Jagdeo failed Guyana before and is poised to do it again

Aug 23, 2015 News

– Harmon tells House

Bharrat Jagdeo, during his presidential tenure failed Guyana terribly and is well on his way to cementing that failed legacy.
That is what the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon told the National Assembly on Friday as he made his contribution to the Budget Debates.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

When Harmon took the floor he spoke about areas of governance that he is responsible for as the Minister of State. He spoke about the new administration’s vision for the Public Service, the State Assets Recovery Unit and the ongoing forensic audits.
However, a significant portion of Harmon’s time was spent pointing out the “fact” that Jagdeo has “failed Guyana” and seems determined to frustrate the new government’s efforts to right his wrongs.
In this regard, Harmon noted the words of former Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) opposition is in the House “firing on all cylinders.”
But Harmon questioned, “What does that mean for the people of Guyana,” in light of the fact that Jagdeo is the one directing how and when these shots will be fired.
The Minister of State lamented on the fact that Jagdeo was not PPP’s Presidential neither Prime Ministerial candidate yet he has hijacked the position of Opposition Leader.
Harmon told the House, “Let’s go back a little to when the honorable Leader of the Opposition demitted office as President of this country and we will see what is meant by the firing on all cylinders.”
He stated that just after Jagdeo demitted office, an article titled, “Guyanese president leaves a tattered legacy” was published on the website of the Counsel of Hemispheric Affairs (COHA).
Harmon quoted the article which said, “Jagdeo could only receive the lowest marks of any independent evaluation. Through his tolerance of crime, racism and dismal social progress, President Jagdeo has turned in a fifth grade performance as President of one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere.”
Harmon said that the article went on to note that “Jagdeo goes down in history as a man who did almost nothing for his nation.”
According to the Minister, the article also stated that Jagdeo has “failed in his presidency to advance the freedom and fairness to Guyanese public life.”
At this point, Clement Rohee tried to stop Harmon from using the publication as a reference, telling the House that he had written to the COHA in response to the article and it was subsequently withdrawn.
To this, the government responded “so what” and Harmon informed the House that he downloaded the letter that very morning.
House Speaker, Dr. Barton Scotland therefore allowed Harmon to continue with his presentation.
The Minister further quoted the article which stated that the increased economic growth which Jagdeo and the PPP government boast about is “futile if it does not translate into a greater sense of prosperity within the entirety of the society.”
Further, Harmon told the House that the intervening period of 2011 to May 2015 has seen a continuation of the policies “which gave Jagdeo a fair rate. So Mr. Speaker, we understand why there has to be a fresh approach.”
Harmon also told the National Assembly that as the Minister of State, he had the privilege of co-chairing the Transition Committee between the PPP/C administration and the “fresh and clean APNU+AFC Administration.” He said that therefore, he had an opportunity to view the “debris left after the 23 year hurricane called the PPP/C Administration.”
The Minister said that only Audits and Commissions of Inquiry can truly seek to comprehend “what had passed for a government, especially in the last 13 years.” Harmon said that there was a “blatant disregard for the rule of law, questionable financial transactions and abuse of state assets, just to name a few. That’s why the PPP is afraid of an audit…that is what Mr. Rohee is afraid of.”
Harmon said that “the Audits and State Assets Recovery Unit will find the trail to the money which Members of the PPP have stashed in Abu Dhabi, in New York and other parts of the world.”