Dear Editor,
I think that we were all able to follow Bharrat Jagdeo who appears to have been at least put in a suspicious bind, if not compromised. While his acolytes rushed to claim that the interview with Vice News did not confirm Jagdeo is corrupt, they conveniently ignored troubling elements of his responses. He is heard clearly in the secretly recorded discussion giving assurances that he could help from the government side. Mr. Jagdeo says distinctly, “You’ll get all the support”. He then reassured the undercover businessman that, “Su is my friend; he gets all the support”. In the press conference that he hosted on Tuesday, Mr. Jagdeo harped on a call for hotels by the government back in 2020, and the procedures used to approve the projects to show that there could be no special favour to Su or anyone else. He however forgot that he told the undercover businessman “Su deals with all the agreements” and that he assists from the government side.
Why would such a statement be necessary if the conversation was about a one-off engagement? How could Jagdeo intimate in his press conference that his conversation was about a specific private investment, when his remarks in the Showtime story states, “all the agreements”? The word “all” uttered by Jagdeo in the interview suggests that Su has handled many other agreements. To clear his name, Mr. Jagdeo needs to explain what other agreements Su is handling or has handled. Were these investment agreements or were they something else? It would be a surprise if it was investment agreements, since Su does not work at GO-Invest, or does he? I am moved to ask if Su is a registered lobbyist.
The Showtime story was at the very least instructive as to what is likely taking place in the “blackbox” of Guyana’s government. The “blackbox” is a place where decisions and deals are made by high public officials without Guyanese ever knowing the details or the truth. The story helps us to understand how this might be happening. I do not believe that it will be brushed aside or could be brushed aside. Guyanese must demand answers and a proper and thorough independent investigation to get them. Otherwise, an entire nation would continue to be labelled as shady, given the narrative and optics. This becomes clear, especially after viewers realize that the meeting between Jagdeo, Su and the foreigner posing as a businessman, was never expected by Jagdeo to become public.
From the interview with Vice News that Jagdeo released, he thought that his meeting with Su and the undercover businessman would remain a secret. Not realizing that he was being recorded, the Showtime story indicated that he appeared comfortable and ready to receive Su and his friends. In his press conference, Jagdeo tried to pull the wool over the eyes of Guyanese by suggesting the words coming from his mouth were taken out of context. The lame attempt at trying to explain the surprised look on his face when he discovered that the interviewer knew about Su, has only exposed him to more questions.
Had Vice News not gone undercover to Mr. Jagdeo’s house in Pradoville 2, we would not have known how generous he admittedly is to foreigners using the power of Guyana’s government. It leaves one to wonder how many more such assurances were given and fulfilled in secret. Editor, taxpayers end up paying for these deals when “consulting fees” are recouped by the preferred investor. The story therefore informs us that Guyanese are losing out big time, as they say. Mr. Jagdeo believes that Guyanese are such fools that he could tell them anything and they would accept it. Try again, Mr. Vice President, those long-winded, illogical explanations will not suffice.
Sincerely,
Joshua Luke
