Cheddi Jagan and I were about the start a meeting in Bartica during the 1992 election campaign, when I was approached by a well-known and important Indian businessman, who asked to speak on the platform. When I told Jagan of the request and he asked what I thought, I told him I was in favour of it. Quite uncharacteristically, Jagan said he was not and I transmitted this to the businessman.
But before the meeting began, Jagan asked if I thought his decision was wrong. I told him he was the boss but that I could not see what harm the individual could do. Indeed, he was a well-known CREEP (as we used to define some of Desmond Hoyte’s big business supporters) in the area and if he wished, as he said, to now throw his support behind the Jagans and the PPP/C, I saw it as a political advantage. Furthermore, we could let him speak first so that we would be in a position to counter any negatives he had to say. Jagan said he was still of the view that the businessman should not speak but that he should be allowed to do so and we would have a discourse later!
This incident came to mind as the Private Sector Commission was attempting to present its petition calling on all parties in the National Assembly to pass the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill and the opposition prevented it from do so. There is no hiding that – not unlike how the PPP and its
