Prudence is not terrorism

Dear Editor,

Comments in the media by President Ramoutar, labelling elected Parliamentary Oppo-sition members of the National Assembly as domestic terrorists, demonstrate how savage and shockingly irresponsible the Head of State and the Government he leads has become.

The PPP/C Government in power in excess of 22 years has clearly taken the people of Guyana and their representatives for granted. Instead of addressing the cancer of corruption which this PPP Government has institutionalized, this Government’s res-ponse is to harass, intimidate and bully elected representatives who are only acting in the interest of our nation when challenging Govern-ment’s questionable expenditure on uneconomic projects.

If doing exactly what the constituents voted in these representatives for is terrorism, then we are proud to be “terrorists”! But the genuine culprits and ‘terrorists’ are to be found elsewhere as the majority of Guyanese know.

If indeed it is terrorism as the President so defines it, then is it not an act of terrorism when just before the last election the Government without authority and financial justification advanced US$20M to a Chinese Contractor for an airport project, and another US$10M to another Chinese contractor for the Marriott Hotel, while the masses of Guyanese earn below US$200 per month and find it difficult to buy school books for their children?

It is not an act of terrorism that officials of the Govern-ment openly boast of personal assets 100 times their annual income?

Is it not an act of terrorism that a former Head of State boasts multiple mansions and other benefits more than 100 times what he earned during his tenure?

Is it not an act of terrorism that a close to US$200M contract was granted to a Chinese contractor to build the Skel-don Sugar factory without proper safeguards to protect the interest of this nation and the livelihood of thousands of sugar workers and their families?

Is it not an act of terrorism and extortion that Guyanese pay the highest level of taxes while being denied proper security, healthcare, roads, and reliable electricity?

The Donald Ramotar Administration is clearly at war with the people of Guyana and is bent at using every apparatus of the State to remove any challenge to its corrupt ways.

I assure Guyanese that the “terroristic” elected Opposi-tion representatives who voted the way they did last Thursday in the National Assembly on the Amaila Falls project want only peace and justice for all Guyana. Since we do not have the expertise and competencies to make an assessment as to the viability of the project, and the IDB, which has, is to complete its assessment in October 2013, why should we not all await that? Such is prudence, not terrorism!

Yours faithfully,
Khemraj Ramjattan
Leader, AFC