Dear Editor,
I looked at and listened to a few of the so-called debates, on corruption, aired on TV and noticed that APNU was not represented and how stacked the team was against the AFC. I can understand why APNU abstained but I also say that their attendance may not have made any difference when we look at how the debates were conducted by Al Creighton.
I will refer to just one debate. It was to address the issue of the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri. On the AFC’s side there was Gerhard Ramsaroop and on the Government’s side there were a few persons, including Minister Irfaan Ali. I will focus on the presentations of Ali and Ramsaroop.
Firstly the rules should be made clear to all participants. And it was evident that Irfaan Ali had no knowledge of the rules or simply chose to ignore them and Creighton allowed it. Each member was allowed a two-minute presentation and his/her opening remarks. Those two minutes were to be uninterrupted. So, all the members made their opening remarks and were not interrupted. All except Ramsaroop. Three times Irfaan Ali interrupted the man’s opening remarks and his interjections were so baseless. He was harping and carping that the AFC did not favour the expansion of the CJIA and Ramsaroop kept saying that the concern of the AFC was merely about how the deal was brokered and not about the expansion. The entire PPP/C team was unable to answer to the accusation levelled by Ramsaroop, so they were jumping all over the place looking for what to say.
Let me remind the Honourable Minister that the whole affair was a secret until a foreign newspaper leaked the story. If this expansion is so good for all of Guyana why was it such a big secret? To date, not the President or any of his Ministers has offered the Guyanese public a reason or an excuse for the big secret of the signing of a deal with the Chinese to expand the CJIA. No opposition member will be against development for the betterment of the country but why the hide and seek when public funds are involved? What is there to hide???
Then there is the boldface declaration that the Opposition cannot prove corruption. I will say this…give me the books for NCN and the receipts from payments for all the programmes aired—(I have all the programmes aired for the whole of October and November 2011)from August 2011 to August 2012 and I will show you corruption in a week’s time or be your slave for life.
I will close by asking why, in Guyana, when transactions, involving millions of dollars are found to be questionable, no one is charged? Is a suspension and subsequent dismissal enough? Some of these fraudsters must go to jail.
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
