Dear Editor,

JUST when you think an APNU+AFC self-inflicted scandal is over, another one piles on, threatening to outdo the previous one. Until now, I deliberately avoided commenting on the “Bond gate” fiasco, as individuals who could be considered supporters of the ruling APNU+AFC were daily expressing their outrage in ways that, had the same comments been made by me, they would have been expected as coming from a PPP Parliamentarian, and would not have had the same impact.But the feeling of righteous indignation expressed by the likes of anti-corruption advocate Anand Goolsarran; outspoken WPA Executive Member Dr. David Hinds; Kaieteur News columnists Freddie Kissoon and Peeping Tom is evident that the honeymoon is over and Guyanese are determined more than ever to hold the APNU+AFC government accountable.

And so the question must be asked: Is the President listening to his supporters? Judging from his inaction on other embarrassing and controversial events — which are rapidly becoming the hallmark of his leadership — it does not appear so.

Minister of Public Health, the Honourable Dr. George Norton, is, in my opinion, the designated ‘fall guy’ for the outrageous decision taken by the APNU+AFC Cabinet to rent an unfinished, uncertified pharmaceutical bond for $12.5 million (US$62,500) monthly from a known supporter/ financier of the party, Mr. Larry Singh of Linden Holdings Inc.

Editor, most Americans in the USA do not earn that type of money for the entire year, and the security deposit of $25 million, I’m convinced, was given to Singh to facilitate the renovation of the building he had just bought for the exact amount of $25 million.

And to prove just how insensitive the Administration is to public opinion and criticism, Brian Tiwari, owner of BK International, and Larry Singh shared the spotlight at the opening of the 19th Biennial Delegates’ Congress of the PNCR at its Congress Place headquarters. The mere presence of these men there would have been a nightmare for any public relations officer involved in the administration’s damage control.

Who in the Administration can be so naive as to ignore the gravity of the BK and “Bond gate” scandals — which had shocked the entire nation — by inviting those controversial businessmen to the highly publicised PNCR Congress?
Perhaps the strategy was to get the PNC hardliners at that Congress to rally around Brian Tiwari and Larry Singh, and give critical support to the Granger Administration during this crisis.

What is evident by Singh’s presence there is that President Granger, the Leader of the PNCR, does not hold Larry Singh responsible for putting his Administration in this scandalous predicament; for no one would have dared to invite Larry Singh to the PNC Congress without Granger’s approval. And if that is so, it is likely that the President’s close advisors may even have been aware of the existing conditions of the proposed pharmaceutical bond before it was discussed at Cabinet level.

Whether certain information was withheld from some members of Cabinet is no excuse, as the sheer quantity of the money involved was enough to raise eyebrows and initiate due diligence before any contract was signed.

Now we know that the original contract was signed for an executive building, and not a pharmaceutical storage bond — another piece of misinformation made to Parliamentarians in the National Assembly.

Say what you want about the Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, and the Guyana Times, the independent press must be commended for courageously and objectively reporting the many blunders of the David Granger Administration since it took office. I salute the investigative reporters who fearlessly dig deep to uncover the dealings by an administration that was elected on the promise of being transparent and accountable to the people of Guyana, and to put an end to the “corrupt” policies and practices it has accused the PPP/C of having been involved in.

The Granger Administration has been plagued with making terrible choices, either through inexperience or downright disregard for accountability and the rule of law. Many have already been reported on, and there are more to come.

I’m yet to see a newspaper article that exposes the exorbitant rates being paid by the APNU+AFC government from hard-earned tax payers’ money to house some of its ministers.
Regards,
HARRY GILL, MP