In a society where silence often rewards the corrupt and boldness is punished, Terrence Campbell has emerged as a rare figure—a man unbowed by the relentless machinations of Guyana’s most powerful. His recent post demanding transparency and compliance with Section 16(2) of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act has set off a firestorm, exposing the government’s blatant disregard for accountability and their insatiable appetite for public funds.
Terrence’s principled stance has laid bare what many already suspected: the NRF, a fund that should safeguard Guyana’s economic future, has been reduced to a slush fund for the corrupt. Pillaging the fund to fuel political campaigns and line the pockets of cronies has become so entrenched that even modest calls for transparency are met with fury. Campbell’s insistence that the government follow the law and account for deposits into the Consolidated Fund has put him squarely in the crosshairs of Guyana’s defacto President Bharrat Jagdeo and his enablers.
Jagdeo, known for his iron grip on Guyana’s political machinery, made the mistake of thinking Campbell would be another easy target for his well-worn tactics of intimidation and slander. But this time, Jagdeo has met his match. Campbell’s unwavering integrity and sharp intellect have proven to be more than a match for Jagdeo and his mendicant minions, who seem ill-equipped to handle the daily public reckoning Campbell delivers.
Enlisting the likes of the crass (not to be confused with cross) Don Singh, the hapless Joel Bhagwan, and the venomous “Live in Guyana” propaganda machine, Jagdeo has orchestrated a campaign of vilification against Campbell. Yet, rather than discredit their target, their efforts have spectacularly backfired, each petty attack laying bare the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the regime’s defenders. These “little boys with sponge darts,” flailing in the shadow of Campbell’s rhetorical Uzi, have only amplified the regime’s desperation and lack of credibility.
This lopsided confrontation sadly underscores what has long been evident: Jagdeo and his cohorts are an intellectually impoverished cadre, stumbling clumsily along a supposed path to development. Like children let loose in a candy store, they greedily indulge, gorging themselves on the nation’s oil wealth while lining their own pockets. Their ineptitude and avarice are a tragic disservice to a nation brimming with untapped potential and deserving of visionary leadership.
What is more troubling than Jagdeo’s predictable bullying, however, is the deafening silence from Guyana’s so-called independent media. Where are the op-eds, the investigative pieces, or even the headlines chronicling Campbell’s unyielding fight for justice? Is it fear of Jagdeo’s wrath? Or is it compromise? Either way, their silence is complicity, and it is a stain on what should be the ‘guardians of democracy’ and accountability.
Equally disheartening is the muted response from those who call themselves Campbell’s allies. Are they too cowed by the regime’s shadow, or are they waiting for the dust to settle before they pick a side? Terrence Campbell stands on the frontline of this battle not just for the NRF, but for Guyana’s soul. His so-called friends, if they remain silent, are failing not only him but the nation.
Jagdeo and his cronies must tread carefully. Campbell is not a man to be easily intimidated, and every escalation only tightens the noose around their own credibility. The attempts to bully him, whether through propaganda or violence, will not silence the growing call for justice. In fact, they only add fuel to the fire of what Campbell aptly describes as the “Guyana Spring.” The international community is watching. The investors are watching.
Terrence Campbell has reminded us all of what local courage looks like in the face of a corrupt and oppressive system. His fight is not just for himself but for every Guyanese who dreams of a nation where integrity triumphs over theft, and where accountability is not a revolutionary demand but a standard practice.
The arc of the moral universe may be long, but Campbell is bending it with every word and every post. And the more they try to break him, the more they reveal the rottenness of the system they seek to protect.