Dear Editor,
The Alliance For Change (AFC) was never serious about tackling corruption and I have written exhaustively on this issue. In 2014, I was deemed by Mr Ramjattan to be a “rogue Councillor” because of my stance against corruption and today another AFC Councillor is being labelled as pro-PPP and a ‘rogue’ by the real rogues!
He called me a “rogue councillor” simply because I moved a motion at the RDC calling for the then Opposition to support the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism Bill. Today, Mr Gobin Harbhajan, another AFC RDC Councillor who is vociferous in exposing alleged corrupt activities on social media and at the RDC is being attacked by the corruptors within the AFC who are bent on shutting him down. The working of the nefarious Three Musketeers was highlighted on social media.
It must be recalled that Mr Harbhajan at an RDC statutory meeting had made a statement to the effect that, “I don’t care which political party this contractor supports, I want this matter to be raised at the highest level; and if found guilty, he should receive the full penalty of the law; because we have been talking about corruption, now we actually have the proof”. This was in relation to the fraudulent letter of credit obtained by a top-ranking AFC official in Region 6.
Again, in relation to the slashing of the Corentyne road shoulders contract valued at $120 million which was ‘awarded’ to seven AFC top-ranking members and officials, he had said that: “The road shoulder contract issue has been raised at our RDC Statutory Meeting, if this contract is not properly tendered for as was mentioned at the RDC, then I’m calling on the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to recall all contracts regarding the slashing of the road shoulders, because other contractors and persons are complaining that only one set of persons receive the contracts.” This statement is now creating gigantic pandemonium in the AFC and yet again a councillor is to be the ‘sacrificial lamb’.
Moreover, it has now become the norm that at each RDC statutory meeting, some alleged corrupt act of the AFC is in the spotlight. Up until now, the alleged corruption of the CORE workers in Region Six is still not investigated and resolved. It was alleged that the Supervisor of the CORE is using the CORE workers for his personal benefit while the RDC is still not informed about the CORE workers’ job description, their number, and who they report to. In addition, alleged corruption with regard to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s vehicles, machinery, and materials being used to develop a park which is being built by an AFC RDC Councillor has also been the subject of much discussion. Photographs were taken with the vehicles parked at the site of the park under construction.
There is also a corruption racket whereby it is alleged that a certain AFC Executive Member and a Vice Chairman of an NDC are working in cahoots with a manager of GuySuCo to ‘sell’ jobs for various sums. It seems that at every area where a corrupt dollar can be extracted, the AFC is allegedly actively involved.
However, this furore becomes understandable when I analyse the reason behind the award of the $120 million contract.
It is time for the AFC to be buried deep!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
RDC Councillor
Region 6
