The AFC Column – Why so much disrespect and disdain?

Jun 08, 2008 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Khemraj Ramjattan

Jagdeo’s PPP/C Government is at it again. By now, people in this country must realize that the scorpion will always sting and the skunk will always smell. They will never evolve. They, like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park will remain that way.

Until, of course, Jurassic Park suffers one big implosion and a new era sets in. And so shall it be with the PPP and its cabal.

A constructive comment was made by Mike Correia, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission sometime ago and our President, with the blessings of his Party, did an uppercut that floored him flat. Verbally, of course! Correia’s comments had to do with making an argument for more support for the Private Sector by the government. This was in consonance with a World Bank Report which indicated that businessmen face massive difficulties to open up and sustain businesses here in Guyana.

A pit-bull attitude was taken against a former United Nations Resident Representative, Mr. Sorensen. He made a remark at the Georgetown Club that the government must do more to enhance good governance and accountability. Who told him to say that?

A United Nations Resident Representative must only bring in monies to fund projects which will ameliorate matters the government sees fit. He must, however, shut up on negatives and wrongs he perceives being committed. So what does the almighty President do? Sends him back from where he came. To speak out, even diplomatically, is rude behaviour.

I had always admired Mr. Sorensen. He was brave and forthright. International diplomats must not cower in the face of a combination of authoritarianism and arrogance.

This was what the PPP used to ask of such diplomatic personnel within such international circles when it was in opposition. Remember how PPP leaders used to be vexed when even diplomatic language, much less harsh words, were not being used to chastise the PNC when that party used to steal the entire country through massively rigged election? When Carter came and demanded of Hoyte and the PNC certain conditions that literally erased all the logistical nightmares for fair and free elections, the PPP applauded him. What a great man, indeed! Bestow the highest honour unto him. Notice now how the Jagdeo Administration has shunned him and his ideas since being installed.

This Jagdeo Government sees no value in the well known wisdom: “Silence is golden!” Not even sometimes. So His Excellency, again with the blessings of his Party – this I say because I am aware that senior party officials mentioned that if “Yesu talk, Bharrat must pelt a lash pun he” – right-crossed and uppercut Yesu Persaud when he pleaded for equality of concessions and rebates across the board for the business community; and not a discriminatory selection.

The President, if you were not discerning enough to spot the direct innuendo, was telling this doyen of the private sector and all present at the occasion Thursday last at Le Meridian, that he, Yesu Persaud, is a flip ignoramus. In almost actual words – “you either read and understand the law or shut up”.

Yet when Justice Ramlall ruled on the Chancellor/Chief Justice issue and Justice Jainarayan Singh ruled on the proportionate allocation of scrutineers’ funds, this same President insinuated that these Judges were legal ignoramuses to rule as they did. Silence is never golden; only Bharrat is!

This slam-down again occurred when the Office of the President, and to my surprise the Prime Minister, fired back at experts such as Toby Mendel of Canada, who wrote a book on Freedom of Information, and the experience of a former UK Minister, Baroness Amos, Parsanlall a present Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, John Barritt and Dame Jennifer Smith, MP’s of Bermuda, among others, who merely recommended, with support from the delegates present, that “Guyana should enact Freedom of Information legislation within a clear time frame and should thereafter make efforts to implement it fully”.

It was just disgusting to see Roger Luncheon with utter disdain and sarcasm denouncing these well meaning personages as the “Enlightened who must not come here to implant noble ideas on us poor natives, arrogantly implying that whatever is good for them is good for us.”

And he flagrantly misrepresented the Enlightened. Where and how did Luncheon come by the idea that the Enlightened was suggesting that a Freedom of Information Act is the be all and end all? These people of expertise and experience sent here by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association never at anytime suggested anything of the sort! I was there at the seminar and so was Allan Fenty who I am certain will pass a polygraph test as to what went on and what did not.

It is this disrespect that the PPP/C, its President, and its Government exhibit in an increasingly greater number of occasions, on all manner of issues, directed to all who seek to voice some opinion, be they high or low, which will result in a rivening asunder of this beautiful land.

The AFC launches “Seeds of Change”

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!”

The Alliance For Change has long advocated for easing the financial burden on Guyanese by lowering the VAT rate and restructuring the personal and corporate tax systems and will continue to be vocal on these and other issues of importance to our citizens. However, while we wait for the government to respond to the voices of the poor, the AFC this week launched “Seeds of Change”, our programme to empower Guyanese to return to the land.

Under the programme, the AFC will be distributing 25,000 vegetable seedlings free of charge to interested community groups across Guyana. On Thursday 5, 2008 this exciting programme was launched at the Patterson Community Centre where residents of all ages, including students returning home and still in their school uniforms, came to collect their plants. In this venture, the AFC will partner with organizations that share a similar vision and strong desire to bring relief to people in need. These partners include the Guyana Action Party (GAP), pastors and members of the Full Gospel Fellowship of Guyana (with a network of hundreds of churches throughout Guyana), and Guyanese in the Diaspora. In the long-term, the project is expected to raise the standard of living of the poorest of the poor and restore a sense of pride in Guyana and being Guyanese. Over the next few weeks, distribution of the seedlings will take place in Regions 4, 5, 7 and 10 with the communities of Sophia, Lusignan, Cane Grove, Golden Grove, Buxton, Linden-Soesdyke, Bartica and West Coast Berbice among those to receive plants in the first phase of the project.

The Global Food Crisis & Guyana

Recently the United Nations World Food Programme (WPF) identified the scarcity of food as “the biggest crisis looming for the world”, and the World Bank has released figures showing that global food prices have risen by 75% since 2000, while wheat prices have increased by 200%! The UN further stated that the increasing cost of grains is leading to an increase in the price of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. And there is no indication that food prices will stabilize anytime soon.

This food crisis is already being experienced in Guyana as we see the prices of basic items like rice, flour, milk and meat going up almost daily. Since the introduction of VAT in January 2007, Guyanese have been grappling with the rising cost of living and the global food shortage is making an already bad situation worse. More recently, there have been street protests in Georgetown and Berbice over the rising cost of living. Through “Seeds of Change”, the AFC hopes to support families in lowering their food costs and improving nutrition by offering practical assistance to allow them to grow their own vegetables and legumes. We must as a nation take full advantage of our greatest national resource – our vast agricultural lands! We hope that the Government of Guyana will focus not only on increasing agricultural production amongst large companies but will urgently implement a programme that will give ordinary Guyanese, especially those unemployed, a piece of land to farm.

Community groups and persons interested in receiving plants and technical advice through “Seeds of Change” are asked to contact: Desmond Moses on 693-5131 or 227-5202.

Get involved!-Visit www.afcguyana.org and sign our online petition to the Caricom Heads of Government on the need for good governance and constitutional reform in Guyana.

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