There is certain things about Jagan that stands out,He was Honest, Sincere, Just, Decent, Truthful andKind.

Ramotar administration is a mirror image of the

corruption, thievery, drugs & nepotism that were

the hallmark of the Jadgeo

Donald Ramotar has lived up to the expectations of his detractors

November 4, 2012

It was clear to many political observers and other interested parties that the Peoples Progressive Party Civic, did not field the best candidate at the November 2011 elections. The critics at that time argued that Ramotar was weak and an untested; that he was not a critical thinker and had never held elected office or managed any complex governmental or non-governmental organization. Ramotar was perceived as a party hack, who was hand chosen by then president Bharatt Jagdeo, for all of the reasons mentioned.
However, in keeping with Stalinist tradition the other more prepared and credible candidates all bowed out and acceded to the dictate of the Jagdeo faction at Freedom House. To be fair there were voices that championed the candidacy of Donald Ramotar, they claimed that he was a man who had come from humble beginnings and was involved in the labour movement, that he was a fair and honest man; in other words he was not Jagdeo. Today as we approach the one year anniversary of the Ramotar presidency what I find interesting but not surprising is that the naysayers were right. Donald Ramotar the seventh president of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana has lived up to the expectations of his detractors; he is a weak, ineffective and visionless head of state.
In December 2011 at his inauguration president Ramotar told the nation that he would appoint his cabinet in two days and even flirted with the possibility of a cross-party government. Integrity, inclusivity and impartiality were the hallmark of a well balanced inaugural address; however, forty eight hours later Ramotar retained his predecessor’s cabinet, dashing all hopes for inclusivity, integrity and impartiality.
Within days of forming his new government, on December 6th 2011 peaceful demonstrators were shot by the police while processing in Georgetown. This was followed by a bitter budget debate that saw for the first time in recorded history a sitting government picketing against the parliamentary opposition. Ramotar had promised that he was prepared to work together with all the political parties and stakeholders, but when it came to the National Budget, his minority government was not prepared to work with the Parliamentary majority APNU/AFC.
The budget crisis spawned the Linden electricity crisis, when the PPPC government imposed on the people of Linden an undue hardship (an increase in the electric tariff), without negotiating or consulting with the peoples representatives. In his inaugural address president Ramotar spoke of the exciting task of creating opportunities for all Guyanese, yet within three months of taking office he was imposing a draconian tax on a community (Linden) where 70% of the people are unemployed or severely under-employed.
It was becoming quite clear that the new Head of State’s rhetoric were equidistant from his actions and his government’s treatment of the poor and depressed communities. As the situation escalated at Linden and the people and their Regional and national leaders called on the president to meet with them, to sit down and listen and consult, this president refused. Then came July 18th 2012 and three young men were brutally murdered after the Guyana Police Force again opened fire on peaceful protestors at the Mackenzie-Linden bridge.
The following day the president met with the Opposition Leader and Regional representatives, but by this time it was too late; property would be destroyed and more people would be shot by the police, all because of a government’s refusal to meet it constitutional mandate of consulting with the people and their elected representatives. Consumed by crisis, and showing no real flair for bold and innovative leadership, the Ramotar administration continued as a mirror image of the corruption, thievery, drugs and nepotism that were the hallmark of the Jadgeo years.
Once again innocents lives of young African men were taken, killed at the hands of the police; Shaquille Grant at Agricola; Dameon Belgrave in Georgetown.
In a side note, it was no surprise a few days ago that the longest serving member of the cabinet and president Ramotar’s Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee admitted under oath, when answering a question from Attorney Basil Williams(at the Linden Commission of Inquiry), that he(Rohee) was not a visionary. So, with a head of state that has proven to be weak, ineffective and visionless, surrounded by a cabinet that is mediocre for the most part, but generally less than stellar there is not much hope for the ensuing period of the Ramotar presidency.
Mr. Editor I truly searched for something complimentary to say about this period, but all I could find was controversy and conflict. In a country where most of the people would be classified as poor, the Ramotar government celebrates things and calibrates its development based on big buildings, poorly conceived roads and brand name hotels rather than human development.
The level of unemployment in this country is unsustainable, the under education of our children and the school dropout rate nationally is unsustainable, the crime situation and the lawlessness of our law enforcement agencies is unsustainable, yet this president has been deathly silent and has failed to lead on all of these important issues facing our nation.
Even if one graded on a curve it would be difficult to give this president anything but a failing grade in his first year in office.

Mark Archer

Kaieteur News insists many secret deals signed

by Bharrat Jagdeo

FEBRUARY 29, 2012 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER NEWS

Dishonest, vulgar and deceitful are just some of the words members of the wider society are using to describe the government’s contention that its transactions have all been transparent and that there has been no secrecy.
On Saturday, last, the government through its News Agency, issued a statement seeking to lambaste Kaieteur News for its report that the government had signed a secret deal with Ansa McAl of Trinidad and Tobago for 110,000 hectares (approximately 425 square miles) of land in the Canje Basin.
Kaieteur News got wind of this deal through the Trinidad Guardian and insisted that the nation was unaware of the deal between Government and the Trinidad company.
Angry at the Kaieteur News report, the Government Information Agency (GINA) wrote, “The Government of Guyana (GoG) rejects the continued misrepresentation of the Kaieteur News of the various government projects and initiatives which seek to transform the country. The latest being the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Guyana and Ansa Mcal Group on the exploring the possibility of ethanol production in Guyana.(sic)”
“In July 2010, the GoG through public tendering awarded a contract to NUMARK Associates Inc. of the United States for the Service Consultancy to expand Bio Energy Opportunities in Guyana. As part of the Terms of Reference, NUMARK was tasked with compiling a list of potential Bio Energy Investors who may be interested in investing in Guyana.”
But when contacted, Rodrigo Chaparro, Vice President in charge of Sustainable Energy Strategies at NUMARK Associates Incorporated, said that it was tasked with advising on what policies and laws would be needed to create an environment that would attract investments in bio-energy.
The government said, “Based on the NUMARK’s report and the proposals received from investors, ANSA McAl was selected after their proposal was scrutinized by technical experts in the field of Bio Energy, which was subsequently approved and signed on September 30, 2011 and witnessed by representatives of the Government and ANSA McAL.
“To suggest this was a secret deal is not only misleading but a gross misrepresentation of the reality and part of the continued campaign to cast aspersions on the PPP/C Government.”
NUMARK stated that it was made aware through information posted on the web site of the Inter American Development Bank. The people of Guyana would not have been aware of the posting since the general population does not scour the web sites of international organizations.
To further highlight the secrecy of the deal, the government, despite sending its representatives to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Ansa McAl, never announced that it had completed a Memorandum of Understanding. It also failed to make the signing public either through GINA, Office of the President or by way of press conferences.
The opposition parties were all unaware of this development as was the rest of the nation. The deal was indeed secret. Guyana was made aware through a publication in the Trinidad Guardian, four months after the government said that it signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
And the only response to the disclosure on the part of the government was a GINA statement criticizing the Kaieteur News disclosure of the deal.
The government said that “the impending project to modernize and expand the airport, the plan to construct the Marriott Hotel and the on-going One Laptop per Family project,” were also not secret deals.
“In all of these cases, the accusation of lack of transparency was refuted. All of these projects were developed through a public procurement process. The Government challenges any publication or political group to show where these projects were done in secret and not consistent with our various laws and regulations.”
The nation was made aware of the airport project by way of a publication in the Jamaica Observer long after the signing. After the Kaieteur News publication the government contacted the Jamaica-based headquarters of the Chinese company, China Harbour Engineering Company, contracted to expand the runway and modify the airport terminal building.
The spokesperson for China Harbour Engineering, one day after the Kaieteur News publication, duly referred all queries to the Guyana Government. Public Relations Officer of CHEC in Jamaica, Jennifer Harmon, said that she was asked by her company not to reveal any more information about the project and that in fact her decision to reveal the signing to the Jamaica Observer was ill-advised.
She said that the Guyana Government would release any information to the media.
The project was not open to bidding, since no such advertisement was placed on the government’s procurement website under the Ministry of Public Works through which the airport is administered.
Further, it was only in August 2011, Regional Director of CHEC, Zhongdong Tang, said that the company had a team in Guyana, and other countries, “looking for opportunities.” But GINA stated that the project was first announced “several months” ago.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo when confronted disclosed never before heard details of the project.
The Marriott Hotel deal was another that the nation learnt through a foreign media. So too was the talk with the Grenada-based Zublin. Head od the Privatisation Unit, Winston Brassington was livid that Zublin released details of its talk with the government.
There were many other secret deals. One was for an Indian company for land in Guyana. Guyanese learnt of this through India Times. Among others were the Sanata Complex, MovieTowne and the land distribution process to housing developers.

Dishonest, vulgar and deceitful are just some of the words members of the wider society are using to describe the government’s contention that its transactions have all been transparent and that there has been no secrecy.

Crime, bad governance and Guyana’s image

September 2, 2009

President Jagdeo actually called on the business community to boycott the Kaieteur News when he told them that this newspaper harms the image of the country by sensationalizing crime on its front page yet businesses advertise with Kaieteur News.

Strange, the President of a country should be urging a boycott of a newspaper in his nation when all three opposition parties are boycotting the country’s Parliament.

It means the Government is not seen in good light by the combined opposition which represents almost half of the electorate that voted at the last election.

Let us start with crime. I went to the archives of the Jamaican newspapers and it was not an accurate description that Mr. Jagdeo painted at the Private Sector Commission dinner last Friday. There are many front page stories on crime. They are so numerous that it is not necessary to even dwell on this topic any further.

I went searching the internet and I found that even the British broad-sheets carry violent stories on their front pages, including serious hate-crimes.

Back to the boycott business. If investors should stop advertising with Kaieteur News, can President Jagdeo answer the question - was the reporting on crime the reason his government stopped placing advertisement with the Stabroek News? The answer is no?

Mr. Jagdeo’s explanation was that the Stabroek had less circulation than other newspapers and the state had to get value for its money.

Only Kaieteur News had a larger circulation than Stabroek’s therefore the bulk of the placements should have gone to those two papers with Chronicle being banished.

Now the Guyana Times has joined the Chronicle in getting a majority of the state’s advertising assignments. The conclusion that could be drawn is that it is not the shape of Kaieteur News’ crime reporting that worries Mr. Jagdeo.

It is what the Stabroek News got victimized for in the first place – reporting on bad governance, corruption and incompetence of the Government to stop an escalating crime pandemonium.

The boycott call will no doubt end up in the hands of the human rights group in New York, Freedom House.

Mr. Jagdeo has boasted three times of Freedom House’s classification of Guyana being number 30 on its list of countries practicing press freedom.

What is Mr. Jagdeo going to do and how is he going to feel when Guyana loses that number 30 spot for a miserable categorization? 

I have always maintained that Mr. Jagdeo should study his concepts before he publicly delivers them.

Mr. Jagdeo has found himself in a glaring cul-de-sac when he exclaimed that Kaieteur News is damaging the image of the country and deterring would-be returnees.

I wonder if Mr. Jagdeo knows that in making that assertion he is in fact saying that the Guyana Times and the Chronicle have failed.

In making that indictment against Kaieteur News, the President has actually informed the investors who were listening to him that Kaieteur News reaches a lot of people in and out of Guyana.

Why then should business people not advertise with Kaieteur News?

The very value for money thesis that Mr. Jagdeo used against the Stabroek News has come back to haunt him.

Why should the business community not advertise with Kaieteur News when their profits depend on purchasing power of consumers and other types of buyers and its is common sense for business people to inform buyers on what they have to offer.

A simple example should suffice. I have a new spray that kills mosquitoes more effectively. Why go for an advertisement in the Chronicle rather than the Kaieteur News when the President himself says that the Kaieteur News has an extensive influence on the Guyanese people.

I am sure after they would have eaten their food and while driving home with their spouses, the investors would know which paper reaches a wider audience.

Mr. Jagdeo achieved the opposite of what he intended.

Finally, the automatic question comes to the lips of everyone after they would have read what Mr. Jagdeo said about the negative effect Kaieteur News’ crime reporting has on the country’s image.

What about bad governance?

What about drug-trafficking in Guyana in which only when the big fishes travel abroad they are arrested?

What about the spending habit of some public servants who in just a few years can buy the types of houses only American millionaires could afford?

The truth about what was said at that dinner last Friday night about the Kaieteur News is that the word government was substituted for country.

It is the Government’s so-called image this newspaper is hurting not the country’s.

An image badly tattered by unbelievable and incredible corruption.

There is certain things about Cheddi

Jagan that stands out,He was Honest,

Sincere, Just, Decent, Truthful and

Kind.

No one fits that image in the PPP/C today, not even Ramotar, Jagdoe. The PPP/C are controlled by liars, corruptable, thieves, and untrustworthy Politician.

Will anyone in their right mind vote for these scumbags? If any kind of elections are held today, the present corruptable PPP/C will definately lose, no wonder that they are scared and pissing their pants/panties to go ahead and hold elections.

Members of parliament should be made to declare how many house lots they have acquired in the various new housing schemes.

APNU/AFC can force them in Parliament to submit whatever information the public needs, all they have to do the vote down any money earmarked for the Min of Housing next budget.

Can Minister Manickchand answer

these; questions about her Pradoville 2

residence?

 
Dear Editor,
I am confident that Ms. Priya Manickchand will answer honestly and promptly the questions raised by Mr. K. Khan in his letter appearing in the Kaieteur News of October 30, 2013.  I say so because the Minister is never shy in her engagement with the press; sweet to those who sing her praise and ready to confront those who try to tarnish her good image.
Because I am sure the Minister would want to avoid any undue aspersions about her good character, I am giving her the opportunity to provide additional information on the entire transaction for the house she sold in Sparendaam known as Pradoville 2. Can she state for the public:
a) the name of the contractor who built it and the contract sum.
b) whether the contractor is a recipient of government contracts.
c) thename of the attorney-at-law who acted for her in the transaction.
d) the price stated in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and whether the stated price was the same as the actual price she received.
e) the capital gains tax she paid on the transaction.
f) whether she is aware that real estate transactions come within the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and did she consult with the FIU to ensure that the transaction was not laundering.
f) whether she knows that the definition of corruption used by The World Bank is ‘the abuse of public office for private gain’.
I look forward to Ms. Manickchand’s response.
R. Rockliffe

LEAN AND MEAN GOVERNMENT

Years since that speech and over a decade plus since Dr Jagan’s untimely death, it is debateable how much has been achieved to fulfil his vision. Let us be clear. We do not believe that for one moment Dr Jagan was being insincere. Indeed, we fully believe that his intentions were honourable and that he considered his vision to be attainable.

Successive PPP/C administrations have however squandered the goodwill that accompanied Dr Jagan’s election in 1992. “Lean and clean government” is now an embarrassing, best forgotten catch phrase.

The PPP/C has now been ruduced to garbage.

LEAN AND CLEAN GOVERNMENT BY THE NOW PPP/C HAS BEEN RENDERED A JOKE

Cheddi Jagan’s daughter says the current leaders of the PPP are corrupt and lack morals

Cheddi and Janet Jagan must be turning in their graves – says daughter at memorial

Jagdeo’s gov’t has pushed the PPP aside and is working against the legacy of Dr Jagan

Jagdeo’s gov’t has pushed the PPP aside and is working against the legacy of Dr Jagan

RAMOTAR HAS NOW CONTINUES WHERE JAGDOE LEFT OFF AND

Cheddi Jagan’s daughter says the current leaders of the PPP are corrupt and lack morals

DID SHE MEANS  THAT THEY ARE THIEVES?

REV it looks like Ramotar & Jagdeo

will lose another 100,000 votes

because of wha dem do here...

GPL rents US$900,000 generator for US$720,000 annually

The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) last year paid a hefty US$8.6M to

GPL’s CEO, Bharat Dindyal, and other officials during a hearing with utilities regulator, Public Utilities Commission last week.

rent 12 Caterpillar generating sets for a period of one year. It could have spent just US$2.2M more to buy them all.

Corruption has Donald Ramotar cornered –

Corruption has Donald Ramotar cornered

That there is rampant corruption is now an open secret, so open that Nadira Jagan, a daughter of the Jagans, publicly accused the people in the party her father founded of stealing at unimaginable levels. She said that she was ashamed and her audience listened.

Many people view the KN owner as a very corrupted businessman.  Do you agree?

What do you think?

All kinds of fault will be found, with KN owner, once KN is exposing the current leaders of the PPP of which Nadira Jagan says are corrupt and lack morals

Anyone who goes agains't the corrupt PPP/C are marked, so is KN owner and KN and others as well I am not surprised

People are THREATENED  if they report the PPP/C

As news of unprecedented corruption began to circulate the then President Bharrat Jagdeo simply asked people to provide proof. Some did and got nowhere. Others were threatened by persons unknown to keep their mouths shut and some lost government contracts. In the end people chose to report to the media.

quote"However we have witnessed the vulgar manipulation by Jagdeo, Ramotar and others in the Executive and Central Committee that resulted in the selection of Ramotar as the Presidential Candidate. The greatest insult was when they came and asked the members to rubber stamp the undemocratic process."unquote

There is no democracy within the PPP/C, What is needed is another Indian Party to take away the PPP/C Votes

What became of Cheddi Jagan

‘lean, mean and clean’?

Dear Editor,

I read the many articles in the daily newspapers written by Mr Freddie Kissoon et al and I must say that I am left speechless. Whatever became of Dr Jagan’s dream and slogan, ‘Lean, Mean and Clean’? Is this part of the much touted dollar-a-day philosophy?  Did this vision and commitment to the suffering masses die with Dr Jagan?

 The burden that this bill puts on the hard-working Guyanese people by the extravagance it guarantees Mr Jagdeo for life, borders on vulgarity. I can almost hear Dr Jagan shouting, “This is what you call squandermania gone mad.”

Now based on the lavish life taxpayers will have to provide for Mr Jagdeo after he retires, we will now have more candidates for President come 2011.  The interest is no longer about the people but about the perks. The great John F. Kennedy once said, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” This is the kind of thinking that has helped to make America rich and powerful.

We need to embrace selflessness and reject selfishness if we are to move forward as a nation. And it is indeed a shame that those at the top cannot lead by example.

My dear friends many concerned Guyanese went after the PNC; why not go after this run-away PPP Government for worse behaviour?

Poor people are suffering; drug lords are taking over the country; torture, killing and rape are becoming the key features of our so-called democracy, and the list goes on and on. Dr Jagan would have never done this to poor Guyanese people, and this includes LFS Burnham, Hoyte and Mrs Jagan, who have all fought for a better Guyana.

Where are the private sector, GAWU, religious organizations and other NGOs? Remember, united we stand, divided we fall! The same standard used to judge the perceived excesses of the PNC should be applied to this out-of-control government. Double standards and ethnic cleavage will only hasten our own demise.

The big question is, does Mr Jagdeo deserve these benefits? Did he think of those poor farmers and struggling sugar workers who leave their homes at 4 am to work and make an honest living? Mr Jagdeo’s government is killing poor people with the VAT, yet he is exempted from paying taxes.

The people of Guyana have all pooled their individual power to empower the Jagdeo government to make laws which will protect them and serve their best interest, but instead that power has been used to satisfy self-interest. I hope that come 2011 the people of Guyana will say to the PPP enough is enough!

Your faithfully,
B. Beniprashad Rayman

Dr Jagan Promise Lean & Clean

Govt...Jagdeo & Ramotar deliver

Avarice, Greed, Fraud and Corruptions

Avarice, Greed and Fraud

February 27, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under News

As Dr Cheddi Jagan eased into office by 1993, he declared that the new PPP regime was going to be different; none of that high-handed, top-down, opaque governance that characterised his predecessor. No sir. It was the people’s money that was being spent and he and his government would make sure that the people knew exactly how it was being spent; every time; every place.

Citizens Committees would be formed in the towns, in the villages and in every hamlet. They would not only suggest needed projects for their areas but would actually monitor those projects to make sure that there was no hanky-panky. What a noble vision.

Dr Jagan must be disappointed. Not only has his vision been abandoned by those who have succeeded him in his party and government, but the sentiments are being trashed and trampled so callously that one can only conclude that some powerful force is at work to deny the monitoring of government projects.

It all began when this newspaper, fulfilling its role of providing information to the people, exposed the chasm between money (“the people’s money&rdquo spent on Government projects and value received.

What was revealed was that billions of dollars (yes, we mean billions) were routinely not accounted for.

Roads were built for top dollars only to see them dotted with craters a few months later. Veritable shacks were “built” at a cost of millions of dollars; drugs procured for billions of dollars with no audit trail; and so on and so forth.

So we decided to dig deeper: we wanted to look at the specifications on the bids for projects so that we could match them to the people’s money being poured as if into black holes.

And we received an amazing answer; firstly from the highest official in the land, President Bharrat Jagdeo. This top servant of the people declared that if we wanted to look at the specifications we had to purchase the bid documents!

We let the matter slide. The President, after all, was under pressure. His One Laptop Per Family project was being ripped to shreds as a result of contradictions stemming from the very lack of transparency we were questioning. He was speaking under stress.

But on Thursday, the Secretary of the Cabinet, Dr. Roger Luncheon, while briefing the media, in his usual deliberate and measured tones, repeated the position. This meant that this was now the government’s policy. And this makes us angry, very angry, on behalf of the people of Guyana.

The rationale offered – that it would cost money to print the documents for the media — is disingenuous. In fact it is a slap in the face of the people. As one MP pointed out, the specifications could have been posted on the government’s procurement website at no cost.

The policy and its rationale are also a slap in the face of Dr Jagan and the whole concept of responsible government of and by the people. How are citizens going to monitor their money being spent on projects?

We said earlier that a powerful force has to be driving this process. Within the context of the revelations already uncovered, we can only conclude that this force is greed, avarice and fraud.

We announce here and now: we will not be deterred by these betrayers of democratic governance. The people’s need to know will be satisfied. There’s no turning back. This is our birthright.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the History of the PPP while Dr Jagan was alive

Only Rigging, Fraud and PNC Dishonesty could Rob the PPP of a Majority.

When Dr Jagan died the PPP continued to enjoy a Majority under Janet Jagan.

 Avarice, Greed and Fraud now rampant under Jagdeo & Ramotar caused the PPP to become a Minority today.

Avarice, Greed and Fraud caused Berbice to vote against Jagdeo & Ramotar..... and the PPP became a weak minority after 62 years

Where is Concience?????

Jalil bai, the above was your article posted one year ago

RE: Where is Concience?????

He tekin a dump in a bush outside.

THE GUYANA UNDER JAGDOE AND RAMOTAR

NICE EH!!

There, Conscience aka Councie, found at long last.

No tangible efforts to fight corruption

– TIGI

Guyana likely to be rated lowly on Corruption Perception Index

With Government showing no tangible evidence of wanting to fight corruption, Guyana is likely to be rated very low once again on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

TIGI President, Anand Goolsarran

 

This affirmation was expressed by Anand Goolsarran, President of Transparency International Guyana Inc, who informed that the international body would be having another rating in November. He suspects that Guyana would not improve from its current rating of second from bottom in the Western Hemisphere or Americas. And, if Guyana makes any improvements it would be marginal.
According to Goolsarran, if Government had established the Public Procurement Commission, the Integrity Commission, and made the necessary amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Bill, Guyana could have gotten a better rating.
However, the absence of these vital anti-corruption mechanisms could deter Guyana from climbing the ladder and moving away from the 27 out of 100 rating which it held for the past five years.
He noted that the administration needs to operate at a high degree of transparency, have good government practices and implement laws that could minimize the perception of corruption. Measuring actual corruption is extremely difficult, and as such, CPI experts conduct surveys and assess the results. The entire exercise is highly statistical and is done by Transparency International in Berlin, the parent body for TIGI.
Government has been criticized by Opposition Members of Parliament, independent Financial Analysts and several civil society bodies for conducting businesses involving large sums of taxpayers’ money without accountability and transparency.

One glaring example is the erection of a Marriott-branded hotel at Kingston. Even without investors and objections from the Opposition, Government went ahead to commence erection of the US$60M hotel with funding from taxpayers. Now, Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI), which is the special purpose company, established to own and manage the Marriott Hotel is negotiating with a foreign private investor for two-thirds ownership of the hotel, which is still under construction.
TIGI in its effort to educate the populace about corruption in Guyana has erected two billboards which tell citizens “You Can Stop Corruption”. One is located near the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the other at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) on Camp Road.

Andrew Ayre, British High Commissioner to Guyana

The body is hoping to install more billboards across the country in areas such as Berbice, Essequibo and Linden, but is currently limited by the lack of funding. The British and Canadian Governments have helped TIGI with this initiative.
According to Andrew Ayre, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Guyana’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index was the primary reason for the British Government supporting TIGI.
Ayre said the British Government provided seed funding for the Transparency Institute in 2011 to help it get established.
“We fund such initiatives in countries where the risk of corruption is deemed to be high…The outcome we hope to achieve is a reduction in the level of corruption which aids development, improves the business environment, and promotes inward investment.”
Last June, the British and Canadian High Commissioners joined other members of the diplomatic community, including US Ambassador to Guyana, D. Brent Hardt at an investment seminar, where Guyana was accused of not doing enough to fight corruption.
A regional expert hired to implement a crime and security strategy for Caricom said that there is a perception that corruption is prevalent or endemic in Guyana.
Neither Government nor the Opposition had a continuous

One of the billboards erected by TIGI.

presence at the seminar which was spearheaded by the diplomatic community.

Chris Ram: "sheer vulgarity,

obscenity" characterizes CJIA $US138

million tiefman contract with Chinese

Introduction

I wish to acknowledge the generosity of all those persons who have shared information and their time and expertise relevant to this column. They prefer anonymity, some because of fear of victimization. One non-Guyanese who lives abroad sent me a copy of the FIDIC Yellow Book referred to in the contract for the runway expansion which I earlier indicated I had some difficulty accessing. I am gratified and grateful too to the many engineers who have looked at the contract for the expansion of the runway and the construction of a new terminal building. This contract is a shocking tale of recklessness and irresponsibility on the part of the Ministry of Public Works and indeed the entire government which with its eyes open signed a contract that allows the contractor China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd of Beijing China to fleece this country.

A Guyanese engineer who practises his trade in the US and who reviewed the contract at my request described it as the most lopsided contract he had ever come across in his entire professional life. He was struck at the looseness of the language of the contract that allows the contractor easy escape from any liability and the disproportionate obligations which the government has assumed under the contract. Citing one specific example the engineer noted that the contractor can claim against the government that he needed to work 24 hours on any day but the government did not allow it, presumably by ceasing all activities and flights on that day. In such a case the government would be required to compensate the contractor. Giving his overall assessment of the contract he wrote: “Wow, this is a sweet deal here. Does it mean that the contractor does not have to satisfactorily repair damages or defects? What about damages due to contractor’s negligence?” he asked

Another person familiar with construction noticed that there is no provision in the contract for an engineer, let alone provisions regarding verifying the quantity and quality of the work done and signing off on payments. An architect described the design as the ugliest airport structure and layout he has seen, one that looks more like an industrial facility rather than anything close to a modern airport.

Jagdeo’s legacy

He wondered too in which decade Guyana will need an airport that caters for eight planes simultaneously, and whether the projections which someone shared with me and I shared with him are not irrationally exaggerated. In fact the feasibility study which appears to have been prepared to justify the expenditure rather than vice-versa was based on traffic generated by Red Jet and Ezee Jet which have long since disappeared. The sheer dishonesty comes to the fore when we remind ourselves that Robeson Benn admitted that there was only a narrow window to grab the Chinese money when the big man from Asia was passing through the region, only enough time for us to grab and no time for thinking. That is going to be one of Jagdeo’s lasting and costly legacies.

One person who was integrally involved in the Ogle Airport Expansion Project described the CJIA project as “nonsense” for which there is “no logical justification.” The Ogle Airport Development Programme saw the transformation of the facility with the extension of the 100 feet wide runway by 2,200 feet and the construction of brand new buildings and facilities. Those have resulted in the airport’s certification as a Category 2C operation capable of accommodating Regional Class Aircraft like the Turbo Prop, Dash 8s and ATR flights operated by LIAT and Caribbean Airlines, as well as executive type class aircraft. And the total cost: US$6 million.

I understand that this group which comprises a range of skills including hard-nosed businessmen has offered its services pro bono to the government but has been rebuffed. But while so many persons of competence and relevant expertise are willing to share the knowledge, government officials are stonily silent. It is interesting to observe how so many have rushed to defend the indefensible “Marriott” hotel with its all-Chinese labour and the controversial Amaila project with its inflated costs and uncertain prices. It must be something that the government wants to hide or is afraid to confront. Indeed the only contact from that side of the contract came from an official of the contractor who called me to enquire whether Ram & McRae was interested in being their auditors. Citing the interest of the country over any financial gain, my partners unhesitatingly declined.

Financing  

Below is a summary of the contracted cost for the works to be done by the contractor. As you digest these please remember from last week’s column the number of tasks to be done or financed by the government and that are additional to the US$138 million to be paid to the contractor, including some US$20.7 million as an advance payment. Since the financing agreement signed by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh with the Export-Import Bank of China was not entered into until November 2012, the initial money had to come from the Consolidated Fund. If the Chinese are good at one thing it is smiling whilst gouging as we see from the financing agreement as well.

Here are some of the features of that agreement:

1. Currency: The loan is in the Chinese currency the renminbi, and all the exchange risks are to be borne by Guyana. If the renminbi appreciates relative to the Guyana dollar, the cost of the loan goes up.

2. Interest: The rate of interest is 2% per annum but this is a disguise because a management fee of 0.75% is taken out upfront.

3. Taxes: No income or withholding taxes apply to any payment under the agreement, whether interest, management fee or commitment fee.

4. Use of proceeds: To be applied by the Government of Guyana for the sole purpose of payment of 94.2% of the contract with China Harbour. What the reader has to figure out is that much of the balance has to go to pay EXIM Bank a Management Fee of 0.75% and a Commitment Fee of 0.5% per annum.

5. Chinese ties: The goods, technologies and services are to be purchased from China “preferentially.” In another era before Guyana sold its soul, no government would have dared to give away its rights to say where and from whom it will buy goods and services.

6. Applicable law: China.
And to think that Sam Hinds and Robeson Benn thought there was such a thing as a free chow mein! I shudder to think what the Chinese think of all Guyanese.

The Shah’s toilets

Before getting into those big mega-bucks let us look at the prices being charged for some of the items we all can identify with, things like toilet sets and urinals, washbasins, sinks and showers. Perhaps we resent the sheer vulgarity, obscenity and scale of the price-gouging the Chinese are inflicting on us poor Guyanese or our memory of the infamous golden toilets of the deposed Shah of Iran. But someone must have been intoxicated or corrupted in mind and pocket to agree to pay for each of sixty-nine toilet bowls the sum of US$2,121.06 or $424,212 exclusive of VAT or any other duties and taxes. As the table below shows, the retail price at stores in Georgetown ranges from $15,500 at Zong YA to $30,000 at National Hardware. In other words the wholesale tax-free price being charged by the contractor is 27 times the retail price being charged by an ethnic Chinese trader to 14 times the retail price being charged by National Hardware.

Let us look at the comparable prices for sinks. The wholesale price charged by the contractor is $124,032 compared with $7,100 at Zong YA and $16,995 at Hamson. In other words, the contract price is 17 times that of Zong YA and 7.3 times the price at which Hamson sells them. The situation is hardly different with the other items.

* All prices in the contract are quoted in US dollars. For the purposes of this exercise and for simplicity, a rate of exchange of G$200 to US$1 is assumed, which understates the contract price.

Electrical items

For comparison I used one of the more popular stores specializing in industrial and domestic electric items most of which it imports from the UK. Perhaps because of this sourcing, the price differential is less dramatic, but still very significant. In two instances – evacuation signs and double fluorescent lights – the domestic prices are actually higher.

Conclusion

The above represent a small sample of items which are available locally and therefore permit comparison. I attempted a similar exercise for other items but because many are so broadly described, a comparison is not possible. Of course the broad and loose description suits the Chinese just fine – we cannot hold them to any standard. That does not mean that we should be any less suspicious about abuse. In fact, we need to be more concerned.

Next week we will look at whether the price disparities evident in those items which allow comparison extend to the runway extension and the construction of the new terminal building. Meanwhile, I hope that what is evident so far causes sufficient concern to demand a complete review of this project. Guyanese seem to have lost the capacity to be offended, shocked or even become angry. Maybe, just maybe, the toilets and urinals are the tipping point.

NO MAJOR GOVERNMENT CORRUPTIONS CASE HAS EVEN GONE TO TRIAL

June 27, 2011 | By KNews

Dear Editor,

PPP presidential candidate, Mr. Donald Ramotar, in his latest comment on corruption, said that if persons are found guilty of corruption, the law should be allowed to take its course (Kaieteur News, June 26). The problem with this statement is that despite the Auditor-General’s annual reports and many horror stories, sometimes accompanied by jaw-dropping pictures of screwed up projects reported by Kaieteur News, and despite everybody knowing that there are misappropriations of state funds and resources, we have not had a major government corruption case that went to trial and the accused being convicted.

Only last week, the Parliamentary Accounts Committee reported some troubling discoveries it made pertinent to the 2007 and 2008 audited accounts for government ministries and agencies, even going so far as to contemplate calling in the police. Did Mr. Ramotar not read this in the media? Did the President promise to help the PAC get the police involved? These latest discoveries merely reflect an ongoing pattern of bare-faced rip-offs by people who should be indicted on criminal charges and made to make restitution or have their assets and bank accounts seized in the amount of money reportedly siphoned.

So when the PPP presidential candidate now says that if people are found guilty that the law should take its course, I have to ask where was his voice for the last 19 years as a leading member of the party that forms the government. The silence of the PPP General Secretary throughout this period, and even after he became the party’s de facto head, speaks loudly about what the nation can expect if Mr. Ramotar becomes President. Can anyone imagine Mr. Ramotar saying with a straight face that, ‘when a newly constructed road goes bad, this cannot be counted as corruption, because the PPP government has taken a hands-off approach when it comes to the award of contracts’?

This is the strongest confirmation yet that the fully detached Mr. Ramotar does not grasp the essence of managerial responsibility, but especially when it comes to being responsible for public funds. Mr. Ramotar’s asinine posture is that, for example, after the government gives a contract worth $20M to a contractor to build a road or a facility and the project is screwed up, the government can’t be blamed, because the government takes a hands-off approach once the contract is awarded. Oh, really? Would Mr. Ramotar do that with his own money on a property he is trying to develop? I didn’t think so, yet this is the man who wants to be the next President of Guyana?

But this is not surprising anymore, because this is the same man who sat on the GuySuCo Board and watched quietly as GuySuCo recorded a GY$3B loss in 2008, along with the royal screwing up of the US$200M Skeldon Plant. How much more irresponsible than this can Mr. Ramotar get, having sat quietly while the PPP regime ran amok with corruption and GuySuCo tanked financially? And to hear him justify the government’s spending of US$12.5M to build the Enmore Sugar Packaging Plant – “Everything in that regard (the construction of the Enmore plant) was (above) board,” he said – when it was brought to government’s attention that Kenya built a bigger packaging plant for US$3M, completes our understanding of the type of leader the PPP is seeking to foist on us in 2011.
Whereas the PPP gave us a mini cooper with a large trunk space in 1999, and the trunk has since been ‘ram-packed’ with the people’s ‘goodies’, the PPP is now trying to give us a used ambulance with a detached and delusional patient hooked up to saline bottles and oxygen tanks. Bottles and tanks may keep you alive; they don’t make you think straight.

In closing, Mr. Ramotar also said that at the economic level, the PPP/C has moved Guyana from being a basket case in 1992 to being the most dynamic economy in the Caribbean today (“Ramotar says PPP ready for polls,” (KN, June 26). Someone needs to tell Mr. Ramotar that the dynamic economy of which he speaks is being sustained by the informal economy: drugs, money laundering, foreign remittances and foreign loans.  Clearly, the UG educated economist plans to continue relying on the informal economy, which supports corruption.He also said at the political stage, Guyana is now one of the most democratic nations in the world. “All the fundamental freedoms and human rights are protected,” he declared.

Truth is, after almost 19 years, Guyana still has one radio station, there is no broadcast legislation, there has been no Local Government Election since 1994, there is no Freedom of Information Law (and government is now said to be proposing the appointment of an Information Commissioner to go along with the FOI law, which defeats the whole independent concept of such a law). The President and government are also known for trying to stifle Kaieteur News and Stabroek News. Moreover, why is there no probe into the 2002-2004 crime spree and extra judicial killings? How can Roger Khan be jailed in New York on drug smuggling charges, but not in Guyana? Why are so many people on remand awaiting trial after many years?

Mr. Ramotar may believe he is a member of the PPP political entitlement elite class, but when it comes to the issues on the ground, he has his head stuck in dark clouds and his feet in the crab mud. His naked political body is exposed to the elements but he thinks he is wearing a dark two-piece suit that everybody admires.

Emile Mervin

QUOTE "Mr. Ramotar may believe he is a member of the PPP political entitlement elite class, but when it comes to the issues on the ground, he has his head stuck in dark clouds and his feet in the crab mud. His naked political body is exposed to the elements but he thinks he is wearing a dark two-piece suit that everybody admires."UNQUOTE

Emile Mervin

I wonder if Donald really knows what is going on?

Guyana agrees to pay Chinese

contractor CHEC $297,000 each for

urinals in Airport Contract

July 2, 2013 | By KNews |

can be sourced here for $13,000 

The Guyana Government has agreed to pay China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), $297,694 for the supply each of the six urinals to be installed in the expanded Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
A similar urinal is retailed in the capital for prices ranging from $12,000 to $20,000.
Checks at retail outlets revealed that urinals were being sold for $11,995 at National Hardware, $13,148 at Gafsons Industries and $17,900 at Hamson General Store.
The $297,694 that Guyana has agreed to pay CHEC for a urinal excludes VAT and all duties and taxes required to import the items from China.
Under the contract document, the goods, technologies and services to be used are to be purchased from China “preferentially”.
Ram in his Business Page column posits, “In another era before Guyana sold its soul, no government would have dared to give away its rights to say where and from whom it will buy goods and services.”
Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, in his Business page column this past week, lambasted the current administration over several aspects of the contract that was signed and agreed to.
The contract was signed on November 11, 2011.

A Urinal selling in Georgetown for $13,300 while Govt. will pay $297,000 each for the urinals to be installed under the Airport Contract.

Signing on behalf of the government for the Ministry of Public Works was its Permanent Secretary, Balraj Balram, and Ren Guangjie, General Manager of the Business Development Department of CHEC.
The CJIA contract was one of three controversial Government projects released to the media last year after months of questions.
It was only after the Alliance For Change (AFC) requested information on the projects in the National Assembly that the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) released the documents.
The other two projects were the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Access Road Project, which was awarded to Synergy Holdings Inc. under questionable circumstances and the Marriott Hotel that is currently under construction in Kingston.
Under the CJIA contract, Ram in his analysis pointed out that the $138M loan from the China Development Bank, is in the Chinese currency the Renminbi and all the exchange risks are to be borne by Guyana.
“If the Renminbi appreciates relative to the Guyana dollar, the cost of the loan goes up.”
Ram also points out that the rate of interest is set at 2 per cent, per annum, but the accountant says, “This is a disguise because a management fee of 0.75 per cent is taken out upfront.”
He says too that under the contract inked by Government, no income or withholding taxes apply to any payment under the agreement, whether interest, management fee or commitment fee.

Corruption by the Guyana PPP/C

government exposed

Exposing corruption and other misdeeds of the PPP/C.

Kaieteur News insists many secret deals signed

by Bharrat Jagdeo

Dishonest, vulgar and deceitful are just some of the words members of the wider society are using to describe the government’s contention that its transactions have all been transparent and that there has been no secrecy.
On Saturday, last, the government through its News Agency, issued a statement seeking to lambaste Kaieteur News for its report that the government had signed a secret deal with Ansa McAl of Trinidad and Tobago for 110,000 hectares (approximately 425 square miles) of land in the Canje Basin.
Kaieteur News got wind of this deal through the Trinidad Guardian and insisted that the nation was unaware of the deal between Government and the Trinidad company.
Angry at the Kaieteur News report, the Government Information Agency (GINA) wrote, “The Government of Guyana (GoG) rejects the continued misrepresentation of the Kaieteur News of the various government projects and initiatives which seek to transform the country. The latest being the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Guyana and Ansa Mcal Group on the exploring the possibility of ethanol production in Guyana.(sic)”
“In July 2010, the GoG through public tendering awarded a contract to NUMARK Associates Inc. of the United States for the Service Consultancy to expand Bio Energy Opportunities in Guyana. As part of the Terms of Reference, NUMARK was tasked with compiling a list of potential Bio Energy Investors who may be interested in investing in Guyana.”
But when contacted, Rodrigo Chaparro, Vice President in charge of Sustainable Energy Strategies at NUMARK Associates Incorporated, said that it was tasked with advising on what policies and laws would be needed to create an environment that would attract investments in bio-energy.
The government said, “Based on the NUMARK’s report and the proposals received from investors, ANSA McAl was selected after their proposal was scrutinized by technical experts in the field of Bio Energy, which was subsequently approved and signed on September 30, 2011 and witnessed by representatives of the Government and ANSA McAL.
“To suggest this was a secret deal is not only misleading but a gross misrepresentation of the reality and part of the continued campaign to cast aspersions on the PPP/C Government.”
NUMARK stated that it was made aware through information posted on the web site of the Inter American Development Bank. The people of Guyana would not have been aware of the posting since the general population does not scour the web sites of international organizations.
To further highlight the secrecy of the deal, the government, despite sending its representatives to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Ansa McAl, never announced that it had completed a Memorandum of Understanding. It also failed to make the signing public either through GINA, Office of the President or by way of press conferences.
The opposition parties were all unaware of this development as was the rest of the nation. The deal was indeed secret. Guyana was made aware through a publication in the Trinidad Guardian, four months after the government said that it signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
And the only response to the disclosure on the part of the government was a GINA statement criticizing the Kaieteur News disclosure of the deal.
The government said that “the impending project to modernize and expand the airport, the plan to construct the Marriott Hotel and the on-going One Laptop per Family project,” were also not secret deals.
“In all of these cases, the accusation of lack of transparency was refuted. All of these projects were developed through a public procurement process. The Government challenges any publication or political group to show where these projects were done in secret and not consistent with our various laws and regulations.”
The nation was made aware of the airport project by way of a publication in the Jamaica Observer long after the signing. After the Kaieteur News publication the government contacted the Jamaica-based headquarters of the Chinese company, China Harbour Engineering Company, contracted to expand the runway and modify the airport terminal building.
The spokesperson for China Harbour Engineering, one day after the Kaieteur News publication, duly referred all queries to the Guyana Government. Public Relations Officer of CHEC in Jamaica, Jennifer Harmon, said that she was asked by her company not to reveal any more information about the project and that in fact her decision to reveal the signing to the Jamaica Observer was ill-advised.
She said that the Guyana Government would release any information to the media.
The project was not open to bidding, since no such advertisement was placed on the government’s procurement website under the Ministry of Public Works through which the airport is administered.
Further, it was only in August 2011, Regional Director of CHEC, Zhongdong Tang, said that the company had a team in Guyana, and other countries, “looking for opportunities.” But GINA stated that the project was first announced “several months” ago.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo when confronted disclosed never before heard details of the project.
The Marriott Hotel deal was another that the nation learnt through a foreign media. So too was the talk with the Grenada-based Zublin. Head od the Privatisation Unit, Winston Brassington was livid that Zublin released details of its talk with the government.
There were many other secret deals. One was for an Indian company for land in Guyana. Guyanese learnt of this through India Times. Among others were the Sanata Complex, MovieTowne and the land distribution process to housing developers.

The PPP spin doctors are having a hard time

NOVEMBER 14, 2011 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER LETTERS

Dear Editor,

The defenders of the Former Presidents (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act 2009 including Prime Minister Sam Hinds, Dr. Roger Luncheon, Mr. Robert Persaud and now Dr. Nanda Gopaul are having a hard time trying to convince the Guyanese taxpayer that President Bharrat Jagdeo was less than greedy in initiating and approving legislation providing for benefits that are patently overgenerous.
The best that Mr. Persaud could do was question the timing of the questions, seemingly unaware that as far back as May 2009 Prime Minister Sam Hinds was vainly defending the Act with misrepresentations.
Mr. Hinds incorrectly wrote that all Mr. Jagdeo and his spouse would have is a single vehicle owned and maintained by the State. In fact Mr. Jagdeo is entitled to an unspecified number of such vehicles with drivers.
In addition, Mr. Jagdeo is also entitled to duty free concessions for motor vehicles and every other item he chooses to import. Mr. Hinds would also wish us to believe that free medical expenses are limited to the former president and his spouse. In fact taxpayers would have to pay for the medical costs for him and the dependent members of his family, for the rest of his life. And if Mr. Jagdeo or any one of them elects for treatment abroad, no big deal – the Act places no restriction.
Dr. Luncheon and others have been saying that all the Act did was to put into law payments made to former presidents, completely forgetting that neither Burnham nor Jagan lived to become former presidents.
With a slight twist Dr. Gopaul then tries to confuse the issue by listing eight types of expenses that former presidents were entitled to but fails to state what they actually received which is the real concern over the Act. What Dr. Gopaul seems to miss is what the parliamentary opposition and civil society have been saying all along, i.e. that there are no caps to any of the facilities; no conditions for receipt of benefits and no consideration of cost.
A former president working abroad is still entitled to tax-free pensions and most if not all the benefits and facilities permitted under the Act. And even if resident, s/he is entitled to clerical and technical staff even for private consultancy work, and can run up the most outrageous utilities bill for electricity, telephone and water to be paid for by the state. As drafted, the legislation would seem to impose on the state all the costs where the former president decides to have two or more residences. And we know from the advertisements, our soon-to-be former President is actually constructing on the sprawling state-owned land he awarded himself two houses and a distinctly un-low carbon hot and cold swimming pool for which the monthly electricity bill will easily run to $600,000. We will pay for all of that.
Even while visiting friends, that individual likes to travel with an entourage often consisting of five vehicles and several staff providing security. If he is unwilling or unable to give up such show of power and influence, we the taxpayers will pay for them too, including overtime late into the night.
We may take some comfort in the two services that seem to be limited in number – the gardener, though even that could be circumvented by retaining a landscaping service, and an attendant, presumably to look after the person’s hair, nails and general appearance. And if the soon-to-be former president joins one of his buddies in business or enters in business in name, either on his own account or for their benefit, all the income will be tax-free. This abomination has no parallel or precedent anywhere in the world and is deserving of its own Champion of the World Award.
The menu of benefits and facilities hardly seems what the Constitution intended as payments to former presidents when it states that “A person who has held the office of President shall receive such pension or, upon the expiration of his term of office, such gratuity as may be prescribed by Parliament. Any such pension or gratuity shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.”
One is forced to wonder whether the attempts by Hinds, Luncheon and others to confuse the public about the contents and consequences of the Act really show their inability to defend its inherent obscenity. What one does not have to wonder about is the frightening disregard for rules and cost on the one hand, and the interest of self on the other, all symptomatic of how the PPP/C has been managing the financial resources of the country.
Christopher Ram

The Bharrat Jagdeo Presidency: A dozen years of

degeneration and decay

By ARIF BULKAN  |

What would an honest evaluation of the Jagdeo Presidency reveal? Its genesis lay in naked constitutional manipulation, for in the 1997 general elections Bharrat Jagdeo had not been elected as President or Prime Minister by the People. Thus when Janet Jagan disclosed in August 1999 that she could no longer continue as President due to her declining health, Jagdeo’s succession was contrived through a circuitous route. First, Sam Hinds was required to resign so that Jagdeo could be sworn in as Prime Minister on August 9th, and this was followed by Janet Jagan’s resignation and Jagdeo’s assumption of the Presidency on August 11th. This process gave fair warning to the Guyanese people of how slender national ‘democracy’ was, for in a country where one party has a stranglehold on power, the only hope of forestalling imperial rule is if that party’s internal structure has processes and mechanisms by which its leader(s) can be held accountable. But Jagdeo was a handpicked successor, revealing the imperial nature of the power possessed by the head of the ruling party and that party’s fundamentally undemocratic nature. More troubling was that his installation in office required the circumvention of the supreme law of the land, but this did not seem to give the PPP as an institution any cause for discomfort. All this was an ominous portent of things to come. Janet Jagan may have thought that she was installing a puppet – but just as she was able to exercise maximum power as President, so too was her creation eventually able to function, uncontainable even by her (there’s a lesson there for Jagdeo and Ramotar, but that’s another story).

Back in 1999, a battered electorate gave little thought to PPP intrigue, despite the very public manner in which events unfolded. Jagdeo’s youth represented a refreshing antidote to the old guard and party loyalists, and his selection on the eve of the millennium could have been taken to herald both literal and symbolic rebirth. And to be fair, in the intervening twelve years there have been instances where Jagdeo has demonstrated solid leadership – notably in the principled stand he took with regard to the Economic Partnership Agreement being forced down the region’s throats by the European Union, despite the considerable opposition of his counterparts in CARICOM. Sadly, however, for the most part Jagdeo’s rule has been a bitter disappointment, where any initial promise was quickly extinguished by an autocratic, intolerant, vindictive, incompetent and verbally abusive style of governance. I could go on, for there are many negative adjectives which can be used to describe Jagdeo’s presidency, but when I saw the photograph taken of the President at the India Day parade in New York City, I thought that it said it all.

This week’s column will focus on two prominent features of his presidency symbolised in the photograph: 1) the way in which he has consistently indulged himself, the public purse be damned, and 2) the way in which he has materially indulged his cronies, again without regard for the public purse.

Personal indulgence

Jagdeo’s personal financial dealings need little recounting. As I pointed out in an earlier column, the sale of his first state-subsidized house and land in Goedverwagting at a price that far exceeds market value and to Guyana’s consul in Trinidad and Tobago is one that reeks of impropriety and would have been immediately investigated in any functioning democracy.

Immediately after this sale Jagdeo acquired more state-subsidized lands, but at a price far below market value. A number of irregularities surrounded this second transaction: the President obtained more than 4 times the amount of land a re-migrant can purchase; he paid barely one-sixth of what a re-migrant would have had to pay; and the allocation to him was made by Cabinet in violation of standard policies that state-subsidized land is only to be distributed to persons who do not own or have not owned property in the previous 5 years. Most obscene of all, as pointed out by Bro. Eusi Kwayana, the lands awarded to the President form part of a post-emancipation village. That many of the descendants of those first villages still live in squatting areas while the choicest lands built through the sweat of working people are reserved for Jagdeo and his cabal of supporters, is a monstrous injustice.

It then emerged that 29 tons of building material was shipped to Jagdeo from alleged criminal Ed Ahmad. Mr. Ahmad has other unsavoury antecedents – in the US he “loaned” money to Congressman Meeks, which was only re-paid when the authorities commenced an investigation. Sometime before (or after) Ahmad sent the container of building material to the President, he secured lands from Guysuco on the West Bank. We will have to do the math, because unlike in the US, there will be no official investigation into these events.

Then it has been reported that on each trip abroad, Jagdeo receives a US$5,000 (G$1 million) out-of-pocket allowance over and above the funding for the trip, for which he does not have to account. Compare that to the minimum wage of G$35,000 per month and Guyana today is like France under the Bourbons (of the ‘let them eat cake’ period).

Then there is the presidential pension, which will afford Jagdeo a life of post-retirement luxury. How the $3 million monthly figure has been computed is a mystery to me. Under the law passed by Jagdeo’s minions in parliament many of the benefits are uncapped, so the cost to the taxpayer could conceivably exceed $3m given the standards presently exhibited.

Cronyism

A key feature of the Jagdeo Presidency is the majestic enrichment of a select cabal of his supporters. The examples are endless.

1.The recently released report of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee reveals major irregularities in public spending for the 2 years it reviewed (2007-8), including overpayments to contractors and payment to contractors for work that was not completed. It is public knowledge that the vast majority of national infrastructural works are awarded to a select few contractors. The latest in a long string of examples is the award to a favoured contractor, BK International, of a $138 million contract for upgrading the Supenaam stelling. This comes less than 2 years after BK drew down more than $400 million for work on the same stelling that was completely botched, leaving it unusable for over 2 years. In other words, the same company is being given more money for a job that it already bungled, when in the normal course of business it should be sued and ordered to repay or finish the job properly.

2. Or consider the case of the single-sourcing of drugs from New GPC by the Ministry of Health. This has been going on since 1997, and after 2003 in direct violation of the Public Procurement Act. Since 2003 the practice has been facilitated, arguably unlawfully, by Cabinet decision. Between 2003 and 2008, it resulted in over G$3 BILLION for New GPC. Single-sourcing of any good means that the purchase price may not be competitive, and as if that were not irregular enough, it was revealed in Parliament that the drugs were paid for up front – in other words, Guyanese taxpayers funded the company’s operations, something absolutely unheard of in business. To add insult to injury, New GPC’s parent company then turned around and loaned money for the construction of the Berbice River bridge at between 9-11% interest, which interest will not be taxed! As is well known, New GPC is a subsidiary of the Queens Atlantic (QA II) group of companies owned by the Ramroop family, one member of which is a close friend of none other than Jagdeo himself.

3. The same QA II was illegally granted certain tax concessions by the Jagdeo administration. When Mr. Yesu Persaud spoke of these concessions at the launching of Guyana Times on June 5th 2008, he was publicly attacked by the President. Later, when accountant & attorney Chris Ram exposed the administration’s lies on this point, the Jagdeo government hurriedly passed a law to retroactively legitimize their earlier, unlawful act.

4. In 2009 Fidelity Investment evaded taxes and customs duties in excess of $321 million, but even though customs officers raided their premises and found over 73,000 cases of Polar beer for which the company could provide no import documents, the case against the company was discontinued by the State with no explanation given to the special prosecutor or to the public at large.
5. Earlier this year the one laptop per family project was announced, but in the public domain there was much inconsistency regarding its cost as announced by the government. Worse, a price to be paid for each laptop was announced, even though the tender process had not even been commenced.

6. The Amaila Falls hydro-electricity project has been dogged by similar concerns over the cost of the project and the lack of transparency surrounding the bidding process. All that is known to the public at this stage is that there is a US$200 million gap in the actual cost of construction and the original estimate given (the latter has since increased by another US$135 million, making that gap now US$335 million). Where or to whom is that extra money going?

7. Earlier this year the government leased almost 2 million acres of land to a businessman from India for 30 years at G$394 (yes, a little less than two US dollars per acre). Again, this lease was not the subject of a transparent or competitive bidding process, and Guyanese do not know what other benefits attend the deal. Does it attract special tax concessions? How come the company is reportedly being allowed to export species for which there are existing bans in the law?

One can continue to list the secretive and scandalous deals by this government, but the underlying features are similar. Principally, key oversight institutions have been either run into the ground by the government or are simply not functioning. Anand Goolsarran, who as Auditor General brought many irregularities to light, was run out of office in 2004 when he attempted to investigate a dolphin scandal involving the President’s adviser. Since then, the vacancy left by Dr. Goolsarran’s departure has not been permanently filled, so even were the incumbent minded to act courageously the precariousness of the position is an obvious impediment. The government refuses to appoint a Public Procurement Commission, which means that there is no transparency in and scrutiny of the procurement of goods and services and the execution of public works. This state of affairs facilitates overpayment and shoddy performance. Most of the beneficiaries of this largesse tend to be friends and associates of the President, hence the charge of cronyism. Where foreigners are involved, the deals are invariably negotiated in secret. The end result is the stifling of competition, a higher cost of living, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a favoured few.

Add this up and the picture is clear. Notwithstanding the low salaries, unlivable pensions and general impoverishment of most Guyanese, President Jagdeo shamelessly grabs whatever he can for himself (and his chosen friends) – lands, container of goods, lavish US dollar allowances, overseas trips, maids, gardeners and pension for life – wherever he is, and irrespective of who is looking on. In next week’s column I will conclude by examining the intolerance and decay that, taken together with the cronyism, characterise Jagdeo’s 12 year period of rule.

JAGDEO/ED AHMAD

It then emerged that 29 tons of building material was shipped to Jagdeo from alleged criminal Ed Ahmad. Mr. Ahmad has other unsavoury antecedents – in the US he “loaned” money to Congressman Meeks, which was only re-paid when the authorities commenced an investigation. Sometime before (or after) Ahmad sent the container of building material to the President, he secured lands from Guysuco on the West Bank. We will have to do the math, because unlike in the US, there will be no official investigation into these events.

NB Also I think that the New Guyana Company Building was secured by ED Ahmad, for little and nothing, compliments Jagdoe