Dear Editor,
REFERENCE is made to Christopher Ram’s letter to the Editor of Stabroek News dated October 12, 2022, where he sardonically referred to me as a self-described adjunct professor.
If one were to check my professional profile on LinkedIn and my curriculum vitae (CV) which is also on the Internet, I have never used that title to describe myself. I’ve been writing consistently for the past five years, I presented at many public forums, sat on many panel discussions, including with Chris Ram, appeared on television programmes, etc., and I have never used that title to describe myself. The title of associate professor was assigned to me at Texila American University, an accredited university in Guyana, where I served as a former faculty member (part-time) within the business college. During this time, I taught the BBA and MBA programmes from 2019 through 2021. Prior to this, I also worked as a PhD (Management) research assistant at the said university. Despite this, I never carried this title anywhere as part of my professional and academic credentials except for one time, in June 2021, where I used my teaching credentials in a letter I wrote to the media. The only reason I did this was out of an abundance of caution to avoid the contents therein, from being misconstrued as a representation of the views of my primary employer at that time.

That being said, on the very day Christopher Ram’s letter was published, I received a call from him where he furtively sought to enquire about my background, after he did his mischief. Out of some respect for him though, I will not divulge the other aspects of our discussion.

Notwithstanding, I wish to make another startling revelation which your readers might find interesting, a personal story when I first met Chris Ram that he perhaps doesn’t seem to recall. Back in 2016 under the previous government, I was on the verge of completing my first master’s degree in banking and finance when I came across an advert for CEO of NICIL in the newspapers by Ram and McRae. At that time, I was second-in-charge of the GBTI Port Kaituma branch. I applied for the position because I felt I met the minimum qualifications and experience set out for the job by Christopher Ram and company. Truth be told, I was not expecting to get the job and I knew I wouldn’t. My primary objective, however, was to merely test my CV to ascertain what its worth in the job market. Surprisingly, I was shortlisted for an interview for the position. This, I celebrated as an accomplishment because at the age of 26, being shortlisted for a CEO position of an organisation such as NICIL, by none other than a man of Christopher Ram’s stature, was a big deal for me. More so when I found out that I was among the shortlisted top five candidates out of about 20 applicants.

On the day of the interview, the candidate who was interviewed just before me was none other than Dr. Yog Mahadeo.
As I was waiting my turn, I saw when he came out of the office. So, again, validating the point that I was among some top-level candidates indeed. To end this story, I would like to leave with your readers Christopher Ram’s final words to me as he closed the interview (it was a great interview for me, by the way). I never forgot this day and in his final words (of rejection), Ram said to me, “Joel, this country needs you, but the people of Port Kaituma need you more”.

Christopher Ram is a man of impeccable integrity and so if he checked his records, he would find my CV on file and confirm the story I just divulged.
Editor, the reason I shared this very personal story, is because anyone would find it to be very ironic that a man of Christopher Ram’s caliber sought to ridicule the professional credentials of a young professional. Worthy of note, by virtue of him shortlisting my CV for an interview for this top-level position, and which he conducted himself, it therefore means that my credentials have already been deemed to be credible and worthy enough by none other than Christopher Ram’s own standard, since six years ago.

Editor, this is just the background of my response to Christopher Ram’s letter, which is deemed necessary, and most fitting given that Christopher Ram is a different kettle of fish altogether. Suffice it to state, I have been waiting a long time, for the appropriate time to come, to engage Chris Ram in a public debate, in particular, on oil and gas related issues. This first letter, henceforth, is the beginning of a series of forthcoming letters and articles in response to some of Chris Ram’s positions and contentions on the subject matter and by extension, Article 13.

Yours faithfully,

Financial Analyst, Joel Bhagwandin