Dishonesty, indecency and no integrity are hallmarks of the Granger-led APNU+AFC

BY: DR. LESLIE RAMSAMMY

For five years, APNU+AFC abandoned young people. The List of Candidates for the 2020 General and Regional Elections affirmed that the Granger-led APNU+AFC still believes the young people must await their turn, as he stated in 2016. They have not told the Guyanese youth the truth then and now. They promised free university education in the 2015 campaign. In government, they increased the fees. Again, they are promising young people free education and jobs. There is nothing honest and decent in blatantly lying to the Guyanese youth.

The Granger-led APNU+AFC promised accountability and transparency. They are hiding documents to prevent auditing by the Auditor General, they refuse to account for the $US18M EXXON bonus and the $30B GUYSUCO loan. But they refuse to make integrity declarations, which is the law. A few months ago, David Granger said he was very busy and that is why he has not been able to adhere to the law. The vast majority of his colleagues in Cabinet and his MPs have also refused to submit integrity declarations. But violating the law, refusing accountability and transparency appears to be a natural part of their DNA. That is why violating and ignoring the constitution and the courts seem to come naturally to them. No matter what excuse, nothing about these things is decent, honest.

Not able to talk about the “good life” and “let progress continue” because of their miserable record over the last five years, Granger and APNU+AFC tried a thing with a new slogan “the decade of development”. This too fell flat since they cannot tell their own supporters, much less the nation, what plans constitute the “decade of development”. Now they are experimenting with another desperate empty slogan – “decency, honesty and integrity”. It underlines the incredible cluelessness of Granger and APNU+AFC that they chose a slogan which effectively works against them because it is easy for any citizen to see that the APNU+AFC cabal totally lacks decency, honesty and integrity. No government since independence has been as indecent, dishonest and lack integrity as this Granger-led APNU+AFC.

APNU+AFC launched their 2020 elections campaign at a site that epitomizes their corruption, dishonesty and indecency. The D’ Urban Park Jubilee project cost, according to their own figures, more than $1.5B. They claimed it was a private venture led by an NGO headed by Rupert Roopnarine and that the NGO collected donations from private people. But the Auditor General confirmed more than $600M was transferred from the consolidated fund to the project.

Other payments for D’Urban Park were disguised in various ways. Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP in and out of Parliament and other citizens, like Chris Ram and others, have been demanding accountability. APNU+AFC’s response has been to hide all the documents relating to D’Urban Park. It is sheer corruption, nothing decent, nothing honest, absolutely no integrity. The D’Urban Park scam alone exposes the myth of “decency, honesty and integrity” of Granger and APNU+AFC.

The recent publication of an order in the Official Gazette providing for salary increases for constitutional office holders stinks with dishonesty and indecency. First, the order supposedly was signed on December 2, 2019 and gazetted on December 3, 2019. But why was it a secret until it was exposed two weeks into 2020, almost six weeks after the purported signing date? Was this order back-dated? In addition, the order can only become law after a parliamentary process. It is a negative resolution, so the resolution must be laid in Parliament and then sit for one month before it becomes law. It is not debated unless an MP gives notice of objection within the stipulated time. But there was no official laying of the resolution in Parliament and, even if they did, the parliament was dissolved on December 30, 2019, meaning that the resolution never had time to mature. Decency, honesty and integrity seem to be alien words and characteristics of Granger and APNU+AFC.

Given the public outrage, it was reported Granger will not accept the increase. Then, the Nagamootoo-controlled DPI issued a statement from Jordan that Granger is not included in the order. There is no limit to the dishonesty of APNU+AFC. I have read the order hundreds of times and I do not see anywhere in the order that excludes the President of Guyana. I do know that since 1980, the President of Guyana, whomever he is, is a constitutional office holder. Fooling people whether to dismiss the outrage by denying Granger will benefit or by having Granger stating he will not accept the increase is sheer hypocrisy and dishonesty. It is not just that Granger and others will benefit from retroactive payments, it is that the pension he is eligible to receive after defeat on March 2, 2020 will be a bigger pension and that is the real objective of the order.

What integrity are they talking about, what honesty and decency are they boasting about when they permit the signing of mega contracts after the dissolving of Parliament and in the absence of a 2020 Budget? What is decent about signing a contract with one of their friends for $826M and allowing a sub-contract to be signed for an amount less than the $826M? If they seriously embrace the notion of “decency, honesty and integrity” publishing the sub-contract should be a non-issue. Incidentally, what is decent about giving out a more than $500M contract when the other bidders all tendered costs more than $80M less? What is decent and honest about hiding documents to prevent auditing the CJIA project?

Not a single day since May 2015 has gone by where there is not another example that exposes them as indecent, dishonest and without integrity. Corruption has become mind-boggling. More than 30,000 persons have lost their jobs. Thousands of small businesses have closed. Existing businesses are struggling. Guyana has produced 90,000 tons of sugar, after always surpassing 100,000 tons for 100 years. Guyana has borrowed even more today than the PNC era. APNU+AFC has squandered the total gold reserve, the lotto funds, more than half of the US dollar reserve in the Bank of Guyana, accumulated over $80B in overdraft at the Bank of Guyana without giving an account.

Limitation of space prevents the temptation to list the examples of dishonesty, indecency everyday for the almost 1,800 days of the APNU+AFC tenure. We can conclude with two simple examples. Who really are PNC and AFC members on the lists of candidates that APNU+AFC submitted to GECOM? Who really is the PM candidate for APNU+AFC? Why the equivocation to name Ramjattan? One day he is the PM candidate, another day he is not. Why are they hiding the agreement they signed for the coalition? As we ponder these questions, APNU+AFC cancelled a major rally in one of their strongholds – New Amsterdam. They cancelled several other big meetings at this critical time for any political party, a mere 47 days before elections. There must be a reason and the Guyanese people should be treated with respect and be told why. Only an indecent leader and party, one with no integrity will arrogantly dismiss these concerns of the people.