I am in awe. There was the man from La Mancha with his impossible dream. In Guyana, there is the man from Madhia with his impeccable manners, his unfailing courtesy. Like I said, I am floored by the basic decency, the essence of courtesy, that was evident in Dr. Terrence Campbell’s “I stand by my previous position that requests for withdrawals from the NRF must specify the national development priorities for which the funds will be used” -SN, December 14, 2024). Take a bow Dr. Campbell. I do the same in recognition of that immaculacy of quiet expression, so lacking in Guyana’s public discourse.
On more than one occasion, when the Hon. Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has had a rush of blood to the head and collided with the roof, I offered to help him towards a higher standard. When he has had his tantrums, stamped his feet, and gone low, which is most of the time, I have extended a hand to lift him on high. The same has been offered to His Excellency, President Irfaan Ali, another doctor of this realm. He sometimes gets ensnarled in some ruckuses, which he seems to welcome, as if there is some point that must be proven. In the best tradition of a verbal brawler. In imitation of his hero and godfather, Dr. Jagdeo.
Now that Dr. Campbell has broken his silence (again), I am forced to step aside with my standing invitation to President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo for free tutoring on the basics of comportment, the norms of leadership communications, and the best of manners. To Dr. Campbell now belongs the honor of first chair, and first dibs in the remediation efforts so desperately needed at national leadership levels in this country.
I recall parliament and oftentimes not only recoil and make myself small, but think of catching the next plane out of here. Not to Mahdia or America, but the Himalayas. Though it has been somewhat subdued of late, this is how Guyanese leaders, ministers, and other lawmakers have fallen off a cliff in the communication department, the serenity that self-control brings. If all that is known is to lash out in the most reprehensible terms when there is disagreement, then clearly the most ordinary elements of civility have fled from this country at many levels. Now it’s time for the more difficult part.
Vice President Jagdeo is a smart enough man to know that he fights with a losing hand, is the captain in a loser’s game. The law has its power and transcendence, but devotion to transparent government and commendable leadership would dictate that there must be specifics on how oil money withdrawn is spent. To repeat myself from another contribution, not at any granular level, but certainly one that is discrete enough to inform Guyanese that this is where and how and how much of their oil money is spent.
To take this to the ultimate, even in the absence of a governing law that provides for any such specifics, it still behooves anyone laying claim to principles and ethical leadership to take the initiative and deliver those specifics. A leader with an honor code of some robustness would make it a priority for Guyanese to know the details of how their oil monies withdrawn are spent. For the comfort that they don’t end up like Angola (the Santos family) and Nigeria (Abacha and claque).
Thus, when Vice President Jagdeo finds it so backbreaking to disclose a level of specifics beyond the Consolidated Fund to national budget to various agencies, then all manner of suspicions and speculations are bound to flourish. Especially in a country where corruption is a synonym for Guyana. I think that the more the vice president digs in his heels, and bashes others to defend the indefensible, the more indefensible his position becomes. In addition, he introduces an aura of the curious in his entire endeavor. Why the dogged resistance, sir? Why the drawn out, verbal scorched earth policy? Nobody is served in Guyana.
The PPP Government’s reputation, already shaky (to be kind) for starters, takes a harder blow. Dr. Jagdeo himself is looked at more critically and, after all his rope-a-dope tactics, over enlightening oil withdrawal specifics, he is seen as thin at the gills. That is, more foamy than substantial.
I also think that a start must be made somewhere with transparency and accountability as generally known, and not some standard that is unique to President Ali and Vice President Jagdeo. In my book, what would qualify in reputable countries the world over, as specifics relative to oil money withdrawals from the NRF is a good start. For the strongest emphasis and in italics: the topsoil of consolidated fund and budget cannot, and should never, be accepted as furnishing a sufficiency of specifics.
To Dr. Campbell, I say that another business line should be pursued and added to existing portfolio. There is a name that is fitting: Executive Coaching. Or: Decency, Civility, Urbanity