagan and his crop of selfless fighters to shame. These inheritors have built themselves into a get-rich-quick elite who forged an incestuous relationship with rags-to-riches tycoons. They and their cronies swindle billions of dollars on scams and schemes whether in fake and failed construction projects; accounts hidden from the Treasury; super salaries for sinecure employment together with “fat cat” pensions, perks and privileges; rigged contracts for computers, drugs, pirated textbooks, etc..
The AFC is convinced that after 22 years, corruption has ensnared the police, party and presidency.
Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, the long-standing PPP leader and former Speaker of the National Assembly, described corruption in Guyana as “pervasive”. He was forced to resign from the PPP.
Two years ago on September 15, 2012, Dr. Cheddi Jagan jnr., (Joey), who was a parliamentary candidate for PPP in the last election, expressed revulsion against the so-called president pension package of $3,000,000 monthly, which he dubbed “the sweepstakes package”. Son of Cheddi and Janet Jagan, Joey was mad that party members remained mum on the issue.
He stated:”All the apologists for the retirement package of Mr. Jagdeo in the PPP…..show us, the regular citizens of this country, that they really don’t care about the working people of Guyana and they think that we are like them, living with wool pulled over our eyes and with hearts made of stone”.
Say what you want about him, Joey is candid and honest, so much so that he took a broader swipe at corruption and waste, when he asked: “Where’s our money for the road Fip Motilall never built? What about the sugar factory at Skeldon which doesn’t work?”
There was also a furore in the PPP camp when the Jagans’ other child, Nadira Jagan-Brancier, declared:
“My parents were probably the most incorruptible people you would ever find; their honesty and integrity were of very high standards, but unfortunately do not exist or I don’t see it in many of the leaders of the party and government.
“I think the party has moved away –not the party but certain elements in the party – from these very, very important values that held the party together ….and so for me, when I look at some of the things happening, my parents must be turning in their graves – – churning up in the waters of the rivers in which their ashes were sprinkled.”
After 22 years, the social fabric of our society is disintegrating, as there seems to be no effective safety net for the poor and vulnerable. Daily we witness the rapid descent into utter depravity in proliferation of gruesome and mindless murders, child pregnancies, unchecked assaults on our women, etc. Whilst it is not easy to lay blame, it is time to hold those who run the society accountable. This is, after all, a social security and law and order issue.
We have to hold them accountable for the near financial collapse of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in which tens of thousands of contributors invested and are now pushed to the edge of uncertainty. We must bring Government to account for the $5,000,000,000 NIS money that they recklessly placed in CLICO, which went belly up.
The AFC is of the view that in its 22nd year in government, the PPP has presented us with a catalogue of corruption in almost every aspect of the country’s life, resulting in:-
· Significant drugs trafficking – cocaine in wood, dhal puri, pepper sauce, glue, hair swirls and more
· Customs evasion and smuggling – from the Polar Beer Scam to the Police Jet Boat scam and to ATV duty free concessions scam.
· money laundering
· trafficking in persons
· mis-use of state resources to pay party activists, reward docile newspapers and prepare Pradoville-type land for elite
· operation of slush funds in state bodies such as NICIL
· lottery fund being used as petty cash for Office of the President.
The drain in public funds, plus squandermania and waste, has resulted in greater borrowing so that Guyana’s national debt today is higher than that under the PNC regime.
Ramkarran has called for action to deal with corruption, transparency and accountability. As Eddie Hooper sang, “Take warning; take warning: you better do good”.
Much good could have come had the government taken these steps:
· Established the Procurement Commission and re-constituted national/regional tender boards
· Sent all files on corruption by state and para-state officials to the DPP for action
· Appointed a Chairperson and all members of an Integrity Commission, and set up a tribunal to investigate assets of all officials
· Adopted a compromise position to facilitate passage of the Anti money laundering legislation and set up an anti-money laundering intelligence unit and tribunal
· Passed a whistle-blowing law to protect those who want to tell about corrupt officials
· Regulated elections campaign financing to cut out influence-peddling
· Reviewed the allocation of radio licences handed out by Mr. Jagdeo
· Appointed a qualified Auditor General
· Removed the conflict of interest situation between Minister of Finance and the Audit Office
· Removed the Minister of Finance as Chairman of NICIL
· Replaced the Head of Presidential Secretariat/Cabinet Secretary as Chairman of NIS
· Democratised all state media to give equitable access to opposition and other views
· Removed party (PPP) domination of state boards and the University of Guyana Council
· Replaced the Minister of Home Affairs to restore public confidence in law enforcement agency
· Reshuffled and professionalised the diplomatic corps
Today, the PPP has lost its way. It is weak and almost leaderless, and can no longer guarantee Guyana good and effective governance. Today as we live under a “prorogued” parliament we are reminded why we need radical change. We in the AFC have started a new journey for real change and can only succeed with your support.