‘LEAD’ FUTURE AND A BIT OF ARROGANCE

FINALLY, there seems to be a readiness on the part of the decision-makers in Washington to put on temporary hold implementation of the controversial Leadership and Democracy project in Guyana, better known as ‘LEAD’. Announcement of this welcome development came last week at a media briefing involving both United States Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Brent Hardt, and Dr Roger Luncheon, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat.

Surprising unseemly interventions by American personnel involved with LEAD — originally discussed and determined as a funding project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) — had earlier threatened disruption of normally stable, mature, and satisfactory bilateral relations between Washington and Georgetown.
Indeed, with Ambassador Hardt’s frequent interventions in the media, which ignored the Guyana Government’s repeated contention of strange partisan political interferences and, more importantly, that the project was yet to obtain final Cabinet approval, it appeared that elements were at work to undermine not just LEAD, but the much cherished good relations forged between Guyana and the USA.

Just recently, US Secretary of State, Mr John Kerry himself saluted with high praise the United States’ relations with Guyana, much to the satisfaction of President Donald Ramotar and the governing People’s Progressive Party, both committed to strengthening relations between the two countries against the backdrop of very unfair hands dealt by previous Washington administrations in the pre- and post-Independence years of our political turmoil.
However, while it is good to know that fresh efforts would be pursued for enlightened new initiatives on LEAD; there remains a political irritant that needs to be seriously addressed for speedy resolution. It relates to the regrettable decision that the Guyana Government felt constrained to take in revocation of the work permit granted to the Canadian citizen who has been identified as head of the LEAD project, Mr Glenn Bradbury.

This action was announced by Dr Luncheon ten days ago, but as of yesterday, there was no sign of Mr Bradbury’s compliance with this decision, which also puts an end to his extension of stay in Guyana.

We feel constrained to ask what gives Mr Bradbury the right to defy the laws of Guyana with his display of childish arrogance, unbecoming of an American official engaged in a “democracy” project in this nation? Is he being tutored by local political elements he has been working with on the LEAD project that’s now suspended for review? Perhaps the US Embassy in Georgetown should give him some guidance.