PPP/C ‘Manifesto promise to renegotiate oil contract was nothing but fraud’

Apr 07, 2024 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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…Anthony Vieira regrets being candidate for party at 2020 elections

Kaieteur News – Anthony Vieira, a former staunch member of People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), who created waves, when he flipped and joined the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), is now publicly expressing regret over this decision.

He has also pointed to, among other things, the “fraud” perpetrated on the nation with the promise to “renegotiate the ridiculous PSA oil contract.”

Vieira gave the damning condemnation in a public missive saying “For some weeks I have been labouring under the feelings of regret I am experiencing by agreeing to be a PPP/C candidate in 2020! I am now forced to tell the public that I apologise for unknowingly being part of that fraud.”

Further qualifying this position he pointed to the complete lack of oversight, monetary controls “and enforcement of the PSA provisions weak as they are, which Glen Lall is exposing weekly in his radio programmes, supported by Christopher Ram, Dr. Adams, Ms. Janki and others.”

Lamenting the failures of the government through the party’s Elections Manifesto promises and the concomitant effects, Vieira pointed to the matter with the teachers; “the government and the teachers agreed to resume work after striking for several weeks, but on resumption, this country, which just published pages and pages of capital works to be done, still refused to settle the matter amicably. Quite typical of our government.”

Giving further weight to his arguments in defence of his newly adopted position, Vieira pointed to the recent scathing reports emanating from Guyana’s periodic report to the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee (UNHRC).

To this end, he recalled “…when called on to offer the government’s position regarding the charges of corruption made against it, the explanations were so puerile, showing clearly what passes for political narrative in this country.”

He argued that for the UN to then totally disregard Guyana’s submission and conclude that the complaints of corruption in Guyana is a very real problem and urges the country to address “root causes of corruption” and advised, “to take steps to stamp out corruption especially in law enforcement agencies, public procurement and the oil sector as a matter of priority and ensure that all anti-corruption bodies are truly independent.”

To this end, he summarized for the committee that “our ‘bible’ says that “Satan cannot cast out Satan!” The PPP of Cheddi Jagan was not corrupt, and he promised to run a lean and clean system of Government, Mrs. Jagan ditto! Then Jagdeo came along.”

According to Veira, corruption has embedded itself into this county since he became president, “starting with GPC – not only the questionable sale of the Sanata property – but establishing a monopoly in the pharmaceutical industry through questionable contracts for that entity to supply drugs to the country, continuing to today when another group is seeking to monopolize hospitals, contracting and security industries at the same time! These people just won’t stop!”

Further compounding the situation Vieira pointed to the inactions of the private sector commission, lamenting “there has not been one word of protest from them, against the unfair competition which these public officials are posing to our legitimate private sector through their investments.”

Adumbrating further, on the embedded corruption that has become so pervasive since Jagdeo took Office, Vieira pointed to the concerns raised by former senior ranking members of the Guyana Police Force, in regards the promotion’s policy within that organization through its politicization.

The same, he alleges obtained with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), “appointing the wrong people and look at what is happening?”

According to Vieira, “The 2024 first crop is almost complete, and we don’t even have 6,000 tonnes of sugar made, Albion’s 1,200 cane cutters, worked only 16 days so far this year cutting cane. This is mainly a result of reaping 2024 first crop cane in second crop 2023.”

“What is going on in Guyana,” Vieira questioned rhetorically, observing that over “in the past few days, I have seen and heard complaints and accusations from many important sections of our society and it’s very disturbing.”

He was referencing allegations made by former senior police Paul Slowe, calling it “completely unbelievable, but since both he and his co-host are former Assistant Police Commissioners, they must know what they are talking about, and here I want to say that I personally congratulated Mr.  Slowe some years ago, since it was my opinion then, that as the traffic chief, he was doing an excellent job.”

Additionally, the PPP/C Candidate at the 2020 Regional and General Elections said “and then there is GPL (Guyana Power and Light)! Privatize that monster now!”

He qualified this position saying “as bad as Guyanese think that GTT (Guyana Telephone and Telegraph) is, I go to Trinidad regularly on business and GTT is, in my opinion, as good as if not better than Trinidad and Tobago Telecom’s which is still mostly government owned. But they are smarter than us, the government is the majority shareholder, but the minority shareholder is Cable and Wireless.”

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• Anthony Vieira, Contract, Nomination Day 2020, People’s National Congress/ Reform (PNC/R), renegotiate

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