A country has a number of independent agencies and entities that are appointed to do the work for which they have been created. The courts are such agencies. Judges and magistrates are expected to be independent. They have all taken an oath to function without fear and favour. Yet there is the view that there are judges and magistrates who perform outside that remit. Some have been accused of operating through political directives.
The police have a motto of Serve and Protect. They are supposed to function in the best interest of all. Today, they are said to have been politicized. There is clear evidence that they are quick to act against those who seem to be in opposition to the government. Many people have been arrested and charged with seeking to foster terrorism. The overwhelming majority of those charged are Black people.
People have been charged under the CyberCrime Act. Many who associate with the government have uttered shocking statements that should see them charged. This has not happened. People perceived to be opposed to the government have reported such acts against them but the police have taken no action.
More recently, the Guyana Revenue Authority, an autonomous body, found itself subsumed by political whim. While this was known, not many were prepared to provide the evidence of the political intervention into the operation of the GRA. As the silly season approaches and as the government is at its vindictive best the usurpation of the powers of the GRA has been placed in the public domain.
Azruddin Mohamed was once closely aligned to the ruling People’s Progressive Party. His father, Nazar Mohamed, proclaimed that he has always been close to the party, ever since the days of the late founder, Dr Cheddi Jagan.
The younger Mohamed was more aligned with the younger crew—people like Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali. He was closer to Ali who was seen as a Muslim brother.
The wheels came off the relationship when Azruddin Mohamed decided that he could become a force to challenge the People’s Progressive Party at the polls. This was prompted by the PPP government distancing itself from the younger Mohamed after the United States applied sanctions to Mohamed Enterprise.
The United States said that it had evidence that the Mohameds robbed the public treasury of billions of dollars. It claimed that the Mohameds had smuggled tons of gold out of Guyana without paying the requisite duties and royalties. Given the sanction, the government sought to distance itself from the Mohameds. The younger Mohamed refused to rollover.
He felt slighted by the very people whom he stood up for in the days when no one wanted to associate with them. As he expanded his philanthropy Jagdeo noted that Mohamed was attracting crowds in locations long felt to be PPP strongholds. Not one to take such a direct challenge lying down, Jagdeo decided to lash out.
He used his weekly press conference to attack the younger Mohamed. On one occasion he spoke of proffering murder charges against Azruddin Mohamed. That is a role for the police but Jagdeo was clearly demonstrating that he had control over the police.
He then proceeded to collect whatever information the United States had collected on the Mohameds. One such concerned the importation of a high end vehicle. The government, using the information provided by the United States, decided to charge Azruddin Mohamed with evasion of taxes on this vehicle.
This matter is in the courts. The High Court is said to be hearing the matter. The matter was then filed in the Magistrates Court. Azruddin made his appearance, was granted bail and was then handcuffed. The handcuffing is a selective application for people appearing in court. It is often reserved for people who are in opposition to the government.
This week, Azruddin released information on how he came by the vehicle in Guyana. The man who facilitated the release of the vehicle was identified as President Irfaan Ali. The information made public revealed that the Guyana Revenue Authority had refused to register the vehicle. The government changed in 2020 and he approached Bharrat Jagdeo who he said advised him to contact Irfaan Ali. Irfaan Ali had by this time become president.
Azruddin Mohamed said that “On September 30, 2020, messages were exchanged about the purchase of the Lamborghini. Mohamed said that with his approval, on October 7, 2020, the Lamborghini was bought for US$75,300.” “When the car arrived, I forwarded that invoice to Irfaan on December 8, 2020.”
Mohamed claimed that Ali intervened to resolve the matter. “Statia told them not to register it until he gives instructions… The next day Irfaan told me, ‘matter sorted’.” It is clear that President Irfaan Ali over-rode the decision by the GRA. He was complicit in whatever is being professed today. His contention that Azruddin presented a false invoice to him does not negate his intervention into the operation of an autonomous entity.
One can only wonder at the number of cases of similar interventions.
