Jagdeo, Harmon and the Guyanese inevitability

Sep 15, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

It is hardly likely that the American President would ignore a phone call or a text message sent to him with a request to discuss something from the editor-in chief of the Washington Post or the New York Times. The reason has absolutely nothing to do with the nature of the President. It is intricately connected to the reality of politics in the world. That was the reality long ago and it is still the reality today.
Leaders in government, long ago and since then, know that it is always wise not to be rude to the media and to listen to what the newspaper chief wants to discuss with you. The brutal reality of politics is that the press was, and will always be, a powerful shaper of national opinion. Newspapers may go out in the digital age. Television may be replaced by the online edition of a newspaper but still you have to deal with the editor of the online edition.
In the age of smart phones, the countless folks on the train, on the subway, in the minibuses will be reading the online edition of a newspaper or an online new site.
In Guyana the situation is different. In a small society where politicians do not earn much and there is a coterie of rich business people, the business community is seen as having more value than the media. This explains why Minister Joe Harmon did not respond to the cell phone call of the publisher of Kaieteur News, Mr. Glenn Lall, early this year and his text message.
In July last year, I called Harmon on his cell phone but he did not respond to the missed call. I asked his friend, Mark Archer whom he works closely with at the Office of the President to return my call. Harmon never did.
Around that time, Harmon could have been seen frequently in the company of one of Guyana’s richest men, Brian Tiwarie. It is now open knowledge that Harmon and Tiwarie are close. This is the replication of the Jagdeo/Ramroop saga. When Jagdeo was made Junior Minister of Finance, his buddy friends were ordinary people from the PPP.
Jagdeo hung out with Robert Persaud who at the time was employed at the Mirror newspaper, the PPP newspaper; Rajendra Rampersaud who on the academic staff at UG; Malcolm Harripaul who worked with Customs and Excise.
Jagdeo then became Finance Minister, replacing Asgar Ally, and from thereon, Jagdeo became a different human being having nothing in common with the guy he was at the Ministry of Finance. By the time Jagdeo became President his very close friends were all multi-billionaires. He didn’t have this type of company when he was junior Minister.
It is doubtful that Jagdeo ever heard about Bobby Ramroop or Buddy Shivraj or Prettipaul Singh or Eddie Boyer or Jerry Gouveia when he was a mere assistant to Finance Minister, Asgar Ally.
Here is a little story about Jagdeo I never wrote about. When he was the assistant to the Finance Minister, I made representation to him about a farmer who was having serious problems getting his truck off the wharf, because of the rejection of his duty free concession by Customs.
At that time, there wasn’t the Fiscal Amendment Act that put the jurisdiction of granting concessions in the hand of the Guyana Revenue Authority. It was located at the Ministry of Finance.
I’ll never forget that conversation. Jagdeo was furious, telling me not to be deceived by these so-called small farmers; that in fact they are rich people. This was the communist Jagdeo. He graduated from mere assistant to President and today can be seen attending sports events, parties and liming sessions with very wealthy friends. It is doubtful that Jagdeo has any friend who is a confidante who is not a rich person.
There should be mention of that oligarch, Royston King (journalistic protocol prevents me from using a more derogatory word but more on the ineligibility of King to be the Town Clerk in another column soon). He is in dispute with the Central Housing and Planning Authority over permit to a rich businessman. King moved the Robb Street vendors because as he, King cited, there was a complaint from the ownership of a pharmacy about the garbage left on the pavement.
This same pharmacy has moved to Bel Air by the Conversation Tree Road next to the Railway Embankment to a multi-billion, five story complex. But I doubt that King will be welcomed into the kingdom of the rich as Jagdeo and Harmon did for reasons which cannot be publicly published.

3 thoughts on “Jagdeo, Harmon and the Guyanese inevitability”

rs dasai September 15, 2016 at 4:05 pm

Fearless Freddi, publish the ‘ting’. The truth is ‘shielded’ by the Constitution.
1. casada11 September 16, 2016 at 8:40 am
  
  The truth needs no constitution it is shielded by the universe its self, just waiting and ready for the interaction of human consciousness and awareness for its manifestation.
casada11 September 15, 2016 at 9:14 pm

I would argue that Freddy, although being a columnist for a popular news paper misses a lot of facts on how media and Gov’t works, it was not too long ago during the Burnham era when gov’t controlled media were willing and ready to schedule and staged programs with the President or Gov’t officials to make believe there were freedom of the press in Guyana, and this practice happens very subtle almost every where you think there is freedom of the press. Harmon would prefer an interview with the state run media anytime above KN, There most of the well choreographic and delusional question and answer will be staged to create a reality in the minds of the on lookers, that is how freedom of the press works, Now, tell us honestly Freddy, how free “not bad” do you feel from all of this? now that your calls has been ignored by a top Gov’t official.