US rates Teixeira's anti-corruption stance highly- leaked cable
Written by Demerara Waves
Friday, 02 September 2011 18:11
Source
The United States (US) embassy in Guyana had given then Home Affairs Minister, Gail Teixeira high marks for clamping down on corruption and refusing to support Henry Greene to become police commissioner.
“Post rates Teixeira highly as an honest, forthright interlocutor,” states one of the Wiki-leaked classified cables.
Published by Wikileaks late Thursday night, one of the cables referred to a December 23, 2005 consular briefing to discuss trends in fake Guyanese civil documents detected by the Consular Section.
”This meeting further confirmed that Teixeira genuinely wants to fight the corruption and inefficiency that have a crippling effect on her broad portfolio,” then Charge D’Affaires, Michael Thomas said in the cable classified as ‘Secret.”
The mission’s assessment of the then Home Affairs Minister noted that she had only slightly loosened the reins of control over the ministry although she had criticized her predecessor Ronald Gajraj’s imperious, direct control over the Ministry's workings.
“This may reflect her very valid concerns over both corruption and competence within the MHA, or the PPP's habit of centralized decision-making and micro-management.”
Another cable on July 24, 2006 referred to Teixeira’s long discussions with the US Charge D’Affaires and the British and Canadian High Commissioners on the appointment of Greene as police chief.
“Teixeira has described in some detail her struggles to get (Bharrat) Jagdeo and (Roger) Luncheon to come around to her point of view,” Thomas noted in that cable. Previous cables have revealed that Jagdeo and Luncheon in the end had staunchly supported Greene’s elevation, while giving Western diplomats a different impression.
With the notable exception of Home Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira, the Government of Guyana's inner circle lost trust in (Greene’s predecessor Winston) Felix, one of the cables noted.
Another cable dispatched on February 9,2006 noted that she had seemed to be fighting a "lonely, uphill battle against fraud and corruption" in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“She expressed gratitude that we are sharing information with her, but complained that problems have worsened since she began to "turn screws" on the Ministry. She believes that corrupt elements are either deliberately trying to embarrass her or trying to get as many fraud transactions through before she tightens the screws further,” stated the cable.
The US mission here expressed a shocking lack of control over Guyana's civil registry, visas, and passports presents narco-criminals, smuggled aliens, and potential terrorists with an easy way to obtain travel documents.
Addressing the issue of the Roger Khan wiretapped conversations involving Felix and Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR) member, Basil Williams, a cable stated Teixeira had told the Charge D’Affaires and British and Canadian High Commissioners that Private Sector Commission executives Gerry Gouveia and Norman Mc Lean had enjoyed a “very close relationship with and ready access to President Jagdeo including the ability "to pick up the telephone and call him at any time", which implies an uncomfortably convenient link between Jagdeo and Khan.
She had also agreed with American, British and Canadian envoys on March 20 that given the dubious origins of the tape and likelihood that it had been edited before its release, there should be due consideration before any decisions are taken regarding Felix's continued employment.
According to one of the cables, she had also told the envoys that the tape and Felix's future had been a major subject on the agenda for the March 21 Cabinet meeting and that she could not have guaranteed that cooler heads would have prevailed.
Teixeira concurred that Greene would be a problem for many reasons and asked for assistance in leaking to the media the fact that the tape originated with Khan.
As of March 23, Felix's position is still vulnerable, but improving, and according to the diplomatic communication, Teixeira told the Charge D’Affaires on March 22 that she "got things on a more even keel" at the Cabinet meeting.
Sources indicate a meeting/confrontation between President Jagdeo and Felix occurred March 21, during which Jagdeo demanded that Felix retract certain statements that could be interpreted as implying Government of Guyana involvement with the tape. Felix refused, and he apparently also refused to take early retirement. Sacking Felix would require investigation and action by the Disciplined Services Commission, according to that cable, the mission here reported in the cable.
The embassy reasoned that the release of the secret tape within a day of the Guyana Defence Force/Guyana Police Foce raid on Khan's properties is an unlikely coincidence.
“Khan reportedly despises Felix because he is resistant to Khan's control. It is almost certain that Khan wants Felix replaced by someone more pliable - someone like Greene.
“Even though Felix was not the driving force behind the raid on Khan (GDF Chief of Staff Edward Collins was), releasing the tape was probably Khan's (or his associates') way of fighting back. If that was Khan's strategy, it has backfired so far.
Written by Demerara Waves
Friday, 02 September 2011 18:11
Source
The United States (US) embassy in Guyana had given then Home Affairs Minister, Gail Teixeira high marks for clamping down on corruption and refusing to support Henry Greene to become police commissioner.“Post rates Teixeira highly as an honest, forthright interlocutor,” states one of the Wiki-leaked classified cables.
Published by Wikileaks late Thursday night, one of the cables referred to a December 23, 2005 consular briefing to discuss trends in fake Guyanese civil documents detected by the Consular Section.
”This meeting further confirmed that Teixeira genuinely wants to fight the corruption and inefficiency that have a crippling effect on her broad portfolio,” then Charge D’Affaires, Michael Thomas said in the cable classified as ‘Secret.”
The mission’s assessment of the then Home Affairs Minister noted that she had only slightly loosened the reins of control over the ministry although she had criticized her predecessor Ronald Gajraj’s imperious, direct control over the Ministry's workings.
“This may reflect her very valid concerns over both corruption and competence within the MHA, or the PPP's habit of centralized decision-making and micro-management.”
Another cable on July 24, 2006 referred to Teixeira’s long discussions with the US Charge D’Affaires and the British and Canadian High Commissioners on the appointment of Greene as police chief.
“Teixeira has described in some detail her struggles to get (Bharrat) Jagdeo and (Roger) Luncheon to come around to her point of view,” Thomas noted in that cable. Previous cables have revealed that Jagdeo and Luncheon in the end had staunchly supported Greene’s elevation, while giving Western diplomats a different impression.
With the notable exception of Home Affairs Minister Gail Teixeira, the Government of Guyana's inner circle lost trust in (Greene’s predecessor Winston) Felix, one of the cables noted.
Another cable dispatched on February 9,2006 noted that she had seemed to be fighting a "lonely, uphill battle against fraud and corruption" in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“She expressed gratitude that we are sharing information with her, but complained that problems have worsened since she began to "turn screws" on the Ministry. She believes that corrupt elements are either deliberately trying to embarrass her or trying to get as many fraud transactions through before she tightens the screws further,” stated the cable.
The US mission here expressed a shocking lack of control over Guyana's civil registry, visas, and passports presents narco-criminals, smuggled aliens, and potential terrorists with an easy way to obtain travel documents.
Addressing the issue of the Roger Khan wiretapped conversations involving Felix and Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR) member, Basil Williams, a cable stated Teixeira had told the Charge D’Affaires and British and Canadian High Commissioners that Private Sector Commission executives Gerry Gouveia and Norman Mc Lean had enjoyed a “very close relationship with and ready access to President Jagdeo including the ability "to pick up the telephone and call him at any time", which implies an uncomfortably convenient link between Jagdeo and Khan.
She had also agreed with American, British and Canadian envoys on March 20 that given the dubious origins of the tape and likelihood that it had been edited before its release, there should be due consideration before any decisions are taken regarding Felix's continued employment.
According to one of the cables, she had also told the envoys that the tape and Felix's future had been a major subject on the agenda for the March 21 Cabinet meeting and that she could not have guaranteed that cooler heads would have prevailed.
Teixeira concurred that Greene would be a problem for many reasons and asked for assistance in leaking to the media the fact that the tape originated with Khan.
As of March 23, Felix's position is still vulnerable, but improving, and according to the diplomatic communication, Teixeira told the Charge D’Affaires on March 22 that she "got things on a more even keel" at the Cabinet meeting.
Sources indicate a meeting/confrontation between President Jagdeo and Felix occurred March 21, during which Jagdeo demanded that Felix retract certain statements that could be interpreted as implying Government of Guyana involvement with the tape. Felix refused, and he apparently also refused to take early retirement. Sacking Felix would require investigation and action by the Disciplined Services Commission, according to that cable, the mission here reported in the cable.
The embassy reasoned that the release of the secret tape within a day of the Guyana Defence Force/Guyana Police Foce raid on Khan's properties is an unlikely coincidence.
“Khan reportedly despises Felix because he is resistant to Khan's control. It is almost certain that Khan wants Felix replaced by someone more pliable - someone like Greene.
“Even though Felix was not the driving force behind the raid on Khan (GDF Chief of Staff Edward Collins was), releasing the tape was probably Khan's (or his associates') way of fighting back. If that was Khan's strategy, it has backfired so far.
