Dear Editor,

GUYANA’s rice has once again been placed in the glare of regional scrutiny, less than three months after several containers of rice were rejected by Panama for failing to meet stipulated requirements.

My husband is a small rice farmer and these occurrences cause me and my family considerable worry and anger at the same time, because we understand the deceptive intentions of the PPP in the GRDB are written all over this.

Mr Editor, the facts are clear: leading PPP operatives at the GRDB are carrying out a rather successful plan to sabotage the coalition government through GRDB and Ministry of Agriculture. Everything is being done to fool the rice farmers into believing that the government is not on their side and that the government is spitefully messing up the rice industry. In the meantime, it’s a few big ones in the PPP who have always been taking advantage of the rice farmers and getting filthy rich off the sweat of poor farmers.

They have continued to do so even after 2015 with corrupt shipments of rice and all manner of things. These PPP big wigs have always used GRDB as a cash cow and continue to get rich by the day. However, they are telling us hard-working rice farmers that it is the coalition government that is not doing anything for us and want to see rice fail.  They are holding back our good rice and sending unfit rice to Panama, Jamaica and other places while making millions of U.S. dollars. These bold-faced PPP people are now telling us as we face elections that the government has messed up rice and already many of the rice farmers who voted for the coalition in 2015 are believing them because they don’t know better.

Mr Editor, the only person at SOCU who was investigating these corrupt acts that the PPP committed and continue to commit against us struggling rice farmers by the PPP in GRDB was Ms Sherronie James from SOCU. Ms James was discovering all the truth about what is really going on and seeing the tricks that the PPP is doing in the rice industry. When the truth would have emerged, many in the PPP would run and hide their faces in shame and never be able to face us again.  The rice farmers would have realised the true colours of the PPP and how much advantage the PPP took on us poor rice farmers. The rice farmers would never vote for the PPP again.

If Ms James does not return to SOCU, it will be a sad day for Guyana and it will prove that the government and the PPP are playing political games and are not serious about corruption.   Does this government intend to allow the GRDB fraud cases to fail? Does this coalition government that many rice farmers took a chance and supported in 2015 let us down?

Where are the voices of activists like Jinnah Rahaman and Sharma who know fully well about the corruption at GRDB and how the PPP benefitted and continue to benefit off the backs of poor rice farmers, whilst blaming the coalition government for the plight of the rice farmers.  Are they not going to speak up now?

Many struggling rice farmers are looking at the actions of this government and we are angry that they are letting us poor rice farmers down.

I for one will not vote with my family for this APNU +AFC government if they allow the PPP to get away with this sin against the thousands of rice farmers in Guyana.

Ms James was doing a great job at SOCU.  Mr Ramjattan, let her complete her work and allow the chips to fall where they fall.

Regards

Nadia Singh