Government did not know the Venezuela deal would be in a limbo and that the Petrocaribe fund was empty

Sep 05, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
With reference to Benjee Singh’s letter published in Kaieteur Newspaper on Friday September 4, 2015 bearing the caption, “APNU\AFC did promise rice farmers $9000 per bag of paddy,” permit me a space in your newspaper to offer a gentle rebuttal.
To begin with, assuming that Mr. Singh is correct with the evidence put forward in his missive the public should and must understand that the promise was made under the belief that the PetroCaribe fund is intact. The current government while in opposition was told by the now opposition who was in government that the PetroCaribe fund is alive and well. Knowing this, the APNU\AFC must have made the promise to offer rice farmers $9000 for a bag of paddy. Again, I am assuming that Mr. Singh’s letter is meritorious in nature, for I was not present at all the public meetings of APNU\AFC. I maintain, however, that the meetings I was in attendance, that promise was never made.
Secondly, one will recollect that it was May 26, 2015 that Nicolas Maduro disrespected Guyana by signing a decree claiming Essequibo which later led to turbulence by and between Guyana and Venezuela hence putting the Petrocaribe deal in somewhat a limbo. I need not go into details with this point for the public is well aware of it and I am absolutely sure Mr. Singh knows it well too since my assumption is that he is well au fait with current affairs.
Editor, please do recognize that even though I did not hear the APNU\AFC making that promise to give rice farmers $9000 per bag of paddy, I am not disputing Mr. Singh’s claim for he may be correct, since, as I said before, I was not present at all the public meetings. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt.
However, what bothers me is the fact that Mr. Singh did not find it necessary in his letter to publicly condemn the PPP\C Government for managing the PetroCaribe fund in a haphazard manner. The public was lied to about the amount of money available in the PetroCaribe fund and officials were withdrawing monies at their own whims and fancies. (Reference: Kaieteur News July 12, 2015 – “Billions missing from PetroCaribe funds,” and “Caribbeannewsnow.com July 24, 2015 – “Forensic Audit in Guyana reveals unauthorized transfer from PetroCaribe fund”)
No right minded person would ever pressure this government to deliver $9000 per bag of paddy when they are aware of what the PPP\C government did to the PetroCaribe fund. Had the PetroCaribe fund not been raped, used and abused I would have also requested of this government to fulfill the promise because my entire family are rice farmers. Adding insult to injuries was the Venezuelan barbarism.
Editor the APNU\AFC government went into office not expecting half of the ills that they unearthed. Let us give them a chance to make things right. It has only been 5 months now. Our President and Ministers are human beings not machines.
Mr. Singh, I know you are not intellectually circumcised thus I beg of you to stop stifling your conscience. I know that you are aware of the many hurdles this government had to jump over and is still jumping over to give that good life they promised.Let us work with them to ensure that everyone gets that good life. Let us be objective in our writings and let us be fair in our judgments. Let us assist in offering solutions. In other words, let us co-operate for Guyana.
Ganesh Mahipaul.

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Government did not know the Venezuela deal would be in a limbo and that the Petrocaribe fund was empty

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