I HAVE seen the sustained attacks on Winston Brassington in certain sections of the media, and from the supporters/operators of the APNU+AFC regime, for his work as head of NICIL.

From the beginning of this government, an alleged witch hunt began against several persons who were perceived to be supporters of the former PPP/C administration and those who worked dedicatedly during its tenure. The ‘forensic’ audits were allegedly designed as a tool to harass and denigrate persons who worked with the PPP/C government to build our country.

Winston Brassington has been attacked and demonised, and has not even been given the chance to defend himself. The audit conducted on the operations of the Marriott Hotel by Mr Anand Goolsarran was most unprofessional, and should engage the attention of the professional bodies of accountants in Guyana. This was exposed thoroughly at a NICIL press conference. Even though Mr Brassington provided all the explanations in his preliminary report, the responses were mainly ignored in a final report that was not sent to NICIL.

Clearly, the APNU+AFC operatives are not interested in the truth; they are not interested in transparency and natural justice. What they want is to create trumped-up charges, and to attack the integrity of persons who clearly acted professionally in the discharge of their duties.

The real problem is that they shouted so much about corruption at NICIL and they are now unable to prove any of their charges. They are fast losing credibility, and their vindictive nature is being exposed for all to see. This is the reason why they have descended into mudslinging and slander.

This behaviour of deliberately using the media to slander and libel people and seemingly to even scores is also an abuse of Freedom of the Press. It undermines democracy and harms our country. Many honest and talented Guyanese who are not members of the APNU or AFC will think twice before offering their services, knowing that they could be subjected to such defamation and abuse by unscrupulous persons in the regime and the media operatives who support them.

I therefore call on the regime to cease the witch hunts, and instead focus more on building the nation.

Regards,
Donald Ramotar
Former President