Compromising Integrity and Nation for would-be son-in-law

Dear Editor,

Compromising integrity has become a norm. One man sitting at the helm was so compromised he trusted crooks on oil blocks expecting a share of proceeds. Politicians, except for the Jagans and a few others, have had a history of compromising the patrimony of the nation. Regrettably, virtually no one, except two media houses, is standing up for the people against corrupt politicians.

Few are campaigning against corruption or advocating for a right price for selling or leasing our resources. Thank you KN for your abiding commitment to expose corruption and for standing up for us on oil royalty. We must get a fair percentage, the international norm on royalty for accessing our oil. No media house has championed integrity or for fair oil revenue sharing like KN and for this, the nation must forever be grateful.
As KN has informed us, because of compromises in political integrity, the country stands to lose hundreds of billions of American dollars. Politicians sold us out for small change, crumbs, for themselves unconcerned about loss of benefits to the rest of the nation.

One man compromised oil blocks but was outsmarted when the money was shared among crooks he trusted after portions of blocks were sold for US$60M. He did not learn any lesson. He proceeded to sell out his colleagues when he cut deals with a devil in exchange for a commitment that his would-be son-in-law would become a Minister in government. He breached confidentiality of discussions among trusted colleagues who had come up with a plan to take on the devil. He took confidential information to the devil in Chief who proceeded to blacklist colleagues excluding several of them from government positions, belittling stalwarts. The would-be son-in-law, an unknown in politics, was handsomely rewarded, appointed a Minister in spite of no background or competence in that Ministry. And the minister has as his secretary who is more powerful than him and is a known bandit placed there to look over the interests of bigger crooks.

Had the confidentiality of the information of discussions among colleagues not been breached, the politics in the camp would have forever changed. Politics in the country would have been different. And instead of 2% in royalty, we may have gotten a much higher amount.
If one man had not compromised oil blocks, and had his successors refused to honour that misguided deal or investigate it, we would have gotten 16% royalty. Guyana would have been such a different country. If one man was not thinking about the future of his daughter’s would-be husband, he would not have compromised his colleagues in democratic selections. Guyana would have been a different nation. KN would not have been needed to fight for a higher percentage of royalty. Sixteen percent would have been a reality.

Yours truly,
Srimattie Gangadeen