Dear Editor,
I recall Guyana was looking for a bright future in 1964, but with the PNC from 1968 -1992, that hope became a nightmare. With the electoral victory of the PPP in 1992, many people were hopeful of a new beginning. But it has been a period of rampant corruption and murders, and so we have seen another false dawn.
The formation of the AFC led many to believe that the new party offered a ray of hope from selfishness and corruption ‒ although the new party was comprised of members of the two major parties. We are now confronted with a scandal in the party involving Nigel Hughes, Chairman of the party, with respect to his political position and his personal position of Company Secretary to Sithe Global of the controversial Amaila Falls project. Mr Hughes and Mr Ramjattan tell us that there is no conflict of interest (as lawyers they must know otherwise), since the information on Mr Hughes being Company Secretary has been in the public domain since 2009. Many people, including myself, knew nothing about it. Even if we can argue that such information was in the public domain, what was not is how much Mr Hughes is being paid for the post. Then Mr Hughes resigns as Chairman of the party, but not as Company Secretary, which shows his loyalty is to financial reward rather than the interest of the ordinary people of the country. Mr Hughes’ wife sits in Parliament during the day and supports the AFC on issues, but goes home at night and writes PR material for the project. If Mr Hughes and his wife are interested in financial reward, that is their prerogative and I cannot fault that, but don’t deceive the people.
Many people saw the AFC as offering some kind of moral pole in a corrupt society but it is not to be. I have always been nervous about the sincerity of the AFC, and my nervousness has now been justified. In my opinion, the AFC has become another false dawn.
Yours faithfully,
Kean Gibson
