In Guyana today, smoking guns abound

Jun 08, 2021 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Smoking guns appear to be in abundance in Guyana today. Credit must go to the media for revealing the smoking guns to the public. Politicians and the environmental conservationists continue to point smoking guns at each other on environmental issues. It’s the Low Carbon Development Strategy versus the Green State Development Strategy. The former is back in the game while the latter has fallen flat on its face.
On the law enforcement side, smoking guns were revealed when wrangling between the Guyana Police Force and the Police Service Commission (PSC) over a flawed promotions list came to the public’s attention. Expectations are that the Court will extract the smoking gun from the controversy.
Compounding the GPF/PSC wrangling is the political posture adopted by the Chairman of the PSC towards the Prime Minister’s calls to ‘show cause’ why he should not be sacked as Chairman of the PSC. The Prime Minister is expected to unveil a smoking gun. Having failed to find a smoking gun in one area, the PSC Chairman proceeds to search for another. To do so, he openly accused the President of political interference in the PSC. However, much to his disappointment, his attempt to reach for another smoking gun proved futile while his effort to stir controversy failed to gain traction.
And as if the extant smoking guns were not enough, serious allegations of sexual misconduct were levelled against the Chairman of the PSC and a senior rank of the GPF. Calls have been made for investigations into the said allegations. The investigations might very well produce yet another smoking gun.
Two Police Association elections, one declared legitimate and the other illegitimate, gave rise to the suspicion that there could be another smoking gun at Eve Leary. In the end, Brutus prevailed while Hoppie stood down. A caricature of the ‘Silence of the Lambs.’ On another front, as if to shift focus away from the smoking guns at OP/PSC and PSC/GPF, the ebullient Attorney General fired a salvo at the Court for its practice of granting bail to persons charged with illegal possession of arms and ammunition. Lest he be left holding a smoking gun in his hand, the AG will have to navigate several perilous clauses in our Constitution to ensure that the rule of law prevails. While I served as Minister of Home Affairs, I sought approval of a Bail Act, similar to what exists in Trinidad and Tobago. I was told it would be unwise to do so because it would go against the hallowed principles of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘pre-trial liberty’ guaranteed by our Constitution. The draft Bill was eventually shelved.
On yet another front, a prolific letter writer cum wannabe investigator initiated a futile search for a smoking gun in connection with ‘illegally sourced gold’ from Venezuela. Thus far, the letter writer has failed to produce the smoking gun he was looking for. While the Governor of the Bank of Guyana clung tenaciously to the ‘sensitivities’ associated with the matter, the enigmatic Vice President promptly dismissed the allegation for ‘lack of evidence.’
As we approached the end of May, another smoking gun emerged with the withdrawal of charges against former Government Minister, George Norton, concerning the rental of the Sussex Street warehouse facility. Relieving Norton of the smoking gun which he was allegedly left to hold as the fall guy for a corrupt bunch, was bound to raise eyebrows in the same way as it did with the withdrawal and settling of disputes with ‘unsuspecting businessmen’ at Cevons and ‘Car Care’ regarding alleged illegal land deals.
And Courtney Benn was ‘freed’ as another ‘unsuspecting businessman’ of the allegation that ‘he owed government large sums of money for incomplete works.’ If smoking guns existed in any of these matters, the search for evidence produced none.
In the meanwhile, the search for smoking guns in connection with Trevor Benn’s alleged ‘land giveaways’ and BK International’s ‘breach of contract’ continues. Skirmishes reminiscent of the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ emerged with the announcement of an IRI/US supported electoral reform project. The rigging cabal who were defeated first with the NCM, and subsequently at the CCJ, managed to cough up some political phlegm in objection to the project. However, once again, they found themselves on the back foot as was the case when victory was won by the allies for free and fair elections.
Guyanese have long demonstrated an intense curiosity in smoking gun matters. At the same time, they have never failed to express disdain for abuses of power, failings of character and bending of rules by those in authority, nor their vulnerabilities to lust, greed, corrupt practices and above all, betrayal of public trust.
Yours truly,
Clement J. Rohee

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