Freddie Kissoon sets himself up as a self-employed, unsolicited consultant for African Guyanese

Aug 25, 2022 Letters

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Dear Editor,

 I was in the process of having breakfast with my family when someone called and drew my attention to an article appearing in Kaieteur News edition of Monday, August 22, under the Freddie Kissoon column headlined, “People in 2022 who ruled in 2020.” Against my better judgment, I decided to peruse its contents even as I sipped a hot cup of coffee and munched on my cheese sandwich. Needless to say, after reading the article I experienced a digestive abnormality that forced me to abort the meal. In other words, I simply lost my appetite.

I find it impossible to conceptualize that Freddie, who boasts of such superb academia, could actually extract such bilge from his ‘brilliant’ mind, shamelessly spew it into the public domain and then sit back awaiting applause. I find it appalling that Kissoon, whether deliberately or inadvertently, failed to address the issues in my article but like a rabid canine, attempts to snarl and bite at those he presumes to be incapable of intelligent responses.

It really pains me to respond to this feeble mind least I am painted with the same brush. I’ve said it before but for emphasis, may I remind Mr. Kissoon that he might be qualified in sociology and other areas but that certainly does not qualify him to advocate for Afro-Guyanese especially since his experiences significantly differ from those of this ethnic grouping. By the way, growing up in a predominantly African community is certainly no indication of UNDERSTANDING the plight of this group.

Mr. Kissoon’s mind is all over the place when he accuses me, in my capacity as Chief Executive Officer of Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), of laxity in my job. These are his words “During Mr. Saul’s tenure, Guyanese, including African citizens, complained to me about the impossibility of getting their documents from CH&PA. It was the identical situation at Lands and Survey (LAS). We will start with LAS.”

Apparently, this esteemed columnist has lost his marbles. The tactic of lumping the functions and responsibilities of both entities gives one the impression that he is speaking of MY managerial lapses when in effect he is speaking of two distinctly different entities under separate management structures. This must not be overlooked as an error but rather, a deliberate attempt to besmirch my character and/or mislead the reading public. I am now beginning to understand why the media organ he uses to dispel his bilge has attracted so many lawsuits.

Freddie boasts of his journalistic expediency accrued from more than 34 years in the media. He bemoans the fact that persons were disallowed from entering the building (CH&PA) to conduct their business. He went on to say, “I met five African-Guyanese who said that they cannot enter the building because LAS has instructed that persons must show gate security their ID card. I am talking about LAS during the reign of the APNU+AFC.”

Mind you, Freddie did not bother to engage me or any other authority figure to solicit reasons for this so-called imposition.  If he had, I would have informed him that the CH&PA is a distinctly different entity from the LAS.

Later on in his missive, Freddie did say that he engaged Mr. Benn. This is his recital, “I went to visit Mr. Trevor Benn who at the time was out of the office. I was told that there was a robbery at LAS thus the requirement for an ID card. This was strange to me. If a robbery takes place in an institution, then security becomes the issue.” I don’t think I need to dissect such intellectual nonsense to make my point. How was Freddie to know if the request for an ID card was not a security measure? Naturally, he had to enquire about the management of the firm in question. Had he done that?

Might I also state that LAS is a totally different entity than the CH&PA and the security measures employed there, even after a robbery, cannot be juxtaposed to those of the CH&PA. The same can be argued for the GRA, commercial banks, or any other Ministry for that matter.

Kissoon plunges ahead with his uninformed, unsubstantiated diatribe that lumps the responsibilities of the two entities under his microscope into one bundle. Just for the record, planning permission is approved by the Central Housing and Planning Authority’s Board and not the Chief Executive Officer. Had Freddie done some research he would have discovered that the Town and Country Planning Act Chapter 20:01 clears up this matter. Should he be unable to secure a copy, I am willing to provide one and, if necessary, I’m willing to provide someone to read and interpret its contents for his infantile mind.

Whether he derives satanic pleasure from his diabolical penmanship or is just plain mischievous, is anyone’s guess but Kissoon has a long history of attacking Afro Guyanese, especially those who are stridently advocating for equal rights, justice, and equitable distribution of the nation’s patrimony.

An analysis of his writings clearly endorses his sanctimonious objectives and solidifies the widespread suspicion that he has little or no intention of highlighting the true plight of Afro-Guyanese. He persistently wields a vitriolic pen in his bid to demoralise Black leaders the likes of Dr. David Hinds, Dr. Clive Thomas, Lincoln Lewis, and Trevor Benn among others. I am deeply disappointed that Kissoon fails to address the issues in my article but like a rabid canine, he uses his media platform to attack me and others. This clearly points to his frail mind and inability to intellectualize simple things

By now he would have recognized that those stalwarts he attempts to demean are of indomitable dispositions who hold strong the belief that “Black don’t crack” and his diatribe is as ineffective as his dastardly mission.

I close by simply informing Uncle Freddie that our team of advocators are competent, accurate, and well-intentioned, traits that can hardly be attributed to your penmanship. And just in case you are advocating for the role to represent our philosophies and agenda…. thanks, but no thanks!

Sincerely yours,

Lelon Saul

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