JAGDEO NEEDS TO GET HIS FACTS STRAIGHT

Bharrat Jagdeo is advised to cease withhiscuss-out style of debating, check his facts and concentrate more ontheexcessesofthepresent governmentratherthankeep focusing on what took place under the APNU+AFC government.

Hisfactsarewrongwhen he claims that civil society groupings were not as vocal under the APNU+AFC as they are today The fact that the PPPC is now facing a barrage of criticisms has more to do with its style of governance, including its secrecy and inability to be moreinclusive.

One of the reasons why the multi-stakeholder process,promotedunderthe Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) will never succeed underthePPPCgovernment is because such a participatory process is an anathematothePPPC.

The PPPC does not understand what it means to seekconsensus. Itiseither its way or the highway The PPPC does not understand the art of compromise. It is either you are with me or againstme.

How then can a multistakeholder process work underthePPPC?Itcannever work. It is either you take theirpositionoryouleaveit.

U n d e r J a g d e o ’s Presidency, a National Stakeholders Forum was created.That body was only convenientlyandselectively convened. When the PPPC government wanted widespreadcondemnationof the Lusignan and Bartica massacres of 2008, it arranged a forum When pressed about when the Forum would become a permanent feature of governance, Jagdeo was reported by this newspaper as saying that he never promised to institutionalize suchaForum.

Inclusionary governance is not in the PPPC’s vocabulary Just look at the criticism which was aimed recently at proposals from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG). Is that indicative ofinclusionarygovernance?

When you have Vice President going to India without any technocrats in towtoadvisehim,whatdoes that say about the style of governance being practiced inGuyana?

And what has really changedfrom2014?

TheVice President has a point about the double standards of certain civil society groupings. But the PPPC invites such double standards by its failure to engage and respect civil societygroupings,outsideof its friends and cronies in the privatesector Transparency Institute GuyanaInc.(TIG)hascome in for some criticism from the Vice President The Guyana Chronicle quoted Jagdeo as saying that his partyhadcataloguedalistof 75 scandals under the APNU+AFC but that TIGI wasmumonthese.

The Vice President also questioned a report by TIGI which he said stated that it was the APNU+AFC which had stopped the parking metercontract.Jagdeoneeds togethisfactsright.

The APNU+AFC did stop the contract, notwithstandingthefactthat it was a PNCR-dominated Council that approved the contract. And he seems to forget that a certain AFC councilor riding a Big Ben

Dem Boys Seh...

was part of the protests against the parking meters, protest to which his party gavemoralsupport.

TIGI cannot be accused of not speaking out against scandals during the term of the APNU+AFC The organizationcondemnedand questionedtheactionsofthe APNU+AFConanumberof counts.

Did TIGI not condemn t h e s i g n i n g o f a M e m o r a n d u m o f Understanding between the Government and Guyana andFeddersLloyd?Anddid it not call for the contract to beretendered?

Did TIGI not express c o n c e r n o v e r t h e APNU+AFC handling of a controversy which erupted overtheprocurementofprepaid meters by the Guyana Power and Light? Did TIGI not describe as corruption the practice of employing and rewarding supporters anddonors?

DidTIGInotdescribeas vulgar and reeking of cronyism a Pension Bill which was brought to the National Assembly and which would allow for the payment of a pension to a formerPNCPrimeMinister?

Did the TIGI not publicly denounce proposed amendments to the Integrity Act?And did it not describe as “weak” the Code of Conduct which was d e v e l o p e d b y t h e APNU+AFC?

DidTIGInotaccusethe APNU+AFCofdeceptionin relation to the signing bonus? Is Jagdeo aware that TIGI in a statement said, “The government has failed to handle matters related to oil with transparency and it appears to have deliberately engaged in deception in relation to the matter of a signaturebonus.”

All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Deh gat people who does defend dem criminal better than lawyer Dem always finding excuse fuh why dem criminal does stealfromyuh.

Dem people does claim how dem criminals is victims of poverty How dem nah get wuk and therefore dem forced to steal.Evendemtop-notchlawyercan’toffer abetterdefence.

But dem boys wan know what excuse demganmeknow Wukdehallabout.Deh gat plenty wuk fuh labourers. Dem gat plenty odder wuk. De government and all offering 10 days wuk per month.And dem paying$40,000permonth.’

So what excuse dem wah snatching peoplepurse,stickingthemupandrobbing demofdemcellphoneandjumpingpeople house gat now? Dem and dem defenders cannot claim is because of de lack of jobs.

Plenty wuk deh. So is nat a social problem anymore.Sowhyalldestealingandrobbing stilltekkinplace?

Itmekdemboysrememberdestoryof de woman who ask deh friend, “How yuh fourkidsgettingonnow?”

“Fine!” came the reply… “Meh oldest boy turn wan doctor, the second is wan teacherandmehdaughterisalawyer.”

“What about yuh youngest boy? How’s hedoing?”

“Ah. He turn a thief. He live at home withwestill.”

”So you let your yuh three decent kids fendforthemselves,andkeptthebadoneat home?Isn’tthatwrong?”

“No, of course not! He supports us financially De other three are all unemployed.”

Talkhalf.Leffhalf!

Or is it what rattles the PPPC is the reminder that it was the TIGI which had expressed concern that Exxon had been awarded a 26,888sq.kmblockundera single licence? Or is it that the PPPC is afraid that the public will recall that the same TIGI had called for decisive action against APNU+AFC Ministers who were in breach of the government’s code of conduct? The PPPC has no suchCodeofConduct.

In relation to the 2020 General and Regional Elections, TIGI did issue a statement which included the following: “The circumstances surrounding thedeclarationoftheresults for region 4 have created an appearance of collusion between GECOM and the incumbent, APNU-AFC, in so far as the results which were not transparently verified but declared for Region 4 tip the national election in favour of the incumbent.”

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this n e w s p a p e r a n d i t s affiliates.)