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FM
Former Member

Nagamootoo takes offensive swipe at President during NCN corruption debate

 

Georgetown, GINA, September 16, 2012 -- Source - GINA

 

The seven- part debate series on corruption carried live on the National Communications Network (NCN) ended this evening on the topic of institutional corruption and an offensive utterance from Alliance for Change (AFC) Member Moses Nagamootoo about President Donald Ramotar.

 

Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh took umbrage to the remarks, “look who we have as a president today,” by Nagamootoo in his closing remarks at the debate. The Minister called for it to be withdrawn.

 

Al Creighton moderating as AFC Member of Parliament

Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh,

PPP Member of Parliament Manzoor Nadir and Trade

Unionist Carvil Duncan debate on institutional corruption

 

Member of Parliament Manzoor Nadir and Trade Unionist Carvil Duncan were part of the debate exchanging perspectives on the topic of institutional corruption. The Government representatives, Minister Singh and MP Nadir defended policy initiatives in institutions to rid corruption.The opposition member claimed that their efforts are not enough.

 

Arguing that there were failures under the PPP watch, Nagamootoo alluded to the dilemma with the wound up Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) where sugar workers’ National Insurance Scheme (NIS) funds were locked.

 

He was reminded that the circumstances under which the insurance company found itself were regional in nature and should not be treated in isolation as a problem caused by the Guyana Government.

 

Nadir labelled the aforementioned argument as mere dishonesty, and despite attempts by Nagamootoo to butt in, the former labour Minister reminded him that hundreds of other individual investors had assets in CLICO.

 

“You can’t stand here and say that NIS caused a dishonest act by investing in CLICO, that they knew CLICO was going to collapse,” Minister Nadir said.

 

In 2009, the Government approached the High Court obtaining an order, placing CLICO under judicial management in an effort to protect policyholders and pension funds in Guyana, including the NIS.  A Commissioner of Insurance, was appointed judicial manager of the local company in accordance with the Insurance Act 1998.

 

Minister Singh during the debate argued that the Commissioner of Insurance at the time performed in the best way possible to align the company in conformity with the laws prior to the collapse regionally.

 

He also argued that the Government had long recognized the need for strong, independent supervision of the financial sector given its importance to the economy and, chronicled the numerous pieces of “comprehensive” legislation that have been put in place as safeguards.

 

At this point Nagamootoo sought to redefine the meaning of the term institutional corruption by pointing to extra judicial killings and the Roger Khan saga.  Nadir responded that his (Nagamootoo) remarks were the usual rantings of the nitpicking opposition.

 

The AFC member made reference to the state department report on corruption in Guyana to corroborate his argument even as the government representatives begged credibility from such reports.

 

“We’re going to pick up a publication here, hand a publication there, and use whatever part of it we see as pertinent to our own argument… if there is so much widespread corruption I say we would have seen it all over,” Nadir said.

 

The reference to remarks on corruption by former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran and  Cheddi Jagan Jr (Joey) were not enough to convince the government representatives on the debate that opposition groups have done a good job at exposing the issue on live national television.

 

The Finance Minister highlighted a typical example during the debate where Nagamootoo demonstrated “corruption of the truth,” when the AFC member took offence to some comments advanced in the section of the programme that were unfavourable to him.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

 

These debates give the opposition and the government an opportunity to present their position and facts. So far, the opposition has yet to produce a smoking gun.

 

Let the debates continue.

FM

 

Moses will self destruct. He has a zero chance as a candidate for president with the AFC. Who knows, he might join the PNC next. He will linger form party to party. He is politically finished and is boxed into a corner.

 

He must answer to his boss Rum jattan.

 

I do feel sorry for him since he did make a valuable contribution for Guyana under the PPP. His political ambitions got the better of him.

FM

Joey Jagan: Ramkarran right about gov’t corruption

-guilty shouldn’t be spared from prosecution

 

 

Former PPP Executive member Ralph Ramkarran is right in highlighting corruption in government circles, Joey Jagan, the son of PPP founders and late presidents Dr. Cheddi and Janet Jagan, has said, while urging criminal prosecution for anyone found guilty of such behaviour, regardless of party ties.

 

In a letter to Stabroek News, Jagan hailed Ramkarran’s resignation from the ruling party and drew a parallel to Ramkarran’s father, Boysie Ramkarran’s importance to the late president. “Boysie Ramkarran would have been proud of his son in this pressing period in our political history, because without Boysie, (Cheddi) Jagan would have been like a man without a right arm, …..

Mitwah

the only people in guyana and abroad that think the ppp crime family is not corrupt is the ppp supporters if you ask any other guyanese they will start laughing because they dont know if to cry or laugh

FM

It is time for an Anti-Corruption Agency

 

Dear Editor,

 

We watched with disgust the spectacle of corruption scandal after corruption scandal over the last decade, and when we thought it would have gone away with new leadership in government, oh what a surprise:  Corruption is here to stay.

So here we go again with more questions being raised about the awarding of the contract for the Specialty hospital not necessarily to the most competent and experienced contractor. And now there is the new $5 billion power plant which the most cooperative and compliant majority opposition voted for to facilitate without first demanding that the Public Procurement Commission be in place. Mr Carl Greenidge was so confident in his party’s stance on the Commission that he assured the Guyanese people that he is working on an October deadline, when the PPP had told him and the entire opposition by way of Minister Rodrigues that they were prepared for a Commission by the end of June 2012.  At least for the record the AFC was on the ball and responded with its nominee as soon as Minister Rodrigues threw out the challenge.  Thank you AFC.  As for APNU, their actions to date can only leave political observers wondering.

 

Guyanese are fed up with the corrupt activities of the last decade that have permeated the political system, and the Police Force which itself is involved in corruption cannot enforce the law.  It is high time for a new constitutional Anti-Corruption Agency independent of the PPP regime to investigate acts of corruption. This anti-corruption agency should have similar powers to the Contractor General in Jamaica to investigate all procurement transactions including those done by NICIL.

 

But then again with such a lethargic and pro-PPP compliant APNU leadership, we can only dream. In terms of the tripartite talks which are controlled by the Gail Teixeiras and Roger Luncheons, the combined opposition has no tangible results to show for their efforts. This is true of Parliament too, where their only claim to fame is the reduction of the budget by $21 billion, although less than four months later, the PPP succeeded in getting $11 billion restored. The government is not interested in ending or reducing corruption or prosecuting any of its officials  for corrupt practices, and the majority opposition must use their powers to do something and do something fast about this.

 

The behaviour of the Minister of Health, Dr Ramsaran in deflecting questions on the billion dollars Specialty hospital is a matter for concern. Minister Ramsaran and his Permanent Secretary believed that they could have conned the reporters, but they were surprised by their resistance. Their behaviour is typical of the strategy used by others in the PPP, that is to attack the reporters/messengers when the questions get tough.

 

Despite all the pronouncements by the minority PPP government, Mr Ramotar has placed corruption on the back burner, and the parliamentary opposition which campaigned against PPP corrupt practices seems to have overlooked this critical development. Guyana needs an opposition which not only demands at press conferences an end to corruption, injustice and unfairness, but actually mobilizes the people into forcing change.

 

Why were the wrongdoers at NCN not placed before the courts?  Why were the policemen who killed the Linden Martyrs not placed before the courts?  Why were the officials who fleeced this nation in relation to a police boat not placed before the courts?

 

Of course, we are in no position to, and do not, conclude on the innocence or guilt of the persons. In fact, we ascribe to the jurisprudential principle of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law, and, therefore, agree with legal scholars that the issue of corruption ought to be thrashed out in a clinical and calm ambience of a courtroom.

 

The nation has been waiting patiently for President Ramotar to act; it is now clear he is not going to do so. It is time for the majority opposition to act. There should not be a dime more for the government until the Public Procurement Commission is fully established; until President Ramotar acknowledges the no-confidence motion passed by Parliament and asks for the resignation of Minister Rohee; until the government makes public all of NICIL’s transactions from 2000 to 2011; until the administration releases the investigative report on NCN and recognizes the need for fairness in the award of contracts.

 

Yours faithfully,
Asquith Rose
Harish S Singh

Mitwah

The debate exposed the personal vendetta Nagamootoo has against his former party,because he was not selected to be its Presidential Candidate he seems to went through a metamorphosis and not wants the populace to believe he's a Sunday School Boy....

FM

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