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Jagdeo says no to polygraph test
…offers to have one with President
By Brushell Blackman
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo at his weekly party press briefing at Freedom House
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
yesterday, said that he is not prepared to submit himself to a polygraph test as was suggested by the Chief Executive Officer of the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) Aubrey Heath-Retemyer.
Jagdeo said that Retemyer is “insignificant” and he will not be dictated to by the SARU CEO. The former president described Retemyer as a “fossil” and “a geriatric who has only gotten the position he currently holds because he is a friend of the president and the APNU/AFC government”; and that he (Retemyer) did not go through a transparent employment process.
Jagdeo said that Retemyer’s utterances with respect to him not being married and wanting to get his hands on upcoming oil money, was behaviour unbecoming of a public official who is the head of an impartial unit that has to investigate the citizenry.
Jagdeo said that Retemyer is correct when he said that he (Jagdeo) is “hungry for power”, since the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) indeed has a yearning desire to win the next general elections.
The opposition leader said that while he was toiling as president to build Guyana, the SARU CEO ran away and was doing menial jobs abroad; hence he cannot be taken seriously.
“When he was being a security guard in the US I was here working to develop this country”.
Jagdeo contends that Retemyer does not have the requisite qualification to function in the position he currently holds. He repeated allegations that SARU is corrupt and that the CEO has now returned to Guyana and is enjoying the spoils of his office.
The opposition leader asserted that if the administration were to change, the same SARU officials that he referred to as political hacks would pick themselves up and run away.
Continuing on the issue of the polygraph, Jagdeo said that if President Granger suggests that the two men (Granger and Jagdeo), should take such a test, he will be amenable to one, but with a caveat.
SARU’s CEO Aubrey Heath-Retemyer
“I (Jagdeo) will determine the questions that will be asked of the president and he determines what questions are put to me, I think that will be a brilliant idea”.
The opposition leader said that such a move will ensure that the two top officials will be in the same room whilst the exercise is conducted, since he has a number of questions he wants to put to the head of state.
Jagdeo’s rationale for having a polygraph with the president is that he is a former president and it will only be fitting to have it with the head of state.
The fallout with the SARU CEO and the opposition has its genesis in an accusation made by Jagdeo that SARU officials are shaking down businessmen.
Retemyer said that Jagdeo’s accusation against SARU officials was disgusting and had no substance. He said that if the former head of state has proof of such behaviour by officials from his unit, he should share them with the police.
The outspoken CEO said that if officials from SARU are engaged in such behaviour let them be embarrassed and his unit will stand by the consequences.
Retemyer had described Jagdeo as a desperate individual who is hungry for power, and he is sure that the former president has no evidence. He said that if that were the case, why aren’t businessmen not coming forward.
In a scathing attack, Retemyer said that throughout the Caribbean Jagdeo has been listed as one of the most corrupt head of states that has ever walked the corridors of power.
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