Where all dem funny fellas gone now....

Councie, De PNC Hydro Engineer, Ewe-Gee, De Rev Rabbai, Skeldon, Hydro_Seed, Pundit Nehru and Dem 50% Homen.

Mr Nagamootoo is a fine politician. 

Jalil reminds me of my Uneducated Neighba I had back home. Once his brother sent a Telegram to him from Surinam, when the Postman delivered the Telegram to him, he started to Halla and Cry. He assumed his brother died. Actually, his brother was writing to let him know he got a nephew.  Dat is Jalil in a nutshell.

You are the uneducated one.

Mr. Nagamootoo is part of the Pro-Guyana movement?

Mr. Nagamootoo is the most honest politician.

Nagamootoo is a shameless politician: The 7 million that was hidden from the public:

The enigma that’s AFC : --a party of conundrums and conflicts

FROM its conception, and by its name, the Alliance For Change professes to be the political movement to catalyze change in Guyana’s political landscape. A common thread which runs throughout almost all of its public pronouncements is that it advocates for a high standard of political morality.

“Transparent government”, “accountability in public office” and high decorum from public officials have all been ideals espoused by this party. Indeed, these are ideals for which all political parties ought to protagonise. But none has done it as empathic as the A.F.C. 
Equally, none has failed more abysmally to practise what it preaches than the A.F.C. In this article, I will chronicle just a few examples to support my hypothesis.

Nagamootoo and N.I.C.I.L.
From the inception, A.F.C. has been critical of N.I.C.I.L., accusing it of innumerable financial irregularities, lack of transparency and accountability in its operations, and much more.

In the elections campaign of 2011, N.I.C.I.L has been a focus of theirs with all the leaders, including Moses Nagamootoo, castigating and denigrating the work and functions of N.I.C.I.L. After the elections, and in Parliament, they continued to be critical of N.I.C.I.L. in their presentations. 

In the press, the onslaught persisted. Not once, however, was it disclosed to the unsuspecting public that Mr. Moses Nagamootoo, the Vice-Chairman of the Alliance For Change and one of its Members of Parliament, was a lawyer retained by N.I.C.I.L., and that he had actually received almost $7 million in legal fees from this very organisation which they describe as being so corrupt.

It was only after I disclosed this information in a debate in Parliament National Assembly did it become public. To date, no member of the Alliance For Change has denounced this patent conflict of interest and political hypocrisy.

Pension and prevarications:
The pension and other facilities to which former President Jagdeo is entitled, by law, has evoked tremendous controversy. The fact that this Law was simply a codification of the benefits which all former Presidents enjoyed was simply ignored. The issue was propagandized to its fullest. The most prolific crusader against it was Mr. Moses Nagamootoo; he spoke at length about it during the elections campaign, at public meetings, rallies, in the newspapers, and on television. To quote him, “It rattled my soul.”

Not once did he disclose that when that very Law was passed in Parliament, he voted in support of it. In-fact, from all his utterances, he deliberately conveyed the impression that he voted against it. It was only after I produced the Hansard, during one of my presentations in Parliament, and revealed that he voted in support of it, was that information made public.

Indeed, seconds before I read from the Hansard, which, obviously, he didn’t realize I was about to do, his bold assertion was, “I never voted for it.” Again, the AFC has offered no apology to the public for this blatant prevarication.

Meridien and Marriott:
The disclosure that a Marriott Hotel will be built in Guyana was made early in the year 2011. Indeed, a few months prior to the November 2011 elections, there was a public sod-turning event at the proposed site, which was published in all the newspapers, and aired on television. No public criticism came from the A.F.C. 

As the elections were approaching, Robert Badal, the owner of the Pegasus Hotel, made public his association with the A.F.C. I have no doubt that this association came with great financial benefits.

It is not rocket science for anyone to quickly realize that a Marriott Hotel, in close proximity to the Pegasus Hotel, would pose significant competition in that realm of the hotel industry in which the Pegasus Hotel enjoys an almost absolute monopoly.

Almost immediately after Badal’s association with the A.F.C. was consummated, the party launched a sustained and vitriolic campaign against every aspect of the Marriott Hotel project, casting every conceivable reason as a basis for it to not materialize. But again, not for one moment during this sustained attack did the A.F.C. disclose, or even concede, that the party has a close and politically consanguine relationship with the Pegasus Hotel.

Specialty Hospital and Special Interests:
The establishment in Guyana of a specialty hospital of the kind conceived to be constructed at Lilliandal, East Coast Demarara, in the ordinary course of things, cannot be opposed by a sane mind. Expectedly, there was no known objection emanating from the Alliance for Change, initially. 

However, the objections to and criticisms of the project came in an avalanche when Fedders Lloyd Inc. was disqualified from the bidding process as a non-compliant bidder. The criticisms came largely from the AFC leader himself, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan. Not surprisingly, it became public knowledge subsequently that Fedders Lloyd Inc. is his client. Again, no one in the AFC sees the conflict. At least, they have said nothing publicly about it.

Cathy and Consultancy:
It is now public knowledge that Ms. Cathy Hughes, an Executive Member and Member of Parliament for the Alliance For Change, owns a Public Relations company. This company was retained by the Sithe Global Group to do public relations work when the Amaila Falls Hydro-project received its first bout of criticisms. The chief critic again was her party, the Alliance For Change.          

I disclosed this conflict of interest situation publicly on two occasions. Both times, I received letters from Mr. Nigel Hughes, her husband, Chairman of the A.F.C. and Company Secretary for Amaila Hydroelectric Project Inc. (AHEPI) demanding a retraction. I ignored both. It is obvious that the rank incest which contaminates these associations is oblivious to the AFC.

Hughes and Hydro:
I have no doubt that the disclosure that Mr. Nigel Hughes functioned simultaneously as chairman for the Alliance For Change and the Company Secretary for Amaila Hydroelectric Project Inc. is a shock from which many have not yet recovered. His decision to resign from the party rather than the company must have bewildered his supporters more than anything else. The fact that his leader disclaims knowledge of his dual role speaks volumes. To whom did he make his alleged disclosure that he is the company secretary for Amaila Hydro Electric Project Inc. when his leader is unaware, is indeed a million dollar question. Certainly, the disclosure was not made public and only that could have possibly dissipated the impregnable conflict of interest which he eventually admitted. Alas, this public disclosure is almost four years late.

A Foreman’s furor:
Those who are still recovering from the Amaila Hydro Electric Project Inc. conflict of interest debacle were dealt another blow when it was disclosed that Mr. Nigel Hughes had a lawyer/client relationship which lasted some six years with the foreman of the jury in the just concluded Lusignan massacre murder trial. In this case, the Judge embarked upon an exceptional procedure and specifically enquired from each juror, in the presence of all the lawyers, whether they had any relationship of any kind with any of the lawyers. The disclosure of this previous lawyer/client relationship came from neither the juror nor the lawyer.

The information about this relationship became public only after the trial. The juror has since admitted the relationship and was banned for life from ever serving on a jury. No such admission has come from Mr. Hughes. The case lasted six years. All the court documents were signed by the same lawyer. Only that lawyer appeared at the trial of the case. I draw no inference. I leave that to you.

Stabroek News, October 7, 2013

Dear Editor,

I was in the audience (as a scribe reporting for community publications) last Friday evening at the Queens public meeting where President Donald Ramotar updated the diaspora on the state of affairs in their homeland and fielded questions.Donald was booed a couple times (for remarks contrasting crime and sanitation with other countries and on corruption) and praised several times. What struck my attention was not what the President said but what he did not do or say. He failed to acknowledge and recognize the significant contributions of some towering New York-based personalities who helped to put the PPP into office and who played a critical role in the restoration of democracy in Guyana. He should have used his trip and or the speech to bring healing to and unite the disparate factions of the PPP’s support group, Association of Concerned Guyanese.

At the Ramotar public engagement, I saw former loyalists of the Association of Concerned Guyanese, support group of the PPP in America, who had a public fall-out with Mr Ramotar and who were very critical of him prior to the November 2011 elections. I know these individuals very well since 1977 having joined them (though I am not an ACG member) in protests, rallies, picketing exercises, etc, against the 24 year old PNC dictatorship. They were a small group but very dedicated to the cause and effective at organizing public actions and several of them attended numerous protest events and rallies organized by myself, Dr Baytoram Ramharack and Vassan Ramracha – all pioneers and founding fathers of the New York Guyanese revolutionary movement that helped to usher in democracy in the homeland. The PPP and Guyanese owe the ACG early activists (such as Arjune Karshan, Chuck Mohan, Mel Carpen, Joe Kanhai, Flatty Singh, Danny Singh, John Drepaul, ‘V’, etc), and later ones like Joe Kanhai, Abudul Hafeez, Chris Sarabit and his brother Michael, Samad Ally, individuals like Ramharack, Ramracha, Joe Ragnauth (DLM), Mahadeo Persaud, Dr Ravi Dev, Pandit Ramlall, Ramesh Kalicharran, Vishnu Bandhu, others activists of the WPA support group, etc a debt of gratitude for their commitment to the struggle. Political struggle was not easy. Very few people were interested in Guyana and we could not raise a dollar from them. Only a handful of us took up the cudgel — unrelenting in our activism to lobby international organizations and governments for the restoration of democracy in our former homeland. Even a Chinese Jamaican, Richard Chin, who joined us in the struggle, deserves kudos. Many of the activists suffered tremendously because of their commitment to the struggle – families were neglected and broken. Because they were so strongly wedded to the anti-dictatorial movement, some marriages ended in divorce. Some of the activists like Ramharack, Vassan, and myself gave virtually all of our financial resources to the movement; our incomes were used to fund activities and print literature for free public distribution. Virtually no New Yorker, apart from Karshan who served as Ambassador to Suriname for over 10 years, who partook in the revolution was ever recognized, honoured or rewarded for their immense contributions to the struggle. A few opportunists were highly rewarded. The ACG splintered after the restoration of democracy and the departure of Karshan who was the leader of the group for many years.

President Ramotar had a historic and unique opportunity last Friday to make a gesture to those former stalwarts of the struggle of the need for healing and a desire to reconcile factions. The presence of some of these ACG founders and activists, once critics of Mr Ramotar and former President Jagdeo, at the meeting was a clear signal of their desire for reconciliation with the PPP leadership but no one paid heed. President Ramotar should have taken advantage of his presence in NY to unite the various factions and to bring former stalwarts together.

Compromise and reconciliation with critics (overseas and domestic) are critical for the PPP especially if it is to recover lost support. The former PPP activists, turned critics, are not enemies of the party. They ought to be recognized for their hard work to help liberate Guyana from oppressive rule. On the issue of reconciliation, the PPP also needs to reach out to others who left (or were pushed out) for whatever reason. One name that comes to mind (and there are several including Lionel Peters, Sasenarine Singh, etc) is the experienced and highly respected Ralph Ramkarran. The PPP cannot afford to lose one vote and it will be very difficult for the party to win a majority in the next election without Ramkarran (given that Moses Nagamootoo is campaigning against the PPP) high in the line-up. And elections are not far away with Moses threatening a no confidence vote, the PNC saying it is ready for an election, and the PPP saying elections will be held soon. Reconciliation with constructive critics and former stalwarts, overseas activists, etc, is urgently needed by President Ramotar and General Secretary Clement Rohee in order to strengthen the party.

Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram