Jagdeo fights to void paying Annette Ferguson

Opposition members and supporters are crooks and criminals in the eyes of Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. In fact, anyone who appears to be against the People’s Progressive Party is a crook and a shady person. Even me who never faced the courts for theft or was ever accused of theft has been labelled notorious. I would be dishonest if I say I never stole.

As a boy fruit trees in full swing were targets for many of us. People had a general idea who raided the trees but I was never caught. And this happened before Jagdeo was born. I can’t recall the matter being published anywhere so Jagdeo could not have been talking about those moonlight escapades. I have owned up to my indiscretions. I paid the price and I have the cuts and scars to prove it. Some people placed broken bottles under their fruit trees to keep away praedial larcenists like me.

Now Jagdeo should pay for his mouth. A few years ago Annette Ferguson sued him for libel. He was too big to file a defence. In fact, he was certain that he controlled the judiciary and the legal process. Anil Nandlall was his lawyer. As the Attorney General one would have expected Anil Nandlall to be au fait with the law. He would have told Jagdeo the importance of entering a defence. There are now two scenarios. Anil was so afraid of Jagdeo that when Jagdeo told him to ignore Annette Ferguson’s suit he obeyed.

The other scenario is that when served with the writ Jagdeo simply tossed it aside. He only sought the services of Anil when Justice Sandra Kurtzious handed down a default judgement. Whatever the case, he was ordered to pay Annette $20 million. By way of excuse, Jagdeo said or caused Anil to say, that elections were in the air so he could not take time to address the legal matter. That it could wait until after the elections. And he did use that as grounds for his appeal.

Imagine criminals could have told the courts that elections were in the air and any matter pending against them should be put on hold after the elections. And there were advantages in the wake of the elections.

President Irfaan Ali had all his criminal matters against him dropped. Other beneficiaries were Anil Nandlall and Dr Ashni Singh. The Director of Public Prosecutions nolle prosequi the cases.

It is hard to get money from some people, regardless of how rich they are. Jagdeo appealed and appealed. One judge actually sided with his contention that the default judgement should be waived. Two Mondays ago  the final nail was driven in Jagdeo’s proverbial coffin. The Court of Appeal says that he must pay. Further, the matter has been referred to Justice Kurtzious so that the judge could determine the full quantum of damages.

Other issues that appear to be disturbing include the non-preparations of some schools for the new school year. There was a prolonged break between July and September. All remedial works should have been completed but this was not the case. One school in Mahaicony, the Augsburg Primary School, was ordered closed on the opening day. That school housed 16 children. According to reports, the head teacher turned up to say that the school would be closed indefinitely to replace a beam and some roofing. The residents say that such a work should not take more than three days.

The ethnic composition of the community caused me to blink but I refuse to believe that racism would be extended to primary school children in a farming community. The people spoke of being afraid to send their children out to Calcutta some six miles away. They remembered that not so long ago six children and a school teacher died on that road.

The Coalition government had assigned a 30-seater bus to the community to transport the secondary school children to Calcutta after that incident. That bus is full each day that it leaves to transport the secondary school children. The officials want the bus to take an additional 16 children. Surely, such a move would see the driver either being arrested, or jeopardise the safety of the bus.

Then there is the school feeding programme. With the rising cost of living and the falling ability of people to buy food, more children are going to go to school hungry. What is preventing the government from hiking the salaries of public servants? There were parents, who, having spent the uniform grant on food, couldn’t find uniforms for their children. This grant was paid to the parents ahead of the local government elections in June.

Hungry children cannot learn. The result is that children are being placed at a severe disadvantage to the detriment of the country. And this is happening even as the government is reluctant to collect every cent owed to it by ExxonMobil. The children of the people in the oil company are eating and sleeping well. Some are being funded at the top colleges and universities in their countries from the proceeds of Guyana’s oil. This is sad for Guyanese children. I saw it happen in other countries but never expected it to happen in Guyana.