Khemraj Ramjattan, leader of the AFC, says that Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh is a “hypocrite”. One can retort in Ramjattan’s gutter language that “it takes one to know one”. But Ramjattan’s indulgence is a bit more complicated: it’s called “projection”.

It’s when you know in your heart that you feel a certain way about something…but because you don’t think it’s right, or maybe that it’s downright reprehensible, you project the feelings onto others.

It’s very common with those who take a hard-line against gays. They have urges and inclinations in that direction but are ashamed of them. They then, at the drop of a hat, condemn someone they don’t like as “gay”.

So here we have this man (we use the term rather expansively) Ramjattan calling someone of Dr Singh’s calibre a “hypocrite”. Let’s look at hypocrisy and Ramjattan. A hypocrite, we know, is a self-absorbed, arrogant douchebag who constantly groans and moans about other people doing something that they say is wrong, yet engages in exactly the same such behaviour anyway.

Ramjattan talks about following “principles”. What principles were he following when he held on to his PPP seat even though he left the party – until he could collect his duty-free car? Looks like the principle of greed and avarice to me. Then there’s his “news carrying” to the U.S. embassy, even though he screams about his ‘independence’.

He should be reminded of Martin Carter’s aphorism: the mouth is muzzled by the hand that feeds it. But then that’s OK with a hypocrite – once the hand stuffing his face is full.

The worst bit of hypocrisy practised by Ramjattan is to boast he’s pushing a “multi-racial” line. From the man who stirred up the hornet’s nest at Linden, resulting in the deaths of three men, by playing the race card against both the PPP and the PNC!! You can’t get more devious than that. This man will sink below the belly of a snake to get his grubby little hands on power.

Take his latest bit of hypocrisy, over which he projected his hypocrisy onto Dr Singh. Imagine he says he would vote for the money laundering bill…once his demands on the procurement commission are met. That means he has no problem with the bill…he just wants to have his way, and is willing to take down the country for it. What a hypocritical wanker!!!!

 Granddaddy of hypocrites

Hypocrites come in all shapes and forms. But from our experience the ones that wear suspenders, take the cake….and whatever other prize they’re handing out. Take Suspenders Ram, for instance. Ever since he went to law school with kids young enough to be his grandchildren, he’s been spouting opinions to everyone under the sun about “morality” and such things.

Everyone, that is, excepting his friends in his hypocrisy club. There’s got to be a club for these fellas…how else could all of them sing from the same hymn book all the time? If you check out his writings, Suspenders has never been shy about knocking people whose books he’s audited. Only recently he had to defend this practice of his, in the papers. But he’s never knocked Guyana Stores, the board of which his buddy Glenn Lall, of Muckraker and backtracking fame, sits on.

We’ve just gotten our hands on the 2003 audited accounts of Guyana Stores – written in 2009 by – guess who? That’s right….Suspenders Ram!!! And the bottom line is that he concludes in his written opinion – “No comment”!!!

Backtracking hypocrite

 David Granger, of APNU, just tabled a motion in the National Assembly to have the president appoint a commission of inquiry (COI) to investigate the incidence of trafficking in persons (TIP) in Guyana. Why only “in” Guyana? He doesn’t want his backtracking TIP buddy, Glenn Lall hauled in?

U.S. Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt

In an exclusive with Guyana Times, Ambassador Hardt noted that the U.S. is a land of immigrants.

“We have always benefited from the people coming to us bringing their skills and talents to our shores.” The U.S., he said has a population of more than 300 million persons.

“Guyanese are a big portion of American citizens. Hugh communities in New York, Atlanta, Florida and other areas and we greatly value the contributions they make in the United States.”

According to the diplomat, most Guyanese relocated to his country seeking better paying jobs and a higher standard of living, “But they do make significant contributions to the development of the United States”.

The ambassador told this publication that Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was senator for New York during that period witnessed firsthand how much New York depended on the hard work and skills of the immigrant communities, especially the Caribbean and Guyanese.

Acknowledging that Guyana has lost much of its talented human resources to the U.S., the ambassador said although some measures are being taken to attempt to soften the effect of what is called the brain drain; enough is not being done by the government.

“You can never say that anything that we will do will be enough to compensate because there is nothing more important than the skills of the people of a country. The only way to build a country is to educate people and ensure that they are able to use that education and apply if in their country.”

Hinting on what could be done to stem to flow of Guyanese to the U.S., the ambassador said that the education system in Guyana needs to become more modernised. “What is critical is that the people that grow up here have an educational system that will help them to get the jobs and the salaries that will make it worth the while to stay here and that people are prepared to give them the opportunities to grow in their professional lives.”

Personally, I was really angry when no one was quickly arrested following the shooting to death of Corporal Romein Cleto. However, it seems as though hard investigative work by the Guyana Police Force is beginning to pay off – a major suspect has been identified even though not yet arrested.

About five years ago, a Canadian rapist/murderer of a five-year-old girl probably thought that he was effectively surreptitious. The media actually hounded the seemingly passive Canadian police and the police were terribly criticised.

It came to a point, where the media were asked to stay put. They were apparently giving too much away, and were involved in making wild assumptions. The police claimed back then that the press was not of any help.

I am wondering here if it can turn out that crime information may very well back-fire. The crime in Canada was solved. Here we are hoping for the same. However, this suspect may very well bolt. He knows that the noose is closing in on him.

Maybe, the local police did not want to give this piece of information away, but they were kind of forced to. Police work must be without personal vengeance.

In Trinidad and Tobago, an acting police corporal was shot and killed in Couva in what is being described by investigators as a hit. This is the second police officer to be killed this year in the twin island republic.  In February, one was shot and killed, while responding to a robbery report in San Fernando.

The killing of any police officer is not something unheard of.  I am also seeing that guns in the wrong hands may very well be something to engender regional support.

Yours truly,

Christopher Kendall

City Hall

These attacks, which included Green mobilising a group of vendors to protest against the continued presence of Sooba at City Hall is revealing as it comes almost immediately after the acting town clerk announced a campaign to root out corruption at the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), the WPO said in a release.

The WPO said the public admission by Sooba that some councillors have pressured her to engage in actions which are below board and are against the laws governing the municipality and her outright refusal must be commended.

“The revelations that Sooba was also being pressured by no less than Mayor Green to write-off millions of dollars in taxes from a business operated by his wife to the municipality, even more so when City Hall is operating under serious cash flow constraints is most revealing.

“Disclosures of the misuse of international donor funds by the mayor and his associates add to the dilemma.”

The WPO said it is strange that in rallying roadside vendors to protest against Sooba, no less a person than Green is quoted by the media as stating that “there was no plan to address vending in the city”.

“We find this statement most damning as Mr Green has been functioning as mayor of Georgetown since 1993, two decades after the High Court would have ruled this practice illegal.

“Unfortunately, the mayor is turning a blind eye to the continuous construction of illegal vending structures all over the city, especially on parapets and reserves in the city.

“Contrast the eagerness of the mayor and his councillors to remove Sooba, who during her nine months at City Hall has reportedly managed to save over $80 million for the cash-strapped M&CC to their refusal to support the dismissal of the previous acting Town Clerk Ms Yonette Pluck and support staff; despite the fact that an independent investigation found major financial irregularities during their tenure.”

The WPO said based on recent revelations and accusations levelled at the M&CC that persons of East Indian descent are routinely targeted, the WPO as a multi-ethnic organisation which has fought for close to 60 years against such practices finds the unjust attacks against Sooba because of her ethnicity most reprehensible.

The women’s arm of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) stands firm in supporting Sooba and her efforts to weed out the incompetence and corruption at City Hall, which have had a devastating effect on Georgetown and the image of Guyana.

On Friday, GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Vishnu Persaud told this publication that registration thus far is beyond 27,000 and most likely the commission would pass its target by Saturday.

Persaud said GECOM will not extend its deadline; hence persons who missed the opportunity to get registered would have had to wait until the fifth cycle of continuous registration scheduled for later this year.

He noted that it is a missed opportunity for persons who did not take the time to get registered.

Persons who would have been 14 years or older by June 30, are Guyanese by birth, descent, naturalisation, or from a Commonwealth country, living in Guyana for one year or more, were eligible for registration during the exercise.

The government and the opposition parties, the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have been calling on persons to register to get their identification cards. This year, there have been talks that the country will hold local government elections which have not been held since 1992. There have also been talks about possible snap elections due to the constant chaos in Parliament created by the opposition to block the government’s developmental agenda. Last elections, a substantial amount of Guyanese did not register, and as such, were not allowed to vote.

He is expected to make a court appearance on Monday.

According to information received, Chase confessed to the murder on Friday evening during an interrogation at police headquarters, Eve Leary, but was hurriedly whisked away to the Diamond police outpost after signing the confession document.

Guyana Times understands that Chase was severely tortured before he made the confession. He was then placed in shackles before he was transferred to the Diamond outpost. At the detention facility, he requested to be taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre to seek medical attention, but to no avail.

The relatives of the murder accused have since contracted the services of a lawyer who visited the police station with the aim of getting Chase medical attention, but this proved futile.

Sheba (only name given), a sister of the murder accused, told Guyana Times that she received a telephone call from a woman who claimed that she was tortured to say that Chase had committed the murder.

The anonymous woman is reportedly willing to face the magistrate to relate her ordeal, but not without proper legal representation.

The woman is a friend of the accused. Cleto was gunned down a few weeks ago by an occupant of a white car after a group of policemen on patrol confronted the men.

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh

By michael younge

Scrutiny of the proposed amendments to Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill has begun at the level of the select committee of the National Assembly with the hope of bringing finality to the legislation ahead of the May 27 deadline for its passage as part of Guyana’s international obligations.

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, speaking with Guyana Times on Saturday afternoon, confirmed that the select committee met during the latter part of last week to commence work. He expressed hope that deliberations and consideration of the proposed amendments will continue in a timely manner.

Dr Singh has also noted that while the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) turned up to the meeting to be part of the committee’s analysis of the legislation, the Alliance For Change (AFC) was a no-show.

“Regrettably, the AFC absented themselves, thereby disclosing their lack of interest in and support for yet another matter of national importance,” said the finance minister.

AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan

Dr Singh said despite the move by the AFC, work continued with “some progress” being made. He was adamant and still hopeful that the efforts of the parliamentary select committee will continue with emphasis on completing its business, with or without the AFC’s support.

The AFC has seven seats in the National Assembly and last week came under intense criticism from several key stakeholders after it announced its non-support for the amended anti-money laundering legislation until several demands were met by the government. The party said it wanted President Donald Ramotar to assent to two opposition bills, while also calling for the establishment of the National Procurement Commission as a prerequisite for it to support the amendments.

The finance minister maintained that the AFC’s position lacked rationale and was “irresponsible”. He maintained that the posture adopted by the party aims at holding the government and the president to ransom.

Dr Singh condemned the move, noting that the AFC failed to look at the merits of the proposed amendments before “throwing caution to the wind” and signalling its non-cooperation with the government over what appears to be political issues.

Dr Singh said government is closely monitoring the developments at the special select committee with the aim of ensuring that information is both accessible and available to its members. He reaffirmed the commitment of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) toward enacting the legislation in keeping with Guyana’s obligation to an international agreement.

Guyana could be deemed a credit risk by international financiers and become subject to sanctions, restricting international financial transactions if the nation does not immediately put in place and implement the legislation required by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

“Guyana cannot afford to be blacklisted in this manner,” said Dr Singh. “I am concerned about any negative consequences. The whole nation should be concerned about any negative consequences that will flow from the non-enactment of the bill.”

AFC hypocritical

Meanwhile, Dr Singh has also responded to comments made by AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan, who called him a hypocrite. Dr Singh conceded that he did not expect praises from Ramjattan after he publicly condemned the politicisation of the legislation by the AFC, saying the rejected former PPP/C executive, who now leads the parliamentary party with the least number of seats, should be the last to criticise public officials.

He immediately said that Ramjattan’s party was the “ultimate and biggest hypocrite” for taking such an anti-nationalistic stance on the legislation, knowing fully well the consequences if it is not passed by the deadline. “The AFC are ultimate hypocrites. If you look at their track records, double standards and misuse of their parliamentary votes, you will have many examples,” he said.

Dr Singh cited attempts by the party to block funding for the Marriott Hotel simply because one of its members and financiers is the owner of the Pegasus Hotel. He further pointed out attempts by the minority party to undermine the Specialty Hospital as yet another example, explaining that it voted against budgetary allocations because Ramjattan is the legal representative for one of the companies that lost the construction bid.

APNU left the AFC standing alone after Opposition Leader David Granger said his party would support the anti-money laundering legislation after a closer analysis at the level of the special select committee. Private Sector Commission Chairman Ronald Webster also called on the opposition political parties to do their best to ensure that the legislation is passed in time for the deadline.

Power through back door

Meanwhile, head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon has placed the public on notice that the opposition political parties are using various campaigns aimed at grabbing power through the back door.

Dr Luncheon, speaking at his weekly post-cabinet briefing, explained that many, including elements in the opposition, know no boundaries in terms of their intention to remove the PPP/C from government.

“There are many who would tear down this country. They don’t care and the evidence is out there for all to see. They will destroy this country if it allows them to remove the government.” He noted that being a non-compliant member of the international community reflects badly on the image of Guyana, adding that the opposition parties appear to be conspiring among themselves to block the legislation.

“This notion about blocking all government legislation is unbelievable. This is nothing more than a back door way to general elections. What other interpretation could there be?” asked Dr Luncheon.

President Donald Ramotar recently informed Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman that he had withheld his assent from the two opposition-led bills, contending that they violate the Constitution. The two pieces of legislation are an amendment to the Fiscal Management Accountability (FMA) Act and changes to the Former Presidents’ (Benefits and other Facilities) Bill.

Housing Minister Irfaan Ali

An opinion survey conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) in early May found a majority of voters is opposed to the budget cuts passed by the combined opposition.

The poll also found that a majority of voters do not approve of a snap election to address the parliamentary impasse of the opposition majority stymieing government initiated bills. The findings show that another election may not produce a significantly different outcome from the current makeup of the Parliament. The poll also found that Housing Minister Irfaan Ali is rated as the best performing minister, closely followed by Education Minister Priya Manickchand, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, Environment Minister Robert Persaud and Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy.

For the best debater in the recently concluded budget debate, Dr Ashni Singh leads on the government side with Carl Greenidge taking the honours on the opposition side.

Finance Minister
Dr Ashni Singh

A majority of voters are also not supportive of the South African government granting an award to the late President Forbes Burnham.

These and other findings were obtained in the poll that queried voters’ views on a number of current issues. The poll randomly interviewed 600 voters to yield a demographically representative sample (44 per cent, Indians; 30 per cent, Africans; 16 per cent, Mixed; nine per cent; Amerindians; and other races one per cent) of the population. The poll was conducted by interviewers with many years of experience in survey interviewing and was coordinated by Vishnu Bisram, a pollster, newspaper columnist, and an educator in New York.

The results of the poll were analysed at a 95 per cent significance level and a statistical sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points was found. Sampling results based on sub-groups (such as Indians or Africans) have a larger sampling error of about five per cent.

Asked if they approve of the opposition cuts to the proposed government budget, 61 per cent said no, 30 per cent said yes and the others did not offer a response.

Carl Greenidge

Disappointment

Surprisingly, a significant percentage of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) supporters (21 per cent combined) are disappointed with the combined opposition over the budget cuts, saying it will affect the economy, but most remain supportive of both opposition parties.

Respondents expressed concern that their electricity rates would go up and some are worried that the cuts could result in loss of state jobs. Asked if they think the government should call a snap election to address its minority status in Parliament, a whopping 62 per cent said no, including half of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) supporters and significant numbers of AFC and APNU followers, many of whom say another election may not yield a different outcome.

People want the parties to work together for the national development of the country instead of engaging in continuous bickering. Some 26 per cent feel the government should return to the poll with 12 per cent offering no response.

Asked who they feel is the best minister, Irfaan Ali leads in Berbice and Essequibo while Priya Manickchand leads in Demerara. Overall Irfaan (17 per cent) is slightly ahead over Priya (15 per cent), followed by Nandlall (12 per cent), Robert Persaud (11 per cent), Ashni (10 per cent), Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy (six per cent), Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran (five per cent), Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony (four per cent), Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee (three per cent), and Works Minister Robeson Benn (two per cent).

Asked who they think was the best budget debater, Dr Singh (26 per cent) led on the government side followed by Nandlall (18 per cent), Irfaan (13 per cent), Persaud (10 per cent), Priya (eight per cent), Gail Teixeira (seven per cent), Ramsammy (five per cent) and Rohee (four per cent).

Respondents believe that former People’s National Congress (PNC) Finance Minister Carl Greenidge (25 per cent) was the best opposition budget debater, closely followed by AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan (24 per cent), Moses Nagamootoo (14 per cent), Deborah Backer (five per cent) and Dr Rupert Roopnaraine (four per cent).

Asked if they support the South African government’s granting of an award to the late former president, Forbes Burnham, a whopping 58 per cent said no with only 27 per cent saying yes; 15 per cent offered no response. Almost every Indian and Amerindian feel Burnham does not deserve an award while Africans are split with 60 per cent saying yes, 30 per cent saying no, and 10 per cent being unsure.

Many of the younger voters did not offer an opinion on this issue. The poll also queried voters on how they would vote if a snap election were called and whether they feel there is a resurgence of anti-Indian racism.  These would be released in a subsequent report.

Opposition Leader David Granger

Leader of A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) David Granger has tabled a motion in the National Assembly to have the president appoint a commission of inquiry (COI) to investigate the incidence of trafficking in persons (TIP) in Guyana.

This call came one month after the opposition leader had expressed concerns about the issue and made reference to the success of the Guyana Women Miners’ Organisation (GWMO) in rescuing four young girls who were being kept against their will in Tiger Creek, Puruni Backdam.

The motion points to the Article 140 (one) of the Constitution, which states that “No person shall be held in slavery or servitude” and at Article 140(two) that says “No person shall be required to perform forced labour”.

More needs to be done

Sources within APNU told Guyana Times that, while they are in full support of actions being taken against TIP, much more needs to be done to address the problem more holistically.

The APNU sources called on government to urgently investigate and prosecute all persons involved in TIP, whether it is within Guyana’s borders or beyond. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has been criticised over the years for not doing enough prosecute such persons. Successive reports out of the U.S. State Department have pointed to cases of human trafficking and called on the government to go after TIP masterminds.

The owner and publisher of a local newspaper, who was identified in a U.S. embassy cable as being a leading player in the backtracking ring in Guyana, has been identified as one such mastermind.

Backtracking

Years after the explosive WikiLeaks cable from the U.S. embassy in Georgetown linked the newspaper owner to backtracking and other illegal activities in Guyana.

Authentic information released by Wikileaks in the U.S. had described him as a man with a sketchy past. “He translated a shoe trading business (and rumoured involvement with alien smuggling) into a muckraking independent newspaper,” the Wikileaks cable stated, adding that he has a finger firmly on the pulse of Guyana’s underworld, which serves his media enterprise well. Also, his U.S. visa was previously revoked. Yet, local law enforcement has been unable to crack the backtrack ring in which the suspect could allegedly be involved.

The APNU sources called on Granger himself to come clean and widen the scope of the motion, saying the fact that the particular newspaper in question is opposition aligned should not be used as reason why the owner and others involved in similar TIP should not come under investigation

UN convention

Granger’s motion also stated that Guyana is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Convention against transnational organised crime adopted by the General Assembly Resolution, especially against women and children.

Further, Guyana has been working to prohibit all forms of TIP, as outlined in its 2005 act. The motion states that there are credible reports that persons are still being and have been trafficked and kept involuntary.

They are also required to perform forced labour, particularly in hinterland regions of Guyana. Granger referred to the COI Act, Chapter 19:03, which said that the president may issue a commission appointing one or more commissioners and authorising them to inquiry into any matter that is in the view of the president about the welfare of the public.

If this call for a COI to be appointed is made a reality, the National Assembly will work to ensure that the victims are treated humanely. It also asserts the responsibility to protect all citizens from such crime.

TIP workshops

This year, several TIP workshops were hosted by the Human Services and Social Security Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The workshops were aimed at raising greater awareness on the issue, providing an opportunity for the relevant stakeholders to take stock of the achievements that have been made, lessons learnt and improve responses.

Government through a specially established Ministerial Task Force has also made significant progress in addressing the issue nationally with interventions such as legislation, strict penalties and better support systems for victims.

TIP is an estimated US$32 billion per year global industry. After drug-trafficking and it is world’s second most profitable criminal enterprise, a status it shares with trafficking in illegal arms. TIP deprives victims of the most basic freedom – the freedom to determine their own future.