Dear Editor,

The arrogance of the Bharrat Jagdeo administration in Guyana is unprecedented. President Bharrat Jagdeo and the ruling PPP continue to make the fatal assumption which they accused the PNC government of making – ie that the resources of the State of Guyana belong to them. I have on numerous occasions called on the PPP government to pay former First Lady Joyce Hoyte her husband’s pension. President Desmond Hoyte never received his hard-earned pension since he demitted the presidency of Guyana on October 5, 1992. He died on December 22, 2002 without receiving his pension. The PPP government owes her his pension from then to now.

The PPP administration has been picking and choosing which citizens should be paid their pensions. This is unlawful.   A pension is not a privilege, it is a right. It constitutes monies withheld from one’s earnings over their career. What nation messes around with the pension of their former President as if it is a political football? President Desmond Hoyte gave a lifetime of public service to Guyana, becoming a minister of government and a Member of Parliament from 1968, way before I was even born. In 1984 he was appointed Prime Minister. He acceded to the presidency of Guyana in 1985 and demitted office in 1992 and became Opposition Leader from 1992, after the PNC lost the general elections, to the time of his death in 2002.

After 35 years of dedication to country, is this how Guyana proposes to repay this former President and national hero for a lifetime of stellar public service? By refusing to pay his presidential pension? Mrs Joyce Hoyte is entitled to her husband’s accumulated pension as well as his monthly pension disbursements. Both former First Lady Doreen Chung as well as Mrs Janet Jagan, received their late husbands’ presidential pensions. Why then has the PPP government refused to pay Mrs Hoyte?

The Guyana media has swept the mistreatment of Mrs Joyce Hoyte, who is a symbol of the state, under the rug. Stabroek News’ mere referral of my last letter on this matter to Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, without public follow-up is unacceptable. To date there has been no public comment by the Stabroek News on Dr Luncheon’s lack of response thus far. And although a letter writer three weeks ago questioned if the matter had been resolved, Stabroek News made absolutely no effort of further investigating the matter.

Stabroek News as well as the entire Guyanese media corps’ lack of appetite for pursuing social justice matters for certain citizens is disappointing. Since I originally raised this matter in the press, President Jagdeo has held four press conferences. Yet no one in the media thought it necessary to pursue this important matter with the President.  This is a shame!

Today, I again call on President Jagdeo to do the honourable thing and pay Mrs Joyce Hoyte her husband’s presidential pension to which she is lawfully entitled. The State of Guyana is bound by statutory obligation to pay her. I also call on the Guyanese press to pursue this matter and ensure that justice is done.

Finally, Opposition and PNCR Leader, Mr Robert Corbin, has not taken up this matter with President Jagdeo or in public.  This is another demonstration of his pettiness, and a manifestation of how unfit he is to be a leader.

Yours faithfully,
Rickford Burke