Dear Editor,
Who is Mr. Su?
Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, released the unedited video of an interview with VICE media during, which a claim that “Mr. Su had told them that through his broker and with the payment of bribes, deals could be cleared by the Vice President and there was no trace of money to Jagdeo” was made. This made me laugh out loud. Needless to say, this is a prime example of what Guyanese call ‘salawallah’ and could lead to a fool being parted from his money; but Guyanese love our tabloid journalism as much as anyone else, and Su trends well. Jagdeo makes annual declarations to the Integrity Commission.
VICE seems to hold a stereotypical view of Guyana as a backward third-world country and their attempt to paint us as a people who take advantage of the indigenous tribes exposes their lack of willingness to do proper research. Guyana’s Amerindian Act of 2006 treats indigenous peoples’ issues frontally. It is regarded as the best piece of legislation in South America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. One of the most notable benefits from the Act is the Land Titling Department within the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, which is directly responsible for the land ownership of Amerindians in Guyana to move from 6% to 14% of the entire country as of 2014.
A VICE agenda was also revealed with the constant attempts to use false information about infrastructure projects to imply a bias towards Chinese companies exists and is improper. This was painful to watch as the assertions included the US$200M Schoonord to Parika road which is still in design stage and has not been tendered as yet and the Linden to Mabura Road which was awarded via public tender to a Brazilian contracting firm; that this caused the journalist no pause in the follow-up question about Chinese contractors was enlightening. What was puzzling during the entire interview was the fact that all of what Jagdeo said is available in the newspapers; the Amaila Falls Hydro tender and bid details, the Demerara Harbour Bridge tenders, the public procurement process is well known and sole-sourcing is reserved for emergency work only; so where then, did VICE do research or get such patently false information?
The One-China policy is clearly upsetting to VICE who were clearly surprised to hear that the United States is the biggest investor in Guyana currently. However, VICE had an agenda to stick to and despite the facts forged ahead. To boldly ask a loaded question such as “did you take a bribe” of a senior government official implies one has evidence of a bribe and leaves a taint despite no evidence being proffered to counter the blunt denial. VICE is known for sensationalism and utilized similar tactics in other countries (notably Trinidad & Tobago).
Finally, back to “Who is Mr. Su?”, the answer may be a (Chinese) man taken out of context or a convenient whipping boy for the anti-China sentiment prevalent in North America post Covid-19. Jagdeo has consistently pointed people with allegations of corruption in the direction of the Guyana Police Force while in and out of office; it remains the best policy.
Sincerely
Robin Singh
