Latest update January 21st, 2025 3:30 AM
A criticism of a letter writer’s stance
Dear Editor,
I write in response to a letter to editor from the Chairman of the Gold Board, Gabriel (GHK) Lall (Kaieteur News 28.1.2019). This re-migrant with intellectual leanings is usually worth a read for style if not content.
Unfortunately, now that his brown bag appointment and the accompanying perks are under threat, an unvarnished Lall emerges to bark for his political masters. Mindful of ‘Dem boys” advice of the same day, I am nevertheless risking ‘jail for a year’ in refuting Lall’s roll in the mud pit.
GHK begins with suggestions that an Irfaan Ali Presidency would lead to systematical reversal of the limited ethical and reputational gains. One would hope that there would be reversal of the reputation the Granger Administration has gained for Guyana for being ‘limited’ as exposed in its negotiations with ExxonMobil; the inability of the Granger Cabinet to recognize that the ‘private approach’ brought to them by David Patterson was illegal and very obviously unethical; that spending $327 million of taxpayers’ money to rent a house that cost $25 million (paid for with the rental deposit) was an exercise in bare faced corruption and cronyism.
The list of mismanaged projects and corrupt transactions that have involved Granger and his administration in three short years outstrips any other two decades period in our nation’s history; in this alone APNU+AFC have excelled.
Ironically, in the same edition that contains Lall’s misgivings, there is a stern warning from Jan Mangal (former Presidential advisor on Oil and gas) that the Energy Department should not engage in one-on-one negotiations as “the data exists to prove that these negotiations are highly prone to corruption”.
Editor, the GHK Lall attempted to place the blame for sloth in Guyana’s passage and implementation of Anti-Money Laundering legislation on the previous PPPC administration in an exercise to rewrite history. An Orwellian exercise better suited to the talents of our current Attorney General whom is versed in this practice and whom is already seated upon Rocinante and cloaked in an armour of imbecility.
GHK Lall should note that Williams has no need of a Sancho Panza thus far, handling punishment meted out by his bête noir with equal measures of calm and delusion.
Lall posits the argument that a ‘rotten bureaucracy’ will return in defence of the super sized hog feeding at the public trough, this sounder of swine created by tripling the number of Ministries and departments by David Granger and his team. The cost of government is now in excess of $70 billion a year.
GHK Lall has the temerity to look up from the trough long enough to write about Irfaan Ali, who increased housing stock by 28,456 units, while managing the installation of 25 wells and seven water treatment plants, increased access to treated water from 20% of the population to over 50%, in addition to his work to nurture the fledgling Tourism sector.
Irfaan Ali managed three ministries, one Minister, one salary and measurable progress over a six-year period. Compare to Granger’s passel of incompetents who promise much, are paid higher salaries and delivered less than 1000 house lots in three and a half years.
Editor, I will not dignify GHK Lall’s comment that hints of a communist hegemony, as those cold war ideological arguments are as fossilized as the author. I would suggest to David Granger that in the future he does not send a hog with his nose buried too deep in the trough to offer arguments on his behalf.
Like the Tiger in the aforementioned ‘Dem boys seh’, I am now willing to serve my year in jail.
Respectfully,
Robin Singh
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