Dear Editor,
BHARRAT Jagdeo has been expressing a fair bit of consternation about the perceived silence on the part of CARICOM regarding what is unfolding in Guyana.

He should, however, know that CARICOM leaders are not novices to the internal politics of their sister states, and I am quite sure, have been following events in Guyana.  They are quite familiar with Mr. Jagdeo’s own ‘rap sheet’ in Guyana, and based on what has been documented below, have ample reason to remain silent. Some of Mr. Jagdeo’s unheralded achievements, which many Guyanese also find quite unappealling for someone aspiring to public office in Guyana are:

1. Under successive administrations, billions of voters’ tax dollars were siphoned off to his business cronies.

2. Afro-Guyanese communities were kept in the dog house.

3. His administration did not pay sugar workers their severance when they were laid off from Diamond and LBI Estates.

4. The remaining sugar workers were maintained in such a state of ignorance during his administration, through lack of education, that they can’t find proper jobs, and people resorted to calling them all kinds of names.

5. Had his acolytes at the GRDB and RPA, some of whom are PPP members, involved in allegations of fraud to the tune of $372M from rice farmers. People on the PPP executive.

6. Put a financial hole in NIS by funnelling off in excess of G$7.0B of its reserves to CLICO and the Berbice Bridge.

7. Gave Irfaan Ali 20 acres of land.

8. Gave himself a fat salary and left public servants begging for 5% every year.

9. Shut down Sharma after he started ‘skinning him up’.

10. Instituted control of issuance of media licences, handing out bandwidth to his acolytes, left right and centre.

11. Ensured that around 184,000 voters did not get a proper education during the years of the PPP’s terms in office.

12. Could very well be held responsible for the widespread poverty so characteristic of many of Guyana’s communities, due to the impact of his policies, or lack thereof.

Regards,
Craig Sylvester,
Democratic National Congress