Dear Editor,
I begin my response to a letter written by Mr George Jervis, the DPS, Admin, in the Ministry of Agriculture (‘Guyana’s agriculture is on a firm competitive footing’ SN, December 18) with the following quotation by John Adams (1770). Adams states:  “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

Editor, Mr Jervis should have passed my letter for a professional response from the technical people in the ministry, either the Chief Agriculture Officer or the Senior Agricultural Economist. These qualified people will not engage in scurrilous attacks. Instead, they would have provided enlightenment and knowledge. Mr Jervis has done neither, and therefore, “whatever may be [his] wishes, [his] inclinations, or the dictates of [his] passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

So what are the facts and evidence? First, the data I used in my letter were extracted from the Bank of Guyana Annual Report 2008. These are public records published by a reputable national institution. That data show agriculture output declining over the decade and one cannot but write the truth that one sees. For Mr Jervis to say, however, that I “…sit at a desk and manipulate information to create mischief” is an insidious attack against the qualified people in the ministry and the Bank of Guyana who put their professionalism on the line when they reported their findings on the performance of the sector.

Mr Jervis writes that “…his [Dr Hunte’s] stint at the GAIBANK was short lived due to mismanagement of the bank’s financial resources resulting in its closure.” This is libellous, but in this season of good will I will not sue him; instead, I will only correct the record.  The facts are as follows. I was employed at GAIBANK from 1980 to 1993, working in various technical positions and later as General Manager from 1985 to 1993.  My tenure spanned both the PNC and PPP/C governments, working with our late Presidents Burnham, Hoyte and Jagan, and none of them ever accused me of mismanagement or fraud. Furthermore, the Auditor General of Guyana, who audited GAIBANK books every year, never accused me of any fraudulent act. Additionally, all audited GAIBANK reports were laid in Parliament every year from the time the bank was established in 1973 to at least when I resigned in good standing in 1993 when Minister Asgar Ally was the Senior Minister of Finance and our current President Jagdeo was one of his advisors.  If Mr Jervis has any evidence to the contrary he should produce it.

Mr Jervis accuses me of not providing advice to the government.  In my letter of 14.12.2009 I provided a series of recommendations and Mr Jervis should ask the technical staff in the ministry to enlighten him.

On the subject of the closure of GAIBANK, the record is unambiguously clear and I have written on this matter since 2005 and before.  The closure of GAIBANK had nothing to do with fraud or mismanagement by me.  Instead, the “ill-advised closure of GAIBANK was the sole responsibility of the PPP/C Government which failed to implement the recommendations of Mr. S. A. Goolsarran, Auditor General of Guyana, in relation to foreign exchange losses that were Government liabilities and not GAIBANK liabilities. The Auditor General in his letters of 31-12-93 and 9-16-1994 supported his recommendations of dealing with the foreign exchange losses by invoking the Laws of Guyana, Section 50(2) of the Co-operative Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 75:01. Regrettably, the PPP/C Government ignored the professional advice of the Auditor General, which would have accurately reflected the profitability levels of GAIBANK that were in the hundred of millions of dollars, after all other operating expenses were charged to the appropriate accounts.” Unfortunately, the PPP/C government followed the nutty advice of two consultants.

Once again, Editor, I call on Mr Jervis to produce evidence to the contrary; otherwise, he needs to cease and desist from sitting at his desk making up false accounts and ridiculous fables.

Yours faithfully,
C. Kenrick Hunte