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It’s better to remain silent…

Apr 29, 2018 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

There’s an old idiom that goes something like this: It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt! It seems that Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo doesn’t believe that, or hasn’t heard of it.
Two weeks ago he made a pronouncement “without fear of contradiction” that the governing Coalition is the “most corrupt government in the English-speaking Caribbean”. He actually accused this government of surpassing the high incidence of theft and misappropriation of Guyana’s funds, land, properties – our patrimony (over 23 years’ worth) that his party, the PPP, has gone down in infamy for.
The nation has been anxiously waiting for the day when these people (and quite a few more) are formally indicted for the barefaced acts they perpetrated while being in charge of the nation’s money and assets.
Criminal charges have already been instituted against several officials of that era for their role in the alleged theft and misuse of hundreds of millions of dollars. There is more, much more to come, and the people remain impatient.
So we urge Jagdeo to remove the mote from his own eyes, biblically speaking, and pay attention to the investigators from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) and the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA). These men and women are still ‘unearthing’ (the pun is intended) the numerous transgressions and they are finding flaws in the many, many deals he and his colleagues made ostensibly on behalf of the people of this nation. The investigators are getting closer to some clear conclusions that would not bode well for some of the administrators of that forgettable period.
Now Jagdeo is getting more personal, accusing current Ministers of doing exactly what he had done, like choosing a Chinese firm over highly reputed companies from the UK, India, Brazil and Cuba with decades of experience in the global sugar industry, to build the infamous Skeldon Factory.
After a few years, many complaints, and accusations made even by Skeldon factory workers, Jagdeo took official possession of the unfinished factory that has never, ever worked. He vowed to fix it. He never did. The construction company, nevertheless, was allowed to walk away without penalty for the botched, incomplete job. To boot, they were paid close to US$200M. At least that is what those who crafted the deal wanted the nation to believe.
That apart, we know that SARA’s investigators have reason to believe that most of that money was stolen and would be very tough to recover, but there is still hope. SARA’s head Dr. Clive Thomas said in recent days that his agency will be moving to both domestic and international courts in coming months to recover assets stolen from the State.
“SARA is intending to take court action at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year. That is a definite commitment that we have made,” Dr. Thomas said during the recent Anti Corruption Walk that Jagdeo expectedly boycotted. SARA is pursuing about 60 cases simultaneously.
“The cases are in the process of preparation,” he said. “They may not all be (tried) in the courts of Guyana (but) the court cases will start in the fourth quarter of this year. Beginning at the start of the third quarter we are hoping to focus on about 10, because part of the international commitment we have depends on the value of the cases, and we have to make a certain target value”.
So do you see the noose? Dr. Thomas said investigators are searching bank accounts/cash deposits and other financial instruments. They are also searching through other avenues used to hide stolen proceeds. It is common knowledge that some of the PPP’s chief cooks and bottle washers in this highly embarrassing scheme have migrated to lands far away, but SARA knows exactly where they are.

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