Nothing decent, honest about APNU/AFC Govt – Nandlall

…as PPP leaders take Govt to task for corruption, defiance of Constitution

The launch of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) campaign got underway on Sunday at the Kitty Market Square, Georgetown, with several of the party’s leaders taking the current Government to task over its track record in office, while assuring its crowd of supporters of better days ahead should the party win.
At the rally, the party’s point man on legal matters, former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, took aim at the incumbent Government’s ‘decent and honest’ slogan being used on some of their flags to campaign. According to Nandlall, there is nothing “decent or honest” about the Government’s actions over their five years in office.

“I saw their big banners. Imagine after all they have done to you, they are campaigning under the banner of decency and honesty, oh my god! From the first day they took office, they paid themselves an increase. How much more dishonest can they get? Then they refused to tell you! They hid it in the official gazette.”
“What is more dishonest than lying to you about a signing bonus they received from ExxonMobil and then stashing it in an account. They said they never received it. What is decent about renting a house in Albouystown valued $20 million for $12.5 million a month, to store condoms and lubricants?” Nandlall asked, to jeers and laughter from the crowd.

Nandlall pointed to the Government’s dismissal of thousands of Amerindians from their jobs as Community Support Officers (CSO), soon after they took office. He also recalled the thousands of Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) workers who were dismissed as the Government looked to downsize the industry.
“The latest IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) report ranks Guyana as the most corrupt country in the Caribbean, with bribery at the highest! What is decent and honest about that? Look at the front pages! Government failed to account for $800 million in 2018 and over $166 million in contract overpayments! What is decent and honest about that?”
“After being defeated by a No-Confidence Motion, which required them to resign and call elections in three months, they are clinging on to power, contrary to the law and contrary to the Constitution. What is decent and honest about that?” Nandlall questioned.
Nor were the political newcomers to the scene spared, as the former Attorney General questioned what the new parties have done since their entrance onto the political scene. Among other things, Nandlall pointed out that the PPP has stood alone in keeping the Government and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) accountable.
“What have they done for you, over the past [year]? Apart from promoting themselves? Nothing has stopped them from protesting on the streets. Nothing has stopped them from filing an action against this Government. What has stopped them from [keeping GECOM accountable]? They have all abandoned you. But the PPP stands tall and continues to champion the cause for democracy!”
Meanwhile, former PPP Chief Whip Gail Teixeira lauded the Irfaan Ali/Mark Phillips President/Prime Ministerial team, while noting that the APNU/AFC coalition was not a coalition in a true sense but a farce.
Retired Brigadier General Mark Phillips served as Chief of Staff of the GDF from 2013 to 2016. He previously attended the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst in the United Kingdom and was Guyana’s nonresident Military attaché to Venezuela. Phillips is also the holder of a Master’s Degree in Public Sector Management.
Teixeira pointed out that while President Granger also holds the rank of Brigadier General, he was never appointed a Chief of Staff of the army, unlike the PPP’s prime ministerial candidate. She questioned why other army officers got the top job ahead of Granger.
She also slammed Granger for announcing his intention to amend the Constitution to prevent No-Confidence Motions from happening. According to her, this is a fundamental part of any democracy.
“At the rally on Friday, President Granger says they want constitutional reform. And what will they be doing? They will amend the section of the Constitution that deals with the No-Confidence Motion. And that is a fundamental part of our parliamentary democracy.”