In what has been seen as a bold move, Working People’s Alliance (WPA) executive member, Dr David Hinds has called on the parliamentary opposition to put in play a vote of No Confidence against the PPP Government for its massive role in defrauding the people of Guyana.
Following a scathing revelation by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control last week, of a huge corruption ring involving three citizens closely linked to the government, Dr Hinds said the PPP is “unfit to govern” and should be put on notice through a vote of no confidence.
The US’ treasury department released details of sanction against former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Mae Toussaint Thomas for her involvement in criminal activities with father and son business moguls Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed of Mohamed’s Enterprise.
The US said Thomas misused her position as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs between October 2020 to August 2023 to offer benefits to Mohamed’s Enterprise in exchange for cash payments and high-value gifts.
The US also imposed sanctions on the Mohameds who, it said, Between 2019 and 2023, omitted more than 10,000 kilograms of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US $50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana. The company also engaged in extensive bribery of government officials which served to enrich the corrupt actors involved, undermine Guyanese institutions, and deprive the people of Guyana of important revenues, the US missive read.
Dr Hinds said Thomas could not have been working on her own. Thomas is a member of the ruling party’s Central Executive Committee and was selected by President Irfaan Ali to serve as permanent secretary of the home affairs and later the labor ministries.
“ I am saying, every gold chain she got as a bribe, every one million dollars she got as a bribe , somebody is getting one hundred times more” Dr Hinds declared on his online programme , Politics 101 with Dr David Hinds, Friday.
“Something like this deserves a vote of no confidence in the government. I do not see how we can have confidence in a government that is colluding with this level of corruption … we need to let Guyana and the world know that we cannot have a government like this. This government cannot have the confidence of the Guyanese people because it is colluding to rob the Guyanese people,” he stated.
Dr Hinds said the sanction against the former PS was expected as the US had signaled three years ago that something was amiss. However, the government, with all the signs, did nothing. He said it is not just two private citizens involved in the international fraud, but elected officials of the government. The Mohameds were elected to serve at the most recent local government elections.
The WPA executive said there must be a response to this level of disrespect towards Guyanese. Of the most dramatic responses that could be given, would be a move by the opposition to put forward a vote of no confidence in the national assembly, Dr Hinds lamented.
He said the situation is too big for Guyanese to turn a blind eye. He noted the amount of money being siphoned off from the treasury and the devastating impact on the economy, as well as the fact that Guyana is now part of an international criminal ring. Most importantly, he pointed out that the state is directly involved in the criminal activities.
“We cannot have confidence in a government that is colluding with the forces to defraud the country of resources… the Americans said they have been doing this investigation for two and a half years.
This government stands, not just accused, they have already been indicted, as far as I am concerned. We cannot have confidence in this government to govern this country. We know of all that they have done.”
Dr Hinds said the nonchalant distribution of the country’s resources to friends and family through contracts, the brutalisation of citizens, especially African Guyanese, and the corruption being encouraged in the Guyana Police Force by the government, are other major reasons for a no confidence vote against the administration.
“ They are corrupting the police force, they are corrupting the public service, they had to have have network in the Ministry of home Affairs. The minister will have to day because is he ministry. The minister is the political manager of the ministry…This thing cannot be divorced from the state. The state has been criminalised under the PPP,” he cautioned
Alliance for Change member and Commentator Dr Vincent Adams said the confidence vote brought by the PPP against the APNU+AFC Administration in 2018, was unsound and without merit and was just a ploy to get the then government out of office.
But a no confidence against the PPP now will be of substance and worthiness. Apart from the low-hanging corruption revelations by the US, citizens’ confidence has been shattered by the daily mistreatment of the people and mismanagement of resources under the deva of the PPP.
“ Here is something that is against the best interest of the country that you could pin point and see where it is leading is taking this country down nationally , internationally and economically. If there is anything that has a justification it is what has happened here and I think the opposition needs to hisse attention and move forward with a no confidence vote. I have no trepidation whatsoever about that.”