AFC leaders are masters of deception, lies
AT this juncture it will be fruitful for this Nation to carefully scrutinise the achievements of the Alliance For Change (AFC) in terms of contributing to the social and economic development of this country. In fact, all their energies have so far been focused on derailing such developmental efforts by the democratically elected PPP/C Government. It is also a fact that nowhere else in the Caribbean has any miniscule Opposition political party worked so tirelessly to achieve what can be seen as a hopeless mirage of power. This party will never be able to muster enough votes to form a Government and its leaders are keenly aware of that but they are willing to eat the crumbs from their master’s table- the PNCR.
Firstly, they have led the ‘scissoring’ of all the budgets in Parliament since 2012. These budget cuts are not only unconscionable but anti-developmental as well. The items that were repeatedly cut from these budgets are the very items which the AFC has in their manifesto which they called their Action Plan! This definitely is a misnomer- the ‘Action Cut’ would have been a more appropriate name. Some of these can be found in the ‘Action Plan’ under Hinterland Development, Trade Policy, Renewable Energy, Health Care System, Tourism, and Educational Policy. The AFC in the 2014 Budget cut $ 1.1 billion from the Amerindian Development Fund which could have benefited more than 180 Amerindian Communities; they have voted against the Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill; they have voted against the Amaila Falls Hydro Project; they have voted against the Capital Expenditure of the Regional and Clinical Services programs; they have cut the funds for the improvement and expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and they have cut the University of Guyana Student Loan. Then the AFC have been vociferously calling for the closure of the Guyana Sugar Corporation which will directly and indirectly affect the lives of more than 100,000 persons! Charrandass and Ramayya have done this repeatedly on DTV 8 in Berbice. Secondly, the AFC in its quest to outdo the PNC/R supported the violent protest in Linden which resulted in arson of businesses and a school, looting and the beatings and sexual harassment of Indians and then they embarked in orchestrating a violent protest of their own at Agricola. Again, Indians were targeted- they were beaten, robbed, sexually molested and abused. How can leaders like Ramjattan and Nagamootoo allowed this to happen to Indians in Agricola and then come to Berbice and ask Indians to vote for them? Do they believe that Indians in Berbice are that stupid? Why did they not agitate for the perpetrators to be brought to justice? Why did they not call for an inquiry to be held if they are not culpable? All they had done was to deny their involvement. Would Trotman and Hughes have done that to their own people? But the fact is that Nagamootoo had to gain acceptance from the PNC/R – his nomination as Speaker was rejected by the PNC so he had to prove himself. Thirdly, the AFC condemned each and everything that the PPP/C Government did. They condemned the One Lap Top Per Family initiative; they condemned the Old Age Pension increase; they condemned the $10,000 Grant given to each child; they condemned the poor salaries of policemen then they condemned the one month salary bonus given to each policeman and soldier; they condemned the poor health service and then they cut the capital expenditure in the Health Sector; they complained about the high electricity cost and they destroyed the Amaila Hydro Project; they condemned the Education sector yet we have topped the CSEC awards; they said that the economic progress of this country is a big lie yet the U.S. Embassy gave out 55,000 tourists visas; they vigorously spoke about corruption in the Government but refuses to deal with the high degree of corruption within the AFC; they spoke about the immoral behaviour of Government officials but refused to condemn the lewd and immoral behaviour of some of the Executives of the AFC; they spoke about accountability yet they cannot account for millions of dollars of donations; they condemned the PPP/C Government for acting within the realm of the Constitution yet they failed even to act within the Articles of their Party’s Constitution; they spoke about democracy and yet they rigged their own elections; they spoke about conflict of interest and they are masters at it. Just ask Nigel and Cathy Hughes! The list goes on. They accused the PPP/C of corruption and are yet to prove that, but on the other hand I have proven my claims about corruption and cronyism and the lack of democracy within the AFC beyond a reasonable doubt! Fourthly, the AFC leaders are masters of deception and lies. Until now Ramjattan cannot provide the names of the three APNU members of Parliament who were willing to sell out to the PPP/C Government for $ 30 million; they lied about the consequences of the Anti-Money laundering Bill; they lied about ex-President Jagdeo’s medical bills; they lied about the infamous Agricola protest; they lied about providing financial statements at the 2014 Conference; they lied about not being racially divided; they lied about the spending of the $ 4.5 billion by the Finance Minister and above all they had lied to their AFC supporters and members during the 2011 Elections Campaign that they will never support or form a coalition with the PNC! There are many more lies which they have peddled in Berbice and I had dealt with these in my earlier letters. Lastly, the AFC’s Naagman made a final bid to oust the PPP/C Government when he filed and failed to pass the now infamous ‘No Confidence Motion.’ This would have been the ‘greatest achievement’ of the AFC to date but acting constitutionally the President has proven to the AFC neophyte lawyers that they have extremely little knowledge of the Constitutional Laws of Guyana. It is time to reflect on these ‘achievements’ of the AFC and ensure that they do not achieve their goals of getting the PNC/R into power once again! This country cannot survive another 28 years of PNC misrule!
HASEEF YUSUF AFC Councillor- Region 6