Dear Editor,
I am beginning to enjoy the emerging gravitas and leadership being displayed by Finance Minister Ashni Singh; unlike many of the dinosaurs’ representing the major political parties. The cronyism and nepotism in all its mutated form take a front seat to mental and physical capacity to do the job.
Ashni at least by my assessment falls in the best and brightest category and this categorisation extends beyond Guyana’s shores, and I really do not know of another current Minister with the acumen and skill-set commensurate to their high office. However like most politicians he got entangled in fealty to party. Difficult to avoid considering that he was the de facto manager and facilitator of the sprawling Jagdeo empire of Government – riddled with accusations of corruption – and truth be added – the burgeoning Guyanese economy.
Dr. Singh exemplifies the value of being qualified and knowledgeable in conducting his duties, unlike many of his peers – Clement Rohee, Irfaan Ali, and Jennifer Webster to name but a few. Ashni has the burden of being the last swordsman standing after the timely departure of President Jagdeo from office, albeit the departure is not likely to be for the long-term.
Handling accusations on his party and himself with skill and aplomb, while counter-attacking successfully the warranted charges from Guyanese Extraordinaire Christopher Ram and the political gamesmanship from the architect of Guyana’s 1988-1992 economic recovery in the person of Dr. Carl Greenidge, Ashni has managed conflicting interests very well.
Carl with over thirty years of service in public finance may prima facie have the upper hand, however, a careful scrutiny of the scholarship and discipline of Dr. Singh will indicate that the erstwhile Minister of Finance is up against a formidable and indomitable foe.
The former protégé of President Jagdeo has unsurprisingly risen to be the top intellect in the PPP/C by many grey cells; quite an easy task considering the players and politics of the PPP/C.
Now the main challenge for Ashni is to cover his Achilles Heel and do the virtually impossible task of cleansing the Augean Stables filled with questionable deals, those facilitated by National Commercial and Industrial Development Limited (NICIL), sale of Sanata Textile Mills, Amaila Falls Project engineered by the infamous Fip Motilal, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation contracts with New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation, and the absence of lottery funds from Consolidated Fund to name a “few”.
As Alexander Cockburn so often writes its Tumbril Time!
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Hinds
