Any attack on the press must be denounced by all

Dear Editor,
The recent missive written by Finance Minister Winston Jordan in response to an editorial of October 7 in the media requires response. Any attack on the press must be defended by all who care for our freedom of speech. Jordan begins by stating that the description of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration as a “bumbling, incompetent Government that rules over us” is “lazy”, ironic, given that Minister Jordan was too incompetent to understand that a press conference should be the professional method to debunk such a serious and influential editorial. Sad, given that the entire Cabinet is facing an investigation from the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for breaking the law (Public Procurement Act); delusional in that the APNU/AFC bumbling began at the Inauguration ceremonies (plural) which have never been accounted for, and includes self-awarded exorbitant salary raises; the D’Urban Park fiasco; the $325 million rental paid for a $25 million building with the pharmacy bond contract between the Public Health Ministry and the Linden Holding Company; the payout of $3.37 billion to RUDISA which was a direct result of APNU/AFC’s (while in Opposition) refusal to assent to corrective legislation proposed by the then People’s Progressive Party Administration, bumbling before they were elected! Editor, these are mere highlights of the long list of incompetent acts of the APNU/AFC.
Editor, no doubt Comrade Jordan thinks himself clever with his attack on the newspaper; a classic ‘blame the messenger’ move, however, given his patent lack of credibility due to his denying the existence of a ‘signing bonus’ from the oil company as a “figment of the imagination”, Jordan has no leg to stand on for this assault. Interestingly, as it now further emerges, the $18 million had to be ‘reconstituted’ for deposit into the Central Bank, Minister Jordan has gone on the attack of the Auditor General. Bluster will not aid the cause in future SOCU and State Assets Recovery Agency investigations and to quote America’s best-known expert on lying, Pamela Meyer, “When a pointed question is beaten back with an attack or threat of, ‘How dare you…’ it’s a reliable signal that deception is involved.”
Editor, Jordan delves into the realm of sophistry with his personal interpretation of various reports of international monetary agencies, and while he concludes quite rightly “that (they) are increasingly viewing Guyana as a stable, well-managed country with bright prospects that is ripe for sustainable development” he has used the wrong premise. Guyana has become a ripe target for those interested in exploitation of our oil and other assets because our nation’s interests are being poorly represented by the mooks in the APNU/AFC Administration. Editor, recently a Guyanese won the $246 million Powerball Lottery in the USA, he had simple words for those looking to exploit him ““If I didn’t know them two weeks ago, I don’t know them today.” A timely reminder that not all of us are as easily duped as our Government.

Respectfully,
Robin Singh