Branding Speaker Manzoor Nadir’s decision to deny a request by Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton for the House to debate the allegations of corrupt practices involving Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo as “shameful and dishonourable”, the Opposition said it will continue to up the pressure to have the “damning allegations” investigated by an international team.
On Wednesday last, Norton submitted the request along with a motion to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs and at Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly, Nadir ruled that the issue was not a definite matter of urgent public importance.
Norton’s motion, which stemmed from two VICE News reports with allegations against Jagdeo, had called for the suspension of the Standing Orders and to debate the contents of the report and called for an international investigation.
At a press conference yesterday, APNU+AFC MP Ganesh Mahipaul said that the Motion simply asked the National Assembly to take immediate action to ensure an independent, credible and impartial investigation, by international investigators into the allegations of bribery, corruption and money laundering as revealed in the two documentaries released by VICE News.
In denying the motion, Nadir posited that mere media allegations have been made and there have been many such allegations against members of the House. The Opposition contends that the allegations are supported by evidence.
Mahipaul pointed out that both President Irfaan Ali and Jagdeo have called for an investigation into the matter, adding that since the denial of the motion Transparency Institute Guyana Inc and former Speaker of the House Ralph Ramkarran have joined the call.
“The Guyanese people themselves want a proper investigation. Yes, over the years, they have heard many allegations of high-level corruption. But this one stinks to high heavens, and they want to know the full facts…”, he said.
He also reiterated the call for Jagdeo to resign to pave the way for an investigation.
Mahipaul told reporters that the Opposition has been consistently writing to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association along with others informing them of the “bias” of Speaker Nadir. He reported that they have received responses but could not disclose the contents of those letters.
He said that Nadir has a history of shutting down Opposition motions to debate matters of public importance. He noted that they would continue to engage foreign bodies to ensure that the allegations of corruption against Jagdeo are investigated.
The motion was filed in relation to the VICE News docu-series where Jagdeo’s former tenant Su Zhirong made a series of allegations against him. President Ali has so far refused to ask Jagdeo to step down to facilitate an investigation into the allegations, instead, he cast aspersions on the VICE News reporter Isobel Yeung’s motive behind the reports.
Jagdeo has vehemently denied these allegations and continues to. He has since sued Su for more than $50m over the claims in the VICE broadcast.
