Former Presidents’ Responses to Underlying’ Charges

Jul 30, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
Going to Guyana in the 1990s and wanting to impress my father-in-law, a lawyer, I asked if I could bring him a bottle of 10-year-old rum. Surprisingly, he declined and asked me to bring him copies of our newspapers. I realized my idealized Guyana was not going to be reflected in our newspapers.
Frankly, I felt I was bringing him my family’s dirty laundry. Today, I am thankful that our dirty laundry is on the Internet every day and am grateful to everyone who makes this possible.
All too frequently, we read the terrible news of troubling crimes that have influenced the exodus of our people. We read about the pointless deaths of the innocent by stupid and irresponsible drivers, murders, rapes, thefts, corruption, human trafficking, maltreatment of our women and the wanton disregard for our country and our disrespect for each other. But what is equally vexing is reading the politicians’ responses to charges of corruption that occurred during their time in office.
Our former President Jagdeo, in “Charges against Ashni Singh, Winston Brassington ‘frivolous’ –… http://demerarawaves.com/2018/04/12/charges-against-ashni-singh-winston-brassington-frivolous-jagdeo/ declares: “In three years, that’s all you can charge for? Procedural errors and we don’t believe they are procedural errors,” Jagdeo told a news conference.
Jagdeo’s statement attempts to taunt SOCU’s investigators by labeling the charges as being trivial. However, Jagdeo fails to see and acknowledge that the minister and executive officer have been charged, and any charges are the basis of proving whether they are guilty for failing to conduct their duties honestly and with integrity that is becoming of a government official.
It is necessary to remember that once someone breaks the law, the fact remains that he betrayed the trust that was bestowed on him. Stealing a paper clip is still stealing. Does “that’s all you can charge for” imply that Jagdeo knows more than SOCU’s investigators? The indiscretion of Jagdeo’s statement is rivaled by his successor, former President Ramotar.
Upon hearing the charges of the minister and executive officer who served in their administration https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/04/13/ashni-singh-winston-brassington-charged-with-fraud/…, Ramotar states: “As a former President who worked with these two outstanding Guyanese men, I can vouch for their uprightness, professionalism and integrity while in public office.”
It is not necessary to argue whether Ramotar is vouching for the men “while he (Ramotar) was in public office”. Nevertheless, former President Ramotar should let due process take its course. As citizens of our republic, our former Presidents, the former minister and chief executive officer should show more faith in the justice system that they took an oath to uphold while they were in office.
It is as the US Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein states, “The rule of law is dependent on the integrity of the people who are responsible for implementing the law and the people who are voting”. The people have voted, and the Opposition (as they see and call themselves) has been replaced by a Coalition government. Now the rule of law must be implemented, as it should be.
Stanley Niamatali

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