War break but where was the war supposed to be and between whom?

Nov 05, 2020 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Freddie Kissoon column…

Kaieteur News – The most enthralling circus cannot be as interesting as Guyanese politics. Former Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has replied in the newspapers to accusations made against him by AG Anil Nandlall about when he, Jordan, served as Finance Minister.
Let’s quote Jordan: “These allegations (and innuendos) against me are baseless and repugnant. In my view, they are designed to impugn my character, tarnish my image and lower my esteem in the eyes of my family, friends, admirers, well-wishers and the general public. I state categorically that I, Winston Jordan, former Minister of Finance in the Coalition Government, performed my duties in compliance with the oath of office and to the best of my abilities.”
There are some questions I would like to ask Jordan but before that just a slight digression. In his five years as minister, I never set eyes on him. The last time I spoke to Jordan (or it should properly be put that Jordan spoke to me) was in 2013 at the Cheddi Jagan airport.
I was waiting for an arrival with my wife and while she went somewhere, I was sitting alone, and he came up and informed me that there are a number of foreign-funded employments in the public sector that were going to favoured persons.
I don’t want to say more of what he said because I know that Jordan has an excessive tendency to want to sue for libel. If you read his recent letter, he implies that he will be taking legal action against Nandlall. Maybe it is these kinds of character traits that Guyanese detested in the new leaders after 2015 that caused them to lose the elections in 2020.
I never saw or spoke to Jordan since that 2013 encounter but I got his mobile phone number from a minister of the government and texted him over a terrible incident. When I went to the wharf to collect my cheap car (a 2015, Toyota Vitz which overall cost me 1.9 million Guyana dollars including duties, etc.), Custom officials told me I have to pay a fine of $10,000 each for the four tyres which were not to the required standards.
This was a merciless exploitation. I refused to pay. I demanded to have them measure the threads of the tyres in front of me. See my column of Sunday, October 27, 2019- “Always follow your instincts or you will lose your life.”
I texted Jordan to voice my complaint. He never replied. I guess he was busy travelling. He once told the press that he was so busy travelling that he didn’t know that GuySuCo’s Board of Directors was changed. But, who knows? Maybe Jordan thought I was a non-entity unfit for a reply from a senior minister.
Now to the things I want to ask him. At a Bartica rally in June 2019, when the Caribbean Court of Appeal ruled against the government in one of the cases involving the no-confidence motion (NCM), he shouted out: “War break!”
To this day, Jordan has not explained to the Guyanese people what the exclamation meant. What was the war going to be like if it had happened? Who was to be fighting whom? But, most importantly, in the context of what was going on in Guyana with the NCM, does he think he violated the law? Is he willing to apologize?
The second question relates to the statement he said about busy travelling. If Jordan was constantly going to foreign lands, didn’t he see how modern some of those lands were? Why then during his five years in government, Guyana continued with backward infrastructure like having to produce three forms of identity at the commercial banks. He was subject minister then and didn’t do a damn thing about this depraved anachronism.
Finally, a comment on his words in that letter that went like this: “I performed my duties to the best of my abilities.”
But that does not mean that Jordan was a successful performer. The mind sees what it wants to see. If the mind doesn’t want to see objective reality, then it will continue to tell itself what it chooses to. No doubt Jordan believes he was a competent performer. But others may not feel that way.
I end with a third question. If he was such a good Finance Minister, can Jordan tell my readers why the APNU+AFC lost the 2020 election? Oh, I am terribly sorry for asking that question! Jordan has to stick to party policy. His party says the election was rigged by the PPP/C.
If APNU+AFC wins the election petition, I hope war does not break out.

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War break but where was the war supposed to be and between whom?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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War break but where was the war supposed to be and between whom?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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