As he had vowed unless issued an apology, co-founder of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G), Vincent Alexander, has filed a more than $150 million suit against Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who he says has defamed him.
Alexander has said that Jagdeo, on a program-me aired by the Depart-ment of Public Information (DPI) on August 19th, falsely accused him of having a pecuniary interest in, and misusing IDPADA-G’s funds.
Alexander (the Claimant) is seeking damages in excess of $100,000,000 against Jagdeo who he said made the offensive and untruthful statement against him; and $50,000,000 against DPI for broadcasting it.
Apart from damages, Alexander is also seeking a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from further publishing the statements he complains of which he says are false and malicious, as well as an apology.
He also wants a Court to grant him a mandatory injunction compelling DPI to permanently remove the interview from its website.
In addition to Jagdeo and DPI, the Attorney General is also listed as a defendant in the suit.
Alexander said that what was said about him by Jagdeo has impugned his character by ascribing to him illegal, corrupt and perverse dealings with the organization’s fund; without affording him an opportunity to respond.
He said he specifically denies “subverting public funds or using a race of people for self-advancement” while stating that the allegations have caused him substantial hurt and diminished his image locally and internationally as “a most respected Com-missioner” of the Guyana Elections Commission, former Registrar of the University of Guyana, published academic and local, regional and international award winner for “pioneering leadership and academic excellence.”
“These stellar achievements,” according to Alexander “are littered across decades of public service…and not the feats of happenstance or recent accomplishment.”
In a letter prepared by his attorney Eusi Anderson in late August, Alexander signaled his intention to sue if Jagdeo did not apologize by September 3rd. In that letter, he also demanded payment to the tune of $50 million as compensation for which he said is the restoration of his name.
At the time, Alexander said that the Vice President among other things, maliciously defamed his character by stating that a mere $343,000 was spent on grants in 2020; though government had given the company a total of $100 million for the purpose of grants that year.
Jagdeo had accused IDPADA-G’s founding members of using the Afro-Guyanese community for personal benefit. “Find out how much of the money [IDPADA-G receives] goes to normal Afro-Guyanese,” he told reporters, while claiming that since its founding it had received a total of $468 million from the government to promote the economic advancement and empowerment of Afro-Guyanese.
IDPADA-G has disputed Jagdeo’s claims that it has ever misused any monies received; maintaining that its funding has been allocated to various developmental projects for Afro-Guyanese.
Alexander at a subsequent press conference had said founders are not beneficiaries of the not-for-profit company; and that “Every cent of IDPADA-G’s subvention or other revenue is spent in service to the African Guyanese community, indirectly as in the case of salaries or directly through programmes, projects, engagements, and financial assistance.”
He also said that founding members of IDPADA-G are volunteers and do not benefit from the company.
According to the lawyer’s letter written to Jagdeo which was seen by this newspaper, Alexander said that Jagdeo’s malice was evident, since a cursory perusal of the public financial records would show that the $343,000 “was the residual balance from the 2018 special subvention conferred by the government on IDPADA-G.”
That sum, Alexander said in his lawyer’s letter, was “brought forward to the 2020 financial statement.”
Alexander said that what Jagdeo has essentially tried to do, is give the impression as though the total grants disbursed by IDPADA-G for 2020 was a paltry $343,000 of the entire $100 million.
“This is wholly dishonest and defamatory. It has no basis in truth,” Alexander asserted in the letter.
Alexander at his press conference had said that while IDPADA-G is not generally funded to provide grants, the company in 2018 received $10 million from the Ministry of Finance for grants to be distributed among Afro-Guyanese; which was largely distributed in 2018 and 2019.
He had also said that “Every cent of IDPADA-G’s subvention or other revenue is spent in service to the African Guyanese community, indirectly as in the case of salaries or directly through programmes, projects, engagements, and financial assistance.”
Alexander says in his letter that notwithstanding he is a Director, he “was never paid a penny and acted purely as a volunteer and fiduciary;” and that there exists no record public or otherwise, to contradict that.
Against this background he has contended that the Vice President defamed him by claiming that he is a beneficial owner of the organization
Alexander noted that the relevant financial documents were requested and obtained from IDPADA-G on the morning of Jagdeo’s press conference. “Such was IDPADA-G’s openness and efficiency in providing documents, only for them to be misused by the Vice-President,” he lamented.
Despite the company’s position, Jagdeo has maintained that there was a misuse of funding.
He questioned how much of $100 million allocated annually since 2019 and $68 million in 2018 was spent on paying salaries, who are individuals that were paid, what amounts were they being paid and how were they selected.
He also questioned how much of that sum was spent on rental, who owns the buildings rented, and what process was used for the selection of the buildings, among other things.
