Slime eel is appropriate description for these PPP people

Sep 04, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
His Excellency President David Granger is a victim of his own commitment to democracy and good governance. This President and his government is tasked with undoing 23 years of nepotism, corruption, mismanagement, and a total disrespect for the constitution and institutions of state. What is most appalling is the minions of the PPP’s vociferous attack on the President and his cabinet. One would be led to believe that these people are new to Guyana, and are totally oblivious to the battering Guyana took at the hands of the PPP. Freddie Kissoon’s slime eel description is most appropriate. He has described this in depth, so I will not elaborate.
In Kaieteur News (Saturday September 2, 2017), PPP MP Harry Gill wrote a missive accusing the current Attorney General of being lazy, and the government of being one riddled with scandal. As I read the letter, I felt like I had enough of the PPP’s desperate attempt to tarnish this government at all cost.
Harry Gill gave the PPP credit for informing the public that the government gave a pay raise to sitting government ministers. What he avoids saying is that the Leader of the Opposition also received a pay raise at the same time. I would love to know if as a matter of principle the Opposition Leader decided to donate his raise to a worthy cause and not accept it. I would love to hear Mr. Gill’s take on the following:
While in office, the PPP created an enormous and rapacious pension package to benefit Jagdeo. Guyanese are familiar with those facts, but let Mr. Gill do the math and tell us what it would have cost the economy and the country if the Granger led government allowed it to stand.
Ex minister Clinton Collymore was hired as a Presidential Advisor. He was paid three hundred thousand dollars per month, given a state car with chauffeur, maid, and gardener.
Presidential Advisor, Gail Texiera and Odinga Roger Luncheon (not cabinet ministers) were paid more than one million dollars, and 983 million dollars per month respectively. This is in addition to all the other perks the offered themselves.
Under the PPP 53 million dollars per month was used to pay 137 contract employees in the Office of the President. It later became public knowledge that most of these were party hacks that were used to write letters in the press, praising the government and besmirching the opposition.
A minister did dental work that cost the state 2 million dollars.
Anil Nandallal’s law journals were purchased by the state and he is allowed to keep them personally. The PPP defends this up to today.
These are a few of the harrowing instances of rape that the PPP performed on the Treasury. More so these are the ones that the public knows about. What about the countless others that we don’t know about. Mr. Gill needs to analyze and let us know the effects of these practices on the economy.
His Excellency President Granger’s government decided that they will pay ministers of government a fair and decent salary, to reduce the inducement of corruption (and no minister has been found to be corrupt, as in the PPP days), and avoid their dependence on any form of government largesse. This is in keeping with good governance and democratic practices. Guyana must appreciate the Herculean task faced by this government and the tireless efforts ministers will have to put in place to bring sanity and order back to Guyana.
In Mr. Gill’s missive, he further said that all the monies being spent by the government could be used to put 10 billion dollars per year into the sinking ship Guysuco. The economic realities do not make Guysuco a profitable enterprise. The government is correct to attempt divestment, and further empowerment of the Guysuco employees. I wonder if Mr. Gill is aware that his government could have taken the millions of US dollars they invested in the Skeldon sugar factory, and reinvested into sugar that they care so dearly about. He refers to the D’Urban Park as a white elephant.
Let him be reminded that D’Urban park is a source of national pride and cultural significance, gifted to Guyana on her attainment of her 50th Anniversay of independence. The true white elephant is the Skeldon sugar factory that his government invested more than US $185 million in, and Guyanese are yet to receive a single benefit from. Tell us about the millions of US dollars invested in the Marriott hotel, and the billions drained from NIS (workers money) to invest in the shady Berbice River Bridge.
Mr. Gill knocked His Excellency the president for asking the Police Service Commission to temporarily halt the police promotion process, until issues and discrepancies that could negatively affect law and order in the country were addressed. In no way is President Granger attempting to influence the work of the Commission. I am sure Mr. Gill knows the difference between telling the Commission who to appoint, or how to appoint and just hold your appointments. Mr. Gill speaks as if the PPP has any moral authority to speak on policing and security. Does he forget:
His government used known international criminals to pursue other criminals and conduct illegal surveillance. Added to that, the surveillance equipment was purchased based on a request provided on the letterhead of the Ministry of Health and signed by the then minister.
The United States embassy shared intelligence with the then government that their intended appointee to be Police Commissioner was involved in the drug trade, and they went ahead and appointed him.
It took this Minister of Public Security to appropriately address the two rogue policemen who burnt a teenager on his privates.
Compare the detection and conviction rate to that of the PPP days.
The morale in the police service is much better than that of the PPP time in government.
And yet again he comes with the PPP’s vacuous rant that SOCU and SARA is being used to harass PPP executives. If you don’t have cocoa in the sun, you aint gotta look fuh rain. Bring the evidence! Show where PPP executives are being subject to law enforcement procedures where there is no case or implications of wrong doing. Is Mr. Gill asking us to ignore the law journals that are illegally in the possession of Anil Nandall, the improper acquisition of prime lands for a song, removal of the NCN tower to facilitate mansions, corruption at the GRMB and all the others?
Jerrick Rutherford

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