ONE of the most active voices in the Mulatto/Creole Class (MCC), Dr. Nigel Westmaas, has referred to me as ‘a PPP attack dog’. He joins the editor of the Stabroek News, Mr. Anand Persaud, who described me as ‘a PPP lapdog’. We will analyze the reason for this attention on me, and in the process ask a few questions about this ‘dog’ thing. But first, a few words on the man, Westmaas, himself.

Mr. Westmaas migrated from Guyana a long time ago; he lives and works in the US. Westmaas, as far as I know, makes no contribution in any area of human endeavour to the Guyanese nation. I live in Guyana. Minister Vickram Bharrat can testify I took a complainant to him a few weeks ago with a genuine grievance, and the person was assisted. The CEO of the Georgetown Hospital can testify that last week I took someone to him who could not afford the types of medical examinations he needed at a private hospital. The person was looked after.

Minister Collin Croal can testify that I took a woman to him whose house was levied against by one of the banks. She was awarded a house lot. This is what I spend my time doing in my country; I continue to make my little contribution to my country. When Anand Persaud referred to me as ‘a PPP lapdog’, my automatic response was to ask if there are any other lapdogs.
I asked Persaud if he wasn’t an ‘Opposition lapdog’. Since the day Dr. Irfaan Ali became President, there hasn’t been an editorial on the government that has been positive. The Stabroek News is a relentless critic of the Ali administration. Can Westmaas say if he daubs his colleague in the WPA and the MCC, Dr. Alissa Trotz with the same brush that he uses on me? Can Westmaas say if he daubs his WPA/MCC colleagues, Vanda and Danuta Radzik-Veira with the same brush? Is Red Thread an attack dog for the Opposition?

The sense in which the ‘attack dog’ is used is that of someone very close to a government whose task is to be aggressive in defending the government. In almost all situations, the person holds a high position within the State. I do not have a paid relation with any State entity; not even in the remotest way. I never had one since the new government came into office in 2020. I have no relation in any way with the ruling Party.
I am never seen socialising with any higher members of the power establishment. It may come as a surprise to Guyanese that I have declined the offer of a significant national award. I would be quite happy to privately reveal to those I trust who made the offer. My immediate response was that I do not want to be rewarded for my patriotism.

I declined an IDB-paid consultancy in a very important ministry. I told the minister that the anti-government press and the Opposition in Parliament will serenade him with the stuck record that he gave Freddie Kissoon a big salary. I also wanted to remain independent. That minister, who reads this column, will know this is the truth. I co-host an interview show in which anti-government critics outnumber pro-government voices. Given my introverted life in Guyana, why Persaud described me as ‘a PPP lapdog’ and Westmaas referred to me as ‘a PPP attack dog’?
Here is my analytic answer. I confront the MCC cabal that includes Persaud and Westmaas; the Stabroek News (SN); Red Thread; the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA); the hypocritical civil society groups: Article 13; Transparency Institute-Guyana Chapter; SASOD; individuals like SN’s co-owner Isabelle DeCaires; Dr. Alissa Trotz and a school of relentless anti-government critics.

Few people are afraid to take on this conspiratorial bandwagon that sees the ruling Party as Indians rather than an elected government of Guyanese citizens. I got a taste of how people are afraid of this cabal. When SN told Presidential Adviser Professor Randy Persaud that it will not publish his letters, once he criticises civil society groups, I thought this was a dangerous degeneracy in the role of the press.

I contacted several big names whom this society views as people with democratic instincts. They all declined to express disagreement with what SN did; they were afraid to receive the Randy Persaud treatment from SN. Only one soul in this country was not afraid to disagree publicly with SN, iconic Guyanese Ian Mc Donald. So, I end with the question I asked Anand Persaud and will ask Westmaas: If I am an attack dog and a lapdog for the PPP, does the Opposition have such dogs within the MCC and civil society?