Nothing but cheap theatrics & political distraction

Apr 15, 2018 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

The Opposition Leader is hard at work defending his title as a man of little moral turpitude whose humanity could be seriously questioned. Last week with a straight face and utter lack of shame, he accused the governing Coalition of being more corrupt than the PPP was during its 23 years in office. Really!
This from a man who, as President for 12+ consecutive years secured for Guyana the labels of ‘The Mendicant’, the “poorest country in the hemisphere after Haiti”, and being listed among the most corrupt countries in the world from 2008 to 2014 according to a Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International (TI).
Before 1999 when his mentor Janet Jagan anointed him President, he had completed a 7-year stint at the Finance Ministry, and according to the rumour mill, he remained in control of the nation’s coffers during his and his successor Ramotar’s Presidency.
The PPP was sent packing in 2015 when the nation said ‘Enough!’ Since then, the Government has spent enormous resources in money and man-hours attempting to repair the tremendous damage done to this nation and its tattered global reputation. The APNU+AFC Coalition inherited a country that was assessed as ‘a little less corrupt’ than the ‘hopelessly corrupt’ countries on TI’s global index.
So the former President who has exhausted his constitutionally allotted two terms, is now apparently ramping up his election campaign rhetoric, putting himself in the running for a third term. But bear one thing in mind. Since our independence from Britain in 1966, no one has ever been able to credibly attack the integrity of any previous Premier, Prime Minister or President until Bharrat Jagdeo. Now he can even count some of his own party’s supporters among the people who do attack his credibility and honesty.
One gets the impression that Jagdeo hopes that his people would forget that he was master of a corrupt government that compromised and undermined the output of every single governmental ministry, department and agency in this country. The fact that not a single US, Canadian or British visa issued to a Guyanese Government functionary had been revoked before Jagdeo, stands as testimony. Still he carries on, attempting to paint the Government with his own brush.
Well, the Ministries of Public Infrastructure and Natural Resources have refused to let Jagdeo’s reckless, ill-advised statements slide. In a joint statement, the Ministers have set the records straight. Here is an abridged version:
“Both ministries wish to state unequivocally, and to reassure the public, that all of the business have been conducted within the confines of law and regulations. Both ministries reject in its entirety this (recent) claim by the increasingly beleaguered and desperate Mr. Jagdeo, and we challenge him to provide evidence. The ministries are certain that he will be unable to do so as no evidence to this effect exists.
This outlandish, unsubstantiated claim (of corruption) by the Opposition Leader is nothing more than a cheap (diversionary) tactic to divert the public’s attention from the charges laid against former PPP Minister of Finance, Ashni Singh, and former head of NICIL, Winston Brassington.
Mr. Jagdeo knows that much work has been done in uncovering the extreme corruption which was rampant while he was President and the PPP was in government, and that the chickens are now coming home to roost. Months of tedious work is now resulting in charges being laid, and Mr. Jagdeo knows that very few in his government would (escape) unscathed. Instead of confronting their record of corruption, Mr. Jagdeo resorts to cheap theatrics and baseless political distraction.

The ministries find it laughable that he has the audacity to lecture anyone on corruption and good governance when the most flagrant acts of corruption and obscene levels of lack of transparency and accountability occurred under his watch during his controversial and uninspiring presidency. Mr. Jagdeo’s presidency is characterized by an unending list of scandals and ill-conceived projects which left a major burden on Guyanese taxpayers, not least among which were the Pradoville 1 and 2 land giveaways, the Amaila Falls and Skeldon sugar factory scandals.
This government’s visionary execution of infrastructural projects seems to be deeply irking Mr. Jagdeo who had failed to execute same during his presidency.”

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