Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 13, 2010 Editorial
Another secret deal has been unearthed and once more the government is at its wits end to justify these secret arrangements with foreign people. In any country, one would expect that since it is people’s money that goes toward funding these projects, then the people would be informed and kept aware of what their government is doing for them.
More often than not in Guyana this is not the case. It first began when the Berbice River Bridge was under construction. The programme planners announced that no information would be forthcoming. There was an act that precluded anyone from revealing any information about the bridge or the revenue accruing. There was also to be no talk about the rate of return.
In the end President Bharrat Jagdeo, in response to a question at a media conference, revealed that information.
But the action of the bridge planners was indeed strange. The information on the bridge was being treated as though it was a national secret. One of the people behind the bridge later offered the explanation that any wrong bit of information could have jeopardized the programme.
The bridge is complete and there is still marked silence about anything relating to it. Of course, the very people turn to the media for help whenever something goes wrong with the bridge. Vandals began to target the bridge and immediately the very people sworn to secrecy ran to the media. It could be that certain information is classified and some is not or has been declassified.
From all appearances the bridge authorities feel that they are at liberty to summon the media at their whim and fancy and the media, particularly the state media houses. They are beholden to respond to whatever the state orders.
And so we come to this most recent deal. The government summons a Grenada-based company to come to Guyana and set up a Marriott Hotel and casino. The public remains in the dark until some enterprising reporters ferret out the deal. They seek information from the government sources and are greeted by the conventional ‘no comment’.
This must be an insult to Guyanese. The foreign company invited to the party with “a very attractive offer” speaks about some details of the project. The reality is that Guyanese have to learn about happenings in their country from people outside the country.
When the story appears in the press the government spokesman gets angry. He speaks of a confidential deal. How can he talk about a confidential agreement spending the Guyanese people’s money?
This was often the case some time ago. During periods of the Burnham era, Guyanese were kept ignorant of certain developments. It was left to the foreign radio station, Radio Antilles, to keep them informed. The result was that the more the government tried to hide certain things the more the information was released on Radio Antilles.
There is the Amaila Falls road programme. This was also shrouded in secrecy although the tender was publicized. The contract was awarded in secrecy but again President Jagdeo saw the need to inform the public. He announced the award. Since then there have been a number of unanswered questions and more keep surfacing.
The officials insist on remaining mum and the contractor is invisible. Everything about this contract smacks of failure. The contractor is being asked to complete a Herculean task; he is asked to, among other things, complete 110 kilometers of finished road through virgin forest within eight months. And if this was the only task that he has to undertake then one might understand the pressure of the contract.
However he has to complete other roads within the same time span. Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon has said that the contractor had every opportunity to examine the contract and that he has agreed to all the clauses. He also talks about the importance of contracts.
Another government source hints at time extensions. Surely there is something wrong. The initial discovery is that there is no correlation or collaboration between the national leaders. This happens where there is mad haste to hide projects, when there is a rigid dependence on secrecy.
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