Dear Editor,
I refer to an article written December 30, 2019 in the PPP/C outlet – Guyana Times “Jagdeo details plans to tackle corruption” and I submit to your faithful readers that, “Bharrat Jagdeo has not an iota of shame and decency!

Jagdeo, the de facto PPP/C presidential candidate, should remain silent on matters of corruption. It is the view of most, that one day he will be hauled before the International Criminal Court for his many alleged crimes against humanity and alleged massive abuse of power. Bharrat Jagdeo’s tactics are extremely old. His approach to some things is narcissistic and his demeanour is similar to a loud person who raises their voice to overshadow those who are speaking the truth. But truth cannot be silent. I take comfort and rejoice in the fact that Guyanese have not lost their memories of the terror and horror, the troubles that we endured during the 23 notoriously dark years of the PPP/C administration.

It was Jagdeo and the PPP/C who flouted procurement procedures and awarded the Amalia Falls Hydro Project to the tune of US860M to Makeshwar “Fip” Motilall, a person who, evidence revealed, owned a “Poojah Store” which sold Indian garments and a grocery store in Miami, Florida. ‘Fip’ who was nothing but a nominee or front man, a puppet, with no experience in the field of Hydro Electricity, who consciously sold his licence to build the Amalia Falls Hydro Electric Plant to Sithe Global, which is a part of the Blackstone Venture Capital group, for US$12M. ‘Fip’ and his PPP cohorts made or should I say, robbed Guyanese taxpayers US$12M which is two billion, five hundred and twenty million Guyana dollars (Gy$2,520,000,000) for doing absolutely nothing, but merely selling the rights to build a national asset to a foreign company.

Editor, it is important for readers to know it was this same poojah and grocery vendor, “Fip Motilall,” who was also awarded a US$15.4M contract which is equivalent to three billion, two hundred and thirty-four million Guyana dollars (Gy$3,234,000,000) to build the road to the Amaila Falls.

Mr. Editor, it discombobulates the mind to phantom how Jagdeo took a small businessman from Miami with no scintilla of experience, to award him with such great riches of hard-earned Guyanese tax dollars without their knowing. Bharrat Jagdeo, Freedom House’s soap opera megastar, the one-man band, who lacks the moral decorum and much-needed integrity at all levels, has the audacity to even speak about the integrity commission and general matters concerning integrity. What a joke!

It is my sincere hope that the people, who have the Bharrat Jagdeo’s mental chain over the independence of their minds, will soon be emancipated to see through the emperor’s cloth. How can a man who has allegedly disrespected the Guyanese people, disrespected our Constitution, disrespected our procurement laws, hijacked ancestral lands at Pradoville, abused our tax-payers dollars, enriched a small group of his close friends and cronies at the expense of the Guyanese population, live with himself? Does he even have a conscience?

The man whose administration epitomised the term corruption and took corruption to heights that we in this part of the world has never seen before. His administration’s friendships and associations with notorious criminals who allegedly killed Ronald Waddell; a fearless PNC/R outspoken political and social activist, jailed Mark Benschop, and Jagdeo, while as President, who did absolutely nothing about former Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Satyadeow Sawh, and his siblings’ brutal murders.

Mr. Editor, an administration that presided over a period of state-sponsored lawlessness, terrorism, narcotics trade, piracy, three massacres, a compromised judiciary and extra-judicial killings has the audacity to talk about the crime situation! Really?

Let’s not forget Jagdeo’s best friend, Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop: a man who seems to have appeared ‘out of thin air’. Jagdeo and the former PPP/C administration allegedly flouted all procurement laws and purchased all drugs for the New Amsterdam and Georgetown health facilities from Bobbi’s healthcare company thereby earning Bobby several billion Guyana dollars annually. Bobby, who seemed to be divinely connected to Jagdeo just kept cashing in on sweetheart deals; for example – the Sanata Textile Mill (government property) which consisted of 18.976 acres (826,000 sq. feet) of land and several buildings [were] sold to Ramroop for $697.8M but it was valued over one billion Guyana dollars. Additionally Mr. Editor, the current contractual arrangements for the Berbice River Bridge Company Inc. allows for the NEW GPC and another company to control 50 per cent of the company. This lopsided and very questionable agreement saw Bobby as the beneficiary again. The New GPC, a company owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, allowed Ramroop and the other company whose investment is less than five per cent, to exercise controlling interest over 50 per cent of the company. Even though these ridiculous concessions were granted to Ramroop, that was not enough. It is alleged that Ramroop did not have to pay any corporate taxes for several years. In less than five years, Ramroop’s companies became billion-dollar corporate entities.

It was Bharrat Jagdeo who hijacked the land at Sparendaam, renamed it Pradoville and sold these prime lands below market value to the PPP elite (land worth over GY$20M was sold for GY$1.5M to PPP elite), their families and friends.

The Kaieteur and Canje Blocks were given out by the Ramotar administration just days before the 2015 General and Regional Elections; no signing bonus was received by the GoG and there is no payment for the oil blocks on record. It was Jagdeo’s PYO leader who was found with GY$20B in his bank account. Mr. Editor, it is important to note that Jadgeo and his PPP cabal’s objective was not aimed at helping the poor or fighting corruption.

Guyana will be coming into significant blessings and economic prosperity from this year; Guyana is set to receive some US$300M in the first year from oil proceeds. We couldn’t trust Jagdeo before the oil money and we can’t trust him or any of his puppet candidates after. President Granger has proven to be a man of decency and integrity, accomplishing in five years what Jagdeo, the PPP and ‘quiet Sam’ could not achieve in 23 years. Jagdeo’s sins and transgression are too many to catalogue in a newspaper column. Now the retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, my fellow Lindener, has come out of the closet as the PPP/C’s new ‘Quiet Sam’. Mark Phillips was chosen for his already quiet rubber stamp demeanour as he was notably quiet when over 400 Guyanese men were killed in cold blood, extrajudicial style under the PPP/C cabal, his deafening silence was noted when Ronald Waddell, Guyanese political activist, who openly criticised the PPP administration, was killed “mysteriously”. His silence continued when Mark Benschop, a social and political activist and talk-show host, was incarcerated by a trumped-up treason charge as he was constantly harassed by the PPP Cabal. Where was Phillips when Courtney Crum Ewing, a political activist who was assassinated and when rampant gold and drug smuggling was at its apex in this country, he swore to defend and protect. He was also notably quiet when Jadgeo criticised army officials [who] availed themselves to serve in the political arena, when notorious characters sheriff the capital with unlawful conduct.

The burning question is why did Mark Phillips join the PPP/C as their Prime Ministerial Candidate? It is certainly not an opportunity to serve the nation. The APNU+AFC government officials all served their communities and country before they were elected, but you Mark Phillips, what have you ever done for the Guyanese Youth? You were simply selected hand-picked because the PPP/C needed someone passive – a yes-man! Given the vindictiveness and the wickedness in high places practised by the PPP/C, where they gave 90 per cent of government contracts to their chosen few, what changes do you propose? Your debut speech at the PPP/C’s lukewarm launch was uninspiring; it appears you will just be another quiet, passive Sam Hinds in the Party who no one will remember when the PPP/C loses these elections again come March 2.

Regards,
Jermaine Figueira