Quoting Abraham Lincoln to prove a Regional Councillor is a fool

May 14, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The best known quote that describes someone who is not smart enough to realize that he is making a fool of himself was written by the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln who is credited with saying: “It is best to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” At first, I questioned why Abel Seetaram would chose to attack me of all persons, knowing that I would not hesitate to defend my character. I did not ask for this confrontation with Abel Seetaram but I’ll be darned if I allow him to get away with something most politicians would be ill-advised to do. Even monkeys usually know which limb to jump on
I was reliably informed that the former RDC Councillor, Carol Joseph encouraged Abel Seetaram to write letters attacking my character, so as to distract me from focusing on her drug addiction. But he should have known that by doing so, he opens the door for me to question his role in Region 5, and in particular, his position at the Regional Democratic Office.
Soon after he was dismissed as the Region 5 Advisor to the Prime Minister, Abel Seetaram turned up at the Region 5 office of the Regional Democratic Office unannounced to the Regional Chairman. An office there was renovated at taxpayers’ expense and Seetaram moved in. To this day, his job description seems to be top secret. Even the Regional Chairman does not know what he does there.
One thing is certain, this job was never advertised, nor was the vacancy ever known to exist by the Regional Chairman. And except perhaps for the REO, Mr. Ovid Morrison and the Minister of Communities, Hon Ronald Bulkan, no one else seems to know whether Abel Seetaram has the necessary qualifications for the position he holds, or whether his job description merits any form of qualifications at all. After all, he is usually seen ‘hanging out’ in the RDC compound, and can often be heard verbally abusing and ‘cussing down’ members of the public in keeping with his usual lifestyle. So much so, he is usually referred to as the “Chief Jankalar Officer.” Another job created by the APNU+AFC coalition to reward ‘the boys’.
In a recent letter he posed some questions to me. I will try to answer them candidly:
Q – Why did you still came back to live here, if it is that Guyana is so economically bad?
A – When I returned home, Guyana had just experienced 8 successive years of economic growth under the PPP/C government; Guyanese were all enjoying an improved standard of living; longer life expectancy; economic stability and security; and over 100,000 house-lots were distributed to citizens, most of whom never thought they would ever be able to own a piece of land or a home of their own. In the two years under the APNU+AFC, that has all gone now.

Q – What are the contributions you have made to developing Region 5?
A – Although I can answer this by simply saying it is none of his business? I am proud of the work I do in the Region, defending the constitutional rights of the downtrodden; providing services free-of-cost to those seeking the services of a Justice of the Peace and Commissioner of Oaths to Affidavits; giving a voice to the voiceless; and exposing injustices and abuse of the public trust, by the likes of Carol Joseph and Abel Seetaram.
Q – Why did you have to run from the country you so love, to return here?
A – If Abel Seetaram or anyone else has any verifiable evidence that I ran away from the United States of America where I lived for over 23 years, I will present him with a gift of my fully paid-for V8 Toyota Tundra, fully loaded with AC and leather upholstery, so he don’t have to crash another government vehicle while driving intoxicated. And if he cannot produce such evidence, he should have the decency to publish an apology for willfully and maliciously writing lies in an effort to slander my impeccable character.
Q – Why don’t you visit communities in Region 5 to listen to the residents?
A – Most residents from Bath to Ithaca know where my office is located in Cotton Tree, and they visit me there every day with a host of problems dealing with birth certificates; ID cards; old-age pensions; passports; GPL; GT&T; GWI; the NDCs; drug shortages; discrimination and victimization. Most of all, they know they don’t have bribe me for providing professional services or advice to those in need as is the case with some unscrupulous public officials operating in the area.
It would not surprise me that Abel Seetaram gives his boss the impression that he is active in communities throughout Region 5 when in fact he is not. While he restricts himself to known APNU+AFC areas, the only PPP community he visits is Woodley Park/Bath Settlement where he resides. And the number of rum-shops he has money for in that community is indicative of the reason he visits so frequently.
Q – Why is it that you are always against development?
A – This idiotic question clearly demonstrates that Abel Seetaram knows nothing about me. What I am against is the trampling of our Constitution; Government incompetence and abuse of power; dictatorship; wasteful spending; the misconduct of public officials; and abusive husbands who do not provide adequately for their children, and prefer to spend their money on liquor.
With the kind of reputation Abel Seetaram has built for himself in Region 5, the Hon. Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo seems to be the only one smart enough to publicly distance himself from the disgraceful public behavior of this AFC mouthpiece. Giving him a job to spy on PPP officials in Region 5 may not be enough, he may need other incentives to keep his mouth shut.
Harry Gill, MP (PPP/C)

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