NEWLY-appointed Regional Executive Officer [REO] for Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne), Dr Veerasammy Ramayya is out to prove his detractors wrong by getting the job done to the best of his ability. “I will do my best; I will never make the President or the Prime Minister or the other members hand fall. I was placed here with the confidence of President Granger, to bring betterment to Region 6,” he told the Guyana Chronicle on Friday during an interview at his Vryman’s Erven, New Amsterdam office.
The bone of contention, it seems, is an article carried in the November 10, 2015 edition of the Guyana Times, under the headline, ‘Region 6 REO’s inexperience may cost residents millions: RDC Chairman’.
Noting that on reading the article at reference, he was “surprised and shocked” to learn that the unsavoury comments were coming from the sitting regional chairman, Mr David Armogan, Ramayya said:
“I see the entire article, not as a vendetta, but for the region itself, which has predominantly PPP members in the Regional Council; it is they who are stymying progress, by oppressing and saying that Berbice Region Six is not going forward; they have their agenda of haemorrhageing the system.
“In my opinion, the vendetta that they want to execute is for character assassination, in that I am not capable of running the Region.”
He recalled that it was only a few weeks ago that a representative of the very Guyana Times called, enquiring about his qualifications. It so happened that the paper’s Berbice correspondent, Andrew Carmicheal was there at his office, so he seized the opportunity to show them to him.

MANY CERTIFICATES
“He took over an hour to write the amount of certificates; I stopped him from making copies. But that article was never published, because they are ashamed,” Ramayya said, adding:
“That by itself would allow the Chairman and the people of Region 6 to decide whether I am qualified, not as an accountant, but, I was in Real Estate. I did accountancy in college…”
But to return to the damning article of November 10, Armogan, besides deeming Ramayya unfit for the job, was also quoted as saying that although $260 million was awarded to the region for its advancement and to cater for the needs of the people in the area, only $15 million in capital works had to date been expended.
Ramayya denied this, too, saying: “I just spoke to my engineer, and we have already paid out close to $38 million as partial payment to contractors. The work that is currently in progress is worth $200 million; over 65 per cent of the capital works are completed.”
And, addressing the No-Confidence Motion which the Region Six RDC had successfully passed at the November 5 statutory sitting of regional councillors, Ramayya seized the opportunity to take former Alliance For Change (AFC) member, Mr Haseef Yusuf to task for his hand in the motion.

PLAYING WELL
“He played the game quite well with the PPP government, by lambasting and degrading persons, but, by the same token, he is degrading himself as a person who claims to be an accountant and an intellectual,” Ramayya said of Yusuf, who now sits on the opposition benches.
Still on Yusuf’s case, Ramayya said: “I had sent him a letter, where he took government property, the Civic Centre at Belvedere, which consists of a Skills Training Centre and a playground.  I got several complaints that the children were not given access to the premises.
“He was served a letter for immediate removal; that was enough for him to come up with the idea of how to remove Ramayya, the biggest threat for the PPP in Region 6.
“I remember in 2011, it was Yusuf, in collaboration with myself, who joined forces to put the PPP out of power. Today, he is an opportunist, trying to be devious…
“Accordingly, the whole fabrication is coming to let the public know that I am not capable of being efficient as a REO. But, my biggest question is the fear that they have, that the programmes that I set for Berbice will not only win the support of the Afro-Guyanese, but also the Indo- Guyanese.
“They always believe that Berbice belongs to the PPP; they are going around saying that we are doing this and we are doing that. I have never heard them say that it is the Government of the day that is executing the programmes.
“I wish that one day, the Regional Chairman can say, this Government is executing what was mentioned in the Manifesto of the 2015 campaign.”
Ramayya also made mention of another motion condemning the increase of government salaries, and the fact that the sugar factories, especially the Skeldon Estate, have surpassed their target, thereby allowing sugar workers to have an increase in payments.
“We have already found new markets for our rice; Berbice is on the progressive road,” he said, adding:
“There is massive infrastructure development. In Black Bush Polder, almost all the bridges are completed. We are currently doing community bridges in the four polders. Prior to this, there was much improprieties, as materials, diesel, and lubricants were taken elsewhere.”
By Jeune Vankeric