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On December 27, 2022, in the quietude of my home, I was obliquely hearing a replay of Attorney General Nandlall on the Gildarie-Freddie Kissoon show when my attention was drawn to perverted comments on two issues: (a) the bloated list; (b) and IDPADA-G. Given my interest in, and more particular my knowledge of both matters, I feel duty-bound to expose the spin and outright falsehoods that were intended to be passed off on the innocent public as the truth.
The first such matter is the “bloated list.” Nandlall continues to focus on the word bloated and argues that the list is compiled in keeping with the laws of Guyana. In that regard, the constitution states that “every person may vote at an election if he is of age eighteen years or upward and is either a citizen of Guyana or a Commonwealth citizen domiciled and resident in Guyana.” This certainly does not provide for dead persons to vote; and implicitly for them to be listed as voters.
It therefore begs the question as to the lawful nature of a list which does not provide for the removal of names of all of the dead persons from the list. Nandlall on occasions, when cornered, admits that there is no mechanism for the removal, from the voters` list, the names of thousands of registered Guyanese who die overseas. There is therefore a flaw in our system that provides for the names of the dead to be retained on the list.
The list was never intended to be populated with the names of dead persons, hence locally, such names are removed based on the objections exercise or based on the death reports from the Registrar of Births and Deaths office. In the case of those persons who reside and/ or die overseas there is no mechanism for the removal of their names from the voters` list. Call it what you may, the list has names that should not be there. The consequential issue: evidence of electors who were recorded as being overseas and for whom votes were cast, poses the real problem of the fairness of the elections.
Nandlall seeks to dismiss this issue of fraudulent votes. However, the Chief Immigration Officer authenticated, in one instance, that of three hundred and ten (310) names of persons who were allegedly absent but voted for, two hundred and eleven (211) were verified as being out of the country. This is but a sample. This, therefore, verifies that fraudulent votes were cast. It also ascertained that a percentage of those who were allegedly voted for may have voted in person. It, therefore, debunks Nandall‘s contention that the presence, on election day, of some of the alleged fraudsters means that there was no instance in which votes were cast for absent persons.
There is a glaring gap in our electoral laws, a gap that the Government has refused to plug in its acclaimed electoral reform, which is ostensibly intended to reduce the possibility of electoral mal-practices. That omission raises an ominous red flag.
I now turn to IDPADA-G. Nandlall continues to peddle the falsehood that IDPADA-G is a private company with “its directors being the beneficiaries.” Indeed, IDPADA-G is a private company, but its registration specifies that it is a “not for profit company.” There are no shareholders nor is any dividend payable. The directors are volunteers. Not even a stipend is payable. To wit, its Articles of Incorporation states:
“If upon the winding up or dissolution of the company there remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among members of the company but shall be given or transferred to some other body or bodies having objects similar to the object of the company … and in so far as effect cannot be given to this provision, then the property shall be applied to some charitable object or objects.”
Nandlall also officiously sought to convey to the public that IDPADA-G was the recipient of 500,000,000 Guyana dollars for which there is little or no evidence of benefit to the African Guyanese community. He mocked our sponsorship of the Mocha Arcadia Market Days in collaboration with a resident cooperative as evidence of a non-impacting activity, as if that is all we did with 500,000,000 Guyana Dollars over five years. It is but an example of IDPADA-G`s undertakings, which are too many to be mentioned here. In any case, what makes the self-proclaimed Shastri the judge of what`s impacting for the African Guyanese community
Isn`t the retention and circulation of money in the village a laudable and valuable contribution to the village economy and community well-being. Significantly, he fails to acknowledge that the Government demanded an investigative audit of IDPADA-G in December 2021 to which we immediately acceded. That audit was conducted by the Ministry of Finance and covered the period 2018 to 2021. In response to more recent slanderous claims, we invited the Government to conduct an audit of our 2022 records even though the audit is not even due.
He questioned IDPADA-G’s membership, thus showing little or no regard for the African community and the over 60 member organisations that comprise IDPADA-G. In so doing, he paid scant regard for our consultations in communities across the regions in the formative process and again as we drafted our strategic plan.
The planned activities of IDPADA-G activities are also beneficial to the wider Guyanese community. The list of over four thousand (4000) persons, initially by-passed for flood relief, which we submitted to the Minister of Agriculture included hundreds of Indo-Guyanese, whose complaints we responded to, and who we registered.
In a desperate attempt to divide the African Guyanese community, he sought to authenticate his concerns based on some statement purportedly emanating from the Rastafari community. For the record, IDPADA-G went through a gestation period of over one year which included the active participation of the Rastafari community. They have stayed the course unto the time of the scripting of this letter.
For Nandlall‘s information, IDPADA-G is accessible to any Afrocentric organisation which is registered or has a proven track record of activism. Whether Sam Hinds or his ilk was invited, as Nandlall laments, is irrelevant. IDPADA-G’s membership comprises community groups not individuals. We are not concerned with the political affiliation of individuals. What unifies us are the challenges facing our community and the opportunity to make a difference under the UN declared Decade with its goals of: recognition, justice and development.
