Dear Editor,
Based on optics alone, it is now undeniable that the private sector cannot hold a candle to public service where rich returns are concerned. To be clear, my definition of public service stretches to include both the elected and the selected. When their visible, and known, holdings are absorbed, there is a trail of supporting evidence of how well some of our top officials have done. I focus on political operators, and leave any conclusions about smoking guns to others who know better about how this town works behind the curtains.
We have a man who had (still has) aspirations to be President. There is good news for him, because if his towering real estate success in north central Georgetown is any indication, then he could be flying just as highly in the uppermost realm of the State. The man is even muscling in on Church property, which I heard involved some, what I will term, frank talk as to where things stand, and could settle, if there was no give, and push came to shove.
This is showing who is boss around here, and how to get tricky things done efficiently. My interest is where did the money for all of these sparkling real estate developments originate. Or, speaking in language more familiar to the proud new owner and operator, what is the source of funds (SOW). Yes, I know, it is rather piggish of me to raise such a larded question at this happy hour moment.
Another big chief at the local head table is reported to have people fronting for him. Now here I was thinking that the man is so busy, as claimed; yet there is that front with athletic apparel for covering. Sports don’t make that kind of money, not regional sports; so, the front man would himself come under the microscope if things were subject to real keen scrutiny, which is where I think that the Americans are already long on the scent. Then, my ear to the ground picked up some smoke signals (yes, I know mixed metaphors) about luxury apartment holdings on the East Bank that rent for a starting number of American dollars monthly. Once again, I am wondering how these chaps who are always crying about how cheap and unrewarding public service is in Guyana can compile such lucrative asset bases on their official earnings. It is my understanding that living at those rarified national heights cost a pretty penny. I love it, and I am seriously considering a foray into the public service arena.
I happen to know just the official to strike up a relationship with, and he is the one with the foreign friends. The foreigner came in for a lot of prime land, while the local bigshot is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, landlord in the city. Like I said, public service pays, which is why the private sector can’t see its way, other than for the timely, expensive gifts from the guys holding the reins of power, which now makes matters a bit clearer. Think of what that song said, ‘like a spiral in a circle…a wheel within a wheel’. Perhaps that explains why a youngster official is busy trying to lure a lady to invest in Guyana, with the idea of setting up his sibling as the front. Meanwhile, the mother of another, a former official who is now functioning in a more vital post as gatekeeper and screener, is busy boasting about how much money they have. Anywhere else, loose lips sink ships, here it does not matter at all. Self-help pays.
All I am saying is that this is how political service in Guyana functions today, with a lot kept in the family. Note, please, that I not saying one word about possible money laundering, or anything that has to do with the foolishness about corruption. All politicians should leave office as they entered it, nothing more. Not office towers. Not luxury rentals. Not landlordism. Not operating through shells and fronts and many other such schemes. Of course, I recognize there is what the book says, and there is Guyanese reality.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
