Dear Editor,

PLEASE permit me space in your newspaper to respond to a letter from Ms. Gail Teixeira asking how an ordinary citizen, a Berbice farmer like Compton Reid, could have raised the cash to hire a number of prominent attorneys to fight the government’s post-no confidence case at the Caribbean Court of Justice(CCJ).

Well Ms Teixeira, your political hypocrisy has to be exposed and quickly so. Neither you nor anyone in the PPP asked similar questions as to wherefrom did Mr Cedric Richardson raise the millions to send a team of similarly high-priced lawyers to Trinidad, while they tried to get that court to rule that former President Bharrat Jagdeo was entitled to a third term in office.

Ironically, we had all thought that the constitution on this particular issue was clear as crystal: no more than two terms. Yet those close to Jagdeo used the name of a former Finance Ministry employee of Mr. Jagdeo’s time at that ministry, as the person filing the petition before the CCJ. As far as many of us know, this is normal legal practice that is neither immoral, unethical or most importantly, illegal. To its credit, the media tracked Mr. Richardson down to his home in West Ruimveldt and also learned that he was once Mr. Jagdeo’s driver in his early days at the Ministry of Finance. For the PPP, using Mr. Reid’s name as a petitioner is a horribly bad idea, but not so for Mr Richardson, because a God-appointed party of angels had decided that this is the way to go.

I am therefore appalled that a seasoned politician like Ms Teixeira could take the time to write a letter asking about Mr Reid’s ability to hire lawyers to fight the Guyana leg of the no-confidence cases, as well as that at the CCJ.

Her letter and her mindset remind me of those rabid Republican politicians in the US. Mr Trump and others in the Congress had railed against President Obama occasionally playing golf during brief periods of downtime, or with visiting foreign dignitaries. Now the records are clearly showing that Mr. Trump in less than three years in office has spent more time on the golf course than Obama in his two terms in office. Like Ms Teixeira and the PPP, the Republicans in the house and Senate find absolutely nothing wrong with this, simply because it is their guy committing what everybody else sees as a wrong. What a mindset Mr Editor, as I rest my case.

Regards
Winston Mars