“How will they be accountable in power, when they are unaccountable now?” – Jagdeo on AFC
PPP General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo playing a recording of AFC Executive Member Cathy Hughes narrowing questions to specific topics at a recent press conference
General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, on Thursday questioned the ability of the Alliance For Change (AFC) to be accountable in Government, given that that party’s leaders have refused to answer questions relating to the period 2015 to 2020, when they served as ministers in the coalition Government.
Jagdeo was at the time referring to a restriction placed on media practitioners during a recent AFC media conference, when Executive Member Cathy Hughes narrowed questions to specific topics, and stated that questions relating to five years ago –when her party was in Government – would not be addressed.
“I really want you to pose questions that are topical to the issues we are discussing today. We are not prepared to entertain questions that go back four or five years,” Mrs Hughes had told reporters in the presence of AFC Leader Nigel Hughes, Chairman David Patterson, and Executive Member Khemraj Ramjattan.
When Jagdeo replayed that audio at his press conference on Thursday, he pointed out that clarifying decisions made five years ago is a form of showing accountability.
AFC Leader Nigel Hughes
“If they can’t be accountable now, how would they be accountable if they have political power?” he questioned, adding, “It’s a kind of arrogance they had when they had political power; they brought it back out into the Opposition.”
The PPP General Secretary outlined that there are several issues concerning the APNU/AFC tenure on which their party members can shed light, including negotiation of the current Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil, and the issuing of contracts from Cathy Hughes’s former Ministry of Telecommunications to a company she owned.
“How could you take the political party like this seriously, when the entire leadership…says we will tell you what you can ask and we will not take questions from the past?” Jagdeo emphasised.
In contrast, Jagdeo, who is also the country’s vice president, noted that he can answer any question posed to him about his party, even if it predates his presidency.
“If you ask me about a question from the 1950s, when the party was formed, I will take your questions and give you an answer,” he told reporters.
