ON October 18, 2010, in his column: ‘My appeal on behalf of Mrs. Idris Chester’, Freddie Kissoon made an appeal for aid on behalf of a 71-year-old woman, Idris Chester who needed help to complete a house she was building in the bauxite town of Linden.

She had fled there after gangs of armed men attacked her family and burnt down her home in Buxton where she lived during the notorious 2002 crime wave. Kissoon wrote, “Mrs. Chester contacted me for help. I started a fund for her at Republic Bank which was given front page coverage in KN. The initial sum stood at $35,000. It never got beyond that. Mrs. Chester said she will always remember Glen Lall, KN publisher who gave $20,000, former Police Commissioner, Laurie Lewis who chipped in with $25,000 and me with my small token of $5000.”

I am not sure how he arrived at $35,000, for total donations at this point, adds up to $50,000.
But regardless, after reading this, I immediately remitted US$100 ($20,000) via Western Union directly to Kissoon as my contribution to this cause.

This was done despite Freddie Kissoon’s frequent attacks on overseas based Guyanese, who he claims do not contribute anything to the Guyanese economy.

Everyday, Kissoon is in the forefront demanding transparency of the Jagdeo Administration and rightly so. But apparently the same rules do not apply to him.

After five months, I am yet to receive a courtesy ‘thank you’ note from Freddie Kissoon, although he is very familiar with my phone number and email address. And in the interest of full disclosure, he is yet to publish a statement of all the public monies he received on behalf of Mrs Idris Chester.

As a donor, I suggest Freddie observe the same rules he has for President Jagdeo, and give a full account of monies received, and monies disbursed to Mrs. Chester. A progress report on Mrs. Chester’s home would also be appreciated. For as the saying goes: What is good for the goose, is good for the gander.