ONE wonders what former President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo meant when he said “… you have to kick asses to get things done.” One can ponder like Socrates if he meant kick jackasses (donkeys) or the figurative posterior region of laggards and dullards who stymied development in the nation while heating up the seats in Parliament and drawing hefty stipends and enjoying luxurious benefits during deliberations of weighty matters, such as what was for lunch in the Tenth Parliament.
Guyana’s no-nonsense former President, who was often criticised by Opposition elements and the hostile media for his uncompromising positions and his intolerance for hypocrisy and bullyism, was in fine mettle as he demolished the unfounded accusations that he had to endure for many long years – in and out of office.
Vintage Jagdeo: “That is private business… none of your business”, he slammed Capitol News’ Neil Marks who intrusively and arrogantly asked him about his private medical arrangements. The rumour-mongers who spread gossip instead of reporting news had written and spoken ad nauseam about the State’s funding of Dr. Jagdeo’s medical expenses, incidentally, to which he is entitled; so much so that even PPP/C supporters believed that lie that has been told so often that it became ingrained in the public psyche as a fact.
But Dr. Jagdeo nailed that lie and killed it dead by stating unequivocally that he had not accessed any monies from the treasury for his medical expenses since he demitted office after elections of 2011.
Dr. Jagdeo has unreservedly condemned the collective Opposition for shooting down developmental works and programmes, cutting budgets vital to people’s welfare, and generally wasting the entire life of the 10th Parliament, not to mention the monies from the public purse that paid them handsomely while they were destroying programmes and policies meant to benefit the very public whose taxes were funding their futile occupation of the parliamentary seats.
Dr. Cheddi Jagan and President Ramotar have rebelled against the various oppressive forces that held the nation bondage for decades; but they are pacifists whose preference lay in reasoning and discussion, with the hope of problem-resolution through talks.
However, Dr. Jagdeo is convinced that when dialogue is used to waste time to make those with vested interests relevant in the socio-political equation, while the nation suffers the consequences for either inaction or destructive actions, then it is time to figuratively kick butts.
He has done so without qualms, with no tolerance for idlers, naysayers and doomsayers during his successive terms in office, because he is results-oriented and without a doubt driven to achieve superlatively; hence the miraculous transformation of the country within a relatively short time-span.
And he was certainly kicking some asses during the press conference held at Freedom House last Tuesday as he firmly put in place the obdurate and hostile opposition media operatives who have driven a continuum of corruption theories, converted to baseless and unproven ‘facts’, against Government functionaries, with himself as a primary target – in or out of office.
Last Tuesday he iterated his conviction that instead of time-wasting exercises and discussions that fructify in no benefits to the people, but conversely destruction to the developmental paradigm of the nation, it is preferable to “kick asses” in order to achieve the visionary goals enshrined within successive PPP/C Manifestos.
“I do believe you have to kick asses sometime to get things done, I do believe that.” This position, he explained, was not a hostile one engendered by hate “…but because that is the attitude you have to have in a country like ours.”
He elucidated further that such an attitude is sometimes necessary because the decisions to be taken involves the lives of people and the services to be delivered to them.