Jagdeo and the $5B question

Oct 05, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – Denis Chabrol, without doubt the best reporter in Guyana, put Vice President Jagdeo to his place at last Thursday’s weekly press conference. Jagdeo had thrown a tantrum at his press conference over a Demerara Waves report that had cited the PPPC as spending some G$5B on its re-election bid.

Jagdeo was irked by the fact that Demerara Waves had reported on this sum, without presenting any evidence. According to Jagdeo, the figure was closer to G$300M. He was furious that the Demerara Waves, with which Denis Chabrol is associated, could quote such an exorbitant sum and not provide validation.

Jagdeo had a mouthful to say on this issue. But he will not, in turn show any proof of how much his party spent. None of the political parties will do so.

When Chabrol got up afterwards to ask a question about just how much the PPPC spent on its re-election, Jagdeo confronted him on the $5B claim and tried to reverse the roles of host and reporter. He posed a question to Chabrol as to where Demerara Waves arrived at that $5B sum.

Chabrol would have none of it. Chabrol put him to his place by pointing out that he, Chabrol, was not there to answer questions and in any event, he would not reveal his source.

But it later became clear that Jagdeo was on a different wavelength as Chabrol. Because as was pointed out by Chabrol, the $5B included what is known as incumbency advantages that is the use of State funds and assets as well as the established practice of ‘peaking’ which is when projects and initiatives and sweeteners are timed to coincide with elections.

The Carter Center in a pre-election statement said the following: “The Carter Center has received reports alleging that the ruling party has used State-owned vehicles to campaign and taken advantage of ‘10-day workers’ (employed part-time by the government) in campaign activities. Official government statements about the opening of schools and other public buildings regularly feature public officials in full ruling-party regalia, blurring the line between the state and the party. Since July 30, the president has announced he would promote over 2,800 Guyana Police Force officers. On Aug. 1, the government announced that bridge crossings would now be free. These and similar measures can be seen to afford the ruling party an unfair advantage. While Guyana’s laws do not prohibit new government spending after an election is called, such spending runs contrary to international standards and best practices intended to ensure a level playing field.”

When people say that there was vote buying at the elections, they do not literally mean that parties paid citizens to votes for them. Both the PPPC and the APNU were dreadfully fearful that the WIN party would pay persons to vote – that party has the resources to do so.

That is why both the PPPC and the APNU were of the same mind when it came to the prohibition of persons from taking photographs of how they voted. Both the PPPC and the APNU feared that WIN could use this as a form of vote-buying.

But this is not what analysts mean when they speak about money deciding the elections and there being vote-buying. When one party is in power and the government commissions many projects just around election time, disburses backpay to public servants, offers promotions to different agencies and gives out contracts like Satan Claus at Christmas, these are the advantages of incumbency. And it is these advantages, along with abuse of State resources, which it is believed tilt the balance in favour of the ruling party.

And this is what analysts mean when they speak about vote-buying. And this where Chabrol’s gets his G$5B from. But Jagdeo would not understand that.

But if Jagdeo’s tantrums, at last Thursday’s press conference, amounts to a continuation of his pre-elections press conference, the media has no reason to complain. It is the media which is so starved of news and so eager to learn about what is happening in government and to ask question about cash grants, that they flock to these weekly party press conferences, where government matters are discussed.

By attending this charade, they blur the line between party and State. It is, in effect, an open invitation and a front-row seat to a display of political tantrums and vitriol.

But at least the media can take comfort from the quiet, deliberate, intellectual refusal, by one of its members, to be intimidated. Denis Chabrol, in his calm, precise way, put the Vice President to his place without ever raising his voice.

(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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• Denis Chabrol, election spendings, Peeping Tom, PPPC, Vice President Jagdeo

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