Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Jagdeo rebuffs claim of bribe taking

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo being interviewed by Vice Media Group on February 1st.

February 8 ,2022

Source

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has rejected allegations placed before him by media network, Vice Media Group that he accepts bribes to assist Chinese businessmen to gain lucrative public sector projects.

The allegation was put to Jagdeo by Vice Media Group in an interview on February 1st at his office. The interview was uploaded to Jagdeo’s page yesterday with the tag that “he set the record straight on a series of misinformation”.

Vice Media Group is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company founded in 1994.

In the segment posted on Jagdeo’s Facebook page various topics were discussed with the Vice Media interviewer before she settled on the matter of Guyana falling several points on the Transparency International (TI) index this year. Jagdeo  criticised TI and then blamed the decline on acts by the APNU+AFC government following the 2018 motion of no-confidence. He also cited the five-month elections impasse among other things.

He said that he could not put his head on the block that there would be no corruption in the country. The interviewer then asked about his government and asked him directly if he took bribes. He answered in the negative at which point the interviewer said that she had spoken to a Chinese logger here who said that the only way to do business here was to pay bribes and as long as the Vice President was alright with this everything would be cleared.

Jagdeo vehemently rejected these suggestions and accused the interviewer of trying to catch him out and to make a developing country leader look corrupt. He said that the claims being made were being levelled by anonymous persons and constituted hearsay.

The Vice President challenged the interviewer to provide a name which she eventually did. She asked whether he knew a Mr Su (the last name was not intelligible).  Jagdeo appeared taken aback and he then said yes that he knew Su. He went on the say that he knew Su and that Su’s father had also been known to him.

The interviewer then went on to say that Su had told them that through his broker and with the payment of bribes, deals could be cleared by the Vice President and there was no trace of money to Jagdeo.  The Vice President ridiculed the allegations stating that anyone could make up allegations of that type.

He said the interviewer should ask Su about affirming the allegations and said Su would be lying if he held to them. Jagdeo said that the previous government had checked his accounts overseas and elsewhere and it was all above board.

Jagdeo also said he had a long history of being open and helping investors but never for consideration. He stated American companies and others visited him and he provides as much help as he can. He said it was “unbelievably accurate” that he helped companies but never for bribes or consideration.

When asked by the interviewer whether he would investigate the allegations that were made once details were sent to him he said yes but then went onto say it would be better if these allegations were investigated by a body like the Integrity Commission as they would be aware of his returns. In the 18 months that the PPP/C government has been in office, it is yet to appoint commissioners to the Integrity Commission.

After this line of questioning, the interviewer moved on to how problems like money laundering are handled in the country.  It is not known in what format Vice Media will be publishing the interview with Jagdeo.

Django
@Mitwah posted:

@Totaram, In my street, a house was listed for 1.9 Million CAD$ and it was sold by bidding for 2.7 Million CAD$. Some of these biddings are crazy.

Most likely the City will revalue the properties in the street and raise the municipal tax.

In the Pradoville matter there was no bidding war.   The price was inflated for a different reason.  Think about it!

T
@Totaram posted:

Mista Su gat de answer....where is mista Su?   Jagdeo is guilty as hell---he is lying when he tells you he is helping business people for no consideration.

me juss watched de whole interview. de man fight up de lady, talking while she talking, to show he power, that no woman will be allowed to treat him like that. he guilty as hell. he's busy doing press interviews, etc. now    hahahahaha

FM

I watched the interview and was struck by a few things. 1) Jagdeo has aged considerably.  Perhaps it was the camera angle.  I don't know.  I haven't seen him in person for ages. 2) Why did he post the interview, including the part about Mr. Su? 3) Many of his arguments and facts were flawed. 4) Many have long believed that his success with the PPP was based on "in blind man country, one eye man a king". The interview supports this.  5) Where there is smoke there is fire--Su was(is) living right next to him and has ready access and is now making allegations of bribery. This is highly believable .  The intermediary was kept close.  6) Jagdeo's frequent reference to his assets being in line with his income does not add up.  7) The constant reference to the Integrity Commission is a big joke.  The Commission currently has no members although the secretariat still functions in receiving annual submissions. However, nothing proceeds beyond that point.  Who compares assets to income?  What happens if they are not in sync? 8) Jagdeo claims he does not have foreign bank accounts. Is there any way of checking that?  How about accounts in the names of family and friends?  BTW, have you ever wondered where Jagdeo finds the money to pay lawyers, especially Mendes in Trinidad?  9) Something is up-Su had to have talked to his handlers before talking to the Vice News journalist. 10) Jagdeo's claim of a Western outfit trying to make developing countries look bad was pathetic. 11) Did you hear Jagdeo actually claiming that the PPP built the current private sector? 12) What was Cheddi thinking when he sent some of these people to study in socialist countries?  Many of them turned out to be leeches feeding on the poor people of Guyana.

T

Chinese Embassy expresses dissatisfaction with VICE News’ “fabrication”

https://i0.wp.com/www.inewsguyana.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/China-Guyana.jpeg?fit=696%2C464&ssl=1Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Guo Haiyan

Statement from the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy on Fabrication about China by a Vice News Interviewer

Recently, when a journalist from Vice News interviewed Hon. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, she was found to come to Guyana with predetermined agenda and tried to smear and attack China-Guyana cooperation, as well as Chinese companies. The Chinese Embassy is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to such violation of professional ethics.

The Chinese side highly appreciates that the Government of Guyana upholds the one-China principle and keeps developing cordial relations with China. China-Guyana friendly cooperation, featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefits for the people, is in accordance with the interests of the two countries and two peoples, not against any third party, nor should it be influenced by a third party.

Chinese companies operating in Guyana are following the local laws, international practices, and market rules, participating in big projects through open and fair competitions, which is beyond reproach.

FM

VP Jagdeo nails sensationalised allegations ambush by VICE News, outfit fighting to survive implosion

https://i0.wp.com/www.inewsguyana.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Vice-President-Hon.-Dr.-Bharrat-Jagdeo.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has conclusively nailed several allegations of corruption thrown at him by a Journalist of VICE Media Group during an interview at his office on February 1, 2022, which was later aired on his social media on February 5, 2022.  

The Media Group has been on a downward spiral in recent years and is clearly trying desperately to survive by inventing “exposÃĐs” of corruption in developing countries to feed the old colonial narratives in its North American markets.

On May 8, 2019, Disney had told investors that it had wiped out US$353 million of the money it had previously put into VICE.  A month later, on June 10, 2019, HBO cancelled Vice News Tonight, putting an end to its seven-year relationship with VICE.

A year later, the downward spiral continued when VICE laid off 155 employees in May 2020. Finally, in August 2021, they launched a new wave of layoffs, reflecting the youth-culture media company’s ongoing financial struggles and need to realign toward profitable areas of the business — amid a broader shift toward video and visual content.

In the interview with Jagdeo, after asking innocuous questions about the policies of the Government on investment in light of the massive oil find, the reporter suddenly alleged that based on “information” she had received, a Chinese logger named “Su” claimed that the only way to do business in Guyana was to pay incentives and more so, he stated that as long as the Vice President was alright, everything would be cleared.  

Jagdeo immediately rebutted the allegation, stating that while he knew ‘Su’, who was a tenant at his property, how could he be expected to answer questions on hearsay that either the reporter or the claimed informant could have concocted.

On this note, Jagdeo, at a specially-convened press conference on Tuesday evening, repeated his response as he castigated the Media Group for its sensational reporting tactics. He noted that the interviewer was more or less hunting for something spectacular hence the biased line of questioning.

“I believe when these not-mainstream media come to Guyana, particularly like VICE News, the way they get into the media cycle is to say something spectacularâ€Ķ they can’t get in and talk about all the positive things in Guyanaâ€Ķ Clearly from the beginning of the interviewâ€Ķ I made it clear that we don’t want to be caught up in a cold war like China and US,”  the VP said.
In fact, the reporter’s line of questioning suggested that Guyana was taking financial incentives from the Chinese hence most of the contracts that are being awarded were given to Chinese contractors.  

But Jagdeo highlighted that some of the projects that were listed by the interviewer were not awarded to Chinese companies. He further pointed out the recent contract for the Linden to Mabura Road was awarded to a Brazilian company. With respect to the Amaila Falls Hydro Project and the Demerara Harbour Bridge Project, the VP noted that they were still in the negotiating stages.  

Jagdeo also made reference to the reversing of a decision to establish a Taiwan Office here in Guyana.  â€œTaiwan was given permission to establish an office here, but it was reversed the next dayâ€Ķ this decision was not made at the level of the President or Cabinet and as such, it was reversed, but this has nothing to do with China’s interference,” he explained.

It was also put forward that immediately after the decision was reversed that Guyana secured a $1.5 billion loan from China. The Vice President made it clear that since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) returned to power, the Government has not received any such loan from China.  Jagdeo pointed out that the reporter was trying to create a conflict, by contrasting Guyana’s relations with the US and China and suggesting that the Government was favouring China. Jagdeo reiterated that it is Guyana’s policy to be friendly with all countries but maintain its special relationship with the US where “half of the Guyanese population live”.

He pointed out that he helped and saw a lot of investors. “I help a lot of people but without considerationâ€Ķ I see lots of companies, but is not for money or a bribeâ€Ķ She asked me about the laws we are changing to help the contractorsâ€Ķ she then went on to say that Su said we have changed the Constitution of Guyana so we can give them contractsâ€Ķ I don’t know that I have the power to change the Constitution of Guyana to give contracts to people,” he reiterated.

On receiving a financial incentive, he noted that all his earnings and assets are with the Integrity Commission. “All my properties in Guyana are accounted for in my declaration to the Integrity Commission, on both of properties [that] were acquired before APNU came into office,”  the VP said.

In addition, he noted that the agreement with tenants is known to the commercial banks in which he has two accounts.  

Meanwhile, since the interview was aired and based on newspaper articles, Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton has called for Jagdeo to disprove the allegations by matching his earnings with his assets.  

In response, Jagdeo related, “Now I know Mr Norton as I said before has always been a junior functionary of his party and in the government. So I can excuse his unfamiliarity with the law that was passed and that was complied with, which is the Integrity Commission Act of Guyana.”  

He noted that from 1999 to 2015 all Government officials had to submit their statements of income and assets to the Integrity Commission. “The Act states that you can be jailed for one year for false declaration or not submitting a declaration.”  

He reminded that when the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) took office, members did not submit any declaration for three years.  Jagdeo, nevertheless, agreed that the Police should be called in to deal with any form of corruption.

“We were subjected to SARA [State Assets Recovery Agency] and SOCU [Special Organised Crime Unit] upturning our livesâ€Ķ I am sure that Mr Norton did not think this through before getting involved in the matter.”  

“They will never ever find anyone who can provide any evidence that they have given me a bribe directly or indirectly, because I never took a bribe, and that is why I was so confident about it when the interviewer asked me,” the Vice President related.

FM

DG...Sure Sure we believe any and everything China says, they do everything above board..follow local laws..etc. Oh yeh..and when the deal with  Taiwan was cancelled the very next day.that had absolutely nothing to do with China..how could it? See, we believe.

You know what else we believe? The earth is square, the sky is polka dot and water is dry.

cain

I don't know anything dealings between Disney and Vice but apparently they were dropped from HBO because of something to do with AT&T buying out Time Warner who also owns HBO. Businesses do this all the time and it does not mean a darn thing other than the fact BJ is grabbing anything to prevent going over the falls.

cain

You all is a bunch of desperate lose4s who are trying to taint the man's character after failing to rig the elections.   Why you all don't talk about the missing 18 million?  Vice has the right to question anything even if it's rumors. This SU accusation is just another Russian spy story that was concocted by Cathy Hughes and that renegade dog from 47 village.

Billy Ram Balgobin

You all is a bunch of desperate lose4s who are trying to taint the man's character after failing to rig the elections.   Why you all don't talk about the missing 18 million?  Vice has the right to question anything even if it's rumors. This SU accusation is just another Russian spy story that was concocted by Cathy Hughes and that renegade dog from 47 village.

You are the pathetic loser!   What $US18M is missing?  The money that was deposited in the Bank of Guyana?  Are you really an accountant?  Mr. Su lives at Jagdeo's property in Pradoville 2.  Why?  Are you equating the Vice News investigation to some concocted Russian story?  Why would the leader of the PPP have a shady character practically living with him at his stolen Pradoville place?  How much was he paying in rent?  That renegade dog from 47 was the Chair of the PYO.  Why was he pushed out?  Does he not have the right to belong to a party of his choice ?  Or, are you arguing that any Indian who opposes the PPP is a dog?  That would make you a coolie racist and that is what you must be. 

T

Is anything going happen to Jagdeo? Nothing! THE MAN will continue on bcz he knows there isn't any political opposition. Guyana is on the track of becoming an oil kingdom. You know what happens in those countries? People die mysteriously.

Ayuh try deh-the phantom gang can be anywhere. Some ppl at the Backdam crazy enough to follow the task for  Henry V.

S
@seignet posted:

Is anything going happen to Jagdeo? Nothing! THE MAN will continue on bcz he knows there isn't any political opposition. Guyana is on the track of becoming an oil kingdom. You know what happens in those countries? People die mysteriously.

Ayuh try deh-the phantom gang can be anywhere. Some ppl at the Backdam crazy enough to follow the task for  Henry V.

Yeah...de opposition is not competent. But doan underestimate de wrath of de good ole USofA. When abee VP is middle man and cutting out dem Merikans, expect backlash...boy let me stock up on plaintain chips and sour for this big show

T

What I think is really going on.

The Americans, centuries ago have always had their eyes on British Guiana. They are aware of something in the place that we doan know about. Perhaps, ideal tropical ownership.

Before choosing Liberia to settle American slaves, they considered British Guiana. But it wasn't Africa, the mother land.

Then the re-settlement of the European Jews.

I think Exxon is determined for American companies to have a fair share of Guyana's development contracts. Guyana's history shows how easy it is manipulate. And so, Exxon is a bracnch of the CIA in modern Guyana.

S

Add Reply

×
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×