Dear Editor,
The PPP regime totally controlled the state press (Guyana Chronicle, which became the Mirror newspaper for the PPP) and state TV, since it came to office in 1992. The National Communications Network (NCN) report, which never saw the light of the day, must be made public for all Guyanese to see how this public institution, which was designed to serve the nation and its people, was used against the people of this country.
Mohamed Sattaur, the former head of NCN, who allegedly tried to cover up the fraud resigned. Everyone wants to know whether or not any personnel at the Guyana Telephone and Telecommunications (GT&T) were involved in some way. Martin Goolsarran, another former NCN employee, was allegedly implicated in the fraud, and reportedly fled to Canada.
The board must be replaced by an independent one, and include experienced members in the communications field, namely, highly trained journalists and commentators, and not PPP party hacks.
The new government, under President David Granger and Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, must ensure that these public entities do not break the laws of the country. The Code of Conduct for Ministers must be rigorously extended to include all civil servants. No one must escape from public scrutiny. Journalists must be given the latitude to investigate all reports of corruption and wrongdoing against the nation and its people. The Guyana Press Association must defend its members at all times for reporting objectively and in an unbiased way.
The current anti-corruption drive in China is headed by the President and Prime Minister of China. That is the kind of action that is necessary in Guyana, if we are serious about ending corruption, which has become a cancer. The Chinese government has already taken further steps to set up systems and structures to catch all wrongdoers and weed them out.
In Guyana, it was a “friend, friend thing”, as Khemraj Ramjattan, now the new Minister of the renamed Home Affairs Ministry, said. Mr Ramotar, the self-avowed communist, never took any steps to curb corruption; instead he placed his son in a position for which he was unqualified and inexperienced. No one was investigated. Our Police Force and judicial system did not guarantee justice. Mr Ramotar stated many times that he was following in the footsteps of his hero, Dr Cheddi Jagan. Messrs Ramotar and Clement Rohee, not only disgraced themselves, but PPP supporters as well, who abandoned them at the elections. Dr Jagan, one of the founding leaders of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) made many, many speeches on corruption, nepotism, wastage, and squandermania, as President of Guyana. Strangely, these speeches were widely re-broadcast on NCN, Channel 65 and Channel 28 − the latter two TV stations are owned by people associated with the PPP. The big question is, why was the PPP showing these brilliant speeches by the man himself, the Godfather of the PPP? There was only one reason, ie, to shore-up Mr Ramotar as the PPP presidential candidate. A PPP friend, who has just come out of his closet, reminded me: “The PPP was using public funds and public facilities to campaign during the last elections shamelessly”. It was a do or die situation, he concluded.
But the Guyanese people cannot be fooled, especially those of us who were brought up in the old PPP with Dr Jagan and Janet at the helm. We know what these two leaders stood for. That is the reason why so many people quietly walked away from the PPP and more will follow, if the new government offers transparent and humble leadership. Mr Granger has publicly pledged to be a “people’s President.” The collapse of the PPP’s votes at the last election came as a real shock to the elite in the PPP. Mr Jagdeo, the former president, will certainly be blamed. One PPP member, who was visibly absent on the last election campaign trail, said to Mr Jagdeo just after the 2011 elections that his pension, mansion and arrogance caused the party to lose the election. During the last election this scandal became a campaign issue, when Mr Jagdeo tried to link his lifestyle with that of Dr Jagan, coming in for serious criticism from Jagan’s son, Joey Jagan and others. This 2015 Budget will mark a historic turning point in Guyana’s history, bringing the APNU and AFC closer together for the common good of all Guyanese and developing a completely political culture, where party politics will be a thing of the past. It must send a clear message to the PPP and their backers as well as sections of the rich class that there will be no turning back and bribery will not be tolerated. Guyana will be a new place − a place where every Guyanese will be proud to be Guyanese living as one nation, one people with one destiny.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Rahman
