Dear Editor,
Addressing a gathering in Linden on Sunday, April 12, Bharrat Jagdeo with his usual crassness laid out what he perceived to be the ills of another government, and made promises in his bid for the PPP to win the elections. What he failed to give the audience, however, was his record. As such he needs to be reminded that it was under his leadership Region 10 and its people have been targeted for marginalization and discrimination, as well as being hounded and mistreated.
It was under his administration that all bauxite workers in Linden and Kwakwani were sent home in breach of the collective labour agreement between the company and the recognised union, while the $2.5B bauxite industry pension plan, the largest single pool of money that was owned primarily by Africans, was broken up. No bauxite worker who came through from the 1960s to now can receive a pension after giving their labour in the prime of their life to build Guyana.
It was Mr Jagdeo who offered the residents of Kwakwani an all-weather road, house lots and farmland to support his initiative to give the bauxite company to foreigners. To date the residents are still awaiting the farmland, house lots and all-weather road. On his first visit as president to Region 10 he said his government will make Kwakwani, Linden and Ituni the industrial corridor of the country. To date not one thing has been done to realise this.
Under his leadership the power generation plant in Linden was given away to foreigners, and as I write the steam power plant, an economically efficient plant, no longer exists since the turbine from the steam power plant was removed from Linden and taken to Versailles.
It was under Mr Jagdeo’s period in office that the workers’ bid to purchase Bermine was rejected. In fact, the workers were not even accorded an acknowledgement by the Privatization Unit headed by Winston Brassington. In addition, the former bauxite plant at Everton was given to one of his associates, after allowing the calciner to rot because his government refused the purchase offer of an African-Guyanese led group.
In response to his shameless statement of saving jobs, it is was under his administration that 67 workers at BGCI/RUSAL were suspended after protesting for improved working conditions.
Then Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir, together with Oldendorff established a union for workers to get rid of the then recognised union, and to date that union has been unable to negotiate one agreement with the company or get redress for any transgression committed against any employee.
When Mr Jagdeo was Minister of Finance public servants had to strike for 57 days to secure a wage increase. This issue ended up at arbitration, which is unprecedented in the history of this country. Under his leadership there has been total disregard for the universal right to collective bargaining and freedom of association, and all fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual.
Guyana has now earned the reputation of being the most corrupt country in the anglophone Caribbean.
It was during his stewardship many young men were executed by a death squad and in turf wars. Many mothers are still unaware where the bodies of their children are buried.
Then there were the deaths of Sash Sawh and Ronald Waddell, and the killings at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek.
Mr Jagdeo enjoys a Cadillac lifestyle on the backs of underpaid and overtaxed workers in a donkey cart economy. Meantime, the narco-economy has been growing at the expense of the formal economy.
This society must therefore judge Mr Jagdeo on his record, which is abysmal. It is time he withdraws from this nation’s life and allows her people to determine what they would like to have.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
