Latest update May 8th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 28, 2017 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
If the leaders of government know of the depths of the depravities of power that characterized the Jagdeo/Ramotar era, they will go the extra mile to ensure they do not play into the hands of the PPP. The more research one puts into the rule of these two presidents, the more one sees how horrible and sickening has been the abuse of power.
This columnist has been told that the contract under which the Commissioner of Information functions has no end date and retirement age. It is unspeakable that public funds could go into the employment of a person who can hold that office indefinitely. To see the morbidity of power in the Jagdeo/Ramotar period one simply has to compare the contracts of every major public sector position of high substance.
The judges, both from the High Court and the Court of Appeal, are not bound by periodic contracts but they are subject to the age of retirement. As most Guyanese would know, the Chancellor retired a few days ago. The Commissioner of Police has a time-bound contract and it conforms to the public service retirement clause. The same goes for the head of the army.
The DPP does not face renewal of contract but has a retirement requirement. The Ombudsman has a retirement point. So are all the Permanent Secretaries. So is the Bank of Guyana Governor. So is the Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University does not have age restriction. He/she can hold the position forever but the contract is renewed every three years. I assert that there isn’t anyone holding public office – constitutional or not- that is not subject to contract renewal or retirement. It would seem that the Commissioner of Information is the exception. But is one surprised? Should Guyanese be surprised to hear of such a contract?
This anomaly and countless others occurred during the tenure of Jagdeo and Ramotar. Both of these former presidents have taken the political and moral high ground. They pontificate on everything the government does. They see legal, moral and political nastiness in almost every major policy of the Coalition. Yet the balance sheet of the naked use of power by these two men is unspeakable. Why would any government compose a contract for a State employee to hold office indefinitely? Only one type of government does these things – the authoritarian regime.
Mr. Jagdeo holds a weekly press conference. Mr. Ramotar writes a weekly letter in the newspapers. There is not even a fleeting reference from the mouth of these men of any mistake that was made during their combined fifteen years of domination. Look out this week for Jagdeo’s press conference and the recurring theme of Government’s high-handedness and discrimination policies.
Look out this week for Ramotar’s letter and its poisonous accusations against the Government. You are not going to hear even one word from the mouth of Jagdeo, you are not going to read even one word from Ramotar about even one mistake they made when they were enjoying their domination of Guyana. Ask both men to comment on the contract of the Commissioner of Information, the journalist will either get a rude response or face an evasive tactic.
What this government should have done immediately after it got into power was to compile a dossier on the abuse of power. That should have been its priority not D’Urban Park. The people the government asked to beg for money to build D’Urban Park should have been engaged to do the research. By now all Guyana would have seen the contents of fifteen years of the abuse of power where incestuousness, nepotism, morbid corruptibility, unprecedented lawlessness, and sickening philistinism were the main features of the rule of the PPP.
The Coalition waited too long. That delay gave the Jagdeo bandwagon the breathing space it needed to serenade its supporters. Whether people embrace the PPP for race reasons, hatred of the PNC, or other determinants, only a depraved, evil mind would accept and approve of the conduct and policies of the Jagdeo/Ramotar period. To add to this insane environment is the consistent display of aggressive barefacedness in the face of oceans of facts of what they have done when they were in office.
One should end this commentary on a sarcastic tone on the pronouncement of Clement Rohee that every Guyanese is welcomed in the PPP. This is the man and his government who dismissed public servants by the hundreds when they came into power in 1992. It is time these people face a judge and jury. The sooner the better.
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