Former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s entitlement to unlimited benefits needs to be addressed, according to opposition party AFC, which says that it is necessary to prevent an abuse of the country’s limited resources.
On Thursday, the party said that there should be no ambiguities in the law— the Former President’s (Benefits and Other Facilities) Act—and that the benefits that are given to Jagdeo or any former president must be clearly identified both in description and in quantity, so as to avoid the abuse of power that it said was known to the Jagdeo administration.
At a news conference, AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes reiterated that Jagdeo cannot have Guyanese citizens provide him with unlimited benefits, including household staff. “If you have 40 rooms in your house, it’s not only one domestic that will clean the 40 rooms… that’s about four maids,” he opined, days after raising the party’s concern about the situation at a corruption debate aired on the national broadcaster NCN.
In a statement released after the press conference, the AFC said that it was amused at the attempt to shift focus off the evidence of corruption highlighted by Hughes, including the fact that Jagdeo left office a considerably wealthier person than when he became president. “…A feat not achieved by any of his predecessors,” the party noted.
“It is simply offensive and unacceptable to the citizenry to have a former president of Guyana, which remains one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere, receive pension and benefits which amount to US$15,000.00 per month while the rest of the population can only receive US$50.00 in old age pension,” it added, saying that Jagdeo’s leaving office does not prevent him from being accountable for his acts and omissions while he acted as president. The party maintained that while it has no issue with Jagdeo’s pension or even with his Pradoville 2 mansion, his uncapped benefits were not another issue.
According to Hughes, the manner in which Jagdeo acquired the two acres of land at Pradoville 2 should have been a focus of the NCN debate, since he was invited to participate to discuss pension, benefits and corruption. “First, he got a house lot at $78,000, when he was at the high end earning as Minister of Finance. He should’ve gotten it at 1.2 million,” he said.
In addition to this, Hughes noted that prime real estate should not be taken and converted to state land before being allocated at $5M to the “President and friends of the President.”
“It’s not two house lots… he gave himself 17 house lots below market prices. If he can have 17 house lots at half a million dollars, I think persons who have never owned property should be given opportunity,” he added.
At the same time, Hughes said squatters who had to be living on the land for almost 30 years had the land taken away from them. “They took away this right from these people when they had just taken state land and allocated it to themselves. In Guyana, we cannot have a system where poor people are subject to one level of inconsideration and those who are privileged can take state land and allocate it to themselves… and taking it away from people who have been there for up to 29 years,” Hughes added.
Labour Minister Nanda Gopaul, who was also part of the debate panel, said that Jagdeo has submitted all of his documentation to the Integrity Commission with regard to the acquisition of the properties that he owned. Gopaul also said that the prices paid are consistent with the government’s rates and said it is most unfair to say that the president enriched himself through the acquisition of the land.
Meanwhile, the AFC also dismissed the claim that Kaieteur News’ publication of aerial photographs of Jagdeo’s Pradoville 2 estate is a security breach as ridiculous. It pointed out that Google Earth, which can allow access to images obtained from satellite imagery and aerial photography, enables people to view various locations from the comfort of their home. “Even the royal family has suffered more invasive intrusions into their personal life. This is not an issue of security, it is an issue of accountability,” the AFC said.
The Government Information (GINA) on Tuesday quoted a senior police official as saying that despite the freedom of the local press, the newspaper should have been cognisant of the fact that such photographs could serve to embolden those who have ulterior motives. As a former Head of State, Jagdeo, it was noted, should be afforded the respect that comes with the office and the security implications arising from such an esteemed position.
Meanwhile, Captain Gerry Gouveia, a member of the National Commission on Law and Order (NCLO) also condemned the publication of the photographs. “It virtually compromises our former President’s personal security, because what you are actually doing there is exposing the perimeters of his personal residence to all kinds of reconnaissance and scrutiny,” he told GINA.
