When you have nothing to say, say nothing

Nov 02, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Recently Mr. Freddie Kissoon wrote in one of his column about our Political Leaders including our Ministers, statements or comments that are not in their interest and on many occasions would apologize or want to say that they were misinterpreted. There are times when a question is put to Presidents, Prime Ministers, Diplomats, Minister and Senior Government Officials, and they simply do not have the answer, they have the right to promise an answer later or answer in the way Dr. Luncheon used to answer many of the questions he was asked.
One of my teachers used to tell us that when you have nothing to say, say nothing.
A former Minister of Government said that shaving a woman’s head, is equivalent to rape, and another Minister of Local Government said that he would be happy if an epidemic should break out in the City of Georgetown to illustrate or highlight the incompetence of the PNC-led Council under the leadership of the Mayor Hamilton Green – of course the said Minister had overall responsibility of the City of Georgetown.
A senior People Progressive Party Official in his capacity as Cabinet Secretary and Government Spokesman, once said that this country did not have persons of African descent eminently qualified to be ambassadors.
One Minister was bold enough to say that he has no apologies to offer, because the steep increase given to Ministers of Government and Members of Parliament was justified.
Then a Minister commented that Teachers are uncaring. Oh what a comment! It was totally uncalled for. Of course he later apologized, but the damage was already done.
But the greatest of them all was when the Opposition Leader Jagdeo said that the Elections Commission was using tactics to delay Local Government Polls, an election that was never held during his party’s tenure in Government, and ten years of that time he was President of this country, and after his presidency it was widely believe he was calling the shots.
This same Jagdeo was advising this Government where monies could be found to pay teachers 40% increase, although when this man was Finance Minister and President, he could have only mustered five percent, and very close to Christmas, at a time when it is expected that people would not go on strike – they would of course say “before none any” or “half a loaf is better than none at all”.
The Berbice Bridge contract is also an area that Jagdeo may be well advised to be quiet, because the way the agreement was crafted was not in the interest of not only of the people of Berbice but the entire country. You never get the impression that this man was at the time President of this country and a former Finance Minister.
I, as a contributor of the National Insurance Scheme from its inception in 1969, both as a worker and self-employed person, strongly believe that because of the money invested by the Scheme in that bridge, and other areas, is the reason I have not received dividends during my almost eight years as a pensioner. I have also received an average less than one thousand dollars per year increase on my pension.
Archie Cordis

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