The plundering of the NIS funds: The government cannot have its cake and eat it

May 10, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

The saying that no one can have their cake and eat it is true for this government, which cannot have its cake and eat it either.

The government is speaking from both sides of its mouth on its “One Guyana Initiative.” It is empty and pernicious rhetoric aimed at bamboozling the people. But the people are not fools because they do not trust the President for the simple reason that he is not the one who is managing the affairs of the country; it is the Vice President, the most vindictive and spiteful leader in all the Caribbean. How can the government promote the “One Guyana Initiative when it has fired thousands of public servants because it is alleged that they are supporters of APNU? The government ought to know that the United Nations Charter on Human Rights states that everyone has a right to vote for the party of their choice without political recriminations, Many in the public believe that the Vice President is the sole person and not the President who dictates policies to the cabinet, determines which contractors should be awarded government contracts and what projects the government should embark upon.

However, critics have contended that under his presidency, there were countless failures that cost the taxpayers approximately US$1,5billion. These projects include the contract awarded to Fip Motilall to build the road to the Amalia Hydro Falls project which cost the taxpayers more thanUS$40 million, the US$ 25 million Enmore Packaging plant, the US$50 Marriott Hotel, the collapse of CLICO, and finally, the US$220 million Skeldon Sugar Factory which has become a “white elephant.”Several engineers have stated that the Skeldon Sugar Factory was not properly evaluated for cost benefit. And several media outlets have reported that Fip Motilall has never even built a driveway. The amount of money wasted on these projects due to the recklessness and stubbornness of the Vice President could have transformed Guyana and into a developed state. The truth is the Vice President would not be so irresponsible and indulge in such reckless spending as if it was his own money. Today, Guyana is saddled with huge debts which would be a burden on future generations, the highest cost of living in the Caribbean, the lowest paid civil servants, and the poorest health care system among all CARICOM States.

With such colossal failures, the Vice President should not be allowed to be the sole decider in future mega projects such as the gas-to-shore project and the resurrection of the failed Amalia Falls Hydro Project. He is considered a one-man wreck who is bent on pursuing some of the same questionable high-priced projects without any proper cost analysis or independent studies and no one in the government, not even the President has the fortitude to prevent him. Should these projects failed, they will not only be costly to the taxpayers, but they will also bankrupt the country and placed thousands of workers on the bread line. It is time for the nation to rise and demand that the government embark on clean energy such as Solar and Wind power. Amalia Falls would take the country and its citizens back to the dark age.

The people of Guyana must reject the Vice President multibillion dollar projects because of his past failures which he has not accepted any responsibility for. About a week ago, the Vice President falsely accused APNU of bankrupting the National Insurance Scheme. He and his cohorts thought that his fallacious claim would have gone unanswered, but they were wrong. In a blistering attack on the Vice President, Former Health Minister and the opposition Finance critic, Ms. Volda Lawrence blasted the Vice President (VP) on what she described as “blatant lies” told by him at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice during an outreach to the Region. The VP has reportedly told a resident that National Insurance Scheme (NIS) became insolvent under the coalition government. Ms. Lawrence did not mince words when she said that it was Jagdeo who bankrupt the NIS when he abused his power and took the resources of the NIS to invest in the above-mentioned ventures. The PNC MP, Ms. Lawrence told the nation that Jagdeo ignored the advice from the Board of Directors of the NIS, and Guyanese with experience in financing and investment, not to invest the NIS funds in those ill-conceived projects. She claimed that the VP who acted like a runaway train and who always thinks he knows best, bullied the Board of Directors to hand over all monies from the NIS to him.

Ms. Lawrence also blasted Jagdeo for ignoring the advice of senior engineers at GuySuCo not to employ the inexperience China National Technical Industrial Corporation (CNTIC) to build the Skeldon Sugar Factory. Today, the factory which was built at a cost of US$220 million is a white elephant. The same can be said of the Amelia Falls Hydro Falls which cost the taxpayers over US$40 million. It is estimated that the VP plundered over US$1.5 billion of the taxpayers’ money on crackpot projects he was advised not to undertake. The problems that exist at the NIS should be laid squarely at Mr. Jagdeo’s feet and he, President Irfaan Ali, and the PPP/C must fix them forthwith. The NIS is the workers only safety net and it should not be allowed to become insolvent through poor political policies. The youths are not taking such wasteful spending of the taxpayers’ money lightly and would likely vote with their conscience at the polls in 2025.

Sincerely,
Victor Alfred Sinclair
Atlanta, Georgia.