Dear Editor,
I would appreciate, if you could grant me the opportunity, to respond to Dr Randy Persaud’s letter of Sunday, January 21, 2024. His letter raises a number of important questions regarding the “Jagdeo Doctrine of 2023” and its economic credentials, which I would like to share with the esteemed readership of Stabroek News. They are as follows:
1. In which document is the “Jagdeo Doctrine of 2023” set out? Please share a link (url) to the document(s).
2. Does President Mohammed Irfaan Ali and the PPP support the so-called “Jagdeo Doctrine”? Was the doctrine approved by the governing bodies of the PPP? Please share a link (url) to any report on the position of President Ali and the PPP.
3. Does Dr. Persaud consider the “Jagdeo Doctrine” of such national importance that it should be embodied into the Constitution of Guyana? Was the doctrine debated nationally? A link to any report would be appreciated.
4. Can Dr. Persaud spell out the differences between the “Jagdeo Doctrine”, President Ali’s “One Guyana” theme, and the National Motto “One People, One Nation, One Destiny” enshrined in the Con-stitution of Guyana? Please set out the rank ordering of the three.
5. Could Dr. Persaud identify five papers authored by Bharrat Jagdeo in Economics, which were peer-reviewed and published in journals of regional or international standing? Please make these papers available to the Guyanese public or share the citations.
6. It is common knowledge that the PPP continued the Hoyte/ Greenidge Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) after they took power in 1992. What are the differences between ERP and the “Jagdeo Doctrine”? Please explain to the readers.
7. Is there a rational formulated in the “Jagdeo Doctrine” in support of the Government of Guyana paying corporate taxes on behalf of oil companies, in violation of the Laws of Guyana? Ditto for stability clauses lasting up to 40 years. Please provide the reasons.
8. Does the “Jagdeo Doctrine” support the winner-take-all concept to govern Guyana? How would this concept help to bridge and heal the divisions in the Guyanese society?
9. Does the “Jagdeo Doctrine” believe in direct elections as a system of choosing the persons representing the Guyanese people in the national parliament? Wouldn’t this be a concrete measure to deepen democracy in Guyana by allowing the people to choose their representatives rather than having this delegated to the parties?
10. Does Dr. Persaud acknowledge that in his employment at the Office of the President, Mr. Jagdeo can significantly affect his continued employment?
Regarding Dr Persaud’s academic ranking, the first sentence from Dr Persaud’s biography, which is posted on the American University home page (https://www.american.edu/sis/faculty/persaud.cfm) states the following: Randolph B. Persaud is Associate Professor of International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. Dr Persaud should provide a letter or link, which confirms his University rank. In closing, a clarification of the ten questions raised above are very much appreciated by myself and certainly also by the readers of Stabroek News.
Sincerely,
Andre Brandli, PhD
Professor, University of Munich
(LMU)
Munich, Germany
