Dear Editor,
I hope you, your staff and all Guyanese had a peaceful and thoughtful Christmas. A review of incidents which took place before Christmas suggest that at the rate we are going, dictionaries and lexicon will determine that democracy in Guyana means demons gone crazy. Below, I refer to four separate but related incidents.
First, the alleged fracas at State House where a Police rank sustained injuries inflicted by a knife wielding- man. This should have warranted a full scale investigation, particularly since the rank was posted to protect our Head of State. But the reason for returning to this matter is because the media reported that President Ali visited the injured man and made an on the bed promotion, pinning two stripes on his sleeping garments. I understand that there is a picture with the two stripes pinned on him by the President in the presence of the Commissioner of Police and the media. The absurdity of this is palpable for I know of no similar recurrence before or after Independence. Beyond this, there is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Perreria displayed any act of bravery, valor, courage or perceptiveness.
In an earlier comment, all we heard behind the usual veil of secrecy is that the persons/officers who posted ranks ought to have been penalized and any promotion should be after an investigation, which shows the rank or ranks involved were deserving of such. Information available suggests that the alleged attacker is a Nigerian who indicated earlier that he wished to speak with President Ali. Editor, was the rank armed and if so with what? Did he have a whistle, if he needed support? What is unbelievable is that this one man, in addition to inflicting wounds on Constable Perreira, was able to relieve another rank of a 9mm pistol and fire off rounds. At least we are not told how many.
Did the President or his Advisors seek to find out why this Nigerian wanted to speak with the President before he rushed to make this on-the-bed-promotion? What is even more worrisome is that the general public seem to be losing confidence in the Guyana Police Force. This incident being so badly managed will not help to improve the image of the Guyana Police Force. A dangerous situation. As we’ve seen in other countries, such as nearby Haiti, where the police can no longer be relied on to even protect our Head of State much less an ordinary man in the street, we are in deep trouble. When will we learn? When will we know the truth?
Second, I listened to an audio of Charrandass Persaud’s defense of his unacceptable conduct in New Delhi on August 1, 2021. Several times, he apologizes but not before or after justifying his uncouth behaviour in a rather aggressive tone. Is Mr. Charrandass Persaud still enjoying the perks of office? Has he been reassigned once his contract terminated or will this be another State secret? Editor and Guyanese, listen to this recording of the apology made by Charrandass and judge for yourself where he draws an interesting distinction between males and females. The third issue is the unfortunate handling of our natural resources and the transfer of State assets and resources to the chosen few, but we will deal with this at another time.
Finally, let me remind the public that our best known and internationally acclaimed artiste, Eddy Grant expressed an interest in developing a massive cultural facility at the junction of the Demerara River and the Atlantic Ocean. This included utilizing the Luckhoo Swimming Pool named in honour of a previous Mayor, Sir Lionel Luckhoo. As Mayor, I was called by the then Head of State of the PPP Administration and told not to proceed since they had something bigger for that area. This turns out to be the building of the Marriott Hotel and in spite of my best efforts at several levels, the Council (M&CC) received not one cent for the Luckhoo Swimming Pool and its environs. Now that it ought to be making money, why should the Government want to dispose of the Marriott? Three cheers for return to democracy.
Sincerely,
Hamilton Green
Elder
