Dear Editor,
To invite the press less than two hours before his Leonora outreach last weekend which obviously was planned for several weeks is clumsy, offensive, and insulting to all Guyanese, especially the members of the media, known as the fourth estate. In a country where no one, not even the president and members of his cabinet had performed efficiently and with alacrity, presents a hugely difficult task for journalists to keep any schedule. That journalists were intimidated by the hundreds of party supporters at the venue, where the President opted to host his press conference, reeks of very poor planning. Many persons could have been needlessly hurt as Stalin once indicated: never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
The crowd, with few exceptions, that heckled the reporters as they attempted to question the Guyanese Head of State on matters relating to the petroleum sector is like the mobs that had existed more than 30 years ago. Which suggests that there is a large cross-section of the populace who remain uncouth and vulgar. This has, and continues to be, the character of both present and previous regimes which exhibit a deep fear of the fourth estate in Guyana as their members zoomed in on asking meticulous questions on expenditures, favouritism, nepotism, corruption, SU Gate, victimization and the bias juxtaposed by the Ali administration in awarding most contracts to supporters, friends, and family of the ruling oligarchs. Therefore, for Kwame McCoy (Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister) to defend the President and his clique is outrageous, reprehensible, laughable and a complete disgrace. But he does not know any better.
Leonora village is where the President is from and it is also my birthplace, but it is still steeped in cash-crop farmers, cane cutters and street limers most of whom are predominantly Indo-Guyanese and PPP devotees who would rather starve and punish than to oppose any wrong doings by the corrupt regime. The dilapidated market in the village is on the verge of collapsing, but instead of asking their leaders to repair or replace it, they would prefer to fill the rum-shops. There is evidence to suggest that the President and his cabinet have developed a strategy to humiliate, demean, and confront independent journalists rather than answer the much-dreaded Oil and Gas questions.
If President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Jagdeo and other self-anointed oil gurus in the cabinet do not wish to answer questions on the Oil & Gas project, then they should be transparent and present all relevant information to the public promptly. This is known as accountability which is a key pillar of good governance that the PPP acolytes’ campaign on, but now in power, they have deviated from and reneged on their campaign promise.
Sincerely,
Leyland Roopnarine
