GECOM Secretariat most biased, must be fixed

Dear Editor,
Please permit me the reach of your wide readership in sharing and embracing a Christmas season of cheer and goodwill, always warmly received by our citizenry at home and throughout the world. As we do so, all must be wary of the uncomfortable dampening of the usual celebratory spirits caused by the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the increasing discomfort of an unfixed Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
It cannot be denied that GECOM, under the current control by tainted staff, deserves the right to be nominated as the 2020 Global Silverware for rigging and unaccountability! Its blatant attempts at changing the true results of our National and Regional Elections by many contracted employees have eroded the confidence of the entire nation. Several senior staff members at its Secretariat, together with Granger and his PNC/AFC cabal, have placed Guyana on the world map for all the wrong reasons. There are those that leave Guyanese with a bitter taste in their mouths and the eroded confidence of a deteriorated cryptic society.
Against the foregoing backdrop, there is no Guyanese who is unclear, or need convincing, about the role of the international community. They stood firm in the decision to distance themselves from a visible orchestrated coup in which officers of GECOM were central. The CEO of the Secretariat stood in precipitous defiance of the Commission, and after months of thunderous silence and voluminous criticisms, Chairwoman Justice (retd) Claudette Singh has finally spoken about being unable to do anything because the officials have matters in the courts. This is distasteful, and is a slap in the face of all right-thinking citizens.
It appears that thicker spectacles are required if a ‘spade is looking like a teaspoon’ under the current lens and judgment of the GECOM Chairwoman, who has the casting vote at the Commission. Certainly, these matters must be dealt with if the credibility of the institution will be rebuilt.
The throats of citizens are too small to swallow the huge unpalatable lump that the management functions of GECOM are dependent on the decisions of the court.
If so, it begs the question as to whether we require GECOM, or should we just let the courts do the job that the highly rewarded official is finding so difficult to make transparent and credible.
Editor, permit me to clean the lens of some GECOM officials by highlighting some of the obvious that followed the passing of the No-Confidence Motion on December 21, 2018. First, it is an aberration that GECOM could not be ready to hold elections within three months following the motion. It is recalled that GECOM’s Public Relations Officer Ms. Yolanda Ward confirmed that all the organisation had to do was activate its Standard Operating Procedures, since all was in place to effect the Elections.
However, the PNC henchmen and women in the setup would have none of this, and swiftly moved to activate their full control of the election machinery. Next to follow was the choking house-to-house campaign, for which the shocking selection and hiring of staff was most abominable. In effect, GECOM, led by CEO Keith Lowenfield, began changing its position as the PNC changed theirs. Meanwhile, the Granger cabal started the year 2019 advancing frivolous court battles in and out of Guyana, which GECOM supported by providing lapsed oversight.
The GECOM Secretariat was the most biased, and showed that it was hell-bent on rigging the Elections. Many deals were being made in the Campbellville Hotel exalting the full indecency of the CEO and other GECOM personnel. The staff for Election Day were all handpicked and chosen by the PNC, and the Secretariat did not even bother to respond to public commentary and justified criticisms of these callous actions. Following the revelations of Mr. Lowenfield and his crew at the Ashmin’s Building in the weeks following the March 02, 2020 Elections, there are no reasons why the Chairwoman should treat these matters with causality.
To this end, this nation needs to see the list of ‘fixed employees’ at GECOM, who are open to timely background checks that must meet set credibility criteria. Also, the List of temporary staff at GECOM. The list of all contract workers must be made public, since there is no reason to hide the names of persons working with the institution. This approach would help to wean out the list of “phantom workers and contractors” following a comparative review of the payment system with the IFMAS Accounting system at the Ministry of Finance.
The Representation of the People’s Act clearly states the all employment at GECOM must be done by the Commissioners. As such, the abused delegation of the function to the Secretariat in this respect has to be re-visited. Madam Chairperson must assert her good office and take disciplinary action against all those staff members found responsible for holding our nation at ransom for five long months.
The fact that legal and clear instructions were not carried out by the most senior staff at GECOM is a travesty. The fact that Mr Lowenfield provided fictitious and fraudulent information to the Commission provides sufficient justification to address whether the senior members of the Secretariat are guilty of gross misconduct, are incompetent, contributed to dilatory tactics, or were seriously insubordinate. Internal investigations must also determine the various levels of unprofessional conduct, leading to an absolute divorce from the institution, if found guilty.
Editor, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pressure our economic aspirations and frustrate our sports personalities from excelling, while elements at GECOM and Mr Granger have shown no reservation about disappointing national and international audiences. This unpardonable position demands urgent changes NOW, to relieve the stress and strain on our people.
Warm holiday greetings and a progressive 2021 to all!

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar