Dear Editor,

THE President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana has been under attack by the leader of the parliamentary opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, for writing to the Police Service Commission requesting a delay in the promotion of police ranks to higher positions in Guyana Police Force (GPF).

According to Jagdeo and others, the President is acting unconstitutionally, in other words, behaving like a dictator.  In the absence of clear guidelines when serious complaints are levelled at the body that is appointed to make such decisions, then someone has to act in the best interest of the people of this country.
Following the request of the President to halt the promotion, a series of questions have arisen.  What should the President do when he is informed that there are corrupt practices and perceived elements of nepotism in the GPF and alleged bias by the “Independent” Police Service Commission? Must the President do nothing?
In the absence of any clear guidelines, the “buck must stop with this President”, the head of the overall security of the country!
The other crucial question is: “Is there any mechanism in place to stop this alleged corruption and favouritism that seemed to be on-going in the Police Force? There seems to be no immediate answer to this question and that is what must be discussed at a Cabinet meeting.
All the above questions need proper answers, so that the public that is paying keen attention, can be satisfied that their interests are properly addressed at the highest levels of government.

The usual suspects — especially the Jagdeo PPP — who think that their duties and responsibilities are to only criticise the Granger Administration, have given a “Dictatorial spin” to this matter.

The fact is, this issue should, equally, concern Mr. Jagdeo, as the official opposition leader. It is believed that those who were expected to be promoted have some connection to the Jagdeo PPP and the objection to the President’s request to halt the promotions would have badly affected those friends of the PPP.
Mr. Jagdeo has failed to understand that they were elected to play a responsible role in Parliament, the highest law-making body in the country. The Opposition parliamentarians, also, receive taxpayers’ money to help to keep the government on its toes and to support issues that are in the interest of the nation.
Constitutionally, the official Opposition is part of the governing processes and it must act professionally, and not like schoolchildren.
The fact of the matter is, Jagdeo and others can only prattle infantile nonsense and are not serious about the development of this country and move it into the 21st century. The President would have been damned, if he knowingly did nothing to prevent alleged fraudulent and corrupt practices. The role of the President is to ensure that all laws and regulations are applied in a transparent, fair and just manner.
The President and his administration have inherited a massive level of corruption and lawlessness that the citizens have never seen or experienced. The 50 forensic audit reports, commissioned by the government and overseen by Minister Jaipaul Sharma, are incriminating and cannot be released to the public. These forensic reports testify to the widespread fraud and corruption tolerated and encouraged by the Jagdeo-PPP regime.
The citizens of Guyana and Guyanese compatriots living abroad will be aghast when the true nature of the rape of our natural and human resources are graphically revealed, which were largely committed by the Jagdeo administration. Government sources have stated that it will take more than 10 years to effectively deal with the perpetrators of these monstrous crimes against the nation.
The Jagdeo-PPP and his surrogates have no moral authority to speak about the virtues of good governance, when they are the guilty party in this crisis of morality and mismanagement.
The President has his job cut out for him and he must act swiftly in the interest of all the people of Guyana. The least Jagdeo can do is to stop pretending that he is innocent in all of the above.
Yours sincerely,
M. Jinnah Rahman
Journalist and community activist