It was Bharrat Jagdeo who most foolishly asserted, PPP isn’t corrupt, since APNU+AFC tirelessly investigated for 5yrs, yet couldn’t unearth any substantive evidence. Then it was from this most asinine of arguments, he extrapolated, the charges against the former PPP ministers, by the then APNU+AFC government, were all spitefully political. But recognising Jagdeo was relapsing to yet another fit of irrationality, the wise amongst us sought to edify, absence of evidence doesn’t necessarily translate to evidence of absence. That is, the inability of our courts to establish beyond reasonable doubt, the guilt of corruption, doesn’t and shouldn’t translate to the absence of corruption.
However, this most recent US Department of Treasury investigatory report, which makes serious allegations against PPP, ultimately exposed Jagdeo’s assertion as substantively dishonest. For the report placed the cat amongst the proverbial pigeons, laying bare what we knew all along, PPP contrary to Jagdeo’s contention, is incontrovertibly corrupt. And this was made evident with The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), imposing sanctions on PPP Permanent Secretary Mae Thomas, PPP Councillor Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin Mohamed and their company Mohamed’s Enterprise.
The fact is, even before these most recent sanctions, there were widespread speculations when the US Customs, without prior warning, selected Permanent Secretary Thomas, for the ignominy of a secondary inspection. In fact, it was during this secondary inspection at the Miami International Airport, that Permanent Secretary Thomas had her mobile phone confiscated for forensic examination, along with her visa revoked. And it was after this US Customs interrogative search, on a senior government official, that whispers intensified on the close, if not illegal relationship, between Permanent Secretary Thomas, PPP and the Mohameds.
So, even as Jagdeo ludicrously argues PPP isn’t corrupt, the evidence before our very eyes is, Permanent Secretary Thomas, based on the US Department of Treasury Report, has allegedly aided and abetted the Mohameds in the commission of international gold smuggling. Moreover, based on the US Department of Treasury Report, PPP Councillor Mohamed, was complicit with the PPP Permanent Secretary Thomas, as an alleged international gold smuggler and tax evader. But even as attention is being focused on Permanent Secretary Thomas, and rightly so, it should be noted that the US Department of Treasury Report used the plural i.e. government officials, hence making it unambiguously clear that Permanent Secretary Thomas wasn’t acting alone, as the sole PPP government official.
But Permanent Secretary Thomas and Councillor Mohamed aren’t alone as it pertains to PPP corruption, for the record would show VICE News, produced a damning investigatory report, making credible allegations of corruption against Jagdeo. Moreover, there were irrefutable charges of corruption against Irfaan Ali, Winston Brassington and Ashni Singh, which were questionably dropped by the politicised DPP. Thus, confronted by such overwhelming evidence, the question is, why would Jagdeo foolishly and publicly argue, PPP isn’t corrupt, even as we are now privy to the OFAC report?
In fact, it’s very likely, OFAC has a corruption dossier on many of these kleptocratic installed ministers. For OFAC armed with this dossier, is certain to be exceedingly concerned, with these slippery kleptocrats managing our burgeoning extractive sector. As a matter of fact, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) intimated that much, in expressing uneasiness on the lack of transparency and accountability, in our extractive sector, under this PPP installed government. Thus, we have three international bodies, OFAC, UNCHR and Transparency International, all expressing serious concerns about corruption in this installed government. Yet despite the credibility of these international bodies, Jagdeo would want us to believe, they are all wrong, PPP isn’t corrupt.
