Dear Editor,
I have read some excerpts from Moses Nagamootoo’s new book “Dear Land of Guyana,” and I found it very interesting and intriguing the way he laments, expressing his disappointment in how he was treated as Prime Minister after unlawfully remaining in office for over five months.

As an ordinary Guyanese, I would like to recount how I was treated by Moses’ government when he was Prime Minister. I was awarded a scholarship to study engineering in Cuba and returned in 2010. I was then placed at the Ministry of Public Works Buildings Department and served as the Chief Building Engineer until 2015, following the victory of the APNU+AFC coalition in the election.

As the Chief Building Engineer, I was responsible for all maintenance of the buildings falling within the ambit of the Ministry of Public Works, including the Prime Minister’s Residence, Government Flats, and Echilibar Villas.

Over the years, the government has maintained these buildings through its maintenance programme. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and his family lived in the same residence for many years, and many government ministers and officials resided in these government buildings without complaints. Even some of these officials were paying monthly rent.

However, when the APNU+AFC coalition took office, the first thing David Patterson asked for was the list of persons living in these buildings. The next day, contractors not short-listed under the building’s division began tearing down the offices and repainting them yellow and green because the offices did not meet Patterson and Ferguson’s standards.

The Prime Minister’s Residence was torn apart, and underwent repairs after significant capital work had recently been done on the roof and several parts of the building. Many houses in Echilibar were completely renovated, and the buildings division received a letter specifying the type of furniture and appliances needed.
These are the words of Moses Nagamootoo: “You can’t have a Cadillac lifestyle in a donkey-cart economy.”

Nagamootoo wants to be seen as a victim, telling his side of the story. Fellow Guyanese, what lifestyle were they living? They have taken away from you and your children to benefit themselves. You have witnessed the five years of the coalition in government – what do they have to show for it? Not one significant project, only roundabouts and monuments, and corruption at its highest.

After questioning where the allocated funds for the rehabilitation of these buildings would come from, I was summoned to the Ministry of Public Works and told to resign or be fired. My employment was terminated a few days later, despite being a permanent staff member attached to the ministry for more than five years.

The government under Moses Nagamootoo was never concerned about me, an ordinary Guyanese who lived and worked honestly to feed my two daughters, my wife, and pay my mortgage. A few days later, a group of men searched my house for documents at 02:00 hrs.

I had no choice but to leave my beloved country since I could never work in Guyana again. Despite being qualified, I was rejected by every government ministry. Now Moses had the audacity to talk about how he was treated; he still has a government pension to live on, along with many other benefits, while many Guyanese suffer under his watch.

There are many stories like mine in this dear land of ours. These are the people who destroy our country. We must never allow them to be in government again.
Yours respectfully,
Howard Samaroo