DISTORTING THE FACTS

Mar 20, 2017 Editorial

It is not unusual for the Alliance for Change (AFC) to say that President David Granger continues to act in good faith in relation to Cabinet appointments. Most children in elementary school know that party and cabinet solidarity trumps truth and accuracy of what really takes place behind the closed doors of the coalition government. It will be surprising for the leaders of the AFC to speak ill of the President or any of their cabinet colleagues. Anyone who does, risks losing his or her portfolio.
Many are stunned that this coalition government, which during the election campaign, had promised to be transparent and accountable, has now become very secretive in managing the affairs of the country. On several occasions, it seems that the government has been distorting the facts and has not been honest with the people. The government appears to be making the same mistakes as its predecessor did. For example, in the March 4, 2017 edition of the Kaieteur News, columnist, Freddie Kissoon stated that at a news conference, the current leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman asserted that outside of the ministerial appointments stipulated in the Cummingsburg Accord, President Granger appointed three Ministers on his own. According to Kissoon, Trotman named the three ministers as himself, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin, who is the President’s son-in-law.
Kissoon was attacked by the leaders of the AFC, who refuted his assertions. In a blunt statement, they stated that “the AFC confirms and places on public record once again that the party’s then Leader, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan submitted recommendations to His Excellency President David Granger and was consulted on all appointments to Cabinet which were assigned to the AFC as per the Cummingsburg Accord. Further, Mr. Ramjattan consulted with the leadership of the AFC on all of the party’s ministerial appointments throughout the process.”If this is true, then someone is not being honest with the people.
Echoing President Granger’s recent statement that the Coalition remains strong and cohesive and committed to working in the best interest of the Guyanese people may hurt the AFC should the coalition fall apart. However, the AFC made no reference to the tape mentioned by Kissoon and neither did the Minister of State, Joe Harmon before uttering their uncanny remarks. Had they listened to the tape, they would have discovered that Kissoon was only conveying to the public what the leader of the AFC has stated. So for the AFC and the Minister of State to distort the facts is dishonest.
Many believe that the support base of the AFC has eroded. They cited the results of the Local Government Elections in Berbice where the government took a shellacking from the PPP. Others have contended that the departure of the AFC’s chief political czar in Berbice, Dr. Ramayya, has made it almost impossible for the party to gain much support in the region or even survive as a third party in the next election. Simply put, the political life of the AFC is numbered.
History has proved that the shelf-life for third parties in Guyana is three election cycles which the AFC has already exhausted. So for the AFC to refute the assertions made by Kissoon and shower praise on the President is political posturing. This type of empty rhetoric shows that the AFC leaders are in denial. But they will have to face reality some day and when that day comes, they will realize the horrible mistakes they have made in abandoning their supporters in Berbice.
It appears that those in authority are bent on distorting the facts and in the process have decided to criticize the messenger. They continued to be arrogant and vindictive against those who exposed their wrongdoings such as the drug bond scandal, the controversial trip to China, the D’ Urban Park fiasco and the recent sole sourcing of drugs worth over $600 million. It appears that not much has changed between the current and the former administration.

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