The corruption mantra taken too far

Dear Editor,
We are living in crucially deceitful times when every acquisition of wealth is suspiciously deemed to be from the proceeds of corruption, illicit drug trafficking or banditry. This is so especially in our political environment today when wannabe politicians who lack the intelligence cannot persuade people to their point of view using well-structured arguments to debate socio-economic policies.
These neophyte politicians know that the socio-economic policies of this Government cannot be challenged, nor can the myriads of developments in every sector of the economy be challenged. Therefore, the easiest way for people to portray the Government and the Ministers unfavourably is to use the social media to present dramatised and juicy allegations for the public consumption. Social media is replete with these “social influencers” who would stop at nothing to get “likes” and “subscriptions”. Many of these had to pay millions in damages to those whose character they tried to besmirch. But while this may be accepted from the “social influencers” who severely lack etiquette and decorum and probably never had an opportunity to visit a school, it is unpardonable for politicians who aspire for the highest office of the land and those who have already been sworn in as members of parliament to use the social media to peddle unsubstantiated allegations of corruption with fabricated evidence which cannot stand scrutiny and which has been categorically debunked by evidence provided by the accused Ministers.
The APNU and the AFC had tried the corruption mantra against the PPP/C Government and had hopelessly failed to such an extent that today they have lost every semblance of credibility and are trying desperately to piggyback on the WIN Party. This is good humour since WIN owes its existence to the decimation of these parties. But these former supporters of APNU and AFC have a leader, Azruddin Mohamed, who is willing to take the corruption mantra to a new level by posting some buildings and cars and accusing the owners of corruption. Some of these are not even owned by the accused persons, but he does not care; the negative impression it creates is what matters. For instance, two of the three houses in Florida he claimed are owned by Minister Susan Rodrigues, in fact, belong to her realtor and to Guyana’s honorary consul. The third property was bought through a mortgage. Each and every one of Azruddin’s deceitful and malicious allegations of corruption was discredited by the Minister. In fact, the Minister has conclusively stated that, “I own assets locally and abroad which have all been declared to the Integrity Commission, and all of which I can account for.” And in fact she did.
Moreover, Azruddin’s slanderous and defamatory statements against the Minister of Agriculture and his son were proven to be false, deceitful and malicious. This Minister is the most hard-working Minister and spared no effort in ensuring the agriculture sector keeps progressing. Again, the Minister debunked these by issuing a public statement in which he stated that his house at Bloomfield “was funded and financed exclusively through a mortgage obtained from Demerara Bank Limited and personal savings accumulated through lawful employment. I have lived a life dedicated to serving the people of Guyana, and my career now spans over 35 years. I am not a stranger to public life, having served as a Member of Parliament for many years, Regional Chairman for Region 6 for five (5) years and a Minister of the People’s Progressive Party Government from 2020 to date.” He further added that, “I have been up to date with my declarations with the Integrity Commission, and I wish to assure my supporters and the general public that all my assets were acquired through lawful means. I can account for every asset I own.” Furthermore, the Minister made it abundantly clear that his son, a medical doctor and entrepreneur, acquired his assets through lawful means, unlike Azruddin. It is a shame that Javed Mustapha once treated this man as a “friend”.
It would seem that Azruddin Mohamed cannot fathom the reality that people can and do get wealthy in an honest manner; “from the sweat of their brows” and not through gold smuggling, drug trafficking and tax evasion. There are thousands of huge mansions sprouting all over Guyana and people driving luxury vehicles, and I do think that Azruddin should take out pictures of these and question the sources of income. According to him, no one has the right to get wealthy other than by illegitimate means.
May I remind Azruddin that “The Guyana Integrity Commission promotes integrity and fights corruption by requiring public officials to declare their assets, investigating misconduct, and enforcing a Code of Conduct, aiming to boost transparency, accountability, and public trust in Government through receiving and verifying financial declarations and prosecuting breaches.” The Integrity Commission investigates complaints of corruption, impropriety, and misconduct by public officials and prosecutes individuals who violate the Code of Conduct or fail to file their financial declarations.

Can the accuser of corruption make public his sources of income and how he acquired his massive wealth? He can claim that he worked for 40 years to amass his wealth, but no other person can benefit from such claims. If he is so sure about the honest acquisition of his wealth, then why not go to the US and clear his name? He has called for the resignation of both Minister Zulfikar and Minister Rodrigues, but he has been indicted on several charges which allege that between 2017 and 2024 he and his father “enriched themselves and defrauded the Government of Guyana by concealing the true quantity and value of gold exported by their company.” This is estimated at $50 million US. He should be the one to resign since it is just a matter of time before he faces trial in the US. On the other hand, these Ministers have duly submitted and disclosed their assets and sources of income to the Integrity Commission.
In conclusion, I leave Azruddin to ponder on Matthew 7:5: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s.”

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf