Is Jagdeo the chief cook and bottle washer?

Nov 07, 2020 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – The PPP/C will have to eventually make a decision about the continued presence of Bharrat Jagdeo within the government. It does appear as if he is wielding too much power and influence and, unfortunately, this is being done to the detriment of the image of the President. Jagdeo’s continued involvement in the government will undermine any good intentions of the incumbent President.
Yesterday, Vice President Jagdeo called a press conference. He dealt with issues which he ought not to be addressing. He should not be making any pronouncements in relation on the question of the renouncement of dual citizenship of the Minister of Tourism. That is a matter which should have been left to the Attorney General.
Jagdeo should not be calling any press conference. Even if he had the approval of the President to do so, it makes the President appear poor in the eyes of the public.
Jagdeo is believed to have been involved in the negotiations which concluded with the approval of the permit for the Payara Field Development Plan. That was a major disappointment, and the outcome represented a major disappointment.
Even more frightening is the possibility that Jagdeo may have a role to play in the gas to shore project. This is a major infrastructural initiative which should be kept far from him. He is once again conjuring over-bloated expectations that implementation can start next year and the project completed within three years. He must be dreaming like how he was in relation to that behemoth which was built under his watch: the Skeldon Sugar Factory.
The Skeldon Sugar Factory was a disaster from the moment it was conceived under Jagdeo. It was chiefly responsible for the closure of the Skeldon Factory and the bankrupting of private farmers in that area, the same farmers which the Minister of Agriculture is now trying to woo to return to the land.
After the Marriot model was exposed, Jagdeo should have been kept clear of involvement in any major projects. The model and that of the Berbice River Bridge should have disqualified Jagdeo from any future involvement in any major infrastructural project.
Another of his pet projects was the Amalia Falls Hydroelectric Project. That too was still-born. The developers walked away after they were unable to gain the support of the Opposition. No developer is going to come on board to resurrect this project. Not for a government which holds a one-seat majority in the National Assembly. Jagdeo must again be dreaming if he believes that this project will get off the ground.
That ship has sailed a long time ago. Technology has overtaken that project. Electricity can be generated and distributed far cheaper from solar power and it can be generated in the same quantities. And there will be no need for any BOOT model. Private investors will come and install solar farms which will generate all the energy the country needs and at a cheaper cost than the beleaguered Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project.
No Minister of Finance was initially appointed, something unheard of in a country. And none has been appointed because Ashni Singh, a Jagdeo protégé, is a Senior Minister within the Office of the President.
Why the President would have to revert to Ashni Singh is beyond comprehension. Was there no one else who was suited for this position? I sense that many Guyanese are uncomfortable with old Ministers returning, especially after they would have taken up appointments outside of Guyana. My sense is that the majority of people feel that others should be given a chance. They want someone with fresh ideas rather than the same old persons and their tried and tested methods.
President Ali is not in touch with how persons in the country feel about the involvement in his government of persons who were ministers under Jagdeo. The handing of the post of Permanent Representative to the United Nations to a former Minister of Foreign Affairs under Jagdeo, and the appointment of Robert Persaud as Foreign Secretary have both attracted strong criticism on social media.
During the preparation of the Budget. Jagdeo was publicized in discussions with staff of the Ministry of Finance. This suggested that he was the main mover behind the Budget. However, when the time came for the Budget speech to be read, the honour (or dishonour) fell to the Minister of Infrastructure, Juan Edgehill. Why did the Vice President not present the Budget seeing that he was photographed scrutinizing numbers?
One of the most important positions, that of Natural Resources, is being held by a newcomer to ministerial office. Now, instead of Ashni Singh being made the substantive Minister of Finance, he has been given the title of a Senior Minister within the Office of the President.
Since when there are senior Ministers and junior Ministers? There is supposed to be a Minister and a Minister within the Ministry. To make Ashni Singh a Minister within the Office of the President means that the President is the substantive Minister of Finance.
If the President is the substantive Minister of Finance, then what role is Jagdeo playing in the financial affairs of the country? Is he the government’s chief cook and bottle washer?

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