Dear Editor,
I felt appalled and dismayed when I read a letter captioned “The sycophants are out: singing shamelessly for their supper”. In his letter, GHK Lall sought to attack those who wrote in the press analyzing the interview by Vice News and drawing conclusions which any reasonable man would: that no corrupt practice can be attributed to Vice President Jagdeo.
Many things claimed by the interviewer cannot stand scrutiny, and these letter writers presented those. Does this make them ‘opportunists and sycophants’? This is such a damaging classification that it should never be used against people whose Constitutional right it is to give their opinion in a democratic country.
I thought GHK Lall was more dignified than this. For five years after 2015, Mr Lall ignored the real opportunists and sycophants. Upon closer analysis, and by use of his own yardstick, should he not be qualified thus?
On 27th January, 2020, Mr GHK Lall, who was the General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board, appointed by Trotman, wrote that the ‘Coalition Government has my X’, since the PPP/C ‘has zero credibility… and are being led by a craven opportunist pretending at being a born-again reformist’. He claimed that David Granger is the best leader, and that he will vote for the Coalition simply because of this, despite him also saying, “I am of the view that the sitting government — warts and all, weaknesses and all, and woes and all — does have in its leader what is required.”
This clearly indicated who the opportunist and sycophant really is. Imagine all the ignominy perpetrated by the Coalition: the documented corruption, the squandering, the destruction of the economy, the cronyism, the lopsided Exxon Contract, the many unconstitutional acts and omissions committed by Granger himself, yet the Coalition has his ‘X’, since he had to sing for his supper to retain his position at the Guyana Gold Board.
Granger led the most corrupt version of the PNC, and Lall touted him as the leader who has ‘what is required to keep Guyana on the right track’. It defies any moral standard and logic that Lall would support a leader who was on the verge of becoming the worst version of Burnham, plunging Guyana once again into the abyss of dictatorial rule, on the verge of bankrupting the country, and ushering in a new wave of suffering and deprivation.
Dr Bharrat Jagdeo saved this country from that impending dictatorship, and once again Guyanese can breathe the fresh air of democracy and live the good life which was elusive under the Coalition. Now Lall wants to reinforce his poisonous view using the Vice News interview, which is aptly summarised by the Chinese Ambassador as having “a predetermined agenda” with “a malicious purpose”, intending to smear the Guyana-China relationship, and which “failed to pin him (Jagdeo) on any type of corruption”.
We cannot ask for more, the Ambassador has said it all. But Lall has his agenda and malicious purpose, which dates back prior to 2015, and his writings since then ensure that he is looked upon favourably by the Coalition.
In September 2013, a letter writer wrote in the local media that, ‘Rodney was a menace to Burnham, and Lall is causing trouble for this current Government’. This was in reference to the then PPP/C Government. Since before 2015, Lall had this agenda, and he found a readily available ally in the Coalition. Lall supported the corrupt Coalition for 5 years, and then emerged once again “causing trouble for this current Government”, but not once did he “feel the pain, hurt and despair” of the thousands who lost their jobs under the Coalition, including over 7,000 sugar workers and the Guyanese masses who saw their standard of living being eroded on a daily basis.
He was blinded to the large-scale thievery which existed then. He conveniently heard no evil and saw no evil.
Lall is the ‘damaged goods’ he wrote about, and should take a deep reflection of himself. Has he said or written against the 5-month-long attempt by the Coalition to rig the 2020 Elections? Has he written against any of the corrupt acts of the Coalition, as exposed by the Auditor General’s Reports and the Public Accounts Committee? Why would he write 3 letters to support the Vice News’ interview, which has yet to prove acts of corruption against Vice President Jagdeo, and never write a word against the Coalition’s lawlessness and corruption? Is he so blinded by the ‘soup’ he drank under the Coalition? It is conclusive that Lall has an axe to grind with the PPP/C, and this has been magnified in greater proportion since he was removed as the General Manager.
Whilst in January Lall wrote openly that he supported the Coalition, in August 2020, he wrote, “As many know, I am a returnee, a virtual stranger here. I have never been affiliated with a political party, never attended a political meeting or rally, or any such thing; did not know any of the political principals from any side of the divide”. Was this a true statement? This is hypocrisy to the core. Where is the moral fortitude he loves to preach about?
Vice President Jagdeo has shown his great statesmanship and intellectual capacity throughout the Vice News’ interview, and conducted himself as a true gentleman should, despite harsh and provocative allegations levelled against him repeatedly by Isobel Yeung. At the end, he clearly stated his Government’s vision for Guyana. He is a true leader, and has displayed those qualities again and again.
In conclusion, Lall feels that only he has the right to his opinion, warped and biased as it is. Only he has the moral and intellectual capacity to pronounce on all issues, and be judgmental; only he can discern who is a good leader and who should be; and only he can decide what is wrong and what is right; and only he can decide what is good or bad for Guyana and its people.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
