Dear Editor,
“Statesman par excellence” and “a matchless leader of the Guyanese people” are just some of the many complimentary remarks made by both the local and the international communities and people of all races, even those who are his political opponents. Recently, on social media, a strong supporter of the coalition referred to him as a true leader. By now you know whom I am referring to – Dr Bharrat Jagdeo!
Since he took up the mantle of the Leader of the Opposition, he has relentlessly exposed the massive corruption and gross ineptitude of the coalition. He has been persistent in his pursuit and never has this country seen a more effective leader than this man.
He has singlehandedly pronounced on each of the failed economic policies of the coalition and they have never been able to counterattack or rebut his incisive arguments. He has expertly unmasked each and every act of corruption by providing detailed facts and figures which the coalition cannot dispute. For the first time, Guyanese have an opportunity to sift through tangible pieces of evidence of corruption, quite unlike what the coalition failed to do. The Guyanese populace was appalled by the enormous level of corruption by the coalition.
I can recall that when the coalition was the Opposition, they uttered endless streams of rhetoric about massive corruption of the PPP/C Government but until now and after spending $133 million on about 45 forensic audits, they cannot successfully prosecute even one such instance of corruption. Yet they regurgitated the corruption platform ad nauseam and it was also used ceaselessly during the 2011 elections and also during the 2015 elections campaign when it was actually used to camouflage their fictitious manifesto.
But the people would have known that something was amiss when the PNC failed to take part in the NCN’s Corruption Debate in 2012. The PNC knew that they were just playing mind games with the Guyanese public and all they were interested in was to enrich themselves, cronies and families though corrupt practices.
However, Dr Jagdeo did not stop at exposing the corruption and incompetency of the coalition tricksters and fraudsters with his trademark weekly press conference but he skilfully manoeuvred his party to a massive win in the 2018 Local Government which became the catalyst for the now famous No-Confidence Motion which successfully toppled the coalition Government on December 21, 2018. The coalition thought he was biting more than he could chew when they mockingly sang in chorus, “Bring it on!” I guess they will never sing that refrain again.
They then recanted their acceptance of defeat and embarked on an ignominious journey which would expose the true nature of the coalition – the old PNC has returned with a vengeance and this time with some AFC converts.
The PNC thought that they were buying time to rig the next election but what they have done is irreparable damage to their image, both locally and internationally, to the extent that the USA, the UK, the EU, the Commonwealth and many local organisations demanded that the Granger Administration respect Guyana’s Constitution and call the elections which are long overdue.
The coalition has now lost whatever shred of credibility they had. In the process of delaying the elections, Jagdeo expertly decimated the coalition, resulting in many supporters of the coalition crossing the floor. Jagdeo’s wisdom, perseverance and tenacity bore fruit!
Moreover, like a true leader of the Guyanese people, he marshaled and deployed his forces on a daily basis to fight and counterattack each and every devious stratagem which the PNC attempted to foist on this nation to hoodwink and deceive them. Not only that but he restrained, guided and educated them on a peaceful course to fight against the ugly head of dictatorship which has once again threatened to engulf this nation. It was not an easy task. Some criticised his decision when it had appeared that he made a wrong move in the selection of the GECOM’s Chairperson but Jagdeo maintained that he has full confidence in her and so be it.
Once again, he proved that he was absolutely right. The PNC could not have forced her to act illegally against the Court’s decision and for GECOM to embark on a new form of ‘verification’. In addition, she has not only corrected the Claims and Objections period but has accepted technical assistance from the international community to avoid similar pitfalls. Jagdeo’s foresight again pays off!
It had taken 28 years to get rid of the PNC’s dictatorship but this time the fall is swift and I am sure that in the final analysis, the master strategist will be successful in bringing back his people once again on the road to prosperity which the coalition comprehensively destroyed in just 4 years. His support to the PPP/C’s Presidential Candidate will ensure this.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
