Dear Editor,
I refer to a letter in your June 3 edition titled ‘The PPP/C in or out of office will continue to be the best team for the people and country of Guyana.’ This letter was written by Mr Samuel Hinds who represented himself as both a former President and a Prime Minister and appears to confirm what seems to be a general confusion with former PPP/C officials about how to describe their former job titles. Mr Charles Ramson also stands out in this respect; he doesn’t know whether to call himself Justice, Attorney General or Commissioner of Information; therefore he uses them all.
Mr Hinds spent quite a bit of time lauding the achievements of Mr Jagdeo to the point that one was led to believe that Mr Jagdeo was not elected to fulfil a mandate to bring development to the nation. The letter gave the impression that Mr Jagdeo, through the kindness of his heart, built a cricket stadium, opened a dirt road to Lethem, and built a Convention Centre and the Caricom Secretariat. What Mr Hinds could tell us is when we will get the Skeldon sugar factory – brainchild of Mr Jagdeo − to produce as it should, or when the Hope Canal would finally be completed and how much was wasted on that ill-advised project.
He could tell us about the Amaila Falls Hydro project and how he squandered the country’s resources on Fip Motilal; and what happened to the One Laptop per Family Project. While he is at it, Mr Hinds could likewise disclose the names of the investors in the Marriott.
I am no defender or apologist for President Forbes Burnham but Mr Jagdeo went to a secondary school built by Burnham; he sat in an office built by Burnham; he travelled through an airport built by Burnham; and ruled with a constitution written by Burnham. Using Mr Hinds’s logic, the PPP should be a cheerleader for Burnham.
Maybe when Mr Hinds decides to write again he will elaborate on these omissions. He will also tell us what is the Civic’s position on the PPP’s claim of being cheated.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Branch
