Dear Editor,
During the NCN “so called” TV debates on corruption, the people finally saw some shocking and distasteful revelations from the Ministers on display as the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime attempted to cover-up and distort the truth about corruption. Minister Leslie Ramsammy in particular tried to wrap himself in the proverbial “holy cloth” but eventually admitted to the public that there are “lapses in the system of procurement and that some contractors have taken advantage of the lapses.” However he did not clarify what those lapses are/were and he did not provide any evidence of how, when, where and why they have occurred and what the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime is doing about expanding the opportunities for the poor and the working class.
Throughout the debate Minister Ramsammy refused to acknowledge that there are hundreds of cases of bad procurement practices in almost every department and agency as revealed by the local media and several international organizations. Instead, he still thinks that there are mere procedural lapses in the procurement system which do not amount to corrupt practices or deceitful acts by the Ramotar/Jagdeo regime as claimed by some in the opposition. He brazenly defended the PPP on corruption when he stated that there are no specific known cases of regime corruption and no one in the opposition or from the public has made any precise charges of corruption against any member of the regime. We are certain that if it was his money, his opinion would have been very different. We implore the minister to read the latest Transparency International report on corruption in Guyana. Shame on you!
We would like to ask Ramsammy a question: “Do the following constitutelapses in the procurement system?”
1. The issuance of a letter from the Office of a Minister of the PPP regime on October 24, 2002 to a Spyware company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, granting approval for the convicted drug “king pin” Roger Khan to purchase and import a phone interceptor system to perpetuate his drug trade?
2. The award and termination of $3.2 billion in road works to an alleged US tax delinquent with limited experience in even building a tomb for the dead? To date the US tax delinquent has received some $900 million in payments from the Guyanese taxpayers and in return for what? A workshop full of junk equipment worth less than $75 million, which the Court has returned to him.
3. The award of some $9.6 billion in non-competitive pharmaceutical contracts over a ten year period to a friend of the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime.
4. The construction of a sugar factory at twice the average cost of a similar sized factory only to be saddled with a so-called new state of the art factory that cannot to date out-produce the ancient 50 year old British built Skeldon factory. That is some $100 million spent and cannot be accounted for. Is this another lapse in procurement procedures?
There are many more examples that can be cited to expose why Transparency International Inc, Freedom House International and the majority of Guyanese from the housewives to the market vendors believe that the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime is corrupt. We are informing the Ministers that their unwarranted public display of propaganda, untruths and distortions will not fool the people or change their perception of the PPP. One thing is for sure, the vast majority of Guyanese across ethnic lines (over 65%) believe that the PPP is corrupt. Old people always “seh” that honesty is the best policy and the truth will always “set” you free. Free yourself brother Leslie!
In the last decade, corruption has become the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development in Guyana in that it has made the poor and the working class poorer and the rich and the powerful wealthier. It has left the youths out in the cold. It has also stifled economic growth, debased the democratic process and continues to undermine the rule of law.
This means that a vast majority of our citizens have to eke out a living, in many cases from an income stream of less than $60,000 per month. Yet this Jagdeo/Ramotar regime has refused to offer them a salary increase or a reduction in VAT in the face of rising food and commodity prices. Their preference is to keep offering billions of the taxpayers’ money to their few business buddies and cronies instead. In conclusion, the evidence of the abuse of power and the barefaced use of state resources by the Jagdeo/Ramotar regime are there to see. This is a wrong committed against the citizens of Guyana and it must be made right by the majority parliamentary opposition.
There is no excuse now, David Granger and Sam Hinds are back from their long vacation, let us see what they shall do with respect to the appointment of the Public Procurement Commission.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh
