Dear Editor,
MOST in Guyana would agree that our country’s 2020 elections, dubbed the ‘Mother of all Elections’, has allowed what we in this country, in over 50 years of independence, have never formally addressed as a nation, to raise its ugly head more vividly for all to see: Our race relations. Many individuals who, for years, have camouflaged their political allegiance and pretended to be apolitical for reasons beyond my level of comprehension, decided in 2020 to show their hand. Those said individuals were not alone in unmasking their political affinity, for we saw several businesses, organisations and news outlets engaged in this blatant public display of their untamed and unwarranted assault of the Government, and GECOM and its representatives respectively.

After living in a narco-state that facilitated criminality, corruption and extra-judicial killings for 23 years, from 1992-2015, we have grown weary of now hearing from the silent-voices, deaf-ears, blind-eyes and greased-palms of those who benefited during the PPP/C’s administration. Most of the major players in the PSC became who they are because of their allegiance to the corrupt PPP/C administration, hence their blatant public display of loyalty. This said PSC is now a political arm and semi-Opposition agency which speaks from the written script of what the PPP/C refused to say publicly on their platform. What is interesting, but not surprising, is their head and chief spokesperson, Gerry Gouveia, who, just like Bharrat Jagdeo, thinks he has a God-given right to sanction any and everything of national importance. Gouveia, a member of Jagdeo’s privileged 1% and inner circle, who benefited from the sweetest of deals, such as the purchase of two pristine and very valuable government properties while he was a board member on NICIL’s Privatisation Unit, continues to try and bully/instruct GECOM from the backseat to only recount the Region 4 votes. Why? This duplicitous Gouveia, on his Facebook page, on March 14 and 15, vehemently agreed and praised the initiative of His Excellency for a national recount. He posited, “I am pleased that leaders are taking charge; every man, woman and child in Guyana must commit to respecting and accepting that count. I am very pleased that every single vote in every single box in all ten regions will be recounted under the supervision of CARICOM…” One can only assume that his script-writer, Bharrat Jagdeo had not delivered Gouveia’s speech as yet, since, in just a matter of days, his speech is now vividly conflicting.

After Bharrat Jagdeo delivered the script, with instructions, ‘Little Gouveia’, Jagdeo’s Manchurian Candidate, now says the PSC, which he speaks for, is of the view that a national recount would be an entire waste of time, and that is wholly unnecessary for GECOM to conduct a recount of the ballots cast in any district other than District 4. What are they afraid of? Do the boxes in other regions have questionable ballots and more voters than the Voters List? What were they involved in before, during and after the elections? Bharrat Jagdeo’s marionette, ‘Little Gouveia’, must sing from the same song sheet of the PPP/C to whom he owes much gratitude and loyalty.

His colourful and questionable past is not overshadowed by how much businesses he owns, or how much noise he makes. Guyanese are smart people, with long memories. It is a well-known fact that Mr. Gouveia has close connections to the PPP/C, as do other notorious figures , the likes of Jagdeo’s unofficial ‘Sheriff’ who claims he assisted the PPP/C with its crime-fighting measures, Mortgage Scammer Ed Ahmad, etc. And after benefiting tremendously from the nepotism practised by the former PPP/C administration, the man who presents himself as a paragon of virtue, who we have found to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, expects Guyanese to believe that he is apolitical.

The March 2020 Elections are the most important elections in our country’s history; the PPP’C and their mouth pieces expect GECOM, an independent and neutral body. to whimper and cower while local terrorists and the individuals who claim to guard democracy, place the lives of innocent Guyanese at risk to the invisible enemy, COVID19.

Mr. Editor, even though Gouveia claims that he was speaking on behalf of the PSC, the Linden Chamber of Industry Commerce and Development (LCICD), a member of the Private Sector Commission, vehemently opposed the contents of the petition sent on behalf of the Commission, which was published on Demerara Waves on April 4. 2020, under the caption: “Businesses, religious, labour petition the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to avert political disaster in Guyana.” The LCICD did not lend its support to this charade, nor allowed itself to be embroiled in this scheme of the PPP/C, and Private Sector Commission. I am also certain that Gouveia does not speak on behalf of any religious bodies.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” We are all au fait with this quotation by Sir Walter Scott in his poem, “Marmion”; words spoken over a century ago aptly describe Gouveia’s and his PSC’s play kit. It is imperative that the public be reminded that on Gouveia’s PSC team of ‘Star’ observers was one of his executive members and businessman, a United States fugitive and accused cocaine trafficker who has been on the run for ten years but was recently captured at the John F. Kennedy Airport, in New York. Shortly after the elections, Gouveia, the PPPC mouthpiece, launched the Dynamic Airways Airline in June 2014 in New York, and by a strange act of the ‘Devil’, cocaine kept finding its way on the aircraft. This same Gouveia flew the suspect in Walter Rodney’s assassination to Kwakwani, thereby aiding in the suspect’s escape. But he, Gouveia, claimed that he had no knowledge of whom he was transporting. Gouveia also allegedly assaulted a stranded Dynamic Airways passenger, and pushed him down the stairs at his Bel Air Office in December 2014, and more recently sent home 300 people, most of them his AfroGuyanese staffers “without pay” to fend for themselves during this dreadful COVID19 stay-home campaign.

It is a known fact that President Granger’s anti-narcotic/anti-moneylaundering, anti- corruption stance has caused many to become upset, especially those companies whose businesses refused to pay their rightful share of taxes, and those businesses that are nothing but shell companies for nefarious and illegal activities.

Gouveia and the PPPC’s behaviour begs the question: Will the national recount unearth more cover-ups? I support GECOM! Let the national recount be done GECOM’S way, or may the declarations of all regions that are still legal be done. Guyana needs GECOM to do its work in this dangerous climate of our most invisible and deadly enemy of all, COVID-19. And we need our President, David Granger to be sworn in.

Regards,
Jermaine Figueira