What if your average American viewer slumped down on their Lazy Boy on Sunday evening and purely by chance flicked on VICE’s “Guyana For Sale”?
What would be his or her takeaways, aside from, “Oh, so Guyana is in South America?! I never knew that!” Probably it would be that there is some strong man in power there who is a close friend and landlord to a shady sounding Chinese businessman who claims to be a conduit for bribes just as the country has discovered oil. Prima facie something is not right in Guyana.
Of course Guyanese know better having had the benefit of a full two hour explanation by the Vice President on Tuesday on how in his “most vulnerable moment” he heroically did not fall for this devious journalistic ruse to accept a bribe and how he now feels vindicated. Add to that we have been treated over the past few days to a chorus of the most sycophantic outpourings of support for from the usual suspects, including one from a politician who is supposed to be from an independent party. “Rally Round the VP!” Meanwhile supposedly independent online news sites have abandoned any journalistic objectivity and solidarity and instead are acting as Mr Jagdeo’s public relations operatives. If the cap fits….
This has all served to portray Bharrat Jagdeo as some naive, witless victim not only of Mr Su but also of a cowboy gotcha journalism outfit pushing an anti-China narrative.
But how did Mr Jagdeo become friends with Mr Su? Clearly this is a long term relationship as Mr Jagdeo had admitted to Isobel Yeung: “Yes, am yes, yes he is a friend of ours, his father was here from many years ago..“ Mr Su goes back to the Bai Shan Lin days. He has appeared in several newspaper articles over the years as a representative of various companies including Hi Tech Construction which received prime land for real estate on the East Bank prior to 2015. He is said to be an integral member of the Chinese business community. In other words he is not some rogue loner. As Mr Jagdeo said in the meeting at his house, “Su is my friend, he gets all the support. He deals with all the agreements. Su does the agreements we give him all the support.” Note “agreements” in the plural. There is a history here we don’t know about. It is also important to note the remarks by another Chinese businessman that corroborated much of what Mr Su claimed regarding consulting fees.
Moreover Jagdeo felt comfortable enough to rent Su the house next door to his house, incidentally in a community where the lots were apportioned at a heavy discount to ministers and more FOBs (Friends of Bharrat). The inevitable question then is how much has Mr Su been paying in monthly rent to the most important politician in the land? Did Mr Jagdeo never once see this landlord/tenant arrangement as open to accusations?
Su was also part of the 12 companies who signed MOUs in November 2020 to build hotels. What seems clear was how essential it was his project came with a casino licence. Jagdeo claims Su and the faux businessman had a private project and it was not about the government being involved or awarding a contract. True, but then what was all the talk of the award of a highly coveted casino licence for hotels that are four stars or more? Corruption around the awarding of such licences is rife around the world, attracting criminal elements looking to launder money. Guyana is no exception. Not only that, Mr Jagdeo said at his press conference on Tuesday the legislation might need to be changed to allow for more such licences in Region Four. Perhaps that was what Su was referring to when he bragged that his friend could change legislation for him. It is not that far-fetched as that was precisely what was done for another friend of Mr Jagdeo – Bobby Ramroop.
What also comes across in this episode is how much business here is done based on friendships with politicians rather than on the merits of a project within a clearly defined and level playing field for investors. As the Stabroek News reporter asked Jagdeo on Tuesday, “So If I’m not your friend I don’t get the support?” The fact is several businessmen, who have fallen out with Jagdeo and his PPP/C, have been blocked from contracts, starting ventures, (including quite ironically the now head of G-Invest) or legally harassed. Many others simply see their projects suffocated by red tape and other obstacles, not understanding that really it is that their “friendships” are simply not strong enough. What is going on is a form of gatekeeping where politicians decide what projects go forward and what are excluded.
So the bigger conclusion from this report is that Guyana is not ready for prime time when multi million dollar investments rely on the whims of a politician. No serious investor would expose capital to such a risk.
There have been numerous anecdotes of investors in every sector, waiting days to meet the Vice President. Why? Why the imperative to meet this official who doesn’t even have a clear portfolio nor a mandate to approve anything? It makes one wonder what is the purpose of G-Invest, the Minister of Business or all the other de facto junior ministers whose duties would normally mean meeting potential investors in their sectors. Rather than having any autonomy they seem to act as glorified secretaries sitting outside the doors to the Office of the Vice President. And again we heard the refrain on Tuesday these meetings were all because he wanted to help and see the country progress only to be betrayed by a friend!
Might this be more about a tussle between China and the US over Guyana as part of their long term geopolitical game? Sure there is a larger context to every news story and VICE has published several shows that have taken an anti-Chinese stance. Mr Jagdeo knows this and has tried to use it to deflect blame from his own poor judgement, harking back to “the last time we were caught up in a cold war type of atmosphere,” it led to the CIA and the British Secret Service intervening which led “to a dictatorship for 28 years.” More victimhood.
Finally Mr Jagdeo is a master of spin but no one compelled him to consort with a Chinese businessman let alone have him as a tenant. At best it shows him to be a very poor judge of character from a politician who his acolytes claim to be some genius.
There may be no smoking gun but there sure is a lot of smoke. President Ali will do nothing about this. He owes everything to his mentor, but he must also understand that this episode has not only tarnished Jagdeo’s reputation but has spread to his administra-tion and will affect the investment climate. Adjust-ments, including a defined portfolio, would be a good start as well as a clear framework on how and with whom potential investors should engage with the government.
