While Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo says that his image has been sullied by the allegations of bribery made by Chinese businessman, Su Zhirong, President Irfaan Ali maintains that the international perception of this country has not changed and its image has not taken a hit by the actions of a man he described as a carpetbagger.
“I don’t know the image of the country took a beating. I don’t know who determined that narrative that the image of the country took a beating. Let me say very clearly again, and I spoke on this issue myself. You can see this with great clarity, that this was something with a motive, and the motive did not succeed,” the President told the Stabroek News in an exclusive interview last Monday when asked about the issue.
Adamant in his stance that this country suffered no blow from the allegations made by Su Zhirong on the US-based VICE News programmes about corruption in Guyana, Ali defended Jagdeo, saying he believed it was a premeditated attempt by an international news outlet with an ulterior motive.
Although he did not say what he believes the motives were, Jagdeo has said that he believes it was done to discredit the leader of a Third World country and it is nothing new for western countries to tarnish the image of developing nations that are populated with “brown faces”.
“You go into a man’s personal environment; his private environment, you go there [and] you’re filming illegally. You’re recording him illegally. He’s not aware of what you’re doing, and he refuses to subject himself to your approach of bribery. You could have easily taken whatever you wanted to take [the bribe] and put it right there. And even when they left the building, the person who was involved; who action has been taken against; told the person… that the Vice President is clean,” Ali contended.
“But we completely forget that part of the narrative. We completely forget that that the setup did not even work. The motive and setup did not even work because it cannot work. You will not find the Vice President compromised,” he emphasized.
Over the past months, Guyana’s Vice President has been at the centre of corruption allegations by Su, who is said to be a middleman and would allegedly lobby the Vice President on behalf of Chinese investors and companies. He told VICE News’ Isobel Yeung, while she was undercover, that Jagdeo was his boss and “processing fees” had to be paid to him to gain access to lucrative contracts in Guyana. Jagdeo has vehemently denied these allegations and continues do to.
The Vice President said that Su has brought his name into disrepute and globally it could mean that his image will be sullied.
“Yes, my reputation took a hit globally. They are not Guyanese so they may not know and this could be really major because it is international. This could be really big,” he said, pointing out that VICE has large viewership globally.
He has since taken Su to court in a $50 million libel suit. As had been anticipated, Su has not been seen or heard from since the scandal mushroomed.
Ali said that the VICE exposé initiated more of a sensationalist approach. And while its viewership may have been high, there will be no serious effects felt as the image of the nation has not been tarnished and persons with critical reasoning will see the broadcast for what it is.
“What happens is the sensational approach takes over. I am saying, I’m not denying that in my opinion, the Su guy is a carpetbagger. I’m not denying that maybe he was trying to achieve something on his own, but actions are taken against him [the Jagdeo lawsuit]. But do not lump that as this sexy approach or that we caught someone. Absolutely you caught no one. It reinforces the credibility [of Jagdeo].
“It reinforces the credibility. Because imagine you come in here. I don’t know you are recording me. I don’t know you have camera hidden all over your eyes [and] in your head, and you’re trying to lure me into something and you can’t even succeed. You can’t even succeed. What does that tell you?” he queried.
For the president, the deeper questions to be asked are, “What was the motive? Who designed the motive? For what purpose what was the motive designed?”
He is resolute in his stance that the VICE programme and Su’s allegations will not have any effect on this country’s image and says that Jagdeo’s lawsuit is not evidence of an impact but just the Vice President’s way of ensuring that the person who brought his name into disrepute is exposed to the full course of the law.
“I don’t see it translating as damaging the country. What [Jagdeo] he has done is to ensure that his credibility stays intact and that required taking action against this person. And he has done that and I commend that,” Ali said.