Double standards

guyana chronicle editorial

October 16, 2015

THE opposition PPP has predictably sought to make much of the government’s decision to raise ministers’ salaries by 50 percent. It has, thankfully, been overshadowed by the criticisms which have emanated from government supporters and independent voices.Many have pointed out that the PPP has little credibility on these matters. It is no secret that the former ruling party has earned itself the negative image of an overly corrupt governing party. The list of indiscretions committed by that party while in office is getting longer by the day. For this week alone, the media have reported at least three instances of government over-reach by the former government: the NCN-TVG scandal; the farming out of lands to friends at MMA; and, lately, the Pradoville affair.

We also reported that, even as the PPP is seeking to condemn the government for the recent salary increases, its three ex-Presidents — Messrs Jagdeo, Ramotar and Samuel Hinds -– are collectively pocketing a whopping sum of $6.3 million in pension monthly. This is a hefty sum which, as we reported, could pay the salaries of ten senior ministers or 13 junior ministers.

Here is a case of former government functionaries being paid more than sitting cabinet members. In fact, Mr Jagdeo has chosen to take this hefty pension instead of the lesser amount allocated for the Office of Opposition Leader.

There is no doubt that the PPP is practising the worst double-standards, and in the process trying to mislead its supporters and the rest of the country. If one is making a case against high salaries for ministers, one has the moral right to reveal one’s own culpability in this regard.

The PPP has to be called out on this matter. It cannot hide behind the indignation of government supporters, whose case flows from a moral place. What does the opposition party have to say about the revelations by the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) in relation to Pradoville? If the SARU report is correct, then the transfer of government lands to ministers at rates much lower than the market value is not a matter of political miscalculation, but is a clear case of appropriation of government resources for personal use.

The country should be up in arms against this kind of behaviour. How can people entrusted with overseeing public resources be so barefaced? What does the PPP have to say about purchasing equipment for NCN but refusing to install same while paying large sums to their friends for performing the very functions an equipped NCN could have done? If the report is true, then we are in the face of yet another instance of naked corruption. This is not a matter of an isolated government error; a clear pattern is established here.

Freedom of speech is guaranteed even for the disgraced. So the PPP, even as it stands accused, has a right to criticise the government. But to do so with the full knowledge that its track record while in government leaves a lot to be desired is an extreme case of political hypocrisy. We call on Guyanese to not spare the PPP the critical gaze. The law must take its course where necessary, but the jury of the people’s condemnation must also come into play. It is the only way to ensure justice; but, more critically, it is the only way to put a halt to the disease of official corruption.