They put away Harry for 38 months. While he did deserve it, he was my friend and I feel badly for him. It is sad to see such a promising career end on such a note. I feel especially badly for his mother, Romaine.
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Pinterest
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Reddit
- Copy Link to Topic
Replies sorted oldest to newest
They put away Harry for 38 months. While he did deserve it, he was my friend and I feel badly for him. It is sad to see such a promising career end on such a note. I feel especially badly for his mother, Romaine.
I wish him just the best. He will not be lost. When he comes back he will be better. He has charisma, likability and a good heart. This lapse in judgement will not be the end of him.
I, too, wish him well but I am not as optimistic as you are. His base feels betrayed and has eroded tremendously.
His political life is over. He also cannot get a corporate job. He will have to start a motivational foundation and do some motivational work for the young. He will most likely move to CA where his wife is from to get a new start.
It is indeed amazing how we treat Politicans differently depending on Geograpic location. My only commenton this thread Mr Arthur.
D2, You have no SHAME.
D2, You have no SHAME.
I do not know any D2. Note Christ said in Mark that "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He that accepts guilt and repents gets a second chance.
Bring those prodigal sons in the PPP and ask them to repent of their sins and they will get my forgiveness no less freely than the gentleman above.
His political life is over. He also cannot get a corporate job. He will have to start a motivational foundation and do some motivational work for the young. He will most likely move to CA where his wife is from to get a new start.
I agree fully. He does need to get a new start somewhere else. I wish him well.
It is indeed amazing how we treat Politicans differently depending on Geograpic location. My only commenton this thread Mr Arthur.
I never said that he did not deserve what he got. I only said that as a friend I feel badly for him and his family, especially his aged mother.
Mr Arthur, I would feel the same if he was my friend. No blame here for you. It is D2 and his hypocritical ways.
Nehru, you'll cause the guy to change his name again.
Nehru, you'll cause the guy to change his name again.
Mr Arthur, I would feel the same if he was my friend. No blame here for you. It is D2 and his hypocritical ways.
hay dummy, if on a comparative analysis you are giving Errol a pass and attempting to flay me as a hypocrite I feel justified in calling you a moke.
This gentleman is just another fellow who got caught with his hands in the cookie jar and is paying for it. We have systems in place that can audit books and examine records here. Unfortunately, that does not exist in the arena of the crooked PPP.
Who is Harry?
Who is Harry?
Potter...he been dabbling in sorcery again.
HASEEF YUSUF, AFC Councillor, Region 6 : IT is with profound thought and extreme deliberation that I have finally made this decision to let the public know, especially the Alliance For Change (AFC) members and supporters in Berbice of the corrupt and fraudulent practices of certain AFC members in Berbice, more specifically a Member of Parliament (MP).
He has been on DTV 8 for the past few years where he hosted a programme called âIssues of the Peopleâ, where he vehemently lashed out at the government, the PPP/C, GPL, GWI and the Guyana Police Force, Guysuco, etcetera. He proclaimed himself as the âchampionâ of transparency, justice and accountability. He entertained anyone who claims to have a grievance and he would lash out without any supporting evidence. He also claimed on numerous occasions that he would âsinglehandedlyâ deliver Berbicians from oppression and corruption, even if the AFC fails to do so.
However, certain post-election events greatly contradicted this image he is trying so hard to portray on TV. I will deal chronologically with these events and you be the judge.
Just after the November elections, three AFC groups submitted financial reports on campaign activities to the Head Office: New Amsterdam, Whim and Upper Corentyne. Two of these groups submitted detailed reports with the necessary supporting documents; however, the Whim Group headed by this MP failed to do so. He submitted a financial report without supporting documents and he furthermore made a ludicrous claim. He claimed that he spent $4.5 M from his pocket and that the party should reimburse him. Two points should be noted here:
I) He was not authorised by the executive or the Campaign Manager to spend in excess of what funds were given to him through the party or by way of donations;
II) He provided no documentary evidence whatever to support his claim of $ 4.5M. In fact, he claimed that he was too busy for that. Right now he is asking for same such evidence in Parliament!
I want to add here that even for funds collected, no receipts were issued. In fact, he would tell a woman working at his house to âthrow it in the box upstairs.â
The central executive of the party categorically refused to entertain his spurious and unsubstantiated claim for reimbursement. This led to the next linked event.
On February 1 this year, he convened a meeting at his Whim office where 51 members were present. At this meeting, he emphasised that the party owed him $4.5M and he tried to solicit funds through donations and fund- raising activities in order to recoup his claim of $4.5M âowedâ to him. He then convened an election to form a Regional Management Committee and to establish an AFC Office at his Office at Whim. One of the functions of this RMC would be fund-raising through which he would get âhis money back.â
I was unanimously elected by all 51 members present as the Chairman, Mr. Lionel Howell as the Vice- Chairman and Ms. Donna Mathoo as the Secretary.
Among other things, I put forward fund-raising suggestions to the members present and asked their suggestions as to what should be done with excess funds above the needs of individual groups and everyone unanimously agreed that all excess funds should be placed into a bank account to take care of future expenses. No one present agreed that monies collected should be used to offset the claim by the MP. This irked him.
At this same meeting, he also suggested that a certain female be selected and employed to work at the AFC office to be opened at Whim. I strongly objected to this sort of cronyism and suggested that applications be invited so that there is fairness and transparency and that the most suitable person be selected. Can you imagine a fledgling party behaving in this undemocratic manner? Suddenly I became this MPâs number one enemy, but I can live with that!
The third event unfolded on April 16, 2012. Unknowing to Donna Mathoo (the Secretary) and I, another election meeting was convened to re-elect office bearers to the Regional Management Committee. The meeting held on February 1, 2012 was declared unconstitutional by the General Secretary, Mr. Sixtus Edwards. I knew about this meeting two days later when Mr. Lionel Howell called me to hand over some funds and documents to him, the new Chairman.
However three points should be raised here:
i) Donna and I were never officially or unofficially informed that the election held on February 1 was null and void and that we were no longer the Chairman and Secretary respectively, and that the office will become vacant;
ii) We were not invited to present ourselves for nomination or otherwise; and
iii) A public announcement was not made about the election meeting. The AFCâs Constitution Article, Section 8, has made it clear that all groups in the region should be invited for any such meeting. Less than 20 members were present. Why the MP did not make a public announcement on DTV 8 the week before so that members could take notice? Why only a selected handful of members? Is this not rigging? Is this not fraudulent?
It is time to take out the âbeam from thine own eyesâ Mr. MP!
And lo and behold the very same female whom the good MP recommended was employed to work in the AFC Office! And yet speakest thou about cronyism! This is a shame and disgrace to the very principles which the AFC stand for or claims to stand for!
The million dollar (or 4.5 million) question that I want Mr. Ramjattan to answer is: Was the MP acting in the interest in the AFC or in his own self-interest?
The other questions are:
i) Where is the accountability within the AFC?
ii) Where is the transparency in the electoral process?
iii) Isnât there cronyism within the AFC?
iv)What are you going to do about these matters?
v) Afraid of another defection if you drop the hammer?
I doubt whether Mr. Ramjattan has the courage to act decisively in these matters since I have emailed him three times and on the third occasion he said that he was too busy and that the General Secretary will deal with these matters.
In any other country the misuse and abuse of campaign funds are dealt with criminally, especially where a person is making unsubstantiated claims in order to enrich himself or herself. But alas ! In Guyana such a person will be promoted to high offices.
I still want to know which university made that terrible blunder to confer that MP with a doctorate as he is unfit for public office and should be severely reprimanded for his actions. I call upon the partyâs Chairman, Mr. Ramjattan and the Central Executive to act decisively now or face the consequences later.
At this point I am undecided as to what my next move will be, but I am sure that it hinges on how the party will take it from here.
I, too, wish him well but I am not as optimistic as you are. His base feels betrayed and has eroded tremendously.
Just like the AFC base.