President Granger gave himself and his A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) government an ‘A’ grade. People are shaking their heads, wondering what Granger has been smoking because for most of them Granger deserves a resounding ‘F’. Corruption is at an all-time high, the cost of living is on the rise, businesses and the economy are stagnated, the dollar is depreciating, US foreign currency is in short supply, more people have lost their jobs in the last two years than in any other two-year period, sugar workers have had no wage increase for two years, sugar estates are closing, rice is on the decline, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is collapsing, education, health and housing are sliding backwards, more than 200 taxes have been increased, Value Added Tax (VAT) has been extended to food items, health, education, water and electricity, crime is on a continuous upward spiral, flooding is more intense and more frequent, the Constitution and the Judiciary are under attack, the Private Sector Commission has lost confidence in the Government and more and more the Government is shifting towards authoritarianism.
APNU/AFC made eliminating corruption a major campaign promise. After almost two years, they have taken corruption to a shameful, unimaginable level where even some of its staunchest supporters are reeling in embarrassment and repulsion. APNU/AFC are even afraid to activate the Public Procurement Commission so it pays its members about $6 million per month to stay quiet. When it comes to fighting corruption, Granger and APNU/AFC deserve a BIG FAT ‘F’.
The APNU/AFC, Granger, Nagamootoo and others claimed that more than $28 billion was lost through the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) contract corruption. Now people are asking them where is the $56 billion that should have been saved from these corrupt transactions since APNU/AFC has been in government. It is pellucidly clear that 2015-2016 ranks as the most corrupt two years in our 50-year independent history. APNU/AFC has amassed more than one major corrupt deal per month and it might be worse. Recently, the Public Accounts Committee found that more than 70 contracts in 2015 in Region Six (Upper Corentyne-Berbice) were awarded to the highest bidders with no justification.
From the handing out of contracts for forensic audits, to their friends and donors, the repulsive $15 million per month house they rented as a medical warehouse, the incredible $1 billion higher bid awarded for the GPL contract, to the Parking Meter Contract; the corruption stench has infuriated even their most staunch supporters. The population is today reeling from the Parking Meter Contract, one of the worst corrupt deals in Guyana’s history. APNU/AFC belatedly and timidly distancing themselves from this “Contract from hell” is just a futile effort to untangle themselves from complicity in a criminal deal.
Granger, Williams, Harmon, Trotman, Ramjattan, Nagamootoo and the rest of the Cabinet are fully complicit because they knew of the horrendous Parking Meter Contract from the beginning. Not just because Oscar Clarke played a major role, but because they reviewed the Contract in August 2016 with in-depth reviews from the Finance Ministry and the Attorney General which identified various untenable and “terror” clauses. Long before the citizens knew that this was a “Contract from hell”, APNU/AFC knew. They clearly were complicit in foisting this Contract down the throats of our people. Besides, the parking meters could not have been implemented without Bulkan’s approval of the By-laws which the Office of the Presidency gazetted. This is a Mayor and City Council contract, but it is fully owned by Granger and APNU/AFC. That is why they rejected Irfaan Ali’s motion to debate the Contract in Parliament because they feared exposure.
Their ‘F’ grade is deserving because they had campaigned on super-salaries and inflated pensions for Jagdeo and Ramotar and their ministers. Nagamootoo cried that the PPP ministers were living Cadillac lifestyles in a ‘donkey cart’ economy. They claimed that Jagdeo was the highest paid president in the world and many people believed them. Then what did they do the first opportunity in government? They increased their salaries between 50 and 100 per cent. They increased their fleet with more luxurious and expensive vehicles and expended enormous sums of money to enhance their homes and offices.
Column length limitation does not permit me to detail how much APNU/AFC has reversed Guyana’s upward trajectory. People are dismayed and hope is once again dissipating. Sugar workers, rice farmers, other farmers, miners and foresters, vendors, business people and their families give APNU/AFC an ‘F’. Teachers and public servants feel betrayed. All Guyanese are suffocating from the high cost of living from rising prices and burdensome taxes. Personal debts are beginning to take a toll on people’s lives while the national debt is rapidly increasing. Granger’s job creation magic is to sell sugar cake, plantain chips and cook-up. No ands, ifs and buts, APNU/AFC scores a BIG FAT ‘F’.
