Minister Rohee should be pressing for a full probe of the $90M instead of vilifying Mr Ramnarine

Dear Editor,

I left Guyana one day after hearing the following message:

“I promise to be a fair and just President; to govern in the interests of all; to ensure that the legitimate aspirations of our people are respected; and the resources of this Great Land of Guyana benefit all of our people”  – President Donald Ramotar – December 3, 2011.

I was feeling a sense of mission accomplished; at least we no longer have Bharrat Jagdeo in charge.  Since then any observer can recognize that the political situation in Guyana has grown progressively worse and I am being told by my Guyanese-based contacts that this is a cause for grave concern and anxiety to many. Minister Rohee’s performance is just the latest addition to the collection of examples of continued Executive lawlessness.

How could a Minister be so wrong but yet operate as if he has a transport on all things right?  Nevertheless, I have not seen a motion of no-confidence in Parliament against him.  What happened to the Shadow Home Affairs Minister and her colleagues in the majority opposition; “goat bite them?”

Once upon a time they came for Paul Slowe, now they come for David Ramnarine.  If one is to read Commander Ramnarine’s story “From abject poverty to leading lawman” (http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/ 2010/04/11/from-abject-poverty-to-one-of-guyana%E2%80%99s-leading-lawmen-david-ramnarine-is-a-special-person/);

one has no other choice but to recognize a citizen of excellence who must be saluted for his courage of conviction in standing up for the men and women under his command.

The very foundation of a functional State as outlined in the Police Act (Section 6) charges the Commissioner and his officers with the “proper expenditure of all public moneys appropriated for services thereof”.  The Oxford Dictionary defined proper in this case as genuine.  So one expected that when the PPP asked the taxpayers for $90 million to feed and transport police ranks during the election period they would have genuinely spent that money to feed and transport the ranks who worked.

However we found out that $40 million was to cover unauthorized overspending by the Police under Henry Greene and the other $50 million, even though earmarked for the original plan, was not fully disbursed to feed and transport ranks.  Specifically in the case of the Hinterland Division, we find that they were assigned $1.7 million but only got $0.3 million, allowing for the phantomization of some $1.4 million.

Any right thinking individual must be left with serious concerns such as:

1.  Where is the $1.4 million?
2. Did this happen in the other Divisions and if so where are those moneys?
3. Who sanctioned the unauthorized overspending by the Police of some $40 million?
4.  Why is the Minister not calling for a full investigation of this matter rather than threatening and vilifying a respectful and professional Commander?

Any reader into this fiasco is left with more questions than answers since there is no clear audit trail on this $90 million. The first place the Audit Office has to conduct a forensic audit is at the Police Consumer Co-op Society since I am being told they played a special role in this fiasco.  This whole affair stinks to the hilt and one can better comprehend why some people are on the offence since there is much to hide.

This violation of professionalism in Government has now reached a stage where the very foundation of the Guyanese way of life is seriously threatened. The landmarks and traditions that we inherited from our fore-parents in search of a better life are being wiped away in this instance by a very powerful member of the PPP.  This adds to the compendium of so many other similar cases with respect to the misuse of public funds by PPP bigwigs.

Come hell or high water, Clement Rohee must be stopped.

Yours faithfully,
Sasenarine Singh