Dear Editor,
Several months ago, the Jagdeo/Ali regime took many Guyanese by surprise with the announcement of an “E-ID card” deal, which the regime made after sole-sourcing. A contract with a German Firm at a cost of US$35M was signed. Reports suggest that this arrangement was facilitated by one Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Upon hearing about this loose arrangement, my mind went back to the procurement of the Sputnik Vaccine for COVID-19 by the regime in 2020/2021. Taxpayers discovered, through the media, that instead of vaccines being acquired directly from suppliers in Russia, a middleman, who the nation learnt was a businessman by the name of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook from the United Arab Emirates, was used. It appears that the Jagdeo/Ali Regime has an affinity for doing business with middlemen from the Arab Emirates and China. Is this middleman the new Su?
US$35M is equivalent to $7,387,551,080.00 Guyana dollars. At one of his press conferences, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo is on record stating that the “E-ID Card” is a Manifesto Promise. I have painstakingly perused the PPP/C’s the fifty-six (56) page 2020 Manifesto and have not seen any mention of the concept of an E-ID card. I would appreciate Mr. Jagdeo or any member of the PPP/C providing the citation. Many commentators have also vehemently expressed their displeasure with this unbudgeted E-ID, for which there is no constitutional basis. However, the Jagdeo/Ali regime has again blatantly ignored the concerns of citizens.
If the Jagdeo/Ali is serious about addressing the high cost of living and improving the welfare and well-being of its citizens, this US$35million could be used in any of the following areas:
- As of October 2019, the Berbice River Bridge owed $810 million to the National Insurance Scheme. It was this very PPP/C regime that injected monies from the Scheme into a public-private entity, leaving the Scheme partially “cash strapped,” and struggling to remain viable. My recommendation to the Jagdeo/Ali regime is to pay back NIS. In an oil rich economy, the minimum level for NIS pension stands at $35,000.00. Mind you, the Coalition Government had commenced addressing and improving this phenomenon. The last increase in NIS pension was in 2019. Since taking Office in August 2020, the Jagdeo/Ali has FAILED to address this situation.
- The Jagdeo/Ali regime could utilise the E-ID funds for the introduction of “biometrics voting,” which will aid in the elimination of voter impersonation. Editor, I am reminding readers that it was Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo who made demands, in October 2015, for a “new voters list, biometric voting etc. The ball is in your court now Jagdeo.
- Boost the Public Servants; salaries and working conditions.
- My final recommendation to the Jagdeo/Ali regime is that the monies from the E-ID cards could be used in the education sector. The PPP/C promised to make education free from Nursery to Tertiary in their 2020 Manifesto. Now, the nation is being told that though this remains a high priority for the regime, this will be instituted by 2025. Please be reminded that It is the PPP who scrapped the free education made available to all Guyanese by the PNC.
The PPP/C has no plan for the development of Guyana or for the good life of all Guyanese. They are squandering our resources amongst their friends, families and favourites, while the working people of this nation continue to struggle with the ever-increasing cost-of -living and diminishing health care and quality of education.
I therefore, appeal to Guyanese not to allow themselves to be fooled by the PPP/C’s meagre cash handouts and crumbs. They are becoming richer and richer while the masses become poorer and poorer. They must not be allowed to return to office at the next National and Regional elections. Let Guyana breathe again!!
Yours truly,
Annette Ferguson, MP
